Balance, History and Inspiration; My Running Biography

      Mile 100 and I still have 20 miles to go, everything hurts, I'm tired and tripping all over the place, I look up the mountain painfully amused at the climb I have tackle. Moments like these call for inspiration! Some people get inspiration from music, repeating a mantra or, memories of an epic moment in life; I get inspiration thinking about my loved ones, my wife, my children and more often then not, from my son Connor. In order to understand the inspiration my son brings me, a brief history lesson is needed to see the connection Connor has to my running.

    I am in many ways an introvert and have difficulty opening up about my life and who I am. So, sitting here right now about to tell everyone a little about myself is a difficult process for me. However, that is another part of my personality, I like to put myself in difficult/uncomfortable situations, step into the unknown and challenge myself; maybe that's what makes me love ultra running so much.

     We all have our own story on how we got into running while some are a lot more interesting than others, mine is not too dissimilar to many. My first son Charles James (C.J.) was born in 2004, I was 23 at the time just trying to do the right thing by getting married and starting a family, but getting married for the wrong reasons, eventually leads to divorce. Yes my divorce was better than most; we were young, we had no court battles or much bitterness in the situation. That being said, divorce is still hard; it messed me up emotionally and physically. Its like a big downward spiral with feelings of failure, not being good enough, feelings of hate, depression and, loneliness which turned  into seclusion, overeating and laziness. Next thing you know I'm stressed at work, getting overweight and unhealthy. There came a point after a few years when enough was enough, I had to stop feeling sorry for myself and start living life again, I started to go out to concert by myself, on hikes, even cruises. Doing thing by myself got old after a while and I wanted to share my life with others so I start dating again,  I wanted to lose weight and feel attractive, which is where my running and family journey began.

     3 miles on the treadmill, turned into 5 miles and, turned into me losing weight. I like this running thing, I'm pretty good at it! I started running the bike path in the arroyo and the more I ran the more weight I was losing! Dating on the other hand was losing battle at this point. Trying to date as a single father is tougher than one might think; I cant just leave my son at home to go party with you all night, uggh I need to try something different. I started online dating on a site for single parents when I first met Desirae, we were both in the same situation, finishing up school as single parents of boys about the same age so we connected right away. Bonus was that I fell in love with Desirae at the same time I fell in love with running, so Desirae has always been there through the course of my running journey and has supported my craziness since day one.  Desirae did however have extra stress in life with the birth of her son Connor.

    Connor was born with hydrocephalus (fluid build up on the brain) causing brain damage and Cerebral Palsy that comes with it. Connor has a severe form of Hydrocephalus and requires a shunt that drains the fluid off his brain and into his stomach. Connor cannot talk (although he does say hi from time to time and is learning to use an Ipad to communicate), cannot walk, requires feeding, personal hygiene (brushing teeth, baths, diapers etc.), and transition from chair to bed or couch and back. All the hard work that goes into caring for Connor is made up 10 fold in his positive attitude for life, his adventurous spirit, his wide genuinely addictive smile and, his infectious laughter. It makes me realize the things in life that I take for granted, it makes me appreciate the abilities I do have have that other don't. This is what gives me strength while I run, it gives me inspiration when I need it the most. When I'm deep into a race suffering, I tell myself to suck it up because at least I can run, it might hurt, I might want to quit but at least I have the ability to use my legs and to keep pushing forward!

     People often ask how I am able to run enough to train for big events having 3 kids, trying to be a good husband and working full time; its all about balance. Definitely priority number 1 is my family, I will always put them first, but there are many ways to still be present for family and find time for running. Most of my weekday miles come from lunch time runs. I am blessed to have a job that allows me to take longer lunches as long as I get my work done, I often times come in early or work a few hours on weekends to make it all work. Lunch time runs are also great to break up the monotony of the day and relieve some stress, but it also forces you to run at the hottest times of the day. I don't often get in as many miles as I would like to during the week so I try and make the miles I do run count by focusing on making the most of my workout runs. A few days a week I will also run at night; after we get the kids to bed, the wife begins her homework and I hop on the treadmill while watching Netflix. For added miles, I also like to run to work on Fridays with a change of clothes in my running pack. Sundays I usually wake up early to get a long run in while the family sleeps and if I'm training for a big event I will also run Saturdays. But the most enjoyable way to get in the miles is to try and include the family in my running, I can begrudgingly get my wife and son C.J. to run a few miles with me but they are more of the hiking type. I sometimes push Zach (our now 2 year old) in a jogging stroller and often push Connor in a modified running wheelchair!

    Pushing Connor in a wheelchair has been a great bonding experience between Connor and I, he seems to love it with a huge smile on his face while we run. We train on the local Arroyo bike path a lot because its flat, pushing a 70 lbs 15 year old in a 60 lbs wheelchair up a hill can be an incredibly tough resistance training run! I have since pushed Connor at two 10K races and one 5K race, Connor and I recently took the overall win at a local hilly 10K in Simi Valley with a time of  41:16 (proud dad side note- CJ got a PR and an age group win in the 5k with a time of 31:31). Connor and I have a goal for next year to run a half marathon together. Although he and I may not share DNA, the bond we have formed is far grater than blood; he will always be my son and best running partner!

     My life has blessed me with many things so far including an amazing wife, the best kids, a great job and running. I can only hope that my life will continue to send blessings my way. As the year closes out I have Western States and Javelina to look back on (please check out my Western States Blog and my soon to come Javelina Blog) but I also have so much to look forward to next year. I have big plans in the pipeline and I know when I need a dose of inspiration Connor will be there flashing that smile at me! Till then a beer to celebrate and another trail to run..

2018 Western States 100: The Sequel

 

   The big dance, Western States 100! Elation, scared, excited, honored, ready.. all sorts of emotion surged through me when I learned I was going back to Western States. It was the spark I needed to get back into some serious training again and I couldn't wait to get started. I started my training with a solid speed block as I was also training for the Boston Marathon, after Boston I got in a good 2 months of trail specific workouts and runs. I attended the Western States Training camp weekend, my nutrition was on point, I felt strong, I was running great, I got in some heat training and was ready to dance!

 

    Des and I headed to Squaw Thursday morning and made it just in time to enjoy a BBQ with the Altra family of athletes. What a awesome group of people, enjoyed some great food and good conversation! Friday morning Desirae completed the 6K uphill challenge on a HOT day, so freaking proud of her! Met some of the amazing Rabbit family of runners and friends before checking in for my official picture and swag pickup. Off we went to the mandatory runners meeting before the race in a hot crowded room with all the other nervous runners and crews. After the runners meeting we enjoyed a well deserved beer and pre-race dinner at Fifty-Fifty Brewing with Brett and Becca before calling it a night.

     After getting a few hours of sleep (more than I expected to) I got up at 3:30 A.M. for breakfast and drove to the race start to get my race bib. Shotgun blast and the crowd of runners head up the first climb right away (the same climb Desirae got the pleasure of experiencing the day before) under the flood lights of the ski slope and the cheers of huge crowds! Its a indescribable feeling that I have never felt at any start line before, a feeling of pride, a feeling of special journey that is just about to begin. 4 miles and 2500ft of climbing, although mostly fire road a lot of it was power walking; as I near the top of the Escarpment I can hear the cheers of the crowd that gather there early morning and the sounds of an Alpenhorn that lead you up a steep pitch of hands on knees climbing. The amount of photographers on top of Escarpment had multiplied 5x from the last time I ran WS in 2014, and who could blame them as they catch the perfect backdrop of the sun rising over lake Tahoe, Money Shot!

PC: dehiya.us

   After stopping for a few seconds to enjoy the majestic view on top of Escarpment it was down though the Desolate Wilderness we ran, now this part of the trail is described by many as their favorite part of the course, I for one disagree. I do not like the first 30 miles of Western States and here is why; Altitude, breath sucking 8000ft after climbing for 4 miles. Technical, lets face it I suck at descending technical trails and the first 30 miles dishes up all sorts of rocks, ruts, roots and stream crossings, oh.. ankle biting hell. Traffic, being on a technical single track there is not many places to pass at all, your pace is dictated by everyone in front of you, its very indicative to LA traffic. Now don't get me wrong the first 30 miles doesn't all suck because the view are stunning. My original plan was to run this section faster than I did in 2014 but soon realized I couldn't make up much time from 2014 because of the ALT of this section.

PC: Facchino Photography

   Despite the heat that began to mount coming out of Duncan Canyon on the climb up to Robinsons Flat, I felt really good! All smiles as I see Desirae, Brett and Becca, they are like a well oiled machine and get me changed, fed and hydrated in a jiff sending me on my way into the canyons. I actually quite enjoy the next 25 miles, yes its hot, but I do well in the heat and I like to think I'm a good climber, so I was really able to make up a lot of ground on my way to Michigan Bluff. There is a good mix of fire road and smooth single track that I could really stretch my legs out and lay down some good splits. I took advantage of all the aid stations I could by dousing myself with ice and cold water. The climb up to Devils Thumb is always a bitch, but add in the searing heat and it made for some true suffering, being "only" 1.5 miles and knowing there was Popsicle's at the top made the climb go by quicker than I thought it would. It was a pleasure to run with fellow rabbitELITEtrail team mates Nick and Kate as well as Altra Pro Kaci all the way from Escarpment till El Dorado, it was only till the climb up to Michigan Bluff did I start to separate myself some as I start passing runners. I have always done well on the climb up to Michigan Bluff, I think the climb really mimics the trails around Simi feeling oddly familiar to me..

    Felt really good at Michigan Bluff despite the heat, coming into an electric aid station with lots people cheering always puts me in a great mood and, the Popsicle Des got me put me in an even better mood. Striped off my pack only to discover massive chafing on my chest, so I decided to go back to 2 handhelds for the entirety of the race. One more hot canyon in front of me, Volcano Canyon was not nearly as hard as the previous canyons but still hot none the less. Was running really good through this section and was able to make up a few more positions. When I finally hit Bath Road it was great to see Brett waiting to run the mile and a half with me to Foresthill.

    Foresthill (100K) is nuts, its almost too overwhelming, its crowded with cars and people everywhere, and all eyes are on you.. Started getting some GI problems at Foresthill, so I stopped to take a bathroom break and get cooled off again with ice and cold water. I got to pick up my first pacer here and Alex Carrion was the sucker that volunteered to suffer with me. He was kind enough to step in last minute after Keith couldn't make it. Off we go down Cal Street, as we were part way down the road I spotted Ben Atkin who was kind enough to Vaseline up my chest while his little boy cheered me on.. Thank you Ben! The plan was to take the Cal Street section a little more conservative this year compared to 2014 where I blew my quads on the very runnable downhill. But I think the combination of the heat and GI issues caused me to hit my first real low of the race and I ended up struggling through Cal. Its very frustrating not being able to really fly downhill and take advantage of some buttery smooth singletrack on one of my favorite parts of the course. I was still able to run most of this section just not as fast as I wanted to, I think a few people might have even passed me through here, slowing down some, letting my body cool down and knowing the river crossing was coming up I finally recovered a few miles out of Rucky Chucky where I started running good again all the way to the river.

     The worlds best natural ice bath for the legs aka "Rucky Chucky" the American River crossing feels so amazing on the legs, gave me a boost to my running stoke and helped cool me down to the core! The river crossing helped a ton and I was feeling a lot better on the climb up to Green Gate (which is actually silver). I was able to run a good chunk up to Green Gate and saw Brett about a half mile from the aid station. My plan was to run the last 20 strong this year and I was getting started right by taking advantage of the daylight left and making up time in the very runnable ALT section of the course. It was cool to run some miles of the ALT trail in the light because I have never run it during the day before, making up great time I passed a few more runners on my way to Browns Bar. On my way to Quarry road (mile 90) I twisted an ankle pretty bad and saw my chances at sub 20hr floating away. Somehow my ankle started to feel better but the time lost trying to walk out the ankle and the climb up to hwy 49 road crossing had put me in another funk. I was a train wreck falling all over the place, I was overheating and was low on energy. My time for sub 20 was getting really tight, I didn't know how tight (my watch died on the climb up to Green Gate) until I saw a clock at Pointed Rocks aid station (mile 94), I only had an hour and half to make it the last 6 miles.

 

   Desirae reminded me that I needed to get my ass in gear or it would be a long ride home not making a sub 20, she was right, I would have whined like a little baby the whole way home. I knew it was now or never, it was time to do work! I was in a pain cave but I continued to push hard, I didn't stop at any of the remaining aid stations (No Hands, Robie Point) and passed a lot of people along the way. Ran up a good portion of the Robie climb and finally hit the pavement of Auburn, only having a mile to go I knew then I was going to make my sub 20 goal, relief came over me, not only did I make up the time I needed but I gave myself a 20 minute buffer. Finally relaxed, smiling again I see Alex in the distance as we turn the corner to Placer High School.. Elation!

PC: Facchino Photography

  The feeling you get running around the Placer High track to the finish line is like no other finish line I have ever experienced, just a burst of emotion; relief, proud, happy, tired, _____ (insert emotion and I probably felt it). Stepped across the finish line just before 1 A.M. in 19:40:48 good enough for 26th place overall.

Before

After

   
                                                                                                                                                  
     Dreams don't come true all by themselves, a lot of help was involved in hitting my goal and I thank each and everyone for supporting me along the way! As always my #1 crew person, my rock, my partner, my wife, Desirae was there for me since day 1 supporting my craziness and I owe her the world, love you! Big thanks to the Goldsmiths: Becca and Brett for helping crew/pace me and helping Des along the way, cant wait to return the favor at Cascade Crest! Huge thanks to Alex Carrion for pacing me last moment and being patient with me while I bonked Cal Street (but the river crossing made it worth it yeah?). The support I got from rabbit was top notch all weekend, very proud to run with and represent such a great company, their running apparel is the best in the biz! As always I ran in my Lone Peaks from Altra Running if you know me its the only shoes I ever wear, thank you for your support Altra! My running4thosewhocant hat was filled with ice much of the race, I love everything they stand for as I run for my son Connor who is in a wheelchair (side note- Connor was with me every step of the way as my bib number 326 represented his birthday March 26th). It was a no brainer carrying my nutrition (among other gear) in my Naked Running Band. Could I have ran it faster? What if it was a cooler day? Top 10? Who really knows, anything can and will happen in a 100 mile race, its how you deal with issues and keep moving forward that counts.Will I run Western States again? You better believe it! Until then a beer to celebrate and another trail to run...

PC: Facchino Photography

  

Boston Marathon: Boston Strong vs. Boston Wrong

     Boston Strong! Boston was definitely strong; strong winds, strong rain, strong cold, you had to be strong to finish the 2018 version of the Boston Marathon. Not all bad things, Boston was strong in history, strong in character and strong in beauty. The people of  Boston are also very strong; they have gone through a lot of shit and come out stronger on the other end.
      This was not my first time qualifying for Boston but, it was the first year I actually had the means of going to Boston to run it. I qualified for Boston Marathon at Revel Canyon City with a time of 2:50:01, good enough for a BQ -20.
Boston Wrong: I always said I would run Boston one time and one time only, that is a strong statement that I might have to reassess..

    Boston Strong: My training leading up to Boston was really a mix of trail running and speed work, as I am also training for Western States in June. I felt I needed to continue to be "mountain" strong with the added benefit of speed workout for Boston. I got in some great tempo, speed drills and long runs on pavement leading up to the race and was really confident Until...
Boston Wrong:  About 3 weeks out, when I was suppose to be at my peak week. I rarely get sick as is, so getting sick for two weeks straight right before Boston really waved my confidence going in. I ended up running the Pacific Half Marathon after the Chesebro Half was cancelled due to rain. I went into the half completely sick; it was a horrible idea and I suffered greatly doing so. I could not catch my breath, I was very pale and ran a horrible time (for me). Instead of a gauge of fitness and a confidence booster it made me sicker and destroyed any confidence I had left going into the race. Boston Strong: I took a step back, worked on recovery and reassessed my goals for Boston, my #1 goal was to have fun, #2 would be to break 3hrs (as opposed to the sub 2:50 I was training for).

    Boston Wrong: Friday night red eye flight to Boston, what a horrible idea when you bring a 17 month old lap seated kid along! Needless to say it was a long flight and we did not get much sleep.
Boston Strong: Luckily, after we took an expensive taxi ride to the hotel (another bad idea) they were kind enough to let us check in early and we were able to sleep for a few hours to recharge.  I had strategically booked a hotel right next to the T where we were able to conveniently ride into downtown Boston the rest of the trip (good idea).   

     Boston Strong: The weekend in Boston before the race! We spent Saturday exploring Bostons historical sights, checked out the finish line and met up with some of the awesome folks of Altra, Rabbit and Goodr for a great 3.5 mile shakeout run around Boston. After a great run meeting some of my great Altra Team Red teammates we headed off to the Marathon Expo. The expo was huge, bib pickup was easy and we visited a lot of great booths. Sunday was a relaxing day, we met up with some of Desirae's friends for breakfast, went to The Boston Children's Museum, shopped for needed supplies and had lunch. Boston really is a great city and I would love to come back to explore it some more (preferable in better weather).

    Boston Wrong: Getting to the start line = definition of wet hell! Woke up at 3:30AM to eat and change my clothes as I head off the T and grab a coffee at Dunkin Donuts along the way to keep my hands from freezing. Short walk from the T drop off to the bus loading zone where you wait in the first of several lines in the freezing rain, security check line, then bus loading line. Even the bus was cold, I know the bus must have a heater, what the hell? Long (almost an hour) bus ride to the drop off where we walk another half mile to athletes village. Athletes village was horrible, what a shit show, as I destroy my shoes in the mud that surrounds the huge tents. I look for a place to sit down on the muddy frozen ground with thousands of other runners and do everything I can to stay warm and dry to no avail. After what seemed like an eternity I finally decide to use the bathroom before my wave is announced. Another line in the wind and rain (probably 15-20 minutes) get out just in time to slosh through the mud and line up to make the 3/4 mile trek to the starting corrals. After unsuccessfully trying to change into dry socks (they ended up being wet before I could even get them on) I finally shed my layers and shivered waiting for the gun to go off!

   Boston Strong: Seeded in Wave 1 Corral 2 I got to start right behind the elites. The start wasn't too bad, a little crowed the first mile or 2 while the crowd sorted itself out and everyone got into the pace. The crowds of spectators lining the course, cheering you on from mile 1-26.2 were amazing. The amount of fit runners were awesome (I am used to running in small packs of runners or by myself) and the "impaired" athletes were inspiring! I had the pleasure of running next to Mike Wardian for 12 miles as he expertly guided his blind runner around puddles and crowds of eager runners. Among the many runner with artificial limbs, blindness and wheelchairs I also got to share a few of the final miles along side of an autistic runner that I follow on Facebook.

Boston Wrong: I know a city cant control the weather, but come on Boston, your weather sucks! The combination of constant downpour, 25 mph headwinds and 30-40F ("real feel" temps in the low 20s) weather made for a nasty concoction of suffering. Despite the many layers of clothing including three layers, a rain shell, knee high compression socks, gloves, hat and two buffs I was miserable the whole race. Once you get wet, which happened as soon as I left my hotel room that morning, it was impossible to stay warm, so I tried my best to stay Boston Strong but my Southern California ass failed.
    
Boston Strong: What a great historical course to run on. The opening downhill miles made for fast running and the old colonial building along the way made for a beautiful backdrop. The middle miles were rolling and went by quick, the hills in Newton were not bad at all and the energy of the last 3-4 miles are just unmatched.

  Boston Wrong: The relentless cold and headwinds finally took its toll around mile 21, right where I should have been able to take advantage of the downhill closing miles, and I struggled to keep a sub 7 min/mile pace. I'm usually pretty good about passing people in the closing miles of a race so it felt horrible getting passed by throngs of runners the last few miles. I wanted so badly to finish fast to get myself and more importantly get Desirae and Zach out of the rain. I searched the sidelines among the deep crowds for my wife and child to get a bump of much needed energy to finish the race but was not able to spot them.

  Boston Strong: Despite my fading pace, freezing limbs, hurting legs and horrendous weather I managed to cross the line with a smile on my face and a hit a sub 3 hour goal coming n at 2:56:45.

Boston Wrong: The finishing chute was a triage center, the carnage was crazy! The first thing they do is tell you to keep moving, the wind is now even colder as it hits the sweat all over your body and now that your not running you are not generating body heat. The volunteers then hand you an ice cold water.. really!? because my hands aren't frozen enough? Now try and take my picture, I am definitely stoked that I finished the Boston Marathon but have to force a smile for the camera was tough. I walked another half mile to finally get a medal around my frozen neck when someone finally ask how I am doing, " not good, I am freezing and need to warm up now" I said shivering uncontrollably. They offer me a a ride in a wet wheelchair but I declined as I again ask for a spot to warm up; finally another half mile as I wait in a line to get into a church to warm up. I stay just long enough to stop shivering and promptly leave as all I could think about is my wife and son freezing waiting for me. Disoriented I gather my barrings and walked another 1/4 mile to find the R last name family meeting area.

    Boston Strong: A sight for cold eyes! My wife and son waiting to congratulate me! As we duck into hallway to avoid the wind that was tipping my sons stroller over, I exclaimed that all I wanted to do is head back to the hotel and take a hot shower. Hot shower done its time for some good food and beer before we call it a night!
  Boston Wrong: The flight home was riddled with fails as we set out 5 AM to the airport, our seat assignment were fudged, baby Z was restless, my legs hurt and the airline misplaced the car seat.

Take away: Despite all the Wrong, it was amazing to be among the Boston STRONG! It was a memorable weekend and I felt privileged and blessed to run such a historic course with the best of the best.

 Once again none could be done without the help and support of many people, one person in particular has been my biggest fan, supporter and help. I owe so much to my wife Desirae for loving me despite all the crazy shit I put her through, all the training hours, helping with the kiddos, following me around to cheer me at races and putting up with my bad days, love you! Special thanks to Altra running for all there support and gear, Altra head to toe! Thank you to Walter for all the great advice and thank you to all my running friends who slogged out training miles with me! Yes I will be back (eventually) I feel like I got robbed of a genuine Boston Marathon experience due to the weather, I would love to see what I am capable of in better weather and Boston is a kick ass city! Till then a beer to celebrate and another trail to run...

  

S.O.B.... What a great start to the year

        Is it really February already? That must mean I'm getting old (my birthday is this month), oh and its time to update my blog. It has certainly been a pretty good start to my year so far, lets get you caught up to speed.
      Happy New Years!! As I wake up from the inevitable hang over I check my phone realizing I have an email from Altra running, trying not to get too excited, its probably just another "thank you for applying to be an ambassador, but we don't need you" letter. I was shocked, elated to find a different letter welcoming me to the Altra Red Team! Yes I checked the email address a few times to make sure they sent it to the right person. Now don't get me wrong, I am not big on the thought of being an ambassador for companies as I'm not one to blast social media with product placement, but this is Altra, I apply every year for Altras Red Team. Why? Because I have been wearing Altra shoes for over 5 years now, I love them, I swear by them, I have run every hundred mile in them and I have never had an issue with premature wear, blisters or hot spots. I'm okay with representing a company I believe in, a company I already sing praises for. Altra is a company founded on helping runner prevent injuries, with zero drop and a foot shape toe box they have created a shoe that gets us running back the way nature attended us to. Seriously though, check out Altra shoes if you haven't yet, they will change your running for the better!

      I really try and take a break from running, cutting the volume and intensity back in November/December just in time for the holidays, but come the New Years I get myself back into base building. Hence the early year assessment race, also a good motivator to get my ass in gear, that race used to be the Bandit 50K, since its retirement two years ago (damn its been that long?) I have used Sean O Brien in its place. SOB 50K packs over 7000ft of gain along my favorite Backbone trail system with amazing views of Malibu and the ocean, throw in some hot weather and a great field of runners you got yourself one SOB of a challenge!
      Now I didn't have much of a block of training going into this SOB, only 3 weeks of some good quality running, but I felt good and I felt confident. All healed up from the hip and back issues I was having after Fat Dog, I was throwing down some solid times and climbing really well. I was genuinely excited to get back to racing after a long hiatus.

      Come race morning I headed out to Malibu Creek State Park by myself (thank you Des for watching the kiddos) and realized I forgot my coffee and smoothie I made the night before, great start. I made small talk and mingled around the start line to settle my nerves, freezing my ass off I lined up toward the front of the start line. It was a pretty uneventful start as I file into front chase pack, Kris Brown and Ryan Ghelfi take the lead out of the gate, I run at a comfortable enough pace to keep them in site. Mile 3 the climb really begins, the largest climb of the day at the start of the race, here is where the field finally sorts itself out, I think I was comfortably in 5th spot at this point and feeling good. Just enjoying the views and clipping off miles until Latigo Canyon Aid Station (mile10) where I got a glimpse of Oswaldo Hurtado.

     Oswaldo and I traded spots back and forth for several miles, he would take me on the climbs and I would pass him on the descents, rise and fall. Continued pushing each other through the turn around at Zuma (mile 16) and all the way to back to Kanan where Randy Miller gave me a high five, sorry you had to drop bro, come back next year even stronger! Onward to Latigo Aid Station again where the Carrion brothers filled me up, cooled me down and sent me on the way, somewhere after Latigo I pulled ahead of Oswaldo a little bit, although he was never lurking too far behind.

      Pushing hard and suffering I was able to continue to clip off some solid miles and flew back down the Backbone climb, splashing across the creek I hit "Little Chihuahua" where I was starting feeling comfortable with my 4th place position. Wrong! just as I start climbing up Chihuahua I see a green shirt ahead of me, 3rd place and he was walking! As he turns around and catches a glimpse of me, he starts running hard, I look behind me and see Oswaldo charging towards me! Oh Shit, the race is on now! Running with hope of a podium finish and scared of being passed, I push hard all the way to the finish line with out looking back. Finished 4th overall in a time of 4:36:40, just 15 seconds shy of 3rd place and 19 seconds ahead of 5th.
     Was a beautiful but hot day, mixing it up with some great competition on a tough course made for a epic race! Congrats to my brother Keith for his 100K finish and  congrats all the other finishers out there for getting in done in some tough conditions. Huge thank you to all the volunteers for being out there catering to our needs, thank you to Keira Henninger and everyone else involved in making such a well put on race. Thank you Altra, Naked Running Band and Running4ThoseWhoCant for making great gear that is vital in getting me through all my races. I cant always live up to my Quicksilver moniker but I will continue to keep trying, I will be back next year, till then a beer to celebrate and another trail to run..

    

2017 Year in Review

         I'm back... Like a bad habit, you cant get rid of me that easy! So I haven't posted to my blog for a little over a year now, life gets busy; work, new baby, running, yada, yadda, yada.. But I thought I would stop making excuses and start writing again, I'm a far cry from a good writer and I'm probably only marginally interesting but too bad, don't like it don't read it (I'm looking at you grammar Nazis). As I look back at my previous blogs I tend to write too much and most of its race reviews, so I'm going to try and take a different approach and write more random ramblings about running, life and yes I will still do race recaps. Its about the end of 2017 and I have a lot to catch everyone up on so I thought I would start back up with a 2017 year in review.
      January: Really nothing notable to write about January, lots of much needed rain made the hills super green and great running weather so I just amped up the training toward Sean O Brien 50K and taking care of little Zach..

     February: Sean O Brien 50K was a deceiving bitch of a course, with over 7000ft of gain, river crossing and tons of mud. Went out quick with the top 3 runners till we hit the first climb out of Tapia, Michael Eastburn took off leaving Jerry Garcia and I in his dust, Michael would go on to lead and win the 50K. After running with Jerry till mile 6 or so I peeled off and never looked back, I came in at 4:49:22 for Second place. Overall a very well put on, challenging race, with some big climbs and great views and I am currently training to run it again this February. The next weekend I joined Keith and Brett to traverse the Backbone Trail across the Santa Monica Mountains. A hot, muddy, but very enjoyable day started with the late great Dave Liston driving us to the trail head. The run was capped off with a whole slew of Simi Trail Runners that took us the last 20 miles to the beach, a 16 hour day with 68 miles and 13,000ft of climbing enjoyed with some of the greatest friends a guy could ask for! Damn I love you Backbone Trail..

     March: What a great month March was! Started off running the Singletrack Stampede 22K (13 miles), run along the Millennium trail this is an amazing course almost 100% singletrack. I highly recommend running this race, if not at least get out on the Millennial trail sometime and enjoy some kick ass running! But the highlight of the year was getting to watch my son Connor enjoy his week trip to Florida gifted to us by Make A Wish Foundation. We got to stay in the most amazing wheelchair friendly place, Give Kids the World, while we went to a new theme park everyday! Really a once in a lifetime trip, I never seen Connor smile so much in my life!

     April: Rounded up the kiddos and set of north to Healdsburg CA for the Lake Sonoma 50 miler, 50 miles of gorgeous green single track. What a gem of a race, northern California is just so beautiful and Lake Sonoma did not disappoint, with its great temperature, beautiful trails and kick ass atmosphere. While there where no "big" climbs, it never stop rolling up and down, eventually accumulating into a leg searing 10K ft of vert through some muddy conditions from recent rains made for a difficult run. I had a goal of breaking 8hrs but came up short finishing in 8:07:36 good enough for 18th overall in a seriously stacked field of talent.

     May: I have so much fun running all of Erica Grattons races I had to sign up for the inaugural Phantom Trail Race 20 Miler. A fairly "flat" fast course running through parts of Reagan Ranch, Malibu State Park and Paramount Ranch, I treated it as a fast training run and blazed through at 2:34:06 for the win. Good introductory race for those interested in getting in some really good trail running, with distances from 5-20 miles it has a little something for everybody.
    June: Enjoyed my family, ran some trails and drank some beers..

    July: Took a road trip to Lake Tahoe with my mom to go crew and pace Keith at the Tahoe Rim Endurance Run 100. Lake freaking Tahoe.. What can I say but epic, the trails and views were just amazing, the climbs were steep and Keith kicked ass in his 2nd 100 miler finishing in 26:08:12. Definitely on the bucket list of must do someday (maybe 200?)

    August: Sometimes you just need to take yourself out of your comfort zone, try something new, challenge yourself and find another race that looks awesome when you don't make it into any of the race lotteries you applied for. The Fat Dog 120 showcases some of the finest trails Canada has to offer, the problem is that the finest trails happen to some of the steepest trails also. With over 28,000ft of vert in 4 major climbs the Fat Dog ranks up there with Hardrock in terms of difficulty and it did not disappoint. Fat Dog tested me to the core, it was definitely the hardest race I have ever done (also one of the most scenic), after rolling into mile 100 at exactly 24hrs I had faced the toughest climb on the course that felt like it never ended with its many false summits, the last 20 miles of the race took me over 6 hours to complete.The last 5 miles destroyed my back, glute and hip, leaving me injured for the rest of the year, despite all this I still manage to finish in 5th overall with a 30:05:28. 

    September: Wasatch 100 was a bitter sweet experience, last year I got the privilege of pacing good friend and all around great guy Dave Liston a Wasatch, this year I returned for my pacing duties to help Brett Goldsmith through the beautiful course in honor of Dave Liston. Dave was in the middle of training for redemption at Wasatch this year when he unexpectedly passed away, it was a honor to go back to Wasatch and help Brett finish for Dave this year, all while Dave's family and friends were there in support.

   October to December: Watching my baby Zach grow up has been a joy, all the milestones and sleepless nights, love being a father to all 3 of my boys, its an never ending ultra run. Got selected to run Western States in 2018 and met all the qualification to run Boston Marathon 2018.

     Looking forward to next year, running the two biggest races in running, the Boston Marathon in April is the must do "Super Bowl" of marathons. Western States 100 is the first ever and most sought after ultra race steep in history. I'm sure there will be many other adventures along the way both in running and being a father, I will do my best to keep everyone updated along the way. Till then a beer to celebrate and another trail to run..