The course profile. Put another San Juan Solstice 50 in the books. It was Christy’s 4th finish here, and my 5th, and despite us both having a good amount of experience at this race, we’ve found that it is always a tough, unpredictable day. (more…)
That was a close one. Summer’s here. It’s time to change gears. Among other things, that means it’s time to get running. The races are right around the corner. Actually, they’ve already started. The Golden Gate “Dirty 30” 50K was Saturday. I realize we were completely immersed in ski mountaineering just two weeks ago, but that’s just how it is sometimes. We like to keep the calendar full. Christy and...
Good morning Grand Traversers! Put another Grand Traverse in the books. Having had a few days to think about the whole experience, the short answer is that it was a really good race. The weather was mild, there was no wind, and the sunrise was amazing. We got ourselves on the podium as the 3rd place in the co-ed category, Christy was the 3rd female overall to cross the finish...
We’re happy to have another Power of Four checked off the list. The giant Tour de Aspen/Snowmass, our local contribution to the COSMIC Race Series, was once again a true grunt. Christy and I did not do this two-person team event together like we did last year. Christy opted to do it as a women’s team with Anda, her primary training partner, and Charlie MacArthur and I lined up in...
Our race ended here, when Christy finished her 10th lap. She lost no time beginning the rehydrating process.. Saturday was the Sunlight Endurance Challenge, a.k.a. the 12 Hours of Sunlight. Last year, Christy and I managed to win the co-ed relay division of this unique uphill/downhill race. Despite a pretty thin field with only a few teams competing, it was still a really close finish against our friends from town,...
Anda, Christy, and Tanja(Anda’s sister visiting from Slovenia), all happy to be done. Our big local races are just around the corner and we needed to log some miles. And since you never go out as hard on training days as you do when it’s a real race, we figured it was the right thing to do. Sure, we could have spared ourselves some suffering by opting for the recreational...
Christy, descending Burnt Mountain towards Buttermilk. Low angle powder is OK, it’s the big backcountry descents that aren’t coming into shape. This winter has not been like those of the past few years. We’re happy the huge early-season dry spell that settled in across much of the west has passed, and that the conditions in the ski areas are finally good. Unfortunately, the instability in the thin snow pack that...
Is the “tough” part of the slogan meant to describe the lottery? The lottery for the 2012 Hardrock 100 was on Sunday, and I’m thrilled to report that I got in again. Some say the lottery process is the hardest part of the race. While that’s definitely an exaggeration, if you’re not given a chance to run because you can’t get a number, well then it’s sort of true. This...
Saturday’s Bear 100 was about as good as it gets for me. After three consecutive years at Hardrock, and running no other races at the 100 mile distance, I mistakenly came to believe all 100’s are like that massive San Juan suffer-fest. They’re not. And the early July date of Hardrock, being so close to the spring skiing season which has always taken priority, usually means I’m just barely feeling...
The 100 mile course across the Bear Range comes in at about 22,000 feet of gain. Click to enlarge. Time for another long one. The Bear 100 starts at six on Friday morning. (more…)
We met in Aspen in 2000 and have been happily stuck in the rockies ever since, getting out in the mountains every day we can, in every season and by all means possible. Read More
