Tunnel Marathon

August 19 - Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon – North Bend WA

The Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon is certainly is a fun course with just the size field I like, about 100 runners and self serve aid stations. The course has plenty of scenery and novelty; the run follows a “rail to trail” old railroad bed. The event is named after the 2 mile long tunnel near the start (yes, you’d better bring a flashlight). There is an elevation loss of 2500 feet from start to finish. Many runners look towards this event to run a pace that will qualify them for Boston! The event was well organized and is a lot of fun; I highly recommend it! http://www.littlemarathon.com/Tunnel/default.asp

I was talking with a friend yesterday and she shared with me an observation about some of her Marathon Maniac friends (http://www.marathonmaniacs.com/ ); it occurred to her that when they start stringing marathons together their perspective of what is normal begins to creep. When most of their friends are spending every weekend running marathons (unless they are running an ultra), their view of normal is most likely quite abnormal!

Having pondered that, I am not sure if the Tunnel Marathon is a deceiving run, or if it is actually the easy run I though it would be and my minimal recovery from the Haulin Aspen Marathon the Sunday before skewed my view… nevertheless, I anticipated being able to run with a consistent pace but found myself in a moderate survival mode towards the end.

Haulin' Aspen

August 10 – Haulin’ Aspen Marathon - Bend, Oregon

I love cramming so much activity into two days of vacation that it feels like a week, and if I combine the days with a weekend I can actually have a mini-adventure! RF and I rode to Bend OR to run the Haulin Aspen Marathon. We left on Friday just before noon and headed south on WA 9 to US 2, US 97 over Blewett Pass to WA 821(the Yakima River Canyon Highway). The last time I was on this road was for the Yakima River Canyon Marathon on April 5th ( http://www.ontherunevents.com/yrcm/ )(the third in my string of seven marathons in seven months). After discussing motorcycles with some friends over dinner in Yakima we continued south on US 97 over Satus Pass (3100 feet) to Goldendale. It sure is nice to get away from traffic and just enjoy the ride!! An unsuccessful search for a hotel room in the Dalles forced us to ride to Madras that night. US 197 from the Dalles to Madras seamed like a very interesting road with lots of curves and a few small towns at the bottom of tight switch backs. But we only had mili-second glimpses of the landscape in the occasional flash of lightning from the storm that lurked to the west over eastern flank of Mt Hood.

Bend is the geographic center if the state and is at 3625 feet elevation. The location is the boundary between the high desert to the east and the forested, snow capped Cascade Mountains to the west. The recreation opportunities in the Bend area seem to be unlimited: rock climbing at Smith Rock, Mountaineering, Skiing at Mt Bachelor, white water rivers, trail running and hiking… speaking of trail running, that’s why Rodger and I were in Bend. Some amazing things to do around Bend include a visit to or a climb in Red Rocks Park and a visit to lava tube.

The Haulin’ Aspen Marathon is a fantastic trail run that is totally on trail just west of town. The route climbs 2500 feet on forest road and then looses the elevation on single track trail (not too technical). Bend is a wonderful city, the trip to central Oregon is very scenic, the event is unique and well organized; it is a must do! http://www.freshairsports.com/events/haulin_aspen/index.php

August 3 - Ptarmigan Ridge

This run could easily be a Runners’ World “Rave Run”. The trail starts high above the top of the Mount Baker Ski Area at the Artist Point parking lot. There is PLENTY of snow still in the mountains. The trail starts at the west end of the parking lot at about 5000’ (the trail head is a little tricky to find; don’t get started on the Table Mountain trail.) The parking lot and trail are very popular, so try to find an odd time to arrive; I began the run at 5:30 PM and most people were already off the trail, I only encountered about five hikers (mostly skiers coming down from the high snowfields). This trail is has many steep snowfields and should be approached with extra caution. Furthermore, mountain weather could quickly make this trail run into a survival experience. Having given sufficient warning disclaimers, let me say that the scenery is unparalleled for the 1000’ elevation gain over the four miles. I ran to the saddle just past Coleman Pinnacle; there is another mile towards the mountain but I chose to turn back because of the late hour (sunset is just after 8:30 now.)

I had to include this picture for my “ride to run” partner. We are nuts about riding our motorcycles on fantastic roads to run on fantastic trails… you can see how much fun the ride after the run was!!

For details about the trail visit the Forest Service site:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/recreation/activities/trails/mbrd/mbrd_0682_1.htm

or

Washington Trails Association site: http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes-of-the-week/artist-point/?searchterm=ptarmigan%20ridge

August 2 - Raptor Ridge

Another favorite run… am I allowed to call every run “my favorite”? I guess it is often my most recent run that is my favorite. This one certainly has all of the characteristics to be in the favorite category: it is close to town and is very accessible, even in winter; it is challenging, it climbs 1500 feet in four miles, it has a little bit of technical trail along the way; and it has a true turn-around destination at Raptor Ridge.

I usually begin the run at Fairhaven Park just south of the middle school at the north end of Chuckanut Drive. The trail heads east then turns south to Arroyo Park, flowing the start of the Interurban Trail. After crossing Padden Creek and climbing a couple of switchbacks the route takes a left onto Hemlock Trail and the climb begins.. Hemlock follows old logging roads, passing several trail junctions with excellent options into the Chuckanut Ridge trail complex. The actual Raptor Ridge trail is only 4/10 of a mile long, but is has many delights: a plan bridge, remnants of old growth, stone steps, unusual tree growth, and more… let the fun begin!

July 26 - Ragnar Relay

Okay, I was only a spectator this time; I only learned about the event a few days before it took place. But I scoped it out pretty well. I watched C.B. begin the run for his “ultra” team, six team members instead of the twelve most teams had. The race started in Blaine and ended at the south end of Whidbey Island, 185 miles. I followed C.B. for his two segments and then found him at 3:00 AM at Deception Pass for his last two segments. I am going to have to think about putting a team together next year. I like the team component, the complex logistics, and the all night endurance...

For more info link to http://www.ragnarrelay.com/northwestpassage/index.php

Crescent Forest Marathon = 2 Stars!

July 19

The Crescent Forest marathon was my sixth in six months, earning me a second star with Marathon Maniacs (http://www.marathonmaniacs.com/ ). It all began in February at the Death Valley Trail Marathon, then the Chuckanut 50K, Yakima Canyon Marathon, Capital City Marathon, San Juan Island Marathon, and number six was at the Crescent Forest. Number six was in
Gig Harbor with a small field of thirty runners and was a great experience.