Ran the Pengelly Double Dip on Saturday in Missoula.  It's billed as a long 1/2 (about 14 miles) with about 3000' of elevation gain- it's named after Dave Pengelly of Missoula who died in a mountaineering accident in 2003.  He was an advocate for keeping wild places open in and around Missoula.

I ran this race last year and it kicked my butt pretty good.  Ditto this year.  Much of the elevation gain is single track trail w/ no switchbacks- tip toe steep!  Everything you gain, you lose- which takes a nice toll on your quads.   The run does offer up some great views of the surrounding ranges and the wildflowers were out in full force, that takes a lot of the sting out.

I suffered a heel stress fracture in March and was sidelined from running for over two months, my fitness level was below what it was last year, so my expectations weren't awfully high.  Finish the race w/o injury or incident gaol one and best case scenario finish within 10 minutes of last year.  I got pretty close, time was 15 minutes off of last year's (and no injuries/incidents)

ready to conquer the mountain

conquered by the mountain

Miles 4 through 7 look fun. 1500 feet in three miles?

Thats a solid hill workout.

good job!

Looks like a nice course. I see you are scheduled to run that Bridger 20 miler on 8/9. I have read about that race somewhere. I hear it is tough. My dad and a friend of his will be out near Helena in mid-September elk hunting. They say it is beautiful.

Nice job, MT. The heel is an integral part of the whole elevation change, good

to hear that it was healed up enough for the race.

That looks like an awesome run, congratulations on accomplishing your goals, and on keeping that heel injury-free!

AT: Someone being sarcastic here? 3000' in 4 miles?  (not saying that 3000' in 7 miles are easy, either)