My Year in Review 2018

2018 was a good year for running especially compared to a lackluster 2017 where I was sick for much of the year and had several DNFs. I grew stronger with each month in 2018 though, and finished the Jemez 50 miler for the fourth year in a row and also tackled two tough 50K races, the Mt Taylor 50K in Grants, NM and the Franklin Mountains 50K here in "El Chuco". I was also very fortunate to have finished my seventh Bataan Memorial Death March in White Sands Missile Range, NM where thousands gather every year to remember and honor our POW war heroes who perished or survived the horrific march during WWII. To read my race reports jump on over to my Table of Contents page here.

Moonset over Banderas, Mexico from Hudspeth County, TX

Red-spotted toad in the Franklin Mountains S.P., TX

In addition to finishing these races, I trained diligently for the Bandera 100K that I will run next weekend in the Texas Hill Country. I also enjoyed some fine running adventures in the Lincoln National Forest in Cloudcroft and Ruidoso, NM. On several occasions I traveled up the road to Las Cruces, NM where I ran the Baylor Pass and Pine Tree trails in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument as well as parts of the Sierra Vista National Recreation Trail.

Black vultures (Hudspeth County, TX)

Vermilion fly catcher

Earlier this month I ran an unsupported 43 miler with over 8500' of vert in the Franklin Mountains to prepare for several upcoming 100Ks. I ran one loop of the Lone Star Hundred 100K but started from the Lost Dog Trailhead in West El Paso to make sure I got plenty of bonus miles. I was hoping for a 40 miler, but ended up with 43 total. I carried most of my food in my pack but, the day before, I stashed a few mandarine oranges, an apple and some chips in a ziplock baggie near the pavilion in the state park. Well, when I uncovered them during my run, a mouse or some other rascal had chewed some skin off the apple and gnawed through the ziplock to get to my chips. I was so hungry at mile 37 of my run though, that I devoured every one of those chips. As for water; I have established several personal caches throughout the park that I keep stocked.

Here's my Strava track that should actually read: Morning, Afternoon and Evening Run. (If it ain't on Strava, it didn't happen.)

Franklin Mountains State Park Eastside

The toughest part of my run was coming down the Upper Sunset Trail (Southbound) that is very steep and gnarly. I contemplated taking the park road that parallels the ridge instead, but decided not to wimp out. It was dark and I was plenty tired by this point and did a lot of rocking and rolling on the softball-sized rocks that fill the route. I almost ate it into the shin dagger and cactus that line the trail several times. I was beat by the time I returned to Lost Dog, but made pretty good time considering I had to climb the N. Franklin Peak at 7192' elevation early in my run.

Wild horses along our southern border

As always, I spent considerable time at our family's ranch in Hudspeth County, TX where I ran along the US-Mexico border and through the Quitman Pass. Wild horses meander back and forth across the Rio Grande that has been flooding here in recent years and many waterbirds have made this newly formed bosque their home. Just this week I went for a run and noticed yuccas blooming already in December; another sign of the global weirding that has become so eminent on our planet lately. While recovering from my runs I enjoyed some birding while taking many photographs highlighting the beauty of this rich landscape.

Weird! Yuccas blooming in December! (Mt Quitman background)

2019 is sure to be an exciting running year for me. After the Bandera 100K I will run the Lone Star 100K in the Franklins, the Old Pueblo 50 miler in Arizona, the Bataan Death March and Jemez 50 Miler in New Mexico and hopefully the San Juan Solstice 50 Miler in Colorado. In addition, I hope to return to the Grand Canyon to run the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim (R2R2R). Whew! I'm tired just writing that paragraph!

Sunset on the ranch

Quitman Mountains, Texas

See you on the trail.