Greg's Running Adventures: Tarantulas Are Pretty Fast!

One of the benefits of being on the trail for many hours at a time is that you get to see amazing wildlife, cacti and wildflowers along the way. The saying goes, “If you run long enough, something is bound to happen.” Usually those happenings are good like seeing a colorful bird flash by or stumbling upon a herd of elk (read my previous post). Occasionally the thing could be bad though, like eating the dirt, falling in the creek or being chased by zombies during your all night run.

Indian Paintbrush in the Franklin Mts State Park, TX

Nevertheless, there is rarely a dull moment on the trail around here in the Franklin Mountains in Far West Texas. Just a few weeks ago I was running my usual weekday route when I took a turn to run down a gentle slope. I was feeling pretty good and decided to open up my stride to see how fast I could bomb down the hill. I glanced at my Suunto gps watch which read about 7mph (fast for me). Well, when I looked back up a rattle snake was stretched out across the trail and I instinctively took a hard right off the path. This wouldn’t have been a problem except that I had to jump over some shin dagger (lechuguilla) while plowing into an ocotillo cactus. They have long whip like arms about the girth of a broom handle and are full of pointy thorns. After dropping a barrage of “F-Bombs”, I assessed the damage. A few cactus thorns in my hand, some scrapes on my arm and a little soilage in my running shorts. Other than that, I was OK.

Desert Willow

When I’m not busy jumping over venomous snakes, I’m taking in the splendid views that our mountains offer up. I call this place God’s Country and refer to my time spent here as going to “church”. It really is a religious experience especially when you climb to the top of N. Franklin Peak and are greeted by a colony of convergent ladybugs (lady beetle). Every year in the summer one particular bush on the peak is covered in these red beetles with black dots. This species is collected in some parts of the US and sold to gardeners for pest control as they voraciously feed on aphids. The expansive view from the top of N. Franklin Peak is like no other. You can see Mexico, Texas and New Mexico with views of the Organ, Franklin and Hueco Mountains, and the Potrillo Volcano Field which includes Mt Riley and Cox.

Lady Bugs!

This has nothing to do with running, but here's a humming bird picture I took.

One morning when I was running down from the peak I came across a tarantula in the middle of the trail so I stopped to take a closer look. These huge hairy spiders look menacing, but they are actually so docile that people keep them as pets. Although they are venomous, a bite, which is rare, would feel no worse than a bee sting to a human. Anyway, I pulled out my camera to get a little video of the big hairy critter and all he did was stand there so I gave him a little touch with my finger. He took off like a rocket and did the two yard dash in about five seconds! I was Amazed at how fast he could run.

Watch how fast a tarantula can run:

On another adventure, I guided a friend up the Aztec Cave Trail in the Franklin Mountains which is part of the Franklin Mountains 50K course that Trail Racing Over Texas puts on in November. It’s a SkyRunner USA Series race this year, so you will definitely want to look into it if you haven’t already signed up. This year will also feature a vertical K and a 27K race as well as the usual King/Queen of the Mt, Half Mary, 10K and 5K. There’s a distance suitable for everyone so you don’t have any excuses. After arriving at the grottos, my friend and I climbed a very steep rock outcrop above the caves to continue on a faint path. A beautiful olive frog with puce spots was hopping around up there on the rocks and I figured he probably hatched in a small pool that had collected water from recent rains. I was astonished to see a frog in these harsh desert conditions.

The view from Aztec Cave

Pink polka dotted frog

Over Labor Day weekend, I spent some time running at the ranch where I completed a 26.2 mile training run through the Quitman Mountains Pass. The route is a windy dirt road through the desert with nothing but wide open spaces in every direction and is the former route of the Butterfield Overland Mail. There’s nowhere more peaceful on Earth that I know of. Almost halfway into my run, I spotted a rattlesnake with its telltale black and white striped tail stretched out across the road. Luckily I spotted in him in plenty of time so I didn’t have to dive into the cacti again. It was a beautiful run, but the heat got to me in the last hour or so. When I returned to the ranch I laid on the floor and drank lots of cold water with a splash of lemonade. It took me a good half hour to recover from the heat.

Ocotillo cactus

All my long training runs and climbs in the Franklin Mountains have helped boost my confidence and my physical condition which has prepared me for my race, the Mt Taylor 50K (11,300’) near Grants, NM, that I will run next week; God willing and the creek don’t rise. I also have an ambitious race schedule planned for 2019 and hope to run the Franklin Mt 50K, Bandera 100K to get my 500K jacket, the Lone Star 100K, Old Pueblo 50 Miler, the Bataan Death March, Jemez 50 Miler and maybe the Lean Horse 100 Miler. Whew —I'm getting tired just writing that!