EnduraZone

MY MEETING OF THE "RUNNING ON THE SUN" CAST

2010-07-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

Running on the Sun had a huge impact on me. I used to think I would never want to run Badwater. But the movie made me second guess that. Soon, I ran Badwater. Now, I have had an opportunity to meet and run with many of the cast members of Running On The Sun.

Eric Clifton:

Eric won the race in the movie. He and I battled for second place in SF One Day (he won) and have exchanged the occassional e-mail ever since. He was at my first 100 (TRT), Quad-Dipsea, and other races. He is a great person and I am glad I have met and run with Eric. I snapped the photo below as he ran past me at the Quad Dipsea.

Jack Dennis:

Jack was quite a personality in the movie. His wife Mags taped a can of beer on the vehicle to help entice him to keep running. He has become an ambassador of the sport and the race. I met him pre-race at BW and at the Panamint Springs aid station where he and Mags volunteered,

Nick Palazzo:

Nick was my favorite character in the movie. His smiling face, his upbeat personality and his rant about the lack of soup was fantastic. I met Nick at the 2010 Vermont 100 mile run. It was great meeting him and he was so helpful and supportive. It was the highlight of my VT 100.

Marshall Ulrich:
Marshall was the guy in the movie that demonstrated how he had all his toe nails surgically removed to help his running. He is an awesome athlete and has climbed Everest. I saw him during my Badwater run as he passed me at Lone Pine. But finally at Leadville 100, he and ran down Hope Pass together and I had a chance to chat with him. He was very nice, but unfortunately I never thought of snapping a shot of us running down the pass.

Lisa Smith-Batchen:
Lisa was the heads on favorite in the movie but ultimately medical issues doomed her late into the race. I met Lisa at the Keys 100 race. She was so supportive and she and her crew helped me during my run. The next year she gave a presentation at the Keys about her efforts to raise funds for orphans. She really is a great person.

Dan Jensen:
Dan was another person with a great story and a great personality. He lost a leg in Vietnam and the movie showed his efforts to complete Badwater. When I started up Townes Pass in my Badwater run I came across Dan and his daughter. I had to stay with them for a bit. I told my pacer this was like meeting a movie star. He must have passed me as I slept at Panamint Spings as I came up on him again around the 100 mile mark later in the race and we ran together for a bit. He ended up finishing that year. Again, unfortunately I did not snap any photos of Dan and I together during the race.

Badwater Ben Jones:

Ben was the race director in the movie and had great lines about the race, the desert and the challenge. I only shook his hand at the pre-race meeting but still it was great meeting him (again no photo of us together).

Hopefully I will continue to meet other cast members in my future.

RUNNING SAN BRUNO MOUNTAIN WITH RACE DIRECTOR BOB BECKER

2010-07-12T14:17:00.001-07:00

Last week, Keys 100 race director was in town with his lovely wife and stayed the night at our place.

After warming up my liver with a visit to my liquor cabinet the night before, Bob and I started the morning with a ten mile run on San Bruno Mountain.

It was a cold and foggy day - most of the great views from the peak were covered in fog.

I got to show Bob my favorite back-yard running trail.

Bob was using this run as a tune-up before heading to Death Valley to help pace Keys 100 winner Brian Krogmann in teh Badwater 135 run. I don't think this added to Bob's heat training.

But maybe this will help Bob get up Townes Pass and Mt. Whitney.

WESTERN STATES 100 MILE ENDURANCE RUN

2010-07-02T11:07:00.000-07:00

EPISODE I

I grew up in the San Francisco bay area. I had heard of the Western States 100 from very early on – and thought it was so extreme, so unbelievable. But I would read reports every now and then and was very intrigued. When I entered undergrad I started running for fun. Soon I entered some road 5k and 10k races and didn’t do so bad. I was invited to join the college cross country and track teams. I really got into running – I guess obsessed with it. Soon moving up to the marathon and 2 years after I started running qualified for and ran Boston Marathon. All this time though I would hear about the Western States race. Soon I transitioned into triathlon….trying to get into the Hawaii Ironman and missing by a few minutes. But every time I heard of the Western States 100 I was more intrigued but of course in no condition for a 100 miler. I told myself to get to Kona and then one day I would try Western States.

Years went by and I did a lot of cycling and running and triathlons. But then I started my current job and it left me no time to train on the bike for triathlon. So I decided to put my Kona plan on the shelf for a few years and try for Western States.

Two friends who I had met while running were already involved in Ultramarathons. Chihping Fu and Rajeev Patel were these two people. They became my mentors and my friends. I knew I had to qualify for Western States so I upped my running from Ironman training to a 50 mile. I picked the SF One Day as my first ultra. It was also just about my last opportunity in 2006 run a qualifier for the Western States lottery. I did a 30 miler and a 40 miler in training and then went to SF One Day.

At the 2006 SF One Day I had one goal – 50 miles in less than 11 hours so that I could get my name in the Western States lottery. I went out conservative with a run/walk strategy but I found myself in 3rd place. There was this dude in the brightest tights I had seen who took off like a bat out of hell. He and another runner were trading first place back and forth. Soon he began to fade a bit and I caught him and passed him. He and I spent the next 5 miles trading 2nd place. As I lapped a runner he commented that Eric and I were having a good battle. I asked “Who is Eric?” He replied “Eric Clifton – he is a legend.” Wow – that was cool I thought.

Soon I caught Eric again and introduced myself. He asked how my race was going and I mentioned my piriformis was just beginning to act up. So this guy I just met who was in a middle of a race – a legend in the sport – stopped in his track to show me his favorite stretch to help with piriformis. Eric and I chatted a bit. I told second place was all his – all I wanted was to get my 50 mile qualifier. He told me about his Western States experiences.

During the day I also chatted with the woman leading the women’s race. She introduced herself as Kathy D’Onofrio. As we ran we talked about the run and I told her my Western States goal. I learned that she had actually won the event more than once! She also stopped her run and showed me her favorite stretch to help against piriformis. We talked a lot about the race and I was falling more and more in love with this sport. Here I was in my first ultra ever and I am running with elites and they were treating me as one of their own.

I ended up doing 50 miles in a tad over 8 and a half hours. I had qualified for Western States! So I entered the lottery along with a bunch of friends including Rajeev and Chihping. None of us were selected for the 2008 Western States so we looked for an alternate.

Tahoe Rim Trail 2008 was to be my first 100. As a tune-up I entered Quicksilver 50 Mile run. I ended up running the last 15 miles or so with two runners – Mario Jackson and Lon Monroe. Lon had multiple WS finishes and is portrayed in the WS film “A Race for the Soul” when he is laying in a river during the race saying that it was better than sex….at that moment anyway.

At Tahoe Rim Trail, I re-met Eric Clifton there and he was just as friendly as before. Rajeev was there, Chihping was there, and I met people who would soon also become my ultra friends including Peter Lubber (he and I finished side by side) and Anil Rao (who, like me, used TRT as his first 100). As I approached the last aid station a voice shouted to me – it was Lon Monroe cheering me on!!! I finished the 2007 TRT100 and this qualified me for the lottery for the 2008 Western States. I put my name in again and, again, I wasn’t drawn.

So that was two years in a row that I had qualified without being drawn. So I knew my turn was finally coming. All I had to do is qualify in 2008 and I was in thanks to the two-time loser rule (qualify for the lottery two straight years and not get drawn in either then just qualify again in the next year and it was automatic entry). So I did a few races that year – Keys 100, Leadville, and UT Mont Blanc (and Badwater) – and qualified for Western States. That was it….I was in for 2009!

But 2008 had a first for Western States….a cancellation due to wild fires. I felt bad for all the runners who had trained so hard for Western States. I knew I would have been extremely disappointed had it been my WS race. So these runners got automatic entry into the 2009 race. This postponed my two-time loser entry a year further……or did it. Western States management decided to end the two-time loser rule. So my automatic entry was gone. But they held a special lottery for those, like me, that were two-time losers and pending automatic entries. Half were to be pulled for the 2010 WS race and the other were given entries for 2011. I got in for 2011! Wow…..I did my first ultra in 2006 with the single goal of getting into Western States….and I had my entry 5 years later! So I resigned myself to the fact that my first opportunity to do Western States would be in 2011.

There was to be a lottery for 2010 but there were only a small number of slots to be pulled. I mailed in my entry but actually even forgot about the lottery on the lottery day. I was out with Cori and the kids and came home to a string of e-mails telling me I had been pulled in the lottery! Wow…..I was in now in for 2010 and 2011!!!!!! So….now I finally made it to Western States…what follows is what happened to me at the 2010 Western States.

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

It was Friday morning and Cori and I were trying to get on the road. We were heading up to Squaw Valley to check-in for my attempt at the 2010 Western States 100 mile endurance run. All my gear was basically packed and ready to go. But we had other things to do. We had two dogs that we had drop off at two different locations. We also had to get Connor, my step-son, off to school. So, of course, we left about an hour later than we wanted and hit traffic. The week before I had been fighting a pretty bad headcold I had picked up while in Switzerland and Holland on business. I was still coughing a bit, but overall felt that I could finish the run. I had taken almost a full week off with zero running.

Cori had offered to drive so I could relax. But the last thing I was doing was relaxing. I kept watching the time tick away on my watch getting closer to the 1:00 deadline to check-in. I started texting Christian Griffith and Adam Blum who were at the check-in to let them know I was running late and to see if they could inform the race management. We were approaching Truckee and Cori was doing her best driving fast. Cori then mentioned to me that she was started to feel dizzy. She was 6 months pregnant and had had a few spells of nausea but being dizzy was new.

I looked ahead and there was a turn-off to a gas station about 100 yards away. I told Cori to pull off and I would take over. As she got on the exit she then said that she couldn’t see anything but black dots. We approached a stop sign but Cori was out. We rolled through the stop sign as I grabbed the steering wheel and directed us towards the gas station parking lot. We weren’t exactly flying, but Cori’s foot was still on the gas pedal. I cranked the steering wheel to the left so we started driving in a tight circle and leaned over and grabbed her right leg off the accelerator and moved it onto the brake and pressed down. The car came to a stop and I slammed it into park. I jumped out of the car and ran around to Cori. She was still out cold.

There was a California Highway Patrol getting into his car nearby and I called him over saying something about my wife being pregnant and needing help. He told me later he was scared he was about to be have to help deliver a baby. A face appeared on the passenger side and it was a woman who said she was an EMT and happy to help. Cori started to come to at this point and the CHP called for an ambulance. A man came up and said he was a doctor and offered to help. He spoke with Cori and indicated that it could have been the altitude. He saw how I was dressed and asked if I was headed to Western States. Turned out he was also headed there to be a pacer. He promised to let the race management know what was going on. Soon, just before an ambulance got there yet another man walked over from the pumps and said he was a doctor too and offered to help. Cori certainly picked the right spot to pass out.

The ambulance crew took Cori’s vitals. Her blood pressure was very low – 92 over 60. The medics told her that they would either take her to the ER or let her go if I promised to drive her to the ER. The promise was not necessary- there was no question I was taking Cori to the hospital. So off we went to the Truckee hospital. Almost four hours and an I.V. later, Cori was discharged from the hospital. They believe her episode was due to low blood pressure, dehydration, low blood potassium and altitude. Cori insisted we continue to Squaw Valley.

SQUAW VALLEY AT LAST!!!!!!

Cori and I pulled into Squaw Valley at around 6:30pm. I looked around but of course all check-in and drop box stations were long gone. I came across Christian Griffith and Jeff Genova and Jeff’s pacers. We chatted for a bit and it was confirmed to me that I could check in the morning before the race. So I went to get Cori and we decided to get a bite to eat. While we waited Cori got a chance to meet Christian and Jeff. Then we popped inside the Pizza and Pasta shack at Squaw Valley for a pasta buffet. There we met up with Shannon Farar-Griefer of Moeben fame. She was very concerned about Cori and she and her crew offered any help they could even a hotel room at the finish line for Cori. After dinner, Cori and I went to check-in our hotel. We were staying right at Lake Tahoe. It was a beautiful night and we took an evening stroll along the shore. Then it was back to the room for a last few minute pre-race to-do items. Then off to sleep.

RACE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cori and I woke up early and headed to the race start. The scene was still pretty empty as I got there around 4am to do my initial check-in. There were maybe two dozen people eating the pre-race breakfast. I went around to the check-in and the volunteers were very nice. They recognized my name and Mary at check-in asked about Cori. I was given my race number 207 and my timing chip. Weigh in (man – I was fat) and my pulse…50 something so not too bad, Because I was so late, I lost out on my super cool goodie bag though.

Cori and I waited a bit as I got ready. I grabbed some coffee from the breakfast. Then we met up with Christian and Jeff. The excitement was so thick – you couldn’t cut it with a knife. It would take a chain saw!!!! We all talked and laughed nervously. I saw and chatted with other runners such as Catra Corbitt.

Then Cori mentioned that she wasn’t feeling good again. I walked her to the car very worried but she wanted me to run the race. She said she would text me later letting me know how she was feeling – and I decided to stick my blackberry in my waist pouch. She wished me luck and took off. I went back and saw DC and G from ZombieRunners. My mind was on Cori though.

I went outside and joined the crowd. Soon I regrouped with Christian and Jeff. I also came across Scott and Vanessa Brock from Key West. We talked and waited for the start.

Less than 5 minutes to the start of the race. Gordy was standing nearby – wow! What a feeling. Here we were at the start of Western States next to the man who started the whole thing! The next thing I knew we were under way. I was competing in the Western States 100 – putting my foot to the ground on the course that I had heard about for at least 25 years. A participant in the event that had been an integral part and goal in my life since 2006. I was here.

I started slow and relaxed. I was snapping photos and cracking jokes. I was power-marching the climb. I was surprised how well I felt and was making pretty good time. Soon I passed Gordy and kept going. I saw Jeff and Christian up in the distance and slowly caught up with them. The three of us kept a steady march up towards Escarpment.

There was snow around us and waterfalls created by the snowmelt. The scenery was beautiful. As we climbed up towards escarpment, there were a few brief spots that allowed for some actual running (well, OK I am sure the leaders and other immortals ran all the way). We got to the first aid station very quickly.

We repeatedly crossed snow fields and reached the final climb to escarpment. Footsteps in the snow were like hacked in stairs – it made the climb rather easy.

We kept marching up - part of a very long line of runners.

Then the next thing I knew, we were at the top. There was a man hitting a gong and I was reminded of the song “Bang a Gong!” Jeff pointed out the monument at the top of escarpment.

And then we had downhill!! I love downhills and take some pride in my ability to run them quite fast. So I was excited by this.
But unfortunately the trails were pretty crowded so the speed was dictated by those in front.

After awhile we entered an area with a lot of snow. This was FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Slipping a bit, sliding a bit but never going down, I managed to pass some people here and there by running hard in the snow. I found that my shoes had great traction and as long as I sighted a good line, I was really having a great time. Christian, Jeff and I stayed together most of the time but soon Christian got caught behind some runners and Jeff and I motored ahead. The trails were constantly being interrupted with streams of snow melt – inches wide to feet wide. In between the snow and streams were rocks, mud and slush.

I was leapfrogging all other the place and I know I was sporting the biggest shi+-eating grin on my face. I came up behind a runner that I recognized immediately as DC. I passed him and snapped a photo. He shouted a warning to me based upon my pace: “Remember the Grand Slam”. He was right of course. All I wanted was a finish here to keep my Slam hope alive. So no need to bust the pace or a leg.

As we neared the end of the snow fields Jeff and I met up again and we entered the next aid station together. I had to pee right before the station. At the station I asked for a band-aid – my left nipple had blood dripping out of it – thanks to a combo of the cold air and friction. Then Jeff and I were on the road again.

We fell into a run the flats and downs and power march the ups. We kept a strong steady pace – but I found myself peeing – a lot! I stopped four times in the 10 minutes after we left the aid station to pee. The trail here was more of a wide hard packed road that eventually met an asphalt road. We kept going on – basically at the same pace. Sometimes Jeff would take the lead, sometimes I would. After a bit we got separated and I entered the next aid station first. I went through it pretty quickly, just re-filling my bottles. The trail exiting the aid station wound through a forest along side a lake. This was French Meadow basin – the alternate route thanks to high snow on the ridges.

Usually it was single track trail and at times it was single file line of runners weaving through the trees. There were some creek crossings too – and cupping some of the cold water and pouring on my head felt really good.

Then the trail exited the forest and began to climb. All around were memories of a forest fire. Blackened corpses of trees still standing against the sky. This was the remains of the fire that cancelled the 2008 event.

We kept climbing and I found myself near Alyssa Springman – the winner of the Keys 100 the year I took second place. She was up ahead a bit and there were a group of maybe 8 runners (including me) that kept pretty close together. The trail had been cleared – but not so close to the ground that it wasn’t covered with hundreds of cut off stalks sticking about 3 inches abov the ground just looking for feet to snag and trip. Then we entered the next aid station at Duncan Canyon. This was the part that rejoined the original course. I grabbed some watermelon while the wonderful volunteers filled my bottles for me. Then I was off again.

I was feeling really good now and keeping a nice pace. We were about 30 miles into the race and I was having fun. Every now and then I’d feel a little discomfort on my right foot and would stop and adjust my shoe. It would go away and then come back. I found that every time I came to a water crossing if I let my right foot be submerged in the icy snow melt it felt better for quite a few minutes. At one point we reached a wide river crossing with a rope stretched across to use as a hand bridge. Alyssa was right in front of me as we entered the water. Amy Palmiero Winters, an amputee runner with an artificial leg was on the far side of the crossing.

The water was so cold – it felt great!!!! On the other side of the water the trail started going uphill. The temps were started to climb just like the runners. We continued on – I started chatting with a runner wearing a Pamakids singlet. I knew Panamakids was a bay area club (in fact I ran for them years ago).

Alyssa and I stayed together most of the time and as the trail continued up we would both occasional stop and grab handfuls of snow from the piles along the trail. I stuffed the snow in my bandana around my neck and rubbed it on my head. Pretty soon we were approaching the Robinson Flats aid station. Shortly before getting there DC caught up and passed me. He and Alyssa entered Robinson Flat almost together and I came in about a minute later. As I entered a few people shouted my name to my right and I recognized Georganna Quarles from the Florida Keys. Mark Nassi, one of the Ultraholics, was there cheering as well. Robinson Flat was around mile 30 and I was very pleased with how I was feeling. I was a little concerned with the reoccurring pain in my right foot. But at that moment more concerned with hot spots developing around my toes due to the constant water and mud. So I sat down and stripped off my shoes and socks and reapplied a generous helping of hydropel. My waters were refilled and a nice volunteer squeezed out a sponge of cold water on my head. I thanked her and moved on up the trail. Going up the trail was frustrating to me – it was difficult to get good footing in the snow and it would sink or slip out from under my feet.

Finally however I reached the crest and it was downhill time! I took off down the trail glad I was going to get what looked like a long stretch of downhill running. The view was beautiful.

But the bottom of my right foot started hurting worse. Now it was intermittent, it was with every step. Soon the pain radiated to my ankle and eventually also my right knee. I would stop and stretch it, massage it, adjust my shoe, try anything – and then run again. But it never let me go more than a few minutes before it would stop me again. At one point I pulled off one of my Moeben sleeves and tied it like a tourniquet around my ankle hoping the pressure would help. It did for about 10 minutes but soon I was stopped again. I heard some runners and looked up. They were part of the medical crew. The stopped and asked how I was doing. I explained the situation. I was baffled and frustrated. Overall I felt strong. I wanted to run. But I couldn’t. The medical crew suggested I ice it at the next aid station and they were off.

I started power marching and kept a decent pace.

At one point I decided to check my blackberry and was surprised to see I had service again. I called Cori who answered. I was very much relieved that she was feeling 1000times better. I explained what was going on and she said she would try and meet me at the aid station at Dusty Corners. So I trudged along trying to keep a strong pace but getting very pissed off with my right foot. Finally I entered the next aid station and asked if they had ice. They did so I went over to a chair and two volunteers wrap ice around my right foot. One of the volunteers recognized me from my triathlon days and we chatted. I downed some Tylenol (I usually only take aspirin but since there was no relief I decided to expand my medications).

Soon Christian entered the station and greeted me. He hardly stopped and kept going. I was pretty soon right behind him – with a roll of gauze that the volunteer gave me for my foot. I knew Cori would be at the next aid station and I really wanted to see her and try new shoes to see if it would help my feet. I caught up with Christian and we ran together and talked about the race. Christian was keeping his eyes open for trees with big soft leaves as he needed to visit the woods. Only pine needles greeted him however. I warned him to avoid red leaves and he just kept looking (borrowing a line from a movie my kids love called Rat Race….I think he was prairie dogging at that point). Soon I moved ahead of him and entered Dusty Corners. Unfortunately Cori wasn’t there. Volunteering at the aid station was Bill Andrews who shouted my name. I explained what was going on with my feet. He offered to lend me his spare pair of shoes - but they were 3 sizes too big. So I wrapped my feet in the gauze and started off again. The trail dropped down into a forest. It was actually very beautiful. I found that the gauze actually helped a lot. It provided some cushion and I was able to actually run. It still hurt but it wasn’t unbearable.

I picked up my pace and was weaving through the forest. Soon I was catching and passing people. After about 15 minutes I came up to Christian. We fell into a common pace and motored down the trail. Christian was complaining about his inability to pee. I asked him how long it had been since his last time and it had been at least an hour. I was concerned but he was still motoring along. He told me he was down 10 pounds. I mentioned I was down 7 pounds. So us two light weights kept motoring down the trail. Near the end of the trail we had a water crossing – Christian went first and I followed. I stopped though and splashed water on my head and neck. I never caught up with Christian and he got to and through the next aid station at Last Chance before I got there. I entered the station and scarfed down some food.

I asked medical if they would mind re-wrapping my foot as the gauze had become compressed and my foot was hurting. I hoped they would apply new tape, but instead the re-wrapped it with the old gauge pulling it very tight. I took off running but after about 800 yards the pain was so excruciating. I pulled off and sat on a rock to re-wrap my foot. Catra came by and shouted hello to me. Soon I was off again and fell into the same pace as another runner. We started talking and I mentioned my foot pain. This runner asked if I wanted a Motrin….what the heck I thought just as well expand my meds even further (hell – I would have free based morphine at this stage). This runner gave me the pills and we talked about my recent European trip. Then we got separated.

The downhill to the river was unbelievable. I was so f’n pissed. Normally I would be tearing down that trail like a bat out of hell with its ass on fire, but I was hobbling. Finally I made it down to the bridge to cross the river.

At the base of the mountain before heading up the hill there was a little waterfall. I jumped in and started splashing water all over me. I felt like quoting Lon…..because at that moment it was better than sex (with myself).

Then I started climbing – up the Devil’s Thumb. Usually I don’t care for climbs as I lust after downhills. But here, for some strange reason, I found myself in my element. I started a strong power hike and soon found myself passing people. I caught back up with Catra. I caught about 12 people on the way up and was never passed. I got the top and entered the station feeling like a new man. I saw Christian by the aid station and we greeted each other. I went over and saw they had vegetarian soup! If I ever RD a race, one thing I will definitely have is vegetarian soup or broth at every aid station where I had chicken soup or other meat=based soups. So many times I see that and crave or need some broth but there are no vegi options. Here there was. I stood next to a guy who was waiting to get a refill and noticed how the water and sweat from his head was dripping down into the other cups of vegi broth under him. Yuck!!!!! After he moved along I explained to the volunteers what he did. They threw away the sweat broth and poured me a cup of fresh vegi soup which I downed immediately.

Christian and I each grabbed a popsicle and sat down for 3 minutes. We joked with a volunteer who addressed us as “gentlemen” and stated “I use that term loosely” – I quipped “And incorrectly.” I mentioned to Christian that we were 48 miles into the run and it was 12 hours and 10 minutes down. We actually couldn’t believe it – we were around 25 hour pace. I was feeling great but for my feet and was so happy to see the time. Christian and I finished our popsicles and headed down the trail. Christian decided to stop at a port-a-john. I kept hobbling down the hill. I knew it was only a matter of time for Christian to catch me as I simply could not run downhill. What was worse is my left foot was now hurting just as bad as my right foot. The downhill went on and on – at times I peered over the edge to the canyon below as I could hear water….but all I could see were the tops of the trees and they were way underneath me.

Finally I reached the aid station. They had buckets of water with sponges so I cooled off a bit. I downed some Pepsi and the workers refilled my bottles. Christian entered the station maybe a few minutes after me. Soon he and I were on our way to climb out of the canyon.

The climb up Eldorado was longer than Devil’s Thumb but everyone told us it would be easier. Both Christian and I repeatedly called these people misguided as we waited for the trail to get easier. It was a long trudge up that hill but eventually somewhere in the last quarter of the climb it did get a bit easier. Christian and I soon rounded a corner and saw a volunteer standing there. Great!! That must mean Michigan Bluff A.S. was close. He told us it was about a mile away!!! He was there to offer bug spray to the runners (which I should have accepted – the mosquitoes were thick and hungry). So Christian and I put our heads down and marched on – we heard voices behind us say “A mile?!....man I was thinking maybe a quarter mile, half mile at most.” echoing our thoughts that we still had a ways to go after seeing the volunteer. Christian even shouted back his agreement with the voices.

Soon however we got to Michigan Bluff. Christian entered the station a minute before I did and hurried off to have his feet tended to. I rounded the corner and saw Cori there and Bob Becker (RD of the Keys 100). I weighed in quickly (down 8 and a half pounds). Cori had fresh shoes for me so I sat down and changed into my Asics. They had more cushioning so I hoped they would help my feet.

I grabbed some vegi soup from the aid station and met up with Christian. Soon I saw my friend Scott Brock enter – looking pretty fresh. Bob Becker was his pacer and they started to get ready. Christian and I started out on the road leading to the trail. It had taken us nearly 3 hours to travel the last 7 miles! So we tried to push the pace a bit and soon entered some gnarly single track. Heading down it was getting dark so Christian turned on his headlamp and I switched on my flashlight. At first I was able to handle the downs and Christian and I pushed the pace a bit but soon my feet were throbbing again. I told Christian not to wait for me and soon lost him near the bottom of the trail at the creek crossing. I wouldn’t see him again until Rucky Chucky.

I continued on. I was surprised how warm and humid it was and I began to sweat pretty heavily. The trail continued and I found myself struggling a bit. I took another S! Cap and pushed myself. Soon I was approaching the Auburn Running Company aid station. I started dry heaving a little and some volunteers came out to help me. I sat down and took some ginger that they offered me. I guess with pushing the pace and the setting sun I fell behind in my electrolyte maintenance. Soon Scott and Bob entered the station but went through very quick. I decided to see if I could catch them but never did.

The road from the ARC as to Foresthill aid station was just that – a road with traffic and street lights. I shuffled along the side of the road and finally entered Foresthill A.S. – 100km down…..less than 40 miles to go. But I was feeling like crap. Both feet hurt so bad. I had recovered from my nausea but feeling week.

I met Cori and Rajeev Patel who had volunteered out of his own initiative in the last few days to come up and pace me. I told them that I thought my race was over – that I was hurting and spent. They both basically told me to shut up and that I still had a race in me. They helped me fuel back up and stretch. They massaged my legs and soon I believed them….I still had some fight left in me. So Raj and I headed out in the night with Cori wishing us good luck.

I made it a block or so and mentioned to Raj that I needed to apply some more anti-chafe lube to certain body parts that I did not want to get chafed (groin). He pulled out a tube of something that he said he heard about from cyclists and said it works great. I grabbed some and applied it to my private areas…….and almost fell down screaming. That shi+ burnt like hell. I told Raj that it hurt so much I would disclose every government secret at that point. I quickly applied some hydropel to see if it would help soothe the pain and it did a bit. It hurt enough that it almost made me forget about my feet. We continued on California street to re-meet up with the trail. I started running and was actually maintaining a decent pace. Soon we started catching some runners and came up on Catra and Andy. We chatted with them a bit but eventually moved on.

The trail here went down along a small creek and we had a few crossings before we rose again. I kept trying to move – definitely feeling fresh and trying to push my feet pain to the side. Eventually we entered an aide station and I sat down and had the dry heaves again. Damn….forgot to take my S!Cap yet again. We only stayed a bit and then we were off on the trail again. This time it was a long stretch to the next aid station. My left foot was really killing me and I told Raj that I had to stop there and see if anyone had some gauze so I could tape it like my right foot. The downhills were unbearable at this point. Raj kept motivating me and telling me I was doing great……all along I felt like slugs and snails and turtles and sloths were laughing at me.

Finally we entered the next aid station. I believe we were around 70 miles into the race at this point. A 50km to go and I would be finished. But my feet were a mess. I was starting to develop blisters from my altered running gait and my feet hurt with every downhill step. I asked a volunteer if they had any gauze and a medical volunteer came over. He handed me a roll of white first aid tape. Well, it was better than nothing so I taped up my feet. Jeff Genova was sitting in a chair next to me. It was the first time I had seen him since French Meadows. We both mentioned what a crappy day we were having and soon he and his pacer and Raj and I hit the trails again.

The descent down hurt like hell but I knew I had to play catch up. I was actually behind the 30 hour pace now and needed to make up time. So I pushed it and made it down the trail to the creek crossing. Then it was an uphill which I was able to manage pretty well. I thought that would be it. But once at the top, it was a steep downhill. I simply could not handle it. I slowed to almost stand-still as I went down the hill. I told Raj that the blisters were hurting and the tape on my left foot was not doing a thing so I needed to get another medical person to look at my feet. I finally got into the aid station and Raj informed me there were no medical people there. I almost lost it there. I collapsed in a chair and told Raj I didn’t think I could do it. Raj and a volunteer told me that I could still finish. Rucky Chucky was about 5 miles away and there was foot care there. Ray asked to borrow a knife and he sliced the sides of my shoes to relieve the pressure on my feet.

Finally I stood up and went out on the trail. I pushed myself as hard as I could but fell back into a walk. Raj asked me “How much do you want this?” I told him he had no idea how badly I wanted this race. So he spent a few minutes motivating me, telling me to accept the pain as my friend, telling me that it would hurt but if I wanted it to think about running and to run. Somehow I did that and soon came up on more runners. We actually passed a few people and at one point came up on Shannon F-G of Moeben. We exchanged greetings and kept going. The miles seemed to go on forever and with about a mile to go I again slowed to a walk. Shannon passed me again and entered Rucky Chucky a few minutes before I did.

I entered the station and looked around for medical but Raj had already scouted it out and informed me that there was a podiatrist on the other side of the river. Then a guy came over and asked if I was Alan. When he found out I was he brought me over to Christian who was lying in a blanket on a cot. He had been pulled from the race due to his body shutting down. I felt really bad for Christian. He and I had worked so hard together for much of the race – he and I were so excited to be in WS and his race was over……and mine was hanging by a thread. He asked me if I was going to keep going and try to lay down 15 minute miles. I told him that was the plan.

Raj and I headed down to the boat. I must have looked like a toddler learning to walk as I barely made it down the steps to the boat. Once on the boat we started crossing the river. If only the ride took us to Auburn I would have stood a fighting chance at a buckle. Once on the other side I found the podiatrist. He worked so hard on my feet. He cleaned all the blisters and taped them up. He re-taped both feet with gauze to help provide cushioning. My feet were almost silver as he covered them with duct tape.

Then we were off to Green Gate – the aid station was less than two miles away. Raj and I went up the hill…I was able to keep moving since it was uphill, but it was a slow pace. The sun was just beginning to rise and Raj and I both commented how beautiful it was. I was coughing quite bit from all the dust from the last 10 miles of trails too – but my only concern was my feet.

Finally we entered Green Gate. I went over to the food table as Raj greeted some runners he knew. I accepted some ginger from a volunteer who told me she had been chatting with Cori at Michigan Bluff earlier. Raj came over and we looked at the time – we were running out of time. So we went up the trail and though the gate. Soon, the trail started descending yet again. I tried so hard – each step I would let out a grunt of pain – but I just couldn’t do it. I told Raj I just could not run, only manage a shuffle on the downhills. He asked if I wanted to go back to Green Gate or try and make it to the Auburn Lake Trail aid station. I thought about it – we had over 4 miles to go to the next aid station so going back sounded so nice. But I said to Raj “No. They can kick me out of the race when I miss the cut-off, but I am not quitting.” Raj smiled and we moved on.

Runners passed us occasionally which surprised me as I thought we had to be dead last. The trail rounded a waterfall – it was very beautiful.

We went on a few miles and soon I heard noises behind me. I called out “Raj – runners coming.” I turned around to let them pass but they weren’t runners – they were two horseback riders. “We are your sweeps”. Damn…..my race was over. Raj asked if they could give us a ride the final mile to the aid station. They responded that they were only allowed to give a runner a ride, not a pacer. I said no thanks then – I wasn’t about to abandon Raj who had stuck with me through the lowest points of my run. Raj looked at me and told me to get my ass on the horse. So I climbed on the back of Comet and Raj took off running – I think he probably welcomed the opportunity to actually run after going so slow with me. He was out of sight in a minute. The horse ride went quickly as I chatted with the sweeps.

We passed a monument to a runner who had been killed by a cougar during one of her Western States training runs. The up and down of the horse was lulling me to sleep and I dozed off at least 4 times catching myself right before falling off Comet. Then we rounded the corner and entered Auburn Lake Trail aid station. People were cheering and making comments about my entrance on the horse. I thanked the sweeps and entered the aid station. My 2010 Western States run was over. I sat next to a cot and saw Catra on it receiving an I.V. Another runner denied a buckle. We chatted a bit but then Raj and I got a ride to Auburn.

At Auburn we regrouped with Cori and went out for pizza. I was hobbling around. My feet were so sore and swollen.

I was very disappointed. This was my culmination of the last 5 years leading to, finally, my shot at Western States. But, I knew I had given it everything I had. I told Cori I had never ever tried so hard at something. I left everything I had on the trails. also gained a confidence – I knew that had my feet been OK I certainly had a WS buckle in me. I enjoyed the time I spent running with Jeff, Christian and Raj and it was truly an experience sharing the hallowed grounds of the Western States trail with so many fellow ultra runners. I am already entered in WS 2011 and have my 2010 Keys as my qualifier. Now to get in my service requirement and a hell of a lot of training miles and in the words of the terminator, I’ll Be Back!

WESTERN STATES 2010 VIDEOS

2010-06-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

Here are 3 videos I took during my failed Western States attempt this year. It includes the start climb, the climb through the snow to escarpment and a run in the snow and much.

The climb was actually not too bad and I enjoyed joking with fellow runners Christian Griffith and Jeff Genova. The views were beautiful.

The run down through the snow and mud and slush and water are barely represented in the videos. It was a very unique and at times challenging experience.

WESTERN STATES PLAY LIST

2010-06-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

Aloha John of UltraRunning mag just published his play list to be played repeatedly at the Western States 100 finish line. Here it is:

Against the Wind – Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band

All the Way Home - Bruce Springsteen

Beautiful Day - U2

Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen

Can't Keep A Good Man Down - Tommy Castro

Can't Run But - Paul Simon

Come Running - Van Morrison

Coyote - Mark Knopfler

Crashing Down - Heather Combs

Days Go By - Keith Urban

Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson

Everybody Looks Good at the Starting Line - Paul Thorn

Everybody Ona Move - Michael Franti & Spearhead

Fill It Up Again - Indigo Girls

Friend of the Devil (Live At the Filmore East, May 15, 1970) - Grateful Dead

Further On (Up The Road) - Bruce Springsteen

Get To Me - Train

Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen

Good to Be Me - Uncle Kracker

Got Me Runnin' - Brother Cat

Headed Home - Donavon Frankenreiter

Hey Now Now - Michael Franti & Spearhead

Hit the Ground Runnin' - Brother Cat

Hit the Ground Running - Donavon Frankenreiter

How Long - The Eagles

How Many Miles Must We March - Ben Harper

I Ran (So Far Away) - A Flock of Seagulls

I Run for Life - Melissa Etheridge

I Will Not Be Broken - Bonnie Raitt

(I'm A) Road Runner - James Taylor

It Keeps You Runnin' - The Doobie Brothers

Life Is a Highway - Rascal Flatts

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner - Iron Maiden

Long May You Run - Neil Young

Long Road to Ruin - Foo Fighters

The Long Run – The Eagles

Long Walk Home - Bruce Springsteen

The Long Way Around - Dixie Chicks

Many the Miles - Sara Bareilles

Miles Away - Marc Cohn

Million Miles Away - Ingram Hill

No One to Run With - The Allman Brothers Band

Off and Running - Lucy Kaplansky

Run - Indigo Girls

Run for the Hills - Sister Hazel

Run Like Hell - Pink Floyd

Run Little One - The Subdudes

Run On For A Long Time - The Blind Boys Of Alabama

Run Through the Jungle - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Run-Around - Blues Traveler

Run, Baby, Run - Sheryl Crow

Run, Run, Run - Patti Scialfa

Run, Run, Run - The Velvet Underground & Nico

Runaway - Bon Jovi

Runaway - Del Shannon

Runnin' Away - Eliza Gilkyson

Runnin' Down a Dream - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Runnin' with the Devil - Van Halen

Running on Empty - Jackson Browne

Running on Faith - Eric Clapton

Running Up That Hill - Placebo

Same Ol' River - Sam Bush

See How I Run - Jessie Baylin

Shine On - Eric Bibb

Take It On the Run - REO Speedwagon

Take It To The Limit - The Eagles

Take the Money and Run - Steve Miller

These Are Days - 10,000 Maniacs

Thorn In My Side - Eurythmics

Walk Don't Run - The Ventures

Walk On - U2

Walk This Way (Live) - Aerosmith

Winding Road - Bonnie Somerville

You Got Me Runnin' - Fastway

Your Life Is Now - John Mellencamp

3 A.M. - Matchbox Twenty

25 Miles - Edwin Starr

Seymour Rifkind Responds

2010-06-22T20:34:00.001-07:00

Earlier I posted a review of "135 Days to Badwater" Today, I received a note from the movie's creator and star. With his permission, I am posting that here. I want this to be a a fair and open review:

Alan

I wanted to drop you a note on what I thought was a very fair review of my film. 135Days to Badwater was not produced professionally and as you stated in your review much of the footage was simply spliced with editing and voice over later done in a professional studio. The film has no comparison to the two other professional films you reviewed. (which I enjoyed very much) I ran that course to help raise awareness and funds for two charities in Chicago that help abused/homeless children. The film was an after thought since I didn't raise as much money as I had hoped (too busy training and not promoting) and this was and continues to be a way to help those charities.

As you stated, my intent was to showcase the solo and perhaps go into a little more depth on the training one athlete did to prepare. As a member of the list, training seems to be a question that comes up often so I was hoping to distinguish my film from the others by going into more detail on the importance of the crew and at least my training regimen. I certainly respect your opinion both on the film review and many of the posts you've made on the list, but "my philosophy" is certainly more than meditation and if you got the impression it was new age I probably didn't do as good a job as I had hoped since I've been practicing (living within the pyramid) daily for over 40 years long before there was even a term "new age".

Lastly, I need to clarify your main point of my father's concentration camp experience and the Badwater run. There is no way I would ever try and compare the death marches that so many jewish citizens perished in to a voluntary run in Death Valley. As you stated so well there is simply no comparison. My father has been a tremendous influence in my life and I love him deeply. He shared his horrifying experience with me as a child on a regular basis. In my imagination I often wondered what it was like and if I would have been able to survive the death marches. As you know, Ultra runners often go through very deep despair, pain, hallucinations etc. during a run. During those times my mind often wandered off to my father and the pain he must have experienced. Obviously, I could never actually experience what my father went through nor would I want to, but I did think and imagine what it must have been like and that helped push me through a number of difficult periods. So more than anything I used my fathers experience and being his son as motivation to push through the pain every runner goes through. That's what I was trying to convey. I didn't realize it at the time but I suffered a stress fracture to my pelvis at mile 90. Again, I respect your opinions and thought most of your critique was right on. I hope I helped clarify the role my father and his holocaust experience provided.

regards

seymour rifkind

MY WESTERN STATES 100 PREDICTIONS

2010-06-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

IRunFar.com is holding a prediction contest for the upcoming Western States 100. Here are my picks (notice my name is glaringly absent):

Men Top 8:
Geoff Roes
Hal Koerner
Gary Robbins
Anton Krupicka
Kilian Jornet
Erik Skaden
Tsuyoshi Kaburaki
Leigh Schmitt

Masters Men: Tsuyoshi Kaburaki

Women Top 8:
Nikki Kimball
Suzanna Bon
Tracy Garneau
Caren Spore
Devon Crosby-Helms
Meghan Arbogast
Jill Perry
Beverley Anderson-Abbs

Masters Women: Beverly Anderson-Abbs

REVIEW OF 3 BADWATER MOVIES

2010-06-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago, I reviewed and compared two Badwater movies - Running on the Sun and The Distance of Truth. Below is that review again - after that I will add my review of the latest movie - 135 Days To Badwater.

"Running on the Sun is the movie that really got me interested in doing Badwater was Running on the Sun. After watching it the first time I said "Never will I do that race." Well, I did end up doing it this year. But then the idea started growing on me and I became more and more intrigued.

Now there is a new movie out about Badwater. This is The Distance of Truth. It centers mostly on the race of Canadian ultrarunner Ferg Hawke. Overall, I really enjoyed the movie. The starting scene was very powerful and kind of set the tone for the movie (Death Valley is a very hot place). At times it was a bit melodramatic, but not to the point it bothered me.

The race, like Running on the Sun, centered mostly on two runners. Here it was Ferg and ultrarunning legend Scott Jurek. However, Running on the Sun had more elements of the women's race and non-elites in it.

This movie shows Badwater as the race exists today (multiple waves, smaller crews, etc.) It does seem to really drive home the fact that people can die - but it has never happened at Badwater, so there's that bit of melodrama.

Anyway, great ultra flick. Check it out!"

I learned of another movie about Badwater called: 135 Days to Badwater. This one is unique in that instead of a movie about the official Badwater race, it is about a solo attempt. The movie centers around Seymour Rifkind's 2008 solo attempt. Rifkin attempted this run only a couple months after his first ever ultramarathon (a 50 mile finish).

The movie is quite short - less than an hour. Rifkind infuses the movie with a bit of what I will call his "new age" philosophies. It includes meditation, and reflects upon his other accomplishments and endeavors. At times, I felt it ventured into a bit of "self-promotion" by Rifkin.

The filming was mostly made up (in my opinion anyway) by splicing hand-held video camera of lower quality (not even Flip HD quality) together with photo stills. The narration bounced back and forth between a studio voice and his crew members.

I did like viewing a film about a solo attempt. It is something I want to do some day so this gave me some background. At times, like A Distance of Truth, it is too melodramatic ("shoes are melted off the feet of the runners".....I actually have never heard that actually happening). But, overall while I enjoyed the film, it was almost like trying to "research" a foreign country visit by watching a friend's vacation movies.

One personal "nitpick" I have is his attempt to compare/liken the Badwater experience to his relatives' Nazi concentration camp/march experiences. In it he seems to question "I wonder if I could have survived the Nazi death walks" and then uses his Badwater attempt to see if he could (I could be wrong, but I did read that message in the film). To me, if that was in part his message or motivation, I think it belittles the horror and reality of what the Nazi's forced upon the Jewish prisoners. Badwater is a choice, a challenge over in hours, something one can withdraw from any second, and one that is backed by plenty of food, water and crew support. I do not see any likeness nor comparison to the horrors of the holocaust. Now, unlike Rifkin, my family members did not suffer or die in the Nazi terror, so perhaps he has more right to make such comparison. But, this is what I felt when viewing those parts.

The concept was interesting, Rifkin's family history, his personal story, and his thoughts were also interesting. But overall, the other two films give a more comprehensive picture of Badwater to me. This is just my opinion - other my think it is much better than the other two flicks.

RUN IN WITH A FERRET

2010-06-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

Today I was running on San Bruno Mountain. As I rounded a corner I saw this little guy staring at me. He vanished into some bushes. I waited and soon he came back out. He looked at me and darted back in. Later he came back out and took a few steps nearer to me. Then he darted back in. Then he came out and came a few feet closer to me. Then stopped. This continued until he was sniffing my shoes with his front paws on my La Sportiva. I didn't have any good camera with me, but here are my Blackberry phone shots:

DUSKBUSTER 5K RUN

2010-06-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

Today Cori and went down to Golden Gate Park to run an evening 5k run (Cori and Juan decided to do the 2 mile walk....I think she was the first pregnant lady to finish).

I have run this one a few times in the past and have done quite well, but my legs were still very tired from the Diablo 50k and with only 3 days between the two races I wasn't expecting too much. Cori and I got there and registered for the race.

I lined up and waited for the starting gun. Soon we were off and running. The race starts with a lap around the polo fields. Then we went off on a bike path and running. I was somewhere around 12th place I believe.

I approached the first mile and the time was 6:50. Not bad considering my legs felt like crap and we were running up hill.

Soon, the course changed to a trail that went downhill. I started to pick up the pace here and passed a few people. The trail continued down past the boat pond and then past the buffalo pastures. Then we turned right and entered a sandy trail that wound through trees and around ponds.

Finally we went up hill back to the Polo fields and across the finish line. I crossed in 20:39.....a 6:39 minute mile average.
Certainly not my fastest, but considering how my legs felt I was quite happy. I grabbed some post-race goodies.

Then I waited for Cori, Gabriella and Juan to come across the finish line.

MT. DIABLO 50KM RACE

2010-06-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

I decided to do one last race before the Western States 100 mile Endurance run. I was trying to decide between Auburn Trail 34 miler or the Mt. Diablo 50k. I asked around and most people suggested the Diablo run so I would get more hills and heat. So I decided to do that one.

Saturday morning started hot and it got even warmer as the day progressed.

I got to the race start and checked in. Sarah Spelt from PCTR was there and we exchanged a hello. Then I got my gear together. As I was placing my gear in my waist belt, it slipped down the trunk lid of my car. I didn't notice this and tried and to close the trunk, slamming it on the waist pack. Later I discovered that my camera, stored in the waist pack, was caught in the pack and the trunk lid cracked the screen. So I had no idea if it was still working but decided to bring it and just aim in the general direction and snap photos. The photos here are the results.

Soon we gathered at the starting line for last minutes instructions.

Then we were off.

The run started with a common theme of the day......a climb up in the heat.

In the beginning I ran/jogged when I could but often find myself in a power hike. Five minutes in the sweat was already pouring down my forehead. I was using this a testing grounds for certain possibilities to use such as a new Ultimate Direction two bottle waist pack (that fits oh so nicely between the trunk lid and the trunk) and two sets of shoes - Asics and La Sportiva

As we went on, we went higher up the mountain. This gave us views of the east bay....and soon the San Francisco skyline and the south bay.

I was feeling pretty good at this point. I was trying to maintain a strong hike without pushing too hard. The sun was really beating down though. I was drinking plenty (water and Clip) and downing a S! Cap per hour.

After awhile, the uphill climb became a downhill. This felt good. I love downhills and went tearing down. This felt good and was a nice change from the uphills.

I was definitely getting the heat training I wanted. Soon the downhills leveled off and became uphills again. The sun was high overhead and the temps were increasing.

Soon I reached the aid station. It was in a camping ground parking lot. The aid station workers were very nice and helpful, filling up my bottles. Then we were off again - the trails wrapped around the mountain, heading up to the peak of Mt. Diablo. Soon, the lead runners from the 25km and Chikara leading the 50km came tearing down the mountain.

Suddenly the visitor center at the top of Diablo came into view - the turn around was just past the last trail section. As I approached it, Mountain Man Steve Ansell came racing down the mountain and we exchanged high fives. I went up through the trail and reached the turn-around - this sign:
The views from the top were unbelievable.

Then it was back down. And I mean down. This race had uphills....but it had an equal amount of downhills. As I went down, I was tearing down a trail and, like at Quad Dipsea, I was concentrating so much on my footing in front of me, I missed the trail juncture to the right. Not knowing this, I kept running down the wrong trail. After about a quarter mile things did not look right. I stopped and looked around. No trail marker ribbons could be seen. I saw some hikers coming up the trail and asked if they had seen any runners. They said "Yes" so I felt relieved. Then they said "We saw two, but they seemed lost and confused." No I didn't feel relieved any more. I turned around and started trudging back up the hill.

I found the trail again and got back on track. I tore back down the mountain. But now my lower back was acting up. Each footstep downhill caused pain in my lumbar region and then down my legs. But I continued and reached the turn-around point. Time was 3:35.

I changed shoes (into my La Sportiva) and switched into hand held bottles. Then it was back up the trail. I was feeling pretty good and moving pretty strong. The trail did have some nice scenes such as waterfalls, trees and flowers.

Soon however, my back started throbbing and my pace slowed down. My stomach wasn't feeling so great either. But I kept climbing and soon went through the aid station again. Then it was up on to the summit again. Soon the summit sign came into view.

Then it was at the summit again.

My return trip down was slow. My back hurting and my legs feeling empty. But eventually I finished. My time was unbelievably slow - 8:54 (I have done 50 milers faster). But with the high temps and almost 9000 feet of climb over 31 miles (by comparison, Vermont 100 has 14,600 feet over 100 miles!) I am thankful my last WS100 training gave me what I was looking for: heat, hills and time on my feet.

Sarah and PCTR put on a great race and as I relaxed and looked at the Mt. Diablo dust on my legs, I looked forward to Western States 100 in a few weeks.

RUNNING IN THE MIST

2010-06-02T08:54:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went for a run on San Bruno Mountain to break in my new Asics trail shoes. The mountain was hidden in fog - it was a wet run.

I guess the rabbits on the mountain felt safe in the fog from the red tail hawks that normally hunt them. I saw about two dozen bunnies during my run.

My legs felt good, and I really powered the hills - great run compared to some runs the last few days when I felt like a:

MY HAT TRICK AT THE KEYS 100 RUN/JOG/WALK/CRAWL/SIT

2010-05-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I returned to Florida to attempt my third straight Keys 100. I had managed to buckle the race in 2008 and 2009 and was hoping to earn my third buckle in the third year of the race.

After touching down Thursday in Fort Lauderdale, I drove to Miami and checked in my hotel - trying to work while reading race updates from the 24 Hour World Running Championships till 2:00 am. Then on Friday morning I went into my company's Miami office for awhile to get some work down. I like to get there a couple times a year at a minimum, but other travel had kept me away for well over a year so this was a good chance to reconnect with colleagues.

Afterwards I started to drive north (yup, not south to the Keys) to West Palm airport to pick up Bob Cicalese. Bob was a friend that I had met on an ultrarunning e-mail exchange called the UltraListServ. About 6 weeks ago or so he and his family were in California on holiday and I took him on a couple training runs. During one such run I suggested he consider Keys 50 as a good warm-up for Vermont 100 which we are both entered to run. Later, I upped the suggestion and said he should consider doing the Keys 100 instead as it is plenty of time to recover for Vermont (July) and any mileage he gets will be a great base for Vermont. I also promised him that if he did, we would toe the line together and I would help pace him to his first ever 100 finish and buckle. I could see this thought taking root in his mind ......similar to the way visions of a sweet young White House intern takes root in Bill Clinton's mind. Soon he embraced the concept, was hooked and in. So I had someone to run the Keys 100 with from start to finish....so I thought.

Anyway, after sitting in traffic for an hour, finally got Bob at West Palm and we began a comical drive to the Keys. There are toll roads (a bit foreign concept for a California driver) but I had driven them before so thought I knew where to go. But once we went through the Sunpass/pre-paid lane by mistake (without any such pass we thought until a call to the rental car company confirmed the license plate did the same thing) and once a slight wrong turn ended us up in a neighborhood of Miami that was not on any tourist destination maps. We locked our car doors and got the heck out of that part of town before were became extras in CSI Miami.

We finally made it to Highway 1 and drove past Florida City through the Everglades. I kept seeing signs announcing Croc Crossings yet never saw any gators. Bob and I were running a tad bit late so we drove straight to race check-in and the pre-race meeting. This year it was in a community center.

The check-in was very organized and we got our bags and numbers rather quickly. I managed to meet some fellow ultra friends and runners such as Christian Griffith from Atlanta, Bill Andrews (he and I did Badwater together and based upon advice we received from DC at ZombieRunner, walked the first two miles of BW together - he was also at AR 50 with me as well as Barkley) and Molly Sheridan. Bill was the guest speaker at the race meeting speaking on the very interesting topic of life extension through telomere extension (being a science major in undergrad and overall a geek - I truly enjoyed his topic that has led to 3 Nobel prizes....for more info go here: Sierra Sciences ). Bill's speach had as a central point that exercise helped slow the aging process and that extreme exercise had the best effect at slowing aging.....for some coincidental reason he had a receptive audience to hear this message.

Race director and friend Bob Becker did a great job opening the meeting and describing the event and answering questions.

It was during this meeting that a thought hatched in my head....it was one of those "OMG you are such a dumbshi!!" thoughts. This year, the Keys 100 allowed non-crewed runners. This means runners who opted for this more challenging race format would not have a car driven along them with a crew handing them supplies...instead drop-bags would be placed for them about 10 miles apart. Bob and I were non-crewed. Also meaning (dumshi!!) that the car would not be at the finish line 100 miles later! We scrambled trying to see how we could get our car down there when these super nice distributors of this new vitamin and antioxidant drink called (click here to go to their site) Yoli offered to drive the car and have it waiting for us in Key West. That was a relief. By the way, the Yoli drink is quite good and tasty - I joked I would mix the citrus flavor with vodka. You should give it a try.

So Bob and I headed back to the hotel and checked in. A quick bite to eat (where Bob watched his Flyers win game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs) and then back to the hotel. We spent about an hour or so organizing drop bags and contents. We decided that for the first 50 miles we would drop one at Mile 20, one at 40 and one at 50. Then after that every 10 miles. 50 miles drop was our biggest drop with the later ones having nighttime gear and supplies. Then it was off to bed.

The alarm went off a bit too early it seemed (thanks to some partying kids) but we were up and soon out the door to the starting line. We parked the car grabbed our bags and headed to check-in. Our friends from Yoli were checking us in so we gave them the keys. Then I proceeded to put our drop bags in the right boxes: 20 mile drop bag in the box reading MM 20; 70 mile drop bag in box reading "MM 70" and so on. This little instance would revisit us later.

Bob and I started walking to the starting line and as soon as we got there heard "One minute to go". Wow! Time flies when you are running late! We barely had time to wish each other luck when we were off. The 2010 Keys 100 had begun.

I had told Bob that we should follow advice I received from DC for Badwater. We walk the first two miles. After that we would develop a run/walk strategy and suggest 10 minutes running & 2 minutes walking through mile 25. Then we would see how we were doing and continue at that pace or adjust the run time down and walk time up. He agreed. But after 12 minutes of walking we said...OK let's start the 10 and 2.

During the early part of the race we came across some runners we knew such as Bill Andrews, Molly Sheridan, Christian Griffith and Bry Gardner. We chatted a bit with them but soon various race strategies spread us out and Bob and I were just two guys running our race.

The 10 and 2 was working quite well and pretty soon we came to the first ice and water stop for non-crewed runners (each spaced 10 miles apart...or so). I had already developed a hot spot on the bottom of my right foot. Bob was also developing a blister. So we took some time and tended to those. After refueling and re-hydrating, we were off.

By Mile 20, the sun was definitely up and I had put on my Moebens, OR sun hat and my Kool scarf (hollow so it can be filled with ice). Bob had a tank top on and a visor type cap. Pretty soon I could tell the sun beating on his head was getting to him. Somewhere around mile 22 he spotted a small white hand towel on the ground. He grabbed it, shook it off and plopped it on his head under the visor - presto: a sun hat! Bob swears that lucky towel saved his race for him.rgin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__MxPevU6WuE/S_MNXiaH0BI/AAAAAAAAFPs/AFfOWQ2gW34/s400/P5150232.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472732670209806354" />

Soon we were slowing a bit. The 10 minute runs were decreasing and the 2 minute walks stretching a bit longer but I told Bob we didn't care - we would take a little more time during the heat and recoup it as the day cooled down later. At the marathon check-in we found out we weren't exactly in last place (barely) so that made us happy. We grabbed more ice and water were soon out on the hot road again.

The Keys 100 follows Highway 1 down the Overseas Highway to Key West. That means bridges...alot of bridges. I enjoy the bridges. My first year at Keys I saw porpoise, turtles, a barracuda, and a lot of other fish. Last year I saw turtles. This year I saw one turtle, a bunch of sting ray, and one barracuda (it really is in the two photos below but I can't find it).

As Bob and I continued to run we approached mile 30 and I noticed my lower back was tightening up a bit and my piriformis was flaring up. My piriformis was what knocked me out of Rocky Raccoon 100 at mile 80. Damn - this is not good. I massaged it as we ran and walked. We would stop and stretch also. About this time the temps were definitely hotter and Bob, who had spent his last 6 weeks of heat training in the highs of 45 degrees F in Philly was not a happy camper. I could tell he was wondering why he ever listened to me when I suggested the Keys 100...that sweet young White House intern was beginning to look a bit more like Hillary on a real rough day.

I happened to glance at my watch that has a thermometer - a cool 100 degrees F! After the race I have heard reports that temps hit the 90's in the shade and 108 on the asphalt. Not quite Badwater but neither was it the Antarctic marathon. On the bridges it was cooler....but some of these bridges seemed to never end:

As we neared mile 30 my back and piriformis were really tight. At home I use a Physical Therapy ball (or a kid's T-ball ball) to massage the piriformis in my glute. But here no such items were lying along the Overseas Highway. There were however coconuts. So I grabbed a small baby one (already hollowed out by crabs) and brought it with me to the drop bag station. There I sat down and used the coconut to knead and massage the tight piriformis muscle to relieve the pressure on my sciatica.

Bob and I got our drop bag and Bob noticed that they were mile 70 bags. Damn! How did I screw that up? Then we realized that the boxes I put the bags in were marked for Mile Markers. The Overseas Highway has a mile marker in descending order down to MM zero in Key west. So we were 30 miles into our race....but at Mile Marker 70. I had put in our 70 miles bags into MM70 box meaning all our drop bags for later in the race were actually spread out earlier in the race!!!!

The two volunteers told us we weren't the only idiots (well I wasn't since it was my mistake). The volunteer Marshall would take our bags and would drop them off as he made it down to Mile 70 at MM30. That was a relief. So we refueled (I opened a packet of tuna fish and shared it with Bob).

Soon we were shuffling down the road in some of the hottest parts of the day. When there was cloud cover I didn't think it was too bad...and when there was cloud cover and the cross or tail winds it was actually nice in my opinion. Bob thought it was simply brutal. I am not sure, but I would think at times it was hotter than 2009 (not sure about 2008 as that was HOT) but at other times the weather was actually pretty conducive to a fast time (for someone else).

Well, we hit that stretch between mile 30 and 40 that included bridges. I really enjoyed this and kept trying to push the pace as much as possible. After stopping to get more ice and water at mile marker 60 (mile 40) we pressed on. This stretch had a lot of telephone poles. I made a deal with Bob. We run one length then we walk one length. Then repeat. We kept this up for some time and I could see us recovering some time.

At one point we were side-by-side and heard a honking. Through-out the day cars had honked either cheered at us or shouted stuff like "Get running!". This time it was a motorcycle driven by a cool biker dude while his girlfriend/wife/sister/mom flashing us her boobs as they sped by. We both chuckled at this and yelled a quick "thank you" as we moved on down the road.

But then tragedy hit.....the BIKE PATH!!!!!! The bike path has been for me one of the worst parts of the race. It is down off the side of the road pretty sheltered. There is no wind, no water, no nice view, nothing. And it goes on and on and on. Time stands still. Tree sloths have been known to commit suicide from boredom there. Jewelery melts and drips to the ground from the heat. Satan needs a iced tea when he visits it. The path is made of the melted soles of prior runners. Etc.

Anyway, we entered the depths of Hades....I mean the bike path and continued our march and that is what we did. Except for a few short bursts of slow jogs, we were in power marching time. Simply going forward with deliberate strong and fast steps.

After what seemed like an eternity we exited the path to Marathon. Marathon was the location of the mid-way point. Bob and I caught another runner and the three of us moved toward the 50 mile check-in at the Marathon airport. The other runner told us he was done and dropping for the day. Bob and I grabbed our gear and took a good 20 minutes resting, stretching, refueling, and hydrating. I also took that opportunity to apply a crap-load of Hydropel to chafing that was developing in places no human should ever be chafed.

Then we were off again. We headed to the next little challenge - the Seven Mile Bridge. The sun was starting to set so Bob and I put on our reflector vests and donned headlights and flashlights. Bob had loaned me a blinkie light but that popped off my vest and shattered on the ground so we went on without (sorry RD Bob Becker....we improvised with swinging the flashlight back and forth).

As we continued over the bridge the temps definitely cooled and Philly Bob was getting back into his element. I mentioned to him that once we hit the top we should run down the other side. So we did. Maybe we shouldn't have. By the bottom of the bridges "hill" my legs were tired, bottom of feet sore and my back was killing me. But we kept going, taking a couple rest stops to stretch on the side of the bridge.

Once we were on the other side we began looking for Mile Marker 60 and our next drop bag. There we found it and settled down into a couple of chairs as we chatted with the two volunteers who were crewing it. They were nice and one, a reporter, started interviewing us on the spot. After a bit we were off again and moving down toward Big Pine key - home of the endangered Key Deer. Last year I had seen one Key Deer, the previous year none. This year I clearly saw two Key Deer eating and near the end saw a herd of them consisting of about 10 deer in the brush on the side of the road....only their eyes visible reflecting our head lamps. Both Bob and I were actually feeling pretty good at this point and were picking up our pace (not actually running mind you but power marching at a good clip).

The miles seemed to pass and now it was my turn to get a second wind. Bob was attempting to sleep walk - that is he kept right on moving but would shut his eyes for a couple seconds at a time. Usually I do the same thing and this year I really thought sleep deprivation would be bad for me (especially after staying up till about 2 in the morning Friday watching the 24 hour running championship updates). But this time I never really had a strong urge to fall asleep. So I kept pushing reminding Bob we had to keep going.

About this time I started doing math. I would tell Bob - OK we are at this distance at this time. If we average 15 minute miles, we still have a 27 hour. If we average 20 minute miles around 30 hours, etc. He kept saying OK. Our goal was never to allow our cushion between a finish time and the 32 hour cut-off fall beneath one hour.

Soon we reached mile 70 at mile marker 30. To my surprise it was being crewed by Will, one of my crew members from my 2009 Keys 100. He commented that I looked a lot better than I did in 2009.....wow I must have looked like a corpse in 2009!!!!

Bob and I kept moving. All the time I kept telling Bob that if we do X pace we should finish at Y time. After awhile Bob seemed to move ahead of me. Either I was slowing, he was speeding up or he just got tired of hearing my mental calculations. By mile 75 my back was killing me. Bob got there a minute before me, but as we agreed, we were just going to blitz this stop to make up time so he just barely stopped.

But when I got there I had to stop and stretch. I tried to take some aspirin for my back. But it dissolved instantly on my tongue and when I went to swallow it got stuck and started burning. Next thing I knew I was throwing up. Tim a volunteer tried to help me. I must admit I felt so disgruntled with my aching back and slowing pace I probably was not the most appreciative. But I tried to thank him and move on.

Bob had, per our plan, kept going. I didn't think I could catch back up with my lower back cramping up but I kept trying. After two miles I stopped on the steps of a store and stretched some more - using a round rock as a massage ball. I kept the rock and ended up using it probably 8 of the next 12 miles. I was now on my own as there was no chance of me catching Bob - and I was thankful he did what I had told him to do "Keep going and get your buckle if I can't keep up."

Soon with the sun lighting up the morning sky, I hit Mile 80. Mile 80 is a major mile for me in 100's. It gives me a mental boost knowing I only have to take a step and then I have less than 20 miles to go. So that is what I did. I took one more step so I had less than 20 miles to the finish......and then dropped to the ground and stretched out. Tim from mile 75 was there dropping off some drop bags and he asked if he could do anything. I told him my piriformis was killing me but that there wasn't anything he could do. So I got up and put my power walk into high gear so that I was averaging around 17 minute miles. I kept power marching, dropping to the side of the road and stretching my back and massaging my piriformis. The miles came and went....slowly. But I was moving closer to the finish line.

Around mile 86 or 87 the skies opened up. I was along a bike path and the rain was coming down so heavy. The wind was blowing the rain so hard it actually plugged up my ear like I had just been swimming. But it felt GOOD! I actually started running again. The cool water made my legs feel better and actually seemed to help my back. But the heavy shoes were not helping my feet.

As the rains cleared the humidity from the evaporating water increased. I kept moving but was being passed by runners every so often. All were very friendly and supportive. I began to think that I might get the DFL award! This award, for being the Dead F____ing Last runner to officially cross would be a new one for me....but so well earned.

As we approached the Naval Air Station we began to climb what appeared to be Mount Everest (funny.....as tough as this "mountain" seemed at the time, as we later drove out of Key West I couldn't even find an incline there). The heat was very high and all my heat gear was on again. But finally, around Mile 94 of the race, I stepped on the Bridge leading to Key West.

I had about 3 hours and 20 minutes to go 6 miles. At 20 minute miles that would be just right - but way to close for comfort so I tried to push the pace. Soon I was off the bridge and onto Key West.....but that stretch along the road to town seemed to go on and on and my back was really killing me. The bottom of my feet were sore too....I think from the rain water.

Anyway, soon the golf course appeared and finally a Mile Marker 4 sign. I turned the corner and saw the sea wall ahead. I had plans and intentions to run the last 3 miles, but instead I immediately sat on the side walk and stretched. I stayed there for about 5 minutes stretching my back and piriformis.

Finally I stood up and started a slow jog along the beach wall. I jogged and power walked until Mile Marker 2. Then I just sat on the wall to catch my breath. A truck stopped and two runners who had finished the relay the previous day jumped out and asked me if I wanted some company for the final stretch. I accepted and we joked and talked as I did a very slow walk towards what seemed like a very distant finish line.

Finally, 31 hours and 10 minutes later I crossed the finish line to claim my third straight Keys 100 buckle - the only person with all 3! Bob was there full of praise. He had finished his first 100 miler more than an hour earlier cracking the 30 hour barrier!

So we cheered on a few more finishers (there went my DFL award) and then headed back to the hotel in our rental car that was so kindly driven 100 miles for us by the cool Yoli crew! We missed the awards ceremony but showered and caught about 2 hours of sleep. I treated my blisters (not too bad this year):

Then we went to Duvall street for some food. Neither of us were feeling great but I managed to down some conch fritters and have an alcoholic slurpie.

The next day we raced back to Fort Lauderdale to catch our mutual flights home. All in all it was awesome ....painful...hot....humid....painful.....but awesome! Now that my hat trick is complete....my goal is to Four-peat in 2011!!!

RUNNING IN THE UK

2010-04-19T10:49:00.001-07:00

Some images from runs I did while in Aberdeen, Scotland and London.

ABERDEEN:

LONDON:

SUN BRUNO MOUNTAIN RUN

2010-04-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

Today I did another run on San Bruno Mountain. I hope these photos show why I love running there so much.

RUNNING THROUGH GENOA

2010-04-17T18:03:00.001-07:00

I was in business in Genoa, Italy - home of Christopher Columbus and John the Baptist's remains. I woke up and did a run through the city. Here is what I saw.

RUNNING THROUGH BREMEN, GERMANY

2010-04-17T17:17:00.000-07:00

I was in Germany on business and found this park running the length of the city. During a light snow fall, did a nice run.

2010 RUTH ANDERSON ULTRAMARATHONS

2010-04-17T14:37:00.001-07:00

I have run the 50km at this race a few times and Cori has volunteered at it. This year I was planning on doing the 50km again but due to having to leave tomorrow for Europe decided to spend the day with Cori and we just popped over to cheer on the runners.

Local speed demon Mark Tanaka:

Timing crew includes the famous Stan and Dave:

Men's 50 mile winner resting after a 5+ hour effort!

Some awards and results:

TODAY'S RUN ON SAN BRUNO MOUNTAIN

2010-04-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

San Bruno Mountain, my local trail run, was in full bloom after a lot of rain and now a lot of sun. Sorry, didn't bring my usual digital or slr, so these are poor quality blackberry photos.

MY RUN THROUGH CINQUE TERRE, ITALY

2010-04-15T23:36:00.001-07:00

I was in Italy a few weeks ago on business and went on a run from the village of Monterosso to the village of Vernazza. It goes over a mountain between the two villages. Cori and I did this as a hike during our honeymoon and I decided to run it this time. Here are my photos.

The Ligurie Sea under Monterosso.

A small church on the way up the mountain

St. Francis (San Francisco's patron Saint)

A small cemetary on the mountain side

My reward - grappa in the setting sun.

GREY WHALE COVE TRAIL RUN

2010-03-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

Fellow ultrarunner Robert Cicalese was in town with his family from Philly. We did a nice 15 mile trail run off the coast near Pacifica.

MY MIAMI RUN

2010-02-12T11:23:00.001-08:00

I spent the week in Miami on business and snapped these photos on my run this morning in coconut Grove.

RUNNING ON SAN BRUNO MOUNTAIN

2010-01-13T07:53:00.000-08:00

Mandy Miller, one of my crew from the 2008 Keys 100 miler, was in town recently. She is training for her first 100 miler (Rocky Raccoon in less than a month) so we went for a run on San Bruno Mountain. Here are some images from that run.

NEWPAPER ARTICLE - ON SOME UGLY GUY

2010-01-04T11:24:00.000-08:00

Alan Geraldi was about halfway into his run home from work when he began passing the cemeteries of Colma.
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Darkness had descended, cars streamed by, and Geraldi, a 45-year-old attorney, found inspiration in the sea of headstones.

"It's motivation to keep running," Geraldi said with a smile.

On this night in late November, Geraldi was running a mere 7 miles home. For him, it was like a jog to the corner store. Before his office was relocated, he ran 25 miles each way, about twice a week. Even a 50-mile round-trip commute was not much of a strain.

Geraldi is an ultramarathoner, one of those relentless runners who think it's fun to run 100 miles without stopping. Geraldi is now preparing for his first 200-mile and 315-mile races.

"I've done runs all around the world - Switzerland, Italy, the U.K., China, Hong Kong," Geraldi said, continuing along his 7-mile jaunt, which takes him from his office on East Grand Avenue in South San Francisco to his Daly City home bordering San Francisco.

Wearing shorts, yellow Asics running shoes and a shirt with built-in reflectors, Geraldi ran facing traffic. He passed cemetery after cemetery, from the Hoy Sun Memorial Cemetery and the Serbian Cemetery to the Japanese Cemetery. He had folded his work clothes and tucked them into his backpack, along with staples he uses for longer runs: arm covers for falling temperatures, and packets of energizing carbohydrate Goo. Holding his BlackBerry, he checked messages and used it as a flashlight.

"I forgot my flashlight and headlight today," he said, noting that he can text while running without looking at the keyboard. To his left was the Lucky Chances Casino. Across Hillside Boulevard were several cemeteries.

Not far away, he said, is the cemetery where Wyatt Earp is interred. He said he once took a detour to find the iconic lawman's plot.

Born in San Francisco and raised in the Sonoma County town of Penngrove, Geraldi serves as general counsel for Panalpina, an international freight forwarding company. He began jogging as an undergraduate at Sonoma State University. "It started as a way to burn off stress, and it still is that," he said.

His jogging days led to 10K races, followed by marathons, triathlons and Ironman triathlons. When his work - he travels as much as 200,000 miles a year - made him realize he didn't have time to train for the cycling part of an Ironman, he set his sights on the ultramarathon.

"I decided I can bring my running shoes with me anywhere, but not the bike," he said, leaving Colma and heading into Daly City, where darkened auto body shops lined the industrial stretch.

His first ultramarathon was in 2007, when he did the Tahoe Rim Trail race. He finished the 100 miles in 27 hours.

"The toughest thing about the 100-milers is the sleep deprivation," he said. "By around mile 85 of the Tahoe race, I remember hallucinating. I saw a guy cheering me on and it turned out to be a tree. Around mile 97, I saw a house that was not there."

He was hooked, hallucinations and all. He is a founder of the San Francisco Triathlon Club, and has become a member of an ultramarathon group that calls itself the Ultraholics. He now does marathons - his best time is two hours and 49 minutes - just to train for the ultramarathons.

"I'm a Type A personality," he said, noting that his father, now in his 70s, is also a marathon addict. "I like challenges that I set for myself. I'm stubborn. Every race and every course is so different. The miles that hurt can appear at any time."

Running along the bicycle path up Hillside Boulevard, Geraldi recounted the one race that he didn't finish. At mile 17 of the 100-mile Rocky Raccoon race in Texas, Geraldi's sciatica flared up. By mile 26, he was reduced to a limp. By mile 80, he finally ceded to the pain and stepped out.

"I'm still thinking about that race," he said, shaking his head. "But I made 80 miles in debilitating pain."

He says his twice-weekly commute by sneaker began about a year ago, when gas prices were soaring. At the time, his office was in Redwood Shores.

"I figured I could save on gas and do nearly 50 miles round trip," he said. "I have an SUV, so it was significant. Plus, I don't like sitting in traffic."

There are no showers at his new office, so he uses antibacterial baby wipes to clean up, a tip he picked up from a fellow ultramarathoner.

When he reached the top of Hillside Boulevard, near the end of Mission Street, he took a left on East Market Street. He was a half mile from home.

He has three big races planned for this year: the Barkley in Tennessee, which has had about 750 people start and fewer than 10 finish and is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest twice; the 100-mile Keyes race, in which he will run the entire length of the Florida Keys from Key Largo to Key West; and the Vol State Road Race across the state of Tennessee, which is about 315 miles. (His best time on a 100-miler is 25 hours.)

"When I do the Florida Keys next year, I plan on starting at the finish line and running to the starting line to join the race and then run to the finish line, so it will be 200 miles," Geraldi said. "I'd be the first person to do that."

Barely breaking a sweat as he arrived home, he was greeted by one of his four sons and his wife, Cori, who is training for her first ultramarathon.

He planned a dinner of pasta and would indulge in a couple of glasses of wine. Dinner is the main meal of the day for Geraldi, who is a vegetarian. He would sleep for maybe five hours, spending the rest of the night checking his BlackBerry, reviewing briefs and working on his computer.

"The sleep deprivation that comes with the job is great training for the ultramarathons," he quipped. --

Alan Geraldi
Age: 45

Occupation: General counsel and senior vice president, Panalpina USA

Distance in miles: Runs between 7 and 10 miles each way

Time he leaves: Varies

What he has for breakfast: Black coffee

What he eats for lunch: Nothing, on occasion a bowl of cottage cheese

What he carries: BlackBerry, driver's license and $10, bandanna, carbohydrate gels, flashlight or headlamp, water bottle, small camera

How long he's been commuting by sneaker: Over a year, about twice a week

Biggest impediment: "The time. It takes time to run in. Also, now I don't have a shower at my new office."

Why the heck: "It allows me to save on gas. It's green for the environment. And it allows me to put in miles for my sport."

Weirdest experience: "This isn't weird, but I do see a lot of great things in nature. I was running to work and passed by a slough from the bay, which ended in a road. There was a sea lion right there."

E-mail Julian Guthrie at jguthrie@sfchronicle.com.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/02/CMU11AV34N.DTL#ixzz0bfs1p3RJ

RUNNING IN TORONTO

2009-12-22T22:18:00.001-08:00

On a recent business trip to Canada I had a chance to get out in the cold and do some wonderful running. Here are some images I snapped during the run. Yes - I took 5 minutes out of my run to make the snowman :)

WESTERN STATES 100 - LOTTERY RESULTS

2009-12-07T13:14:00.001-08:00

This past weekend the lottery for the 2010 Western States 100 mile endurance run was held....and for the first time in 4 years, my name was pulled! This race means a lot to me - it is the reason I got into ultrarunning. Growing up in Northern California, it always had a special allure. Now, I have to decide whether or not to attempt the Grand Slam (WS100, Vermont 100, Leadville 100 and Wasatch 100 within a 3 month period). I think I will give it a go, but need to look at dates, other races and costs.

SCENES FROM TRAINING RUNS ON SAN BRUNO MOUNTAIN

2009-11-09T12:39:00.001-08:00

These are various photos I snapped during my last 3 or 4 runs on San Bruno Mountain. This run in my backyard is one of my favorites. The trails aren't super tough, but I can combine a few to make a great run. Plus there are spots that have a view of the bay, of downtown San Francisco, of Mt. Tam and of Mt. Diablo. Yet, a few minutes later I am on a trail that is isolated from everything.

RUNNING IN A FORST IN ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

2009-11-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

This was part of my run back to my hotel.....the run up the hill was a bit harder:

The leaves were an explosion of colors, the weather a bit rainy and cold....what you see in some photos is not fog or smoke, it is my breath.

PACIFIC COAST HIKE

2009-09-07T21:15:00.000-07:00

Cori, her brother Derrick and I decided to spend a few hours doing about a 10 mile hike from Grey Whale cove to the North Peak. There was some nice climbs and great views.

Near of the end of the hike, beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean welcomed us back.

FORT FUNSTON RUN

2009-08-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

Today's training run was under blue skies at Fort Funston. This Pacific Ocean beach is right on the southern San Francisco border.

California Redwoods

2009-08-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

Cori and I took the boys camping in the redwoods of the Northern California coast. The trails were amazing. There were banana slugs and raccoons to keep us all company too. Here are a few images:

A raccoon (one of two that visited us in the evenings):

Where are the smores?

Slugfest!

MORNING RUN IN WASHINGTON DC

2009-08-29T11:55:00.001-07:00

I was in DC on business and Bob Ernest, a co-worker training for his first marathon, and I did a couple runs through the city. Here are images from day #2.

Bob taking a break:

Bob and I slowed to a walk through this memorial:

Then we continued on.

BLOG TAG

2009-07-31T14:39:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since us Ultraholics and friends have played that old game called Blog Tag. Here is how it works (or should work in theory). I pose a few questions, answer them and then tag three other blog owners to answer the same questions, and so on and so on (they also have to tag the person who tags them). So, here it goes:

1. Do you have a favorite race you ran this year - if yes, which one and why.

For me it had to be The Barkley. Although it was my second DNF, it was an unbelievable experience. The people who participate in this insane event are a wonderful group. The course is beyond hard but beautiful. I loved it.

2. Have you selected any race goals for 2010?

Yes, I want to do the "fun run" at Barkley. This is 3 of the 5 loops (I don't dare dream of being able to do all 5 loops.....692 out of 700 people have failed at the full 5).

3. Did you discover any new (non-race) trails this year?

I stayed mostly on my San Bruno Mountain trails, but did find a neat trail system in Central Park, Rome, Italy.

4. Why do you run?

I hate to swim. Seriously, I love being in the outdoors, seeing nature, burning off all my stress....it makes me feel alive.

5. There are extreme ultramarathons - Spartathlon, Run Across America, Badwater, etc. are you planning any?

I would really like to try Vol State one year....and Christian is planning a Run Across Georgia that sounds cool.

6. Favorite food during ultras and favorite post-race food?

I found that plain tuna fish is a great race fuel. I love hot cheese pizza after a race (although at Keys 100 MUST have conch fritters).

7. Are ultrarunners part of your life outside of races?

I consider some ultrarunners my best friends. People like Rajeev Patel, Chihping Fu, Bob Becker, Mandy Miller, and others are people that I am proud to call my friends. We talk of ultras, but we also share life experiences such as birthdays, weddings, new (and terminated) jobs, etc. The best part of ultrarunning are the people. Plus, of course, my wife Cori will be doing her first ultra - so, that would be a YES!

8. What do you consider the most beautiful ultra course you have run?

That is tough. Mont Blanc is beautiful - with its high snow covered peaks, European valleys and stream. Leadville is very similar. Barkley was beautiful also - loved the deep forests and the stream. I still think Badwater has some of the most unique and beautiful scenery.

9. Favorite race director?

Ouch - that is a tough one. Bob Becker and Rajeev Patel tie for first, Laz for second, and so many others coming in third.

10. What is your longest streak at running the same race?

I have done Ruth Anderson 50k two years in a row and I have done Keys 100 two years in a row. Only being in this sport for 3 years kind of limits my streaks.

I will tag Rajeev Patel, Chihping Fu, and Christian Griffith.

MY BIRTHDAY HIKE

2009-07-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

On my birthday a few days ago, Cori's mom, Cori and our 4 boys joined me on a short hike on San Bruno Mountain. It was a great way to spend part of my birthday.

We hiked the Guadeloupe and Bog Trails

The blackberries were just beginning to ripen.

It was a great birthday hike.

TRAINING RUN ALONG THE SF ONE DAY COURSE

2009-07-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

Today Cori and I went on a training run on what will be her first ultramarathon....the SF One Day.

PLEASE DON'T PICK THE FLOWERS

2009-07-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

The scenery on San Bruno Mountain is a rainbow of flowers - makes the run that much better.

SAN BRUNO MOUNTAIN TRAINING RUN VIDEO

2009-07-03T16:07:00.000-07:00

Short clip of today's run on the trails on San Bruno Mountain (you can stop it after 30 seconds....kind of stays the same).

HIKING MILLS CANYON PARK

2009-07-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Cori and I decided to take my 3 boys on a short hike through Mills Canyon Park in Burlingame. This is a small regional park located in right outside downtown Burlingame. One almost needs to know it exists or one would drive right by it.

The park has the Ed Taylor Trail...a short loop trail that goes along Mills Creek and around the Mills Canyon Nature Perserve.

My son Brandon was breaking in a new pair of hiking boots for an upcoming camping trip and also getting used to his new CamelBak backpack. The trails winds through some very pretty areas.

Along the route, we saw much poison oak

a lizard

and many wildflowers.

This is a pretty short and mostly easy hike for young kids. It would also work well for a good loop course for trail running (actually saw one trail runner out there yesterday). After finishing this one, my kids now want me to take them on a hike to the top of San Bruno mountain where they are hoping to see some snakes :)

HIKING IN ITALY

2009-07-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

While we were on our honeymoon in Italy, Cori and I decided to do a nice hike in the mountains of Cinque Terre. Our hike started in Monterosso, a beautiful village on the Italian Liguruia coast.

We started "hiking" on a wide paved path that led up the first climb, past a statue of St. Francis

and to a small chapel and cemetary on the mountain top overlooking vineyards.

From Monterosso we climbed a trail that led up the mountain, sometimes steep and narrow, other times wider and more gentle. It was actually the hottest day of our entire trip to Italy. The closer we got to the first large climb (ending at a monestary) the more narrow the trails got and the hotter it became.
We were running low on water and then came across a small water fountain set up for hikers.

Nearing the monestary, the views were absolutely beautiful and the trails more single track and steeper.

Once we left the monestary, we continued on a paved road for maybe half a mile and then picked up the trailhead dropping down to Varnazza.

The views of the mountainside and ocean were beautiful...

We constantly saw large locust flying around.

We descended some very steep sections and finally came around a corner and the village of Vernazza came into view.

We descended down the trails past vineyards and olive tree orchards.

Then we entered Vernazza, a beautiful town on the Liguria shore.

ITALY RUNNING (PART 4)

2009-07-01T01:10:00.003-07:00

Our final leg was the big city of Rome...and Cori and I find a trail! We were right at Rome's Central Park district. All photos were actually taken with my blackberry thus the blurry quality......or was it the grappa the night before?

I do not recall seeing the cat in this photo during the run.

The trail dropped down some nice hillsides and streams.

That is St. Peters on the skyline.

It was a great run....but now we had to finish and head back for more vino.

RUNNING IN ITALY (PART 3)

2009-07-01T00:55:00.001-07:00

OK, time to travel south. We went down to Positano on the Amalfi coast. It was a bit of rain while Cori and I ran.....we did NOT want to leave.

Time for a breather:

RUNNING IN ITALY (PART 2)

2009-07-01T00:35:00.000-07:00

From Ligure we moved onto Tuscany. We stayed in the hometown of my grandmother's family Lucca. Lucca is an unbelievable town - walled and retaining its mid-evil heritage coupled with modern beauty. I went out running loops around the city on top of the Lucca wall.

It was difficult to keep a steady pace as the scenery, sculptures and history was so wonderful

All photos were taken during my run be me....this was the actual "loop" I ran in the mornings. Wow!

I have no idea how my ancestors could have left such a beautiful place.

RUNNING IN ITALY (PART 1)

2009-07-01T00:21:00.000-07:00

OK, I know it has been a couple of months, but I finally got around to posting photos I took while running on my honeymoon in Italy. We will start in Part I with the Ligure section including Santa Margherita and Cinque Terra.

Santa Margherita is beautiful. It sits along the coast and has wonderful views. The architecture is amazing....as is the food (thus the need for all the running):

Cori and I ran the shoreline in the mornings....I hung back a bit to enjoy "the view" :)

The weather this day was perfect and the Italian shoreline beautiful. We ran to the outskirts of Portofino.

BREAST CANCER RUN

2009-05-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I lost my mother to breast cancer. It is a horrible disease that affects millions of women and their families. Right now my wonderful sister-in-law is battling the disease.

Recently I learned that a wife of a good friend is also fighting breast cancer. Jim has decided to run a race to help race funds for the research, treatment and cure for breast cancer. I am asking all to please sponsor Jim in his run - the amount is not important as every penny will count and might just be that little bit that means the difference in a person becoming a survivor. Click here to read more and to donate: RACE

IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT....DON'T RUN THE KEYS 100

2009-05-20T07:42:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I ran the Keys 100 Ultramarathon. To date, it is the only 100 miler I have run twice. But race director Bob Becker, co-race director Jared Knapp, and all their volunteers put on such a high quality and unique event it is impossible not to come back.

That said, for a while I believed I was to do the 50 mile option instead. My crew volunteers (having lives of their own) slowly decreased until I decided the 50 miler was my only option. So the final training and tune-up was geared toward a 50 mile race. I even went down to Death Valley the week before to run a training run of 20+ miles believing that would be a good combo with the 50 miler. Then Friday morning before the race, Bob Becker writes to tell me that he found 3 brave souls willing to crew me. So I was in the 100 miler.

I got down to Key Largo and attended the pre-race meeting. The check-in, number distribution, everything went very smoothly. I was able to finally meet people face-to-face. I had exchanged many e-mails and blog/facebook posts from other runners who I had not met in person. I got to meet Christian, Lane, Bob, Chris, Joe, Jen, and others.

Then Bob gave his informative pre-race speech and a runner, Sister Mary Elizabeth Lloyd who was planning on running the full 100 miles of the tropical heat in her habit, gave a presentation of orphan children due to losing their parents to AIDS. With her was Lisa Smith-Batchen who was helping her and 4 first timers attempt a 100 mile race. Her cause is very worthy and the statistics very grim. I was moved and pledged to help - please do the same by clicking here to read about the cause, the statistics and to help out the children: Donate.

Then it was off to final pre-race prep (buying some supplies, packing bags, etc.) I got to meet two of my crew members then. William (Will) Reynolds was a serviceman in the Navy based in Key West. This was his first introduction to the world of ultramarathons. The other was Bob Gentile, an experienced ultramarathoner. Bob was to crew me the first 50 along with Will. Then my third crewmember, Floridian Karen Maas, an experienced marathoner, was to relieve Bob and crew me the second half.

I was pretty nervous and not too confident about my conditioning. I predicted coming through 50 miles between 10:30 and 11:00 hours and hoped to hit my 100 mile average time of between 27 and 28 hours (well slower than my last year 25 hours and some change at Keys).

Then it was off to sleep before the alarm clock went off. In the morning we all packed the van and headed to the start line. The start was staged in the parking lot of the local Publix supermarket. Then we walked about a quarter mile to the actual starting line at mile marker 101 (the keys have mile markers counting down to mile 0 in Key West).

Bob gave a brief talk, I gave a brief prayer, then we were off. I started running a relative easy pace - somewhere around 9 minute miles I believed. Soon the sun rose and lit up the Florida sky. Despite thunder storms the previous day, the skies were quite clear and it was already in the 80's and humid. As I ran, I saw some faces I knew such as last year's winner Alyssa Spellmen who was ahead of me (I knew this year I was no threat to her and soon she disappeared ahead of me). I also saw Brian Krogmann, a former SF Bay area resident (a fellow USF alum too) who had blazing speed.

Around mile 5 I noted that my legs were feeling very tired and actually sore. But I was still running the same pace (probably not smart). Next to me was Chris Roman a sub-24 hour 100miler and Joe Lasky, another fast runner. We chatted for a bit and soon Chris headed off into the sunset. Joe and I leapfrogged each other a bit and I met his wife and two young children (his crew). But after awhile he too went ahead.

Bob and Will drove along side me in the crew vehicle with #30 all on it (my race number) - Will's pick-up truck. By mile 18 my legs were so sore and tired I actually slowed and walked. I was getting very frustrated and worried about the race. By the time I got to Will at Mile 20, I threw my water bottles in the back of the truck and started swearing. I crawled into the cab and just sat there. Soon, I realized that although I was drinking water, taking my S!Caps, and drinking my Clip2 - I had ate almost nothing for 20 miles (2 Gu packs).

So, I got out and told Will that my plan was to reel it in a bit, re-group, re-fuel, forget time, and try to salvage the race. I ate some tuna fish (my race fuel), another gel, and some coconut water. Then I started off again. After awhile my legs were feeling better, they were still sore but I was able to run.

Pretty soon I reached check-point #1 at the marathon point in just under 5 hours. After checking in, I grabbed some more fuel and headed off again. As the run progressed I started to crossing more bridges. This was my favorite part of this race. I was able to look over the gulf and ocean. The water was so blue and beautiful. Last year I had seen porpoise, turtles and other wildlife. By this point I had not seen any but the view was still beautiful.

My feet started to hurt and I felt as if I was getting blisters. So I added more lube and went on.

Soon Bob slapped on his shoes and joined me in my run. He was great - always cracking a joke and helping me get my mind off the run. We talked about various races we had run, mutual friends and other topics. I mentioned to him that I was disappointed that we had not seen any sea life yet and right as I said those words, a huge sea turtle floated right underneath us. Bob took a video of it (I will post it soon). We continued running past people fishing along the bridges. At one point a boy about 6 or 7 ran alongside us and tried to outrun us. He stayed ahead abit then stopped and smiled as we passed him. I joked with Bob that if he had kept outpacing us we'd have to toss him off the bridge and see how fast he swims :)

My slower pace, refueling and constant use of my ice filled bandanna was working. I was feeling better. Not great, but better.

Bob was getting hungry and mentioned that he would probably take a break and grab a bite to eat and re-join me on the Marathon Key for a hard point of the race on a bike path. The bike path is down in a low point with little breeze and it bakes the runners. But Bob never left - he stayed with me and soon we approached the bike path at around Mile 40.

The bike path was long and hot, but not nearly as hot as last year. Bob and I would mostly powerwalk it with some running. We came to Will at a couple of points and got more water and food and electrolytes.

Finally the bike path ended into the "downtown" section of Marathon. I will have to say that this is not the prettiest part of the race as we run past motels, dealerships and fast food joints. But after passing them we came to the Marathon Airport and the 50 mile check-in.

I got there at 10 hours 45 minutes - exactly half way between my predicted 10:30 and 11:00 hours. There I met Karen for the first time. I also took an opportunity to check my feet. I had developed some pretty good blisters and proceeded to clean these up. Some were "bubbles" that I drained and patched. Others though, on the sole of my left foot especially, hurt and was white but there was nothing to pop. Oh well, on I went.

Bob decided that he would go on and help Brian in his race as Brian's only crew up to that point was his mom. He received word that Brian was already at 70 miles!!!! Karen then jumped in the truck with Will and said that she would join me for the run across the 7 mile bridge.

So we kept going at a jog/walk until the 7 Mile Bridge. There at the base, I stocked up on my supplies as there would be no crew help for the full 7 miles. Karen grabbed a water bottle and joined me.

The bridge is wonderful. Some people think the traffic is bad, but the shoulders are very very wide and the view unmatched. We started the flat part walking but soon were jogging up the incline. Along the way we traded places with a few runners, passing a few and being passed. Karen and I also had great conversation as we went on. This conversation and the views really helped get my mind back into the race. I knew that when we reached the other side it would be 60 miles and for some reason that was a huge mental benefit - knowing I would have less than 40 miles to go after going past that point.

As we were approaching the end of the bridge I looked down and saw a few porpoise breaking through the water. Then, all the sudden, a beautiful huge spotted ray floated under us. We watched it as it glided under the bridge and beyond sight. It was sights like those in the crystal blue water that make this a truly unique race.

Finally, we reached the opposite anchor of the bridge and met Will. We refueled and moved along. It was just starting to get dark so after 2 miles more, we put on the reflective vest. After 2 more miles we grabbed flashlights. Karen was still with me. (SPOILER: I did make it to the finish line, details follow, but at this point I wanted to mention that Karen had done 2 marathons and those were her longest events. During this race she logged nearly 50 miles with me!!!)

As the night moved in, we lost the view of the sea. But it was still pretty. My legs were pretty thrashed - I just had not done enough training. But my worry was my feet. They were hurting more and more. The spots were now on the balls of both feet and the heals of both feet. I had tried everything from changing shoes and socks to various lubricants. But nothing helped.

So we kept moving forward and soon dropped down the bridge onto Big Pine Key. This was home of the Key Deer. Despite having crossed that key a few times I had never seen one. I flashed my light around and said to Karen "No deer." and then turned to our left to see one standing about 100 feet away. We watched it - it actually came closer to us - not really afraid.

Then we moved on. The night was still warm and muggy. When we hit the 70 mile point, I said that I would like to do 2 miles before stopping at the truck and then 3 so we could hurry and get to 75. Then I wanted to take a 15 minute nap as I was really having trouble keeping my eyes open and was staggering a bit. But then we realized the check-in was actually at mile 76, so I took my nap then.

After waking up, I felt much better. Feet still hurt like hell, but I was staying awake. Soon we crossed a bridge and headed to mile 76. This was a gas station and my point of total collapse last year. Although I was getting nauseous a bit and dry heaving, it was 10000000000 times better than last year. But my feet were killing me.

Karen and I checked in and I refueled - staying mostly with gu's, bars and electrolytes (S!Caps). It rained a tiny bit here and there, but barely even got us wet. Ryan soon passed me looking strong.

Karen and I passed through the remaining Keys all the time I was doing more walking than jogging. Soon, the sun started to rise as I entered the first part of Key West at Lower Sugarloaf near 85 miles into the race. It was around here that Bob rejoined us. He had helped bring Brian in for a 16 hour 31 minute finish!!!

So we kept going. Karen and pushed on until about mile 90 where she took a break. Bob joined me and we continued on. Bob tried to lift my spirits, but I was pretty low. I was moving but so slow and my feet hurt so f'n bad.

At one point we passed Lisa Smith-Batchen. Unfortunately Sister had to drop out around mile 40 (I still gave her $50 as I had pledged her $1 per mile for her cause....and after she dropped she came back and paced a runner for 10 miles). On we trudged slowly passing some runners....who then passed me back as I faded.

Finally, we entered the city and turned left to the seawall. 3 miles to go. I was going soo slow I was worried if I would make the cut-off (32 hours....and I had about 4 hours to make the 3 miles). I had never moved so slowly. I tried to draft off of a snail in front of me but it went to fast and I was left on my own yet again. A slug zoomed up from behind me and told me to get out of its way. Turtles laughed at me. A tree sloth mocked me. It wasn't pretty.

I came along side Ryan. He was limping too. He and I looked like victims as we barely moved down the sidewalk in our own private death march. I asked him if he wanted to limp across the finish line together and he agreed. I looked ahead and could not see the finish line. I was sure we had less than a mile to go. But when I asked, Ryan pointed off in the distance to two sailboats stating the finish line was there. I was floored - and all energy just left.

I couldn't keep up with Ryan's blistering limping and I sat on the seawall. Finally, I got up and Karen urged me to cover small areas "from here to that tree" "just to that parked car" "2 inches", etc.

Then, Bill Andrews came out to greet me and walk with me the last half mile. Jared also joined me as did Richard (one of the key supporters of the Keys race). I came down to the finish line and crossed with me crew following me. Finally time: 29:57:59. Ouch - that was slow and painful.

Bob Becker presented me my belt buckle. Mandy's husband Andy handed me a beer which was so cold I downed it....and immediately felt the need to sit down.

I asked if I had the DFL (Dead F'n Last) award...but was disappointed to learn that I did not.

After a shower and a nap, my crew joined Ryan, Brian and a few others for dinner. As is my tradition (well, 2 years in a row now) I celebrated the true Key West Ultra way....conch fritters and a Rum Runner (I think if the bartender knew of my performance he would have invented a Rum Walker drink instead).

Overall, Bob Becker put on yet another unbelievable race. If you have the chance - enter the Keys race (or one of his other ultras). I will....I will be back next year to keep my streak of finishing every single Keys 100 intact :)

DEATH VALLEY TRAINING RUN

2009-05-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

I decided to go down to Death Valley and run between Furnace Creek and StovePipe Wells as a training run. My buddy Daryl was joining me again as my "crew". The plan was to start at about 8:00 am as that was the time slot I expected to get for my start (and I learned that day after my run that I was correct). Instead, I started a little after 11:00 due to traffic, etc.

First we stopped at Badwater itself for a bit. It was already quite hot. Then we drove to Furnace Creek and I quickly donned my OR hat, Moebens, watch with thermometer and filled my water bottles. Then I was off.

I found the first few miles pretty tough. It was a bit hard to get my breathing relaxed. But after a while it eased up and I got in a groove.

The scenery was beautiful.

I would stop every couple miles to refill the bottles, repack the ice in my bandanna and soak my hat in water.

As I ran closer towards what would be the 50k point, the temps were still rising.

As the day wore on I needed to stop at the car more often. The temps were approaching 110 and I needed to refill the ice more often. But I found that I was peeing quite often so my hydration (drinking water, Clip2 and S!Caps) was working.

The day passed as I continued my run in the sun.

Soon, I was running the downhill towards the Devil's Cornfield - an open area filled with interesting plants.

Finally I ran past the sand dunes on my way to StovePipe Wells. I ended the day short of a marathon, but still a solid 20+ mile run in the heat. I rewarded myself with an ice cream from the general store.

AWESOME KEYS 100 VIDEO

2009-05-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

KEYS 100...OR 50...OR 100....

2009-05-15T06:39:00.000-07:00

I am entered in this weekend's Keys Ultras. I originally had signed up for the 100 again. However, it appeared that I would have no crew due to various reasons, so I opted for the 50 miler instead. I was to run it with Mandy, one of my crew from last year's Keys 100. But late last night I heard that I might have some last minute crew volunteers, so I might be back in the 100! Not sure how wise this is as my conditioning isn't so great and I did a hard 20+ mile training run in Death Valley last weekend. Oh well, we will see.

UPDATE: Thanks to ultra Keys race director and all around great guy Bob Becker, I have a crew! 100 miles here I come.....gulp.