NipMuck Trail Marathon

The race is a double out-and-back covering a distance of 26.4 mi. The course is simply a 13-mi-long, northern section of the Nipmuck Trail, which is one of the Blue-Blazed trails managed by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association. The start line, and middle point, is located at Perry Hill Rd in Ashford. The course runs south for 6.2 mi until reaching Rt 44, then back to the start, then north for 7 mi until reaching Boston Hollow Rd, and finally back to the finish/start line at Perry Hill Rd.

Runners will have to look for and track the blue blazes along the trail to avoid getting lost. The race course will not be specially marked for the marathon. Tip: Don’t follow that guy in front of you and believe that he knows where he’s going; many have been led astray before you!

There will be 9 aid stations along the course. Most of them will be fully stocked stations, while a few will have only water. The longest distance between aid stations is 4.1 mi, occurring between the start line/Aid Station 5/finish line and Aid Station 1/3. As the course passes back through the start line around mile 12, runners can also leave supplies to pick up for the second half of the race.

The cutoffs for marathon runners for 2018 remain the same as those used in past years. They are: Perry Hill Rd – 3hr 15mins, Boston Hollow – 5hr 20mins, Finish – 8 hours. 35 mile runners have adjusted cutoffs to account for the longer distance.

Boston Hollow is a turnaround point for Marathon runners, who reach it once, and is a passthrough for 35 Mile runners, who reach it twice. At Boston Hollow, Marathon runners have a firm cutoff of 5hr 20mins. 35 Mile runners pass through Boston Hollow to get to the 35 Mile turn around at 2Pipes. 35 Mile runners have a cutoff of 4hr 20mins for their first visit at Boston Hollow. A 35 mile runner who does not reach Boston Hollow their first time before 4hr 20mins will be automatically converted to the Marathon distance, and will not be allowed to do the 35 Mile section of the course.