How to run K2 but avoid running K2

For many trail runners, Auburn CA is an important town due to its access to great trails, its hosting of many great trail races, and being the finish line of the Western States 100. Mrs Notthat and I had never run a race out of Auburn before (although we have both run Way Too Cool, which is close), so we jumped at the chance to run Inside Trail Racing's K2 event.

Originally we were both to run the Half Marathon, which includes the infamous K2 climb. However, my summit of Mt Diablo the previous day left my legs feeling a bit like rubber, so I dropped to the 8M race (which would bring me to the base of K2, where I would suppress a giggle, turn around, and head back to the finish) while Mrs Notthat stuck with the Half.

Htirdle and Leahcim (not their real names) were soaking up a bit of sunshine (there was a LOT of that in their near future) before the start of their 50K races. I get a huge kick out of Htirdle and think of her whenever I'm at that part of the race where I start questioning whether I'm too old for this sort of thing - she emphatically answers that with a "stop whining and get moving kid!"

Also running the 50K was Lehcar (not nearly her real name). She had run a tough 50K the week before, apparently as a taper for this 50K. Lehcar is not normal. Note how she doesn't have time for a proper picture since she is already locked in with Htirdle. (Spoiler alert: They finished about 16 minutes apart. Htirdle beat her.)

The shorter distances started 30 minutes after the longer distances, so we had time to pose for a picture.

All distances started with a fun downhill bit. Sadly, this meant all distances ended with a maybe not quite so fun uphill bit, once you are good and tired.

That's Mrs Notthat in the center of the picture, way ahead of me.

We kept going down until all of the sudden we had a great view of the American River! From this point to the 8M turnaround, the trail was reasonably flat with a few rolling hills. And lots of great river views.

The trail also had this suspicious looking boulder. It's not like it was big enough to hide a band of thieves, and for that matter, trail runners are generally not going to be a profitable group to ambush, yet I still approached it with caution. And survived.

One totally unexpected trail feature was a creek crossing. Even more unexpected was…

… this nice waterfall right next to the creek crossing. I took several pictures of this waterfall and none of them showed how cool it really was.

The 8M course was an out-and-back while the Half course was a lollipop, with the stick being the 8M course. So this trail had some two-way traffic, but it was pretty light and was never an issue. (There were a lot of non-race runners out there as well - it was great to see so many people taking advantage of these trails and the great weather.)

The 8M turnaround is right after crossing No Hands Bridge. The above picture shows two bridges - fortunately it was the lower one that we would cross.

Most runners know this bridge as No Hands (apparently due to someone a long time ago daringly riding her horse across it with her hands in the air back when the bridge didn't have handrails and was generally a lot more frightening), but these signs all refer to it as Railroad Bridge or something boring like that.

Once I got across the bridge I arrived at the aid station. These two were particularly perky about being out here.

They took this picture of me in front of the trail that headed up K2. I then giggled (no chance of stifling it) and headed back across the bridge towards the finish line.

The river looked amazing from the bridge.

And as improbable as it sounds, there were a few runners behind me - Lehcar's daughter Einahpets (also not her real name) was proudly waving her hands as she crossed the bridge.

The run back was largely uneventful until I hit the uphill and started slogging up it. It was at this point that a couple of Half runners blew past me, flying up this hill faster than I ran down it. It was awesome to see.

Eventually I made it to the finish line.

Mr ITR really struggled to look enthusiastic while handing me my first place age group award. (I actually had a top 10 finish! Although if you look at the small print, the 8M race only had 13 finishers total, and I was the only one in my age group; but still - a top 10 finish!)

Irual (not her real name) was enjoying watching Mr ITR sweat out handing me that medal while she waited for her popcorn to pop.

Race timing nowadays is child's play, apparently.

I headed back out a very short bit on the trail and made myself comfy while I waited for Mrs Notthat to come in. Within seconds of me sitting down she came storming up that hill looking for the finish line.

She conquered K2 and still had energy to burn!

When we left the race we drove the few blocks to this hallowed place - the finish line of the Western States 100 (Mrs Notthat had never seen it before - that's her with her seat picked out way up in the nosebleed seats).

And that's about it. The race was a blast, with great trails and greater volunteers. I was satisfied with dropping to the 8M race after the previous day's Half at Mt Diablo, but there was a tiny (but obnoxious) part of me that wishes I had taken on K2.

There will be other races though, and K2 will be mine then. Maybe.

That's it - move along…

PS: You can see more of my pictures here.

All fired up for Diablo

Coastal's Diablo Half Marathon is a bit unique, which is probably why I get such a kick out of it:

• It's an out-and-back. OK, that's not very unique.

• There's only one real climb. But it's a doozy (you end up climbing almost 3500 feet). Basically, you start from Mitchell Canyon and keep going uphill until you run out of uphill. Then you turn around and head back down. Even better, the last mile and a half of climbing is mostly amazing trail.

• You will probably see spiders the size of a cereal bowl.

Two other things made this particular edition of the race special:

• The race had to be postponed from its original date due to a massive wildfire that ravaged a large chunk of Mt Diablo State Park. It would be interesting to see just how close the fire got to the top.

• And lastly, and most importantly, last year's running of this race turned out to be the last race that Pete the Perpetually Perky would run; tragically, he passed away a week later leaving a huge hole in the Bay Area's trail running community. I was determined to run this race this year to celebrate his love of these sorts of events.

Unfortunately, Mrs Notthat had a conflict and could not run this race, so I was on my own. Which meant she would not beat me. For once.

"But I REALLY want to park on that gravel pile. How about if I trade you all my GUs?"

The weather was sunny and promised to warm up later, but for the start it was reasonably cool.

The Blerch twins. Well, except that one of them is a proper runner and the other is me.

All distances (4M, 10M, Half, Marathon, and 50K) started at the same time. There were fewer runners than usual due to the postponement, but there was still a fairly large and enthusiastic group that headed out. The race starts with about two miles of rolling hills. Which means the 4M runners miss out on the Big Climb.

The 10M runners end up going most of the way up the Big Climb, but stop about a mile and a half short, and miss out on the fun single-track trail that takes you to the top.

All of the remaining distances go all the way to the top of Mt Diablo. The trail is moderately steep in places, but for the most part, it's just a relentless climb up a mostly exposed fire road.

Mik, not her real name, flying back down after the 10M turnaround.

The 10M turnaround, which is a bit over 5 miles into the race, is at a campground. One huge benefit of this is that there is a nice bathroom very close. (This would be important when I came back down.) The brave volunteer on the left took this next picture.

I was a LOT tireder than I look in this picture. But I also knew that I only had about a mile and a half to the top, and that I would be going on some fun single-track to get there.

Shortly after I left that aid station I came across this guy. These tarantulas are SO cool! And huge!

The trail to the top is a bit vague in places. And a bit steep and treacherous. Like I said - it's fun!

This picture shows how the trail we were running on actually ended up being a fire break. It was odd running along with normal green stuff on one side and burnt stubs on the other. (The long distance runners ended up spending a lot more time on trails through burned out areas.)

I love how the trail looks more like a prank in some bits.

Eventually I made it to the top. It's always interesting once you get there; there are tourists that drove up that are looking at the crazy guys that rode their bikes up that are looking at the crazier ones that ran up.

"OK - make this look like it's tough, miserable duty." Heavy sigh…

After wandering around on the top for a bit, I stumbled back down to the 10M turnaround aid station (actually, to the bathroom that was there since I was in dire need of some, umm, relief). From here it is a bit over five miles to the finish, and three miles of that is seriously downhill on relatively smooth trail. The big difference is that that trail is now bathed in sunshine - it's warming up.

Shortly after that aid station there is a turnoff for the Marathon and 50K runners. I have to work pretty hard to not giggle as I go past that turnoff. (I really do intend to run that Marathon some day, hopefully next year.)

Eventually I made it to the finish line. My time was not nearly as good as I had hoped, but other than being really tired, I felt pretty good. Which makes this a win in my book.

Picture of my stunning finish by Coastal Trail Runs. Note the salt lines. It was seriously warm by now.

Baby Coastal (who is quickly outgrowing that name) gave me That Look. I had missed him before the race, so he had to make up for lost time. (Actually, he waved at me and gave me a high-five. Then That Look.)

There were several notable Half finishers, but this was one of my favorites. I had battled Ynohtna (not his real name) up the hill and beat him to the top, but he wasn't far behind me. When I stopped at the bathroom, he saw his chance and blew past me. I managed to pass him for good a bit over two miles out. This Half was Ynohtna's taper race before he ran Skyline to the Sea the following weekend. Nice taper choice!

Mrs Coastal, trying to suppress her surprise, presented me with my 2nd place age group medal! (And no, I'm not going to admit that I got this by default since there were only two of us in my age group.)

This is one of my favorite races, and that is one of my favorite Coastal shirts ever. (They have always used the flames logo, so that wasn't something added just for this race. But wow was it appropriate!)

Sadly, this is the best picture I have of Pete the Perpetually Perky before this race last year, with his trademark tubes of baby food in the tops of his socks (I believe he's eating one here as well). For a year I have missed him at these races, but I run with him often. When things get tough and I start getting down, all I have to do is think of how PPP would laugh and tell me to stop whining or challenge me to a sprint to the next tree.

Thank you Pete for continuing to hang with us!

That's it - move along…

PS: You can see more of my pictures here.

Drag n Fly n Swim?

The Brazen Drag n Fly Half Marathon (DNF to me) has a special place in my heart. A deep dark, somewhat bitter place since it's only the second race I've gotten a DNF due to a missed a cutoff.

I began planning my revenge on the Half course within minutes of finding out that my race was done last year, and ticked off the days until I would bring that course to its knees.

And then ended up signing up for the 10K.

Mrs Notthat and I ran the Palo Alto Moonlight 10K race the night before DNF, and wisdom pointed out that trying to run a tough Half a few hours later would be unwise. (I did that once before, and thankfully there were no cutoffs that year.) Running the DNF 10K proved to be a wise move on our part.

Ymmat, not her real name, is going to make me pay for posting this picture. But it makes me giggle. And it begs for a humorous caption.

There had been a small chance for rain at our race the night before. There was a much better chance for our race today. DNF is known for being a hot course - most of it is very exposed and usually drenched in relentless sunshine. But today it was cloudy and a bit cool. Perfect for running the Half. (Heavy sigh…)

A HUGE surprise was seeing Coach Luap (not his real name) out there trying to steal this pan of bananas. It turns out he was actually signed up to run the Half, but found out once he arrived that his hydration pack was sitting comfortably at home. So rather than pout or stomp off home, he decided to steal a pan of bananas. (Actually, he decided to volunteer in the food area. He wasn't actually stealing these bananas but sorting them alphabetically.)

This is from shortly after we started - note the complete lack of trees. But also note the scattered clouds, which provided a lot of relief for us.

Lliw (not his real name) making sure go the right way up the hill.

The 10K course is a figure 8 that uses mostly different trails than those used on the Half course. This added some fun since it was largely new to us. The above picture is from the middle of the "8" - we would return here after climbing a couple of hills.

This is looking back as we are coming to the top of the warm up hill. Note that the clouds are a lot fiercer behind us than ahead of us.

From the top of the warm up hill, we dash down to the first aid station (mile 1.8). Half runners turned right at this aid station when they came through earlier - 10K runners go straight. Whichever way you go, you end up at a Main Event Hill.

The 10K Main Event Hill is not steep, but it is long and takes forever to climb.

Back at the middle of the "8" - the Brazen Rabbit is with Spokes in the center, and she seems ready to stop me if I had decided to take another shot at that hill. She needn't have worried. 

Once you reach the top of that hill you have a long stretch of downhill - it's a happy day!

As the trail flattens out, you make a left and start on a series of minor hills that were much tougher than they deserved to be.

The start/finish area sits near a small lake and is tantalizingly close. The 5K and 10K runners have to run around that lake though, so we're not quite done yet. And note that the clouds are getting more serious by the moment.

The second aid station, mile 5, was determined to get me hydrated.

I had never run around this lake before, so I was looking forward to it. I especially like running on dams, so this view was pretty exciting.

Before I knew it, I was being herded to the finish line by Mrs Brazen.

I had hoped to finish my 10K before anyone finished the Half, but I failed - two managed to do a lot more "flying" than "dragging" and cross before I did. But they didn't get to tour the lake, so I still won.

Kid Karaoke (who was second overall in the 5K) and Mrs Notthat showing off their  first place age group medals. Note also the massive finisher medals!

Mrs Notthat easily beat me, and even better, won her age group! (She was actually a little less that five minutes faster than me, but I ended up 5th in my age group. I would have had to finish nearly 20 minutes faster just to get 3rd - tough age group!)

Retep (not his real name) explaining how steep some of the hills were on the Half course. He wasn't exaggerating (much).

The shirt and medal were awesome. It was fun to run the 10K course, and to understand how tough it is.

Photo by Brazen. Very moist volunteers in the post-race cleanup.

As it turned out, the clouds were still just threatening when we left to get lunch in Antioch. Not long after we left though, there was a massive downpour and the dusty course quickly turned into a muddy mess (East Bay mud is infamous for its tenacity at sticking to your shoes). Huge props to all those still on the course that slogged through that mess to get to the finish. Huger props to all the volunteers and race workers that also had to deal with the deluge.

And a pat on our back for wisely settling on the 10K, which allowed us to watch the rain while eating hot and sour soup.

That's it - move along…

PS: Here is a link to more of my pictures.