Today, I took a leap of faith and signed up for the Great Cranberry Island 50K in July. What with one thing and another it’s been 6 years since I entered an ultra. But the GCI 50K looks like too much fun to pass up, and 50K isn’t that far.
The course goes back and forth on the 2 mile strip that’s the only road on an island off the coast of Mount Desert Island in Maine. In an inadvertent fit of incestuous cross-promotion on the race web site, race director Gary Allen quotes me quoting him in my book about running on that stretch of road.
Ruth and I are making a vacation out of the trip, staying at the Harbor View in Southwest Harbor. We haven’t decided yet whether we’ll be kayaking over to the race or if we’re going to take the ferry, and whether we’re camping overnight on the island or heading back to enjoy our perfectly good room (and bed), since we have to pay for the room either way. We’ll have to wait and see what the weather report looks like before we decide.
My primary goal for GCI is to manage my assorted aches and pains well enough to make it to the starting line and get through the race, so I can enjoy my post-race lobster. But if I happen to have a good day, it might be interesting to see how fast I can run.
Great, see you there! This race was a blast last year.
If you are going to take the ferry, plan on camping out on the island the night of the race. You don’t want to miss the after party.
If you are kayaking over, then either plan to stay or else remember to bring lights for the trip back. You don’t want to miss the after party.
My wife and I aren’t sure what our schedule is going to be exactly but we’re going to plan on doing some camping on MDI for a few days before or a few days after the race (or both.) And, we’ll be camping on the island the night of the race.