February seems that time in winter for trail runners here in the Valley when hope exceeds cold reality.  For the past two years SVBR runners have taken to the trails of Carbonate Mountain looking for nice, runnable singletrack only to be chastened with the need to wait a number of more weeks before anything that resembles good conditions emerge.

The latest scouting report comes from Brad on his blog post: Carbonate Recon.  The upshot:  some runnable packed snow that quickly descends to frustrating and narrow post-holed trail.

My post from last year – First Dirt: Carbo Report – came out almost to the day of Brad’s.  And, although, its details were a bit different, the conlcusion was pretty much the same:  time to wait.

It was a big lunch hour today for SVBR runners at the Sun Valley 5k Snowshoe Challenge.  Race director, Brad Mitchell, put on a great and challenging event over the hill and dale of the White Clouds golf course of the Sun Valley ski resort.  Andy Jones-Wilkins took the men’s honors in 35:05, with masters speedster Tom Borschel coming over from Idaho Falls and taking second, two minutes down. Kathy Morell won the women’s race in 40:32.

A few photos:

Pre-race briefing from race director, Brad Mitchell

Men's Winner (AJW)

Women's Winner (Kathy Morell)

Sun Valley runner, Andy Jones-Wilkins, took second place for the second year in a row at the early-season Ghost Town 38 miler in New Mexico.  Coming in under last year’s winning time by two minutes (at 5:19) just wasn’t enough to best the on-fire Nick Clark who won in a course record time of 5:09.  Clark also won the previous weekend’s Bandera 100k in Texas in record time, securing his bid in the Western States 100 this June.

Check out AJW’s write up for details.

All three runners from Idaho on the entrants’ list to the 2010 Western States 100 (entrants) have close ties to the Sun Valley area.  Boise dweller and Montrail team member, Joelle Vaught, who made it in as an automatic qualifier with her standout win at the Where’s Waldo 100k, has won the Elephants Perch Backcountry Run multiple times, most recently in 2009.  The Backcountry Run uses some of the Sun Valley areas’ most scenic and popular trails around Adams Gulch and Fox Creek.  Patagonia runner, Andy Jones-Wilkins, another automatic qualifier because of his top ten placing at Western States in 2009, lives in Ketchum and is the headmaster of the independent Community School in Sun Valley.  Finally, Hank Dart, who lives in Hailey, bucked the odds in the open lottery and drew one of the cherished entries in the race.

The 2010 edition of the Western States 100 starts on June 26 at Squaw Valley, CA, and finishes in Auburn, CA.

SVBR’s Andy Jones-Wilkins took the off-season challenge from Craig Thornley to attempt a 5:00 mile. Video of the affair below. Here’s Andy’s report. And Craig’s more detailed account.

The Sun Valley Company
Winter Expo & Gondola ‘Ganza

November 21st. 2009
11:00 a.m. @ River Run

The Race to the Roundhouse

Come Celebrate This Historic Grand Opening of the New Sun Valley Gondola

Pre-Registration @ The Elephant’s Perch for the Race
Now Thru Friday Nov. 20th. @ 6:00 p.m.

Race Morning @ River Run 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

FREE…NO ENTRY FEE REQUIRED!!!

Fun Event Starts Immediately Following Gondola Ribbon Cutting

Race Route: Up River Run to The Roundhouse Gondola Station
1928 Vertical Feet
( Race Surface May or May Not Be Snow!)

Course Will be Marked All the Way !

THIS IS NOT A SKI EVENT!!!!

You will Run or Walk Up and Take the Gondola Down

Snowshoes, Microspikes & Poles May Be a Good Idea !

FREE DEMOS AVAILABLE WHILE SUPPLIES LAST

ABSOLUTELY NO DOGS PLEASE !!!

TIMES WILL BE RECORDED IF YOU SO DESIRE !!

NO AWARDS CEREMONY…THIS IS ALL ABOUT THE GONDOLA OPENING

Events Activities All Day @ River Run Lodge

It’s been great exploring the new trail system out Croy Canyon this fall.  Yesterday, I  ran the Rodeo Drive/Bullion Gulch loop for the first time, and it’s got some really great singletrack, all which is very runnable. My Garmin eTrex Summit (or eTrex Mitchell as I call it) put it close to 9, with about 1400 feet of total ascent.  It could be closer to 9.5.  See the map.

SVBR runner, Hank Dart, took to the difficult trails of the Wasatch Front 100 last weekend and was able to finish in a strong 25:34, good enough for 19th place overall.  Sun Valley runners, Brad Mitchell and Andy Jones-Wilkins crewed and paced for the Wasatch neophyte, respectively.  It was the warmest race day in 12 years on the challenging course marked by nearly 27,000 feet of climbing and 26,000 feet of descending.

Write ups from Hank, Brad, and AJW.

SVBR runner, Andy Jones-Wilkins, has posted a beautiful piece on the impact of the Station Fire on the Angeles Crest 100, a race steeped in history and where he cut his teeth on the 100 miler circuit.

AJW’s Blog:  Angeles Crest

Look out for the new Sun Valley Half Marathon.  There will be a lot of improvements for the annual spring road run around the Idaho resort area of Ketchum/Sun Valley in 2010.  And the changes start at the beginning, with organization of the event moving from an out-of-town group to a local race committee with experience putting on some of the area’s best and longest-running events, including the Elephant’s Perch Backcountry Run, Turkey Trot, and Shop to the Top, the last stop on this year’s La Sportiva Mountain Cup Series.

Other improvement see the start/finish area moved to the new Sun Valley Pavilion and slight course changes that further highlight the striking beauty of the Northern Rockies.  Be sure to save the date:  June 5, 2010.  Registration opens December 1, 2009.

More details will post when they’re available.  Until then, see the press release.

Creative Commons photo by: spdorsey