My second half marathon for the month of July, this one was in a familiar route. I ran the Chabot Trail Run 30K here this past February. It was nice to be back at Lake Chabot on a gorgeous, cool morning. As I was driving up on Hwy 880, I could see the fog covering many of the easy bay hills. Just a week before the event, the route got altered which resulted in a slight drop in elevation, but with the addition of Columbine Trail, a fantastic single track, all downhill trail around mile 9.

At the end of the run, Strava reported a total elevation gain of ~2,000 ft though the Brazen Racing web site said about ~1,800 ft. Close enough I suppose.

Bad Bass Half Marathon

With aid stations at miles 1.7, 4.3, 8.7, 12, I decide to go broke again. Had a Clif Shot and a Succeed Caps stashed in my pocket, but no water. I was betting on the foggy morning and the cooler temperatures to carry me to the aid stations before needing water. With bag pipers playing and a few runners in kilts, we were off at 8am. Despite the lack of sleep from an early morning start, I was feeling pretty strong. I was averaging a pace of 6:45 mile/minute for the first couple of miles and was able to run up the first hill. The second hill? Had to power hike that one along with many others. With gorgeous vistas on the left, this was the big climb leading up to the aid station at the top.

Grabbed a cup of water at the aid station and started the rolling, yet mostly downhill run along Brandon Trail and Escondido Trail. I definitely was making time on the downhills and noticed it was about 0:50 when I ran past the mile 6 marker. When I got to the next aid station at the Clyde Woolridge staging area, decided to pop my Succeed Caps. Most of the run was through Eucalyptus Groves with the cool morning breeze and the fragrance of the trees bringing a big smile on my face. I hit the Columbine Trail single track right behind Stephen Sanford, who would go on to finish 3rd in his age group two minutes ahead of me. We mostly ran together until the last hill around mile 13 when I just couldn’t hold his pace. Ended up finishing 3rd in my age group (23rd overall) with a new PR of 1:50. I’m definitely happy with my times as well as finishing a trail run with a ~2,000 ft elevation gain under 2 hours.

I’m still amazed at how some of the runners don’t relent on the uphills even 10+ miles into the run. I’ve spent a fair bit of time in my short running career focused on downhill running and have gotten very comfortable letting loose. Looks like it’s time to start figuring out the uphills! Next up for me is the Crystal Springs Trail Run 50K in just two weeks!

Did you run the Bad Bass Half Marathon? What did you think of the new route?

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