OC Trail Tales- Trail Running Group Program

Congratulations to all you trail runners! YAY!! Everyone did such a great job on Saturday! I know you are all so proud of yourselves! I have to say I had such a great time.

Our journey started by picking up Vikki and Korrinne, and having Vikki nervous about the race start and time, and Korrinne getting car sick. It was very exciting! We have a very funny story to tell.

Getting the 50k'rs off was so much fun. I loved seeing everyone excited and ready to go before the race.

Donna, Linda, Sue, Vikki, Yolanda, and even Jay decided to join in on the fun just a little late for the start...:)

Then the 25k'rs start...Esteban and Dave passed us right away, we knew they would.

Then Korrinne, Elizabeth, Pete and I ran together until the last 2 miles. They did great, and we had such a fun time singing, and climbing "mostly" uphill, and running "mostly" downhill. :)

We had the best views didn't we? Now, if we could have just had the weather we have been having in El Moro the past 13 weeks, that would have been the best! You all did great!

Coming in and then being able to see Rocio finish, then Alayne, and Cyndy, Tony was awesome. I hope you all had a great experience and I hope you all learned something too.

Something most of you didn't get to see was the 50k'rs finish. It got so much hotter, and they all did so great! It was 104 degrees out there, and believe me not an easy course. You should all be proud. Vikki came in and i think she said 6th in her age group. She is an awesome rockstar! Then Yolanda, whom most of you met there, and will meet during the new session. Then Donna and linda, and they were rockin' it. Then Jay, who Finally mastered the 50k, and looked great doing it, and then Sue with 1 minute left to spare! It was really awesome to see all of you out there running along side her, waiting with her diet coke, and cheering for her at the OC Trail Tales finish line! She did truly appreciate it! Thank you.

Pete and I are really proud of everyone. Whether you ran the race or not, we are really proud and honored to have you in our lives to share what we love. Thank you for sharing your time with us.

We would also love to have some testimonials for the website with your cute photos next to them if any of you would like to volunteer. Just let us know if you would be willing to have your face up for the world to see. :)

If you are not coming back for the new session, please know we will miss you very much and would really like a check in every now and then to see how you are doing. Also, it would be nice if you came out and did a run with us. We wont be able to live without you, so you will have to keep us informed of how you are doing.

The new session officially starts September 11th, and it is a Saturday. It will be the only Saturday we meet, and then it will always be Sundays. We are really looking forward to all the newbies, and have a few new trails to share. We will be having a couple travel days, and will let you know in advance so you can plan the dates. We are looking forward to this, and are excited to share these beautiful trails with you.

For this coming up Sunday, We will be pacing our friends for their 100 mile race called AC 100 miler. We are looking forward to that, and can not wait to help and cheer, and do whatever we can to get them through their big race. You all still have that opportunity as well with Chimera 100 miler coming up September 18 and 19th I believe. I do have a few of you that have volunteered, but could use a couple more.

We also have volunteered for Los Pinos, and that is a shorter time commitment, and can use your support as well. Now that you have been in a race and have seen the volunteers and what it takes for one of these races, for the even longer races, it is even more important. It really takes an ultra runner to help too because they know what to look for and how to help (hopefully). So any help anyone can give, is awesome, and we all thank you.

In closing collectively as a group a strong bond has taken place in a short span of 13 weeks. I recall our first group run at Peters Canyon- we started our run at 7:07am because nobody was chatting... as everyone started to get comfortable our start time increased to 7:18am hmmm mmmm.... a few guests have shared with me after our run on Sundays that they felt a strong sense of connection between everyone. When we started this program that was our goal, and to enjoy the freedom of the trails. The feeling of empowerment after a 14.4 mile or 27.3 mile training run does create character and gives you a better idea what your body can handle. I must say I am very impressed on everyone progress thru this program.