running through The Enchantments

Believe the hype!

I have been trying to do this run for years. Twice I got turned away because of forest fires and once because of an injury. I guess the fourth time is the charm. I'm SO glad to have made it out here.

Pine To Palm 100 Mile Endurance Run

In this distorted, niche community of ultra running that I sometimes get lost in, people have started to say things like, "100 miles is not that far." Well it is. And although you can have a very rewarding time running (and walking) 100 miles, and although #type2fun is still mostly fun (thanks to the human brain's amazing ability to selectively save the good stuff while discarding much of the bad), for most people it takes (lots of) training, support, and a few years to get it right. I'm here to tell you that I am most people. I ran the Pine To Palm 100 Mile Endurance Run for the first time in 2016 and did not have a great day. I've wanted to come back and get it right ever since. #doneanddone


[Photo credit Ben McKinley.]

Thanks to Hal Koerner and Rogue Valley Runners for putting on an epic event.

pacing Dave VanMiller at the Cascade Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run

Sometimes (read: usually) it's not about me.

This weekend I had the chance to pace my friend Dave VanMiller at the Cascade Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run and it was awesome! More to the point, Dave was awesome!

Pacific Crest Trail - Section J (Stevens to Snoqualmie)

I have had Section J (Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass) of the Pacific Crest Trail on my long list for years. Funny how things can suddenly come together.

Turns out my friend Bryan Estes has wanted to run this too. Bryan has hiked this section, and various portions of it, numerous times but he has never done it in one push. We had been talking about this since we both ran the Seattle Stairway Foot Tour in June so when his calendar opened up a few days ago, and I was free too, I jumped at the chance. Did it fit in perfectly with my training and racing calendar? No, but when opportunities come along you need to grab them. You also need to keep your racing in perspective - I do this for fun and fun is exactly what I hoped this run would be about. Fun and adventure.

White River 50 Mile Endurance Run

Finally. It seems like all of my friends have run the White River 50 Mile Endurance Run multiple times. Without a doubt, this is one of the most iconic events in the Pacific Northwest and it always attracts an elite field but it has not fit into my calendar so far... until this year. Better late than never. #worththewait

Here I am full of naive optimism at the start.

Needles 50k

Boy, there are 50k courses and there are 50k courses. I thought the Yakima Skyline Rim 50k was burly - and it is - but the Needles 50k is next level. Huge thanks to Rich White for organizing this event. Clearing such remote trails takes work! I'm psyched to have run the 3rd edition of this race.

Seattle Stairway Foot Tour

Yesssss! The second attempt was the ticket.

I tried this run back in 2015 and because I was recovering from an injury only made it halfway. This year my schedule looked good so I revived the Seattle Stairway Foot Tour and my friend Bryan Estes and I ran all of it.

Alaska Mountain Ultrarunning Camp

Apparently, I love combining vacations with being active. I have gone on numerous cycling trips in the past, and now I have started attending running camps as well. Last year Lucca and I attended Hut Run Hut in the Colorado Rockies and this year I attended Geoff Roes' Alaska Mountain Ultrarunning Camp in Juneau, AK.

This was my first time to Alaska ever and I can unequivocally say that Juneau has awesome trail running terrain. I would absolutely go back.

Alaska Mountain Ultrarunning Camp Beer Mile

It had to happen sooner or later, I just ran my first beer mile!

Thanks to Geoff Roes for hosting this event at his Alaska Mountain Ultrarunning Camp and to Dakota Jones for participating and making me look good.


[Photo credit: Kelly MacDonald]

Pictured left to right are Tracey, Cam, Nina (in front), Dakota (in back), and Martin.

Note that three of us are drinking even more beer after running this race... at least we took a break to shower and change clothes.

Sun Mountain 50k

Oof. I've been bragging lately about how well my body has been tolerating running but that stopped today at the Rainshadow Running Sun Mountain 50k. I suppose I could have lessened the severity of my injury by stopping when it happened instead of carrying on... Yeah, I know.

But it was an otherwise great day! The trail conditions were freaking first rate and so was the temperature. Plus, adding a lake to jump into at the finish to the already top-notch Rainshadow after-party was awesome. And how often can you say you finished just one spot/five minutes behind Gary Robbins? If I'd only known I totally would have run five minutes faster. Not. #hindsight