Hit the Trail, Running at Niquette Bay State Park
By: Lisa Liotta, Niquette Bay
State Park Ranger
As the park ranger here at Niquette Bay, I have the
opportunity to meet lots of interesting people.
This spring, one of our regular park visitors mentioned to me that he
had just participated a 100 mile long trail run, and that it was his training
and running regularly here on the trails in the park that made it all possible.
I’d like to introduce you to David Delibac. Dave is an ultra-marathon trail runner. What is that, you may ask? An ultra-marathon is an event longer than the
traditional marathon length of 26.2 miles. And, trail running is a sport which consists
of running and hiking over trails instead of roads. Usually the course takes place on hiking
trails, often in mountainous terrain and with extreme course obstacles such as
inclement weather, elevation changes, and rugged terrain. Combine all these elements, and you have an
ultra-race.
After years of running road marathons, Dave attempted his first
ultra-race when he turned fifty. His
birthday present to himself that year was to run a fifty mile trail run in his
fiftieth year. So, that’s what he did,
and he was hooked! Pretty much
everything after that point was trail running, and eleven years later, he now
runs between three and six ultra-races every year. Dave’s preference is to run 50-100 mile
distances.
I asked Dave, what does he do to keep in shape and train for
an ultra-race? Dave says, “Just go. Just go out and do something, just move! I run one or two laps here in the park (3.5-7
miles), 3-5 days a week, all year.” Dave
logs about 1000 miles a year on the trails at Niquette Bay. In the winter he uses snowshoes and creepers,
but he still gets out and runs.
Typically there’s not much ice here, and there are enough
visitors year-round that keep the snow reasonably well packed. Dave says, the great thing about this park is
that the trail system is clean enough that you can run 99% of it. There’s a technical piece of it with the
rocks and such on that make it a challenge at whatever pace you want to
run. If you want to run really hard, it
becomes even more challenging. You can
run it backwards and forwards, and every day is different.
What advice does Dave have for anyone who may be interested
in trail running? “Just go start hiking,
and do a lot of hiking! If you’ve been
doing some road running, get out there and just do a little bit of running on
the trails. Then, do a little bit more,
a little bit more, and work into it. Running
with some friends is a lot of fun, or, bring your dog.” (Dogs are welcome at Niquette Bay State Park
in both on-leash and off-leash areas.)
How did Dave perform at the 100 mile Pittsfield Peak Race in
June? He finished in about 50 hours, 40
of which was actual running time. He will be 62 in January, and he doesn't know
if there’s been anyone over 60 who’s ever finished, or even tried to run that
race.
He may be first in a couple of
different ways.
Congratulations, Dave!
See you out on the trail in the park, running.
If you are interested in trail running or
hiking, or are a trail runner now, why not participate in the Sjogren’s Rockin’
5K Trail Run & Walk here at Niquette Bay State Park on Saturday, September
14, 2013? This is an inaugural 5K run in
the park over beautiful wooded trails with sweeping lake views. You can register and find out more
information at: http://www.active.com/running/colchester-vt/sjogrens-rockin-5k-trail-run-and-walk-2013You can view a trail map at this link
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment
Feel free to let us know what you think.