Ten Years at the Zane Grey 50 Mile Endurance Run

Number 10 finishes his tenth!

In 1998 I ran my first Zane Grey 50 Mile.  I chased Scott Jurek and Brandon Sybrowsky over the most rugged trail I had ever seen.  I made wrong turns, ran out of water, and finished as a crumpled mess.  Even to this day Zane remains the toughest 50 miler I've ever run.  I'd return nine more times just to do it all again.  During those subsequent years I'd see the course in reverse, win a few, set a course record, run too fast, run too slow, be followed by a naked pacer, run through snow, water and mud, be eaten by briers, manzanita, and rocks, laugh, cry, curse, and stumble.  Here's to another ten!  Full 2012 Zane Results can be found here.

Thanks to Justin Lutick, Scott Livingston, Jay Danek and Meghan Powers for the following photography.

Missy Gosney, Justin Lutick, Karl Meltzer, and Brett Gosney enjoy pre-race beverages the evening before.

Another dark start at Zane.  Meltzer, Joe Grant, Justin, and Torrence with lights.

Meltzer rolls into Washington Park (mile 17).

Lutick commented, "The Zane Train is rolling into the station."  Rhet Stinson leads Torrence, Lutick, and Jay Danek into Washington Park.

Crossing Webber Creek.

Still got smiles.

Brian Tinder applies lube and smacks on the ass at Fish Hatchery Aid Station (mile 33).

Meltzer gets watered at See Canyon (mile 44).

Paulette Zillmer wins with the 8th fastest time ever:  10:13:07.

Diane Finkel rolls into See Canyon.  She ends the day placing second and winning the master's title.

Torrence and Kyle Hills get help at See Canyon.  Liz Davis and Scott Bajer from Flagstaff look on.

Evidence of the tenth finish.

Post race pizza and brew never tasted so good.

Your Moment of Zen

Assuming the position.  When the dust settles, all the talk is done, the heart rate calms, and the neuroses are laid to rest you are simply boiled down to what remains:  A very hungry and tired lump of useless flesh.

West Clear Creek Wilderness

West Clear Creek Wilderness is located just east of Camp Verde in northern Arizona.  It's often trumped in popularity to the smaller wilderness areas that sit directly north (Wet Beaver Wilderness) and to it's south (Fossil Springs Wilderness) that are more accessible to the public.  West Clear Creek drains a large portion of the 200 mile long Mogollon Rim.  The wilderness area runs the length of the creek's canyon for approximately 20 miles, but rarely spans more than a mile across.  The US Forest Service dubs this canyon as one of the most rugged and remote canyons in northern Arizona...that's saying a lot since the Grand Canyon is also found in northern AZ.  The West Clear Creek Canyon is punctuated with towering cliffs that rise 1,000' to 1,500' from  its valley floor.  Due to this dramatic change in topography and east-west canyon orientation one can find very diverse ecosystems in very close proximity.  The perennial stream bottom gives life to cottonwood, willow, wild grape, walnut, sycamore, and my favorite, poison ivy while the slopes above give way to juniper, pinion, mesquite, catclaw, hackberry, scrub oak, ocotillo, and prickly pear.

Conveniently, the West Clear Creek Trail enters the western end of the wilderness area and follows the fast flowing stream for almost six miles before leaving the gorge bottom and climbing to the rim above.  By using Forest Service Road 214 (Cedar Flat Road) and the Blodgett Basin Trail a very scenic 14-mile loop can be made experiencing all the intimate layers this wildness provides.  Here's a photo tour of that epic loop.

A carpet of desert marigolds in bloom.

A map of this loop and its surrounding area.

Single track and sycamores.

West Clear Creek rolls over red sandstone.

The trail meanders through the riparian area.

A ribbon of green in the desert.

The upper slopes.

A river runs through it.  Crossing it four times was a definite highlight!

Cliffs of color.

Looking down into West Clear Creek from above.

Single track on the rim.

Zoroaster takes a break on Forest Road 214.

Running the road above the rim.

Blodgett Basin Trailhead and target practice.

Descending back into West Clear Creek Canyon.

Another view of the green river from Blodgett Basin.

Ocotillo in bloom and the "mouth" of West Clear Creek Canyon.

Your Moment of Zen

After a run like that Zoroaster agrees, "It's time for bed!"

Your Bag of Tricks: Essential Elements of Successful Ultramarathon Training

Kicking off a new, monthly training column on the iRunFar.com web site; the go-to site for everything trail and ultrarunning related.

Point and click here to read this first installment:  Your Bag of Tricks: Essential Elements of Successful Ultramarathon Training.

Williams, Oregon

I've talked about Williams here before.  This time around, while visiting my father in southern Oregon, I took some video footage of the local trail system.  The snow level was still pretty low this time of year so much of the expansive high country was inaccessible.


Watch more videos on Flotrail

2012 Chuckanut 50K

I was due for a trip back to the Pacific Northwest.  It was time to dump the desert sand from my shoes and replace it with some green moss, run in the mud and rain, slip around uncontrollably, and see some old friends.  The invitation to the 20th anniversary of the Chuckanut 50K was irresistible.  With roughly 550 runners finishing, 11 of those under 4 hours, and 80 under 5 hours this had to be one of the fastest and largest trail 50K's ever run on North American soil.  Congratulations and kudos to Krissy Moehl and Ellen Parker for putting together a successful event.  I'll let Bryon Powell do the talking:  Here's his excellent race summary over on iRunFar.

Get full results here.

As usual, here's my summary in photos...Enjoy!

Finishing Chuck in 2005 in 9th place in 4:14.  Seven years later I'd end up in 65th place in 4:51. (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

The 2012 race begins.  (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

The first and last six miles on the Interurban Trail (photo courtesy of City of Bellingham)

(l to r) Mike Wolfe, Max King, and Adam Campbell (the 2012 Chuckanut overall winner).  (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

Classic Hal Koerner on his way to the party. (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

Pearl Izumi teammate Scott Jamie rolls on the Interurban and finishes in 4:08. (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

Fragrance Lake, roughly nine miles into the race. (photo courtesy of the Washington Trails Association)

On my way down the Two Dollar Trail from Fragrance Lake to Cleator Road. (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

Ellie Greenwood wins the 2012 Chuckanut 50K in course record time, 4:09. (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

It was a pleasure to spend some trail time with Canadian Ryne Melcher. (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

The view from on top. (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

A glimpse of race day's trail conditions on the Chuckanut Ridge Trail, roughly mile 13. (Photo by Bryon Powell)

A good look at the Chuckanut Ridge Trail without the ice and snow.

North Lost Lake Trail on a warmer, drier day. (photo courtesy of the Washington Trails Association)

What Lost Lake (roughly mile 18) looks like on a sunny day had I looked to my left and hadn't had the fear of slipping and falling in the deep mud here.  (photo courtesy of the Washington Trails Association)

Starting up Chinscraper, mile 21. (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

  

Not afraid to use my hands. (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

Up, up... (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

  

...and away! (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

Pearl Izumi's Tim Olson, who finished 11th overall, runs up Chinscraper. (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

US Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier Sage Canaday (2nd place finisher) finds Chinscaper a little slippery. (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

Dave Mackey (7th place) does Chinscraper in one giant step. (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

Fellow Flagstaffian Sara Wagner wins the Women's Masters Division. (photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

 Your Moment of Zen

Fun with Interviews...