Run It Fast®

The Strolling Jim 40 Miler was the very first ultra I ran back in 2010. At the time I didn’t know another human on the planet that had run beyond the traditional marathon distance of 26.2 miles. I also didn’t know, in selecting The Jim, that I had selected one of the oldest and most historical ultras in the United States to attempt as my very first one.

This year was my 5th consecutive year running the SJ40. It’s held annually in the small town of Wartrace, Tennessee and consists of 41.2 miles on some of the most beautiful, scenic and rolling, green hills in the United States.

The race director’s for this year’s race were Steve Durbin (also RD for RUTS, Land Between the Lakes, Tunnel Hill 100) and Lazarus Lake (creator of the Strolling Jim 40, Barkley Marathon, and The Last Annual Vol State 500K).

The weather for this race is usually warm to very hot on the thermometer. This year, however, it was about 50 degrees at the start and only got up towards 80 degrees at the hottest part of the day. Most of the runners had already finished with temps in the mid 70’s.

I met many good friends before the start of the race including over 20 members of Run It Fast, posed for a few photos, used the facilities, and checked my two drop bags before the race quietly started at 7am.

I went in wanting to run well but also wanting to run smart knowing I had to run a 81 mile team race two days later at the Badwater: Salton Sea 81 Miler and do a double crossing at the Grand Canyon (R2R2R) two days after that. My plan was to go out at a strong pace and keep to it as long as all systems were in check.

Five miles into the race and then ten miles into the race I found myself in a large pack of very good runners consisting of Joe Fejes, DeWayne Satterfield, Dink Taylor, David Jones, Tom Possert, Jobie Williams and several others that was just a short distance behind the overall race leaders. 13-15 miles in to the race I was still in this pack and normally it would have been a sign that I had gone out too fast, but for the most part I had been running within myself and enjoyed the company and opportunity to catch up with several of the guys along the way.

Strolling Jim consists of rolling hills after rolling hill with four major climbs coming at mile 9, 19, 23, and 29.

Around mile 23 I was passed by the first female at the time, Natalie Pickett, just a few moments later I look behind me and realize I’m in the middle of a ‘chick’d sandwich’ as Aleisha Chaffin was on my tail. I was only in this spot briefly as the lower bun quickly passed and both pieces of bread left me in a carb free zone in their wake.

I struggled from miles 17 to 32. My stomach was a bit off, and I just felt a bit funny in general. I couldn’t really put my finger on what it was exactly. My ankles started to hurt in the new Hoka One One Conquests I had started the race wearing. My goal became to make it to mile 28 and switch into the Hoka Bondi Speeds.  This was unrelated to my stomach but did cure my ankles. A couple of miles after this I was able to use the restroom and things started to look and feel better while I was running in ‘The Walls.’

Most runners dread ‘The Walls’ at SJ40 that start at mile 29 and go on for several miles. I like the shade coverage the trees provide and the solace that those miles give as the field is usually extremely spread out at that point. I came alive around mile 33 and started to catch a handful of runners that had passed me 15-20 miles ago. My mile splits kept getting faster as I caught Possert and Michael Lepley around mile 38.

As fast as I was moving, it wasn’t fast enough to hold off Brooke McClanahan who passed me around mile 39 as the third female. She was moving extremely well and ended up finishing 4 minutes ahead of me.

When things were bad I had given up on a PR here or even breaking 6:30. My goal was to do what I could to hold onto a sub-7 hour finish that would get me my second consecutive red shirt. But as I felt better and better over those last miles my pace increased and I started to realize a 6:20 was possible, and if I pushed even harder and shaved more time over the last 3 miles I could potentially have a new PR.

I dug deep and finished in 6:12:35 with a new PR. I was pleased yet still curious what I could have done without that long rough stretch. Maybe if everything lines up perfectly next year a sub-6 might be possible.

Here is a look at my finishes over the past 5 years:

• 2014: 6:12:35
• 2013: 6:15:50
• 2012: 7:34:43
• 2011: 7:04:32
• 2010: 7:38:00

One of the best parts of SJ40 is the post race feast. It always consists of bar-b-qued chicken, baked beans, and potato salad. It’s a place where war stories are told from years past and that took place over the previous 41.2 miles.

The Strolling Jim 40 Miler remains one of my favorite races. I hope to continue to go back year after year as long as it’s possible.

– joshua holmes

#runitfast

This is the finisher’s medal for the Strolling Jim 40 Mile/20 Mile Run that took place on May 3, 2014 in Wartrace, Tennessee.

Here’s another view of the medal:

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medals submitted by RIF #4 Marj Mitchell – follow her on Twitter @marathonmarj and by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes – follow him on Twitter @bayou]

RIF #121 Ed "The Jester" Ettinghausen

March saw a big increase in points for many of our top 10 runners and a few new additions to the top 3.

RIF #121 Ed Ettinghausen is still in the lead with 743.8 points! Ed, the Jester, is followed by RIF #279 George Southgate in second with 434.3 points and RIF #1 Joshua Holmes is now in third with 385.8 points. They are also the top 3 on the Men’s Leaderboard.

RIF #323 Jennifer Hatcher leads the women with 298.9 points. Jennifer is now followed by RIF #287 Carol Earles in second with 295.4 points and RIF #280 Suzy Michelson in third with 175.3 points.

Here are the full standings through March 2014:

Top Ten Leaderboard
1. Ed Ettinghausen – 743.8 (RIF #121)
2. George Southgate – 434.3 (RIF #279)
3. Joshua Holmes – 385.8 (RIF #1)
4. John Kent Leighton – 345.8 (RIF #190)
5. Jennifer Hatcher – 298.9 (RIF #323)
6. Carol Earles – 295.4 (RIF #287)
7. Bill Wells – 293 (RIF #327)
8. Denis McCarthy – 271.32057 (RIF #263)
9. Rob Distante – 255.805 (RIF #259)
10. Hideki Kinoshita – 245.4 (RIF #88)

Men’s Leaderboard
1. Ed Ettinghausen – 743.8 (RIF #121)
2. George Southgate – 434.3 (RIF #279)
3. Joshua Holmes – 385.8 (RIF #1)
4. John Kent Leighton – 345.8 (RIF #190)
5. Bill Wells – 293 (RIF #327)
6. Denis McCarthy – 271.32057 (RIF #263)
7. Rob Distante – 255.805 (RIF #259)
8. Hideki Kinoshita – 245.4 (RIF #88)
9. Danny Staggs – 242.7 (RIF #186)
10. Ben Pennington – 140.6 (RIF #315)
11. Jeff Le – 138.2 (RIF #248)
12. Eric Spencer – 121.23 (RIF #320)
13. Nathan Bass – 106.8 (RIF #174)
14. Jeff Liu – 82.4 (RIF #275)
15. Bill Baker – 79.3 (RIF #196)
13. Shane Tucker – 58.05 (RIF #337)
17. Jeff Van Demark – 57.9 (RIF #322)
18. Arland Blanton – 55.5 (RIF #290)
19. Alex Barrientos – 41.7 (RIF #258)
20. Dennis Arriaga – 39.3 (RIF #140)
21. Stephen Griffin – 26.2 (RIF #48)
22. Jason Scott – 26.2 (RIF #265)
23. Robin Robbins – 19.3 (RIF #33)
24. Steven Reagan – 16.2 (RIF #157)

Women’s Leaderboard
1. Jennifer Hatcher – 298.9 (RIF #323)
2. Carol Earles – 295.4 (RIF #287)
3. Suzanne Michelson – 175.3 (RIF #280)
4. Donna England – 155.8 (RIF #277)
5. Amber Goetz-Bouchard – 146.6 (RIF #15)
6. Robin Mancinelli – 138.6 (RIF #134)
7. Amanda Staggs – 122.7 (RIF #210)
8. Christy Scott – 119.2 (RIF #231)
9. Kim Crowe – 112.3 (RIF #245)
10. Christy Bowers – 95.27 (RIF #60)
11. Alicia Eno – 86.7 (RIF #126)
12. Marj Mitchell – 47.2 (RIF #4)
13. Kristen Love – 26.2 (RIF #238)
14. Tiffani Glass – 26.2 (RIF #328)
15. Natalie Torres – 13.1 (RIF #72)

Here is what all of the individual Races Leaderboards look like:

Looks like spring racing is in full swing! Good luck everyone and Run It Fast!

This month’s  winners of the random drawing was RIF #263 Denis McCarthy! Congratulations!

Details on joining Run It Fast – The Club

[Extreme Racer points are rewarded per each racing mile completed. Example: marathon = 26.2 points, half marathon 13.1 points, etc.]

[photo from Lisa Gonzales]

RIF #121 Ed Ettinghausen

We are a little late getting started but Extreme Racer 2014 is off and running!

RIF #121 Ed Ettinghausen is in the lead with 300 points! Ed, the Jester, is followed by RIF #279 George Southgate in second with 292.3 points and RIF #259 Rob Distante in third with 255.805 points. They are also the top 3 on the Men’s Leaderboard.

RIF #323 Jennifer Hatcher leads the women with 194.1 points. Jennifer is followed by RIF #277 Donna England in second with 118.6 points and RIF #231 Christy Scott in third with 113 points.

Here are the full standings through February 2014:

Top Ten
1. Ed Ettinghausen – 300 (RIF #121)
2. George Southgate – 292.3 (RIF #279)
3. Rob Distante – 255.805 (RIF #259)
4. Hideki Kinoshita – 245.4 (RIF #88)
5. Joshua Holmes – 209.6 (RIF #1)
6. John Kent Leighton – 206.1 (RIF #190)
7. Jennifer Hatcher – 194.1 (RIF #323)
8. Danny Staggs – 139.3 (RIF #186)
9. Bill Wells – 135.8 (RIF #327)
10. Eric Spencer – 121.23 (RIF #320)

Women’s Leaderboard
1. Jennifer Hatcher – 194.1 (RIF #323)
2. Donna England – 118.6 (RIF #277)
3. Christy Scott – 113 (RIF #231)
4. Robin Mancinelli – 112.4 (RIF #134)
5. Kim Crowe – 112.3 (RIF #245)
6. Suzanne Spiceland – 91.7 (RIF #280)
7. Amber Goetz – 82.2 (RIF #15)
8. Christy Bowers – 71 (RIF #60)
9. Amanda Staggs – 57.2 (RIF #210)
10. Natalie Torres – 13.1 (RIF #72)

Men’s Leaderboard
1. Ed Ettinghausen – 300 (RIF #121)
2. George Southgate – 292.3 (RIF #279)
3. Rob Distante – 255.805 (RIF #259)
4. Hideki Kinoshita – 245.4 (RIF #88)
5. Joshua Holmes – 209.6 (RIF #1)
6. John Kent Leighton – 206.1 (RIF #190)
7. Danny Staggs – 139.3 (RIF #186)
8. Bill Wells – 135.8 (RIF #327)
9. Eric Spencer – 121.23 (RIF #320)
10. Denis McCarthy – 114.12057 (RIF #263)
11. Jeff Le – 107.2 (RIF #248)
12. Jeff Liu – 82.4 (RIF #275)
13. Ben Pennington – 62 (RIF #315)
14. Nathan Bass – 44.1 (RIF #174)
15. Alex Barrientos – 41.7 (RIF #258)
16. Jeff Van Demark – 41.7 (RIF #322)
17. Stephen Griffin – 26.2 (RIF #48)
18. Dennis Arriaga – 26.2 (RIF #140)
19. Robin Robbins – 6.2 (RIF #33)
20. Steven Reagan – 3.1 (RIF #157)
21. Bill Baker – 3.1 (RIF #196)

This has been a tough winter for racing but now that spring is here…mostly…racing should be kicking into high gear! Good luck RIFers and Run It Fast!

Since we didn’t do a January post, we picked 2 names for our drawing winners from the submissions for January and February. This month’s  winners of the random drawings are RIF #15 Amber Goetz and RIF #248 Jeff Le! Congratulations!

Details on joining Run It Fast – The Club

[Extreme Racer points are rewarded per each racing mile completed. Example: marathon = 26.2 points, half marathon 13.1 points, etc.]

[photo from Lisa Gonzales]

This is the finisher’s medal for the Bandit 50K that was held on February 16, 2014 in Simi Valley, California.

Fun medal for a tough race! Congratulations to RIF #1 Joshua for running a 30 minute PR for this race. You can read his race recap here:  Mugged by the Bandit 50K (Race Report)

And it’s Joshua’s birthday! Happy Birthday Josh!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal submitted by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes. Follow him on Twitter @bayou]

Bandit 50K Race Report – February 16, 2014 

I decided a couple of days ago to run the Bandit 50K once again. It’s about 35 minutes away in Simi Valley, California. Last year it beat me up, ran over me, then spit on me finishing in 6:32:28. So this year I wanted to beat that. I was relatively fresh going in but aware that the temperatures could once again top 80.

The Bandit 50K is one of the toughest 50K’s in the U.S. and the toughest I’ve done to date. It climbs nearly 1,750 feet from mile 1.5 to 4.5. The total elevation gain for the race is around 6,500 feet with the same amount of descent for about 13k in total elevation change. The course is totally in the open without cover and really heats up the last 20 miles.

I ran and hiked pretty well for those first 4-5 miles up the first big climb before falling and hitting my left knee hard on the stone floor. It took a bit of time for it to feel mostly normal again. Naturally my fall happened while I was talking to a fellow a runner.

After the first aid station, you begin a steep descent that takes you all the way to the mile 9 aid station. It’s technical and a fast down hill. I kept misstepping here and there and turning my ankles and feet along the way yet nothing major.

For the next 2 miles you face another solid climb. Around this time the temperature started to become noticeable. I came into the race on the low side of being hydrated and the distance between the aid stations (more so just my lack of not having a big enough handheld/or two) quickly led to my dehydration.

The stretch from mile 11 to 15 is mostly down hill with a couple of smaller hills (relatively speaking to this race) before reaching the turnaround aid station at mile 15. I tried to down as much water as I could at this aid station along with some calories. I think those calories ended up being a Gu, an orange and a Rice Krispie Treat. I could tell by now I was dehydrated which impacts the body in numerous ways. I knew with the way my body was feeling that the climb out of 15, back up to mile 19, and down to 20 would be challenging and tough. Mentally I was also already thinking on the gradual climb from 20 to 24.5 and the massive climb from there to 27.5.

It took a lot of grit and grind, but I made it back to mile 20 and the aid station that was there. I was very dehydrated at this point, yet tried to smile and put on a good face while downing 7 cups of water, pouring one over my head, and downing a Gu and Hammer gel.

I knew the stretch from 20 to 27 was going to be brutal and steep especially the last 2-3 miles of it. About 1 mile into this segment I had to pee. I knew what to expect but it was still shocking to see my pee the color of Mello-Yello but as if someone had removed the water from Mello-Yello. Oh well, at least it was pee. My body was aching but the march continued, tattered, rattled and with an occasional 25-50 step jog. Yes, I counted!

Miles 20 to about 26.5 without an aid station during the toughest and hottest stretch of the race is very challenging (especially carrying just a 20 ounce handheld). I tried to pace myself with my fluids, but my body said drink now. So my handheld was empty and I still had about 2 miles to the aid station with about 1,000 feet of climb over those two miles.

Well that’s a steep climb and with my body aching and my head throbbing I had to sit down a couple of times on jagged half rocks to keep from passing out. I knew that I wasn’t going to quit, and I was hoping I wouldn’t get pulled. So I quickly realized that my hopes of finishing better than last year where over and to just finish the race. I kept hiking as fast as my body allowed and ran when I could even if it was for short spurts that might have been discouraging to others if it had been them. However, I found hope that with each pained and dehydrated step that I was a step closer to finishing this beast of a race. Then I could stop, lay down, and tell myself I’d never do this again…well at least not this race…maybe.

To speed up this race report so it doesn’t become as arduous and painful as the Bandit was for me (too late you say?) I’ll fast forward to when I hit that last main aid station. There I downed a couple cups of water, poured another one on my hair (it almost even soaked through it), and continued on knowing that the last 3.5 miles would have a lot of downhill but that it would be technical and tough on the feet and ankles.

I was cautious yet still running where I felt in control and moving forward at a good rate yet when I’d slow down due to technical dangers. I completely rolled over each ankle during this time. I knew that sub 6-hours was likely gone, but I kept pressing on.

With 2 miles left to go you drop about 700 feet within the span of a mile. It’s intense and technical! I was smart and remembered my #1 goal for every race, “To be alive at the end of the day!”

I was keeping an eye on my watch and knew I’d likely be around 6:02. With about 0.5 mile to go I realized that I could perhaps kill myself finishing and MAYBE break 6 hours. Death is not worth a finish in the mid 30’s overall at a race that most humans have never heard about. So I decided to run and finish as best as I could while feeling semi-comfortable (since comfortable left once the race started).

Around the last bend I knew I’d be 600 and change. I crossed the finish line in 6:00:40 and was never so glad to finish a race. I didn’t care about my time or much else at that moment. I went to my truck and laid in the bed of it for about 20 minutes.

As disastrous as the day felt to me I was very pleased with my finishing time. It was 32 minutes faster than the year before. I felt like I was battling for my life out there the last 15 miles and just tried to be smart but relentless to push through the discomfort and finish.

The Bandit 50K is a really good race. It’s very tough with 6500+ feet climb, the heat, sun, concrete like-technical trail, and distance in between aid stations. The RD’s do a great job hosting this race. It’s affordable (less than $100), nice medal and shirt, and everyone associated with the race is very pleasant. It has a very small town feel to it even though it’s in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Southern California.

I swore many times during this race that this was it and I’d never do the Bandit again, but i have this sneaky feeling that I’ve perhaps lied to myself once again.

–joshua holmes (RIF #1)
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RIF #101 David Wingard, from Greenville, South Carolina, is the winner of the Run It Fast Club’s – 2013 Extreme Racer.

David accumulated 1,928.3 points for 2013. Run It Fast – Club members earn 1 point for every 1 race mile from races they complete during the year. So David ran races totaling 1,928.3 miles for the year. He averaged 160.7 race miles per month in becoming ‘Extreme Racer of the Year.’

It was a very close race for the top spot as runner-up RIF #190 John Leighton finished the year with 1,910.9 points, less than 18 points behind David.  RIF #1 Joshua Holmes finished in third place with 1,834.7 points.

RIF #159 Diane Bolton, who let Extreme Racer, for most of the year ended up in 4th place and the female with the most ER points for 2013. Other women to finish in the Top 10 Overall included RIF #218 Carol Goslin, RIF #287 Carol Earles, and RIF #261 Kerri Haskins.

Top Ten 2013 Extreme Racer Finishers Leaderboard
1.  David Wingard – 1928.3 (RIF #101)
2.  John Kent Leighton – 1910.9 (RIF #190)
3.  Joshua Holmes – 1834.7 (RIF #1)
4.  Diane Bolton – 1783.45 (RIF #159)
5.  George Southgate – 1524.04 (RIF #279)
6.  Carol Goslin – 1388.8 (RIF #218)
7.  Carol Earles – 1284.19 (RIF #287)
8.  Denis McCarthy – 1117.3625 (RIF #263)
9.  Kerri Haskins – 1026.5 (RIF #261)
10.  Rob Distante – 992.73 (RIF #259)

Here is a look at all of the Run It Fast men who submitted points in 2013. Congrats to all who submitted points and especially those that broke 1,000 points for the year. (John Leighton – 2nd overall – pictured above)

Men’s Final 2013 Extreme Racer Leaderboard
1.  David Wingard – 1928.3 (RIF #101)
2.  John Kent Leighton – 1910.9 (RIF #190)
3.  Joshua Holmes – 1834.7 (RIF #1)
4.  George Southgate – 1524.04 (RIF #279)
5.  Denis McCarthy – 1117.3625 (RIF #263)
6.  Rob Distante – 992.73 (RIF #259)
7.  Danny Staggs – 758.3 (RIF #186)
8.  Hideki Kinoshita – 727.4 (RIF #88)
9.  Jeff Le – 682.16 (RIF #248)
10.  Eric Waterman – 509.481 (RIF #289)
11.  Houston Wolf – 400.9 (RIF #254)
12.  Nicholas Norfolk – 361.31 (RIF #116)
13.  Arland Blanton – 345.81 (RIF #290)
14.  Billy Cannon – 306.8 (RIF #169)
15.  Nathan Bass – 306.5 (RIF #174)
16.  Anthony Ohrey – 293.6 (RIF #27)
17.  Kevin Brandon – 265.7 (RIF #214)
18.  Steven Reagan – 261.65 (RIF #157)
19.  Mark Ogletree – 234.9 (RIF #247)
20.  Jeff Liu – 231 (RIF #275)
21.  Mark Watson – 194 (RIF #173)
22.  Dennis Arriaga – 181.3 (RIF #140)
23.  Jason Scott – 176.5 (RIF #265)
24.  Robin Robbins – 165.8 (RIF #33)
25.  Rodrigo Jiménez – 158.32 (RIF #203)
26.  Josh Liggett – 142.5 (RIF #147)
27.  James Krenis – 126.8 (RIF #67)
28.  Winston Trice – 126 (RIF #29)
29.  Stephen Griffin – 112.05 (RIF #48)
30.  Kevin Ronayne – 108.4 (RIF #11)
31.  Bill Baker – 106 (RIF #196)
32.  Nikiah Nudell – 94.8 (RIF #234)
33.  Charles Carmen – 89.63 (RIF #255)
34.  Rick Thiounn – 79.5 (RIF #111)
35.  Neil Dryland – 57.2 (RIF #252)
36.  Naresh Kumar – 50 (RIF #2)
37.  Stewart Crouch – 29.3 (RIF #89)
38.  Brian Wooldridge – 26.2 (RIF #141)
39.  Chris Haynes – 26.2 (RIF #223)
40.  Brennan Thompson – 25.5 (RIF #274)
41.  Daniel Escue – 22.4 (RIF #187)
42.  Austin Coates – 22.4 (RIF #241)
43.  Al Edwards – 13.1 (RIF #291)

Congrats to all of the women who took part in Extreme Racer for 2013. Here is a look at all of the women who submitted races for points for the year. Congrats to Diane Bolton (pictured above), Carol Goslin, and Carol Earles for making the top 3.

Women’s Final 2013 Extreme Racer Leaderboard

10.  Katrina Mumaw – 519.53 (RIF #268)
11.  Christy Scott – 512.3 (RIF #231)
12.  Robin Mancinelli – 480.8 (RIF #134)
13.  Donna England – 390.5 (RIF #277)
14.  Alicia Eno – 332.8 (RIF #126)
15.  Amanda Staggs – 327.2 (RIF #210)
16.  Lisa Gonzales – 319.26 (RIF #5)
17.  Michelle Mitchell – 312.6 (RIF #133)
18.  Sandy Staggs – 274 (RIF #220)
19.  Beth Hosick – 268.57 (RIF #219)
20.  Marj Mitchell – 264.1 (RIF #4)
21.  Heather Shoemaker – 261.8 (RIF #44)
22.  Shannon Burke – 236.8 (RIF #171)
23.  Christy Bowers – 231.02 (RIF #60)
24.  Michelle Lenahan – 192.08 (RIF #283)
25.  Donna Pittman – 188.9 (RIF #181)
26.  Jennifer Wood – 183.4 (RIF #243)
27.  Melanie Casey – 144 (RIF #202)
28.  Jennifer Whitley – 82 (RIF #160)
29.  Natalie Torres – 81.7 (RIF #72)
30.  Leigh Marsh – 61.7 (RIF #192)
31.  Jill Hassen – 57.2 (RIF #242)
32.  Marlene Deem – 52.4 (RIF #189)
33.  Debra Jacildo – 28.3 (RIF #98)
34.  Trisha Leonard – 26.2 (RIF #144)
35.  Martine Kincade – 26.2 (RIF #260)

Here’s a summary of the submitted races:

And George Southgate was the random drawing winner.

Extreme Racer is open to all members of Run It Fast – The Club. The Club is comprised of very driven runners of all levels from all over the world. Click the link below for more information or to join.

Mount Wilson Summit Run – Sierra Madre, California
January 30, 2014

The stresses of life and letdowns from others can often beat us up and tear us down in our day to day life.

On Thursday I needed an escape. I needed a mountain to pound  against and wrestle with until my body was beat down and my head was clear.

I’ve been trying to maximize and find all the beautiful, wonderful, and amazing places to train and run in and near Los Angeles over the past few months.

So a couple of nights ago I was searching maps and googling different searches and found Mount Wilson. Every review I read about it talked about how serious a ‘hike’ it was and one reviewer described the climb as ‘hell on earth.’ Well after reading that I found myself at the base of Mount Wilson less than 10 hours later. It was about a 40 minute drive from Hollywood.

I knew the climb up to the summit of Mt. Wilson was roughly a 4,500-5,000 foot gain over the course of give or take 7 miles.

By the time I parked it was already 2:15pm which didn’t leave too much daylight to run/hike up to the top and run back down. The day was already void of sun as it was extremely overcast, foggy, and full of dark clouds. I knew I’d have to Run It Fast® up and back down to beat the dark on what was an unfamiliar trail.

Running Up Mount Wilson

I started up the trail and immediately saw a guest book/log and wrote out ‘Joshua Ho…’ before the pen dried out. I had on a hydration vest with two bottles and hoped it wasn’t a prelude to my own hydration fate up on the mountain.

Half a mile into the trail, I saw the last human I’d see over the next 3+ hours. I’d love to tell you the views were beautiful the higher I climbed, but I couldn’t see anything after 1,000 feet of climb up the mountain (see below).

The climb up Wilson was no joke. I was able to run portions of it the first 3.5 miles and fast hike the other parts. After about 3.5 miles it became even more steep as the thick fog and dark clouds started to circle around me. I had my first thoughts of not being to get back down before it was dark and the rains set in.

The temperatures started to drop and the misty rain started to come down faster 4 miles in. I was running in a cut-off shirt and started to think that it might get too wet and cold before I reached the summit. As I mentioned earlier, no humans were anywhere to be found, especially this high up on the trail. I debated turning back as my hamstrings and back were starting to ache. However, I kept marching forward and feeling more and more liberated and free the higher I escaped into the clouds. I wasn’t done battling the mountain, and I’d regret not finishing if I turned back prematurely.

The 5th mile up the mountain had over 900 feet of gain and seemed to go on forever. I could never see too far ahead due to lack of visibility, but the trail before me, where I was watching every single step I planted, was beautiful and rich with character.

The next two miles averaged about 600 feet of climb per mile, but almost felt relatively flat after that 5th mile. About 6 miles up the trail I hit a rough jeep road that I made pretty good time on. The last 1.3ish miles to the summit were on this road.

The first half of the climb up Mt. Wilson was a serious climb, but most runners/hikers in decent shape can do it. The last half (after the first 3 miles) gets very krunk. It’s technical, very steep, and desolate in nature. I’m sure most days there is a bit more, or at least some, traffic on the trail higher up towards the observatory, but there was none when I went up it. I kept wondering what wildlife hid behind the next turn or behind the fog, but all I came across were a few squirrels and birds.

The Summit of Mount Wilson

It took me 2:03:11 to reach the top of Mount Wilson. The distance from where I started at my car to the top was clocked at 7.3 miles. The total climb per Strava was listed just a hair above 5,000 feet to a point of 5,665 of elevation.

The top, as I had read elsewhere, was in fact anti-climatic. It was a welcome sight as I knew that the climbing was over and that I’d be running a lot faster back down the mountain trail to civilization. However the summit of Mount Wilson, it’s just a bunch of roads at the top, along with the observatory which was rather small, and not a single example of life.

Running Down Mount Wilson

The trip back down the mountain was a lot faster than the way up and therefore not worthy as of many words. It was a fast down that was at times too fast. Some of the more technical parts leave 2-3 inches to plant your foot or down the mountain to your death you go. So it was important to pay attention to every step and slow down and walk through some very tight passes.

The steep run down was refreshing and fast! I started to feel it in my quads half way down as they were starting to grow sore. The miles back down the mountain clicked off so much faster than the ones up it.

The flight down had of course 5,000 feet of descent and took 1:20:30.

Mount Wilson Run Details

Total Mount Wilson 14.7 mile run had 5,088 feet of climb and 5,088 feet of descent and took 3:20:41.

Mt Wilson Mile By Mile Ascent/Descent, Pace
Mile 1: +729 -70, 14:53
Mile 2: +686 -49, 15:47
Mile 3: +513 -42, 15:05
Mile 4: +718 -42, 18:42
Mile 5: +995 – 41, 21:40
Mile 6: +687 0, 18:51
Mile 7: +546 0, 17:01
Mile 8: +53 -404, 13:11
Mile 9: 0 -533, 9:56
Mile 10: 0 -952, 12:33
Mile 11: 0 -801, 10:24
Mile 12: +97 -480, 10:25
Mile 13: 0 -655, 9:50
Mile 14: +88 -683, 10:11
Mile 14.7: 0, -392, 5:07

It was a great run. I’m glad I decided on a whim to go do it. I felt cleansed, alive, and detoxed after it was over. I couldn’t help but feel alive in the rain and Los Angeles rush hour traffic as I slowly drove back home in much the same fashion as I had made my way to the top of Mt. Wilson.

I’d recommend this trail to anyone. It takes a big effort to make it all of the way to the top and back, but it’s still worth the drive and time even if you just want to do a handful of miles instead of the whole enchilada.

– joshua holmes (RIF #1)

PS: You can park in front of the small park on E Mira Monta Ave for free and walk up or start up Mount Wilson Trail Road right next to it.

This is the fun finisher’s medal for the Maui Oceanfront Marathon that took place on January 19, 2014 on the island of Maui in Hawaii.

The cool thing about their medals is that they pick a different fish/ocean creature for the medal each year. You can see prior years here:

Maui Oceanfront Half Marathon Medal (2013)
Maui Oceanfront Marathon Medal (2012)
2011 Maui Oceanfront Marathon Medal

Congrats to RIF #1 Joshua who was 2nd in his Age Group at this year’s marathon!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal submitted by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes. Follow him on Twitter @bayou]

Travis Redden returned to Jackson, Tennessee on December 21, 2013 with a heart full of desire to win the Trail of Fears. Last year, he had finished second to the ‘Last Man Standing’ Jonathan Harrison.

On Saturday, Redden did just that as he was the ‘Last Man Standing’ after Jackson native Karl Studtmann turned in half-way through the 12th loop and called it a day.

Shortly thereafter tornado sirens sounded and the heavens opened up to one of the nastiest rain and wind storms this side of Noah’s ark.  Runners had waited and anticipated the nasty weather all day but instead were greeted with high temperatures laced with humidity.  The bad weather could not hold off any longer on that 12th loop around 7 pm.

A mad scramble ensued to get all of the race gear off of the hill before it and we were all blown away. We also waited for Redden to finish that 12th loop (which was unnecessary since he had won the 11th loop). Sirens continued to blare, trees buckled and swayed, and everything in sight was soaked as Redden and his good friend Jim Donahue, who had backtracked a bit to find Redden, came off the hill.

Redden was soaked but thrilled to claim the ‘Last Man Standing’ buckle.

2013 Trail of Fears Results

1. Travis Redden – 51.6 miles (12 loops)
2. Karl Studtmann – 47.2 miles (11 loops)
3. Joshua Holmes – 38.7 miles (9 loops)
4. Rob Philip – 34.4 miles (8 loops)
5. Nathan Judd – 34.4 miles (8 loops)
6. Nathan Bass – 30.1 miles (7 loops)
7. Billy Cannon – 25.8 miles (6 loops)
8. Marc Gilbert – 25.8 miles (6 loops)
9. Courtney Munson – 25.8 miles (6 loops) – Last Female
10. James Donahue – 25.8 miles (6 loops)
11. Mark Ogletree – 21.5 miles (5 loops)
12. Brett Beckham – 17.2 miles (4 loops)
13. Todd Shadburn – 17.2 miles (4 loops)
14. Beth Hosick – 17.2 miles (4 loops)
15. Arthur Priddy – 17.2 miles (4 loops)
16. Bob Beasley – 17.2 miles (4 loops)
17. Julie Montgomery – 17.2 miles (4 loops)
18. Clark Bilbrey – 8.6 miles (2 loops)

Congrats to all of these runners, many of which set a new personal long.

Trail of Fears Tidbits:

• 34:00 – Fastest lap put down by Arthur Priddy
• 0:06 – Smallest amount of time left on successful lap by Jim Donahue
• 2 – Laps won by Priddy
• 7 – Laps won by Karl Studtmann
• 2 – Laps won by Travis Redden
• 1 – Laps won by Joshua Holmes
• Top 3 Laps: Studtmann (11), Holmes (8), Redden (8), Priddy (2), Rob Philip (1), Brett Beckham (1)

Thanks to Shannon Miller and Anthony Ohrey for their help in race directing and taking care of all of the runners.