My attempt at the out and back FKT run of the Crescent Trail. It would be a supported attempt because I was accompanied by Maura Tyrrell for the first leg of the run. We decided to run together for as long as she would want to hang with me, thinking that she wasn't ready to run the whole section. A little behind schedule we started at 9:04 am. It was sunny but the temperatures were going to be comfortable throughout. Making our way through the tricky beginning we hit the single track and made our way into the woods. The miles click off with twists and turns, flowing over roots and rocks. Eventually opening up onto Turk Hill road, we pushed up to duck back in near the tree farm. Around mile 10, Maura was feeling some discomfort in her quad and a sour stomach, so she started to drop back. I pulled ahead and started to drop down off Thayer Hill and I heard someone behind me. She had picked the pace back up and caught me. We continued on with less elevation to contend with, the paces were increasing. Once again, stomach pain forced Maura back. I pulled away until I reached Lyndon Road where I misread the blaze and headed down under the bridge, noticing that this was wrong I made my way back up to the road and she arrived there. She took off ahead and I was hanging on as best I could. The last few miles to the finish were a huge push to get her the best time possible. Crossing Howell Road she sprinted to the end of the end to end section. Looking at her watch, she realized that it was good enough to better the current female best time!
After a few minutes of rest and changing of bottles, I headed back out for the return. I knew that I had to take advantage of the easier terrain on this end of the run so I pushed the pace. Being alone now I wanted to treat this like a race situation, continue to push even as I got more tired. It was nice to now know the trail and know the turns an road crossings. The temperature had risen and the sun was strong when exposed and I was getting thirsty, two bottles wasn't going to make it to the end. I was still feeling pretty strong until around mile 26. At that point I was hitting the climbs again. Running out of water and getting fatigued my pace was slipping on the uphills but I pushed on. I exited the trail and ran across the field and down the canal into town. I hit the final stretch and tried to sprint to the finish. I crossed the final Crescent Trail marker and ran to the sign for the Town of Pittsford, Cartersville Trail just to make sure I went far enough for the FKT.
A great day on a nice trail.