Spectating at Lake of the Sky 50K

I had originally intended on running this race if my body felt healed enough, but work schedules intervened, I got put on "kid duty" and instead of sitting around the house on a beautiful day, decided to drive up the hill and support my ultra-runner friends. I'm glad I did.

After a leisurely morning, Caitlyn, Sara, Yuba, and I arrived at the TRT trailhead about 11:30. A little girl about 6 1/2 immediately befriended my daughter Caitlyn and they proved inseparable the entire time we were there. The day was gorgeous and there was no indication that it had been raining and snowing off and on all week.

Caitlyn (rear) with her new friend Maddy

The lead runner, Chris Grauch, came in in an impressive 5:16 with Beverley Anderson-Abbs hot on his heels in 5:21, taking 18 minutes off her time from last year. Scott Dunlap came across the line in 5:51, all smiles and exclaiming what a wonderful time he had out there. I talked to him after the race and he said the leg felt great but he was concerned with friendly competition from Peter Lubbers in the ultrarunner.net series. If it remains close, expect to see them both at Helen Klein for some much needed points.

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Beverley Anderson-Abbs defends her title

Beverley Anderson-Abbs and overall winner Chris Grauch

Impressive Scott Dunlap finishes 5th

There was some concern when Alan Abbs didn't appear at the finish line when expected. After a few phone calls from RD Robert Mathis to different aid stations, Alan finally came down the hill covered in dirt. Turns out he made a wrong turn out of Watson Lake and, like many others, introduced himself to the dirt along portions of the rocky trail. He finished around 6:15.

Alan Abbs gets a hug from his wife at the finish line

Caitlyn and Maddy played and waited patiently for Maddy's dad, Pete Twedell to come racing down the hill. Unfortunately, I missed his finish time but he had a strong showing for his first ultra!

Pete gets a finish line hug from daughter Maddy

After his impressive win at Lake Tahoe, Peter Lubbers made a strong finish in 7:13 after a tough day. He has a few more races this fall but then I think he deserves a break!

Peter Lubbers

Using this as a training run for HK50, Gretchen Brugman checks her time after a fun day on the trails. I recently came across her blog and it was nice getting the chance to meet her in person. Ultrarunners are the nicest people.

Gretchen, how's my time? 7:38

I stayed to watch a few more of my friends finish then it was time to head home. I had one kid just waking up from a nap, another kid ready to go down for a nap, and a dog who was wondering why we weren't hitting the trail and running 30 miles. Watching all these runners finish a long day on the trail made me hungry. I had a craving for KFC so we grabbed some on the way home. I should say we grabbed a lot. I guess I thought I was feeding an army or something. I don't know what I was thinking. My guilty conscience kicked in while eating but it sure tasted good. Every once in a while you just gotta be bad. Next time I'll wait until I am the one who ran 34 miles.

Sara's feeling no guilt

I also want to say that all finishes/times are unofficial. I did the best I could while also keeping track of 2 kids and a dog. See you at HK.