There's one race I look forward to all year each year. It's the Summer Solstice Run held at Minnewaska State Park in New Paltz, NY. The Shawangunk Mountains outside of New Paltz, of which Minnewaska is a part, fascinate me on several levels. There's world-class rock climbing, gorgeous lakes that surprisingly have never supported fish (see Lake Minnewaska, the starting location for the race, above), and architectural remains of the region's popularity as an early 20th century getaway for NYC vacationers. This latter fact led to the establishment of miles and miles of carriage roads that criss-cross the Minnewaska and Mohonk Preserves, and the Summer Solstice Run covers 8.3 miles of these carriage roads in Minnewaska.
"It's a good thing that the course is gorgeous, because the first three miles are grueling..."
The particular carriage roads the race traverses are gorgeous. They follow a cliff edge with sweeping views of the valley below and then dip down to a moist, wooded region that follows a lake accessible only via trail and affords views of several waterfalls. The race is also perfectly timed to occur during the height of the mountain laurel bloom, so white, light pink, and fuscia bushes line the trails along the way.
And it's a good thing that the course is gorgeous, because the first three miles are grueling. They're almost entirely non-stop uphill. At the end of the climb, you burst out onto a cliff top called Castle Rock. The views are breathtaking enough to wipe away memories of the three uphill miles, and the water station situated there allows you to switch gears before starting on the last five miles of the race, which luckily are almost entirely downhill! During the half mile leading to Castle Rock the most prominent thought running through my head is always 'I can't possibly finish this race'. This is probably an indication I haven't done enough hill training, but in some ways I think one of the most spectacular beauties of the race is feeling like you have nothing left and then finding it in yourself to run five more miles.
And it's a good thing that the course is gorgeous, because the first three miles are grueling. They're almost entirely non-stop uphill. At the end of the climb, you burst out onto a cliff top called Castle Rock. The views are breathtaking enough to wipe away memories of the three uphill miles, and the water station situated there allows you to switch gears before starting on the last five miles of the race, which luckily are almost entirely downhill! During the half mile leading to Castle Rock the most prominent thought running through my head is always 'I can't possibly finish this race'. This is probably an indication I haven't done enough hill training, but in some ways I think one of the most spectacular beauties of the race is feeling like you have nothing left and then finding it in yourself to run five more miles.
I enjoyed this year's race so much that I've set a new goal, and that's to come back and run in the preserve several more times throughout the year beyond the race. (It's surely a whole different kind of gorgeous during the fall foliage season!) If you're like me and running is equally about the places you get to see as well as the miles you log it's hard to find a better place than the Minnewaska and Mohonk carriage roads.
Cross-training highlight: Trail running helps improve agility because it forces you to navigate over and around rocks and roots, improving your footwork. Just before the start of this year's race there was a torrential downpour so over the course of the 8.3 miles we all got a lot of practice in the art of jumping over puddles!
Cross-training highlight: Trail running helps improve agility because it forces you to navigate over and around rocks and roots, improving your footwork. Just before the start of this year's race there was a torrential downpour so over the course of the 8.3 miles we all got a lot of practice in the art of jumping over puddles!
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