Pacific Crest Trail
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Christmas in July

I ran 60 miles this week. 60 miles a week is not that much, not at least compared to two years ago, but it's a lot coming off of a bunch of nothing, which is more or less where my running has been these past few months. The year started out…
Downtown
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An Aspie Man’s Guide to Surviving Ladies Night

Ladies NightMagnolia Blvd. Diagonally across the intersection, a jazz band plays - at least, I think it's a jazz band, but I'm not really sure. I can see a few guys with assorted horns, and I can make out the sound of saxophone. I'm in Burbank…
Griffith Park Trail
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Eleven Minutes Per Mile

Moises AvelarI was running in Griffith Park one evening when I ran into Moises. Moises is one of those guys who advocates running slow. He's also someone who finished AC100 in about 20 hours, and when I hear fast guys talk about running slow,…
Fat Dog 120, British Columbia, Canada

Alas & Alack: The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be.

Everyone seems to be complaining about how ultras are at some kind of crossroads and things ain't what they used to because some chick who got suspended for doping seven years ago (and has been off her suspension and eligible to compete for…
Me, in the white shorts, 1977

Pain Cave. (Where is it?)

I was fast once. Really fast. Really fast at much shorter distances, like 400 meters.Now I'm 55 years old.I ran my last track race in Brussels. I had a huge blood blister on my inside foot - the foot on the inside of the track, that torques…
Team Tapia, pit stop crew, Cloudburst.
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Angeles Crest 100 – 2015 Race Report

Mile 38. Howie emerged at Cloudburst looking haggard. He was hurting everywhere, especially in his back, which was pulling everything below it up - his glutes and his hamstrings. Howie was in pain. I reminded him that nobody is having fun…
Gila, NM, by Kari Greer, USFS. Creative Commons.

Light of the World

The hills are alive...Shoemaker fire is burning up near East Fork Road above Glendora, not so terribly far from where three dumbass stoners set the woods on fire earlier this year. A day after the Shoemaker fire started, it is only 10% contained.…
Maggie Beach, Chantry, 11pm, 2011

Angeles Crest 100 Gallery: 2011 – 2013

Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance RunThis gallery follows three races: Maggie Beach's 2011 race, which I helped crew, my 2012 finish, and my 2013 DNF. Most of the shots are at aid stations, a few are on the course. The 2011 shots were taken…
Me, Cyprus, 1977

Birds

I am sitting at my kitchen counter, looking out the window, which faces east. Several times a week, around 5:30 or 6am, I sit here having my coffee, talking on Skype with my primary developer, who is in India. He marvels at all the birds he…
Train tracks, Austin Tx 1980

Buffalo Gets Evicted

This morning I took a run along the Lower Arroyo Trail.There's a guy who lives under the San Pascual bridge, near the ball park. He's been there for at least three years, (that's what he says) and maybe as long as five (which is what others…
Olive Motel

Bright Lights, Big City

I've been spending a lot of time in the city lately. A project I've been working on for years is suddenly racing to a conclusion against a tight deadline, which means long hours and not as much time running. Weekend long runs training for…

Urban Trail Running

Straight out my door, across Figueroa and a few blocks down, past old cars and even older houses, and I hit the bottom of the Arroyo Seco, or, if I turn the other direction, Debs Park. A few miles away is Griffith Park. There's also Elysian…
Mount Islip

Blue Ridge Weekend

Blue Ridge Campground, 7:15pm. Quiet. There's still a little sun left, but I'm in the shade. It's been a cool week.The sky over Baden Powell was an unusually deep blue for the middle of summer. There were brilliant clouds, too.22 miles,…
Me, Baden Powell

Poodle Dog Bush on Baden Powell

There is Poodle Dog Bush on top of Baden Powell. We smelled it first, thought it must be something else, and then saw the plants. The following day: slow, lazy morning at Blueridge Campground. I woke up at 7am. This is, for me, sleeping in.…
Powerhouse Fire, from Mt. Baden Powell

Cigarette

June 1 2013. I was sitting at Little Jimmy Springs, resting and filling up my water bottles, midway through an out-and-back run from Vincent Gap, up to Baden Powell, and across. I had spotted a couple resting at Windy Gap when I passed. They…