The Nightmare Races were a series of free running races held in the San Diego area during the 1980s and 1990s.  Held on dirt roads and trails, they provided an alternative to the typical pavement races of the day. Not all of the "Nightmares" will be represented here, because the results for some years were lost.  There is enough here however, (results, articles, photos, and videos), to give a feel for what went on - and more than most people would want to read anyway. Please forward this to anyone you know who ran a "Nightmare".
Special Thanks
-to Mike Jackson, the official Nightmare camerman and racetime commentator
-to Dale Larabee for his hilarious articles on his Nightmare experiences
-to my partner-in-crime Rick Vandertie for decades of laughs and for continuing the Nightmare races after I was nowhere to be found
-and to all the Nightmare Runners for delighting Rick and me by showing up and having a good time


Race flyer for the first "Nightmare":
































The first Nightmare race was held on July 2, 1988.  The start/finish was at the corner of Mission Gorge Road and Jackson Drive in San Diego.  Rick and I had been running the trails in the area for around 10 years, and decided it would be hilarious to host a "10K" there.  We had previously hosted a 10 mile uphill race up Mount Palomar.  We were admirers of Wayne Zook's "Black Mountain Race To The Top" and we figured it would be great fun to see how nasty of a course we could devise and then get some suckers to race it with us.  Thus was born "Your Worst Nightmare 10K".  Most of the course was either straight up or straight down and we made no attempt to measure it, but we suspected it was a tad longer than an actual 10 kilometers.  Race day was warm and dry (July in San Diego, right?) and Rick cruised to a win in 75:37.  You can see him gloating below in his fancy red racing shorts:
Rick Vandertie, Terry Cooley, Ken McIntyre, and Kevin Heaton after "Your Worst Nightmare 10K" - July 2, 1988







Happy 7th place finisher Dirk Seibold saluting the race director:



















"Your Worst Nightmare 10K", July 2, 1988  Results: