start 10:14:01
finish 14:33:15
I followed Matthew Matta's route, including the start/finish and direction of the loop.
This chosen start/finish is at the Tunxis Trail head at Route 219, across from Hillcrest Drive.
With this start, the first nine miles of the loop are on the Tunxis Trail. The remainder of the
loop is on paved roads. My GPS watch showed a distance of 24.68 miles for this route.
This is the first time I have run on the Tunxis Trail. This section of the trail is fun and
mostly runnable, though there is a lot of elevation change, and there are some tricky spots
such as brook crossings and descending the "Indian Council Caves" area.
When I emerged on Route 20 after the trail, I was rewarded with a 1.5 mile steep down hill
on the road, followed by a 2 mile steep up hill! The ups and downs continued for the rest
of the loop, ending with a 1.5 mile final climb to close the loop. If I did this loop
again, I would consider starting and finishing near the Saville dam, on the South end of the
reservoir, at the low point of the loop. It might be better to take on that long hill up
Route 219 with fresh legs instead of finishing on it with tired legs!
I carried 16 ounces of Liquid IV, and I drank all of that. I also carried 16 ounces of
water, which I kept as a reserve, not drinking any of that. I had a packet of Honey Stinger
Energy Chews, some Trader Joes Trail Mix, and some Craisins (dried cranberries).
It was about 30 degrees F at the start and about 50 degrees F when I finished. This helped
in moving through the muddy sections on the trail - much of the mud was frozen and
crunchy rather than wet and slippery.