I am a long distance runner and I signed up for the Six Pack of Peaks Challenge with hopes that increasing my trail running and hiking moments will help improve the level of endurance and mental strength and clarity necessary to achieve my half marathon and marathon goals.
I’ve been staring at Mt. Wilson from Huntington Dr. during my daily runs this past week and thought “why not? It’s only 14 miles.”
There were plenty of parking spaces at 7:30 am and the weather was pretty much perfect. I passed by 4 other hiking parties as I ran the first 4 miles of the trail. The section of switchbacks is something I hope to forget soon. I stopped running and actually had to come to a standstill several times.
There are moments during a marathon where I think a PR or even finish are impossible. Thanks to the battle against these switchbacks I think I’ll be able to run my best marathon in March. The 14 mile journey turned out to be 15.81. I reached the summit in 2:37:04 and returned to my car in 4:59:17.
Without a doubt, the marathoner was schooled and humbled by the trails today.
Responses
There’s a lot of vertical gain on Mount Wilson, and it provides great training for your marathon. I’ve run a couple marathons, but prefer half marathons now. Even though I’m more of a hiker than a runner, I still schedule at least one half a year. This year, it’s the Grand Teton Half Marathon in June!
Congrats @walasse, on your first peak in the Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge!
Good luck on your upcoming Half race, @jeff. Sounds pretty tough.
And to @walasse – nicely done!