The North Face Endurance Challenge - San Francisco, 2013



My 2013 race schedule is taking shape, as I have registered for my second fifty mile race of the year (or of my life), The North Face Endurance Challenge San Francisco, Gore-Tex 50 Mile. I've jumped the gun a little, as I won't have a fifty miler under my belt until April, and (knock wood) I don't know if I'll be healthy, but I figure eight months is long enough to recover and train for another, albeit harder, fifty. The strength I feel going into the last eight weeks of training for the American River 50 Mile has given me the confidence that I can make a solid effort in December.



Golden Gate Recreation Area



I know quite a few runners who participated in last year's truncated and muddy TNFEC San Francisco. It was held the same weekend as CIM, and the mud-fest that ensued forced organizers to cancel the Sunday race docket. Last year's course was altered due to the weather, resulting in two loops within the Golden Gate Recreation Area. The 2013 event will revert to the originally planned course, which takes the runner from the south end of the Marin Headlands up to the shoulder of Mount Tamalpais before returning to the start area, hitting a variety of trails along the coast and the ridge lines inland, combining a small amount of single track and miles and miles of fire road rolling through the Headlands. 

Pirates Cove, Coastal Trail



I absolutely love these trails, and I am looking forward to training on them as much as possible this summer and fall in preparation for this spectacular event.

Now I back the calendar out from December 7th, and begin considering some tune-up 50K races in the fall. Anyone have suggestions?