McCulloch Peak Hike

Last week we had one of the biggest crews ever for the hike ... maybe the biggest ... 15 all together, including very special guests Linnea and Jack ... the first toddlers we've ever had on the hike! Pups Cora and Frodo rounded things out. Lots of fun.

Grandpa John with Linnea

San Diego 100-Miler

This past weekend I ran the San Diego 100-Miler. The race was notable this year for being very, very hot. There was a lot of carnage, with less than 50% of starters finishing. Still, it was my best 100 to date, with a time of 24:22, and a 20th place finish.

Here is the note I sent to the group about the adventure:

Hey folks,

Thanks a bunch for the congrats. Still in a bit of a fog. Some races advertise as sort of a ‘Heaven and Hell’ thing … SD doesn’t but lived up to that description this year. The Hell part was most of Saturday. The race started at 7am. By 10am it was hotter than anything I had run in training. It was something of a furnace by mid-afternoon. No cloud cover and little shade. I stuck with a slow pace, lots of water, ice and Scaps … baby steps on even gentle slopes. Things turned around for me at mile 51, the ‘Sunrise’ aid station. That’s about where the sun set for me. I don’t think I have ever been so grateful for a sunset in my life. Things cooled down quickly, and it was the Heaven part of the run. Really sweet running. Big meadows. Some great views before it got totally dark. Then the stars came out. I felt good from then on in to the finish.

I can’t say enough about how well this race was organized. RD Scott Mills and his crew did a stellar job. The aid station volunteers were top-notch … many of them ultra runners themselves; they kept the ice, water, food and encouragement flowing. At Sunrise they fixed up a hot spot on the bottom of my foot before it blistered … that patch job held up the remaining 49 miles. Lots of kind offers for pacing. Everything seemed to run smoothly though I’m sure they had their hands full given the conditions of the day. The course marking was really thorough (though that didn’t stop me from missing one well-marked left turn). Scott promised us a confidence ribbon every 2 to 3 minutes of run time, and that’s the way it was for the entire 100 miles.

A special thanks to Kath for first recommending SD many months ago, and for taking such good care of us before, during and after the race; to Josh for joining me in that last segment, helping to pick up my spirits and pace; and to John for making the trip so much fun.

Lobo

McDonald Forest 50K

Had a lot of fun yesterday running the Mac. Lots of familiar faces of course, and lots of words of encouragement along the way. The aid station volunteers were great. And it was good to see Gaby, Dennis, Guy, Mac, Sharon and Bo at points along the way. It got a little warmer than I would have liked. And I clearly have not recovered from Capitol Peak. I ran out of steam after about 15 miles, though all my body parts were working okay ... just no juice in the tank. The slog up Horse was a real challenge. I finished in about 5:55 ... not what I was hoping for. But still ... I had a blast.

The Garmin track is here.

Here is a picture of Kiira helping me to mark some of the course the day before the race:

 

Capitol Peak 50-Miler

Had a good run at the Capitol Peak 50-Miler this past weekend. Went there with a great crew: Dennis, Mac, and Sander. Clem was also there; Chris and Darla too. The weather was perfect: cool and cloudy, with just a bit of drizzle at the end. The course has some 6500' or so of climb ... not a lot for 50 miles; there was really just one grunt section to the peak ... the rest was largely runnable (though I still walked parts). I took one nasty fall; my hands were too slow getting up and my head slammed into the ground. Was dazed for a bit, but no cuts or bruises to show for it, though my jaw is still sore. I finished in 8:48, which is a 50M PR for me, first in age class (picture by Glenn Tachiyama).

Rim To Rim To Rim

Had just an excellent adventure this last weekend, running the Grand Canyon R2R2R. We had a great crew: Gaby, Ken, Mac, Cary and Lori. The weather was perfect, the views spectacular. We took a bit under 16 hours to run the 47+ miles and 12,000+ feet of climb. We started on the south rim. Took the South Kaibab trail down, the North Kaibab trail up the north side, and coming back, took Bright Angel back up the south side. Tons of fun.

Some pics by Ken, Cary and Mac are here

Hagg Lake 50K

Had a good day at Hagg. The course was relatively dry, with just a few patches of shoe-sucking muck. Other than that, good running. There are no big climbs at Hagg, just gentle rollers. Finished in 4:42:40, which is a 50K PR for me. This in spite of losing some time after taking a wrong turn. Lots of fun. Good representation from Corvallis, including John, Jan, Ken and Rita. Josh and Ashley were also there. Ashley did great, finishing 3rd in 4:10. Full results are here.

Orcas Island 50K

Ran the Orcas Island 50K this past weekend. This was my 5th time running this race. We had a great crew from Corvallis, including Gaby, Ken, Cary, Todd, Kathleen, Erica, and the Millers. The weather was perfect. The course was changed from last year a bit, and had a total climb of 8,400'. I finished in 6:28, which is a bit more than I was hoping for, but not bad. Cary did real well, running a sub-6, and Andrew did a fantastic job, coming in 5th overall with an amazing time of 4:52. Full results are here. My Garmin track is here. And while we were all running, Marilyn and Diane had a fun time exploring Lopez Island and rock hounding.

Mac Ass 50K

Ran the Mac Ass 50K out of McMinnville, organized by Jeremy Hurl. This was a fat ass with minimal support. Still, Jeremy and his crew did a lot of work laying out and marking a challenging course. A big crew went from Corvallis, including Todd, Rita, Alinna, Gaby, John, Mike and the Millers. It was a very cold day, but no precip and no real snow accumulation on the ground. The course had a lot of intersections. The 50K was 2 loops of a 25K. There was also a 10K and 25K race going on at the same time. Runners seemed to be running every which way. Early in the race I was passed by a bunch of elite runners who should have been way ahead of me. It was a little crazy and at times had this Alice-in-Wonderland feel, but it was lots of fun. I think I actually managed all the correct turns. But after the first loop I was ready to bail. I hooked up with John who coaxed me into doing the second loop (thanks John!). We were joined by Alinna and Jacob and finished together. Great company ... I really enjoyed that second loop. We were close to DFL, taking 7 hours! But only about 10 runners finished anyway, so maybe that's not too bad :) A good time. Hope it becomes a regular fixture.