Way Too Cool 50K

Ran the Way Too Cool 50K down in Cool, California this past weekend. This was my first ultra in California. Traveled with Gaby and Dave. Had a blast ... it was a lot of fun. We drove down Friday, raced Saturday, drove back Sunday.

There was a big turn out for this race ... 400+ runners. The weather was great. Not too hot or cold. No rain during the race. The course was mostly single track, about 3,600' of climb in total. There was a mile or two of road at the start, which was good for getting runners sorted out before hitting the trail. A few minor stream crossings. There were two pretty big climbs, and several smaller ones, that required walking. Some of the downhills were very technical ... and hard on the quads. I took one tumble ... nothing serious. I was doing okay until about 40K when I started running out of gas. The last few klicks were a struggle. Finished in about 5:20 ... I was targeting 5 hours, but I think I went out too fast. Will have to pace myself better. Gaby did real well, finishing in 4:40ish, third in her age class. Dave finished shortly after me. Scott and Nok were there too, as was Meghan who also did really well.

Pics by Scott and Nok