Hinte-Anderson exposed winter résumés
The Hinte-Anderson Trail Run 50K for many local runners is an annual spring pilgrimage to Susquehanna State Park in Harford County on the banks of the Susquehanna River.
As winter drags on, it is easy for a runner to give into the comforts of the indoors, where weather does not dictate. The reality facing a winter runner can be stark, as much as one tries to put a positive spin on it. But at some point winter passes and, as Bob Mould wrote in Hüsker Dü’s “Celebrated Summer,” the runner knows that eventually “just when I’m ready to sit inside, it’s summertime.”
The HAT run exposes the results of the runner’s winter resume. It is a barometer of one’s fitness, or lack thereof, for the upcoming ultra and trail running season. Did you give in to the call of Netflix and the couch, or are you ready for your “Celebrated Summer?” HAT reveals the choices you have made.
HAT is two-plus laps of a deceptive trail course that mixes technical running over rocks and stream crossings with pointless ups and downs (called PUDs in the running and hiking trade) that eventually grind you down. Yet, the course is quite runnable, always egging you on to go faster until eventually you realize the folly and slow down on a hill that a lap ago felt much easier. Many a runner has flown through Lap 1 with ease, only to be humbled by a modest PUD.
In a normal year, more than 500 runners participate in HAT, making it one of the largest ultras in the country. This year, due to the pandemic, the Harford County Running Club decided to make the race a virtual one, but with a welcome twist.
There would still be registration, but this time the race was free. The course would be marked with traditional directional pie plates and the start/finish, yet all runners could start “at their leisure.” There would be self-serve aid on the course, and runners could go as far as they wanted between March 20 and March 28.
Pick a day, make a short drive and have fun in the woods. Although there were no official awards, the race noted that “we’re giving people, so there just might be an Easter egg or two to reward your efforts.”
Many local runners took the HAT up on its challenge to enjoy a nice day in the woods, including Casey Rayburg and Rose Dziedzic.
Casey, who is a Naval Lt. Commander teaching mathematics at the Naval Academy, and Rose, a Ph.D. candidate at Johns Hopkins Broderick Lab studying how microbiome affect immunity and development in Drosophila melanogaster (that’s a fruit fly for us non-science people), saw this as an opportunity to work together on the course on an enjoyable early spring day.
Their working together makes sense, and not just because it is always easier to complete a run with someone else. Casey and Rose met during the Rock and Roll Marathon in Washington D.C.
Casey was leading a pace group and Rose happened to be in the pace group. This chance encounter led ultimately to Casey and Rose getting engaged, and their wedding is planned for Saturday.
So it is fitting that they would also run the virtual HAT run together. Casey noted that the “race felt just like an ultramarathon but without the crowds,” and Rose reflected afterward that on a downhill section about 8 miles into the 15 mile lap, “I hurt so bad that if any photographers were there, it would have been a permanent wince.”
Congratulations to everyone who took on the HAT run virtually this year, continuing the tradition of “many miles to go before I sleep.” And a special congratulations to Casey and Rose for their upcoming nuptials. May all your runs be in-person and joyous!
Cherry Pit 10-miler
The Annapolis Striders will be holding its 42nd annual Cherry Pit 10-miler virtually this year, and as a special incentive mailing out shirts emblazoned with the logo “Others may have the Blossoms, but we have the Pits!” to all those who register.
The course is one of the runner’s choosing, although one suspects many will choose the original course, which features a beautiful springtime tour of the horse farms of Muddy Creek Road and South River Clubhouse Road, as well an opportunity to run by the South River Club, one of the oldest, continuously active organizations of its type in America, which has been in its present location since 1742. Get out and enjoy the morning in South County!
Running calendar
(All subject to government approval and compliance with COVID-19 restrictions)
April 1 to May 31: Spring Explorer Series (virtual). More information: charmcityrun. com/calendar/2021/2/8/ spring-explorer-race-series
April 11: Cherry Pit 10-miler (virtual). More information: https://www.annapolisstriders. org/race/2021-cherry-pit-10-milerace/
Sept. 11-19: Annapolis Run for the Light House (virtual). More information: annapolisrunforthelighthouse.org
Sept. 19: Annapolis Run for the Light House (in-person) at Quiet Waters Park. More information: annapolisrunforthelighthouse.org