Highlands Sky Race Report – Bob Haithcock

I want to say thanks for the countless volunteers who make the Highlands Sky Trail Run the best trail race, bar none… There’s something special about this race that once you’ve accepted the challenge, you feel compelled to complete it and reup each succeeding year. Maybe it’s a badge of honor kinda thing or most likely craziness but it’s hard to put into words… This is only my second trail race, the first of course being last year’s Highlands race in much warmer conditions. I was looking to push the 50 year old category time to under 8 hours but it was not to be this year under ideal conditions. I was in good shape in January and started to do a couple 20 – 25 mile trail runs in the not as challenging woods in NJ but somehow encountered left knee issues which required 6 weeks of intensive physical therapy and a slow start back. Unfortunately, I was just rounding back into shape in April when my right knee decided to abandon me too. This time though I have to get some knee scraping so I did what any other trail runner would most likely do and decide to run through the injury and schedule the surgery after the Highlands Sky…Although I only ran 20 minutes slower, I dropped 18 places further back due to the increased competition and perfect trail conditions…

Somehow my memory from last year’s race indicated that when I hit the dirt road all the rocky travel was complete. Wrong! Having tripped and fallen too many times to count and gone swimming accidently a couple of times in traversing the streams, I was really looking forward to the nice dirt road section this year. It’s strange but once the race begins and things get tough, all of those ailments that you have seem to dissapear. (Maybe it was due to the 8 Advils taken en route). There’s definitely bigger issues to contend with than some knee pain – bee stings, stinging nettle, shoe sucking mud, hills, hills and more hills and of course ROCKS !!! One thing I seemed to learn is to take a time out and retie your shoes at least once to get some more stability over the rocky surfaces or you too may have some swimming in your travel plans…

I don’t understand how so many of you can run that fast over those damn rocks! I thought that I was really tough on the trails but can not seem to get the hang of balancing myself on two big feet over the varied terrain. Maybe it’s a secret only trail runners from the area know about. Please pass on any tips!

I want to say thanks to Jaret who supplied me with salt tablets when I kept cramping up. I was forced to stay just ahead of him during the dirt road travels so I could get more salt fixes. I don’t know why but as soon as I hit the easier dirt road section, I start getting severe cramping in my poor, sore legs…

I also need some tips on boulder hopping when your quads are shot and how to traverse down the newly blazed trail on the ski mountain while sucking in 2 stroke motorycle fumes. I knew that walking in NYC traffic sucking in the fumes and ozone would one day would pay off…

I also wanted to say thanks to JR Petsko and other trail runners who were at the campfire the night before the race. I enjoyed the company and good times and made for a relaxing evening prior to the big day. JR seemed to be everywhere this year on the course taking awesome pictures, Thanks…

I didn’t take the wrong path at the very end of the race like last year’s when I came through the finish line from the opposite direction… Thanks for placing the finish line directly across the pool! That and the hot tub did wonders to my aching body, I’m sure the micro brew from the Blackwater Pub helped too! Thanks to the beer Meisters!

It took only 5 days before I tried running again after this year’s Highland and got away with only 3 1/2 black toenails. Cheers to everyone who made it to the starting line, beers to those that made it to the finish or got close…

Hope to see everyone back next year. I know I’ll be back, I have no choice…..Bob