running, technically

As sort of a sequel to our last run in the same area, Nate and Dave and I ran farther along the open ledges of Mt. Tom last night. For a hard run on a hot summer day, this one turned out to be a complete winner. Somehow it didn't feel all that hot and humid (though it was), the running was really fun (and hard), the evening light made for magazine cover quality scenery (even if I only had my crappy-quality Nikon AW100 camera with me), and there were very few bugs (until we stopped at the end and the mosquitoes pounced).

It was pretty technical running for much of the mile or so along the edge of the cliffs, not so much for the open ledges as much as all the little ups and downs in between. Geologically, this ridge is famous for its beautiful columnar basalt blocks (resembling the flanks of Devil's Tower, which, even though I've been there, never fails to remind me of Close Encounters of the Third Kind), which force a runner to scramble steeply up or down when encountered. Also, there are several sections with loose scree rocks that must be negotiated with care in order to prevent a sprained ankle (or to ensure that a healing one doesn't get re-injured...). Anyway, technical was what we wanted since it makes for excellent training for some of the harder northeastern trail races coming up in the next few months (there's a lot!).