Blog Archives
GUEST REVIEW: BIG COTTONWOOD HALF MARATHON
Hey Trippers!
Running happy!
Another TTK tradition starts here, as we’ve got our very first guest writer.
Ashley McDuffie was the winner of our “Salt Lake Shuffle” contest and received a FREE entry into the Big Cottonwood Half Marathon.
She let her inner speed demon loose as she ran the race in a “damn fast” 1:26:36 (6:37 min/mile).
I had hoped to bump into her on the course, but clearly all I would have seen would have been her vapor trails as she rocketed by.
Well, Ashley’s put together her review of the race (along with some snapshots).
So, take it away Ashley!
RUN DOWNHILL AND SAY “CHEESE”…
Hey Trippers!
My legs are finally feeling like legs again as I continue to recover for last weekend’s half marathon.
And the goodies keep rolling in from the REVEL Big Cottonwood race.
One of the great runner’s perks from the race is FREE photos. Instead of having shell out almost $30 for a single digital photo from races series like Disney and Rock ‘n’ Roll, the folks at REVEL want you to be able to display a whole slew of fun shots without the word “PROOF” forever tattooed across your torso.
Here are my candids from Salt Lake City.
Oh, and there’s still one more fantastic freebie to go as REVEL will be using my photos to cut together a personalized video summarizing the race experience. I’ll be sure to post that puppy when it’s available.
Have a great weekend everyone… and Run on!
SORE NO MORE… FINALLY!
Fun run on Saturday!
The REVEL Big Cottonwood race is a well-known downhill course that promises really fast times. Depending on your race choice (half or full marathon) participants can expect a decline in excess of 3000′- 4000′ during the race.
In the weeks leading up to the race, I checked out the race website to see if they had any pointers. And they did have a nice section on training specifically for a downhill race. You can check it out here (Big Cottonwood Training).
I took their advice about not worrying about the altitude; I made sure to hydrate properly and I even did a little hill work training to prep myself for the declines.
REVIEW: REVEL BIG COTTONWOOD HALF MARATHON
Big Cottonwood Bling
Ready to get back to nature and chase a PR at the same time? If so, then look no further than the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon/Half Marathon. As the flagship race in the new REVEL series (also includes the REVEL Rockies and REVEL Canyon City races) this scenic downhill course is situated in the mountains just outside of Salt Lake City. Although a relatively new race, Big Cottonwood has already earned a reputation as a well-run event and also serves as a prime Boston qualifier. This year’s race sold out and drew in excess of 2500 runners for the half marathon and over 1500 participants for the full marathon. Read the rest of this entry
THE BIG COTTONWOOD HALF MARATHON EXPERIENCE: POST MORTEM
Hi Trippers,
Bib me!
Sorry for the daylong wait in me posting my race results. It’s been a pretty crazy past few days and I’m just now catching my breath.
One word sums up my experience at the REVEL Big Cottonwood Half Marathon… awesome.
From the second I boarded the plane in LA until the moment the wheels touched back down in the City of Angeles, I had an absolute blast (one of my best overall race experiences ever).
One of the reasons this race was so great had nothing to do with the run itself, but rather the people I ran it with. I met up with my friend Maria (aka “BustA Groove”) at LAX and flew to SLC with her and her friend (and now my friend too) Donielle.
THE REVEL BIG COTTONWOOD HALF MARATHON EXPERIENCE: GETTING SALTY
Hey Trippers!
“Go Big.”
Greetings from Utah and the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon/Half Marathon.
It’s already been a blast of a day (that started pre-dawn) and we don’t even run until tomorrow.
After waking up at 3:45am and treking to LAX, I met up with my friends BustA Groove and Donielle for a fairly quick Southwest Airlines jaunt (about 90 minutes… enough time for some peanuts and a few games of Candy Crush Saga) to Salt Lake City.
Needless to say, Salt Lake City is a very pretty place and we were all pretty impressed with the scenic mountains in the distance… the very same mountains we’ll be running down tomorrow morning. Read the rest of this entry
A LITTLE BREATHER
Hi Trippers,
“Take 5” everybody.
TV programs have re-runs, do clip shows or go on hiatus.
Broadway and Vegas shows have their “dark” nights.
People take vacations and professionals at times take sabbaticals.
Even runners have their off-season or rest days.
After 9 months of near daily blogging (approximately 230 posts), I think my keyboard (and the fingers that pound it) could use a couple of days off.
So, TTK is going to take a breather for a week.
But don’t worry as I’ll be back next Friday reporting from Salt Lake City and the REVEL Big Cottonwood Half Marathon.
Catch you all next week… and Run on!
TILTED RUNNING AND MOUSE PREP
Looks straight to me when I wear my running shoes.
I was honestly a little nervous before my long run this past Saturday.
As I’ve mentioned, my runs the last few weeks (check out my post on “The Week of Suck”) have been far from wondrous. In fact, several have been downright shitty.
My visit to the podiatrist on Thursday did help alleviate a lot of my worry. That finicky right foot of mine is just finicky… not injured. Some additional padding to my orthotic (changing my foot’s angle) and I am supposedly good to go.
But as I laced up my shoes at Griffith Park on Saturday I couldn’t help but wonder if this change might have additional consequences, such as rubbing, blisters or some other kind of unexpected pain.
Part of me was wondering if the new set-up to my shoes would make me feel like I was running at a slant… like a big clomping “Leaning tower of Pisa” (if the landmark ever decided to take up distance running, that is). Read the rest of this entry
WINNER: “SALT LAKE CITY SHUFFLE”
Hi Trippers!
The shortest distance between two points…
A hearty thank you to all who entered the “Salt Lake City Shuffle” contest.
I’m looking forward to running Big Cottonwood and seeing which of you gets to join in the festivities… gratis.
So without further ado, the winner of a FREE entry into the REVEL Big Cottonwood Race is:
Ashley McDuffee
For those of you who didn’t win, you can still save some cash on the race. Each of you is eligible to save up to $10 on the REVEL Big Cottonwood Race (Sep. 13 in Salt Lake City) or the REVEL Canyon City Race (Nov. 15 near Los Angeles)
Just join “Team Tripping The Kenyans” for either race by clicking below and you automatically save $5 off of your entry (plus an additional $5 Facebook discount is available at checkout).
Team Tripping The Kenyans- REVEL Big Cottonwood (Sep. 13th)
or
Team Tripping The Kenyans- REVEL Canyon City (Nov. 15th)
Oh, and I’ll be giving away a FREE entry to the REVEL Canyon City Race in the weeks, so keep checking TTK
Have a great Friday… and Run on!
CONTEST: “SALT LAKE CITY SHUFFLE”
Hi Trippers!
Salt Lake City Shuffle
The first race in the REVEL 2014 series is in the books. A hearty (and large) band of REVELers took to the Rocky Mountains outside of Denver on Sunday morning. PR’s were achieved, swag was earned and fun was had by all.
Next up in the series is the Big Cottonwood Marathon/Half Marathon outside of Salt Lake City, Utah on September 13th.
The Big Cottonwood marathon course drops over 4,000 feet and the half marathon course drops just shy of 3,000 feet.
It’s a beautiful, scenic downhill course that just screams PR… and it is a USATF certified course and “Boston qualifier.”
WINNER: “RACE IN MY PLACE”
Hi Trippers!
Many thanks to all of you who entered the “Race in My Place” contest.
And the winner of a FREE entry into the REVEL Rockies Race is: ABBIE SOLBERG.
But don’t worry, there are more contests to come.
I’ll be giving away a FREE entry to the REVEL Big Cottonwood Race (Sep. 13th in Salt Lake City) and the REVEL Canyon City Race (Nov. 15th near Los Angeles) in the weeks to come.
In the meantime, you can join Team “Tripping The Kenyans” and save up to $10 off each entry fee.
You can click on the links below:
Team Tripping The Kenyans- REVEL Big Cottonwood (Sep. 13th)
or
Team Tripping The Kenyans- REVEL Canyon City (Nov. 15th)
Have a great Thursday… and Run on!
“REVEL” JOINING A TEAM
Speedy and striking!
Q: What’s better than running a half marathon or marathon?
A: How about running a half marathon or marathon that features a “fast as hell” downhill course? And how about a “scenic” fast as hell downhill course?
Q: What’s better than that?
A: Saving some money (aka cash, dough, coinage) while running a scenic, fast as hell, downhill half marathon or marathon.
Q: How much money?
A: How’s $10 grab you? Or better yet, how about a chance to run for FREE?
First things first.
Last week I was named one of the Revel Race Series ambassadors and it’s time to get the ball rolling… downhill.
Click on the image below to learn more about the REVEL Race Series and its trio of races (REVEL Rockies, REVEL Big Cottonwood and REVEL Canyon City).
I’ve just created team “Tripping The Kenyans” for both the REVEL Big Cottonwood and REVEL Canyon City races and here’s you chance to sign up for a team too.
Why join a team?
By signing up for a team, you can save $5 off of the price of registration. And coupled with the additional $5 Facebook discount available during checkout, you can save up to a total of $10 (pretty sweet).
And be sure to sign up before August 1st to beat the price increase on the REVEL Canyon City race.
And it’s worth noting that the REVEL Race Series does NOT have any of those annoying registration/convenience/nonsense fees that many other races tack on to hide additional costs.
And there’s additional team benefits:
- Teams get a professional group photo taken at the race
- Teams with 12+ members get tent space at the finish line
- Teams are eligible to win a prize for the lowest average time in each race distance
So talk to your friends/running group and see about starting up your own team (and coming up with a cool name).
And you’re also all invited to join team Tripping The Kenyans (and can save up to $10 immediately). Just click on the links below:
Team Tripping The Kenyans- REVEL Big Cottonwood (Sep. 13th)
or
Team Tripping The Kenyans- REVEL Canyon City (Nov. 15th)
YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT RUNNING FOR FREE?
Yes, I did.
In addition to offering team discounts, I wanted to let you know in the upcoming days/weeks I’ll be running contests to give out a FREE registration for each of the three REVEL races.
And the first contest starts on Monday, August 4th. So be sure to check in and see about running a marathon “gratis.”
Join a team, save some cash… and Run on!
“REVEL” IN BEING AN AMBASSADOR…
One of my favorite TV Shows, “Futurama,” often began episodes with quirky professor Hubert J. Farnsworth” walking into the conference room at Planet Express spouting his catchphrase: “Good news everybody.”
So, let me follow suit… “Good News Everybody.”
I’m finally able to officially announce that I’ve been chosen as one of the “Ambassadors” to the Revel Race Series (check it out by clicking here).
Like Shirley Temple Black, Henry Kissinger and the “older version” of Mr. Spock, each of us 14 Ambassadors gets to spread the word… about this cool series of races.
Tripping The Kenyans 