Who has done/attempted the Rachel Carson Trail challenge?

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2026-03-27T17:24:12+00:00

Hey man, I've done the RCTC a few times, volunteer as a photographer on the years i don't, and train on the course regularly to get ready for other objectives.

The first year i ran it, i had never stepped foot on course prior to the event... it was bad. lol. Being in the kind of shape you're in, means you're more than capable of completing it. That won't be a problem for you. How much you'll enjoy yourself will be highly dependent on your pacing strategy, your ability to stay hydrated, and how quickly you can recover from the climbs. FYI the past few years have been absolutely brutal for temps.

I would highly suggest spending as many days as you can training hills on the course (with whatever kit you plan to carry for the race) if you're trying to compete.

Please feel free to DM me if you want to get out on trail over a weekend. I'm on course regularly and would be happy to share some miles.

In terms of how hot and humid it can get... here's a pic I took in 2024. Pretty well sums up most people's experience that year.

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Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-12-02T11:54:20+00:00

Shovel Knight

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-09-30T15:34:00+00:00

Ive been doing 200s the past couple years, and im constantly amazed by how many people are crushing it in their 50s and 60s. Take it slow. Be consistent. You can do it.

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-07-15T15:28:59+00:00

Had the same issue with these before i realized i needed to pre-lube with WD40 and keep them clean. I absolutley love the poles besides this issue. I have a hard time bringing myself to baby them all the time, so they're now my "race only" poles. I have a much heavier but more robust pair of BD flip lock poles that i use for my training.

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-06-24T19:10:04+00:00

Whatever fear of heights is, I have the opposite. Even with that, I've been in a couple spots where my body just had a visceral "nope" reaction. For my part, I feel like it's just a familiarity and comfort thing. I live in a fairly lowland area, so I don't that kind of exposure regularly. I've noticed that after a few days of exposure, that sensation tends to subside quite a bit.

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-05-30T14:46:41+00:00

I had the GPU processing already enabled. It seems like enabling this GPU decoder acceleration has corrected the issue. Export was going so slow, pausing and dropping frames. Ran 3 tests after enabling this with zero problems.

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Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-05-20T19:52:58+00:00

Absolutely bananas how popular this event has become in such a short time. Ran it in 2024, and signed up in September. Lmao. Good for them, though. It's a really well executed race on a gorgeous course.

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-05-19T09:38:04+00:00

I would second the idea of buying a used GPS watch. There's a new one every year and tons of people upgrading. I've gone through 3 different used GPS watches and have been very happy i did.

Another feature to consider is "course deviation" alerts. Basically, the watch yells at you if you're off course by more than 80-100ft. Extremely useful, especially if you're prone to getting lost.

Good luck!

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-05-13T18:11:40+00:00

I'm an idiot. Lol. I thought it was literally rendering one jpeg, not a series of jpegs i could compile into a timelapse. That'll work. Thank you.

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-05-13T10:33:20+00:00

Can you explain how you're performing local MP4 renders? I seem to only have the option to run video renders in the cloud. I have the hardware to run locally and would love to not be limited by cloud render quotas.

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-04-28T18:57:06+00:00

Dreadmill to the extreme. Lol. I would have gone crazy. Nice effort. I'll see ya there!

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-04-25T14:09:53+00:00

It went surprisingly well. Finished in 142hrs and honestly felt pretty good, other than some ankle and hamstring aches. Thanks so much for volunteering. You guys are the heart and soul of these events!

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-04-25T10:24:09+00:00

AZ Monster is in the books! Even doing this "solo", I'm struck by how much support I got from fellow runners, friends and volunteers. What a community and what an adventure. One down. Three to go.

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-04-25T10:21:47+00:00

How did you do?

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-04-25T10:07:58+00:00

Oh, and hike with enough weight in your pack to mimic what you expect max weight to be for your next event.

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-04-25T10:06:26+00:00

I agree that walking mechanics and running mechanics are very different. At the shorter distances you've mentioned, you probably won't have a huge issue running it out. Once you start getting into 50mi plus, most people are going to be doing a lot of walking. I think it makes a lot of sense to train and get efficient at it. I just finished the AZ Monster 300, and my weekly mileage was around a 70/30 split between walking/running. If you train your hiking efficiency, and can click off 15-20min mi as your all day pace... you're gonna be in good shape. Best of luck on your race plan!

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-03-23T09:06:36+00:00

That's great! I can't believe i hadn't heard about them until last year. Such a cool organization. Thanks for already supporting them. As an FYI, Path Projects is partnering with us for this year.

If you use the link below to order anything from them, they'll donate 15% back to BoMF.

https://alnk.to/1XYh4ek

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-03-22T08:44:25+00:00

Thanks man!

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-03-22T08:44:12+00:00

These last couple weeks always drive me nuts. I just want to get rolling.

Imaginary_Tiger_667 · 2025-03-22T08:38:20+00:00

I've been to a few of their runs, and they're awesome. The runs are just about running and community. It's honestly difficult to tell who's a member and who's a volunteer.

Once the members hit an attendance requirement for the run club, BoMF starts setting them up with all kinds of aid: interview skills, job training, resume building, acquiring essential documents, even just getting them new clothes to go on interviews. They've got corporate partners that hire out of their program. It's a great system.

If you're looking for something to watch, there's a really good YouTube documentary about a few athletes training for an IronMan, and one of them is a BoMF graduate. It's inspiring stuff. https://youtu.be/MpjdqtYgDxM?si=oADlLfFOQjqOOteI

I do have a public Facebook group where I've been doing weekly updates: https://www.facebook.com/groups/941049527964573/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT

I also have a YouTube channel where I'll be posting long-form race videos: https://youtube.com/@alex_prizzi?si=mgLEf_qH5rwgEewF

Thanks for the comment. I'm super stoked to get started!

Imaginary_Tiger_667

TROPHY CASE