Saddleback Mountain Goat Marathon

Old Goat Trail Races are my favorite, and Steve and Annie Harvey are just the best you can get for race directors. Okay, there are some other amazing RD's too, but to start with the end, when I crossed the finish line of this race I ran into Steve's arms and gave him a big hug and thanked him and Annie for such a beautiful run and fantastic (but brutal) race.

Thank you Tina for the picture of me right after finishing.

The Saddleback Mountain Goat Marathon was bought by the Old Goats last year, and I volunteered to help at an aid station. I remember Steve coming up to me saying "you know how to drive." and handing me the keys to the Goatmobile. I got to drive up and down the Main Divide in style that day. I'll never forget driving up during the race briefing and Steve heckling me in his megaphone while I tried to drive through the start/finish line, tucking in mirrors. Who knew, a year later I'd be both wishing to be driving up Main Divide and thankful I was running at the same time.

Last year I manned an aid station, but this year I ran. Both very hard things. Great thanks to all the amazing volunteers who make Old Goat races so fantastic! My husband, Omar, Volunteered at the first and last aid station. Whitney Shepard had pickle juice for me around mile 5. Tina Wallin did everything. All the volunteers are the best!

I'm currently training with Keira Henninger and her Ultra Ladies for the Whoo's in El Moro 50k. She wanted us to do this as a training run, and four of us from the group signed up. With some advice from Keira I anxiously signed up. My friend Freddy stayed at my house the night before and we did some good carbo-loading and had a nice vegan dinner. His hummus is delicious. Morning came too soon, and Omar, Freddy, and I climbed into my car and made the long drive out to Lake Elsinore to the Blue Jay Campground where race HQ was.

I found my other Dirt Diva Ultra Ladies, Vivienne, Kristy, and Meg. We huddled for good luck and at 7:45 there was a race briefing from the RD. This year was a reverse course from last year, and he gave us turn by turn directions and words of wisdom, then sent us on our way.

Keira's dirt divas. Not pictured is Tina Wallin, who volunteered and took this picture!

My trail ninja friend.

I was so very nervous. This race was touted as being the hardest marathon in California, with treacherous climbs and over 5,100 feet of elevation gain. There was an 8.5 hour cutoff, and not knowing my abilities I was worried. Keira had insisted after all our summer training we'd be okay though, so I had to trust her.

The first mile is on asphalt out of the campground to the Main Divide truck road where you turn up to the first climb. Main divide is wide and rutted. I ran the flats and small climbs, but powerhiked when it got steep because I don't normally warm up for a few miles.

At the top of Main Divide at mile 4ish was the first aid station, and my sweet husband was there. I didn't need anything so I kept going. I wasn't awake still so I vaguely remember reaching a swooping downhill and taking off, but trying to save myself, not knowing where the big climbs were. The swooping downhill in the woods was very rocky, with dark sharp rocks all over and very loose footing. I wanted to run faster, and heard my foot slip under me so I caught myself and slowed down just a little. I've taken 2 hard falls on the trails, and have been lucky not to hit any rocks - this was not the trail to fall on - you'd break something. Swooping downhill became swooping uphill, and I power hiked up quickly to the next aid station.

Whitney Shepard was at mile 5ish, with pickle juice! One of the gals here took my handheld and topped it off with water for me. I gave whitney a big hug and, feeling charged up, continued on my way. There were beautiful rollercoaster trails the next 5 miles, which offered amazing views of Lake Elsinore, the forest canopy, exposed trails to be traversed, and the clouds. We were running in the clouds. It was a great experience, and a beautiful day.

Photo taken by my buddy Freddy aka Cliff aka Bronco

I hit another aid station, and was told to take an orange, so I did. It was delicious. I realized because of how cool it was I felt really good and wasn't fueling enough, so I ripped open my honey stinger chews on an uphill.

Photo compliments of Cherry Cheng who's a badass.

At mile 10 There was a man standing on the side of the trail cheering, then telling us "up this way." I looked, and the trail veered off straight up the side of a hill. "you're joking, right?" He laughed and shook his head no. "Oh my God." The sweet woman behind me, who I later learned her name is Kit, lamented behind me. Up we went. It was steep single track.

photo compliments of Cherry Cheng

There was a groove the first litte stretch, so we put one foot on the side of the bank, and the other foot almost off the edge of the path, for a while. It really worked our hips, but as we groaned we talked about how pretty our secret path was. I don't know what this trail was called, maybe upper holy jim? It was so pretty. I can't stop saying that. There was hardpack dirt and a narrow trail under foot, and the shrubs only gave us elbow width room. It felt like a rabbit trail to wonderland.

Photo compliments of Cherry Cheng

 In some spots at the switchback turns you could see over the bushes out across the mountain tops, and it would take your breath away (even more than it was). We commented that someone had made steps on the path, and how it was almost easier to go up the steps than the steep path. I did catch my breath a few times at the switchbacks. I needed salt, so I let Kit pass me. I took it all in. I drank some water, breathed deep, and started hiking up that steep hill with purpose.

Photo by Cherry Cheng, aka Turbo Cherry

Kit and I got to the top all of a sudden. Our sweet single track trail ended and hit truck trail again, and ribbons summoned us downward. We high-fived. I told her it was fun, but that I was running down the hill. I had no idea that hill was was 7 miles long. I turned a corner and the view was amazing. I said out loud "holy mackerel!" while I ran. I am not sure why that came out of my mouth. It's what my grandfather who we recently lost used to say. I started thinking of him and caught myself sobbing as I was bombing down this trail. I still miss him so very much, and every day still I think of him, but for some reason at mile 12 of my marathon I missed him so much I lost my shit. I told myself "pull it together, Diana, or you're going to eat shit and die. You can't run a marathon crying. Suck this shit up and be careful." So I sniffled my last sniffle, told my Grampa that I love him, and ran as hard as I could down the hill.

okay this was last year, so ignore the dude running uphill, but this was the hill i bombed down!

The truck trail here was nice, and not too rutted, so I was able to go full speed ahead. I dipped down into the trees, and found myself at Bear Springs aid station. The volunteers here were so nice. They gave me jelly beans. I actually stood there for a minute picking around the green and yellow ones. I joked about taking the time to pick out jelly beans in the middle of a marathon. It was silly, but oh well. They let me know I had over 5 more miles of downhill, and the next aid was at the bottom of the canyon at mile 18, and that the next couple hundred yards were loose.



I went down a little path and quickly discovered what they meant by loose. They ground was slipping out from under my feet, and I caught myself a few times, almost landing on my ass, raising up dark brown dust. This was deep in the woods and pretty dark, too. I was wearing my prescription sunglasses though, so I had to just be careful. After a little jaunt in the forest, the trail opened up to really rocky single track. It was steep, and I wanted to run fast. I felt like I was playing tetris with my feet: looking ahead for foot placement so I wouldn't trip. I was reaching level 50, 60, 70, 80... I caught a rock. I lept so far and took four giant steps to keep from crashing, and slowed down. Crisis averted. I found a safe pace that was pushing it, but was still like playing tetris at an early stage where you know you'll make it to the next. I'd look between rocks and stomp. Branches from the trees smacked my face a few times. I swallowed a gnat. I dropped further and further into the bottom of a canyon. The trail got rockier and rockier. At one point I found myself climbing over boulders through a wash, and then moments later crossing a rock bridge in an empty creekbed, and I had to grab some stones after a few feet to pull myself over a large rock. That really slowed down my pace, and I cursed my short legs.

Just before mile 18 at the bottom of the canyon the trail opens up to a little village of cabins. I thought I might be lost, but I pulled out the directions Steve and Annie had printed out for us, and kept going straight. I reached the mile 18 aid station. I opened up my hydration pack and refilled it myself, then I put my pack back on and refilled my handheld and left.

Then the climb out of the canyon began.

I caught up to a woman keeping a good pace, so I stayed behind her. We passed a few people in the bottom of the canyon. I saw a man, who I hear is called LSD (Long Slow Distance), sitting on a rock. I asked if he was okay. He looked at me and smiled like the Chesire cat. "I'm just enjoying the view, and taking a break before I make the climb." I asked if he needed anything. He smiled no, so I patted his shoulder and moseyed on.

Freddy felt like a champ at mile 20.

This is where the real challenge began. This, mile 20, is where I have to say thank you to my coach, Keira Henninger (one of the other bestest race directors ever!) for training me this summer and guiding me through this race in spirit. Keira, you were there with me. I was delirious and was imagining you as a mountain fairy with fluttery wings carrying you across the trail in front of me, guiding me and telling me the things you tell me when we're on tough trails. I pumped my arms, I kept my head up, and I masochistically enjoyed it. Yes, I enjoyed climbing out of the canyon. Keira, what have you done to me? Whatever it is, you have my eternal gratitude. I felt so much love for my coach going up this neverending damn hill. I picked a few targets and slowly moved in to pass a few people, trying to keep my pace faster and faster. I chanted in my head her words of wisdom and hauled it as best as I could. Can't let my coach down! Keria, thank you.

I asked each fellow runner I passed how they were. We were all in it together. Everyone out there did fantastic, and I told them as much. I still pushed though to move it past a few strong folks. I even ran uphill a bit when I had the momentum.

Freddy's pic!

Eventually I hit the top of the Trabuco Trail, and saw my loving husband. He was surprised to see me "Dude, you're here already?" he said. I didn't understand why he was surprised. "Freddy was only here a half an hour ago!" he told me. I didn't believe him and thought he was messing with me. My husband gave me some coke. I drank it and told him "You don't know how good this tastes. You must run 22 miles and then drink coke to understand." I was tired. Sorry for the crazy, O. I said thank you and went on my merry little way. I couldn't believe that this little uphill and I was still running. After all that! I was like "hey my legs still work! COOL!" So I pushed. I saw the runner who's heels I'd been on up Trabuco, and I ran up to her with some ease, and chatted with her for a minute, but then I felt like I could really cut loose. I was so afraid to push all the race because of the big climb... but it was over, and this was the time to expend my final energy. I had 4 miles to the finish, and I pushed. I ran all out down the hill, only slowing down for ruts and rocks. The last mile was that gross asphalt road through the Blue Jay campground. I took a 10 second walk break up a little hill. I saw the cars and knew I was coming into the finish. People started cheering for me! There is a tiny little hill at the finish line that felt like hell, but I ran in.

Steve was there holding out my medal. I ran into him and grabbed him, and gave him a big hug, hanging onto him for a second. I think I said "omg so tired!" and he laughed I think. I told him and Annie, thank you for a brutal as hell and the equally beautiful course. It really was a beautiful run. Freddy came up to me and was like "what the hell you're already done sub 7!" and I looked at my garmin, not knowing if that was good or bad. I guess that was pretty good. I later found out I was 5th in my age group, 60th out of 81 finishers, and 18th female. Not too shabby for 6,032 feet of gain!

Thanks for my finisher pic Tina Wallin!

Me and the infamous Freddy. Thanks Tina W. for the pic!

I went and got my beer and recoverite, and hung out waiting for my friends to finish. Emil came in, and Jean Ho did fantastic! Vivienne powered through too and then Omar came down the mountain. We had burgers and I visited with my friends. Annie Harvey was adorable and told me I'd lost weight and got really strong since Nanny Goat. It made me laugh, she said "this morning I just thought you were dehydrated, but you've really lost weight!" I love it.

After some beer and food and relaxing, and waiting for the last runners to come through, we climbed in the car and headed for home.

I have to say a huge thank you to Steve and Annie! I just adore you guys so much, and you put on the best races (and hardest). This was by far the hardest marathon I've ever ran.

A huge thank you to Tina Wallin for taking some really amazing photos at the finish line! Beautiful photos.

I also have to thank Keira Henninger, my coach, for motivating me to sign up and assuring me I could do it, and being there with me in spirit while I ran. Keira, thank you for showing me what I'm capable of. You've made me a stronger, more confident, runner and woman.

I'm over the moon I did this. A few days later and I'm still sore, but it was worth it. I would recommend this marathon to anyone... Who can climb. It's beautiful and hard and not for the faint of heart or weak willed runner, you have to enjoy some pain to enjoy this, but if you're a masochist like me this is the race for you! Black IPA has never tasted as good as it does after this marathon.

Strava Data: http://www.strava.com/activities/200323879
Elevation climb 6,032 feet
Calories: 4,120
Hardest Marathon Ever.

Raptor Ridge Run

Raptor Ridge Run

I bought a new pair of shoes at Fairhaven Runners and Walkers while visiting my home of Bellingham, Washington, from L.A., California. I picked out a pair of Altra Lone Peak 2.0 shoes. My mom and I ran a marathon on Saturday, but Tuesday morning we changed into injinji socks and put our shoes on...

I parked at my favorite part of Bellingham, at Arroyo Park. This trail drops down into a canyon and crosses a wooden bridge before a set of switchbacks bring you up to a junction where you choose your own adventure. We went left. This took us to the Hemlock Trail. It was misty and dark from thick cloud cover, and with how thick the trees are here in the Chuckanut Mountains very little light gets in as it is. It is a mossy fern filled forest. We weren't a mile in and climbing. I said, jokingly, "What trail just keeps going up? Oh, we must be on Hemlock."

I wish I had taken pictures, but I had no camera. It was in the low '60's, but felt warm once you started moving. From below your feet was deep dark brown soil that was bouncy and solid, with a thick layer of broke up maple leaf detritus padding your steps. The path was wide enough for two people, with the occasional fern or felled tree in the pathway. You kick pine cones about as you kick your feet forward. It smells like wood turning into soil. Fresh dirt. It's a beautiful natural smell. You can only see a few feet either way into the woods, as the trail twists and turns. On either side of you are giant boulders with sheer faces and large sheets of moss growing up and hanging off of them. Sometimes, you have to climb over a set of boulders. The canopy cover today seems like 90%, but it's the gray clouds keeping it dark. You get to the top of the trial and choose which adventure you want today. You read the wooden post sign with trail names etched into the sign and little arrows and distances on it. You go left again, up to the Raptor Ridge Viewpoint. It gets a little steeper, and every two feet you turn and twist around another tree trunk until you step into a small opening that looks as if it just takes you running off a cliff. Past the door made of Doug Fir needles is a giant rockface you find yourself on. Hundreds of feet down past the rocks you see treetops below. Looking out you see the Trees move up and down on Chuckanut Mountain and are mesmerized by the arbor topography.

Then you turn around.

The Innagural Beat the Blerch Marathon

I'm a big fan of The Oatmeal and his comics. When he released the comic The Terrible and Wonderful Reason Why I Run Long Distances I was over the moon, and an instant fan of the comic and of the star of it - The Blerch. If you haven't read the comic, check it out here: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/running

When the comic came out, the Oatmeal said if he got enough positive feedback he'd sell shirts based on it. I e-mailed him and told him if they were tech shirts I'd be in it for two. He e-mailed me back telling me they'd be tech shirts and available soon. I bonded with my friend Chris Taylor over our understanding and bitterness towards the Blerch. We dubbed ourselves Team Blerch Killers. In December of 2013 we ran the Bellingham Trail Marathon together. Chris, my Mom, and me, in our Blerch tech shirts. But this is not a race report about that marathon. A few months ago the Oatmeal announced he'd be throwing a physical race. Thankfully, the Oatmeal is an ultrarunner from my home state, and runs on many of the trails I do when I'm home. The race was slated to be in Carnation, Washington, in September. The day registration came I sat at my computer with my credit card in hand, ready to register. I was on the phone to my mom, and we both barely made it in. It filled up in minutes.

A few months later the Oatmeal announced due to demand that he opened up a Saturday race. My mom and I were able to transfer our registration to that day. I booked flights via Virgin America and counted down the days to Beat the Blerch.

Friday morning my husband dropped me off at LAX at 5am. I hadn't slept well and the coffee was not strong enough, but it was a delight to see my mother pick me up. I got in the car and drove us to Greenlake and Road Runner Sports. There was a line out the door to pick up our packets, but while my mom waited in line I looked around. I grabbed a water bottle, a calandar, and 4 of the Oatmeal's new book. My mom and I picked up our packets, and got in line to have our books signed by the Oatmeal himself. We made friends with a marathoner from New York ahead of us, named Vladimir, who was also going to run the full marathon. When we got to the Oatmeal we told him about our friend Chris and his quest for a buckle, so he drew our friend in his book. He signed the book for my mom and my friend Freddy, and he drew me a demon bunny. We talked to him about trail running a little bit, and the trail the race is on, since we've all ran it before. He wished us luck and we thanked him for putting on the race.

Mom and I had fish tacos for lunch, and then I went out for Bellingham Beer Week and celebrated at La Fiamma and Elizabeth Station, having too much dark beers. I carbo loaded a wee bit too much. My mom picked me up and took me home to get a few hours of drunken sleep.

Four A.M. came too soon. I drove us down I-5 to Monroe, where I pointed out where the wheel fell off my '90 Jetta going over the railroad tracks, and when we got into Duvall and on highway 2 I was driving through soupy fog. Staying awake with a bit of a hangover and malty stomach was difficult, but my mom needed rest more. She'd recently suffered an allergic reaction to bactrim, so we were probably on the same level at that point of feeling like ass.

Carnation, Washington, is a very small town. I mumbled "we all float down here" and spooked my mother as we pulled into the grass field of a parking lot. She put a sweater over her head and took a nap as I put my Hokas on.

It's so great being from Washington, and having so many running friends in the PNW. I instantly ran into my friend Carrie, and some others.

The start was very foggy, but I found gear check and lined up to start. My mom and I stick together when we run races together. We pick races we want to run alone, and ones we run together we run to enjoy together. This one was one she just wanted to finish after being really sick, so I told her to set the pace. She hadn't been running, so the Garmin was going at a 3:1 run:walk ration. Chris B was with us and felt good at our pace, so he stuck with us for a few miles.

The first mile was paved, then it went onto a packed crushed gravel out and back. The trail was surrounded with fields, frisbee golf, and blackberry bushes. I stopped and ate a few blackberries. The course was lined with maple trees, and I got a great satisfaction crunching orange leaves on the run.

Around mile 5 or so Chris turned off to make a pitstop with another runner, and we kept going. There was another out and back, which I believe was next to the Snoqualmie River, but it was so damn foggy I could barely see it. This few miles was river dirt with smooth rocks jutting out. The fog was starting to lighten up as we ran up a slight hill and merged with the 10k runners. The merge was difficult since we'd already ran 6 miles and they were just starting, and faster, but we moved into the middle of the bridge we were running across and found out place. Finally, after a few water stops with just electrolytes, we found cake. I stopped and ate a piece of cake, and it was glorious. I never thought cake during a marathon would be a good idea, but this was the first of many pieces.

At the turnaround for the 10k we found beautiful blerches demotivating us, and a couch. A couch! Nutella sandwhiches... purple grape drink. It was just amazing.

There was Sasquatch in the bushes too. It felt good to see the 10k runners turn around as we kept running. The path cleared up a bit giving us more room, and it was a bit quieter, which was enjoyed.

The Snoqalmie river trail is an amazing place to run. I last ran there in July from Snoqalmie pass to North Bend, and this time we were running from Carnation to Snoqualmie Falls. The trail was foggy, and lined with doug firs, cedar, maple, and birch trees. The light filtering through the trees was a beautiful green, and sunbreaks through the branches would occasionaly break through and warm your eyelids. The smell of moss, wet soil, ferns and stinging nettles, and almost-too-ripe blackberries took turns overwhelming the senses. The crushed gravel under foot offered a good bounce, but was still... crunchy.

after the half-marathon turnaround we had the trail to ourselves. A lot of runners were faster than us that day, so we cheered on those running back, and worked our way to the end. It was so peaceful, so quiet, and so pretty. We saw more cake, and I ate way more cake. I put nutella sandwhiches in my pocket for later. 

We came across an aid station that had a tunnel past it. We ran through the tunnel, and there was a small stretch of single track soft dirt lined with ferns that we ran down, and the turnaround was so anti-climatic with a volunteer sitting in the woods on a folding chair telling us "turn around". Very strange. We went back to the aid station where I ate yet another piece of cake. My mother commented on it, and I told her that I was hungry.

Most marathons start around 6 or 7am. This marathon started at 9 am. Around mile 15 it was lunchtime. I was so hungry. How blerchy. So, deadpool served me my cake lunch. So many amazing volunteers at this race supported us and cheered us on.

By mile 18 we were well on our way to the finish. My mom and I were talking about everything from our upcoming races we have, to shoes and shirts, and other secret marathon things. She started to feel bad, so I had her switch the Garmin to a 2:1 run:walk ratio. I told her she should have ran the half, but she got mad and said "I'll finish!" Of course, finishing wasn't an issue, duh, but she did not feel well. I started thinking "Shit, I should have brought a phone in case something happened." but she was fine. By mile 20 I said "Hey, just a 10k left!" "Hey, pft, 5 miles! Easy." "Lets stop and eat more cake." A boy at the aid station was wearing a shirt that said it was his birthday, so we stopped and everyone there sang happy birthday to Eric. I saw Sasquatch chillin' on a couch with a blerch. I went over and asked him if he preferred Sasquatch or Quatchi, and he said Quatchi. I asked if we could cuddle for a minute, because I was tired. He patted the couch and I plopped down. He was very soft.

I ate more cake.

We ran.

People cheered us on.

I love running. I love running in the woods. I love running with my mom. I just love it all.

We ran across a bridge, down a little slope that gave us some ommpfh. We were a mile away, and the road was paved. People started cheering us on. We kept running. We saw the finish line. We crossed the finish line. It was great.

At the finish line they had cake, bananas, nutella sandwhiches, and plenty of water, but we were both so beat we filled up our blender bottles with our recoverite and water and were on our merry way.

Thank you to the Oatmeal for throwing a great race. I'm thrilled it was a trail marathon in the woods of rural Washington. The swag bag was great with stickers, and the shirt provided - a long sleeved partial zip collared shirt - is really nice. Some people lamented the price, but I think for what we got it was worth it. When I first signed up I said I'd be happy just running it once, but after running it I want to do it again. Perhaps next year when the run comes to Southern California or Portland I'll run it again.

Strava data:  http://www.strava.com/activities/199269080

The Ventura Marathon

I wasn't really prepared for this race, as I had forgotten I'd deferred last year's entry for this year. The day before I packed up as if I were doing a long run, put everything in the car, and drove 2 hours north to Ventura to packet pickup at the expo.

I was lucky to find free street parking, and walked down below the Ventura Pier. The organization was unclear and I had to ask twice where to pick up the packets. When I picked up my friend Ryan's and my bib I asked where the start was and they told me the wrong place. It was a little confusing. I had time to kill so I went to the "beer garden" which was the expo booths surrounded by a fence where people could drink. It was windy and chilly, but they were serving Firestone Walker, so I was able to have a wacky jack IPA while I chilled. I saw Luke and Nancypants so I got to visit with them for a little while, and had another beer with them, before I went to go get dinner and head to the hotel for the night.

I got up at 4am, ate my Inari for breakfast, and popped in the car to find parking. Because the Marathon started before the half there was plenty of free parking downtown and a short walk to the start. When I got to the area I thought was the start I learned the start was actually on the pier, so I went up and down the stairs a few extra times. Warmup I suppose.

Then it started. I was in the back of the pack, and the Boston runners took off. A little over 800 people ran the Marathon, and a mile in there weren't many people ahead of or behind me as we'd all spread out. It was very peaceful in the morning, which was nice, and I just went my pace. On occasion I'd get irritated when I could hear footsteps throwing off my own cadence. I took my salt every hour, and at mile 5.5 I took my honey stingers. There were water stops about every 1.5 miles, so I'd just run to them and slow down as I went through. I listened to my friend Liz' advice and held out my water bottle for them to pour water in so I wouldn't have to stop running but just slow down.

A few miles in the race, warming up at a nice pace.

I felt like I was flying the first 13 miles, so flat, and quiet. One of the people I run with at the Griffith Park Night Runners ran a 2:59 full marathon. It's crazy to think that he was finishing the race right as I started to get bored. I realized "Crap, I have to do that all over again." and tried to maintain my speedy pace. I was able to power up what tiny little hills there were when others walked, and called out to so many of my friends running.

There were no real spectators. There was a woman holding a sign I remember, and the aid station workers cheered us on, but that was about it. One girl had a rolling cheer station following her, and I was so thankful to be close to her pace to reap the benefits, but really it was just you, the road, a runner or two, the Ventura PD directs traffic, and the folks at the aid stations. It was a very quiet race.

At mile 20 it because a mind game. Things started to hurt. The flat road started to hurt my feet and my back. I wanted dirt. I wanted rolling hills. I wanted people yelling at me. I wanted something different. I was over it. I was 4 hours in and told myself "one more hour... oh God..." I really slowed down my pace, but I didn't want to stop running. I think I hobblewalked a few times through the aid stations. When I hit mile 24 I cussed and halted to a walk, swearing away at my feet aching and being tired and over it. I was bored and things hurt and I just wanted to stop, but I knew I had a bit more than a mile to go. When I hit mile 25 I did a pathetic run walk but managed to keep my walking to a minimum as much as it hurt. I was yelling at myself inside with irritation for letting the pain get the better of me. Sometimes your body just says no more though.

I had the finish in my sight, and was so happy to be done!

I could hear the finish line, so I picked up my pace, eager to stop. I saw the finish line and just held my pace to keep from throwing up. Then it was over. I Finished the marathon with my fastest time ever of 5:18:04. I was happy I did so well, relieved it was over, and in a bit of pain in my hamstrings and calves.

YAY all OW done OW

The medal was huge, and a bottle opener. I almost walked into Luke at the finish line so I visited with him and Nancy and Mitch, and got to meet my online friend Roadkill Bill. Sorry I was so tired Roadkill Bill!

The end!

After sitting down for a few minutes my friend Danny texted me that he'd buy me a beer if I showed up to where they were, and it turned out I was sitting right outside. I'm glad I went because they're a bunch of amazing people and really inspiring runners. We went and got shots after lunch, and hung out, and then it was all a memory and a PR.

A great lunch with some really inspiring runners!

Liz had the best idea with these breakfast shots. Yes, that's a shot of OJ with a piece of bacon

I don't know if I'll run Ventura again. If you want to BQ I hear it's great because it's flat and there are so few runners no one gets in your way or slows you down, and you have a lot of runners your pace. If you're not a BQ runner it might get boring, and it's very flat and lonely out there. But heck, that's what friends at the finish are for.

20 Mile Training Run on the Backbone Trail

It was hot. Coach K knew it was going to be, so the alarm was set for 3:30am... yes, that's right... 3:30am wake up call. The night before I got everything ready, including as much ice as I could, and went to bed early. In the morning I filled my pack with ice and at 4:30am I crept out of the house and traversed the empty Los Angeles freeways in the dark up to PCH. I saw plenty of highway patrol out, most likely looking for people still awake from the night before. Thankfully, they were all pulled over when I blew by with my trusty stick shift. I turned up Kanan Dune road and carefully watched for the trailhead. I drove past it and had to turn around before the tunnel through the mountains.

Maria and Elizabeth were already there. It was just after 5am. There is no speed limit when there is no traffic in Los Angeles... until you get pulled over. *knock on wood*

Keira's Dirt Divas waking up to get dirty on the trails. Photo compliments of Kasia Gondek

Maria braided my hair for me, and I cuddled with my trail wife, May, to keep her skinny body warm. Coach Keira showed up to rally us ladies, and as the sun kinda lit up the trails we were off. I tripped and caught myself, and Keira was running right behind and yelled out as I recovered. I felt bad for scaring her, but then I was like "hell yeah, I am running with Keria, this is awesome." 

The first 2.5 miles of the backbone trail are single track and rolling. Lots of fun and very runable. We crossed a fireroad I don't remember the name of back onto the backbone trail. I was sucking up words of wisdom from the runners ahead of me. How great, that I can finally kinda run uphill. I told Keira how happy I was to be able to stick with better runners as I powered up some baby hills. 

Watching the sun rise over the Santa Monica Mountains is a beautiful and peaceful experience. The heat from the day before radiates below your feet and your face gets warm, things glisten and little bug eyes twinkle at you.

Single track is a trail runner’s heaven. It’s windy rolly path, often with sharp rocks jutting out of the soft dirt, or tree roots sneaking up through the packed soil, or bumpy slipery sandstone making a sandy squishy path. The backbone trail on this particular day was dusty dark brown soil, and there was sagebrush on either side growing into the path, that would rustle as you ran through it. There were a few spots where the single track opened to double track, and I would share a few moments alongside a friend. We crossed a few bridges going over dry creekbeds. It started to warm up as the sun rose.

At mile six we came to Sarah Rudd and her magical water stop. When you’re running 20 miles you just can’t possibly take enough water with you to make it out and back. Our coach K had a water stop at mile 6, which we’d be able to hit twice, once on the way out and again on the way back. I had a 70oz hydration pack still mostly full, and had emptied out my two 22oz handheld bottles, so I topped off, and after thanking Sarah for being out there for us we continued onward. There was a bit of climbing up to the end of the backbone trail. We were almost to mile 9, when Coach K told us to go up the fire road a mile and a half to the gate to turn around.

The fire road was hot and a steep uphill, then a steep downhill to the gate. When I got to the gate my Garmin GPS beeped 10 miles, and I paused in the shade with Maria and Maureen, waiting for Elizabeth and Kathy who showed up like champs. After a cooldown break of a minute or two, and sucking down some honey stickers and saltstick, we made the climb back.

Sarah was at mile 14, and we were mostly feeling pretty good, but we could tell it was well into the 90’s at that point, if not hotter. Most of the single track was exposed so we had no shade but for a few special spots under the trees. When we got to Sarah one of my friends was really not feeling well from the heat, so we told her that it was only going to get worse and that we wanted her to stay and get a ride back to the start. She’s a tough cookie, but when it gets into triple digits it because a safety concern and can be dangerous if you don’t feel fantastic. We ate more, visited with our hero Sarah the provider of sacred water, filled our packs, and continued onward.

Then it got hot. One of my friends got sick, and I was worried about another, so we all decided to slow down and take it easy and keep our heart rates low so no one fainted in the heat. We had 6 miles of heat radiating off the ground and pounding down on us from the sky, with little to no reprieve. We started pouring water on our heads, but it was hot. Lots of sunscreen, but it was melting. We all plopped on our butts twice under a tree and laughed about how it was probably a cool high-80’s where we were cooling off. It got rough out there, but we all stuck together.

When we were about a mile from the car I ran ahead, as two of the girls were sticking together. My darling trial wife May brought me cold water, and I held it up to my heart and neck to cool my blood down, then told her to please take it to the girls behind me. I plopped down with my ladies and one of them put ice down my shirt (which is amazing when you’re hot, as it cools down your heart), Elizabeth brought me my sandals, and people were feeding me watermelon (thanks Kathy and Maria).

May and I expressing our feelings about the heat

Our running trek on the Backbone trail this day was not fast by any means at all, but we cranked out 20 miles ending in extreme heat, without passing out, and only a few people getting sick. I will use this pace as my worst-case scenario. All the women I run with are so amazing and inspiring, and there is no way we could have done that on our own.