2016 Trail Racing Calendar for the San Francisco Bay Area

Not all races have been confirmed. As of this publishing the 2nd half of 2016 has some fairly spotty information. Some websites may not be available yet. Most races are likely based on past history. If your trail race is not listed contact Jonathan This calendar will be updated throughout the year. Monthly calendars that are more detailed will still be published every month. See you on the trails!!!

Fun Fact: The 2015 calendar received well over 10,000 visits...Thanks!!!!

September 2015 Trail Racing in the San Francisco Bay Area

See the full 2015 Calendar HERE

September

September 5th- Zoom Point Pinole- Half, 10k, 5k
September 5th- Palo Alto Weekly's Moonlight Run- 10k, 5k
September 5th- TRAIL HOG- HALF MARATHON/10K/5K- Read my review from 2014
September 6th- Annadel Loop- 7mi- Annadel State Park, Santa Rosa
September 12th- Night Sweats- Marathon, 15k
September 12th- Fall Showdown- Half Marathon, 5mi, 5k
September 13th- Golden Gate Park Open Cross Country (part of PAUSATF XC GP)- 4mi
September 12th/13th- Headlands Hundred 100mi, 75mi, 50mi, Marathon- Marin Headlands, GGNRA
September 13th- Diablo Trail Run- 50k, Marathon, Half Marathon, 10mi, 4mi- Mt Diablo
September 13th- Whistle Punk Half- Half Marathon- Purissma Creek Redwoods, San Mateo County
September 14th- Lagoon Valley- 30k,Half Marathon, 10k, 5k, kids 1/2 mile
September 19th- DRAG-N-FLY -Half Marathon, 10k, 5k- Read my review from 2014
September 19th- Race4Life- 5k- Pleasanton
September 20th- Coastal 50k- Marin Headlands, GGNRA
September 20th- Garin Trail Running Festival- Half Marathon, 10k, 5k- Hayward
September 25th- Marin Moonlight Run- 5k, 10k - Hamilton Marshes, Novato
September 26th- Dipsea Hike for Zero Breast Cancer- 6mi- Marin Headlands, GGNRA
September 26th- Berkeley Trail Adventure- 50k, 35k, Half Marathon, 10k Read my review from 2013- Tilden Park, Berkeley
September 26th- Garin Park Cross Country Challenge- 5k- Haywatd
September 27th- Big Sur Trail Marathon, Half Marathon & 5mi
September 27th- Lindley Meadow Cross Country- 5K- San Francisco

Special Mention:
SAN DIEGO AREA
September 19th- Carmel Valley Trail 10k & 5k

August 2015 Trail Racing Calendar for the San Francisco Bay Area





August Trail Races in 2015

See the full 2015 calendar here

• August 1st- Summer Breeze- Half Marathon, 10k, 5k- San Leandro Marina
• August 2nd- Santa Cruz- 30k, Half Marathon, 10k- Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Felton
• August 2nd- Tick Trailblaze- Half, 10k, 5k- Huddart Park, Woodside- Read my review from 2014- First 10 people to sign up here recieve $10 discount with code SFTRAILS
• August 2nd- Presidio Cross Country 5k- Julius Kahn Playground, San Francisco
• August 8th- Skyline 50- 50k- Lake Chabot, Castro Valley
• August 9th- Crystal Springs- 50k, Marathon, 22mi, Half Marathon, 10k- Huddart Park, Woodside Read my review from 2013
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  August 15th- Bear Creek- Half Marathon, 10k, 5k- Briones Regional Park, Martinez
• August 15th- Cinderella Trail Run- 50k, Marathon, 30k, Half Marathon, 10k- Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland
• August 22nd- Bill Flodberg Mount Madonna Challenge- 30k, 18k, 12k, 6k- Spring Lake Picnic Area, Gilroy
• August 23rd- Coastal Trail Challenge- 10k- Little Marina Green, San Francisco
• August 29th- Tamalpa Headlands 50k- Muir Beach- SOLD OUT- Waiting List Available
• August 29th- Toro- 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, 30k- Toro County Park, Salinas
• August 29th- Annual Almaden Hills Run- Half Marathon, 10k, 5kAugust 30th- Golden Gate Park Cross Country- 5k- Polo Field, San Francisco
• August 30th- Zoom Castle Rock- Half, 10k, 5k- Castle Rock Regional Park, Walnut Creek

May 2015 Trail Racing Calendar for the San Francisco Bay Area

View the full 2015 calendar here

The warm weather is definitely here to stay. Don't get me wrong, it never gets really cold here in the Bay Area but sometimes it can be in the early hours of the morning. A cold wind blowing fog up into the mountains creating a drizzly, damp chill can drain the life out of a run quickly. But that seems to be behind us now with temps in the low 50's at its coldest and usually in the upper 60's before lunch. This is perfect running and racing weather. If you are looking for an EASY course give the Western Pacific a try. If your looking for something NEW give the San Bruno Mtn Run a try. The new kids on the block, Urban Coyote Racing are responsible for that one. I'm seriously thinking about giving these guys a try. If I do I will be sure to let you know what I think of Urban Coyote Racing. If you want to see the top talent in trail running be sure to stop by the MiWok 100k in the headlands. Top tier athletes from all over come out for that one.

September 2014 Trail Racing in the Bay Area.

Ever tried a night run???

September is the month for trail running with 21 races on the Bay Area trails. If you want to see some of the best runners in the bay doing the impossible check out the Headlands race on the 13th. That is a brutal course no matter which distance you choose but seriously the 100 mile racers are just out of this world. If you are looking for a mortal challenge I say try the Drag-N-Fly half marathon. It nearly killed me in 2012! Two night time runs and several charity runs are also available on the trails this month. Pick out a race and get out there while we still have warm weather.

You Asked, We Answered: You're Welcome!

 

August Trail Racing in the Bay Area

 If you look up the origin of the word August you will see that it is an ancient word meaning "awesome running choices", no kidding. We have several races that I would love to run this month including the sold out Tamalpa Headlands 50k. I might show up to that one anyway just to cheer on the elite runners. I have committed to the Crystal Springs Trail run on the 10th and now I am doing a rock, paper, scissors thing with myself to see what other event I can run in August. We have every distance imaginable to choose from this month including 100 miles, 50 miles and some odd ball distances like 6k, 12k, 18k, 25k, 30k. We even have a 100 yd dash for the youngsters and a 5 yd "diaper dash" for the crawlers!!! Every weekend has a race for you this month but the weekend of the 3rd/4th is stacked and so is the weekend of the 24th/25th. Choose wisely!

Western States 100 mile endurance run 2013

 

When it comes to ultra running the WSER 100 is the "Boston Marathon" of the genre. This is the oldest 100 mile race in the United States and it draws the best of the best. If running had a Super Bowl this would be it. This years event is being run as I sit and type this on my laptop. The runners got started at 5am in Olympic Valley at Squaw in Tahoe and the elites will be in Auburn, CA by about 8pm tonight crossing the finish line on the high school track. This race will launch the winner into the stratosphere of ultra running. Sponsors will come out of the wood work and race directors will fly you to their races all over the world.

 

July trail races in the Bay Area

 We are blessed again to have quite a few trail events to choose from in the month of July. Not as many as in June but that was almost too many to choose from! Sunday the 7th and Sunday the 28th do not have any events as far as I can see but every other weekend day does. Especially the 6th, 13th & 20th. Take a look at the upcoming races for the month of July and get registered before they sell out.

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 in the Bay Area for the weekend of 4/27 & 4/28



This weekend the vast majority of runners will probably be running the Big Sur Marathon. That road race is a major event that draws people from all over to run it. The Leona Divide ultra is taking place down south as well so that's going to draw the runners away from the Bay Area too. For those reasons I thought we wouldn't really have a lot of trail races to choose from but we do! Four great races are spread all over the Bay Area and every distance from 1.5mi to 50mi is available this weekend including the odd 18.8 mile race in Los Gatos. So, if by chance you aren't running one of the big name races, come on out and get a little dirt under your feet at one of these local races.

 

Croom Fools Run 50K race review





Croom Fools Run in Brooksville, FL

I traveled down to Florida for a family reunion with my wife this past weekend. The festivities planned for the week included running a 50k with my older brother Bob & his wife Laura. I've mentioned them before in previous articles. They are the one's who run a marathon every month, or more, in pursuit of joining the 100 marathon club. It all came about when they told me they were running the Croom Fools Run 50k in Brooksville, Florida and this immediately struck me as odd. They live just outside of London. Why would they fly to Florida for a little known trail ultra? The answer was rather obvious when I asked them. My 3 nephews, their children, would be out of school on spring break so it was a great time to go. It also happens to be that my parents winter in Florida and "the boys" as we call them hadn't seen grandma & grandpa in awhile. My sister got wind of this and made plans to travel down as this was a rare opportunity to see our English family members. My wife and I wouldn't miss it for the world so we sold our kidneys and mortgaged our pretend house and booked flights. An impromptu family reunion was born!

My journey to and through the Way Too Cool 50k

Way Too Cool 50k 2013

 The Way Too Cool 50k was held on March 9 in Auburn, CA, "The Endurance Capital of the World". To get into this very popular race you need to register for the lottery in December and within a few weeks they draw the names and if chosen your credit card will be charged and you're in. Apparently this race is so popular that the current race director, Julie Fingar, had to implement the lottery system because the race was selling out within minutes of opening the registration. I signed up to run the Napa Valley Marathon earlier in the year and when this came around I threw my hat in the ring figuring I wouldn't get chosen anyway. Well I did get chosen and my excitement to be running with some of the sports best quickly subsided when I remembered that Napa was a week prior! I flip flopped back & forth on which one to train for? Which one to race for a PR and which one to "just enjoy the atmosphere"?

DNF @ The Woodside Ramble 50k



Woodside Ramble 50k results

What a terrible feeling this business of quiting brings. I did what I had to do but REALLY wish I could have hung on. I looked forward to this race for several months knowing it was going to be;

1) in my back yard on trails I'm familiar with

2) easy to get to, so sleeping in is a possibility

3) the least amount of elevation gain of any of the previous ultras I have done by about 1000' ft.

 With all of this in my favor I really thought a sub 7 hour time was possible. To do this I would need to run at least 1:15 per mile faster than previous efforts.

Way Too Cool 50k lottery has been drawn!

I woke up this morning and as usual settled into my email with my morning coffee. The first email I saw was from Ultrasignup.com. I knew what this was about, a week ago they announced the opening of the lottery for the Way Too Cool 50k in Cool ,CA just outside of the small mountain town of Auburn. I put my name in the lottery by filling out their questionaire about my ultra running experience and giving them a credit card number. I thought about that this weekend and wondered when they were going to do the drawing and announce the winners. I thought it was this weekend. Apparently I was right.

I opened the email to read:

Congratulations! 
You have been selected for the 2013 Way Too Cool 50K Endurance Run Presented by Clif Bar.

  On behalf of myself and my NorCalUltras team, we look forward to seeing you on March 9th! Happy training,

Julie Fingar Race Director

The Way Too Cool 50k, for those who are not familiar, is (according to their website) the most sought after 50k in the United States. It is run on parts of the Western States 100 mile endurance championship course in and around the Sierra Nevada mountains. The lottery results are posted here at Ultrasignup.com and reads like a who's who list of ultramarathon superstars. The first few names that jumped out at me were Leor Pantilat, Galen Burrell, Max King, Gary Gellin, Rory Bosio, and if you scroll towards the bottom of the page Jonathan Fales!!!!

What a great way to start this week off!!!!

See you in the mountains,
Jonathan

PS...Trail Runner ran a great article about this race here
 

 

 

Races in the Bay Area for the weekend of 12/8 & 12/9

West Coast Trail Runs

 Four great races coming up this weekend and one of them is from a newbie. At least to me they are new. West Coast Trail Runs  located in San Jose is putting on a race at Coyote Lake in Gilroy. Don't confuse that race with the Coyote Ridge race happening up in Muir Beach. Brazen Racing & Enviro Sports are both offering great trail races this weekend as well. I'm not doing any of these as I have to save myself for next weeks 50k but if I had to choose I would probably go with the Coyote Lake event just to see if West Coast Trail Runs puts on a good event. We can always use another player in the trail run community around here so best of luck to them.

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.

The JFK 50 in the Washington Post

Lenny Bernstein of the Washington Post ran last weekends 50th annual JFK 50 mile trail ultra in Maryland last weekend. His write up is a great read about enduring. That's all I can say about it without spoiling the article. It's a short 2 page article that I really enjoyed so I thought I would pass it along.

View the photo gallery here

See ya in the woods,

Jonathan

Mt Tam 50k race review






Mt Tam Trail Run from InsideTrail.com

My day started at 6:30 am driving north on HWY 280 heading for Stinson Beach. The race start was scheduled for 8:30 and my gps tells me my drive is one hour and fifteen minutes long. That gives me 45 minutes to sign in, pin my bib on, use the restroom, stretch out, use the restroom for a final time and start running. I arrived one hour and forty minutes later and had twenty minutes to accomplish all that was needed. Bathroom was first. So many bathrooms are available at Stinson Beach that the race director did not have to truck in any porto pottys. Check in seemed a bit confused but when we approached the table we were able to check in, receive our bibs and my wife was able to drop down to the 10k event all in a few minutes. Back to the car for water belts, hand helds, and a final inventory of all that is going out on the trail and all that is staying in the car. Some dynamic stretching while we headed over to the crowd that had gathered to hear the pre-race instructions. We missed that part but we are experienced trail runners so we don't need to hear how to follow a course that we have already memorized or how its bad juju to litter. The instructions that we were present for were muffled and hard to hear and understand. Typical small bullhorn fidelity.

Races of note for the weekend of 11/10 & 11/11

 Not a whole lot happening in the running world this weekend in the bay area. Just outside of the bay area we have two races to choose from and one of them is a memorial race raising money for a family who has lost a loved one. Mt Tam on Sunday is the one note worthy trail run of the weekend. A few smaller road runs are happening here and there. If your trying to stay local and get in on a good event I suggest meeting up with me over in Stinson Beach on Sunday morning!