Ultramarathon and Trail Running Daily News | Mon, Oct 7

You heard me talking about it earlier this year, now here’s the story and pics from the Transelkirks Run in Canada. Dubbed “Summer Camp for Adults”, it’s the brainchild of Jacob and Amy Puzey and looks like a whole hell of a lot of fun.

IRF/AJW: Some thoughts on pacers. I haven’t read through all the comments, but to me it’s simple: Charge pacers a fee, and we’ll see how “necessary” they really are.
Tangentially, crews at ultra have been increasing recently, adding to the congestion at aid stations and on access roads. Ultra Trail Andorra had a neat solution…In the SWAG bag runners received at pickup, there were two logo’d rubber bracelets. The runner gave those to his/her crew and only those with bracelets could enter the aid station area. Good solution.

Runner’s World: The OUREA trail ultramarathon in France seems to not have got the memo that mens and women’s races and prizes should be equal.

Cyclist: The best forgotten cycling fashion trends. Anyone want to take a crack at old trail running fashion trends? From flannels to holy shirts to spandex, long shorts, short shorts, beards, flipped visors, neon colors and jerseys covered in multiple brand names, we’ve seen a lot.

Speaking of cycling, if you’re a bike mechanic looking for a FT gig in San Diego, this may be the job for you.

Women’s Running: The real effect of what doped athletes do to clean athletes’ careers.

What’s the difference between an Imperial IPA and a Double IPA? Come on, gimme some long, complex answer. Wrong.

Are women closing the gender gap in trail running? While women are undoubtedly improving times and hitting overall podiums at some events, is it really appropriate or wise to build up a scenario where we’re comparing females to male runners on a large scale? I don’t think so.

Speaking of women, here’s the latest installment of Ultrarunning History focusing on ~~perennial underachiever~~ nuclear scientist and women’s running pioneer Ruth Anderson who didn’t start running until she was in her 40s.

While I’m a fan of CBD oils, this $120 infused athleisure sports bra seems a bit…over the top.

Releasing new episode today with Trail Sister Jessica about how she lost, then found, her running mojo. Stay tuned.

Wind Cave National Park in SD has some nice looking trails and one of the longest cave systems in the world. But does anyone else get uneasy in underground caves? I’m not generally claustrophobic, but if I can’t see a clear way out of a cave, I start to panic.

Are. you living and running with a Vitamin B12 deficiency? Here’s the story of an ultrarunner who finally figured what had been causing her so much fatigue and pain.

Kevin Beck: What has a bigger effect on running records, EPO or shoe technology? Interesting data, what are your thoughts?

If there’s a story from Doha besides the heat and the (lack of) fans, it’s the women’s races were fireworks! Alison Wade has the final installation of results and analysis right this way, along with her commentary regarding AlSal and NOP.

JacobsA says:

October 7, 2019 at 7:38 am

I hoped men’s croptops in the trail scene would be more than a flash in the pan. Don’t knock it till you try it

Larry says:

October 7, 2019 at 8:07 am

As an old, soft-in-the-middle, hairy guy, I am going to have to disagree

Mike says:

October 7, 2019 at 9:47 am

something does need to be done about aid station anarchy. Limiting crew and charging extra for pacers seems like a good place to start. I really liked how Bear 100 had limited access to a couple of aid stations by having even bib # and odd bib # allowed crew at different aid stations. This definitely seemed to decrease congestion. My wife (and crew until death do us part) has noticed that there seems to be a lot more rudeness and bad behavior out of crews over the past couple of years. Her perception is that there seems to be quit a bit of “my runner is more important than your runner” attitude.
Curious—Would limiting pacers increase numbers of participants allowed in races?

kemibe says:

October 7, 2019 at 10:00 am

“What has a bigger effect on running records, EPO or shoe technology?”

That’s an interesting question that follows naturally from the idea that the shoes really do make a tremendous difference, especially given that “tremendous” at the level of a Bekele or a Keitany is one percent, let alone four. When Nike was recruiting people to test those shoes for the sub-two project in a wind-tunnel, some of them were asked to run at 2:50/km, both the 4% and with their usual shoes, and the data showed remarkable diffs in O2 cost.

I would say that in a given randomly selected above average runner (say someone who has finished a marathon in under three, three and a half hours within the past year), EPO would by far contribute to more improvement, because many in the pool would be not helped at all or hurt by a shoe like the VaporFly.

But you said records specifically, which is a different issue. I wonder what would happen if the VaprFlys themselves could somehow be doped.

Paul says:

October 7, 2019 at 10:53 am

At Western States, pacers do not limit field size because the restricted area is in the first 50 miles where pacers are not allowed. Same thing at AC 100. I don’t know about other races.

Seeing all those cyclists without helmets looks bizarre in this day and age.

Ultramarathon and Trail Running Daily News | Mon, Oct 7

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