Weekly Summary: August 6 - August 12

8/6 - Rest.  Wanted to run but got shot down by the wife!  Ha!

8/7 - 6.0 miles.  1:00:xx.  1300'v.  Stagecoach Mountain - Stagecoach.  Hard effort climbing up to The Beach with trekking poles and back to the house.  Then, dropped them off at the house and ran another 3 miles down to the fire station and back on dirt trail.  Pushed the effort the whole way.

8/8 - 7.3 miles.  1:12:xx.  500'v.  Stagecoach.  Easy paced evening run from dusk til dark on the road down to the lake and a couple miles of trail. 

8/9 -  6.76 miles.  :52:45.  500'v.  Stagecoach.  Quick run down to Elk Run Trail and a few 7 minute miles on dirt before climbing back to the house. 

8/10 - Rest.

8/11 - 13.55 miles.  3:34:08.  2910'v.  Black Mountain Trail to East Fork Trail just nouth of Round Lake.  Woke up at 4 a.m. and got to the trail head at Sheriff Reservoir just before 6 a.m.  Looked like it might rain so I waited a few minutes in my truck before deciding to just go for it.  The run started out great and I felt great climbing up into the mountains at dawn.  It was a little bit cloudy but I really didn't think the rain would come.  I ran a couple hours up trail and found a nice spot next to a creek to eat some food (a clementine, some bread with Pocket Fuel peanut butter on it and a Salt Stick tablet).  I sat on a rock, admiring my surroundings and suddenly realized that I should just turn around and spend a little time at home with Katy.  I missed her very much.  I packed up and started back when I felt a drop or two of rain.  I looked northwest and saw rain and suddenly felt a little panicked to get back since I was now climbing back up to some exposed areas.  It eventually began raining steadily on me as I hiked up the rocky trail but it wasn't a complete deluge.  I got pretty wet but after a half hour or so it let up and I started back down towards Sheriff under clearing skies.  I had fun and made it back home by 11 a.m.  I walked around the neighborhood with Katy for about 45 minutes then spent a little while clearing some branches from a couple of trees we had cut down earlier in the week.  That afternoon, I drove up to Clark to meet up with Jonny B, Christian, Paul and Brady and a couple of other people, at a favorite camping spot out on Greenville Mine Road to watch a meteor shower that evening.  I ended up deciding to treat it all as a training day and stayed on my feet (and even did some late night hiking with the dogs) most of the night.   The sky was clear and we saw some really amazing meteors!  I fell asleep in my sleeping bag staring at the stars after a great 20-hour day.

8/12 - Rest.?

Uh-oh.  DNF'ed another training run!  I haven't quite mastered the long, wilderness training run but I'm still happy with the time I've been getting on my feet and the quality of my shorter runs.   It's just logistically difficult to run in the mountains for several hours and I just don't like spending that much time away from my wife during her pregnancy.   Anyway, it's almost taper time so my plan from here until September 14th is to run hard this week, finishing with the Continental Divide Trail Run next Sunday, August 19th (my sister Sommai's birthday!), where I'd like to got under 2 hours and 20 minutes.  After that, I will just put in 3 weeks of easy running and get plenty of rest leading up to race day.  Simple. 

Weekly Summary: July 22 - July 29

7/22 - Rest.

7/23 - Rest.

7/24 - Rest.

7/25 - 1 mile.  Walking with Katy.

7/26 -  A couple miles.  Stagecoach.  No watch.  Just shaking things out a bit.

7/27 -  Rest.

7/28 - 10.66 miles.  1:59:19.  700'v.   Stagecoach.   Some trail and alot of dirt road for this casual morning run.  The weather was pretty clear but humid when I set out down the dirt road on my way to Sarvis Creek Trail.   After a 2 mile warm up on the road I was ready to run some single track but only made it about a half mile up Sarvis Creek before running into two, dog-sized bear cubs.  One bolted down the trail, FAST! and the smaller one tried to climb up an aspen tree.  I immediately turned around, afraid that I would frighten the two bears into losing each other.  It also crossed my mind that Mama Bear was probably within earshot of her cubs and wouldn't appreciate me bugging them.  No worries, they were there first.  I decided to run the road again for a while and saw a few guys fishing and three runners also enjoying the morning.  I hiked quite a few hills on the way back as my legs seemed to lack some pep. 

7/29 - 11.26 miles.  3:01:25.  Gilpin Lake Trail (1161) - Gold Creek Trail (1150).  Finally, I can check the famous "Zirkel Circle" off my list after wanting to do this route for over two years.  My first attempt, two summers ago with Katy, ended rather abruptly when a rogue tree branch nearly scalped my then-girlfriend.   This time I ran it with Richard Williams and we didn't run Mica Lake Trail, opting to do just the classic North Routt County mountain loop.  It looked like it might rain all morning but we didn't get wet until the final two miles and, by then, it was a pleasant, light rain that cooled us off.  The hike up was steady and relaxed for the first 3 miles and we didn't run a whole lot.  There were many, many people on the trail and even more sitting at Gilpin Lake when we finally arrived there.  I'm not used to sharing the trail with so many people (unless it's a race!) but I love seeing people getting out in the woods so it was cool to exchange greetings with them.   Gilpin Lake was incredible and I can really see why it is such a popular destination.  After leaving the lake, we climbed up and over a saddle and enjoyed 5 glorious miles of downhill all the way back to the trail head.  The single track trail was both runnable and fairly technical but we were feeling good on the return so we kept up a pretty brisk pace most of the way down.  Gorgeous track!



Two good runs on the weekend although I lacked a couple of maintenance runs during the week.  Overall, feeling very good and looking forward to a few more wilderness runs with Richard in August.  Right now, the only race I'm considering for next month is Continental Divide Trail Run on the 18th.  Richard and I are planning to do an out-and-back run on the entire Mad Creek (Swamp Park) Trail in mid-August as a final long run (44 miles) before the RRR100.  Next Sunday, I am planning on taking him to Sheriff Reservoir to check out the Black Mountain Trail.

Leadville Silver Rush 50

The Leadville Silver Rush 50 is a great race.  Sunday morning, around 300 (of nearly 600 registered) runners lined up at the Dutch Henri Hill starting line to tackle just short of 50 miles of mountainous jeep and foot trails at elevations from ten to 12,000'.  The starting area was already bursting with energy as music blared and the announcer counted down the time to the shotgun start.  At 6 A.M., a run in the mountains seemed like a good idea.

The weather was clear and cool in the morning after some light rain the night before.  The race begins with a short, steep climb up Dutch Henri Hill before entering a pine forest and beginning a slow, winding climb up to the first aid station around mile 6.  Going into the race, I knew that alot of the course was on jeep trails and wasn't expecting it to be as fun as my beloved single track but I was impressed early on with the trail's footing, varied technicality and overall runnabilty.  Once the intial pack stretched out a bit, I ran with a nice guy from the Denver area for a while, chatting it up about elite mountain runner Matt Carpenter's idea of "even-ness of effort" as we got warmed up.  I moved ahead after a few minutes and ran within myself for a while just getting into the groove.  What I found most impressive about the course were the incredible and expansive views of the very large mountains in the area around Leadville both initially and then, at the higher points of the course.  Around mile 3, the trail paralleled a wide valley, Iowa Gulch, with some relic mining structures from the abandoned Hellena Mine and massive tailing piles at the foot of several enormous, treeless peaks.  After Aid 1, the trail continued up the gulch on the rough jeep road through an open area with bushes and the occasional fir or spruce tree to the base of the Iowa Amphitheatre, watched over by Mount Sherman (14,036'), then met up with dirt County Road 6 for a 3 mile descent to the Printer Boy Aid Station (mile 13.5).  Here, I met up with Katy and Bronwyn, who had come down to crew for me and did so in smashing style, I might add.  As rolled in, I handed my water bottle to Bron, who immediately filled it and asked me what I needed and what I wanted to eat.  Katy got some sunscreen on me and refilled my running vest with a fresh supply of gels and trail mix.  I changed my shirt and was out of there in under two minutes. 

A short, fast descent through a pine forest on near-single track trail greeted me next and I was elated to be in the cool trees as the morning temperature began to climb a bit.  After about a mile descent, the course crossed a road and began a steady climb up a dirt road for the next mile or so before turning onto a double track that continued the climb back in the trees.   So far in the race, I had kept my pace conservative and my effort even.  Elevated, but even.  I was running easy on the downhills and flats and hiking very well on the climbs.   I was feeling really good and in control.  As the climb continued above treeline, I was affored an awesome view of the town of Leadville, Turquoise Lake and Mount Massive (14,421').  Spectacular!  Around here, I met Adam Whitehead, a native of Zimbabwe, living and working in Denver now, and we shared the climb.  I asked Adam what he did for work and when he replied that he was into wealth management, I commented that I did the exact opposite.  In addition to doing the 50, Adam was competing in the Leadman competition, which means he's a badass.  We talked it up and took in the impressive views as we climbed up to 12,000' on a rocky jeep road.  After cresting a false summit, the course descended a bit before climbing, again to 12,000' in prepartion for the descent to the race turnaround at Stumptown.  A little ways into the descent, I partnered up with a runner named Jason (Jay Baker), a Frontier Airlines pilot and triathlete from Denver.  We were both in the zone and chatted like a couple of old ladies about racing and life, all the while cheering on the front runners who were now passing us on their way out.  Because I was having so much fun talking to him, I was a little sad to part company at Stumptown as I handed off my vest to Bronwyn and frantically chewed on some food.  I continued on a convoluted loop climb up to the proper turnaround and met back up with Bronwyn to grab my refilled vest and water bottles.  At this time, I took on a second water bottle filled with Gatorade in anticipation of the afternoon heat and headed back on the course.   I hit the turnaround in under five hours.

The long climb back up to 12,000' after Stumptown was the first time I really had to push the effort.  Between the altitude and the steepness of the trail, the effort to get back to the top of this climb was substantial.  Still, I stuck to my program of eating gels and real food (clementines and a trail mix I pre-made of cashews, dried blueberries and cherries and M&Ms) and drinking to ensure I was properly fueling my body for the effort.  The next descent and climb went well but I was definitely shakier than I was earlier in the race.  This was the section of the course that is above treeline so I distracted myself by looking far off into the surrounding mountains.  At the next aid station, I refilled my bottles and grabbed some pretzels but they turned to paste when I put them in my mouth so I didn't eat many.  As the trail descended again, the temperature began to rise but I felt steady again and I knew I was going to get to see Katy again at the Printer Boy Aid Station.  (I didn't get to see her at Stumptown because my lovely pregnant wife was getting some rest.)  There was one more climb before the aid but I still felt good the entire way, just hiking smooth and strong up through the pine trees.  I got pumped up by the crowd of people amassed on the road as I exited the forest and ran a little harder to give the spectators a good show, looking for my crew all the while.  Once spotted, they changed out my gear and I put on a fresh pair of socks.  I paused to take a picture with a cute puppy at the race and I kissed my wife and left again. 

Earlier in the race, I had been told by one of the other runners that the next section was the crux of the race and now I believe him.  A short descent on paved road takes you back to a 3 mile climb on dirt road back up to foot of Iowa Amphitheatre.  By now, the mid-day heat has arrived and you are completely exposed on that road as you climb achingly slow up, up and up.  I shuffled, hiked and walked.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat for one hour.  I reached the top around the seven hour mark and relished the idea of a mostly downhill finish.  Mostly.

I found myself grinding away the final miles of the race.  I had felt so good the first half, it was hard to believe that I was starting to fade and I just kept calculating the time-to-mile pace that would let me finish in my under-10 hour goal.  I hit the final aid station, still in pretty good spirits and chowed on some watermelon and had my water bottles refilled.  I had been diluting my Gatorade bottle with water and, in hindsight, I suffered on electrolytes toward the end because I had been doing that.  Particularly because it warm.  As a result, I just slowly faded over the last part of the race.  I could feel it coming and tried to keep taking on calories in the form of gels but I just continued to struggle as the miles wore on at the end.  I still managed a pace in the high 10 min/mile but it I could tell it wouldn't last as the wheels started falling off the wagon.  With only a few miles left in the race, I linked up with another runner (Sean Wetstine) who was still feeling good enough to talk to me and provide some encouragement.  We shuffled along and I couldn't believe it didn't feel like we were getting closer to the finish.  I checked my GPS and it just didn't tick off the distance quick enough for my liking.  Then, the nausea.  Whoa.  My stomach did a 180 and started messing with me.  I finally stopped dead in my tracks and coughed, heaved and cramped.  No vomit just pain.  Oh.  I'm in the hurt locker now.  I just turned and started up the trail.  Just move forward.  Finish.  I walked.  I hiked.  I shuffled.  I looked at my GPS and saw that we should be at the finish and all I saw on the course was a foot trail climbing up a hill, into the trees.  "Those fuckers.  They added a mile to the course."  I thought to myself and I was right.  I just kept moving and actually managed to run again.  I told myself to take advantage of the lie that my brain was telling my body and kept moving. 

Finally, I saw and heard people as I crested the top of Dutch Henri Hill and relief overwhelms me.  I ran hard down the trail to the finish line.  I saw Katy and Bronwyn and the red carpet finish and nothing mattered for a moment except the fact that I was finished and I did it under 10 hours.  9:49:56.  Then, I remembered to look for the runner who pulled me through those final miles so that I can thank him but he's lost in the crowd.  I am humbled.

Silver Rush was another great experience and full of surprises.  The course is definitely tough, scenic and worthy of the effort.   Towards the end of my race, the clouds started moving in and it rained and hailed for a while a few minutes after I finished.  I immediately thought of the 200 or so runners still out on the course dealing with the mountain weather and how we are just visitors to those high peaks that we spent the day running through, up and down.    Despite feeling low at the end of the race, the overall experience was exceptional and I got to run with some really amazing people.

Weekly Summary: May 21 - May 28

5/21 - Rest.

5/22 - 6 miles.  1000'.  Steamboat Ski Area.  Ran 10 minutes to warm up from The Lodge thru the base area and up Right of Way to Thunderhead.  From there, I did 5-minute hill intervals on Why Not Road up to Vagabond saddle (where the tepee is in the winter) before turning around and continuing intervals all the back to The Lodge.  Pretty hard effort both uphill and down for my first "speed work" session of the year.  My aerobic base is in good order after a solid winter/early spring of gradual build ups so I figure it is time to start adding some anerobic workouts. 

5/23 - 7 miles.  700'.  Spring Creek Trail.  Nice and easy steady state recovery run in some cool, wet weather on Spring Creek.  Kept the effort on the flats and downhills at 8 min/mile and did all the climbs without any hard breathing.   

5/24 - 7 miles.  400'.  Stagecoach.  A couple downhill miles warming up at 8:30 min/mile, then 3 miles steady at 7:00 min/mile on Elk Run Trail next to the lake.  Uphill back to the house at 8-9:30 min/mile.  Solid effort.

5/25 - Rest.

5/26 - 2.5 hours. 3000'.   Howelsen Hill, Emerald Mountain - Larry's - Quarry Mountain Trail - Ridge Trail (out) - Ridge Trail - Lane of Pain -Little Moab-Blackmere Drive-Howlesen Base area -roads (in).  Tough, hilly run from downtown over Emerald Mountain on several trails and out towards Cow Creek on the Ridge Trail.  Many, many healthy climbs this day, starting with Howelsen Hill face.  Ridiculous climbing at some points. Ran some good wooded single track on the ascent up Emerald with a couple of open meadows on the way.  Once on top of Emerald there are several brutally steep climbs afterward before finally hitting a couple miles of meandering downhill on the way out to Cow Creek.  It was warm and I went through a lot of water.  Long, long downhill from the top of Emerald via Lane of Pain, Little Moab and Blackmere Drive. 

5/27 - 6 miles.  Stagecoach.  Route County Road 18. - Easy effort across the dam and down the road for a few miles.  Super windy day and a little chilly.

5/28 - 12 miles.  1980'v.  "Mad Creek" (Swamp Park) Trail.  Six miles of gradual uphill on Mad Creek until I reached it's junction with Red Dirt.  Along the way, I crossed the creek a couple of times, spotted a deer and power hiked most of the ascent with trekking poles.  About 1:15 to the turnaround 6.2 miles up trail.  I ran just about every step downhill except for the most technical footing parts.  The trail is almost entirely in the woods with only a few small meadows and follows the creek the whole way and, aside from about a dozen really technical sections, is really smooth track.  Very easy to run on. 

8 day total:  50 miles.  6080'v.

A decent amount of miles and vertical this week made for some good running.  Almost all of it on trails, which makes me even happier.  Just more or less trying to mix it up and make sure my runs are fun and challenging with a little rest and easy recovery runs thrown in.   

Fortnight Summary: Apr 22 - May 6

4/22 - Rest.

4/23 - Rest.

4/24 - Rest.

4/25 - Run/hike with Benihana up Stagecoach Mountain.

4/26 - Rest.

4/27 - Rest.

4/28 - 5.31 miles.  1:37:54.  Mega easy effort.

4/29 - 12.80 miles.  1:57:10.  Spring Creek Trail.  Ridiculously fun session on Spring Creek with about 15 minutes of barefoot running on the soccer fields by the high school afterwards.  Ran the 5.2 miles of single track up to Dry Lake and back into town at a super solid effort.   Just over an hour to get up to Dry Lake and then rocked the downhill return in 37 minutes.  The trail was in perfect condition.

4/30 - Rest.

5/1 - 6.35 miles.  1:03:38.  Stagecoach.

5/2 - Rest.

5/3 - 5.39 miles.  :42:25.  Stagecoach.  

5/4 - Rest.

5/5 - 14.13 miles (1500+').  2:43:37.  Sarvis Creek Trail.  Easy effort long run from South Shore out to Sarvis Creek Trail and, then, 4 miles out on the trail.  It was a beautiful, sunny morning and I felt really good.  I hiked much of the uphill sections and ran moderate 8 - 10 minute/mile back out, stopping frequently to take pictures.  I've wanted to run Sarvis since last summer and it was a real treat to find the trail pretty dry.  After the first mile, I could hear the creek raging but couldn't see it through the trees.  I was stoked when I finally crossed the creek on a bridge and found that the trail stayed right next to the water for the next 3 miles or so.  I can't wait to run it again, hopefully in it's entirety.  I had the trail all to myself, except for spooking a pretty decent sized elk cow.   I should've brought a second water bottle, as it got warm and I ran out of water on the outbound and had to refill from a stream without means to filter the water (next time I'll bring a Steri-Pen).   Hopefully, I don't come down with giardia or some nasty bug, but I think the chances are pretty remote considering the source I got the water from.  It was just fantastic to run a trail in Wilderness Area again. 

5/6 - 8.16 miles (~2000').  1:37:12.  Stagecoach Mountain.  Up to the top of the mountain with Benny before taking him back home at the 5 mile mark and continuing on for some light hill running. 

After Desert RATS, I took a few days off to recover, despite feeling really good and ready to run again within a few days of the race.   I also skipped a couple of maintenance runs due to some long days at work.  It shouldn't have any effect on my fitness at this point with regards to doing the Quad Rock 50 next weekend.   Bronwyn is going to go down to Ft. Collins and crew for me and I'm grateful to have the support on what I expect to be a really tough course.   Fortunately, the long range forecast calls for coolish weather.  The funny thing is that now that trails are opening up around here, I'm less motivated to race (and rest afterwards) because I just want to do long, slow wilderness runs.  Oh well, there will time for plenty of those this summer and the races are always fun. 

Weekly Summary: Feb 27 - Mar 4

2/27 - Rest.

2/28 - 5.78 miles.  1:04:21.  ~600'v.  Steamboat.   PM.  It snowed very hard all day long but I was able to take advantage of a mid-afternoon window of moderate snow to run Spring Creek Trail from JDs house downtown.  It started out only snowing lightly for the first half hour.  I was even warm and took of my beanie for a little while at the beginning of the run.  I passed a group of older folks skiing down the trail as I ran up and one of the concerned older ladies says to me, "Where's your hat?"  How thoughtful.  I assured her it was in my pocket and I was going to be alright.   Later, the trail was snowshoe packed but I still ended up breaking some trail on the final climb up the ridge and I continued until I got stopped by a fairly deep snowdrift.  I turned around and started back down and it started snowing harder.  I cruised the 2.5 miles back to the trail head then ran the road up to Butcherknife Canyon trail before running through some alleys on the way back to JDs.  It was cool spending most of the run in the woods and then coming out and running by the cute, little mountain houses in Old Town.  Snowy run, for sure.

2/29 - 2.16 miles.  1:17:15.  ~400'v.  Stagecoach.  PM.  Snowshoe with Benny.  Made a .5 mile lap through the open space but it was a bit windy so we headed up the mountain.  Broke a trail up and, then, downhill in some pretty deep snow.  I didn't feel like running when I got home so this was my alternative.  Slow and steady. 

3/1 - 6.66 miles.  :57:43.  Steamboat.  Yampa River Core Trail.  PM.  After work run from downtown to Casey's Pond and back on the Core Trail.  A little cement and alot of ice and snow just before it got dark and started snowing again.  Another burly drive home afterwards.

3/2 - Rest.

3/3 - Snowboarding.  2:43:00.  -16,360'v.  Steamboat Ski Area.  AM. I was supposed to do a 21-mile long run today but, instead, Katy scored me a ski pass and with all the new snow this week, had to settle for the Best Day of riding this year.  Solo shred morning session.  Tons of powder and plenty deep as it continued to snow.   Ridiculously good runs through the trees on the skier's left of Concentration.  Later, I ran into Ian Wilson, in town from Ft. Collins, and took him and couple of his friends down Broadway Trees where I had found untracked lines earlier.  My last run, I dropped the rope next to the Gondola and rode some out of bounds terrain before finishing up.  I even got to "hollywood" under the Gondy as I rode out on Lower Valley View.    It was hard to leave when I did but I wanted to meet up with some friends and watch "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas." 

3/4 - 20.69 miles.  4:06:28.  1,800'v.  Stagecoach.  late AM start.  From the house, I ran some hilly, snow covered dirt road for 5 miles until I got to the end of the road in the South Shore neighborhood.  That's when the fun started.  From there, I pulled out my hiking poles (yep, I ran with poles in anticipation of dealing with over a foot of snow that fell during the week) and started post holing thigh deep snow.  At first, I decided to follow a track that led across the lake but I was not only punching through super deep snow but also stepping into 3 inches of water every time I took a step.  My gaiters and Gore-Tex shoes kept my feet from getting totally soaked but I was sure that my feet were already wet.  I decided to not trudge through the water and turned around making my way back up to the shoreline and punched out a new trail for the next .5 mile until I got to the dam.  I looked down at my GPS to check my pace, which had slowed to a laughable 30-45 min/mile.  Once I crossed the dam, I took off my gaiters and stowed them in my Nathan vest.  I kept the walking sticks out, sipped some water and felt pretty good, ready to run some snowmobile packed trail down towards Sarvis Creek.  This was the best part of the run.  The snow was decently packed so I could maintain a run and the sun came out as I ran in a small, narrow valley next to the Yampa River.  I passed a couple of snowshoers and couple people out fishing.  It was really beautiful.  I turned around when my GPS read 9 miles and cruised back up the road.  Right before I got back to the dam, I stepped through a cattle guard and put a nice knot on my left shin.  Ouch!   Took it easy for a minute and ate a Clif Bar.  From the dam, I stayed on the road that goes around the north shore of the reservoir.  Fortunately, the plow had made one pass on the road so it was easy to run.  After a couple more miles, I got onto CR 14 and ran on the shoulder of the road which was just wet asphalt, so I was finally able to get some traction and I ran a decent pace to the turn off that goes back up to the house.  The next 2 miles were pretty uneventful except seeing the sled dogs hanging out by the reservoir.  It made me think of local musher, Tom Thurston, who is running his dogs in the Iditarod right now.  As I made the last hill before the house, I was starting to struggle a bit so I pulled out the sticks to lean on a little bit and decided to run another mile and half up the road before turning around a calling it a day.  I took a few big gulps of water and worked one more long uphill then turned around pushed myself to finish strong.  I was definitely tired and a little sore by the end of the run but felt really good about breaking the 20 mile and 4 hour marks. 

Weekly Totals:  35.29 miles.   6:24:00 running/snowshoe.  2:43:00 snowboarding.  19,160'v. 

Again, I didn't get the mileage I was supposed to get according to my training schedule but I'm getting the long runs done, getting plenty of time on my feet, spending some time outside and I'm shredding some serious snow.   All good things and it's always good to mix it up to avoid overtraining.  It's exciting to be able to run 20 miles again especially so early in the year and feeling strong enough to improve.  

Emerald Mountain Trail Run Race Report

Well, quite frankly, I got to "live the dream" again today.  I woke up early (as usual) and walked the dogs as the sun began to rise over the Continental Divide.  In the dawn's early light, the sky was clear,  the air was cool and crisp and the leaves on the aspens, while still mostly green, were beginning to show signs of the approaching autumn.  The morning temperatures in the high 30s would eventually give way to a gorgeous day in the 70s. The thought of getting to run a mountain trail race in this weather was all I needed to feel good about the life I have.

I arrived at the base of Howelsen Hill early enough to do a little warm up running on the final part of the course and then, a little more on the bike path with Derek McClung before the race start.  This was the final race in the Steamboat Springs Running Series and it was really nice that it was actually a smaller field of runners than at the other races in the series.  It gave the race a really "local" feel.  Katy showed up to see me off, which always makes me feel lucky and very happy and I was ready to run.  My goals for the race were to finish in 1:03 and as the first Masters (age groups 40+, since I just entered a new age group last Tuesday) and, above all, to have fun.  Runners assembled behind the yurt next to the Sombrero Ranch's stables at the Rodeo Grounds and, at "Go!", we took off on our 12-kilometer, 1,130 vertical foot mountain tour.

Everyone seemed to be in great spirits and as we made the first hill going past Olympian Hall and there was alot of chatter and laughing.  I watched and laughed out loud at the ridiculously fast pace that Nick Sunseri was already on as he barralled up the trail next to the ski jumps.  It was obvious he was on to another win as he ran away from the rest of the field.  Two other runners chased him with myself, Harry Niedl, Walter Magill and Tammy Jacques already 30 seconds back, and we all began climbing.  Before we hit Blackmere Drive and started up towards Emerald Mountain, Harry moved up into 4th position.  Then, Walter and Tammy moved up about 10 seconds ahead of me.  We stayed like this for a few minutes and then turned on to the winding, uphill single track of Larry's.  Here, I started to feel really good and moved past Walter and, then Tammy, a couple minutes later.  We jumped back on Blackmere for the climb up to the top of the quarry and I could hear Tammy's footsteps hot on my tail as we neared the race's apex.  (In hindsight, it would have been great if the race continued up Lane of Pain to the summit of Emerald Mountain.  This would add an absurdly steep climb up another 400(ish)' in less than half a mile and, I think, really legitimize this as a "mountain race.")   I managed to hold her off until the top of Little Moab and then bombed down the gnarly, rocky trail to open a gap.  At the bottom of Little Moab (just a short 100+ yard, 100' descent), the course jumped back on the winding single track of Lupine.  I absolutely love running the smooth single track with it's tight corners in the scrub oak and occasional rocky steps.  I kicked it down a gear and did most of the mile or so downhill through the woods at just over a 6 minute/mile pace. 

I kept listening for footsteps behind me but they never materialized.  After a couple minutes, I saw a white t-shirt in front of me and ran a little harder to catch it.  Here, I passed Eddie Rogers, who runs in either Vibram Five Fingers (a "foot glove") or sandals.  Today, he was wearing what looked like a home-made, Tarahumara Indian-style sole tied to his feet and ankles with rope or line.  While I like his barefoot approach to trail running (I race "minimal"-style trail flats, Inov-8 Talon 240's), I just don't think you can run as fast in sandals or barefooted as you can in shoes.   Once I got in front of Eddie, I hammered the pace to put on a good gap on him and  to take advantage of the long, gradual downhill of the next few miles.  There were a few, small uphill sections but the rest of Lupine was a fun, fast, meandering run through the trees before the course finally broke into a meadow and the made the turn out to the Bluffs Loop. 

I ended up running the Bluffs Loop by myself and could feel myself starting to fade on the occasional uphill.  Fortunately, there weren't many ups and I was able to keep my tempo quick all the way back to the Rodeo Grounds and the race finish.  As I reached the portion of the course I had pre-run earlier in the morning, I opened up to the fastest I could run and sprinted the last few hundred yards to the finish.  I managed a 4th place overall and first place Masters finish in a very satisfying 1:01:46.   Nick Sunseri killed another course for the win in :50:11 with Adam Loomis of Eau Claire, Wisconsin in second (:56:04) and Harry Niedl in third (:57:37).  Local mountain biker extraordinare, Tammy Jacques went on to win the women's race in a quick 1:03:07, followed by Steamboat's Kristin Stemp (1:12:47) and Veronica Ventuno (1:13:30) of Denver.   Derek McClung ran the race of the day in my book, finishing 14th in 1:10:28, nearly 5 minutes faster than he expected.

Just as much fun as the race was hanging out with all the other runners afterwards.  Steamboat has a small but great community of runners, both road and trail alike.   With food catered from some of the town's fantastic little restarants and free water, gatorade and beer(!) to drink, runner's milled about, telling stories from their personal races and talking about all things running.  The atmosphere was festive and light.  Clearly, the race series regulars have become pretty familiar with one another and are supportive and friendly.  Furthermore, the running series consistently raffles off the coolest gear at the end of every race.  Tech t-shirts, Big Agnes sleeping bags, backpacks, magazine subscriptions and free nights at the Sheraton make it better to be lucky than fast at a Running Series race.

In all, another fantastic race put on by the race directors and volunteers make me glad to live and play in such a wonderful little town in the Rocky Mountains.  The consistently good participant turnout is testament to the quality and enjoyability of the races that are put on by the SSRS. Thanks for the memories and see you next summer, Running Series!

Continental Divide Trail Run Race Report

Holy shit.  That is a tough race.  Especially when it starts the morning after one of your best friends gets married and you clipped your quadracep on a rock while tubing down the Yampa River that afternoon and you've been at sea level for most of the week before and...OK, that's enough excuses.  Here's how the race went down:

The 2011 Ski Haus Continental Divide Trail Run, which is a Trail Runner Magazine Trophy Series race, sold out with 125 runners, again proving that the Steamboat Springs Running Series is really getting the attention it deserves.   It was another gorgeous morning, the weather clear and cool and perfect for racing.  After meeting at the Knoll parking lot at the Steamboat Ski Area, runners are loaded onto shuttles which take them to the race start at the Fish Creek Falls trail head.  At the race start, runners practically sprinted to the trail to avoid bottle necking and continued down the trail and crossed the footbridge at the bottom of Fish Creek Falls.  Immediately afterwards, runners begin the first of many, many climbing sections.  Gaining 500' in the first mile and 1500' in the first 3.5 miles, I found myself hiking much of the first part of the race.  The trail is not only steep but also very, very rocky for the first few miles, making it very difficult to do any running at all (unless you are one of the rabbits at the very front of the race) since the footing is so sketchy.  I managed to reach the 2nd waterfall in 33 minutes and took a few seconds to go down to a small pool and dunk my hat in an effort to cool off.  After the second falls, the trail begins to climb more gradually and I was able to start running a little more, albeit conservatively, knowing that there was still much more uphill to deal with later in the race.  About 4 miles in, the trail crosses a beautiful meadow that was pretty muddy.  I tried to avoid getting my feet wet at first, but there was an unavoidable section of soupy mud and all bets were off.  I laughed and said out loud, "Yep.  It's a mountain race."  I saw the runner in front of me turn his head a bit and smile in agreement.  At the 5.5 mile mark, the course turns onto the Mountain View Trail, a 6 mile grind up the backside of Mt. Werner.  I paused at the aid station, drank two cups of Cytomax, ate a Honey Stinger gel and pet a race volunteer's dog before I proceeded on. 

I have a real love/hate relationship with Mountain View Trail.  Running in this direction, it's a long, forested uphill run to get to the top of the ski area.  It's a beautiful trail (that's the love), especially in the last 2 miles when the views out to the Continental Divide become really impressive.  But it's tough (the hate).  I always have a hard time on this trail.  I ended up doing most of the trail alone, alternately running the flats, downhills and moderate uphills and hiking on the steeper climbs.  My right quadracep was feeling pretty sore from hitting the rock in the river while tubing the day before but I just tried to keep moving and keep my heart rate from going too high.  I stopped a couple of times to get some debris out of my shoes.  Finally, in the last 1.5 miles, I caught a glimpse of two runners about a hundred yards in front of me and I felt like I would be able to catch them, if not before the summit, then, hopefully on the 2.5 mile descent to the Gondola.  I managed to reel in the first guy and kept steady after the next, catching him in last .5 mile before the summit.   At the summit, I was so relieved to finally be done with (almost) all that heinous uphill.  By now, we had climbed well over 3000'.  On the descent, I saw two more runners in front of me and I ran my fastest to catch them both.  I was able to catch the first runner on Storm Peak Challenge and gave him an "attaboy" as I passed.  There was a short, bushwacking detour to the course due to logging operations on the mountain, which was actually really fun.  There was a ton of flagging to let you know where to run but NO trail. Just low brush, grass and rocks.  I managed to pass the second runner here and then did all I could to stay fast on the remainder of the downhill as we hit dirt road again.  Like the Mt. Werner race I did a couple weeks ago, this course finishes with a very cruel 400+ yard uphill run to the gondola.  I felt like I was moving in slow motion but happily crossed the finish line in 2:30:41 (19th), nearly 6 minutes off my goal time of 2:25 but proud, none the less, to finish this grueling race.  

Nick Sunseri won the race, destroying yet another course record, in a blistering 1:47:50!   We talked before the race and were both a little dubious about the advertised race distance of 15 (or 16) miles.  Both of our GPS watches calculated the course at 14.3 miles.  Nobody disputed the 3400' of vertical gain.  Other locals also recording fast times were Josh Smullin (3rd, 2:05.30),Harry Niedl (4th, 2:07.10),  Bill Goldsmith (5th, 2:08.13) Glen Light (8th, 2:15.34) and Gregg Joyce (14th, 2:25.36).

Mount Werner Classic Race Recap

It was another stellar summer morning with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s (after a little rain in the days before) and a near-full corral of runners began the 12-mile,  3,400 vertical foot trek to the top of Mt. Werner.  The race website: (http://runningseries.com/races/mt_werner_classic.php)  claims the course actually climbs 4,775' because of the multiple uphill and downhill sections along your way to the summit.  I read once that a 1,000' climb is like running an extra mile.  To call this race a challenge is no understatement. 

I arrived early enough to see neighbor and friendly runner Bronwyn Rittner in the parking lot and walked down to the registration tent.  Because I registered early enough, my race number was pre-printed with my name on it.  I thought that was a cool, classy touch for the Race Director to think of.  I did a little warm up running with local speedster, Harry Niedl (ended up finishing 3rd, 1:49:45) and let him know my plan was to start really slow and save as much as I could for later.  My only goal was to beat last year's time of 2:06:04.

At the start, I stayed true to myself and started slowly,  settling in with a pack of runners as we headed up Right of Way towards the bottom of Thunderhead lift.  From there, we got on the dirt road up to snowmaking, instead of taking the single track.  This was a detour from last year's course due to a mudslide that happened in the spring.  As we approached the first view of the valley from the top of Bashor Bowl, I ran with Roy Cardwell from Vail, who I met at last year's race and we talked for a bit.  Roy's running the Leadville Trail 100 in a couple of weeks.  We got to talk for a while after the race, too, which was really nice.  He says he'll be back next year.  I hope so.  We passed the first aid station at the Snowmaking Building and hopped on the Valley View trail to do the first section of serious climbing (of course, I say this after we have already grunted our way up a solid 7-800').  The weather was so nice and cool in the shady aspens.  I ran with the two women's leaders (Nancy Citriglia and Kelly Bedell) for a little while, then pushed ahead once we got near some of the downhill sections.  I caught Duke Barlow from Breckenridge just before the climb up Moonlight but he passed me as I hiked up a steep section and then got away from me.  I was relieved once the course got to Duster because I knew that we had a relatively tame climb to Rendezvous on a mile plus dirt road.  Nancy Citriglia of Winter Park was now the women's leader (went on to finish first in 2:03:46) came on strong here and passed me on Duster.  At Rendezvous, the course runs down a dirt road to the bottom of Sunshine Lift and then, begins the gnarly 2ish mile climb to the summit on Pete's Wicked Trail.   I was able to see the two runners in front of me on the occasional switchback, so even though I really started to feel beat, I had a goal in mind of staying somewhat close to them.  I couldn't quite find a rhythm on the climb.  Pete's is a pretty technical trail with water, rocks, logs, a bit of everything.  And it's relentlessly steep.  I checked my watch at one point and I had been running for 1 hour and 38 minutes, so I ate a Honey Stinger gel to give me a boost.  It helped a little but, if not for the amazing wildflowers and the jaw-dropping view at the top of Sunshine Liftline,  it would have felt like a bit of a death march to the summit.  Once within sight of the top of Storm Lift, I was able to get my second wind, ready for a 2.5 mile downhill run to the gondola.  Local runner, Mike Hlavacek, was at the summit aid station with some encouragement and a pitcher of water or margarita.  Your choice.  I thought he was joking at the time but found later that Nick Sunseri (local running stud and winner of this year's race in 1:41:19) and Roy had both taken Mike up on his offer.   (Not for me, thanks.)  On the descent, I just went for broke and clipped off my fastest downhill effort my legs could take.  First, I passed a Chevy Suburban and, eventually, caught Nancy as I cruised down Storm Peak Challenge but she still managed to stay close behind me.  Less than a mile from the finish, I see Eddie Rogers (Steamboat)  running in Vibram Five Fingers and I really want to catch him at the end.  I definitely had pace on him and I was feeling good.   That is, until he saw me chasing him and kicked it down another gear.  The final 400 yards or so of the race is another unforgiving dirt road climb up to the gondola and I was completely gassed.  His strong stride indicated that he had more left than I did.  He finally disappeard around a bend just before the finish and I did all I could to end with a smile.

Yes!  Another wonderful time running a great race and I even PR'd the course with a time of 2:03:34   (Shooting to go under 2 hrs. next year and I managed to keep my top 10 streak intact by finishing 8th because a couple of real fast guys didn't run today.)  I stuck around for a while, ate a little food and talked about trail running with a few of the other runners.  It was a super beautiful day and I was glad to hang out at the top of the gondola with a bunch of people who had just run the same, awesome course.  Everyone was just really in sync and friendly, so the event had a really positive vibe.  Great time.   The Race Directors, Emily Conjura and Cara Marrs, did an incredible job of putting on a Zero Waste Event.  The course was well-marked and well-managed.  I'm already looking forward to next year.  This race is definitely a Classic.

Leadville Trail 100 Race Recap

Katy and Bronwyn, her crew chief, tried to leave for Leadville on Thursday night but got vehemently denied by a combination of mudslides and one badly running RV. Instead, we headed south the next morning, me following in my truck. After the heavy rains the day before, it was a beautiful morning and we made it to Leadville in plenty of time for Katy to do her pre-race medical check-in and to sit in on the race briefing and crew meeting. 800 runners had registered for this year's race, it's largest field ever and about 750 made it to the starting line (362 finishers) Saturday morning at 4 a.m.

We awoke around 2:30 a.m., got ready and drove to the start. Even in the dark, cold morning, the energy at 6th and Harrison was palpable. Bronwyn, myself and other crew members, Johnathan and Laura, watched on as Katy and hundreds of other runners, streamed down the road, headlights beaming, beginning a grand adventure. We then loaded up into the Suburban and made our way to the first aid station, May Queen, where we would resupply Katy after the first 13.5 miles around Turquoise Lake.

Due to the incredible volume of people crewing for runners, the roads were a madhouse all day. At May Queen, we parked about a half mile from the aid station, assembled and loaded a gear chariot and towed Katy's supplies (food, extra clothing, etc.) down to meet her. Katy arrived at May Queen looking calm and relaxed in about 2.5 hours. Her first question, "Did you bring the blue bag?" was met with befuddled looks from the rest of us. Immediately, John bolted into a run back to the Suburban. As a crew, we were now batting 0 for 1. Still, there was no big hurry to get Katy out on the trail right away and she ate a little and stayed warm until John returned with her gear. The next leg had an aid station about 10 miles from this point but we wouldn't meet her until Twin Lakes, about 27 miles away. She packed and wore a running backpack with enough supplies to get her there. After a brief stay, she rejoined the race and began the trek up the Colorado Trail towards Hagerman Pass and onto what would become her toughest stretch.

After leaving Katy, the rest of the crew went back to our campsite to prep food for later in the day and I tried to start mentally preparing myself to pace. We left for Twin Lakes and arrived there a couple hours before we expected Katy to arrive. The little "town" was all abuzz and the front runners were already starting to trickle through. When she finally arrived, Katy complained that the IT band (connective tissue running along the quadracep from the hip to the knee) in her left leg was giving her problems and locking her leg up when she tried to run flats or downhills. The pain had started around mile 18 and wasn't getting any better. John, our masseuse, worked on her for a few minutes as she ate and got ready to climb Hope Pass. I think everyone was little nervous at this point but Katy was determined to keep going. A few minutes after she left Twin Lakes, she called from her cell phone to tell me that she had passed the leader, Anton Krupicka, going the other way (Unfortunately, Anton ended up not finishing the race after "bonking" around mile 80) and to say her leg was locking up again. Still, we stuck to the plan and John, Laura and I went to Winfield to wait for her.

After a dusty and slow drive out to the ghost town of Winfield, we anxiously waited a few hours for Katy's arrival. There was well over a thousand people at the turnaround and it was really quite a spectacle as masses of people gathered to spectate and support these incredible runners. As it got later and later passed the time we expected her to show up, we knew Katy's injury was getting the best of her. We started to think that maybe she had turned around and headed back to Twin Lakes but with a scant 45 minutes to go before the cutoff time, Katy came rolling into Winfield. Her IT band had definitely taken a turn for the worse but she was determined to continue as long as she could. After another massage and conferring with a doctor at the medical tent (who recommended she NOT continue), I joined my beautiful and persistant girlfriend back down the dusty road for 3 miles before heading up the south side of Hope Pass.

We tried to run on the road but it was just too painful for her. However, once we reached the trail she had no problem with the uphill hike. On the contrary, we began passing many people on the climb. Most were just having trouble dealing with the altitude. I know it was frustrating for her that we had no problem passing 20 or so people on the uphill knowing that the downhill would be excruciatingly slow. We reached the Hopeless aid station (complete with 30 or so llamas that had brought in all the supplies) just as the sun was going down, around 8 p.m., and ate a cup of noodles and stood by a fire for a couple minutes. It was getting cold and we were a little underdressed since we had planned to do all this section in daylight. Still, we trudged on downhill, into the dark woods. After about an hour more, we reached the first of several, cold water crossings. These, combined with some cold mud, made the last mile fairly uncomfortable. Just after 10 p.m., we reached the Twin Lakes aid station, 15 minutes after the 9:45 p.m. cut off time. Katy's run had covered 60.5 miles in 18 hours. Not her desired result but very impressive considering her physical condition. Mentally, she did not let down at ANY time. She's a champ.

After a few hours of sleep, we awoke to cheer on some of the final runner's along the part of the course that went by our campsite. Around 9 a.m. we all went to the finish line to watch the last people who would make the 30-hour cutoff (and one that wouldn't). The street was lined with a couple hundred people and the finish was a very emotional scene, especially for these final runners who had fought the course longer than those before them. Particularly moving for me was one man who was in the 70-79 year age group who finished with about 10 minutes to spare. The crowd roared as he came through. Amazing. Chances are very good that Katy and I will both attempt the Leadville 100 next year.

Mount Werner Classic Race Recap

This past Saturday, I ran in the 16th Mount Werner Classic trail run. There are 5 and 12 mile versions of the race and I participated in the 12'er, which starts at the base of the ski area and climbs 3,400+' to the summit of Mt. Werner before a two mile run descent to the finish at the top of the Gondola. A few weeks ago, I thought this might be my best race of the season but injuries to my feet in the past two races had me thinking otherwise. In the week preceding the race, I should've returned my normal training runs but, instead, I had taken a week off from running and went on two very light, short trail runs during the week. The Achilles tendon on my right foot remained slightly sore to the touch and my plantar faciitis in my left foot seemed to be neither better nor worse. Neither ailment really affects me while I am running but I certainly feel it post run and first thing in the morning. Waking up Saturday morning, I was unsure if I would run the whole race or if I might even hurt myself further if I even ran. I decided to run very slowly to the start (only a mile or so from the house) and see how I felt when I got there to decide whether or not I would race.

I got my race number and lingered at the start at the base of the Gondola, watching other runners file into the area. I was struck at how fit everyone looked and it occured to me that this being such a tough race, it was bringing out the more serious crowd of athletes. On top of that, the race had sold out it's 125 entries for the first time in the history of the race. There were some good runners in this crowd. It may have just been the fun, pre-race atmosphere, but I immediately felt well enough to run. Saying "hello" to the other runners, watching people stretch and warm up, it really got me into the mood to get out there with like-minded people on what was already a beautiful, sunny but cool Steamboat morning.

I decided to go out very easy and only run uphills if I really felt good. My goal if I had been completely healthy was to finish in 2 hours, so I decided that 2:15 was a reasonable goal considering my foot issues. If I really felt good, I thought I might run back down the mountain and back home. I wanted to run slow and easy enough to do this.

After a quick run down of the course by the race director, we were off at 8:00 a.m. This race is essentially a 10 mile climb to the top of the mountain with a 2 mile descent. The climbing starts from the very beginning, although gently, and we all started snaking our way up the ski area. I fell into a relaxed pace, making sure to breathe through my nose only, ensuring I kept it nice and easy. (I did not want to blow up! I kept on thinking about pacing Katy at Leadville in two weeks.) By the time we had completed the first .75 miles up to the bottom Thunderhead I had found a comfortable groove and started to really enjoy myself.

The next couple miles up to the Gondola, first on dirt road and then on the Valley View trail, I felt energized and happy. It was a beautiful day and I was feeling good. Much like the Spring Creek race, I was running on trails I was very familiar with and knew what to expect as we climbed higher. I had plenty of water in my handheld so I passed the first water stop at Snowmaking.

At one point, we passed the game trail that I run up from Whistler Park and I couldn't help but feel like I was right in my backyard. I spent a little bit of the climb talking with a cool local guy named Ryan. I was in such a great mood thinking about all the previous times I'd been on this trail as we cruised up the aspen strewn mountain side. After about 4 miles of steady climbing, I hit the Duster cat track and ran with Brian, a dude from Orange County, for the relatively flat 2 miles out to Rendezvous. He was fun to run and talk with and made the race alot more fun. He was primarily a mountain biker but had done some cool adventure runs like the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim. He and his girlfriend were on vacation by travelling and mountain biking or trail running at various places. We filled our water bottles at the Rendezvous water stop and I left first but felt nature's call and pulled over on the side of the trail to relieve myself. Here, Brian passed me and so did one other runner (Roy Cardwell of Vail). I knew the next section was a 2+ mile long climb to the summit so I just hung back and did a fair share of hiking to take it easier on my feet. I passed Brian after a while and then checked the GPS. Once I knew I had 3 miles remaining in the race, I began to run again and decided to run the rest of the way to the summit and cruise the downhill to the finish. Roy and I pushed each other to the top and started downhill. His shoe came untied and I ran past him as he cheered me on. (Nice guy!) I opened up my stride and cruised the switchbacks on Storm Peak Challenge, passed the Four Points Hut and finished up strong on a short climb back to the Gondola. I ran in easy to the finish and the timer said I looked like I didn't even break a sweat. I ended up being the 8th finisher in 2:06. I hung out at the finish to see a couple of the other guys I had run with finish. I ate a little at the finish tent and socialized for a couple minutes but I felt so good I decided to do the run home. I ran another 5 miles down the mountain and back to the house to finish with about 18 miles and 3 hours of running for the day. My feet were definitely sore afterwards and I've decided to only run in the pool for the next two weeks until Leadville. Speaking of ...

Katy and I went down to Leadville this weekend so that she could show me some of the important points in the race. We walked a couple of the trails and drove over the road sections and looked at the places where some of the aid stations will be located. It made the upcoming race all the more real and looking up to Hope Pass (12,600') from Twin Lakes (9,200'), all the more epic.

2010 Tahoe Rim Trail 50K Race Report

I packed up the dog and a long weekend's worth of supplies and started driving towards South Lake Tahoe around 4 a.m. on the morning of the 15th. This is the part I will skip next time. A plane ticket and a couple of bags in exchange for 32 hours in a hot, cramped 20 year old Toyota pickup with 282K miles on it. I suppose I could look on the bright side and say that I did a crash course in heat acclimation by driving on the freshly blacktopped asphalt of I-80 in 103F degree heat. Then, did some sleep deprivation training on the drive back by leaving at 7 p.m. and driving through the night to get home. Apparently, ultrarunning and family are labors of love. :)

The race was amazing. Jay dropped me off at the satellite parking for Spooner Lake State Park and I chose to run the half mile down to the start as a warm up rather than take the shuttle. I already felt light and nimble and ready to run. A crowd of around 400, that consisted of both 50K and 50 mile runners, amassed at the starting line a few minutes before the 6 a.m. start. The 100 mile racers had left the start an hour prior. After picking up my race number, I spent a few minutes snapping photos of the runners. The Race Director went over some pre-race info (like only doing the Red House Loop ONCE and avoid the mountain lions and bears that are known to visit the Rim Trail.) I jockeyed for a spot near the front a minute before the start, eager to run the best race I could. I think I heard someone say "Go!" and we were off.



The temperatures were coolish at the start of the race but everyone knew it would warm up to near record temps as the day progressed. I heard someone say that it was 20 degrees warmer this year than last. The first part of the race would be a 6 mile climb up to Hobart Aid Station, from Spooner Lake at 7000' up to 8500'. Without trying to go out too fast, I was able to work my way up into what I felt was the first 20 or so runners in the first miles as the trail meandered and slowly climbed a forested hillside. We started out on a double track road, but after a couple hundred yards we jumped onto a single track and the runners spread out into groups of people running at similar pace. Still not trying to run too fast, I found myself slowly working my way past runners for the first 3 or 4 miles.



The climb was fairly gradual over the entire distance with a couple of flat sections. The early trail was in the trees the entire time, the surface kind of a mix of sandy and rocky with some soft dirt sections, as well. Once, I arrived at Hobart, I decided to pass the first aid station without stopping since I still had a full water bottle and a half (I was carrying two)and had eaten one Honey Stinger gel.

The next leg was a longish traverse and climb (with a tiny section of snow) and then descent down to the Tunnel Creek Aid Station.



By now, I felt really warmed up and ended up chasing a really strong runner down a multitude of switchbacks in the forest. This 2 or so mile long downhill was one of the most fun parts of the race for me. The other runner kept a fast pace and I didn't have any trouble staying with him and no one was gaining ground on us. Towards the end, I backed off a little bit to save some for later in the race, as the other guy pressed on ahead. I coasted into Tunnel Creek feeling good and pumped for the next section, the infamous Red House Loop.



At the aid station, I had both of my water bottles filled with ice water and grabbed a handful of fruit and nuts to eat. I lingered just a moment and then started a climb out from Tunnel Creek. I think I ate my second gel about this time but don't really remember when. I brought 5 and ate one about every hour. I hiked alot of this section because it was pretty steep.



I think we were about 12 miles into the race by now so I knew I shouldn't try to run any uphills at this point. Too early. After the climb was a gnarly steep downhill. I figured this would go on for a while because of the reputation of the loop. About this time, I started seeing 100 mile race runners coming up from the Red House. A few were still rather upbeat but there were a couple who were really not liking that climb out. I had to slow myself down for some of the descent because it was so steep but I still made great time down to the bottom and the turnaround water station.



I only lingered for a second and started out of there quickly. The climb out wasn't that bad for a little while and I caught the guy I had chased down to Tunnel Creek and we both mostly ran this section. I liked his pace so I was happy to just hang behind him for a while. We passed a bunch more 100 mile racers and I tried to encourage all of them to have a great day (and night!) when we passed. Once we hit the steep part of the climb, I switched to hiking and started passing everybody I encountered all the way back up to Tunnel Creek. I was surprised how well I was climbing but it seemed like all my mountain running at home was really paying off. At Tunnel Creek, I took a few pictures, got some cold water and a few things to eat and took off again.

The next section was going back up the hill I had chased down earlier. The race started getting really tough in this section. Here was another big climb and the temps were starting to crank. I kept pounding water and steadily hiked everything steep. I eventually caught up to a cool guy named Mike from Phoenix, AZ. We started talking and it helped me take my mind off how my hamstrings were starting to hurt from the uphills. Turns out he is a fairly experienced ultrarunner and went to CU-Boulder. I was grateful for his company on the climb. As we crested the hill, we were treated to another great vista of Marlette Lake and Lake Tahoe and we saw a couple mountain bikers who had stopped to take in the view, too. I almost ran on but when I saw Mike stop and ask for them to take his picture, I had to do the same. It was a beautiful spot. Shortly thereafter, the two of us hit Hobart.



At the aid station, I spent a couple minutes talking away with the volunteers. Man, they really made the race. All the people are so nice and helpful. Filling water bottles and getting you food and salt tablets or whatever. Giving you info on the course. So helpful. They even had a bar set up at this aid station and assured me I could have a shot of Jameson, if I wanted one. (I declined but apparently a couple of 100 milers didn't earlier in the day. I can't imagine.) I was curious what place I might be in because I kind of felt like I was doing pretty good. One of the volunteers said I might be in the top 10. "Really?! I better get going!" I was so surprised. Based on my goal time of 6 hours, I thought I might be doing pretty well but this was still a shock. I left the aid station and headed out noticing that Mike had already left maybe a minute or so earlier. I took off down the sandy trail and passed a group of kids walking to the aid station who told me I was in 12th. "Cool!" I thought.

The next few miles were a gradual climb up to Snow Valley Peak and the aid station there. Mike got away from me on this leg and I was content to run alone for awhile. While in the woods, I got passed by another runner as I stopped to take a picture of some really cool moss growing on a dead tree. It was a luminous green color and it just stopped me in my tracks. So cool looking. When we climbed out of the forest, I could see him every once in a while, only about an eighth or a quarter mile ahead of me. I just plugged along, put a little more snow in my hat and stuck to my steady uphill pace. As I ran down to the aid station, I could hear the volunteers cheering for me by name. I thought this was so cool. When I ran into the aid station I said, "I didn't realize I had so many friends here!" I had my water bottles filled with ice water and grabbed a quick orange slice and darted out for the next 5.5 mile downhill. At the aid station, I had managed to catch up to Mike and the other guy but I also saw a woman who had snuck up behind me. It didn't matter, the next leg would be my best running all day.

From Snow Valley Peak, the single track trail does a nice gradual, traversing downhill for about a mile or so before heading down into the woods. I was feeling so rejuvenated I just took off at about a 5:30 to 6:00/mile pace. I flew past Mike and caught the other runner in front of him about a minute later. Now, I was feeling really jazzed and kept a steady fast pace down the trail. I could see myself gaining on one more runner about an eighth of a mile down the trail and within 3 minutes I caught him and passed. I could hear him struggling a bit with the downhill and knew he wouldn't try to chase me. Once I hit the treeline, I just maintained my pace. The problem with my strategy was that when I left Snow Valley Peak, I didn't know how far it was to the finish or the next aid station. All I knew is that it was all downhill from here. I was gambling a bit but betting on myself. I looked at my GPS watch and saw my run time was 5:40. I decided to run the fastest pace I could maintain for the next 20 minutes and see where I was, hoping beyond hope that it was at the finish line.

I had the time of my life running down this trail, feeling good. I passed a couple groups of day hikers that were hiking up the trail and most of them cheered me on. A few looked puzzled. It was a great boost because I was starting to fade. I ate my last gel, kept pounding water or dumping it on me to stay cool and just hammered every step I could. At 5:58, I hit the final aid station, just a water stop, at Spooner Summit. I had my water bottles filled again and asked when the last runner came through. "The first woman left about 5 minutes ago." Rats. Wouldn't catch her. How far to the finish? 1.7 miles. "Oh, I got this!" I said as I ran off.

The last section was relatively flat as it worked it's way around Spooner Lake. The trail was heavily treed, so it was nice and shady but I couldn't see or hear the finish and I was SO ready to stop running. Still, I ran a steady pace and really felt like all my long runs this year (especially the day long outings with Katy) had really prepared my legs to keep running even after 6 hours. I was stoked. Finally, I turned the final corner and just burst into a near sprint. I could hear my sister yelling and saw her and my niece and I felt like a million bucks. I waved at them and crossed the finish line. Then, I sat down. Damn, that felt good.

A couple of other runners were still sitting at the finish and confirmed that I had finished 10th. I still couldn't believe it. I just walked around, stunned for a couple minutes, trying to soak in the whole experience. Checking the results online after getting home, I found out my official time was 6:11:13. I also found out that I had been racing against some pretty seasoned ultrarunners, including Tim Tweitmeyer (former record holder for the ENTIRE 165-MILE TAHOE RIM TRAIL), who finished 4th, about half an hour ahead of me.



I am really happy (obviously) by how the race played out. I think I can attribute my good run to several factors: 1. Several good long, slow runs after an early season of gradually rebuilding my mileage 2. Lots of hill work on my shorter runs and pushing it on those up and down hills 3. Resting when I needed to 4. Eating lots of nutritious, natural food and cutting back on sugar 5. Good lovin'!

This coming weekend, I really get to have some fun and run fast. I'm doing the Spring Creek Memorial 9 miler here in beautiful Steamboat Springs. It's my first time doing a race in the running series and I'm looking forward to it. Gotta represent at home!