!SF Race Reviews

2012 Race Schedule

2012-02-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of every year I prepare a master race schedule for the year. usually I haven't shared it unless people ask. From time to time people ask me if I "know any races" of a certain distance in a short time frame but generally no one asks me for any type of comprehensive list.

This year I've decided to publish the entire list on this blog. It covers mostly Northern California plus some races outside of the Norcal area that are on my radar. The events are sorted chronologically by date, with some events at the very bottom that I need to obtain more informaiton on. These events are either slower at announcing their dates or difficult to find online. There are about 350 different events listed here with over 500 race options since some events have more than 1 distance available. I'm not intending on indicating which ones I'll participating in because other than about 20 specific races I don't plan more than a month ahead. I decide as I go although I'll be happy to respond if anyone wants to know.

At this time please be aware this list is not finalized. Things to do:
1. a handful of races in the top section don't have dates finalized but I've made educated guess based on past history. I will indicate which ones.
2. get rid of that huge blank space just below here (does anyone know how?)
3. link to as many of the race websites as I can
4. provide explanation as to the series abbreviations

Race	Series	2012 Date	Notes
Los Gatos Resolution Run 5mi.		1/1/12
New Year's Day Marina Green 5k	DSE	1/1/12
Run for a Healthy World 10K		1/1/12
La Ciaspolada 10k		1/6/12
Baz Winter Trail Run #1 12k	Baz	1/7/12
Crystal Springs 5 mi./11 mi./22 mi./Marathon/50k	CTR	1/7/12
Los Gatos Street Scramble 90 min/3hr (bike or run)	GL	1/7/12
Boney Mountain Trail Run 21k/6k	Xt	1/8/12
Golden Gate Park 10k	DSE	1/8/12
Castle to Coast 8.2mi.		1/14/12
Ballpark 5k	DSE	1/15/12
Hamilton Levees 5k-10k	TCRS	1/19/12
Baz Winter Trail Run #2 15k	Baz	1/21/12
CTR Blazer Award Ceremony	CTR	1/21/12	invite only
Oakland Streets and Ladders 5k/10k/25k (bike or run)	Ter	1/21/12
4th Sunday 5k/10k	LMJS	1/22/12
Brooks Falls 10k/Half Marathon/30k/50k	ITR	1/22/12
Northstar Snowshoe Social and Race Series 21k #2	NsS	1/22/12
Tenessee Valley 3.78mi.	TCRS	1/22/12
Waterfront 10mi./5k	DSE	1/22/12
DSE Gala Dinner		1/27/12	invite only
Mission Street Scramble 90min/3hr (bike or run)	GL	1/28/12
Steep Ravine 7mi./Half Marathon/30k/Marathon/50k	CTR	1/28/12
The Dam Run 5k/10k	Wolf	1/28/12
Arts and Sciences 5k	DSE	1/29/12
Mt. Shasta Snowshoe Race		1/29/12
Preseason Burn Series 200ydS+10kStaB+1.5mi.R/400ydS+10kStaB+1.5mi.R	PBS	1/29/12
Baz Winter Trail Run #3 18k	Baz	2/4/12
Death Valley Borax Marathon/Half Marathon/10k	Env	2/4/12
Jed Smith 50k	PA-U	2/4/12
Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon		2/5/12
Mission Gorge Trail Run 15k/5k	Xt	2/5/12
3 Bears 5k/Duathlon (2.2+18.7+2)	Wolf	2/11/12
Golden Gate 5mi./Half Marathon/30k/Marathon/50k	CTR	2/11/12
Golden Gate Bridge Vista 10k	DSE	2/12/12
Las Trampas Scramble 3hr.	BAOC	2/12/12
Montaña de Oro 8k/12k/25k/50k	PCTR	2/12/12
Tamalpa Couples Relay		2/12/12
Baz Winter Trail Run #4 21k	Baz	2/18/12
Buzz 1/2Marathon/Marathon		2/18/12
Racing Gnome Snow Run		2/18/12	cancelled
Chinese New Year 5k/10k		2/19/12
Conservatory 5k	DSE	2/19/12
COOL Vasona Lake County Park	BAOC	2/19/12
President's Day Coyote Point 5k/10k	Sky	2/20/12
Chabot 10k/Half Marathon/30k/50k	ITR	2/25/12
Discovery Valley of Fire Day 1 2hr	Ter	2/25/12
National Snowshoe Championship 10k		2/25/12
National Snowshoe Citizens 5k		2/25/12
Pacifica 9k/21k/30k/50k	PCTR	2/25/12
4th Sunday 5k/10k	LMJS	2/26/12
Discovery Valley of Fire Day #1 2hr	Ter	2/26/12
Fort Point 10k	DSE	2/26/12
La Jolla Canyon 5 mi./11 mi./30k/Marathon/50k	CTR	2/26/12
National Snowshoe Relay Championship 4x2.5k		2/26/12
Preseason Burn Series 200ydS+10kStaB+1.5mi.R/400yd.S+10kStaB+1.5mi.R	PBS	2/26/12
Valley of Fire Day #2 2hr/4hr/6hr	Ter	2/26/12
Baz Winter Trail Run #5 30k	Baz	3/3/12
Get Lost in Fort Ord (Seaside) Rogaine	GL	3/3/12
Malibu Creek 10k/25k/50k	PCTR	3/3/12
Montara Mountain 10k/Half Marathon/Marathon/50k	CTR	3/3/12
Norcal 10mi.	PA-R	3/3/12
Woodside King's Mountain Half Marathon/5mi.	Env	3/3/12
COOL Tilden Regional Park	BAOC	3/4/12
Embarcadero 10k	DSE	3/4/12
Romancing the Island 25k/12k	Env	3/10/12
Way Too Cool 50k	PA-U	3/10/12
408k Race to the Row 5k		3/11/12
Blackie Pasture 5k-10k	TCRS	3/11/12
St. Patrick's Day 5k	DSE	3/11/12
Canyon Meadow 5mi./Half Marathon/30k/Marathon/50k	CTR	3/17/12
Modesto Marathon/Half Marathon/5k		3/17/12
Nor Cal 5k/Duathlon (2.2+18.7+2)	Wolf	3/17/12
Northstar Snowshoe Social and Race Series 5k/10k #3	NsS	3/17/12
Sprint Black Diamond	GL	3/17/12
Across the Bay 12k	PA-R	3/18/12
Get Lost in Black Diamond Rogaine	GL	3/18/12
Rodeo Valley 8k/Half Marathon/35k & 50k	ITR	3/18/12
Big Sur Mud Run 5mi.		3/24/12
Discover the Bay 6hr/12hr (foot+public transport)	Ter	3/24/12
Napa Valley Trail Marathon/Half Marathon/10k	Env	3/24/12
Pirates Cove 8k/20k/30k/50k	PCTR	3/24/12
Woodside Ramble 10k/Half Marathon/36k/50k	ITR	3/24/12
4th Sunday 5k/10k	LMJS	3/25/12
Granite Bay Folsom Lake white/yellow/orange/advanced	GCO	3/25/12
Preseason Burn Series 200ydS+10kStaB+1.5mi.R/400yd.S+10kStaB+1.5mi.R	PBS	3/25/12
Rancho Penasquito 15k/5k	Xt	3/25/12
Windmill 10k	DSE	3/25/12
Ayala Cove 5mi./10 mi./15 mi	CTR	3/31/12
Golden Gate Headlands Marathon/Half Marathon/7mi.	Env	3/31/12
Redwood Peak 10k/Half Marathon/30k/50k	ITR	3/31/12
Northstar Snowshoe Social and Race Series 5k/10k #4	NsS	4/1/12
Sactown 10 mi.	PA-R	4/1/12
Walt Stack 10k	DSE	4/1/12
American River 50mi.	PA-U	4/7/12
Big Bunny Fun Run 5k		4/7/12
Golden Bears 5k/Duathlon (2.2+18.7+2)	Wolf	4/7/12
Grizzly Peak 10k/Half Marathon/30k/Marathon	CTR	4/7/12
Millbrae Street Scramble 90min/3hr (bike or run)	GL	4/7/12
Northstar Snowshoe Social and Race Series 5k/10k #5	NsS	4/7/12
Artichoke Half Marathon/10k	Sky	4/8/12
Easter Roller Coaster 5k	DSE	4/8/12
Cinderella 10k/Half Marathon/Marathon/50k	CTR	4/12/12
Empire One Holyoke 5k		4/12/12
Merrimack River Trail Race 10mi.		4/14/12
Muir Woods Marathon/Half Marathon/7mi.	Env	4/14/12
San Juan Trail 50k	Baz	4/14/12
Woodside 10k/17k/35k/50k	PCTR	4/14/12
Bay Trail 4mi.	DSE	4/15/12
Lucas Valley Sleepy Hollow Ridge 5k-10k	TCRS	4/15/12
Presidio 10M		4/15/12
An Cu Liath City Run 3mi.		4/16/12
Boston Marathon		4/16/12
SMAC weekly 5k Northampton MA		4/17/12
Empire One Holyoke 5k		4/19/12
Horseshoe Lake 5mi./Half Marathon/Marathon/50k	CTR	4/19/12
Ruth Anderson 100k/50mi./50k	PA-U	4/21/12
4th Sunday 5k/10k	LMJS	4/22/12
Metro Triathlon 1.5kS+40kB+10kR/0.5mi.S+15mi.B+3mi.R	SVE	4/22/12
Napa Valley Silverado Half Marathon/5k	Env	4/22/12
Sacramento Bar white/yellow/orange/advanced	GCO	4/22/12
Zippy 5k	PA-R	4/22/12
Discover Sonoma 2hr/4hr	Ter	4/28/12
Folsom Lake 10k/Half/Marathon/50k	ITR	4/28/12
Great Spear It 5mi./5k/1mi.		4/28/12
Dipsea Practice Run 6.8mi.	DSE	4/29/12
Malibu Creek 22k/6k	Xt	4/29/12
Topanga Canyon TBD	PCTR	4/29/12
MiWok 100k	PA-U	5/5/12
Napa Valley Vintage Half Iron	Env	5/5/12
The Relay May		5/5/12
Big Trees 10k/Half Marathon/30k/50k	ITR	5/6/12
Forest Park 20k/50k	PCTR	5/6/12
Lake Merced 4.5mi.	DSE	5/6/12
Napa Valley Sprint Triathlon (0.5mi.+11mi.+3mi.)	Env	5/6/12
Run on the Sly 50k/20M/Half Marathon/12k		5/9/12
Quicksilver 50mi./50k	PA-U	5/12/12
Rossmoor Bar white/yellow/orange/advanced	GCO	5/12/12
Sycamore Canyon 8k/18k/30k/50k	PCTR	5/12/12
Bear Valley/Point Reyes 5k-10k	TCRS	5/13/12
Mother's Day Marina Green 5k	DSE	5/13/12
Santa Cruz Street Scramble 90min/3hr/7hr (bike or run)	GL	5/19/12
Silver State 50mi./50k	PA-U	5/19/12
Bay to Breakers 12K		5/20/12
Ohlone Wilderness 50k	PA-U	5/20/12
Tilden Tough 10mi.	EBTS	5/20/12
Tilden Trail Adventure 10k/Half Marathon/30k/50k	ITR	5/20/12
DSE Donut Dash Fun Run 4mi.		5/24/12
China Camp 5k/10k/Half Marathon	ITR	5/26/12
Front Range 50k	PCTR	5/26/12
Low Tide Run 4mi.		5/26/12
Summit Challenge 10mi./10k/5k		5/26/12
4th Sunday 5k/10k	LMJS	5/27/12
San Franciscan Mile and Strawberry Hill 5k	DSE	5/27/12
Marin Memorial Day 10k	PA-R	5/28/12
Summer Lake Merced 4.5mi.	Merc	5/31/12
Diablo Marathon/60k	PCTR	6/2/12
Shadow of the Giants 50k	Baz	6/2/12
Canyon Meadow 5 mi./Half Marathon/30k/Marathon/50k	CTR	6/3/12
Coastal Trail Challenge 10k	DSE	6/3/12
K2 Summit 10k/Half Marathon/35k/50k	ITR	6/3/12
Lake Chabot Trail Challenge Half Marathon/5k	EBTS	6/3/12
Reservoir Triathlon 1.5kS+40kB+10kR/0.5mi.S+15mi.B+3mi.R	SVE	6/3/12
Splash and Dash Cupertino 1500m+5k	SDC	6/7/12
Summer Lake Merced 4.5mi.	Merc	6/7/12
Sprint the Golden Gate (June 8-10)	GL	6/8/12
Dipsea		6/9/12
Udder Run 5mi.		6/9/12
Skyline to the Sea Marathon/50k	PCTR	6/10/12
Twin Peaks 4mi.	DSE	6/10/12
Pacifica Foothills 10k/Half Marathon/50k	ITR	6/16/12
ZR San Francisco 10k/Half Marathon	CTR	6/16/12
Father's Day Conservatory 5k	DSE	6/17/12
Splash and Dash Uvas 1mi.S/2mi.S/1mi.S+3mi.R/2mi.S+6mi.R	SDU	6/17/12
Woodminster 9mi.	EBTS	6/17/12
Summer Lake Merced 4.5mi.	Merc	6/21/12
Alaska Mayor's Marathon		6/23/12
Double Dipsea 13.7mi.		6/23/12
San Lorenzo River 10k/Half Marathon/30k/Marathon/50k	CTR	6/23/12
Western States 100mi.	PA-U	6/23/12
4th Sunday 5k/10k	LMJS	6/24/12
Summer Lake Merced 4.5mi.	Merc	6/28/12
Inside Trail Endurance Challenge 50k & 50 Miles	ITR	6/30/12
Mill Valley Street Scramble 90min/3hr/7hr (bike or run)	GL	6/30/12
Polo Field 5k	DSE	7/1/12
Skyland Mountain Run 10k		7/1/12
Splash and Dash Cupertino 1500m+5k	SDC	7/5/12
Summer Lake Merced 4.5mi.	Merc	7/5/12
Baz Summer Trail Run #1 Bass Lake Vista 14k	Baz	7/7/12
Mt. Diablo 10k/Marathon/50k	ITR	7/7/12
Pacifica 9k/21k/30k/50k	PCTR	7/7/12
Toes 4mi./Duathlon (3.6mi.+22mi.+2mi.)/Triathlon (3.6mi.+22mi.+4mi. = R+B+Kayak)	Wolf	7/7/12
6 Hour Distance Classic and Crissy Field 5k	DSE	7/8/12
Summer Lake Merced 4.5mi.	Merc	7/12/12
Golden Gate 5mi./Half Marathon/30k/Marathon/50k	CTR	7/14/12
Golden Gate Escape 5k/10k/25k	Ter	7/14/12
Headlands Marathon/50mi.	PCTR	7/14/12
Downtown San Rafael Mile	PA-R	7/15/12
Fort Mason 5k	DSE	7/15/12
Lake Tahoe Sharkfest Swim 1.2mi.	Env	7/15/12
Summer Lake Merced 4.5mi.	Merc	7/19/12
McInnis Park 3.5mi.	TCRS	7/20/12
Baz Summer Trail Run #2 Shadow of the Giants 18k	Baz	7/21/12
Tahoe Rim Trail 100mi.	PA-U	7/21/12
4th Sunday 5k/10k	LMJS	7/22/12
La Sportiva Table Rock 25k	ITR	7/22/12
San Bruno Mountain 5k/12k	DSE	7/22/12
Splash and Dash Uvas 1mi.S/2mi.S/1mi.S+3mi.R/2mi.S+6mi.R	SDU	7/22/12
Summer Lake Merced 4.5mi.	Merc	7/26/12
Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim 1.5mi.	Env	7/28/12
Monterey Street Scramble	GL	7/28/12
To be announced soon 10k/Half Marathon	ITR	7/28/12
Wildwood 10k/Half Marathon/Marathon	CTR	7/28/12
San Francisco Marathon		7/29/12
Splash and Dash Cupertino 1500m+5k	SDC	8/2/12
Summer Lake Merced 4.5mi.	Merc	8/2/12
Baz Summer Trail Run #3 Snow Play Loop 14k	Baz	8/4/12
Santa Cruz 10k/Half Marathon/30k/50k	ITR	8/4/12
Presidio Cross Country 5k	DSE	8/5/12
Snow Valley Trail Run 21k/10k	Xt	8/5/12
Summer Lake Merced 4.5mi.	Merc	8/9/12
Crystal Springs 5 mi./11 mi./22 mi./Marathon/50k	CTR	8/11/12
Dammit Run 5mi.		8/11/12
Golden Gate Sharkfest Swim 1.6mi.	Env	8/11/12
Montaña de Oro 8k/12k/25k/50k	PCTR	8/11/12
Oakland Peak to Bay 5k/10k/25k	Ter	8/11/12
Brisbane Scenic Run 12k/5k	DSE	8/12/12
Skyline 50k	PA-U	8/12/12
Stevens Creek 50k		8/12/12
Vintage Oaks Deer island 5k-10k	TCRS	8/12/12
Summer Lake Merced 4.5mi.	Merc	8/16/12
Cinderella 10k/Half Marathon/Marathon/50k	CTR	8/18/12
Headlands 50mi./100mi.	PCTR	8/18/12
DSE Volunteer Appreciation Picnic	DSE	8/19/12	invite only
Race Thru Redwoods 10k		8/19/12
Splash and Dash Uvas 1mi.S/2mi.S/1mi.S+3mi.R/2mi.S+6mi.R	SDU	8/19/12
Summer Lake Merced 4.5mi.	Merc	8/23/12
Baz Summer Trail Run #4 Fish Camp 10mi.	Baz	8/24/12
Berkeley and Oakland Hills Street Scramble	GL	8/25/12
Big Trees 10k/Half Marathon/30k/50k	ITR	8/25/12
Headlands 50k	PA-U	8/25/12
Plate to Plate 5k		8/25/12
10k on the Bay		8/26/12
4th Sunday 5k/10k	LMJS	8/26/12
Golden Gate Park Cross Country 5k	DSE	8/26/12
Golden Gate Duathlon (3.6mi.+22mi.+2mi.)	Wolf	9/1/12
Marina Green 5k	DSE	9/2/12
ZombieRunner Vasona Lake 5 mi & Half Marathon	CTR	9/3/12
Palo Alto Moonlight Run		9/7/12
Auburn Trail Run 10k/Half Marathon/35k/50k	ITR	9/9/12
Rainbow Falls 5k	DSE	9/9/12
River Bend Park white/yellow/orange/advanced	GCO	9/9/12
Diablo 4 mi./10 mi./Half Marathon/Marathon/50k	CTR	9/15/12
Get Lost in Fort Jackson Rogaine	GL	9/15/12
Deer Park 5k-10k	TCRS	9/16/12
Lake Merced Half Marathon and 4.5mi.	DSE	9/16/12
Marsh Land Trail Run 5k/10k/Half Marathon	ITR	9/16/12
Coastal 50k	CTR	9/22/12
4th Sunday 5k/10k	LMJS	9/23/12
Diablo 8k/25k/50k	PCTR	9/23/12
Oyster Point 5mi.	DSE	9/23/12
Big Sur Trail Marathon/Half Marathon/5mi.	Env	9/29/12
Woodside 10k/17k/35k/50k	PCTR	9/29/12
Bridge to Bridge 12k/7k		9/30/12
Discover San Diego 2hr/4hr/6hr	Ter	9/30/12
Redwood Peak 10k/Half Marathon/30k/50k	ITR	9/30/12
Fall Showdown 5k/10k/Half Marathon	Wolf	10/6/12
San Juan Capistrano Trail 10k	Baz	10/6/12
Bizz Johnson 10k/Half Marathon/Marathon	CTR	10/7/12
Montaña de Oro 8k/12k/25k/50k	PCTR	10/7/12
Stern Grove 4mi.	DSE	10/7/12
To be announced soon 5k – Half Marathon	ITR	10/7/12
Chinatown Street Scramble	GL	10/13/12
Firetrails 50mi./Golden Hills Trail Marathon	PA-U	10/13/12
San Francisco One Day 12/24 Hour	PCTR	10/13/12
Bahia Vista 5k-10k	TCRS	10/14/12
Briones Crest 10k/Half Marathon/Marathon	ITR	10/14/12
Briones Regional Park	BAOC	10/14/12
Point Mugu Trail Run 18k/11k	Xt	10/14/12
Rockaway Beach 5k	DSE	10/14/12
San Diego Sharkfest Swim 1mi.	Env	10/14/12
Mississippi Bar white/yellow/orange/advanced	GCO	10/18/12
Lower Sunrise & Sacramento Bar white/yellow/orange/advanced	GCO	10/20/12
The Bears 5k/Duathlon (2.2+18.7+2)	Wolf	10/20/12
Amsterdam Marathon		10/21/12
Humboldt Redwoods Half Marathon	PA-R	10/21/12
Kennedy Drive 8k	DSE	10/21/12
Malibu Canyon 10k/25k/50k	CTR	10/21/12	tentative
Topanga Canyon TBD	PCTR	10/21/12
Halloween Hustle 5k/10k/25k	Ter	10/27/12	Belmont, CA
Whiskeytown 50k	PA-U	10/27/12
4th Sunday 5k/10k	LMJS	10/28/12
Falcon Crest 10k/Half/Marathon/50k	ITR	10/28/12
Forest Park 20k/50k	PCTR	10/28/12
Great Highway 4mi.	DSE	10/28/12
Morgan Hill Marathon/Half Marathon		10/28/12
Morgan Territory Reg. Preserve begin./intermediate/advanced/competitive	BAOC	10/28/12
ZombieRunner Halloween 5 mi./Half Marathon/Marathon	CTR	10/31/12	tentative
Henry Coe Trex (Nov 2-4)	GL	11/2/12	40 hour event
Lake Chabot 5mi./Half Marathon/Marathon/50k	CTR	11/3/12
Arts and Sciences 5k	DSE	11/4/12
Saddleback Trail Marathon	Baz	11/4/12
To be announced soon Half Marathon – 50 Miles	ITR	11/4/12
Discover Red Rock Canyon Park Day 1 2hr	Ter	11/10/12
Last Chance 50mi./50k	PA-U	11/10/12
Clarksburg County Run Half Marathon	PA-R	11/11/12
Discover Red Rock Canyon Park Day 2 2hr/4hr/6hr	Ter	11/11/12
Embarcadero 10k	DSE	11/11/12
Mt. Tam 10k/Half Marathon/30k/50k	ITR	11/11/12
Land's End Street Scramble	GL	11/17/12
Santa Cruz Turkey Trot 10k		11/17/12
PA-USATF Championship 6.09mi.	PA-X	11/18/12
Santa Monica Mountains 9k/12k/18k/30k/50k	PCTR	11/18/12
Single/Double Lake Merced 4.5mi./9mi.	DSE	11/18/12
Spooner's Cove 5 mi./7 mi./25 k/50k	CTR	11/18/12
Topanga Turkey Trot 15k/10k/5k	Xt	11/22/12
Turkey Trail Trot 5mi.		11/22/12
Quadruple Dipsea 28.4mi.	PA-U	11/24/12
4th Sunday 5k/10k	LMJS	11/25/12
Redwood High 5k	TCRS	11/25/12
Run Wild 5k/10k		11/25/12
Death Valley Trail Marathon/30k	Env	12/1/12
Holiday Hustle 5k/10k/25k	Ter	12/1/12	Alameda, CA
North Face Championship Marathon/Marathon Relay/50k/50mi.		12/1/12
To be announced soon 5k/10k/Half Marathon	ITR	12/1/12
Ferry Building 4mi.	DSE	12/2/12
North Face Championship 1/2 mar/10k/5k		12/2/12
Xterra Trail Run World Cahmpionships 21k	Xt	12/2/12	Oahu, HI
Coyote Ridge 7 mi./10 mi./20 mi./Marathon/50k	CTR	12/8/12
San Carlos Street Scramble	GL	12/8/12
Golden Gate Park 10k	DSE	12/9/12
Sailor Bar	GCO	12/9/12
Dam Run Jingle Bell Dash 5k/10k	Wolf	12/15/12
Northstar Snowshoe Social and Race Series 5k/10k #1	NsS	12/15/12
Woodside Ramble 10k/Half Marathon/36k/50k	ITR	12/15/12
Christmas Relays 4.46mi.	PA-R	12/16/12
ZombieRunner Bay Trail 5 mi./Half Marathon/Marathon	CTR	12/16/12	tentative
Willow Glen Holiday Light 60min/90min.	BAOC	12/16/12
4th Sunday 5k/10k	LMJS	12/23/12
Mission Rock 5k	DSE	12/23/12	will run this backwards
Golden Gate Bridge Vista 10k	DSE	12/30/12
Rodeo Valley 8k/Half Marathon/35k & 50k	ITR	12/30/12
Woodside 10k/17k/35k/50k	PCTR	12/30/12
New Year's One Day 6h/12h/24h	CTR	12/31/12	tentative

Total

Race Dates not obtained
St. Patty's Day 5k Alameda
John C Trettin 5k			Lompoc, CA
Muddy Buddy	Mud
Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Run 5k/10k
New Balance Excelsior Dinner			invite only
Chabot College Winter Track Meet Series	CCWTM		Saturday in Feb?
Chabot College Summer Track Meet Series	CCTM		Tuesdays in Jun+July
Los Gatos Winter Track Meet Series	LGWTM		Saturdays in Jan+Feb
Tamalpa Track Meet Series	TTM		Tuesdays in May-Sept
Ultrarunner.net Trail Series	UR		various Saturdays
USATF Pacific Association XC Series	PA-X		Saturdays in Aug-Nov

Race 12-04 Mission Street Scramble

2012-01-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

16.68mi. - 2:56 - 2nd/?
Garmin Tracking here.

We had great weather for the Mission St. Scramble this weekend. It was sunny and the temperature was in the mid 60’s. The event was put on by Get Lost and was the same format as the Los Gatos Street Scramble I did a few weeks earlier – various controls in a generally urban area worth varying number of points in increments of 10 from 10 to 40 and either 90 minutes or 3 hours to get as many points as possible. I was optimistic about doing well because I know the Mission area of SF about as well as any other area I’ve done a street scramble.

I arrived later than I wanted to and one thing I did not anticipate was difficulty finding parking. When I arrived to the park at 25th and Harrison the spots were packed. Fortunately I found a spot 2 blocks away right in front of a meter that I failed to pay. Since I had taken the prior day off of work and since I usually race in the city on Sundays, I must have been thinking the meter didn’t apply. I jogged to the start and registered but had less than 10 minutes to review the map before starting. Of course I spotted Greg Favor and Steve Gregg at the start. Steve informed me right away that he was in the shorter distance this time. Barry Smith was there who was in his 2nd orienteering event ever as was Chikara Omine who was in his 3rd. Chikara also chose the shorter route although I didn’t find this out until after I had finished.

As we started a group of us, including Barry and Chikara took off with a quick pace. The first control was a block from the start. After that most of the group went to the next control pretty quickly but then the group disbanded. Chikara and Barry stil chose the same route as me. As we were leaving the 2nd control at a baseball field BAM!!!!! We were all reading our maps, but I was the one who walked straight into a metal pole. Somehow to point of impact was mid-chest a couple inches to the right of center. It still hurts to breathe deeply 2 days later but I didn’t consider slowing down my pace.

I led Chikara and Barry over Caeser Chavez St. and decisively headed toward a staircase. Barry and Chikara stood together reading their maps until eventually looked at me halfway up already and decided my route wasn’t half bad. The next control wasn’t obvious to any of us but it was clear to me that Chikara and Barry weren’t as familiar as I am with “what to look for” when we got there. I wouldn’t say I am very good at this either, but at this point I’d say I’m not a beginner.

From there I went to a different control as them and ran into a few other teams before running into Barry again a few controls later. I had a conversation with a guy from another team as I overheard him disagree with whether a weathervane looked like a whale or an owl. I viewed it from street level, he viewed from up a hill, he turned back, I didn’t, and I turned out to be right.

Barry and I hit the next couple controls together and then he started to open a lead on me although still sticking to the same plan. We were both going for the high pointers on the perimeter of the course. I chose a slightly different (shorter, up a hill) route as him in one spot but couldn’t head him off. Eventually I lost sight of him and I was on my own.

I ran into the weathervane guys again and they confirmed I was right and that it was a good thing they went back. I continued around the perimeter going through the BART station in the Castro District marking the first time I ever ran up an escalator in a race. My initial plan was to do a spiral clockwise starting north then to the southeastern corner all the way around to the west to the north and cut straight down and a the cluster of controls in the middle until the end making for a short trip back. As I got to the north I revised my plan by continuing the circular path to the east, although not the perimeter as it appeared there were some controls out there waiting to eat up time.

It was going pretty well until a little after 2 hours when I dropped my pen. The ball wouldn’t roll anymore so I started using the pen to poke holes through correct answers rather than circling them. I finished up the Potrero Hill section in the east that I wanted to and headed back to the center where I was hoping to get at least 3 more. It turned out that I didn’t spend too much time looking for them and since the terrain was flat again I moved pretty quickly. I ended up getting 4 in the center which met the optimistic goal I had had since around the 2 hour mark. I finished with several minutes to spare and no real “missed opportunities”.

I finished with 690 which was 2nd overall. First place had 810 and was a 2 person team. I still haven’t figured out if a team is helpful or not. I don’t see any way it could be helpful to a faster runner on the team. Afterwards we went back to Sports Basement where they had refreshments and awards. They gave me what appears to be a double layered mesh type of shirt unlike any I’ve ever owned before. I’m thinking it would be best for an orienteering race in warm weather in an area with thick brush.

Race 12-03 Oakland Streets 'n Ladders 25k

2012-01-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

15.32mi. - 2:26 - 1st/2
Garmin Tracking here.

This Saturday I ran another orienteering event – this one put on by Terraloco in the Lake Merritt section of Oakland. It was held of out Leaning Tower of Pizza which is only a block from the lake. Several storms were forecasted to hit the Bay Area from Thursday to Monday but fortunately it cleared up in time for Saturday so we ran in dry weather. Still, I think the event was less well attended due to the forecasted bad weather.

There were 3 distances available – 5k, 10k, and 25k and of these all had bike or no-bike options. Those that chose the bike option had a mandatory run portion. In the 10k it was 5k run and 5k bike. In the 25k it was run the 10k course then bike the other 15k. I’m not sure what the run/bike difference was for the 5k. I chose the 25k run option. I only knew 2 other participants, Greg Favor and Steve Gregg.

The 25k course was divided into 2 sections – the 10k course and then the additional 15k. The location of the start/finish was on the east (almost northeast) side of the lake. There were a couple controls just south but most of them were over the top and to the west and southwest side of the lake. Rex told us that from the other side of the lake it would be shorter to come back over the north side of the lake. My plan was to abandon the 2 controls just south of the start, get all the controls running around the lake counterclockwise, come back towards the start by running around the south side, and then picking up the 2 below. This worked well. It would have worked very well except there was construction on the south side of the lake preventing me from taking the optimal route but I was still happy with the result.

I only had difficulty at one control on 10k loop. We were supposed to run to building 1511 and the building on the corner of the intersections was 1515. The other side of the intersection had buildings in the 1400s. Down the perpendicular road were numbers nowhere near 1511. Steve and I had passed each other several times just prior to that as it seemed we chose similar routes although somehow opposite (like shoelaces). As I was exploring, Steve found the 1511 “building” and took off. Then Greg came in and we looked for it and eventually I found it. I pointed out that the answer was on a group of signs at the building entrance as it appeared the building had 2 addresses of 1515 and 1511. I figured this made us event from the first orienteering event I ever did where he pointed out to me a whole chunk of a sign that missing.

From there I ran around the construction and back to the start. My GPS showed 6.64 miles so I was pretty confident I chose a decent route. Steve made it to the start before me but no one else did. It was then that I learned he was in the 10k and not the 25. So I went back out to do the 15k loop.

The 15k was another loop around the lake although it covered a wider area and had a couple decent sized climbs. This made it more of a runner’s race. I ran around the lake counterclockwise again as I felt I was more familiar with the area from that direction. The 15k loop all but required a complete loop around the lake. It would have been far from the optimal route not to complete a loop.

I didn’t have any difficulty on the 15k loop. We happened to run through a street festival which was an unexpected element. I slightly overshot the last control on the edge of the lake by miscounting streets but I realized it before significant damage had been done.

I finished the entire course in 15.32 miles which was shorter than the optimal route Rex had mapped. When I finished the pizza place was packed with finishers who were eating pizza. Rex told me I was first out of only 3 in the 25k and one of them was on a bike, so for my purposes there were only 2 in my race (the other being Greg). This is now the smallest race I’ve ever completed beating the previous record of 3.

I had a very fun time although after running for 2 hours through the streets of Oakland I was ready to be done. I was also started to feel sore from running on so much concrete. Most of the sidewalks and even some street sections were concrete and just about the entire course was on a hard surface. I ate a pizza which tasted great. It was a vegetarian pizza and I asked them to add artichokes to the normal stuff they put on it.

Race 12-02 Castle to Coast 8.2mi.

2012-01-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

8.2mi. - 51:31 - 6th/149
Garmin Tracking here.

This past Saturday I made the trip down to San Simeon for the 2nd year in a row for the Castle to Coast 8.2 miler. Although it worked well enough driving the entire way the morning of last year, this year I decided to stay overnight in Paso Robles at the Best Western. This way I could sleep until allowed me to sleep until 6AM instead of getting up at 3:30 and driving 3 and a half hours. Also, I was able to convince a whole other person that the race is worth the drive (Erika Kikuchi) which meant I didn’t have to make the whole trip solo this time. It also meant I knew a grand total of 1 (one!) other person at the race.

It was a little colder than expected leaving the hotel around 6:45. The car thermometer went between 23 and 51 during the course of the drive over the hill on CA-46. We got to the race start at 7:30 and had enough time to register and prepare for the race. It’s a low-key start – they don’t even give racers numbers, they just take your money, give you a shirt if you pre-entered, and let you know where the course goes.

The course starts at San Simeon Park, across the street from the Hearst Castle driveway. The first half mile starts north and then takes a pair of rights to make a big C onto CA-1. From there the course is mostly heading South on CA-1 which is actually facing southeast, directly into the sun. At mile 4 it goes onto a short frontage road where there is a water station. At the 10k mark we bear right off of CA-1 through a small neighborhood toward another park. Most of the course is overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It’s beautiful when it’s sunny but I wouldn’t want to run it in the rain.

I did a small warm-up before and was ready to go at the start line. I was unaware there was a drop bag service until I got to the start and didn’t have time to go back to the car. It was a little windy and warm enough to run comfortably in but not warm enough to be standing around in.

As the gun went off I started at a comfortable pace, around 6:30. I settled into a mid 6 minute pace in 6th place for the first couple miles and then the first woman caught up to me. She ended up hanging on my left shoulder for most of the way although she pulled ahead and fell back a couple of times as the small ups and downs affected us differently. I didn’t run close to anyone else the whole race. The guy in 5th started to fade in the last couple miles, but he had enough of a lead where I would have needed another 5k (at least) to catch him. No one was close enough behind me to catch me. I was moving at 30k race pace so I felt like I could keep up that pace as long as I needed to as well as outkick anyone. It would have been too much effort to go faster, at least with more than a couple miles to go.

I finished solidly and in 6th place which I knew would make me eligible for a whale prize which go to the top 15 overall (yes, top 15 overall regardless of gender which baffles me). I got a whale last year too for coming in 12th in 52:54 but this year the field was less competitive and I finished in 51:31.

After the race we went 4 miles north where there is a location for seal watching. Hundreds, maybe thousands of elephant seals gather on the beach at this time of year. There were newborns with their mothers, and some males too. We also went on a 45 minute tour of the Casa Grande at the Hearst Castle. It was an impressive building and the walk around the grounds was nice.

Race 12-01 Los Gatos Street Scramble 3hr.

2012-01-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

18.12 mi. - 3:06:30 - 5th/20
Garmin Tracking here.

For my first race of the year I attended the Los Gatos Street Scramble which is an urban orienteering race put on by Get Lost. The event was scheduled to begin at 10AM so I figured I would have plenty of time but due to lack of preparation the night before I was cutting it close. I thought I had cereal available for breakfast but it turns out all I had was some eggs and waffle mix so I made waffles which took a bit more time than I wanted to spend. Also, I fell asleep the night before without charging my Garmin or Iphone or preparing directions so I ended up packing my computer with the directions on the screen and charging my watch from the computer in the car.

I ended up not leaving until 9AM which was cutting it close. On the way there I took the computer out of my bag so I could look at it at the first traffic light after getting off the highway and for some reason it powered down. I restarted it, but since I had no internet connect I couldn’t get back to the page with directions so I had to find the race from memory. I knew it was at a church on Blossom Hill Rd. so I got off Los Gatos Blvd. from CA-85 and turned left on Blossom Hill. I drove pretty far until I was sure I had passed it and turned around. With the time approaching 10AM I figured if I saw it on the way back to Los Gatos Blvd I would make it and if not I’d just have to go home. Then I found it (how could I have missed it!).

Parking was very easy and I rushed to the start where race director Vladimir informed me the event wouldn’t start until 10:15. So I had plenty of time to use the restroom and come up with a route plan. I saw several other people I recognized including Greg Favor, Rex Winterbottom, Erika Kikuchi, and Steve Gregg. Rex usually kicks my butt but I found out later he was in the 90 minute event. I usually finish close to Steve and Greg and we were all in the 3 hour event. The weather was sunny and mid-60’s so I was optimistic for a good finish.

There were options for 90 minutes and 3 hours, and option for on bike and on foot. I chose foot, 3 hours. There were 35 checkpoints available ranging from 10-50 points each with a total of 1000 points possible. I decided to get a couple 50 pointers in the nearby hills and then go for downtown where the checkpoints were worth smaller amounts were denser on the map.

As we started there were a bunch of other people who went for the 50 pointer up the closest hill. The first guy was on a bike with a clear lead over me, then me, then a clear lead over the next person (Erika, I think). I got the answer very quickly and ran down the hill. I did the same for the 2nd hill, also worth 50 although it appeared only the bike guy chose the same route as me.

From there I weaved my way toward downtown getting some of the flat checkpoints. I came across other people, including Pat Gerimoni, a DSE regular that I know, who was part of a 90 minute team. Everything went according to plan as I got to downtown. I generally knew where I wanted to go but only planned specific routes 2 or 3 checkpoints in advance. I was glad there were hills because I find it much easier to plan a route going uphill.

For a while I had my eye on a 50 pointer on the Northeast corner of Vasona Lake Park in Los Gatos but decided only to get it if I had time after getting all of the points downtown. The checkpoint wasn’t hard to get to but it was a bit out of the way given the route I’d have to backtrack to get back over CA-17 which was easy to cross downtown. It looked like I had enough time to get it, plus maybe 3 on the way back to the start from there. I made it to the 50 pointer and left it with 28 minutes to go.

As I crossed back over CA-17 I got the first (40 pointer) fairly easily and got to the second with about 9 minutes to go. Then it started coming apart. I saw the playground at the church I was supposed to find, but could not find the sign that stated the ages the playground was permitted for. I spent too much time looking for it, wrote down notes from other signs hoping to get credit for having been there, and proceeded to the finish knowing I’d be late (late=penalty). The last checkpoint I wanted to get was on a building in a complex on the way back to the start. I cut through the complex looking for the sign on the building, couldn’t find it immediately, so abandoned it to avoid getting a larger penalty. I made it back 6:30 late so I had a 70 point penalty.

I ended up running 18.12 miles and climbing 1658 feet in 3:06:30 which was good for 5th out of 20 in the 3 hour/Foot. The scorers gave me credit for the non-answer at the playground where I wrote down the contents of every other sign. The first 2 (teams) were tied with 900 points so they were uncatchable, but the next 2 were individuals with 770 (Eric Rozenzweig) and 760 (Steve Gregg) points, so I should have been able to finish 3rd if I didn’t have the penalty. The next person behind me was Greg Favor with 680 points. This wasn’t good enough for any awards but it was still one of the best perforamcens I’ve had at an orienteering races.

Year End 2011

2012-01-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

The 2011 year has come to a close and I thought I’d prepare a year end review.

Highlights:
• 130 races and 1431 race miles
• 2nd in the Pacific Association Ultra Series Age group 30-39 (2nd highest point total of all PA runners – what luck, the only person in the entire PA with more points is the same gender and age group
• New Personal Record of races in a single month - 22 in July.
• Climbed Mount Whitney
• Continued a streak of racing every weekend since May 2009 (and every week since Feb 2009 thanks to a mid-week track meet that week in May.)
• Set distance PRs in swimming. Longest swim in a race increased from 1 mi. to 2 mi. Longest swim ever increased from 1 mile to 3.58 miles which took 2 hours of doing laps in a pool. I should be able to comfortably swim any distance moving forward.
• Raced only 21 DSE races which is my lowest total since moving to California. This means I met my goal of running a bigger variety of races.

Most Enjoyable Races 2011 Races:
1. Castle to Coast 8.2 miler – a low key 8.2 miler from San Simeon to Cambria, straight down CA-1 west of Paso Robles. Very scenic and only $25. “Castle” refers to the Hearst Castle. Enojyed a hike at Pinnacles National Monument on the way home.
2. Red Rocks Canyon State Park Desert Trek – a Saturday/Sunday pair of 4 hour orienteering races in Southeastern California put on by Terraloco. Compass needed.
3. National Snowshoe Championship – had a great time as always, especially hanging out with New Englanders Jim Johnson, Kevin Tilton, Tim van Orden, Bob Dion, Carolyn Stocker and Richard “Mr. Snowshoe” Busa.
4. Brisbane Scenic Runs (5k and 12k) - The out-and-back races start simultaneously, the 12k up and down a 1000 foot mountain and the 5k only part way up before turning around. I race the 5k and then try to catch as many as I can in the 12k. Didn’t meet my goal of catching Gary Brickley but it’s a lot of fun trying.
5. Pair Fair 10 miler – a small XC 10 miler through orchards in Courtland, CA up the delta from the SF bay. This was a great alternative to the overpriced SF marathon that weekend.
6. Mill Valley Street Scramble – an urban orienteering race put on by Get Lost covering trails and roads in Mill Valley. It was nice to run a race in Mill Valley that went somewhere other than Stinson Beach.
7. Pikes Peak Marathon – this race has everything (except air, at the top): Tough course, competitive field, scenic trails, small town feel, and a really big hill.
8. Willow Glen Holiday Lights – a favorite from 2010 as well, an urban night orienteering race where the controls are holiday decorations.

Best Performance Races (seems I race well the week after an ultra):
1. Pikes Peak Marathon – I ran a 5:09 which was good enough for 35th overall and a 5th place age group award. This beat my previous bests of 5:23 and 73rd. Had my fastest ascent and fastest descent ever, despite 2 falls on the way down.
2. Skyline 50k – course PR of 4:21:18 and 10th overall.
3. Lake Merced CCW (8/11/11)– after consistently improving in this weekly race from the beginning to June through the end of July I didn’t expect a good time only 4 days after the Skyline 50k, my first ultra since May. Somehow I pulled off a 25:35, my best Lake Merced time of the season and 4th best ever.
4. Headlands 50k – 6 days after Pikes Peak I ran a 4:44:12 for 6th overall in a competitive field. Had a solid race throughout improving my course PR by 9 minutes.
5. Boston Marathon – Just a week after the AR50 I pulled off a 2:49:48 at Boston, only 2:13 off my PR. I struggled near the end which is too bad because if I finished strong I could have had a 2:46 with that massive tailwind we had.
6. Tamalpa Track Meet 9/13/11 – after finishing my first 100 mile race only 2 days earlier with my ankles still bloody and swollen, I literally couldn’t put on any shoes let alone race in them. So I showed up to the Tamalpa track meet and raced 4 events in socks including a mile in 5:47, 400 meter in 1:10, 100 meter in 13.7, and 800 meter in 2:45. The 100 meter is becoming one of my best age grading distances (71.46 here), even without shoes.
7. Clarksburg Country Half Marathon – Normally a 1:34:03 on a road half marathon wouldn’t be a “good race”, but this one came a day after finishing the Last Chance 50 mile in 7:41:03 (a new 2nd best 50mi. time ever). I raced Clarksburg only to ensure we had a full NB Excelsior team with a 1:55 within the realm of possibility as I hobbled out of the car before the start. I ran a 7:30 first mile and then turned on the juice. I finished every mile between 6:42 and 7:31, after a pregnant Anan Bretan and I pushed each other to go fast despite our current handicaps.
8. Los Gatos Dammit Run 5mi. - Ran a 32:03 2 days after the above Lake Merced race. This was a PR by 37 seconds and was the 3rd year in a row with a course PR. Everything seemed to come together in August.

Worse performances 2011:
1. PA XC Champs – a wet and rainy course, the 3rd race of the weekend for me (which doesn’t usually matter), and a nearly completed extremely aggressive fall ultra schedule were not good ingredients at this very competitive race.
2. New Year’s Day 12 hour – 45 miles in 12 hours on a flat 1 mile loop course. Only 4 types of races have I run a slower pace: the 100 miler, Ascent-only mountain races, orienteering, and the treacherous Seven Sisters 12 miler. At least I wasn’t embarrassed since I eclipsed my 6 hour PR of 44 miles.
3. Ruth Anderson 100k - The race was 5 days aftre the Boston Marathon. Ran a mediocre 26 miles and then the wear and tear started to add up, especially since the course was so flat and paved.
4. Silver State 50mi. - I've really enjoyed the 50k course 2 years in a row so I decided to try the 50 miler. I was having a hard time starting with the Tahitian style aid station after crosing over the Peavine Saddle for the first time. THEN the course went all the way down to the highway only to have a long grueling climb up to the saddle again, a climb I should have done well on. I finished in 11:11. Back to the 50k next time...
5. Not a race but had an unsuccessful attempt at climbing Mt. Elbert, the highest mountain in Colorado and the 2nd highest in the U.S. outside of Alaska. After climbing from the base of 10,072 feet up to an elevation of 13,907 feet on Mount Elbert I had to turn around short of the 14,440 foot summit to sprint down the mountain as a lightning storm engulfed the area.

Almost Fell Apart but Didn’t
1. Donut Dash 4 miler – Chikara Omine talked me into this: run 2 miles, eat 4 donuts, run 2 miles. I never wanted to DNF during a race as much as I did starting that 3rd donut.
2. American River 50 miler – had a really difficult time in the mid-30s. Then inexplicably bounced back for my then-2nd best ever 50 mile time (7:44:21)
3. Cal International Marathon - Hoped for a 2:55 which was 6 minutes slower than last year. I started with 3 miles in the 6:30's, then 2 in the 6:50's, then migrated over 7 minutes for every mile until mile 25 where I finished with a 6:54 and 6:44. Never fell apart since my slowest mile was only 7:51 but I should have been able to run sub 7 minute pace for at least 10 miles.
4. Rio del Lago 100miler – The sparsely fooded aid stations, 93 degree temperature, and going off-course 5 times were hardly factors. Blisters arrived on the back of my heels and ankles before mile 50. Erika Kikuchi caught me as I was re-taping and stayed just in back of me for a while after. If she was going to run almost 30 hours, how long was I going to have to be out there? Only 38 of 84 starters finished and I was one of them, in 20th place in just over 29 hours. Didn’t wear shoes for the next 12 days.
5. Quicksilver 50mi. - Started off well, struggled in the middle section, and finished strong largely due to the significant downhill at the end. Finsihed in 9:27 which is worse than I should have run but wasn't nearly as bad as the 11:31 I ran in 2009.

DNFs:
1. Splash and Dash, Cupertino – my first DNF ever, at anything. It was the first Thursday in June. On a cloudy day where it rained only a couple days before, the air AND water temperature were both around 60 degrees. I was surprised I even finished the first lap with how much the cold hit me. Unfortunately the race was 2 laps of 750 meters each and although I voluntarily crawled on the lifeguard’s surfboard after almost 1300 meters (which for some reason is not a DNF in this race) somehow I ended up on a boat back to the start where it took me an hour in the paramedic van to warm up.
2. Roberts Regional Recreational Area Bay Area Orienteering Club Blue course 4.4km - Blue is the most elite course. I had never done a course more difficult than orange which is several levels down. It's not that I couldn't finish, it's that I couldn't finish in time. I covered 6.06 miles in 2:23:01 and only got half the controls. My Garmin track shows the circles I went in looking for the orange orienteering control bags. I don't know how the winner finished in 48 minutes.

Goals for 2012:
1. 50 mile PR at American River (7:20)
2. A mid distance PR – 5k, 10k, or marathon (17:14, ~36:08, 2:47:35)
3. A mile PR (4:52) or 400 meter under 1:00 (haven’t done this in 10+ years)
4. Enter 2013 ready to assault all existing PRs marathon and under.

Hopeful Races:
1. Mt. Washington Climb
2. New York Marathon
3. TransRockies or Pikes Peak in August (why are they always the same weekend?)

Race 11-130 New Years Day 24/12 Hour run

2011-12-31T12:00:00.000-08:00

45.623mi. - 11:54:08 - 23rd/57
Garmin Tracking here.

I wanted to have an aggressive schedule to finish to the year so I entered the Coastal Trail Runs New Year’s Day 24 Hour race. There are 6 and 12 hour options in addition to the 24 hours option and I chose the 12 hour race. I watched part of this race last year and there were quite a few people there that I knew and I hoped that would be the case again this year. The course is a 1.061 mile loop at Crissy Field in San Francisco. It is 60% dirt and 40% pace with 2 feet of elevation gain per loop.

One thing I didn’t plan on was having a pair of shoes I’d be comfortable running in for this long so I packed several pairs thinking I may need to change every few hours. Since the race was almost directly across the street from Sports Basement I stopped to look around before the race. I immediately found a pair of Nike Air Pegasus which I’ve had very good success with recently so I bought those to run in.

My race started at noon but the 24 hour racers had already started at 9AM. I knew Chikara Omine was out there and found out the Amy Burton was as well. I saw Jean Pommier (who seems to get better with age) at the start of my race and tagged him as the eventual winner. I should be able to run 70-75 miles in 12 hours but given my recent races I was hoping to get at least 100k in.

I started with Jean and a couple other guys running mid 7 minute pace for a mile before backing off a little. "A little" turned into "quite a bit" which turned into "quite a lot". I was having a difficult time with my feet being sore probably from running too many long races recently. The excessively flat surface doesn't play to my strengths either for such a long race. I felt a bit lethargic due to my non-existant dinner the night before.

By mile 11 I had slowed down to 9:40 pace which was bad enough, but the next 2 miles were 11:05 and 10:34. As I had run abuot a half marathon I noted to Wendell Doman, the race director, that I was already running my Double Dipsea pace. He said "At least it's not my Quad (Dipsea) pace" to which I replied "Just wait a couple more hours". My overall pace went up to the mid to high teens per mile, but I maintained a moving pace in the 13's to 16's - the difference being that I stopped to eat frequently in order not to run out of energy.

I hit the marathon mark in 5:18:26 and was ready to be done with it. I pressed on keeping up the same moving pace but not making my normal effort to move out of the aid station quickly. A couple of times I took an extended rest up to 10 minutes. The "finish decent" goal of 50 miles went out the window and turned into a "don't get embarassed" goal of more than 44 miles, since 44 miles is my 6 hour PR.

Somewhere in there Chikara went from looking OK to struggling. Erika Kikuchi ran a couple laps with me for a couple of laps. She was in the 6 hour race and not doing so well herself. Barry Smith kept passing me as he had started a lap late but eventually won the 6 hour race. After lap 40 (42.44 miles) in 11:09 I figured I could do 2 more laps in about 18-20 minutes each. I ran a 20:49 but then was able to squeeze in 2 laps after that in 12:22 and then 11:24.

I was a bit concerned for Chikara as he was struggling mightily and had hardly moved along the final straightaway to the aid station from where I passed him on my 2nd to last lap to where I passed him on my last lap. At that point my race was just ending and his had another 9 hours. After midnight hit starting the New Year I went to go find him and carry him in but by that point he had just made it to the aid station. It turned out he just needed a 7 hour nap in order to get up and get some more miles in.

It was a clear night so we had watched the full moon rise all evening and after the race we could see the fireworks by looking over Fort Mason. I rested a little in a tent that I thought belonged to Noe Castanon who was working at the aid station. Then I went home with no intention of waking up in time for the morning DSE 5k at the same course location.

Dipsea Data (Initial Data)

2011-03-16T21:39:00.001-07:00

In response to a thread I've been participating in on the Tamalpa Runners Message Board, I've begun a statistical analysis of Dipsea records. The thread started with the question of whether the boys age 8 handicap gave them a disadvantage over other runners. I don't know anything about the methods actually used and regretably have not had a chance to buy and read Dipsea expert Barry Spitz's book. This may be a benefit to this small project since I can consider a fresh approach.

I promised an analysis which would determine the ideal handicaps for every age/gender combination. As everyone in Marin County, CA and many people outside of Marin knows, the Dipsea is a 7.1 mile trail race, famous for allowing alternate routes and for giving runners head starts based on age and gender. I proposed that handicaps should be based on projected times for each age gender as determined by a best-fit line calculated using historical Dipsea times.

Barry provided me with all of the single age/gender records. There are 162 total records - women aged 5-77 and men aged 6-95, excluding men aged 91 as the record holder Jack Kirk's official time is unavailable. Using this data I've developed 3 graphs which plot each record. Each graph also has a best-fit line. A best fit line is one that best appromixates each Y-value (time) for every X-value (age). For this line I used a polynomial formula with an order of 6. The best-fit line is determined by calculating the minimum variances as determined by comparing the line with the various data points.

Here are the graphs with brief explanation:

This is the master graph. All data is reflected here. Women's data (red) and men's data (blue) are plotted. The women's best-fit line is in green and men's in orange. One thing I noticed is it appears that the women's best-fit line is not a U. The men's is a U - starting at a young age, times get faster to a certain point and then get slower. But the women's seem to bottom out around age 19, then rise a little, then bottom out again in the mid 40's. The data does this too - if you see on Barry's blog, women in their teens can run under an hour, women in their early 20's seem unable to, and women starting at age 26 seem to be able to again. There is possibly a confounding variable there as most of the sub 1 hour times were from the 1980's and the best times at other ages tend more toward recent years. I will talk to Barry about this as I speculate these are due to course differences.

You also can see which records are the most "impressive" and which records are "soft". The impressive records are ones where the plotted point is far below the best fit line and soft receords are ones considerably above the best fit line. The women seem to be less consistent - their points are generally farther from their best fit line than men's. One possible explanation for this is more men the race which would lead to the best men's times have been whittled down more.

A couple soft records seem to be:
Women age 65
Men age 84-86, 89
A few impressive records seem to be:
Women age 66 and 68
Men age 87, 88, 90
It also appears that there are some kind-of-soft records:
Women - around age 20. As I wrote above teens and late 20's women ran faster, maybe due to the faster women around age 20 being on college racing/training schedules?
Men - mid-30's, because men aged 38-41 ran faster with no reason to think that extra speed comes with the 38th birthday.

This 2nd graph works the same as the first except I cut off men at age 83. I did this because it's difficult to see the meat part of the graph due to the high ages causing the Y-axis to go so high. I arbitrarily picked age 83 because 84 is where the earliest occurance of the men's record being slower than the slowest women's record (which is women age 77) exists. If the graph has to go up to the women age 77, we might as well include all of the men's time up to that point.

Also on the 2nd graph the men's best fit line is not exactly the same as the 1st graph. This is because the men's age 84+ times are exllucded from the calculation. It's close but not the same. For handicapping purposes which I'll discuss in a post (hopefully next week) using the best-fit line on the 1st graph would be a better choice.

I further truncated the 2nd graph to develop the 3rd, in the same way I truncated the 1st to get the 2nd. Again, the best-fit line will not exactly match the above graphs because it considers only that graph's data. This graph shows the ages where the most competitive times are posted. I used ages 16 and 55 endpoints arbitrarily because that's where it appears the times start and stop being "real fast".

Race 11-25 U.S. Snowshoe Championship Relay 4x2.5k

2011-03-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

Races 11-23,24 US Snowshoe Championship, Citizens 5k

2011-03-16T21:33:00.002-07:00

March 12th, 2011
10k - 58:03- 67th/114
Garmin Tracking here.
5k (6k?)- 34:44 - 2nd/49
Garmin Tracking here.

This weekend I went to the United States Snowshoe National Championships for the 5th time. The previous events I went to were in Minnesota, Utah, Oregon, and New York. This year the site selected was Lakewoods Resort in Cable, Wisconsin. Cable isn’t easy to get to. The nearest airports are Duluth, MN which is 2.5 hours away and Minneapolis, MN which is a little more than 3 hours away. Flights from SFO to MSP were more than $700 so I used my Delta Frequent Flyer Miles for the flight. I arrived in Minneapolis around noon and immediately went to the Mall of America to eat lunch. The mall is by far the largest mall in the county, by number of stores. There are 2 food courts both on the 3rd floor and I got a Texas wrap from Healthy Express.

Then I left for Cable. I arrived after 7PM without a hotel reservation. I read some negative comments about the host resort online so I figured if it was nice I’d stay there and if not there were some cheap options a half hour away. After leaving Minneapolis there is a whole lot of nothing. The drive was mostly on a 2 lane road and was kind of tiring so I stopped for a 20 minute nap. I got there a little past 7PM, after the athlete reception had finished although I wasn’t especially looking forward to attending.

I immediately went to the registration table which was open until 8PM where I reacquainted with Mark Elmore. Mark is the president of the United States Snowshoe Association (USSSA) and even more importantly he is the guy who puts in (by far) the most work to keep the whole thing going. To say he does a lot of work is an understatement. Without him I don’t know if the Regional Qualifier system and Championship would keep going. Registering right after me was Tim van Orden. He looked familiar and I’d heard his name from keeping on top of the New England snowshoe races but I had definitely never met him. Tim was very friendly.

I went to the registration desk to ask about room and they offered me a condo onsite next to the main lodge for $125 a night. It was a little more than I wanted to spend but the resort looked decent and I didn’t want to drive any more. I was also disappointed that the quoted price was before taxes but didn’t’ care enough to get out of it. Tim was lingering around the area and introduced me to a couple of his friends – Jim Johnson and Kevin Tilton. I had read a bit about Jim I think from Dave Dunham’s blog and I’d heard of Kevin as well. All 3 are clearly out of my league but they were welcomed me into their New England group, which worked out because it turned out there were only 3 west coasters at the event and I didn’t know the other 2. They were all staying about a half hour down the road.

After chatting a while about some people we know (Jim knew Chris Mahoney who I knew from UMASS and had met Scott Dunlap who I know from SF Bay California) I went to the room I rented. It turned out to be a 2 bedroom condo with a double bed and a pair of twins, full kitchen and bath. Too bad it was just me there. The room was clean and decent – it had an automatic fireplace which turned itself on and off but I thought it weird that the TV had only 10 or so channels, some staticky, and was a small TV/VCR combo. It was good enough to be comfortable in.

I was awake and ready very early. The youth race started at 9AM followed by the men’s race at 10AM and the women’s race at 11:30AM. This was the first time I remember the men going first. The weather was colder than yesterday, low 30s. It was overcast and snow was blowing in the air but it didn’t look like any real precipitation. In fact it appeared several inches had fallen overnight and there were flurries in the air. The start/finish line was about 100 yards from where I was staying so I kept warm in my room.

At the start I tried to get to around the 3rd row. I wanted to start a little fast because the course looked easier than I had been running in California. It was a little tight at the beginning since everyone took off like it was a road 5k and it was downhill with some turns at the bottom. I heard after the race that Bob Dion, owner of Dion Snowshoes took a tumble. Dion Snowshoes is not only one of the major brands, but was also the title sponsor of the Championship. One great thing about his company is Bob’s (and wife Denise’s) participation in the sport. When something goes wrong or I have questions about products I use like New Balance shoes or my Ford car I have to go out of my way to get support. But I have seen Bob many times helping people with their snowshoes at races, answering questions, etc. At last year’s nationals I saw Bob giving advice mid-race to a runner who obviously did not strap his feet in tight enough.

Anyway, the course was two loops, a 6k outer loop and a 4k inner loop. The outer loop crossed under the road so this was the first snowshoe race I’ve ever done with a tunnel. I ran hard for a mile or two but settled in what in hindsight I think was too slow. I wasn’t sure which loop was first but I figured it out after 5-6k when we were nowhere near the start. I came through the start/finish at the 6k mark in about 36:27. From there I pushed again and caught a few people on the smaller loop. We were very strung out so there wasn’t much back and forth. I didn’t know anyone around me so I don’t have any idea how I was doing really. I finished strong in 58:03 feeling as I normally do, like I could have run farther but not faster.

After the race they had doughnut holes and bananas. I was disappointed to see the “real” food cost money. I didn’t buy any. Instead I decided to run the Citizens 5k. Actually I had a difficult time deciding on 5k or 10 but I figured I had already done the 10k course, although I considered the possibility the 5k might be part of that. I also thought I might have a better shot at placing well in the 5k. I thought about this as I waited for my friend Richard Busa, known as Mr. Snowshoe, to finish. Richard is a young 82 years old. Coming to watch him race is about half the reason anyone would need to come to the event. I just missed him finishing as it was getting so cold I needed to go back to my room for more clothes and in the 2 minutes I took to do that he came in. He graciously accepted a picture request (left), after all we’ve know each other for years, but you wouldn’t believe the number of people who come up asking for a hug and a photo op.

The women’s race happened as scheduled, they actually started before Richard came in. I took photos of the top 4 finishers but I didn’t know any of them. Eventually it became time for the Citizens race. I decided on the 5k because I’ve never run a snowshoe race under 4 miles. I wanted to go out very aggressively and see if I could hold it. The 5k turned out to be the 6k loop with a couple of the biggest hills removed, well we ran around them. I started in 1st but got caught less than half way in. He was pulling away and 3rd was gaining on me. 3rd turned out to be Peter Feeney from Bar Harbor (pronounced Bah Hahbah), Maine. Peter gained on me on the ups and I opened up on the downs. Near the end we came to one of the very steep hills and following race instructions I followed the flags around it. Some guys were on the course yelling “You can go up the hill if you want” so he did. I’m not sure if that was OK but he didn’t end up catching me. The guy in front of me, then me, then Peter all stopped at the 5k finish so I likely would have won the 10k if I had entered it (still waiting for my 1st snowshoe win, which will probably never happen).

There was an awards ceremony at 3:30PM. The awards were generally for the Championship race but I got an age group medal for the Citizens race without any fanfare after. I also won a raffle prize of a pair of hiking poles. Then at 6PM all athletes were welcome to dinner. At my table were Tim, Jim and Kevin, and they invited Peter over, and we also had Richard and a few older guys there I didn’t know. There were 3 choices of soups – I had cream of mushroom – and spaghetti with chicken and a brownie cake thing for dessert. I felt this made up for the charged food earlier. We ate there and went through another series of raffles. When the dinner was done the crowd dispersed, with half of our table going upstairs to the bar. There I learned that Jim Johnson knows more about music, specifically classic rock than anyone I know. I remember stuff really well but this guy is off the chart. Also, Richard told me he might have a spot on a relay team tomorrow if I wanted to run. So as I went back to my room I started planning my race and checkout schedule for Sunday.

Race 11-22 Montara Mountain Half Marathon

2011-03-16T21:33:00.001-07:00

Race 11-21 Norcal 10 miler

2011-03-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

March 5th, 2011
10mi. - 1:02:50 - 54th/250
Garmin Tracking here.

Race 11-20 Desert Map Trek 4hr. - Red Rocks Canyon State Park

2011-03-01T18:10:00.001-08:00

February 27th, 2011
4 Hour Rogaine - 3:58:06 (680/760 pts.) - 4th/10
Garmin Tracking here.

It’s tomorrow. After another drive in to Red Rocks from Bakersfield I was ready to go. I only had 20 minutes before the start this time, but was much more prepared when I got there having already registered (yesterday) and having my watch ready and sun block on. Rex had already begun to give instructions so I listed in as I planned out my route. There were 15 controls and the overall terrain was more mountainous – it didn’t look like there were open basins like in yesterday’s event. 4 of them were worth 80 points, the rest were worth 40, and there was a 25 point penalty (per minute, or fraction thereof) for taking over 4 hours.

Everyone started one time and people left in 2 groups. Some went straight north and I led a group going northeast between 2 small rock hills. There were 5 easy controls in the flat land not far from the start and I got 3 of them before heading up into the hilly terrain. I made it to the first 2 and maybe all 3 before anyone else, but there I took a slower route to the 4th and some people beat me to it. From there I got separated and didn’t see anyone as I got my fifth. I temporarily lost my bearings looking for #6 before eventually finding them and running into Bud (from yesterday) as we got what was for me #6. He told me he missed getting what I called #5 but proceeded to go to the same one as me for #7. After that we split up with him going to the northeastern most control that I decided to skip. I figured since I didn’t have time to get them all skipping the farthest one out, which was worth 40 points, would be worth it.

So I was on my own again and got a couple easy ones. One was a water stop on the side of a trail and one was on a fairly open hillside with a half dozen people crowded around. From there I went north to get a double point in a hard section. It was hard because the terrain was flatter so not an many landmarks. Also the contours on that part of the maps increased from 20 feet to 40 feet so the map was less descript, and the land all looked the same. A bunch of people looked lost in this area so I wasn’t the only one. I ended up going east to a part of trail I was on before getting those 2 easy ones. This still didn’t work so I tried again from the northwest near an obvious hilltop. Just as I was about to give up on it I saw it just ahead. This was big since it was worth double points and I didn’t’ want to waste so much time and not get anything.

The next one was fairly easy but then I came to one that people had a really difficult time finding. Bud was already there and he and some other people give only a little more effort before moving on. The control was supposed to be in gully (called a re-entrant) and there were like a dozen of them. I crossed a bunch of re-entrants perpendicularly between the top of them and the dried waterway at the bottom. I turned around and went up the dried waterway looking up the re-entrants and still could find it. Then I climbed most of the hill (a couple hundred feet) and crossed the re-entrants perpendicularly again at a higher level. I decided I’d look but I had to get going back so I was prepared not to get it. As I thought I was on the boundary of where it could possibly be I looked right and saw it in the shae directly under a plant that was handing out over sidewall of the re-entrant.

From there I didn’t follow the waterway which was a mistake. Instead I climbed over he shoulder of the hill and went down an almost dangerous side. It was very rocky and steep – like bouldering. Any more so and I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I tried to get the 2 controls in the flat area I didn’t get at the beginning but only managed to get one. There was one not far from the trial that led to the finish and I could see it from a was away. The other was in an inlet that I saw Bud coming out of. There were 2 I knew he didn’t get and there was this one and the one I purposely skipped that I didn’t get. I could have easily made it back first from there, but I wasn’t competing directly with him so I thought I’d be better off getting that last control. I looked as long as I felt I could (about 5 minutes) and rushed back. I made it back with only slightly more than a minute to spare.

Results…to come soon.

Today’s course had more trails and not so many volcanic rocks but I covered less ground, I think due to the difficulty of the climbing. I saw 3 wild hares on Saturday and none Sunday but I saw a bunch of interesting pink cacti Sunday (and none Saturday).

Race 11-19 Desert Map Trek 4hr. - Red Rocks Canyon State Park

2011-03-01T12:55:00.000-08:00

February 26th, 2011
4 hr Rogaine - 3:55:13 (760/960 pts.) - 2nd/6
Garmin Tracking here.

I spend the past weekend in Southern California to run the Desert Map Trek Rogaines on Saturday and Sunday. I drove down Friday night and stayed in Bakersfield, which was 84 miles west of the race location, Red Rocks Canyon State Park in Cantil, CA. The Saturday event started at noon so there was plenty of time to get a full night’s sleep before driving to the park in the morning.

On Saturday I got to the park about 45 minutes before the race, which is quite early for me. I had time to fill out forms for both days’events but I only paid for Saturday not knowing if my left hamstring which had been sore the previous week would be good to run on the 2nd day. There was a 4 hour event and a 2 hour event. I opted for the 4. There were 19 controls on the curse and I only planned on getting half of them. The event organizer, Rex Winterbottom, said I should be able to get more if I do well. I was easily the fastest runner there although I’m significantly worse at the navigation aspect that many of the regular orienteering participants. It was bright and sunny but only in the mid 40’s so I forgot to put on sun block. I passed on wearing a hat so I wouldn’t get too hot and since it was cool I made a last minute decision not to carry a water bottle which worked out well for me.

Only 3 of us were at the start on time, but I couldn’t leave immediately due to my Garmin watch data being full. I left 2:16 late, after I had deleted sufficient old records to allow for a new event. Several of us converged near the first control and took a few minutes to find it, reminding me of the difficulty I sometimes have at these where I’m really close but can’t quite find it. Eventually we all found it and in hindsight didn’t seem to be too hidden. There were several other people around on my way to the 2nd and third controls as well, and that made it a little easier to find them. At that point I began to go south along a ridge while it seemed most people headed east into a basin below the ridge I ran along. In this whole area there were volcanic rocks scattered about the land.

I was all alone at the 4th control and continued below an East/West road that divided the course into a top and bottom half. The bottom half didn’t have all the volcanic rocks but it was more desert-like. I lost my bearings temporarily because the terrain really flattened out but eventually found my way by following dried waterways. It was at this point that I ran into Bud, who covered ground a lot slower than my but seemingly in a more direct way. He seemed to get right to the controls, or within a close range and I spent a lot of time looking around. He and I went back and forth for the rest of the time. We talked a little at a couple different controls as we both were looking in the same vicinity. In the rest of the time I saw only 2 other participants and they were teamed together. I briefly talked with them as they were looking for a control that Bud and I were also looking for.

I headed through a canyon of deep red rocks on the east side, near the highway on the way bad. Bud caught up to me in the canyon (again) as I was looking for a control in the canyon that I didn’t end up finding. Bud bailed on it earlier because he knew he’d have less time to get back by the cutoff, but my spending an additional 10 minutes didn’t help. I got one other control on the way back that was right on the natural route and ran the rest of the way back. I caught Bud and got to the end before him which worked out because it seems ties in points go to whoever finishes earlier.

More to come tomorrow…

Race 11-18 President's Day Coyote Point 10k

2011-02-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

February 21th, 2011
10k - 39:03 - 6th/48

There is only 1 race in the bay area on President's Day and it's the President's Day 10k/5k put on by Sky High Events. It's run by a guy known as "Big Al". Al is an older guy who is really into getting people fit. He puts on Bay Area races on holidays without much advertisement. There are usully around 50 participants and shirts available to all entrants.

The President's Day Race is at Coyote Point in San Mateo at 10AM. I took this day off the last 2 years, once for this race and once for a snowshoe race. This year I ran the race without taking the day off by running it during lunch since I work only a few miles north in Burlingame.

I got to the race with about 15-20 minutes to spare. I talked with several DSE members who were there (Greg Brown, Erika Kikuchi, and Barbara Robben to name a few). I was very sore from the races I had done the previous 2 days. I especially tried to stretch my hamstrings which were tight. The weather was mostly sunny and a little cool, with a decent wind blowing in from the south.

The 5k and 10k started simultaneously and I started the race around 9th place. After we made it over the initial hill I picked up some spots and took first place. I was caught by 2 guys after the mile mark.One was younger and the other looked 40+. i knew immediately that I wouldn't be able to stay with them. Shortly after, the first woman with a New Balance Silicon Valley singlet on passed me. My legs started to tighten up so I hoped that some of the 3 in front of me would turn around at the 5k turnaround. They all kept going so I prepared myself for 4th place.

The course is out and back heading south along the bay on the Out section. The 10k turnaround seemed far away, but probaby because I wasn't doing so well. After the turnaround a couple more guys caught me and I really started to feel slow. I finished as strong as I could in 39:03 (I think). Big Al isn't big on providing official race results so if you don't write your time and place down while you're there don't plan on ever finding out. I was surprised at my time because I had forgotten to bring my watch to work so I couldn[t run with it and I felt like I was moving slower than that. After Erika finished she said her GPS showed only 6 miles, not a full 10k and I remember thinking that I would have been over 40 minutes at the full distance. I plan on going back to measure the distance and elevation change in a training run soon.

This race isn't the best race but it's the only one on President's Day and it's not too expensive ($25 race day entry + $5 per car park entry fee). I don't like it enough to commit (even in my mind) to doing it the next year, but I guess I'd generally run it unless something different comes along.

Race 11-17 Hamilton YMCA TCRS 4.36mi.

2011-02-20T09:00:00.000-08:00

February 20th, 2011
4.36mi. - 27:15 - 5th/113

Since the beginning of 2010 I’ve been making the effort to race in more of the monthly TCRS races which are put on by Tamalpa Runners in Marin. The cost is $3 for members and $5 for non-members and what you get is a 5k-12k course over varied terrain, usually it’s a cross country type course with at least one decent size hill in the middle. This month’s TCRS was no different. The course is a 4-ish mile loop that starts on the levee behind the Novato YMCA, runs on some dirt trails and through a neighborhood going up 2 short but steep hills before returning to the finish. I had never run this course before.

The weather today was mild and sunny and I arrived at the race quite early. I was a little sore from yesterday’s 50k but not too fatigued. I thought having done yesterday’s race might cost me a handful of places. The TCRS series has some competitive runners – I’ve never been within striking distance of the leader after the halfway mark. No one knew exactly how long the course was but for some reason we had to start a quarter mile down the levee and run toward the parking lot to make the course long enough.

I started out in about 9th place but 1st wasn’t too far ahead. Everyone was more or less running in back of the person in front of him (mostly hims with the exception of Valerie Young who was a couple places in front of me). As we got to the first hill I started picking off runners until I got to (I think) 2nd, maybe 3rd? As we crested that hill I lost a couple places but I kept running strong. Also, first place had pulled away from the pack.

We descended down into a neighborhood and ran toward a second hill. I passed 2 guys going up that hill and at least one passed me back as we were at the top. When we started the descent I was in 5th with first place being out of reach but the next 3 guys were all close. I thought I might be able to make up ground going downhill but no dice – it wasn’t happening. I ran as hard as I could to avoid getting caught by the guy in 6th and managed to hold him off. I had saved a little in the tank for the last 100 meters in case he caught me, which I used but didn’t have to.

After the race a bunch of us went to Peet’s down the road. I should be at or near the top of the TCRS standings having placed fairly well in both of the events so far this year, but I expect to miss the next one due to it being the same weekend as the National Snowshoe Championship in Wisconsin.

Race 11-16 Golden Gate 50k

2011-02-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

February 19th, 2011
50k - 5:43:52 - 4th/11
Garmin Tracking here.

I had been planning on running the Buzz Half Marathon and considered the possibility of running the full marathon but made a last minute decision not to run it. I had run Buzz twice before and would have liked to again but it’s a long drive to San Miguel and it was supposed to rain. I didn’t want to go that far to run a rainy half marathon. Also, they hold it on a military base which and they require all visitors to go inside where they request licenses of everyone in the vehicle, car registration, and proof of insurance which is a pain to deal with before a race. So instead at 11PM Friday night I decided to run the Coastal Trail Runs Golden Gate 50k.

I arrived with plenty of time to register and get my stuff together. Ray Sanchez was the only person on the pre-entrants list I recognized as being faster than me, but as I got to the start line Leigh Schmitt came over to say hi and I knew I’d be quite a bit behind him. The weather was cool and cloudy. The first climb is a tough one but I hung with Leigh as we had started talking. I fell off his pace after a half mile and settled into my own race from there. There was a magnificent view of snow capped Mt. Tam ahead to our left as I descended toward Tennessee Valley. A couple other runners in who were in the shorter races passed me but I still felt fine.

As I was getting to Tennessee Valley we started to get hit with hail. It stopped briefly once and returned as I started climbing the Fox Trail to Coyote Ridge. I was glad I ran with a hat because the visor was keeping the hail out of my face. It continued as I ran along the ridge all the way to the Coastal Trail at the Pacific Ocean. The hail turned to rain by the time I hit Pirate’s Cove but and that’s when Ray passed me. I was feeling very cold. I struggled to get back to Tennessee Valley and looked forward to getting back to the start so I could get more clothes.

The rain mostly kept up on the way back and I kept my head down and just focused on what was in front of me. When I completed the first loop I replaced my wet shirt with my warm up jacket from the car. My hands were so cold I had a tough time opening the car door. I got some food and headed out for the 2nd loop. It was the same as the first, minus the 5 mile loop with the Fox trail climb and Coastal Trail back to Tennessee Valley. I was warm for a short time until I got to Tennessee Valley again. As I stared climbing Marincello out of Tennessee Valley my watch started to beep because it was out of memory. This was an annoyance. I started to walk a little too – I was having a less than fun time. I had no difficulty finishing the 2nd loop but could not get my legs to move fast. I finished in 5:43:52 which was easily over an hour slower than I had previous run on a very similar course. Leigh and Ray had already left but I stayed a while to eat some food and talk with the race director, Wendell. I was glad I ran this race instead of the Buzz marathon, but the cold rain ended up getting to me too much.

Race 11-15 Golden Gate Bridge Vista 10k

2011-02-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

February 13th, 2010
10k - 40:32 - 5th/132
Garmin Tracking here.

By now I’ve run most of the DSE courses with the only ones I haven’t done being the ones created in the last 2 years. I’ve tried to attend different races to mix it up, but one of the DSE courses I’ll never get tired of is the Golden Gate Bridge Vista 10k. Since I like this course and there was nothing else I’ve been dying to do, I ran this race. Also, it’s only a $3 race cost which is better for my wallet than most any other race.

The course starts at Land’s End which is the northwestern most point of San Francisco – just north of the Cliff House. It heads south and does a quick hairpin turn to a trail that we follow for a little more than a mile before hitting the paved road just below the Legion of Honor. We follow the road from there almost all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge then turn around and come back. On the way back we follow the road to the western end of the Legion of Honor parking lot and take a short trail directly to the Land’s End parking lot, instead of following the windy trail by the water. There is a little concern for traffic, especially near the turnaround but the views for the first 2 miles are excellent if it’s a nice day. For today’s race the weather was perfect.

Winning a DSE race is sometimes a possibility for me although not as much recently because three crowds have gotten bigger and more competitive runners have been coming than several years ago. I immediately ruled this out when I saw Chikara Omine there, and shortly after Sloane Cook. I also saw Joe Weirheim before the race and mentally moved myself down to 4th. I finish in front of Joe at every Thursday night series and recently ran faster at the California International Marathon and Jed Smith 50k, but I generally have no hope of keeping up with him at the weekend DSE races.

I started the race a little fast, actually too fast, right next to Chikara for about as long as I could. Sloan was in front of us and I fell off of Chikara’s pace before the mile mark. Eventually Joe and DSE President Ky Faubion passed me before we hit the road. Ky has been running faster than me at DSE races as well. A younger guy I don’t know passed me as we hit the road. He didn’t know which way to go as we got to an island in the middle of the road. I shouted ahead that they both go to the same place so he took the lower road while I took the upper. The 2 choices meet up at what is rumored to be Robin Williams’ house, something I’ve been unable to verify. I was disappointed to see the vine shaped like a dinosaur in the front lawn that was overlooking the 8 foot wall at that house had been taken down.

The younger guy pulled away in the road section and I was solidly in 6th. I kept him in sight however hoping I could catch them on the hills we still had to run. It looked like I made some ground going up the winding hill to the turnaround and I was happy to see Vince French at the turnaround. Going down the winding road I made up more ground and I caught the young guy near the former dinosaur possible Robin Williams house. I tried to get by him before the climb to the Legion of Honor but he was able to stay with me. I surged a few times going up that hill and finally by the time we hit the top I opened some space. I was also well spent and aware he could catch me in the short trail section so I kept moving as fast as I could. It turned out he wasn’t going to close the gap and I had that figured out as I got to the parking lot. I ran as hard as I could at the end but was a little disappointing with my time.

After the race I had some snacks and got re-acquainted with Steve Stephens’ cat. Steve brings his cat to races and lets it roam around like a dog. A bunch of us all furthered our plans to hike up Mt. Whitney this summer – a trip of hopefully 15 DSE members mainly being organized by President Ky.

Race 11-14 Northstar Snowshoe Series 10k

2011-02-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

February 12th, 2011
10k - -
Garmin Tracking here.

Race 11-13 Jazztrax Snowshoe Stomp 10k

2011-02-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

Race 11-12 Jed Smith 50k

2011-02-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

Race 11-11 Arts and Sciences 5k

2011-01-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

Race 11-10 The Dam Run 10k

2011-01-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

Race 11-09 Northstar at Tahoe Snowshoe Half Marathon

2011-01-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

Race 11-08 Chabot College All Comers Meet

2011-01-22T09:00:00.000-08:00

Race 11-07 Shell Ridge Orienteering

2011-01-16T12:30:00.000-08:00

Race 11-06 Tennessee Valley 3.78mi.

2011-01-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

Race 11-05 Castle to Coast 8.2mi.

2011-01-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Race 11-04 Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline Orienteering

2011-01-09T12:30:00.000-08:00

Race 11-03 Crystal Springs Marathon

2011-01-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

Race 11-02 Lake Merced 4.5mi.

2011-01-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

Race 11-01 Los Gatos Resolution Run 5mi.

2011-01-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

Race 10-120 Mission Rock 5k

2010-12-26T19:59:00.004-08:00

Race 10-119

2010-12-26T19:59:00.003-08:00

Races 10-115, 116, 117, 118

2010-12-26T19:59:00.002-08:00

Race 10-114 Northstar Resort Snow Race 10k

2010-12-26T19:59:00.001-08:00

December 18th, 2010
10k - 1:28:08 - 8th/14

This year due to a change in the United States Snowshoe Association National Qualifier schedule, I found myself entered in the Northstar at Tahoe Series. There is a race in December, January, and February. 5 of us made the trip from the Bay area - me, Tina (who volunteered to drive her 4 wheel drive vehicle), Erika, Rachel, and Enrique. We left Friday night at 6:30PM and drove to the North Lake Tahoe condo that we were staying at. We arrived late, but the race started Saturday at 11AM so we still got a good night's sleep.

We got to the race over an hour before the race but used most of the time taking a bus from the parking to the main area, finding the hidden location where we were to confirm out entry to get Gondola passes to the top, and then riding the Gondola. We all got split up a little due to restroom trips, some people having to rent snoeshoes, etc but we ended up checking in a little before the race start. They delayed the race long enough to give everyone an opportunity to get fully registered.

The course was a 5k loop and there was a 5k race and a 10k race, with the 10k going around the loop twice.

Race 10-113 Arts and Sciences 5k

2010-12-26T19:59:00.000-08:00

December 12th, 2010
5k - 19:01 (chip), 22:08 (gun) - 43rd/185

This was one of the most uneventful races I've ever run. Many local fast people were at the Christmas relays at Lake Merced. It didn't look like my team New Balance Excelsior was going to field a team there, I still had an outside shot at winning my age group for the year in the DSE series, I had just run a 4 hour event the previous day, and the DSE race is cheap ($3 for members) so I decided to run the low-key DSE race.

I woke up late, got my stuff together as quick as possible and drove to the race as fast as possible. I got there late so I didn't start until 3:07 into the race. I spent the whole race catching people which is fun (I've done this before) but i didn't know how I was doing because i didn't know how late I started and I didn't wear a watch. After a mile I started passing people regularly and after 2 i was getting to the middle of the pack. As I was running I was thinking of people who wouldn't let me forget if they finished in front of me.

I didn't have to worry about Joe Connelly because he was the director, although I'm not sure if I remembered that. I caught Amy almost 2 miles in and figured she was running 23 or 24 minutes. I thought I saw Erika a little after the 2 mile mark and thought if she finished in front of me I'd never hear the end of it (either from her or Chikara), so I didn my best to catch up. I caught her with only a couple tenths left and passed another 4 more people before the finish line crept up on us. Mike Gulli and Noriko Brazely were not far in front but there was just no room to catch them.

There aren't many races I'd call forgetable, but this is certainly one of them. My time was mediocre at best, even with the long race the day before. My only hope is that this wasn't lifetime race 100. I know I'll cross that achievement within a few weeks of Christmas, but due to some previous years' results not entered into my master race list, I don't have an accurate running total. When i add them all in (later) I'll end up going back to find out what race turned out to be #100. After the race I went to Lake Merced to find out we didn't field a team, and my showing up wouldn't have helped enough, so I talked with some friends there who were competing.

Race 10-112 Get Lost in Henry Coe 4 Hour Rogaine

2010-12-14T23:18:00.000-08:00

December 11th, 2010
13.12mi. - 3:55:57 - 15th/34
Garmin Tracking here.

On Saturday I went with several friends to my 4th orienteering event. This was my first Rogaine, which is a type of orienteering where there are a number of controls spread out on the course and each participant has a given time to get to as many of them as possible. Each control is worth a different number of points, from 20-90, which further added to the strategy. The group consisted of me (4th orienteering race), Chikara Omine (2nd), Erika Kikuchi (2nd), Evan Sparling (1st), and Evan's girlfriend .There was a 4 hour event and an hour event - we all competed in the 4 hour event. The weather was sunny and warm - perfect for wandering around a huge dry state park.

We had to park at a dirt lot a ways down the road from the start and take a shuttle van to the start. We had plenty of time at the start which was good because we are all novices at orienteering and needed the time to study the map. There were about a few dozen people at the start, although people were allowed to be on teams up to 4 people so we didn't know how many teams there would be (who run together and get a single place of finish). The 5 of us ran individually.

As we started Chikara, Evan, and I all headed out on the same trail. It appeared the women went in another direction and I didn't see them again until the finish. We ran together for a mile on a wide fire road and then hit some single track. We meandered up that trail, cutting some corners (allowed in orienteering) and began to look for the first control. I found it first because I couldn't help but notice some other people on the course who had just found it. Chikara found it the same way, because of me, and shortly after Evan got it.

Chikara and I ran together for a while toward the control we both decided to hit 2nd. Periodically we could see Evan behind us. When we started to climb a significant hill we split up - me opting for a more direct route and he taking a longer route trying to stay on less dense trail. I lost sight of Evan. Chikara got to the top quicker and I saw him get to the easily visible trail a few minutes before me.

From there were followed the ridge and eventually I lost sight of Chikara, who as it turned out spent the next 3 hours off course getting only 1 additional control on his way back to the start. I Got to where i thought the next control would be and spent 40 minutes looking for it but couldn't find it. I eventually learned Evan had the same experience around the time I was there although we didn't see each other.

Eventually I gave up on it and moved on having little difficulty getting a control next to a pond, one next to a thicket, one atop a hill, and one at some large loose rocks on the side of a hill. Coming back to a main trail from the rocks I saw Evan again going to the same control. We exchanged point totals and it sounded like we had about the same score. I figured there was time for only 2 more controls. There was a fairly easy one to get on the way back worth 20 points and 2 other viable options on the way to the 20 pointer - one worth 30 points and one a little more out of the way worth 40. I went to the 40 not sure if I'd still have time for the 20, thinking if i could pick up the 40 and 20 I'd pick up 10 points on Evan if he went for the 30 then 20. In the end the decision worked out as I got both 40 and 0, Evan went for 30 and 20, and I edged his final score 360 to 350 (not that I was really concerned with beating anyone in particular). It also got me another place higher because the extra 10 pushed me into a tie with another person with whom I won the tiebreaker (first person back wins).

I ended up in 16th place (360 points), Evan finished in 18th (350 points), Kara in 20th (300 points - and found the control neither Evan nor I could find), Chikara in 28th (140 points), and Erika in 30th (190 points minus 140 penalty for finish 14 minutes late = 50 points). There were 32 official finishers plus 3 teams DQed for finishing more than 15 minutes over 4 hours. Chikara was sweating out Erika's finish because of their developing rivalry, knowing his point total was lower than it should have been and not knowing how many points she had gotten. It turned out Erika also only hit 3 controls due to trying to go to a control too far from the start/finish for the allotted time. Everyone was happy with the event as it was run well and they had good food at the finish.

Race 10-111 California International Marathon

2010-12-05T18:18:00.000-08:00

December 5th, 2010
Marathon - 2:49:46 - 150th/5879
Garmin Tracking here.

I ran the California International Marathon (CIM) for the first time ever this year. This was a change from the previous 4 years where my events of choice were the PCTR Woodside races (50k in 2009 and 2008, 35k in 2007 and 2006). This year I decided to change it up, a little because I wanted to focus on faster courses this year and partly because I wanted to run more (different) races.

I picked up my number at the expo the day before and went to dinner with several friends the night before at Il Fornaio in Sacramento. I order a pasta dish with shrimp, mussels, clams, and shrimp. I stayed overnight the night before the race in the Hilton which turned out to be an excellent choice because of the breakfast the hotel gave us, the free bus ride from the finish back to the hotel, and the late 1:30 check out.

On race day morning I had 2 bagels with cream cheese and 4 cups of cranberry juice at the hotel. Sean Pont told me all about how he couldmnm't run due to injury but his wife YiOu (who I know) was in the race as one of the elite women. I packed small vitamin energy drink that I ended up drinking between miles 4-8 and 2 GUs which I didn't end up using. There was a small delay in getting a bus to the race because initially they didn't have enough to pick up all the people at the hotel. They quickly found 2 more buses and we were on our way.

We got to the start at 6:30 which gave me a half hour to get ready. The bathroom line wasn't long so I used it, and then put my sweat check bag on the truck. I had plenty of time to get to the starting line but only started in about the 10th or 12th row.

I started the race with Brian Cooke who should be able to run a 2:40 but hadn't been under 3 hours yet. He had had some issues with crashing in his previous couple marathons so he was making a conscious effort not to start too fast. I was hoping for a 2:46 but was realistically shooting for 2:50 to match my Boston Marathon time earlier in the year. After a couple miles I pulled away and started to close on the 2:45 pace pack of women trying for the Olympic Trials. I starting falling back again around mile 7 and shortly after Brian caught up.

He went by me and I wondered if I was starting an eventual slowdown already. I ran a couple miles over 6:30 and he continued his pace in the 6:20s. The miles leading up to mile 15 were especially grueling as the sun came out and there was a long gradual uphill that seemed to sap my energy. I hit the half in 1:23:55 and ruled out a 2:46, or even a PR of low 2:47s. I guessed Brian had a minute on me by mile 15 - not that I was racing hum, but because we had similar race goals. It turned out he hit the half in :59 before me.

After cresting the hill I started getting a second wind and I broke down the remaining course in my mind into segments. I hoped to hold until 18, then run a couple miles well, and finally finish the last 10k fairly strong. I ended up going by Brian with about 13k left. He looked like he was on the verge of crashing, but still moving. I went by YiOu Wang of Tamalpa with about 12k to go. I mentioned to her that "We have a Bay to Breakers left" and she just gave me a grimacing smile. I didn't see her name in the finishing results but judging by her online post it was a more of a voluntary and less of an incapable DNF.

I recalculated the pace I'd need to run to be under 2:50 as it appeared possible when I crossed the 20 mile mark in 2:09:08. At various points I thought I needed 6:30 to 6:40 per mile and I was fully expecting to be a little behind pace with a mile left and needing a strong end kick to get under. That's how I envisioned it playing out.

I knew almost for sure at mile 25 that I'd be under and I was fresh with confidence after passing at least a dozen people in the last 5k, many of them women who I'm guessing were fading from their Olympic Trial paces. I ran a strong last mile and got a good sprint at the end turnover-wise, although photos confirmed my form struggled.

My chip time turned out to be 2:49:46, my watch showed 2:24:29 because I didn't stop it right at the finish, and my gun time was 2:49:56. Brian finished in a PR 2:57, less than a minute in front of my friends Peter Hsia and Kenley Gaffke. After the race I quickly got in the massage line which still took long to get my turn, but the massage by Sheryl from Monsters of Massage was excellent. The food was OK - pancakes and tomato soup, but nothing great. I found some other people I knew and we ate and talked a while before heading back to the hotel.

The ride home was rainy but I stopped at a produce place in Dixon I like and picked up
3 heads of lettuce, 2 artichokes, 7 ears of corn, 2 cucumbers, 1 cantaloupe, a bag with about 25 Brussels sprouts, 3 kiwis, and a bag of 8 tomatoes for only $12.63

In some Non-news that I'm sure people will ask me about between now and June - The WS100 lottery drawing was Saturday. I didn't get selected because I didn't enter the lottery. I have no interest in running that race in 2011. I've offered my pacing services to Chikara Omine if he wishes to use them again. Of course I'm sure I'll run the Double Dipsea that morning as well.

Race 10-110 LMJS 4th Sunday 10k

2010-11-30T00:13:00.000-08:00

November 28, 2010
10k - 39:20 - 1st/35?
Garmin tracking here.

The biggest race in the Bay Area the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the Run Wild 5k and 10k in San Francisco. However, since I ran the Quad Dipsea Saturday I wasn't expecting a great performance Sunday so I made the cost conscious decison to run the smaller 4th Sunday Race which is put on by the Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders on the 4th Sunday of every month. The $5 price tag for non-members saved about $25, and the LMJS race had 5k, 10k, and 15k options - 1, 2, or 3 loops around Lake Merritt in Oakland.

I chose to run the 10k because I didn't feel I'd have fast enough turnover for the 5k and I thought if I ran the 15k I'd run out of steam before the end. I got there just in time yet again and finished entering as they were explaining course instructions. I guess I just count on it starting a little late for that at some of these races.

The start was a little different than anything I've ever seen. The loop is just shy of 5k so there's about 20 yards extra to run after completing a complete loop to make a 5k. This means 10k runners run an extra 40 yards and 15k runners run an extra 60 yards, more or less. Usually everyone starts together and they have multiple finish lines. This time they had multiple starting lines and a single finish line. It looked like a corral system at the start since there were 3 groups over people at 3 start lines with some open space between them.

When the gun went off I almost immediately caught up to most of the 5k runners. I also tried to keep track of where the 10k runners were in relation to me. It looked to me that 2 10k runners made it through the 5k crown in front of me. As we got to the first 90 degree turn I saw a fast guy in an almost glowing green shirt cruising along in the lead pack who was not one of the 2 people. I thought he must be in the 5k to be moving that fast.

I ran the first mile in 6:06 and caught the two guys around the mile mark. I ran 6:14 pace for the next mile as I pulled away. I was very conscious of the possibility they could catch me since I wasn't as fresh as usual. I glanced over my should at every turn and it appeared I was slowly pulling away. As I was completing the first loop I wondered if I was in first or if the bright green shirt was in the 10k. I thought it possible he could run the first 5k in low 17s which would explain the gap. I didn't see him at the finish as I passed through to start my second lap.

It seemed I opened some space on both guys in back of me on the slight uphill leading to the 3 mile mark. I decided that as long as I ran my own race I'd hold them off because if either was going to make a move they wouldn't have let me get so far ahead, maybe 30 seconds by now. I didn't spot green shirt guy on the opposite side of the lake and all but concluded he must have been in the 5k.

I finished my second lap a little slower than the first. Midway through the 2nd lap I was hoping for a time in the 38:s but when I hit the 6 mile mark in just over 38:00 I knew it wouldn't happen. I finished in 39:20 and was told at the finishing chute that I was the first 10k finisher. I asked about the green guy and they told me he was in the 15k! Sure enough, only 53 minutes after we had started! I was also told that the 5k winner ran 18:11 which normally I could do, but not likely with the long race the day before. So I appeared that I entered the easiest race to win.

They only award ribbons for age group place and overall places (what else do you expect for a $5 race?). Overall I was satisfied with my time and the fact that I had a solid road time only 1 day after the Quad Dipsea is making me consider setting an aggressive goal at next week's California International Marathon.

Race 10-109 Quad(ruple) Dipsea

2010-11-27T17:48:00.000-08:00

November 27, 2010
28.4mi. - 6th/201 - 4:40:29

Today I ran my 4th (total, and consecutive) Quad Dipsea. I had modest expectations due to low (read: non-existent) training and my sub par performances at the Whiskeytown 50k (5:25:53 in the rain) and Morgan Hill Marathon (3:12:56 in the rain). Also, the forecast for today was rain.

I arrived in usual fashion, with just enough time to park, get my bib, and get to the starting line. I saw Leor Pantilat, Gary Gellin, and Victor Ballesteros, all of whom I wouldn't be surprised to see in the top 3.

I started at a fairly normal pace and as things settled in I found myself around 12th place. There were a few guys around me with whom I traded places as the terrain went uphill and downhill. Caren Spore, the first woman by far on her way to a 1 minute course record 4:38, passed me for the last time in the Dynamite Section just after Muir Woods. Other than turnarounds I never saw her again.

For most of the first two legs I traded places with the same couple guys, with me passing going up and them passing going downhill. I entered the half way point in 12th but I left in 10th, I think due to 2 DNFs (Victor was one of the 2, he had a calf problem). I immediately passed 2 more people moving me up to 8th because there first mile from there is all uphill starting with a 676 stair climb. I didn't see them again so by then I was gaining more on the ups than what I was losing on the downs. On the 4th leg I passed a guy in a red shirt within the first mile. It was clear he was having some issues, maybe leg cramps. As I was getting to the Cardiac end of the Gale Scott section I passed Toshi Hosaka, who normally I can't keep up with. This put me in 6th. I ran down Hogsback as fast as I've ever done in this race but I took it easy on Dynamite because the mud there is almost always slippery, and it was extremely slippery by then. Toward the end of the 4th leg I was told Caren was anywhere between 30 seconds and 2 minutes ahead. Not knowing which was correct I didn't make any special effort to try for another place, knowing that 4th place was well ahead and uncatchable. I ran my own race from there, struggling up the non-shortcut way parallel to Suicide (Suicide is off limits in the Quad). I walked some of the road section and the subsequent trail to Windy Gap and then finished the last mile very strong.

My official time was 4:40:29 and shortly after seeing it I wondered whether a quick restroom break on leg 3 cost me a sub 4:40 time (close but I don't think so). Several people were surprised to see my place and/or time as good as they were including me! I came in thinking 4:50 would be tough to beat so i far exceeded expectations.

I felt very happy knowing that the people in front of me were 3 people I'll never catch (Gary, Leor, Mark McManus), plus a guy who finished 3rd (one place in front of Mark), and Caren Spore who set a new women's course record with a 4:38. The old record was 4:39 by Beth Vitalis in 2007. During Beth's race I ran around her most of the way before fading to a 4:47 myself. This year I didn't see Caren after mile 3 and she was more or less 2 minutes in front of me at each of the turnarounds. I get the feeling she was relatively more of a climber (like me) compared to the rest of the field around us, so we didn't really have any back and forth since she gained ground when I gained ground. next year the goal will be 4:35, provided I'm in good shape.

Race 10-108 Turkey Trail Trot

2010-11-25T11:44:00.000-08:00

November 25, 2010
5mi. - 9th/824 - 30:03
Garmin tracking here.

Wow. It's been a year since I last updated this blog. Things have gotten away from me a little since I've been more focused on updating detailed past records of my race log.

So I ran the Turkey Trail (neé Beach) Trot for the 5th year in a row. The weather overnight was near record lows and early morning reports said the temperature in San Francisco was 44 degrees so I opted for a long sleeve tech shirt. It was a bright sunny days and I arrived 15 minutes before race time.

It was the 4th different course I've run on this race (beach, 5k, double loop, and this one) but I knew it better than I knew any of the others because I spent yesterday afternoon measuring and marking the course. I didn't see any blazing fast people at the starting line, in fact the fastest 2 people I saw were Magdelena Boulet and a several months' pregnant Clara Peterson. For some reason I didn't pay much attention to what place I was in, but I know it was somewhere around 10th. I started near the MacNiders (Ian and Andrew) and commented to Ian that we better not finish behind a pregnant person (we didn't, fortunately because I know several Excelsior Club guys who wouldn't let me forget something like that). Ian and Andrew slowly pulled away and/or I fell off pace around a half mile in but more or less maintained my place after that.

My first mile was under 6 minutes and the second, mostly downhill, was around 6 minutes. After completing the first loop we headed off to a part of the course I had never raced - some trails between Middle Drive and MLK. I traded places with a couple guys and passed a guy who had to stop and walk twice. I finally caught a guy I had been working on catching at mile 4 and tried to catch one more but didn't quite have enough left.

I ended up in 9th or 10th place (I think). I was 3rd in the 30-39 age group which got me a bottle of 2009 Charles Shaw wine, which I'll have to save for a very special occasion. I've been trying to diversify my race schedule over the last couple years but I like the course for this one, it's close to home, and the race atmosphere is great so I'll likely come back to this one every year in the foreseeable future.

Race 09-103 Stinson Beach 25k

2009-11-27T16:39:00.000-08:00

November, 7, 2009
25k - 18th/126 - 2:16:30

Generally I prioritize other races over the Envirosports series, mostly because they are similar (but not quite as good) to the PC Trail Runs and I’m still a little bitter over a poorly marked 18k course in the fog which I turned into a long 10k. However, there is 1 course they use for use 2 races that I enjoy running so I entered the Stinson Beach 25k. I have run the course 3 times in the spring when they call it the Muir Woods 25k but I had never run it in the fall when they call it the Stinson Beach 25k.

The course follows the Double Dipsea course (no shortcuts) to the bridge at the bottom of insult hill. There, instead of taking a right, it gets straight up Steep Ravine to Pan Toll station. It goes down the Old Mine Trail to the top of Cardiac, briefly follows the Dipsea trail toward Mill Valley before taking a left down a trail I don’t know well but ends up in Muir Woods. Then there is a long uphill through more trails I don’t know well up to Pan Toll and then down the Matt Davis Trail to Stinson Beach. Due to fast time and GPS discrepancies it has been suggested that the course is well short of 25k, but I haven’t seen anything conclusive enough to count this as anything else.

Before the start I talked with Will Gotthardt who was looking to break 2 hours and Kennet de Silva who I thought would be running the marathon. I would have liked to be under 2 hours but I didn’t expect it at this point in the season. The race advertises one start time which they then use for the marathon. The 25k runners start about 15 minutes later and then the 7 mile runners another 15 minutes later. You find this out when you get there. It sounded as though Will did not know this was customary at an Envirosports race (I like it this way because it gives me time to watch the marathon start and get ready for my own race).

When we finally started I started in the back of the lead back. The leaders pulled away like I expected but I knew I was in for a not so great race when a larger than normal number of people passed me going up the first hill. I got passed by several more going up Steep Ravine and I didn’t go by as many marathoners as I’m used to in that section.

The first aid station was at the top of Pan Toll. Sometimes there is food and water, sometimes water only. It was a rare occasion that I wanted food this early and inconvenient that this was one of the times where they had water only. I ran in a group toward cardiac and we caught up to some non-racers down the Dipsea trail. A bunch of us missed a left turn (our fault, just following the person in front) and we had to back track. I didn’t lose more than a minute. Because of this I (re)passed people going down to Muir Woods.

By the time I was climbing out of Muir Woods I lost the pack. The only people in back of me were 2 chatty women who didn’t at all know the course. I had earlier told them the layout of the 2nd half. I knew I wasn’t running as fast as normal but I felt like I was giving a solid effort.

Getting to Pan Toll the 2nd time is my favorite part of the race because it’s 4 miles downhill from there. There was food at the aid station this time but I wasn’t in the mood to eat and didn’t take any because I knew it is an easy finish. I didn’t leave the aid station running very fast but I started to pick it up as I looked across the hills and started to see runners in front of me. It was very difficult, if not impossible to tell the difference between 25k runners I was catching up to, marathoners I was catching up to (because I was picking up the pace), and 7 mile runners who I was catching up to. I decided to try to catch everyone.

After the marathon turnoff I could rule them out and it was easier to see. There is a large woods section with downhill switchbacks so and it’s easy to gauge if I was gaining ground. I ended up passing several more people although I still couldn’t tell what race they were in. I think only a couple of them were in the 25k. When I hit the road at the end I tried to catch the only guy in front of me. I ended up passing him after almost running into the back of him as we were turning off the road to the narrow finish.

I didn’t run with a watch so I had I was surprised to see how slow my time was. I expecting a little under 2:10 (my course PR is 2:02:25) but I ran 2:16:30 which was a personal worst by 5 minutes. I do know I could have gone faster if my legs felt better but I didn’t think I was almost a whole minute a mile slower.

At the end I talked with some people I didn’t know as well as a few I did. I saw Will who ran well under his goal time. I stayed until Kennet had finished his race. Also Dimitris Sklavopoulos was there who I gave a ride home to after he went swimming in the ocean and I took some pictures.

Race 09-101 Helen Klein 50 Mi.

2009-11-24T21:32:00.000-08:00

October 31, 2009
50km - 38th/122 - 9:22:15

I broke from my rule of not running more than a marathon on the road and entered the Helen Klein 50 miler. Chikara and I made the trip up together. It also (hopefully) marks the last time I need to get up super early for a race in 2009. In addition to a 50 mile race they had a 50k and 30k which would start shortly after the 50 mile runners started. We left in the dark and got to the start in the dark. The first person I saw when we got there was Wally Raposo who was volunteering at the registration table.

I was optimistically hoping to be under 7 hours because I ran the AR50 in 7:20 and the HK50 does not have nearly as many or as difficult trails (or hills). I was realistically thinking anything around my AR time would be decent. There were many familiar faces there with optimistic hopes including Sean Lang, Jean Pommier, and Ray Sanchez. The course is an out and back, mostly on a paved bike trail along the American River. I had run on well over 50% of the course before.

I started near the front but was careful not to start too fast. Due to construction the first mile+ was on trails. I enjoyed this part although I was anxious to get on the road where I would be able to move faster. I was also eager to get the part of the trial that overlaps with the AR50 because I know that section. Once we got to the road I started to settle in although a few people passed me as the miles were still in the double digits. I thought that a couple of people that passed me may have been in the 50k because they were moving so fast.

I enjoyed the race until around mile 12 when I started to struggle. I had no reason for it, especially considering I had run a good 50k the previous week but for whatever reason the course seemed a lot harder than it should have. I was purposely running in the dirt shoulder to save my feet from the pounding. Adrian Jue who was in the 50k caught up to me shortly before his turnaround and I told him I felt like I had run 40 miles already.

I pushed on lowering my goal to just finish but I made no improvement. Around mile 21 I saw Chikara coming the other way – well on his way to winning the race. This was in a stretch where the aid stations were a mile more apart than was marked (the next 2 were a mile closer) so I had a difficult time not getting to an aid station when I expected. I got a second wind a little as I got to that aid station and Jonathan Bretan in his 50 mile debut catching up to me. We exchanged friendly waves as I left the aid station he was coming into.

I got to the turnaround under 4 hours much to my surprise. I felt like I was going a lot slower than that. My biggest problem was landing on the ground, not leg fatigue. I felt OK for the next couple of miles and ran with Jon as he closed the short gap between us. Eventually I let him go, mostly because I didn’t want to push that hard until I was at least at mile 40. I continued to slow down but pushed on. Some people passed me but not nearly as frequently as I thought would given how slow I felt I was going.

By mile 35 I was running quite alone. I didn’t see many other racers, the other runner traffic had died down a bit, and the bike traffic was more sporadic. About 1/3 of a mile before an aid station where we cross over the river I saw a rattlesnake in the middle of the trail. Chikara and I had had a couple conversations about what to do if that ever happened with the 3 main choices being 1)wait 2) try to go WAY around it 3) stand at considerable distance and throw a rock or stick to scare it away. It was in plain sight far enough away and it was moving from right to left so I briefly though about quickly running by when I got there it was already in the middle of the trail so I opted for choice #1. After about 10 seconds I went around it on the right in the space it had just vacated. I warned several cyclists approaching from the other way and moved on.

Only a few runners caught up to me after that and I tried to hang on with each of them. I felt a bit more confident after I got 47 miles in (“I can always run just a 5k”) so I tried to pick up the pace. I chatted with a guy who ran faster than me on downhill, slightly faster on flat ground, but could not stay with me going uphill. As we got closer to the end I pulled away. When we hit the trail for the last 1+ miles I caught several people. I felt like I got a second wind around mile 49 (nice time for it) and finished very strong.

I finished in 9:22:15 (yes, slower than Firetrails 50mi. and over a 1:00 slower per mile than Miwok 100k). I wasn’t really disappointed because I had been running too much this fall (6th week in a row with an ultra, 3 of them being 50mi.+) and the reason for going slow wasn’t due to fatigue. Jean Pommier took a picture of me covered in sweat which was solely a result of my effort in the last 1+ miles (and it was warm out). I learned Chikara won and didn’t set a course record but came within a minute of doing so (later found out he was :02 away). I got to formally meet both Helen and Norm Klein. Norm gave me a Bald Eagle finisher prize and Chikara and I discussed how we could fit the clock he won into my car – worse case would be put the roof down and sit it up in the back seat like a person but since the top half of the clock can be unscrewed we took it in 2 pieces. I enjoyed the race although the distance is farther than I will want to run on a road (and flat) again. I would consider doing the 50k next year.

Race 09-99 Whiskeytown 50k

2009-11-23T22:48:00.000-08:00

October 24, 2009
50km - 1st-30 - 4:43:10

For the second year in a row I made the trip up to the Redding, CA area to run the Whiskeytown 50k. Since it’s a 4 hour drive it’s almost imperative to stay overnight. Ron G. and I carpooled together. Ron won the race the previous 2 years but wasn’t feeling 100% healthy this year. We stayed overnight in a Howard Johnson Express in Redding for only $60 total.

It was my first time staying anywhere overnight with Ron and it turned out to be easy as he went to bed as soon as we got to the hotel and apparently gets up in the morning ready to go straight for the car. I opted for a wakeup shower and then spent 7 minutes looking for a pair of socks I had in my hand before I took a shower. I didn’t find them so we left in order not to be late. With the exception of missing an exit and driving an extra 3 miles we made it there uneventfully with enough time to get ready at the race. I used this time to find the socks I was missing but then decided not to race in them because I liked the ones I was wearing.

Ron decided as late as possible (i.e. as the race was beginning) to change from the 50k to the 30k. Since we couldn’t get a third Excelsior team member to make the trip this didn’t affect team scoring. I took an immediate lead and I didn’t know Ron had switched so I was wondering how long it would take him to go by me. I wasn’t feeling 100% because I had been running an ultra every weekend for several weeks, including a couple 50 milers. Ron had finished 15 minutes in front of me last year and I was thinking it would be a successful race if I could keep that distance.

The first mile is on the road but then we immediately hit a fire road and it’s trails for quite a long way. We went up a good size hill and then back down toward the lake to the first aid station. As I was leaving the aid station I saw a pair of legs from the knee down approaching (I think it was Ron – the 30k is an out and back over the first 15k of the 50k race). This was the last time I saw a person for a while.

The course is a double lollipop. We run to a Y shaped intersection, run 2 different loops, then run back to the start/finish. The first loop goes out and uphill to the left, then comes back from the same direction. There is a stretch of road on this loop. The second loop goes out to the right and near the end hooks up with the first loop so we again come back from the left. There is an aid station at the Y intersection as well as in the middle of each of the loops.
I ran the uphill from the first aid station to the second and took the left to keep going uphill. I was real curious as to when Ron would go by. I almost ran the whole way up but near the top there is a very steep section and I felt like I might pay for it so I walked a short stretch. I ran down the other side to the road and ran fast on the short road section to the aid station. On my way out of the aid station another runner (not Ron) got there from the opposite direction. I thought he was lost so I didn’t think I was in danger of losing the lead Turns out he only missed a short turn although it turned out he missed a turn just before the aid station so he was right on my heels.
I left the aid station and tried to cross the river. They had a rope to hold onto although the volunteers told us we were free to find another way if we wanted. I held the rope the whole way and that was the only thing that kept me from falling in as I slipped in an awkward way and it’s a good thing I was able to hold up my body weight. The river wasn’t too deep but it was moving a little and the area is full of rocks. I pushed on through the river and as I ran the dry land (and easier but scenic terrain) to the Y intersection I thought I might have a chance to hold on for the win.

They were very excited to see me at the aid station and I took some time to get the food I wanted. The next stretch was long steep fire road downhill. It was the kind of hill that a more daring runner with a quicker leg turnover would fly down. I approached it a little conservatively not wanted to beat up my legs. The second place runner closed within eyesight. I could see him a couple hundred yards in back of me. I figured he was a much better downhill runner which might not work out given the last part from the Y intersection to the end is mostly downhill so I planned on moving fast up the hill after the next aid station.

I came to a right turn followed by a short out and back before hitting a small loop with an aid station on it. As I was on the small loop after the aid station I looked across the meadow and saw a couple other runners. I hoped second place was in there. When I got through the short out and back (way back) I asked a volunteer who was there giving directions how far and back second place was and she said 4 minutes. I was gaining and planned on continuing up the next hill which contained over a dozen river/stream crossings.

The river crossing section is the most distinctive part of the course. At the first major crossing I slipped on a wet rock and fell sideways getting the entire right side of my body submerged in the river. From there I decided not to try to stay dry which sped up my crossing time since I no longer was concerned with balancing on the rocks. The section is also difficult because the trail is very hard to see and a few of the crossings are diagonal with the exit out of the river a bit farther up than the entrance in. I lost 3 minutes on one of these as I overshot the trail by maybe 40 yards and had to backtrack. Since, despite that, I didn’t see 2nd place I figured I was still gaining ground.

I got back on track and continued up the river with the only other notable event being a huge salamander looking thing that I almost stepped on. It was brown, about 7 inches long, and had what looked like a small fin down the length of its back. I tried to find a picture of one online and could not find anything, although a (large) salamander is the closest I could find.

I spend little time at the Y aid station and got going down the long gradual hill toward the last aid station and ultimately the finish. I would have liked to run faster but the terrain was a little rocky (with soft pine forest dirt in some sections) and my feet were a little sore. I made decent time to the last aid station which is about 5k from the end but really started to slow down. I walked up the last uphill but could see no one was close so I just tried to get to the road where I turned it on to the finish.

My finish time was 4:43:10 which was an improvement over last year’s 4:51:58 so I was very happy with that. It was at that time I learned Ron had run the 30k and eventually second place came in around 4:59. The second guy said he pulled a hamstring at the bottom of the big hill he almost caught me. It’s too bad that happened, but one of the reasons I went slowly there was to prevent injury. The food after was very good although someone had put M&Ms in the skittles bag and vice versa so I had to eat the one at a time (the mixing food thing – some things I just can’t mix). Last year soaked my legs in the lake up to my waist but this year it was a big colder so I only got in knee deep.

The ride back was good – I got to see Mt. Shasta (the south side) for the first time. It’s tall and gray and reminded me of Pikes Peak. I was surprised not to see any snow on it although I only got as glimpse because I was driving. I did see a lot of snow to the east on a volcano that must have been in Lassen Park. We stopped on the way home at the Olive Pit at my request. It’s a store with many locally grown products. The jar I got last year only lasted a couple months so this time I bought 2 big jars of beer style olives. Ron was happy that they had burgers. We made it back to SF around 6:30 that night, plenty of time to get a good night’s rest before Sunday’s DSE race.

Race 09-108, 09-109 DSE Lake Merced, PA XC Championship

2009-11-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

November 22, 2009

4.5 mi. - 1st/74 - 26:14

6.09 mi. - -

This past Sunday I ran the DSE Lake Merced race. DSE offered a single loop and double loop race. I ran the single loop race because my feet weren’t feeling 100% during the Turkey Trot Saturday and I wanted to be as competitive as possible during the PA Champs race later in the day. The weather was very cool and there was a heavy mist, almost rain.

I considered the possibility of winning the race before I got there because I knew many faster runners, including some regulars, would be at the XC race in Golden Gate Park. The fastest person I recognized before the race was Ian Macnider and we the exchanged information that we were both running the single loop before the race. Ian and I go back and forth during races as well as week to week because we run about the same pace. The eventual winner is usually the one of us who is more rested from our higher priority events, me – Saturday Ultras and him – prep and racing his first marathon (Chicago).

Both events started simultaneously and Ian and I found ourselves in 5th and 6th places. There were 2 guys out in front, then 2 young kids strung out, then Ian and me. We were both surprised that so many people started out that fast. Around a half mile in I sped up hoping to at least catch the high school kids. I passed the first quickly but didn’t get the second one until a little over a mile in, just after we started the longest downhill of the race. At that time I noticed I had closed on the lead 2 guys so I made a move to try and catch them.

I overtook 1st place just before the 2 mile mark but gave it up a little after the 2 mile mark as we started up the longest uphill of the race. The person that passed me was Will, one of the high school kids that started faster. I thought it was odd that I went by him on a downhill and he went by on an uphill. Usually the opposite happens when I race high schoolers. As we got to the op of the hill near the 3 mile mark Will began to fade and I went by him. I was hoping to have it easy from there but I looked over my shoulder at the 4 mile mark and saw one of the 2 early lead guys 10 yards in back of me.

I ran hard to the finish and only then found out that both guys that took an early lead were in the double loop race. Also, Ian had passed Will near the end and took 2nd. The lead guy in the double loop race came with a group from Finland and Germany (explains why I didn’t recognize him). After the race I had big purple grapes and Fred’s homemade cookies. I only stayed until 10:20 because I had to leave to go to the PA Cross Country Championship Race.

I arrived at the XC race almost 20 minutes before race time. I had to enter the race but was already warmed up. Tyler Abbot found me just before the race and announced me to be the #5 guy. I’m not sure if he meant the 5th Excelsior runner to arrive there or the eventual 5th place guy on our team. Either one would have been correct.

The misty air started to clear as the race began and eventually gave way to a partly sunny sky. The course is 3 laps with each lap being slightly over 2 miles. It is mostly dirt path with a significant potion of grass and one small log jump.

I started on the back row as usual and tried to make a push to be in the middle pack. I held on to the middle for a while before getting passed by a couple people as the middle pack started to split up and gain ground on me. I was asked by a runner who I couldn’t identify if I was running the Quad next weekend to which I replied “yes”. I don’t know many runners that would run both the Quad Dipsea and a XC race a week apart but he must have been one of them.

I finished the first lap in about 12:16 and thought that was good. As the weather started to get better I felt better although my running time didn’t get faster. Sina (Excelsior teammate was cheering me on by saying to catch a Pamakid runner right in front of me. Not only did I not catch him, but another Pamakid passed me on the 2nd loop which I finished in about 26:20. I tried to stay with both of them on the third loop. I passed one of them before the 5 mile mark, passed another runner after that, and passed the other Pamakid at about 5.75mi. He made a last minute push to the finish and I saw his feet next to me in the sprint at the end but I held him off. After the race we both agreed that we had our sights set on a guy in orange one place in front of me but it just wasn’t happening. I must have sped up on the last lap because my finishing time was about 39:42 (official results not in yet).

I always get my butt kicked in these Cross Country races but I like them because they are short and they are some of the handful of races that I go in without any possibility of getting top placing overall or in my age group. I was also pleasantly surprised that they had warm shrimp pasta salad by the time I finished. It was prepared by Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and it tasted very good. I also got to have a good XC conversation with Russ Kiernan after the race. It’s always great to talk to Russ because he can give you stories and perspectives that you can’t get anywhere else.

Race 09-107 Santa Cruz Track Club Turkey Trot 10k

2009-11-23T16:57:00.000-08:00

November 21, 2009
10k - 5th/197 - 38:20

On Saturday for the 2nd year in a row I ran the Santa Cruz Track Club Turkey Trot 10k. They have a 5k at 8AM and a 10k at 8:45AM. I considered running both races but given the long drive (and therefore earlier wake-up time) and double race day Sunday I decided not to run the 5k. Race Day entry fee was $25 and instead of a shirt they give out socks with turkeys on them. Last year’s socks were black and red and this year’s were bright yellow.

The weather was clear, sunny, and cold. I ran in my purple Firetrails shirt hoping I would be warm enough. The course is an out and back with the first kilometer going from the start to the ocean and the next 4km along the ocean on the cliff just north of the boardwalk. The turnaround is close to the Santa Cruz wharf.

I started in 5th place and made my way up to 3rd by the first mile. The section along the ocean had a headwind and I wasn’t feeling great. First mile was 5:59 but the next 2 were well over 6 (around 6:20) and I got passed by several runners. I hit mile 2 in 7th place at 18:48 (projects to a 19:26 split). At that point I was thinking I’d be happy finishing under 39 minutes. I could tell first woman was right on my shoulder from miles 2 to 3 as her cheering squad indicated as they drove the course and parked every half mile.

At the turnaround it didn’t appear 6th place was within striking distance and other than the 1st woman no one was close in back of me. I thought about hanging on to the place I was in but at mile 4 it appeared I had closed on 5th and 6th place who were running close to each other. I thought I might have a chance to catch them. It didn’t make me happy that the guys in 5th and 6th cut through a small parking lot instead of staying on the bike trail which gave me more reason to try to pass them.

I passed both guys with a little more than a mile to go. I tried to do it quickly so neither would be inclined to stay with me. One of them tried to stay with me (I think) because I heard footsteps for a while but eventually they went away. I ran hard until the end hoping I wouldn’t have to end in a sprint out (it was too cold for that). My finishing time was 38:20 meant 18:54 for the way back and a negative split by 32 seconds.

The post race spread was decent. Whole Foods was a sponsor so there were tons of bananas and they also had some packaged granola snacks and some big cookies. I entered a random draw raffle and guess how many skittles are in this jar competition – I guessed 1196 but not word yet if I won either. They gave turkeys to the overall winners and medals to top 3 in 5 year age groups. I was 2nd out of 11 in my age group.

Race 09-77 Pikes Peak Marathon

2009-11-05T21:47:00.000-08:00

August 16, 2009
Marathon (26.2mi.) - 73rd/711 - 5:23:18

One of my long time goals has been to run the Pikes Peak Marathon. This year I was able to get into the race by taking an early lunch at work and coming home to try over and over again as soon as the registration opened. So I got in and then waited 5 months until race weekend.

For the Sunday race I took a flight landing in Denver on Friday morning. The big goal for Friday was to drive up the mountain to get a feel of how the atmosphere would be. There's a park entry fee at the bottom and then a long winding road to the top which got a little scary in a few spots but the views were amazing.

The weather at the top was decent, a little cold, and almost foggy. There is a big souvenir store with freshly made doughnuts there. I looked around, had a doughnut and took some pictures. I could definitely tell I was at significant elevation although not at all close to being sick. Of course, that's a lot easier to say after driving instead of running. I spent the rest of the day as well as most of Saturday exploring the area, taking pictures, and spending time around the race site.

The expo on Saturday was not very impressive, but it was sufficient. It consisted of the standard number pickup with a tent containing running apparel and shoes for sale by the store from Colorado Springs that seemed to be a sponsor. I had planned in running in the road shoes I raced the Miwok 100k in but the expo had a pair of New Balance 904 Trail shoes that I liked so I bought them to race in. They were probably a little overpriced but I had run with success in 2 pairs of 904 Road shoes before and the Trail version felt the same. I thought I would be able to race more aggressively in trail shoes as well so I went for it.

The morning of the race went well. I got up with plenty of time, got to the race in plenty of time, and the weather looked excellent. I couldn't decide what to wear. The it was clear and cool. I expected the top to be around 38 degree and the bottom to be in the 70's by the time I got done. I wanted to go in shorts and a T shirt but opted to tie a jacket around my waist as runners had warned that flash storms can appear at the top and start snowing.

The race starts in downtown Manitou Springs which is at elevation of 6412'. The first mile of the course is all road, through downtown Manitou Springs, slightly uphill. I held about a 6:45 pace and was breathing hard (a rarity for me) after a couple minutes. I thought if I kept that effort up I would be in trouble real fast. I backed off pace just as we hit the trail which didn't really reduce my effort because the first 3 miles of trail had a significant slope to them. I dropped my goal of top 20 to top 50 as the 20th person went by. I didn't see the point in racing for place that early. I maintained my goal of 3:00 up and 5:00 total time.

After about 3 miles of climbing with some nice scenery we went into the woods a bit and the land leveled off. There was a long stretch of several miles running through a forest with little climbing. As we ran through I wondered where the cog railway was and how we could run up the entire mountain without crossing it or the road.

The aid stations were well stocked and frequent. I didn't have much to eat on the way up but I took careful notice of how frequently they occurred in case I needed one on the way down. After the thick forest and as we got up to 10,000' the land started to get steeper and rockier and the forest became less dense. For a couple miles before passing the treeline we were running up rocky ground. The ground did not get any more forgiving after that and I wondered how fast I would be able to run down. I was going through periodic phases of feeling good and bad, but nothing that made me think I couldn't make it.

After passing the treeline the summit and perspective of the entire landscape became more visible. The trail zigzagged up the mountain and it didn't appear so far away although it turned out to be. When I was only a couple miles from the top, perennial winner Matt Carpenter came running down. I didn't see the next place runner for quite a while - he already had the win in the bag. I struggled a bit more as I continued climbing. By about 13,000' I was feeling lightheaded off an on. From the drive up 2 days prior I learned eating helped me cope with that so I began eating at the aid stations. My head was not totally focused like it usually is, but my legs kept running and I don't think the elevation slowed them down. Fortunately (and this is probably due to all the races I do in the Headlands and on Diablo) my legs were only very mildly sore from all the climbing. The most limiting factor was the difficult terrain - hard rocky surfaces, single track with many turns.

The last aid station is only about a mile and a half from the top. By the time I got through there runners were starting to come down. I knew I would make it but I was hoping that I just didn't crash. It became difficult because the trail ("trail") was very narrow and the people coming down were quite fast and apparently much more nimble on their feet than me. They call the last section near the top The Golden Stairs. I saw a sign but did not at all see to what it was referring. It seemed like I had been climbing stairs for the last hour. Just before the top someone was calling out places. I was in the low 50's. I made a point to pass enough people to make it to the top in 50th place or better. I was in either 49th or 50th, I couldn't tell which number they told me as there were a few of us in a row. The top is just a turnaround and I thought I could stay a while, look at the scenery, and take in the view. I was wrong. I made it in 3:12 which was over my goal time but I was happy enough with it. The race officials allowed us to take food but hurried us down to the next aid station. It seemed they wanted to get people down to lower elevation as quickly as possible. The temperature was low 40's I think and very clear. No need for a jacket at all although I saw a couple patches of ice that hadn't frozen from last night.

I had a hard time descending. I got passed by almost 20 people within the first couple miles. I wasn't prepared to take quick steps over rocks, make quick turns, or navigate around people still climbing. I went a lot slower than I should have and I looked forward to the mostly flat forest in the middle so I could go full speed. The forest didn't help as much as I wanted, I actually walked up a tiny hill on the way down. I had been running over 4 hours so it kind of made sense because 50k is about as far as I can run in mountains with any kind of speed. I hit that time where I am usually finishing a 50k so I didn't have much left. I took more time at aid stations to get food (candy) and drink. I felt I had some energy but couldn't descend quite fast enough. As a couple runners started to catch me I tried to hold them off while catching a couple of runners that I caught up to. I was successful in holding off some and was happy to get to the road. The road section at the end is only about 1km and I ran it real fast. I had plenty of energy left to fast on easy terrain. I finished in 5:23 which was short of my goal and 10 minutes slower than I wanted to running down but in hindsight I think I could go down even faster than 2 hours with some more experience.

The finish area was much more exciting than the expo. Downtown Manitou Springs had the same atmosphere that Mill Valley has for the Dipsea race. There was a finisher tent with food and chairs. They gave finisher jackets and had plenty of food in the pavilion. Many of us soaked our legs in the river that ran through town. It felt good to be back at a normal elevation of 6000'+. I spent most of the rest of the day in the town satisfied that I did OK and especially made it up without crashing.

By Tuesday I had heard about the Manitou Incline. This is a 1.01 mile stretch of hill that has an average grade of 41%. The steepest section is 68%. The bottom is at an elevation of 6574' and the top is 8585'. I had heard that Matt Carpenter could run it in 18 minutes so I thought 27 minutes would be reasonable for me. There are wooden railroad planks spaced out on it which are visible for quite a distance. It looks like these really help to reduce erosion. I was able to run up in 28 minutes. I haven't ever run a more difficult section of trail. It's about as difficult as the top quarter mile of Mt. Tam (the direct way - up the rocks). There were no rocks on the Incline, but it is a considerable climb which I walked quite a bit of. From the top there was a nice view of downtown Manitou Springs.

On Saturday for a short hike through The Garden of the Gods where there were stunning rock formations. Pictures below.

Also, Seven Falls:

Updates Coming Soon (with pictures!)

2009-11-05T21:18:00.000-08:00

Pikes Peak Marathon, Whiskeytown 50k. New resolution - since I obviouslycan't keep updating this every time I race, I'll just update it for significant races (which still happen every couple weeks anyway). In the mean time, who are these visitors from Hawaii, Canada, Ireland, and Norway?

Races 09-(06-07) DSE Sawyer Camp 5k, 10k

2009-11-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

February 8, 2009
5k - 6th/173 - 18:54
10k - 11th/103 - 41:47

For the first time, DSE scheduled the Sawyer Camp 5k and 10k in sequence, instead of concurrently so runners could race in both races. The race fee went up this year from $3 for members to $5 for members, although the fee for 2 races was a deal at $8.

Taking only 8 minutes to get to the race I got there plenty early enough but had to park far down the road as usual. The weather was cool and cloudy, with mist in the air at time. Still sore from yesterday I decided to give my best effort and not worry about the time. Of the people at Jed Smith yesterday, both Eduardo and I did both races, and Chikara and Noe ran the 10k.

Before the 5k I was guessing I could run 19 minutes but I wasn't really sure. I didn't start too fast but I kept a good pace for a while. I ran the first mile with Ian and we hit it in around 6 minutes. I then started to slow down. i slowed down more as the race ewnt on, ultimately finishing in 18:47 which was 6th place.

The 10k was next and I was not feeling nearly as optimistic about having a good race although I would try my best. As the race went on I didn't hold a consistent pace well so I finished in 41:47, which was still 11th place.

2009 PCTR and PAUSATF Awards Dinners

2009-02-06T16:29:00.001-08:00

Both the PC Trail Runs and Pacific Association held their awards dinners on the same day this year. Fortunately the PCTR one was a breakfast and the PA one was a dinner.

It was generally easy to get to the PCTR dinner because the directions were very similar to how I go to their race at Mount Diablo. I did spend over 10 minutes looking for the last turn. When I got there most of the people who were coming were already there. People were dressed very casually. As soon as I entered the building I was given 10 raffle tickets. They had at least dozen raffle prizes and each person was allowed to distribute his own tickets as he wanted. I liked this idea very much because I got more chances at the items I was interested in, and didn't patricipate in the items that i wasn't really interested in. However the strategy didn't pay off as it turned out that I didn't win anything.

There were a lot of awards to give out as there were 4 different race series (Trail (under 50k), Ultra (50k), Mini Prix, and Grand Prix). The gave awards to top 3 overall plus top 3 in each age group for each series. There was a lot of photo taking by various people but the only one I ended up getting a copy of only shows my back. After the awards, people got together for a run. I wasn't prepared as I didn't know this was on the agenda but I resovled to remember this for next year so I could participate.

Race 09-03 Jazztrax Snowshoe Stomp 10k

2009-01-25T21:19:00.000-08:00

January 25th, 2009.
10k - 6th/19 - 1:07:36
Complete Results coming

This year I found 4 people who were interested in going to Bear Valley for a snowshoe race - Chikara (again), Jim, Erika, and Lisa. We all left the Bay area in a rented SUV at 6:30 Saturday night toward our reserved hotel in Stockton. The purpose of staying overnight there was to cut in half the 4 hour drive from SF to Bear Valley the morning of the race.

We made it to the hotel with plenty of time for a good night sleep and by 5:30AM Sunday we were on the road to Bear Valley. The weather was good, of course, until we started climbing into the mountains. By 5000 feet up the road was snow covered and it it was snowing. We left so early though we had plenty of time and were the first people at the race (I don't know if I've ever done that before). We had more than enough time to use the facilities, get a coffee (Jim), rent snowshoes (Jim and Chikara), and learn to put them on (everyone except me).

The turnout at the race was better than last year. There were 19 10k runners and probably almost as many 5k runners. We all listened to the race instructions eager to start. It was cold as expected and my hands were numb shortly after we started. A couple guys went out real fast and Chikara passed me only a couple minutes in, despite his snowshoe coming off just after starting. I made it to the half mile mark in a little under 5 minutes. Two other guys and I settled into 4th-6th. One of them asked if I was an ultrarunner, because he noticed I was walking up the hills. I told him I was and eventually he peeled off at the 5k turnoff as I settled into 5th. Soon I was passed by a fast guy who started 8 minutes late. No one else caught me and I didn't catch anyone else for the last 5k.

I decided relatively early to walk up the hills in order to save some energy for the end. Unlike last year the couple did not repeat over any sections - it was just a 10k loop. I liked it much better this way. The weather on the back stretch was much nicer. The snow stopped and it started to get brighter. I probably should have run harder on the ups and downs because I probably could have recovered after some short bursts. As I got to the end my I really started to warm up and took my headband off.

I finished strong in 1:07:36, 6th place out of 19. Chikara was 3rd despite his snowshoes coming off 6 or 7 times. Erika was 8th (1st female), Lisa 10th, and Jim 18th.

The awards ceremony was in the pizza kitchen of the lodge. There was more than enough food. I had a bowl of minestrone soup, a bowl of potato soup, a bowl of meat chili, 2 bowls of salad, a brownie, 2 pieces of cornbread, and a couple cups of warm cider flavored Clif drink. The middle school Jazz band that the race director instructs provided the music. Jim was especially impressed with their performance of Rock around the clock. He and I turned out to be the only people in the group who knew who Bill Haley and the Comets were. I got a medal for 2nd in the 20-29 age group (out of 2 people). Since there were more raffle prizes than runners I got 2 - a big bag of orange glucosamine chewy things and a $50 gift certificate to a computer repair store in Angels Camp. Not sure how I'll be able to make use of the gift certificate so I'm open to suggestions.

They way home was not totally uneventful. We saw a car skid across the road into a pole right in front of us. We saw a car in a ditch as well as many other tire tracks leading from the road off the side. After we descended the mountain it rained, then turned sunny, then hailed (2nd year in a row with hail). Still we made it home without anything bad happening (to us).

Barring any bad weather or excessive chain control requirements imposed by the evil Caltrans people, I will keep going to this race. This was the third time going (out of 4 years they have had it), and I was told that was tied with 1 other person for the most, need to keep the streak going.

Race 09-02 PF Chang's Rock and Roll Marathon (Phoenix)

2009-01-21T17:34:00.001-08:00

I had wanted to run the Rock and Roll Marathon in Phoenix for several years now. I think I first heard about it from Chuck, back when we used to race together in Florida. I heard good things from other people as well. So I took a 3 day weekend trip to Phoenix for the race.

I arrived at Sky Harbor in the early afternoon after flying on United for the first and last time. I was happy though that the rental car company sped people right through the line and gave me a free upgrade from the cheapest car possible to a Mustang.

Immediately after leaving the airport I went to the expo downtown where Erika and I met Chuck and a couple of his friends. We hung around at the expo for a while. The expo was the best one I had ever been to. There were a ton of vendors - many giving free food which was excellent after flying. I already knew that PF Chang's was the main sponsor, but the sponsors names and logos were not plastered everywhere. It didn't have the commercial feel that the big SF races have. After that we spent some time downtown although it wasn't much of a happening place.

The next day I slept in a little too late butin the afternoon Erika and I went north to Sedona. We stopped at Montezuma's castle on the way.

We hiked up Bell Rock just before sunset. It wasn't difficult and I could have done more as there were many nice places to go, but I was careful not to spend too much energy walking around. I would have liked to spend more time there, maybe I will go back another time to do some hiking. After a little shopping in downtown Sedona we went to Jerry's house (Chuck's brother who I had never met) for a spaghetti dinner. I was late, as usual.

The day of the marathon I got up early checked out of the hotel and drove to the race. The hotel was close and I parked on a city street a few blocks away. It was very easy to get to.

I found Chuck at the starting line so we started together and ran together for a couple miles. I was trying for 2:55 and I think he was going for sub-3 so I pulled away a little after a mile or so. I got my mile pace down under 6:30 which made me perfectly happy but I did not expect to sustain it forever.

The Phoenix streets are designed on a grid so I had a very good idea where I was the whole time. I ran by the street the hotel was on, and thee was a supermarket right there that I wished I had found a couple days ago. The race went well until I got to mile 8 where felt I needed to take a restroom break. I finally found one in the 10th mile which cost me almost 2 minutes...When I came out within a quarter mile I caught up to and went by Chuck again. I was holding low 6:40 pace which crept up to 7:00 but I was happy enough. Things went well until around mile 16 again when I decided to take another break. This time I waited until mile 19 and spent an extra 3 minutes at that mile marker. After that I held 7:00-7:30 the rest of the way. And right before the 25 mile sign - you guessed it - I caught up to Chuck again. He was doing pretty well as was I. I finished last 1.2 in 8:21, passing at least a dozen people. My final time of 3:04 wasn't what I hoped for but good enough to go to Boston in April.

The race wasn't as scenic as I was expecting but it was still fun. There were around 25 bands playing along the course - mostly Rock and Roll. My favorite was the Elvis impersonator who was fun to hear around mile 22. There were also a lot of cheerleaders there which I had never really seen at a race before. Although the streets weren't packed it was nice to have someone cheering there I guess.

The post race food was excellent. I had a couple Dole fruit cups, about 4 popsicles, among other things, some fruit, energy bars, etc. I drank some Cytomax during the race even though I don't like it, but I certainly didn't want any after I was done. The post race gathering was in Sun Angel Stadium at ASU.

After the race we went to Jerry's house again and he generously lent his shower to anyone who ran. We made it there in time to see the end of the NFC Championship game, which the Cardinals won. The house full of 20 or so people erupted at the end of the game. Ironically the Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl in Tampa, and the game is being played at the stadium across the street (literally) from where I used to live. Shortly after I had to leave to catch a plane home. The flight back was uneventful. I made it back home around midnight so I went to bed around the same time I normally do.

I would like to do the race again, but while I was there I found out about the Sedona marathon which is in February. So if I go back I would probably run Sedona to try something different.

Race 08-09 PCTR Sequoia 30k

2008-04-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

February 16, 2008
30k - 2nd/100 - 2:32:35
Complete results - not available

For the 3rd year in a row I ran the PCTR Sequoia Race. The first 2 times I did the 20k, last year intentionally and the first year on accident by missing a turn in the 10k. this year I decided to run the 30k. The course is the same with an out and back stretch about half way through the 20k loop.

I got there plenty early (maybe a new trend?). Before the race I met the guy who won my age group in the PAUSATF ultra series. He said he did it by running a lot of the races.

The weather was cool - ideal for running but not so good for standing around beforehand. I was happy when we got started. I started quickly as I like to do on this course. There is a small hill near the beginning that I don't like to climb in a crowd. Soon a couple of 50k runners passed me. The first one of them was going quite fast. I eventually settled into a pace by the first age station. After the first age station there are quite a few rolling hills. I ran down them very fast and up them not so fast. Jason W was the first 30k runner to catch up me. I stayed in front of him for a while because I was running fast on the downhills but eventually he went by.

When I got to the left hand turn for the out and back section I was eager to see what it was like. The left took us down a wide trail but shortly after there was a right turn. The course wound down to a road but I was unable to run a fast pace because the footing was not helpful and there were a lot of curves. We ran along a trail for a while and then I saw some runners some down the hill on my left. They must have missed the turn. Shortly after that we hit the turnaround and there was an aid station.

After the aid station I ran back and ran by everyone else in the race who were on their way to the aid station. Going back up the hill wasn't as difficult as I thought although it was beginning to get a bit warm and sunny. I was happy to get to the end of the out and back section. It took about as long as it took me to run to it, so I figured I was 2/3 done the course.

The rest of the way back was relatively uneventful

Updates Coming soon

2008-03-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

3 things:

1. Due to recent non-running events I haven't had a chance to update much. I plan to have updates starting Sunday night.

2. Revising my race schedule - will have this updated too. Making some changes and working on making some more ambitious goals!!!

3. I think there have been about 20-25 different people to visit my blog. Most people are from the Bay area but there have been people from:

CA
MA
VT
FL
MI
MD
Netherlands

I think I know who everyone is except for the person who visits every 3 days from Los Angeles. WHO ARE YOU??? Please email me at jasonreed247@yahoo.com. Whoever you are you have been here more than anyone else.

Race 08-08 DSE Golden Gate Vista 10k

2008-02-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

February 10, 2008
10k - 1st/89 - 39:41
Complete Results here

This is the first DSE race I ran in 3 weeks. The weather was perfect and I got there unusually early with a stomach full of spaghetti. There was plenty of time to discuss the courses changes. Instead of running straight through the trail to the Legion of Honor we went south toward the Cliff House for a little bit, did a sharp right and followed a trail that joined the road near the bottom tof the big hill leading up to the Legion of Honor. Because of the added distance the turnaround was moved to the entrance of the trail just before the Golden Gate Bridge.

I started off fairly conservatively but had no problem taking 2nd place after a half mile. I passed Milan by the mile mark and led the rest of the way. I could tell no one was close in back of me. I confirmed this at the turnaround which was about 3.5 miles into the race because of the course change. Not much interesting happened by I got the song Home on the Range stuck in my head and couldn't stop singing it. When I got the the hill at the Legion of Honor I asked Jerry (who was volunteering as a course monitor(if he wanted to make it a relay and run the last uphill. He told me no one was close behind. So I ended up coming in first by about a minute and later I found out that Grant had dropped out due to not feeling well.

After the race there were grapes and oranges which were good. We don't usually have those at DSE races but they seemed to be popular. I also enjoyed a ton of Starburst-like candies that were there. They weren't as popular because there were plenty left over as they were picking everything up so I grabbed a bunch for a hike down to the beach after.

Race 08-07 Jed Smith 50k

2008-02-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

50k - 4th/ - 3:39:35

Oliver, Chikara, Eduardo, and I decided to carpool for this event. We met at Oliver's house at 5:30 and left at 5:45 to pick up Eduardo on the way. It was supposed to be about a 2:15 minute drive but we did it in about 1:45. On the way I had a big bowl of spaghetti which I didn't quite finish and a 6 ounce box of Hot Tamales Cool Mint flavor. We took a quick survey and determined that I was racing as fast as I could and the other three were using the race as a training run. It was Eduardo's first ultra and my 8th. Oliver has done a handful I think and Chikara had done more than I could count on my fingers.

We had plenty of time to get our numbers and chips, warm up, and get ready. The weather was overcast and mid 40's. It was cold just standing around but looked to be good for racing.

The course consisted of an out and back accounting for 1.6 miles and then had to run a 3.3 mile loop 9 times. The 3.3 mile loop was actually like a figure 8 with the overlapping section being about a half mile. One end of the loop was road, the other end was a trail which got muckier the longer we ran. It was not a day to keep the shoes clean.

When the race started 2 guys started well in front of the rest of the pack. I started with Chikara and 2 other guys. I didn't really pay attention to who was in back of me. One of the guys asked if I was planning to run 7 minute pace and I said yes. About half way through the first loop I backed off into 6th place. The first 5 loops were pretty boring. I debating taking a restroom break whcih turned out to be smart. I started wondering where the other 3 were. By the end of lap 5 I saw Chikara had a 7 minute lead on me and I had a 5 minute lead on Eduardo and Oliver (Oliver slightly in front). I could tell because we started passing in the overlapping section. On loop 6 i started to gain ground on Chikara because we stopped passing in the overlapping section. On the next half lap Eduardo said something about Chikara being close and I let him know where Oliver was. Very shortly I caught up to Chikara who looked fine but obviously he slowed down from racing mode. He said he was fine. Eduardo (who looked fresh the whole way) ended up catching Oliver. Half way through the last lap I saw a guy just in front of me going about my pace. I guessed (correctly) that he was finishing as well so I made a point to catch him. I was prepared to sprint if necessary, my legs felt fine but I didn't need to. I passed him with a half mile to go, he maintained and I picked it up for a finishing kick. I ran the last lap under 23 minutes (6:57 per mile). Initially I was very happy with that but after finding out my average pace for the whole race was 7:04 the last lap turned out to be nothing special.

My legs were more sore than any race under 26 miles but less than they usually are for an ultra. This race was not a typical ultra anyway, it was more like a marathon+5. Given the weather and muddy conditions I was happy with my pace (under 22 minutes per 5k!). This was my 8th ultra compared with only 7 marathons so I've made a milestone that I probably won't be able to undo. It was also my fastest pace maintained in an ultra (by far). Actually it was a faster than 4 of the 7 marathons...

It was cold after we finished. I was less than impressed with the post race meal which basically consisted of aid station food. I also noticed the shirts were less than spectacular (kind of plain), not that I care about shirts, I have enough. We all waited for the entire group to finish, we got food together and left. We made it home quickly other than my first time inside a Jack in the Box (I didn't eat anything).

Race 08-06 Jazz Trax Snowshoe Stomp 10k

2008-01-27T23:55:00.001-08:00

SATURDAY

This entry has 2 parts because really the trip started on Saturday night. I had a reservation to get a rental SUV at 4PM from SFO. I planned to pick it up, and go to the annual DSE Gala Dinner at 7PM, then leave S.F. with Oliver and head east toward our reserved hotel in Stockton. Upon coming home from a trip to the gym (ran there and back of course) I realized the dinner was at 6PM, not 7PM. So I hurried to get the car and went to the dinner. I had 5 cars from which to choose and I took a charcoal Jeep Cherokee Laredo. It had under 1000 miles and it was an automatic with a slap stick shifter.

I left the rental place and headed for the Gala Dinner. The dinner was very good. Ken did a great job of putting it on. I had the salmon for the second year in a row. People had a great time letting off loud squeaky balloons at random times. The balloons shots around the room, flying up toward the ceiling, and darting at people hair, and going all over the place. We saw an excellent movie about Harry, a totally blind runner who ran the Dipsea race. Most everyone in the club knows who Harry is.

There was a low key awards ceremony. Instead of handing out trophies and the like as names were called, it was up to us to pick up our hardware from a table. They just announced the names and it was up to us to stand up when we were called. it was much better this way as it moved along. i found it helpful to leave my awards on the awards table because there was limited room on the dinner table. I got several awards:

- A Mongo trophy for having done a certain number of DSE races and volunteering (I don't remember the requirements, I just do them)
- A small trophy for 1st place Age group points. This was largely due to Grant not moving to SF until February, getting lost on a couple courses, and missing that start for another race, etc. He will win from now on if he wants to.
- A plaque for being 2nd overall in top 5 finishes (ironically Grant was 1st, because when he did run the races he usually won). The plaque was also for most racing miles in 2007. This is the award I care most about. I ran 606.5 miles in 2007 (plus swam a 1 mi. race that didn't count toward my total). I achieved my goal of 600 (50 race miles a month). This is largely due to running most races I could find up to 31 miles. It is difficult because I actually race every race with 100% effort. I don't ever run a race and take it easy (why go?). The thing that really helped was getting in 2 races in many weekends (or sometimes 3 races, and on one occasion 4 races in 1 weekend). I have set a goal of 800 race miles 2008 and 1000 in 2009, so we'll see where it goes.

At some point I invited nearly everyone I could to he snowshoe race Sunday but had no more takers. After I left I picked up Oliver who had gone home to finish packing and Chikara who couldn't make the dinner. So it was rainy and uneventful for the group as we went to the Stockton hotel. We checked in quickly and made it to bed at 1AM. We scheduled a 6Am wakeup call.

SUNDAY

The wakeup call came at 5:45. I took a shower, Chikara and Oliver opted not to. we checked out without a problem and ate at a MacDonald's just up the road. I had orange juice, and a biscuit with cheese (I took the bacon out). I don't really like MacDonald's but we were in Stockton before 7AM on a Sunday and our options were limited. The weather looked good for most of the way. We noted how many Ron Paul signs were in people's lawns (there were a lot). I started to get a little nervous about chain controls after we saw a sign saying CA-4 was closed at a certain point. According to Oliver's GPS the closure was 4 miles past where we were going.

As we started climbing the road became wetter, then slushy a little, and just past Arnold we hit the Caltrans authorities. They turned us around for not having chains so we went back to Arnold to get some. The 4 or 5 stores we went to were out so we didn't know what to do. A courageous member of the group wanted to hitch, a less daring person wanted to go back up and try to talk our way through, and an undecisive one of us did not offer an opinion or break the tie. So we decided to go see how far we could get. When we got back to the chain control checkpoint the police cruisers were gone and only a couple Caltrans people. The same woman greeted us and informed us that chains are required. She also noted that she was not an officer, she was just Caltrans.

So we made it through and got to the race at 10:16 for a 10AM start. However the race was postponed until 10:30 and Patty Jo (the race director) was very accomodating to make sure all entrants were ready and had their equipment ready before started. So we didn't miss the start. Chikara, another guy and I started in the lead group. After about 10 minutes Chikara started to open a serious lead (so what else is new), Oliver caught up and passed the other guy and me, and the places were set - Chikara, Oliver, other guy, me. It stayed that way for the whole race, other than Oliver missing a turn (not his fault).

It felt fine while we were running, but it was freezing after. the temperature was 33 degrees and during the race we picked up a couple inches of snow. After geting warm clothes in the car we went in for food and awards. The food was excellent for the 2nd year in a row. I had a few different soups, some bread, and hot chocolate. I got a medal for 2nd in my age group (Chikara counted as 1st overall, not age group). I also won a candle in the random draw prize. There were 3 big prizes - 2 pairs of snowshoes and an Ipod. None of us got those despite odds that were more favorable than normal. we stayed a while, took some pictures, and headed home.

Going down the mountain wasn't so bad. I kept it in 1st gear for an hour as went about 15mph and lost 2000+' of elevation. I didn't have to hit the brake at all in that stretch and we didn't slide on the snow at all. By the time we got to 5000' there was no more snow and it was a long boring drive back. We stopped for gas because we were on E for quite a while. We got quick cheap food at a K-mart. I ate a pound of Twizzlers, Chikara got a hot dog and nachos, and Oliver got something I don't know what it was because I never saw it before. ("Asian delicacy" he says). i dropped them off, and went back to bring the car back. Unfortunately since we didn't make it back until after 8PM we got charged for another day with the car (I haven't told them yet!). It was a very fun trip and all 3 of us were very glad that we went.

2008 Planned Race Schedule

2008-01-24T23:46:00.000-08:00

Races I plan to run in 2008:

Tue Jan 1 Run for a Healthy World 5k
Sun Jan 6 DSE Double Lake Merced Run 9M
Sun Jan 13 DSE Fort Point 12K
Sat Jan 19 PCTR Pacifica 30k
Sun Jan 20 DSE Sawyer Camp Trail 10K
Sun Jan 27 JazzTrax Snowshoe Stomp 10k
Sat Feb 2 Jed Smith 50k
Sun Feb 10 DSE Golden Gate Bridge Vista 5M
Sat Feb 16 PCTR Sequoia 30k
Sun Feb 17 Auburn Snowshoe Challenge 10k
Sun Feb 24 DSE Waterfront 5K
Sat Mar 1 PCTR Skyline Ridge 37k
Sun Mar 2 DSE Windmill 10K
Sun Mar 9 Snowshoeing National Championships 10k
Sun Mar 16 Across The Bay 12K
Sat Mar 22 PCTR Pirates Cove 30k
Sun Mar 23 DSE Easter Roller Coaster 5K
Sun Mar 30 DSE Embarcadero 10K
Sat Apr 5 American River 50mi.
Sun Apr 6 DSE Great Highway Run 4M
Sun Apr 13 DSE Golden Gate Park 10K
Sat/Sun Apr 19/20 The Relay: Calistoga to Santa Cruz 199mi.
Sun Apr 27 PCTR Big Basin 30k
Sun May 4 DSE Walt Stack 10K
Sat May 10 Quicksilver 50mi.
Sun May 11 DSE Kennedy Drive 8K
Sun May 18 Bay to Breakers 12k
Sun May 25 DSE Mission Rock 5K
Mon May 26 Marin Memorial Day 10k
Sun Jun 1 DSE Practice Dipsea Run 6.8Mi.
Sun Jun 8 DSE PCTR Mount Diablo 25k
Sat Jun 14 PCTR Santa Cruz 29k
Sun Jun 15 DSE Conservatory 5K
Sat Jun 21 DSE Double Dipsea Handicap Race 13.7M
Sun Jun 29 DSE Strawberry Hill 5K
Sat Jul 5 PCTR Angel Island 25k
Sun Jul 6 DSE Double Lake Merced Run 9M
Sun Jul 13 DSE Golden Gate Bridge Vista 5M
Sat Jul 19 PCTR Sequoia 30k
Sun Jul 20 DSE Marina Green 5K
Sun Jul 27 DSE Windmill 10K
Sun Aug 3 Skyline 50k
Sun Aug 10 DSE Daly City Scenic Run 6.8M
Sun Aug 17 DSE Golden Gate Park Cross Country 5K
Sat Aug 23 Golden Gate Headlands 50k
Sun Aug 31 DSE Potrero Hill Run 4M
Mon Sep 1 Tamalpa Mt. Tam Hill Climb 2.6mi.
Sat Sep 6 PCTR Redwood Park 30k
Sun Sep 7 DSE Rainbow Falls 5K
Sun Sep 14 DSE Stern Grove Run 4M
Sun Sep 21 DSE Lake Merced Half Marathon
Fri Sep 26? Palo Alto Moonlight Run 10k
Sun Sep 28 DSE Oyster Point 5M
Sun Oct 5 Bridge to Bridge 12K
Sat Oct 11 Dick Collins Firetrails 50mi.
Sun Oct 12 DSE Golden Gate Park 10K
Sun Oct 19 DSE Ballpark 5K
Sun Oct 26 DSE Fort Point 12K
Sun Nov 2 DSE Sawyer Camp Trail 10K
Sat Nov 8 PCTR Stinson Beach 30k
Sun Nov 9 DSE Embarcadero 10K
Sun Nov 16 DSE Polo Field 5K
Sat Nov 22 PCTR San Francisco 20k
Sun Nov 23 DSE Great Highway Run 4M
Thu Nov 26 Turkey Beach Trot 5k
Sun Nov 28 Quadruple Dipsea 28.4mi.
Sat Dec 6 PCTR Woodside 35k
Sun Dec 7 DSE Ferry Building Run 4M
Sat Dec 13 PCTR Muir Beach 30k
Sun Dec 14 Miracle Mile
Sun Dec 14 Chrismas Relays 4x4.5mi.
Sat Dec 20 PCTR Rodea Beach 10k
Sun Dec 21 Christmas Classic 5K
Sun Dec 28 DSE Mission Rock 5K

Total: 74 races, 822.9 miles

Other events:
Sat Jan 26 DSE Gala Dinner
Sun Aug 24 DSE Volunteer Picnic
Thur Dec 25 DSE Xmas Blind Date Relays 2x2 mi.

Race 08-05 DSE Sawyer Camp 10k

2008-01-20T22:01:00.000-08:00

January 20, 2008
10k - 6th/118 - 36:29
Complete Results here

Since I raced long yesterday I didn't have high expectations for today's race, the DSE Sawyer Camp 10k. I was hoping to be around 38 minutes. Once again there was a good group of fast guys at the start and I hung on to them for a while. It spread out after a mile and I ended up right in back of the guy in 5th. The first woman, Maria (who I had never seen before) stayed right on my shoulder. I went back and forth with the guy in 5th but found it very difficult after a while because every time there was a curve (of which there are a lot) he would go off the paved road and cut the corners. Maria told me after she was pacing off of me, but toward the last couple miles it appeared that she dropped off a little.

I was happy with my splits - 5:43, 11:33, 17:32, and 18:13 at the half. I didn't get mile splits on the way back because the signs on the road count the miles down and don't account for the extra .1 we run at the turnaround. It turned out that I ran the second half in 18:16 which is as consistent as I've been in a while. On the way back I knew I would be close to a PR but I missed it by 7 seconds. I was very happy with that considering what I ran yesterday. This concluded a 52+ mile week which is my highest weekly mileage total since 2002!

Race 08-04 PCTR Pacifica 30k

2008-01-19T16:46:00.000-08:00

January 19, 2008
30k - 3rd/39 - 2:41:36

Today I ran the PC Trail Runs 30k today. The weather was perfect (as usual) and the course was mostly dried up from the heavy rains a couple weeks ago. I set a goal of beating the time I ran on the course last summer, which was 2:38:30.

I started off in first, as I usually do on this course because I always intend on climbing fast and the course is mostly single track for the first 3 miles. 2 guys passed me about half way up and 3 high school kids passed me during the last mile. As I was climbing I definitely had heavy legs from the mileage I had done earlier in the week (3 runs of 9.2 miles). When I got to the top I found out the high school kids weren't in the race because they were standing around up there. I found out later they tried to pass themselves off as official entrants at the aid station at the bottom of the mountain.

On the way down a guy in the 20k passed me, then Ryan and Will caught up and politely asked me to pass and I enjoyed good conversation with Will for quite a while. They were both running the 50k. About 3/4 the way down I ran right through a vine that had a ton of spikes on it. I could see immediately blood coming from several cuts above me knee. Adrian was at the bottom and he offered my some band-aids but I declined.

I felt good at the bottom and considered whether or not I would beat my goal. I passed Will and Ryan on the first hill on the 9k section. Ryan could me on the way down and I stayed in that place the rest of the way. I could hear Ryan ahead of me for quite a while because even though the next stretch was switchbacks, he had loud headphones on.

It was more or less uneventful for the rest of the way. I was focusing on my time. I did the 12k loop in about 1:03. I had 1:51 at the bottom of the 2nd loop and at that point I more or less I knew I wouldn't run a 2:38. I ran hard on the last loop but finished in 2:41:36. When I got to the end I saw that the cuts from the thorns went all the way from above my knee down my shin to the top of my socks. It must have been loaded with thorns too because there were dozens of scratches resulting in one large open wound. I had dried blood everywhere on the from of my lower leg. Although it didn't hurt while I was running, once I stopped it was a very sharp stinging pain. I waited at the bottom to talk with Will and Ryan. Peter and Oliver also came out and ran the 30k so we talked at the end as well. I tried to convince them to come out to the DSE race tomorrow.

Race 08-03 DSE Fort Point 12k

2008-01-18T00:28:00.000-08:00

January 13, 2008
12 kilometers - 6th/92 - 45:36
Complete Results here

The weather was a perfect sunny and 60 or so degrees. I left home later than I wanted (as usual) and when I saw a gathering of people at the east end of the Marina green I drove over there. It turned out to be the wrong place but fortunately Phyllis was there to direct me to the proper place. As I was going back to my car I ran into Chikara who also was mistaken about the starting place. I gave him a ride and we both registered as the pre-race instructions were given out.

We nearly had some confusion a quarter mile in as Ky, who was leading the pack could not decide which direction to circle at the end of the Yacht Harbor parking lot. He finally decided to go clockwise and we all followed. At the mile mark we had the largest pack I can remember at a DSE race. Nathan, Grant, Chikara and I were chatting it up. Oliver and a couple others hung in with us too. During the second mile it got more spread out. Oliver passed me going up the hill to Fort Mason and I passed him going back down the other side. I stayed in the same place the rest of the way.

We turned around at Aquatic Park and as Eduardo and I went by end other he commented on the strong field that showed up. It appeared Eduardo was on another training run. We ran back over the Fort Mason hill all the way to the building under the Golden Gate Bridge. At that turnaround I noticed Oliver in a dual with the lead woman which indicated a strong women's field as well. I finished strong but uneventfully as I was almost a minute in back of Chikara and almost a minute in front of Oliver. About half way through the race I decided 45:00 would be a good time but I must have slowed down because I ended up with a 45:36. My splits were 5:50, 11:48, 18:12, 24:13, 30:31, 36:46, and 42:54.

I had as much of an enjoyable time at this race than I have at any DSE race so far. This was largely due to the (relatively) competitive field, the weather, and the course.

Race 08-02 - DSE Double Lake Merced Loop

2008-01-12T04:27:00.000-08:00

January 6, 2008
9 miles - 1st/32 - 54:40
Complete results here

The second race of the year was the weekly DSE race. The options were the single and double Lake Merced loops, in San Francisco. As I usually do, I ran the longer event which totaled 9 miles. I arrived at 8:27AM for an 8:30AM and did my typical warmup of 0 miles. The only person i saw at the starting line that I thought could keep pace with me was Eduardo, who I go back and forth with seemingly every other race.

Due to recent heavy rain and wind the course was littered with pieces of trees - bark, branches, pine needles - you name it. It didn't feel like it slowed me down. I started quickly which I felt was about the same as I would start a 10k. I was trying to finish under 53 minutes, or at least 54 minutes. At the far end of the lake I looked back and didn't see anyone close which made me wonder where Eduardo was. I didn't look back again until the same spot on the next loop, although I had figured out I had a pretty big lead well before that. In the end my splits turned out to be 5:40 (1mi.), 11:22 (2mi.), 17:30 (3mi.), 26:42 (4.5 mi.=1 loop), 29:56 (5mi.), 48:59 (8 mi.). I didn't get all of my splits because I failed to clear enough space in my watch before the race. I finished in 54:40 which turned out to be 1st out of only 32. Eduardo incorporated the race into a 3+ hour training run which explains why he didn't run it with me. That was unfortunate since I was hoping he would be there so we could pace each other.

When I was about 7 miles in I began doing the math in my head to figure if anyone in the single loop race would catch me. Since I made it through 1 loop in 26:42 I concluded that if they started on time no one would. I started my second lop with a 3:18 head start and I didn't think anyone would be able to close that gap in only 4.5 miles. I anticipated running the 2nd loop in 27:30 and I ended up doing it in 27:58 and I didn't think anyone would run the single in 24 minutes. Grant won the single loop race (as usual) in 26:16 with Chikara who is getting back in shape following closely behind.

It started to rain just after I finished so I took refuge under a tent. I was glad I was not still out there running.

Race 08-01 - Run for a Healthy World 5k

2008-01-12T04:03:00.000-08:00

5k - 2nd/148 - 17:54
Complete results here

Since I am creating this blog after having run 2 races already this year I need to go back and write about the races I've done. The first race of the year was the Run for a healthy World 5k/10k. According to theschedule.com the 10k starts at 10Am and the 5k starts at 10:05AM. The website also said the race day entry fee was $30. I arrived at 9:40AM and was disappointed when the people at the registration table told me the 10k started at 9:30. Also, the race day entry fee was $35, not $30. I don't know whose fault it was for the misinformation, but I wasn't the only one with bad information. I talked to a couple other people who had the same race time/fee as me, including the only other person I knew there - my friend Kennet. I paid the $35 and grudgingly ran the 5k.

The course was nice, it was just a 5k loop north of the Baylands Athletic Center. The first and third miles were on pavement and the 2nd mile was on a dirt road. My splits were (about) 5:38, 11:23, and I finished in 17:54. I was happy with the time since I usually only run about 20 seconds faster on a completely road course. Also I didn't make it to bed until 4AM the night before and for almost the whole race I felt sore from the training run I did 2 days prior (from Mill Valley up Cardiac and back). There were 3 of us very close after a mile. Then the first guy pulled away as me and the other guy held pace. He and I went back and forth until around mile 2 when he started to fade back. I finished in a solid 2nd out of 148, which was also good enough for a medal for being 2nd in my age group 20-29.

After the race for food they had a bananas, water, and some cinnamon shortbread cake thing. The cake was good but I was a little disappointed with the post race food since I have run weekly races for under $5 with more to eat. I am sure that the cause they are raising money for is worthy but I probably won't run this one again. I had made that decision when I found out about the time/price error and there wasn't anything really great to make me reconsider. So much for starting the blog (and the new year) on a good note.http://

Introduction

2008-01-12T01:55:00.000-08:00

My name is Jason Reed. I am 28 and I live in Burlingame, CA which is 15 minutes south of San Francisco. I enjoy running races and I am creating this blog as a means to track the races I run. In addition to logging my times I am intending on writing a small review of the races and share some of my experiences. I am looking to buy a digital camera soon too so I might be able to post some pictures.

My plans this year are to compete in the PAUSATF Ultra Racing Circuit, compete in the Dolphin South End Runners series, and race in the Pacific Coast Trail Runs series. I also plan to do other races that aren't part of those series, including a few snowshoeing races and the 3 major 12k races in San Francisco.