Friday, November 30, 2012

The North Face Challenge Weekend and Drakes Bay Oysters!!!



So this weekend we will be heading up to Marin for the NorthFace Challenge, to watch our kids 10, 8 and 6 run.  No not the 50 miler (even though our 10 year old swears she probably could!), but for the kids race.  We went last year to support our ultra-running buddy Ryan at the finish line and discovered the kids race.  However, the other reason to go this year is to see so many of the elite runners that will be running this year.  It is a deeply packed field with the likes of Mike Wolfe, Lizzy Hawker, and Ian Sharman. With the speedsters vying for records against the more patient runners, it should be an exciting race.

What will be even more fun this year, compared to a dry year last, is that we are experiencing our first major storm which is dumping over 6-inches of rain over the course.  At the time of the writing of this blog, the course had to be modified, which has eliminated Cardiac Hill and shortened the course by 4.5 miles.  The course is really muddy which now favors the more patient runners. You can find the race preview as well as the play-by-play on iRunFar.com as well as UltraRunnerPodcast.com.  In fact the guys from Ultrarunnerpodcast will also be running the race.

The rain is supposed to be the heaviest during the kids race, which should be fun.  It is only 0.5 miles but the kids love it.

If you are also in the area, you might take the extra 45 minute drive north to Olema, and eat at the historic Farm House Restaurant for some of the last Drakes Bay Oysters.  A couple of weeks ago we stumbled upon this place and I experienced the fried version of these succulent creatures.  They also come grilled and, for the more adventurous in my mind, raw versions.  This is probably the last chance you might get since the Drakes Bay Oyster company will not be able to renew their lease and must cease operations today. You can find the story here.

So hope to see you there, fully waterlogged for the North Face Challenge!!!

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