Here are some final updates for everyone's information.  As we are obviously very close to the race and many of our are packing or already traveling, here are the last thoughts and items you should know.  

Weather - It's going to rain.  Bring a jacket.  I strongly suggest a hat and gloves in your drop bag at Washington Park to take out with you to Hell's Gate and your trip to Buck Springs AS.  I don't care where you live right now, it's cold as heck up on the Rim when you are wet and it's 2am.  It may only get to 25-30 degrees but it's a very bitter 25-30 degrees. We had a number of runners reaching hypothermia for the late miles on the Cabin Loop last year.  A fresh set of dry clothes at Buck Springs or Pinchot would be a great idea.  

Drop Bags - You can leave them at the start from 5am Saturday until you take off.  We'll have them lined up in the parking lot to just drop off by the sign for that respective station.  No drop bags for Hell's Gate and make sure you can easily see your bib number and names on each bag.  We'll bring all drop bags back to the finish line as each station closes so you can pick it up there.  

Crew - There are a number of maps on this website that are useful for finding your way around the course with your runner.  http://www.mogollonmonster100.com/crew-driving-instructions.html  I don't suggest visiting Pinchot Cabin aid stations.  It's just a lot of driving along dirt roads but you're welcome to it if you want.  If you drive to any aid station as a crew please make sure you park safely along the road leaving ample space for emergency vehicles access if necessary.  If you are going to Washington Park aid station you likely won't be able to park all the way at the top of the station.  Please park on the right (east) side of the road again leaving plenty of space for fire trucks/ambulance. This is VERY IMPORTANT.  You cannot access Hell's Gate Aid station. Don't even try, you'll destroy your vehicle.

Camping - Many people camp out for this race all weekend.  This is possible anywhere within the Coconino National Forest (top of the Rim) and most anywhere on the lower part of the Rim which is Tonto National Forest.  Both these agencies we receive special use permits for use of the area with this race.  Due to several reasons the Tonto NF has closed down camping at Washington Park.  IF YOU CAMP THERE YOU CAN RISK OUR FUTURE ABILITY TO GET A PERMIT.  You can also get a ticket.  That's on you, but please do not camp along the river, they are beautiful and tempting spots but they are no longer available. Blame the leopard frog and lazy white trash people that throw diapers in the river.  We are only allowed for overnight use for the aid station, nothing along the river or "no camping" signs.  It's unfortunate and hopefully changes in the future.  All the other aid stations it's OK to camp, go for it.  

Course Marking - Nearly the entire course is marked with  yellow 3" plastic ribbons that say "MOG100."  Follow these and anything that is yellow.  There are some shorter sections that are 1" yellow ribbons without "MOG100" on them.  Those are ok too, we had someone steal some ribbon rolls and reflective tape...so had to improvise...yellow is good.  Red is bad.  

There is a lot of yellow high intensity 3M reflective tape out there on the trees, manzantia, on the ribbons themselves, on the trees which have "official" trail markers.  We put it out there to make it easy to follow in the grassy sections, open meadows, and in general the night sections.  During the day these are also nice confidence markers. Overall, the course has more markers on it than last year. Its still a challenging area to navigate at times.  Study the course map, pay attention and don't always trust the person in front of you.  Bring a map.  It's no coincidence the last two years winners meticulously studied the course maps on their own and carried it with them.  

I will not be able to answer any last minute emails or requests until packet pickup at THAT Brewery on Friday.  We'll be there from 4pm-7pm and a little after for those that can't get up sooner.  We'll also provide bibs/packets from 5am -5:45am on race day at the trailhead. We'd like to have your pacer's contact information (cell is fine) provided and an updated emergency contact number that we'll have you fill out when you check in.  

ALL RUNNERS have to check in with us on Saturday morning.  We'll have a small table set up, please make sure we have checked you off as present before we start.  You need to do this even if we saw you the night before.  

5:45am I'll have a few quick updates on the course, and then we'll get you all off.  There are three porta-potties at the trailhead as of Friday afternoon.  Camping is open at the trailhead and you can leave your car there all weekend.  We'll shuttle you back to the car after you crush those 106 miles.  

Anyone that sprints the last 100 meters through the finish line will forever be my hero. 

Don't finish with anything in the tank.  Leave it in Pine.  

What a day at the Zane Grey Highline Trail 50 Mile Endurance Run.  Starting out knowing of an impending storm is an interesting way to go into one of the toughest races in the country.  Sure enough the horrible weather came and without disappointment.  

It wasn't 10 miles into the race the rain came in hard and sideways (My first trip the the Manzanita Mud Pen).  By 11 miles it was all mud and weighing your every step down.

That misery was fortunately limited by the time I hit mile 14 and the sky opened up and dropped a white blanket of hail which provided some much needed traction.  The temperature dropped and wet gloves became a liability.  I passed a couple runners already freezing and unable to eat a gel because their hands weren't working in the cold.  I opened their gels and in some cases were just giving them mine since it was easier than them pulling them out of their packs.  
I gave one runner my only head cover since he had nothing with him (???) and prayed for the next 4 hours I didn't just sabotage my own race.  I pulled a couple runners out of the woods off course (dude...you just ran through blue ribbons...) and then came into the 2nd aid station...only 3 hours into the race and people were falling apart.  This is going to be an interesting race...

The runners thinned out quickly from that point and the trail just got worse.  Wetter, muddier, colder and slicker.  It was immediately apparent that the back of the pack runners were the ones that were far worse off than the front of the pack.  The trail was turning into a mushy mess in some spots and after it got wetter and another 200 footsteps...it was going to be terrible for them.  Worse yet were the inconveniently hidden rocks mixed within the icy mush.  The hail had turned to sleet and then full on snow, on and off blown into your face with a blustery force you could only just appreciate and laugh at up to that point.  Trees were whipping around you sounding like they were ready to snap at the top while you fumbled around trying to pull out another gel and then for the 23th time...drop your earbud that has once again fallen out in the mess that is your gear.  

Not knowing if still after 20 something miles if we were running a 50K or 50M race it was challenging to know when to push and when to just maintain in the elements.  Not that I particularly cared at that point one way or another. I'd already concocted 20+ variations of excuses on why I would need to quit at Fish Hatchery.  All of which shamelessly used my toddler and family at foolproof scapegoats providing me an early trip home.  And all of which I never end up using in a race anyway, but it helps pass the time when you are wondering if when you stop next to take a leak on the side of the trail how much it's going to hurt if a piece of hail sneaks past your barrier and nails you in that one vulnerable place still exposed.  These are real concerns of a trail runner in a hail storm.  

Washington Park to Fish Hatchery is my favorite section of the course, and least favorite for most.  Yet despite my strengths in that section I still fell in behind others going slower and couldn't bring myself to pass and push harder.  It didn't feel like a race any longer and the point of pushing hard had long since been lost.  Or so I told myself until I had effectively convinced myself.  So instead, head down, soaking wet, feet weighed down with mud and water, unable to talk to anyone because of the wind and everyone wearing hats and hoods, we just plodded along.  

Fortunately it was with two strong runners, Scott Bajer and a great guy from Virginia, Derrick Carr, who we ran with for most of the final miles.  Up and down each ridge and through Hell's Gate we went together until we finally caught up to Justin Lutick.  He was in a similar state as most of us but hands were not working for him.  He was in a rare spot of quiet, unusual for a man of his personality.  He was a welcome sight in the midst of the mess outdoors and we clipped off some miles together before he had to stop and fix his foot. 

I'd lost Scott and the other group after my 3rd trip into the frozen forest for more corrections to a badly revolting stomach.  Not too many things more satisfying than a freezing wind on your bare ass in the forest.  Except cramping in your left leg while handling said correction which leads to a tip backwards and straight into the mud and snow. With your bare ass exposed. Really puts you in the mood to hammer out the rest of the race.  
Fortunately I'm easily amused by such things and wanted to catch back up with Justin and got in some really fun miles bouncing off the few exposed rocks poking above the mud, sliding this way and that in the mud and climbing every hill at a strong pace like it was the first miles of the race.  I was finally feeling good, 26 or so miles later.  I pushed on, climb after climb thinking the race was maybe salvageable.  I wasn't terribly far off my pace of last year and was running stronger as we got close to Fish Hatchery.  

The snow was coming down strong enough to cover up the runners tracks in front of me.  It got to the point that I'd start to get excited based on how fresh the tracks were in front of me.  I knew I was gaining on someone the fresher they looked.  And sure enough within a couple minutes I'd pass someone else.  Eventually after going back and forth with a tall, long haired runner from Oregon (David Henry) settled in and passed a runner and started talking about the course and I learned through him the course was officially over at 33. The wind was howling, snow blowing a different direction every few seconds, hands frozen and tucked under my armpits in alternating arms.  The charm of the weather had been lost long ago, occasionally returned here and there as caffeine allowed, but the mud continued to be the main deterrent.  

Snow is one thing.  Rain another.  Mud is an entirely different beast in an ultra, and your worst enemy on the Highline trail with that many rocks.  Ankles biting in every direction, slowing your every step, forcing you to run in the grass pods, rocks, or other ankle biting areas to avoid more muddy steps.  

Finally we pushed on through the final muddy sections and broke out to find another runner out in the wind and blowing snow running alone.  It was a familiar gait, and one owning to a frozen beard, one that could only be Sean Meissner's.  Or some lost miner from the back country.  

It turned out to be Sean's and that could only mean he was cruising in and not racing if I had caught up to him.  It was good to see another familiar face and after just finding out the race was officially being stopped at Fish Hatchery. Now just a few miles away, I decided to just run the last bit and make the most of it.  Finally putting something of a race environment into this slogfest made it a heck of a lot of fun towards the end.  I pushed hard through the plateau, down into the ravine and back up to the final slickrock, passing friends with the HAM crew rucking out to the 3 mile mark.  Their smiles helped propel me up the final climb and down the rocky descent to the cattle gate.  Knowing there were likely runners trotting into the finish as with every ultra I finally felt like running harder.  The hoods on everyone's jackets made it really hard to tell who was who, both from the back and for the runners looking back to see who was chasing them down.  I ran through the red rocks, always a fun section of the race and no exception today with the rocks wet around the snow red dirt of the area. I approached the final descent sprinting down the final switchback and into the crowd at the new 2014 finish line.  

This was the 25th anniversary of the race, it has a lot of history here in Arizona but also a well known race across the ultra community.  Its always so fun to see so many friends everywhere you go in this race.  

Dallas & Renee Stevens are always some of my favorite people to see at a race and they were a welcome sight at Washington Park.  They looked like they had that aid station rocking and well run!  Wish I could have spent more time with them!  

Chris Stores, one of the Black Hills 100 RD's, got to run in conditions he's probably quite used to and was great to meet and get to see him on the trail. Wish he got to see the course in its full length.  Guess we'll have to talk the BH100 crew into a September trip??

Andrew Miller out of Oregon and 18 years old pulled in a 3rd place finish and was genuinely disappointed that the race was ended as he was feeling strong and gunning for the next guys.  Not sure Chris Price or Ryan Smith would have let that fly but would really love to see what that top 5 group would have done at the full course.  The first 33 only set the stage for the race, a lot changes those last 18.  

Jerome Jourdon finished in 9:02 this year.  He's a 6 time (?) Zane Grey finisher and averages about 11:30 each year.  He also was our 3rd place finisher in our inaugural year of the Monster.  What's significant about this year?  

He started at 1pm on Friday from Trailhead 260 and started running west on the Highline with another friend in an attempt to run a "Zane Grey Double."  His friend was throwing up towards the end and they had to bail at 43 miles.  Jerome got to the start line before 5am and started the race with all of us, then finished, in those conditions.  Very tough runner, super impressive.

We had a lot of Monster friends out on the course, either volunteering or running. LindaVan and Kate Hansen, both captains of the Pinchot Cabin aid station each of the first two years were out there, Kate running and LindaVan volunteering at Hell's Gate.  Smiling as always in the middle of the storm.  Chris Cantrell, a friend of both Noah and I for years, woke up in Phoenix before 3am to drive up to the start to see the race off.  Then followed us along and helped out at aid stations waiting for us to come in.  So nice to see him at each station!

My brother Noah finished only 20 minutes after me making what likely would have been a huge time improvement over his last year.  He just keeps getting stronger and stronger and still isn't putting in 100 miles a month in training...

There are a ton of others out there, wives, husbands, girlfriends, crews, families.  Its one giant family and its one of the best parts about the Zane Grey race.  It sells out the same day but hasn't ever lost it's small town, small race feel.

A lot of people were talking about Zane Grey as their "trial race" to see how it went there before signing up for the Monster.  I'm not sure where most people are going to be after this one.  Some will feel like me, ready to sign up for another race right away because I don't feel like I ran a race, just a long training run...others will not want any of that trail again for a long time.  I can certainly understand that.  

I was at the finish line this morning, playing with my son in the playground behind the ramada where we host the finish line of the Monster in the center of the town of Pine. Milk Ranch Point hovers over the town, the trees and top of the Rim covered in snow and the start of the Monster, the Pine Canyon Trail, tucked half way up that cliff overlooking this very spot I stood.  I was pushing Dean in the swing, staring up at that cliff wishing I was there right then. The air is so clean and fresh.  It was sunny and a crisp feel to the air, perfect weather.  I stood there and...

BAM!!!

Dean swings back towards me and catches me right in the chin.  Totally and utterly day dreaming and he got me.  He thought it was hilarious.  After a few pride bruised moments I started to see his point.

If nothing else the shortened Zane Grey only motivates me more for the Mogollon Monster 2014.  (The year, not the new mileage...)  We're slowly improving the trail conditions (they'll still be generally speaking the most technical you'll ever run, just less bloody) and with each run the enthusiasm of fellow runners grows.  More volunteers, more runners, more pacers, all in the sense of maintaining the same feel as Zane Grey manages to embody every year I've been a part of it.  Small town, small great race.  

Zane Grey 2014 will go down in many people's minds as one to remember.  I know the RD Joe Galope and his wife Megan won't forget it any time soon.  Or our mutual HAM Operator and Head Honcho of all the HAM crews that keep everyone safe and informed, Jim Pierce.  It was a tough call to re-route the course a day early and then a tougher one to cut it for everyone.  The reasons are understandable but undoubtedly someone will be upset and send him some long winded email on what else he could have done.  It won't be coming from me or anyone else with a sense in their head.  Joe and Jim made a great decision in the preparation of the storm, many, many adjustments I'm sure they had to make throughout and in tracking down runners off course or in hypothermia.  Directing an ultra in that inaccessible terrain, in those conditions, is a nightmare for a RD.  Yet Joe pulled it off with confidence and instilled a sense of safety in the runners minds that we all appreciate and will remember for a long time.  

Many, many thanks to the volunteers that stayed out in that cold, wet and rainy situation just to keep us all moving through the trail.  
The HAM radio operators were out there with everyone else, and deserve a hell of a lot of credit for keeping everyone safe.  Those guys are some of the best in the entire ultra world.  We're lucky to have them support Zane Grey and the Mogollon Monster every year. Everyone was always smiling, always helpful and I always appreciate that kind of selflessness.  Wrapped up in a plastic bag with 40mph sideways winds ripping the cold through every layer as you sit and write down people's names as the pass a checkpoint in the middle of nowhere?  Yeah, that's a pretty incredible level of selflessness.   

Tomorrow at work people will undoubtably give me crap for running these kinds of races (non-runners).  Why would you WANT to do something like this?!  And the other 200 canned questions that we've all heard so many times before. I tell every one of them that if they just came out and stood at an aid station for 2 hours they would understand everything they need to know. 

It has nothing to do with running.  

Four days away from the 25th annual Zane Grey 50 Mile race and I'm 92% sure I tore something in my knee lifting my ipad off the ground at work today.  Yesterday I broke my left arm in a tragic arm raising exercise in a meeting.  I'm very much concerned that tomorrow I'm going to get hit by a runaway bus.

Of course, I've had these injuries before.  Usually right around the 20th of April...

It's how I know I'm running a great race, a rugged, tough, beat you down race.  Zane Grey certainly is all of that and then some.  These last few years of running has been dedicated to 90% Mogollon Monster prep work and training runs and the rest dedicated to Zane Grey. I don't run any races outside of Phoenix if it's not Zane Grey.  This is it.  This is my "A" race every year.  And I'm 100% ok with that. 

Because to me, its the single greatest race out there.  I love it.  Every rock, every obnoxiously steep and rocky ravine, the turns, meadows, pastures, trees, views, heat, and friends.  I love it all.  I have driven from Phoenix up to Payson so many times now, and yet, the drive has never gotten stale, never boring and I never dread it.  I always feel like the Highline (and above the Rim) is a true adventure.  It's a rarity to see another human out on the trails there.  Sure, you'll see some people camping here and there at trail heads (not Washington Park though, NFS banned camping there...more on that later) but on the trail itself?  It's generally yours for the day.  Its so rugged, devoid of human destruction, and downright beautiful from so many vantage points you constantly find yourself bewildered at where you are right then.  

A few things will be different going into this years race however. 

1)  Weather - The high temperature is typically 72-82 degrees with lows 35-45.  Its currently forecast'd at 54/30.  That would be the lowest high temp in at least 5 years, (likely much longer if I cared enough to check the almanac further).  This is going to be absolutely perfect weather for the race, optimal for most and takes away the advantage all Phoenix/Tucson runners had in heat training this time of year.  It's an advantage that has always helped level the playing field with Flagstaff and Colorado/Utah runners coming from higher elevations but colder weather.  It's generally been hot in Phoenix for a month now and the hotter it is on the Highline the better I tend to do versus others.  Advantage #1 now gone.  Bright side is, it'll be at least a bit more pleasant out there for everyone.

2)  The Highline Trail - Over the last two years Volunteer AZ - VOZ - has done some great trail work after they received a grant to improve the Highline trail and return it to a more sustainable state after years (or decades) of neglect.  Prior to the 2013 ZG race they had already re-routed a section of about 2 miles after Geronimo that removed a rather rough climb through a riverbed of erosion and replaced it with winding singletrack high above the erosion path.  This year they've completed several miles late in the race that does the same thing.  Removes very rough and rocky terrain for higher erosion controls on smoother single track.  There has also been two weekends in April of trail work that has cleared out some very rough sections from Washington Park through the Myrtle Trail turnoff.  That section alone is cleared out to the point that navigation alone is improved because you can detect the trail so much better now than previously when manzanita bushes covered cairns and misled you into following elk trails.  

Those two factors, the weather and the improved trail conditions, could make for some of the fastest times at Zane Grey ever.  Dave Mackey's 7:51 Course Record could finally fall. Hal Koerner, Andrew Miller, Chris Price, Erik Schulte, Brian Peterson, Catlow Shipek, Sion Lupowitz, Nick Coury, Evan Hone and several others are going create a big enough front pack to possibly push the few to continue on at that pace. Kerrie Bruxvort, Michelle Barton both could push for the women's course record.  Kerrie won last year and with better trail conditions and someone to push her it could play into a time for that record to fall as well.

OR...it'll stick around again for another year.  Zane Grey has a way of doing that to people and no matter the conditions...it still chews people up.  

For those that may find this useful here are each of the segments of the race, aid station to aid station, broken out on Strava Run. It's an easy way to interface the route and show various times throughout the race by multiple runners to give newcomers an idea of each individual section. 

Start to Geronimo: 
http://www.strava.com/segments/3221205

Geronimo to Washington Park:http://www.strava.com/segments/2374952

Washington Park to Hell's Gate:http://www.strava.com/segments/4996589

Hell's Gate to Fish Hatchery:http://www.strava.com/segments/6866953

Fish Hatchery to Christopher Creek (Pacer Option)http://www.strava.com/segments/6866956

Christopher Creek to Finish (Pacer Option) 
http://www.strava.com/segments/6866961

And for shits and giggles, here is the first 50K to Fish Hatchery:
http://www.strava.com/segments/3221221

And the entire pacer section from Fish Hatchery (33) to Finish (51)
http://www.strava.com/segments/6866979

And....the entire course:
http://www.strava.com/segments/6582057

Watches are not exact so don't get too excited about the 49.6 miles. It's 51, it just can't always pick up all the million zigs and zags along the way so is usually short on GPS (for me anyway) but a welcome surprise when you get to the finish. (Although the total may be a little different this year after the re-routes.)
 

This is my fourth year running Zane Grey.  Last year I knocked off almost 2 hours from my previous best time and finished in 10:37.  It was by far my hardest effort in a race and my best run race.  I started in the very back of the pack and slowly passed people on a race plan based on attrition not speed.  I wanted to go out at and average the same pace the entire race.  It turned out to work really well in keeping me from getting out of control on the downhills or hanging with people that were going faster than my desired pace.  I was never passed in the entire race where I didn't finish in front of the person and passed all but 12 people by the time I came in.  Even at the final mile I was dreading seeing any other people for the sheer fear and agony of having to push one last time to pass someone.  I simply didn't care at that point what my place was and my goal was to break 10 hours, long gone by then.  Yet my pacer Jay Danek looked back and we took off at the "1 Mile to Go" Ragnar sign (yup...it's a stolen Ragnar sign) and tried to catch this guy and his pacer.  All I wanted to do was just cruise on it, take my 10:40 time and be happy with it. Yet there we were, picking up the pace in an attempt to close a quarter mile gap in the last mile of a 50 miler.  Sheer genius.  

Yet we were closing in on them as we weaved in and out of sight, hoping with each step we got closer and closer before they realized we were behind them.  We got within 200 feet before the woman pacing him turned back and saw us and I knew it was then going to be time to hammer it.  I looked down at my watch and saw there was still at least .3 of a mile left.

It might as well have been 10 miles.  It felt like it was so far away.

I pushed on and we pushed the pace faster and faster until Jay finally pulled off the trail and yelled to get him.  It was like a scene from a movie, not a good one, like one of those shitty Netflix ones that they call a "New Release" but you've never heard of it...ever, but still a movie.  As soon as Jay yelled to hammer it the guys wife/girfriend/pacer yelled to the guy to run.  

So it became a sprint.  A full, unintended sprint to the finish of a race that I'm sure neither of us wanted to sprint at.  Yet here we were, putting the pedal to the absolute floor.  I knew where the finish line was...wait...no I didn't. Nobody does.  The damn thing feels like it's at mile 47 and every turn looks the same, every dip in the trail is the one that pops you out of the woods and to the two rocks that make the finish line.

I had to rely on my memory.  My tank was flashing on "E" and I couldn't possibly hammer this any more without literally passing out.  Or my heart exploding through my shirt.  That is was also a possibility.

With each step I was gaining on him, calculating how much longer I could hold this pace, would I catch him in time, I'm running out of real estate...can I get around him and pass him at the very last turn???

I was within 5 feet. I had closed this massive gap in a short distance and the finish line had to be right around the corner.  I had to make my move and on the very next corner I pushed it even harder, I was going to push past him like a NASCAR driver on the inside corner, just slingshot past him, through the rocks and into the glorious media onslaught that was surely awaiting my long anticipated and utterly dramatic finish.  

Except it wasn't the finish line. 

It was another hill.

And it destroyed me.

I simply could not sprint any longer. I was cashed.  Wasted.  Spent. Ruined.

I slumped over and stumbled through the rocks to the finish, 20 some seconds after my new nemesis.  He came over and we had a great laugh about it, and then I fell to the ground in sheer exhaustion.  

So here I am again, a year later, and going for the sub ten hours once again.  I've run 25% less miles a month this year versus last year but all my race times are the same or faster than last years same training races.  I've got another year of racing Zane under my belt and hopefully can keep towards the back of the pack long enough to pace properly to the end.  If not, I guess I can just sprint the last couple miles to make up time...

My brother Noah is back again this year, healthier and with more miles under his belt (I think he broke 100 miles for March!  New PR for him...only did like 30 last year...:))  He's going to do great again this year!

If you're running the race this year come say hello at registration on Friday! I'll be there for most/all of it helping Joe sign everyone in.  Would love to say hello, Noah and I will be in Mogollon Monster 100 shirts so say hi!  And if not, we'll see you out on the trail soon!  Training runs starting in May!

We set out to clear a big section of the Highline Trail and we finished it.  One manzanita at a time.  

We started out at Hell's Gate and split the two groups up.  Justin Lutick and I went east on the Highline towards Myrtle Trail and Chris Thornley and the rest of our volunteers (Jon Roig, John, Kevin, Kristin, Kelly and Chris) all headed back west to Washington Park.  They had two chainsaws to clear downed trees and we had a pair of loppers.  We cut through swaths of confusing manzanita that now present the Highline Trail as it should be, a trail.  It's still very rough, rocky as hell and the elevation profile hasn't changed at all.  But at least now it's little less confusing which what you need to go.  Those that have done this race in past years will appreciate it.  First timers will think, "This is an improvement...???"

A HUGE thank you to Chris Thornley and guy Chris from Agassiz Cutting out of Flagstaff. Chris has been one of the main reasons the trail is even remotely usable in past years. He's blazed the trail back year after year with his chainsaw's, lugging that thing so far into the backcountry and doesn't get nearly enough credit for all the work he does.  Justin Lutick is basically a Highline Hobo at this point he spends so much time up there lopping away at manzanita.  There isn't a person alive that is more dedicated and passionate about the Highline Trail.  He sacrifices a lot of his time to get the trail in shape and still goes out and kills it on race day.  

It's rare to get so many people out for trail work on the Highline and even more challenging to find a group as hard working as the ones we had.  They had an unbelievable work ethic and helped us get a huge amount of work down in only two days.  I can't thank them all enough and really appreciate Chris and Justin for continually getting out there and knocking it back.

They are going back up again THIS weekend the 12th/13th to tackle Fish Hatchery west to Myrtle and vice versa.  If you are interested let me know and I can connect you with Justin directly or you can sign up through the Zane Grey website, www.zanegrey50.com.  

I uploaded some pictures from the trail work below.  I apologize the verticals are showing as horizontal.  I can't get it to rotate and starting over is not in the cards tonight...

For the Monster these pictures are of what is Hell's Gate to Myrtle Trail.  Mile 57-60 or so.  This work we did will make a HUGE impact on runners navigating this section during the night.  It also makes marking the course and following the course so much easier as we've eliminated a great deal of the "which one of these five elk trails is actually...THE trail??" feeling.  It's pretty evident now which way to go and we've returned the trail back to the original course in several places where overgrowth has naturally forced animals and hikers/runners around large manzanita.  

Good talk.  See you out there! 

Counting down the days and we are now inside the two week mark!  

This weekend are finishing up on some shopping for the race and Saturday morning heading out for a long weekend of trail marking on this course.  We are welcoming anyone that wants to join us for either Saturday or Sunday (or both) and put in some miles out there marking the course from mile 1 to mile 106.  As the course has some out and back sections we actually only have to mark about 80 miles or so.  Piece of cake right?!  Some of it is even forest road so even easier!

Depending on who and how many people are able to join us is how we will break up the groups so we can send out people simultaneously and keep it to 15-25 mile segments.  I'll be staying that evening at Washington Park Saturday night and starting again on Sunday morning.  

Please email me at azadventures@getoutgetlost.com or message me on Facebook if you are interested in joining us.  If you want to camp out Saturday night you are also welcome to join us!  

I also have another update to our simplified map that now includes the trail name with their associated trail number.  Highline Trail for instance is #31 to the Forest Service and sometimes you see a "#31" marker on a tree but it doesn't say "Highline Trail."  So in an effort to make it as easy as possible, this now states both.  Again, big thank you to Zane Grey RD Joe Galope for creating and continuing to update this map.  You'll see him at Buck Springs AS all night so be sure to say hello and if you're of a mind to, thank you.

I also attached the updated 2013 Race Manual for the race.  In an effort to get this out to everyone versus next week I put it up now.  If you find there are things you'd like to know and add in please email me and I'll do my best to update right away and re-post.

Inside of two weeks and I'm so excited for next weekend!  I hope you are too and look forward to seeing all of you at THAT Brewery Friday next week!

-Jeremy & Noah 

Mogollon Monster Training Run - August 10th
August 10th Training Run!We're headed out for another training run on the Mogollon Monster 100 course on August 10th. This time we'll again depart from Washington Park Trailhead east on the Highline Trail. We'll continue past where the Hell's Gate Aid Station will be come race day and to the Myrtle Trail ascent to the top of the Rim. Once we navigate the steep Myrtle Trail we'll cover some easy forest road miles to what will be the Buck Springs Aid Station during the race.

We'll jump into the forest from there and take the U-Bar all the way to Pinchot Cabin Aid Station location. From there it's 8 miles back on the Fred Haught Trail and then back down to Washington Park, descending off the Rim one final time.

This is a difficult section of the course covering about 35 miles in all. There is water at Dane Spring about 15 miles in but no other aid provided. Or water opportunities unless someone is going to be up there and can drop water. This covers miles 51-86 of the actual course in the same order runners will go on race day. However, most runners will run this in the dark so knowing the terrain in advance will come in very useful.  

Let me know if you can make it. This is a really beautiful section of the course, challenging but really beautiful. 

I'll be at the Wendy's parking lot off Shea & the 87 at 4:15am if anyone wants to follow me up or carpool. Just let me know for sure so I know to wait for you.  This drive takes exactly 2 hours from my door on 13th Street and Northern in Phoenix to Washington Park Trailhead.  It's 100 miles on the dot.  It's about 90 minutes from Wendy's off the 87.  

For those stat geeks out there...here's some previous data on the route we'll be covering:  Here's the first five miles on the Highline from WP to Hell's Gate, a shared section with the Zane Grey 50M.  http://app.strava.com/segments/4996589

Here's the rest of it...

http://app.strava.com/activities/8819018This is for Hell's Gate, up Myrtle and the rest of the way around.  

FROM PAYSON
Take Hwy 87 North towards Pine, turn right at Fire Control Rd #199 (N Houston Mesa Rd.) for 8.5 miles. Following the signs to Washington Park, turn left on the Control Road to FS #32. Turn North on #32, through the community of Washington Park and follow signs to Washington Park Trailhead.

If you are planning on joining us please email me atazadventures@getoutgetlost.com so I have an idea of how many we have and who we may be waiting on at the start.  There is also a Facebook Event for this weekend you can RSVP there as well.  https://www.facebook.com/events/301633813313472/

We will be starting at 6 AM Saturday, August 10th!


Cabin Loop 50K Fat Ass - Sunday August 25th
This year we're heading out of the Phoenix heat for any possible excuse we can come up with.  This will be a weekend of camping and running the Monster course!  I'm heading up likelyFriday night and grabbing a spot by the river off the Highline Trail and will be running a 50K loop covering much of the trails we're going to be using for the race itself.  We'll head up the Rim on the Arizona Trail, head east on the Rim Road to Houston Brothers Trail, then north into the forest on Houston Brothers a couple miles to the Barbershop Trail.  Barbershop is only used very briefly at mile 65 but is a beautiful trail that connects the Houston Brothers over to U-Bar through a variety of canyon's and mountain meadow's.  We'll head east on Barbershop to U-Bar and north to Pinchot Cabin.  From Pinchot Cabin it's all the way south about 9 miles to the Rim Road and the final descent back down the Rim to Washington Park for the full 31 miles.  Those wanting to do something slightly less can follow the Mogollon Monster section from 26-50 and simply continue on Houston Brothers to Pinchot and skip Barbershop/U-Bar for a 24 miler finishing at the same place at Washington Park.  So we will mark the course on Saturdayand those that want a supported fun run in preparation of the Monster or just for a long run on some great trails are more than welcome.  Feel free to join us on either day and if you want to camp as well, feel free!  


Here is a link to the data on the shorter 24 miler which has about 3200 in climbing- http://app.strava.com/activities/66872362 

Here's a link to the data for the full 50K:  http://app.strava.com/activities/17984373/segments  This one is a little off on the Barbershop trail but gives you an idea of the course.  

Send me a RSVP at azadventures@getoutgetlost.com if you plan on joining us either day please!  I'll set up a Facebook event as well soon for those that it's easier to go that route.  
Want to Volunteer?!We have had a great response from the local running community in wanting to help out and get up on the Rim race weekend and run an aid station, help out and be there to support the race.  We love hearing from you and it just makes it more exciting seeing the enthusiasm from everyone else.  To keep our aid station allocations organized we'd like to have everyone interested in signing up to volunteer in any capacity to fill out the location and time slot they can commit to on the link below:  

http://mog100.ivolunteer.com/mog100

You don't have to be an ultrarunner to volunteer so feel free to talk your friends and family into coming up for the weekend.  The weather should be great, we should have some great aid station food and of course, the excitement and inevitable inspiration of seeing these runners work their way across this very challenging course.  Many of the aid stations are used multiple times at very different times in the race so it will be interesting to see the same runners early on and then much later on in the race.  Make those connections that first time through and cheer them on when they come back through!

Thank you all and we look forward to seeing you this fall!

Did you know that the Arizona Trail runs over 800 miles from Mexico through the Grand Canyon and into Utah?  Along the way it cuts right through the Mogollon Monster 100 course.  Entrants will converge on the AZT at the Geronimo Aid Station and follow it on the Highline Trail to the Washington Park Aid Station and then up to the top of the Rim.  It continues north on the Fred Haught Trail before cutting west a few miles later on its way to Flagstaff.  You'll see the metal Arizona Trail maps posted throughout the race where the AZT intersects.  It's a challenging trail covering a great amount of diverse terrain.  www.aztrail.org

Course Marking - Course marking has come up a few times via email and Facebook and random other comments after last years race.  Understandably for some and other comments that raise concern that some people won't find their way from point A to point B unless we pave the road and line the sidewalks with personal volunteers to make sure everyone makes it there safely.  So to combat some of both of these challenges I've had these ribbons made for the race for our course marking.  Last year we used standard orange surveying tape for the correct route and blue for the incorrect route.  This was fine until there were trees with surveying tape or some was flung up in the wind in the trees, removed or in general missing.  


So this is triple the width of standard surveyors tape and has our abbreviated name "MOG100" repeated for 1000 feet and I have a preposterous amount of each color tape.  I did yellow for what is going to be the correct route you should be following.  Red is going to now be the wrong way.  So if you see red, you're off trail and you should turn around until you see another yellow tape.  They will be marked adequately throughout single track and plastered for the intersections.  I purposely bought a ton of this and we're going to use it.  I also have some Department of Transportation quality reflective tape that is the same that the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 uses.  John Vaupel, Founder of Trailrunningclub.com, recently finished the TRT100 a couple weeks ago and came back with the information that he loved the reflective tape they used as his light picked them up 50+ feet away they were so powerful. So I contacted the RD and asked what they used and it showed up at my house a couple days later.  My neighbors probably think I'm getting robbed every night as I sit in my kitchen with my lights off flashing my headlamp over the test piece of the tape on the back wall of my yard.  This stuff is awesome and far more reliable than glow sticks.  We'll still use glow sticks but far fewer and just close to the aid stations.


I also picked up a number of sandwich board signs for the forest roads as confidence markers along the way and to make sure everyone makes the correct turns.  The Turkey Springs/West Webber intersection will NOT be an issue this year.  


We will be marking the course the weekend prior to the event if anyone is willing to help out.  


Zane Grey Video - Have you seen this yet?  This is hands down the best trail running video I have ever seen.  Ever.  Sure, Killian has some sweet video's but how realistic is it to see a runner flying up a 12,000 ft peak with no gear, no waters, and a helicopter videotaping him?  It's not exactly an accurate depiction of what I experience when I fly.  I mean, I carry gear.  

This video however is exactly what Zane Grey is all about and why I have come to absolutely love the race in all it's glory and pain.  They did an incredible job showing the area and why so many come back to this torturous area year after year.  http://www.zanegrey50.com/photos_____video.html


Withdrawing from the Race - I'm not sure why you would do this unless you are pregnant and having a baby the week of the race.  Outside of that I'm baffled but then I'm incredibly bias towards this race and I should probably understand that things pop up.  When they do please refer to the part of the website that states that no refunds will be provided after March 1st.  We are in our second year and purchasing all the start up equipment is not cheap as well as the supplies needed for the race now less than two months out.  So I cannot refund your registration fee.  

So you should just heal up, buck up, and show up.  It's just more economical that way. 

This Race is Hard -  I feel like its necessary to repeat this mantra because of the emails that I get sometimes from prospective entrants makes me wonder if "trail running" to some people is the side of the country road.  To be clear once again, this race is VERY HARD.  It is very remote in many areas.  You will encounter massive elk in breeding season.  Entire sections of the Mogollon Rim have been shut down this summer from too many black bear sightings.  They are all over the place up there, everyone and their mother gets to see one except the RD that goes up there every weekend....they are out there.  Free range cattle will scare the living shit out of you on the Highline at 3am leaving Hell's Gate AS.  Mountain lions are always out there somewhere and I pray that nobody ever encounters one during the race.  There are javelina, rattlesnakes and we haven't even gotten to the part about an oversized hairy man beast legendary in the area.  My point is, it's a wilderness area and its wild.  The terrain is relentlessly tough like you've likely never seen before.  

I know, I know, "sure, whatever."  No, I'm serious.  We had entrants from last year say it was a race for the "elite of the elite."  I'll agree that's a silly assessment given two of our 9 finishers were 1st time hundreds (albeit locals familiar with the course) but it was said by many time 100 mile finishers.  Accomplished in their own right and ultrarunners who thought they had run some "tough" courses.  Not this tough.  

This is Arizona and welcome to the Mogollon Rim country.  This area is as "Old West" as it gets.  The settlers of this area were not pansy's.  They couldn't be and our entrants can't be if they plan on finishing.  The terrain will beat you up, the heat will beat you up, the elevation will beat some of you up, and the never ending up's and down's and steep climbs will beat you all up.  

Yet you have to press on and you have to keep moving. 

So as much as I may talk myself into thinking, "this course isn't THAT hard" I'm constantly reminded every time someone joins me who isn't familiar with the trails and can't believe how hard they are.  

The one resounding thought that always comes out of everyone that goes up there, "This is incredibly beautiful country."  Because it really is.  It's stunning.  I find myself just staring off into the trees, over the 2,000 sheer cliff to the Highline Trail down below in the red rocks, off into the Mazatzal Mountains to the south.  The place is as beautiful a land can be and we get to run straight through it all.  

Tough it may be, but unbeatable it isn't.  Come prepared for a Monster, because its prepared for you.  

Without the Zane Grey 50 Mile Endurance race, there would be no Mogollon Monster 100, and for that I'm forever grateful for this race.  

My first 50M race was the Zane Grey 50M, it was my first real exposure to the Mogollon Rim and through the race every year I've become more enamored with the area and the respect the race receives from both new runners and veterans alike.  It's a race that no matter who sponsors you, how much you train. it's never easy for a single runner.  Ever.

So we are back again this year and after taking a year off to volunteer in 2012 I'm back running the event this year.  I put out some lofty goals for the race this year in cracking the 10 hour mark (a 2:24 PR...hours, not minutes...) and while my training hasn't been spot on, I'm not backing down from that goal and will do my best to push it through all 50ish miles to the finish.  I figure any goal worth making is a seemingly unattainable goal. If it was easy to attain in the first place then it wasn't a goal in the first place.  It was a given.  Sub ten hours at Zane Grey is never a given.  It's going to hurt.  It's going to test me.  It might even break me down. I won't be alone though.  

2013 has one of the biggest lists of fast men and women it's seen in years.  Every year has a handful of faster runners like 2011 when Geoff Roes, Hal Koerner and Dakota Jones all came down to Pine, Arizona, and this year is no different.  Several past winners are all on deck and many others are jumping in with big wins at other major ultra races around the country.  On top of that, several 2013 entrants into this years Mogollon Monster will be out there and we certainly wish them the best as well.  Knowing the course as well as I do from countless trips up there (at least through the first 25 miles where the Myrtle Trail turns north for the Monster) here's an overview of this year's entrants from my perspective based on an unreasonable amount of time on ultrasignup.com and just knowing some of the runners or courses they've run before and maybe how it corresponds to the Highline Trail.  

Last year I also did an interview with RD Joe Galope for www.trailrunningclub.com on what it takes to put on the Zane Grey 50M.  Joe has been a major influence and help in organizing the Monster through so many steps along the way.  Extremely organize, meticulous and that shows in the preparation and execution of the Zane Grey race each year.  Read that interview here.

Jay Danek, my pacer this year since he's running Miwok next weekend, also put together a poll on who might win.  You can find it here.  

For the sake of competition (it's still a race after all) I'll put them in groups.


Group One:  The Male Monsters (not in any particular order, it's Zane Grey so it's impossible to predict.)

Jamil Coury - He was our winner of the inaugural 2012 Mogollon Monster.  He won the Old Pueblo 50M in Southern AZ this year and is the trail steward for the Arizona Trail section between Geronimo Aid Station and Washington Park.  His Aravaipa Running company is in charge of the Washington Park aid station.  He won Zane Grey in '09.  He's as familiar with this course as anyone not named Ian or Honey or Karsten and is certainly a favorite to win.

Michael Carson - Michael came out strong last year with a 2nd place win in 9:09 besting Karl Meltzer along the way.  Michael is an Arizona runner who has been putting in some incredible finishes in the last year and coincidentally was Jamil's pacer for the Monster last year and is very comfortable on the technical terrain.  I wouldn't be surprised at all in seeing Michael come in first on Saturday.

James Bonnett - He's no kid anymore and he's full on dominating when he's on. He ran a 3:35 50K at Gorge Waterfall 50K last month.  He beat Hal, Ian Sharman, Jeff Browning, Yassine Diboun and Jason Leman.  That's pretty stellar company to be flying by.  James has been running Zane Grey since a kid, literally, and knows the course well.  He's as good a bet as any to go for a dominating win and even the CR.  He's also running the Mogollon Monster 100 this fall and will likely have his sights on Jamil's 22:21 CR.  This race will be a great preview of that happening.

Scott Jaime - Scott won in 2010 in 9:40, the year Karl fell and broke his arm.  I always see it as a win is a win so he gets the respect there.  He's as strong as any of the guys and probably with more racing experience than most out there.  

Chris Price - The guy is fast.  Wicked fast.  Winner of Angeles Crest 100 last year, 2nd at Miwok last year and countless other wins.  But they are all in California.  This isn't California and unfortunately/fortunately the Highline Trail isn't exactly as smooth as Miwok.  But when you are as fast as Chris, maybe that won't matter.  

Mike Foote - Big wins at big races.  Mike shows the speed on some really tough races with big climbing.  This might be his kind of terrain to hammer it.  Not sure how Montana weather has been but 80 degrees at 6,500 feet with full exposure is BRUTAL from about 17-44 miles...something tells me that Mike's not going to care much.  Matias Saari came down from Alaska last year and ran 10:05 in some rough heat.  

Bret Sarnquist - Bret is underrated and underappreciated as a Zane Grey front runner every year.  He keeps getting faster and broke ten hours last year after a 10:01 3rd place finish behind Geoff and Hal in '11.  He is a smart runner who knows his ability and the terrain and negative splits a race.  All those people that went out hard in the beginning?  Bret won't be one of them. He'll be the guy passing you at 35 making sure you have enough water.  He's top 5 every year or better.  

Dominic Grossman - Dominic is another California runner with Chris Price and his resume of running achievements certainly puts his at the top of the list come Saturday.  He's won Angeles Crest 100 and some big times at really tough races.  He has the speed and has raced on a big variety of terrain.  He'll be up front with everyone else all day.  

John Anderson - 10:04 in 2011 Zane Grey?  Yeah, he'll be up there.

Ian Torrence - What's a list without Ian?!  Ten time Zane Grey finisher that swore off returning this year.  Yet...here he is, on the entrants list as of April 16th?  Zane Grey has this effect on people.  Ian's the defacto veteran ace on this course.  He's won it, he's done really well many other times, he's suffered on it.  He knows as well as anyone probably that anything can happen on the Highline.  He's certainly got what it takes to be up with all these guys all day.  

The Monster Sleepers:
Anthony Culpepper - Anthony is a talented and tough runner with a list of outdoor experience you won't find on ultrasignup.com.  He's a veteran of Zane Grey but despite his previously strong times is just a great day on the course from destroying everyone.  Don't count him out.

Jason Leman - 8th place at the very competitive Gorge Waterfall 50K in 3:46.  He has a slew of other fast 50K, marathon and longer times on tougher courses.  

David Metzler - Few people likely know who David is outside the Scottsdale/Phoenix area but David is as strong as anyone in this field. He owns nearly every Strava record for climbing and descending in the local parks in Phoenix and he still would if every runner used Strava.  He runs downhills like nobody out there and is an absolute machine on the hills.  He's put in some super fast times on Fat Ass 50Ks like Grandpa Jim's 7k+ climbing route in the McDowell's he ran this spring in 4:26 with no competition pushing him.  I believe this is his first parlay into the 50M distance though so we'll see how that affects him.  If he can hold it together with the nutrition he's going to sneak up on a lot of people.  

Alex Kaine - Winner of the Tahoe Rim 50M last summer and one of our 9 finishers in our inaugural race last year, Alex is very fast but has some great days and not so great days. If Alex is on a great day, he'll be up front and surprise a few people. 

John Hart - John's run a lot of tough races in his neck of the woods in Montana and run them well.  If the heat isn't a problem for him, he'll do well on the Highline.

The Phoenix Locals - Kevin Higgins, Grandpa Jim Fowler, Justin Lutick, Jerome Jourdon, Cory Davidson, Van Patterson - Find one of these guys and follow them.  They'll take you to the sub 12 hour range.  Some even faster.  Jerome was our 3rd place finisher at Mogollon last year as well.  Tough dude.  He also finishes every year at Zane within 5 minutes of 11:30.  Which in of itself is pretty impressive.  Justin is responsible for taking care of the trail more than anyone so find him and shake his hand.  And Chris Thornleys hand, responsible for clearing that manzanita like a champ.  Without those two guys the trail would be a full on disaster.  Keep that in mind when you're running it thinking, "This trail IS a disaster, what the hell was he talking about?"  Trust me, it would be way worse.

So say hello to both.  You'll know both of them easily.  Find the two biggest smiles in the 150 runners.  It won't be hard.  You'll hear Justin.  (insert lame smiley face emoticon.)   

Charles Corfield - Ran sub 11 hours in 2012 and back again this year.  7 days after running sub 20 hours at the Zion 100.  That should count for a 2 hour handicap on his final time this weekend.  

Non-Phoenix Locals -(they love being segregated from Phoenix runners...especially Adam.)  - Jesse Alexander, Brian Zacher, Scott Bajer, Michael Duer, Nick Kollar, Adam Gifford.  Flagstaff, Tucson, Camp Verde, Sedona, it's all rough and tough trail running in Arizona and a lot of times they are crushing the Phoenix runners anyway.  Ok, most of the time...but they will hang in the upper tier.  

All the people I don't know or am overlooking.  It's bound to happen and in ultrarunning there are always people that show up on race day, nobody knows who they are and what their training has been and they absolutely KILL it.  They beat one after another of runners with big resumes and race results.  So the dark horse is that list of guys we don't know until they have their big day.  Like Catlow Shipek who crushed it last year at Zane in 8:36.  All the Tucson runners were saying, "Catlow is going to win.  Catlow is going to win."  Everyone in Phoenix is saying, "Who the heck is Catlow?"  Then he won.  Point taken.

Monster Women 
Paulette Zillmer - She won last year in 10:09 (4th fastest female time ever) in one of the hottest years recently (I feel like we say that every year but last year felt intense).  She's on her 4th running of Zane Grey and each year has been progressively faster.  She's a beast on climbs and staying consistent.  She's won Angeles Crest, loves the heat, and is fast over rough terrain.  Probably why she won last year.  She's my pick again.

Kerrie Bruxvoort - I saw Kerrie at the Mesquite Canyon 50K last spring and she went out and absolutely dominated and set the course record for women.  She then went on to dominate the rest of the summer everywhere she raced.  She can handle the heat, has the slight elevation advantage coming down from CO and has shown she can push the pace.  She'll push Paulette hard all day. 

Diana Finkel - It's Diana Finkel.  She's up front in the top 2 women every year.  She is one of the best at tough, rugged terrain and is so super consistent she outlasts many of her competitors.  Which is partly why she always is close to winning because she's so good at maintaining a consistent pace over tough terrain.  Which is very difficult at Zane.

Jane Larkingdale - Jane won back in '11 in 10:52.  She's had some good races recently but I'm not sure she can keep up with Paulette or Kerrie right now.  But Jane's also the kind of person that would probably read that statement and then out of pure determination, win just to show me up.  Like when I stated wearing New Balance 110's at the Monster is asking for foot suicide Andy Pearson did anyway in part to show me I was wrong.  He got 2nd and was only 1 of 9 finishers...again, point taken.  She's as tough a runner as there is and the Highline rewards those kinds of runners.  So she'll push everyone and be up top all day.

Katie Desplinter - Katie has put in some good times and won some races recently with the Ozark 100 last fall.  Not sure what she's been up to early 2013 but she runs with Dominic Grossman so I'm sure it's not greenbelts and canals...

Missy Gosney - I met Missy at the aid station at Washington Park last year and she was in full beast mode, driven, determined and not messing around.  She beat her husband Brett by a few minutes and broke 12 hours.  She's a hell of a climber, as evident by sub 8 hours at Speedgoat, and winning Cascade Crest 100 last summer.  She's been out there before and she'll do well again if she's still in last summers shape. (I did miss her husband Brett for the Men.  I'm not going back now but he's a Hardrocker.  Automatic entry into Monster picks for Zane Grey top finishers.)

Brittany Orkney - Tucson runner who finished 2nd at Old Pueblo in 9:07 last month and 1st at the tough Mesquite Canyon 50K two weeks later.  She'll do well here.  

Chrissy Parks, Magi Redlich, Sarah Mccloskey, Lindsay Scheiwiller - Zane Grey is a race of unpredictable results. So just about anyone can sneak in there and all these women can just as easily be up above.  
  
Monster Injuries/DNS 
With every race there are last minute cancels.  We won't see last years winner Catlow due to an injury.  Same for 4th place finisher last year Brian Hopton-Jones, or 6th place Evan Hone.  Three of the top ten last year have pulled out, three others are not returning this year (Jason Koop, 10th, Karl 3rd, Matias Saari 7th) but 2nd (Michael Carson), 5th (Bret Sarnquist), 8th (Paulette Zillmer, 1st Female), 9th (Diana Finkel 2nd Female) are all coming back.  My brother Noah Dougherty, co-RD of the Monster is starting Zane Grey for his first 50M after pacing me two previous times to the finish.  He's been injured a couple times so may not be able to go on but he's going to feel it out.  He's tough as hell so he'll probably surprise even himself out there.  

Yet still, the depth is certainly there and while in the last 24 years the 10 hour mark has only been broken 82 times (that's an average of 3.4 a year) this could be a year we see many more do so.  The elusive 9 hour mark is rarely broken by more than 2 runners, twice in the last 5 years the winner was in the 9 hour range.  The trail is consistently "slow" and any idea of a "fast" time can be thrown out the window.  

For the women, it's as deep a field as the Highline Trail has seen and as the sport continues to grow, I can see the woman's field getting more and more competitive.  Just as we've seen the last couple years at Zane Grey.  

That doesn't even get into the number of others coming out. Karsten Solheim is returning for something like his 83rd finish.  Honey Albrecht is going for her 11th finish at Zane Grey, which is one more than she said she'd ever do after last years finish. Gordy Ainsleigh is coming, a legend in his own right in the world of ultrarunning.  Christian Griffith of www.run100miles.com, Gene Joseph of Tucson trail running legend, Perry Edinger who was a previous Zane Grey RD before Joe Galope took over.  Brian Stark is returning again, also known as The States Runner, crossing US States all on trail.  If you run into him on the trail, he's got some great stories.  Bob Bachani of "THATS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT" infamy at aid stations across Arizona will be hitting the trail and Jeff Jones again taking on Zane Grey.  Jeff designed the Mogollon Monster 100 course originally and was a big part in getting the race off the ground.  

We also have Dean Hansen, Margaret Dehesse, Noel Kingston, Deron Ruse, Danny Speros, Chris Thornley, Jamil Coury, Jerome Jourdon, Alex Kaine, Honey Albrecht all starting Zane Grey that started Mogollon Monster last fall.  We also have Jim Fowler, Michael Duer, Gavin Hanover, Dallas & Renee Stevens running that all ran an aid station for us last fall at the Monster.  It'll be great to have the friends along the trail this year instead of under the canopy.  

So best of luck to everyone that stands in the cold at 5am along the Arizona Trail signage this Saturday.  Take your time, enjoy the sunrise coming up over the Highline and your first glimpses of the Mogollon Rim.  If you've seen it before a hundred times, or never seen it in your life, it doesn't matter. It's a stunning geological feature that conjurs up the adventurous side in all of us, prodding us for more, begging us to find out what's around that next corner, up that next hill, and down that ravine.  The Highline Trail is a gem of a trail, destroyed as it is in parts, frustrating as it can in sections, and beautiful as it is every step.  It'll challenge you, it may even break you, but at the end, after you're done cursing the trail, the rocks, the manzanita, and the climbs...

You'll be back.  You'll be longing for April 2014.  You'll join the ranks of those of us that can't quite figure out why, but always come back for more.

And for those that want even more...well...we'll see you on September 28th at the same parking lot at 6am.  It won't be a "Double Zane Grey" by any means but it might just be twice as hard.  More climbing, the same rocks, bigger views.  Let the spring weather take hold of you when you get back home after this weekend, let the Zane Grey hangover wear off and then think about what you were thinking when you were looking up on the Rim while traversing the Highline Trail this weekend.  Wondering just what is up on that Rim?  I wonder how you get up there?   

I can tell you.  

Here's a hint:

It's straight up.  

This Saturday I'm heading up to finalize a few sections of trail along the U-Bar trail on the Cabin Loop section of the course and plan on running what will be about 50K starting at the Washington Park Trailhead.  I'll be leaving Phoenix at 4am Saturday and starting at 6am from Washington Park.  The route will be a climb up the Rim on the Arizona Trail, 4.5 miles east along the Rim Road and entering the Cabin Loop at Houston Brothers.  We'll divert across the Barbershop Trail (not a part of the course but a great trail) to the start of the U-Bar Trail.  We'll head north from there up and down the canyons and then reaching Pinchot Cabin we'll take Fred Haught Trail all the way back down to Washington Park.  Low point of this section is 5,800 feet and gets a little over 7,900.  Has right at 5,000 feet of climbing.  I have a PDF of the course map below you can download for a topo of the course.  Email me at azadventures@getoutgetlost.com if you are interested and want to carpool or just want to make sure we wait for you at the trailhead!