It was cool and misty, with barely any drizzle out on the course. 1) the weather could not have been better. I might have wanted gloves for a mile or so and after than the shirt and shorts were perfect. 2) Everyone was shivering in have coats at awards.

The course was a lot hillier than i expected. The first two miles were at a 7:30 pace. Miles 8 and 9 were just under 7:30, but the rest were a bit of a grind.

My strategy was to run the first 8 miles by feel, and push the effort by about :05/mi every mile. It kind of worked, but the hills... I sort of hate racing with hills. ;)

Fun route w/o traffic, and very pretty.

This was my official warm-up for Oceanside, so I brought my HM gear: a water belt with Gatorade and a Gu flask. The belt was zero problem. The Gatorade was empty about 5k out, and I downed about three Gus the first 8 miles. My guess at shoes didn't win; the Ultras at the marathon last fall were stellar. The GRR4's today tried to give me tender spots. For O'side, the choices will be original GR's, Ultra R's or Ultra 2's.

Here are the results.

I can probably use a little track work.

Walking and trotting to the car and food.


Hills. No speed work.


This was a very well run race, with a lot of vols and support from the Paso Robles community.