After some changes in management this year, Bob Bachani took over as Race Director and he pulled off an impressive performance, given that he took the reins with not much time to reorganize.
Many in the Tucson Trail Running community came to his aid and the event was top notch all around. The Summit Hut Camping Store stepped up with major sponsorship at the last minute and provided nice etched beer glasses for the goody bag, among other things. Hammer Nutrition also played a big role in donating product and signage for the race.
My body was horribly undertrained for this race, but after 15 years of doing them this way, why break with tradition?
Rosemont Copper, a multi-national mining company from Canada has recently acquired mineral rights to portions of the course and promptly closed access roads near their property. This caused a major disruption to the existing course and specifically Gunsight Pass, the most notorious climb of the course. Instead, the course now does a 25 mile loop and then hits repeat. While it does insert a new section of welcomed single track, it also makes for a significant head game at the end of your first lap. Welcome home. There's your car right there. We got burgers on the barbe. But first, why don't you go back out and run another marathon over the very course you just finished?
When I saw the double loop design, it didn't take long to convince myself the night before to just opt for the first loop.
Plus, I'm still recovering from some tendonitis, probably, right?
More than anything, I was looking forward to using the event to test out my new camera setup. For several states I've been filming the run using my GoPro Hero 3 camera. Sometimes I mount it to my chest harness, which results in my swinging hands being in the shot most of the time. I also have a selfie stick that I can mount it to. This works better but there's still a significant bobble while watching. Puke Cam, as it's been described.
This year I upped my game and acquired a gimbal. Small name, huge potential. This is a camera mount that has batteries, 3 independent motors and a controller. I mounted my GoPro in the gimbal. Then mounted the gimbal onto the end of my selfie stick and left it there the whole race. Rather than carry it in my hand the whole time, I found a way to attach it to my shoulder strap and could easily remove it for shots when needed.
I was very happy with the result. It's nothing less than stunning. If you compare it to some footage from my recent trips, the difference is night and day. If I hadn't been there to see it in action, I would have thought it was a drone flying next to me. It's that steady. But don't take my word for it - see for yourself!
Click the link below to see the short 7 minute recap!
Besides super smooth footage, the other good news? The course was a little long. After I finished the first lap, I looked down at my watch. Total distance for first loop: 26.3 miles. A marathon is 26.219 miles. An ultra, by definition, is anything longer than a marathon. BOOOOOM!
