RUNNING - THE HOLCOMB VALLEY TRAIL RUN

"Trail Running -

Where every stick is a snake until proven otherwise."

"I love running,

just not while I'm doing it."

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first or last.

You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that."

~ Fred Lebow

"Begin at the beginning and go on 'till you come to the end; then stop."

~Lewis Carroll, from Alice in Wonderland

Running more mountain trails as I got older, both as regular exercise and in organized races, was an item on my Updated Bucket List, and I chose to run the Holcomb Valley Trail Run during my YEAR 77. This year is the 22nd Annual Holcomb Valley Trail Run. The Run begins at the Meadows Edge Picnic Area on the North Shore of Big Bear Lake. All three courses, 33 miles, 15 miles, and 7 miles, are on a combination of steep and rocky trails, with the first section going up the steep Cougar Crest Trail, followed by sections of the Pacific Crest Trail and Forest Service Roads in the San Bernardino National Forest. There is beautiful scenery in the surrounding forest, and awesome views of Big Bear Lake from high on the mountains. I ran the fifteen mile course in 2011, and I ran the seven mile course in both 2015 and 2016. The seven mile course is the one I put on my schedule for this year. It's a tough run because it's at altitude (6,750 feet at lake level and 7,969 feet crossing the north mountain) and much of the trail is very rocky and steep, which is tough going up, but also a problem coming back down. I guess there aren't very many old guys with masochistic tendencies because there have usually been only 3 or 4 participants in the 70+ age group.

Bonnie and I were in Big Bear for this year's run on Saturday, June 16, 2018. The weather was partly cloudy and cool today - perfect for a run. It was 48 degrees when I arrived at the starting area, with a predicted high for the day of only 64 degrees. I didn't train well for the run this year (no good excuses), but I wanted to check it off my bucket list, so I planned to do a lot of walking on the course - treating it almost more like a hike than a run.

I picked up my bib number about 7:00 am and was happy to get number 77.

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The first photo below is the start of the 33-Mile Race which went off at 7:30 am. The second photo is the start of the 15-mile Race which went off at 7:45 am. The third photo is one of the 15-mile runners before the start. When you enlarge the photo you'll see that he ran in sandals - i.e. no running shoe cushioning at all. My back would not handle that!

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The 7-Mile Run went off at 7:55 am. I took the photos below while on the run.

1st row- The first photo is an example of the rocky trail - difficult because of the steepness and elevation going up, but also very tricky footing coming down. The second photo is at the 1st Bench that overlooks the lake. The third photo is at the 2nd Bench (actually three benches) that overlook the lake.

2nd row- The first photo is at the top where the Cougar Crest Trail goes onto the Pacific Crest Trail. The second photo is at the 3 1/2 mile Aid Station and the turn-around for the 7-mile run. The third photo shows how well stocked the aid station was with food and drink items.

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For my own benefit when I review this blog in later years, I'm showing below my time at various places mentioned at the locations in the photos above.

- Between the Start and the 1st Bench overlooking the lake it took me 36 minutes.

- From the 1st Bench to the 2nd Bench overlooking the lake took 15 minutes.

- From the 2nd Bench to the top of the Cougar Crest Trail at the junction with the Pacific Crest Trail took 9 minutes.

- From the end of the Cougar Crest Trail to the 3 1/2 mile Aid Station Turn-Around took 14 minutes.

- I spent a few minutes at the Aid Station, and ran a little quicker coming down than going up, for a total elapsed time of 2:24 (much slower than my 2016 time of 1:45).

When I arrived at the Finish with a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes I was a little surprised to be told I had won the 70+ Division. I knew I had not run a fast time, but I guess I was the only man in the 70+, 7-Mile Male Division. That's usually a good indication that you can win. Also, there was only one woman in the 70+, 7-Mile Woman Division. I loved her name, which was Naomi Studley.

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My gold medal for 1st place, and the wood plaque given to all finishers for the 22nd Annual Trail Run are shown below. (As in prior years, 1st place medals are gold, but not engraved - so I have always written the place and date on the back).

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Kip Thorne, one of my high school classmates, is a theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate, known for his contribution to gravitational physics and astrophysics. Laymen like me think of his work as discovering Black Holes. As suggested by my old friend Dr. Gary W, my running ability may have simply gone down one of those Black Holes discovered by Kip. Despite my slow time, I enjoyed getting out in the mountains, participating in the event, and enjoying the camaraderie with the other runners.

A Few 2018 Race Statistics of Interest to Me - These stats will be of interest to me when I review this blog in later years. The number of race entrants (and particularly old entrants) have decreased over the years since my first participation.

7-Mile Race - 70 Entrants/60 Finishers - Two in the 70+ age group

#1 Male - Ron Hadfield

#1 Femaie - Naomi Studley

15-Mile Race - 97 Entrants/87 Finishers - Two in the 70+ age group (both male)

#1 Male - Tom Will

#1 Female - No Entrants

(Of note to me - Tom Will's winning time was 3:24. When I won the Division

in 2011, my winning time was 3:19)

33-Mile Race - 78 Entrants/63 Finishers - None in the 70+ age group

(Of note to me - Nancy Tinker, at age 66, was the oldest runner in the

33-mile race. I've known Nancy from running the roads and trails

around Monrovia. She is a gutsy runner and was out on the trails for

10 hours, 41 minutes to complete the race. Although she was the last

to complete the race, at least she participated !)

A Little History - My first trail run was the Turkey Run, a 10-mile run in the Crescenta Mountains. I ran this in 1983, 1984 and 1987. In 1985 I ran the Eaton Canyon to Henninger Flats Up and Down the Hill Race. This was a 9-mile race in the San Gabriel Mountains that was part of a Four-Race Mountain Series, including Mt. Baldy, Mt. Wilson and Mt. Lowe. Initially I had planned on doing all four of these runs, but holidays and travel got in the way. In 2011 I ran the Endure the Bear Trail Run, a 9.3-mile run in Big Bear. This run was in the mountains on the south side of the lake and went as high as 8,011 feet. In 2011 Tracy and I ran the Verdugo Mountains 10K Trail Run, a tough run for only being 6 miles.

I have done the Holcomb Valley Trail Run three times (four times including the Year 77 run described above). In June 2011, I ran the 15-mile course, and while my goal was just to participate, I won my age division, ahead of the four other 70+ year-old runners. They gave a nice tile to the Division Winners that year.

In June 2015 I noticed that they had added a 7-mile course. My interest in things seven, and the fact that seven miles is easier than fifteen, made me decide to run Holcomb Valley again, and to my surprise (and delight) I won my age group again. Tracy and her friend Jen joined me and it was a fun trip to Big Bear. I decided to run the Holcomb Valley 7-mile course again in June 2016, and again won the 70+ age group. I was a little surprised that my time was a little faster than I had run the year before. Tracy and Jen participated with me again, and Jen's niece and her boyfriend also ran the race. Bonnie was in the mountains with us and it was a fun weekend, visiting at the cabin before and after the run. Photos below are of the medals given to Division Winners and the wood plaques given to all finishers. The first row is 2015 and second row is 2016. They give the gold medal to 1st Place Winners but they are not engraved. I printed (not so neatly) the place and date on the back so I would know which medal was which.