We hope that everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday, ate tons of food, drank lots of, uh, water, and that you are all back at it running off that home-made pumpkin pie. Better yet, maybe you’ve decided to follow up your Thanksgiving feast with an ultra event, and while the end of the year sees a thinner and thinner list of event options, we have a few to take a look at for the weekend of Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 6. So, lets get started.
San Francisco, California plays host to the championship events of the North Face Endurance Challenge. The sold out events (50 mile, 50k, half-marathon and 10k) take place just north of San Francisco in the visually stunning Marin Headlands. Although a majority of the course is run on run-able fire roads (very little technical single track), the course is rated 5 out of 5 stars for elevation change and overall difficulty. As always, this will be one of the most competitive ultra events of the year. The women’s field is especially deep this year. Check out Karl Meltzer’s website for odds on the race. [Trail Goat Note: iRunFar’s very own Bryon Powell will be on hand TNF’s Endurance Challenge.]
How about a post-Thanksgiving PCTR event….the Woodside Trail Run (10k, 17k, 35k and 50k) on Saturday, December 5. Starting in Huddart County Park in Woodside, California, the course takes runners through the towering redwoods, lush ferns and beautiful trails of Huddart Park, King’s Mountain, Bear Gulch and Wunderlich Park. The 50k has 4,530 feet of elevation gain.
The High Desert 50k Ultra (and 30k) takes place on Sunday, December 6 in Ridgecrest, California and is the USATF Southern California Association 50k Championship event. The course is a loop route over rolling desert terrain on jeep roads, single-track trails and sandy washes over the Spangler Hills south of Ridgecrest. It offers great views of the Southern Sierras. Nine aid stations are located about every three miles.
Looking for a timed run (3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 hours)? Check out Run Like the Wind 2009 [broken link removed] hosted by the Schrodi Memorial Training Fund and the Lee Mannix Center for Canine Behavior. The course is a mulchy, soft, flat 1k loop trail that is completely canopied by trees.
Anything else going on this weekend that you might be participating in ? Let everyone know by leaving a comment, and check back next week for another edition of TWIR.
