Hardest Run in SoCal

Here's a sampling...just off the top of my head. There's
lots more...

The hardest is obviously the Angeles Crest 100, but here are
some shorter ones:

1. Baldy Peaks 50k. 7/25. 50 minutes from L.A. 11,000' of
climb, 11,000' of descent. Two different ascents to a
10,032' peak (Mt. Baldy). Some scrambling, steep drop
offs, great views, 4 miles of nasty technical downhill.

2. Mt. Wilson trail race in May: 4 miles up, 4 down, short
but sweet.

3. Malibu Bulldog 50k 8/28 -- beautiful scenery, ocean
views, 6 to 8k of uphill (no one really knows). You can
finish this one about 2 hrs faster than Baldy Peaks, but
it's still a leg burner.

4. San Gabriel Mountains 50k -- Very hilly, forest, with a
brutal "come to Jesus" 3 mile climb to the finish.
Midway in difficulty between 1 and 3.

5. Topanga 10k in May -- about 1000' of climbing on
fireroads.

6. Catalina Island Marathon -- A brief introduction to
trail ultras, not that tough, but lots of hills.

There are a seeminlgly infinite number of trails and
fireroads in the mountains to the North of L.A.

-- Dan

This one looks interesting:
tramroadchallenge.comhome.htmlOpen ↗

"The Tram Road Challenge is the most beautiful and toughest
6-K in the world. Starting at the desert floor near Sea
Level, the road takes you up to the lower Tram station at an
elevation of 2,643 feet, in just 3.7 miles "

My understanding is that there is no down or flat, only up.

Steve S.

"Simpledog" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Other than marathons, what would be the biggest challenge
for any runner

in

Quoted message said:

Southern California?

There used to be a race up Mt Baldy, but I dont know if it
occurs anymore. There are people who run up the mountains.
There are unofficial contests to see who can bag the most
"100 [tallest s.c] peaks" in 24 hours.

sms said:

This one looks interesting:
tramroadchallenge.comhome.htmlOpen ↗

"The Tram Road Challenge is the most beautiful and
toughest 6-K in the world. Starting at the desert floor
near Sea Level, the road takes you up to the lower Tram
station at an elevation of 2,643 feet, in just 3.7 miles "

While that's challenging and substantial uphill for a road
race, methinks they're using the fact that there aren't many
6k's in the world to lay claim to "toughest".

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd
Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

"sms" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

"The Tram Road Challenge is the most beautiful and
toughest 6-K in the world. Starting at the desert floor
near Sea Level, the road takes you up

to

Quoted message said:

the lower Tram station at an elevation of 2,643 feet, in
just 3.7 miles "

Yes, that is a fun little race. From the finish line,
take the breathtaking tramride up to the top (8800'😉 and
have lunch overlooking the desert. Top it off with a hike
a few miles up to San Jacinto (11,000'😉, if you've got
anything left...

-- Dan

Yes, there's an 8 mile "run to the top" that climbs up to
Mt. Baldy (10,032'😉. Haven't done it in years, but I think
it's in September.

Yours truly won the Open division in '83 or thereabouts...I
remember passing a 4:20 miler in the final pitch...and we
were *both* walking...

-- Dan

"rick++" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

There used to be a race up Mt Baldy, but I dont know if it
occurs anymore. There are people who run up the mountains.
There are unofficial contests to see who can bag the most
"100 [tallest s.c] peaks" in 24 hours.

"Dan Stumpus" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yours truly won the Open division in '83 or
thereabouts...I remember

passing

Quoted message said:

a 4:20 miler in the final pitch...and we were *both*
walking...

Oooo...! I think I'll put a little jaunt up Lochnagar on
your Scottish itinerary. We'll start at the Ranger's hut,
along the bottom of the Loch, through the wee woods, over
the stream, then up, up, up the grotty Land-Rover track with
cunningly placed shoe-shredding rocks (not forgetting to
give the one-fingered salute to Prince Charles who was
faffing around on the hill with half the British Army acting
as bodyguard when I was last there) over the ankle-trapping
boulder field to the wild, windy top - cluttered up with foul-
tempered, bearded, unwashed climbers - then turn around and
sprint back down. Guaranteed to make you wish you were back
in SoCal *PLUS* I've never seen a 4:20 miler within 20K's of
the place.

"np426z" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Yours truly won the Open division in '83 or
thereabouts...I remember passing a 4:20 miler in the
final pitch...and we were *both* walking...

Oooo...! I think I'll put a little jaunt up Lochnagar on
your Scottish itinerary. We'll start at the Ranger's hut,
along the bottom of the

Loch,

Quoted message said:

through the wee woods, over the stream, then up, up, up
the grotty Land-Rover track with cunningly placed shoe-
shredding rocks (not

forgetting

Quoted message said:

to give the one-fingered salute to Prince Charles who was
faffing around

on

Quoted message said:

the hill with half the British Army acting as bodyguard
when I was last there) over the ankle-trapping boulder
field to the wild, windy top - cluttered up with foul-
tempered, bearded, unwashed climbers - then turn around
and sprint back down. Guaranteed to make you wish you
were back

in

Quoted message said:

SoCal *PLUS* I've never seen a 4:20 miler within 20K's of
the place.

I shall start training immediately. Thank you for your,
uhhhh, hospitality. There's nothing quite like a steep,
rotten, rocky trail in the morning!

Truth be told, I think Mr. 4:20 could have taken me if he
hadn't gone out too hard, but that's racing.

I hope you will be on-line in one of your many guises when
we start planning our invasion.

-- Dan

"np426z" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Oooo...! I think I'll put a little jaunt up Lochnagar on
your Scottish

itinerary. We'll start at the Ranger's hut, along the
bottom of the Loch, through the wee woods, over the
stream, then up, up, up the grotty Land-Rover track with
cunningly placed shoe-shredding rocks (not forgetting to
give the one-fingered salute to Prince Charles who was
faffing around on the hill with half the British Army
acting as bodyguard when I was last there)

Oh gee Roger, you left out the part where he tripped and
fell over a cliff, and you sprang into action saving his
life, then you were invited to his castle for a dinner,
where afterward you offered anything you wanted. All I'll
say from here on is the queen mum was involved, vaseline,
and kiddie porno.

"np426z" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Save it Roger, we all know there's no such thing as a "hard
run" in southern california.

You're forgetting about next week's Badwater ultra ... 135
miles, starts at the lowest point in Death Valley and runs
across the desert and up Mount Whitney. Three mountain
ranges, 130-degree heat, no shade, occasional sandstorms,
sole-blistering pavement, wind and dehydration.

Yeehaw.

website at www.badwaterultra.com

dieshooter said:

You're forgetting about next week's Badwater ultra ...
135 miles,

...

But, Badwater is not in SoCal.