Copper Canyons Ultra Marathon 2011By Patrick Sweeney, a.k.a. Bourbon FeetIt's a daunting task to feflect upon my trip to the Barancas. The magnitude of the experience has not set in (even though I have totally lagged in getting this post together). It was a trip where I gained many new friends, had lots of great experiences,
and
gave a little blood while I was at it.Lunatic" by Luna sandals(pretty cool, huh?)
I arrived in El Paso Just after midnight, after catching a cab (hotel shuttle ditched me). I was at my room within 20 minutes, where I was warmly greeted by Barefoot Luna Equus with elastic laces. They aremostlyfor casual and gym wear. When I train, I am barefoot, and when I race, I normally wear my Original Luna's with Leather straps. In my last Ultra, my Original Luna's held up great for about 95% of the race, but I could have used a little more grip. Just before leaving for Mexico, one of the Monkeys at Luna put together for me a special sandal, 2mm Equus leather top with 4mm Ledville tread on the bottom. I was told that Copper Canyon's course would be easier than Calico (my last race), so Iplanned on running in the new sandals with the added grip, butI brought my Originals with me just in case the equus leather wouldn't mold to my feet in time. (They are kind of like my security blanket.)
2/27
De la rosa
total
a whooping 14 pesos.
stop3
guantanamera.")For dinner, mushroom and frenchfry taco's. They also served some special coffee that claimed it would raise one's libidoand eliminate erectiledysfunction. It was early in the trip, and I still felt pretty vigorous, so I decided to pass. (Maybe on the way back. lol)
2/28
rarijipari ball
Next Stop CreelMy kind of Mariachi
There was some cool art in the town square
Tierra Del Fuego" if it were in cards.On the road again.CanyoneroWe took a quick pit stop to take in the view.Paridiso Del OrsoEventually, we made it to Diego's hotel, alittle oasis in the middle of nowhere, where our Race Director absenthe
o seriously make up that time down on the fire trail, where my lighter sandals would give me an advantage over the traditional thick huaraches.Leadville sandals she was washing.3/05A day for restI woke up feeling about 60%. I really needed rest and thought a dip in the river would help. Shawn, Bookis, Bookis's iPhone, and I decided to go for a swim.Bob Marley Discography
3/6
Race Day
I was up beforemy alarm and feltcompletely refreshed. My sore throat felt a little better, and the Luna sandals' best interest if she skipped the race in order to take pictures (she got some really awesome ones). And lastly, original Luna's. This meant I would sacrifice traction and speed on anything steep or technical both up or down. On the good side, my feet would be comfortable for a day of running, and the sandals are perfect for going fast on flats or moderate hills.
trekkingpole
NUUN
The support was invigorating, rejuvenating my attitude and desire to race. I left town running at an accelerated pace. The next stretch was 6relativelyeasy miles that I needed to make up some time on. I turned on my MP3 player figuring it had enough batteries to last the last 28 miles of the race and began to rock out some reggae.
Gogol Bordello(my favorite band) was playing pretty loud from my speaker. All the workers at the station got a kick out of my Gypsy Punk
On the way back home, we stopped in that town without a name once again and stayed in the same hotel. We didn't arrive until pretty late and needed to find some food. After wandering a bit, we ended up at an Ice Cream / Nacho / corn Vendor. I ended up with a bowl of fruit and a cup of warm corn for dinner.
Another night barely sleeping, and it was back on the road back to El Paso. The line at the border was pretty long, and we had a flight to catch.
We gotsearchedpretty good at the boarder and had to take all the luggage off the top of the van. We were a little concerned about not making our flight but we were fine.
It turns out Bookis, Leah, Ted, Patt ,and I were all on the same flight back toPhoenix,and I had the seat next to Patt.
A short 60 minute flight fromPhoenixand I was back to the City of Angels.
(I don't think anyone has ever told me my muscles look strong.)
