I consider myself a bit of a goofer when it comes to competitive trail running. I'm not a numbers guy—I haven't worn a watch since the first grade—and my Strava hasn't been updated for eleven months. Most of my running shirts are more hole than fabric, and until a month ago my Salomons were stitched together with dental floss.
It was more or less with this attitude that I approached the Mt Adams Challenge. I woke up at my parent's house in Randolph one clear morning in August and decided that there was no point in putting off the inevitable, so I filled my Camelback and grabbed a snickers bar. For good measure, I put a few Band-Aids and some dry underwear into my pack, and at the last minute added a curry-coconut flavored chocolate bar that had been sitting on my dresser.
The run up to Adams went fairly smoothly. Cruising along Brookside was a rare treat, and the view from the Knife Edge couldn't have been better. Unfortunately, my Camelback feeder-tube disconnected from the bladder somewhere along the Watson Path, but I opted not to fix it despite stopping several times to change the music on my iPod, thoroughly read trail signs, and eat my snickers bar. Why my oxygen deprived brain ranked proper music selection above hydration, I will never know.
I didn't check my watch until I reached the summit, so I was pleasantly surprised with my 1 hour and 29 minute finish time. I would not recommend coconut-curry chocolate as a post running snack due to the curry flavor's remarkable persistence, which stayed with my throughout my leisurely decent.
– Jim Maddock, Randolph NH