Category: Running
-
Make it Count
Dear Angeles Crest 100 newbie, Last Saturday, I stood at the top of 9,407-foot Mount Baden-Powell hoping to view much of the remainder of the San Gabriel Mountains, as well as the Angeles Crest 100 course. Unfortunately, a relatively rare weather phenomenon known as a haboob left the air densely hazy, with visibility much lower…
-
The Running Year That Isn’t
I might as well open here by getting directly to the point: I will not run the two ultra races (Speedgoat 50k and Angeles Crest 100) that remain on my schedule for 2016. This was an extremely difficult decision for me to make, but one that I am certain is correct. My only hesitation in the last…
-
Ken Burton Trail Reborn
Since I began serious trail running in 2010, two of the closer trails to me in the San Gabriel Mountains were only runnable via out-and-back routes. This changed at the start of May when the Ken Burton Trail, closed since the 2009 Station Fire, reopened due to the diligent work of the Mt. Wilson Bicycling…
-
A Theater of the Absurd
Yesterday, I ran the Nirvana Ultra Big Bear 50 mile trail race based out of Rim Nordic ski area in the San Bernardino Mountains. I had some difficulty getting here: After a great start to my training season, I managed to get a pretty significant injury to my right hamstring while, believe it or not,…
-
Waterman Mountain and the Morbid Art of Dead Giants
Yesterday was 22 miles in beautiful weather on what I will call the Waterman Mountain Loop. My previous experience on this mountain was limited to birding on the trails on its lower reaches. On this day, I climbed up the trail starting on the northeast side near Buckhorn Day Use Area and took the out-and-back…
-
The SG Trails Website is Dead. Long Live the SG Trails Project!
After cogitating on it for awhile, I decided today to kill the San Gabriel Trails Project website. The San Gabriel Trails Project is my effort to run every trail, or at least close to every trail, in the San Gabriel Mountains. I have a few reasons for undertaking the project: I have an obvious tendency…
-
February 2016 in Review
Another monthly update on the goals I’ve set for myself for 2016. Birding Birding has been mostly productive, with a large number of Los Angeles County life birds observed during my pelagic trip on February 28. As of this writing, I’m at 139 for the year and 277 for life in Los Angeles County, with 149…
-
January 2016 in Review
I am running the Sean O’Brien 50 mile race on Saturday. I’ve rushed to get through all my tasks at work so I can get out cleanly at mid-day today. Fully packed and ready to go, my mind has turned fully to the race and all that entails. In the little time I have left…
-
2016
I’m not really one to make resolutions for a new year. I am constantly evaluating my life and my choices to some extent, trying to figure out what works for me and what doesn’t so I can get through my limited time on this planet in the most enjoyable way possible and, perhaps, leave a…
-
Get to the Finish or Die Trying: The 2015 Angeles Crest 100
It is really difficult to move happily through life without adjustments along the way. Stagnation is a key component of misery. It is important to understand what makes you happy, what goals you need to achieve to become happy, and what you are willing to sacrifice to meet those goals. Odds are that happiness will…