The local running club [Las Salvajes, "The Savages"] puts on an annual race over Chupinaya Mountain, 13.8 kilometers, about 4500 feet of elevation gain over very rough terrain. There are places where a misstep will quite literally kill you as you scramble over the boulders.

I finished first overall in my class, which unfortunately I defined as "All gringos over 70 years old wearing dorky-looking hats and using two poles." The race committee's definition of my class is a little less restrictive ("All men over the age of 60") and I doubt I even finished in the top 10 of that group.

Attached is a description of what the race was like for me. It's pure self-aggrandizement, but I gotta tell somebody about it.

Here is what I looked like after the race, 150.0 pounds, 14.0% body fat. Not too bad for being in my seventies. [Yes, I'm bragging. Feel free to slap me down for being egotistical.]

tanstaafl.