#11 Ultra - 2013 Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Accomplished!

Hi everyone!  It was a great day last Saturday, October 12, 2013 when I ran the Firetrails 50 Mile Ultra marathon in Oakland and Berkeley California.  What a day it was!  I even had my wife Lori help me out with my special foods I needed at some of the aid stations on the course!  What a treat that was! One of my friends from my previous employer even came out to greet me at the 18 mile aid station.  The Red Vines that were donated to the event were also at all the aid stations!  I thank American Licorice again for this fine gesture.

This was a beautiful course that went from San Leandro to Berkeley, California and back.  The course ran through some of the most beautiful redwood and oak forests in a lot of the famous state parks in the East Bay. Everyone whom I either ran with in the race, or just met in the general area were extremely nice and fun to be around.  I met and ran with a very nice guy for hours on end in the race.  His name is  Keith Bradburn.  He's a dentist in Concord and has his own practice as well.  He's a great guy to run with.  He ended up finishing right in front of me.  My chip time was 11:59:34.  This wasn't my most stellar 50 mile time, however I feel really good about not only finishing this very difficult race, but having a good time doing it!  What I really loved about this course was that it gave the runner a very scenic reward for running up every hill and mountain!  The views were astounding up every one of these climbs.  Beautiful views of the S.F. Bay and bridges and the never-ending views of the Pleasanton and Livermore valleys, and of Mt. Diablo.

This race had 9000 ft. of elevation gain and it seemed like most of the elevation gains were very steep, to say the very least!  Of course we had to run DOWN from all of the gains, and this is where after about 30 miles, my knees were starting to hurt.  I had to take very short steps down these grades to relieve pressure on the knees.  Lori met me at about the 48 mile mark and ran with me to the finish.  I was greeted to a fantastic array of great foods and drink at the finish line.  Also, what an awesome swag bag we got as well!  Kaa-chingg!  What a party!  Lori and I didn't stay a long time at the finish, as I was in need of a warm bath and a cold beer at the hotel room.  We had a great dinner at an Italian restaurant then I went straight to bed.  It was a fine day to be an ultra runner!

Another one down for 100 by 100 and Alzheimer's!

$100.00 Donated 10/16/13

                 

Lake Chabot- start & finish

Lori at the 18 mile mark

Yes!  I'm done!

Keith Bradburn & I celebrate at the finish!

Lets go home Lor!

The Swag, Oh yeah  Lori gets her wine glass too!