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It was a tad bit cool today with temps around 12 above. Great for a run in the park. The trails were totally frozen but very little ice or snow. The creek crossings were a different story as the surface ice isn't thick enough to hold me and the water running under it was really cold. You can see that I am happy that we have this wonderful bridge for this creek crossing. Then next photo is of me near Meyer Cemetery. I sure love to run, don't you?
Recently on the ultra list (not so recently, but I've been meaning to post this for a while now!) Christie Aschwanden, a freelance writer posted a poll question to the Dartmouth Ultra List about which ultra race was the best for newbies. I believe she's going to write an article for Runner's World with the results. I was pleasantly surprised by the results, and they are as follows:
From: Christie Aschwanden
Date: October 24, 2007 9:13:00 AM CDT
To: ULTRA@LISTSERV.DARTMOUTH.EDU
Subject: List: best ultras for newbies
Thanks to everyone who made suggestions. I received something like 115 votes, and most were great. (Sorry, I won't be recommending the Barkley for newbies.)
I've taken a look at each and every one of the races suggested, and since I won't have space in my Runner's World piece to list them all, I've pasted my quick and dirty tabulation of the votes below. Since I am not putting together a definitive list (my list will be a mix of different types and locations), I didn't take the time that would be required to clean up this list to make sure there aren't errors (there may be one or two races that are listed twice, under different names...) Also, some of these votes are for 100s, but my list will only include those that offer distances of 100km or less.
So here's the list. The number in front of the name is the number of votes it received (i.e McNaughton got 5 votes). Races without a number got one vote.
5 McNaughton 50-100-150 in Pekin, IL
4 Ice Age 50 Mile and Lite Ice 50K, Whitewater, Wisconsin
4 Way Too Cool 50K - CA
3 FANS, Minneapolis, MN, 12 or 24 hours, Laps around Lake Nokomis
3 Chicago Lakefront 50/50
3 Heartland 100, flint hills of Kansas
3 Holiday Lake 50K - VA
3 Leanhorse 50K-50mile-100 mile
3 Rocky Raccoon 50k TX
3 Strolling Jim 40 mile
3 Sunmart, 50 mile/50k in Huntsville, TX
2 American River 50 2 Dick Collins Firetrails 50
2 Helen Klein 50M, Sacramento, CA
2 Howl at the Moon, Danville, Illinois, 8 hour
2 JFK 50 mile in Md
2 Le Grizz 50 mile, Hungry Horse Reservoir in Montana
2 McDonald Forest, 50k Oregon
2 McKenzie River 50k
2 Mississippi 50, Laurel, MS
2 Pineland Farms 50K in New Glouchester, ME
2 Mt. Hood PCT, nr Government Camp, OR (late July) 50 M
2 OTHTC High Desert 50k/30k. Held each December in Ridgecrest, Ca.
2 San Juan Solstice 50
The rest of the responses only got one vote.
Congratulations to Akos Konya, last year's 2nd place finisher in the 2007 McNaughton Park Trail Runs 100 mile race. He was recently named the 2007 Injinji Athlete of the Year. Injinji had a full page color ad in TrailRunner magazine with a great photo of Akos (taken by Don Lundell of Zombie Runner) wearing his famous flame shirt. Tell him congrats next time you see him out on the trails!
Winter wonder land has returned to McNaughton Park. Rain, sleet, snow has all contributed to the transformation. The trail is 98% run-able with that other 2 percent being slick ice toboggan slides. You can likely guess where those are - golf hill, butt slide hill and Gary Bird gulch - to mention a few. Regular trial running tread is fine for that 98% but ice cleats are recommended for the slides. Gaiters are a good idea to as the snow will pack into your shoes very quickly.
Here I am as Hudson's Field shortly before Meyer Cemetery. It's snowing today (Saturday) and the running is a blast!
Here are the bright red berries after the snow "frosted" them. Total of about 6 inches of snow added to the energy needed to run today. Lots of stops to clean the ice out of my feet but not so cold as to be a problem.
Courage
Ever wonder what good those face stinging branches are? Well, in the late fall, they produce these bright red berries. They must not be very good tasting but the sure add to the view.
The trail is in pretty good shape for folks to run. Remember, it is not marked as a the race route so unless you have a guide or are really good at following the map, expect to spend a little time finding your way back to the car!
Courage
Runners who have completed at least one previous ultramarathon and are planning to run at the McNaughton Park Trail Runs in April 2008 are needed for participation in a small research project. Participants will complete questionnaires and discuss their ultramarathon experience in a one-on-one interview at McNaughton Park and will be paid $10 for participating. Interested in learning more?
Contact Dr. Jim Konopack through email at: jkonopac@monmouth.edu or call him at his office at: 732-923-4674
My name is Trailrunner Courage and I approve this post!
This is my first post of the year. One of my "webguys" are kind of slow putting up my comments and the beautiful photos that my "people" have taken of me in one of my favorite places, McNaughton Park in Pekin, IL. He's been on vacation over Christmas and hasn't gotten much done except sleep and drink lots of egg nog. He promises to be more prompt. It's not the first time!
