Firetrails 50 Mile Trail Run

Dave ran his 50 mile trail race yesterday. The race follows fireroads and single track through several East Bay regional parks. It was a clear and sunny day -- perfect fall California weather.

Dave has his hands full of food and is trying to wave after the aid station at mile 15.

Nicole Giumarra speeding along after the aid station

Dave is grabbing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the road. Besides PB&J, he says he tried out rice krispy treats, Shot Bloks, oranges, grapes, boiled potatoes, and gels. By the end it was only fruit and potatoes that sounded good.

 Nicole following Dave close behind. Jeff Giumarra also ran the race, but we didn't get any pictures of him.

 There's a lot for the kids of an ultra runner to do at the aid stations. Just ask Sarah, Alex and Lily.

 Here is Mark with EJ, getting ready to pace for Dave at mile 37.

 Here is David studying out his food options at the aid station. The aid station volunteers were a big help and always grabbed his water bottle first thing and filled it up with whatever he asked for while he grabbed food.

Here go the two brothers down the trail toward Redwood Park. We'd next see them again in about 2 hours.

Dave with his 8 hours and 30 minutes finish.  23rd place overall.  Not bad for an Electrical Engineer.

It must be sinking in that he can stop running now.

 Looking glad to be done.

Dave was glad to have Mark pace him. They talked for a while and enjoyed the scenic trails. Other times Dave said he just followed Mark and stared at his shoes. With about 2 miles left, Mark's knees were bothering him (13 miles yesterday is his longest run ever!), so he let Dave go ahead to the finish. Here is Mark cruising into the finish area to meet up with us again.

 We'll have to ask Mark if it ever crossed his mind to try one of these 50s himself.

 At the finish line. Dave is trying to get some range of motion back in his legs. ;-)

 Isn't this amazing! Nicole was about 20 minutes behind Dave, 4th place in the women, and aside from some dirt on her ankles looks like she's at the starting line! Jeff finished about 1 hour later, which was about 15 minutes faster than he was shooting for. He's had lower leg injuries this year, so he wasn't expecting anything fast. Both Jeff and Nicole got their Western States qualifier with the Firetrails 50. We'll see what Dave decides to do, but if nothing more, he'll pace for them if they get in to WSER next June.

 The race started and finished at Lake Chabot, near Castro Valley, CA. It was a beautiful day at the lake.