Quest for WS

      The Mount Taylor 50k is a fixture of New Mexico trail running. The race is capped at 170 runners and typically sells out in the spring, with a sizeable waitlist. I missed the race in previous years as I was too slow to register, but this time I got in quickly. Having run the Philmont Ranch 50 Miler 7 weeks ago, and with Deadman Peaks 50 mile my next major goal, I decided to use Mount Taylor as a tune-up. I took the day-before the race off, but ran 11 miles on the prior two days, with Thursday being a challenging session with hill reps and a 15 minute tempo run.                    In general, I’ve had much more structure in my training than in previous years. I’ve put in decent miles, getting up to 70-75 miles/week for most of my training blocks, but I’ve also alternated my intensity quite a bit. Some runs have been exceptionally easy (for me, 9-10 minute miles), while others have been quite tough and involved speedwo...

I’ve spent a lot of my free time in the desert and the mountains, often by myself, and often a long way from anybody. I’ve seen bears and jumped over rattlesnakes at the last minute, and I’ve spent entire nights in the woods guided only by a headlamp and maybe a lucid friend. Occasionally someone asks if I’m afraid of being alone out there, and sometimes the answer is yes. Truthfully, the thought of hidden rattlesnakes and mountain lions in trees does make me shudder a bit. Realistically though, the most dangerous part of every trail run I’ve ever done has been the drive to and from the trailhead. Automobile accidents are among the leading causes of death for somebody my age. Every year in the United States alone, around 40,000 people die in automobile crashes, including around 7,000 pedestrians that are run down (my current home state of New Mexico ranks number one in this category). Imagine if a Boeing 747 carrying 400 passengers went down every four days in the United States with no...

I apologize for not updating this blog in a while! I have actually done a lot of running since my last post in November. I finished the Black Canyon 100k in around 12:45 (February), and the Sierra Vista 50k (March) in 5:07 (finishing fourth). I've also been training a fair amount, and aside from the four stitches I earned coming down from Chupadera Peak, training has been uneventful. Now for the report: I was looking forward to running Jemez as it’s a classic New Mexico Ultramarathon. Back in the day it attracted well-known runners like Anton Krupicka, Kyle Skaggs and Nick Clark. I wanted to run this race in 2021, but I ended up being out of town. I signed up in 2022, but the race was canceled due to fire-danger. This year, I finally had a chance to toe the line.  Running this race also gave me a chance to explore Los Alamos. I have quite a few friends and colleagues who work up there, and considering there are a large number of opportunities for geophysicists in this town, I was k...

Socorro Souls of Sorrow (36.5 Miles)               The Socorro Souls of Sorrow was an ultramarathon event envisioned by Luis and I. We had originally planned for it to be a 72 mile, properly organized event, but with school and life catching up, decided it would be a 36 mile proof-of-concept run this year. The event would just be fatass-style. No markings, minimal aid stations.              The original goal of the event was an out and back, beginning at the Capitol Bar in downtown Socorro, through the mountains to the town of Magdalena, and back. This year, we assembled in Magdalena to run one-way to the Capitol Bar. There were about 12 of us assembled to run, including two relay teams. Myself, Luis, Michael, Sam, Jessica, and Jason were intending to do the full 36 miles.              We began ...

  Deadman Peaks 55K               Deadman Peaks came onto my radar shortly after Angeles Crest. After flying out to, and having to find accommodations for AC, I figured it would be nice to do something more local and low-key. With a bunch of my friends signing up for Deadman Peaks, I thought I’d join in. Training had gone really well, with a lot of weeks at around 60 miles and one week at 79, all on 6 runs per week (one day off, no doubles).              I drove up to Cuba on Friday afternoon with Marina, who was signed up for the 8 mile race (which we found out was actually a 10 mile race), ate some Indian food en route, and settled into our motel, preparing for a 6 AM wakeup. The next morning we got to the start at 7:30, checked in, and located the Socorro crowd. As the start time drew closer, we ditched our warm layers (it was ~25 degrees at the start...

  In 2018, following my finish of the Western States 100, my first 100 mile race, I decided I’d like to do one 100 mile race per year if possible. Then, in 2019 I went to New Zealand for the year and never had an opportunity to run a 100 mile race. When I returned, I threw my name into the AC100 lottery. I was living in Santa Barbara at the time so the AC100 would require limited travel. Additionally, my buddy Austin, who got on the waitlist for the race himself, lived just 5 minutes from the finish line.  Then, Covid came along, and the race was canceled in 2020. The next year, I was in New Mexico for grad school and was planning to train for AC100 in 2021, but sometime in April I got an email that due to fire damage, the race would have to be canceled yet again. In 2022, we got another email saying that the course would be dramatically changed, but it was to go ahead. I wasn’t sure about the course changes, but eventually made the decision to participate.  Training in t...