Selina’s been saying the past week that this was her favorite race of the year. She may well be right (and we’ve got 44 other races to compare it to this year). It’s hard to beat running on trails in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains.

The morning began cold and rainy, but the sun broke through just before we started racing — and that made it just a beautiful day to be running in Huddart Park near Woodside. The race itself was almost a reverse loop of a race we’d run before, but it smartly stayed off the roads and added in an extra mile or so of trails. Just a tweak, but it made it a special race!

This was a tough one, but we don’t mind that. There was well over 1,000 feet of climb, and it pretty much all happened in the first mile and a half. That warms up the legs pretty fast on a cold day.

We’ll definitely be back. Anyway, for now, that’s 45 races done in our quest to run 52 this year!

“Seline, what time do we need to leave for the Lake Merced race?” I asked. “Let me check” says Selina, sipping her coffee and fiddling with the laptop. “Um, it’s tomorrow!” she says. Well, I’m glad we didn’t drive up to SF for that one, then…

So, a scramble starts to find a race that starts this Saturday morning. And we find one — it’s over in Livermore, just over the hills east of San Jose. Off we go, and we arrive about 15 minutes before the start of the 5k, just as the 10k starts. Registration is fast (pro tip: if you turn up at the last minute, everyone else is parked, registered, and generally things are quiet). And we’re off to the start line.

This was a fun little race. Probably 60% on a flat dirt trail through a park, and 40% on pavement. Pretty quick little course, but probably not quick enough to set a real time. Anyway, I was happy with a 22:38 with no warmup and the body feeling a little creaky. Selina beat me though, she’s getting faster and I’m not. Sigh.

That’s race 44 done, and just 8 to go in our 52 race challenge. Onward!

The Brazen Racing Save Mount Diablo Trails Challenge 10k has hills. If you like steep hills, this is the race for you.

Selina and I started out at a steady but slow pace, and picked it up as the race went along. Some days, it’s hard to stick to the mental promise of “let’s just cruise it today”, and this was one of those days. Put it this way, the last mile was at 7:37 pace, and that’s reasonably quick for (a) my middle-age (b) my body type (c) a trail race and (d) a 10k race.

Anyway, I’ve digressed. This was a fun race in a beautiful setting, and a nice way to spend a Saturday morning. What’s more, that’s 43 races completed in our 52-race challenge.

Today was race 42 on our way to 52 races in 2015! I’m sure you’ve been following along, and I’m sure you know we’re raising awareness and funds for the GBS/CIDP Foundation.  If you’re new to our fundraiser, it’s easy to get onboard: just head on over here.

Today we ran in support of the Stanford Race against Pulmonary Hypertension (PH). I learnt about PH today, and it’s one of those conditions (similarly to GBS) that’s hard to diagnose, not well understood, and needs medical research and raised awareness. I felt good running for a cause, and also raising the awareness for our cause too. It’s also fun to run around the magnificent Stanford campus!

We also ran yesterday, and the body was a little bit tired from that and Halloween celebrations last night. So, no records were smashed today, though we did pick up the pace toward the end. Out of the 750 finishers, we placed 96th and 97th. Not too competitive, but faster than a jog for sure.

Well, that’s 42 races in the history books. That means there’s only 10 races to go — join me in counting them down, and counting down every dollar toward our goal of $52,000!

When you’ve run a tough race yesterday, you’re looking for the local 5k the next day. That’s the way we play it when we’re 39 races into our 52 race challenge to raise fund and awareness for the GBS/CIDP Foundation. If you’d like to be part of helping solve the puzzle of GBS and help people in need, head on over here.

We decided to head over and support Dir Biyabir and their first annual run to send a girl to school in Ethiopia.  The race was small, pretty well organized, and exactly the same course as the Moonlight 5k.

We started off slow, warmed it up slightly, and came home with a reasonable last mile. I’m pretty sure Selina was the 2nd female over the line.

If there’s a second annual race, I’d recommend coming on down and enjoying the nice, small, friendly atmosphere of this one.

Just 14 races to go to reach our goal of 52 races in 2015! So far, we’ve raised nearly $43,000 and I know we’ve raised awareness of both Guillane-Barre Syndrome and the GBS/CIDP Foundation. If you’d like to be part of helping beat GBS and help folks in need, head over here.

Race 38 was a tough one. At least for me. My trust running buddy didn’t find it quite as hard, and beat me by a minute or so. The pictures tell the complete story.

The race was a trail run at the Los Vaqueros Reservoir, though we didn’t see any water on our run. Indeed, it’s pretty dry up there, similarly to the rest of California right now. Picture dry dirt trails, undulation, and views out over rolling hills in every direction. A nice place for a run.

I’m not quite sure what was up with me, but I found the race tough from the start. I willed my way through it, and it sure felt like I’d run a lot further than the 6.4 miles or so (the “10k races” trail races are often a little over 6.2 miles).

Anyway, as always, I highly recommend trail running and the Brazen Racing series. Always good vibes, good medals, good shirts, and most importantly some of the nicest places in California for a race.