I ran the Jemez Mountain Trail 50K in Los Alamos, NM this past weekend, which is one of my favorite races. I keep coming back year after year to enjoy the beauty of the land and to test my mettle under the always challenging conditions. The terrain is tough, with short steep climbs in and out of deep canyons as well as a long slow grind topping out at 10,400’ elevation on the Pajarito summit. This event offers 50 mile, 50K and 15 mile courses, with staggered start times, so you can pick the level of misery you would like to experience. This year I chose the intermediate suck level.
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| Valle Caldera National Preserve on a cler day |
This was my 9th attempt. In years past, I’ve completed five 50 milers, one 50K and have had two DNFs, one for runners being halted mid-race for a freak snow storm! I was running down the mountain in heavy cold rain while it was snowing on the peak. When I arrived at the the next aid station at the bottom, they informed us that the race was called off because some runners at the top were suffering from hypothermia and other cold related injuries.
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| Los Alamos and the Jemez Mountains |
