Running Thru the Heat at Rio

Results here

As I sit here on my couch, in the comfort of my home, getting ready to start a movie, I can't help but think of the runners out there on the trails around Auburn and Folsom. They've been there all day and most of them will be there all night and well into tomorrow morning. They're running the Rio del Lago 100 mile Endurance Run and I'm only a little bit jealous that I'm not among them.

So to make myself feel like I'm still part of the ultrarunning community, I loaded up my girls (Pat is at work) and we headed down to No Hands Bridge just outside of Auburn, CA. The first runner I see is Becky Johnson getting ready to head up the steep climb to Cool. I don't know her but we both agreed that we seemed familiar to one another. She was in good spirits and I wished her luck and I'd be checking the results for her name. I hope she's doing well.

Becky (Sabin) Johnson

I was surprised at how hot it was. Easily mid to high 90's and the runners certainly looked a little baked. We headed across the bridge and I gave Caitlyn the history of how it got its name. The sun was baking down on us and we could also feel the heat radiating off the dusty ground. We stopped at the first nice shade tree we could find and cheered on the runners as we ate snacks and wished we were lounging down by the river.

Sara, with No Hands Bridge in background

Nearby, there were 2 horse-people being filmed and we were curious. Turns out the woman is the host of a new program called "Rediscovering the Gold Country" and they were filming a segment on the Tevis Cup trail. It is suppose to air on local television. We enjoyed watching them and they enjoyed having an audience.

Filming for Rediscovering the Gold Country

I saw Ray Sanchez running strong. I said hello and reminded him we had run together a little at 12 Hours of Cool. He seemed to remember me and he was very nice, said he was feeling good, and he headed off down the trail. I'm sure he'll do well in the final results.

Ray looks like he took a bit of a fall but still going strong

We hung out a bit then headed back towards the bridge when we came across Rena Schumann. She remembered me from TRT100 (I was working the finish line) and she was also extremely nice. I just love the ultrarunning community.

Rena Schumann climbing strong

Future ultrarunner Caitlyn sprints across the bridge

Alex Danner happy to have the Cool loop behind him

The A/C of the truck was a welcome treat and it wasn't long before my youngest was sound asleep. Even though I wasn't directly supporting anyone on the trail, I felt it was important to just be there and show my support to all the runners (at least the one's I saw). Plus, it was a nice excuse to get out of the house on a beautiful Saturday. I'll post a link to the results when they're available. In the meantime, good luck to all those runners running through the night.