Race Recap: Paine To Pain Half Marathon

Text by Marta Cabral; photos by Murray Rosenblith unless noted

Author Marta Cabral, all smiles during her first trail race! Photo credit: Paine to Pain race photos

An old boyfriend who liked to walk up mountains used to be jealous of me because I was, in his words, “waaaay more sure-footed” than him. Even though that might be true (sorry, Old Boyfriend!), that didn’t prevent me from tripping and falling a number of times during my first trail race, the Paine to Pain Half-Marathon in New Rochelle. I had no idea what I was signing up for when, prompted by PPTC, I read what was indeed the funniest consent agreement (look it over if you’d like to do it next year!), and registered for a race that was still months away.

I started the morning by getting to the meetup stop an hour in advance (so if you find yourself wanting to know about the opening procedures for Connecticut Muffin — or scheduling for farmers market BPS setup — you know who to call). Murray Rosenblith had kindly organized shared rides: When they arrived, off we went.

After years of mostly NYRR races, I cannot tell you how nice it was to participate in such an easygoing, chilled event. We picked up our bibs on the spot, did not line up for port-a-potties (because there was no line to be seen), and held on to our jackets almost until race time. “When does bag check close?!" I yelled. “You can throw your backpack my way as you cross the start line, and I’ll catch it!” the optimistic volunteer cheerfully announced, clearly unaware of my throwing skills. Let’s just say there are reasons why I’m not a hatchet-thrower.

The race started with a Cat Hill-like incline as we ran up a road and hit the trail. Soon enough, I was accidentally down on my hands and knees, experiencing the softness of the autumn leaves and fluffy dirt. (Some roots may have been involved in the incident, but I am making no firm claims). That kept me wondering how Old Boyfriend would have fared, which kept me distracted long enough to trip again. Moving on.

Or so I thought. A bit later, I tripped over some unidentified piece of nature (which might have been my own feet). I attempted a bit of stylistic flying before another successful hands and knees landing. When a couple of teenagers witnessed my next perfect downfall as they cheered from their camping chairs, I was happy to give everyone else a chance to shine as they passed me buy, running like never-falling gazelles. I would say I took one for the team, but soon discovered the team really didn’t need me to.

It took me until around the fifth tripping incident to think oh yeah! I should make a mental note of when and how it happened for my race report! And I should have decided that earlier, because that’s when I finally seemed to have a better sense of what it means to run trails. And soon enough I hit the "11-ish mile" mark (Paine to Pain not only had the best disclosure agreements, but also the best mile(ish) marks).

During the last couple miles, I finally achieved something closer to my road pace (the change of terrain may or may not have helped, but I am choosing to take all the glory for myself). In the home stretch - the local high-school track - I sprinted like a person running for beer and food as I mentally channeled coaches Charlene and Tony, and thanked them for making me see the wonders of track speedwork. Thank you, coaches!

And yes, there was food and beer and ice cream and massages. All yummy and amazing. But most importantly, there were teammates. Some of us were incredibly fast — especially the awesome Jo Reeves, who placed first in her age group and as first place female — while some of us enjoyed a series of experiments on gravity and speed bumps instead. But there was a PPTC cheering crew for every single one of our finishers, and that makes me proud to be one of us. One of us even dashed right back after crossing the finish line to support a fellow runner (yay Lisa Maya Knauer! You rock!)

In the end, I came back home with my tights torn only on one knee, the same Brooklyn sidewalk fall/tear that I traveled to New Rochelle with. And when I received an email to sign up for next year’s race at a “stupid-cheap” rate days later, I did not hesitate to do it. I am already stocking up on band-aids for Paine to Pain 2020 — and yes, I’ll take one if you have extras, thank you very much :)

Jo Reeves runs to break the tape in an incredible first-place finish (AG and overall): 1:29:12. Go PPTC!
Photo credit: Paine to Pain 2019 race photos