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Walking Away WIth No Regrets

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Aug 1990:  26mi AC100 training run: Chantry Flats to Rose Bowl. Here arriving at Mt Lowe Rd. And that's Dan Harshburger, not me. Effective Immediately May 13 2026 Willem Pennings is now the Group Admin of the Facebook ultrarunning group page. It's time for me to step down. He's a standup straight shooter who doesn’t suffer fools gladly.  My involvement in ultras is now limited to photography. My first ultra was 1989. First 50mi Jan 1990. First 100 was Angeles Crest 100, 1991. My last ultra was Malibu 50k Jan 2020. When I joined this group in 2011, ultras were changing rapidly from Before Times incarnations. Add to that the rise of the socials. This group started in a good place, but was swiftly targeted by bullshit scammers [bogus RayBans, anyone?], fake names, malicious aliases, dubious coaching hustles and all the rest.  I became an Admin, started cleaning that up, assuming direct control in April 2013. I learned on the fly how to effectively choke off the garbage and s...
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LA Marathon 2026, Forty Years On

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Dead meat on a stick. My training died at 18 miles. A 3:55 finish   You may have heard about the 2026 LA Marathon offering DNF finisher medals at 18mi because heat.  I have 2 opinions.   1] Liability issues because undertrained entrants. 80º air temps = 95º asphalt. All those Elvis costumes, and maybe deep-sea diving bell entrants. 2] Fucking pussies   …BUT WAIT 3] “...But I feel like a marathoner!!” Which of course brought back many happy convos w several on a similar ultra topic.   4] where’s the 30k buckle???  
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2026 Super Bowl Sunday

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  2026 Super Bowl Sunday. The Bad Bunny show was lit. Yesterday, Feb 8 was 4th anniversary of Leslie’s death. It was also 29 yrs ago driving back to Santa Monica, Leslie on my mind, when a large rock cratered in front of my Honda Civic on PCH, in the rain. I was en route back to [then gf] Tina’s w a Super Bowl circuit on tap, which I was completely uninterested in. Good thing this time was I didn't have to pretend interest in the spectacle, save for watching Bad Bunny give MAGA the shits.  I watched Jose the taco truck guy grilling pork n chicken on the patio, made some frames. I’m looking at them now. Also wore my HUSTLER belt, which cracked up the host and several of his neighbors.  [Full disclosure: I couldn't afford to live in that neighborhood, I'm at the kiddie table in that demo] .   One of the guests correctly ID’d the buckle font as KISS. I told him the best part was I bought it at a local swap meet, and the missing rhinestones were like a truck stop gi...
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Location: Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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The Once And Future AC100 Course Record Beckons

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  "Some records are meant to be broken" I just saw this post from the AC100 Official Very Official FB page. The record here is Jim O'Brien's 1989 AC100 GOAT 17:35:48. Nobody's come close. Ever. Ben Hian admitted it was untouchable. Since the 2026 date is finally moved back to its nearly original Oct 6, somebody thinks they have a shot at it. Which begs the question: How? Reining in my usual withering sarcasm, but fully activating my years in the sport: here goes.  THE COURSE First. You’d have to run it on the original course. No cut outs. That means up over Mt [Sonny Boy] Williamson, no PGT [Pretty Good Tunnel] on Highway 2. Then, the original Cooper Cyn. The local MYLFs [Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog, you perv] will watch you thunder by. Again, no Pleasant Valley bypass trail. Up and over to Cloudburst, Glenwood Springs, Sulphur Springs. Mt Hillyer, with the Original Crotchless Gorilla suit. On to Short Cut via Charlton Flats. Down the Edison Road to Newcombs. Up a...
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Kamp n0Rm, Year Zero-Zero

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  Date: Thu, 25 May 2000 07:46:29 -0700  Greetings All: It's a brand new Millenium, and ever'body's all set to go to what used to be called "Kamp n0Rm". Well...n0Rm's not in charge any more, but Tradition Is Everything, so here it is, just like last year. ================================ Dear Diary: I think I have Saturday all worked out for the 3000 prospective WS Runners. After I put on a shirt and some really sweat-inspiring stiff Levis, my day begins. 0300: Inspect busses for signs of drug use. 0400: polish glasses. 0500: Throw everything into the WS Command Vehicle, warm up engine. 0530: Load extra pairs of Ice-Pants® and ice-hats onto roof-rack. 0545: Hope that cocky young asshole Boisseree doesn't show up with his loudmouth pal Gassan(?) Gasstown(?) Gasstune(?) from LA. 0600: Begin writing my speech for the morning. Be sure to leave some room for spontaneous applause and shouts of "Stand Up!!!" Play along. Have someone take names and plate...
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Hundo & Tenkay

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  When the Kool Kids started writing “Tenkay” on the 'Gram, I shouted to my valet Hives "that's it! There's the goddamned movie, right there! “ Hundo and TenKay !! "  I dropped my Gauloise, and hammered out the plot on my trusty 1940 Corona. All this was torn from today's pixels and posts of Ultra Drama!  Male coach, female runner! The familiar arc of success, fame, and assigned celebrity virtue! Is this sustainable? Audiences will be on the edge of their certified-vintage ratfuck folding aluminum lawn chairs as they follow the twists and turns of fortune! Sooner or later, he’ll be the Svengali etc while she will be The Hapless Maiden. Fainting couches, gluten-free blunts and vegan White Claw at the ready!  <WIPE TRANSITION> FYI In 1979 I was working paste-up and assembly, night-shift at Seiniger Advertising when they did this movie poster campaign. Bad coffee, smokes, and food runs to the J-Mart down the street. The topic is evergreen yet.   “Hundo an...
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Bright lights, Big UTMB

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Bright lights, big city, That's up there in Chamonix Bright lights, little titties Its full-tilt UTMB Aint going back to Random Cuz this is where the YOLO be… [wail harmonica here] And that was from Amherst’s greatest unknown bluesman, Slow Blind Driveway… UTMB FOMO: Deez Nots        
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Location: Chamonix, France
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