Taper for Old Dominion

It's taper time. And all I can say is, I think I'll be as well acclimated for the heat as anyone there...

Pacing Massanutten 100

Neal Gorman allowed me to tag along with him for almost 30 miles of his 2nd place, sub-20 hr finish at Massanutten Mountain Trails 100. He did awesome- he and Karl are the only sub-20 hr finishers of the past 5 years. Neal's time was the 10th fastest ever. I figured I’d share some of the pictures. I had a blast and learned for myself why everyone says “Massanutten ROCKS!” Long description of my day on FRB.

Neal muscling up a typical climb

Kerns Mtn had 5 unrelenting miles of this stuff. Impossible to get any sort of rhythm.

Great views of the luscious Shenandoah Valley

Rocks, rocks, leaf covered rocks, and more rocks. I wish I had my leaf blower to clear the path for Neal so he could at least see what he was running on.

Beautiful, soft, pine-covered trail. With just the occasional rock.

I call this section the Shangri-La- long, gradual descent alongside a lush ravine with a babbling brook. And not too many rocks.