#69 Ultra

 Hey everyone!

Well, I did another one in just a couple weeks after the last one.  While I was still up in Prescott, I decided to do my favorite route on the Prescott Circle trail on October 3rd.  It's a 31 mile route that begins near Granite Mountain and I end up right at my house!  It was an absolute beauty of a day all day too!  Nice and cool!  Stashing a gallon water container half way through at Aspen Creek trailhead, I had done 16 miles and still had some serious climbing to do, and some awful rocky downhill for 4 miles or so.  It wasn't that easy and  I started to get pretty tired after 20 miles or so.  My time slackened quite a bit after that.  I fell one time and landed in a bush, but was ok with just some minor scrapes on my hand.  My overall time turned out to be just around 9 hours after starting around 7 am.  I was soaking in the tub with a beer at 4:15! 

At the top of the high point of my course I finally spotted out Mt. Union which is the highest point in the Bradshaw mountains.  I also could see a controlled burn near there as well.  And, bizarrly, I ran into a couple going up to Goldwater Lake and they were totally lost, had no water, no map, no nothing, and they were worried! I informed them they were very close to a campground down the hill and could get water there!  I rarely run into people who are that lost and worried!  Scary!

Well, here is some pictures of the day.  And, thank you for the support!

10/5/23  - $100.00 Donated to the Shiley Alheimer's Research Center

Flagstaff to Grand 55K

Hello all!

My 6th running of the Flagstaff to Grand 55K is now in the books!  #68 Ultra Marathon!  Wow, what a beautiful day too - all day!  When we got to our hotel though, it was raining really hard and all through the night - and cold too!  Lori and I met some good friends from last years race and had dinner with them the night before.  They finished way before me so we didn't see them after the race.  The run for me went great.  I now confirm that I have a run, shuffle, walk, jog, and hike technique all in one.  With this technique I manage to get a solid 15 minute per mile pace which is just fine by me!  My overall time was just around 8 1/2 hours.  Overall mileage was almost 34 miles.

After a shower and a beer, Lori, Sunny, and I went to a favorite restraunt and had a fantastic meal.  I was in bed by 8 and probably sleeping by 8:30.  I didn't get far reading my book that night!  Overall, a fantastic day.  This was our 35th Anniversary too, so it's extra special!

Thanks for all everyones support!  Here are some pictures!

9/19/23  -  $100.00 donated to the Shiley Marcos Center for Alzheimer's

#67 Black Canyon Trail 60K Ultra

Two days ago I completed a grueling 37 mile ultra race called the Black Canyon 60k.  Ok, I admit, I didn't necessarily train for all the downhill in this race so I was hurting for certain at the end.  My quads were spent by about 26 miles with 11 miles to go.  I managed to do a 19:00 per mile pace for those last 11 miles.  Not my best, but I'm really glad to finish with a smile on my face.  My time was 10:35 - quite a long day to be on the trail.  The weather was actually really nice to run in.  Very cool at the start in Mayer, AZ. and gradually warmed up to the mid 60"s during the run with a cool breeze going down into Black Canyon City - just right outside Phoenix, AZ.

The Black Canyon trail is actually quite rough in many places - totally built for horses and mountain bikers who love lots of rocks.  This wasn't my favorite kind of trail to run on for 37 miles.  At the end, my feet were sore - and I wear really cushioned running shoes too!  There were a total of 3 stream crossings - one of which went up to my knees.  Running back up the trail out of these canyons turned out to be quite a feat as well!  Tough stuff!  It was however, very beautiful in many places and as you made it down into the valley, more saguaro cactus appeared.  I managed to take a few pictures in the midst of being passed my many many faster runners that needed to get by me on some very steep grades!  The attitude of some of these faster runners needing to get by you in order to get their "PR", I was not happy with.  I gradually forgot about it and managed to strike up a few conversations with a few other runners that were running my pace.  That was nice.

When I finished I struck up a conversation with a guy who has done around 250 Ultras and he's only 52 years old!  Unreal!  I headed for my car in the parking lot and proceeded to take off sweaty clothes.  I needed to drive back home which should've been just a 2 hour drive but turned into a 4 hour drive because all 2 road closures!  I was so tired and also forgot to pick up my drop bag at the end!  So I had to drive back to the races offices a couple days later.  

Here are a few shots of the trail.  Thanks for everyones support!

2/21/23 Donated $100.00 to the Shiley Alzheimer's Research Center

#66 Ultra - The Oracle 50K (Not) Turned 30 Mile AZT Trail Run

 Hi everyone

Well,  my adventure getting to my second Oracle 50K race did not happen.  However,  I took a different route on my own to cover another ultra marathon.  The race start directions from the race website did not help at all because the road  about halfway there turned out to be flooded and closed.  There were no indications that this was the case, and no messages were sent to runners either.  Lori and I were out in the middle of nowhere with nowhere else to go, but to go back.  There were only 2 roads to use to get to the race start on Freeman Road and we, as it turns out, were on the wrong one this year.   I thought it was very strange that we were the only ones that didn't know this!

Knowing that we had to go back and I was going to miss and not get to the start on time, I decided to do my own ultra using some the same ultra marathon route on the AZT trail.   We made it back to the Tiger Mine road near the end of the race and I started my own run there.  I did a couple 7 1/2 mile "out and backs" and I covered 30 miles.  I finished near the end where the race ended in Oracle State Park, and met Lori and Sunny there - which was awesome to see!  Lori took a picture and I headed to the car to get a beer!  I was pretty bummed and disappointed the whole day during my lonely 8 1/2 hour run, but I managed to pull off another one.  Sometimes you just have to dig deep even if you're disappointed and bummed.

Thanks everyone again for the support!  Take care!

$100.00 donated to the Shiley Marcos Disease Research Center  on 1/29/23