DRAFT Magazine

Proof I survived Death Valley

I’m not really sure why anyone would voluntarily travel to Death Valley, much less run 26.2 miles here.

This is the most godforsaken place I have ever found myself on the planet. And I biked through southwest Nebraska.

To be fair to the nation’s largest national park, our marathon was supposed to be in gorgeous Titus Canyon. Then the park that set a record for highest temperature ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere - 134 degrees - had a snow and ice storm that shut down our regularly scheduled course.

So today, about 165 of us ended up on a mostly flat out-and-back primitive dirt road surrounded by salt fields, barren rocky landscape, remote mountains, and approximately zero signs of life. My friend Kyle (who set a new marathon PR today) claims he saw a solitary crow. Creepy.

But weather conditions at the lowest point in the continental U.S. - 282 feet below sea level - couldn’t have been more perfect, maybe 60 degrees with a constant breeze. When we started it was downright chilly.

I felt good the whole way and finished about 10 minutes off my PR in 3 hours, 38 minutes and 30 seconds, which was surprisingly good enough for 23rd place overall. I’ll take it. Winning time was 3:01.

Unfortunately, there’s no beer at the finish line, but Kyle and I stocked up at a quirky beer and soda shop called Galco’s in Los Angeles. Now we’re relaxing in our bare bones motel room with Big Sky Brewing Moose Drool.

The highlight for me was watching a woman named Cheri cross a marathon finish line for the astonishing 239th time. I watched her after the finish, assuming I could pick up a thing or two from a woman who says her favorite race of all time was in the Andes Mountains.

Here’s what I learned: You know that saying about scoring a touchdown in football, “Act like you’ve been there before”? Same thing applies to marathons.

Just 234 more marathons and maybe I can reach that level.

Jennifer Tran at the Malibu Half

The Beer Runner: What are your beer runner credentials

Jennifer Tran: I’m in the “lucky habit” of carbo-loading with beer before a race. A few friends have convinced me that it’s a great way to get some calories in, relax and feel pretty loose and ready to run the next day - so far I’ve had some of my best half marathon performances after a beer carbo-loading dinner and haven’t turned back since!

BR: What running accomplishments are you most proud of?

JT: My back to back half marathon weekends (Long Beach Half Marathon followed by the Nike Women’s Half Marathon the weekend after) - it qualified me for the Half Fanatics (I’m Half Fanatic #241!!!)

BR: I like how you listed running as your religious views on Facebook. What’s your holy land?

JT: Trail running up in the Santa Monica Mountains is my personal holy land. Nothing will humble you more 800+ ft climbs at 1300 ft elevation.

Santa Monica Mountains by Cal's Diversions on Flickr

BR: Congratulations on running 1,000 miles this year! How did you come up with that goal?

JT: The goal was originally a challenge listed on DailyMile.com I joined the site in the middle of the year and didn’t really think I was near hitting it til December came along and I counted all of my training BDM (Before Daily Mile) it’s a personal goal of mine to try to consistently hit 100+ mile training months so 1,000 seemed like a good number to go after for a year.

BR: Where’s your favorite running spot in Los Angeles?

JT: Westridge Trail in Pacific Palisades - gorgeous views of the Beach, Downtown LA and The Valley in one spot.

Jenn at the Surf City Half Marathon

BR: Where’s your favorite place to get a beer in LA?

JT: O’Brien’s Irish Pub in Santa Monica - it’s a small dive and not as “LA” as most places. Easy to go and hang out with a small group of friends, plus they have a decent selection of beer.

BR: What’s your beer of choice?

JT: Newcastle

BR: You majored in philosophy and metaphyiscs at Yale. What’s your beer of choice to discuss the nature of reality over?

JT: Breckenridge Vanilla Porter - nothing says “lets get metaphysical” like a smooth dark ale. It also tastes just like a cream soda which to me screams Ivy League.

BR: Any other words of wisdom you’d like to add?

Carbo-load with beer before a race = PR. (Don’t forget to train beforehand.)

"Dust and Bones"

Stone Brewing has partnered with the San Diego Mountain Biking Association to bring beer and bike movie nights to the brewery.

“Mountain Biking is social,” says SDMBA’s Alison Whitney. “And having a wonderful craft brew from a local brewery that basically started it all is a wonderful pairing.”

Their next showing on Oct. 20 will be “Dust and Bones,” which judging by its trailer looks pretty brutal bike porn.

The event will also feature the raffling of a $7K Titus El Guapo Bike, donated by Beyond Bikes to raise money for advocacy, skills parks, trail work, and increasing membership.

“Greg Koch and his crew set the standard on supporting their communities and crafting amazing beer in the edgy style that has become known as the West Coast Style — hoppy, edgy, daring,” Whitney said. “That understanding hits home to the MTB community. It’s how they get their excitement–all things edgy & daring.”

The SDMBA will also play a big role in New Belgian’s Tour de Fat coming to San Diego on October 3rd, including setting up the route.

P.S. Whitney’s current list of favorite beers include Alpine Brewery’s Pure Hoppiness, anything from Lagunitas, Kern River Brewing’s fall seasonal and pumpkin ale, Mothership Wit from New Belgium, Stone Brewing’s Levitation, Sawyer’s Triple and Oatmeal Stout.

The blogosphere is not big enough for two Beer Runners.

Or is it?

Over on the west coast, Derrick Peterman authors  a blog called the Bay Area Beer Runner, which I recently found out about. But I did not sic my (fake) lawyers on him.

In the spirit of running and craft brewery brotherhood — like Collaboration Not Litigation — I invited the Bay Area Beer Runner over to chat on the Beer Runner.

Beer Runner: Hey, nice blog name. Where’d you come up with it?

Derrick Peterman: I was quietly writing it for about a month and submitted my first contribution for The Session, which is a compilation of articles written by beer bloggers on a monthly topic. Brian Yaeger was hosting that month, and when he received my contribution, he gently informed me about your blog, which he found helpful for his marathon training. On my next  morning run, I spend the whole time trying to figure out a new name, before settling on Bay Area Beer Runner.

BR: What are your biggest running feats?

DP: I’ve been running for 30 years. I ran in cross-country and track in high school and college, and at Washington University in St. Louis, twice made All-American at the NCAA Division III 10,000 meter championships. I completed three marathons, the fastest being 2:27 in the 1993 Columbus Marathon. That qualified me into the Boston Marathon the next year, and it was just a fantastic experience to run in the historic race. At 42, I’m a shell of my former self but still get in 40-50 miles a week and run a few races each year.

BR: Why did you start blogging?

DP: Part of the reason is that one of the best ways to learn something is to tell someone else about it. I estimate that I’ve tried over 500 beers, and have visited about 20 brewpubs. My job is in sales, so I travel around the U.S. and check out the local beers and brewpubs. I’ve found running around and sampling the local brews is a great way to explore area. And I’ve started home brewing.

BR: Congratulations on your first batch of home brew. Were there any parallels to your first race?

DP: Nope! My first race was with my dad when I was 12, so I was under his watchful eye and things went pretty smoothly. For my first home brew, I was basically alone in the kitchen, with my lovable but brain damaged cat Didi generally getting in the way. I planned everything as much as I could but there were plenty of moments like, “Oh, I need to put a lid on that?”

BR: How did you get into craft beer?

DP: Since the late 80’s I started branching out from the big industrial breweries and trying imports, and some micro brews that started to show up in supermarkets. In 2007 my girlfriend and I took a trip in Mendocino County and visited the Anderson Valley Brewing Company tasting room in Boonville, CA, and the North Coast Brewing brewpub in Ft. Bragg, CA. It was really the first I time I truly appreciated all the different styles and possibilities or craft brewing. I was hooked.

Almaden Quicksilver Park

BR: As one of the Bay Area Beer Bloggers, what’s your favorite place for beer in your area, and what’s your favorite place to run?

DP: Favorite place for beer? That’s easy, El Toro in Morgan Hill, CA. They’ve got about 20 taps and they brew all kinds of stuff from regular session beers to the Johnny Re-Blazer, which has anise in it. My favorites there are the Poppy Jasper Brown Ale, the Deuce Double IPA, and the unique El Canejo Red IPA. Their XV is also a pretty good barley wine. As for running, it’s Almaden Quicksilver Park. The area is an old field that mined mercury used for gold extraction in the California Gold Rush. Plus, it’s at the edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains so the views of the surrounding mountains and the overlook of San Jose at the top are amazing.

BR: What’s the last great beer you had?

DP: The Bill Brand Brown from the Bay Area’s Triple Rock Brewing that I enjoyed at the Eat Real Festival in Oakland. It’s a rich, malty amber ale where they use cocoa nibs in a process similar to dry hopping to add a bitter chocolate dimension to the flavor and give it plenty of chocolate aromas.  Despite all the big flavors, at something like 5% abv, it is a very much a session beer.

BR: Anything else to add?

DP: I recently observed that the regions of the U.S. with heavy craft beer activity — the West Coast, Colorado, the Great Lakes Midwest and the Northeast — are also areas of the country with strong running traditions. And if you look at Europe, the countries north of the “wine line” that separates wine regions from brewing regions tend to have better distance running traditions as well. Even Kenya has a bit of a brewing tradition which I recently learned about, and distance running is ingrained in their culture much like football or basketball is in the United States. So there appears to be some geographical connection between beer and running. I hope to understand this better over time, and maybe someday, have some real insights as to why.

I am in no position nor am I qualified to say that Eel River Brewery’s Acai Berry Wheat Beer is the healthiest beer on the planet. But it kind of sounds like it might be.

Introduced in October, the Fortuna, California-based beer is made with certified organic Brazilian acai berries, which contain boatloads of antioxidants. At 4% ABV you can knock back quite a few in the name of getting your daily antioxidants.

Acai is one of those weird trucker hat-like trends. As soon as you heard about it, there was already a backlash.

One minute it was an obscure berry sold in health food stores. Next minute it’s endorsed as a “superfood” by Oprah and being associated with an online scam. But none of that is the fault of the acai berry, of course.

As a beer it tastes like a less sweet version of Leinenkugel’s Beery Weiss. If you like fruity beers, you might want to consider adding this to your list.

I had three of them last night and I feel very antioxidized today. I’m sure Oprah would approve.

Photo by KDCN Morales

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

People who work in the beer industry are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

I didn’t need more confirmation, but I just got it.

It started when I tried to ship my friend Kyle in Los Angles a case of Hinterland, craft beer from Green Bay. You can ship 12-packs from their site.

This story has nothing to do with running, so I’m inserting that now.

For years Kyle and I have talked about running next week’s Catalina Marathon.

“We’ve all talked a little bit, and in hushed tones, about the Catalina Marathon. It looks stunning,” Kyle wrote in an email last October. “Catalina Island is beautiful-looking, as I’ve never been, and traversing it on foot seems like a surefire way to make 26.2 miles disappear.”

“We would most likely camp out on the island the night before, which is pretty BA,” he added.

Maybe next year. Damn. Since I couldn’t visit, I sent Kyle beer.

A major snafu with delivery, however, prevented him from actually getting his case. As Kyle reported:

“I am cursing UPS, who apparently tried to deliver three times yet I never saw a note, and yesterday i got a postcard saying they were mailing it back to the sender, so I called and sure enough they had sent it back.”

I contacted Hinterland about the problem. The situation wasn’t their fault. They helped out anyway. They mailed it back out - on their dime.

“Sorry for all of the problems on this one,” the owner, Bill Tressler, emailed me. “Thanks for your patience.”

So a few weeks after it arrived in Los Angeles, returned to Wisconsin, and then went back to Los Angeles, Kyle finally got his beer. Thank you, Hinterland.

“You should write something about how beer tastes better,” Kyle told me, “when its been delayed for over a month.”

The Joy Trip Project is like NPR for active, outdoorsy people. 

That’s exactly the audience podcaster James Edward Mills is going for. 

“I want to carve out a spot on National Public Radio featuring stories that introduce people to the wonders of outdoor recreation,” he says. 

After being awarded a grant from Keen, Mills has interviewed Ken Burns about national parks and told the incredible story of a Utah student’s act of civil disobedience, among other episodes.

He’s looking for a good post-adventure thirst quenching beer. Got a suggestion for him? Leave it in the comments after his Beer Runner interview.   

What the last great beer that you had?

I had a Bell’s HopSlam  at Upfront & Company in Marquette, Michigan. It was delicious.

What was the last great workout that you had?

This morning I did a treadmill workout at the gym. Aside from the fact that it was about 10 degrees outside, the sidewalks are really icy and I’m worried about falling. I’ve been nursing a bum hip for almost three years. But now I’m incorporating the principles of the book “Chi Running” by Danny Dreyer. I’m learning how to run relaxed and loose while concentrating on my breathing and heart rate.

What’s your favorite beer after a hike?

I’m a big fan of Warsteiner in the summertime. I usually prefer micro beers but I have yet to find one that’s light enough to be a thirst quencher that’s not a wheat beer. I hate wheat beers.

I saw you’re involved with the Big City Mountaineers. Can you tell me about that?

The Big City Mountaineers is one of my favorite charities. They’re based in Boulder, Colorado and they take poor kids on their first backpacking or canoe trip. I’ve taken two groups into the backcountry of the Trinity Alps and the Continental Divide.

What would you like people to know about the Joy Trip Project?

The Joy Trip Project is my dream job. The idea is to develop audio stories about the various aspects of the active lifestyle. I like to think I take it a step further though by telling stories about lifestyles that are sustainable and maybe benefit others. 

You have an anthropology degree from the University of California-Berkeley. Learn anything about beer in that time?

Photo by Radiobread

I had my first beer as a college freshman. It was a Mickey’s Big Mouth. They used to come in green bottles shaped like a barrel. From there I graduated up the Lucky Lager. I hated the taste but they had these cool pictogram puzzles on the underside of the bottle caps. In my fraternity as I pledge I learned how to pour a pitcher of beer from the tap in our chapter room. NO FOAM PLEDGE! By the time I graduated I was the house chugging champ.

What are the biggest similarities and differences that you’ve observed from living in Madison and living in California?

For one thing Madison now is more like Berkeley was when I went to school there. California has become incredibly conservative and Wisconsin is wonderfully liberal. People here are well-educated, thoughtful and generous. Dane County has more non-profit groups per capita than any other county in the country. And like California folks, here they like their outdoor sports.  I’ve gotten to know some of the fittest, most athletic people anywhere, all the cheese and beer not withstanding.

Anything else to add?

I have a no-fail cure for the hiccups and I can take the cap off a beer bottle with my teeth.

Photo by Inkyhack

I have been involved in countless races where beer and costumes are a big part of the festivities.

But I can’t say I’ve ever entered a race where police issued the following statement beforehand:

At the May 17 event, police will cite or arrest anybody openly drinking alcohol or appearing to be drunk, and will physically remove floats and any other items on wheels like shopping carts with kegs in them.

Really?!

That’s the annual Bay To Breakers 12K in San Francisco. Now in its 98th year, officials are cracking down on beer and nudity that has become a trademark of the famous race.

My friend Jaeson in New York alerted me to the brew-ha-ha, and word is spreading fast that this new decree will take all the fun out of the event. According to an unscientific San Francisco Chronicle online poll, nearly two-thirds of responders think it will “ruin a great S.F. tradition.”

“It’s one of the most amusing and unique events I’ve ever experienced.” said one woman, calling the new rule “devastating.”

But after checking out some of the 46,763 Bay to Breakers photos on Flickr — which I’m purposely not linking to here — I gotta say this ban may not be such a bad idea. At all.

No word yet on the Bare to Breakers website if they plan on abiding by the new policy.

Of course, I’ve never seen this spectacle firsthand. Have you? What do you make of all this?