Wanna see? (+ some good numbers!)
Since a number of people have asked if it was possible to come out and see me on the course, I thought I'd post some info about that. It would be GREAT to see a couple friendly faces along the way!
The first thing to check: hotel or campsite availablity. It's about 180 miles (I think) to Lone Pine, about 4 hours, so you'd probably not want to drive out and back. To get to Lone Pine, you take Highway 14 to Mojave, then get on the 395 North (it's on the way to Mammoth). Here's a link to their Chamber of Commerce page.
There are a number of hotels in Lone Pine, but they may be pretty much booked. You can alternately check out a couple hotels in Independence, another 15 miles up the road (see Lodging on the Lone Pine COC site). Some offer discounts if you say you're with the Badwater event.
If you don't mind camping, I'd recommend looking for a spot in either the Lone Pine (~6,000ft.) campground, or at the Whitney Portal camground (~8,000ft.). They're both a ways up the Whitney Portal road, but they should both be relatively cool compared to other spots. To get to either of these, you've got to drive up the Whitney Portal Rd....L.P. is ~8 miles up, W.P. is right at the finish (~13 miles up). Both can have bears (you're in the Sierras) so make sure you have bear proof containers for any food). You can check campsite availability, and they recommend reservations because this is also big draw time for Mt. Whitney climbers. When I posted, there were sites available still available at both campgrounds.
Since I start on Monday July 11 at 6:00am, I'd expect that the best time to come out to see me is sometime Tuesday. If you left Tuesday morning, you could come up and get yourself situated (either hotel or camping), with a stay for Tuesday night (July 12). If all goes well, I hope to be finishing the "official" part of the course sometime early Wednesday morning.
How to Find Me
Once you're in Lone Pine, grab a bite, fill up a cooler with ice and cool drinks, then go back south a couple miles. You'll see Highway 136 toward Death Valley. Just stay on that road and go toward Death Valley. About 15-20 miles in, it becomes Highway 190. Just keep heading straight.
Start looking for a van with MINTER #44 somewhere on the side/back. I should be somewhere near there.
While on the course, runners are generally limited to one crew vehicle at a time. That prevents people from having 2 or 3 vehicles supporting one runner (believe me, it's happened), which can clog up areas where parking is limited (on some of the windy climbs).
If you have any questions, drop me an email.
The Numbers - 8:10, 182.5, 59
Well, I had my last 'really' long training run on Saturday. 38 miles! I got up at 4:45am to be on the trail by 5:15am. I ran to meet some friends by 7:30am, and did the middle portion of my run with them. On the way over, I counted 59 rabbits on the fire road. To amuse myself, I started naming them...#33 was Jesus, #51 was Butkus, #57 was Heinz, who was with a 2nd rabbit, #58, now named Hunt. Toward the end of the run, I seriously contemplated adding another 2 miles to make it an even 40, but decided to stick with the plan instead. I felt great when I got back to my car, in 8:10 (a little before 1:30pm). My achilles tendon was barking a little, but not too bad. I did about 73 for the week.
I was down to 182.5 later that day, but had been down as far as 179.5 midweek, so I'm pretty much at my goal weight. I'll keep working on it to give myself a little room! This is a case where every pound really does count.
The first thing to check: hotel or campsite availablity. It's about 180 miles (I think) to Lone Pine, about 4 hours, so you'd probably not want to drive out and back. To get to Lone Pine, you take Highway 14 to Mojave, then get on the 395 North (it's on the way to Mammoth). Here's a link to their Chamber of Commerce page.
There are a number of hotels in Lone Pine, but they may be pretty much booked. You can alternately check out a couple hotels in Independence, another 15 miles up the road (see Lodging on the Lone Pine COC site). Some offer discounts if you say you're with the Badwater event.
If you don't mind camping, I'd recommend looking for a spot in either the Lone Pine (~6,000ft.) campground, or at the Whitney Portal camground (~8,000ft.). They're both a ways up the Whitney Portal road, but they should both be relatively cool compared to other spots. To get to either of these, you've got to drive up the Whitney Portal Rd....L.P. is ~8 miles up, W.P. is right at the finish (~13 miles up). Both can have bears (you're in the Sierras) so make sure you have bear proof containers for any food). You can check campsite availability, and they recommend reservations because this is also big draw time for Mt. Whitney climbers. When I posted, there were sites available still available at both campgrounds.
Since I start on Monday July 11 at 6:00am, I'd expect that the best time to come out to see me is sometime Tuesday. If you left Tuesday morning, you could come up and get yourself situated (either hotel or camping), with a stay for Tuesday night (July 12). If all goes well, I hope to be finishing the "official" part of the course sometime early Wednesday morning.
How to Find Me
Once you're in Lone Pine, grab a bite, fill up a cooler with ice and cool drinks, then go back south a couple miles. You'll see Highway 136 toward Death Valley. Just stay on that road and go toward Death Valley. About 15-20 miles in, it becomes Highway 190. Just keep heading straight.
Start looking for a van with MINTER #44 somewhere on the side/back. I should be somewhere near there.
While on the course, runners are generally limited to one crew vehicle at a time. That prevents people from having 2 or 3 vehicles supporting one runner (believe me, it's happened), which can clog up areas where parking is limited (on some of the windy climbs).
If you have any questions, drop me an email.
The Numbers - 8:10, 182.5, 59
Well, I had my last 'really' long training run on Saturday. 38 miles! I got up at 4:45am to be on the trail by 5:15am. I ran to meet some friends by 7:30am, and did the middle portion of my run with them. On the way over, I counted 59 rabbits on the fire road. To amuse myself, I started naming them...#33 was Jesus, #51 was Butkus, #57 was Heinz, who was with a 2nd rabbit, #58, now named Hunt. Toward the end of the run, I seriously contemplated adding another 2 miles to make it an even 40, but decided to stick with the plan instead. I felt great when I got back to my car, in 8:10 (a little before 1:30pm). My achilles tendon was barking a little, but not too bad. I did about 73 for the week.
I was down to 182.5 later that day, but had been down as far as 179.5 midweek, so I'm pretty much at my goal weight. I'll keep working on it to give myself a little room! This is a case where every pound really does count.
posted by Greg Minter at 12:31 PM
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