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Weather was very nice for this year’s race considering it followed a very hot and very wet July and August.  Temperature started and ended in the 60s, under cloudy skies, though the humidity was a bit high.  In fact, there were a few drops of rain occasionally during the race that was just enough to slick up some of the rocks a bit.  In addition, the impacts from the remnants of Hurricane Ida that passed through on Thursday were noticeable.  There was a good deal of water and mud that had to be attended to in the low places between the mountains.  But true to form, the runners, who came from every New England state and New York, took the soggy footing in stride.  Besides, Matthew Knight, 31, from Concord, MA, ran the race bare-footed, in a time of 5:14:23, so how could anyone else really complain about the footing?

The highlight of this year’s race was the lowering of the men’s 70-79 age group record last set in 2017 by Rob Worsham in a time of 4:50:38.  It was lowered to 4:01:54 by Paul Funch, 71, the Race Director, from Groton, MA.

Taking 1^st place for the men was Dylan Schulze, 30, of Goffstown, NH, in a solid time of 2:45:13.  He didn’t have much company as Mike Veilleux, 44, of Weare, NH, took second place 20 minutes behind in 3:05:31.  In the 50-59 age group, there were two fine performances by Dave Herr, 56, of Canaan, VT, who is the current record holder, who finished in a time of 3:07:02, and Keith Schmitt, 52, of Durham, NH, at 3:12:42.  Ted Cowles, 62, of West Granby, CT, added a mile or so to his run by missing a turn, but he still led the 60-69 age group in a time of 4:20:02.  A special bit of recognition goes to Bob Dunfey, 70, from Portland, ME, who ran the longest Wapack Trail Race in history (~21.7 miles) due to finding a loop that caused him to reverse direction on the way back.  But he still managed to finish after he met up with the sweep who informed him of his retrograde movement.

On the women’s side, 1^st place honors went to Jada Wensman, 28, of Cambridge, MA, who finished in a very strong time of 3:10:34.  The 30-39 age group was led by Breanna Glasgow, 34, of Westford, MA, in a time of 3:29:34.  The 40-49 age group was led by Carla Carney, 43, of Townsend, MA, in 5:13:45.  The 50-59 age group had Tammy Godin, 58, of North Grafton, MA, finishing first in 4:57:12.

Only one team competed in this year’s 2-person relay race and they were Amy Alden, 47, of Rochester, NH, and Andrew Corrow, of Durham, NH.  They finished in a time of 5:22:01.

The Wapack Trail Race in 2022 will be held we hope (if COVID-19 has no more variants that require stringent public health measures and no other calamities befall us!) on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, as usual.