AK’s Adventures

When I did my first marathon over 10 years ago, I walked into Phidippides because it was recommended to me by several runners. I had no idea what I was doing then, but I walked out with a pair of my first running shoes, and some useful tips given to me by the friendly staff [...]

After yesterday’s Mt Disappointment 50 miler, I feel worse than I’ve felt after a race in a long time. If anything, I’m usually fine after a shower, food, and a good night’s sleep. Not only do I feel really beat up, I suffered from the biggest blister I’ve gotten ever in my life. I usually [...]

This past weekend, Catra worked at the SF Marathon expo at the Atalanta booth with the owner/founder Heather. While she was pushing skirts, I managed to catch some seminars conducted by Julie Fingar, Bart Yasso, and Dean Karnazes.

On Sunday, we volunteered to help new race directors Mike Palmer and Jennifer Ray at the Skyline 50K [...]

I’m very saddened to write that Jim Hutchinson, the Race Director for the Vermont 100 and President of the Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports has died of a heart attack.

2007 Vermont 100 Pre-race meeting.

Jim with the top female runners from 2007.

Jim w/ Dot Helling during 2005 Vermont 100.

It looked like a race, smelled like a race, and we ran it like it was a race — it wasn’t a race though, but the Relay for Life fundraiser, which I’ve participated in for the second year in a row. Last year, it was a little different — Bill ran the whole thing, and [...]

On Saturday July 26, 6 local ultrarunners will be joining up as Team John M Potter, MD, and attempting to cover at least 160 miles in 24 hours to raise money as part of the Relay for Life — the signature event for the American Cancer Society. John’s brother-in-law, Bill Ramsey is an accomplished runner, [...]

I’m headed up to NoCal to help Catra do her solo Ohlone 100 miler.  I’m supposed to meet up with her along the course for support, then pace her from around the half-way point, then we’ll eventually join up with the actual race to finish in her goal of around 34 hours.  Sounds pretty crazy, [...]

It’s been exactly a week after the fire was mostly under control, and this morning was my first time I had been up the Mt Wilson Trail after it re-opened the other day. The first sign of the disaster was the strong smell of smoke, well before any sign of the damage was [...]

Fire update as of 4/30 @ 10:30

All evacuation orders have been lifted
Chantry, Mount Wilson Trail, and Bailey Canyon remain closed
Containment at 88%, with full containment expected on Friday 5/2
584 acres destoryed, of which 238 acres are on National Forest land, and the remaining 346 acres belong to the City of Sierra Madre

It’s been 4 days [...]

View Larger Map
Updated Tuesday (4/29 @ 11:00)
The fire finally seems to be under control — no flames, smoke, or ashes were visible this morning. There were occasional fly-bys from a single LAFD helicopter, and a lot of the streets that were previously closed, had been opened. Most of the emergency personnel were stationed [...]