Amy and I signed up for this year’s Parallel of Latitude after volunteering at the aid station last year. We thought it would be a perfect opportunity to get a long run in while sharing trail time with good friends!
Organized by fellow FLRC board member Heather Cobb, the Parallel of Latitude is a low-key, 8-hour fixed-time race on a flat, scenic 3.45-mile out-and-back along the rail trail beside Dryden Lake. Runners and walkers can complete as many loops as they like between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., with no mileage or pace cutoffs and a well-stocked aid station featuring classic ultrarunning fare like pickles, soda, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (with secret banana!), and Pringles. The relaxed setup includes space for tents and pavilion breaks. The course closely follows the 42nd parallel north, which gives the race its name.
My body had other plans in mind for me, though. I injured my gluteus medius the prior week after a 14-mile run on the Finger Lakes Trail, and I ended up taking three days totally off of running during the week leading into this event. I did have several successful runs in the days prior, and my coach cleared me to enjoy 6 to 8 miles of the course. It would fall far shy of an eight hour endurance event, but it would be fun.
We arrived with about 10 minutes to spare thanks to some paving work on Route 13, but it was enough time to pick up our bibs and use the facilities before hearing the pre-race instructions. And then we were off!
I settled into a comfortable pace and focused my initial efforts on trying to find what Heather had called buried treasure along the trail. She had hidden some kind of totem for a lucky person to find, and I wanted that person to be me. I reasoned if she had hidden it along the trail, it had to be on some kind of man-made surface, like a bench or a sign or tacked to a fence railing. My thought process paid off after checking one bench and one sign, as a very cool handmade totem was hidden on the back of the second bench. I exuberantly held up my find and heard a grown from other runners behind me, who knew instantly what had happened.
Shortly after that, I caught up with Pete Kresock and Andrew Flyak and shared the remainder of the first lap with them. The conversation made the time go by quickly. I headed out on the second lap with Pete and enjoyed another lap of conversation and laughter. I took some time before heading out on my third lap to use a percussive massager and get some food. Dirk Swart was looking to do a lap when I was about to leave, so we enjoyed the third lap together.
With just over 10 miles under my belt, and recalling my coach’s guidance to run 6 to 8 miles, I decided to stop running. I set out for a fourth lap of walking, since Amy was doing 14 miles, and really enjoyed listening to podcasts and nature, as I encouraged (and received encouragement from) other runners on the course. Amy and I both picked out lovely handmade discs that commemorate the race, customized with the distance we both ran.
All in all, it was a wonderful event. It was really great to see volunteers and friends between each lap, and I felt like the runners formed a instant community as we navigated the out-and-back course together. It didn't matter whether you were running or walking – we were all in this together. Amy and I plan to make this a part of our 2027 reschedule and treat it truly as an eight hour endurance event!
