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mooch
Trad climber
Tribal Base Camp (Riverkern Annex)
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Topic Author's Original Post - Aug 20, 2018 - 09:45am PT
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Show of hands, who's got trail dirt in their blood? A while back....before fish left the water, I used to run cross country and do an occasional road race. Seemed like after awhile of pounding the pavement, I hit a wall with my passion for running. I left running alone for quite some time. Climbing and cycling took a front seat for many years. I remember meeting up with an old friend who ran road races with me. He had mentioned he made the cross over to trail running and he found a renewed excitement for running. Slaved to my old mind set, I was a bit prejudice to his new found "love". He invited me to run with him at a local trail in San Diego. After that day and the days to follow, I had found my old friend! That friend was the person inside me. The one that talked, laughed, cried, bitched, screamed with child-like excitement and felt alive. As climbers, we find ourselves so amazed with the experience. It allows us to unbury things, dig a little deeper and discover what really resides beyond the surface. Trail running has added even more to my outdoor expereince. So many things can be said but I'd like to hear from those that share in the same passion for breathing in trail dirt, chewing on the occasional gnat, suffering through the big steep grades, screaming down killer descents etc.
A few shots of me and my friend Brian (137), after pacing him during the Kodiak 100 in Big Bear this weekend. He placed 20th out of 106, running 102 miles in 32 hour, 5 min. Total elevation gain: 21,000ft. A few additional shots of friends, Jen and Gerry, getting after it.
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hooblie
climber
from out where the anecdotes roam
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Aug 20, 2018 - 10:05am PT
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saw a t-shirt on a fellow from the navajo rez last week:
"don't ask why i run, tell me why you walk"
three decades and four stone ago i ran,
now i can answer the question.
but those were great days
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Don Paul
Social climber
Washington DC
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Aug 20, 2018 - 10:13am PT
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Feels so free to just run through the forest but too much running always injures me. It's very addictive and hard to do in moderation.
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Flip Flop
climber
Earth Planet, Universe
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Aug 20, 2018 - 10:15am PT
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If you ever hear "What are you running from?!", that's me.
In the spirit of fairness, and the endless rash of shite that I drop on the BASE bros for miscegenation, I'm going to save this little piece of real estate for some tongue in cheeckery.
My first complaint is that Dirt Jogging turns beautiful young wild women into something resembling you guys😂😂😂. (Superheroines notwithstanding)
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Cragar
climber
MSLA - MT
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Aug 20, 2018 - 10:35am PT
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Hey Mooch, fun topic; at least the trail running part...but Ultra? that is in another universe way beyond me.
You being a cyclist might understand how I finally could run and it wasn't till I was forty before I could. Why? Offroad FixtWheel cycling is basically it and built strength into my knees that allowed me to actually run beyond 20 minutes or a couple miles miles before my knees and hips would scream in skeletal pain. I OR-Fix't for a couple years before trying to do big runs in the hills. My steed is a Hunter fix't X-bike. It taught me how to negotiate regardless of timing, balance, power availability and under stress. I had never learned so much about cycling in my 25+ years prior to getting fix't. I wasn't expecting to be able to run as a result but after a couple years of it I just felt different in my lower body and started running and just kept improving, from 20 minutes to 3+ hours. As long as I am going up or down I am good. I still can't run the flats though and I could care less. I believe the resistance workout of fix't riding helped balance out my body and I went from an imbalanced cyclist(probably the most imbalanced of all athletes) to one that can do more and experience more in life...with stronger knees!!! love it!! You ever try it?
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John M
climber
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Aug 20, 2018 - 10:51am PT
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Didn't do ultras, but plenty of marathon length runs in the mountains while living in Yosemite. At one point I was running 5-10 miles a day on mountain trails. Its a wonderful feeling to be deep in the mountains with nothing on your back but a light day pack with a few essentials. Food, water, headlamp and some rain protection.
My longest run was in the neighborhood of 40 miles. I first did it as a hike, and then as a run. Tenaya to top of clouds rest, to top of half dome, swim in little yosemite valley, then across panorama cliffs to glacier point, then back down to illiouette and up to the top of Buena Vista peak, then down for a swim across buena vista lake and run to top of Chilnualna falls for a swim, and then to Wawona. Marvelous day.
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Aug 20, 2018 - 10:56am PT
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I used to run trail ultras or at least I ran a few back in the day. Did the Santa Barbara Nine Trails twice and the Bishop Mule Run 50k a few times. A back injury put a stop to it, can't take the pounding anymore. I do miss it, it was the only type of running I could handle, running on roads and streets is deadly boring.
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Aug 20, 2018 - 11:45am PT
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Jeff, The Mule Run was a killer in that heat. I remember toward the finish at the Mill Pond a long sandy hill climb, I saw people in white robes floating above the ground waiving me up the hill and remember thinking that it was perfectly normal to see floating people in the desert. Dehydration is a bitch.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Aug 20, 2018 - 03:16pm PT
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Cool.
I ran a little in high school, but then got hurt climbing and I can't even run across the street now.
My wife and kids are runners, though.
And I'm an armchair fan of Jim Walmsley.
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mooch
Trad climber
Tribal Base Camp (Riverkern Annex)
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 20, 2018 - 04:25pm PT
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Good stuff, folks! Love to hear about experiences from each of you. Something about trail running that completes the whole circle of outdoor adventure. Just you, a pair of your favorite shoes (in some cases, none at all) and the elements before you. This guy added fuel to the spark a year aftere I started to venture beyond local trails in San Diego....
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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thebravecowboy
climber
The Good Places
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Aug 20, 2018 - 04:50pm PT
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For a while, two years ago, I was working down until I was within 5 minutes of the FKT for the c2c on a local granite dome, maybe 7 mi RT and 2k one-way. My favored route ditched the main trail at the meadow below the dome and skitter-scatter bolted up the slabby NW buttress of the mother, low Cl 5, and then down some named rock route on the descent. Then some freak took another 10 minutes off the FKT and I kinda stopped going to church there.
Anyway, nice to hear some fellow addicts admit that they too like to get high AF on the endogenous opiates.
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thebravecowboy
climber
The Good Places
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Aug 20, 2018 - 04:57pm PT
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I mean that ridgeline is somewhat compelling, Atch, but....
'
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Aug 20, 2018 - 11:10pm PT
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I had a long talk with Scott Jurek last year about the stuff he does which is the ultra runs like the Appalachian Trail. The speed record for this effort seems to be declining almost daily. Our chat was about the definition of supported versus non-supported runs. It appears that just about anything goes with a "supported" run so the purists are leaning toward making the records for "non-supported" runs more meaningful. Very interesting.
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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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Aug 21, 2018 - 04:41am PT
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What's neat about trail running is that, at least for me, it's like speed climbing. A trail that took me three days to backpack a long time ago I can jog (I don't 'run') in 10-12 hours. And as mentioned earlier in the thread, it's great to go out with a camelback, a couple of energy bars, some TP (just in case), a couple of bandaids and some candy where I once carried way too much junk and suffered way too much.
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Aug 21, 2018 - 05:44am PT
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When the fat wife is standing close at the check out, where ever, I waddle up an say some near gay thing, about calf's, back muscles or python like arms,
I only do so, if the guys fingers look like toes. . .
The question always ends " Did you ever Rock Climb. . .
I can tell from over all fitness,but the hands have to look hard.
My scores have been interesting leading to a few days of climbing & one regular climbing partner, till the snow flew. The others found the poisonous plants & bugs, dirt & sweat and such, not near as enjoyable as I tried to sell...
there is a new prospect. He & his wife were so buff they didn't cast shadows in line at the farm stand! so he has a Scottish sir name.
It was a tried & true comment that I threw out, "do you frame house, what do you do to keep that tone"?\
The answer came from a low place reserved for "Get off My Lawn"
"Ultra's TRY Athlons" stretching out the word. "Like Iron Mans" said in that way to take me out,
(me,I pounce )I knew it, have you ever.....
every once in a while I bite off more than I can chew!
wish me luck. The guy did say he was good, liked heights.
Ignow I wish you folks luck with ULTR?A,, Yeahg good luck with that
Luv'Ya
(soon, I'm gonna look like a Bowling Ball) Gnome
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Aug 21, 2018 - 08:31am PT
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I've done two 50 milers. My best result was below. Since then 2 meniscus surgeries and a boating accident has left me in clearly non-ultra shape. I've started to MTB pretty hard in hopes of rehabbing back into Ultra shape. My ultimate goal, along with the rest of the ultra world, is Western States.
Obviously I am not your typical ultramarathoner. I felt like a freaking giant at the start, lol.
Coming down the backside of Steam Trains closing in on the turn around point.
My daughter and son helping me finish the last bit.
Ultas are awesome :)
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mooch
Trad climber
Tribal Base Camp (Riverkern Annex)
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 21, 2018 - 10:02am PT
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You mention you'd really like to do Western States. Yep, most ultra junkies want to get into WS. Me, personally, I like to bite off more than I can chew. Ouray 100 (43K elevation gain!) or Hardrock are races I'd love to suffer through. I was registed for Ouray 2 years ago. Two weeks before leaving for CO, I pulled my hamstring......mucho painful! Set me back a few months before I could get back out to the trails. Currently, I'm set to run Chimera 100 (22K elevation gain) in November but its not yet been determined if the race director will cancel it due to the fires in and around Cleveland NF.
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High Fructose Corn Spirit
Gym climber
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Aug 21, 2018 - 10:21am PT
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Mountain (trail) runner here. Always at altitude. Nothing longer than 10 mi, 15 at the most. But avid follower of Amelia, Courtney and Kelly for extra daily/weekly stoke!
If only we could be young 20-somethings again, lol.
I've always imagined if I lived in Oregon or Wash I'd be more a trail runner given the thick forests there. Same re areas in the bay area.
But Sierra lends itself very well to running just about any ascent.
Nice to see some climbers/mountaineers are runners too.
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mooch
Trad climber
Tribal Base Camp (Riverkern Annex)
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 21, 2018 - 12:10pm PT
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^^^^^ +1 Rae Lakes Loop. Onion Valley to Cedar Grove and back (aka Trans Sierra) is one of my faves. But I like to take the lazy version.....get a room at Cedar Grove Hotel, enjoy some good BBQ and return the next day. I was looking for someone to run JMT last year (south to north). Had the permit to use North Fork of Lone Pine and head up the Mtn'eers Route to start on the summit but life came up! :/
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