TARCtic Frozen Yeti 2020 Race Recap

Elisabeth (Lisa) Chaput with comments from Jason Chaput

New England, not unlike many other places in the world, has a less than stellar predictability when it comes to weather. So when we signed up for the TARCtic Frozen Yeti, a race run by the Trail Animals Running Club (TARC), there was an expectation of some snow and winter weather with an understanding that we may end up with something else. Alas, we were graced (or cursed) with a warmer than average January to include rain and above freezing temps that took away the brilliant white land blanket. Dreams of running through the night with the moonlight reflecting off of the snow were dashed. C’est la vie. The show must go on…and it did. While it wasn’t quite frozen, the field was packed with animals (trail animals, that is). I even think I saw a yeti or two. I for sure heard them!

Seriously, though, the race was the ballz, i.e., salty balls, yeti balls, chocolate balls, salted caramel balls. The snack table was stacked. Of course, there were basics like salted potatoes and PB and J. But then there were also fancy homemade energy bars, bean and kale soup, quesadillas, and the aforementioned balls. As always, there was a whole lot of soda, candy, cookies, plenty of water, and for this race, Tailwind.  

The lodge, which was a centrally located check-in point one would pass about every five miles during the race, was where we had both inside and outside drop bags. While the lodge was packed at the start of the race, every time after, there was plenty of room to grab what you needed and be on your way. The bathrooms inside were always clean, and you never had to wait long, if at all, to use one. There were also two port-a-potties outside the lodge to accommodate the die-hards who’d rather stay outside.

So maybe I didn’t see a yeti (or two), but I distinctly remember hearing their calls when we started the race and throughout the course. I even heard a couple howls after a tambourine, which must be like the dog whistle equivalent for a yeti.

The Deets

Two races occur over the weekend. Saturday is the 30-hour ultra, and Sunday is the 15-mile race. To “finish” the 30 hour race, a minimum of 30 miles must be reached, and one can add five miles to their total for every sub-loop completed. The course was set as a 15 mi clover-leaf loop. Each leaf or sub-loop of the clover had a name: Red, White, and Blue. As I was running the course, I would think of the mini-loops like this:

  1. Red makes your face red when you huff and puff up the hills.  It has the most elevation change and I believe the longest loop at ≈ 5.5 or 5.6 miles
  2. White is wet, meaning there are water crossings (minor) where you might get wet.  It was the shortest loop at ≈ 4.6 or 4.7 miles. 
  3. Blue is for black and blue, as in the state of your butt if you fell off that crazy technical-like descent which was very cool, but probably good it was circumvented for the rest of the race. This one was about ≈ 5.2 miles.  I also remembered it as blue because that is how you will feel when you see the lodge towards the end of the loop, then you pass it.  Such a tease!

Yes, I know my mileage values add up to more than 15 miles for the complete loop, but 15 is the credit you get for the entire loop and 5 for each sub-loop. I’m putting the other mileage up in case you are reading this to prep for an upcoming Yeti, and you use your watch as a guide. Maybe my GPS data was off—it wouldn’t be the first time. But I wouldn’t want anyone to see 15 mi and think they were lost or get totally bummed that they had a bit more to go. 

TARCtic Frozen Yeti Red, White, and Blue Loops.

The terrain covered consisted of mostly well-groomed, single-track trails. However, a little time will be spent on access roads, pavement, and sandy beaches. There are also several bridge crossings and paved water breaks to traverse. On the Blue Loop, there were several sections with more roots than dirt where you have to be super careful about your footing. The Red Loop had the most rocks to get up and over, but it also had the best view toward the end of the loop. I didn’t hear it personally, but there was a mini a cappella concert up there in the middle of the night. The White Loop seemed to have the most twists and turns, in addition to cool things to look at. Who knew there would be beautiful wood and stone houses and cast-iron faces? It seemed the easiest to run.

  • Red loop rocks and cairns. The Red loop has several hill crests that look just like this.
  • One of the sites along the White loop.
  • Cast iron man on the White loop.
  • Whimsical section of the Blue loop. Reminded me of fun house walkways.
  • One of the handful of walkways to cross during the race. Picture by David Metsky.
  • More iron to check out on the White loop. Picture by David Metsky.
  • One of the beaches the course travels over when on the Blue loop. Picture by David Metsky.
  • Walkway at the end of the Red loop. Picture by David Metsky.
  • Early part of the Blue loop.
  • You betcha! There is a beach on this run. Picture by Chris Wristen with Mass Ultra.

Marking of the trails was fantastic!  I went off track twice, but it was totally because I was in my own little world.  At night, it was even easier to follow than during the day.  

The weather that day was pretty good, especially considering the time of year and what had been forecasted earlier in the week (a N’oreaster). The day started at 34 F, went up to 44 F, then back down to below freezing (I think it was 30F when we left at near 1AM). When we began the race, there was a coating of snow on the ground that made some surfaces a little slick, but it wasn’t bad. The dirt surface started hard, went to mush during the day, and hardened again at night. The sun never came out during the day, and at night we got a faint outline of the moon when the clouds chose to thin. Wind wasn’t an issue at all.

February in Massachusetts means longer nighttime than daytime. The race started at 8 AM, the sun set just before 5 PM, and wouldn’t come up until just before 7 AM. Luckily, you get to run for 7 more hours if you like. It breaks down to about 16 hours of daylight and 14 hours of continuous darkness. So glad I like the dark—the nighttime is the right time. Again, the course was marked so well navigating at night wasn’t an issue at all.

Strava said 50.01 mi (more when I tried to recalculate) with 4538 ft of elevation. Garmin said 50.01 mi and 4331ft of elevation. With the course parameters, the total was 45 mi and 4500 to 4800 feet of elevation. I also know for sure that about 2 mi clicked off my Garmin while I was waiting in the lodge. I think this race taught me not to give a f@ck about numbers because they will never be exact. Close is just fine. I know we ran far and climbed a lot:-) 

Take-Aways

I asked my husband to put in his two-cents to add another perspective. Jason’s comments are in italics.

  1. I thought I would dislike the loops, but they were perfect. Seeing the same things again and again versus starting x number of miles away and just getting closer to the finish…to me, it seems easier to count down to the goal instead of adding to your total with each loop. Even then, I liked the loops. After 25 miles, I just started thinking about the current five-mile loop segment. And having seen those loops already, it was easy to break those five miles into even smaller pieces. While the excitement of seeing new things wasn’t there, I think it was easier to break up the race. Plus, what does “new” do for you after it gets dark? It was also nice to fill up on water and Tailwind every 5 miles (give or take) and rely less on some of the easy-to-carry food like gels and waffles.
  2. Loops + Lodge = Community. Entering the lodge after every loop, you get a chance to see some familiar faces and continue conversations with other runners and volunteers (Side note: the volunteers were absolutely the best…from filling bottles to getting food to simply reminding you that you are rocking the course, they did it all and more). Regardless of ability, all runners face the same trail and environmental conditions. It’s pretty cool to check in on each other every so often at the lodge and commiserate about the hurt that the miles are imparting. There is unity through shared pain and suffering! While it is nice to spend some solitary miles in the woods, there is definitely something to be said for the positive effects of the community atmosphere of this race. Seeing the same folks and getting a quick high-five or encouraging word can pull a runner out of the darkest depths of the pain cave.
  3. Tailwind is pretty awesome. I thought I would eat all the food I brought, but when my stomach wasn’t feeling so hot, the Tailwind still went down real nice. Toward the end of the race, I mainly drank Tailwind and supplemented with crackers, Bloks, and broth.  
  4. Trekking Poles are also pretty awesome. I didn’t pick them up until it got dark, and maybe it was psychological. Still, it felt like I could take just a little bit of stress off my legs and get into a solid rhythm, especially going up hills. 
  5. Should have changed my socks every 15 miles. I didn’t change until 30 miles and was greeted with some pretty nasty blisters! Hadn’t had any during training and thought my Smartwool socks were key—still do, just need to change every 15 miles next time. Also had a Morton’s Neuroma thing going on and wasn’t having any flare-ups (woohoo!!), so I didn’t want to change anything. But socks….socks could have been changed out. 
  6. Injinji socks for the win. Had hot spots after 15 miles changed into Injinji socks. No problems afterward.
  7. Not sold on using Garmin for this type of race format. Timex worked just fine and allowed me to focus on time, not distance. Garmin might be more appropriate for a point-to-point course where an understanding of distance (overall distance covered, distance to next aid station, distance to go before next time cut-off, etc.) is more important to planning and execution.  
  8. Still going to wear a Garmin. Even though the data isn’t 100% accurate, I liked having it to at least give me a sense of whether I’m on pace or not. It was easy enough to charge while running, so why not?:-). On that note…
  9. Stay on pace. The first loop (Red) felt great, and I stayed right behind my husband the whole way. However, I went faster than what I had intended for the five, and while I know it didn’t ruin me, I’m pretty sure it didn’t help either. Next time, I’ll make more of an effort to stay on target for the first five. 
  10. Eating Alarm. Having a timer go off every 40 minutes to consume calories was very helpful. I think that had I not done that, I would have bonked. 
  11. Best fuel combo. Tailwind, Spring Energy Gel, salty rice balls (some potato wedges as well), and avocado! Simpler is better! 

Officially, I went 45 mi in about 16 hours 16 min. This included stops at the lodge to grab food, use the bathroom, and change gear. It also included a 1.5 hour wait at the lodge so my husband and I (who was in the lap ahead of me) could hash out our plan for the rest of our runs. In retrospect, I should have called him instead of waiting, but my mind was not its sharpest at that point. I hit the first 15 miles around 3 hours 38 minutes, 30 miles around 8 hours and 15 minutes, and finished after 16:16. Jason went 45 mi in 14 hours 27 min.

  • Cozy fire outside the lodge. It was just what I needed!
  • Hale Reservation- a great place to have a race! Picture by David Metsky.
  • Where to go? This sign as well as the balloon markers helped keep us on track when leaving the lodge. Picture by David Metsky.
  • Very well marked course! Picture by David Metsky.
  • Bibs and post race cookie treats.
  • Me at the end of the White loop- I think. Still smiling! Although that hat is a little crooked. Picture by Chris Wristen with Mass Ultra.
  • Jason at the end of the White loop. Picture by David Metsky.

Even though this was a “race,” it felt more like an experience. Unlike shorter races, the clock wasn’t really a factor. It was about being out there, feeling the pain, and enjoying the course. I’m not unhappy about by my time, although I would like to see myself improve. I ran 40 miles last year in about 8.5 hours, but it was mostly on paved surfaces. This time I felt better trained, but on trails, I just travel slower:-).

I would totally recommend this race for anyone wanting to take the plunge into trail ultra running. The combination of loops and the 30 hours takes the edge off. The thought of, “What if I can’t do it?” isn’t there, and in its place is, “Let’s see how far I can go.”

Finally, thank you to TARC for the incredible experience. Even though it was my first TARC race, it felt like being with old friends. Just a bunch of friends going for a really long run with a lot of snacks, snot (it is winter), and salty balls. What more could you ask for?

Totally ready to sign up for another and hoping it’s a TARC race. Good luck on your upcoming races – here’s to seeing how far we can go!

For more info on the race and other things ultra and trail: