The Farnum Five.5 is the second to last race in the Western NH Trail Running Series. We ran through a beautiful set of trails in Lebanon, NH. We were told that the locals were unhappy that we had this race because now people will know about the trails. From what my friends said, they can go for a long run on these trails and never see another person.
This course was wide open with lots of open path and very little single track running. About 50 people, most of who were local and did this trail as part of a normal run, joined me for what was one of the best runs of the series.
The course itself was somewhat hilly, with an incredibly nasty hill as you start the second mile. It was one of those hills that only the elite of the elite run and that meant only a few people on the course. I believe it was at least a 500-foot climb, which isn't exactly welcomed that early in the race.
Overall, the course was extremely well maintained. It was one of the least technical of the entire series (meaning less rocks, roots, etc.). It was well marked and it tended to move fairly quickly. I'd definitely do this race again next year.
I was far from blazing through the course at a final time of 1:08:17, but I stayed in a 12-13 minute/mile pace, which is acceptable to me for these types of races. I'm never sure-footed enough to blaze through these types of courses.