Volunteer as a Sighted Runner

LightHouse Fitness Partner Program

http://lighthouse-sf.org/programs/fitness-partner-program/
I was totally inspired by Scott Jurek's volunteer work with visually-impaired runners. Add this to the endless list of why Scott Jurek is the coolest human being alive... He has helped numerous individuals finish races by being a "sighted runner." I was inspired to follow in his footsteps - and found a local (SF Bay Area) organization that can use our help.

Please consider volunteering! It's as simple as 1-2-3!

How to volunteer:

1. Complete volunteer registration: http://lighthouse-sf.org/donate/volunteer/ 
2. Fingerprinting and Background Check: https://oag.ca.gov/fingerprints/locations (This costs about $20) 
3. Attend volunteer training: 10:30am - Saturday, January 16, 2016 - 214 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102

 

Quick Info

• There is a demand for sighted athletes who can walk / run with visually-impaired athletes
• You will probably be running and/or walking in the city (trails are hard to navigate)
• You will probably be running with a “lead” rope (see photo)
• Your schedule is up to YOU and your athlete - once a week, once a month, whatever works for you. You chose where to meet and how often.
• In addition to individual training, we may organize group hikes and will need volunteers

 

Have questions?

Justine Harris-Richburgh - Volunteer Coordinator: 1altruism@lighthouse-sf.org
Maggie Tides - BayBirds contact: maggietides@gmail.com

 

Scott Jurek Stories

http://blog.scottjurek.com/post/86907886709/had-a-blast-guiding-a-blind-runner-luanne-in-the
http://www.y42k.com/2015/04/19/scott-jurek-about-guiding-blind-runner-at-boston-marathon/
http://kdvr.com/2015/10/08/blind-runner-from-colorado-looking-to-break-world-record/
 

Marin Headlands

The Marin Headlands are a mecca for trailrunning. After living here for about a year, I've been able to run on most (admittedly not ALL) of the trails. I've thrown together a map and some info that I hope will be helpful to other people

Click for detail

I think of the headlands as several distinct regions. The trail network links all of these together, but they each have their own character, and each has one or two waypoints with parking, restrooms, and water. If you're planning a day hike, I'd recommend staying within one of the sections because they are separated by significant mountain ridges that can sneak up on you, especially when it's warm out.

If you're planning a long run and want some variation, cruise through the different zones - noting the water points so you can refill along the way :)


Rodeo Valley

While all of the headlands get busy during peak season, Rodeo Valley is usually the busiest. It's the most accessible area from San Francisco and has a lot of beautiful walkable trails. There is a large parking lot, with bathrooms, showers, and water at the beach. SCA Trail runs along the east side of this region - it is a rolling trail with beautiful views. Battery Townsend is on the far west side and climbs up to Wolf Ridge, which separates Rodeo and Tennessee valleys. Look for wildlife, like coyotes, and really cool plants, like fennel fern, along the trails in this area.






Tennessee Valley

Looking to TV Beach from Old Springs.

This region is nestled between Wolf Ridge on the south and Coyote Ridge on the north. Unless you're walking or running to the beach, be ready to climb. Oakwood Valley provides a shady route up to SCA and through to Rodeo Valley. Marincello is a great, gradual climb that heads south. Coastal Trail heads to the north along the coast - it is a steep climb, but the views are worth it. There is no water in this region. There are restrooms and a dirt parking lot at the Tennessee Valley trailhead.

Muir Beach

An evening view of Mt. Tam from Coastal Trail heading towards Cardiac.

Watch for newts as you head north on Coastal Trail from Tennessee Valley - you'll dip down into Pirate's Cove and climb (gently) up to meet the far side of Coyote Ridge. The newts aren't alone - you'll see lots of cottontail rabbits, deer, coyotes, and seals down along the shoreline. The Muir Beach region has long scenic climbs and numerous ridges - Coyote Ridge on the south, Dias Ridge in the middle, and Cardiac point to the north. Coastal Trail continues through this section - be prepared for a sustained (about 3 mile) climb from Muir Beach up to Cardiac. In the spring, you'll see where Heather Cutoff gets its name - the hillsides are thick with rich purple heather. Several trails converge at Cardiac, including Dipsea. The Muir Beach trailhead is one of my favorite spots to start a run - there are restrooms, water, and plenty of parking.


Muir Woods

The Ben Johnson Trail.

This section gets busy with tourists. But go early in the morning and have the trails to yourself! While it can be hot on the exposed Coastal trail, the huge redwood trees keep this area cool and shady. The trails are soft and super fun to run down from Cardiac or Pantoll - but be prepared to climb out. Lost trail is beautiful and painful - with lots of stairs - and it brings you up to Sun Trail, one of my favs.










Stinson Beach

Running along Matt Davis during the Marin Ultra Challenge.

Bathrooms and parking are right on the beach. The trails stay a bit inland, so plan on a little detour to the beach if you need to use the bathrooms or refill your water. Getting out of Stinson involves climbing (sensing a theme here in the headlands?) The trails here are all renown (notorious?) Willow Camp is soul-crushingly steep. Plan on taking breaks on your way up, unless you're in great shape. Matt Davis is one of the headlands' most beautiful trails. and is mostly flat/rolling. Dipsea is historic - with good reason, but involves ladders and stairs. You'll get a workout wherever you go in this area.







Mt. Tam

Looking towards East Peak from the junction of Old Railroad Grade and Hoo Koo E Koo.

Mt. Tam has three peaks - West, Middle, and East. East is the most popular, with bathrooms, water, and parking near the peak. The south side has steeper trails that are usually sunny. The north side has long, grinding trails that are cool and shady. Eldridge is a great northside trail that you can hike up from Natalie Coffin Green park near Lake Phoenix. On the south side, you can hike up from downtown Mill Valley.









I hope this helps people new to the area or interested in visiting! If I've made a mistake, please let me know :) Happy trails!

Trails: East Bay Madness!

By: Maggie

I *love* running in the East Bay. The network of trails is incredible - and offer an endless combination of long or short runs. During my training, I find it fun, but challenging, to string together long trail runs that have a good variety of terrain and available water refills. I've started running with a hydration pack, so the water is less critical, but it's still good (on a 3 or 4 hour run), to know you can refill if needed!

Anyway, that's a long introduction to a simple post. Here is my favorite long-run loop in the East Bay.  It strings together runs through Redwood Regional Park and Anthony Chabot Regional Park. Both full maps are available online: http://www.ebparks.org/parks/maps

This loop is 20 miles. I can't remember the elevation gain - I'm guessing around 4500'. 

I have annotated them here with mileage:

MILES 1 - 5.62

Click map for larger image.

• I like starting at Skyline Gate. There are restrooms, water fountains, and benches. 
• Head south on the West Ridge trail. It's a gradual uphill to the Moon Gate, at mile 1.2. 
• Take a hard left to stay on the West Ridge trail. There is one significant climb as you enter the Chabot Space Center property. 
• Cross the road after the climb and enjoy rolling hills down to the Redwood Bowl at mile 1.96.
• Lots of trails peel out of the Redwood Bowl, so pay attention here. Veer left and follow signs to stay on West Ridge - it will be the left-most trail and a slight uphill climb out of the bowl. 
• West Ridge opens up here, and it's a beautiful stretch with great views - or mist blowing over the ridge. The eucalyptus trees smell amazing - great spot!
• Several trails split off of this stretch of West Ridge. The Baccharus trail is a variation of West Ridge. It is a nice mixup and connects right back to the West Ridge trail. A couple trails peel off to the left and take you down to the bottom of the canyon and will return you to Skyline. A couple peel off to the right - take the third one, Toyon Trail, at mile 4.5.
• Toyon is a rutted, skinny single track trail that careens down the side of the hill. It's fun to run and has beautiful views. I've never seen anyone on this trail, so it seems like a hidden gem!
• At the bottom of the hill, take a left on Golden Spike at 5.32 miles. Golden Spike skirts the bottom of the ridge, along the road. It will take you to a road crossing at 5.62 miles. There's a small bridge. Watch for the steps and for traffic!

MILES 5.62 - 15.5

Click map for larger image.

• Across the road, you enter the Big Bear Staging Center and Anthony Chabot Regional Park.
• It starts with a steady climb up the MacDonald Trail. There are trail signs and only a couple loop offshoots.
• Once you reach the ridge, the trail rolls along for a couple miles and then drops into a steady decline to Bort Meadow Group Camp at 8.15 miles.
• The trail has a few horse gates, and it will pop onto a paved road/driveway. Run down and to the right on this paved road. It leads to dirt parking lot that trails split from.
• I like to take the Brandon Trail on my way out - it's on the south side of the creek (Grass Valley Creek). It's always been chilly on this trail because it's tucked in the shade near water. 
• There is a really pretty Stone Bridge at mile 9.5. Head up to the right (south) on Jackson Grade. At the top of this grade is WATER at 9.8 miles! It's a spigot near some parking. 
• The Goldenrod Trail continues south from The Woolridge Staging Area (where the water was), and will hit a turnaround point at about 10.5 miles and the Columbine Trail. 
• The Columbine connects to the Cascade Trail, which will bring you back to the Stone Bridge. From here, take the Grass Valley trail (instead of Brandon), to get a view from the other side of the creek.
• At mile 12.7, you'll be back in the Bort Meadow parking area, climb back up the paved driveway, and climb gradually up the MacDonald Trail. Follow this back to the Big Bear staging area, where you first popped into Chabot Park. This should be about 15.5 miles.

MILES 15.5 - 20

Click map for larger image.

• Back in Redwood Park, get back onto Golden Spike, and head south (do not retrace back to Toyon). Golden Spike will follow the road and curve around into the canyon. 
• At 16.3 miles, Golden Spike connects back with West Ridge. West Ridge quickly turns into Stream Trail, which is the main canyon-bed trail. 
• Stay on Stream Trail the rest of the way. At 17.14, there is a WATER spigot in a picnic area (to the right).
• At 18 miles, Stream Trail crosses to the right over a bridge. Another trail continues straight and is BRUTAL climbing out (and it adds a couple miles). 
• Once you've crossed the bridge, take a left and follow Steam Trail for 2 more miles to Skyline Gate! The last .5 mile is a decent climb - I usually hike a lot of it. But it's good to end on a tough note ;)

I hope this helps you enjoy Redwood and Chabot Parks as much as I do! And if you do, please consider making a donation or becoming a member of the Regional Parks Foundation at http://www.regionalparksfoundation.org.

Happy running!

Trail: Get Ye to the Headlands!

By: Maggie

Sometimes, heaven peeks through the little every day moments.

And it happens a lot in the Marin headlands.

Maybe if more people got outside and explored the natural beauty around us, it would be a better world. You can't stay sad, mad, or an asshole if you get outside regularly. It's an incredibly humbling and connecting experience to crawl up a mountainside and bonsai down switchbacks. And, ENDORPHINS! 

Climbing up this hill, I found a little mole-creature that appeared to have been dropped in the middle of the trail (maybe from a predator-bird?) It was tiny, covered in very soft, grey, baby fur, with little pink paws and a pink nose, and it was writhing on the hot dirt. It was a really hot day. I often get sidetracked on runs, but this was a really special side-adventure. Anyway, the poor little creature was baking on the trail, so I rinsed it off with my water bottle, popped it in some soft shady grass, and built a little grass tepee on the side of the trail. On my next lap around (about an hour later), the little mole was gone. I'm not sure if I couldn't find the same spot, if the little critter had burrowed into cooler ground, or if it had been eaten. I don't know what happened, but it made me happy and sad at the same time. Things like that seem to happen a lot on trails.

Trail: Toyon, Redwood Regional

By: Maggie

Heading south on West Ridge

I've been slacking on my running lately. Working full-time over the summer had kept me busy, and I have officially confirmed that I am a morning runner, NOT an evening runner. If it doesn't happen before noon, chances are that it won't happen at all. Anyway, I've been full of excuses and need to get my butt in gear.

Looking back up Toyon

I'm getting ramped up for fall's (hopefully) cooler weather and nice morning trainings. In that spirit, I've been thinking about my favorite trails. One of my top picks is the Toyon Trail in Redwood Regional Park. It's an offshoot from the West Ridge trail and is relatively short. But it's never busy, it's really rutted out, and it's got beautiful views.

There are so many options for out-and-backs, loops, or lollipop routes in Redwood. For a 9-ish mile loop, head from Skyline gate to the right onto West Ridge. You'll start out running West, but eventually you will be running south along the park's west ridge (hence the name). Stay on that trail past Chabot Space center, through the Redwood bowl (you went the wrong way if you hit Roberts Rec Area). Eventually you'll pop out of the Eucalyptus trees onto a wide sunny trail. Several trails split off- to the left down to Stream trail and to the right, which eventually link back up with West Ridge. Toyon is the third trail that splits to the right. It hits Golden Spike, which loops back north up Stream Trail and to Skyline gate.

The loop is a nice variety of shady/sunny and wet redwoods/dry scrub. It's also got about 1300' of climbing. If you want to add on more, Big Bear trail splits from Golden Spike across from Redwood Road, which is a relatively busy and paved road. Take Golden Bear to MacDonald (your only option, I think). That will climb over the next low ridge and then decend into Chabot.

Joaquin Miller Park - East Bay

By: Maggie

Had an AWESOME run today! Checked out some new trails in Joaquin Miller Park and enjoyed the beautiful weather. I'm still loving my Suunto and the great metrics it gives me after each run. I also really appreciate the visual interface. It's easy to understand and visually appealing too!

It was my first time on these trails, so I kept being surprised by stunning views when I'd come around corners! Absolutely beautiful day.


The Sequoia-Bay View trail was great. A nice long, flat-ish trail in an otherwise pretty hilly area. Dappled shade and cool air rising from the ravines. Unbeatable!

Coming back down into Joaquin Miller park there is an amphitheater with really beautiful pools of water tiered down along the hillside. It was worth the climbing to enjoy the sights!

Strawberry Canyon

By: Maggie

Got a run in between classes today!

I realized today that I have everything I'd ever hoped for: I get to study my brains out and then step into paradise for a hilly trail run. Living. The. Dream.

However, running up this butt-kicker did not feel like living the dream.

Still loving my lil Suunto. Forgot the heartrate strap today. Woops!

Trail: West Ridge Trail, Redwoods Park

By: Maggie

First off, I LOVE the East Bay Parks. There are four main parks that you can run through continuously (Tilden, Sibley, Redwood, and Chabot - listed North to South and weblinked for your convenience). My go-to park is Redwood, just because it's the most convenient for me to get to, but I've run through Chabot and am working my way up into Sibley. Also, Redwood has a great variety of trails. There are shady, wet, fern-covered trails down in the canyon. There are sunny, dry, scrub-brush trails up on the ridges. All of the trails are dirt, which is great.












 
WHERE TO START AND PARK
My go-to trails in Redwood are the Ridge trails: there's an East Ridge trail and a West Ridge. There are several points of access for these trails- my favorites are the Skyline Gate, Moon Gate, or Big Bear Staging Area. Skyline and Moon Gates are at the top of the park, so if you're running from here, be prepared for a lot of downhill on the way out, and a lot of uphill on the way back. Big Bear is at the bottom of Redwood Park, so visa versa- be prepared for climbing up into Redwood and a lot of downhill on the return. Big Bear is also right on the border of Redwood and Chabot parks, so this is a great exploration point.










WATER AND BATHROOMS
I like to carry water when I'm running more than 10 miles or I plan on dilly-dallying out there for 2 hours or more. I recommend the same for everyone… when in doubt, carry water. Redwood Park is amazing because there are plenty of water fountains if you know where to look for them. Skyline Gate has water and bathrooms. There are water and bathrooms down on the Stream Trail (bottom of the canyon). Once you cross into Chabot, water is more spread out (located at the "Chabot Equestrian Center" or "Clyde Woolridge Staging area") to the next fountains.








HORSES
There are horses on the West Ridge trail and offshoots, and there are lots of horse facilities on this side of the park. As a runner/walker, you must yield to horses and it's courteous to give them a heads up before running past (I just holler hello!) Bikes must yield to everybody. Just be mindful; the trails aren't usually too busy, and I've only ever seen horses twice.

WEST RIDGE + MORE
The West Ridge trail gives you a great sample of all of the beautiful parts of the park - you get the Redwood Bowl, the windy ridge, and a good mix of "flat-ish" trail and very steep trail. My favorite off-shoots are the Baccharis Trail and the Toyon Trail. There is a marshy part of Baccharis where you can hear bullfrogs croaking- it's incredible! Toyon is a narrow horse trail that twists down the side of the ridge- watch your ankles!






SUPPORT OUR PARKS!
Become a member and support these beautiful spaces. 
http://www.ebparks.org/getinvolved/memberships

Trail: Wildcat Loop + Upper Meadow (Rancho)

By: Maggie

It was a beautiful morning for a run at Rancho San Antonio today! This was one of the first places that I ran on trails, and it's perfect for beginners because you will never be alone out here, which can be eerie before the sun comes up. That being said, it can be SOOOOOPER crowded, especially on weekends. The lower dirt parking lot (marked as my start/finish) is usually full by 7:30am, so get there early or go on a weekday (ideal!)

It's also great for beginners because it has a nice diversity of trails, all of which are hard-packed dirt with few or no obstacles like rocks and roots. There are some wide fireroad trails that stay fairly flat, and there is even more "single track," narrower trails with a lot of tree coverage. There are two summits: the top of PG&E (about 1200' of climbing) and Black Mountain (about 3000' of climbing). And there are plenty of trails in between!

This is a regular route for me because it's not as steep as the PG&E trail, but I get the same overall elevation gain AND it's more mileage- yay!  I've seen a lot of people doing laps out here, but there are so many trails I don't see the point in repeating the same loop twice. 

The view from the top is always worth the climb :) My route climbed up the ridge to the left (north) of the powerlines. The PG&E trail climbs up the right (south) ridge.

Heading down the Wildcat Loop trail to the Rogue Valley trail is a series of switchbacks - fun to run fast! But definitely have to watch out for hikers and walkers. Keep an eye out for lots of deer, bunnies, and wild turkeys. Fun trails- I just wish there were a good breakfast place nearby!

Trail: Strawberry Canyon

By: Maggie

Took a couple hours between classes to run up the Strawberry Canyon trail from the Berkeley campus. This is definitely one of my favorite runs because it's accessible right from campus, but also because it has a nice butt-kicker climb within the first mile and then evens off to an easy, level fire trail. It also connects to the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve a couple times. Both the Strawberry Canyon and Claremont Canyon trails sit between the larger parks of Tilden (to the north) and Sibley (to the south). You can reach both parks from this trail. 

There is a dirt parking lot just up the Centennial Drive from the UC Berkeley football stadium. Not a lot of room in the lot, but it's hardly ever busy. You can keep driving up the road and park/run up in Tilden, too. Or just park near campus and run up the gravel path along the road. No bathrooms or water on the trail, but there are both at the rugby field on Centennial Drive.

Love my Saucony Kinvaras! I ran my 50k in these shoes in December, but they still feel great. Sides are getting torn out a bit, but I'm planning on keeping these in my shoe rotation. Socks optional! :)