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Post by Rick O'Toole on May 19, 2016 14:00:35 GMT -5
I have known Mr. Art Byram for many years and can say that he is a good and honest man. I have done many trail runs with him, including portions of the Metacomet together, and find him capable of running great distances. I wish him the best in his attempt to run the length of the Metacomet Trail this Saturday. He has shared with me logistics of his run and I may try to locate him at certain points along the way to ask how he is doing and take pictures to document his whereabouts.
I will not accompany him or provide support unless has asks for it and decides on his own accord to alter his attempt from a goal of being "unsupported" to "supported".
Rick O'Toole
Glastonbury, CT
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Post by Art Byram on May 22, 2016 6:54:40 GMT -5
I am pleased to report that yesterday 5/21/16 I ran the Metacomet Blue Blaze trail (unsupported)in 17:05:05, Starting at 4:00AM and finishing 9:05PM. Since the Southern Trail Head is not marked, and the Metacomet is part of The New England Trail, I started from the middle of Rt 5/15 where the NET changes to the Matabasset trail. I finished at the MA boarder CFPA sign just short of Rising Corner. Garmin 310XT showed distance as 59.86 miles including a few minor missed turns. During the run I struggled finding enough water to mix with my Tailwind, and my hydration pack in-line hose disconnect shattered 11 miles from the finish making the overall time (and me!) suffer. But I was pleased to finish unsupported. I will be preparing a report, but here is the Strava link with GPS: www.strava.com/activities/583759154 Hopefully this will get others to pursue FKT's on this and the 825 Mile network of Connecticut Forest and Parks Trails! Art Byram Glastonbury, CT Silk City Striders Shenipsit Striders 52 yrs. blueblazerunner |
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Post by Andy Meisler on May 23, 2016 10:37:13 GMT -5
Kudos on finishing. It turns out there is an FKT out there that predates the website. I don't recall the runner's name but do recall he is a well-known New England runner. I recall being told his time was somewhere in the 11 -- 11:30 ballpark.
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Post by Art Byram on May 25, 2016 7:47:11 GMT -5
Thanks Andy. I heard after the fact that Matt Estes ran it a few years back in about 11:30, and have reached out to him to find out more details regarding starting points, and if it was unsupported, self supported or supported. I will add more details when they are available.
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Post by Art Byram on May 30, 2016 10:26:16 GMT -5
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Post by Raphael on Aug 22, 2016 22:34:15 GMT -5
Hey Mr. Art Byram.
I am interested in exploring this trail some more and am planning to go up tomorrow morning to investigate the southern terminus myself.
Based on the newenglandtrail section 14 map when clicking on the Metacomet section of the trail shown, it highlights the route to show it
cuts basically at the intersection of Kensington and Orchard Rd. at about 41°35'35.0"N 72°46'59.9"W. I also noticed that at those coordinates
there is a little sign just on the side of the road if you zoom down to Google street view. It makes me think that you may have added just under 2
miles extra to your route, and I just wanted to know what your thoughts are on this as to where the southern terminus actually is.
Happy runnin!
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Post by Art Byram on Sept 6, 2016 20:48:52 GMT -5
Great question on where the trail actually starts as there is not a traditional double horizontal blaze to mark the terminus. However CT Forest and Parks' interactive map splits the Metacomet and the Mattabesett at Rt.5 where there is a oval sign showing the start of the Mattabesett. But I would skip it unless you are trying a FKT or trying to chunk run the entire trail, as it is (obviously) a road. Enjoy.
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Post by I know the way on Oct 7, 2016 11:04:01 GMT -5
If you go to the wiki article on the Metacomet, the southern terminus is listed as Rt. 5. The understanding, and I'll happily lay this down on here for record, is that the official start for the purpose of the FKT has always been the intersection of Rt 5 and Orchard Rd, right where there is that little island of grass. (about 400 feet from where Art started, meaning if anything he only added on about 400 feet). I'd recommend making the start and end OFFICIAL, at least on this board, using the mentioned intersection and the finish exactly where Art finished: MA Border CFPA sign.
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Post by tirrell on Dec 11, 2016 23:29:22 GMT -5
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Post by Raphael on Dec 12, 2016 18:19:16 GMT -5
Very interesting. Was this like that before if not how recent did they change it? |
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Post by tirrell on Dec 15, 2016 9:19:34 GMT -5
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Post by Art Byram on Dec 19, 2016 14:50:05 GMT -5
I reached out to CFPA to have them assist with mileage estimates on the trail, as I am looking to run the CT portion of the NET in June, and as I suspected the Metacomet ends where the Mattabesett begins. Namely at Rt 5/15 AKA Berlin Tpk. Here is the starting mileage info. that will appear in the next "Walk Book" when it is published.
Metacomet Trail
0.0 Begin Roadwalk
0.0 CT RT 15 / Spruce Brook Rd / Jct Mattabesett Trail (blue)
0.1 Join Orchard Rd
1.8 Leave Orchard Rd (P)
1.8 End Roadwalk
3.2 Summit Wood Dr (P)
5.2 CT RT 71 (P)
5.5 Elmere Reservoir Dam
6.2 Begin Roadwalk
6.2 Join W Peak Dr / Park Dr
6.2 Merimere Reservoir Dam
6.3 Leave W Peak Dr
6.3 End Roadwalk
7.6 Views
7.7 Castle Craig (P)
The NET map generalizes with the trail names, and also lists parts of the Mattabesett as the Menunkatuck at their junction as the NET map overlaps. Its not really meant to be a Metacomet map. Given the above info, and the fact that my FKT started at that point, I would suggest following the above for future attempts.
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Post by Raphael on Dec 19, 2016 16:20:43 GMT -5
Thanks for the clarifications Mr. Byram. Looking forward to that run in June! Should be a good one.
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