Landaker Freedom Run 15k Race Report

photo Scott Hoffman

The Landaker Freedom Runs are held each year to honor Lt. Jared Landaker and others who have given their life defending the country. It is organized by the Seven Stars Foundation, more info on them HERE.

The event was held at Meadows Edge on the North Shore of Big Bear Lake and consisted of a 5k loop course, which could be run 1, 2 or 3 times. After a nice ceremony at the start including a flyover from the Marines in 2 CH-46 Helicopters it was time to run. I was running the 15k so wanted to make sure not to start too fast and save something for the last lap. As usual, I ran as fast as I could for the first mile or so totally throwing the game plan out the window. It is a short race though, and I was trying to keep up with the speedy guy in front of me. I settled down into 2nd, a place I am familiar with this year, and just ran fast. It felt good to run on the roads which were pretty flat versus all the mountain running I have been doing lately.

Mid way through lap 2 I got a nasty cramp. I stopped at a water station and drank water and took some deep breaths. At this point I was caught by another runner and we ran together and chatted for a minute while I recovered. Josh was up from 29 Palms which was cool, as that is how I found Big Bear as well. He was feeling the elevation and I got rid of my cramp so it was another hard effort to break away and then onto the 3rd lap. At this point I realized the guy in front was only running 10k so I was in the lead for the 15k, cool! I got a boost from this news and was able to run a fast third lap coming in a few minutes in front of 2nd place.

Small event without a lot of competion but I was still really pleased with the run. Who doesn't like to win right?! Course ended up being 3.5 miles per loop, so really was like 10.5 miles instead of 9.3, and I was able to avg right around 6:30 per mile.



On Sunday I got a ride up to Onyx Summit from Rachael and ran the PCT down to Cushenberry rd and then Hwy 18 back to the house for a great, mostly downhill, 18 mile run to wind out the weekend. Picking up some of the last course markings from the Kodiak 100 made me realize what a gorgeous run that course is. I'm hoping to one day be able to run 100 miles! I was thinking of running the Big Bear Ridge Run this coming weekend but might opt for a FKT attempt on San Gorgonio instead...tough choice!

Endure the Bear Report

Endure the Bear has been a staple on my calendar for the past few years. It is the race I first got involved with helping to organize (Karen Lundgren race director) and really first opened my eyes to running on the trails of Big Bear. It is a fun event right in the Village of Big Bear and held at an amazing time of year for running in the mountains.

I ran the 30k with every intention to run as fast as I could and compete for the win. This of course always depends on who shows up, and this year it was James Walsh from San Diego who ran away from me pretty quickly. I spent the week prior to the race on a 5400 mile road trip to a friends wedding in WI and then a baby shower for Rachael (and me!) in KY.  Lots of fun, but lots of sitting and driving leaving me pretty stiff at the start of the race. It was pretty evident on the initial climb that I didn't quite have the speed needed to run with 1st so I settled into a good pace and tried to enjoy the miles and stay efficient.

I felt good until the last climb up 1E01 where I had to stop and walk a few times as my outer hips had a hard time with the uphill and were giving me a grinding feeling. The run back down into town wasn't exactly speedy and as I was approaching the finish line I felt somebody come flying past me. It was 1st overall Female Maggie Nelson who wanted to sprint finish, so I obliged and came across 1 second ahead!

A New Belgium beer at the finish line was pretty refreshing and then the rain started, and kept coming! It rained hard for what seemed like the next few hours and most people huddled under the easy ups and watched finishers come through in a downpour! The rain would soon let up and the sun came out again making for a nice finish to the day. Would definitely like to be a little better prepared for this race next year and give the 50k another shot!