Get aboard the pain train

Running Gear

2012-01-27T19:50:00.000-08:00

When I decided to sign up for the Plain 100 miler I entered some new territory. As much as I'm excited for the adventure that lies ahead, I realized that this was going to be different than any other run I've done to date. Usually most of the training runs and races I do all you need is a couple of water bottles and you're good to go. Well now I've got to figure out the best way to carry my own aid for this journey

So for Christmas Jolene and Mason got me the Camelbak Highwire 25. So far I love this pack comfy with lots of room. Then a couple weeks ago I'm complaining about my new headlamp not being to terrific and lo and behold Eric and Kellie Jensen give me a new headlamp that is pretty much the cat's meow! I've never met more generous people in my life. You guys are too nice,there should be more people in the world like you guys!

Now I'm collecting gear and wondering if it will be enough to get me to the finish line this September. That's when I came across maybe the most well thought out piece of gear ever. I think it's going to change the running world forever!

I've heard that you're supposed to visualize yourself succeeding at what you want to accomplish. All I can think of now is crossing the finish line at the Plain 100 with my Jog Strap flappin' in the wind. It's gonna be a dream come true!

THE LESS I HAVE THE MORE I GAIN

2012-01-18T21:04:00.000-08:00

That comes from the Metallica song wherever I may roam. I really like that saying,it's so true. I tend to forget that most of the time though.

YEE-HAW!

2012-01-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

It's official, I'm an idiot. After just barley finishing Cascade Crest 100, I'm now signed up for an even harder race in Plain. Here's hoping everyone has a great 2012 and accomplishes all their goals!

2012 Plain - Registered Entrants

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Leavenworth , WA
September 8, 2012
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Rank	Age Rank	Results	First	Last	City	State	Age	Gender	Finishes
98.44 %	99.54 %	85	Beverley	Anderson-Abbs	Red Bluff	CA	48	F	1	Beverley Anderson-Abbs' Results
84.27 %	83.95 %	84	Alan	Abbs	Red Bluff	CA	42	M	1	Alan Abbs' Results
80.82 %	75.49 %	29	William	Swint	Aumsville	OR	39	M		William Swint's Results
70.49 %	79.94 %	15	Denis	Cook	Chapel Hill	NC	29	M		Denis Cook's Results
66.55 %	68.59 %	38	Scott	Martin	Portland	OR	40	M		Scott Martin's Results

Who's Ready To Get In The Best Shape Of Your Life?

2011-12-30T18:18:00.000-08:00

Here's a little New Year's gift from me to you!

Hillbilly Fever!

2011-12-22T22:24:00.000-08:00

Running in Place?

2011-12-17T23:20:00.000-08:00

I'm A White Boy

2011-12-05T21:42:00.001-08:00

Shellburg Falls Race

2011-12-03T14:39:00.001-08:00

The video above is Eb Englemann one of my running hero's and possibly one of the coolest people on the planet.

Jason,John A. and John M. gettin' ready to do battle

This marked the third year for the Shellburg Falls Trail race. As always Gary and Shandi Terlecki did an awesome job organizing the race. With my knee injury I had to miss the run, but had a lot of fun cheering and taking pictures. I didn't realize until I got home I must have cheered too much,because I didn't get many pictures. It always inspires me to see all the people in the race, from the front runners to the folks who aren't front runners. Congratulations to every one who finished a tough course on a perfect day! Special congratulations to Spike Rosling for kickin' ass and taking initials, he was going too fast to get any names!

Gary giving last minute instructions

1st and 2nd place the only guys to run up the mountain bike hill!

Will I Make It ?

2011-11-30T18:41:00.001-08:00

After healing from one knee injury (right) now I have another (left). It's been so long now since I've run consistently,I'm wondering if I'll ever be the same. I know it's only been a couple months for me, but I'm really feeling my homie Eric Jensen's pain right now. How long has it been for you Eric? Every time I want to feel sorry for myself,I think of you.

So for now I just think about where I really want to get some day. The Barkley Marathons! Baby steps.

Here's a list of goals, hopefully I can accomplish a few of them.
1. Get healed up and healthy.
2. Enjoy every second God gives me the ability to run.
3. Train with a fire inside me that can't be put out.
4. When I get to race again, don't race like a CANDY ASS

Snake River Elk Hunt

2011-11-17T19:30:00.001-08:00

John Asman,Jason Nixon and I drew Snake River rifle tags. We were pretty excited going in and wasn't disappointed! Three bulls killed in the first two hours of the season. Then the better part of two days packing them out. Good times.

Get Aboard The Plain Train?

On the running front,it's been slow go. After taking planned time off from running,I got to take some forced time off,with a bum knee. Now it's just dealing with being out of shape. Right now I am FAT & SASSY! As much as I would love to put my name into the Western States lottery,there are just some factors that I'm not sure I'd be able to work out if chosen. Believe me I'm hashing this over,I've still got a few days to make a final decision. Besides THIS looks real interesting to me!

To the edge and back

2011-10-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes all that is left is to finish what we start no matter how ugly it gets.

I have always believed that if we reach all of our goals we aren’t setting them high enough.

To this day I am not happy that I finished but I am very proud that I didn’t quit. That may sound like a contradiction but I am just trying to be honest. A runner once told me you don’t know who you are until you run a 100 mile race. Now that it is over I can’t say I know who I am any more than I did. I can say however, that it did test what I thought I knew about myself to the core. It took me to the edge of my beliefs and I am happy that I did not fall off. - Matt Carpenter

Read Matt Carpenter's 2004 Leadville race report if you want to know the meaning of badass.

http://www.skyrunner.com/story/2004lt100.htm

Looking For A Coach ?

2011-10-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking for a few years now that I would like to find a running coach to see if that would take me to the next level. The problem is where do you find a good coach? Well after hours and hours of research I've narrowed it down to two coaches! Let the battle begin.

The first coach I'm considering is Sean Meissner.

Pro's for having Sean as a coach.

1. Sean is super fast and has been doing this for a long time.
2. Sean is enthusiastic about running and life.
3. Everybody loves Sean.

Con's for having Sean as a coach.

1. It would be hard to take orders from someone 5'1'' tall and 98 lbs.
2. Sean is a complete wuss when it comes to scrambles. How can I take advice from someone who I'm 2 - 0 against in scrambles?
3. I've got a running crush on Sean and I'm not sure it wouldn't affect our working realationship.

The second coach is Spike Rosling.

Pro's for having Mike as a coach.

1. That sweet ass mustache.If that thing doesn't say I'm a coach I don't know what does!
2. No nonsense attitude. Nothing will be half assed on Mike's watch.
3. Results! Ask Roger,Gene, Eric,Tonya,or Kristen. You step into Mike's dojo and you'll never be the same.

Con's for having Mike as a coach.

1. I'm a little scared of Mike.
2. The scramble thing again. I won't say Mike runs them like a wuss,but he's only beat me at one scramble.
3. The mustache. Nothing says I'm a 70's Porn Star like the stache!

So you see I have a real tough choice here. What do I do? Comments welcome.

Maybe we should get them in the ring and see if this happens

Cascade Crest 100

2011-09-08T22:32:00.000-07:00

First of all I would have never been able to do this without the help of my crew/pacers Jason and Kane Nixon and Spike Rosling! Also my wife Jolene and my son Mason,deserve all the credit in the world for sacrificing to allow me to follow my dream of running a 100 miler.

Cascade Crest ended up being everything I had wanted in a run. Beautiful,rugged and 100 miles. I've wanted to run a 100 for a few years now,but felt like I needed to pay my dues first.I felt like the dues had been paid,so it was time to go for it!

The race started on a warm,beautiful morning. Right of the bat things didn't feel like they should. It seemed like I was laboring more than I should have been. This didn't really worry me though,as I've always been kind of a slow starter. As we got into the climb up Goat Peak my lower back was killing me.I felt this in a training run a few weeks prior at Dome Rock and I have to admit,it really got me down. Thoughts started to creep into my mind about not being able to finish if my back was going to feel like this. Five miles in and I was already thinking about dropping,awesome! As much as my back was getting me down the views from the course where picking me up!

I made it to the top of Goat Peak and the pain in my back let up some. I kept waiting to find a groove but it just wasn't coming.My fueling was alright,but for some reason I was feeling dizzy and had what felt like no energy.I made it to Tacoma Pass mile 23 and I was a wreck. I had to sit down just to get myself together. I felt particularly bad for my wife and son. This was the first ultra they had been to and I was falling apart. My crew did an awesome job of tending to my every need.

After I left Tacoma Pass about a half mile later I truthfully thought about turning around and going back. Then I thought about everyone who had put so much time into this and was there to support me and I felt ashamed.I plugged on and actually started feeling better. It was weird, I would feel better and then hit the lowest of lows. I was fueling every 30 minutes and my stomach felt fine, just a lack of energy.

On the next section I got a chance to run with Frank for a while which was nice.I always seem to have a good conversation with Frank,he's a good guy. I have to say going down the ropes section might be one of the craziest things I've ever done in a race! Going through the tunnel wasn't as spooky as I thought it would be.There where a few times when I swore some one was behind me,to turn around to find no one there. When I left the tunnel I missed a turn and kept running for quite a while before I realized it had been too long without seeing a marker. I would like to say I was off course for about 4 hours and 48 minutes, but it was really only maybe 10-15 minutes. It kind of let the wind out of my sails a bit.

I made it to Hyak aid station excited to pick up Jason to pace for 15 miles.It was great to have some company.I just wish Jason would have gotten to run in the daylight to get to enjoy some of the views.Jason did an awesome job of keeping me moving,but understanding that things weren't going my way and not trying to push to hard. The time with Jason passed pretty quickly.

At mile 68 I picked up Spike Rosling to pace me to the finish.I was scared of Mike,because I pushed him real hard at Western States and I knew I had some payback coming.We started off on the "trail from hell" and at first I felt like things were coming around.This might have been the best I felt all day.It had finally cooled off and it seemed I had a little energy.The Hell Trail was right up my alley,scrambling over logs and cool stuff like that. Well some where on this section things went bad,real bad.I've never puked in an ultra,even though I wish I could sometimes. All of the sudden I needed to puke,I got down on my hands and knees and tried to let it rip. Nothing would come out! This sucked,I knew it would feel good to start over. From here I realized it was going to take everything I had to finish.

One nice thing about being out there for so long was I got to spend a lot more time with my good buddy Mike.I got a feeling he wasn't as happy about that as you would think. I bitched and complained and moaned and even cried,on the inside. Being the guy Mike is he just listened and tried to make me feel better. It was really strange, parts of me hurt that I didn't even know could hurt.Because of me being completely coo-coo,when the sun came up I thought thank God this is almost over. Yeah if almost over means like 9 more hours.I was trippin balls! At least we had the views back.
From here I would like to tell you I manned up and heroically ran to the finish.Death March would be more like it.It was funny at one of the aid stations in the middle of the night I heard a guy tell his wife it was going to be a death march to the finish.At the time I felt really bad for this fellow.I didn't feel so bad for him when his death march blew right by my death march some where in the last 12 miles.I really need to work on my death march.

I finished in 28:47:55. I know for your first 100 you are supposed to say I just want to finish,well that's true,but I wanted to finish better than this. Am I allowed to say that? I don't want to sound like a jerk,but I know I can do better than this. I loved everything about this run,except how I felt out there.Thank you to Jolene,Mason,Jason, Kane and Mike. I would have never made it to the finish without you. Big thanks to Gaby for the pictures. Also thank you to the race director and all the fine volunteers,one of the best races ever.Thank you to the course for whipping me into submission,I have a feeling we'll meet again!

I think this picture sums up the day perfectly. Pleasure and Pain baby!

I Think I Understand

2011-08-29T12:26:00.001-07:00

"On a good day, running 100 miles is fucking hard. Period. On a bad day, it's borderline impossible" - Anton Krupicka
When I read this quote a couple years ago I thought it was great. Now after finishing my first 100 miler, it has a differnt meaning to me.

Looking For A Mountain

2011-08-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

Six days to go till Cascade Crest 100! I feel rested and ready to go. I'm excited to see the tunnel is back.

I love this Hank III song, I feel like it realates to me. I hope it's stuck in my head next Saturday

Let's Do This

2011-08-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

Thirteen days to go till my first 100 miler. Not sure if I'm ready or not,as I know I've been better trained for shorter runs than I am right now. It is what it is. The last five years I've dreamed of running a 100 and now with just a few more days left I'm nervous as Hell and excited at the same time, It's a strange feeling.

I didn't write anything about PCT 50,so here it is short and sweet. Todd Janssen does a great job organizing,if you want to run a race that you know will be well marked and have every detail right run one of Todd's! I felt like I ran well and had fun. Congratulations to Spike Rosling for running a p.r. only a month after Western States 100 and to Roger Mckay for tackling his first 50 miler, great job guys!

After Cascade Crest 100 I'll be looking forward to hunting season. Can't wait to get back to The Snake River! Here's some pictures of our trip last year. John Asman killed this big seven point bull! John also just finished his first marathon at Crater Lake. If you didn't already know, yeah John's a Badass!

How Bad Do You Want It?

2011-07-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

Cam Hanes is on my all-time list of badasses. Cam lives to bow hunt and prepares himself to be ready for hunting rugged back country hunts. Checkout the picture below and see just how bad Cam wants to have success!

What have you done lately?

Mike Rosling B.M.F.

2011-07-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I paced my good friend Mike Rosling the last 38 miles of the Western States 100 miler. I had been looking forward to this since Mike won the raffle last year. I had a great time pacing Cam Hanes last year, but this was going to be different. You see Mike is one of the best friends I've ever had,I consider him to be like a brother and I know my life is better for having known him. I remember as a kid my Mom told me that my Grandpa always said if you get one true friend in life consider yourself lucky. Well I'm double lucky as Mike and Jason Nixon are two people I know I can count on to really be there when I need them.

To be a part of Mike's first 100 miler was a privilege. Mike is one of those special individuals that seem to posses the right combination of everything you would want in a person. He has brains,balls and heart,he is a badass, but lets his actions do the talking. Mike's parents did thier job!

As far as the pacing goes, I had a blast! There is something about running all night with a friend that's awesome. I told Mike a few weeks back that for one day we could switch roles and I wouldn't complain and he could complain all he wanted. It's just not in him,not one complaint the whole time. He was soild to the point I really believe I didn't need to be there. And true to Mike's form he gave everything he had,he doesn't half-ass anything! I'm just glad he let me witness it,thanks Mike!

Equally impressive is Mike's family, Tonya,Will,Ella and Audrey. They supported Mike and made it possible for him to fulfill a dream. It was one of the best things I've ever seen, 4:27 a.m. and the whole family crossing the finish line! Great job team Rosling!

Why Do You Hurt Me When I Love You?

2011-06-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

First trip up Whetstone Mt. today. Wow,I don't remember it being that hard! On the way up I kept thinking I love you, why won't you love me back? I cussed,thought evil thoughts,even tried going to my happy place. Nothing helped I was in misery. Just when I almost thought that I hated you, I got to the top. A picture perfect day and an awesome view. You do love me,you just have to hurt me to prove it.

Hopefully as the summer goes on I will summit Whetstone many more times,I just hope it's less painful each time.

Fuel For My Fire

2011-05-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

"William, remember when you used to be as fast as Mike Luvin ?" - Ken Ward

Ran today at Rooster Rock outside of Sweet Home. Someone in our group remarked How well Mike was running and this is what Ken had to say about it. Well Ken I'm sure you were just making a joke,but it kind of sparked something inside of me. Thanks in advance Ken, I'll be thinking about this over the next three months as I'm training for Cascade Crest 100.

Number 5

2011-05-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

This year marked the fifth time I've run the Mac 50k. It was my second slowest time,but maybe the most fun I've had. My legs felt heavy from the get go,so I just decided to take what the day gave me, instead of trying to force it. It was great to have Eric,Roger,and Gene out cheering us on. Thanks for the support. Next year I would like to see you guys on the starting line!

One of the positives of this race was I kicked Sean's ass (as you can see in one of the pictures) for the first time in an Ultra. He was pacing his sister April to finishing her first 50k (yeah the Mac as your first 50k,bad ass!) but I'll take it. How that ass kickin' feel buddy?

I'm looking forward to a summer of more great runs. The one I think I'm most excited about is pacing Spike Rosling at Western States. It's gonna be awesome!

Thanks to Eric Jensen for the pictures.

Hell Raisin

2011-04-02T10:57:00.000-07:00

After partying with Spike Rosling and Jason Nixon last Saturday night I realized it had been a long time since I'd raised any Hell. We hit it hard and partied our asses off. Good time for sure. I'd like to dedicate Johnny Paycheck's song to Spike he turned the dial to 11! I would also like him to learn the words to this song so I can request it at the next Karaoke Jam.

Dumb Things

2011-03-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

I think we all do dumb things. It seems that for whatever reason I do more than my fair share. I thought it would be a good idea to run the Santiam Canyon Scramble in a Sasquatch suit. Not only that but I got myself into a bet with Gary Terlecki and John Asman, without ever trying to actually run in the suit first. The bet was Gary would give me a 5 minute cushion and I would give John 5. I horribly underestimated how hard it would be to run with the costume on. I lost the bet, it wasn't even close. Very impressive runs by Gary and John! Good job guys,please be nice to me at Monument Peak 15k.

After hibernating most of the winter I've been doing a lot of what I like to call "take your medicine" runs. If you take your medicine you'll get better, that's the concept anyway.

On a different note Spike Rosling is a B.M.F. (BAD MOTHER F#CKER)! He knows what I'm talking about!

If You Want Blood

2011-02-25T09:32:00.000-08:00

2010 top 10

2011-01-22T19:39:00.000-08:00

After reading Spike Rosling's 2010 Highlights , I decided to do my own top 10. Here goes.

10. Pacing Cam Hanes at Western States. I got to see first hand the highs and lows of running a 100 miler. Cam is a badass and Western States is "the" event. Thanks for letting me be a part of it,Cam!

9. Scrambling! I've said it so many times I sound like a broken record,I love scrambles. The Santiam Scramble , Mt. Hood Scramble and the Tillamook Burn were the 3 scrambles I ran in 2010. I did well in all of them and even some how pulled down the win at the Tillamook Burn.

8. Betting. I lost bets this year to Sean and Spike,but I won a couple bets too. Betting just makes things a little more interesting.

7. White River 50 Miler . Awesome course and some of the best Ultrarunners in the nation. I would love to go back.

6. Hagg Lake 50k . I don't know why,but I seem to do well here. I wasn't expecting to run well here this year, but ran 4:04 for a 50k p.r.

5. McKenzie River 50k . I wasn't planning on running this,but when I saw some openings a few days before the race, I couldn't resist. I ran 4:14,it wasn't the sub 4 hour finish I wanted,but it was a course p.r.

4. 12 Hours @ Corban. After being injured for the month of April, I wasn't ready to run for 12 hours. I had committed to raise money for Marion Elementary, so I left my purse at home manned up and got it done. I learned a few things about myself that day. It was also amazing to see how generous people can be. Thanks again everyone!

3. Mac 50k . I love this race! I didn't run the time I want to and I got chicked. That should be a lowlight,but this race is so awesome, it will always be a highlight.

2. Where's Waldo 100k. Running in the mountains is what I love most about running. Waldo is running in the mountains at it's best. I had the best crew ever,in Jason and Ryan. Thanks for getting me to the finish line!

1. Inspiring performances! I've been blessed to have a great group of friends to run with. Run Wild Adventures inspires me. Gary and Shandi had a dream of putting together races and they are a huge success. Ryan Terlecki making it to Tumble Lake and back was impressive. Eric Jensen's generosity and surving his injury roller coaster inspires me. Chris Allan at the Rumble showed me what true GUTS is all about. Matt Nahorniak coming back from injury and finishing Pine to Palm 100 was awesome! Sean Meissner's shit talk makes me want to kick his ass, so I guess I draw inspiration from that! Trevor Hostetler just plain kicks ass.Spike Rosling's 2:42 at Eugene still blows my mind! Jason Nixon's Siskou Outback 50k gets my vote for performance of the year. It was hot as hell,Jason puked a number of times, missed his goal and still gutted out a finish. Notice the pain on his face after the race, in the picture below. Thanks to every one who I shared the trail with for making 2010 a great year.

More Barkley

2010-12-17T19:27:00.000-08:00

you all know about the comfort zone.
that's where most ultras take place.
running ultras is all about staying in the comfort zone.
all our strategies revolve around staying in the comfort zone.
all our advice is about staying in the comfort zone;

"start slow"

"walk every uphill"

"dont take any chances"

for all the talk about exploring human potential, and seeking our limits, ultrarunners tend to play it safe.
they line up "challenges" they know they can finish.
and run them carefully
well within their "limits".
we believe that success is never failing.

at the barkley success is about over-reaching our abilities,
and living to tell about it.
sometimes success is getting your ass out alive. -lazarus lake

I want to go here before my running career is over.

Dream Race

2010-12-12T16:54:00.000-08:00

As a racer I want to win. The problem is,so does everyone else and a lot of those people are actually runners.I run a lot,but I don't consider myself a runner.At 6'2'' and 185 that's not really a runners build.
In the picture above I knew I had no chance to win the Shellburg Falls race. So I decided to try and lead for a little while.It was a very short while,but I led the race out and then dropped anchor. After that the rest of the race really hurt. I could have probably had a better race by starting slower and running steady. What fun would that be ?
I would really love to win the Shellburg Falls race,after all I consider it my home course. No one has run more miles there than I have,not even close. This week though I was thinking to myself if you could win just one race what would it be? That's tough, there are a lot of great races out there. Now the obvious answer for some would be to win a race like the North Face 50,for the 10 grand. Let's take the money out of it though. I'm also going to split this up into ultra race and nonultra race.

For the nonultra race I would want to win,it would be the Mt.Hood Scramble.It's effin hard! To do well here you have to throw caution to the wind and show some balls.With 500 people(badasses)there that would be a pretty good accomplishment to win this one. The only thing that would make this race better is if it was longer.I think that would be against the law though,because someone would probably die!Look for Spike Rosling at about the 1:51 mark.
Now for the Ultra race, I would like to finish the Barkley Marathons.I say finish because most years if you finish it you would win.Only nine people have ever finished.It might be the most badass thing you could do. I've thought about this race a lot and it's not really for runners. Maybe it would suit me.I think maybe I should try running an "easy" 100 miler first.I like how the race bib says not all pain is gain.

Leave me a comment letting me know what would be your dream win. I think my buddy Sean Meissner will say his dream would be to beat me at the Santiam Scramble. Here's a picture of him crying because I whipped his ass there last March.

Rex Kwon Do

2010-12-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

I shall never misuse RexKwon Do,I will be a Champion of Freedom and Justice!

2010-12-03T21:57:00.000-08:00

I hated every minute of training, but I said, "Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion."
Muhammad Ali

2010-11-25T20:32:00.000-08:00

It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys.
Emil Zatopek

Pleasure & Pain

2010-10-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

"For every ounce of pleasure there's a pound of pain. There's no free ride to the fast lane. You better love it if you play this game."

Tell me where that quote comes from and win a prize.

As runners we all know about pleasure and pain. What is it that will let us push ourselves till we don't know if we will be able to take one more second? I've thought about this a lot and to me it's love. With anything in life if you love it you will feel pleasure and pain. If you don't love it you'll leave it behind.

That just hit me this week. Not just about running but life in general. So here's the challenge if you love something or some one let them know and try to appreciate every moment.

I added these photos to show the pleasure & pain. The one of me is at White River. At the moment there was nothing but pain. Now 2 1/2 months later I'm feeling the pleasure of seeing a tough run through. Thanks to Glenn Tachiyama for permission to use the photo.

The one of Spike Rosling is my favorite running photo of all time! No questions about if there was anything left. If you just glance at that photo you would see a guy in a great deal of pain,look closer and you'll see the pleasure.

The last one is of Jason Nixon, there's pain there for sure, but I know now Jason's feeling the pleasure of running, finally! congratulations on the new p.r. Jason!

Troy Swint

2010-10-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

When I heard this song for the first time, I was almost floored. It sounded just like Jamey Johnson had wrote this song to tell my older brother's story. This month marks the 13th year my brother has been in prison. Going to visit him is on the long list of things that I need to do more often. I love you man!

The Real Tubes Commercial

2010-10-09T17:53:00.000-07:00

Gotta Get The Tubes

2010-10-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

I'm always looking for the best shoes for me. I think I found them!

Hell Yeah!

2010-09-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

Where's Waldo 100k

2010-08-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I ran the Where's Waldo 100k . This was the second time I've run this race,2008 being the first time. It sure didn't get any easier,that's for sure! I ended up running the race in 11:59:46,compared to 12:01:23 in '08. A little faster,but it was about 30 degrees cooler than '08. As far as my running life goes,I always compare my self to June/July of '08. That's when I've felt like I was in top form. With the weather being perfect this year, I'm gonna say this race was not as fast as '08.

This year's race was really tough for me. Somewhere around 25 miles in my stomach got upset and I had a real hard time getting calories in. At the 1/2 way point I wanted to quit and I really think I would've,if it wasn't for my good friends Jason Nixon and Ryan Terlecki. Having them there just really kept me motivated to keep going, thanks a lot guys!

Where's Waldo is a really tough race,beautiful but tough. When things aren't going your way it seems insane. Somewhere between miles 37 and 44 I found myself all alone and having a real self pity breakdown. I immediately thought of the two toughest men I've known in my life. My uncle Tom Nixon and my Dad, both of whom God took from us way too soon. The emotions were just so strong, I miss them both very much. It makes me wonder if this is a big part of the reason why we run ultras,when I'm stripped down that's when my strongest emotions come out.

My Dad, William Swint Sr. passed away in '02. I started running in '03. I feel like running helped me to deal with the grief of losing him.I've often wondered what my Dad would've thought about Ultra running. He came from a time where work is all you knew.He worked and never wanted anything for himself.He never complained,mostly because I know he had seen some hard times growing up so some things just aren't that bad.He was still hanging drywall in his 60's,not because he wanted to,but because he had to.Now that's tough! My Dad didn't give speeches or show much emotion,but he did teach me when you start something you finish it.So there I was doing something silly like running 62 miles in the mountains and thinking about quitting, when I started thinking about Dad and Tom. Quitting would not be acceptable!

I made it to Maiden Peak aid station where Ryan was going to be pacing me the last 12 miles to the finish. Up for 3 miles then down to the finish, piece of cake. Jason decided to climb to the top with Ryan and I. In '08 I fell apart on this climb,I didn't think there was any way I could have gone slower. Wrong! I sat down 3 times and laid down once. Good thing Ryan and Jason made me get up and get going or I might still be up there. We finally made it to the top and Jason went back and Ryan and I pushed on to the finish. Ryan was the best pacer keeping me running the whole way. I'd like to tell you that I was real tough and didn't whine or complain,but I try not to lie.

So what do I do now? Rest. I want to do a 100 miler to see if I'm man enough. I know that I've got to do a few things different to do this. I've got till next year to think about it.

I would like to thank Craig ,Curt and crew for putting on an Awesome race! Thank you so much to the volunteers the real heroes of ultra running! Jason and Ryan, you guys are the best, I'm lucky to be able to call you guys my friends. Thanks for the sacrifice!

July 2010

2010-08-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

I just had my biggest running mileage ever for one month. I'm hoping to be ready for the Where's Waldo 100k on August 21st. I feel like my training has been solid, but after running the White River 50 miler on July 31st,I'm a little worried. It came at the end of my biggest week in two years,but during the race my legs were just dead feeling.

Two years ago I ran the PCT 50 as a training run for Where's Waldo and had a great race. I think that's what I was expecting to happen at White River. My energy levels were fine, my legs just had no go to them. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that I had a bet going with Spike Rosling. Like always he pushed to the end and never gave up. We went back and forth a few times and were never more than a couple minutes apart. At the 44 mile aid station he came in as I was standing there,I thought it was over. I was still running, but if he was to push me I knew I couldn't respond. Some how I held him off and finally won another bet.

Another thing I was looking forward to was racing Anton Krupicka! I've never raced him and I thought just maybe I had his number. It was a short race between us, but I can proudly say I pushed him to a new course record. You're welcome, Anton!

I'd like to thank the race directors for putting on a great event! as always the volunteers are what makes the ultra world go 'round,thank you! Jason you always do the best job of crewing,me and " Mustache Mutha F#ckin" Mike really appreciate it.

Now it's taper time. Gonna get rested up and hopefully feel like a million bucks on August 21st.

And to my asian fans, I'm not sure why I'm so popular with you guys (maybe they just appreciate badassness more than most) but keep those comments coming and I'll keep on doing what I do best.

Running

2010-07-05T00:18:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of running I love to do!Nothing better.

I've been busy lately. Last week I paced Cameron Hanes at the Western States 100 Miler. Cam was rock solid and finished in 22:41! What an event this was,one of the coolest things I've experienced.The best thing is Mike Luvin won the raffle to get in for next years run, so we get to go back!
This weekend I did a 30 miler with Matt Nahorniak in the Mountains in the Bull of the Woods Wilderness area on Saturday and the Stayton 4th of July 10k on Sunday. The 10k was kind of tough on tired legs and a hilly course. I ran 38:15, not great but not bad.

Next up White River 50 miler on July 31st. Time to focus!

Kobe's #1 Fan

2010-06-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

I'm not a fan of Kobe Bryant, I think he's a douche! This guy loves Kobe though, hopefully they get together.

12 Hours @ Corban

2010-05-31T22:18:00.000-07:00

Last January I had a rare moment where I thought of someone other than myself. I had heard about the 12 hours@ Corban race, and thought to myself,who would want to run 5k loops for 12 hours? The next day at church I was listening about one of the members who seems to always be helping someone. The next thing he said got my attention, He said that he doesn't do anything special he just uses the skills God gave him to try and help others. Around this same time my buddy Kurtis Drake was doing the Polar Plunge to raise money for the Special Olympics. So with a little motivation I decided to try and use what I could do to try and help someone. It kind of all hit me at once, Jason had told me that Marion Elementary needed funds for their athletics, so that day I decided to run some loops at Corban.

In April when I got injured, I panicked. How was I going to run for 12 hours if I couldn't train? I thought I was going to have to tag one of my buddies in. I got healed up, got a couple good long runs in and was ready as best I could be.Seeing how I had run a really tough Where's Waldo 100k in 12 hours in 2008, I figured running a 100k on a cross country course at Corban would be a piece of cake. I love cake.

On race day there was no cake to be had. There was some rain and mud though. In the first 10 minuets,I realized this was going to be a lot harder than I thought. When they said cross country course I pictured trails, but it was actually a cow pasture with a path mowed through it. Very uneven footing, just to make things interesting. This didn't stop me from starting out to fast though. I've always kind of prided myself for running smart and finishing strong. Sometimes you need to be retaught some lessons.At about 7 to 8 hours I crashed pretty hard. I ran the last 4 hours on a two liter of Coke and tomato soup. It hurt, but I made my 100k goal.

The best thing about the whole day was the friends I had to support me. Jason Nixon stayed the whole 12 hours, cooked soup, filled bottles, and ran the last 6 laps with me.Tamara Nixon was there to cheer and take the pictures. Spike Rosling came out for most of the day, he only left for a little while to attend Grandma's birthday. When he came back he brought his son Will, thanks for the high fives buddy! Gary Terlecki and Shandi Maxwell, of Run Wild Adventures pretty much kick ass! They gave a huge donation, gave me shirts to run in and Gary even came out for a while to cheer me on.My buddies Ryan Terlecki, Kurtis Drake and his son Ari also came out to cheer. All the other runners where so supportive also, cheering for me every lap! My favorite thing was my wife Jolene and my son Mason came out at the end and I was able to cross the finish line with Mason! Thank you everyone!

So we raised almost $900 hundred dollars for Marion Elementary! I would really like to thank everyone who donated to this cause to help the kids with the athletic fund! Gary and Shandi, Power Chevrolet (Jaron), Aunt Barbara, Trevor and Christina Hostetler,Mike and Tonya Rosling, Jason and Tamara Nixon,Wally and Jolene West, Robert and Elaine Majors, Darlene Nixon, Betty Kennedy, Jeff Nixon, The McMaster family,The Yunker family,The White family,The Hadley family and Eric and Kellie Jensen.

I would like to tell you a little more about Eric and Kellie Jensen. Everyone listed above has a tie with either me or the school. Eric is a friend of Mike Rosling's, had never met me and had never heard of Marion Elementary. Eric and Kellie made a large donation and gave my wife a gift card to Subway, to show appreciation for her being supportive of what I do! I have since met Eric and went on a run with him and have to say he is a class act! I'm still amazed by their generosity.

This is what the run felt like for me!

The Mac 50k

2010-05-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

The McDonald Forest 50k is my all time favorite race. I love scrambles and I've often said they are my favorites, but if I had to pick one race to call my favorite,it's the Mac. I'm not sure why, I should hate this race. I've never had a good race here, after 4 times trying. Last year I felt like I was in top shape and really felt like it was my time to shine. Well I exploded,laid down on the course for a while, and had a "little" melt down after I finished.

The reasons I love this race are, the race directors are friends and do a super job,the people who run this race just seem to have a great time, I know the course very well, and it's a big time challenge. This race is hard,very hard! 6700 feet of elevation gain and loss. I love a challenge, so as long as possible, I'll be on the starting line!

Again this year I was looking forward to the Mac. I've thought a whole lot about what went wrong last year, I think maybe over trained. I ran the whole course numerous times,portions of the course more times than I could count. This year I was only on the course 3-4 times total. Not because I got lazy, but because after 6 years of running I got my first injury. After the Shotgun Creek race I woke up the next morning and felt a pain in my Achilles tendon. I was concerned, but figured after a couple days rest I'd be good to go. A few days went by and it still hurt. That's when I made probably one of only 2 or 3 good decisions of my life. I didn't run. I got a 20 mile run-hike in sweeping Peterson Ridge Rumble and did a little mountain biking. After going to a physical therapist and hardly any running,4 weeks later I had no pain. My first pain free run I was so excited, it felt so good and then I ate shit! Slipped on a wet bridge going down and gashing my knee open. I went in got it stitched up,2 days later got an infection, and missed another 6 days with no running! It really felt like someone didn't want me to run my favorite race this year. I ran 7 times in the last 13 days leading up to the race. One of the runs was a 6 hour run with Trevor Hostetler in the Gorge,great run with a great guy. No over training this year, that's for sure.

Race day came and my confidence was shot. The one thing I had going for me was 6 days earlier I witnessed my main homie Spike Rosling give one of the guttiest preformances of all time! Mike has more HEART than anyone I've ever met! Thanks for the inspiration buddy. I started the race with the feeling of just wanting to see what would happen.I spent the first few miles chatting with Cam Hanes,I really enjoy talking with Cam. He's living his dream and it's very cool to see someone doing that.My legs felt heavy but I was determined to just push on,hoping I'd get in a groove. Well, the groove never came. I never felt horrible,but never felt good. It just felt like I was running on the edge of my fitness. With 1 1/2 miles to go Ashley Nordell stole my manhood when she blew by me like I was standing still! I had mixed emotions about getting chicked,but she was running so amazing that I was in awe.I finished in 4:54,which was actually faster than last year,but without the nap. I wouldn't call this a bad race,just not good. I think I'm capable of breaking 4:40 on this course,that's what I'd consider a great race for me.Maybe next year.

Trevor Hostetler killed this race in 4:31! Spike Rosling ran 4:42 6 days after 2:42 at the Eugene Marathon,BADASS! Cam Hanes also did the Eugene/Mac double,as traning for Western States 100 miler.

Thanks to Ken,Scott and all the volunteers for bringing my favorite race back every year! Thanks to Jasmine Nahorniak for the pictures!

Marion Elementary Fund Raiser

2010-04-29T15:25:00.000-07:00

On May 22nd I'll be running The 12 hours at Corban to raise money for Marion Elementary School. My training has not been to great lately, but I'm ready to take some chances for a good cause. If you would like to donate some money to the kids leave me a comment and I'll let you know how.

2010-04-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

Racin'

2010-03-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

I usually don't race that much, but it seems this year so far I've been racing a little more. I haven't posted in a while, so I figured I would give a short run down on some racin'.

1/17 Cascade Half I decided to do the 10k this year for a few reasons. Out of the races I do every year the Half Marathon for some reason beats me up the most. The other reason is I don't like the course, in the winter I run these roads a lot. As far as the 10k went , it sucked. I wanted to break 37:00, but just barley broke 38:00. Also lost a humiliating bet to Spike , his pace for the half was faster than mine for the 10k, ouch! Finished in 37:54.

1/30 Willamette-Mission-Trail-Challenge This race was a ton of fun. I love trail races,I felt good and ran better than I thought I would. Finished in 40:42.

2/20 Hagg Lake 50k I almost didn't run this race this year. I'm glad Spike told me I should. New 50k p.r.,that was unplanned! I decided to run how I felt, I guess I must have felt good.New race directors did an excellent job! Finished in 4:04:11.

2/27 Buck Mountain Mudslinger This race was put on by Gary and Shandi .Spike dressed me up for losing our bet .It was cool to see some real bad ass runners at this race,Erik Skaggs,Jenn Shelton, and Sean Meissner. It was part one of a two day bet with Sean . Sean gave me a 4 minute 30 second handicap over the two days. I was dragging ass after the week before, but had a pretty decent run. Sean beat me by 2 minutes 30 seconds, so I knew I was in trouble after this, but any thing can happen. Right? Finished in 48:49.

2/28 Tumor Shooter 7mi. trail run I've only raced on back to back days one other time. It's tough. Sean and I weren't the only ones who raced both days. Spike Rosling and Jason Nixon, two of the best friends a guy could ever ask for, also raced both days. This race was a fund raiser for Johanna Olson,to help her medical bills as she battles a brain tumor. Sean kicked my ass, it wasn't even close, so now I have to wear some kind of costume at The Rumble ,while sweeping the course. I've lost two bets in a row, it feels like the world is upside down. Finished in 42:48.

3/20 Santiam-Canyon-Scramble I love scrambles! If there was enough of them, I probably wouldn't race anything else. They are so hard it just feels like a huge accomplishment just to finish.I really love the out of control feeling of running wild through the woods. I helped mark the course the day before, so I'm really conflicted about doing so well. The race for me was the most exciting race ever. Malcolm Dunn and I battled pretty much the whole way. I would pass him on the downhills and he would get me back on the ups. I thought I had the win, when I opened up a pretty good lead on the downhill under the falls. On the last climb of the race Malcolm freakin' caught and passed me like I was standing still. I reeled him back in on the next down, but we hit the last trail section and he pulled away. Malcolm is a bad ass! Finished bloodied up in 44:50.

That's what I've been up to. I'm kind of bummed that the Run Wild Adventures winter series races are over for this year.It has been so much fun to run some short trail races. Gary and Shandi "rock ass",as Gary would say. I can't wait till December, for the races to start back up! Did I really say I can't wait till December?

2010-02-16T21:09:00.000-08:00

Come Get Some, Bitches!

2010-02-05T20:52:00.000-08:00

This little move cost Damon Bradshaw the 1992 Supercross Championship. Was it worth it? Probably not,but you must admit it was pretty bad ass to deal with your biggest nemesis like that.

January was a tough month for me. After being humiliated by Spike Rosling in a bet(he bet me his half marathon pace would be faster than my pace in the 10k at the Cascade Half ) I'm feeling a little beat up. During this race Sean Meissner pretty much called me a wuss for running the "j.v." race. After the race it seemed like everyone I knew had been pulling for me to lose,so I decided to talk some smack with Sean and got myself into another bet. Don't let the wounds heal from one ass kicking before you set yourself up for another one.

Two weeks later while helping Gary and Shandi set up for the Willamette Mission Trail Challenge I was bent over and apparently my butt crack was exposed. Pee Wee aka Ryan thought it would be a good idea to throw a rock down my butt crack. A wrestling match broke out, I underestimated how strong Ryan is and it took a little more effort to take him down than I thought. I completely kicked his ass, but he had new found confidence after it took me a little while longer to get him down. A little while later Ryan came back for more and I got him in a guillotine, but didn't want to choke one of my good friends out. He ended up on top of me and with his weight advantage there wasn't much I could do. Tied at one and one this is not over, not by a long shot!

So you might be asking yourself what does Damon Bradshaw throwing away the Supercross title have to do with any off this? Well, I'm fixing to deal with some punk bitches just like Bradshaw would! At the Buck Mountain Mudslinger,while dressed in the out fit I have to wear for losing to Spike,I'm going Bradshaw on anyone who gets in my way. It's time to get some respect!

If you don't have a sense of humor this is what I think of you.

Want To Be A Champion?

2010-01-08T20:48:00.000-08:00

If you're like me you spend a lot of time thinking about what it takes to become a champion. Is it hard work? Sacrifice? Not being able to stand losing? I think either you are born with the qualities of a champion, or you're not. Don't feel bad I think 99% of the world isn't born with the make up of a champ.

If you want a glimpse of what makes a champion, have a look at this video. I wish all of us could be like Kenny, but then being a champion wouldn't mean anything.

If you don't like offensive language,this video isn't for you.

Men vs. Women

2009-12-23T13:49:00.000-08:00

This isn't my point of view,not completely. I do think it's funny.

New Year's Resolution

2009-12-11T18:00:00.000-08:00

In 2010 it's my goal to try and party this hard. It's gonna be a great year!

Shellburg Falls Trail Run

2009-12-10T13:13:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was the first annual Shellburg Falls Trail Run . It was awesome! 130 runners came out for the cold, but beautiful weather. The best part was the great group of friends that were there. I feel pretty lucky to have some great friends.

For a first try Gary and Shan di couldn't have done a better job. Everyone seemed to have a great time.You would think they had done this hundreds of times. This was one of the funnest races I've ever done!

The course is so much fun, if you missed it make sure you're there next year.

I had a very exciting race with Spike Rosling to see who would win a bet. Let's just say I got lucky again.
Congratulations to everyone who came out and ran a tough course. Here are the resu lts .

" I'm Not Responsible For Anyone's Doctor Bills"

2009-11-27T14:21:00.000-08:00

With just a week before the Shellburg Falls Trail Run , I'm hoping to be ready to throw down like Kung Fu Hillbilly!

The thing that worries me the most is another bet with Spike Rosling . I know he's been waiting patiently for some payback!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

This Is My House

2009-11-07T10:49:00.000-08:00

I can't wait for December 5th. Finally a race in my house. I'm not saying I'm going to win or anything like that. But there is something special about home field advantage. Thanks to Gary and Shandi for putting this race together. Come out and join us for some fun, for free!

Dreaming

2009-10-31T16:28:00.000-07:00

If you have a dream, go get it.

Gettin' Rad

2009-10-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

To succeed in life you have to believe in yourself and be willing to take chances. You also need to know when to get Rad!

Running on Empty

2009-09-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

I love running, but lately it hasn't loved me back. I just got my first dnf ever at the McKenzie 50k, the easiest ultra in the series . I've had a horrible summer of running, so bring on fall.

Stay Hungry

2009-09-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

2009-08-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

This summer hasn't gone quite like I thought it would. I just missed the Where's Waldo 100k . I'm pretty bummed about it, but I guess that's what makes life so interesting, we really don't know what's going to happen.

Waldo is such a great race. Everything about it is top notch. Craig Thornley and Curt Ringstad deserve a big thank you for taking the time to put this race on. I hope to be there next year.

Congratulations to every one who finished this year. It's a big accomplishment.

This is me finishing in 2008, I can't wait to have this feeling again.

Even the sun shines on a dog's ass sometimes

2009-06-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the most fun running I've had in a while. Saturday started off with Test of endurance 50k . This was a first year race, I wasn't sure what to expect. These guys did a great job! The course was very fun and very well marked. The volunteers were awesome and seemed really excited to be there. The organization was top notch. I'll be back for sure.

This race was part one of Luvin and my bet. Mike for some reason wanted to do overall place for the two days, instead of overall time. This kind of confused me, but I agreed. The 50k only had 10 entrants in it, so my plan was to just try to make sure if I couldn't beat Mike,to make sure no one finished between us.

The race started with Mike,me and a very fit looking guy from Montana named Dustin taking the lead. We ran the first two miles together talking. I found out Dustin works for Hammer Nutrition who were sponsoring the race, so he decided to run it. I stopped to take a leak at mile two letting Mike and Dustin build a lead. I was content running in third hoping those guys would run each other into the ground and I would be able to pick up the pieces late in the race.

I was getting updates at each aid station on Mike and Dustin. I was liking what I was hearing, that I was about 3 minutes behind and those two were running less than a minute apart. It seemed as if my plan was coming together. At the aid station at mile 18 they told me Mike had taken the lead. That meant trouble for me, because I didn't want Dustin to finish between us and make my job harder on day two. I caught up to Dustin at mile 23 he looked like he was hurting a bit. I tried to encourage him to stick with me ,but was soon running on my own.

At the second to the last aid station they told me I was about 6 minutes behind Mike now with 6 miles to go. I figured I would try to keep the same pace, but not push too hard to save something for day two. At about mile 27 I caught up to a 25k runner and asked her how far Mike was ahead of me. She said You're not gonna catch that guy, he's way ahead and looks like he's having fun. I asked her if I looked like I was having fun she said no you look like you're laboring. Thanks for being honest. I may have not looked like it, but I was having a lot of fun.

Mike ran an amazing race taking the win! In those last 6 miles he went from being 6 minutes ahead to 11 minutes ahead. I really feel like I didn't slow down, so I'm amazed at how well he ran. Mike finished in 4:11 and I came in at 4:22. Not my best run, but far from my worst. More importantly Mike only finished one place ahead of me. One down one to go baby.

Day two consisted of the Mt.Hood Scramble , I absolutely love this race! I was pretty worried about the bet. Considering Mike had just kicked my ass pretty easily the day before. Mike and I ran a couple miles to warm up and I was trying to get a feel on how he was feeling. He's a rock he will never show weakness. Me on the other hand, I was complaining about how stiff my legs were and how freakin' cold it was.

The race started and I knew what I had to do, I had to beat Mike and put some people between us. I don't think people really understand how hard this race is until they run it. You cross the river about 7 times (which is waist deep and freezing cold), there is mud, snow, steep climbs, big boulders to run on and just a whole bunch of badassery strung out over the whole course. Right off the start I gave Mike a big shove backwards, you know just for fun. A few seconds later I feel someone pulling on my shirt, it was Mike using me as a slingshot. I passed him back and took off. So to make a long story short, I ran scared the whole way, figuring Mike was waiting for the last stretch to pass me. I was able to hold on and finished 7th, in 50:25, Mike came in 16th in 54:27.I won the bet, but kind of feel like a chicken shit for using the strategy that I used. But being the jerk that I am I'll take it.

Some more of the crew ran the Scramble and did awesome! Gary Terlecki ran a heck of a race in 55:42. Ryan Terlecki continues to impress me with how much of a bad ass he's becoming and finished in 58:35. I see an ultra in his future. Gary's girl friend Shandi Maxwell finished in 1:04:48. Full results here .

As for the title of this post I think it means you got lucky. I think that applies to Mike and my bet, because I for sure got lucky. That quote came from my uncle Tom Nixon, who passed away on May 16th. I heard him say it numerous times and never really thought about what it meant until now. Tom was one of my heroes and everything that a man should be. We miss you Tom.

Bet Time

2009-06-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

Last year Luvin' and I made a bet on the Mt. Hood Scramble. I really love this race,I see it being the one race I wouldn't miss each year. I got lucky because Mike was not feeling good and I was on top of my game. I won the bet and Mike got to wear a sweet costume at the Fourth of July 10k in Stayton.

The next bet came in December on my home turf, Shellburg Falls. Once again I got lucky, Mike ran into some problems and I won another bet. So Mike got to wear this again at the half marathon our old high school puts on. Every time Mike loses a bet to me and has to wear the Liger shirt something magical happens and he runs a huge p.r. Mike should do himself a favor and throw the bet.

So it's time for another bet. This one's gonna be a doozie. Starting off on 6/20, Mike and I will run the Test of Endurance 50k , then on 6/21 the Mt. Hood Scramble. Best combined place wins the bet. This should be a lot of fun. It should also be a very hard weekend. Mile for mile the Scramble is the hardest race I've done, so I don't know how it will feel with a 50k the day before.

Wish us luck, hopefully we both come out alive!

K.O.ed at the Mac 50k

2009-05-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

Well it didn't go quite like I wanted it to. The frustrating thing is I don't really know what went wrong.In the last few months I had spent so much time on the course that I thought I was better prepared for this race than any other race I've done.

This was by far the biggest blow up I've ever had. Last years blow up lasted longer,but it didn't get to the point that I had to sit down on the trail to keep from falling down. It's just weird to me, because I was feeling the normal late in the race hurtin', but then all of the sudden I just got dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out. Fifteen minute miles were not what I had planned for the last downhill miles.I finished in 4:58, I was hoping for 4:40.

Enough whining, let me talk about some of the good things. Ken Ward and Scott Leonard do an awesome job as race directors, the volunteers rock, and despite the course kicking my ass the last three years I really do love it.The weather was great.I finally got to meet Cameron Hanes.I got to see a lot of friends,Dennis, Sean, Kelly, Matt, Todd T.,Todd G.,Ed,Darin,Dave,Clay and a lot more.One of the best things is I get to train harder and try again next year!

Congratulations to Erik Bateham for finishing his first ultra and breaking the 19 & under course record!

Thanks to Matt Nahorniak for the picture.

Redemption

2009-05-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

Last year the Mac 50k broke me. I'm hoping to turn that around this Saturday! A year is a long time to wait for redemption.

Hopefully I can be like Rocky and beat Drago.

Trucker Clock

2009-04-08T16:48:00.001-07:00

Trucker Clock (Who Wants It) - Bob & Tom

The Distance

2009-03-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

Hagg Lake 50k

2009-02-22T12:31:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I ran the Hagg Lake 50k. This is the 3rd year in a row I've run this race. The first year Mike Luvin and I ran it together just as a training run. It poured down rain all day, and was so muddy it was ridiculous. Our finishing time was 5:09 and was probably the most fun five hours I've spent running.

Last year I decided to try and run hard. I started off pretty slow and then the second half poured it on. I had one of my best runs ever, I passed about 10 guys in the second half of the race. I finished in 4:13 and was really surprised by how strong I finished.

This year I wanted to do well, but for some reason it seems that my confidence has been a little low. I've run more miles this winter, done harder workouts, and just took 2 minutes off my 1/2 marathon time. But for some reason I just didn't feel real strong coming into this race. It could have something to do with the weekly butt kicking Luvin has been giving me. I need to quit being so scared of blowing up in a race. What's the worse thing that can happen? A little pain and suffering, that really isn't pain and suffering compared to what some people in the world go through.

So for the '09 race I decided to hang it out a bit. I wanted to start a little faster, but not crazy fast. I ran most of the first lap just behind Trevor Hostetler. Just up ahead of him I could see a group of 4 or 5 people . I could see Luvin was in this group and they all looked to be running very strong. The pace felt fast, but I didn't want to slow down and risk losing touch with this group. At about 16 miles Trevor let me by. I set out to try and catch the group ahead. Just as we were coming into the aid station after the first loop I caught up to them. Luvin and I were now running together. I tried to decide what my strategy should be, he looked really strong. The next mile went by in 7:30. It felt super fast. I thought Luvin was trying to break me, so I backed off a bit. We then passed Joelle Vaught ( a super fast lady) after she took a tumble. She said she was okay so we just kept on truckin'. Next we caught up to Will Kalenius, we stayed on his heels for about 2 miles and he stepped off the trail to let one of us lead. We came off the trail for the road section and caught Matt Daniels. We were just over 20 miles in with just over 10 to go, the four of us right together. I decided to try and push on this road section and see if any one would respond. I moved to the front of the group and picked up the pace.I thought this might be too early, but decided to gamble. I wanted to look back to see if any one was coming, but from my motocross days I had learned this is a sign of weakness. We hit the trail again and I could hear some one back there, but after a while I didn't hear anyone. I was running scared though, I knew Matt Daniels has won this race before, Luvin has been running crazy strong, and Will Kalenius has beat me every time we have raced together. From mile 22- 26 I could see Brendan Trimboli just about 30-60 seconds ahead, but just after the last aid station I couldn't see him anymore. I thought that he must have stopped to take a leak and I passed him.Nope, he just put the hammer down and put 6 minutes on me in the last 5 miles! This guy is only 21 years old and ran a very smart race. I think he's going to be really good at this. I went on to finish in 4:05:54 a new p.r.! This was also my best overall finish with a 5th. Luvin also had a p.r. in 4:15:36!

One of the highlights of the day was seeing Sean " Richard Simmons " Meissner. Sean just raced a 50 miler 2 weeks ago, was wearing a costume, and still beat me! Great run Sean!

I really have to thank Jason "bullseye" Nixon for spending his Saturday crewing for me. Jason went to every aid station and had a full water bottle for me. He also did a great job lying to me, telling me I looked strong and I was gaining on them. This helped so much it felt like cheating. Thanks a lot Jason!

I stole these pictures from Tom Riley, thanks Tom.

We All Have It Coming

2009-01-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite scenes from Clint Eastwood's best movie.

Cascade 1/2 Marathon

2009-01-11T20:08:00.000-08:00

Today I ran my 5th Cascade 1/2 Marathon. The proceeds for this race help the Cascade High School track team. This is my old high school, and seeing how I spent 4 years there acting like a complete jackass, I kind of feel like I'm giving something back by running this race.

This picture was taken at the 1/2 marathon in 2005. That's Mike "luvin" lurking behind me.This was the only year I beat him at this race, he has kicked my ass at it every year since.

The first year I ran this race I was a complete rookie. Not having any idea how fast I could run for 13.1 miles, I went out two days before the race and ran a time trial. I've learned a few things since then. My time for the first year was 1:29:48, the 2nd 1:28:10, 3rd 1:25:21, and 4th 1:22:58. So every year I've been able to run this race faster, but it also hurts a little more. Today I finished in 1:20:55. I'm really happy about my time.

It's funny to ask some guys how they think they will do before the race. Sean Meissner said he would like to finish in 1:18:00. Sean finished in 1:15:57 (wow)! Mike "luvin" said he would just like to break 1:20:00. "luvin" finished in 1:18:23 (wow again)! Mike Tyler caught me at about 5 miles and said he would run with me for a while, that lasted for about 10 seconds and then he was gone! He went on to finish in 1:19:38. Dennis Gamroth in his first road race ever finished in 1:30:58 (great job buddy). Kurtis Drake had a great run taking a bunch of time off of last years time, finishing in 1:43:32.

A couple of months ago I started running with my friend Ryan Terlecki. Ryan is one of my hero's. He was a professional motocross racer. In 1999 Ryan was national number 40! That's a big deal. Not only was Ryan one of the fastest motocross racers in the U.S.A., he is super humble about his accomplishments. In Ryan's 1/2 marathon debut he ran 1:38:23! That is a great time.More impotantly, Ryan has really hardened up in the last couple months.

2008 race review

2009-01-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

I had a great time running and racing in 2008! I made some new friends, and look forward to make more in 2009. Here are my races for 2008.

1. Capitol Mile 5:23. New Year's day, so little sleep and an icy course. Not my distance, I'm a wimp.

2. Cascade 1/2 marathon 1:22:58. This race is at the high school I went to, and it's 4 miles from my house. I kind of feel like it's a have to race. I have fun at the race seeing everyone, but don't really enjoy the race it's self.

3. Hagg Lake 50k 4:13:25. I really enjoy this race. The conditions were perfect. Probably my best race of the year.I trained right through this race. I felt good the whole way and really surprised myself.

4. Wheatfield 1/2 marathon 1:21:30. For a road race I really enjoyed this race, scenic and cheap. I used this as a tempo run for Peterson Ridge Rumble. The course was about a 1/4 mile short according to Garmin.

5. Peterson Ridge Rumble 4:33:02. This was probably my worst race of the year. I had made this a goal race, so I tapered and was hoping to run well. I just felt off right from the start. It was a long day.

6. McDonald Forest 50k 4:53:49. After having a race I wasn't happy with at Peterson's I really wanted to do well at this race. It's also on a course that I train on. I had a really hard day, with some stomach issues and felt horrible. I want to run well here in 2009. I really like this picture Jasmine Nahorniak took of me and my best running bud after the Mac 50k.

7. Newport Marathon. I didn't run this race, but I went and watched Mike "luvin" crush his marathon p.r.. This has my vote for performance of the year. "luvin" took 12 minutes off his p.r. with a time of 2:52:13! That's "luvin"below rockin' the Newport Marathon.

8. Mt. Hood Scramble 1:10:23. This is my favorite race. Short distance races are usually not my favorites, but this one feels like a lot more than 6 miles.

9. Stayton 4th of July 10k 38:37. This race is close enough to my house that I can run to the start. I enjoy this race for a road run. It has a couple hills in it to make it interesting. I led the race for the first mile, in 5:33, then dropped a big anchor and faded to 8th. I just wanted to see what would happen.

10. PCT 50 miler 7:40:26. This was a great race for me. I cut 41 minutes off of my time from the year before! I just felt good the whole way. This race was a warm up for the Where's Waldo 100k.

11.Where's Waldo 100k 12:01:23. This race was the focus for my whole year. I was very nervous for this race, it was the longest I'd ever run. I feel like I did a pretty good job of pacing myself, but I could have done a little better.

12. McKenzie River 50k 4:22::49. Not my best race. I was a little mad at myself for running like a wimp.

13.N.W. Mountain Running Championships 53:05. With out a doubt the hardest 6 miler I've ever done. It hurt so bad I can't wait to go back next year!

Pain Train Challenge

2008-12-28T20:00:00.000-08:00

For a long time now I've been thinking how awesome it would be to have a race at Shellburg Falls. At first I wanted it to be a 50k, until I realized how hard it would be to put that together. Not that I still don't want to do it someday, I'm just going to have to find more time. So after running the N. W. Mountain Running Championships last September, I thought about doing a short race and trying to make the course as hard as possible. I came up with a 10k course that would be all uphill for the first half with the second half being downhill, with a couple surprise hills thrown in for fun.

Now that I had my course we just had to pick a date, invite people, and hope someone would show up. I looked at the race calendars and the weekend of December 20th didn't have much going on so I decided that was my day. I wish we would have done it a week earlier, the weather was perfect.

The week leading up to the 20th things were looking good, we had about 15 to 20 people who planned on coming. I was starting to realize that with some of the guys who were coming, that my chances of winning my own race were very slim. Mike "luvin" was wanting some revenge from our bet this summer at the Mt. Hood Scramble. He must have figured that it would be pretty sweet to beat me in my house. With the way "luvin" has been running lately I was feeling very nervous. The loser of the bet would get to wear the costume he wore at the 4th of July 10k to the Cascade 1/2 marathon in a couple of weeks.

The weather took a turn on race week and we got a lot of snow.I was still determined to do this,and was a little happy about the snow making what I felt would be a tough course a little harder. The day before the race Jason "bullseye" Nixon, Ryan Terlecki, and I drove up to check out the course. I barley made it up the road about a mile and slid my truck into a ditch. After getting my truck out, I realized it was going to be hard to get the course marked. After thinking about it I decided to just make this a group run. Then I came up with the idea of running the course as a group and then having a race on part of the course we had already covered.

On race day the 15 to 20 we were expecting turned into 7. I let everyone know we were going to run as a group, then anyone interested in racing could take part in the shortened Pain Train Challenge. We had a great crew for our adventure,Mike "luvin", Dennis Gamroth, Rallie Wilson, Kurtis Drake, Ryan Terlecki, Mike Tyler, and I. Mike "luvin" told me on the way up that he was feeling under the weather, which made me feel a little better about our bet. The group run was a blast. We ran through knee deep snow in spots. Now it was time for racing!

Ryan, Kurtis, and Rallie had to get going, so there would be no racing fun for them. The new course was going to be 5k, straight out and back. All uphill on the way out all down on the way back. It climbs about 11oo feet with 500 of it in the last 1/2 mile of the climb. Someone said go with Dennis taking the lead,"luvin", me, then Mike Tyler. After about a 1/4 mile I decided to make my move. I wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but I shoved my way past "luvin" and Dennis and ran as hard as I could. Soon I realized that I had a pretty good lead and and got scared that maybe I was going to hard. I got to the top of the hill and started down. When I met "luvin" he threw a snow ball at me and looked like he was hurting as was Dennis and Mike Tyler.I was really determined not to let anyone catch me on the way back. I was so out of control I fell 3 times.I crossed the finish line and was happy with the way I had run.It hurt and that's exactly what I wanted to get out of this. I forgot to start my watch when we took off , so when I got to the bottom I started it hoping to figure my time from one of the other guys.30 seconds went by, then a minute and I knew something wasn't right. Dennis came in and said"luvin" had fell and hit his knee on a rock. Mike Tyler came in next, he was having a rough day. And then"'luvin" came limping in, luckily he is okay. I also found out that he had to stop and tie his shoe on the way up, that's how I ended up getting a big lead. We are going to do a redo on the bet.

So all in all this was very fun. I'm definitely going to do this again when the snow melts. Stay tuned.

I've been reading the book The Flying Scotsman, about the 1924 400 meter Olympic gold medalist Eric Liddell. This guy is a hero. A world champion, who was humble and stood up for the things he believed in. Here are 2 great quotes from him " The first half I run as fast as I can,and the second half I run faster with God's help." "The fact is, I don't like to be beaten." Good stuff!

Beaver Fun Run

2008-12-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

Today I ran the Beaver fun run 5k. I didn't really know how it was going to go. I've been running quite a bit, but I don't feel like I'm in as good of shape as I was a couple months ago. So I was suprised today when I ran 17:42! That's a new p.r.! And according to Garmin the course was 3.1 miles. One of my main homies, Mike "luvin" also ran this race finishing in a smokin' time of 17:13! What a bad ass.

Shellburg Falls Fun Run a.k.a. The Pain Train Challenge

2008-12-04T16:18:00.000-08:00

After getting up really early the last two Sundays and running at Shellburg Falls with Kurtis in perfect weather,I've decided it's time to put on a fun run. This run is going to be awesome. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.

The run will start with a 1.2 mile run to a course that we will be racing on. The course will be about 10k on mostly single track. It will be pretty Challenging. Then we will run the 1.2 miles back to our cars. So about 8.5 miles total. This super cool run will take place on December 20th at 9:00 a.m. everyone is welcome.The best thing is this will be free. If you're interested leave me a comment and I will give you directions. Shellburg is 20 mins. east of Salem.

Come see if you can beat this guy.

End Footwear

2008-11-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

Check out End Footwear,they are an Oregon based shoe company, that use environmentally friendly materials to build their shoes.

Is it in you?

2008-11-19T22:11:00.001-08:00

This Hurts

2008-11-11T22:27:00.001-08:00

coming to terms with winter

2008-11-04T14:32:00.000-08:00

We have made the transition from my favorite time of year to my least favorite. I love the month of September and early October. It's not so hot and something about it just makes me happy. But then time changes and the rain sets in and it just kind of bums me out. I'm an evening runner so this time of year means no hitting the trails during the week. So I run on the pavement and it's dark. Enough whining, I really do need to harden up.

One cool thing that has been going on is two of my friends have started running.Gary and Ryan Terlecki are both very fast motocrossers who have just discovered the joy of running. Both of them just recently ran the Mac 15k. Gary finished in 1:13 and Ryan finished in 1:16. Pretty impressive for only a couple months of running.Sadly Gary just found out he has a stress fracture in his foot. Bummer.

I've taken on the task of coaching and trying to harden Ryan the f up. It might not be possible, but I've got to give it a shot! We are targeting the Cascade 1/2 marathon in January. After that I want to talk him into a marathon next fall.We'll see if he's man enough.

As for me I'm still trying to figure out my plan for next year. I think I want to try a 100 miler. More than likley the 100 in the Hood will be the one I try. Now I just need to figure out the rest of the plan.

Sunday is my pride and joy's birthday. I can't believe he's 4 already.

Ryan this is for you. Warning bad words

2008-10-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

One of my favorites

2008-10-24T20:22:00.001-07:00

Holiday gift idea

2008-10-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

Mountain Running

2008-09-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I ran the Northwest Mountain Running Championships. Ouch! I was really excited to run this race. In my never ending quest to harden the F up,I thought this would be just what I needed to feel tough.

X-dog puts on this race. In my opinion these guys put on the best races.Their races usually are 5-6 miles of pure hell.This one would be no different.

About a month ago I started trying to put a team together.At most of the X-dog races Mike Tyler is a contender for the win.Mike is a 2:38 marathoner and just looks like one bad Mutha! So when he agreed to join our team I was very excited.Mark Robins is an Ironman Triathlon finisher and a speedy runner .Mark agreed to join our team so things were starting to come together.As I've said before Mike "luvin" Rosling is one of the toughest guys that I know.So having "luvin" on the team is always a plus.So now for the fourth member of the team Pain Train. For those of you reading this that don't know my nickname Pain Train, is a joke between Mike "luvin" and I. I really don't consider myself very tough,truth be told I'm very wimpy.

With this being the Mountain Running Championships I should have figured there would be some bad ass runners at this race.But for some reason I thought it would be the normal guys who are at the X-dog races.I thought our team had a real good chance to win the 500 dollars for first place team.When we arrived and immediately saw Ian Torrance,Kyle Skaggs,Eric Skaggs,and Max King I knew we had a problem.So with the team title out of the question,my goal now became to try and make a man of myself.

The race started with the fast guys smoking it down the 1/2 mile downhill.Those guys are really fast!It was very cool to run with them for the first five seconds.Okay two seconds.After the short downhill we started to go up.I found out very soon I'm not a mountain runner,Pain Train is a mountain walker.The uphill was sick!So many people were passing me I turned around to make sure I wasn't dragging anything.Jason "bullseye" Nixon had hiked to the top to cheer us on.It made me feel a little better to hear him say that everyone in front of me was hurting also.I finally made it to the top and started heading down.It was so steep it felt unsafe.Both of my shoes came untied,which made it feel that much more unsafe.After a couple miles downhill we had a 1/2 mile uphill on the pavement to the finish.This was brutal,I wanted to walk so bad,but was afraid someone would laugh at me being this close to the finish line.

I finished and started to look for some butter and jam,because my legs were toast.I'm so amazed at how fast the front runners ran this race.I feel honored to even be able to run the same race as these guys.This was a very fun race,I'll be back next year for sure.Congratulations to everyone brave enough to run this race.

Roofing and Mountain Running

2008-09-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

I've been really busy lately.After putting it off all summer I finally started re-roofing our house.This is very hard work,it has really helped me to harden the F up(look at the video bar on the right to get the joke)! I will be so glad when it's done.
I've only been squeezing in short runs lately.This Sunday I'm signed up to run the N.W. Mountain Running Championships.I should be plenty rested for this or just plain out of shape.Mike "luvin",Mike Tyler (super fast guy),Mark Robins(another fast guy) ,and I are running this as a team.I'm pretty sure I know who is going to be the weak link (Pain Train).This is going to hurt! 500 dollars for first place team. Wish us luck.

McKenzie 50k

2008-09-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

I pretty much ran like a chicken shit.I've been using the excuse that Waldo left me feeling tired.So I went into this run knowing that if I had a bad run that I had an excuse to fall back on.I hate excuses and I'm mad at myself for not running as hard as I could because I had an excuse to fall back on.The last mile of the day was my fastest.That just shows me that I had more to give and I ran like a wimp.

I want to say how much I admire the guys and gals who wasn't scared and gave everything they had.Mike "luvin" really impressed me by going out hard and having a great run.Dennis Gamroth had been sick all week and still came out and gave all he had.One guy that really impressed me was Todd Temple.Todd ran the Tahoe 100 mile in July.He ran very strong.I wish I had the balls these guys showed.

I really enjoyed seeing everyone at the race.That is the thing I'm enjoying the most is all the new friends I've made running these races.

Where's Waldo 100k

2008-08-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I ran the Where's Waldo 100k. I've been looking forward to this race for a year now. Last year Jason "Bullseye" Nixon and I went to the race and volunteered at an aid station.The aid station that we where at is at mile 44.I knew that day that this race was no joke.People coming into the aid station looked horrible. I decided that,I had to see if I was man enough for this challenge.

So all of my running focus this year has been for this race.I talked to a lot of great runners who have done this race for any training advice they might give me.I would like to thank Sean Meissner,Kelly Woodke,Scott Leonard,Clem Lacava,Ken Ward,John Liebeskind,and Sander Nelson for the advice that I picked up from them through out the year.After a whole year of training and racing,I was nervous but felt ready for this race.

Friday afternoon I picked up Mike "luvin" and his son Will and we set off on our adventure.Mike's Dad had set us up with a place to stay not far from the race.I just have to say that the whole Rosling family are some of the nicest people I've ever met!I know I've said this before but I'm lucky to have a Friend like Mike.We went to the pre race dinner and then went to the cabin to get ready for the 3:00 a.m. wake up call.

Race day was finally here!We started at 5:00 a.m. in the dark.The first couple of miles are steep uphill.It feels weird with all the excitement to start the race hiking.I got a chance to say hi to all the guys that I knew in this section.After having a great race at PCT a few weeks ago,I decided I was going to start this race slow and just try to be smart.It was tough letting the guys that I'm usually close to in the results go ahead without me.

I made it to the first aid station at Gold Lake feeling like I was running a smart race.I saw Sean Meissner here helping out at the aid station.This guy is awesome,not only is he a great runner he has a great attitude.Coming out of the aid station I got a chance to talk to Tom Riley a bit.Tom has run this race 5 times now what an animal!Tom gave me some great advice about later in the race that only a guy who has done the race that many times would know. Thanks Tom.

The next section is the climb up Mt. Fuji.I wish everyone could get the chance to see the view at the top, it's that awesome!It was cool getting to see the leaders on the out and back section.It also gave me a chance to see how far I was behind.Coming down Fuji I caught up to Mike.We ran together for a few miles into the Mt. Ray aid station.

Coming out of Mt. Ray Mike told me it was going to be a long day for him.That's not what you want to hear at mile 21 in a 62 mile race.I was feeling pretty good on this section and then it happened.I blew my nose from all the dust and it started bleeding.I've gotten nose bleeds all my life so I know how to deal with it,but it cost me some time.I was worried because last year at the Timberline Marathon a nose bleed cost me at least 20 mins.I got it stopped and made it to the Twins aid station.

My home boy Dennis Gamroth (I've got to come up with a nickname for Dennis please leave your suggestions on my comments)and his wife Sharon were at this aid station.They took great care of me,it's awesome to have Friends!About a mile later I caught up to Kurt Eisele.He was having a rough day.I stopped and talked with him for a while and tried to encourage him to stick with me.I later found out he had been sick all week and had to drop.That really sucks.

I made it to Charlton aid station where all my friends from Mac Forest were volunteering!These guys are the best.They got me in and out of there in no time.They really had me pumped up when I left there.I picked up the pace and noticed that I was passing a lot of runners.About this time I started to get hot.I'm not sure what the temperature was,but it felt pretty warm.

I made it to the 4290 aid station and they had a bucket of ice water.I took my shirt off and dunked it in the water.This felt unbelievably good.I asked the people there not to laugh at my roll while I had my shirt off.Sean was also at this aid station helping out.He told me I looked strong,but I didn't believe him.

So off I went on the longest section between aid stations.This section was very hard,because it is pretty much uphill for about 4-5 miles.After a few miles I passed Mike Burke. He didn't look like he was having a very good day.A little while longer I came up on Geoff Donovan,he was really struggling.He was out of water and it was still a ways to the next aid station.I told him about a spring that we had filled our bottles in during a training run a couple of weeks ago.We made it to the spring and filled our bottles.I told Geoff to hang in there and went on my way.

I made it to the Twins aid station and was greeted by Sharon Gamroth.She gave me some gels and told me Kelly Woodke was just a few mins. ahead.I tried to eat as much food as I could.I ate a peanut butter & jelly, some watermelon,and best of all a popsicle.I headed out of the aid station looking forward to the downhill for the next few miles.

I made it to the Maiden Peak aid station still feeling pretty good.To my surprise Kelly Woodke and Meghan Arbogast were there.Kelly said his stomach was not doing well and he was expecting to see me.I did the shirt dunking thing again ate some more watermelon and started the climb up Maiden.This is by far the hardest thing I've ever done!This climb comes 50 miles into the race,which is the furthest I'd ever run before today.During the climb I noticed that my stomach was not very happy.I really thought I was going to puke.This climb just is not right!I got er done and was never so happy in my life!

On the way down I started to realize that things were starting to come unwound.I've felt pretty bad in a few races before, but this was different.I was having real troubles on a downhill.I wanted to walk.I kept telling myself that I can't walk on downhills.I was really starting to fall apart.

I made it to the Maiden Lake aid station and I noticed a guy lying down on a cot.This scared me a little bit,because I was feeling pretty bad and still had 7.5 miles to go.My stomach wouldn't let me eat anything any longer.Every time I would take a drink I would get the heaves.Along the lake I looked over and saw two ladies standing there buck naked!I couldn't believe my eyes!I thought for a moment that I was hallucinating,until they asked me how I was doing!I mumbled that I would be better in a few miles.During this whole fiasco for some reason I felt like maybe I'd missed a turn.I felt like Meghan and Kelly should have caught me by now.I almost turned around a few times.I finally made it to a trail marker and realized I was going the right way.

The last 3 miles are very gentle downhill.I was pretty pathetic here running a couple hundred feet at a time.I couldn't believe no one had caught me during this time.Then with less than a mile to go Lee McKinley came flying by.He tried to encourage me to stay with him to break 12 hours,but I just couldn't do it.I crossed the finish line in 12:01,good for 14th place!I've never been so tired in all my life.

After the finish Matt Nahorniak helped me find a place to sit down.I was feeling very sick.Matt brought me a Sprite and I tried to force it down.After a little bit I decided I needed to go puke.Instead I let out a big burp and felt a lot better.I got something to eat and talked to everyone around.

Mike "luvin" finished after a very tough day.Mike is probably the toughest guy I know.

Until this race I had never really had any doubts that I'd finish a race.I've felt pretty bad before but I always knew I would finish.This was the first time when I really didn't know.Anyone with the guts to try this race should be very proud of themselves!How will I ever get through a 100 miler? I guess we will just have to wait and see!

I would like to thank Craig,Curt,all the volunteers,all my Mac Forest friends,and Dennis & Sharon Gamroth for getting me to the finish line!

Pictures were stolen from Jasmine Nahorniak(Thanks Jasmine!) and the Where's Waldo website.

Pin it to Win it

2008-08-12T17:30:00.000-07:00

Lately I've thought a lot about my races.The ones that I've felt have been successful have come when I've started slow, and held a steady pace.The others have been start fast and die.As much as I want to be like some of my heroes, (Steve Prefontaine,Ricky Carmicheal, Ricky Bobby,and Chopper Reid)I'm starting to realize that maybe I'm not cut from the same mold as these guys.I really feel like a wimp saying that.

Four days till Waldo , hope I can run a smart race.

PCT 50

2008-07-28T19:05:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday I ran the PCT 50 miler.Of all the races that I've done this one is my favorite course. This was the second year I've done this race.Except for a short section on the road in the beginning it's all on the Pacific Crest Trail.The views of Mt. Hood are awesome.The course starts at Clackamas Ranger Station and goes up to Timberline Lodge and back.So the first 25 miles are pretty much uphill, and the last 25 all downhill.

I've been training with the Where's Waldo 100k as my focus.So this race was my last big training week before I start tapering for Waldo.All the advice I'd received told me not to run this race hard,with my goal race 3 weeks away.That might be easier said than done.

I woke up on race morning at 3:30 a.m. to have plenty of time to drive to Mt.Hood for the 6:30 a.m. start. Last year Mike "luvin" and I left at 4:00 a.m. and it seemed like we had plenty of time.Well I must have drove slower this year or something, because I didn't get there until 6:15. That's cutting her a little too close for comfort. I like to have a little time to b.s. before the race,but not this time I made it just in time to get my number,pin it on and get to the starting line.

I noticed that I wasn't really as nervous as I'd been before the last couple of races.Maybe because I kept telling myself this was going to be an easy training run.My main goal was to try and eat and drink the proper amount,and to finish the race feeling like I gave a solid effort.

I lined up for the start next to my homeboy Dennis Gamroth(we went to the same high school),and chatted a bit.Dennis asked what my goal for today was. I told him I just wanted to represent Aumsville the best I could.He was pretty sure I would be the only guy from Aumsville there.We got under way,and it seemed like everyone was starting really fast.I kept telling myself to just take it easy.I wore my heart rate monitor for the first time during a race. I felt like this really helped me to keep it under control during this race.Every time I got close to threshold rate, I either walked,or slowed to a shuffle.This was very hard to do when it's early in a race and you're ready to rip.

The first aid station is a little out and back past Little Crater Lake, it was really cool seeing all the people ahead and behind you at this point.The people at all the aid stations in this race where awesome.Pretty much I just kept telling myself to be patient.So it felt like I was going painfully slow.I met a couple people who I'd never met before,a guy named Alan (who finished in 8:03 which was an hour faster than last year!),and another guy named Todd.I also seen a few of the guys that are normally at these races.Kelly Woodke and Kurt Eisele were both up front and looked like they were having a good day.Rod Bien, who I've never had a chance to meet was long gone.He ended up winning in an amazing time of 6:53,just shy of the course record!I did see him on his way back down and he just looked like he was out for a jog!

Last year this was my first 50 mile race, and I was scared to death (kind of how I feel about Waldo) so I made sure to go slow to the top and see what happens on the way down.That seemed to work,I ran 4:28 up and 3:53 down.This year I made it to the top in 4:09! This worried me a little,but it felt easy and my heart rate was right where I wanted it to be.After being patient to the top it was now time to pick it up a bit. I figured that I was outside the top 20 when I made it to the top.Mike "luvin" and his son Will were at the top to cheer me on!Scott Leonard was also there cheering people on.Scott just finished his first 100 miler in Tahoe last week,what a stud!Dennis' wife Sharon was nice enough to take my bag of stuff to the top for me.I really appreciated that.After filling my bottles and eating some goodies,I was ready to take on the downhill to the finish.

I started to pass a few guys and tried to encourage them.I couldn't believe how good I felt.The race just seemed to fly by.Mike"luvin" and Will met me at each aid station,this was awesome and really seemed to give me a boost.I caught Kurt just before the 40 mile aid station he was having a little trouble.That really sucks because Kurt is a nice guy and I don't like to see anybody have a rough go.At this point is the first time I thought about what time I would finish in.I did some math and figured I could finish in under 8 hours! I was pumped,but I knew that there was still a lot of time for the wheels to come off.The wheels stayed on this time though and I finished in 7:40 good for 6th place!I couldn't believe it!After having a couple rough races it felt good to have a good one.I never had one bad patch or anything.

Afterwards I had a big ole cheeseburger and talked to some of the guys.This is a great race, Olga,Monika,and the volunteers do an awesome job!Congratulations to Dennis Gamroth for finishing in 8:32,8 minutes under his goal!

Next up Waldo,I'm really scared!

Mt. Hood Scramble

2008-06-20T22:23:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday Mike "Luvin","Bullseye",Lee, and I ran the Mt. Hood Scramble.This is by far the most fun race of the year.It is 6.8 miles of pure pain.Last year "Bullseye" and I did it for the first time.On their website they warn you about how tough it is.I remember being skeptical about this,they made a believer out of me in the first 5 minutes.This race isn't on a trail at all,it is completely cross country. A couple of months ago I was trying to talk my cousin Lee (Mike Luvin's brother in-law) into signing up for this race.Not so much because I thought he would enjoy it, but because I wanted to see him in pain.He was reluctant,so I told him "Bullseye" did it so he could too.Well somehow it turned into a contest between them. then it turned into a team race, with the teams being Mike "Luvin" and Lee vs. "Bullseye" and I. In the next couple of months a lot of smack talk happened.I was definitely feeling the pressure.We discussed what the losers would have to do for the prize.I was just hoping that when it was over we could all still be friends.It was decided that if we lost "Bullseye" and I would sing karaoke.I would pretty much kill myself running to make sure this wouldn't happen.For their part Lee would sing karaoke,and seeing how Mike"Luvin" enjoys singing he would have to let us pick out an outfit for him to wear on the 4th of July 10k in Stayton. With race day approaching fast,I really thought this thing was going to be a coin flip.Mike"Luvin" usually beats me in most shorter distance races,so my confidence was a little low.I have ran a number of times with both "Bullseye" and Lee.It was just to close to call.My only hope was that Mike "Luvin" could still be feeling the effects of his "balls out" marathon.Then I get a phone call from"Luvin" saying he has bronchitis.Either my prayers were answered (just kidding) or this was some kind of sick strategy.We get to the race and I'm ready to let her rip.I had decided to start fast and just try to hold on.There was over 400 people in the race so it was pretty crowded at the start.I tried to get as close to the front as possible."Luvin" decided to line up behind me.I really didn't like this because I like to be the chaser.The race starts and it is just a mad house getting moving.We start going down big boulders toward the river.This race crosses the river so many times I lost count.The water is knee deep and very cold.This year the coarse was mostly ran on snow.This made it even tougher than last year.In the first mile or so we came to a little pond and I slid on the snow and in I went completely over my head.A few guys passed me at this point and I thought "Luvin" may have been one of them.The coarse is marked only by pink ribbons,so it is tough to follow at times.I ran as hard as I could not sure if I was ahead or behind.I kept picturing "Luvin" passing me on the long downhill at the end.So I finished in 1:10,good for 13th place."Luvin" hadn't finished yet,so I waited at the finish line anxiously.He came in 1:22,he was for sure feeling the effects of his sickness because there is no way I could ever beat him by that much if at all if he were 100%.We waited for the next of our teammates to come in to see how this would play out.Next came Lee in1:36."Bullseye" came in a minute later.Our team was victorious,but it felt empty because "Luvin" wasn't 100%.I have offered to let him out of the bet.We'll see if he takes me up on it.Stay tuned.Here is a link to some of the pictures of the racehttp://conaghan.smugmug.com/keyword/349-mt%20hood%20scramble%202008#313957213-NUtpe.This race is sick,I recommend it to everyone!

Guts

2008-06-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I witnessed one of the best displays of guts I've ever seen.Mike"Luvin" ran the Newport Marathon in 2:52.That is a 12 minute p.r. for Mike.The thing that makes this even better is he has been in Italy for 2 weeks,and also flew home on Friday.I went to Newport to cheer Mike on,and to run the last 4 miles with him.When Mike got to where I was waiting he still looked really strong.I knew he was under 3 hour pace,which was his goal but I wasn't sure by how much.About the 24 mile mark Mike was looking like he was starting to really struggle.He never slowed down though,even when he was obviously in great pain.I'm so pumped for Mike,because he is truly one of the good guys.I really love this thing that we do.There are a lot of struggles and disappointment,but when you have a day like Mike had it makes it all worth while.Congratulations,enjoy it buddy you earned it!

Motivation

2008-05-31T21:52:00.000-07:00

Watch this and then go for a run http://youtube.com/watch?v=DmXidukvFxw

Bears,2 a days,and back 2 back long runs

2008-05-25T22:01:00.000-07:00

Monday night Jason "Bullseye" Nixon and I went to Shellburg Falls(my stompin' grounds) for a run.I was feeling pretty good, so I was letting her fly. I was coming down the trail to the campground and about 25 yards away I see something by the garbage can. My first thought was that it was a dog,but the thing took off and I realized it was a black bear.Man can those things move.So I was a little startled and didn't know what to do.The thing seemed more scared of me then anything.I decided to turn around and see where Jason was.He was a little ways back,I got to him and told him what happened.We decide to go back down to the campground.When we got back down there the bear was back in the garbage can.It took off running again.He went about 30 yards into the brush and just laid down.We stood there and watched him for about 10 minutes and then went on our way.It was pretty exciting to see a bear. I have been trying to take it up a notch, so I have started to do short runs in the morning on top of my evening runs.This is really tough for me,because I hate mornings.After a few of these though it's really not that bad. A few of the really good ultra runners I have talked to for advice have told me to try back 2 back long runs.So yesterday and today I decided to give it a try.I went down to MacDonald Forest yesterday and joined a group of guys for Ken Ward's 51st birthday run.These group runs are a good time.I really enjoy talking to these guys about running.These guys have run hundreds of ultras,so if you have a question about anything about running they have an answer.One thing I enjoyed about this run was talking to Sander Nelson.This guy is an animal.He was telling me about the hill repeats that he does.Then about 17 miles into the run we got to the hill he does his repeats on.I have been on this hill before and remember alt of pain and misery,that was only going up it once.We start up the hill and someone asks "who's walking"everyone says"me".Sander asks "who's running"?Well I decide that I'll give it a try.We head on up and about 1/2 way up I'm feeling the burn.My pride won't let me walk now, even though I would really love to. We make it to the top(me just barely) and Sander turns around and heads back down.There comes a time when you have to be a man.As bad as I didn't want to I headed back down.We ran down to where the others were, which luckily for me wasn't all the way to the bottom.We turned around and went back up.This second time I thought I was going to puke.I would like to thank Sander for not letting me quit.We ended the run with a few miles of downhill.It was fun running with Scott Leonard on this section.We pushed each other pretty hard down the hill.This run was 21.5 miles long.One down one to go. Today I went for a run at Silver Falls.Silver Falls trails connect with Shellburg Falls.I spend more time at Shellburg Falls because driving wise it's a little closer.I haven't ran the trails at Silver Falls for a while now,so I was kind of excited.We had a couple good wind storms this winter that took a lot of trees and branches down.It didn't take long for the trails at Shellburg Falls to get cleaned up.Jason and I spent an afternoon cleaning up a few of those trails.I figured with Silver Falls being a state park that the trails would be cleaned up.Wrong.I started my run on the trail and soon realized that the trees where not cut out of the trail.This was going to be a long day.So after jumping about a zillion trees in 7 miles I made it to the trail of ten falls.I knew this trail would be clean as it is the main attraction of the park.I guess I didn't think about it being Memorial day weekend.There where about a zillion people on this trail.I don't know what was worse jumping trees or dodging people.I finally made it through all the people and started going up Buck Mountain trail,more trees down.Not only that,but a lot of mud.I was shuffling along up a hill and hit a deep mud hole and it sucked my shoe right off!This will be good training for the Mt Hood Scramble.Good times.I made it back to my Jeep after a tough 22.5 and decided to call it a day.Next up the Mt. Hood Scramble.I'm bringing the pain, so Mike"Luvin" and Lee had better watch out.

Mcdonald Forest 50k

2008-05-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I ran the Mcdonald Forest 50k.I have been looking forward to this race,mostly because I know the course pretty well.After a hard effort at The Rumble less than a month ago I was worried that maybe this race was too close to go all out on.My training has went well in that time,with some hard runs on the Mac course.Trying to figure out the maze was fun.I was lucky enough to get to run with Clem Lacava one Saturday.Who better to show you around the course than the guy who invented the race?Race day finally arrived and I felt ready to let it all hang out.My plan was to start off slow and bring the pain after the maze.With the race underway I ran the first few miles with Sander Nelson and talked about our other races this year.Up ahead I could see Mike"luvin" Rosling got off to a fast start.That was the last time I would see him all day.Right between 6 and 7 miles I felt the special feeling of having to go poo,which is perfectly normal for me on a run.After a refreshing stop in the bushes I was on my way.I made it to the 1st aid station filled my bottle ate a gel and some pretzels and kept on truckin'.Shortly after the aid station some guy asked me how I got the sleeves off my shirt I said "uh scissors".He thought that you would have to hem it or something.I told him it was kind of redneck,but seeing how I am a redneck it worked out.He didn't think it was that funny.Meanwhile back in the race we were just entering the maze,still feeling good.Somewhere in the next few miles my stomach started to feel crappy.Mike Burke, Penny Mcdermot, and I started to play leap frog.My stomach wouldn't let me push on the uphills,so they would pass me then I would pass them back on the down hill.Mike stepped to the side on one of the down hills and told me to pass.I told him he would pass me back on the next uphill.He then said "good thing this race has an uphill finish".I made it out of the maze not ready to put the hammer down like I had hoped,instead I wanted to puke.I couldn't believe my stomach felt like this again,two races in a row.I really didn't think that I had started too fast.After the longest mile of my life on the gravel road,I made it to the Dimple Hill aid station.For the first time ever I wanted to quit.I quickly filled my bottle,drank some coke and moved on.Out of the aid station there is about 2 miles of downhill,so I started to feel a little better.Mike Burke had caught me again and said "let's see what you got downhill boy".This didn't sit to well with me,so I declared War!One of us was gonna have to die!To my dismay he stuck right with me on the downhill.We hit the next uphill and he was gone.That guy is an animal.Without being able to run the uphills without getting dizzy and wanting to puke,I was forced to walk all the ups.I wasn't happy about this.No matter how much I called myself a wuss,I couldn't run uphill.I could run the downhills without my stomach feeling like it was going to explode,so I just concentrated on pushing on the downs as hard as I could.The Horse Trail is a trail that I have run many times just for this race.Not today had to walk every step of the way.I would try to run and 20 feet later I would feel like I was going to pass out.On this trail I'm glad I was by myself,I was cussing myself.Once I made it to the top there is about 2 miles of downhill.Again on the down my stomach felt fine.I decided to "make hay while the sun shines",and got it on.Along the way through the suffering and misery,I had quit caring about what time I was going to finish in.Suddenly with the downhill I started to care again and realized I could still come in under 5 hours.I hit the last aid station like a run away train, and soon snapped back to reality .There are 2 miles of uphill after the aid station.So back to the suffering.I actually passed Kurt Eisele on this uphill by running for about a 100 feet at a time.Soon the light at the end of the tunnel came in the shape of 2 miles of sweet downhill.At 29 miles into the race I ran my fastest mile,even though it was on a downhill.I passed another runner,Bill Huggins on this downhill.Now I get to the last little hill in the race and I look up to see Mike Burke at the top.Knowing there is a downhill for the last mile, I push as hard as I can to catch him. I just about kill myself to catch Mike and when I do he steps aside without a fight.So now I feel like a jerk.I ask him if he would mind if he would mind if we finished together.He says only if we cross the finish line backwards in memory of Scott McQueeney.Mike and I crossed the line in 4:53 good for 15th and 16th place.Mike"luvin"Rosling had an awesome race finishing in 4:46,what a stud!Overall I'm happy with myself for not quitting when things were rough,but I have to figure out what the deal is with my stomach.Maybe I'm just a wienie.I would like to thank Matt and Jasmine Nahorniak for the awesome pictures.

Pain Train

2008-04-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

If you want to know more about the Pain Train watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcFSOnumgZA

Mike"luvin"

2008-04-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Mike Rosling is one of the best guys I have ever met,I really consider myself lucky to be able to call him my friend.Mike and I have been running together for a little over three years now.We both started out with the goal of qualifying for Boston. We started training together,worked hard and both made it at the Newport Marathon(just barely).Next the the goal was sub 3 hours.We didn't make it at Boston(I don't want to talk about it).The next year we trained even harder,and I just squeaked by at the Eugene Marathon.Instead of taking the easy way out and picking an easy course like I did Mike went back to Boston, and in horrible weather ran 3:05.After my failed attempt in Boston, Mike had to hear me complain about it for a whole year.Mike never complains about anything, I really don't know how he stands listening to me on our 4 to 5 hour training runs.Mike just ran Boston on Monday,I would've bet a million dollars he would have crushed 3 hours.But it wasn't to be,he ran 3:04.Man, I feel bad for him because I know how hard he worked for it.It's gonna be so sweet when he does it,which I know it's gonna be the next marathon he runs.I want to be there to cheer him on.

Peterson Ridge Rumble

2008-04-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I ran the Peterson Ridge Rumble.I've been really looking forward to this race.This race I had decided to let it fly.I wanted to go as hard as I could.Mike"luvin" and I had done a training run here a few weeks ago,so I was a little familiar with the course.I woke up Saturday morning and had breakfast at The Gallery in Sisters.I had 2 pancakes which have never bothered my stomach before.Mike"luvin" and I went down to the middle school about a 1/2 hour before the start.We talked a while with all the Corvallis guys waiting for the start.I got to say it was pretty cool for Mike to get up early to drive me to the start,seeing how he was running the 30k which started a hour later.As the start got closer something in my stomach wasn't sitting well,I just figured it was nerves.The race starts and I try to go out faster than I normally do but not to fast.I ran the first few miles with Kelly Woodke,he is getting ready to run the Grand Slam this summer,which is four 100 mile races.Usually about 5-7 miles into a run I have to go number 2,so 6 miles in I feel that familiar feeling.My stomach felt upset but I thought once I took care of business it would feel better.After my pit stop I wanted to put the hammer down,but my stomach still felt horrible.Usually in a race I drink a whole bottle in between aid stations,so I knew I was getting behind on my drinking when I still had some left in my bottle at the first couple aid stations.At about 23 miles I wanted to puke,but I couldn't.This is the worst I've ever felt in an ultra and I still had 11 miles to go.I guess this is one of those times when you get to find out what your made of.I was trying my best not to slow down,but I was hurting pretty bad.I hit aid station number 6 and downed some pop,this helped for about 10 minutes.Shortly after the aid station 2 guys passed me.This made me angry and I picked up my pace some.I made it to the last aid station and they told me 4.1 miles to go.I figured that a whole bunch of guys would start passing me,I even kept hearing footsteps but nobody was there.I finally made it to the finish in 4:33 good enough for 12th place.I had alot of fun even though it didn't go as well as I'd hoped.In a way I think it's good to struggle sometimes,it will only make you stronger. Mike stuck to his plan and ran the 30k easy with Carlos and Kristen.One week till Boston for him,I can't wait.Next up for me, The Mac 50k time to take it up a notch.

Moto X

2008-04-04T20:23:00.000-07:00

Motocross is my favorite sport.I discovered motorcycles when I was 10.I was hooked the first second I got on a motorcycle.When I was 15 my Mom talked my Dad into letting me race.My Dad was afraid I would get hurt.After that first race all other sports just didn't cut it anymore.I never got very good at motocross,but I still love it.I gave up riding about 2 years ago for a couple of reasons,mainly to concentrate on running.I am still a big fan of the sport.Last year my hero,Ricky Carmicheal retired.

This guy is an animal.He was always considered an underdog.Ricky changed the whole sport when he realized he couldn't win on natural talent.He figured out the only way he was going to win was to train harder than everyone else.After that he totally dominated the sport.Ricky never lost an outdoor title in 10 years,that is a record that I'm sure will never be matched.He was everything a Champion should be.On the rare occasion that someone beat him in a race he never gave any excuses,he would just say he needed to work harder.That is rare nowadays.

Wheatfield Half Marathon

2008-03-31T22:55:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I ran the Wheatfield Half Marathon.It was a great course for a road race.I was running this race more as a tempo run then a race. With Petersons 2 weeks away I didn't want to run to hard.So i had a plan of running the first part which is uphill at a slower pace and then pick up the pace the second half.Amazingly I stuck to this plan and averaged 6:40 pace on the way up and found myself in fifth place.Sean Meissner was way out in front and looked like he was having a great race. So at the turn around I decided to pick up the pace and see if I could catch any of the guys up ahead. I caught 2nd and 3rd pretty quickly and decided to try and pass and put some distance on them.The guy in 2nd responded and really put the hammer down.We were on a downhill and I look at my watch and it said 5:20 pace for that mile.Whoa wait a minute I'm not supposed to be running this hard. So I eased up a bit and let him go. I got back on plan for the next couple miles and I realize the guy in second is getting closer.When I catch up to him I try to see if I think he has anything left.The next few miles we b.s. a bit.We get to the 12 mile mark he makes a break for it and I decide not to respond.I cruised to the finish in 1:21:30.My garmin said the course was about .25 short so I can't call this a p.r..Sean won the race easily in 1:14.I had alot of fun and would recommend this race to anyone,cheap entry fee for a good cause.