Kicking off 2015 - Crystal Springs 50k

Finishing the Crystal Springs 50k

It's been a while since I felt fit and fast thanks to my stress fracture last year, but I'm just about getting there again...just in time for Rocky Raccoon 100 at the end of January. I find that a marathon or faster 50k is a great way to test fitness, ideally three to four weeks before a target race. So I ran the Crystal Springs 50k again this year, just like I did last year before Rocky Raccoon. Thanks to a wrong turn on the way back I had 3 mins added to my finish time (I accidentally shaved off 0.3 miles taking the marathon turn-off on my return instead of back-tracking the full orange ultra route - see the difference here and I think that's very fair of the RD). Full results here.

There are so many races and trails in the Bay Area that the number of races to choose from is almost overwhelming. However, the plus side is that every single local trail race I've ever done here is excellent so it's difficult to make a bad choice. Crystal Springs is a flatter, faster 50k with only 4,500ft of elevation gain and it's a typically pretty course for this area too - check out Scott Dunlap's photos from the weekend here. I managed to high five him along the way and he's also preparing for Rocky Raccoon (where he has a very good chance of becoming the USATF National Champion for 100 miles).

I also want to take advantage of the local races before heading back to Bend, OR, in April for a more permanent base. In the five years I've lived in the US I've been in the Bay Area 50% of the time and Oregon the other 50%. I can't think of anywhere I'd rather live.

Bring on 2015, especially with my new kicks from Altra which feel so good. Am looking forward to running 100-milers in them (the Lone Peaks), since that's the real test.

Gear:
Altra Lone Peak 2.0 shoes
UltrAspire Isometric water bottle
UVU technical T-shirt
Drymax Maximum Protection Trail socks
Julbo Venturi shades
Clif Bar gels and Shot Bloks

Crystal Springs 50k

There are a lot of trail races in the Bay Area in California. I'd be surprised if it doesn't have the greatest concentration of ultras in the world, plus many of those events have shorter distance options too so the whole family can get involved.

I've not lived in California for that long overall, just a year and a half in total over two stints, but I've been able to discover a lot of trails thanks to these races. At the least there's Brazen Racing, Inside Trails, PCTR and Coastal Trail Runs putting on these excellent events, but it was the latter that organized the Crystal Springs 50k in Woodside last weekend.

Trails over on the West Coast are sometimes described (by hardcore mountain runners) as too gentle, with too many switch-backs and too much grooming. As well as the really tough stuff, I enjoy these beautiful routes which often with vast miles of single-track. It's fun to have fast trails where you can hurtle along at break-neck speed, only to do a 180 again and again on the switch-backs.

This race didn't disappoint and it reminded me of some of the East Bay hills around Oakland. Towering redwoods covered most of the course with virtually no mud due to the current drought conditions in and around the area. Nothing too steep to be unrunnable and almost the opposite of a Skyrunning-style of course with just 4,500ft of ascent, but variety is one thing that makes running interesting.

Congrats to all the runners from the 5 mile race up to the 50k - full results here. I was very happy with 3:39 to take a few mins off the course record. Overall, an ideal pre-race tune-up for Rocky Raccoon 100 in three weeks. Strava file here.

Gear:
Scott Kinabalu T2s
Julbo Dust Shades
Drymax Max Protection Trail Socks
UltrAspire Isometric Pocket 20oz Bottle
Clif Bar Shot Gels