WMRC Phoenix, Arizona

Meet Cade Cosmas!

2012-02-13T07:55:00.001-07:00

Mark and Katie have a new addition. At 11:56 last night a healthy and happy (look at the grin!) baby boy came into the world. Cade weighed in a 6lbs 8 oz. Perfect running weight!

WMRC 2/8

2012-02-07T14:24:00.003-07:00

We got fast people in this group!

We are on for a group trail run in the PMP tomorrow morning at 5:17 am. Meet at the top lot of Sq Pk Dr. 1:04 and about 5.84 miles. You can run around in circles with Jay after if you want to get 6.00 miles.

Runners of the week- The super fast Matt Schmidt won the San Tan Scramble 50K on Sat. His time of 4:01 shattered the course record and if he wasn't carrying a huge back pack he could have broke 4 hrs.

Another week another win for Paulette, she won the womens 50k race.

Nick Coury of Aravaipa fame went out to his competitors race and won the Xterra 15 miler in the McDowells on Sunday.

JJ and Liz went to the Matazals and this is what happened to Lizzies leg.

See everyone tomorrow, I will be starting early from 22nd st to get in an extra hour if anyone is interested.

WMRC - February 1

2012-01-31T15:08:00.002-07:00

We're on for a trail run in the mountain preserves in the morning. Departing at 5:16 a.m. at the top of Squaw Peak Drive. An apology goes out from Blue Dog who's initial pace split the group up and had various runners scattered all over the park. The pace will be a steady, group friendly run through the preserve. Come one, come all.

WMRC 1/25

2012-01-24T15:36:00.003-07:00

HEYOH!

We are on for a 5.89 mile trail run at 5:17 am tomorrow morning. Blue will be leading and he is feeling a bit ornery.

Congrats to all WMRCer's that got into the San Diego 100. That is going to be a fun weekend.

Runner of the week goes to Perry Edinger, old school WMRCer that got 11th place in the Coldwater Rumble 31K over the past weekend. The Coury brothers continue to put on quality events. Thanks guys!

We are doing new shirts in the next couple weeks, They will be North Face Tech shirts with the WMRC/iRun logo. iRun will be underwriting the shirts, so the cost per shirt is $6.00. White, Black, Grey and Orange are the options. Stay tuned.....

See everyone tomorrow morning.

Trail run in 8 hours 45 min

2012-01-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

WMRC 5:15 AM

WMRC 1/11/12

2012-01-09T18:31:00.002-07:00

Let's do an easy trail run this Wednesday morning at 5:16am. Due to some heavy racing last weekend and this coming weekend we will be taking it easy, I promise, Blue.

Runner of the week goes to a few people worthy of this. First, Jay Danek busted a good time at Bandera 100k over the weekend in Texas throwing down a 10:30 for 16th place overall.

Nick Coury blew everyone away at the Castle Hot Springs 22 miler this weekend. Running a 2:40 that is equivalent to a full marathon. My quads are still sore from pounding all those downhills. Matt Schmidt and Nathan Coury also smoked that thing as well.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend, see you out on the trails soon (Wed).

First run of 2012!

2012-01-03T14:19:00.002-07:00

Ring in the new year with a run this Wednesday morning for 5-something mile run for just over an hour through the trails of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. We depart at 5:17 a.m. from the top of Squaw Peak Drive.

Runner of the week goes to Debbie Leftwich for running 104 miles this past weekend at the Across the Years 24-hour run, placing her 3rd woman, 5th overall. Also deserving special mention is Robert Andrulis for running 169 miles, and James Bonnett running 134 miles in the 72 hour event.

Last WMRC run for 2011

2011-12-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

Reminder, group trail run in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve tomorrow morning 5:17 AM. Little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace. Meet at the top lot of squaw peak drive north of Glendale Ave.

ROW: This week Jay Danek surpassed 4,000 Miles for the year. Holy Cow!! If my math is correct that is over 11 miles per day!

Happy New Year everyone!!

Santa Says Go Run 12/21/11

2011-12-20T16:40:00.002-07:00

Santa just sent a reminder that he is coming to town and we all need to go for a group trail run in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve Wednesday morning. Meet at the top parking lot on Squaw Peak Drive 5:17 AM. Looks like the weather will be all cleared up for a fantastic run.

Could be a rainy WMRC run 12.14.11

2011-12-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

Some running groups may cancel a run do to weather. That would never happen at WMRC. Rain or shine group trail run in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve. Tomorrow morning 5:18 AM. Plan on a little over on hour at a slow to moderate pace.

ROW: the WMRC group runs started over 8 years ago. One of the main goals is to promote trail running an encourage first timers to attempt Ultra Trail Runs. Last weekend Andrew Colbert finished his first 50K at the McDowell Mtn. Frenzy. Nice Job.

Joe Finishing Xterra Trail Run World Championships

The traveler award goes to Joe Galope who runs the Xterra Trail World Championships and Honolulu Marathon both in the same weekend. Poor guy had to go to Hawaii to get those runs done. Then takes a break to watch some Banzai Pipeline Action. Then gets his named pulled for 2012 Western States 100. Some guys have all the luck.

Post Hardrock 100 Selection Run 12.7.11

2011-12-06T15:59:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow morning group trail run in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. 5:17 AM top lot of Squaw Peak Drive. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace. Great running weather. Just like a cool summer evening high up in the San Juan Mountains.

Robert Andrulis (far left) Receiving 5 time Hardrock 100 Finisher award

Speaking of the San Juan's The Hardrock 100 selection show was Sunday. Congrats to WMRC runners Robert Andrulis with his automatic bid for being one tough cookie and a 5 time finisher. Also pulled are the two tough ladies Honey Albrecht Liz Everly. All three are taking pacing and crewing applications (proposals). Jamil is on the fringe with a #40 on waiting list. Andrew Heard a little farther back at number 58 (or maybe 68). Once again JJ didn't get his named picked. Make sure you tread lightly around him the next few weeks. Very crabby when he doesn't get his name pulled. Suggestions: Ask him about his dogs and Don't mention Hardrock!! Or what he is doing in July.

ROW: Congrats to the North Face 50 Runners in San Fran. Jamil 40th overall (7:58), Paulette 13th female finisher (9:15), and Jon Roig with a fast 10 hour good for 129th.

WMRC 11.30.11

2011-11-29T20:59:00.001-07:00

You can rely on us! Since 2004, every Wednesday morning 5:16 AM Group trail run. Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Top lot Squaw Peak Drive. Tomorrow no different.

WMRC 11/23

2011-11-22T10:58:00.003-07:00

Pre Turkey Trot- we are on for an hour ish run in the preserve tomorrow morning at 5:16 am.

Runner of the week is a 3 way tie between PJ Zillmer, Kirk McCarville and Kadeem Carey.

Paulette won the womens 50k race at the Aravaipa Pass Mtn Trail run.

Kirk finished the AZ Ironman this past Sunday- the picture is one I have seen way too many times. Kirk gutting out another tough finish in an endurance event and Kate looking at him saying " don't lie to me, I know you haven't eaten or drank in 3 hrs!"

Kadeem Carey ran wild on the asu "defense" to give the Wildcats a win on sun devil turf. Go Cats!

See everyone tomorrow for a thanksgiving run!

Grandpa Jim's 50K / February 18, 2012

2011-11-17T11:40:00.001-07:00

Save the date for Grandpa Jim's 50K benefiting Sunshine Acres Children's Home.

Javelina 100 recovery run 11.16.11

2011-11-15T16:46:00.001-07:00

Another Javelina Jundred trail run is in the books. Wow what a day for WMRCers. A nice easy recovery run is in order. Meet at the very top lot of Squaw Peak Drive for a little over one hour trail run in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. 5:17 AM Tomorrow.

What a day in the McDowell Mountain Park. The Javelina Jundred gets better each year. Congrats to the Coury Brothers. By all accounts another great production (although thanks to the website hackers I couldn't follow along) Two course records got smashed Hal Koerner bettered Phoenix's own Dave James record by 30 min to win in 13:47:00 and Liz Howard smashed the women record by over 1.5 hours to finish in 15:47:00.

More impressive is the number of WMRCers running, pacing, crewing and working aid stations. Runners of the week to finishers: Jay Danek, Deron Ruse, Grandpa Jim Fowler and John Vaupel. Who else am I missing?? Check out the photos from Jeremy Dougherty and the race report of Jay Danek.

Special notes: One of our early WMRC members Aaron Mascarella was hit by a car while riding a bike over the weekend. It's my understanding that he will be okay but he'll have a long road to recovery with multiple broken bones.

Also, today would have been Baby Taylor's 2nd birthday. There is no doubt that Taylor is looking over her Mommy and Daddy. Mark and Katie, we are thinking of you. We Smile She Smiles Blog

Wednesday Run 11/9

2011-11-08T16:50:00.000-07:00

As always Group run in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve tomorrow morning 5:17 AM. Meet at the top lot of Squaw Peak Drive north of Glendale / Lincoln Ave. Getting a little cool but great running weather. Good luck to all this weekend for the Javelina Jundred in the McDowell Mountain Park. Should be a great time. If you haven't witnessed, crewed or paced a 100 mile trail run before, check it out.

Since I have been out of the loop don't have a good runner of the week. Please make nominations in the comment section. In the meantime check out JJ's latest video. Very touching. Higg

2011 Pinhoti 100 Endurance Run from Jeff Jones on Vimeo.

WMRC 11/2

2011-11-01T15:30:00.003-07:00

Welcome to November! We are on for an "easy" 1:05 trail run in the PMP. Meet at the top lot of SQ PK DR. We are going about 6-ish miles with some hills involved.

Runner of the week. Goes to the family of the Daneks. Traci finished her first 30K at the Cave Creek Thriller and Jay finished 5th in the 50K. If he didn't run 629 miles a week he probably would have finished a little higher. All this plus Petra looked super cute in her Supergirl outfit last night.

Great job to the Coury boys and Aravaipa Running for putting on this great trail run series. For more info on this race series go to aztrailrun.com

See everyone tomorrow morning at 5:16 am.

WMRC 10/26

2011-10-25T15:46:00.003-07:00

Hello everyone!

We are on for an easy trial run in the Phx Mtn Preserve tomorrow morning at 5:16am, top lot of SQ PK DR.

Runner of the week goes to Jay Danek. He should have got it last week for his awesome 12 (10) hour 100K victory at the Javelina 12 hr run. Way to go Jay!

Bad runner of the week goes to Jeremy who then took Jay out to the superstitions the next week and gave him a death march that may cut his streak of 590 days of running in a row to an end. Way to no Jeremy. Read about how much Jay hates Jeremy on his blog here.
http://www.mcdowellmountainman.com/

See everyone tomorrow morning!

Run Wednesday Morning 5:15 a.m.

2011-10-18T16:11:00.003-07:00

Guess what....???!! We're going on a trail run this Wednesday morning at the top of Squaw Peak drive. Last week we had over 23 trail runners for the epic journey through the North Mountain Preserve. The run will be about an hour, and about 6 miles. A flash light is needed for about the first 15 minutes. The weather is fantastic. You have no excuse. Be there.

WMRC 10/12

2011-10-11T13:34:00.009-07:00

We are on for a group run tomorrow morning at 5;16 am. Should be a great day out there with a very special guest.

Runner of the week goes to University of Arizona AD for relieving Mike Stoops of his weekly temper tantrums and the belittling of 19 yr old kids. Football is supposed to be fun and it is much more fun when you win every now and then. Adios Senior' Stoopido.

Runners up goes to The Matazal crew of Honey and Debbie for putting on the annual 18 miler up there. I know they had about 20-30 people make the trek up and run this great course. Thanks Deb and Honey.

For more info check out WMRC superstar Jay Danek's Blog here.

This week's special guest is Pearl Izumi Ultra Team captain, Scott Jaime. He will be joining us tomorrow as he is in town on business. Scott is an elite ultra runner for many reasons, one of them being, that he is just a great guy and family man.

See everyone tomorrow for an "easy" hour in the preserve.

New Mazatzal Run Start

2011-10-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

Someone is camped at the usual spot, so just continue down the road another 1/4 mile. We are on the left side still. Pass on the word if you get this. -Jamil

WMRC 10/5

2011-10-04T14:47:00.005-07:00

Hey all, we are on for a easy recovery run tomorrow at 5:16am. Meet at top lot of SQ PK DR. Maybe about

Man vs. Horse went down this past weekend and lots of WMRCer's were going at it.

Runner of the week goes to Marius Toma, he finished his first 50 miler and had a blast doing it. I had a great time running with him and Gavin for about 15ish miles and they were doing great.

Joe G, Gavin, John V, Honey, John Roig, Jamil (3rd pl) , all also did the 50 miler. Some people, person removed them selves from the race with a DNC (did not care) at mile 32. (thanks Megan for the ride back to the start)

Please tell me if I missed anyone, wasn't there for the 25 but know some peeps were there. Sorry.

See everyone tomorrow morning, 5:16am, don't be late! GO DIAMONDBACKS!!!!!!

WMRC9/28- Bear 100 Re Cap

2011-09-27T11:02:00.003-07:00

We are on for an easy 1:03 trail run in the PMP tomorrow morning at 5:16 am. This will be an easy pace as many are heading up to Prescott for Man against Horse this weekend.

Runners of the week are too many so it goes to Blue again. Just kidding.

JJ, Steph (pictured above), Lizzie , Andrew, Jody and Mark H all finished the Bear 100 this past weekend. One highlight includes Lizzie falling in a river twice while freezing at night. Andrew said he almost could have ice skated across b/c it was so cold. They were paced by WMRCer's Momo for Steph and Honey for Lizzie. Not sure of the rest.

Great job to all involved in the very successful weekend up there!

See everyone tomorrow morning.

Summer is over! Get out and run Wednesday morning.

2011-09-20T16:31:00.003-07:00

Come join us for an hour run in the trails of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Meet up 5:16 a.m., Wednesday morning. It's no longer ungodly hot out. It's beautiful! Casual fun pace, nice folks and some beautiful people.

WMRC 9/14

2011-09-13T12:01:00.006-07:00

We are on for a nice and relatively easy trail run in the preserve tomorrow morning at 5:16am. We will run up and down and down and up and down for about 5.7 miles in 1:04. This will be fun.

Runner of the week goes to Bill Barthen. He finished the Wasatch 100 miler in 29 hrs this past weekend. This race has an elevation gain of 27,000 ft over the 100 miles and is extremely hard. Well done Bill! This was the final race of the grand slam of 100's for Bill. He finished Western States, Vermont and Wasatch, only dnf'ing in Leadville due to an elevation troll that was hiding in his Camelbak repeatedly beating him over the head, neck and chest with a giant stick of some sort.

See everyone tomorrow morning at 5:16 am- Top lot of SQ PK DR.

Reflection Run 2011

2011-09-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Reminder / 9.11 Reflection Run

2011-09-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend even though the heat is still rolling. Reminder: Group trail run in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve tomorrow morning. Meet at the top of Squaw Peak Drive north of Glendale Ave. 5:17 AM. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace.

9/11 Reflection Run: Sunday is 9/11. A day that our generation will never forget. We are going to meet at at 7:00 AM at Dreamy Draw Parking Lot (exit Northern off SR-51) for the annual "Reflection Run". This is a SLOW run in the preserve up and around red mound. Nothing better than running with a group on this day. Slow pace, good company, be thankful, reflect, look-forward.

Uncle Sam is a runner too! - Cascade 100 Miles

2011-08-31T14:09:00.002-07:00

One key to finishing a 100 mile race... Have a great crew and pacer...Add Uncle Sam into the mix... Wow!!

Nice work Noah "Uncle Sam" and Liz. Congrats to Jeremy, Matt, Jody and Honey!!!

WMRC 8/31

2011-08-30T11:29:00.006-07:00

Wow! Where do we start on this one. This was one of the busiest racing weekends ever...There are multiple runners of the week so try to keep up.

Cascade Crest 100 miler went down outside of Seattle. First time 100 milers from WMRC, Jeremy Dougherty and Matt Schmidt finished with the ultra veterans Jody Chase and Honey Albrecht hot on their tails. This looks like a beautiful course. Great job to Noah and Lizzie for helping them get to the finish line.

Lean Horse 100: South Dakota Jay Danek finished his first 100 in 19 hrs and kept his running streak alive at 533 days in a row. His time was good enough for 4th overall and 2nd in age group.

Also racing this weekend were Chris Harrison and Dave Westoff. These two long time WMRCers

ran the Bulldog 50k. Only in WMRC does running 31 miles barely get a mention. Tis the season.

Well done everyone. I expect to see all of you tomorrow morning for an easy 6 in the preserve at 5:16 am. Top lot of SP PK DR.

Leadville Recovery Run 8/24

2011-08-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

Artist Depiction of WMRC Morning Run

Should be a beautiful morning run tomorrow. 92 degrees or so. Better than 116 right?! Don't be like some and waste away. Venture out! Get out! and enjoy!! Reminder the group meets at 5:16:30 at the very top lot of Squaw Peak Drive. North of Glendale / Lincoln in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace. I wonder who Cos will designate as the morning leader? I wonder what route that person will pick?

Congratulations to Joe G for his Run on the Sly 50K. 17th in 5:31:00. I wonder where that is?

Props to Bill and Paul for toeing the line at Leadville. They didn't finish but Crap happens, its 100 miles for goodness sake. Both have finished 100 miles before (actually very very recently) so I know they both will finish another 100 mile race soon. I wonder who else has a major race / run coming up?

Enough with the questions. Answer the call. See ya in the morning.

WMRC 8/17

2011-08-15T15:23:00.004-07:00

Hello all, we are on for a 6ish mile trail run in the PMP Wed am at 5:16am. We are getting back to the roots of what this group was supposed to be, Wednesday recovery run. We are going to try to slow it down a little and let everyone stay together as a group. I will be picking a guest leader every week. The choice will be made right before we take off, nominations are always welcome. You will know what the route is going to be like if I pick Jay, not happening tomorrow.

Runner of the week. This award goes to Melisa Angelone, or Momo, as most of you know her.

She went to Utah to do a 18 hour trail race relay. 4 girls, 18 hrs, 96 miles. Each of them ran 4 loops of a 6 mile trail loop outside of Ogden UT. They won their division, way to go Team Momo! Love the shirts! Thanks.

Good luck this week To Paul who is doing his second 100 this year, The Leadville 100 in Colorado. Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the US. Tough run but I know Paul will do well. Bill Barthen is also doing LT 100, his 3rd leg of the Grand Slam, Good luck to both of you guys, I know you will do well.

See everyone Wed! Be there or be square!

We're all broke....let's go for a run!

2011-08-09T15:17:00.001-07:00

With the stock market taking a serious dump this week, what better way to commiserate our lost fortunes by going for a nice trail run in the North Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Meet up at 5:15 a.m. at the top of Squaw Peak drive Wednesday morning for just over an hour run that will be much less painful than watching your portfolio drop 20 points. See you then!

WMRC 8/3

2011-08-01T14:59:00.003-07:00

Speedgoat recovery run. We are on for an easyish 5.89 mile run in the PMP on Wed am at 5:16am. Meet at the top lot of SQ PK DR.

Speedgoat and Zane met in a dark alley one night, Zane has not been heard from since.....Speedgoat is an ass kicker

Runner of the week: Jay Danek- Speedgoat 50K went down this weekend in Snowbird UT. Jay finished the race in 7:56. This run has 12,000 ft of climbing in the 31 miles. These are "Meltzer" miles which means that the race is probably about 34 miles. This was also the 501st day in a row that Jay had not missed running at least 4 miles. "The streak", like Bluedog, needs its own Facebook page because it is getting too big. Way to go Jay-In yellow below!

Travis McMaster (WMRC newbie) also did the Speedgoat 50k, he finished in 8:30 in his first official ultra, well done Travis, he said he wasn't even sore, mumbling about Hoka technology or something.

Special shout out to AZ runner, Dave James for his 100 mile Burning River trail win in Ohio over the weekend at the USATF National championships. Only at WMRC does a national championship only get you a runner up nomination. Well done Dave!

WMRC 7.27 / AC Recovery

2011-07-25T17:49:00.010-07:00

Hello to the best group of trail runners in the world! We are on for an easy 6 mile trail run in the PMP on Wed am at 5:16 am. Meet at the top lot of SQ PK DR.

Runner of the week is a no brainer. No, not the Blue dog. Paulette Zillmer won the Angeles Crest 100 mile Endurance run over the weekend. First woman and 7th place overall. I have never been so fired up for someone! She trained so hard (I have the broken down shoes to prove it) and went in with a plan and kicked ass! This little woman has huge heart and we are lucky to always have her smiling face to run with!

Runner up goes to Jamil who placed 5th overall at AC100, ran with Paulette a lot of the way and just seemed to be toying with everyone out there. Even if he didn't kick ass at AC (which he did), he gets ROW honors for doing a 100 mile race in board shorts. Surfs up dude, you are awesome!

See everyone Wednesday morning, look for an announcement of a celebratory gathering at Papago Brew House on Wed night to honor Paulette and Jamil's epic run!

Paulette Wins AC100!! / Jamil 5th overall

2011-07-24T10:58:00.002-07:00

From Nick at ground zero, WMRC's own Paulette Zillmer won Angeles Crest 100 mile trail run (7th overall) and looked fantastic through the end! Was over 2 hours ahead of 2nd place female. Jamil Coury finished just ahead in 5th place overall, both of them just under 24 hours. Reports and photos forthcoming. Stay Tuned.

WMRC 7/20

2011-07-19T10:47:00.004-07:00

We are on for a 6ish mile trail run in the PMP tomorrow morning at 5:16 am. Meet at the top lot of SQ PK DR.

Not sure if anyone raced this past weekend so you know what that means, by default Runner of the Week goes to Blue Dog. Why....why not?

Good luck to PJ Zillmer, Jon Roig, Steph Beuttner, Jamil Coury, Chip Gosewich, and Dan Brenden. They are all running the Angeles Crest 100 miler in Calif this weekend. A great trail run on almost all single track thru the San Gabriel Mtns from Wrightwood to Pasadena. Here is a pic of Nick, Jamil, Andrew and Chip (day dreaming) from the 2008 AC 100.

This is one tough run but I know our crew will do great! Follow live this Sat here AC100

See everyone tomorrow morning at 5:16 am.

WMRC 7/13-HR recovery run

2011-07-11T11:54:00.004-07:00

"It's gonna suck to be you"

This was the name of an article in Outside magazine a few years back. The topic...The Hardrock 100. The most brutal 100 mile race on the planet. We had 3 WMRC'ers taking the plunge this past weekend in the San Juan Mtns in Colorado. All 3 have finished this race before.

Runner of the week goes to Robert Andrulis. He finished HR for the 5th time! This is one tough Marine! On a rough day when even the great Karl Meltzer dropped out, Robert gutted it out for a 46 hour finish. That is the good news, the bad news, he automatically gets in from now on.

Runners up- Nick Coury and Andrew Heard. Previous finishers of this tough race. Both had a rough day full of issues. Nick battling a bad back for the past month and Andrew had what we believe to be some head and stomach issues due to altitude sickness. Nick pulled the plug at mile 56 and Andrew at mile 82. This is always a tough decision but usually the correct one. Well done men, I know you will go back and conquer again someday.

We are on for a trail run Wed morning at 5:16am. Meet at top lot of SQ PK DR. Run about 6 miles with friends and dogs, not a better way to spend a Wed morning.

2011 Hardrock 100 mile Endurance Run

2011-07-07T14:16:00.002-07:00

This is one Bad Ass Mountain trail run!!!The eighteenth running of the Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run is scheduled to start at 6:00 am, Friday July 8, 2011, in Silverton, Colorado. In 2011, the course will be run in the counter-clockwise direction - a big loop through the San Juan Mountains of beautiful southwest Colorado: 100-miles plus 33,992 feet of climb and 33,992 feet of descent for a total elevation change of 67,984 feet with an average elevation of 11,186 feet - low point 7,680 feet (Ouray) and high point 14,048 feet (Handies Peak).

WMRC runners Nick Coury, Andrew Heard & Robert Andrulis are running. Follow along here at the Webcast and live video feed at HR HQ.
I Run Far also has great race coverage and twitter updates.

Thursday Salomon Demo Day

2011-07-05T13:27:00.003-07:00

We are on for our normal WMRC tomorrow morning at 5:16 am. Big Thursday news!!!!

Salomon trail running will be at the WMRC trail day on THURSDAY at 5:30am. Come try the latest and greatest from Salomon trail shoes. The XR Crossmax will be the featured shoe at demo day, there will be lots of giveaways and Salomon will be at the store later to do a gift with purchase of any Salomon trail shoe. Don't miss this event!

Good luck to Nick Coury and Andrew Heard this week in the Hardrock 100. Runner of the week goes to Granda Jim for his outstanding performance in the Black Hills 100k last weekend. 16 hours and a top ten finish! Great job Jim!

Don't forget!!!! Thursday is Salomon XR crossmax demo day at the regular WMRC parking lot.

WMRC 6/29

2011-06-27T17:42:00.005-07:00

Heyo! We are on for a group trail run of about an hour Wed morning at 5:16 am. Meet at top lot of SQ PK DR.

Runner of the week goes to WMRC veteran and real life veteran Bill Barthen. Bill finished the WS 100 for the 2nd time. 23 and a hlf hrs, battling stomach issues and some sort of limp. Bill is a tough MoFo. Congrats bud!

Other Phoenix runners at States this year were Craig Norquist-27+hrs, Rich McKnight-29:50, Dan Brendan-Duh-if there is a 100 he is there, Toni Vaughn 29 hours. Wanna know how it feels to finish at WS 100...

Coming up.... WMRC'ers in the Hardrock 100 in about 3 weeks. Andrew Heard and Nick Coury, both are looking good for a strong showing up in Silverton.

See everyone Wed morning. 5:16 am.

WMRC 6/22

2011-06-21T14:21:00.004-07:00

We are on for a 5.86 mile run tomorrow morning at 5:16 am. Meet at the top lot of SQ PK DR. It will be the 2nd longest day of the year. Random huh?

Runner of the week goes to Lisa Osinga. She finished her first 50 mile race this past

weekend. San Juan Solstice. She decided to just cross that off the list by running the hardest 50 in the country for her first. She finished with 30 minutes to spare. Despite what the picture says, she is not turning pro after this event.

Also running the SJS, were JJ, Steph, Kate and Jody. Sounded like a really tough course. Way to go everyone.

Also big shout out to Mark Hellenthal for his Bighorn 100 finish. Well done!

See everyone tomorrow, btw, Ozzie Jones is now on WMRC probation for chasing a deer off leash and trying to run away while vacationing in Lake City.

WMRC 6/15

2011-06-14T12:53:00.003-07:00

Heyoh! Another 100 bites the dust. We are on for a 1:04 trail run tomorrow morning at 5:16 am. Meet at the top lot of SQ PK DR.

Runner of the week- Congrats to Paul Rondeau for completing his first 100 miler in San Diego this past weekend. He overcame some serious heat and a pretty tough course to finish in just over 28 hrs. Way to go Paul, you get tomorrow off if you want it, but we want a full report next week.

Runner up to Jay Danek who quietly has run 455 days in a row. At least 4 miles each day but most days much more, way to go Jay! All that running and avoiding FB for 1.5 yrs is pretty impressive, One streak down, keep up the other.

Mark July 7th on your calendar as Salomon Running will be coming to do a trail demo for us. Come test drive their XR Crossmax shoes. Further details coming soon.

See everyone tomorrow. 5:15 am

New Runner of the week!

2011-06-07T16:32:00.003-07:00

Scratch that, Long time WMRC'er Andrew Heard ran the SQ PK 50 outside of Provo UT. He got 5th overall in 9:46, very sorry to Andrew for the oversight of this. I have put Blue Dawg on probation for this fowl up. He is grounded from WMRC for 3 months. See everyone tomorrow.

WMRC 6/7/11

2011-06-07T12:26:00.004-07:00

We are on for a 5.77 mi trail run tomorrow morning at 5:16 am. Meet at the top lot of SQ PK DR.

The runner(s) of the week are the double crossing crew that took on the 45 mile Grand Canyon this past weekend. Honey (duh) Jeremy, Jody, 2 Debs, Lizzie, Paulette and Jon Roig (solo) all did the night time crossing this past weekend. Great job everyone, I have attached Jeremy's blog post about it, very good read. Great Job everyone.

Runner up goes to Blue Dog for his record setting time in the 22nd st Honey loop. He will now be taking the rest of the summer off just concentrating on swimming and being cool.

Good luck to Paul Rondeau this weekend as he takes on the San Diego 100 miler, his first. He is being paced by his son, Dan. What a great experience for these two. Paul is ready and I really think he will do great!!

See everyone tomorrow morning, bright and early!!

Late Update: What is our group coming too? How do we ignore a 5th place finish at one of the grandest 50 mile races in the country? Oops! Congrats to Andrew Heard for his great run at the Squaw Peak 50 mile in Utah.

Goose Bumps On The Arm

2011-06-01T19:59:00.012-07:00

Just read Anton's blog post and thoughts on Western States. No doubt its going to be a hell of a race for 1st. Going down the list it could be just as much a battle for top 10 (us old guys can appreciate those kind of battles!)

JB Benna's trailer for his upcoming WS 100 documentary gets my goose bumps going. I guess I still love this sport, challenge, adventure, camaraderie, personalities, etc...

National Running Day / WMRC 6.1.11

2011-05-31T14:35:00.002-07:00

No June Gloom here in Phoenix. The weather is now some of the best in the country. Time for a group trail run tomorrow morning in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve. 5:16 AM. Top lot of Squaw Peak Drive north of Lincoln / Glendale. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace. Wednesday is National Running day so come on out.

Last week Wednesday a group of 25 showed up to do the Gym / Cave route. Fun had by all. The Runner of the Week goes to Jim Fowler aka "Grandpa Jim" for his group best 17 pull-ups. I hear he didn't want to show off and add a few claps in between.

WMRC 5/25

2011-05-24T09:49:00.003-07:00

Hey there. We are on for an extra special route this week. We are doing the gym- mining cave loop. Bring water as there will be no stopping on this loop. It will be a little longer so show up on time so we can start on time. This will be about 1:15ish with 5 miles and 1300 ft of climbing.

The runner of the week should be prepared since he just did the Jemez 50 miler in NM. Matt Schmidt ran 50 miles with 12,000 ft of climbing this past weekend. Way to go Matt, can't wait to hear more about it.

Runners up are the participants of the inaugural Squaw Peak Circumference challenge. A bunch of us ran the circ loop from Bourques house on Sunday afternoon. 4.05 miles and 1200ft of climbing. Nick and Nathan Coury came in first at about 41 minutes.

Here is great article about iRun employee and WMRC member lil James Bonnett. The kid is back. http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22870&cm_mmc=Twitter-_-RT-_-Content-Runner-_-Bonnett

Well done kid. See everyone tomorrow for a fun route!

WMRC 5/18

2011-05-17T11:50:00.004-07:00

Hey all, we are on for another great weather week. Let's run 5.8 miles tomorrow morning. Meet at the top lot of SQ PK DR at 5:16 am tomorrow.

Runner of the week goes to Melisa "Momo" Angelone. She rocked the Whiskey Row marathon in Prescott this past weekend. She is also early leader for WMRC newcomer of the year. Momo shows up every week, smile on her face, ready to tackle the trails. While she does like to do races as evidenced by her multiple Ironman finishes, I think she just likes to train and run with friends on the trails and that is what this group is about. It also doesn't hurt to wear such a cool shirt if you want to impress the committee.

Runner up goes to the JJ, Paul R, Bill Barthen and Steph B crew that went up and ran across the big hole in the earth known as the GC double crossing. Great job, below is the video of the event. If you ever have the opportunity to do this run with a group, do it.

James, Jamil and Nick are heading up to the canyon today to run, that may be a little faster than most of us want to go. Have fun kids, be safe.

Good luck to Kirk in the Texas Ironman this weekend.

See everyone tomorrow morning.

Rim Cubed 2011 from Jeff Jones on Vimeo.

WMRC 5/11

2011-05-10T08:23:00.002-07:00

Heyoh! We are up for a 5.75 mile trail run tomorrow morning on the PMP. Meet at 5:16am at the top lot of Sq PK DR.

Runners of the week goes out to the Coury boys and crew the ran/scrambled the Pariah Canyon this past weekend. Check out the pics on Facebook.

Runner up goes to Blue Dog who has been dominating the canal lately. He opened up a running store for dogs and has been holding group runs on the canal and chasing ducks and small birds for his tempo workouts. iSlobber is on Indian School and 48th st right next to iRun.

This weather is perfect so if there was ever a time to make it back to the group, time is now.

See everyone tomorrow.

Group Run 5.4.11

2011-05-03T11:07:00.006-07:00

Group trail run in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Tomorrow morning 5:16 AM. No Headlamp. No Jacket, Very Nice. Plan on a one hour run at a slow to moderate pace. Top lot of Squaw Peak Drive north of Glendale / Lincoln. Heeee's Baaack! Congrats to Runner of the Week James Bonnett who ran and won the Leona Divide 50 mile race in California on Saturday. 6:24:46. James ran without a watch and missed the course record by only 90 seconds. Doesn't James work at i-run? I know they sell real cool watching there!

Also, running in the 50 mile race was Paulette Zillmer. Under 8 hours. Wow. 7:59:07. Good for 2nd female. Nice work you two!!

Good news: Over the weekend the police conducted surveillance at the 32nd street trail head. They finally apprehended two individuals breaking into cars. As most of us know, on and off for years cars have been broken into at trail heads around the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. This is a good reminder to keep valuables at home and / or leave items out of sight in the trunk.

We Never Forget

2011-05-01T21:55:00.002-07:00

It's On! WMRC Run 4.27

2011-04-26T16:41:00.002-07:00

Holy Crap the day almost went by before we posted a run reminder. No fail. Don't worry. Since 2004 we have always had a Wednesday group run. Same place. Phoenix Mountains Preserve. Top lot of squaw peak drive north of Glendale / Lincoln. (7400 N Squaw Peak Drive). Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace. 5:17AM.

Saturday Go John/Overton Loop Run

2011-04-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

Come one, come all! This Saturday, April 23^rd. For a run in Cave Creek Regional Park on the Go John-Overton Trail Loop. Run one or two laps. Each lap is about 6 miles and takes a little over an hour. Start time for first lap is 5:30 a.m. 2nd lap at 6:30 a.m.

There is a $6 fee to enter the park. Follow the signs to the Overton Trailhead.

Left over Zane Grey swag will be given to all who show up.

Headlamps no longer needed celebration run - April 20

2011-04-19T14:16:00.012-07:00

Come join us on a run in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve without a headlamp Wednesday morning at 5:16 a.m. It’ll be a casual run as many of the gang ran the 22nd Annual Zane Grey Highline Trail 50 mile run this past weekend. It is one of the hardest 50-milers in the country. Some of the notable WMRC finishers include: Boone Ebel, 10:09:27, 6th overall
Andrew Heard, 10:59:28, 11th overall
“Grandpa” Jim Fowler, 12:10:51
Paulette Zillmer, 12:40:22, 5th woman
John Pearce, 13:07:55
Jeremy “I’m never doing this again” Daugherty, 13:23:17
Liz Everly, 13:31:50
Jody Chase, 13:54:42
Jeff Jones, 14:32:45
It was a rather hot day and there was a lot of carnage out on the course. But then again, it wouldn’t be “Zane Grey” if it were easy. Also running this week, was Team Taylor out at Pat’s Run. They made up the largest team with over 100 Runners participating.
Runner of the week goes to Grandpa Jim Fowler. At 52 years old, he’s not slowing down at all with his impressive Zane Grey finish.

The i-run shop website is up and running. www.irunshop.com Check it out.

Quick Zane Grey Update

2011-04-16T17:25:00.002-07:00

Courtesy of Nick Coury: Geoff Roes won in a time of 8:13:30. Hal Koerner 2nd in 8:35. Dakota droped at 33 miles. Warm clear skies. Full WMRC report forthcoming.

Zane Grey 50 Taper Run 4.13.11

2011-04-12T11:12:00.008-07:00

Big week ahead. Lets get it rolling with a group trail run in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve Wednesday Morning. Meet at the very top lot of Squaw Peak Drive (7400 N. Squaw Peak Drive) North of Glendale / Lincoln. Plan on a little over 1 hour at a slow / moderate pace. 5:16 AM. Last week I didn't use a headlamp!! Yippy!!

Saturday is one of Arizona's greatest Ultra Marathon runs. The 22nd annual Zane Grey 50 mile Endurance run. Known as one of the toughest, roughest, and most beautiful 50 mile races in the country. As always, there will be a strong WMRC contingent running and helping out. The race director Joe Galope will be at the run Wednesday morning and will be available to answer preliminary questions, trail conditions, etc.. The Course Marking coordinator Honey will be there too! Honey has guaranteed the best course marking ever!! Don't shoot the messenger if you get lost:)

An element which makes the race fun is to see which athletes show up. This year looks to be very competitive. Headlining the mens field is Ultra Runner of the year Geoff Roes. Giving Geoff a good run is fellow Montrail runner Dakota Jones, multi Western States winner Hal Koerner, New Phoenix resident Dave James, Flagstaff's own Ian Torrence and Brian Tinder, and WMRCr Andrew Heard and Boone Ebel. The women's field is super competitive as well. Amy Sproston from Oregon, Hardrocker Diana Finkel. Those two women will be pushed by Arizona runners Paulette Zillmer, Andi Felton, Jody Chase (now Colorado resident) and Honey. Good luck to all.

Another important event on Saturday is the Pat Tillman Run in Tempe. Monday is the one year anniversary of Baby Taylor's passing. Over 200 friends and family of Mark and Katie formed "Team Taylor" to run in the Pat Tillman event. We'll have the largest team out of 25,000 runners. Please keep the thoughts and prayers with the Cosmas Family. For those who ordered "Team Taylor" shirts, they will be available for pick-up at Mark's soon to open running store, i-run. Thursday and Friday from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM. The i-run store is located at the NWC of 48th and Indian School Road (Safeway center). Checks in the amount of $15.00 per shirt should be made to Team Taylor.

Have a great weekend and see you tomorrow!

Run Reminder 4.6.11

2011-04-04T16:39:00.011-07:00

Its time to start ramping it up. Get out and enjoy the great weather! Group trail run in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve 5:16 AM. Meet at the very top lot of Squaw Peak Drive. Plug in 7400 N. Squaw Peak Drive into google maps. You can't get lost. Plan on a little over 1 hour at a moderate pace. Runner of the Week: Saturday a contingent of WMRC's went to Raleigh, North Carolina and ran the Umstead 50/100 mile run. Runner of the Week goes to Debbie Leftwich who beat her PR by over 30 minutes in the 100 mile and finished with a time of 21:02:00. Almost under 21 hours!2nd Place: Joe Galope completed his 100th Marathon / Ultra with his 50 mile 6th overall Umstead finish. Well done Joe. The Traveling Courys also ran Umstead. Both Jamil and Nick ran the 100 mile race. Jamil ran a quick 18:06:00 with Nick finishing just behind in 19:32:00. New pole: When will Nick shave? Within a week, 6 months, 12months or never?

According to reports the Highline trail is now marked and ready for Zane Grey 50 race day. Honey reports the course is in great shape thanks to Chris Thornley spending thousands of hours clearing and sawing. Thanks to all the others who worked on clearing and marking too!

WMRC 3.30.11

2011-03-29T12:06:00.011-07:00

Can you believe this great weather? Come on out for a group trail run tomorrow morning in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Headlamps can be turned off about half way through the run! Yippy! Meet at the very top lot of Squaw Peak Drive north of Glendale / Lincoln. 5:17 AM. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace.

Last week was a bloody morning. Two falls. No broken bones, one broken watch! With that said lets get down to the Runner or Runners of the week (falls of the week):

1st place is Paul Rondeau who wins for his fall during last weeks Wednesday run. You get extra credit for a major event durning a WMRC! 2nd place goes to Jody Chase our Colorado member. Jody ran the Antelope Island 50M on Saturday. Fell early into the race and broke her hand (some bone behind her pinky and middle finger), and still finished 8th female overall! Way to go Jody!

Also, major props to all those that have been out to the Zane Grey 50 (Highline Trail) doing trail work, clearing the way, removing all the rocks!! Okay, maybe not ALL the rocks!

Speaking of the Zane Grey 50, the entrants list has suddenly become very interesting. Can I say "holy cow" interesting!? Some guesses on who is showing up: Obama, Gaddafi, Oprah, Charlie Sheen. Those are all good guesses but if you want to know, come on out Wednesday morning to find out!

Zane Grey 50 Trail Marking is this Sunday. Contact Honey if you can attend. Should be a great day on the trail.

Lastly if you aren't going to run or help out during the Zane Grey 50 mile on April 16th please join "Team Taylor" for Pat's Run in Tempe the same day.

Join " Team Taylor" at Pat's Run

2011-03-29T11:35:00.006-07:00

Friends,You are invited to join "Team Taylor" for the 7th Annual Pat's Run on Saturday, April 16th. Our goal is to have the biggest team at Pat's Run to honor and remember Taylor Paige Cosmas who passed away on April 18th, 2010 of SIDS at only five months old. We will also be running to honor and support Taylor's parents Katie and Mark Cosmas. To register for the event log on to www.patsrun.com Select "join a team" and select Team Taylor. The password to join is Cosmas. Time is running out as the race is filling up fast...Register Now!!! If you have already registered we can add you to Team Taylor...Let us know as soon as possible.You can run or walk the race. We ask that you forward on to as many people as possible.In addition, you can purchase a Team Taylor technical running shirt for $15.00. 100% of the proceeds will go to the CJ Foundation www.cjsids.org whose mission is to reduce the risk of future infant deaths, support families who have suffered a loss, and fund medical research so that no new families have to endure the pain of losing an infant. If you are interested in purchasing a race shirt, please respond no later than April 1, 2011 with your shirt size. Shirt's will be available for pick up at Mark and Katie's new run specialty shop, iRun prior to the race. In addition, there will be an after race party at iRun to celebrate Taylor's life; more this to follow.Please pass the word on to others and join Team Taylor.Thanks,

WMRC 3/23

2011-03-22T14:05:00.004-07:00

We are on for an moderately paced 1:05 trail run in the Phx Mtn Preserve. Wed 5:16 am, top lot of SQ PK DR.

Since my head has been buried in the iRun store buildout and the NCAA tournament I don't have a clue who did what this weekend to earn Runner of the Week.

Normally this honor would automatically go Bluedog for no other reason than how cool he is. But I am going to give it to the brave peeps that joined Honey on her 25-75 mile run thru the McDowells Sunday am. This may stretch the truth but we will hear the real story tomorrow.

Runner-up goes to Bluedog, honorable mention to The Arizona Wildcats who will continue their march thru the madness this Thurs when they take down #1 seed Puke Blue Devils.

GO CATS! See everyone tomorrow morning.

Zane Grey 50 Trail Marking

2011-03-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

Once again, it's time to mark the Zane Grey course kiddies. I am organizing a group Sunday, April 3rd. We will meet at the Safeway in Payson at 7:00am. At the interesection of Hwy. 260 & 89, turn right...towards Showlow, Heber, Holbrook, etc. On your right you will see the Safeway, can't miss my cool ultra red Honda Element in the parking lot. If Saturday the 2nd works better, I can assign a section for you.

We are doing it 2 weeks before the race this year. This is a great way to see parts of the course at your leisure. The distance for each group will be approx. 7-8 miles depending on how many volunteers we get. It's a fun day, bring a friend, family, doggy...

So I can coordinate groups, please let me know if you can join in the fun. You can e-mail me at selectionsstore4@aol.com or call my cell 602-399-0531.

Thank you!

Honey Albrecht

Mesquite Canyon Recovery Run 3.16.11

2011-03-13T13:49:00.009-07:00

What's up with this early reminder? I guess everything clicks the week of St. Patrick's Day. Erin Go Braugh!

Reminder: Wednesday group run in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. 5:17 AM. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow pace. Same location. Send a note if you need directions. Newbies are always welcomed.

What a great weekend for trail running. Phoenix is currently experiencing incredible weather. Sunny in the upper 80's. Saturday was the Mesquite Canyon Trail Runs in the White Tank Mountains just outside of Phoenix. 50K, Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K runs. Lots of WMRC friends in attendance. Check out some random pics Here.

Runner of the week: Laura Encinas ran in the Mesquite 50K. Her first "Ultra Marathon". Finishing 3rd female overall.
Runners up: Paulette finished 1st female overall in a time of 5:16 (here is Paulette's race report). Andrew Heard finished not to far ahead in a time of 5:11 to finish 4th overall. Other WMRC notables to finish the 50K: Jon Roig, Jeremy Dougherty (who ran a crazy unsupported 50 mile run last weekend), John Pearce, Monoj Nagalla and Mark Hellenthal.
In the Marathon division Mark Cosmas ran his first race in some time. It was great to see him out there. It was also great to see James Bonnett out competing in the half Marathon. James won in a time of 1:29. Nathon Coury not to far behind in a time of 1:38. Great Job everyone!!!

WMRC 3/9/11

2011-03-08T08:01:00.009-07:00

The OP/Supes/Copper Canyon recovery run. Wed. 5:15 am, Top lot, SP PK DR.

We are on for a 1:05 run in the preserve at an easy pace as a lot of WMRCer's put down some big mileage this past weekend. Sorry, this is gonna be long. That's what she said. (MSDMPC)

Runner of the week goes to Honey Albrecht for finishing her 713th Old Pueblo 50 miler in the mountains s/o Tucson this past weekend. She cruised in at 10:17 to take 3rd female. Picture courtesy of our NM buddy and my 2006 Leadville 100 com padre, Neil Blake.

Boone gets runner up for finishing his 1st 50 miler and placing 4th overall in 8:35. Other finishers that I saw were Jerry Portelli (1st 50!!!) Jon Roig and Laura Nagy. Great job everyone.
WTF! Runner Up for an 8:35 50 miler in the mtns!!!! I should be fired! Sorry Boone. Chicks rule!

The Coury brothers went deep into Mexico's La Sierra Madre for The Copper Canyon Ultra made famous in the book, Born to Run. With 367 starters, after a rugged 51 miles Nick and Jamil crossed the finish line together in 7th place and the first international finishers. Everyone ahead of them was Raramuri tribesman running barefoot in sandals! These kids are primed for a huge year again. WTF! Great Job!

There was also an underground 50 miler going down in the Superstitions Mtns this past weekend. Since we have no pictures or proof that it really happened, we will just say that JJ, PR, and JD ran 50 rugged miles in the supes wilderness with 11,000 ft of elev gain. Oh yeah, all that with no aid station or crowds cheering them on.

Screw it, for the first time ever, I am taking away Honey's runner of the week award and giving an equal tie to everyone above, you all kicked ass and are deserving. I know she wants to share!

Congrats to the AZ Wildcats for their 12th conference championship in the PAC 10! If you can guess which team finished in last place you get a free iRun technical running shirt.

See everyone in the morning, make it a great day! Another iRun shirt to whoever figures out the acronym in parentheses at the top of the page.

Don't forget the The Mesquite Canyon races put on by the Courys in the White Tanks this weekend. I will be making my 2011 Ultra debut in the 50K!

WMRC 3/2/11

2011-03-01T15:16:00.003-07:00

We are on for a 1:04 trail run in the Mountain Preserve tomorrow morning at 5:16 am. Don't be late! The weather right now is awesome!!!!

Runner of the week goes to Paulette who did the ultra division of the Ragnar Relay and did double duty logging 55 miles on the nasty black tar asphalt. I saw her running up Dynamite road passing peeps like they were standing still.

Other WMRCers at the RR were Joe G, Randy O, John P, and me. Not sure of anyone else, let us know.

Runner up goes to Honey who went out and ran the Bell Pass/Tom Thumb loop in the snow on Sunday morning. She is one bad ass ultra chick!.

See you all tomorrow morning

i run store coming soon!!! - Store front wrap during construction:

WMRC 2/23

2011-02-22T10:36:00.007-07:00

We are on for another trail run in the beautiful Preserve. Tomorrow morning at 5:16am, don't be late.

Runner of the week is a 4 way tie. Honey, Jeremy, John and Matt went out and ran the Cave Creek marathon course on Sunday. Usually this race is supported by the Jody Chase fan club but this crazy group did with no support, drinking out of rivers and eating dead possum on the fly. Great job!

The Big news is that after 5 yrs of dreaming and almost a year of planning iRun is now under construction. Your new running store is about 6 weeks away from opening. A traditional running store only cooler, with a little trail vibe. Trail runners need a place to call home too, this is it! Indian School and 48th st- Safeway Center. Running soon.

THX for all your support. I welcome all your ideas and suggestions. Mark Cosmas mcosmas@cox.net

Pemberton 50K recovery run

2011-02-15T10:45:00.006-07:00

We are on for another 1:05 moderately paced trail run Wed at 5:16 am.

Another big weekend for the WMRC trail runners at the Pemberton 50K held in Fountain Hills this past weekend.

Runner of the week Nick Coury was 2nd overall in 3:42 (1st in age group) and Andrew Heard 5th overall in 4:06 (1st in age group). Paulette was 3rd women and 1st in her age group, 4:37. Other WMRCr's were Honey, Joe G, Hoss Harrison , Westy and Robert Andrulis.

Great job everyone!

See everyone tomorrow morning at 5:16.

All Photo Credits: Ian Torrence (THX!!!)

WMRC Phoenix run reminder 2.9.11

2011-02-08T11:29:00.010-07:00

This is why we live here. 70 degrees, sunny, and arguably the best inter-city / metropolitan trailing running in the country. We are on for a group trail run in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve tomorrow morning. Meet at the very top of Squaw Peak Drive north of Glendale / Lincoln Dr at 5:15 AM. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace. Headlamps are still needed but soon we can start shutting those darn things off.

Runner of the Week Women's division: WMRC original, Cave Creek Trail Marathon RD, Phoenix Trail Running legend, Current Colorado resident / legend, Jody Chase finishing 1st female overall this last weekend at the San Tan Scramble 50K. That high altitude training is is paying off!

Runner of the Week Men's division: WMRC Karma strikes again. Last year, Scott Jaime comes out for his first WMRC run and wins Zane Grey 50 mile 3 days later. Last week Wednesday, Matt Schmitt shows up for a WMRC run then 3 days later wins the San Tan Scramble 50K in a time of 4:23:21. So to everyone who is thinking about coming out, do it and win a race!

Runner up: Dave Cauthon, who keep on running race after race finished 3rd overall in the 25K race.

Check out Jeremy Dougherty's San Tan 50K race report Here. Good stuff.

The Hardrock 100 lottery was held Sunday. Many WMRC runners put their name in the hat but only two were drawn. Congrats to past finisher Andrew Heard and past top 5 finisher Nick Coury. Those guys will represent WMRC well. Also, 4 time Hardrock finisher Robert Andrulis is 34 on the waiting list. Some decent odds he will get in again.

2011 Cave Creek Trail Marathon Results / Report

2011-02-02T13:22:00.002-07:00

The 7th annual Cave Creek Trail Marathon Fun Run.

The weather was perfect for running. Chilly at the start and then warming slowly to 70 degrees with intermittent clouds. The water crossings were low and the trails were in fairly decent condition this year. There were quite a few return runners from previous years and some new runners to make things interesting. Jamil raced in first again this year and lowered his time from last year by 24 minutes. Nick, his brother, came in second and Andrew took the third spot. For the women, Honey ran in as first women and also bettered her time by 15 minutes from last year. Stephanie took second place and Renee from Tucson rounded out third.

Renee ran the entire way this year with Dallas, whom is also from Tucson. Renee told me an interesting story after she finished. Renee and Dallas carpooled from Tucson last year. They were just friends and chatted all the up to Cave Creek, ran the run separately and then chatted all the way back to Tucson. After my run, they continued to stay in touch and talked frequently. So much so that during the holidays of 2010, Dallas asked Renee to marry him. She gladly accepted and they are planning a spring wedding in 2011. Congratulations Renee and Dallas. I'm glad I played a small part in bringing those two together.

I have raised enough money from last years race and this years race to be able to help Desertfoothills Land Trust buy two acres of land with the money raised from donations from the CCTR. DFLT are $700,000 strong and still gaining by fundraising the necessary monies to buy up the surrounding land around Spur Cross and Cave Creek Park. Right now, the land could be sold for development. Let's hope they are able to buy the land before developers do.

Thank you to everyone that got up early and came out to enjoy the day. Hope to see you next year for the 2012 Cave Creek Trail Marathon Fun Run.
Thanks again everyone, it was a pleasure. Jody

Results:
1. Jamil Coury 4:26
2. Nick Coury 4:48
3. Andrew Heard 4:58
4. Jules Drelick 5:30
5. Honey Albrecht 5:30
6. Jerry Portelli 5:48
7. Paul Rondeau 5:48
8. Jay Danek 5:48
9. Giles Widener 5:58
10. Tim Widener 5:58
11. Brian Wieneke 6:04
12. Robert Andrulis 6:17
13. Donovan 6:19
14. Ron Harding 6:23
15. Jeff Jones 6:24
16. Stehpanie Buetner 6:24
17. Matt Saxe 6:30
18. Steve Ward 6:50
19. Manoj Nagalla 6:50
20. Renee Webb 6:57
21. Dallas Stevens 6:57
22. Debbie Leftwich 6:58
23. Kate Hansen 7:08
24. Dan Gannon 7:08
25. Andrea Griego 7:08
26. Michelle Miner 7:08
27. Dale Ramsey 7:24
28. Toni Vaughan 7:24
29. Brenna Boyd 7:27
30.Justin Bridgs 8:10
31. Tom Ford 8:55
32. Angela Gohlke 9:15
33. Dawn Ledwell 9:15

34. John Pearce 3:30 (16.4 miles)

Cave Creek Recovery Run 2.2.11

2011-02-01T09:51:00.005-07:00

Reminder: Group trail run in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve tomorrow morning. Top lot of squaw peak drive. Plan on a little over one hour. Clear and cold Wednesday. 29 degrees. Yikes! Lets put this in perspective before you sleep in like Higgins. Would you rather run in Phoenix tomorrow morning or in over 2 feet of snow / blizzard conditions like in the rest of the country?

Cave Creek Trail Marathon: Jody Chase held the Cave Creek Trail Marathon Sunday. Around 35 hardy individuals enjoyed beautiful weather on a beautiful trail. No doubt a hidden gem just outside of Phoenix. Major props to Jody for keeping this tradition going. She drove down from Colorado to make all of it possible. Reports are still coming in and results will be posted upon receipt. Can't wait to hear about Wardo's perseverance. Details are sketchy: No training, 7 hours, bloody crotch. Check out Jamil's photos here of the first half of the run before he got serious and put the hammer down. Also, check out JJ's 2011 Video below:

Jody's Run 2011 from Jeff Jones on Vimeo.

WMRC 1/26

2011-01-25T09:48:00.003-07:00

We are on for a 1:05 moderately paced trail run in the PMP. Wed morning at 5:17 am. Park at top lot of SQ PK DR.

Not sure who ran what so we are giving runner of the week to a legend in the fitness community. No, it is not Kevin Higgins, close but it goes to Jack LaLanne, who passed away at the age of 95.

This cat was was ahead of his time. I remember going to one of his gyms in grade school with my Dad to "exercise". Plus he wore really cool jumpsuits!

Runner up for the runner of the week is Blue Dog, no explanation necessary.

See everyone in the morning.

Reminder: Cave Creek Trail Marathon Fun Run 1.30.11

2011-01-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

When: January 30th, 2011

Time: 7:30 AM

Where: Spur Cross Conservation Area

Cave Creek, Arizona

Distance: 26.2 Miles with 6,200' elevation gain

Hydration: 60 oz. Minimum to start

Aid Station: There is one aid station at the 12 mile mark. It will have all the regular ultra type food.

Jody Chase would like to invite her running friends to participate in another trail run in beautiful Tonto National Forest. This is only a gathering of friends who enjoy each other's company, the trails and would like to train on this gorgeous loop in a semi supported fashion. Last year was a record turn out of over 40 people. I will provide water/aid at the "top" of the loop, approximately 12 miles and will mark the course so I don't lose anyone. Maps will be provided. Although you are responsible for your own direction finding and well being. Donations of $10.00 will be graciously accepted. Whatever is left over after I pay for aid station supplies will be given to charity or other needy entity. This is a tough course that is not for the timid. The average finishing time is 6 hours. If you are not familiar with trail running, trail finding, trail etiquette, are ill-equipped, do not hydrate or are not prepared for the rigors, challenges of trail running in Arizona's back country, please wait another year. Search and rescue are not in my budget. Otherwise, for those who meet the above criteria, I would love to see you in January as some of the toughest runners in the valley gather to share a great run.

2010 Report and Results

2010 Videos: Here and Here

Directions to the start and finish

For additional information contact Jody Chase at: ultrachase_1@yahoo.com

Post RNR trail run 1/19/11

2011-01-18T11:57:00.010-07:00

Reminder: Group trail run in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve tomorrow morning 5:17 AM. Meet at the usual place. Very top of Squaw Peak drive north of Glendale / Lincoln. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace.

Runner of the Week: 4 months ago WMRC runners Steve Ward, Chris Harrison and Dave Westhoff were on a Marathon training run with their good friend Gregg Alpert. After the run Gregg died unexpectedly from cardiac arrest. To honor their friend, Steve, Chris and Dave ran the PF Chang's marathon Sunday carrying Gregg's bib number and timing chip symbolically finishing the race and recording a finish time. Well done men!

Congrats to all the others who ran and finished the Marathon. Also a special note to Laura Nagy who keeps the Mt. Ord Marathon run alive. Sounds like a good group had great time Saturday. Snow up on top.

WMRC 1/12/2011

2011-01-11T14:40:00.003-07:00

We are on for an hourish trail run from top lot of SQ PK DR. Wednesday morning at 5:15 am.

There were a lot of runners up for runner of the week this past weekend. We are going to go with Joe Galope. He finished the Running from an Angel 50 miler at Lake Mead, NV. He ran it in 8:26. Great job Joe, that, and it was his b-day week, so it was well deserved. Any pictures Joe?

Other races for WMRCer's this week. Xterra for Allison, Lisa O and Laura. Castle Hot springs 22 miler for me, Honey, Kirk, Kate, Debbie, Robert H and Arron. This race was won by Robert H in 3;18. That is fast for anyone, let alone a 60 something yr young man. Honey was 2nd place and 1st chick in 3:23.

Great weekend for the WMRC crew, keep it up. Good luck to all in the Rock and Roll this weekend.

See you all in the morning.

WMRC 2011-Finally

2011-01-04T16:00:00.003-07:00

2011 is finally here, thank god! We are on for an easy to moderate 1 hour trail run in the preserve tomorrow at 5:16 am. Meet at the top lot of SQ PK DR.

Runners of the week go to the crew that did Jeremy's Superstition 50k, Honey, Boone, Paul, Paulette, Matt, Jon, Dallas, Renee and some others I did not recognize. It looked like a fun (Brutal) but cold day in the Supes to be had by all. Thanks to Jeremy and Jen for hosting, great job!

The Coury bros hosted another great event at the ATY 24, 48, 72 hr run at Nardini Manor. Cold rainy weather and they still pulled it off with flying colors. Well done boys!

See everyone tomorrow morning, it was 37 degrees this am when I got out of my car so dress warm.

Superstition Wilderness 25K & 50K / Sunday 1.2.11

2010-12-29T17:32:00.012-07:00

Come join the Group for a fun Run though the Superstition Wilderness this Sunday, January 2^nd. We are starting from First Water Trail head off the Apache Trail just past the Lost Dutchman State Park entrance in Apache Junction at 7:00 AM. Should be a fun group running through the Wilderness Area on the 18.6 mile Dutchman Trail to the Peralta Trail head. We’ll have a water refill station and some food there and a ride back to the start line for those that want to call it a day at 18 miles (space is limited so let me know if you can.) The 50K’ers will head back up the Peralta Trail finishing the circle of Weaver’s Needle and back down Black Mesa to the start/finish. Amazing views, cool temps, and some of the best single track trail running outside of the Canyon. Should be chilly? Bring a long sleeve. Gaiters recommended. Contact Jeremy D at 480-415-5315 or jdougherty@hotelvalleyho.com for more details!

Last Wednesday run of 2010

2010-12-28T11:01:00.008-07:00

Come join us on the last Wednesday run of the year. Run off that excess eggnog and fruit cake and partake in about an hour run in the mountain preserves on the trails. Meet at the top of Squaw Peak drive at 5:15 a.m. Dress warm it should be a cold one this week.

Runners of the week are all the peeps that joined in on Honey’s Christmas Eve Day run in the Preserve. Two and half hours of up and down every mountain. Lots of fun and good times.

Santa Says Go Run 12.22.10

2010-12-20T16:42:00.003-07:00

Hey group, Santa is coming to town. He's been working out at core-class getting ready for the big day. One of Santa's elf told us we all need to go for a group trail run in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve. Rain or shine. Wednesday morning 5:16 AM. Meet at the very top lot of Squaw Peak Drive. Bring a headlamp because Rudolph will be a no show. Be prepared for an hour run at a slow to moderate pace.

Remember Kopol Run 12.14.10

2010-12-14T13:15:00.003-07:00

Blizzard like conditions, two feet of snow, below zero temperature. Or 55 degrees under clear skies. The latter sounds more appealing for a trail run and that's what we have in Phoenix. Lets eat it up. Group trail run tomorrow in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve. 5:17 AM at the end of squaw peak drive trail head. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace.

Over the weekend we lost a long time WMRCer and running partner. Jeff and Rachel had to put down Kopol. Kopal lived a wonderful 12 years. He was strong, friendly and a great runner. He had the best owners a dog could have. Just last year the 11 year old Kopol ran the rugged Cave Creek Trail Marathon. Check out the footage below and the Kopol Blog. RIP Kopol!!!

Jody's Run 2010 from Jeff Jones on Vimeo.

Also, a shout out to the McDowell Mountain Frenzy runners. 50K Paulette (1st place Female), Joe G (top 10), Mark Hellenthal. 25K Albert Shank (6th), Jon Roig, Laura Encinas (2nd female, Lisa Osinga. Please let us know if we missed any WMRCer!! We want to know!

Cave Creek Trail Marathon Fun Run / 1.30.11

2010-12-13T15:43:00.006-07:00

When: January 30th, 2011

Time: 7:30 AM

Where: Spur Cross Conservation Area

Cave Creek, Arizona

Distance: 26.2 Miles with 6,200' elevation gain

Hydration: 60 oz. Minimum to start

Aid Station: There is one aid station at the 12 mile mark. It will have all the regular ultra type food.

Directions to the start and finish

For additional information contact Jody Chase at: ultrachase_1@yahoo.com

WMRC 12/8

2010-12-07T09:50:00.004-07:00

We are on for a 1:06 moderatley paced trail run Wed am at 5:16 am. Meet at the top lot of Sq Pk Dr. Very dark out there this am with no moon, get some new batteries for your headlamp.

Congrats to the sun devils for the current streak of one win in a row against the Cats. It took a miracle but you can actually miss an extra point twice in one game. Now I know how the devils felt all season. On to B-ball season for the devils-hee hee. Good luck to all 85 Div 1 teams that made it to a bowl game this year.

Runner of the week goes Andrew Heard for his return to the trails. He "won" the South Mountain 50 K fun run organized by Robert Andrulis on Sat, great job Robert! Here are somne other results....well done everyone.

- The ‘whole enchilada’
Andrew Heard 5:23
Debbie Leftwich 7:20
Melissa Masteller 8:05
- 20.8 miles (or so)
Nick Coury 3:26
Nathan Coury 3:28
Jeremy Dougherty 4:13
- Some other variation up to (or maybe more than) 20 miles
Kate Hansen 4:45
Tiffany Foster * 4:50
Stephanie Taylor* 4:50
Stephanie Buettner 4:54
Katie Daugherty 4:59
Justin Fredricksen 4:59
Paul Norberg ^ 6:25

See everyone tomorrow, bright and early.

Pre Game ASU Vs UofA trail run 12/1/10

2010-11-30T10:52:00.003-07:00

Thursday is the big game between the Sun Devils and the Wild Cats!! Come on out for a group trail run Wednesday morning to discuss Mike Stoops' anger issues and how the Sun Devils will make him blow another gasket. Meet at the very top lot of squaw peak drive in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve Park. Departure time is 5:16AM. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace. Or any pace that you can handle without getting lost.

Runners of the Week: a bunch of hardy runners ran Donovan's Tom Thumb 50K over the weekend. Paul Bonnet won in a course record 5:34 followed by Bourque, Honey (1st female), Deb Hamberlin, Brian soto, Laura Nagy and Hall Gensler. Marathon finishers Jon Woehl, Jerry Portelli, Melissa Masteller. There was some 60K runners too!!! Paul Rondeau, Liz Everly, Jeff Byant and Gary Coronado. Who says wrong turns are bad?

Help the Troops: I know this is short notice but any help would be great. Jeff Jones has organized the following. I'm sure everyone has old cell phones laying around.

Here's two way to help the troops, do them both.

On Wednesday 12/1 bring any and all care package items. Jeff Jones will take it from there and get them delivered through a KPHO TV 5 promotion. You can also give him your goodies at the South Mountain "get together" 50K on Saturday. Care package donation list

Also, if anyone has any old cell phones laying around. Dust that relic off and donate it to a good cause. Over the next 3 WMRC runs give your old phones to Jeff Jones. He'll get them into the right hands so they can be sold and turned into phone minutes for the troops. Below is the link of the charity we will be using. Make sure to purge your phone all all personal data. http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/

WMRC 11/24

2010-11-22T10:29:00.006-07:00

It is time for a pre turkey day trot. We will meet at 5:16am at the top lot of SQ PK Dr. An easy paced 1:05 run in the preserve. There shouldbe an A team and B team this week as well.

Congrats to all Ironman finishers.

The water was 6o degrees and Joe G said he felt like Jack Dawson sinking into the Atlantic.

Here Joe gets his seal skin pulled off him, looks fun huh?

Joe Galope
Swim: 1:51:03 Bike: 7:12:40 Run: 5:00:56 14:17:40

Kirk McCarville
Swim: 1:19:30 Bike: 6:29:49 Run: 7:27:06 15:30:03

There was also a Coury bro's event somewhere on the westside. Jeremy ran around in circles for 50 miles. Great job to the Coury boys for another great event.

See everyone Wed 5:16 am.

Run Reminder 11.17.10

2010-11-16T11:30:00.005-07:00

Hello Peeps!! Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the wonderful Arizona weather. Tomorrow is Wednesday. Group run day. Come on out and enjoy a group trail run in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Meet at the trail head at the very top of Squaw Peak Drive North of Glendale / Lincoln. 5:16 AM. Plan on a little over 1 hour at a slow to moderate pace. If you are completely out of shape and scared to attend, no worries, Bigg Higg is worse off than you and will be leading group B in meandering shorter route.

Runners of the Week: Lots of known worthy individuals and I am sure not known worthy individuals. BTW The Cardinals are NOT WORTHY!!! Congrats to the finishers of Pass Mountain 50K: Jon, Paulette, Jeremy, Laura N. Congrats to Mad Dog 50K first place female finisher: Kate McCarville. Special note to Back Country Grand Canyon survivors: Art, Honey, John P. Another special note to White Tank runners: Mark C, Katie C, Molly and Jethro. BLUE TOO!

The Arizona Ironman is Sunday. I assume the water is flowing into Tempe Town Lake. Good luck to all WMRC runners: Joe G, Kirk and Mark M. Missing anyone???

Who is putting their name into the hat for Western States 100? Sign-ups are happening now!!!

Wednesday reminder for Nov. 10th

2010-11-09T10:39:00.007-07:00

What a fantastic week of running we’ve had. This past Saturday was the inaugural Sedona 50K. Rachel and Liz enjoyed the beautiful scenery with great runs. Honey gets runner of the week for her strong finish as 2^nd woman finisher. I found some very nice pics here and here of the race. We may have to mark this one down on our calendar for next year.

Looking out towards the Northwest, the Coury Bros. ran the 2010 USA Marathon Trail Championships. Jamil was 18^th in a time of 3:17:20, Nick was 21^st , 3:25:40. Well done!

Looking forward, check out the run Donovan is putting on at Tom’s Thumb in three weeks on November 27^th. Jeff made a really cool award that will be raffled off. Check it out here. Aravaipa Running continues with their fall line of running events. And Zane Grey 50 registration is now open.

Looking to the immediate future, come join us for a trail run in the morning. We’re hitting the trail at 5:15 a.m. from the top of Squaw Peak drive and running into Higg’s neighborhood to bang on his door in the pre-dawn hours to get him to make us all pancakes if he doesn’t show up tomorrow!

Wednesday reminder for Nov. 3rd

2010-11-02T09:42:00.004-07:00

Come celebrate the election to end all elections....for another two years.

Reminder: Group trail run in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve Wednesday morning 5:16 AM. Meet at the very top lot of Squaw Peak Drive north of Glendale / Lincoln Dr. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace.

Aravaipa Running is hosting the Pass Mountain Trail runs next weekend out at Usery Park in Mesa as part of their Desert Runner Trail Series. Jamil and Nick are offering us a discount to this run. If you register online through ultrasignup with code WMRC20, you'll get 20% off any of the distances. They'll keep the code active through Thursday night. The info for the run is here and the sign up link is here.

WMRC Run reminder 10/27

2010-10-26T14:56:00.001-07:00

The 2010 Javelina 100-mile run is in the books. Arizona’s largest ultra was another great success, produced by Nick and Jamil. The event had a large WMRC turnout with the gang either running, pacing, crewing, volunteering, spectating or burning the midnight oil at an aid station. Congratulations to everyone who was a part of it.

Come out and join us for a Wednesday morning run on the trails at 5:15 a.m. at the top of Squaw Peak Drive. It’s guaranteed to be easier than last week (because I can’t imagine it being any harder).

Cool Wednesday Morning Run Reminder

2010-10-19T14:36:00.004-07:00

Come run with some cool people and some not so cool people on the Wednesday morning trail run from the top of Squaw Peak drive. A moderately paced one hour trot over hill and dale departing from the parking lot at 5:15 a.m.

A bunch of cool people went and did a double crossing of the Grand Canyon this past weekend. I wasn’t one of them, so I’m not cool. Instead I rode my bike up and down the Beeline Hwy. three times past the garbage dump. Fun! The cool people consisted of Paul R., Donovan, Honey, Liz, Jeremy and Anthony. Anthony did a whole bunch more extra miles, just enough for him to have a close encounter with God. Runner of the week goes to Paul R. who completed the double crossing for his first time. Well done!

WMRC Run reminder - 10/13

2010-10-11T16:35:00.003-07:00

Another week, and another illustrious day for run out on the trails. Come join us for an hour or so jaunt through the mountain preserve starting at the top of Squaw Peak drive, departing at 5:15 a.m.

Kudos to Honey and Debbie for race directing the Mazatzals Trail Run (a.k.a. mini-Zane Grey). Runners of the week go to Jamil and Laura for their glorious victories on Sunday at Matazals. Lots of WMRC’ers also running included Nick, Paul, Jon, Paulette and Jeremy.

Congratulations to Chris Latvaaho at the Kona Ironman World Championship this past Saturday. After swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles (averaging 22 mph) he ran a 3:18 marathon to close out the day finishing 40th in his division. Well done!

Summer is over celebration run

2010-10-05T11:16:00.004-07:00

Summer is over! Come join us for a run on the trails with a dozen of your best friends! 5:16 a.m. at the top of Squaw Peak Drive.

Congratulations to everyone that ran Man Against Horse up in Prescott over the weekend. Honey, Jamil, Nick, Joanne (first woman overall) and Jon R. all ran solid performances. I haven’t seen results yet, so apologies to anyone that I may have missed. Runner’s of the week go out to Paul Randeau who completed his first 50-miler at Man Against Horse, and also to Debbie Leftwich who ran her SIXTEENTH 100-miler at Arkansas 100. She was 7^th woman overall.

Last month, Jody went to Europe to run the Ultra-Trail de Monte Blanc and put together this nice video of her adventure.

France/Italy 2010 from Jody Chase on Vimeo.

Wednesday morning reminder.

2010-09-28T11:50:00.003-07:00

Come join us on our weekly Wednesday morning run starting at 5:16 a.m. tomorrow at the top of Squaw Peak Drive where the road ends and the trail begins. Plan on about a moderately paced hour through the trails with a brief stop for water/restrooms at 40th street returning for a total of about 5.5-miles. Bring a friend, bring a neighbor, bring yourself. Good times and happy trails.

Congratulations to Jody for finishing the Bear 100-mile endurance run through Utah and Idaho finishing 4th woman overall. And congratulations to everyone that participated in the 12-hour run in the McDowell Mountain Park over the weekend. Good job Nick, Jamil and the rest of the Coury clan for another excellently well run event. See you in the morning!

BEAR 100 Webcast

2010-09-24T09:20:00.002-07:00

Go Jeff Jones & Jody Chase!!!!

2010 Bear 100 Live Results Page
Good Morning Everyone,
Just wanted you all to know that JJ and Jody both looked good this morning at the start. It was in the 40's with a beautiful full moon. JJ slept well but was a little nervous this morning. At the race meeting yesterday the main concern was to watch out for the elk hunters! I will hopefully see JJ at Cowley, Right Hand Fork and Temple Fork. RJ

Nick makes Team USA at National Championship

2010-09-21T14:09:00.002-07:00

Come out and enjoy a beautiful Wednesday morning run with your friends in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve and help celebrate this week’s Runner of the Week, Nick Coury. Not only did Nick run 136-miles in under 24-hours, placing third for men, winning $500 and making the national team to go to the World Championships in Switzerland, but he did it in Cleveland! His splits were 50 miles in 7:49, 100K in 9:29, 100 miles in 17:50, and 136 miles in 23:56.

Looking forward, JJ and Jody will both be running the Bear 100-mile run in Utah/Idaho this weekend. So if JJ shows up, we’ll take it easy to try and not kill him before his long run. Rachel will be pacing him and we don’t want her mad at us.

Be there, or be square at the top of Squaw Peak Drive. Departure time is 5:17 a.m.

WMRC Run reminder 9/15

2010-09-13T15:26:00.003-07:00

This is your friendly reminder for our weekly group run. Meet at 5:16am at the top lot of SQ PK drive. We will go for an 1:04 run in the mtns behind SQ PK. Moderate pace with some hills and maybe some hooters. Explain later.

Runners of the week: Shout out to Mike Auther, WMRC newbie. He completed his longest run (time wise) in the Imogene Mountain run. This is a run from Ouray to Telluride in Colorado. The race is 9 miles up and 9 miles down peaking at 13,000 ft. He finished in just over 5 hours. Way to go Mike! Keep it going.

WMRC Friend and JJ man crush, Anthony Culpepper, got 4th place in the Wasatch 100 miler in the Mountains of Utah. This is one of the hardest 100's out there and AC finished in just over 21 hours. JJ is very proud of him!

Honey, Higgie, Paulette, Joe G, Skipper, Bluedog and I ran the 911 reflection run on Sat. We all took turns carrying the flag and did an easy hour Saturday morning to celebrate our freedom and thank those who provide it for us like our WMRCer's Bill Barthen and Robert Andrulis. Thanks, see you out on the trails.

9/11 Reflection Run

2010-09-09T09:44:00.001-07:00

9/11 Reflection Run: We are going to meet at 7:00 AM at Dreamy Draw Park Parking lot (exit Northern off SR-51) for the annual "Reflection Run. This is a SLOW run in the preserve up and around red mound. No one should run alone on this day. Slow pace, good company, be thankful, reflect, look-forward.

Wednesday Reminder 9.8.10

2010-09-07T14:40:00.005-07:00

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. Reminder: Group trail run in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve tomorrow morning 5:17 AM. We've been meeting at the same location for years so no need to change now:) Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace.

Runner of the Week: Joe Galope runs his 96th marathon during the Buckeye Endurance Runs this past weekend. Nice work Joe! Also props to the Coury boys for putting one two events this weekend. The Silverton 6day, 72hr, 48hr and 24hr run Colorado and the Buckeye Endurance Runs in Arizona. Thanks Jamil, Nick, and Nathan.

9/11 Reflection Run: Saturday is 9/11. We are going to meet at 7:00 AM at Dreamy Draw Parking lot (exit Northern off SR-51) for the annual "Reflection Run". This is a SLOW run in the preserve up and around red mound. Nothing better than running with a group on this day. Slow pace, good company, be thankful, reflect, look-forward.

Wednesday Run Reminder 9.1.10

2010-08-31T06:30:00.003-07:00

The morning weather is getting nice! Reminder: Group trail run in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve Wednesday morning 5:16 AM. Meet at the very top lot of Squaw Peak Drive north of Glendale / Lincoln Dr. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace.

Check out Paulette Zillmer's Leadville Race Report. Great job Paulette!

Bulldog recovery run 8.25.10

2010-08-23T14:27:00.008-07:00

Reminder: Group trail run this Wednesday Morning 5:15 AM in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve. Meet at the very top parking lot on Squaw Peak Drive north of Glendale / Lincoln Drive. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace.

Runner of the Week: Congratulations to Dave westhoff who ran and completed his first Ultra Marathon the Bulldog 50K near Malibu California. Chris Harrison, who also ran the race, reports that Westy ran a great race with very few challenges - strong and steady was the theme of the day as he powered up the hills to finish in 6:29. Great job Westy and Hos!

Kudos also go to Liz Everly and Laura Nagy who ran the Where's Waldo 100K in Oregon. Laura finished in 15:13 with Liz just 5 min back.

Pacing Duty of the weekend: Art Bourque was spotted sporting his WMRC shirt at the Leadville 100 Trail Run this past weekend. Bourque paced Neil Blake to a 27:11 finish. The picture below is the calm before the storm. 6 hours later the smiles turning into puking and staggering in the night. Good job Blake and Bourque.

Nice write-up in the Trail Runner's Magazine news letter on Jeff Jones TPC slam. Check it out.

Leadville Taper Run 8.18.10

2010-08-17T14:49:00.004-07:00

Reminder: Group trail run tomorrow morning in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve. Meet at 5:16 AM at the very top parking lot of squaw peak drive north of Glendale / Lincoln Drive. Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace. B-team hung til the end last Week. Will he / they do it again?

ROW: The streak is broken...Cosmas has failed to submit his weekly exploit to the Board of Directors thus he will not be awarded a fifth Runner of the Week in a row. Congrats to Donovan Sarka for his completion of the El Vaquero 50K in Wyoming. Looks like a very pretty run.

Leadville 100: Good luck to WMRC runner Paulette Zillmer who is running the Leadville Trail 100 mile run starting early Saturday morning. We know she is going to do really well. Have fun. Stay safe.

Late addition: this administrator is asleep at the wheel. How could we forget two other big events this weekend? Good luck to Liz Everly and Laura Nagy in Where's Waldo 100K in Oregon and Dave Westhoff and Chris Harrison running the Bulldog 50K in Malibu. This will be Westy's 1st ultra marathon!!

Back To School Morning Run 8.11.10

2010-08-10T13:53:00.003-07:00

School is now in session! Time to hit the trails with new energy. Reminder: Group trail run tomorrow morning. 5:15 AM. Top parking lot squaw peak drive in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve. Group A Plan on a little over one hour at a slow to moderate pace. Group B join Higgy on a stroll with no apparent aim.

Is it possible that someone can win Runner of the Week four weeks in a row? Apparently yes. After completing the world's hardest 50K in Utah just 3 days prior, Cosmas competes in the prestigious Trail Runner Magazine's Treadmill Uphill Challenge. Cos held his own against the likes of Timmy Parr, Kurpicka, and Max King Finishing 18th overall!!....out of a field of 18... No photography was allowed so we hired a courtroom artist to give us a rendering. We didn't have much in the budget to pay anyone with actual experience. Went with a laid off cartoonist. Nice job Cos!!!

Ultra Marathon Study / Participants Needed

2010-08-05T09:23:00.003-07:00

Fat Use and Optimal Running Speed Study for Ultramarathons

This study, led by Christos Katsanos, PhD from Arizona State University, along with honors Kinesiology students Nathan Coury and John Kline (serving as their honors theses), aims to determine 1) If there is an optimal running speed where fat is the primary substrate used for energy and 2) If this optimal running speed is a better predictor of performance than VO2max. By measuring the ratio of fat versus carbohydrates used at a given speed either running or walking, we hope to determine the highest speed that a runner can travel at over a given distance while still using primarily fat as his or her main fuel source. We would like to recruit 15 male runners for this study, mainly to avoid complications with menstrual cycles, but future studies may include female subjects as well. Potential participants must also have completed a 50 mile or longer run in the past 5 years and be in a healthy condition.

The study will be conducted both in the lab and in the field. For the lab portion, subjects will be asked to come in on 4 separate occasions to the Clinical Research Unit exercise laboratory at Arizona State University Tempe campus. One session will be used to determine optimal walking speed (a sub-maximal test) and VO2max (a maximal test), and the other three days will be used to determine optimal running speed (a sub-maximal test), all performed on the treadmill. Lab tests will all be completed in the mornings, save special circumstances, but definitely between the hours of 8am-5pm Monday through Friday. For the field portion, subjects will participate in a 50 mile race on a flat 500-meter dirt track as a test of performance to validate lab findings. The race will take place in Buckeye, Arizona on November 20th starting at 7am. Free race entry will be given to all study participants. During both the lab and field tests, participants will eat an individually-determined standardized breakfast before each lab session and on race morning, use a heart rate monitor, use an accelerometer, a Rate of Perceived Exertion scale, and a non-invasive scale used to measure Body Mass Index (BMI). We will be taking an inventory of all food and fluid intake during the race, as well as assessing each subjects medical condition and rate of perceived exertion in 5 mile intervals.

Participation is voluntary and each subject is free to withdraw from the study at any time. There are no costs associated with participation. The risks associated with participation in this trial do not exceed the risks normally associated with participating in a 50 mile ultramarathon race. Your participation will help the ultra endurance running community at large by determining what the optimal speed to run ultramarathon races in order to maximize fat use and thus help runners to achieve their personal best performances, and to minimize problems associated with incorrect pacing. If we find that this optimal running speed is also a better indicator of performance in ultramarathon races than VO2max, this could mean hope for those who do not perform as well in shorter races because they may still be able to do well in longer ultramarathon events.

If you are interested in a chance to become a participant in this study, please send an email with “Ultramarathon Study” in the subject line to Nathan.Coury@asu.edu to receive more information.