VERNON, CT — Members of the University of Connecticut Cross Country team, frequent users of the Vernon portion of the Hop River Trail, recently devoted several hours toward improvements.
The network is also referred to the Rails-to-Trails system.
UConn cross country and track and field coach Beth Alford-Sullivan, a Vernon resident, said the trail is a good training course.
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“These young men and women run the Vernon trails almost weekly, if not a couple times during the week,” Alford-Sullivan said. “We come out for long runs, we come out for workouts. We start at Church Street almost every Sunday and run eight to 10 to 15 miles, and then we head over to the Vernon Diner and have a big brunch afterward.”
Because the team uses the route so frequently, Alford-Sullivan said she wanted the team to make a contribution to Vernon’s trail system and the community. She contacted Vernon Parks and Recreation Director Marty Sitler, who was only too happy to accept the offer of help.
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“We felt it was really important to give back to something we utilize,” Alford-Sullivan said. “If we can help beautify, make it safer, make it better, that’s what we want to do.”
Vernon Mayor Dan Champagne said Vernon’s heavily-used trail network is one of many assets that makes Vernon special. The trails are used frequently by runners, cyclists, walkers and hikers. A few years back, one Vernon residents even used the inclines near Valley Falls to prepare for a single-day in-and-out hike in the Grand Canyon.
“We welcome and encourage people from all over Connecticut and our region to use our trails, and I am delighted that UConn’s runners have found them to be so helpful for their training,” Champagne said. “A lot of work by our staff and the Vernon Greenways Volunteers goes in to keeping our trails in great shape. And we are certainly grateful to Coach Alford-Sullivan and her team for their hard work and contribution.”
Sitler asked the runners to help with a new stairway leading from a trail at Valley Falls Park up to the Hop River Trail, which runs along the right of way of the old Hartford, Providence & Fishkill Railroad. Champagne had already asked Sitler to have his staff improve the earthen stairway and Mark Lucas, a parks maintenance crew leader, began installing lumber for the steps.
UConn then jumped in to assist.
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“There is still quite a bit of work to do, but the UConn runners did an incredible amount of work and were a huge help,” Sitler said. “Their work that day saved us several weeks of work.”
The UConn athletes essentially developed a bucket brigade to pass 5-gallon buckets of gravel down the hill to each step that had to be filled. Some athletes grabbed the buckets at the bottom to pour the gravel into the right spot, then other students took turns packing the gravel down. Back up on the trail, where a pile of gravel had been dumped, a team of student-athletes filled the buckets then passed them down the hill.
“They’re hard workers and good young people who just love what we do,” Alford-Sullivan said. “We really value the rails to trails system and many of the trails throughout Connecticut.”
About 25 UConn athletes worked on the project and were guided by Parks Maintainer Nick Petrolito.
“We love this trail,” said Samuel Geisler, a senior nursing major from Newington. “It’s well-maintained and flat. If we’re using the trail, we might as well give something back.”
And it’s a good place to run, added Chloe Thomas, a senior environmental science major from Hamilton, Ontario. “This trail has enabled us to do a lot of quality training,” she said. “It’s really special to have a place this beautiful, serene, and in nature where your team can come together every weekend and get a good run in together.”
Sarah Trainor, a fifth-year sports management major from Hyde Park, N.Y., said running on the trail is much better on team members’ legs than running on pavement.
“We run on these trails a lot,” she said. “The idea today is giving back and making these trails beautiful for not just us, but for everyone who enjoys them.”
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