The Bitter Pill, 8/13/22, Waterbury VT

 The final race on the docket for summer 2022 was the beloved 12 hour Bitter Pill. This was my 6th Bitter Pill and 14th GMARA race. You can always count on GMARA for a quality race, and this would prove to be no exception.

After notching two 24-hour races earlier this summer/spring, the 12-hour duration of this race was going to be a nice way to round out the season for me and Reed. It was also in Vermont, which typically features some really scenic terrain, well-suited for AR.

We checked into the RV we had rented on Airbnb, located just a few minutes from the race start. Here we found a very Vermonty scene, complete with cute goats and chickens in the yard.  We then grabbed dinner at Zachary's Pizza (a pre-race tradition for me), readied some gear and set a 4:10 AM alarm (ouch).

Lots of leftover pizza to pack for race day fuel.

Race HQ was once again Blush Hill Country Club (same as 2019), a very suitable spot. We got a quick pre-race info session and soon headed out on bikes. Soon we were onto trail, paved roads and lovely Vermont gravel as we headed to the first cluster of CPs, covering about 8 miles with some decent elevation gain.

Around dawn. Green mountains above valley fog.

Here on the Waterworks trails, we could find up to 7 CPs and a higher altitude bonus CP either on foot or on bike. Given the steepness of the terrain and fairly tight clustering of the CPs, we elected to get them on foot. We had trouble finding one marshside CP but otherwise found all of these pretty handily in about an hour and 45 mins. The weather was cool but there was a little humidity and we were definitely sweating after the big ascent to the bonus CP at 1650 ft elevation.

TA scene.     GMARA photo

We then departed on bikes toward the "big trek", picking up 3 CPs along the way and covering about 8 miles in about an hour. We rode along Little River and entered Mt Mansfield State Forest, ascending on some gravel. We made a side trip to CP Y on the banks of the river, necessitating a steep descent and climb on foot before reaching the next TA where we would begin the big trek. At the TA, race staff had some mini cupcakes and fresh water waiting for us, which we took advantage of.

Reed enjoying the Vermont scenery as we ride toward Little River valley.

The big trek offered up a total of 12 possible CPs including 3 higher altitude bonus CPs. These were found in the trailless forested hills above us. We converted into trek mode and set out. After the first 3 CPs, we were averaging 18 minutes per CP and I was hopeful of clearing the section before the recommended time to leave, 12:30. However the next target, CP 16, dashed these hopes. The clue for the CP was "base of cliff". To our displeasure, as we arrived in the area of the CP, we found the area to be covered in lengthy multi-layered sections of cliffs. We searched dozens of cliff bases to no avail as the time ticked away. The difficulty imposed by the unhelpful nature of the clue was compounded by my error. I had us looking about 100ft too high (using the altimeter) after an overly hasty look at the map. I didn't realize this until we had already been searching for 20-30 minutes. After descending slightly, however, we were still unable to find the correct cliff among the many. I reluctantly called off the search and we headed east to the next CP. On the way, we ran into another team searching for CP16. While we were chatting, one of them glanced uphill and...there was the flag 50 feet above us. We happily clambered up to take advantage of this (off) trail magic.

Having one hour left before the recommended departure time, we decided to only attack 3 more CPs in this section. We nailed the next one in stride however, and so we decided to tack on one more target. We went on to find the next 3 with ease and actually arrived at the TA with some time to spare before 12:30.

We quickly ate, refilled water, refolded the map and converted to bike mode for the next section - a 13 mile ride, mostly on park roads/trail to the paddle at Waterbury Reservoir/Little River State Park.

The first part of this ride was the subject of much conversation after the race: gaining 900 ft of elevation over only 3.3 miles - ouch. Its not the Alpe d'Huez but on mountain bikes and with a fully loaded backpack, it was a bit of a chore. Reed was stalwart and we made it to the top of the climb without dismounting. After we hit this point, the ride quickly changed from arduous to exhilarating, as the smooth trail descended gently for miles. Following this, we reached Little River State Park and were treated to a bermed, flowy descent to the reservoir. This was as good as adventure racing singletrack gets. 

Spirits were high, therefore, when we reached the penultimate TA to begin the paddle. They were then dampened a bit when we discovered that our next task was to carry a weighty tandem kayak from the TA up and over the height of the dam. Since we were carrying our bike helmets at this point, I determined that our best option for carrying the boat was on the top of our heads. Reed was/is a little dubious about this but it worked well enough.

GMARA photo

GMARA photo

This turned out to be one of the most pleasant paddle legs we've ever done - comfy boat, placid water, cool temps and nice scenery. We made quick work of the first 3 CPs and so, as on the big trek, I elected to squeeze in one more CP than initially planned. This gave us 6 total for the leg (including CP X). After a less strenuous, mostly downhill kayak portage, we were back at the final TA and headed straight out to the final trek. This was a mostly uphill one hour trip through woods and neighborhoods, returning to race HQ at Blush Hill, *almost* without issue. There was a minor (maybe major) panic attack when I went to fish out the passport from the leg of my bike shorts and found nothing. A deeper search under the bike shorts and all available pockets also yielded nothing - oh crap, did we just do all this for nothing? Finally I found it - during the trek it had migrated to a very different part of the bike shorts on the back of my upper leg. Thinking ahead to the scene of me extracting this wet rag (we couldn't resist a quick dip at the end of the paddle) from underneath my shorts and handing it to a friendly race staff member at the finish line, I considerately hand-carried for the end of the trek, allowing it to at least air dry along the way.

GMARA photo

At the finish line we dropped our wet gear, changed into dry clothes and quickly sought liquid refreshment - sodas and a Little Sip of Sunshine IPA. We chatted with some familiar faces and new acquaintances and ate the satisfying buffet prepared by Blush Hill CC.

After all was said and done, we finished 7th overall - very solid. The top performance of the day went to our friends Glen and Scott of Strong Machine AR.

As always, we would love to thank the always dependable GMARA team, the lovely volunteers and race sponsors, as well as the folks at Blush Hill Country Club. We will certainly be back for future editions.