American River Trail Loop

The past few Sundays Chris and I (and sometimes other co-workers) have been getting up early and heading up to Auburn to do some trail running. The past few Sundays we have gone up and run the Foresthill Divide Loop but this Sunday I wanted to run a new loop. I was talking to a co-worker, Bob, who is a big trail guru and he told me a great loop to do for my planned 16 mile run. It was equipped with some fire road, awesome single track and a nice hill known as Ball Bearing.

American River Trail Loop

The Quarry Road where the run starts is flat the first mile before you hit a tough little hill that definitely puts you into heavy oxygen debt. The trail goes about 5.6 miles and is pretty steady with a few good climbs. When the trail ends you mike a right and are greeted with the infamous Ball Bearing. It is just over a half mile long and pretty much goes straight up. Not only does it do that, but the terrain is rugged as hell. The trail is fairly narrow and jagged rocks and roots make it hard to get into a steady rhythm. It is a fairly run-able grade but there are a few points that walking was necessary in order to keep your footing. I was definitely glad to get to the top of that beast! After getting past that the trail was AMAZING. Once you connect onto the Western States Trail it is 4-5 miles of rolling, muddy single track. There are a few waterfalls to see and a few creeks to cross; along with great views of the canyons. (I wish I had carried my phone to take some photos.) Once we got onto the Brown's Bar Trail there was more fun ahead! The trail was very soft and muddy and we were sliding around as we flew down the down hills. There were a few more creeks to cross, one of which my foot slipped off a rock and was completely submerged in cold water. All in a good days fun on the trails! :) By the time we got back to the Quarry Road my legs were feeling a bit beat up so the easy rollers were a nice way to top off the run. Next week calls for 18 miles and I am excited to get back out there and try yet another new trail! Hopefully we get some rain this week to add a little more excitement to the trails :)

Can you guess where Ball Bearing is??

2 hours of fun! 

Looking back on where we just ran!

I've got a tough week of training ahead but am looking forward to ending the week with another dirty, fun trail run!

Stay muddy!

Train. Race. Repeat.