Trail Runners

1

Mount Diablo (Read 193 times)

t_runner


    Anybody ever run on Mt. Diablo? I am considering the Mount Diablo 50K as my 2nd 50K. Is this crazy for a midwesterner who has to work to find hills around home? (If you tell me it's crazy, I'll probably only want to do it more). If anybody's got any other suggestions for trail races (marathon or longer) in the Bay Area in May or June, I'd love to hear other ideas also! I want to plan a trip around then to visit my sister, and what's a vacation without a good race?
      It is not crazy. Oops, sorry, you wanted to hear it is crazy. So it is. Mt Diablo has fantastic though very steep at times trails. The views are magnificent and make up for the ripped quads. I have not run that race but hiked and run Mt Diablo trails a lot. Mornings there can be freezing and afternoons very, very warm. That is for the April run. In June you can expect hot temperatures, sometimes in 100s but dry, very dry. For other races in the area check http://www.pctrailruns.com/ . SF Bay area has lots of trails to train on no matter where you are. Just check http://www.bahiker.com/ Good luck, Ewa
      I would rather wear out than rust out. - Helen Klein You create your own universe as you go along. - Winston Churchill


      You'll ruin your knees!

        I used to live close to there, great place. As Ewa said, it's got some steep inclines and will have a significant amount of altitude change for a 50K. All of the PCTtrailruns races are great, can't really go wrong. If I were going out there, I'd err on the side of something in the Headlands, north of the Golden Gate Bridge where the hills overlooking the ocean are awesome... Mt Diablo will be memorable, however! Good luck, Lynn B

        ""...the truth that someday, you will go for your last run. But not today—today you got to run." - Matt Crownover (after Western States)

        t_runner


          Thanks for the thoughts!! I found an incredibly cheap price for a non stop flight from Cleveland to San Fran, so I jumped on it! And two minutes later after reading these comments, I signed up for the Diablo 50K. Lynn - would this race be part of the area you were talking about in the Headlands/North of GG bridge: Golden hills marathon. I ran that in Oct 06 and I have been permanently hooked on trails especially in that area. The views were spectacular. I barely even noticed how much my quads burned. Re: altitude.. will I feel the altitude like shortness of breath, etc? Or is it just the constant change in altitude that will burn out my legs and leave me exhausted? Anyway, I like a good challenge. My first 50K just didn't hurt enough. I mean, it wasn't EASY, but it wasn't nearly as hard as what I could have handled. It had steep hills for the Ohio area, but I know there's no comparison. My only goal is to finish within the time the course is open (9 hours). One of these days, I'll work at getting faster, instead of just picking harder and harder courses to run... I'll remember to come back and post a report!


          You'll ruin your knees!

            Lynn - would this race be part of the area you were talking about in the Headlands/North of GG bridge: Golden hills marathon.
            Not really, that is called East Bay. That's a great area, those hills are what separated my home from Oakland, but not what I was talking about. The area I was thinking of is a little north and west of the starting point of that race, near Marin...this race-->Miwok
            Re: altitude.. will I feel the altitude like shortness of breath, etc? Or is it just the constant change in altitude that will burn out my legs and leave me exhausted?
            Definitely the latter. Diablo isn't all that high (about 3,600 ft), so thin air shouldn't be a problem...the air you'll be suckin' will be thick enough...your quads will definitely have a thing or two to say...if not on the way up, then on the way down... Good luck, Lynn

            ""...the truth that someday, you will go for your last run. But not today—today you got to run." - Matt Crownover (after Western States)