Western States Fly Over

There are a couple of really neat features you may want to check out on the Western States Blog, http://ws100.com/ (You can also get there by clicking on the belt buckle on the right had side, by the way, that is a picture of the last Silver Belt Buckle awarded to a runner from Florida. Ryan Thomas will certainly render that no longer true, and my man Allen Kuhn has an excellent shot at earning one as well.)

Back to the neat things from the WS100 website. First there is the Google Earth Flyover. You can take a complete tour of the course and see that it's no Umstead or even Vermont. Most (90 - 95%) of the course is on Single-Track mountain trail with a tad bit on jeep road or groomed trail, but not much. Here is the specific link for the flyover, you can also get there from the tab- The Course on the general site: http://ws100.com/flyover.htm

There is also the photo tour of the trail, those of us with Fisher Price and Playschool computers are better off here. Sadly, it doesn't give you the true sense of the steepness of the 36 switchbacks of Devils Thumb: http://ws100.com/phototour/01_SquawValleyToEmigrant/SquawValleyToEmigrant.htmlSo, check it out, see what I'm in for, and say a little prayer to the trail Gods, I'd like to come back in one piece! (You might also take a second to say a little prayer for Allen, as he's been known to trip over his own shoe laces; however, not even that seems to dampen his boisterous spirit! And say an entire rosary for Dr. Frank, his spills are numerous and fairly dramatic, Theresa may never forgive me if he doesn't come back from the mountains!)