I'm moving to West Hartford in a few months and I couldn't seem to find any type of competitive running/track clubs in the area.
I read that the West Hartford Resevoir has some decent trails/running routes. Is there a decent track in the area?
My girlfriend wants to move to Connecticut. I want to move to California. And the usual compromise - we move to Connecticut... Sigh...
I would put West hartford with other running cities like Boulder and Flagstaff. Call it a sea level Mamouth. Good trails, good races and good runners
Glastonbury just got a new track, and I believe Newington's is decent although my memory is a little fuzzy on that, I'm away for college so I'm only in CT for the winter and summer. Wethersfield's isn't bad either, last I saw it at least.
Depending on how fast you are, I would tell you that you will need to hook up with an ad hoc group. There are plenty of fast people in the area, but most do not train together ala Hansons, Westchester, etc. I know Eric Blake posts here sometimes (2:24 at Boston this year) and coaches at CCSU so he may be a good resource.
You can check out the USATF CT site for latest team results, but most of the teams do not train together on a regular basis.
On the positive side, there are great places to run in the area. There are also some good races over the summer that draw quality fields (New Haven 20K, Branford, Litchfield Hills, etc)
Good luck
I've never been to Boulder or Flagstaff so I don't know about the Mammoth (not Mamouth) comment but I agree the scene in West Hartford is pretty good. West Hartford Rez has miles and miles of trails. The Farmington Canal linear trail goes on forever if a bike path is more your thing. There are numerous other good running spots within a 30 min drive (use the search engine, there were a few other threads on CT/Hartford area running). Most of the high schools around here have decent tracks (CT = lots of $). The races are pretty competitive for the most part.
I grew up in W.H. Whenever I'm home visiting the folks I do my usual 10-mile loop in the reservoir, of which at most 1/4 mile is on pavement. I miss that place.
I don't know about comparing it to Mammoth and Boulder. If there was a whole bunch of elites out running around, I never saw them. But there are plenty of good spots for a run.
It's a nice town and as much as I'd love to hate on Blue Back Square, it's pretty well done. Enjoy.
I do long runs on Sunday in Vernon Connecticut with some of the Trinity College kids. Vernon is probably about 10 minutes from west hartford and we go to a real nice bike trail, not paved. we go somewhere between 15-20 miles at about 7 minute pace. we meet up around 10 usually. post back if you are interested.