Ultramarathon Daily News, Fri Dec 11

Great post by Sage about aiming and training for your goals, only to have them not pan out as you planned. We’ve all been there. Sage is a real pro and I’m thankful he writes so openly about this.

More on dealing with failure and disappointments effectively. Good stuff.

Maybe it’s my scattered mind, but this post by Steve Magness makes total sense to me. He took lessons and thoughts from random non-running books and applied them to fitness, coaching, and running psychology.

These multi-sport races look like a blast. Some combine trail running with kayaking, nordic skiing, SUP, etc.

Zach Bitter is going for the WR for 100 miles (11:28:03) later this month at Desert Solstice. Here’s how he trains for track ultramarathons.

Chris Vargo noted on social media that he just passed four years of sobriety. He’s handling it well and has clearly benefitted from clean living. Then there’s The Angry Jogger who’s trying to up his mileage while going sober and it’s creating some turmoil for both him and the general public. Salty language warning.

Speaking of alcohol, lookie what I got in the mail yesterday from a listener in Virginia. Where in the world do I start? Thanks Greg!

Sherpa John: Ultrarunning is at a crossroads. To be sure, it’s been a rough seven days for our sport. Feels like we’re collectively raising a 14 year old boy sometimes, doesn’t it?

To be noted: The Western States Board made a compromise with Gordy Thursday afternoon. He’ll have the opportunity to run a qualifying race at Bandera that would allow him to run WS next June. Big huge wet sloppy kudos to the entire Board for coming to a quick compromise. Now for Gordy…it’s time to get training. Pressure’s on, old man.

OK, so enough drama for the week. Let’s focus on what’s got to be the most entertaining headline as of late.

Awesome: 538 pound man keeps–and exceeds–running and racing resolutions for 2015. Nice job dude!

My usual strategy is to throw out all strategy and just go out hard. Everyone likes to see carnage so I try to contribute to that as much as possible.

—Ryan Smith’s report from TNFEC.

If you’re really into bright lights, 900 lumens for under a hundred bucks seems like a good deal.

Science yesterday: Ultrarunning makes our brains shrink.

Science today: Exercise makes us smart.

Well, since it’s the name of his blog, I no longer feel bad about asking “does anyone know that Asian runner was up front?” last weekend. Now I know!

High cuff with an integrated gaiter seems to be the rage for 2016. Hoka, TNF, and now Adidas has one set for launch. I only have experience with the TNF model (Ultra MT Winters), but plan on using it extensively for snowshoe racing this winter. You?

Want to geek out on some Strava data from last week’s TNFEC?

Here’s my review of the Roll Recovery R8. You know why it’s so awesome? Because it’s easy to use and it hurts…so….good.

28 Responses to "Ultramarathon Daily News, Fri Dec 11"

Stephen says:

December 11, 2015 at 6:21 am

Ultrarunning has gone past the crossroads. It is time to turn around. Let Gordy run, don’t ban someone for life for 1 failed test, and go back to what brought most of us into the sport. If we go back to old school mostly self sufficient trail runs, the races will draw the folks you remember from when you started. I run several races per year. My absolute favorite is the Blackwarrior 50K in Bankhead forest (Alabama). No cell coverage, crazy weather, and no frills. But, they feed you at the end of the race like no other race. Standing around under tarps, camp fires at aid stations, mud, cold, rocks, deer, feral pigs, not enough parking, conversation on the trail, no prize money, national anthem on a boombox, etc. Once you leave the start, we are all in it together.Reference

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1. eric schranz says:
  
  December 11, 2015 at 6:42 am
  
  Nailed it, Stephen. Those are the races I like too. Only thing you forgot was “poorly designed cotton shirts and no toilet paper in the outhouse.”
  Now as much as I like the old school events, the new trailultrapaloozas are a different kind of fun, too. What’s great about our sport is that we’ve got a variety of events to choose from.
  
  Reply
Jeff Clowers says:

December 11, 2015 at 6:22 am

RE: Gordy – glad they came up with a “compromise”, I still believe it is more controversial than just letting him in. How do they reconcile the Lake Sonoma golden ticket. Thanks again as always for the morning entertainment and news.

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Tha Messenjah says:

December 11, 2015 at 6:46 am

Do you have any idea on the weather capabilities of this lamp? I have the Black Diamond Storm and it works BEAUTIFULLY in rain/snow.Reference

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1. ɹr says:
  
  December 11, 2015 at 12:59 pm
  
  I purchased this lamp and didn’t get to use it due to dnf before i it got dark, but it did sit outside in the rain all day and turned on without issue. The bad part is it is heavy, and the worse part is the top head band to offset that is quite small. It did solve the weight/stability problem, however I don’t exactly have a large melon and it barely fit on the longest way i could stretch it. After a few runs I had to remove the strap because it was pulling up on the main strap so much I felt like the whole thing would pop off at any time. Good lamp, great actually, but maybe they make a longer top strap to replace the original? The hack was just to wear a buff under, but still it’s a lot of weight on the forehead and i could see a fast descent on uneven terrain really testing someones hard-foreheadedness.
  
  Reply
Joseph says:

December 11, 2015 at 7:36 am

Do you mean Bandera or some other race for Gordy? Isn’t Javelina next October?

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1. Tha Messenjah says:
  
  December 11, 2015 at 7:39 am
  
  Gordy said he’s running Bandera and Rocky Raccoon to make sure that he gets in with one of those
  
  Reply
Micah Ward says:

December 11, 2015 at 8:30 am

Sherpa John hits the nail on the head. Gordy should be at the starting line every year period. It doesn’t hurt any of us to remember where we came from, including the Western States board.

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Todd says:

December 11, 2015 at 8:31 am

Says the man who charges a membership fee to run his Fat Ass races. Dude represents everything I dislike about the sport.
ToddReference

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Micah Ward says:

December 11, 2015 at 8:38 am

Todd, who charges for fat ass races?

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Todd says:

December 11, 2015 at 8:53 am

http://humanpotentialrunning.com/fat-ass-series/

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RyanL says:

December 11, 2015 at 9:21 am

Sherpa John seems to have his own narrative about the state of the sport. Self absorbed front runners who don’t care about the rest of the pack? Rob Krar talked about how running in with Gunhild Swanson was one of the highlights of his ultrarunning career. Plenty of other cases on top of that. And no elite racing back in the day? The 1984 Western States had prize money and was sponsored by Levis, and the insane road racing scene of the 1980s. And he wants to go back to the way things were, but he seems to be okay with the growth in ultrarunning letting him get paid as a race director which is a newer development on a large scale. I respect what Sherpa John is trying to do but gee whiz I wish he wouldn’t make stuff up to further his agenda.

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Sherpa John says:

December 11, 2015 at 9:40 am

1.) I don’t ask people to pay to run my Fat Asses. 100% False. People are paying for a membership, just like GUTS and VHTRC.. For that membership they recieve a 10% Discount on race registration for our races.. And special discounts as they come up.. Like 20% off for members the first week of registration for 2016. This in itself pays for the $30 (are you kidding) membership. But they also get 10-20% off at various local running stores… Eight stores actually, plis one online retailer… All for $30. We have reserved our Fat Asses as members, and their guests, only events… Guests can join us and leave a small donation, or nothing, if they want. I host 10 Fat Asses… TEN.. Which doing so comes with a considerable amount of risk to mysef, and my business….

2.) Ask anyone who runs my events and they’ll tell you that it is completely and utterly obvious that I do not race direct for the money. I gave away $4000 in comp and discounted entries to my 5 races in 2015. I paid myself $13,000 for the work I’ve put in… Meanwhile My family and I have completely drained our life savings to make it happen as well… Yeah, I’m making a killing guys.

Meanwhile.. There’s clubs in our sport charging $30 per fat ass!

Look at the outpouring of agreement from my post across the internet RyanL… You’re in the minority on this one. Yeah.. Rob Krar is a stand up guy and still doing it right… But he’s ONE dude out of many. Not to mention how much more attention the men get opposed to women…

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1. RyanL says:
  
  December 11, 2015 at 10:30 am
  
  You’re just changing the argument around to suit you. People don’t like charging for Fat Ass runs, you argue back that it comes with a discount and other people do it too. Doesn’t take away the fact you are charging for it. That’s okay, they don’t have to come out the Fat Ass.
  
  Nobody said that you should not get paid to put on your race series. You’ve drained your saving to start this business, I applaud you for taking risks to follow a dream. If you don’t plan on building it up and eventually making it profitable then that is just a bad business plan. It doesn’t take away that it is a new development in the sport and would not have been possible ten years ago.
  
  I saw that Mike Aish, former Olympian and true example of an elite runner, ran one of your races recently. Did his presence take away from the race? Or was he another “random exception” to your elite runners are all assholes rule? Take a look around and I think you’ll see that most fast ultra runner’s are just like you, pretty cool normal people who enjoy running a long time on the trails and roads. No need to build up an “us vs. them” approach. You can have a healthy ultra community that includes big competitive races like The North Face 50 and badass community style events like you want to put on.
  
  And I totally agree that the top women should get as much exposure as the top men, not sure what that has to do with what I said?
  
  And just a side note, why not have an opt-out for putting names in the results for races? Say you’re 55 and on TRT or thyroid meds for health reasons. I don’t think that should exclude you from enjoying the race experience but if you claim tenth in your age group that is bogus. You took that spot away from the clean runner behind you and top ten in the age group may have been a big goal for them. Anybody on performance enhancers any reason, Lance, Elisa Desco, and anybody that wants to eat pot brownies while racing could all opt out of the race results and still enjoy the race and the ultra community without screwing up the racing aspect. Easy as that.
  
  Reply
  1. eric schranz says:
    
    December 11, 2015 at 10:35 am
    
    Good conversation guys, but let’s be sure to veer away from the letsrun forums as much as possible. Thanks.
    
    Reply
    1. RyanL says:
      
      December 11, 2015 at 10:51 am
      
      Good call Eric. And sorry to Sherpa John if those responses came off angry or harsh sounding, that’s not my intention but I didn’t do a good job of keeping things friendly. The last thing ultrarunning needs is for more people to be arguing on the internet.
      
      Reply
  2. "Sherpa" John Lacroix says:
    
    December 11, 2015 at 2:53 pm
    
    Ryan,
    
    1st… yeah, your response is pretty harsh (and unfair in places) but… I get it man. I’m VERY passionate about this sport and a lot of what I’m trying to say or relay to people often gets taken out of context, twisted.. and I’m not the best at relaying my thoughts and feelings over the internet.. MUCH better in person. No worries man.. we’re all human.
    
    The Fat Ass Runs… It’s easy to say that I charge for the Fat Asses. I get it. But if you come out for all 10.. you’re only paying $3 per Fat Ass. For these Fat Asses.. I provide aid (and ask others to bring some to share), turn by turn directions for the course, detailed maps, host registration on Ultrasignup, provide correspondence so everyone is in tune with what’s going on… all of that for $3 per Fat Ass (If you run all ten). I see where you’re coming from.. Believe me… But seriously think about it… There is a considerable amount of risk involved in hosting Fat Asses in Colorado that could negatively affect the rest of my business. I put a lot of time and effort into hosting the Fat Asses. Because we average 100 runners per fat ass.. I also had to purchase insurance to protect myself… so all those who paid $30… that money was gone to insurance (and then some) before I even had it in my hand. I’ve made NOTHING on the Fat Asses… NOTHING. If you really look at it… I lose money off my Fat Asses even with people paying the $30. If you become a member of HPRS.. You pay HPRS $30. If you sign up for our Silverheels 100… you get 10% off race registration.. which just about pays for the membership itself. Sign up for a second race… now I’m losing money I could have otherwise made without the membership. People are quick to point the finger… “But, but… you’re charging for the Fat Asses….” No my friend.. I’m charging for you to become a member of our community and reap the rewards of doing so.. and those rewards are for YOU, and the community.. not for ME. So please don’t be one of those folks who is all “He’s doing it for his own personal gain… because I’m not.”
    
    Sure… I bitch more than most people. But if I don’t…. who will? I was one of the loudest ones against Leadville. I recently spoke out about the worlds crappiest RD who is right here in Colorado, because what this guy does (and doesn’t do) is going to negatively affect ALL races here in the state. If no one speaks up.. nothing changes. Nothing happens. Etc. I take a big risk putting myself out there like this.. no matter how many times I do. Those risks are psychological (like this back and forth we’re having) and some risk to my business. Because… let’s face it.. What I’ve written, and this back and forth, isn’t attracting someone like you, or others like you, to my events.. I take that risk and accept it and I’m OK with that… Because SOMEONE has to speak up and offer my views. I think over the last two days.. I’ve more than proven that I’m not the only one who feels the way I do. Hundred have come out of the woodwork to offer their support for my post…
    
    You are 100% correct that it is because of the rise in popularity of our sport that people like me are able to create a series, and make some money along the way. I’ve been a long time opponent of Race Directors cashing in on races… When I decided to Start HPRS.. it was in a room full of folks who come to my Fat Asses. I told them why I didn’t want to be an RD and why I Shouldn’t be an RD.. this is one of those reasons. But I look at what the RD of the Western States 100 makes $30,000/yr, Leadville 100 Makes $36,000/yr, and the JFK50 $ungodly/yr… and I realize… that it’s OK for people to make money for their hard work but it need to be reasonable. So I started a series. I charge entry fees lower than most every other for profit event around here. I now an RD in Colorado who makes $70,000/yr putting on ONE 50k. According to my math.. if I sold out every race in my series, all 5… I’d make $42,000/yr before taxes and give fees. Now, I never said in my post that people making money in our sport was bad.. what I did touch upon was letting big money sponsors into our sport.. which allows them to push the agenda a bit. My series has ZERO paying sponsors.. NONE.
    
    I never said elite runners are a-holes. Please point out where that was written in my post. I also acknowledged Karl Meltzer and Scott Jurek.. Rob Krar is another GREAT example of how elite’s should be, or could be.. Anton? Not so much. Most of the folks I know here in the Front Range all have the same view on Anton… a douche, over trains, egomaniac, always hurt. Yet… the ultra media glorifies him. He’s the poster child. He’s gone! … Not every elite runner is like that.. but I’ve found that most are. They need to remember that without all of those people behind them.. there is no prize money to give them, and there is no race because they pay the bills. Mr. Aish has come to a number of my Fat Asses and a race. He’s always been a true and proper gentleman. He waits at the finish line and cheers runners in. He’s a class act. Humble. Welcoming. And Fun. He keeps coming back..I must be doing something right.
    
    Look… I appreciate your passion and point of view. We’re going to have to agree to disagree on a number of things. The bottom line is this.. I put myself out there. I say what I mean and mean what I say. Some people agree.. some don’t. At least I’m speaking up. But I do more… I’ve created a series that reflects what I believe in. We have signed up over 330 Members in 2 months.. making us one of the biggest ultra clubs in the US. My series is the largest in Colorado, and the fastest growing in it’s history. My Fat Ass series is the largest and most attended in the world. All of this in a very short amount of time… yet the ultra media (URP and iRunFast included) continue to ignore it.. it’s all about the fast. I’ve begged Eric to have me on as a guest in his podcast.. nothing. I guess I’m not interesting enough.. I guess what we’ve built here in Colorado.. with a considerable following.. isn’t good enough. I know one thing.. only end… The people are speaking. They’re showing up. They’re members. And it’s all based on what I preach. Sorry if that offends some of you. 🙂
    
    SJ
    
    Reply
    1. "Sherpa" John Lacroix says:
      
      December 11, 2015 at 2:57 pm
      
      Ps.. I hate auto-correct. Sorry for the typos.. I’m sure you can figure out what the heck I was typing.
      
      Reply
      1. Todd says:
        
        December 11, 2015 at 4:49 pm
        
        This is my problem with you John. People can be passionate in many to different ways. Have you met Tony? Calling him a douche is pretty extreme. I have met him a couple times. He is quirky to say the least, but he is very passionate about the sport of ultrarunning and the mountains in general. He would be the first to admit his training strategies were not the best long term.
        
        I have heard you slander so many great people and race directors in Colorado because they did not fit into your preconceived notion of what ultrarunning should be. Run Rabbit Run is one example. Have you met Fred? Do you thin he is in it for the money? I for one am inspired by the many great athletes that push themselves to incredible feats in UR. The Jones, Schlarbs, Krupickas, Kings, Krars, etc. You like this one size fits all of ultrarunning.
        
        Since you are such a steward for land management and relations with open space and forest service. I suggest you read the Jeffco open space rules for large groups. I am pretty sure you are not following several of the regulations set up by Jeffco openspace.
        
        Todd
    2. eric schranz says:
      
      December 11, 2015 at 4:58 pm
      
      John, let’s keep away from the individual attacks. Anton’s not here to defend himself and isn’t the subject of this conversation. Thanks.
      
      Reply
      1. "Sherpa" John Lacroix says:
        
        December 11, 2015 at 9:02 pm
        
        I’ve met Anton… You should ask around to those who were at Rocky Raccoon in 2008.. There’s an Anton story there no one likes to talk about.
        
        I’ve met Fred… I do think he is in it for the money.
        
        I don’t just blindly make claims. I do my research. I talk to people who have worked alongside Fred (for example) up in Steamboat. I’m privy to conversations, actions, inactions. That’s the thing here… people think I just make these wild claims based on opinion alone.. That’s not true.
        
        Slander = a FALSE statement. Nothing I have said about the two above individuals is False. There are others who agree with me.. MANY others. I’m sorry you don’t agree with me or see things from my perspective and that’s OK.. that’s what makes for healthy debates like this.
        
        I’m also sorry you have a problem with me. Even more sorry you won’t be joining us tomorrow!
      2. "Sherpa" John Lacroix says:
        
        December 11, 2015 at 9:07 pm
        
        I Love how brave you guys are while being anonymous here. When I leave a comment.. you know it’s from me. Funny how you guys hide behind your computer screens.
Mic Med says:

December 11, 2015 at 9:54 am

The more talk of the “community” the more lame the community becomes. The “community” is what is driving me away from Ultras the past year, it’s turning into a Runner’s World forum. This “community” will get into an uproar over the female runner who tested positive and ran the TNF50 but now licks the balls of Nike. No one wanted Nike in this “community” when their trail shoes dropped and now they are the cool kids on the block. (i’m a huge Nike fan btw) The “community” that prides themselves on a spot of recovery and second chances and how Ultras are the best for recovery and oddballs and outcasts but the “community” wants to keep Lance out. It’s gotten very high school.Reference

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Rob says:

December 11, 2015 at 10:04 am

Re Sherpa John: When flashy gear advertising combines with elites hawking this gear/experience combines with media pushing it all in a drool inducing, you need a piece of this adventure lifestyle package, this is what you get. Not much you can do about it other than walk away and go run with your buddies in low key/ underground, hype free (non) events. The next Gordy is out there doing it and he/she’s not sponsored.

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Jonathan Zeif says:

December 11, 2015 at 1:06 pm

i disagree with “kudos to the board for coming to a compromise”…they still are requiring him to qualify, they should just let him run it for gods sake…now the “pressures on” the old man, as you say…ridiculous!!!Reference

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1. eric schranz says:
  
  December 11, 2015 at 1:27 pm
  
  The Board could’ve made no decision as well. I agree, it’d be in the best interest of the sport to let him run whenever he wants, but if that’s too much, this is a decent compromise.
  
  Reply
Randal says:

December 11, 2015 at 5:50 pm

The Hardywood beers are very good. Wish I could get my hands on some here in ND.

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John T says:

December 11, 2015 at 10:16 pm

Surprise surprise… “Sherpa” John complaining and harking back to the “old days” of ultra running. Dude, get over yourself. You haven’t been doing this long enough to wax nostalgic about the old days. Those of us who have just shake our heads and laugh at you. The irony of you calling Anton a “douche” is just too good.

Reply

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