Whoo's in El Moro 50k - Race Report

It had been a couple months or so since my last race, so it was fun to meet up with a bunch of friends, make a couple new ones and run around for 4 hours.

photo by Kevin Patterson

I have not been running enough recently to race at my potential.  A backpacking trip with Chamoun and a camping/fishing/hunting trip with my wife and father-in-law were both awesome, but kept me from training.  But I wouldn't take back those trips for the world.  I needed a little respite from running and spending quality time with a close friend and family out in the mountains... does it get any better than that?  These trips kept me fit, but my running muscles kind of disappeared.  I knew going into the race that I wasn't as prepared as I normally am, so I focused on a healthy diet a week out, including no beer, to keep my weight down and keep me feeling fresh - it worked.  I felt fairly fresh and I enjoyed seeing what I was capable of "off the couch" so to speak.

photo by Billy Yang

My legs felt surprisingly good for about 20 miles yesterday.  Then they started to cramp up a bit on the ascents.  I was in 6th place, about 3-5 minutes behind my friend Jon Clark, and this 5th place spot won a cash prize.  I really wanted to try and real him in and bring home some cash money, but he was on point today and I wasn't.  Igor Campos also ran well.  I passed him around mile 18 but he passed me three miles from the finish.  It would have been really fun to race him down the long descent to the finish line, but my legs just wouldn't allow it.  I ended up in 7th with a time of 4:03.

The RD, Molly, put on a smooth event with a huge cash purse.  It was no surprise that someone like Tim Tollefson, a 2:18 marathoner, showed up and claimed the $1,600 first place prize.  Caroline Boller won the woman's field and finished 8th overall.

My Hoka Clifton's worked perfectly.  They're light, responsive, stable on the rocky stuff, and have plenty of cushion for running down steep hard fire roads.  Great all around shoes.

Jesse spending his cash prize for finishing 4th on pulled pork nachos for us at Hapa J's.  Thanks Jesse!

Strava Data

So what's next?  It was fun jumping into a fast race like this one, even if smooth and fast races aren't my forte.  But the big mountains are calling.  I think I'll slip into my Rapa Nui's, throw my backpack on and go play around in the Sierra's before the snow flies (Hardrock is only 278 days away)!