Palo Duro 50 Mile Run, Palo Duro Canyon, TX

Three 50 mile races in 14 days! Despite being tired and a little achy,every foot step is a blessing. Especially when that footstep narrowly missed a tarantula crawling across the race course of the beautiful Palo Duro 50 mile ultramarathon in Palo Duro Canyon, TX, which is just outside of Amarillo , TX. They say they make things BIG in Texas. This must include the spiders.

I managed to tie for third place, along side a friend and running partner of mine. Although bad weather and poor traveling conditions forced me to stay put for my fourth planned 50 miler, I still plan on running at least two more races of at least marathon distance before the year is out.

Here are some cool photos of what the locals call the "Grand Canyon of Texas."

#2 Le Grizz 50 Mile Ultra Hungry Horse, MT

I love the Le Grizz 50 Mile Ultramarathon! The scenery is spectacular, the RD is very nice, and the course is runnable, and if you are looking to PR at a 50, this is a good course for that.

This year's race presented quite a challenge. A cold front moved through, and it was zero at the start! Hard to believe that I was running in a lush, warm, deciduous forest just seven days ago, and now I was standing in the middle of a boreal forest on an icey, snow covered road. What was even more amazing was that a record number of people showed up at the start! Including an 83 year old man, and a man who ran the race now 28 times! There goes my "now that I am approaching 40 I can slow down a bit " excuse.....

My quads were hammered from Tussey, and I was getting over a cold, but I still managed to finish in 9 hours and 39 minutes, with the help of my husband, and mom, dad, and youngest, (most lovely) sister, who came up to beautiful Hungry Horse Montana to crew and cheer me on. Thanks you guys!!!

Here are some pictures of the coldest le grizz 50 Mile Ultramarathon on record.

Four 50 Mile Runs in One Month. #1 Tussey Mountainback

The Tussey Mountainback 50 Mile Ultramarathon in Boalsburg, PA was the first of what will hopefully be four 50 miles ultra-marathons in the month of October.

Fall colors and temperatures in the mid 60's and low 70's greeted my crew and I along this moderately difficult course. But the fall colors of Pennsylvania helped make up for any discomfort,( and there was quite a bit) along with great race organization and one very fat timber rattlesnake. I read that a rattle snake's venom is more potent in the fall, and that over the past few decades, their venom has become more toxic. I don't care to find out!

I ended up finishing third female overall, in 7 hours and 56 minutes. Here are some pictures of this beautiful, hilly course.

Lots of Running!

My how the summer has flown! Before I knew it, it was time for the infamous Leadville Trail 100, Augst 22nd and 23rd. With the help of two dedicated crew members, I managed to cross the finish line just under the 30 hour cut-off in a time of 29:40:16. As far as I am concerned, any time is a good time at Leadville, provided that you finish!

Just two weeks later, I ran a PR at the beautiful American Discovery Trail Marathon in Colorado Springs, CO. I crossed the finish line in 2nd place overall in the women's division, in a time of 3:26:00. My goal was to break 3:30:00, and I did. I really believe that if you believe you can do something, and you train hard for it, you can accomplish it.

Less than a week later, I came in 2nd place yet again at the lovely Mountain Air Marathon. This marathon takes place in lovely Crested Butte, CO., and goes to Gunnison, CO. It starts at 8800 feet, and runs down to 7700 feet. You couldn't ask for a nicer race director, and the post race food and awards were a nice ending to another beautiful day in the mountains. Tim too had a nice time when he got to go fly fishing on the way home.

Its Been a While.....

It has been quite a while since I updated my blog. Since my last post I have been all over the country, following or running races.

Here are some pictures from the Barr Trail Mountain Race, in Manitou Springs, CO. I was fortunate enough to be a volunteer in this unique race, where all the race's proceeds go back to the mountain, and supports local schools. The day before, I was breathless in Leadville , CO, where I ran the Mosquito Pass Marathon. As usual, I was treated to wonderful Leadville weather.

Just two weeks later, I got to run the scenic Silver Rush 50 Mile Trail Run, again in Leadville. Despite a slower than anticipated time, I still had fun, and once again was treated to wonderful Leadville weather, (rain, lightening, hail, thunder, temperature variations, all above 10,000 feet!)

Just one day later, after running and freezing in a hail and lightening storm in Leadville, I was in Death valley, where is was over 120 degrees. It was nice watching the runners from all over the world run and finish the badwater 135. Have to admit, I felt myself wanting to run it again next year........

Soon, I will find myself on the summit of Pikes Peak, as a runner and volunteer for the Pikes Peak Ascent next weekend. You knw you are ready for the Leadville Trail 100 when a training run consists of a run up a 14,000+ feet mountain. lets hope all the runners and volunteers have better weather than last year! There's me, breathless on a training run in Leadville, on Sugar Loaf.

Owls!!

This afternoon, my husband and I decided we would once again go "owling". Owling is a word we made up for wondering around whatever military base we are assigned, and try and take pictures of owls of various sorts. Although we created a bit of a stir with some well meaning MP's, who took their job of keeping the base and its secrets secure very seriously, ( a big thank you to them for doing such a great job and serving their country))they seemed amused that an "old couple", (hey, Tim's 40, and I almost am. Old to those in their early twenties) would actually go out and take pictures of owls. The following pictures of cute, little burrowing owls, who couldn't wait for Tim and I to leave them alone.

Every Foot Step is a Blessing......

It has been a while, but here are some photos of some of the races I have run since that 100km in April. Most of them have been training runs for the fast approaching Leadville Trail 100, but despite having a 50 miler on my legs just one week earlier (Squaw Peak 50 in Orem, UT), and a fast 15 mile run the day before, I managed to take third place female overall at the Estes Peak marathon. The Estes Park marathon is one of my favorite marathons to run. It is so beautiful, with great support from the whole community from start to finish, and a friendly race director who loves running.

If you haven't run the Joe Colton races, you are missing out. It is absolutely beautiful, with races of various distances for all runners, and their families. A series of folk music bands played great music out along the course, in the background was the sound of a very spirited Rocky mountain stream. Snow capped mountains, blue birds, and swallows greated the runners too. Great food, a raffle, and more music greated the runners and families at the finish. I ran it on June 13th, taking 6th woman, a slight improvement from last year, and my husband ran it with me.

The next morning I ran the Estes Park Marathon. It is very hilly, with some very prolonged climbs at over 7000 feet in elevation, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. For the women's field, it ended up being a 26.2 mile cat fight between the four leading ladies. Although I was in second place for the first 17 miles, my tired legs just couldn't keep the pace, and I dropped to third. When my husband shouted out to me that the fourth place woman was gaining on me, and she was in her twenties, I was like, "hell no!" and took off, beating her by less than a minute, coming in third. All four of us were less than 2 and 1/2 minutes apart.

A big thank you to the Marshall family for their hospitality, and Tim's family for being there along the course to cheer me on, and for being there at the finish, at one of the most competitive and intense marathons I have run.

Here are some pictures of the past few weeks races: