Normally Yellow Jacket Racing (YJR) has a 5K road race in Rochester on Halloween weekend. However that had to go virtual due to covid so they held this live race … MORE
Normally Yellow Jacket Racing (YJR) has a 5K road race in Rochester on Halloween weekend. However that had to go virtual due to covid so they held this live race instead. Normally the Dirt Cheap races are 4-5 mile trail races held on Wednesday evenings during the summer but YJR added a couple fall weekend ones this year as they are some of the easier races to hold during covid. This race was held at Durand Eastman park in north Rochester right by Lake Ontario. This was my first time exploring this park. Logistics were the same as the last Dirt Cheap race with packet pickup recommended at store the day before and waves of 40ish runners every 15 minutes. Production was of course excellent and safe. There were some Halloween decorations and music blaring at the start line to make it as exciting as possible for a covid race. The weather was cold but beautiful and sunny which was wonderful after nearly 2 weeks of gloom and rain. The first mile of the course was an absolute treat. Just perfect trail running. The leaves were beautiful there were views of the lake and the trail was not too technical and I was thinking I may PR. This was very surprising given how difficult the other 2 Dirt Cheap Races I have done were. But alas, this was a trick and the rest of the race was full of difficulties. The trail at the second mile was at an angle and was very muddy with the previous rain making this tricky to run. Also the leaves while pretty made footing a little difficult since you didn’t know what was under it. Also this is where the hills came. Not quite as hilly as the last one but there were some good hills. There were also some very nice stretches for running mixed in. I don’t think it was intentional but it was a mix of tricks and treats on the trail. The trail was open and since it was cold there was not much use but there was congestion at one point due to a group of birdwatchers which was a first for me. At the finish line you put your masks back on and get your bag of treats. No swag as the Dirt Cheap refers to the fact that these are really cheap, under $20 races all about the trail and not about the swag. I did not PR with all the tricks thrown in the course but did manage to run it in under an hour. I actually would prefer this race over the 5K road race but I get a 5K road race is a little more family friendly. I think it would be awesome if they started to hold this race annually on the Saturday of Halloween weekend and the 5K on Sunday or vice versa but may be a lot of planning. This park is in the normal rotation of Dirt Cheap races so even if the Halloween Edition is a one year event I look forward to running here again.
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Trick or Treat: Trail Edition
Normally Yellow Jacket Racing (YJR) has a 5K road race in Rochester on Halloween weekend. However that had to go virtual due to covid so they held this live race … MORE
Normally Yellow Jacket Racing (YJR) has a 5K road race in Rochester on Halloween weekend. However that had to go virtual due to covid so they held this live race instead. Normally the Dirt Cheap races are 4-5 mile trail races held on Wednesday evenings during the summer but YJR added a couple fall weekend ones this year as they are some of the easier races to hold during covid. This race was held at Durand Eastman park in north Rochester right by Lake Ontario. This was my first time exploring this park. Logistics were the same as the last Dirt Cheap race with packet pickup recommended at store the day before and waves of 40ish runners every 15 minutes. Production was of course excellent and safe. There were some Halloween decorations and music blaring at the start line to make it as exciting as possible for a covid race. The weather was cold but beautiful and sunny which was wonderful after nearly 2 weeks of gloom and rain. The first mile of the course was an absolute treat. Just perfect trail running. The leaves were beautiful there were views of the lake and the trail was not too technical and I was thinking I may PR. This was very surprising given how difficult the other 2 Dirt Cheap Races I have done were. But alas, this was a trick and the rest of the race was full of difficulties. The trail at the second mile was at an angle and was very muddy with the previous rain making this tricky to run. Also the leaves while pretty made footing a little difficult since you didn’t know what was under it. Also this is where the hills came. Not quite as hilly as the last one but there were some good hills. There were also some very nice stretches for running mixed in. I don’t think it was intentional but it was a mix of tricks and treats on the trail. The trail was open and since it was cold there was not much use but there was congestion at one point due to a group of birdwatchers which was a first for me. At the finish line you put your masks back on and get your bag of treats. No swag as the Dirt Cheap refers to the fact that these are really cheap, under $20 races all about the trail and not about the swag. I did not PR with all the tricks thrown in the course but did manage to run it in under an hour. I actually would prefer this race over the 5K road race but I get a 5K road race is a little more family friendly. I think it would be awesome if they started to hold this race annually on the Saturday of Halloween weekend and the 5K on Sunday or vice versa but may be a lot of planning. This park is in the normal rotation of Dirt Cheap races so even if the Halloween Edition is a one year event I look forward to running here again.