On December 3rd, GBRC held their annual Fairhaven Frosty 5k/10k; teammate Hazel Clapp took 3rd in the 5k. Full results HERE. December 3rd also featured the 2016 Singlespeed Cyclocross World Championships in Portland, OR. Corrine Malcolm raised some hell there.

Last weekend teammate Scarlett Graham provided support for a friend, Annie Hewlett, who took 1st at the Deception Pass Ultra. “Taking place at Deception Pass State Park which is named for the narrow and dramatic channel of water that separates Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands in the northern Puget Sound. The area is famous for it’s rugged coastline, steep cliffs, dense forests and great views. The race covers just about every inch of the park, running at times right at sea level and other times high above on bluffs and hills and twice crosses the pass itself via the historic Deception Pass Bridge which sits about 180 feet above the water. There are no mountains or long climbs like many of [the] other Rainshadow Running Races but make no mistake Deception Pass 50k is still a tough race with it’s technical footing, narrow, twisty trails and at times steep grades.” Full results for the Deception Pass 25k and 50k can be found HERE. The next day she skiied Mt. Baker, which had 14 inches of fresh pow, and continues to gather. We’re thankful to have such a supportive and multi-talented teammate as her, and congrats on your 1st place finish Annie!

This past weekend also held the Christmas Rush Fun Run 5k, held at Hogan Park in Kent, WA, where teammate Rachel Cundy took 2nd amidst a winter wonderland of white. Results can be found HERE.

So, what’s left? Something really badass. The Grand Bara 15k. Our teammate, Lydia will be competing. I’m going to leave it to the beautiful words of Rachel Pieh Jones in her piece, “Sneaker to Sneaker in the Grand Bara – a 15k race unites a disparate nation.”

“Djibouti’s eclectic mix of cultures can be confusing, daunting, and inspiring. Somali, Afar, Yemen, French, American, Dutch, Chinese, German, and so many other ethnicities and cultures intermingle here. The country is peaceful and progressive but nowhere is the camaraderie more stripped of cultural and political baggage than at the finish line of the Grand Bara 15k.

A desert 18.5 miles long and six miles wide. No trees or brush or boulders, not a sliver of shade. Dry, cracked clay packed tightly into geometric shapes and curling around the edges, up toward the relentless sun. To the east, a row of low mountains where wild ostriches roam. Running southeast, the highway to Ethiopia, currently under construction. Forever under construction. The desert winds, blistering sun, and massive transport trucks wreak havoc on the pavement and the sides of the road fall off in chunks leaving potholes large enough to swallow several goats.

Roughly a hundred meters from the road, parallel to it, is a straight row of rocks that stretches fifteen kilometers into the distance. Dust devils skim the surface of the desert and obscure the view but there isn’t much to see. Dust kicked up by trucks, that straight row of rocks, the cracked clay, an occasional camel train led by Somali or Afar nomads.

The rocks are here for a single event, for the one day of the year when there is more to see in the Grand Bara than billowing dust or thirsty camels. One event in Djibouti brings together Muslims and Christians and atheists. Djiboutians and French and Americans, men and women, navy and air force and coast guard. One even epitomizes Djibouti’s place in the geopolitical landscape of the Horn of Africa. Military representatives from at least six nations, civilians scattered among them, in the middle of a nowhere-desert, about to demonstrate their strength and prowess in a fifteen-kilometer race.

Every December for the past thirty-two years, the French military hosts the Grand Bara 15k, and anyone who manages to maneuver the ever-changing registration procedures is welcome to participate. The race was originally established in 1982 as an internal event for the French, organized by the 13th demi-brigade of the French Foreign Legion until 2010. When the Legionnaires left Djibouti, the French 5th inter-army regiment took over. In the early years as other branches of the French military began to participate, it became an inter-military competition, won by a French soldier.

But since 1987 when the Djiboutian military joined, Djiboutians almost always win both the men’s and women’s race, sometimes taking all the top 10 men’s places. The standing record is 43:10, set back in 1989 by Abdillahi Talan, who later raced in the 1992 Olympic Marathon for Djibouti…”
To read more on her experience at the Grand Bara 15k, head HERE.

Hoping all of your winter training and racing has been and will continue to go well! Happy holidays from us to you and yours!