Hatfield Harvest

Carson Poe and Abby Mahoney plowed through the puddles to become the men’s and women’s overall winners of the Hatfield Harvest 5K today. The race drew more than 90 runners.

Complete results and times will be posted later today or tomorrow at Cool Running. We will announce it when they are ready, and add a link to this site.

Thanks to all who volunteered and ran, and we look forward to seeing you again next year on the first Saturday in October!

NEITHER WIND NOR RAIN, sleet nor snow can keep the Hatfield Harvest from its appointed rounds. Registration for the 5K race and 2-mile walk begin at 9 a.m., and both events start at 10.

Come walk or run, rain or shine!

The first 100 entrants will receive the 2011 Hatfield Harvest T-shirt

THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR SATURDAY’S 5th annual Hatfield Harvest 5K and 2-mile walk is looking good, with cool temperatures in the 50s (the event will be held, rain or shine).

Registration begins at the Hatfield Elementary School on Billings Way, just off of Main Street, at 9 a.m., and the race begins at 10 a.m., followed immediately by the walk.

T-shirts designed by Christopher Weeks, featuring an original engraving of a runner by Barry Moser, will be given to the first 100 entrants. Water, apples, and fresh baked goods will be available at the finish line.

Pumpkin pies made by Smithsonian Catering will be awarded to the top three finishers, male and female, in several age categories, and the top male and female finisher will receive a signed, limited edition print of the Barry Moser engraving, framed by Off the Wall Frames.

We hope to see you there!

THE EASIEST WAY TO EVALUATE YOUR RUNNING FORM is to answer a very simple question: is all of your energy directed toward your forward motion?

Even experienced runners fail to answer this positively, all of the time. When fatigue sets in, form often suffers. Sometimes runners overcompensate when recovering from—or trying to run through—an injury, leading to bad habits. Sometimes a runner simply loses focus over a long course.

The key is to continually monitor your form to ensure that you are getting the maximum result for your effort, and minimizing discomfort.

Here are some of the leading symptoms of bad running form, and strategies for addressing them:

Tensing of shoulders. This is one of the most common responses to fatigue. The shoulders slowly rise up toward your neck, placing unnecessary strain on your upper body, and requiring significant energy.

Whenever you become aware you are doing this, drop the shoulders immediately, lowering your hands to your waist. It may feel exaggerated at first, but it won’t look that way to observers, and unless you are careful it won’t be long before the process begins all over again. As often as you think of it, repeat the process of relaxing your shoulders and dropping the hands.

Irregular breathing. Choppy breathing sends everything off kilter, and fights against the easy rhythm that is the basis of good form. Ironically, irregular breathing often accompanies supreme effort, even while it undermines the goal.

As with tensing of the shoulders, the key is to catch yourself as soon as possible, and return to a more controlled and rhythmic breathing. The cadence is less important; in fact you can vary the speed of your breathing to meet the particular demands of the course: a faster rhythm, perhaps, when you are putting on your finishing kick, slower when you are trying to restrain yourself from starting out too fast. But whatever the pace, keep your breathing smooth and even.

Squinting. This usually occurs for one of two reasons: too much sun, or the strain of competition. Unfortunately, it takes energy, and distracts runners from their goal.

Effort should not find physical expression in running; the body must move fluidly at all times, even, especially, as the mind is supremely focused. Wear a hat or sunglasses if the sun bothers you. When you are running up a steep hill or trying to pass a runner at the end of a race, remember to relax your face.

Clenched fists. Many runners clench their fists unconsciously, and it, too, demands energy that would best be spent on getting your body to the finish line. If you are prone to this, let your hands and wrists go limp and shake them out as often as needed. You don’t even have to slow down.

Bouncing. This seems to be a particular bane of young men (I speak from experience; I was a classic bouncer in my early teens). Perhaps it is because they have not yet grown into their bodies, and tend to lope rather than stride. A telltale sign is when your hair starts bouncing wildly up and down. This is energy lost vertically rather than contributing toward your forward motion, and can seriously impact your comfort level and race times.

The solution: lengthen your stride, and lean (from the waist, keeping your upper body straight), deliberately triggering a reflex of catching yourself from falling.

Windshield wiping. Many otherwise good runners compromise their effort by scissoring their arms in front of their body, rather than keeping them even and reaching forward. This takes energy, and works at cross purposes with your forward goal.

Relax the arms and consciously redirect your effort ahead of you, not side to side. The image of pulling on a rope can be extremely helpful, especially when running up hills.

Braking. On downhills, inexperienced runners unconsciously brake when they land, fearful of losing control or even falling. It absorbs valuable energy, and slows you down.

It takes practice, but learning the art of running easily downhill provides a double benefit: you gain speed, but also use the time to recover from the uphill climb. One strategy is to switch from striking on the ball of your foot to the heel during steep descents. Another is to remember to “run tall” during these moments, straightening from the waist to offset the sensation of falling.

WHATEVER YOUR PARTICULAR TENDENCIES ARE, remember that poor form is never corrected in a single run. It takes time and perseverance to change bad habits.

Begin by choosing short stretches within your runs where you consciously work on the change you want to make, and gradually increase these focused sections in number and duration. Over time, the good form will supplant the bad.

Even then, however, some challenges to good form, such as tensing shoulders, are apt to resurface during the strain of competition (it happens to me every time!). Part of the mental challenge of running is to be conscious of these changes in form, and make adjustments on the fly.

The first mile marker is between two tobacco barns where the pavement ends; the Summit House is visible in the distance.

THE HATFIELD HARVEST OFFERS RUNNERS AND WALKERS a rare opportunity to experience firsthand some of the best farmland in western New England. Even people who live in or visit Hatfield must leave the main roads to fully appreciate the wealth of rich farmland along the banks of the Connecticut River. The Hatfield Harvest heads straight for some of these fields.

While most or all of the potatoes will have been harvested by the October 1 race date, there may still be some late-season crops along the course, onions or corn, although this year there are no pumpkins. Some of the fields will already be green with winter rye or another ground cover, planted after the main crop is harvested to reduce erosion between growing seasons.

It is an impressive site to see the great expanse of fields stretching out in all directions from the river. The long-range views include the Holyoke Range (you can see the Summit House on Mount Holyoke as you head down South Street). Closer to home, the first mile marker is between two tobacco barns (a dozen more barns are visible as you walk or run, scattered at varying angles through the fields).

The second mile marker has it all: a 360-degree panorama atop a hard-packed dike road that includes the river on the right and farm fields to the left. Graceful trees border the river ahead and to the right, and the image of a classic New England town appears on the left, complete with white barns and church steeple. Behind you is farmland, more trees, and some stunning, tall wild grasses that shimmer in the wind. You have left pavement just before mile one, and won’t return to it until you have less than a half of a mile to go.

It is a beautiful landscape. Hopefully, in addition to a great run, you will come away with a deeper appreciation of how some of our food is grown locally, and why people are passionate about preserving our farms.

***

THE HATFIELD AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE LAUNCHED THE 5K RACE in 2007 as a way to raise awareness of the town’s farmland. Now in its fifth year, the Hatfield Harvest has added a two-mile walk, and welcomes Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) as co-sponsor.

Founded in 1993 and incorporated as a nonprofit six years later, CISA was an early champion of the “buy local” movement on the strength of its nationally acclaimed “Be A Local Hero” marketing campaign. Today, CISA operates a number of programs to educate consumers and assist farmers. Here is its vision statement:

“At CISA we take a grounded visionary approach to all of our work by solving today’s problems while looking towards future challenges. It is a world where more food and farm products are locally produced, farmers have the skills and resources to sustain their businesses and the land and all community residents have access to locally grown farm products.

“We believe that:

• “Diverse and prosperous farms are essential to the economic health and environmental quality of our region.
• “When our farmers can successfully bring food and other products to markets that reach all people in our communities, we all benefit.
• “When our communities have a deep understanding of the local farming economy, all of our farmers benefit.
• “By connecting farmers, neighbors, and communities, CISA sustains local agriculture and enhances the long-term health of our communities.”

ONE OF THE SHEER JOYS OF RUNNING is the sensation of speed, of moving fast through space powered solely by your arms and legs, gracefully airborne between strides, wind whistling in your ears and flowing through your hair. It is a thrilling feeling that even most non-runners experience at some point in their lives, whether racing to the tree and back as a child or chasing a bus as an adult, heart pounding. To sustain speed over long distances is even more satisfying.

The five-kilometer distance (3.1 miles) is known for its fast pace, and the Hatfield Harvest 5K course is flat, which should lend it to faster times. But that advantage is partially negated by the soft soil of the dirt farm roads that make up the middle part of the course, which slows runners down. Both the men’s and women’s course records were set in the race’s inaugural year in 2007: Chris Dickerson (17:11), and Laura Hutchinson (18:41).

One of the best ways to cultivate speed is with a weekly workout, on the track if possible (this assumes that you already are running at least three to four times or 20 to 25 miles a week). The workout can be done on the road as well, but the track gives you more immediate and quantifiable feedback on how hard and effectively you are training.

MY FAVORITE TRACK WORKOUT is repetitions of 400 meters, especially helpful when training for a 5K. These workouts are hard, but you get so much benefit from them that they are truly satisfying. They add strength and endurance as well as speed, and the distance is short enough that you can really concentrate on running with good form.

Speed workouts are also a great way to develop your mental toughness. Do these workouts well, and you will be pleasantly surprised when you reach down for something extra at the end of a close race. You sometimes access speed you previously didn’t know was there.

If you are fit enough, 10 is a good number of reps (if you are still in a building phase of training, eight or six will do, but even four 400s done well can give your speed a boost). Warm up first with a light run for 10 to 20 minutes, and repeat as a cool-down after you have completed your last repetition. When you are ready to begin the speed portion of the workout, run the first rep at about 80 percent of your effort — this is something that runners must learn to feel through experience — and then attempt to complete each successive rep slightly faster than the one before it, a downward “ladder.”

The amount of rest time between reps is critical — the shorter your recovery time, the more likely you will be able to sustain a faster pace under race conditions. But don’t begin a new rep before you feel confident that you can run it as fast as the previous one. I usually jog — not walk — around the track between reps, around a three-minute recovery. It always is best to keep moving.

YOUR LEGS WILL BEGIN TO FEEL WOBBLY HALFWAY THROUGH, and you will wonder how you possibly can do another. Don’t worry. You may need some additional recovery time between the last few reps to ensure that you can match or exceed your desired pace, and it is perfectly okay to do so. But when you finally manage to complete the workout, it fills you with confidence. If your ladder isn’t perfect, that’s okay, too, but make note of your running and recovering times so that you can gauge your progress the next time.

You can simulate this speed work on the road. You will still get the benefit, but obviously not the same measurable results.

Train lightly the day before and after your speed workout, or plan it next to a regularly scheduled off day. These are intense workouts, and you need adequate time to recover. One speed workout a week is plenty for most runners, especially if they are racing as well. If you are fit enough to do a second workout, it just as easily could be a strengthening session, like hills, rather than more speed, depending on your racing goals and schedule.

It’s good to cultivate your personal image of speed. Mine is a horse. Whenever I get in trouble in a race, fatigued, concentration wandering or lapsing into poor form, I think of how strong and graceful a galloping horse looks, and it helps me regain my focus and stride. When I need to summon all of my strength for a finishing kick at the end of a race, the horse’s image helps harness my form to my will. Perhaps a cheetah is better for you, or a greyhound. Whatever you choose, visualizing the excellent form and fluid effort of your speed image is one more tool to help carry you through the finish line.

The 5^th Annual Hatfield Harvest 5K, a benefit race to support local agriculture co-sponsored by the Hatfield Agricultural Advisory Committee and Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), will be held Saturday, October 1 at 10 a.m. This year, there is a two-mile walk as well. Follow the link above for an application.