Montrail FluidFlex 2

I have to say these are one of my favorite shoes. They are light, responsive and of course flexible! I have run a lot in both Hoka's and Salomon Slab Sense and these fit that sweet spot right in between. They have good cushion but not to much. And while I haven't tried the first FluidfFlex I have heard these are a good improvement.

Upper:

(Achilles hugger) 

The upper is one of my favorite parts about this shoe. Its comfortable, breathable, but above all it fits the foot super snugly. I always felt secure in it and was never worried about my feet slipping around. But the best part about the upper may have to be the two ankle pads that squeeze you Achilles, I have taken to calling them Achilles huggers. These things are so so comfortable! They hold your heel tightly and feel amazing! My one little complaint is that the laces come almost together at the top, which can be a bummer because you can't tighten the shoe beyond that. Oh did I mention that they are a pretty good looking shoe as well.

Midsole:

(simple two part upper)

This is where the shoe's really excel. As I said before the shoe is that sweet spot between the max cushion of the Hoka's and minimal cushion of the Salomons. And it is made out of the fluid foam which lasts a long time and is responsive! Also as the name states they are flexible! you can bend and turn these any which way with ease. Mainly due to the grooves cut into the mid/outsole. This does lead me to one of my dislikes though. Little rocks and thorns get stick into the grooves. Its not a big deal, you don't really notice it but it does happen which is unfortunate. And my final point on the midsole is that for the most technical, rocky terrain they are a bit soft.

Outsole:

(Gryptonite outsole)

Pretty standard outsole made out of Montrails Gryptonite. It is a fairly durable sticky outsole that can grip to most surfaces. It is made out of little squares that although not to deep can grip pretty decently on all but the worst mud. The lugs are starting to wear down a little bit after about 200 ish miles. But not significantly. The one problem is that since it is not a full length outsole and it doesn't have a rock plate really rocky trails can be a bit dangerous.

Overall these are a fantastic shoe that I have worn on all surfaces and for the most part loved! I wore them during the Run Through Time Half Marathon that had mud, rocky trail, jeep road, and road. They worked perfectly I managed to place 3rd overall and had no feet problems. A few of my problems with the shoe (To soft of midsole, and no rock plate) have been solved with the Montrail FluidFlex ST. This shoe has a firmer midsole in the midfoot and a rock plate in the forefoot. The ST does not replace the Fluidflex 2 but rather goes along side it. I think that was a smart move on Montrail's part. So if you are looking for a light shoe that works well on any trail check these out!
Technical Stuff
Weight: 8.0 oz
Midsole: 22 mm, 17mm
Offset: 5mm

(On my way to 3rd Place at the Run Through Time Half Marathon in my FluidFlex 2)

La Sportiva Vertical K

The La Sportiva Vertical K is a fantastic shoe. It weighs in at only 7.0 ounces but has a plush amount of cushion. I mostly have only good things to say and only a few bad things. And not only is the shoe fantastic but so is the company that makes the shoe. La Sportiva is as most of you know a climbing/mountaineering company. And they make really high end products. There mountain running department is no exception. And one of the best parts is they are a dedicated trail running company. But enough talk about the company and onto the shoe.

The upper: Fairly snug with a surprisingly wide toebox. The Upper on the Vert’ K is interesting, it is not a normal looking shoe. The upper has some sort of lace sleeve. I does keep out the dirt and small rocks while running. But besides that it seems kind of like extra weight? The tongue is a burrito tongue. And this is one of the few shoes that the burrito tongue style really works. My only complaint with the upper is that it seemed to loosen up as I ran. Its a simple fix but I do wish that it didn't happen.  
 

The Midsole: The Vertical K offers a well cushioned plush midsole that works great for almost any terrain. The cushioning on the shoe is really comfortable, it is pretty soft but not overly so. Because of that it makes comfortable on roads and technical mountain trail. The shoe is made to be a racing shoe and you really do feel fast with it on. My only complain with the midsole is that it doesn't have a rock plate, making it tough to bomb as fast as you can down technical trail (La Sportiva recently released the Helios SR which is similar to the Vert' K but with a rock plait). But like I said besides that it is a great midsole.

The outsole: This is where La Sportiva's climbing background really works well in this shoe. The outsole doesn't have super beefy lugs but because of the outsole configuration and super sticky rubber it is able to handle anything from mud to wet rock. Once again I have one complaint. The outsole is not very durable. I have to pairs of Vertical K's and the older ones lugs are very worn down after not tons of use. But it is understandable because of how sticky the rubber is.

Overall its a super fun shoe to run in and because of how light it is it makes a perfect racing shoe. I also have to say that if you forget your rock climbing shoes on a climbing trip these make a great backup. I climbed my best route (5.12a) in them! I am excited to see what La Sportiva keeps introducing into the running world!

Salomon S-Lab Sense Ultra 3 SG

And Salomon has done it again! The leading brand in everything mountain running, has once again created the best shoe of its class. A light weight minimal trail/mountain beast! I have climb 11, 14'ers, and many 11,000-13,000 foot peaks in this shoe throughout the summer multiple races, and just about everything in between. I think in total I have put about 700 miles on this shoe. And ultimately it was the best shoe that I have ever used.

Upper: On of the reasons I liked this shoe so much was the upper. Combine the socklike fit that the sense range is known for with mesh that lets air but not dirt in, and you have super comfort. The upper is pretty durable to. It started to rip a little near my big toe after about 450 miles but hasn't increased much. And lets be honest thats a badass colorway. Overall I just really like the upper.

Midsole:
Not much change from previous models in this shoe for the midsole. It is still a minimal-ish amount of cushion with a light weight flexible rock plate. It has quite enough to get you through a full day of running.

Outsole: The outsole is the reason I bought this shoe. I needed something that could get me up any mountain. From a snowy may ascent of Humboldt Peak, to a technical ascent with rock climbing of the Whetterhorn. Obviously I picked the right shoe because it never failed me. And the outsole has been worn down to much.


Overall this is just one rad shoe that should be on every mountain runners shoe rack. It is a lot of fun tearing down a technical single track knowing that the pair of shoes you have on won't slow you down. I will definitely be getting a pair of the new version when it comes out.

The North Face Endurance Challenge San Francisco 50K: Bad Race Beautiful Place

      I had been training for this race for the last couple of months and felt strong and ready. I was felling strong because I had run the 40 mile Telluride Mountain Run, a few months before. And I felt fast because I had run a 16:59 5k at elevation. So between those I knew I was ready.
      To start of the trip we drove down to Albuquerque. The first thing we did when we got there was go to REI. Where I checked out the Hoka One One Challenger, and bought some things for the race. The next day we flew out to Reno, NV to check out Rope Works, and stay with some friends. After we saw Rope Works I got out for a run on some incredible trails. The next day was I trip to Mill Valley. I was siked! I had felt great on my run and knew that I was ready! Before we got to Mill Valley we had to stop in San Fran to pick up my race packet. But when we came back from getting it (it took us about 10 minutes) our car was gone! It had gotten towed! Luckily we got a ride to pick it up. All of that shook me up but I decided to put it out of my mind so I could concentrate on the race. That night we went for another run on a hill that was on the course. During that run I felt great running 8 minute miles easily. I knew I was ready.
      On race morning I put on my shoes and race outfit, and drove out to the start. But despite having good training it was not to be my day. The first hill running 9 minute miles felt terrible. I started to get pissed! This was supposed to be my day! My race! What was happening?! My training was as good as it gets! So once I got over the fact that it wasn't my day I decided just to enjoy myself. I looked at the bay, the ocean, and the rest of the course. The first aidstation I saw my dad was 9 miles and right after a nice downhill. So coming into that I felt like maybe I could get back into race mode. So I refueled and set off again. Well maybe I couldn't get back into race mode. After I left the aidstation I felt terrible.
      Well I was back to just enjoying the scenery. The miles went by quickly but painfully. And finally I got to the next aidstation. And just as I was leaving I saw Ellie Greenwood cheering me on. Which gave me a boost. The next section of the course was crazy! It was practically a slip'n'slide, a river, something almost unrunnable. And I was still feeling bad. Coming down that and running back to the aidstation where my dad was went by in a very painful,  blister, and cramping, blur. Coming into that aidstation with only 5 miles to go I was toast. But I got a hug from Anna Frost! So for the rest of the 5 miles I just toughed it out. Once I got to the finish I was elated because I was done with one of the hardest races I have ever done, but I had also just finished one of the most amazing courses I have had the pleasure of running on. And I got to meet and talk to some of the best runners in the world. And I got to watch my friend Dakota Jones get second in the highly competitive 50 mile race.
It was a great learning experience and lots of fun.
     Thank you to all the volunteers and The North Face for putting on such an incredible race! I will be back next year!

     I place 72nd overall and 2nd in my age group with a time of 5;23.

                                                                                                                                                                    

Hokas One One Clifton

If your looking for a lightweight, highly cushioned, no nonsense shoe, look no further. I truly think that Hoka struck gold with both this and the Huaka (review coming). I have put in a lot of miles, both fast and slow. And man did it impress me. So here goes the review.
                                                                             Upper


(Photo cred: Competitor Magazine)

I think that this is where Hoka really made a fantastic upper. It's lightweight, breathable, and stretchy. I can see how they took off around 3 ounces from all their previous shoes. But the upper is also where I found the most issues. It is a bit narrow. Not overly so, but enough to cause a tad bit of discomfort. But most Hoka's I have tried are bit to narrow. Why can't Hokas release wider shoes? Well I have one more dislike. The overlays started to come off the upper much to early. And I thought that it could be
 a big discomfort or fit problem. But honestly when I was running it didn't affect anything.


                                                                        Midsole
Fantastic. I am sorry there is nothing wrong with the midsole. It's light, fluffy, and surprisingly springy. I almost wish there was something wrong with it, for the sake of the review. When running uphill it launches you and when you run downhill you feel no impact. Bottom line flawless.

                                                                        Outsole
Just a basic road outsole. Some rubber but mostly exposed midsole EVA. There are no lugs making it a road only shoe. But it works on wet, dry, and dirt roads perfectly. And after 300+ miles there is very little to no wear.

                                                           Conclusion/final thoughts
This is a road shoe. And the only problem with this is I am above all a trail runner. But luckily for me and many other Clifton loving trail runners Hokas is releasing the Hokas One One Challenger, a trail version of the Clifton. I got to check it out at REI today and I must say it was love at first sight. Alright this is the best road shoe I have worn flat out. And soon I will be releasing a review of the Hoka Huaka, another great lightweight shoe from Hoka.

Telluride Mountain Run!

          I said it last year and I will say it again this is hands down the best race that I have gotten to run. Maybe its because it has the coolest race directors or its because in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Last year I did the Hill Climb (5 miles up and 5 down on on Telluride ski slopes) last year, this year I decided to go for the big 38 mile run. Between the uphills where I was cursing the RDs Reese and Dakota and the quad destroying downhills it was a spectacular day in the mountains. A short description of the course would be. Five giant climbs and five giant downhills for a total elevation change of around 28,000.
         I felt good on the first climb and descent, the day was still cool and I was eating and drinking well. The second Climb my body started to fall apart and I was starting to have problems with food and any calories for that matter. I started to get better on the 7.5 mile downhill but that was short lived as we soon started climbing one of the biggest climbs of the day. By this point it was already super hot out and food wouldn't go down. so for about 8 miles I just suffered through and once I got through those 8 miles of pain I got to the aid station at mile 25 and was able to eat and drink a little bit. From there I felt good and ran along all the way to about mile 32 where the final climb begins. This was by far the toughest part of the race for me because of the eat and only being able to get in a few calories. But once I started the downhill and knew I was almost there I got sorta of revived and ran the downhill as hard as my tired legs would let me. It was such a great feeling to cross that finish line in 14th overall and sit down.
        Thanks again Reese and Dakota for making this race so much fun.

Leadville Trail Heavy Half. Try number 2

         I will start off by saying even though I didn't have the race I wanted I still had a fun great race and came away with 13th overall (last year I was 30th overall.)
         Sometimes I have nightmares where I will be midway through a race and suddenly my legs stop working and all I can do is watch my competitors run away while all I can do is stand there. Later you will understand why I mention this. Anyways the morning of there race I tell my dad about these nightmares and say that luckily I hadn't had them last night.
         Now in the actual race I started upfront and the early pace felt much easier than last year (not at all like my nightmares) so I was feeling very confident especially since the day before my dad and I had run the technical part of the course and I was able to all out sprint the very very rocky old jeep road easily on the downhill. For the first 4.5 miles the race was just on road and was all just a blur, It went kind of like I am in 3 place now 4th now 3rd again "hey there's my dad". Then we got to the fun part. I was an 4th place at the start of the big climb to mosquito pass and felt amazing. So I just started chugging up it. I was eventually passed by two people but it didn't matter because I could tell they weren't in my age group. But I could look down and see two kids that looked my age just a couple minutes behind. But I wasn't worried because once we got to the downhill thats where I would really be able to do well. Finally I could practically smell the top and I was sitting in a comfortable 8th place. But this is when everything starts to go wrong. My quads start to get a weird feeling as a summit mosquito pass with a kid obviously under 19 close behind. And as I start the very technical downhill the section where I usually shine my legs just stop working! Just like in my nightmares. And just like in my nightmares I watch competitor after competitor fly by while I can't even walk. So I am sitting up there punching and stretching my legs for minutes while 3 kids clearly in my age group are flying down the hill. But finally all my punching seems to work and I am able to start down the hill at a snails pace but slowly getting faster. I than suddenly they work fully and I start passing people and just trying to make up time. And right when we hit an aid station I am able to pass one kid in my age group putting me back on the podium. Alright now the cramps and the non working legs are starting to come back. To bad to I was having such a fun time on the downhill. soon I am at aid station "B" only 4.5 miles from the finish and in 12 overall 3rd in my age group. Then there is a blur and I am at aid station "A 1/2"  only 3 downhill miles to the finish but unfortunately my legs seize up again so I have to start off slow and have intense pain. But unlike the earlier cramps these wouldn't go away so I just had to grin and bare it. So I still wasn't going my full pace and I knew it was only a matter of time till I was passed. Than of course with a mile left I was passed by a kid in my age group and all I could do was watch while he ran away. The last 1/2 mile of asphalt felt like it took years but I was finally able to cross the finish line in 13th overall and 4th in my age group. Also all 3 kids that beat me in my age group were 16.
           Now I know what my nightmares fell like in real life and I now know that you get very sore after running 7.5 miles down hill on clenched muscles. Although my race did not go as planned I still did a lot better than last year and I learned a lot. Next year I will be looking to try again at this tough race.

Hoka One One Stinson

I am lucky to say that I have had the pleasure of running in the Hoka Stinsons. I love almost everything about them and only have a few complaints. When you first look at them you think heavy, and clumsy. But these are actually light and nimble. These weigh about 12.2 ounces at size 9.0 mens so they are heavier then most shoes I run in but they don't feel like they way that much. They have a 6mm drop which is the highest drop that I generally run in.

        The shoe's upper is a great upper but could use some work. The tongue and the area around the ankle are great. They are made of a soft material and just feel good on your feet. I can wear the shoe without socks without getting any blisters, that is something that I always look for in shoes. And the upper is super durable. I have put quite a few miles on these shoes and have had no problem with them wearing out. My one complaint is that I really have to cinched down the laces to get a good fit.                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                    

 The traction on this shoe is almost to good! It practically suction's itself to any surface. Its amazing that I can feel that safe on any terrain road to extremely technical mountain trails. The midsole is very responsive and very protective. For a while I was hesitant to to get Hoka's because I thought they would mess with my stride but I have yet to have any problem of the sort. But once again I have one problem. When I am going fast down very rocky technical trail I feel like I am going to roll in ankle. So on that type of terrain I generally will go with my Hoka One One Rapa Nui.

Stinson Compared to the Rapa Nui

Stinson Compared to Salomon S-lab Sense

 Overall this is a fantastic shoe and I look forward to some of Hoka's new models specifically the Huaka and the Clifton. I can't wait to get my hands on The Hoka Huaka due to come out in July.
Sage Canaday has a great review for them.

Shiprock Half Marathon 2014

I ran this race last year and had lots of fun, it kick-started my life as a distance runner. Last year I got 22nd overall and 3rd in my age group with a time of 1:34:45. This year I knew I could do much much better, and that's what I did. This year I got 11th overall out of 550 with a 1:26. I broke my age group course record from  last year but I still got fourth in my age group, the reason for this was that the Dine College team were racing and my age group is 12-19. So even though my time was 8 minutes faster and my overall place 11 places better I did worse in my age group. Just goes to show that competition is constantly getting better. This year my plan was to go out slower than last year but not burn out. And it worked really well. Although my mile splits did slow down it was not nearly as much as last year.
Here is my splits
Lap 1: 6:09
Lap 2: 6:14
Lap 3: 6:22
Lap 4: 6:25
Lap 5: 6:37
Lap 6: 6:28
Lap 7: 6:35
Lap 8: 6:18
Lap 9: 6:27
Lap 10: 6:36
Lap 11: 6:44
Lap 12: 6:43
Lap 13: 6:54
Lap .1: 0:27
Last year my first three miles were 6 minute miles flat and after mile 7 were all above 7 minutes.
This course is all flat so it is fast but it is painful because of the road. It is harder on my legs than any other race I have done so far.

I was very tired afterwards.
Over all I was very happy with my race it was an 8 minute PR and lots of fun.

Antelope Canyon 50K: my first ultra

One of the best race courses I have run to date. But the course was not well marked. I traded off being in 3rd and fourth for a long time until I got lost. Picture the scene I am a 13 year old kid with a huge desert landscape around me and a huge drop to the colorado river. And I couldn't find the next marker so you can imagine I was freaking out a little bit. I ran around for about 40 minutes looking for the next flag I covered quite a bit of ground while doing it. Than I saw a human running towards me from the other direction. I thought I was imagining the person because to me it felt like I had been out there for days. finally a lot of racers showed up and we started finding markers. After what felt like forever we got to the aid station. Me and two other people who I didn't catch their names a but were very nice headed out of the aid station to run the slot canyons. Running in slot canyons is one of the funnest things a person can do but once again I got lost. They had marked the course behind us. we added on a lot of miles from that and 2 at the start and I had added a lot on the rim. I than got back to the aidstation on the home stretch me and the other two people I was running with decided to run the last bit together no matter what. Finally after 8:30 hours and 45 miles instead of 31 and about 40 minutes running around the exact same spot we finished. I really liked the race because even though it wasn't well marked everybody knows MORE MILES=MORE FUN. I finished ninth but none of the pack that had been leading the entire race by a lot got a high place. Beautiful area and 14 extra miles made this very very very fun.
  
 

Hoka One One Rapa Nui review

These shoes are amazing. When I first learned about Hoka I wasn't sure about them but some friends of mine gave me The Rapa Nui I fell in love with them. Now onto the review. The upper is made of a very comfortable mesh that so far I haven't experienced any uncomfortable rubbing from.The laces a speed laces which is perfect because I have had speed laces on all my shoes for a while. The tongue is quite then and the only problem with that is you can feel the laces a bit more. But so far it hasn't bothered me. The bottom has a crazy amount of cushioning but they are still the least cushioned Hokas. The cushion really keeps my legs fresh though so its great. The tread is very reliable. I have been running on snow and ice for a while now and they haven't let me fall yet. They only have a 5 mm drop so they are still a forefoot midfoot running shoe. I don't think I will ever be able to go back to a regular shoe.
Thanks Tex so much for getting me into Hokas.

Xterra Trail Run World Championships

This race was really cool!! And one of the best parts is it was in Hawaii!! I really liked the course, it was

tougher than I it would be but part of that was the heat. I have done races in pretty hot weather but this might have been the hottest. And I had been training in snow and cold weather. The race started out faster than I expected actually. I started in the second row and got a pretty good start but it was really fast. For the first half mile of the race I was second in my age group but I past first at about the half mile point. After I past him I felt great and about 5 minutes later I looked back and he was nowhere in sight. In the valley there was a lot of rolling hills that were awesome I got cruising fast in it and got some distance on second place in the age group. Then I hit the road stretch at about the halfway mark and the heat was almost unbearable and I started slowing down a lot. And at about mile 9.5 I was past by the kid that got first in the age group. And he took off. but once I got to the really steep trail uphill I started speeding up and feeling good again. for the last 3 miles I felt pretty good and decided to enjoy myself because I knew I had a good lead on 3rd in the age group. I finished in 1:57 and 105 overall out of 818 people. I got 2nd in the 10-14 age group out of 6 people.



Race hardwear for second place in the age group













Goody
Bag

Great Pumpkin Chase 5k

I just ran a 16:27 5k!! I won the race and destroyed my PR!! for most of the race I ran with another 13 year old (Sloan Mazur). I raced Sloan a lot in XC season so we decided to do this 5k together. Right from the start we opened up a big lead on 3rd place that just kept growing. So we ran together for the first 2 1/2 miles until I started pulling away. In the end I beat him by 10 seconds he ran a 16:37. 3rd place was almost 5 minutes behind us in 21:05. It was a pretty flat fast course. Both me and Sloan lowered our PRs by over 2 minutes!! Great race Sloan and thanks for pushing me for such a fast time.

XC season

I had a great cross country season this year with 5 wins 2 second places 1 fourth and i got 15 at state. I got 4 course records. during the season i did a separate race called the animas mountain mug run. I got second there and first in my age group.

Clif Bar

This is a post just to say how much I love all Clif Bar products. Any of them from Clif Shot's to bars they make the best food for on the run. They have never hurt my stomach which for on a run it is hard to find food that sits well. So thats about it I just love Clif Bar products.

Salomon S-Lab Sense

       I am reviewing the  Salomon S-Lab Sense. Let me start off by saying that these shoes are incredible. The Upper. The upper is a great mesh material it has no seems to rub your foot which is super nice on long runs. The lacing system is great it really helps the shoes because you can just pull it and it adjusts to your foot. The only problem with the lacing is that it is hard to get it to a perfect fit. The Inside. the inside is amazing right from the moment you put it on. It has like a neoprene sleeve that fits the middle of your foot like a glove but lets your toes spread out. I love how they did that with socks or not its an amazing feel. Like I said the shoe has amazing comfort. The Out sole. The out sole has a 4mm heel to toe drop so it has a nice minimal feel. the lugs on the shoe have amazing traction they stick to any surface. The toe box has a very light very flexible rock plate that I love. Like I said this is a minimal shoe that lets you feel the ground but not like your barefoot. The Shoe Overall. I give this shoe a 4.99 rating. On a rough trail it feels like a tough trail shoe but on road it feels like a racing flat. The reason I don't give it a five is because it costs a lot 200$. I got mine off eastbay for 120$ that for these shoes is an amazing price. The shoe is light and fast but has protection so just what I love. So thank you Salomon for an amazing shoe.

TMR Hill Climb

     The Telluride Mountain Run is probably my favorite race. It was not a big race but that might have made it even better. The race directors Reese Ruland and Dakota Jones did an amazing job they went above and beyond my expectations. The cool thing about the race being in Telluride is that its only an hour and a half from my house. The race was 5 miles up the ski area to the top then 5 back down with 4k feet of vertical. It was supposed to be 8 miles, 4 up 4 down but right at the start they changed it. The race starts out steep so I ended up in third place because most people were power hiking. My goal for the race was to keep up with Ellie Greenwood from team Montrail. At first I was in third like I said until mile 4.6. At 4.6 I got passed by 3 people and at 4.75 I got passed by Ellie who I had been ahead of the whole uphill. Then I got to the top at 5 miles in 7th place. I stayed in 7th the rest of the race even through I had to stop a few times to see where to go. This race really helped me learn more about my bodies capabilities because I was able to run pretty much the whole uphill. And I was in third place and ahead of a professional runner on the uphill. Also in the race I got to use my new Salomon S-lab Sense. The shoes worked great for me the entire race so I was really happy with them. In the end I ended up finishing in 7th place and youngest finisher I was at least 12 years younger then everyone else. After the race was also a great experience I got a cheeseburger a TMR pint glass full of coke (everyone else got a pint glass of beer). And once again great job directing by Reese and Dakota. I will be doing this race again next year.

 
From left. Dakota Jones, Simon Kearns (me), Reese Ruland.
This is me with the Race Directors



Finishing



Starting

Telluride Mountain Run Essay

                 RUNNING

      Running. In some ways it’s letting go and being free. It’s very energizing to finish a great run.

I personally have had many great experiences during runs road and trail. I have seen tons of wildlife and great views many places I have run. The most memorable and most EPIC was when I saw a baby mountain lion. When I saw it I was just on this road loop outside Mancos, CO. It was amazing, the only problem was I didn’t know where the mom was. Later that day I saw a lot of deer at the same spot.

          I have had great and not so great experiences in racing. One of my best experiences was when I won my first race. It was the first race of the middle school cross country season in Monticello my first race ever.  I started out going really fast and close to the end I started to die off. But I still finished with the win and had a great first experience. Some of my worst experiences were the two times I went off course. Both the times I did go off course were times where I probably lost the win. The first time I went off course was in a cross country race where I was winning by a lot then I went off course and lost about 30 seconds. In the end I ended up getting second by two seconds. The other one was in a 5k road. The race was in the winter and it was snowing a lot on the racers. This was just I local race for fun. I took the lead right from the beginning and ended up getting half a mile on second place when I went off. It was sad but still good lessons.

          My favorite race distance so far is the half marathon. The half marathon is a fun fast race. The first one I ran was a flat road race, I got a 1:34:45 that time is in the top 80% of my age group in the world!! I think it’s pretty EPIC. The race really got me into half marathons so I ran my next one almost two months later… The Leadville Trail Heavy Half. The race is 15.5 miles so not really a half marathon but it still counts. The idea of the race is run up a mountain then run back. This one had 3,500 feet of elevation gain in 7.75 miles. It was very very tough. My latest one was the Wild Iris Mountain Run. The race had EPIC views but I was feeling the opposite I was not recovered from Leadville. I still had a great time and my old teacher won!!

          Trail running and long distances race aren’t for everyone but I think a lot of people that don’t like it would love it if they tried it. When you go on a first run it’s going to be hard but It can also be a lot of fun. Start out short and just enjoy it don’t start out thinking you have to run far and fast at first. A lot of people make that mistake and don’t enjoy. That’s how my first run was, it was at my summer camp and I was training for the camps 4 mile race. The run I did was 5 miles and it was not fun it was too far and too fast for a first run. But I tried cross country and I loved it because we started out easy. As I said before running is supposed to be like letting go and fun.

Wild Iris Mountain Run

THIS RACE IS AWESOME!!! This is a tough race but amazing course. This race was in Lander, WY which is a great town. The race was part of the 20th annual international climbing festival. The race was only two weeks after the Leadville Heavy Half so my body was not fully recovered. Though out the race my stomach and legs were really messing with me. So even though my body didn't have a good day it was an amazing experience, along the course were great views. I loved it!!

Leadville Trail Heavy Half

      Let me start off by saying this race is not for beginners! I found out about this race because I wanted to do the silver rush 50 run but then decided to do something shorter so I chose this. The idea of the race is run up a mountain then back. This race starts in leadville  then goes up to Mosquito Pass (13,185') then goes right back down into leadville. Fun right?      

This race was very fun though. It is very scenic and challenging. I had a great race until mile twelve. At mile twelve things started going wrong first I rolled my ankle then I started to get chafed by my shorts. and things just started happening like that. I still finished the race in 30th overall in the fastest year ever, and I was the youngest there! In the race this year the top 2 finishers destroyed the course record by 8 and 5 minutes! This was by far the hardest race I have ever done but also the most memorable. Thank you all the volunteers and the race director for making this an awesome race!!!

Leadville newspaper

Finishers mug!

Finishing