tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57567915815839118882024-03-08T03:34:25.196-08:00Not THAT Lucasnotthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.comBlogger551125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-58418805150790313112024-03-05T20:34:00.000-08:002024-03-05T20:34:58.232-08:00Kaya never saved Timmy<p><i>Note: This is kind of long, but there are a lot of pictures. It also could be triggering if you've ever suffered the loss of a loved dog or cat.</i></p><p>Kaya was a great dog. She never rescued a baby from a burning building, she never warned us that Timmy had fallen in a well*, and she had never learned to pick up her own poop.</p><p>No, her superpower was that she could eat. And weirdly, in addition to the normal things dogs eat, she loved to eat broccoli stems, asparagus ends, and bananas.</p><p>Her second superpower was being exuberantly adorable.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4V22r6dDmg6JOIqKh8dCWuEMU7u7HxYShEsHwWR29ExmnCQwmG0nTUGmPMjLYLnIvt_evQsb_q6n4uLCVJ3NEMV1n1au24o8I_eLqc_0NxgWKX_3alM2j6kJtKfJb3odOsffYXUMgb140l3MPtdBw4ZUQrIt2uKDXSvBNUFndD_7RzC9q39pihqhRBrW/s2048/466623_3595736330056_1197191295_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4V22r6dDmg6JOIqKh8dCWuEMU7u7HxYShEsHwWR29ExmnCQwmG0nTUGmPMjLYLnIvt_evQsb_q6n4uLCVJ3NEMV1n1au24o8I_eLqc_0NxgWKX_3alM2j6kJtKfJb3odOsffYXUMgb140l3MPtdBw4ZUQrIt2uKDXSvBNUFndD_7RzC9q39pihqhRBrW/w400-h300/466623_3595736330056_1197191295_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OK - this may be her being a bit too adorable.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Back in October of 2011, we were finally ready to adopt a new big dog, following the loss of our previous big dog, Teddy. <a href="https://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2011/09/grand-old-teddy.html" target="_blank">You can read about him here.</a> </p><p>We found Kaya from a post on Craig's List. She was a one-year-old black lab/boxer mix - the family that she was with was having to move to a place that didn't allow pets, so she desperately had to find a new home. We loved her from that first meeting - she was definitely a full grown puppy with a ton of energy.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP9eUpyU0_uCcRKxQif-31Ahpx3oNsMTIQLBTe8SCx80FNPeLxAbO22DjE82cQKUUMqGEPvPHk6msUdy_jNpq-IILJD6OtwGDR9LKrRBoDSVoxxNQZ-fDoaigm44IXi7Q9ITBx5vUtdo8HE-9TONrp-hoUtHFMBA1tCEhuHWeYGQUCdgunPmxVA456qvMF/s2048/323657_2276219702965_847028913_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP9eUpyU0_uCcRKxQif-31Ahpx3oNsMTIQLBTe8SCx80FNPeLxAbO22DjE82cQKUUMqGEPvPHk6msUdy_jNpq-IILJD6OtwGDR9LKrRBoDSVoxxNQZ-fDoaigm44IXi7Q9ITBx5vUtdo8HE-9TONrp-hoUtHFMBA1tCEhuHWeYGQUCdgunPmxVA456qvMF/w400-h300/323657_2276219702965_847028913_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat on Kaya's gotcha day, being a bit surprised by the length of her tongue!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">The grandkids really liked playing with her.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbexRUmu0koPknN7p40C7gT_l-kSESx-p2rgiy1vIPisORvplhg_2BKZkkxPTIWVM_3KugC8hDhkpbdqtObswxCH9LuoTP7vyMI15pgquttN413YSXC1Jy5PYaxT0YET7M4YgSIQfb2cOloY6Qyz-oJz6ZVXDCO9O3OWhXf1EC0a9cKwgYOVV3qBIj7jp/s2048/341077_2276217942921_1497768047_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbexRUmu0koPknN7p40C7gT_l-kSESx-p2rgiy1vIPisORvplhg_2BKZkkxPTIWVM_3KugC8hDhkpbdqtObswxCH9LuoTP7vyMI15pgquttN413YSXC1Jy5PYaxT0YET7M4YgSIQfb2cOloY6Qyz-oJz6ZVXDCO9O3OWhXf1EC0a9cKwgYOVV3qBIj7jp/w400-h300/341077_2276217942921_1497768047_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very young second-born grandkid losing at tug-of-war.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">We were pretty active with trail races and hiking/running, and that fit right into Kaya's wheelhouse - she was a pretty good trail runner.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJJVpsNp_FwjVB4mSbUUhhXaCMgvJt-SsMRWkUagT52qKr1FOhJzKYPSUhsQ7URW6j6tbRjKRhha77FUox3TYtqjtpn8U-lqdoPjfefpZMDhf79EExUyMjeyWmMV2HHYwJIlcVAlMNJJ8i2sGIGaaUwS0ow6gBS8gqKxxWuucta1dcWB8iuRHW29Tatyf/s2048/468415_3230474278733_1035222679_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJJVpsNp_FwjVB4mSbUUhhXaCMgvJt-SsMRWkUagT52qKr1FOhJzKYPSUhsQ7URW6j6tbRjKRhha77FUox3TYtqjtpn8U-lqdoPjfefpZMDhf79EExUyMjeyWmMV2HHYwJIlcVAlMNJJ8i2sGIGaaUwS0ow6gBS8gqKxxWuucta1dcWB8iuRHW29Tatyf/w400-h300/468415_3230474278733_1035222679_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat trying to keep up with Kaya.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Kaya's kryptonite was the sun though. All that black fur made direct sunshine her mortal enemy.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGi1VxWnX5H9x5lCIHlEpEM9ayp7QoZr-MWy4CEznNKV8Vo_YYP3Oyo9PgjLQa1PV_nQiGDXm_Q1zVkoob6xv_t_q97eK74cjqIDBKKJW6VK2FW0dN5X_EGVruaGyGpFg7AGOOyLF_GEa6voOXhg2cbl3G3AhsDEv7Mu__6lNfEudbMUAnXOUXOnxoE6bE/s2048/331561_2292596632378_328250183_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1537" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGi1VxWnX5H9x5lCIHlEpEM9ayp7QoZr-MWy4CEznNKV8Vo_YYP3Oyo9PgjLQa1PV_nQiGDXm_Q1zVkoob6xv_t_q97eK74cjqIDBKKJW6VK2FW0dN5X_EGVruaGyGpFg7AGOOyLF_GEa6voOXhg2cbl3G3AhsDEv7Mu__6lNfEudbMUAnXOUXOnxoE6bE/w400-h300/331561_2292596632378_328250183_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaya had had enough on this hike.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">She ran a number of 5Ks with us. I tried to run a sunny 10K with her once that involved two loops (one of the races at the Brazen Dirty Dozen event in 2016). As we were finishing the first loop, she was excited and practically sprinting to the finish, where she knew there was food. A LOT of food. When I turned and started heading back away from the finish for the second loop, she put an end to that nonsense.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihGrqMz_WZE4SMnK6ysMLVBGT9tZer-ZRb8usI3xJDEYCYiFFiiV1cyqpXrPOYpmHDtZyXF8jkyKcwac5UXli0WeeLyy_iXoKV7Ho_DBx7z2rD4Sx9gy6rxiiCSzueqVQAAwPoLY45YmJp-jyfc4wo6jzUzfntN3zDz85xMSGbraWG_IgNXU23MAArDxC8/s960/13620745_10208179813751054_2216867808969450548_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihGrqMz_WZE4SMnK6ysMLVBGT9tZer-ZRb8usI3xJDEYCYiFFiiV1cyqpXrPOYpmHDtZyXF8jkyKcwac5UXli0WeeLyy_iXoKV7Ho_DBx7z2rD4Sx9gy6rxiiCSzueqVQAAwPoLY45YmJp-jyfc4wo6jzUzfntN3zDz85xMSGbraWG_IgNXU23MAArDxC8/w400-h300/13620745_10208179813751054_2216867808969450548_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaya finding some shade and being perfectly content with a 5K. "Bring me some BBQ!"</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">About a year and a half after Kaya joined our family, we added Princess - an obnoxious little fur ball that easily matched Kaya's energy, but with about a quarter of the brains. They got along great together, with Princess absolutely convinced that she was Kaya's big sister.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiyfV_OArHBOGnvASM1YUANiU_XbWJ3HvT5cwVXf4VtHMTO3LTagDrzqq-pffL6wJQrUuf8Q-gDBwvNgsR2WIkzIz8s1NHoki8Nqz4dwtaN56giaBg8XWE-JPFaAIEsZAJnecBKgYchSfXOp19vIGed5LllJ19GkQ7WkQKzODTLmOopzi0HeYFpVm-wEyx/s4032/IMG_7062.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiyfV_OArHBOGnvASM1YUANiU_XbWJ3HvT5cwVXf4VtHMTO3LTagDrzqq-pffL6wJQrUuf8Q-gDBwvNgsR2WIkzIz8s1NHoki8Nqz4dwtaN56giaBg8XWE-JPFaAIEsZAJnecBKgYchSfXOp19vIGed5LllJ19GkQ7WkQKzODTLmOopzi0HeYFpVm-wEyx/w400-h300/IMG_7062.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaya and Princess sensing that there is food somewhere in the house.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">One of Kaya's favorite things to do was splash in water.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgol2dToEbLFQP8Pje0Vhr3jO3SSgvSG0BDiSufBuhUcd5Ddz22Ve0-qDx_znxkENN_LL0oSS9_tZB8VI_pDHwoyV0F-aFCy6DVDIeOw_AYYaCR6B-0Y-VO9ZWyKNToHPQ1UXNzUQQt3zQ_b2R9fgM-ocFIL0L1SCjQaS1LHjQ6IRz-jfThyM_QTYVCL__b/s2415/IMG_2381.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1752" data-original-width="2415" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgol2dToEbLFQP8Pje0Vhr3jO3SSgvSG0BDiSufBuhUcd5Ddz22Ve0-qDx_znxkENN_LL0oSS9_tZB8VI_pDHwoyV0F-aFCy6DVDIeOw_AYYaCR6B-0Y-VO9ZWyKNToHPQ1UXNzUQQt3zQ_b2R9fgM-ocFIL0L1SCjQaS1LHjQ6IRz-jfThyM_QTYVCL__b/w400-h290/IMG_2381.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat and granddog Dove avoiding the puddle. Kaya wondering why it's not a bigger puddle.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">She loved going for walks after a rain when the curbs were filled with water - she would just splash along in them as happy as a fish.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jSi9vazS1faHov9-TtlqiHoGHYEmzkvsqEExHoChqbf1NaFa7UqQOTVNSf4rkVpOe6ksXOLEkbNEZBu5Bn1aUlCcdC3RyuFbWYnr6vWM06amfWZEdyAtRqnaKRKIQnRg9TF83cHNigeuf4e3fzPUaDBZxJPFhEaNRIvwNhYMltz7LYC6t1UT0sajZxta/s3264/IMG_3473.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jSi9vazS1faHov9-TtlqiHoGHYEmzkvsqEExHoChqbf1NaFa7UqQOTVNSf4rkVpOe6ksXOLEkbNEZBu5Bn1aUlCcdC3RyuFbWYnr6vWM06amfWZEdyAtRqnaKRKIQnRg9TF83cHNigeuf4e3fzPUaDBZxJPFhEaNRIvwNhYMltz7LYC6t1UT0sajZxta/w400-h300/IMG_3473.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaya never understood why some water tasted so salty. This was with the grandkids, Mrs Notthat, and Princess, who would go through a lot of trouble to avoid touching water.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Kaya did really well around other dogs, although as she got older, she could get a bit cranky around high energy dogs, especially once she started to lose her hearing - she didn't like getting surprised.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvS_cHgQjq3EVxpyXWuvtERznzwDZQJhJ6ujtc-AaWY_K2NzZvH-SZvutqCZXS9WFe58igl4teP4L4bzAMIQfC7WVtrKRf9-BGxpZ5HcQd34NrKPokbMx3QF_wIsRXrgUX6VdGq2wpGxFyJIwwOccFzgjAut0ZkMxePE0uoOUkPVUCarqDGYlU893xcVk7/s4032/IMG_6591.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvS_cHgQjq3EVxpyXWuvtERznzwDZQJhJ6ujtc-AaWY_K2NzZvH-SZvutqCZXS9WFe58igl4teP4L4bzAMIQfC7WVtrKRf9-BGxpZ5HcQd34NrKPokbMx3QF_wIsRXrgUX6VdGq2wpGxFyJIwwOccFzgjAut0ZkMxePE0uoOUkPVUCarqDGYlU893xcVk7/w400-h300/IMG_6591.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaya with the old arrow-through-the-neck gag.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">One fun thing was that she mostly tolerated the cats that we added in 2017.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWtI7eDd03m72By1HFXiTW9vF5TufWFU3B7CQzam3bOh0FbEYLxQFt3eBz3tPBluXGANn4e8clBufyuqycPa-sQX8MwZJh6DZFWTWy3zIWMkehlrcuJ-bRL8fwIyuZ5Z9uic1OXi6V5JT41LJkUqG-zoB0SE8GkBVWMck9ffGDwhBrcOe7vU5zX2y-yJZ/s3264/IMG_3496.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWtI7eDd03m72By1HFXiTW9vF5TufWFU3B7CQzam3bOh0FbEYLxQFt3eBz3tPBluXGANn4e8clBufyuqycPa-sQX8MwZJh6DZFWTWy3zIWMkehlrcuJ-bRL8fwIyuZ5Z9uic1OXi6V5JT41LJkUqG-zoB0SE8GkBVWMck9ffGDwhBrcOe7vU5zX2y-yJZ/w400-h300/IMG_3496.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaya sharing her bed with, believe it or not, our cat named Kaya! We didn't name either of them, but were astonished how this worked out.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Back in July of 2023, a little sore spot appeared on Kaya's belly that we didn't think too much of. At first we had her wear a shirt to discourage her from licking it, then finally switched to a cone once it became apparent that she was still licking it too much and it wasn't healing as fast as we thought it should.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweUF_A2qfSVl5b6OBLdD_03nQnrHWD0YBVz2JeaLI4QdCFqNemvR6ccYeFf4nABncKAH6_RAbyh3Kracf5n2R7xCFvgEJInFFLbTrLM_Ug5CP63LlU1HRE78-th6MCqWyLmPuecYiQm3Ajoy1CFZ9aZvQzmtSg6oQ69KuEWVPKfVh6XcrsGkLSbai3euY/s4032/IMG_0831.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweUF_A2qfSVl5b6OBLdD_03nQnrHWD0YBVz2JeaLI4QdCFqNemvR6ccYeFf4nABncKAH6_RAbyh3Kracf5n2R7xCFvgEJInFFLbTrLM_Ug5CP63LlU1HRE78-th6MCqWyLmPuecYiQm3Ajoy1CFZ9aZvQzmtSg6oQ69KuEWVPKfVh6XcrsGkLSbai3euY/w400-h300/IMG_0831.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaya trying to be a Giants fan, but man, where was their offense?</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">At first, the spot seemed to be healing, although maybe that was wishful thinking on our part. In the end, the spot kept slowly growing. Kaya did not seem the least bit bothered by it, other than wanting to lick it. She was still her normal active self - it was amazing how puppy-like she would act for a dog that was around fourteen years old!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwS9AvgGUKnox1YZ7oHh1sa0cnF5vwUS0rrPcGUc34Qe4BTAvP82miL4d94YgvqjM40_3qwIJ6gAn4BWBLjnNSFAxfLLcWzjg9v2b61AzxEXFy-CxlCEvy4zw2tybe1z-5ceqy0mSHNNfKCPB8cMXNlbbVG3ZMGc6tU6bz-zORP6iCUN7i5WFo8HB0Mec/s4032/IMG_0874.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwS9AvgGUKnox1YZ7oHh1sa0cnF5vwUS0rrPcGUc34Qe4BTAvP82miL4d94YgvqjM40_3qwIJ6gAn4BWBLjnNSFAxfLLcWzjg9v2b61AzxEXFy-CxlCEvy4zw2tybe1z-5ceqy0mSHNNfKCPB8cMXNlbbVG3ZMGc6tU6bz-zORP6iCUN7i5WFo8HB0Mec/w300-h400/IMG_0874.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me bravely walking our two dogs and our granddog, Jax.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeluwtyktMbpTPSaukRrt_6tVsq8gvXiRYfDUmL0VnIlKjxlhC8qabhULqsjAu9Fg8HdVlQs3_sXp4A7sQM6W-RYEttSRWyS9U3sshdW4kJ1rK71QjM_Dx5mevOYTmnk_al_9YyO2TvU4IWuVjuZtXd7M6eViXaW85yELf_IeFWToF4Ii4_mAErqnn8Knl/s4032/IMG_0876.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeluwtyktMbpTPSaukRrt_6tVsq8gvXiRYfDUmL0VnIlKjxlhC8qabhULqsjAu9Fg8HdVlQs3_sXp4A7sQM6W-RYEttSRWyS9U3sshdW4kJ1rK71QjM_Dx5mevOYTmnk_al_9YyO2TvU4IWuVjuZtXd7M6eViXaW85yELf_IeFWToF4Ii4_mAErqnn8Knl/w400-h300/IMG_0876.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaya found a puddle!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Somewhere around this time, her vet started her on some medications and an ointment for the spot.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6C14lDX7jSlPy5YH-Hsu2NCvQZU6BTciNNxW1VstMLGib2a2yaeLVs7FIqxFNPgqqyNFbr_YL-DtK8CRhwMHNTOUMA1EiJHDzkvC1ArzKS5p2IUAAzzQJQSiZ_8wpYjnfkkdw0Qm69JVCQVuSUKbsdsowsK6MjtCESRZUkisAwCh5i9nnk5DRbwG8GVBR/s4032/IMG_1017.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6C14lDX7jSlPy5YH-Hsu2NCvQZU6BTciNNxW1VstMLGib2a2yaeLVs7FIqxFNPgqqyNFbr_YL-DtK8CRhwMHNTOUMA1EiJHDzkvC1ArzKS5p2IUAAzzQJQSiZ_8wpYjnfkkdw0Qm69JVCQVuSUKbsdsowsK6MjtCESRZUkisAwCh5i9nnk5DRbwG8GVBR/w400-h300/IMG_1017.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaya, Princess, and Mango all coexisting on the deck at the end of summer.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBAwyF20lm_QFni2a1oRFu5RI74j8wITJUaSi3kSJGcqiU_EPqPJG5Ryc-RGq9LYGGwOSVa0oiTW95OJjCAc8gFoBeKn-N0oRiTsL8xPubDMsQz8WcXm550zJ7zhopqIBwkurQLSG6DElmi4-xp6OmTvsHVNXL2MASBlmmGDiudj9VpSLDPZhxxjlMyVE/s3307/IMG_1545%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2514" data-original-width="3307" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBAwyF20lm_QFni2a1oRFu5RI74j8wITJUaSi3kSJGcqiU_EPqPJG5Ryc-RGq9LYGGwOSVa0oiTW95OJjCAc8gFoBeKn-N0oRiTsL8xPubDMsQz8WcXm550zJ7zhopqIBwkurQLSG6DElmi4-xp6OmTvsHVNXL2MASBlmmGDiudj9VpSLDPZhxxjlMyVE/w400-h304/IMG_1545%20(1).jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaya in a shirt and cone. She did not enjoy the cone, but it seemed to bother her a lot less than it would have bothered me.</td></tr></tbody></table>By December, it became clear that the spot wasn't going to heal, and arrangements were made to get it removed, which happened in January. That's when we learned that it was cancerous, and that likely more would be appearing over time. But also, it appeared that it was pretty isolated just to that area, so maybe we would get a break for a bit.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid73LOflLnm6XPdI0lr7UhX8rjxcs0HFs9cFN4_4o65EYLEqw0c3cbGhIMYCLn1z-ceXwBJxQarplMImWnTM6E266VbTz8ygZ11E5i-c_UDwCRLy_cwxTcJBwatgsPDl3LxpjNgSyoK9lJVsXk0TH1BqkGt2y-3y5dYlU3gCYV5T5ZXcfwVAK7MIHbFccw/s2852/IMG_1683%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2004" data-original-width="2852" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid73LOflLnm6XPdI0lr7UhX8rjxcs0HFs9cFN4_4o65EYLEqw0c3cbGhIMYCLn1z-ceXwBJxQarplMImWnTM6E266VbTz8ygZ11E5i-c_UDwCRLy_cwxTcJBwatgsPDl3LxpjNgSyoK9lJVsXk0TH1BqkGt2y-3y5dYlU3gCYV5T5ZXcfwVAK7MIHbFccw/w400-h281/IMG_1683%20(1).jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaya generally refused to lay completely on her bed - for reasons that only made sense to her, she generally liked to lay half on/half off of it. </td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">We didn't get much of a break.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Within a couple of weeks a new spot started up. Unlike the last one, this one grew fairly fast, and its location made it a bit uncomfortable for Kaya to do one of the things she loved most that didn't involve food - walks around the block. So we set up another appointment to get it removed. The weekend before the second surgery, Kaya was acting very normal until Sunday evening, when it was like a switch had been flipped.</p><p style="text-align: left;">She suddenly found it difficult to stand or walk. She wasn't hungry. Even laying down, it seemed to be a struggle to get comfortable. I took her to the vet on Monday morning and a quick check revealed that the cancer had spread internally. A lot. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25eANgwMMQbwqM5-B9LizQzhWJPDTsNwHyKi4cezj-Oxuurti-8CuYwA-OF7FDxHbHwBRKCFEC758DqWYkyeCSND8HlRbHfbjUz-fHxy7WQM8p4m-kdpPXaHjx4mA1a9lCeB90MwMZ9k1VKZMYDVroi-tYfEJimlPDtmkaQss2672iPN2XNbc5DptW0mw/s3038/IMG_1698.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2444" data-original-width="3038" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25eANgwMMQbwqM5-B9LizQzhWJPDTsNwHyKi4cezj-Oxuurti-8CuYwA-OF7FDxHbHwBRKCFEC758DqWYkyeCSND8HlRbHfbjUz-fHxy7WQM8p4m-kdpPXaHjx4mA1a9lCeB90MwMZ9k1VKZMYDVroi-tYfEJimlPDtmkaQss2672iPN2XNbc5DptW0mw/w400-h321/IMG_1698.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaya resting her head on my hand while at the vet. She was so ready to be done.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">I was glad I got to be with her at the end. I had to carry her from the house to the car, and once we got there, lift her out of the car, but surprisingly, she was able to walk into a little grassy area and pee a bit. Then, even more surprisingly, she walked into the office - it was like she was determined to be dignified while out in public, and getting carried by me was very not dignified.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Once it was all over and I left the room, the first thing I noticed were the candles at the front desk. I had noticed them on previous visits but had never seen them lit - there was a sign explaining that if they were lit, someone was having a very bad day and to please be respectful. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Seeing them lit as I left nearly broke me. If people were wondering who was having a very bad day, they certainly were able to figure it out at that point. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Then, a final funny thing (at least to me) happened. When I left the vet office, I saw a trail of poop balls from the little grassy area to the curb by the front door. I thought that was odd, and then it dawned on me that those were a last gift from Kaya, left as she walked, with her dignity, from the grassy area to the office. I grabbed a bag and picked them up, knowing that it was weird that this was making things a bit better.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdIDxdn4os-tfoe07jQQura76ApmLSgc0Q-bkAlFo93O_ecFC8EJxhOwYslvCcWk5rkLlHA3MVDb5bvrNy2-eCakhpgxBflDZhxxLrsI52ZkyRc3n0JCbf1DdjOQNLYFB4b8RmUtIZNZFVI4KqYHqgyA9ZPEsiqKZ3g72pcjdbeB5RKS_mHoB69hHQ63X/s2986/IMG_1703.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2423" data-original-width="2986" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdIDxdn4os-tfoe07jQQura76ApmLSgc0Q-bkAlFo93O_ecFC8EJxhOwYslvCcWk5rkLlHA3MVDb5bvrNy2-eCakhpgxBflDZhxxLrsI52ZkyRc3n0JCbf1DdjOQNLYFB4b8RmUtIZNZFVI4KqYHqgyA9ZPEsiqKZ3g72pcjdbeB5RKS_mHoB69hHQ63X/w400-h325/IMG_1703.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The grand old girl Kaya saying goodbye. But she still wanted to know who Timmy was. And what a well was, for that matter.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">It's so hard when a loved four-legged family member leaves. There is a huge hole left in the house. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Princess knows something has happened, but seems OK. She is also getting up there in years (twelve or thirteen - nobody really knows), but being a little dog, and a mutt, she is still very healthy and active. She will get a lot more walks now (I couldn't bring myself to take her out for a walk while leaving Kaya at home once Kaya got to the point where walks weren't possible). She is still fine with longer distances - I'm going to try her out in a 5K on Saturday and see how she does (we can easily stop at the halfway point, but I doubt that will be an issue).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Heavy sigh…</p><p style="text-align: left;">Hug your fur babies. A lot.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That's it - move along…</p><p style="text-align: left;">* For you kids, this is a reference to an old trope that Lassie, a collie on a TV show named after her, often would come dashing into the house, letting the parents know that their idiot son, Timmy, had fallen into a well. Apparently there never was an episode where that happened, although Lassie letting the parents know that Timmy was in trouble really did happen remarkably often.</p>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-55995106171298227852024-01-04T16:40:00.000-08:002024-01-04T16:40:54.478-08:00A 2023 Notthatlucas running wrap-up <p>Mrs Notthat and I basically stayed the course in 2023, with our running resumé looking very much like 2022. We did take a few trips (some planned, some not so planned) that cost us a few weekends, but still managed to be around a lot running events.</p><p>Let's start with some fairly boring details.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Mrs Notthat</h4><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Total events participated in (running or volunteering): 39</li><li>Total Byxbee parkrun events: 34</li><li>Total Brazen events: 3 (Coyote Hills, Rocky Ridge, and Quarry Turkey)</li><li>Total other events: 2 (Wharf to Wharf and Xterra Lake Tahoe)</li><li>Total miles run: 120.8</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">With regards the Byxbee parkrun events, Mrs Notthat ran 33 of them - for one she only volunteered. For seven of those she ran, she also got a volunteer credit (parking marshal, first timer's briefing, or tail walker).</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Me</h4><div><p></p><ul><li>Total events participated in (running or volunteering): 47</li><li>Total Byxbee parkrun events: 39</li><li>Total Brazen events: 4 (Coyote Hills, Bear Creek, Rocky Ridge, and Quarry Turkey)</li><li>Total other events: 4 (Schoolhouse Rock, Western States 100 [volunteer], Wharf to Wharf, and Xterra Lake Tahoe)</li><li>Total miles run: 99.1 (Seriously? I couldn't find another 0.9 miles to run somewhere?)</li></ul><p></p><p>With regards the Byxbee parkrun events, I ran 23 of them - for 16 I only volunteered (course marshal, time keeper, and RD [eight times!]). </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">The event that wasn't</h4><p>One race that's left out of all of this was the Brazen NYD event, which is the one Brazen event that I've never missed since it's first one in 2010. Sadly, the ridiculously wild winter weather forced that event to be cancelled due to mudslides, flooding, and extensive trail damage. The Brazen NYE event was allowed to happen the day before, but the rangers quickly regretted that as the weather rapidly got out of hand.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgka3BBb_0wurqHWpg6Rb8PXrMf_CckcHP6QOjRlu4LDSG7LLXbhIicsnluBI0JKjlmcGjJisQw4053JtsVvpCJHuPNxbUwDipV4BeaEtg_I7oGvbMjkdBvVtY5lzyRws-nYPAnJ0Fsx5CBNrKJ70Q5EPqy1FBez3gS5ayXGLuOEaVHGNfwYcy_1cbe6N/s4032/d336f345-f0ac-4dd3-96a6-2e9d03754af8_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgka3BBb_0wurqHWpg6Rb8PXrMf_CckcHP6QOjRlu4LDSG7LLXbhIicsnluBI0JKjlmcGjJisQw4053JtsVvpCJHuPNxbUwDipV4BeaEtg_I7oGvbMjkdBvVtY5lzyRws-nYPAnJ0Fsx5CBNrKJ70Q5EPqy1FBez3gS5ayXGLuOEaVHGNfwYcy_1cbe6N/w400-h300/d336f345-f0ac-4dd3-96a6-2e9d03754af8_full.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by Nywdlab (not his real name) from the Brazen 2022 New Year's Eve event. That is not supposed to be a creek crossing.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggMqVMcKbuA0-HfPHWkHvvMPuhk6Esi0oX0ZHzIzH0nRwpTaXgie7mGLMzszgWfdWj69e8F2yun1KhQqXDjdaSvuQVaOqZ5Bq0unw_1bqA1KWuBOU7rdw4FOTT-VauYRU1-it8eJC0Ec9-6sz8NRKrLZoIYtusBxjZ1ybg3uh9YtSKGZFxtTWv1IqQfCLv/s4032/b3954660-4ca0-4556-9ab7-8fa843900429_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggMqVMcKbuA0-HfPHWkHvvMPuhk6Esi0oX0ZHzIzH0nRwpTaXgie7mGLMzszgWfdWj69e8F2yun1KhQqXDjdaSvuQVaOqZ5Bq0unw_1bqA1KWuBOU7rdw4FOTT-VauYRU1-it8eJC0Ec9-6sz8NRKrLZoIYtusBxjZ1ybg3uh9YtSKGZFxtTWv1IqQfCLv/w400-h300/b3954660-4ca0-4556-9ab7-8fa843900429_full.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by Nywdlab (not his real name) from the Brazen 2022 New Year's Eve event. At least the trail (if you can find it) is paved at this point. That bench got little use that day.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">So it was wise to cancel the race set for the next day.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Some Byxbee parkrun stuff</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.parkrun.us/byxbee/" target="_blank">Byxbee parkrun</a> continued to be our primary running event. (<a href="https://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-post-for-byxbee-parkrun-curious.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> to read my thing all about parkrun.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">In 2022, they had 52 events and averaged 61.1 runners per event (3175 total) - two events had over 90 participants. </p><p style="text-align: left;">That changed a lot in 2023 - there were 53 events and an average of 100.1 runners in each (5305 total) - one soggy event only had 27, but there were a stunning 39 events with over 90 runners and 31 over 100, with two topping 140! </p><p style="text-align: left;">This increase meant the event had to add a few more volunteers to keep things flowing - there are now 14 to 15 volunteers for each event. Fortunately, the parkrun community has stepped up and managed to fill those spots.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjI3hie9_fU2Nbo6kCGoE1ox9lGk4-C_Nb6BBrDFyQZnZn18DC8duiFlnhnb4GSa0DKVa7m0l5xsTrHF-oCCbHra9VXOZ5-b5Yy0G4mSXkqdaKgPvJnyuzrg6yjhQ7WO27ws3oO-lOM4f-9ybpT8J2kIj4jrJhc9rO150dodaUO6nB-iJ7hwGU36q_m_qc/s3063/IMG_8890%20(2).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3063" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjI3hie9_fU2Nbo6kCGoE1ox9lGk4-C_Nb6BBrDFyQZnZn18DC8duiFlnhnb4GSa0DKVa7m0l5xsTrHF-oCCbHra9VXOZ5-b5Yy0G4mSXkqdaKgPvJnyuzrg6yjhQ7WO27ws3oO-lOM4f-9ybpT8J2kIj4jrJhc9rO150dodaUO6nB-iJ7hwGU36q_m_qc/w395-h400/IMG_8890%20(2).jpeg" width="395" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From July 22 - "two two" day where we are encouraged to wear tutus!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">I finally reached my 50 run parkrun milestone in April (Mrs Notthat had hit it in November 2022, and will likely hit 100 in 2024). I likely won't get to 100 until 2025.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The other milestone we hit was the 25 volunteering one. We take different approaches to volunteering, with all of mine being with no run credit, while nearly all of MrsNotthat's were done so that she could get both a run and volunteer credit (as mentioned earlier). I'm currently more focussed on hitting the 50 volunteer milestone (I'm currently at 41) than the 100 run one.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx3ToDCqAnszcMKFfYBYvj7imGrDjZty4Y-PUZ98sDwHVqWYVBJLrzuj8Qf1etbLZ3Oss2mPFX5xt1gqlOsgB6ATfw8J5lkCWynGfQjvIMQ-Oj0ZaSyv6AndJZG9EXrgrBcnxW6DiUb8RFhVmXzJCWkMRisqOtXTcmiXSaHOjztmo-BJ7K_253ZyL0XPXO/s1592/Screenshot%202024-01-04%20at%202.12.22%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1432" data-original-width="1592" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx3ToDCqAnszcMKFfYBYvj7imGrDjZty4Y-PUZ98sDwHVqWYVBJLrzuj8Qf1etbLZ3Oss2mPFX5xt1gqlOsgB6ATfw8J5lkCWynGfQjvIMQ-Oj0ZaSyv6AndJZG9EXrgrBcnxW6DiUb8RFhVmXzJCWkMRisqOtXTcmiXSaHOjztmo-BJ7K_253ZyL0XPXO/w400-h360/Screenshot%202024-01-04%20at%202.12.22%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me as the far course marshal, with the Duck of Turnaround.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">One of our goals is to run a few other parkrun events around the country. While Byxbee is the only parkrun in California, there are 64 others scattered around the country. And MANY more around the world. It would be fun to see how some others do it.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Some Brazen Racing stuff</h4><p style="text-align: left;">One afteraffect of the pandemic is that Mrs Notthat and I have gotten a bit lazy when it comes to trail races. Many require us to get up very early to drive an hour or so to get to them - the pandemic eliminated that requirement and we really got used to not having to get up absurdly early on weekends. </p><p style="text-align: left;">But, man - there is nothing like the atmosphere of a reasonably large trail race, with the stresses and anticipation of longer distances and challenging terrain. Byxbee also has a great atmosphere, but it's much more casual and low key. And sometimes it's nice to stretch out to a 10K or fight through some hills.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Fortunately, <a href="https://brazenracing.com" target="_blank">Brazen</a> has several events that are reasonably close to us, which still means getting up a bit early, but not that much earlier than Byxbee. And we are able to get our large trail race fix. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE0r8Yzdb9Gni8Kxp5Pc0C0njSMWTEtk6O8urOsBwvx2Rra7sfd0M59wR0-9-s7fjF8avB87z7c6WbQlluVnAT_g75PU7pLNHa4EzrZuiiFamXwDiliGWsYzF7IUCoir1KcxQA6BPN_YLK-NZQMCwDU2cWa8WClXB4PCGPuaYPVXrpXlbs08sfo9KC1M0e/s4032/IMG_1403%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE0r8Yzdb9Gni8Kxp5Pc0C0njSMWTEtk6O8urOsBwvx2Rra7sfd0M59wR0-9-s7fjF8avB87z7c6WbQlluVnAT_g75PU7pLNHa4EzrZuiiFamXwDiliGWsYzF7IUCoir1KcxQA6BPN_YLK-NZQMCwDU2cWa8WClXB4PCGPuaYPVXrpXlbs08sfo9KC1M0e/w400-h300/IMG_1403%20(1).jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was weird how that cranberry smelled like mayonnaise.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">In addition to going to a few of their closer races, we drove to the legendary Rocky Ridge event - home of one of the toughest Half Marathons around (we ran the 5K, which is also pretty tough) - since it was Brazen's 300th event!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuh0FNh0a7Vi8ARKDglNTUnrBhS8MhKUPdw3d8taNozpm1UpBVRXAsMfCAvxTKdEf0NIR1WLvK0DC34lT-OziN5F8CJXUH-1b8-Bw3hFYaKc5OjmjOq6mhRY5z7POmBngE2r7oaDEpikUN1YatUe3mrhmcVY_lhM2wfewzpVS4ctHrv4VkfkEEBavlCMt/s1930/Screenshot%202024-01-03%20at%203.09.01%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1930" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuh0FNh0a7Vi8ARKDglNTUnrBhS8MhKUPdw3d8taNozpm1UpBVRXAsMfCAvxTKdEf0NIR1WLvK0DC34lT-OziN5F8CJXUH-1b8-Bw3hFYaKc5OjmjOq6mhRY5z7POmBngE2r7oaDEpikUN1YatUe3mrhmcVY_lhM2wfewzpVS4ctHrv4VkfkEEBavlCMt/w400-h299/Screenshot%202024-01-03%20at%203.09.01%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat, our daughter Weird Haired Mom, her boyfriend Nhoj (not his real name) and his Oscar the wiener dog, and me. And we even spelled "300" correctly!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Brazen doesn't (at least publicly that I know of) track milestones. </p><p style="text-align: left;">But I have a spreadsheet.</p><p style="text-align: left;">When I heard that The Canadian (Enirehtak, not her real name) had managed to finish her 300th Brazen event, I decided to go see how many Mrs Notthat and I had done. Counting the 2024 New Year's Day event, I've been at (either running or volunteering) 194 events (17 as a volunteer), and I have a reasonable chance to get to 200 in 2024. (This is out of 307 events they have put on. Mrs Notthat is up to 168.)</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">The other runs</h4><p style="text-align: left;">As always, <a href="https://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2023/07/wser-2023-50th-running-and-my-12th-year.html" target="_blank">volunteering at the Last Chance aid station</a> at the Western States Endurance Run was one of the highlights of the year. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwl58p97AZjW_8b_hJQ5IpgHkzojH-Lg9WF33H4hD6odgC6Oguw4QgEjib4JYolUIHgbSZ9fBL8mTaz7Y-1IcI5ufAV2KZfbdQ-LUcXTK02EWrRiCZO2VanzYZD-PDnRO7IZE7o8M6Kaix90sMxqIt1AiEDhD9kRSruNivb1QnGSAhuQj2oetSe3_q9xS/s4032/IMG_0600.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwl58p97AZjW_8b_hJQ5IpgHkzojH-Lg9WF33H4hD6odgC6Oguw4QgEjib4JYolUIHgbSZ9fBL8mTaz7Y-1IcI5ufAV2KZfbdQ-LUcXTK02EWrRiCZO2VanzYZD-PDnRO7IZE7o8M6Kaix90sMxqIt1AiEDhD9kRSruNivb1QnGSAhuQj2oetSe3_q9xS/w400-h300/IMG_0600.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eidnam, not her real name, getting the Last Chance Car Wash experience.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">A surprise event was what we will always think of as the Ringo Starr 5K. We drove up to Lake Tahoe to see Ringo and his All Starr Band for a Friday night concert. Because I can't help myself, I poked around a bit to see if there were any running events going on, and indeed, there was the Xterra Lake Tahoe 5K on Sunday!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkCDozRv8B6RhvI9zGHKfumYUNRH5MTsbDIhCW0Qix81y9NAe0Iwc48rv-XqiLxCZL_3CmpPaWT4EFmw8wNaoyXZAUf_KvJrHKvozszBwFNQgtOpbyf9swQYS6zgLdzEa6_0CKQQG27Pu2x3GO-iEPjxVTtMwvMF0gDmPj-qWWKV38jPghIppZDpQ_JlH2/s2433/IMG_9521.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2433" data-original-width="2293" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkCDozRv8B6RhvI9zGHKfumYUNRH5MTsbDIhCW0Qix81y9NAe0Iwc48rv-XqiLxCZL_3CmpPaWT4EFmw8wNaoyXZAUf_KvJrHKvozszBwFNQgtOpbyf9swQYS6zgLdzEa6_0CKQQG27Pu2x3GO-iEPjxVTtMwvMF0gDmPj-qWWKV38jPghIppZDpQ_JlH2/w378-h400/IMG_9521.jpeg" width="378" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat and I both won age group awards (the pint glasses). I am not going to mention that, as it turned out, everyone that ran the 5K ended up winning an age group award. </td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">And for the first time in several years, we ran the Wharf to Wharf race in Santa Cruz. Mrs Notthat manage to talk Anrapa and Immas (not their real names) into joining us!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlX8K5e0oeQwbvoD-foonIWdUaBkSnZgNbEbCNJCMabjYQ6sPQOrvYiy-x5iCU73v5ho7ra19lsL6oXhvDQMj7U7nQAJq8SP3nuxz9tED2IRy6Paff6Hx-AJIRDz3g9UPNOGX_j_pGt744NngE5ds4eX-zujTzmgF8z7x5nWFOVsrlnc5kVRKoT2cGtG9b/s3288/IMG_8906%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3288" data-original-width="2346" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlX8K5e0oeQwbvoD-foonIWdUaBkSnZgNbEbCNJCMabjYQ6sPQOrvYiy-x5iCU73v5ho7ra19lsL6oXhvDQMj7U7nQAJq8SP3nuxz9tED2IRy6Paff6Hx-AJIRDz3g9UPNOGX_j_pGt744NngE5ds4eX-zujTzmgF8z7x5nWFOVsrlnc5kVRKoT2cGtG9b/w285-h400/IMG_8906%20(1).jpeg" width="285" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The four of us along with nearly 16,000 others playing at the Capitola Beach!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">And lastly, The Canadian talked me into running the Schoolhouse Rock 5K on the Sunday after having run Byxbee parkrun. This was hard for me, but really fun since we got to see several Byxbee regulars there as well!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJN07pY49JwGbMTcw72zrFq480hcCx9N5RQc2B6ef0T3S2LYAul0cQYvekMSICRBjU1R_qDmQ3aBmR3vFTBv-56pQwkdZ-MOnChVg1sigIYi6Tgg6QEFYOrmiES0FDF9kq3ZWwdQdYB4SQNWVHiNy2Zr56O5zeVq67GklPcYgm8AJBj7v2IQqyAfZ4n8zZ/s4032/IMG_0480%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJN07pY49JwGbMTcw72zrFq480hcCx9N5RQc2B6ef0T3S2LYAul0cQYvekMSICRBjU1R_qDmQ3aBmR3vFTBv-56pQwkdZ-MOnChVg1sigIYi6Tgg6QEFYOrmiES0FDF9kq3ZWwdQdYB4SQNWVHiNy2Zr56O5zeVq67GklPcYgm8AJBj7v2IQqyAfZ4n8zZ/w400-h300/IMG_0480%20(1).jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Canadian and I before we started at Schoolhouse Rock 5K.</td></tr></tbody></table><h4 style="text-align: left;">Wrapping up (finally)</h4><p style="text-align: left;">All of our runs were 5Ks, except two 10Ks for me and one for Mrs Notthat (I will always consider Wharf to Wharf to be a 10K, even if it is slightly short). My hope for 2024 is to add a few more 10Ks, and maybe even a Half Marathon or two, to the mix. I'd love to recover some of my lost "speed" as well. Those kinds of goals require more training than I've been doing, and now that I'm retired, I'm hoping to be able to do that necessary training.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Although sitting in a recliner and watching game shows is pretty attractive…</p><p style="text-align: left;">That's it - move along…</p></div>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-82220541872467070622023-12-10T16:33:00.000-08:002023-12-10T16:33:07.198-08:00CH- CH- CH- CHAAAANGES! Probably a good thing. But I really don't like changes.<p><i>[Note: This is going to be long and boring with very few interesting pictures. Honestly, there are much better ways to spend your time than reading this.] [Although there might be a few interesting bits here and there.] [Probably not though.]</i></p><p>Back in June of 1977, I graduated from the San Juan Basin Vocational-Technical School's two-year Electronics program. We spent as much time learning about vacuum tubes as transistors, and a very small amount of time learning about those newfangled integrated circuits. And no time learning about microprocessors since, for the most part, they didn't exist. </p><p>I studied and got my First Class FCC license, which meant I could legally work at any broadcast station. But mostly I learned to fix TVs and other electronic things. I loved (and still love) having that as a super power, although it makes me sad that many things are no longer repairable.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWNtXHrJlOPDoPqfYtAEfY-_RCi3bpV2XmmoPnhkFUv0QxFLRsIEotfRXuWxyJd3a0r4E-86lg4XNHPoG4qHKxm81ZmxT8fP3uAvLkZQXVFN6KWXHTTS9VC_2VPVeCFtl_lFgw4D0H6pMd573mNvvBAQDYiSm9DsMTisZp1k8-OO9ovAYn8slvLKzNVlh/s3139/IMG_1453.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3139" data-original-width="2816" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWNtXHrJlOPDoPqfYtAEfY-_RCi3bpV2XmmoPnhkFUv0QxFLRsIEotfRXuWxyJd3a0r4E-86lg4XNHPoG4qHKxm81ZmxT8fP3uAvLkZQXVFN6KWXHTTS9VC_2VPVeCFtl_lFgw4D0H6pMd573mNvvBAQDYiSm9DsMTisZp1k8-OO9ovAYn8slvLKzNVlh/w359-h400/IMG_1453.jpeg" width="359" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our class of '77 that went to Denver for FCC certification tests. <span style="text-align: left;">(I'm in the center back row.) We made the local newspaper!!!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>When I graduated, I went to Colorado Springs where my buddy Kcir (not his real name) was already working. I looked in the help wanted section of the newspaper and saw an ad for an employment agency. I went there and they set up two interviews for me: A long shot one with a company that was really picky and another with a store that needed someone to install car audio bits and CB radios.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBcdDuUK4z35Hm-m2TsbCqO2r4iEtw87fsLBnH2lG-sUR6B6SKIdgfkyPOgkK-Mj6yN2o7Fyuz3He0F2YJ_WPm5JKgAd9iap7aUsAve21wxJgKmPg7FxOFLxCTmdbeAtR3dKLiUWCMg7iXGVfuElbUuBv5zAGTurz0C34dWWMttadtG7HSd3tmxARJ14X/s720/Screenshot%202023-12-07%20at%2011.18.24%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="720" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBcdDuUK4z35Hm-m2TsbCqO2r4iEtw87fsLBnH2lG-sUR6B6SKIdgfkyPOgkK-Mj6yN2o7Fyuz3He0F2YJ_WPm5JKgAd9iap7aUsAve21wxJgKmPg7FxOFLxCTmdbeAtR3dKLiUWCMg7iXGVfuElbUuBv5zAGTurz0C34dWWMttadtG7HSd3tmxARJ14X/s320/Screenshot%202023-12-07%20at%2011.18.24%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I still have a CB radio (collecting dust in the garage). I was "The Cosmic Cowboy" in southwest Colorado. I once talked to the Rubber Duck - CW McCall!</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The long shot worked out (much to the surprise of the employment agency), and the rest is some odd definition of history.</p><p>It has always boggled my mind that I managed to convert my vo-tech education, that included absolutely no writing classes, into a job as a technical writer for Apple Inc. Granted, this didn't happen overnight, but this is not how you envision career arcs to work.</p><p>I'll get into that career arc in a bit, but the main news is that I'm now retired. After a bit over 46 years working various jobs in the tech industry, I'm now able to just sit in a recliner and watch game shows all day. My initial goal was to wait until I turned 65 and could get Medicare, but then I realized that a more practical goal was to wait until Mrs. Notthat turned 65 (yes, I robbed the cradle a tiny bit - I'm nearly a year older than her). That happened this spring, and I finally took the leap at the end of November.</p><p>This wasn't a slam dunk of a decision - I had a pretty sweet setup, getting to work full-time from home on things that were mostly interesting and challenging. But I was noticing that I didn't attack new challenges with as much zeal as I used to. It was becoming harder for me to do some of the more boring and tedious bits of the job. </p><p>But it's done. I flipped the table and walked out on November 30. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2bIgASxl0-xLnMqXm4njMkWjNYeUtgeeIJliE1ZAdcV_DqMYeG2eEzOpsCZ1vX1tJj2rTZkC02GcWQCUNeMrR4zvEzTXTI-x-KW5ZLjCFsK2EbyzEfWrE8hclk5rW5HM2Q06VmWP0vYrDq5IkrimNjI2wm-OF6oDj9j2Y0INW7wl7sM-xgVArqH4G_dN/s2657/IMG_1433.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1925" data-original-width="2657" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2bIgASxl0-xLnMqXm4njMkWjNYeUtgeeIJliE1ZAdcV_DqMYeG2eEzOpsCZ1vX1tJj2rTZkC02GcWQCUNeMrR4zvEzTXTI-x-KW5ZLjCFsK2EbyzEfWrE8hclk5rW5HM2Q06VmWP0vYrDq5IkrimNjI2wm-OF6oDj9j2Y0INW7wl7sM-xgVArqH4G_dN/w400-h290/IMG_1433.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was a cake. A REALLY nice cake. It was not on the flipped table.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>OK, let's get to that career arc thing.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">June 1977: Ampex Corporation (Colorado Springs)</h3><p>This was that long-shot job. There is an excellent chance you've never heard of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampex" target="_blank">Ampex Corporation</a>. There is an even better chance that you have benefited in one way or the other from the things they invented. </p><p>The area they hired me to work in was as an electronic technician on their new one-inch video tape recorders. (Up to this point, broadcasters had to rely on video tape recorders the size of a Ford Pinto that used two-inch wide tape - these were reel-to-reel machines where an hour of tape could weigh 30 pounds.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnQQgF4xzWik7erY6GxIavKOQDT8uQU8SZpRfiHux6DeQ9hCWzBjrBojv8NPd8ee2HfDeXYFnCmuDWEDoc0vHcG1do2TJXUKc91moGmDykEAV3IpqevfxqOubCOguAOygMa5L6m412psWiERzWzLsj-68j_df0_hHkBZur1EN4EiyPXjXzUB0gVZw4Knl/s926/Screenshot%202023-12-07%20at%2011.23.00%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="926" data-original-width="812" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnQQgF4xzWik7erY6GxIavKOQDT8uQU8SZpRfiHux6DeQ9hCWzBjrBojv8NPd8ee2HfDeXYFnCmuDWEDoc0vHcG1do2TJXUKc91moGmDykEAV3IpqevfxqOubCOguAOygMa5L6m412psWiERzWzLsj-68j_df0_hHkBZur1EN4EiyPXjXzUB0gVZw4Knl/s320/Screenshot%202023-12-07%20at%2011.23.00%20AM.png" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ampex VPR 1 one-inch video tape recorder - my introduction to professional video!</td></tr></tbody></table><p>This was well before VHS or Betamax. </p><p>After a year or so, I started getting opportunities to travel a bit for work - I spent several month-long stints in the Bay Area (where the Ampex headquarters was) helping to bring up new products. I even spent a month in Rome, Italy as a try out for being a field service engineer there (I bailed on that after realizing I wasn't as much of a hotshot as I thought I was). </p><p>Finally, in…</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">August 1980: Ampex Corporation (Bethesda Maryland)</h3><p>… I took the leap and became a field service engineer for the Mid-Atlantic region. This was an awesome job (for a while). I quickly knew where all the TV stations were in the area (Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and DC), as well as all the government facilities that had Ampex equipment (there were a LOT). There are many stories I could tell from this period, from having my company car stolen on April 1 (it made the news), being quickly ushered into a safe room due to an "issue" at the US Chamber of Commerce, spending enough time at the CIA headquarters that they got me a badge, spending enough time at the Pentagon to be able to find my way around proficiently (and standing in the center area while a newly elected Reagan gave a speech) - this was not a dull place to work.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGw8_jDbsD6f1PzDMOwDMn8Jc89uB6yJlqQLTICgGCo1p_SwUqW3mTaUANfJB8vqEhLv8WJT1g0XVKKaKYewbjzDlo5bGNWU8VzrNzN00ysJLguQ_RifDPKz0LuLrqMXgmbJGznaUQz58AliZYTILwc3WbQVQhx6uxQPKc4trsnTDqADj1RUW8CQW2_axw/s2804/IMG_1454.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="2804" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGw8_jDbsD6f1PzDMOwDMn8Jc89uB6yJlqQLTICgGCo1p_SwUqW3mTaUANfJB8vqEhLv8WJT1g0XVKKaKYewbjzDlo5bGNWU8VzrNzN00ysJLguQ_RifDPKz0LuLrqMXgmbJGznaUQz58AliZYTILwc3WbQVQhx6uxQPKc4trsnTDqADj1RUW8CQW2_axw/w320-h147/IMG_1454.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It has always amazed me how often name gets spelled incorrectly.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Better than all of that though, is that this is where I met the soon-to-be Mrs Notthat - she worked in the same field office. Soon enough, our daughter (destined to be Weird Haired Mom) was born (oh man - another story) and the erratic-ness of the job got to be a challenge.</p><p>So in…</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">November 1984: Ampex Corporation (Redwood City California)</h3><p>… I became an instructor, teaching one or two week classes to people that bought our stuff, showing them how to use and repair it. This position involved a fair amount of travel, often for two or three weeks at a time, but it was almost never spur of the moment type travel - it was planned and manageable. Occasionally Mrs Notthat and WHM got to come along on the international trips.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcNuHSADj-OInVbgBGifVxSO9OyJ9eTtzZJZbtgJqb4VnTl9BrqvpKicECYkwqbuW6tUyhabKztY3DVYikPBQQki2JaA24P3H8J7iOgVBeaXKBemRoDkg9nNNfSu2LvN3_RL7pq_mRm1h4qT6hDjEysnSTzSyOqOWPG_-tMFYzuMWCsGjxkOtyOU9dzfd/s850/Screenshot%202023-12-07%20at%2010.39.51%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="850" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcNuHSADj-OInVbgBGifVxSO9OyJ9eTtzZJZbtgJqb4VnTl9BrqvpKicECYkwqbuW6tUyhabKztY3DVYikPBQQki2JaA24P3H8J7iOgVBeaXKBemRoDkg9nNNfSu2LvN3_RL7pq_mRm1h4qT6hDjEysnSTzSyOqOWPG_-tMFYzuMWCsGjxkOtyOU9dzfd/s320/Screenshot%202023-12-07%20at%2010.39.51%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sign along 101 that had been there forever, which is sadly now gone.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>This was a pretty awesome job, but Ampex started to flounder a bit (they had totally missed the boat on consumer video recording, even though they held many critical patents on the process, and were missing the boat on the new digital TV boom that was just starting). So in…</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">September 1987: Abekas Video Systems (Redwood City California)</h3><p>… I was lured away to an upstart competitor that was formed by three previous Ampex people - a company that there is even less of a chance you have heard of - Abekas. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJLiClObCVqqQz7yFPxCUGZcfpZh4ytxNpu5b8cqKG4T0ulLuj-GsMne2GT82BvsCsKr8U1YaPcF8Pj27pEqYD8XjWmnWFZKKZ7p9qJIB0PpTcgePipWhjYdxAdXrg3ljzJ8gGyd1dzCBDcNiDudhy2RP3pgALX8WEM_O50cCHnBEpa3AyA9VlUAgYKDm/s1088/Screenshot%202023-12-07%20at%201.12.01%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="1088" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJLiClObCVqqQz7yFPxCUGZcfpZh4ytxNpu5b8cqKG4T0ulLuj-GsMne2GT82BvsCsKr8U1YaPcF8Pj27pEqYD8XjWmnWFZKKZ7p9qJIB0PpTcgePipWhjYdxAdXrg3ljzJ8gGyd1dzCBDcNiDudhy2RP3pgALX8WEM_O50cCHnBEpa3AyA9VlUAgYKDm/s320/Screenshot%202023-12-07%20at%201.12.01%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>A fun thing was that, in addition to teaching classes much as I had at Ampex, I actually got a computer, and for the first time, started writing user manuals. (Ventura Publisher ring any bells for any of you? This was pre-Windows.) I still did a lot of travel, but the writing bit was a nice change. I had no real background in writing at all, but there was a great editor there that was able to point out how bad I was at this, but even better, point out ways I could get better.</p><p>One thing that happened after a few years was that I became a manager over a few people. Any of you that have successfully managed people, especially while doing a real job at the same time, are heroes. That was a rough time for me - I really didn't enjoy writing reviews and such and I didn't enjoy working with budgets. </p><p>But I got better at it. I learned some survival skills. And then in…</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">December 1998: Accom Inc. (Menlo Park California)</h3><p>… Abekas was bought by Accom, which was interesting since Accom was largely founded by the same people that founded Abekas (but had been bought out of Abekas by another company a few years previously). </p><p>Many at Abekas were laid off at this point, and I was actually hoping to be one of them. But I was retained. I told the owner of Accom that I would likely quit rather than join them doing the same thing I was doing at Abekas, and he assured me that he had other plans for me.</p><p>Abekas had previously bought a Polish company that was in the cutting edge of virtual studios, ELSET. The idea was you could have a set with a green screen as the background and maybe a desk for the people to sit at, but then use a computer to generate a virtual background. This was all very clever and VERY complicated, but I enjoyed jumping into it and learning all of its peculiarities. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4P27dSLSdtk4jQXhBfjBYvtW1vZNnm7niHkrni5Zyuku6j4-VUCFvRoBMXCfmbHw4UTGKKHHYa-jeaByexSMYITkXH0emr_HT0yQjXAhhjzc0uSNxMGLfN45jf5EI-XdABN-wA99jcZloKvXLgyByS8kO24u-K5V1f3EtEgPSd8-U5ciw8vBBNuNJPI5c/s1492/Screenshot%202023-12-10%20at%204.17.25%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1156" data-original-width="1492" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4P27dSLSdtk4jQXhBfjBYvtW1vZNnm7niHkrni5Zyuku6j4-VUCFvRoBMXCfmbHw4UTGKKHHYa-jeaByexSMYITkXH0emr_HT0yQjXAhhjzc0uSNxMGLfN45jf5EI-XdABN-wA99jcZloKvXLgyByS8kO24u-K5V1f3EtEgPSd8-U5ciw8vBBNuNJPI5c/w400-h310/Screenshot%202023-12-10%20at%204.17.25%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This person is standing on a plain, green stage - SGI computers are providing the background. The trick is having the background track any camera moves and setting objects to be in front of or behind the person.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>This was a tough job though - many long nights and weekends spent working through all of this, plus a LOT of travel. By now, our son had been born, WHM was getting older, and travel, even planned travel, became hard. This was an amazing experience - working with the Polish engineers was a highlight of my working life - but it took a pretty huge toll.</p><p>In December of 1999, Abekas sold ELSET to a competitor based out of Israel, ORAD. That would guarantee an even heavier travel load, so I bowed out, and in…</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">January 2000: Spruce Technologies</h3><p>… I became a tech writer (almost no travel!) for Spruce Technologies, a small company that made DVD authoring software for professionals. DVDs were a hot new thing - at the time I started there, I did not own and had never even watched a DVD. I had no idea about how you could do all kinds of clever things with them using menus and other tricks to create some pretty wild experiences. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIuc3hRiHgCZ2CnehcDWESlCLVcNwhssyOFsMv8IuPpyHi-OXHoC7pDB-K-hCYmTaUazVLOWsgrmfUwv6kEkjNehZqDrxj_tOeOQEn_mfoueuO32IPMLUTH_bbw0Y2XOhFN9qVZBsTTaNJ1hnAMC07IaN3j7w9V3-_S2TyeCyGNYMF4K86kF7slQQEt4y/s2183/IMG_1457.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2183" data-original-width="1654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIuc3hRiHgCZ2CnehcDWESlCLVcNwhssyOFsMv8IuPpyHi-OXHoC7pDB-K-hCYmTaUazVLOWsgrmfUwv6kEkjNehZqDrxj_tOeOQEn_mfoueuO32IPMLUTH_bbw0Y2XOhFN9qVZBsTTaNJ1hnAMC07IaN3j7w9V3-_S2TyeCyGNYMF4K86kF7slQQEt4y/s320/IMG_1457.jpeg" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the user manuals I worked on for Spruce.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>This was a great job - it was a fairly small company so I ended up doing a lot more than just writing user manuals and online help. It was a blast. </p><p>In 2001 rumors started that we were up for sale. People were nervous. Some ambitious plans had not born the fruit that had been expected. There was serious competition. There was a layoff. (I survived it, and gained the office plant that I still have.)</p><p>Our authoring software was based on Windows NT, so it felt likely that we would logically end up with a Windows-based company. So naturally, in…</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">July 2001: Apple Incorporated</h3><p>… we found out that Apple, who had their headquarters just down the street from us (I did not know that at the time - I was seriously into Windows at the time), had bought us. This was a massive surprise, but Apple's current DVD authoring software, DVD Studio Pro, was based on their OS 9 operating system. The new OS X operating system was going to require a complete rewrite, so it wasn't that big of a deal to start with a bunch of Windows engineers.</p><p>A lot of people were not kept as part of the acquisition, and I had large doubts that I would be kept, but I was - I think a few people said nice things about me, although I joke that there was an accounting error involved. </p><p>Starting at Apple was really something:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>It was the first time since Ampex that I was at a company with several thousand employees. It took some adjusting to get used to that.</li><li>It was the first time I was working at a company most people had heard of. I started getting contacted by people I hadn't talked to in years, asking about employee discounts.</li><li>I had to learn to use a new operating system. Ever since Abekas, where I first started using a computer, I worked with Microsoft DOS and, later, Windows. My home computers had all been (and were still) Windows. We had an iMac at Spruce for testing our authored DVDs, but that was the extent of what I knew about them. </li></ul><p></p><p>I started in the help writing team for the Pro Apps - Final Cut Pro, Compressor, Motion, Cinema Tools, and mostly, DVD Studio Pro. After a few years, I moved over to the tech writing part of the Productivity team, which started with the iWork apps then slowly grew to include several other apps.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixFxekEFQHfDJFh7O80waUd8nHEhVPVOWqEFOud-tqAkV1YXDjSGLEy9f_BIgFvU0doRpTrIc3PEvfzSx4pFmK6nv2n5d6SZXwXgEhd6kOgVqle4n6h21l70cqKooIEmuCUt8bN26gHpbbAey-PhKPJozsp7uF6MDOmFoNDYW46do0kZTYb_ueUNb2eBbo/s1857/IMG_1456.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1857" data-original-width="1554" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixFxekEFQHfDJFh7O80waUd8nHEhVPVOWqEFOud-tqAkV1YXDjSGLEy9f_BIgFvU0doRpTrIc3PEvfzSx4pFmK6nv2n5d6SZXwXgEhd6kOgVqle4n6h21l70cqKooIEmuCUt8bN26gHpbbAey-PhKPJozsp7uF6MDOmFoNDYW46do0kZTYb_ueUNb2eBbo/s320/IMG_1456.jpeg" width="268" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first, and most obscure, Apple user manual.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I loved working at Apple - there were normal challenges like long days and weekends, and office politics like at any large company, but there was also the huge satisfaction of working on applications that were used by millions of enthusiastic people. (Granted, that also means that millions of people are going over the help and user manuals, and will eagerly point out any issues they find.)</p><p>All of that makes it amazing I got away with my proudest accomplishment at Apple:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_FhvgyrbGCSiHQdZNuSWe-yqzaSh0M2GnjY6l1uWHtj8zBoLlRR3UmsuVpcugtNwzgCBs8i7oFzySGKdhYLmSTw898s-XCW1aq5ZmR-LZRlLYwHZYgr1dOvFVcyrvqjXR2HPTbx5ItdcSC8WJrE5Qj7i1qmxY5iypJ7XjoWZU6IptloqCkcnpbAMqBN7e/s1729/IMG_1436.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1729" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_FhvgyrbGCSiHQdZNuSWe-yqzaSh0M2GnjY6l1uWHtj8zBoLlRR3UmsuVpcugtNwzgCBs8i7oFzySGKdhYLmSTw898s-XCW1aq5ZmR-LZRlLYwHZYgr1dOvFVcyrvqjXR2HPTbx5ItdcSC8WJrE5Qj7i1qmxY5iypJ7XjoWZU6IptloqCkcnpbAMqBN7e/w400-h155/IMG_1436.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>My primary editor at the time ("Hi Nitsirk, not your real name") would not shut up about two things: The Giants (which was OK by me), and lemurs. All lemurs. Anything that had anything to do with lemurs. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>(Fun disturbing fact: A bit after this manual was out in the wild, I had a dream that the Lemur Preservation Society sued Apple over this since it was spreading wildly false information. When I talked to them, they said that they actually thought the text was funny, but they had to make a point, and were sorry that I was likely to get fired over this. It was not a great dream.)</i></p><p>And that's about it. A bit over 46 years of working in technology (I left out all the jobs I had in high school and before that. Many of those are worth their own posts.)</p><p>The obvious question is what am I going to do now. I don't really know. There are lots of projects around the house that will keep me plenty busy. It will be a period of adjustment, and I'm confident I will adapt.</p><p>But for now, there are game shows to watch.</p><p>That's it - move along…</p>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-41077989470505882322023-08-22T08:14:00.000-07:002023-08-22T08:14:25.804-07:00Alaska is cold, but there is the aurora…<p>[Note: This is really long and really late. But there are pictures!]</p><p>Anniversaries that have a round number need to be roundly celebrated. Our 40th wedding anniversary was in February, so we decided to splurge a bit and try to see the Aurora Borealis (northern lights), and one of the best places to do that is Alaska. </p><p>A real challenge with Alaska in winter is, well, it's cold. Really cold. And probably snowy. So we decided to make it as easy as possible for us, and joined a tour specifically organized for seeing the aurora. I had never been on an organized tour like this before, so it was going to be interesting. Mrs Notthat found a suitable tour by <a href="https://melitatrips.com" target="_blank">Melita Trips</a> - a big selling point was that they had a guest speaker that would give multiple lectures during the trip, astronomer <a href="https://www.dennismammana.com" target="_blank">Dennis Mammana</a>, who had been highly recommended by friends.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6AdzGD6GVyeD8hzFzn82P0ddklREyhG1MYi15ylcp0YV0DlPF5xk5EsuSZAP0WOzslljKSUQBZToYqAwVPgHJpCxInzSmAUB4b2Jf1PMurCiFMXLMAVz53mNgiXopNuB0nUhj3jE9Fe0oxDPBraUAH34-9maVhkUmr6r5RZc-7jMCPOKaH3S5H7HsTFwc" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6AdzGD6GVyeD8hzFzn82P0ddklREyhG1MYi15ylcp0YV0DlPF5xk5EsuSZAP0WOzslljKSUQBZToYqAwVPgHJpCxInzSmAUB4b2Jf1PMurCiFMXLMAVz53mNgiXopNuB0nUhj3jE9Fe0oxDPBraUAH34-9maVhkUmr6r5RZc-7jMCPOKaH3S5H7HsTFwc=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rick and Eileen, our tour guides, posing in front of a huge bear. They were amazing at dealing with all the issues that randomly popped up during the trip. (Rick and Eileen. Not the bear.)</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><br /></p><p>The trip started with a flight from Seattle to Fairbanks. (Well, it really started the day before with us flying to Seattle, but that wasn't officially part of the tour.) All of this flying was my first time on a plane since early 2020 (and all that that implies). </p><p>The first surprise was that there was a water line break in the kitchen at our Fairbanks hotel - our rooms were fine, but there was no way we were going to get to have our first dinner together as a group there. So we ended up eating at Big Daddy's BBQ ("Northern Most Southern BBQ") (it was really good). After that, we checked in then got together for our first Dennis lecture. (These lectures were really good and helped so much with the rest of the week.)</p><p>We then got on the bus and headed for the <a href="https://icealaska.com" target="_blank">World Ice Art Championships</a>. The sculptures were astonishing.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjP1ZMejlUyJMd52PMavBO09lvkBwmKdG2u25Zr4BFCarfyJ_AQk9i2Gaf3sSYSy3TaTkD07PsTy1Hd8eanVJq2VY7hYip-dT9b1BnqnuO3dTi673BvnhYkUZKwcpq3YOgDz1_HnV4J60Q2ZN8bWAnRcbhY2L7LjDNv7yxQzB2TkSSuKtPsGzdVH8fscjQU" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjP1ZMejlUyJMd52PMavBO09lvkBwmKdG2u25Zr4BFCarfyJ_AQk9i2Gaf3sSYSy3TaTkD07PsTy1Hd8eanVJq2VY7hYip-dT9b1BnqnuO3dTi673BvnhYkUZKwcpq3YOgDz1_HnV4J60Q2ZN8bWAnRcbhY2L7LjDNv7yxQzB2TkSSuKtPsGzdVH8fscjQU=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How is it possible to get that kind of detail?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMbm0ZmQ-L3sKJ6DlhsUlleDO7jIvqCUz5_KI5IDy_NaQ6ioXAYhSm7EGMTmvPXHzvAOwmkWDTLDuPxf4k3DL-MM6b4-bz7OzkquJaHA6RMA6DpI7fnF0iLyeOvlr9AF4twlkwyvsJ__2jCQCY2xUAMmUf703GTjX0ZtwGNXmPh4tMsHaWCzX2Nyb01q7Y" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMbm0ZmQ-L3sKJ6DlhsUlleDO7jIvqCUz5_KI5IDy_NaQ6ioXAYhSm7EGMTmvPXHzvAOwmkWDTLDuPxf4k3DL-MM6b4-bz7OzkquJaHA6RMA6DpI7fnF0iLyeOvlr9AF4twlkwyvsJ__2jCQCY2xUAMmUf703GTjX0ZtwGNXmPh4tMsHaWCzX2Nyb01q7Y=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such great imagination!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6X02p1bvFLyzSPGa89tHA2GRirF4oW0rRK_R9Oi3Oy34_twgFRCVWu-ngX7BWfgowobKJhuocUaF-1Mitu-OUMBHxOMwN7ZYATlIxMLpsy9q16iKOSbmVxXjLI0Rzw9mNgZAJswRVBMne4dfNoqDaoyhKqr2oDE5jX9lCZ4KJ1eXfSE0tCQG4mkTryE5B" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6X02p1bvFLyzSPGa89tHA2GRirF4oW0rRK_R9Oi3Oy34_twgFRCVWu-ngX7BWfgowobKJhuocUaF-1Mitu-OUMBHxOMwN7ZYATlIxMLpsy9q16iKOSbmVxXjLI0Rzw9mNgZAJswRVBMne4dfNoqDaoyhKqr2oDE5jX9lCZ4KJ1eXfSE0tCQG4mkTryE5B=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seriously - everywhere you looked you saw astonishing sculptures.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />After that, we all got back on the bus and drove out to a dark area for our first shot at seeing the aurora. </p><p>Auroras are a bit flaky. They are not tied to a precise schedule. Or a loose schedule. They laugh at the word "schedule." You never really know if they are going to appear or not. The best you can do is put yourself in a good position to be ready if they show up. There are websites that give you an idea of your chances of seeing anything, and those websites were not very encouraging that first night. </p><p>And they were right.</p><p>But, we all got a chance to try our hands at taking night shots, and there were many stars to look at.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_I-aKOcQ9GjpUubVbdH54QtANjrnuGJ_RAMZGNTgz6HrNR_MVyzTDgj3VLq5F5O-c-O-gT3nAohs4EIfZOYofXb5Wby0axxfPHD0j9Rv2Kt8jJI75KvqPiWht4qmU_qXITaYg8NHJqZ-OMauCtxxQaq_Np6iD-1rWkfJUQdmQl80sCDxL6lz2B5NCzkP1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_I-aKOcQ9GjpUubVbdH54QtANjrnuGJ_RAMZGNTgz6HrNR_MVyzTDgj3VLq5F5O-c-O-gT3nAohs4EIfZOYofXb5Wby0axxfPHD0j9Rv2Kt8jJI75KvqPiWht4qmU_qXITaYg8NHJqZ-OMauCtxxQaq_Np6iD-1rWkfJUQdmQl80sCDxL6lz2B5NCzkP1=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A number of people on the tour brought really nice equipment to take pictures. Red lights were used when light was needed just to avoid blinding people whose eyes had adjusted to the dark.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-4-mymzOaLWFuAf7VPcori1DVcQd6wod07PktqE5pQUGZHpyP9xwQgThs5rTumA7LAdJk_XIUxC0bT4VzmBPxU5_snlq-FWzlV6gS2iM_qoiFR0bTE4bp5CZLY6PHnBr8AbLKNaXGRbLyO5lwCa9JV_R5ImDP8h5ZkWrqn7GvUZFqj7dSBsY5cs6nDzdQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-4-mymzOaLWFuAf7VPcori1DVcQd6wod07PktqE5pQUGZHpyP9xwQgThs5rTumA7LAdJk_XIUxC0bT4VzmBPxU5_snlq-FWzlV6gS2iM_qoiFR0bTE4bp5CZLY6PHnBr8AbLKNaXGRbLyO5lwCa9JV_R5ImDP8h5ZkWrqn7GvUZFqj7dSBsY5cs6nDzdQ=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is just me holding my phone and taking a shot of the stars. I was a bit astonished it came out this well.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>The thing to keep in mind, this is our first day! We flew to Fairbanks, ate BBQ (!), checked into our plumbing-challenged hotel, had our first lecture, saw amazing ice sculptures, and got to stand around in the dark waiting for the aurora. At about midnight we loaded back onto the bus and headed back to the hotel. (A few determined people stayed up once we got to the hotel and managed to see a mild display of auroras at around 3 AM. I was not yet that desperate.) (But I could be later.) (Man I was hoping it didn't come to that.)</p><p>On day two, we first went to the <a href="https://www.uaf.edu/museum/" target="_blank">Museum of the North</a> at the University of Alaska (go Nanooks!), where that picture of Rick and Eileen with the photo-bombing bear was taken. Next, we went to one of the most unexpectedly fascinating places - the <a href="https://www.pfrr.alaska.edu" target="_blank">Poker Flat Research Range</a>. They do a variety of things here, but the real star is that they shoot rockets into the auroras to study them. These are not huge rockets with people on them, but small rockets based on missiles that they are able to load up with experiments.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjM-ih4PQb8q_2VkUYqIMSOufJIadWpfWoJn8ZXIoVIuPJN9WLadPjClm7zuhTHWuPH7qLrkcK1Mnr_gKIFoyf198H19iNKzR51pLaOkCugEAAsBFYFtG_1JtNs-BhBqqBeXn7tWtUF0YPDJnpcqizekNGcJh-15ZV3HFzlAKE4ccleks1g1EEV_rk-zOrb" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="1086" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjM-ih4PQb8q_2VkUYqIMSOufJIadWpfWoJn8ZXIoVIuPJN9WLadPjClm7zuhTHWuPH7qLrkcK1Mnr_gKIFoyf198H19iNKzR51pLaOkCugEAAsBFYFtG_1JtNs-BhBqqBeXn7tWtUF0YPDJnpcqizekNGcJh-15ZV3HFzlAKE4ccleks1g1EEV_rk-zOrb=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First a lecture by Dave about what this facility is about. I loved this! <span style="text-align: left;">(Picture by Rick.)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj69sNdRypxq5cqhHPpn_kQ-HYWaxMW64meSOkYkih_XGBr85Yje86g9F4qKd6B41B4VCme1G2ItAngAuwtaEdJmG-OUVDXELcq5SpGNGIOjGZZee0SOM7LX80z-hgASKspOD6VGkGGEQNA-oQqg33niHpXC9_TGzIKRvDfAQkDnxQjJ6ZTQSzchWHZbBor" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="1086" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj69sNdRypxq5cqhHPpn_kQ-HYWaxMW64meSOkYkih_XGBr85Yje86g9F4qKd6B41B4VCme1G2ItAngAuwtaEdJmG-OUVDXELcq5SpGNGIOjGZZee0SOM7LX80z-hgASKspOD6VGkGGEQNA-oQqg33niHpXC9_TGzIKRvDfAQkDnxQjJ6ZTQSzchWHZbBor=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next, we got to go inside a launch pad. A bit oddly, we were not allowed to take pictures in there. <span style="text-align: left;">(Picture by Rick.)</span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><br /></p><p>Tours are not a normal thing done at this facility, so this was definitely a big tour-related bonus.</p><p>After that, we headed to the Chatanika Lodge for dinner and to wait for it to get dark for our second attempt at seeing the aurora. The lodge is normally closed on Mondays, but, just for us, they opened for dinner and to provide a nice warm place to hang out while waiting for aurora excitement to break out.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxwugHVNdUwyL55wZ3ov4YY7Fla5CJiqjJbb1eSFZvL8KHeDIGEEcUwPYJ0PJEeWCD4s44pZKaKf77NQwqVzUxSSTEhe9tz6eH_4jpqEU6SFSUoRFhVI4l4yuBXeIaCsNrpbleR6jn6SBR7ckqSWLUbTUSHwnNnV1ldt2IeQgRZjON2JVQLJO1ZXjaM4KF" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxwugHVNdUwyL55wZ3ov4YY7Fla5CJiqjJbb1eSFZvL8KHeDIGEEcUwPYJ0PJEeWCD4s44pZKaKf77NQwqVzUxSSTEhe9tz6eH_4jpqEU6SFSUoRFhVI4l4yuBXeIaCsNrpbleR6jn6SBR7ckqSWLUbTUSHwnNnV1ldt2IeQgRZjON2JVQLJO1ZXjaM4KF=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chatanika Lodge. There was a large area in back where we could watch for the auroras. And a bar for when we needed a break from watching for the auroras.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLeS0lLj93RKCPE2AkWNvZ1P6nrA99w28OHB_cE90tp1aLflXxUVCmWOoMGGWhrGSS3PMkjwFcv_1kLNG9yaXdIESa_dsQsj7mMSoRIf0wDRjmcZykShTR045QIwHCzxKOK6ucna_bM6nCxaJbvPv0K0xr4_GHJvwLuQ57V-h-0_8j-0jjdCpYSIHDY22t" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLeS0lLj93RKCPE2AkWNvZ1P6nrA99w28OHB_cE90tp1aLflXxUVCmWOoMGGWhrGSS3PMkjwFcv_1kLNG9yaXdIESa_dsQsj7mMSoRIf0wDRjmcZykShTR045QIwHCzxKOK6ucna_bM6nCxaJbvPv0K0xr4_GHJvwLuQ57V-h-0_8j-0jjdCpYSIHDY22t=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many dollar bills! They were on almost every bit of ceiling and wall!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>We hung out there until a bit after midnight. By 10:30 or 11:00, it was feeling like we were getting skunked again. </p><p>And then, there they were!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEji969nmctq78UNMMOgRKiGggC8baW1yCit4lgjb5wkQxziPHZ0k0tRim_UPvTj6mSJkMNPDgEZrpW4fdfTDGgh6rlBBltZahNW9Zd02f9ORmS4r0i39FHQzFph-GJ-VSXq2wBwszGJ4b8h7ZuYoFI-IaLMUEPpL8LLeQuireGBqLMnsOMH5F2zKizCrr7i" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEji969nmctq78UNMMOgRKiGggC8baW1yCit4lgjb5wkQxziPHZ0k0tRim_UPvTj6mSJkMNPDgEZrpW4fdfTDGgh6rlBBltZahNW9Zd02f9ORmS4r0i39FHQzFph-GJ-VSXq2wBwszGJ4b8h7ZuYoFI-IaLMUEPpL8LLeQuireGBqLMnsOMH5F2zKizCrr7i=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was so cool! The went like this for about an hour. No way I expected a photo like this from just my phone.</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><br /></p><p>A bit after midnight we headed back to the hotel. We were all thrilled - as I said, there is no guarantee that you will see an aurora on a trip like this, and after the first night, the possibility that we might not see any felt a bit too real. </p><p>But we saw them! The rest of the trip was just gravy! (Spoiler alert: It was going to be REALLY good gravy.)</p><p>For the third day, we checked out of the hotel, got on the bus, and headed to the <a href="https://chenahotsprings.com" target="_blank">Chena Hot Springs Resort</a>. Along the way we stopped at the <a href="https://www.woodbowl.com" target="_blank">Great Alaskan Bowl Company</a>, then a stop to see the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAc1vMOaPKuBvaVY3EuRhUgrwvXWPhtxgYUbJT1qnhbC6XMjIIqSna4YFO6SDwOkFrjddNEM0f5_y0JQVu6lSkCqB8FsozA5wO1IZuim3uI0kOuIf59kXL_jy27qITAK_Xsf8hM3n5yaPmquj1cvpSBJJae3NLZITj61WSQLBKYnV41YOreplG6SPIPBMy" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAc1vMOaPKuBvaVY3EuRhUgrwvXWPhtxgYUbJT1qnhbC6XMjIIqSna4YFO6SDwOkFrjddNEM0f5_y0JQVu6lSkCqB8FsozA5wO1IZuim3uI0kOuIf59kXL_jy27qITAK_Xsf8hM3n5yaPmquj1cvpSBJJae3NLZITj61WSQLBKYnV41YOreplG6SPIPBMy=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat and I in front of the pipeline, waiting our turn at hopscotch (see the person in the background). (Picture by Rick.)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8414tYkp1y1kZ8WigV8Ddj59zqWWMWZdVKk63BT9P6pFWfmu8Mbxn-nE8sPW-glLYMbnVHCX8rSulfhFGEdG1zgIuQJUCRZcnspOVhAUeVM50XPaP78yMM3hc9GDkCZEs22TTEWcf5VIY_c4Ifm98j8_3AwRt01Z2lad3RESvUW5AANgnfNhPlsCYf1cL" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8414tYkp1y1kZ8WigV8Ddj59zqWWMWZdVKk63BT9P6pFWfmu8Mbxn-nE8sPW-glLYMbnVHCX8rSulfhFGEdG1zgIuQJUCRZcnspOVhAUeVM50XPaP78yMM3hc9GDkCZEs22TTEWcf5VIY_c4Ifm98j8_3AwRt01Z2lad3RESvUW5AANgnfNhPlsCYf1cL=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It amuses me that they have to put radiators to dissipate heat on the pipeline.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>The Chena Hot Springs Resort is really something. It's in the boonies. (Granted, Alaska is 99% boonies.) There is no cell service and erratic WiFi, so it feels even more remote than it is. The resort has a lot to do beyond soaking the hot springs, but the main thing we were all there for was the aurora. After another Dennis lecture, we prepared for another cold night of trying to see them.</p><p>There is a nice dark field you can walk to where you can watch the aurora, or there is a snow coach tour to the top of Charlie Dome Mountain.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrFiXWK7lQHoA59iGzjfuwYkP4K2EYAK-SG8wAIFGzi0V8p8htk1pUil7im7xMLpxmCFwjHKbd9tmsldNSijVDP0S1dW-a4BDiv4ehX1zXdIgyymdiQP4x1zkB5QhcTW9FNdKGGYhgk09JQZXbsvQAQ_w6m0zH4zFR0tTKcAr6uzOzeEtuNWyj9yziWvPk" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="977" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrFiXWK7lQHoA59iGzjfuwYkP4K2EYAK-SG8wAIFGzi0V8p8htk1pUil7im7xMLpxmCFwjHKbd9tmsldNSijVDP0S1dW-a4BDiv4ehX1zXdIgyymdiQP4x1zkB5QhcTW9FNdKGGYhgk09JQZXbsvQAQ_w6m0zH4zFR0tTKcAr6uzOzeEtuNWyj9yziWvPk=w400-h331" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our waiting snow coaches. These things sounded like they would be fun! Ha!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>Each snow coach had a main unit with seats for three and the driver, and a trailer with benches along the sides to seat eight. Mrs Notthat and I got to sit in the front with the driver. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivWV7kXLdddtKrRyZ9dV0tLByg0wdhLORZz3f1OTTypO71qGLrBGRBYiO_9Mch7Rpgm2f_c1LNAm7XU_rhx25QsKXeb9sGThTYe8rj_v8MXE-s1kjBSYQXCGwBwDatHtBMRvzesCYOC7TKIAxa3jN-NmRgq0jKMONqkECXVWkhFlDbhIIsR7FTQU1IBQon" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="1280" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivWV7kXLdddtKrRyZ9dV0tLByg0wdhLORZz3f1OTTypO71qGLrBGRBYiO_9Mch7Rpgm2f_c1LNAm7XU_rhx25QsKXeb9sGThTYe8rj_v8MXE-s1kjBSYQXCGwBwDatHtBMRvzesCYOC7TKIAxa3jN-NmRgq0jKMONqkECXVWkhFlDbhIIsR7FTQU1IBQon=w400-h259" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture does not remotely capture how rough this trail was. Or how these snow coaches were so completely lacking in any kind of ride-smoothing suspension.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>It was a rough, slow, noisy ride up to the top of Charlie Dome. It turned out to be worth it though. There were a couple yurts that you could sit in to warm up, but the real show was having a great view of the dark skies.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi9veLXsEiiR7ZhoW__A04FIPL_nFRYZRgJ-LcnjqkNQhz_ygLNZb08nMpFqF1V93buSvqGAHX20ZLrXD1TyadBsoZiNtFv3o0UeDKUAI13RLszAptzLvbR7aaHFmm0173_DBQCud324if9KJs3IoW9bWFKyfoqeBER5xezO905xM3jyTkizSWkynEPNP3y" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi9veLXsEiiR7ZhoW__A04FIPL_nFRYZRgJ-LcnjqkNQhz_ygLNZb08nMpFqF1V93buSvqGAHX20ZLrXD1TyadBsoZiNtFv3o0UeDKUAI13RLszAptzLvbR7aaHFmm0173_DBQCud324if9KJs3IoW9bWFKyfoqeBER5xezO905xM3jyTkizSWkynEPNP3y=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only lights were the arriving and departing snow coaches. But even that didn't affect the aurora.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>The aurora got started before we got up there. And they were way better than what we had seen the night before.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2pHeNDvsgk1dF857p-e1wSlF-BhrN6mxuWi78zx0PkYnwx44-Cx54Bh0Xj6H-O_AjVDjC0-JupLLqJKvXJ2jSXIiJepGhfKTGprRDamlyI3TTvWEp_Eyym_4LM0QtjB60h8q7T3JmDKQuESrONoCu-_EYtEvl3Q41R57tt20L5FD6zl12JFatOu_H5lL_" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2pHeNDvsgk1dF857p-e1wSlF-BhrN6mxuWi78zx0PkYnwx44-Cx54Bh0Xj6H-O_AjVDjC0-JupLLqJKvXJ2jSXIiJepGhfKTGprRDamlyI3TTvWEp_Eyym_4LM0QtjB60h8q7T3JmDKQuESrONoCu-_EYtEvl3Q41R57tt20L5FD6zl12JFatOu_H5lL_=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Again, this is just me holding my phone. Astonishing!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>The aurora went on like this for quite a while. The auroras were lighting up the horizon. I remember wondering to Mrs. Notthat what it would be like to actually be under the aurora. We took several breaks in the warming huts, and finally went out for one last look before catching a snow coach back down. </p><p>You'll never guess what happened next.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTXhAaw79bhjSVEtgZrgoFPhWed9HMsogZwTI45nRfzlfxzJVIr_3CpL2491oockq_-K1rCQn1eTA3ZGCF-ErnuK9kC2_7jqjxojfelF7r5LF6BJxbuLX48q_bbGpFqtQLlSbKABotOBsC36_awBt133lpLlkzHclPv39VO-XpNEp-XslEqTTJOP5zz4eG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTXhAaw79bhjSVEtgZrgoFPhWed9HMsogZwTI45nRfzlfxzJVIr_3CpL2491oockq_-K1rCQn1eTA3ZGCF-ErnuK9kC2_7jqjxojfelF7r5LF6BJxbuLX48q_bbGpFqtQLlSbKABotOBsC36_awBt133lpLlkzHclPv39VO-XpNEp-XslEqTTJOP5zz4eG=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The aurora went right over the top of us!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>It was spectacular. People were gasping. Shutters were furiously clicking. I took <a href="https://youtu.be/YwAMfMwkPrQ" target="_blank">this video</a>, starting at one horizon and panning straight overhead to the other horizon.</p><p>The people with proper cameras got amazing shots, but what I managed with my phone were only a small bit short of amazing. After half an hour or so, the aurora calmed down and suddenly the wind was REALLY cold and it was REALLY late and we managed to catch a snow coach back down. I thought it would be nice to ride in the back this time and let someone else get to sit up front. <br /></p><p>I was an idiot.</p><p>The ride in the back going down the mountain was remarkably uncomfortable. We were all sliding on the seats towards the front, squishing the people at the front. I spent the ride down desperately trying to brace myself so I didn't completely flatten the poor person to my left. That ride took forever (these things are not fast, and even if they were, they couldn't go very fast due to the roughness of the trail). We were so happy to finally make it back to the resort.</p><p>The next morning, during our next Dennis lecture, he said that on a scale of 1-10, what we had seen two nights ago he would rate at about a two. What we had seen last night though, was an easy nine. It was truly remarkable that we were in the right place in the right conditions. We would see some aurora on other nights, but nothing would match what we had seen that night. </p><p>The rest of our stay there was spent catching up on sleep and doing some other activities. The resort uses the hot springs not just for recreational swimming, but to generate their electricity, heat all the buildings, and heat the enclosed gardens where they grow most of the fresh produce served in the restaurant. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK1bZcvif5AvPubjq4rDr5_AolLQDWHRKfHc33fO_Xs_MnmOxoWbgbXmQy8WaBB6iVc5Jbk30oWu-VJAY685cWNEi8DnqmJ7PGCH1yvsfJhjoiCQQ9v96GMLy5_lqd4H1KxjRBEohmISUEVDBOPq6uLJKebjFaasDc5MGsQaj8QYDr21_-MkdmI-oWThJ2" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK1bZcvif5AvPubjq4rDr5_AolLQDWHRKfHc33fO_Xs_MnmOxoWbgbXmQy8WaBB6iVc5Jbk30oWu-VJAY685cWNEi8DnqmJ7PGCH1yvsfJhjoiCQQ9v96GMLy5_lqd4H1KxjRBEohmISUEVDBOPq6uLJKebjFaasDc5MGsQaj8QYDr21_-MkdmI-oWThJ2=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The plants all grow using hydroponics - no dirt is involved!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>Next we toured their Ice Castle.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0GG1pLkJLNYegEg9YR0xAsO6ej6SnPbxO0SIRaNGZrcJBukHaiG7hpHBLjX6NA4vHf1vaS08apRCWMAiu4dwoXer2hcE7onUeqBsnZm7p9eBa0-hlPTxSpFV8CQ04-_E9oOy80PG-e2JyEx9101V_zVCJE5fBF4kLYi0LjBywYAtD3C78kkQPrtK3jb0A" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0GG1pLkJLNYegEg9YR0xAsO6ej6SnPbxO0SIRaNGZrcJBukHaiG7hpHBLjX6NA4vHf1vaS08apRCWMAiu4dwoXer2hcE7onUeqBsnZm7p9eBa0-hlPTxSpFV8CQ04-_E9oOy80PG-e2JyEx9101V_zVCJE5fBF4kLYi0LjBywYAtD3C78kkQPrtK3jb0A=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More astonishing ice sculptures.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-1v3pArh4VCUWhwvcm3OglkHLQNx4moUaYlCKfbVgNj1CnPaL4dubz-ArCduu7Amrzv0cc-vmTiuJx4E4JQvAQpmB75zBzNP6uQxHiVqNmeaKq21crJHuYursPZQMjkNOmn0qbyTc46ozGhbBntwKDKNnCG_GatsWkXH-B7LKZHv3ieOXJg5l3y7ORFEl" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-1v3pArh4VCUWhwvcm3OglkHLQNx4moUaYlCKfbVgNj1CnPaL4dubz-ArCduu7Amrzv0cc-vmTiuJx4E4JQvAQpmB75zBzNP6uQxHiVqNmeaKq21crJHuYursPZQMjkNOmn0qbyTc46ozGhbBntwKDKNnCG_GatsWkXH-B7LKZHv3ieOXJg5l3y7ORFEl=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ice bar. What would an ice bar use to serve their drinks in?</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><br /></p><p>One of the coolest things was that they made martini glasses out of ice. <a href="https://youtu.be/v7s-cT2qJUI" target="_blank">Here is a link</a> to a video showing one being made.<br /><br />The ice martini glasses are not proper souvenirs since they, well, are just ice. So the tradition is to smash them out front.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiu4l_g6UzNaCSXki6ld2JbNb1gqQY-YHYyy_h_EyeUfV9L9iAG901cPvxT1NeyU3u726Sh0uUhER0VYAof4C0eZWzELqRQln7UEIkBUi30piZxKV4ZANdg-oak1Ny7Ixmi1OGlZ0sMxC8raVTEx2648rDOpGL0jL5sCZtKKvMgJHfPYYfrXPo6kgfz-lOV" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiu4l_g6UzNaCSXki6ld2JbNb1gqQY-YHYyy_h_EyeUfV9L9iAG901cPvxT1NeyU3u726Sh0uUhER0VYAof4C0eZWzELqRQln7UEIkBUi30piZxKV4ZANdg-oak1Ny7Ixmi1OGlZ0sMxC8raVTEx2648rDOpGL0jL5sCZtKKvMgJHfPYYfrXPo6kgfz-lOV=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was so weird to see all these shattered ice martini glasses from previous shatterings. It really looked like bits of glass all over the place.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>The highlight of the next day was a ride in a dog sled.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1Uf_CBBgIizJkmJxeHvI-uveBMtYRi2tVZXw4089xIl8iPGrtKOgs41cYKgYJjveKhlBTZU0aXkULNQyUsBs2AU3vJr3ZfVcGD2IUZv7UJaqfzp0ttEbPlPRqBjAP0zKPF8uFZoUcobvkzaGv54_gp0YUqYVPTYipOqWL5Tsl5ihg6rW6i8v6RJ2Zj1d7" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1Uf_CBBgIizJkmJxeHvI-uveBMtYRi2tVZXw4089xIl8iPGrtKOgs41cYKgYJjveKhlBTZU0aXkULNQyUsBs2AU3vJr3ZfVcGD2IUZv7UJaqfzp0ttEbPlPRqBjAP0zKPF8uFZoUcobvkzaGv54_gp0YUqYVPTYipOqWL5Tsl5ihg6rW6i8v6RJ2Zj1d7=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was not nearly as comfortable as it looks. Still, pretty cool!</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><br /></p><p>The ride itself was a lot rougher than I had expected, and it was a bit wild how we would slide around corners. All in all, I'm glad I can say I did that but I did not feel like I wanted to take a second lap. After we had all gotten our rides, we got to go pet the dogs. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-SzzXq2cdIzz4aFcdFFMh8EOYv3eQrVY3bOZmTZGD6R6ek2BrR0akRshxwKR9xT4Azwk25sCQPTtFvYgg3b49bBx3XB3DlwUPFJwKcL2C97LKq5cHNyYI3uDDfMvSMY-jGQy0czySdEQ0amAzHSL6x66wF7buS4hMKZFAgBPRn60l0klpT8i1yhfeutbg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="1884" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-SzzXq2cdIzz4aFcdFFMh8EOYv3eQrVY3bOZmTZGD6R6ek2BrR0akRshxwKR9xT4Azwk25sCQPTtFvYgg3b49bBx3XB3DlwUPFJwKcL2C97LKq5cHNyYI3uDDfMvSMY-jGQy0czySdEQ0amAzHSL6x66wF7buS4hMKZFAgBPRn60l0klpT8i1yhfeutbg=w400-h248" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was a lot of fun wandering around and petting all these dogs!</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEip2YkdpNwaxaAzL0anE-drviG4dTemkuFRyM7dwZcQFltBy7s_aXOG8BMOK_AkSDhr_nNer_dS2qHPuUfh1DJr_P-aAe4iPeU6_G8Lc4lTbHKYg97zEXU4hmYeMzSaODSAQaLjUY3zFnX0OLxtu2nc8JrLGkswt6ne8u1q4IEC2a_tmEF2ClCf80O0XfQs" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="866" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEip2YkdpNwaxaAzL0anE-drviG4dTemkuFRyM7dwZcQFltBy7s_aXOG8BMOK_AkSDhr_nNer_dS2qHPuUfh1DJr_P-aAe4iPeU6_G8Lc4lTbHKYg97zEXU4hmYeMzSaODSAQaLjUY3zFnX0OLxtu2nc8JrLGkswt6ne8u1q4IEC2a_tmEF2ClCf80O0XfQs=w392-h400" width="392" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat petting a couple of our sled dogs.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>And that's about it. The next day we took a bus back to the hotel in Fairbanks, then the next day we got up wildly early to fly back to Seattle. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg43cds7i_aFcgn9t0koUhRGgpkqwTfPt6y8IZ3pHr610NXdH_Ai-RZvUHDwxJk4e5sJElvkrHAAEYsuR4AmnCZ8K7owHatvzeBcP2iLwV6iwqKhlIeBETj4b0CQVnMVCY2P2y5oLsnpyY_tStGXk-25vLx7pitXD071EW_COTtXDDBzvie22woE7zufq0J" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg43cds7i_aFcgn9t0koUhRGgpkqwTfPt6y8IZ3pHr610NXdH_Ai-RZvUHDwxJk4e5sJElvkrHAAEYsuR4AmnCZ8K7owHatvzeBcP2iLwV6iwqKhlIeBETj4b0CQVnMVCY2P2y5oLsnpyY_tStGXk-25vLx7pitXD071EW_COTtXDDBzvie22woE7zufq0J=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>This was a once in a lifetime trip. We were so fortunate to have such a spectacular aurora display - it's not uncommon to have trips like this only see minor displays. It made things so much better to be part of a group - not having to deal with rental cars and getting the lectures and tours were such huge bonuses.</p><p></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEib3C08uRHZh5h3iwZ-ZY76Q0B_m0_IxATdFWIuMzQlNiEAEnxyUMll4s5XD8Ht-QywvVf8C3ktTHifmZC6wvWa2jNBbqnk_mQt-QD76LgGkfbBeoNWe7TjPMahIdMEVC0ANoL5hulkDW2cGqI1PxujVCPkJ_N50PAkGNdfJ0Rg2sHvAD6eYhvMmTZJz3Qy" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEib3C08uRHZh5h3iwZ-ZY76Q0B_m0_IxATdFWIuMzQlNiEAEnxyUMll4s5XD8Ht-QywvVf8C3ktTHifmZC6wvWa2jNBbqnk_mQt-QD76LgGkfbBeoNWe7TjPMahIdMEVC0ANoL5hulkDW2cGqI1PxujVCPkJ_N50PAkGNdfJ0Rg2sHvAD6eYhvMmTZJz3Qy=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Chena - the owner likes to collect aircraft and fire engines.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>Of course there were issues that came up (Alaska Airlines did remarkably poorly at handling a group, there were some minor bus issues, and a few other things that happened), but Rick was great at keeping everything on an even keel. I would not hesitate to recommend Melita Trips for this tour.</p><p>A huge thanks to him and Eileen for making this all fun, and Dennis for the education!</p><p>That's it - move along…</p><p>PS: One interesting thing - it only snowed on us once, and it was pretty light and on the next to last day there. We did have an abundance of cold though.</p><p>PPS: I just assumed that Alaska in general was mostly a fairly high elevation. It turns out that Fairbanks sits a bit below 500 feet. MUCH lower than I would have expected.</p>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-36604200694274116592023-07-03T16:14:00.001-07:002023-07-03T16:14:51.467-07:00WSER 2023 - The 50th running and my 12th year at Last Chance!<p>There was a point in the fall when I wondered whether the 50th running <a href="https://www.wser.org" target="_blank">Western States 100</a> race could even happen. The wildfires were devastating and unstoppable.</p><p>As it turned out, they were stoppable, due to a heroic effort. But a lot of damage had been done. Last Chance had been spared, but man, so much of the course after it was a mess.</p><p>And then we had a remarkably wet winter, and a remarkably wet winter after a wildfire means even more challenges putting this race on. </p><p>In the end, all those challenges were met and the race got the green light. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8OmzhzuC8FT8yl5J9P_iJxWmuWlhQOLegNXFzDujfCTz97KzEalqPmPeJLoOeukUE75NRyMVUfmQp0gj7aYPkX7qT-tKDATy7FkmG8RIWq2OsVdnuoK3HSt5CVgfkuV0AjWWUU0kGem7nPGO9BfyRRTol7wACtLKuVYO88dUCPUKJn5H6q3zwNuDrte1/s1280/IMG_0666.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8OmzhzuC8FT8yl5J9P_iJxWmuWlhQOLegNXFzDujfCTz97KzEalqPmPeJLoOeukUE75NRyMVUfmQp0gj7aYPkX7qT-tKDATy7FkmG8RIWq2OsVdnuoK3HSt5CVgfkuV0AjWWUU0kGem7nPGO9BfyRRTol7wACtLKuVYO88dUCPUKJn5H6q3zwNuDrte1/w313-h400/IMG_0666.jpeg" width="313" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is a reason the cover of this year's official magazine didn't feature a runner for the first time that I recall.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>One challenge that couldn't be fixed in time was a badly damaged Mosquito Ridge Road. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Mosquito Ridge Road saga</h3><p>Mosquito Ridge Road provides important access to a number of aid stations, including a couple that are crew accessible. This road goes from Foresthill to French Meadows, providing access to Last Chance, Dusty Corners, and several more aid stations. Anybody that has crewed a runner at Duncan Canyon and/or Dusty Corners has used this wildly twisty, hilly road. In the past, it's been infamous for having areas limited to a single lane due to road damage. Between the wildfire and the wet winter, the road gave up completely and is requiring significant repairs that will take until late summer to finish. </p><p>The runners lost access to their crews at miles 24.4 and 38. The trick was going to be getting the volunteers to those aid stations served by that road. Fortunately, the section that was so damaged was between Foresthill and the turn to Dusty Corners/Last Chance - from that turn to French Meadows was fine. And these hills are infested with back roads, so we would be able to access the locations, but man, it would not be straightforward.</p><p>The end result was that, instead of heading to Foresthill out of Auburn, we headed to Cool and then Georgetown, then took a few back roads to get to French Meadows, where we were able to get onto the undamaged bit of Mosquito Ridge Road. All of this meant it took about two hours longer to get to Last Chance than normal. </p><p>(There was an initial proposal for us to take a route that went past Robinson Flat instead of Georgetown - this would have been a bit shorter, but was hampered by snow until very late, when a bulldozer was brought in to clear the road.)</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Last Chance</h3><p>There was some concern that the challenging access might cause some volunteers to stay home this year. That did not happen.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBmha_j11dhQNl1AqBCFgK9tC54suSewc_5f6ADDoWxR_BccFSi9OjFjnloL3jl7sB-NAu6kJkjIgFIYkDtaFQSUrWY0gV6SqI8tvRf5Vm_rWVAVcT1MGQMTkk5ClFUM5kLLacvNvCUfw5v6wB6PJoTiRstZXU_AoTQYLZAbxBHwnN8jRnEjOYuOAjige/s1280/IMG_0584.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBmha_j11dhQNl1AqBCFgK9tC54suSewc_5f6ADDoWxR_BccFSi9OjFjnloL3jl7sB-NAu6kJkjIgFIYkDtaFQSUrWY0gV6SqI8tvRf5Vm_rWVAVcT1MGQMTkk5ClFUM5kLLacvNvCUfw5v6wB6PJoTiRstZXU_AoTQYLZAbxBHwnN8jRnEjOYuOAjige/w400-h266/IMG_0584.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nearly 60 volunteers at Last Chance braved the challenging access.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">The general consensus was that it would be warm for the runners (once they got past the 20 or so miles of snow covered trails in the high country), but not nearly as hot as it was last year. And once again, it was decided to bring an ice trailer to Dusty Corners, and for Last Chance to get its ice from that trailer.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Or5ua7o2qkI1SY0ntsAQdHAh-RN1MAPWHwVDH0YC-_ZoVQkl0CvSE4jh3SmvAWAIEoG_nR5zo-wAM_GzxvLU3c7iLmmWrbIgiNMuMZ486qveYECHSieh8nm4VipjTf8kNGIswl34NISUrNVHWlzimWjXCNiK2HZLdRCWDv6yxKw5gGVbmhJSw_kJ0p-D/s1280/IMG_0574.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Or5ua7o2qkI1SY0ntsAQdHAh-RN1MAPWHwVDH0YC-_ZoVQkl0CvSE4jh3SmvAWAIEoG_nR5zo-wAM_GzxvLU3c7iLmmWrbIgiNMuMZ486qveYECHSieh8nm4VipjTf8kNGIswl34NISUrNVHWlzimWjXCNiK2HZLdRCWDv6yxKw5gGVbmhJSw_kJ0p-D/w400-h300/IMG_0574.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loading the Dusty Corners ice trailer.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Once the trailer made it to Dusty, we drove up to it and picked up our 1200 pounds of ice. I doubted we would need that much, based on the forecast, but nobody wants to risk running out. (We ended up using between 900 and 1000 pounds.) </p><p style="text-align: left;">As cool as it felt at Last Chance this year, the runners knew what was coming - the fire had turned the climb up to Devil's Thumb from a largely shaded slog into a totally exposed slog. It was going to be brutal, and most of the runners prepared for it by packing their hats, sleeves, and bandanas with ice.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjUiN8c3NUwjUJ0jG795do4Px_cPtY7UGbqDTPgXyLNyCTnBsy1QZVVhS_d159uKzFBK_Qth7tOwSYauBPiUhbSyb_HgRmHONuBusg1qulb0QAhnBCk5aF0t2N-GHWP1t9me6cnRSvIBWtbqDen-UiCyIhSkv4x0l7VZluhphBOlVm3TTC708kk0ls8TZ/s1280/IMG_4568.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjUiN8c3NUwjUJ0jG795do4Px_cPtY7UGbqDTPgXyLNyCTnBsy1QZVVhS_d159uKzFBK_Qth7tOwSYauBPiUhbSyb_HgRmHONuBusg1qulb0QAhnBCk5aF0t2N-GHWP1t9me6cnRSvIBWtbqDen-UiCyIhSkv4x0l7VZluhphBOlVm3TTC708kk0ls8TZ/w400-h268/IMG_4568.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shading the porta-potties to keep them from roasting in the sun.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbnrgrXbZxMpWQlaD9fs3Z2ha7gbLklBuui5KmKVkf2EGtdmTbvJBBwK8rLEHjc-6lcUZHEuV0U17hnXtCd7Tqx-ihDRqu9raVaJXYi3xIzmbgSVgwMsDs7UN9P2D3kM1GHTnRBxUd0OXsYiqc5eAyOS08-LduUEypTgzQdcTFFtSopOyHhUKDJZy2h4h/s1280/IMG_4580.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbnrgrXbZxMpWQlaD9fs3Z2ha7gbLklBuui5KmKVkf2EGtdmTbvJBBwK8rLEHjc-6lcUZHEuV0U17hnXtCd7Tqx-ihDRqu9raVaJXYi3xIzmbgSVgwMsDs7UN9P2D3kM1GHTnRBxUd0OXsYiqc5eAyOS08-LduUEypTgzQdcTFFtSopOyHhUKDJZy2h4h/w400-h268/IMG_4580.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two things: It was odd seeing people actively seeking out chairs in the sun, and that table under the awning was added to make it easier for the runners to go through their drop bags.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">One thing that took some getting used to was how much brush in the Last Chance area had been thinned in an effort to aid in fire prevention.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWm_vbp8l_oqHajZ70_nWTBOk8I4_55bsMqcxrifF-d4WogsbXVVvAkjC3yiqPjFIrLRkYWTpb4asgwfoA4_I7rR3r4X_4vA5Fqqxz6uVWR4OMZWASbwqtIFaANNJ_lpw_TLSf_fegZi-fY_-7W5-lypGZeznVY0Ypmm7DMXdU-fc26Tvd6XPR6zeJShms/s2100/Screenshot%202023-06-25%20at%207.19.12%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="2100" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWm_vbp8l_oqHajZ70_nWTBOk8I4_55bsMqcxrifF-d4WogsbXVVvAkjC3yiqPjFIrLRkYWTpb4asgwfoA4_I7rR3r4X_4vA5Fqqxz6uVWR4OMZWASbwqtIFaANNJ_lpw_TLSf_fegZi-fY_-7W5-lypGZeznVY0Ypmm7DMXdU-fc26Tvd6XPR6zeJShms/w400-h245/Screenshot%202023-06-25%20at%207.19.12%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the hill I put up the signs the runners see as they exit Last Chance. This is what it looked like in previous years.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Kca3a7JGCcrICSqh3CGe6JlfSVwZ7SSydCsAhOZ_kJor68Ot5JAgnho53l5T3TLVdifGGmtqEmhvBufxMqd6bRrXl_esDEG3OZuIPVHOsqUGInM60XXVjBu8PmxI0-1c04dLm17S2hsL8PZVUGFmDE8ny3Cyhjty9aqqMXI2hFSiNBmNj8yGioJme95U/s1280/IMG_4545.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1280" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Kca3a7JGCcrICSqh3CGe6JlfSVwZ7SSydCsAhOZ_kJor68Ot5JAgnho53l5T3TLVdifGGmtqEmhvBufxMqd6bRrXl_esDEG3OZuIPVHOsqUGInM60XXVjBu8PmxI0-1c04dLm17S2hsL8PZVUGFmDE8ny3Cyhjty9aqqMXI2hFSiNBmNj8yGioJme95U/w400-h269/IMG_4545.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That same hill this year. It was weird being able to see so far with no obstructions.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Click <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/C4R4ReSecJLr2YdeA" target="_blank">HERE</a> to see all the signs.</p><p style="text-align: left;">For the most part, the day went smoothly. Many of the runners were having foot issues due to having to spend so much time running on snow, but they were also enjoying the milder temperatures. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX5iqxCnEXdzGC85IiFul4D7WXZOJuQY4WcSAKss5FPjZa_oONxmMXlbnKh1HfJi_Pj7Z-GUZGbmO0CHX3HmJ7IMkVkwwVmljNUkvaGH7ABbgjryzDQIref4TLoTo67APxd37-Py3RGNZ7RM5KSoS9jdaMCz3TiHjCP7J0dRcmtEX4ujSYny9SDkW0P29R/s1280/IMG_4578.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX5iqxCnEXdzGC85IiFul4D7WXZOJuQY4WcSAKss5FPjZa_oONxmMXlbnKh1HfJi_Pj7Z-GUZGbmO0CHX3HmJ7IMkVkwwVmljNUkvaGH7ABbgjryzDQIref4TLoTo67APxd37-Py3RGNZ7RM5KSoS9jdaMCz3TiHjCP7J0dRcmtEX4ujSYny9SDkW0P29R/w400-h268/IMG_4578.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting a shower and ice refill.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqikHLI_8EUthu-eqRDZjm6DwaEPlgUkKBOo5b1JMzvoc-tPBJiQ7k-fNlykeU02UOiamFKmPBZMeCbdezN6c3MRfVa6RxKxfsm8ST1QhYsNw9hRK25WBS-iIZexVn4GzuE0dFht2HrK6zqx62RAyiyRTzkj-duU9FySGuYMw2eGSRiJ0zug8tmThtF-dT/s1280/IMG_4583.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqikHLI_8EUthu-eqRDZjm6DwaEPlgUkKBOo5b1JMzvoc-tPBJiQ7k-fNlykeU02UOiamFKmPBZMeCbdezN6c3MRfVa6RxKxfsm8ST1QhYsNw9hRK25WBS-iIZexVn4GzuE0dFht2HrK6zqx62RAyiyRTzkj-duU9FySGuYMw2eGSRiJ0zug8tmThtF-dT/w400-h268/IMG_4583.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attending to a runner meant doing some running yourself sometimes!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQgGPFYOkfE9jPDdKxO55LzzCf9Y1ryTT_YC95TpJTHi-2vhn-5tyYgaXhJMgbsOqXzSVcXjVjin8PKXJ7zaQE-XgwUwUgKKgfLMuj-AiHgewUwTiMNxmwo3QLEeJ6l4y-PqZtm2r5N7e7mzV4tyjGf1Yj00evgsnezoR_DpI_qBxAvGtmYg-ai-l0Sjl/s1280/IMG_0599.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQgGPFYOkfE9jPDdKxO55LzzCf9Y1ryTT_YC95TpJTHi-2vhn-5tyYgaXhJMgbsOqXzSVcXjVjin8PKXJ7zaQE-XgwUwUgKKgfLMuj-AiHgewUwTiMNxmwo3QLEeJ6l4y-PqZtm2r5N7e7mzV4tyjGf1Yj00evgsnezoR_DpI_qBxAvGtmYg-ai-l0Sjl/w400-h300/IMG_0599.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pixie Ninja dominating some watermelon on her way to her ninth finish!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">One of the coolest things was that we had no runners drop at Last Chance this year! (Out of 22 potential places to drop, including a bit oddly, the finish line, only six had nobody drop. At least part of this was because the logistics of dropping here are not great, especially this year with that long drive. Three dropped at Devil's Thumb, the next aid station.)</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Maybe my favorite WSER moment of all time</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Donna and Tessa alerted me to a special runner in the race - John Almeda. John is non-verbal autistic, and for personal reasons, I was especially fascinated and anxious to see him come through Last Chance. One interesting bit - I think this was the first time in my 12 years I've seen a pacer bib here.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I had to restrain myself from being a fanboy, and the last thing I wanted to do was distract him. I had made him a sign which was in the swarm of signs on that hill - I really hoped he or his pacer would notice it, but seriously, the chances weren't great (they had no idea it was there - I decided to risk having it be a total surprise). </p><p style="text-align: left;">They noticed it - his pacer took this shot.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi91SYUhcxVtQfwasdxLQMkzrC9g0qbceAGCQ_aHi8M2G89qNpzb0aLFKGInKWLUTZkMvNszt3QcA6BewyXSP0ZkRL4Cnlb3tibttoFaePZHL3Tk5Or32lZYYA2EZJkuqoYhW3sq5pyqzqCkn348i0aIC47XNga9kOQ52CRdfeIaPNM_3xPRTeeCuhw9Qlx/s1914/Screenshot%202023-07-03%20at%203.57.12%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1336" data-original-width="1914" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi91SYUhcxVtQfwasdxLQMkzrC9g0qbceAGCQ_aHi8M2G89qNpzb0aLFKGInKWLUTZkMvNszt3QcA6BewyXSP0ZkRL4Cnlb3tibttoFaePZHL3Tk5Or32lZYYA2EZJkuqoYhW3sq5pyqzqCkn348i0aIC47XNga9kOQ52CRdfeIaPNM_3xPRTeeCuhw9Qlx/w400-h279/Screenshot%202023-07-03%20at%203.57.12%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Even a week later, this makes me tear up! I mean, just, WOW!</p><p style="text-align: left;">John finished in just a bit over 27 hours. This is so very cool.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Some boring stats that only I find interesting</h3><p style="text-align: left;">One thing I'm always fascinated by is the finish rate of the runners that come through Last Chance in the final 90 minutes or so. Based on history, the guidance is that you need to get here by 4:20 to be on a 30-hour finish pace. The actual cutoff is 5:25. So theoretically at least, runners showing upon the last hour should be reasonably doomed. Here is a chart:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLNNcETrDOLp488caPYY7WvkjUUt6rglzR6NHKDp5mWOzLjKuHldUtLXe0QiAQWVjWYNbxs98EER2uPb9RApmkzvJdLQcA3GzpaDWxjqJilZMjOyh7zimu_yFhdRAqV6pcix1U6r775v-D2esSKklS8bLr7XlCqwojVQUkDVk_ZfQk2D5UASdgBJd8KVWf/s1791/Screenshot%202023-07-03%20at%202.23.44%20PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="1791" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLNNcETrDOLp488caPYY7WvkjUUt6rglzR6NHKDp5mWOzLjKuHldUtLXe0QiAQWVjWYNbxs98EER2uPb9RApmkzvJdLQcA3GzpaDWxjqJilZMjOyh7zimu_yFhdRAqV6pcix1U6r775v-D2esSKklS8bLr7XlCqwojVQUkDVk_ZfQk2D5UASdgBJd8KVWf/w400-h198/Screenshot%202023-07-03%20at%202.23.44%20PM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gaps show where runners were unable to finish the race. Click or tap this to see it larger (if you find such things irresistible).</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">I picked 4:00 PM as the time to start tracking finishes. I found it interesting that four runners in the twenty minutes between 4:00 and 4:20 finished in the 27th hour - a couple of those were pushing the 26th hour! These are runners that seriously thrive on the second half of this course.</p><p style="text-align: left;">For the next twenty minutes, from 4:20 to 4:40, you have five runners that finish in the 28th hour! From 4:40 to 5:00, the runners are finishing in the 29th hour - the interesting thing is that only six of these twenty six runners were unable to finish. For being significantly behind the 30-hour pace, that's really remarkable!</p><p style="text-align: left;">Starting at 5:00 though, things start getting a bit rough. Only two of the twelve runners during the last twenty five minutes finished, but the last one of those came in at 5:14 - nearly an hour after the projected 30-hour pace!</p><p style="text-align: left;">The lesson is that it isn't a fantasy that those runners coming through so late have a realistic chance of finishing - they really do! Maybe they will get to soon start working with their crew and pacers, and that makes the difference. Maybe night running is their thing.</p><div><p style="text-align: left;">Maybe that second scoop of ice in their bandana and that third piece of watermelon is just what they needed, and it's now game on!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJGdmzaoc0FNlbsP9NXrKiVj1z6u6L0TDpQCw__7Et-gdWlospp6wLv7cxE3oOglQ6GY3nIj7cYAoZQpoVPLt1CWXsmST1wMHw7-nYL25J_pReTomQoYOLJ53Hu6pnY_S9_-bZcy1ZqQK_RRPZsqUHqxjqoI-s2dQgvN7KzxBU5PTVwbT4rix3Nu8280i/s1280/IMG_0611.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJGdmzaoc0FNlbsP9NXrKiVj1z6u6L0TDpQCw__7Et-gdWlospp6wLv7cxE3oOglQ6GY3nIj7cYAoZQpoVPLt1CWXsmST1wMHw7-nYL25J_pReTomQoYOLJ53Hu6pnY_S9_-bZcy1ZqQK_RRPZsqUHqxjqoI-s2dQgvN7KzxBU5PTVwbT4rix3Nu8280i/w400-h300/IMG_0611.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My very dusty van back home.</td></tr></tbody></table><h3 style="text-align: left;">Wrapping up</h3><p style="text-align: left;">This was a challenging year to volunteer at Last Chance due to the longer drive, but even that wasn't so bad thanks to detailed directions given by Dusty Corners Doug! The weather was much more pleasant than usual, the mosquitos didn't seem to be any worse (granted, they've set the bar pretty high), and the day went by remarkably fast.</p><p style="text-align: left;">For the second year in a row, I chose to drive straight home rather than stopping at the finish line. This decision is a big struggle and is always regretted a bit the next day, but as I've gotten older, pulling an all nighter after working the aid station all day is too much of a challenge. Maybe 2024 will be different.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That's it - move along…</p><p style="text-align: left;">PS: I just realized that I didn't provide my usual introduction to the Last Chance aid station. It is the aid station with the longest serving organization - for 41 years the Stevens Creek Striders have managed Last Chance. It's at mile 43.3 and just before the first of the traditionally very hot canyons and the famous Swinging Bridge. One of the things that makes it great is that there are no pacers or crew allowed - we have the runner's full attention! One of the things that makes it challenging is that access is cut off fairly early in the morning on race day since parts of the road are also part of the course, which means you can't leave early or come in late (many of us come in on Friday and camp overnight, much to the mosquitos delight - a bonus of this is that you can explore some great sections of the course). Another thing is that there is no cell service for most people, which means that using GPS navigation is often an adventure.</p></div>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-53615263076798800532023-05-29T09:27:00.000-07:002023-05-29T09:27:04.751-07:00 Is your Wordle guess doomed?<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The first point to make clear - this is all predicated on the unwritten rule that Wordle will never use a word more than once. I don’t think that’s an official rule though.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Supposedly Wordle has a database of 2309 words (pre-New York Times takeover) to choose from (out of around 13,000 English five letter words). That means, if they never repeat a word, the game will be done in October of 2027. Reusing words would avoid that deadline (as would allowing more of those 13,000 words). </span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">In any case, I think it’s fair to assume words aren’t going to be repeated in the near future, so it’s worth my time doing a test. </span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Now that a bit over 700 of those 2309 words have been used, I was curious how many times my recent guesses were words that’d already been used, and thus, were doomed and had no chance of being that day’s word. I didn’t count my start word (I have several that I use, and I’ve verified that none of them have been used - no way I want to jeopardize my 1/6 chances), and I didn’t count the second guess if it was following a first guess whiff, since that guess is going to be an alternative start word, and of course, I didn’t count the final word. So for a 4/6, there were (usually) two guesses that were potentially previously used words.</span></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w_DdrZCuTEH2epMp0QoCrW4NIWIGT9NO9OgqHnCZSAxNgs3uchAGwXDecSqrPrott4zBJTs-55A04OkO1GUzUnNFjvHR4xJRXdpk_fO5vFKumsBLTJ8p0Pd141zThPtIjWBfr1gwSD3aBgsQQLZ1Ult0kQHL0BHuIsbUJHooxRuwqaFyNnLFFSO_bg/s1236/Screenshot%202023-05-28%20at%208.07.40%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="716" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w_DdrZCuTEH2epMp0QoCrW4NIWIGT9NO9OgqHnCZSAxNgs3uchAGwXDecSqrPrott4zBJTs-55A04OkO1GUzUnNFjvHR4xJRXdpk_fO5vFKumsBLTJ8p0Pd141zThPtIjWBfr1gwSD3aBgsQQLZ1Ult0kQHL0BHuIsbUJHooxRuwqaFyNnLFFSO_bg/w231-h400/Screenshot%202023-05-28%20at%208.07.40%20PM.png" width="231" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pink cells are already used words. The green ones are start words.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">I went back two months and looked at my guesses (I’ve taken a screenshot of every day’s play since back in July of 2022), made a spreadsheet, and then checked to see how many of the guesses were doomed.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZMoScVtWwAXKGgqfb-q9BRabkSTCFL4pRvVNaByng1kerxjuqotzTaIM17_BQo8eubCKnF-E7J-qcuPGykp4_P6K-OEZyknLeA6CiVDSOt9-Jf6BxsHdyJyZS-i8UCNYzBZikSwyV0n8UmocgxZAw9yvcHI5AGgmFHLL00Y5UFjQd3K2LivdpLH2Vw/s706/Screenshot%202023-04-24%20at%208.36.56%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="586" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZMoScVtWwAXKGgqfb-q9BRabkSTCFL4pRvVNaByng1kerxjuqotzTaIM17_BQo8eubCKnF-E7J-qcuPGykp4_P6K-OEZyknLeA6CiVDSOt9-Jf6BxsHdyJyZS-i8UCNYzBZikSwyV0n8UmocgxZAw9yvcHI5AGgmFHLL00Y5UFjQd3K2LivdpLH2Vw/w333-h400/Screenshot%202023-04-24%20at%208.36.56%20AM.png" width="333" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From April 24th, FIFTY (which gave me an I) and PINTO (which gave me an O) had already been used.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Important point:</b> Doomed guesses are still useful, and I would still happily use a doomed word if I couldn’t think of anything else and thought it might provide some help.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Out of my last 58 plays, there ended up being 123 possible guesses that may have been doomed (an average of 2.3 per day). An astonishing 40 of those 123 were indeed doomed words - words that had no chance of being that day’s word. Basically, a third of my non-start-word guesses were doomed.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">I have a spreadsheet where I track the previously used words, so theoretically, I could check each word before I entered it. The problem is that I’m lazy, and just won’t do that (with one exception). I don’t really think doing that is cheating - it’s just being willing to put in extra time and effort. My goal is to finish the day’s game quickly - I will gladly trade a 3/6 that takes 15 minutes for a 4/6 that takes 7 minutes.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Oh, and about that one exception; over the last two months, I’ve twice ended up with an X/6. That’s usually due to a “there are too many options” situation. If I’m on the sixth guess and I can think of more than one potential word, I think it’s worth the effort to verify that the word you are entering isn’t doomed. This would have helped me in one of those X/6 cases, and been worth the trouble. </span></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiJdG_echMG6962zY_6v4KbaNJe1VJumFYtXhOyWFHc1VQ4uKK_IBvLG8PqufC0enxvYe_wWZZ5zJ4Pjr2hnm4EjlBTBprDX8jgRHyoHX1xTpD805_KPD4KIC6zexzmn7rPL3limCcgpyuXr816_u4ugQBRS0dtwTn6e-l9tvektI5cW1nL2kLWraEw/s748/Screenshot%202023-05-11%20at%207.54.13%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="596" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiJdG_echMG6962zY_6v4KbaNJe1VJumFYtXhOyWFHc1VQ4uKK_IBvLG8PqufC0enxvYe_wWZZ5zJ4Pjr2hnm4EjlBTBprDX8jgRHyoHX1xTpD805_KPD4KIC6zexzmn7rPL3limCcgpyuXr816_u4ugQBRS0dtwTn6e-l9tvektI5cW1nL2kLWraEw/w319-h400/Screenshot%202023-05-11%20at%207.54.13%20AM.png" width="319" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In this X/6 from May 11th that still gives me nightmares, TROVE, DROLL, FROCK, and AROMA had all already been used.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Every day another words gets used. As more words get used, the chances of your guesses being doomed go up. </span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Go AHEAD and play as USUAL, be BRAVE, don't get UPSET or ANGRY, and have no UNDUE WORRY - ENJOY the HAVOC and WHOOP with GLORY! Maybe even GLOAT with a bit of FLAIR.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">That’s it - move along…</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">PS: I have a shared Numbers spreadsheet that I keep updated with past words (I update it a day late so it won’t give away that day’s word). It also includes a chart to shows the popularity of each letter (which can be useful when working out your guesses). Feel free to look at it here: </span><a href="https://www.icloud.com/numbers/05dIazj8r27ioSxEVwvGKPuiw#Wordle_Words_-_Shared" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #dca10d;"><b>https://www.icloud.com/numbers/05dIazj8r27ioSxEVwvGKPuiw#Wordle_Words_-_Shared</b></span></a><b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;"> </b></p>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-33006527175052166932023-05-07T16:59:00.002-07:002023-05-07T17:58:19.316-07:00A wet winter makes Yosemite extra fun!<p>This has been a pretty epic winter with respect to the rain and snow California has received. The ski areas are talking about staying open into July. Reservoirs are filling to levels unseen in years. People that sell tire chains are buying summer homes in Santa Barbara.</p><p>All of that means that Yosemite waterfalls should be amazing. Which means MANY people want to witness those waterfalls, so finding someplace to stay in the valley can be challenging. </p><p>A friend of Mrs Notthat books a set of rooms a year in advance with the intent of her family gathering there. That did not work out this year though, and Mrs jumped at the chance to take a couple of the rooms - one for us for seven nights starting on a Monday and one for our son and his wife for three nights starting on the following Friday.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuSeIHRhjPE95QF6wurOKdm3AUX-5tH1aNE8Nt2KZRwSjduRPNFKebdkg4Ty8bK2QQfxw3RqFiVwcBtLbmmGWZEfPyfwP0Y6fa9l4lPu6n0Yq83_SRpYxN6KhYsaXoo1ShHwV5EN3gSQlE-1Fqg73hfuGu3AaBNSTF1JNgp0wxZGZ8DTs9--GhAfgjHQ/s1280/IMG_0357.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuSeIHRhjPE95QF6wurOKdm3AUX-5tH1aNE8Nt2KZRwSjduRPNFKebdkg4Ty8bK2QQfxw3RqFiVwcBtLbmmGWZEfPyfwP0Y6fa9l4lPu6n0Yq83_SRpYxN6KhYsaXoo1ShHwV5EN3gSQlE-1Fqg73hfuGu3AaBNSTF1JNgp0wxZGZ8DTs9--GhAfgjHQ/w300-h400/IMG_0357.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls were very perky.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>We stayed at the Yosemite Lodge and were treated to the roaring noise of the falls, which was especially noticeable at night once everything else quieted down. (We walked over to look at them at dusk that first day and turned back as, while we still weren't that close to the viewing area, we were already getting very wet and cold from the spray. We bravely went up to the viewing area the next day though. Here is a video.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pF-lUZ1i5W0" width="320" youtube-src-id="pF-lUZ1i5W0"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>On Tuesday morning, we woke up to being told that the valley area was closing and we would have to leave on Thursday due to forecasted flooding. As we were scrambling to figure out what to do, the park updated the closure to be on Friday instead.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwuNboa9O0715bpHmIIIFpeOyQ5kl2VKF2DRoPNrFKmrkbXnHtOa0mam0q8tSUBhsXb-53YUYUCeUrj9v7H6UxjROZnw5ClAj6wqnFsEG9uqo5tg9pnwsC_Gc5Zvjr5_K3w4VFIpkR4qwUs9MgkGDaT9mmMhceIp4zrE8TcNhFlwGJNnK8vzvS4l-Bbw/s1280/IMG_0363.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1103" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwuNboa9O0715bpHmIIIFpeOyQ5kl2VKF2DRoPNrFKmrkbXnHtOa0mam0q8tSUBhsXb-53YUYUCeUrj9v7H6UxjROZnw5ClAj6wqnFsEG9uqo5tg9pnwsC_Gc5Zvjr5_K3w4VFIpkR4qwUs9MgkGDaT9mmMhceIp4zrE8TcNhFlwGJNnK8vzvS4l-Bbw/w345-h400/IMG_0363.jpeg" width="345" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In our door later in the day. It would have been really easy to not know about the upcoming closure.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>After some phone calls with the kids, it was decided to stay at a place, Evergreen Lodge, that claims to be near Groveland but is actually about halfway to Hetch Hetchy reservoir. More about that later.</p><p>So Mrs and I still had four days to explore the area, and we explored all we could.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14BatTv7XEScyZyDSkrB1-0lArS2qpITv5yDCtwlnE2zA3NbEr17qj2L_lxV-oZhr6XjLrKf4F0tDeJFZ68_izrkd_iwZ5bx9xzQaVUvUyt3k_FF7hljSarVP_m4tboaTB52BpVqxPX3rugQ75V1cw1NmPQdShXcvNRIMRcmtt1c3qeYz16Rb2oF0aQ/s1280/IMG_0369.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14BatTv7XEScyZyDSkrB1-0lArS2qpITv5yDCtwlnE2zA3NbEr17qj2L_lxV-oZhr6XjLrKf4F0tDeJFZ68_izrkd_iwZ5bx9xzQaVUvUyt3k_FF7hljSarVP_m4tboaTB52BpVqxPX3rugQ75V1cw1NmPQdShXcvNRIMRcmtt1c3qeYz16Rb2oF0aQ/w300-h400/IMG_0369.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridalvale Falls as seen from the Tunnel View area. The rainbow was a bonus.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">The weather was reasonably cool, but sunny and dry - I don't remember seeing a cloud during our stay there. But man, we saw waterfalls. Every. Where. You. Looked.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZAxtGqe8zq0dBHLAsZQGWp0lzuS2OBSVE8tVEMBBa6baWYyjPbOQTRjpBww82iUOtqFY_6PfNLdrJxXOwSaOkfWaPLxxfBpy31CbMMoNtW3aO2AMicAgRWr-xpoAUNCMF7lOgW5CBsTIkmonUNWEVspBnwvDnBL9DHCvnK6fvJK3P1ZSglUBowDz_bg/s1280/IMG_0370.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZAxtGqe8zq0dBHLAsZQGWp0lzuS2OBSVE8tVEMBBa6baWYyjPbOQTRjpBww82iUOtqFY_6PfNLdrJxXOwSaOkfWaPLxxfBpy31CbMMoNtW3aO2AMicAgRWr-xpoAUNCMF7lOgW5CBsTIkmonUNWEVspBnwvDnBL9DHCvnK6fvJK3P1ZSglUBowDz_bg/w300-h400/IMG_0370.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the waterfalls weren't huge, and most are temporary, but they were still awesome.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLoYa6-1EEWRyyn1qGszG6BC1BhECaeVaI9_HKmePb9V8GemPIUS0KEeh9HMg_eI-cpca-lmEQq4mX9-KAs16CuzM12t1P1Tfq8RXT_AllwBOdKkoNPptyQ66io5HrEwBSisjjmGRJji5KXLF6msCB3sQzsaulRUHhfdgSDUhoUftd6h6ADwvs4Op1w/s1280/IMG_0372.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLoYa6-1EEWRyyn1qGszG6BC1BhECaeVaI9_HKmePb9V8GemPIUS0KEeh9HMg_eI-cpca-lmEQq4mX9-KAs16CuzM12t1P1Tfq8RXT_AllwBOdKkoNPptyQ66io5HrEwBSisjjmGRJji5KXLF6msCB3sQzsaulRUHhfdgSDUhoUftd6h6ADwvs4Op1w/w300-h400/IMG_0372.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seriously, after a while you just stopped taking pictures of them since there were so many and you couldn't remember if you had already captured that one or not.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iHy01nImLN3UbWwXOSwOoYVhnhD7qzL8W2t1OCTUI6WX-sxoGO8wxesp-DWBJSYWy36ENZnQ88D3qg0mX7fAG8TUMKZBZwwEAPp7dTeOo1sCWNkH5J9-3zErmJfKJlD0-wwtqW4MH4yJFL3gNJ24_7uH4HcNbthfOH_KixRrc3gY0CvSyLRoKn7v-Q/s1280/IMG_0379.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iHy01nImLN3UbWwXOSwOoYVhnhD7qzL8W2t1OCTUI6WX-sxoGO8wxesp-DWBJSYWy36ENZnQ88D3qg0mX7fAG8TUMKZBZwwEAPp7dTeOo1sCWNkH5J9-3zErmJfKJlD0-wwtqW4MH4yJFL3gNJ24_7uH4HcNbthfOH_KixRrc3gY0CvSyLRoKn7v-Q/w400-h300/IMG_0379.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The valley meadows were astonishingly soggy.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">All of the trails that headed out of the valley were pretty much closed. We were able to hike to Mirror Lake and to the Vernal Falls viewing bridge, but that was about all that was available (other than the valley trails, some of which were under water).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvGOWudFJhRm8INgVWJFjdu5-vbKsgMA-iD-z-WMf07Hey4f4cGEDXbM_pZ2sjYD1Bvrzkyc2G_zLkrCJYcJGYi8giKmuoFyiDzTkbXl36kRqo5UEyBxtvAu1f77SDfBvEN84XQPydQtbqLKdRBwAT8apAEuqCHPsrMWbs8uSf_u4eKfRAMJZTwra0OQ/s1280/IMG_0389.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvGOWudFJhRm8INgVWJFjdu5-vbKsgMA-iD-z-WMf07Hey4f4cGEDXbM_pZ2sjYD1Bvrzkyc2G_zLkrCJYcJGYi8giKmuoFyiDzTkbXl36kRqo5UEyBxtvAu1f77SDfBvEN84XQPydQtbqLKdRBwAT8apAEuqCHPsrMWbs8uSf_u4eKfRAMJZTwra0OQ/w400-h300/IMG_0389.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only snow in the valley were the piles left over from the snowplows. Some piles were sadder than others.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2qG48g2qJyrEmpOJDzcEITygeEL-YNOqmJlEIibNRaB0ZmPvSiN574a0n_kVpyePLAkcIZXLIp4FRNGrGvGJKh3w4yZ7r976iJDPqJI3JsSRyiPJ-za1DMEvfdEjbsoOC7W0GjhXloIk1BLVhOzin1lp7Sz37IiQ3Oa11jG21QspAvTMVirmyKjo2w/s1280/IMG_0383.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2qG48g2qJyrEmpOJDzcEITygeEL-YNOqmJlEIibNRaB0ZmPvSiN574a0n_kVpyePLAkcIZXLIp4FRNGrGvGJKh3w4yZ7r976iJDPqJI3JsSRyiPJ-za1DMEvfdEjbsoOC7W0GjhXloIk1BLVhOzin1lp7Sz37IiQ3Oa11jG21QspAvTMVirmyKjo2w/w300-h400/IMG_0383.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat taking in Upper Mirror Lake. Last summer this was all dry and we could walk across the lake bottom.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3oNGJsFXnRpTMyS4jxsaFFDEw31_uVIUPxkY78nMpEsfQSvD2uzbRJRIiUme3SB09DjpokxDP9D0_E5mx9iKoTexxZ0aZIMnLPgVXFUR87xGV7r-bDeiw75f5UBhYu-YS8Zm7cC1VHINoea4hXVYV48F9zfZLB95Ra1JZW8dLbDj7EnyStdNzxPnHg/s1280/IMG_0391.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3oNGJsFXnRpTMyS4jxsaFFDEw31_uVIUPxkY78nMpEsfQSvD2uzbRJRIiUme3SB09DjpokxDP9D0_E5mx9iKoTexxZ0aZIMnLPgVXFUR87xGV7r-bDeiw75f5UBhYu-YS8Zm7cC1VHINoea4hXVYV48F9zfZLB95Ra1JZW8dLbDj7EnyStdNzxPnHg/w400-h300/IMG_0391.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some valley trails required swimming skills.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGNb6gQU1ORPdxEhbQyxf1YP-7r3WGgTMZbFD_o6rt_d4unfqjFzSsh2tGJgbjwr6E7y5xfVCs4CXrhWcWwXHCdCngk0a5PgSpP35ZofGoDwIHJCleKgDa6ek-DzOHyScvYThupRzYmp5E0Yj_NIHaydhkFaMid4P2RtSJnnKsKaUotxYjvWv2fcQbg/s1280/IMG_0392.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGNb6gQU1ORPdxEhbQyxf1YP-7r3WGgTMZbFD_o6rt_d4unfqjFzSsh2tGJgbjwr6E7y5xfVCs4CXrhWcWwXHCdCngk0a5PgSpP35ZofGoDwIHJCleKgDa6ek-DzOHyScvYThupRzYmp5E0Yj_NIHaydhkFaMid4P2RtSJnnKsKaUotxYjvWv2fcQbg/w400-h300/IMG_0392.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiking up the Mist trail to see Vernal Falls.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">By Thursday, it was warming up a bit, although that just meant mid-60s here. But the sun felt really intense if you were getting directly hit by it.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw4wbdVIdML8McpowXGOqBwGCSWfFI3Sdbe4221gY3LK9y0kQCLKWpNsq3c4trdK6OH45uwRMtAX0zH55l26HOSVCb_xd9njtWgkgIZjk0Bg3f-hTuUZi5nTUTMwnl3cABx2eo04_jnx8QjNCJBeVymMIN7jw6-7JvjrVbUxqKjDghqi2m-aWkOjiXoQ/s1280/IMG_0395.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw4wbdVIdML8McpowXGOqBwGCSWfFI3Sdbe4221gY3LK9y0kQCLKWpNsq3c4trdK6OH45uwRMtAX0zH55l26HOSVCb_xd9njtWgkgIZjk0Bg3f-hTuUZi5nTUTMwnl3cABx2eo04_jnx8QjNCJBeVymMIN7jw6-7JvjrVbUxqKjDghqi2m-aWkOjiXoQ/w400-h300/IMG_0395.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mist Trail closure point, just after the John Muir Trail split off.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8NMHZYDoSvwUDXwLJy36FkGeFd3Cueg3sfNCj9725OdlAVCO9eTMdmEajzRZXEus6ofC1NlziO5XtKEtYtzHQPGL__djCPNvB8mkOX8-9DGKvrVzQ3kasmqvTkQEYWltzuLIl07aTxziwZiOO1vfg3rHrYfG7CE9-qNLOf_5Rv3R74176lre6qlla2Q/s1280/IMG_0404.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8NMHZYDoSvwUDXwLJy36FkGeFd3Cueg3sfNCj9725OdlAVCO9eTMdmEajzRZXEus6ofC1NlziO5XtKEtYtzHQPGL__djCPNvB8mkOX8-9DGKvrVzQ3kasmqvTkQEYWltzuLIl07aTxziwZiOO1vfg3rHrYfG7CE9-qNLOf_5Rv3R74176lre6qlla2Q/w300-h400/IMG_0404.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A water level measuring station on the Merced River along the Mist Trail. The water still had a LONG ways to go to reach flood stage.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpSJpZe6ng_Xxnilus9qOmrjwOXOTaeBH5_6X5eGbREFvdgGuHWmGumqj-HYrBOPfDxJeivBvzHa60FINoHrGuWdigLemu5xh_L0sds8QuXRyaPGiCX3AjZlPWjSF0OrB7dR8Cu2osO_GDAyFIyxqzRq10bTEpFxlmrpo41FfwSe9FAZBr60kNbiflQ/s1280/IMG_0405.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpSJpZe6ng_Xxnilus9qOmrjwOXOTaeBH5_6X5eGbREFvdgGuHWmGumqj-HYrBOPfDxJeivBvzHa60FINoHrGuWdigLemu5xh_L0sds8QuXRyaPGiCX3AjZlPWjSF0OrB7dR8Cu2osO_GDAyFIyxqzRq10bTEpFxlmrpo41FfwSe9FAZBr60kNbiflQ/w400-h300/IMG_0405.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dogwood trees were getting fresh foliage, but were not blooming. As a spoiler, when we came back on Sunday, they were blooming like crazy.</td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQLAsApKUFmu_1Zvy6v-WywtN6NAxZcbyD0z-8bnP-ysf9ATIhyjx0T266LM7eGvTnvy3Kv80zSEiAMI4-WkQrGD28SF81LcIYVtA5TLPPhP0wF-sRB9SX6OCosfynBy_P4dvEUB3OSifOZHsPZDf69Lpc0NWjcFbtXVE56khTNkQbit3ga1uNhkC3Q/s1280/IMG_0408.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQLAsApKUFmu_1Zvy6v-WywtN6NAxZcbyD0z-8bnP-ysf9ATIhyjx0T266LM7eGvTnvy3Kv80zSEiAMI4-WkQrGD28SF81LcIYVtA5TLPPhP0wF-sRB9SX6OCosfynBy_P4dvEUB3OSifOZHsPZDf69Lpc0NWjcFbtXVE56khTNkQbit3ga1uNhkC3Q/w300-h400/IMG_0408.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A waterfall that goes under the Big Oak Flat Road.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">A lot of people left the valley on Thursday, either because they made arrangements before we were given Friday, or because they wanted to avoid the imminent apocalypse, which really reduced the crowds. On Friday, it was our turn to head out of the valley. Everything indicated that it was going to be closed at least until the middle of next week, so we took our time going out on Big Oak Flat Road.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJMJi8C72HNQLYCn3DC88paMJNEj7rnKIcuyUcbhMetbkBvGLiqDACI0rEYRlPrNR0yL9YqRnnykHafsJtKAL4DTTXTEk5f8QbdhoiT-P6FKMROMVqpUArRsrpV4l27Fx7yzOYLZ0iIfCjT7BHGgilxcnmIN1wCSjNn6hcHsNHJDoplnt5hrOWkT5ng/s1280/IMG_0409.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJMJi8C72HNQLYCn3DC88paMJNEj7rnKIcuyUcbhMetbkBvGLiqDACI0rEYRlPrNR0yL9YqRnnykHafsJtKAL4DTTXTEk5f8QbdhoiT-P6FKMROMVqpUArRsrpV4l27Fx7yzOYLZ0iIfCjT7BHGgilxcnmIN1wCSjNn6hcHsNHJDoplnt5hrOWkT5ng/w400-h300/IMG_0409.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat trying to find the Tuolumne Grove Trail. It was there somewhere.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgFm1JdA8VceZxoSiGpG9-YDSqJi7A4EDAcu35MfvhUUqVGd2vCKGpuXW2DN7qJTv6HpGEjG0qfZ8sXYU5ZhZbMLfc-5xEaai_nJUHoKEznEJNQiqe7SaT9wAdoQlzQW8VJnWKX-pwFHB_AFGcSnwBTaY_6xgUop5VbXSmwJZ74I2IbFMtwNgnybOJA/s1280/IMG_0411.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgFm1JdA8VceZxoSiGpG9-YDSqJi7A4EDAcu35MfvhUUqVGd2vCKGpuXW2DN7qJTv6HpGEjG0qfZ8sXYU5ZhZbMLfc-5xEaai_nJUHoKEznEJNQiqe7SaT9wAdoQlzQW8VJnWKX-pwFHB_AFGcSnwBTaY_6xgUop5VbXSmwJZ74I2IbFMtwNgnybOJA/w400-h300/IMG_0411.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating lunch at the Merced Grove trailhead.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLevYglaWRWYwtuBMjU9OKlF9yc741mDKXkw0XAMfS3ZxMUTPW2ndGd4Eed34ir7_ukV8eDJ6ogftBOnkhd9IuQDBRSB-WYFTN9jsoxHbd86KN4Akb7n8qgoNaTwR2IQ_p7lp-tirAF2AII7bzrmy50CxnMRy35rLhEeiFVnDKXpM27Lb9HzfpJblDQ/s1280/IMG_0412.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLevYglaWRWYwtuBMjU9OKlF9yc741mDKXkw0XAMfS3ZxMUTPW2ndGd4Eed34ir7_ukV8eDJ6ogftBOnkhd9IuQDBRSB-WYFTN9jsoxHbd86KN4Akb7n8qgoNaTwR2IQ_p7lp-tirAF2AII7bzrmy50CxnMRy35rLhEeiFVnDKXpM27Lb9HzfpJblDQ/w400-h300/IMG_0412.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Letting Mrs' car touch snow.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqSXUHomgtNAK9-PlIu3Y7zJGuUcG9swg4kdKwM-VI4KbqoGfsg9r-1F0yVoAyWQ5t6XyZCT0BqVHwmitvBRuz0DA2i1KsF75tZ1lODFumZKm0frUprYUyBm1rQGWvIFPhU3g90JnbUoo_xr-gp0GTgOcRpf7GjeecTf-rguDij2rBqDVbLiCe-N1ww/s1280/IMG_0416.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqSXUHomgtNAK9-PlIu3Y7zJGuUcG9swg4kdKwM-VI4KbqoGfsg9r-1F0yVoAyWQ5t6XyZCT0BqVHwmitvBRuz0DA2i1KsF75tZ1lODFumZKm0frUprYUyBm1rQGWvIFPhU3g90JnbUoo_xr-gp0GTgOcRpf7GjeecTf-rguDij2rBqDVbLiCe-N1ww/w400-h300/IMG_0416.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our son doing unplanned vehicle maintenance.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">The road to where we were staying next, Evergreen Lodge, is the same road you take if you want to drive out to the Hetch Hetchy reservoir dam (which is part of Yosemite Park). It is not a wide road, or a particularly well maintained road. Sadly, the kid's vehicle managed to let the hook end of a broken bungee cord that was laying in the road penetrate the sidewall of a tire. </p><p style="text-align: left;">(Truly sad thing: The kids were fighting Friday afternoon traffic and were going to be late, so we stopped and had dinner in Groveland. While we were having dinner, unbeknownst to us, they went past and were now ahead of us. Until the bungee cord stopped them. We were so focussed on trying to find this place and not get run off the road that we actually drove right past them as they were changing the tire, and didn't see them. They saw us though. Note that cell service is mostly non-existent around here, so there was no way to communicate.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">The closest place to get a replacement tire was in Sonora, which wasn't that far away, mileage wise, but was about 90 minutes away, time wise. It's not a bad place to kill some time though, and it was amusing to keep confusing Sonora with Sonoma.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Then the unexpected happened - Yosemite Park realized that the flooding danger was not actually materializing, and they would open the valley to day use visitors on Sunday! So the kids would get to see the waterfalls after all!</p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2wbb4YNPBgshU8Icagts35p2c8zHJIAG8cD2Jgosq1cGLmlGdjFJA1hWEJTx5G30cJvksmoDJap2teWZG09-9Cg9z7YdvOjA0t6_UksTwCsqcKRaY9HcEG1aIsEIeuSF-naGtRb2Rl3D-jP56MAIvcQ8inbHv0akXN8ICleAtckoopPVABP9lzBdow/s1280/IMG_0427.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2wbb4YNPBgshU8Icagts35p2c8zHJIAG8cD2Jgosq1cGLmlGdjFJA1hWEJTx5G30cJvksmoDJap2teWZG09-9Cg9z7YdvOjA0t6_UksTwCsqcKRaY9HcEG1aIsEIeuSF-naGtRb2Rl3D-jP56MAIvcQ8inbHv0akXN8ICleAtckoopPVABP9lzBdow/w300-h400/IMG_0427.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Viewing the Lower Yosemite Falls, but with a lot fewer people around.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">On Monday, it was time to head home. Mrs Notthat and I decided to go up to Hetch Hetchy to see what it was like since we had never been there before. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It was pretty awesome.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It is not very developed - there are no hotels or restaurants and only one bathroom, but there is a dam, a lot of water, some waterfalls, and trails.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_f4-RbKzlGhnrVbD7Fs1BaB-MWiLmvsv2gkHxYAA3SbIEKD34hLmScB6GQKs257gLK4GrnjH7FNIiZqHx1e_Ev_CCEIHi7ERdwgAinDTfyRnR2gCWCI_A-iRsHlTynvMmpjMmlJxMpirtd2jp95oIo3kN1Q6JVQM94VpLxE1c0Pzip6uJgF8S7ZLIQ/s1280/IMG_0436.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_f4-RbKzlGhnrVbD7Fs1BaB-MWiLmvsv2gkHxYAA3SbIEKD34hLmScB6GQKs257gLK4GrnjH7FNIiZqHx1e_Ev_CCEIHi7ERdwgAinDTfyRnR2gCWCI_A-iRsHlTynvMmpjMmlJxMpirtd2jp95oIo3kN1Q6JVQM94VpLxE1c0Pzip6uJgF8S7ZLIQ/w400-h300/IMG_0436.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking at the dam spilling out water.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-T7ExPNN_pMnqPwrsxtkmLPuJu7npyViye1SjIHT4xYPUTcSphELKggt0hSslUMALYe6tW7GV1_IiFoO3bqncwvMA2RjFDDfqdp_r5cEhHOXIlBwcEqJVa05WZTgpGLpgu0ClmuoL_yrF6GpU6TjIaruMwEeJ5EaKBMWvI2lB0yweW6Kw_Lop1FCmcQ/s1280/IMG_0439.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-T7ExPNN_pMnqPwrsxtkmLPuJu7npyViye1SjIHT4xYPUTcSphELKggt0hSslUMALYe6tW7GV1_IiFoO3bqncwvMA2RjFDDfqdp_r5cEhHOXIlBwcEqJVa05WZTgpGLpgu0ClmuoL_yrF6GpU6TjIaruMwEeJ5EaKBMWvI2lB0yweW6Kw_Lop1FCmcQ/w400-h300/IMG_0439.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three different waterfalls visible from the dam.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8dHNAjKox1qewujJxkBCUwD3EjEZOxE89JVa5CXX5sgZTNSi2R3COtiX6eXlbEni9g2WwHsgLJ-uqItQCLvfaz_RmU23HyaecWAP0si5ZBbLo3rGlyEnV-CqE6IHItH4fSC62gtokZVICXDVeFSKUYFpyGCKHnKLkFbLM887VihDZTMFEKU9cFbOXQ/s1280/IMG_0442.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8dHNAjKox1qewujJxkBCUwD3EjEZOxE89JVa5CXX5sgZTNSi2R3COtiX6eXlbEni9g2WwHsgLJ-uqItQCLvfaz_RmU23HyaecWAP0si5ZBbLo3rGlyEnV-CqE6IHItH4fSC62gtokZVICXDVeFSKUYFpyGCKHnKLkFbLM887VihDZTMFEKU9cFbOXQ/w300-h400/IMG_0442.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A different view of the water gushing out. Normally they would not be doing this, but this year they need to make room for all the snowmelt that's coming. Also, note that staircase coming down the dam - there is no way you could talk me into getting on that. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMC6hLJf_XrfGwQi5O_Qn6S24WvPyH_UYkD84cK-0glRxXMs4ZWH71C7tPg7Dw4hIakfZVO3fix43NYlTJyIyyfSN_r3UQ94bvUmncXBmsv-TS8gQuKg2hj8bUKXwZdg7FYEh23XaAuRhORe7-fMFciUygVSQRaz0UKaiTWuiHSohYYdjPnU3XX1HkQ/s1280/IMG_0443.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMC6hLJf_XrfGwQi5O_Qn6S24WvPyH_UYkD84cK-0glRxXMs4ZWH71C7tPg7Dw4hIakfZVO3fix43NYlTJyIyyfSN_r3UQ94bvUmncXBmsv-TS8gQuKg2hj8bUKXwZdg7FYEh23XaAuRhORe7-fMFciUygVSQRaz0UKaiTWuiHSohYYdjPnU3XX1HkQ/w400-h300/IMG_0443.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you walk across the dam, you can go through this tunnel to a trail that leads to the waterfalls.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGoTGb9g6z1abah_VA97abcBRvbdHrq0Ptv8Vi8qsxYagnHpIfsQ-EQBFeRYhxGcGSoy54ibMFOkKxIMmX5bhp9KWbF8TMKtoKc_cBnkDyRHEHa5Rbrk5BT7O_RKNAW6FN9I10Xb1NI2b8sBUWUI6SzMoJL70A_ppXeQlH0A1Vg7eKHlEeKMA0LOykTA/s1280/IMG_0445.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGoTGb9g6z1abah_VA97abcBRvbdHrq0Ptv8Vi8qsxYagnHpIfsQ-EQBFeRYhxGcGSoy54ibMFOkKxIMmX5bhp9KWbF8TMKtoKc_cBnkDyRHEHa5Rbrk5BT7O_RKNAW6FN9I10Xb1NI2b8sBUWUI6SzMoJL70A_ppXeQlH0A1Vg7eKHlEeKMA0LOykTA/w400-h300/IMG_0445.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the other side of the tunnel, the trail leads to the waterfalls. Sadly, we didn't have time to walk all the way out there, so we will have to come back and do that.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfthqwhqxM53bCPmVrdPLDBvPegrSS_OvPRLJUfi14Y93lpm1UAgVVwssM97vG-cXTrM4g38nUIVRi5fT4LmImheZ0hQJ4Bpdo1W1cV3EIP1t4b40j4qU6lodLxOQnBdd0FNX8hcINC2whOstPNw0Q3BAqCMx94nYvhYKYPgTTKjf5mc3sN8wICrcmsw/s1280/IMG_0448.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfthqwhqxM53bCPmVrdPLDBvPegrSS_OvPRLJUfi14Y93lpm1UAgVVwssM97vG-cXTrM4g38nUIVRi5fT4LmImheZ0hQJ4Bpdo1W1cV3EIP1t4b40j4qU6lodLxOQnBdd0FNX8hcINC2whOstPNw0Q3BAqCMx94nYvhYKYPgTTKjf5mc3sN8wICrcmsw/w400-h300/IMG_0448.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going back through the tunnel. Note the large puddle - you could mostly get around it if you tried pretty hard.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">And that's about it. We had to roll with the punches a bit, but it was still a great trip. (A few days after we left, the park had to close a portion of the Big Oak Flat Road since the hillside is sliding downhill and taking some of the road with it. I promise this isn't my fault. Probably.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">Most of the valley was open during the week we were there, including the shuttle busses and bike rentals. </p><div><p style="text-align: left;">For food:<br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The Base Camp Eatery at Yosemite Lodge was pretty underwhelming with choices (and they now use a system where you order and pay at kiosks). This will likely get better as the summer gets closer. Hopefully.</li><li>The Mountain Room Restaurant was open, but if you did as told and tried to book a table online, you would be told you would have to wait until 9:30, which was not true - you really need to make the reservation in person. (They would say they were full but there would be lots of empty tables - I think "full" was based on the amount of staff on hand, which will get better as we get closer to summer.) The food was excellent there.</li><li>The Meadow Grill in Curry Village is now taco-based! The tacos were small, but were pretty good.</li><li>The Ahwahnee dining room appears to be closed for seismic retrofitting. We had lunch at the Ahwahnee Bar and it was very good.</li><li>One of the things we did several times was just grab a sandwich or, at the store in Yosemite Village, a warm burrito from the back (think truck stop hot food), which were all plenty good.</li></ul><p></p><div><p style="text-align: left;">For the first time, we walked around the cemetery and the Indian Cultural Exhibit.</p><p style="text-align: left;">As far as the Evergreen Lodge, it's pretty remote, but pretty nice. We had no cell service there, but really good wifi. (Wifi at the Yosemite Lodge was very underwhelming, but we at least had a small cell signal.) The rooms are all in cabins - some are single cabins while others are duplexes. There is a restaurant, a bar, a gift shop (with sandwiches, coffee, and, well, gifts), and several fun playgrounds with short zip lines for the kids. You can also camp there - they have tents set up with sleeping bags ready to go! There is a heated pool, hot tub, and rec room, along with a disc golf area, bocce, and horseshoes. The rooms do not have TVs.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tEGOCC7iRnY" width="320" youtube-src-id="tEGOCC7iRnY"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">It is not cheap though - our cabin (a duplex shared with the kids) was about the same as a room in Yosemite Lodge, which is also wildly not cheap. </p><p style="text-align: left;">But man, that place is pretty dang amazing.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That's it - move along…</p><p><br /></p></div></div>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-23895159831425493002023-02-13T19:14:00.002-08:002023-02-13T19:14:45.232-08:00What is "how do you attend a Jeopardy recording"? <p>The answer was "What this post is about."</p><p></p><p>Back in January of 2009, Mrs Notthat, The Boy, and I headed down to LA <a href="http://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2009/01/chunky-b-craig-and-santa-monica.html" target="_blank">to watch a taping</a> of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. And now, 14 years later, Mrs Notthat and I finally worked up the nerve to go back to LA, this time to watch a Jeopardy taping.</p><p>(Actually, Mrs Notthat had no idea what we were doing. I asked if she could go on a trip this week. Apparently it wasn't until the day before that she figured we might be going to something TV related. She didn't know it was Jeopardy until we were at the gate and I had to show the tickets to get in.)</p><p>Look, this is really long, so here are the high points.</p><h4>Executive summary</h4><p></p><ul><li>You need a LOT of patience to attend a Jeopardy taping.</li><li>The actual shows go really fast though.</li><li>You also need to be fully vaccinated and boosted, and you will be wearing a black mask in the studio.</li><li>Don't try to take pictures in the studio.</li><li>They don't like you yelling out the answers/questions while taping.</li><li>Ken is really good at this.</li><li>Bring a cough drop.</li></ul><h4 style="text-align: left;">The details</h4><p>Jeopardy tapes five episodes in one day. There are two audiences each taping day: One at 10 AM and one at 2 PM. The <a href="https://on-camera-audiences.com/shows/Jeopardy" target="_blank">website</a> says that one audience will see two shows, and the other will see three shows, but they don't say which session will see which, and since more is always better, I had to make a guess as to which group would see three shows. (They ask you not to sign up for both groups, and in retrospect, that would be a long day.)</p><p>I figured that the morning would go from 10 to 12 and the afternoon from 2 to 5, and since the afternoon session was longer, I assumed it would have three shows, so that's what I booked for us. </p><p>I was wrong - we were the two-show group (but had the bonus of getting to sleep later). </p><p>When you sign up for a free ticket, they ask a few questions and then show you a picture of your ticket. It's a good idea to print that ticket, or at least take a screenshot of it. It's also good to read the text under that ticket (I made a PDF of the whole page) since it has some info you won't find elsewhere. (We never received a follow up email like they mention, so that was our only chance at these tickets. It might be that just having their pictures on your phone would be good enough.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WvaWRbzyTHyoRBPytS_7dkL9j9oV7k4mVYzkQ6rUyQ5u4X-0OksiLA6MgWa6oPSZM1IgncngWSA__hAJ1aeak-9AAF93ES1y6glTaaEqdU53z22moIsdf-1cDqvJLsfewzmbguKz_5Ikgk-gaB7U3EmSXxpTNgmPTyYiBWGC_VVr3T3ZTak1qPbvMA/s1948/Screenshot%202023-02-10%20at%2012.36.41%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1382" data-original-width="1948" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WvaWRbzyTHyoRBPytS_7dkL9j9oV7k4mVYzkQ6rUyQ5u4X-0OksiLA6MgWa6oPSZM1IgncngWSA__hAJ1aeak-9AAF93ES1y6glTaaEqdU53z22moIsdf-1cDqvJLsfewzmbguKz_5Ikgk-gaB7U3EmSXxpTNgmPTyYiBWGC_VVr3T3ZTak1qPbvMA/w400-h284/Screenshot%202023-02-10%20at%2012.36.41%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>One thing that is still taken very seriously is COVID 19 - you must be fully vaccinated, including boosters, and must show your vaccination card (or a picture of it). You will have to wear a mask at all times while you are inside the studio - they are really strict with this and I saw several people get told to put their mask back on. (We were given black masks since we would be potentially recorded and black is slimming, or something like that. Maybe they just don't want anyone wearing a Wheel of Fortune mask.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh41oHJZly8zUHpnjo-jwqkr8Mpt2O3puZD3YrAM_pw265XwSlSpzb-4uYpsfCE2-ald7VY0_k5t-jXApvbXnD42o_1xpVpGsOVRMSfo1BW4X_4sXCj8qW3Ivy88zCXlKN-9zVQJ9KEF5tkwWbOZTfbXlRD-7Q5tNMTsGccuU2ahwEppfaSUYN-hWN6A/s2098/Screenshot%202023-02-10%20at%2012.25.02%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1546" data-original-width="2098" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh41oHJZly8zUHpnjo-jwqkr8Mpt2O3puZD3YrAM_pw265XwSlSpzb-4uYpsfCE2-ald7VY0_k5t-jXApvbXnD42o_1xpVpGsOVRMSfo1BW4X_4sXCj8qW3Ivy88zCXlKN-9zVQJ9KEF5tkwWbOZTfbXlRD-7Q5tNMTsGccuU2ahwEppfaSUYN-hWN6A/w400-h295/Screenshot%202023-02-10%20at%2012.25.02%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sony lot, showing where we parked and the studio.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">The studio is in Culver City, and I booked us a room at a place called <a href="https://www.innatplayadelrey.com" target="_blank">Inn at Playa del Rey</a>, a small hotel/bed-and-breakfast that backs up to a frog-infested marsh and was fairly close to the beach. (The frogs were awesome.) </p><p style="text-align: left;">I was stressed a bit, and wasn't completely sure where we would enter the parking lot, so we left a bit early and ended up getting there at about 1 PM. Parking went smoothly - the trick now was to work out where we should go next. At the garage entrance, there was an area with benches, but it wasn't clear whether they were for us or people taking the Sony tour, or both. (It was both.) </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Tip:</b> The area is divided by a rope; one one side is a red carpet and the other side has no carpet, and both sides are lined with benches. Sit on a bench on the red carpet side, up near the wall with the paparazzi mural. The checkin table will be there, and you will get to check in first. (Apparently they overbook these shows, so if you show up late, or even on time, but closer to 2 PM, you may not get in.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyuQCiDVNxRz7RYUCSSUizQ6MA52BnQEf1pe6USOraz-RhpH9yu7-reQJBA7IdhDmLR2rgA4LyPxXbOgb51HNMfLdwDOyXN3bxbdbJeHUM7SFrWZlFaxc1DmRrnTnf6ElEGAPN12bidX8yTFwRvoqyhZxs4ppu-hX-XqawUpUNIDSb3BELaVNDceImg/s4032/IMG_8792.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyuQCiDVNxRz7RYUCSSUizQ6MA52BnQEf1pe6USOraz-RhpH9yu7-reQJBA7IdhDmLR2rgA4LyPxXbOgb51HNMfLdwDOyXN3bxbdbJeHUM7SFrWZlFaxc1DmRrnTnf6ElEGAPN12bidX8yTFwRvoqyhZxs4ppu-hX-XqawUpUNIDSb3BELaVNDceImg/w400-h300/IMG_8792.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking towards the checkin table. Smile for the fake paparazzi!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHTPXjksUFSicuEq2Su4ciqHuuK3FULQcpYTUCerO4lT6v3cVXUCt-JAGGoArCDK14jGPNNl3oVGdjeA9_FDPSC2LEx5xsyQ3ZxPZkjHIlmFnHzE5NR9YFKf6brJeYvdFq7Q44kUDA3ZL45ICaMKIIBlB4oVzG0sOngxVbjsvaOqXHkd7DZp_tqT4bA/s3088/IMG_8794.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="3088" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHTPXjksUFSicuEq2Su4ciqHuuK3FULQcpYTUCerO4lT6v3cVXUCt-JAGGoArCDK14jGPNNl3oVGdjeA9_FDPSC2LEx5xsyQ3ZxPZkjHIlmFnHzE5NR9YFKf6brJeYvdFq7Q44kUDA3ZL45ICaMKIIBlB4oVzG0sOngxVbjsvaOqXHkd7DZp_tqT4bA/w400-h300/IMG_8794.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking behind us. Very observant people will notice the metal detectors we would eventually have to go through.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEEBBdoSjy1qp42A8jQEzH4tqtnOB0Tq0tHsgtjxPZkOzdBpgrIqQj6edlWbjX8pLQsqHyJb4ZrXy8uEAem2kVQObtOGFYKWLEvwADxaq5MvikxazkF_738mEC_J90XRHd_dFPtoRAzhYISytyrU722-X1-W2rygLk8TU-CW1l2PHDb99Ooogbesw6Cw/s3088/IMG_8793.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="3088" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEEBBdoSjy1qp42A8jQEzH4tqtnOB0Tq0tHsgtjxPZkOzdBpgrIqQj6edlWbjX8pLQsqHyJb4ZrXy8uEAem2kVQObtOGFYKWLEvwADxaq5MvikxazkF_738mEC_J90XRHd_dFPtoRAzhYISytyrU722-X1-W2rygLk8TU-CW1l2PHDb99Ooogbesw6Cw/w400-h300/IMG_8793.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking directly at us - we have not received our official approved black masks yet.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">A bit after 2, they started checking us in, and it was a painfully slow process. We were maybe 30th in line and finally got through about 15 minutes later. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPbqqxNdSyktfwWAlT-mB-hRrZs2P2bnlKSXuTkUXscTAI5R4E_a0YMUPTZ4NJmEXLuEUuyeaLYqQfIk_U31hNrLdXj5oMhFYSe4HcqRte5rtlhLRCyJD44uBlxpTlCsYoGKLxhSJfDtXGdtbX_KhOt7tRysrgZhnTKuJYVi0IxxOgbYeKHsA6ABB63A/s4032/IMG_8796.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPbqqxNdSyktfwWAlT-mB-hRrZs2P2bnlKSXuTkUXscTAI5R4E_a0YMUPTZ4NJmEXLuEUuyeaLYqQfIk_U31hNrLdXj5oMhFYSe4HcqRte5rtlhLRCyJD44uBlxpTlCsYoGKLxhSJfDtXGdtbX_KhOt7tRysrgZhnTKuJYVi0IxxOgbYeKHsA6ABB63A/w300-h400/IMG_8796.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our ticket (it did its job and was no longer needed), black mask, and for some reason, a little blue ticket.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Now we sat on the benches on the opposite side, and waited some more. At about 2:30, we were told to go through the metal detector and stand in another line to be the second group let into the studio. Then we were pulled out of that line and moved to the first group's line! (They ask you to wear "business casual" but most were wearing "Walmart casual" - I honestly think we were "upgraded" because we looked nice. Well, Mrs Notthat looked nice.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">By 2:40 we finally started the hike to the studio. It is not a short hike, and it moves at a pretty quick pace. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkb6pr17nWePP-lGGk67bm8N9cx8WT-sTldVgIZdMD5rg4kKii47Hg-fJ7QtNvatLNelCJwtO1QA6BtPp007AUU65ZVAsiVkbcSKwtORW6QLUgg-weDRnA4Qv48wk4mz2JlaZOpHRLTxvMGF0OMZpEngu7LKh6grxHU6gpJ4amyLGNfbLKc4O--H_6aQ/s4032/IMG_8799.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkb6pr17nWePP-lGGk67bm8N9cx8WT-sTldVgIZdMD5rg4kKii47Hg-fJ7QtNvatLNelCJwtO1QA6BtPp007AUU65ZVAsiVkbcSKwtORW6QLUgg-weDRnA4Qv48wk4mz2JlaZOpHRLTxvMGF0OMZpEngu7LKh6grxHU6gpJ4amyLGNfbLKc4O--H_6aQ/w400-h300/IMG_8799.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They asked us not to get run over on the hike. </td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">There were several people that had to pause along the way. It's like the Jeopardy people are not aware how old their TV audience is! (Of course, we used those occasions to move closer to the front of the line.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbqQMXyqQYoH8CaaBH9adETBzgVkzaCyS2B3HH59OygWrSb3omdppnMxwTuIeN9lweebwFoTLauA38mBreAexfCSUMNLcWq65x5inu4kRaZokX3AUHGeMjbBU227kQvLF-Jn0Dt7rUK8kU5WoXfMzXCYJQksN6SEYcDkVuonrnsAerYZgv44omMuXcw/s4032/IMG_8803.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbqQMXyqQYoH8CaaBH9adETBzgVkzaCyS2B3HH59OygWrSb3omdppnMxwTuIeN9lweebwFoTLauA38mBreAexfCSUMNLcWq65x5inu4kRaZokX3AUHGeMjbBU227kQvLF-Jn0Dt7rUK8kU5WoXfMzXCYJQksN6SEYcDkVuonrnsAerYZgv44omMuXcw/w400-h300/IMG_8803.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally. At the Jeopardy studio. Where we can wait some more.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">By 2:50, we were finally at the studio. But not IN the studio. Now we waited for the other groups to join us. (I don't know how many people were in the audience - it didn't seem like that many, but it was like herding cats trying to keep us focused on the goal.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">At 2:55, we were finally in!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdKXYtBTe32wAJ9GtLUGdL4f00_lEs7rastY_fIcyhPL76arixfK7FwDKoJMpB8KUW1wQTP-H5NI5VlXz_QWm_0p7QcYzJeaOphcz61VaSTpdREX2566czS4FuxVjtOeaJk4EbpHZ0Jy8aQAj8cIUqwps5gm9sKn71Z_12KAskc_ZQmZtN_I1_MyEFXA/s4032/IMG_8806.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdKXYtBTe32wAJ9GtLUGdL4f00_lEs7rastY_fIcyhPL76arixfK7FwDKoJMpB8KUW1wQTP-H5NI5VlXz_QWm_0p7QcYzJeaOphcz61VaSTpdREX2566czS4FuxVjtOeaJk4EbpHZ0Jy8aQAj8cIUqwps5gm9sKn71Z_12KAskc_ZQmZtN_I1_MyEFXA/w400-h300/IMG_8806.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back of Mrs Notthat's head. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9rsgraByAY1uNT3figqCwBg_jjrPPJ1glcnWj_Kqt6GABImM6il-Aht4CQjYGjCSTR5Tm3uJv4ARTug_j9DB9Dxv8xFxs4wtXMyWbPXlGzvuGKs0vIe01LhwqMptWC9QyQG-rLhhvN_NdgKtjeveomXNnb6VB0L2gnqKlBHUoMJV0E6IOAnbj6cdRVw/s4032/IMG_8807.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9rsgraByAY1uNT3figqCwBg_jjrPPJ1glcnWj_Kqt6GABImM6il-Aht4CQjYGjCSTR5Tm3uJv4ARTug_j9DB9Dxv8xFxs4wtXMyWbPXlGzvuGKs0vIe01LhwqMptWC9QyQG-rLhhvN_NdgKtjeveomXNnb6VB0L2gnqKlBHUoMJV0E6IOAnbj6cdRVw/w400-h300/IMG_8807.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretend podiums we actually were allowed to take pictures of.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">There is a lower-level of the studio where we were allowed to take pictures. In the main studio though, we were not allowed to have our phones out at all, and strictly no photos were to be taken. (One woman, as soon as she got in the main studio, immediately started taking pictures, and was nearly tackled by security. They made her delete the pictures and watched to ensure she did it. I so badly wanted to take a few shots, but man, we had finally made it in and I didn't want to risk getting tossed out now!)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWbpJkijVGrKRwyMc_7D2ucHtBQ5dTugvjJDRldR8n8afcDrb5eS9FmHECYYPN-D_9fw72nMhbwKt-qADU-7yMC-hje58iUn96vcx-Wh2rS2-xkPO9vMJ5YF-sAyqd6EPGd5vPKh4gDZui0zEw5PGj7La8kBdvnUVM4eHxQMaHFSBNu9FjmtLqs4XFg/s3516/IMG_8814.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2453" data-original-width="3516" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWbpJkijVGrKRwyMc_7D2ucHtBQ5dTugvjJDRldR8n8afcDrb5eS9FmHECYYPN-D_9fw72nMhbwKt-qADU-7yMC-hje58iUn96vcx-Wh2rS2-xkPO9vMJ5YF-sAyqd6EPGd5vPKh4gDZui0zEw5PGj7La8kBdvnUVM4eHxQMaHFSBNu9FjmtLqs4XFg/w400-h279/IMG_8814.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pearls Before Swine is one of my favorite comics, and this original strip from a fun series was exciting to see.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiol-pt_faxJiJ1gv8H0JA8aCnZx8eKbGPTaMjUICZ5aPfq8flwnhQvkZKRaC_TohKysXDqDtys0F5lAwxdahFEQwyKFAQwxy6BIt1oLCzrUAzxFpknNYnQpZq-CQMU1hWyturgZ2hShcq0HNYDv_Yr2ATmoWDI7wHGKizY5zoeDx3TxUEL11CdCbBFGw/s3221/IMG_8813.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3221" data-original-width="2236" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiol-pt_faxJiJ1gv8H0JA8aCnZx8eKbGPTaMjUICZ5aPfq8flwnhQvkZKRaC_TohKysXDqDtys0F5lAwxdahFEQwyKFAQwxy6BIt1oLCzrUAzxFpknNYnQpZq-CQMU1hWyturgZ2hShcq0HNYDv_Yr2ATmoWDI7wHGKizY5zoeDx3TxUEL11CdCbBFGw/w278-h400/IMG_8813.jpeg" width="278" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Memorabilia from when Alex did some clues on hockey skates. </td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">At halftime (between shows) we were allowed 15 minutes in the lower area to take pictures. There is a LOT of memorabilia there, but there were also a LOT of people trying to get pictures of it, so I only got a few useful shots. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">In the main studio</h4><p style="text-align: left;">As soon as we entered the main studio, we saw the three contestants already standing at their podiums, which was a surprise since, based on how long everything else took, it was going to take a while to get everyone inside and seated.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The studio is much smaller than it appears on TV, although the board is huge. Since we were in the first group, we got seated first. That doesn't mean we got the best seats though. Ours were not bad, but some who got seated before us were on the far right, and had to stare at the backs of the contestants. We were a bit closer to the center, but couldn't see the front of the contestant podiums (and their scores, which thankfully were also shown on a scoreboard on the other side of the stage). People in the later groups likely had a different problem - they could see the contestants fine, but not the board. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">A bit of a sidetrack</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Looking at the backs of the contestants, you got to see the different sized risers each stands on - when you watch the games, it always looks like the contestants are all the same height, but that is something accomplished by using those risers. (You can sometimes see the one the far-right contestant is standing on during the broadcast.)</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Back to the main feature</h4><p style="text-align: left;">A guy named Jimmy explained to us how this was going to go and would tell us when to applaud. (There were also APPLAUSE signs way up high that I didn't notice until the second show.) It's worth noting that Johnny Gilbert was not there - he does not actually sit through the tapings any more, and has his voice added later.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The actual games go fast. The hardest thing during the games is remembering not to shout out the answers/questions. It was funny how, when the contestants were stumped, you could hear several people in the audience whispering the answers/questions. It was REALLY hard not to try to help.</p><p style="text-align: left;">(Interesting bit: Along the sides of the board are blue lights that are not shown on TV. They light up as soon as it's legal for a contestant to buzz in - it's remarkable how briefly they are on; these people are really fast!)</p><p style="text-align: left;">Once during each game, Ken would take a few questions, and just before the second game started, Ken did some odd shots where he was redoing flubs from a previous game (which was odd to watch since you didn't know the context). </p><p style="text-align: left;">An interesting thing about Final Jeopardy; you know how when they go to commercial after they show the Final Jeopardy category, then cut back for a quick shot of everyone writing down something (presumably, their wager)? They are writing "What" - they set up the camera and are told "OK, start writing 'What' now!" They are also given a couple pieces of paper to use to do any math needed to work out how much they want to wager. (It's a bit odd - the papers are two different colors - they write on one of them and then cover it up with the other one so they can't see it when actually trying to come up with the question.)</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Another sidetrack</h4><p style="text-align: left;">There is a lot of effort put into hiding the fact that these shows are all taped on the same day. We were told that we were a Thursday audience, then that we were a Friday audience, which meant we had to be rowdier. The champion and host have to change their clothes between games. This bit makes me wonder though - if Ken is redoing flubs from a previous game, but is wearing a different suit, wouldn't that be noticeable? (My guess is what they really need is the audio to be right since the host may not be on camera anyway.)</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Back to our main feature (again)</h4><p style="text-align: left;">The second game started off badly with the contestant names getting mixed up during introductions. And then when they went to reveal the board, something went wrong and the dollar amounts were missing. So they had to restart again. </p><p style="text-align: left;">And then we were done. It turned out the little blue tickets were for a giveaway of a copy of Alex Trebek's book. Then we were asked to promptly leave (no second pass through the lower area) and hike back to the parking garage. (If earlier was like herding cats, this was much worse since we had already seen the shows and no longer could get thrown out.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">And that's about it. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Our two shows will air on April 20 and 21. Surprisingly, we were not asked to keep anything a secret. Ken did suggest that we watch the episodes with people that don't know we were there, and impress them with our mad trivia skills as we question all the answers correctly. (To be honest though, by then I will have forgotten pretty much everything. Right now I couldn't tell you any of the categories and I only vaguely remember one of the Final Jeopardies.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">The show before our two (which was part of the morning shift and will air on April 19) should be a bit interesting. I'll say no more. </p><p style="text-align: left;">One last thing - the audience is pretty quiet as the show is going on (other than the occasional whispers). The thought had occurred to me the day before that I should bring a cough drop for just in case. I forgot to do that. At about the halfway mark of the second show's Double Jeopardy round, I, for reasons unknown, mentally congratulated myself on not needing a cough drop. </p><p style="text-align: left;">And then, within seconds, I got a tickle in my throat. Nothing serious. Not a worry. </p><p style="text-align: left;">But the tickle got stronger. And more urgent. I began silently begging the contestants to ring in fast and answer fast and get to the break as fast as possible. I'm by now really struggling, trying not to cough. (You are not allowed to bring any kind of drinks or food into the studio, so I didn't have a water bottle to help me out.) I finally end up emitting a highly muffled cough (which Mrs Notthat says she didn't hear), and then we were at break and I could cough freely.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Next time I will have a pocket full of cough drops. </p><p style="text-align: left;">And I do think there will be a next time - I'd love to be there for a Celebrity Jeopardy or Masters Jeopardy taping, or even a Tournament of Champions. Unfortunately, the website does not say what kind of show you are attending. (I believe standard episodes always tape on Mondays and Tuesdays. Feb 27 and 28 are next up. What's a bit interesting is that the shows after that are being taped on a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, March 22-24th - I would guess that those might be special shows. Tickets are not available for those yet.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">That's it - move along…</p><p style="text-align: left;">PS: If you listen to podcasts and like Jeopardy, you really should listen to the Inside Jeopardy! podcast. Lots of, well, inside Jeopardy information tends to be talked about.</p>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-48364689511582756722022-07-17T15:10:00.003-07:002022-07-17T20:28:07.349-07:00The Dirty Dozen is back! And still dirty!<p>The <a href="https://brazenracing.com" target="_blank">Brazen Racing</a> <a href="https://brazenracing.com/dirtydozen/" target="_blank">Dirty Dozen</a> event/festival/torture-fest was last run in July of 2019. This race fills a niche that most normal runners would argue doesn't really need to be filled. Races have a start line, a finish line, and that's it. You try to get from one line to the other as quickly as you can. </p><p>There are a lot of runners though that know quite well what niche events like this (and the <a href="http://www.coastaltrailruns.com" target="_blank">Coastal</a> <a href="http://www.coastaltrailruns.com/sfod_sf_one_day.html" target="_blank">SF One Day</a>) fill. It's a niche where you get to define your race's distance. You get to take breaks. Eat. Visit. Or you can push hard and cover a distance you might not otherwise think possible. Many get their first Half Marathon, Marathon, or Ultra distance finish. (<a href="https://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2019/01/i-get-to-go-belt-shopping.html" target="_blank">Like me getting a 100K finish!</a>)</p><p>The 2022 Dirty Dozen was its 11th running. In a throwback to the first running in 2010, this year's version was simplified to have only timed races (all other years had 5K and 10K races scattered throughout the day as a way to break things up by tossing fresh legs onto the course).</p><p>This year, runners had the choice of three hour, six hour, or the race's namesake dozen hour events. There were two and three person team options for each event. All events started at 7 AM. All events used the same 3.4 mile loop and had available a smaller 0.4 mile loop for the last hour, allowing you to get more distance while reducing the risk of the final horn blowing while you were only part way through a loop.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMHBweaBzNaVdsISQuvLdQfYXSCjjvaiAV3DQr24tJKO4aiwGQPG5FOMV15fLVRvz8ZnYA_zRR03xPGCuZwLQOoXhN0eLf8fqewB5vGN1R9Z3LWN5GEn_J4lWDha4B3iTW1SWRQZ7arKrnn2fnFuQwiTtRXwXuKMHS71oBB2vWPQw2_ItVeUE_heiWQ/s1812/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-14%20at%208.33.33%20PM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1812" data-original-width="1302" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMHBweaBzNaVdsISQuvLdQfYXSCjjvaiAV3DQr24tJKO4aiwGQPG5FOMV15fLVRvz8ZnYA_zRR03xPGCuZwLQOoXhN0eLf8fqewB5vGN1R9Z3LWN5GEn_J4lWDha4B3iTW1SWRQZ7arKrnn2fnFuQwiTtRXwXuKMHS71oBB2vWPQw2_ItVeUE_heiWQ/w288-h400/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-14%20at%208.33.33%20PM.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><p>In my case, I had two goals:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Complete at least four laps, getting my first Half Marathon distance since July of 2019.</li><li>Volunteer at the <a href="https://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-post-for-byxbee-parkrun-curious.html" target="_blank">Byxbee parkrun</a> before starting my Dirty Dozen. </li></ul><p></p><p>Officially, there's no way to accomplish both of these goals. Unofficially, there's totally a way to do this. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNqJlZYY9cp5APbKJGhXhqvyvzGhrsiuHPVB_mvg2GyICHQUFtgkkELCRsH1iXY6GVqFGiggGopRYPHCDc-RVglvMJtpaD-9pW8E5vYqXfeMcysqo8FGHu4YX6tzKXV894sMDa5s5kzKUSwl4EONnA30JO9zCJPY2areBF-2Ecn-0UX9OBCQk9Z2_CA/s1057/MeTimingParkrun.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="1057" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNqJlZYY9cp5APbKJGhXhqvyvzGhrsiuHPVB_mvg2GyICHQUFtgkkELCRsH1iXY6GVqFGiggGopRYPHCDc-RVglvMJtpaD-9pW8E5vYqXfeMcysqo8FGHu4YX6tzKXV894sMDa5s5kzKUSwl4EONnA30JO9zCJPY2areBF-2Ecn-0UX9OBCQk9Z2_CA/w400-h296/MeTimingParkrun.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, on the left, being a time keeper at Byxbee parkrun before heading to Dirty Dozen. Probably the first time keeper to wear a knee brace and gaiters.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>With the Byxbee parkrun going until a bit after 9 AM, I likely wouldn't be able to head out to Dirty Dozen until about 10 AM, and it's an hour drive to get to Point Pinole. So my realistic earliest start time would be about 11 AM. As long as you don't mind officially starting your race time at 7 AM, you can physically start whenever you want - in my case, I headed out at 11 AM on my first loop. When I finished that loop, I had officially taken nearly five hours to complete it.</p><p><b>IMPORTANT BIT: If you start late, DON'T cross the start/finish line before you start your loop - if you do, you will get credit for a loop you didn't do, and Clocky will be quite put out.</b></p><p>By starting late, my only real option was to enter the 12-hour event. It meant I had plenty of time (eight hours) to not only reach my goal of a Half Marathon, but have lots of time left over in the wildly unlikely case of me feeling perky and wanting to keep going. (Spoiler alert: HA! As if!)</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Getting loopy</h4><p>The first exciting thing upon arrival was picking up my bib. Which couldn't be found. So I was given a loaner bib and told to go tell Sam in the timing tent. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho441aYwmK1tuHf1eZBbpcBD6QMWJzfCTouEvdgigWa2x8M-NvGVrvMa9tft0NloC0jYFYVLMfJG_DUiP9M6cqE-mECZTHAl3G_56KLJwRXpG4iWBDuV5KvoasOBaPV3CCweGeQvc_UODmTs1q7TQS32-hz_6eiar3KbYycLykHplXYre7uzVITHEmYQ/s4032/IMG_8470.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho441aYwmK1tuHf1eZBbpcBD6QMWJzfCTouEvdgigWa2x8M-NvGVrvMa9tft0NloC0jYFYVLMfJG_DUiP9M6cqE-mECZTHAl3G_56KLJwRXpG4iWBDuV5KvoasOBaPV3CCweGeQvc_UODmTs1q7TQS32-hz_6eiar3KbYycLykHplXYre7uzVITHEmYQ/s320/IMG_8470.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was not actually part of a team. Teams are smarter than that.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">As soon as Sam saw me, he said "I'll bet you're looking for your bib." They had been using it to test the timing mats. For someone who had just shown up, my bib had already finished many laps. Sadly, they made me use the loaner bib so I could finish my own laps.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8mwvED6eEzafDydw8XEzcY1UMXbMGqGFnNATGRTSMw5o23xMh0V2EQO4qhMb233xJTOkSELTFW3tbiXJDbzyUbACGc2xAVbrRK4lezJ-8Gr4amjEr43Mk4xwfOiT3GkELusFK7jMDBhqRUNcAXXJfZWfAHcfnwPPkwyV8jabHDmZ8TVMiNQadz5vkA/s3648/P1270021.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8mwvED6eEzafDydw8XEzcY1UMXbMGqGFnNATGRTSMw5o23xMh0V2EQO4qhMb233xJTOkSELTFW3tbiXJDbzyUbACGc2xAVbrRK4lezJ-8Gr4amjEr43Mk4xwfOiT3GkELusFK7jMDBhqRUNcAXXJfZWfAHcfnwPPkwyV8jabHDmZ8TVMiNQadz5vkA/w400-h300/P1270021.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So cool to run so close to the water for so much of this course.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">When I left Redwood City, it was sunny and seriously warming up. While driving north to Point Pinole though, the marine layer quickly took over and the temperatures dropped. I had not brought any long sleeves and started to wonder if I was going to freeze (it's happened there before). The marine layer continued dominating the weather until I got within about five miles of the race, when suddenly it retreated, the sun started blazing, and my fears changed from freezing to getting roasted (it's happened there before). </p><p style="text-align: left;">While it was sunny all afternoon, it was not excessively hot and the constant breeze helped keep things tolerable.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja122q7Cn-frkuunm2lJ3Sh_4ZB1NEj3mhB0nu9i1Fm00j0zkGoAClyi96jv2Kh0CBBXM_bK7jw2tlvLq3vzmwVgptvzW63ESkKRi23ha6o1CQ2U1MdGvbBOfse1Xcg22IiI_9GLjorNdFfnxZnl1b1YhThlyXOBuF5uviaX_AirG2l5qInSAg76rLWg/s3648/P1270023.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja122q7Cn-frkuunm2lJ3Sh_4ZB1NEj3mhB0nu9i1Fm00j0zkGoAClyi96jv2Kh0CBBXM_bK7jw2tlvLq3vzmwVgptvzW63ESkKRi23ha6o1CQ2U1MdGvbBOfse1Xcg22IiI_9GLjorNdFfnxZnl1b1YhThlyXOBuF5uviaX_AirG2l5qInSAg76rLWg/w400-h300/P1270023.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hug the coast!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">A surprise was that we got to use the trail that more closely follows the coast. This avoids a dumb little hill (seriously, a very small hill, but one that becomes extremely irritating the more times you have to climb it) and puts us on much more fun trails.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxls7RmAHn7AMkz02Scs76xjwNC_nYr4Qxf11rRDXRaxRBvn1eAGInxkIlR406ww8UUKoIRCjuk0XnGaUpG6JP0L1VoQ_yc0bwGiZX9Ol4XR-dD7QZYK4srs6dA7TprBK8RPqas1P3e8pUFFTbtFN_PDIJGcr01TKb-Ptw6qaHdIt7Dro2sWu7RKZMRA/s3648/P1270024.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxls7RmAHn7AMkz02Scs76xjwNC_nYr4Qxf11rRDXRaxRBvn1eAGInxkIlR406ww8UUKoIRCjuk0XnGaUpG6JP0L1VoQ_yc0bwGiZX9Ol4XR-dD7QZYK4srs6dA7TprBK8RPqas1P3e8pUFFTbtFN_PDIJGcr01TKb-Ptw6qaHdIt7Dro2sWu7RKZMRA/w400-h300/P1270024.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hi there Lorna! Seriously - how cool is that trail!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">At about the two mile point in the loop, you hit an aid station. I was carrying a small bottle, so this turned out to be very useful for getting that bottle filled.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht7QvJcVfHbbk-e9hQmovIhxzLrb4e67Hd-lqO0v5g9VXlHemm2yVKWpMkvaTco7EZZEb1OGjlG16NeIt0qWABTcO1bLE1NijuqwtX8vr9F7qyKhEZFIP86HjzTldxZBIEsVfj1bapYeceRqmrEmIbgpIwkExpemRri0tsfeoRPbpTI4x-xy9ZDvs8gw/s3648/P1270025.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht7QvJcVfHbbk-e9hQmovIhxzLrb4e67Hd-lqO0v5g9VXlHemm2yVKWpMkvaTco7EZZEb1OGjlG16NeIt0qWABTcO1bLE1NijuqwtX8vr9F7qyKhEZFIP86HjzTldxZBIEsVfj1bapYeceRqmrEmIbgpIwkExpemRri0tsfeoRPbpTI4x-xy9ZDvs8gw/w400-h300/P1270025.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mid-loop aid station. (Later, they would actually have pizza!)</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">One thing worth pointing out, there are FOUR outhouses along the course. This can be a big deal (and was for me on my fourth lap).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQA48ieabJn0tSM2ZFhnbyDU5PNL7XS23xApuINo5Ji3Hb3G27S7IeV-mayd9V17Kp6U1c5Be4aE_WG_wGVp9JkvLVNtOjNMSSZ73QGMVdEojrG800uf_dCWkftEDg_e2k8E6SBD06MC_PgamLBE9dp24zL4MhMrIB84uRdqK4iMMqsGhjLzTEjubznw/s2727/P1270045.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2045" data-original-width="2727" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQA48ieabJn0tSM2ZFhnbyDU5PNL7XS23xApuINo5Ji3Hb3G27S7IeV-mayd9V17Kp6U1c5Be4aE_WG_wGVp9JkvLVNtOjNMSSZ73QGMVdEojrG800uf_dCWkftEDg_e2k8E6SBD06MC_PgamLBE9dp24zL4MhMrIB84uRdqK4iMMqsGhjLzTEjubznw/w400-h300/P1270045.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The glamorous life of an RD. "The porta-potties are running low on toilet paper." Heavy sigh…</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Bf0P2S6oP2kf2fEkP7YpmpdvS5m_Lddf3zxp9IxDLIGc-WveGlYBRoaV9mdi2ZnV8qJ_AxXVakFGgze-URWzZZnczaiq-A4k8SECKm8_tqcQwbXhPSaBLFF68vtFBvzcGWyrUKdkHHmhFuFmB8BiH6iNEV65NTFjmCQmnO3JYkRGMSfbJkiGagFmSQ/s3648/P1270027.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="2736" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Bf0P2S6oP2kf2fEkP7YpmpdvS5m_Lddf3zxp9IxDLIGc-WveGlYBRoaV9mdi2ZnV8qJ_AxXVakFGgze-URWzZZnczaiq-A4k8SECKm8_tqcQwbXhPSaBLFF68vtFBvzcGWyrUKdkHHmhFuFmB8BiH6iNEV65NTFjmCQmnO3JYkRGMSfbJkiGagFmSQ/w300-h400/P1270027.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running through the shade of the trees.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">The second half of the course spends a lot of time in a grove of eucalyptus trees. If you've spent any time around these trees, you know how creepy they can sound. They creak. They squeak. They taunt you with the many little acorn-like things they drop on the trail.</p><p style="text-align: left;">But they are glorious.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVrr51ei2wygTmJBBKrqGIl_WCtVN27-_yp1xQSRVdXSs2GhTi98_yEPT3FQ1ZsL222PCYSvNl4zcLNrN3ni93cexabzoM0U6Do-4w7KGcgT-Yw3rTboy3QBAd8W1RO-woVTCs2uMixGXuGMnEf8TwwSXQIXsK5Q_musLaB48ruOv_3cAXUaNkG5Dog/s3648/P1270029.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVrr51ei2wygTmJBBKrqGIl_WCtVN27-_yp1xQSRVdXSs2GhTi98_yEPT3FQ1ZsL222PCYSvNl4zcLNrN3ni93cexabzoM0U6Do-4w7KGcgT-Yw3rTboy3QBAd8W1RO-woVTCs2uMixGXuGMnEf8TwwSXQIXsK5Q_musLaB48ruOv_3cAXUaNkG5Dog/w400-h300/P1270029.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE CLOCKY LEGEND IS TRUE!!!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-l3MMAgPvI3uMFhy4xvrKwIlfvKXkQu5tdkyHWAWLhXHka6XjHhAKC5Rhn_jDX1mzXSOmPPvmvoH5qikklr7Q_QqWY9Px-fAfIa4MYmSrD5_qVzOqjRn0s1T3-cV4971EDBj4yuK4plc_ekkWmFeQMGawzQuiA-rbUzKm6uXTlUEORD2Xr8O531pCA/s3648/P1270031.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-l3MMAgPvI3uMFhy4xvrKwIlfvKXkQu5tdkyHWAWLhXHka6XjHhAKC5Rhn_jDX1mzXSOmPPvmvoH5qikklr7Q_QqWY9Px-fAfIa4MYmSrD5_qVzOqjRn0s1T3-cV4971EDBj4yuK4plc_ekkWmFeQMGawzQuiA-rbUzKm6uXTlUEORD2Xr8O531pCA/w400-h300/P1270031.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NONE SHALL PASS! (John survived this and ended up getting second place in the 12 hour! The Clocky scars will last a lot longer than the glory though.)</td></tr></tbody></table>Clocky likes to wander randomly around the course, tormenting the runners. Or confusing them. "Why is there a compass on the course?" If you really want to wind up Clocky (ha ha ha - clock humor), ask what part of Canada makes the best compasses. (And then run. Fast.)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjW5DtLXA9AEMRCCML8S0VSQegUp-7cwKtqsILuzpK_JrJ72XTxfw2--3bTfco3BGXsZg0nR6vuCLwG8qtnrqGdMMCm_ZHA7ktZQBaDRBHKL2pA70_CxRSPtyIK_7kp1KhSXTAcpQK-kzmRht-1qK5LzVjEuPMStl8zVdSoHqZEgZZeoRXF4nbUHVjvA/s2478/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-17%20at%201.16.00%20PM.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1544" data-original-width="2478" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjW5DtLXA9AEMRCCML8S0VSQegUp-7cwKtqsILuzpK_JrJ72XTxfw2--3bTfco3BGXsZg0nR6vuCLwG8qtnrqGdMMCm_ZHA7ktZQBaDRBHKL2pA70_CxRSPtyIK_7kp1KhSXTAcpQK-kzmRht-1qK5LzVjEuPMStl8zVdSoHqZEgZZeoRXF4nbUHVjvA/w400-h249/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-17%20at%201.16.00%20PM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The festival area. Picture by a Brazen volunteer.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">My first lap weirdly was my fastest (HA!). It was odd to be running a lap with others who had been out there for four hours already - it made me feel a bit like an elite runner, at least until I would get passed like I was standing still by an actual elite runner. (It was a funny coincidence that the song "9 to 5" started playing as I finished that lap, with Sam remarking how the 9 to 5 lifestyle suits me.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">My second lap wasn't too bad - I was able to run most of it, but by the end, my right knee was complaining bitterly. I still managed to look like a proper runner for this picture.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCiDzZCEOC4iXz2P9cAq6S9mfrjJMUJNiCvBfUIhuROccn9pIT7Yu6W7J57KP72ogujpfaNu_oldxjDHfn3uvGPhycUqKYoePvhDCpLj9eDz4ZsuwU4tbjdaJmHzpf442WDuCTGs0EOkmE77koPUrZDSbsFf-nEq0edo6CcGbC6-77URDJmPDi-tZVDA/s1812/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-17%20at%201.23.45%20PM.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1720" data-original-width="1812" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCiDzZCEOC4iXz2P9cAq6S9mfrjJMUJNiCvBfUIhuROccn9pIT7Yu6W7J57KP72ogujpfaNu_oldxjDHfn3uvGPhycUqKYoePvhDCpLj9eDz4ZsuwU4tbjdaJmHzpf442WDuCTGs0EOkmE77koPUrZDSbsFf-nEq0edo6CcGbC6-77URDJmPDi-tZVDA/w400-h380/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-17%20at%201.23.45%20PM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by Brazen volunteer. </td></tr></tbody></table><div><p style="text-align: left;">At this point, I started to doubt that four laps were going to happen. Two laps were an ultra-10K. Three laps would get me to double-digit mileage, which would be an OK goal - it was something I hadn't done in a couple of years. I was telling myself that three laps might be my limit. I started to get down a bit.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Passing through the festival area though has a way of picking you up. I knew running was no longer happening, but felt like walking was still pretty tolerable. So I headed out on my third lap and would decide on a fourth once that was done.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9T451P3mwMdemfqKUSKp6eW6Dp411gXYzh3gPotOOei6_4gO8JB4VoCi1Pd3rxZ3CyKF93OyJnyfjqMYJT0URS47Bz6rLyCm6qVL6j7bVxL07bzgFRiBFBjvBU8U0gUXbkuYBByFPzpUENkFa5IcCBYGXhIrvxnVjOmYHCQg6VYIq9isQ6SK2SRhTA/s2434/P1270039.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1825" data-original-width="2434" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9T451P3mwMdemfqKUSKp6eW6Dp411gXYzh3gPotOOei6_4gO8JB4VoCi1Pd3rxZ3CyKF93OyJnyfjqMYJT0URS47Bz6rLyCm6qVL6j7bVxL07bzgFRiBFBjvBU8U0gUXbkuYBByFPzpUENkFa5IcCBYGXhIrvxnVjOmYHCQg6VYIq9isQ6SK2SRhTA/w400-h300/P1270039.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These "motivational" signs start appearing throughout the afternoon.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">One thing that came up during my third lap was that I realized I had made a big mistake wearing no-show socks. Back in the before days, I never wore them - they are a fairly recent addition to my wardrobe. I wear them at 5Ks, and have no issues. But after about nine miles, the top of the back of my shoe was digging into my foot and had created a raw spot. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I had forgotten that getting tired was not the only fallout of increasing mileage.</p><p style="text-align: left;">So, before starting my fourth (and I was pretty sure at that point, my last) loop, I stopped, sat down, took off my shoe, and stretched that sock enough that it provided protection. And that worked. But sitting on that chair felt really good. REALLY good. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Fortunately Janeth came by and started explaining the evils of chairs, so I struggled back to my feet and headed back out. </p><p style="text-align: left;">My fourth loop was uneventful, other than an outhouse stop.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYa8DRxU7lCrZEQ7skGV5XgFYnv2ZCV3KjsYo12Zb8lfWzqkFGV1QzZeE6z1KKQLF8DasC_rrrk-dwGt6thti0eMuJI110xJ_E-vq--0KO_IWxwoJ0oqy7OAWmnhv31SMOLI8BZR5LaLRhKPbdwkk2ePPTqS98ZOCe60tU7KcfZ7ViyDAfs-FRdCwW3Q/s3648/P1270042.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYa8DRxU7lCrZEQ7skGV5XgFYnv2ZCV3KjsYo12Zb8lfWzqkFGV1QzZeE6z1KKQLF8DasC_rrrk-dwGt6thti0eMuJI110xJ_E-vq--0KO_IWxwoJ0oqy7OAWmnhv31SMOLI8BZR5LaLRhKPbdwkk2ePPTqS98ZOCe60tU7KcfZ7ViyDAfs-FRdCwW3Q/w400-h300/P1270042.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finish line is in sight!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihL-3I7E2sIGjBXJUkzoNiFz0fyf64l4T1xLJ7Hfbb17MlGyERmSF8kzD5vqjcQrR-XmnmtG6htGL-sxzlQEr_7of1X3zEzq8qT_FJDsB-pkPfcFkQYOs90DGh7Qk5kekGbUS20riwA01cGVkVIY2MNly29lKkvYYfyw2-katSuGJxrphrn04Mg0MOqg/s2385/P1270044.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1789" data-original-width="2385" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihL-3I7E2sIGjBXJUkzoNiFz0fyf64l4T1xLJ7Hfbb17MlGyERmSF8kzD5vqjcQrR-XmnmtG6htGL-sxzlQEr_7of1X3zEzq8qT_FJDsB-pkPfcFkQYOs90DGh7Qk5kekGbUS20riwA01cGVkVIY2MNly29lKkvYYfyw2-katSuGJxrphrn04Mg0MOqg/w400-h300/P1270044.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ummm, no.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">And that was it. I got four laps and officially 13.48 miles. I had a minor, self-inflicted heel abrasion, a knee that was determined to keep me from considering a fifth lap, and many muscles that were feeling unfamiliar soreness.</p></div><p style="text-align: left;">But I was happy. And hungry. One of the best things about this race is the post-race BBQ. (On my fourth lap, the aid station had pizza, which was wildly tempting. There is something very poetic about eating a slice of pizza while slogging around the course in the middle of a race. But I chose to save myself for the BBQ.)</p></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIE1Vijgh5APt-6XOqWNK4qbGJKhI7ArxXnTCXLZjAm2bqGEoZ4uZXahJ-Y4cqyTWUFFTdBrFS35wPrJb3-nyBzsKwhrKQNmFS5TYJhbTgHeDfMS07uZz0m6cMwczbHCrtYoWMnV1Ftj0v_3np2XcDPZ-b62TYj0LmYDy2qesB1cBzIUPtohldaPzD4A/s3648/P1270051.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIE1Vijgh5APt-6XOqWNK4qbGJKhI7ArxXnTCXLZjAm2bqGEoZ4uZXahJ-Y4cqyTWUFFTdBrFS35wPrJb3-nyBzsKwhrKQNmFS5TYJhbTgHeDfMS07uZz0m6cMwczbHCrtYoWMnV1Ftj0v_3np2XcDPZ-b62TYj0LmYDy2qesB1cBzIUPtohldaPzD4A/w400-h300/P1270051.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hoodie, medal, and loaner bib.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsKylngq-B9jOJvnXraDVdgRnsC0y4og5rUbQh6yWVUPmaXcSw-6-cOR3sHc0jlJ8raEJgU1hWkJLx5kyuHaxm7Yxi6XkRJeVxoGQnjZYyFH5Hry-ggUFTYFxreBLxeM87GYcYy8VRv_A0WmyRrtoP7KPxQMUtaz72B2f8sLN4c3mJjtBhMp8Qv9SiLg/s4032/IMG_8469.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsKylngq-B9jOJvnXraDVdgRnsC0y4og5rUbQh6yWVUPmaXcSw-6-cOR3sHc0jlJ8raEJgU1hWkJLx5kyuHaxm7Yxi6XkRJeVxoGQnjZYyFH5Hry-ggUFTYFxreBLxeM87GYcYy8VRv_A0WmyRrtoP7KPxQMUtaz72B2f8sLN4c3mJjtBhMp8Qv9SiLg/w300-h400/IMG_8469.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closeup of the medal/coaster to show the detail.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">The medal is a work of art. There are 12 spokes, each with a keyword written on them. Spokes 1 through 12: Drink. Walk. Eat. Rest. Cheer. BBQ. Big Loop. Run More. Walk More. Little Loop. Finish! Then, a bit oddly, Run at number 12. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Maybe Clocky is a compass after all.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I ended up being dead last among the 12-hour men. (Heck, I would have tied for dead last among 6-hour men.) But I was second in my age group. Funny thing for those of you that think getting older makes it easier to win age group awards; since this race I've moved into the 65-69 age group. If I had been in that age group for this race, I would have been fifth. There may not be as many older people in these races, but the ones that are there are really good.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZRRRGET0f_wlP8-0PmMDcZwa8kTc7Ou2XB_wxgDW8kBwY_Hwg1MwniEUEDa1ryRCVdXLAhpNojyo28pjF9tKtBesQFvsqNs6oQml7Ud6b8GBHsqrzsX1130A9_I-fj1h7FaZOh7p-v9ObxcwiwzfGiV5sXams6QvJyy8fLcg_HKMk49gMsrHaRb_Pw/s1632/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-12%20at%209.37.09%20AM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="1632" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZRRRGET0f_wlP8-0PmMDcZwa8kTc7Ou2XB_wxgDW8kBwY_Hwg1MwniEUEDa1ryRCVdXLAhpNojyo28pjF9tKtBesQFvsqNs6oQml7Ud6b8GBHsqrzsX1130A9_I-fj1h7FaZOh7p-v9ObxcwiwzfGiV5sXams6QvJyy8fLcg_HKMk49gMsrHaRb_Pw/w400-h308/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-12%20at%209.37.09%20AM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">One thing that surprised me is that there were significantly more women in the race than men. The three-hour was nearly even, but the six-hour and twelve-hour had nearly twice as many women as men. I wondered if this was a fluke coming out of the pandemic, but in 2019 (the last time the race happened), there was a similar female majority in the timed events.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I had never noticed this before, and really can't explain it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Clocky probably has something to do with it though.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That's it - move along…</p></div>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-12095636043829164762022-07-04T12:22:00.000-07:002022-07-04T12:22:01.438-07:00WSER 2022 - My 11th year at Last Chance!<p>For the 11th year in a row (skipping the horror that was 2020 when the race was cancelled), I was allowed to join the Stevens Creek Striders in helping out at the Last Chance aid station. This aid station is at mile 43.3 and just before the dreaded Deadwood Canyon, which always promises heat. Crew and pacers are not allowed at Last Chance, so that means we have the runner's undivided attention. And that makes volunteering at this aid station a reasonably unique experience.</p><p>(There are a few negatives: It's very remote with mostly no cell service, and once you are there, you are stuck there until the aid station closes since portions of the road in are used as parts of the course, and there are mosquitos - MANY mosquitos.)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bg9PgkHBtnfkIuNAlXywd65re7LxBSvvzZOAGQwD-i38lEJpr0SZlTX1MYlJCm8UPFY3RwW9v-Y_4DB4L24nQQtkWSc_bYJVVwk5mGoIC6-4-U8XtTiJbEdZbtsQqdOuRPRrVJhzLdJPhjvPS3DQz7g71H92RQsLX_2erXIn4dUNBUXEdUlT616kWA/s4032/IMG_8444.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bg9PgkHBtnfkIuNAlXywd65re7LxBSvvzZOAGQwD-i38lEJpr0SZlTX1MYlJCm8UPFY3RwW9v-Y_4DB4L24nQQtkWSc_bYJVVwk5mGoIC6-4-U8XtTiJbEdZbtsQqdOuRPRrVJhzLdJPhjvPS3DQz7g71H92RQsLX_2erXIn4dUNBUXEdUlT616kWA/w400-h300/IMG_8444.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is also wildlife.</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>The 2022 version of the <a href="https://www.wser.org" target="_blank">Western States 100</a> trail race carried on a lot of the new precautions introduced in the 2021 version, including food handling and the lack of using sponges for cooling the runners. The most notable change was the number of runners! </p><p>2021 was still hampered by travel restrictions, so many overseas runners were unable to attend, and had their entries rolled over to 2022. 315 runners started in 2021, well under the normal 369 that normally start. 2022 saw the number of starters increase to 383, with a large chunk of those runners coming from the 2021 overseas rollovers. </p><p>Of those 383 spots, 239 were available to the lottery, where well over 6000 runners had applied for entry. Amazingly, there were 18 with 128 tickets this year, and 11 of those got in. The other 7 will have 256 tickets next year if they run a qualifier and enter the lottery yet again. (To get 128 tickets, you have to have entered eight times, each year with a qualifying race. Truly amazing!)</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Embarrassing bit</h4><p>I was determined to get to Last Chance fairly early on Friday - many of the volunteers come up on Friday and camp out to avoid having to get up early to make it here by 9:00 AM, when the road closes to general traffic.</p><p>From Foresthill, you drive a bit over 22 miles on the windy, appropriately named Mosquito Ridge Road. Then you turn off on a narrow, vaguely paved road called Deep Canyon Road. After snaking down that road for a couple of miles it arbitrarily decides to become a narrower gravel road. About three miles (and a couple hours) later, you hit the Dusty Corners aid station. </p><p>This is the aid station just before Last Chance, and it is crew accessible - it has to be one of the least accessible crew accessible aid stations ever. </p><p>When I drove through Dusty Corners, there were a few people there already. Some volunteers camp there as well. </p><p>I kept going towards Last Chance. The road deteriorates gradually the further you go. Fortunately, you "only" have three miles of this. </p><p>Unless you miss the aid station and keep on going.</p><p>I was not expecting to be the first one there, and so I was completely focussed on dodging rocks and ruts until I saw other cars. Then I came to a gate. There is no gate on the way to Last Chance. There IS a gate about a half-mile after Last Chance though. I went a bit further before finally admitting that I may have made a mistake, and took a look at a GPS map I had downloaded a few years ago, and confirmed I had driven well past Last Chance.</p><p>Even with no cars there, Last Chance is a bit hard to miss. The three porta-potties should have been noticed. The Last Chance sign. The Starbucks. (There is no Starbucks.)</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Moving past the embarrassing bit</h4><p>Since I was first, I grabbed the best parking space, unloaded the tables, chairs, coolers, and such, then set out to put up the signs. </p><p>For this year, I upgraded my sign stake technology, and was eager to see how well that technology worked. (Spoiler alert - it worked great! You can read more and see the signs<span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="color: red;"> </span><a href="https://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2022/07/wser-2022-last-chance-signs.html" target="_blank">here</a></span>.)</p><p>After a bit, other people began to trickle in and Last Chance was quickly becoming a bustling area. </p><p>The evening went fine, the mosquitos were getting fed by us (involuntarily), and we relaxed around a pretend campfire. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Some ice drama</h4><p>Starting about 8:00 AM or so, volunteers that were not into camping and feeding the mosquitos started to show up. One thing they all agreed on - there was no ice trailer at Dusty Corners.</p><p>Generally, I pick up about 1200 pounds of ice from the WSER warehouse in Auburn on Friday as I head in. In 2019, Lon the Aid Station God arranged for an ice trailer to be delivered to Dusty Corners with both their ice and ours. We drove up to Dusty Corners on Saturday morning and grabbed ours - this meant a lot less overnight melt loss - a huge win. In 2021, there was no ice trailer, so I dragged the ice up as normal. But for 2022, the ice trailer was back!</p><p>Except it wasn't. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQlqtd4UXU-rWAGiQzkA97GKNlnHRpAcSvjrI853ZBKRF-avvoA_gPL6bG14TJsPq5pOeODiGAzwcFzQ5FPPYIn9Gb5HKyFDxIUgiuoH4OoV9kBDLwTANO_hx_lAes4eXXhIrED_0rLm6EGTWqFFrfCKUH0ubcVglNZklp1PifooaGkKh0pBuz__nDw/s4272/IMG_3819.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQlqtd4UXU-rWAGiQzkA97GKNlnHRpAcSvjrI853ZBKRF-avvoA_gPL6bG14TJsPq5pOeODiGAzwcFzQ5FPPYIn9Gb5HKyFDxIUgiuoH4OoV9kBDLwTANO_hx_lAes4eXXhIrED_0rLm6EGTWqFFrfCKUH0ubcVglNZklp1PifooaGkKh0pBuz__nDw/w400-h266/IMG_3819.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peggy and Amir discussing how cool ice is.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Amir, the Last Chance ham radio guy, contacted Dusty Corners and asked them to let us know when the trailer showed up. Meanwhile, we were getting a bit nervous. Volunteers are asked to bring a bag of ice for just in case something happens, and we've done well to not have a "just in case" moment for a number of years. But this was now quickly becoming a "just in case" moment. </p><p>Finally we got the call that someone was bringing the ice to us. It became a happy morning when I saw Lon driving up with a truck full of ice (he brought us 800 pounds - it turned out we had to go back in the afternoon and grab another 400 pounds).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDFpg4PG-jLsmAP6xocIJSEIJLsOZSuUY2gl7esg16ru3XQ4LCi-16rGexqc1RxKjxegNnu7c_lUasKxmF4x6neL8xENRbXlu56SsK4dqx5a2qK1ckshMUMtRwaA5MG8TFyBwcEWCgOdmyCD0IIXbdvnD9adqiO2hsOGLjelAnKD6SGoWZiio-3cTlPQ/s4272/IMG_3826.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDFpg4PG-jLsmAP6xocIJSEIJLsOZSuUY2gl7esg16ru3XQ4LCi-16rGexqc1RxKjxegNnu7c_lUasKxmF4x6neL8xENRbXlu56SsK4dqx5a2qK1ckshMUMtRwaA5MG8TFyBwcEWCgOdmyCD0IIXbdvnD9adqiO2hsOGLjelAnKD6SGoWZiio-3cTlPQ/w400-h266/IMG_3826.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't imagine how great this sight was.</td></tr></tbody></table><h4 style="text-align: left;">Pre-race briefing</h4><p>The traditional pre-race briefing is fun. You get a pretty good idea of how many people are there (around 60, including the radio guys and medical people).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEp08vnnBxSxAzFNe_0L-WnrV50P7i0UVRWFHSDg_qQr2__aC9S3BVfvYMZnDQXfijjw9MGJcbD6fc5zIbYudjegSaaB7PZ-RnUPFDa2ajJrRTyMeR6FLo5PJXsS7Olc5G-qgNKfCHE_AUYzgz6Cnyf9l1eI-H8JuFByE1x_rS4za1sqFV_j_rvjmew/s4272/IMG_3823.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEp08vnnBxSxAzFNe_0L-WnrV50P7i0UVRWFHSDg_qQr2__aC9S3BVfvYMZnDQXfijjw9MGJcbD6fc5zIbYudjegSaaB7PZ-RnUPFDa2ajJrRTyMeR6FLo5PJXsS7Olc5G-qgNKfCHE_AUYzgz6Cnyf9l1eI-H8JuFByE1x_rS4za1sqFV_j_rvjmew/w400-h266/IMG_3823.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peggy explaining that mosquitos are not an endangered species.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>A fun thing was that two awards were going to be given out to people that have made this aid station one of the best on the course. The first went to Michael, who has been volunteering here for more than 20 years! (The Striders have managed this aid station for 40 years!)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaPg39XjTeEbEXbS4rciCX-nFZd1zNKdOF6jIZAIYLYCHbQmUf60WqdMt30JNRMI39iaihC9UdZSJSvcV40LN8AmbT2KMNjnYM02a1W2ipsYtyvzEbJsjLjadItQwjkToeF_NvHWd-0n2Bbmxwjh75sk5Xh81BTy6oOtxzQ1rbFcsKt-fK5BlvfcxsA/s4272/IMG_3830.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaPg39XjTeEbEXbS4rciCX-nFZd1zNKdOF6jIZAIYLYCHbQmUf60WqdMt30JNRMI39iaihC9UdZSJSvcV40LN8AmbT2KMNjnYM02a1W2ipsYtyvzEbJsjLjadItQwjkToeF_NvHWd-0n2Bbmxwjh75sk5Xh81BTy6oOtxzQ1rbFcsKt-fK5BlvfcxsA/w400-h266/IMG_3830.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Where do you keep all those volunteer shirts?"</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Bizarrely, the second award was given to me. Granted, leveling the porta-potties is a useful skill, but really? Me? So many others have done so much more for Last Chance. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAApVCKSMeZ_ZyMH33PnM4Y6I9p_5-rmFEPw6P2kwYXeWxfVkFfe94czZfai22LleizHYKUDS7SHfZjCKdRPNN4HopM7R0YO2Xb13zf_wzzI1wRD8kwXipK4kX_rad8lrSPn5ssrCuL5sdmj-DioBwuDzahb0Cxb2boCJelcxR9zg63YrrS3UhbgJ7Q/s874/IMG_8459.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="874" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAApVCKSMeZ_ZyMH33PnM4Y6I9p_5-rmFEPw6P2kwYXeWxfVkFfe94czZfai22LleizHYKUDS7SHfZjCKdRPNN4HopM7R0YO2Xb13zf_wzzI1wRD8kwXipK4kX_rad8lrSPn5ssrCuL5sdmj-DioBwuDzahb0Cxb2boCJelcxR9zg63YrrS3UhbgJ7Q/w400-h300/IMG_8459.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Are you sure there wasn't a mistake?"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeoM84Kv6zrgZonp7l406d303mtr1Y2_1t4da11WeIOgl2VA501mMG727Mm63EEGqfCywyah87ADjvmv3lr09IWFXAUlm_wuBZno8NX_FGhgRBerX1Ur57baYTwKbypxMKiph0y0CNGiHDtucRlkHB_xL4RYsOxlggjzQpWc_fJiKFPFibThyH6_T-w/s3486/IMG_8465.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2777" data-original-width="3486" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeoM84Kv6zrgZonp7l406d303mtr1Y2_1t4da11WeIOgl2VA501mMG727Mm63EEGqfCywyah87ADjvmv3lr09IWFXAUlm_wuBZno8NX_FGhgRBerX1Ur57baYTwKbypxMKiph0y0CNGiHDtucRlkHB_xL4RYsOxlggjzQpWc_fJiKFPFibThyH6_T-w/w400-h319/IMG_8465.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadly, I didn't notice the Mango cat hairs on this before I took this shot. Mango is smirking in his sleep about them.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In any case, it was time for the group photos.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-li4a812l1YuAaZyGOhwwibaZ0sgTck6QnQliNdKMKsBYhPimTwMjCihNvGZG0QrrgPtdGJ1JN6e7iYNoVs9OxX2dupjKVHIoNWjmHcJGwPV4_edq-j4CJN1X6cxHOj38Q046UQ-PbxNWpkaGqRzLGOSU6JbaIZrtcO6mb6zlzLqgbQicr5kb8IoIQ/s3344/IMG_3835.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2229" data-original-width="3344" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-li4a812l1YuAaZyGOhwwibaZ0sgTck6QnQliNdKMKsBYhPimTwMjCihNvGZG0QrrgPtdGJ1JN6e7iYNoVs9OxX2dupjKVHIoNWjmHcJGwPV4_edq-j4CJN1X6cxHOj38Q046UQ-PbxNWpkaGqRzLGOSU6JbaIZrtcO6mb6zlzLqgbQicr5kb8IoIQ/w400-h266/IMG_3835.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It always amazes me how many people show up to volunteer at this remote aid station.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsneFPyukhQN9zPhhh8yv4Pg3jmnILTfR-nNumBsndzbid8VBWHOV0MHVgixbZmTawuoOm6odJfChhF9pumTn6bebWoZqcG6Y-OeNkRPyUv8K6WsGSwSGK38YkZh96pRKfSkoGy8NiaqcOh2rAsTBbGNKc3AJfoqg0Fwo1k6lTkdfhwInOhdzm7kh_4g/s3378/IMG_3840.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2252" data-original-width="3378" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsneFPyukhQN9zPhhh8yv4Pg3jmnILTfR-nNumBsndzbid8VBWHOV0MHVgixbZmTawuoOm6odJfChhF9pumTn6bebWoZqcG6Y-OeNkRPyUv8K6WsGSwSGK38YkZh96pRKfSkoGy8NiaqcOh2rAsTBbGNKc3AJfoqg0Fwo1k6lTkdfhwInOhdzm7kh_4g/w400-h266/IMG_3840.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are the actual Stevens Creek Striders that were here.</td></tr></tbody></table><h4 style="text-align: left;">The race</h4><p style="text-align: left;">The rest of the day went fairly smooth. We got our first runner at 11:20 and kept busy from then until we closed up at 5:25.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPOWgOG8_gRAhYqjBSd1O9EEOjZbtKMUJEn2i-5TAnI0TpkMEjAJ7vOsqJs4J-r8Sg3vkgUCTOarojsQSkQlsOTXWlY0ZSCBaAuG27UaIibOpZ9NHRBkbInFh4nPCk5uEmZdhIdE0o8vbYT6P4KuUwX4dZxlTY_VLfLGeNZtAcoA9PHYZ89apuABoFA/s4272/IMG_3851.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPOWgOG8_gRAhYqjBSd1O9EEOjZbtKMUJEn2i-5TAnI0TpkMEjAJ7vOsqJs4J-r8Sg3vkgUCTOarojsQSkQlsOTXWlY0ZSCBaAuG27UaIibOpZ9NHRBkbInFh4nPCk5uEmZdhIdE0o8vbYT6P4KuUwX4dZxlTY_VLfLGeNZtAcoA9PHYZ89apuABoFA/w400-h266/IMG_3851.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NASCAR pit crews got nothing on us.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVOoTsEQvhlChB_K8LX1MRr5y96xEIBjKMTS5Zy-H1CrlpnV_X2urfKuM2NgNFWNFH0t6-5zS5fczkEo5JxHtWJgNa_3VwhBP5CS7gglIQ7UQBjhda5-ehKe-j7hzqQ0MWrkSwzyowttQS3CFslem5Z6IccTUAQ_InDtwYZKOA-U1iX1S2jRfK4CDM_A/s4272/IMG_3857.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVOoTsEQvhlChB_K8LX1MRr5y96xEIBjKMTS5Zy-H1CrlpnV_X2urfKuM2NgNFWNFH0t6-5zS5fczkEo5JxHtWJgNa_3VwhBP5CS7gglIQ7UQBjhda5-ehKe-j7hzqQ0MWrkSwzyowttQS3CFslem5Z6IccTUAQ_InDtwYZKOA-U1iX1S2jRfK4CDM_A/w400-h266/IMG_3857.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the ice in her sleeves.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6742865YdbXFw44SgS4-sbSnzAS3S847jDvFU2JUmMXHUbv4TmmYtQP09blezKb5-1QuJU4X5ocUN0jEKwIuAlMbEOUUKGJmSW4abjQsVKgs-kGfnGeH6wRSsqxgcdRdbTmdQVVZCWZsWPw-61af_cxLKrlfzf6N5gDOpAPb9jaIDaUgGtb6FTr5Sw/s4272/IMG_3873.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6742865YdbXFw44SgS4-sbSnzAS3S847jDvFU2JUmMXHUbv4TmmYtQP09blezKb5-1QuJU4X5ocUN0jEKwIuAlMbEOUUKGJmSW4abjQsVKgs-kGfnGeH6wRSsqxgcdRdbTmdQVVZCWZsWPw-61af_cxLKrlfzf6N5gDOpAPb9jaIDaUgGtb6FTr5Sw/w400-h266/IMG_3873.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hydration bar and buffet.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieIEquRKpGZYI0tXn50rmaEgQK5gzqzq6mD0foLHRJxWexKdkE8lKpzt97cyMOLtkOO-AYhUvQEHN_-0TgcIGzZAISb6YYZ6BTj7CqpEsDYILmV5V7tCAoFKmVCZ7XGYFHU5wxTS4fjhKunolPiUSSDkRmo4ZOa31zl9tD0svHy6_Be2lePiXeY5PGKg/s4272/IMG_3868.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieIEquRKpGZYI0tXn50rmaEgQK5gzqzq6mD0foLHRJxWexKdkE8lKpzt97cyMOLtkOO-AYhUvQEHN_-0TgcIGzZAISb6YYZ6BTj7CqpEsDYILmV5V7tCAoFKmVCZ7XGYFHU5wxTS4fjhKunolPiUSSDkRmo4ZOa31zl9tD0svHy6_Be2lePiXeY5PGKg/w400-h266/IMG_3868.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volunteers come in a variety of ages! She worked the drop bag area for a bit before joining us in the Car Wash.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAMuS954QHHj3xV_AbhCp4CQfL_jHKE7zvdO8yPhWzmxeDrVo-ivoHmUcxY-Y2_mMTJIcIsWUejmfa9xt2DkolrNDf0tZXCNK3aMmN1zPqm5OM7s7DF0SQTrYyvreWwhyPrCkVd1j0mYWytrtJIXqjT6omYOnv-Mn_VtmoSwGAiNsnhkdR3DzAwh_Fw/s4272/IMG_3855.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAMuS954QHHj3xV_AbhCp4CQfL_jHKE7zvdO8yPhWzmxeDrVo-ivoHmUcxY-Y2_mMTJIcIsWUejmfa9xt2DkolrNDf0tZXCNK3aMmN1zPqm5OM7s7DF0SQTrYyvreWwhyPrCkVd1j0mYWytrtJIXqjT6omYOnv-Mn_VtmoSwGAiNsnhkdR3DzAwh_Fw/w400-h266/IMG_3855.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Early Warning System. Peter radios bib numbers down to the drop bag people who can be waiting with the drop bags of the runners as they arrive, making the process seem a bit like magic.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_3bn3RO8A2jzWkcWhZLeWyC3XY0BLrLClr8zml6ICmqLrOBF6IzKqSpGa3EWrXHIre8khF0Hn1GZEYNoqPVDFDRQPd_maYZH4sugUqrOcy-YgdeGUvPXFkpgfZK7PiFaSmflkjcgkXwiYumTERc0xrR1HxOTGJr9yb393bFwzTy79E4fmRcTf7wBCw/s3378/IMG_3867.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2252" data-original-width="3378" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_3bn3RO8A2jzWkcWhZLeWyC3XY0BLrLClr8zml6ICmqLrOBF6IzKqSpGa3EWrXHIre8khF0Hn1GZEYNoqPVDFDRQPd_maYZH4sugUqrOcy-YgdeGUvPXFkpgfZK7PiFaSmflkjcgkXwiYumTERc0xrR1HxOTGJr9yb393bFwzTy79E4fmRcTf7wBCw/w400-h266/IMG_3867.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view of the buffet.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqZZB9fm5dCYoYYkQnfWoqCrq6JkFkr_5YFOmSg8uckhYtQOEi-yJDH812MKglgvbz2V15il6wosTohlek4Fij8ofceuj_zFukYsbrenGRogWonpvczsOk_MBZCV25pYX4nQ-n1eFsw9MFXHqCcFzk8eymTAisN4bxVv1gpAsw21kh42zZ8m8sB1Odg/s4272/IMG_3872.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqZZB9fm5dCYoYYkQnfWoqCrq6JkFkr_5YFOmSg8uckhYtQOEi-yJDH812MKglgvbz2V15il6wosTohlek4Fij8ofceuj_zFukYsbrenGRogWonpvczsOk_MBZCV25pYX4nQ-n1eFsw9MFXHqCcFzk8eymTAisN4bxVv1gpAsw21kh42zZ8m8sB1Odg/w400-h266/IMG_3872.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For hot food, we had soup and grilled cheese. No prime rib.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYW2zZJ7KwT4grk3xtJb58qeoAWKv_4RXZ96GdxtZYj5YRn-8zajZug2llaK38ffsqjYV4T34QbCT8iLrtPD8fsE9IV_ec5sZLUo_eHUuHyNOFs9JmEKRefJOLfMtf7wpz5T4Ya-OhBvOrpuyTceQXkxGmHaiM-a9ilureiBefzszTBGkWcvByy0nEtw/s4032/IMG_8451.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYW2zZJ7KwT4grk3xtJb58qeoAWKv_4RXZ96GdxtZYj5YRn-8zajZug2llaK38ffsqjYV4T34QbCT8iLrtPD8fsE9IV_ec5sZLUo_eHUuHyNOFs9JmEKRefJOLfMtf7wpz5T4Ya-OhBvOrpuyTceQXkxGmHaiM-a9ilureiBefzszTBGkWcvByy0nEtw/w400-h300/IMG_8451.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Car Wash is still the coolest.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">There were only a few runners that I knew in the race. The Pixie Ninja was one of the first through.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkv2ego0uiMMjuf0Uis0SJelZ-7zKih-gkCwaRy_UV0QvABSduKoefnUszQh9QKQc-3rpVKDGbUgZcVg8EsNuD8MYJLmltPshiFI4HSkalFxovciklKNk7HiDCGPcM587jLgSjiDGDIIGuuxvtfKEJJqeskX770PiIVl9kM4dXj0jhNEX6l-jAQXc4AA/s4032/IMG_8449.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkv2ego0uiMMjuf0Uis0SJelZ-7zKih-gkCwaRy_UV0QvABSduKoefnUszQh9QKQc-3rpVKDGbUgZcVg8EsNuD8MYJLmltPshiFI4HSkalFxovciklKNk7HiDCGPcM587jLgSjiDGDIIGuuxvtfKEJJqeskX770PiIVl9kM4dXj0jhNEX6l-jAQXc4AA/w400-h300/IMG_8449.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaci deciding whether to risk her sandwich while getting drenched.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Kaci had major hamstring surgery done in December. Mortals do not recover and train in time for a 100 mile race just six months later. Pixie Ninjas though…</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOHS5j-zPMcx4pxUzdKi4F1qu6h9BOj5YvUxCbGivC33aeq7F-idP6QuOuWRbFgDRRrddYhgAzOiMrq2fDVUruUlmHOqv_z2-0ERb0bqFACcln_bUAFjPWolSKHFHxzI7b3g2qO4FNWr0Kvf2YufvYNuMhY5gxvoCzTIRD5l9gtUf26hGChVhSoH6qQ/s3088/IMG_8450.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="3088" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOHS5j-zPMcx4pxUzdKi4F1qu6h9BOj5YvUxCbGivC33aeq7F-idP6QuOuWRbFgDRRrddYhgAzOiMrq2fDVUruUlmHOqv_z2-0ERb0bqFACcln_bUAFjPWolSKHFHxzI7b3g2qO4FNWr0Kvf2YufvYNuMhY5gxvoCzTIRD5l9gtUf26hGChVhSoH6qQ/w400-h300/IMG_8450.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm trying to work out whether that mustache is real.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Ace was number 64 on the wait list. In the past, runners in the 30-40 range could reasonably expect a chance at getting into the race. Runners in the 60s, well, they could safely make other plans. The Wednesday before the race, Ace got the call - he was in if he wanted to be. (He wanted to be.) He is running the Hardrock 100 in a bit less than a month. Ace is not normal.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoN3OLAod50Sljjapj7WtyPvwQfV7rLIJgCaT3DA6LMaw_a_frhrzqD1o22mGwy10NeLVJFu7uswL-rbdClF-xcKJ4qXNUpnQk4BD8Zb4WIy-XyDLS_9uTL1ZIeCmECRkxAuV72-0tnbW8UJtXruc3gAGDs4O87gjjcKib3oQcSYm1UTbZG31ioK4j2A/s4032/IMG_8454.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoN3OLAod50Sljjapj7WtyPvwQfV7rLIJgCaT3DA6LMaw_a_frhrzqD1o22mGwy10NeLVJFu7uswL-rbdClF-xcKJ4qXNUpnQk4BD8Zb4WIy-XyDLS_9uTL1ZIeCmECRkxAuV72-0tnbW8UJtXruc3gAGDs4O87gjjcKib3oQcSYm1UTbZG31ioK4j2A/w400-h300/IMG_8454.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa the Brazen Racing entry! Triumphantly holding her non-soggy sandwich that she had somehow kept from getting soaked while she got doused.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjigxV5s1KtoE36GsmvlqilhVdJa6lTKyJ0ZprnaJGzHBuaWqCsnIICKwt0be1-N2oLPibr2fydgkU6fAKbRc9s0FOKgrldRBGaw-dKhBo-IaYXjD0ahANCdihyj_-iswiGP3Ma27euDwiXXpi6dKLnEKXNMxsipTA2vFiumgVfleCI43vQOFvBn-95-Q/s4032/IMG_8455.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjigxV5s1KtoE36GsmvlqilhVdJa6lTKyJ0ZprnaJGzHBuaWqCsnIICKwt0be1-N2oLPibr2fydgkU6fAKbRc9s0FOKgrldRBGaw-dKhBo-IaYXjD0ahANCdihyj_-iswiGP3Ma27euDwiXXpi6dKLnEKXNMxsipTA2vFiumgVfleCI43vQOFvBn-95-Q/w400-h300/IMG_8455.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jessi heading out to face the heat of Deadwood Canyon.</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>Jessi ended up holding a special place in Last Chance this year - she was the last runner to arrive that actually managed to finish the race. (Every runner that came in after her, 17 of them, ended up dropping at some point.)</p><p>And that's about it! For a variety of reasons, I decided to skip going to the track this year. I'm sad that I missed seeing so many great finishes, but man, that shower and comfortable bed at home was awesome.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">For the nerds</h4><p>The official race guide provides some guidance on when you should leave the Last Chance aid station if your goal is a sub-24 hour finish or a sub-30 hour finish (the race cutoff). Based on that, I'm always curious how accurate the guidance is.</p><p>From 11:20 to 2:05</p><p>Our first runner arrived at 11:20. The guidance suggests that if you want to finish in less that 24 hours (and get the coveted silver buckle), you should leave by 2:05. We had 110 runners in that time range, and 88 of them (80%) managed to get a silver buckle. Four of those runners dropped and the rest finished before the 30 hour cutoff.</p><p>From 2:06 to 4:20</p><p>Runners in this range are expected to finish before the 30 hour cutoff. We had 160 runners during this period, and 142 of them finished (89%). Seven of them managed to finish in under 24 hours!</p><p>From 4:21 to 5:25</p><p>These runners are in the danger zone. Most will finish before the 30 hour cutoff, but many will not. It can be a challenge to convince these runners to stop and get iced up since they are watching the clock and are hesitant to squander any seconds in the aid station. We had 71 runners in this range, and 37 finished. Jessi came in at 4:53 and was the last runner in to finish. (We've had runners come in later than that and manage a finish, but that's not normal.)</p><p>In the end, we had four drops at Last Chance. Dusty Corners had seven drops (if you happen to have crew there, that can make it more attractive to drop). Devil's Thumb, the aid station after Last Chance, had nine drops. The goal is to have no drops, and Last Chance is good at minimizing them. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">And that's a wrap! </h4><p>As usual, it was a lot of fun (and hard work) being at Last Chance. The volunteers are so focussed on getting the runners everything they need to keep going, and there are enough of us that we minimize bottlenecks (runners have a knack of coming in in bunches).</p><p>Next year will be the 50th running of the Western States 100. It's going to be really special, and I can't wait. A HUGE thanks to Peggy, Bonnie, and Eric, the aid station brain trust, and the Stevens Creek Striders for all they do to make this the most fun aid station on the course, and allowing me and so many others the chance to take part.</p><p>That's it - move along…</p><p>PS: Click<span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> <a href="https://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2022/07/wser-2022-last-chance-signs.html" target="_blank">here</a></span> to see a post about the signs.</p>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-8265628358247903212022-07-04T12:19:00.004-07:002022-07-04T12:23:55.180-07:00WSER 2022 - The Last Chance Signs<p>For the 10th year, the signs at Last Chance made their appearance. To get some background on this, you can read the first part of <a href="http://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2021/07/wser-2021-last-chance-signs.html" target="_blank">this</a>.</p><p>One difference is that I finally made the move to use modern technology for my sign posts. Previously, I would use wooden stakes and screw the signs to the stakes. This was time consuming since the signs had to be screwed onto the stake after the stake had been pounded into the ground.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHT8ZaQRvf8XL9aMwrbmu80g4L0OhrO1lSJIcsQlAQzqNPrbIs08ENfMxNGsSS_3LccS-5Uryg6COX5e7gdSbpAUtwCA_FlL2Mgp5cGZ1MiZHtplRg_mm0mhhy6GA5tsf9YiG3ZGxgNjVPGpeaoBLnq4tgJowoq21O-6PyxMXHGYgaX2EKHHObJOfMdg/s4032/IMG_8325.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHT8ZaQRvf8XL9aMwrbmu80g4L0OhrO1lSJIcsQlAQzqNPrbIs08ENfMxNGsSS_3LccS-5Uryg6COX5e7gdSbpAUtwCA_FlL2Mgp5cGZ1MiZHtplRg_mm0mhhy6GA5tsf9YiG3ZGxgNjVPGpeaoBLnq4tgJowoq21O-6PyxMXHGYgaX2EKHHObJOfMdg/w400-h300/IMG_8325.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I ordered 50 of these. It wasn't enough.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">One issue was how to attach the foam-core signs to these stakes.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jrwF_0_42Bk0hXUjM1gdpNsGmDImLW71MUMsL8wVhB0ASAySlFuJ7vX4du3K_NqwZ2Ub1M2NtBEnpLYvAB2ArDMqZwXs9hHizFwfkO-3JG8-JUrU3RNmj7DY7ykc8I6DylnOedf0sCYN5vCQP2ZeGQtY1NjJMP6XX-c7Zjvmc2O7zlc8i-OyLmHKuw/s4032/IMG_8462.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jrwF_0_42Bk0hXUjM1gdpNsGmDImLW71MUMsL8wVhB0ASAySlFuJ7vX4du3K_NqwZ2Ub1M2NtBEnpLYvAB2ArDMqZwXs9hHizFwfkO-3JG8-JUrU3RNmj7DY7ykc8I6DylnOedf0sCYN5vCQP2ZeGQtY1NjJMP6XX-c7Zjvmc2O7zlc8i-OyLmHKuw/w300-h400/IMG_8462.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very little can't be fixed with tie wraps and duct tape. (In this case, no duct tape needed.)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I poked a few holes and looped tie wraps through them. Then it was a matter of just poking the stakes in the ground (MUCH easier than pounding stakes) and sliding the signs over them. This worked amazingly well!<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Enough about sign technology…</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">The signs coming into Last Chance</h4><p>First, here are the signs as you come into Last Chance.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6SGKqGcJK3SU-Xuyr9mzcriSQHGzcBgF-sf4Z-11C1svHL6-8-6ko61uUvfU-WSYNyI1K4IjLiRVwq5jgrGNdFOrWZvUMXi2ug5M7CO_7m4oFdRLCjcAj_fKyEvZHFlYs7yt2MTEvG_iHvIVZApuFSQbknfoVoq2f8cDbuNyQ8rQPFmKAIoys8PP71A/s3590/IMG_8396.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3590" data-original-width="2302" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6SGKqGcJK3SU-Xuyr9mzcriSQHGzcBgF-sf4Z-11C1svHL6-8-6ko61uUvfU-WSYNyI1K4IjLiRVwq5jgrGNdFOrWZvUMXi2ug5M7CO_7m4oFdRLCjcAj_fKyEvZHFlYs7yt2MTEvG_iHvIVZApuFSQbknfoVoq2f8cDbuNyQ8rQPFmKAIoys8PP71A/w256-h400/IMG_8396.jpeg" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know, these are dumb. It's Tony's fault.</td></tr></tbody></table>Last year, I made this set for The Endorphin Dude, who has a reputation for telling really bad soda-based jokes during races. For this year, I modified the last one to say "Crush it runners" instead of "Crush it Tony."<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqrc0dNBcsNOfKsvm7Q_QQd23HcWZbJwAeuSOvT4obXsOoQZ7FtU5dmsRubLXokErvt5abFTTma3woGRD9jErfADlG7khyvJ-DUQ6obfaUIMVSktzQM2LB8Xmq4Ux6Dtruy8BgrcutXFHpPDhNw1CUzM8KQ1AzaY9KXBNDd5eaE3IBKAwiPqbEboihQ/s2756/IMG_8397.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2756" data-original-width="2366" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqrc0dNBcsNOfKsvm7Q_QQd23HcWZbJwAeuSOvT4obXsOoQZ7FtU5dmsRubLXokErvt5abFTTma3woGRD9jErfADlG7khyvJ-DUQ6obfaUIMVSktzQM2LB8Xmq4Ux6Dtruy8BgrcutXFHpPDhNw1CUzM8KQ1AzaY9KXBNDd5eaE3IBKAwiPqbEboihQ/w344-h400/IMG_8397.jpeg" width="344" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original Burma Shave inspired signs created several years ago.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Just to give you an idea of what it looks like coming in, here is a movie made while walking into Last Chance.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxPEGE1SaSG92hw4s8u4Y0pqyLuYFUgTrkADPuDWTC5FlVIt2D9om1Sv3htRMZBI67reYj2e0qmoyW7cFSkBg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">The signs as you leave Last Chance - General </h4><p style="text-align: left;">Over the years, the number of signs that are not for a specific person have been added.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvbmJdbH-sf1YbzI8k-_PE53bnegMRCoYRiTfK2Q8QY3FnkqpIkgKNHWTNyp43irO3XG-33yT6QE6S2Ld3uBqSyoTyJS_511yTCHSpzLUk8ogn05vlUJ0_HMopB2Aa1M9s9CXdEU9YwrqPFAKkRMFzngXH1PViddgOeE46PNO5aDQs2UgEGksYk9eFA/s3668/IMG_8398.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3668" data-original-width="2591" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvbmJdbH-sf1YbzI8k-_PE53bnegMRCoYRiTfK2Q8QY3FnkqpIkgKNHWTNyp43irO3XG-33yT6QE6S2Ld3uBqSyoTyJS_511yTCHSpzLUk8ogn05vlUJ0_HMopB2Aa1M9s9CXdEU9YwrqPFAKkRMFzngXH1PViddgOeE46PNO5aDQs2UgEGksYk9eFA/w283-h400/IMG_8398.jpeg" width="283" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That "Think Snow" sign is in its 11th year.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">I added one new general sign, and I suspect at least half the runners rolled their eyes when they saw it.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHldOsf4t3wa-ibNhFanYMvnQUxE8CBAsjPkzsl-9P-nISz8xv7H4MdgaNnTA2YcazOCkKlKS0bch4aWxhOiGgS9WLAKxmwQ_AuXTwy6By9C_uXRvw3xhnBHV3-PzqeQg-lluXGxQNwK0pnma51KY5zWSBaey_rJO3_2i6q0b7rTlk_MMlf5hzGt0bg/s3888/IMG_8394.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="2538" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHldOsf4t3wa-ibNhFanYMvnQUxE8CBAsjPkzsl-9P-nISz8xv7H4MdgaNnTA2YcazOCkKlKS0bch4aWxhOiGgS9WLAKxmwQ_AuXTwy6By9C_uXRvw3xhnBHV3-PzqeQg-lluXGxQNwK0pnma51KY5zWSBaey_rJO3_2i6q0b7rTlk_MMlf5hzGt0bg/w261-h400/IMG_8394.jpeg" width="261" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I suspect a lot of four-letter words came to mind as runners went past this.</td></tr></tbody></table><h4 style="text-align: left;">The signs as you leave Last Chance - for specific runners</h4>In addition to me, two others also made signs. First, mine.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAl6I5JFrv91kJngA-aMGBgF3Xojt-JLRatjlsykWO8d7zH7DTwd90X4WO2nhT3QI2XrxI6w0Z19uiZMIbpptNfcBZxqoIBdVG8eBv6jTioSP10afIFaGTUhcRkmExfVec1vI4Ab73mjOYkxgwbZn22dPZ_OB5equNsJ0ZnNyar-zLTM7bHmit4TGrHg/s4032/IMG_8399.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAl6I5JFrv91kJngA-aMGBgF3Xojt-JLRatjlsykWO8d7zH7DTwd90X4WO2nhT3QI2XrxI6w0Z19uiZMIbpptNfcBZxqoIBdVG8eBv6jTioSP10afIFaGTUhcRkmExfVec1vI4Ab73mjOYkxgwbZn22dPZ_OB5equNsJ0ZnNyar-zLTM7bHmit4TGrHg/w400-h300/IMG_8399.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This sign has made it three years. My puppies still don't look like puppies though.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjgtWw2wYeAfUS7n7dZzfbQSlXzjM_OUgsUuTfaLfOy26YzcrmxtkcuWQWLF5SNUjQMWU00cHlr-pn425Q8aCZqt7ysaUpmvsAzH-CSw6qi5oCpGpqb76HGFPa7X2hFrhm4ygWNy8dEIL_wUcx4HGlk9EUQB2RvoFAfaLrJmtUTZ72hbAD8ZRDp678w/s4032/IMG_8400.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjgtWw2wYeAfUS7n7dZzfbQSlXzjM_OUgsUuTfaLfOy26YzcrmxtkcuWQWLF5SNUjQMWU00cHlr-pn425Q8aCZqt7ysaUpmvsAzH-CSw6qi5oCpGpqb76HGFPa7X2hFrhm4ygWNy8dEIL_wUcx4HGlk9EUQB2RvoFAfaLrJmtUTZ72hbAD8ZRDp678w/w400-h300/IMG_8400.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Requested by Janette - I need to visit Sleepy Eye Minnesota. And I don't think chasing someone with a Pokemon is really a thing. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwChaYtH6hQajR3N_BDR_U9FeIZALyS0lduOEzhPiMkULKqp3GNvWSAaQXxsmW4afHOXJDNcGqY6CoO03mdvK2VrXqEtRxWDWBGtPDLIyqDNgEIaI9GvXkr3pGZJGPy37WFMveebZ_7-5rbbpWM2q7qOmPF9-RokLi9c7kSufWAhKRKrV9P_wSDblvQ/s4032/IMG_8401.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwChaYtH6hQajR3N_BDR_U9FeIZALyS0lduOEzhPiMkULKqp3GNvWSAaQXxsmW4afHOXJDNcGqY6CoO03mdvK2VrXqEtRxWDWBGtPDLIyqDNgEIaI9GvXkr3pGZJGPy37WFMveebZ_7-5rbbpWM2q7qOmPF9-RokLi9c7kSufWAhKRKrV9P_wSDblvQ/w400-h300/IMG_8401.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Requested by Paulette - apparently Kimberly likes pizza and corgis. Please pretend that's a well drawn corgi and that Kimberly is not wearing a coonskin hat.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbOnrYr_H1R1AdKu490UfZkti-wp45W9krTTS77zNi4HTWTbLY8tqSiji0yNU1kio4sOxWV60a7amrCQe3sQR2pJlrzROcw53SRsduZRbbbeasms_eS90qHEZJEfzE9zQ3IGU2ibO_Nvo0q62HLpiQTWfCmlDLjBaEmlIRagwJJyEgtF2IGlnYjd-lQ/s4032/IMG_8403.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbOnrYr_H1R1AdKu490UfZkti-wp45W9krTTS77zNi4HTWTbLY8tqSiji0yNU1kio4sOxWV60a7amrCQe3sQR2pJlrzROcw53SRsduZRbbbeasms_eS90qHEZJEfzE9zQ3IGU2ibO_Nvo0q62HLpiQTWfCmlDLjBaEmlIRagwJJyEgtF2IGlnYjd-lQ/w400-h300/IMG_8403.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pen requested a Pamakids sign. Look at that amazing font!</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><p><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssF3DxrxbRCpqi_tONSNz1CufOqTVtBHqA7i0Xak61damCv66DSvfrdmTnlCRIPDtDxbVTKHAex5PvhNmAAJsdr_16VVIY_K48YWHglUkK4qRVvR5Er7berOSHcT10ZGv4kzqPYRARILicAtd-KVSbya4U0nuiXenAPfna_xpdSwzvMoq7Re0LmBRdQ/s4032/IMG_8404.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssF3DxrxbRCpqi_tONSNz1CufOqTVtBHqA7i0Xak61damCv66DSvfrdmTnlCRIPDtDxbVTKHAex5PvhNmAAJsdr_16VVIY_K48YWHglUkK4qRVvR5Er7berOSHcT10ZGv4kzqPYRARILicAtd-KVSbya4U0nuiXenAPfna_xpdSwzvMoq7Re0LmBRdQ/w400-h300/IMG_8404.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Requested by Angela - Roger is originally from New Zealand, so I decided that a rabid kiwi would be something to run from. Admire that drawing of that rabid kiwi. (And yes, there are 64 "tickets" on that "table".)</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaNArJOkQSs1qvqa8-19APDqjeW5GFsXaGuK-OD4TyVyX8vA2ZyU1hjLbnUWdMFQYaQJ2UDYddgCVbkA0FRplKlC3uSi7_HtMsy6r_55jW7EwEof1tPvTH7nm8g8HX_4OYxKeHKn2YVsGjoD7NA9d3knMssrB_uLieZiMch27MbO6T25B-ok5DmwicA/s4032/IMG_8405.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaNArJOkQSs1qvqa8-19APDqjeW5GFsXaGuK-OD4TyVyX8vA2ZyU1hjLbnUWdMFQYaQJ2UDYddgCVbkA0FRplKlC3uSi7_HtMsy6r_55jW7EwEof1tPvTH7nm8g8HX_4OYxKeHKn2YVsGjoD7NA9d3knMssrB_uLieZiMch27MbO6T25B-ok5DmwicA/w400-h300/IMG_8405.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Requested by Angela - Mieki is a veteran WSER course marker, and is originally from the Netherlands, so I got a Dutch friend to do some translating for me. Apparently "canyon" is not a common word; she said "ravijn means in my opinion literally ‘the end of a rock and then you’ll fall down’." I messed up the grammar a bit, but the idea is still there that the canyons are not fun.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVpb-w-i6dbRvGCDlU61b10j8VtIjdAsT4B8LryKMk7uGVTofzsuII_klwXxrfNVIzLio2zTy25LXuRF8-KO3H0lMaHGnZppp9Qtuqwf7ymX_c2PZxbd3YW-YwSCMobo-oqOJTA4emIV2V0yS_mRJniE2r-loMINUwzgxXzWfNbdXilwwhjzYHXKIjFQ/s4032/IMG_8406.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVpb-w-i6dbRvGCDlU61b10j8VtIjdAsT4B8LryKMk7uGVTofzsuII_klwXxrfNVIzLio2zTy25LXuRF8-KO3H0lMaHGnZppp9Qtuqwf7ymX_c2PZxbd3YW-YwSCMobo-oqOJTA4emIV2V0yS_mRJniE2r-loMINUwzgxXzWfNbdXilwwhjzYHXKIjFQ/w400-h300/IMG_8406.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Requested by Mandie - Monica is a founder of rabbit running apparel.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8y7paJ2TIrvREf8uJY3FfBRNjQjhSBCVOrc4-kyZE8f5XPwFnL2qgOHpxyXPo8daZrn7utTNLfy6ksDvBuPedd5JcWd15t01PcZrp6aZvmwIE_sacgFee5qfIC3-OZYtSCy1q287RNffQg1ODQPyBSaJ97uL0swzhER9xbdSthy5cUUavPtDawplxQ/s4032/IMG_8407.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8y7paJ2TIrvREf8uJY3FfBRNjQjhSBCVOrc4-kyZE8f5XPwFnL2qgOHpxyXPo8daZrn7utTNLfy6ksDvBuPedd5JcWd15t01PcZrp6aZvmwIE_sacgFee5qfIC3-OZYtSCy1q287RNffQg1ODQPyBSaJ97uL0swzhER9xbdSthy5cUUavPtDawplxQ/w400-h300/IMG_8407.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jessi was the last runner into Last Chance that managed to get a buckle - she's a superstar!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfORA8Yykm0H_VXgT00yzc6MvWFo5-RXSpuO1H3brt5nSCt85p_iqFhkfeFSyDqsDU0yvJCEwwkCQFBQYvyUm6Eu7nh3Gf0c372UEjJgeOe2kiLukAL5nu24OnVJS_a7BiBv3XGuj-483fDZeDwRN2D0Bt3n8JI0CvZsn1mIfvH2szXtgE1SdN8_7qdw/s4032/IMG_8409.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfORA8Yykm0H_VXgT00yzc6MvWFo5-RXSpuO1H3brt5nSCt85p_iqFhkfeFSyDqsDU0yvJCEwwkCQFBQYvyUm6Eu7nh3Gf0c372UEjJgeOe2kiLukAL5nu24OnVJS_a7BiBv3XGuj-483fDZeDwRN2D0Bt3n8JI0CvZsn1mIfvH2szXtgE1SdN8_7qdw/w400-h300/IMG_8409.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly is from Canada. It amuses me that she got an official overseas deferral from last year. There are almost no seas between Canada and the US.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KTqeVKD-hqIShkX2aljYWnBrNKP5u-Q9frtCfs28SDU0XOfBg28SGZUCvNiOIXOt6ZVYcfqwDAAwjyrOKu17Lp3WwGffLR-cbb_1GFgdsBR_0W5r7F-sMOgi7cGvUT1zzYzkV44ed5nd4TOsIJekJyJQh1Pk5oBHb_Pug8EuSmHSShabHtIXNwS-Eg/s4032/IMG_8410.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KTqeVKD-hqIShkX2aljYWnBrNKP5u-Q9frtCfs28SDU0XOfBg28SGZUCvNiOIXOt6ZVYcfqwDAAwjyrOKu17Lp3WwGffLR-cbb_1GFgdsBR_0W5r7F-sMOgi7cGvUT1zzYzkV44ed5nd4TOsIJekJyJQh1Pk5oBHb_Pug8EuSmHSShabHtIXNwS-Eg/w400-h300/IMG_8410.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Requested by Peach - Gusgus is the Official Ginger Runner dog. </td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6Ae2Sf9m87OEmfEVZOsQywOR5pOcxj2oTAW5WsVX0ZFyzUPJsYpCFWrjAwliBxS1T6dbUZd4oTCWMiAphb7-LP7df1LMJBE6Dxjr7SnSixOhJtXFgtg_D0dk4cRJz6yIWowvmJjLKRmXKNNL0tjRhuwGSLNVyIrfpvHnzXRr8rDxMOjmdJWyD-quQw/s4032/IMG_8411.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6Ae2Sf9m87OEmfEVZOsQywOR5pOcxj2oTAW5WsVX0ZFyzUPJsYpCFWrjAwliBxS1T6dbUZd4oTCWMiAphb7-LP7df1LMJBE6Dxjr7SnSixOhJtXFgtg_D0dk4cRJz6yIWowvmJjLKRmXKNNL0tjRhuwGSLNVyIrfpvHnzXRr8rDxMOjmdJWyD-quQw/w400-h300/IMG_8411.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I cheated a bit on this sign - it's last years sign with the "no crutches" and "Strong Hammy" bits added. It was astonishing to see Kaci running this race so soon after her December surgery!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDzifBzOzWeAq-3BFQ68vZ3gT6UeV8WjbmvB_2l6FS50wttnahGm1S3wWSdXiXt7J77PdQyrLaH4tk8eu8g3GOVEC0oxTF6sggf8Zv1s6Fap6irlKx72kmtww0Xrd-dOMqVptuzZ4PBeOQdMATcxaBP8vQhfriA13l694hAAfQM91ne-BXS6UC1W869Q/s4032/IMG_8412.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDzifBzOzWeAq-3BFQ68vZ3gT6UeV8WjbmvB_2l6FS50wttnahGm1S3wWSdXiXt7J77PdQyrLaH4tk8eu8g3GOVEC0oxTF6sggf8Zv1s6Fap6irlKx72kmtww0Xrd-dOMqVptuzZ4PBeOQdMATcxaBP8vQhfriA13l694hAAfQM91ne-BXS6UC1W869Q/w400-h300/IMG_8412.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I met Emerson the week before WSER at the Byxbee parkrun, a weekly free 5K. I loved that he and his crew flew in from Australia a week early to run that 5K, then drove up to Olympic Valley. His second ever 100M race, he nailed it!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA4Wz376ewKE5wcE8c_gijFOsxVIqtgeClMNuZ95IozDU1HuY56SdQrQLZr3xKFoCqbINSz3xHBQ9688QOgXKec1wzG-5iiBhF-r7TTGZbIX-Urq-IAW_dB72uBfCwx7_mBDp2-hR5l6ZDrtXZlL8jPWkAWMAUV1XpIdkteg44kN0X-8lg5Z_EDL8ndA/s4032/IMG_8413.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA4Wz376ewKE5wcE8c_gijFOsxVIqtgeClMNuZ95IozDU1HuY56SdQrQLZr3xKFoCqbINSz3xHBQ9688QOgXKec1wzG-5iiBhF-r7TTGZbIX-Urq-IAW_dB72uBfCwx7_mBDp2-hR5l6ZDrtXZlL8jPWkAWMAUV1XpIdkteg44kN0X-8lg5Z_EDL8ndA/w400-h300/IMG_8413.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eduardo, one of the Pamakids, is from Mexico. That might be the best Mexican flag I've ever drawn!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAT5sp6PtlgpN8dR91PsrJQV5ADMz9Lh0o_6MUYbF7J25NhktEL-Sz-aZpo2itW4M2HfGdr44_gysPAURmw_YBxZ_RtynjGGgYB2bS5pSTSs8wFAxUHKy0vTJVk4Q4R24NYAEU7TnlGD7WKpjshvHAROKzV8uXq-RnEP0Zlm1TqvHW5a2ljmGwZbJ4Xg/s4032/IMG_8414.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAT5sp6PtlgpN8dR91PsrJQV5ADMz9Lh0o_6MUYbF7J25NhktEL-Sz-aZpo2itW4M2HfGdr44_gysPAURmw_YBxZ_RtynjGGgYB2bS5pSTSs8wFAxUHKy0vTJVk4Q4R24NYAEU7TnlGD7WKpjshvHAROKzV8uXq-RnEP0Zlm1TqvHW5a2ljmGwZbJ4Xg/w400-h300/IMG_8414.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie will always be known as that runner that used a tampon to control a bloody nose. (Whatever works - she snagged the F9 spot for next year!)</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZa-1oAdAVPoFcN81_MpbMQxqhlgoPMNysf9fmSmUcdZpofWFLCVeiV1syo17Lfta-xBm_eRNo0-B096TVS4zSYqQVpBEJQNoWEVe46fk_QAeQsJq5uMlWjj4LkaMSz66V8gV7O4y6m2CzOSgyPGd2fRFbH27V3gQ6vs8NwS687vX6jZ5k5sJHZ6F1_g/s4032/IMG_8415.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZa-1oAdAVPoFcN81_MpbMQxqhlgoPMNysf9fmSmUcdZpofWFLCVeiV1syo17Lfta-xBm_eRNo0-B096TVS4zSYqQVpBEJQNoWEVe46fk_QAeQsJq5uMlWjj4LkaMSz66V8gV7O4y6m2CzOSgyPGd2fRFbH27V3gQ6vs8NwS687vX6jZ5k5sJHZ6F1_g/w400-h300/IMG_8415.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enrique is also a Pamakid, and also got a fine Mexican flag!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMaOem7CC-tHRYMEMi_16kxfYhh70IFjJMKXKyjBFu5xjY2YUalm1dTNuZnNoqOzWrDTsRnlUxZwC9iWBIf5sKLO259j-gDhwA8DgnKsMQUllMkzjUKLcH9srVJ-XUG5PkqE2O95SYBiOt77VGdiGG8e9bG3JNa_8YlTq-WdrrxNa7mBWt4IQDHiy8A/s4032/IMG_8416.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMaOem7CC-tHRYMEMi_16kxfYhh70IFjJMKXKyjBFu5xjY2YUalm1dTNuZnNoqOzWrDTsRnlUxZwC9iWBIf5sKLO259j-gDhwA8DgnKsMQUllMkzjUKLcH9srVJ-XUG5PkqE2O95SYBiOt77VGdiGG8e9bG3JNa_8YlTq-WdrrxNa7mBWt4IQDHiy8A/w400-h300/IMG_8416.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt is also a Pamakid! He got in with 32 lottery tickets - six years of the lottery! </td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkoYKkg5Pndi9Q4CtMMGeXfbZYSaFFB6cU94neHeBq0WLcr1MzEcBXYIXFyCHpjJ6MEPC8238J4z5b39BxMJdiDNgV3tO-m2CM-0jC8DAzN2iucpx-QZiygFOs1TArzANzPTAavT2QTcOVT98Ui-dmlr_ihpHEh5TIAKkXxt4HIHByEQloEIz3jYUbA/s4032/IMG_8417.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkoYKkg5Pndi9Q4CtMMGeXfbZYSaFFB6cU94neHeBq0WLcr1MzEcBXYIXFyCHpjJ6MEPC8238J4z5b39BxMJdiDNgV3tO-m2CM-0jC8DAzN2iucpx-QZiygFOs1TArzANzPTAavT2QTcOVT98Ui-dmlr_ihpHEh5TIAKkXxt4HIHByEQloEIz3jYUbA/w400-h300/IMG_8417.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another Pamakid.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidRS4UNacbv-yqL-SXORMCeuci24DeVXplZ8d20elYpG590H58H99AtHxn6yNRfyUVC7Z1VWU3rRID9UZfP-9z2oeTAZYHL6g8eaue2k9p4htwbSsHUMYAlcB9ITjq170K1WXCHc2UN66UNK7Hrptj9q6ES7J51wMqc9L2IPZueHYXvCax6u9AWyqXYg/s4032/IMG_8418.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidRS4UNacbv-yqL-SXORMCeuci24DeVXplZ8d20elYpG590H58H99AtHxn6yNRfyUVC7Z1VWU3rRID9UZfP-9z2oeTAZYHL6g8eaue2k9p4htwbSsHUMYAlcB9ITjq170K1WXCHc2UN66UNK7Hrptj9q6ES7J51wMqc9L2IPZueHYXvCax6u9AWyqXYg/w400-h300/IMG_8418.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behnam was the official Stevens Creek Strider runner this year. That thing in the upper-left is similar to the official Strider logo - it's almost recognizable!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKqQHJqck_URugHSdcqfzFabVFY36zhLS-X9QnHUm8gr0p8dDo4-JRtta-cs1VVpVTjBvtqwrCMUukr_F7dIfRL-4Au_grjRxfOu5Fd480CMKim8I_DUROO2o0CjI4KlH9qD5fGueuFpIAsX5HjgtN6guExmXAlH0OWAF1ewTxiMZHsC7SW9WNKCJww/s4032/IMG_8419.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKqQHJqck_URugHSdcqfzFabVFY36zhLS-X9QnHUm8gr0p8dDo4-JRtta-cs1VVpVTjBvtqwrCMUukr_F7dIfRL-4Au_grjRxfOu5Fd480CMKim8I_DUROO2o0CjI4KlH9qD5fGueuFpIAsX5HjgtN6guExmXAlH0OWAF1ewTxiMZHsC7SW9WNKCJww/w400-h300/IMG_8419.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Requested bay Peach.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpKRHEhRTo5gryBpdxThbeXcGJvj9GIGpGKuQnFfRoIYGHMnhQufuX2ynQDkHIqCuFStEYiU3P1bFE-G8m1HemZE5sOHm321NYdRniTox_hO5xJoOhZQ9SSSuo5p9TwC5GLVo3QKoOkTKZ58tmy0peQ7hSISCRRBLv_QKle9UIiOjFtegF1oKrPxpEQ/s4032/IMG_8420.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpKRHEhRTo5gryBpdxThbeXcGJvj9GIGpGKuQnFfRoIYGHMnhQufuX2ynQDkHIqCuFStEYiU3P1bFE-G8m1HemZE5sOHm321NYdRniTox_hO5xJoOhZQ9SSSuo5p9TwC5GLVo3QKoOkTKZ58tmy0peQ7hSISCRRBLv_QKle9UIiOjFtegF1oKrPxpEQ/w400-h300/IMG_8420.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Requested by Paulette.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6KNTyXNIcRsCDHVBHXigYxs7mgxNb9PFF2lmP-mmO6XK7x9RrMpk3QncfjSe0iTNU4FYh-HZZIjgd4XjLv70JWnm3x3CIw1NAR6-661qCAAM_obb-UbaYhMbtWOxlDUlOClDSb5IsLSbZkOeUgMAqOKM-n_UR2CWtdZtaU8XcQ2kfmJC-wxO6pub3Q/s4032/IMG_8422.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6KNTyXNIcRsCDHVBHXigYxs7mgxNb9PFF2lmP-mmO6XK7x9RrMpk3QncfjSe0iTNU4FYh-HZZIjgd4XjLv70JWnm3x3CIw1NAR6-661qCAAM_obb-UbaYhMbtWOxlDUlOClDSb5IsLSbZkOeUgMAqOKM-n_UR2CWtdZtaU8XcQ2kfmJC-wxO6pub3Q/w400-h300/IMG_8422.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunaad works at Apple on the Maps team. That is the course map on that sign. (It should not be relied on.)</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mLSOsOyBzicwKndXuTwtUj-zygpJUTobKQqoYMkNfV8kka1Yh_JSRd0w__O_B5e_GCFWfDJZG-2U-W2Z7SdmtNE5iJ4-V1CH_uy4Kni5bS-A_Yro75aa-nX6evpma0c8GVlhreRKbD68dce69OcxX8I2NFrhLDrZOiwOFQ7FBz-Yy3YCLFErADuKuw/s4032/IMG_8423.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mLSOsOyBzicwKndXuTwtUj-zygpJUTobKQqoYMkNfV8kka1Yh_JSRd0w__O_B5e_GCFWfDJZG-2U-W2Z7SdmtNE5iJ4-V1CH_uy4Kni5bS-A_Yro75aa-nX6evpma0c8GVlhreRKbD68dce69OcxX8I2NFrhLDrZOiwOFQ7FBz-Yy3YCLFErADuKuw/w400-h300/IMG_8423.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ace was 64th on the wait list. He found out on the Wednesday before the race that he actually got in. I have not heard whether Paul McCartney would rewrite his song for Ace.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaB6-3gXEVq1NLR-7YQF3QLYdSC4jeGMs6taSWN18FZSYCe0noD5E2n34QTXh90SyeCn36edjl9BtCtM70ZqfCYt7NXCKcKUUFVPnDmZZu6K5bc7TVuO36aVLLCiYHjtMSNsr-t0kA9eB1S6hLeiVqRVQ-LOxEs7lnzREY3IsYKZv5ihKy5Sg6h0pEA/s4032/IMG_8424.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaB6-3gXEVq1NLR-7YQF3QLYdSC4jeGMs6taSWN18FZSYCe0noD5E2n34QTXh90SyeCn36edjl9BtCtM70ZqfCYt7NXCKcKUUFVPnDmZZu6K5bc7TVuO36aVLLCiYHjtMSNsr-t0kA9eB1S6hLeiVqRVQ-LOxEs7lnzREY3IsYKZv5ihKy5Sg6h0pEA/w400-h300/IMG_8424.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa was the Brazen Racing entry, and she did awesome!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOR6M_jSZ62sa-nx5BKAtS-86zNsDJMTvCS18jv-rt2CAqMh2NsPAF9dHjhdFpJ1Yi7KX9EJADHDrdllOQrd6zErtc0TdejaDJ9mOJ-tew7y9Gkij3nIyRyP1PfIXdPrJ17EiLpX_uFY7rnzKls5GgdeQn7kq9RrRSEP6Nq5bAWtUegU1K7be5tfApg/s4032/IMG_8426.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOR6M_jSZ62sa-nx5BKAtS-86zNsDJMTvCS18jv-rt2CAqMh2NsPAF9dHjhdFpJ1Yi7KX9EJADHDrdllOQrd6zErtc0TdejaDJ9mOJ-tew7y9Gkij3nIyRyP1PfIXdPrJ17EiLpX_uFY7rnzKls5GgdeQn7kq9RrRSEP6Nq5bAWtUegU1K7be5tfApg/w400-h300/IMG_8426.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben was the only runner that had to drop before he was able to see his sign. </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">Following are the signs created by Oscar and Carolina. You'll notice a a few for some that I had made signs above. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF40ijaPlEAt8s-S6FC7vgwCorJnnZJwzuWS-1gyXY3JZD2hsqps3pqMbq-aOt6PgjuSZbDLvDiqDB8wATsem9DChkGan4_qSn_FWgNgtqs90FlOkPk94NY-5fZlx6VIEOVNjpTxsTphIg5kpZ4UUTqtBYgk6BXh16Ug78UipwaePcpc5P6TFfqBtIZA/s3341/IMG_8429.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1913" data-original-width="3341" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF40ijaPlEAt8s-S6FC7vgwCorJnnZJwzuWS-1gyXY3JZD2hsqps3pqMbq-aOt6PgjuSZbDLvDiqDB8wATsem9DChkGan4_qSn_FWgNgtqs90FlOkPk94NY-5fZlx6VIEOVNjpTxsTphIg5kpZ4UUTqtBYgk6BXh16Ug78UipwaePcpc5P6TFfqBtIZA/w400-h229/IMG_8429.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkF6siLYBEpyzs6Q0RVt7nT-f_2_sGG1d5MzVn5YTKRxXrTuIv6hmfbmFjzujhXp2h160e1A-GPI5_-M3R9kHYdG6fztKIlbWVmxXtR3RmpZWBpFYnXtEU8VOlX2_cnri6WGDn7sXyrE8nh9GsBsgxMiAFLx3JoKQ0g3uV7nJK8qkYZaTx9FmuPVKGQA/s2697/IMG_8430.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1831" data-original-width="2697" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkF6siLYBEpyzs6Q0RVt7nT-f_2_sGG1d5MzVn5YTKRxXrTuIv6hmfbmFjzujhXp2h160e1A-GPI5_-M3R9kHYdG6fztKIlbWVmxXtR3RmpZWBpFYnXtEU8VOlX2_cnri6WGDn7sXyrE8nh9GsBsgxMiAFLx3JoKQ0g3uV7nJK8qkYZaTx9FmuPVKGQA/w400-h271/IMG_8430.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8J2QMnaERMEvqIwkhNn75mS6Oe_POY2JuOTBVnF9Nry0RSWC2J87aJ-VUjzCtm-GjhbSMkZoHgUBnSUdQEgZaj5ackp4UQ4Nv8od_TxiY2Xmz6rlAb0knF8a1QH9Ihnswy8_BLOr_cEWYl_8X5fvVexHLpsUsIwB0Ho7PBKu1SyoDDP7PB2oVH1U7A/s2900/IMG_8431.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1817" data-original-width="2900" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8J2QMnaERMEvqIwkhNn75mS6Oe_POY2JuOTBVnF9Nry0RSWC2J87aJ-VUjzCtm-GjhbSMkZoHgUBnSUdQEgZaj5ackp4UQ4Nv8od_TxiY2Xmz6rlAb0knF8a1QH9Ihnswy8_BLOr_cEWYl_8X5fvVexHLpsUsIwB0Ho7PBKu1SyoDDP7PB2oVH1U7A/w400-h250/IMG_8431.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpX9Z14ivitCw72QXJ3teJ58ruMckA7MLt7_LD9RxmvblXgsuVIyskaH9M1SM-VThlWbbDszr2i3eKEOe52nOGk8Yut_cpedADXQqu0sYJvQ_GmUQdqjjF3jroAj_8o21l-uUaCeTUw6QPSeL4FqHJytpvz6kK6vDhI5NdybqBe1-zVewHx9NHdhlKeA/s2694/IMG_8432.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1952" data-original-width="2694" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpX9Z14ivitCw72QXJ3teJ58ruMckA7MLt7_LD9RxmvblXgsuVIyskaH9M1SM-VThlWbbDszr2i3eKEOe52nOGk8Yut_cpedADXQqu0sYJvQ_GmUQdqjjF3jroAj_8o21l-uUaCeTUw6QPSeL4FqHJytpvz6kK6vDhI5NdybqBe1-zVewHx9NHdhlKeA/w400-h290/IMG_8432.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYVJHZdC-ZLN2lm3KcgGtXLmFounZ-VeHLoiQwt7e2573kZTAE5oEyRmfoiiPJuMTKBdkCGRVo0AK0U6KlBMtfPzeOsvScH9DrqAttyu3mOJHLq-VLGIiSXUr2Y6LVOQBV8aer-q-LvRh5TpcoMWnhvHGBg1aWtif7WeXR_vmbmryh0tUEJYgk3LNQpg/s3343/IMG_8433.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1829" data-original-width="3123" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7xeZixlbGQBZFrJNJl3FeyiW2SVMWkVlv0xYMYDvtaRb6rhLfQK7tNrHXfAMnubk3plPLG2zVLzLpTk9AXTrRTqKIzLmPrJBMkGI0Lr6Ss76y30oZEygDc8wm0a4ZhwhpWdJGCFkSHRx4ggnTg9wju7WFbCCfhsEj7djwthbq45tODPuJDS2ltL8Ow/w400-h234/IMG_8436.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9O2gtVDUJKoVsIEKNyaTX1e_tovQn1hM5apGIECEZbrzyuF4JbIw5rURxhZApA4-0aR0REuDlZ57uVbtYoxdb-uNAW2VGpAAh27_ZS8F8kADTnVosruDsPpbftmRYZw4L-D_hVOxBM64jRkb7KZ5dK1QXPtxeehgoMp7JgNjOLQz_-KKRXDarLyAtVg/s2748/IMG_8437.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1780" data-original-width="2748" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9O2gtVDUJKoVsIEKNyaTX1e_tovQn1hM5apGIECEZbrzyuF4JbIw5rURxhZApA4-0aR0REuDlZ57uVbtYoxdb-uNAW2VGpAAh27_ZS8F8kADTnVosruDsPpbftmRYZw4L-D_hVOxBM64jRkb7KZ5dK1QXPtxeehgoMp7JgNjOLQz_-KKRXDarLyAtVg/w400-h259/IMG_8437.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1873" data-original-width="3169" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitC0a4Eeuf1kyIREcPQX5j7rjhwezHn6fAT7_QZljtZulj9GsffZXCunl1beGLb4aWRu5o44WiAERpSqGXwSXTtsBuVWDcXGIKJG2Tj2HNwyGLeogrXKMojBoPah7XAN1WCDsSI1cRaUi9pXvDj9LLg6vw6UHr_GQg3lGNw6jpTeHWp8sBLMZmNxE7Ow/w400-h236/IMG_8439.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCLOJnk44-KphbpcAE3PefLKbngjJxWtwfh3hwORNBCMPmbtTeBcmw-RaeS701gn9nMsKghB8XHXGPujQrn3cIhqqONT_UGyEv-o4jRqgfVUrAuFz0IDptdawWZX2Xbab796FJemhqu0IJwYFCfL8F8oIdPnz1WI5JmeuB4cgFJrcB2yKlfZ-LKX9Kg/s3043/IMG_8440.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2079" data-original-width="3043" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCLOJnk44-KphbpcAE3PefLKbngjJxWtwfh3hwORNBCMPmbtTeBcmw-RaeS701gn9nMsKghB8XHXGPujQrn3cIhqqONT_UGyEv-o4jRqgfVUrAuFz0IDptdawWZX2Xbab796FJemhqu0IJwYFCfL8F8oIdPnz1WI5JmeuB4cgFJrcB2yKlfZ-LKX9Kg/w400-h274/IMG_8440.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Gail made this last sign on the day of the race!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHDMl9kolTQja0Qm6Cx3JTohR_3ZrVRB2Y2nRlaOLlkO7ixnb8ZuaX7vX93hSqVsTU1EUsHk_f_ZF0n-IaLPNEKTqiUFwA0OsU0H4YP72-T9jkP04lM-J6zEoiWiuOg2j37GoKeeY_lcfq90SkOmwtDqjMMp_EXpOOEfbJGWlTIJowSKP9AzZxtRleg/s2232/IMG_8446.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1674" data-original-width="2232" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHDMl9kolTQja0Qm6Cx3JTohR_3ZrVRB2Y2nRlaOLlkO7ixnb8ZuaX7vX93hSqVsTU1EUsHk_f_ZF0n-IaLPNEKTqiUFwA0OsU0H4YP72-T9jkP04lM-J6zEoiWiuOg2j37GoKeeY_lcfq90SkOmwtDqjMMp_EXpOOEfbJGWlTIJowSKP9AzZxtRleg/w400-h300/IMG_8446.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>And that's it. The number of signs keeps increasing. I'm sure most runners can at most scan most of them, and I always stress a bit about someone being disappointed that they don't have a sign. But I hear lots of good things about them, so it seems like it's worth it.</p><p>And with new stake technology, who knows how far this will go!</p><p>That's it - move along…</p><p>PS: You can read the main 2022 post <a href="https://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2022/07/wser-2022-my-11th-year-at-last-chance.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p></div></div>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-1262707106708071492022-05-01T16:24:00.000-07:002022-05-01T16:24:49.366-07:00A post for the Byxbee parkrun curious <p> Let's get these bits out of the way up front:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There are no race medals. </li><li>There are no race shirts.</li><li>There isn't even a race bib.</li><li>The only distance is a 5K. A pretty much flat 5K.</li><li>And it's always the same course.* Always at 8 AM, every Saturday**. </li><li>And, technically, these aren't actually races, but timed events.</li></ul><p></p><p>* Actually, Byxbee did change the course. See below.</p><p>** Holidays can mess this up, and there is a bonus event on Thanksgiving day.</p><p>I started running races back in 2009, and am now creeping up on 400 events (not counting those I've volunteered at). (Yes, there is a spreadsheet.) I have a LOT of race bibs, shirts, and a wall of finisher medals. And some really impressive coasters. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhixG_B8qol-qY0NDoQLYqwWycwnjY6tZk_TQQVD72velsE-ZKZMrBHiMH4ppfKF9bcjA0jzQrTNnki-zubvOb8W3nOZm7COvCwliTejMVCwD27rg-BIGgOhTMtVXDxTAzkYLUq1Jj4J7LJpKW_ftyXHe459j62FahE0BUIgwHz3xzfrYlEpqRCFHSCOw/s344/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-16%20at%2012.52.18%20PM.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="344" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhixG_B8qol-qY0NDoQLYqwWycwnjY6tZk_TQQVD72velsE-ZKZMrBHiMH4ppfKF9bcjA0jzQrTNnki-zubvOb8W3nOZm7COvCwliTejMVCwD27rg-BIGgOhTMtVXDxTAzkYLUq1Jj4J7LJpKW_ftyXHe459j62FahE0BUIgwHz3xzfrYlEpqRCFHSCOw/w200-h107/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-16%20at%2012.52.18%20PM.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>But I had never run anything like a <a href="https://www.parkrun.us" target="_blank">parkrun</a> (yes, it is lowercase) event until they started up at the nearby Byxbee Park in Palo Alto back in 2019. (They just held their 70th event on April 30, 2022.)<p></p><p>I knew all of the above facts, and I knew one other fact—parkrun events are free. And almost as good, you don't have to enter or signup for them - just show up and run. Or walk. Or dance. (No bikes or skateboards though. Dogs and strollers are fine. Hoverboards are right out.) The only thing you have to do is to go to their <a href="https://www.parkrun.us/register/" target="_blank">website</a> and sign up for a bar code that you show when you finish so they can give you a finish time.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Some details</h3><p>There are 46 parkrun sites in US—surprisingly, there is only this one in California. (There was one at Crissy Field in San Francisco, but after the COVID shutdown, they were unable to restart.) </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZaf9UNvY1W53FIhkZZlHxgBxYhfbFjQ9VsAmFXh_V7-dc20XOKKCUQzzSK0U4zyAf7R5Gyre8m1X4Dpg-zB8qv-s_WAs_owBZiXLMIWeZ4DZKvr_mY-0V6a6i74AqbGJZwa2cbh9XDjFBVnP6AqPcrr4JM8R_kHtezvGhpAaTdPhu5KlzB6DNHDI_Q/s2028/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-20%20at%205.17.55%20PM.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1062" data-original-width="2028" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZaf9UNvY1W53FIhkZZlHxgBxYhfbFjQ9VsAmFXh_V7-dc20XOKKCUQzzSK0U4zyAf7R5Gyre8m1X4Dpg-zB8qv-s_WAs_owBZiXLMIWeZ4DZKvr_mY-0V6a6i74AqbGJZwa2cbh9XDjFBVnP6AqPcrr4JM8R_kHtezvGhpAaTdPhu5KlzB6DNHDI_Q/w400-h210/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-20%20at%205.17.55%20PM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It amuses me that California has fewer parkrun events than Colorado.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The Byxbee parkrun averages about 50 participants per event. There are a group of regulars as well as a fair number of out-of-town visitors. Like from WAY out-of-town. parkrun is wildly popular once you get out of the US, and there are people that collect parkruns while vacationing. (It's funny when a fast British person is trying to stick to the left while all us locals are sticking to the right. I've not seen any deaths yet.)</p><p>Worldwide, there are a bit over 2,000 events every Saturday. Some events will have nearly 1,000 participants. And all you need to run any of them is your barcode. Well, and to actually be there.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq36hFnVBdUr8Slxky-5zeUhe2HlaWuX4o6KwOt2Bdh5w2fgNfS8WLDfH7JQylqw6ywmu9pbJnOoyKsD03y56zTjcYidUg1HTi-JBiVvJ13HXc0cTCzVSOx4HmZvcQe-Oumgk7Mc3-aNJT9x0xYqKFAj6d7NPcN2KzYUJtblpXFgGD2xFYdDneofMtnQ/s1486/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-20%20at%205.07.44%20PM.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1272" data-original-width="1486" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq36hFnVBdUr8Slxky-5zeUhe2HlaWuX4o6KwOt2Bdh5w2fgNfS8WLDfH7JQylqw6ywmu9pbJnOoyKsD03y56zTjcYidUg1HTi-JBiVvJ13HXc0cTCzVSOx4HmZvcQe-Oumgk7Mc3-aNJT9x0xYqKFAj6d7NPcN2KzYUJtblpXFgGD2xFYdDneofMtnQ/w400-h343/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-20%20at%205.07.44%20PM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When you look at a map of all the parkruns in the UK, it looks like you can't swing a soggy brolly without hitting one.</td></tr></tbody></table><h3 style="text-align: left;">The race start</h3><p>First, there is a pre-race briefing where the Run Director for the day explains the rules and course, then welcomes visitors and recognizes anyone hitting a milestone (more about these later). Depending on the RD and the weather, these briefings can be really short or fairly detailed.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKhRK1NOa2Bii8tZeLxDRr2dLONKb7JaC74SM-r2oHi6TkTYVe0mNUPRjbvtocv0oxbLspnsZSPD0x_bJRvGAY_D5fOWTObVnuXA17QwYTY2LOoRX3FO_KgKG-iOCUvzjUQbky68CHF5N-qj-gI_jfAqJjFo553_-pbSwlhit9Lm8f_AT5AAVSuwtIJw/s3434/IMG_7685.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2576" data-original-width="3434" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKhRK1NOa2Bii8tZeLxDRr2dLONKb7JaC74SM-r2oHi6TkTYVe0mNUPRjbvtocv0oxbLspnsZSPD0x_bJRvGAY_D5fOWTObVnuXA17QwYTY2LOoRX3FO_KgKG-iOCUvzjUQbky68CHF5N-qj-gI_jfAqJjFo553_-pbSwlhit9Lm8f_AT5AAVSuwtIJw/w400-h300/IMG_7685.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"How many of you want to pet a goose?" (Tip: Don't try it. It will not end well.)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p>There is also a bag where you can leave any jackets and such you don't want to run with. (It's very informal, so leaving car keys or phones is ill-advised.) Additionally, Byxbee is blessed with a proper set of toilets right at the start, along with a fountain for filling your water bottle.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnrt_8vTCRpMe5u7wVzGY_fdp_5dpjvM2i2yanS9OKF1x6zhUGJa2gvgSvVByh7AEMi0NxuigXpooa3P95oeM3fOAXsp4CG1-Fj3Qi2pd_6Baz515lNVCCn3a4os9wnKg5sxUSIA7HNZJ49kzEFEjLm_OjV6V4Aw8dzYVU4gBocxtlpBDUV9QfJzdLxQ/s4032/IMG_8254%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnrt_8vTCRpMe5u7wVzGY_fdp_5dpjvM2i2yanS9OKF1x6zhUGJa2gvgSvVByh7AEMi0NxuigXpooa3P95oeM3fOAXsp4CG1-Fj3Qi2pd_6Baz515lNVCCn3a4os9wnKg5sxUSIA7HNZJ49kzEFEjLm_OjV6V4Aw8dzYVU4gBocxtlpBDUV9QfJzdLxQ/w400-h300/IMG_8254%20(1).jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rainy pre-race briefing - that building is the bathroom (which is often the pre-race star).</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p>Once that's over, the participants all wander over into the start chute, the RD yells "GO!", and the time keepers start their clocks.</p><p>Once the runners leave, the finish line volunteers move the start line back about 100 yards and set up the finish line.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The course</h3><p style="text-align: left;">When the Byxbee parkrun first started, it used a single out-and-back course.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDb13SSWpjV-UY1Wlwlig7POSWJ_xbu1_7eEZu-kmVDWGobZYXwCJAa7MLqQOfjYQthVklNt3gSIaFRDx8M1WUEKYEvC6X3cC9-CpP2PhTxIKMnnCSziAz8ciMZ7NXso9Xr9wgvBsNEDMYfuUfYWB8bdA1eiQtO1g6qGYpGI5CBJHpO4-Afuyo6JNPKA/s1586/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-16%20at%2012.57.06%20PM.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1346" data-original-width="1586" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDb13SSWpjV-UY1Wlwlig7POSWJ_xbu1_7eEZu-kmVDWGobZYXwCJAa7MLqQOfjYQthVklNt3gSIaFRDx8M1WUEKYEvC6X3cC9-CpP2PhTxIKMnnCSziAz8ciMZ7NXso9Xr9wgvBsNEDMYfuUfYWB8bdA1eiQtO1g6qGYpGI5CBJHpO4-Afuyo6JNPKA/w400-h340/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-16%20at%2012.57.06%20PM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note that "bridge." It becomes important in a bit. The "S/F" is the start/finish.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">You went out 1.55 miles, turned around, and came back. There was very little chance of getting lost, and it was all fairly flat. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Then the park people said that the bridge (which is actually a tidal inlet of some sort) needed to be replaced, and parkrun needed to modify their course. </p><p style="text-align: left;">And this is what we use today:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtcUjovVGUWpvZEiPwK-EDf6db93BmbMuMZQqGV7qmkLZRKToZ8lB47f8mnWkBtRkgd3tsXEUws4Le_2ZLrNQyF7m38AHBXpJR5Pqk6JgSyv0LVs-Hcvpri0IFr68U-bz7sz3nj9UhwbwoUw-W7vtuRhx_ymDUjoBEeC3n2u8eHnC0sNCzsbcyykmSQA/s1402/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-16%20at%2012.59.10%20PM.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1352" data-original-width="1402" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtcUjovVGUWpvZEiPwK-EDf6db93BmbMuMZQqGV7qmkLZRKToZ8lB47f8mnWkBtRkgd3tsXEUws4Le_2ZLrNQyF7m38AHBXpJR5Pqk6JgSyv0LVs-Hcvpri0IFr68U-bz7sz3nj9UhwbwoUw-W7vtuRhx_ymDUjoBEeC3n2u8eHnC0sNCzsbcyykmSQA/w400-h386/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-16%20at%2012.59.10%20PM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note how much shorter the red line is. Also note the impossible to see green marks that indicate parking areas.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;">We start at the same place as before, and well before the bridge, make a turn and follow the water for a bit. (What's funny about this stretch that the above map doesn't convey is that there are small hills that limit your view of the trail, so you don't see the turnaround point until you are nearly right on top of it.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">After the turnaround, we retrace our steps to the start, except the start has been moved about 100 yards further away, where there is another turnaround, and you get to do all that over again. You will swear on that second lap that the turnaround you're looking for has been moved even further away.</p><p style="text-align: left;">A fun thing about this double out-and-back is that you get to see all the runners several times - the fast ones, the slow ones - everyone! Another fun thing is that you are near the bathrooms when you are at the halfway point - that can be quite handy. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjU6_hqyRgDo7tgzwmvHG1s9pIxfIiLiSXoe2EWQi2WaPlAO7mouqL7iafRcP4BiDKwFBj5kCy6--joQfD39OcU_szndU8WuXUr_1ZlOCzF3oZxjpuHyDVBs_NENysldn5MGIaxOA6BxmKwN5juzGgaBL-8Lb1vPFWURBf9xS68zVENCUsXoP6QUFLg/s4032/IMG_7915.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjU6_hqyRgDo7tgzwmvHG1s9pIxfIiLiSXoe2EWQi2WaPlAO7mouqL7iafRcP4BiDKwFBj5kCy6--joQfD39OcU_szndU8WuXUr_1ZlOCzF3oZxjpuHyDVBs_NENysldn5MGIaxOA6BxmKwN5juzGgaBL-8Lb1vPFWURBf9xS68zVENCUsXoP6QUFLg/w400-h300/IMG_7915.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finish line! Or the halfway point! </td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">The start/finish area has two close but small parking lots. A condition of getting to use these trails is that we have to avoid parking there, leaving them for the normal people. The hard to see green marks above show the places we are allowed to park.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">So how is the timing done?</h3><p>I've done a number of <a href="http://dserunners.com" target="_blank">DSE races</a>, which are somewhat similar ($5 fee to cover the finish ribbon and such, but with varying distances and race sites), and never really understood how they did timing. I get it now and parkrun turns out to be similar, with some key differences. </p><p>When you finish the parkrun, there are two time keepers, who each launched a parkrun app on their phone when the race started. Every time a runner goes through the finish chute, the time keepers tap on the app to enter a finish time. At the end of the chute, the runner is handed a finish token with a barcode on it - this token defines what place they finished in. </p><p>The runner then takes that token and their personal barcode to another volunteer that scans the two, tying a person to a finish spot, and after the event, that place is tied to a time keeper time.</p><p>So, what could go wrong? You can probably guess at the issues that can come up.</p><p><b>Someone comes through the finish chute but has nothing to do with the race.</b> There is always someone that thinks it's funny to pretend to be in the race, who will play up the finish, then walk away laughing. An advantage of the two lap course is that the time keepers get to see all the runners at the halfway point, and this can help you recognize the humor-challenged twits. But not always - and sometimes one or both time keepers will get tripped up by that. So you end up having to remember what number is bogus. (You can't delete the time on the spot.) This can cause the results to be off by a runner, which can take some time to sort out later.</p><p>Note that the runners have no bibs or, like with DSE, ribbons pinned to their shirt. There is no way, other than memory or shouting at them "ARE YOU WITH parkrun?" (remember to shout lower-case), to know who is actually in the race. </p><p><b>Someone finishes but has no barcode.</b> This is fairly common; either they forgot it or didn't understand the need for it. This isn't a huge issue - they get a time as UNKNOWN and it doesn't affect anyone else's results.</p><p><b>Phantom touches.</b> This is also fairly common - it's really hard to not accidentally tap the phone (or to tap it twice) sometimes. With two time keepers though, this generally works out OK, with the phantom touches sticking out a bit. (You can also use the phone's volume controls to enter a time, but I haven't tried that enough to feel comfortable with it.)</p><p><b>Rain.</b> I just found this out at a run a few weeks ago; smart phones with touch screens are incredibly clever, especially when they are waterproof. But a wet screen can react in unpredictable ways when it's tapped. Mine would put in double taps, or ignore a tap then do a double tap when I tapped again. Mine, ironically, kept switching to the Weather app, or going into the delete app mode. (Next time I will have an umbrella to prevent most of these issues. Fortunately, the second time keeper was wise and had an umbrella and ended up with solid results. And the rain seemed to have kept the twits at home.)</p><p><b>Someone gets a finish token and then goes home.</b> This is pretty bad since those tokens are used every week, and a missing one means extra math for the person who is trying to sort out all the times and barcodes. Generally, it's just that people don't understand and assume it's like a finisher medal. A small, boring, weird, plastic finisher medal. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Your finish time</h3><p style="text-align: left;">At some point after the race, usually within a couple hours, you will get an email that tells you your finish time and a few other bits about the race, plus a link to all the results. It's really nice that they track what your parkrun personal best is (both forever and this year).</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Volunteering</h3><p style="text-align: left;">I'm sure this varies wildly at the other parkruns, but Byxbee has these volunteer positions:</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Race Director:</b> There is a small core that rotate this duty around. These people are superstars. They have to make sense of the time keeper times, the barcode scan, and the twit rejection.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>First Timer Briefing:</b> This person gathers the people that have never run at parkrun together and explains the course, timing, needing a barcode, and that they should NOT take their finish line token home. This person can get a volunteer and run credit if they also run the event.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Parking Guide:</b> This person stands in the road and explains the parkrun parking rules to people unfamiliar with them. This person can get a volunteer and run credit if they also run the event.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Tail Walker:</b> This person is the guaranteed last runner. (A fun bit at parkrun events is you will never be last, and you can go as slow as you need to - there is always the tail walker somewhere behind you.) This person gets a volunteer and run credit. It is a highly sought after position!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_OJpcvjgOsvP2a_Fx9QA-yAbEsMuep_Rlwvm7I5O5z_q7NOiSfJzh-wmtRCAb2ZJ8FRiJLVhxCgwObXz6i4z89roeud3Mqm_XZlH02bDsYkQPIuIW-BkGPQpDo0vDEzMMEdHkGNOBz7txoN_yVaGoKNnK2k9XnylsRYF5v7CFWXWlNxz0yRNjCNpSw/s4272/IMG_3511%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_OJpcvjgOsvP2a_Fx9QA-yAbEsMuep_Rlwvm7I5O5z_q7NOiSfJzh-wmtRCAb2ZJ8FRiJLVhxCgwObXz6i4z89roeud3Mqm_XZlH02bDsYkQPIuIW-BkGPQpDo0vDEzMMEdHkGNOBz7txoN_yVaGoKNnK2k9XnylsRYF5v7CFWXWlNxz0yRNjCNpSw/w400-h266/IMG_3511%20(1).jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat as the most adorable tail walker ever!</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Far Course Marshal:</b> This person walks out to the turnaround point (about 0.75 miles) and sets up cones along the way. They then stay at that point until the tail walker comes by a second time, when they return to the finish area, picking cones along the way. This is the person that benefitted the most from the course change. (I like this job - you get to see the whole course and cheer on the runners. I usually bring my camera and take a lot of pictures while out there. You do have to get there a little early though.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_v-1a-tNamqv2dYnLX8nqOVk4tragQDLfkGcnB9WUt62zKPMtZudOdnnHWgDMyrIEZ7O8bpcx5-EU_1nt1fpFjSDjgxd5HM_mEF60A1W_6RERiVbvED9l3CDTijRbUPTwDc9u3o467O1xClOHHGr6oghY5LMnJ1CvnRKkAEtvCPN1YIu4GJ6SVj3u8A/s4032/IMG_8242.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_v-1a-tNamqv2dYnLX8nqOVk4tragQDLfkGcnB9WUt62zKPMtZudOdnnHWgDMyrIEZ7O8bpcx5-EU_1nt1fpFjSDjgxd5HM_mEF60A1W_6RERiVbvED9l3CDTijRbUPTwDc9u3o467O1xClOHHGr6oghY5LMnJ1CvnRKkAEtvCPN1YIu4GJ6SVj3u8A/w400-h300/IMG_8242.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Which way do I go?" Everyone loves seeing the far course marshal!</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Close Course Marshal:</b> There is really only one turn that a runner could miss (although there are many cones, so you would have to try pretty hard). At that turn, there is a course marshal. It's maybe 0.25 miles from the start.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOthU3sYguPzUw766522bFlUQHtfK2X4cD_DsRKbURhe5JaI5-1wb01U15W6ghoxN3JgrF-ofx6giKyp2kCKMBzDri09qVDPhA-buAZdVPxyoIPMi0RYvGhfCIKOkkuQ9VW7MvdYn8Unc95hjePfZ7AyNNTZd4zsfTurXWn_SJ6UNB33tsLXKFWNEEQ/s4032/IMG_7717.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOthU3sYguPzUw766522bFlUQHtfK2X4cD_DsRKbURhe5JaI5-1wb01U15W6ghoxN3JgrF-ofx6giKyp2kCKMBzDri09qVDPhA-buAZdVPxyoIPMi0RYvGhfCIKOkkuQ9VW7MvdYn8Unc95hjePfZ7AyNNTZd4zsfTurXWn_SJ6UNB33tsLXKFWNEEQ/w400-h300/IMG_7717.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Which way do I go?" You go past the close course marshal four times!</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Time Keeper:</b> There are two of these. You need a phone that has the parkrun volunteer app on it. This is one of the more challenging volunteer positions, although you quickly get into a rhythm and, barring a flock of twits or a surprise rain storm, this can be fun. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QYjcCYkRdfDVt5EbUcS1GFwhsMWWjU2TCzLTYCdNYLOB98LjDoX8clJ1-jlorQK4pSSbVS9A_3ySE-O-DG4vOHt4sG11oMAzv7I7x0W1RkWRB3rgiYAD71OmXOjedEjjAYlhQH7gkrG9IQ1bkGHtF2Fgh04otDkYswk04aaZQrRXI9IQ0BG_0vTNrw/s4032/IMG_7885.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QYjcCYkRdfDVt5EbUcS1GFwhsMWWjU2TCzLTYCdNYLOB98LjDoX8clJ1-jlorQK4pSSbVS9A_3ySE-O-DG4vOHt4sG11oMAzv7I7x0W1RkWRB3rgiYAD71OmXOjedEjjAYlhQH7gkrG9IQ1bkGHtF2Fgh04otDkYswk04aaZQrRXI9IQ0BG_0vTNrw/w400-h300/IMG_7885.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time keepers are not allowed to take bribes.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Token Hander Outer:</b> This person is at the end of the finish chute and hands the finish tokens to the runners as they come through. They also try to keep an eye on anyone that doesn't immediately go to the token scanner and might walk off with the token. (Once you are handed your token, it really doesn't matter when you go to the token scanner, and sometimes people leave their barcode in their car, but it's good to know that's what's going on.)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Token Scanner:</b> This person scans each finisher's barcode and finish token, using the same parkrun volunteer app as the time keepers.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Photographer:</b> This person takes pictures of the runners. They are posted on the Byxbee parkrun Facebook page.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Milestones and shirts!</h3><p>parkrun recognizes several milestones, both as a runner and as a volunteer. In the past, you would be sent a shirt for free when you hit one of these milestones, but today you have to pay for the shirt (in pounds, or farthings, or something like that). It's actually fairly cheap and is a fun thing to wear.</p><p>I reached my 25 run milestone earlier this year and ordered my shirt. You don't get to choose the color - that's defined by the milestone, and for 25, that color is purple.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTTt-YLce_HNXTtHgIdPlEFGtLCKhnaDIboFVZxey7ZEOSRQMBm7Gxz9MwWXDgf_ikOTdzHt77Qxt07djXXAlJPQOjVcGBySEP_qBP4HxKg8KLlR0Y2KpX03MFtvpTx4P3aNzdhujVVvLNCVgd0q-RPRXXgpT2qs_V-qsQskDLu7-1m3epL-0lhwr1g/s1928/IMG_5454%20(1).jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="1928" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTTt-YLce_HNXTtHgIdPlEFGtLCKhnaDIboFVZxey7ZEOSRQMBm7Gxz9MwWXDgf_ikOTdzHt77Qxt07djXXAlJPQOjVcGBySEP_qBP4HxKg8KLlR0Y2KpX03MFtvpTx4P3aNzdhujVVvLNCVgd0q-RPRXXgpT2qs_V-qsQskDLu7-1m3epL-0lhwr1g/w400-h319/IMG_5454%20(1).jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me after finishing, walking past the telephone pole ranch. (Or perching poles, depending on your point-of-view.)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>It has been great to see more and more purple shirts showing up at the Byxbee event - Mrs Notthat got hers a few weeks ago.</p><p>And then you see someone with a 250 shirt (green), and you wonder, how is that even possible???</p><p>My next milestone is 50, and I'm a long ways away from that. I hope to hit the 25 volunteer milestone before then (I'm at ten, as of today). </p><p>There are other shirts you can purchase just for fun, along with a variety of things to personalize with your barcode so you don't have to dig it out of your wallet when you are all sweaty at the end of a run. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Is parkrun for you?</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Probably.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Byxbee parkrun is all on gravel and is pretty flat. (There is a gradual hill, but you likely only notice that hill when you need to find a reason for going so slow.) The course is the same every week, and some will get bored with that. A fun thing though is that there are a number of other trails in the area (including some small hills), and a number of runners will spend post-race time on them.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There are geese that seem to live to taunt the runners, many other waterfowl, and jack rabbits. These trails are also popular with normal people and bicyclists, but that never seems to be an issue. (Well, other than the twits mentioned earlier.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglaNIi646gAM-LiCRZtlAC1KeFsM0qjCkyFkL6wRv4xWuz7rfZ_UYkOCRR1-Jszp3e_EbMHOIeoiooESs5ofD3GHkogO1QrfGDCcjrwwKUkludjrzfJpegN9bIt8Pit3XXSjWNSU-73qXmqeZwVNx1x97F7QLrc0u57YNpOvfY8J_fzwDz56QmIIT_fg/s3063/IMG_8229%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2297" data-original-width="3063" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglaNIi646gAM-LiCRZtlAC1KeFsM0qjCkyFkL6wRv4xWuz7rfZ_UYkOCRR1-Jszp3e_EbMHOIeoiooESs5ofD3GHkogO1QrfGDCcjrwwKUkludjrzfJpegN9bIt8Pit3XXSjWNSU-73qXmqeZwVNx1x97F7QLrc0u57YNpOvfY8J_fzwDz56QmIIT_fg/w400-h300/IMG_8229%20(1).jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I know turtles that run faster than you!" The geese can be cruel.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">The lack of a medal or bib may be a deal-breaker for some of you. That lack of an entry fee maybe will put that deal back together again though.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There are a core of 30 or so people that seem to show up nearly every week, so you do get socializing opportunities. There are some that are fast (well under 20 minutes) and some that get their money's worth (take about an hour). </p><p style="text-align: left;">The casualness of these events is really nice, and removes most normal race day pressure. It's not uncommon for someone to show up, run the first lap, then drop for one reason or the other - maybe they brought their kid or dog and that kid/dog is not up to doing a second lap. If you wake up and are not feeling it, that's fine; you aren't wasting a race fee if you decide to sleep in.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Byxbee Park is maybe a bit of a drive if you live in the East Bay. I'm surprised at how many people drive down from San Francisco or from the East Bay, but, well, it's a free 5K!</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Should other races be nervous?</h3><p style="text-align: left;">I don't think so. And actually, parkrun events serve as a bit of an introduction to racing and trails for many. They help remove the fear of "what if I'm not fast enough" and "will I get lost." People will start to get curious about other courses and distances. You see a wide array of race shirts at these events, which often end up starting conversations. </p><p style="text-align: left;">And that's about it. If you've read this far, you are likely a bit more than "Byxbee parkrun curious." You should come out and give it a try.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Just leave the dang geese alone.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That's it - move along… </p>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-14110784005274812552022-01-30T19:03:00.001-08:002022-01-30T19:03:24.869-08:00Coyote Hills 2022 - now with hills!<p>The <a href="https://brazenracing.com/coyotehills/" target="_blank">Brazen Coyote Hills</a> trail race is a very popular, fairly flat (for Brazen) race in Coyote Hills park. For me, it's the closest race Brazen puts on. Additionally, it has had some of the greatest shirt and medal designs. </p><p>I really like this race.</p><p>Except for two things:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Since the race is so popular, there are not nearly enough parking spaces. So you end up parking in a nearby business park and ride a shuttle bus to the start/finish area.</li><li>The Half course is two laps. (The Half course does have a short but fun hill thing that the other distances don't have, which nearly makes up for the two lap thing.)</li></ul><p></p><p>Then something odd happened between the last time this race happened in 2020 (2021 was a virtual-only race) - most of the office parks were emptied and fenced off; there was no place to park any cars for the 2022 race. The race was on the verge of being cancelled.</p><p>Then an alternative start/finish option became available.</p><p>The park had added a small campground last year, and in that campground, they added a couple parking lots. Additionally, there is a lot of parking on the road that leads to this campground area. So this alternative option meant we didn't have to deal with shuttle busses. (It also meant that the dozen or so RVs that were camping there woke up Saturday morning to see a thousand or so trail runners show up. Fun thing - one of them gave out free pancakes to the volunteers early in the morning! Just because they thought it was fun to do!)</p><p>Since the campground is in a different part of the park than the normal start/finish area, Brazen had to come up with a new course. Cool thing about the new course - the Half was no longer a two-lap course. You still had to do that long out-and-back along the shore that nearly takes you to the bridge toll booths twice, but that was it. </p><p>Not quite as cool a thing was that the course now had some hills. Even the 5K now had a significant hill. And the significantest (I know, not a word) hill of them all was near the finish line for all the distances, and was the talk of the post-race buzz. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOaeMdCBrL07iWhJSU_ajAqapHGF5OvHzFhtW71ftaliWQcvQs1SDqKwx0lZjXGOQLWEJBnDd5hqrsOWS5t54Hrg2-y2VOg_06OaF5tSj140kMScRDfXARiLxHWhe9mqU7sUEBwJV0PzjgWNpypT6y_6G3RVkSMwZKJqO-z9b5bT1RInbvnxO112bzyg=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1866" data-original-width="2048" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOaeMdCBrL07iWhJSU_ajAqapHGF5OvHzFhtW71ftaliWQcvQs1SDqKwx0lZjXGOQLWEJBnDd5hqrsOWS5t54Hrg2-y2VOg_06OaF5tSj140kMScRDfXARiLxHWhe9mqU7sUEBwJV0PzjgWNpypT6y_6G3RVkSMwZKJqO-z9b5bT1RInbvnxO112bzyg=w400-h365" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does anyone else get Lagoon Valley flashbacks while looking at this?</td></tr></tbody></table><p>As you can tell by looking at the above handcrafted course map (blame me for this), there was one area that was a bit gnarly, congestion-wise (I labeled it the Bermuda Triangle, although it's really closer to being a Bermuda Fiveangle, but I'm pretty sure that's not a word). The congestion mostly affected the Half runners, and there were a couple of course marshals there to direct traffic.</p><p>The fun thing was that we were going to be using trails this race hadn't used before. I tried to put together a comparison of the classic course vs. this new course, with respect to distance and elevation gain (based on Brazen published figures), but was hampered by not having access to the classic course details. But I did have data from the times I'd run the different distances, so I think this is mostly correct:</p><p><b>5K:</b> Length went from 3.4 to 3.1 miles; the elevation is a mystery since I don't know the classic course elevation gain, but the new course at 242 feet is definitely significantly harder. So, shorter but more climbing.</p><p><b>10K:</b> Length went from 6.3 to 6.6 miles; the elevation went from 231 feet to 404 feet. So, the course got longer and had climbing added.</p><p><b>Half:</b> Length stayed at 13.2 miles: the elevation went from 675 feet to 861 feet. A bit more climbing, but that was likely worth not having to do two laps.</p><p>The Canadian traditionally picks up the It's-Its ice cream for each race, but had a conflict on Friday, so I was pressed into service to be Ice Cream Boy. My reward was a prime parking space!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4fXuYS0WtDpgkd8yy5Q-Rsb6BLV2Ndb1-LeOps88poy5Sci6qMdhekbmw7awsOty5A8TvhGDmdQKIsTophbxojwketWJ0UbzV1wrKoRjr7POIsZjGMVFsa9TCrC0yNSIRMySrBdGVV86dHJCCqE9J7EB3NK-28hu4LvyVG5m9lDDbhT9QoxPVXIB6pQ=s3648" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4fXuYS0WtDpgkd8yy5Q-Rsb6BLV2Ndb1-LeOps88poy5Sci6qMdhekbmw7awsOty5A8TvhGDmdQKIsTophbxojwketWJ0UbzV1wrKoRjr7POIsZjGMVFsa9TCrC0yNSIRMySrBdGVV86dHJCCqE9J7EB3NK-28hu4LvyVG5m9lDDbhT9QoxPVXIB6pQ=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Old Timey?"</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">I ran the 10K, and soon we were off.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHBf5fJP_Oq9bAlpEzGseedaTZm-1XHqaSk0cSla6uKLYybw8HNjVem-_tG2IKmdTuEYZnhcRHE7R0RaSf72UeIxy3mF_J71h610T_H_I4qxXfLon4B_nXwX3NFRJo0b5YS9zXi0bVdXnfwSt7_gX9AE4_KF7ibFTWKZXBHgkbgovxVaj2msUIEEKMuw=s3648" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHBf5fJP_Oq9bAlpEzGseedaTZm-1XHqaSk0cSla6uKLYybw8HNjVem-_tG2IKmdTuEYZnhcRHE7R0RaSf72UeIxy3mF_J71h610T_H_I4qxXfLon4B_nXwX3NFRJo0b5YS9zXi0bVdXnfwSt7_gX9AE4_KF7ibFTWKZXBHgkbgovxVaj2msUIEEKMuw=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keep the hills on your left. For a bit.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>It was sunny and beautifully green. We basically started by heading to the classic course's start/finish area.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmEcFlmcLeoGojuzrkcfw3WU-8jMWovBGfxz8OXJy49-TqVX3_Pu6hXAcaDzzlObNLNB-vmciJ54qDelnlZWdOSbn6tzP_ZyMpFJgzH1DbdAS6NvAfgEmdZfamW71f-dONOSvEhKmRRX0blEc_HeCGnFgCsXprlS8JarEH5SyVrrmJcr86OepQtHorKA=s3648" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmEcFlmcLeoGojuzrkcfw3WU-8jMWovBGfxz8OXJy49-TqVX3_Pu6hXAcaDzzlObNLNB-vmciJ54qDelnlZWdOSbn6tzP_ZyMpFJgzH1DbdAS6NvAfgEmdZfamW71f-dONOSvEhKmRRX0blEc_HeCGnFgCsXprlS8JarEH5SyVrrmJcr86OepQtHorKA=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's the classic start/finish area - it was weird seeing it so non-festive.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The first aid station was to the side of the classic start/finish area, at about mile 1.45.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjD4SLbceXLhzxFzuxnfQgdljD9FjIblm7WhnxW3exZqLgNEIQg1kd8Gx9qEcDEAuXmd9Prc7Z1fkMajdyDx1B3Ah5-OvmOMje1moVPZxTJPHEDQaGG3iOIpTJ97isr7agCVP9X7riS_WAky4yMqn4n33fDAsV5_YsSSIyLja4gcMCOwcRL-If-Yxeqyw=s3648" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjD4SLbceXLhzxFzuxnfQgdljD9FjIblm7WhnxW3exZqLgNEIQg1kd8Gx9qEcDEAuXmd9Prc7Z1fkMajdyDx1B3Ah5-OvmOMje1moVPZxTJPHEDQaGG3iOIpTJ97isr7agCVP9X7riS_WAky4yMqn4n33fDAsV5_YsSSIyLja4gcMCOwcRL-If-Yxeqyw=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>After this aid station, we turned right and headed on some trails not used by the classic course.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFwCkj4bRXMVXk3EFELjvHEfrn731TTcTQNKAIrhqmqP-LqmbkHLj5nIsdiqkZl4W9vU0PtXcUSdaD1WLNwJywJGFcF4rlfCgMOX7SVH3c8na9pDEcFCIYQ2kN4y4uSW_boKhBgh7a6IKLRsmX1ZjwjXffd-X6r_a-pd9JSYbiF_8jCJ0qvjDgnNqcDA=s3648" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFwCkj4bRXMVXk3EFELjvHEfrn731TTcTQNKAIrhqmqP-LqmbkHLj5nIsdiqkZl4W9vU0PtXcUSdaD1WLNwJywJGFcF4rlfCgMOX7SVH3c8na9pDEcFCIYQ2kN4y4uSW_boKhBgh7a6IKLRsmX1ZjwjXffd-X6r_a-pd9JSYbiF_8jCJ0qvjDgnNqcDA=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey! I remember this boardwalk!</td></tr></tbody></table><p>One interesting bit - I didn't think we would end up on the boardwalk as on the classic course, but we did, going the opposite direction of normal! After the boardwalk, we wandered around for a bit and soon ended up on a familiar trail headed to a familiar aid station.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtU0tzk4uRZIONamq2xlkd8N8eMQDWxBkWD8cLyTofDRzFGjBEEN1oYlKeQ3qPKU57ckarwuMop-cOAVZPgs2-DZy7ceqRvUkcqLWipr_3mzOlIcng26KS353zwZZmy25BUsrOBpl9_KntmvDc6E6x9I_VVqiwm7Lfg3mubnwJshJXs4eEYn6xv8GETA=s2582" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2582" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtU0tzk4uRZIONamq2xlkd8N8eMQDWxBkWD8cLyTofDRzFGjBEEN1oYlKeQ3qPKU57ckarwuMop-cOAVZPgs2-DZy7ceqRvUkcqLWipr_3mzOlIcng26KS353zwZZmy25BUsrOBpl9_KntmvDc6E6x9I_VVqiwm7Lfg3mubnwJshJXs4eEYn6xv8GETA=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>The second aid station was at mile 3.85. From here we follow the bay shore for a bit. This trail along the bay, especially when it's so green out, is one of my favorites.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5vW4yEVi4ak5TDck2tIMeeUnYOMRjiBxRPpSDUuvXQWaMj4Pcj6nzaEJWN3Q8aqrZv9g9A00Ya9sh9kFnkm-TJ_UmqMVco7EGOQ2LI74dgSv_I7Dm4lDafxCb4cr0V_yNj_RPmrLBcB5xU-vrpg5uFBQHrVrvALu7nPkPSrnJTimZmWHj0XLvkombkw=s2628" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1971" data-original-width="2628" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5vW4yEVi4ak5TDck2tIMeeUnYOMRjiBxRPpSDUuvXQWaMj4Pcj6nzaEJWN3Q8aqrZv9g9A00Ya9sh9kFnkm-TJ_UmqMVco7EGOQ2LI74dgSv_I7Dm4lDafxCb4cr0V_yNj_RPmrLBcB5xU-vrpg5uFBQHrVrvALu7nPkPSrnJTimZmWHj0XLvkombkw=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surely we will be taking the lower trail. Right? (Spoiler alert: No. First climb coming up!)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBlJMJ9cckxnN8IfJuI0-nmjKUa4dxX267s_jZgoq6BOW18c-djfiOf9PI5QB4kIg0N7FvcLmgHSEMpaIVOyw42XQR08-og27240SOh-0IGigp7Cl9u6HTCOQ3VMS_5WrNRK43RDcO0jnb-pw7FWJZRyqmNn8rc7ZwtBXxMybJr9ZUs3uec373-hSngQ=s3648" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBlJMJ9cckxnN8IfJuI0-nmjKUa4dxX267s_jZgoq6BOW18c-djfiOf9PI5QB4kIg0N7FvcLmgHSEMpaIVOyw42XQR08-og27240SOh-0IGigp7Cl9u6HTCOQ3VMS_5WrNRK43RDcO0jnb-pw7FWJZRyqmNn8rc7ZwtBXxMybJr9ZUs3uec373-hSngQ=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Which way do I go? Oh. I see. It's gonna be like that, huh.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Enough with the familiar course - time to attack our first of two climbs. What made this climb a bit odd was that the Half runners also went up it. And down the other side, then back up it and back to here where they turned left and started on that lower trail. 10K runners did not come back this way. That made me happy.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvPVbpw4SuzNF5HDGT6FU9wX7q4OtbDVtGLvdn88tuI8U8zREJP1ob5FxgR9B1BKdzNVeYe3NkORAarOoenkNybfP74oUp2FvkMw1jUsKciQcF5zeo8OiBHAfvitgvWEjHq0Ork2_ZPd8MnRI6RdBpKkbuaI_1gnHW2_NMhS-z0Xcma5JQQJoA-DfqqQ=s2611" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1958" data-original-width="2611" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvPVbpw4SuzNF5HDGT6FU9wX7q4OtbDVtGLvdn88tuI8U8zREJP1ob5FxgR9B1BKdzNVeYe3NkORAarOoenkNybfP74oUp2FvkMw1jUsKciQcF5zeo8OiBHAfvitgvWEjHq0Ork2_ZPd8MnRI6RdBpKkbuaI_1gnHW2_NMhS-z0Xcma5JQQJoA-DfqqQ=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Way to go Oel, not your real name!</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The fun thing at this point (for the 10K runners) was that we got to see all the Half runners heading back up that hill. (If you look carefully, you can see a course marshal up ahead. I could have hugged him when he said 10K runners got to make a right and not go back up that hill.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizV4MvXJwOVtX78gDlKhTNGrNPSWfWn848IuNjb3SsJ4-POVv2ihPz6qCLkvuCoV0s-Sem09zhYyB92MC7rwg8Aw4FeEbjvOVXMZswtYTSdPKgmopoYdJ2LASl0W1GbQTqoM-AkOkljxInEDO2hP4x1WyzXJKR3m7RVIciIxCaSn5AZrz22-Ju5cTuwA=s2389" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1792" data-original-width="2389" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizV4MvXJwOVtX78gDlKhTNGrNPSWfWn848IuNjb3SsJ4-POVv2ihPz6qCLkvuCoV0s-Sem09zhYyB92MC7rwg8Aw4FeEbjvOVXMZswtYTSdPKgmopoYdJ2LASl0W1GbQTqoM-AkOkljxInEDO2hP4x1WyzXJKR3m7RVIciIxCaSn5AZrz22-Ju5cTuwA=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Any guesses whether we go up that hill or get to turn right and stay flat?</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I knew there was one more climb to go. And I had a pretty good look at it. I could dream of going right and avoiding it, but that was not the way to the finish line, and I was ready for the finish line.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhaAFIIiptg5vq__pCHEacE5XvfxsPi1pCHI06mxZwoaa19j0S3MtccWPWLNEFRCYzyQpo7_A_MiCY0-wa0-BA_cjidlNteDk-0_Qz9r4EvdPJZfRb4m18q10vsyK7Eatchbj6ZDyVUO0Cgf6-zIDRbttWgI-C6P7sM7mNyWgf5zad-DPtWGpWThubOQ=s3648" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhaAFIIiptg5vq__pCHEacE5XvfxsPi1pCHI06mxZwoaa19j0S3MtccWPWLNEFRCYzyQpo7_A_MiCY0-wa0-BA_cjidlNteDk-0_Qz9r4EvdPJZfRb4m18q10vsyK7Eatchbj6ZDyVUO0Cgf6-zIDRbttWgI-C6P7sM7mNyWgf5zad-DPtWGpWThubOQ=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traffic control at the Bermuda Fiveangle. Half runners would come from the right to head to the finish.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Look. These climbs were actually not that big of a deal, especially compared to those on a traditional Brazen course. But, they were climbs on a course that normally only has fairly mild rollers. It was about one mile to the finish, and my legs were ready to be done - this was my longest race since a 10K on New Years Day in 2020. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI2da5GIlHPpN2uf_KdAr4VjpbxeJpZZ8voU1-CGpa95qZHgjfKe3FCavXnVSFsP1w2yORuA2RWWZl511c6YOSTP6QKRfpEkTlftYKbnm0iLmwfpflENGTupK3B4bXPFacqfuX9LMe73iy6ZIxzidtyFYbFHlmR_E8mYs2K-AC7V-xf8OvJre_8VrkqQ=s2815" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2111" data-original-width="2815" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI2da5GIlHPpN2uf_KdAr4VjpbxeJpZZ8voU1-CGpa95qZHgjfKe3FCavXnVSFsP1w2yORuA2RWWZl511c6YOSTP6QKRfpEkTlftYKbnm0iLmwfpflENGTupK3B4bXPFacqfuX9LMe73iy6ZIxzidtyFYbFHlmR_E8mYs2K-AC7V-xf8OvJre_8VrkqQ=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going uphill gives you time to look at the views. WAY down there you can see Half runners on the out-and-back they had to do before they were able to go up this hill and storm the finish.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1SPZJjOM8ASwRC5M9l39KIvbSGvfNmAfZRixI2LvYyKa6RBYg8o9kO5prY19YViNAi032OywyHdgCt8Gykvp72Csrhl3U8ba8bLqFPUhDdhPje7YUJ1cnButew8MofGAVdIdDzB2pn2a5piR-QcNBL8oGPNer9e1ebHx26rUy_vgj06qSqcNrejeWTQ=s2432" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2432" data-original-width="1824" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1SPZJjOM8ASwRC5M9l39KIvbSGvfNmAfZRixI2LvYyKa6RBYg8o9kO5prY19YViNAi032OywyHdgCt8Gykvp72Csrhl3U8ba8bLqFPUhDdhPje7YUJ1cnButew8MofGAVdIdDzB2pn2a5piR-QcNBL8oGPNer9e1ebHx26rUy_vgj06qSqcNrejeWTQ=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by Brazen volunteer, taking pictures of runners climbing that hill. I ran exactly long enough for the shutter to click, then I switched back to a slow shuffle.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJFXLWD4RNBbf1VE0BRWEX5FOB9-UtaV_p1isyksHl739fgGBi2B3uUeFqEBqqZ5ZggN4odNhr7kRiPXS1TmlfRaaxoXyPkhnJ9d8ZycG59KwNokl-Y3w0159uQePkI-XMlXwivoj-uJ-rabumsD7HSxpe60czaMvi7GKODeU58htQQG6ktEXj2nl7BA=s2688" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="2688" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJFXLWD4RNBbf1VE0BRWEX5FOB9-UtaV_p1isyksHl739fgGBi2B3uUeFqEBqqZ5ZggN4odNhr7kRiPXS1TmlfRaaxoXyPkhnJ9d8ZycG59KwNokl-Y3w0159uQePkI-XMlXwivoj-uJ-rabumsD7HSxpe60czaMvi7GKODeU58htQQG6ktEXj2nl7BA=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p>Eventually, I got to the top of the hill and was able to shuffle a bit faster on the downhill. I felt a nice breeze as Htebazile (not her real name) flew past me.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGcX42BJ3sMeWes4ceENUhCsdHqr9uGMp1okJJYPn6l3iDUC5XFmqHbKvDOMrTpguMoZENctJzAW38SzGji3Vwfc1xWHRddj8HJn5WhkJENHqCRjIX9YgBLvgRcPl6kg4bOZh6BLF9c-z1wrU_qhP43tdLCyZEWmkJf3tI3IRwQHiSiNZIwL7uQl1BbQ=s2602" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1952" data-original-width="2602" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGcX42BJ3sMeWes4ceENUhCsdHqr9uGMp1okJJYPn6l3iDUC5XFmqHbKvDOMrTpguMoZENctJzAW38SzGji3Vwfc1xWHRddj8HJn5WhkJENHqCRjIX9YgBLvgRcPl6kg4bOZh6BLF9c-z1wrU_qhP43tdLCyZEWmkJf3tI3IRwQHiSiNZIwL7uQl1BbQ=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finish. Finally.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I was pretty gassed when I finished. My "A" goal was to be sub 90 minutes. I did not make that. My "B" goal was sub 100 minutes, and I made that, with a 96 minute time. So I was happy. And I was about to be happier.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhImXwreZxETArGBjk1_8OM_75zF6aqFNVh4B7QFeuejqBRHmPILD8rFtM7r-0Tcw9M7ZR-RKg_YV6ywl0cazLSgTUoFT1SIRWVvB2D8V0SSmzA88sBuJOxciip7XvfazETWNcmOjP3OgoyMqJAJcmYsOoEVbtyw2WlA0EBgPEETke3ngeSaa1Vxq2PwA=s3648" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhImXwreZxETArGBjk1_8OM_75zF6aqFNVh4B7QFeuejqBRHmPILD8rFtM7r-0Tcw9M7ZR-RKg_YV6ywl0cazLSgTUoFT1SIRWVvB2D8V0SSmzA88sBuJOxciip7XvfazETWNcmOjP3OgoyMqJAJcmYsOoEVbtyw2WlA0EBgPEETke3ngeSaa1Vxq2PwA=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br />I got an age group medal! Even better, it wasn't by default! (The funny thing is that I'm in the 60-64 age group. If I had been in the 65-69 or 70-74 age groups, I would not have gotten an age group medal - old guys can be surprisingly fast!)<p></p><p>This race was a blast! I liked the new start/finish area, the new trails, and the efforts of all the volunteers. In theory, this will be the only year the race is held out of the campground, but that will depend on whether external parking can be arranged or whether the park rangers feel like this went pretty well and allow this to become the new normal.</p><p>I'm all about the new normal!</p><p>That's it - move along…</p>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-86203545553337990152021-07-05T15:33:00.003-07:002021-07-05T15:33:43.092-07:00WSER 2021 - My 10th year at Last Chance!<p>Back in March of 2020, I was working from home and trying to anticipate how much longer this pandemic was going to keep me there. Probably at least until late April or maybe even May. Local races had been cancelled, but this was still feeling like a blip.</p><p>There was speculation about Western States - surely it won't be affected. The training runs were in danger maybe, but the race would happen. </p><p>Then came March 27th and the press release that seemed impossible. The race was off. The pandemic became a lot more real. </p><p>And I'm still working from home.</p><p>Fast forward to March 2021. Things are looking up. But how far up? Well, far enough up that the WSER training runs were on! And so was the race!</p><p>There would be some changes: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Fewer volunteers at the aid stations, and those that were there would all be vaccinated. (Initially we were all to wear masks, but loosening restrictions made that not a thing.)</li><li>A reduction in contact between the runners and volunteers, especially with filling of bottles and getting food. </li><li>And, well that's about it. Crews and pacers were allowed. The finish line would be feel very familiar. This was going to feel like a real Wester States race!</li></ul><p></p><p>Well, one difference would be the runners. There was no lottery for the 2021 race since all the runners from 2020 were moved to 2021. And there were provisions for deferring to next year for international runners since travel restrictions were still a thing. The end result was that instead of the allowed 369 runners at the starting line, there would be only 316 (and nobody left on the wait list).</p><p>One thing that felt normal was that, unlike 2019, it was predicted to be hot. Maybe really hot. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIalKMGH_erOCd_eZWs67qAmkyxnEOymsfMYzZ8M7LKgyeQpZ2p8HWTu6y2jlS0tf4UBP6Rz0jpbn6kEHPRjoB_Cv_9PF66WpGS7Vnl20Dno4sH1TT8qetdezIZt0ApFKUUs8lMb0334-l/s1176/WSERIceTweet.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="1176" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIalKMGH_erOCd_eZWs67qAmkyxnEOymsfMYzZ8M7LKgyeQpZ2p8HWTu6y2jlS0tf4UBP6Rz0jpbn6kEHPRjoB_Cv_9PF66WpGS7Vnl20Dno4sH1TT8qetdezIZt0ApFKUUs8lMb0334-l/w400-h179/WSERIceTweet.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">This tweet opened some eyes. That's 1600 pounds per aid station. Obviously, that's not the right way to look at this - some aid stations need far less and some will need more. But still, this was impressive.</p><p>When I showed up at the WSER warehouse with the van to pick up the ice for Last Chance, Lon said we would load as much as we could until the tires started popping. Then fix the tires and remove a bag or two. We ended up putting 1400 pounds in there.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgoCQDSxknDRWeQCiiJDGMGJnpnb9Ua5llImzmrIDvIaAlkJ4QziCfym5xHoz_UR-Ev_0fjKnZWkwc3q8z75li2zXsxMTmoUYiYqwfwXJ0LfDb_Kl8PD0D9sFVjY9jwwqOkybaSq1yXkX/s2048/IMG_7653.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgoCQDSxknDRWeQCiiJDGMGJnpnb9Ua5llImzmrIDvIaAlkJ4QziCfym5xHoz_UR-Ev_0fjKnZWkwc3q8z75li2zXsxMTmoUYiYqwfwXJ0LfDb_Kl8PD0D9sFVjY9jwwqOkybaSq1yXkX/w400-h300/IMG_7653.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So much ice! Oswald the ostrich (I rescued him - long story) was impressed.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">This was a bit more than we had ever used previously at Last Chance, and with almost 50 fewer runners than normal, this seemed to be way more than enough. But we really didn't want to risk running out, and since we are so remote, bringing an emergency load of ice to us later was not really possible. (Spoiler alert: It was more than enough.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3tDTyI7r8VKrt3XZ5F79kO9qQiB9kdsjzDN7S_k_QTPXS5VXq-YH0jI6-rT6V9z8hEYNKSbPwwSDEsa4eL3RipgrwpfX_FUydQnsl2E6JGv8lTxpOUKkYkMfPEkQ6UalvdNq9YlM0bgz/s2048/IMG_7656.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3tDTyI7r8VKrt3XZ5F79kO9qQiB9kdsjzDN7S_k_QTPXS5VXq-YH0jI6-rT6V9z8hEYNKSbPwwSDEsa4eL3RipgrwpfX_FUydQnsl2E6JGv8lTxpOUKkYkMfPEkQ6UalvdNq9YlM0bgz/w400-h300/IMG_7656.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Would a smoke-free propane fire ring keep the mosquitos away? Maybe!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">As usual, many of us drove up to Last Chance on Friday - since sections of the road to the aid station are also used as part of the course, it's closed to vehicles at 9 AM; if you don't come on Friday, you better get up early on Saturday. (Another issue is that there is little to no cell service at Last Chance - there is no way to call ahead or get a pizza delivered.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">A fun surprise on Saturday morning was that RD Craig, President Diana, and aid station boss Lon showed up to give Lina and Peggy prestigious Friend of the Trail awards for their efforts captaining this aid station for the last 12 years.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMO_v_XPFsnxgLMWSHfCradWImG7kjBmdIdRecVhmLvN_jhGof32A9IE7Qpz3ZJhPUJ18wy35-Ot9GEGcRof-42cs-oXEq5WlmQfr0OEtutoo3mCw1ow0NIzS0LexzMDyDQppCpQs866k6/s2048/IMG_3187.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMO_v_XPFsnxgLMWSHfCradWImG7kjBmdIdRecVhmLvN_jhGof32A9IE7Qpz3ZJhPUJ18wy35-Ot9GEGcRof-42cs-oXEq5WlmQfr0OEtutoo3mCw1ow0NIzS0LexzMDyDQppCpQs866k6/w400-h266/IMG_3187.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lina was not sure what was going on.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqvPK77LNcojtOJbscyuwa9eggiiguLCDrARTj5b0yg29x6yQ-z5M6HavnCX0zG4vU5LWKcO1YSAaPjhki0yEKpTe559Fq071ZIq6chAP2-FlGdMSnOgPY2AhAkd4Xdx8uP_age4HZmR6/s2048/IMG_3193.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqvPK77LNcojtOJbscyuwa9eggiiguLCDrARTj5b0yg29x6yQ-z5M6HavnCX0zG4vU5LWKcO1YSAaPjhki0yEKpTe559Fq071ZIq6chAP2-FlGdMSnOgPY2AhAkd4Xdx8uP_age4HZmR6/w400-h266/IMG_3193.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peggy, who knew what was going on for Lina, did not expect anything for her.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Friend of the Trail awards are a big deal at this race, and they couldn't have gone to more deserving people. Sadly, Lina announced that this would be her last year as an aid station co-captain, which made this a bit bittersweet. (Stevens Creek Striders have run this aid station for 39 years - the longest such run of all the aid stations!)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFLqbxMhu5gbApdcaMMnQq0DDXIns4PBwsyPmqjekm_YbI9SO-Vg9ONT9Ue-NifwYbZ9yR6nAk7VR53JtOE3MEspW63llkE2Adwod93WwvXpS04V7uQbjALX9YbkvuBOaLoKbC8PatzgK/s2048/IMG_3205.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFLqbxMhu5gbApdcaMMnQq0DDXIns4PBwsyPmqjekm_YbI9SO-Vg9ONT9Ue-NifwYbZ9yR6nAk7VR53JtOE3MEspW63llkE2Adwod93WwvXpS04V7uQbjALX9YbkvuBOaLoKbC8PatzgK/w400-h266/IMG_3205.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">The crew at Last Chance was between 30 and 40 all told - down by about 20 from normal. We needed to be a bit more efficient this year, but felt confident it would work out. (Yet another spoiler alert - it did.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSrkUXCIWehExvu8HwMdH1CW7UYveMWbQ8qXZuRxCo_dDQZ4JcA3oYx4PfzMfhVpPOw3ESuPwYgjf94yV24uKdG1JdJ5O8-NGTxUqfOr4IZ4YhRky-qtc2RA_XnlnymP5JhbNkIAAucAvO/s2048/IMG_3218.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSrkUXCIWehExvu8HwMdH1CW7UYveMWbQ8qXZuRxCo_dDQZ4JcA3oYx4PfzMfhVpPOw3ESuPwYgjf94yV24uKdG1JdJ5O8-NGTxUqfOr4IZ4YhRky-qtc2RA_XnlnymP5JhbNkIAAucAvO/w400-h266/IMG_3218.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Efficient, friendly, focused, and now soaking wet, Jim headed out.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">As usual, our first runner was eventual winner Jim Walmsley, who came in ten minutes before the next runner. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Last Chance is at mile 43.3 of the 100.2 mile course. There are no crew or pacers allowed here, and it's the last aid station before the first of the really hot canyons - Deadwood Canyon - and the never ending switchbacks that take you up to the Devil's Thumb aid station. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Some runners just saw their crew a little over five miles before getting to Last Chance, and are tempted to just keep going and mostly skip us. These runners are not being smart, and will likely end up regretting that decision. (This year, very few runners skipped us - most found that all the ice they had loaded up with at Dusty Corners was already melted.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQCNwOoEx-V9U6mNNY73JuZzS_v3hsi6yn_9QhzQGxOsmbL_GfNOQI1bFfesyTApCKH7BZtM7L5Ht9t6FCPDTQlyc7RG3Gnj2P-Y9ctkpMtQSfLkpQPv1YFXMM_3YyS78PN2pwpb_FlxBp/s2048/IMG_3221.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQCNwOoEx-V9U6mNNY73JuZzS_v3hsi6yn_9QhzQGxOsmbL_GfNOQI1bFfesyTApCKH7BZtM7L5Ht9t6FCPDTQlyc7RG3Gnj2P-Y9ctkpMtQSfLkpQPv1YFXMM_3YyS78PN2pwpb_FlxBp/w400-h266/IMG_3221.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Last Chance (Mostly) Touchless Car Wash</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Normally we have a buckets filled with ice water and large sponges to squeeze that ice water onto the runners. Sponges often came into contact with the runners, and when put back in the bucket, created a less than hygienic environment. Sponges were not allowed this year, so we relied on plant sprayers (filled with ice water) and a last minute addition, plant water cans, also filled with ice water. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivZ2KF5Q16RKmg9JvSuuzDeezbdlnrbQ_pJXqyvELqXDgR2lR1zyr-b-8KmapYJcMuH7ymHBxx0JAXhLDRwdeBhnr3ymOCAN3x_f_9w3JCiSJp6CrhQ1_hbEX-fPlBKn-5fciE6e5-Hco/s2048/IMG_3256.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivZ2KF5Q16RKmg9JvSuuzDeezbdlnrbQ_pJXqyvELqXDgR2lR1zyr-b-8KmapYJcMuH7ymHBxx0JAXhLDRwdeBhnr3ymOCAN3x_f_9w3JCiSJp6CrhQ1_hbEX-fPlBKn-5fciE6e5-Hco/w400-h266/IMG_3256.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric taking the time to get very cooled off. Screams were often heard, followed by "but don't stop!"</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicQ92X1udR_QOWYfTar5rmpH1KhGceY8CUPTopGVXV4TCb33VuqIV5c3chKDE0_1s8pw_zWZVI28ixcr3LjwsDiacLVKw8HtPN-Rlq5giLd2is4T2wwJvugU0HwNqwmAVIxseRpoe34UN/s2048/IMG_3254.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicQ92X1udR_QOWYfTar5rmpH1KhGceY8CUPTopGVXV4TCb33VuqIV5c3chKDE0_1s8pw_zWZVI28ixcr3LjwsDiacLVKw8HtPN-Rlq5giLd2is4T2wwJvugU0HwNqwmAVIxseRpoe34UN/w400-h266/IMG_3254.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric also getting ice shoved in many places.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">We saw all manner of buffs, bandanas, hats with pockets, shirts with pockets - all places to shove in as much ice as fit. (Talking to several runners later, they said that the ice was mostly gone after just a couple of miles - just as they started their long climb.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWKss6Msx6dtTkgB-BSXQipRJJbF-UXMhJEr-jJCQ-zs23OgreqGscmjk7jBl1yYtjp1JHeI0g0RXUYwev6iCar4zPIkRdjiTAOc1DhnK-8ovZGwNln1yRGiS67S44EejXBwmOBxhh7N-/s2048/IMG_3276.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWKss6Msx6dtTkgB-BSXQipRJJbF-UXMhJEr-jJCQ-zs23OgreqGscmjk7jBl1yYtjp1JHeI0g0RXUYwev6iCar4zPIkRdjiTAOc1DhnK-8ovZGwNln1yRGiS67S44EejXBwmOBxhh7N-/w400-h266/IMG_3276.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie shoved ice in places best not talked about in a family blog.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiij9VjHCRuCHfFdsyF_WNEJcx8GEb7tJC5ICpBBq4R_iwpsL5VuLV_W0urrC-qYGNH5VvUNiYB4yo67wdis4SwtOqW3etuYpm-PuufOiMhgr9AXSlEifJRCEpIpenFZlHwOxfcaNvwx16h/s2048/IMG_3286.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiij9VjHCRuCHfFdsyF_WNEJcx8GEb7tJC5ICpBBq4R_iwpsL5VuLV_W0urrC-qYGNH5VvUNiYB4yo67wdis4SwtOqW3etuYpm-PuufOiMhgr9AXSlEifJRCEpIpenFZlHwOxfcaNvwx16h/w400-h266/IMG_3286.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This runner skillfully keeping their food dry.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>An interesting thing is that using the sprayers and watering cans resulted in us using less water than normal (and having less of a mud problem, although the heat might have had something to do with that).</p><p>Oh - the heat.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKpeB1l2HfnHBH9VTGydFWcKJfLFqn0YJSGzwbPMVHsD_8CVrfolQ7KxBDSVbwr_4I9ViLbLCpiathL8acdwSk5ey6C847Db1gXXjk7KPiifPXHXteINTUDjVV6hYX4zlzebeul9gqJsZ/s2048/IMG_3314.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKpeB1l2HfnHBH9VTGydFWcKJfLFqn0YJSGzwbPMVHsD_8CVrfolQ7KxBDSVbwr_4I9ViLbLCpiathL8acdwSk5ey6C847Db1gXXjk7KPiifPXHXteINTUDjVV6hYX4zlzebeul9gqJsZ/w266-h400/IMG_3314.jpeg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This thermometer was later shown mercy and moved to the shade.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">I like to set a thermometer in the sun to make the heat seem as bad as possible, in hopes of convincing the runners to take the time to get ice. It's usually not very hot at Last Chance, which can give the runners a false idea that the heat is not really that bad, so selling them on the idea of getting ice can be tricky. This is the first time in my eight years of bringing this thing that it's pegged out at 130. Yikes!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56dJWa1VoMWADZ5jTm05WMqiUZUYJAiAi_5K5nVZrpOlBG-JFsuzZLveky9PLgSy1llw9hARvZjR4QNiyb83nq_bblFGR4dpoRF2PYHxMzvFnDmX0gmwvd5BwfQccBtU4L9mrKUSNIsho/s2048/IMG_3320.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56dJWa1VoMWADZ5jTm05WMqiUZUYJAiAi_5K5nVZrpOlBG-JFsuzZLveky9PLgSy1llw9hARvZjR4QNiyb83nq_bblFGR4dpoRF2PYHxMzvFnDmX0gmwvd5BwfQccBtU4L9mrKUSNIsho/w400-h266/IMG_3320.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">The goal was to be touchless, but we did end up handling hats, ice bandanas (which often were secured with a tough knot), and other miscellaneous things that need ice. Overall, we were significantly more hygienic than in previous years, and the runners didn't suffer because of that.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmB1-E9L2OXfPkqdvrYG0IUlCaRz9-jEUMmGDRB1B5HqkGnnJ0Hv82bCat_lYL2CSUWP9yjeZxHcsbARP6QubCIJ6iJur8ujvGlQG42h0VB0OQrhJpRHZlbbwkgi2BdaflCEPFuvmpd3es/s2048/IMG_3222.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmB1-E9L2OXfPkqdvrYG0IUlCaRz9-jEUMmGDRB1B5HqkGnnJ0Hv82bCat_lYL2CSUWP9yjeZxHcsbARP6QubCIJ6iJur8ujvGlQG42h0VB0OQrhJpRHZlbbwkgi2BdaflCEPFuvmpd3es/w400-h266/IMG_3222.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">The food area was taped off and runners were not allowed to grab things - they were handed what they wanted either by way of tongs or a paper "boat". The variety of food was as normal - grilled cheese and lentil soup in addition to normal aid station fare.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1S_6BtYsSbOE7O6m5IZzCYwa6Pfc0ALqR1jR55QpmjGH8A7zWZno9sM_F_S5ONA8H-iBNFEYSRK2zKbaWlYLGfFKVT7Niq3oJszdVyqyjcdYclfSXs7XsGdqgKGhCPyxiK5LvFSP8SQ7M/s2048/IMG_3230.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1S_6BtYsSbOE7O6m5IZzCYwa6Pfc0ALqR1jR55QpmjGH8A7zWZno9sM_F_S5ONA8H-iBNFEYSRK2zKbaWlYLGfFKVT7Niq3oJszdVyqyjcdYclfSXs7XsGdqgKGhCPyxiK5LvFSP8SQ7M/w266-h400/IMG_3230.jpeg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view as runners come into the aid station.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">In the end, everything went nicely. We had two runners drop here (usually we have none), and we never even came close to running out of ice or water.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Something that always fascinates me is what happens to the runners that come through in our last hour. 4:20 is the projected time you need to get here to be on a 30 hour pace (the race cutoff), and we officially close up at 5:25. </p><p style="text-align: left;">This year, we had 53 runners come in after that 4:20 time - 15 of those ended up finishing (most in the 29th hour, but one finished in the 28th hour and stunningly, one finished in the 27th hour!). 15 didn't make it past Devil's Thumb (the next aid station). </p><p style="text-align: left;">20 came in after 5:00 - three of those (all women!) went on to finish.</p><p style="text-align: left;">We know the odds are stacked against you if you come in that late, but we also know it's possible to beat those odds, so we will try very hard to prepare you for what's coming and to convince you that you are looking great and you've got this! </p><p style="text-align: left;">Because you often do got this!</p><p style="text-align: left;">As far as general thoughts about the race, the big story (other than the heat) was the women. Three made it into the top ten overall! Fifteen of the first thirty finishers were women! At Last Chance, there were no women in the top ten and only ten in the top thirty (the first woman we saw was number 19 - there was a ten minute window where we saw twelve women). </p><p style="text-align: left;">The women didn't have a Jim to try to catch - instead they had a bunch of smart runners that knew not to push too hard too early. They kept each other in sight as long as they could and suffered far fewer drops than the men. They ran smart races. (The winner ran the second fastest time in course history!)</p><p style="text-align: left;">Many of the men ran smart too, but quite a few ended up dropping after pushing too hard too early.</p><p style="text-align: left;">One other factor was that few elite male international runners ran this year - but several elite international female runners did. My guess is that early on, a few international male runners deferred and others followed their lead - and that the opposite happened with the females; a few didn't defer so others also decided not to defer.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Regardless, it was a very unique year in many ways. What will be interesting is to see how many entrants there are next year. The race is allowed 369 runners (due to a part of the course being in a wilderness area), but that limit is averaged over a five year period. By not having the race in 2020 and having a reduced number of runners this year, the next three years or so should be able to go well past 369 runners and still meet the rules. An important point is that it's not as easy as just throwing in more runners - many of the crew areas are already straining at capacity, so adding more crew wanting access to those areas will lead to issues - don't expect the number of runners to go up too dramatically, but do expect it to go up. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Which will make many runners very happy!</p><p style="text-align: left;">That's it - move along…</p><p style="text-align: left;">PS: I mentioned in the title this was my 10th year volunteering at Last Chance. I'm so thrilled I get to keep coming back each year - it's certainly a highlight of the year. The last thing you want to do is to ask me how it went. You do not have enough time for me to talk about it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">PS: You can see my post about the Last Chance signs <a href="http://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2021/07/wser-2021-last-chance-signs.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div><br /><br />notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-82776358828585636032021-07-05T15:29:00.001-07:002021-07-05T15:35:13.907-07:00WSER 2021 - the Last Chance signs<p>In 2011 I decided to volunteer at the Western States 100. I would have volunteered the previous year, but I thought a prank was being pulled on me that there was such a thing as a 100 mile trail race.</p><p>I didn't know much about what to expect, but I knew one of the runners in the race - Sam from <a href="https://brazenracing.com" target="_blank">Brazen Racing</a>. By blind luck, I happened to be parked just outside the aid station and my back window was covered in dust. So I made my first "sign".</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSpDX9UasaHtk6lFpUuDZGBm6-3H8h-Fs-XajgjdvMmTo0WBgdxCcOmgMObjUTrnE7GWmoyAzyMw2ehmOUjBJ8-Vtvw6mJnPdVcJD0HUD5gPs3FgNwd_HaKnXfQWVYi6wgfhvOtfqOKDG/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-07-05+at+1.44.02+PM.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1505" data-original-width="2048" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSpDX9UasaHtk6lFpUuDZGBm6-3H8h-Fs-XajgjdvMmTo0WBgdxCcOmgMObjUTrnE7GWmoyAzyMw2ehmOUjBJ8-Vtvw6mJnPdVcJD0HUD5gPs3FgNwd_HaKnXfQWVYi6wgfhvOtfqOKDG/w400-h294/Screen+Shot+2021-07-05+at+1.44.02+PM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam actually saw this and wrote "thanks!" My day was made!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">The following year I decided to up my sign game. After you leave the aid station, there is a small hill you have to get over. The sights and sounds of the aid station are well behind you and you are still getting used to the ice and food you just loaded up with. I figured this would be a perfect place to post a few encouraging signs for the runners I knew in the race.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRQkuDNVwrakTtOSn8sxVCAGv7Nr_BFxeRPh_L-HhKHDrcFPxaGNgmJLkFvDpoxEEJRY6X2LxTsy6Yd7hwtPAuRRGCNAPYXyuyC_kN6fZE0ODeuj9Vg1AgiQ32izB6hmF7b5bat2nwWS0/s1224/Screen+Shot+2021-07-05+at+1.53.38+PM.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRQkuDNVwrakTtOSn8sxVCAGv7Nr_BFxeRPh_L-HhKHDrcFPxaGNgmJLkFvDpoxEEJRY6X2LxTsy6Yd7hwtPAuRRGCNAPYXyuyC_kN6fZE0ODeuj9Vg1AgiQ32izB6hmF7b5bat2nwWS0/w393-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-07-05+at+1.53.38+PM.jpg" width="393" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view in 2018.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">In following years I started adding more general purpose signs so that all the runners would have something to read. This year I ended up with around 40 signs. Some were made by Oscar, some were suggested by Mandie, but most were for people I knew in the race. (I always offer to add signs for others if they would like - this generally leads to some puzzled looks as runners try to work out who made that sign and put it there.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">Here are the signs for 2021.</p><p style="text-align: left;">In 2019, I wanted to create a set of signs along the lines of the Burma Shave signs from the past, and put them before the aid station. This year I added a second set of signs to this area.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLL1fC1v61RU2wU4kPVtxoENTBX7Qhz9jw12oP7kNix1ENCrBnIKhzhZlu3fJnQMegpvW_oBha1lpjdyjEIJE_arIxjQx80SNDc9gXtzgVh0SOnI0nIdL3oztVBWIBMfj5_95dGZ7tm4a/s2048/IMG_3133.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLL1fC1v61RU2wU4kPVtxoENTBX7Qhz9jw12oP7kNix1ENCrBnIKhzhZlu3fJnQMegpvW_oBha1lpjdyjEIJE_arIxjQx80SNDc9gXtzgVh0SOnI0nIdL3oztVBWIBMfj5_95dGZ7tm4a/w400-h266/IMG_3133.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As you get close to the Last Chance aid station.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">This first set was in honor of Tony, whose dream had been to run this race for many years (he volunteers at the Rucky Chucky crossing). He is known for telling very bad soda-based jokes when he gets to aid stations, so I thought I'd tell it before he had a chance to.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIo_V6wnL1gdwRQ2XGEv5kHhnNAbGhzbHzjKd-DCeIlfjkLnq3b_wq8Sqchwn6snTOPllhmdRIMeL0RW8BCB7QZn2iDJ5UVCHeeMFl6bN2gU-V9tkhJYgNZ56M1GZVcCiN1FPaO66eIZxX/s2048/IMG_3134.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIo_V6wnL1gdwRQ2XGEv5kHhnNAbGhzbHzjKd-DCeIlfjkLnq3b_wq8Sqchwn6snTOPllhmdRIMeL0RW8BCB7QZn2iDJ5UVCHeeMFl6bN2gU-V9tkhJYgNZ56M1GZVcCiN1FPaO66eIZxX/w400-h266/IMG_3134.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIhCat5qSmxM29s3MUF61dbDayqGTNNCuFdUFdqvM_3GU53HFIxk6o5mhKzYwpcybo0BpGogt6nos6Uy9DQizgLZQXGutqfGaP6tQScATfOksoZWkqutZ6IhIYnsp1XaEfnUThSBFU6KWi/s2048/IMG_3135.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIhCat5qSmxM29s3MUF61dbDayqGTNNCuFdUFdqvM_3GU53HFIxk6o5mhKzYwpcybo0BpGogt6nos6Uy9DQizgLZQXGutqfGaP6tQScATfOksoZWkqutZ6IhIYnsp1XaEfnUThSBFU6KWi/w400-h266/IMG_3135.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFl5Z04cAjxaIEozR3XBc1O2TIxzuMDkJJwcSGXqUHdluVmosXmuGuiBq8V7CzaLNlxT2qaHJDEZ-Gr3vwAHAbdP1mwy1mOPT7u14cRAxLOs1S1-t2UOvXb_YsH_ElbkafmSC0tcvImHyk/s2048/IMG_3136.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFl5Z04cAjxaIEozR3XBc1O2TIxzuMDkJJwcSGXqUHdluVmosXmuGuiBq8V7CzaLNlxT2qaHJDEZ-Gr3vwAHAbdP1mwy1mOPT7u14cRAxLOs1S1-t2UOvXb_YsH_ElbkafmSC0tcvImHyk/w400-h266/IMG_3136.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjea9YH3R8QEfDVn8W_S4Re9b-7SzwR7hEAlnXI9T4Y0G8F7JH-BOHEkLd9wxkgNdBZHII8q4vWZUuE_ysBiFA_OQc7CYwMV7sO2v13JKIOycAuNhoBz4ULQgjkeEr3G2frFN3iDG-EKwve/s2048/IMG_3137.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjea9YH3R8QEfDVn8W_S4Re9b-7SzwR7hEAlnXI9T4Y0G8F7JH-BOHEkLd9wxkgNdBZHII8q4vWZUuE_ysBiFA_OQc7CYwMV7sO2v13JKIOycAuNhoBz4ULQgjkeEr3G2frFN3iDG-EKwve/w400-h266/IMG_3137.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYWtkpoP0IWcTUVnUAxOvQokkONmmQoyXH9v3V361FWkz6R_iupCQt4fKmmCtOFwrMoFw1glbbXVvOHmgcRw8lehI8_BrUlN4nWPVsnRedBQ0zlcUULotO93eBL-ztZpsKExvzDcCETGu/s2048/IMG_3138.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYWtkpoP0IWcTUVnUAxOvQokkONmmQoyXH9v3V361FWkz6R_iupCQt4fKmmCtOFwrMoFw1glbbXVvOHmgcRw8lehI8_BrUlN4nWPVsnRedBQ0zlcUULotO93eBL-ztZpsKExvzDcCETGu/w400-h266/IMG_3138.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Sadly, Tony didn't make I this far, so he didn't get to see these live. Even more sadly, several runners told me they thought they were funny. (So long as they don't tell Tony that.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">Here is the original set of entry signs.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_hxbRXGIGSrDCvGYqYsNzUwger-4SQIgcsFm84lRZ-ewy8lZZld3YQ7UpFq_F2valL4Vi7VuKBFzgt6KPPskZ6h_N4CvxUK0lAr4T-DB_7FFWryZfRVaB06L0d69YxJUuHpOGuhPpnFH/s2048/IMG_3139.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_hxbRXGIGSrDCvGYqYsNzUwger-4SQIgcsFm84lRZ-ewy8lZZld3YQ7UpFq_F2valL4Vi7VuKBFzgt6KPPskZ6h_N4CvxUK0lAr4T-DB_7FFWryZfRVaB06L0d69YxJUuHpOGuhPpnFH/w400-h266/IMG_3139.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTH_AgywZ_EAHLnil5nVDgXH_qVQg0ZSIg3B3WyuBembU0mKc6ImWVVI42530Ut3V-3aBh3h3wGQZjE4iDQI5T252ghqE05TTGgtvIpzydFnDCHm86PXvAJ2C6gREhHi_ThM4FTh_9ki1/s2048/IMG_3140.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTH_AgywZ_EAHLnil5nVDgXH_qVQg0ZSIg3B3WyuBembU0mKc6ImWVVI42530Ut3V-3aBh3h3wGQZjE4iDQI5T252ghqE05TTGgtvIpzydFnDCHm86PXvAJ2C6gREhHi_ThM4FTh_9ki1/w400-h266/IMG_3140.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51kYnrcYqIssnJsPN2yND16-MR2qWq0eGEydB3830s9f17B1h_xPX86LRNWPq5t_TrXVapYlfAO0I6_yEdPo1OjI7e2Fh8lqorVTN5j9ImGW7xynS93YYTllkXtrBxvl7Oz2fUU58u3Sb/s2048/IMG_3141.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51kYnrcYqIssnJsPN2yND16-MR2qWq0eGEydB3830s9f17B1h_xPX86LRNWPq5t_TrXVapYlfAO0I6_yEdPo1OjI7e2Fh8lqorVTN5j9ImGW7xynS93YYTllkXtrBxvl7Oz2fUU58u3Sb/w400-h266/IMG_3141.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht08VkxYeUk7Y-vRjCyS0WbdyXB558xrODfW5YEE9-bPevY0YWUWDNe4zIErOweHzkme3IfJS63PKokJm1yXqnPVL4eAOAXBR2utWdSvUyfrN54F40JrKPXOIgSU-kWpAhTEBj-K4N-L5J/s2048/IMG_3142.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht08VkxYeUk7Y-vRjCyS0WbdyXB558xrODfW5YEE9-bPevY0YWUWDNe4zIErOweHzkme3IfJS63PKokJm1yXqnPVL4eAOAXBR2utWdSvUyfrN54F40JrKPXOIgSU-kWpAhTEBj-K4N-L5J/w400-h266/IMG_3142.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFICNFKstDYY5HHaKl-UdPLcM0_zUVZkzOp8TJ70NicBNrNrfkPwOHSMhkLD7VvpSJswOidAlWxTPzRT9cmzwLfl3qEPWW1-e38isiMgn9afP8NAAO4Y5RknDVZ_Th2-UZEDg5jzaRyeTa/s2048/IMG_3143.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFICNFKstDYY5HHaKl-UdPLcM0_zUVZkzOp8TJ70NicBNrNrfkPwOHSMhkLD7VvpSJswOidAlWxTPzRT9cmzwLfl3qEPWW1-e38isiMgn9afP8NAAO4Y5RknDVZ_Th2-UZEDg5jzaRyeTa/w400-h266/IMG_3143.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60JI0UgP-Lp8afzVAjZ2Q4mFJLLIvcCZKAuq3hWI0GM1PxMk2Y2BhVI1K4YaebjCmpt8vzG88_rTkk6nxoDc5xGX0CyWWseO_0x37C0JTmsxNguV8XXsSdaQGs24a7KUawIZLht_n6Y0m/s2048/IMG_3144.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60JI0UgP-Lp8afzVAjZ2Q4mFJLLIvcCZKAuq3hWI0GM1PxMk2Y2BhVI1K4YaebjCmpt8vzG88_rTkk6nxoDc5xGX0CyWWseO_0x37C0JTmsxNguV8XXsSdaQGs24a7KUawIZLht_n6Y0m/w400-h266/IMG_3144.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy2n_DlH-xT2ErBjhhD0mYHx4JDUkRs1sU9Lv13mBmasafQZQM9E9Mm8NA6k5jyDuS5OSCkHp40VjS-e38s8CXlEThbR7YxWgi_diPu-jKTzcUkyABBXxsoZq_fsuq7ba1pSnHgB4l59BL/s2048/IMG_3145.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy2n_DlH-xT2ErBjhhD0mYHx4JDUkRs1sU9Lv13mBmasafQZQM9E9Mm8NA6k5jyDuS5OSCkHp40VjS-e38s8CXlEThbR7YxWgi_diPu-jKTzcUkyABBXxsoZq_fsuq7ba1pSnHgB4l59BL/w400-h266/IMG_3145.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Much better than the soda signs.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Now here are the signs that appeared after you left the aid station. (Sadly, more than once a runner has completely missed seeing their sign.) </p><p style="text-align: left;">A side note - the signs on this hill actually make an appearance in the Billy Yang film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYgcTJBLwsU&t=2105s" target="_blank">Life in a Day</a> (about the 2016 edition of the race)! Go to about the 34th minute - Devon is in a low point but sucks it up and heads out. Then sees the signs. Wonderfully (and not by my doing), there is a sign for her. This is what makes me keep doing this - hopefully I can perk someone up with some dumb random sign. </p><p style="text-align: left;">(I do worry that someone may end up disappointed not to see a sign for them. I stopped adding bib numbers and started only using first names once it occurred to me that there may be multiple people with the same first name, and possibly someone might think a sign is for them when it's really for someone else. Or I might be over-thinking this a bit.) </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2etYwtYwUvQZD5mWxmswkjYGE1_06sCNtsxEOOdZMKLT2L3SDYghCcb68uYbTdJ5YdD6bF0c2gQD9yLZLYMs0A-BhdHSinh6ddlItlx_PNmz7YwpRg-C55IGImYw_9b83OYzQNYB20ro1/s2048/IMG_3146.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2etYwtYwUvQZD5mWxmswkjYGE1_06sCNtsxEOOdZMKLT2L3SDYghCcb68uYbTdJ5YdD6bF0c2gQD9yLZLYMs0A-BhdHSinh6ddlItlx_PNmz7YwpRg-C55IGImYw_9b83OYzQNYB20ro1/w400-h266/IMG_3146.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josam did not get a silver buckle, but did get a bronze one and has confirmed that silver tequila goes nicely with it too.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRFrVS3N1dG0Frk0764qs3vul1AKqJUGq5PcEde_UQdfTaGxmeedU-GmZqfV1ODbvMNN0m0oMUZL6pFWItmPXKgK2Gu_ISM0b4fEe35TnX5-B10MkZ1vTXsv-Up9AxI_xNTpmf0KLgvUx/s2048/IMG_3147.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRFrVS3N1dG0Frk0764qs3vul1AKqJUGq5PcEde_UQdfTaGxmeedU-GmZqfV1ODbvMNN0m0oMUZL6pFWItmPXKgK2Gu_ISM0b4fEe35TnX5-B10MkZ1vTXsv-Up9AxI_xNTpmf0KLgvUx/w400-h266/IMG_3147.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is an Oscar sign. I didn't know Jack, but he managed a fine finish of the race.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEeUOvYwSOnWP_xWIRuQpjLpSDup0OhkcfBkBKgJcnZHD7_AHoaNyMUPv5wdMQ4nbLVT7c99tF5iVlvGXNutom6g_c6Df0nvlzGDpSKfPFzyezhVMdSlBitlZ9O6NZI2motydXBPR1voUT/s2048/IMG_3148.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEeUOvYwSOnWP_xWIRuQpjLpSDup0OhkcfBkBKgJcnZHD7_AHoaNyMUPv5wdMQ4nbLVT7c99tF5iVlvGXNutom6g_c6Df0nvlzGDpSKfPFzyezhVMdSlBitlZ9O6NZI2motydXBPR1voUT/w400-h266/IMG_3148.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one is more confusing than necessary, but I wanted to tease him that Stephanie has a WSER Cougar trophy and he doesn't. On the flip side, he hurdled a police motorcycle on his way to winning the SF Marathon a few years ago, and I don't think Steph has ever done that.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGWubgLG5y8VmSp-rK6W55YQ8z4OIHaWRjHG84O62R3rYHSCYn8at5eJAWOfu8j1uVn41bDXt4KZW6CSy2AxCMUAMxmjeMR9JhpgvuSL4Nd_1tpmcLwHbHg6ci1nPGMhuJ-QqAesCXkNwU/s2048/IMG_3149.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGWubgLG5y8VmSp-rK6W55YQ8z4OIHaWRjHG84O62R3rYHSCYn8at5eJAWOfu8j1uVn41bDXt4KZW6CSy2AxCMUAMxmjeMR9JhpgvuSL4Nd_1tpmcLwHbHg6ci1nPGMhuJ-QqAesCXkNwU/w400-h266/IMG_3149.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have lived in Redwood City for over 30 years. I was stunned that three runners were also from Redwood City. And that I knew none of them. (One finished, one made it past this point, and one didn't quite make it this far.)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFN6zp5clStC22p1wfHW-AV1jOv4QZmP5SBB6rkj3xmgS6H0CnJuAQJo4Ele6JIbwPwT-5qZYsMZ43r9DuBax54r_Y8mGa6w2FC9N6bvV35n5m8yDBjPO7-3N86X3nil2XKz4A_AlnJHol/s2048/IMG_3150.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFN6zp5clStC22p1wfHW-AV1jOv4QZmP5SBB6rkj3xmgS6H0CnJuAQJo4Ele6JIbwPwT-5qZYsMZ43r9DuBax54r_Y8mGa6w2FC9N6bvV35n5m8yDBjPO7-3N86X3nil2XKz4A_AlnJHol/w400-h266/IMG_3150.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was suggested by Mandie - Katie is one of my new favorite runners who ended up finishing fifth!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMisH8PrwfHCyJ2VODB7-QS0cz1xsS884M_6-KM0SCKPKQ5r-jSzNCeyaMh843FMExlpB1y2oAsyENeTaml2pUz3fmM6DXyP77r3EZXeEpiRk5kltksb38A_kZN_uGnIGCrhXTp0_SnIQv/s2048/IMG_3155.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMisH8PrwfHCyJ2VODB7-QS0cz1xsS884M_6-KM0SCKPKQ5r-jSzNCeyaMh843FMExlpB1y2oAsyENeTaml2pUz3fmM6DXyP77r3EZXeEpiRk5kltksb38A_kZN_uGnIGCrhXTp0_SnIQv/w400-h266/IMG_3155.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A general sign. That is the lousiest outline of a buckle ever. I'm curious how many people work out that that's what it is.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcV5ewBGRQf65MLpM2SigQXMUkZ5N-fJsIPpPPXExNjKPqsjm4alIV4a-Pa9uAAQoqYuUeUp_me8BGV9dSX7ovWG1eOgUqT-h_VDVpEhPw4nBrLNwKokvHibT7rWkO5OJEiiY0XPb8k7Qg/s2048/IMG_3154.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcV5ewBGRQf65MLpM2SigQXMUkZ5N-fJsIPpPPXExNjKPqsjm4alIV4a-Pa9uAAQoqYuUeUp_me8BGV9dSX7ovWG1eOgUqT-h_VDVpEhPw4nBrLNwKokvHibT7rWkO5OJEiiY0XPb8k7Qg/w400-h266/IMG_3154.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't do many signs for the elite runners since I don't know many of them. I don't really know Kaci, but she is always a blast when she comes through and she is from Nebraska - I was born in Kansas so that makes us cousins of some sort I think! She is my perpetual favorite runner here.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jsNSg87E18_K4dxENEg5nuMKKdAvgNMiUARichG1QfVhlCwrFPCYr5oG9mNtTZf9O2zINWKvqV4S8JtB3FCJB6zSYeqbAdlIYq4t_J70YRREBQOA5O73dNUdYv3Vtuh6zmXZS5hgEIRc/s2048/IMG_3153.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jsNSg87E18_K4dxENEg5nuMKKdAvgNMiUARichG1QfVhlCwrFPCYr5oG9mNtTZf9O2zINWKvqV4S8JtB3FCJB6zSYeqbAdlIYq4t_J70YRREBQOA5O73dNUdYv3Vtuh6zmXZS5hgEIRc/w400-h266/IMG_3153.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the same Sam from the original dust sign. Happily, he got to see this sign, but unhappily, he did not finish. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWxlaD6TVK-ZLDZn36exP4d-bWsCemZmdjgyVJ1zigqtLehURNGIGWBX-5rg8LE6exe7FoZ6Q_gWOt_uEilFUnJ0rPzZdsCGxQWrpsj56Ol8Hnf-WPWvv27-siBMSsCtAF8ZWQ5yRt_C9/s2048/IMG_3152.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWxlaD6TVK-ZLDZn36exP4d-bWsCemZmdjgyVJ1zigqtLehURNGIGWBX-5rg8LE6exe7FoZ6Q_gWOt_uEilFUnJ0rPzZdsCGxQWrpsj56Ol8Hnf-WPWvv27-siBMSsCtAF8ZWQ5yRt_C9/w400-h266/IMG_3152.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't imagine going for eight years of lotteries and not getting in - every year you have to run a qualifier. Daigo aced this race (as I knew he would!).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNA2zMvKww-qtuHomGrnpVJTFb4cBycY6ff9ScqYbycTBKxj0T8NUBxCZxEbKY4GE0M5uyKzGGIL1vfe5XE66Qo356eA-t4cR1Y7guu_TdEfp8ZK1A1clGBIAXoMmQSAOMcyoyuqiXqdbN/s2048/IMG_3151.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNA2zMvKww-qtuHomGrnpVJTFb4cBycY6ff9ScqYbycTBKxj0T8NUBxCZxEbKY4GE0M5uyKzGGIL1vfe5XE66Qo356eA-t4cR1Y7guu_TdEfp8ZK1A1clGBIAXoMmQSAOMcyoyuqiXqdbN/w400-h266/IMG_3151.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Oscar sign. Oscar did not know Joe, but was set to pace him later in this race. So he took the opportunity to have this sign for him. This was a case where Joe was extremely puzzled how this sign happened. (He had a fine finish too!)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWmyPsKeDWexsN2mFyflS1lHRz4XSSV9Z-DggzKpNZ06le8GKHecP8kvc2Oy5yrXnEKSkZ6hB_m3qRkB4azTNXzhtwy-N1JORtq4uGt1YKWhzxMBxmLRhGRXfPSm3O7AxkRf9VS3IIPSN/s2048/IMG_3156.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWmyPsKeDWexsN2mFyflS1lHRz4XSSV9Z-DggzKpNZ06le8GKHecP8kvc2Oy5yrXnEKSkZ6hB_m3qRkB4azTNXzhtwy-N1JORtq4uGt1YKWhzxMBxmLRhGRXfPSm3O7AxkRf9VS3IIPSN/w400-h266/IMG_3156.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Oscar sign. Some lucky people got two signs!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAatqQ5mSwaXCFC-nq2faGrn5XEplUP40pc9wVX4eia5aIFltk0J_Yac1TGFHAJcfiYoFnuzKur91JzqkeIMxOAkH3Jjk9VQPV2GFYblpGu0HXBPu3eWLceKRku2oJTpPrGIUSoV84Bz-/s2048/IMG_3157.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAatqQ5mSwaXCFC-nq2faGrn5XEplUP40pc9wVX4eia5aIFltk0J_Yac1TGFHAJcfiYoFnuzKur91JzqkeIMxOAkH3Jjk9VQPV2GFYblpGu0HXBPu3eWLceKRku2oJTpPrGIUSoV84Bz-/w400-h266/IMG_3157.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was another Mandie suggestion. Jackie had not finished a 100 mile race yet, and Mandie was pacing her later on. (She has now finished a 100 mile race!)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7r7z2S96gdS9lGJqwQbHSJDKiqE8YczXAQC8hhy6MnsNmMBvB1PxpsYrQLVvTYGZesJnvLFfHU2Vo9SETm-7KfFvyilRIvN3Lu9xGz0vYFvqayK1gushvy1tQ79eYCAHavMmGHV3I0o3a/s2048/IMG_3158.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7r7z2S96gdS9lGJqwQbHSJDKiqE8YczXAQC8hhy6MnsNmMBvB1PxpsYrQLVvTYGZesJnvLFfHU2Vo9SETm-7KfFvyilRIvN3Lu9xGz0vYFvqayK1gushvy1tQ79eYCAHavMmGHV3I0o3a/w400-h266/IMG_3158.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Oscar sign. Josam is now up to two signs!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBgldknc0lcIU5qv5pXLwziMliRJUObKuPA7ZRcWuM1qq6WUnMJSyjS83uVqon3p67zdp7ntnIq0s9Mej6sC5HnGpY1D0mv2KDRPA1rqUBsWugEPUKvBZTjS75_S313lO0oN_l4zIRnYV/s2048/IMG_3159.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBgldknc0lcIU5qv5pXLwziMliRJUObKuPA7ZRcWuM1qq6WUnMJSyjS83uVqon3p67zdp7ntnIq0s9Mej6sC5HnGpY1D0mv2KDRPA1rqUBsWugEPUKvBZTjS75_S313lO0oN_l4zIRnYV/w400-h266/IMG_3159.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I just marveled at all the people that finally got into the race with 128 tickets! All but one of these finished (and that's the same Calvin as on the Redwood City sign).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURiiY6FUXQcFbp5OlPdR0n8PA9JpvRIm6Ob3-TPdJdkRd5zxFkRVzBP85kwtasGZcYVC3BHObnR4YfKDIvkOAsk7fYT_DmZ7JUdvrXHVL2lVnP7xuINZtnG17jpU9_Ru70yahT3eXGGeh/s2048/IMG_3160.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURiiY6FUXQcFbp5OlPdR0n8PA9JpvRIm6Ob3-TPdJdkRd5zxFkRVzBP85kwtasGZcYVC3BHObnR4YfKDIvkOAsk7fYT_DmZ7JUdvrXHVL2lVnP7xuINZtnG17jpU9_Ru70yahT3eXGGeh/w400-h266/IMG_3160.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This general sign has been around a while. It still makes me smile.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRNGdoKVebVApeS1s6zc_dXLpOhesyxmm6Oik8IDqCd5ZQSDT0wAO5nuA8pyLwJcO15OQLAXvdc85NixzVjSupHLkKz3mFQNEvML8ATvTBmtmQYVY-UpfZfZKiuXb7glmyIA-lA7RiIVu/s2048/IMG_3161.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRNGdoKVebVApeS1s6zc_dXLpOhesyxmm6Oik8IDqCd5ZQSDT0wAO5nuA8pyLwJcO15OQLAXvdc85NixzVjSupHLkKz3mFQNEvML8ATvTBmtmQYVY-UpfZfZKiuXb7glmyIA-lA7RiIVu/w400-h266/IMG_3161.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Oscar sign. Ram finished in fine style.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7JwHCSilFjxEg1fmd15z_UIBQNlYmZCGdBzYp7-rA1tRyvFkUGYpH5gOg43BmtZoxPMejel-7QN5G239KffgAqS2WNCAMMwo78AtC1jxaUbMpXs-r8U_58TS-KrFBr5zzwfEsYeH40L8/s2048/IMG_3162.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7JwHCSilFjxEg1fmd15z_UIBQNlYmZCGdBzYp7-rA1tRyvFkUGYpH5gOg43BmtZoxPMejel-7QN5G239KffgAqS2WNCAMMwo78AtC1jxaUbMpXs-r8U_58TS-KrFBr5zzwfEsYeH40L8/w400-h266/IMG_3162.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I got my start in San Jose Fit. I don't actually know Satpal, but Georgianna does and suggested he get a sign. Fun thing about this sign - it's the first one to do a lap around the track at the finish line!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9iBL_tLx_Mw2DSVmmFkx4VRAk867lL-lhm83S3KWsYuhPutV7uBD8uvWSUCAou5obfXGjzAZSzNOa4rErdX5wW_UL2O0XBTGOxgBbQ6KmVsSk4MWr2GQDH8juvIQ8qRq63gWgw-0N7D3/s2048/IMG_3163.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9iBL_tLx_Mw2DSVmmFkx4VRAk867lL-lhm83S3KWsYuhPutV7uBD8uvWSUCAou5obfXGjzAZSzNOa4rErdX5wW_UL2O0XBTGOxgBbQ6KmVsSk4MWr2GQDH8juvIQ8qRq63gWgw-0N7D3/w400-h266/IMG_3163.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike lives on Oahu, and I mostly know him from the HURT 100 race there. He got to see his sign, but was not able to finish.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlkT2LrRltAvGenn8f4e_m6Sj5vXulV5Ny-oEBfa0LI7W37m3A_PPBiuVNGAluILHjTprmsZ06BN_aoGCBldYc4BqykyvAzSXab7oB7rQu5Hx8tj32IXK_R_lEU09ZfbF0x7tjorcTKEJ/s2048/IMG_3164.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlkT2LrRltAvGenn8f4e_m6Sj5vXulV5Ny-oEBfa0LI7W37m3A_PPBiuVNGAluILHjTprmsZ06BN_aoGCBldYc4BqykyvAzSXab7oB7rQu5Hx8tj32IXK_R_lEU09ZfbF0x7tjorcTKEJ/w400-h266/IMG_3164.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Oscar sign. Josam is up to three signs! A new record!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVSBE4yDDxCSS24ASn0xI5nq5_KYzkbZwmfIkmzw7njvjgcu6nUhBhyphenhyphenV5G1yjmx2mycja34tWoF7TG-UbB2l22t4yfpUb9lQdAIJKoBXusjXPOBD-UYF41iVEQ4D_uaLfN9g_FrJvBKs9/s2048/IMG_3165.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVSBE4yDDxCSS24ASn0xI5nq5_KYzkbZwmfIkmzw7njvjgcu6nUhBhyphenhyphenV5G1yjmx2mycja34tWoF7TG-UbB2l22t4yfpUb9lQdAIJKoBXusjXPOBD-UYF41iVEQ4D_uaLfN9g_FrJvBKs9/w400-h266/IMG_3165.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another general sign. The mosquitos are way more terrifying than any dragons would be.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguopfmWFhIOJ3KOxF77SGPlFUzU2YxZg6omTpaI5a4zW-xQ9zREsbbqjFOJvtZy7Z72u4uLAgUlCUoi5dbIIn03rL3MrHp6hr5tlAwpySoCmPZvlp4L63WHWp677oRlmBKt0CKpwTXAs2m/s2048/IMG_3166.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguopfmWFhIOJ3KOxF77SGPlFUzU2YxZg6omTpaI5a4zW-xQ9zREsbbqjFOJvtZy7Z72u4uLAgUlCUoi5dbIIn03rL3MrHp6hr5tlAwpySoCmPZvlp4L63WHWp677oRlmBKt0CKpwTXAs2m/w400-h266/IMG_3166.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadly, Tony did not get to see this sign either.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19wDnfwOxIX2e-1DMdu5-Y4Cbrhev15891x3SMLwxYOWs4V4j6T7ZbwRGAdsFSNJq8kRH5r0dIlncL9wyLYDdVqmwalPAHeJ9PXd7eRhjhwYVCnuZXjrFf9kW11vEfe5ZrXTAhY721cPS/s2048/IMG_3167.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19wDnfwOxIX2e-1DMdu5-Y4Cbrhev15891x3SMLwxYOWs4V4j6T7ZbwRGAdsFSNJq8kRH5r0dIlncL9wyLYDdVqmwalPAHeJ9PXd7eRhjhwYVCnuZXjrFf9kW11vEfe5ZrXTAhY721cPS/w400-h266/IMG_3167.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A general sign from the first year I started this. (Yes, I thought stars looked a lot like snow flakes.)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMsJ6W3Ktp4TEOJB6YC-nHsm49ZNiMc6aAXiWCfQ-dokWWlj4vWSvbL8OkOn13rS9sL5yYcNunMQp1BRZPfZaRs8sxp-8fbxhSFKm3RElVxfBh2XgyRDlwpqNaqf_xKZOuro6mHiAfV31Z/s2048/IMG_3168.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMsJ6W3Ktp4TEOJB6YC-nHsm49ZNiMc6aAXiWCfQ-dokWWlj4vWSvbL8OkOn13rS9sL5yYcNunMQp1BRZPfZaRs8sxp-8fbxhSFKm3RElVxfBh2XgyRDlwpqNaqf_xKZOuro6mHiAfV31Z/w400-h266/IMG_3168.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was for Dwight, the Stevens Creek Striders Last Chance representative this year. Sadly, he did not get to see this sign. (Or the fine antelope-looking thing that stretched my drawing skills.)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZiQ8Xqi2VoGr8grlQMExYigWiw94fmLD6PGPdYbK6Z8nl3bgDuXlQK1kEo3nDiwQFNFaKLp_0dPhpuIM8fQradpyt7W9hGpfZLAqdD-R5jzyQd-jE17CygsO8F_KNC_aEUhk6sKWCdEV/s2048/IMG_3169.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZiQ8Xqi2VoGr8grlQMExYigWiw94fmLD6PGPdYbK6Z8nl3bgDuXlQK1kEo3nDiwQFNFaKLp_0dPhpuIM8fQradpyt7W9hGpfZLAqdD-R5jzyQd-jE17CygsO8F_KNC_aEUhk6sKWCdEV/w400-h266/IMG_3169.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actually, in the canyons, I hear it can be a muggy heat.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7sDsBuG3vydFUoWG6A5LH2E_Lk2sOmeOAp-XSJrboHaHde6TKv0w407euC1FjMsc4-mMmhDEkwa1p0ZU9gZ7CK3IsL47wrPlZybI9N-lNahrk7ZclUTVD2YnovV3bXNG3BIFZXVapj7E8/s2048/IMG_3170.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7sDsBuG3vydFUoWG6A5LH2E_Lk2sOmeOAp-XSJrboHaHde6TKv0w407euC1FjMsc4-mMmhDEkwa1p0ZU9gZ7CK3IsL47wrPlZybI9N-lNahrk7ZclUTVD2YnovV3bXNG3BIFZXVapj7E8/w400-h266/IMG_3170.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another Sam sign. (He's a popular guy!)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgx_tawhcJtVFsqpZfOEvIt9jddY8fXxJcAhBjgLDDp3U08wrtLMpam9EiPhVKK83vYd_guqZod368WMPav6YNPA8Yf4subsA1_WFcrtFjJiM47uAsrK8oLcwEkX7kGZFC1zFJFkOKfnF/s2048/IMG_3171.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgx_tawhcJtVFsqpZfOEvIt9jddY8fXxJcAhBjgLDDp3U08wrtLMpam9EiPhVKK83vYd_guqZod368WMPav6YNPA8Yf4subsA1_WFcrtFjJiM47uAsrK8oLcwEkX7kGZFC1zFJFkOKfnF/w400-h266/IMG_3171.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was a Mandie suggestion. Apparently Matt shares my issues with poison oak. Unfortunately, apparently you can't outrun poison oak and Matt did not finish.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pUBqGwVTMY2cyQIkdcxOe25-fRreetomzvI1U0Sx6dEiN9YQ9fX9Iwdq8__qRJgURB3utYGHfRRu2LmkLGIkKHWT_w6NCEjMU3x0UtscblfW_072gh4EdBZTt1H-TPzCwTfsQQRoID6v/s2048/IMG_3172.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pUBqGwVTMY2cyQIkdcxOe25-fRreetomzvI1U0Sx6dEiN9YQ9fX9Iwdq8__qRJgURB3utYGHfRRu2LmkLGIkKHWT_w6NCEjMU3x0UtscblfW_072gh4EdBZTt1H-TPzCwTfsQQRoID6v/w400-h266/IMG_3172.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mandie belongs to this <a href="https://swaprunning.com" target="_blank">SWAP</a> team that weirdly talks about running like a T-Rex with a herd of cats chasing you. Or something like that.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyorViGHGKQ9wyzWuySVcopSoEEiaZWF_DDCAvObpLN_O5KpItSAXeM0FhuUXzfTAqAh1LaE0BFRLvnL7cZcRk0rkhkg5a6An2KMZyWfmQq0jpqcjvNghbeWozBM5LgnB18sJSSOj0AgY/s2048/IMG_3173.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyorViGHGKQ9wyzWuySVcopSoEEiaZWF_DDCAvObpLN_O5KpItSAXeM0FhuUXzfTAqAh1LaE0BFRLvnL7cZcRk0rkhkg5a6An2KMZyWfmQq0jpqcjvNghbeWozBM5LgnB18sJSSOj0AgY/w400-h266/IMG_3173.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Oscar sign. Sadly another one Tony didn't see.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIk2P48awoG3MzLP9K6cjRDvXz-qOXw2VWh6CqmAU2PN8Q5fuKrl3b7BsEldfuRwbAumdihvsWn_CjRty5OkkIrm7t-kklRzejaHfNCEIgsWX5kS-XS-UDRZ4FHNzLduzOdbF90E3zVnC8/s2048/IMG_3174.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIk2P48awoG3MzLP9K6cjRDvXz-qOXw2VWh6CqmAU2PN8Q5fuKrl3b7BsEldfuRwbAumdihvsWn_CjRty5OkkIrm7t-kklRzejaHfNCEIgsWX5kS-XS-UDRZ4FHNzLduzOdbF90E3zVnC8/w400-h266/IMG_3174.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In 2019, Loren was very close to the top of the wait list, so he showed up at the start, ready to go, just in case someone didn't show up. Everyone showed up. He finished this year though!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDRgOnni0KZhKvt5aOc8CFD3O8KZm9cSXTWH73WxQgZP1FkTFJRNi-KH38ItqiVQmU4tI1lt69kZmKUXSxz5cMOuGSjzOdB9VkxLD5Ur-pz6VOKX0gXpSZ90C818d8wPRmp94LuzkIQY0O/s2048/IMG_3216.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDRgOnni0KZhKvt5aOc8CFD3O8KZm9cSXTWH73WxQgZP1FkTFJRNi-KH38ItqiVQmU4tI1lt69kZmKUXSxz5cMOuGSjzOdB9VkxLD5Ur-pz6VOKX0gXpSZ90C818d8wPRmp94LuzkIQY0O/w400-h266/IMG_3216.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one is just as you are about to leave the aid station. It's heartbreaking when we discover that a runner has left something behind.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82yclAogjYrP-9eDeL9ki0cV-2p0Xn3gGaUTZUfDgZ28j2tN6OgVA_8DHMW80D6TZkuf-meY7T_pgI1l4C2fRmI9UX27aaqNzb7rqgcxgcDLS6qFhQKPMQ6uxAKWTx-5bFSvlLI7APWVK/s2048/IMG_3175.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82yclAogjYrP-9eDeL9ki0cV-2p0Xn3gGaUTZUfDgZ28j2tN6OgVA_8DHMW80D6TZkuf-meY7T_pgI1l4C2fRmI9UX27aaqNzb7rqgcxgcDLS6qFhQKPMQ6uxAKWTx-5bFSvlLI7APWVK/w400-h266/IMG_3175.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And a final general sign. I don't think Karl has ever seen this or it might have been destroyed. But it cracks me up.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">And that's it for 2021! It's a fair amount of effort making these, putting them up, then taking them all down, but it makes me happy. If anyone ever wants their sign, let me know. (I have a box full of the previous signs that takes up a lot of room in the garage.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">That's it - move along…</p><p style="text-align: left;">PS: You can read my general thing about Last Chance this year <a href="http://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2021/07/wser-2021-my-10th-year-at-last-chance.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><br />notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-88570434280568073452020-09-02T14:06:00.001-07:002020-09-02T14:09:26.237-07:00Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee (GVRAT) 2020…<p> </p><p> … or "How I kept from going totally insane for four months."</p><p>In March it became apparent that the COVID 19 virus was going to have a bit of an impact on trail racing, at least in the spring. In April, it became apparent that I had grossly underestimated the impact. I did a few virtual races by running/walking the streets in the neighborhood, but I needed something a bit more.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Along came the GVRAT</h4><p>Mr. Lake (not his real name, and I would be surprised if he would even answer to it), or Laz as he is more commonly known, recognized that there was a need for a summer challenge. Mr. Lake has a knack for coming up with challenges. (<a href="https://vacationwithoutacar.com/races/barkley-marathons/" target="_blank">Barkley Marathons</a>, <a href="https://vacationwithoutacar.com/races/bigs-backyard-ultra/" target="_blank">Big's Backyard Ultra</a>, <a href="https://vacationwithoutacar.com/races/arfta/" target="_blank">A Race for the Ages</a> (ARFTA), and others.)</p><p>He had already established a very challenging race across Tennessee called the <a href="https://vacationwithoutacar.com/races/vol-state/" target="_blank">Last Annual Vol State Road Race</a>. It's 314 miles from a spot on the northern end of the state to a spot on the southern end. From Missouri to Georgia. With no aid stations. And a ten day cutoff.</p><p>That race wasn't challenging enough for what he had in mind - he wanted something that would take several months. He wanted it to be something that reasonably normal people would have a decent chance of finishing, but something that reasonably abnormal people would also find challenging. </p><p>Like going across Tennessee, but the long way, diagonally, from a point at the southwest corner to a point at the northeast corner. The longest possible distance. And even though it's virtual and people would cover the distance while staying near home, it needed a real course - not a straight line as the buzzard flies.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnnGTz_BXTRbuxrZOp4WgaH4DPUHf7PTl8LnEgzJpoV1UdDGfgyWWkxPP91RO8kAmhQ2xX68lh-20CtLMp8WzNTInwNaGNJIsfpAP-I3E_7Q85TtnmUGGu224p_QSBq6KNSCaQg3gXJdD/s2718/IMG_0351.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="2718" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnnGTz_BXTRbuxrZOp4WgaH4DPUHf7PTl8LnEgzJpoV1UdDGfgyWWkxPP91RO8kAmhQ2xX68lh-20CtLMp8WzNTInwNaGNJIsfpAP-I3E_7Q85TtnmUGGu224p_QSBq6KNSCaQg3gXJdD/w410-h109/IMG_0351.PNG" width="410" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The two courses across Tennessee. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">It was billed as a 1000K course (math people will want to call it a 1M course), but precision is not a strong point of Mr. Lake, and it ended up being just under 1022K. Or right around 635 miles. </p><p style="text-align: left;">More than double the Vol State race. </p><p style="text-align: left;">But we had four months to finish, from May 1 to August 31. 123 days. All you had to do was cover about 5.2 miles per day. Every day. You could choose to cover 20 miles on one day and take a few days off, and many took that approach. Others, like me, took the approach of consistently shooting for around five miles a day. You could start in June or July and just cover more miles per day and catch up.</p><div><p>A quirk of the course was that you spent a considerable amount of time outside of Tennessee. The first 25 miles was spent in Arkansas (followed by spending a stupidly long time trying to get across Memphis). At a bit over halfway, you dipped down into Georgia. And as you neared the finish, you found yourself crossing into Virginia for about 30 miles before dipping back down into Tennessee to finish. Very much not the way a buzzard would fly it.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">About the buzzards</h4><p>Speaking of buzzards, a fun addition to the race was a wake of buzzards (I looked this up and find it appropriate) as pacers. Important point (maybe) - they were all female. A second important point - they never took a day off. Your progress was always with respect to a buzzard. Their names:</p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Buzzard:</b> She was the one that methodically made her way across Tennessee, about 5.2 miles a day, and the one I paid the most attention to. </li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>DCCC Buzzard:</b> She was the next one I could chase (about 6.5 miles per day). I finally had to ask what the name meant - think Roman numerals. She was the 800 mile buzzard for those that finished but wanted to go a little bit further.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Thousand Buzzard:</b> As her name implies, she was the 1000 mile buzzard (about 8.13 miles per day). You could enter to chase her once you finished the main crossing, and you would get a pin for catching her. </li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Double Buzzard:</b> A surprising number of people, once they finished the main crossing, had time to head back. This buzzard paced them (about 10.33 miles per day).</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Dr Buzzard:</b> This was tough to work out for me. I already knew the Roman numeral trick, but "DR" is not a Roman numeral. It turned out that another way to refer to a doctor is as an MD. That IS a Roman numeral - she was the 1500 mile buzzard (about 12.2 miles per day) for those that finished returning across Tennessee that wanted to start back across for the third time.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Triple Buzzard:</b> As her name implies, she paced those that wanted to make three crossings (about 15.5 miles per day). Sheesh.</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">And I should also mention the Gingerbread Man. Not a pacer, but a "runner" intended to lead the whole way. And he did.</p><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">So, how did I do?</h4><p style="text-align: left;">I managed to make it across the state in 118 days (along with 257 others). I had no double-digit days and no zero days. I'm proof that just about anyone could take on this challenge. (The biggest finish day was the next to the last day, day 122 with 841 finishers. The final day had 632 finishers.)</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwy2zwnNEcSl5xUXZ_LrKVx5vpU-xmF_qeDv2lmwN37Q7UGMQwCokQOFzgLbFk-oL1cQHPYEHZFuA6buiUzlGstYd4MBSGNnaMJ6I2PvzjzQYGwC8RnLNkNgwaXJ8-_99M9WaCnOTSB-Jz/s1298/Screen+Shot+2020-09-01+at+5.43.16+PM.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1240" data-original-width="1298" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwy2zwnNEcSl5xUXZ_LrKVx5vpU-xmF_qeDv2lmwN37Q7UGMQwCokQOFzgLbFk-oL1cQHPYEHZFuA6buiUzlGstYd4MBSGNnaMJ6I2PvzjzQYGwC8RnLNkNgwaXJ8-_99M9WaCnOTSB-Jz/w410-h391/Screen+Shot+2020-09-01+at+5.43.16+PM.jpg" width="410" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit less than half of my spreadsheet. It's not as fascinating as it looks.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">I decided to create a spreadsheet to track my runs/walks and progress. (The column with sporadic green shows whether I am ahead of the buzzard or behind it. The blue cells indicate runs as opposed to walks. There was a lot of walking done.) I kept thinking of things to add to it as I went along, and because of it, I can give you a few of my stats:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>218 runs/walks:</b> There were 218 official run/walk events for me. The shortest was 1.05 miles and the longest was 8.74 miles.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Treadmill runs/walks:</b> I only had four treadmill run/walk events, accounting for a whopping 5.66 miles. Partly this was due to our treadmill having issues. But even once it was fixed, I tried to avoid it since I was pretty sure I was why it had issues in the first place. (Who knew pizza and Cheetos weren't good for the treadmill belt?)</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Trail runs/walks:</b> I had 32 run/walk events on trails in the area, accounting for 161.26 miles. Most of those miles were on flat trails that had as few people as possible on them. Once in a while Mrs. Notthat and I would venture out to proper trails, but all too often, so did many others.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Neighborhood runs/walks:</b> I had a staggering 182 run/walk events through the neighborhood, accounting for 468.65 miles.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Miles run vs. walked:</b> I ran 90.12 miles and walked all the rest. (That's not quite true - there were some mixed events with a bit of running and a bit of walking that I just lumped in with walking.)</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Minute/mile average:</b> I averaged 18.01 minutes/mile. Note that a lot of these walks were with our two dogs, and I did not pause the timer for poop duty. And wow do they like to smell everything.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Time:</b> You did not log time for this race, so officially, it took me 118 days. I actually spent 189 hours and 49 minutes on these events.</li></ul><p></p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">I spent a remarkable amount of time wandering around in our neighborhood. A typical day would be a morning dog walk followed by a lunch or evening run/walk - always with my eyes set on getting around five miles in.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UDMC9K9cpYbzVdSWDpssOWNoT_f9JuAB4IE-js-aEfPh7FSYBEjofk8Ux-X04LlD7qe8UZhLr9u-kc6boQbD5Q3BjtlPPS7lYdlM9maFMIamug1XB91VW0hWKs5kCO0N__cYibZAiNF5/s2048/12HoodWorkouts.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="2048" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UDMC9K9cpYbzVdSWDpssOWNoT_f9JuAB4IE-js-aEfPh7FSYBEjofk8Ux-X04LlD7qe8UZhLr9u-kc6boQbD5Q3BjtlPPS7lYdlM9maFMIamug1XB91VW0hWKs5kCO0N__cYibZAiNF5/w410-h210/12HoodWorkouts.jpg" width="410" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A dozen random "courses."</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">I tried to make the neighborhood miles as interesting as possible, but they still got very redundant. Early on, there was a lot of chalk on the sidewalk that would help.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioNlxgYgsi3Q6-GFORQmk1RkvE_xOpvY1vZFd5kxZsDpjMim8RAnP96vrxBXoXiDB6X67JQsGfqRDJ-r_5cGkH3Ov57MO1U0qJUBP-p5Ppd6MzonnJIFN0DZSz7NdiBgElwRRov1BiXwNg/s2048/IMG_6597.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioNlxgYgsi3Q6-GFORQmk1RkvE_xOpvY1vZFd5kxZsDpjMim8RAnP96vrxBXoXiDB6X67JQsGfqRDJ-r_5cGkH3Ov57MO1U0qJUBP-p5Ppd6MzonnJIFN0DZSz7NdiBgElwRRov1BiXwNg/w410-h307/IMG_6597.jpeg" width="410" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Another huge help was that the city restricted traffic on a nearby street which made it much easier to navigate while dodging others.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGBeguC8tZbZPRVMFeQBp7q8HMYqwaf0O8hNH2o1CAx3eybVUaS5NVk8nlbJwb-j6fxfm9j5L4uu1yhZagpS05E8SDzzf9CK-M20VSW5DjW5DCF0MbFcJrY3PlhyphenhyphencVIVNlk4kf-EgudXB/s2048/IMG_6620+%25281%2529.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGBeguC8tZbZPRVMFeQBp7q8HMYqwaf0O8hNH2o1CAx3eybVUaS5NVk8nlbJwb-j6fxfm9j5L4uu1yhZagpS05E8SDzzf9CK-M20VSW5DjW5DCF0MbFcJrY3PlhyphenhyphencVIVNlk4kf-EgudXB/w410-h307/IMG_6620+%25281%2529.jpeg" width="410" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">I must have passed this fence 50 times before I noticed that someone was using it to store gum for later.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqZllsxTiPmobKUQH21QKSTdSfRIwUzHuJx1r5S-aZ62IEy0DpNHQeD8h04IWoB7WGxuoBHgFHjceojUKeDRFwPj6IVkFoGA5pBbIN7Xa-ijvvh8GZXB4bRr_4Wjle28BmrBt8Lw7s4w5/s2048/IMG_6887.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqZllsxTiPmobKUQH21QKSTdSfRIwUzHuJx1r5S-aZ62IEy0DpNHQeD8h04IWoB7WGxuoBHgFHjceojUKeDRFwPj6IVkFoGA5pBbIN7Xa-ijvvh8GZXB4bRr_4Wjle28BmrBt8Lw7s4w5/w307-h410/IMG_6887.jpeg" width="307" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">In the end, the neighborhood miles were fine. And wildly better than treadmill miles.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">How did others do?</h4><p style="text-align: left;">When Laz set up this event, he hoped for maybe a couple thousand people to sign up. Maybe 3,000. He ended up with nearly 20,000 people registered. </p><p style="text-align: left;">And immediately had some technical issues to deal with, such as how do you handle that many people trying to log miles every day for four months. I can only imagine the flood of emails that would come in daily about one issue or the other. After some growing pains, it became a fairly smooth process to log your miles every night, and then in the morning, you could look in a massive table to see your progress. </p><p style="text-align: left;">One thing that amazed me was how I could wind up at some random mile point, say, 413.2 miles, and look at the table to see that there were maybe 40 others at that exact same point. It was fun to picture what this would have really been like if we were all actually on the roads.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Not all 20,000 finished. 326 people never logged a single mile. 818 never even made it to Tennessee and are still wandering around Arkansas. But 13,737 did make it across. </p><p style="text-align: left;">A group I find interesting are the 32 that made it at least 99% of the way but didn't finish. (99% would put you within 6.5 miles of being done.) 10 ended at about 99.9% - most less than a mile from the finish. Some of those I believe were competing to see how close they could get to finishing without actually finishing. (Look, nobody ever said runners don't come up with stupid ideas and goals.) I do worry that some of those were runners that truly thought they had finished, but really needed just a bit more - and that makes me sad.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'm sure Mr Lake will get an email or two.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There were also a lot of runners that had issues come up - maybe an injury, something in the family or at work - that severely restricted the time they could spend on this. Those people will be able to continue logging their miles for a bit and eventually reach their goal, and they are awesome.</p><p style="text-align: left;">And then there are the over-achievers. Those that wanted more miles. More crossings. More buzzards to chase after. </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>RAT (Race Across Tennessee):</b> 13737 earned the right to be called a RAT. Three runners managed the 635 miles in just 12 days (53 miles per day average).</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>1000:</b> 2718 ran at least 1000 miles. The fastest did this in 22 days (a 45.45 miles/day average).</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>BAT (Back Across Tennessee):</b> 1487 made it all the way back to the start. The fastest did this in 27 days (a 47 miles/day average). </li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>CAT (Cross Again Tennessee): </b>(I don't know what CAT actually stands for - the "C" might just be the next letter after "B.") 142 made it across Tennessee a third time, the fastest doing it in 47 days (a 40.5 miles/day average).</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>GNATS: </b>(Maybe this is an acronym, but I think it just meant these were people that were causing Laz an annoying amount of extra work he hadn't bargained for.) These are people that did more than three crossings:</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><ul><li><b>Four crossings:</b> 24 made it.</li></ul></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><ul><li><b>Five crossings:</b> 9 made it.</li></ul></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><ul><li><b>Six crossings:</b> 3 made it.</li></ul></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><ul><li><b>Seven crossings:</b> 2 made it.</li></ul></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><ul><li><b>Eight crossings: </b>1 - Mathew Jenkins covered 5080 miles in 119 days - an average of 42.7 miles/day. That's truly astonishing.</li></ul></ul><p></p><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Double-dipping?</h4><p style="text-align: left;">One thing that came up was whether you could enter your miles in multiple virtual events. </p><p style="text-align: left;">As it became apparent that real races were not going to be happening this summer, a number of race companies jumped on the virtual race bandwagon. There were a LOT of races similar to this that involved crossing a state (Mrs Notthat and I ran the Maryland version). There were a number of races that involved supporting local race companies (we did several of those too). </p><p style="text-align: left;">Because GVRAT was four months long, there was a lot of overlap. Which brought up the question - if I run eight miles, can I log it as eight miles for multiple races (double-dipping) or do I have to split it between the races? </p><p style="text-align: left;">All the virtual races I saw explicitly allowed you to double-dip, which makes sense since most of them were not really races, but more like training programs designed to give you a goal to shoot for. In my mind, I looked at them as ways to support local race companies and didn't feel the slightest bad about using my miles for two at once.</p><p style="text-align: left;">A number of people decided to not double-dip - if they ran simultaneous races, they ran miles specific to each race. That's pretty awesome, but well beyond what I would be able to do. If I had taken that approach, I would have only been able to participate in one race at a time, and GVRAT at four months would have been all I could have done. (Some of those people avoided GVRAT just for that reason.)</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">And that's about it</h4><p style="text-align: left;">This event was challenging but fun - pretty much exactly what I was looking for. In addition to the event's large Facebook group, there was a Northern California-based Facebook group started by Jen where we could commiserate and whine about the buzzards. Laz would regularly post insightful things that covered everything from his bewilderment at people that refused to read the rules or do a tiny bit of research on their own, to inspiring things that made you feel great and maybe convinced you that, in spite of what you were thinking, you really could get this done.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9jVKTcERpGUMwmLhXBzdo_69nBelwOv76j2UVXwHUacqrIkjemKkwbQnQCK8W0NqVVge99l4ik1M5thBOTVGZZ88yjjNrj_UgzKGlJu3_6Ez9IaN9sGLVaba5wLSOCvkq4cOljDQJN67/s2048/IMG_6941.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1528" data-original-width="2048" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9jVKTcERpGUMwmLhXBzdo_69nBelwOv76j2UVXwHUacqrIkjemKkwbQnQCK8W0NqVVge99l4ik1M5thBOTVGZZ88yjjNrj_UgzKGlJu3_6Ez9IaN9sGLVaba5wLSOCvkq4cOljDQJN67/w410-h306/IMG_6941.jpeg" width="410" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">We were to have the choice of a buckle or medal once we finished, but by the time I finished, all that was left were buckles, which was fine by me.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3utADw5jNv9UIOhBfwoZL-1JKltrM6Nz5af8E-elzxWmMV93k9yucGLBVkgATCYO00PXL6u7-ac8hMRoWAZ4V_snOKuzSRMoOUhJ5h7yF7UJb0i9agLQgk6_C_0O1ZR3jNR5NOnKbqyie/s2048/IMG_6940.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1749" data-original-width="2048" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3utADw5jNv9UIOhBfwoZL-1JKltrM6Nz5af8E-elzxWmMV93k9yucGLBVkgATCYO00PXL6u7-ac8hMRoWAZ4V_snOKuzSRMoOUhJ5h7yF7UJb0i9agLQgk6_C_0O1ZR3jNR5NOnKbqyie/w410-h350/IMG_6940.jpeg" width="410" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Everyone that registered got this shirt. The "1000" sticker was included with the buckle.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgh7jELO5VJm0-ndeT25zResw520EChP1jIYrPG7R0iBunxWpyj-Pp0UJ0L6aAWDXTFo_NpUWQU9sOFXqZ7wu5ROkNevZ3HQTpnYH8KLpZb6iL3raJ2wQszS-EqieEzFeNG42pRkg7ZhLI/s2048/IMG_6942.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1225" data-original-width="2048" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgh7jELO5VJm0-ndeT25zResw520EChP1jIYrPG7R0iBunxWpyj-Pp0UJ0L6aAWDXTFo_NpUWQU9sOFXqZ7wu5ROkNevZ3HQTpnYH8KLpZb6iL3raJ2wQszS-EqieEzFeNG42pRkg7ZhLI/w410-h245/IMG_6942.jpeg" width="410" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">The back of the shirt, with one of those stupid buzzards.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Laz and his team really outdid themselves for this event. For almost all of us, this was going to be our one shot at participating in a Lazarus Lake event.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Well, until he created another audacious event - the <a href="https://www.craw.racing" target="_blank">Circumpolar Race Around the World</a> (CRAW). I don't know much about this - I've been avoiding looking into it very closely - but it makes going across Tennessee look like a walk around the block.</p><p style="text-align: left;">For now I'm good with being a RAT.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That's it - move along…</p></div>notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-42974865545212175892019-07-27T10:46:00.001-07:002019-07-27T10:46:31.541-07:00"Summer" Golden Gate trail race - where's the heat?As I get older, I am becoming more reluctant to get up early to drive to races with early start times.<br />
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There are MANY races in the Marin Headlands, and it's not hard to understand why - there are several natural staging areas with parking and many fantastic trails. Trails that are also popular with locals and tourists that are more interested in the views and a peaceful outing than whether they can get a PR on a treacherous downhill bombing run. This can lead to conflicts, although most often everyone seems to coexist fairly well.<br />
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The park services though (this area is run by several different ones), have decided that starting the races earlier will get the runners off the trails earlier (that checks out) and make the trails a bit more welcoming to others later in the day.<br />
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When I saw that Coastal's <a href="http://www.coastaltrailruns.com/gg_smmr_golden_gate.html" target="_blank">Golden Gate</a> race started at 7 AM, I decided I wasn't interested. It's a one hour drive to get there, which meant waking around 5 AM, which is a time my old, reluctant self is not interested in seeing.<br />
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But then Not A Canadian started talking to Mrs Notthat, convincing her that getting up at 5 AM can be fun. She even offered to drive. So I was dragged into the race, maybe not kicking and screaming, but at least frowning and sighing heavily.<br />
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NAC and I decided to run the Half Marathon while Mrs Notthat ran the 5M loop.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-yYafm95D-dibEbr-VRufbD1sB0uPlMTV_furK5RUnJrtFsVjMtzC238nbPu6KgcnYMLxtyMvBE3RMo_5GkDBRFIkirN-hFev3karaisRIBmOwVWk753LnLGeOW3vUtXpqGXTS3Bo6O9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-07-13+at+2.35.59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1337" data-original-width="1600" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-yYafm95D-dibEbr-VRufbD1sB0uPlMTV_furK5RUnJrtFsVjMtzC238nbPu6KgcnYMLxtyMvBE3RMo_5GkDBRFIkirN-hFev3karaisRIBmOwVWk753LnLGeOW3vUtXpqGXTS3Bo6O9/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-07-13+at+2.35.59+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modified course due to PG&E work.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
PG&E (motto: "Ticking People Off Since 1852") has been doing something (NOT installing escalators) on some of the key trails used by many trail races in this area, so the course had to be modified a bit. Well, a lot. The overall affect on distance and the amount of climbing you had to do for the main loop was minimal, but it added some challenging course marking/monitoring to make sure runners stayed on course.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5Ic0wxSwemwmqDJ2a8MEk0wkbJzU9c1WR326vD6dk1XjSQeDuJ9N4GbZjnaXBIO3we_X-h-4DJMBrLRL8CKJk6prQrmdmERnx_UwrTxp5VWNESSxN2jqWc6rfvCSMTinW-KNJueQojTs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-07-13+at+2.41.15+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="1600" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5Ic0wxSwemwmqDJ2a8MEk0wkbJzU9c1WR326vD6dk1XjSQeDuJ9N4GbZjnaXBIO3we_X-h-4DJMBrLRL8CKJk6prQrmdmERnx_UwrTxp5VWNESSxN2jqWc6rfvCSMTinW-KNJueQojTs/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-07-13+at+2.41.15+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those smaller climbs near the end felt a LOT taller than that.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I've run the standard course a couple of times, so I was actually a bit excited to get to be on a few trails I've not been on before. I also tend to like out-and-back bits since they allow me to see runners ahead of and behind me. And I can always use a nice rubber band.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJ8naRBYPXzJhg-7A5-AHMYiGW00tXDImpWCQ6NDRZ_ps2oPmMfLUI06zLMI5nDyFYBBrklTSWbQFRvKQCbeDWuMC2b5vc_qboSFJo5FMaEXHLu6q4knqAbTSkdVkiV-oL1LiuJM4kLAf/s1600/P1250133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJ8naRBYPXzJhg-7A5-AHMYiGW00tXDImpWCQ6NDRZ_ps2oPmMfLUI06zLMI5nDyFYBBrklTSWbQFRvKQCbeDWuMC2b5vc_qboSFJo5FMaEXHLu6q4knqAbTSkdVkiV-oL1LiuJM4kLAf/s400/P1250133.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
One thing we didn't have was sunshine. The start/finish was at Rodeo Beach (motto: "No Bull Riding, but Wow Do We Have Clowns"), and was just a bit under the thick marine layer covering the area. It was cool, but not really cold. That was saved for once you climbed up into the marine layer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPTJmy02e9AEiKmjSjKkB__wz7rPoVR4jpXkwHTBewVsaGpX56MH3uJ_icch3M47YoilGPDBxaNQwPH5pl06aVzjlBnF1wGb2TVc73-iRyen6NYRtBLyWk_XSNST6JWggHCUKcgAKzcEvr/s1600/P1250151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPTJmy02e9AEiKmjSjKkB__wz7rPoVR4jpXkwHTBewVsaGpX56MH3uJ_icch3M47YoilGPDBxaNQwPH5pl06aVzjlBnF1wGb2TVc73-iRyen6NYRtBLyWk_XSNST6JWggHCUKcgAKzcEvr/s400/P1250151.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first climb starts almost immediately.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
NAC and I started together, but I was shocked to find that we were much closer to the front of the corral than I'm used to. (But what NAC is totally used to.) Shortly after we headed out, with me running faster than I should have been, I was able to pull over and let the majority of the runners go by while I took my proper place at the back of the pack.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbihlAtpGAhcljFfuySOw3DXlPJBZBzaMHqJWuAr-WV488mlMcIKmcGaTHzqVfTVpIwaC9jCkQ8jq8xtmdomnF0MCywnLAXESCSjyBacLs3TkGJsXdEaGNQO4YBk8aZ3_yGJrqdarrdxfe/s1600/P1250163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbihlAtpGAhcljFfuySOw3DXlPJBZBzaMHqJWuAr-WV488mlMcIKmcGaTHzqVfTVpIwaC9jCkQ8jq8xtmdomnF0MCywnLAXESCSjyBacLs3TkGJsXdEaGNQO4YBk8aZ3_yGJrqdarrdxfe/s400/P1250163.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gun barrel points the way.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We didn't climb much before we were in the marine layer, where it was much cooler and very moist. The good part was that the coolness really didn't feel bad since the climb had warmed us up a lot.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8P9bmiQdSXgvXRAh3iQVMKoZ8PqwLhQK4ffWvG2JkmOPkbrRv9LfFR2ap6oh3eCcQmwux_2ZDbdR8eDRjSFRZfO1TK4BOtWY_yRtbQUZ5M4r2GqF08R9qn30-RPi0Dvy8_BQNag8er5w/s1600/P1250169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8P9bmiQdSXgvXRAh3iQVMKoZ8PqwLhQK4ffWvG2JkmOPkbrRv9LfFR2ap6oh3eCcQmwux_2ZDbdR8eDRjSFRZfO1TK4BOtWY_yRtbQUZ5M4r2GqF08R9qn30-RPi0Dvy8_BQNag8er5w/s400/P1250169.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those stairs are not OSHA compliant!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A good thing (maybe?) about the marine layer was that you really couldn't see how much climbing you had left - the trail disappeared into the mists and you were allowed to imagine it started downhill at that point. (It didn't. Ever.)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvc4_5fTRa5uLWEISENxhmEdZSLGUdXYwj-MRg4n4No82GDkl4RAGXKTmfQI_nKdlQCN9gt-CN9noud9Ovh2f_gprCvkA-MNIQQtc_NUyTWAdWUwZi1F0XdLh_xTREdyuklXmCtqM2UGT/s1600/P1250177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvc4_5fTRa5uLWEISENxhmEdZSLGUdXYwj-MRg4n4No82GDkl4RAGXKTmfQI_nKdlQCN9gt-CN9noud9Ovh2f_gprCvkA-MNIQQtc_NUyTWAdWUwZi1F0XdLh_xTREdyuklXmCtqM2UGT/s400/P1250177.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sun struggling to burn off the marine layer. The sun losing. The climb never ending, no matter what it looks like.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ECz_-Y0jCLWPy4j4A96wl0hyphenhyphenrKWr-1Uup5egLTew3BJKV35Kqad3dl-gTYMBF3R2x_B0F-TAihf2ssDm5ZHevPgDLgOIAL63bU3Om4-mCW8Yt7ZvA7LWjoPk5IcOn2oiWHbZGR1ct5CC/s1600/P1250183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ECz_-Y0jCLWPy4j4A96wl0hyphenhyphenrKWr-1Uup5egLTew3BJKV35Kqad3dl-gTYMBF3R2x_B0F-TAihf2ssDm5ZHevPgDLgOIAL63bU3Om4-mCW8Yt7ZvA7LWjoPk5IcOn2oiWHbZGR1ct5CC/s400/P1250183.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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All distances start with the same climb. At this point, the 5M runners are done climbing and can head back to the finish on a glorious downhill. All other runners turn left do a bit more climbing, then head down to the first aid station. Also glorious downhill, but we all have a second big climb in our near future.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8d2vqgECLC1o3xejrOxiyKycrPVwasEsUgmw_Iv87-nv1fEtgMgr65aOpQfDP6VbNv3zP-fBQ7HLwkqjeRlx70xb6NdYY7Xc6RQIuKbg8OVwrCQ2ruc15ab0Woe4JoK9kFOHaUT4SrOh7/s1600/P1250186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8d2vqgECLC1o3xejrOxiyKycrPVwasEsUgmw_Iv87-nv1fEtgMgr65aOpQfDP6VbNv3zP-fBQ7HLwkqjeRlx70xb6NdYY7Xc6RQIuKbg8OVwrCQ2ruc15ab0Woe4JoK9kFOHaUT4SrOh7/s400/P1250186.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Which way do I NOT go?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just before starting the long downhill to the aid station, there was an intersection that normally is not a big deal for the runners, but due to the course change, it could be a bit confusing, and was worthy of a volunteer to make sure we all headed the right way. (We would essentially make a loop and end up back here, on a different trail. It would be sad to mistakenly make a wrong turn and do that loop again.)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0JDVlc1Q-SCWY_0LeqHlyPrw-QL-DucK5m599SyVoDTcree9KKfqQiGuh-EAVTIRkGSUpmy02jx-4k6k9CbLN5tcnPndD-a7EhtCgzxULCr8T68f_unLDfXQq7iWtL1OyRoeovl37ZTO/s1600/P1250192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0JDVlc1Q-SCWY_0LeqHlyPrw-QL-DucK5m599SyVoDTcree9KKfqQiGuh-EAVTIRkGSUpmy02jx-4k6k9CbLN5tcnPndD-a7EhtCgzxULCr8T68f_unLDfXQq7iWtL1OyRoeovl37ZTO/s400/P1250192.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tennessee Valley aid station, view from the glorious toilets.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Getting to the first aid station at about mile four was awesome for the normal reasons (food! hydration! encouragement!), but also for a bonus reason - this one had a couple of toilets, and I really needed one. I lost some time in one of those toilets, but my comfort afterwards made it well worth it.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_H4RzFN352Oa_D4hjjpujP6hel49NFr7umeJ4oA1_8830JhSxJHDfRT4BTHTl7g1eVYzPjWuDALZ4xl0tIiMsqg0dnxdcguHAlRSomQfoOPU42Miw0JTTWPjNQNGWDCHtUoFf3spbxMks/s1600/P1250196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_H4RzFN352Oa_D4hjjpujP6hel49NFr7umeJ4oA1_8830JhSxJHDfRT4BTHTl7g1eVYzPjWuDALZ4xl0tIiMsqg0dnxdcguHAlRSomQfoOPU42Miw0JTTWPjNQNGWDCHtUoFf3spbxMks/s400/P1250196.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back up into the marine layer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When you left that aid station, you immediately started up the second big climb - the infamous Marincello trail. It's a long, consistent, fairly mild uphill. Real runners can run up it (and many of those real runners, running one of the longer distances which included a bonus loop, passed me as I slogged up it). I dream of one day being able to run up this thing, but at this point, a power hike is what I had to settle for.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRf9A63Jmwb1G3IT-blQR6QIgofdOPcB9OTpfpg8elWTJn_N5XFSI_g720YQgjooXXpCFIAfjcAhkq_uX8xazoA5wfQyn-ZsXC7BU0wJ2cbNmtqsZRx_p0mY4w_ngVp99KqkzwPwiV0ut/s1600/P1250197.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRf9A63Jmwb1G3IT-blQR6QIgofdOPcB9OTpfpg8elWTJn_N5XFSI_g720YQgjooXXpCFIAfjcAhkq_uX8xazoA5wfQyn-ZsXC7BU0wJ2cbNmtqsZRx_p0mY4w_ngVp99KqkzwPwiV0ut/s400/P1250197.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wait - is that real sunshine?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
About halfway up that climb, the sun made a brief appearance, finally justifying the sunglasses many runners had been carrying all morning.<br />
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It didn't last.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGvIIW2gjkCX_2uAdPA_n5ARo_fF-Q6MSy5qNuxl-MxoVr5MqLVcXJRR_7i0SdOqkRZyzwAFZuwxyqNIG747KY3UzY73GKfTPmcY1X680R77UTUyTpVN3LkKDaIGwvq1B459wLwswPtoz/s1600/P1250203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGvIIW2gjkCX_2uAdPA_n5ARo_fF-Q6MSy5qNuxl-MxoVr5MqLVcXJRR_7i0SdOqkRZyzwAFZuwxyqNIG747KY3UzY73GKfTPmcY1X680R77UTUyTpVN3LkKDaIGwvq1B459wLwswPtoz/s400/P1250203.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back to the marine layer. (And nearly done with the second climb! Maybe!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEislaChLvxJ3I6FbhFaARmEwmeWImbk6wsMtgAX-nvVmmcRQVxLLmZn0qediav3P1a3LJ-g8080WmSpogpQo6VZfFkX821Em24sfD1ci71I9ngGw0fCy1XSeEDFvmPyBF7XkXFcktNyhT5S/s1600/P1250213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEislaChLvxJ3I6FbhFaARmEwmeWImbk6wsMtgAX-nvVmmcRQVxLLmZn0qediav3P1a3LJ-g8080WmSpogpQo6VZfFkX821Em24sfD1ci71I9ngGw0fCy1XSeEDFvmPyBF7XkXFcktNyhT5S/s400/P1250213.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Which way do I go?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I finally made it back to the course monitor and now had a nice, long downhill stretch of trail.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIYuBtsOprmMvuU15L2EQ6YiUmHKJrxsCqwGKKiOBG4_9_pOqFI6rh__ZH8vTASj3u0OvBOsqWxoztExwn2eN3fnWLN4S0zMbxLNKguHdgRbWbZAHQ6EEB764GiF5EdRTK-V_Op5wO01V/s1600/P1250219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIYuBtsOprmMvuU15L2EQ6YiUmHKJrxsCqwGKKiOBG4_9_pOqFI6rh__ZH8vTASj3u0OvBOsqWxoztExwn2eN3fnWLN4S0zMbxLNKguHdgRbWbZAHQ6EEB764GiF5EdRTK-V_Op5wO01V/s400/P1250219.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Eventually I made it back down near sea level and out of the marine layer. We were on the 5M course, but this is where we turned off of it and started the bonus out-and-back bit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zOst14e9mdtiHi13cZXsfVPudTxppXzeKWoxBhtGh8M2S-ic4VKyBBxQQxV4oedTpL5ZaSG6JmVcqArQUuVaMPQ9rcXpTzciBigyB7Eco7REOJae1LiYQzQo2Dx2xkfIkKr3s74Q8FPq/s1600/P1250225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zOst14e9mdtiHi13cZXsfVPudTxppXzeKWoxBhtGh8M2S-ic4VKyBBxQQxV4oedTpL5ZaSG6JmVcqArQUuVaMPQ9rcXpTzciBigyB7Eco7REOJae1LiYQzQo2Dx2xkfIkKr3s74Q8FPq/s400/P1250225.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hi there Saile, not your real name!" He was a bit over a mile ahead of me, heading back with his coveted rubber band.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbveuop1548ANOEDj7pg3rMEtrxEaSfE8rGjzRtGHGJsYGE-eYME4YuTXlJXJHCofKFp1GSTdH5uKehlTCL2MARylLTY5JNGsrOQIueBqnhhgC3kOLsFcl4LXdDEk9GR9WQijbX8a9il9/s1600/P1250229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbveuop1548ANOEDj7pg3rMEtrxEaSfE8rGjzRtGHGJsYGE-eYME4YuTXlJXJHCofKFp1GSTdH5uKehlTCL2MARylLTY5JNGsrOQIueBqnhhgC3kOLsFcl4LXdDEk9GR9WQijbX8a9il9/s400/P1250229.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pick a color - any color. Maybe.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
An amusing thing (to me) was that this guy asked if he had to grab a specific color of rubber band - I said it just had to match his shirt color, which caused a brief bit of consternation before he realized I was not someone to be trusted. How he avoided taking a swing at me, or at least making a rude gesture, I will never understand. (For the record, I picked one that matched my shirt nicely.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwFsAPTt2r5UweWwbMAGja-NEW25XiNZVzoLYwe4TQ_FUC3Q3legV7m4BFFo-HOPpOlWI37QnzNPv-FSYn0-9Px3xI5PLkPyXA1ZlMHvLpmLSxcqaOBLusg2X_zJJeWHdj_g4ZzviwxHW/s1600/P1250233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwFsAPTt2r5UweWwbMAGja-NEW25XiNZVzoLYwe4TQ_FUC3Q3legV7m4BFFo-HOPpOlWI37QnzNPv-FSYn0-9Px3xI5PLkPyXA1ZlMHvLpmLSxcqaOBLusg2X_zJJeWHdj_g4ZzviwxHW/s400/P1250233.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hi there Htebazile, not your real name!" She was running the 30K, and while she was almost a mile behind me, she had also run about five more miles than I had. Would she catch me? (Duh.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdGTM_yhcAtAv8lDk79yLPFi1nhwvUc7tCJ_XyJqDBD-e6_Mz2AkIczn24tXuUNlvig92a46Z3YzijtFKleaMJjzxhnCEYehtonBSLPyfN8yuYYJPmZr0aiI_6cKqzJkilc1Wnb_xKCbm/s1600/P1250248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdGTM_yhcAtAv8lDk79yLPFi1nhwvUc7tCJ_XyJqDBD-e6_Mz2AkIczn24tXuUNlvig92a46Z3YzijtFKleaMJjzxhnCEYehtonBSLPyfN8yuYYJPmZr0aiI_6cKqzJkilc1Wnb_xKCbm/s400/P1250248.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The second (and third, kind of) aid station and Bermuda <strike>Triangle</strike> Quadrangle, about mile 10 and 11.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The second aid station was a bit confusing, with runners coming in from two different directions and heading out in two other different directions. The first time you hit it, you were to make a left and do a one mile loop. The second time, you also made a left, but this left pointed you to the finish.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJskcQxulpSU8Hk5ZWdSHw5aIuXHIG0dkSgA-Dh461DIyLp9dyuQ75hVe0XIZFTa_epZDBWnu4O20TRWjRv_-_60Z1yq1YFfBP4_DetLkpjpTG3L3BKo-mv_bUdW2e9JgoXwF1P-EOQ3Ov/s1600/P1250241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJskcQxulpSU8Hk5ZWdSHw5aIuXHIG0dkSgA-Dh461DIyLp9dyuQ75hVe0XIZFTa_epZDBWnu4O20TRWjRv_-_60Z1yq1YFfBP4_DetLkpjpTG3L3BKo-mv_bUdW2e9JgoXwF1P-EOQ3Ov/s400/P1250241.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Of course the little loop had a hill.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QYtoBGVGnCSSYzx1_YwcDe9pYQ4UoFe86o73Kt62bGJ9VSLks-Td8k0155cdfFWywbAdusdoI6VFtfR7XMDX_x2JFASmPVe04jznIWsRPXjNpJH5zSSaYL7VpJylnPXjTrA3UneVdFv7/s1600/P1250249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QYtoBGVGnCSSYzx1_YwcDe9pYQ4UoFe86o73Kt62bGJ9VSLks-Td8k0155cdfFWywbAdusdoI6VFtfR7XMDX_x2JFASmPVe04jznIWsRPXjNpJH5zSSaYL7VpJylnPXjTrA3UneVdFv7/s400/P1250249.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hi there again Htebazile, still not your real name!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As expected, it didn't take long for Htebazile to catch up to me. (Note: She had ended up second overall in the previous weekend's Brazen Dirty Dozen, with well over 60 miles in 12 ours. That she was even standing up, let alone running a 30K was astonishing. Passing me was not astonishing at all, other than the trick of me getting ahead of her in the first place.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhaNr_oXN5l4yW1lGmPduH3FUEqR9tVfMph1tvNiHiJKWalQdyz4XNkgbYCVt1EqinjU23TrsvppI3iFMFkS1edjnl2twMqkrQUB8Bx7GbP1GuBUaoiwHQOKv9iGzFO-n-qtfFVBUabFf/s1600/P1250255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhaNr_oXN5l4yW1lGmPduH3FUEqR9tVfMph1tvNiHiJKWalQdyz4XNkgbYCVt1EqinjU23TrsvppI3iFMFkS1edjnl2twMqkrQUB8Bx7GbP1GuBUaoiwHQOKv9iGzFO-n-qtfFVBUabFf/s400/P1250255.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah! Rodeo Beach ahead!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The race finishes with a fairly flat sprint (ha ha ha) along the road.<div>
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzu3uDzklUbk36ky02QWT7OdArImj-YTijYTUQKPe-1KL4mvTdUSyFu-e_RL462h8h30wpBUm6EZeaBl5DlAkbqJWRg95rZDsuewwzcxSVl8sTHxP53y5s6jyjcfSm1YUyuTUuj2MaJCk/s1600/P1250261.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzu3uDzklUbk36ky02QWT7OdArImj-YTijYTUQKPe-1KL4mvTdUSyFu-e_RL462h8h30wpBUm6EZeaBl5DlAkbqJWRg95rZDsuewwzcxSVl8sTHxP53y5s6jyjcfSm1YUyuTUuj2MaJCk/s400/P1250261.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NAC and Mrs Notthat encouraging me to go faster.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Mrs Notthat had finished her 5M races hours ago, and since I didn't see NAC on the out-and-back, I knew she was WAY ahead of me and also finished long ago. They were huddled in the car for warmth as I trundled by. "Hurry up geezer!" It was nice to get some final encouragement.<br />
<br />
At least I got this nice picture of me for all my grief.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMmPQIG2SBDW_Khc-zidlvi9l6vXCZrXWCIH1e7B-eVUIjXvMFz3OelUK3MoIpKkQKfsMKMQQpixWDH6e7GpTXDUX2FE-v4s94NM0CrttW8TstbjmDINxeAFw2aygbMldcPWTGNkX_doT/s1600/IMG_6351.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMmPQIG2SBDW_Khc-zidlvi9l6vXCZrXWCIH1e7B-eVUIjXvMFz3OelUK3MoIpKkQKfsMKMQQpixWDH6e7GpTXDUX2FE-v4s94NM0CrttW8TstbjmDINxeAFw2aygbMldcPWTGNkX_doT/s400/IMG_6351.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by NAC. Weird grimace/grin by me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim31QSoclF7KJfoViig9dAfuWAWLocVxouuwFNGFpy3ZDqWRbReizQT1JumJNQ3QJ9BVBgLh6L3L7d_wm6GZ3pAY5NHVYr-mpCILmt2RmIQh9nnzxwmAa0qX_NTlN7VXEMZM0UypOVKCeu/s1600/P1250263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim31QSoclF7KJfoViig9dAfuWAWLocVxouuwFNGFpy3ZDqWRbReizQT1JumJNQ3QJ9BVBgLh6L3L7d_wm6GZ3pAY5NHVYr-mpCILmt2RmIQh9nnzxwmAa0qX_NTlN7VXEMZM0UypOVKCeu/s400/P1250263.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finish! Finally!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I wasn't sure what to expect as a finish time since it had been a long time since I'd run a hilly Half. I figured anything less than four hours would be OK, but I really wanted to be under 3:30. Maybe 3:15?<br />
<br />
Ha! Not today. I ended up with just under 3:34 - honestly not bad, but a bit disappointing. The toilet break didn't help, but it also didn't set me back enough to cause me to miss that 3:30 goal. On the positive side, my body was fine (if a bit soaked - I sweat a lot anyway, and spending so much time in the clouds just makes me even wetter). It was fun to push myself a bit.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Xvph0OTt3zRNQSUg-sX4HamqqsheAXOAVVRVVM-yK8KUoOnZ-b2z-Gs7AnfEJ2zoAxhcuCYettZVbPrmNRipYa5YrDwCIaag-rg1JRrJVQbjUuUsB4MLOA-8rM_Ist4WX0WWYUpt2pqC/s1600/P1250270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Xvph0OTt3zRNQSUg-sX4HamqqsheAXOAVVRVVM-yK8KUoOnZ-b2z-Gs7AnfEJ2zoAxhcuCYettZVbPrmNRipYa5YrDwCIaag-rg1JRrJVQbjUuUsB4MLOA-8rM_Ist4WX0WWYUpt2pqC/s400/P1250270.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The medal and bib.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the end, it was worth the early wake up to run this race. Mrs Notthat did awesome (as always) in her 5M race, but just missed out on an age group award (she missed third by 66 seconds and second by 70 seconds!).<br />
<br />
It was fun running on new (to me) trails. I missed the amazing views you are normally rewarded with at the top of the climbs, as well as the great view of the Golden Gate Bridge you get with the normal course, but it was nice to do something a bit different.<br />
<br />
A huge thanks to Coastal Trail Runs and all the volunteers that helped make this a great event!<br />
<br />
That's it - move along…</div>
notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-78011015386030223372019-07-25T11:15:00.000-07:002019-07-25T11:15:22.686-07:00Dirty Dozen turns ten!In 2010, when the Brazen Brain Trust (BBT for short) decided that spending a whole day at Point Pinole was a good idea, Mrs Notthat and I rolled our eyes and said no. (That first year, they did not offer the "Dirty" distances like they do now. They did have the twelve and six hour options and teams like now though - we could have done that easily.)<br />
<h4>
Some race details</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllPafisEsYceL4g9KDtMn7BuxNRFW64HkgTZkOuqpI1qcmB8wvsoUPMAcuB99k-HrlC8QCsb1g5rKsueL6dtNzp9ZpKMBiJautusSbjWsx2Rlm7MaiDOoTS3Hx_b5CX41X3J213KCaluZ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-07-24+at+5.55.18+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1418" data-original-width="1300" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllPafisEsYceL4g9KDtMn7BuxNRFW64HkgTZkOuqpI1qcmB8wvsoUPMAcuB99k-HrlC8QCsb1g5rKsueL6dtNzp9ZpKMBiJautusSbjWsx2Rlm7MaiDOoTS3Hx_b5CX41X3J213KCaluZ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-07-24+at+5.55.18+PM.png" width="366" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simplified course map. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The basic idea of the race is that you run as many of the big loops as you can in six or twelve hours. For the last hour, you get to run the small loop. (Partially run loops don't count, so you really don't want to be caught out on the course when the horn blows.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiO6OXAUE0dYD7rTiWrykn0TIFWb6SMRistioJiMXI5WT9xnUKWnOSWZymNOQtLMYqItNzPCURLO9k1WWr9ayRREtXvqCJb3K0Du_VRvvdMiuQ93tsiZNzlyuRFSq0jiwnMzevUhufEbBf/s1600/P1250077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiO6OXAUE0dYD7rTiWrykn0TIFWb6SMRistioJiMXI5WT9xnUKWnOSWZymNOQtLMYqItNzPCURLO9k1WWr9ayRREtXvqCJb3K0Du_VRvvdMiuQ93tsiZNzlyuRFSq0jiwnMzevUhufEbBf/s400/P1250077.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That runner was that close to finishing a little loop when the horn sounded.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The length of the loop made it easy to add 5K and 10K races that run near the end of the six and twelve hour races. Some run both, and even add a Dirty race to a timed race just to get the bonus shirt and medal.<br />
<h4>
NotThat history at this race</h4>
I've mostly regretted skipping that first race since there is a lot of glory in being able to say you've participated every year. (OK, "a lot of glory" might be a bit strong, but for many of us, it's actually "a <b>LOT</b> of glory.") I've been to all nine events since then, and Mrs Notthat has been to eight.<br />
<br />
Mrs Notthat has run the twelve hour solo twice, the twelve hour as a two-person team twice, and the Dirty races (5K and/or 10K) four times.<br />
<br />
Six times I've run the twelve hour solo (once taking advantage of the rule that you really only have to complete one lap since my knee was a total wreck). Twice I've run one or both Dirty races.<br />
<br />
The thing I had never done was run as a team, so that's what Mrs Notthat and I did as Team NotThoseLucas.<br />
<br />
One thing I've done twice now is signing up for a twelve hour race but showing up late - getting there at 7 AM means leaving home at about 5:30 AM, and in my old age, that's not as much fun as it sounds. Showing up late means you likely won't win (ha ha ha), but you can still get as many laps done as possible.<br />
<br />
<b>Note:</b> If you decide to do this, do NOT cross the timing mat under the arch when you start your first lap. Stay away from the arch and start your first lap a few yards from there. Your first lap will have an absurd time since it is based on the race's 7 AM start time.<br />
<h4>
Race expectations</h4>
I'm not in great shape, and I had no idea how my body would deal with running a lap, then sitting around eating and visiting while Mrs Notthat ran a lap. Mrs Notthat has not run more than a 10K for well over a year - it was unknown how many laps she would be able to get with her body able to do a bit of recovery after each lap.<br />
<br />
Realistically, I figured three laps for her (just under ten miles - her longest distance in over a year) and I would try to get four laps (basically a Half Marathon).<br />
<br />
I underestimated Mrs Notthat by a fair amount - if it hadn't gotten windy and cool towards the end we might still be there running laps. (No we wouldn't.)<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81X-8JvX-j7fRGgvANOnS6hNA1PFa_kekU4pxwUNp82F7T9hIxs_iUoJnjS9G-Q5g2WEmdz5EOqOCwCZqQgQ8Kvx8jHAiHyvfQReTrH27krFgFKemQ6Y2dn8KjoJvg0-HLEBSnVtA0juy/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-07-24+at+6.23.45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="1600" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81X-8JvX-j7fRGgvANOnS6hNA1PFa_kekU4pxwUNp82F7T9hIxs_iUoJnjS9G-Q5g2WEmdz5EOqOCwCZqQgQ8Kvx8jHAiHyvfQReTrH27krFgFKemQ6Y2dn8KjoJvg0-HLEBSnVtA0juy/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-07-24+at+6.23.45+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This chart sounded like a good idea when I put it together, but it's not easy to work out. That's the races Mrs Notthat has run since 2015. 138 of them. Click it to see it bigger, but I'm not sure that will really help.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h4>
The race (finally)</h4>
The race officially started at 7 AM, but we arrived a bit after 9 AM.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwtwVYND1SXtj_ZG2Zi4eQobdv0gHSuny5K8lNVOWlNJ9IonBZ1GqJVFDk3HaBQjvDEBw8weAaE9F5TV7XSIccup41-Sw7jpCgQ7e6D5KJsRGeH2Rv-By-AMcEqVWCEXBtKgn0q21R9hfJ/s1600/YolyUsDD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwtwVYND1SXtj_ZG2Zi4eQobdv0gHSuny5K8lNVOWlNJ9IonBZ1GqJVFDk3HaBQjvDEBw8weAaE9F5TV7XSIccup41-Sw7jpCgQ7e6D5KJsRGeH2Rv-By-AMcEqVWCEXBtKgn0q21R9hfJ/s400/YolyUsDD.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by Yloy (not her real name, but close!). </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We had one bib on a belt that we had to pass off between each other. (The results do not reflect who ran which lap, so for bragging rights, you have to keep track of that yourself.)<br />
<br />
Mrs Notthat ran the first lap, starting around 9:31, and since we started late, she got the credit for the longest lap (3:16:43!) - in real life that was almost for sure the fastest lap for our team.<br />
<br />
From there, we alternated turns.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2TC8WH1t9U3bKs8MDf8iPp0VuARkebV5co-RLhW5jZf7Cciwc9U2NKOLA6tR6homqQy1FwZaE4U6hEmXfs0V1269LZbL4NWMmZ3hIt0G-C7Td3BJebZKFnsSG7mFNncjYUqDfdIok9o4/s1600/P1250011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2TC8WH1t9U3bKs8MDf8iPp0VuARkebV5co-RLhW5jZf7Cciwc9U2NKOLA6tR6homqQy1FwZaE4U6hEmXfs0V1269LZbL4NWMmZ3hIt0G-C7Td3BJebZKFnsSG7mFNncjYUqDfdIok9o4/s400/P1250011.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running along the shoreline.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEuqON5pmQLctzJFV8R-lDF8zn_17CyAj3e3n433KjpC0jsgpwRnWjsfa1ZKEhtNeZYbO3EPxPQkfpwtsg5Wc-Jr5-ZqMj4Vt9gusswOoMtg6Ik76TF_JYwjOATBYbsBGbiiRAQfEljBb/s1600/P1250008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEuqON5pmQLctzJFV8R-lDF8zn_17CyAj3e3n433KjpC0jsgpwRnWjsfa1ZKEhtNeZYbO3EPxPQkfpwtsg5Wc-Jr5-ZqMj4Vt9gusswOoMtg6Ik76TF_JYwjOATBYbsBGbiiRAQfEljBb/s400/P1250008.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running through the trees.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhc4-RmPP3VwDLtnQjHaiehbLcPSSG2eLeIOQZjvOi8mZyt1QSAE5m9_VHYYgphEczcBQg5QFiEz7Y2ZB9HhSilH8Z0x6cKbQvp1aBzoHmV71CBiAgj38Zl0x1cGByTZy5CmcGRi2SBIn/s1600/P1250014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhc4-RmPP3VwDLtnQjHaiehbLcPSSG2eLeIOQZjvOi8mZyt1QSAE5m9_VHYYgphEczcBQg5QFiEz7Y2ZB9HhSilH8Z0x6cKbQvp1aBzoHmV71CBiAgj38Zl0x1cGByTZy5CmcGRi2SBIn/s400/P1250014.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The aid station.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9CJNLfC8ZBO-XwRBbm7ZJmOpqEAVf4Te3FevVHS44n-caQip0eH9mzBQH1YaeAlhraLRKxoAhHTGYjJwu3VugBTDMJ4ynFG1nhEYEPVeASIpQqgE5yEU6hpQdJgS9DNWV8Lx3ozYbrkG/s1600/P1250067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9CJNLfC8ZBO-XwRBbm7ZJmOpqEAVf4Te3FevVHS44n-caQip0eH9mzBQH1YaeAlhraLRKxoAhHTGYjJwu3VugBTDMJ4ynFG1nhEYEPVeASIpQqgE5yEU6hpQdJgS9DNWV8Lx3ozYbrkG/s400/P1250067.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final ridge - you can see the arch, you can hear the music, you can smell the BBQ.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We have done many events on these trails, so we know them pretty well. If you are pretty sure running multiple loops will drive you crazy, this may be the course for you. There is a lot of variety - open exposed areas, densely forested areas, some minor hills (about 150 feet of climbing per loop), and mostly dirt/gravel trails with a bit of pavement, just because.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW47qwqUMLR5GVCESwmhW-Xj1Rn-TyV1c6LbVuWfO7GV52ZOgJq3e4WRMY7VknGCp4NUcxi_Jn3uUcIfdNdwCiMnI5Na6exh4XHyUGU9oCC99aBpdVnl12JSYLd7wUc-V5DYW-ch0z3tUY/s1600/P1250024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW47qwqUMLR5GVCESwmhW-Xj1Rn-TyV1c6LbVuWfO7GV52ZOgJq3e4WRMY7VknGCp4NUcxi_Jn3uUcIfdNdwCiMnI5Na6exh4XHyUGU9oCC99aBpdVnl12JSYLd7wUc-V5DYW-ch0z3tUY/s400/P1250024.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Which way do I go Yllom and Nhoj, not your real names?" This is a tough gig to volunteer at since it lasts so long and has just enough complexity to make it interesting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVp_61u05ao93DDOb7UkWx1fig69Z-TE4xLmDqZJpdnj2cvNlQVl-OTabm6H45-rpvVmXHjYw6kHx_wJqje-zLJJgl2aS8VKqd_lNrhY3Ssfp9QY9Y_o-36nKgOQl-VczPNdSQKds3TZFt/s1600/P1250025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVp_61u05ao93DDOb7UkWx1fig69Z-TE4xLmDqZJpdnj2cvNlQVl-OTabm6H45-rpvVmXHjYw6kHx_wJqje-zLJJgl2aS8VKqd_lNrhY3Ssfp9QY9Y_o-36nKgOQl-VczPNdSQKds3TZFt/s400/P1250025.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Which way do I go?" Finishing a lap. It could get interesting when there were people finishing a Dirty race, a big loop, and a small loop - you needed to know which of those applied to you.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWnBhYbJNRp-APQ25KbG__pPVoCvFnqFV7mFHIUVwmNS8tsHI-Yb8a_xiDGDSzexzDMmWdZv2VStMc8lhknagqv5HwOMqRjfB9-yRdQMDUDct-WDNNs7N_-FVjQ0Qv7GSSKdM7B6FEWs3/s1600/P1250026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWnBhYbJNRp-APQ25KbG__pPVoCvFnqFV7mFHIUVwmNS8tsHI-Yb8a_xiDGDSzexzDMmWdZv2VStMc8lhknagqv5HwOMqRjfB9-yRdQMDUDct-WDNNs7N_-FVjQ0Qv7GSSKdM7B6FEWs3/s400/P1250026.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"What took you so long?" Passing the bib off to Mrs Notthat in the race's festival area. There were so many tents and awnings this year!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was mostly sunny, but breezy, especially later in the afternoon. The cool breeze was not much of an issue when you were running, but when you were standing around waiting for your next turn, it could really cool you off and make you a bit chilled.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJu4og_c4KkfUzRZMAa1YwV8-Tgt-738PrmsFL6qOC2WryQtL-fI8B8ptqxGzZ87J9iwzl7AjGRmkzTf5jLOS2zoKDL2XdPainUmyxMP7ONcvZUQm3YAyVhL3ui_mh3f2WBsABF6bEQ2f/s1600/P1250031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJu4og_c4KkfUzRZMAa1YwV8-Tgt-738PrmsFL6qOC2WryQtL-fI8B8ptqxGzZ87J9iwzl7AjGRmkzTf5jLOS2zoKDL2XdPainUmyxMP7ONcvZUQm3YAyVhL3ui_mh3f2WBsABF6bEQ2f/s400/P1250031.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Oh, you've done a race with a blowup arch? Cute." The scary thing is that I'm fairly certain that Brazen has several more arches they could set up. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the above picture, the farthest away arch was for the Dirty 5K/10K runners, the red one was for the big loop runners, and the blue one was for the little loop runners. Next year I'm expecting an arch for the BBQ line. Maybe another for the porta-potties.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, out on the course…<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5IdKQDT1u2TNpWVDHMXybRAuibeyVaVH2t0CihemQQBrQ1vLYgPWNnJ78vFw8JnpCAeg2Vlwcw8xMUk-zR1l_PtObzT6ztHhwn7Qyh4sCHkcsl8kSCy7xjZveLyaolPwHA9ZOymVQYuH/s1600/DianeJenniferDD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="1600" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5IdKQDT1u2TNpWVDHMXybRAuibeyVaVH2t0CihemQQBrQ1vLYgPWNnJ78vFw8JnpCAeg2Vlwcw8xMUk-zR1l_PtObzT6ztHhwn7Qyh4sCHkcsl8kSCy7xjZveLyaolPwHA9ZOymVQYuH/s400/DianeJenniferDD.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat and Refinnej (not her real name) powering through a lap. Picture by Brazen paparazzi.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_mhhFheep_3zzpg-WgxT4btvUSjhTAMLJLUJQWCyAehYdXxbY3xQrwZAHBLRUdzzByIgtO_wETAz62mw9vOxNYS4WK3VWk_mgWP8JWWZNm-tM-HJy1ff20L1FCDcl8aRtR0FpgfCWhPA/s1600/P1250048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_mhhFheep_3zzpg-WgxT4btvUSjhTAMLJLUJQWCyAehYdXxbY3xQrwZAHBLRUdzzByIgtO_wETAz62mw9vOxNYS4WK3VWk_mgWP8JWWZNm-tM-HJy1ff20L1FCDcl8aRtR0FpgfCWhPA/s400/P1250048.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clocky (his/her/its real name) sporting tight tights and inspiring runners out on the course.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4NZ9qTG8fJceLhxwF5bpzRq4F2xr7ySBUr_dn4FUgRUMr1PVtFJGVTIPMvmrYh_IDPPvffaC_zgCAx3vNOa4BpxhNctmygmrxIYdppPiQh09NPKCGTEPqB_tc5Sj2Dek9UN8MgKq5LpfZ/s1600/P1250050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4NZ9qTG8fJceLhxwF5bpzRq4F2xr7ySBUr_dn4FUgRUMr1PVtFJGVTIPMvmrYh_IDPPvffaC_zgCAx3vNOa4BpxhNctmygmrxIYdppPiQh09NPKCGTEPqB_tc5Sj2Dek9UN8MgKq5LpfZ/s400/P1250050.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wait, what?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There were a number of "inspirational" signs along the course that were updated regularly. Weirdly, the NotThats were mentioned on one, and it took me a while to work out what it was saying (think a spelling-challenged "Luke").<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXYGIgYlr3KBGh3UKtZ9Ng32nN4QmzYK3lcEeFHyDWfRQZHEBkHay9kAKnY-jOXrtkzCmSr5Q7ikkgO7xEDNtQtMR-eZjiTHTxqMKTCOfR7tV6YDBHKvWEYB8vFZzPAKizw-tBegoOVoxk/s1600/P1250110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXYGIgYlr3KBGh3UKtZ9Ng32nN4QmzYK3lcEeFHyDWfRQZHEBkHay9kAKnY-jOXrtkzCmSr5Q7ikkgO7xEDNtQtMR-eZjiTHTxqMKTCOfR7tV6YDBHKvWEYB8vFZzPAKizw-tBegoOVoxk/s400/P1250110.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hi there Nerak and Eibbed, not your real names!" Sisters, who live in wildly different parts of the country, talking about sister things on the trail. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwO7LiZmVA95kvLfdNZyTwfs09-z9Z8mZtb31f9rh_aoRi7NX7wYsZa8-ZLDdNY0nUcKai8lARypZn6iNdW5WaT1GQ9WEK9Feq7VuiIYc7kQHBqsAntW_3XMDum7EQSvJ-94nTU-uCL_P4/s1600/P1250073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwO7LiZmVA95kvLfdNZyTwfs09-z9Z8mZtb31f9rh_aoRi7NX7wYsZa8-ZLDdNY0nUcKai8lARypZn6iNdW5WaT1GQ9WEK9Feq7VuiIYc7kQHBqsAntW_3XMDum7EQSvJ-94nTU-uCL_P4/s400/P1250073.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Of course I'm ready for another lap! I've had hours to rest while you were out there!" Mrs Notthat thrived in this format.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h4>
Let's wrap this up</h4>
And that's about it. We started about two and a half hours late, and made up for that by leaving an hour and a half early (the cool breeze became an enthusiastic cold wind in the afternoon).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVtx-MCzMwy8Y1CXRSlNy68o19wyO63BmcyhFgWJikg3eslsVQOs_mSdolJHcevamT1a0swBVxwfy23IN33xLRwMjBlIyiNkyteyKFeKgiVn6UM_DauQvX2VC16EjxNVjGrV89LRNxxPfj/s1600/P1250125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVtx-MCzMwy8Y1CXRSlNy68o19wyO63BmcyhFgWJikg3eslsVQOs_mSdolJHcevamT1a0swBVxwfy23IN33xLRwMjBlIyiNkyteyKFeKgiVn6UM_DauQvX2VC16EjxNVjGrV89LRNxxPfj/s400/P1250125.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Runners in the timed events got a nice hoodie and a medal that doubles as a coaster.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I got my loose goal of a Half Marathon worth of loops (four), but the real star was Mrs Notthat who somehow ended up with five loops, nearly 17 miles! Looking at that chart from early on, you can see that this was the first time she had gone beyond the Half distance since early 2015! Being able to recover a bit after each loop really helped her go so much farther than I had expected. As a team, we came really close to the 50K distance, but held on to last place in the two-person teams with a firm death grip.<br />
<br />
I'm not convinced I like the team format - it's great for socializing, and it's nice to get extended breaks, but restarting the legs got tougher for each lap.<br />
<br />
An interesting thing about this race is that you would think, over the course of twelve hours, you would often see the other runners. In actuality though, because it's a fairly long loop, you can end up not seeing some runners at all, and that's one thing the team approach helps since you are spectating a lot of the time.<br />
<br />
In any case, it was a blast and a lot of fun to catch up to so many friends, as well as watching the proper runners really pushing it to win their races. (A fun thing - the overall top finishers in the twelve hour solo event were women, each pushing the other to get one more lap done! The winner managed a bit over 66 miles! Wildly impressive!)<br />
<br />
That's it - move along…notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-1119598693325818392019-07-09T19:30:00.000-07:002019-07-10T10:03:13.883-07:00Western States 2019 - Did you bring a puffy jacket?Well, maybe not a puffy jacket, but at least a hoodie. For the first time since the abnormally cold year of 2012, I needed a jacket in the evening. It didn't rain, but it was overcast for a lot of the day. It was not hard to make a case for a puffy jacket.<br />
<br />
For the ninth year in a row, I managed to weasel my way into the Last Chance aid station at the Western States 100 trail race. It's located at mile 43.3 in a remote area with no cell service.<br />
<br />
There's not even a Starbucks.<br />
<h4>
It's all about the ice (not really)</h4>
<div>
A big change this year was how we got our ice. In the past, we would pick it up at the WSER warehouse in Auburn on Friday afternoon, drive it up to Last Chance, cover it with tarps and blankets, and hope for minimal melt loss overnight.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This year, they decided to drag an ice trailer up to Dusty Corners (the aid station before ours, about a 3 mile drive that takes a good 20 minutes), which would keep the ice nice and cold Friday night.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
On Saturday morning, Amer and I headed over to Dusty Corners to pick up about 1200 pounds of ice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-JicoZ-jjsP-MiCvjxGo3QUcmj999o9kRf864d-qbtZVxqlMHF6DT1M2sQ2pGscfMsCS5rZD4j0QphlzELdojYcJqvXC8rtnk86AKxl0PD2z328auGX6krtfklDLFhDgKZzMoinU-9pYG/s1600/P1240987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-JicoZ-jjsP-MiCvjxGo3QUcmj999o9kRf864d-qbtZVxqlMHF6DT1M2sQ2pGscfMsCS5rZD4j0QphlzELdojYcJqvXC8rtnk86AKxl0PD2z328auGX6krtfklDLFhDgKZzMoinU-9pYG/s400/P1240987.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like Hot Potato, but with 20 pound bags of ice and numb fingers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOdNuUtoaG3a08-E4au72mLf4vWyYp5d7kCpkp7d8dWrZhKTh8zAYBk3Jh948qQ81CHUhmdPJBnebWLoUuFETMcO0kat8ANB2vOPU_4GXDpLJrb3N4ISYDB0WfuWEaGOO_PviQnSiQkW3/s1600/P1240989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOdNuUtoaG3a08-E4au72mLf4vWyYp5d7kCpkp7d8dWrZhKTh8zAYBk3Jh948qQ81CHUhmdPJBnebWLoUuFETMcO0kat8ANB2vOPU_4GXDpLJrb3N4ISYDB0WfuWEaGOO_PviQnSiQkW3/s400/P1240989.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amer working out how many frozen margaritas he could make with that ice. ("Almost enough" was the answer.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_oC6utfx1ZiUvYOlJC2OwLZH_VJCtnrJuQf3_gA8bYELH9eNiG5T6YKWVWsamACV26ou2BbI50aXi4Ue8xcCXNw9btAzdNrHDcMwtjY-J8xnOa7MepkfV3GaWnXx6SGoY-8Ax_H0YMmv/s1600/P1240991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_oC6utfx1ZiUvYOlJC2OwLZH_VJCtnrJuQf3_gA8bYELH9eNiG5T6YKWVWsamACV26ou2BbI50aXi4Ue8xcCXNw9btAzdNrHDcMwtjY-J8xnOa7MepkfV3GaWnXx6SGoY-8Ax_H0YMmv/s400/P1240991.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delivered, covered, and ready for the runners. Or margaritas.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span id="goog_101571347"></span><span id="goog_101571348"></span>The one thing we didn't know, was that it was going to be uncharacteristically cool, and we were going to have our work cut out for us trying to convince runners to take ice with them.<br />
<h4>
Just before the runners made it to us</h4>
Many of us spent Friday night at Last Chance, sleeping in tents or, as in my case, sleeping in our vehicles. The mosquitos were thrilled at all the company.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHHm8J50mfKEtJ7nHuH1bMnW86P2CVZ_rCn-FBRrI-rEv308kzocluX9fnKqv-h-iCiJdSNnvncjApn_YlOTytxrf4720Z32NEyrqKvSuYkMPpqQ0ePEDYUJuz6pdVtQJTyerPLycyhv-h/s1600/P1240984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHHm8J50mfKEtJ7nHuH1bMnW86P2CVZ_rCn-FBRrI-rEv308kzocluX9fnKqv-h-iCiJdSNnvncjApn_YlOTytxrf4720Z32NEyrqKvSuYkMPpqQ0ePEDYUJuz6pdVtQJTyerPLycyhv-h/s400/P1240984.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"This is the easiest espresso maker ever" said Bonnie as she performed a complicated set of operations that resulted in a small amount of what I was told really was pretty tasty espresso (foam not included).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoIL95YvR45ks2doReDIMWguuZFSmPRvgX4-3yBU5r3mXfi8A_4VO4Nln7liUMELqHSEUKIela17DIJB74qLG8ThhZBZ0lesjSPAvnHhcTiQfTHv65D46bfTZrWucnAXwzEVZ_rIk4FSS/s1600/IMG_2976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoIL95YvR45ks2doReDIMWguuZFSmPRvgX4-3yBU5r3mXfi8A_4VO4Nln7liUMELqHSEUKIela17DIJB74qLG8ThhZBZ0lesjSPAvnHhcTiQfTHv65D46bfTZrWucnAXwzEVZ_rIk4FSS/s400/IMG_2976.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Larry and Megan daring each other to use the Leaning Tower of Porta-Potties.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Whoever delivered the porta-potties thought it would be funny to place them on a slope. When you went in them, it really felt like they were going to tip over onto their back. Brave volunteers used science and some old logs to level them out so that the runners wouldn't have to deal with the possibility of a porta-potty-based DNF.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9y8U4LO4vRehqSbHDXhJEaDHLizxO1hPwL4XMRwkQlwsTSfipp913Ij0w7E30gd7a-sCVnZxsBteyzPKwx9nqiwMHM4otwli-Tt7xhs0lS9B-kbxC5-QJzCPv3hDrfufNyDzQSExPCVW/s1600/IMG_2982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9y8U4LO4vRehqSbHDXhJEaDHLizxO1hPwL4XMRwkQlwsTSfipp913Ij0w7E30gd7a-sCVnZxsBteyzPKwx9nqiwMHM4otwli-Tt7xhs0lS9B-kbxC5-QJzCPv3hDrfufNyDzQSExPCVW/s400/IMG_2982.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-race meeting. "Since there's no place to plug in the blender, we won't be able to make margaritas." </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvQ5TYsp1uN_WWTLp6UkNNUfxUTRjXCXEBH-Pi_bIGZ2HTZXUbbO40JNhe4Yv9V4lZ04_XAZ4cxfqAOlXdol60l1TZeT37FdrkevbDcng9DguUB4UKq5BCDM_DpDKzl1jP82Me9ZLEtp2/s1600/IMG_2986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvQ5TYsp1uN_WWTLp6UkNNUfxUTRjXCXEBH-Pi_bIGZ2HTZXUbbO40JNhe4Yv9V4lZ04_XAZ4cxfqAOlXdol60l1TZeT37FdrkevbDcng9DguUB4UKq5BCDM_DpDKzl1jP82Me9ZLEtp2/s400/IMG_2986.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most of the well over 50 volunteers at this aid station.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As we were taking the traditional group shot, we got word that the leader was already through Dusty Corners and would be to us earlier than ever before. Time to get the final touches done and open for business!<br />
<h4>
The runners at Last Chance</h4>
As is our recent tradition, the first runner was Jim, well ahead of last year's pace (which was well ahead of the previous year's pace, which was ahead of… you get the idea).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sjMvGksmmSQYN9c5C9_om3dgloql-Pa_oRouHbaTlStyR2_xNMeYYDyT8LDESR7fFTwwOf2MkN0GMPkZ9DqZYvjyhhxQMnlm1-4RjulVl67IEkYSnp3rQ9BKxjE1I2hwMBT66leIEpkA/s1600/IMG_2994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sjMvGksmmSQYN9c5C9_om3dgloql-Pa_oRouHbaTlStyR2_xNMeYYDyT8LDESR7fFTwwOf2MkN0GMPkZ9DqZYvjyhhxQMnlm1-4RjulVl67IEkYSnp3rQ9BKxjE1I2hwMBT66leIEpkA/s400/IMG_2994.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim going to get his bottles filled with Hawaiian Punch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcUtwuWuBsONQSpeSH4etiL9HLCw7wyJq9F6vqQs4L2lIDKRXQhyZExoQcdZGyTkDDJLEp9BoPChDAd-rTTzNZ5tL7g2bNPVbUwqM7bV5hiLOsgeIUDI5HbQEWL1oD1a117j58Lfuj6q9/s1600/IMG_3001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcUtwuWuBsONQSpeSH4etiL9HLCw7wyJq9F6vqQs4L2lIDKRXQhyZExoQcdZGyTkDDJLEp9BoPChDAd-rTTzNZ5tL7g2bNPVbUwqM7bV5hiLOsgeIUDI5HbQEWL1oD1a117j58Lfuj6q9/s400/IMG_3001.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim is a big believer in getting as wet as possible before heading out to the first of the canyons. I suspect he would do this even if there were snow drifts across the trail.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXqFouiaj8ef463B4_IlCqPH6K-5bZ-c3CmOJWuBVNVyxRDofEgI0hY8-43zO2rfTw-YOEpXfjmkXAGIz3CQTqzuT194eWC-3Slqwa1uGFG0meOD3lWkTcshWGrgVMifNSm0GW-sOjDAu/s1600/IMG_3002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXqFouiaj8ef463B4_IlCqPH6K-5bZ-c3CmOJWuBVNVyxRDofEgI0hY8-43zO2rfTw-YOEpXfjmkXAGIz3CQTqzuT194eWC-3Slqwa1uGFG0meOD3lWkTcshWGrgVMifNSm0GW-sOjDAu/s400/IMG_3002.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And he's gone. Less than a minute total, but he got his bottles filled, ate a bit, got soaked, and was gone. Very efficient, very impressive.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was about eight minutes later that the second place runner, Jared, came in.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkbbwnmscYY8rwxUxwQgCYEgDAHJpn8lpj5qaNcJgc_eBYcriTXphuXrbFgD0797id4YauDLwmIvvYkphlJb1oDDj5oDIlseTTC_JghfKGsouCCbm7-pN22RyrBrStdZ4bv0TRxR-UTxf/s1600/IMG_3014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkbbwnmscYY8rwxUxwQgCYEgDAHJpn8lpj5qaNcJgc_eBYcriTXphuXrbFgD0797id4YauDLwmIvvYkphlJb1oDDj5oDIlseTTC_JghfKGsouCCbm7-pN22RyrBrStdZ4bv0TRxR-UTxf/s400/IMG_3014.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This thermometer is normally in the sun and normally well above 90º. Not today - the warmest I saw it get was the low 70s. That made convincing some runners that there really was heat ahead a challenge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXYhKU6-9wcQz-HqtDrRuGuDK_lwZtPtKGOpeWQ9mxLSFCW8IDSrO6AFslsyXOA7Q67KxwG3HFRP7tr-5mkDfE4fMU1ApF0_SgXDB3SW5j13XUm7GLFCDAUDPv6zLz3rqbwBqnRye7s-U/s1600/IMG_3036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXYhKU6-9wcQz-HqtDrRuGuDK_lwZtPtKGOpeWQ9mxLSFCW8IDSrO6AFslsyXOA7Q67KxwG3HFRP7tr-5mkDfE4fMU1ApF0_SgXDB3SW5j13XUm7GLFCDAUDPv6zLz3rqbwBqnRye7s-U/s400/IMG_3036.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Runners grazing at the all-you-can-eat buffet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5scCg4oCdUQTXrw4mw_CDPhVQo6d-duL3JAFfsOzjRL4FYmipzNJ2C788lYkNrWU-zJ0l3jS14XWe5rFVTulDI4mMm0Sm7aU_tY3UEa58WEsfTLaKYv-N43VVRPku6dav_BiAmeevsU-/s1600/IMG_3038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5scCg4oCdUQTXrw4mw_CDPhVQo6d-duL3JAFfsOzjRL4FYmipzNJ2C788lYkNrWU-zJ0l3jS14XWe5rFVTulDI4mMm0Sm7aU_tY3UEa58WEsfTLaKYv-N43VVRPku6dav_BiAmeevsU-/s400/IMG_3038.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some volunteers got quite a workout trying to keep up with their runners!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0_I9Y2SaV_nJSirALYfW_skPP_TBBGqPQ4VnIhqbKyV1pY29ggglKQKSusvZ7w5hUQyGOJ_VAbQZUs-lK6YrqMVMuyN4pdWL8sgLrocQOme70s0GSqALxKyQO7aw90RJyi9CHdm4ew_Y/s1600/IMG_3050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0_I9Y2SaV_nJSirALYfW_skPP_TBBGqPQ4VnIhqbKyV1pY29ggglKQKSusvZ7w5hUQyGOJ_VAbQZUs-lK6YrqMVMuyN4pdWL8sgLrocQOme70s0GSqALxKyQO7aw90RJyi9CHdm4ew_Y/s400/IMG_3050.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First woman runner, Courtney, was not getting brain work done, no matter how much it looks like it in this shot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last year we saw a few runners with hats that had a special pocket on top to hold ice - this year we saw a LOT more of those.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYlltWzlQE0m3-dVOcy4Hd-w2wHSEoqtfMZknZMKSsC2gzYczuExnF9LqBGF5K2ETQ_PIuLoA2qLESNtdAetMrQhLE01p_4c4Ml6SQAysNd6lUG-mA1M77nVziCOGGzCrJzwxzYeiY52o1/s1600/IMG_3053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYlltWzlQE0m3-dVOcy4Hd-w2wHSEoqtfMZknZMKSsC2gzYczuExnF9LqBGF5K2ETQ_PIuLoA2qLESNtdAetMrQhLE01p_4c4Ml6SQAysNd6lUG-mA1M77nVziCOGGzCrJzwxzYeiY52o1/s400/IMG_3053.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Megan: "You want ice shoved where???"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlgir1OLX0BEjOF-QAgaWu6zRsV_XQ-aAR8qhFW2eUun0NjVbVFiseFEbIt2mOt5gflnGrhPdIWpAigD020qC5chku3-zEMiwzrB0PvgWadew6kTwcyQCELakgP1Urevajbt21BFG20e-/s1600/IMG_3068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlgir1OLX0BEjOF-QAgaWu6zRsV_XQ-aAR8qhFW2eUun0NjVbVFiseFEbIt2mOt5gflnGrhPdIWpAigD020qC5chku3-zEMiwzrB0PvgWadew6kTwcyQCELakgP1Urevajbt21BFG20e-/s400/IMG_3068.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite runner, the Pixie Ninja, getting wet before heading out to a third place finish!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaN03N9TlEZ-ClmjrPvcc2ia5bMAkCq4rpgxIgBuZ-2sIJIcV-rO8J4dyIAv38SBrQ5luMHNQ6I9fXxMyvy2kor4vn0Qk5KV2rVu594r6iAbodayLCzJPEBN2-j-3RZdBWpVlhWsF93XL8/s1600/IMG_3091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaN03N9TlEZ-ClmjrPvcc2ia5bMAkCq4rpgxIgBuZ-2sIJIcV-rO8J4dyIAv38SBrQ5luMHNQ6I9fXxMyvy2kor4vn0Qk5KV2rVu594r6iAbodayLCzJPEBN2-j-3RZdBWpVlhWsF93XL8/s400/IMG_3091.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jesse from Let's Wander Photography stopped by briefly to get a few shots.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2eqSEyuPzT8LFOdYVioo9tytITUPLiM4BVk7Vf4VyWMS_Qnmd-ucE8Ghs1Y-uBBBtgch5e9Kzuu-eC21HFAPwV2iVwgxRutfEpUmu3Qu-0BM5ZVb4pOWU69_n3G94PIWOhmwMtp2vBto/s1600/IMG_3109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2eqSEyuPzT8LFOdYVioo9tytITUPLiM4BVk7Vf4VyWMS_Qnmd-ucE8Ghs1Y-uBBBtgch5e9Kzuu-eC21HFAPwV2iVwgxRutfEpUmu3Qu-0BM5ZVb4pOWU69_n3G94PIWOhmwMtp2vBto/s400/IMG_3109.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emergency Backup Sam, aka John, getting his Popeye arms on. (He told me later that all the ice was gone by the time he made it to the next aid station, Devil's Thumb, which is only 4.5 miles away.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHlvUjKfVCszvOS_YXkvA4QBJ8Qg1mFKcU_Y0HYwzM2OToRNzH443SsIwdRm3bJD5y0yoKvibZKVYPaALJ-BBK4g27dJCOyNr5nKDO0bnf91S2W5pby4z_OjfA_IML4lgfq28qSN7lekWm/s1600/IMG_3113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHlvUjKfVCszvOS_YXkvA4QBJ8Qg1mFKcU_Y0HYwzM2OToRNzH443SsIwdRm3bJD5y0yoKvibZKVYPaALJ-BBK4g27dJCOyNr5nKDO0bnf91S2W5pby4z_OjfA_IML4lgfq28qSN7lekWm/s400/IMG_3113.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who knew pine needles could be so useful? (Well, maybe Bonnie.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A problem we have always fought in the past, was that the area around the buckets would get muddy and we would have to shift them around to a dry area. Bonnie had the idea of gathering pine needles and spreading them over the mud, creating a mat that allowed the water to drain without the runners having to stand in mud. (I'm including this mostly so that I'll remember it for next year. It was a genius move.)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh2yatXWmpMf9c2omBfKwpMXq-UHdJaoBbrf_siRQv862S1dSU1BhHH4wB4nWDzgewD6UDNrfMYDUHYnF9btLuI-8kT-Cgm_dnMmFg5JrAwUsaeONEWFt5Q96oHjpGZ8feIROv8_QL8k6r/s1600/IMG_3118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh2yatXWmpMf9c2omBfKwpMXq-UHdJaoBbrf_siRQv862S1dSU1BhHH4wB4nWDzgewD6UDNrfMYDUHYnF9btLuI-8kT-Cgm_dnMmFg5JrAwUsaeONEWFt5Q96oHjpGZ8feIROv8_QL8k6r/s400/IMG_3118.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All Day Ken gets the most out of his sponge soaking.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqDACYhFr9idKW2bi5Ce4ze-2oKFGXxKOtSCy_omglX_HOYX8Gzj73yvjl3rrf4mLh7tIIK8RaZcKbgpGXYWkqJlxReM7bW7nd3oOq8WtO4j4kJEp-JJeNKRBxL9CJk_tXyVBjkJpTPhC/s1600/P1240993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqDACYhFr9idKW2bi5Ce4ze-2oKFGXxKOtSCy_omglX_HOYX8Gzj73yvjl3rrf4mLh7tIIK8RaZcKbgpGXYWkqJlxReM7bW7nd3oOq8WtO4j4kJEp-JJeNKRBxL9CJk_tXyVBjkJpTPhC/s400/P1240993.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Just before the cut off, the final runner came through and made it out before the Horn of Doom was sounded. Happily, no runners dropped at our aid station this year!<br />
<br />
This signaled that it was time to start tearing down this oasis we had set up, and try to get to the track in Auburn before the winner made it. (We are very isolated, with no cell service, so we know little about what is happening in the race. It's always a dash to get to cell service, reconnect to the outside world, and get caught up.)<br />
<br />
Sadly, almost half of our ice ended up getting released to the wild.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTaJ1RfqjTszQKN3muG85GN6JC3GaNxEv0fEsD4Xja6nhhf0F6Nb3zbyzgqHl88P-dvZuuyKkhdEZiYU0VoO7mMJKgtQwH8gEG0UXNXKQVgN0I4K6LSy2fvg4fI100-GCi07Va4yOap1W/s1600/P1240996.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTaJ1RfqjTszQKN3muG85GN6JC3GaNxEv0fEsD4Xja6nhhf0F6Nb3zbyzgqHl88P-dvZuuyKkhdEZiYU0VoO7mMJKgtQwH8gEG0UXNXKQVgN0I4K6LSy2fvg4fI100-GCi07Va4yOap1W/s400/P1240996.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mosquitos were puzzled. And sad that they had no place to plug in their blenders either.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<h4>
Before we leave Last Chance, the signs</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcXDREPrvKzz4WtBD9Y58951Llizw5wWYPf_eqkuU3wdtgenJ-_eJe2ybT5LBrhGtXnw0YgetgVwyGd4KbqFx-CmKLOcbgDrdbeENHJVVVv_d5oRw0eyOfV8U6za1lVc7PpPm-7DPeBqj/s1600/P1240931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcXDREPrvKzz4WtBD9Y58951Llizw5wWYPf_eqkuU3wdtgenJ-_eJe2ybT5LBrhGtXnw0YgetgVwyGd4KbqFx-CmKLOcbgDrdbeENHJVVVv_d5oRw0eyOfV8U6za1lVc7PpPm-7DPeBqj/s400/P1240931.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trail just before the Last Chance aid station.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I decided to create a set of signs for the entrance to the aid station, and to try to make them in the style of the old Burma Shave signs.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgz8_E_r5i1ZRYxCLVht8dK-7OjuhPyVKH_egjoQWBks1C3-0T0THw-0SuCxzSXcylntUziAjCelmllpmtvNLPiK0oOV1TYmfBCLUnAxt-YtHoZVrBA8GBFotok3nHpJsFL6UgjaMJCV1/s1600/IMG_5439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgz8_E_r5i1ZRYxCLVht8dK-7OjuhPyVKH_egjoQWBks1C3-0T0THw-0SuCxzSXcylntUziAjCelmllpmtvNLPiK0oOV1TYmfBCLUnAxt-YtHoZVrBA8GBFotok3nHpJsFL6UgjaMJCV1/s400/IMG_5439.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click any of these pictures to see them larger.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And then there were the signs for runners after they left the aid station.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZrczhaewAj54eKyDDy6owH534e_ZIE5n1phapzumObn9fo46u5beNEvzZFL5voyq0EfGU-Zd1esGGNbicm7M3I0G8om8YpykxNZGaUeMM15l4ct7REdyTEjbX4GUaO7QCUPwSRuF_5F-A/s1600/IMG_5440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1293" data-original-width="1600" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZrczhaewAj54eKyDDy6owH534e_ZIE5n1phapzumObn9fo46u5beNEvzZFL5voyq0EfGU-Zd1esGGNbicm7M3I0G8om8YpykxNZGaUeMM15l4ct7REdyTEjbX4GUaO7QCUPwSRuF_5F-A/s400/IMG_5440.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">General signs for all runners.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhyPC3Q1hjk75gh2QPzZRdSnwZm3BHb1_h1bjE-A0Zqec6hHY-y5prmWuEaJgkTdgqNuoo35NipVr3R3D4U-mZdzLPk6xpa1klA4if9W6Fz3JAccOseFi42LDWj1TNZk9DsFDCXS6wkx3/s1600/IMG_5441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="1600" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhyPC3Q1hjk75gh2QPzZRdSnwZm3BHb1_h1bjE-A0Zqec6hHY-y5prmWuEaJgkTdgqNuoo35NipVr3R3D4U-mZdzLPk6xpa1klA4if9W6Fz3JAccOseFi42LDWj1TNZk9DsFDCXS6wkx3/s400/IMG_5441.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oscar made a set of signs for some runners he knew in the race.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEmct04ZBX_IKMN84lLLnToGoRAaI7TqZgAV_HpVypDgJ9KaAoIh27qj_QrWVehNlSwfcM-vMdkTYyvEStprbruCWKA8YGdW9W-vUK0Rx0lC8L907GdcVlip7l67GWYSzbWqrIt6D-Dtfu/s1600/IMG_5442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1148" data-original-width="1600" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEmct04ZBX_IKMN84lLLnToGoRAaI7TqZgAV_HpVypDgJ9KaAoIh27qj_QrWVehNlSwfcM-vMdkTYyvEStprbruCWKA8YGdW9W-vUK0Rx0lC8L907GdcVlip7l67GWYSzbWqrIt6D-Dtfu/s400/IMG_5442.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The signs I made for various runners, several based on requests and suggestions from others.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I always wonder whether runners see their signs, or whether those that don't have a sign are disappointed. This year I got texted this picture from a coworker (who I had never met) out of Singapore who took the time to take this selfie.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI4xTKY7Vlju4HKXKFTk8LQbl6XaUOPVMKTrn4YqyLPAE_7ZVMVbBjn5j4u7EXk3U05v_Gt6UlsMFyVw-D95vOUuWWwOS_cQNGFqBxIUz5ZwcyJ2hKw5rS6XvxQ1DNZOMxh2kVUpBRAmFz/s1600/IMG_4424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI4xTKY7Vlju4HKXKFTk8LQbl6XaUOPVMKTrn4YqyLPAE_7ZVMVbBjn5j4u7EXk3U05v_Gt6UlsMFyVw-D95vOUuWWwOS_cQNGFqBxIUz5ZwcyJ2hKw5rS6XvxQ1DNZOMxh2kVUpBRAmFz/s400/IMG_4424.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I really love this shot - thanks Reuben!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h4>
At the track</h4>
Once I made it down to the track (well after the first two runners, Jim And Jared, had finished in course record times), I noticed that the track was there, but the football field was missing. A chain link fence surrounded the inner perimeter of the track. This meant that the finish line medical area had to be moved from its normal position on the field. And to keep runners from running into each other, they actually were routed around the track in the opposite direction of normal (after a hairpin turn).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjss9IHPKAZXYo9LNjE6tpPG-sEEhvZFpBZ8YMOsIBVKcJ1oVTQYpgAF4EQXPZVO8qGYe2BhmochCNaCu8JliC4j9W3XqriRk8cfbTPqCBgYFdvLpGb1YfiUz28IcPvL4OeQd_bzmWmsTl0/s1600/WSERTrack2019.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="1600" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjss9IHPKAZXYo9LNjE6tpPG-sEEhvZFpBZ8YMOsIBVKcJ1oVTQYpgAF4EQXPZVO8qGYe2BhmochCNaCu8JliC4j9W3XqriRk8cfbTPqCBgYFdvLpGb1YfiUz28IcPvL4OeQd_bzmWmsTl0/s400/WSERTrack2019.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were assured the distance was still 100.2 miles.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This was unfortunate since a lot of the overnight fun is hanging out on the field and chasing runners around the track. (Well, not me, but the herds of kids that are hanging around, playing frisbee, waiting for a parent to come in.)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRGTFfEVG6F6OrAVSuWa76zm7fRpxVfKMyNNLHqpQ3EuqhoORbMMZmTB9QyMxleI5LFv-I21z17m6Ijy2C4XUDmNu6Nsz9i4IZk-mkxrNTecMHh7nn4hACeHcxO1v_VRbsaLhBXGAAJC8/s1600/IMG_5385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRGTFfEVG6F6OrAVSuWa76zm7fRpxVfKMyNNLHqpQ3EuqhoORbMMZmTB9QyMxleI5LFv-I21z17m6Ijy2C4XUDmNu6Nsz9i4IZk-mkxrNTecMHh7nn4hACeHcxO1v_VRbsaLhBXGAAJC8/s400/IMG_5385.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the finish line from the stands. All that dirt makes it looks like there's going to be a rodeo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE5GwQmqkBq8rXmhfm3ze9DNRFoDuhTRqU11b1NVw-wTQNjeeoR8-zTJlC5jG4uCIbQNCt-u1IxF9KUepj92XWWca0a16nkgRzK4bqAFeU2h__tYdXaNCyOIQUWnULaShJvG2M8T9AI-Q/s1600/IMG_5388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE5GwQmqkBq8rXmhfm3ze9DNRFoDuhTRqU11b1NVw-wTQNjeeoR8-zTJlC5jG4uCIbQNCt-u1IxF9KUepj92XWWca0a16nkgRzK4bqAFeU2h__tYdXaNCyOIQUWnULaShJvG2M8T9AI-Q/s400/IMG_5388.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First woman Clare has just entered the track and is about to make that hairpin turn to go around to the finish.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaXTsu1yD7mzFEy9WATclBGoy52CqOugYDVdWbHnkTzKQLLrqT5ePoClZURsP-FjJHSHU-J8JBFe6dYgOS7OEQ7IoqmWdbYfp11aUnZY9I82KL51tDvdR4vGUqPOeRuY_62iMtQJVXHEZ/s1600/IMG_5400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1212" data-original-width="1600" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaXTsu1yD7mzFEy9WATclBGoy52CqOugYDVdWbHnkTzKQLLrqT5ePoClZURsP-FjJHSHU-J8JBFe6dYgOS7OEQ7IoqmWdbYfp11aUnZY9I82KL51tDvdR4vGUqPOeRuY_62iMtQJVXHEZ/s400/IMG_5400.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A herd of McKunes waiting for John to make it in.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Fortunately, you could still hang out near the gate the runners come in through, and along the wall on the outside of the track. I'm sure this configuration was a one time thing, and that next year the field will be open again. Most likely. I hope.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the runners kept coming in to finish!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyEK9oLTGyt5UIZFFBVlJb-ja3571HhCToZGZQjPOXnR-tjJovYf_vNuY2dqI0L53VuKQfuyXiAEjy7VnBYaPvtwkNaAw5K7DdL5mmRTGX3-333S380Zjv1-tblB-_CnC_7WjrTVWAKHh/s1600/IMG_5401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1104" data-original-width="1600" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyEK9oLTGyt5UIZFFBVlJb-ja3571HhCToZGZQjPOXnR-tjJovYf_vNuY2dqI0L53VuKQfuyXiAEjy7VnBYaPvtwkNaAw5K7DdL5mmRTGX3-333S380Zjv1-tblB-_CnC_7WjrTVWAKHh/s400/IMG_5401.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Emergency Backup Sam, along with the Real Sam, came storming through the gate.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUJu2glCYIHr1i4OOLVVjAgw1Sgf1MSj_fFCwUwoHjTz62lw2ZQb10VH-xOJ-V-j9T-UaASO2GCnnfie4JC_HQBmpi_MhxwuPC0uMFB01MO9BC2_vLL0f15YJDR3gCULMVx4N63JGYo0k/s1600/IMG_5405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1043" data-original-width="1600" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUJu2glCYIHr1i4OOLVVjAgw1Sgf1MSj_fFCwUwoHjTz62lw2ZQb10VH-xOJ-V-j9T-UaASO2GCnnfie4JC_HQBmpi_MhxwuPC0uMFB01MO9BC2_vLL0f15YJDR3gCULMVx4N63JGYo0k/s400/IMG_5405.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The herd of McKunes migrating around the track, just ahead of the Golden Hour - the last 60 minutes before the race ends. John did not want to be a 29er.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiciv0hUPRi6B9QqN2M71dfvTiI5iI4O0l6OYq-BjqlCSfLx11HFOSsUWeix9RdhydS7lcUO1hn1zoqwJ3ZA_V4G8P46lJdjDd266hDl06M4QAAkg5IOIZBK9wN9bWTR6IzRm1xeUMxKQz/s1600/IMG_5412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiciv0hUPRi6B9QqN2M71dfvTiI5iI4O0l6OYq-BjqlCSfLx11HFOSsUWeix9RdhydS7lcUO1hn1zoqwJ3ZA_V4G8P46lJdjDd266hDl06M4QAAkg5IOIZBK9wN9bWTR6IzRm1xeUMxKQz/s400/IMG_5412.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reuben, from that earlier sign selfie, and carrying a Singapore flag, made it to the track with lots of time to spare. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h4>
Wrapping up</h4>
Wow.<br />
<br />
What a weekend.<br />
<br />
So much effort goes into to preparing for this race, and just like that, it's over. There were two runners that finished in the last 60 seconds, which made for an exciting end to the event.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4T5uxHLZRXppzIiPSgAvZobHsQnXXnjw7pRbJQq3xMLVNA_MmjSS5f-bp6AULWy12O7Sm93jtyinglOtyTpABaM5DDVl8jHBqjsiwxjXscjkgSrnIVbQ9g3dc9D3nRy6gvXdBpE_ryhKP/s1600/IMG_5426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4T5uxHLZRXppzIiPSgAvZobHsQnXXnjw7pRbJQq3xMLVNA_MmjSS5f-bp6AULWy12O7Sm93jtyinglOtyTpABaM5DDVl8jHBqjsiwxjXscjkgSrnIVbQ9g3dc9D3nRy6gvXdBpE_ryhKP/s400/IMG_5426.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hurriedly packed aid station stuff that I had to haul back.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The cool weather put a unique spin on the race, but it was, as always, an epic experience. And exhausting. So exhausting (and I just have a relatively small part compared to so many that are involved with this race).<br />
<br />
It's hard to explain why this event is so compelling for me - I often know at least a few people running it, and while I like to geek over the elites as they come through, the runners pushing the cutoffs are often the most interesting and fun to work with. You get a real appreciation for the effort and energy these runners are putting into this race, and a great understanding of what it really takes to cover 100.2 mountain miles in less than 30 hours.<br />
<br />
But next time I WILL figure out how to plug in my blender.<br />
<br />
That's it - move along…<br />
<br />
PS: Here is a link to some pictures I put on FB: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notthatlucas/media_set?set=a.10216732314878237&type=3" target="_blank">General aid station</a>.notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-53192135706931464512019-01-13T12:00:00.000-08:002019-01-13T12:24:50.462-08:00I get to go belt shopping!Sorry - that's a bit of a spoiler in the title. (Also, sorry for this being so long. REALLY long.)<br />
<h4>
Signing Up</h4>
Back in 2015, I took my <a href="http://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2015/03/how-to-avoid-needing-to-buy-new-belt.html" target="_blank">first shot</a> at the 100K distance at the Razorback race, where I had 36 hours to get it done.<br />
<br />
I failed.<br />
<br />
And that really bugged me later on. I was a bit of a trail snob back then, and once the weather turned the trail into soup, I quit rather than to continue on using the flat, paved two mile loop option. I was sure that I would go insane on such a short, boring loop.<br />
<br />
I was an idiot.<br />
<br />
Since then I've done a number of timed races on flat loops, including on a high school track, and have learned to really like that format. And I've yet to go insane. (At least by my standards.)<br />
<br />
In the fall of 2018, <a href="http://www.coastaltrailruns.com/index.html" target="_blank">Coastal Trail Runs</a> announced that their annual <a href="http://www.coastaltrailruns.com/nyod_new_year_one_day.html" target="_blank">New Year's One Day</a> race was not going to be able to happen on New Year's Eve, as was the tradition, due to permit issues (the park decided that it no longer wanted events on holidays). So the race moved to the first weekend of January. I was never able to attend the New Year's Eve version of the race, but this new date fit perfectly.<br />
<br />
What didn't fit perfectly was my fitness. I had done a six hour race at that same location <a href="http://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2018/06/loopiness-has-its-place.html" target="_blank">earlier this year</a>, and struggled towards the end of it. But I weirdly thought I could give the twelve hour version of this race a good shot. Maybe get my third 50 mile finish.<br />
<br />
But I didn't sign up.<br />
<br />
Then, on Black Friday, Coastal held a sale, and suddenly I needed to make the commitment. So I signed up for the 24 hour version. Naturally.<br />
<h4>
Pre-Race Musings</h4>
The thing about these kinds of races (and one of the things that makes them such a huge mental challenge), is that you can stop whenever you want. So I thought I could just see what happens:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>C Goal:</b> Get to 50K - that would be my first ultra since (and this stunned me a bit) August of 2016 at Run-D-Vous (<a href="http://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2016/08/" target="_blank">my second 50M run</a>). </li>
<li><b>B Goal:</b> Get to 50M - especially if I could do that in 12 hours (wildly unlikely though).</li>
<li><b>A Goal:</b> Get to 100K - this was really a stretch, but if I could keep from napping (which would be tough), 24 hours should be plenty of time to get to 62 miles, even if I had to crawl. </li>
</ul>
<br />
But I don't like crawling.<br />
<br />
As the race day approached, one of my worst fears started to look very likely - it was not only going to be rainy, but very windy. I generally don't mind rain since I normally sweat so much that a bit of rain doesn't make a huge difference.<br />
<br />
But wind? I do not like fighting the wind.<br />
<br />
I was born in southwestern Kansas. As a kid, I knew all about wind. You've heard how Eskimos have 200 words for snow? Kansans have 400 words for wind. We didn't use a cute little wind gauge - we tied a logging chain to a tree branch. When the links started snapping off, you knew there could be a real storm coming.<br />
<br />
I've gotten soft though, and trying to run in a rainy, wet wind is not fun. The one thing in my favor was that a third of the course was paved and the rest was a fairly solid gravel, so footing wouldn't be an issue.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDD2pQCCuyknFtbzWaA7aJl9iLnVfb4vbFPnt7_ExqRRRvQfDmJXrOmyW4dWQDBFh9TFR4Tq_xhHfj6JsoME_IxRJcZhmsCyei9TvowPU_fq3DRgFzx2u_MNN_SqHhC8ffwuciDHL_wE-A/s1600/IMG_5003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDD2pQCCuyknFtbzWaA7aJl9iLnVfb4vbFPnt7_ExqRRRvQfDmJXrOmyW4dWQDBFh9TFR4Tq_xhHfj6JsoME_IxRJcZhmsCyei9TvowPU_fq3DRgFzx2u_MNN_SqHhC8ffwuciDHL_wE-A/s400/IMG_5003.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My jug, table, and pet Sun in the staging area.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The race started at the decent hour of 9AM, which meant I didn't have to get up crazy early. Once I arrived, I set up a table with a jug full of Tailwind and my pet Sun. (The Sun was created back in 2012 when Mrs Notthat ran a ridiculously wet CIM - I was her crew and the Sun became an easy way for her to find me along the course.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4bu6pAvu0pjApOgUYNdXvqp8mH_J661ycH0Qk6Adl7P9EneZOfz9uLvVfwPNACal8uk4-a1kUfesJdJst73zFVBXNu6VNL8gJwP4tKLR7Hfr-XhUmUfIMzL9dZujeb2ElBrw-byMKZ0L/s1600/IMG_5004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4bu6pAvu0pjApOgUYNdXvqp8mH_J661ycH0Qk6Adl7P9EneZOfz9uLvVfwPNACal8uk4-a1kUfesJdJst73zFVBXNu6VNL8gJwP4tKLR7Hfr-XhUmUfIMzL9dZujeb2ElBrw-byMKZ0L/s400/IMG_5004.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My arch-nemesis is in the house! Or, well, at the race!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I knew quite a few people in the race, but the person I was really looking for was my arch-nemesis. She has had an unbelievably rough last couple of months, and nobody would have blamed her if she had decided that she needed this weekend off. But for people that sign up for these sorts of events, running them often is the best therapy when things are tough. So naturally, she showed up raring to go.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSvAl4__Wry7TaYIDL957SP7uPYweCH3TVRENvRlLaRBMXQbdls-ZyiHGhO-84T-ZSj5PuBRgBr814SkXdyyw_1nXXF876GplgrqLQDvAbLYYw2NntQFrQOrxW0nzolZK9iVbgGGJM0ux/s1600/P1230864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSvAl4__Wry7TaYIDL957SP7uPYweCH3TVRENvRlLaRBMXQbdls-ZyiHGhO-84T-ZSj5PuBRgBr814SkXdyyw_1nXXF876GplgrqLQDvAbLYYw2NntQFrQOrxW0nzolZK9iVbgGGJM0ux/s400/P1230864.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to convince this awning that it wasn't a kite.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h4>
Race Start</h4>
It was not raining at the start, but the wind was quite enthusiastically making its presence known. Everything was wet due to earlier showers.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiJ1_HwMseDTSb5y2dpTTIfhlo0gmf2pwGuNvlTfpVGfaYw700EPs_QMXpKNF3rHsX2mUbG7x-TdSgcgIFVHgCYCPettvmWs-BK6C4gmmtnk3FATepMb8ClTU3zI-v5CmBcL41tTvSIkO/s1600/P1230876.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiJ1_HwMseDTSb5y2dpTTIfhlo0gmf2pwGuNvlTfpVGfaYw700EPs_QMXpKNF3rHsX2mUbG7x-TdSgcgIFVHgCYCPettvmWs-BK6C4gmmtnk3FATepMb8ClTU3zI-v5CmBcL41tTvSIkO/s400/P1230876.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're off! About two-thirds of the course is hard packed gravel like this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All three times (6 hour, 12 hour, and 24 hour) started at the same time. Between the three times, there were 164 runners that started (including a runner from each of 6 teams). A fun thing about this race format is that, as long as you finish at least one lap, you're a finisher! You almost can't DNF.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2pC2gzRBTnmo3IZAoegE8a4YYfwRGn8d6CI9TyEqqS-I1AZ9TNPuj9gS6mQkljAcE5uIEO6I-jsNmStiBTJcK4CqvJYCWPMx1ikDR8mzZUXqZ_AaNWt9r8mnjnQ-OH6oKL5_9pF5U4AR/s1600/P1230877.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2pC2gzRBTnmo3IZAoegE8a4YYfwRGn8d6CI9TyEqqS-I1AZ9TNPuj9gS6mQkljAcE5uIEO6I-jsNmStiBTJcK4CqvJYCWPMx1ikDR8mzZUXqZ_AaNWt9r8mnjnQ-OH6oKL5_9pF5U4AR/s400/P1230877.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selrahc, not his real name, pausing to grab a picture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYd1zoh9Y3tYRS03bDc-WbhovNZEjE5EGZyiRBshRYOjqMKSGT0f6grRTjglz30ErtA9AEnp1CkykfmiJPwhlAAH0c2CkxHe_2b7zkvYQtX6jReR7EmAz4VHcC63tHkucHf08SxAqdJeP/s1600/P1230879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYd1zoh9Y3tYRS03bDc-WbhovNZEjE5EGZyiRBshRYOjqMKSGT0f6grRTjglz30ErtA9AEnp1CkykfmiJPwhlAAH0c2CkxHe_2b7zkvYQtX6jReR7EmAz4VHcC63tHkucHf08SxAqdJeP/s400/P1230879.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The paved bit of the course. There is a pedestrian lane and two bicycle lanes running next to the road. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A huge difference from when I ran this course in the summer was the almost complete lack of tourists. There were a few bikes, but for the most part, we had complete use of the whole paved bit.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioCzFUFUSyUiCdPIv-wbjZzuIQYcL0VY56yZ9v8a0mmWgngy5ZrOK5X46hR8uW6nb8aAfhTnDEX3RhvuJDLdjeXrb96sRQoAPeueluT17_O4il1OOVkZShu3ZjKQXI8BJkYjGRc-RSp_1H/s1600/P1230882.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioCzFUFUSyUiCdPIv-wbjZzuIQYcL0VY56yZ9v8a0mmWgngy5ZrOK5X46hR8uW6nb8aAfhTnDEX3RhvuJDLdjeXrb96sRQoAPeueluT17_O4il1OOVkZShu3ZjKQXI8BJkYjGRc-RSp_1H/s400/P1230882.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking across the lagoon. I might get lapped on the first lap!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI6x1JtTOguWpISlAIwL5uLG47M5wLMvJzg7oDOUPCwP8powRH7wOn_D5M5ysbTqDWR5mir3o_ten1Xow_GVFYG1KALMtDVEBkbgcOQDO41ipirBwHUYEJiOmlnHbNmSXjKWfMaGoDzM8P/s1600/P1230891.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI6x1JtTOguWpISlAIwL5uLG47M5wLMvJzg7oDOUPCwP8powRH7wOn_D5M5ysbTqDWR5mir3o_ten1Xow_GVFYG1KALMtDVEBkbgcOQDO41ipirBwHUYEJiOmlnHbNmSXjKWfMaGoDzM8P/s400/P1230891.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hi Liag! Not your real name!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the early part of the race, Liag showed up to take pictures of us as we looped around. This is normally not a tough gig - all the runners will go past you every 10-20 minutes and the backgrounds are amazing. The weather, however, made this much tougher.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-N_X7UITZzcrVIPQPFge2Z8JhCXm26_WvuxrD7pLhzbuONRPE3mrqe9lJz7VQr_Fw0uf4LwU0gdsVesWG77VdXIbLZqoQyqWEDs035I4badQ1WfrR9W6HPTLtXca9OxuBcR9vhyovdkf/s1600/Me+at+NYOD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-N_X7UITZzcrVIPQPFge2Z8JhCXm26_WvuxrD7pLhzbuONRPE3mrqe9lJz7VQr_Fw0uf4LwU0gdsVesWG77VdXIbLZqoQyqWEDs035I4badQ1WfrR9W6HPTLtXca9OxuBcR9vhyovdkf/s400/Me+at+NYOD.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by Laig. Before the rain started. Sorry for blocking the view of the bridge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5zSOygAfPmama6UY93PTjV4ZjXz9lkXC6W75E2Yd9Gr7Sy7RHlsWA-vxyr8orvVrCIDradzFaF6wYLAnablSQLR_hvm9eVoxUQ65RHAEnAydGkxzb8CvjzY1VD7alRx_RYh8qBGxnB6S/s1600/P1230901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5zSOygAfPmama6UY93PTjV4ZjXz9lkXC6W75E2Yd9Gr7Sy7RHlsWA-vxyr8orvVrCIDradzFaF6wYLAnablSQLR_hvm9eVoxUQ65RHAEnAydGkxzb8CvjzY1VD7alRx_RYh8qBGxnB6S/s400/P1230901.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anrol, not her real name, flying down the trail. Sadly, a badly positioned rain drop on my lens kept this from being a great shot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
A fun thing about this race was that you could change your direction every time you finished a lap. There were two timing mats - just cross them both, turn around, then cross them again. With runners going both directions, you would end up seeing some twice per lap, while others going the same direction as you, you might never see.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There was some debate about which direction was the best. Early on, I felt like CW (clockwise) was the best - you got the inside track the whole way around. After the rain though, that inside track was often flooded with puddles. (In the dark, the CCW direction made it surprisingly easier for a sleep-deprived mind - like mine - to miss the turns.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I decided that I would change direction every six laps (essentially, every 10K). I also posted a status update at those points. </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacdYiSVly3TNdOB_lr5dv3p2tYGEm3vDLigs8sIqp0hYzPCYWYOSF_aHlHjSTC0sTmn-xm5t1ypSIYemQNiEzUU5mkU0PgOZW9IF4IH_2X6uY3LL5s3ygcfRHjccs7YX_XxS1gED_V14j/s1600/P1230910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacdYiSVly3TNdOB_lr5dv3p2tYGEm3vDLigs8sIqp0hYzPCYWYOSF_aHlHjSTC0sTmn-xm5t1ypSIYemQNiEzUU5mkU0PgOZW9IF4IH_2X6uY3LL5s3ygcfRHjccs7YX_XxS1gED_V14j/s400/P1230910.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr Coastal taking his pet cone for a walk.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkqiSyVYWZCnDgux_9FYJmgq0SxArfnXdNBU73hQKK9zq25HgotK_cHZZ2MSAajwPRuASTKn0mh8L5ed2-a5mMduVxgZrurS7tajJu_EZbirGUc4HlT1qJU6GXglN7YPrtNurLrdlrt2D/s1600/IMG_5005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkqiSyVYWZCnDgux_9FYJmgq0SxArfnXdNBU73hQKK9zq25HgotK_cHZZ2MSAajwPRuASTKn0mh8L5ed2-a5mMduVxgZrurS7tajJu_EZbirGUc4HlT1qJU6GXglN7YPrtNurLrdlrt2D/s400/IMG_5005.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hey! Is that horse for rent?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
It was great fun seeing Eca (not his real name) out there patrolling the course (at least until the rain started in earnest). </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO86fwBKxa6MEHnhMtzas3po3i7CtGaWGJo01mWVcEtsZppeaP5K7bB-CArWeAn4RMyzrf7gjpSPSA5PGE6c4oxQYZ85rAWBPCdjjItmyW5-1eQXGpsHOvhpqAqfxN9InF0qUl9i9H4kfs/s1600/P1230922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO86fwBKxa6MEHnhMtzas3po3i7CtGaWGJo01mWVcEtsZppeaP5K7bB-CArWeAn4RMyzrf7gjpSPSA5PGE6c4oxQYZ85rAWBPCdjjItmyW5-1eQXGpsHOvhpqAqfxN9InF0qUl9i9H4kfs/s400/P1230922.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alright - which wise guy took the bridge?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The rain came in from the north, and the bridge gave us early warning that a shower was coming. If it turned up missing (like above), that meant we were about to get wet.<br />
<br />
We turned out to be mostly dry until about noon, when things got decidedly moist.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq478tXlgK_pDzxmUEbfDeRkxT57EReU83vXxAW5EfXp6A6C0yeXqZqbGfp34tTYzCgftV7CK7X6BxlO-SAiOQPkSz8KRnA_d9yo2FzQayxWAuZPMB61Akjh9dSe9cNMygPP6IXiz4QXb1/s1600/P1230927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq478tXlgK_pDzxmUEbfDeRkxT57EReU83vXxAW5EfXp6A6C0yeXqZqbGfp34tTYzCgftV7CK7X6BxlO-SAiOQPkSz8KRnA_d9yo2FzQayxWAuZPMB61Akjh9dSe9cNMygPP6IXiz4QXb1/s400/P1230927.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A giant slip-n-slide! (Actually, the footing was solid, even on this bit up the course's massive hill.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7t33Ju2cwQYLAWMt9SUrGgBP67dhDUqqG68OXfrB8bc1wnCKhI2rArJlfTRYtRnHbLAbwb4kjvjfrUGABfEbW4w9GdWwXNxq8pn0LmdFVOgX4AEqVOzC49HboEg_iTla_5FJ8EPz55aN/s1600/P1230929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7t33Ju2cwQYLAWMt9SUrGgBP67dhDUqqG68OXfrB8bc1wnCKhI2rArJlfTRYtRnHbLAbwb4kjvjfrUGABfEbW4w9GdWwXNxq8pn0LmdFVOgX4AEqVOzC49HboEg_iTla_5FJ8EPz55aN/s400/P1230929.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watch out for car splashes!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEize3c_hyphenhyphenB8ah0NYMaq6ek21zI0586rGLzVd4wqHrXFtXiTHPU8-hX5RNmDjBf0D10YTWDuRLqzI8Jq8IjrDQniwF6mR3moVlyDAektCjij0O30NjhkOZ1mFFTbJW9mEc-4V0PHAcFdXE5V/s1600/P1230930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEize3c_hyphenhyphenB8ah0NYMaq6ek21zI0586rGLzVd4wqHrXFtXiTHPU8-hX5RNmDjBf0D10YTWDuRLqzI8Jq8IjrDQniwF6mR3moVlyDAektCjij0O30NjhkOZ1mFFTbJW9mEc-4V0PHAcFdXE5V/s400/P1230930.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The very brave Bryan W Ting (his real name) risking his camera to capture amazing shots of us. Note my camera strap getting blown into the shot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
About 1 PM, the clouds opened up and we all got soaked. Anyone trying to keep their shoes dry were doomed at this point. Bryan Ting was out taking pictures, and I was amazed he didn't run away to protect his equipment during this downpour. Here's a typical shot of his during this period.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMU39XvqYkktg1X7ZZnmXPvv0C5A_4i-P-2j-Tn0ATrTvWXtEXq83qUtEsds2gn1D0hXko2p7PqKxHyeqxJZ-aOQAmvp6Lfs4bX4saR3oDZNCRX-gPIdIFdmvLZn46mX5GSIfboVvmPh7U/s1600/BryanTingPhoto.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMU39XvqYkktg1X7ZZnmXPvv0C5A_4i-P-2j-Tn0ATrTvWXtEXq83qUtEsds2gn1D0hXko2p7PqKxHyeqxJZ-aOQAmvp6Lfs4bX4saR3oDZNCRX-gPIdIFdmvLZn46mX5GSIfboVvmPh7U/s400/BryanTingPhoto.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by Bryan W Ting. So much rain!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKx7gEzL026ZFcQhOwFe8yD3H2-3n15YGVtn7asF_rZehZpyoPYmL5ucCTR3bjq-wbWO0A43gKpN4_YMUmdz6CGTuYWXCr0Rz9840TrEScNmIRtASTlEII7WWueenbfuoc2LKw9fyzQAu8/s1600/IMG_5006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKx7gEzL026ZFcQhOwFe8yD3H2-3n15YGVtn7asF_rZehZpyoPYmL5ucCTR3bjq-wbWO0A43gKpN4_YMUmdz6CGTuYWXCr0Rz9840TrEScNmIRtASTlEII7WWueenbfuoc2LKw9fyzQAu8/s400/IMG_5006.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anyone up for a swim?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While the hard packed gravel trails didn't really get muddy or slippery, they also took forever to drain. This puddle would eventually get a bit smaller, but it (and its many cousins) had to be negotiated for the rest of the race.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzW99ihoGw3faWbkRZV2JnRS_o59-pQs3f2Ey5kumrF9SUcdaHLFL4OMW1QRMPY67HzEDuUhGUBOnJAMqT5pB9LI4VKuyPRm16JIuQ5rR-_nBocgyBsniHHMdGI2GlPzluGwqIdTEiTcRp/s1600/P1230957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzW99ihoGw3faWbkRZV2JnRS_o59-pQs3f2Ey5kumrF9SUcdaHLFL4OMW1QRMPY67HzEDuUhGUBOnJAMqT5pB9LI4VKuyPRm16JIuQ5rR-_nBocgyBsniHHMdGI2GlPzluGwqIdTEiTcRp/s400/P1230957.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cavalry bringing the sunshine!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A bit before 3:00, Mrs Notthat and Not a Canadian showed up to give me moral support. It was not a coincidence that, at this point, the rain really tapered off. It was great fun having them there, although I suspect they were more than a bit surprised by how slow I was going. (By 3:00, I was averaging a bit over 17 minute miles.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqoMHX0eeY9JUq_thzLGJ1oihLKw8-GXJqU5u5sdPY0Y2ju66ne3VtihXoSPdzQqbIGlbmNilfptelh6-LCVdEPFkYakCiu0_GHCXMMFGWDa8tNBO2x0TMQELSsBZLYx4Z3AUcA6cBPuH/s1600/KatheinrMaryMe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqoMHX0eeY9JUq_thzLGJ1oihLKw8-GXJqU5u5sdPY0Y2ju66ne3VtihXoSPdzQqbIGlbmNilfptelh6-LCVdEPFkYakCiu0_GHCXMMFGWDa8tNBO2x0TMQELSsBZLYx4Z3AUcA6cBPuH/s400/KatheinrMaryMe.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proof that my arch-nemesis and I were actually quite civil to each other. At this point, we were pretty much tied. Picture by Not a Canadian.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As it edged to dusk, Mrs Notthat and Not a Canadian did two things: Convinced me to change into dry clothes and warned me that the night might not be kind, rain-wise.<br />
<br />
I brought a lot of spare clothes in anticipation of getting wet. When it came down to it though, I was really hesitant to change, both because I didn't want to lose that time and because I guessed I was just going to get rained on again.<br />
<br />
But it had rained little since about 3:30, so at 4:15 or so, I did a complete change of everything but my knee brace. This meant spending quality time in a porta-pottie doing things that porta-potties are not designed to let you do, namely, extract yourself from soaking wet stuff while not making the dry stuff you want to put on also soaking wet. Or worse. In the end, it took me 30 minutes to get changed.<br />
<br />
But it was glorious to be in warm, dry clothes and shoes. This meant I had to become better at puddle avoidance to try and keep my shoes dry as long as possible, but it sounded like that was a short term issue due to the forecast.<br />
<br />
When I looked at the weather forecast just before the race, it said there would be showers up until about 4 PM and then it would stay dry until late the next morning. They had nailed the 4 PM stoppage, so I was looking forward to the dry night. It was still windy, but since I had warm dry stuff on, the wind was just a nuisance, and not a real issue anymore.<br />
<br />
However, looking at the updated forecast for the night showed an 80% chance rain at about midnight, with the chances remaining high for the rest of the night.<br />
<br />
It was at this point I started making deals with myself - I would stay out and keep moving until the next serious rain hit, then I would sit in the car and wait it out. I was so over rain, and trying to deal with it and another change of clothes in the dark did not appeal to me.<br />
<br />
Mrs Notthat and Not a Canadian stayed around for a bit more, but then said their goodbyes and headed home. For the first time, I started listening to podcasts and music. (At 3 PM, the 6 hour runners were done, which greatly reduced the number of runners on the course. At 9 PM, the 12 hour runners would be done, leaving around 45 of us on the course.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJB72XqZp25cBH26ivlU-BBIGtocIANpCIcxxttwmDwuQy74PIU3d9y6Mk-gwdhkMrPmMMbWGiHDtI8ohGvTo_Fg-ALFXEZI85ud_Cpa5JDE7Wt9lvN3La_mmClhBrEvjxVBFno3qpOKle/s1600/IMG_5009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJB72XqZp25cBH26ivlU-BBIGtocIANpCIcxxttwmDwuQy74PIU3d9y6Mk-gwdhkMrPmMMbWGiHDtI8ohGvTo_Fg-ALFXEZI85ud_Cpa5JDE7Wt9lvN3La_mmClhBrEvjxVBFno3qpOKle/s400/IMG_5009.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bridge was gorgeous all lit up at night, and even better, it was not being blocked by rain!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
By about 6 PM I hit the 50K mark. (Yikes - a 9 hour 50K!) This was the halfway point of my A goal. At this point, I couldn't imagine doing all of that again, especially with the predicted rain on the way.<br />
<br />
At the 12 hour point I was just under 40 miles, which depressed me a bit. But then I did the math; I had 12 hours to get 22 miles done. If I did 30 minute miles, I would get it done easy (well, ish). Since I was averaging 20 minute miles, this meant I could possibly be done in maybe 8 hours - I could take an hour nap, then come back out in daylight and get a few more laps done!<br />
<br />
But all of this depended on the rain, and that 80% chance was looking grim. But this also meant, if I had to hole up for an hour or two while it rained, I could still get it done. The problem with that though, was that I was finding it really hard to get started again whenever I paused to eat something or make a bathroom stop. Could I get going after stopping for a couple of hours? My feet were very tender and my whole body ached. (Remember - I had not put it through this sort of effort for nearly two and a half years!)<br />
<br />
I started drinking hot tea. The angel that is Htenaj (not her real name) convinced me to eat a cup of ramen noodles. My stomach was OK, but seemed on the verge of revolting, but her getting me to eat that soup, spread over several laps, seemed to really help.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4UeSVgDIjcyETYWBrKZkIebwwZMNmoFkCN54x_7kY50bD9S6_cu_pMMeWBHZy7UQMVoUO1uRiUdBBzO5XPT7YN6lP2ZBL1-5E795hxMANopbT_gUACjjqjZ00CRjOn0Weer8wL5ocpNPj/s1600/IMG_5014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4UeSVgDIjcyETYWBrKZkIebwwZMNmoFkCN54x_7kY50bD9S6_cu_pMMeWBHZy7UQMVoUO1uRiUdBBzO5XPT7YN6lP2ZBL1-5E795hxMANopbT_gUACjjqjZ00CRjOn0Weer8wL5ocpNPj/s400/IMG_5014.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The brave Racso (not his real name), with Jr watching, lubing my sore feet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Around midnight, several things happened.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Racso offered to put lube on my feet and handle any blisters that were there. My feet were painful, and I was sure they were covered in blisters, but there was actually not much blistering being done - they were mostly just tender.</li>
<li>My Garmin died. I brought a brick to recharge it, so I walked a couple of laps while it charged. (Then I put it on and promptly forgot to start it, so I ended up missing out on probably 5 or 6 laps of data. Granted, the data was just me going around in ever slower circles.)</li>
<li>Somewhere around here I hit 50 miles! At about 1:30 AM I had 13 laps to go!</li>
<li>Shortly after getting my Garmin back, my Apple Watch died. So I put it on the charger for a couple of laps. (Fortunately it's smart enough to just start working again once I put it back on.)</li>
</ul>
<br />
But the truly interesting/great thing was that it was not raining. Even better, the wind was calming down. It was actually almost pleasant out there! There were few cars and normal people around. It felt like a number of the runners were off taking naps since the course did not have many people on it (although that was really hard to gauge since they could have been going my direction).<br />
<br />
Keeping to my bargain, even though I was very tired and sleep sounded like an amazing idea, I kept going, knowing that the rain could start at any moment.<br />
<br />
Rasco got me to eat some of his homemade pho, and that was great. It didn't seem to bother my stomach and gave me some energy. I was now mostly averaging 25-26 minute miles.<br />
<br />
It continued to not rain, so I continued to keep moving. Then one of the most amazing things ever happened at about 3 AM - Mrs Notthat and Not a Canadian showed back up! I was totally stunned! It was such a huge lift having them there, although by that point I was pretty far gone, both mentally and physically. I had been starting to have trouble staying out of the puddles, and had actually come close a couple of times to missing a turn and actually getting off course! I wasn't great company for them, but they were great at warning me about puddles and tripping over cones.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxfRQPdVwCBciJcetC0JdR79TVa5pnfQqjIWN-OIrcw2Q3gavzGedIYFhdY_TiSBj5F7SWZkGKg2R1pnRRuq3I9dncaOsAH5KsR3iIXAuojjDjXe3YqRWoh8IgepqhS2W8lKvA7yQSRQG/s1600/P1230972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxfRQPdVwCBciJcetC0JdR79TVa5pnfQqjIWN-OIrcw2Q3gavzGedIYFhdY_TiSBj5F7SWZkGKg2R1pnRRuq3I9dncaOsAH5KsR3iIXAuojjDjXe3YqRWoh8IgepqhS2W8lKvA7yQSRQG/s400/P1230972.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat and I getting flashed! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimyn9uk2eB_JBIZR5HsQyAwvzRIkp2aI8ma3Fs3mdk5btbWjw_TbXyTSpGe6AYD1bwbtyzRiq-noPda2g6LJ1WkaxYB7fM1HwzINK5MqAL7Y1GVnFRz9oD2mIftDAvQQewaQ3IHIWbcHEi/s1600/P1230976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimyn9uk2eB_JBIZR5HsQyAwvzRIkp2aI8ma3Fs3mdk5btbWjw_TbXyTSpGe6AYD1bwbtyzRiq-noPda2g6LJ1WkaxYB7fM1HwzINK5MqAL7Y1GVnFRz9oD2mIftDAvQQewaQ3IHIWbcHEi/s400/P1230976.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a Canadian and I getting flashed!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqidW_b50-R_QA_Syo3IEdrtCilqVuvqsN7Rddmv4NAkhHWXvmdAFaq5W008srvgusSUcUIr4FLpPcv0SImgN9lquanqu72If12grOAvaQU71FOPF0hlYn0QCsMp2VCIjUUjIrd1uRYa60/s1600/KatherineNightPaved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqidW_b50-R_QA_Syo3IEdrtCilqVuvqsN7Rddmv4NAkhHWXvmdAFaq5W008srvgusSUcUIr4FLpPcv0SImgN9lquanqu72If12grOAvaQU71FOPF0hlYn0QCsMp2VCIjUUjIrd1uRYa60/s400/KatherineNightPaved.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat and I following the white lines on the paved bit. Picture by Not a Canadian.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I kept on going, the rain kept holding off, and the miles, slowly, kept counting down.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkwcBoLXj7FuHPv8fWAihHy63jxbA2QaXjZjr8_jUseEK5B3Clo5CybiLkKCynMKvDlVqg8_uAqi9o5_fZ0v9vOJL0d_lCeMEdEIf4403ukv7dOfFyGLFhhtEw9PSHYUZybf3JjLhQEWiV/s1600/P1230990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkwcBoLXj7FuHPv8fWAihHy63jxbA2QaXjZjr8_jUseEK5B3Clo5CybiLkKCynMKvDlVqg8_uAqi9o5_fZ0v9vOJL0d_lCeMEdEIf4403ukv7dOfFyGLFhhtEw9PSHYUZybf3JjLhQEWiV/s400/P1230990.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Htenaj and Not a Canadian employing the strategy of staying on each side of me to keep me from wandering off the trail.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On the final lap, Htenaj joined us. It was dark at the start of it, but you could see some daylight nudging the horizon.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8Pq0g3RtLSyxnfiOq06_AAQXF7191CfEC1nQwDHnejcXXJJaLm_Jcdb0C6T0nXeYgS7dgHaX-0nnSwq70K2KhU8Hx50j48AO3YrxgrEX2U41OBLlvVBkO9IL26Xp5logFK-_QqPFWSEs/s1600/P1230996.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8Pq0g3RtLSyxnfiOq06_AAQXF7191CfEC1nQwDHnejcXXJJaLm_Jcdb0C6T0nXeYgS7dgHaX-0nnSwq70K2KhU8Hx50j48AO3YrxgrEX2U41OBLlvVBkO9IL26Xp5logFK-_QqPFWSEs/s400/P1230996.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm about a third of the way through that last lap - daylight is really happening!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUl8lZJSJybOmKME1tZTZwHfA2ySMmQ9jgyj4fiwcX-Ry96PuSoYZviTi0RkzgAkVhbEzHp4Z5GhIa6qJ-hD-ng1mIBk7JhCgs5Oy-oQXhdzblzCyRoSJPYDCEUg4W-D_xVNTApYZbBRo/s1600/P1240002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUl8lZJSJybOmKME1tZTZwHfA2ySMmQ9jgyj4fiwcX-Ry96PuSoYZviTi0RkzgAkVhbEzHp4Z5GhIa6qJ-hD-ng1mIBk7JhCgs5Oy-oQXhdzblzCyRoSJPYDCEUg4W-D_xVNTApYZbBRo/s400/P1240002.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They wanted me to pose for one last shot by that stupid bridge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When I got about two-thirds of the way done with that last lap, it started to rain again. Not a heavy rain - probably not heavy enough to have stopped me during the night, but, well, I was really looking for an excuse to stop, so maybe?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj7zv82k9aFYXUpEEfDVaOzAjXu0nTBmnS_ZCohWuIFpsc_7Mye_zOu5shX4VohIr1PEw22aX6qwrVXALjD3loJDq4wyuzDbH5bH49YPrztROeSlwKgX-hKynIZ9TpM66vVY38XFes6PZW/s1600/KatherineMeDone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj7zv82k9aFYXUpEEfDVaOzAjXu0nTBmnS_ZCohWuIFpsc_7Mye_zOu5shX4VohIr1PEw22aX6qwrVXALjD3loJDq4wyuzDbH5bH49YPrztROeSlwKgX-hKynIZ9TpM66vVY38XFes6PZW/s400/KatherineMeDone.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All done!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here is a video that Not a Canadian took of my "strong" finish!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxkUqAQDXIq0M0bPmIfsxYaAhwe6HjTktt9R90mcurcKG4PX-GOxQQQZ2F_VAnXUXJpBjCiI3M5P7Gp2quusg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
There was an amazing amount of discussion on that last loop over what that song was called. Sheesh. (And for the record, that did not break that bottle. I have no idea why I did that. Also for the record, that was the first time I had tried to run since about mile 10.)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78TwFqBVdLS1Odk3ePdJIPqQWFCx_RKpX1ZB6YPqHFNzkAjLBRk7Jxb2LZ7hqenT8bldLX55B2e8QWZN9Wp-EHed9CdFBJ8arO3TV9Yz5xVqDk544281-3A8-JzHVF4RZWuaYIfemiaSv/s1600/KatherineMeLengWendell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78TwFqBVdLS1Odk3ePdJIPqQWFCx_RKpX1ZB6YPqHFNzkAjLBRk7Jxb2LZ7hqenT8bldLX55B2e8QWZN9Wp-EHed9CdFBJ8arO3TV9Yz5xVqDk544281-3A8-JzHVF4RZWuaYIfemiaSv/s400/KatherineMeLengWendell.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs and Mr Coastal were as amazed as I that this actually happened! (Note that by this time it was raining pretty steady.)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBThHF3lkBvhVKOocyhUhgKmGFVY-Nyh-Zhc6egJeGf0wGB7XtbbltTlageAoAwJlK7sgBN6ugvwBqHcZLKrHrUP3IX45B3XXEW4ZEwPkhIjhJUgoAkUW6pMKM8M5oOjlKsy7wfJW_Dd0r/s1600/P1240024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBThHF3lkBvhVKOocyhUhgKmGFVY-Nyh-Zhc6egJeGf0wGB7XtbbltTlageAoAwJlK7sgBN6ugvwBqHcZLKrHrUP3IX45B3XXEW4ZEwPkhIjhJUgoAkUW6pMKM8M5oOjlKsy7wfJW_Dd0r/s400/P1240024.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My support team! (Well, Eon, not his real name, and the Endorphin Dude were actually still in the race, but they couldn't turn down a group photo!) Missing from this shot is the amazing Racso!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRM1USNsUV-zmklCqf14emZQ3XmN3cTLZG5C9VmsLCCa46TRlvdwh_WHoKbQWBf3HWSP3VXC3NitqkOVnQhWaUo-6X7C6xD9bBi6j1pk4dQahei0uMaPdCi8UWVPEOZLz5GQ5aa40DSiw/s1600/Course.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="1600" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRM1USNsUV-zmklCqf14emZQ3XmN3cTLZG5C9VmsLCCa46TRlvdwh_WHoKbQWBf3HWSP3VXC3NitqkOVnQhWaUo-6X7C6xD9bBi6j1pk4dQahei0uMaPdCi8UWVPEOZLz5GQ5aa40DSiw/s400/Course.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From my Garmin. As you can tell, it's missing 5 or 6 laps.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZhMWlxDZyu_SJQ9WmyRRPA5jA7sa8qunw4MeW8HUkdFB5izjrgTDG5JzPLsjE-7eIuDiAlt_fkcPw01Rmf2aRDZHb8Zy4E38WDkN6eYUojO4t1CMRS8uwaG0KCLBGLQstMbWyxY-90hC/s1600/P1240029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1353" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZhMWlxDZyu_SJQ9WmyRRPA5jA7sa8qunw4MeW8HUkdFB5izjrgTDG5JzPLsjE-7eIuDiAlt_fkcPw01Rmf2aRDZHb8Zy4E38WDkN6eYUojO4t1CMRS8uwaG0KCLBGLQstMbWyxY-90hC/s400/P1240029.jpg" width="337" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A canvas backpack bag, a finisher medal, a personalized bib, and - wow - a buckle!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pry0xsosajQX1uajVaKMEbwtSckLB3IF6rmVgAeB4CF21bQwNJDJg_4y6OluI_hpgSYPIhAhJDerpM-vWZW2YcdSZSjvAR7INv-RLxzC2lVI2VZrpDAbq-weFtDuPYD9QA2lsEBQ68-P/s1600/P1240030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1147" data-original-width="1600" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pry0xsosajQX1uajVaKMEbwtSckLB3IF6rmVgAeB4CF21bQwNJDJg_4y6OluI_hpgSYPIhAhJDerpM-vWZW2YcdSZSjvAR7INv-RLxzC2lVI2VZrpDAbq-weFtDuPYD9QA2lsEBQ68-P/s400/P1240030.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very cool fleece lined hoodie with not one, but two drawstrings! (I haven't tried to figure out why yet. It did not come with instructions.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRx6QM4lTusKZI7Rwcz7Tkk7chmDqluH944nitRa969ERWxSkA9sTmkMjrZtkA4wEHKSKPVuBzOL8EmiPJJ8N57RpnkfACyVbQMyy4Gx-LCDJv829u_VQsrBKhj9J_qtomXZ4KTBGBMOGb/s1600/P1240033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRx6QM4lTusKZI7Rwcz7Tkk7chmDqluH944nitRa969ERWxSkA9sTmkMjrZtkA4wEHKSKPVuBzOL8EmiPJJ8N57RpnkfACyVbQMyy4Gx-LCDJv829u_VQsrBKhj9J_qtomXZ4KTBGBMOGb/s400/P1240033.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The buckle up close. So pretty!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have dreamed of earning a buckle for a few years now, but was afraid that my window had closed. My long run leading up to this race was a Half Marathon a few weeks earlier. But given enough time, just about anything is possible.<br />
<br />
To be really detailed, 100K is 62.13712 miles. Each loop was 1.0275 miles. 60 loops worked out to 61.65 miles - about a half mile short of a 100K, so I did 61 loops for a total of 62.6775 miles (which doesn't count all the trips to the car or the bathroom, or the additional distance late at night when going in a straight line proved really challenging).<br />
<br />
I finished at 7:26 AM, so I still had a bit over 90 minutes that I could have kept going. But I was so trashed by this point - after sitting for just a few minutes I started to shiver and needed to get in a warm car. I felt bad leaving early - there were still probably a bit under half the 24 hour runners on the course. (WAY TO GO YLOY, not your real name, not only nailing your first buckle a few minutes after me, but also for continuing and getting a few more laps in! YOU ARE AMAZING!)<br />
<h4>
Wrapping Up (Finally)</h4>
<div>
This was a great event. If you are staying away from these kinds of looping races because you are sure you will go mad, you may be right. But you may be wrong (like I was) - it's a very different challenge and just as satisfying to finish.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Health-wise, in addition to the normal stiffness and soreness, I ended up with very tender forefeet and a quite unhappy left ankle. </div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>I was convinced my forefeet were nothing but one big blister (and I swear at one point near the end, one of them ruptured with a burst of pain), but in the end, that didn't seem to be true. I had taped and lubed my feet before the race, but the tape came off when I changed out of my waterlogged socks and shoes, and I hadn't thought to bring more. I did have Squirrel's Nut Butter, and put a bunch of that on them, and that worked fine for a while. It really seems like my feet just didn't like the pounding. (They are much better now.)</li>
<li>Sometime during the middle of the night, my left ankle - specifically the front of it - started complaining. This was odd since I was pretty sure I had done nothing to twist it, and it felt like it was on the opposite side of where an Achilles issue would be. I ignored it (I had not thought to bring an ankle brace) as it steadily got worse. This issue is still dogging me a week later. </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
I think the one thing I would do different is to bring a waterproof bin with the stuff in it that I'm likely to need during the race. I must have made 6 or 7 trips to the car to get things. (If there hadn't been the threat of rain, I would have just had everything there next to my pet Sun.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I have to thank Coastal Trail Runs for putting on this event, and running it so smoothly. When I first signed up, it sounded like only 100M runners would get a buckle, which was a bit of a disappointment, but I was OK with that especially since I figured there was little chance of getting to 100K anyway. Later on, that changed and suddenly the buckle was there for the taking. (For the record, there were 6 runners that got 100 miles or more, and two of them were women, including the overall winner, Megan Arauzo, who managed 120 miles in those conditions! Stunning!)</div>
<br />
Also a huge thanks to the volunteers that kept interesting food available (I couldn't resist a piece of pizza, which I fear didn't really help my tummy much, but it tasted great) and kept encouraging us to keep going. (And kept the awnings from blowing away! And raccoons from eating our food!)<br />
<br />
A special thanks to Htenaj and Racso who were there most of the night with us, battling raccoons and getting stubborn runners like me to eat something once in a while. You two were amazing! Anyone willing to touch my feet in the middle of the night is a hero!<br />
<br />
And then finally, Mrs Notthat and Not a Canadian! You had warned you might be coming down in the afternoon, but with the horrific weather we had had, I had my doubts. But you showed up and stuck it out for hours of slow walking and my whining. Later, when Racso was getting ready to leave at about 2:30 AM or so, he actually said you two were coming back up, but when I asked him to repeat that, he remembered that he wasn't supposed to tell me, and changed it to Htenaj was going to keep working with me to keep eating and such.<br />
<br />
And I bought it.<br />
<br />
There was no way in the world that those two would come back out, in the middle of the night, with me still having so many laps to do and the threat of rain lingering over us. But they did, and I was truly stunned. And they helped me stay on course and make that 61st lap. I probably could have done it without them, but it would have taken longer and I would have been WAY more miserable. Having them there made such a huge difference!<br />
<br />
That's it - move along…<br />
<br />
PS: Here's a link to <a href="https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMXjvZUeo5lrVVoizEKmkj7Or1_OVJIzgIkd-wafHfAKzatY6OUOBeYHP_l5FNZrQ?key=SFcycmR6enl2ZUp4cms3ZzRkSFAxMVJMNHJlYlpn" target="_blank">Liag's</a> pictures, <a href="https://bryanwalkertingphotography.pixieset.com/g/newyearsoneday-coastaltrailruns/" target="_blank">Bryan's</a> pictures, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10215549567230285&type=1&l=c761952d7f" target="_blank">my</a> pictures.<br />
<br />
PPS: There is a large part of me that knows this was a major accomplishment, but there is also a part of me that knows it really wasn't all that amazing, at least from a physical standpoint. For me though, the mental challenge was a really big deal - getting through that is what I will treasure.<br />
<br />
PPPS: I was pretty sure I was the only person over 60 that got at least 100K until I checked the results, and a 74 year old guy that ended up with nearly 68 miles! Wow!<br />
<br />
PPPPS: No, I have not signed up for a 100M race. Yet.notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-75540888843526361352018-07-01T16:03:00.001-07:002018-07-01T16:03:06.372-07:00Western States and the Last Chance aid station 2018For the eighth year in a row, I managed to worm my way into volunteering alongside the Stevens Creek Striders, at the Western States Endurance Run's Last Chance aid station.<br />
<br />
A few basics about this aid station for those of you new to this:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>It's the best. Always gets great Yelp reviews.</li>
<li>It's mile 43.3 - just long enough for the runners to get good and warmed up.</li>
<li>It's the aid station before Deadwood Canyon and Devil's Thumb. If a runner has not warmed up, this will do the trick. (Or totally break that runner.)</li>
<li>We have no crew access and no pacers at this point. As volunteers, we have the runner's full attention.</li>
<li>Since part of the course is the "road" to Last Chance, you have to either get there Friday night (recommended since you get to run part of the trail if you'd like!) or by 9AM on Saturday. And you can't leave until the aid station closes, around 5:30.</li>
<li>But if you leave before 6:00 or so, you can get to the finish line in time to see the winner come in. (Unless the winner sets a course record.)</li>
</ul>
<br />
This year, Bonnie and I hauled about 1200 pounds of ice to the aid station. This was way more than in previous years, but Superstar Lon at the WSER warehouse insisted we take more than we thought we needed, just to make sure. (He was wise - we went through almost all of it, and it was great to be super generous to the runners, who continue to find more places to shove ice.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_BKaZIFe7W17jANJIoHnP7MTrp3qnrp_iRIf7489guXihM16q214YyfCMs2bGP1ts-co_KErbuSLMvaBAEv6OL5TKwNs3RLL2ScpYtqh9XuDp5JK5sEbB5j5glNU6wABdrsioVwIIjYlW/s1600/IMG_0045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_BKaZIFe7W17jANJIoHnP7MTrp3qnrp_iRIf7489guXihM16q214YyfCMs2bGP1ts-co_KErbuSLMvaBAEv6OL5TKwNs3RLL2ScpYtqh9XuDp5JK5sEbB5j5glNU6wABdrsioVwIIjYlW/s400/IMG_0045.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breaking in the new minivan - I'm sleeping in style tonight!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmg-IsOIQcsyN6tvQcBXbCjgXBnhpOPie5KBXzwVszyGJfBQwBQqHZ6CCbzNx-lefcUT0omSGu69D2D1VEc9jeT057hGt7C9LEckWuHsBqFzSw1z-3IrYZJgLpUjr7vueXNtbFFf3GRQC/s1600/IMG_0295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmg-IsOIQcsyN6tvQcBXbCjgXBnhpOPie5KBXzwVszyGJfBQwBQqHZ6CCbzNx-lefcUT0omSGu69D2D1VEc9jeT057hGt7C9LEckWuHsBqFzSw1z-3IrYZJgLpUjr7vueXNtbFFf3GRQC/s400/IMG_0295.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">600 pounds of ice in there, with room for a lot more!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There was one big change at the aid station - for the first time we had a water tank brought in. The spring that we have used for years has been declared to be in an environmentally sensitive area, so we are no longer allowed to use its icy cold water to cool the runners.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbD85LNF7zOYvfIVqSDLvfacN-hHFFFdqBr4tTmm5J9cHmepqKCRMC3kFmVG05LGNoHToSw4l_Xkh4MKb-67yhFfUw7GrRBsy2jgSdAjo2bNZZ0pOJcVurGnhrfpsN7LrmGezJbKkgeyZB/s1600/IMG_1868.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbD85LNF7zOYvfIVqSDLvfacN-hHFFFdqBr4tTmm5J9cHmepqKCRMC3kFmVG05LGNoHToSw4l_Xkh4MKb-67yhFfUw7GrRBsy2jgSdAjo2bNZZ0pOJcVurGnhrfpsN7LrmGezJbKkgeyZB/s400/IMG_1868.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An amazingly large trailer for a relatively small 125 gallon water tank.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
An advantage of the spring was that we didn't really have to know how much water we used for cooling the runners. A couple of years ago, just for fun, I tracked how many times we filled the four buckets we use. That data ended up being used to estimate how many gallons of water we would need, and we were all a bit nervous about whether we guessed right. (Spoiler alert - we guessed pretty well, but came closer than I would have liked.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkU7vj0dh8BFYTjD_5_eRIrsR80glHEMkasylVo7EpB6hCW_TOY06-kSsJHC_So4ttYLriviZ5GoS0malGIP6ZRkk-n0LGMnDstcrIJ9OnL_W_2_doagTfGXcM4KTL_jnL3uWf7VamYATp/s1600/IMG_1856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkU7vj0dh8BFYTjD_5_eRIrsR80glHEMkasylVo7EpB6hCW_TOY06-kSsJHC_So4ttYLriviZ5GoS0malGIP6ZRkk-n0LGMnDstcrIJ9OnL_W_2_doagTfGXcM4KTL_jnL3uWf7VamYATp/s400/IMG_1856.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trail of signs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My first task was putting up all the signs. This is one of my favorite bits of volunteering here - being able to make signs for people I know, people that I don't know but was asked to make a sign for, and generic signs to try to make the runners smile a bit is a blast.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPebjxjCkQWBz_bw1WwNIvLPtXZxkWI7n9fgkIZt3qo-Z7n6-hNS_mmhpPzrOXa99gB4y2AbRGZFkHMxaYdzm03fKvFs_zpESw0W-PL22agsDfoGkNW2IbG8yt6ykDOuiX9_CChNFVDOxl/s1600/IMG_1837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPebjxjCkQWBz_bw1WwNIvLPtXZxkWI7n9fgkIZt3qo-Z7n6-hNS_mmhpPzrOXa99gB4y2AbRGZFkHMxaYdzm03fKvFs_zpESw0W-PL22agsDfoGkNW2IbG8yt6ykDOuiX9_CChNFVDOxl/s400/IMG_1837.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a lie. The dragons don't help at all with the mosquitos.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Eventually, it starts to get dark and the campfire is lit. It's not needed much for warmth, but it does seem to chase the mosquitos away. (Or at least slow them down a bit.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qy0TVWTpGPcQXdK6DFVacqznbcoIlm4Q97Hl_sMTR5NUYDi3_6nPA3HVLxl3uXxAXJ58xLhl9nVNfgF4LVwaRGCj0gNPxkGEHzSKKoJ_NCDOwruQ_dqtoiz2JrYmaqERKFpnvF-yBsEg/s1600/IMG_4604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qy0TVWTpGPcQXdK6DFVacqznbcoIlm4Q97Hl_sMTR5NUYDi3_6nPA3HVLxl3uXxAXJ58xLhl9nVNfgF4LVwaRGCj0gNPxkGEHzSKKoJ_NCDOwruQ_dqtoiz2JrYmaqERKFpnvF-yBsEg/s400/IMG_4604.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Sleeping in the minivan was great, and left me fresh for race day.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNU8fA_Gkl_IxB-G3RtJ11tFvpNR3tkabhf9yF7ReHSobKCqHh5vEXp7vkorXrUkI3RHNfbQ-8e8Qy_V-L9K1oHMNjSyeLt0vj4BI6dXgXTMBR2AZO5ar2S7ZFY79x5MSrhuj0L6J_DD14/s1600/IMG_1896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNU8fA_Gkl_IxB-G3RtJ11tFvpNR3tkabhf9yF7ReHSobKCqHh5vEXp7vkorXrUkI3RHNfbQ-8e8Qy_V-L9K1oHMNjSyeLt0vj4BI6dXgXTMBR2AZO5ar2S7ZFY79x5MSrhuj0L6J_DD14/s400/IMG_1896.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most of the Last Chance volunteers. It's amazing how many people come out to this remote location to spend a day helping the runners.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This race has 21 aid stations, which means there are 21 groups similar to ours (including 10 that allow crew access). There are about 1000 people along the course helping 369 runners. And that doesn't count all the people at the start and finish lines and doing other tasks. It always astonishes me how many people are involved in this event.<br />
<br />
And, in case you missed it, Last Chance is the best aid station of them all.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgap2ZEFRA44OzthOcihKbrgZo2qyO9hQb6jcHcfq7qM6wGr9E4roQju845m3mbIrTdurBNAYJdVv_M64RGSdYb6apwhzvXGgKRgWzIEy0wR4Vc1OewZvcmeGRI0mW2TZiBENm964PJa8qL/s1600/IMG_1912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgap2ZEFRA44OzthOcihKbrgZo2qyO9hQb6jcHcfq7qM6wGr9E4roQju845m3mbIrTdurBNAYJdVv_M64RGSdYb6apwhzvXGgKRgWzIEy0wR4Vc1OewZvcmeGRI0mW2TZiBENm964PJa8qL/s400/IMG_1912.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eventual winner with an amazing record setting time, Jim takes his shirt off to soak it good.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As has become the tradition, Jim Walmsley was the first runner in, well ahead of course record time and the other runners, but not as early as he had come in the previous two years. He was also a lot more relaxed and fresh - he is learning about the 100 mile distance and really seems to have the lessons down. Just about everyone I talked to hoped he could keep it together and get the win. (Spoiler alert - he did. And set a new course record.)<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmi4BocOVIYXP781PUaaRXVhV24huCiANmNYMeOFRWeVKgX7_iy9dgnoqM3hn0u2Qlzdws1qIZopxxUb_2eqdCZHtrCNn-uCPXcVihQZohBINBkv91JN0svie2dxsf0atIbxK3hxaoSqeW/s1600/IMG_1937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmi4BocOVIYXP781PUaaRXVhV24huCiANmNYMeOFRWeVKgX7_iy9dgnoqM3hn0u2Qlzdws1qIZopxxUb_2eqdCZHtrCNn-uCPXcVihQZohBINBkv91JN0svie2dxsf0atIbxK3hxaoSqeW/s400/IMG_1937.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Make me an ice burrito!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Every year there seem to be new twists to the ice bandana, from the classic basic neckerchief to complicated things with multiple pockets/openings and space age material. (Those with one large opening were the easiest to refill. Anyone that has a way to fasten them without having to tie a knot is a genius.) One challenge is figuring out each one of them, and often involves trying to figure out the knot the last aid station used to tie it around the neck. Putting ice in neck buffs was not always easy, but was also fairly common.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXXlyGy8N71MDX1HIxJodIL8krp-MzbwQz8e86VqGSpsTL5x30gOfK3XPYr_xlB6oXrTNzLg15vCFo7ylavdRu2Ch6OukTJZeMb4EY2I8Wiqg3V6b7mkrhg-tIp1HVYqNFhZN5r9uASt3/s1600/IMG_1980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXXlyGy8N71MDX1HIxJodIL8krp-MzbwQz8e86VqGSpsTL5x30gOfK3XPYr_xlB6oXrTNzLg15vCFo7ylavdRu2Ch6OukTJZeMb4EY2I8Wiqg3V6b7mkrhg-tIp1HVYqNFhZN5r9uASt3/s400/IMG_1980.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucy smiling because her hat's full of ice.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One new trend was the use of top-loading hats with an enclosed ice pocket - these worked much better than just putting loose ice under your hat.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2SPFhnf24KVjgw-U0FaSc2I7feQGrgJTK_70DvyWSUe-QXSvrStp4-e2byJChYb1mutF1197LDgWoypQhXCi5g5iqZ0uzcOuGZUqCIYc1lOtAA5DUFPSZBQZu1e0Uy58k5RobOmH7I1g/s1600/IMG_1990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2SPFhnf24KVjgw-U0FaSc2I7feQGrgJTK_70DvyWSUe-QXSvrStp4-e2byJChYb1mutF1197LDgWoypQhXCi5g5iqZ0uzcOuGZUqCIYc1lOtAA5DUFPSZBQZu1e0Uy58k5RobOmH7I1g/s400/IMG_1990.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Speedgoat trying for an interesting tan.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another trend that was started by Walmsley a few years ago was cutting many small holes in your shirt, allowing it to breath better. I don't remember seeing a woman do this, but many men did. Speedgoat Karl said it worked very well, although he said he made the holes too big and wasn't able to hold much ice inside his shirt.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnfVmBvEEquG1GOP_6d0yg_IqabCZ28BrMeysvlruJlAWQhsT-XnTNBxvrB4Xg1P9okvUtRGAoC91cppi3kNXPC8LS4Smh-UkDIufp4VWimrigAp84EYKWCjdAkjW0CywjZWquAo1TXUKc/s1600/IMG_2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnfVmBvEEquG1GOP_6d0yg_IqabCZ28BrMeysvlruJlAWQhsT-XnTNBxvrB4Xg1P9okvUtRGAoC91cppi3kNXPC8LS4Smh-UkDIufp4VWimrigAp84EYKWCjdAkjW0CywjZWquAo1TXUKc/s400/IMG_2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lon rocking the crop top and Popeye arms!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another trend was that MANY more people were putting ice in their arm sleeves. It looked really uncomfortable, but it real life, the ice melted quickly and it worked extremely well to get your core cooled.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCk7CJjPLM8ri_m4nIjnD7Dzeu7QlQ3n2z0TWhAOKGYDLlWZ5DahCXmvlcllsuaCEj4aVyOrT_i9ynpaLen-amTURC8iXWj0l2KSSsKPad3PQ7YO3YOjfKiG8UQLh_QUhabDpZLlsOxhJ/s1600/IMG_2087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCk7CJjPLM8ri_m4nIjnD7Dzeu7QlQ3n2z0TWhAOKGYDLlWZ5DahCXmvlcllsuaCEj4aVyOrT_i9ynpaLen-amTURC8iXWj0l2KSSsKPad3PQ7YO3YOjfKiG8UQLh_QUhabDpZLlsOxhJ/s400/IMG_2087.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brazen Sam getting the works.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Almost all the runners took the time to get soaked before heading out. Some wanted to keep their shoes dry, but most didn't care, and welcomed the drenching. (The water from the tank was cool, but not cold. So we added ice to the buckets, which worked well.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NO6P0ZMX48bh1Qtg-wvT6mkdDwEKHRNia3W5x-cUD6kY6g0j-sQwTkaZN1uqepz3k__iNM3KwscYLyFedyLQLcdyrTfKeN292nLEwexyBgOdDMRWe_R4A3EH9i-16Pnrtwg6Fv7Fr35u/s1600/IMG_2097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NO6P0ZMX48bh1Qtg-wvT6mkdDwEKHRNia3W5x-cUD6kY6g0j-sQwTkaZN1uqepz3k__iNM3KwscYLyFedyLQLcdyrTfKeN292nLEwexyBgOdDMRWe_R4A3EH9i-16Pnrtwg6Fv7Fr35u/s400/IMG_2097.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cory, true to his "Nowhere Near First" book, being nowhere near first, but looking strong.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Each aid station has a card that lists four important times (with their Last Chance values):<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Record pace: 11:17 (this will be updated next year)</li>
<li>24 hour pace: 2:05</li>
<li>30 hour pace: 4:20</li>
<li>Aid station cutoff: 5:25</li>
</ul>
<br />
The race cutoff is 30 hours, so it might seem odd to keep the aid station open for a bit over an hour longer than that projected 30 hour pace, but a lot can happen in that last 57 miles, so it's wise to let more runners through than the historical projections predict will finish.<br />
<br />
Cory Reese was a poster child for that. He came in at nearly 5:00 - well off the 30 hour pace and seemingly doomed. But Cory has great 100M skills. He didn't panic, got iced up and cooled off, then headed off to the canyon. (A number of other runners coming in at a similar time were a bit panicked, and didn't feel they could take the time to get iced and cooled off - I suspect most if not all of these didn't finish.)<br />
<br />
Here's some stats:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Runners in between 4:00-4:19 - 24, of which 18 finished (14 in the final hour).</li>
<li>Runners in between 4:20-4:44 - 22, of which 14 finished (13 in the final hour).</li>
<li>Runners in between 4:45-4:59 - 29, of which only 9 finished.</li>
<li>Runners in between 5:00-closing - 11, of which none finished.</li>
</ul>
<br />
We had five runners drop at our aid station, most due to missing the cutoff.<br />
<br />
Once the aid station was closed and packed up, I headed down to the finish line in Auburn, but was too late to see Jim finish. My intent was to hang out until the race was over at 11:00 on Sunday morning, but I was kind of a mess. I think the heat really beat me up at the aid station, plus a couple of friends that I wanted to see finish ended up missing cutoffs and had to drop. In the end, I took a bit of a nap, saw a few friends finish, then headed home early.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWgLOYGrzrpZKAgtYGqYg61tQgTxKeOKg7TQzDH5krsfxAjukdaMXz6mQAQTM8-7-FaQYfJEVEaNIcTj0sLJqRrYzif19gCwJZjHj9rez59YW0izyFbPjbMCmn9je_3ZO7iBsfhygTqsBZ/s1600/IMG_2107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWgLOYGrzrpZKAgtYGqYg61tQgTxKeOKg7TQzDH5krsfxAjukdaMXz6mQAQTM8-7-FaQYfJEVEaNIcTj0sLJqRrYzif19gCwJZjHj9rez59YW0izyFbPjbMCmn9je_3ZO7iBsfhygTqsBZ/s400/IMG_2107.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"There's a guy in a crop top on the track!" Lon makes it look good though.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNsxLl-llZFDIRA7kbXx28p79qtYKri49ERKo9SH0-T1cVepXRnAp37LEqfqpIEaZP7mTrUvKP0rS4PeWw_R0t1EJAQ9lfE4oNEqB_YaSIZhW3Blj0PObtiUOGUVcNVjaGK5n8JgjMW6y/s1600/IMG_2118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNsxLl-llZFDIRA7kbXx28p79qtYKri49ERKo9SH0-T1cVepXRnAp37LEqfqpIEaZP7mTrUvKP0rS4PeWw_R0t1EJAQ9lfE4oNEqB_YaSIZhW3Blj0PObtiUOGUVcNVjaGK5n8JgjMW6y/s400/IMG_2118.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mandie was the official Last Chance runner (each aid station is given a race entry), and got her second finish in a row! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While it was good to get home reasonably early, it was sad to miss that golden hour - those runners that come in in the last 60 minutes before the 30 hours is up. An astounding 66 runners finished this year in that last hour. All of them had been pushing the cutoffs for many hours and had to spend a second day in near record heat (this was the ninth hottest year ever, and the second hottest since I started showing up).<br />
<br />
Looking back at the Last Chance stats, Cory was one of the nine in that 4:45-4:59 group that finished. With over four minutes to spare (YIKES)! He was the last runner to leave Last Chance to get a finish, and only one runner finished after him. That's truly impressive!<br />
<br />
Volunteering at Last Chance is a lot of work, but it's so cool to get to interact with both the elites and the mortals, to play a small part in their races as they all try to score a buckle.<br />
<br />
Or at least Popeye arms.<br />
<br />
That's it - move along…<br />
<br />
PS: One of the most horrifying things that can happen at an aid station is for a runner to leave something behind. But it happens, especially when we get really busy. We try hard to avoid that, but we did have a few times where we had to chase down a runner to get them their sunglasses or a water bottle. We only ended up with one item that we couldn't get to the runner because he was long gone - an ice buff that was likely sorely missed. That's the first time in my eight years there that I remember this happening, but I suspect it's a bit more common than that. I really hope that runner made it and was able to use a backup.<br />
<br />
PPS: Here are links to more of my pictures: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10214120414822368.1073742205.1172907671&type=1&l=716cd7347a" target="_blank">The Signs</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10214127320315001.1073742206.1172907671&type=1&l=281dfa863d" target="_blank">The General Shots</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-56676064834131071052018-06-10T21:34:00.001-07:002018-06-10T21:34:19.634-07:00Loopiness has its place<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
There are several events that take advantage of the roughly one mile loop around the Crissy Field Marsh, creating timed events for runners to test their endurance with little risk of getting lost or being far from aid. I like timed events and the views of that area seemed like they would be perfect for breaking up the monotony of endlessly running around that loop, but I had never managed to make it to any of these events.<br />
<br />
<br />So I was happy that it worked out for me to attend the <a href="http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=54741" target="_blank">Pacific Coast Trail Runs San Francisco One Day</a> event, even if only for their shorter six hour duration. I knew a fair number of people running the race and knew it would be a blast, no matter how badly it went for me.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ODY-UhO0NJJBqYpYc6jPEFZpMAZmBSK4sKxueog8xP8HQm78oYX_Y0KQwvQaA8KIfK34B_zDL39D1w6bSIF3zq2qyw94u73nXYcjRAxVZHyM9hUHDrSaGviGKH4K8ACj8pxv_nO1586u/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-06-10+at+10.24.23+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="1168" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ODY-UhO0NJJBqYpYc6jPEFZpMAZmBSK4sKxueog8xP8HQm78oYX_Y0KQwvQaA8KIfK34B_zDL39D1w6bSIF3zq2qyw94u73nXYcjRAxVZHyM9hUHDrSaGviGKH4K8ACj8pxv_nO1586u/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-06-10+at+10.24.23+AM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simplified and wildly not to scale course map.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There are a number of challenges to this simple course - the mix of pavement and gravel, some very sharp turns, and some potentially bad weather (being right on the bay by the Golden Gate Bridge can result in very cold strong winds). And fog - always with the fog.<br />
<br />
One other big challenge is that this area is heavily infested with tourists - the views of the bridge and Alcatraz are pretty stunning, and if it's a nice day, the beaches are a blast. The RD managed to schedule amazing weather for this race, which meant the tourists (and many locals) were out in force. Dodging selfie takers, many with bikes left scattered all over the place, made this a bit of an obstacle course, although it did help break up the monotony, and I'll take selfie congestion over bad weather any day.<br />
<br />
The event started at 6 PM on Friday and went to 6 PM on Saturday. I think the Friday evening start was a new thing, but I'm not sure. It certainly added to the challenge for those in the 24 hour event since they either had to try to nap during the day or else start the race and immediately head into sleep deprivation issues.<br />
<br />
For the shorter time runners, there was a bit of flexibility for when to start. Basically, a new race could start every 6 hours (6 PM, midnight, 6 AM, and noon). I took advantage of the noon start on Saturday, which meant I could sleep in a bit and would be on the trail as the 24 hour runners were wrapping up their races, meaning I had a chance to look fast by comparison. (I didn't.)<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_Jj5_8ywvXltmugj2ia_udGIgRXwpgyLRqpz1mgxEYz-v2qTEGPuNZjs5GtmXWPXIDbHH5moYBwcwBmZhtihdIK4hOwbAxlEdbhazQ44Ndft7jqSCfn2Hf0j1xLgRvazT2jOvqy-RBAw/s1600/P1220078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_Jj5_8ywvXltmugj2ia_udGIgRXwpgyLRqpz1mgxEYz-v2qTEGPuNZjs5GtmXWPXIDbHH5moYBwcwBmZhtihdIK4hOwbAxlEdbhazQ44Ndft7jqSCfn2Hf0j1xLgRvazT2jOvqy-RBAw/s400/P1220078.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently I'm now the "Crazy Cat Guy" - the remarkable thing was that she was able to get the cats to sit still long enough to make those portraits!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The start/finish area looked a bit like a homeless encampment - there were tents, chairs, coolers and a wide variety of other things randomly strewn about. Since I was only there for six hours, I had little need for much space - just somewhere to sit my bag with my bottles. The Amazing Karen was having none of that, and made me a really fun sign - I'm now officially the "Crazy Cat Guy" (which I was asked about by one of the other runners).<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLsjyEEhGh9gOsQabJXxGemP2p5Ns_SbxR3-vOdD7R4eZVv6kogFYOkXO9pmCwo7VX_LUAmGuAgv7gB2Xt9q8RWlELKxsm1Y3pB9S7hwLTkoLduffnEtfvo7EbDydArPWZ1E91ipWre9lK/s1600/P1220082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLsjyEEhGh9gOsQabJXxGemP2p5Ns_SbxR3-vOdD7R4eZVv6kogFYOkXO9pmCwo7VX_LUAmGuAgv7gB2Xt9q8RWlELKxsm1Y3pB9S7hwLTkoLduffnEtfvo7EbDydArPWZ1E91ipWre9lK/s400/P1220082.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All Day Ken's ironing board aid station. It really helps to have a high "table" like that! And it's made him famous in Sweden!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqtDdBJERGTC61akBeTARMgktJ_Zglfl-m1CkExnzKOcPub2PAtUDDkhIvx97L_Aj68HY6uiQ3XLqcnLU-RI5aK1fsOge-z_UQ3zgO_64ehiyD4vMKuOnn-T6NYCgbcpQJBnl3q-nff9W7/s1600/P1220085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqtDdBJERGTC61akBeTARMgktJ_Zglfl-m1CkExnzKOcPub2PAtUDDkhIvx97L_Aj68HY6uiQ3XLqcnLU-RI5aK1fsOge-z_UQ3zgO_64ehiyD4vMKuOnn-T6NYCgbcpQJBnl3q-nff9W7/s400/P1220085.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> RD Greg: "If you see any sleepwalking 24 hour runners, don't try to wake them by yelling SNAKE! Unless you are recording video at the time."</td></tr>
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I think there were seven of us that started our six hour event an noon. RD Greg explained how the looping system worked - we had to run our first five laps in the clockwise direction, and after that, we could change direction any time we crossed the start/finish timing mat by immediately recrossing it at the end of a loop.<br />
<br />
Being able to change directions like this is pretty novel, and I think a great idea. What it meant was that you ended up seeing runners coming at you as well as going in the same direction, which made for a lot more interaction than normal at these sorts of events.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNfpjgTe4lgXcC5Rvz126bryFtuQTck0RTVqwWTeCLDtNcH2tmoTcDOgUPd_9Zd6ysR8gDtd_SyTd2_xLxCA2910h5VNVQ9_cSL1vlrRl2iG88fXsxnC0R-u_Sx39MBE3UwkgRTt44ZmO/s1600/P1220091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNfpjgTe4lgXcC5Rvz126bryFtuQTck0RTVqwWTeCLDtNcH2tmoTcDOgUPd_9Zd6ysR8gDtd_SyTd2_xLxCA2910h5VNVQ9_cSL1vlrRl2iG88fXsxnC0R-u_Sx39MBE3UwkgRTt44ZmO/s400/P1220091.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ed "The Jester" was there doing his amazingly consistent pacing around that loop - it's always a blast too see him at these events.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhetyQc_f7CLkOKTWIzt1LusOqV1YO23IJjKiFP-Dw4bSdu1oaZmPl131QK3g-fkxjlyX5yDzqKmGSC44Xkj2T5coBrvsUf1h67BEdfAZl_ricrNJgwqnkCS7OtpzQ18lbMzoDmtsw126/s1600/P1220095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhetyQc_f7CLkOKTWIzt1LusOqV1YO23IJjKiFP-Dw4bSdu1oaZmPl131QK3g-fkxjlyX5yDzqKmGSC44Xkj2T5coBrvsUf1h67BEdfAZl_ricrNJgwqnkCS7OtpzQ18lbMzoDmtsw126/s400/P1220095.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pen upstaging the Golden Gate Bridge with her awesomeness, on her way to second place in the 24 hour!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8A4JuHA385PRNBFO7LLY1ulksErSsILH9YM_4C9RglczuWmWzqv0YXGhIYuveZKu-LjvtaEu3nLgn-avbNiIvUE4tqQ50Nh0Pi33yKNqEf8A3p9rGcCH6E3jb4uk1czZ4Zyo9vhU9ap4/s1600/P1220102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8A4JuHA385PRNBFO7LLY1ulksErSsILH9YM_4C9RglczuWmWzqv0YXGhIYuveZKu-LjvtaEu3nLgn-avbNiIvUE4tqQ50Nh0Pi33yKNqEf8A3p9rGcCH6E3jb4uk1czZ4Zyo9vhU9ap4/s400/P1220102.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting serenaded while looking out at Alcatraz.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8Wlzi1qAgeMTSqCJAu4UfczJQaAafyixz7t24ZxFDA3Y0ixT5f4Quny48LQJrKimDmNlaWGwmUgSwiX99UWaVrdGxGbkMovyTC4M_064hhQQJYv5Nv54HEtCeX_7zgiMVDMQjFOmlFay/s1600/P1220120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8Wlzi1qAgeMTSqCJAu4UfczJQaAafyixz7t24ZxFDA3Y0ixT5f4Quny48LQJrKimDmNlaWGwmUgSwiX99UWaVrdGxGbkMovyTC4M_064hhQQJYv5Nv54HEtCeX_7zgiMVDMQjFOmlFay/s400/P1220120.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The midpoint timing mat and one of our biggest cheerleaders!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's not really possible to cut the course (you could cut a bit off, but it would be very obvious you were doing it), but it is pretty easy to falsely trigger the start/finish timing mat, potentially giving you credit for a lap you didn't actually do. With the ability to change directions, you had to try to remember which direction you were going if you stopped to rest, use the toilet, or eat at the buffet. Having a midpoint timing mat took a lot of the guesswork out of the process since it served as a "second opinion" on how many laps you did, and was not subject to the false triggers of the other mat.<br />
<br />
Also, I'm not sure, but I think if you crossed this mat and had time expire before you crossed the finish mat, you would get credit for half a lap. (After my last lap, I was a sure I couldn't complete another lap in the remaining time, but I could have gotten to the halfway point. Granted, then I would have had to come back without credit for the return. But maybe I could have talked some tourist into giving me a ride on their bike.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-aiiQ9wVvRMPPq4wMdMFJEWdti58fsx2BstoUHD_IQsmcqIBiQ2lDGvF-d6P7ygYSulFPXsy6BfECyRldJdmVUFdI-uyYBlTbLHJ2P-WCPtQLNzK2ERFwhXZ2qhzh9FRSYOEMvquln8P/s1600/P1220122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-aiiQ9wVvRMPPq4wMdMFJEWdti58fsx2BstoUHD_IQsmcqIBiQ2lDGvF-d6P7ygYSulFPXsy6BfECyRldJdmVUFdI-uyYBlTbLHJ2P-WCPtQLNzK2ERFwhXZ2qhzh9FRSYOEMvquln8P/s400/P1220122.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, there were a few puddles you could splash in, but you had to wait your turn.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVhU3yxweoMglFikqLMTGS8TymXGJ7AszepIosvYmHNCy1jxl8d0pH_h_z4B-B4WEkcLf3n5bmv6Y190TpadPOb7AAy_gySFGE_dp_tOdlp-xc7mS4i8AcPsPJ1jnH43ROlht2C1kL3Pm/s1600/P1220127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVhU3yxweoMglFikqLMTGS8TymXGJ7AszepIosvYmHNCy1jxl8d0pH_h_z4B-B4WEkcLf3n5bmv6Y190TpadPOb7AAy_gySFGE_dp_tOdlp-xc7mS4i8AcPsPJ1jnH43ROlht2C1kL3Pm/s400/P1220127.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Chikara. He ended up with nearly 130 miles in the 24 hour event. His speed after 23 hours was still way faster than my speed with fresh legs.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YuVHOL25Q8EWbNXlnXMCHBf7aM8vr7aCJT5-F2pEeilA67pGveZ-6y6aDliMz-9d1PPMEhMsVQpRsQsntGkTVYqMLuzkKSgxzGWzUAys2aAwzQagPhq7h6uFl0BWlQAoPFwmoXv212ig/s1600/P1220134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YuVHOL25Q8EWbNXlnXMCHBf7aM8vr7aCJT5-F2pEeilA67pGveZ-6y6aDliMz-9d1PPMEhMsVQpRsQsntGkTVYqMLuzkKSgxzGWzUAys2aAwzQagPhq7h6uFl0BWlQAoPFwmoXv212ig/s400/P1220134.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someone was pretty happy with her 100K buckle!</td></tr>
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A nice thing about these timed events is that you really only have to complete one lap to be considered a finisher. This means runners can set their own goals, which don't necessarily have to be all that related to the time. Alina had her sights set on reaching the 100K distance, and it was so cool that she made it with hours to spare (which made her more than a bit thrilled!).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8MAGY1JA6_Z5fVdQDH-KzZ14fjhKBlYyBdMDBbgu7IQoV5oKUf0LULKqQHiyWVUPCenAueAS29ebcdGuLUErraGvEKNkmj8AjM7g3ajLlksQFfQEGkbZY8IMLE_fVcvesRjkoIcmfGBc/s1600/P1220136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8MAGY1JA6_Z5fVdQDH-KzZ14fjhKBlYyBdMDBbgu7IQoV5oKUf0LULKqQHiyWVUPCenAueAS29ebcdGuLUErraGvEKNkmj8AjM7g3ajLlksQFfQEGkbZY8IMLE_fVcvesRjkoIcmfGBc/s400/P1220136.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loren looked like he could keep on going for another day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Loren had as his goal to hit 100 miles in less than 24 hours for the first time. He really pushed himself as was able to get it done with enough time left over that he could make several cool-down laps. (Those laps pushed him to fourth place overall!)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_x4aHDpH5oQRVydZZEi22WDFqJtEiz08ieEsDLhmZ8MaWPx3EIGBJzC2kBFmJrodpIH_1ErJ-hYO7Kf8DnXmhXeLJ0NfF2KRlF1COUPwlPQs2em1I3aAtBH7lRi-ZWy-X_kHPiKejzFor/s1600/P1220135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_x4aHDpH5oQRVydZZEi22WDFqJtEiz08ieEsDLhmZ8MaWPx3EIGBJzC2kBFmJrodpIH_1ErJ-hYO7Kf8DnXmhXeLJ0NfF2KRlF1COUPwlPQs2em1I3aAtBH7lRi-ZWy-X_kHPiKejzFor/s400/P1220135.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Which way do I go?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A funny bit - on one of my laps, as soon as I hit the bit that goes along the road, I heard "Pick it up NotThatLucas" over a loudspeaker. I worked out that it came from a passing Park Police vehicle. Tourists stared at me and nervously gave me lots of room to go past them. Ace was on duty that day and was able to spend a bit of time encouraging us while answering tourist questions ("That can't be the Golden Gate Bridge - it's so red!").<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnxF73EuQ52EuD5ZgMW3VxwovpfSSRGZWGf2MxBbowGc9ffZ5o6GYnncRBukHqQPVy8ehK2QAug80xhMyVrB5RKBajAbXUuFlZXIGB8Yd6c_8NlBMtCuO-Aaqm7erTvjfeeGihf9tMacS/s1600/34177451_1543262495773519_4608297263461040128_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnxF73EuQ52EuD5ZgMW3VxwovpfSSRGZWGf2MxBbowGc9ffZ5o6GYnncRBukHqQPVy8ehK2QAug80xhMyVrB5RKBajAbXUuFlZXIGB8Yd6c_8NlBMtCuO-Aaqm7erTvjfeeGihf9tMacS/s400/34177451_1543262495773519_4608297263461040128_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture Ace took of me. Indeed, the Golden Gate Bridge is not gold.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2vOaIt-sD1OHIS6qfuz_6lfwCJEnKKPXOVLw99yRz7dGlv_UgXelzSENt1lYt-0oeRIwFwujjDidxrKUdhSljRZZhl-K7QIrqSD9vkVcg95X-TaCLfc3ITvTThcX8e1nkjziSLMJKtxl/s1600/P1220137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2vOaIt-sD1OHIS6qfuz_6lfwCJEnKKPXOVLw99yRz7dGlv_UgXelzSENt1lYt-0oeRIwFwujjDidxrKUdhSljRZZhl-K7QIrqSD9vkVcg95X-TaCLfc3ITvTThcX8e1nkjziSLMJKtxl/s400/P1220137.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Two pictures of me in a row - sorry for that. Once I drained the bottles I brought, I switched over to rocket fuel.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3Kr5uRqrgXt2YCnmGpRdElUeiPT5nD0mUdiraZEl2X6p20vIKNnrU1krM9AlUc6qQQ_5cHp7lXxlvn-D2pZNAJJmtDWeMyUaSkexz1uExRy8VvkjGkcsBYZpL379aEYTxS47L52Btkih/s1600/P1220075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3Kr5uRqrgXt2YCnmGpRdElUeiPT5nD0mUdiraZEl2X6p20vIKNnrU1krM9AlUc6qQQ_5cHp7lXxlvn-D2pZNAJJmtDWeMyUaSkexz1uExRy8VvkjGkcsBYZpL379aEYTxS47L52Btkih/s400/P1220075.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shrina and Ed handing out at the food tent.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The food that was available was really great (regardless of what that chicken's expression might make you think). Shrina and Karen made sure nobody went hungry or thirsty.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGD7cmtW-3fUA6ufHNvXyGuSpoZCBnwYD8jF4einTKAFlT75DMPqsZbludLudgS_dhMV1Be2t2XfCeseFidzjYGgeo6Fn14uaB0g5c0iUmG7RCjAqqscZpqfPMg1yxza5GDQcHxOPM60aE/s1600/P1220144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGD7cmtW-3fUA6ufHNvXyGuSpoZCBnwYD8jF4einTKAFlT75DMPqsZbludLudgS_dhMV1Be2t2XfCeseFidzjYGgeo6Fn14uaB0g5c0iUmG7RCjAqqscZpqfPMg1yxza5GDQcHxOPM60aE/s400/P1220144.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The start/finish arch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWDVkLhLqJnQHi0lvVJHlAB3keYF3bZWd3A1ofcUerhXuz0d2agS90i2upEmLhkTxDmR8QoyT9SyywZokQkSh3CAwrXSKpxf3Vz6eZypEuKaOeonB8Vafd4dOIjZAwyH1o92kLsP1Rlko/s1600/P1220161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWDVkLhLqJnQHi0lvVJHlAB3keYF3bZWd3A1ofcUerhXuz0d2agS90i2upEmLhkTxDmR8QoyT9SyywZokQkSh3CAwrXSKpxf3Vz6eZypEuKaOeonB8Vafd4dOIjZAwyH1o92kLsP1Rlko/s400/P1220161.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I may be the "Crazy Cat Guy," but I'm not wearing a chicken on my head! (Although I also didn't get nearly 83 miles out here either.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QhPjzbRsg79aTcyx08VwivbG890TFrK-KpGuLweY7PO6U62l9RCg8RG5t0yg9RxLm3to0d_ElI43CJYpos0sBkPJbfgB1l9hdEIjSDhPeyUzdfno1PSkPt63sVD-fJZgfVH8RGLLyfcP/s1600/P1220165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QhPjzbRsg79aTcyx08VwivbG890TFrK-KpGuLweY7PO6U62l9RCg8RG5t0yg9RxLm3to0d_ElI43CJYpos0sBkPJbfgB1l9hdEIjSDhPeyUzdfno1PSkPt63sVD-fJZgfVH8RGLLyfcP/s400/P1220165.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soon The Jester is going to need a bigger chair to hold all his race buckles!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIK3ZmOK60KnNmHRg3Nuh3v8jQV6DID_zXSr0SDE-7c4En_hJ3PsJ9-IuEFyMiw30LSuAYQBsnKkhaGZFgaycYUxzjhA6itG3Qc5twRuyEwI3Nj9cHVqOn3xJVgapWb0rlV1BfoNTXE0bY/s1600/P1220184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIK3ZmOK60KnNmHRg3Nuh3v8jQV6DID_zXSr0SDE-7c4En_hJ3PsJ9-IuEFyMiw30LSuAYQBsnKkhaGZFgaycYUxzjhA6itG3Qc5twRuyEwI3Nj9cHVqOn3xJVgapWb0rlV1BfoNTXE0bY/s400/P1220184.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The yellow wrist band made it easier to figure out which runners were doing which times out there - a nice touch!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I ended up with 21 laps and a tiny bit over 22 miles, which was the furthest I had run since way back in August of 2016. This was pretty encouraging, especially since I came out of it with only normal soreness. It was extremely sunny and warm, which made the afternoon breeze actually fairly welcome. (And the sunburn unexpectedly fierce.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC40uCcaTJP9N2aikHK37tXpSRVy1HCK1pLTfqr-ut5dmXuTyYSTq6l17pARFP3S62UWtbTfsLtM6m3-9pg6kOBp_LEQgE7U84cVVzpen0L3BIMCYoLuclu3aJXDol8kfZDk2B6q9odp3Y/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-06-03+at+8.24.39+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="1162" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC40uCcaTJP9N2aikHK37tXpSRVy1HCK1pLTfqr-ut5dmXuTyYSTq6l17pARFP3S62UWtbTfsLtM6m3-9pg6kOBp_LEQgE7U84cVVzpen0L3BIMCYoLuclu3aJXDol8kfZDk2B6q9odp3Y/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-06-03+at+8.24.39+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is from my Garmin. The little handle on the right is not part of the course though.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNt1S83_IjAFeD8JPrOPff9sjU0MQAJFgI2zp7HZ21HDJ-dBwG5jzK06714qXnbQFC15nyZu1L87ppugzFBRMbmiTaqRCXjMcyN30sCLfw4UunEPDt-B7KGJXUNxEm22SgCeN39-Tfs-Z/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-06-03+at+8.21.48+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="1034" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNt1S83_IjAFeD8JPrOPff9sjU0MQAJFgI2zp7HZ21HDJ-dBwG5jzK06714qXnbQFC15nyZu1L87ppugzFBRMbmiTaqRCXjMcyN30sCLfw4UunEPDt-B7KGJXUNxEm22SgCeN39-Tfs-Z/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-06-03+at+8.21.48+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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That handle shows my two trips to the bathroom. (I like how it looks like I had trouble finding the toilet, or escaping it.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDYhAwZcJupF68gBIn_c6S7D0ioc-572EKnJZ5UNcAOZj-iyAiExpK_DclmDOhdWIwMeh0x0ia71D5sduQpQcWNPtjWbEjzdiXW5RMIFsaQMLDvlusKdE2M8k7r1CfxcRqAI7Qd_S8Thi/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-06-10+at+10.24.56+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="155" data-original-width="1600" height="37" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDYhAwZcJupF68gBIn_c6S7D0ioc-572EKnJZ5UNcAOZj-iyAiExpK_DclmDOhdWIwMeh0x0ia71D5sduQpQcWNPtjWbEjzdiXW5RMIFsaQMLDvlusKdE2M8k7r1CfxcRqAI7Qd_S8Thi/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-06-10+at+10.24.56+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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The course is reasonably flat.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8So1Zm2tiX_1hErEajI2ShAl8kU8I1xh-oN2aVI-soT4hcH1y4sSJBaj6s_tvGjw9iRkl7opysBTZrSRvIZhd9nMJDaNT6KiaRUIFOcWlrdoqw1bfx9ZElt9QfsYe6hephIPuoIEaY5h/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-06-10+at+10.25.05+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="1600" height="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8So1Zm2tiX_1hErEajI2ShAl8kU8I1xh-oN2aVI-soT4hcH1y4sSJBaj6s_tvGjw9iRkl7opysBTZrSRvIZhd9nMJDaNT6KiaRUIFOcWlrdoqw1bfx9ZElt9QfsYe6hephIPuoIEaY5h/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-06-10+at+10.25.05+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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But if you work at it a bit, you can make that "reasonably flat" look much more challenging. (This shows the one time I decided to try the counter-clockwise direction. I was surprised at how many people in the race that I almost never saw just because they were going the same direction as me.) Clockwise worked better for me since I was able to hug the "inside lane" and it seemed a bit easier for tourist management.<br />
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The race was a blast! It was fun seeing so many friends hit their goals and other friends pushing their friends to hit those goals.<br />
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Even those wearing chicken hats.<br />
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That's it - move along…<br />
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PS: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10213974780701606.1073742204.1172907671&type=1&l=f0d507eec0" target="_blank">Here's a link</a> to more of my pictures from the day.notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-81472287840518417872018-05-05T19:36:00.002-07:002018-05-05T19:36:22.446-07:0013.1 under 3 at 200 = 300!Trail running is not really about math, but you don't have to look hard to find that it's reasonably infested with math. Especially if you toss in a few milestones.<br />
<br />
My Half Marathon at Brazen's <a href="https://brazenracing.com/westernpacific/" target="_blank">Western Pacific</a> trail race had the milestones that brought on some math.<br />
<h4>
First, the race.</h4>
I've run and written about this Half a number of times (<a href="http://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2017/05/training-for-half.html" target="_blank">here's my 2017 report</a>), so I'm not going to get heavy on the details. It's flat, wanders around some small lakes before a long out-and-back, then wanders around those small lakes again.<br />
<br />
Two weeks earlier I had a non-inspiring 4:27 finish at the creek- and hill-filled Diablo Half Marathon, so I had no reason to expect this Half to be very inspiring either. Last year I ran it in 2:42, and for this year, I decided on a wildly optimistic "A" goal of breaking three hours, with sub-3:30 as a much more realistic "B" goal.<br />
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But I had a super power for this race - for the first time in quite a while, I was facing off against my Arch Nemesis.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL3RzHkPLVRuS_USwEBCKsRPi_2c_JuGPM-aDGSHaHh1Iv-585UfYZdqmD55-6DNKOsGMmBNQ4BHL_9x3X4UW-ytkDHbejz9FH-esqyHbMbbabq-S40DdGU4c0bTJVlVLDUK5-Pu3Awxy/s1600/P1210901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL3RzHkPLVRuS_USwEBCKsRPi_2c_JuGPM-aDGSHaHh1Iv-585UfYZdqmD55-6DNKOsGMmBNQ4BHL_9x3X4UW-ytkDHbejz9FH-esqyHbMbbabq-S40DdGU4c0bTJVlVLDUK5-Pu3Awxy/s400/P1210901.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I asked her to make a mean face. She failed. She's just too nice.</td></tr>
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Yram (not her real name) was pretty pumped up before the race. She was sure I was vulnerable and that she would whip me. I was actually pretty sure she would too - the longest run I had done before this was a 10K at Hellyer a month ago (there was a LOT of walking at that Diablo Half). That 10K had left me as a quavering puddle. And it was not a fast 10K. I figured at best I would be able to run 8 or 9 miles, and then have to walk the rest.<br />
<br />
My Arch Nemesis would not be walking.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-wrzUGiAdBs0GN-q_T0PqgHMd_gjl2qOwnjQ880s1Lc39qHw7s7vkzhsgLQow9fkpGwiD2ei5NPWUSVX2f_DD4uCjC3tWqOj-ZsiG3-JsLBnRHUIbsa_-_G-OkYqATd-iDYD_0H3Z-w9t/s1600/P1210913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-wrzUGiAdBs0GN-q_T0PqgHMd_gjl2qOwnjQ880s1Lc39qHw7s7vkzhsgLQow9fkpGwiD2ei5NPWUSVX2f_DD4uCjC3tWqOj-ZsiG3-JsLBnRHUIbsa_-_G-OkYqATd-iDYD_0H3Z-w9t/s400/P1210913.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I loved all the kids handing out water!</td></tr>
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I quickly lost sight of her after the start, and by the first aid station, about mile 1.8, I had no idea how far ahead she was. I was still moving fine though, so I just kept up my slow and steady pace.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmi2Dj57FYeLxyL1iNluT_f1iz6ps8st-K4OHLKkhNmbtLA99RngXs1NGiDcIZkBilWmirTFLrlXq7IllsEx_ieB8S4z1WApyj45CmNhc410ZnJVH13qbRr19K8L9KYeEre7rFhsBivfy/s1600/P1210917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmi2Dj57FYeLxyL1iNluT_f1iz6ps8st-K4OHLKkhNmbtLA99RngXs1NGiDcIZkBilWmirTFLrlXq7IllsEx_ieB8S4z1WApyj45CmNhc410ZnJVH13qbRr19K8L9KYeEre7rFhsBivfy/s400/P1210917.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Which way do I go?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once we finished with the lakes, we had a long, fairly straight stretch - the out-and-back bit. I would certainly see her then, and I knew I couldn't be that far behind - I was moving well (for me).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhonZLW-04JqsA54gn7to27vreI_HLP3Mz0Mt-Vm3mIzG9a0UoYWz_1MZw1sBxWzXFa8lIke6WRWLiy9oYOrs5e7HB-7lyasG6ESCMhFlgTmYIIVy8PfVSjr2WYJg7MAXggrctsLuArLdmd/s1600/P1210927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhonZLW-04JqsA54gn7to27vreI_HLP3Mz0Mt-Vm3mIzG9a0UoYWz_1MZw1sBxWzXFa8lIke6WRWLiy9oYOrs5e7HB-7lyasG6ESCMhFlgTmYIIVy8PfVSjr2WYJg7MAXggrctsLuArLdmd/s400/P1210927.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There she is!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
By the second aid station (about mile 3.3), I had her in my sights. This was the 10K turnaround - unlike at Diablo, I was not tempted to drop down to the 10K; I had an Arch Nemesis to track down!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmIADMlnaeTN-g8Pyq1DlV8ALJLamh-ENk2VQRYVDtVZeQivionSsm6DbTXSAnFf_H7GPR7dBfVG0FPwVFSu584vV04jyKF7J6TNqMllGaJx_H2dx05JbwkXtjPmHt7jeh50Hi2N11hA0/s1600/P1210928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmIADMlnaeTN-g8Pyq1DlV8ALJLamh-ENk2VQRYVDtVZeQivionSsm6DbTXSAnFf_H7GPR7dBfVG0FPwVFSu584vV04jyKF7J6TNqMllGaJx_H2dx05JbwkXtjPmHt7jeh50Hi2N11hA0/s400/P1210928.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caught her! Well, maybe…</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At about mile four, I came up beside her. I thought I had her! The right thing to do would have been to put on a bit of a sprint and open up a gap on her. I told my legs this was going to happen. My legs told me I was crazy. And while I was arguing with my legs, Yram decided to open up a gap on me. Before I knew it, she was out of sight again. Her turbo boost was really impressive!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXkliOgnKCaMnbKM_KWr-moraUFTHPIupwd0TARGf8LAGcaJ1D1BguKBSd0_7aAo7TRSJYpPjhciti5BtH8xgwyAJufMtBuR8HgT7HU7fWSd746i8jjckDhA3BBcgmlXf1BEXRG0XpgIq/s1600/P1210942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXkliOgnKCaMnbKM_KWr-moraUFTHPIupwd0TARGf8LAGcaJ1D1BguKBSd0_7aAo7TRSJYpPjhciti5BtH8xgwyAJufMtBuR8HgT7HU7fWSd746i8jjckDhA3BBcgmlXf1BEXRG0XpgIq/s400/P1210942.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The third aid station, about mile 4.6. And I think one of those two people way ahead of me is Yram. At least, that's what I told myself.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioC5kw8KZD9VF48Px9YLknxnjjCEbNWSdEPS-0w7JxiJswpenY-8WazWgVpFXpIYWa92tev41gHtEMTtD09rAtItgm9PHJTdDPCZEx9h9tmkJqvzzysgWOVasdpeXEtZm_i84EdFj5OCQ-/s1600/P1210946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioC5kw8KZD9VF48Px9YLknxnjjCEbNWSdEPS-0w7JxiJswpenY-8WazWgVpFXpIYWa92tev41gHtEMTtD09rAtItgm9PHJTdDPCZEx9h9tmkJqvzzysgWOVasdpeXEtZm_i84EdFj5OCQ-/s400/P1210946.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catching up to her again. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The trail has a short paved bit that dodges over to the road to cross a bridge before coming back to the creek. My Arch Nemesis was right there. I was hoping that her sprint to open up a gap on me had tired her out, but I wanted to make sure and pass her this time. So I managed a small burst of "speed" and "whipped" past her.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalsK2pXk45jR9YEne6G7JIZ1jt-Tm7OSeSxbEnb2nuoZwpGHGXsWCq-bFI7t62uL-u_Nmtya9LpVY4seEeja9tEif1dpUuWJ9obsQfyzNynVumlFBCrlRxZ5nW_V9KnR3r_uixGQZDzbm/s1600/P1210949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalsK2pXk45jR9YEne6G7JIZ1jt-Tm7OSeSxbEnb2nuoZwpGHGXsWCq-bFI7t62uL-u_Nmtya9LpVY4seEeja9tEif1dpUuWJ9obsQfyzNynVumlFBCrlRxZ5nW_V9KnR3r_uixGQZDzbm/s400/P1210949.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not that far ahead of her, but for the first time in this race, I AM AHEAD OF HER!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We were at about mile six by now, and I knew that my legs could fall apart at any moment. But they felt good for now, so there was hope that if I could keep up this pace, I could continue to open this gap.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3nH7eYulZjaV6JqN7HEeaUyy-5YOOymDoumNRLgFQaoVCZxaAuTDkHXKXVaQ5smuqXlDxrl5XDOSrD-0J6-MRSzOIyslYrK-29IJBbUW0c0tSNVOQPaFvqbK3qwabxDYs7HQ9RqWi-lhv/s1600/31562840_10214110345407156_5436122926678016000_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3nH7eYulZjaV6JqN7HEeaUyy-5YOOymDoumNRLgFQaoVCZxaAuTDkHXKXVaQ5smuqXlDxrl5XDOSrD-0J6-MRSzOIyslYrK-29IJBbUW0c0tSNVOQPaFvqbK3qwabxDYs7HQ9RqWi-lhv/s400/31562840_10214110345407156_5436122926678016000_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture of me by Hcaep (not her real name) just before the next aid station. I think that's Yram back there a bit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmBZZ82b_mOZk_UhM91e2mOxkqxFqYjS4OHsmOAPooYxmntuNkuGfNoc0cDv3YohvtKHzkZLv1Rq-b9kTxn-ahw_CZTZh3qL82a2AdguY2VIVM56dss0A_RNbLhQ-ej38zO8iTk7BS_ZL/s1600/P1210961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmBZZ82b_mOZk_UhM91e2mOxkqxFqYjS4OHsmOAPooYxmntuNkuGfNoc0cDv3YohvtKHzkZLv1Rq-b9kTxn-ahw_CZTZh3qL82a2AdguY2VIVM56dss0A_RNbLhQ-ej38zO8iTk7BS_ZL/s400/P1210961.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fourth aid station, about mile 6.7, and our turnaround point!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was anxious to turnaround and see how far she was behind me.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeUU-LGiA2JcV4fWCT5iieQM4Hi9bBSKj8L-ItyRiO7DYkilGzfqCs3ICsAav50EszY2TdoOd8hj5n0yyGA3hjgJQJ7KWoRCY73aGNRLCNtmjykajhNwCltaD9f6AmF8E-jOx9GFCkUFQ/s1600/P1210963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeUU-LGiA2JcV4fWCT5iieQM4Hi9bBSKj8L-ItyRiO7DYkilGzfqCs3ICsAav50EszY2TdoOd8hj5n0yyGA3hjgJQJ7KWoRCY73aGNRLCNtmjykajhNwCltaD9f6AmF8E-jOx9GFCkUFQ/s400/P1210963.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
"Not far at all" was the answer. My passing her had not broken her spirit, and I knew that I was now heading into territory I had not gone into for a long time (almost a year) - every mile I was still running was a new best for me for the last 11 months. And having to take walk breaks could start happening at any time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26OVwieZn_fEaCJOK3CDiqIlQLYexVFHqQyZmROEePLHutTGHFjR5wbYMfm9YteXTrbA-bAh4qOVBbQ8VD4yHQkMzrobPQOmuPwXwqJ3SGEt5JAcdYPooJbdxH0PquRyJZB58s9JdvoSG/s1600/P1210971.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26OVwieZn_fEaCJOK3CDiqIlQLYexVFHqQyZmROEePLHutTGHFjR5wbYMfm9YteXTrbA-bAh4qOVBbQ8VD4yHQkMzrobPQOmuPwXwqJ3SGEt5JAcdYPooJbdxH0PquRyJZB58s9JdvoSG/s400/P1210971.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The fifth aid station, about mile 9.1, was captained by Refinnej (not her real name). I asked her to tell Yram that her shoe was untied when she came through. It turned out that she has a reasonably devious mind - when Yram showed up and asked how far ahead I was, Refinnej said "we haven't seen him yet." What an excellent mind game!<br />
<br />
In any case, I was feeling pretty confident now since I was still feeling OK, and feeling like running the whole Half was actually a real possibility! I had slowed a bit, and my calves were starting to feel like they wanted to cramp at the first excuse they found, but the flat, straight course gave them no excuses.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7a68p3_x-_vWxXjR7Ff6VyLG8KSXWNJM6G8t_qz6ZwKKVwFKyFeX0OfZ9_SyfW7L-7L3uNJT5PYpCoRSMGWcGivpB40QsaKdhjkunG79dTCZdLUIsFoUXy5mwbCyvHmQi5NjoDhBVgWw/s1600/P1210974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7a68p3_x-_vWxXjR7Ff6VyLG8KSXWNJM6G8t_qz6ZwKKVwFKyFeX0OfZ9_SyfW7L-7L3uNJT5PYpCoRSMGWcGivpB40QsaKdhjkunG79dTCZdLUIsFoUXy5mwbCyvHmQi5NjoDhBVgWw/s400/P1210974.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sixth aid station, about mile 10.3. Less than a 5K to go!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpt-d3pOE226tafjd6gJkfTCo-4bgw-8M4vEyKolpoXHIqgQR7lYwMwASCS7TRgS0Dg1qSMgLSjVLsr-KYm4FHmRKjq-y76C58WeLysq2eThOdqQ2AqPaeD7dNIXaNyuvLgwc9wC60Hzct/s1600/P1210978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpt-d3pOE226tafjd6gJkfTCo-4bgw-8M4vEyKolpoXHIqgQR7lYwMwASCS7TRgS0Dg1qSMgLSjVLsr-KYm4FHmRKjq-y76C58WeLysq2eThOdqQ2AqPaeD7dNIXaNyuvLgwc9wC60Hzct/s400/P1210978.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Which way do I go?" "Back to the lakes for you!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I could almost smell the It's-Its.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzadr2ip8MNfds41SITuhxXTn4EMRoX1teGVf4uH2-5e8Gg3ZwYHwVr_D2AI6uQA0P49TdijHHd1YWfi1JD2t55i7vaUB2XZa1mqKx8mk8xlvuL4uF2rRQaay78kiNn6dJ8tAX0uX17rC/s1600/P1210981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzadr2ip8MNfds41SITuhxXTn4EMRoX1teGVf4uH2-5e8Gg3ZwYHwVr_D2AI6uQA0P49TdijHHd1YWfi1JD2t55i7vaUB2XZa1mqKx8mk8xlvuL4uF2rRQaay78kiNn6dJ8tAX0uX17rC/s400/P1210981.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last aid station, about mile 11.7. I could hear Mr. Brazen announcing finishers now! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtFKdeb5o9GyjcvdToPq1-YUZxM3DpP_is25fMcs6eDySBQv0lqJshan-OMqP7Yx9sawa2IffIusgSKCpwcaxl89LhmzEufXCiLBw-JT7JqNUPSfCgiD45auyy2dLex3o-FS3-AX7a2XO/s1600/P1210987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtFKdeb5o9GyjcvdToPq1-YUZxM3DpP_is25fMcs6eDySBQv0lqJshan-OMqP7Yx9sawa2IffIusgSKCpwcaxl89LhmzEufXCiLBw-JT7JqNUPSfCgiD45auyy2dLex3o-FS3-AX7a2XO/s400/P1210987.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finish! Finally!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And I did it! I managed to run the whole course and finish just barely under three hours! And more importantly, beat my Arch Nemesis! (She showed up shortly after me.)<br />
<h4>
Now for some math.</h4>
The first fun thing was that this was Brazen's 200th race! They started in 2009 and have built up a fine stable of races and a fiercely devoted following.<br />
<br />
The second fun thing was that this was my 300th race!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmR_Y2481KS4KQcBl65tBSWSyty6fREwukwxPEBA5hzKj2bmGuhioQpkm3J1ZWWxeBo8GydLiCax-UCPRxuUxmb9FCmUIpY9-uRMI2WpSDOEqD4Ovvkmgc4Ojdd-zfWhY6IKYdv5baV9ka/s1600/300vs300.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="1220" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmR_Y2481KS4KQcBl65tBSWSyty6fREwukwxPEBA5hzKj2bmGuhioQpkm3J1ZWWxeBo8GydLiCax-UCPRxuUxmb9FCmUIpY9-uRMI2WpSDOEqD4Ovvkmgc4Ojdd-zfWhY6IKYdv5baV9ka/s400/300vs300.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I found two notable things based on the number 300 - a car by Chrysler and a movie. I'm pretty sure they are not actually related.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I ran (hah - actually walked) my <a href="http://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-cant-believe-i-did-that.html" target="_blank">first race in 2009</a>. Like most people after their first race, I was pretty sure that was it for me.<br />
<br />
Then I learned about trail races.<br />
<br />
Among those 300 races are a 1 mile and a 1.5 mile race, but the rest are at least 5Ks. This is also including my DNFs (9), which some purists might argue shouldn't count, but I'm hardly pure.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Average race distance: 10.9 miles.</li>
<li>Average time per race: 2:54</li>
<li>Average elevation per race: 1340 feet (that really surprised me)</li>
<li>Average number of races per year: 35</li>
<li>Average entry fee cost per race: $50 (considering a number of races were free after volunteering and DSE races cost only $5, that number seems really high)</li>
<li>Races volunteered at (not counted in the 300): 47</li>
<li>Races crewed/cheered (not counted in the 300): 17</li>
<li>Total number of races I've been involved with in some way: 364 (almost an average of 43 per year!)</li>
</ul>
<div>
These numbers astound me. They also show that maybe this hobby has gotten a bit out of control. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Nah. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's still under control.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Mostly. Kind of.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's it - move along…</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
PS: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10213731735345624.1073742200.1172907671&type=1&l=bdc3221592" target="_blank">Here's a link</a> to more pictures I took at the race.<br />
<br />notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-1544884259692700692018-04-21T14:05:00.003-07:002018-04-21T14:05:46.427-07:00That was a long time between Half Marathons!Back in May of 2017, I ran the <a href="http://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2017/05/horseshoes-are-lucky-right.html" target="_blank">Coastal Horseshoe Lake</a> Half Marathon.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0BWvW6UjNv2pphpoPpyex6DWWRUtR9pqeRNxIjoEfWqOkJ0K-y7z7XlrEiU6Eu-YgzjNnGcbHUxR0KbuEUjPBZZQHNDuqxx07fztrsiJZMDuW1IiY7Zv7BWRmDTdxMTArfmbwc46NFEQ/s1600/P1180880HorseshoeLake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0BWvW6UjNv2pphpoPpyex6DWWRUtR9pqeRNxIjoEfWqOkJ0K-y7z7XlrEiU6Eu-YgzjNnGcbHUxR0KbuEUjPBZZQHNDuqxx07fztrsiJZMDuW1IiY7Zv7BWRmDTdxMTArfmbwc46NFEQ/s400/P1180880HorseshoeLake.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There really is a horseshoe-shaped lake there!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was my third consecutive weekend running a Half, and it turned out to be my last Half for almost a year. My dodgy knee was starting to complain so I started doing shorter distances.<br />
<br />
Then it was time to <a href="http://notthatlucas.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-states-2017-last-chance-take-7.html" target="_blank">volunteer at Western States</a>. My knee was feeling much better by then, so I was no longer wearing my brace. (You should be hearing that kind of music now that precedes a bad thing happening.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-v5Lc7DzRY9_k3ZMUDE2siXoggwdBPKftNqKgEgH6WV-5NmjK7LTSaU2hq97v9fL9i0vc8sytPCFjdOd0e0XkDs9EE4YcMT9cRUw7duIiWE2j9L1kB0jzyQpnrpBOtDWlcLXgJYzh5zTv/s1600/IMG_8513WS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-v5Lc7DzRY9_k3ZMUDE2siXoggwdBPKftNqKgEgH6WV-5NmjK7LTSaU2hq97v9fL9i0vc8sytPCFjdOd0e0XkDs9EE4YcMT9cRUw7duIiWE2j9L1kB0jzyQpnrpBOtDWlcLXgJYzh5zTv/s400/IMG_8513WS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After the Last Chance aid station closed, I headed down to the least technical bit of the course - the track that the runners use to get to the finish line. I knew a ton of people in the race, so I spent a lot of time taking pictures of them as they came in the gate and ran the track to the finish. On my second to last runner, I ran on that grass bit and managed to step in a small hole that tweaked my nearly healed knee in a way that caused more pain than that knee has ever known. It was a total shock - just a very freak accident.<br />
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I ended up spending the next three months hobbling along doing a bare minimum of races (we were streaking at Brazen, and even their 5Ks can often be really challenging). I started working in some 10Ks in the fall and winter, and finally decided in late January that I could try to do another Half.<br />
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The Brazen Coyote Hills Half turned out to be really special. It was Mrs Notthat's 100th lifetime Half. (She had been sitting on 99 for several years!) At the race, she was significantly ahead of me, and I was really dragging (my fitness was shockingly lacking). The course is two laps of a 10Kish course, and I decided to drop at the end of the first lap since I really wanted to be there when she came in (Not a Canadian had warned me that she had something up her sleeve), and there was no way I was going to finish within an hour of her.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn9LMeEljZoR0Ske90M6niCt25cRq_M1gf3uDqFn7aiFz8rcBntnlUFWqxNMLoNpUF7VI8o3gbTShXFZ75MWkVk6xz5z5bZiZdC9ItsxiGvA7lz99rftpIm0PDWcRebM4Myc7vKxvXiYsY/s1600/P1210325Glasses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn9LMeEljZoR0Ske90M6niCt25cRq_M1gf3uDqFn7aiFz8rcBntnlUFWqxNMLoNpUF7VI8o3gbTShXFZ75MWkVk6xz5z5bZiZdC9ItsxiGvA7lz99rftpIm0PDWcRebM4Myc7vKxvXiYsY/s400/P1210325Glasses.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the scratches on her clip-ons. It's not that easy to do that while wearing them. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then everything changed. Mrs Notthat took a nasty fall - other runners coming back at me on the out-and-back bit of the course were warning me that it was not good. The fact that I didn't see her going past me on that bit of trail confirmed that things were not great. She turned out to be at the aid station getting bandaged up. "It's only a flesh wound" was what I imagined her saying. She was seriously hobbled, but still determined to get the Half done. The problem was that she was now going to be pushing cutoffs if she wasn't able to move reasonably well.<br />
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So now my Half was back on - I was going to stick with her and keep her moving well enough to get past the cutoffs and get this done (or make her stop if she was really struggling). We started out pretty slow as she worked out how bad things were, but started to pick it up a bit. Now I was back to worrying whether I could keep up with her, but was determined to stick it out.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9M_xdiUxSCNUN3YnRGKTfDeRSrQjXex0U5jIpC1aq38ZHAhmfFnec7Ebux8_EIodfyMoxtIhUmfsBxcY04lHE2oHPJ4SvNgVsWEGUtxt-t4j2UfQfmxsdo2wJQg3djGO96SLx7v7qBJla/s1600/P1210280DianeKatherine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9M_xdiUxSCNUN3YnRGKTfDeRSrQjXex0U5jIpC1aq38ZHAhmfFnec7Ebux8_EIodfyMoxtIhUmfsBxcY04lHE2oHPJ4SvNgVsWEGUtxt-t4j2UfQfmxsdo2wJQg3djGO96SLx7v7qBJla/s400/P1210280DianeKatherine.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a Canadian being an amazing trail angel!</td></tr>
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Near the end of that first lap, we were fine on the first cutoff. And Not a Canadian was waiting there. We explained what was going on and she volunteered to pace her around that second lap (even though she had already run a fast 10K). I vowed to follow along, but soon realized I had no hope of keeping up with the two of them. So I cut my second lap short and headed back so I could catch her finish.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHVVfXRku7CkhgU-e8BFP1ZaNlg28J97fhqhK_TsTY9tfrdbsA2gQBtEmSOHhu0g6XtSotT9RawiA3NckVtWBvQseJ7W6BBYh1FvvKJclNRXDAsywjmuRwfOUD6z8e_SnWuU4dsYLHIAzK/s1600/IMG_4047Diane100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHVVfXRku7CkhgU-e8BFP1ZaNlg28J97fhqhK_TsTY9tfrdbsA2gQBtEmSOHhu0g6XtSotT9RawiA3NckVtWBvQseJ7W6BBYh1FvvKJclNRXDAsywjmuRwfOUD6z8e_SnWuU4dsYLHIAzK/s400/IMG_4047Diane100.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was truly an amazing accomplishment given the pain she was in. Sadly, she is still paying for that effort a bit, with Achilles pain that is being very slow to heal.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Enough about her - back to me. This DNF convinced me that I needed to up my training before I took on another Half. The good news was that my knee did not rebel too strongly at the nine or so miles I did get in.<br />
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All of which made me decide to target the <a href="https://brazenracing.com/diablotrailschallenge/" target="_blank">Brazen Diablo Challenge</a> Half Marathon. If you use elevation gain to judge whether one Half is harder than another, this Half comes in at Brazen's seventh hardest - just barely beating out Lagoon Valley and Wildcat. But something about it always makes it harder than it should be.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxPt2aSJVgKy44OTl9j9ZBgv1n7ZXt05fTSq-3DiQy5yLc1YoMwohUSNoYnapzpuPlZmq0Xc4YbUqAsJTiXfHl2vDHQDJ1Hu5fnDgV7UKIUj5fx-OEjNepC-JJIqi-U2T5YqHHIuHipa9/s1600/DiabloSimple.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="1600" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxPt2aSJVgKy44OTl9j9ZBgv1n7ZXt05fTSq-3DiQy5yLc1YoMwohUSNoYnapzpuPlZmq0Xc4YbUqAsJTiXfHl2vDHQDJ1Hu5fnDgV7UKIUj5fx-OEjNepC-JJIqi-U2T5YqHHIuHipa9/s400/DiabloSimple.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double-click to see this simplified course map a bit bigger.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The fun thing about this Half is that there are so many creek crossings, and this year, most of the creeks had significant water in them. We had significant sun too, although it wasn't that hot (low to mid 70s). All I wanted to do was to finish, and to do that, I had one cutoff I had to make. Three hours to get to mile 7.9 seems absurdly generous, but so many of those miles are uphill. And it goes without saying, my fitness was still not suitable for a race like this.<br />
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So I gave myself a couple of outs - if things were going badly, I could turn around at the 5K or 10K turnarounds.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJp5DHZ09CSZfaWXD947qiLalHE5NnKGq_atV9Y92WhLFcomq_e59DXIRTcArR1gkqkhQJmNHQlanGpdLUFHRsIPUMuBnWYNdVN_u177G6buBfiPQXVx8EzF0I3Bm5DTwPdFGTQQ1Ew5L/s1600/P1210691Boulder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJp5DHZ09CSZfaWXD947qiLalHE5NnKGq_atV9Y92WhLFcomq_e59DXIRTcArR1gkqkhQJmNHQlanGpdLUFHRsIPUMuBnWYNdVN_u177G6buBfiPQXVx8EzF0I3Bm5DTwPdFGTQQ1Ew5L/s400/P1210691Boulder.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brave Ymmot (not his real name) keeping that boulder from crushing us runners.</td></tr>
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The race started fine, and I kept my speed well under control (like I had any other options).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83cLZ9JWDmonLaphW3bbTzSnIaE2EMrXsuZSbxfA_W3z3ZbDs8dfokxhRWHLRyDQIX6PyICWQc75wqs1sKm_ZMv_bYO64lLLFAhgeC1yAKisbv9-ly9pstgBFF1TNyYS_MYDhgIrZ9FJ-/s1600/P1210694Aid1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83cLZ9JWDmonLaphW3bbTzSnIaE2EMrXsuZSbxfA_W3z3ZbDs8dfokxhRWHLRyDQIX6PyICWQc75wqs1sKm_ZMv_bYO64lLLFAhgeC1yAKisbv9-ly9pstgBFF1TNyYS_MYDhgIrZ9FJ-/s400/P1210694Aid1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first aid station, about mile 1.1, headed up by my arch-nemesis. She would later kick herself for not running this Half since she would have given me a massive beatdown.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgARwwEwVKmM7Z6mUIl3dDr9wE2sZQQfrw09GFY1MYGuQZ_6bSdVQfNcmOuslkwnUQWXsCI6gBitG7TemnkkjS2-dzZicUgob8TbVhPEVohp4p3KufcuUKhCAGEJYiXdvaI_4FMXn-bqjmj/s1600/P1210696Turn5K.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgARwwEwVKmM7Z6mUIl3dDr9wE2sZQQfrw09GFY1MYGuQZ_6bSdVQfNcmOuslkwnUQWXsCI6gBitG7TemnkkjS2-dzZicUgob8TbVhPEVohp4p3KufcuUKhCAGEJYiXdvaI_4FMXn-bqjmj/s400/P1210696Turn5K.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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When I arrived at the 5K turnaround, I was feeling fine, so I kept pushing on to the 10K turnaround.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQztk4J11Woho9e_ECbaa85n5tGFWsPu6-ExvLT2FjA8UsNg5MWaSTF3b7uzQxkzGclQ6mbZS9zYD5B4PPAJ3qyswUfeRUV9a9n82ggwCuRnaNQIudDpjrzJlYhn1bFu2yH9yz-WmVbCxm/s1600/P1210700Hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQztk4J11Woho9e_ECbaa85n5tGFWsPu6-ExvLT2FjA8UsNg5MWaSTF3b7uzQxkzGclQ6mbZS9zYD5B4PPAJ3qyswUfeRUV9a9n82ggwCuRnaNQIudDpjrzJlYhn1bFu2yH9yz-WmVbCxm/s400/P1210700Hill.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Shortly after the 5K turnaround, we jump off the wide more or less flat trail onto this single-track, and our first of two small warm up climbs. These would largely determine whether I was going to finish this Half or not.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDi4tjtx8Yo1islEQG-SziFTG7FvY0c35sZ7j1yRsAZkJdvDVB7Z7nwtGLJNFUX2WztTzcGDfJKWldni18H5iGgJ9fZr-fxfjcvR74OPPTxdZAQnx80gOggJPaxq8VCXB62RL8iPghyphenhyphen0P/s1600/P1210710Aid2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDi4tjtx8Yo1islEQG-SziFTG7FvY0c35sZ7j1yRsAZkJdvDVB7Z7nwtGLJNFUX2WztTzcGDfJKWldni18H5iGgJ9fZr-fxfjcvR74OPPTxdZAQnx80gOggJPaxq8VCXB62RL8iPghyphenhyphen0P/s400/P1210710Aid2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The second aid station, about mile 2.8, before starting the second warm up climb.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That first small climb (about 400 feet) was tougher than I would have liked. The second small climb (also about 400 feet) was also tough. Things were looking grim for my Half.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_mEMJ7Ja6KT0ibEYfo_wcF-YFcB9jNhTBnKSRN6AohU2WHz5J8RHtThtNr-xOEea71TnlN3EPBIwwdbVigGye4_rFc-b46Os3G6ilirY8ly2u98Ow_RJdhFRWS0opvfDYqlfPv8C2zcP/s1600/P1210713Y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_mEMJ7Ja6KT0ibEYfo_wcF-YFcB9jNhTBnKSRN6AohU2WHz5J8RHtThtNr-xOEea71TnlN3EPBIwwdbVigGye4_rFc-b46Os3G6ilirY8ly2u98Ow_RJdhFRWS0opvfDYqlfPv8C2zcP/s400/P1210713Y.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After that second climb, you get a nice downhill that's just long enough for you to forget the nasty things your brain was telling you back when you were slogging up that hill. The 10K turnaround was coming up quickly.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE8KR0RNpGxdGT5F_aeaP3ZX1rO_Z7tgSaVkSKY0FwnAzySLTfpvlGLGFP1S9Aj1fVn85Xk_Od6dF_940JVxQxPqxYhZznjJj_Gtq8UTQvR6qFpOJOlUoNwB4Z98NKDwPOSzHxxjDPmTE/s1600/P1210715CreekTrail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE8KR0RNpGxdGT5F_aeaP3ZX1rO_Z7tgSaVkSKY0FwnAzySLTfpvlGLGFP1S9Aj1fVn85Xk_Od6dF_940JVxQxPqxYhZznjJj_Gtq8UTQvR6qFpOJOlUoNwB4Z98NKDwPOSzHxxjDPmTE/s400/P1210715CreekTrail.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes trails make excellent creeks.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSOG6bGBAAEYUuXlev2n3MPVEumB_yLjvQPTnswoMHndUwRgS22CHJVwfeqJ5P9jF_knI1wcOMtamrCjPb0qTpThmYEtLiNKHcPoK0h4e597T6sV2RFX_OGWMGUZDfTf-cV2jGcY1oVnpC/s1600/P1210716Turn10K.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSOG6bGBAAEYUuXlev2n3MPVEumB_yLjvQPTnswoMHndUwRgS22CHJVwfeqJ5P9jF_knI1wcOMtamrCjPb0qTpThmYEtLiNKHcPoK0h4e597T6sV2RFX_OGWMGUZDfTf-cV2jGcY1oVnpC/s400/P1210716Turn10K.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 10K turnaround - time to decide.</td></tr>
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By the time I made it to the 10K turnaround, I had largely forgotten how those small climbs had taxed me. So I pushed on. From here on, there were no easy outs until you finished the real climb, and if you can manage that, there is no good reason not to finish (assuming you make the cutoff).<br />
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This was about mile four, and it had taken me 75 minutes to get there. I now had to go four more miles in 105 minutes. But that four miles had about 1400 feet of climbing. The climb did have a few small breaks (and LOTS of false summits), but you would find yourself swearing every time you gave back some elevation, knowing you were going to have to make up for it shortly after.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWSD6_cDf9XwnncEXECqF-NGdxtKIZ7VtDQ_TYHGSlx1KvrYZU_x7zcLAIBKg6uLfCVuMcCLiQMp93OVZLubOMHrygT4X426vhFOCxZtan8yssXnyoqsU_3kYBsxQbUoEzhsUGFoN7LEA/s1600/P1210718Hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWSD6_cDf9XwnncEXECqF-NGdxtKIZ7VtDQ_TYHGSlx1KvrYZU_x7zcLAIBKg6uLfCVuMcCLiQMp93OVZLubOMHrygT4X426vhFOCxZtan8yssXnyoqsU_3kYBsxQbUoEzhsUGFoN7LEA/s400/P1210718Hill.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of a creek crossing, and the base of the big climb (if you look at the simple course map above, this is where that big loop meets the stick).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPF3fbBcDEnmEL_cJMq2rBzaLNRx6spDO2MZD3UxoreuolMUWQZAqNpn7KcqwNjLRIteBLQUzDfUuTN9GVX1tj38IbdhSz_qlCnQdafTNx4UBdL9ygDOIiwXJUC91OGzN5i7QuErH3Bk7/s1600/P1210726Selfie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPF3fbBcDEnmEL_cJMq2rBzaLNRx6spDO2MZD3UxoreuolMUWQZAqNpn7KcqwNjLRIteBLQUzDfUuTN9GVX1tj38IbdhSz_qlCnQdafTNx4UBdL9ygDOIiwXJUC91OGzN5i7QuErH3Bk7/s400/P1210726Selfie.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I got a kick out of the two runners taking a selfie.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This trail is challenging - it's completely exposed so, even though it wasn't really hot, the sun took its toll on you. But the clear skies and climb rewarded you with astonishing views. (Not enough of a reward, but it helped.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivV3_biRfshN_n4BPpwY6uIX-RV_N-hoi9b9u1mJ6ez_R2w-hu38lwtmcpBoHgqtP7hVWzPR5_PqdMXoNE0u8T8cpCLsKPqfJuVJ_AEV693gYsuqjG5h7E0k8KUiL0UFM_OeO0B36xrbEm/s1600/P1210747Aid3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivV3_biRfshN_n4BPpwY6uIX-RV_N-hoi9b9u1mJ6ez_R2w-hu38lwtmcpBoHgqtP7hVWzPR5_PqdMXoNE0u8T8cpCLsKPqfJuVJ_AEV693gYsuqjG5h7E0k8KUiL0UFM_OeO0B36xrbEm/s400/P1210747Aid3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a mirage - that really is the third aid station, at the top of a hill, naturally.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I had hoped to do this stretch without having to pause, and I did pretty good, but did end up pausing a couple of times to catch my breath (and convince myself that this wasn't really the stupidest idea I've ever had). When I finally spotted that third aid station (the one with the cutoff), I was thrilled. Near death, but thrilled.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nBxaRNZghTdT1fwKPrbUF8LYGI_LwH_aIxbE3YuHZaXsZtcv5MSsoxBgC22u-0fPJm53VgzVUSHoM27q14P103vvouXHZ0swKS7ueDa6Cx8PezjcbfWDdwXkbNWMn1-CTJFH8K_NWloE/s1600/P1210748Tony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nBxaRNZghTdT1fwKPrbUF8LYGI_LwH_aIxbE3YuHZaXsZtcv5MSsoxBgC22u-0fPJm53VgzVUSHoM27q14P103vvouXHZ0swKS7ueDa6Cx8PezjcbfWDdwXkbNWMn1-CTJFH8K_NWloE/s400/P1210748Tony.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Would you like a complimentary cup of water sir?" I've never been so happy to see The Endorphin Dude.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It ended up taking me about 85 minutes to cover that four miles, so I was well within the cutoff (and I wasn't last either!). I was happy that I would be able to take a few minutes here to gather myself.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBbbpWzJ1_pcIiNFRf-cwcwxcw7xMJM9e4HMl9UcPJexZh4m4aaTYpiLBs2AWUNBASmrAa9vVC45et7KtF4BwfHPbGA7VXzvHtQF3yJ1axpqc3qyOv6S-eoM-C6WaCaOTEJkcr9TN5paz/s1600/MeDiabloTony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBbbpWzJ1_pcIiNFRf-cwcwxcw7xMJM9e4HMl9UcPJexZh4m4aaTYpiLBs2AWUNBASmrAa9vVC45et7KtF4BwfHPbGA7VXzvHtQF3yJ1axpqc3qyOv6S-eoM-C6WaCaOTEJkcr9TN5paz/s400/MeDiabloTony.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me gathering myself. Picture by The Endorphin Dude. Misery by Diablo. This is the classic pose of someone who is about to "reset their stomach." Fortunately, I was having no stomach issues at all - I was just dang tired.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanwFGDz0tql34IXjDgyZEyjlgPxL0xt15e8Cy-YMaoJo_ENbktV2xlXQg2mQLAbqkFKYZ4Q7XiAaefSgkHq-dkj8UJu0S2Xcdlr1B-Z-bFSPsShyphenhyphenRKhvS4RrFiYgpTRTDF1utg2GE-yey/s1600/P1210749Christine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanwFGDz0tql34IXjDgyZEyjlgPxL0xt15e8Cy-YMaoJo_ENbktV2xlXQg2mQLAbqkFKYZ4Q7XiAaefSgkHq-dkj8UJu0S2Xcdlr1B-Z-bFSPsShyphenhyphenRKhvS4RrFiYgpTRTDF1utg2GE-yey/s400/P1210749Christine.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"You want ANOTHER complimentary water?" Miss Chris Bliss was way more angelic than those horns lead on.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-LQVBA9DsxDp0KSNC6Qo-lF31WNDhcSDq1vJv2xOJ4oqHgql-tQ_Yun_ierZMLfnfL0lNLsV6qJK6mF5r8u-PF1iDrNAgvwCLHy4LZuNWMOeVtu-QcaMN0nGCgmE32mJG0UUpJ1FC8tA/s1600/P1210751Celebrities.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-LQVBA9DsxDp0KSNC6Qo-lF31WNDhcSDq1vJv2xOJ4oqHgql-tQ_Yun_ierZMLfnfL0lNLsV6qJK6mF5r8u-PF1iDrNAgvwCLHy4LZuNWMOeVtu-QcaMN0nGCgmE32mJG0UUpJ1FC8tA/s400/P1210751Celebrities.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Total surprise seeing so many rock stars here, including Ecarg, Aynwat, and Mas (not their real names). They were getting ready to sweep the second half of the 50K course.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUeGeYmCiQ5CItN39C0jun4bo6LGvIlwDEQpLXTts3Mx_hmuD13g2JUKcqiQ3E649o3ovHsoR_a93ggqTbtgeDPDJtc2lzZFFGkaZD3ou9rg-LtrtB1Du1sTIoGoOTJLun31zU1zt0tVNr/s1600/P1210754Ken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUeGeYmCiQ5CItN39C0jun4bo6LGvIlwDEQpLXTts3Mx_hmuD13g2JUKcqiQ3E649o3ovHsoR_a93ggqTbtgeDPDJtc2lzZFFGkaZD3ou9rg-LtrtB1Du1sTIoGoOTJLun31zU1zt0tVNr/s400/P1210754Ken.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"See daddy? See those runners way up there?" (He was actually pointing at a helicopter that had been circling me, assuming I would keel over at any moment, which was a fair bet.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I left the aid station about 12 minutes before the cutoff, and of course, started going uphill. There isn't a lot of climbing left though, but by now these small hills seemed daunting.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgATG-ZhGdhWOIshrX4ShOpGFupDo41VrMOwAg6yu-4Fp6SnD0vSEQ3loyqRXVnUvrPrKhywQfbwzZkVfEGcfH2Ac4bG-mNXVH8_vx_s4mBZT9XBCCWJqc-6ezPMBLBkYztHozdqXgpG4qu/s1600/P1210761Split.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgATG-ZhGdhWOIshrX4ShOpGFupDo41VrMOwAg6yu-4Fp6SnD0vSEQ3loyqRXVnUvrPrKhywQfbwzZkVfEGcfH2Ac4bG-mNXVH8_vx_s4mBZT9XBCCWJqc-6ezPMBLBkYztHozdqXgpG4qu/s400/P1210761Split.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was so thrilled to get to turn left here. The 50K runners at this point are now facing the hardest part of their race.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once I hit the long downhill, I was happy that I was able to run, even if it was very slow.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhogUSw33hO31wR2sninECVdnjx7LzeODOxKqafEe6sE7bjs177S4F0ht4e-xNrKahAmoCWSgDjbzKI8XbtFjkRWd6GwjmdfvIEP0w9eljNx0AhZwlXgrjOdGlK4qCCeL0gapBo4n0yFqXl/s1600/P1210762Downhill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhogUSw33hO31wR2sninECVdnjx7LzeODOxKqafEe6sE7bjs177S4F0ht4e-xNrKahAmoCWSgDjbzKI8XbtFjkRWd6GwjmdfvIEP0w9eljNx0AhZwlXgrjOdGlK4qCCeL0gapBo4n0yFqXl/s400/P1210762Downhill.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It wasn't really all single-track like this, but it was all very runnable downhill for about two miles.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After about a mile though, I started having a sharp pain in my inner thigh, no doubt caused by me compensating for the knee. So I started walking for a bit, and the pain went away. Once I was closer to the bottom of the climb, I tried running again and all went fine. Well, other than me being totally exhausted.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYS5ENGd2Blte6EWkEydfiacfiHS3GXRmpQOdro018EK_mkc7HR9BkdOOgfU5eeHBwcAnNY6XBQf6cMVPOTfy8YyWidTTcpCcxA2WjMn7ALmjvI4c6aRGdIcN3c4agrW0EUiKpkXAuqN6F/s1600/P1210768LoopDone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYS5ENGd2Blte6EWkEydfiacfiHS3GXRmpQOdro018EK_mkc7HR9BkdOOgfU5eeHBwcAnNY6XBQf6cMVPOTfy8YyWidTTcpCcxA2WjMn7ALmjvI4c6aRGdIcN3c4agrW0EUiKpkXAuqN6F/s400/P1210768LoopDone.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is at the end of that big loop. The Search and Rescue volunteer was recording bib numbers to help keep track of us runners. I was encouraged that he didn't immediately radio for a helicopter to extract me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
From this point, I'm heading back mostly on trails that I came out on - net downhill but some rolling and a LOT of creek crossings.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAdXRoqy5255X0FeZoRZ5rP1tED5ih2A_vnnM8oiQzuFj5LOccM_VIWFuGFS2gcwOXWS1GlkQXZQEBQebMgv_jgcG_uxgLPmXcdtp8kLiWsVCXoLIauDoSUiRj_LXDEc-mOr8yf0ozOc-/s1600/P1210790JohnJay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAdXRoqy5255X0FeZoRZ5rP1tED5ih2A_vnnM8oiQzuFj5LOccM_VIWFuGFS2gcwOXWS1GlkQXZQEBQebMgv_jgcG_uxgLPmXcdtp8kLiWsVCXoLIauDoSUiRj_LXDEc-mOr8yf0ozOc-/s400/P1210790JohnJay.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">50K runner Nhoj getting his picture taken by Yaj (not their real names) who had finished his Half a couple of hours earlier.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yaj had finished his race a bit over two hours earlier and was now out taking pictures of us mortals. He got this shot of me that does an amazing job of making me look like a real runner!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqs3K6cmfAhdfMgJ5DWcG-IqkJhlvwabZ4lwzuUBKVS5VuRURBeVHweIehu1MEjcf_9UASO6aQBZJrmyLthBcHgGTL61GCGDITjtMAh6yrXNInmGsbgqJprcJQ24g6t-Iw_j9utmEOuOjk/s1600/MeDiabloJay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqs3K6cmfAhdfMgJ5DWcG-IqkJhlvwabZ4lwzuUBKVS5VuRURBeVHweIehu1MEjcf_9UASO6aQBZJrmyLthBcHgGTL61GCGDITjtMAh6yrXNInmGsbgqJprcJQ24g6t-Iw_j9utmEOuOjk/s400/MeDiabloJay.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Don't fall don't fall don't fall…" Picture by Yaj.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9oQTNY2ksHCR1s6ZGcA0AFb8i8Ac7LdHJeCZBvxbZ9K7jmgoTcvPb6QwodI3SQwx-0F-jWFeCzLpctpSOoT4vcSNwgeXFw2RtgCmlj1YCiUijcXgPWUXzAmH4j_qD0hCT9I1qsBh0VYaM/s1600/P1210793Finish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9oQTNY2ksHCR1s6ZGcA0AFb8i8Ac7LdHJeCZBvxbZ9K7jmgoTcvPb6QwodI3SQwx-0F-jWFeCzLpctpSOoT4vcSNwgeXFw2RtgCmlj1YCiUijcXgPWUXzAmH4j_qD0hCT9I1qsBh0VYaM/s400/P1210793Finish.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
And then finally, the finish arch. It was all I could do to avoid giving it a big sweaty hug.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_r8DRblpDO85qmxfyd5vIIRtEdxNmTGgtoQb6rRPPNN6LBDtL_eFPXwBxCXdoOs7kin46EGEVEr7HiCgyfDmHcOIR5wYUiVUbD8xTpz1j2zePB5m5Vsbu3-QRdApUfSxb_n1aZ878_eEs/s1600/P1210807SHirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1461" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_r8DRblpDO85qmxfyd5vIIRtEdxNmTGgtoQb6rRPPNN6LBDtL_eFPXwBxCXdoOs7kin46EGEVEr7HiCgyfDmHcOIR5wYUiVUbD8xTpz1j2zePB5m5Vsbu3-QRdApUfSxb_n1aZ878_eEs/s400/P1210807SHirt.jpg" width="365" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The thing on the right was on the bottom-back of my shirt. Not a Canadian brought it back from Greece since she knew I would make it useful (as long as you have a loose enough definition of "useful").</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And then I was done. I had survived the Half. My muscles were amazingly sore, but my knee held up fine. This was my seventh finish of this Half course (there are two Brazen races a year that use it), and a bit more that 20 minutes longer than any of them at 4:27. I was number 272 out of 286 finishers. (I was the only one of six in my age group to not finish in under three hours - old trail runners are tough and fast!)<br />
<br />
It was awesome to get this finish. I'm not sure it was wise, but a week later, I'm feeling recovered and happy to have that Half monkey off my back. Getting farther than the Half distance might be a bit out still, but I'm more confident that that's just a training issue, which can be fixed.<br />
<br />
It might not be easy though.<br />
<br />
That's it - move along…<br />
<br />
PS: You can see more of my pictures <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10213644557806240.1073742198.1172907671&type=1&l=9ade297117" target="_blank">here</a>.notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756791581583911888.post-87505667274650144802018-02-27T20:44:00.000-08:002018-03-04T13:25:02.272-08:00Fairbanks or Cabo?<i>Note: This is going to be a post that I keep updating as we go along. Most of you can safely ignore it or just go look at the pictures.</i><br />
<br />
A few weeks back, we had been trying to think of a suitable trip for our anniversary. Anniversaries that end in 0 or 5 have been deemed noteworthy, and this one was number 35. (For number 30, we spent two weeks in New Zealand.) Since we had already spent a week in <a href="http://notthatlucas.blogspot/2018/01/hurt-2018-they-clicked-on-all-right.html" target="_blank">Hawaii</a> for the HURT race, we decided to try to keep this trip somewhat more manageable.<br />
<br />
Our first plan was a wildly improbable trip to Fairbanks Alaska, in the hopes of seeing the Northern Lights. As we got closer though, it became clear that our chances of seeing them wouldn't be that good during the week we had picked to travel (there are prediction sites for that sort of thing) and that it would be cold. REALLY cold. (Duh.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQMGsZKrOqOf_ZtVWOx2fcL5gWAXxrzeO3kXvHhO3XF7DLapB7LiTeEcsGjnSVcPWkkLHYrMH9hfNbWV0mQLVetOBem8fIb3GT342QhpwB3sKXCCvTqCE4p7xAg8qr7t-28u-2sXMsag_/s1600/Ice+Cubes.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQMGsZKrOqOf_ZtVWOx2fcL5gWAXxrzeO3kXvHhO3XF7DLapB7LiTeEcsGjnSVcPWkkLHYrMH9hfNbWV0mQLVetOBem8fIb3GT342QhpwB3sKXCCvTqCE4p7xAg8qr7t-28u-2sXMsag_/s320/Ice+Cubes.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cold. Colder than this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So a second plan was hatched, and Mrs Notthat made a trip to AAA where she booked us a trip to the Greater Cabo Area, at the tip of the Baja California peninsula. Mrs had been there before, but this was all new to me. The trip was booked through Pleasant Holidays to an all-inclusive hotel on the beach outside of San Jose del Cabo. There are two main towns at the tip of the peninsula - the slightly more famous Cabo San Lucas (which sounds like a natural for me, and the home of Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo Cantina) and the quieter San Jose del Cabo, with the Hotel District stretched between them.<br />
<h4>
Day One - Getting There</h4>
We flew on Virgin America/Alaska Airlines from San Francisco to Cabo airport, about three hours in the air.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid6jF5moeKDczZlIMK3awljkYbxkeH_RTg2_G8tSaynnZxe-JIOIHxO7tBzFNMeFGga6JGbUHKcXFyTj766qEjuwksguXaBu7V5ZuXHLTnh0eqh_vzbcWbZf0xXseg3MFYHDiiNCDBvKE2/s1600/IMG_1930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid6jF5moeKDczZlIMK3awljkYbxkeH_RTg2_G8tSaynnZxe-JIOIHxO7tBzFNMeFGga6JGbUHKcXFyTj766qEjuwksguXaBu7V5ZuXHLTnh0eqh_vzbcWbZf0xXseg3MFYHDiiNCDBvKE2/s400/IMG_1930.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodbye Bay Area! (We later heard that the hills in the area all got snowed on that day! We made a wise escape!)</td></tr>
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The Cabo airport was a bit of a madhouse with plucky salespeople trying to hustle you to their great deal on transportation to wherever you were going, but we already had that covered as part of the package. (That transportation had a minor catch in that you had to meet with one of their people at the hotel the next day to pick up your voucher for the return trip, which gave him an opportunity to tell you about all these wonderful excursions and such we should do. I dreaded that bit, but it was actually fine - we fully intended to get out a bit - and I'm sure we could have just picked up our voucher and left with no trouble if we were so inclined.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IBhpKUnEMQqrR39NKMlRzGcCx1-03KoUveC8h42xKo9SX-l0v2Ltl3g568BW855y_9DcEN7XhjTfeAKAIsZCO6asMDBt9WkQ9L4-ffZrSfyNdUklTN8YUpjstPoVt8XLv5Mp6fBdE77i/s1600/IMG_1762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IBhpKUnEMQqrR39NKMlRzGcCx1-03KoUveC8h42xKo9SX-l0v2Ltl3g568BW855y_9DcEN7XhjTfeAKAIsZCO6asMDBt9WkQ9L4-ffZrSfyNdUklTN8YUpjstPoVt8XLv5Mp6fBdE77i/s400/IMG_1762.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat being all that getting to walk off the plane like a boss!</td></tr>
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As an all-inclusive resort, this one is really way more inclusive than I had expected. You wear a wristband and can eat and drink at any of the 15 our so restaurants and bars. A few have dress codes for men (no shorts, sandals, or t-shirts, but jeans and running shoes are fine), but most are pretty open. A few are buffet style, but even they will cook things that you want.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRQUSsExbAyQ3VnFsEg1XUAnVqfnMqa67FEZt6stHeOUxxaSiQDbazOPNVWItCgQ1xqhR-mXc83wuZIR9KF-38mXlJ3ITZQq9DaBvZiZpCXGY4E0RuBFAykKWPGd68YZX5q1s9oh13bfZ/s1600/IMG_6651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRQUSsExbAyQ3VnFsEg1XUAnVqfnMqa67FEZt6stHeOUxxaSiQDbazOPNVWItCgQ1xqhR-mXc83wuZIR9KF-38mXlJ3ITZQq9DaBvZiZpCXGY4E0RuBFAykKWPGd68YZX5q1s9oh13bfZ/s400/IMG_6651.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat apparently warned them that this was our anniversary. That banner is awesome, but I'm not sure it's ours to keep (it's much nicer than what I would have expected to be used for something like this). It was mildly disappointing that it wasn't in Spanish though.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The biggest surprise is that alcohol is (mostly) included. You have to pay for bottles of wine, but glasses of the house stuff, Tecate beer (and maybe others - I don’t know yet), and mixed drinks are all included.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPCkqnjH89DFW-kLMCP9loHBsu1VHHBL6RWxxnxG2dAu4AoAvEp9axOOPm6KgXFar-gBJWdpPNbbtMuBgn-4-ua-94NwZ6tBXPvHQkY-oYjF5hgRhQnZ1viHa3RlrUwbpKsnMbFnsYsXos/s1600/IMG_0385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPCkqnjH89DFW-kLMCP9loHBsu1VHHBL6RWxxnxG2dAu4AoAvEp9axOOPm6KgXFar-gBJWdpPNbbtMuBgn-4-ua-94NwZ6tBXPvHQkY-oYjF5hgRhQnZ1viHa3RlrUwbpKsnMbFnsYsXos/s400/IMG_0385.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nobody died while we were on the beach. </td></tr>
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There are several pools to choose from and, well, the beach. So far, getting into the water at the beach is prohibited due to unsafe conditions (they say “fatal” conditions), but I’m not sure why. The waves are moderately aggressive, but apparently that’s enough. Or maybe there is some other darker reason involving something in the water.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqiTnixQUeO1y15Hk7K_0uRWiEyTt6qWWLFj_UyXDpwEI5_h92R4oWiEjJbyfGU9ZcjiMbU2h4b8VQo7YVddS1QU7bretbkWFRQ0lGuJc4L05TWpyLkdPpiiNQL0_1IhZMbQVuF1xPD_jV/s1600/IMG_6565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqiTnixQUeO1y15Hk7K_0uRWiEyTt6qWWLFj_UyXDpwEI5_h92R4oWiEjJbyfGU9ZcjiMbU2h4b8VQo7YVddS1QU7bretbkWFRQ0lGuJc4L05TWpyLkdPpiiNQL0_1IhZMbQVuF1xPD_jV/s400/IMG_6565.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is looking from the beach area back towards the hotel. Our room is in that back building to the right a bit. We can see the pools and beach.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Regardless, the weather hasn’t really been nice enough for either of us to want to get wet anyway. The highs have been in the low 70s with a cool breeze (no real humidity - this is a desert area), which is fine for hanging out, but maybe not for hanging out while all wet. Nights are in the 60s. The place has fire pits at night that we haven’t tried out yet.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJqu1U1cMUD6c1AfGOZAUs4FFNMd55O-HL1VYBUdU6DQKY7DObcmFBiP2sYUZ6nQbOno3vwtwH5H4uiMMNeOiR1KaGgYJlAMD09uIKNzSeKYgNpaV8kX1nPvFXqHVG4wMIIzT_K8CqNj3J/s1600/IMG_4772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJqu1U1cMUD6c1AfGOZAUs4FFNMd55O-HL1VYBUdU6DQKY7DObcmFBiP2sYUZ6nQbOno3vwtwH5H4uiMMNeOiR1KaGgYJlAMD09uIKNzSeKYgNpaV8kX1nPvFXqHVG4wMIIzT_K8CqNj3J/s400/IMG_4772.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the evening, looking more or less from our room.</td></tr>
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I think we are between seasons or something - the flight was not nearly full, and this place doesn’t feel very full either. Which is fine by me.<br />
<h4>
Day Two - Exploring the Hotel and Extreme Relaxation</h4>
We did not get moving very early. Our room is far more deluxe than we are used to, but it still has some quirks. The lighting is puzzling and the AC system uses wildly cryptic icons that get lost in translation. (We really don't need AC so we just shut it off.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6ocN8WvQ49KlTBmmV2FdpB7wNG704ZVEy1S6gkHfZZF01QDA-fr1poZQpWmUn3aKI3GK5a60AWBf6vsOKPaGh60Uuv3Vg8ueQGytYcy4GhDhSj1yOfXLBqYza4b8T9STn3JuHrr1FV3S/s1600/IMG_6492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6ocN8WvQ49KlTBmmV2FdpB7wNG704ZVEy1S6gkHfZZF01QDA-fr1poZQpWmUn3aKI3GK5a60AWBf6vsOKPaGh60Uuv3Vg8ueQGytYcy4GhDhSj1yOfXLBqYza4b8T9STn3JuHrr1FV3S/s400/IMG_6492.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An action shot of Mrs Notthat kicking the cue ball. This was harder than it looks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We have scheduled some excursions starting tomorrow (see the above about the transportation). Mrs was unable to get me to go zip lining though.<br />
<br />
Tonight we ate at the Asian restaurant, which had a menu with Asian-based food as well as a knife-hurling Benihana-style table, if that's what you were in to.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdd6ukCWV1eW3V2huhAqUgjGQpUv56um3p8FmcwmhddtJOK8hYycbJlAwHChyphenhyphennW22iz0b_hMaH0wng9cpjz2CCQLdU6dDMou9241sWu_Khoq-dJlMG5EU5qsAfN_U4OXUYLKeCmPK208Vk/s1600/IMG_3676+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdd6ukCWV1eW3V2huhAqUgjGQpUv56um3p8FmcwmhddtJOK8hYycbJlAwHChyphenhyphennW22iz0b_hMaH0wng9cpjz2CCQLdU6dDMou9241sWu_Khoq-dJlMG5EU5qsAfN_U4OXUYLKeCmPK208Vk/s400/IMG_3676+2.JPG" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We avoided the flying knives option.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And that's about it. Reviews for this place often complained about the slow internet that's free (they sell a premium internet package), but it's been easily good enough for us. Again, maybe because the place isn't that full. We walked around the fire pits, but they are one of the few places smoking is allowed, so we passed on them since none were truly empty.<br />
<br />
<i>Note: I looked up what the word “cabo” means in English, and the first answer was “stub,” which seemed odd. A bit more looking came up with “cape” which makes more sense. What I should have looked up was Tecate.</i><br />
<h4>
Day Three - Hanging with Camels</h4>
Before we get down to business with the camel ride, a few notes about our room.<br />
<br />
I’ve stayed in a lot of motel/hotel rooms in my past, but this is my first to have these two things:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>A bathroom scale: Maybe they know that people will come here and worry about eating too much and putting on alarming bonus weight. Putting a scale into the room seems pretty counter-intuitive though. Unless… unless it has been doctored to show you a few pounds lighter than you really are. (I weighed myself and was surprised to see I haven’t gained anything. I really doubt that though. But just in case, a second dessert can’t hurt.)</li>
<li>Two pair of earplugs: There is no way this isn’t ominous. If it’s to save each other from each other’s snoring, maybe that’s pretty noble. But given that they have had two fairly loud poolside parties the last two nights, I’m thinking that maybe that’s what they had in mind. We don’t seem to hear much from neighboring rooms, so I don’t think that was the reason for supplying those. (Note that the poolside parties so far have been ending before 10PM, so you would have to be someone that really wanted to go to bed early to be affected too much.)</li>
</ul>
<br />
Our first excursion was to the Cactus ATV Tours place over on the Pacific Ocean side of the peninsula. We weren’t interested in an ATV tour though, but wanted to ride a camel. There are several places around here where you can ride a camel, and this one didn’t have a weight limit that I couldn’t beat, so we picked it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN20nEa4ZGQzQzZuli40HivRPWz_CfxRgz1dLQsWQkiN7PuYlSeH-ZMoFiQzyqS1UJ-scVqLbqrls8qGGixxL5p0IrZtECDCFluKyyL9OgjAsv6QoMMcPq0lIhLPT30GURaLHFsZLwS7p-/s1600/_MG_2953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN20nEa4ZGQzQzZuli40HivRPWz_CfxRgz1dLQsWQkiN7PuYlSeH-ZMoFiQzyqS1UJ-scVqLbqrls8qGGixxL5p0IrZtECDCFluKyyL9OgjAsv6QoMMcPq0lIhLPT30GURaLHFsZLwS7p-/s400/_MG_2953.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many birds!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The first thing we did when we got there was to go into their small bird aviary. The coolest thing was that it had a number of fairly large iguanas, which really made me miss Weird Haired Mom’s iguana from years ago. The bird thing was really just a photo op (but not with your own camera) - you stood behind an iguana, they poured some birdseed in your hands, and you were immediately engulfed in birds. LOTS of birds. It was a little startling, but pretty cool feeling their feet digging into your hands while they peck at the food (all painless - just not something that feels normal).<br />
<br />
The second thing was a slow ride in the back of a truck out to where the camels are kept (presumably to put some distance between them and the ATVs). Along the way, we stopped for a short desert nature walk where our guide, Alan (no relation), explained the many benefits of the various, otherwise scrubby looking plants.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxSJtfcWNzmuYJSJgb-iW97RqwwcKXVls5TvSzolX6wYI5TPJqIJpuRpcAUo3gia77-4zeIl-qPm5ewL84N_OLVQn0xxtdTpegpatcXrL0QEDYb4HilTlpLtQe4tBsIwTC1-6ZbJpfOW3/s1600/P1210480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxSJtfcWNzmuYJSJgb-iW97RqwwcKXVls5TvSzolX6wYI5TPJqIJpuRpcAUo3gia77-4zeIl-qPm5ewL84N_OLVQn0xxtdTpegpatcXrL0QEDYb4HilTlpLtQe4tBsIwTC1-6ZbJpfOW3/s400/P1210480.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alan reminding me of that old Euell Gibbons commercial: "Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible." Except this involved a small cactus that made a pine tree look like a fine entree.</td></tr>
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At the camel pen, we had to turn in our cameras/phones and get suited up, which involved a bicycle helmet covered in a flowing white head covering of sorts.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQAVCvupvyBBDo_N2TBi31OPsmoLqshbdSuWevfIyfLCrvZKCIsW_X4mt76ne2hT1zh3jvTmCxHajwnIL440sN2HXnFlIZKhpkkh5SUY7XrFkd6VcstI1Pkv6kaBSLYxOJ-biYs43NBpGs/s1600/IMG_1744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQAVCvupvyBBDo_N2TBi31OPsmoLqshbdSuWevfIyfLCrvZKCIsW_X4mt76ne2hT1zh3jvTmCxHajwnIL440sN2HXnFlIZKhpkkh5SUY7XrFkd6VcstI1Pkv6kaBSLYxOJ-biYs43NBpGs/s400/IMG_1744.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying hard not to blow away. Rosco secretly wanted to be a doorstop.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The actual camel ride was fun for a bit, but the novelty quickly wore off. I’m not a horse riding expert, but camels seem harder to ride in that they are further off the ground and they walk in a swaying motion that feels like you could get swayed off if you don’t hold on.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jmyz0KKz4NzaJywRlkYEAYp1unGz4GzijWYFy3-MBrEu-iOTRI6HcoxgJRF4WE5DjMx-1nGRh06MERrdASjfG7mK8ZlSlYZLXggKjE15F_3y0go47Qbb4WjR3ODpjISGFOZ_PMcpeWDM/s1600/IMG_1766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jmyz0KKz4NzaJywRlkYEAYp1unGz4GzijWYFy3-MBrEu-iOTRI6HcoxgJRF4WE5DjMx-1nGRh06MERrdASjfG7mK8ZlSlYZLXggKjE15F_3y0go47Qbb4WjR3ODpjISGFOZ_PMcpeWDM/s400/IMG_1766.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our main camel jockey (who really liked my Trail Hog shirt). It was a bit surreal to be riding a camel on a beach.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was unnaturally windy which didn’t help anything - several of the head coverings ended up getting blown off during the 30 minute or so stroll.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnDBFsBVauZaEuYG8-CUu0aC4N2x3L1tJO7FYkdMmSW85zmF9BzI3gJdHtetRBsMSI0Um71CaIVSigIBILyE-Cb2QEzKDCSXxhWj-SxlQAWZqFP8ub3pAH9xjbF_QK5zYDuMReYUz99f5p/s1600/IMG_1752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnDBFsBVauZaEuYG8-CUu0aC4N2x3L1tJO7FYkdMmSW85zmF9BzI3gJdHtetRBsMSI0Um71CaIVSigIBILyE-Cb2QEzKDCSXxhWj-SxlQAWZqFP8ub3pAH9xjbF_QK5zYDuMReYUz99f5p/s400/IMG_1752.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a great shot!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The camels seemed nicely docile, although the one behind us made a lot of humorous snorting type noises when we started.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzdXxnXquyk-lC_RAqnWVhdRllQ10eWw9YUSHPJLzJgg7xPXPhgkRmTNMcm4NBsuVskovu_qEf7l7sEYEsf6-RnO4JZbXeGu54AiFS3M-1XqB6p54Ml7-q5BFtSvsVo7wJkUUeo9_Zq-Y/s1600/IMG_1842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzdXxnXquyk-lC_RAqnWVhdRllQ10eWw9YUSHPJLzJgg7xPXPhgkRmTNMcm4NBsuVskovu_qEf7l7sEYEsf6-RnO4JZbXeGu54AiFS3M-1XqB6p54Ml7-q5BFtSvsVo7wJkUUeo9_Zq-Y/s400/IMG_1842.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the ride was over, we got a glamour shot with Monica.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The picture guy ended up getting a lot of great shots of us, so we bought the USB drive with all the shots of us (which is what you are seeing here).<br />
<br />
And that was about it. We were driven back to the hotel where we rested a bit then had dinner at the French restaurant. There is a party still going on for some Purina sales group that showed up today. Hopefully they will shut down in an hour or so - we have a relatively early wake up call for tomorrow’s excursion. Camel-free!<br />
<br />
<i>Note: I looked up the translation of “tecate” and it seems to be “secret or hidden place”. Since it’s the name of a small city in Mexico, I guess that makes sense, although I was disappointed it didn't mean "put fruit in your beer."</i><br />
<h4>
Day Four - in which Glass Figures Heavily</h4>
Before I get into the day four activities, I forgot to mention a funny hotel room thing. In addition to the Happy Anniversary sash on our door, there was a bottle of champaign on ice and a plate with Happy Anniversary written in chocolate, along with a piece of cake. (I finally drank some of the champaign last night. The ice had long since melted though.)<br />
<br />
The next night, we came in to find another plate and bottle of champagne, except this one said Happy Honeymoon. This is not our honeymoon - not by a long shot! Mrs Notthat called to let them know this had been delivered to our room by mistake, but they said to enjoy it, and that maybe we'll get one every night! (I ate the cake, the bottle is still sitting unopened.) Sadly, our run of plates and bottles randomly winding up in our room has ended, although there is one more night.<br />
<br />
Our excursion for the day involved learning about Cabo San Lucas and San Jose de Cabo, the two primary towns at the end of the Baja peninsula. We started with a short boat tour of the rocks that jut up out of the water to mark the boundary of the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjtbT8hkEYHdKytlbjLuR7oHH7VAkirzjYkybiE68J7oeI0FqoRjeIJvMfYjREQ12p_4q-3JWRrbNpXeRDH3imejtJfDcqC7OHN0XBEwgnjoQCuMXiMw6Ci4PxUZjqZvn04iS72zyzMR0/s1600/P1210502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjtbT8hkEYHdKytlbjLuR7oHH7VAkirzjYkybiE68J7oeI0FqoRjeIJvMfYjREQ12p_4q-3JWRrbNpXeRDH3imejtJfDcqC7OHN0XBEwgnjoQCuMXiMw6Ci4PxUZjqZvn04iS72zyzMR0/s400/P1210502.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking through the glass bit of the glass bottomed boat.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The boat was a "glass bottomed" boat. And no, it was not at all like you are likely thinking. There was an ice chest sized glass-covered hole through which you could look down into the water. You could see fish, but you could also see fish if you just looked over the edge of the boat.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOqN2a_RBF9oxmadzmM1RuwaWx7yRHqoQ6i4MjmkGLdEkDoXpmN5yPX0p2IynNn7HjYoePYHvpvHxK5Kc0UL-243Q2RK1X_kCU80y_JHqdQhCnS3g9CxHEnhpfoj2fA1q8T2EQB_37BZk_/s1600/P1210506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOqN2a_RBF9oxmadzmM1RuwaWx7yRHqoQ6i4MjmkGLdEkDoXpmN5yPX0p2IynNn7HjYoePYHvpvHxK5Kc0UL-243Q2RK1X_kCU80y_JHqdQhCnS3g9CxHEnhpfoj2fA1q8T2EQB_37BZk_/s400/P1210506.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Heeeeeere fishy fishy fishy!" (It didn't work. A loaf of bread did though.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Having been born in Kansas, I don't have a boating gene in me, so I was a bit nervous about how this would go. Thankfully it was fine, but mostly because it was pretty short.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnE-pcw_6u-kT4lgdtCyuXLO2LnXkIG8QTkekWULe5UxiFWyn9Rw_iUS5Z-mC5kkfx52V959PRWN9Bzqyp8hedt3tN0RGDxDUAN8YgJrhyphenhyphen-qozPC9GZQ6VvT2tieq6Q_vx54c6gnsacDq/s1600/P1210518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnE-pcw_6u-kT4lgdtCyuXLO2LnXkIG8QTkekWULe5UxiFWyn9Rw_iUS5Z-mC5kkfx52V959PRWN9Bzqyp8hedt3tN0RGDxDUAN8YgJrhyphenhyphen-qozPC9GZQ6VvT2tieq6Q_vx54c6gnsacDq/s400/P1210518.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arch rock and other random rocks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The amazing thing was how much this area had been changed by hurricane Odile in 2014. You used to be able to walk on a sandy beach under that arch rock - the hurricane removed all the sand though, greatly reducing the available beaches out around these rocks.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkIhaJIsyy2pUaP7LAT9pOnvXl7BPqRN_CAMNq0pfchOoIAvCNOKy4OUI5dgulSySOhs8KF-Tg_3iZMWpN2x534ouFg3mNAix_NKtciDmWcOO3utpjoQzpgNtLltEn_tNtdqtfuaT7cNF/s1600/P1210548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkIhaJIsyy2pUaP7LAT9pOnvXl7BPqRN_CAMNq0pfchOoIAvCNOKy4OUI5dgulSySOhs8KF-Tg_3iZMWpN2x534ouFg3mNAix_NKtciDmWcOO3utpjoQzpgNtLltEn_tNtdqtfuaT7cNF/s400/P1210548.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Are you sure I can't wear two life vests?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I survived the boat trip and we headed in to a mall for a tequila tasting (even the camel place had tequila tasting) and shopping (even the camel place had shopping).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgze9qAvr2w33GLK4zuyJiOZDytseBE80G5eV2J-6zLb4ta9XCXkBGPeXzrc7WHvpOtSH32oOd-XHDRO-GTtKBu73-_TUKP0ECac0pRTqfw6KNWkoizM8tf8bDXwnconFn5pTKBs1u3Pgyc/s1600/P1210556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgze9qAvr2w33GLK4zuyJiOZDytseBE80G5eV2J-6zLb4ta9XCXkBGPeXzrc7WHvpOtSH32oOd-XHDRO-GTtKBu73-_TUKP0ECac0pRTqfw6KNWkoizM8tf8bDXwnconFn5pTKBs1u3Pgyc/s400/P1210556.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Notthat with Marcos the guide. "Which tequila tastes purple?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We then headed to what was the highlight for me, The Glass Factory, where skilled artists make amazing things out of glass.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbn9FaGCDg2BIeGsEC8ZDzRL0gV73raR02dXcs8vxlBD0Lr-d9lXOzd6arQqJOr0kbiiPvF1asnfDaEtdhGBao0_RZcj117ezJO24bVjiOo1vbi6ePoYFxQVvlN2fMgWkAXqhsSqi9V4c4/s1600/P1210570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbn9FaGCDg2BIeGsEC8ZDzRL0gV73raR02dXcs8vxlBD0Lr-d9lXOzd6arQqJOr0kbiiPvF1asnfDaEtdhGBao0_RZcj117ezJO24bVjiOo1vbi6ePoYFxQVvlN2fMgWkAXqhsSqi9V4c4/s400/P1210570.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teamwork was involved as bits and pieces were added to this glass elephant.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was astonishing to see this guy create a wonderful glass elephant while we watched - it maybe took about 15 minutes.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF9dRoxvF5mM_N9pCvD10T9jANBZ4hrZwcD9Yc9rF8nrbl63Ycn86OlocLETBSGR-a9uxk3jognKvtC939hn-1CUqFqwuBCUoZ03R4zXTQIatJNo1xEcSHWM3cn6Wu0wDqOIo6r-PRZLPJ/s1600/P1210579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF9dRoxvF5mM_N9pCvD10T9jANBZ4hrZwcD9Yc9rF8nrbl63Ycn86OlocLETBSGR-a9uxk3jognKvtC939hn-1CUqFqwuBCUoZ03R4zXTQIatJNo1xEcSHWM3cn6Wu0wDqOIo6r-PRZLPJ/s400/P1210579.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final product! At this point it was still hot enough to light paper on fire, and it still needs to be tempered, but wow - so cool!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
From there we had lunch in San Jose de Cabo then visited an old church that really isn't all that old since it has been rebuilt several times. (Theoretically, this last time it was rebuilt sturdier than ever!)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPu77qVx_SF4ZbGRVzW-fFZVG_ZPMvRJ45ZJXlnpFIgbG8i_Q1_31OzvMpkqA_1RqSQfW1ROWswRfaaN33_IWHg-UcPmahyphenhyphenkDk9KqafrThCgldZEb6MKcDhWY-Z8NqZg0_Adv0NuByFkWj/s1600/P1210598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPu77qVx_SF4ZbGRVzW-fFZVG_ZPMvRJ45ZJXlnpFIgbG8i_Q1_31OzvMpkqA_1RqSQfW1ROWswRfaaN33_IWHg-UcPmahyphenhyphenkDk9KqafrThCgldZEb6MKcDhWY-Z8NqZg0_Adv0NuByFkWj/s400/P1210598.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the twin steeples - apparently that is very unique.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And that's about it for that excursion.<br />
<br />
<i>An interesting (to me) note: On the camel ride, there were ten of us, and Mrs Notthat and I were the only non-Spanish speakers! That was so unique - you quickly get used to assuming that everyone here speaks English since the vast majority of tourists are from the US. It was really cool to see that so many Mexican residents were doing the tourist thing with the camels! Today's excursion though was dominated by Canadians and a couple of Minnesotans. They were raving about the warmth while we continued to wonder why it was so cool.</i><br />
<br />
Day five, our last full day here, is a rest day with nothing scheduled. It also promises to be the nicest, weather-wise, day. (The beach is still rated as fatal, but maybe tomorrow will change that.)<br />
<br />
Oh, there was one other small thing - we played that soccer ball pool thing again, and while we were playing, a group of about twenty young Asian women, who had just checked in, all stopped to watch us play, cheering and laughing and making us a bit self-conscious. But it was really funny how they seemed to enjoy watching us fumble around out there!<br />
<h4>
Day Five - Nice Weather!</h4>
For our last full day here, the weather gave us a break and it was perfect - no clouds, small breeze, and not too hot. We spent the day just relaxing.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb2iZzTLqasVv4b-jnFvHuOE1sdioZUA2JXs0VtBStWpx2JWYLZExGuXyXRasHeVU9d_kw-q-8a_Obzf7RYMP_i0SCTzuZRGfV9n6XS0LMtnMLDqs4f72u0TqKF7s3QmLPgx-I9REMBWBE/s1600/IMG_2103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb2iZzTLqasVv4b-jnFvHuOE1sdioZUA2JXs0VtBStWpx2JWYLZExGuXyXRasHeVU9d_kw-q-8a_Obzf7RYMP_i0SCTzuZRGfV9n6XS0LMtnMLDqs4f72u0TqKF7s3QmLPgx-I9REMBWBE/s400/IMG_2103.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful, largely deserted beach.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I decided to try to run a bit on the beach on the wet sand. It was fun, but the sand was still pretty loose and the camber was not great. Still, it was great to get out like this.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1K_oOhj_gKDiNpZKw1K3MeEfHHbIxFCLwWe3NEJuUOkRhrAOvHR6llD4TsvqHvWfzro3bFrvGu6fTT0-6GNfOj49g3FKILXQnJPzPQD9MkkbGy6yy-lRZ-_I1J0Fw9WPhPpzMsFjCpFMG/s1600/IMG_5462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1K_oOhj_gKDiNpZKw1K3MeEfHHbIxFCLwWe3NEJuUOkRhrAOvHR6llD4TsvqHvWfzro3bFrvGu6fTT0-6GNfOj49g3FKILXQnJPzPQD9MkkbGy6yy-lRZ-_I1J0Fw9WPhPpzMsFjCpFMG/s400/IMG_5462.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double black flags.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
You still aren't supposed to swim (if you go a bit in either direction though, the beach is red flagged which is not as severe as black, but still not good).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSNEgyH4j_JJIOUFFlbbaKlcchF7iQv0rMCUbnbFbXJecseuv4lYajaB7yiL7TPcYYm8gdtABtvX2hywa0mpsuFyASw3k_0gIGeZ_-CMjIBv8MzpqAU6IeHp8N02giswMaFmmmZmuwBtqs/s1600/IMG_1232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSNEgyH4j_JJIOUFFlbbaKlcchF7iQv0rMCUbnbFbXJecseuv4lYajaB7yiL7TPcYYm8gdtABtvX2hywa0mpsuFyASw3k_0gIGeZ_-CMjIBv8MzpqAU6IeHp8N02giswMaFmmmZmuwBtqs/s400/IMG_1232.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tempting fate.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I took a HUGE risk and dipped my feet in the water for a bit. (I paid for this with the tops of my feet getting sunburned.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMAu8SHci5p2K5VbkKM-XZDWM2Y8HlqWsffkUh0eHFU6of9yy6f1WvPcucNf8baUk7Y7wq2qvuy9EiyqEhFwZhs1ukKjtR5hP5JnYds5U7J0qktyY_tVQTfsRz27Kb6iuyjIpxwVaAtZS/s1600/P1210602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMAu8SHci5p2K5VbkKM-XZDWM2Y8HlqWsffkUh0eHFU6of9yy6f1WvPcucNf8baUk7Y7wq2qvuy9EiyqEhFwZhs1ukKjtR5hP5JnYds5U7J0qktyY_tVQTfsRz27Kb6iuyjIpxwVaAtZS/s400/P1210602.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Done beach running.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4cd0yqn589t7ASnG2IK9Na1MoC2cLYp3nJq_TWZnNdpa25p2vvB0StsnD5ff_EMJJWRVImonS0gl4nwTrbLWZvYh7kNuYaBbmNjDCnk3JLzDVxPhUuQ3i8Iqh_XhwU8AO2VXCEiBJjBGF/s1600/P1210605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4cd0yqn589t7ASnG2IK9Na1MoC2cLYp3nJq_TWZnNdpa25p2vvB0StsnD5ff_EMJJWRVImonS0gl4nwTrbLWZvYh7kNuYaBbmNjDCnk3JLzDVxPhUuQ3i8Iqh_XhwU8AO2VXCEiBJjBGF/s400/P1210605.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not nearly done soaking up the sun.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLWssB_zeMnJFjMLjfr1vOVENGbHemqUJUY387lPup1_OZ8jTyVpuRqbxQkHvcwC576S9328M6NlchotvStgEwrvHZMPh_RB4FDwvWduNuXPyXdWSDLUSNfojwxOiesDDSWFZ5l4xPWSq0/s1600/IMG_4772+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLWssB_zeMnJFjMLjfr1vOVENGbHemqUJUY387lPup1_OZ8jTyVpuRqbxQkHvcwC576S9328M6NlchotvStgEwrvHZMPh_RB4FDwvWduNuXPyXdWSDLUSNfojwxOiesDDSWFZ5l4xPWSq0/s400/IMG_4772+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many sequins! At the end of the show you could have your picture taken with the dancers.</td></tr>
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We finished the day with a 70s/80s musical thing. It was pretty fun - the choreography was really impressive but the music was all put to a dance beat, so it was often hard to work out what the song was.<br />
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And that was our day. Lots of food (Mrs Notthat had four piña coladas throughout the day, which I think is a record) and lots of relaxing. Tomorrow we pack up and fly back home to a cold, wet Bay Area.<br />
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<i>Hotel Note: They don't give you straws. None. And that's on purpose, since straws are actually a pretty big waste problem. (There are also very few disposable cups and such used here. Most trash cans have a compost can next to them. This is really impressive for a resort like this!)</i><br />
<h4>
Day Six - Heading Home</h4>
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And the trip is a wrap! Our checkout time was noon, so we slept in a bit, ate a nice breakfast (again), packed, and said goodbye. We had an hour to kill between checkout and getting picked up, and the hotel people told us to go get lunch and a last beach drink. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4pObtj7NVGTIctkhOoIUX6z7gDpn_utitGD-osQiJJYLlBa0bj2V6rAMF2nlQAjXQqcOWJFuyb0___CfSIHdbwmUWnMoBUxilSUTp72exFhi9s8zh7N-3aIM_ehyphenhyphen3LSz7SpqR1LLjwUOe/s1600/IMG_4834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4pObtj7NVGTIctkhOoIUX6z7gDpn_utitGD-osQiJJYLlBa0bj2V6rAMF2nlQAjXQqcOWJFuyb0___CfSIHdbwmUWnMoBUxilSUTp72exFhi9s8zh7N-3aIM_ehyphenhyphen3LSz7SpqR1LLjwUOe/s400/IMG_4834.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bye bye Cabo and the Sea of Cortez!</td></tr>
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The <a href="https://loscabos.ziva.hyatt.com/en/hotel/our-hotel.html" target="_blank">Hyatt Ziva</a> was really pretty great - much better than I had anticipated. The food was consistently good, the free adult drinks were all good enough that I wasn't tempted to pay for better ones, and the whole staff was so friendly and helpful. </div>
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The only whiny thing I can think of were those loud evening party things, but they always ended by 9 PM. A minor challenge was tipping - since you never saw prices for anything, doing the standard 20% was not really possible. I did some research <a href="http://www.cinfullysimple.com/tips-for-tipping-in-mexico/" target="_blank">on the internets</a> and worked out that small tips were a big deal, so we gave out lots of $2 tips for small things and $5 for bigger things. (Most people at these types of inclusive resorts don't tip at all, feeling like it being all-inclusive means no tipping needed. I don't think that's even vaguely true, and we probably should have given more, but again, there was no guidance at all, which would have been nice to get.)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvgbe5Jmcs_L75EzeG1Sf6d89sdYmPdq_UJo_aIV7gWVg-3H_T5oxfPpQ2Cij8ekCHUVAtoBtIWGGyfqG4g045WbRD5x14HJPggapCqn9E8eH-KLxJmtcf5plBNOW9oJSluX0zAhw3Sa8/s1600/IMG_2335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvgbe5Jmcs_L75EzeG1Sf6d89sdYmPdq_UJo_aIV7gWVg-3H_T5oxfPpQ2Cij8ekCHUVAtoBtIWGGyfqG4g045WbRD5x14HJPggapCqn9E8eH-KLxJmtcf5plBNOW9oJSluX0zAhw3Sa8/s400/IMG_2335.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun clouds while coming in to the Bay Area - we timed it right to miss this storm!</td></tr>
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<div>
I'm not the biggest fan of traveling, and Mexico isn't really my favorite place to go, but this trip was mostly pretty fun. When you were on the resort property, it was easy to forget that you were in a foreign country where you didn't speak the language - when we would go on the excursions, you would be reminded, but even then, language was not an issue. We never exchanged dollars for pesos (next time I will try to bring a lot more $1 and $5 bills for the tipping, although later in the day you could trade in a $20 for a wad of smaller bills from just about any of the staff people). </div>
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I suspect that, in the summer, this area can be pretty hot. There didn't seem to be a lot of historical artifacts and such around - the excursions were mostly about riding ATVs, snorkeling, camel riding, deep sea fishing, and golf. </div>
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Until next time, hasta la vista Mexico!</div>
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That's it - move along!<br />
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PS: The one thing the resort didn't have that I really ended up craving, was a nice burger. So that was my first food when we got home.<br />
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PPS: Remember that "Happy Anniversary" banner on our door? Mrs Notthat brought it home. I have no idea what she's got planned for it.<br />
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notthatlucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429091759111933245noreply@blogger.com2