The Virgil Crest Ultra.  The Race Director labels the run as "Not a race for sissies!", I would totally agree.  With living only 5 miles from the race course, I have had the opportunity to train on the trails, the ski slopes, and really gauge my fitness.  Little did I know that all that training almost did not matter!  This course is just rugged-hard.  Not only is there tons of tough vertical ups and blinding down hill sections but the footing is what makes this race "not for sissies".  Every foot-plant I made, my foot was twisted through mud, roots that made me feet ache upon each strike, and narrow paths deep in the woods where a fall could be...fatal.

This race was TOUGH!  I never imagined how hard it would actually be but it was.

The 50 mile race was a great challenge and I am so glad I had enough guts to hold it together for a course record.

Running a ridge in the Southern Sangre de Cristo mountains

Mammut introduced a new line of trail running kit this year, the Mammut MTR series.  One of my favorite activities in the summer is long runs in the mountains, so I was excited to put the new MTR kit to use.  We had a nice start to running season this spring in northern New Mexico, with lots of runs in the Jemez Mountains, including the 8th annual Jemez Mountain Trail Races on May 25th.  However, the summer season has been slow to get going because of a few fires that closed all of the forest down until just recently.

Before we get to my thoughts on the new MTR gear, I just want to shout out The Enormocast.  I sat down with Chris Kalous at The Enormocast during the summer OR show and talked about mountain running, alpine climbing, risk, and the role of community in mentorship.  Check it out here-> Episode 40: Doug Shepherd - Too smart to be stupid.

Here's a nice MTR introduction video produced by Mammut in Chile!


SPOT MAMMUT MTR CLUB from Victoria Films on Vimeo.