This past weekend was The North Face Endurance Challenge in Bear Mountain New York. We were on scene taking photos, videos and crewing for teammates, clients and friends. During the 50 Mile Endurance Run, I was filming near Aid Station #4 Lake Skannatati, mile 20.7. I made my way up the red trail towards Pine Swamp Mtn because I knew this was one of the more visually fun sections to watch runners make their way through. Its a pretty steep section of trail and winds its way through some large boulders and rocks. I watched the 1st place runner at the time come through and literally slide down a boulder full speed, landing on his feet. He was just as shocked as I was that he didn't fall. You will see this in the upcoming video that I hope to post by the weekend.
Then it was the 2nd place runner at the time, Jordan McDougal from the North Face Running Team to make his way through the same section and this is how it went (watch the video below).
Amazingly I watched Jordan slowly rise to his feet, shake himself off, stumble around a bit and then slowly jog away. It wasn't until later at the finish line that I noticed him standing on top of the podium. I was sure that he either DNF'd or just slowly made his way through the rest of the race, after all he still had 30 miles to go at that point!
I got a chance to talk with him afterwards and he said the 1st few miles after the fall were a little rough, especially when he went on to sprain his ankle just miles later. However he just kept himself together, caught the 1st place runner with 10 miles to go, dropped him and came in 1st place, which was Jordans 3rd win in a row at Bear Mountain and his fastest!
Here is Jordan McDougal's race report, click here! You will find out he went through a lot more then just the fall in the video. A truly incredible competitor and is why he is one of the best around.
Each year one of my favorite races is The North Face Endurance Challenge at Bear Mountain, NY. This was to be my fifth year participating in the event, but my first attempt at the 50k. The previous 3 years I’d ran the 50 mile, and before that, the marathon. However, there was a new obstacle to contend with at this years race...
I went into this past weekend with a pretty ambitious goal: run teammates Jason Friedman’s New Paltz Pizza Challenge Friday night, (register for and) run The North Face 50k in Bear Mountain Saturday morning, drive back up to Rochester Saturday night, and race the Medved Madness 25K in my hometown on Sunday. Well, in brief, I did not accomplish all of these goals, but whatever I did accomplish, it turned out to be one of those weekends you just hope never ends!
It was a another big weekend of racing for the team with The North Face Endurance Challenge visiting the great trails of Bear Mountain & Harriman State Park of NY, as well as the Rock the Ridge 50 Mile Endurance Challenge.
Hey Bear Mountain - shove it! Yeah, you heard me. Yes I am pointing 2 appendages your way. You always try to thwart us with your rocky and rooty paths. Your climbs often make us want to curl up into little balls. This year you added streams of water where there shouldn’t have been and mud...
This weekend kicked off the start to my racing season. I would represent my team at the North Face Half Marathon at Bear Mountain. I'd never run this race before but was familiar with the course since I had the opportunity to run all the trail sections. Earlier in the week the NYC/NJ metropolitan area received quite a bit of rainfall...
The weekend of May 4-5th brought The North Face Endurance Challenge back to Bear Mountain in New York. I was competing in Sunday’s half marathon for the fifth time. This race has been my spring goal for the last few years. I have enjoyed high finishes and went into this years race looking for more success.
During the 50 Mile Endurance Run, I was filming near Aid Station #4 Lake Skannatati, mile 20.7. I made my way up the red trail towards Pine Swamp Mtn because I knew this was one of the more visually fun sections to watch runners make their way through.
Another great weekend on the trails of Bear Mountain & Harriman State Park! Weather was perfect for the hundreds of runners that showed up for one hell of an adventure
I came into the 2015 The North Face Endurance Challenge 50k at Bear Mountain State Park unsure of my fitness; I hadn’t raced since September of last year, I hadn’t done the volume or long runs in training that I would have liked… But I was also very excited! It was time to race again, and it was my first race representing the MPF/RNR team!