The Bald and the Quick. The Fall 2022 Mt. Baldy Run to the Top and Quicksilver Trail Challenge.

Two short races. Had to double the race reports to keep the blog per mile ratio here reasonable. I’ve had enough season ending injuries this year that my race seasons per year ratio is abnormally high. This is also the first race report covering two seasons!

First up, and I really mean up, is the Mt. Baldy Run to the Top. After a run again - off again summer, I was dealing with a pretty wonky knee. The race is only in the up direction. Last year I saw most participants just walking down. So even if I couldn’t run on my knee, I figured it’d be okay. I could take my time walking down, and the race uphill, well, that’s largely power hiking anyway. Yep, it’s essentially about a 10k race, that actually covers a half marathon in distance, takes about as much total time as a marathon, but feels like a 50k with all the vert. But, yeah, a 6.7 mile race is all the credit one’s gonna get on ultrasignup.

#111, #222, #333... Good thing there aren't 600+ runners

Mt. Baldy is probably the most well known and accessible 10,000 ft peak in SoCal. The race starts with a quick descent to 6,100 ft elevation on the road, then three miles of steep fire roads to spread out the crowd before the final ridge climb to total 4,000 ft gain in 6.5 miles. For such a short race, there are still three aid stations, which sounds great, but when you think about it, it’s not a good sign.

The mass road sprint. Like all races, the mass sprint was clogged as runners self-sorted in speed order, some of that effort taking a lot longer than others. By the end of the quarter mile downhill and the start of the 3 miles of uphill fireroad, I felt like I was in the right group though and mostly stayed with the same group for much of the uphill. That unfortunately meant I ran in front of the party dude blasting boomer tunes on his speakers. I gapped him a few times and he kept coming to earshot right up until we hit aid station #2 at the “Notch”.

Like salmon swimming upstream, everything goes fine until it doesn’t. Swim into the gaping jaws of a bear on one hand, or get caught by the music man on the other. Choose your calamity. On one hand, at least the music changed to gangster rap and then mariachi bands. On the other, the music changed to gangster rap and mariachi bands. Kind made it difficult to get into the zone on the single track ridge traverse. My preference is to hear the silent suffering of my fellow runners. You know - misery loves company and all.

There is a steep push to a crest at mile 6 and 9,300 ft elevation. I finally dropped the speaker dude, ran the short flat section, and then climbed the merciless final pitch of 30%. Like a successful salmon, I got to the finish and was spent, hoping to drift into oblivion. Unfortunately, unlike salmon, I had to get back to my car, and though I could have walked more than ran, I ran anyway like the fish brain that I am. Well, my only goal was to beat the time my brother got a few years ago when he got his ass whupped by an 11 yr old. I managed to ward off my brother’s demons and any potential pre-pubescent challengers, if only by a few minutes. Finished solid mid-pack in 2:16. I’m average. Great success.

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Emboldened by a marginally successful race, I gained more confidence that my aging joints were going to hold up to my delusional aspirations. If that prelude doesn’t spoil the plot, then you must be on quaaludes a lot. In early October, my knee started acting up again, feeling inflamed and sore after mid-distance training runs. I was considering dropping out of my A-race, but that got canceled before I did (by a forest fire). Since I had a work trip planned to the Bay Area that week, I decided to sign up for the Quicksilver Trail Challenge Half Marathon. Why not? It’s twice the distance of my previous race!

A few 15-20 mile weeks, mostly slow junk miles with a chihuahua - not the recommended training for any race and definitely not a confidence builder. I did this race once a few years ago and DNF’ed due to injury too. Can I get this DNF monkey off my back for this *cough* half marathon? At least we’ve progressed from fish analogies to primate analogies. Evolution of my running season.

I decided to see if my lucky pink shorts would do the trick. Then Sylvie bested me with a pink shirt. The last and only time I wore all pink, I won that race. My scientific analysis says that more pink is positively correlated with faster runs. So we all know what’s coming out in my next race. It will be fab-u-lous!

I had to start conservatively. My knee hurt from the beginning. The big unknown was how long it was going to hold out. Before the race, Jeff said he was advised by his better half to not run on a bad back. My usual philosophy has been to cure your ills with a 50 mile run. Would it work with knees? I don’t know. Maybe this race wasn’t long enough? Half way through, I had a little back spasm just in case one injury wasn’t entertaining enough. Another minute of walking. If only I had another 44 miles to run this out.

At least I had the bee’s knees. My legs were holding on strong even on the fast long-ish descent on Providencia and Mile Hill trails. Then with 2 miles to go, I had the bee’s pain-in-the-neck as a scared little baby bee got trapped in my locks and stung me behind my ear. This, on the section of NAT that is near where I had the mountain lion encounter a few years ago, so putting things in perspective, I far rather have an apis than a feline biting my neck. 

Or even have to carry a monkey. But monkey I did not have anymore. It wasn’t an all-out effort but it was still an effort and finished solidly mid-pack in 2:33. I’m average. Great success.

Avoided getting picked up by the sweeper