Daily News, Tue, Aug 20

Overcrowding in trail races: Is this what our sport is coming to?

Leor is California’s version of Anton. Running fast, climbing mountains, finding new routes, speaking in a climbing language I don’t understand…Check out this route (and great pics) in the high, high Sierra.

…speaking of mountains, here’s a list (a list! Ah! What a great idea!) of the ten most beautiful mountains in the world.

Dax Ross is heading out on the John Muir Trail for 200+ miles and is anxious/freaking out.

Alright, so what exactly is an ultramarathon?

Ian’s quick Leadville report. Question: Have any Grandslammers ever won any of the events before?

Here, just take my wallet! I want THAT. Or THIS.

This was a few days ago. Apparently it's worse now. Photo Austin Violette. — This was a few days ago. Apparently it’s worse now. Photo Austin Violette.

The Western States trail is on fire. Sections of it–between Deadwood, Devils Thumb and up to Last Chance–are currently under attack by both flames and firefighters alike. More details here. Stay safe everyone.

The effects of various types of birth control on runners. She forgot to mention a vasectomy, which lemme tell you, will completely take you out of training for a couple of weeks.

How a bad DNF can motivate you to better times.

Here’s a good piece on Emelie Forsberg.

11 Responses to "Daily News, Tue, Aug 20"

Jeff says:

August 20, 2013 at 5:49 am

Looks like Ann Trason won all four Grand Slam races in 1998 when she set the women’s record. And if you want your mind blown, take a look at her ultrasignup.com results page:
http://www.ultrasignup.com/results_participant.aspx?fname=Ann&lname=Trason

Reply
Mic says:

August 20, 2013 at 6:36 am

I’m kind of tired of hearing people complain about the “overcrowding” or growth of ultra/trail running. At some point everyone of us joined the ultra/trail scene, and you know what, we were the newbies who were infringing on a smaller niche group. I’ve been running trails and long distances for 10 years, but that’s nothing compared to the guys who have been doing this for longer. And without the growth and interest in ultra running, websites like this and irunfar wouldn’t exist, there wouldn’t be a Salomon Internation Team that then builds the S-Lab series, New Balance wouldn’t be teaming up with Ultimate Direction to make some mountain porn video with Anton, all the best gear would be road running gear, etc, etc. Or the people who “just want the freedom of running outside” while they’re wearing their Anton designed New Balance shoes, those wouldn’t exist without the current growth. You’d have a 1/10 of the races that are available now. I could go on and on.

Reply
1. Jeff says:
  
  August 20, 2013 at 7:24 am
  
  I don’t think the point was to complain about “newbies” coming the sport, but races’ ability to handle the growth. Leadville had 1,000 runners this year and there were issues aid stations running out of food and water as well as problems with traffic (both on the trail and on the roads) and volunteers were overwhelmed.
  
  I think the growth in popularity of the sport has given runners great opportunity – I live in Pennsylvania and can fill out my year with races that don’t require an overnight stay (including two hundos if I crash at my in-laws’ for Oil Creek).
  
  But races need to be able to handle the growth appropriately, whether that means rules about crews and pacers, increasing the amount of food and water available at aid stations, or simply capping the number entrants.
  
  Reply
2. eric schranz says:
  
  August 20, 2013 at 7:28 am
  
  Mic, I agree with you for the most part. Strange analogy, but it’s the same feeling I get when I visit San Francisco and get attitude from people who’ve lived in the City for one year but think they’re “from” San Francisco.
  
  Anyhow.
  
  You’re right that growth has brought benefits along with some of the negatives. The amount of events, the technology, the popularity..all bonuses.
  
  My issue (as I discussed in the FB discussion yesterday) is the amount of “extra” people at races nowadays and how I believe much of the overcrowding could be mitigated by controlling the amount of “crew” members and pacers for each runner.
  
  If a 50 miler advertised itsself as a no crew/no pacer event, the field would be trimmed to a certain type of runner. It’d still sell out (I assume), but the trails and access roads wouldn’t be congested. Likewise, if a first time 50 miler was run on a course that easily accommodated large crowds, most old school folks would stay away. Again, that race too would sell out, but there’d be less bellyaching from the old folks about the traffic.
  
  Agree?
  
  Reply
  1. Mic says:
    
    August 20, 2013 at 7:31 am
    
    Agreed Eric. I don’t think there should be pacers anyways, and it helps limit the impact on the trails we are lucky enough to be racing on.
    Jeff, I know the article referenced was about the number of racers, I understand that. My rant was pent up and that was a good enough excuse to exercise it.
    
    Reply
  2. HeatherW says:
    
    August 20, 2013 at 1:45 pm
    
    Well, maybe I agree about restricting crew, but what’s to stop the race organization from then selling more slots for runners?
    
    I ran the North Face Bear Mountain 50 miler this year. The event is huge because a marathon and 50K run at the same time. Also, the park is crowded crowded crowded with people there not even for the race. They had a shuttle system that worked spectacularly – my “crew” / “spectators” rode around on the shuttle all day, and had a blast. Crew and spectators were only allowed at the sections of the park that had enough room for everyone.
    
    Hopefully, Leadville will fix the problems!
    
    Reply
Jason says:

August 20, 2013 at 2:27 pm

Has the Leadville organization responded to or even been asked to address the issues? It sounds like the back of the pack seemed to have the largest issue?

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  August 20, 2013 at 2:45 pm
  
  I’m not sure. I know that after the TNFEC debacle in Dec, the co responded to a letter sent by a large group of elite runners. That correspondence was never made public.
  Maybe (hopefully) the same situation for LT100?
  
  Reply
2. Jill Homer (@AlaskaJill) says:
  
  August 20, 2013 at 3:57 pm
  
  I wrote the article that Eric linked to at the top of this post. FWIW, I actually fired off an e-mail to some names listed as officials at Lifetime, asking if they had a statement addressing concerns brought up by runners after the Leadville 100. I haven’t heard back, and can’t say, as a small unaffiliated blogger, that I expect to. However, I do have some suspicions that larger media organizations such as ESPN might be on it. Here’s hoping we get some answers.
  
  Reply
3. Jason says:
  
  August 22, 2013 at 6:47 am
  
  from the Ultra list:
  
  > Subject: Leadville – Travesty Status
  > To: [email protected]
  >
  > This past weekend I travelled the short distance up to Leadville from my hometown, to finally participate on the “other” side of the event. I ran Leadville in 2010 (Grand Slam DNF) and again in 2011 (28:38). This year, I made it to 2 miles high to play crew and pacer for a new friend from Iowa. Every year since Lifetime took this race over… it just keeps getting worse. I now consider this event to be a true travesty.
  >
  > I’ve never been on the crew or pacer side of this event.. but let’s review the runners perspective first.
  >
  > Since LifeTime Took over… they remodeled the buckle with their own snazzy logo on it and did away with that old fashioned Leadville buckle many of us would love to have instead.
  >
  > Then they did away with handing all finishers a finishers Sweatshirt, with their finishing time embroidered on the sleeve. These used to be handed out at the awards ceremony. Outraged in 2011 were the runners, that word quickly spread across the course… instead.. they now mail you your finishers jacket (a cheaply made jacket with finishers time heat transferred onto the arm) a few months after you finish.
  >
  > The owner of Lifetime fitness has trred to run the event.. and instead of accepting a DNF like so many others who barely missed cutoffs… he got a pass and has since been the only official finisher beyond the cutoffs. Lame
  >
  > Who could forget the year we could purchase a finish line I.V. for $75.. when they only actually cost $12 to make and administer.
  >
  > This year… the race shirts are now cheaply made. Yup.. gone away are the copious amounts of quality free race shwag we all received in 2010 or prior… now.. it’s as cheap as they can make it.
  >
  > 1219 registered runners, 943 starters, and 493 finishers (52% finish rate). The Leadville 100 easily rakes in over $400,000 on race weekend from entry fees and purchases at their Leadville store on Harrison Avenue. The Race Director takes a nearly $40,000 cut of that. You’d think with all that cash flow, and the RD making a yearly salary.. everything would be perfect.. and the runners would be taken care of as they used to be. No… now it’s slop. It’s nickel and dime us so they can make more money.
  >
  > Ken and Marilee used to take care of us runners. They made us feel at home, like rock stars.. like valued guests of the town we helped “save”. Now… we’re customers. And Lifetime is insulting each and every one of us.. and our sport. It’s a real shame that so many first time ultra runners see this… because now they think our sport is no better than the Tri crowd.
  >
  > So this year.. I was Crew and Pacer.
  > I first arrived at Fish Hatchery on Saturday Morning. I sat in a line of cars and it took me almost an hour to get into the aid station parking lot. Why? Because they had traffic entering and leaving the aid station where the runners were crossing the driveway. It was a HUGE Cluster F and incredibly dangerous.
  >
  > You now get trucked in to Twin lakes by shuttle bus.. or you walk 2 miles with all of your gear to where you can see your runners. Why? Because there are just way too many people to cram into that tiny little area.
  >
  > Winfield.. is still a joke. The line of cars parked on that dirt road to get into the aid station was long. Many just left their cars where they were and walked it in so as to not miss their runners. As 10 cars leave the aid station, they let 10 in. Not a bad plan except… there’s 1200 crews. Then.. the road in and out of winfield across the tiny bridge turned into a quagmire. Runners were running in between, and around cars. When pacing my runner, I was actually struck by someone’s side view mirror.
  >
  > They ran out of food, soda and cups at Hopeless aid station. Understandable to some given it’s remote location… but this has never happened before. Maybe it’s because they’s never had 1,200 runners before. However, this isn’t the only aid station that ran out of food, drink and supplies. Aid station tens are smaller now, but the Lifetime inflatables are bigger. I drank from a used cup in the middle of the night, and my runner finished in the sub-25 range… UNREAL.
  >
  > It’s truly a travesty what Lifetime has done to Leadville. While many love the race and the time they have, many more of us are continuously disappointed by the outcome. I really enjoy hearing stories from some of the older ultra runners out there.. who ran Leadville when the field was 250-350 runners, and Ken ran it well. Now.. it’s an over crowded production.. Lifetime makes an S-ton of money.. and the runners are neglected.
  >
  > Here’s a though… instead of trying to make money, pay an RD, offering Prize Money.. trying to be a “true” Championship event.. etc etc etc… Why don’t races get back to worrying about the runners, taking care of ALL OF THEM.. from 1st through the last DNF.. Leadville isn’t worth $300… you’re getting robbed. Look how races like Vermont treat you for $250.. a majority of that money goes to charity. Or… Yellowstone to Teton, where for $150.. they’ll treat you like royalty (NFI).?
  >
  > Sherpa John
  > (Sad that some Colorado Races are starting to suck)
  
  Reply
SDA says:

August 20, 2013 at 6:29 pm

On a lighter note, I was psyched to have a new podcast to listen to on my run today. I missed my podcasts this summer, but I know how hard you guys work to pull all of this together. You rock!

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