Christmas and Running

Dawn Patrol Christmas Eve run

Rachel, Jody, rePete, Molly, me (red shirt and giraffe sleeves),
Shannon, Skip, E-Rod, Jeff S., and Lisa

What would I ever do without this crazy bunch! This picture was taken yesterday morning, on our Christmas Eve run in El Moro/Laguna Wilderness. I haven't been out much on the running scene since the Mt. Disappointment 50K in August, hence the lack of updates on my blog. While I love running, in and of itself, it was the people I run with that I missed the most.

So, here's what I've been up to the last few months!

MT. DISAPPOINTMENT 50K: I took a little break from running. It started with a muscle strain in my left quad that I incurred from my 50K PR at Mt. Dis. But, it was almost worth it. I had a great race! I felt fantastic and full of energy for the first 26 miles of the race, and then there was that insane 5 mile hill to the finish at the top of Mt. Wilson. It was such a great race and I finished with a 6:40. The runner's high lasted for a couple days, but the muscle strain took much longer to heal.

My only picture from Mt. Disappointment...Sadly these hills burnt to a crisp one month later in the massive Station fire in the Angeles National Forest. AC100 had to be canceled and rumor has it that both AC100 and Mt. Disappointment 50/50 will be canceled in 2010.

SEARCH FOR A LOST FRIEND/RUNNER: I got to go back out on the trails on Wednesday, September 23. But, it was for a very unfortunate occasion. Friend and fellow ultrarunner, Gina Natera and her brother-in-law went trail running on Sunday morning, September 20. Most of us found out Gina was missing on Tuesday afternoon. I found out on the SoCal Trail Headz private website. Shortly after, my Facebook feed was abuzz with updates and pleas for help in finding them. Later that evening, we had a conference call with about 25 ultrarunners from the area. The mood on the call was somber, as we were all deeply concerned. The search and rescue volunteers needed help combing the trails of the Cleveland National Forest, so the next day, many of us rearranged our schedules to go to Lazy W and Blue Jay look for them.

Friend, Mike K., EKP, @anaginghipster Jeff, @aquadump rePete, and Shannon on Los Pinos. We could smile again after we received word Gina and her brother-in-law were found safe!

I went with a group up the gnarly Los Pinos trail. By early afternoon, we saw a helicopter hovering over a certain spot in the distance for a little while and then it took off. Shortly after, we got a phone call that she was found and being taken to the hospital. She has since recovered and, of course, is back to running. Her brother-in-law was found earlier that morning and he was also fine. It was a miracle she was found alive. She had been without food or water for 3 days and the temperatures were in the 90s and 100s, with almost zero humidity in the air.

STRESS FRACTURE: While Gina won her battle against Mother Nature that day, I lost mine. That day was the first pain-free run I had since Mt. Dis. After we had word she was found alive, we were happily celebrating by running all the way back to the command post at Lazy W. The Los Pinos trail is covered with loose rocks and I took one little bad step. I felt a pinch in my foot, but it didn't really hurt. I kept on running, and ran a few more times after that day. But that pinch developed into a very painful stress fracture. So in October, I began to take more time off my running.

BONE SPUR SURGERY: When I saw my podiatrist for the stress fracture, I asked her why my foot sometimes tingled on the inside near my big toe. She pointed to a painless bony bump on the top of my foot and said it was a bone spur (saddle bone deformity) that was pinching the nerve and it would have to eventually be removed. It wasn't anything urgent that had to be done right away, but I decided to kill two birds with one stone and have the surgery done while I was taking time off anyway.

This is what my foot looked like when I went to the doctor's office one week after surgery.

I had the surgery at the end of October, and it went really well. There were no complications, and I didn't even need my pain meds. But my foot was wrapped up in stitches and bandages for TWO WEEKS and I couldn't get them wet, which, of course, meant NO EXERCISE! Aaargh! Now I think I have some kind of idea of what it's like to go through heroin withdrawals. (Well, maybe not that bad, but it really sucked.) I began doing situps and pushups and anything I could do, but without breaking a sweat, just trying to get my heart rate up. It was really sad! During those two weeks, I would wake up in the morning, starting to feel like Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day". I was very limited with what I could do. I had to stay off my feet as much as possible, icing my ankle, just above the bandages, foot elevated, watching television ALL DAY.

This is how I spent two weeks of my life.

MAKING A COMEBACK: Now, don't tell my doctor this, but the day I got my stitches out, I thought, "Finally! I'm going to do something low-impact! I'm going to hot yoga!" Ummmm, big mistake. Apparently that was a little too much excitement for my poor little foot. In hindsight, yeah, what was I thinking??? "Hey, Michelle, your foot was cut open TWO WEEKS AGO and a chunk of bone was removed with a hammer and a chisel!!! Don't you think you should take it easy?!?" Then, the very next morning, being a stubborn fool, I went to Crossfit. Wearing shoes was a bit uncomfortable since my foot was still swollen, and the surgical site was somewhat of an open wound. It's a good thing they actually encourage you to take your shoes off when you Crossfit. But I still had to majorly modify my workout. It has now been about 5 weeks since getting my stitches out. Every day, I've been able to increase my exercise load. Every day, I can lace my left shoe a little tighter, and now I'm starting to run again! Yipee!

HELLO AND GOOD-BYE: So, my first trail run back with the Dawn Patrol, about two weeks ago, I met up with Jeff and Beiyi. It was so exciting to be running with them again. But within the first mile, I had to break the news. I'm moving to Phoenix in January! Yes, I'm back to running, but I'm leaving! Amidst all the craziness the past few months, I also left my job in pharmaceutical sales with a nice severance package. I've lived most of my life in Southern California, and now I just want to try something new! I have a place to live out there. I have a few friends and family there. I don't have anything tying me down here, so why not get up and live someplace new? Saying good-bye to all my friends here does not feel like it will be forever. My parents still live in Orange County and there are so many great trail races here in SoCal, so I know I'll be back to run with the Dawn Patrol and the Trail Headz whenever I'm visiting. Plus, there are some great races in Arizona which a lot of my friends travel to run. I'm already making plans to meet up with some of my SoCal friends for Zane Grey, Old Pueblo, a Grand Canyon Rim2Rim2Rim, and, of course, there's Javelina 100.


One of the things that makes me saddest in life is when people come and go, but my family will always be here and I know I'll be seeing a lot of my running friends throughout the years. I consider my running friends to be my second family, a group of lifelong friends. And here's one of my favorite Dawn Patrol pictures taken after our St. Patty's Day run earlier this year!

Okay, well it came out kinda blurry, but here's E-Rod, Alexa, Molly, me, Corrinne, Jeff S. (behind Corrinne), Pete (Mr. Dawn Patrol, himself), (and rePete crouching down behind Pete), and Cyrus

Western States 100 - A Crew Perspective

Last weekend I had the experience of a lifetime! I got to go to the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run to crew for my friend, Lori. I first heard about this race about 4 years ago, shortly after I ran my first marathon. I wasn't even a trail runner at the time. But something really intrigued me about running Western States, and ANY ultramarathon, for that matter. Ever since I heard about WS100, I have been hooked on the idea of running it myself one day!

So when I heard about the possibility to crew at this race, I immediately jumped on the chance! I've known Lori for a little over a year, through the SoCal Trail Headz, our local trail/ultrarunning club. Not only would I get to help out someone I really admire and respect, but I would get to be a part of this legendary race! She said that if I came up to help crew, I could get a feel for the race, and get an idea of how to organize my crew for when I do the race! So I said, why not? I'd be an idiot to turn this opportunity down!
The plan was for me, Lori's sister-Lisa, and Lori's niece-Karen to crew, and Lori's brother Craig, was to be her pacer for the last 38 miles of the race. Now I had never met Lori's family before. As soon as I arrived at the cabin, and met Lisa and Craig, I could immediately tell why Lori was such a cool person! And then I also met Lori's husband, Bob, son Trevor, and niece Karen. They were all great people! Lori's family treated me like family, and I had a blast hanging out with them all weekend!

Me, Lori, and Lisa at the starting line! The race started at 5:00 AM the next morning!

On Friday, we went to Squaw Valley for race check-in. That's where Lori picked up all her race swag--Montrail backpack, race shirt, Polartec fleece, WS100 hat, and a hemp shirt. These hundred mile races always have really nice gear for the runners!

After that she had to do some basic medical screening. They took her weight, blood pressure, and heart rate. At various checkpoints throughout the race, race officials will check these again to make sure the runners are not gaining/losing too much weight, etc. If they are more than 5% off their starting weight, they could be pulled from the race. After she finished checking in, we grabbed lunch and then headed over to the pre-race briefing. There were so many well-known trail runners there! It was kind of like a Who's Who of Ultrarunning!

The meeting was kicked off by Tim Twietmeyer, of all people! He is the only person to have 25 sub-24 hour finishes of this race! Currently he is serving as the president of the Western States Endurance Run Foundation. Once the runners were briefed, and the meeting was over, we headed back over to the cabin.
Now I have to say, you know you're at a runner's house when their bookshelves are lined with books about running, and the magazines on the side table are Ultrarunning Magazine and Trail Runner Magazine.

Hey! I have some of those books!













Hey! I subscribe to those same magazines! (And I have the same Ikea side table, too.)



Lori has talked to me about her brother before, and how he was a two-time WS100 finisher. He has also ran over 60 ultras! With all his experience in long races, Lori was so lucky to have her big brother pace her for the last 38 miles, and on a course with which he was familiar. In his two finishes, he earned both a silver and a bronze belt buckle.

The silver buckle is for a sub 24-hour finish. The bronze buckle is for finishing in 24-30 hours.

So for Lori's pre-race dinner, she wanted pizza. What else do you think a runner would eat the night before running 100 miles??? After dinner, she went with her hubby and son to go stay in a hotel in Squaw Valley at the starting line. Meanwhile, back at the cabn, Lisa, Craig, and I watched the movie, "A Race for the Soul," about the WS100. Then we went to bed. I thought about getting up early and going down to the race start, but decided I would be better off getting a full night's sleep, since I was likely to be pulling an all-nighter the next night. And I wanted to be well-rested so I could be a better crew person for Lori!

In the morning, Lisa and I went to the Robinson Flat (mile 29.7) aid station. We were expecting to see Lori around 12:00. Craig entrusted me with his fancy camera and told me to take lots and lots of pictures! I didn't realize I was going to have so much fun just taking pictures! I took a picture of almost every runner I saw come into the aid station! It was pretty cool! Here are a few of my pictures. . .

Simon Mtuy from Tanzania (We had the pleasure of his company for one of our Dawn Patrol runs last year! He was in the US a few weeks before WS100 '08, which of course, was cancelled due to fires. He is a friend of Sue, of the Trail Headz.)

Tracy Moore. I see him at a lot of races in SoCal.

Nikki Kimball, WS100 First Place Female, 2004, 2006, 2007

Michelle Barton, another talented runner and member of the Trail Headz!

Kyle, another familiar face from a lot of SoCal trail races

Ultramarathon Man, Dean Karnazes

As the runners entered the Robinson Flat aid station, the volunteers took the runners to get weighed, refilled their water bottles, and brought their drop bag to them. The whole idea was to get the runners through the aid station as quick as possible.I was so excited when I finally saw Lori come around the corner! She was all smiles as she was 29.7 miles into the race! I was glad she seemed to be doing good, but said she was getting blisters and needed to change her shoes and socks.

Go Lori Go!

Lori was on a 27 hour pace when she left Robinson Flat. After she left, Lisa and I headed back to the car and went to meet Craig, Karen, Bob, and Trevor at the hotel in Auburn. We hung out there for a while until it was time to meet Lori at Michigan Bluff (mile 55.7).

Lisa and I, and other crew/family/pacers waiting at Michigan Bluff.

When she arrived at Michigan Bluff, she wasn't doing quite as well as she was when we saw her earlier. We expected this, of course, since she had almost doubled her mileage from when we saw her earlier! Basically, her stomach was in knots. She spent very little time in that aid station, and was on her way.

We headed up to Foresthill (mile 62). Craig, Trevor and I hiked down Bath Road to meet Lori. It is one of the few places on the course where crew or anyone can go meet their runner and run part of the course with them.

Trevor kept us all entertained during the hike up Bath Road!

Lori was in and out of Foresthill and off into the night. Lisa, Karen and I then headed over to the Green Gate aid station (mile 79.8). Since I had the camera, I hiked down to the Rucky Chucky river crossing (at the American River). I had a special night lens on the camera and took some really cool pictures of the runners and their pacers crossing the river at night!

Lori and Craig crossing the American River around 2:15 AM.

They had a rope across the river for the runners to hold onto and race volunteers wearing wetsuits stood all night long in the cold water helping runners get across the river without being swept away in the current! I didn't even notice until I saw these pictures that there were green glowsticks in the water too! I sat down at the river crossing for about an hour before I saw them come across!

The look on her face says, "And I PAID to do this!"

So when they finally got across, I quickly packed up the camera and hiked the hill up to the Green Gate aid station with them. She was still having blister problems, but she's pretty much bulletproof. After a quick shoe and sock change at Green Gate, she and Craig were off again.
Lisa, Karen, and I drove up to where we would later meet the shuttle for Highway 49 aid station (mile 93.5). Since we had a little time, we took about an hour nap in the car. Around 5:00 AM, we were awake again and gathering our supplies to head down to the aid station. I was still having fun with the camera, so while we waited, I continued to snap shots of the runners as they came through.

Craig, Lori, Lisa, and Karen at Hwy 49 aid station. With just 6.5 miles to go, she was doing great!

Once Lori and Craig left Hwy 49, we quickly drove over to Placer High School in Auburn--the finish line!
Lori met Bob and Trevor about 1.3 miles from the finish line (Robie Point). This is another section of the course where the runners could run with family members. It was so exciting to see them run into the stadium!

Then she ran around the track and crossed the finish line! Woohoo!

That's her hubby, Bob, in blue. Trevor is running behind her. Such amazing support!

Rock on! Yeah!

I felt pretty emotional as I sat in the stadium watching the runners enter the stadium and finish the race. I cannot even imagine what they endured over the previous 100 miles, but simply looking at their faces, you could almost see the story. This year was a tough year for the race. Temperatures reached 112 in the canyons. A lot of elite runners dropped out of the race. There were 399 starters and 238 finishers.

Lori finished in 28:28:52. She was #157 overall and #14 in her age group. What an amazing accomplishment! Just being there taught me to respect the 100 mile distance. To spend that much time on your feet, you have to really know what you're doing. You have to be properly trained. You have to know your body and what kinds of things could go wrong. You have to know when to eat, what to eat, when to take salt, when to drink water, how much water to drink, proper footwear, etc. When do you walk? When do you run? How do you know when you're pushing yourself to the point of harm? How do you know when your pain is simply fatigue? I feel like I have so much to learn!

I will never forget this weekend. I will never forget this family! I had such a great time and they treated me like I was one of them!
After a 3 hour nap in the hotel, I decided to get on the road. As I drove away, I was thinking, "City of Auburn, peace out. Next time, I hope to arrive on foot!"

Holcomb Valley 33 Mile

This weekend I went to Big Bear to run the Holcomb Valley 33 Mile race. I ran this last year and loved it! This was actually my first ultra in almost year. Since falling on a trail run and spraining my ankle last summer, it has been a long road back to where I was in my training last year. It's good to be back!

I remember a lot of people having trouble with the altitude last year, but it didn't seem to affect me. However, the last few weeks, I've had a little bit of a sore throat that just won't go away. And early on in the race, I could feel my lungs cramping and burning. It was so uncomfortable. I had to stop a lot while running along some flat sections or even downhill just because it hurt to breathe. It was a little frustrating since my legs felt good and I should have been running those easy sections! Oh well, every race, you have to take what your body will give you!

I love these shoes and Dirty Girl Gaiters!

Here I am at the mile 21 aid station. . . just 12 miles to go!

I remember last year finishing the race and since I drove separately from my friends who were running the shorter 15 mile option, they had all gone home! So last year, I crossed the finish line, grabbed some food and water, and then took off. This year, more of us ran the 33 mile option, and some of those who ran the 15 mile race stayed around at the finish. Seriously, one of the reasons I do these races is so I can spend time with quality people like this bunch!

Just chillin' after the race! Lorraine, Tracy, guy in blue, E-rod, Corrine, Janet, me, and Alexa!

Then something quite unexpected happened. One of the race volunteers came up to me and told me I won a prize. I thought it was a prize from the raffle. Then she said I won 1st place for my age group! Haha! That means there were only a couple of girls in my age group, but I won this beauty. . .


My finishing time was 7:31, which is a new 50K PR for me. It's still not a great time for a 50K, but hey, at least I'm improving, right??? That's all we can ask of ourselves is to give it our personal best, and continually strive for improvement!

I Love LA! (LA Marathon Recap)

I've always wanted to run the LA Marathon. I've got a soft spot in my heart for Los Angeles. I lived in LA for 5 years and went to UCLA while I was there. Sure, LA is crowded, expensive, has lots of traffic, and some superficial people, but there are also lots of great people, lots of fun things to do, and I just have so many great memories of living there! So, yes, I actually dug up this video. It's really funny! It's so 80's! They played this song at the starting line and it got me all pumped!

Randy Newman- I Love L.A

Usually the LA Marathon is the first Sunday in March, but too many churches along the route have complained that it hurts church attendance when the race is on Sunday, so they moved it to Memorial Day. The risky part in that is the weather could be a little unpredictable--either it could be blazing hot, since it's almost summertime, or, it could overcast with the marine layer and cooler temperatures.
I had a lot of friends who were running the race, but I went to LA the day before with my friends, Lindsay and Kyle, and we stayed at my friend, Leslie's house. Both Lindsay and Kyle were participating in their first marathon! Welcome to the asylum, girls!

Here we are the morning of the race!

Thankfully, the weather worked in our favor. It was overcast with temp's in the 60's for the entire race!

And three weeks after I slashed 18 minutes off my marathon PR. . .
I did it again! (Another 18 minutes!)

3:58:18 !!!

For the longest time, my marathon PR stood at 4:34, which I did at the San Diego Rock N' Roll Marathon in 2005. That was my first marathon. Then I somehow got slower. Three weeks ago, I ran the OC Marathon and got a 4:16. Of course, that was the day after I ran the Palos Verdes Half Marathon. I didn't even run much the last few weeks. I've been doing lots of Crossfit. But then yesterday I went out and ran the LA Marathon in 3:58! I still can't believe I did that!

My goal for the LA Marathon was to beat 4:16. My "lofty" goal was to break the 4-hour mark, which would require me to stay below a 9-minute mile for 26.2 miles. Lately, since I've incorporated Crossfit into my training, I've found my speed has really picked up without any extra effort. I've been running faster, but still at what felt like a comfortable pace. It's been exciting to see my speed finally improve, but I wasn't sure I could maintain that speed for 26.2 miles.

When the race started, I found that within the first few miles, I had settled into an 8:38 pace. I stayed there for the first 11 miles, when I slowed to an 8:42. At the half-way point, I was on pace for a 3:50 marathon which sounded unbelievable to me! At that point, I knew a PR was definitely within my reach, assuming I didn't get hurt or anything.

By mile 16, I was definitely feeling the fatigue. I kept looking at my Garmin 305 and watching my pace continue to slow down. But I could tell that a sub-4:00 finishing time was still within my reach. I kept debating in my mind whether I should go for the sub-4:00 or should I just relax and be satisfied with getting another PR. I have the Holcomb Valley 33-miler in 3 weeks and didn't want to regret pushing myself so hard.

When I reached mile 20, I was just under 3 hours into the race. That meant that as long as I kept my pace below a 10 minute mile, I would get my sub-4:00 finish. That's when I decided I had to do it! I don't have any more marathons planned for a while, since I want to get back to running on trails, so I decided, THE TIME IS NOW!!!

Staying below the 10-minute pace was tough! I had my music playing loudly on my iPod shuffle. I even passed a girl I knew out on the course, but I didn't even say, "Hi," because I totally had my "game face" on! (I don't think she saw me.) With the exception of a giant blister on the arch of my foot, I wasn't in any pain--just fatigued! My focus was entirely on finishing under 4 hours.

Crossing that finish line with a time of 3:58:18 was such a proud moment in running for me! It was kind of hard to process right away, though. I was actually in a total daze from accomplishing my goal, and also because as soon as I stopped running, my legs suddenly felt very weak from pushing myself so hard! My legs kinda felt like Jell-O! I got my medal and some guy wrapped a space blanket around me. But I was completely "out of it" for a minute. Then my eyes suddenly started to burn! Either my sunscreen or sweat started running into my eyes. I tried to get some water from one of the volunteers, and she thought I was crying! Actually, several people asked me if I was okay. I took a few bottles of water and washed my face and then drank as much as I could. I sat down and stretched for a little bit, and then went to go find my some friends who came to watch us finish.

Here I am finding my friends, Leslie and Maren. I look really happy!

So, I thought I would dig up something from January's blog post. . .

RUNNING GOALS FOR 2009:

• Run my first 50 miler
• PR in the marathon
• Get faster!
  
• Stay injury-free
• Gain my running confidence back
• Do at least 3 other 50K's

So far, it looks like I'm right on track! I've PR'ed in the marathon twice, improved my speed, stayed injury-free (knock on wood), and am definitely getting some confidence back in my running.
What's next? I am doing the Camp Pendleton Mud Run in two weeks, and then my first ultra of the year, Holcomb Valley 33 Mile a week after that. Yes, I think I'm on track for my 2009 running goals!

Chariots of Fire

Last night, I sat down with a couple other runners and we watched this movie!



Earlier in the day, my friend Kyle and I got inspired to watch a running movie. We drove up to Malibu to run the Xterra Malibu Creek trail race. It was fun! I ran the 22K and she ran the 6K. When we signed up for the race a few weeks ago, I tried to talk her into running the 22K, but she felt that was too far. I kept saying, "Of course you can run 14 miles!" She is also training for the LA Marathon, like me, but she insisted she wanted to run the 6K, which is only 4 miles.
So, on the drive up, she pulled out some running shoes with spikes and asked me if I thought she would need them! I was like, "Um, I don't think so. . . " I don't know anything about running shoes with spikes! I was thinking, this isn't a track meet! I've never seen anyone wear spikes on the trails. That's when I started to realize that while we are both runners, our approach to the sport is very different.
So we get there and my race started at 7:30 and her race started at 8:00. The 22K was so much fun! (Okay, I've never ran a race that wasn't fun, but I digress.) We ran up Bulldog, which is a 2.5 mile climb over about 2,000 feet. This course was almost identical to the Bulldog 25K which was my very first trail race in August 2007. So being out there brought back so many memories!
When I finished my race, I found Kyle near the finish line. She was wearing TWO medals. I asked her what the bigger medal was for, and she told me she won first place female in the 6K! I was so proud of her! Wow! Then she pointed out some of the other elite runners she had met while waiting for me to finish my race. I finally understood why she insisted on running the 6K. And now I hope she will stick to the short distances, since she is obviously very good at it! I'm so glad she had a good time AND won 1st place female. Later in the day, I noticed she had updated her Facebook status: "Kyle is now addicted to trail races!" Yeah!

I've learned that people who consider themselves runners often have very different approaches to the sport. Some people are sprinters. They like to run the short distances, really fast, like 5K's and 10K's. They are constantly working on improving their speed and form. Then there are the long-distance runners who like to run half-marathons, marathons, and ultramarathons. These runners are often putting in the big mileage to improve their endurance. There are street-runners and trail runners. There are casual runners, who get out and run a couple times a week because they know it's good for their health. And there are the more serious runners who constantly have their calendar filled with upcoming races. No matter what type of runner you are, what I think is important is that you get out there and run because you love it! Some people don't like running at all, and that's okay too!

I love the opening scene of this movie and the music. And while it's kinda cheesy, it just makes me think about how much I enjoy being outdoors, running, enjoying nature, and enjoying the way my body feels when I'm running. And that is why I keep looking forward to my next running adventure!

How I Spent My Weekend. . .

Saturday, May 2

Palos Verdes Half Marathon
Time: 2:10




Sunday, May 3

OC Marathon

Time: 4:16:39 - PR!
I slashed my old PR by 18 minutes! And I did that one day after running a half marathon! Sweet!

I feel so lucky to be surrounded by so many talented runners! They inspire me to think big and to have the courage to test my limits! When I ran my first marathon almost 4 years ago, I never imagined this would be possible! My legs felt fresh when I woke up this morning to go run the OC Marathon. I felt really good for most of the race. However, the muscle soreness is starting to settle in! Hahaha! I'm thankful for my foam roller, hot yoga, ice, massive doses of ibuprofen, antioxidants, and sleep!

Old Goats 50 Mile--A Running Party!

Me, Molly, and Alexa find a patch of snow to cool our bums on the way to Santiago Peak!

This year I volunteered and paced at the Old Goats 50 Mile race. Last year I ran the 50K, but this year there was no 50K option, and since I am not in shape to be running 50 miles, I was more than happy to volunteer! A lot of my friends were running this race, and a lot were volunteering. I love seeing all my running friends, and the only time we get so many of us together is at a big race like this one! That's why it's like a big party! For the local trail running community, it was the place to see and be seen!

Steve Harvey, our amazing race director, giving instructions to the volunteers after the runners started. All the volunteers stepped up to make this race one to remember!

I was at the Bear Springs aid station--mile 34 and 40. I waited up there until Molly came through. This was her 1st 50 mile race, so a few weeks ago, I asked her if she would like someone to run with her for the last part of the race, and she accepted my offer! So I went up and helped set up the aid station and helped the runners as they came through until Molly arrived.
The first runner to arrive at the aid station. Volunteers Pam and Joe.

But before any runners passed through, we had a couple of "race crashers." Okay, they weren't really crashing the race. It was Doug (a.k.a. iDad) and Kirk. It was Doug's birthday and he was turning 70 years young! So for his 70th birthday, he decided he wanted to celebrate by running 70 miles, split up over 3 days! 20 miles on Friday, 30 miles on Saturday, and 20 miles on Sunday. In this picture, Doug is holding up "2" for day 2. I hope I am as young as he is when I turn 70!

And the running gene runs in this family because a short while later, and the first female runner arrived at our aid station, Michelle Barton (Doug's daughter).

As the day went on, the aid station got busier. I saw so many of my good friends and runners who I look up to. There were so many amazing athletes and quality people!





When Greg arrived, he was a tad bit grumpy! A few rocks got the best of him on the rocky stretch between Trabuco and Holy Jim. But hey, just be glad you can still run strong! Bruised and broken ribs heal, buddy! And he just kept running. . .

Yeah, baby, wear it with pride!













LT was there too! He runs ultras just for training. Look for this guy along with Robo and dog, Brandi at the Ragnar Los Angeles relay. They are the only 2-man team running 187 miles from Santa Barbara to Dana Point. They will be raising money for a pet rescue organization. Check out their website and donate today!
http://www.ultrabeasts.com


Lorraine was also there. She's a phenomenal runner. I remember seeing her at races before I ever met her. Instead of running shoes, she wears Crocs! She has a problem with her left Achilles tendon, but found that she could run in a pair of Crocs pain-free!




Finally I saw Molly making the final climb up Holy Jim. It was now time for me to leave my aid station and start running!










As we made the 3 mile climb (1,600') from Bear Springs to the summit, we came across some signs placed along the side of the trail, with interesting sayings like, "Stairway to heaven," and "Your prayers will be answered." This one says, "Angels await you."

In the picture is Alexa and Molly.




Sure enough, at the summit, were E-Rod, Skip, Jenn G., Tracie, and Jean, all dressed in their TrailHeadz shirts and angel wings and halos! I'm sure this was a very welcome sight for many of the runners. Basically, they ran a marathon, and then climbed 4,000' over 8 miles to Santiago Peak (5,687') which is the tallest point on the course and the tallest peak in Orange County. This was the mile 37 aid station and from here, it was a bunch of rolling hills with some "little" peaks the rest of the way down the mountain to the Start/Finish.
And of course, what's an angel without a harp! Jean Ho is amazing! She actually brought a HARP to the peak! And then proceeded to play it all afternoon to provide some serenity to the very tired runners once they made it to the peak. I wonder how many runners thought, "Oh crap! I'm hallucinating! Does anyone else see a girl playing a harp?"

Heading back down the mountain, Molly and I ran into someone we like to call rePete! rePete was also doing his first 50 miler! Gotta love the Dawn Patrol! BTW, Steve Harvey likes matching your bib number to your age. Molly is 38 and Pete is 27. iDad Doug wore number 70, of course!






And so from there, Molly and I had a long 13 mile run back down to the finish line. She is such a trooper. She pulled a quad muscle back at mile 9! And she kept on moving forward. As the race went on, and especially as we ran downhill, the pain in her leg continued to get worse. I did my best to encourage her along, although we spent much of that last stretch walking. We bummed some ibuprofen off another runner. At times, Molly just wanted to listen to her music so we hiked along in silence. There was never a doubt in my mind that she wouldn't finish the race. She was determined! Since we were doing so much walking, the sun began to set and we knew we would be finishing the race in the dark. Thankfully I had my headlamp with me, which I brought just in case. Pretty soon, E-Rod ran up next to us. He was there volunteering at the peak and was going to run with Alexa to the finish, but due to a change in circumstances, he was running on his own. By the time we reached the Trabuco trailhead, it was completely dark. Of the 3 of us, I was the only one with a working headlamp! We had 3 miles to the finish line and it was all rocky fireroad, going down the Main Divide.
Because it was so dark, and the ground was so rocky with only one headlamp to light our way, the three of us found ourselves linked hand in hand, stumbling our way down the Main Divide! We felt like Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz saying, "Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!"


I was so excited for Molly to finish the race, just shy of the cutoff. But who really cares about time? When you say you ran 50 miles, no one says, "Well what was your time?" Who cares??? You ran 50 miles! How many people can even say they ran a marathon? Molly was eager to finish the race since she had her husband and kids and some other family members waiting there for her. One of my favorite moments was when we were coming out of the trees about 100 feet away from the finish line, and I heard a little kid say, "Mommy!" It was sooooo cute! I was so proud of her finishing the race, despite being in so much pain.

Volunteering at a race is always fun. First of all, I love giving back to a sport that is such a big part of my life. If it weren't for the amazing people I run with, I would not be the runner I am today--not that I'm an amazing runner 0r anything. I have so much room to improve. And hopefully before the year 2009 ends, I would like to run my first 50 miler. When you volunteer at a race, you see how challenging it is and when you see so many other people doing it, you realize that with the proper training, it is something you can do too!