Countdown to the Jemez 50

50 miles, 12,000 ft of elevation gain, three mountains that rise well above 10,000 feet. That sums up the course I will be running in one month. The Jemez Mountain Trail Runs are on Saturday, 22 May in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The course is run through some of the most spectacular scenery in the southwest including the Valles Caldera National Preserve, a collapsed volcanic crater. (click for sat images of the caldera)

This new type of public land is managed like no other national park or forest. A limited number of visitors pay as they go for activities like hunting, fishing, skiing, snowshoeing, and more. They even have a marathon in the caldera on Jun 12th, 2010. The beauty of this type of management is that crowds are reduced so visitors can have more of a wilderness experience. I’m very excited that part of the Jemez course runs through a portion of the Valles Caldera.

New running shoes with a secret weapon

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I bought a new pair of shoes with a new technology. These shoes are so high tech that they have been banned in the Boston marathon for giving runners an upper edge. USA Track and Field, the national governing body for track and field, has strict rules against competitors using performance enhancing substances as well as performance enhancing gear. My shoes violate rule 143.3 (a) which I will get to in a minute, but first you may be wondering why I bought these controversial shoes?

A Good Running Week

This was a great week for running because the weather was gorgeous, the cacti and wildflowers were showing their colors, we had brilliant sunsets, and I bought a new pair of shoes. I enjoyed a wonderful sunset hike with my wife, Cara, and our “team of dogs”. I also ran and hiked to the top of N. Franklin Mountain with Lucy, Sierra, and Taz who had a great time tagging along.

What’s an ice cream cone doing in the middle of the desert?

This morning I’m in search of the “ice cream cone”. I don’t even know what it is that I’m looking for. All I know is that I’m supposed to run about 11 miles down this dirt road. So here I go with my family’s dog pack on a quest for the ice cream cone. My running partners today are Lucy, Sierra, Taz, Quasi, Harry, and Butch. (click here to meet our pack) We start our run from the “BR” Ranch (Neely Homestead) before the crack of dawn so it is quite chilly before this day breaks.

The route we are rambling parallels a stretch of the Rio Grande known as the "forgotten river” because of the remote area it flows through. We are so close to Mexico that we can see the recently constructed brown border fence. This road less traveled winds through some stunning scenery with the Quitman Mountains to the North. Before long we see bee hives stacked up on the side of the road and my dogs stop to investigate. The cool outdoor temperature has the bees huddling inside for warmth so the dogs are safe for now.

Aguirre Springs Scamper

A 4:30 am wakeup starts the day, because I want to see the sun rise in the Organ Mountains. Lucy, Sierra, and Taz are my running companions today as we head to Aguirre Springs on the East side of the Organ Mountains. The Organs are in New Mexico just east of Las Cruces and are a jagged range with formations called the needles.

When we arrive on the East side, the BLM park gate isn’t even open yet, but that is OK because all I want to do is get some pictures of the sun glowing on the rock face. I can’t believe there is still snow on the peaks. The wind is blowing and is supposed to pick up later. In fact, the mountain pass road is going to be closed at noon because of it.