Telescope Peak – Death Valley National Park By Reid Delman, Gemini Adventures Race Director Telescope Peak 21mi – 11k’ Gain Attempted 2/10/2019 11,000 feet of vertical rise?!? In one hike?!? That’s right, Telescope Peak in Death Valley National Park. The standard route starts from a parking lot at 8,000’ but if you want a real challenge you can begin at Badwater Basin 200’ below sea level. So that’s what we decided to do Looking at the logistics of it, it’s […]
Stage Race Sunday! Who’s coming to play in the desert this year? A veteran of Death Valley, Laurie Miller comes to us via Winthrop, Washington – where snow substitutes for sand in her race prep. Marital Status: Married Number of Children: 2 of my own and 1 step daughter/ 6 grandchildren Occupation: full time wife and grandma; part time Forest Service Employee Years running: Not that many Years running ultras: 1 year Ultras I have done: Bigfoot 40 Favorite race […]
Stage Race Sunday! Who’s coming to play in the desert this year? Phil “Macho Man” Pinti, hailing from Columbia, MD, is back for his second crack at the Kokopelli! Marital Status: Widower Number of Children: 2 Occupation: 1.) Dad, 2.) Analyst Years running: 15 Years running ultras: 3 Ultras I have done: Labor Pain 12 Hour Endurance Race (50 mile x2; 2017, 2018) (Pretzel City Sports), Mid-Maryland 50K (x3 2017, 2018, 2019) (Bullseye Running), Stone Mill 50 Miler, Schuylkill River […]
Annual Planning By Brian Passenti – Altitude Endurance Coaching Desert RATS Champion, Leadman, Family man, Coach, Endurance Sports Enthusiast & Pizza Connoisseur So, this is our year. This is the year we achieve those goals. This is the year where we make our mark. Many of us have created some sort of plan- maybe a New Years Resolution, some sort of racing and training goals for the coming year. These athletic goals focus around races and events we have scheduled […]
By Reid Delman Lockhart Basin is an incredible mtb ride across the Colorado River from the famous White Rim Trail. Location: Canyonlands National Park to Moab UTDistance: 60+ milesPermit: Not required Level: IntermediateScenery: Stunning! Gemini Adventures Race Director, Reid, rode this epic mtb ride in one day in 2017. Here’s his report: The ride starts with a 2.5 hour drive from Moab to Canyonlands National Park and we had a shuttle pick us up at 3:30am. If there is a […]
By Erica Rackley with permission from Trailsisters.net Part One: Planning What grand adventure idea inspires you? Maybe you’ve seen a photo of an iconic trail and resolved to run there. Maybe a mountain range you’ve glimpsed on a road trip calls to you. Maybe you can’t get someone’s fastest known time on your favorite trail out of your head. My adventure ideas simmer in my head constantly. There are projects and routes that return to conscious thought when I’m waiting at […]
The 2019 Desert RATS Kokopelli 150 stage race is so excited to welcome the legendary Ann Trason to the field this year! Ann is a truly inspiring runner and we can’t wait to enjoy the incredible trip across the Kokopelli Trail with her. Not only is she an amazing athlete but Ann is also passionate about helping other runners achieve their goals through her coaching services. From her website, Ann Trason Coaching: If there’s one thing you can say about […]
Check out the original article by Andy Dubois posted on the fantastic ultra168.com Studies have shown that less flexible runners have greater running economy. With so much focus on the importance of stretching you may be wondering how this makes sense. Why stretch if it decreases running economy and why is running economy improved if you are less flexible? Is stretching making us slower runners? Running economy is how efficiently a person uses oxygen at a given pace. So two people may be […]
We love our racers & volunteers, and greatly appreciate all the feedback you share with us. It helps us constantly improve our races and your experience. We’d like to share some of our favorite feedback from this year’s adventurers: “This was my first half marathon and first trail race. I lost over 45 lbs this year, and this was a huge event for me and my only race. Everyone who worked it was amazing and everyone competing was amazing. I […]
What a fantastic season! With 12 races spread over 5 events, we got to see and celebrate so many different amazing runners and bikers. It was a pleasure to share the trails with you, and see the tremendous effort each individual exhibited. Some highlights & fun facts: Over 30% of our racers set personal bests for distance, stepping up to a new longest race Nearly 100 volunteers joined us this season, adding amazing energy to our events (and each earning […]