50K World Trophy Championships

Jess and I headed to Bradley International Airport Wednesday night to catch our flight. We were greeted with what the associate called, “Bad news and worse news”. First, our connector flight to Philly was 5 hours delayed and wouldn’t be here until 9pm. OK, we can wait. The worse news is the flight from Philly leaves for Spain at 7pm. The only solution was to drive to Boston in rush hour traffic and catch a British Airways flight to London. We made it and got to Malaga Spain the next day. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to inform anyone about the schedule change, so, although we were close, we were still a 2 hour car ride from Gibraltar with no car. We ended up paying 150 Euro to get to customs and another 10 do get to the Europa Retreat Center once we were in Gibraltar. We finally made it late Thursday night, extremely stressed and tired. We were taken to our room where we proceeded to sleep 13 hours straight.

Southern Oregon hosts 2009 USA Track & Field Trail Marathon Championships

PRESS RELEASE:

Runners can expect much more than the standard marathon “bonk” at this year’s USA Track & Field Trail Marathon Championships. Runners will face an initial eight-mile, 3,200-foot ascent through the steep Siskiyou Mountains that shadow the southern Oregon town of Ashland. The trails and fire roads do flatten out for twelve miles in the middle of the race but maintaining pace may become difficult at the oxygen deprived 5,000 foot level. The final six miles and 3,000 feet of descent will test even the strongest of quads as runners descend on technical single track to the race’s finish at Ashland’s town center, Lithia Park.

Off to Germany…

I am off for a race in Germany, the first ever Windstopper Trailrun Worldmasters. So first things first, those who were seeking more information on Germany can find an english version here. Here is what I know, I will be flying from SFO to Frankfurt on November 3rd. I’ll be picked up from the airport and taken to Dortmund where I’ll take part in a three day staged race. On November 6th, I will do my shortest race since high school, less than a 5k! Day 2, I’ve got 35k and climbing (ummm, yes I do think this will be my favorite day… yup pretty sure in fact). And day 3, a 20k followed by some good German beer, I assume.

Surprise, surprise, I am nervous, anxious, looking forward to enjoying what I love to do in a new place. I really have no clue what to expect. I don’t really know many folks that will be there. Luminita Zaituc will be racing. And two people from Transrockies will be there as well. It is going to be an experience. Bring on the adventure, 11 hour flight, and my favorite, running!  More to come once I am in Germany…

SF Nike Women’s Marathon

Photo courtesy of SFGate

Photo courtesy of SFGate

Did yesterday really happen? Here is my recollection. Waking up, eating, putting on my gear (and yes I wore a pair of my trail shoes, La Sportiva Skylites). Next I arrived at the start, nervous, excited, typical prior race feelings. Then we started running. I kept a fast, but comfortable pace. When I arrived at mile one in 6 minutes I realized I needed to settle in a bit more. There I was leading the race, the pace car in front of me, motorcycles by my side, and the nicest woman ever biking near by. She kept being blown away by my climbing. Hills yes SF has them, but they are not like running up a mountain. And I explained that I loved to run up mountains. Before I knew it I was at mile 10. I was in disbelief that I was still leading. A couple 1/2 marathoners cruised past and I was sad when they turned off to finish. Where was everyone else I thought? I came through the half way mark on target for a 2:51. I just kept breathing and enjoyed the encouragement from people I knew, people I didn’t know, and seeing all the other women out there running, smiling, and achieving their goals. As I came into mile 17 I saw Rick Gaston. I was so excited to see a fellow trail runner and grabbing a water at the same time turned into a bad mix. I fell. All these times running on trails with roots and rocks and I fall running on a road, go figure. I jumped back up and started running, everyone cheered. It took a bit to get back into a groove, but I did. I slowed down a bit in those last 8/9 miles, but just tried to stay consistent. My legs are not trained for the faster leg turnover and I think they were a bit confused. At around mile 20, I started to realize I might win. Honestly I got a bit freaked out, but once again I just settled in and enjoyed calculating my finish time in my head. I knew if I just stayed at my current pace I would run under 3 hours. Before I knew it there was mile 25 and I thought holy shit this is really happening. I am really going to finish first and all those people are going crazy for me. Part of me wanted to cry, smile, and laugh all at the same time. I crossed through the banner in 2:58 and I was greeted by Joan Benoit Samuelson ,Kara Goucher, my boy, Ed, and a crew of paparazzi. I got my knees cleaned up and then got to spend time with a few other top finishers. Everyone was so nice and down to earth, got to love that! I got to celebrate in the afternoon with friends. I have to say it was a good day. Every time I run I am blown away by how much I love it. By how much potential there is in all of us. By the strength of consistency, trust, and acceptance. And thanks everyone for the super kind words and enthusiasm!!!! Hope all the other women felt that out there yesterday too!

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Blisters – Don’t treat them, prevent them!

NEW on our Mountainrunning Blog – A series of 5 presentations on common running injuries, written by Dr Jeremy Rodgers.

First is “Blister proofing Your Feet”. These eight suggestions are great advice for runners (and hikers and climbers) from an experienced sports medicine professional.

Golden Hills Trail Marathon and Firetrails 50

The Golden Hills Trail Marathon and Dick Collins Firetrails 50 are classic Bay Area trail races in the awesome trails of the East Bay hills.  Race directors Ann Trason and Carl Andersen do a fantastic job organizing this event. One of my favorite aspects is the post-race BBQ party with burgers and hot dogs to order, soups, and a dessert table with pies, gelato, cookies, and other sweets. All the participants seemed to be very happy to enjoy a great picnic with fellow runners and family on a gorgeous fall day – the weather was perfect with foggy conditions at the beginning yielding to sunny skies and pleasant temperatures in the upper 50s and low 60s.

2009 Oregon Mountain Running Series Final Scoring

The second annual La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series is complete and the final scoring compiled. Ashland’s Ian Torrence (pictured) leads the points total thanks to his speedy legs and attendance at 4 of the 5 races. Taking the masters title was new USATF member Donald Gallogly (Corvallis, OR) who was the only other runner to also complete 4 races. Just to review, the series races were:

May 2 – Larison Rock Hillclimb (Oakridge)
June 6 – Graniteman Mountain Run (Jacksonville)
August 1 – Mt. Ashland Hillclimb (Ashland)
August 16 – Great Northwest Mountain Run (Mt. Hood)
September 5 – Sunrise to Summit (Mt. Bachelor)

Thanks to the generosity of our title sponsor La Sportiva, every USATF member who scored points in the series (listed below) will get a FREE pair of trail running shoes! For collecting the highest points total, Ian Torrance will also receive a mystery prize from my swag bag. Congrats also to our other age group / gender winners Jenn Shelton (Open Female), Chuck Whiteley (50-59 Male), Susanna Beck (Masters Female) and Dusty Miller (60-69 Male).

Name	Age Group	Sex	City	TOTAL
Ian Torrence	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Ashland, OR	349.12
DON GALLOGLY	40 – 49	M	Corvallis, OR	314.64
Erik Skaggs	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Ashland, OR	296.40
Jenn Shelton	0 – 39 (Open)	F	Ashland, OR	154.89
Chuck Whiteley	50 – 59	M	Medford, OR	119.69
Max King	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Bend, OR	100.00
Joe Gray	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Lakewood, WA	100.00
Hal Koerner	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Ashland, OR	90.11
Richard Bolt	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Portland, OR	90.00
Susanna Beck	40 – 49	F	Eugene, OR	77.49
Bill Montgomery	40 – 49	M	Eugene, OR	72.60
Megan Arbogast	40 – 49	F	Corvallis, OR	72.27
Mike Davis	40 – 49	M	Talent, OR	67.64
Scott Abrams	50 – 59	M	La Pine, OR	67.42
Tyler Jones	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Bend, OR	60.62
Dusty Miller	60 – 69	M	Mt. Shasta, CA	54.50
Nick Campbell	40 – 49	M	Sunriver, OR	53.91

Did you miss all the racing action?  You can still check out race photos by clicking the following links:

Larison Rock Hillclimb (Oakridge)
Graniteman Mountain Run (Jacksonville)
Mt. Ashland Hillclimb (Ashland)
Great Northwest Mountain Run (Mt. Hood)
Sunrise to Summit (Mt. Bachelor) – ooops, I wasn’t there.

Stay tuned for information about next years series.  Most races in the series should be back next year.  In addition, we’re working to bring a selection race for the US Mountain Running Team to Oregon with the goal of having prize money and making it part of the 2010 Oregon Mountain Running Series.

Thanks to all the hard work of the race directors for putting these unique and scenic races together.  Also thank you to all the runners without whom we’d be sitting around watching grass grow……or something.

Making Dreams Come True

Earlier this year I wrote that I wanted to chase a bear until it chased me back.

This almost happened.  I chased (actually, quietly stalked) this bear to get a good picture along the Snake River below the Tetons.  What I didn’t know was that there was another bear hidden in the trees 30 feet away from where I was stalking!  He started snorting and breaking all sorts of large branches, which I took as a sign to get the heck out of there!  I think he saw me the whole time I was sneaking up on his mate.

This is not something I typically tell everyone about, but after a lot of races, and sometimes before, I go in search of wildlife.  Earlier this year I mentioned to Buzz a quick list of animals I wanted to see or come in contact with this year, and after another racing season is winding down, I realized that I got to see most all of the animals I mentioned.

Haliburton Forest 100

Aid Station #5

Things seemed a little different going into the Haliburton Forest 100 mile Trail Run this year. Last year was my first 100 mile race and I had a lot of questions. However, getting the first one out of the way in 2008 and having another year of solid training under my belt (buckle) left me in a good place going into this year. You never want to be overconfident before an ultra, as anything can happen, however I felt pretty good that on race day if I ran smart things would go well.

Going into the race, I had a staircase of four goals that I wanted to achieve this year at Haliburton. On the first stair was finishing the race in a faster time than last year of 18:42. After that, the thought of breaking Jeff Simpkins 2006 course record of 18:23. Next, on an ideal day and if everything went well, I wanted to break 18 hours. And finally, on the top step was the goal of winning the race again.

Stevens Creek 50k

The answer to Buzz’s question is YES!

The Course:

The minute I looked at the Stevens Creek 50k map I knew it would be a great course. The 31 mile route on the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains completes an aesthetic tour of the gorgeous Upper Stevens Creek watershed and Skyline South Region, hitting all the highlights of this area.  The course includes a delightful mixure of narrow single track trails in Douglas Fir and hardwood forest, stream crossings, and wide views across expansive meadows to the Pacific Ocean and the entire Bay Area. I train in this area, but seeing all the landscapes from Saratoga Gap to Rapley Ranch at once was truly rewarding. It is indeed one of the most scenic 50k courses in the country.

Views abound on Skyline Ridge (photo from July 2009)