I Keep Running

Pullman Winter Ultra #2

2012-01-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

We had a great time at this winter's second Pullman Winter Ultra event. The weather was again very spring-like with temps in the 40's and no snow or ice to be seen for miles.

I gave Sadie the day off as she's been showing a little bit of pain in her front left leg. This is the second time in the past three months I've had to give her some time off. Hopefully an extra-extended rest will be all she needs. I don't think a trip to the vet is necessary quite yet, but if she's hurting any after this break than I'll probably bring her in. :(

The course is four 7.75 mile loops on a paved bike path that loops around Pullman. I had a nice run and was holding on to a 4-hr pace (my hey-why-not-give-it-a-shot goal) through three loops. The last loop was tough and I slowed quite a bit for a finish time of 4:16:38, which was still good enough for a 50k PR. (results)

On my third loop.

Post-race hydration at Palouse Falls Brewing Co.

On the schedule now are some light weeks and a few local for-fun races before I start upping the miles to get ready for Scotland.

Oh, and in the last few days winter has finally arrived in Pullman.

(click here for pano w/ sound)

New Year's Eve Marathon - race report

2012-01-06T11:49:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun running the New Year's Eve Marathon in Dallas with my sister, Melanie. Running with family is a special treat that I'll never get tired of.

The holiday break was a lot of fun. I have family and friends scattered between the Austin-area, Dallas and Houston (where I'm from), so I spent a good deal of the trip driving back and forth across the state. This was my longest stay back home since 2005.

The marathon was about five minutes away from Melanie's home, which was about as good as having a hotel room on the start line. Temps were in the low 30's at the start, but warmed up nicely to the 60's. It was a beautiful day to run.

The course was a super-flat 6.55-mile "loop" done four times. The "loop" was actually a modified out-n-back, which meant we were going to be seeing the same 3-mile stretch of sidewalk a lot.

Melanie's goal was to break the 5-hr marathon barrier for the first time, and my job was to keep her spirits up by singing Broadway tunes to her the entire way.

One of the main benefits (the only?) of a multiple-out-n-back course is that you get to see your cheering section often. And we had a little cheering section, which was very nice.

I had a great time running with Melanie. And she did awesome. She smashed her PR and sub-5 goal with a 4:42:04. Awesome. (full results)

Praying to the hydration gods.

Melanie, Annie (she ran the 5k), me

Shortly after the start.
We weren't the only Maniacs there.
(PS. I love my Brooks Pure Flow.)

My bro-in-law, Mike, and my niece, Zoe,
practicing their air-horning.

Mile 14 or so.
Stopping to say hi to our cheering section.

All-smiles all day long.

This is Melanie around mile 25.
The light at the end of the tunnel was both real and a metaphor.

Approaching the finish line.

Awwwww...brother and sister -- so cute. :)

I'm in "off-season" semi-rest mode right now. But that doesn't mean I'm not running. I have another Pullman Winter 50k this weekend. BUT, I have taken several days off in the last two weeks, so I'm feeling pretty rested/restless.

Keep running!

Scott

Pullman Winter Ultra #1 - race report

2011-12-21T14:25:00.000-08:00

Nearly 40 humans and a few dogs showed up for the first of two runs of the second annual Pullman Winter Ultra series. Some of us did the full 50k, others 25k or shorter. The weather was great for a December in Pullman -- sunny and temps in the upper-30's to low-40's.

The course is a simple 7.75-mile paved loop around Pullman. Four loops equals 50k. The course is extremely flat minus the double-pointed hill.

Sadie ran the 50k with me. She's seems to be fully recovered from last month's leg issues. She's done great on a couple 20+ mile runs the last couple weeks, so I thought she'd be ready for the 50k. And she did great -- a little tired on the fourth lap, but so was I! I ran about what I was expecting too. I probably could have gone a bit harder to beat my best 50k time (I missed it by about 5 minutes), but the goal wasn't to gas it on this run. (results)

I'm actually feeling in very good shape right now. I think the break from racing as much as I was has allowed me to put in some better quality weekend runs. I think I can break 4hrs on this course if I really wanted to (and if the weather is not like we had at the first event last year.) But it would probably hurt a lot...so I'm not sure how bad I want to. My main incentive right now is to not injure myself. Last winter I think I overtrained a bit with the growing excitement for my Atacama Crossing attempt and I ended up straining my achilles a couple weeks before that race. My excitement for Scotland is growing a little each day, and the more excited I get about running, the more I want to run, even on "rest" days.

Sadie with one mile to go.

In other news, I'm heading to Texas for the holidays, and I'll be running a marathon with my sister on New Year's Eve near Dallas. Should be fun.

And I received exciting news that in 2012 I'll be a part of the Brooks ID team for a fourth consecutive year.

Keep running!

Scott

My "OMG I Can't Wait!" Race for 2012

2011-12-06T08:19:00.001-08:00

I love to run. I love to travel. And after I ran my first marathon in 2007, I thought it would be a great idea to incorporate the two by traveling to another country for a race each year. So far, so good.

In 2008, I visited spectacular Iceland for the Laugavegur Ultra.

In 2009, I traveled to South Africa to run the famous Comrades Marathon.

In 2010, I drove north to beautiful British Columbia for a low-key 50k in the North Vancouver mountains.

In 2011, I trekked south of the equator again to compete in the epic Atacama Crossing in Chile.

And if everything goes as planned, this summer I'm going to Scotland for the 96-mile West Highland Way Race! I submitted my application five weeks ago and just received confirmation that I've been accepted to participate. This race has been on my bucket list since I first created a race bucket list. I'm stoked.

It's nice to have an exciting event waiting for me on the calendar. I think it makes training so much more enjoyable when there's even a tab bit more motivation attached to my feet each time I step out on the trail. Not that I really need any extra motivation; I'm still riding the running-high I got back when I ran my first marathon in 2007. :)

Keep running!

-Scott

Winter Running in Snow and Mud and Dark

2011-11-29T14:47:00.001-08:00

No racing lately (and not much blogging), but lots of running. Winter is coming fast, so this is the time of year when I try to sneak in as many trail and mountains runs as I can before there's too much snow to run on them.

I also discovered an exciting new trail in Asotin Creek Canyon that's only about an hour drive from me. Sadie and I plan to explore the canyon much more in the spring.

I had a nice holiday break in Salt Lake City and Boise, and despite eating more pie than was probably good for me (Who am I kidding? It was SO GOOD for me!) I was able to put some good miles in.

Sadie hurt her front left leg a few weeks ago - I think it was from chasing the tennis ball - so she got several days off and skipped three Saturday long runs with me. She hasn't limped for two weeks and seems to be doing fine after 50+ miles last week, so I think she's all healed up now.

Next up on the schedule are the two Pullman Winter Ultra 50k's and a trip to Texas for the Christmas/New Year holiday that will include running a marathon with my sister on New Year's Eve.

Enjoy some photos from the past few weeks:

First snow on Moscow Mt.
Lower sections nice and clear still.

Higher sections much snowier.

Sadie loves snow more than any dog or human
I've ever seen in my life!

Enjoying first tracks on a Saturday morning mountain run.

Bighorns on my first trip down to the Asotin Creak canyon trail.

First impression. Not bad. I expect to put some
good miles on this trail next year.
(You can see snow at the top of the canyon.)

Ripping down the canyon.
(photo courtesy of my buddy Aaron Whiteman.)

Beautiful weather at the trailhead. It's deceptively winter though;
only a few miles in and a thousand feet gain there is snow covering the trail.

This is how dark it is when I get off work now.

My new favorite trainers for the off-trail days: Brooks Pure Flow.
Two huge thumbs up.

What's winter without a seasonal porter?
Palouse Falls Polar Porter is tasty.

Q: What's the first thing you do after hours of
driving to get to your dad's place in Utah?
A: Give him a hug and say hi.
Q: What's the second thing you do?
A: Take Sadie for a run below the Wasatch Mts.

Early-morning visit to the mountains.

Wasatch mountain running.

Looks like I'm not the biggest cat on the mountain.

Pure Mud.

And I was trying to avoid the mud puddles.

With dad in the mountains. Hard to beat this.

Dad pointing to his favorite trails.

Keep running!

-Scott

Autumn Warming

2011-11-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

The colors have turned and the air has chilled and the miles keep ticking away.

I love running.

Mt. Spokane 50k - race report

2011-10-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

I had a great time at the first annual Mt. Spokane 50k put on by Rainshadow Running. Great trails, spectacular views, and really good fall weather. It was cold at the start, but it's been way colder (and snowier) on this same weekend in previous years, so I wasn't complaining...much.

The course started off with a little climb and some awesome sections of xc-skiing trails. Nice and gently rolling. Ran into a friend who took the early start. And then a plunge down the mountain.

I ran the first 17 or so miles with another Scott (we carpooled up together). He pushed my pace early on a little more than I had probably planned to push it, but it was good for me. :) The trails just didn't want us to go any slower they we were going. (And I was geeking out about my new shoes, so I had a little extra bit of adrenaline early on.)

It seems the more beautiful a course is, the more deceptively challenging it can be. When the views are photo-worthy and the trails are welcoming and the colors are spanning the entire spectrum, it's easy to get lost in the moment(s), but by mile 20 I got hit with a not-so-gentle reminder in my legs that I've been running and climbing for a few hours.

The summit of Mt. Spokane was the highpoint of the course, but from the starting line it didn't look like it was going to be that tough of a climb. But if you look at the elevation profile below, you can see that there was a bit of descending before we got to climb up to the top, and that it gets a tad steep near the top. My legs felt pretty strong most of the day, and even on the really steep stuff I felt I was able to keep a decent power-hike pace.

Did I mention the views were awesome? I bring a camera on just about every run I go on, no matter how short or far (never know what awesome photo-op there might be), but this was one of those runs where I was particularly glad to have my camera. Sometimes a race isn't so important that it's not worth stopping for a couple minutes to take some photos. :)

I eventually finished too. 5th place overall -- results.

Enjoy some images from Mt. Spokane:

Mt. Spokane 50k elevation profile.

Gathering at the start. Mt. Spokane in the background.

This view greeted us at the top of our first climb.

Top of first climb too. The clouds were amazing all day.

Cruising with the other Scott about 8 miles in.
(Photo by Candice Burt)

Some sweet single-track.

More juicy trail.

Some rocky bits too.

Brooks' new Pure Grit. This is their new lightweight trail shoe.
Love them.

From the summit of Mt. Spokane.

View coming down the summit.

Looking back up to the summit and the beautiful wildflowers.

Finished in 5:23:21.

Where's my beer?

Sadie didn't get to run this one, but
she wasn't mad at me for too long.

My calendar is quiet for the rest of the year. I'll probably throw in a few more local races when they come up. And I'm going to try to get to the mountains with Sadie as much as I can before the snow hits hard.

Keep running!

Scott

Local Trail Running Race Reports for September

2011-10-05T15:47:00.000-07:00

I've had a fun September competing in some local trail races.

Sept 11 -

Moscow Mountain Madness is becoming a local trail race legend. Beautiful trails with some nice ups and downs. This year they changed it to a half-marathon (previously a 12-miler) and included more single-track. I liked most of the changes. The big negative change was that they didn't allow dogs this year, so Sadie had to watch from the sidelines. (This is understandable as the race gets bigger...but it sure was nice being able to run with her before.)

If ever there's a "hometown" race, this is it for me. The course follows trails that I've run with Sadie hundreds of times. I know where the rocks are, I know where the roots are, I know the best spots to stop and take a photo.

It was a good day to be on the trails. Hot (near 90 degrees), but still a good day. I'm usually pretty conservative on the climbs because I want to save something to rip the downhills, but I pushed it a little more than usual on the first big 1,500' climb. I came off the climb probably somewhere in 15th place or so.

I had a short low-moment around mile 7 or 8 where my legs felt dead, but that only lasted a bit. When we hit the 5 mile descent I was feeling good and started picking off a few people. I ended up finishing in 10th place overall with a time of 1:49:38. I thought a time like that would have placed higher, but there was some stout competition this year at the front of the pack.

Elevation Profile of Moscow Mountain Madness

On the course about 3 miles in.

Shortly after crossing the finish line.

Sept 17 -
The Puffer Butte Huff and Puff Trail Run is a low-key, relatively new 5-mile trail race at Fields Springs State Park. I hadn't run these trails before so I thought it would be nice to go down and check them out.

And dogs were allowed. :)

Turns out the Lewis-Clark State College cross-country team (ranked 10th nationally in their division...I just looked it up) came out in full-force to use this race as a "training run."

At the gun, the men's team sprinted (literally) out of the gates to attack the mile-long climb. Sadie and I watched them zoom away up the windy dirt road.

Not that I was trying to race the cross-country guys or anything (insert smiley face), but I think I was motivated to push it a bit faster than I normally would on my climbs. So I pushed my pace even though they were all already out of sight. Near the top of the climb I could see a bunch of the road ahead and the main pack had broken into a few smaller packs and there were a couple stragglers falling behind. Again, I wasn't trying to "race" them, but I definitely wanted to see if I could at least catch the stragglers. :)

I pushed it on the post-climb descent and started gaining on the two stragglers. I passed both of them by the end of the descent and we turned onto the final three miles of the course that was pretty flat with a couple rolling sections and only one super-short climb/descent.

I put a little time on the two stragglers and with about a mile to go I had caught up with another. He looked back and seemed surprised to see an old guy with a dog gaining on him. That seemed to fire him up, because he picked it up an extra gear and pulled away from me pretty effortlessly. Ah, to have young legs again. (/sniffle)

I finished in 30:03 and was sucking a lot of air. 12 of the cross-country kids beat me, but I ended up finishing ahead of two of them. Surprisingly, and a bit embarrassingly, I was officially awarded the overall winner's ribbon at the award ceremony. I guess they weren't eligible for awards because of restrictions and regulations they have on what they can officially compete in. And since I was the first non-cross-country person to cross the finish line, I got the ribbon. I almost didn't go up to accept it when they called my name because it felt funny knowing that 12 people crossed the finish line ahead of me.

Besides that awkwardness, it was a lot of fun. Sadie was first-overall dog once again. I think she's only been beaten by another dog in two races ever -- one time was my fault for being slower than the other guy, the other time was her fault for waiting until mile 2.5 of a 5k to take a potty break. :)

Cruising some downhill single-track with Sadie.
Huff and Puff 5-mile trail run.

Sept 24 -

This was the first - and maybe only - Wild Moose Chase Trail 25k. It was put on up at Mt. Spokane as a fundraiser for an Eastern Washington University doctoral program group. It was a huge success, so I hope to see it continued by future members of this group in the years to come.

I hadn't done any trail running up on Mt. Spokane before, so I was excited to see the trails. I'm doing the Mt. Spokane 50k this weekend, so I figured this 25k would be a good preview of the mountain.

Big bonus points for this race for allowing dogs! Sadie loves to lace 'em up as much as the rest of us.

There was a pretty big crowd at the start, so my game plan was - because I was running with Sadie on a leash - to start at an easy pace near the mid-back just to see how everyone sorted themselves out. So we stuck back for a couple miles. Whenever the trail widened up enough for a safe with-dog pass then Sadie and I would just ahead a couple runners at a time. We did this for about three or four miles. Then the course left the single-track and moved onto a long and winding dirt service road. With the wider road I could let Sadie off the leash without worrying about her tripping up anyone on the single-track. That's when we were able to pick up the pace quite a bit, and within half a mile or so we passed several others.

Then I didn't see anyone for the most part of a long, three-mile climb. There was an aid-station at the top and I stopped to get Sadie some water. As usual, I run the climbs pretty conservatively in hope of having something in the tank for strong descents. Same here. We hit a long descent on a dirt road and I was really able to crank up the pace. I passed a couple guys, and then around mile nine I finally reached my friend Doug who'd rode up with me. He said something like, "There's only three people ahead of us." Cool. I knew we had one big climb left (up to the top of one of the ski resort's chairlifts), but that the race finished with descent from there.

Right about then we hit the climb. And it was a good one. One of those where you're glad there's a chairlift to get you to the top. Within a few hundred meters of climbing I caught up with the guy in third place. He was looking back a lot and had a slight limp. But seeing me gave him a bit of motivation and he pushed ahead of me by about a minute. Doug had caught up with me again and I was back in fifth place, but I knew there's been some downhill before the finish line, so I stayed back at my conservative climbing pace.

There was a short downhill after the first section of the climb and I passed both of them to move up to third place. Near the end of this descent there was a small stream that I stopped at to let Sadie lay down in, and I was passed up again. The last aid station was at the bottom of the last steep climb (see elevation profile below), and from there we could see the chairlift. I went through about ten seconds back of the third place guy, but pushed it on the bottom of the climb and caught up with him. We hit finished the big climb together, and I was feeling confident that my legs were strong enough to put some time on him on the last mile's downhill.

I pushed ahead of him near the top of the climb, stopped to take a picture at the top, then took off down the single-track. Sadie was cruising too. It's motivating watching her run on trails. She's so excited that it's hard not to be happy and excited yourself.

I felt I was going at a pretty good clip that last mile, but knowing that I was in third place I found myself peeking back a couple times just to make sure the next guy wasn't sneaking up on me. But he wasn't, and I crossed the finish line in third place with a time of 2:10:26 (results). Turned out I put about five minutes on him in that last mile+. Another top-place finish for Sadie in the dog-division. :)

Wild Moose Chase Trail 25k elevation profile.

Warming up with Sadie.

Sadie excited to finally start running.

Climbing below the chairlift.

3rd-place guy just in front of me near the top of the final climb.
Sadie up ahead of him in the shadows.

Start of the downhill single-track at the end.
Great time of year for wild flowers on Mt. Spokane.

Crossing the finish line with Sadie.
(She surged ahead at the last moment to beat me by a nose.)

1st place age-group = jar of honey. Sweet!

Sept 27 -
September 27th also saw the end of the super-fun, first-annual, Kamiak Loop Trail Series. We started it in late-Spring and ran every other week on the super-tough Kamiak Loop (within the first mile there's nearly 1,000ft of cumulative climbing). It was a 2.25 mile course formatted in a time trials style.

Hopefully this will become a trail running fixture in the area for years to come too.

Kamiak Loop Trail Series elevation profile.

Flying down the ridge-line side of the Kamiak Loop trail.

Keep running!

-Scott

Pikes Peak Marathon 2011 - race report

2011-08-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Pikes Peak Marathon has been on my to-do list since I first heard about it a few years ago as I was beginning to run marathons and beyond.

Billed as "America's Ultimate Challenge," it's one of those not-so-ordinary marathons that attract me.

The race starts in Manitou Springs, CO (at an oxygen-thick elevation of 6,300') and then runs 13+ miles up to the top of Pikes Peak (at a where-are-my-lungs elevation of 14,115') -- and then back down!

Pikes Peak Marathon course profile
(unofficial)

The joke around town the morning of the race was, "other than the one hill, it's a very flat course." Okay, that was my joke, and it received only forced half-smiles and a bunch of we haven't heard that one before looks.

The 7,000' climb looked tough and challenging enough, but it was the altitude that was getting under my skin pre-race.

Pullman sits a little above 2,000', and the trails I regularly train on are between 3,000 and 5,000'. But I've only been above 10,000 ft a couple times in my life, and though the altitude didn't bother my running too much each of those instances, I was told over and over that 14,000' was going to be a entirely different beast to deal with. I knew I'd be okay with the climbing, but I was starting to worry that my body wouldn't react well to the altitude.

And then I read Matt Carpenter's amazingly descriptive course description. The one-hundred times he recommended slowing down on the climb was enough to make me think I should take the climb slow and ultra-conservatively.

So that was my game-plan, to run an ascent so conservative it would make Glenn Beck weep.

An interesting part about this race, especially for the middle-of-the-pack runner, is the jockeying for position at the start. There's a mile or two section of wide-road pavement before the course hits the nearly single-track Barr Trail for the rest of the climb. With 800 or so people running, it could make a pretty big difference in your ascent time if you get stuck in a slower than you'd like to go section of the mamba line for the first several miles of the trail. But it eventually thins out and the trail widens a tough to make passing, or getting passed, easier.

I made it a point to get myself stuck in a slower group to keep from getting too excited and going up too fast. (Is that Beck weeping?) The climb is relentless, with only a couple spots where the trail flattens or drops descends for even 50 ft. There are, however, a few surprisingly less steep sections that were pretty runnable during the mid section of the climb. You can kinda see this around mile 6 on the profile I posted above -- still climbing, but not nearly as dramatic as much of the trail.

My legs were feeling strong as I power-hiked and ran in spurts. The course had a million switchbacks. The trail was 1 part dust, 1/2 part root, 8 parts rock, and 4 parts really nasty jugged rock. And 50 parts spectacular vistas - but only if you could catch your breath enough to lift your head from your chest.

By the A-Frame aid station (around mile 10 and 12,000'), I was feeling pretty going about how I was feeling. I'd taken it relatively easy up to that point and my legs and lungs were feeling as good as I could have expected them to at this point. And then the real climbing started.

"There's a reason trees don't bother growing above 12,000' on Pikes Peak. They can't!" says the website. The views above tree line were spectacular. The weather was clear and cooperating with us up to that point and the views just went on forever. It was a great feeling to see the where we started and how far we had climbed. (About an hour after I started my descent, a hail storm swept across the peak.)

The last mile to the top was by far the most crowded. This was when people were hitting the top and turning around, so what because a fairly comfortable single-track was now becoming an often dangerous and rocky passing zone. But did I mention the views were amazing?

I reached the top in 3:39:33, alive, though hardly breathing, let the volunteer take a tab off my bib to prove I made it to the top, and then turned around to retrace my steps back down the mountain.

With my first step down I felt like I had a new body.

It was nice to go in a direction that wasn't straight up. The first mile down was still very crowded and I did a lot of walking and stepping aside. But when the trail opens up a little and the crowds thin down there really isn't much to keep you from running down as fast as you can, besides the one million hairpin switchbacks and well-placed jagged-rock booby traps.

After about three miles of downhill I started to pick up some momentum and remember thinking how good my legs were feeling. Maybe I took it way too slow on the ascent if my legs were feeling this good, which was fine with me because that was the plan. I also wondered how long I could keep up my pace. I was passing people left and right, but most of them looked like they must have wasted all their energy on the climb because they seemed to only want to survive the descent.

There were a few near-crashes involving large rocks, and a few upright slides as I hit the breaks at surprise switchbacks, but my legs were holding up and, most importantly, I was having fun. So I began increasing my pace even more with about six miles to go. And then even more with four miles left. With two miles left I was feeling borderline out-of-control on turns and switchbacks, and I think I had a smile on my face the entire time.

When I hit the pavement with about a mile left I knew that whatever I'd conserved to the top of the mountain I had burned through on the way down because the wheels were about to fall off. And then I was done. Crossed the finish line. Finished the Pikes Peak Marathon. Survived my first 14er.

What a fun race.

Some stats. I finished in 5:51:06, good for 112th place overall (out of 730). My ascent was 3:59:33, or 210th fastest up the mountain. My descent was 1:51:33, which was, surprisingly, the 30th fastest descent of the day.

This is one of those races that I might try again. Generally, I like running new stuff in new places (especially if I have to travel across states to get there), but this one was a unique and fun challenge. And I think I could cut off a good chunk on the ascent now that I know what to expect. We'll see. :)

Shoes: Brooks Cascadia 6

Shorts: Brooks HVAC Synergy Short

Shirt: Brooks Podium SS

Socks: Brooks Wool/Bamboo Infiniti QTR

Pack: Ultimate Direction Wasp

Enjoy some photos:

At the start with Pikes Peak
poking out in the background.

This photo proves that I actually ran parts of the ascent.

Running through Manitou Springs

Climbing Barr Trail. It was this
crowed for the first 5 or 6 miles.

At tree line.

Two miles from the summit. Spectacular views!

I love this view of the trail.

The summit is in view. But still a mile to go.
The last mile to the top took me about 30 minutes.

Views like this make you forget it's so hard to breathe. Almost.

Trying to sneak in some running at 13,000' feet.

Climbing. Climbing. Climbing.

What, still climbing?

Turnaround point!

You really do feel like you're on top of the world.

Glad to have survived the mountain.

Finished!

Keep running!

Scott

Madison Marathon - race report

2011-08-12T15:45:00.000-07:00

Summertime means more running and traveling, and less blog up-keeping.

So here's a short race report from the breathtaking (literally...the average elevation was over 9,000 ft) Madison Marathon in the beautiful mountains of Montana.

This race is billed as "America's Highest Road Marathon." I thought this would be a good race to get some decent altitude training for the upcoming Pikes Peak Marathon.

The Madison course follows a well-maintained, hilly, dirt forest service road along the ridge of the Gravelly Range. Although there isn't a significant single climb that will know your socks off by itself, by the end of the run the altitude (for those of us not use to 9,000+ ft) made the 200 ft climbs feel like 2,000 ft. I did a lot of uphill walking the second half of the race.

Most of the course runs through open meadows with unblocked views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. It's a perfect run-with-your-camera course. Beautiful.

Not surprisingly, this was my slowest marathon to date (4:19:50)....but everyone's times were effected by the altitude and climbing, and I still managed to sneak in another top-10 finish (results). (I can't wait for my slowest marathon record will be smashed next weekend at Pikes Peak.)

Day before the race

Shuttle to the start

Stretching my cheek muscles in preparation
for all the smile-inducing vistas to come.

10,500 ft mountains look small when
you're standing at 9,500 ft.

I took a hundred shots similar this.

Typical section of the course.

Climbing

Course stretches into the distance.

Taking photos is a good excuse to catch your breath.

A brutal little climb up through Devil's Lane

Nothing flat on this course.

I highly recommend this race if you're looking for a low-key, extra-scenic, challenging run where a PR is guaranteed not to happen. :)

Pikes Peak Marathon next weekend. Keep running!

-Scott

Mt. Misery Ultra - race report

2011-07-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

I've thought about doing the Mt. Misery Ultra the last couple years, but I always found something else to do that weekend because it looked too hard.

It's a 56.5 mile slog from the Snake River canyon in Asotin, WA, with a big climb up and over Mt. Misery and Mt. Horrible of the Blue Mountains, and then a plunge down into the Grande Ronde river canyon in Troy, OR.

Mt. Misery elevation profile

The 6-person relay is by far the much more popular option for covering the distance - only a handful have ever attempted the race solo. There were a few times on the course I wish I had someone to hand the baton off to.

I started at 6am, which was two hours before the relay teams. It's a crew-supported ultra, and I was lucky to have my go-to crew of Annie and Sadie helping me out all day.

The first 17 miles is a very gradual climb up Asotin Creek on the road out of the canyon. My goal was to run all of this section to take advantage of the cool morning temps and the runnable grade.

It was in the 30's at 6am.

Sadie joined me for 20+ miles throughout the day.

Sun rising during the Asotin Creek climb.

At around mile 17 we left the creek and began the big climbs into the mountains. One of the challenges of this course, in my opinion, is the lack of variation between climbing and descending -- with a 33-mile climb followed by a near-marathon of long, steep descents, there isn't much chance for your legs to get any much-needed relief.

The serious climbing began just as the sun was warming up, and just as we left the shade-giving trees along the creek. The climbing was big and long and more than a couple times I doubted whether we'd ever start going down.

But no matter how tired I was getting there were always the views. The Blue Mountains and Umatilla National Forest are beautiful. There wasn't a section on the course that wasn't worth stopping to take a photo. I probably lost some minutes for all the times I stopped to soak in the views, but hey, what's the fun in running a race like this if you can't enjoy the views.

Got my climbing legs on.
(and I must've left them around here...because
I didn't have much climbing left after this section)

If this road didn't go straight up, I could run on it all day.

Finally out of the canyon...
now looking at the mountains I still have to go over.

This might have been my favorite section of the course -
big open meadows and spectacular views all around.

The first relay team passed me around the marathon mark. The cool thing about this relay is that there are no set checkpoints. Teams are allowed to exchange the baton as often as they'd like and it whatever order they'd like. The fast teams coming through were exchanging the baton every 1/4 mile - 1/2 it seemed. The idea, I suppose, is that they can keep up a higher pace at shorter distances. I guess it keeps everyone engaged too. Anyway, they all looked like they were having fun. But I guess most everything looked like fun compared to what I was looking like near the top of the 30-mile climb.

The course started playing tricks with my mind as I neared the high-point of the course (over 6,000 ft). In the trees it's hard to see the summit, and there were several mini false-summits that kept taking a bit of wind out of my sails -- just when I thought I'd reached the high-point, there was another climb around the corner.

When I finally did begin the descent, it was a fast four miles seemingly straight down. And then sure enough there was another big climb around mile 38. I knew it was coming too. The RD told me that just when I thought it was "all downhill from here" there was going to be a nice two-mile climb to greet me. After that, it really was "all downhill from here."

I act like I'm running when cameras are around.

Still some snow up top. This road just opened
the week before because of the late snow-melt.

Near the top of the mountain.
I'm headed to the bottom of the canyon seen in the distance.

I was struggling a bit with my fueling during the second half of the race. Temps were warming into the 80's and my stomach wasn't responding well to solid foods. I still haven't figured out a consistent fueling plan for my 50+ mile runs.

I took a couple long sit-down-and-look-out-across-the-mountains-while-drinking-a-coke breaks that felt really good. Because it feels so very good, sitting down in the middle of an ultra isn't always the best idea. This was a small, low-key race with nothing at stake for me except some good training miles, so when thoughts like "it's been 40 miles -- that's enough for today" start popping in my mind I knew I had to get up and keep moving.

When I got off the mountain the roads turned a bit rocky and nasty. But I plugged away. It was a great feelings when I reached the top of the canyon and could see Troy and the river below. I saved enough on the climbing earlier in the day to make that last 3 or so was steep and hot and fast miles down the canyon not hurt so bad.

But it still hurt.

Off the mountain and headed toward the bottom of the canyon.

The last couple miles is a steep plunge down to the river.

Sadie crossing the finish line with me.

Finishing in the small river-town of Troy, OR.

Official time: 11:02:30.

It was a tough course. The double-cheeseburger and two milkshakes at the end helped though.
(Many more photos.)

Race Gear:
Shoes - Brooks Racer ST5
Shorts - Brooks HVAC Synergy Short
Shirt - Brooks Podium SS

White River 50 was next on the calendar, but it looks like I'm going to have to skip it this year because of conflicting things that weekend. I'm going to try to squeeze in a couple more 50+milers in the next two months to prepare for The Bear 100. Can't wait for that challenge. In the meantime, I'm sure I'll find some shorter stuff to run too.

Keep running!

-Scott

Seattle Rock 'n' Roll / Bellevue Ghost marathons

2011-07-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

Another fun weekend with lots of running. :)

I've had the Seattle R'n'R on my calendar all year, but it was only a few weeks ago that I decided to do the Bellevue Ghost Marathon the day after Seattle. Instead of shooting for a semi-fast Seattle time, the goal became trying to go sub-4 on both of them. This was my first time doing a road marathon double, so I wasn't quite sure how day two was going to look.

Day one was the Seattle R'n'R. I was shooting for in the 3:45 range. The course was decent. It would have been much better without the three big out-n-backs. In a big-city marathon like that you know there's enough street to go around that you shouldn't need an out-n-back - let alone three. Weather was nice too, though the sky was overcast and Rainier-blocking.

My legs felt pretty good and I kept an easy pace to finish in 3:33 (results) - a bit faster than I planned, but it felt smooth and easy so I wasn't complaining.

Day two was across the lake in Bellevue for a small marathon put on by a fellow Marathon Maniac. No rock and roll bands on this one, mostly some other crazies that had run Seattle the day before too.

The hills felt extra hilly on tired legs. I was extra tired by mile 20 and had to down-shift the last few miles just to get to the finish line. There were a couple miles that I began asking myself why the heck I was doing this (I don't ask myself that much anymore). :) I cruised into the finish line at 4:15 (results) -- slower than my goal, but I guess it's still an average of sub-4 for both days, so I'll take it.

At the expo

Scott Jurek was totally impressed with all my tales of extreme endurance.
(or was it jealousy?)

Rockin

Race start

Crossing Lake Washington.
(Okay, this out-n-back was probably worth it.)

Downtown around the halfway mark.
Half-marathoners on the left are near the finish line.

Seattle landmarks: clouds and the Space Needle.

Panoramic image of the view from around mile 22.

Above the aquarium.

Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

7am starters for the Bellevue Ghost.

Hills are tougher when they never end.

Aid station.

Last place.

View from the course.

I have an easy weekend planned for the holiday, then another big run next weekend: Mt. Misery Ultra. Should be miserable.

Keep running!

-Scott

Palouse Double 2011

2011-06-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

There's less writing and more running this time of the year. I'm enjoying it. Spring has been slow to come around, and now it's already summer. We're rejoicing today that temperatures in Pullman might reach 80 degrees for the first time in what seems like years. It's been a cold, wet year so far. But fun.

This past weekend was the second annual Palouse Double. This is a low-key, local race meant to be free and fun. Day 1 was on my home trails of Moscow Mt., ID. Day 2 was on a beautiful trail in Colfax, WA.

I was shooting for about 55 miles for the two days combined, but when I hit 47.5 I was satisfied and took a seat to rest. Sadie ran 45.25 for the weekend and has been a tired little pup.

I'm off to Seattle this weekend for another double - Seattle RnR Marathon on Saturday, and Bellevue Ghost Marathon on Sunday. Then a 50 or two next month. Pikes Peak (I'm so excited!) in August. And if things go as planned, my first mountain 100 in September: The Bear.

Here are a few photos from the Palouse Double.

Early starters.

Sweet single track.

Cold (40's) and wet.

Logging roads.

Dropping down onto some more single track.

Aid/rest station.

Loving my Brooks Cascadia 6.

Sadie taking a break in the middle of 30+ miles.

Nice :)

Cold Sunday morning.

But a little more sun on Sunday.

Colfax Trail

Colfax River. Some great views from this trail.

Colfax Trail along the river.

Keep running!

Scott

Spring Trail Running

2011-05-31T14:54:00.000-07:00

Most of the snow has melted, or is melting very fast. Time to throw on the trail shoes for a few months.

Loving my Cascadia 6

Riverside State Park, Spokane (interactive panorama)

Riverside State Park, Spokane

Umatilla National Forest (before the storm hit)

Storm blew in very fast

Racing hail back to the car

Spring in the Northwest.

Trail above Pullman

Keep running!

-Scott

Windermere Marathon 2011 - Race Report

2011-05-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

The Windermere Marathon follows the beautiful Spokane River from Post Falls, ID to Spokane, WA. It's a flat course that's had some fast times the last couple years.

A friend of mine flew up from Texas for the weekend to run the race. She's hoping to run a marathon in all 50 states over the course of the next several years. I was pacing my buddy, Joe, as he was shooting for his first sub-3 marathon. But this wasn't a traditional pacing duty -- my job was to slow him down for the first 10-15 miles so he didn't go out too fast like he had in his first two marathon attempts. I didn't think I had a sub-3 in my legs, but I told him I could keep that pace for at least a half. And I thought I might be able to hold on for a sub-3:11 (just in case).

We went out a bit faster than a 3-hr pace on purpose to hopefully give him a little bit of room to play with. The 20-MPH tailwind helped us for the first 5 miles or so. By mile 8 we were on a sub-2:55 pace and I told him I was going to slow down to bring it closer to 3 over the next couple miles. He was still feeling pretty good, but slowed down just a tad too, though this was when I started gradually falling away from him.

I hit the halfway point at 1:28 and change, but by now I had completely lost sight of Joe on the winding trail. He was on his own and in good shape for his first sub-3, and I was left to see how long I could hang on. The wind was swirling at this point, and what I may have gained by the early tailwind was now being taken from me by the strong crosswinds and occasional headwinds. And temperatures were getting warmer and warmer. I think this was the warmest day we'd seen so far this year.

Even though I took a wrong turn on an unmarked section of the course (which cost me about .3 miles), I was still on sub-3:11 pace around mile 21, but I was feeling the heat and starting to have trouble keeping my gels down. I stopped for a bit at the next aid station and doused myself with several cups of cold water. When I took off I knew that a 3:11 wasn't going to be doable (without risky a heat-related injury), so I put it in cruise control for the last few very warm miles and crossed the finish line in 3:17:17, good for 11th place. Joe was at the finish line with a big smile and a 2:59:xx finish time under his belt. Congrats, Joe.

I also signed up to run the 5k that was scheduled to start a couple hours after I finished. A few of us went over to an Irish pub for a beer in the meantime. I was running the 5k with my friend Annie and Sadie. What a disaster. Supposedly, the 5k coordinator went home very ill and the marathon director had to step in to get things started. The course wasn't marked, but we were told there were course marshals along the way to point us in the right direction. We went out at an easy pace and then about half a mile in we were directed to turn right twice. Something seemed wrong because we were headed right back to the finish line. Sure enough, we were directed the wrong way and crossed the finish line after 1 mile. There was a lot of confusion and no one was there to tell us what was going on. So after waiting for a few minutes we decided to just keep running because we had planned to run 3 miles anyway. Then we headed back to the pub and had lunch with everyone.

Turns out that they restarted the 5k about 45 minutes later (but, of course, not everyone got this news). However, the timekeeper was understanding of the situation when I emailed him yesterday, and he gave us a finish time based on the time we gave him that we ran. What a mess for an event that I paid $28 for. Turns out this wasn't the first major screw-up this race has had. Last year the marathoners were given a wrong turn too. And I heard that one of the shuttle buses dropped off half marathoners at the wrong location this year. Yikes!

On the marathon course

Crossing the finish line

Just before the 5k

It's starting to look like spring around here. Snow is melting fast on the higher elevation trails. Sadie and I are looking forward to some trails this weekend. :)

Keep running!

-Scott

Bloomsday 2011

2011-05-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

This year was the 35th anniversary of the famous Bloomsday 12k. This is such a fun event - and huge. There were over 50,000 finishers (again).

If you're living in the Northwest and you haven't run it yet...why?!? If you don't live in the Northwest, you should think about making a trip to run it at least once.

This was my third year running it, and I had an absolute blast again. Live music over the entire course, great weather, funny costumes, and so many smiling runners. Somehow, even though I'm still on an absolute high from the Atacama Crossing and the Boston Marathon, running Bloomsday had a way of lifting my running spirits just a little higher.

I had a good run on the challenging course and beat my time from last year by over a minute (results page).

Gathering at the start. (spokesman.com)

Not the flattest course in the world.

Love my Racer ST 5's.

I have a marathon this weekend on a supposedly fast course. If the weather cooperates, then I'm going to set my sights on a sub-3:10:59 finish just in case I can make another trip back east next spring. :)

Keep running!

Scott

Boston Marathon 2011 - Race Report

2011-04-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

My first Boston Marathon experience was a major letdown. A drag. An abysmal weekend.

Never has a marathon been talked up as much as Boston has. Ever. I've been reading race reports and articles about Boston for years and it's always "Boston is great. The food is awesome. The fans are wonderful. The atmosphere is unbeatable."

But I felt like it was all this big joke on Scott, that everyone was an actor and I was the fool on hidden camera. So why was everyone else acting like they were having so much fun?

Boston's kinda of a bummer of a city with not much to do. Luckily my hotel room had cable, so I just sat around for three days watching TV. And the food in Boston isn't anything to write home about. Sure, I had some chowder and fish'n'chips, a steak or two, moist burgers and crispy fries, a creme pie, a bagel sandwich, and a fruity-pebble ice-cream cone...but it just wasn't very good.

I went to a baseball game too, but the "ballpark" they have there is so old and dirty and run down (built in 1912 or something -- I can't believe it's still standing) that I spent most of the time worrying if the roof just above home plate was going to collapse and ruin my mouth-watering, mustard-covered sausage and/or spill my ice-cold Boston lager, or if it was going to be the rotting wooden seats that would crumble underneath me.

And the race? Overrated! [gasp] WAY too many runners. And what's with all the smiles? This isn't fun, people. This is a marathon. It's serious business. And it's only about running at least one-second faster than I did last time. Too much annoying positive energy going around for me.

Too many hills on the course (why didn't anyone tell me about this part???).

And to the thousands and thousands of spectators who braved the cold morning to come out with orange slices and gummy bears only to yell and scream at me at the top of their lungs: please stop, I'm trying to concentrate on every single step because this is a marathon and it's important to me. "Go, Scott! Go, Scott! Go Go Go!" --- I'm trying to go, but only because you are so annoying that I don't want to stick around any longer.

I only have one thing to say about the girls of Wellesley: who the heck would want to run by and kiss all these young and attractive women in the middle of the run?

At the risk of starting to sound like I'm bashing Boston and its "special" marathon, and at the risk of sounding like a spoiled brat (I'm not, btw), I can't help but wonder if 26.2 miles is just a bit too long for this race. They way I see it, 25.5 would be a much better distance for Boston. But if Boston wants to be just like everyone else putting on a marathon nowadays, then I guess it just goes to show that they aren't as prestigious as they're making themselves out to be. "Hey, look at us, we're the Boston Marathon and we're making our race the exact same length as a million other races around the world. We're so special." I know a marathon is supposed to be hard and all, but I remember clearly thinking that mile 8 or 9 would have been the perfect spot to end the race. Seems to make a lot more sense. But I guess I'll just agree to disagree with Boston on this point.

Crossing the finish line was about as underwhelming a moment as I've ever had in my life. It's was, to be honest, a bit too dramatic of the organizers to have that sharp left turn onto Boylston where the finish line, which was seemingly towering over the entire city, suddenly comes into sight like the light at the end of a I've-dreamed-of-this-exact-moment-for-years tunnel. Yawn.

To their credit though, the water at the finish line wasn't poisoned.

Sheesh, what a waste of a weekend. That's 26.2 miles that I'll never be able to get back.

This was the line to the only porta-potty on Boston Common.

73 runners were injured while fighting to get on the bus.

Green was the color of choice for Boston gear this year?!?
Sheesh - they didn't get anything right.

Not happy about how the world went blurry as I crossed the starting line.
Probably a conspiracy.

For all the money I spent to register for this race,
this is the view I get for 26.2 miles:
runners' rears...disgusting.

Oh, what, now I'm stupid? I KNOW it's the Boston Marathon.
(They treated us like idiots the entire weekend. No respect.)

I am visibly upset about the entire experience so far.

"Look as us, we're Newton and our trees can't
grow leaves on them like they're supposed to."

Dear Boston Marathon, your heartbreak has just begun --
I'm telling everyone about what a sham you are.

Finally! Let's put this race out of its misery!

(can't even spell 'photo' corectly)

So mad that I wasted an entire weekend.

Keep running!

Scott

"under construction"

2011-04-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

The Boston Marathon race report is currently being delayed. Stay tuned.

Follow Me at the Boston Marathon

2011-04-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

I'll be participating in my first Boston Marathon on Monday, April 18. (Read my qualifying race report.)

The race begins at 10:00am Eastern. I'm in Wave 1/Corral 2, which means that I should begin shortly after 10:00am.

MY BOSTON GOALS

I'll be treating my first Boston as a tourist. I'm carrying my camera and will attempt to take a photo of every square inch of the course.

I won't let time, pace, weather, sore legs, or a tired Achilles play even the smallest part in how much I enjoy these 26.2 miles. Every step will be a reminder of how grateful I am that I have the ability and means to participate in this prestigious event.

WATCH THE RACE LIVE ONLINE

Live online streaming will be broadcast at www.universalsports.com.

Live web coverage is at www.baa.org.

FOLLOW ME LIVE

During the race, I'll be broadcasting my current location live at http://runkeeper.com/user/ikeeprunning. (I love my iPhone.)

When I begin, you'll see a blinking red dot under my profile photo. Click on the dot to go to my live feed. From there you can watch my live stats and play around with the map view.

TEXT/EMAIL ALERTS

For text message alerts, simply text the word RUNNER to 345678 using your US mobile phone.

You will then receive an sms text response with instructions on how to submit a runner’s bib number.

My bib# is 1252.

For email alerts, visit this page for instructions on how to set up email alerts. (You'll need to create a free account.)

You will receive four text/email updates during the race.
10k
Half-Marathon
30k
Finish

Boston here I come!

Scott

1 Day - 4 Races

2011-04-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

My legs still aren't fully recovered from Chile, but with some rest my Achilles is finally feeling much, much better. I'd say it's near 85% strength -- good enough to run, but not strong enough to push very hard.

Speaking of not pushing very hard -- there was a full schedule of local races this past weekend. Surprisingly, they weren't all at the same time. So I thought I'd have a little fun and race 4 of them (within a 16-hour window) -- three 5k's and a 5-miler. My brother was in town visiting, and he joined me at all the races as photographer.

My goal for the 4 races was to not hurt myself, smile, and, if possible, run the three 5k's in exactly the same time without the aid of a watch.

Race 1: Twilight 5k, Friday, 7pm

I love it when I ask if dogs are allowed and they say, "Yes." Sadie really likes it too. She doesn't have as much fun being all leashed up on the sideline. She also doesn't have much fun when the race begins with the bang of a gun. She's gun-shy and kinda freaked out, but after about 50 meters she was satisfied enough that we were running away from the gun to calm down a bit.

I love seeing smiles on the faces of people that I run past in the park -- they can see how happy Sadie and I both look when we're running. It's always a nice reminder that, above all else, I run for the enjoyment of running.

I was holding onto to second place for the first two miles, but then the third place guy made a surge past me. No matter how fun I am having while running a race, there's still a competitive side of me that wanted to match his surge and hold on to second place. But I stayed back and kept at my even pace, and I held on for a third place finish (1st age-group).

Final time = 19:13

Snake River (WA/ID border)

Sadie wants me to run faster

Relaxing after the race

Race 2: Canine Canter 5k, Saturday, 8am

I've skipped this every year because I'm usually doing a long run on Saturday mornings, and because Sadie doesn't have much fun being around other dogs. (They want to play and have fun, and she just wants to work.)

All of Saturday's races were in Pullman, which means the courses are hilly. A lot of people showed up to register late, so they kept pushing the start time back. This had me a little worried, because I had to drive to a 9am race after this one. We started around 8:20, so I new I needed to run fast. :)

When I moved into second place shortly after the start, someone yelled to me, "Are you going to try to beat Stephen?"

"Who's Stephen," I said.

"That guy," she pointed to the guy who burst out into the lead. She then added, "He wins this race every year."

Well, I wasn't planning on being competitive, but now...

I stayed within a few seconds of him for about a mile and a half, but then Sadie had to take a restroom break and he was out of sight by the time we were back on the road.

It was a hilly course and my fatigued legs were working hard. I finished in second place. I think this is the only the second time that another dog has crossed the finish line in front of Sadie. She was a little disappointed, but I told her it was mostly her fault. :)

Finish time: 20:22

Doggy line

Happy dogs

Finishing
(does Sadie look bored with how slow I am?)

Race 3: Mom's Weekend 5k Run for Breast Cancer Awareness, Saturday, 9am

My brother and I rushed to the start of Race 3 just in time for registration -- only to hear them announce that the start would be pushed back to 9:30. So I had a little time to sit in the car and get warm.

This was another hilly course (it's hard to run in Pullman without running up or down several hills). My legs were getting a nice burn, and I was in third place after the first climb up to mile 1. I moved into second on the first big downhill, but the guy in the lead had a big enough gap on me (80 meters?) that I had no intention of challenging him -- until I saw him look back just before mile 2; he was looking tired and was (I guessed) wondering if he'd be able to hold on to the lead.

Since I knew most of the last mile was a big hill, I thought I'd push just a tad to see how he did on the hill. He looked back again around mile 2.75 (near the top of the hill), and at that point I was about 10 feet behind him. He had nothing left in the tank, and I cruised to the finish line in first place.

Finish time: 19:55

Making the turn for the final climb

My Brooks Racer ST5's are awesome

Race 4: 5-Mile Poker Run, Saturday, 11am

The final race was the dessert race: 100% pure fun. (but still pretty hilly)

This was the event that our infant running club put on. The idea was simple: run five 1-mile loops on a trail with great views of the Palouse; grab a card from a deck of cards after each loop; drink a beer at the end of a loop if you want to trade a card in at the end; best hand (not time) wins.

My legs were very tired at this point, so Sadie and I took it pretty easy. My cards weren't promising so I took advantage of the drink-a-beer-for-another-card option after loop 4. Running a mile with a stomach full of beer isn't as fun as it might sound. And, as it turned out, my beer gamble didn't pay off.

Final result: pair of sevens.

Going over course instructions

Great views

Why drink out of a water dish when
you can drink straight from the earth?

Pair of 7's were a big loser

Running is fun, so keep running!

Scott

(BOSTON MARATHON IS IN ONE WEEK -- I'll post details in a couple days about how to follow me during the most famous of famous marathons.)

Atacama Crossing 2011 - Race Report

2011-03-21T16:36:00.000-07:00

[This race report is an extended version of the reports I wrote while in the desert.]

COMPETITOR CHECK-IN
March 5

Unscheduled stop

The bus broke down after overheating on a long, desperate afternoon climb from San Pedro de Atacama to Camp 1, leaving about 20 of us stranded for a half-hour against the thin sliver of shade the bus cast.

The 2011 Atacama Crossing had its first victim, but after 2 hours, we made it to Camp 1.

That morning was competitor check-in: medical review, gear check, food check, bib assignments, etc. My pack weighed in at 21 pounds. I had plenty of food to meet the 2,000 calorie per day requirement.

Packs at check-in

Camp 1 was tucked between beautiful canyon walls. Dinner was a couple empanadas I brought from San Pedro; I wasn't quite ready to break into my freeze-dried meal supply. When the sun set, I realized I probably should have brought one more layer of clothing for the desert night. Camp 1 was the highest point of the race, at about 10,600 feet. It got cold when the sun set.

But the cold was nothing compared to the night sky. I’d never seen so many stars. I’d never seen stars so bright. I’ve never seen stars that felt so close. It was the first time during the week when I wished I were an astronomer instead of an ultrarunner.

I love the beauty of deserts, and Chile's Atacama Desert surpassed all my expectations.

Everyone settled into their tents pretty early. The excitement of the next day made it feel a little like Christmas Eve when I was a kid.

_________
STAGE 1: THE HIGHEST SAND
March 6
21.9 Miles

Start of Stage 1

I slept two hours. It seems no one in my tent slept much either. It was a cold night, but I'm sure the impending 250-km ahead of us is what kept more than a few awake.

Chilean folk musicians played over breakfast (it was still very cold). After a quick course briefing ("It will be hot and rocky and sandy. You will have to run a long way. You will be very tired tonight."), we lined up for the start.

Stage 1 spent the better part of the day above 10,000 ft.

From the very beginning it was clear that my Achilles still wasn’t at full strength, and not really that close either. I took two weeks off completely leading up to Atacama in hopes the rest would be all that I needed.

Sun rising through the canyon
Stage 1

I told myself that I couldn't spend my entire week being frustrated or feeling sorry for myself about months of training basically down the tube. After feeling a bit sorry for myself for about one mile, I came to terms with the fact I had a long, slow week ahead of me. I just wanted to do my best and "enjoy" every step of the way.

The Atacama landscape was stunning. Stunning.

And the terrain is unrelenting. Much of the course wasn’t along a trail or road, but literally “across” the desert. Only pink flags showed the way. Rocks, sand, climbs, canyons, plains, and pounding descents. And temps reaching near 100. I had a thermometer attached to my pack so I could check to see exactly how hot it was, but it was attached to the back of my pack and not once the entire race did I have the energy or motivation to take off my pack just to see how hot it was. Believe me, it was hot no matter what that little thermometer might have said. :)

Volcanoes watching over us

And have I mentioned that most of Stage 1 was above 10,000 feet?

All things considered, Stage 1 by itself was one of the toughest 20+ mile runs I'd ever been on...up until that point. That thought was a little unsettling at camp that night, because the course was only going to get tougher, and I was only going to get more tired.

You can be in the best physical shape of your life, but if your mind isn't in it, then you are toast. It was clear after Stage 1 that the most important training that I've done up to that point was the mental. You have to want to finish this race -- and I wanted to bad.

_________
STAGE 2: THE SUN FOLLOWS YOU
March 7
26 Miles

Running through the canyons

The main motivation for getting to the finish became the desire to eat my dinner, and in turn, lower my pack weight. 21 pounds is no joke. I did most of my training with a 15 pound pack (that was my guess at how much it would weigh before I got all my gear). That extra 6 pounds was very noticeable. Each bite of freeze-dried dinner, each gel and energy bar consumed, even popping a salt tablet, all become a little bit of pack weight reduction euphoria.

Camp life consists of finding shade, waiting in line for the computer to read comments from the previous day's blog, drinking water, and chatting with tentmates. The previous day's entertainment was when Chilean police showed up to give the camp a look around. Nothing major, I think they just wanted to make their presence known.

I slept better at Camp 2. Might have had something to do with being tired. I left the desert with bruises on my ribs from sleeping on the rocks.

Top of the world

Stage 2 started with an amazing run deep inside a river canyon. There were dozens of water crossings and a fun section where the only way to go on was to wade down river about 200 meters. It reminded me of some of the beautiful slot canyons in southern Utah. It also reminded me of the movie 127 Hours and the cheap, dull pocket knife I picked up in San Pedro as part of my mandatory gear. (I flew down with only carry-on luggage, so I had to leave my nice - and sharp - multi-tools at home.)

We climbed out of the canyon and up an old mountain road. One of the footbridges on the road was built, so we were told, by the Inca. The climb was long and tough, but it was nice using my climbing muscles. Near the top of the climb was an old mining tunnel that we went through.

Floating down the dune
(photo by Zandy Mangold)

Then more climbing until I reached a ridgeline with the most spectacular views so far. Above the river canyon was a horizon completely filled with a volcano-lined mountain range. A couple of the volcanos were pluming smoke.

There was beauty all around.

From the ridge we ran down a thousand foot sand dune. At that point I still had some energy in my legs and I was able to enjoy a fast, very fun, floating-like run down the dune. But, of course, the Atacama doesn't really let you get away with anything fun - the sand stayed with me for the rest of the stage, even after dumping it out of my shoes a few times. There are special sand-catching parts of my shoes that I wasn't aware of before.

After a few kilometers through sand, the last 15 or so miles were a long, long trudge under a sun that doesn't blink, and wind that never inhaled. It was sections like these that made this race as mentally challenging as it was.

But I made it through another stage alive and ready for another day.

_________
STAGE 3: MY BODY IS A CAGE
March 8
25 miles

Stage 3 dune climbing

"If my feet had hands, they'd strangle me." This seemed to be the only thought I had flowing through my mind during Stage 3.

The course threw the most brutal terrain at us so far: sharp and piercing sun; more sun; sharp and brittle salt flats; sharp and brittlier chunks of exposed shale that were so brutal that I believed each next step was going to rip apart my shoes; and (near) never-ending sand dunes that made me want to return to walk across the shale.

Though volcanoes looked over us all day, I spent most of my time watching the ground about two feet in front of me. I walked every step, a decision I made before the stage started. Crossing the finish line in San Pedro on Saturday was the ultimate goal - the clock and my placing barely registered on my radar (though the faster I finished each day meant the more time I got to rest in the tent).

Contemplating the dunes ahead

With each stage, though I was miles closer to the finish, each step became twice as difficult as the previous step. The miles were adding up quickly, and the Atacama conditions were simply piling difficult on top of difficult.

At this point I had finished half the stages and approximately half the distance. But the next two days were promising to be the toughest yet.

We received a course description each morning, and each checkpoint is broken down with terrain descriptions like "moderate" and "difficult" -- the next two stages (including the epic 46 mile stage that everyone around camp is seemingly afraid to even talk about) are given "extremely difficult" labels on several of the sections. No section of the course had been given this label yet.

This was the day when it started to feel like, "Wow, I barely finished today's stage. How can I possibly finish an extremely difficult stage tomorrow?" These were the moments when I had to remind myself why I was doing this in the first place. "Can I do this?" That's what I was there to find out.

Dumping sand from my shoes

I believed I would. I think you need to believe you can finish; that's the only way to find the strength in the bottom of your gut to take one more step. If you don't think you can do it, then there's no reason to take another step. But what makes an event like this so difficult is that no matter how much you believe you can finish, somehow doubt creeps in. The course and weather and blistered feet pound you from every direction, and each bit of pain or adversity lets a little sliver more of doubt creep in.

And the sleep deprivation. There's a point when you are worn out and can sleep through just about anything. Then there's the point past that were you are so sore that getting comfortable while laying on rock is impossible. I slept only 3 hours the night before. That made for about 11 hours since Friday night.

I sat under the setting sun at camp and imagined that I would cry if I made it to the finish line. 111 racers started on Sunday. 15 didn't make it past Stage 2, and a few more didn't make it past Stage 3. I saw tough and able endurance athletes packing up their things to go home. Many of them have completed other deserts. Most of them say that the Atacama has been the harshest one yet.

I told myself before sleep took hold, "I will stay strong."

_________
STAGE 4: ALIVE(?)
March 9
26.6 Miles

The infamous salt flats

Every painful step, each piercing pain, all the throbbing bones of my body -- reminders that I'm alive. Reminders of why I'm doing this. Reminders of the beauty I'm finding within myself.

The salt flat section was like a 9-mile field of corral. On tired legs it was easily the most brutal terrain I've ever attempted to cross. Each step needed to be accurately calculated. And even then I was unsure whether my weight would crush the cruddy salt formations and sink me ankle deep, or whether the jagged edges would stay firm and simply pierce against my already flat tires (it did both - often).

Each step took so much attention and concentration that at one point I started to get light-headed. I realized that I had forgotten to take my electrolyte tabs and a GU for nearly two hours. And I wasn't drinking as much water as I should have been. It was a bonk that hit me as fast and as hard as one had ever hit me. I took a few minutes to refuel before I continued on. My head and body felt much better, but there was no relief for my feet.

Crossing the salt flats

The stage started with more sand dunes, and then there was more rock. And then more sand.

I got my first blister, but it wasn't bad -- and hardly worthy of being called a blister in the Atacama. Many others had feet covered with all imaginable blisters, and it cost a lot of them the race. The first of our tent dropped out near the end of Stage 3 because of painful blisters that made it impossible to carry on. (Another tent-mate finished the race with 19 blisters on his feet.) Around camp it was becoming a humorous sight to watch everyone attempt to walk from their tent to the water or the port-a-toilet; everyone's feet were so damaged that it looked like a layer of broken glass had been spread around the campsite.

Stage 4 was, in my opinion, the hardest mile-by-mile stage of the event. Of course, it had a lot to do with the previous 3 stages wearing on me, but it was also the most brutal terrain and, it seemed, the hottest day of the week.

Climbing out of the canyon
Stage 4
(photo by Zandy Mangold)

There was a bit of drama as one of my tent-mates, Brad, hadn't reached the camp when there were less than 30 minutes to the cut-off time. It was a brutal stage that got the best of a few more racers, but Brad came jogging into camp with plenty of time to spare and in very good spirits.

In fact, everyone around camp was in very good spirits after Stage 4 - it was a stage worth being proud to have finished. But there was definitely an unease about the upcoming Stage 5.

My legs were so sore that I wasn't quite sure how I was going to manage the long stage.

But my heart was in it, and I believed that I would finish.

Stage 5 is nearly 46 miles long, and we basically had two days to complete it. For those who didn't want to run through the middle of the night, there was an overnight camp. Many utilized it.

My plan was to see how I was feeling when I reached the overnight camp. If I was feeling poorly, then I planned to stick it out at the overnight camp (some 13 miles from the finish as main camp). I figured there was no sense in hurting myself or pushing myself too far during the night. The goal was to finish in San Pedro, not to risk anything unnecessarily on the long stage.

_________
STAGE 5: INTO THE NIGHT - THE LONG MARCH
March 10
45.7 Miles

Sunrise start of Stage 5

Finding the right words to describe what happened on the Long March might be tougher than the race itself. It was one of those moments that you know will be an intimate part of your memory for the rest of your life.

I reached my lowest low on the Long March. And just as I was at my lowest came one of the most incredible things I've experienced as a runner.

I was 50k into the day and only 5k from checkpoint 5, which was the overnight camp, and I could barely take a step. It took me maybe 1.5-2 hours to go 5 kilometers. I was hurting bad, my mental state was as fragile as it had been all week, and I couldn't stomach any food.

Valley of the Moon

A dozen racers passed me and wished me good luck; they see how bad I was hurting. I hobbled into the checkpoint around 7:15pm and dropped into one of the two tents. I wanted to go to sleep and end the day.

I ate a couple gels and took my shoes off. I was feeling around 80% sure that I was going to stay there for the night. All I needed to do was get some rest, and then I would have all morning to finish the last bit. I was in no hurry to keep moving.

I was hurting bad. The course had been brutal. People were coming into the overnight tent, and everyone was feeling the pain of being under the sun for nearly 12 hours. (A checkpoint volunteer would see me the next day and ask if I finished...not when I finished - that's how bad I was looking at that point.)

The moment I decide to "just run"

I'm not sure exactly when it was that I made the decision to keep going, but I put on my socks and my shoes and I tossed my pack on my shoulders.

Headlamp on, I started toward the next checkpoint, a bit scared that I wouldn't be able to make it 10km to the next checkpoint, imagining scenarios where other runners come upon me and have to go find someone to come get me.

But as I walked from the tent and into the darkness it was very clear to me that this was the reason why I made the trip to the Atacama Desert, that I had stumbled upon a moment that not many people will ever have a chance to experience -- I was there to test myself when I'm most vulnerable. And I was vulnerable and will to take a leap.

I'm so glad I did.

It was 8pm and the sun was setting over the mountains and I had 13 miles before I reached camp. Temps dropped about 40 degrees and a tailwind picked up.

The sky that night
(photo by Zandy Mangold)

I was shuffling for the first two hundred yards from the checkpoint, and then a calmness overtook me and I told myself, simply, "Run. Just run."

So I started running on legs that can barely keep me standing.

The stars came out, and I won't ever be able to describe their beauty that night.

The sky was so bright I didn't need to turn on my headlamp.

I felt that I was taking energy from the stars and that the stars were filling my body and pulsating through my legs. I had never felt anything like it before. My body was a part of the universe.

I felt no pain or ache, and I ran all the way to the finish line.

I was so happy to be alive.

_________
REST DAY
March 11

Tent #8 runners

Those who finished the Long March the night before were rewarded with a full day of rest. Runners were still coming in just before the noon cut-off time, some injured and most very emotional.

I spent most of the day soaking in what happened when the sun went down the night before.

I wished others could have seen the stars. I thought I had seen the stars before - I mean really seen them - but the sky there just blew away anything else. It was like looking at school children's finger paintings all your life and you think you've seen paintings, and then some random day you walk unsuspectingly into the Sistine Chapel.

The talk around camp was what our first meal would be back in civilization. Pizza? Chacarero (steak and green bean sandwich)? Pizza? GUs and Clif Bars and freeze-dried meals are not the most popular source of calories anymore.

My tent-mates were a great group - 2 Danes, 2 Chileans (a third withdrew because of blisters), 2 Aussies, and a Lebanese. I could write another long story about the camaraderie that takes place at an event like this - it's pretty amazing.

My legs appreciated the extra hours off. The final stage jog to the finish line in San Pedro seemed, at times, like a mirage on the desert's horizon. Were we really so close that we could see the finish line? Was it really there?

_________
STAGE 6: FINISHED!
March 12
9.9 Miles

Crossing the finish line!

I'm done.

I've completed the Atacama Crossing.

There were tears in my eyes as I crossed the finish line, then again shortly after when I found a spot in the shade as everything sunk in.

The final stage was billed as 9.9 miles, but a rumor was spreading for a couple days that it would be shorter because a few of the other stages were longer than advertised. (Some with Garmins had measured 28+ miles on a day that was meant to be 25 miles.)

We received official word the night before that Stage 6 would, in fact, be only 9.4km (about 5.8 miles). This was fantastic news for everyone. :)

Everyone had an extra bounce to their step, and many people brushed off all the pain and bruises to run the entire stage into San Pedro.

It was an incredible feeling to cross that finish line.

What an incredible week.

It was a gorgeous desert. It was a brutal desert.

_________

Thanks so much for all the amazing support.

Keep running!

-Scott

[NOTE: Many more photos (120+) of my Atacama adventure can be found on my Facebook page. Friend me if you haven't already.]

Brooks Cascadia 6 at its best

Atacama Crossing - Pre-Trip Info

2011-02-26T11:03:00.000-08:00

(UPDATED MARCH 23: I FINISHED! READ MY RACE REPORT HERE.)

WHAT I'M GETTING MYSELF INTO

Here are a few interesting details about the Atacama Crossing.

1. The race is 250 kilometers/155 miles across the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile

Stage 1 (March 6) 35.2 km / 21.9 miles
Stage 2 (March 7) 41.8 km / 26.0 miles
Stage 3 (March 8) 40.0 km / 24.9 miles
Stage 4 (March 9) 42.8 km / 26.6 miles
Stage 5 (Mar 10-11) 73.6 km / 45.7 miles
Stage 6 (March 12) 16.0 km / 9.9 miles

2. The highest point on the course is 10,000 ft. And elevation will never drop below a mile.
3. Temperatures will reach over 100 degrees.
4. I'm carrying my own gear (including a week of food). My pack starting weight will be nearly 20 lbs, but it will get lighter - I hope - with each meal I eat.

HOW TO FOLLOW ME WHILE I'M IN CHILE

Pre-race (March 2-5):

I'll post pre-race updates on my Facebook and Twitter pages when I'm able. I'll be spending a couple days in Santiago before heading up to race headquarters in San Pedro de Atacama.

Race (March 6-12)

Check out my event-sponsored race blog each day. This will be my only access to the outside world while I'm in the desert. I'll be posting a short entry after each stage. Organizers will upload entries each evening via a satellite link. Leave comments for me - I'll be able to read them the following day. :)
Stage updates can be found here.
Sign-up for breaking news here.
Organizers will also post race updates on the RacingThePlanet Twitter page here.

Packed and ready to go

I've been waiting a long time for this. Let's just hope my Achilles can hold up. :)

Keep running!

-Scott

Pullman Winter 50k #4 (a.k.a. The Achilles)

2011-02-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the last of the Pullman Winter Series runs. We had our biggest group yet, despite temperatures hovering in the low 20's at 8:00am.

I had the great pleasure of meeting fellow blogger Mike and his family. He came down from Spokane to do a couple loops as he's preparing for his first 50k in April.

Last week I was cautiously nursing a tender Achilles. I was thinking of maybe not running any loops at the 50k (7.75 mile loops) - just hang there and cheer people on. I had a nice 8-mile run Wednesday night with my buddy Joe at a 7-min pace, so it didn't seem like it was too big of an issue, but I wanted to be extra cautious. I had similar tenderness/discomfort on the same leg last summer about two weeks before my marathon PR; I just took a few days off and gave it some good rest. Last Saturday, I skipped my 30-mile run just to be on the safe side. I ended up deciding that I'd do at least one loop of the 50k and see how things felt. Things didn't seem to be getting any worse, so I ran another loop. And then a third. I could have gone on for another lap, but the discomfort was enough that I decided to end my day at 23.25 miles (results). Two days later, it's still tender. I probably should have not run at all on Saturday. But I'll give it a few days off completely. Ice. Rest. Pizza. I'm not going to start worrying until next Monday if it's still tender. I think it will be okay.

Low 20's at the start. Photo courtesy of Tales of the Runner.

With Mike from Tales of the Runner.

Beautiful day.

Sadie kept an eye on the bighorn sheep each loop.

Icing my leg.

I'll have a detailed Atacama Crossing informational post up by this weekend.

In the meantime, keep ~~running~~ RESTING!

-Scott

Running off the excitement

2011-02-15T09:34:00.000-08:00

I'm off to Chile in two weeks. I have a few final things to do before all my gear will be ready to go. I have a quiet excitement.

I've been pretty busy with the final details of the trip. And Boston is right on the heels of Chile, so I've been pretty busy making all those arrangements too.

I hope to have a detailed pre-Chile blog sometime next week.

In the meantime, some photos:

Above Rock Lake

Ice


Beautiful trail running weather

New Brooks Cascadia 6 = AWESOME

Keep running!

Scott

Warm Snow

2011-01-31T10:56:00.000-08:00

The temperature has reached at least 40 F during 15 of the last 18 days, and five of those days it reached 50 F.

This is warm for a January on the Palouse. But, more importantly, this means melting snow....which is bad for skiers/snowboarders, but great for trail runners. And what about someone who is a snowboarding trail-runner, like me? Eh, skiing/snowboarding has become so dang expensive that it's been two winters since I've longed for a powder day. (Then maybe I should stop calling myself a snowboarder...)

Sadie and I took advantage of some unusually snowless January trails.

Wet and muddy at lower elevations
(this section is usually snow-covered all winter)

Sadie waiting for me at the top of a climb

On the climb

Snowing 1,500 ft above trailhead

There is still quite a bit of snow at higher elevations

Sadie was light enough to run across these sections of packed
snow, but I would sink through nearly every step.
Not much running (for me) this high on the trails.

Gotta love training for a scorching hot, bone dry, mile(+)-high desert race in wet snow. :)

Keep running!

-Scott

Special Thanks to Palouse Falls Brewing Co.

2011-01-27T10:01:00.000-08:00

Besides making the best beers in town, Linda and Jeff of Palouse Falls Brewing Co. have been ridiculously supportive of me and my upcoming attempt to race across the Atacama Desert in Chile.

Many of you have probably noticed their logo on my shirts for the last few months. Since the end of the summer they've been putting aside their Wednesday night tips to go toward helping me get to Chile (that's the night our running club - The Beer Chasers - meets for post-run drinks at their brewpub). Last night we had a big chili feed, and they presented me with a check for $1,000 to help cover costs of participating in the event.

Thank you, Linda and Jeff. And thanks to the other Beer Chasers - without your Wednesday night drinking habit there would be no tips. :)

Linda and Jeff presenting their sponsorship donation

And many thanks to everyone else who have helped me raise $1,970 so far. I've been truly amazed by all the support. It's no wonder I run with a smile on my face. I hope everyone else does too. :)

Keep running!

-Scott

Pullman Winter 50k #3

2011-01-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

Last month's Pullman Winter 50k was in blizzard-like conditions. Saturday's didn't feel like winter at all. Temperatures were hovering around 50F, there was no rain, winds were light if even noticeable, the route was clear of any memory of ice or snow, and an overcast early morning turned into a partly sunny late morning. It was a good day to run.

The event is a self-supported run on a 7.75 mile paved loop around Pullman. Last month, I ran without a water bottle or fuel and just stopped at my car for water and a Gu Gel after each loop. This worked okay (I generally don't drink or eat much on my runs), but on the last lap I was wishing I had a bit more water. So this time I carried my hydration pack, which not only let me sip on water a little more often, but it also cut down on the couple of minutes it took stopping at my car each lap.

I kept a relatively even pace throughout and finished in 4:17:08, whacking 28 minutes off the 50k PR I set last month in the blizzard. This was Sadie's 50k PR too. :)

We have one more Pullman Winter 50k scheduled for Feb. 19. I'll bet we don't get spring-like conditions again.

My pre-race warm-up ritual

A month and a half until Chile. My legs are feeling a little tired, but strong. They're getting used to running while tired. The only thing I haven't finalized for my trip is my lodging while in Santiago. I have all my gear ready except for a few small items. I'm getting nervous. :)

Keep running!

-Scott

Into Snow and Ice

2011-01-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

Photos by Joe King.

Winter Miles Part 2

2011-01-04T11:29:00.000-08:00

Ran 20 miles around this 1/2-mile city park path.
Those are all my footsteps, minus a few from a lady that walked by.
Not many others were out that morning when it was 5 F (-15 C).

Another view of the path. All the tracks in the snow
off the path are Sadie's after dozens of laps.
A squirrel taunted her for at least 15 laps.

These blue skies made the previous
day's blizzard easier to forget.

The beautiful side of a bitter cold.

Happy New Year!

Keep running!

-Scott

Because We Are Runners

2010-12-29T09:37:00.000-08:00

BECAUSE WE ARE RUNNERS

We will go on a run today because we are runners.

We will run tomorrow, too. And we will run the next day. This is who we are.

Running is not a hobby.

Running is not a phase we are going through. We will not get it out of our system.

We will sign up for our second marathon the day after finishing our first marathon.

We will wake early every morning to feel the new sun on our legs. To feel fresh snow under our feet. To feel the wind against our backs. To hear birds and newspaper trucks and our favorite playlists. We will watch early-morning clouds move across mountains and we will taste salt on our lips.

We will run when we are at our smiling happiest. We will run when we are at our saddest sad. We will run when we are tired or sick or married or alone. We will run when we have kids and when loved ones pass away. We will run with souls full of heartache and compassion and trust and overflowing love.

We will run to share our love.

We will run to test our own limits, to prove to ourselves that we can do it.

We will run for our health. We will run if only to listen to our own hearts beating for miles. We will run to feel every muscle. We will run to sing as loud as we can in the middle of the woods.

We will run on dirt and sand and mud and concrete and asphalt and gravel and rock and grass and cinder and rubber.

We will run to see how far the trail will go. We will run to see how fast the sidewalk will allow. We will run between buildings and canyons and we will believe we are free.

We will run to feel the earth moving under our feet.

We will run to celebrate the life that is flowing through our bodies.

---------

Winter Miles

2010-12-27T09:13:00.000-08:00

The Atacama Desert Crossing adventure race is just over two months away.

While I always run during the winter, this is the first winter that I've "trained." I'm keeping up my weekly mileage in snow and wind and ice. More importantly, I've been doing all my long runs (and many shorter runs) with my race pack. It's good to get used to running with a pack on -- different form, foot-strike, cadence, etc. Right now I have about 15 pounds of newspaper stuffed into it. I haven't purchased all my gear for the race yet, but when I do I'll transition from newspaper weight to the actual gear I'll be carrying in Chile. The race website says participants generally carry between 15-20 pounds of gear. I aim to make it as light as I can.

I definitely feel myself getting stronger. It's a little weird training in snow and sub-freezing temperatures for a hot and dry desert race...but there's not a lot I can do about that. My main goal for the next couple months is to make my legs stronger. Not surprisingly, the snow is doing a good job toughening me up a bit.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. Sadie and I had a wonderful weekend on the trails. Here are a few photos from Saturday's 25-miler:

Keep running!

-Scott

Pullman Winter 50k #2 - Race Report

2010-12-20T10:05:00.000-08:00

Mother Nature made sure our first Pullman Winter 50k met all the proper winter requirements.

Warm temperatures the past two weeks melted 100% of the snow and ice that had covered the 7.75 mile loop course since November. The course is a single loop through and around Pullman, WA. Participants have the option to run one, two, three, or four laps.

Seven runners and an ultrarunning dog lined up for a cold 8am start. Within 15 seconds of the start, the first snowflake fell. The rest of the morning was a battle against the winter storm that came in fast and hard.

Four of the runners opted for the single loop option, which was (besides not running at all) probably the smartest thing to do Saturday morning. Three of us weren't so smart.

The snow wasn't so bad...compared to the wind. About 4 miles of each loop were straight into the constant snow gusts. The kind of wintry wind that makes you wish you were had a pair of ski goggles. And a cup of hot cocoa. And a Florida address.

Sadie helped power me through. She has endless energy and excitement when it's snowing. It's easier for me to keep running when Sadie loves it just as much (okay, probably more) than I do. We fought through the wind and snow and finished in a 50k PR of 4:45:26. Granted, this was my first non-mountain trail 50k, so I expected to PR -- but it was still hard earned. I must note that the Brooks Utopia Soft Shell jacket is the best jacket I've ever run in.

Enjoy a few ultra-winter images.

Mile 3.5 of loop 1 -- wind and snow.

Mile 5 of loop 1 -- relentless wind.

[VIDEO] Conditions at mile 5 of the first loop. Wind!

By mile 6 of loop 1 there was this much snow on the ground.

With Sadie after the first loop.

Frozen face.

Sadie playing in the bushes.

A few inches of snow piled up fast.

"Look, Ma! I can't feel my toes!"

My Brooks Racer ST 4's after 50k.

After-race beers at Palouse Falls Brewing Co.

We have another Pullman Winter run on Jan. 15. It probably won't be warm.

Keep running!

Scott

Running the John Wayne Trail at Rock Lake

2010-12-13T11:12:00.000-08:00

The Thanksgiving-week blizzard is history. Warm(er) temperatures and rain have washed away most of the lower-elevation snow. This is good for runners, but bad for skiers/snowboarders.

I've been looking at the John Wayne Pioneer Trail for the past week. This is the trail that I ended my Run Across Idaho on, and it crosses nearly 300 miles of abandoned railroad grade in Washington. I'm brewing an idea that I might run the entire trail (plus some) during an upcoming summer.

Anyway, while mapping out the route I noticed a section of the trail not too far from me (1 hour drive) that ran along a 7-mile stretch of a lake called Rock Lake. Hadn't heard anything about this, but I'm always up for a new and interesting place to run. And because the snow had melted dramatically over the past couple weeks, I thought it would be safe to give it a try.

Day trip!

Sadie leading the way along the abandoned railway grade
that's now the John Wayne Pioneer Trail.

The lake and trail are spectacular!
Unbelievable that I've never heard anyone say,
"Hey Scott, you should go run that trail above Rock Lake - it's spectacular!"

Crossing an old bridge.

There were two tunnels along the section I ran.

It gets darker before it gets lighter.
(Thanks iPhone Flashlight app!)

Sadie above Rock Lake.

Sadie giving me a mini heart-attack on the cliff's edge.

Running through heavy, wet, icy snow (video):

Another amazing view from an old bridge.
This bridge challenged my fear of heights.

A couple miles past rock lake is the picturesque Pine Creek.
This was at 10 miles and my turnaround point.

Running back along the lake and across a rickety old bridge (video):

It was a fantastic run. Again, I can't believe I hadn't heard of Rock Lake before. I would have gone farther than I did, but the snow was getting dramatically deeper the farther away from Rock Lake that I got. I'll definitely return again. It was worth the hour drive.
I'm doing my weekly long runs in my weighted Chile training pack (only 82 days to go!). It's quite a new experience to run several hours with a 15 pound pack. It takes an extra toll on the body.
I'm putting on a small, local 50k this weekend called the Pullman Winter 50k. If you're in eastern Washington or North Idaho, come by and join us on Saturday. It's super low-key and no-fee (think of it as a glorified training run).
Keep running!
-Scott

John Wayne Pioneer Trail Map

2010-12-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

I've created a map of the entire John Wayne Pioneer Trail.

I've found a few online maps of different sections of the trail, but I hadn't been able to find a good map of the entire length.

Keep in mind that I have not traveled the entire distance of the trail, so I can't speak to whether or not certain sections of the trail are open and safe. This is simply meant to be a useful tool to others seeking a basic map of the entire route.

1. Interactive version of the John Wayne Pioneer Trail done with MapMyRun.com.

2. jpg:

Just Brainstorming

2010-12-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

I have an idea brewing...

Snowy Thanksgiving Road Trip

2010-11-29T11:56:00.000-08:00

Winter is here.

I try not to travel much during the holidays. The weather and roads can get a bit dangerous. And it's tough to fly during the holidays because my dog-sitters are usually out-of-town and I don't like to board Sadie. Well, all the 10-day weather forecasts I looked at for the week of Thanksgiving looked good, so I thought I'd give it a chance. I planned to drive down to Salt Lake City for a couple of days to visit my dad, and then we planned to drive up to Alpine, WY to visit my grandparents and brother on Thanksgiving Day.

The drive to Salt Lake was fine. Roads were clear and safe. Too easy, right? Well, sure enough, a blizzard snuck up on us in the Northwest and made its way down through Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah. Driving up to Wyoming and then back to Washington was slow going. Cars were overturned in snow banks, tow trucks were stuck in ditches, freeways were reduced to 10 MPH, etc. It took a couple days to get home, but I made it safe.

Yep, that's why I don't like to travel during the holidays.

Anyway, I did some running too. Went on a few good runs with Dad near SLC, then had a very cold run in Alpine on Thanksgiving morning. And then I finally made it back home with enough time to squeeze in a long run, which turned out to be one of the hardest, most tiring non-ultra length runs I've ever been on. I picked up the backpack that I'm taking with me to Chile so I can start getting used to running with all my gear. I don't have all my gear yet, so I stuffed the pack with about 12 lbs of newspaper. I'll increase the weight as my trip gets closer.

My long run was 23 miles, with my weighted pack, in mid-20 degree temps. What made it so hard was that about 14 of the miles were in at least 6 inches of snow, with some places as deep as my knee. Very tiring. The rest of it was on packed snow or ice. It took me 4h11m to make it home. Very tiring.

Here's a photo recap of the week:

Above the clouds on White Bird Pass, Idaho

Sadie enjoying a pre-blizzard view of the Salt Lake Valley

[video] Running with Sadie up a snowy Potato Hill above the Salt Lake Valley

[video] Running with Dad above the Salt Lake Valley

Dad on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail above the Salt Lake Valley

Minus-10(F) on my Thanksgiving morning run in Alpine, WY
(It's too cold to smile)

Back in Pullman/Moscow for a 23 mile run through snow

The few miles of plowed path felt like a little piece of heaven

Keep running!

-Scott

A Few More Photos of the Changing Season

2010-11-15T09:45:00.000-08:00

Thursday - Mt. Spokane

View below the clouds on Mt. Spokane

Ice on the trees when I climbed into the clouds.

Saturday - Moscow Mt.

A few inches of snow on Moscow Mt.
Still very runnable - so winter hasn't won yet! (Sadie LOVES snow.)

Saturday - Moscow Mt.

Snow will push me off the mountain soon enough - but until then, I'm still taking to the trails.

Keep running!

-Scott

Running with Trees

2010-11-08T11:14:00.000-08:00

It's dark when I get off work now (and it will be for a few months), so weekend runs under the cold, dull sun will be more of an extra little treat than usual.

Winter keeps knocking, but so far it hasn't stepped through the door completely. The mountain trails are still clear of snow, and the flora are in their final, most colorful stages of the season.

With no events lined up for this past weekend, Sadie and I headed for the hills. I've had a fun year racing and participating in a lot of events (and I'll probably add a few more races before the year's out), but it's always so nice to get out on the trails with just me and Sadie and the trees.

Near trailhead at bottom of Moscow Mt.

Gold evergreens

This is a LOT of non-snow for November.
No complaints. :)

Keep running!

-Scott

Countdown to Chile!

2010-11-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

I'm four months away from taking on one of the biggest challenges of my life.

The Atacama Crossing in Chile.

250 km (155 miles) in 6 stages
Self supported (participants carry everything but tent and water resupply)
The driest desert on the planet

I've put together a four month training plan that I began this week. To successfully challenge the Atacama Desert, I'll need to be in better shape than I've ever been in. By February I hope to be in the 80-100 miles per week range. (A big, white winter that's been forecast for the Inland NW is going to make training that much more difficult.) Part of me is hoping for a lot of snow -- the harder the training, the better prepared I'll be physically and mentally.

I'm very excited to get out and run.

Keep running!

-Scott

Doc Sears Fall Classic

2010-10-30T23:40:00.000-07:00

There was another Saturday morning event down in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. The Doc Sears Classic is a 4.65 mile paved loop course put on by the Lewis-Clark State College cross-country team.

I didn't plan to race hard, and didn't even bring my Garmin or watch to run with. But my legs were feeling pretty good after about a mile even though my last three weekends have been marathon, half-marathon, and ultra-marathon. I moved into third place just past mile 1 and ran a couple miles about 50 meters back from the two guys running together in front of me.

Around mile 3.5 my legs were still feeling good and I was closing the gap between me and the front runners. So I thought I'd race a bit. :) I snuck into second place with about a mile to go and was gaining pretty good on the leader. But when he glanced back and saw me about 20 meters behind and gaining, he showed that he had something left in his legs too. I gained on him, but it was too little too late -- I crossed the finish line in 28:02, seven seconds behind him. (results)

Second race this year I nearly missed by showing up late.
Here I am rushing to the starting line.

Cruising along the Snake River

Loving my Brooks Green Silence

Near mile 4.5 -- The eventual winner is in the blue shirt
ahead of me as we weave through the walkers.

Keep running!

-Scott

Goblin Valley Ultra 2010 - Race Report

2010-10-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

I had a great trip. It was amazing to run the Goblin Valley Ultra with my family. Two of my three sisters, Melanie and Lisa, ran their first 50k. One of my three brothers, Adam, ran his first 50k. My sister-in-law, Jennifer, ran her first 50k. And my dad ran his first 50k since quadruple bypass heart surgery in December '08. It was such a pleasure to be a part of it all. I'm so proud of them all. (Sadie ran the race too - and I'm proud of her as well.)

Goblin Valley is worth a visit if you're traveling to or through southern Utah. Southern Utah, as a whole, is gorgeous -- but Goblin Valley's landscape is particularly unique. (Free knowledge: If you've seen the movie Galaxy Quest, then you've seen Goblin Valley -- it's where the rock monster scene was filmed.)

The course was an out and back through breathtaking desert. The six of us planned to run the course together. Dad has had a slow (for him) recovery from his surgery and hasn't returned to ultrarunning shape as fast as he'd like. He hadn't done a run over 20 miles in nearly two years, and contemplated switching to the 25k option before the race. But last year he ran the 25k option, so he decided to stick with the 50k to, at the very least, run the back half of the course even if he had to drop at the turnaround point. The rest of the group were in marathon shape, so they were confident and excited to tackle the longer distance.

We all had an absolute blast running together for the first half; when we weren't running in a group, we were rarely more than shouting distance from each other. There was a mile or so of pavement at the beginning, then the course was mostly dirt road. The views were everything I love about the desert. Dad was plugging away the entire time. One foot in front of the other. Perpetual forward motion.

Most of the course was relatively flat, with any elevation change the long and gradual variety. The course did have a few short, steeper climbs (and some of the best views) in the miles near the turnaround point. Dad hit his low point on the trudge back up the hills after the turnaround. (Side note: the course was a bit short this year as the turnaround had to be moved up because the road at the original turnaround was washed away in a storm the day before the race.) We were all aware going into the race that he was going to go as far as he could and then drop if he needed to. But we all wanted to stick with him for as long as we could while still making sure that we could finish under the cutoff time if he dropped. His pace had slowed considerably, and he was starting to hurt pretty bad. I asked him how he was feeling and he said he was going to try to make it to the next aid station near mile 16 and drop. I told Adam to go ahead with the ladies and don't wait on us. I planned to stick with Dad until he dropped, and then I would catch up with them.

Even though he had slowed considerably, Dad was still under the cutoff pace, so I wouldn't let him drop at the next aid station. We had some time cushion and I calculated that he could finish under the time if he could hold his steady walk. I told him that as long as he was under the cutoff pace he wasn't allowed to drop. So we made it through the next aid station. Then the next. Slow and steady. One foot in front of the other. Our overall pace was getting slower and slower, but we were still sitting under the cutoff time.

He got a boost around mile 21. His walk quickened and he ran a few of the downhills. Mile 22. Mile 23. Mile 24. When he started talking about how tired he was and what he was planning to do when he got to the finish line (instead of "if the sweep vehicle comes, I'm going to get a ride with them"), I knew that dropping out had left his mind. Some might see that as insignificant, but it's HUGE when an ultrarunner visualizes being at the finish line instead of other (less finish-y) options. I knew his mind was in the right place and that it was just a matter of time (which we still had enough of) before we hit the finish line.

Tacked on to the end of the out and back course is the highlight of the race: the mile or so through Goblin Valley proper. We run within a couple hundreds yards of the finish line before running past it and then dropping down into the valley for a big loop with the goblins. The rest of the gang had already finished their first ultra and everyone was there to cheer us on. Melanie and Lisa joined me and Dad (and Sadie) for the goblin loop.

I crossed the finish line with my dad in 8:09:14. (results page)

I can't tell you how proud I am of everyone. Dad for his long recovery from heart surgery, and Melanie, Adam, Lisa, and Jennifer for there amazing performances in their first ultra attempt (I think all four of them could handle a 50 miler soon).

Four years ago, my dad was the only one in our family who could call himself a runner. Now there are six of us who can call ourselves ultrarunners. Pretty awesome.

Enjoy the photos. (I had trouble narrowing down from the over 280 photos I took during the race. I think that's a record for me.)

Moon setting on western horizon

Sun rising over Goblin Valley in the east

The goblin chasers are off!

Melanie (right) and Jennifer

Melanie, Lisa, and Dad around mile 3

Jennifer and Adam and the early morning sun

We've dropped into a shallow canyon near mile 8

Melanie and Dad

Adam and Sadie

If there's peace during an ultra, you're not doing it right

Melanie, Jennifer, and Lisa climbing out of the canyon bottom...

...and making their way to the ridge

Sadie knows when it's photo time vs. running time

Amazing views as we near the turnaround point

Here we are just before we split up.
Me, Jennifer, Adam, Melanie, Lisa, Dad

It's just me, Dad, and Sadie for the rest of the way

Desert solitude

Dad and this desert road had an epic battle for about 5 miles.

Sometimes majestic views are worth running for,
no matter how much you're hurting.

Goblin Valley

Melanie and Lisa joined us for the last couple
miles through Goblin Valley.

Goblin Valley

My impression of a jazz-dancing goblin

Goblin Valley

Crossing the finish line with Dad.

Days like this are why I keep running.

-Scott

Lewis-Clark Half Marathon race report

2010-10-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

Since I began running in 2007, I have run 7 marathons and 15 ultramarathons. Surprisingly, until Saturday's Lewis-Clark Half Marathon in Clarkston, WA, I had never attempted a half-marathon.

The race is put on by the Seaport Striders, a club about 30 miles south of where I live. I've participated in a couple of their races this year and I really enjoy them -- they're low-key and low-fee.

When I woke early to the thermometer reading 30-degrees F, I took a deep breath and finally admitted to myself that summer had gone. And what a great summer it was. But no time to waste, autumn is here and it won't wait for me.

Sadie and I drove down with my buddy, Joe. No dogs allowed for this event, though, so Sadie had to wait for me until post-race to get some running in. It was a bit warmer down in the Lewiston-Clarkston valley, with a temperature in the low 40's for the start.

The course is a flat out-and-back along the Snake River. I seemed to remember that I had hit the half-marathon split during my Foot Traffic Flat marathon in July at around 1:25, so I thought that was a good aiming point for this race. I hadn't done much speed work since then, and even less since my Run Across Idaho in August. But I knew I could run a sub-1:25, I just didn't know if I had it in me for this particular morning.

A group of about 10 shot out like a gun. Our pace was pretty quick and I settled in behind another guy at the back of the lead group for the first mile. A 5k fun run was attached to the half-marathon and they started at the same time as us. My impression was there were only a few people doing the 5k, but when we reached the 5k turnaround there were about 6 or 7 guys ahead of me who made the turnaround. I found myself in third place about 50 meters back from the leader, Joe, and a guy tailing him.

I hit the turnaround point at 42:30 (6:29min/mile) and still in third place. However, the fourth and fifth place guys were close enough (maybe within a minute or so) that I had a bit of incentive to pick up the pace a little for the second half. I fought the urge to glance back to see if they'd gained ground on me until about mile 11 when my wheels felt like they were going to come off. I looked back and saw no one behind me. Not sure what I would have done if I had. :)

There was a very small (but very noticeable!) climb up to the finish line, and I rolled across in 1:24:09 (6:25min/mile) for third place overall. My buddy Joe was overall winner. Full results.

Half-marathon #1 in the books. :)

Sadie wondering where her treat is

Look, Mom! I got a trophy!

I'm very excited for this weekend. I'm traveling to southern Utah to run the Goblin Valley 50k. Other noteworthy runners who will be toeing the starting line include:

-Dad (he'll probably opt for the 25k...still not fully recovered from his quadruple-bypass)

-Melanie (sister; her first 50k)

-Adam (brother; his first 50k)

-Jen (sister-in-law; her first 50k)

-Lisa (sister; her first 50k)

-Travis (brother-in-law; 25k or 10k)

-Sadie (my dog; her 3rd ultra this year)

-other family coming to spectate and support

It should be an absolute blast.

Finally, I am now officially entered into the 115th Boston Marathon scheduled for April 18, 2011. Let the countdown begin. :)

Keep running!

-Scott

Coloring the Air

2010-10-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the success of a run should only be measured by the smell of the air.

Spokane Marathon 2010 race report

2010-10-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

After taking much of September off (Run Across Idaho recovery, Costa Rica trip), I am using October to slowly build my training back up as I get ready for my epic adventure in Chile this coming March.

The race in Chile is all about running while tired -- there will be 4 consecutive days of marathon distances followed by a fifth day of an ultra distance -- so my training for the next few months is going to be focused on running long distances on consecutive days.

Saturday a friend I and went for a tough 15.5 mile run in the North Idaho mountains. My legs were tired and heavy by the end of the run, and when I woke up early Sunday morning for the 1.5 hour drive to the Spokane Marathon, my legs were still tired and heavy. Running a marathon on tired legs is good training.

I ran this marathon a couple years ago (3:49:12) and it was in the 20's at the starting line. It wasn't nearly as cold yesterday, but the air was wet and brisk. I didn't set a goal for this race as much as I tried to guess how I'd do on tired legs. I figured I could finish semi-comfortably in the 3:30-3:45 range.

Gearing up

Nipple protection is key

Start of the 2010 Spokane Marathon

The course is scenic, with spectacular views of the Spokane River during a good chunk of the route -- but it's tough and hilly.

Doomsday Hill looms around mile 22.

Even though my legs weren't ever feeling great or fresh, they didn't feel too bad. I settled in at around a 7:30 min/mile pace for the first 15 miles knowing that I wouldn't last at that pace for the entire course. But as I've learned from earlier marathons this year, sometimes it's worth shooting a little higher than what you think you can do, because you might surprise yourself.

And I had this waiting for me at the finish line:

What's better than a carrot on a stick?...

So though I didn't think I could keep a 7:30 pace, I decided that there was no harm in trying. But by mile 22 I realized that I had been wrong and that there really was harm in trying, because my legs were hurting. Bad. To add insult to ~~injury~~ tired legs, this is about when the course throws Doomsday Hill at you.

I was toast after that, and cruised into the finish line at 3:24:57, which (to my surprise) was still good enough for 10/183 overall and 3/18 in my age group.

I'm running so fast that no one even sees me.

Glad it's done.

This is a great marathon. It's about as cheap as you'll find a marathon that provides aid ($25 if you don't want the t-shirt), it has great volunteers (and aid stations every 2 miles), great organization, and it's a beautiful course. This year they even had a medal for the finishers. It's a good one.

I'm going to give a go at a half marathon this coming weekend (I've never actually run a half marathon before) and then I'm headed down to Utah in a couple weeks for the Goblin Valley Ultra.

-----

And last but not least, a HUGE shout-out to my sister-in-law, Jennifer, for completing the Chicago Marathon yesterday. She scared us last year when she was in, and thankfully survived, this accident. But after a long stint in the hospital, she made it a goal to run a marathon. And she did it! I'm very proud of her. Jennifer inspires me more than any 2:10 marathoner out there.

And isn't that what's great about runners? We come in all shapes and sizes, with different speeds and abilities, and with different life stories, goals, and motivations.

I'm a runner.

You're a runner.

Let's all keep running.

-Scott

The Beer Mile; my first win

2010-10-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

My First Win

It's good to be home and running again.

Pullman Parks and Rec were putting on a Saturday morning 10k/5k, the Care-to-Share Fun Run, to raise money for low-income families. I was in the mood for hitting the trails on Moscow Mt., but because there are so few local running events, I thought it would be a good idea to stop by and show my support.

A couple others had dogs, and we all had to start at the back of the pack. Once we started, though, Sadie and I moved up pretty fast (there were maybe 25 people running the 10k) and I quickly realized that unless someone was playing possum, I happened to be the fastest person who showed up.

Sadie pulling me to victory

We took the lead just before mile one while cruising at a comfortable pace into a bit of a headwind (I wasn't wearing a watch so didn't know what my splits were, but I figured I was running around a 7:45 pace). At the turnaround point, I saw that my lead was a couple minutes. I was feeling good and and Sadie was looking strong, so we picked up the pace quite a bit during the second half. We cruised in to the finish line at 43:44, a few minutes ahead of second place. It was a little anti-climactic for a victory, but it still a nice feeling crossing the finish line first. Sadie's been the fastest dog at every race we've done that's allowed dogs, so this was nothing new to her. We celebrated by going out for a few more miles. (Fun Run results)

The Beer Mile

The main event for the weekend was our running/drinking club's Beer Mile. The Beer Mile is an unofficial national event. The idea is simple: run 1 mile on a 1/4 mile track, and drink an entire 12oz, non-lite beer before each lap. Yes, four beers in a single mile. (Puking = a penalty lap.)

Since none of the schools in town would allow us to do the event on their track, we found a nice big park and GPS'd a 1/4 mile loop.

It was a load of fun. I had no idea what to expect in terms of time, so I just tried to chug as fast as I could (which wasn't very fast when you're breathing hard from running) and run at a speed just below the puke line. I finished in 9:41. With more practice I think I can go a lot faster. Here are the results.

And here are a few photos:

This is my new racing suit.

Finishers and our empty beers.

(Sadie was a little confused by the point of a Beer Mile.)

Afterward, we grilled up some steaks and had a nice lunch. And then after lunch, Joe, the defending champion from a few hours before, thought it would be a good idea to defend his title against anyone who dared try a second beer mile.

Only I took the challenge.

Pre-Beer Mile #2

(I'm already at a disadvantage because I don't

have my official Beer Mile racing suit on anymore.)

Shaking loose the nervousness of the epic showdown.

My form has room for improvement.

This is what you look like after two Beer Miles in an afternoon.

If you've never done a Beer Mile before, you should - it's a blast. (Though I don't recommend a second immediately after.)

I have a few weeks of training before I head down to Utah to join many members of my family for the Goblin Valley Ultra. That will be a blast too.

Keep running!

-Scott