Ultra marathon Daily News, Fri, Oct 21

So, Eric is off doing some crazy shit.  I’ll try not to screw things up too badly over here.

Other half-way-around-the-world news: By the time you read this, Diagonale des Fous may be finished, but as I type, Francois D’haene leads through 101km.  iRunfar’s live coverage is here.

Also in progress: the 100km Endurance Trail event at the Festival des Templiers.  The 76km main event, featuring Max King, DBo, Jared Hazen, and Nicole Kalogeropoulos, is Sunday.

I told myself I wasn’t just going to link everything on iRF, but Aliza’s got a really nice post up about running on the Long Trail.  OK, I’ll stop.

Ian and Emily’s summer vacation.  Talk about living the dream.

…and here’s Paul’s summer recap.

I think Eric might have linked this previously, but it’s really good: Jeff Browning’s amazing WS/HR double.

Has anyone tried this thing out?  I think I saw Sage post something about it recently.

I just realized this is a really easy way to pimp my own blog and to fill out this column.  A few months ago, Tory reflected on how ultra running had not made her a better person.  I wrote a response for the inov-8 blog, but they never published it, so I’ve repurposed it here.

Seems intuitive, but now there’s some proof: heavier shoes make you slower.  Interestingly, it looks like a pretty linear relationship.

Know how you start hallucinating and acting like a jerk at the end of a 100-miler?  Here’s why.

Some good news: running even just a little bit can reduce your mortality risk by up to 50%.  The bad news is, more isn’t always better.  (Ignore the asinine headline; the article is pretty good.)  I’m actually a co-investigator right now on a study looking at coronary artery disease in marathoners and ultra marathoners.  We just finished data collection, so I’ll keep you posted on that.

Ed Whitlock is just the best.  He doesn’t know how many world records he has.  He’s actually legitimately upset that he’s an hour slower at 85 than he was at 73.  When he ran a 2:54.

Business news: Western States has a new presenting sponsor.

The diet wars continue!  A look at fat burning strategies.

Look out at your next trail race, the TOMs are coming for you.

Today’s sub-optimal version of the Daily News brought to you by Jason Friedman.  You can follow me at my blog, A Muddy Pair of Heels.  I’m also the jerk who brought you the Ultrarunning Magazine/Gunksrunner Ultra Rankings, which you probably hate.  Sorry about that.