A new trail race this April starts at the banks of the Devils River

A new trail race this April starts at the banks of the Devils River

Runners take to the gravel road that cuts through Devils River State Natural Area in West Texas. Beau Hester photo

Some of my favorite races have taken place on trails that cut through the desert scrub of West Texas, events during which I’ve also tripped and shredded my knees and stabbed my butt with cactus needles during a mid-race pee break.

Now there’s a new adventure to add the trail running calendar – the Devils River Run for Hope.

The first-time event, scheduled for Saturday, April 24, begins on the banks of the Devils River, then follows gravel roads through the Devils River State Natural Area and finishes at nearby McKenna Ranch. Runners can choose from a marathon or half-marathon distance, and should expect rugged, undulating desert terrain, with views of nearby hills and canyons.

“It’s intense,” says assistant race director Jessica Hester. “It’s going to take them gradually uphill the majority of the marathon.”

Race entry will be capped at 70 athletes, who must wear masks except while they are running. The start will be staged, with groups of nine heading out every 2 minutes. A post-race party will include a raffle and auction, live music, and barbecue.

The draw of this race, besides my love of the river and its surrounding terrain, is tied to the race organizers.

I met Beau Hester, superintendent of the Del Norte Unit of the Devils River State Natural Area, five years ago, during a visit to the remote park, located about 200 miles west of Austin between Rock Springs and Del Rio. He told me then that he and his wife Jessica had lost their 8-year-old daughter Brooke to cancer. This race benefits Brooke’s Blossoming Hope for Childhood Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization they created in her memory.

The new race will start at the river and finish at McKenna Ranch. Pam LeBlanc photo

“We learned through her fight there was this niche that needed to be filled. We also learned how heavily underfunded pediatric cancer was,” Jessica Hester said. She described her daughter as bubbly and tenacious. “You wouldn’t know she had cancer except she had no hair.”

Brooke lost her hair seven times during her treatment, and helped make flower-adorned headbands for other children going through chemotherapy. Today the Del Rio-based foundation provides headwear for patients and raises money that goes to pediatric cancer research.

Dr. Giselle Sholler, a leading pediatric oncologist and researcher who treated Brooke, plans to fly to Texas from North Carolina to run in the race.

Packet pickup will start at 5:15 a.m. at McKenna Ranch. From there, runners will be shuttled to the race start on the banks of the Devils River at Devils River State Natural Area. (It’s a slightly less than 1-mile walk from the shuttle drop-off to the starting line.) The half marathon course will end at the midway point of the marathon course, and those runners will be shuttled the rest of the way to the McKenna Ranch.

Registration is $127 for the full marathon or $117 for the half. Entry fee for runners who raise $1,000 or more for the non-profit will be waived.

All proceeds will benefit Brooke’s Blossoming Hope for Childhood Cancer Foundation. Half will be used to create care packages containing headwear, capes, crowns and books for cancer patients; the rest will go to pediatric cancer research.

“We really want people to see the community of Del Rio and the beauty of Lower Pecos,” she said. “We know those are things our daughter would have enjoyed.”

For more information, visit www.DevilsRiverRun4Hope.com. For more information about the foundation go here.

 

 

 

 

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For warm, cozy fun, swim in an outdoor heated pool in winter

For warm, cozy fun, swim in an outdoor heated pool in winter

Jennifer Reinhardt stands atop the starting blocks of an Austin swimming pool during a 2013 cold snap. Pam LeBlanc photo

It’s what I call swimming-in-a-warm-cauldron weather, and yes, people, this makes me extremely happy.

People always seem shocked when I tell them I still swim when temperatures outside drop into the 30s. Even when I explain that the water in Western Hills Athletic Club, which is outdoors, is heated to a balmy 80 or 82 degrees, they look at me like I’m nuts. And while I may be nuts, the swimming outdoors part in January has nothing to do with it.

Take this morning. When I arrived at the pool, the thermometer in the truck read 32 degrees. A thick steam rose off the surface of the pool, which is perched atop a hill on Rollingwood Drive in West Austin.

I shivered as I peeled off my plush-lined, over-sized deck jacket and stepped out of my sandals onto cold concrete. But jumping into a heated pool in the middle of winter in Texas feels like diving under the covers of a bed pre-warmed by a three snoozing Labradors – it’s cozy as heck. After the first five minutes, it’s no different than any other swim practice, except that the clouds of steam blowing over the water make it hard to see.

The person who does suffer during these cold-weather practices? The coach standing on deck. Today, that was coach Cheryl Ridout. (Thanks Cheryl!)

The forecast looks chilly for the next five days, and I’m looking forward to more swimming, as long as the roads stay ice free. We’re a hardy group here at the pool. I snapped the above picture of Jennifer Reinhardt’s feet during swim practice in 2013.

While I love swimming in a heated pool, I do draw the line someplace. Another friend invited me for a pre-dawn, naked mile swim at Barton Springs Pool. I’m all for the naked swim, which I’ve done before (it’s fantastic, and nobody can see in the dark), but not when temps are below freezing. That’ll have to wait a week or two.

On a related note, the Austin Parks & Recreation Department sent out a press release earlier today, noting that all year-round swimming pools, tennis centers and golf courses are closed. Schedules for tomorrow are pending weather conditions, and it doesn’t look much better. Check austintexas.gov/parks to check status.

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This year’s Banff Film Fest is going virtual

This year’s Banff Film Fest is going virtual

One of the films featured in the Sapphire collection is about a piano tuner who delivers a 100-year-old upright piano to a remote mountain village. Photo courtesy Banff Mountain Film Fest

The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is going virtual in 2021.

That means instead of putting on my best hiking boots and pants and hanging out at the Paramount Theater with my hiking, biking and paddling pals for two consecutive nights in April, I’ll be curled up on my couch at home, watching the year’s best outdoorsy films from a nest of blankets on my sofa.

The Virtual Banff World Tour is offering four, two-hour collections of films. It costs $15 to rent a single collection for three nights, or $28 to access two collections for 14 days.

I’ve been attending the festival since it first came to Austin, and while I love the adrenalin-fueled films about extreme kayaking, cycling, skiing and mountaineering, my favorites are usually the less heart-pounding ones. This year’s selection includes a film called “Piano to Zanskar,” about a 65-year-old piano tuner faced with the task of transporting a 100-year-old upright piano from downtown London to the heart of the Indian Himalayas. Other films focus on the art of aerial silk performance, 10-time world dogsled racer George Attla, a mountain bike race in Bhutan, and one-star reviews of national parks.

To read more about what films each two-hour collection (titled Ruby, Sapphire, Amber and Onyx) features, or to rent the films, go here.

Me? I think I’m ordering two – Sapphire and Onyx. I’ll miss seeing my friends at the Paramount, but look forward to sharing thoughts on this year’s films right here.

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Spider Mountain celebrates its anniversary with free chairlift rides, a ride clinic and a cold forecast

Spider Mountain celebrates its anniversary with free chairlift rides, a ride clinic and a cold forecast

A cyclist rides the lift to the top of Spider Mountain on Feb. 9, 2019. Pam LeBlanc photo

When the chairlifts started cranking on opening day at Spider Mountain bike park in Burnet almost two years ago, snowflakes sifted from the sky.

It seemed appropriate then, since the chairlift at the country’s only year-round, lift-served mountain bike park had once whisked snow skiers up the mountain at Taos Ski Resort in New Mexico. And it seems appropriate that snow is once again in the forecast here in Texas as Spider Mountain celebrates its second anniversary this weekend.

Besides free scenic chairlift rides all weekend, Pro XC bike racer, Enduro champion and Youtube cycling star Rich Drew will lead a clinic focusing on how to ride berms and hit jumps, then take anyone willing to brave the cold on some “party laps” down the Texas-sized mountain. That event is scheduled for 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Sunday; live music is planned for 1-3 p.m. at the base area.

A polar plunge scheduled to take place in the swimming pool at neighboring Thunderbird Lodge has been put on hold (on ice?) due to the chilly forecast.

I’ve ridden at Spider Mountain twice. I’m not an aggressive rider, but swooping downhill and around banked corners made my tongue dangle out of my mouth in puppy-like happiness. More advanced riders can geek out on the steeper, faster, and more obstacle-laden expert runs.

And stay tuned – a new intermediate trail dubbed Sidewinder is scheduled to open later this spring. I’m already planning a visit.

Onetime Austin resident and overgrown-kid-in-disguise James Coleman, managing partner of Mountain Capital Partners, which owns six ski resorts around the country, owns the park, which is located at 200 Greenwood Hills Trail near Burnet, 60 miles northwest of Austin.

Lift tickets are $59 for adults (discounts for youth and seniors; free for kids 10 and under. Women ride for $40 on Fridays.)

Go to  SpiderMountain.com for more information.

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Vote for the Butler Trail in this poll

Vote for the Butler Trail in this poll

The boardwalk is part of the 10-mile loop of the Ann and Roy Butler Trail in downtown Austin. Pam LeBlanc photo

If you’re a regular on the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail that loops around Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, you know it’s much more than a path – it’s like the city’s collective family room.

Walk or run the 10-mile trail and you’ll get views of rowers on the Colorado River, towering cypress trees that shade its northern side, Barton Creek, and the sleek metal and glass outline of the city’s core. You’ll also probably run into a friend or two.

Now the trail has been nominated as one of the country’s best recreational trails in the USA Today 10 Best Reader’s Choice Travel Awards.

Trees arch over a section of the Butler Trail near Zilker Park. Pam LeBlanc photo

When I checked today, the trail was holding third place of the 20 nominated trails. Voting is open through Feb. 15, and you can vote once per day.

At the moment, the 130-mile Chuck Huckelberry Loop in Tucson, which is open to pedestrians, equestrians, cyclists and skaters, was at the top of the list. The 19-mile Swamp Rabbit Trail that follows an old railroad bed along the Reedy River in Greenville, South Carolina, was in second.

Also on the list of nominees? Buffalo Bayou in Houston, the Atlanta Beltline, the High Line in New York City, the Katy Trail in Missouri, the Rio Grande Trail in Colorado and the Maricopa Trail in Phoenix.

Want to see our local trail win? Go here to vote.

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