Hal Koerner is on the cover of UltraRunning magazine this month and it was great to see his specialty running store (www.roguevalleyrunners.com) in the heart of downtown Ashland last Saturday.  Hal and his staff of trail running fanatics put on a great race that was true to his mountain running ethos!  Hal, correct me if I'm wrong but it was about 7 miles straight uphill to the snowline where we ran for another ten miles before rocketing back down the mountain and through town to the finish.  I had a blast... my pace wavered between ten minutes and six minutes per mile depending on the trail conditions and I made it back in 3:22.  Just in time for the post race luncheon of burritos and beer!  An obligatory stop at Starbucks before leaving town, a drive through Wildlife Safari and Mexican food with friends in Roseburg rounded out a perfect weekend.