The Brazen Racing Summit Rock run was another great Brazen event at Sanborn County park in the hills above Saratoga. I ran at this gorgeous venue in June at the Trail Quake event and couldn’t resist running these lushly forested trails one more time this year. The course is different than the Trail Quake event as it is a pure out-and-back with a couple extra climbs thrown in along the Summit Rock Loop. It was a solid effort for me and I felt good throughout finishing in 1:31:47.
It was another beautiful December day with crisp conditions pre-race but very comfortable once the run got going with warm sunshine piercing the redwood forest. The San Andreas trail switchbacking up to Skyline is lovely mix of redwoods, douglas fir and madrone. There was a thick coat of needles and leaves on the trail providing an ultra cushioned surface and a very autumn feel which is not always manifested in coastal California. Once atop Skyline Ridge, there was copious branch debris on the trail from recent winds and a few trees down, but thankfully not too much of an encumbrance. The turnaround was on the single track just past the dirt parking lot for the Summit Rock Loop. Once I crested the hill out of the Summit Rock Loop I knew it was largely downhill and I got into a great rhythm on the Skyline Trail. The descent through Sanborn Park back to the finish area was interesting with tight switchbacks and runners from the shorter events to pass but it seemed like everybody was enjoying the morning on the beautiful trails. Congrats to all the participants!
As usual, Brazen Racing did a fantastic job organizing the event, including superb course marking, awesome volunteers, great photography of all the participants, a tasty spread at the finish area, and a super cool shirt design with an eagle on the front and back. Thanks to the organizers and volunteers for a super fun morning at Sanborn Park!
Leor Pantilat's Adventures 
There was a fierce debate last year about what, exactly, that bird was on the shirt. Brazen finally agreed that it was an owl (they wouldn’t confirm that it was “irritated” as I claimed). I was way at the back of the pack for the Half, but was still stunned at how early in my race you passed me heading back – awesome job!