A Tale of Two Races: Crater Crawl and Bob Firman Invitational

The start of the Crater Crawl - Run Around the Rings on September 17, 2016, located approximately eight miles northwest of Mountain Home, Idaho. 28 runners/hikers competed in the 2.9 mile and 10k races.

The start of the girls elite race at the Bob Firman Invitational on September 24, 2016 at Eagle Island State Park, Eagle, Idaho. 136 runners representing 28 schools competed in this race. There were a total of 14 races and 3,557 finishers.

I was at two Treasure Valley races in September and they were quite different.

The Crater Crawl, started in 2013, is organized by the Idaho Outdoor Association with the goal to encourage the values of low-impact non-motorized outdoor recreation. The 10k course looped around The Crater Rings, two adjacent, symmetrical volcanic pit craters. One crater is about 3000 ft across and 350 ft deep; the other crater is 2500 ft across and 300 ft deep. This unique site is one of the very few examples of volcanic pit craters in the continental United States. The volcano is estimated to be less than 2 million years old, making it the youngest shield volcano in the area. The site is recognized as a National Natural Landmark.

This was my first year at the Crater Crawl. Enjoyed the desert and crater scenery, and look forward to going back.   

2016 was the 42nd year for The Bob Firman Invitational. This high school/middle school cross country meet is named in honor of Bob Firman, who coached his first cross country team in 1964 at Borah where he taught calculous-math. This meet brings in some of the nation's best high school teams and runners but the highlight of the event for me is that Mr. Firman is on hand each year to present awards. 

I think this was my 18th Bob Firman. One event I look forward to each year.  

Ryan Smith on the last 400 meters of the Crater Crawl 10k.

DII varsity girls on the Eagle Point section of the Bob Firman Invitational 5k race.

Bryan Gregg celebrates her finish of the Crater Crawl 10k as Tammy Hohenleitner records her time.

The finish of the Bob Firman Invitational girls elite race. The event utilized the FinishLynx photo-finish and fully automated timing system which was supported by four finish line cameras and chip timing.

A view from the Crater Crawl - Run Around the Rings race course.

The view of the beach section on the Bob Firman Invitational race course taken from the Fox Trail section of the course.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look.  -Gregg

GreggMizuta.com
GreggMizuta/Instagram