Franklin Mountains Trail Race | El Paso Texas | 2023

Franklin Mountains Trail Race | El Paso Texas | 2023

About the Race

Hi, welcome to Living in El Paso, Texas. My name is John Peña, and in this episode we're going to talk about an upcoming race in the Franklin Mountains. Thank you so much for checking out the YouTube channel. In this episode we're going to get away from real estate for a second, and we're going to talk about the Franklin Mountains, because they are the main geological feature of El Paso. And what's really awesome is that next month, in January, there's going to be a race in the Franklin Mountains, everywhere from a 10k all the way up to a 50-mile race. I've decided to do the 50-mile race, just because I'm a glutton for punishment, but honestly I like running, and I also really love getting into the mountains and seeing things that a lot of people aren't going to see.

So this is for folks who are either just interested in what our mountains are like, or people who are actually going to do the Franklin Mountains race and maybe don't live here. Miguel and I are going to do just the first four miles of the race, because that's kind of the interesting part of it. We're at McKelligon Canyon on the east side of the Franklin Mountains, and we're going to run up to the top. It's going to take us about 12 minutes, and then we're going to go along the ridge line to a place where we have to use chains to climb the mountains. So it's an interesting four miles, and then we'll talk about the rest of the race a little bit after that. Let's go ahead and jump into this. This is where the race is going to start if you're doing the 50-mile race, and right off the bat you're going up to the top of the Franklin Mountains from McKelligon Canyon.

The Climb Out of McKelligon Canyon

Quick little break here. We came up that half mile from the start in McKelligon Canyon, about 620 feet. Then you've got another climb, we're about to find out, somewhere around 800 to a thousand feet, before you get to the top and come back down. But basically it's all a gradual ascent. I'm on a flat little part now, so there are some places where you can run, but for most people it's pretty much going to be a hike up because of the elevation. The awesome thing is that the views up here are pretty amazing. Like I said, these first four miles are pretty interesting, and then you get a break when you get into Lost Dog. We'll talk about that later.

The Chains

Now we're getting to the chains. This is a fun part. We're on the west side of the Franklin Mountains now, and we're going to go up this jaggedy little path, and then go up and over from the west side to the east side. Here we are at the chains, west side of the mountains. Four chains, we're going to go up, and this is number one.

Now I'm on the west side. Trans Mountain Road is down there. We're going to come down this way, make our way over, and then down. All that stuff that looks flat down there, that's Lost Dog Trail, then miles and miles under 375, and then you're on to Tom Mays, which is on the other side of this, for the rest of the race.

The Turnaround and Final Stats

This is close to the turnaround, 375 right there. We get to the top, and then we work our way down. I've got 77 minutes I've been going, so I'll give you the elevation and mileage as well. Once you get here, actually from the communication towers on, it's pretty much been runnable, so once we get around this corner it's going to get real runnable and pretty fun. I'm going to end my run here, in an area I call the notch.

That's it for me. I just came down the other side of the mountain. I wanted to give you the stats: it took me an hour and a half to run that, from McKelligon Canyon to where I stopped and had to turn around. It was basically about exactly four miles, and according to my watch, about 1,800 feet.