The Falls were Berry Berry good to me

Coastal Trail Runs scheduled their Big Basin 50 for a Sunday. This race follows the famous (and stunningly fun) Skyline to the Sea trail from Saratoga Gap to the coast. The heart of the race is in Big Basin State Park, which has many amazing trails.

So, they thought, what the heck; let's put on a shorter race Saturday and show off some more of the Big Basin trails.

And that's (more or less) how the Berry Creek Falls 10K, 15K, and 25K races were born. The course was set up as two very different loops:

• A 15K loop with 2180' of climbing that was almost completely in the woods and followed Berry Creek, which it turned out, falls. A lot.

• A 10K loop with 1155' of climbing that is the 5 mile loop the 50K runners follow on Sunday, with some bonus trails thrown in to get it to a bit over 6 miles. This loop had a lot more sun exposure than the 15K loop. 

25K runners did the 15K loop then headed back out to do the 10K loop.

I chose to do the 15K loop mostly because I wanted to see the falls. Mrs Notthat did the 10K because she promised her doctor she would take it (relatively) easy.

Baby Coastal would be much happier if I ran the 10K. As usual, he is dubious I will finish any time soon.

Saturday promised to have near-record breaking heat. The 15K course did not have an aid station, although there would be a ranger up on top that would have water for those who had run out. Mr Coastal encouraged everyone to carry a lot more water than they normally would, and several runners grabbed a bonus water bottle for just in case.

The fun thing about the 15K loop was that it was mostly in the trees, which kept it nicely cool. We started by following a creek along the Skyline to the Sea trail up to a view point where you could see Berry Creek Falls.

Berry Creek Falls were pretty, but the dry winter has left them much less aggressive than normal.

At that point we turned up Berry Creek trail where we were treated to several more waterfalls.

The second set of falls.

When a trail is muddy and needs cables for you to hang on to while ascending, you know it's a great trail.

I loved this part of the course, even though it involved a lot of climbing and stopping to take pictures.

The ranger passing out water to any that needed it. I have no idea why that hiker is mooning me.

Eventually we turned onto Sunset trail which left the waterfall-infested creek and presented us with a short stretch of sun-drenched trail, which served as a great reminder of how hot it was. Thankfully we were back into the trees fairly quickly.

As I was getting near the finish, there was a short bit of trail shared by the 10K loop. This 25K runner is heading out to do the 10K loop. Part of me wished I was going to do that 10K loop as well, but a larger, more sensible part of me was thrilled I had opted for being happy with just the 15K distance.

Just before the finish line, there was rookie paparazzi Mrs Notthat, Weird Haired Mom (who you can see was very concerned for my hydration), and Secnarf (not her real name) who was wondering what she had gotten herself into, all at the 25K aid station.

Picture by WHM. Smile by Mrs Notthat.

Mrs Notthat had finished her 10K much earlier, wearing her perfect "A" bib (you're welcome music majors!).

I'm stunned that I'm grabbing air this close to the end of a race. I should have done the 25K. Picture by WHM, or maybe Mrs Notthat. Actually, I think Secnarf might have grabbed the camera and taken this - I wasn't thinking very clearly. Maybe 15K was the perfect distance after all.

I told you it was hot there. Although I think Selym (not his real name) may have overheated his brain working out his splits.

Once I cooled off a bit, we loaded up the trunk and back seat with the supplies for the aid station I would be at the following morning for the Big Basin 50 race. Mrs Notthat and I could have lived off this stuff for several months.

I REALLY liked this race. The trails are amazing - Big Basin State Park is home to a ton of redwood trees, great trails, and of course, the waterfalls. There is a bit of a drive to get here - be sure to allow plenty of time since you will likely end up behind someone that is going very slowly.

The worst thing about this race is that it is followed by the equally fun Big Basin 50, and I suspect many runners would love to do both races. But for those of us that aren't quite up to the 50K or Marathon distance, Berry Creek Falls is a great way to experience this area.

That's it - move along…

PS: You can see more of my pictures here.

PPS: The Blog apologizes for the title of this thing. It couldn't be helped.

It was like I had Nitro for breakfast

The Brazen Nitro trail race is interesting. You have almost all the major trail groups involved - along the water, through the woods, single-track, fire roads, pavement - the only notably missing group is the one with long, hard climbs. There are hills, but they are minor and a lot of proper runners probably never even notice them.

It's also a 10K course - putting on a Half Marathon here requires the runners to do two laps, plus a small loop at the beginning to get the mileage right. In the past, it has been hard, as a Half runner, to finish your first lap and have to run right by the finish line and all the runners that are done and are busy wolfing down It's-It ice cream bars while you head out for your second lap.

They fixed that this year by adding a Half bypass. And that Half bypass was partially responsible for me accomplishing two of my goals.

Goal number one was to not let Mrs Notthat pass me. I ran the Half while she (and her rapidly recovering legs) ran the 10K. I got a 15 minute head start. But I also had a 0.7 mile loop to do that she didn't have to do. So I really ended up with about a 7 minute head start.

Goal number two was to not get lapped by the Half winner.

The Half bypass meant I was able to switch off the trail they were on about a quarter mile early - they were rapidly gaining on me and it's possible that quarter mile saved me.

Another thing that makes this race interesting is that it serves as the anniversary of Brazen's first race, which they put on here back in 1907 (or so it seems if you look at the RD). So there is a tendency to do something special for this race. This year, a bunch of us surprised them by showing up with fake beards.

Photo by Not A Canadian. 

Mrs Notthat won the Mr Brazen look-alike contest. (She's the one on the left.) The funny thing is that Mr Brazen always has on a flannel shirt, visor, and sunglasses. But not today. (He did rock the walking boot, which was a detail that scored heavily in Mrs Notthat's favor.)

I'm on the left. That's Ydnar (not his real name) and his son (his real son) rocking the  family beards. Photo by Not A Canadian.

A beard-infested group shot by I'm Not Sure.

Eventually, the beards were put away (standing around with a fake beard was challenging - running with one was pretty much out of the question) and the race started.

I love the wooded bits of the trail…

… but I also love the bits of trail that provide these great views of San Pablo Bay.

My arch-nemisis is getting ready to try to tackle me.

Half runners went past this aid station four times. Yram (not her real name) failed to trip me each time.

Getting passed by a MUCH fitter 10K runner at that first aid station. Photo by a Brazen Volunteer.

Yes. This is my "I'm really pushing it" face. Heavy sigh.

Mrs Notthat going past that aid station a short time after I went through it. Photo by a Brazen Volunteer.

This aid station we also went by four times, but sort of unofficially two of those times. This is also only about 1.5 miles from the finish of the first lap. And so far, no Mrs Notthat or Half Winner sightings. My goals, which I will admit I thought were a bit unrealistic, were suddenly looking possible. (I had been pushing harder than normal, even running the hills, in the hopes of achieving my goals. But still - I had serious doubts I would pull this off.)

I took a quick look behind me and I couldn't see her. So I took off to do the half mile loop that would bring me back to this aid station where I could get an update.

When I got back there, Mrs Notthat was just arriving. That meant I had a half mile lead on her with about a mile to go. I yelled at the aid station volunteers to slow her down - "ask her about her nails" - but she blew through there with a determined look and a spring in her step.

It was on.

But my lead was too great, and I made it to the bypass before she (or the Half winner) could catch me. Two goals done!

The second lap was a LOT slower than the first one. I had been pushing hard and it caught up to me. So I just enjoyed the rest of the race, taking in the views and cruising along.

Mrs Notthat was busy making weird faces with Oel (not his real name) and missed my finish.

And then she showed me her prize for winning the "look like Mr Brazen" contest - a beard beer cozy!

OK - not all of us put our fake beards away. This is how bizarre new fashion trends get started Ms. Eilsel (not her real name or real, ummm, hair extensions).

It's a little hard to explain this photo. I'm not even going to try.

For this one, the photo is easy to explain - it's Not a Canadian, the instigator of the beard festivities, holding up a sign she made with the idea of flashing it any time I pointed a camera at her. You can see how effective it is.

And that's about it. The race was a blast (especially the first lap!). Mrs Notthat ended up getting an impressive age group award in a competitive field.

And we've now got two fake beards to play with.

That's it - move along…

PS: You can see more of my pictures here.

The Wildcat doesn't go "meow"

After the previous weekend's Quicksilver 25K, Mrs Notthat ended up having to sit out the Brazen Wildcat race, where even the 5K includes serious climbing. That left it up to me to run the Half Marathon. I was feeling pretty good and was confident that I was going to beat last year's Wildcat Half time.

I told them I prefer non-posed pictures. Sheesh.

It was clear and sunny at the start. It wasn't warm yet, but it promised to get warm soon.

The race starts with some rolling hills but very soon hits a serious climb.

From a cumulative elevation standpoint, Wildcat is the second easiest of the Brazen Half Marathons that are part of their Ultra Half Series (only the races at Lake Chabot - New Years and Bad Bass - have less elevation). So it always amazes me how slow I go during and how tired I am after Wildcat. There are three big climbs, but they are not huge. The last climb is late in the race, and the downhill after it has some very steep bits that I generally end up gently walking down rather than running.

But still, it shouldn't be that hard.

The first aid station is early - at mile 1.5 since it is the 5K turnaround (and is at the base of that first hill).

After that aid station there is a stretch with rolling hills. And a Brazen Rabbit out marking the trail. It seems sometime yesterday some morons took down a bunch of the course ribbons, so she had to go out and remark that stretch of trail. (The morons were not very athletic, thankfully, and stuck to vandalizing the relatively flat bit of the course.)

The second aid station is at about mile 3.3. It is where the 10K runners take a left and start their way back to the finish (up that last hill on the above chart). The Half runners keep heading out, knowing that they will be back much later to take their turn up that last hill.

The Half runners have a short out-and-back they have to complete before they head up that second hill. I like how you can see the runners out on the out-and-back in this picture - WAY ahead of me.

The Bermuda Triangle of this course. The out-and back is on the right, the second hill is through that gate being guarded by the brave volunteer, and the bottom of that second hill comes in on the left where you head back to that second aid station and the last hill. (The purple is courtesy of the sun glaring on my lens. Or maybe it had something to do with today's Ultima flavor.)

Lots of volunteer paparazzi out on the course!

I like this out-and-back because you get a chance to see a lot of the runners both ahead of and behind you. As usual, there were a LOT of them ahead of me and only a few behind me.

At the end of the out-and-back you start up that second hill, which is particularly mean since it frequently looks like you can see the top, only to get there and find that it's not nearly the top. It's also mostly exposed up this climb, and by now it's getting a bit warm.

The third aid station, where I was soundly taunted by my arch-nemisis - Yram (not her real name).

Eventually you make it to the top and get to head back down, with about a mile or so on pavement.

Even the cows, of which there were many along the course, looked at me with taunting expressions.

These two guys were from Guadalajara, and were a lot of fun along the course. This creek crossing is more challenging than it looks. Mrs Notthat can tell you all about it from last year.

After going along the pavement for a bit, we turn off onto the best part of the whole course - a stretch of downhill single-track that spends a lot of time in shady trees.

All good things come to an end though, and we finally make it back to the second aid station where we have to now make a right and go up that last hill.

Heavy sigh.

By now it is pretty warm (but not really hot, and there is a nice breeze, but still, the sun is relentless) and the rest of the course is almost all exposed. But we are at about mile 10 here - less than a 5K left.

But it's a doozy.

"Hey Nerak (not your real name) - how high is this hill?"

There were many amazing views along the course. I paused often to take pictures of them, especially while climbing that last hill.

The Brazen Rabbit making sure no one missed this turn. I wanted to test her, but I REALLY did not want to miss this turn.

If you stick with it though, you eventually make it back to the top of that first hill, where you make a right and head down to the finish line.

I paused at that point and looked back nostalgically towards the hill I had just come down. I made a rude gesture then turned and headed to the finish.

An amazing sight. A WAY less than amazing finish time.

Photo by Not a Canadian. I seem to be listing a bit.

I finished, and I wasn't dead last. (But I was pretty close.) I did not beat last year's time, but I wasn't that far from it either. I like this course and am determined to one day not let it beat me down. It was sad seeing Mrs Notthat sitting on the side while letting her legs heal (she has since done a couple of test runs and it appears she is nearly recovered from the Grand Canyon thing).

It was great getting this race done (number three for me in the Brazen Ultra Half Series) and I'm looking forward to the much easier Brazen Nitro Half next.

Guaranteed wildcat-free!

That's it - move along…

PS: You can see more of my pictures here.