New Haven has a surprising wealth of trail running with 60-80 miles of trails within a few miles of my front door and, frankly they are disturbingly underused. When I moved here in August of 2010, my first act was to go on a 3 hour exploratory run of West Rock Ridge State Park next to my house. Word of mouth later led me to the placid Maltby Lakes and Racebrook Tract. Hikers suggested the rugged Sleeping Giant State Park. Established road runners living by Yale pointed me to the more cultivated East Rock State Park. Simple exploration uncovered the network of trails that wind through Woodbridge (and secretly connect the Maltby lakes to West Rock State Park).
While there are maps to some of these places, there is A) no central place to find these resources and B) no description and evaluation of the various trails that would help someone decide where to go and what to do there. My intent in making this blog is to create a resource for myself and for others interested in trail running in New Haven and the Connecticut in general.
My primary interest is in training for and enjoying trail ultra marathons. I enjoy participating in and following the sport. I read the blogs and race reports of "the fast people" but also deeply appreciate the friendly, proletarian culture of trail and ultrarunning. I'm conflicted about writing about myself, but I enjoy writing, and given that I've recently moved away from many of my running friends, I think I'll indulge in a few race reports and personal updates here and there...
Thus introduced I hope you find useful the links and descriptions here in the "New Haven Trail Runner"
Cheers, Alex
