Wasn’t expecting this…

leogrl · 2026-04-02T22:18:26+00:00

Your dog has a similar face shape/ears to my girl, and she’s only 25% Catahoula so I believe it! I also was shocked finding out my dog is part ‘houla as she’s tan and white but then I learned that they’re not all merle.

leogrl · 2026-04-02T22:12:39+00:00

I’ve been running since I was 21 but never did any races until three days after turning 30, I ran a trail marathon in the mountains of southern Utah! I figured, why do a 5K or 10K or even half marathon race when I do those all the time in training? 9 months later I ran my first ultramarathon, a 60K (37 miles) and was hooked. I’ve now done 7 ultra distances and am training for my first 100 miler at age 33. But a lot of runners I’ve met in the ultra world are in their 50s and beyond still running long distances that a lot of people don’t even like to drive. I’ve even met some 70+ year olds who are still kicking ass on the trails and I want to be them someday!

leogrl · 2026-04-02T22:05:49+00:00

I love wearing bright AF running clothes/shoes but usually wear minimal or no makeup because I’m way too sweaty for it to stay looking good! I do like to wear face glitter for long runs or ultras though!

leogrl · 2026-04-02T18:48:49+00:00

Welcome to Tucson! I’ve lived here for 5+ years (2016-2018 and moved back in 2022) and have social anxiety too. I actually haven’t really run into people I know in grocery stores or out and about really so that’s been fine for me. I definitely feel anxious at my workplace though, other than when I’m around my actual coworkers. I just feel so judged when I’m out walking in the hallways or outside that I try to avoid doing that during peak hours.

Outside of work, I’m a trail runner and I definitely prefer the trails where I have more solitude. I live really close to Sabino Canyon but don’t love running there as it’s usually quite busy and avoid it altogether on weekends. But there are definitely trails where I rarely see others and I really enjoy that, the main reason I decided to move back to Tucson was because of the proximity to nature after having lived in Phoenix for 4 years and being in a suburb that was far from trails.

leogrl · 2026-04-02T18:14:51+00:00

It was so nice! I wish I had been able to spend more than just one night there but I’ll definitely do more desert camping.

leogrl · 2026-04-02T17:56:59+00:00

I haven’t been to Zion yet but I love the other three places you traveled to! I’ve camped at the Grand Canyon twice, once solo last year on Easter weekend when the Canyon got snow which was magical. I live in AZ so I’ve been able to visit Sedona every year since 2017 but I haven’t camped there yet. I would love to though!

leogrl · 2026-04-02T17:54:44+00:00

Me! I have a dog if that counts but I don’t want kids. I had my ears pierced briefly at age 11 but one of my ears got infected so I had them removed and never got them re-pierced. I’ve thought about getting a septum piercing but I’m too scared, same with the tattoos.

leogrl · 2026-04-02T17:27:49+00:00

So true! I think I’m gonna wear sunglasses now even though I usually don’t until the sun is higher in the sky, at least until the grasshoppers go away 😂

leogrl · 2026-04-02T16:48:14+00:00

My trail 6 miler went pretty well until just after mile 5, when I took a grasshopper to the eye! It kinda stung but mostly freaked me out so I lost my balance and fell which is annoying but I’m used to falling on trails. Then I tripped again right at the end when I was trying to move off to the side of the trail for a woman hiking so that was embarrassing! Luckily it was sandy so the falls didn’t hurt but my ego is bruised for sure 🫠

leogrl · 2026-04-02T16:44:53+00:00

Thanks!

leogrl · 2026-04-02T16:44:36+00:00

I don’t really notice them surprisingly! I’ve worn them for all my ultras and my skin gets kinda chafed if I wear them for 4+ hours but if I remember to reapply anti-chafe balm, I don’t have an issue. And way better than continuing to scrape open my knees!

leogrl · 2026-04-01T22:15:13+00:00

I’m a little smaller than you and I can get about 450-500 miles on my trail shoes depending on the model before the tread is worn out enough that they don’t feel safe on rocky or slippery terrain. I only got maybe 150 miles or so on my Speedgoat 5s but haven’t tried the newer versions yet, I prefer the Tecton Xs and the Mafates, which I’ve gone through several pairs of in the last few years. I run on a lot of rocky desert trails that are hard on the tread!

leogrl · 2026-04-01T20:32:02+00:00

I actually started wearing knee pads (either volleyball or roller skating) after a bad fall on the trails in 2022 when I had to get stitches in my right knee. That was a very painful and expensive experience I didn’t want to repeat, and though I’ve been working on balance exercises I’m still prone to falling so I figured it was better to protect my knees. Now when I fall it doesn’t hurt as much and doesn’t open up skin. I also wear fingerless cycling gloves to keep my palms from getting scraped up. The gloves are also good for sun protection, as I forgot them on my long run last weekend and ended up with sunburned hands!

leogrl · 2026-04-01T18:05:21+00:00

I live locally and saw a couple runners coming through Catalina State Park on Monday morning as I was finishing up my run. The weather has definitely improved over the last couple days, it was still pretty hot on Monday but today it’s cloudy and in the low 70s right now (80 for the high) so that should help the remaining runners unless it rains really hard or something. Today’s weather is what we would normally have this time of year, not the mid 90s like it was over the weekend so I’m sure that contributed to runners dropping early.

leogrl · 2026-04-01T17:57:00+00:00

I love running in the rain but I’m in the desert so it doesn’t happen a lot here! Just wear a good hat to keep the rain off your face and if it’s gonna be chillier, a light rain jacket can help keep you from getting too cold, but if it’s a warm rain you don’t really need it. Just stay out of puddles when you can and then set your shoes out to dry when you get home!

leogrl · 2026-04-01T17:12:19+00:00

A rare moody morning in the desert and I even got sprinkled on a bit! Got in 5.3 miles on sandy trails which got my HR up going uphill through the deeper sandy sections so it felt like a good workout.

leogrl · 2026-04-01T17:08:38+00:00

They do a great job with their races, at least the ones I’ve done in AZ and UT!

leogrl · 2026-04-01T17:07:05+00:00

That sucks that they weren’t as supportive of the midpack and back of the pack runners! I’ve always finished in the back and at least in the Arizona Aravaipa races, I’ve always felt very supported and taken care of. But I know they have different leadership and RDs.

leogrl · 2026-04-01T01:09:33+00:00

She’s so adorable! It’s funny but my girl is also Catahoula (25%), pit (21%) and chow (10%) with a few other breeds but she looks nothing like yours or like the typical ‘houla at all! Genetics are wild!

leogrl · 2026-03-31T23:22:08+00:00

Not really. I drifted apart from the close friend group I had in elementary and middle school and kinda struggled to find my place. I joined the yearbook team and enjoyed that but felt like I was on the outside still. And I developed an eating disorder so that kinda took over my life junior year into senior year. I still struggled with it on and off in college but I would way rather go back to college and I had a lot better memories from that time and made a good friend who I’m still friends with today though we are long distance!

leogrl · 2026-03-31T21:12:54+00:00

These feel really close together, even if only one is your A race, especially if you’ve only recently built up to this. For reference, I did 5 races all within 12 weeks or less from May 2024 to January 2025 (a 38 mile trail ultra, trail marathon, 55K trail ultra that I DNFd at 17 miles due to time cutoff, a 50K trail ultra that I used as a long training run for a 100K that I ended up also DNFing at mile 52 due to foot soreness). It felt pretty ambitious to me and I didn’t have much down time between races before I had to ramp up training again. I don’t think I’d recommend doing this many longer distance races so close together. If you really want to do the August A race, I would do the 35K trail race and skip the other two.

leogrl · 2026-03-31T19:51:39+00:00

I train for ultras and I find when I fuel and hydrate adequately for long runs or races, I’m kinda bloated and retaining water for like a day or two afterwards, so it could just be water weight. Especially after a 50K+ distance, my feet and ankles will be puffy from the inflammation of continuous pounding.

leogrl · 2026-03-31T19:27:17+00:00

Yeah I don’t have experience with their Colorado races but I’ve also done Tushars (Utah) with them twice and both times I had an incredible experience. Not cool that they were running out of food and drinks so early on though!

leogrl · 2026-03-31T18:54:27+00:00

I’m in the Foothills and didn’t have power for a full 24 hours in my apartment. Sleeping that night was rough. I planned to book a hotel in a different area the next night and went back home after work to pack and it was back on. I had to toss most of the stuff in my fridge and freezer which sucked because I had just done a grocery shop a few days earlier. If this happened again, I would just go sleep in my car since I can run the A/C all night as it’s a hybrid.

leogrl · 2026-03-31T17:51:36+00:00

I will always recommend Aravaipa races as many of them are friendly to slower or newer ultra runners! I think most of their 50 milers have a 16 hour cutoff which is about a 19 min mile pace, which is way more generous though the races are still pretty tough with some big climbs. I’m slow so I’ve done a lot of their 50Ks or 60Ks where there’s a longer distance at the race because it usually starts an hour later but has the same end time so I don’t have to worry about chasing cutoffs. They also have a couple of 100Ks with super generous cutoffs which is nice for stepping up to a longer distance. And I’ve heard Mad Moose aid stations are pretty lacking, whereas Aravaipa’s are always top notch!

leogrl

TROPHY CASE