Highland Forest 1 2 3 (race #2 in Western New York Ultra Series)
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Mark Harrison, Andy Rice and I did an interesting preview run of the Highland Forest 10-mile loop on Saturday, May 6th.  Photos, maps and more from that run are available in the links above.

The bottom line is the course is in great shape for the May 22nd races.  Highland Forest has a few long climbs, long drops and a few longish relatively flat sections.  At Highland Forest some of the climbs are over a mile long.  Most of the climbs are runnable if you pace it carefully or mix running and walking.

Statistically, according to the Garmin Forerunner and the TopoFusion climbing analysis feature, there's 1500 feet of gain and loss per lap spread over 4 miles of climbing, 4 miles of descending and 2 miles of flat.  My Forerunner measured the loop at 9.5 miles but got lost at times in the dense pines.  The route may be a full 10 or may be a little short.  With some standaround time, I took 2:10 for one lap.  According to TopoFusion, my moving time was 1:57 for the loop.  Todd Baum regularly runs the loop in 1:30ish in training.  Your mileage may vary. 

Highland Forest has some short stretches of unavoidable mud and very little rock.  Highland Forest has several bad stretches of roots... not as much as the Finger Lakes Fifties course but enough to be annoying and require picking up your feet more than normal.  The root sections are mostly in dense pine forest.  There is one short section of bushwhacking (see the map) that reminded me of the forest in The Wizard of Oz... roots and limbs reaching out to snag the careless ultrarunner..

Most of the race is on a well-marked main trail that is double-track... possibly once a logging road system.  Another long section is a ski trail, also well marked.  Come race day, navigation shouldn't be a problem.

Overall, as can be seen from the profile, the loop is harder and slower mile for mile than the Mendon or Finger Lakes trials.  The first two miles demand caution as they take you to the highest point on the course via some steep climbs.  Be patient and walk when it gets steep.  There are many more runnable sections where you will more than make up the time.

Mosquitoes found us whenever we stopped.  Bring some insect repellant just in case.

Here's a link for the race application and more information.  The early registration deadline is May 14th.

Tom Perry