Have you ever watched those crazy motorcyclists on ESPN do SuperMoto, where they transition from screaming fast pavement to 30' dirt jumps on the same track? Looks like the Sea Otter Classic folks are bringing the same idea to trail running.
At the Infineon Cougar Mountain Classic (the new end-of-season outdoor celebration to bookend the March Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA) held on September 9-11, a 15k road/off-road race has been added, complete with a pro purse of $2,500. The road/trail race is part of an ever-expanding weekend of outdoor activities that also includes road cycling, mountain biking, cyclocross, and bike swap meet.
The course takes place at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA, and will have 4 miles of pavement, followed by 5 miles of trail (fire roads and single track), and finish up with a 1/2 mile sprint on asphalt back into the main arena. I've hit the steep trails up around Infineon, so I can imagine this poses the ultimate shoe choice dilemma (blisters from running downhill in road flats, or blisters from running asphalt in trail shoes?). One thing for sure, sounds FAAAST! If anybody is planning on doing it, let me know how it goes. I bet it will be fun.
- SD
Hi, Scott, This is not in response to your last post, but it's the only way I had of contacting you, and I've done that at Eric Gould's suggestion.
ReplyDeleteWould you be willing to post the following on your blog? If it is going out automatically, I hope you won't mind. If not, I would appreciate your help very much. Thanks.
Sharlene Wills.
Hi, Bizz Johnson Marathoners,
If any of you did this beautiful race last year, you may have blown by me on your way to the finish. I am a blind runner/walker, and I'm looking for one
or two guides for this year's race. I hope to finish in around six to six-and-a-half hours (and maybe just a little better, if I can get my altitude training
in). I would be walking quite a bit, but I can run on the fire road, as well, especially the downhill portions. I am an experienced marathoner and have
done several ultras, as well. Guiding on this course would not require much more than helping me at the aid stations in getting snacks and/or drinks and
occasionally telling me about rough road or turns that come up. You would be linked to me via a small rope with carbiners at either end for us to hold.
I prefer to have the guide on my left. I do like to chat, especially on a course with so much beauty. There is only one very small stretch of the course
(at least it was there last year) that would require a little more verbal navigation: namely, a point, pretty late in the race, where a bridge has been
washed out, and the course is diverted. Even this small stretch, however, is not very technical and, if taken slowly, should not present a potential guide
with much difficulty.
If anyone is interested and/or willing to help me out, I would be very, very appreciative. You can email me directly at:
tenagra@sbcglobal.net
Please don't hesitate to ask any question, no matter how "silly" or "uninformed" it might appear to be to you. I am not sensitive about being totally blind
and will do my best to assuage any fears or hesitancy you might have.
My only emphatic point is that I am no longer very fast (I once could run a sub-five-hour marathon quite consistently, but not now. So, if you volunteer,
you'll need to reckon on being out there for six-plus hours with a 56-year-old woman. I always hope to be faster, but there is no guarantee. I have recently
completed the San Francisco Marathon in just over 6.5 hours, and that is a fairly hilly road race.
Thank you in advance for any help you can give.
Good luck to everyone, and enjoy this most spectacular event.
Sincerely,
Sharlene Wills.