Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 07:54:07 -0800 From: stanj (Stan Jensen) To: ius-l@american.edu, ultra@caligari.dartmouth.edu Subject: Avalon 50 report (XP) Well, I agree with Joe Galope's terse recommendation: this is an ultra that everyone should run at least once. I'd been thinking about it for two years and I'm very glad I finally entered. I picked up list-er Evelyn Rodriguez at the airport Friday as she returned from New Zealand on her way back to Utah. We met a group of runners at Long Beach and took the boat over to Avalon, trading stories and listening carefully to what the veterans were saying. The logistics couldn't be easier: you walk three blocks from the pier to the hotel, then another four blocks to the briefing, and the start/finish is only a half-block from your room! Over 200 runners crowded in for the briefing and received their T-shirt AND a great finisher's sweatshirt. Now I had my motivation to finish! We lined up at 5:00 (yuck), in cool (40+) weather, with a promising forecast of "no rain". About half the field used flashlights and the rest of us stuck close to them as we ran a short leg along the harbor, then ran through the city and up through the Wrigley Gardens. The course is sort of a figure eight, with an out-and-back at the top. You climb up to 1400', drop to the sea, climb again, drop to the sea at the turnaround, then repeat the profile on the way back. The views of the island were incredible and we sacrificed a view of the mainland in exchange for having cool, overcast skies all day (never more than about 60 degrees). There is a 6 mile stretch of paved road at around mile 9 and another 4 mile section at the end, but the rest is on dirt roads and the footing is very good. Aid stations were generally less than 5 miles apart, well stocked, and staffed with friendly, helpful volunteers. The one at Little Harbor (miles 21.5 and 34.1) was staffed by the mayor's wife and they had a contest to see who had the "best buns" (aka "mooning"). One couple did it in tandem! We saw buffalo in the distance, then we ran down the road between two herds, and then I even saw one less than ten feet from the road who posed for a picture. There is a long stretch from miles 39 to 44 where you run endlessly along a winding dirt road that looks level, but I'm told is a gradual hill, but once you reach Pump House (mile 44) and climb the hill, you know you have about a mile and a half of rolling paved road and then "the hill". The last part of this course is a killer: about 2.5 miles of fairly steep, constant downhill on pavement, with the good news being that it is the last stretch and you can see the finish. You round the last curve above the casino, drop into town and "sprint" the final few blocks to the finish! On top of everything else, they give you a huge medal! At 6:30 they have a banquet in the casino ballroom, present awards and even offer a live band for those who want to dance. I'd like to thank Ben Hian for being at the finish line when I crossed it 3.5 hours after he set his CR and thank Tim Twietmeyer and James Raia for being there (in the dark) after 6pm when the last two runners arrived. It was also a pleasure to finally meet list-ers Dave & Lane Cooper, Matt Kavenaugh and Dave Emmons. I'd also like to congratulate "The Grasshopper" for her outstanding sub-9 on her first 50m! Sunday at 8am we gathered for a group photo, got a copy of the results(!) and watched Tim and his wife running along the harbor (in drizzly rain) as we headed back to LA. Mark this ultra on your calendar for '98! Stan P.S. I should have the full results entered on my web site at: http://reality.sgi.com/stanj/results/av97.html by noon today. Send me e-mail if you want a copy. Photos should be up later this week. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stan Jensen, Systems Engineer for "SGI Direct" stanj@sgi.com Silicon Graphics Inc., M/S 120 Phone:(415)933-5822 P.O. Box 7311, 1401 No. Shoreline Blvd. FAX: (415)932-5822 Mt. View, CA 94039-7311 "I (heart) Tonks" "http://www.sgi.com" "http://reality.sgi.com/stanj" ------------------------------------------------------------------------