Blooming run in El Moro

El Moro… El Moro is blooming! As a matter of fact it is freaking beautiful! Bight yellow hills, bright orange poppies, etc.

We started at 5:30am: Jeff, Ryan, Marisa, Lisa, Pete, Chris and me. We did our usual 10-mile loop, and then went for a smaller second 7-mile loop in Laguna Canyon on my most favorite single-track trail. I did not initially plan to stay for the 2nd loop but I can never say no to Laguna Canyon even despite I know I will have to pay back for the beauty of this awesome downhill trail at the long uphill that follows it.

Running uphill with Ryan and Jeff is difficult. It is not even as they are pretty fast and I have hard time keeping up with them. Both of them – and Ryan in particular this morning – never stop cracking jokes. Like we noticed a big black bug on the trail, and the next thing you hear is that Ryan establishes a price fund of $10 and a pack of Hummer Gel for anyone who would eat the poor thing.

At some point we lost Jeff. I turned back and saw him standing in the middle of the trail behind us, bent to the ground not being able to stop laughing. Beware: this is Ryan’s secret weapon he uses to neutralize competitor runners trying to pass him by.

Marisa was being Marisa – there is no better way to put it. Just yesterday she completed Old Goad 50-miler, got her 2nd female finisher trophy at the finish, iced her legs a little and went for an additional 12-mile run right the same evening. And after running those 100K yesterday, she looked pretty fresh this morning!

A picture of ultra runners' ghosts at 5:25am:
Blooming El Moro:
Lisa storms another hill:
Orange poppies by the trail:
Jeff, Ryan and Lisa on the 2nd loop:
Ryan's signature photo of Jeff, me and Lisa:
Two miles to the cars, Park Rangers passed by on a truck. It got pretty hot and they asked if we were ok and did not need any water. How nice of them!
More photos:

El Moro: April 13, 2008