Malibu Creek Trail Run - 03.06.11

Malibu Creek
Sunday, 06 March 2011
10km, 25km & 50km

• 2011 Photos HERE, HERE & HERE.
• Race Website HERE. 
• 2011 Results HERE. 
• My Garmin Stats HERE.

A few days before the event, I checked the Entrant's List HERE and saw that Bakersfield's own Anna Frank had signed up for the 25k and I knew all the other ladies would be running for second and that the boys better watch out! Anna has been beating mot of the men in Kern County lately and has almost won a few races out right like the McFarland Christmas run and many others.

A few weeks ago, she ran sub 1:20 at the BTC Half marathon so we knew she was fit but this was a trail race. Well I guess a few hills, rocks and creek crossing did not slow her down much. She ended up running sub 7:30 mile pace over the 25k race! Plus she won the race overall with a time of 1:55:12.

From what I can tell, she tied the course record and took almost 20 minutes off the woman's record.

Top Performances

1. '08 Olver Obagi (34) 1:55:42
2. '10 Eric Martin (30) 1:56:46
3. ...'09 Christophe Sigel (37) 1:59:21
4. '08 Alex Suchey 2:00:59
5. '09 Shigy Suzuki (50) 2:01:23
6. '08 Oswald Obagi (30) 2:05:19
7. '08 Adam Blum (43) 2:11:19
8. '08 Martin Brooks (43) 2:11:49
9. '10 Olver Obagi (36) 2:11:51 
10. 10 Matt Hall (28) 2:12:08

Anna Frank!

Top Performances

1. '08 Jessica McAdam (31) 2:15:51
2. '08 Rosaleen Walsh (22) 2:20:57
3. '09 Marianne Thomas (45) 2:24:45
4. '09 Julie Watts (29) 2:31:25
5.  '10 Kristin Cooley (33) 2:36:25
6. '10 Robyn Dunn (31) 2:38:30
7. '08 Beatrice Davis (33) 2:41:21
8. '10 Fran Reis (30) 2:41:49
9. '10 Nena Jackson (28) 2:45:33
10. '10 Leslie Buehler (41) 2:46:26 

On the Bakersfield Distance Project side, Cindy was our top finisher, followed by Denni, me, Peter, Lyndi, Ruthie and Diana in  the 25k.

Cindy!

Kern County 10kers:

1. Norma Diaz - 1:10:06
2. Frank Velasquez - 1:16:40
3. Victor Lostaunau - 1:18:07 
4.  Evy Velasquez - 1:26:58
5. Ann Caragher - 1:36:20

Kern County 25kers:

1. Anna Frank - 1:55:42 - First Overall, Tied Course Record & Beat Woman's Record
2. Siobhan Beckett - 2:13:33 - 4th Overall and 2nd Woman & Beat Old Woman's Record
3. Cindy Adame - 3:00:34
4. Denni Jorgensen - 3:11:17
5. Andy Noise - 3:14:38
6. Peter Wonderly - 3:27:16
7. Lyndi Wilson - 3:30:30
8. Ruth Saenz - 3:44:54
9. Diana Daves - 5:22:34

 Kern County 50kers:

1. Isaak Romo - 7:08:27

Above our the official times but I think some of the 25k times are off because I know mind is. According to my Garmin, I ran 3:26:09 with a moving time of 3:16:02 but hey I will take their time! My Garmin said the course was 15.1 miles long and the elevation gain was 2,815 feet and I burned 2,547 calories.

The elevation gain was 2815 feet and the loss was 2,828 feet. The minimum elevation was 445 feet and the maximum elevation was 2,430 feet. My average pace was 13:39 with an average moving pace of 12:58 and my best pace was 6:25. Looks like I lost ten minutes waiting to cross the creek!

The day began with a group meeting at Bagels at 5am to carpool to the race. The drive to this race was a short one but then we got to the park and it was not open. It was a little after 7am but the ranger had not shown up to open the park. So we sat in a long line of cars and paid our $12 park entry fee and waited.

The mandatory pit stop.

At about the time some of our kidneys were going to burst, we finally got into the park and then had two new lines to join. The bathroom line and the number pick up line. While waiting in the number line, I talked to Anna and Siobhan about the race and found out it was their first trail run besides our local races. We talked about the course and the aid station situation and I think they revised their pace expectations. In the end, the course did not seem to slow them down very much.

Anna

Despite all the drama, the race still started on time and we headed downhill on a nice paved road that lead to a dirt road. For the first mile, Cindy ran along with Lyndi, Peter and I but once we hit the dirt she took off. Soon after, we hit some switchbacks and started climbing for awhile. Then we went downhill to a lovely meadow.

Heading to the Hill!

At the end of the meadow, the race came to a standstill due to the water crossing. The creek was maybe 20 feet across and about 2 foot deep at most. It was moving fairly fast and the rocks were a bit slippery so having the rope to hang on to was good. Some took their shoes off to cross the creek which slowed down the crossing even more. If the trail was not so tight, I would of tried to cross somewhere else and go around the log jam.

• Mile 1 - 11:40 - up 121 and down 72
• Mile 2 - 11:46 - up 103 and down 285

But I waited, took some photos and rested up for all the climbing we were about to do. After crossing the creek, there was an aid station and then we started going up and up on some fire roads. Lyndi, Peter and I pushed each other up those hills and along the way we caught quite a few runners before we got to the mile 8 aid station.

The line.

Fun!

• Mile 3 - 18:02 - up 339 and down 18
• Mile 4 - 17:54 - up 573 and down 0
• Mile 5 - 17:08 - up 509 and down 0

Lyndie

• Mile 6 - 13:27 - up 322 and down 116
• Mile 7 - 13:03 - up 203 and down 192
• Mile 8 - 15:20 - up 149 and down 135

An Interesting Peak.

Probably the coolest part of the run besides the creek crossing was the interesting rock ridge in the above photo. We went up and over it and then hit the second aid station. I never stay long at these and just grbbed a coke and some gold fish and then took off to do the last major climb.

As I was approaching the aid station, I saw Denni taking but knew that would be the last time I would see her. On the last climb, I caught a couple Bakersfield runners (Nikki and Isaak) who were doing the 50k and we chatted a bit before they left me on the downhill section.

Nikki & Isaak

• Mile 9 - 15:34 - up 307 and down 156
• Mile 10 - 10:25 - up 0 and down 700
• Mile 11 - 10:59 - up 73 and down 478
• Mile 12 - 11:53 - up 0 and down 444

As you can see, we did some serious downhill running. In three miles we dropped over 1600 feet down those rutted fire roads. About halfway down I caught up to a 6'6 ultra marathoner who had just finished his first hundred miler a month ago. I decided to stay with him because he was almost going my pace, plus he had some great stories that made those last miles go by a little quicker.

My Ultra Buddy

Finally we made it down to the M.A.S.H area started seeing quite a few tourists. This spot was 2.5 miles from the parking lot so these people had hiked quite a bit.I figured that the rest of the route would be flat but it was rolling the rest of the way. While went went by the creek, a couple ladies caught up to us and I decided to run in with them.

Can you hear the theme music?

We ran in together.

• Mile 13 - 14:45 - up 0 and down 34
• Mile 14 - 11:00 - up 39 and down 164
• Mile 15 - 12:21 - up 39 and down 31
• To Finish - 7:27 - up 39 and down 0

As you can see, I ran the last part pretty fast. The girl above had her boyfriend join her with a less than half a mile to go and I thought she had beat me but then I thought what they heck and I caught her.

Her pacer.

In the end, I covered the 15.1 miles in a time of 3:26:09. My pace was 13:39 but my moving pace was 12:58 over the 25k course. Though I enjoyed the race and ran well, I doubt I will return to Malibu Creek. I like trail runs with more single track and more up and down. Going up a fire road for miles and down a fire road for miles is just not that interesting.
 

Hotels/Motels, Camping

Start:

Malibu Creek State Park, 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, CA 91302. Directions

Course:

Map  |  Elevations  |  Descriptions

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Malibu Creek State Park, located in the heart of the Santa Monica Mountains, was the center of Chumash Native American life for centuries. Hundreds of movies, television shows, and commercials have been made in this spectacular area, including MASH, Planet of the Apes, and How Green was my Valley. (Distances are accurately measured using a Rolatape® surveyor's measuring wheel.)

Aid Stations:

Fully-stocked aid stations every 9 - 12 kilometers. You can expect fresh fruit, salty snacks, assorted candy, boiled potatoes & salt, water, and Clif Shot Electrolyte sports drink. However, it is highly recommended that runners carry at least 20 oz. of water between aid stations.

Awards:

T-shirts will be given to all pre-registered runners. Award medals are given to the 1st female and male finishers overall and in each age group. Ribbons are also awarded to the 2nd & 3rd place finishers in each age group. All 50km finishers will receive a custom coaster for the event.

Participants are automatically included in the race series and points are awarded to the first 8 finishers in each age group.