I’ve not run in Salomon’s for several years so was excited to have an opportunity to check out one of the newest offerings, the Sense Mantra. Salomon designed the Mantra to be “a trail running shoe for midfoot strikers.” The chassis for the Mantra resembles the S-Lab Sense that Kilian Jornet and many other elite ultrarunners are currently sporting. In fact, it’s near impossible to miss the bright colors and consistent design themes of the Salomon shoes. Design changes in the Mantra include more “cushion, more protection and a more substantial OS tendon for energy return.”

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Race Director’s Report – Dan Carter

Sierra Vista Trail Run
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Photos – Dan Carter and Eugene Smith

Marathon runners heading south.

The second annual Sierra Vista Trail Run took place on April 20, 2013 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Three distances: marathon, half-marathon and a free 5 miler were available. All distances are run on the Sierra Vista Trail, along the western foothills of the Organ Mountains. The whole Sierra Vista Trail is twenty-nine miles long and connects with a trail system in the Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso, Texas, where the Puzzler Endurance Races take place (anyone want to organize an Ultra?). The race courses are out and back and follow deceivingly difficult single track.

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Race Director’s Report – Joe Prusaitis

Pandora’s Box of Rox
Reveille Peak Ranch
Burnet Texas
4 May 2013

Photo: Courtesy Jackie Dove

Pandora left the box closed this year, allowing for the most phenomenal weather on race morning. 41 degrees in Texas in May is simply uncommon. Last year, we had a roasting 96 degrees and 90% humidity. A large piece of this course wanders around like foraging fire ants, across a large granite dome, collecting scenic views and rough landings equally.

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Many of us here in the TALON (TX, AR, LA, OK, NM) area sign up for races in the mountains at altitudes significantly higher than where we train. Indeed, there were over 75 TALON athletes (including myself) who ran the Leadville 100 last year, which starts at 10,200 feet. I imagine even more of us are signed up this year. So it seems timely to discuss altitude illness.

Leadville 100 Course Inbound: Heading up to the top of Hope Pass (elevation – 12,620 feet), turning around and looking South. (Photo: David Hanenburg)

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We continue our TALON Meet the Tribe series with a Q&A with Lori Enlow of Oklahoma. Lori is fairly new to the sport but has quickly jumped into the deep end of the pool earning a variety of wins, top placings, and good always fashionable gut-it-out finishes that include the Leadville 100 last August.

Enjoy!

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I was introduced to tasc Performance athletic apparel at Endurance Buzz Adventures inaugural trail race, Isle du Bois, back in 2011. Soft bamboo v-neck race shirts for the women – woohoo! Something different, and much better than the usual ill-fitting cotton shirts or plain tech tees that some races provide. I loved the way the material stretched and felt soft on my skin – like a favorite old t-shirt that you never want to take off.

tasc Streets V shirt and black Capri.

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Race Director’s Report

The inaugural Possum Kingdom Trail Run took place on the award winning Hike and Bike trail system on Possum Kingdom lake on April 27, 90 miles West of the central Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. Cloud cover and a moderate breeze off the lake welcomed the nearly 200 runners from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Minnesota, and Portugal, to a mild early morning start for a 20 km, 55 km, and 52 mile adventure. By mid-day the clouds seemed to spontaneously disappear with the bright sun showing her smiling face which slowed the pace for many but didn’t stop the determination.

Laura Euckert with Jackie Smith, enjoying one of the many beautiful views along the Possum Kingdom course. (Photo: Courtesy Jackie Smith)

A few of the special features of this trail system is the majority being scenic double-wide trail with runable grade changes that include breathtaking views of Possum Kingdom Lake throughout the journey.

The free kids fun-run guided six or so youth down to the beach (they actually liked the sand) and around the start/finish area for a .4 or .8 mile scamper. We had fun! (Photos: Copyright Movin Pictures / movin-pictures.com)

Results

On-time departure for the 20km runners! (Photo copyright Movin’ Pictures / movin-pictures.com)

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