PCTR Skyline to Sea 50k

With a last minute off-the-waiting-list entry, I was able to join my friend Ramiro on our first race together. The Skyline to Sea trail is one of the most beautiful and fun trails I know. This would be my third time on this course, the first two years prior, same race, and one a year prior on a modified course outside of a race. Look for this route on Trailstompers for the modified course.

This is a one way adventure, not unlike Frodo's trek to Mt. Doom. Our adventure took us from Skyline/Saratoga Gap to the Waddell Beach in Santa Cruz. I played Sam to Ramiro's Frodo which basically meant watching him while various misfortunes plagued him, like the time he ran ahead of me, and around a bend I hear him grunt, to find him face down on the ground. Thankfully, there weren't any giant spiders.

We ran on and off with various people. There was a Golllum like guy, Erik that stayed close behind us for the whole time. There was a trio of the Fellowship of the Hokas; all of them had insoles that slid halfway out. As in the story, the fellowship only stayed with us through the first half of the journey. 

I'm trying to make it sound more interesting than it was. Truth is, these stories are more fun when things go wrong but S2S is such an easy, pleasant run, there is not much to write about. Spending the day deep in the woods, running through groves of giant redwoods, staying in the cool shade on a hot day, rinsing off in a creek, passing by pretty hiker girls while we were doing manly things, beer and burger at the finish... sounds like a good bromance trip to me.