#63rd Ultra now completed!

 Hi folks!  I thought I'd squeeze in another ultra while the weather was still (kind of) (relatively) not too hot!  Anyway, while we were in Prescott for another week after being in CA. I felt good, so I did the same route I did a month ago on the circle trail and ended at our home!  I had a great first half of the run and had some real nice strong breezes in my face which cooled me off.  The day gradually got hot near 85 and that sun was wicked hot.  I hiked, walked, and jogged for the last 8 miles or so - all on familiar territory.

I had great tunes and podcasts to listen to the whole way which kept my mind active.  I actually got to meet Michael Versteeg on the trail about half way through my run of 30 miles.  Michael won last years 260 mile Cocodona trail race in Arizona, so it was great finally meeting him!  We talked for a bit and he seemed really cool and easy to talk with.  

Lori and Sunny met me again at the 15 mile mark and I had my sandwich and chips and changed out my water bottles with cold new ones.  What a relief that was.  I met another runner guy who was bombing up Wolverton mountain on the same trail I was on.  He not only ran another 1-2 miles up the mountain, turned around and ran down - then past me up around 3 miles later!  He was going really fast down the trail which to me way to dangerous to go that fast on this very rocky terrain.  Oh well!

The run took me about the same time as the last run I did on this course which was around 8 1/2 hours.  I got in the tub real soon and was soon refreshed with a couple of nice cold beers.  Starting at 6:30 am or so, I got in around 3 pm.  It was nice to be back at that time for sure.

Thanks again you all for the support!

Looking north towards Prescott

Towards Thumb Butte

Our house in down there somewhere 13 miles away

Back side of Thumb Butte about 10 miles in

Granite Mountain 5 miles in

$100.00 Donated to the Shirley Marcos Alzheimer's Research Center on 6/16/22

#62 Ultra - Prescott Circle Trail 50K!

 Hi you all again!

On May 29th I did another 30 miler while we were up in Prescott - why not, I felt good!  The weather was nice and cool as well - unlike the one I just did in San Diego 2 weeks ago.  I felt great and strong for about half the time and slowly ran out of steam and hiked, walked, and jogged it in.  Still, I did run just over 8 hours which is just standard for me.

As usual, Lori and Sunny met me half way at the 15 mile mark of the Prescott Circle trail which was off of Copper Basin road.  I was refreshed with an egg sandwich, chips, plenty of water, and a diet coke.  I start this run from the Katahn trailhead -using the Circle trail all the way around Prescott and finish the run at my home.  A great run with half the time in the shade of the pine trees - which now is essential because it is going to be hot in the west this summer.

I met some guys on the trail who had walked all the way from Chicago and Prescott was their final destination!  I was amazed by that!  We had a nice conversation.

Lori and Sunny met me about 1/2 mile from home and ran in with me.  What a treat!  Thanks Lori!

I soon was in the tub with a beer in my hand.  Another Ultra finished!

$100.00 donated to the Shirley Marcos Disease Research Center for Alzheimer's on May 30th, 2022.

"Run to the Border" Ultra #61

 Hi you all!

On May 14th I ran to the Mexican border with my bud BJ - totally on the PCT trail!  We started 30 miles north of the border and ran south to touch the border in Campo, Ca.  What an awesome run this was!  Starting at 4:00 am and finishing after 12:00 pm we completed the run right when it was starting to get really hot!  Wow, it was hot for about 1/2 the run, but we had plenty of stashed water along the route.  Lori and Sunny even met us near Campo and gave us even more water and food.  From there, we only had 2 1/2 miles to go so we finished in fine form.  Thank you again Lori!!!

Getting up at 2:00 am, this was the earliest start I have ever done in an Ultra, but I'm sure glad we did start at that time because it was sure hot!  We started at the PCT Kitchen Creek trailhead and went south.  We saw damn near 30 through hikers, but no other runners the entire time.  Some 15 miles in we came across some unused small plastic bottles of cinnamon whiskey and so BJ and I split half of one, just for the hell of it.  That really woke us up for sure!

I'm so glad I finally ran another part of the PCT and finally to the border!  Now I know what the dumb new border wall looks like.  What an embarrassment.  Anyway, such a great day of running with my best running bud ever!  

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and support!  Take care.

$100.00 donated on 5/21/22 to the Shirley Marcos Disease Research.

#60th Ultra Marathon Completed!!!

 Hi again!  Well, I'm now 60% finished with my task of completing 100 Ultras by the time I'm 100!  It feels very rewarding and I want to thank everyone who's helped me with this task so far!  I appreciate all the help - physically and mentally!

Yesterday I just went out and accomplished 30 miles on basically the 50 Year trail in Tucson.  I did a couple "out and backs" sort of speak - using my car as an aid station to stash extra water and food.  I did the run in approximately 8 hours 22 minutes.  I got super tired around 22 miles but for the next 8, I actually felt stronger as I went!  I had a lovely day - all day - beautiful weather near 70 degrees too.  Lori and the dog came out to greet me at the finish which was so wonderful.  Thank you Lori so much!!!

As soon as we all got home I took a shower and headed for the hot tub which was so super!  This feels so good after all day on the trail!  Loved it!

Here are some pics of the area where I was running!  So wonderful!

Thank you all for the support.

$100.00 donated to the Shirley Marcos Alzheimer's Research Center on 2/28/22.

Now, #59 Done!

 I decided just about 2 weeks after Oracle Rumble to do another Ultra on my own just only 30 minutes from my home.  I mean, what the heck, I feel good, had adequate rest, and still had that need to do another one!  It turned out to be a really nice run.  I took my time, it was really an easy layout for me at the Tortolita Reserve just west of us in the Tucson area.  I ran in the beautiful Saguaros all day on a fabulous nice and sandy but firm trail.  I did three loops of 9.5 miles and called it good for my latest ultra!

I listened to some great music and pod casts most of the day and ran into some really nice people who actually got off their bikes and talked with me for a short bit.   One lady even called me "a bad ass" - yeah!  I'll take that!

I did the run in 7 hours 18 minutes and at about 4:30 that day I was in the hot tub soaking my aching legs and left knee.  The knee starting hurting around 15 miles in, but I just "ran when I could, walked and hiked when I should".  That's now my standard for running ultras!

Here's some pictures of the great bluebird day!  Thanks for the support!

$100.00 Donated to the Shirley Marcos Disease Center on 2/12/22

Oracle Rumble 50K (#58 Ultra!)

 On Saturday 1/29/22 I managed to scrape by running this 32 mile race up in Oracle, AZ.  It was quite the cool and windy day - especially up in the higher mountains.  But overall, we had the wind and sun in our face the whole day.  I finished with an overall time of 8:50 - a bit slow compared to previous races due to the terrain.  It ran entirely on the AZ Trail which was great and well marked.  My left knee starting hurting again around half way during the race so I had to run/walk the rest of the way in.  

I managed to keep my mind off of the knee by trying to talk to many of the runners around me going the same pace.  I loved that aspect of running these crazy races.  My friend BJ ran too.  We didn't really run together until the last part of the race where we finished together which was fun.  There was around 4500 ft. of gain in the race - but it felt like about 9000 ft. when I finished!

Lori and Sunny met me at around 27 miles into the race at an aid station - giving me a lot of love and support.  This was so appreciative!.  Within an hour or so we decided to go home, have a burger and a beer - then go in the hot tub we now have in our home.  Oh, what a great feeling!  Totally great.  After that I immediately went into bed and went to never never land.

Thank you all for the support as usual!

$100.00 Donated to the Shirley Marcos Alzheimer's Research Center 1/30/22

#57 Ultra with BJ! (Covid No More Run)

 It was a great day overall on December 11, 2021.  I managed to pull off another Ultra adventure run with my great ultra running buddy, BJ!  Wow, what a day on the Arizona Trail near Oracle, Arizona.  We did just about 28 miles exclusively on the Arizona Trail starting at Freeman Road Trailhead to Tiger Mine Trailhead for 27.4 miles.

Just having Covid not more than 3 weeks ago I managed to buck up and run/hike this adventure run. I did a few longer runs beforehand.  We did this run in a little over 8 hours and along the way had a great time telling stories, singing, and eating our favorite foods we had packed for the entire route.  This route has no water whatsoever so we had to take everything with us to make it up to Tiger Mine trailhead where Lori and Sunny were waiting for us!  What a lovely sight that was to see Lori and Sunny about 1 mile away from our finish on the trail.  What a great way to finish on a lovely but very cool sunset overlooking the entire area.  We gained just about 4000 feet overall.  I had some issues where my things were cramping up a bit, but I managed to take care of them as they happened.  No biggie.

Lori and Sunny dropped us off at the trailhead at 9:15 and we were running at 9:20.  All day it was very cool as we ran south on the AZT.  There were 2 significant climbs which I was not really prepared for but managed to get up slowly but the body finally warmed up and the trail was way more manageable for me after that.  BJ was incredible with his stoic running ability to manage an even pace all day.  It was fantastic to have him for this great adventure run.  I had a great time.  Afterward, we had a drink at our favorite bar in Oracle, then had a super fast meal at Carls Jr., had a beer or two at home, then actually managed to get in a hot tub later on.  We immediately went to bed and called it a day.  And what a day it was!

Thank you all for your support.  Here are some pics of the day.

12/13/21 Donated $100.00 to the Shirley Marcos Alzheimer's Center

 

Run around Prescott Adventure Run 50K

 Hey everyone!  2 weeks after my last race in Flagstaff I felt great, so I decided to do another Ultra on my own in Prescott on October 2, 2021.  Why not!  I basically did the same route I did last year which started near Granite Mountain and ran 32 miles entirely on the Circle Trail and finished right at our home in Prescott!  What a great run it was indeed!

The run took me 8 hours and 40 minutes with a very nice nice 1/2 hour lunch stop with my wife Lori and Sunny where the trail meets Copper Basin road.  I did manage to do some "bonus mileage" by not looking where I was going and ended up on a trail I didn't know!  Oh well, no biggie.  I managed to take some pictures and listened to some great music and podcasts on my air pods too so I really enjoyed the day

Our dog Sunny managed to get away from Lori when she dropped me off at the trailhead and he caught up with me within the first 1/3 of a mile into the run.  I had to run him back to Lori at the trailhead.  No biggie, just caulk it up with "bonus mileage"!  The day turned out to be just perfect running conditions the entire day too..  Such a great day overall.  I did managed to trip and fall just as I was about to get to White Spar trailhead.  I got scraped up and some blood was spewed, but, again, thems the breaks!

Lori and Sunny met me yet again about 1 mile from our house and we all ran back together on Old Senator road.  What a great day.  Thank you yet again, Lori for helping me as always!

Here are some pics and thank you all for your support for 100 by 100!

$100.00 Donated to the Shirley Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research on 10/6/21.

#55th Ultra! "33 for 33!"

 Hey everyone!  Yesterday I completed the Flagstaff to Grand Canyon 55K for my 55th Ultra Marathon for 

100 by 100.  I finished with a time of around 8:24 for the 34 miles.  And what a day it was with my wife Lori and daughter Della supporting me in every way!  It's just what I needed too!  Thank you both so much!  I loved being there with you and we had so much fun too!

It was a beautiful day with great running temps and great people to talk with on the run, in aid stations, and at our hotel.  I was however treated to an ongoing rain/hailstorm and slog fest for the last 6 miles of the 34 mile run.  This was the only really, really hard part.  These last 6 miles entailed trying to run and hike through really rough lava rock 4 wheel drive roads that were so water logged that in ever step you took more mud would get stuck to your shoes.  My shoes must have weighed 7 pounds each so it was extremely difficult and it took forever for me to get to the finish!  3 rounds of rain and hail helped out in my misery as well!  I took it in stride and was just laughing - that's all one can do in that situation!  Lori and Della were there at the finish and took lots of pictures too.  The beer at the ended tasted so good! 

We got to our hotel, showered up, and went into downtown "Flagg" and had a great meal and drinks.  I was in bed immediately when we got home and went fast asleep!  A very fun and worthwhile day was had by all.  I am very fortunate being able to do these crazy runs with my family in tow!  

Thank you all for your support!  Here are some pics!

 

9/19/21 - $100.00 Donated to the Shirley Marcos Alzheimer's Research Center

 

60K of a 92K Whiskey Basin Ultra Completed - #54 Done!

 Well, I must say, I was not in top form on 4/17/21 but managed to complete 38 miles of a 57 mile Ultra in Prescott, AZ.  It would've been nice to complete the entire course but the legs and knees got the best of me and I would've missed the time limit of 16 hours.  I was out there for 10 1/2 hours so I call it a good Ultra and add this to another 100 by 100 run.

Rather a cool day overall with in and out sunshine and a few speckles of rain so the course was nice and dry.  By the time I got to the 16 mile aid station I was off my pace by almost an hour and it just progressed to get slower especially when I finally got to the 33 mile aid station where Lori and Sunny were waiting for me.  The constant barrage of rocky trail on about 3/4 of the trail got the best of me and I could only hike through those areas.  I have fallen on those rocks before a few times so I was leary of them.  I had some issues with some bathroom breaks along the way so that added to my tiredness.  In retrospect, I guess I could've finished going 17-20 minutes a mile, but I'm not sure if they would've given me a time. AND, at what cost to my legs and knees?  I need to go another 45 or so Ultras to complete my quest, so in order to do that, I need to be a little kinder to these 64 year old legs!

I appreciate Lori and Sunny for being on the course for a total of 3 times to cheer me on!  Thank you so much and love you so!  Also, my training coming into this race was not the best - in the midst of moving, going to my daughters wedding in Texas 2 times, and last weeks 16 mile adventure run with my friends, I was tired I must say.  This is not where one likes to be when coming into a 57 mile race.  Oh, well, I got the Ultra I needed so I have to be happy to have to completed that!  I'm just lucky to have the ability to do these crazy runs at my age!

Thanks everyone for your support.

$100.00 Donated to the Shirley Marcos Alzheimers Disease Center