My Year in Review 2015

I hope you enjoy this slide show of my favorite pictures from 2015 (Click HERE if you can't see it.):

2015 was a successful year as I had the opportunity to run six ultramarathons and a few shorter races as well. We enjoyed traveling to Central Texas, Northern New Mexico and Wyoming for some fantastic running adventures. 

This smart Mule deer buck was in Ruidoso, NM this week
since it's hunting season in the National Forest

The year started with a trip to San Antonio and vicinity where we visited family and friends. I finished the Bandera 100K, but really wanted to quit throughout the day because of rain, cold and mud, mud and more mud. Wet puddly mud, sticky mud, slippery mud; you name it. 

My next race was in March just over the Texas border in Las Cruces, NM. The Sierra Vista Trail 50K was a fun adventure on the western slope of the Organ Mountains in the newly designated Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. Several weeks later I ran one of my favorite races, the Bataan Memorial Death March (26.2). This race on White Sands Missile Range, NM honors the survivors and remembers the fallen service members of the 80 mile death march in the Philippine Islands during WW II. The course features a long steady climb, dirt roads and the infamous sand pit all along the eastern slope of the Organ Mountains.

In April I trained diligently to get ready for the Jemez 50 miler in Los Alamos, NM. I finished in under 16 hours which was a stretch for me because there were two climbs up to 10,400’ elevation. Two previous attempts on the 50 miler course ended in DNFs due to altitude problems and a freak snow storm so I was elated to finally knock out this race.

Last summer, we enjoyed an awesome trip to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks in Wyoming. Following our family vacation, I ran the Bighorn Mountain Wild and Scenic 100 Miler over in Sheridan, WY. This was my dream race that I had been wanting to do for some years. I was able to finish in 32:30 despite much water and mud on the back part of the course and steep climbs in the Bighorn Mountains. 

The largest Alligator juniper tree I've ever seen (Ruidoso, NM)

My last ultra was the Deadman Peaks 50 miler in Cuba, NM. This was a beautiful course on the Continental Divide Trail through mesas and badlands of northern New Mexico. Unfortunately, our dog Lucy was bitten by a rattlesnake while visiting my in-laws' ranch on the same weekend. However, she has fully recovered and is enjoying many snake free runs since the weather has turned much colder. 

Lucy running two months after her snake bite.

Winter running in Lincoln NF, NM

2015 provided many exciting running adventures and my Bighorn 100 finish was a qualifier for the Hardrock 100 lottery, but I did not expect to “win” a spot on my first try. In fact, it's so hard to get into this race that Anton Krupicka is number 100 on the wait list for first timers. We’ll see what happens in 2016. I hope to run a 50 and100 miler in Colorado this summer.

See you on the trail.