Dec 29th run

Last run of the year. Meet on the corner of Spring and LA ave. Across from 7-Eleven. We will do the wash, if it is dry enough or Tierra Rejada loop 7am

Sat Morning Run 12/8

Meet at Dave's place (363 Shasta Avenue) at 7AM. Plan is to do the Tierra Rejada Loop (see below).
Find more Run in Moorpark, CA

Sat. Morning Run 12/1

Meet at the north end of the Rite Aid parking lot at 7AM.  We'll be running the figure 8.  It's 6.15 miles total, with convenient options for 2.5 or 5 miles.  See map below.


Find more Run in Moorpark, CA

saturday morning run, 11/16, 7:00 a.m.

for tomorrow's run we'll be meeting at the usual corner of l.a. and spring.  if it's not too muddy we'll be running the wash.  if it is too muddy we'll be doing the tierra rejada loop.  meeting time is 7:00 a.m.

Official SoCal Ragnar Post

I found this on the SoCal Ragnar website.
"10/2/12- We are currently working on some course improvements. Updated leg maps will be posted shortly."

Ragnar Trail Experiment Review

Running from Responsibility competed in the Ragnar Trail Experiment on Friday, October 12th - Saturday, October 13th.  It was quite the experiment.  We had the perfect storm of bad weather.  We had rain the day before which made the trails muddy, then about 30 minutes into the race the rain came pouring down.  It was cold too. In fact, we did have some snow (nothing that stuck) and little bit of hail.  We anticipated it would take us six hours to complete the first of three rounds of running, but it instead took us 9 hours.  Ragnar learned a lot during their experiment, but I love the concept and look forward to doing another Ragnar Trail event again.

Sarah Kron, AnneMarie Sloan, James Sloan, Jenedy & Victor Eggleston, Danielle Sloan, Derek Sloan, Cary Jenkins

I (James) was the first runner and the third group to run Jolley's Gulch-Green (officially 3.9 miles, but with the scenic view it is 4.1).  I had the fastest recorded time for that trail partly due to my mad running skills (he he) and partly due to the worsening weather.  I even took a slight detour off the trail just so I could see the Narrows.  A spectacular view that required my full attention for at least a minute or more.  It was funny, because I was leading my heat with a guy right on my heels.  He took advantage of my detour thinking he would win the heat.  From there it was all up hill on the way back, so I dug deep and about a half of a mile later I caught up to him and passed him. I think I demoralized him.  I didn't see him again until a few minutes after I finished.  Take that Mr!

Representing the team!

Derek competing in his very first Ragnar as he prepares for next month's Las Vegas Ragnar ran right after me.  He ran the Pine Knoll trail-Yellow (officially, 3.8 miles, but we are sure it was closer to 4.3 miles).  A 500 foot elevation gain over a mile then the trail works it way back down over the remainder of the race.  We think this was the hardest trail of the three, because of the combination of the elevation gain and loss and the mud.  They closed the trail soon after Jenedy ran it (see below), because it was simply too dangerous.

Derek putting on his game face.

AnneMarie ran the Englestead-Red trail (officially, 7.2, but I clocked it at 7.5, yet the markings were so poor that a lot of people got lost).  AnneMarie ran 8.33 miles on this trail.  It was an up and down run that was a muddy sloppy mess.  At one point, the trail was knee deep with water.

She got the jump down here, she would prefer you not see the team picture below, where her timing was a little off.

Victor ran Jolley's Gulch-Green and fortunately it was just light enough that he was able to take in the detour view of the Narrows.  He ran well, only a few minutes behind my time.

Jenedy ran the Pine Knoll-Yellow trail.  Again, probably the toughest trail of the race.  She is one tough women!  You may recall that just two months ago she gave birth to Honor.  Both Victor and Jenedy had a cheer squad that included True, Honor and Victor's parents.  It was wonderful to see the Egglestons.  Right after Jenedy returned from her run, they stopped letting people run that trail.  It was too dangerous.  Jenedy described that there were a few areas that were so steep and muddy that she and another runner had to help each other up the steep terrain.  It was dark by the time she finished her race.

My good friend Cary Jenkins who ran with us at Napa Valley ran the Englestead-Red trail started his run in the dark.  Running in the dark on a regular Ragnar is invigorating.  On the trails, it is a little nerve-racking.    Since it was dark by now, many more people were getting lost.  We aren't even sure he ran the full trail, but he did his best.  He helped several people navigate their way back and even carried one women the last half mile of the trail to the finish line.  When he came back, both he and Jenedy felt that the race should be cancelled.  Fruthermore, the Englestead trail was sort of closed.  They were still allowing runners to do it, but only at their own risk.  At this point in the race, most teams had quit.

Sarah Kron, a family friend from Ohio who is attending BYU and is an avid runner, ran Jolley's Gulch-Green.  She ran well.  No complaints other than it was too dark to see the Narrows.  While it wasn't what she had hoped for she was ready and did it.  

Sarah getting her Ragnar on

Danielle was the last to run on our first rotation.  She had been hearing about the not so pleasant experiences of Jenedy and Cary and started to feel anxious.  We had heard about people breaking their feet or ankles, sprained ankles and one girl who had a nervous breakdown on the course, so I pulled her aside and said, "Honey, no judgement.  If you don't want to run you don't have to.  It really is not safe out there and I'd rather have an alive and healthy daughter, but it is your decision.  I'm behind you 100% either way."  She said, "Dad I came here to do this and I really want to try!"  A proud papa moment!  Derek offered to run with her (another proud papa moment), but she wanted to do it herself.  We got her all ready and she was off.  I was both nervous and proud as my baby girl headed out in the nasty weather to run Jolley's Gulch-Green (She was supposed to run the Pine Knoll-Yellow trail, but it was closed) and I had a prayer in my heart.  She describes the run as fun and scary.  For some of the run she was completely by herself.  She said that when she started to really get scared, she belted out at the top of her lungs the primary song, "I am a Child of God."  She said that helped.  I'm glad she turns to the Lord for strength.  Fortunately, she caught up with two other people running together and stuck with them the rest of the way.  As she finished under the Ragnar Arch, I heard one of the race organizers say.  "We're closing it. It just isn't safe anymore."

Danielle and I walked back to the cabin at midnight, took showers and we all fell fast asleep.  

When I went to the 7am feedback meeting, I found out that five of the 43 teams kept going all night.  They mostly ran Jolley's Gulch-Green, but some still ventured out to the Englestead-Red trail throughout the night.  Not to be deterred, after my feedback meeting I set out to run Englestead-Red with the intent of hoping to also do Pine Knoll after that.  7.5 miles of beauty.  The trail was extreemly muddy, but the views were spectacular.  I'm glad I did it.  When I was done, everyone was anxious to leave and I was exhausted anyway.  We finished packing up and headed back to Provo and SLC.

What a fun and challenging experience.  I definitely want to do that again, but I'm hopeful this will be the worst weather we have to face.

I'm happy to have run with such fun and tough people.

Here are some pictures.

Englestead Trail

Englestead Trail

Englestead Trail

James on Englestead Trail

Englestead Trail Mud

View about halfway through Englestead Trail

A difficult accent on Englestead Trail.
I am sure this fails in comparison to the Pine Knoll trail.
It took me a couple of tries to get up this hill.

Not much room for running on the Englestead Trail

I can see the finish about a mile away from here.

Claiming my "World Record" as Cary called it.

The team after the rains had cleared.  AnneMarie in mid jump.

saturday run, 10/13, 8:30 p.m.

due to early soccer games the run will be tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m..  meet at dave's house.

saturday morning run, 10/6, 7:00 a.m.

another repeat of tom's old post.  we're doing the simi wash tomorrow morning.  7:00 a.m.  no soccer excuses this week.

hello all.  for tomorrow's run let's do the simi valley wash tom originally found a month or so ago.  it's a nice run with the second half being slightly downhill.  hope to see you there.

here's tom's post:

Meet at the SE corner of Madera and Easy St. in Simi. at 7AM. 

Coming from the freeway on Madera, turn left on Easy St., and immediately park on the right side of the road.  We'll run down the wash for about 3.1 miles and turn around, but it's an out-and-back, so you can run any distance you'd like.



Find more Run in Simi Valley, CA

Early Morning Run 9/29

Meet in front of my place, 15123 Collegiate Cir. at 6AM.  Early meeting time due to soccer games.  We'll run 6 miles or so, exact route TBD.

saturday morning run, 8/22

there will be a morning run tomorrow morning starting at 7:00 a.m..  meet at mammoth park and we'll run the trail route.

saturday evening run, 9/22 8:30 p.m.

due to early soccer games, we'll be running tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m..  we'll be meeting at dave's house and doing the tierra rejada loop.  hope to see you there.

Ragnar Trail Run Team Registered

I'm doing it again.  I'm definitely Running from Responsibility.  October 12-13, 2012.  Ragnar Trail run in Zions.  Eight member team currently consists of the following:

1. James Sloan
2. Derek Sloan
3. AnneMarie Sloan
4. Victor Eggleston
5. Jenedy Eggleston
6. Cary Jenkins
7. Sarah Kron
8. Danielle Sloan

Ragnar Trail Run-Anyone in?

I want to do this.  I prefer trail running and this just looks awesome.
http://trail.ragnarrelay.com

The Ragnar Trail Experiment™ is a trail relay race. The course consists of 3 different trail loops that begin and end in a central location — Ragnar Village™. Teams will run relay style rotating through all three legs. Teams of 8, 4, and 2 will run a total of 120 miles. The race will take an average of 20 hours to complete. Team starts will be staggered between 2 pm and 7 pm on Friday October 12 and teams will finish between 9 am and 4 pm on Saturday October 13th.

Team members 8
Legs 24
Average miles/leg 5
Average mile/person 15
Average miles/team 120
Team Starts 2:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Team Finishes 9:00 am – 4:45 pm
Total time 14 – 28 hrs.

Team Pace 0:07:00 0:08:00 0:09:00 0:10:00 0:11:00 0:12:00 0:13:00

Min/Leg 0:34:80 0:39:70 0:44:70 0:49:70 0:55:60 1:04:60 1:09:50

Start 7:00:00 PM 6:00:00 PM 5:00:00 PM 4:00:00 PM 3:00:00 PM 2:00:00 PM 2:00:00 PM

Finish 09:00:00 AM 10:00:00 AM 11:00:00 AM 12:30:00 PM 12:45:00 PM 01:45:00 PM 03:45:00 PM

Total Hours 13:90:00 15:90:00 17:90:00 19:90:00 21:90:00 23:80:00 25:80:00

Team members will alternate running legs and each team member will run 3 different legs.

Trail #1

Runner 1

Runner 4

Runner 7

Runner 2

Runner 5

Runner 8

Runner 3

Runner 6

Trail #2

Runner 2

Runner 5

Runner 8

Runner 3

Runner 6

Runner 1

Runner 4

Runner 7

Trail #3

Runner 3

Runner 6

Runner 1

Runner 4

Runner 7

Runner 2

Runner 5

Runner 8

Napa Valley Paces-Fastest Ragnar Ever! (for us)

This was by far the fastest team we have fielded for any Ragnar.  Not only were the traditional team members faster overall, but adding the three Dole guys really helped.  I think our record prior to this race was 33 hours to complete a Ragnar.  This one took us just under 29 hours.  That was awesome.  Carlos was the fastest, followed by Dave, Kenny, Wade, James, John, and Alfonzo.  Wade had the longest official distance followed by Alfonzo.  James ran 22.4 miles, but 6.5 miles of that was at a 11:00 pace with BarbaraJane on her night time run.  I didn't count that in my mileage or my pace below.  Some of the paces may need to be adjusted slightly so that we don't penalize anyone for time they either had to wait or time counted against them for getting to the exchange late.  I know a few that need to change, but I need the actual run time for each run to update the spreadsheet accordingly.  Nevertheless, I think the chart below is reflective of the ranking.
As an FYI, Danielle ran with BarbaraJane for her first leg and then ran with Christine her second and third legs.

	Name	Miles	Run Time	Apx Pace
	Carlos	17.2	2:09:06	0:07:30
	Dave	16.8	2:10:18	0:07:45
	Kenny	16.4	2:08:20	0:07:49
	Wade	23.7	3:05:24	0:07:49
	James	15.9	2:06:05	0:07:55
	John	12.4	1:41:18	0:08:10
	Alfonzo	22.7	3:05:59	0:08:11
	Liz	13.6	2:22:04	0:10:26
	Cary	15.7	2:43:32	0:10:24
	Barbara	15.8	2:51:17	0:10:50
	Rebecca	11.5	2:12:51	0:11:33
	Christine	12.9	2:45:48	0:12:51

Ragnar Leftovers

I've got 6 black cherry Cliff Shot Blocks and 6 chocolate Cliff gel packs along with 6 temporary Ragnar tattoos that I found in the bag'o'junk we got but never really went through.  Let me know if anyone wants them.  Even if you don't like them, it might make good props for a Haloween costume, just sayin.  I'll probably toss the shot blocks and gel if no one says they want em by next week.  Congrats to all the runners who participated in races this weekend!

Saturday 9/15 - No Group Run This Week

No official run for the group this Saturday as most people are busy or out of town. Dave and Wade are running the Napa Valley Ragnar, and I'm doing the Wounded Warrior Half.  Everyone run on your own, and we'll get together next week.

Ragnar Checklist

This is on the spreadsheet, but it doesn't hurt to post it here as well.  I'm looking forward to another Ragnar with friends.

Personal Gear
Three sets of running gear in separate zip lock bags (shirt, shorts, socks and underwear, hat)
Pair of shoes
Running watch/GPS
Sweats
Flip flops
Pillow
Blanket
Towel
Toiletries
First aid (blister kits, mole skin, hot and/or cold compress, sports wrap)
Sunscreen
Money for food
Headlamp, rear blinking light, reflective vest
Race belt
Drivers license

Health/Nutrition
Pre-run: Banana, ½ bagel, Gatorade Pre, Warm up (don't stretch cold muscles)
Banana, ½ bagel, Gatorade Pre
During Run: Unless it’s hot don’t drink more than you normally do on a training run of equal distance
Post Run: Alka Selzer, recovery drink, banana, stretch well
Meals between runs: pasta, subway sandwiches, etc.  Avoid greasy and spicy foods.
Snack Food: Jerky, Red Vines, Animal Crackers, granola bars


Van Items
Six reflective vests
Two headlamps
Two blinking lights
Pair walkie talkies
Cooler
Camera/Video
Van decorations (Crayola Washable Window Crayons & lights?)
iPhone charger (ideally one with a USB ext)
Water (more water than gatorade)
Gatorade
james

saturday evening run, 9/8 8:30 P.M.

due to early soccer games the planned run for tomorrow will be a 8:30 p.m.  we'll be meeting at underwood farms and doing a lap or two.

Napa Valley Van Reservations Cancelled

Today, I cancelled both 15 passenger van reservations.  Van 1 will use Dole's Suburban.  Van 2 will use John Stewart's Tahoe.  I updated the money tab on the spreadsheet.

Van 1 - Napa Valley Ragnar Preparation

Napa Valley is coming...

We have a few logistical items to clarify.  Some of this is covered on the NapaValley Ragnar Spreadsheet so please refer to the Van Plan tab of that spreadsheet.

Van 1 

Getting to San Francisco

Travel to San Francisco will most likely occur in two (or three) groups.  Christine, Danielle and the Jenkins will most likely head up late afternoon or early evening.  I will head up around 9 or 9:30pm.  Kenny & Carlos will need to decide who you want to travel with--the early or late group.  Alfonso, if you want to catch a ride with us or coordinate with Van 2, you'll need to let us know.  

Picking up our Van

We have two 15 passenger vans Reservation numbers SFO - 8631 and SFO - 8632.  We need to arrange for someone to pick up the van the night before.

Alex M. Navarrete

AVR Van Rental Solutions

5250 West Century Blvd,

Los Angeles 90045

www.airportvanrental.com

 (310) 729-9289 

Starting the Race

Van 1 will begin the race at 6:30am, but we need to check in as a team by 5:30am.  I have arranged for three hotel rooms in San Francisco the night before the race.  See below for the list of key locations.

Between Legs 1 and 2

Once we are done with our first legs we will travel to Exchange 12 where we can rest.  I hoping there will be showers there.  Most likely we will get a bite to eat on the way.  We should be done with our first legs at 10:30am or so.  

Between Legs 2 and 3

We will most likely have to start our second legs about 3:20pm.  

We should be done with our second set close to 10pm.  At that point we will head to exchange 24 for a shower (I definitely know there are showers here) and some indoor sleeping.  

We will not have to start running again until 3:30am.

Van 1 is done...

We will be done with our third and final legs about 8am.  At that point we will try to find a shower, get something to eat and travel to the end of the race to wait for Van 2 to finish.  So far, the only shower I know is at Exchange 24.  I'm hoping there will be some at Exchange 30 or at the finish.  If not, we'll be a smelly crew.

Van 2

Van 2 will be coming from Moorpark (SoCal) leaving about 5 or 6pm and driving through Salinas close to midnight.  They will most likely go directly to Exchange 6 or to a hotel nearby, but they are welcome to come to the hotels we have in San Francisco.  

Hotel Thursday Night

Comfort Inn & Suites San Francisco Airport North (CA801) Confirmation #29748107

121 E. Grand Ave., South San Francisco, CA, US, 94080-4812

Phone: (650) 589-7100

Start of Race 6:30am Start

Van 1 starts

Marina Green Park, San Francisco, CA

Exchange 6 Exchange should occur close to 10:30am.

Van 1 ends first set of legs and Van 2 Starts

College of Marin - Kentfield Campus 835 College Ave Kentfield, CA 94904

Thursday, August 13 travel coordination.

Exchange 12  (outdoor sleeping) Exchange should occur close to 3:19pm

Van 2 ends and Van 1 starts there second legs.

(Showers and outdoor resting/sleeping)

Lucchesi Park 320 N McDowell Blvd Petaluma CA 94954

Exchange 18 (Outdoor sleeping)  Exchange should occur about 10:04pm

Van 1 ends and Van 2 starts second legs

Forestville Youth Park 6934 Mirabel Rd Forestville, CA

Exchange 24 (Showers and indoor & outdoor sleeping) Exchange should occur about 3:34am

Van 2 ends and Van 1 starts there last legs

Altimira Middle School 17805 Arnold Dr Sonoma, CA

Exchange 30 (outdoor sleeping) Exchange should occur about 7:59am.

Van 1 is done! Van 2 starts their last legs.

Napa Valley Expo 575 3rd Street Napa, CA

Finish--Exchange 36 Finish should be about 12:33pm

Van 1 & Van 2 run across the finish line together.

Calistoga Beverage Company 1830 Lincoln Ave Calistoga CA 94505

saturday morning run, 9/1, simi wash

hello all.  for tomorrow's run let's do the simi valley wash tom originally found a month or so ago.  it's a nice run with the second half being slightly downhill.  hope to see you there.

here's tom's post:

Meet at the SE corner of Madera and Easy St. in Simi. at 7AM. 

Coming from the freeway on Madera, turn left on Easy St., and immediately park on the right side of the road.  We'll run down the wash for about 3.1 miles and turn around, but it's an out-and-back, so you can run any distance you'd like.



Find more Run in Simi Valley, CA

Saturday Morning Run 8/25 - 6AM Start

Meet at Mammoth Park in the Highlands at 6AM (early start due to soccer games). Plan is to go down Spring, left on High St, and then loop back up and around to Mammoth part through the trails.

Ragnar Video is LIVE

SoCal Ragnar 2012 video is LIVE in standard and HD!  Check it out here:

https://vimeo.com/47796212

The premiere was phenomenal, thanks to the Greedings for hosting.

Enjoy!

saturday morning run, 8/18

for the run tomorrow let's meet at the corner of l.a. and spring and do the tierra rejada loop.  it comes out to about 5.5 miles.  see you there.

2012 Ragnar Movie

I'd like to get a head count on who would like a DVD or BluRay copy of the 2012 Ragnar movie.  I am going to try and have them for everyone who wants at the party on Saturday.  I will also be uploading the movie to Vimeo like I did last year and I will post the link here.

Napa Valley Update

Ragnar posted our start times today.  We will have a 6:30am start.  Based on estimated paces, we are expected to finish the 194.6 mile race about 12:30pm Saturday afternoon.
The course has also changed slightly so I moved people around a bit.  For more details check out the spreadsheet. Napa Valley Ragnar Spreadsheet

saturday run, 8/11

for the run tomorrow let's meet at dave's house at 7:00 a.m..  the route isn't finalized yet, but we'll be heading up to the highlands somewhere.

Saturday run 8/4/12

Ok, this is one that no one has done, except Wade and I. Meet at Rite Aid at 7am at the usual meeting spot. You will receive further instructions upon arrival. Yes...it will be fun!

Saturday run 7/28

7am meet at Rite Aid on the corner of Spring and Tierra Rejada, but not in front of the store, up the parking lot by the kid care center. We will run the figure 8 loop. If anyone is interested, Tom and I will be adding an extra 3 miles to the end of the run. The first loop is 2.5 miles, the second adds 3.5, the third adds another 3. So you can run 2.5, 6, or 9 miles tomorrow. Options for all...

saturday run, 7/21

for tomorrow's run let's meet at dave's house and do the tierra rejada loop. dave's address is 363 shasta. meeting time is 7:00 a.m.

saturday morning run, 7/14

let's do the wash for tomorrow's run. meet sort of at the corner of l.a. and spring, in the parking lot across the street from the 7-11. park in front of the nail salon, next to troop real estate office. meeting time is 7:30 tomorrow. get to sleep in 30 minutes extra.

Ragnar Party and John's Movie Premier

It's official.
Date: Saturday, August 18th
Time: 5:00pm
Location: Gredings 363 Shasta Ave Moorpark, CA
Who: Ragnar Relay Enthusiasts (especially those that participated in the 2012 SoCal relay race) & family
Format: BBQ
What To Bring: Your own meat (or non-meat item) to grill and a side dish.  It would be ideal for Rebecca if you posted what you are planning to bring.

saturday morning run, 7/7/2012

for the run tomorrow let's meet at the northern end of the rite-aid parking lot amd we'll do the figure eight. starting time is 7:00 a.m..

Ragnar Party and John's Movie Premier

Is August 17th (Friday) or August 18th (Saturday) a good day for a follow up SoCal Ragnar Party?

6/30 Saturday Morning Run - Simi Wash

Meet at the SE corner of Madera and Easy St. in Simi. at 7AM.

Coming from the freeway on Madera, turn left on Easy St., and immediately park on the right side of the road.  We'll run down the wash for about 3.1 miles and turn around, but it's an out-and-back, so you can run any distance you'd like.



Find more Run in Simi Valley, CA

Groupon for runners

$47 for Registration for the Harbor Lights Summer Sprint Series 2012 from N’Step Events ($95 Value)
http://www.groupon.com/deals/inside-track-ventura?utm_campaign=UserReferral&utm_medium=email&utm_source=uu26527908

Ragnar 2012 Video

Just thought I would give you guys and gals an update on the Ragnar 2012 video.  I have a cut of it that I am pretty happy with.  I will likely give it another pass to tighten things up and then give it a nice polish...color, sound, visual effects, monsters, aliens, space ships, Iron Man...you know, the usual.

I'm hoping to have it done in about a week (give or take) so we should start thinking of a good time to throw a post Ragnar soiree.

Cheers,
John

Saturday Morning Run 6/23

Meet at the Rustic Canyon Golf Course parking lot at 7AM.  We'll run up into Happy Camp.

Wasatch Back 2013

Happy Thursday!

I am starting a Wasatch Back team for next year. Sign up is really soon (maybe a week away?)
Thus far I have one van full (and one mini van for that matter). If any of you are interested in joining, let me know! I have a Facebook Event I can add you to so the team will have common ground for conversation.

AnneMarie Sloan
805-791-5936

saturday morning run, 6/9

for the run tomorrow let's meet at the rite-aid parking lot, 7:00 a.m.. we'll do the figure eight run.

2013 SoCal

We have the SoCal team set for now.
Van #1 Sloans, Gredings, Altoms.
Van #2 Omers, AnneMarie Sloan, Danielle Sloan, Amy Adams, John Stewart.
Sorry to Jen, Tiffany and Nikki.  With Merideth and Amy Adams coming back as original members and Christine making her first attempt at SoCal Ragnar we quickly met the 12 member limit.  I'm certain there are others in the Ward that are interested so you may be able to put together another team.  OR You can run on the Wasatch Back team we hope someone steps up to the plate to sign up.

2013 Wasatch Back

Some have expressed interest in Wasatch Back in June.  I'm ok being the organizer once we have a team, but not so interested in fronting the money for yet another Ragnar and then worrying about who is committed and who is not.  Anyone willing to do the official team sign up and manage the team list?  AnneMarie thinks she might be able to fill up a van with college friends.  The main issue is the sign up.  Wasatch Back fills up almost immediately.  I will be in Peru when sign up occurs so I can't do it and I don't want to pay for it.

Tomorrows run

Wade and Tom are out of town and my wife is gone. I will be running tomorrow, but probably a night run. If anyone is interested give me a call, it would probably be about 8:30

New Garmin Forerunner 910XT

I bought a new watch and wrote a review of it on my blog.

Garmin Forerunner 910XT Review

James

memorial day run, 5/28

happy memorial day!  for those interested, we will be doing a run tomorrow morning starting at walnut canyon school.  we will be exploring some trails.  meeting time is 7:00 a.m.

saturday morning run, 5/26

hey all. for tomorrow's run let's do the wash. meet at the corner of l.a. and spring, across the street from the 7-11. meeting time is 7:00 a.m.

the impossibility of the boston marathon

last saturday night me, dave, and tom did the tierra rejada loop (it was sooo romantic). tom started us on a pretty good clip and kept pushing us throughout the run. for about the last mile we all picked up the pace (new york city!!) and averaged probably just over a 7:00 mile pace for that last mile. our final distance was 6.1 miles (i think) at a 8:27 mile pace. we were a little disappointed in the overall pace, but happy about the last mile. afterwards we began talking about what it would be like to be able to run fast. not like a 8:00 mile fast, but fast fast. we were guessing on how fast we could complete one mile and wondering if we could clock a sub-6:00 mile. that led me to start thinking about and doing some research on the boston marathon. for those who may not know, not just anyone can run in the boston marathon. you have to qualify and you have to be fast in order to qualify. below are the times for males and females from the age ranges most of us would fit under. i apologize in advance for the shoddy table.

	age range	cut-off time	average mile pace
male	18-34	3:05	7:03
female	18-34	3:35	8:12
male	35-39	3:10	7:14
female	35-39	3:40	8:23
male	40-44	3:15	7:26
female	40-44	3:25	8:34
Male	45-49	3:25	7:49
female	45-49	3:55	8:57

here are a couple thoughts after reviewing the information. first, so much for gender equality. looks like the men are being discriminated against on this one. second, i'm never going to qualify for the boston marathon. even if i really, really dedicated myself and had as much time and resources as i needed, i still could not qualify. i mean, i would have to run a WHOLE marathon at an average mile pace of 7:14. a couple years ago i completed the agoura great race 10K in 45:04, which i was pretty happy with. what was my average pace? 7:17. i would have to run a faster pace than that for over four times as long. i seriously can't comprehend how anyone can run that fast over that distance. i have an uncle that qualified for the boston marathon last year with a time of 3:09. i'm gonna e-mail him and see how he did it. do any of you think you could ever qualify? i think my best chance would be to wait until i'm 45, undergo a sex change (keep your jokes to yourself!), and then attempt to qualify.