• Home
• About the SRRC
• Club Events
• Club Officers
• Contact Us
• Find a Running Buddy
• Group Fun Runs
• Links
• Photo Gallery
• Race Reports
• Running Calendar
• SRRC Membership
• Training
• Where to Run

Questions? Comments? Contact us: srrunner@srrunners.org

SRRC Race Reports

HAT 50k Race, Susquehanna State Park, Harford County, MD--Sat., March 19, 2005
by Phil Holt

It doesn't get much better — perfect weather; a beautiful, varied, and demanding course, and aid stations stocked and managed by people who understand the preferences and eccentricities of long-distance runners. This was the 17th Annual HAT Run on Saturday, March 19, 2005 at Susquehanna State Park, in Harford County, MD. Over 400 runners gathered with their families and friends to experience one of the best trail races in the region.

I left the house about 5:45 am to make the trek to the 9:00 a.m. start, which is located off I-95 just north of the Maryland House. After a stop in Leesburg to pick up two more runners, we continued the journey encountering virtually no traffic until we reached Baltimore, where early morning road construction had cars backed up for almost five miles. The time we'd budgeted for pre-race preparation evaporated quickly, but we made it by 8:30. That gave us just enough time to park, pick up race packets, and take care of other matters that involved standing in line. It was sunny and in the high 40's as we huddled at the start. Temperatures climbed into the 50's during the day.

At the starting gun, runners follow the course on a mile or so out-and-back loop along the park service road before passing back through the main pavilion onto the path leading to the trails. (You do run right through the pavilion.) Once on the trail, the demands of the course become apparent. The paths are generally pretty smooth with occasional rocks and roots — they look dead flat compared to the Appalachian Trail portion of JFK. This is, however, the hilliest course I've ever run, with stretches of a half mile where you could punctuate the walk with 100 yards of uphill jogging before it got too steep again. Uphill running means downhill running as well, but downhill stretches could be steep and treacherous, so keeping your wits about you is important, especially late in the race.

You can see photos of the course at the race website. Three or four streams interrupt the course, and getting across can be as easy as hitting one stone in the middle and jumping to the opposite bank or as tricky as clamoring across slippery rocks in the rushing water hoping that you don't tumble in. Some people gave up and just splashed across. (I wasn't one of those, though I slipped into the icy water on the last crossing.) The scenery of the course is as beautiful as I've seen. Some stretches follow paths along the edge of mowed hillside hayfields. Others run along ridge lines that overlook rushing mountain streams. One section offers spectacular vistas along the Susquehanna River. The way the course is laid out, the loop is run twice, so what you miss or avoid the first time around, you can see or experience the second.

Aid stations are every five miles or so, and stocked with PB&J sandwiches; boiled potatoes and salt; pretzels; potato chips; two or three kinds of cookies; M&Ms; Gatorade, Coke, Mountain Dew, and water; a bowl of Ibuprofen tablets; and miscellaneous first aid items. (There were probably other goodies I don't recall.) All those things are available at the finish, where you can also get hot dogs and chili (regular and vegetarian). No matter what my dietary preferences or prejudices are any other time, a freshly grilled hot dog seemed like a delicious gourmet treat after running over 30 miles.

I'd recommend this race as an ideal introduction to trail running. If you want to try your first ultra, this event is perfect. If you don't want to go that far, just enter, get the shirt, and run the course loop once (about 16 miles), and you will have had the entire experience without the distance. Our region is home to many notable races and running events. The HAT Run really is one of the best.

March 2005

The SRRC would love to hear about your running, racing, or crewing experiences! If you would like to submit a race report, to be posted on the SRRC website, please email srrunner@srrunners.org.