Race Recaps

Race date: September 21, 2024  It’s 8 PM and I am parked in Ken’s Field. No, it isn’t a famous baseball stadium, like Wrigley Field. It’s a field of weeds and sage brush across the street from the Richfield Flying J. “$3.49,” the price for unleaded, glows at me in giant, red letters. Ken’s Field is owned by the race director, and he allows race participants to camp here for the night. I took him up on it. It’s kind of hot, boxed inside my car, but if I roll the windows down I get the noise from the Flying J. I settle for the noise.  I awake early and look forward to a pleasant morning of stretching and other race preparations. As I get dressed there’s a small hiccup. I can’t find my socks! The more I run trail races, the more I realize it's a sport of logistics. I had brought two pairs; one to be placed inside a drop bag at Aid Station 5, about 36 miles in, in case my feet called for a fresh set. Drop bags are what racers can place belongings in and have available to them at specif

  Race date: August 24, 2024  A race starts the night before, I keep finding out as I lay in bed, trying to fall asleep. Like intruders, in come new thoughts about race preparations. On my pillow I rethink my water strategy, and decide to bring my 1.5 L back bladder, in addition to my 500 ML front vest bottles. Good thing, too, because while the first aid station is only 4.75 miles from the start, it is also over 3,300 feet in elevation from the start.  Slow, time-consuming miles consume more water. It's a small race - 16 of us gather in the dark at 5:20 AM for the race briefing. I've only run one other race in the dark, last year, and my headlamp had a lousy strap. It kept bouncing on my head. For this race I bring a smaller, lighter one we've had in the camping box for years. I tested it in a closet at home, and it seemed fine, but out in the open wilderness it's no brighter than the half moon above. I lock step with a guy in front of me who has a good headlamp and ta