Susan B Anthony 5K - 27:27 minutes - Aug 12, 2017

Not my personal best time but my personal best race. Let me blame lack of sleep the night before as I had got back from a long work week in Atlanta, reaching home after 9pm the night before and a little surgery the weekend before. Oh well, we all have our excuses:) I love this race and that is why I decided to do it, in any circumstance. Even though I do not like running in the heat, this race does have some shady neighborhoods on the course. The course has only one aid station which is enough for a 5K race. I like to carry my water with me, in any case as it gets warm and since I try to beat my record every year, I need water! Organized by Buffalo Chips running club, this is a great race. It is very cheap too and if you wait to register, then they give $5 or something discount on the day of Kaiser Fitness Festival women's only race in Sacramento downtown in June.
The bonus for me for running this race is that my sister and my friend run this race with me. Even though we run at our own paces, it is fun to spend before and after-race time with them!

Western States 100 miles for Shavi - June 24-25, 2017 - 26:09 hours

This was the year with weird weather. Lot of snow on the course and then lot of sun and heat later in the course. Shavi did great in that weather, still finishing 15 mins faster than his last PR. Lot of drop outs that year. Having not trained to run in snow on the trails made it a hard race. He slipped various times but thankfully returned to the finish line safe. He started with his sleeve cuffs on and then went on to a shirt with holes that could let his skin breathe more.

Brandon and Whitney crewed him along with Alicia and Keith. Both the runner ladies were pregnant but still they crewed him in that heat. Brandon and Keith paced Shavi this year.

I saw him at Michigan Bluff and Foresthill with W. Our friend Sandeep and his bro-in-law Rahul traveled all the way from bay area to see Shavi at finish line. They came only for a few minutes all the way. I did not bring Waaris with me this time at the finish line as it would have been quite early to wake him up when he was with A & C and take him all the way to Auburn. Sleepless nights for everyone involved and a whole big crew, endless endurance and training on the runner's part plus the determination and will power - is what a 100-mile race is about.

Canyons 100K for Shavi - April 29, 2017 -15:44 hours

One of the hardest race ever - a Western States 100 miler qualifier - Great timing this year for Shavi. He put in his best this year, training for Western States. This is the longest distance run before the 100 mile race coming up in June. To qualify for Western States, this race needs to be completed in under 18 hours. A real tough course and the heat in the canyons makes this race hard.

This race is one of the best organized races. The race directors do a great job in organizing the race. Shavi has always run this race without help of any crew (or me) and has drop bags ready for himself at the aid stations. The race swag is very cool too. Shavi thinks that the first part of the course is harder than the second part. Foresthill is where the race starts and it is the mid-point of the race as well. Foresthill - swinging bridge - Foresthill - Rucky Chucky - Foresthill. The race doesn't allow pacers if you are running it as a qualifier for WS100. There are multiple distance races in the Canyons Endurance runs: 100K, 50K and 25K.

AR 50 miles for Shavi. Just over 10 hours - April 1, 2017

Another one that Shavi did and does every year as a training run. 10:10 was his time.

Knickerbocker Canyons Trail Run 35K for Shavi - March 25, 2017 - 4:47 hours

Right after his 50km race last weekend, he jumped into a 35K race. Training for Western States cannot be easy at all. He completed it in 4:47 hours which is a great time on those tough trails. Organized by Inside Trail, this is a good race as well.

Ruck-a-Chuck 50K for Shavi - March 18, 2017 - 6:25 hours

Crazy - Another 50 km race in 2 weeks. That is how the training looks like for Western States 100 miles. Crossing the creeks and fighting the cold weather initially, it was a great run for him.

Way Too Cool - Close to PR: 5:57 for Shavi - March 4, 2017

Another Way to Cool 50km race for Shavi. He did great with the timing. Western States 100 miles is the motivation for him. When he gets the ticket for it for racing it in June, he trains well as he takes it easy.

It was a messy muddy run as Sacramento had flooded in January-February.