Yet another running blog!

I swore I would never start a blog, EVER! Creative writing just isn’t my thing. I typically write a lot for my job, but it’s a boring cut-and-paste, technical type of writing. After watching and volunteering at the Western States 100 mile Endurance run (WS100) this weekend, I was inspired. I thought maybe I would start a blog to document my attempt (among other things) to get in and complete the race. The race was like nothing I had ever seen before. There was so much to capture; triumph, failure, drama, heartbreak, physical exhaustion, and insane logistical support to name a few. I realized that every one of those runners had some sort of an amazing story behind their ability to even get to toe the starting line that morning.

My intent with this blog is to document all that will go into my training and preparation for WS100 for both my family and I. Along the way I intend to use it to document race reports, product reviews, general discussion about ultra/trail running, and maybe if I’m lucky, a couple of interviews.

A Little Bit about me:
So most of you know me, but for those who don’t here you go: I’m a husband who has been married for over 12 years, and a dad to three daughters (yes I know……I need a shotgun…start saving for wedding…..blah...blah...blah). I’m in my early 30’s and was born and raised in Southern California. I work in a very unique profession and I’m a US Army veteran. I’m currently living in Northern California just outside of Sacramento, very close to the trails of WS100. I’m blessed with a great family and set of friends that double as a support crew extraordinaire.

I’ve been running since I was 14. I still remember my last soccer coach when I was in the eighth grade telling my dad “Your son is the fastest kid out here, he’s the first kid to any loose ball and he never gets tired. The problem is once he gets to the ball, he can’t do anything with it; maybe he should try cross country and track next year in high school.” So with that I signed up for cross-country at Long Beach Wilson High School. I had immediate success with long distance running; I broke several freshman school records and was able to run on the varsity track and cross country teams as a freshman. I was blessed to have a very successful high school career; I graduated with personal records (PR’s) of 1:55 for 800m, 4:14 for 1600m and 9:17 for 3200m; not a state champion, but fast enough to earn a track scholarship to California State University at Northridge (CSUN). I ran for a year at CSUN and hated it! I was running slow and was injured. I decided to leave CSUN, marry my wife and join the US Army. During my nine-year stint in the Army I ran a few times a week to stay fit, and raced rarely. I did complete 2 half and 2 full marathons that I didn’t train for, tarnishing my view of longer distances. I spent a lot of time working, and I was able to finish my degree in my spare time. After the army I took a job with the US Government.

After a government sponsored “vacation” to the Middle East, I came home 22 pounds heavier then my “fighting weight.” Shortly after that, I moved to the Sacramento area and I decided to get more serious about running again. I started with a local 5K; I somehow was able to win it with a time of 18:26 (turns out there was a big race across town, which is where all the legit road racers were). I started training hard, eating well, and lost weight. My 5K times were coming down and I finally was able to break 17 minutes again! It was bitter sweet; 16:56 was better then my 18:26, but it took a lot of work and lots of races to get there. What was worse is it was a long stretch from my college PR of 14:51. I started thinking about moving up to the half and full marathon as I wouldn’t have any out-of-reach PR times to compare them to. I did a half marathon in 100 degrees with no shade, which made me really slow down and think about my choice of races.

Then in May 2008 I received a call from one of my best friends, Mark Jackson. Mark is a friend from the army who currently lives in Florida. The call went something like this:

Mark: Dude, I’m coming out to San Fran in two weeks, will you pace me for the last 13 miles of a 50-mile trail race at Mt. Diablo?

Me: Umm, say again? How long is the race?

Mark: 50 miles, but don’t worry it will be crazy hilly to make up for the short distance.

Me: (silent)

Mark: Are you there?

Me: Who is this again?

Mark: Dude, seriously!

Me: Ok, but let it be known I think you are a complete tool for wanting to run that far.

I had heard about ultras before, but I had thought that there weren’t many, and the participants were ridiculously insane. Even with all of my years running I had no idea these events were so big. The race was crazy hot, something like half the field dropped. It was so foreign to see an ultra trail marathon. A totally different culture of runners, different style of race and a completely different atmosphere; I was hooked. On a side note, in typical tough-guy fashion, Mark finished the race even though he had signs of kidney shutdown. I saw the worst 13 miles of the 50 that Mark did that day, and the only thought in my mind was “I can’t wait to do one.”


From that point I decided to become a trail runner. I started with the Bulldog 25K in Malibu Creek State Park, and finished 3rd overall! I was surprised at my success over that distance, terrain and elevation changes. I realized how much I enjoyed running on trails, and that I excelled on uneven terrain and hills. I followed it up with the X-terra 15K Trail Turkey Trot (9th overall). After the Turkey Trot, my brother-in-law Kevin and soon to be brother-in-law Richard decided we would all run WS100 before our 40th birthday. Well I decided sooner is better than later, so I signed up to run my first ultra marathon: the Way Too Cool 50K.

I ran the Pacific Coast Trail Runs (PCTR) 35K at Woodside in February 2009 as a prep race and finished 5th overall. Then in March 2009, I completed Way Too Cool. It was harder than I expected, but finished in 100th place overall and achieved my goal of breaking 5 hours (4:54).


My new running partner, Eric Schranz convinced me to run my first 50-mile race just three weeks later. So on April 4, 2009, I ran the American River 50 mile run (AR50). It was to date one of my best races, not because of place or time, but because of my experience. I ended up finishing 69th overall and beat my goal of breaking 8 hours (I finished in 7:54). I learned a lot of lessons from my first few trail races, most importantly DO NOT RUN HILL REPEATS 3 DAYS AFTER RUNNING A 50 MILE RACE!


On that note, I’m currently battling some knee issues. As soon as I recover, I will be back out there training and racing.

Wow I wrote a lot! If anyone reads this blog, hopefully you will enjoy it.