Any runners out there?

[TreeHugger]

There's no forum for it - but I wonder if any of you are runners. I would love some company on some runs. I'm putting in some miles right now preparing for the Red Mountain 50K in April. Anyone else have any big runs planned??

Karen

[Thomas]

You are an animal, training and running a 50k is impressive. I enjoy running and plan on running the Moab Half Marathon, Timp Trail Marathon, Hobble Creek Half Marathon, and the St. George Marathon this year. I have thought about running the Moab Red Hot 50k (the scenery is beautiful)but the amount of time training is just too difficult. Have you run other ultra marathons before? If so what did you think and what is your training schedule for the 50k. I would like to run one of them sometime in my life. Good luck. (I don

[ststephen]

Karen - if you're up for a little vacation come on out to Santa Cruz and I'll hook you up with a whole group of women that are training for various marathons and ultras. The commute will be rough, but at least you'll get some warmer weather for training

I'm doing the Big Sur Marathon and a bunch of the gals will also do the 50K in Cool, CA and I think someone is doing the American River 50 miler this year. It's quite the age range I get to hang with on my weekend long runs. At Saturday's run we had ages from 25 to 72! The 72 year-old will run her 25th Big Sur Marathon this year.

[Riseforms]

Sorry I never got back to you treehugger. Been running the trails still, but it's been slushy (yesterday's 13 miles wiped me out). I don't know where you live or run, but I'm sure we could work something out. I like the elevation profile of Red Mountain, but that's just too much asphalt for me. I'm considering the Sapper Joe 50K, but I'll likely end up only doing the 30.

[trackrunner]

*opens door looks around, looks at 20+ gut I've put on since I blew out my knee 2 years ago during my NCAA Div 1 senior year, hangs head low*

goal is to get back in shape and 50 mile run across Zion with Bo in late April. time to up my milage

[apcronnelly]

I run ....but not on this level. One or two halfs a year is my max.

[Bo_Beck]

If you might be in the St. George area and want to do some running, give me a buzz at The Desert Rat. I have been trying to get into my training cycle to prep for my Zion R2R this spring. There is a lot of trail running terrain surrounding the area, and I'd love some company!

[TreeHugger]

Wow! I'm so excited to see so many runners out there!

Bo, we will likely be in St. George at the end of the month for the weekend. I'll have to check my training schedule - I think I might be on a recovery week that week - I'm 16 this week and 18 next - I'll let ya know. Is the Desert Rat in St. George? (What is it? A shop, I presume).

Riseforms - where have you been running? Pipeline? Shoreline? I've mostly been on the road these days because of the snow and time constraints - but I'm guessing those trails are pretty good right now. I'm in Cottonwood Heights so have easy access to the Wasatch. yeah, a lot of pavement on the Red Mountain, but I thought it would be a good first experience for that distance. I dont mind pavement, but I like trails much better.

ststephen - I have family in Santa Cruz and have thought about heading out there sometime soon! Sounds like you have an awesome group that you run with - 72 and 25 marathons?? I bow down as well - soooo inspiring!!!

Thomas - not sooo impressive - 50K is only 6 miles more than a marathon, right? I'm using a marathon training program, which I started late, to prepare. I'm doing it in 15 weeks, trying to bump up slowly. I use the training plan found on the Salt Lake Running website - it's gotten me through a few marathons, I really like it. I've just added some miles and worked backward from the end of it. This is my first ultra. I think I would like to do 50 miles for my 50th birthday (in two years!!). Sounds like you're doing some really great runs, I'll have to check them out.

I'm thinking I might do the Triple Trail Challenge this year - has anyone done that?

Hey, do any of you trail runners have issues with your calves? I find that I run on my toes (or the front of my foot) a lot on trail, and have had some achilles tendon problems (mid calf) - it's not seeming to heal. Any suggestions?

[ststephen]

ststephen - I have family in Santa Cruz and have thought about heading out there sometime soon! Sounds like you have an awesome group that you run with - 72 and 25 marathons?? I bow down as well - soooo inspiring!!!

Sorry, I was unclear. That was 25 to 72 years old! Though I bet the 72 year old has actually done at least that number of marathons and ultras. Heck she's done 25 Big Sur marathons alone.

If you come out here please let me treat you to a Saturday or Sunday run in the Forest of Nisene Marks which is a bit of a local mecca for all sorts of athletes both meek and world class. I guarantee a warm welcome with lots of friendly runners.

This is my first ultra. I think I would like to do 50 miles for my 50th birthday (in two years!!).

Excatly what my wife Robin did! Her 50K was the "Way Too Cool" 50K in the town of Cool California. Her 50 miler was the American River 50 miler. I think she did it a little bit before she turned 50 but it was the same idea.

[TreeHugger]

ststephen,

Thanks! I will definitely take you up on that! We may be out there this summer.

Congrats to your wife! What a great accomplishment!!

Karen

[Wasatch Rebel]

I run for exercise and I usually run a 5k on the 4th of July. I used to run a lot more in my younger days, but two knee surgeries took their toll. I actually have just gotten back into running within the past couple of years and really have spent most of my running time on a treadmill, although last year I ran the East Millcreek 5k on the 4th of July and did a time that was within one minute of my time 15 years ago, so I was proud of that.

[TreeHugger]

I run for exercise and I usually run a 5k on the 4th of July. I used to run a lot more in my younger days, but two knee surgeries took their toll. I actually have just gotten back into running within the past couple of years and really have spent most of my running time on a treadmill, although last year I ran the East Millcreek 5k on the 4th of July and did a time that was within one minute of my time 15 years ago, so I was proud of that.

That's impressive after such a long time off!

[Riseforms]

I've been running the Shoreline trail up here in Ogden. It's been nice, every time we get a dusting of snow it seems perfect.

I get calf pain a lot. I've been told it's probably the soleus muscles. I used to try and stretch them, but now I just go with it. Over time, they seem to have gotten better/stronger/whatever.

[ststephen]

Got to do my favorite trail run today: West Ridge Trail of the Forest of the Nisene Marks in Aptos CA. It's about 1600' total climbing and 18 miles. Had the whole upper section completely to myself. There are two spots with great views of the Redwood forests sloping off to the Monterey Bay below. Gorgeous.

[TreeHugger]

*sigh*... sounds awesome! Are you training for something, or do you just go run 18 miles for the fun of it???

I finished off 20 on a sweet run up and over Emigration canyon, and home down Wasatch - but that wont mean much to you! It was a gorgeous sunny 50 degree day Saturday - lovely.

[ststephen]

No, I'm not that motivated to run so far without a race pending. We're doing Big Sur Marathon on 4/25. I'll do a 20 in a about 3 more weeks, then start to taper.

Just checked out Emigration Canyon, looks like a great spot to run!

[erial]

Running thru the woods I've on rare occasion had to dodge a falling branch or tree, but on the beach I've never considered danger from above . . .

Posted on Wed, Mar. 17, 2010
Plane's victim likely unaware of approaching danger
By RENEE DUDLEY
The (Hilton Head) Island Packet
A 38-year-old Georgia man struck from behind and killed when a small plane made an emergency landing on a Hilton Head Island beach Monday had been running and listening to his iPod -- probably unaware that the plane was bearing down on him, witnesses and officials said Tuesday.

Robert Gary Jones, a pharmaceutical sales representative from Woodstock, Ga., had been on Hilton Head for business, the victim's neighbor said.

Jones probably didn't see or hear the plane descending toward him -- it made no noise because its engine had failed and he was wearing headphones, officials from the Beaufort County Coroner's Office said.

The single-engine airplane made an emergency landing near Palmetto Dunes at about 6:10 p.m. Monday. The pilot was Edward Smith, 62, of Chesapeake, Va., according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office report released Tuesday. Smith built the plane last year, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said.

A passenger in the plane was identified as David Henry, 59, also of Chesapeake, a sheriff's spokeswoman said.

Neither Smith nor Henry was injured in the landing.

Kay Gonzales and her husband, vacationing on Hilton Head from Huntsville, Ala., were among the witnesses who reported the incident Monday.

"He (Jones) never saw it, never heard it and never knew what hit him," Gonzales said. "He had music in his ears. He never looked back."

The couple had been walking south on the beach behind Jones when the plane came down.

They had seen the low-flying aircraft coming toward them, but initially thought it was a stunt or advertising plane, Gonzales said. They realized there was a problem when they saw the plane coming straight toward them, quickly losing altitude and steering erratically.

"It was going back and forth and up and down," Gonzales said.

She and husband Joseph panicked, unsure where to run.

Joseph Gonzales fell to the ground.

Kay Gonzales ran toward the ocean.

The plane flew "just a few feet over our heads," she said.

One of its landing wheels appeared to strike the back of Jones' head, she said. The Coroner's Office said preliminary autopsy results show that Jones died of blunt force trauma to the head and neck.

THE VICTIM

Gonzales and other witnesses said several people rushed to Jones' aid, attempting to administer CPR, but he was already dead.

The victim's neighbor in Woodstock, who asked not to be identified, said Jones was a loving family man who leaves a wife, a 5-year-old son and a daughter whose third birthday was Tuesday. He traveled frequently for his work, according to the neighbor. He'd been employed by GlaxoSmithKline since 1997, according to an online business profile.

"He loved his family. He loved the beach. He loved being fit," according to the neighbor, who played golf with Jones. "The way the accident happened is just unbelievable. ... Everyone's still trying to get a handle on reality."

A man who answered the phone at Jones' mother's home in Clearwater, Fla., said Jones planned to return to Woodstock today for his daughter's birthday party.

INVESTIGATION BEGINS

The plane, which was heading for Hampton Roads, Va., Executive Airport, experienced engine trouble over the water about an hour and a half after leaving Orlando Executive Airport in Florida, according to Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the FAA's Atlanta regional office. The aircraft was flying at about 13,000 feet when air traffic controllers at the Marine Corps Approach Control Center in Beaufort told Smith, the pilot, to land at the Hilton Head airport.

But oil began leaking out of the engine and smeared onto the plane's windshield before Smith and Henry reached the island, according to a spokeswoman from the Hilton Head Island Fire & Rescue Division.

The plane's propeller came off, and the men decided to make an emergency landing on the beach, though the oil on the windshield blocked their view, she said.

The plane touched down north of the Hilton Head Marriott Resort and Spa at Palmetto Dunes, near Armada Street, about three miles from the island's airport.

On Monday, Smith and Henry were taken to the Sheriff's Office, the Fire & Rescue spokeswoman said. They stayed in the area Tuesday to speak to investigators.

The plane -- a fixed-wing Lancair IV-P -- is registered to Smith, who built it from a kit last year, according to the FAA.

Bergen said pilot-built planes must undergo FAA safety inspections. Officials inspect the planes while they're being constructed and grant certificates after they're complete.

"It's very common. There are many aviation enthusiasts who build their own planes from kits," she said.

The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the cause of the crash and whether there may be broader safety concerns with the aircraft, Bergen said.

Investigators from the NTSB and the FAA removed the plane from the beach Tuesday as a crowd watched from behind yellow crime-scene tape and took photos. Officials used a backhoe to hoist the plane onto a flat-bed truck, where they dismantled it and drained the fuel.

The plane was taken to Virginia on Tuesday for the investigation, according to NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway. That investigation could take up to 18 months, he said.

[Redpb]

If you saw me you'd know I don't run. However, one of my professors/entrepreneur started this website for this reason.
http://www.realrunners.com/