Daily News, Thurs, Oct 16

I may not recognize all the technical climbing jargon, but what these guys did does seem pretty impressive. h/t Greg M.

Check out the physical transformation of this Marine who hiked the Appalachian Trail. Honest question: I’ve never been on the AT before, but is 13 miles a day really that tough?

Didya hear the new podcast with Matt Flaherty? Crazy fast on the roads…rad mustache…quit his attorney gig to run full time…brews beer…super friendly. Perfect!

This guy wrote a race report about Arrowhead 135, and the RD found some of it inappropriate. Now the writer got his application rejected for next year’s race. Drama drama drama.

Blizzards in Nepal just killed over two dozen hikers. Wow.

Need some inspiration? Check out the preview video for North Face Australia.

Hey coffee shops, breweries, and small biznesses: THIS is an awesome idea, and that picture of the Gemmi Run is abso-freakin-lutely insane.

How Jill deals with injury. I can relate.

More on the “volunteer” class action lawsuit against Rock n Roll Marathons from earlier this week. It is an interesting case.

NUC: The Angry Jogger DNFs a marathon and deals with it surprisingly well.

Sorry fellas, Stephanie Howe is officially off the market.

Cross country makes tough kids. This dude snapped his tibia in 3 places and crawled across the finish line.

Bronco Billy’s Run Rabbit Run report. Beards go 1,2,3.

Why and how giving up alcohol is good for you.

….or at least just stop drinking these 8 beers.

How to be a busy ~~mom~~ parent and still get your running in.

CrossFit for ultra endurance. Does anyone have experience in this?

Throwback podcast: Scotty and I sat down with Maggie who ran her first 100 at Zion, had “female issues” midway in the dark, and finished to talk about it.

How to stock your home gym for about $100.

Do your dang fartleks.

This is how you run downhill.

…and this is how you make money in China. In the US, we call them “personal trainers.”

And hey China, I’m not sure that running 600km over three years really counts as an “ultramarathon.”

Sherpa John’s final post on his “how to be an RD” series.

13 Responses to "Daily News, Thurs, Oct 16"

Johnny says:

October 16, 2014 at 6:35 am

I’d say 13 miles a day on the A.T. doesn’t sound tough to ultrarunners or even that much for a dedicated marathon runner. But then you have to remember that you’re carrying a super heavy pack – maybe 35 pounds. And you’re doing it for 5 months.

Reply
1. Jill Homer says:
  
  October 16, 2014 at 10:25 am
  
  I was an avid backpacker through my early 20s, and back then 13 miles was a big day. More often we hiked 9-10 in a day. Since becoming more involved in the ultra community, it still amuses me when runners qualify lugging a backpack over rocky steep terrain for 13 miles with “only.” It’s pretty hard. 🙂
  
  Thank you for the links!
  
  Reply
Mike D says:

October 16, 2014 at 6:59 am

The AT is definitely hard. I think it gets underestimated by some since it is on the East Coast. 13 miles can be pretty really tough on it depending on the section.

Reply
Austin says:

October 16, 2014 at 7:35 am

I’ve never understood why people volunteer for big races like that, I thought it was pretty well known that races like the Rock n Roll series were for profit. I mean what other business do you know that people ‘volunteer’ to provide labor? Volunteering for local races that support charities, local organizations, and trails is a lot more rewarding.

Reply
Jeff says:

October 16, 2014 at 7:43 am

The Northern 1/3 of the AT is ridiculous – tough, tough terrain. Even here in PA, we have an 11-mile section that is pretty flat in the Cumberland Valley, but outside of that, a lot of it is in ridiculous boulder fields on ridgelines.

Karl Meltzer maintained a 50+ mile per day pace pretty comfortably on the Pony Express Trail but came up short twice trying to do the same on the AT. I know that’s a heck of a lot more than 13 miles per day, but it’s also Karl Freaking Meltzer.

Reply
Jordan says:

October 16, 2014 at 8:37 am

Wait a second. I don’t mean to question that man’s accomplishments but frankly I’m kind of confused. I think many ultrarunners, myself included, average at least 13 miles a day. In many cases much more. And most of us certainly don’t chow down on poptarts, cheeseburgers, and french fries all day and still look fit. So i’m also wondering how tough the AT really is? I’ve hiked sections of it that were fairly easy, but mostly Southern areas.

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  October 16, 2014 at 8:44 am
  
  That’s what I don’t get. I understand much of the technical parts must be reaallllly slow going, but his caloric consumption (and weight loss) seems bizarre.
  
  Reply
  1. Greg says:
    
    October 16, 2014 at 9:10 am
    
    I thru-hiked the AT with a fair number of people who lost well over 20 pounds–in the first month alone.
    
    I think for a majority of thru-hikers losing this much weight, males especially, you’re talking about people who were fairly sedentary (from an ultrarunner’s perspective) prior to their hike and all of a sudden they’re on their feet 6 hours a day carrying, on average, 30 pounds of gear. With food resupplies occurring every 3-4 days, it’s difficult, and not practical, to carry enough calories to match the output so a deficit becomes the norm.
    
    Also, think about the number of liquid calories the average American consumes in a day. That number goes to zero on a long-distance hike, unless one decides to carry powdered gatorade or the like. But really, that’s nowhere near the number of calories you’d get with a glass of OJ, coffee with cream and sugar, multiple sodas and a few beers to end the day.
    
    Find me a thru-hiker who doesn’t run a caloric debt over the course of their hike, cause I want their secret.
    
    Reply
    1. Jordan says:
      
      October 16, 2014 at 9:33 am
      
      When put this way it does make more sense. Especially when the weight from the pack (full of poptarts) is taken into account. Eric, no liquid cals means no beer!
      
      Reply
  2. Mike D says:
    
    October 16, 2014 at 4:54 pm
    
    To give you an idea of the technical aspects, I refer you to the Presidential Traverse FKT. Ben Nephew who set the recent mark still took 4:34:36 to cover those 18 miles. He called it the hardest FKT he has done and just as hard as a race.
    
    That is all AT.
    
    Reply
Greg says:

October 16, 2014 at 8:56 am

For a little perspective on the AT, it’s 18% shorter than the PCT but has roughly 5% more elevation gain and loss than its West Coast cousin–and overall the footing is much more technical.

If you account for 10-12 rest days, that number goes up to around 15 miles per day. Throw on a 30-pound pack and hike nearly everyday for 5 months and you got yourself a decent challenge, regardless of which mountains you’re hiking through.

Reply
Meghan Kennihan says:

October 16, 2014 at 5:14 pm

I do Cross-Fit but have not reached the ultra distance yet… the past few months I have been training 25-30 hours a week but a variety of running, biking, elliptical, stairs… then strength or a Cross-Fit Circuit… I look up the “endurance” WODs and will do those… the ones that are 20-60 minutes long… so I don’t know that I’m actually doing what Crossfit Endurance prescribes… I’ve also started training for a Cross Fit Powerlifting Meet in December (squat, bench, deadlift) and I”m trying to do it as “extra” on top of my other training so we’ll see….

Reply
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