Mr Trail Safety Speaks!

"A man alone with his thoughts lives in a crowded house" –Dr Sevende Sandia, obscure Mexican mystic, as quoted in "Westwards The Flow Of Empirical", 1968, Coprolite Press, p 666 The BBT68 is a low-elevation Wasatch, a course that mocks the smugness of "Cali Carpet-Trails" jibes heard periodically.  BBT68 winner Jeff Browning ran it as if it was paved. His 11:36 FKT is refreshing because a disinterested 3rd party was running the timer. Also note that the BBT100 only had 5 finishers, as the cutoffs were mega-serious.  RD's Howard Cohen and Mike Epler threw down a challenge, and many weren't up to it. This is a reminder of what a tough 100 has to offer, in a time when many buckle-chasers drawl "I'm gonna do a hun-doe..."

The numbers find me. I was well and truly back in UltraLandia when halfway up Sandstone Peak at 53mi, I'm taking a desperation nap on a sandy flat spot, under a full moon.  Minutes earlier I’d been lurching from side to side, falling asleep on my feet. I had one more cut-off to meet by 0630, and I gambled I’d be better with a nap than to stagger on and lose an ankle in a chuckhole. SAME AS IT EVER WAS The BBT68 is really a 100 in sheep’s clothing. With over 12,000’ of elevation gain in 68 miles, you won’t go home hungry for vert , and y ou’ll definitely be running your own race. It was a long day-n-night-n-day; showing that my endurance training was basically correct. After the finish I was walking, rather than stumping. My vain regret was that it took 25hrs. But that beats a DNF. I ’ll spend the summer digging a deeper base, and trying for more speed. THE BACKBONE TRAIL The Backbone Trail 68 runs the entire length of the Backbone Trail—from Will Rogers ...

I didn't choose it, it chose me. 'All happy ultras are alike; each unhappy ultra is unhappy in its own way.' Dr Sevende Sandia, obscure Mexican mystic Normally this story begins as One Man’s Challenge—the original plan of a 50-mile ShoppingKart Odyssey; and was thwarted when the cart did not leave the Gelson’s lot. And therein lies the story of redemption, and how the sport of ultrarunning was spared irreparable harm as a result. Read on. Or skip ahead to the fart jokes and trail porn further down. Scenic Chavez Peaks on a sunnier day.   PREQUEL to The Morning Skinny The Sean O’Brien 50 was my first 50-mile race since 1999, where I DNF’d at Leona Divide. On a wild notion I signed up for it, the course was the same one I’d first starting trail running on in 1990. Course begins and ends at Malibu Creek State Park—a 14mi stem with a 22mile loop through Zuma Cyn, then back to the barn. The 100k, 50k, and marathon were run with wave starts on variations of the...