I have done a terrible job in keeping up with my race blog this year. In fact, I have not completed one single race report. I decided to summarize the year in one post so here it goes:
March 12: MUC 50
Johnny Rutherford traveled west from Ohio to take on this challenging 50 miler with me in the spring. This is an awesome race because it takes place on all of the best trails that Marin has to offer. It does have a fairly decent amount of climbing, around 11,000 feet which is the most challenging aspect. The morning was nice and cool, but the sun eventually came out however it didn't get to hot. John and I had a pretty steady day out there. The willow camp climb at the half way point really kicked our ass, which is pretty normal for this race. We finished just over 13 hours and had a great time. Had a Dean Karnazas sighting because he wasn't to far ahead of us. I was really glad that John came out to see the MUC course. I feel that one of these years he will be back to try and go sub 12 hours!
April 4: R2R2R (Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim)
This has been on my bucket list for quite some time. Ram put the wheels in motion but he had to take an emergency trip to India so he was unable to make it. Jess and Shaun's wife Jessica did a successful hike down to the river and back up the day before Shaun and I attempted this R2R2R. We got an early start, maybe around 4:30 am. Packs completely loaded with supplies to last the whole day in the Canyon and we set off going down the famous Bright Angel trail. The sun was rising as we were descending into the Canyon and it was about as close to a religious experience as you can get. We made it to the river after a few hours and then filled up with water at Phantom Ranch. Then began the section across the canyon floor and to the start of the first major climb to the North Rim on the North Kaibab trail. The trail on the North Rim was more rugged then Bright Angel. We ran into elite ultra runner Jeff Browning (Bronco Billy) as we were filling water before the steepest section of climbing. Made it to the North Rim and took a little break in the leftover snow from the season.. The descent down from North Rim was in the heat of the day and it was pretty rough due to being technical. The sun was bearing down as we made our way back across the Canyon floor to Phantom Ranch. Upon reaching Phantom Ranch we refilled our water, took a break, and then began our climb back up the South Rim. We took the South Kaibab trail up and it was a lot steeper than Bright Angel. It was seriously tough getting out of the Canyon. Some nausea set in and after it got dark the wind picked up and blew gravel and sand in our face. Finally we reached the top and the day was complete. This was an extremely tough 46 miles and 9,500 feet of climbing. However it is one that I can now scratch off the bucket list.
April 23: Canyons 100K
This was my second time doing Canyons 100K. It's actually a pretty fun and challenging course going the reverse direction on some of the Western States course. There is around 15,000 feet of climbing with some of the steeper sections in the second half of the race. Ram was still in India so he could not come to Canyons this year. Pancho came into town to run it with Shaun and myself. Jess also came and ran the 25K and unfortunately tore her meniscus but did end up finishing the race. It was a nice cool day which is great for running. Pancho was off to a fast start. Shaun and I stayed steady for the first half of the race. We were both feeling pretty beat up during the second half. The wheels completely fell off going around the Deadwood Canyon loop. Then we started the last long stretch before the finish which is around 10 miles. I started feeling decent on the first big climb and Shaun said to go ahead. I was doing the old man shuffle in the flat parts and slowly climbing the rest. The last 3 miles was nothing but slush puddles from all the snow they got in the higher elevation a few days prior. The puddles were unavoidable so our feet just got soaked and we had to deal with that reality. Hearing the sounds of the finish line mic for a mile or 2 before you get there is also challenging but if you keep plugging along then eventually the finish line appears, and it did. Finished in 17:24 which is longer than last year but good enough for a Western States qualifier and a tough but rewarding workout.
June 25: Broken Diablo 50K
Shaun and I trained for Broken Arrow 52K which took place near Lake Tahoe on June 18th and that race has more than 10,000 feet of climbing. Things went sideways for Broken Arrow as I decided to withdraw because Jess got COVID and I had some minor symptoms and thought it would be best if I didn't take any chances. Shaun ended up not finishing by choice. We both wanted redemption so we decided to emulate Broken Arrow by running a 50K with similar ascent but at a different location...Mt. Diablo. Thus the name that Shaun came up with..Broken Diablo 50K. There was one major difference from the weekend before and that was the weather. Up near Tahoe they ended up getting snow and high winds on race day but a week later at Diablo it was 90 degrees and full on sun. Neither of us do well in the heat but we gave it a go. Got an early start when it was a bit cooler but it didn't take long for the sun to come out and do it's thing. The hottest part of the day is when we were climbing up mothers trail which is an extremely tough climb. I don't think you can possibly move any slower then the speed we were going. We got back up to the summit for the second time and Shaun downed 3 gatorades..lol. Then after getting snacks and resting for a bit we struggled down to eagle peak and back to the cars. It was a tough and hot day which was perfect redemption to make up for Broken Arrow.
November 12: Mt Tam 50K
This was one of my best races ever. It's a tough 50K with around 6,700 feet of climb. This race was going to be a kickoff to my training for Black Canyon 100K in Feb. 2023. I set a goal for myself to go sub 7 hours in this one and I knew that was going to be a tall order. I had a few decent training runs leading up to it. Jessica, Shaun, and Shaun's wife Jessica all did the half marathon. When the race started I was just trying to get into a groove. Pushing myself up the first climb as I knew that would be key to setting the pace. My plan was to make quick work of the aid stations as I knew I didn't have much time to spare and that's just what I did. I was being aggressive with my pace uphill and especially downhill all day. There was not a single point in the race where I just relaxed and leisurely walked to recoup. This was difficult because I had never pushed like that in a race before. Normally I just go with the flow and have fun but this time it was all business. I listened to hardcore music the whole day and it was fitting for my effort. I knew it was going to be close as I came into the last aid station. So I pushed as hard as I could to the finish and ended up beating my goal by about 5 minutes. This was very rewarding in it's own way.
Dec. 31: New Years One Day 6 hour event
I have wanted to try an official timed event for quite awhile. This particular race fit in well with my
training schedule for Black Canyon 100K and the course is at Crissy Field not far from where we live. There is not a lot of climb at Black Canyon so I figured running around a flat 1 mile rectangle loop course for 6 hours would be perfect training. I also thought maybe it would be boring so I que'd up some podcasts and music to keep me entertained. Jess also signed up for the event which I thought was really cool. Little did we know what we actually had in store for our day. An atmospheric river which set a record for rain in SF happened to take place in the exact 6 hours of our event. Talk about raining sideways!! There was flooding everywhere and it rained hard the whole time. I could only laugh at this fortune and just go with it. My first 18 laps or so went pretty well. The wheels really started to fall off about 23 laps in when my legs were tired from all the running! In normal ultras I am hiking uphills so working different muscles but this was just straight running the whole time. I maybe only walked a total of a half mile all day. There was one particular puddle that was about 20 yards long and no going around it. When the race started it was about ankle deep but after a few hours it was knee deep cold water. Had to go through that thing what amounted to 31 times as that is how many laps I got in. Total mileage was 31.8 miles and that was good enough for 5th place overall out of 52! Maybe my best finishing place ever in a organized event. Got third in my age group as well. Jessica also ended up getting third in her age group! Pretty great day for the both of us so we celebrated by getting sushi and watching the college football playoffs. I wouldn't mind exploring more races like this in the future as it was nice doing something different for a change and I think I can do a lot better if I strategize more. I mean I wasn't sure about the logistics of nutrition and stopping etc.. I think I could of had time for another loop or 2 if I didn't waste so much time going to the bathroom and stopping to drink water. There are some things to figure out for sure. Maybe next year I will try the 12 hour event. We shall see.
