Random Shots of Beauty; Farewell PCTR

Before getting to the subjects at hand, let’s take care of
business and announce our CLIF Kit’s Organic winners.   Rachel,
Michael Helton, and Kelly Covert: e-mail me your contact info – you’ve won!  And if anyone is curious, Rachel was entry
number 1 on the comment list – proving that every number has an equal chance of
winning.




**

Since I’ve been making up for lost training miles this week,
I figured I’d make up for some neglected Random Shots of Beauty by throwing in
a couple extras this week – starting with …






The view looking west from Snively’s Ridge atop Carmel
Valley, at approximately mile 11 of this morning’s run.  Then moving on to …









Tall sentinels at the bottom of Redwood Canyon in Garland
Park at mile 19.  And finally …











A view looking back from the top of another climb up the
adjacent ridge line a couple of hours later, during a run that ended up being nearly 30
miles.  In the words of George Costanza,
I’m back, baby!




Much of this morning’s run featured trails that were used
for my first-ever ultramarathon, the Carmel Valley 50K that was put on by Pacific
Coast Trail Runs almost 10 years ago.   Longtime readers may also recall that in the
wake of my initial Western States disappointment, I ended up doing my first-ever 100-miler at a PCTR event as well. 
I’ve entered several of their races over the years, and like many
Northern Californians, the company had a special place in my heart.




That’s why I was sorry to see the official announcement this
week that Pacific Coast Trail Runs has gone out of business. 
Even though the news isn’t surprising to anyone familiar with the situation
– and even though the financial implications involving current registrants
remain quite messy – it’s a sad milestone for anyone who grew up on PCTR
ultras.




I suppose the good news for me is that none of my upcoming
races are PCTR events – but one of them will be a new event that is hosted by
the company that moved into the void left by PCTR.  I hope to have more to say about that company
and the race in the near future; in the meantime, I need to stay focused on training
my tail off. 




Leadville happens in 10 weeks.  Game on.










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