This past year my dad and I created a 250 mile running route that starts in Holcomb Valley CA (right outside of Big Bear) and ends in the Las Vegas area.  It has been a blast going on 4 wheel drive expeditions to map the course.  I have, literally, been out in the middle of nowhere exploring and having the time of my life.  Being able to pull my experiences as an athlete and a coach together to create an event has been an incredible opportunity.  And to have the good fortune to do it with my dad has been more than I could ask for.  This past weekend my cup was filled to the brim with happiness because after all of the long, hard hours put in creating the course I finally got to share it with some running friends!

Friday morning we flew out of a snow covered Denver and landed in a drier, warmer Las Vegas.  After eating a famous Double Double and fries from In N Out Burger we hit the road to drive up to Big Bear.  Nicole was going to run the first 2 legs of the relay which leave from Holcomb Valley.  This winter Big Bear has received record amounts of snow (still nothing compared to Denver, but if you aren’t used to the snow dumping on you it is challenging) so there was no way she could run and navigate through the wintry mountain conditions.  The boys at the OMYA Mine also said their operations were currently shutdown due to icy conditions.  Staying in Big Bear was still more attractive to me than staying in Barstow regardless of Nicole not being able to run there.  We had an interesting dinner and an even more interesting trip to the local Vons grocery store.  Apparently, Big Bear’s forecast was calling for 1-3 inches of snow and EVERYBODY!! in Big Bear decided they needed to stock up on frozen pizza and booze.  The checkout line literally went from one end of the store to the other end.  Nicole and I got Starbucks Chai’s and chilled in line giggling.  Poor Randi was nervous about running 35 miles in the morning and the prospect of snow preventing us from getting down the mountain was not making her feel comfortable!

Randi hopped a flight with me to another state and was willing to run in the middle of nowhere on her longest run to date with a support crew she had never met.  I appreciate that she trusted me enough to take a giant leap of faith into the unknown and to do it with a 35 mile run on the agenda is pretty brave!   This distance was on her schedule as a training run for the 50 mile run she will be doing in Florida in April, so it proved to be great training for what lies ahead.  We managed without incident to get down the mountain in spite of the dusting of snow Big Bear did receive and after meeting up with my dad, Sid, and Marcy we sent Randi off running to Route 66 via the southern powerline road located off Camp Rock in Lucerne Valley.  Randi ran legs 4-9 and rated them as challenging to moderately challenging.   READ ABOUT RANDI’S RUN HERE

Nicole, my dad, and I hopped back in the car and made the 4 hour drive to New York Mountain Road in the Mojave National Preserve.  Nicole and I ran one of my favorite parts of the course.  It is an 8 mile point to point section that ambles through the desert.  I had initially rated the section as difficult due to the footing and the terrain.  However, we decided the run was pretty easy.  In fact, it was great because it was slightly rolling and the footing changed so frequently that we were forced to change our stride often.  It was a blast running in complete solitude.  The really cool thing about this course is feeling that you are miles and miles away from civilization, which, to a certain degree you are, but if you were to get in trouble during the event help is only 2-3 miles away.   After our run we scoped out a new section on the course which makes a loop in front of the Crescent Peaks mountain range.  We decided this is where we would run the following day with Keith and Kari who would arrive later in the day because they drove from Denver.

Keith and Kari arrived in Vegas as we were finishing dinner.  The drive through the Rocky Mountains and all the way through Utah proved brutal in the wintery conditions.  As I have mentioned before, Keith is a stud!  Even though driving conditions were rough, Keith proved faithful once again and pressed on through the snowy drive to come help me and bring another runner with him.  The driving in Vegas was much better…we had a blast getting to our running destination for the day.  Nicole, Kari, Keith, and I headed into the mountains for leg 29.  It was TOUGH and 10.3 mile total!!  This one  ranked as very challenging during the first half.  It was uphill all the way to the top of the range.  Once reaching the peak we all stopped for a minute to take in the view we had worked so hard to get to and decided it was well worth it.  In fact, we named this leg the “We Love It” leg of the race.  The second half was downhill back to Walking Box Ranch so we all picked up the pace and enjoyed the run back.  After talking with my dad I discovered we were a little off course, but I have decided I want this leg on the route so it will be incorporated into the maps.

Back at the hotel we chilled in the hot tub drinking great wine Keith brought while waiting for pizzas to be delivered.  All in all, this was an awesome trip and I learned a lot about being a race director.  I think the part I like most is being able to solve problems as they come.  Nicole wasn’t able to run the portion I had originally planned and one of the drivers scheduled to help was unable to make it, so I had to switch gears and come up with a solution on the fly.  It was exciting because I was able to use the tools I have collected as an athlete and coach  The Arizona course has to be pre run and I have a couple of ideas of how to get it done a little differently based on what I learned from this trip.  Again, I am humbled by the kindness of my friends.  Nicole, Kari, Randi, and Keith all put this weekend aside to help me put on a successful event.  The feedback received from them, I’m sure, will prove invaluable.   One last note, I have to remember to incorporate a lesson I re-learned on this trip into my marketing strategy:  People who run together form intimate bonds with one another.   Human beings are social creatures.  We are seeking close, intimate relationships with others.  When you run with others you are caring for someone else, you share food and drink, you look out for one another, you listen to stories and experiences.  Pardon this, but you pass gas,burp, farmer blow, go to the bathroom, and sometimes throw up.  Sometimes you both have kick ass runs and celebrate with one another and other times one of you struggles and the other nurtures you along.  The bonds created during running are really special.

Moab is AMAZING!   I remember people talking about Moab and how much they loved the little town and I would always think that someday I would get to go discover my own Moab.  In the last few years I have been to Moab several times and each time I go I find a new reason to love it.  This time I discovered a snow covered wonderland.  The patches of snow atop the red dirt and the snow covered La Sals produced an incredible back drop for running and biking.  Moab has incredible scenery and running through its wide open spaces is one of my treasured things to do. And, for me, getting dirty is, by far, my most favorite part of  trail running.  The snow combined with warmer mid morning temperatures created perfect “getting dirty” conditions.  Even though I missed getting signed up for the Moab Red Hot 50K I didn’t want that to stop me from going on another Moab adventure.   So I headed out  with the coolest, or should I say the hottest, ultra runners out there: goSonja,who really isn’t an ultra runner (yeah right) but is a triathlete,  SUPER-STUD RUNNER Keith, and, for the first time on one of my adventures, my new beau.  So you know, my new beau is AWESOME!! He is an all-around athlete: swimmer, cyclist, runner, soccer player…and mountain biker.  When presented with the idea of going to Moab for a weekend the mountain biker in him came out loud and clear.  ”How can you go to Moab and not bring your mountain bike?” he asked.  ”Well”, I replied, “it is easy not to bring your mountain bike to Moab when you do not own one.”  Because he is AWESOME he was fine with not being able to mountain bike on the trip.  I will let you in on a little secret…I was glad he was alright not mountain biking because I was a little scared to do something new with a new beau!   Because you know, a long time ago I tried to climb the Colorado Trail on an ancient mountain bike with 1 big gear in the front and 3 not so small gears in the back. Visions of that experience were running rampant in my head as soon as mountain biking was mentioned, so I said, “I don’t really like mountain biking.”  That experience made me feel like I hated mountain biking.  I couldn’t navigate any obstacles because I did not have an easy enough gear.  I had to get off the bike and walk it up the mountain.  It SUCKED! But…as luck might have it, super-stud Keith owns two mountain bikes and ended up asking me if I would like to borrow one since I wasn’t racing.   My first response to bringing Keith’s mountain bike was, “No thank you.”   Once I thought for a moment about all the incredible things my new beau does for me, like going to Moab and trail running when he has never trail run, and with me that are outside of his comfort zone, I decided to call Keith back and request that he bring his mountain bike for me cuz I was going to step into the uncomfortable, possibly embarrassing zone and mountain bike in Moab.  So the plans were laid:  The new beau and I would support Sonja and Keith for their 50K and we would go on a running adventure followed by a mountain biking adventure.

Let me just say, the weekend was AWESOME!!    The glittering white snow was a stark contrast to the red cliffs and made running and biking even more of an adventure!  After sending Sonja and Keith off on their 50K, NB (new Beau) and I set off on our 13 mile run.  We ran most of the way up the Gemini Bridges Trail and stopped and waited for the Red Hot 33Kers to make their way to us.  It was amazing how quickly some of them ran up the hill through the snow.  They all looked so calm and relaxed…but FAST!!  After the majority of the runners passed us we were off to go see if we could find our 50K runners.  The day turned into a pleasant 30 or so degrees and the sun was warming the ground, melting the snow, and making me excited cuz I was getting dirty!   Through a little canyon, up another hill and around a bend we encountered the first of the 50K runners heading back toward mile 17.  These guys are uber FAST!   We didn’t get to see our pals and decided if we were going to get a mountain bike ride in we needed to head back, eat some lunch, and get out to the Poison Spider Trailhead where the race was finishing.  Yeah, I ran 13 miles, ate lunch, changed, and drove 15 minutes to the finish line of the race while my friends were running, running, running!  That is the craziness of ultra running!  There were lots of spectators and finishers from the race by the time we got there.  I have to admit, I was nervous to plunk myself onto the bike and climb a hill in front of all of these people!  Here is what I had been reading about the Poison Spider Trail:

“The Poison Spider Mesa trail is one of the “Must Do” rides of Moab. Combining physically demanding biking challenges with great views, this trail is for expert bikers.“

Like I said earlier, I have NEVER mountain biked and here I was at the trailhead of an EXPERT TRAIL on a bike that I have never ridden.  After seeing Sonja run in to a 3rd place overall women’s finish, I sucked it up and plunked my ass down on the saddle and went for it.  Up the hill I went.  Keith loaned me his full suspension Santa Cruz Blur and I was blown away!  Going up the hills was almost easy.  As long as I followed a good line and managed my power output in areas the bike just cruised up all the crazy stuff.  Don’t get me wrong, it was hard!  Having never mountain biked there were many things that crossed my path that I did not know how to navigate.  My fearless guide was great and would tell me how to get over things and on I would go.  I fell down a couple of times just learning what to do and what not to do and found myself laughing.  I think I could laugh because I became confident that with more experience I could so totally mountain bike!  I’m so glad I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try something new.  I could totally get into this thing called mountain biking!!  We found Keith with about 2.5-3 miles left to go, and, let me just tell you, Keith is a STUD!!  He is one of the people in my world who I know if I needed something he would be there in a heartbeat.  This man is one of the treasures in the world and I am so honored to have him as a friend.  After biking for awhile we needed to head back to the hotel because darkness would be upon us soon.  We rode the pavement back to the hotel on the mountain bikes…that was interesting!  Having the full suspension on the road is funny.  There is so much up and down movement combined with the forward movement of the bike that I found myself working a touch to maintain 10mph!

We finished the weekend off with a soak in the hot tub, a dinner that filled the empty spot in our bellies, and enjoyed conversation at the post race party.  It was a great weekend and not once did I feel bummed about not racing!  The excitement of seeing friends race and being able to be there to cheer them on and help at the end of a long day left me feeling fulfilled.  Combine this with spending the weekend with an incredible man who totally digs me made the trip even more perfect. I spent the entire time relishing in the amazing beauty of the world.  I enjoyed my run, got really muddy while doing it, and I got to introduce NB to trail running.  He got to experience one of the things I am passionate about and he fell in love with it too.  The coolest part of the weekend was creating a new story about mountain biking.   With the right equipment and and someone guiding you through the tough stuff scary things become a little easier and a lot more fun!  Thanks to all of my friends for great adventures—To see a great review and a great video of the Red Hot 50K visit GoSonja-Get Outside!