On Saturday I traveled to northeast corner of San Diego County for a 20-mile out-and-back run on the Pacific Crest Trail with a couple running buddies. The day was beautiful and the trail was rugged for the 4,400 feet of climbing which started at 4,000 feet and topped out at 5,500 feet of elevation.

The Pacific Crest Trail is a long-distance hiking trail mainly for thru-hiking and equestrian use. The southern terminus is on the U.S./Mexico border and travels north through California, Oregon and Washington to the U.S./Canada border—a distance of 2,650 miles.

Having researched the trail, I know that David Horton ran the entire trail, from border to border, in 67 days for an average of 40 miles per day. This put a few things into perspective for me during my little 20 miler and created the space for me to consideramong other thingsmy priorities for the 2009 racing season.

The opportunity to share the experience of running 100 miles with my whole family is far greater than any race calendar I could imagine this year. It’s now clear that my journey will take me east to attempt the Vermont 100 Endurance Run in July, with my family as my race crew!

In the meantime, I’m still fascinated and inspired by the PCT. Did you know that fewer people have thru-hiked the PCT than have climbed Mt. Everest? More fun facts .

In its entirety, the PCT can be daunting, such as anything in life. But the 125-mile stretch from the northern border of San Diego County down to the U.S/Mexico border seems “manageable” so I think its time to plan an epic!