Extreme Ultra Runner

The "Chilly" Chilly willy

2009-11-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

Done! and thank goodness! it definitely lived up to it name. with only 3hrs of sunlight and freezing temps throughout the night it was a battle to stay comfy. And after completing 7 figure eight loops, or as I saw it 14 loops I was happy for it to be over. Running into an empty parking lot in 27:03 full race report and pictures next week after I get Internet again. Once again the value of companionship (someone to share the pain with) was greatly appreciated, Thanks Van

Cold Stream Chilly willy 100

2009-11-05T16:38:00.001-08:00

Heading North for anogther 100!!

http://clubfatass.com/events/coldstream-chilly-willy-100

Blog? Don't Blog? is something really better then nothing?

2009-10-28T01:45:00.000-07:00

Here I was just about to start blogging again when now all I want to do is just delete my Blog entirely. It’s not that I don’t have good things to write about it’s that I don’t want the pressure of only writing about how good things are. True focusing on the negative will get you know where but somehow it tends to find it’s why into life and just blocking it out is something I have yet to learn. Not that this is a good example of what I’m talking about but this is how my day went.

Just after lunch I was asked to go pick up some parts at a machine shop. The same shop I had dropped off an application to a few months back. I thought, great, I get paid to go check up on a potential new job. Then things got even better when I arrived and found out one of my old bosses from around 9 years ago worked there. We chatted a bit as I waited for them to load the truck. I had left that job with a good impression so I thought, here was my in. Thinking that today may have been a start to something new I drove back to the shop with just a little bit of hope. This was soon to be extinguished when I happen to mention to one of our machinist where I had picked up the parts. He explained in not so friendly words how much the owner of the company was a jerk and how poor the quality of the work that was done there. Hope successfully extinguished. Now I suppose I’ll have to give my “in” a call and see what the real story is but for today it just sucks. So that it’s it for my negative rant for the day.

I did manage to get out for a run up Stewart just before sunset. I’ve found that unlike most runners I know the uplifting affects of running don’t seem to stay with me much longer then the last step on the trail. Maybe you can see why I prefer to run 100 milers. For me it’s a time of rest. No matter how bad a race it’s 20 to 30+ hours of positive drive. This was almost always a guarantee but I’ve been having glimpses that this may not always be the case in the future. Of course I will keep doing it until it doesn’t. In fact I’m going to run another 100 next month.

This was not the blog post I intended. In fact that posting was only about have positive. I was going to write about how some of my favorite running friends have left our group and how I’ve been hitting the trails alone. There is some good news to come but I’ll save it for a special issue.

Still on the run

2009-10-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

Damn, is that me looking happy? I need to tap in to that more often. somehow I don't think I smile that much during a work day. I haven't posted much of anything the last few months so I thought maybe I'd try and start that again. With a little bit of self prodding you should see some updates soon.

Cascade crest 100 Mile endurance run

2009-09-05T23:59:00.000-07:00

Pictured above is my incredible crew and pacer Barbara Evans and Monica Ochs.

without them I could not have achieved my goal of running sub 24

Highlights: Having my very own support team!, Getting to the race a day early and getting a great nights sleep. Lucking out on the weather, Running fast with less effort (maybe training does work), Not being allergic to the bee that stung me, running all of the 3 miles of pavement after Hyak mile 53. Seeing the stars come out at night and a magnificent sunrise on thorp mtn. Running like a made man to the the finish and coming in under 24hrs crossing the line in 23hours and 16minutes. finishing my 4th cascade crest race in a row.

Three Peaks Elevation profile

2009-06-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

25hrs 50+ miles 16,000ft of Gain and a whole lot of fun.

Pictures from the Three Peaks Adventure Run

2009-06-11T23:06:00.000-07:00

Third annual Three Peaks Adventure Run

2009-06-09T23:49:00.000-07:00

Sunrise from the top of Mt Eddie at 9,000ft with my good friend Tina Ure (This was all her idea) looking back over the Three peaks course. Peak#1 was Mt Shasta at 14,000ft which we summited at noon the day before in 50 mph winds. Then ran to Black Butte the little rock pile you can see trapped in fog inbetween was Peak #2 and last but not least a gruling climb to Mt. Eddie to catch the sunrise

The third annual Three Peaks Adventure Run

2009-06-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

Arrived here in Mt Shasta last night after enduring a 12hr motorcycle ride. And despite the cup of coffee and two red bulls I had no problem sleeping last night. Today Tina and I will be busy picking up climbing permits, placing drop bags and getting ready for tomorrows big run. Joining us this year is Mark Swanson from Redding Ca. I'll try and post some pre run pictures before the run. Here's a quick idea of what were about to do. At 5am we'll start climbing Mt Shasta. We'll reach the summit at 14,000ft around noon glacade back down to the car, drop off our climbing gear and run to Black Butte. Do an out and back to to the top then head to Tina's house for refueling. Around 10pm we'll leave Tina's house and continue on to reach the summit of Mt Eddie around 3am. Then head down to the PCT trail and follow it to the car which will be our finish line. Total distance of around 50 miles with 15,000ft of elevation gain in roughly 27hrs. Can't wait for the fun to begin.

Twisp river 60k fun run

2009-05-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, Ok I've been really bad at updating my blog. Here's a link to James's Blog with some great pictures from our run.

http://rainshadow-running.blogspot.com/2009/05/twisp-river-fun-run-pictures.html

60k Weekend in Twisp

2009-05-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

Heading over on Saturday for a Fun run weekend east of the Cascades. James Varner is hosting a 60k fun run in Twisp that is sure to be a blast ( of 80 degree weather ) I was initially planning to stay home this weekend but Barbara who's never ran over 50k invited me to accompany her on her voyage beyond the 50k so how could I resist.

Oh and by the way despite the photo above it's spring in the northwest and the snow has melted off of Stewart mtn.

Trail work on galbarith / Scouting begins on stewart mtn

2009-05-10T23:36:00.000-07:00

this last Saturday I joined the Lynden Boy scouts on Galbraith mtn for a day of sign hanging. My official job was to ride along and make sure all the trail signs got placed on the right trails facing the correct direction. it was a tough job but someone had to do it. So thanks to the boy scouts there are now 30 new trail signs up on Galbarith to help you find you way. From what I over heard there is also a new 09 trail map just making it's way to the local stores. so now you can't use the excuse I was lost up on Galbarith.

Sunday I made a quick 2.5 hr trip up to Stewart mtn from the Y rd parking lot. the first snow free run I've done up there this year. The day was a little overcast but amazingly Mt. Baker and the twin sisters were in full view. Every time I make the trip to the top I get a renewed interest in hosting a 100 mile ultra up there. Now if I can get my act together maybe 2010 will be the first annual Stewart mtn 100 mile endurance run.

Sorry for the lack of pictures but I haven't been able to find the charger for my camera and a fast computer to upload pictures is hard to come by.

Lookout Glory trail fun run

2009-05-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

The Lookout Glory trail run was thought up by Morris Arthur who had the idea to take the city bus out to sudden valley ( the far side of lookout Mtn.) then run up and over lookout Mtn. down the glory trail over to Galbraith and finally down through lake padden and back to fairhaven covering about 18 miles. The theory was that we would arrive at the towers around 7:00pm and enjoy a spring sunset on the run down. Enjoyment was had but the sunset was a wet one. the participants for this run were Morris, Ron, Amites, Barbara and I.

the story begins on the way to fairhaven when while driving I saw Ron driving the opposite direction. I just thought he was driving home before the run and didn't think anything of it. I continue on my way to Barbara's where we had planned to meet up and run to fairhaven to catch the bus. As Barby and I run down fairhaven parkway we see Ron in his smiley Doorman van driving towards us and in the opposite direction. He pulled over and we jumped in since we where thinking we were late for the bus. we turn around and head for the bus stop. On the way Ron fills us in on his backward driving. He tells us he had already been at the bus stop at 4 something and didn't see anyone. he was on his way home to check his email again when his saw me drive by then turned around and followed me back to fairhaven. I guess he didn't get the last email that stated we were catching the bus at 5:22

No harm done so we head to the bus stop where we meet up with Amites and take the bus to the bus station. We meet up with Morris who was anxiously waiting for us and jump on the 512 headed to sudden valley. the rain so far was holding off but the forecast was calling for a spring storm with plenty of rain and wind.

on the ride out we chat with the other riders about our little "fun run" as Barbara tries to convince everyone that we're doing a loop and not a one way? we arrive at the bus stop ( which happens to stop right at the logging road we are running ) at 6:10pm. We head up the road noting that it felt much easier to run up since we didn't have to run over Galbraith first as we usually do. It's a fairly unforgiving hour climb up to the broadcast towers. Of course as the tower came into sight the wind kicks up and the rain started it's assault. it just wouldn't be a good lookout run if there wasn't some bad weather to fight through. The rain really isn't so bad compared to the miles of knee deep wet snow we've battled through on prior runs.

with the wind howling through the towers above and the rain continuing it's mission to soak through every piece of clothing we face south to Alamo, CA and shout out to our temporarily relocated trail running partner " Where are you Chuck?" To which we hear no reply. Then make our way down the Glory trail and head towards Galbraith. Yes it's raining and I'm losing feeling in my fingers but I couldn't think of one other thing I'd rather be doing on a Monday afternoon then be out here running in the mtns. with this group of brave adventure runners.

On the scramble up to Galbraith the wind was whipping the rain so hard we're all covering our ears from the pelting rain. Finally making it up onto the trail. We're now on a down hill course to Fairhaven still a good 6 miles away. the sky heavy with clouds continues to darken and as we head into the woods the lights are turned off. I yell back to Barby "don't worry your eyes will adjust" after hearing her gasp at the darkness. Ron and Morris Being veterans of the wed. night runs are right at home in the dark, Amites on the other hand still hasn't got the hang of it. between the five of us somehow we ended up bringing only 3 lights so we just keep them off and enjoy the dark Forrest single track.

Now down on Galbraith lane we joke about who's got a car waiting in the parking lot ( which is where we usually park to run Galbarith ) and how much a beer and a couch would feel a whole lot better then running in the poring rain. No such luck was to be had. As we run across the parking lot towards the padden trail head we look back to see Amites sprinting down the road? we yell out "come on run with us" to which we get no reply not even a missed step. He'd decided to run the road home instead of the trails. So now it's just the four of us that head off into the dark of the padden trails running by braille, still opting to keep the lights off and run as if we had no choice. We make our way around lake padden in almost complete darkness rain drenching us to the core. we're all starting to feel the soreness take over but at the same time are congratulating each other on a good run. I think to my self how epic of a run this is as we have now been running in the rain and total darkness for over an hour and still have a few miles to go. This is the kind of afternoon adventure I live for. We Make it down to fairhaven parkway just a little over 3hs after stepping off the bus. the rain pounding even harder now as we shake hands, give hi fives and head for shelter. Morris takes the prize for farthest traveled since he opts to run and bike the rest of the way home. looks like there will have to be a second round of the eco friendly glory run. Next time we'll pick a sunnier day or will we?

Capital Peak 50 mile report

2009-04-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

Wow that's a lot of running. capital peak was my first 5o mile just three years ago. and since then I haven't really improved my 50mile time, until now! finishing in a smoking fast 8:43 and 8th overall. all the extra training I've been doing with my little running protege is really paying off. I kept saying to myself " you can run this " and with very few exceptions I ran and ran and ran, walking no more then a mile or so. this course is just fast for the amount of elevation it has. with 50 miles of winding single track I was in heaven. HERE's a shot of me at the peak where believe it or not it was snowing! Thanks Glenn. And thank you John for a great race and good times. No more races planned for the near future, but you never know. the trail is always calling me to come run.

New 100 miler in Montana

2009-04-14T01:52:00.000-07:00

This is going on my to-do list. Swan Crest 100

running, running, running

2009-04-06T21:04:00.006-07:00

Running, running and no blogging. So to catch up a little I had a PR at chuckanut 50k fastest 50k ever 5:00:57 and to make things better Barbara on her second ultra ever ran a 5:21.

Wednesday "night" runs have come to an end and we hopefully have seen the last of the snow. though I love the snow. Morris has left to surfski for the summer and Chuck Snyder has skipped town. Wednesday nights will never be the same.

Just got back from a weekend up on the north shore running the Baden Powell with my good friend Barbara . that trail never seems to get any friendlier. just say no to the BP

coming up this weekend is the sun mountain 50k which Barbara and I will both be running. sure to be a great time with my favorite people.

Really I'm not Dead

2009-03-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

No I'm not Dead. Just haven't had time or a computer to blog with. Will fill in all the missing story's in the next week. The current news is that Chuckanut 50k is coming up on the 21st. I'm actually feeling pretty fast so it should be a good race if all goes well. along with the update I'm working on my o9 race, run and crewing schedule. If all goes well I will be back at badwater crewing for my good friend Sarah lowell. Just heading off for the weekly Wednesday night run which is sadly turning into a day run with the time change. I suppose change is good.

Chuckanut 50k training run report compliments of B-ham Barbara

2009-03-02T16:54:00.001-08:00

Chuck S, Mike P, B-ham Barbara, and the Danimal: compliments
Saturday with the middle 18 of Chuckanut- just a couple of crazy kids.

Our hearts raced as we ran at paces almost unfathomable to the plebian runner. Sweat in our eyes, blood on our legs, lumps in our throat, quenched with thirst and a desire to see what we were truly capable of. Reality was a blur as we ascended and descended some of the Pacific North West’s most intense, and grueling terrain; terrain that very few dare to challenge. We pushed harder than we had in our entire lives. We laughed, we cried, we saw things that we knew we could never explain to anyone who wasn’t there. Our run lasted 8 nights and 9 days. At the end we were not friends… we were not enemies… we just were. This was the middle 18 of the Chuckanut 50K course.

[needle scratching off a record]

Ok perhaps that was a tiny embellishment. Here’s another version. You chose which to believe. I recommend the former.

It was a sunny, fresh and crisp mid-morning (10am) when the 4 of us met at our beloved local running store in downtown Fairhaven. I (Barbara) had invited 5 other runners, but none could make it. All had various ‘reasons’, but deep down I knew that the reputation of our Wed runs as being extremely challenging deterred a few runners from “trusting” us to not go overboard in intensity this fine Saturday morning. Dan, Chuck and I are from the regular Wed crew, but we were delighted to be joined by Mike P from Langley, who had joined us during the Winter for a run on Galbraith Mt. organized by Dan. Parenthetically, Mike mispronounces “Galbraith” but I notice that no one has ever corrected him. I hereby request that no one ever does. I for one get a cheap thrill from hearing other people sound silly.

Perhaps I should not target Mike for misstating anything, for due to Chuck’s plan for a mile and a half warm up (which sucked butt on the way back- excuse my advanced use of the English language), the middle 18 we invited Mike on, became middle 21. Mike was questioning America’s ability, or lack thereof, to properly teach mathematics to its citizens. We questioned Canada’s collective flat-out laziness to run an extra flat easy 3 miles.

Much to my delight, we took the middle eightee…ehem…twenty one miles quite relaxed and at an easy pace. This may sound like an oxymoron to non-distance runners, but I considered it to be a weekend fun-run. We enjoyed snips of sunshine all day, and crisp but shorts-friendly temperatures, as well as some 3 days old beautiful snow at places of higher elevation. I had never run the entire course collectively, and Mike had never tasted the sweet goldmine that is the Chuckanut Mt. trails. Dan and Chuck, our seasoned Chuckanut 50K-ers (raced over 4 times each) were our official guides. Chuck rightfully declared he could run the course in his sleep. Knowing Chuck, he probably has a time or two.

The day went off without a hitch, aside from me falling flat on my face in the mud…no joke. The only one to see this was Dan, who very graciously did not laugh when I looked up at him yelling, “Don’t look at me! Move on! Let me suffer alone!”

We spent about 5 hours taking it easy, power walking on steep hills, having conversations that came close to being titled: ‘The Marrieds against the Singles’, taking rests where we all huddled around Dan’s brownies and Chuck Sports blocks, and getting to know each other better.

My personality profiling for the day goes as follows: Mike P was largely hilarious in a sarcastic edgy sort of way (“so Barbara, what’s the deal with you and Dan?”), while somehow maintaining that Canadian charm. We understood most of what he was attempting to communicate, but were a bit lost when he would say things like “ey?” and mispronounce words like “about” and “Galbraith”.

Daniel was his usual over-excited to run in the snow self. During our first hydration- calorie intake break, as we began to unwrap bland cardboard tasting power bars and little crappy Gu pouches, show off Dan busts out with two brownies the size of his head. Jeesh! At least he shared. I have always seen Dan (and Morris) as an over all caretaker and overseer of all of our runs. He has everything a human being would ever need on a run in his pack, and keeps a watchful eye to make sure the pace is appropriate for all and that everyone is safe, sound and happy. This unfortunately goes largely unrecognized, but is very appreciated.

Chuck S was, and always is, our most haphazard runner. Full speed down rocky technical terrain, full 3 miles periods of all out spiriting, fogged glasses and bloodied legs (somehow even on wide fire-road terrain), this is a man who wants to run and puts little in his way to be able to so. He was jokie all day, never broke a sweat or felt his pulse rise, and probably could have taken a 20-mile cool-down at the end of it all. It boggles me that a runner like him could make the joke “OK- Here is where I suck in my gut” while he is running by while I take a photo. As for me, I will sum me up as I suppose the guys would: I spent the day pretending to be offended about jokes made at my expense, being overly defensive and smart-ass while knowing all the while that all they are looking for is to get this rise out of me. I felt great during the run, but really enjoyed (as I sometimes do) lagging way behind for “B-time”. I hoped for an easy run, and I felt that it really was.

In conclusion, Saturday’s run was great. The running alone counts for something, but ultimately, it is the people that I run with that make the experience worthwhile and memorable. I just started to run long-distance in the last 4 months, and feel that if my running partners were taken away from the equation, than I would not do it. Saturday was a perfect example of great personalities joining to do what we all love. Killer company- killer run. Did I mention that the last 1.5 miles sucked butt? Way to sprint it Mike… show off ey?

The often epic Wed. night running gang

2009-02-27T19:08:00.000-08:00

From left to right back to front Morris, Ron, Dan/me, Barbara, Ferndale Chuck.

Wednesdays night run was a truly epic run. We ditched the Idea of running to the top of lookout and instead opted for a 3hr loop run to lost lake then down to the land of the lost then back pine and cedar lakes / hemlock trail. the snow made for a super fun cold long run in the snow. Yes I said "Super fun" run in the snow. These are the days that make life truly memorable.

Anderson Mtn Adventure run to the top

2009-02-23T21:07:00.001-08:00

The Anderson mountain adventure run is a yearly tradition the continues to live up to it's reputation of being Adventurous! This year for the first time we scrambled our way to the absolute top of the mountain. Chuck gives a quick recap of our run below. Barbara who's idea it was to do an adventure run this weekend was out sick and missed the run. Though if I remember correctly it was a lot of snow running that did her ankle in last time and with chuckanut 50k around the corner maybe it was a good thing she did, though we missed her company.

Chuck's run report

We did Anderson and it did not look like a nice day when I walked out at 7:30. It was raining hard and warm. On the way down it looked clear everywhere south BUT Anderson. We did a car drop and eventually found our way to the start. The logging has killed the wonderful wooded trail up the West side but it is at least now clear. The benefit of the logging, GREAT VIEWS of the islands and everything West. When we got to the top road it was plowed. Not an inch of snow on it. It stayed that way until the left cut off to the top. On that road there was 2 to 4 feet of snow underfoot that was so firm you barely sunk in. That is with the exception of the holes that Dan and I kept finding.When we got to the top and flirted our way around the top we looked up and saw that we were not at the top of Anderson but about 200 feet up a cliff there it was. We figured, what the hell. We found our way around and bush whacked to the top. We had 360 views from this knob. Dan called dibs for future fort building.We whacked our way down and "easier" way back to the road/trail. It went on fairly well until we ran into more logging, this time on the East side. They did not obliterate the trail but did a nice job of eroding the upper slopes so that the inevitable slides did. Route finding was tough for about 20 min but we made it down.On the way down the sun came out and it heated up into the upper 50's, heat wave.It was a great run and I'm sure Dan will have more to say about it and I hope some great photos.

Thanks Chuck

Orcas Island 50k first ultra of 09

2009-02-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

My Orcas island race report is a little over do so I better get to it. On Friday the 6th Barbara Jeffery and I headed to Orcas to take part in some trail running mayhem along with 250 other crazy trail runners. It seemed it had been forever since I had done and Ultra. In fact it's been 4 months, way to long. A good deal of my friends are ultra runners and few of them live in my neck of the woods so I was extra excited to see the gang again and make some new ultra memories. But to tell the truth this weekend was all about my good friend Barbara's first ultra. She doesn't like all the attention but She's going to get it. This race wouldn't have been the same if she had not stepped foot on the island to take on the 50k. And all odds were against her as the race approached. Several weeks ago she had sprained her ankle from running in all of the snow and was just on the mend as the race drew near. She hadn't ran a Wednesday night run in over a month and when she did come out just three days before the race she reinjured it right at the end of the run. She was determined to do the race and I for one was not going to get in the way. this year instead of bivying in the wet grass the night before the race or running with James until 2am I had luxury accommodations from Barbara who had rented a cabin at Rosario. It came fully stocked but was missing a few common items like a hair brush and the hot tube had been set to warm, nothing 20 pots of boiling water couldn't fix. Babara did just fine with out a brush and instead resorted to the trusty dinglhopper. Now onto the race! we arrived at Camp Moran an hour before the start and I got busy passing out hugs and hand shakes to all my ultra friends, to many I found out where sidelined from running do to injury. Barbara was struck with first time runner nervousness but still manged to introduce herself to the gang. Before long James spoke up and gave the pre race talk and said 5 minutes to start. We headed out the door and up to the road for the start. 54321 and we were off. I had a good feeling from the start that it was going to be an unforgettable day. I was going to run with Barbara as long as she would let me it was my secret plan to keep her running slow. for the first hour she would shout out every time another 5 minutes passed. it's going to be a long day I kept thinking. As the early morning fog lifted the sun came out making for a perfect day to be out running. With 7,000ft of gain there was some hiking too, which Barbara wasn't to thrilled about since she's more of a runner. She took it in stride though and didn't complain. Running in the deep woods on Orcas is just awe inspiring. the moss covering everything and the fog and sun mix just made you wish you could run all day, wait that's what we were doing. after a few hours we came into the first aid station back at the camp. I chatted with the volunteers and after a bathroom break Barbara feasted on chips and PB&J an ultra runner staple. Back on the trail and now 5hrs into it Barbara commented on how 5hrs just seemed to fly buy. A good sign that she is and Ultra runner. We reached the top of Mt constitution aid station just in the nick of time since James had put in a cut off at the last minute. No worries though we were doing great. I spent more time chatting with the volunteers and taking in the view of Bellingham with Mt baker and the cascades dominating the landscape over the water. I also did my best to get Barabara refuelled for the last leg of the race, a mostly down hill 9 mile sprint to the finish. She was feeling good and wanted to run the rest on her own. So I headed out to enjoy the downhill cruse to the finish. knowing she'd be not to far behind I sprinted across the finish line and ran into the lodge to grab her camera to make sure I get her finish shot. But when I looked up with camera in hand there she was outside the window waving at me looking like she had just finished a 3 mile jog. She had only been 3 minutes behind me. I felt bad about missing her first ultra finish but it really made my day to have run with her and to see that she finished. In the end it was a great weekend for all. Some fast times and some great times. And of course thank you James for a great race. I am many things but I love being an Ultra runner and now Barbara is too. Congratulation B! Later on that night she discovered that she didn't come away completely unscathed when after further inspection. she discovered she had some good blisters between her toes. That's the life of an ultra runner if it's not one thing it's another. if you are on facebook you can see some of the pictures from Orcas in my picture album.

Birthday weekend and yes I'm now 30

2009-02-01T21:54:00.001-08:00

So I turned 30 this last weekend. To me turning 30 isn't much of a big deal. There are many good things in my life and a few not so good things that I'm still taking it one day at a time. What I am hoping for is that in another 30 years I will look back and see that a thirty was when I started taking life a little more seriously. (you know because I'm such a partier) What I've learned so far is that Hoping doesn't always get the results you were looking for. In the last few years I have gained many new friends that are now coming into use as the world that I have created for myself has fallen down around me. I won't get into the details because I'd rather talk about the excellent weekend that I just had. On Saturday my good friend Barbara and I headed up to Alger Alps to take in a rare sunny winter day. It was good to hit the trails with her again since her ankle sprain has kept her off the trails and away from the Wednesday night running group for far to long. At the top of the mountain/Hill we scrambled down through the Blackberries bushes to the rock out cropping which overlooks I-5 to take in the view to the south. In the proses we came away with the good battle wounds that you can see below. To top off a great run we headed back to her place grabbed a bite to eat and watched Ferg Hawk's new Badwater Ultra Marathon movie "The distance of truth" which was good but a little over dramatic. I said it made me want to go run. ( Since I was there this summer crewing for my good friend Sarah Lowell ) Barbara had to point out that watching people suffer for 135 miles in 130 degree heat and seeing pictures of there feet fall off is not something that makes most people want to go run. What can I say I like Extremes. I will run Badwater one day. anyway it was a great way to spend my Birthday. Next year I'll be 31 which will be an official 50k so I'll have to plan something special. On Sunday I got an encore when Barbara joined me for a three hour run through the Chuckanuts. Her longest since the ankle sprain. Later that night I was treated to stake by my roommates for my birthday and moving out party. I've eaten so much in the last 48hrs I'd have to run a 100 just to burn it off. which reminds me that this coming weekend will be my first ultra of 09 the Orcas Island 50k. Looking forward to another good time out on the island and some more time to figure out what the heck I'm going to do with the rest of my life. All I know is that good friends are invaluable, thank you all for you support.

Big Rock Park Adventures.

2009-01-25T22:15:00.000-08:00

This afternoon Amites and I planned a quick run of unknown destination. Just after 4pm we left his apartment complex and headed out to run the railroad trail behind Barkley village. I asked if he had ever been to Big Rock Park he replied "no" neither had I. I had gone looking for it one day while riding my bike around but never found it. looking at a map would of helped. anyway we followed the trails and signs up the few hundred feet of stairs and paths to the top of Alabama hill where after a bit of easy navigation we found the entrance to the park. Now Big Rock park is suppose to be an art garden filled with abstract sculptures. well in my eyes it's full of a bunch of crap. Nothing I would ever pay for or want to own. now there were a "few" one or two that weren't that bad but most of the stuff I see no value in. Don't get me wrong I love art, just not this stuff. Or the piece of crap down on holly street or the pastel kids blocks on Galbraith. as I looked around and saw empty cement slabs where sculptures where to stand I got an Idea. I should make my own sculpture, sneak in after dark sometime, bolt it down then round off the bolt heads. I'll show them what art is. but then I'd be an artist and have to hate myself. so after the two minute art tour we headed back out onto the trail and enjoyed the sun setting over Bellingham bay. And though it was biting cold out it was another great day to live in the "Ham" as Amites calls it. as we were running down the trail talking about the difference between track running and Ultra running Amites dared me to race him in a sprint. Well even though I knew I would not beat him I would give it my best. So after crossing the road we picked out a finish line and said the magic words, Read - Set - Go! the race was on. It wasn't even a fifty yard dash but I gave it my all and for half of the distance I kept up but in the last few yards he pulled away only beating me by a yards length. At the end of our sprint Amites started to laugh and exclaimed " that's the most spontaneous thing I done in the last year" after catching our breath we headed back to the apartment avoiding the dogs that would Eat him if we ran by them. we only ran about 5 miles but it was just good to get out on the trail and spend some time with a good friend. Still wish we could get this guy out for more of our 20 mile runs. Sorry no pictures didn't bring the camera.

Cross chuckanut run

2009-01-21T01:45:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Morris, Chuck and I ran the classic Cross chuckanut route. Debbie Morris's wife kindly dropped us off at the PNT trail head on blanchard Mtn. the morning was cold and the fog was thick. Soon enough we climbed out of the fog and emerged at the hang glider parking lot in full sunshine. looking down all you could see was fog. Chuck exclaimed " it's like looking down on hell" Morris and I gave him funny look as we tried to figure out what the heck he was talking about. On clear days like this you can see all the way down to rainier. So far the trail had been snow free but by the time we got to the Lilly? lake there was a foot of hard punchy snow. We took British army trail down into the land of the lost where frost covered everything turning it white and made us shiver and reach for our hats. the rest of the route heads up into the chuckanuts where it was so warm and sunny and seemed more like a early spring day. Morris as usual took off down the ridge trail since this is his favorite trail to run fast. the three of us managed to make it back to fairhaven to Morris's house where Debbie had homemade lasagna waiting for us. total time was something around 4.5hrs for 20+ miles. My favorite part of the day was after the run when I was reading a story to Morris's 4 year old daughter and on about the second page I hear Morris start to snore away. It was a good day to run in the mountains with two great guys. A few more pictures HERE

08 The Bonus year

2009-01-12T01:09:00.000-08:00

It's long and unedited. I bet it will give Barbara a headache.

I’ve been thinking of doing a recap of 08 for a while now but I’ve found writing to be near impossible while not being in a positive mood. But if I don’t do it now it will never be.

08 really was a great year. I call it the bonus year because how could it have topped o7 the Year of HURT, Rock & Ice, Hard Rock! and more. In reality 07 should have been the last year. I did not think that I would make it through 08 and really I didn’t but I’ll tell you about the year that was.

08 started out with the presumption that I would not be able to top 07 and defiantly not be able to afford another year of running even on credit. This didn’t stop me from making plans or running to the end. First up was the Arrowhead 135 mile ultra on February 4th in International falls Minnesota.

I had signed up in o7 but withdrew when I got in to rock and Ice. This was the race I thought I might have a chance at winning. The year before only one person on foot finished. That person was Sarah Lowell an elementary teacher from north Carolina who braved the negative forty temperature to be the loan survivor of the 135 miles of the Arrowhead ultra. I’d raced at temperatures between -30 and -40 for 5 days in Yellowknife the year before so I was not afraid of the cold in fact was looking forward to it. To be the soul survivor. Well that was wiped away when on race day the temperature was above freezing. But before I go that far let me tell you about the person I met on the short flight from Minneapolis to international falls aboard a small prop plane with just a hand full of people on it. In my bag I had the latest copy of trail runner in it which had a story on last years soul survivor Sarah Lowell. When I boarded the plane we were told to sit over the wings since there where so few of us. After taking my seat I looked down the isle and see a familiar face walking towards me. It was Sarah Lowell. And after introducing myself we spent the rest of the short flight talking about the race to the other passengers who stood or sat in disbelief of what we were about to do. From this moment on we became great friends. Back to the race. I was really looking forward to another arctic race in a land nicknamed the Ice box of the lower 48. I wasn’t looking forward to the 135 miles of mostly flat terrain. As stated before on race day it was +35 and I ran in shorts most of the day changing out wet socks often.

Then grinding to a holt on day two when the temperature dropped to - 27 and my shoes froze solid just 20 miles from the finish. After thawing my shoes over my stove and getting some sleep I headed off to finish the race in 2 days 5hr and 30mins taking 5th in the foot division. That race had been the farthest I had ever traveled on foot and the one I’ve experienced the most fatigue in. by the time I got back to the hotel and called home I couldn’t finish a sentence with out forgetting what the last word I had said was.

Just nine days after arrowhead I was actually able to run the Orcas Island 50k. Wasn’t a fast run but it was an incredibly sunny day and running not walking with a 30lb sled behind you was heaven.

Next up was Chuckanut 50k not my most favorite race but it’s in my back yard and was the race that started it all. I had been dumb and the weekend before the race I was on a solo adventure run where I injured my ankle wading down a stream in the dark. I still had an ok race but not my best. It was good to get out and run with the local gang again. Those being the Wednesday night mountain runners.

On April 3rd I caught my hand in a mill with a half inch drill bit in it at work and lacerated the tendon in the back of my hand leading to a never ending physical and emotional headache. Of course I could still run so it wasn’t the end of the world yet.

Now onto to the 4 mountain tour which I unknowing ran with my hand in pieces just to days after the accident. Here’s the description from my blog. The date was planned and there was no backing out at this point even with the gloomy weather report. This would be Morris’s last run for the year as he would be switching to kayaking for the summer. It would also be the longest run for both him and Ferndale Chuck. The idea thought up by Morris a year earlier was to run the four small mountains surrounding I-5 including and in this order Chuckanut, Blanchard, Lookout, Galbraith then back down through lake Padden and back to the start and finish at the Fairhaven vet clinic completing a roughly 40 mile loop. The participants were Morris, Ferndale Chuck, Andrew, Wesley and of course me. It was a long and brutal run but all survived to run again another day.

On April 20th I made my first appearance in the local Bellingham herald for being the crazy Ultra runner I am. You can read it HERE Thanks guys

Then came the Hyson Hijinks 100 mile attempt. I learned that thinking I can run a 100 on a whim after a full week of work and no sleep and being under prepared is a bad idea. I made it 66miles and called it good. Being a club fat ass fun run I had no problem bailing out. I let the Birthday boy Chad Hyson finish his own run.

5/10/08 Time for the newly relocated North face endurance challenge 50 mile here in Bellingham. Where again I got to run with the local boys. Catching Andrew in the last 10 miles and using his pacer Morris to finish in my fastest fifty mile time just under 10hrs. Not that impressive but for this course it was good enough for me.

At the very end of May I headed down to Mt Shasta to see my good friend Tina Ure and take part in the second annual Three peaks adventure run. A run dreamed up buy Tina and attempted in 07 where we just missed out on the last summit by half a mile. When freezing weather and route finding problems forced us to skip the summit and head for the car. This year we were prepared for the task at hand. Carrying no less then three GPS’s to lead the way. Again the weather turned out to be spectacular! And threatening all at the same time. The summit of Shasta in the morning went off without a hitch. Despite my crippled hand, still in a brace from the surgery to repair my lacerated tendon. Mostly clear sky’s and mild temperatures. One of those days it just feels good to be alive. Things weren’t looking good though as we made our way to our second summit on Back butte the rock pile that overlooks I-5. There was a storm rolling in and you could see sheets of rain falling on the part of the route we would be traversing during the night. We were even a little leery of standing on the summit of Black butte with the sound on thunder just off in the distance. Amazingly by the time we got to Tina’s house (the second aid station) the storm had passed. Which was a great relief since this next section had doomed us the year before. My favorite part of the three peaks run is the au grotten potatos with strips of Bacon waiting at Tina’s house. We stormed out into the night vowing to summit Mt Eddie. Like well oiled machines we raced up Mt Eddie’s abandoned trails checking and Marking GPS waypoints with precision like we were in the army. The last push to the top didn’t come with out a fight now about 4am. The calm approach didn’t prepare us for the 40mph sustained winds and single digit temperatures greeting us on the top of bald mountain. Me of course in shorts. Success! 3 peaks, 52 miles, 27hrs and over 16,000ft of elevation gain. I really hope I can make it down for the Third annual run.

This is where things get even grander. Back at Arrowhead Sarah Lowell had mentioned that she had applied for the Badwater 135 mile ultra in death valley. She didn’t have a crew at that time so I said if she got in I’d come down and crew for her. Well she got in so now I was going to bad water to Crew! Something I thought I’d never in a million years even go want to watch. Since it’s a road run. Of course I had also Told Tina Ure I’d go run this little race at 9,000ft in Montana called the Devil’s back bone the same week since neither one of us got into Hard rock that year. And instead of canceling on either one I just did both. On Friday I left a 1am and headed east in my truck. My friend Cedar had kindly offered to tag along from Postfalls Idaho and help with some of the driving. Funny thing happened on the way the mandatory pre race meeting. Some 15hrs into the epic drive to Bosemen Montana when crossing the Continental divide I neglected to account for the time difference. So now an hour behind schedule instead of an hour ahead we put the metal to the pedal and made it to the meeting fifteen minutes late after the nonstop 17hr drive. So morning of the race comes the next day. We’re camped just six miles from the start. I wake up and look at my watch. Holy Crap! I’m late. I had slept through all three alarms. I jumped up grabbed my gear reread the directions to the start and jumped on the Motorbike with shorts on and no gloves. Speed a light speed up the graveled road while my hands and legs went numb trying to remember the directions I had just read. Being so shook up from waking up late I took a wrong turn and ended up in the middle of know where as the start time passed as I looked at the time on my bikes display. Tina had thankfully started with out me even though we had planed to run it together. I didn’t miss out to much and was able to meet her at the 25 mile point and continue running with her for the last 25. I’d have to say this is the closest to Hardrock you can get in a 50 mile race. It was just Beautiful running in open meadows and ridge tops in the rocky mountains.

With the race over, cedar drove the 9hr stretch back to his house in Idaho.
Where I grabbed a few hours of sleep before heading to spokan to catch a flight to Las Vegas! for the big event, Badwater! Here I was in Vegas where it’s was a 100 degrees outside and just the day before I was stuffing my water bottle with snow. I grabbed my rental car and headed off for Death valley. After a few more hours of driving I pulled in just as the race meeting had ended as planned. Who do I see walking across the parking lot? My friend Sarah Lowell the Ice princess here to take on the hottest toughest ultra out there. Over the next two days a small group of us take turns keeping the the Ice princess alive and moving in the melting 122 degree heat. Her persistence and ours pay off as together we reach the Mt Whitney Portals just after day break on the third day in 45hrs and 34mins. Good enough for the coveted Badwater buckle. This really was the highlight of my year. I’m even considering running it myself one day just to see what I’m made of. It would hands down be the hardest thing I can think of doing. Especially since I hate, hate roads!

Pumped up from the epic journey and not feeling like I had ran much I bummed a ticket off my Kelowna friend Shanan for the White river 50 mile. This race turned out to be an ominous foretelling of things to come. Since ¾ of the way thought the race I hit a wall. A new wall. One of fatigue of the mind and body. Neither I had really felt during any race past. It took all I had to make it to the finish. What was going on, it’s just 50 miles?

Now it was my turn to really put some miles on. This was the plan. Run Stormy 100 rest two weeks run Cascade Crest 100 rest three weeks run the infamous Plain 100+ Now that’s a good time. I had good intentions at Stormy to run my first 100 mile under 24hrs. I knew the course and it was to be the least technically difficult race I had ever ran. Not easy, just easier then all the rest, in theory that is. The Main flaw in this idea was my mind. For the first time ever I had a mental melt down. I blame it on the fact that the course is two fifty mile loops and I just didn’t want to run it again. After the first loop I lost all motivation. I knew there was more two it and even saw it then. I think I was just running myself into the ground hoping something would take me away from the life I had stuck myself in. People kept pushing me on but at mile 85 I stopped for good. I had had enough. I was locked up physically and emotionally. I just did not care about finishing anymore. Could I have made it to the finish under the cut off? Yes. Did I care anymore? no. This was something I never saw coming. I run because it’s an escape. At this moment it no longer was and the demons that keep me from succeeding in the real world found me mine and did there job.

So I rested for two weeks. Kept positive and geared up for Cascade Crest 100. I love this race and this was going to be my third year running it. Wow! three years in a row. Still seems unbelievable. Will my demons come back to beat me down? I didn’t know. Race day came and I was in good spirits. I was doing what I loved and was surrounded by all my friends. What more can you ask for. The first 40 miles rolled along just as they had the prier years. Running on the Pacific Crest Trail is always a blast. But as darkness fell the body started to become week. I felt a deep imbalance in my core and in my legs. And uneasy feeling that went strait to the bone. What was going on I’m only 40 miles into this thing. I thought I had eaten enough? I wasn’t going to give up this early. I Pushed on and stuffed my face with perogies at the next aid station which seemed to help. Now at mile 55 and right at midnight I reach the dreaded logging road climb. I found myself wanting to fall asleep. This is strange too, since most of the time I don’t feel tired until 4am. I looked for my caffeine pills but in my stupor couldn’t find them. Thankfully My good friend Gilles came along and shared his reserves with me. Which made the difference and kept me going until day break. I was losing time. I kept moving and looking at my watch. Thinking I was here last year at the same time but last year was much worst having two sprained ankles. Thankfully the last half of the course is the most beautiful and this kept my mind from wandering. I think I finished the race only an hour before the cut off. I was still happy to finish and not end up in an ambulance like the year before. I didn’t come away unscathed though. I had gotten bad blisters on my toes and the back of both feet.

I rest for now three weeks and get ready for Plain 100 touted as one of the toughest 100s out there. Good reason as there is no aid for the first 60 miles and there are no course markings. Before I get into the ugly let me say this was just incredibly beautiful run. Set in the cascades in the high open wild meadows with the full color of fall on every leaf. You gathered water from the cold clear brooks that flowed along the trail and eat what you had in your pack. It was the most peaceful run I’ve ever been on. Now to the ugly. Some 50 miles into the run and still a long way to my drop bag I began to be aware of the time. What’s going on with the time? I feel like I’ve been moving good and have no funky problems but the time just keeps slipping away. I make it to the my drop bag where the last of the volunteers help me make some soup and tell me I’m the last to go on. Everyone else has dropped. With just one hour before the cut off I head out into the dark alone.

I struggle with sleep again but with the clock ticking and one more cut off to make I push on. Checking the map trying to figure out how hard to push and where I am. Buy this time my blisters are killing me. My old blister from Cascade are reblistering and I’ve just about cut off a whole layer of skin on my little toes. But I push on. Time just keeps going by and I’m close to missing the last check point. In fact I’m now just minutes away and I don’t know how far I have to run. I know It’s less the two miles. How that sounds so easy. Well it was two miles up hill after running 75. I ran as hard as I could I wasn’t going to miss the cut off by minutes. Less then 10 minutes now. Where are they? 9-8-7 I pop out on a road and there’s the race director. I made it with 7 minutes to spare. I’m so out of breath I can hardly talk. He asks if I want to continue. Of course I reply. I’m so pumped. I’m going to do it. There’s No stopping me now! The sun comes up and I run my heart out knowing I have to make it off the mountain and leave two hours to make it the nine miles back to the finish. The first problem arrives as chaffing. It gets so bad I stop and cut out the liner in my shorts hoping that will help. The dust was just starting to take a real toll on my body. My blisters had been killing me from mile fifty on but I was able to push the pain aside I thought I had beaten pain. Again the time flew by and the dust was getting worse as I dropped the 3,000ft to the valley floor. I come out on a logging road section that’s two miles long and down hill. For some reason this sets off a chain reaction in my shoes that forces dust under my toes. Within just a few minutes blisters start to form under my big toes. What I’ve never got blisters there. And they hurt Oh do they hurt. I’m pretty much in tears at this point fighting back the pain. I make it to the last junction at the bottom of the hill the volunteers cheer me on. I don’t stop. I have two hours to run 9 miles on top of the 100 miles I just ran. Yes it’s more then a 100 miles. My feet are killing me they feel like there in a meat grinder. I have plenty of strength left and will but just a mile down the trail the blisters on my big toes pop. I try running through the pain but it is to over whelming. I have no extra time. I have no extra time. Finally the pain becomes to much. The pain of the last fifty and the new cause me to uncontrollably shake. I give in. six miles from the finish with just one hour to get there. Walking hurt no less. Not even shuffling. once I stopped a tidal wave of pain and emotion rolled over me like a freight train. After sitting along side of the trail for almost an hour I stood up and started to make my way down the trail. Thankfully not to far down the trail I came out onto a road wear some kind strangers gave me a ride to the finish where a few had been waiting for me to finish. They said that everyone was calling me rocky and hoping to see me finish just before the cut off. So it wasn’t to be. The last race of the year. The big one. And I had fought so hard. Now I’ll have to go back and take what I have earned.

By the end of the month things at work and in the real world were also hitting the fan. I quit my job and went jobless for the rest of 08. Managed to get in a couple of adventure runs. tried to run a 100 miles on Vancouver's seawall but stopped at 25. Somehow pulled off my club fat ass run in a foot of snow.

What’s left. Oh and I met this girl named Barbara. You know, I think I’ll end my year there for now. I’ll just say that she’s a great new friend that I hope have for many more years. I also just realized that I started my blog this year. It was one hell of a year. In the end, I’m really thankful to have had some great friends to enjoy It with, many who were not mentioned above.