Gina and I have run trails by headlamp and flashlight since we first got into trail running back in 2001. Due to time constraints, most of our fall and winter running occurs after dark. Both of us prefer to run on trails and don't want to let darkness keep us from staying in trail running shape. In addition, there are aspects of running at night that you just can't put into words.
Light Source:
My lighting preference is to use a LED headlamp and a flashlight (halogen or LED). LEDs are a very energy efficient lighting source and cast a white glow (I can't stand to buy and go through a lot of batteries. LEDs have really helped increase the run time of battery operated lights). Depending on your LED headlamp, the beam emitted will be a glow or a focused beam. There are countless options of headlamps for a variety of uses. I've yet to find a headlamp that lights up the trail and allows you to get depth perception.
When running at night you get depth perception from shadows being cast from your light source. The best way to get shadows is to use a flashlight. Holding a light lower, in your hand, helps to get the shadows you need to identify rocks, roots, and other obstacles in your way.
With this in mind I usually only run using a headlamp, but if I'm planning to run a trail fast, run a rocky or rooty trail, or run a steep downhill, I will also use a flashlight. Not only does this help minimize getting injured on the trail but it is also smart to have a backup light source in case your primary light stops working.
For those of you unfamiliar with headlamp options I encourage you to visit our newest sponsor, Walkabout Outfitter, to see their selection and to get a 25% discount on headlamps in stock.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
3rd Into the Darkness Night Trail Run
Print this post off for 25% off Petzl headlamps at
Walkabout Outfitter - Lexington and Downtown Roanoke
On 10/24/09 we will be having our 3rd Into the Darkness race. This is my favorite race to direct and promote. There is something about running at night that is indescribable. The temperature is milder, there are sounds that you don't hear during the day, there are glowing eyes staring back at you, and there's this feeling of uniqueness, that you are doing something that few people ever choose to experience. Add 150+ other runners, our unique spin, and you have a recipe that has caused people to name this as their favorite race.
In preparation of the night race the course will be cleaned up. We will be blowing the leaves off the trail to help you see and stay on course, we will remove sticks and loose rocks, and we will be placing many reflective arrows, markers, glowsticks, and other Halloween related items throughout the 4 miles. All in an effort to make this an unforgettable event.
Following the race we will be having spaghetti from Mama Maria's, the infamous Mountain Junkies pumpkin bread, and other food and drinks.
All awards for this race are homemade Halloween themed plaques. Awards will be given to the top 3 male and female overall winners, Male and Female Masters (over 40) winners, and the top 3 in 11 age groups.
Sponsors:
Our newest sponsor is Walkabout Outfitter - they are offering a 25% discount on all Petzl headlamps purchased at their Downtown Roanoke and Lexington stores (you just need to print off this page and take it into the store).
Virginia's Explore Park
Roanoke City Parks and Recreation
Gilbert Chiropractic
Mama Maria's
RSC Rental Equipment
Monster Energy Drink
The entry fee is $20 until 10/10/09.
To guarantee getting a t-shirt you need to make sure you have signed up by this date.
After 10/10/09 the entry fee is $30 and all remaining shirts (we try to get extra) will be given out on a first come first served basis.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
13th Annual Fab 5k - August 15th, 2008
Race Day Wrap Up
The morning of the 13th Fab 5k was a hazy 70 degrees. This year was one of the few years that the course had green grass from an abundance of rain. The course was mowed on Friday leaving it in perfect condition.
Since the Fab 5k is one of the only money races in the valley we usually get some impressive times. Somehow we all had a suspicion of who was going to win.
The results show some impressive times.
David Cheromei - 14:54
Randy Horner - 15:52
David Angell - 15:58
and a total of 11 people under 17 minutes.
On the women's side it was an extremely close race. Last year's winner Allie Uhl took 20 seconds off her time and fought off the 2nd and 3rd places winners at the line.
Allie Uhl - 19:08
Michelle Church - 19:09
Mary Catherine Sowder - 19:10
The 40+ crowd also had a great race.
Mark Knapp - 1st Master Male - 20:02
Simone Vandegrift - 1st Master Female - 23:54
and, new this year, instead of an 18 and under award I decided to go with an under 18. I wanted to make sure we kept this award as a High School award.
Michelle Church - 19:09
Patrick Woodford - 16:30
It was a great turnout of runners under 18. I like to see so many young runners come out to fight in the preseason to see who has been working the hardest over the summer break. Good luck during your xc season.
In addition, we had a lot of runners state that this was their first race and many who had lost a lot of weight and decided to give themselves another challenge. Congratulation to all of you. I hope this race was a positive experience. Whether you are running it competitively or just to finish, participating in a race is a big deal and accomplishment. You did something that most people will never do.
Remember our Sponsors:
Gilbert Chiropractic
Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism
Rowe Sofa
Kirby Vass Insulation
Cuz's Autobody
StellarOne
Proceeds from this race go to
Roanoke County Parks, Recreation, and Tourism
and future races in the Roanoke Valley.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
6/6/09 Trail Nut 10k and Half Marathon
Falling Creek Park: And the Rain Came.
The first race of the year and the Grand Opening of Falling Creek Park was supposed to be on May 16th. I was going to race in the Fat Tire Frenzy, directed by Kenny Palmer, and promoted by Bedford County Parks and Recreation. Gina and I got a call the day before, stating, that the race had been cancelled due to the park being deluged by 2 inches of rain in 2 hours. The consequence of this rain was that it flooded the park, washing away most of the bridges, washing away much of the rock in the parking lot, and moving a 1800lb granite slab 25ft or so. This was terrible news to the park, Bedford County, and Kenny, who had put a ton of time gearing up for the mtn bike race.
Between 5/16 and the 6/6 Trail Nut race day we had more and more rain. Somehow, in these two weeks before the Trail Nut race, everything was put back together. Gina and I waited until mid afternoon on Friday, when the rain stopped, to mark the course. At that time, we could see, that there was little evidence that the park had been hit so hard in the weeks prior. Muddy yes, but there was no sign of the destruction that had taken place. I rode the course on my mountain bike to put up the mile markers and Gina ran putting up the flagging and caution tape. Boy was it a slippery ride for me, and slow going.
On Saturday morning my usual routine is to ride the race course to make sure all the markings are up and that the caution tape is still in place. As we were driving I could see that Bedford County got more rain during the night. I abandoned my usual pre-race ride and decided to run the course (this would give me a chance to assess just how slippery things would be for you runners and to make sure that course adjustments or trail bypasses weren't needed). I ended up being surprised that, although muddy and slippery, things weren't as bad as I thought. The first mile of single track is the worst when wet. After that the course tread is more sandier and loamy providing for "better" traction.
The 2nd Trail Nut 10k and Half Marathon doubled in size this year. We had a total of 67 in 2008 and 149 this year. Many of you registered in the last two weeks after I had to give t-shirt numbers and weren't able to get shirts. At the early registration cut-off we had 78 signed up and I ordered 130 shirts. I misjudged how many of you would be signing up in the last weeks and on race day. Sorry to those of you that didn't get shirts (Mountain Junkies L.L.C. does guarantee a t-shirt and your preferred size if you pre-register. Althought we want everyone to end up with a shirt, after the pre-registration date, we can't guarantee anything, and give out extra shirts on a first come first served basis.).
Once the race started I knew the times were going to be slower due to the conditions which were very similar to last year. We had some pretty fast runners sign up so I was curious to see the finishing times. If I remember correctly we had 3 half marathoners pass the 10k finish before Dave Goode finished the 10k in 44:40 (2:15 faster than last year's winning time), 2nd Steve Burtis in 46:36, and 3rd Carl Saunders in 48:43. The top 3 10k women were led by Lisa Horney in 52:38 (3:06 faster than last years winning time), 2nd Leigha Schimmueller in 53:38, and 3rd Christine Rolfe in 54:10.
For the Half Marathon we had two runners that seemed to be breezing through the course. Gina mentioned that at the 5.5 mile point that they were just chatting away like it was no big deal. Separated by 24 seconds was Andy Sayers who came in first in 1:34:56 and Timothy Driscoll who came in second in 1:35:20, and Daniel Boyers in 3rd at 1:43:21. On the womens side of the half marathon we had 1st place Kelly Charley in 2:05:09, 2nd Sandra Denius in 2:14:29, and 3rd Jennifer Dietrich in 2:16:22.
Many of the runners in this, and the other R NUTS races, were new to trail running and racing. Finishing a race like these is a big accomplishment. You have to overcome the terrain, conditions, and the mental and physical fatigue of the miles. Congratulations to each of you for coming out and challenging yourselves. Thanks for participating in a Mountain Junkies LLC event. Hopefully we will see you next year.
Josh
The first race of the year and the Grand Opening of Falling Creek Park was supposed to be on May 16th. I was going to race in the Fat Tire Frenzy, directed by Kenny Palmer, and promoted by Bedford County Parks and Recreation. Gina and I got a call the day before, stating, that the race had been cancelled due to the park being deluged by 2 inches of rain in 2 hours. The consequence of this rain was that it flooded the park, washing away most of the bridges, washing away much of the rock in the parking lot, and moving a 1800lb granite slab 25ft or so. This was terrible news to the park, Bedford County, and Kenny, who had put a ton of time gearing up for the mtn bike race.
Between 5/16 and the 6/6 Trail Nut race day we had more and more rain. Somehow, in these two weeks before the Trail Nut race, everything was put back together. Gina and I waited until mid afternoon on Friday, when the rain stopped, to mark the course. At that time, we could see, that there was little evidence that the park had been hit so hard in the weeks prior. Muddy yes, but there was no sign of the destruction that had taken place. I rode the course on my mountain bike to put up the mile markers and Gina ran putting up the flagging and caution tape. Boy was it a slippery ride for me, and slow going.
Don't forget the Trail Nut Sponsors:
When you go into these stores make sure you mention to them
that you've participated one of our races. That let's them know that their
sponsorship is bringing in business.
Gilbert Chiropractic
Joel Gardner DDC
Super Shoes
Outdoor Trails
On Saturday morning my usual routine is to ride the race course to make sure all the markings are up and that the caution tape is still in place. As we were driving I could see that Bedford County got more rain during the night. I abandoned my usual pre-race ride and decided to run the course (this would give me a chance to assess just how slippery things would be for you runners and to make sure that course adjustments or trail bypasses weren't needed). I ended up being surprised that, although muddy and slippery, things weren't as bad as I thought. The first mile of single track is the worst when wet. After that the course tread is more sandier and loamy providing for "better" traction.
The 2nd Trail Nut 10k and Half Marathon doubled in size this year. We had a total of 67 in 2008 and 149 this year. Many of you registered in the last two weeks after I had to give t-shirt numbers and weren't able to get shirts. At the early registration cut-off we had 78 signed up and I ordered 130 shirts. I misjudged how many of you would be signing up in the last weeks and on race day. Sorry to those of you that didn't get shirts (Mountain Junkies L.L.C. does guarantee a t-shirt and your preferred size if you pre-register. Althought we want everyone to end up with a shirt, after the pre-registration date, we can't guarantee anything, and give out extra shirts on a first come first served basis.).
Once the race started I knew the times were going to be slower due to the conditions which were very similar to last year. We had some pretty fast runners sign up so I was curious to see the finishing times. If I remember correctly we had 3 half marathoners pass the 10k finish before Dave Goode finished the 10k in 44:40 (2:15 faster than last year's winning time), 2nd Steve Burtis in 46:36, and 3rd Carl Saunders in 48:43. The top 3 10k women were led by Lisa Horney in 52:38 (3:06 faster than last years winning time), 2nd Leigha Schimmueller in 53:38, and 3rd Christine Rolfe in 54:10.
For the Half Marathon we had two runners that seemed to be breezing through the course. Gina mentioned that at the 5.5 mile point that they were just chatting away like it was no big deal. Separated by 24 seconds was Andy Sayers who came in first in 1:34:56 and Timothy Driscoll who came in second in 1:35:20, and Daniel Boyers in 3rd at 1:43:21. On the womens side of the half marathon we had 1st place Kelly Charley in 2:05:09, 2nd Sandra Denius in 2:14:29, and 3rd Jennifer Dietrich in 2:16:22.
Many of the runners in this, and the other R NUTS races, were new to trail running and racing. Finishing a race like these is a big accomplishment. You have to overcome the terrain, conditions, and the mental and physical fatigue of the miles. Congratulations to each of you for coming out and challenging yourselves. Thanks for participating in a Mountain Junkies LLC event. Hopefully we will see you next year.
Josh
Monday, May 18, 2009
4/25/09 Promise Land 50k
It has taken me a couple weeks to report about this race. Don't get me wrong, this is a great event, on a great course (challenging), good atmosphere, and great food following the run, but I wanted to break 6 hours. That was my main focus when I decided to enter this event for the 4th time. Off the top of my head I've finished in 6:32, 6:18, 6:07, and 6:18 this time. I felt like I was better prepared than my 6:07 last attempt. My weight is at a level I haven't been to in 17+ years. I can't event remember the last time I was below the 180lbs mark. This, I figured, had to help me get under the 6hr mark.
This event is listed as the toughest 50k on the east coast. It travels up and down from the parkway twice with a total elevation gain and loss at above 7400ft. It is a beautiful location for a race but holds some very tough and technical terrain.
My problem with this course is that I typically battle cramping of my sartorius, hamstrings, quads, and calves after about the halfway point. This time I made it to mile 21 or so before bad things started to break down. I was following my plan pretty well, hitting my splits or coming in a tad faster, drinking 20oz between aide stations. and eating something at each aide station. I was going at a pretty slow rate on the climb up Apple Orchard falls, I lost a lot of time here, and when I got the sunset fields, the thought of running 5 miles down hill didn't cheer me up. I had to take the downhill pretty easy and cramps made me take at least 4 time outs along the way.
The surprising thing in all this was that very few people passed me during my suffering (that would have been more of a downer). I ended up coming into the finish in 6:18 and 29th place. Not bad overall and concidering it was the hottest race day for this race ever. I just think of what could have been and whether I will succomb to the pressure to run this race again and attempt a 5th try at a sub 6hr finish.
This event is listed as the toughest 50k on the east coast. It travels up and down from the parkway twice with a total elevation gain and loss at above 7400ft. It is a beautiful location for a race but holds some very tough and technical terrain.
My problem with this course is that I typically battle cramping of my sartorius, hamstrings, quads, and calves after about the halfway point. This time I made it to mile 21 or so before bad things started to break down. I was following my plan pretty well, hitting my splits or coming in a tad faster, drinking 20oz between aide stations. and eating something at each aide station. I was going at a pretty slow rate on the climb up Apple Orchard falls, I lost a lot of time here, and when I got the sunset fields, the thought of running 5 miles down hill didn't cheer me up. I had to take the downhill pretty easy and cramps made me take at least 4 time outs along the way.
The surprising thing in all this was that very few people passed me during my suffering (that would have been more of a downer). I ended up coming into the finish in 6:18 and 29th place. Not bad overall and concidering it was the hottest race day for this race ever. I just think of what could have been and whether I will succomb to the pressure to run this race again and attempt a 5th try at a sub 6hr finish.
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