Category: Trail Running
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Hood to Coast 2017
Recently, I undertook the physical challenge of running Hood to Coast, a 12-person 199-mile relay from Mt. Hood, Oregon to the Pacific Coast, with the Building Champions team. Physical challenges like this are a genre of leadership development (through extremis) programs. Benefits from breaking a sweat with others include increasing confidence in your ability, learning…
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I Know This Place
I heard someone once say that they had to run a place before they “knew” it. At first, I snorted, thinking this was overwrought but today, I compared that pronouncement to my experience during my run through Rancho San Antonio park. Parking is always a hassle so I go in a back way following the…
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Meditative Motion
I walk to lunch during the week out of necessity and trail run on the weekend out of joy to allow space and time to catch a glimpse of what I think. And to stand back and peer closer to see what I think about what I think. It’s time to listen to myself, and sometimes…
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Winding Up Windy Hill
Over the past 2 years, several people told me I’d enjoy Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. I finally made it there! And they were right. The first weekend, I ran up Meadow Trail to Skyline, across Anniversary and Lost Trail, and down Razorback Ridge (about 11 miles). This weekend I ran up Hamm’s Gulch, across…
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Running Wonders at Ed Levin Park
I visited Ed Levin Park for the first time yesterday and as the moist fog cleared, a scumbled landscape appeared. This park was crazy beautiful. Tularcitos and Aqua Caliente Trails leading to Monument Peak were steep and passed two launch sites for paragliders and hang gliders. A free range Charolais bull blocked the trail but there…
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Bridge Cathedral
On a recent misty morning, I went for a run to scout the East side of the Fremont Bridge for a photo shoot. What I found in the fog was yes, a bridge, but also a soaring cathedral, full of skyward arches and graceful lines. Made of cement not stone so a modern day church,…
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Take the Overgrown Path
The path was overgrown but there were horse hoof prints in the mud. Which meant this could be a trail. I followed it and discovered some closer views of something I’ve only seen from afar before. A power substation: It’s odd to me how the trails run so close to and even right under the…
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3 Lessons from Trail Running
1. Not every race (substitute your noun here) is a good one. Some you are just happy to have gotten through. The accomplishment is getting out there and moving. You got out there, you got in there, and that counts. 2. Not every season is a good one. Sometimes it’s not just one race or…
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When Things Change
For a few weeks in the fall my running schedule and shorter days made it possible to see some glorious sunrises: The colors were amazing and I was stunned into stopping, filled with awe. Not all days have been so vividly colorful. Daylight savings meant getting up later in the sun’s path through the day. But the weather also…
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Road to Trail Running Convert
Last December I decided to shift from road running to trail running because I like exploring outdoors and wanted more adventure. Trail running means hills. I started with the flattest trails I could find in Arastradero Open Space Preserve. Even these shallow grades made me gasp despite my relative fitness on the flats. But the…
