MAMMOTH // Some East Side time

With a few days off for Independence Day, a road trip was in order. It's been a while since I've been to Mammoth/Bishop and an open invite from my friends Kip and Lindsey made the decision to pack up and head out that much easier. The plan was to drive through Tuolomne and stop for a quick bouldering session or run, but a late start had us driving straight through. The plan was simple... boulder or trail run, or both, every day. And we did just that. Snowboarding could have been added to the mix, too, since it was Mammoth's closing weekend for the season. The thought of sliding on snow was pretty attractive when it was 90+ degrees in Bishop. But, you can only do so much in a long weekend and we were pretty stoked as it was. Next time.

Kip spotting me on V7 at the Catacombs

Kip sending his project... a super exposed-feeling v4 right next to a canyon dropoff

Candice in-stride on our Mosquito Flats seven-miler at about 10K feet

SANTA CRUZ CAMPIN' // A night at the office

Well, I'm pretty fortunate at work right now. Yosemite earlier this month and now an overnight team building camp-out on the beaches of Santa Cruz. It was actually super-fun and with very little shop-talk. A few beach runs, barefoot soccer, fire-side shenanigans, and a couple guitars all make for some improved "team synergy."

Aaron Kehoe and David Murphy
Product testing
Candice Stewart and David Murphy

TNF ENDURANCE CHALLENGE // Dec 4, 2010

This spring I've dabbled a bit in trail running... which is new seeing that I've always been a "biomechanically challenged" runner. I did a stint of triathlons about a decade ago and running was always the bane of my racing and training. This spring I haven't had much time to climb because of my work schedule, but I've been able to squeeze some trail runs into my life. Feeding my "goal oriented" nature, finding some sort of event will help keep me motivated. That event is the TNF Endurance Challenge series on December 4th and 5th in the Marin Headlands, just north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge. I could probably run the 10K event right now and survive. The Half-Marathon race is pretty doable, as well (the longest distance I've ever run was a Half-Marathon in Louisville, KY in 1996). So, the next jump up is the Marathon. I've always wanted to run a marathon. But in all honesty, everybody and their mother can (and has) run (and/or walked) 26.2 miles. But, probably not on terrain like this (lots of up and down with thousands of feet of climbing). So, the TNF Endurance Challenge series also offers a 50K Ultramarathon and 50 mile Ultramarathon. The 50K is "only" five miles longer than a marathon, so why not? And the 50 miler? Nope. So, a 50K on December 4th it is.

YOSEMITE // Another day at the office

If I were stuck in a cubicle every day at work, I'd probably go insane. So, thank goodness my day job gets me out on the road and keeps my frequent flier program in-tact. But recently, I had the opportunity to go to an athlete summit meeting for work. About a dozen climbers all flew to Yosemite for three days of product testing, feedback, and open dialog with our RDD team. My involvement was to communicate our marketing efforts with them and take feedback. Pretty sweet day at the office.Our twenty person basecamp outside Tuolomne Meadows

Peter Croft and Lisa Rands

Jim Zellers on belay

LONNIE KAUK // Killin' it with and against gravity

Lonnie Kauk is making a name for himself on the snow and rock. For those of you who don't know, check out some vids of him feeling just as comfortable soloing in Clarks Canyon as he does hucking cliffs in the backcountry in the ending part of Standard's BLACK WINTER. For you climbers in the know, same genealogy as the "other" Kauk. Not gonna say too much more, because we're working on a super-secret media project for this spring. Stay tuned...

UHURU DESIGN

Funny how some things are meant to be. Jason Horvath was a climbing friend from high school. Somehow, we met again ten years later in NYC, as roommates and I helped him with his climbing clothing company, KHADEJHA. After parting ways with KHADEJHA, Jason put his efforts into UHURU DESIGN, making custom furniture with reclaimed materials and I ventured off, eventually landing here in California. Last week, I was meeting with Gensler and Associates in SF and in their presentation, they showed some UHURU designs for inspiration on a project I'm involved with. UHURU making it's way back to me via Gensler... of course... how so many things in life are interconnected. Awesome to so UHURU's continued recognition on their continued success and innovation. www.uhurudesign.com

The Oakland Marathon

The leader at mile three.
Not a crime scene... it's the Oakland Marathon!

This past weekend just happened to be filled with a bunch of running. Sunday was the inaugural Oakland Marathon and Running Festival. It was a whole weekend event, but the Marathon was Sunday morning. I was pretty stoked checking out the route... it started Downtown, went through Temescal (my neighborhood, on the same block as me), Rockridge, up along the base of the foothills, and then through, well, less desirable areas south and then back up to Lake Merrit and finishing downtown again. 

I was suprised to see how many supporters showed up at 7:30AM along the course. I ended up volunteering at the mile 3 water station for a bit. What make's someone hang out and watch people run by? It was the sense of community that this event brought to Oakland. Often "misunderstood," Oakland residents have great pride in their community, and the Marathon was no different. Watching the leaders run by was sorta anti-climatic. They're dedicated athletes who have trained hard for this event and are simply "executing." This is a very different mentality and experience than the average Joe or Jill who is doing this for the first time. Two and a half hours after starting, the leaders will cross the finish line standing, drink some water, and then start doing interviews. At that same time, the average marathoner hasn't even crossed the half-way point. I think it's pretty impressive for someone to be out there for four to six hours pounding the pavement... not something I think I could (or want) to handle. So, congratulations to all the participants or the Oakland Marathon!