Monroe / Dunbar Brook Part I

The Sunday before "Columbus" Day is the 10.5-Mile Dunbar Brook Trail Race.  I haven't participated at this event since 2007.  Prior to that, I "...made my way 'round" sixteen times, each year from 1992 thru 2007.  I imagine I have also run the loop as a fun run a dozen or more times through the years.

I knew that some of the briars would be trimmed for the race, so I had intentions of getting out at some point this week to enjoy this very beautiful course.  I did enjoy it, took some detours, and snapped many photos.  Spoke with the two pair of couples I encountered who were also visiting the forest today.

I was out on the course over 4-hours, finishing with 12.7-miles.  This would have placed me dead last at this year's race, by a lot.  My point is, while occasionally thinking about "racing" an official event, what I am into now is pretty far away from trail racing.

Looking at the times I've run at the race, it also occurs to me that toward the end of my racing days, the race wasn't that big a deal to me anyhow.  Enjoying the natural settings of the forest and the people I'm close to were the real draw.

1992 - 1:34:38

1993 - 1:31:48

1994 - 1:33:07

1995 - 1:34:35

1996 - 4:07:26 (30k Distance run with my Pop)

1997 - 2:07:30 (Half-Marathon Distance, run with RunSteveo)

1998 - 1:40:14

1999 - 1:36:22

2000 - 1:37:58

2001 - 1:31:53

2002 - 1:39:56

2003 - 1:34:08

2004 - 1:57:15 (Run with my Pop)

2005 - 1:48:02

2006 - 2:05:04 (Run with my Pop and Paul H)

2007 - 2:05:43 (Run with my Pop)

I'll continue this post with photos and thoughts...  there are too many photos to share in one post.  For today, I want to show Raycroft Lookout, on the Hunt Hill Trail.  This is a truly awesome spot in Massachusetts, and it is not part of the race.  Sometimes, we have to follow the path less followed.

Raycroft Lookout on Hunt Hill

Raycroft Lookout  w/ Bear Swamp Upper and Lower Reservoirs viewable

Looking toward the Clark - Todd Ridge in Mohawk Trail State Forest