Today, I will be recapping the 8 Hours at the Farm event hosted by Steep Endurance. There were three options for this event: a single 4-mile trail loop, four hours ultra, and an eight-hour ultra. I participated in the single 4-mile event.
Course Map
Town: Brookfield, CT, USA
Distance: 4 miles
Conditions: It was a cool autumn morning for the 2025 race, starting around 46F. The sun was shining brightly.
Parking: There was ample parking in a field at the farm where the event was held.
Check In: Very smooth with no line. I did have to ask for my swag bag at a different table, which included some coupons, a reusable shopping bag, and some loose-leaf tea.
Course Description: This was a cross country and trail event with lots of elevation. We started out in a grassy field and soon turned into the woods, where we stayed until the last mile of the race.
There were a number of steep, rocky inclines but also some flats in the first mile. A little over a mile in, the water crossings began. There was one bridge that really scared me (there's a photo of it on the website I linked above, I did not pull out my phone to take a picture myself). It was suspended between 2 trees and there was no great way to get onto it so I just hugged the tree and hopped up, hoping I would not fall. I did not end up in the drink, but I did trip on the deceptively root-filled descent that followed shortly thereafter.
Most of the trail section was very narrow single-track, which got tricky as I was being passed by 4-hour and 8-hour event runners. They were very gracious, I just want to paint a picture of the course experience. The trail was very pretty even though most of the leaves had fallen. Near the end of the third mile there was a VERY steep and rocky uphill section that was definitely a challenging hike. There were encouraging signs egging on the runners.
The fourth mile led runners out of the woods and back into the field where we began. From there, runners proceeded uphill (again) into some additional fields at the farm before a downhill finish under the arch.
Afterparty: There were lots of goodies, including packaged sweets like muffins and pastries, plus candy and the usual fruit offerings. This was a cup-less race so I would have needed to bring my own container to partake in the beverages. Since I had only run 4 miles, I just drank the water I had in the car.
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