Updates to the Dirty Mother Runner Posts

On my! Someone please hide my credit card! Enough already!

Fabulous custom Sweatheads headbands for the summer trail series at a special MRTT discount! If you haven’t tried one of Michel’s super-cute stay put headbands now is your chance. Check out the post with the new and improved title: Shirts, Skirts and Headbands: 2014 Dirty Mother Runner Summer Series for the details. http://mrtt-riverside.blogspot.com/2014/05/shirts-2014-dirty-mother-runner-summer.html

If you have any questions please comment below or post on Facebook.

3rd Annual SoCal Wine Country Women’s Half Marathon and 5K Race Report, June 14

Remember that saying, “the third time’s a charm”? Well I think this event is now certainly charmed, and in a very good way. As a participant for three years now, this event has gone through some growing pains, two years of mismarked courses sending the runners off to explore uncharted territory, adding time and distance nobody wanted. But anyone who has run on trails before knows trail running is a different beast than road running: changing terrain, multiple trails merging into or away from the main track, and it could take only a strong gust of wind to remove all of your carefully placed markers. Trails are not perfect and neither are runners: what makes sense when marking a trail could mean a missed key turn for everyone else. What makes this race amazing is the enthusiasm and dedication of the organizing company Off Road Pursuits. You can tell these guys love running, they love trails and care about what they are doing. So they listened to runner’s feedback, figured out what went wrong over the past few years and fixed it.

 

I knew going in that this run would be challenging, but I am always taken by surprise of how hard

this course is. The heat, hills and uncertain terrain makes running here difficult. I tripped at least twice, one of our members came out bleeding, and my blisters will need a few days to heal. The steep downhill where the fluffy sand covers your feet and goes inside of your shoes forcing most runners to stop and dump the dirt out of their shoes and socks at the base is always a treat. But you can’t beat the scenery, I always have to look around reminding myself of how lucky I am to run in such a beautiful place and stop myself from just jumping in the lake and refusing to come out. Based on prior years’ experiences on this course and with no wrong turns, I went in thinking I would be able finish in 2:15 or 2:30, but a bad choice of shoes, blisters, heat related nausea and lost minutes dumping dirt out of my shoes after going down “fluff mountain” set my finish time at 2:37. I guess it wasn’t my day, but there is always next year.

MRTT had a strong showing at this event and I hope to see even more next year. We had members from the Riverside, Temecula and the High Desert chapters running the half and the 5k. Having the MRTT support on the course was amazing. Knowing that your cheering “sole sisters” were waiting for you at the finish made those last few miles a little less painful for me. Thanks to whomever flipped my car magnet.

 

Because this event holds a special place in my heart I can’t wait until next year’s trail race. I started running three years ago and the inaugural SoCal Wine Country Women’s Half Marathon was my first half marathon. So what keeps me coming back? Despite some problems in the past, Off Road Pursuits puts on a pretty good show. They ironed out the kinks with the course, they’re upfront with prerace information, the organizer and volunteers were everywhere to happily help you stay hydrated and put you on the right path if you got confused on a turn. The company was easy to work with if you have to transfer a bib to another runner, a pleasant surprise where so many races now won’t let you legally transfer bibs. You can’t beat the scenery and the changing terrain makes running this course challenging to even the most seasoned trail runner. Will I do it again? You betcha! But next time I am jumping in that lake, blisters and all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Running? Ready! Steady! SCAVENGER HUNT!

Running is tough in the summer. It’s hot and you have to get up early. So you get up at 5 am to run and it is STILL hot. But if you’re like me, you have fall races on the calendar and need to log those pesky miles. To keep going, you need a change of scenery. You might have to drag your sleepy running buddies out of bed to meet you. Or perhaps a contest to keep your brain active? Some days you need all the help you can get. What?! Did I just say a contest?

Your humble blogger is here to provide you with everything on your summer running checklist: a change of scenery, a chance to form a team (but solo is fine too) and a contest! Ever done a scavenger hunt? Well this is a virtual scavenger hunt. Here is how it works: I am going to give you a route and some photos of things to look for when you run that route. When you find the item(s) in the photos, take a picture of it and email me the photo. The team or individual who sends me the most matches wins!

Sounds simple enough? How about an example: one of the photos below has a picture of a mailbox with a heart on it. That mailbox is somewhere on the route I am going to give you. Find that mailbox, take a picture of it and email your picture. The team or individual who sends in the most pictures wins a prize. WOW! A PRIZE! I LOVE PRIZES! TELL ME MORE!

Ok rules: You can only run the route once and take photos. That means one email with all your photos per team or individual. I understand that email attachments are tricky critters, so if you have a technical problem I will work with you to get your entry in. Everything I photographed was taken following the rules of the road, so no trespassing on people’s lawns and unsafe street crossings. Stay on the street or the sidewalk. Please be aware of cars and other obstacles. Winning team or individual will be announced at the first Dirty Mother Trail run on July 12. If everything goes well, after July 12 I will be posting another route with photos. The contest is open to all area MRTT members, not just us Riverside people, so feel free to share. All of the routes are popular Riverside or MRTT running areas except for this one: my super-secret shady summer route. Happy hunting and send those pictures to keeperterrier@gmail.com. Ready to play?

ROUTE #1

5.5 Miles (Approximately)

START at Washington Park 2769 Mary St.
TURN LEFT onto Victoria Ave. towards Arlington
TURN RIGHT onto Arlington
TURN RIGHT onto Hawarden Dr. (this is the road that runs parallel to the Gage Canal)
BEAR LEFT to stay on Hawarden Dr. (road will start going uphill and will leave the canal)
FOLLOW Hawarden Dr. until it dead ends at a dirt road
CONTINUE on the dirt road/trail down the Mary St. wash until it meets the Gage Canal. This part is tricky so here is a clarification: When the broken pavement ends the trail will fork, take the fork that goes to the base of the wash towards Victoria (see inset photo of the correct trail on right) turn left and follow the trail up the hill.

This is the fork. Continue downhill and you'll see the block wall clue on your left, follow that trail until you meet the canal.

CONTINUE onto the Gage CanalEXIT Gage Canal onto Mary St.
TURN LEFT onto Mary St./Hawarden Dr. loop
CONTINUE onto Hawarden Dr.
Hawarden Dr. turns into DeGrazia Rd.
TURN RIGHT onto Hawarden Dr.
CONTINUE onto Mary St. (you have completed a large loop and will be back by the canal)
CONTINUE onto Mary St. towards Victoria Ave.
END at Washington Park 2769 Mary St.

How about a map?

And here are your photos:

Picture 1: A Scottish bagpiper's dream home.

Picture 2: Need to Google Miss. Scott, she's everywhere.

Picture 3: Pretty fountain. 

Picture 4: Was his name misspelled?

Picture 5: Just a lonely mailbox sitting by itself.

Picture 6: Gotta look up to see this view.

Picture 7: Another big tree.

Picture 8: Don't go this way!

Picture 9: Well this one is a freebie.

Picture 10: I "heart" mail too!

Picture 11: See the rain cross?

Picture 12: A British phone box??? Look hard.

Picture 13: I think this tree ate a kid in a 1980's horror movie.

Picture 14: This had a sun on it but now it is gone.

Picture 15: Look hard for this on the Gage Canal.

Picture 16: Wow! Cool house!

Picture 17: See the rain cross?

Picture 18: Wow! Cool house #2!

Picture 19: I think they really like the letter M.

Picture 20: Look hard for this piece of Mary St. history.

Picture 21: Historical Gage Canal coolness.

Picture 22: And you're back!

Updates to the Dirty Mother Runner Posts

The two posts for the trail series have been updated and are current as of today, June 6. Make sure you look at Shirts and Skirts: 2014 Dirty Mother Runner Summer Series and Dirty Mother Runner Summer Series 2014 *UPDATED INFORMATION*. 

If you have any questions please comment below or post on Facebook.