Dos Lunas 100 test run

My first blog post (!) will be devoted to the Dos Lunas 100m/100k scrub run which took place over April Fools weekend in the mountains above Ojai, California. Thirteen of us agreed to play guinea pig for this hopefully-next-year's inaugural event, with five starting the 100 miler, six opting for the 100k, and two more running the first 27 miles (and then providing crucial aid station support for the next 20+ hours).

This event will be different in that runners' start times are based on their estimated finish times, with the objective that all the runners finish around 6 a.m. Sunday morning. (See why we needed to do a trial run?!) Also, the race will be held on a weekend near or on full moon, hence the name "Dos Lunas." It will be a toughie, with just under 25,000 feet of elevation gain, topping out at Topa Topa Bluff at ~6,300 ft.

Only Don Lundell finished the 100 miler (in 34:15), with Bruce and myself opting for the 90 mile version (still requiring 28 hours!), and Howard putting in a solid 80-mile effort. The "math" had Don finishing his 100 miles--he started at 9 p.m. Friday night--along with the 100K'ers' only full finishers, Darcy and Bob Africa (16:15, with a 3 p.m. Saturday start). Voila -- the math was perfect! They finished at the same time! Now to see if the timing works as perfectly during the Real Deal...

A HUGE thank you to the support crew (Bill, Mike, Drew, Brian, Lisa, Otto, Karen, & Pat), as well as to all the other guinea pigs (Mark, Patty, Andy, Nattu, & Brian), but mostly to Chris, who keeps coming up with fun, unique, not your run-of-the-mill events.