I am sure the name "Cranmore Hill Climb" originates from earlier courses used for this particular mountain race. This year the race featured two laps up and over the Cranmore ski resort. Each lap was roughly 5k in length with about 1,200 feet of gain.
We headed immediately uphill from the start. As is the case with the other two mountain races I ran this year, I was smack dab in the middle of a tight group of runners. The group started to thin out as we continued the first long climb. I dropped back a little as I knew there would be a technical downhill section prior to the second portion of the climb to the summit.
I picked off quite a few runners on the first downhill, but ultimately gave up some of these gained positions as we headed uphill again. The grade for the final climb averaged 23% with short sections of 32%. I decided power walking was in order.
We were treated to 1.5 miles of downhill once we crested the summit. There was a mix of technical single track, wet slabs, loose gravel, and mud for the descent back to the starting area. The pace was extremely fast, with many taking diggers.
Lap two did not vary much from the first, other than it was much hotter and there were far fewer runners near me.
It was a great course and on par with Loon as far as how challenging and tough the race was. I will definitely try to make it back next year.
The full results can be viewed on Cool Running.
I plan on taking some time off from racing until fall, but do plan to spend time in the mountains.
Enjoy
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