Earlier this year, Topo athletes were invited to run one of the distances at the Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Run (TRTER), a collection of races held on the northeast side of Lake Tahoe. Topo athletes since March, Nick and I both jumped at the opportunity, Nick wanting to run a 100-mile race this summer and myself looking for a fun 50K event. Despite being out in Lake Tahoe in mid-June for Broken Arrow, a month…
I’m three days home from a whirlwind trip to Germany and Austria, and already everything feels far behind me. Part of this is because we hit the ground running (as usual) when we got home in order to get back to coaching, writing, Nick’s grad school, and our animals, and the other part is because we leave for another trip to Lake Tahoe to run the Broken Arrow Vertical K tomorrow. That will make more…
After dropping out at mile 24 last year, I had sworn I would never run the race again, but here I was, almost exactly a year later, on the start line of the Black Canyon 100K cold and excited and just a little bit scared. Two and a half weeks prior, our trip to New Zealand felt apart after a flight cancelation and, with it, my plans to run Tarawera 100K. After a night wondering…
Amsterdam probably doesn’t come to mind when you think about running; if you’re confined to a city, then surely one where bikes outnumber people nearly 2 to 1, coffeeshops (not what you think they are) are found on every corner, and tourists flock to some of the best museums doesn’t come to mind. Nick and I recently spent two weeks in Amsterdam, enjoying everything from Indonesian food to wandering the Red Light District, but we…
Location: Surprise Canyon in Panamint Valley Length: Roughly 10 miles out-and-back; factor in another 2-4 if exploring the town Duration: 7-12 hours depending on pace and how long you wish to explore the town Intensity: Strenuous with 4,000 feet of elevation gain and loss Death Valley is an inhospitable place, and its neighboring valley, Panamint, is no more appealing. With temperatures that can hover upwards of 100° F from May to October and a dry…
What area of the world contains 10 of the 15 climatic zones of the world? Better yet, what island has both tropical and temperate rain forests, hot, arid landscapes and even periglacial climates? Hawaii. But not Hawaii the state–Hawaii the island, more commonly referred to as the Big Island. Earlier this month, Nick and I spent 8 days traversing the Big Island by foot and by Jeep Wrangler. It’s difficult to pick a favorite activity, let alone a favorite…
Day Two: 62-42km (Camper Cove to Cribs Creek) By morning the sky had cleared and rain was no longer a concern. Still, our tent was damp from the night as we folded away the various parts into the tent’s pack. Nick boiled water for oatmeal and yerba mate as I changed into warm gear, thinking that the temperatures would remain cool since the first half of today’s hike would be inland. As soon as we started hiking,…