2007 Memorial Day Fun

Hello again from San Francisco,
The weather is seasonably cold out here, which is to be expected. It was Mark Twain who once claimed the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. While that doesn’t always make for good training for the Western States 100 in the Sierras or the Badwater, it does make for an unpredictable summer, which is exactly how I like it.

Memorial Day Weekend was a time of training, volunteering and just enjoying the time off. For most marathoners and ultramarathoners, the hardest part is finding balance in one’s life. So, although I could’ve been at the Western States 100 training camp Saturday through Monday, I chose to only go Sunday. I spent Saturday in Napa tasting some wine and taking a train up to St. Helena. My dad grew up in Napa and my aunt lives in Napa, so it was a bit of a family history trip. As the designated driver, I kept my wine consumption to a minimum. I also didn’t want to adversely affect my training so far. Overall, it was a nice day around 80 degrees with clear skies overhead. The wind kicked up a little bit, but not enough to put a damper on a good day.

Sunday, I spent the day at the Western States training camp in Forrest Hill, CA. It’s about 15 miles east of Auburn tucked neatly into the surrounding forest. I ended up with about 21 miles worth of running on the race course that we’ll be on during the WS100, winding from Forrest Hill to Rucky Chuck. The most impressive part of the run was being on the hillside overlooking the Truckee river. We had the best views of the canyon below; I will post the pictures when I get them. It was a picture perfect day to go for a stroll through the Sierras.

Finished off the weekend volunteering at the Tamalpa Runners’ Marin Memorial Day Races at College of Marin in Kentfield, CA. I did all the miscellaneous stuff, from helping the announcer, preparing post-race goodie bags, and clean-up at the end. With about 700 competitors in the 2.5 mile and the 10k, as well as the kids races, there were a lot of people to account for. It always amazes me when the under-10 years old kids finish the 10k, with an overabundance of energy. Makes you wonder what we’re all capable of, in all facets of our lives. I was impressed with the number of volunteers that they had out there helping. Anytime you put on an event that big, organization is the key. I could probably learn a few tricks, if only so I can apply them to my crews at my other races. I’m off to San Diego for the Rock N’ Roll Marathon this weekend as well as a trip to the Injinji headquarters to visit with my sponsor. Road trips only mean one thing; long drives, good food (relatively speaking), and a great race. I’m hoping for a great race on Sunday.

Take care, stay strong, and keep movin’.
God bless, Gundy