McNaughton 150 coming up

Every race is different...course layout and difficulty, weather, time of year, etc. For McNaughton 150, 10 mile loop...15 times. This will be a challenge in itself. I'm just going out and having some fun. For me, it's going to be a long training run. Send me some good vibes. I'll be out there alone again. I kinda like it that way...don't have to worry about dragging someone. Noo...I'm just kidding. Company is a good thing when you're out there for over 20+ hours, hungry, tired, sleepy, cranky, etc. But hey!!...it's all fun!!

The word is that this maybe the last year for McNaughton 150. This makes it all the more spectacular event to run and remember.

Have a great day everyone! get out and enjoy the spring weather!

Happy Trails!

Taper week for McNaughton

A view of Turkey mountain from the parking lot. Pretty soon, all that brown stuff will be replaced with greenery scene. Spring is on it's way...a new beginning. I had a wonderful time doing a slow 7.5 miles on friday, and 9 miles on sunday.

It's less than a week now that I'll be doing my farthest run ever... McNaughton 150 miles. I'm looking forward to a long slow run. Let's hope it's not too cold, and that the creek crossings are shallow.

I got some new shoes just for this run. I've heard some good reviews about Ascis Trebuka. I've had good luck with Ascis shoes..especially Kayanos for the road. Let's see how trebuka hold up.

A-OK 25K/50K Race Report

March 1, 2009...Atoka A-OK 25K/50K

Race morning,,,it was very chilly. Temps probably in low 20s at start. For me, I like running in the cold. This is my 3rd time here in the boonies. And all 3 times, it's been cold morning start...brrr!!

It is a very low key race...about 45 to 50 toed the start line. The start line is near this outhouse..as well as the finish line.

Of the 45 or so runners, most would do the 25K. I think they are the smarter ones. Anyway...my strategy was to take it easy on the first loop, and save some for the second loop. We head out around this pond, then head into the woods to to the right.

Then you pop back out near the pond again (on the right) and continue around, and into the woods again.

This year the course was changed somewhat. But still, most was on jeep trails or logging road. It has a good mix. There are areas of ups and downs, some sandy, or very loose, spots, as well as rocky areas. It is just a good course. If you need a PR for 50K...this is the course to do it.

Back to my race strategy...for my first loop, my time was 2:17 I thought maybe this was a little fast. I took a little time to eat and rest abit before I head out again. On my second loop, around 22 miles, my legs were beginning to feel it. I had ran pretty good up to this point. I slowed down quite abit, and just get thru my achy IT bands. Finally, at mile 27 or 28, my legs started moving again. I thought...I can still make it under 5 hours. But towards the end, I really didn't push it that hard. It's soo easy to turn an ankle. I have too much at stake to risk injury. It was just a great day to cover 31 miles. I was just happy to finish. I came in at 5:08. Just an awesome day to run with some of my TATUR friends. Congratulations to everyone who went out and finish.

Thanks to Mary Ann Miller and crew for putting on a great fun race. The chili and pasta was great. And the one of a kind finisher award.

Badwater Invitation

It's official!! I'm in for this year's Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, CA. I wonder now if I really went over the edge. But it's gonna be an awesome ride. Never in my wildest dream that I would be doing this race...and now, I'll be trekking with some the world's toughest athletes. And I'll be there with them... holy cow!!!
I am looking forward to this adventure this summer...yep...the race is July 13th-15th...nice and toasty..temps will be 125 to 130 deg F. Dang hottt!!!
My training will now shift to a different level. I think that's what I like about Ultras...every race is different, so training regiment shifts for every race. I love it!!
Happy Trails everyone!!

DanMan Race Report

DanMan Run, Madill, OK., Feb. 7th, 2009

weather: strong south wind and warm day, temp. 70+

The temperature was definitely going to be a factor today. My plan was to go out slower than normal on the first loop..just to get the feel of it. The course kinda follows a figure 8 pattern. From start, the first loop is 10K. It has it's share of ups and downs along the way. We come back out to a gravel road back up to Dan's house.

From there, the course heads north and follows a trail along what looked like a gas pipeline. We head into the woods after going about a mile or so, and follow a nice jeep trail. We come out to a nice gravel road.

After a short distance, half and full marathoners go straight back to Dan's house, while 50K'ers and 50 milers turn right up a slight incline for a short 3 +/- mile loop. This short loop is the toughest part. At one part, you go up a sandy road. When you think it's over when you reach the top... guess what.. the flatter section gets more sandy. I ran the first loop, but my legs became jello at the end of this section..which was about 3/4 or a mile. I was soo glad to have come back out to the same gravel road the heads back to Dan's house.

I finally made it back to Dan's house on my first major loop. For 50 miles, a person has to do this 3 times. It took me almost 3 hours to do the first big loop (mile 16.5). It was almost noon. And the sun was out, and temps beginning to soar. The wind was blowing swiftly out of the south. At this point, I was beginning to have some issues with my stomach. I thought if I just take it easy for the next 10K, maybe my stomach will settle down.

I was really slowing down after doing the next 10K (mile 23). I'm back at Dan's house. I try to eat some solids, fill my camelback and head out again. I get into a slow shuffle down the pipeline and into the woods. But soon after, I was forced to walking. My energy level had dipped way low. I tried nibblin on a Cliff bar and kept drinking water. My quads were beginning to lock up on me. I would just pop open an Endurolite cap and pour it under my toungue for quick relief. It helped somewhat. But I just wouldn't keep this up for the next 20 miles.

I was finally back up to Dan's house again for my second major loop (mile 33)...time was now at 7 hours. I gained an hour this time on my second loop. I thought, if I keep going at this rate, I'll end up adding maybe another 1.5 to 2 hours of my initial time on my third loop. This would put me at 12 hours for 50 miles. And on top of it, I may end up getting hurt somewhere. So at this point (mile 33), I decided to call it quits. I was somewhat abit disappointed. But considering the conditions for the day, it was a good call. If the temps were much cooler and not soo much of a strong south wind, I would have finished 50 miles in good shape. 50 miles will wait a few more days. The training continues.

Thank you to Dan Little and family for putting on a great race. I really enjoyed the post-race meal...BBQ ribs, turkey leg, and all the fixin's. I plan to do this race again..and hopefully with better results. Congrats to all who ran this race. It was a tough day for everyone.

Up next...A-OK Atoka 50K.

Athens-Big Fork Trail Marathon

photo by Athens-Big Fork race director
Some 30 to 40 crazy people (including me) who ran Athens-Big Fork 26.2 miles of some bad hills near Big Fork, Arkansas. Great Run, Guys!!!

Athens-Big Fork Trail Marathon race report

January 3rd, 2009, start time- 8:00am, weather- overcast, Hi 70 expected.

If you're looking for a marathon that is not your "run of the mills" type, try Athens-Big Fork 26.2 miler. Trust me... it is one tough dude. Check out the Elevation Chart below. The website states you should be an experienced trail runner to run this. For the most part...yes, that is true. This trail run has lots of big time hills. I say hills, because the climbs are somewhere around 3/4 to 1 mile (at a very steep grade), whereas mountains are somewhere around 3 to 4 mile climbs. But with 8 climbs one way, they soon become mountains. Thats the difficulty of the course. There are plenty of rocks along the course, but most are runnable. And some creek crossings.



The race starts at Big Fork Community Center on a nice paved road. That ends about 1.5 miles, then head west on dirt road for another mile. The fun now begins with a nice long steady climb. I get to the top in good time. As soon as I hit the top, it was downhill at good grade. I took it easy as not to trash the quads in the early stage of the race. I popped out at Tatur aid station (~mile 4) at the bottom of the first hill. We hit our first creek crossing. It was cold, but felt very good.




Not more than 100 ft, we started our second climb. I was beginning to have some problems with my right calf. About a week before the race, I did some climbs at Turkey mtn in preparation for this race. In the process, I must've stain my calf muscle pretty good. It hadn't completely healed up, but I thought it was gonna affect me that much. I was wrong. It really bothered me the first half of the race.


Back to the race. With each climb, I was trying not to push off straight up with my right leg. This really slowed me down. However, the downhills were feeling great after doing a couple of them. I got into a groove on each downhill. But I was still very cautious though. I knew that with each downhill, there is going to be an uphill coming up.


Basically, we went up and down hills for 10 miles to the halfway point. We did run about 1/3 mile on good dirt road to reach the halfway aid station. My time was 3 hrs. 13 mins. at halfway. Now, just have to do that again, and I was should make it back in good time. I down some chicken noodle soup and some bananas, and was off again. I finally getting into the climbing thing now.


The first climb back up seemed to abit easier this time, and my calf muscle was not hurting me as bad now. Guess it just needed some distance to stretch out. As soon as I hit the top, I would start running downhill. I was picking up pace now. When I reach the bottom, I was ready to attack the next hill. I was on a roll now.


I got down to the bottom of one hill at a creek. When I hit that creek, I noticed a white blaze across the creek, and immediately jump the creek, and kept going on a trail. This was at about mile 19. I kept going for some distance and it was just flat. Then it hit me.... DID I MAKE A WRONG TURN? I haven't seen any white blaze in awhile, and the trail is just flat. I turned back to the creek crossing. I thought...maybe someone behind me will show up soon and tell me I'm still on the right trail. But no one showed up. When I was almost back to where I jumped the creek, I met another guy heading the way I did. I told him he's going the wrong way. We got back to the creek crossing, and found out we missed the pink ribbons stayed along the creek. And the white blazes continued from there. I went 3 miles out of the way, and lost about 45 minutes. (see the map where I went wrong)


When I finally got back on the right trail, I started to pick up the pace again, hoping that I gain some time back. I did for the next two climbs. But then just about every ounce of energy was depleted. I was not really in the game now. My thought was now...if I can just make to the next aid station, I'm just walking in it.


I came into Tatur aid station all dejected. I took some downtime and chatted with Brian and Ken before I tackled the last climb. Up to this point after making the wrong turn, I had lost about an hour or more. After reaching the final top, I finally got back to running the last downhill.


I'm finally out of the woods for the last two mile stretch to the finish. I crossed the finish line in 7 hrs. 50 mins. 47 secs...for doing 29.1 miles. I was glad to be done. A little bit disappointed, but I'm sure next time will be better. It was a great practice run.

Below shows my worst mishap along the way. And this happened at the top of the last downhill. Thanks to the all the volunteers who help put this race together.