Bright sunrise greeted the 118 runners participating in the
first annual Buzzard Day 25/50K events at the beautiful Cleveland
Metroparks Hinckley Reservation this past Saturday, March 23. The blue sky
and sunshine were a welcome contrast to the unseasonably cold weather with
temps in the low 20’s at the 8AM 50K/9AM 25K starts from race head quarters at
the Brooklyn
Exchange Cabin .  |
| All photos thanks to Dan DeRosha |
The 7.8 mile loop course is mostly wide and run able bridle
path with a couple miles of road and asphalt paths, making for a nice mix.
A stiff climb is encountered just after the aid station at Whipp’s
Ledges … a climb of some 300+ feet in just under one mile, definitely not
run able… but very scenic. 
After climbing up the ledges, the course has a downhill
trend and has a section of road where the views are bucolic and the running
fast. There is one water crossing that requires some practice! Below is the
elevation profile from a Garmin GPS.
The brainchild of some members of the Medina County Road Runners
club, this event is the first of its kind allowed at the Hinckley Reservation
and promises to become a spring favorite.
All runners receive:
·
A spacious staging area with lots of room inside
the heated the Brooklyn Exchange Cabin
·
Brooks short sleeve, gender specific shirt
(sporting a cool Buzzard Day logo)
·
Nice goodie bag with some interesting samples
and offers
·
Two fully stocked aid stations with great
volunteers
·
A great after-race, all-you-can-eat, home-cooked
meal with plenty of room and time to socialize
·
This year’s event featured a visit from the good
folks at Lagerheads Brewing Company
. They offered generous samples of all five of their brews. I thought the “Kilt
Em all Scottish Ale” paired well with the delicious spaghetti and meatballs!
I highly recommend this darn cool event! Event web site
here: http://www.buzzardday50k.com/
-
Mark Anson
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