Rest is essential. I recommend no running at all on Mondays/Fridays. Do not get caught up in over-training. Take the easy week every fourth week. Although it should hurt to some degree to train for a 100-km, you should gradually begin to notice that you feel stronger and recover faster than before. If you develop any recurring pains, ongoing fatigue or frequent illness, you should consider dropping one of the mid-week runs for a while. It is entirely possible to run the 100-km without the mid-week long run so it also may be dropped for a time, to allow problems to resolve.

The three-week taper begins at Week 28 and is essential for going into the 100-km well rested and injury free. You will notice that you only have two high mileage weeks in the last five weeks, for the same reason. Do not get caught up in last minute training that withdraws from your training account. If you are nursing an injury, you might even consider taking a four-week taper.

When you are training for the 100-km, all other races should be used as training runs. Always go for “time on your feet”, over speed. The more time you spend on your feet, the better prepared you will be. It’s best to avoid distances over 30-kms during the last 16-weeks of your training. Don’t risk developing injuries that will interfere with the last phase of your training or will not heal by race date.

****This training schedule was based from Nancy Shura’s Training Plan 

The following is the revised 14-week version of the program which I am suggesting to be followed by the novice participants of the 1st Bataan Death March 102K Ultramarathon Race. Although this program is suited for the 96K Comrades Ultramarathon, a little adjustments from this training plan would suit and be appropriate for our preparations for the Bataan Death March Ultra Event.

This Novice Program is for for runners who have not run an ultramarathon race before and who aim to finish a run similar in length to the Comrades in 9:30:00 to 11:00:00 hours. The requirement is that the runner will need to train 5 days per week and be able to run 50-85 kms per week when in peak training. Personal best times when starting the training should be 10K in more than 51:00 minutes; 21K in more than 2:00:00; and the marathon in more than 4:00:00 hours.

Week 1                                        Week 8

M      0                                                    M      0

T   6 X 100m (H)                                     T     10

W  10-12 (W)                                          W     4-5 X 200m (H)

Th  4 X 1:00 (3:00) (S)                            Th    15-17

F    0                                                      F      0

S   25                                                     S     22-25

Su  18-21                                              Su   18

Week 2                                      Week 9

M   0 (W)                                               M  0  (W)

T    10                                                  T   2 X 5 X 00:35 (H)

W   15-18                                            W   15-18

Th   8 (W)                                             Th   8 (W)

F     4 X 1:00 (3:00) (S)                         F     4 X 01:00 (3:00) (S)

S    0                                                   S       0

Su  10-Km Race                                 Su    10-Km Race

Week 3                                   Week 10

M    0                                                 M    0 (W)

T     6-7 (H)                                       T    8-10

W    15-18                                         W    3 X 02:00 (04:00) (S)

Th   8 (W)                                           Th    15 (W)

F     0                                                 F      0

S     30-35 @ 90K pace                    S      30 @ 90K pace

Su    10-12 @ 42K pace                    Su     20-25 @ 42K pace

Week 4                                   Week 11

M    0                                                M      0

T    6-7 (H)                                       T     2 X 6 X 00:35 (H)

W   15-18                                        W     18-20

Th   8 (W)                                         Th    8-10 (W)

F     0                                               F      0

S     20-25 @ 90K pace                  S     3-4 X 02:00 (04:00) (S)

Su   10-12 @ 42K pace                   Su    34-35 @ 90K pace or

                                                                21K @ 42K pace

Week 5                                  Week 12

M    0                                               M     0 (W)             

T     8                                               T      0 or 8

W    0                                               W      2-6 X 00:35 (H)

Th   3-5                                           Th     8-10 (W)

F      0                                              F        8-10

S      8                                              S        4 X 02:00 (04:00) (S)

Su    50-60 @ 90K pace                 Su      10 @ 90K pace

Week 6                                  Week 13

M      0                                              M      8

T      8 or 0                                       T      0

W     10                                            W       12-15

Th    0 (W)                                        Th      2-4 X 00:35 (H)

F      10 including 3 X 200 (H)          F      0

S      20-22                                      S      18 @ 90K pace

Su     0 (W)                                       Su    0

Week 7                                  Week 14

M     8-10                                        M     0

T      4 X 01:00 (2:30) (S)                  T      4 X 01:00 (03:00) (S)

W     16 (W)                                      W     0

Th     0                                             Th   3 X 01:00 (3:00) (S)

F       2-4 X 01:00 (02:00)                 F      0

S       0 (W)                                        S      3 X 00:30 (02:00) (S) or 0

Su     42-km race                             Su    96-km race     

Note:                       

All distances are in kilometers

Key:

(W)—Weight Training                 (S)—-Speed Training

(T)—Track Workout                   (H)—-Hills

5 X 01:00 (02:30) means 5 intervals of 1 minute fast running with 02:30 recovery between intervals.

As WWII history and survivors would tell that about 600-650 US soldiers died in that Death March while the 5,000-10,000 Filipino soldiers perished in that long march which took them 2-3 days to reach San Fernando, Pampanga and then boarded a cargo train to Capas, Tarlac as more of them died in those “sardine-packed” cargo trailers. By the number of fatalities on the side of our Filipino heroes of Bataan and Corregidor, we should be the one who should be doing this memorial services to them by way of retracing the route they had taken in order to imbibe in us the sacrifes that our forefathers had to offer in the name of defense to the country and freedom from foreign invaders.

For the past years, a “relay run”, usually known by few runners, had been conducted to commemorate the Bataan Death March during the week-long celebration of the “Araw ng Kagitingan” (Fall of Bataan & Corregidor Day).

The Bald Runner’s Events is now on the planning stage of coming up with a 100-K Ultra Run from Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga which will be held on 05 April 2009 to commemorate the Bataan Death March on the exact route that our forefathers took (without the beatings, bayonet/sabre killings, famine, lack of water and firing squads, of course!). We will make this as our “Comrades Ultramarathon” in Africa or as our “Badwater Ultramarathon” in the USA for the Philippines. And let the ultramarathon runners worldwide experience our Bataan Death March Memorial Ultra Run. As they say, “build ‘em and they will come”.

Patterned after 100K and Ultramarathon Races held in any place of the world, each participant must meet the following requirements and follow some rules:

1) Runner must have finished at least one (1) marathon race. Age limit—at least 20 years old. Open to male & female.

2) Cut-off time will be observed in particular Aid Stations. Cut-off time for the whole run is 13 hours.

3) Maximum number of participants—100 runners. This is a “solo” race. (This race will push through even if there are only 10 runners or less)

4) Registration is expensive as each Aid Station will be provided with water, energy drinks, and lots of food! This is a non-profit event and this is all for the love of running as we need volunteers for our Aid Stations for this event.

5) “Big and heavy” medal or Plaque and T-shirt will be given to all the Finishers and/or Belt Buckles for winners. Cash Prizes will be available depending on the availability of corporate sponsor or other benevolent sponsors.

6) Each runner can have his/her crew (optional) from the Starting Area and could be only assisted with a pacer from Balanga, Bataan to the Finish Line.  

7) Race starts at 4:00 AM of Sunday or midnight of Saturday.

We will come up with a clinic/seminar for ultramarathon to interested runners early next month. This will be free of charge and the final details will be announced here in this blog. If you are interested to join this ultra race and start your 30-week training right now.

I will join the ultra race and my training starts this week.

I need your comments about this plan, whether they are negative or not. Go to the next level, go ultra!

This will test if you are ready for your tempo runs, speed runs on the oval track, hill workouts, and long steady runs (with “surges” along the way or fast pace at the last 10 kilometers of your long run or long runs at race pace). If you successfully pass this challenge without any injuries, it means that you have developed the endurance and strong leg muscles necessary for a marathon with the end result of attaining your desired finish time.

You can do this with your treadmill machine or along the paved road which is relatively flat. Do the scheduled runs as instructed so that you can recover in between morning and afternoon/evening workouts. You should do the challenge from Monday to Thursday so that you can rest and recover for the rest of the week.

Monday—5K (AM) + 10K (PM) = 15K

Tuesday—10K (AM) + 15K (PM) = 25K

Wednesday—15K (AM) + 20K (PM) = 35K

Thursday—25K

Total = 100K

All Runs should be at moderate (10% less your race pace) or near your Race Pace. Make a log/journal of this challenge and you should be able to get your average pace per kilometer after running 100K.

If you think you are not ready, then don’t do it. But if you want to try, go for it!

Good luck!

2) Do Your Homework—I had to make a research on the Internet and from books and magazines available in order to get as much information I could about running an ultramarathon. The book “The Ultramarathon Man” by Dean Karnazes had greatly influenced me to take my body what it feels to experience and finish the ultramarathon.  Printed magazines on Ultra Trail Running and books about ultramarathon had also helped me by reading the experiences of ultramarathoners who were just like anybody else—they started too as beginners. “Tips” and words of encouragement from my blog visitors (Ben Gaetos aka Benwah, Quicksilver, and Eric aka Habang Tumatakbo) were very helpful. Thanks to these ultra friends!

3) “Think Time, Not Distance”—As a beginner/novice in ultramarathon, my main objective in this ultra event was to finish the race—not to be declared DNF or injured in an accident along the trail or subjected to body injuries due to wear & tear of my running leg muscles. I should be able to finish the race within the cut-off time of 9 hours.  For a successful finish in an ultra event, follow this simple formula—Ultramarathon = running + hiking + Aid Stations + Postive Attitude

4) Endurance, Endurance, Endurance—This is the key for a successful long distance runner. I gradually build-up my mileage on a weekly and monthly basis where my long endurance runs covered at least 60% of my running workouts, 20% for my trail running, 10% for my gym workouts, 5% for my tempo runs, and another 5% for my speed runs. This is not the ideal training regimen of a runner who wants to improve his/her time but for my age and the short period/time I’ve spent to bring back running to my life (again) since October 2007, this schedule works fine with me where I am comfortable, injury-free and be able to recover faster after hard runs and road races.

5) Hydration & Food—Eating full breakfast before the ultramarathon was the wisest decision I’ve made. Bringing two water jugs (one for water & another for sports energy drinks) had helped me in my hydration. Although the Aid Stations were full with food, water and drinks, the distance of 8 to 8.5 kilometers in-between stations was too hard to run through without having a sip of fluids or eating something for my body to be energized. Maintaining a schedule/timing in taking my GUs and Energy Bars was very helpful.

6) Dream Big, Do With “Baby” Steps—This is true to running a marathon, finishing an ultramarathon, and running though our lives. If we dream to reach and attain something, do something about it with “baby” steps. What is important is to act something into your dream…slowly but surely! Be patient, focused and consistent to your dream.

7) Trail Running Etiquette—I have observed that there is familiarity and closeness among the ultramarathoners. If somebody stops or walks limping along the trail, the runner approaching/passing him would ask if there is any problem or if he/she is alright? Runners would talk to you for a while before making a pass and picking up his pace. Runners ahead of you would go towards to their right and give way to you if they sense that you are picking up your pace in a narrow trail and I would do the same too when I hear an approaching runner on my back. In the Aid Stations, the volunteers were very helpful and impressive as they are ultramarathoners, too! They know what you need by your looks alone once you enter the Aid Station. It is important that a runner should not be “greedy” in eating the displayed food while in the Aid Station or for the runner to refrain from carrying with him/her extra food into his pockets! A simple words of thanks & appreciation would be the nicest thing to say to these volunteers.

Positive Attitude—If you think you have prepared and trained properly for an ultramarathon, the last thing that you will need is a “positive attitude” to finish the race. During the race, I did not hear any “whining”/complaints from the runners around me and from the other runners at the finish line. I did not hear any complaints about the route, the weather, the Aid Stations, and the overall management of the race itself.

9) Reward Yourself—I am still thinking what to buy to reward myself for finishing my firts ultramarathon race. Maybe a new shoes (Newton vs. NIKE Lunar Trainer vs. ASICS Gel Kayano 14); an Oakley shades; an ASICS running apparel; a CW-X compression shorts; or maybe train for another 50K or 50-mile race for next year. We will see!

10) Running Inspiration or a “Bad Influence”—Immediately after I finished my run, I overheard my son and daughter talking of planning to run the trail route on the next year’s Bulldog 25K and they were impressed on the informality and closeness of the runners during and after the race. I guess, my kids are already bored with the LA Marathon and Half-Marathons they had been participating and they want a different experience in running. Such plan for my kids to shift to trail running is a nice exposure and training for them as my future “crew and pacers” in my ultramarathon races in the future. 

11) Ultra Race Management & Organization—I’ve learned a lot of insights and experiences on how the race was organized and managed from the time my application to run the race was confirmed up to the time I received the race report and race results from the race organizer. Also, the support and management of the Aid Stations and friendly/supportive attitude of volunteers were worthy of emulating and applying them in local races in the Philippines.

From this e-mail letter, the following observations were made:

1) All participants to the Bulldog 50K/25K Races registered “on-line” and there were no late registrants on the day of the race.

2) Each participant were given enough reminders and guidelines about the route and what to expect during the race through e-mail before the race.

3) Each participant received this e-mail regarding the report and results of the race two days after the race.

4) The race organizers limited the number of participants for better control, support, and overall management of the race.

5) There are still vandals and cheaters in road races even in the United States! I could not see the reason why such people do irresponsible acts.

6) I placed # 100 out of the 139 finishers with a finish time of 7:18:16 hours. The report did not mention if there were DNF in the 50K ultra race.

7) The race was well organized and the aid stations with volunteers did a splendid and wonderful job in taking care of the runners’ needs.

2008 Bulldog 50K/25K Race Report
> By Nancy Shura-Dervin, R.D.
>
> For the third consecutive year, the Bulldog Runs have enjoyed morning fog and pleasant temperatures. A cool breeze blew through Malibu Canyon to keep it from heating up too much for the runners.
>
> The 2008 Bulldog Runs were dedicated to a beloved person in our running community, Craig ???Moose??? Chambers (1949-2008). He took a lot of love with him.

> The overall male and female course records for both races will stand for at least another year. It was Masters Day at the 50K as the male and female overall winners this year also won the Masters Divisions.
>
> Forty-five-year-old Jose Ortiz cruised in at 3:58:05 to win the men???s race. The top three women were all in their 40s with Bree Lambert from San Jose running 4:57:45 to edge out local runner Diana Rush.
>
> Here are your top three 50K male runners:
> 1. Jose Ortiz (45) 3:58:05
> 2. Nick Pedatella (23) 4:03:08
> 3. Dean Dobberteen (33) 4:16:20
>
> And your top three 50K female runners:
> 1. Bree Lambert (40) 4:57:45
> 2. Diana Rush (48) 5:00:43
> 3. Kathy Desmond (41) 5:24:09
>
> The RRCA 50K Regional Champions are:
> ?? RRCA Open Male ??? Jose Ortiz (45) 3:58:05
> ?? RRCA Open Female ??? Bree Lambert (40) 4:57:45
> ?? RRCA Master Male ??? Jose Ortiz (45) 3:58:05
> ?? RRCA Master Female ??? Bree Lambert (40) 4:57:45
> ?? RRCA Grand Master Male ??? Eric Clifton (50) 4:45:15
> ?? RRCA Grand Master Female ??? Lorraine Gersitz (54) 5:55:11
>
> Four 50K runners set impressive age division records:
> ?? Kimberly Hunter brought the F18-29 division time down from 5:34:02 to 5:28:02.
> ?? Overall male winner, Jose Ortiz knocked 10-minutes off the M40-49 CR.
> ?? Lorraine Gersitz improved her own F50/59 record by nine minutes.
> ?? 70-year-old Sail Hong knocked more than 30-minutes off the previous AD record.
>
> The 2008 25K overall male champion is 22 year-old Josh Cross, from St. Augustine, FL. The top three 25Kers were able to hold their positions on the course despite being led off course by a vandal, who pulled ribbons.
>
> 2004 Valley Crest Half Marathon Women???s Champion Anissa Seguin led the ladies with her 2:07:26 winning time in the 25K. Anissa had a commanding lead over the other ladies, admitting that she played with the idea of hitting a new course record but came up just a little short.
>
> Here are your top three 25K male runners:
> 1. Josh Cross (22) 1:58:20
> 2. Chris Bohle (24) 2:00:11
> 3. Jesse Barragan (30) 2:02:41
>
> Here are your top three 25K female runners:
> 1. Anissa Seguin (36) 2:07:26
> 2. Laura Conley (26) 2:14:28
> 3. Allison Bogie (32) 2:18:45
>
> The 25K runners continue to chip away at the age division records as follows (old age division record in parentheses):
> ?? F18-29 ??? Laura Conley ??? 2:14:28 (2:25:22)
> ?? F30-39 ??? Anissa Seguin ??? 2:07:26 (2:21:55)
> ?? M50-59 ??? Ron Paquette ??? 2:05:00 (2:05:10)
> ?? F50-59 ??? Susan Kielsmeier ??? 2:27:54 (2:45:30)
>
> As usual, we had a course vandal and some bandits and some actual thieves (aka those who steal entries). Our course vandal pulled ribbons, complaining of our littering the course, and then proceeded to throw all the ribbons on the ground. Although Park Law Enforcement tried to catch him, he escaped into Malibu Lake. Some of you might recall that at the 2008 VCHM, we had a female runner who impostered another runner, and succeeded in stealing a duplicate bib as well as a prize package. Well, this kind of thing continues. At Bulldog, we had two females who ran with old used bibs that were numerically way out of sequence and were missing the pull tags. I confronted both women and showed them a spreadsheet documenting that the 25K number sequence was 1 ??? 361. Predictably, they wouldn???t fess up. Seems that cheating and immorality has indeed spread to the world of trail running.
>
> As always, our stellar volunteers continue to outshine any vandals or cheaters. The aid stations at Bulldog Lateral, Corral Canyon, Tapia Park and Malibu Creek were expertly operated. We had double handfuls of people who showed up at 5AM to work this race and they were still to be seen at 4PM, cleaning up trash, washing out igloos, and waiting to hang that last medal around the neck of first-time 50Ker Marc David Alpert.
> Please go to the race website and view the runner comments commending our volunteers!
>
> The Bulldog Races would like to thank our park rangers who worked hard to help us put out little fires and keep things running smoothly. We are especially thankful to have Ranger Blake Steele working our race every year. Blake is such an integral part of our Bulldog Family.
>
> I would like to recognize our team of race sponsors, many of whom have been with us for years providing water, drinks, goodie bag stuff, winner gifts, raffle prizes, etc. We have the most generous sponsor in Brian Dameworth of Foot Pursuit, Simi Valley. Brian donated generous gift certificates for the overall winners in each race and also for the masters and grand-masters winners in the 50K. This year we were pleased to welcome North Face as official sponsor of the Bulldog Runs. North Face brought their new line of trail shoes to the finish area and made generous donations of shoes for the winners. Please look for them to appear on our website in the next few days.
>
> One special person appeared on Friday evening to help us unload the Penske truck and then ran 5:55:46 in the 50K??? thank you Lynn Longan. Last but not least, I want to thank my family Larry, Kirsten, Heather, Alex, Kimmy, and yes, YOU Stacy, #!*@Yeaaa!!!
>
> Race photos are posted at: http://www.byronwmoore.com.
>
> Happy trails,
> Nancy & Larry Dervin
>
> 50K ULTRA RESULTS
> PLACE FIRST LAST TIME GEND AGE
> 1 Jose Ortiz 3:58:05 M 45
> 2 Nick Pedatella 4:03:08 M 23
> 3 Dean Dobberteen 4:16:20 M 33
> 4 Sean OBrien 4:19:42 M 45
> 5 Brian Krogmann 4:26:57 M 30
> 6 Jimmy Dean Freeman 4:27:54 M 31
> 7 Kevin Nasman 4:42:36 M 33
> 8 Eric Clifton 4:45:15 M 50
> 9 Guillermo Medina 4:45:34 M 33
> 10 Erik Priedkalns 4:47:17 M 37
> 11 Scott Young 4:53:14 M 41
> 12 Robert Schipsi 4:53:15 M 47
> 13 Ryon Lane 4:56:15 M 31
> 14 Michael Aispuro 4:57:24 M 44
> 15 Bree Lambert 4:57:45 F 40
> 16 Andrew Jarvinen 4:57:50 M 26
> 17 Diana Rush 5:00:43 F 48
> 18 Stephen VanDenburgh 5:02:51 M 42
> 19 Reg Willson 5:04:59 M 49
> 20 Johnny Pryor 5:10:02 M 47
> 21 Ron Ikehara 5:11:38 M 46
> 22 Cecil Baumgartner 5:13:28 M 52
> 23 Dennis Koors 5:13:52 M 36
> 24 Bart Davis 5:14:22 M 38
> 25 Adam Radly 5:15:20 M 39
> 26 Bill Walz 5:22:22 M 38
> 27 Kathy Desmond 5:23:08 F 41
> 28 Judy Maguire 5:24:09 F 49
> 29 Lora Zagnoli 5:24:20 F 46
> 30 Rod Shorey 5:27:03 M 41
> 31 Kimberly Hunter 5:28:02 F 29
> 32 Chris Barth 5:29:01 M 29
> 33 Guillaume Reynet 5:29:48 M 38
> 34 Liz Boyd 5:30:10 F 34
> 35 Steven Funke 5:31:28 M 47
> 36 Anne Langstaff 5:35:38 F 47
> 37 Matthew Meyer 5:36:33 M 24
> 38 Lora Liu 5:37:50 F 25
> 39 Greg Lewis 5:43:30 M 45
> 40 John Fisher 5:44:04 M 48
> 41 Michael McCarthy 5:44:15 M 33
> 42 James Sohn 5:49:33 M 42
> 43 Andrea Favilli 5:49:56 M 45
> 44 Lambert Timmermans 5:51:44 M 41
> 45 Paul Akiyama 5:52:20 M 64
> 46 Francisco Fabian 5:53:30 M 56
> 47 Lorraine Gersitz 5:55:11 F 54
> 48 Lynn Longan 5:55:46 F 35
> 49 Steph Schwartz 5:57:25 F 35
> 50 John Radich 5:58:25 M 54
> 51 David Overstreet 5:59:13 M 48
> 52 Amy Gravengaard 6:00:12 F 31
> 53 Chaz Fitzhugh 6:02:42 M 53
> 54 Ricardo Ornelas 6:03:42 M 35
> 55 Brennen Lee 6:10:16 M 37
> 56 Brian Curtiss 6:18:30 M 32
> 57 Kennett Dempster 6:18:31 M 37
> 58 Mark Dwyer 6:19:11 M 46
> 59 Hyunchan Choi 6:21:54 M 55
> 60 Tracy Beckman-Ramos 6:22:15 F 50
> 61 Wendy Young 6:23:06 F 52
> 62 Bill Ford 6:23:07 M 45
> 63 Kurt Lauer 6:26:12 M 46
> 64 Todd Hockensmith 6:27:09 M 26
> 65 Jennifer Paludi 6:29:13 F 24
> 66 Rachael Kadell 6:29:37 F 42
> 67 Troy Lesovsky 6:30:39 M 43
> 68 Scott Sullivan 6:31:49 M 48
> 69 Wilson Liu 6:32:18 M 50
> 70 Joe Herzog 6:33:24 M 40
> 71 Lori Heinselman-Craig 6:34:15 F 41
> 72 Kelly Baker 6:37:04 F 41
> 73 Sarah Woolf 6:38:19 F 29
> 74 Martin Stein 6:39:35 M 36
> 75 Jeff Padilla 6:42:56 M 58
> 76 Sarah Christian 6:42:57 F 39
> 77 Husein Toubat 6:45:12 M 50
> 78 Gregory Morales 6:45:36 M 38
> 79 Chris Haddy 6:48:54 M 33
> 80 Stacey Stapleton 6:50:32 F 43
> 81 Sang Ho Seo 6:54:37 M 48
> 82 Rex Huston 6:55:45 M 25
> 83 Sail Hong 6:58:55 M 70
> 84 Stanley Choi 6:59:18 M 50
> 85 Raul Santana 7:00:21 M 57
> 86 Jennifer Davidson 7:01:58 F 52
> 87 Peter Frank 7:02:45 M 31
> 88 Susan Bunnell 7:04:34 F 46
> 89 Michael Dixon 7:05:27 M 27
> 90 Tony Yoo 7:05:28 M 39
> 91 Ann Eckels 7:06:14 F 45
> 92 Darren Kavinoky 7:06:37 M 41
> 93 Myung Park 7:08:06 M 65
> 94 Noah Edelson 7:08:29 M 50
> 95 Matthew Villeneuve 7:09:04 M 31
> 96 Silverio Rivas 7:10:47 M 51
> 97 Alberto Ornelas 7:11:34 M 43
> 98 Steve Garlick 7:16:16 M 44
> 99 Boris Zalder 7:17:53 M 37
> 100 Jovenal Narcise 7:18:16 M 56
> 101 Jin Taik Chung 7:18:50 M 61
> 102 Kim Abundis 7:19:42 F 49
> 103 David Grimmett 7:25:57 M 51
> 104 Tam Pham 7:26:28 M 24
> 105 Diana Alon 7:26:30 F 47
> 106 Shannon Farar-Griefer 7:26:34 F 34
> 107 Lisa Takamiya 7:27:54 F 41
> 108 John Callos 7:29:42 M 46
> 109 Julian Shea 7:32:12 M 41
> 110 Stuart King 7:33:05 M 27
> 111 Sylvere Valentin 7:39:45 M 31
> 112 Vida Ash 7:39:46 F 47
> 113 Matt Mundy 7:43:36 M 38
> 114 Mitchell Chan 7:54:32 M 32
> 115 Nathan Schmidt 7:55:52 M 31
> 116 Reyna Akers 7:55:56 F 29
> 117 Kwon Young Yoo 7:56:09 M 56
> 118 Summer Wesson 7:56:22 F 31
> 119 Donn Ozaki 7:56:23 M 49
> 120 Mike McGinnis 7:56:32 M 35
> 121 Gary Farrell 7:58:30 M 45
> 122 Suk Yong Yoon 7:59:21 M 53
> 123 Phil Johnson 7:59:30 M 47
> 124 Yen Darcy 8:02:48 F 52
> 125 Omar Salasar 8:04:23 M 31
> 126 Jakob Herrmann 8:05:04 M 37
> 127 Jum Joo Chung 8:06:07 F 62
> 128 Mike Finley 8:08:22 M 43
> 129 Kathy Kusner 8:19:22 F 68
> 130 Nam Guy Han 8:22:29 M 43
> 131 Kevin Rodgers 8:24:43 M 49
> 132 Toby Estler 8:33:45 M 43
> 133 Tiffany Forster 8:33:45 F 22
> 134 Kathleen Sternbach 8:33:57 F 49
> 135 Tom Fangrow 8:37:09 M 53
> 136 Sergio Villasenor 8:40:17 M 42
> 137 Kris Bhatti 8:47:05 F 45
> 138 Janet Waugh 8:47:12 F 46
> 139 Marc David Alpert 9:25:53 M 40
>
> 25K TRAIL RUN RESULTS
> PLACE FIRST LAST TIME GEN AGE
> 1 Josh Cross 1:58:20 M 22
> 2 Chris Bohle 2:00:11 M 24
> 3 Jesse Barragan 2:02:41 M 30
> 4 Daniel Weissawer-Condon 2:03:58 M 27
> 5 Ron Paquette 2:05:00 M 50
> 6 Anissa Seguin 2:07:26 F 36
> 7 Michael Dulong 2:10:26 M 23
> 8 Eric Kobrine 2:10:46 M 38
> 9 Sean Long 2:11:07 M 25
> 10 Terry Raymer 2:11:50 M 53
> 11 Grant Lindsay 2:13:21 M 31
> 12 Justin Cross 2:13:56 M 26
> 13 Henry Lowenfels 2:14:02 M 26
> 14 Ray Mena 2:14:25 M 52
> 15 Laura Conley 2:14:28 F 26
> 16 Ryan Albu 2:15:20 M 30
> 17 Steven Kobrine 2:16:23 M 43
> 18 Jorge G. Ruiz, Jr. 2:17:58 M
> 19 Blake Teuscher 2:18:30 M 38
> 20 Alison Bogie 2:18:45 F 32
> 21 Rudy Carrion 2:19:08 M 37
> 22 Kent Swanson 2:19:19 M 48
> 23 Bruce Adams 2:20:36 M 42
> 24 Jorge G. Ruiz, Sr. 2:21:40 M
> 25 Todd Baker 2:25:56 M 37
> 26 Kevin Marsden 2:26:20 M 31
> 27 Dave Winkler 2:27:31 M 46
> 28 Daniel Dykes 2:27:42 M 22
> 29 Susan Kielsmeier 2:27:54 F 54
> 30 Dax Ross 2:28:27 m 35
> 31 Zoltan Tombol 2:29:28 M 40
> 32 Jorge Lopez 2:29:31 M 33
> 33 Cheryl Zwarkowski 2:29:40 F 50
> 34 Orhan Beker 2:29:49 M 34
> 35 Tino Gomez 2:29:52 M 29
> 36 Ken Hughes 2:30:07 M 49
> 37 Walter Pavlakovich 2:31:01 M 53
> 38 Arthur Byrne 2:31:27 M 61
> 39 Brian Turner 2:31:43 M 31
> 40 Jeffrey Wright 2:32:51 M 29
> 41 Mike Blixt 2:32:54 M 46
> 42 Randy Shoemaker 2:33:06 M 44
> 43 Susan Kang 2:33:08 F 53
> 44 Meryl Brown 2:33:09 F 44
> 45 Cheri Rich 2:33:19 F 46
> 46 Katy McNamara 2:33:41 F 43
> 47 Mark Steyvers 2:33:57 M 38
> 48 Kerry Smith 2:34:01 F 46
> 49 Patrick Owen 2:34:57 M 48
> 50 Jennifer Mackie 2:35:52 F 26
> 51 Daniel Cho 2:35:57 M 36
> 52 Guillaume Chanfreau 2:35:58 M 40
> 53 Debbie Barton 2:37:44 F 39
> 54 Robert Hershenson 2:39:00 M 36
> 55 Allison Sloben 2:39:13 F 41
> 56 Gary Waldrop 2:39:35 M 44
> 57 Stephen Venable 2:39:44 M 32
> 58 Keith Gayhart 2:40:13 M 53
> 59 Dan Hardy 2:41:23 M 43
> 60 Hans Unger 2:41:28 M 65
> 61 Aliisa Tornikoski 2:41:50 F 27
> 62 Maria Blazquez 2:41:53 F 23
> 63 Robert Mata Jr 2:42:17 M 38
> 64 Mark Robinson 2:42:21 M 34
> 65 Albert Licano 2:42:28 M 42
> 66 Chris Jensen 2:42:52 M 44
> 67 Brett Goldsmith 2:43:21 M 27
> 68 Michael Lee 2:44:52 M 26
> 69 Nathan Trono 2:45:15 M 33
> 70 Megan Pappas 2:45:20 F 23
> 71 Tom Carpenter 2:45:44 M 54
> 72 Juan Rocha 2:46:07 M 24
> 73 Silvia Delgado 2:46:28 F 42
> 74 Karen Boris 2:46:29 F 38
> 75 Mark Goldsmith 2:46:36 M 54
> 76 Ron Kelpe 2:47:13 M 51
> 77 Simon Lozano 2:47:13 M 25
> 78 Brian Peterson 2:47:47 M 32
> 79 Paul Curtiss 2:47:53 M 26
> 80 Sena Hoodman 2:48:08 F 50
> 81 Julie Bateman 2:48:12 F 26
> 82 Jay Mung 2:48:23 M 25
> 83 Suzanne Schubbert 2:49:15 F 31
> 84 Zachary Johnston 2:49:17 M 40
> 85 Harvard Harding 2:49:29 M 35
> 86 Mike Barton 2:49:52 M 41
> 87 Lare Wardrop 2:50:23 M 43
> 88 Kenneth Lee 2:50:34 M 47
> 89 Yong Ja Park 2:50:40 F 53
> 90 Wing Chiu 2:51:02 M 29
> 91 Lindsey Jenniches 2:51:24 F 27
> 92 Craig Hovey 2:51:28 M 34
> 93 James Frazier 2:52:00 M 44
> 94 Leon Gray 2:52:15 M 63
> 95 Tamera Brown 2:52:20 F 41
> 96 Callie Calimlim 2:52:39 F 30
> 97 Ann Archinal 2:53:02 F 47
> 98 Paul Abatemarco 2:53:49 M 38
> 99 Jay Williams 2:53:53 M 40
> 100 Jonathan Robinson 2:53:59 M 42
> 101 Young Nam Kim 2:54:58 M 50
> 102 Alejandro Garcia 2:55:02 M 24
> 103 Jennifer Wilson 2:55:04 F 30
> 104 Stuart Barrington 2:55:13 M 41
> 105 Chelsea Ellwood 2:55:14 F 20
> 106 Russell Chemerisov 2:55:54 M 37
> 107 Karin Klein 2:55:54 F 43
> 108 Jeff Andrews 2:56:10 M 31
> 109 Raul Leos Jr. 2:56:51 M 30
> 110 Joanne Robles 2:56:52 F 44
> 111 Lisa Kuecker 2:58:07 F 41
> 112 Lisa Candela 2:58:30 F 39
> 113 Jeff Rockenmacher 2:59:22 M 52
> 114 Carol Mortier 2:59:35 F 59
> 115 Bradley Youngblood 2:59:46 M 44
> 116 Ofer Shepher 3:00:37 M 37
> 117 Joanne Simsovits 3:00:57 F 38
> 118 Brian Calimlim 3:00:58 M 27
> 119 Kelly Joiner 3:01:49 F 47
> 120 George Wallace 3:02:41 M 57
> 121 Molly Kassouf 3:02:49 F 38
> 122 Michael Ruiz 3:03:46 M 33
> 123 Cherryl Rose 3:04:19 F 48
> 124 Harry Pantelas 3:04:47 M 71
> 125 Isabel Ramos 3:04:51 F 37
> 126 Michael Pang 3:05:22 M 73
> 127 Dina Aman 3:05:28 F 36
> 128 Linda Monje 3:05:36 F 49
> 129 Gerry Smedinghoff 3:05:54 M 45
> 130 Steve Eldredge 3:06:02 M 54
> 131 Robert Campbell 3:06:25 M 44
> 132 Diane Frederic 3:06:38 F 46
> 133 Frank Schiro 3:06:44 M 46
> 134 Jessica Caughey 3:06:58 F 33
> 135 Poli Hernandez 3:07:18 M 59
> 136 Renee Fairbanks 3:07:21 F 33
> 137 Christopher Rommelmann 3:07:30 M 45
> 138 Benny Ornelas 3:07:38 M 31
> 139 Dorothy Forbes 3:09:15 F 51
> 140 Jonathan Resnick 3:09:31 M 47
> 141 Kimberly Gill 3:09:46 F 32
> 142 Hanik Choi 3:10:12 M 55
> 143 Mike Clark 3:10:17 M 47
> 144 Melissa Bell 3:10:37 F 31
> 145 Martin Welicko 3:10:37 M 54
> 146 Craig McClelland 3:10:38 M 48
> 147 Peter Chung 3:10:57 M 26
> 148 Richard Lopez 3:11:06 M 42
> 149 Wendy Barth 3:11:29 F 36
> 150 Gracie Saavedra 3:11:29 F 41
> 151 Kim Elliott 3:12:01 F 41
> 152 Brent Brehm 3:13:01 M 28
> 153 Keith Klus 3:13:20 M 39
> 154 Francisco Almaguer 3:13:38 M 36
> 155 Frank Deogracias 3:13:44 M 59
> 156 Mervat Tawfik 3:13:47 F 51
> 157 Pamelyn Smith 3:13:48 F 42
> 158 Ed Burke 3:13:49 M 58
> 159 Michele Biagioni 3:14:07 F 52
> 160 Robert Haggarty 3:14:21 M 50
> 161 Chris Kostman 3:14:21 M 41
> 162 Denise Mesdjian 3:15:15 F 36
> 163 Myriam Ruiz 3:15:25 F 49
> 164 Robert Movius 3:15:50 M 61
> 165 Reesa Zagnoli 3:15:57 F 19
> 166 Tony Fitzpatrick 3:16:04 M 41
> 167 Erik Bloomquist 3:17:29 M 28
> 168 Rebecca Ronquillo 3:17:39 F 32
> 169 Eric Levy 3:18:08 M 41
> 170 Jesus Arteaga 3:18:16 M 40
> 171 Juliaa Bullock 3:18:32 F 35
> 172 Egzine Richardson 3:19:32 F 50
> 173 Patricia Frick 3:20:30 F 40
> 174 Susan Fisher 3:20:34 F 26
> 175 Kimberly Hise 3:20:34 F 34
> 176 Stephen Jaynes 3:21:34 M 52
> 177 Georgia Brown 3:22:16 F 44
> 178 Kate Longmire 3:22:16 F 41
> 179 Nicole Norori 3:23:23 F 32
> 180 Jay Gladinus 3:23:25 M 67
> 181 Joel Aldape 3:23:34 M 36
> 182 Don Vulich 3:23:42 M 57
> 183 Jayhuan Yeon 3:23:50 M 49
> 184 Michelle Nakamura 3:24:01 F 45
> 185 Todd King 3:24:17 M 47
> 186 Lynn Stoops 3:24:30 F 49
> 187 Willie Guevara 3:24:49 M 54
> 188 Amanda Palacios 3:24:49 F 23
> 189 Lesa Honick 3:24:50 F 46
> 190 Susanna Woods 3:25:30 F 47
> 191 Pamela Clarke 3:25:33 F 43
> 192 Amy Galbraith 3:26:22 F 65
> 193 Fred Weeden 3:27:00 M 43
> 194 Valeria Cordero 3:27:31 F 34
> 195 Yolanda Suarez 3:27:35 F 44
> 196 Jim Krueger 3:27:37 M 48
> 197 Tim Jackson 3:27:46 M 43
> 198 Margaret Macdonald 3:28:41 F 48
> 199 Nick McNaughton 3:29:11 M 56
> 200 Andre Untiedt 3:29:11 M 53
> 201 Wendy Kosche 3:29:38 F 27
> 202 Alex Lightman 3:29:45 M 46
> 203 Richard Contreras 3:29:55 M 38
> 204 Karen Richardson 3:30:32 F 50
> 205 Kris Dworkoski 3:31:08 F 47
> 206 Kyungah Jee Lee 3:31:41 F 55
> 207 Mark Abend 3:32:03 M 39
> 208 Larry Lee 3:32:30 M 53
> 209 Bruch Kirch 3:32:40 M 48
> 210 Sanam Ross 3:33:26 F 33
> 211 Jose Ornelas 3:33:53 M 28
> 212 Jim Roskowick 3:34:07 M 34
> 213 Shannon Roskowick 3:34:07 F 33
> 214 Sarah Pollok 3:34:08 F 22
> 215 Patrick Roskowick 3:34:08 M 31
> 216 Kristin Roskowick 3:34:09 F 28
> 217 Louis Trygar 3:34:10 M 48
> 218 James Lynch 3:34:12 M 44
> 219 Martin Feringa 3:35:06 M 41
> 220 Anhlinh Tang 3:35:07 M 43
> 221 Mike Hansen 3:36:17 M 24
> 222 Debrah Ellett 3:36:18 F 22
> 223 Alexandra Cunningham 3:36:23 F 35
> 224 Benjamin Linder 3:36:24 M 32
> 225 Babak Dadvand 3:37:40 M 49
> 226 Paul Apelgren 3:37:57 M 29
> 227 Byungsan Lee 3:38:15 M 54
> 228 Felix Lu 3:38:19 M 23
> 229 Jane McGrath 3:38:24 F 58
> 230 Laura Rocha 3:38:42 F 31
> 231 Joe Plasencia 3:40:20 M 36
> 232 Stephan Matsuda 3:40:56 M 52
> 233 Alissa Walker 3:41:37 F 30
> 234 Ritamarie Knizewski 3:41:55 F 35
> 235 Kara Scharwath 3:42:11 F 27
> 236 Mark Costello 3:42:58 M 40
> 237 Kelly Seim 3:44:38 F 43
> 238 Clayton Benson 3:44:52 M 54
> 239 Spears Bob 3:45:12 M 59
> 240 Shahrokh Mokhtarzadeh 3:45:27 M 47
> 241 Nick Martin 3:46:32 M 25
> 242 Margarita Hodge 3:49:21 F 45
> 243 Mark Persons 3:49:58 M 43
> 244 Georgina Ruiz 3:50:46 F 50
> 245 Blanca Fernandez 3:51:24 F 23
> 246 Kelli Ham 3:51:26 F 50
> 247 Kasem Toubat 3:51:28 M 38
> 248 Mary Gonzales 3:51:56 F 54
> 249 Barbara Wintroub 3:53:19 F 61
> 250 Larry John 3:53:46 M 57
> 251 Debbie Botten 3:55:04 F 39
> 252 Maureen McGrath 3:56:02 F 46
> 253 Michelle Kaloper 3:56:03 F 38
> 254 Kirstin Brehm 3:56:13 F 31
> 255 Michael Hoodman 3:56:51 M 53
> 256 Christy Coffey 3:57:27 F 39
> 257 Richard Murphy 3:57:28 M 54
> 258 Caroline Shahin 3:58:17 F 49
> 259 Leticia Amador 3:58:20 F 32
> 260 Jean Cooper 3:58:26 F 57
> 261 Debra Jorgensen 4:00:28 F 49
> 262 Victor Weisberg 4:01:10 M 64
> 263 Stephen Ciccarelli 4:04:48 M 46
> 264 Steve McLean 4:06:52 M 70
> 265 Leticia Gonzalez 4:07:00 F 54
> 266 Wendy Marinez 4:07:42 F 26
> 267 Dave Narahara 4:08:21 M 25
> 268 Maria Lewis 4:08:45 F 66
> 269 Jennifer Johnson 4:12:57 M 38
> 270 Carol Kang 4:13:33 F 59
> 271 Leticia Scearce 4:16:24 F 30
> 272 Maria Guzman 4:17:34 F 40
> 273 Sook Won 4:17:36 F 35
> 274 Ana Vasquez 4:17:37 F 37
> 275 Elizabeth Marecek 4:21:06 F 64
> 276 Gary Hilliard 4:28:52 M 53
> 277 Rick Shackelford 4:31:03 M 44
> 278 Yong Mi Pak 4:34:39 M 49
> 279 Sue Strahler 4:34:43 F 51
> 280 George Llerena 4:34:44 M 65
> 281 Shannon Sladek 4:34:44 F 36
> 282 Willard Barry 4:43:15 M 55
> 283 Carolina Roth 4:47:17 F 42
> 284 Mary Schaffer 4:59:18 F 59
> 285 Brandon Martinez 5:06:09 M 22
> 286 Nina Bomar 5:19:13 F 46
> 287 Sarita Shoemaker 5:19:42 F 40
> 288 Dave Doeppel 5:19:43 M 48
> 289 Chihong Kim 5:35:17 M 52
> 290 Kevin Kim 5:35:23 M 18
> 291 Diane Martell 5:38:48 F 41
> 292 Barbara Gregson 7:22:32 F 53
>
> Results should be posted on the website soon.
>
> Thank you for supporting the Bulldog Runs. Please mark your calendar for the 2009 Bulldog Runs on August 22.
>
> Happy trails,
>
> Nancy Shura-Dervin

I registered to participate in this ultra trail run on the 2nd week of July after I arrived in Los Angeles, California to experience what it takes to run an ultramarathon, a running event which is longer than a marathon. My son paid $ 70.00 for the registration fee through his bank’s debit card and my application was accepted immediately.

I ran through the route of the race for two times except for the actual last 3 kilometers of the trail that connects the Corral Canyon/Backbone Trail to the Malibu Creek State Park, which is the Tapia Trail, instead, I had to run along the side of the Las Virgenes Road facing the incoming traffic.

In my first practice run in this route (25K-loop) with my son, my GF 305 registered a total ascent of 4,593.6 feet (1,392 meters) not including the last steep hill between Tapia Park and Malibu Creek State Park, and a total descent of 4,217.4 feet (1,278 meters). After running the whole distance of the Bulldog 50K Ultra Trail Run, I expect to run run twice the figures above as my total ascent & descent distances. The race started at an elevation of 600 feet (182 meters) and reached the highest peak of 2,528 feet (766 meters) at the end of Bulldog & Corral Canyon Trails. And I have to run through the peaks and the trails twice under the heat of the sun!

My alarm clock was set at 3:30 AM of Saturday as my son and daughter decided to accompany me to the assembly area and witness the start of the race. Immediately after I woke up, I did the “usual drill” for a marathoner/runner before he/she goes to the race–shave; take a quick shower; apply Body Glide to my nipples, inner thighs, upper arms; apply petroleum jelly to my whole feet; wear my running kit and TNF trail shoes; prepare my hydration belt and hand-held water jug; placed my GUs and energy bars in the pockets of my running shorts; put an extra set of running attire, running cap, sandals, extra socks, camera, sunglasses, ID, water, sports drinks and confirmation notice in a paper bag; and ate my breakfast.

At 4:30 AM, the three of us were out of the house. The weather was cold and the streets were still empty and we were on our way to the Malibu Creek State Park. We arrived at the place at 5:20 AM and it was still too dark because the park was filled with fogs. When we reached our designated parking area, there were at least 40 cars ahead of us even if we arrived early for the 6:30 AM start of the 50K race. The temperature was at 57 degrees Fahrenheit and I have to wear my sweater to keep myself warm. I immediately went to the starting area booth to get my race packet and finisher’s t-shirt and the race volunteers (mostly old women) were very helpful and accommodating. I had to go back to the car and made my brief stretching routine.

I had to arrive early at the Malibu Creek State Park to get my race packet at least 1 hour before the start of the race. The place was still too dark, foggy and cold and I had much time to prepare my things and do some stretching exercises. The white dots on the picture were the mists on my camera.

Near the place where I was stretching was a group of Japanese (mid-aged and older) of about ten runners doing their stretching activity and found out later that this is a group of ultra runners. I have observed that most of the ultra runners came from other cities in California and neighboring states. After stretching, I asked my son to pin my race number; made my last visit to the comfort room; wear my hydration belt; held my sunglasses; sipped my 1st GU; adjusted my watch ( I left my GF 305, instead, I was using a Timex watch) and checked the tightness of my trail shoes. And exactly 10 minutes before the sheduled start of the race, I was already at the starting area.

Fifteen minutes before the race, I was on my way to the Starting Line with the fogs covering the mountains of the Malibu Creek State Park. I was using my old lumbar Nathan Water Belt and a newly-bought Nathan Hand-held Water Jug which I used on my second practice run along this route.

The yellow colored race bibs were for the 50K runners. Most of the runners used camelbak-type water hydration system. The runners were loosely assembled in the starting area. I have the impression that the race organizer limits the number of runners for easier control and management. There were no running/timing chips in ultra races.

My son, John, was my official photographer and I told him to just wait for me at the Finish Line. I was wearing a Patagonia Trail Running Apparel with zippered pockets on my shorts where I kept my energy bars with a small pack on my belt where I kept my GUs. I was also wearing a “neck bandoo” and a “french legionnaire” style of running cap to protect my nape from the heat of the sun.

Nancy Shura-Dervin, the race organizer, had a 5-minute last briefing instructions to all the runners before the start of the race.

Note: In order to have a better appreciation of the Bulldog Trail (uphill portions of the route) and the Corral Canyon Trail/Backbone Trail, please read my previous post, “Know The Enemy” (Bulldog Trail) where I recap my first run along the 25K-loop, one week before my San Francisco Marathon. My next post on my second practice run along the same route, one week after my San Francisco Marathon, was entitled “You Made It…Good Job”. I did these two paractice runs later during the day where I encountered higher temperatures than the actual run on race day.

Another view of the 50K runners. I have the impression that the 50K runners reached to almost 200 starters.

My first step after hearing the voice command of Nancy Shuran-Dervin of “Ready, Set, Go!”

And we were off on the road and towards the trails/mountains after the voice command of Nancy, “Ready, Set, Go”! 

The Race Organizer, a lady by the name of Nancy Shura-Dervin who is a veteran ultra runner and competitor in past Badwater Ultramarathon events, made some announcements before the start of the race. She said that the race is being sponsored by The North Face, instead of Montrail, and emphasized that the trails are full of markers—pink-colored arrow lines on the road/trail and yellow ribbons tied on the grasses and plants along the sides of the road/trail and she assured that the Aid Stations were already in their locations to help every runner with their needs. After hearing the last instructions from the Race Organizer at the entrance of the Parking Area, we were released with a simple command of “Ready, Set, Go!”

As I had planned for the race, I started slowly with my pace with lots of runners overtaking me in the 1st kilometer and just kept in my mind my main objective of finishing this race at all cost within the 9-hour time limit regulation, which means that I have to finish the race before 3:30 PM. When I was about to reach the portion where the trail is only good for one runner, nobody was around me and I just maintained my pace without being bothered by a sound of heavy breathing or sound of a thumping shoes of a runner on my back.

My Timex watch and my familiarity of the trail were my gauge on how far I was covering the distance in the race and the time would indicate me when to take my GUs and energy bars along the way. I made the following reminders for the race—take my GU every one hour to one hour & fifteen minutes; eat my energy bar every one hour & 30 minutes; and walk at least 3-5 minutes every one hour of running/jogging on the uphill portions of the route. I decided not to use my GF 305 because I predicted that the battery would be wasted after 5-6 hours which I experienced for the two occasions that I used it to run this route.

At the first uphill portion of the route before the 3-kilometer mark, most of the runners who overtook me were already walking briskly up to the top of the road and then continue running again once they reach the level portion. This had been my observation with most of the average ultra runners—brisk walk on the uphill portions, slowly resume jogging on the level portion, and run as fast as they could in the downhill portion! As compared to my tactics, I would continously jog on the uphill portions and overtake these brisk walkers but as soon as I am running downhill, they would overtake me and gain some distance ahead of me! And I said to myself, “wait, I am wasting my energy here, I have to be smart also like these runners and maybe adopt their style of running an ultra trail race”.

I passed and didn’t stop by the 1st Aid Station and kept on slowly jogging and I’ve observed that some runners were already stopping by the station for drinks and food. Maybe, these runners did not had their breakfast before the start of the race.

This is the start of the trail road towards the mountains which is about 200 meters away from the Starting Line. The Bulldog Mountain is at the background. (Note: This picture was taken during my 1st practice run) 

This is the kind of road/trail towards the peak of the Bulldog Mountain with lots of rocks, loose soil and dusts. This part of the route is at least 2 kilometers from the Aid Station #1. (This picture was taken during my 1st run)

This part of the road is near the peak of the Bulldog Trail. This is where a lot of runners would walk until they reach the peak.

As soon as my watch indicated that I was running/slowly jogging for about an hour, I started to brisk walk on the uphill portion, at least one kilometer from the peak of the Bulldog Trail. It took me 2-3 minutes to walk just in time to take a sip of water. I would resume again with my running/slow jogging until I reached the peak which to my estimate is the 10-kilometer mark.

While slowly jogging between the Km 10 and Km 11 and before reaching the start of the downhill portion of the route towards the Corral Canyon Road, I was surprised to start feeling a pain on my left hamstring muscle! This was my first time to experience such pain from my hamstrings on my entire running life! What could be the reason why I was having such pain? I usually have early pains and cramps on my calves. Anyway, I just relaxed myself, focused my thoughts of finishing the race before the cut-off time and tried at all costs to stick to my pre-race strategy/plan. I have to bring out the “warrior-spirit” in me in the early part of the race and I still have 40 kilometers to go! “Think positively, soldier” had been my mantra for the next kilometers!

Once I reached the starting portion of the downhill towards the trailhead of the Corral Canyon, I increased my pacing and never stopping along the way until I reached Aid Station Number 2. The pain on my left hamstring never bothered me again and I suspect that the alternate way of jogging and walking had somehow altered my running style and my leg muscles were not used to it. I asked for Gatorade with ice filled with my hand-held water jug and my water jug on my belt was filled with ice-cold water in the said water station. The sun was already out of the sky and it was giving some heat as we started the race with a temperature of 66 degreed Fahrenheit and it was predicted that the temperature will be in the high 70s. However, I expected that the temperature will reach up to mid 90s during noontime.

This is part of the peak of the Bulldog Trail.

This is the start of beautiful and colored rock formations which stretches to about another one hundred meters ahead. This is the trail after coming from Aid Station #2/#5.

In two minutes, I was out of the aid station and I was on my way to the nice rock formations which was featured in the TV series “Star Trek”. After passing this part of the route, I knew that there was still a high peak/uphill road that I have to go through before going down to Tapia Trail. I just maintained my slow running or slow jogging, “shuffling” slowly on those uneven dusty and rocky roads until I reached the highest peak overlooking the Malibu Beach and the Pacific Ocean. And from there, everything was downhill. But the downhill road was very steep and this is where the traction of a trail shoes is badly needed to prevent a runner from sliding. Aside from the trail shoes, the quadriceps of my legs came into play to maintain and control my body balance and leg strides. I could feel that my feet were constantly rubbing my socks but I was very confident that I will never have any blisters because of the petroleum jelly that I applied on my feet and the Coolmax trail running socks I bought from the Eddie Bauer Store which were very comfortable and reliable in my past runs on these trails.

At the end of the Corral Canyon Trail, I was trailing two other runners, one female white and male Hispanic runners until we reached the Tapia Creek/Tapia Trail which was my first time to see it. The creek has water flowing in it and I was warned by Ben Gaetos to have a drop bag placed at the Aid Station after Tapia Creek where I could change to a dry shoes or socks. Since I don’t have any drop bags, my mind was already prepared for a wet trail shoes for the next 27 kilometers! As I approached the Tapia Creek, I saw that there were rocks on the creek and immediately looked for, at least, four protruding rocks from the water where I could step on to prevent my shoes from being wet. The creek’s width is about 6-7 meters and it was very easy crossing the said creek with the help of those stable rocks with my shoes very dry after crossing it. The runner on my back was not lucky, he chose the wrong rocks and his feet got wet.

As I approached the last Aid Station in the 25K-loop, which is to my estimate is the Km-23 mark, I prepared my water jugs to be refilled with Gatorade and water by the volunteers. This was what I liked in these Aid Stations, the volunteers would ask you what you need and they immediately reach out for you water jugs and they do the refilling and with ice in it while you have time to pick any food/drinks that you can eat/drink from the table–lots of pretzels, fresh orange fruits cut in bite pieces, M & M chocolates, cookies, beef jerky, GUs, energy bars, ice chests full of ice, and big thermos jugs filled with cold water & Gatorade. They have also sponges and cold water sprays..and somebody who would give you a massage to your cramping muscles! The one who gives the massage is a man! It took me at least 2-3 minutes in the said station and started to eat some oranges and I was back again on the road.

The 23rd kilometer stretch was a plain/flat road & trail which were part of the Tapia Park where a Water Distillation Plant is located. However, the Km 24 stretch was a winding trail road that goes all the way to the peak of a steep hill that separates Tapia Park and the Malibu Creek State Park and I slowly jogged along this trail. From this trail, everything was going down to the asphalted roads of the Malibu Creek State Park. When I reached that part where the ultra runners got separated from the 25K runners, I saw on my watch that my time for the 1st 25K loop was 3:08:10 hours!

What? 3:08 hours for the 1st loop? I was running too fast! Although the heat of the sun was too much to bear and my legs were tired and about to run again the uphill climb along the Bulldog Trail, I was happy and smiling that I have enough time as a “cushion/buffer” to reach the 1st/4th Aid Station which has a cut-off time at 11:30 AM (after 5 hours). If a runner doesn’t reach or pass before the said time in this Aid Station, the runner is considered as DNF. As I reached the 1st/4th Aid Station along the Bulldog Trail, I still have at least 2 hours as “buffer” time for the cut-off time. I had to stop at this Aid Station to fill up my water jugs with Gatorade and Water. Once I stopped at the Aid Station, the guys at the Station immediately applied a cold sponge on my head, nape and shoulders and another guy would spray cold water on my body. It was “heaven”, feeling such a relief and being refreshed from the cold water being damped/sprayed to my wet cap and shirt which were already wet from my sweat! I conclude that an ultra runner is always treated as a “king/queen” once he/she steps inside the Aid Station and I was really impressed.

From the said Aid Station I would briskly walked all the time up to the peak of the Bulldog Trail and started talking with the other runners who were also running and walking. Each of the runner would ask if they were feeling alright with the heat of the sun. Also, I would ask another runner if they need an energy bar when somebody see me eating mine. One white tall guy just sat on one of the big rocks along the side as I was about to approach the peak of the Bulldog Trail and asked him if he had any problem and he answered that he was simply tired! At the peak of the trail, I came upon another tall white guy who was wearing a tight/body-fit long-sleeved Under Armour shirt, tight compression pants of Under Armour, cap with the Under Armour logo, and with an Oakley sunglass and he was making some stretching moves on the side of the road. He was talking a guy with a Mountain Bike resting on the other side of the road. The well-dressed guy was looking for the lady who was giving some water to the runners as he badly neded a replenishment of water supply for his jug. I saw a water gallon (with a small amount of water in it) on top of a marker sign and I got it and brought it to the guy and helped him fill his water jug. I started a conversation with him as we started to go downhill from the peak. He told me that it was his first ultramarathon race and he had never ran a marathon race and only finished few 10K runs. I answered him that he is a “brave” man to undertake such feat and asked him to jog with me. He begged off and gave me the reason that he has to take some salt tablets first and walk downhill. I would never see the guy again.

This is the peak of the Bulldog Mountain where I saw a well-dressed (with Under Armour attire) runner stretching and looking for some water. This is the start of the downhill part of the route (as it curves towards the left) towards the trailhead of the Corral Canyon Road where Aid Station #2 is located.

It was a slow downhill running towards the trailhead of the Corral Canyon Trail until I reached the 2nd/5th Aid Station. I had my Gatorade & water jugs refilled and as I was about to leave the station, an old lady volunteer noticed that I was wearing a “bandana” tied around my neck and she advised me to soak my bandana for a few seconds inside the ice chest before leaving the station. Wow! How sweet of that old lady to give me such advise and I heeded her advise! Actually, I was using a “neck bandoo”which is advertised as a “cooling head/neck gear” and I saw being used by the Badwater Ultramarathoners. The ice-soaked bandoo gave me help and the much-needed comfort from the heat of the sun. In every Aid Station, I had to apply the suggested etiquette for ultramarathoners to always look at the eyes of the volunteers and say “Thank you very much” before leaving. As I left the station, I was again alone on the road with tiny body figures running ahead of me on those incoming upward trails seen at a distance.

Another view of the “Start Trek” location where it was almost noon time when I passed through this area on my second round.

I had to alternately walk and run until I reached the highest peak of the Corral Canyon Road and I was confident to reach the finish line in less than seven (7) hours as I was about 5 1/2 hours running along the trail when I started going downhill and still have at least 7-8 kilometers to go. But while I was on the steep downhill towards the end of Corral Canyon Road, my quadriceps started to have some pain and I could feel that they were becoming numbed which might bring me to be easily tripped with a small mistake on my footing on the ground. On the last few meters of the steep trail along the Corral Canyon and before Tapia Trail, I had to slowly walk and take extra careful of my steps.

And this is the highest peak of the Corral Canyon Trail and at the back of this mountain is the start of a downhill route towards Tapia Creek.

This is a view of the Malibu/Calabasas Mountains with the Pacific Ocean as the background as seen from the peak of the Corral Canyon Road. On the right side is a community/subdivision of big houses surrounded with big trees.

I was able to cross the Tapia Creek by choosing again the stable protruding rocks and reached the 3rd/6th Aid Station (last station). Upon entering the Aid Station, I saw at least five runners, most of them resting, eating, drinking, one of them was getting a sponge rub into his entire body and one was having a massage. An Asian volunteer guy got my water jugs and filled one with Gatorade and the other one with water as I was eating lots of orange bites and my energy bar. In 3 minutes, I was starting to run again. My Timex Watch registered a time of 6:42 hours as I left the last station and I thought I could run the last two kilometers before my watch registered 7 hours.

And then suddenly when I was about to start my uphill run on the last hill (Km 49 stretch) that separates Tapia Park and Malibu Creek Sate Park, my quadriceps became tight, painful and I could barely lift my legs in order to shuflle my way up to the hill. Also, I was starting to have stomach cramps and side stitches. Every lift of my legs would give me cramps and I decided to just have a leisurely walk all the way to the peak of the steep hill and I knew that at this point I hit my “wall” for the ultramarathon! There was no need to finish a sub-7 hours for this 50K race, I came here to finish my first ultramarathon race before the cut-off time of 9 hours and gain experience from it!

As I reached the peak of the hill, I drank the Ensure that I put inside the smaller jug on my hydration belt and it gave me my last strength to start running again for the last one kilometer towards the finish line! I finished the race with a time of 7:18 + hours with one hour and 42 minutes to spare before the cut-off time. After I passed the finish line, one of the lady volunteers placed my finisher’s medal on my neck and I got a big hug from my son, John. In a few seconds, Ben Gaetos aka “benwah”, a Filipino ultramarathoner living in Los Angeles, came to congratulate me and he was all praises for what I have accomplished. Thanks Ben for those “tips”, encouraging words and the following comment you posted!

My picture taken without my cap at least 50 meters from the finish line. I actually removed my cap on the last kilometer of the race where I heard a lot of cheers from the crowd–”Good Job…Looking Good..You made it!” Those cheers gave me more strength to finish the race with a smiling face!

The digital clock displayed 7:18:14 hours as I reached the Finish Line with my arms raised and I made it!

Yes, I finished my first Ultramarathon Race (50K) in a very hard and challenging trail run in the mountains of the Malibu Creek State Park in Calabasas, California at an age of 56 years old. What an experience!

The Bald Ultrarunner with the mountains of Malibu Creek State Park as the background where the ultra trail run passed through.

Being awarded this Bulldog 50K Ultramarathon Trail Run Finisher’s Medal is like as if I earned a Gold Medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games!

Finally, a pose with Ben Gaetos (on my right) and Nancy Shura-Dervin, the Race Organizer. Ben, thanks for the DVD of the Badwater Ultramarathon Race. I will forever treasure this and maybe, inspire me to be an accomplished ultramarathoner like you!

Note: To have a glance of my pictures along the route, visit http://www.byronwmoore.com, click Find Your Event Photo, click Bulldog 2008, click Bib # 300-399, and then go to picture #439 & #440.

2. Think Time, Not Distance—Since this will be a run along the mountain trails of Malibu & Calabasas, my average pace will be slower and I have to finish the race within the 9-hour limit, starting at 6:30 AM and closing the race at 3:30 PM. I should be able to run eack 25K loop within 4 hours or better.

3. Familiarity of the Race Route—I ran the 25-K loop twice, one week before and after the San Francisco Marathon finishing each run practice at 3:30 to 4 hours. At least, I have a knowledge of the route and had experienced running it during noontime.

4. Start Slow and and Try To Finish Faster—As advised by ultra runners, I should not be carried by the fast pace of most of the runners and be able to maintain a slower pace at the start of the race and hopefully increasing my pace on my run with my second-loop. This might be a tall order to accomplish as the last 25K will be a “hard distance” to finish because of the heat of the sun and the pain expected to appear in my tired legs.

5. Walk on Steep Uphill Roads and Recover Downhill—I plan to brisk walk on the steep uphill parts of the route to conserve my energy for about a duration of 3-5 minutes. However, the rule of thumb would be to brisk walk at least 3-5 minutes every 10 kilometers to give my legs some rest from running/slow jogging.

6. Water & Hydration—I should be able to take a sip of my water every 2 kilometers or before going through an uphill portion of the route.

7. Energy Drinks/GU/Energy Bar—I should take my GU every eight kilometers. I should be able to take advantage of the presence of the aid stations by getting energy drinks and energy bars/food available.

8. Breakfast Before Leaving the House—I need to take some food before leaving the house at 4:30 AM for added source of energy for the run. “Going to the toilet” would be the first thing to do once I wake up tomorrow.

9. Encourage conversation with other runners and be friendly to them—Running this ultramarathon trail race is an opportunity to advertise or let other runners know the existence of this blog. This is a nice strategy for marketing.

10. Sleep early—After posting this, I will have my dinner with lots of pasta and have to be in the bedroom early.

One loop has an average distance of 850 meters as my GF 305 registers 845 to 870 meters on those repetition runs I did. I was surprised to see that I averaged 4:30 minutes per kilometer on my pace for the whole speed session. I did eight (8) repetitions of the loop with at least 200-300-meter recovery runs in between reps. I was happy and surprised that I still have that speed with my legs and I guess, I am becoming faster with my average speed.

Last Tuesday noontime, I left the house for a brisk walking towards Fargo Street. I decided not to run from the house but I made sure I acclimatize myself with the heat of the sun at noontime to prepare myself for the trail run this Saturday. For the past days, I’ve been doing this workout by running during noontime. As soon as I reached the foot of Fargo Street, I slowly jogged into it up to its peak and slowly jogged again downhill. While I was drinking my water from my jug, I found out from the other side of the road that there is another road which is longer and steeper than the Fargo Street that I’ve known. I realized that the road I was looking at was the road Ben Gaetos had suggested me to try. Fargo Street with Alessandro Street as its crossing, not Fargo Street with Glendale Boulevard as its crossing!

A view of Fargo Street from Alessandro Street

A view of Fargo Street from its peak. 

Anyway, I went to the said road and I am sure that this is the steepest road that I’ve seen in my life! It is 165 meters long with approximately 50-60 degrees gradient! I slowly jogged through it from its base to its peak using my forefoot, not midfoot, without stopping, making my calves burned and stretched/tight. On my third run along the road, a Mercedes Benz car passing on my side had to shift to a lower gear with ten meters remaining from the peak of the road! This road is really very steep! I did four times in going up to the peak of this road and made it with an average of 2 minutes and 30 seconds per repetition.

From Fargo Street, I made a slow jog to Echo Park and later proceeded back to the house. I did 10 + kilometers of brisk walking, jogging at Fargo Street, Echo Park and back to the house after almost two hours.

In the afternoon, my daughter brought me to Trader’s Joe to buy my energy bars which are “gout-free” (no chocolate & peanut/nut ingredients) which will serve as my food during the Bulldog Run.

Yesterday early evening, I had my Thai Massage and slept early last night.

I just learned from the Los Angeles Times this morning that the predicted temperature this Saturday will be 74/64 degrees Fahrenheit (High/Low). This is a good news as I am expecting the temperature to reach up to mid-90s during race day. Today is my Yoga session from my P90X program. Tomorrow will be devoted to more stretching session and eating more food rich in carbohydrates.

It is really coming…my first ultramarathon trail run at the age of 56 years old!

Whatever it takes, I love running…and I enjoy life to its fullest