The Zane Grey Obsession Continues....The Mogollon Rim. Photo by Andrew Pielage- www.apizm.com It's easy to be lost sometimes. Buried amidst a world of high speed activity, stress filled lifestyles and the ever climbing necessity of improvement, being lost is sometimes natural. We go from one thing to the next. Thanksgiving to Christmas. Spring Break to Summer Break. Empty checking account to pay day. Starving to bloated. Happy to sad. Every day brings a new day and with that new challenges, new changes, and new views of what needs to happen. For nearly two years it's been a non-stop whirlwind of change. Married. Honeymoon. Rented a house. Said rental went into foreclosure. Auction owners tried to evict us. I extorted them for payment to break our lease. We get pregnant. We buy new house. Start a new website with John Vaupel & Jay Danek. (www.trailrunningclub.com.) We have baby. We prepare for Mogollon Monster 100. We direct Mogollon Monster 100. We still have baby. Still have house. Still working all the time. And apparently I still have a blog. Yet the Monster has come and gone. And the void that remains leaves me lost in what to do next. Immediately I volunteer to motivate and train our hotel staff to run the P.F. Chang's Half Marathon, something I'm passionate about but realistically didn't have time for. When I should be putting a hold on my ambitions to focus on traditional household husband things like siding, lawn care, organizing shelving, etc. I'm out signing myself up for more time consuming projects. Yet I can't help myself. I don't have ADD but I cannot just sit around. As great as that can feel sometimes. I need to be involved in something. I need goals. I need ambitions. To fill a part of that void I signed up for two races the day after the Monster finished. The Cave Creek Thriller 30K and the Zane Grey 50M a ways off in April 2013. I haven't run hardly a lick since my son Dean was born but now with the race behind us (for now) I should have more time... My training "program" the last three months consisted of a 30 mile training run on the Mogollon Monster 100 course on a Saturday. Rest for 6 days. Repeat on a different section the following week. I would run 20-30 mile long runs every weekend for 8 of the 10 weekends of August/September in preparing for this race in both training runs and course marking. Some went well...others were miserable death marches. Yet somehow, towards the end of the summer, leading right up to the race I started to feel stronger. Not strong, but stronger. Last Tuesday I covered 16 miles on the Highline Trail for course marking for the race and on the return trip I pushed the pace, hammered the hills and came back into Washington Park feeling great. I drove up to the top of the Rim and ran another two miles along the General Crook Trail marking it along the way and somewhere on the way back, as the sun was coming down, still slightly poking through the tall Ponderosa's I felt like I was cruising down the trail on a bike. Nearly 7,500 feet up, it felt like sea level and I was off. It was short distance but a big boost to my confidence. Running hasn't felt that "easy" in a long time. So the race is over. Planning for next year is ongoing and constant. Ideas flood into my mind in an ever rotating display of improvements and projects. Never submitting to mediocrity, my aspirations always at least reach for something greater. That will never change but leaves me pulled in another direction, a constant tidal pull bringing me back out to sea every few hours, every few days. As welcome a distraction as unwelcome. Focus on one thing, one specific goal has become very challenging with so many aspects of the race I'd like to change while also focusing on work, family, and training (not in that order necessarily...) With the race over though it does allows me to focus on running again. My son is three months old now, bigger and stronger and stroller ready. We can train together and focus on the Zane Grey 50M in April and get back to running with Jay Danek. I've missed our reckless descents down Bell Pass at breakneck speeds and the much faster pace Jay trains at than I would running solo. His big ambitions, goals and training regimin rub off on me and I need to get back to that. I have big plans for Zane Grey, my favorite race to hate in all of running. Yet ultimately...my favorite race. My brother distinctly remembers my putrid attitude following my horrible experience back in 2011 where I suffered through a death march the final 17 miles. All of which were self imposed through my own stupidity, poor planning and newly found arrogance. This time around though, I'm smarter, I'll be stronger, and I feel like that's my home turf now. I've run the Highline so much now in preparation for the Mogollon Monster I know so many of the in's and out's of the trail. I know it's a whore of a trail. An unrelenting beast waiting to eat up the first runner that succumbs to the heat, elevation, exposure, manzanita, or those few rocks out there. The last time I was arrogant. I had been running 50K's like they were 5k's. The 50M was a near regular event for me, at least once a month. I had run a wickedly hard and vicious Superstition Wilderness 50M the month before and felt that Zane Grey was just a stop at the ice cream shop in comparison (incidently, during that delusional Superstitions run the first seeds of the idea for the Mogollon Monster we laid). I made a cardinal Ultrarunning sin. I did not respect the distance. Zane Grey is one of the toughest 50 milers in the country. I don't care which one you compare it to. There may be "harder" ones but there is no debate that this is towards the top of the list. Nobody leaves the Highline saying, "That was easy." Nobody. Most leave in a near crippled state saying, "I'm never coming back." Which any Zane Grey veteran likely say's in their head, "See you next year." I'm not overlooking the distance this year. I'm focusing on this race and this race only. I'm not going to go out and do all these fat ass random runs through the desert. My off course adventures that end up eating up every ounce of my energy. I'm training for speed, stregnth and endurance. I'm not just looking for an improvement over 2011. I want to knock several hours off it. I want to go sub 10 hours. At Zane Grey. I know. Ridiculous right? Anyone just ultrastalking me can look at my past results and will be wondering, "How in the world are YOU going to run sub 10 hours at Zane Grey??!" It's 2:24 better than I ever have run there. Ever. I have zero statistical data to back up that kind of time. My fastest "official" 50K on there is 4:54. I barely ran 10 hours on a flat,loop course. BUT...I know what I can do. I know what I'm capable of. I know I've never even gotten close to pushing boundaries on speed or training. I've always skirted by with just enough training to keep it from being a full on death march. I ran Cascade Crest 100 last year topping out at a 52 mile week. I get by because I'm a strong hiker and I can run downhill. I've always been weak on the flats and actual "running", as ironic as it sounds, and that is what has kept me plateaued, just off the cuff and from taking that leap to the next level. My problem has always been that I could hinge back on the "I don't really train excuse" for my less than stellar times at races. It's always been a side joke with my running friends but ultimately it's just an excuse. I'm capable, I can make the time, I just have to put the work in. So I will. And when it comes down to the line, come April, on the Highline, I'll really see where that takes me. And if sub 10 hours doesn't happen at Zane Grey...well look for me at the finish line. I'll still make it there. It just might not be as pretty.
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The Monster has officially consumed me.
Consumed everything around me. Now just a little over three weeks away its down to the wire on planning this monstrosity. What started as a pipe dream over some maps almost two years ago has nearly become the dream. A one hundred mile wilderness run through some of Arizona's most beautiful terrain was the goal from the start. I had a ton of help from local ultrarunner Jeff Jones on designing the course and creating one that is both challenging and logistically possible with the unique challenges that comes with a 2,000 ft. escarpment between aid stations. I sparked the idea on the tail end of our Superstitions Wilderness 50 Mile adventure and Jeff took off with it like a kid in a candy store. My original idea to create a hundred in Arizona where people would come, run and leave with a whole new idea of the state, showing that it was more than "just a desert." It started Jeff off in a tirade of ideas that resulted in nearly 500 emails over the next year. What we came up with amazes me with each long run spent on the course. Weekend after weekend, I've driven the 100 miles from my house at 4am to arrive at the trailhead to run the course. Mile after mile I fall more in love with the area, the terrain and every God forsaken rock that hits the bottom of my sole. I've run some sections of the course a half dozen times this summer alone, others just a few times, but in all, I've traversed that Rim as much as anyone probably has at this point and now just a few weeks away...I can't wait to see what everyone has to say about it. The challenging thing about directing a race is not fully grasping what it is that is "hard" for other people. Every race bills itself as a certain adjective leaning one way or another. "Hardest", "Toughest", "Fastest" something or other. Even the Zane Grey 50M race this race shares part of the course with has for years been called, "Toughest 50 Miler" which for many has been a debatable, none wishing to debate fresh off a ZG finish. This race, the Monster, will likely be one of the toughest endurance feats many of the entrants will have taken on at this point. I know this because of what I have experienced on other courses, what others have when running this course and how revered the Zane Grey course is in general. It's going to be hard. Really hard. But what is "hard?" Hard to me is the Lean Horse 100. Running a flat surface 50 miles, then turning around and running it back?! That is a hell of a lot of running. Keys 100? Indiana 100? Javalina 100? I've paced the last couple years at Javalina Jundred for 30+ miles and while it's probably the most FUN race atmosphere and an event I look forward to each year...I'm extremely hesitant to ever run it myself. Because I feel it's extremely hard not having a major climb plopped somewhere in there or having to repeat the same thing over and over again. Across the Years this past year I hit 50 miles and quit out of sheer boredom. Terrible I know and something I'm probably going to go back and rectify but that day, running loops...I just couldn't get myself into a groove and really enjoy it. It was one of the hardest 50 miles I've done and I didn't climb 12 feet... So how will everyone feel about the Mogollon Monster 100? I have compared a lot of hundreds trying to determine how it will be met once the first race is completed. I've spent countless hours on the internet reading all 88+ other hundreds websites, maps, elevation profiles, crew access, past times, cutoffs, etc. There's only about a dozen races with more elevation gain or outright by the numbers is "harder." Of course there are the Hardrocks, Wasatch races with the climbing but also taking into account the average elevation of each mile, terrain, technical nature, weather and all the other factors that makes a race difficult and challenging some are tougher than others for different reasons. I feel this race has them all to put it in a class that will challenge even the most seasoned ultrarunner. That wasn't the goal in designing the race any more was the extra 6 miles some kind of masochistic attempt at one upping anyone. It's just the way it panned out that way. So after hundreds of hours of planning, hundreds and hundreds of miles on the course, and over eighteen months of constant planning we're almost there. The buckles are in the mail, supplies filling my garage, volunteers committing and contingencies being finalized. Planning a hundred mile race was a dream, an incredibly ambitious one I'm finding out, but one that I'm determined to see through successfully. Runners are coming from all over the country, pacers and crews with them. We'll all be in Pine, Arizona come Friday morning and I'll be there standing up among them for the briefing. A moment I can't believe is almost here, a weekend of determination, stubborness and drive coupled with beautiful, surreal & majestic. I can't wait to be on the other side of the finish line to see each of the runners come through successfully. To be able to shake their hands, congratulate them and hand them the infamous belt buckle that all non-runners feel is so insignificant. 106 miles. 20,000 feet of climbing. One hell of a challenge completed. You won't find a more rewarding experience anywhere. Ready or Not...I've run 100 miles one single time in my life. Last August. Cascade Crest 100. It took me 28 hours and 14 minutes and was one of the best experiences in my life. Taking on the Mogollon Monster 100 as a new race in a new location for a new race director was admittedly an ambitious task but one I've taken very seriously and passionately. Passionately enough that I decided last fall to run the entire course from start to finish. 106 miles. Self supported. It was a self challenge I was more than up for and I trained hard all fall for the December 10th date. The week before came, the nerves started and then the snow came. And it never left. 24" dropped the week before the 10th and the temperatures never lifted and winter was officially in Pine, Arizona. It hadn't snowed on that week in over 6 years. So we pushed back the running of the course to May 5th, 2012. So the training began once again. Zane Grey 50MTwo weeks before I helped volunteer at the Zane Grey 50 Mile race with RD Joe Galope as training for directing the Mogollon Monster 100 this fall. Zane Grey has three common aid stations as the Monster and it would be invaluable experience for the fall in planning, access and a general understanding of the area in terms of logistics versus trails. It was a very long day but a very memorable one. I made this video on the experience and race itself while I was helping out. Have to Start SometimeMay 4th arrives and has me staring at the ceiling of the Super 8 in Payson, Arizona trying to fall asleep knowing that in just a few hours I'll be starting the longest day of my life. Voluntarily. With no buckle at the finish. No competitors. Nobody to push me. 100% mental determination. The morning came finally and my good friend Jay Danek and I headed out for the Pine Trailhead in Pine, AZ, twenty minutes north. Pulling in right away four elk stood guard in the parking lot, seemingly unfazed by the lights of my truck. Eventually they darted off and we started to prep for the morning. We took a few pictures and broke for the trail at 5:01am. 106 miles to go. The course starts out with an eight mile climb up the western side of Milk Ranch Point, a large plateau of the Mogollon Rim that forms the barrier between the start and the rest of the course. Runners head up the Rim along this trail traversing the side of the cliff, up and down, through a variety of forest and cactus before reaching the base of the cliff. From there Jay and I started the climb up the Rim to the top, a 2,800 foot climb in the eight miles, nearly all of which in the last couple miles. General Crook TrailAt the top of the Rim we would have reached the first aid station for the race but continued on General Crook Trail through the forest a couple miles on our own until reaching the Forest Road to take us to Turkey Springs Trail. I'm not a big fan of forest roads in ultras but think for certain courses, in the right doses, they have a purpose and sometimes they are the only way to connect one trail network with another. The Mogollon Monster 100 is much that way with only short 4-5 mile sections of improved forest road between trail sections. In reality these were a relief of sorts throughout the run giving a chance for us to relax a bit and focus on running and not the technical nature of the trail beneath us. So Jay and I pushed on for several miles to Dickerson Flat on the top of the Rim, cruising along the smooth gravel road with a nice gradual downhill that allows for a steady and easy stride all the way to the Turkey Springs turnoff where the second aid station for the race will be located. Turkey Springs Descent...WOW.The edge of the Mogollon Rim...Turkey Springs Trail Turkey Springs trail was one of the few portions of the course I had yet discovered on my own or at some point run so this was something I was really looking forward to. We at this point were about 12 miles into the "race" and the descent down Turkey Springs would be the first real view the runners would get of the Mogollon Rim in it's full glory. And boy was it glorious. I couldn't believe it... Coming up over a tiny climb starting out on Turkey Springs you started to see the light coming through the Ponderosa Pine trees almost like when you just start to see the ocean for the first time, peaking through the trees, ominous and out there. Jay and I got closer and closer to the edge and you just knew there was going to be an absolutely epic descent coming up. I say "epic" despite it's overuse the last couple years in nearly every situation that has rendered its original meaning useless. This however...is worthy of the word "epic." We took off down the mountain, red rock trails skirting the cliff... Snakes and lizards darting off under the rocks as we flew by... Having so much fun the first thirty meters a quick yank to my left ankle was ignored and smiled off with the hundred mile view out in front of us. Sharp switchbacks in the trees swinging back out over exposed red rock ridges overlooking miles and miles and miles of beautiful views, nearly so mesmerizing they're dangerous as you run, having difficulty focusing on the trail in front of you wanting to see what's out there. So It Begins...Coming down Turkey Springs and up to that point for the entire course it was well marked without having to do any additional marking for the race. Turkey Springs headed down to Geromino Trail and then the Highline Trail which takes runners all the way over to Washington Park Aid Station for the race. Jay and I had already made a one mile mistake taking the first Geromino Trail (which would have taken us UP the Rim we just came down...) and were following down a trail we believed to be taking us down to the Highline Trail. Except it kept going up. Then West. Then down. Then Up. Then West. No markers. No signage. No help. So we kept going. We'd come to an unmarked intersection and go with the most traveled course. Discouraging to say the least when you know you're adding miles on and not reaching your location. Jay was nearly out of water. We had people waiting for us at Washington Park and we still had 8 miles on the Highline to go. We were not going to make it by our ten am goal. Not even close. We finally came out of the forest at a spot I recognized. We went right down the road. We came across a huge family and Jay filled back up with water and I asked them how many miles up the road were they from the control road. "Five miles probably?" Knowing that the Zane Grey 8 Mile Aid Station was only a couple miles up the road from the control road we just had to go south a mile or so and we'd run into the Highline/Arizona Trail and head back the last few miles to Washington Park. It wasn't long before I realized they family was wrong and we were in fact already passed the HIghline and were now only a quarter mile from the control road. Super. We were not going to make 10am and by no means could make 12 noon if we had to run back up the mountain on the road to the Highline Trail intersection, 8 miles on extremely tough trail that would take almost 2 hours. Our friends would be worried being 2 hours late and would go looking for us. I knew the control road went straight to the turnoff for Washington Park. It was probably 10 miles of dirt road there and much faster than the trail. We just had to get there. So we started out on the dirt road. Uphill. For four miles. Super. We reached the intersection for Washington Park with a sign that said 4 more miles. Thirty more feet another sign said "5 Miles." Jay swears. Loudly. We shamelessly threw our thumb out at the first pickup truck that drove by. "Can you give us a lift to Washington Park?" "Kind of defeats the purpose of hiking doesn't it?" says the guy sitting on his ass driving around town. And so we went...hitchhiking our way back to Washington Park. We got out, thanked the nice people for saving us an hour of road running and we made it to our friends Honey and Kirk at Washington Park by 11:10am. Only an hour and change late. Even so, they were about to take off down the Highline to find us if we had been much longer. So despite the frustration of having lost the trail so soon in the day we are still able to continue and the mileage we had actually ran to that point was right on target with what we expected it to have been. 25 miles in the books. 6:10 (Looking back at the maps I've since discovered our error in missing the turnoff. It will be well marked so no worries there.) Cabin Loop #1 - Miles 25-48Now with a foursome of runners we head up out of Washington Park for what is the second climb of the race, a steady 2 mile climb up the Arizona Trail to the top of the Rim, finishing with a steep ascent with plenty of rocks along the ridge. Taking it along the Rim the #300 Forest Road is beautiful and it's 4.5 miles to the Houston Brothers Trail entering the forest is one vista after another. Houston Brothers TrailHaving a section of trail this fun makes any distance seem a little bit easier. Heading north on Houston Brothers there are a few shorter hills but generally it's a gradual winding downhill in the forest, along mountain meadows, streams, rivers, and old historic cabins. It's simply amazing and even though I had thirty five miles on my body half way through this trail I felt like I had just started out for the day. I was having so much fun whipping through the trail I never wanted it to end. With the Houston Brothers Trail meeting up with the Pinchot Cabin Aid Station and then the Fred Haught Trail the awesome running keeps going for twenty incredible miles. The Descent down Washington Park, Mile 44 We looped all the way around down the Fred Haught Trail finishing up the entire 23 mile loop in about 5.5 hours. Enter The CulpepperThe Highline Trail #31 at Sunset Back at Washington Park we said goodbye to Jay and Kirk for the trip. I would be going on with Honey and newcomer Anthony Culpepper for the very long 46 mile stretch through the night. Jay was with me for the full first 48 miles and was a great motivator the entire trip and his wife Traci and their daughter Petra came and had aid waiting for us and there to help get us on our way for the next section. It's tough to see friends like Jay and Kirk take off and then head off into the setting sun to do more than twice what you've already done and it's been 12 hours already...but we did anyway. The Highline Trail is a 51 mile historic trail that is renowned for its difficulty, most notably as the setting for the Zane Grey 50 Mile race each April. This particular section is extremely rugged, rough and will usually beat the hell out of Zane Grey runners due to overgrown manzanita bushes, eroded trails, rocky as hell sections and a general undulating relentlessness that beats up the best runners every year. We'd be doing this in the dark. With 48 miles on our legs, not 17 as in where this section falls in the Zane Grey race... Then climbing the Rim straight up the Myrtle Trail. In the dark. Not exactly a motivator going into it not even halfway done for the trip. Yet I felt great. No, I felt amazing. We started off and I felt so strong, so full of energy I was excited to get this part started and push on past that level of fatigue I knew would set in again and get back on top of the Rim. I had to get past the 53 mile mark, the magical halfway mark, for no reason other than my own personal morale. The amazingness wouldn't last long and before the sun could set I was having stomach issues. The dreaded stomach issues. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the food I shoveled in my mouth at the car like my life was on the line. Ensure, Mountain Dew, slice of pizza, pretzels, Swiss Cake Rolls, oranges, cookies, and probably even mistakenly ate some plastic wrappers in the process... Yet despite the stomach challenges my legs felt incredible. They felt strong and alive. Anthony led the way up front, fresh and energetic, waiting for us here and there, startling the elk we came upon, snapping photos as the sun went down. With each passing minute the terrain became more and more beautiful. The red sandstone dirt and rocks became bright in the last slices of sunlight, the manzanita lost some of their daggers, softening in the darkness almost, the juniper seemingly glowing where the sun hit it's trunk. I stopped several times staring back up the Rim. Back over the valley below, back along the trail where we had come. Several times I stopped just to stand there and appreciate what we were doing. One ridge after another, down one ravine, up another, back over another ridge. The trail was relentless, driving our spirits into the dirt but with each uphill I became more charged up for the next. I became driven to keep up with Anthony, an already extremely strong runner and hiker in his own right but now also holding a 50 mile fatigue advantage on me. Either way, I needed goals. So I started running. Hard. The hills came and went and with them the sun left us. Holding off as long as I could bear it I finally pulled out the headlamp...my new nemesis for the upcoming 10 hours. Myrtle...There is something special about trail running under a full moon. There is something even more incredible when it's a "Super Moon" as it was this night. The moon was so incredibly large and bright had the trail been less rocky and technical we could have easily put away our headlamps. No question. Finally coming upon the turnoff for the Myrtle Trail was a relief itself. It was night, after 8pm already so the last eight miles took us almost three full hours on this section of the trail. Just hard to get a groove when the trail is so technically challenging, manzanita branches are out to get you and there is so much up and down in short bursts. Not to mention just being plain tired. We start the mile trek up the Myrtle Trail. A single mile yet it climbs a solid thousand feet straight up the cliff in many places. We struggled as a threesome to navigate our way up the mountain, losing the trail to the elk network misleading us this way and that until rediscovering it while branched out. After a challenging (see: shoot me in the leg and call the helicopter now) first twenty minutes we tracked down the actual trail and once that was discovered it was actually quite manageable. Or at least "manageable" in the sense that we immediately decided to take the descent of Myrtle out of the race entirely for fear of someone dying come race day. The trail is beautiful and watching Anthony trudge on up ahead of me totally lit up in the moonlight, just inches from a thousand foot cliff dropping off into an absolute abyss, Honey behind me plodding head. Just looking back at Honey the thought of coming down this trail, at night, with what would be almost 88 miles would be simply too risky, too dangerous. A fatigued runner, delirious even, would too easily mistakenly take an elk trail and find themselves lost among the manzanita, stuck on a cliffside, unable to work their way back. So you're going up Myrtle. Not down. Remember reading this when you are on the trail this fall. Some of you are probably thinking right now, "How bad can it be?" It's great going up but you'll see what I mean soon enough. The top of Myrtle was a huge relief. Even now still left with a major chunk of mileage left (57 in the books give or take at this point) I feel so much more comfortable at the higher elevations, on the "easier" terrain of the Cabin Loops and knew there was some easy forest road to knock off some quicker miles. Except I couldn't run. Or didn't want to would be a better statement. Myrtle fried me. Our headlamps were off, using the bright moonlight to work our way through the road and to the connection back into the Cabin Loop at Buck Springs, one of the Aid Stations at the race. I have a feeling this one is going to be a life saver by the time people get there at this point in the race. Coming up the road and imagining seeing the lights of an aid station, the noise, the music, the hot food. Wow would that have made the world of difference. Instead we just turned left and kept going. Back into the forest. Black, dark, Yeti infested forest. U-Bar DelusionsThis is a great section of the course and again, after leaving an aid station, some hot soup, some energetic aid station volunteers...I can see how going back into the forest can be a re-energized part of the race for many. No soup. No volunteers. No energy. Had it not been for Anthony always jumping into a trot I'd have just kept on hiking. Thank God he was there because I don't think Honey or I were particularly interested in running a several sections of the night and Anthony got us moving. We darted through the trees the two miles to the Dane Spring for a short food break. Dane Spring has a pipe with fresh water coming out of the ground. The most delicious water, I just kept drinking it, bottle after bottle. I tried my best to get down a Stinger Waffle, another gel (yeah...) and some Gu Brew. We were off and Anthony started running right away. Zero interest in running. But I did. Why? Because the forest is dark. I'm deathly afraid of getting attacked one day by a mountain lion. And because of this race I've watched pretty much every single Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Yeti movie/clip/YouTube in the world and I've now effectively freaked myself out. So I kept running knowing the person in the back always gets eaten first in scary movies. Unless you have a Black guy with you then he dies first. No black guy so I kept running. No Sasquatch Sighting YetMonster Motivation (see: the fear of being eaten by a mythical figure while running an ultra) is quite effective and I urge all of you to tap into this come midnight-4am this fall. I was flying right along and caught up to Anthony and Honey and fell in behind Anthony as we dropped down a big canyon to a beautiful moonlight mountain meadow. Crossing the river we went right back up and continued the process for some time gaining more and more elevation, dropping more and more elevation, one beautiful valley after another. And then we lost it. The trail is gone. Immediate wipeout of all motivation. Energy zapped. Caffeine now ineffective. Have no fear. Anthony is here. He pulls out a map. My head starts to spin. The temperature is dropping, probably close to 40 now as I can see my breath. My windbreaker and long sleeve shirt is grossly ineffective when one of them is soaked in sweat. Every stop creates a shivering restart. I seriously start to become concerned about my body temperature. I'm starting to cough up stuff in my lungs that wasn't there before. What is going on? Anthony finds us on a map and we start our way through the forest floor attempting to run across a forest road that leads us the back way into Pinchot Cabin to meet up with the Houston Brothers Trail again. Except it's not quite where it should be. So we trudge on. I'm convinced I see the road up ahead. I head off on my own towards the road, clear as day in the clearing up ahead and slightly down the ridge. I hike over tree trunks, in sinkholes, through the leaves and branches towards the road for fifteen minutes. It's not a road. Not even close. It's just more forest. Nothing about it any different than what we just came through. This is not cool. We keep heading towards the direction Anthony feels the road is going to be. Being the guy that solo hiked for some crazy 9 months off trail/on trail all of last year I put my trust in him and followed him along the way. Until we came out of the forest and to a road. A glorious, beautiful, smooth road. I stopped to put on my shirtsleeve shirt to go with my long sleeve and windbreaker. Gloves, hat. Still freezing cold. Cannot stop shivering. Must eat something. Kona Punch Gel? Delicious. Like cat food with butterscotch. The Definition of DemoralizingAt this point we've hit 2 am, and despite leaving Washington Park at 6:20pm where we were at 48 miles we had only traveled twenty miles. Twenty miles in almost eight hours? Shoot me. Reaching the Houston Brothers intersection was a major relief. It's those psychological checkpoints that you have to get to in these runs that are more important sometimes than the water or the food. This was one of those breakthrough locations. Because of the decision to avoid a descent down Myrtle Trail and then a return on the Highline Trail we had to reroute a similar distance along the way. Realizing that while on course the overall distance was in fact on pace to come out closer to 121 miles versus 106 we had to trim mileage off the overall course and by taking out Myrtle and the return on that portion of the Highline we can save some very time consuming and challenging terrain. Instead of taking the U-Bar Trail up to Pinchot Cabin Aid Station and down to the Barbershop Trail back to Buck Springs and down the forest road to Myrtle we'll instead go all the way back down Houston Brothers, down the 4.5 miles of forest road #300 and down the Washington Park descent down earlier in the night. Less mileage, less forest road, more Cabin Loop, and it keeps the cutoff at 36 hours. Including the Myrtle Descent and the return 8-9 miles on that rough section of the Highline would probably require a 40 hour cutoff. It's simply not quick going and especially not when you've completed 15,000+ in climbing and 85+ miles.... So we started our long trip back down the Houston Brothers trail to the Forest Road #300. Even at night this section was beautiful and Anthony once again led us off in a pace we could manage but one that kept us moving. Since the first Cabin Loop my left ankle has had this nagging pull on the outside of the ankle, likely from the quick yank coming down the Turkey Springs trail a LONG time ago earlier that day. With each step along the Houston Brothers trail it was more prominent and less annoying and more painful. It seemed to feel better running than walking so I did my best to keep up with Anthony. Until I started falling asleep. Enter 5-Hr Energy. Never try something new in a race right? Good, this wasn't a real race. Down the hatch it went. Definitely NOT sleepy anymore. Within seconds. Wide awake. Tree Trunk DelightForty five minutes later I was passed out laying up against a downed tree. They only fell 4 hours and 15 minutes short of expectations... I lay there with my eyes closed but not sleeping. I was waiting for Anthony who had gone back down the trail in search of Honey who had fallen too far behind for it to be something good. Honey can certainly take care of herself but after twenty minutes of waiting she didn't appear. Anthony went to get her. I in turn laid down in the leaves up against a tree and stared up at my eyelids afraid to actually sleep in fear of waking up to see a hairy, massive monster dripping hot saliva on my face while I lay there helpless... Sad I know. I have three night lights now. The two of them came back together, a total of forty minutes waiting by the tree. Not that I was complaining about rest, I was just happy Honey was ok. She had gotten lost after falling behind and had yelled for us but despite neither listening to music we couldn't hear her and she got off trail. The trio reunited, back onwards we went the last few miles to the Forest Road and the breaking dawn. Dawn RejuvenatesI was looking forward to the new day for some time. No headlamps, less clothes and a fresh start on the day. Four and a half miles remained of forest road before the steep descent into Washington Park where my brother Noah and friend Danny awaited to continue on with me for the last 20 some miles. I had already quit before I even got to the top of the Rim. The last four miles of forest road were walked, slow and painful. My ankle had deteriorated to agony the entire stretch of Houston Brothers and was worse with each step. Every step was a reminder of what I have remaining, a steep decline into Washington Park, eight miles along the Highline which would likely take three hours. Then another final climb up the Rim before a torturous decline only to run right past my truck into the town of Pine. I was looking at another eight hour 20 miler... Ouch. So began the miserable mind game of to continue or to not. Both Honey and Anthony were done when we reached Washington Park while I had planned to continue on to finish with Noah and Danny at the Saloon in town. Up until Honey said, "You should stop at Washington Park." There it is. The Honey Stamp of Approval. My weak state of mind was just looking for something like that. Instead I probably needed some, "You can't quit at 85 miles! That's pathetic!" I caved. Half an ankle or not I know I could have finished. It might have cost me a few weeks of running but I could have done it. Instead I jogged in behind Honey to the Washington Park with my head down, not held high as I envisioned all the day prior in the early miles. I stopped the watch at just past 7:10am, a little over 26 total hours on our feet, 85 total miles and a touch over 16,000 feet of climbing. Noah and Danny were both very understanding and after we all said our goodbyes and thank you's we drove over to the Pine Trail head and the two of them did a 4 mile out and back of the start of the Highline Trail (the finish of MOG100) while I attempted to pass out in the front seat of my truck. Over a week later I'm still disappointed I didn't finish my own race. I'm still struggling with my ankle and for the two days after the run I could barely use my left leg due to it. I'm not sure it would have been any worse had I continued on but maybe it would have been far worse. But in the end I'm still happy I ran what I did get in. I learned a whole lot in the exact areas I thought I would and many that were surprises. Obviously I found that mapping software is simply not as accurate when hand creating the map and the mileage was off which created some on the go challenges and adjustments to the course are going to be made. The elevation gain is most likely north of 18,000 feet. In terms of "Garmin" gain the climb was nearly 10,000 feet in the first 48 miles. There is likely an identical total in the second half if not more. National Geographic mapping software states 17,789 feet of gain, Garmin segments added together will likely add up to (taking out hitchhiking sections...) almost 21,000. So take that for what you will, it's a lot of climbing. Course marking really is not too challenging after a few of the major intersections are handled that created challenges in the dark and the light even for us. Many sections are very self explanatory without additional markings so after we attack these sections with some high visibility tape and markings it will be SO much easier for everyone else this fall. Aid Stations are so underrated. Not just for the food or the water re-supplies. That's easy and we carried it all ourselves but the lights, hot food variety, friendly helping faces. We lost so much time just sitting down to re-fill our packs before the next section, re-filling (gulp...) our own packs with water. All these things that during a race peppy volunteers help you out with while you fix whatever else you need. So getting in and out of each section was time consuming only adding to the overall day and that daunting timeline that kept getting later and later and later. The Monster Lives On...The one thing, if only one thing, that I'm left with after this experience, is that this course is incredible.
Really. I read every running magazine out there. I've seen every Vimeo and YouTube video on trail running. There are some incredible places out there, some amazing trails. I really think this is one of those places. The Mogollon Rim is enchanting, mesmerizing. So rugged, so majestic. So many places have higher elevation, steeper cliffs, bigger trees, smoother trails. But the combination of everything this course throws out at the runners is going to make it one of the most challenging and beautiful races in North America. The stigma it received right away that it is a "Double Zane Grey" is simply not accurate. There is too many beautifully smooth sections on the Cabin Loop or short reprieves on the forest roads to get anywhere close to what it would be like doing a Double Zane Grey. Is it harder than doing a Double ZG? Maybe. Probably. But not quite as rough on your feet as that would be. June, July and August I'll be planning training runs for three different 25 mile sections to give everyone a chance to see the course. We'll start in early June (hopefully June 2nd) with the first 8 miles and the descent down Turkey Springs, return up West Webber to the top and back down Donahue. It'll be the first 15 and last 8. July we'll do a 23 and 31 mile route of the Cabin Loop and in August we'll have Highline>Myrtle>Barberhop sections among others to choose from. www.mogollonmonster100.com Check it out. See you out there! Spent pretty much all of yesterday drinking while golfing and then a birthday party last night...so...here's a quick breakdown of my splits from this morning with overly dramatic breakdown of my internal thoughts at each mile:
Mile 1 - 8:08 min/mile "This is easy...I must still be drunk." Mile 2 - 7:03 min/mile "Definitely still drunk." Mile 3 - 7:04 min/mile "I should drink more often!" Mile 4 - 7:07 min/mile "Kind of warm out...which I passed on that last whiskey..." Mile 5 - 7:45 min/mile "Where the hell am I and why does everyone have a shopping cart?" Mile 6 - 8:08 min/mile "The smell of bus fumes never has been more repulsive..." Mile 7 - 8:42 min/mile "I'm going to dive into the canal. It's freakin' hot out and I'm burning alive." Mile 8 - 7:03 min/mile "Downhill..finally. Almost called a cab." Mile 9 - 7:01 min mile "I'm done with this. Right now. Shoot me." Mile 10- 6:52 min/mile "This was a horrible idea." Going back out for round 2 later today. Borderline miracle if I can get in ten more tonight... San Tan 50K - February 4th, 2012Am I even wearing shorts here?? My first "race" since the Cascade Crest 100 last August...I've been running but haven't raced anything since then. With this race being the only race I've ever dropped from I didn't want to miss it and going into it I felt really strong, fast and ready to "race" a 50K versus simply finishing through a dismal last ten miles suffering to the end. Jay had me convinced to shoot for a 4:30 finish despite never beating 5:36 in a dozen previous 50k's...so that's what we went for. That's a 4:37 min/mile pace photo...that's called "proper pacing." Three ten mile laps make up the course with a steep out and back on each one totaling 4,300 feet of climbing total. We shot for a goal of 90 minutes per lap and after one lap we were 3 minutes ahead of pace. Wearing the Minimus 110's for the first time for a run over 20 miles (see: stupid) the second lap was less fun and my feet really started to feel the pounding after 15 miles. Luckily I had my La Sportiva C-Lite 2.0's ready at the start of lap 3 and I told Jay to go ahead as I changed my shoes. I was still on pace going into lap 3 but running solo I struggled to maintain a 8 minute mile pace and was soon passed by Paulette (this is the last time she passes me I swear...ok, I can't back that up. She's fast) and then Chris Fall from Tucson. Getting passed when you're feeling down always sucks, drags you down but at the same time brings me back from feeling like garbage because I got so pissed Chris passed me I picked it up going into the last climb. My feet and calves were trashed from the 110's (extremely regrettable choice) going down the last two hills but I got a boost seeing Jay and the others on both the out and backs and knew that I was assured at least my place in the top ten and finished the mile strong, albeit cramping so bad I nearly collapsed at the finish. Is that a Mogollon Monster 100 Shirt? Yes...yes it is. In the end I finished in 4:54, a personal best in the 50K by 42 full minutes. I guess I could be disappointed by missing my "goal" by 24 and really struggling the last lap but it's still a good improvement and gives me at least an idea of where I stood and stand before Mesquite Canyon. The event itself was a lot of fun, much more fun than last year when I was sick. I really like the course itself and realize more and more how much I love out and back courses and seeing other racers on the course while you are running. Often, especially on one big loop courses, you see the same 3-10 runners the entire race as you all switch positions. With a course like San Tan I saw every single person (almost) the first couple laps and knowing many of them it made it so fun to cheer each on and hear them cheer us on. I don't think I will miss this race again, it's a classic to me. It was also fun to meet Jerry Armstrong from Boulder, CO who contacted me on Dailymile.com and asked for a ride to the race. I picked him up and got to hang with him pre-race and he went on to run really strong and capture 3rd place as he passed Jay & I on lap 2. Great runner, puts out some cool video's and always fun meeting fellow runners from other areas. He wrote a great race report on is blog here: http://www.jerryarmstrong.blogspot.com/2012/02/san-tan-scramble-50k-race-report.html Grand Canyon- Tanner Trail Route - February 11th, 2012Tanner Trail...you have to look hard to see the guys... I was really excited for this one. Four times I've been down in the Grand Canyon, all four times running or hiking the R2R2R trails. While that is an incredible trip each and every time I was excited to see a different part of the Canyon. I had this opportunity when a few WMRC members invited me along for a 30 mile route that was to take about 10 hours...I didn't need to hear another word. I was in. Colorado River along the Escalante Trail Andrew Heard, Art Bourque and John Pearce started out with me on the Tanner Trail head on the eastern edge of the Canyon. The trail was steep, icy and covered in snow at the top and it switch backed its way all the way down until the Colorado River came into view. Writing about the Grand Canyon is hard for me, it takes someone with real writing talent to be able to fully encapsulate what really "is" a run in the Canyon. The walls pull you in, the Canyon goes from narrow and claustrophobic to massive and belittling. You lose control of what you previously thought you had control of. You become a part of it. Art lead us along the Escalante Trail all morning, dipping down to the Colorado to refill bottles, then seemingly back halfway up the Rim towards what for miles looks like a dead end straight into the walls of the cliffs. Running along the ridge, the Colorado a thousand feet straight below, you look up ahead trying to see where the trail possible could be going. Not until you reach the cliff wall do you realize that it does in fact scale the cliff all along its edge, precariously close to the edge, drawing up the details of your life insurance policy you hope to God you kept paying. Hugh Jackman. Boucher Point starts the downhill towards the Colorado one more time before entering Seventy Five Mile Canyon. Art describes a story when he was 33 and on this route alone, in 105 degrees, and completely lost. Having already passed a dozen spider trails off into the unknown, unmarked, I can see how easily someone can be led astray. Art takes us up the canyon and right away we climb above what becomes this majestic canyon, twenty feet wide but fifty feet tall, taller with each step deeper up the canyon. Art purposely leads us up the trail past the real turnoff, a scree trail down into the depths of the slot canyon, nothing remotely resembling a trail but more of an avalanche zone. No human rightly would have left a worn path for that. Nobody. Art leads us down the precipice, down climbing our way down the hundred feet to the canyon bottom, an ant among the giant walls. Running down this dry riverbed, the walls tight around us, hovering high above us. It was like nothing I'd seen before and it would only truly be the beginning. Andrew stirring up the spirits in an Anazazi ruin. The trail continued it's steep ascents and descents, rock climbs up Fifty Foot wall, passed along the Colorado several more times providing for ice cold foot baths along the way. Continually the trail would wander random directions, running in random directions to go in the direction we needed to travel. We took the Grandview Trail out of the Canyon that day, a 4,000+ foot climb up the Rim that went on for a couple runnable miles before turning into a staircase leading straight up the chute, a leg burning, energy sapping assault on some of the steepest, most aggressive trails I've experienced. Art hammered the climb like it was his last climb of his life, absolutely crushing Andrew and I, leaving me sapped for the last three miles and 3,000 feet of climbing. Up to that point I felt great, strong and capable. That quickly turned into weak, wobbly, possibly the next victim in a Grand Canyon fall to his death. The trail narrowed, the elevation climbed and in turn the terrain became ice, snow and rocks covered with ice and snow. Climbing up the pace went from a reasonable 20min/mile to the dreaded 30min/mile to a few minutes later...58. Never...I'm using the word "never" here...have I ever wanted to just plain sit. Sit down. In the snow. And just lay there. My legs didn't hurt. My feet were fine. Everything was fine. There was simply nothing left in the tank. I was so tired, the trail so slick with ice, every imprint of a shoe with Yaktraks on it I wanted to scream. Wouldn't those be convenient right now... I've been in this mindset before and never stopped but plodded along until I found a good section of untouched snow. With Andrew behind me a bit below I knew he would be struggling just as much in this snow with the footing being so slick and wrote, "This Blows!! :)" in the snow. Just writing it made me laugh thinking of Andrew coming up the trail and seeing that. I headed up the cliff, found a seat on a tree branch and regrouped. Put down my last gel, put a long sleeve back on, gloves and hat now that we were back in the upper elevations and waited for Andrew to come on through. He wasn't far behind and within a couple minutes he was there and we pushed our way to the top where Art was waiting for us with a big smile on his face, standing among the tourists there for a view of the big "Hole in the Ground." John would come on through about 45 minutes later on his own. He had taken a wrong trail, back tracked, found the trail but spent a few nerve racking moments working through the fear of being lost in the Canyon. A veteran of the area he ultimately made it out, with a story, but made it out. Two weeks later I'm still thinking about this route, the Canyon and the great time I had with Art, John and Andrew. It's never just another run up there, it always have me leaving thinking grander thoughts, bigger dreams and totally blown away and waiting for the next adventure there. Grandpa Jim's 50K - February 18th, 2012Jay on the 8B...still complaining about his knee. "I don't care if the bone is through the skin. We have 28 more miles to go. Eat a gu or something..." Yes...this is my third 50K in three weekends. Just the way it panned out on the schedule and I didn't want to skip any of the three. Grandpa Jim's 50K runs through my backyard, literally, and covers some serious climbing along the way so I wanted to make it, donate some money to the cause and see how it goes. Atop of Squaw Peak, Jay complaining about his compound fracture. Cry baby. I could go into a full on race report here but this post is long enough already isn't it? I agree. I'm taking the lazy way out. So go read Jay Danek's race report, we ran the whole thing together and finished in 6:32 tied for 2nd place. If there is such a thing as "placing" in a somewhat unofficial race. Either way I count it and it continues my domination at Fat Ass races that don't count with very few runners in it. Yeah, I'm really good at those kinds of races. Borderline elite really. (see: 1st Place at Tom's Thumb 50K, 5 total entrants. Still wondering when La Sportiva is going to start sending my free shoes...) Sean, Jay and I at the Dreamy Draw aid stop halfway through. Jay coming down North Mountain after we got our fix of radiation. So in the end...three 50K's in three weekends netted 93 miles, 21,000+ feet of climbing and 21 hours of running. In between each week I ran a whopping 50 miles in the other 18 days...I'm getting dangerously close to a full sponsorship from WalMart or Wendy's. It's a battle right now, really just the paperwork that needs to be worked out at this point. If nothing else I should earn some kind of special shirt for "Laziest Training Program in Ultrarunning." The week leading into Grandpa Jim's 50K? Two miles pushing a stroller. Eat that Anton. Top of Shaw Butte. We started that morning on the other side of the far peak that morning. True story. Next up...Mesquite Canyon 50k on March 11th. I'm going for a 4:30, I don't care if that's 66 minutes faster than I've ever done it. Limits are for cowards. Phantom Injuries be Damned...It has been a while since I was in a taper period saving up before a race. Sadly, nothing much as really changed. The Phantom Injury is still present, real, and a compelling reason for self doubt and fear. From my first ultra at Mountain Mist 50K in 2010 where I had a tragic, "Get up from the office chair" knee injury, to the hip "injury" I sustained two days before flying to Seattle for my first hundred caused by that ever daunting walk up a flight of stairs to the bedroom. It happens every time. The mind is playing tricks on you. Trying to make you believe you can't make it. You WON'T make it. It's your internal back of the mind saying, "Here's your excuse. Use it. Embrace it. You can fail now." So today while sitting at my office plugging away and I lose all the feeling in my left leg, from the hip down I was mildly concerned. Certainly since its never happened before. Just kept going numb, tingly. I asked a coworker if I was having a heart attack. Knowing me and that 94% of all comments are filled with some level of humor and/or sarcasm it was blown off in a flurry of "That's what you get for running so much!" comments. I returned to my office to continue my heart attack. Broken Ankle??!In a continuation of our corporate fitness challenge at work we had to run a 1 mile trip around the neighborhood to test our standing heart rate recovery. It is a simple test of determining how quickly your heart rate can come down in one minute following high intensity exercise. The goal of sorts would be a drop of 40 beats per minute. So wearing a heart rate monitor we took off to start the mile. I made it fifteen feet before I realized there was something amiss with my left foot. Apparently I shattered it somewhere and didn't realize it. Holy shit what's wrong now?! Why does my ankle feel like someone slammed a board off it? I know, I'll just run faster. Fail. Half ran the entire way. Still an inexplicable "injury." Doesn't hurt now. Don't know what the heck happened...I can only blame voodoo mind tricks on Dustin Hoffman. Have you seen Sphere? I felt like at the end of the run I was going to get clobbered by a giant squid, and Dustin Hoffman was going to be standing at the finish line recording my time. Smirking. Smiling. He's making me think I'm hurt when I'm not. He's playing with my mind. I'm going to win Dustin. I know it's not real. Live the Dream GuysSkurka in Alaska http://andrewskurka.com/2012/how-i-make-a-living-as-an-adventurer/ People always say, "I wish I could do that" when they see someone else doing what they wish they could do for a living. Whether its a professional baseball player, National Geographic photographer, musician, or a professional adventurer. Andrew Skurka has gone out and done it and he's doing it now. He's a professional adventurer. I've been following Andrew for a couple years now as we're the same age and he's doing what I would LOVE to be doing. To do what Skurka is doing takes a lot of sacrifice in life and some that I'm not willing to take. So I'll remain happy doing what I'm doing and sit back and live a bit vicariously through him and the Anthony Culpeppers of the world as they take on these incredible journeys. They've earned it. It's not easy. Just read the article Skurka wrote about how he does it (linked above.) Back to Reality...Sort of...In holding true to my original plan to keep this website/blog from being anything but what all the other runner's blogs are here's a continuation of my oddities and some that I found on the internet. I have a soft spot for the beauty of a time lapse film, the process behind it, the music along with it. So I always look for them on the internet and then I click on the "Related Video's" and then I enter the downward spiral into the internet Labyrinth. Surprisingly not all are about running or ultrarunning or trail running. I think there are some you might really enjoy. If not, well...it's my website so I can do what I want. :) Patagonia - An Obsession Relived I've been mildly obsessed with Patagonia for the last 5-6 years. I had an opportunity in my life to make the leap and take my career in hotels to another country, single and with a chance to work abroad. I searched exclusively at first in Patagonia/Argentina/Chile as I've just always been intrigued by the area, the culture, the people. The movie "Motorcycle Diaries" didn't help much as I watched that over and over again with a 7' map of South America dominating my bedroom wall...constantly dreaming of the day I'd take the big move... It never worked out that I would move to Patagonia. I took a promotion a couple months later in Arizona, met my wife shortly thereafter and I'd not change a thing from what I have now. Yet, I still have a picture of the Torres del Paine mountains overlooking Hotel Explora, my dream hotel in Patagonia, taped to my inside of my notebook I carry around all day at work. I just keep re-taping it to new notebooks every year. It's worn, battered, torn, and even faded. I just can't let it go. One day. I'll be there. Until then I settle for YouTube and Vimeo fixes of the area. I'll have my own videos soon... Sh*T Ultrarunners SayShit Ultrarunners Say has been all over the internet this week. It's pretty dang funny, I've watched it five times now and it just gets funnier. Not sure how enjoyable if you don't run but just know watching it that...well....pretty much every one of those happens on a daily long run. Great stuff! Yosemite TimelapseYosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo. This must have taken FOREVER to complete. It's just incredible. Both in scope but the sheer beauty of Yosemite. Wow. Get Up to Get Down TrailerThis guy has been all over the country thru hiking and certainly applies to the above mention of guys that just go out and do what they always dreamed of. This video is a trailer to a longer movie he's working on about the Great Enchantment Trail, a 700 mile long trek through Arizona and up through New Mexico. Starts in Phoenix and ends in New Mexico going through southern AZ and western NM. Starts in the Superstition Wilderness as you can spot Weaver's Needle right off the bat! Possibly my favorite video of ALL TIMEThis video would have been totally different with another song but what a great choice! It's so interesting to see the backgrounds in each shot, even if only for a second in the time lapse but the pauses...they really grab a hold of you, make you pause and really pay attention. It's incredible really and the ending really takes a full grip on you, or at least it did me. I love it. Super creative. He has no legs. Stop making Excuses. Freedom from andy campbell on Vimeo. More proof that nothing can stop you from doing what you always wanted to do. Yes, sounds cliche, but in the world of, "I used to be able to do that when I was your age" and the excuses that come with everyday life it's always great to see people kicking that crap to the curb and going for it anyway. Creative GeniusThe guy that made this video was 17. Incredible. GoPro AmazingnessThe GoPro has been around for a little while now so a lot of people know what they are. Still though, many do not and always ask me what kind of camera I have. So for those not familiar with this little piece of technological genius...here's their promotional video. Which..is...amazing! Alberta - It's like Alaska...but not another 2,000 miles northFile this under: Yes Please! Can you imagine what the running trails are like up there?!!!!!
San Tan 50K- Rolling flats, great desert trails Last year didn't go so well. I started out and went the first full lap up and over the hill and started out the second lap of the course. I felt really sick and I was really struggling with my breathing. I made the painful decision at the intersection for the second hill climb to head right (Quitters Lane) and DNF after 25K. Horrible feeling, hate it. Not sure I could ever bring myself to do it again. I had more concern for the Superstitions 50M that was two weeks after last years San Tan but nonetheless...it still eats at me. Run the Hills, Hammer the DownhillsThe long downhill/uphill at San Tan. Ran once each of the three loops it adds to the fun for sure. With nearly every race I've entered in the last two years I've entered with the expectation of simply participating, pushing hard for a solid finish but never with any real thoughts of contention. I've never "raced" an ultra. I simply run when I can, walk when I can't. If I can't see the top of a hill, I walk. Yet something happened in the last four months. Something changed. I don't know what it was, but I'm running so much faster than I ever was before. I'm recovering faster, running harder, climbing without half the trouble I used to have. I hit the same hills I used to struggle on just six months ago and now I'm barely breaking stride on them now. Lighter on my feet, quicker on the flats, smoother on the turns. I'm not breaking records, I'm not suddenly the guy that's going to start winning ultras, but certainly having a lot more fun on the trails now. I know a big part of any improvement I have made is simply running with my friend Jay Danek. The guy guts out a run every single day, not just a mile, but FOUR, every day. He does on average 700 feet of climbing every day of the week and runs just about everything and absolutely HAMMERS the downhills with a blatantly reckless disregard for his own personal welfare. You can't help but laugh following him in the dark, going so fast your eyes are watering in the wind, and tears start flowing down your face. For the last two years of running ultras I've always been told not to go too fast on the downhills or you'll regret it later on in a race. Jay's blown that theory out of the water and I'm following suit. I'm going to hammer every downhill from now on. So come race day this Saturday I don't think I'm going to stick to the middle and settle for the same time I always get on 50K's. My PR on a 50K is my second ultra every, Mesquite Canyon's inaugural year with a 5:36. I think I can take an hour off that and hope to this weekend. Bold? Yes, but I'm humbly confident (is that possible?) that I can hang with the fast guys and if not at least I'll know where I stand. So the San Tan 50K will be a test in running the hills, hammering the downhills, contrary to everything I learned the last two years. McDowell Mountain MadnessNB 110's make you so fast you can take a break while everyone catches up to you. (New Balance- you can use this photo. I don't mind.) Twenty miles. 5,300 feet of climbing. 3:44. Thompson's Peak some great downhill running, some on trails, some on some sick disguise of a trail covered in prickly pear and cholla. Half of which is still in my left leg. Brutal but super fun and very beautiful with the desert floor getting it's green "carpet." The McDowell's are so beautiful as it is, no matter how many times I've been out there, it's always fun. Ok, not so much in July...but still a great training area. Especially given it's 10 minutes away. It was also my first run with New Balance 110's. I usually run in Cascadia's or La Sportiva Crosslites or Crosslite 2.0's. C-Lites are 13.2 oz each...110's are 6.2 each. So right away it felt amazing to have so little on my feet. My calves and Achilles were KILLING me the first three miles climbing Bell Pass but after a screaming fast downhill everything was loose and went well. Coming straight down Thompson Peak was a little rough, possibly have a size too small but I just felt so much faster than ever before. Today, the day after, my feet are definitely tender on the bottoms from the lack of protection they've been used to but overall feel great. Excited to use them this weekend at San Tan and see how it goes for 31 miles. Camelback...You're on NoticeCamelback Mountain, Arizona Allegedly the ascent record is 15:28 by another ultrarunner done sometime in the past. Records are all very vague and for some reason used to be even recorded from the top of the steps, not the ramada. Which is similar to hitting a homerun from second place, not home. Either way, I'm coming after it. Bring it. I say that because I'm always so far behind on updating this. So much happens, so little talked about, so much missed. Or is it? You tell me. Did you miss me? Didn't think so. Funny thing is, I started this website and wrote in it for months and months and never even told people I had it. It was an outlet of sorts, a place to consolidate my thoughts, my aspirations, my frustrations and a place to dream. It still is but as life piles it on more and more with each passing week I feel more burdened by the internet and all it encapsulates. Good and bad. So for the sake of my dozen loyal readers...ok, just my Mom. Here is an update on the Arizona trail scene, my unrelenting mission to run myself into the ground, and why Monsters are better in the form of mystical beasts than in aluminum cans. This is going to be very random. Probably weird. I can't guarantee you'll enjoy any of it. But you clearly have nothing else going on right now or you wouldn't be reading this. Buckle up. I just slammed a Mountain Dew. Running Circles Around MonotonyAfter running Cascade Crest in late August I didn't make it to another race after that. I missed Man Against Horse, skipped Cave Creek Thriller, passed on Pass Mountain and bailed on McDowell Mountain. All races I planned on running going into the very week of the race but never actually signed up. Why? No idea. One is definitely spending the money on a race I wasn't totally thrilled about. Sure, the guys always have great shirts but I have dozens of race shirts. Running 31 miles just didn't appeal to me all that much and I was becoming more and more interested in the 25-30K distance. So with each passing day I'd gain more confidence and yet never actually test it. All the while I was training for the Mogollon Monster 100 test run on December 10th. After that was snowed out and postponed until May I was really bummed. So how do you go from running a mountain 100 to two weeks later signing up for a 24 hour race on a flat, 1 mile loop? Again, I'm compulsive...and I like to try new things. Across the Years is a classic of classics. Lots of history, lots of extremely talented runners. A totally different breed of runners than what I've come to know as "ultrarunners" but no less talented or unique. So how was running around in circles for 24 hours? No idea. I made it 7 miles before I knew I had doomed myself into a full day of boredom. I hit 22 and thought maybe I'll just jump into the little trail side lake and drown myself. Mile 34 came around and I started walking just to talk to someone new that I was coming around the circle and hadn't yet met. By the time I reached the 45 mile mark I had lost every ounce of motivation to continue. I'd walk it in with my good friend Honey and I called it a night. 50 Miles. 10 hours. That's enough for me. Physically I felt great and actually felt even better as I reached the 50 mile mark. I simply did not have the heart to continue, I had no goals, signed up for the race that morning. It was fun, I met some great people and would certainly recommend the race to someone else that likes the flatter courses or loves timed courses. Me? Probably won't do it again for some time. Like next year. Castle Hot Springs 22 Miler- Jan 7thPaulette cruising down the road Another race in the series that Arizona Road Racers puts on along with the Mazatzal 18 Miler. This one is 22, all roads and circles through a remote area of central Arizona and one I'd not visited yet. It was a small group but not unsurprisingly the same 40 people I see at every trail race or ultra. I was excited to see how I would handle actually "running" 22 miles straight and with the 2500 feet of climbing it did add another element of difficult to it. I finished it in 3:16 or so with Paulette which was good for 7th or 8th. It's a pretty low key, non-competitive type race so not sure anyone was racing, I know Paulette and I weren't. Just a nice day out in the desert. A classic Arizona race, I'll be sure to make it next year as well. Superstition Wilderness 50K - January 14th, 2012Weaver's Needle coming up to Parker Pass I love the Superstition Wilderness. Just on the eastern edge of the Phoenix metro area its so accessible and visable for many residents but nearly everyone is clueless in what is held behind the mountains hovering over the city. Behind that wall of rock is a 180 mile network of wilderness, completely replete of people, as inhospitable an area as you can find in this country and as unforgiving as it comes. Yet with that comes a beauty that isn't matched by many places either. The rock formations, the varied vegetation, the sunlit canyon walls as the sun rises over the mesa. The desert is a beautiful place if one just gives it a chance, opens their eyes and welcomes the experience. This year we had a group of nine taking the loop around the western and most frequented (see: Runnable trails) trail systems. The course climbs a total of 4,500 feet in exactly 31.1 Garmin miles while passing several ridges, steep descents, big climbs and fast, winding, single track. We had the National Trail Champion David James, Angeles Crest 100 winner Paulette Zillmer, stud thru hiker/ultrarunner Anthony Culpepper, fresh off his 5,000 mile/9 month loop from Arizona to Montana and back. My friend Michael Duer from Tucson, who I ran with in our friends 50 miler up Mt. Lemmon last year made the trip with his friend Sarah, both great, fast ultrarunners. Jon Roig returned again, always up for anything unreasonably difficult, with so little apparent effort it makes me want to double my monthly mileage after every trip with him. Jeffrey Bryant, the "old guy" of the group who claimed he would be falling behind but was always right on our tail. Then my brother Noah who put in 5.5 miles of running since August came out and ran the 25K first half. Pretty standard for him, knocked it out and kept up with us the entire time. Always impressive no matter how many "off the couch" adventures he does with me. We all finished in about 30 minutes faster than last years time, all smiles and only 9 of us were bloody when we finished. The rocks are unavoidable, catclaw your worst nightmare and you can't get away from any of it. This year felt a little less overgrown, maybe less rocky? I could be delusional though as I run on rocks every day and I'm more used to them than most. Usually when I take people to the Superstitions they love the utter beauty of it but can't wait to get done because the area is so technical. It's Arizona. What's NOT technical here? Old Dudes RuleLike how I snuck Scarlett into this post? She's always relevant... STEFAN BEHR 71 RICHARD BUSA 73 ROBERT CALABRIA 70 JEAN-JAQUES D'AQUIN 71 EDWIN DEMONEY 73 JOHN DEWALT 73 EDWIN FISHMAN 71 WOLFGANG GEISTANGER 72 AARON GOLDMAN 74 RALPH HIRT 71 SHERMAN HODGES 70 GRANT HOLDAWAY 75 BILL HOLLIHAN 73 DON JANS 71 LOU JOLINE 71 BUDDY JONES 72 DICK KAMINSKI 70 RICHARD LAINE 70 LEO LIGHTNER 70 LINK LINDQUIST 70 CHRISTOPH LUX 78 ROBERT LYNES 72 JERRY McGRATH 70 FRED NAGELSCHMIDT 70 STUART NELSON 70 DAN PIERONI 70 RAY PIVA 74 JOHN PRICE 71 EPHRAIM ROMESBERG 75 SAM SOCCOLI 70 KARSTEN SOLHEIM 73 BERND SPRING 70 WALT STACK 70 OJARS STIKIS 72 BEECHAM TOLER 70 MIKE TSELENTIS 71 DIETER WALZ 72 ROSS WALZER 71 JONATHAN WILLIAMS 86 EDWIN WILLIAMS 70 TOM WOLTER-ROESSLER 78 CARL YATES 70 *MEN* *WOMEN* IRIS LEISTNER 78 HELEN KLEIN 75 BARBARA MACKLOW 74 ELDRITH GOSNEY 70 Know what this list is? This is a list of everyone over the age of 70 years old that has completed a 100 mile race. It's an unofficial list compiled by ultrarunner Dan Baglione whom I met and ran with (walked...) at the Across the Years race. One of the many interesting guys and girls out there with a massive running resume that makes you want to quit your career, and become a running vagabond to try your best to catch up to his accolades by the time your his age. He's one of the many guys like Karsten Solheim, and others that are over 60 and still rocking it hardcore. The beauty of Across the Years is the depth of dedication these people have. I met a guy from Washington, Fred Willet, who has the body of a 57 year old (his age) as you would expect. A nice round belly he's worked hard in earning yet he was pounding out the miles with a consistency anyone would be excited about. After a while of running laps I saw Fred, shirtless, in the mid afternoon of his SECOND day and sparked up a conversation with him. He's 57 and he plans to run a sub 3 hour marathon when he turns 60. Amazed and honestly a bit surprised based on his outwardly non-in shape appearance I asked what his current marathon time is. "4:20 but I walked a bit so I could practice for this." Somehow after a few more minutes of running and talking with Fred I no longer had a shred of doubt that he would accomplish this. One story after another I hear from one person after another about determining something they want in life, setting that goal and by God, sticking to it until they reach it. I know Fred will do it, he's just that kind of guy. Later that afternoon, several hours later I was running past Fred and as I passed him I said as I tired, "Fred! I'm fading here!" Fred's reply? "The HELL YOU ARE!" A command with such a definitive tone you can't deny it. You're right Fred. I'm not tired. To hell with fatigue. I'm going to go faster. It was worth another five laps of effortless running. Many people I work with or I know use age as an excuse or reason for being as out of shape, unhealthy or incapable of certain things. They can't do this or they can't do that because they are "old." Which often or not is late forty's or fifty's. Hardly old. "Oh to be young again." "I remember when I was young and could do that." Bullshit. All of it. I do half my training with a 52 year old mother of 3 that has run Hardrock and races ultras all the time. Dave Mackey is the 2011 Ultrarunner of the Year. Older than almost every other Top 5 runner out there by a decade. Karsten Solheim (on this list) is still hammering out 100's and he was born a year or two after Moses. My point is, I'm not skinny because I run and my coworkers aren't fat because they are old. I'm fit because I train not because I'm skinny and my coworkers can be every bit as in shape as they want to be. Nothing is stopping them but themselves. Age is irrelevant. This list proves it. These people aren't "crazy," these people are living their lives as they want to, as they should and as they deserve to. Good for them, I hope to be in their shoes later in my life. The Mogollon Monster 100Kind of nuts that the trail is kind of like this... I'm going to go out on a limb and make the statement that directing a 100 mile race is harder than RUNNING a hundred mile race. It's a lot of logistics, planning, organizing, budgeting and bureaucratic nonsense. And I love it. As much as it takes, the hours of planning, I know this race is going to be something special. The trails are amazing, views incredible and I'm confident the pieces are going to fall into place. I was disappointed after we had to postpone our trial run in December but now look forward to the May 5th running in weather a good bit more similar to the September date. Prior to that I plan to make several trips getting video of trail sections, additional photography, marking and planning for the coming race. With each big 100 selling out, going to a lottery, I think it's going to help the Monster fill to it's 100-125 capacity the first year and give everyone a good sized competitive field. There is a lot of interest, my email inbox remains filled and the offers to volunteer keep coming in. Check out the race website www.mogollonmonster100.com for more info. I'm the proud owner of a GoPro Here 2 so look out! Video's coming soon! So What's Next???Training buddy Matt dominated with a 4:24...he's a road runner my ass. I ran this race last year with a wicked cold, 103 degree temperature and bailed after the 25K mark. My only DNF. Ever. Kills me to this day. I have to return. I'm going back. http://www.getoutgetlost.com/1/post/2011/2/san-tan-scramble-race-report.html Next after that the following weekend is the 12 hours of Camelback, a maniacal redundancy up and down Echo Canyon for 12 hours or until you fully tear each ACL. So I'll try to make it to that... Following weekend is the Grandpa Jim's 50K. Up Cholla, down Echo. Over the roads to the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, up Squaw Peak, around Circumference Trail and across the Trail #100 to the North Mountain Visitor Center. My home ground. My trails. My Mountains. If I don't win I'm going to become a professional badminton player. Ok, I won't do that but I train on these mountains, can hammer the super, super technical descents and hope to do really well at this event. Two weeks later I'm running a 55 mile backcountry Superstitions run with Jeff Jones and a few other brave souls. Repeat of last years run plus a few miles to retain the original route. I have my reservations about a few of those sections and repeating them again but ultimately I just love the Superstitions too much and have a hard time saying no. It's my heroin. The following weekend (I can see my overall times plummetting about now..) is the Mesquite Canyon 50K. This hopefully will be my third straight year running it, lots of climbing, great collection of runners. Competitive, hilly, technical, hot, snakes, boulders. Should be just as exhausted at the start as last year following a Superstitions run but I don't want to miss it so I'm already signed up. After that? Who knows? A beer under the sun at a Spring Training game? Let's hope so. I created a Bucket List in a new tab to the left. Check them out and feel free to add some suggestions!
Keeping up with this website is as hard as some of the runs I do. So here's to catching up. Iron90 Fitness ChallengeMy work signed up for a fitness challenge a couple months ago called Iron90 (www.iron90.com) and about twenty people signed up. We all purchased a heart rate monitor, started tracking our calorie intake, exercising regularly and every month we have a fitness challenge between companies in this challenge. Each company has to select a representative to face off and then they cannot go again in another company vs company event. The first event was a 1 mile run holding your average heart rate in Zone 3. Which for me was averaging 153 or under. I ran a 7:19 minute mile averaging 153 to win the competition. Yeah me. Everyone at work thought it was incredible. A major victory. A turn of the tides. I guess. Seems a little unfair though really when the people I went against were not regular runners and I barely beat another person by only 8 seconds. PLUS, the next challenge is a 1 mile hill climb up North Mountain. Fastest time to the top wins. I'm now unable to compete in it since I did the 1 mile run. Yet, it's still fun to go try. I ran over to North Mountain and met some of my coworkers (they met at 8am and people didn't show up because it was "too early." That's the spirit...) I ran down North Mountain at a 4:18 pace the entire way. I think had I finished the full 1.0 mile I could have kept it. I made it to .71 miles where I saw my coworkers and it was 3:48 on my watch. Whoa. I almost went over the edge three times on corners, nearly killed a Hispanic grandmother coming around the corner who yelled something at me and in general was basically morphing down the mountain. Usain Bolt can eat it. White Man Run Fast. Yes, I know Bolt isn't a Native American so the stereotype doesn't work. We're moving on. I should double check my Garmin and make sure I'm not crazy. But pretty sure that's a legit time. Don't believe me? Race me down North Mountain. Or I'll challenge on on the Matanuska Peak Challenge course in Alaska. 14 miles. 18,000 feet of up and down. It's brutal. Those crazy bastards run straight down this scree field. Full speed. Reckless abandon. Let it happen. MM100Registration opened for the inaugural Mogollon Monster 100 on ultrasignup.com. We had 9 people sign up the first day, four from Washington D.C. It was a great start and since we've had a few more sign up. Being right before Christmas I'm not sure everyone's stoked to drop a few hundred extra on running and once everyone figures out their race schedule I'm sure we'll have a lot more entrants and am confident we'll fill all 100 slots. The last few times I've been out running the trails someone has stopped me and asked me if I was the race director for the Mogollon Monster 100. Bizarre. Actually, beyond bizarre. Once I was wearing the shirt so that makes sense but not sure how it happened aside from that. I'm sure TMZ has been scoping out my coffee shop. That would explain everything. Anyway, it's nice to see that the race is drawing interest and people are talking about it. Some people I think are hesitant with it being a first year race and I can understand that. Given the amount of time and energy I'm putting into it I don't know if it's going to run as a first year ultra though. Hopefully it runs like it's been done several times with the experienced crew we have and the knowledge of the area from past Zane Grey races and the numerous times we've all run up there. We'll see, there is plenty of time for planning and I have a lot of great ideas, new ideas for a lot of areas that should make the event a great success. If not, well, at least we know where the thing lives now with this picture of it's cave. Thank goodness we figured that out... Superstition Wilderness 50K/25KThe Superstition Wilderness is just that: A Wilderness. It's wild, it's rugged and it's incredible. I spent a lot of time out there this year and it started with the Superstition Wilderness 50K which brought out a good group of about 10 for a very challenging 50K route that took several almost 8 hours to complete. The footing it always in question, trail can be difficult to follow but it is relentlessly breathtaking in scenery as the course completely encircles the Weaver's Needle before returning to the First Water Trailhead. My wonderful wife will once again take anyone back from the Peralta Trailhead back to their vehicle if they choose to put in 18 miles versus heading back up the ridge for the final return. The course is amazing, weather is perfect in January and if not, who cares? I'm going regardless. January 7th, 7am Start time from First Water Trail Head. azadventures@getoutgetlost.com if you want to join us. We run as a group, or at least with a partner. Everyone carries a map. Only aid is at Peralta Trail head. Mile 18. Be prepared to get scratched up, probably fall, and fall in love with the area.
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