SMILE OR YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG

  Angeles Crest 100 2016 race report Last year I volunteered as a paramedic at mile 75 during the Angeles Crest 100.  The next day registration opened and I signed up.  It sold out very quickly (within minutes) and there way tons of computer glitches and drama.  Somehow I managed to get in though and so began my journey towards 100 miles. Everything in life I love I tend to overdo it.  I really have two speed go and stop.  So once I am emotionally committed to the race I put everything I had into the training. I awoke at 1am.  Had my coffee and yogurt.  I picked Willem and Shana up around 3:45am.  They had both generously volunteered to crew me.  Willem would pace me from Chantry (Mile 75) to the finish.  My friend John  Finishing a 100-mile race is a team effort.  I had an amazing team that helped me be successful.  Followed me around all day, making sure I was eating and drinking is hard work.  John then paced ...

  Badwater 135 crew chief/pacer report Badwater 135 races from Badwater Basin in Death Valley (-280’ below sea level) to Mount Whitney Portal (8,300’ above sea level). My friend Jared Fetterolf asked me to be his crew chief this year.  Jared has finished BW135 three times previously and has an equally impressive race resume.   We used a minivan with three crew members.  The back of the van had 3 accessible coolers.  A yeti cooler with just ice, a cooler with a spout for just ice water and a cooler for food and cold drinks.  We had a container that had all the dry food and a 3 drawer unit that organized everything else (clothes, medical, etc.). Jared was in wave 3 which started at 11pm.  Wave 3 is reserved for the fast runners because they have a lot less time to get to all the time cut-offs.  The start was hot and humid.  The humidity definitely added a new and challenging aspect to the race.  The race started off fast.  We wou...

Badwater Cape Fear Race Report. (51.4 miles) The race took place in Bald Head Island, North Carolina.  The island itself is beautiful and only allows people to drive by golf cart.  It’s a great vacation spot.  I was nervous about running because my legs were trashed from the Coyote Backbone 100 miler 6 days earlier. I got many massages and took it easy all week. Saturday I felt good with no real soreness and decided to see if I could push it.  We started at the lighthouse and did a couple loops through the island's road system (12 miles). I probably overdid it a bit on this section, as I was chasing the fast people. We then had 2 ten mile out and backs on the sand (40 total miles).  The first 10 miles wasn’t bad, I stayed as close to the water as possible and the sand was actually pretty firm.  I arrived at the aid station and turned around mile 22, this is when the suck started.  High tide had started and the firm sand I was running on was now gone....

I  Finished Gorge Waterfalls 100k today in 11 hours and 45 minutes. The start was fast, but Walmsley was literally so fast he was out of sight in the first quarter mile. Fun fact,  Walmsley and I stood in line together for the bathroom and I'm happy to report he shits like the rest of us.  It was very challenging this year with tons of mud, rain, hail, wind, snow crossings, downed trees, rivers, streams, and beautiful waterfalls.  I tried to learn from last year's disaster of a race and made some changes.  First, I ran through all water crossings hard. Last year I spent to much time and energy trying to balance on slippery rocks.  This helped clean my muddy feet and fuck it, it's the Gorge, you're going to get wet.  Second, I wore road shoes.  The muddy sections sucked, but everywhere else I was happy with my shoe choice.  Third, I decided to go just handheld.  I've been on a handheld kick lately and liked my decision. One problem, I got...

  Mojave Death Race Race Report I was lucky enough to be invited to run the Mojave Death Race with the Redlands Fire Department.  They have been doing the race for several years and operate like a well-oiled machine.  The race takes place in the Mojave Desert Preserve outside of Nipton, CA.  It is a team race with 250 miles of running, biking, and mountain biking.  There were 24 separate legs and we divided them evenly between 8 team members. The race started at 7am and it was already starting to get warm.  The race day forecast was 110 degrees.  We had a van and truck to support our team.  The truck carried all the bikes and the van had most of the gear.  One vehicle would drive ahead to the next checkpoint with the person who was doing the next leg.  The other vehicle would support the athlete racing.  That vehicle would drive ahead of a mile or so and wait to see if they needed anything.  This normally consisted of cold wate...

Badwater Salton Sea 2017 Team ‘Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad’ finished Badwater Cape Fear in 18h 46m.  We got 3rd place in the 2x Man Team Division and 4th place overall.  The race started at the Salton Sea and went 81 miles west, ending on top of Palomar mountain.  It’s a team race where you and your teammate have to stick together and run the entire race together.  We had to stay within 25 yards of each other at all times.  There are no aid stations, instead, you have a support vehicle that has 2 crew members and all your hydration/nutritional needs.  I coerced Willem into racing it with me by buying him an entry for his 50th birthday.  Since we constantly train together, I knew that we would work well as a team.  Thanks to his wife for allowing me to steal her husband yet again.  I then convinced my girlfriend Lauren and buddy Russell to crew me.  I sometimes think crewing is harder than actually running the race.  It was a long d...

  Mount Gaoligong Ultra - 104 miles with 29,000 feet of vertical climbing and 29,000 feet of descent.  Disclaimer: I have never written a race report before, and at times during the race my mind was cloudy. The race was to start at eight a.m. on Friday, so at six a.m. we ate a quick breakfast. We then all nervously piled into the taxi at six twenty a.m. in order to get to the start line by six-thirty a.m. for check-in.  I had three drop bags with me: a start/finish bag and two drop bags for the race.   We also picked up our GPS tracker, bracelet (this was scanned at every checkpoint), and an emergency cell phone. The mandatory gear list was significant. My pack was filled to the brim. I started the race with fifteen ounces of water and fifteen ounces of tailwind. It was cold, probably in the upper forties, and I knew I wouldn't feel thirsty until later in the day. The drop bags were for checkpoint five (mile thirty-five) and checkpoint eleven (mile seventy-two)....

  UTMB 2017- Chamonix, France  It all seems so surreal now that it's over, but UTMB was nothing short of a dream. The Ultra community is still all so new to me, but extremely impressive none the less. Race check-in was when everything really started to get real, and I realized what exactly I was in for the following evening. After a long train ride from Paris to Chamonix, we finally made it to race check-in. This is where Andy had all of his mandatory gear checked, got his BIB and pre-race photo taken. I impatiently waited outside (impatient because anytime I was left alone I had the fear of getting lost, and no one spoke English—this fear eventually passed). Once race check-in was done, we headed back to our AirBNB, which wasn't a very far walk, to try and get some sleep. We then started preparing everything for the race start. Andy spent the evening anxiously making sure his pack was full of all the mandatory gear, food, Tailwind, and full water bottles. I, still a little bi...

  Badwater Salton Sea 2018 Race Report I arrived to the start line early on Sunday. The sun was starting to paint a pink line along the eastern hills and reflect on the water. The air was thick with noxious sulfur. The sky was clear with no chill in the air. I had missed the briefing Saturday due to getting mandatoried at work. I hadn’t slept and although exhausted my 2-day taper had me anxious and excited to run. We used a Lincoln Navigator for our crew vehicle and had 3 crew members, one for each team member. I had Lauren, Ray had Sergio and Jared had Candy. We started with 11 gallons of water and 100 pounds of ice. We all brought our own food and nutritional plan. My team arrived at the start and we started getting the vehicle organized while discussing strategy. Ray convinced us to start slow at a 9:30/mile pace and just maintain it throughout the day. We knew the Anza Borrego trail section and Palomar mountain finish would be difficult and slow us down.  Our main goal was...

  Jackpot Race Report - spoiler alert it’s long. I completed 100 miles during the Jackpot 24 hour in 19 hours 14 minutes. I ended up 4th place overall.  As highlighted in a previous post, this was my first race in a year after a near-death experience during a race in Japan. I have run one 20 miles long run in the past year and it was in January. As you know ultra running is a mental experience and my mind wasn’t ready. I figured that Jackpot would be a good safe test for my body and mental health. Jackpot is put on by Ken and Stephanie. Their racing company Beyond Limits Ultra is one of the best I’ve experienced. If you haven’t checked out one of their races take this as an endorsement and recommendation. You will be able to push yourself past your limits at their races in a supportive environment with the best food and aid station in the business. Their next race is BLU on April 2nd-5th. You might just see me there! I didn’t feel that I was in ultra shape and it made me very ...

I finished Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) in 36 hours and 39 minutes.  I came in 447 out of 2536. Background  The Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc is a 170km mountain running race. It boasts over 34,000+ feet of vertical climbing and 34,000+ feet of descent. It starts in Chamonix, France,  in the Alps, at the base of Mont Blanc and goes into Italy, then Switzerland before returning to Chamonix. You must carry a lot of mandatory gear. This includes a cell phone, rain jacket, long-sleeved warm shirt, beanie, buff, whistle, 2 headlamps with extra batteries, a cup, 1L of water, food, pants, rain pants, warm gloves, waterproof gloves, emergency blanket, and an elastic bandage.   We arrived in Chamonix by train and I got us off at the wrong stop. Of course, Chamonix would have 2 stops. Google maps to the rescue. It was pouring rain and we hurried down the crowded streets to meet our AirBnB host. The apartment was cute and in a nice area, 5 minutes away from the start. Ther...

  The Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc is a 106-mile mountain running race. It boasts over 34,000+ feet of vertical climbing and 34,000+ feet of descent. It starts in Chamonix, France,  in the Alps, at the base of Mont Blanc and goes into Italy, then Switzerland before returning to Chamonix. You must carry a lot of mandatory gear. This includes a cell phone, rain jacket, long-sleeved warm shirt, beanie, buff, whistle, 2 headlamps with extra batteries, a cup, 1L of water, food, pants, rain pants, warm gloves, waterproof gloves, emergency blanket, and an elastic bandage. You must qualify to apply by completing 3 hard mountain races. Then you have to win a lottery to be able to race.  This is my second time running UTMB. I finished last year during one of the worst storms in its history. Rain nonstop for 2 days and snow every time you climbed above 6,000’ feet. This lead to mud, mud and more mud. Not ideal conditions for a race involving steep climbs and steeper descents. Regardles...