2014 race report: $3,144 to Direct Relief Int’l

2014.04.06

Closed Kinevan required re-routing, but only one error by relay runners, which was self-penalizing since the temporary route was a little shorter. The soloists ran the full distance on a windy-but-clear day. Magnificent vistas. ‘Magnificent’ an overused word, now most often applied ironically, but for yesterday a simple description. If Wordsworth and Coleridge hadn’t dropped at the last minute, they’d have loved it.

Some notes.
o Runner of the day: Sara Kida. Thirty-three weeks pregnant. Nonchalant. Sara was awarded lifetime free entry, for herself and her heirs.
o Wind on Gibraltar. A runner’s sandwich was blown out of her hand.
o Route. A woman left E Camino Cielo to energetically follow a steep trail. ‘What are you doing!?’ ‘I’ve always wanted to run up this!’
o Tired meets wired. Close third place to the Fugawi, with only three runners, Steve Harding, John Loftus, and Scott Devore. Finishing in 7:06, a time that even accounting for the short course would have won all but a couple of previous runnings.
o SB life. Pre-race conversation with a couple of runners who are designing lasers for space to help capture an asteroid and drag it around to orbit the moon.
o Ah, youth. Chris Clemens sort-of inadvertently stayed out until 1 the night before the race, showed up for the 5 am ultra start, and decided somewhere on Gibraltar that instead of alternating legs, as planned, with his brother, hey, why not just run the whole thing?
o Running dog. When soloist Mauricio was passing the Gun Club, a neighborhood German Shepherd slipped under a backyard fence to run with him. Text to owner received little response (‘tell her to come home.’) Friendly dog looked ready to do it again as she checked out Nojoqui Falls and hung with her ultra running buddies. With some recreational off-course cow-chasing, to break things up.
o Happiness. The general tone at the finish line; the reason for the event.

Grateful thanks to Kimberly Burnell and Horny Toad, Adam and Sara at CoMotion, Elle, and all you participants.

We’re sending $3,144 to Direct Relief, in gratitude for what they do.