First Post!

After reading and being inspired by the running blogs of other ultra-runners, I have decided to create my own blog to chronicle my running adventures and post other running and ultra-running information.

About Me
I started running about 10 years ago after I graduated from college. I played basketball at American River College and San Francisco State University and needed a way to stay in shape. At the time I didn’t envision running marathons and hadn’t even heard of an ultra-marathon. Running for me started very casually and I wasn’t running any races. This is how my running progressed for several years. At some point (2005 or 2006) I decided to try and run a marathon. Not surprisingly, the training was quite difficult. I didn’t have success getting past 9-10 miles and also experienced some injuries (IT band). With these struggles, my marathon goal was put off for a while. After recovering from these injuries and trying some new training ideas (including lifting weights to help prevent injuries) I became dedicated to the idea again. In preparation, I completed my first half-marathon at the SF Marathon in July 2007. Next was the Lake Tahoe half-marathon in September 2007 and I finished 10th out of approximately 700 runners. The California Int’l Marathon (December 2007) in Sacramento was my first attempt at a marathon. While it was a struggle and I definitely hit the wall around mile 20, it was a great experience and left me wanting to run more.

Current Running
Since completing my first marathon in December 2007, I have now completed a total of 5 marathons and 10 ultra-marathons. Of my ultra-marathons, 3 have been 50 milers and the rest 50k (approximately 31 miles). My running and racing have taken huge leaps forward this year and have completed 6 races so far in 2010 including my first race win at the Ultrarunner.net Jenkinson Lake 50k in May.

Future Races
In 2010 my focus has been to compete in the Ultrarunner.net race series and see how I do. My next two races will be 12-hour runs. Next up is the 12-hour run in Cool on July 17th and after that is the 12-hour “Hotter than Hell” run in Cameron Park on August 14th. For those of you familiar with Northern California in the summertime, both of these should be difficult with 90+ degree temps.

First 100 Mile Race?
My other goal is to run my first 100 mile race. My target is the Rio Del Lago 100 Mile race in Granite Bay on September 11th. We’ll see how the training progresses over the next couple months and if I can get myself to the starting line.

Thanks for checking out my blog. Hopefully I will post interesting stories that will keep you coming back.

Brian