It was a cool morning heading up to the college Sunday. I’m always amazed at the number of cars going up college heights blvd. It’s fun to know that all these people are here to run on our wonderful trails. Every year the crowd keeps growing, thanks to Chris and Debbie Rios for putting on such a grand, fun event. Seeing friends from out of town is always a highlight for me. The ultra community is a good bunch of people. I’m inspired by all of the runners in every age group, especially the masters. (Note: I did manage to come in ahead of the 70+-year-old woman, who usually beats me. She’s awesome) I’m always encouraged to see people in such good shape in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.  We are lucky in our sport to be reminded that age is only a state of mind.

Seven a.m. and the cannon goes off. I loved the cannon by the way, really got the old adrenaline pumping. Off we go, trying to get things adjusted and get settled into a pace that hopefully feels comfortable for the next 61/2 hrs. There’s excitement in the crisp cold air, everyone laughing and talking. Well at least in the mid to back of the pack where I run. I’m sure the leaders aren’t doing that much talking, but I will probably never know what the leaders are doing. It was exciting to know that Ann Trason was out there in the front, along with Jorge Pacheco and some others that I got to see at AC 100 miler last Sept.

As the run progresses I think at about the 5 mile point, just after the first aide station, I meet up with Carol Wolfe. We seem to be going at about the same pace, well I’m pretty sure she slowed down at times to wait for me. The weather was being very cooperative, maybe a little wind, but very nice and the scenery looking out at The Sierra was gorgeous. It was fun going through the well-stocked aide stations, not only for a little break, but also being a local, there were familiar faces and friends there to greet you. Another highlight for me was “The Pack Rats Right Hand Turn” aide station. The decorations and signs were great, but also, my Mommy was there to give me a hug. “The Pack Rats” spent the previous night camping out, which goes to show you that they are all just about as crazy as those of us out there on the course. All of the aide-stations were great, the music at Eric and Don’s was awesome and I enjoyed dancing (briefly) with Chuck Pullen.  Thanks to all those who volunteered and were out there for the runners.

Time passed quickly, Carol and I chatted and solved the world’s problems. We also came up with an idea for a song to sing at “The Jingle Jog” the following weekend. Before I knew it we were coming in to the last aide-station. Loved the decorations and the music there also. With only about a mile and a half to go, mostly uphill, Carol says “let’s go, let’s keep running up to that turn in the trail, then we can walk a little”, reluctantly I agreed. But, I found out that Carol lies. She kept running past the turn in the trail, forcing me to run with her, and then kept running all the way to the finish. I thank her now, but at the time I was secretly calling her names. Sorry Carol. But, now I know I can run that whole stretch without walking. Cool!! I think maybe if we had walked, the 70+-year-old woman would have passed us. So, I’m really sorry Carol for what I was thinking, and thankful for your encouragement.

Coming into the finish line is always a treat. Being met by friends and loved ones is Fun, Fun, Fun. Getting to stop running is always another big treat too. Carol and I had a really enjoyable day. The High Desert Ultra truly is “The Friendliest Race You’ll Ever Run”.

 I found myself in unfamiliar territory this year. Normally I'm out there  with everyone else running the 50k. This year however I opted for the 30k. I thought it was a wise choice considering I did a typical Joy move and decided to run this race a month and a half prior to D-Day. Now rewind one year. I had done no training since Dec. 2000. Not a bright move, but none the less I set out to do it.

It was a great day for a race. Perfect temperatures. I started the race out with Carol which was great. We chatted all the way to the split. I have to admit I was a little jealous that I wasn't doing the 50k, but none the less was glad I opted for the 30k. This course is quite different than the 50k. You are constantly climbing and climbing and climbing and then WOW!! Downhill for the last 2 miles or so to the finish line. I have to admit I love downhill. I can be dead to the world, and I hit a downhill  and my legs go into autopilot---Love it!

The run was great fun. I ran mostly by myself but the people were fairly close together so bathroom breaks weren't as private as you might hope. Of course I can never have a race without a spell or two of embarrassment along the way, but that's what makes it fun. I felt great(go figure) during and after the run as well. I was happy with my time, 3:30 aprox. I may stay at his distance for a while, my knee liked it.

From this year forward the High Desert December 50K & 30K will be known as the friendliest race you’ll ever run.  For those that don’t know about the course, it starts at Cerro Coso Community College and travels East along the Radamachers and into the Spangler Hills, passes Haystack, turns up to Wagon Wheel, turns West over the ridge and back to the College.  One big loop.  The race starts at 0700 so I arrived at about 0500 and arranged our start/finish area for my wife Debbie, Co-race director.  She arrived at about 0530, and some of the start/finish volunteers followed a little later to take care of those who didn’t pick up their race packets at the previous night's pasta feed at race headquarters.  John’s pizza parlor has been race HQ for a good number of years.

I left the start/finish area about 0630, a little later than I wanted to, so I could drive the course and make sure no one had messed with the course.  I carry chalk and ribbons in my truck just in case.  I'm glad to report that no one messed with the ribbon or chalk along the course.

The weather I thought turned out to be on the cold side.  I felt pretty cold driving the course in my truck.  It was somewhat cold with chilly winds through out the day.  Some folks told me they were cold others said the weather was just fine.

This year was our biggest year to date.  296 entered with 198 staring the 50K and 82 starting the 30K.  I only know of one DNF and that was in the 30K.  The no shows missed a great day for an ultra.  We will surely rate high for 50K ultras this year, as rated by Ultrarunning Magazine.

This year in the men’s division we didn’t get any past winners start.  No Rob McNair, no Brandon Sybrowsky, no Ian Torrence.  Jorge Pacheco, winner of this year’s Angeles Crest 100, did enter.  I had spoken with Jorge at the AC finish AC this year, and he told me he was going after the course record at the High Desert.  I wished him much luck.  The record here is pretty fast, a 3:22:58 set by Rob McNair at age 40.

In the women’s division, the same thing.  No Lorraine Gersitz, no Paula Newby-Fraser, no Elaina McMahon, a local, or Kathy Gengler, last year’s winner.  None of the past winners.  But I was delighted to receive a request for an entry from Ann Trason.  What a surprise to receive a request for an entry from the talented Ms. Trason.  This is our 16th year and here we got one of the best ultra runners in the world coming to the friendliest race you’ll ever run.  It was a real treat to have her running in our event, and getting to meet her and talk with her after the race.

The Co-RD got the start off on time with a blast from a cannon supplied by our local high school ROTC. This was a first for our event.  In the 50K the leaders started out very fast with Jorge Pacheco in the lead through out the race.  He finished first, but off the course record he was shooting for.  Winning time for Jorge (age 33) was 3:26:09 , 2nd place went to the younger 30 year old Angel Perez, in at 3:40:01, and 3rd to the ever present Bill Kissell, 48, in at 3:46:23, always placing high in any ultra he runs.

In the women’s division it was 41 yer old Ann Trason going out fast with the leaders.  At the 11 mile aid station (saddle) she was in 7th place overall.  By the 25 mile aid station she had the 4th overall position which she held to the finish line.  Ann Trason’s winning time was 3:47:17 and the new women’s course record, bettering last years course record time of 3:54:33.  In 2nd place it was another AC winner, my friend Jana Gustman, 34, with a fine time of 4:19:48. She has really improved over her last year placing of 7th female overall.  In 3rd place right on Jana’s heels was Kim Gimenez, 37, in with a time of 4:20:45.  Kim placed 5th overall female last year.

We had some fine performances in all the age categories.  This race all ways draws some fine senior ultra runners, plus many first timers as well as many females.  This year we had 41 first timers and 72 females.  In the 60-69 age group, one of our own OTHTC members Joe Oliver (60) set a new age group record, 4:31:37.  In the 70-79 age group we had Yukie Mochida (72) breaking her own record, this year running a time of 6:26:53.

As for the locals in the 50K, we had two place in their age groups, John Shillings 2nd in the 40-49 group, 7th overall and Joe Oliver in the 60-69 age group, 21st overall.  A fine job by these two fine runners.

In the 30K we had 4 runners place in their age groups.  For the men, Anthony Barns 1st in the 30-39 group 4th overall, Bob Steel 3rd in the 40-49 group.  For the women it was Jennifer Johnson tied for 1st in the 30-39 group and none other than Joe Kajiwara 2nd in the 50-59 age group.  Congrats to all for your fine efforts.

I hope all liked their awards and Patagonia t-shirts.  The awards, metal art, were of a runner running with an American flag  which was depicted as well on the t-shirts.  After the events of September 11th there was no other choice.  Plus, of course, we had pizza and a keg of local micro brew for the hungry & thirsty finishers.

The OTHTC hosts this event along with the RRCA, the BLM and the Southern California UltraRunner’s Grand Prix.  We thank these folks for being a part of our event.  Again this year we had many fine sponsors to help make this event the friendliest race you’ll ever run.  A big thank you to Patagonia and Montrail for their great support for many years and look forward to many more years of support from these fine folks.  The other sponsors this year were, Clif Bar, Karl Kings S Caps, RaceReady, SuperFeet, Ultrarunning Magazine, Hammer Nutrition, NipGuards, Gatorade, Boulder Bar, Road ID, Trail Running Magazine and Runners World.  Local sponsors included A & L Tire Co., Blair Zurn of Del’s Distributing, the Best Western-China Lake Inn, John’s Pizza, North & South Albertson’s, Hamburger Stand, the Carriage Inn, Nancy Webster of Cerro Coso Community College, the Daily Independent, the News Review, Frisbee’s, Great Outdoors, H&E Hardware, Indian Wells Brewery, Wal-Mart, OutRage’N, Bill Surgett and Mike Youngblood.  Our Volunteers, what can I say about them.  They are the greatest. It takes a lot of volunteers to get this event off the ground.   Starting with the tying of ribbons, marking the course, Race Headquarters and the start/finish.  The volunteers this year were:  the Marking crew- Andrew Mitchell, Eric Kajiwara, Rick Miller, Chris Scott (from Virginia), John Anderson, Don Snyder and Joe Oliver; Race Headquarters - Doris Martinez, Terry & Terry Miller and Debbie Rios; Start/finish - Terry & Terry Miller, Doris Martinez, Gordon & Nancy Turner, Linda Sap and Debbie Rios; Aid stations (9 of them) - Larry & Elaine Riendeau, Tina Creighton, Ron Keck, Curtis Martin, Chuck Lewis, Phil Martin, Kem Parks & family, Tom Rafalski, Terry Mitchell, Mitchell, Peter Wiley & family, Sig Nakashima, John Burmeister, Jim & Barbara Murray, Juli, all of the Rat Pack, Don Snyder, Eric Kajiwara, Janet Toler and Diana Feist.  Hope I didn’t forget someone.

Alas, it was a fine day for running in the Splanger hills of the upper Mojave Desert in December.  Many thanks go out to all the runners, our fine sponsors, and to our many volunteers who help each year.  And of course thanks to my wonderful wife, Debbie, the Co-RD for putting up with me.

See you again in 2002 on December the 8th.

On Saturday, Dec. 29, Barb Miller, Lisa Bennett, and I headed out for a 20-mile-loop training run.  The weather looked a little nasty, but--what the heck--we are tough and experienced distance runners, right?
At first, the gale force winds were funny--in a sick-and-twisted kind of way.  We had to shriek to each other to be heard over the winds.  (What?  Run in silence?  C’mon, we’re girls!)

After a few miles, the winds stopped being funny.  Imagine running uphill--in the sand--pulling a large wagon behind you.  But to turn back would be to admit defeat, and the only things more abundant than our excessive gabbing were our stubborn streaks.

When we got to Highway 395, Lisa proved she was the wisest of our trio by turning back and heading home.  She was cold--very cold.  So was I, but I was just too stupid to feel it.  Barb was freezing too--and wearing shorts!

So Barb and I continued on our merry way across 395, where we promptly got lost.  Now, we’ve each been on the horse course many times, but somehow in the sleet and rain, it looked different.  We managed to get on the right path eventually.  By this time, my hands (gloveless, I might add) were frozen into lobster claws.  Barb shared her Snickers and glucose tablets with me.  We decided to save my power bars for what we thought would be our nighttime stay underneath the train tracks.

We debated for a while on the path to take.  I voted to remain on the main road, thinking that it would be easier for search and rescue to find us.  Barb voted for a shortcut, mostly because she knew she would freeze into an icicle if she continued up the hill heading into the wind.  She said that her husband, Rick, would most likely come looking for us (he had run the horse course earlier in the day with John Shillings) and that we could head him off at the pass.  So off we went through the mountains, where one ridge turned into several more, the sleet pummeled us, and the wind nearly knocked us off our feet.

When we emerged from our shortcut, Barb told me the cookies and water that she and Rick had left the night before were “just ahead.”  Well, that was the longest “just ahead” I have ever run!  And it was in the opposite direction from home!  My feet reluctantly plodded along behind Barb.  I was as exhausted as if I had just run a 50K, and we probably had covered only 12-14 miles.

You can imagine our relief when both Rick and Lisa pulled up in their vehicles.  Lisa had gone home, made hot chocolate for us, and brought dry shirts for us.  What a sweetheart!  We piled into the vehicles, tails tucked between our legs, and got a ride home.  I knew I was on the verge of hypothermia when I had difficulty extracting myself from the car at home.  I hobbled into the house, soaking wet and freezing cold, and spent the next half-hour in the shower scalding my skin to nearly blistering and still not warmed up.

While I tell this tale attempting humor, it really goes to show that it pays to be prepared.  We did have a cell phone with us (that wouldn’t work through the mountains), some food, and plenty of water.  Our attire was entirely inappropriate--well, except for our waterproof(?) Tyvek Baldy Peaks jackets, which we both wore maybe for the mental thing, “If you can do Baldy Peaks, you can do anything--and I can jot down a few lessons learned from the experience.

I just talked to Barb on the phone, and we’re planning a repeat performance--this time with a weather forecast in mind, warm gloves, pants, and waterproof running gear.