Lazy Summer Days, A return to running and shoe review

Many of the trails near Auburn and Foresthill are busy highways from January to June with many gearing towards Western States. After states life on the trails gets a bit slower..not so many runners (though there are a lot of races still to be had..) the excitement wears down. Granted over the last 5 years or so there have been a huge increase in the Auburn Recreation area with hikers, folks heading to the river to cool off, mtn bikers all seeing these areas for the first time...While I a happy to see this increased use I kind of want to see it a bit more unspoiled, less people, less informational signs, no cars at trail heads...Can't stop progress right?

Next weekend on the states trail is the Tevis Cup...the race that started it all..I watch video of those horses and their riders climbing on these trails and am amazed at this level of effort. It will be too bad that I will be at Squaw Valley for the Mountain Run. I have never scene the finish of Tevis and it is on my list of things to do...If your in Auburn next weekend be sure to check this race out.

Yesterday I went over to Auburn Running to meet up for the revised Auburn Running training group runs..I got there a few minutes late but the run turned out fine just as well. It was my longest run since Western States...I had lost that charge after states and it was good to feel focused once more on a run. The run was only 14 miles from the store down to StageCoach and then up to Cool and back...But it had me going consistant..not fast nor trying to blow over my max heart rate, so I was happy about that. I did get to see a few runners in the early morning and also test out my new Montrail Mountain Masochist trail shoes!

Montrail Mountain Masochist

Mark,Rena and Erik had all raved about this shoe so I had to order a pair. Overall the shoe is very nice. I was very happy with the fit in the heel right off the bat. Snug fit in the heel and a wide toe box which I like. There is not as much forefoot cushioning as in the Mizuno but I got over that pretty fast. With three runs on these shoes it appears like it could be part of my running gear to review for next years use at States. I will see how they work with the montrail shoe inserts I use in other shoes. That may change the overall feel for the shoe making it hard to run in but will see.

As I said next weekend is the short mountain run at Squaw Valley...looking forward to tahoe area once more.

Have a good week...Tony

Crewing at Tahoe Rim Trail 100--Long but fun

This years addition of the Tahoe Rim Trail running series..50k,50mi and 100mile had just as much drama as last years if not a bit more. I got a chance to unwind after my week long annual software user confernce in San Diego. Those that know me understand that that conference is hard on me. Non-Stop talking, joining clients with solution teams, business partners, attending socials etc..only leaves me exhausted and ready for a long weekend of not seeing or talking to anyone...ie decompress from the event. Instead, it was off to the Tahoe Rim. It proved fun and rewarding...I am still tired but happy.

TRT is the 100mile National Championships. It is a tough race, elevation, heat and a brutal course. Crews have access at Mt. Rose and at the start/finish-Spooner Lake. This allows a lot of time for crews to mingle and have fun waiting for there runners. This is a good event to crew for sure!

I arrived early at Mt. Rose after quickly packing for a day of fun in the Tahoe area.
I made it to Mt. Rose after the first 100milers went through. I was to meet up with Mark Lantz and Rena Schumann. I would help where needed. Mark was crewing early for Erik Skaden, then pace Skaden and Rena was to pace Bree Lambert from Mt. Rose to the finish. At Mt. Rose..I ran into Jonathon Bernard's girlfriend Linda Barton and I introduced myself..that was nice to finally meet up. She was crewing Monica Ochs from Seattle. About that time I saw Kate Evens...Rob's wife she was towing along Forest the wonder dog for the day...Forest and I would have a lot of time together as the day went on. Rob came through in 7th place and looking really good at his first stop at Mt. Rose. He would really prove himself later in the day...Mark Gilligan came through as the first 50miler to arrive and he was fresh and happy. Temps where starting to rise and the sun at elevation is pretty intense. Things would get a lot harder for the lead 100milers soon.

I hightailed it down to Spooner Lake to meet up with Mark and Rena. Having had no time for food I knew that the TRT staff would have a great burrito spread at the finish line for the 50k and 50milers..These are great volunteers by the way and offer a lot of support for this event. I was able to donate to the food service and grab a monster plate of food..Here I got to run into Prudence L'Heureux, turns out she was helping crew Bree so we had alot to chat about...

Me and My big plate of food..thanks TRT Staff!


Prudence and Me hanging at Spooner




Images courtesy of Prudence L'Heureux

After the big lunch..it was time to head to lake and wait for the 100milers to come through and see the finish of the 50k and 50milers. TRT is such a fun race to watch with opportunity to hang at the lake..try and sample one of the finisher beers they supply and talk running..Kate Evens was set up and waiting for Rob. Forest was the bomb and everyone enjoyed taking turns playing with him. Nerves where a plenty as Mark Lantz waited for Skaden. He had been 3 or 4th place at the 25mile turn with some gifted runners in front. Mark indicated that was the plan and he was on course. Mark was right...Skaden came through first at the 50mile turn...He looked ok a little hot with the rising temps..He made a rapid turn out. The 2nd place runner came in 15minutes behind..but for some reason he did not want to head out and chase Erik, 3rd and 4th appeared the same while Ian Torrence looked a little injured but he would come on strong later. With now one really chasing it was up to Skaden to make it to Mt. Rose and have Mark bring him in. 20minutes off pace was Rob Evens..he looked really good and picked up his pacer Jasper Halekas (Jasper is one gifted runner out of Oakland, and just finished an impressive run at WS finishing 3rd)..this was going to challange Skaden the most..two gifted runners (one pacing) to reel him in. Wow this was gonna be fun...

Mark Gilligan in the meantime finished the 50mile in First Place! He is off to Mount Blanc next month so this was a great tune up for him.

Mark celebrating with family..a great win.


All talk about the upcoming race duties as we got ready to head to Mt. Rose


Mark Gilligan, Mark Lantz, Kevin Swisher hanging at Spooner..

As we waited at Mt. Rose in the early evening Rena was getting ready to pace Bree. She was ready early making sure she would bring out the best for her. Bree was in first place at the 50mile marker and had a friend pacing to Mt. Rose. It was her friends first attempt at running like this while Rena the ever present professional runnner ready to contribute where needed. Talk for me then revolved around food and getting some folks excited to hit a nice dinner in Incline Village after crew duties where done at the 78mile mark...Forest and Prudence's dog both entertained chasing a tennis ball in the field. The view from Mt. Rose is great with a large meadow the runners come through on the way to the aid station..We all awaited for runners to arrive around 7:30...Not to long and we spotted the orange Montrail Jersey of Skaden in the meadow! All alone he arrived..

Skaden actually smiling as we get him ready..or is that a grimice :)


At this point Mark was ready and took charge to get him to the finish..Erik had a few issues but for a guy having run WS three weeks ago he was doing great..only question could he hold off who was in second place...It turned out that the leaders all suffered big time...all but Rob Evens! Rob was in second place! He arrived with Jasper 30minutes behind Erik. It was going to be a great finish! Kate was all excited..though Forest could care less..he was busy burrowing for insects in the field..We awaited for Bree and send off Rena..Bree came in first women at 10:30pm! Rena was set to go when Bree's first pacer said she was not needed and she would take her in...I can understand that as she was friends with Bree..but at the same time Rena was ready to go and much more experienced than Brees pacer. Rena was very understanding about the situation and had briefed Bree that if she wanted to go on that she would be fine..It was a nice gesture on Rena's part to keep the dynamic going with Bree and her pacer. With all that done it was now time for some dinner...Dang it was too late..Rena, Prudance and crew and I made a bee line for Incline but really not much open so late..We managed a trip to the 7-11 for an elegent dinner of coffe that tasted like cigarette butts, some beef jerky (Forest btw loved the jerky more than I) and a apple fritter..hmmmm good fixins..Time to head to the finish!

Nervous we all where but tired too..We got to Spooner about midnight and headed down. Prudence had her sleeping bag and crashed..Kate and I hung with Forest who was looking for all the jerky he could find. Rena had a beer and was dancing to the hawaiian music in the background...about 1am we heard word that the first runner had passed a checkpoint..rumors abounded that Rob had cut the lead to 7minutes! Skaden's number came up from the checkpoint and we awaited to see the headlamps dance from across the lake...Finally at 1:27 we saw some lights approaching the finish..Kate nervous..She shouts out into the dark..to name who it is...Mark Lantz shouts out...SKADEN! Skaden won the race in 20:27....Kate was not really too disappointed..shortly after we hear that Rob was making his way in..2nd Place! Winner of the masters race for USATF! 20minutes back..it was great. Erik was in good spirits and thanked us..

So much race to come it was time for sleep..after 2hours of sleep in the car I came down at 4:30am to see Bree finish first. I was done. Sun coming up I packed up and drove back down the hill to Rocklin. A great day..Some inspiration as I get ready for WS next year. I came away ready to prepare and looking forward to all that awaits..Next up the fun Mountain Trail Run at Squaw Aug. 1

Post Western States Funk

Hi all it has been two weeks since Western States and all the excitement. I must admit to being a little less focused these last two weeks with a kind of let down not having the big race right on the door step so to speak.

After being up for 33hrs the next work day I was a mess. All I wanted to do when I went to the office in Sacramento on Monday was talk about the race. Note to self...next year I am going to take the whole week off after Western States and recharge the body and brain. No sense not being being at work and not being productive.

July 4th was a fun filled day with a little bit of drama thrown in for fun. I started the July 4th day by heading to Sacramento and working at the Buffalo Chips annual FREE 4th of July 5mile race. My assignment as usual was traffic control at an intersection to keep about 400 runners safe. This race has been going on for 30 years in the same neigbhorhood..8am on the 4th. Flyers sent to all in the area notifying them of this. Most folks are really supportive and patient as I have them wait for runners to pass. Well I said most...I had a very rude, impatient female driver that decided to try and mingle her car with the lead pack! I had to run to get her to notice me and pulled her over. Lucky she did stop but that did not stop her mouth from running for a long time while I held her back from trying to drive her car through the rest of the runners.
Lucky for me I headed over to Rob and Kate Evens house later for a 4th of July party. It was all talk about WS..I was the slowest runners in attendence. Nichols, Lantz, Rena, Jasper, Prudence, Andy, Victor..I was out of my league. Still fun though.

Overall, running has been hard...The legs are not tired at all...just the post event let down. Everyone is coming back to running shape again so not a lot of group runs taking place..I did sign up for my second attempt at the Squaw Mountain Run August 1..I love heading up to Squaw for this and enjoy this laid back short race straight up the mountain to high camp. I am also looking at the 100k or double marathon for the Sierra Nevada Run in late September..

http://snerultras.com/

Then next edition will be a little more fun and full of energy....See you on the trails. Tony

Western States 2009 Review

Before I begin my review I want to say with a heavy heart that the Weekend was a bit subdued at times to mourn the passing of Dan Moores. One of the bright spots was seeing the ribbons on race day shirts of the runners and all the auburn running shirts out there to show that Dan was a very special person and we will all miss him.


Sorry folks no pictures so to speak even after arriving at Squaw Valley Thursday before the race. This was a great event to be a part of and I hope all of you get a chance to participate or watch the race some day.

I met up with John Nichols on Thursday afternoon in Auburn after I had stopped at Auburn Running to checkin on the buzz happening at the store. It was packed with runners just wanting to buy last minute things or chat about the race..a good feeling. Nichols and me made it to Squaw Valley and pulled into race central to see standing outside Karyn Hoffman and other runners we know..Race Central felt like home..you know many of the folks walking around or these would be soon to be new friends since you where all there for WS. Rena Schumann and Mark Lantz had been there since Wed....Mark was all nerves and hoping for a top 10 finish. Friday morning had us all making our way to the runner check in, and purchase of WS gear. Such a happy time for all with the view of the startline and hills to climb right from the start. We all had put in a lot of $$ for raffle tickets in hopes of securing one of three slots for 2010. These would go to a select group of friends if my tickets would be drawn..For some reason I was confident we would get the draw. The major discussion was about the predicted heat in the valley below predicted for Saturday.

Friday evening I has asked Nichols if he wanted to go get some dinner..he initially said no. He would have some powerbars for dinner etc..He did join me and his crew member Gus as we went out..As soon as he saw the all you can eat WS dinner special he changed his mind...Dang Nichols three plates of pasta and a full side of chicken wings turned out to be his pre race meal! We all joked that he better bring extra toilet paper on race day!

Saturday Morning started at 3am with a wakeup for Nichols..The race starts at 5am the time flew by to the start. I finally got a bit of nerves as I watched the runners line up in the dark. I was thinking about Dan, and my chance to toe the line next year. With the gun off they went..And our day began. I quickly packed up and got the gear ready for my drive to Robinson Flat...I was to meet Nichols there. I arrived at Robinson about 9am. I ran into Mark Lantz's parents there and they where nervous for Mark since they know he just loves the competition. Robinson was a huge party! There must have been 200-300 people all waiting for their runners to come through. Dave Mackey and Hal Kroener came through first, Jurek looked comfortable in third. Lantz came flying up and about 40minutes off the lead in 15th place..Just as we started working on him Skaden blew by without stopping. Lantz had a blister and stopped to work on that then was off. I waited for Nichols and he passed through about 11:20am he was scrapped up after a fall. It was heating up by then with temps in the high 70's at 6000ft. As I was leaving I saw Jenn Shelton..the gifted young runner who gets a lot of press..she was done for the day. I could see it in her eyes and would find out later that I was right...many more would drop as the day wore on.

Next up for me was get to Bath Road...This is the Auburn Running Store aid station..about 2miles from Foresthill School. Here there was a large picture of Dan Moores on a story board. Runners where asked to sign the board as they passed through...it was a nice gesture. Here I had gator and fruit for Skaden and Lantz. Skaden came in first and was at 11th place..he looked good and was feeling ok..The temps where now well into 90's at 3:30pm. Mark was about 20minutes behind Skaden and in 13th place..He was worried about others catching him. His main competition was Andy Jones Wilkes who was about 6minutes ahead. I told him to focus on catching him and keep moving.

With these duties now done I headed back to Foresthill and mile 62 aid station and began my waiting for Rena Schumann. We had talked early that it might be about 7pm when she would arrive. Most runners with the heat where all registering about one hour or more behind their projected times. Jurek had dropped at Devils, Mackey was hanging by a thread to the river and the drop list was nearly equal to the remaining runners on the course. Reports where slow on where runners where and I had heard Rena was on course to arrive at FH about 8:50pm. It would be a long night with headlamps from the start...Rena had some friends from work that showed up and I talked with them when Rena came into sight about 9pm...She was ok..had some issues at Devils and El Dorado. But she was moving and that was fine..We got out of FH about 9:12pm..headlamps blazing. She was not feeling too well and was tired. This would be the theme for the night.

From FH we started the slow downhill strides and got used to the headlamps and tunnel vision it brings. It was slow going but we started to pick off a lot of runners. We saw Karyn Hoffman near Cal1. Rena was moving along pretty good on this stretch and it was a very strong consistant running pace as we moved passed more runners. She had some issues with dry heaves now and we had to stop and focus on getting that better as we got close to the climb to cal3(fords bar)...We approached cal3 and wondered where the aid station was! It had moved down the trail about a half mile...it made the run to the river only 4.5miles that was nice. But things where getting tough for Rena and the stomach.

We kept it moving to the river..it was about 2am now and it was amazing to hold on to the cable and move slowly across. The volunteers standing in the river to help where the bomb! As we crossed to Farside Rena changed her shoes and we saw Karyn Hoffman come up from the river..that was the last time we saw Karyn it was tough out there... I had to really begin to get Rena to keep moving and there where streches where she ran strong then had to stop and cough etc...We had a very good stetch with Ling Ru and her pacer Pete Defty..I lead a group for a couple of miles and felt Rena had a strong stetch. At ALT Rena had her lowest point. It was now about 3:30 I was telling her to just focus on 3miles per hour and get in by 9:30am. She wanted to stop and take sleep against a tree. I just could not let her do that. We where hitting the splits I set for her and just wanted her to keep moving. Lots of talking on my part and focusing her on run and walk stretches. The ALT med folks suggested she take it easy since she was dry heaving and wanting to sleep. Knowing Rena that is not what she would really want that..We took a few extra minutes here and moved on to Browns..She ran really well to Browns Bar (maybe her best yet) she was revived a bit and the Hashers Aid Station was busy at about 6:30 the sun was up and that helped her mood.

Push on to HWY 49..here we had her last med check and weigh in she was up about 3 lbs since ALT and the nurse was questioning that...Rena was ok..not puffy yet and going to the bathroom so I pushed to get her through to the finish. Rena perked up a ton as we ran down to NoHands bridge...blasting some AC/DC she got all charged and as we checked in two runners looked back to see us and said..."We knew you two would catch us"! She flew through there like a rock star...She was running really strong. In fact it was kind of hard to keep up with her...when you pace you take on the runners strides etc..and when you suddenly pick up the pace it is hard to get the legs to react.

Near Robie point we saw Tim Twitemeyer running down to no hands..he was all smiles and excited. His assignment was to get the remainder runners into the finish that where close to the 30hour cut off...he was great as I watched him later help those folks out..pretty neat.

We got Rena to the track at 9:23am ahead of my 9:30 prediction! That was the bomb. Mark was there with his 9th place finish to see Rena cross as where his parents. I was a mess!

It was a great experience and helped me understand what 28 hours of running looks like..I am happy to have helped out and look forward to next year.

Tony

Local runners carrying heavy hearts - Auburn Journal

Local runners carrying heavy hearts - Auburn Journal

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A Little Humor leading up to Western States...

Watch this its really pretty funny..and does have some sick fun humor..Tony

10 Days till the track meet and my duties

Just a stroll through Volcano Creek..heading up to Bath Road and FH School..

Only 10 Days till this years addition of Western States 100! I have been off travelling the midwest for a week and it is good to be back near the Western States excitement. Right now it appears that below normal temperatures will the biggest thing facing runners this year. It has been COLD in relative terms here in NoCal...This should make it easier for all runners and push the leaders to a new course record.
Now who would I look to placing in the top 5? In no real order...

Mike Wolfe, Jasper Hakelas, Michael Wardrian, Eric Grossman and Graham Cooper.

For the women..I see Nikki Kimbell being the one to beat. Jenny Cappel and Caren Spore may suprise and crack in the top 5, Bev Abbs will race well and Jenn Shelton will fade to a finish in the top 6-10.

Of the locals I hope that Skaden can pull off a top 5 but the fied is deep. Pulling for Mark Lantz to beat out the dreaded Dean Karnazes...(YUCK!) Do not get me started on him and how he got into this years race what a piece of work. I hope that he is not in 2010! Lantz has been running great all year and seems poised for a great race..He will be challanging Andy Jones Wilkes and others for top mens masters it is a deep field..

So many others to mention...John Nichols, Charley Jones, Mike and Karyn Hoffman, Marty Hoffman, Ken Crouse, Karalee Morris, Wayne Miles, Bill Finkbeiner who the heck is not running????

Well I will be pacing Rena Schumann for the third time and picking her up at Foresthill Mile 62 for the final 38. Rena has been doing fine this season and is poised to finish her 9th meaning next year is an automatic entry to go after her 10th finish! We have not talked specifics but I am guessing that she will arrive about 7 or 8pm in Foresthill and from there off we go. I want to keep her pace easy as we move through the early evening towards the river crossing. So about 4hours would be in my mind the right pace..though she can easily hit 3:30 to the river I would like her to start really knocking off runners between green gate and Auburn Lake Trail Aid Station...She could pull a sub 24 if things are on we will see..
Rena running up from NoHands...



Here are two pics from Western States Training Camp Runs..images by Joe McCaddie