Red Rock Canyon in the Fall

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone is every bit as majestic as they say it is. I'll write more later... too much going on!

Pacing MMT 100 May 17

I spent Sat evening & Sunday morning pacing fellow Trailhead Jon "Bobcat" Parker through the Massanutten Mountain 100 Miler in Front Royal, VA. This is one of the more difficult 100s with a 7.5/10 rating.

52 miles of this course (almost 20 hrs) nearly broke me. About 20 miles in I wanted my mommy, but couldn't figure out how I would get back to my car if I quit. After 30 miles the bottoms of my feet pruned from being wet so long and then all the little wrinkles blistered. Even now, when I close my eyes, I see rocks...

It was very cool being out there with Bobcat for his first 100. As far as the MMT course goes... I think this satisfied my curiosity.

QuickSilver 50 Mile

The Quicksilver 50k and 50 mile in the Almaden Quicksilver County Park, San Jose is sandwiched between the legendary MiWok 100k and the Ohlone 50k Wilderness Run that my friend Rob Byrne directs. It's just an amazing time of year for the Bay Area Ultra scene. So many folks are in the midst of training for Western States. From conversations during and after the run I found that even those who didn't get into Western States seem to be buzzing with energy and tackling tough races nearly every weekend.

This year Quicksilver saw the largest field in its history - and wow, was it competitive. I caught several glimpses of the front runners including Graham Cooper and Ian Torrence. Graham broke his previous course record here and didn't look like he had any trouble capturing another 1st place. The race has definitely grown since I ran the 50k here in 1999, but they have maintained a great vibe with beer and bbq after the race.

I ended up 17th out of 80 finishers with an 8:28. Not where I'd like to be in the standings, but not too bad considering the back to back 100 mile weeks leading up to the race. I think there were well over >100 starters, so I was at least in the top 20%. My 50k split of 4:59 would have put me at 11th out of 96 finishers.

During the run someone told me that an 8:30 on the Quicksilver course meant you could run a 19-22 hr Western States 100. I'd like to believe that, but there are a lot of factors that would need to be accounted for in that equation! Results may vary.

There were a few hills on this course! Some really steep ones coming into the 50k finish and again at the 50M finish. The web site said 9000 ft of gain and loss, but my Garmin reported +15,352 / -15,377! The profile to the left shows the data from my Garmin. I'd have to say that overall the footing was pretty easy though, unlike some of our East Coast trails.

No problems with any of my gear and no trouble bouncing back after a nice massage and a couple days rest. All in all a great training run for Bighorn. I'm looking forward to another long run this week while pacing fellow Trailhead Jon "Bobcat" Parker out at the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100M!

Muir Woods

"This is the best tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world," - John Muir

Muir Woods is part of the National Park Service in Marin County, California, 12 miles north of San Francisco. It protects 554 acres of forested area populated by Coast Redwoods, and is one of the last remaining stands in the Bay Area along with one of my other favorites, the Big Basin Redwoods State Park where I enjoyed a great run on my last trip to CA.
Today's outing came after a long day which started with morning meetings on East Coast time and ended with many hours on the Exhibit floor at the JavaOne conference. I didn't have a hard time convincing fellow runner and co-worker Erik Kristiansen to join me. Together we ducked out of the conference with just enough time to bag another spectacular National Park.

This is the 3rd time Erik and I have gotten together for a run while traveling on business. We've covered some great trails in Edinburgh Scotland, the Red Rocks Canyon area in Nevada, and now Muir Woods. Erik was 3rd in his age group at Owl's Roost half marathon a couple weeks ago and he has run with the Trailheads a couple times. He'll be an official, named member soon!

I have to admit this was really more of a jog/walk than a run, but there's just so much to see here. Something new around every bend. There are times when it feels good to put your head down and zen out, and others when you really owe it to yourself to pay attention and "stop and smell the roses". This was definitely the later.

Marin Headlands

The Marin Headlands is a hilly area located just north of San Francisco, immediately across the Golden Gate Bridge. The entire area is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area which is famous for the stunning views of the Bay Area and the Golden Gate Bridge.

To the California trail running scene, the Marin Headlands is like Mecca. This area hosts some of the most beautiful and popular trail runs in the world, including the Miwok 100k, the Dipsea founded in 1905, and relative newcomer on the 100M circuit, the Headlands Hundred, founded last year.

I got out to the Headlands around 7:30 this morning and spent some quality time along the Miwok Trail, winding my way down into the Tennessee Valley. The Miwok Trail was named for the Miwok tribe of Native Americans who moved between the bay side of the peninsula and the ocean side seasonally, for thousands of years. There were very few people out on the trails today and at one point I found myself on an animal trail imagining I was one of the Miwoks (Indian name, "Runs with Camera").

I cut straight down through the heart of the Tennessee Valley, following a small creek which empties out into a very small cove embedded in the rugged coastal bluff bordering on the Pacific Ocean. I couldn't believe the views here and had to stop and gawk every few minutes. This area reminds me a lot of sections of the Jurassic Coast. Very diverse though. Rocky exposed ridges, lush valleys, beach...

Elbow Cay, Bahamas

Last week of rest before the buildup for the Bighorn 100 in Wyoming! This week was also my wife's birthday and with our 10 year anniversary right around the corner we decided to celebrate with a few nights on Elbow Cay in the Bahamas.

Elbow Cay is a six-mile long cay in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas. Originally populated by British loyalists fleeing the newly independent United States of America in 1785, it survived on fishing, boat building, and salvage but seems increasingly oriented toward tourism now. The main village of Hope Town surrounds a beautiful protected harbor with a red and white striped 120ft lighthouse built in 1863.

I somehow managed to squeeze 44 miles in between the rum drinks and Cuban cigars. Running barefoot on the sand definitely worked some new muscles! My calves sure are sore and tight. Running around the island was a great way to see some of the areas outside of town, but we got some strange looks from the locals.

Thurs Night at The Lugger Inn

Thursday night before Day one of the Jurassic Coast Challenge. After not sleeping particularly well on the redeye I thought I'd get to bed early and catch up on some shuteye. The party is still going on downstairs however. Sounds from the Lugger Inn (on the right) is an audio recording of the festivities that can be heard from my room.

Nags Head Woods

Visited Nags Head Woods for some easy running and hiking Sat and Sun.

Nags Head Woods is considered one of the best remaining examples of a mid-Atlantic maritime forest with deciduous hardwoods. This pine and hardwood forest harbors trees up to 500 years old and has an extensive system of dunes, interdune ponds, and wetlands. The forest's great natural diversity is due to the fact that it draws water from an extensive freshwater aquifer and is sheltered by ancient dunes.

The preserve is also an important nesting area for more than 50 species of birds, including green heron, wood duck, red-shouldered hawk, clapper rail, ruby-throated hummingbird, pileated woodpecker, prothonotary warbler, and summer tanager. The freshwater ponds are inhabited by turtles and salamanders and support a great diversity of floating aquatic plant life, including the rare water violet.

An extensive marsh system bordering Roanoke Sound on the western side of the preserve supports a wealth of wildlife including river otter, muskrat, egrets, herons, and many species of migratory waterfowl.

I did a lot of training for Western States 2000 here and really fell in love with this place. We bought some property here in '03 (Walker Island) that has a great view of the Western border of Nags Head Woods. Caleb and I went out to the island on Sat and romped around among the oak trees.

Big Basin Redwoods State Park

I drove out to Big Basin Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains today for another look at one of my favorite Bay Area running spots.

Big Basin is California's oldest State Park, established in 1902. Home to the largest continuous stand of ancient coast redwoods south of San Francisco, the park is > 18,000 acres of old growth and recovering redwood forest. Elevations vary from sea level to over 2,000 feet so this was another good hill workout.

I have some great memories here. The first time I ran the ultra distance (29 mi) was in this park in 1998, the weekend after my previous distance PR of 18 mi... which was the weekend after my previous distance PR of 13 miles. That was an interesting month. Felt like I was living that dream where you find a room in your house you didn't know was there. I also ran my 2nd trail race here that same year, the Big Basin Marathon (sadly, discontinued).

Today I set out with the idea that I'd follow the first 5 miles or so of the Big Basin Marathon course and then come back. I got a little off course the 1st mile and went out on what I think is the return leg of that course, heading up nice 500 foot climb and then linking up with the marathon course. Miles 1-4 bled off 1000 feet over soft trails with good footing that is so typical of the West. I like the challenge offered by the rocky, technical trails in the East, but the fast, soft trails here were my first love in trail running and today rekindled that affection.

At mile 4.2 there is a beautiful waterfall nestled in a lush canyon that I snapped a picture of. Unfortunately my camera batteries died shortly thereafter. There is another waterfall at mile 5 that requires some light climbing. Not recommended for acrophobics! I really wanted a picture of that one because I've talked about it frequently. Hearing that I run long distances folks always ask what my marathon time is. Well... I've only run 2 "official" marathons (both on trails) early in my running career, and Big Basin was the fastest at 3:50. Folks are usually unimpressed, and I feel compelled to add that it was a challenging trail marathon with some light climbing up a waterfall. Next time I'll get that picture.

The return trip of this out and back is a little tougher with >1000 ft climb from mile 6 to 9, then a quick 500 ft decent the last mile. All in all a spectacular day among the ancient redwood giants.

Oh, and on the way back to my hotel in Los Gatos I was passed on a double yellow lined windy mountain road by a Prius... that just seems odd doesn't it? Must be time to head back to NC.

Coyote Peak

After wrapping up a rather long, but successful meeting with a business partner today I jumped in the car and sped off to the Santa Teresa Park in the hills Southwest of San Jose, CA.

This park is nestled between IBM's Almaden Research Lab and the Silicon Valley Lab where I first interned with IBM and then hired on 10 years ago. This is also where I first got interested in trail running. These hills really call out to me and I spent a lot of time today just wandering around remembering different parts of the trails and the surrounding landscape.

Santa Teresa Park features acres of rolling hills, many native plants and wildflowers, and spectacular views in every direction. I also saw quite a few deer today.

The most prominent feature in the park is Coyote Peak at about 1150 ft.

I remembered my Garmin and got a nice profile. Sure felt more than 650 ft on the run up! There's really very little relief and the grade is steep (650 ft in a little less than 1 mi).