With the 2nd Annual Coyote Backbone Trail Ultra a mere 62 days away 28 assorted trail runners gathered under the tutelage of Mike Epler for Backbone Training Run #1.

The run was from the top of Stunt Road, at about mile 18 of the BBT, to Kanan Road at about mile 37. The segment included one of the three big climbs on the BBT and near Saddle Peak reached the second highest point on the Backbone Trail. Race day the segment will follow a long climb from Topanga Canyon up Hondo Canyon to Fossil Ridge. The elevation gain on the approximately 19 mile run was around 3400 feet and the elevation loss about 4300 feet.

It was a superb run on an excellent section of the Backbone Trail! Here’s a short slideshow with a few photos from the run.

Some related posts: Backbone Ultra – Training Run #2 (2013), Night Training for the Backbone Ultra, Backbone Ultra 2013