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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…
Limber Pine on Mt. Baden Powell

2,000 Year Old Limber Pines

There are ancient limber pine at the top of Mt Baden Powell. Limber pine are subalpine trees, usually marking the edge of the tree line in the subalpine zone. They are made stunted, twisted and crooked by the wind. There is a word for this:…
Branches, Mt. Williamson

Lost

We started at Islip Saddle at about 5:30am, after having stashed water at stops along the way.The run began with a nearly 2 mile climb up Mt. Williamson. It was a beautiful run as the sun was rising. I took the lead, which was probably not…
Mount Williamson

Islip to Chilao

I am confident that I am physically ready for AC100. What I'm not as confident about is that I am mentally ready.Mahatma Gandhi is famously quoted as saying "I have only three enemies. My favorite enemy, the one most easily influenced for…
Snowman at Mt. Lowe

Week in Review: Mt. Lowe Snow

April 9 - 15. Every time I run El Prieto, I run into Ian Rusk, who stops and introduces himself and tells me how many consecutive days he's hiked. Saturday made 1009 days in a row. When it's raining, as it did Friday, he hikes in his hallway.…
Maggie Beach Eaton Canyon

Eaton Canyon

Mt. Wilson was kind of a home-away-from-home this summer.The Mt. Wilson Observatory, parking lot, and cafe at the top of Mt. Wilson will be closing in a few weeks, and won't open again until April. We took another run up the tollroad this Sunday,…
My shoes, after the race

Bob Holtel

Maggie and I took a run from Inspiration Point to to top of Mt. Baden Powell and back, part of the AC100 course, a little altitude and hill training for me, taking the opportunity to run and familiarize myself with the entire AC100 course,…
My shoes, after the race

Mount Disappointment 50K

Sat. August 13. This is said to be the toughest 50K in So. Cali. We started at the top of Mt. Wilson, headed down, up down, up, down, up... 7,403 feet of climbing says my Garmin. Probably a dozen stream crossings. Long exposed climbs. Because…
My shoes, after the race

Chasing Fog: Mount Lukens & Topanga

Some days a run is something I need to do to keep sane. Saturday was one of those days. I was pissed off at other people and at my inability to respond without frustration when I let them annoy me just a bit too much. I needed to run off steam. I…