Rock the Ridge
A Day Out on the Trails
Some of the best running trails in the country are in the Hudson Valley among the 195 miles of carriage-roads crisscrossing the Mohonk Preserve, the Mohonk Mountain House, and Minnewaska State Park atop the Shawangunk Ridge.
Every spring hundreds of people race, run, relay, or ramble through the Gunks, as the ridge is known to locals, to raise money for the Mohonk Preserve, a privately owned 8,000-acre nature preserve, in the Rock The Ridge 50-Mile Endurance Challenge.
Ridge Rockers have 24 hours from 6 am as the sun comes up until 6 am the next day, to cover the 50-mile course through 'one of the last greatest places on Earth'.
For some Rock The Ridge is a race, like 2016 winner Iain Ridgway, who finished his day in 6:12:01 hours, averaging 7:26 minutes per mile.
That ultra-marathon pace is ultra-human, for most folks a more sedate approach to the challenge is in order. Times for individuals ranged from Ridgway’s sub seven hours to the final 2016 finisher who returned to the Testimonial Gatehouse, in the dark, 20:24:53 hours later.
One hundred and fifty-nine individuals took up the gauntlet of the 2016 Rock The Ridge on their own. Plenty more did it with a little help from their friends- 73 people- making up 27 teams- ran, walked, hiked, or some combination, 50 miles together. Taking anywhere from 9:30 to just 51 seconds shy of 21 hours to travel 50 miles. For most, it took somewhere between 11 and 12 hours to get their team, intact, back to the Gatehouse.
In 2016 Team, Not First, Probably Not Last did finish first with a time of 9:54:06.
Relay team Breaking the Cycle finished the 50 miles in 5:20:05, yep that’s roughly a 6:30 pace. For the relay the course is divided into four, roughly, 12 mile legs. From the Gatehouse to Spring Farm, Spring Farm to Lyons Road, Lyons Road to Castle Point and back, and from Lyons Road back to the Gatehouse.
Every spring hundreds of people race, run, relay, or ramble through the Gunks, as the ridge is known to locals, to raise money for the Mohonk Preserve, a privately owned 8,000-acre nature preserve, in the Rock The Ridge 50-Mile Endurance Challenge.
Ridge Rockers have 24 hours from 6 am as the sun comes up until 6 am the next day, to cover the 50-mile course through 'one of the last greatest places on Earth'.
For some Rock The Ridge is a race, like 2016 winner Iain Ridgway, who finished his day in 6:12:01 hours, averaging 7:26 minutes per mile.
That ultra-marathon pace is ultra-human, for most folks a more sedate approach to the challenge is in order. Times for individuals ranged from Ridgway’s sub seven hours to the final 2016 finisher who returned to the Testimonial Gatehouse, in the dark, 20:24:53 hours later.
One hundred and fifty-nine individuals took up the gauntlet of the 2016 Rock The Ridge on their own. Plenty more did it with a little help from their friends- 73 people- making up 27 teams- ran, walked, hiked, or some combination, 50 miles together. Taking anywhere from 9:30 to just 51 seconds shy of 21 hours to travel 50 miles. For most, it took somewhere between 11 and 12 hours to get their team, intact, back to the Gatehouse.
In 2016 Team, Not First, Probably Not Last did finish first with a time of 9:54:06.
Relay team Breaking the Cycle finished the 50 miles in 5:20:05, yep that’s roughly a 6:30 pace. For the relay the course is divided into four, roughly, 12 mile legs. From the Gatehouse to Spring Farm, Spring Farm to Lyons Road, Lyons Road to Castle Point and back, and from Lyons Road back to the Gatehouse.
“It’s a great way to spend 12-15 hours. You can always finish, just go as slow as you need to,”
Rick Bottini and his team have Rocked The Ridge three times since the inception of the challenge in 2013.
“I don’t consider myself anything anymore,” Bottini said about his running status. He’s run a couple of Spartan races, a Tough Mudder or two. And then he jumped right from a half-marathon into Rock The Ridge.
Bottini is local to the Gunks and trains here. Every weekend he’s out running or snowshoeing with a group of folks who are mostly in their early fifties. Five of them do RTR as a team and run the whole thing. Another four do the relay and break the distance up into roughly 12-mile legs.
“It’s a great way to spend 12-15 hours. You can always finish, just go as slow as you need to,” Bottini said.
There are views, and volunteers, and friends and family out of the course. It’s a well-supported race with eight aid stations in the 50 miles at Mountain Rest Rd. 3.9, Spring Farm 9.8, Rhododendron Bridge 19.4, Lyons Rd 23.9, Lake Minnewaska 26.4, Lake Minnewaska 35.2, Lyons Rd 37.7, and Rhododendron Bridge 42.2 again.
That being said, Rock The Ridge is still 50 miles and is a challenge.
“We have funny pictures at mile 10 and then at 20. At mile 30 everybody’s face is drooping, and then there are no more pics after that,” Bottini said, describing the toll the day can take.
“I don’t consider myself anything anymore,” Bottini said about his running status. He’s run a couple of Spartan races, a Tough Mudder or two. And then he jumped right from a half-marathon into Rock The Ridge.
Bottini is local to the Gunks and trains here. Every weekend he’s out running or snowshoeing with a group of folks who are mostly in their early fifties. Five of them do RTR as a team and run the whole thing. Another four do the relay and break the distance up into roughly 12-mile legs.
“It’s a great way to spend 12-15 hours. You can always finish, just go as slow as you need to,” Bottini said.
There are views, and volunteers, and friends and family out of the course. It’s a well-supported race with eight aid stations in the 50 miles at Mountain Rest Rd. 3.9, Spring Farm 9.8, Rhododendron Bridge 19.4, Lyons Rd 23.9, Lake Minnewaska 26.4, Lake Minnewaska 35.2, Lyons Rd 37.7, and Rhododendron Bridge 42.2 again.
That being said, Rock The Ridge is still 50 miles and is a challenge.
“We have funny pictures at mile 10 and then at 20. At mile 30 everybody’s face is drooping, and then there are no more pics after that,” Bottini said, describing the toll the day can take.
“It’s made for the every-man, with 24 hours you can walk the damn thing,”
Lisa Glick has become a Rock The Ridge ambassador over the three times she has done RTR. She is a self-described slow runner.
“I’ve always want to do a fifty miler,” Glick said, “but was always hesitant because of the cutoff. That’s why I wanted to do the RTR. I get 24 hours to finish. I’m slow; I’m not a fast runner. I’m an average person who can run/walk 50 miles”.
And that is quite the point, while there are elite runners on the course there are also grandparents, father and son teams, office relay teams, teams who hike the whole distance.
“It’s made for the every-man, with 24 hours you can walk the damn thing,” as Glick said.
If you can do a half-marathon you can train for Rock the Ridge.
"People are capable of a lot more than they think," Glick said, encouragingly.
In her first year at RTR Glick figured on finishing in 14 or 15 hours. She got to mile 40 and realized she was going to finish in under 12.
She runs maybe two-thirds of the course and power hikes quite a bit. The ultra-marathon approach to hills is- walk them. Save your energy for the long haul.
Each time she’d done Rock The Ridge there’s been a low point, Glick says.
“I hit a low around 25 miles and think “Oh my God! I’m never going to be able to finish this,” but I just keep trudging along”.
Like Dory in “Finding Nemo” the key is keep moving, it will pass… just don’t quit!
“I’ve always want to do a fifty miler,” Glick said, “but was always hesitant because of the cutoff. That’s why I wanted to do the RTR. I get 24 hours to finish. I’m slow; I’m not a fast runner. I’m an average person who can run/walk 50 miles”.
And that is quite the point, while there are elite runners on the course there are also grandparents, father and son teams, office relay teams, teams who hike the whole distance.
“It’s made for the every-man, with 24 hours you can walk the damn thing,” as Glick said.
If you can do a half-marathon you can train for Rock the Ridge.
"People are capable of a lot more than they think," Glick said, encouragingly.
In her first year at RTR Glick figured on finishing in 14 or 15 hours. She got to mile 40 and realized she was going to finish in under 12.
She runs maybe two-thirds of the course and power hikes quite a bit. The ultra-marathon approach to hills is- walk them. Save your energy for the long haul.
Each time she’d done Rock The Ridge there’s been a low point, Glick says.
“I hit a low around 25 miles and think “Oh my God! I’m never going to be able to finish this,” but I just keep trudging along”.
Like Dory in “Finding Nemo” the key is keep moving, it will pass… just don’t quit!
"People are capable of a lot more than they think,"
One high point of Rock The Ridge is Castel Point, the highest point of the course and 30 miles in, eye-popping views of the Palmaghatt Ravine, Gertrude’s Nose, Hamilton Point, and the Lower Hudson Valley 30 miles in the distance are the reward for the climb.
The course is broken up into legs with names as picturesque as the area they describe. Leg One- Over the Hill breaks it to you gently with rolling hills and views of Bonticou Crag and the “Million Dollar View,” a vista of the high peaks of the Catskill Mountains 30 miles in the distance. Leg Two Skytop Dreams takes Ridge Rockers up to Mohonk Mountain House’s Skytop Tower, the highest point in the first half of the course and then out past the Preserve’s Trapps Cliffs.
The Trapps is one of my favorite sections of Rock the Ridge. I get such a kick out of watching the climbers look down on the runners thinking “those people are crazy” and seeing the runners look up at the climbers and clearly think “those people are out of their minds.”
Leg Three heads up to Castle Point in Minnewaska State Park. Finally, Leg Four-Homeward Bound goes back past the climbers on the Trapps and past Duck Pond before going through the rimmed tree passageway of Gatehouse Road to the finish line at the Testimonial Gatehouse.
Rock The Ridge is doable for a first timer but not to be taken lightly. Using a training plan is key.
“I have an outline training plan. I do 40- 50 miles a week walking and running and cross training like indoor spin and Zumba, dance, as well as functional training with weights,” Glick said. “ I train five days a week”.
Race Directors Todd Jennings and Ken Posner lead training days with hiking and running. There is also an official RTR recommended coach Lisa Smith-Batchen, Ironman triathlete, and ultra runner.
A “Taste of Rock The Ridge” training hike led by Preserve Deputy Executive Director for Strategic Advancement Joe Alfano, happened in November.
“I think that you can’t go from 3 miles to 50, but if you plan it out a few months ahead the average person can travel, and that’s the word I would use, travel, 50 miles. It’s not technical, it’s safe, it’s well supported, it’s designed for your average person, and I think a lot of people are capable of more than they realize,” Glick said.
Rock The Ridge starts as a bucket list item and becomes an annual event for many people. The 2017 Rock the Ridge is on May 6.
The bonus is that for their efforts Ridge Rockers directly benefit the Mohonk Preserve's award-winning Environmental Education programs. For over 25 years, the Preserve has been providing innovative education programs that have gotten over 100,000 children into nature, offering something for everyone from recreationists to naturalists-at-heart, supporting lifelong learning and strengthening connections to the land.
In the past four years, Ridge Rockers have collectively raised nearly $700,000 to support Mohonk Preserve and their award-winning conservation science, environmental education, and land protection and stewardship programs, as well as preserving over 8,000 acres of the Shawangunk Ridge region.
Not bad for a day out on the trails.
The course is broken up into legs with names as picturesque as the area they describe. Leg One- Over the Hill breaks it to you gently with rolling hills and views of Bonticou Crag and the “Million Dollar View,” a vista of the high peaks of the Catskill Mountains 30 miles in the distance. Leg Two Skytop Dreams takes Ridge Rockers up to Mohonk Mountain House’s Skytop Tower, the highest point in the first half of the course and then out past the Preserve’s Trapps Cliffs.
The Trapps is one of my favorite sections of Rock the Ridge. I get such a kick out of watching the climbers look down on the runners thinking “those people are crazy” and seeing the runners look up at the climbers and clearly think “those people are out of their minds.”
Leg Three heads up to Castle Point in Minnewaska State Park. Finally, Leg Four-Homeward Bound goes back past the climbers on the Trapps and past Duck Pond before going through the rimmed tree passageway of Gatehouse Road to the finish line at the Testimonial Gatehouse.
Rock The Ridge is doable for a first timer but not to be taken lightly. Using a training plan is key.
“I have an outline training plan. I do 40- 50 miles a week walking and running and cross training like indoor spin and Zumba, dance, as well as functional training with weights,” Glick said. “ I train five days a week”.
Race Directors Todd Jennings and Ken Posner lead training days with hiking and running. There is also an official RTR recommended coach Lisa Smith-Batchen, Ironman triathlete, and ultra runner.
A “Taste of Rock The Ridge” training hike led by Preserve Deputy Executive Director for Strategic Advancement Joe Alfano, happened in November.
“I think that you can’t go from 3 miles to 50, but if you plan it out a few months ahead the average person can travel, and that’s the word I would use, travel, 50 miles. It’s not technical, it’s safe, it’s well supported, it’s designed for your average person, and I think a lot of people are capable of more than they realize,” Glick said.
Rock The Ridge starts as a bucket list item and becomes an annual event for many people. The 2017 Rock the Ridge is on May 6.
The bonus is that for their efforts Ridge Rockers directly benefit the Mohonk Preserve's award-winning Environmental Education programs. For over 25 years, the Preserve has been providing innovative education programs that have gotten over 100,000 children into nature, offering something for everyone from recreationists to naturalists-at-heart, supporting lifelong learning and strengthening connections to the land.
In the past four years, Ridge Rockers have collectively raised nearly $700,000 to support Mohonk Preserve and their award-winning conservation science, environmental education, and land protection and stewardship programs, as well as preserving over 8,000 acres of the Shawangunk Ridge region.
Not bad for a day out on the trails.
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