Saltwater 5000 - 2010

This year's Saltwater 5000 is now in the history books.  It was another incredible year.  To read about it, click here.

40 Top Running Books

I was recently contacted by a website that has put together this list of top running books. I didn't think much of this until I looked at some of the authors on the list....Sheehan, Noakes, Glover, Fitzgerald, Bannister, McDougall, and Burfoot are just a few of the "exhilarating" authors included on this list.  I've read most of these authors and recommend you investigate these reads, whether you're an aspiring young runner or an old dog looking for some new tricks.  Remember, regardless of your age, you're either green and growing, or ripe and rotting.  Reading prevents the latter and promotes the former.

The Pacific Crest Trail - One Day.

Today made for a good 10 miler from Big Bear Lake up Cougar Crest Trail to the Pacific Crest Trail and back.  I always enjoy running on the PCT because it's, well, so huge!  And it makes every other trail seem so small.  According to William R Gray, one of the fist to hike the entire length in one effort, the PCT is "one of the longest and most majestic hiking trails in the world". 

 I just finished Gray's book entitled The Pacific Crest Trail, a journal of his seven month odyssey along the 2,650 mile trail that stretches from the boarder of Mexico to Canada.  I'm now even more inspired to touch the southern boarder and then one day, be it over months or possibly years, but certainly after crossing mountains, deserts and forests, reach out to touch that northern Canadian line.  One day.              

From the PCT looking over Big Bear Lake.  

San Gorgonio sits in the background.

PCT southbound

2,650 Miles from one end to the other.  One day!

The Gift - A Video

The gift is a short video (music by Moby) about some special outdoor moments I was lucky enough to capture on film this year.  It contains no movie footage, only still pictures.  5,412 pictures in fact!  I hope you enjoy it.  And I hope it inspires you to get outside and look at all the amazing things that are waiting for you!  Be sure to turn the volume up because the music is awesome.

To see it on full screen click on the start arrow then click the four arrow icon next to the vimeo link at the bottom of frame.  

Please leave a comment!  ROCK IT!


The Gift from Will C on Vimeo.

Catalina Eco Marathon -- The Hardest Marathon?

Just before the starting gun of the Catalina Eco Marathon sounded yesterday,  my thoughts flashed back to a conversation I had recently with my friend Jeff P.  “Jeff what’s the most difficult marathon you’ve ever run”?, I asked.  “Oh, that would be the Catalina Eco Marathon”.  Spoken by anybody else these words wouldn’t be all that concerning.  However, these were words spoken by a man who’s run over 150 marathons.    

Runners ready, Go!  And we were off.  More than 370 of us, making our way up Avalon Canyon.  We passed right by Hermit Gulch campground,  not a notable landmark to most, but the home to four runners Rob M, Chris C, Gerry W and me the night before.  As I looked over at the empty tent #6, I thought I could still hear sounds from the night before.  Sounds?  Ok, let me just say human noises only possible after spending hours taste testing Catalina’s finest Mexican food and cervesa.  After that crescendo, the snoring, and I’m talking some weird alien sounding snoring, was actually a relief.

While steadily climbing for a couple of miles, I was getting some glances in at my heart rate monitor.  These glances turned to double takes, which isn’t a good sign when you running Jeff Ps hardest 26.2.  Oh well, I had only myself to blame, realizing that I was probably a couple of liters short on fluids at the starting line.  Call it the Catalina cantina effect.  Not recommended for PRs, course records or other breakthrough performances. 

As we crested the top of the climb, we were just shy of 1,750’, atop of one of the most scenic vantage points in all of California.  This was a day unlike most, with crystal clear skies and breathtaking  views in panorama.  To my right, across the Catalina channel, stood the Santa Ana and San Gabriel ranges.  To my left, the great expanse of the deep blue Pacific Ocean.  One of the most memorable moments for me was when Rob M and I were descending westward around mile 8 high on a ridge, and below us was an expansive view San Clemente island.  It was a once in a lifetime view of this stealthy island only visible from the mainland on the clearest of days. 

As the race wore on, we traversed a healthy mixture of ridges, canyons, truck trail and single track.  We ultimately came upon the vaunted “Crunch” hill at mile 19.  Difficult?  Yes. But a good break from a rather monotonous 3 miles following mile 16.  By the time I hit the top of the Crunch, I finally started to feel ok.   My heart was finally settling down.  I realized at that point it must have taken me 19 miles to catch up on my fluids from the night before.  Rob M and I cruised through the last few rolling miles on the Trans Catalina Trail.  At this point my second wind was in full force and I was able to pick things up through the Hermit Gulch single track trail and onto the finish line for eighth place overall.


Would I recommend the Catalina Eco Marathon?  Absolutly.  Its a beautiful course with some challenging terrain and a great team of volunteers.  Is it the most difficult marathon? I defer to Jeff P on that topic, but after living through tent #6 and the Catalina cantina effect, it now gets my vote.  

The Creepy Spider

By Charlotte C.  (Age 7)

One day there was a spider and it crawled a mean crawl.  One day a man saw that spider when he was running.  Then he poked it with a stick and it crawled away.  But it did not crawl very far because it was tired.  Then it was time to go.  So the man went home.

The End.

Where Has All the Unkown Gone?

Do you remember what you felt like before starting your first year of high school or college?   Or your first race?  The anticipation, the butterflies, the sweet taste of the unknown.     It's kind of intoxicating, I think, facing something new and outside of our comfort zone.

I remember that feeling when I was preparing for my first ultra.  It all seemed so new and different.  The training, though not too different from the marathon training I'd done for many years, just seemed more fun.  More meaningful.  The whole running experience just seemed more vivid.

Coming into my 6th year of running ultras I'm beginning to miss that fresh perspective.  The butterflies are still there, but the "newness" has faded.  My training is going well, but I know I need to take it to another level if I'm going to achieve some of the goals I've set for myself.   I know I'm capable of getting to where I want to go.  I just really want to enjoy the journey along the way.

Where for art thou unknown?

       

Touching Something Relevant

This week I reached down and touched the murky water of the Tennessee River. Where I stood, it so happens, was within eyesight of where a fierce tornado had touched down just the night before. But as I stood under the grey sky in this southern town, it wasn’t the weather I was thinking of.

Whenever I travel for work—which is a lot these days—I always try to make time to run. If I’m lucky I run to something. Nothing glamorous or famous. Just something relevant. Like a river, an ocean, a mountain, even an historic site. History and nature are all around us. They lay, I think, humbly and in waiting for us to notice them. History for sure, because history is only there for us when we want it to be.

It must be so, at least on this day, because as I leaned down to touch the river, I knew there was a story in it. But what was it? At that moment it didn’t matter, I was just enjoying being there while standing at its shore.

As I stood there I remembered visiting Gettysburg many years ago. The stories of what took place on that battlefield—gruesome stories—were difficult to hear. But there is one story I’ll never forget. It’s a story about how soldiers from both the Confederate Army and the Union Army, bloodied from the daily battles, some near death, would gather at night on opposite sides of a narrow creek, and they would wash their wounds, at peace with each other.

The place I was standing, it so happens, was part of one of the most critical battlefields of the civil war, the battle of Chattanooga. A battle that claimed more than 12,000 casualties and was the beginning of the end of the confederacy. I wonder, now, how many men could have washed their wounds on the shore where I stood?

Sometimes just touching the water can be relevant.

The Rebirth of Saltwater Website

Tradition. Pride. Friendship. Commitment.  These are the values of Saltwater, a 32 mile run from the ocean to the top of Saddleback Mt (5,600'+).  This is the rebirth or our website.  Enjoy.  Click here to go to new Saltwater website.  Please leave you comments!

Women and Boston. Unfair Advantage?

What do you girls and boys think?  Today's Wall Street Journal ran a story you should be interested in.   The question is should women get a 30 minute advantage to qualify for the Boston Marathon?  That has been the handicap to date, but is it unfair?  Now that Boston is filling up so quickly, some are saying this is unfair!  What do you think?

Click here for the link.  Please come back to this blog to leave your comments!

   

My First Barefoot Run

It's official. My first go-with-the-latest-trend barefoot run is now in the book. It was only 5 miles, with 3 on the beach and 2 on concrete. Yes, you read that correctly, concrete. All I'm going to say at this point is that I'm no "barefoot Ted" or vibram junkie, just a curious old school runner sniffing around the latest craze.

Since I just finished 5 minutes ago I'm going to have to wait to see how My feet feel tomorrow. Wait. This just in...my right big toe is feeling kind of raw.

Time for a beer.

Lightning Strikes. Not Once, but....

It’s usually the simple things—the white clouds on the horizon, the crisp red branch of the Manzanita, the amber sky of the setting sun—that nature reveals to us.  But once in a while, if you’re in the right place at the right time, she can reveal much more.  

It was around 2:30 am Saturday morning when I woke.  My heart was racing and my breath was short.  I must have been dehydrated, I thought, so I downed some water and waited to fall back to sleep.  But my heart was still active, and the darkened room lit up as I lay waiting.  But what was I waiting for?  Another flash, then another.  Finally I get up and walked out to the balcony.  Before me unfolds one of those rare moments.

A tropical depression, unusual this late in the year, was moving up the coast off southern California.  My wife and I were celebrating our 13th anniversary on the island of Catalina. I was standing on the balcony overlooking the pitch black ocean. Lightning pierced the darkness with brilliant bolts that made my hair stand on end.  One, two, three bolts.  Then multiples of that.  We stood there for two hours watching as the storm moved closer.  A fishing boat, anchored just off the shore, made a run to the mainland as the lightning closed in.

Fortunately I brought my SLR and tripod on the trip to capture some of the scenery.  For those interested I caught the lightening by setting the shutter speed to 20 to 30 seconds with the aperture set high, around 24, for maximum depth of field.  I kept shooting in the general direction of the storm and got a couple right on the money. 

Hope you enjoy the pics cause I really enjoyed taking them! 


Oh yea, I almost forgot.  I got a couple of great runs in on the Island as well! 

Tropical System The Day Before -- Humid! 

Hey, its our 13th!

Pre Fish Tour

Cycling's Dilema

The sport of cycling continues to struggle with it's past, present and future ills in its battle with doping. Here's the latest debacle that has surfaced on the current Tour de France champion, Alberto Contador.

Click here to see article.

Trail Buddies

Ever see dragonflies on trail?  I do all the time.  I never knew they were so cool looking up close and personal.  This gal let me get pretty close to get some shots of her.  Did you know she eats mosquitoes?

The Trail Ahead

After a long, lazy summer I recently began picking up my mileage again.  There are times when I’m really focused and turn my attention to running, and there are times I drift away from that.  This summer I drifted.  And I enjoyed every minute of it!  It was refreshing just to be able to wake up in the morning on a weekend and not even think about running.  I need that every so often. 

Last week I ran over 40 miles for the first time since Western States.  My fitness is actually pretty good, which I’m pleased with given the time off I’ve had.  On the other hand, I didn’t refrain from running entirely, and when I have run I’ve been able to focus more on quality.  Hills, stride outs and a few intervals a couple times a week have helped me hang on to a little fitness over the summer months.

But fall is here now, and I’m looking forward to trying some new things this season with my training.  I’ve started running on the track with Snails Pace, an Orange County running club that has been around forever.  I haven’t run on the track consistently for over 10 years and I’m anxious to see how it will impact my training and racing in ultra events.  One caution I’ve given myself is TAKE IT EASY OUT THERE!  The track is notorious for causing injuries and, as a victim of it, I’m very aware of this. 

Another spin I’m trying is instead of just running long (and slow) on the weekends, I’m going to put more emphasis on quality by shortening up my long run but also push the pace a little.  Last week I ran with my WS pacer Rob M and we pushed a lot of hills and straights.  While I was out of my comfort zone for much of the run, I was pleased that I was able to recover during the run even after some of the more difficult sections.

So what is next?  I’m looking at a trail marathon this fall which will set me up well for next year’s ultra season, now only just around the corner.  As for which races to run, I’m still pondering that.  My gut tells me not to do Western States again, maybe try another 100 miler, but my heart isn’t quite sure.  In any event, I’m looking forward to running some fun races in 2011, and I’m as enticed as ever by the trail ahead!