Soldier/LaMilagrosa Loop Map

Here’s what the route looked like for last Sunday’s run. Click on this to see the full-sized map–

Reddington 50 (more or less) K

This write-up took me a few days because my GPS-bearer did a lot of wandering.  Gene Joseph (the bearer) and Jerry Riddick ended up extending the 50K (31 miles) to 33.87 miles according to my GPS.  Not only did they do an alternate route on the way out to the turn around, they made their own turn around point over a mile past the one I envisioned.  Fortunately Gene marked a waypoint at the Arizona Trail sign turn around on the way back, so I was able to construct a map of what the 50K should look like.  It appears to a bit short, so I might change the turn around slightly next year (for the 3rd time…).

Hopkins 2008

This is our one flat-out (albeit not flat) road run.  It starts at the Whipple Observatory Visitors Center next to the Gamma Ray detectors.  14 people showed up to run, ride, or hike some version of the route, including Geno Foushee and I.  With Geno covering the aid station at the 8 mile gate, I could start the runners/rider, then hop on my bike and chase them.  The Aviles and the Lumms had already driven with Geno up to the gate, where they were going to do an 8 mile run/hike to the top.

Sabino Basin Run Sept. 21 2008

This run made it back on the schedule after a couple years of trail closures forced alternative routes.  Here’s run director Doug Kelly’s write-up, followed by my account with some photos.  I got photos of most people who did the Sabino Basin turn around. –Ross Z

This run features great views of the Sabino Canyon debris flows.  I noticed one of the big ones is starting to get revegetated–

Mt. Wrightson Ascent Sept. 7, 2008

The Goal!!

What a day for a run!  The morning temps were very mild with nearly clear skies. We had over twenty runners and a few hikers take on the morning.  We started at about 7:00 with the route being up the Old Baldy trail.  The descent was either Old Baldy or the Super Trail.  Only the ascent was timed.  This is typically the kick-off for training for those of us who hadn’t done any summertime hundreds (or 135’s).  It was a beautiful Southern Arizona late summer day to start our trail run series.  This part of the state has had ample monsoonal rains, about 50% more than average.  The flowers were not quite at their peak, but were in abundance.

Patagonia-Canelo Ride

Most of our trail runs go through public lands that don’t allow mountain biking, like Saguaro National Park or Santa Catalina Wilderness.  Besides, most of those routes are too rugged for a mountain bike, at least if you have any sense of self-preservation.  But this route is one of the ones where mountain bikes are allowed and you won’t die trying (probably).  Click here for the rest of the story

Bigelow 2008 Photos

Here’s a series of photos I took of runners before and during our Bigelow event.

Some of the images will get bigger if you click them…

At the start–

Click to see the rest–

Mica Moutain Marathon 2008

Question for the long time runners of this route. Is the attached picture the old Mica Mountain fire tower? (see the end of this post).

A very nice day for a run. Everyone was off at 6:33. Some negative comments about the steps above cowhead and some steep sections. Once above that the trail was really nice, the water cool and delicious and the deer were abundant. Lots of wild flowers out to delight the eye. A breeze came up around 10 AM which helped keep the runners cool on the way down from the mountain. Another successful adventure.
Joe Dana

Mica Sky Island 2008

Mica Mountain Marathon is one of our original events, and a true classic. What follows is my visual account of my latest Mica Mountain Marathon. We’ve dedicated it to the memory of Bob Deeran, the short, stocky ex-marine engineer who directed our series for several years. He passed away much too young from cancer. This was one of his favorite runs, so you should keep an eye out for a gruff bearded runner on top of the mountain.

The Esperero Chronicles 2008

Here’s a series of accounts of runners’ adventures–

First a tally of participants:

Hello,Following are the final results of last Sunday’s Esperero.I didn’t want anybody left out. This is one for the records.gj