EISPIRATEN

Has anyone done the Holcomb Valley 33/15 Mile Trail Run they have in June up in Big Bear?

http://www.holcombvalleytrailruns.com/

I'm thinking of trying the 15 mile run. I got through my first 13.1 mile run and now I'm looking for a slightly longer run. I'll have to run an elevation profile on the route to see what kind of elevation gain the course has.

I've never done it, but I understand it's a very popular run. Was your half marathon flat?

My Half Marathon had a little over 1225 feet of gain - I was slow but able to run at least 95 percent of the course without reverting to walking - it took me 2 hr 42 min to do the run, so only 4.85 mph.

I ran the profile on the Holcomb Valley 15 and it has a little over 2200 feet of gain. The elevation up at Big Bear might make it tough too - the course goes over 7000 feet elevation. I think I'll have to work on my hills some more before I decide on this one or I'll look for a run with a gain between the 1200 and 2200 feet to try first. I do want to continue getting better on hilly courses.

Check on trail races at Malibu Creek State Park. I've done the 30K and 50K there and I don't recall the elevation gain being more than a couple of thousand feet. Plus, you have the advantage of being at relatively low elevation.

For other local ultras check out the SoCal Ultra Series:

http://www.socalultraseries.org/

I used the Holcomb Valley run ('97) as one of my training runs for the Angeles Crest 100. I highly recommend it.

Thanks for the info and suggestions.