XCGuy wrote:
Hey Glen . . . or someone . .
Can you describe the Bowdoin course . . . not knowing anything about it, it must be a bear . . . since many legit 5k courses have records well under 15 . . . thanks for any info . . .
The first quarter mile is on a flat field, then it funnels down across a bridge which is wide enough for a bunch of people. For the first mile, the course has a few bends and is mostly on grass and is slightly uphill, without any real big hill- just a lot of upsloping terrain. At some point late in the first mile it goes onto a trail in the woods and after some more climbing early on in the second mile, there is a big hill roughly 1.2-1.3 miles into the race that lasts close to a quarter of a mile. On this hill there are a bunch of bends and the trail gets narrow at many points, making it hard to pass or get momentum. After the uphill it is flat for a VERY short period of time and then it goes downhill like crazy. Again, there are tons of bends and at the regional meet the trails were soaked and torn up, making it very difficult to take advantage of the hill. Once you hit the bottom it is mostly flat or down sloping and for the beginning of the third mile you loop back towards the start- it's a little downhill but not very noticeable. For the last half mile, you take a trail around the start field- it's mostly flat but it's extremely tough mentally because you can see the finish line from half a mile away. With a couple hundred meters to go there is a mini uphill and then you break into a field roughly 100-150m away from the finish and sprint home.
Overall, when it rains, the course gets muddy really quick as it got a little muddy on Saturday-not horrible though. Getting out fast at this course is critical because it is hard to pass in the woods so races go off really quick. The funnel itself isn't horrible but the bends in the first mile can bring the middle to back of the pack to a near stop.