Seattle Running Club

2013 Brooks Team Fall Update

Post author By Marlene Farrell
Post date November 8, 2013

Our Brooks team members are selected based on their strengths not only as runners but as ambassadors for our great sport. Whether it be racing, volunteering at races, doing trail work, or all of the above, giving back to the running community is what makes one qualified for this team. From the roads to the trails to cross country, from one mile to one hundred, one must represent Seattle Running Club and Brooks proudly. Those members were asked to recap what they’ve accomplished and experienced so far in 2013:

Wendy Wheeler Jacobs

My ulta-running season culminated with the Waldo 100K in August and the Wasatch 100M in September. I have filled out the Fall with some wonderful long day or overnight trail adventures including 2 trips around Mt St Helens (pictured above), PCT section J, and across the Olympic National Park.

I once again managed the course marking and sweeping crew for the Cascade Crest 100, and have volunteered at a few other local races. I am wrapping up production of the 2014 Tribute to the Trails wall calendar, which features Glenn Tachiyama’s well-known trail running photography. These will be available at area running stores and all sales proceeds are donated to the Washington Trails Association to help keep our trails open and maintained. You can expect to see nice photos of club members included!

Keith Laverty

This past spring marked my 10th year of competitive, injury-free running. With a new marathon PR (2:35) under my belt and a solid spring season, I was feeling optimistic as usual. However, like all good streaks: they must come to an end. Starting in early August, I suffered my first serious running injury which has put a damper on my fall road-racing and XC season.

Despite the setbacks, I competed in two 12-person team relays over 190 miles, first by winning the Rocky Mountain Relay in course record time. My 3rd leg, a 1,000 foot elevation gain over 7.5 miles, sounds reasonable enough except when you’ve just awoken from a nap on a cement sidewalk, it’s 3:30 in the morning, the weather is brisk and foggy, and the run finishes at an elevation of 10,400 feet. At the next relay, my team took 5th place in the Mixed Open division of Hood to Coast, the world’s largest team relay. I also tried to take advantage of the summer weather by partaking in a few ‘ol dusty (and often muddy) trail races. With a 1st place finish at the inaugural Tehaleh Trail Half, I won the yearly Evergreen Trail Series. Other results include, 1st at Rattlesnake Ridge 5-mile (27:04), 2nd at Cougar Mtn. 8-mile (53:55) and 1st at Cougar 5k (20:28).

Current plans include the FSRC winter series, Bridle Trails 10-mile, preparing for the 2014 Boston Marathon, enjoying the Brooks gear, and most importantly, running injury-free.

Marlene Farrell

Image:Win Van Pelt

My running was focused on medium length trail races this season. It allowed me to train frequently on amazing local trails without the need to get out for really long sessions. I stayed very healthy and enthusiastic about running. I ran the Sunflower Trail Marathon in May, the Red Devil 25k Challenge in June, the Cougar Mountain 20 mile race in July and the Cle Elum Ridge 25k in September. I was pleased to win every race and my highlights were being first overall (men or women) at Sunflower and setting a new course record at Cle Elum by over 26 minutes. Along the way I trained in Brooks Ravenna and Brooks Pure Flow. For the trail races I sometimes wore the Ravenna or else the Racer ST. Now that cross country is underway I am working on speed and wearing the Brooks Mach.

I still write blogs for a local running website out of Wenatchee.

Martin Criminale

In spite of having to recover from a serious injury in early February I achieved two milestones this summer; running my first 50 mile race and my first 100 mile race. My training was a combination of road miles (Brooks Launch) that included several outings with our local Fleet Feet Sports store here in Seattle and trail miles (Brooks Cascadia 8 and PureGrit) by myself, with friends and with the Seattle Running Club at our weekly runs. In both races I wore the Cascadia 8 and loved it! This shoe is comfortable, has reasonable traction and protects the foot extremely well from sharp objects. For both races I also wore the Brooks 5″ Essential Run Short and the Brooks short sleeve EZ T III, both of which were fantastic. Not having to worry about your gear is HUGE when you go long. Thanks for all the support Brooks!

Martin has other updates on his personal website.

Trisha Steidl

In July I ran and won the Lord Hill 10K. My hope was to beat the CR I set from the year before. Unfortunately I missed it by a few seconds. Rather than take direct responsibility for those few seconds, I’ll blame it on the late start (I ended up being really hungry by the time we actually started, which was about 30 minutes after the stated start time, partially due to the gate not being opened to the parking lot by the parks folks until much later than scheduled) and the fact that I basically had to walk for a minute or two behind a lady that would not move out of my way early on in the race. Last year there was a coyote that appeared on the side of one of the trails where I was alone and that certainly prompted me to run faster. No coyote this year = no course record this year. Hopefully I’ll be able to run this one again next year and beat the record, with or without the help of a coyote.

The Cougar “Half” (really over 14 miles) in August was an interesting one. I threw up before the race (6 times) and when the gun went off, my stomach was completely empty. I started out in 5th or 6th place and slowly moved up to 2nd/3rd by the bottom of the Wilderness Peak loop. The 2nd/3rd place dance continued for awhile with another lady. As I continued to consume as many gels as possible to make up for the pre-race happenings, I found I was always in a deficit energy-wise. Somehow I managed to be strong on the uphills, but could gain no momentum on the downs. So every up I would catch 2nd and every down I’d go back to 3rd. The Quarry trail was my savior in that it’s a long uphill near the end of the race. There is one short downhill section on that trail and I took full advantage of it and somehow made a big move into first. I ran scared the rest of the way in, assuming my dance partner was going to come up on me at any moment. I ended up winning the race, but the “fun” wasn’t over. I ended the day similarly to how I started in that it was painful and no fun. I fell down a few minutes into my cool down and skidded across some mean gravel stuff and cut up my left leg and knee pretty badly and painfully. At least I got the win!

September brought the Labor Day not-quite-4-miler (instead of the half I originally intended to race). The race isn’t actually called that, but it definitely wasn’t quite a full 4 miles, so I’ve unofficially renamed the event. I ended up winning by about 7 minutes and winning a free pair of shoes for only 24 minutes of work. It was a good call on a morning where I wasn’t feeling very well.

My most recent outing was the PNTF XC race (pictured above). It was my first time racing XC in two years and I had a fun time out on the course. The weather had certainly improved upon the day before when I was out at the Jefferson Park Golf Course in the ridiculous win as we hosted the WAC XC Championships (women were 2nd, men were 4th!) Having a stressful couple of days leading up due to hosting duties, I wasn’t at full capacity for this race, but I gave it what I had on the day and moved up the field the entire time, leading many to believe I ran really fast for the last loop. I simply ran a very even race that allowed me to move from almost last place at the start to 24th.

I’m now looking forward to racing something around the Thanksgiving time and then it’s on to Club XC Nationals in December!

Travis Boyd

This summer my training was focused for the Chicago Marathon by running 110 miles/week on average for the first time ever. My body stayed healthy and I was able to run a few races along the way. I finished in 3rd place at the Run of the Mill 5k in July in 15:04. I finished in 2nd place at the Snoqualmie Railroad Days 10k in 31:03 in August. I won the Overlake Labor Day Half Marathon in September in a personal best of 1:07:47. And I completed my summer/fall season with the Chicago Marathon in October and finished in 27th place in a time of 2:19:56.

Read a brief blog recap about the Chicago Marathon.

Erik Barkhaus

Training in the post-collegiate world has been an adventure so far. I found myself with a few months of summer training freedom before taking on the challenges of balancing a full time work schedule with the demands of heavy training. It always helps me through the rough patches to know that many others have successfully done this and continue to do so every day. I am currently focusing towards Club XC Nationals with the USA Half Marathon Championships soon after!

Greg Crowther

Greg’s update came in the form of a recent blog entry.

Tags Brooks Team, Race Reports

Cross Country Race Reports

Comfort Zones

Post author By Joe Creighton
Post date November 7, 2013

My favorite moment from last Sunday’s 10k, the “PNTF Cross Country (XC) Championships,” aside from crossing the finish line of course, was courtesy Patrick Niemeyer, moments before the gun went off. We both noticed the dearth of bodies on the start line, and Patrick, closer to 40 years old than almost everybody present, had legitimate concerns about finishing dead last. As everyone bounced around with nervous energy, he looked at me.

“How did I let you talk me into this? I hate you.”

Moments later, myself still laughing, the gun went off. Eighteen seconds later I was in oxygen debt.

Leaving one’s comfort zone can be difficult. Earlier this year, one of the things I was simultaneously looking forward to the most *and* the least was how gosh darn competitive these post-high school autumn XC races were going to be. I was both excited to get my ass kicked, and dreading it. I have not been disappointed. A lot of guys named Chad are beating me.

For myriad reasons, the people who choose to run XC tend to be on the whole a *bit* faster, on average, than those who run, say, the Fremont 5k, or whatever 5k is occurring on Alki Ave this Saturday in West Seattle. This in turn makes “slower” runners less inclined to want to run XC, which in turn makes it more competitive, which in turn makes it even scarier to would-be first timers, etc etc. A vicious circle that carves interest in races like last Sunday’s XC 10k down to a mere 42 runners (+46 in the Open Womens 6k race, and +50 in the combined Masters men/women 6K). Or about the amount of people in a typical Trig classroom at your local public high school. Despite the fact that these races are MUCH MORE cost-effective; I will spend a total of $35 for five races this season…including my hip new race singlet.

The carving down also makes things decidedly more competitive at such a race. The races are broken up into “Masters” (ages 40+) and “Open” races (myself, Uli Steidl, and seemingly every fit 25 year-old in the county). And due to the intimidating reputation XC has to many otherwise possibly-interested runners (despite the word “championships” in the title, anybody can run this race; you don’t need to qualify, you don’t need to be “professional,” or sponsored. It’s frowned upon but you *can* be bald.), most everybody next to me on the starting line had those six-pack abs skinny guys get because they’re emaciated, and I saw some sorry-looking early “Movember” experiments on a few upper lips. Some may have even shaved their legs.

At a local road race like the Fremont 5k’s start line, I’ll also be surrounded by current or past collegiate running bros, with their headbands and Bieber-hair and names like Tyler, but there are also a loooooot of normal people lined up behind me, with varying levels of running interest and speed, some maybe even bald, and I’ll find myself managing to finish 10th out of nearly 600 runners.

I feel certain that today I would easily defeat that guy in 2012 who got top-10 with a 16:59 in Fremont. But Sunday there I was, running a seemingly smart and close-to-ideal pace en route to a 35:34 10k. On Lower Woodland Park’s slow & relentlessly brutal course. A 10k PR. And….I’m rewarded with 30th place. Thirtieth. Out of 42 runners. I distinctly recall wrapping up the 3rd of five 2k loops (or maybe it was the 4th?) and noticing “Wow, it’s kinda sparse back there behind me.” And you notice the fans on the course starting to spread out again, their backs turned to you, having seen the front-pack guys go by and possessing negative interest in your physiological stress or whether you can hang on for top-30.

I joked to others about how I fully intended to finish “2nd to last” at the National Championships in Bend, OR in mid-December. That was and still is my end goal. Just toe that championship line with an SRC singlet covering my hairy chest, and try my darndest to not get last. Humbling, but in a way that’s good for a guy whose mother is usually flabbergasted that her bald son finished before most people in that local small-fry trail race.

Patrick, about 43 minutes after telling me he hated me, got 3rd to last on Sunday. I hope he doesn’t still hate me.

PNTF 2013 Results

Top image: Win Van Pelt

Tags Cross Country, PNTF, Race Reports

Cross Country Media

2013 PNTF Championships Images

Post author By Win Van Pelt
Post date November 5, 2013
1 Comment on 2013 PNTF Championships Images

Beautiful day with leaves flying, sun and warmth!!! Congratulations to those who raced!

-Win

Tags PNTF, race images

Cross Country Misc

A Thousand Words

Post author By Joe Creighton
Post date October 25, 2013

Is a picture worth a thousand words? “No, of course not, what a silly question,” is how you would surely answer, if I had the courage to speak to you face to face. It’s what I thought as well, until I saw a particular team photo. A recent SRC team photo. You can see it above. It is the Seattle Running Club mens team at the Emerald City Open. Lower Woodland Park, October 19th, 2013. I think there are a thousand words going on up there easily. It starts and ends though, for me, with irrepressible laughter. In a way it’s not fair of me. We’re still waiting for the big guns to fill out the rest of our roster. The Steidls, Crowthers, Boyds, Lavertys, Barkhauses, etc. This team is and will be much better than that day a week ago when I was its 2nd finisher. Most likely at the very next race, PNTFs, on November 3rd a the same venue.*

*(come out and run with us, or cheer us on!)

This is my first time running XC since high school, and I’m having a great time. I love SRC and everything we stand for. I love our colors. I love our logo. I love the multitudes of disciplines and interests you can find within our club. And it’s a fun thing, once again being part of a team. Lining up next a bunch of determined guys, patches of matching jerseys making up the start line’s rainbow. Everyone’s ready for that burn. You all suffer together. Afterward you find yourself accidentally cheering for Patrick Niemeyer as he comes down the home stretch, simply because he’s wearing the same blue singlet you are. The singlet bonds you to others, if only for a race. Team photos like the one above though, those bond you for life.

While chatting with Patrick, I asked if he’d help me describe the feeling of bemusement (and helplessness) I feel when looking at the photo. He was less than helpful.

So it’s on me then.

**********

Destry Johnson

We’ll start with the team’s leader this day. I have literally never made eye contact with Destry since meeting him 20 years ago and NOT seen this exact face. Coupled with his hair that is surely made of a special kind of plastic manufactured in China, I’m 25% sure he’s a robot. Is it legal under USATF rules to have a robot running for us? Let’s hope so because Destry Bot 3000 will always crush me and this team needs him.

Lance Thompson

Lance and I go way back. I’m proud to say he almost took me to prom one year. He’s a great runner and a nicer guy you’d be hard-pressed to find. That all said, Lance is looking more prepared for the JC Penney photoshoot he’s apparently got scheduled than he is for the impending 8k.

Mark Davies

I met Mark about 45 seconds before this photo, which should be obvious given his slumped shoulders and defeated expression. I’m confident Mark will more easily tolerate me as we get to know each other. If he’s reading this, this blog post is probably a good start!

Evan Williams

Evan has great hearing, as far as I know (which, well…I don’t know very much about Evan. But I’m pretty sure he’s not deaf), so I’m sure he heard Win’s call for a team picture. He must be distracted though by the dog just out of frame that, considering the look on Evan’s face, is defecating on an American flag while somehow flipping him the double bird.

Patrick Niemeyer

As you can see from his blurriness, Patrick was still getting into position for our photo. What you can’t see is the waft of B.O. gently passing by my nose seconds later 🙁

Guillermo Gallacher

Fresh from Argentina, Guillermo was a surprise new racer for us. In addition to running fast, it appears Guillermo is not wasting any time in his mission to put us all out of our misery and take out Patrick Niemeyer. Godspeed, Guillermo.

Cliff Richards

Cliff wasn’t our fastest male runner this day, but, despite what some people allegedly think of *my* age, he was definitely the oldest. To his credit though, he displays a wisdom I can only hope to obtain as I grow older: the ability to see trouble brewing before anybody else and wisely hide everything but his hat from Win’s camera. Well played Cliff, but I know that’s you.

??

Hopefully by this time a week from now I will, but at the moment I have no idea who this guy is. I do know he ran with Erik Barkhaus’ bib number, which it seems he’s putting on in the photo while hustling to the start line. So I suppose in the meantime I will refer to him as Erik. He did whip Patrick’s ass during the race, which makes him alright in my book.

Joe Creighton

“Win, can you wait 10 seconds so I can apply my fake tanner? No, you’re going to go ahead and take the photo anyway? Well just wait all I need is 4 secon–”

**********

The obvious first idea I had for this photo was to print it poster-size and hang it above my bed at home. That idea was nixed though by an unnamed party.

One idea was to perhaps milk this photo and get some free product out of the deal:

“I don’t know about you guys, but my favorite pre-race snack is a delicious ProBar™ and as you can see, my teammates agree! Thanks ProBar™! #Probar™ @PROBAR™. I also enjoy ProBars™ immediately after races and once in awhile during races! Thanks again ProBar™!”

That idea was a dead-end though; my letter was returned unopened. 😐

I thought our friendly “rivals” Club Northwest could perhaps use it as a promotional brochure:

It’s been four hours however and I’ve yet to hear back from them.

Finally, I just went with my first instinct upon seeing the pic. It took me over 1000 words to get to the point, but here it is:
SRC Bad News Bears

My brothers and I look like the Bad News Bears, and I couldn’t be prouder to be among them.

“And another thing (Club Northwest), just wait til next week!”
Timmy Lupus

Tags Club Northwest Advertisement, Cross Country, ProBar, team photos

Misc

The once and future ultrarunner

Post author By Greg Crowther
Post date October 25, 2013
1 Comment on The once and future ultrarunner

It’s been over three years since my last ultramarathon.

Since then, I’ve weathered an Achilles injury and surgery along with various non-running distractions, leaving me unsure as to whether I’d ever do another ultra. But now I’m sure. 2014, the 10th anniversary of my first race beyond 26.2 miles (the Cle Elum Ridge 50K, for anyone interested in such trivia), will also mark my return to such races.

My long-dormant interest in going long returned unexpectedly last month when I was in McCall, Idaho for a wedding. On a whim, I decided to circumnavigate Payette Lake, a distance of about 20 miles. Suddenly I was an ultrarunner again, at least in spirit — aching to go far rather than go fast, happily committing to a multi-hour journey and the attendant logistical challenges of refueling and bathroom stops. It was a satisfying outing, and there was no heel pain at the end, just the dull protests of overworked muscles.

I’ve since increased my long run to 29.5 miles, rediscovered the art of eating while in motion, and started picking races. My current plan is to do the Bridle Trails 50K in January and the Mad City 100K in April.

In returning to these sites of past success, I’ll need to manage my expectations carefully. Not only will I be slower than before, but the competition may be faster.

An example from a different race: when I won the JFK 50 Mile in 2009, my time of 5:50:13 was the 2nd-fastest in race history. In the past two years alone, four people have surpassed that: Michael Wardian (5:43), David Riddle (5:40 and 5:45), Trent Briney (5:37), and Max King (5:34!).

It would have been just about impossible for me to keep up with those guys when I was in my prime, so what chance would I have against them now? I’ve become — sigh — “a top masters runner,” rather than a top runner period.

Despite all of that, it will feel good to get out there, post some times, and then try to improve.

Cross Country Featured Media

Emerald City Open 2013 Images

Post author By Win Van Pelt
Post date October 21, 2013

It was foggy and cool. Perfect running weather. Congratulations and good job to everyone!

-Win

Beautiful day with leaves flying, sun and warmth!!! Congratulations to those who raced!

-Win

Tags Cross Country, images, race images

Race Reports

One Goal To Go

Post author By Travis Boyd
Post date October 20, 2013

My goal at the Chicago Marathon was to run 5:15 pace and finish under 2:18, in order to qualify for the Olympic Marathon Trials. I was actually right on pace and feeling good through 20 miles, but at mile 22 my calves started cramping up pretty bad, so I ended up hobbling through the last couple miles and finished in 2:19:56. Although I was disappointed that I fell a couple minutes short of the trials standard, I’m happy to run a four minute personal record and I look forward to taking another shot at the Trials standard next spring. I plan to race the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston in January, and since Baby Boyd #2 is due in mid-April, I’m thinking about doing a March marathon before our second is born. Which marathon, I have not yet decided.

As far as Cross Country, I plan to run the PNTF Championships at Woodland Park on November 3rd, and following that, the USATF Club National Championships in Bend, Oregon, on December 14th.

Happy running!

Ed. Note: Cool heavily-watermarked photos from Travis’ big day in Chicago, with interesting animated watermark effects on top of a beautiful blue SRC singlet, can be found here.

Tags Race Reports, Travis Boyd

Club News Race Reports

SRC Sweep at 2013 Labor Day Run

Post author By Seattle Running Club
Post date September 4, 2013

On Labor Day 2013, many Seattle Running Club runners took part in the very popular and competitive Labor Day Half Marathon in Redmond, Washington. SRC had a great showing, with the top 3 men all wearing the SRC singlet as well as Trisha Steidl taking the womens win in the 4 mile race.

Travis Boyd (pictured above) led the way with a 1:07:47 final time, followed closely by Uli Steidl (1:08:59) and Erik Barkhaus (1:09:53). Trisha’s 24:08 in the 4 mile race led all women by over 7 minutes and was 8th overall.

It was a great early-season showing as many of the club members are gearing up for a fast fall of cross country racing. If you yourself are interested in running XC with us, please feel free to come out to our team workouts on Wednesday evenings and introduce yourself! The more the merrier!

Labor Day Run Full Results
Labor Day Run Photos

Tags Labor Day Half, Race Reports

Club News Featured Race Reports

Cascade Crest 2013 – 100 Miler Lessons

Post author By Joe Creighton
Post date September 4, 2013

I don’t know if I’ll ever run a hundred miler. (Oh yes, I should mention up-front that despite the post title, *I* learned no lessons at Cascade Crest this year. At least not first hand. But bear with me.) I admit the allure of triple digits appeals to me, because unless you’re Yiannis Kouros, it’s pretty much the final frontier. And since the absurd idea of running 100 miles at a time first occurred to me a few years ago, I figured the most likely venue would be the central Cascades of this beautiful state (read: nearby) and the Cascade Crest 100.

That said, I bailed on a wimpy little 50 miler just over a month ago because I felt overwhelmed by the effort it would require, so who really knows how or when I’ll obtain the huevos to double that distance PR.

I do know that if I ever *do* get the courage, I have recently received three very thorough and entertaining guides on what I can expect. SRC members Martin Criminale, Angel Mathis, and Tim Mathis (no relation unless I’m wrong…? Win can you double check this before taking it live? And if they’re not married can you get me Angel’s phone number? Thanks! Also please delete this before taking live that would be embarrassing! ;p) all ran their very first hundred miler on August 24th, all at Cascade Crest, and all published imperative information for anyone wishing to do the same someday.

A lot can and will go wrong when you start talking about running for 20-30 hours in a row (or so I’ve heard). If you yourself are also weighing the risk/reward ratio for this ridiculous endeavor, I advise you to perhaps bookmark these three race reports, if not find a talented tattoo artist and have our SRC friends’ new wisdom permanently secured to your arm.

Martin’s Report (photos)

On Low Points
Everyone I talked to said, “Dude, it’s not if but when…” All that talk kind of scared me. Subsequently at the start I was trying to ’embrace the journey’ as they say and take on whatever was thrown at me. Mile 20 came and went, no low point. Mile 40, still no low point. Mile 54, no low point. Heck, on No Name Ridge at mile 80, STILL NO REAL LOW POINT. Then came the climb up to Thorpe Mountain (mile 83); without realizing it I was suddenly practically on my hands and knees. My power hike had turned into a survival hike and I had to stop twice to literally put my hands on my knees just to conserve strength.

Martin: “Oh man Luke… I am beat down.”
Luke: “You’re doing okay.”
Martin: “Feel. Very. Weak. How long has it been since I have eaten?”
Luke: “Back at the last aid station, about one hour.”
Martin: “Oops…”

That was when I had my first gel. And half a mile later when I got to the Thorpe Mountain aid station I had another. And a cup of Coke. I chased this with the contents of my last wrap and threw the tortilla into the trash. Sometimes you just need to do what works even though I knew it was the beginning of the end for my stomach. I guess I figured that making it through this bad patch and not being able to eat solid food for the remaining 15 miles was better than loosing an hour or more and only maybe getting back on the solid food. I think it was the right call.

Angel’s Report

After Aggie handed me and the tutu off to Alicia, we were on our way for a little bush wack and a treacherous stream crossing that on legs that had run 68 miles at 2:30 a.m. didn’t seem all that dependable. One of the first things Alicia said that I remember is “Check this shit out” as she flashed her brighter-than-the-sun flashlight. This made me laugh the moment she said it, surprised me when I saw how bright it was, and came as a great comfort to me later on the section of the trail known as the “trail from hell.” It has this reputation because it is extremely technical, has log crossings, a lot of rocks and roots to trip on and drops right off the side into a lake so if you trip, your life could be in danger. The race director, Rich white, reassured the runners that the only person who had ever fallen off and swam to safety was a person who littered on the trail. I was sure not to litter! I made a rookie mistake on this section of the trail and forgot to grab the spare set of batteries packed away with my crew. My lights were becoming dim, but with Alicia’s light, we had no worries except for the long shadow that cast from my feet covering the trail directly in front of me.

Tim’s Report

Even with a friend driving us back, the car ride back to Seattle was excruciating, with knee tendinitis bothering me more than at any point during the race, and muscles, realizing that they could relax, locking up and generally taking the opportunity to protest what I’d just subjected them too. We made it home though, and as I was showering Angel came in and announced that she’d finished making her “nest” – a pile of pillows on our bed surrounded by drinks, bags of chips and a lap top. “That’s where I’m going to spend the next day.” From the nest we ordered some Thai food, updated our Facebook statuses, and fell asleep at about 7:30. Today my legs are as sore as they’ve ever been, our house is still trashed with drop bags, and I can’t bring myself to do anything requiring physical exertion. But I’m happy, and pretty darn proud.

Pictured at top: Martin taking care of feet in the middle of the night, which I’ve heard is a popular ritual in hundred milers; Tim successfully finishing…also a popular ritual.

Tags Cascade Crest 100, Race Reports, wisdom

Featured Member Information Race Reports

Running El Camino

Post author By Tim Mathis
Post date August 28, 2013

On July 18th, my wife Angel Mathis and I (both proud SRC members!) completed a 4 week, 550 mile run from the Southwestern corner of France to the Atlantic coast in Spain on El Camino de Santiago – a 1200 year old pilgrimage and trade route. Along the way, we ate hundreds of pounds of tapas, ran a bunch of marathons and a couple of ultras, and met interesting people from all over the world, including: a Scottish runner who did 80 miles in one day and used the Camino to complete 20 marathons in 18 days, a family who walked across France and Spain with two infants and a donkey, and a bunch of Eastern Europeans walking 50 kilometers a day.

My wife wrote about her experiences here.

I did the same here as well as about preparing for the adventure.

[edited to add: it took us awhile to get this live, so please also enjoy Angel & Tim’s much more recent respective recaps of running their very first 100 mile race this past weekend at Cascade Crest!]

Tags El Camino, Tapas