Angeles Crest 100

The Angeles Crest 100, or AC100, is a 101 mile long footrace through the the San Gabriel Mountains. Most of it is on trail, and much of it is on the legendary Pacific Crest Trail. Originally run in October, the race is now run on the first weekend in August. Temperatures in the canyons can exceed 100 degrees. The men’s course record is 17:35, set by Jim O’Brien back in 1989. The women’s course record is 21:04, set by Pam Smith in 2014.

Posts

The Salton Sea

Desert, Ashes, Fire, & Water

The Sand Fire The Sand Fire is burning in Acton. The air was already a little smokey from a fire that burned briefly on the edge of Griffith Park. Friday around 2:15 in the afternoon the sky quickly filled with smoke. By the next morning,…
Team Tapia, pit stop crew, Cloudburst.
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Angeles Crest 100 – 2015 Race Report

Mile 38. Howie emerged at Cloudburst looking haggard. He was hurting everywhere, especially in his back, which was pulling everything below it up - his glutes and his hamstrings. Howie was in pain. I reminded him that nobody is having fun…
Eaton Saddle, Christmas Eve

2014: Seeking Quiet, Finding Noise.

Angeles Crest 100 is a 100 mile trail run through the scrappy, tough-like-a-Mexican-boxer San Gabriel Mountains. It’s easily the hardest of all races in California - this assessment is not a judgment call but based on finishing times - and…
Angelyne, Hollywood Blvd 1995
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100 Miles of Nostalgia, and a Prayer.

Why?It's been a lazy August. I get up every morning at 5:30, make coffee, get into my running gear, think better of it, and sit in the living room with a book. The desire to run has left me for a while. My body needs a vacation. I'm not…
Jussi Hamalainen & Garry Curry, mile 6. Garry's last AC100.
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Ashes: AC100 2014 Race Report

Friday morning, 9am, August 1, sitting in my driveway waiting for a ride out to Wrightwood. I'm writing in a list notebook I found on the trails in Topanga. #7 on the list: "Create excuse for ticket". #13: "Go hiking with Nico". The hike…
Maggie Beach, Chantry, 11pm, 2011

Angeles Crest 100 Gallery: 2011 – 2013

Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance RunThis gallery follows three races: Maggie Beach's 2011 race, which I helped crew, my 2012 finish, and my 2013 DNF. Most of the shots are at aid stations, a few are on the course. The 2011 shots were taken…
Lone tree & storm clouds, top of Baden Powell

Hyena Hundred

I wanted old school ideas. A couple of years ago I asked Larry Gassan for training suggestions. I wanted old school ideas, nothing new fangled involving cross fit or GPS or anything other than straight up suggestions on how he trained for AC100…
Pacific Crest Trail heading down to Sulpher Springs Road

Triple Digits Lonely

Pacific Crest Trail heading down to Sulphur Springs Road 3 PTS TO MT. HILLYER. 6.36 miles, from mile 42.72 to 49.08, elevation just below 6,000 feet. The middle of the AC100 race, and the last section of heat. It starts with 4 miles…
Me at Chantry

Whistling Past the Graveyard – AC100 2013 Race Report

Welcome to the 265th annual AC100.Friday August 2nd, at the Best Western pool just off the 15, on the edge of the high desert, facing the freeway. Traffic is loud. I'm pretending it's the ocean.The lady at the front desk has cleaned up pretty…
Sioux Teepee, by Karl Bordmer, 1833

Pre Race Jitters

I cannot find my Rocky Road long sleeved tech shirt, or my Outdoor Research cap. Not only is it my most comfortable long sleeved shirt and my most comfortable cap, but they are also my LUCKY shirt and cap. It's no coincidence that the last time…
The Scenic Mound

Weekend

Chilao campground, 6:30 am. The sun rising behind me is warm on the back of my neck. I'm drinking coffee.I can see Mt. Wilson in the distance. I'd guess it's a little less than 15 miles away. It looks very far.That 15 miles will be miles…
Rotted Tree on the Silver Moccasin Trail

Silver Moccasin Trail

The Silver Moccasin Trail begins at Chantry and ends at Vincent Gap. Comprised of a series of somewhat distinct trail segments, parts of which are shared by other trails, most of which used to be Native American trails, it's 53 miles long,…
Baden Powell Ridge

Broken Finger

I took a pretty good spill running AC100. Running along the ridge after cresting Mt Baden Powell, around Throop Peak, somewhere around mile 20, I snagged my foot in some shrubs and went down. My calves started spasming, and my attention was…
My feet, at Chantry, mile 75

AC100 2012 Race Report

Build upLooking through the last 6 months of entries into this blog, I see that almost all are about the build-up to this race. I'd trained long and hard, and made a lot of great new friends doing it. In the last 2 months, my doubt grew. …
Baden Powell Ridge

Countdown to AC100

The climb up Baden Powell has 41 switchbacks. As you climb, looking forward, you look into nothing but air. The drop-offs are not steep, but until you reach the turns they look like dead ends on a sheer cliff…or at least they do to me, someone…