TheDelsolRunner

Life running in the dessert

Halloween for Runners

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
Haunted half marathons, a race where you wear your favorite costume and run with friends. A race when having more fun is the focus, rather than getting a PR. Definitely the lighter side of running, many thousands of runners will dress up, and run 5ks, 10ks, and half marathons. And in all my years running, I have yet to run one of these races. I know, sad. Its not that I don't like these races, because I think that they will be a lot of fun to be a part of. I haven't ran one before usually due to scheduling conflicts, or some other events that take me away.  I plan to run one of these races in the future, I had a friend that challenged me to run a half marathon in a suit,. That means button shirt, tie and jacket. This sounds like a crazy idea, but with some of the other costumes that others wear, ii don't think that it would be a bad thing.&nbs...
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Snow Canyon Half Marathon is Here

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
The last race of the year has come,  and yet, I feel that I'm going to be running in another race or two before 2015 comes around. For now though, I would like to go into this weekend thinking that this will be the last race of the year and start to focus on getting ready for the full marathon coming next February. I'm looking forward to this race, I have been wanting to run this race for a few years now, and now my schedule has allowed me to come to this race. I have seen many pictures of Snow Canyon  State Park and I look forward to seeing the red rock while running. I think...
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Four Races, Five Medals - Maui Warrior Challenge

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
I don't think there can be a better way to have the state of Hawaii covered. While doing research for Honolulu Marathon, I have stumbled upon this race on Maui. I have been to Maui before, and I loved the island. As I looked into the race more, I'm drawn to a challenge called the Maui Warrior Challenge. This is a series of races that span a couple of days, starting off with a 10k in the morning. Followed by a 1 mile run, topped off with a marathon the following morning. They guarantee three medals for the event, but with participation in all races, you can come home with four. What I have...
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300 Miles in November, December and January

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
I have been thinking about a goal to prepare for the Surf City Marathon in February. This is a race I've been wanting to run for many years, but I also want to attempt to qualify for Boston, which for my age group is to run a sub-3:05.00. This goal will also help prepare to cover this distance since it has been about four years since my last marath...
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Upcoming Snow Canyon Half Marathon

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
Only one more week until the Snow Canyon Half in St. George! I've been wanting to run this race for a few years now, and now the wait is about over. I love the red rock cliffs in southern Utah, and I've only caught glimpses of Snow Canyon. Friends and family tell me that the scenery is incredible, almost a look of while sand on the red rocks. This race has been on the radar for most of this year, I've wanted to race to be a PR race. The course is mostly downhill, there are a few rolling hill throughout. The temperature will be lower because of the fall weather, and from what I've heard, the...
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Lake Powell Half Marathon - Race Recap

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor in ,
A lot of first time things happened with this weeks half marathon; first time 'last minute race', first time race, fist time experiencing a new hydration system, first time almost driving through the night to get to the race. And after it was all said and done, it was a great race and I think that Vacation Races puts on a great event. Thursday - This race not even on the radar, and I was not planning to run a race until the end of October. I was browsing through different Facebook pages for local races, and I saw someone that was looking to sell their spot for the Lake Powell Half. This person...
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How to Find Local Running Races

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
A great way to stay motivated when while running is to make a goal to run a race in your city. Here are some ways to find a local race in your area.  1. Ask what races are around on Facebook.  Chances are you have friends that run. They don't have to be crazy elite runners, but they run to stay in shape, challenge themselves, or just to be a little competitive. Once you make the post, some will reply with either races they have done, or ones they are planing to do. Then others will let you know of races they've heard of. 2. Ask a local running shop. In most cases, the people that work at running shops are avid runners. By asking them, they will know most of the races that are in or around town. If they are not avail to talk at the time, look around and you are bound to see flyers announcing races around the city. 3. Contact local running group. See if you can join a local running group in the area, these group are usually put on by running shops or clubs. They...
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Race Line-up for the 2015 year

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
Here are the races that I have planned so far for 2015. Many of these races will play a part in making my goal of 50 races in 50 states. In a perfect world, I would be able to make it to everyone of these races. I'm sure that there will be some cases that other events will be in the way to completing in all the listed races. However, if I am able to make it to these races, it will cover the majority of the states on this side of the country. I'm still looking for races in Idaho and Wyoming to run in 2015, I'm also seeing about making a trip to Montana. I've ran the Lake Powell Half this past weekend, I can now check Arizona off my list. Even now that I have Arizona covered, I still would like to run the Grand Canyon Half Marathon in May. I'm already signed up for Surf City, St George Half and Wasatch Back Ragnar, and I have made plans to get to these events. Ogden Half, Grand Canyon, and Utah Valley are next registrations to get taken care of. This is going to be a great year...
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Lake Powell Half Marathon

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
I am a go for the Lake Powell Half Marathon! This came as a last minute decision to run this race when I found a runner who wanted to sell their bib. I'm really excited to run this course, from the pictures, its going to be a very scenic route. The other great thing is that the race is in Arizona, so this will cover a race for my 50 states goal. I'm also a little nervous about the race, since it was last minute, I didn't do much preparing as far as race strategy, pacing or other running things. So I plan to enjoy the day: weather, route and just being with other runners. There will be no strategy...
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Race Bucket List

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
There's no shortage of marathons around the world to run, but there are certain races that captivate, making runners amenable to enduring minor obstacles such as entrance lotteries, long-distance travel or ferocious elevations to toe the starting lines of these events again and again. One, or more, of these events is sure to grace the bucket list of every distance runner. Plenty of people will tell you that traveling to race is a bad idea. Racing puts your body through enough stress without subjecting it to the risks of poor circulation on long flights, potential jet-lagging, unfamiliar foods and, of course, the tiresome traipsing of the curious traveler. But these races aren't about setting personal bests, or quick recovery. They're about discovering anew the joy of running in races that are at once foreign and spectacular and ... well, surprisingly familiar. Instead of being surrounded by strangers, you're suddenly among distant members of the same tribe, talking about the...
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Video Series

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
Over the past couple of months, I have made a few videos where I'm going over running tips and advice. After making the videos, I have posted them to YouTube. I enjoy given my advice, hence, one of the reasons of this blog. But I want to do more with these videos, I want to make them more exciting, and a bit more professional. The tricky part is, finding the time to make these videos. Since I have no idea how to make a great video, it may be a bit time consuming to to start this off. I have decided to make at least one video a week, and hoping that I would be able to make two. I'm thinking...
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Guaranteed Entrance into the St. George Marathon

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor in ,,
During the bus ride to the starting line for the Big Cottonwood Half, I was talking to the person sitting next to me about future races we wanted to run. I told him that I wanted to run the St. George Marathon, but did not get so lucky with the lottery. He then told me about the St. George Running series, and explained that once signed up for the series, one will have to run in at least two events. Once the running participated in the events, they have a guaranteed entry for the St. George Marathon. Thinking that this was the best news about running I've heard in a long time, I have looked...
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Delsol Vlog - Should I buy a Garmin?

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
Many people that are first getting into running may notice that others wear big GPS watches either during workouts or races. ...
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