Brian Stark States Runner

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

2nd Annual Vicious Circle and Half Circle Ultra Urban Adventure

2nd Annual Vicious Circle & Half Circle Run

Sunday, January 22, 2017

It's the Vicious Circle. A 45 mile Urban Adventure.
And the Vicious Half Circle. A 22 mile Fun Run

- - - - - - - - -All city - No roads - - - - - - - - - - -

A side of Tucson you've never seen before.

Spend the day finding out why."

Who is Invited? Any member of TTR, their friends and invited guests.

How do I register? Please RSVP with your name, your planned start time, planned distance, email and cell phone number to Brian Stark (Race Director) at RunForrestRun@Hotmail.com
Questions? (520) 576-8666.

Start / Finish Line: at Milagro Cohousing on Tucson's west side near Grant / Silverbell, 3057 N Gaia Place, Tucson, AZ 85745. Ample parking, restrooms, large dining hall, food and drinks!

6am: Early start time for full loopers - those wanting additional time on the course.

7am: General start for full loop. Numerous distance options. 7pm finisher cutoff (12 hours).

10am: Shuttle leaves starting line to take half loopers to east side. 10:45am, start of Half Circle Run.

3-7pm: Finish line and "I'm Not Dead Yet" celebration. Prizes for finishers at all distances with Tucson Tamale meal and drinks served at the finish line.

Items to bring for this run include: a credit card, two $1 bills, a phone with a flashlight, a running buddy and pepper spray or other suitable weapon. A current tetanus shot isn't a bad idea either.

Tracking: For safety, I'm going to ask each runner to either text me their location twice during their run or (iPhone users) set their phone to share their location with me during the event.

Course: This 45.66 mile clockwise trail run encircles the city of Tucson while only crossing 6 roads.

Aid: I'll send you off with a cheery goodbye. I may drive out to see you run through a few of the tunnels. Other than that, there are over 100 aid stations on this course in the form of convenience stores. Bring your credit card and the world is yours. Awesome finish line party with food and drinks provided. Emergency shuttle service available.

Shorter options: choose any distance between 5k and 50k or the full 44 miles. Either do an out and back or take city transit to skip ahead on the course or return to the finish line early. Bail out options are listed below.

Detailed, zoomable map can be viewed here:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zt7aQYHhbSD4.kvF0CAOppF7E&usp=sharing

Detailed Notes: From Start, head up sidewalk, across parking lot, following cones and flags to empty neighborhood (Black Cloud Court), turn right. Exit neighborhood and stay on left shoulder of Goret Road for 40 yards. Turn right across Goret Rd (WATCH FOR TRAFFIC!!!). Veer right onto old road bed sloping down into desert floor. Short steep descent. Pick up flagging to small main wash and run east towards Silverbell Rd. Go under Silverbell Road in low tunnel. Emerge and climb up to left embankment. Follow wash east to intersect with paved bike path. 1.2mi: Intersect Loop, heading north on bike path. Follow this north past Silverbell Golf Course and Silverbell Lake (drinking fountains, restrooms).
Stay on bike path and arrive at El Camino Del Cerro. Turn right at road, staying on bike path. Stay on path under bridge to north side of Cmo Del Cerro and continue east across bridge over Santa Cruz River, then north on bike path again.
Continue following The Loop Bike Path as it bends to the right, UNDER the frontage road and I-10 (under the railroad trestle), and then turn right, staying on bike path.
ACROSS N. Camino De La Tierra.
UNDER N. La Cholla Blvd.
UNDER N. Flowing Wells Rd.
Planet Fitness on your right if you want to stop for a quick workout.
Go UNDER N. Oracle Rd.
Here you will leave the bike path.
Run along the edge of the mall parking lot, inside the hedges, and behind BevMo.
UNDER N. Stone Ave. After crossing under Stone, hop up onto the parking lot surface of the Tucson Mall.
Run UNDER N 1st Ave.

BAIL OUT OPTION 1: If you're done at this point, head to the Tohono Tadai Transit Center at the Tucson Mall. Take Route 19 to the Ronstadt Transit Center and transfer to Route 21 to get to Goret / Silverbell. From there it's just a 1/2 mile

Here you'll run the Secret Rillito Trail.

RUN UNDER Campbell Ave. (Trader Joe's Aid Station on your left here).

At the pedestrian bridge at the Tucson Racquet Club, CROSS BRIDGE TO NORTH SIDE OF RILLITO. Get on the bike path heading east on the north bank.

At Dodge Blvd, turn right, crossing on bridge sidewalk to the south side of Rillito, then UNDER N. Dodge Blvd, resuming on bike path.

Run UNDER N. Alvernon Way

Run UNDER N. Swan Rd.

This is just under the halfway mark on the course.

Here, as you cross N. Craycroft Rd, stay on the south side of the Rillito.

Here, the Rillito meets the Pantano.

Get into the Pantano Wash or on the west bank of the Pantano running

UNDER E. Tanque Verde Rd,

UNDER E. Speedway Blvd,

UNDER E. Broadway Blvd,

UNDER E 22nd St.

Between 22nd St and Golf Links, stay on the path to the right, which takes you to a spillway of Lakeside Park.

UNDER E Golf Links Rd.

LAKESIDE PARK IS THE STARTING POINT FOR the HALF VICIOUS Circle Runners at about 10:30am. They will start from the east side of Lakeside Park, near the spillway.

Bail out option 2: If you're done at this point, you can pick up a city bus that will get you back to Rondstat Transit Center and then Route 21 takes you up Silverbell back to Goret Road where you can run or walk the final 1/2 mi to the finish. The nearest bus stop is just west of this bridge at 22nd St but is for Express only and doesn't run on Sundays. Bus #17 stops at Golf Links / Pantano. Get on. At 6th St / Wilmot transfer to Route 3. That takes you to the transit center (1 hr commute), then get on Route 21 to return to the finish. Fare is $1.50 and you can transfer with that if you tell the driver. If you catch Brian Stark when dropping off the halfers, you can get a ride back with him.

From the spillway, follow the sidewalk clockwise around the lake. Climb up the steep sidewalk hill to pass over the spillway, then back down to return to water's edge as you make your way around the park. Watch for fishing poles waving around. At the boat ramp on the west side of the lake, make a sharp left up the hill, across the parking lot and head across the athletic fields of Ford Elementary School. Cross the soccer fields and curve left around the backstop of the baseball field. Once through the school property, just before the next road crossing, dip down into the wash on your right (if it's not flowing). You will ideally dip into this wash, turn left in it and run it

UNDER Stella,

UNDER Pantano,

UNDER Carson,

here, there is a dirt road on your right paralleling the wash. You are welcome to it.

UNDER Escalante, then climb up the right embankment, and find yourself in bit of a trash heap. Head east cross country or on a single lane dirt road towards the southernmost row of homes and run east in the alley behind them. The goal here is to be south of Escalante and with all of the housing to your right. Head due west ACROSS Kolb Road.

(the street light pole here is numbered 4320)

Once on the west side of Kolb Road, turn right, running north on the west shoulder of Kolb. At Escalante, turn left to pick up the Loop bike path. Head west on the paved bike path, running past the iconic airplane boneyard. There are 4,200 military airplanes stored here. Please don't take one.

There is a Quick Mart Aid Station at NE corner of Escalante and Kolb.

Follow the path as it bends along S. Calle Polar and Nicaragua.

There is another QuickMart (aid station) at your next intersection of Wilmot and Niacaragua Dr (14mi to go!). As you pass the Quik Mart on your right, go down into the wash on your left and under Wilmot. Turn right to stay in the wash and climb up the right bank onto the bike path heading north. Continue north on path along Wilmot until coming to E Golf Links Road. Turn LEFT here to stay on bike path. You are now running next to the world's second largest solar installation on a military base (#1 being Ft. Huachuca).

Convenience Store (aid) at NE corner of Craycroft and Golf Links. As you near the intersection with Craycroft, turn LEFT to dip down into the wash. Get out your flashlight and buddy up. This is a tunnel under the intersection. It has a dogleg in it so you can't see the other end until you're halfway through. Emerge on the NW corner of the intersection and get back on the bike path to your right, heading west.

Stay on bike path along Golf Links until coming to Alvernon. Continue straight ACROSS Alvernon, heading west. CROSS Dodge, go UNDER Palo Verde and stay on path.

After 34th St, dedicated path ends, so veer right to head onto neighborhood street, named Aviation Road. Continue NW on this until it resumes as a bike path at Camilla Stravanue.

CROSS Country Club.

Go UNDER 22nd St.

UNDER Kino.

Pass by TUSD Project MORE High School.

CROSS Basket Bridge over S. Euclid Ave.

CROSS Snake Bridge over Broadway Blvd.

After exiting snake's mouth, turn left on path.

Stay LEFT along Stevens Ave, pass by Light Rail Train Station.

Dedicated path ends at train station, but continue straight across open desert between the street car station on your right and the Amtrak train tracks on your left.

Cross bridge over 6th Ave next to train tracks, then turn right.

At 7th Street, turn left.

BAIL OUT OPTION 3: If done here, head south to Rondstat Transit Center, get on bus route #21. Will return you to Silverbell/Goret Rd.

At 7th Ave (Small Planet Bakery), stay to the right of the train tracks.

At 6th St, cross street, following railroad tracks and get on left side of tracks.

WATCH FOR TRAFFIC!

You will next come to a wooden and steel train trestle. Dip down into the wash here and turn left in the wash (Arroyo Chico). If it is flowing you can opt to run west on 6th St. If it's not full of water, stay in the wash, under I-10 and the frontage road and emerge in the Santa Cruz River. If it is flowing, you can get up onto the east bank of the river and get on the bike path on the east bank, head north. If the river is dry, cross it and get onto the bike path on the west bank, head north.
At the Dragon Restaurant, you only have 4.92 miles to go!

With just over a mile to go, cross iron and wood bike bridge and IMMEDIATELY TURN LEFT, OFF the Paved Bike Path and retrace your steps back to Silverbell. Run UNDER Silverbell Road in the concrete culvert and head up the same wash you came down what will now seem like 17 years ago. Up the hill, cross Goret, enter Black Cloud Court and from the empty roundabout, run across the Milagro gravel parking lot to the mailboxes. Pick up the cement sidewalk and head down to the metal gate, the Grassy Circle, the Common House, Beer, Tamales and THE FINISH LINE!

Friday, March 11, 2016

Filming the World's Shortest Ultra

Last weekend I stepped up to the starting line of one of the oldest ultra trail races in Arizona and only of the only ones in southern Arizona. The Old Pueblo 50 Mile Endurance Run has been around for years and is one of the most friendly staffed with the most beautiful scenery in my racing log.

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!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYSfuieIWzs

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!

Monday, February 1, 2016

Vicious Circle: The 8 Hour Race That Took 15 Years

When I first moved to Tucson around 2000, I loved heading to any of the cardinal points to run trails in the four mountain ranges surrounding the city. They are the crown jewels of the city, to be sure. But an hour of driving each way made me grow tired of the commute just for some adventure and I began to wonder if there was a way to find the same thing within city limits.

At the time I worked at the Summit Hut, a locally owned camping store. I would run a different route from my home to the store each day, get cleaned up in the bathroom and change into work clothes for the day. I enjoyed my run commute. It was a great way to start the day and it proved equally effective at shaking off the day's stresses of working retail (not that selling gear in a camping store is especially stressful, it's not).

As the months and years went by I transitioned into teaching middle school in the Vail School District located in the extreme far south east of the city. The only problem was that I lived in West Tucson. The distance from door to door was 32 miles. Wishing to avoid busy roads I researched other ways to get there on foot. I developed a network of sidewalks, paths, frontage roads and the occasional tunnel to help me avoid traffic. I made several of the running trips to school, leaving home at 2:30am in order to get to the school by 7:00 for the first bell. "Kids, Mr. Stark is going to be at his desk today. Please work at your desk and if you need anything, come see me, over here."

I liked my new route across the city so much that I began to wonder if I could extend it to go around the entire city.

With limited time, I found myself occasionally looking at maps, going for a run in different parts of the city and slowly piecing a route together. A few years ago two friends and I biked the entire route. Unknown to me at the time, the county was also developing a pedestrian friendly route around the city and actually building paved bike paths, rest areas, and signage as well. They called this route, The Loop. When complete, it will span 131 miles which includes spurs to Marana and Oro Valley to the north and South Tucson to the.. well, south.

One version of The Loop is 55 miles and is designed for public use. That means there must be emergency access, minimum trail width, proper intersections and other safety considerations. I liked the thought of finding adventure inside the city and complying with so many safety criteria seemed to diminish the intent I was going after.

Looking back at my evolving route, I incorporated as many opportunities to avoid roads as possible. My route uses bike paths, as well as underpasses, washes, alleys, and even tunnels. When I finally had it in working form, my route totaled 45 miles and only crossed 6 roads. Not bad for circling a city of a million people.

Here's the route, as captured on Matt's GPS watch. Notice the extra tunnels he squeezed through making sure he didn't miss any! Thanks Matt!

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zt7aQYHhbSD4.ksrulPHA22D8&usp=sharing

I've run the entire thing in sections. I have biked it twice, but I hadn't run it all at once. But that didn't stop me from offering it as a group "race" with my local running group. We get together most weekends during the school year to run in the mountains but this run would be different. We scheduled it for the last weekend in January and there was strong interest. The usual amount of people wanted to make it but couldn't due to travel, work, or injury. In the end, we had 12 people show up: 7 men and 5 women.

Route of the Vicious Circle

Running 45 miles can take awhile even when the route is easy. But this thing has you crouching through long tunnels, navigating the occasional weedy desert lot, and encountering who knows what all may be found in such places. I wasn't expecting particularly fast times. In order to give everyone as much time as possible, I invited people to start at 5am or later. I didn't want anyone out in the dark after sunset in these remote areas so I set 6:30pm as the finisher cutoff.

In order to promote this event, I needed a good name for it. Looking at a map of the route, it gently curves around the south side of the city but has a very sharp point in the north where it quickly passes under I-10 and then heads south again. To me, it looked like the upside down letters V and C.

Using those as a starting point, I wanted something that evoked some of the roughness of the city. These runners would be going through the bowels of the city, tunnels, homeless camps, trashy washes, vacant lots. This wasn't meant to be a red carpet event where the asphalt was fresh and the lines painted yellow and the name needed to indicate that. I finally settled on the Vicious Circle.

I had never been race director for an ultra before but had worked for several weeks to prepare for this. Each runner signed in on a liability disclaimer and picked up a custom made route map of the city with my route highlighted on it along with a printed copy of brief trail notes printed on glossy paper to help it hold up in the hands of sweaty runners all day long. I installed flagging tape along the first mile of the route to get them to the first bike path along the Santa Cruz River. Later, I realized they wouldn't see the flagging tape in the dark so I also installed glow sticks along the first mile at 3am the morning of the run.

The first to toe the line at 5:07am were Lorey and Ed. They ran for 2 hours before needing to head out to work.

Next, Elizabeth, Geoff and Jenny took off a few minutes later, hoping for a sizable chunk of the loop. Each of them had different goals. Geoff had planned to do the entire loop. Jenny was there to join him for "just 20-30 miles". Elizabeth jumped aboard with the goal of "going until I can't go any more." I love that goal.

About an hour later the next wave of runners showed up. Brian E., a local engineer who is fairly new to ultra running but shows commanding aptitude shot off at the start at 6:10 along with Mike and Bob, an ultra runner from Flagstaff who just happened to be in town for a family gathering.

Matt arrived about 30 min later and headed out.

With the later start times, the sun was now fully up and Kristi and her friend Heather set out for a 10 mile morning walk.

Last to leave was Benedict, who had made the decision to start later so that he wouldn't need the aid of a flashlight. Not present in the conversation was mention of the tunnels which don't seem to get any brighter with the sun.

Twenty-four soles of 12 brave individuals began the endless dance of left foot, right foot for somewhere near 68,000 times as they navigated the Vicious Circle.

I asked people to text or call me for two reasons: 1. If they changed course or were stopping and 2. when they crossed under the Interstate for the second time and were on their way back.

The first text came in at 7:13am.

"Brian, this is Jenny. Elizabeth and Geoff and I took a detour, back on track at Snake Bridge. Lots of adventure. Don't worry."

Enter submission for the most understated comment of the year. This trio had missed a critical turn on the route (mostly due to my inadequate directions). There is a railroad trestle crossing a wash and the notes said to turn right out of the wash at this point. They approached it in the dark and only saw the legs of the trestle which happened to be metal. Only the top was wood which they couldn't see in the dark. So they continued straight when they should have turned. Shortly after the trestle, they came to a tunnel that I knew nothing about. It went for almost a MILE. It was a labyrinth of side tunnels, forks and options. That's when Elizabeth noticed a message painted on the walls amidst the impressive spray-painted murals. "Snake Bridge this way". As they stood in the dark tunnel discussing the accuracy of a spray-painted message in a tunnel under the city, Elizabeth posed the now famous question, "Come on, when has graffiti ever led you astray?" She was right and they finally emerged in a cage of tall security fencing with pointed tips bent outward. Eager to avoid turning around, they opted to climb the fence and somehow made it over in tact.

Benedict, having started much later, was quite a bit behind them and though it was light out, he also missed the turn at the trestle and entered this much longer tunnel without the aid of a flashlight. He may have taken a different fork in the tunnel. We're not sure what route he took underground as he claims he was feeling his way along the tunnel with his hands against the wall. When he emerged he was about a half mile east and a half mile north of the route.

Geoff posing at the Boneyard.

All of the others managed to navigate the course without difficulty and as the morning wore on, so did their weariness. Mike, who was facing a series of minor bodily setbacks made it to the east side before calling it in. Impressively, he told me that when he started out with Brian and Bob, they went out at a blazing clip of sub 7 min miles, or maybe it was 8.. or Mach 2. All I know is it was fast and there was a lot of ground yet to cover at Mile Post 1.65. I picked up Mike and he and I went looking for other runners. Without GPS tracking, I figured my chances of finding the remaining six runners were impossibly slim, especially if they're spending their morning underground blindly feeling their way along tunnel walls. Someone did show me where you can allow specific people to see your location through the text app on your phone. I considered trying that for this run as it would have made finding and tracking people a snap, but I didn't want to be creepy about it early in the morning. Maybe for future years of this run I can offer it ahead of time for those that want to participate.

Bob from Flagstaff was the next to head home. He needed to get back north so he stopped on the east side, caught a bus and he got back to his car at the finish in a short time.

Matt emerges from a short tunnel near Davis Monthan Air Force Base

Mike and I drove further east and just caught Matt heading out of a short tunnel near Davis Monthan Air Force Base. He was looking fresh and sharp and was likely looking forward to his wife who was about to bring him several aid stations worth of provisions as he neared his own neighborhood.

Geoff and Jenny share a laugh at Lakeside Park.

Driving a little further on, we arrived at one of my favorite parts of the course, Lakeside Park. It is a sizable body of water that offers boating, fishing and picnics. There, we found Geoff and his friend Jenny who were the giggliest pair I've ever seen in an ultra at mile 18.

Matt was cruising up the Pantano tributary.

Matt carefully navigates a field of ankle killer boulders after passing under another road at Stella and Pantano Rd.

Thinking we were lucky to have found those three, we started heading back to the finish line and luckily ran into Benedict as well. That's when he filled us in on his own tunnel adventure.

The only ones still on the course that I hadn't checked in with were Brian E. and Elizabeth. I texted her and asked if she needed anything, trying to gently ask her if she wanted to quit. Her short response was a testament to this person's strong will. "I'm good. I think I saw you drive away from the Quik Mart." I didn't see her but she may have seen me. It must have been like being lost at sea and the giant cruise ship doesn't spot you and just plows on by. She was intent on fulfilling her goal of forward motion until there wasn't any!

Back at the Headquarters and finish line, I had been getting regular updates from our leader, Brian E. He was making great time! He finished in an impressive course record time of 8 hours, 11 minutes for a GPS distance of 45.66 miles.

He was hungry when he returned and we fed him with tamales, kale salad, beverages and chile chocolate brownies.

Next in was Benedict with a time of 8:31. Then Matt with 9:23. And finally Geoff and Jenny, the day's happy pair with 11:45.

Everyone was eating, laughing and retelling stories from their amazing adventures of the day. During dinner, Elizabeth showed up. She had made it much further than she had initially theorized. She got all the way to the Rillito River before having her family pick her up. The only reason she stopped was marble sized blisters on the toes of both feet. My camera didn't do it justice but let's just trust me on this one.

What pleased me most though was how many of them commented that they run the mountain trails all the time on the weekends. They run the city streets on weekdays. They never knew of this other world that was literally, to use the tired phrase, in their own backyard. That, for me, was the intent of the entire project. Sometimes you don't have to venture far into the wilderness to find adventure and achieve your goals. When we take the time to look hard enough, even if that means 15 years, we may just find what we were looking for beneath our feet.

Perhaps Matt said it best in a farewell message later that evening, "Thanks again, Brian. I don't live for race day. I live for epic run day. Today was that day."

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Vicious Circle: Tucson's Newest Underground Trail Run

NEW DATE: Sun, Jan 31

Coming Sunday, January 31, 2016

It's the Vicious Circle. A 44 mile Fun Run.

- - - - - - - - -All city - No roads - - - - - - - - - - -

A side of Tucson you've never seen before.

Spend the day finding out why."

Who is Invited? Any member of TTR, their friends and invited guests.

Start / Finish Line: at Milagro Cohousing on Tucson's west side near Grant / Silverbell, 3057 N Gaia Place, Tucson, AZ 85745. Ample parking, pool, restrooms, large dining hall and outdoor shower.

5am: Early start time for those wanting additional run time and willing to serve as Urban Camper Wake Up Patrol.

6am: General start. Numerous distance options. Must return under I-10 by 5pm. 6:30pm finisher cutoff (12.5 hours).

Any time after 6am: Optional Sleepy Head Start, custom distances possible.

4-7pm: Finish line and "I'm Not Dead Yet" celebration. Prizes for finishers at all distances and tamale dinner and drinks served at the finish line.

Items to bring for this run include: a credit card, two $1 bills, a phone with a flashlight, a running buddy and pepper spray or other suitable weapon.

Course: This 44.1 mile counterclockwise trail run encircles the city of Tucson while only crossing 6 roads.

Detailed, zoomable map can be viewed here:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zt7aQYHhbSD4.kvF0CAOppF7E&usp=sharing

Participants will be given pocket guides at the start. These will consist of a foldable map and concise pocket edition of the written description. It is highly recommended that you spend some time reviewing the route in both the online zoomable map (pasted below) and the full description written below. In case you would like to access the concise description ahead of time, it is pasted here as well (further down is the detailed version):

Concise Notes: From Start, head up sidewalk, across parking lot, following cones and flags to empty neighborhood, turn right. Exit neighborhood and stay on left shoulder of Goret Road for 40 yards. Turn right across Goret Rd (WATCH FOR TRAFFIC!!!). Veer right onto old road bed sloping down into desert floor. Short steep descent. Pick up flagging to small main wash and run east towards Silverbell Rd. Go under Silverbell Road in low tunnel. Emerge and climb up to left embankment. Follow wash east to intersect with paved bike path.
1.2mi: Intersect Loop. Turn right across iron bike bridge and head south along Santa Cruz.
2mi: Stay left at fork in trail.
3mi: under Grant
4.25mi: under Speedway
4.75mi: under St. Mary's
4.92mi: Dragon Restaurant, TURN LEFT off path into wash. Head for tunnels with partner.
Follow network of tunnels and washes about 1/2 mi to low wooden railroad trestle at BICAS and 6th St. Climb out of wash up steep bank on right at trestle and cross 6th. WATCH FOR TRAFFIC! BAIL OUT OPTION 1: If done here, head south to Rondstat Transit Center, get on bus route #21. Will return you to Silverbell/Goret Rd.
If continuing, enter Railroad right of way, staying to the left of the tracks but inside the railroad fence. At next street (Small Planet Bakery / 7th Ave / 7th St), veer slight left to get onto right sidewalk of 7th St. Arrive at 6th Ave, TURN Right. Climb up over overpass and TURN LEFT onto small overpass, continue straight past Light Rail Train House. Pick up bike path in covered bike bridge. Follow bike trail, turn right to climb hill at park and enter Snake Bridge. Begin Aviation Bikeway. Follow Aviation Bike Path all the way to Golf Links / Craycroft (DMAFB entrance). On NW corner of this intersection, drop down into wash and enter tunnel under intersection. Dark. Flashlight or phone light recommended. Emerge on other side, climb up onto sidewalk on south side of Golf Links and continue east. Turn RIGHT at Wilmot. At second railing where the wash becomes concrete, drop down into wash on right. Follow wash into short tunnel under Wilmot. Follow bike path along Nicaragua as it bends east, south then east again. Pass boneyard. Right on Kolb. 1/2mi down, just past Lilac Pl and where the street light pole is marked "4320", turn LEFT across Kolb. Follow dirt road behind houses due east. Trashy area. Go straight to pick up Pantano Wash. Run along edge of wash, but down in it under each road. Under Escalante, Pantano, and Stella, but if too bushy, you can climb up on to embankment when needed. After Stella, wash gets very overgrown. Climb up to right and follow single tracks north, keeping Ford Elementary School on your right. Round backstop on right, turn right and head across soccer fields, aiming for Lakeside Park and the boat ramp. Run down steep ramp and turn right onto sidewalk along water's edge. Follow sidewalk counterclockwise around lake. On north side, follow bike path and in 1/2 mi, turn left off path just south of Golf Links to join wash. Follow wash under Golf Links Road. BAIL OUT OPTION 2: Bus #17 to #3 to #21. Or #17 to end of that route and run final 3 miles of loop. If continuing, follow Pantano till it joins Rillito. Run Rillito bike path west until it goes under I-10, BAIL OUT OPTION 3: On the Rillito near the Tucson Mall, if done you can head to the Tohono Tadai Transit Center there, take route 19 to Rondstat and 21 to return to Goret / Silverbell. If running on, finish Rillito by going under I-10, turn left on path along frontage road on west side of I-10. (5pm cutoff here), then head south to Camino Del Cerro. Turn RIGHT, staying on bike path along road, across bridge over Santa Cruz, then under bridge on path. A few more miles brings you back to the beginning of the loop. Now retrace your early steps to get back under Silverbell, across Goret Rd, through Black Cloud Court and back to Milagro at the finish.

Detailed notes on the route: Full Route:

Start at the Grassy Circle in front of Milagro's Common House. Run through gate and up sidewalk to gravel parking lot. Head east across parking lot to orange cones marking access to adjacent property. At empty cul-de-sac turn right and run along shoulder of neighborhood lane. Head out main gate of neighborhood and cross lane to get on burm above left side of Goret Road. Run east along road for 50 feet, then cross Goret Road and head downhill following cones. Run downhill into central wash, heading east towards Silverbell Road. Run through cement culvert under Silverbell Road, just south of Goret / Silverbell intersection. Continue east in wash towards Santa Cruz River. Within a quarter mile, climb out of wash up onto left edge of wash. Run on left ledge of wash, following the wash until you come to iron bicycle bridge, turn RIGHT across bike bridge. This is the actual start of the loop. (1.2mi.)

Follow bike path south along Santa Cruz. At Junction of Juhan Park (about 2+ mi) keep LEFT on path, following river. Continue south and run UNDER Grant Road (3mi). Continue south, passing running track for Arizona School for Deaf and Blind, run UNDER Speedway Blvd(4.25mi). Continue south, run UNDER St. Mary's Road. (Sorry, Oasis Fruit Cones doesn't open until February). Just after St. Mary's, and just past the circle of flags of the nations, you will arrive at the backside of Dragon's View Restaurant. This is where life takes a turn and so do you. At this spot, where the brown paint turns more brown (4.92mi), turn left, leaving the bike path, climbing through the railing of the river path and cross the Santa Cruz River heading due east into the deep dark tunnel under I-10. There are a series of tunnels here, and once you enter, there isn't any easy access out until you finish this section. Having a buddy with you here is strongly recommended. There are three tunnels to choose from. They all lead to the same place but try and pick one that isn't inhabited. There will likely be a few people about and possibly some belongings stored in the bushes but pay no heed and continue east. Soon you will come to a "room" with a clear view of the sky. Looking up, you will see that you are completely surrounded by concrete walls topped with tall steel fence with curved pointy tips. This is a wonderful place for your friends and family to stand above ground and get one last look at you. The location is in front of Davis Bilingual School on St. Mary's Road, just south of the Bicycle Church. You'll be down in this urban pit, looking up at them. You will stay subterranean and head towards a low wooden train trestle. At this point, turn right, climb a steep embankment and CROSS 6th Street at the railroad tracks with the blinking light (just south of BICAS).

Run on the railroad embankment on the far left edge of the gravel, parallel to the train tracks, but staying inside the tall railroad fence. Head east to Small Planet Bakery and CROSS 7th Avenue, taking slight left onto right shoulder of 7th STREET. TURN RIGHT at corner of 7th Street and 6th Avenue, staying on southbound sidewalk. The route on the Google Map is wrong here*. At corner of 7th St and 6th Ave, there is Miller's Surplus (Cammo Aid Station) and Exo Roast (coffee aid station) and Tap and Bottle (beer aid station).

BAIL OUT OPTION: If you get to this point and have had enough of the circle, you can head south on 6th Avenue two blocks to the Ronstadt Transit Center. Route 21 will take you directly back to Goret Rd and Silverbell Rd, just 1/2 mile from Milagro and the Finish Line. Or, if you want to skip ahead 15 miles on the route, you can take Bus 8 and get off near Tanque Verde and Grant Rd, rejoining the route as you continue to run north on the Pantano and join the Rillito.

If continuing, head south on 6th Ave on the sidewalk. This sidewalk leads to a pedestrian overpass next to the railroad tracks. Continue southeast past light rail train house. At end of light rail tracks and near 4th Avenue, get onto pedestrian overpass covered bridge. Stay on bike path paralleling Stevens Ave and 10th Street. Turn right to enter Diamondback Bridge (also called the Snake Bridge). If you survive your trip through the snake and over Broadway Blvd, exit the tail and continue south on the bike path on Aviation Bikeway. Go UNDER South Kino Parkway. Go UNDER E 22nd St and several off ramps. CROSS S. Country Club on bike path, join neighborhood road named Aviation Dr. Continue straight, CROSS E 34th Street (10mi) and rejoin bike path. Go UNDER S. Palo Verde Rd on bike path. CROSS S. Alvernon Way and stay on bike path. CROSS S. Swan Rd on bike path.

At intersection of Golf Links and Craycroft, get ready for fun. If you need an aid station, there is a Circle K on the NE corner of Craycroft and Golf Links. Just prior to arriving at intersection on bike path, leave path and enter the wash, heading southeast into tunnel under intersection. This is a long tunnel with an elbow in it. You will need a flashlight. Exit SE of intersection in wash and climb up onto sidewalk heading east on south side of E. Golf Links Rd. Pass world's second largest solar field on a military base (#1 is at Ft. Huachuca). Stay on path, turning right at Wilmot Rd. There is a Safeway and Viva Burrito (aid stations) at this intersection. Pick your poison.

There is a QuickMart (aid station) at your next intersection of Wilmot and Niacaragua Dr (14mi). As you near the Quik Mart on your left, turn right at the second railing to avoid brush in the wash and head down the embankment where the wash is weed free. Follow wash to intersection and turn left, running through concrete tunnel under Wilmot. Aid at this Quik Mart and another store down the street as well at corner of Kolb. Follow Nicaragua to end of the block and stay on bike path as it bends to the right turning onto S. Calle Polar and then it bends to the left becoming E Escalante Rd. Enjoy your view of The Boneyard, or AMARG (Aerospace Maintenance And Regeneration Group). There are 4,200 military airplanes stored here. Please don't take one. There is a Quick Mart Aid Station at NE corner of Escalante and Kolb. TURN RIGHT onto Kolb, staying on path. Just past neighborhood development on your left and just past E Lilac Place, TURN LEFT (15mi) (the street light pole here is numbered 4320) cross KOLB Rd and head into desert going due EAST.

Follow the alley lane behind these houses due east. Enjoy the backyard art along the way. Funky stuff. After 1/4 mile, the houses fade away and things get kind of sketchy. Lots of garbage dumping here. Pick your way through and pick up drainage path, turning left on it and run NE either in small wash or on edge of its embankment. As you come to road crossings, head down into wash to go GO UNDER Escalante, staying in wash. Once you go under the road, climb back up the embankment on the left and run the dirt road on left paralleling the wash. GO UNDER Carson, in wash. GO UNDER Pantano, stay in wash. GO UNDER Stella, then ascent up right embankment to avoid something most unpleasant. Or stay in the wash, it's your choice. If up on the embankment, follow the wash staying on the right and curve right around backstop of Ford Elementary athletic field. Continue to the right and cross soccer fields, heading straight towards Lakeside Park. Aim for the boat ramp straight ahead. (17.5mi) Run down the steep boat ramp and turn sharp right at the bottom to avoid entering in the lake. Follow the sidewalk counterclockwise around the lake. Climb up the steep sidewalk hill to pass over the spillway, then back down to return to water's edge as you make your way around the park. Watch for fishing poles waving around. Once past the lake, continue on bike path to about (18.5mi) and in a steep dip in the bike path, turn left to enter wash. It's a little brushy here and this is where the adventure of the Pantano starts.

Bail out options: If you're done at this point, you can pick up a city bus that will get you back to Rondstat Transit Center and then Route 21 takes you up Silverbell back to Goret Road where you can run or walk the final 1/2 mi to the finish. The nearest bus stop is just west of this bridge but is for Express only and doesn't run on Sundays. Bus #17 stops at Golf Links / Pantano. Get on. At 6th St / Wilmot transfer to Route 3. That takes you to the transit center (1 hr commute), then get on Route 21 to return to the finish. Fare is $1.50 and you can transfer with that if you tell the driver. Or, you could stay on Bus 17 North and take it all the way to the end of the bus route at Davis and Ruthrauff. Getting off the bus here, you can just run west on Ruthrauff, it becomes Camino Del Cerro. Stay on the north side of the road and within a mile you will rejoin the final 3 miles of the Vicious Circle Route, heading across and along the Santa Cruz south for just a couple miles to the finish.

If continuing on the full run: GO UNDER Golf Links Rd in this wash. Continue straight where you will soon join the main Pantano Wash. There is a bike path along much of the east side of the Pantano Wash. Feel free to get on it. Or punish yourself further by staying in the deep loose sand. Why not, you're only halfway done anyway. Stay on the Pantano running UNDER E 22nd St, UNDER E. Broadway Blvd. (20 MILE MARK), UNDER E. Speedway Blvd, UNDER E. Tanque Verde Rd. Stay in Pantano until coming to N. Craycroft Rd, where the Pantano River meets the Rillito River. Here, as you cross N. Craycroft Rd, stay on the south side of the Rillito. This is just over the halfway mark on the course.

Run UNDER N. Swan Rd. Run UNDER N. Alvernon Way and UNDER N. Dodge Blvd. Once under Dodge, turn around and get up on the sidewalk of the Dodge Blvd Bridge. Cross the Rillito to the north bank. Get on the bike path heading west on the north bank until you come to the pedestrian bridge at the Tucson Racquet Club. CROSS BRIDGE TO SOUTH SIDE OF RILLITO. Here you'll run the Secret Rillito Trail. RUN UNDER Campbell Ave. (Trader Joe's Aid Station on your left here). Run UNDER N 1st Ave. UNDER N. Stone Ave. After crossing under Stone, hop up onto the parking lot surface of the Tucson Mall.

BAIL OUT OPTION: If time (or your legs) are tight and you're done at this point, head to the Tohono Tadai Transit Center at the Tucson Mall. Take Route 19 to the Ronstadt Transit Center and transfer to Route 21 to get to Goret / Silverbell. From there it's just a 1/2 mile jog up hill to the Finish at Milagro.

If continuing on, after crossing Stone Ave, run on the edge of the parking lot next to the bushes and the wash until you go behind back of BevMo, office complex and Dept of Homeland Security. Here you will pick up the bike path again. Go UNDER N. Oracle Rd. Planet Fitness on your left if you want to stop for a quick workout. UNDER N. Flowing Wells Rd. UNDER N. La Cholla Blvd. ACROSS N. Camino De La Tierra.

Continue following The Loop Bike Path as it bends to the left, under the railroad trestle, UNDER I-10 and the frontage roads (5:00pm cutoff here), and then turn left, staying on bike path that parallels the frontage road, heading south. Enjoy the Pecan orchard on your right. Go ahead. I know a guy. CROSS Sunset Rd, staying on bike path. Pass through industrial area staying on bike path and arrive at El Camino Del Cerro. Turn right at road, staying on bike path. Stay on path across bridge to west side of wash, then turn right to go under bridge heading south. Follow this south past Silverbell Lake (drinking fountains, restrooms), past Silverbell Golf Course, and back to the iron bicycle bridge where you started this mess. Except this time, DON'T CROSS THE BRIDGE! Instead, retrace your steps by continuing straight and follow this wash to Silverbell Road. Run UNDER Silverbell Road in the concrete culvert and head up the same wash you came down what will now seem like 17 years ago. Up the hill, cross Goret, enter Black Cloud Court and from the empty roundabout, run across the Milagro gravel parking lot to the mailboxes. Pick up the cement sidewalk and head down to the metal gate, the Grassy Circle, the Common House, the Pool, Shower, Beer, Tamales and THE FINISH LINE!

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Use Your Nest Thermostat as Iron Man Arc Reactor Costume

As an ultra runner, I'm used to conserving energy when I run. But being energy stingy doesn't end when I kick off my shoes at the door. I also like saving energy (and money) at home with the way I use electricity. In fact, I like it so much it's my profession - teaching others how to save both money and energy by being more efficient with it. So last week when I was to attend a conference of 1000 realtors at a convention center and have a booth to share some easy ways to save energy at home I was in my element. But this conference had a theme and I am a sucker for themed events. In middle school I was the one who took spirit day to a whole other level, and I was a teacher! For instance, one day, on Dress Like a Pirate Day, the principal told me she caught me limping across campus in my knickers and tights during planning period when no one else was out of class, because I stayed in character all day, even when no one else was around.

So the theme of this conference was Back to the Movies, as in Back to the Future. They even had an exact replica Delorean car from the movie brought in on the convention floor.

There were booth decorations and character costumes. There was even a costume contest. I was hooked. But what would I be? What movie character goes along with energy, is cool and could be something I could create in a week? I thought of The Flash. He's a lightning bolt in a red spandex suit but it didn't seem right. I remembered Iron Man from the Avengers. He's played by Robert Downey Jr. in the film version. As a billionaire weapons investor he damages his heart in a battle and has to create a glowing round orb embedded in his chest to keep his heart functioning. That would be cool I thought. I could get a flat flashlight and tape it to my chest. But I saw a couple of Iron Man suits for sale in the local costume shops and they just oozed cheap.

I needed something more authentic. And how would I connect it to energy savings? And that's when I had a realization.