My Year in Review 2016

2016 was another fine running year for me. I finished six ultramarathon trail races; three that I had never run before. In one race I ran the farthest and longest I had ever run in my life. I also had the opportunity to visit many lakes and several peaks near Santa Fe, NM and spent some time running in Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo, TX.

Vermillion Flycatcher

Enjoy this slideshow of my favorite photos from 2016:

In March I finished my 5th Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range, NM which I consider to be an ultramarathon even though it is “only” 26.2 miles long. The fact that you have long steep hills and ankle deep sand to negotiate qualifies it as an ultra in my view. 

You can read my 2016 race reports here.

In April I ran the Cedro Peak 45 miler near Albuquerque, NM which I had done before, but had completely forgotten how brutal the course is. In May I ran my first Cactus to Cloud 50K, a trail race that started on the desert floor near Alamogordo, NM; climbed 5000’ up the Sacramento Escarpment and continued along the Rim Trail to end in Cloudcroft, NM (9000’ elev). Several weeks later I ran the Jemez Mountain 50 miler in Los Alamos, NM beating my previous time by 25 minutes. Although, it still took me over 15 hours to complete.

Jemez 50 Miler, Valles Caldera in the distance

Last summer we had a wonderful vacation in Colorado Springs and Fairplay, CO where we spent time with friends and enjoyed seeing the sights including Garden of the Gods. I ran the Silverheels 100 miler in Fairplay (near Breckenridge) which was actually 105 miles at around 10,000-12,000’ elevation. It took me 35.5 hours to complete, the longest I have ever been on my feet. 

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO

Maddie at the restored school house in Fairplay, CO

After going into recovery mode for a few months, I ran the Mt Taylor 50K (11,300’) near Grants, NM. This one had been on my bucket list for several years and I was elated to have finally been able to run it. All of these races took me to some of the most beautiful places in the Southwest from the highest mountains to the most colorful canyons. 

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

See you on the trail.