I promised you some details on my last “race,” the Rocky Peak 30k in Simi Valley. I put that in parenthesis because when it came to setting goals for the day the only one I set was to enjoy the company and the trails. That sounds a little corny and maybe even disingenuous if you are the suspicious type but that’s all I wanted from the day.
With dizziness and super bright vision I knew it was time to call the race.
This was my fourth time running the Bulldog 25K at Malibu Creek State Park and I know what it takes to get it done. This time a finish was not in the cards. Had I made it out of the Corral Canyon aid station there is a possibility that I could have stumbled about along the trail, as I have done in other races that I got done, but this time I felt the chances of getting hurt or causing an extraordinary burden on rescue workers was too high.
Waking up on Monday morning I all of a sudden felt a rush of memories from the Leona Divide 30K race. The high heat and carnage out on the trails led to many adventures and acts of courage and stubbornness. I must admit that once again I was physically under trained for this race and …
I’m walking in a room and it’s filled with mud. There are walls everywhere but I know that somewhere there is a door. I just have to keep moving and walking until I find it. No, it’s not a bad dream. That was my Sean O’Brien Marathon race on Saturday, February 4th at Malibu Creek. …
Somewhere There Is A Door – Sean O’Brien Marathon 2017 Race Recap Read More »
When race director Keira Henninger sent out the 30K race email and said that the expected high for the day would be 70 degrees F I knew that I had a chance to get it done at the Ray Miller 30K race. After last year’s crash and burn, a finish would be huge. Leading …
Adventure Vacations for Marathoners
by
Walter Rhein
When you’re compelled to run marathons, few days go by when you don’t think about your upcoming race. Whether the event is twelve months or twelve days away, your schedule is influenced by the upcoming test. Every waking moment is dominated by thoughts of the food you eat, the hours you sleep, and the arduous training that never seems to be enough. In the midst of all that intensity, it can be difficult to find a way to spend quality time with the people you care about.
The Bulldog race at Malibu Creek State Park is not easy, whether you attempt the 25k or the two-loop 50k ultra. If you do things right you reach a certain level of pain as you negotiate the seemingly interminable Bulldog Rd. that goes on for 3.2 miles and nets you over 1,7oo ft of elevation gain for an average grade of 10%. Basically, Bulldog Rd. haunts my dreams and it’s because of that that I always look forward to the challenge of taking it on during a race.
There are a few beautiful moments in one’s life when things just seem to be humming along and we are in synch with our environment. The Leona Divide 50k race day was one of those rare instances where everything seemed to click. Just like we have good hair days or an I-fit-in-my-skinny-jeans-days, this day just worked from the start.
If you arrived here from the Ventura County Elections page then you may be thinking that you got to the wrong page but you didn’t.
I “pulled papers” and am running for the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee for District 3. Yeah, that’s a mouthful. Basically, I want to be a part of the group that helps support progressive causes in a collaborative and nurturing way.
Well, here I am again, explaining why I DNF’d a race. I attempted to race the Ray Miller 50k in Malibu and ended up running out of gas on Hell Hill, unable to even complete the 30k.
By this time people aren’t asking “What happened out there?” They’re just saying “Oh, you’ll get the next one” and moving on. They’ve heard it all before.
But, as a blogger and trail runner it’s my duty to document what happened and hope that others out there will learn from what went right and from what went wrong.
