Leona Valley Trail Races! October 8th

The Leona Valley Trail Races website is up and running with registration open. Check it out!

If you scroll down a little you might see a familiar face! I sent Keira a bunch of photos to use from Clay and my LD50 training and she used one on the home page.

She also used my maps and elevation charts on the website. It is going to be a great event with something for everyone. 5k to marathon distances. Here is my rundown of each event.

5k: The course is an out and back on the fire road starting from the Lake Hughes Community Center. All the races have the same starting line. The turn around point at 1.55 miles is at a sharp turn in the road creating an awesome "lookout" point, where you can see down the canyons toward Santa Clarita. This first 1.55 miles is the steepest portion of the road up to the PCT which makes for a challenging initial climb and a fast return back to the finish. It would be a great intro to trail running as the road is wider than the PCT but far from even footing surfaces.

10k: The benefit of running this course is that you actually get to make it to the top of the fire road, 3.4 mile climb, to a full aid station. This is also the intersection of the PCT and more gorgeous views of the canyons. There is about 800ft of elevation change in the first 3 miles which makes for a challenging climb and again a quick decent on the out and back course. Because it is 3.4 miles to the aid station, the 10k is actually 6.8 miles instead of the normal 6.2 miles, but who's counting?

Half Marathon: The first 3.4 miles of the half marathon is the same as the 10k but then the runners get to turn right on the PCT (Pacific Crest trail, which runs from Mexico to Canada). On the trail you follow the switchbacks down a thousand feet over 3.3 miles, to Lake Hughes Rd. where there will be another full aid station. This is the turnaround point. The course then follows the switchbacks up the same route and then back down the fire road to the finish. This is a very challenging course with over 2000ft of ascent and descent over the half marathon. The total distance on the course is 13.4 miles.

Marathon: If you want to maximize your time on the PCT then the marathon is the way to go. Once at aid station #1 runners will make a left turn and run toward grass mountain where there is another intersection with the PCT. Runners will follow the PCT for 2 miles back to the first aid station and then down the switchbacks to Lake Hughes Rd. There the course crosses the road and acends 1500ft over the next 4 miles to the turn around. This is a "gnarly climb." which runners immediatlely descend on. The last 6.7 miles is the same as the half marathon finish. Cross Lake Hughes Rd., up the switchbacks and down the fireroad to the finish. This marathon course is very challenging due to the amount of elevation change in the second half of the race. The marathon course is 26.6 miles.

FYI: Awesome Valentine's Day post by Mark Remy!