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Migrants crossing sign near Mexican border

Racism, Misogyny, Intolerance in the San Diego Ultrarunning Community: A Compilation

A compilation of racism, misogyny, intolerance, and hate publicly directed at writer Myriam Gurba by ultrarunners in California   Introduction Last June, Myriam Gurba and I went down to Cleveland National Forest for an intended weekend…
Me, mile 50

Cuyamaca 100K Race Report – 2018

Here we go again. I’d put myself on the waiting list for this always sold out race sometime back in the spring. It seemed unlikely that my name would ever come up. I was a few weeks out from running Stagecoach 100 when I got the invite…
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Jemez Mountain 2017

New Mexico Clouds There are extraordinary clouds hanging over the Sandias right now. There are always extraordinary clouds in New Mexico. The air is incredible here, and the Sandias, out the back window of Ken and Margaret's house, are beautiful. It…
Jemez Mountains

Jemez Mountain 50 Miler Race Report

The air in New Mexico is known for its clarity, and its light. This is a stark change from LA, where the marine layer creates an almost always present haze that traps the smog beneath it. And then there's the smoke from the fires burning in…

Zane Grey 50 Race Report

Payson, Arizona.I'm always surprised by the the beauty of Arizona. What comes to mind when I think of the state are wide, flat, parched expanses of sand with the occasion shrub, saguaro cactus and Vermaland sign - in other words, the long stretch…
Jussi Hamalainen & Garry Curry, mile 6. Garry's last AC100.
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Ashes: AC100 2014 Race Report

Friday morning, 9am, August 1, sitting in my driveway waiting for a ride out to Wrightwood. I'm writing in a list notebook I found on the trails in Topanga. #7 on the list: "Create excuse for ticket". #13: "Go hiking with Nico". The hike…
Sandstone, mile 30

Coyote Backbone 68 Miler

I set up camp at the finish line the day before. Full moon, in my tent at the finish line at LA Jolla campground in Pt Mugu. It's bright outside, which is good because I've forgotten my headlamp at home and tomorrow I will use a borrowed…
Scree, mile 18

Calico 50K, 2014

The race begins with a two mile or so gentle downhill, and then there's about 16 miles of gradual uphill. I don't run enough uphill, it seems. The climbing in the San Gabriels is usually too steep to run, and only the guys in front will be…
Saguaro, runners, sunrise

Javelina Jundred 2013 Race Report

Javelina Jundred consists of 6 15.4 mile loops, run washing machine style, followed by a 9 mile loop, for an official total distance of 100.8 miles, even though the actual distance mathematically adds up to 101.4 miles. (I guess there is some…
Me at Chantry

Whistling Past the Graveyard – AC100 2013 Race Report

Welcome to the 265th annual AC100.Friday August 2nd, at the Best Western pool just off the 15, on the edge of the high desert, facing the freeway. Traffic is loud. I'm pretending it's the ocean.The lady at the front desk has cleaned up pretty…
Mariposa Grove

Shadow of the Giants 50K

Shadow of the Giants 50K is run on heavily wooded trails less than 2 miles south of Yosemite National Park. It's an old school, low key affair, not much flash and glitz and Facebook presence. It takes place in the town of Fishcamp, population…
Me on the stairs. Photo by Steve Pero.

Quad Rock 50 Race Report

I headed out to Colorado to visit family and run the Quad Rock 50 in the foothills of the Rockies, just outside of Fort Collins. Put on by ultrarunner Nick Clark, the race is a 25 mile loop run twice, the second time in reverse, mostly on…

Sycamore Canyon

The first day of autumn, although it didn't really feel like it.I headed out to Sycamore Canyon because I wanted to run some of the trails, or at least territory, run in races like the Ray Miller 50/50, or the Lasse Virren 20K, both of which…
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. …
Baden Powell Ridge

Countdown to AC100

The climb up Baden Powell has 41 switchbacks. As you climb, looking forward, you look into nothing but air. The drop-offs are not steep, but until you reach the turns they look like dead ends on a sheer cliff…or at least they do to me, someone…