June trail races in the Bay Area

An explosion of races fall out of the sky in the month of June! Eleven "one off" events (events that are not part of a regular race companies schedule) and four events from Coastal Trail Runs help thicken the selection. ITR and TCTR are both holding 50 milers. Not to be out done PCTR is holding a 6 hour and a 12 hour event. Every distance imaginable is available including the odd ball 8k, 15k, 25k & 30k distances. The world famous Dipsea & Double Dipsea is taking place in June as it does every year. It really doesn't matter which side of the bay you live on, chances are that a race is being held in your neck of the woods this weekend. We have races as far flung as Vallejo & Brentwood to Santa Cruz and all points in between. If you cant find a race with a distance you want that is close to home in the month of June you are one tough customer to satisfy. Get out there and enjoy the trail season!

Upcoming trail races for the weekend of 3/30 & 3/31

We have two great races to choose from coming up this weekend. Hardcore endurance runners maybe disappointed that nothing over the half marathon distance is happening on the trails this weekend in the Bay Area. We are truly blessed in the Bay Area to have a few different races and almost every distance represented week after week so this week with only 2 trail races and only shorter distances offered is a rarity. Usually this happens when a major draw is going to get most of the runners like the SF Marathon or The North Face Endurance Challenge. Nothing of that magnitude is happening this weekend but another factor that limits our choices is major holiday weekends. Sometimes that means get out and run and other times it seems improper to run on that particular weekend. Perhaps that is the case with weekend being Easter? No matter the reason for the lack of choice this weekend lets not forget, we do have two great races to choose from.

The North Face Endurance Challenge is this weekend!

The North Face Endurance Challenge 50M, 50K, Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k & 5k

The North Face Endurance Challenge is a race that is held all over the United States in regional races with the championship race being held in San Francisco in the Marin Headlands. This event attracts the top runners from all over the world. The elite runners list is located here. A few names that jumped out at me were Leor Pantilat, Galen Burrell, Sage Canaday, Mike Foote, Rickey Gates, Lizzy Hawker, Paige Higgins, Hal Koerner, Kristin Moehl, Kami Semick & Mike Wolfe. The elite list is 2.5 pages long and I just skimmed it quickly and picked out 10 names that are VERY well known in the ultrarunning world.

Mt Tam 50k in Marin this Sunday

InsideTrail.com

Inside Trail Racing will hold their Mt Tamalpias event this coming Sunday, November 11th. For those who haven't quite made it up to the 50k yet Inside Trail also offers a 10k, Half Marathon, and a 30k (18mi) event to choose from. Prices range from $35 to $65 depending on the event you register for and this is right in line with what other races of this caliber are charging. These distances work out perfectly for my wife and I. She will run the 30k event and because of the way the course is set up I will run the 30k with her and then leave her at the finish line to head back out for a half marathon to finish off my 50k event. For more info on this course take a look at my "Routes" page. This race course is this weeks "Featured Route".

I have run a few events with Inside Trail before and I can tell you first hand they do a good job. The course is marked well, the aid station offerings are great and those that volunteer for these events and man the aid stations are really nice people and I can tell they are "real" runners by the advice that they dispense to those who are in distress. Inside Trail also gives away a little more than most trail running companies for those who finish their races. They don't give finishers medals to all who cross the line. No surprise their as that's mostly a road race thing. Trail races make you earn your medal. All registered runners will receive a Sport-Tek Competitor technical fabric shirt which is super nice compared to those who still give out the cotton (read: chafe inducing) t-shirt. Overall winners of each race distance will receive a medal and an item from the Inside Trail Racing schwag bag. No clue is given as to what that schwag item is but if you look on their website under the store tab you can see that they offer products from Victory Bags, Hydrapak and Headsweats. Perhaps they give away some of these items? Finishers of marathon distance or greater will receive a custom pint glass regardless of what place you finish. This is perfect for putting on top of the custom drink coaster given out by Coastal Trail Runs! LOL!!!

3" x 3" Ultramarathon 50k sticker

 



The race starts at Stinson Beach and bib & shirt pickup kicks off at 7:30 in the morning. Helpful hint: the snack stand located on Arenal Avenue just outside of the park usually opens early on race mornings and you can get a coffee and donut there to top off your sugar & caffeine tanks. The 50k & 30k races start together at 8:30 a.m. and the half marathon and 10k runners start together at 9:00 am.

The weather can be tricky in the Marin Headlands. You never know what your going to get. I would suggest wearing your arm warmers just in case the cold wind and fog comes in off the ocean. As of today Weather.com is saying sunny with a low of 44 and a high of 62 with no chance of rain. That sounds about ideal for running weather. The trails this will be run on are mostly steep, technical single track with a few fire roads thrown in here and there, and a ladder (LOL). Overall I think we are looking at a great weekend to do a seriously difficult trail race that will reward the runner with views like no other. This is a must run event for those who are on the fence about it. Get registered here if you have not done so already.

See you in the woods,

Jonathan

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