I informed Greg that he better find some legitimate method to duplicate running outside an active volcano and then all hell breaks loose in South Orange County. The next thing you know, the now infamous “Santiago Fire” is scorching thousands of acres and has hundreds of Silverado Canyon residents evacuating their homes; ok, trailers. Can’t they just shift those things into drive and move along?

As all know, Greg lives (if one can actually do that) in Silverado Canyon so he had to pack up the blow dryer, the front-yard refrigerator and the outdoor sofa in search of alternate power for his GE curling iron. The evacuation fouled up Greg’s Coastal Challenge training regime; especially considering the 20 miles of sissy trails he primarily trains on are more burned out than your average DMV worker. And, these trails are very, very closed.

Is it me or is Greg’s hair starting to look like the fire itself?

However, out of misery and from the ashes comes a gem. As a reporter for the OC Register, Greg was assigned to cover the whole fire fiasco. Cool, he’ll be near some serious flames; good heat resistance training for The Route of Fire. However, while interviewing Silverado Canyon residents, Greg found resistance from the locals who don’t appreciate nosey outsiders asking personal questions. Getting the inside story was posing issues until one Santiago local realized Greg also lives in Silverado Canyon. Once figuring out Greg was from the hood, some attractive gal with a moustache proudly proclaimed, “Oh Greg’s cool, he’s Canyon." And, so it has been said and so it is now done. Greg is totally “Canyon.”

So, what does being Canyon actually mean? It means your ID is most likely your belt buckle. It means that your car belongs to a relative and the tags have expired. It means you think an iPOD is a UFO. And it means, Hot Pockets are the family’s Sunday night special meal. It means that the Canyon is coming to the Rica; Costa Rica that is.

The Run Down has to apologize for our recent silence. Besides fires and Jacuzzi clogs, life in "The OC" has been hectic. We owe our readers The Noble Canyon 50K and The Old Goat 50 Miler re-caps. We promise to have them posted by December 10th. Sorry, but you can’t rush quality or people low on crack. It’s that simple.

Click here for Greg’s continued training saga.

Sincerely,

Coach Charlie