Sonoma Trail Marathon an ‘ultra’ experience

National runners attracted to Sugarloaf, Hood Mountain route National runners ?attracted to Sugarloaf, Hood Mountain route|

Time was, running a mile was a big deal. The bar was raised when 10k races (a little over six miles) took off in the 1970s, then the big challenge of the Marathon took things to a whole other level.

But 26 miles is just a warm-up for some athletes, who count challenging races in 24-hour increments, or hundred-mile stages. And forget the quaint, safe oval track altogether – ultra-runners race over mountain tracks, rocky terrain, up steep trails and down again in a sport that’s as exhilarating as it is physically challenging.

Such challenging running comes to Sonoma this weekend with the staging of the first Sonoma Trail Marathon, lacing up and over the hills of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and its neighbor Hood Mountain Regional Park, on Saturday, Oct. 3.

While it will be the first year of the official Sonoma Trail Marathon, “this is a place that we’re run for years,” said Adam Ray of Scena Performance who is producing the race. “We think it’s going to be a classic. More than that, we’re confident it’s going to be a classic.”

The race is staged out of Hood Mountain Regional Park, just to the north of Sugarloaf. In fact the full half-marathon – and a shorter 5k route – are within Hood Mountain, with racers starting off at 8 a.m.

Marathoners do the first part of the half-marathon route, then take off from the summit of Hood Mountain (2730 ft.) and head down the Goodspeed Trail into Sugarloaf Park, where signs are already posted alerting recreational hikers of Saturday’s race. Still, park manager John Roney of the Sonoma Ecology Center doesn’t expect the event to have much impact on regular park visitors.

“If we had no signs up, people probably wouldn’t even notice,” he said, noting that the park is used for trail-run training all the time, and probably only 30 to 40 runners will be in the full marathon anyway, spread out over a couple hours.

“They’ll be coming right by the visitor’s center, if people want to see some of the runners,” said Boney. He added that they were quite excited about the race, and hope to play a more active role in next year’s Sonoma Trail Marathon.

Though it may not technically be called an “ultra-run” – it’s only a marathon, and ultras are usually measured in hours, like 24, or hundreds of miles – it’s attracting a good field of ultra athletes to the Valley.

One of these will be Zach Bitter, a Wisconsin schoolteacher who set the American record of 100 miles in under 12 hours – 11:47:21 to be exact. His marathon times run a bit over 2 hours, 30 minutes, which makes him a favorite in Saturday’s trail race, though a trail run marathon is bound to take longer due to its more challenging course.

But anything can, and probably will, happen – Bitter recently had to pull out of the World 100k Championship in the Netherlands, so he may be looking at the Sonoma Trail Marathon as a chance for redemption.

A handful of ultra-runners live in Sonoma County, including Suzanna Bon of Boyes Hot Springs. Her latest accomplishment had even her peers buzzing – the 51-year old mother of three placed fourth in the Tahoe 200 Endurance Run, just 30 minutes behind the 37-year-old man who placed third, and seven hours ahead of the next female finisher. Her time was 67 hours, 56 minutes and 43 seconds – and yes folks, that is 200 miles, not 200k.

Bon, a former Flowery Elementary schoolteacher, ran her first ultra in 2003. But she’s mainly acting as a volunteer organizer for this race – the 26-mile length is far shorter than her usual competitive zone, and she’s still recovering from her Sept. 15 finish in the Tahoe 200.

Instead, she will be backpacking with her 15-year-old daughter Ellie Bon, a goalie on the SVHS girls soccer team.

But Bon knows the route well. “I love those trails up in Sugarloaf, they’re very challenging,” she said. “I think some of the participants are going to be surprised at how difficult they’re going to find it.”

Bon anticipates that the times will reflect the difficulty of the route. “The trails are challenging up there, and there’ll be a lot of elevation gain. There’s a lot climbing plus they’re technical, there’s a lot of rocks.”

The Goodspeed Trail in particular she thinks will present problems for runners who take the race too casually. “It’s technical and rocky – precipitous for sure.”

The Tahoe region could be seen as the birthplace of American ultra-running. “The Granddaddy of them all is the Western States Endurance run,” said Adam Ray of Marin’s Scena Performance, the group organizing the Sonoma Trail Marathon. “There was a long-distance horse race called the Tevis Cup, from Squaw Valley to Auburn. Back in the 70s, one of the horses pulled up lame, but the rider said, ‘I can do this,’ and kept going.”

Ray is not alone in thinking that “Right now we’re in the middle of the second great running boom.” While these mega-races have a longer history in Europe, the American version of the sport emphasizes the natural landscape as well as the physical challenge.

Another boost to the sport was the book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall, which told the heavily-romanticized story of Micah True, aka “Caballo Blanco.” True was an idiosyncratic athlete who lived for years in the Copper Canyon and learned to run with the Tarahumara Indians, known for their incredible feats of long-distance running; he died trail-running in 2012. A movie is in production, with Matthew McConaughey set to play True.

“It used to be the crazies and the weirdoes who were the ultra-runners,” said Ray. “But now you’re seeing the beginning of a tier of ultra-runners who are sponsored – it used to be the idea of anybody getting paid to be an ultra-runner was laughable.”

Key sponsors for the sport include outdoor retailer The North Face, which sponsors a series of Endurance Challenge races nation-wide, as well as various shoe and sports clothing manufacturers.

Though Ray agrees that sponsorship has raised the visibility of the sport, his company has a different emphasis. “We view running as being about engagement – engagement with other people, engagement with the outdoors,” said Ray about his colleagues and mission at Scena. For instance they “create an experience” that includes local Farm-to-Table foods at the post-race barbecue.

Sonoma County boasts two other world-class ultra runners – “Tropical John” Medinger and Lisa Henson, both of Healdsburg – as well as a growing handful of enthusiastic up-and-comers.

Medinger and Henson are helping organize a three-day Ultra Running Camp in November, which offers participants professional guides – and in Healdsburg style, celebrated area chefs and local vintners – along with daily runs of 9 to 20 miles.

So if the idea of lacing up those running shoes and taking off for, oh, 48 hours or, say 100 miles appeals to you, you’re not so crazy after all. Or at least you’ve got company.

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