2024 Kodiak 100K and 50K course recon | Kodiak by UTMB ultramarathon

#trailrunning #ultrarunning #ultramarathon #utmb #running #runningtips #runningmotivation #kodiak100 #kodiak50 #canyons100 #verbiermarathon #climbing #sanbernadino #california #bigbearlake
This video documents our 2-day, 43-mile (70 km) course recon and training on the Kodiak 100K and 50K courses in Big Bear Lake, California (San Bernadino National Forest). On day 1, we ran 23 miles up Sugarloaf Mountain and Big Bear, and on day 2 we ran 20 miles from Bobsled trail to Aspen Glen. Day 1 covers mostly the 100K course, as well as a section that is common for both 100K and 50K. Day 2 is both courses.
Lots of lessons learned about overall course layouts, what is technical and what is runnable, vert and altitude, running in heat, and the spectacular beauty of the Big Bear Lake, the San Bernadino National Forest and the San Bernadino Mountains.
Kodiak by UTMB website: kodiak.utmb.world/
2024 Kodiak races: October 11-12, 2024
1:34 Heading up to Sugarloaf Mountain (10,000 ft / 3,050 m) on Wildhorse Trail
3:00 Rocky, steep, technical trails
3:49 Left onto Sugarloaf Trail
4:14 View of San Gorgonio Mountain 11,500 ft (3,500 m)
5:12 Sugarloaf ascent is no joke
6:27 Relentless rocks
8:15 Another view of San Gorgonio
8:30 Summit of Sugarloaf Mountain 10,000 ft (3,050 m)
8:52 Turnaround on Sugarloaf and heading back down
9:15 Testing my back injury on downhills
10:00 Not what it seems on Strava - flat but not runnable trail
11:17 5 miles downhill on fire road
11:50 View of Big Bear Lake
12:39 Stop at car as aid station, 15 miles done, 8 miles to go
13:15 More flat, but rocky and hard to run fire road
13:45 Drop down to Bear Canyon residential area
14:22 100K and 50K common course and aid station at Bear Canyon (first 50K aid station)
14:48 Right onto single track trail
15:22 Running to the 23-mile finish of Day 1
15:33 Day 1 recap
16:48 Start of Day 2: 20 miles from Bobsled Trail to Aspen Glen
17:20 Heading up Bobsled Trail
18:24 More than 700 ft vert in first mile (black diamond ski slope)
18:39 Snow Summit ski lodge is 2nd aid station for 50K
19:13 What a difference - very runnable Going Green MTB downhill trail
19:31 Left onto Skyline single track trail (easy to miss)
20:03 Can't get enough of the spectacular mountain views
20:40 3rd aid station for 50K at 13 miles (about 43 miles for 100K)
21:01 Back issues with 13 miles to go
21:45 Best seat in the house!
22:42 Left from Skyline single track to fire road
23:02 Walking on runnable fire road to protect my back
23:23 Back to single track at South Shore
23:53 Grandview aid station 18 miles on 50k with 6:30 hour cutoff (2023)
24:13 Left onto single track to drop to aspen glen (Mill Creek Road)
24:45 Epic view of Big Bear Lake
24:54 Running to the 20-mile finish of Day 2
25:24 Recap and outro
My Strava:
Day 1: / strava and / strava
Day 2: / strava
Chris' Strava:
Day 1: / strava
Day 2: / strava
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#trailrunning #ultrarunning #ultramarathon #utmb #running #runningtips #runningmotivation #kodiak100 #canyons100 #verbiermarathon #climbing #sanbernadino #california #bigbearlake

[@chrisbrunn3480]

Had a lot of fun exploring the course with you Reto!
Note, I misspoke conflating Aspen Glen and Mill Creek aid station and also I think I called the Mill Creek aid station Grandview. While the 50k and 100k share many aid stations, The 100k course change also changed where the aid stations are located between those two races. So my apologies for misspeaking.
For anyone visiting the area wanting more.. San Gorgonio from Vivian Creek is a great 20 mi route, 5k elevation gain at altitude and usually has water available. There is also Cactus 2 Clouds nearby with 10,000 ft of elevation gain in 20 miles going up San Jacinto (take the tram down the final 8,000 ft).
For day 2 we had parked at Snow Summit and went up Bobsled trail and ran Skyline trail. If you have a 4x4 that whole area is very accessible by road for training if you don’t want to do large water carries but still want to explore the course.

[@RunFreeandStrong]

Chris, thanks for the planning and setting us up for success! No need to apologize, the knowledge and experience that you shared during our runs and on the video are very much appreciated. See you again after Verbier!

[@MihaiGoRunning]

Feeling a bit worn out from all the training and races lately, but watching your journey through those trails really lifted my spirits. It's like experiencing a race vicariously through your eyes, and it's such a refreshing perspective. Thanks for sharing your adventure, Reto, Chris! Looking forward to more epic runs from you!

[@RunFreeandStrong]

Hi Mihai, I've followed your recent races on Strava and I'm continuously inspired by your journey. I'm also following your runs while travelling, and it's something I'd like to do to combine two of my passions. Thanks for your support!

[@BenNotley]

Absolutely epic stuff Reto!!! What an incredible day out in the mountains. Stunning stuff! 😎🤘

[@RunFreeandStrong]

Hey Ben, cheers mate. Appreciate that. It was wort flying across the country and running with Chris.

[@gokiwi2642]

What amazing surroundings to run in, awesome variety, the first day on the rocky track looked difficult, top video Veto & Chris, good luck with UTMB in October 🙏🏃🏽‍♂️🌴👍🏼✌️👊🏼🥳🌲

[@RunFreeandStrong]

Thanks Reece, it was a fun adventure and really enjoyed running with Chris in a spectacular mountain area.

[@markg99]

Great hiking, Reto 😆😉 Hopefully your back coped well with the downhill running.
Some of that scenery is just beautiful. Great place to visit for some training with good company.

[@RunFreeandStrong]

Hey Mark, yes it was slow. We'll have another go at it after my Verbier Marathon race and see if we can hike a little less and run a little more 😉😂. Thanks for your support!

[@RunThePlanet]

That's a really nice place to train and the weather looked good too 🙂 will be great when you race there

[@RunFreeandStrong]

Thank you, Matt. Yes, the training environment and weather were awesome. Being able to run with a friend who is knowledgeable and supportive made it perfect.

[@Runnerrwe]

Looks like a incredible outing with a friend. I know one of the toughest Spartan event is done on that area of mountains. Looks like great weather

[@RunFreeandStrong]

Hi Richard, yes it was a tough but rewarding 2 days in the mountains. Will go back again.

[@AndyCliffMTB]

Saved the video to watch tonight when I could enjoy the whole adventure. They should call you Mr Vert! Some amazing scenery helped by great weather and pleased to hear that your back didn’t trouble you at all on day 1 and only slightly on day 2. Looking forward to your Verbier Marathon, can we track your progress in real time?

[@RunFreeandStrong]

Thanks Andy, that's very kind of you. Enjoyed the beauty of ultra running for a couple of days. The Verbier Marathon is a UTMB event and should be live trackable on their site. I'll post the link a few days before in an update video. Thanks for your support.