Saturday, September 27, 2014

Drink Beer - Support Local Trails

Awesome squared
Stopped off at 2nd Street Brewery last night. They're canning some of their beer now which is a terrific addition. They're also featuring a special batch of brew with the handle, Boneshaker Bitter, which is being marketed in tandem with the 20th anniversary of the Santa Fe Conservation Trust. $.25 from each pint or can will go toward support of the SFCT and their mission to preserve land, build and maintain some of our largest rec trails on said land, and advocate for starry nights.

It's fitting that the two organizations are working together. Both 2nd Street Brewery locations sit along the Rail Trail, and though they're located on the city maintained sections, the Trail as it extends south of town toward Eldorado was one of the first efforts of the fledgling Conservation Trust back in 1994 (along with the build-out of the Dale Ball Trails). 2nd Street's campaign aims to raise at least $5,000 in funds for the Trust, in addition to providing a marketing platform for greater public support of their programs.

The Trust currently does more for area biking/hiking/running trails than any other organization in Santa Fe. Through their trail maintenance arm, the Santa Fe Trails Alliance, they organize and manage regular volunteer trail maintenance days on lands they hold in trust (Dale Ball, Arroyo Hondo) and those they don't (La Tierra, Winsor, Atalaya). A large pool of their volunteers is comprised of the good folks from the Santa Fe Fat Tire Society who - very appropriately - appreciate a well made beer from time to time.

Related Posts:
 - Craft Beer in New Mexico
 - The Santa Fe Rail Trail Re-Imagined
 - IMBA World Summit - Santa Fe, NM



View Santa Fe Rail Trail - Santa Fe, NM in a larger map


Sunday, September 14, 2014

4th Annual Santa Fe Thunder Half Marathon - 2014

On the starting line - courtesy Google images - Teaboon Hills
As often happens, I found myself at this morning's pre-race. Not so much stretching or warming up - mostly drinking coffee and slowly crushing the donuts at the volunteer table. Saw pretty much everyone else in the local running community prepping for go-time.

The race grows larger and larger each year. Talked briefly with Nike athlete Alvina Begay and race director Joseph Karnes, as well as friends prepping for Chicago, NYC, and Boston. Made me really want to get out for a run! I'll need to substitute afternoon arroyos for Pojoaque and Buffalo Thunder this year.

We'll follow the race via Twitter in the feed below. Use hashtag #runsantafe to post your own pics, comments, results, donut-stories, etc. Best of luck to all today's runners.



Full race results will be posted here
SFNewMexican writeup and results here

Related Posts:
  - Buffalo Thunder Half Race Report - 2013
  - A Brief Meeting with Billy Mills (and Steve Gachupin, 2012)
  - Santa Fe's Buffalo Thunder Half Marathon  (2011)




View Santa Fe to Buffalo Thunder Half Marathon in a larger map


Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Santa Fe Thunder Half Marathon - 2013

The 4th running of the Santa Fe Half is just a few short days away. A fine time to recap the prior year's race, particularly when a timely race report never made it to completion the year before. Previously the Buffalo Thunder Half Marathon, the race has shifted its marketing to highlight our lovely town and the more recognizable name of Santa Fe. Solid decision, the miles need to be run just the same.

Last year was my first view of the course. Started out from town on a perfect fall morning for running - a bit overcast, cool, with rain the night before. I ran with Leigland and friends Dan and his wife Cheyenne who had traveled up from Alamogordo. The gun sent us off, starting with two miles of climbing on Old Taos Highway. We ran these fairly leisurely and I think they split at 8min30 then 8min even. Chatted with folks we knew as we worked through the field. Mile 3 started the descent into the Rio Grande valley which went at 6min flat. My watch might as well have just flashed 'DANGER!'. The old run-like-hell-early-and-control-massive-damage-at-the-end strategy was being penciled into the day's schedule.

At the start - bag check
Cruised down into Tesuque Village at about mile 5, stopped for a photo of the outstanding surprise of Bellydancers, then out past the Pueblo and Camel Rock Casino at about mile 7. The grade flattens out quite a bit at this point and the field had thinned into lonely areas of no-man's-land. I was also now carrying a piano on my back. A runner with a cop mustache and a state police shirt passed me. This impressed me and I told him so. Also, the guy was probably carrying so I wanted to be sure I was on his good side.

Fabulous Mile5 Bellydancers
Miles slowed to 6min50s. Sounds fast-ish but the down-slope was a significant aid. A steady moving runner came up on me and I was fortunate to latch on which then carried me through to mile 11. My man blew-up at this point and disappeared (*poof*), but I was near enough to the runner just up the road that I pressed to catch him and we ran it in together from there. Turns out he was a top age-grouper out of Socorro (John Leeper), finishing 2nd in the 55-59 age group just behind the legendary Senovio Torres. My chip time actually edged Torres even though he finished a good 30sec ahead of me. Good company to be in.

The 12th mile was a faded 7min10s but I might have closed the final mile in around 6min45s. Finshing time just north of 90min. An unexpectedly fun and enjoyable morning. High fives all around, except from my quads which were understandably upset. The race organizers have put together a really solid event that I hope will continue to grow.

BTH 2013 - Race results here
Photo album courtesy of Max Mujynya - here (SmugMug.com)

My crew at the finish - Dan and Leigland
Finishers list
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