I had the opportunity to run with race director and recent Angeles Crest 100 winner, Keira Henninger, this morning. She directed her first race this year at my first ultra, Leona Divide 50. Since then she started the Los Pinos 50k, and most recently is planning a new multi-race day next October called Leona Valley Trail Races. The tentative date is October 8th. When I heard about her plans I contacted her offering help with the courses and race planning. She emailed me right back and asked if I was available to map out, measure, and run the new Leona Divide 30k this weekend. I jumped on the offer.
We met at the Lake Hughes Community Center at 7am and after discussing the course headed up the mountain. She was not as familiar with the roads and trails east of Lake Hughes Road, so I got to play tour guide as we went along. It was a blast! I hadn't been out there since LD50 and almost forgot how fun it is running out there. We met Clay and his dog Aurora, as we were just starting out on the PCT. We ran all the way down to Lake Hughes Road, turned around, and then made it back to the Community Center.
Keira is planning on four distances to choose from for the Leona Valley Trail Races. There will be 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon distances. We discussed each race course as we continued on the 30k course. I hadn't run farther than 10 miles at a time in the past 2 months so I was a little concerned, but we took it pretty easy and stopped at intersections to discuss course options. Keira is going to be racing and race directing full time from now on. I would recommend any of her races based on my experiences at LD50. She will be working hard on the two races in Leona Valley next year, so I hope to do some more trail running and race planning with her in the future. Thanks Keira!
My calf felt great the entire 18 miles today, and is no more tired or tight than any of my other runs this week. We'll see how it feels tomorrow.
Race Results from today:
Tom and Dan Ham finished the Portland Marathon in a water logged 3:58. Congrats to Tom on finishing his first marathon!
No world records today at Chicago. It was too hot. Temps in the 70s and highs in the 80s slowed Sammy Wanjiru to a 2:06!
The fastest American male was Jason Hartmann in 2:11, and fastest female was Desire Davilla in a PR of 2:26 with Magdalena close behind in 2:28. Not bad in the heat. The most impressive American was Joan Benoit Samuelson, who at the age of 52 ran a 2:47! On a cooler day she would have qualified for the Olympic Trials (missed it by a minute).
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2 comments:
I'm so glad to hear that you had a great time. I'm also very pleased that your calf passed the test of an 18 mile trail run without any problems!
Dan, that was very nice of you to stay with your brother the whole way. That is an experience that you guys will always remember! My congratulations to you both!
Yes, Congratualtions to Tom and Dan. You guys did amazing. I agree with what Chuck said. It was very important to stick with family and be with them the whole way. You did a spectacular job even in the rain and with water soaked running shoes.
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