The first year with Bruno

Just over a year ago, Roxy and Boomer had red golden retriever puppies. Roxy is our friend Angela’s dog and she invited us over “just to meet them”. Of course, we fell in love. We brought Bruno home, and he quickly learned his place with Beverly, our 4-year old lab mix. Bruno had fun getting to know our family and spending time with his littermates. Our friend Betsy took Bev and Bruno nearly every day for playdates and hikes withRead more
8 Comments

Truckee Winter Wonderland

Our pretty little mountain town in the Sierra Nevada got buried last week, Tuesday-Thursday, as a classic atmospheric river rolled across the state. The first 24 hours, the storm was underwhelming. We were disappointed to only get about a foot of snow that first night. Weak. It snowed lightly during the day, off and on, accumulating about 6″, but nothing serious. Wednesday evening, we shoveled the decks again, just in case the storm wasn’t over. Spoiler alert – it wasRead more

Snow Days // Snow Daze

For over three years Beverly and Coco have barked at each other through the fence, running back and forth playing together, but always separated, by fate. Finally, last week, their relationship was changed forever by the snowbanks rising above the 6′ fence and allowing them to wrestle and play in the same yard. It’s all fun and games until Coco is not outside though, and Bev continues on into the street to search for fun elsewhere. She found herself inRead more

Truckee 29: a scenic loop

The following photos and trail directions are from a loop I ran around Truckee on a warm September afternoon. With a start/finish in downtown Truckee, you can take advantage of free parking, easy access to breakfast/coffee at Coffeebar, and many options for finish-line food or beverages like Alibi or the Pour House. I recommend parking in the free lot on Jibboom Street (across the street from the Pour House). And now for the route… from the parking lot, head EastRead more
4 Comments

Western States 100

Two days before the race, Mone’ told me that Cortney, the famous pastry chef for Squaw, was super excited about all things Western States. When she heard I was doing it, she asked for my autograph. I said, tell her yes, in exchange for a piece of her red velvet cake, and Cortney replied:

“tell her if she finishes Western States I’ll bake her a whole f#$%ing cake.”Read more
4 Comments

Western States week

“Coach tells us a story about his dad who was running a race for 100 miles from Squaw to Auburn, and he talked about failure and what it was like to work for something and show up, and keep showing up even when it feels like the outcome you want is impossibly out of reach.   Because when you keep showing up, at some point you’ll see something you never considered to be possible.   And you automatically beat anyoneRead more
7 Comments

Missing Julia

Last December, at the Western States Lottery in Auburn, I sat between Gretchen and Julia as we anxiously awaited the results. When my name was called, we jumped up, Julia grabbed my shoulders and screamed in my face, in that scream that only Julia can produce: “OH MY GOD JENELLE YOU ARE RUNNING WESTERN STATES!!” It’s been just over two days since I got the call – Julia was killed in a tragic car accident on Monday night. It’s impossibleRead more

Robinson Flat to Drivers Flat – Western States Trail

Saturday, May 19, 2018, Gretchen and I met in Auburn at 6am to begin the chain of carpools that would get us to Robinson Flat, a campground located at mile 30.3 of the Western States 100 mile endurance run. Nearly 2 hours later, with thanks to my coach, mentor and hero Meghan Laws, and her friends Dave and Manoush, the five of us were at Robinson Flat and ready for some adventure. Meghan, Dave and Manoush were doing a loop in theRead more
2 Comments

Marin Ultra Challenge 50 miler 2018

In the week leading up to the Marin Ultra Challenge 50 (MUC for short), I was pretty terrified. I believe I was suffering from a mild case of TRT-PTSD, after the last race I’d entered, the TRT100, didn’t pan out so well. I went into that race feeling strong and ready, but my stomach rebelled and I spent a lot of time in a heap on the side of the trail. I’d trained consistently leading up to MUC, thanks to guidance from Coach Meghan, but after TRT, I knew that anything could happen.Read more