Georgia Death Race – steep, but smooth, trails
Crossing the river
Sweet climbs!
Steep, steep mountains!
Sunset!
Amicalola Falls – the finish line!
The Virginia Happy Trails Running Club puts on several excellent training runs for the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 race held in May. The Martin Luther King weekend was the first of the fat ass events. It was a warm, cold, sunny, snowy, foggy weekend to run!
Sunrise in the Massanutten Mountains – MMT Training Run #1
Orange trail – before the snow – Waterfall 50K
Orange trail- after the snow – Waterfall 50K
The Virginia Happy Trails Running Club puts on a ton of Fat Ass events – runs with no entry fee, no awards, and no wimps – and the best volunteers and aid stations you’ll find anywhere. This year was all about the VHTRC for me – I ran or volunteered at as many of our events as I could. I ended up with a lot of miles, a lot of smiles, the support and love of my tribe, familiar trails to come home to, new trails to play on, new friends to share trail with and new adventures planned for 2016. Life is good.
Here’s a look back on my year of the Fat Ass! Happy, happy trails!
Redeye 50K – January 1, 2015
Gap to Gap, January 18, 2015
TWOT 100K, February 13-14, 2015
Elizabeth Furnace 50K, March 14, 2015
Bull Run Run 50 Miler – volunteer – April 11, 2015
MMT 100 – crewing and pacing – May 16-17, 2015
Holy Cowan’s Gap 50K – May 24, 2015
VHTRC Trifecta – Jeremy’s Run – July 3, 2015
VHTRC Trifecta – Browntown – July 4, 2015
VHTRC Trifecta – Sophie’s Death March – July 5, 2015
Catoctin 50K – July 11 (not technically a Fat Ass, but close enough)
Catherine’s Furnace 50K – July 25, 2015
The Ring – 71 miles – September 5-6, 2015
Women’s Half Marathon – volunteer – September 19, 2015
Grindstone 100 – pacing my love to his first 100 mile finish! YAY! – October 9-10, 2015
Hot TWOT #2, 109 miles – October 23-25, 2015
MGM 50K – December 5, 2015
Boyer’s Furnace 40 Miler – December 26, 2015
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
-African Proverb
Cool creek at Catoctin
Very much like the Massanuttens
Spectacular views from the top!
The Virginia Happy Trails Fourth of July Trifecta continues…
An epic weekend – three days of playing on the mountain trails of the Shenandoahs. Here are a few of the sights!
Browntown
Sophie’s Death March
Jeremy’s Run
Neighbor Mountain
Swimming hole at the trailhead of Jeremy’s Run
This spring I’ve had the privilege to spend a lot of time on trail pacing friends in their events. It’s been fun and so very rewarding to watch them finish goal races – with smiles all around.
Pacing Bob Gaylord at MMT100
Pacing Lara Zoeller up Sherman’s Gap to Veach during the Old Dominion 100
The Wild Oak Trail is my very favorite trail. The way she wears winter is magical.
View from Little Bald
A snowy day on Little Bald
And even more snow on Big Bald
At the top of Little Bald
We could have used snowshoes.
I see trails 