Top Ten Signs You May be AJW

Running this morning with AJW on the very clear Elkhorn/Trail Creek paths (thanks, Brad), he said I should visit Craig Thornley's choc-full, Western States 100-obsessed blog, Conduct the Juices. And it's well worth the visit, if just to see today's lead photo of the 1989 Western Sates start: short shorts and very few water bottles in sight.

Explore a bit further and you'll come across the well-commented post, Top Ten Signs You May be AJW. Number 9: "You have an automatic email filter that rejects anything that doesn’t contain 'AJW.'"

Check it -- and the comments -- out for some good natured ribbing of our palmares-laden training partner.

Run Report: River Run, Warm Springs, Baldy Loop

This weekend, I finally got to test out a winter training route I'd been thinking about in the abstract for a while: A loop beginning at the River Run parking lot, with a road run to Warm Springs, then a climb up to the top with crampons, and then a run in crampons down to the River Run side (see route map below, click it for detail).

For those familiar with the trails, I went all the way up Warm Springs, then down Ridge to Blue Grouse, over to Roundhouse then down the Olympic cat track to Lower Olympic then finished off with Lower River Run.

All in all, it was about 9 miles car-to-car, with about 3300 feet vertical. Great winter quad seasoning. (For details on my times, check out my Attackpoint entry for January 9). It was also a great stress test of the Kahtoola KTS crampons, which are made specifically for strapping on to running shoes and attacking steep, groomed trails. (For more, check out my Run Junkie review).

With the high elevation gain Coyote Two Moon 100k looming for me in March, this (or a variation) will likely be a somewhat regularly January/February workout. Anyone interested in the next assault, let me know, and we'll try to coordinate.

Brad Mitchell Named "2008 Athlete of the Year"

SVBR runner, Brad Mitchell, was named 2008 Athlete of the Year by the Idaho Mountain Express (story). It's great to see broad recognition for what we've always appreciated: his talent, determination, and great character. Congratulations, Brad.

(Photo © Glenn Tachiyama)