Different correspondence I've had with different people

To Andre

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Greenbelt is a challenging course.  It's hilly at the north end - and 
includes a number of road crossings (not least of which is a busy 
jericho turnpike during the 2nd out and back later in the morning).
 
I've gotten "lost" two of the three times i've done the race.  It's not
too big a deal - and the course markings have gotten better over the
years.  The course itself is not technical - and very runnable. If you've
run trails, it should not be a problem.
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The date is Saturday, May 8th.  The first and last half miles are 
on roads; the remainder of the course is on the Greenbelt Trail 
from the Sunnyside Boulevard trailhead in Plainview northbound 
to the Cold Spring Harbor terminus of the Trail.  The 25K is one 
out and back on the Trail; the 50K runners traverse it out and back twice.
 
The Trail is generally runner friendly at the southern 2/3 of the 
portion of the Trail you will be running.  The 3 miles or so near the 
end of the Trail in Cold Spring Harbor are a bit more challenging 
(in both directions).
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Don't worry about porta-johns... It's a trail race and you'll have 
your pick of plenty of spots...  haha!
 
But, seriously, bathrooms at the start (glirc clubhouse in plainview) 
and I think there are bathroom at the cold spring harbor train 
station - turnaround point.  There are a few well stocked aid 
stations as well - at the trail heads (start and turn-around) 
plus a couple more at road crossings (one big one at jericho turnpike).

Key points - pay attention crossing the roads and keep an eye on the trail blazes!
 
Expect to spend about 6+ hours knocking off the 50k (think my first one took 
me 6 and a half).  Post-race includes 6 foot subs, beer and finishers bb caps!
 

Be careful about previewing the course on your own!  Nick and company hang 
tape and other markers to keep runners on course.  Those won't be there 
if you tackle it on you own.  Plenty of good trail miles to run 
(interspersed w/some road crossings) in a northerly direction 
(to cold spring harbor).  But w/out a gps and good trail map... 
Wouldn't try to run the actual course!!
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From the "World of Cherie"

Had a great run today on the Greenbelt Trail on Long Island. I got lost 
at one point (when crossing Washington from the north, do not go on the 
white trail with black dots directly across the street; instead, cross, 
run down the road abt 300 meters and then you'll eventually see the 
entrance). My favourite part was when I was trying to run around a mud 
puddle and I slid in and couldn't stop laughing. It was mentally tough, 
but I pushed beyond: I must be strong for my upcoming ultras; I want to go 
sub-24 at Umstead. I need to work on becoming more mentally tough.


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The course is nice. Lots of single-track. I think 4 or 6 road 
crossings per 25-km lap. The first and last half-mile of each lap are 
asphalt. Very hilly in the top third of the laps. A little bit of loose 
sand on the course. Completely laid back and informal. Free beer at the 
finish line. The RD is a helluva nice guy. 
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It is really hard to describe the entire course. The best I could really 
do is separate the 7.5 mile trail (remember it is out and back) into the 
first 4-5 miles and the last 2-3 miles. The first 4-5 miles was mostly 
runnable with the occasional walking breaks to climb some stairs of to 
navigate some particular rocky and rooty areas. The last 2-3 miles was a 
freaking nightmare. Since it was out and back, you had a 4-6 mile section 
of course that was like something out of a Charles Dicken’s novel. It 
consisted of long stretches of ups and downs in densely covered woods. This 
entire section had a dark feeling about it with obstacles thrown at you 
every few yards. I remember feeling pretty good up until this part began, 
but then feeling my mood slip and the trails became more difficult to 
negotiate and the course harder to follow. Many runners on this first 
loop were taking wrong turns and you really had to concentrate to stay on 
course. As the trail got tougher on the way out, I began to doubt 
whether or not I could do it.


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Well, from reading countless race reports I can pretty much summarize it
as follows.

1.8 road start
7.8 to Cold Spring Harbor
7.8 to trail start
7.8 to Cold Spring Harbor
7.8 to trail start
0.5 to finish

For the 7.8 we got this breakdown: 3 or 4 miles of "runable" trails. Some ups, 
some downs, mostly single track. The last 3 or 4 miles are the killers.
Bad ups and downs that are constantly hitting you with no break. 
Apparently the Ultra attitude is to run the downs, attack the flats and 
potentialy walk the bad ups. IT will be easy to get lost and you're kinda 
expected to get lost at least once. Getting lost is part of the race pizaz. 
There is anywhere between 3 and 6 road crossing which should be easier in the 
early hours and potentially life endangering later on as the motorists don't 
know there is a race going on. I am sure they don't care either. I have read 
that 1 crossing is a 4 lane thing. Also, you run down this steep, 8 % grade 
downhill to turn at the bottom and then climb back up. This might be 25A. 
Also there are down steps to the last aid station at the turn around at 
Cold Spring harbor. Of course every idiot that goes down the stairs also goes 
up the stairs per Newtons laws. Not looking forward to stairs. Once you turn, 
you have the 3 or 4 bad hills before things settle down on your way to the 
trail start.

On getting lost: Apparently each trail is blazed with different colors and 
we will be crossing into different color trails. If you're color blind then
 you are so *&^%#$ up as I already read from 1 race report. There will be 
some volunteers at some bad turns but it's your responsibility to STAY AWAKE
 per the letter and not get lost. Sticking with the pack is a great idea as
 long as you stay with a pack that doesn't get lost. Not much help there. 
They tell you to run with a trail map and a cell phone. Cool stuff.

On previewing the course: According to Frank, great idea in theory but in 
practice not so much. Apparently the people running the race not only man up
 certain areas but also put white ribbons or somesuch which will NOT be 
there when we try to preview. In other words, we might become the new 
Andres_lost_beagle_ghost.

The letter is somewhat useful. I also looked at the "cue sheet" and 
obviously it is lacking. Can't give you cues in the trail tho I was hoping it 
would say things like follow this color etc. For example, follow the red trail
and switch to the blue trail etc. And it didn't.

All this notwithstanding and this should be expected from me already: I'm 
good for it. Not only that, but I am good for previewing the course tho we 
should talk about this and plan it accordingly.

Going to be a long day for some. Linda did the 25K in 2007 while training 
for the Alaska Marathon. It took her 4:12:59 which is nuts in so many way.