I run ultramarathons: distances from 50K (32 miles) to 50 miles to 100 miles, and most everything in between, in the desert, in the mountains, on rough singletrack trails as much as possible. This is a collection of race reports, including Calico 50K in the Calico Mountains, Angeles Crest 100 in the San Gabriels, Mt. Dissapointment 50K, also in the San Gabriels, Old Goats 50 and Chimera 100 in Cleveland National Forest, Bishop High Sierra 100K, Javelina Jundred, Quad Rock 50, Black Canyon 100, and others.

Griffith Park Half Marathon

The second Annual Griffith Park Half Marathon was held Nov 17, the same day as Chimera 100m (which I'd registered for but ended up transferring my registration).Race Director Keira Henninger is a top ultra runner, and she's put together a tough,…
Winners Jorge Pacheco & Ana Guijarro

Mt Disappointment 50K – 2012

I didn't run the race this year. I wanted to - I woud have liked a bit of redemption from last year's festival of cramps - but I was nowhere near ready so soon after AC100. What I did instead was showed up with camera to Shortcut - mile 20-ish…
My feet, at Chantry, mile 75

AC100 2012 Race Report

Build upLooking through the last 6 months of entries into this blog, I see that almost all are about the build-up to this race. I'd trained long and hard, and made a lot of great new friends doing it. In the last 2 months, my doubt grew. …

Bishop High Sierra 100K Race Report

With a population of just under 4,000 people, Bishop is Inyo County's only city. (I have no idea what separates a city from a town under California state law). This was my first time up there. It's a beautiful little place along the 395…
Leona Divide 2012 Bib & Medal

Leona Divide 50 miler 2012

Leona Divide 50 miler. 9,000 feet of climbing, 40 miles of singletrack, 10 miles of fireroad, all rolling hills in the Sierra Pelona Mountains.My goal for Leona was to run skillfully. What does that mean, exactly? Well, I've run some pretty…
Cleveland National Forest

Old Goats 50 – Volunteer Report

125 runners. 60 volunteers. Ultrarunners are always highly appreciative of the aid stations and volunteers; on a long, hard race, for me at least, the tough parts are run aid station to aid station. I never realized the extent of the production…
Road down to Silverado Canyon

Chimera 2011 on film

Well, actually, mostly on video. 100K - 63 miles to us non scientist Americans - (a high school girlfriend's grandparents in Oklahoma threatened to start a militia they were so outraged over President Jimmy Carter's acquiesence to going commie…
Me at Maple Springs aid station

Chimera 100

Cold, wet, rocky, and long. We gathered at the starting line, cold, foggy, looking more like refugees than runners. Race director Steve Harvey (who deserves great praise for all of his events) mercifully delayed the start by about 15 minutes…

Sierra Nevada Endurance Run

6:30 am, sunrise over the American River, a big, wide, and real river, unlike, say, the San Gabriel River down here in Angeles Forrest, which as much as I like soaking my feet in it during a good hot run would barely qualify as a mountain stream…
My shoes, after the race

Mount Disappointment 50K

Sat. August 13. This is said to be the toughest 50K in So. Cali. We started at the top of Mt. Wilson, headed down, up down, up, down, up... 7,403 feet of climbing says my Garmin. Probably a dozen stream crossings. Long exposed climbs. Because…
Maggie Beach- Chantry - 10:45pm

AC100

Maggie at Chantry, mile 75 Angeles Crest 100. 100 miles through Angeles Forest and the San Gabriel Mountains, starting at Wrightwood and finishing in town in Alta Dena, almost all trail, often technical, 23,000 feet of up and 26,000 feet…

Western States 100

Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. Perspective makes a difference. Some people never recovered from the snow and ice. Others, like Maggie, cite it as a favorite part of the race, although it seems Maggie fell as often as anyone, and came…
,

Nanny Goat 2011

Nanny Goat 12hr: 60 miles 7th place overall. Nanny Goat 12/24/100 is run on a 1 mile loop run around a ranch in Riverside It's a timed race: 12 hours, 24 hours, and, this year, an official 100 miler.I ran the 12 hour race. This would be…
Wild Wild West 50K

Wild Wild West Marathon & 50K – 2011

Don't follow me, I'm lost too. It's never a good sign when the runner you are following ends up on the edge of a cliff, calling out "Hello? Hello? Is anybody out there?"Traversing the Eastern Sierras, running along the base of Mount Whitney…
Desert Dash Double Medal

Desert Dash Malibu Double Half Marathon

Two half marathons on one day, on a single track section of the Backbone Trail, up in Malibu. Technical single-track, with 2500' of climbing for each run. The first race began at 10 am. The second began at 6pm and was run in the dark. We…