Category: RUTE event

(Sigh.)

TE is much about the route, which is of uncommon beauty. This year, there too many closures and too much contingency.

Cooper and Jon and I went back and forth on course conditions, safety, and insurance, and regretted not having more difficulty coming to a consensus. It is of course frustrating: we’ve only run one of the past four years.

I wish it wasn’t so.

Tough Enough will be held on the first Saturday in April, April 6th.

‘…will be held’ means, ‘will be held unless the course is on fire, or washed away, or there’s another pandemic, or, less likely but possible, devastated by earthquake.’ (Volcanos unlikely, but check the Nine Sisters in San Luis.) Oh, how could I neglect a tsunami? I wish this was funnier/more absurd than it is.

This will be my last TE as race director. Michelle Martinez will be taking over in Ventura; Cooper Atkinson and Jon Zaid will take up the SB version. It’s a great course, and relays are fun.

Socks from Bombas this year. Check left for entry form. Or maybe not socks, though Bombas are nice.

Teams
Four Bad Knees & One Durable Guy (Ruby)

Ultra
Mauricio Puerto & Lura Belley

Sorry to not hold TE this year. Two of the past three years missed, and there is potential for an ‘extreme El Nino’ this fall/winter. I will attempt to host it once more next year. After that, it may go quiescent.

Accounting: we donated $250 to Direct Relief, as one of the teams asked not to be refunded. This year’s (year-tagged) swag went to the Ventura club, which held a ‘Foolish Enough (April 1st) relay.

Meanwhile: free movement, road or trail. Onward.

The return after pandemic years on a near-perfect running day (if a little difficult for driving). Tough Enough in novel form:

Noir. The Bull Canyon coyotes could barely make out the human forms moving in the pre-dawn dark, their muttering, and but for the occasional flare of a headlamp invisible.

Romance. Mauricio raised his chiseled jaw, gazing across the expanse ahead, his chest burning with hard-won confidence.

Early-90’s erotic thriller. The dense fog nestled its soft cheek close to the rough stubble of chaparral.

Literary. Michaela d’C. leaned back, looking cooly at her mother across the 52nd floor Manhattan café tabletop, wondering idly when she should text her driver, whether she should have rented a private jet—she wanted to be fresh, she had Legs 6 and 9—and too, when that Ursus americanus californiensis had replaced the maitre ‘d.

Natural history. Coreopsis, a non-native, has colonized the lower reaches of California’s Sierra Madre, and is easily seen when the west fork of Cold Spring trail ascends from the main watercourse.

Self-help memoir (including tragic backstory overcome by grit and pluckiness): I lay face-down on the trail in California’s remote Sierra Madre, bruised victim of my own too-loose shoelace. I overcame that travail, and you can too.

Fantasy/adventure: They appeared above the clouds, then descended again, running, endlessly running.

Plus some actual results:

7:17 Against Coach’s Orders (Chris F.)
8:52 Los Aztecas (Ana C.)
9:09 Trail Queens (Michaela C.)
9:28 We Run for the Hill of It (Lisa E.)
9:45 Hills, What Hills? (Jim C.)
9:55 Born to Squirrel (Karen P.)
10:50 Start Slow, Taper Fast (Valerie T.)

8:58 Hill +/- One (Kim R.): One injured runner on a bike
10:35 Cougars on the Rum (Holly B.): A little loose on handoffs after a couple of adventurous runners got lost decided to explore some exciting alternate routes on West Cold Spring trail (Leg 2).

Everybody finished in the top ten!

In the ultra:
8:44 Ex’s and O’s: Ian Seabury & Rachel Entrekin, a CR for a two-person team
13:46 Alway Looking for Adventure: Mauricio P. & Laura B.
13:46 Nopaleros: Carlos R. & Maria N.
13:54 Jon Z., who utterly dominated the solo category!

Candidate changes for next year
—Adding Venmo, maybe Skrill, for payment for those who wish
—Electronic forms
—Massive advertising campaign, like maybe letters to a few local companies, posting on calendars, &c, though with a limit on entries I think and preference given to those who’ve done it before

Hats are the leading candidate for next year’s swag, based on a pretty informal survey at the finish. Suggestions open, though.

Thanks to Los Aztecas for introducing me to nopales, cactus pads that are easily prepared and delicious.

And wholehearted appreciation for Kim R., recently moved to Kauai, long-time trail boss for Ventura’s Inside Track Running Club, ever-supportive consultant and advisor on things TE, friend, a woman of integrity and honor.

We’e still in a pandemic, but levels of vaccination are mostly good; unless there’s a significant change in the wrong direction (or of course we’re on fire) (wishing ‘of course’ didn’t sound so unremarkable) we’ll be on for 2022. Tentatively, April 2nd.

We are deeply fortunate to be able to this.

Ultra: Ian Seabury was first full ultra finisher in 11:12; Scott Young ran 12:57 for second. Billy and Karla, running alternating legs, ran 9:38. That means each ran 32-33 miles in under 4:50, on what few would describe as a fast course.

The relay fell out as:

1. Just Here for the Views, 8:45
2. Not Medical Doctors, 9:01
3. Rapid Thigh Movement, 9:03
4. What’s My Leg Again?, 9:16
5. Our Moms Think So, 9:35
6. Competitive Bipedal Locomotion Enthusiasts, 9:48
7. Old Souls plus One, 10:07
8. Four Lasses and a Lad, 10:10
9. Beer Run (or Beerrun), 10:17
   
10. The Machines and the Sexy Boy, 10:22
11. It’s OK to Walk, 10:45
12. The Return of the Pink Ladies, 10:46
13. Delusions of Toughness, 11:22
    
14. We’re On Our Last Legs, 11:23
15. Sub-24, 12:36

Will Tough Enough be back next year? Yes.

Addenda: The course has roughly 9345′ total climb, 9140′ total drop, for 18,485′ of elevation change. Numbers based on USGS data, via OnTheGoMap.

This is why California is known world-wide for its natural beauty. Within California, Santa Barbara is particularly dramatic. What fortune to be able to run, to immerse unreservedly!

Ian S.led the ultrarunners, finishing in about eleven and a half hours, then looking fresh and filled wiht energy after the run. Scott Y. was at 13 1/2, remarkable for his training, Steve VanD at 14:38, and Mauricio and Luis, wearing brilliant headlamps, were epic in 16:32. Ian, by the way, got the course at 64.7 miles.

The teams were led by Nasty Women and Bad Hombres (7:58). Conejo Valley made a claim that they were the slowest team ever, finishing around 14 1/2 hours. Could be they’re the new number 1-inverse. In between, the She-Ra’s were first women-only team (3d overall), and in some order, Team Leaky Cheek, Operation Ivy,Take Warning, Dude Dillon Panthers, Lady Dillon Panthers, Pink Panthers, Greg’s Groms, Woody’s Wabbits, Always Bet on Black, Breaking Wind, Nightlife, I’m with Stupid, Pimp My Stride, and RIP Fun Bus.

Alert readers may note some vagueness regarding finish times. Somnolent readers might note it, too. The race director wrote the final ultra runners’ times on the results sheet, put the clipboard on top of the car, talked with Luis and Mauricio for a few minutes, and drove home. On arrival, the clipboard was no longer on top of the car.

We’re sending $1,245 to Direct Relief this year.

Three more notes:
o Many thanks to the redoubtable Kim Reale who organized the six teams from Inside Track.
o Do not judge the entry fees of other races based on TE. Most races have far more in expenses than we do (port-a-johns, Highway Patrol, big municipal fees, and so on). If you’re curious about the breakout of income and expenses, write me, happy to share.
o A sincere thank-you to everyone who had a good time!

We — the local runners (including you) who comprise Tough Enough — are sending $1,538 to Direct Relief.

These people are just good; probably need a capital letter on Good. They embody a kind of essence of being good.

Many thanks from the race director for making the party so fun.