Ultramarathon Daily News | Fri, July 26

Clint McKnight back with you again to give you some headlines while Eric is out. We made it to Friday! Anyone have any big weekend adventures planned?

If you need some help thinking or planning those adventures and want take advantage of public lands, here is a list to get you going.

Run uphill or walk uphill? Killian may have settled that question of economy for us.

Wow, good for this woman for standing up for herself. Shame on bystanders who didn’t help, hope the creep gets apprehended.

Does it matter what time of day you train? It seems that as we have heard before consistency is probably the key.

Whoa, this gentleman, “Burty” Burt Kennedy ran the Great North Walk, a trail running from Sydney to Newcastle in New South Wales in Australia. Thinking that went so well he decided to turn around and go back for a total of 550 kilometers in 6 days. Check out the recap here.

Two stellar ladies of ultra running (Corrine Malcolm and Dr. Stephanie Howe-Violett) fill you in on post workout recovery nutrition.

“Running can obliterate you, because few sports expose people to themselves with such brutality.” This quote comes from author Colin Daileda who takes a look at the Hell ultra and two men from India looking to be the first person from their country to finish that race.

Looking for a refreshing summer brew? Here is a really nice one from a craft brewery in my neck of the woods.

Anyone taking part in the Burro Days festivities this weekend? The race starts Sunday and if your curious as to what racing with a burro is like Salomon put out an entertaining video about it last year.

I don’t really know what to do with this one as anything I say will like spark some offense one way or another. I will simply say I don’t really agree with this perspective and I since I have both volunteered at races and benefited from volunteers I don’t like the shaming that goes on in the article. However, this viewpoint can perhaps start a conversation that could have positive outcomes. You get to decide that I guess, hello world of 2019.

16 Responses to "Ultramarathon Daily News | Fri, July 26"

scott says:

July 26, 2019 at 6:34 am

That last link has to be satire.

Reply
Andrew says:

July 26, 2019 at 6:58 am

Scott,

It has to be. I could barely get through it it’s so ridiculous. I volunteered at an SD100 aid station this year (was not part of this alleged encounter). I am going to go out on a limb and say this is either fabricated, or just full of hyperbole. It is quite apparent that this writer seaks out racism claims any opportunity she gets. Having lived in San Diego for 20 years I have never seen racism towards an Mexicans in my daily life. To think it would happen in an ultra with the most welcoming and inclusive people I know is nuts. Sure, in San Diego there have been protests about the border, illegal immigration, etc., but that is going to happen anywhere near a border city. To think the race volunteers treated her differently because of her heritage is absurd. There were tons of Mexican or Mexican Americans actually running the race. How about we have them chime in and see if they were treated differently by the volunteers during the race. I also think it ridiculous that she makes it clear each volunteer is white and labels them as such. Racism works both ways and she clearly has a problem with white people, 99.9% of whom have been good to her during her lifetime.

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  July 26, 2019 at 1:17 pm
  
  I’m with you, Andrew. I get the feeling this (essentially self-described) SJW sees everything through the prism of a victim mindset and throws the very serious terms racist and sexist around haphazardly and recklessly.
  
  Could the situation have happened as she described it? Sure, it could have. But the tenor of her other posts cause me to question her judgement with any situation.
  
  Reply
John says:

July 26, 2019 at 7:25 am

That Terra Incognita article and website is just ridiculous.
The website sells #StopglorifyingJohnMuir t-shrts and calls Alex Honnold an “eco-jock.”
Trash.

Reply
edcrawfordlv says:

July 26, 2019 at 8:07 am

That and most of the examples of racism were odd. Telling her “No crew allowed, food is for runners” is not racist. I imagine they told that to everyone that drove up and then made their way to the food tent.

Reply
Jason says:

July 26, 2019 at 8:10 am

I have a somewhat different perspective on the article. I’ll start by saying that I’m a white man who grew up in a predominantly white town and didn’t think much about race because I didn’t have to. As I’ve had more experiences, lived in more places (including many years overseas), and heard perspectives from more people (including people of color), I’ve thought more about what I don’t, and really can’t, know because I’m white. There’s just a whole, big range of experiences out there that people of color have every day that I don’t, and this is a function of race.

Andrew, I understand your responses to the article. I’m also not in a position to verify or validate the author’s stories and perspectives. Instead, I’ll just ask a few questions, which I hope you’ll take at face value and think through, based on your own words. (Another way of saying this is that I hope you won’t take these questions as some form of attack, because I don’t at all intend them that way.):

– “It is quite apparent that this writer seeks out racism claims any opportunity she gets.” How do you know this?
– “I have never seen racism towards any Mexicans in my daily life.” Does that mean Mexicans don’t experience racism toward Mexicans in daily life?
– “Racism works both ways.” In your daily life (if I’m correct in presuming that you’re white, which may not be a correct presumption), how often does it happen that you are treated unfavorably because you’re white? Is it possible that people who are not white might have different experiences?
– “…99.9% of whom have been good to her during her lifetime.” How do you know this?

I don’t like “having my race shoved in my face” (as I’ve heard white people complain about when race is brought up as a topic). I don’t like the thought that maybe I’ve been able to achieve some of my life’s accomplishments, which I’ve worked hard for, at least in part because I happen to belong to this country’s racial majority. I don’t like having to think about these issues at all. The thing I keep coming back to, though, is that it’s a luxury *not* to have to think about these things. I simply don’t know what it’s like to feel what I believe a great many people of color feel. It’s a different lived experience, and, logically, I don’t think I have any real alternative but to listen to their stories and perspectives.

That doesn’t mean their stories and perspectives are “right” and mine are “wrong.” It could be that the author of the article has misinterpreted the intentions of some of the people she’s writing about. That doesn’t give me the right to dismiss her perspectives as “absurd.”

Do I believe the overwhelming majority of race volunteers are kind and generous to all runners, regardless of their ethnicity? Yes. Do I believe the same of the vast majority of SD100 volunteers? Yes. But it doesn’t in any way rule out the possibility that author’s experiences are also real and valid. Both can be true.

It just seems that we all have a lot more to gain potentially from listening openly to the experiences of others, to notice how we are reacting to them, to honestly ask ourselves why we’re reacting that way, and to try not to default back to a polarized state of mind. Personally, it’s really hard for me not to get into a “right vs. wrong” mindset and to manage all the complexity this world presents to me. I can also say that when I do manage to quiet that voice in my head, I believe it’s been helpful for my understanding of the world.

Reply
1. Andrew says:
  
  July 29, 2019 at 11:12 am
  
  Jason,
  
  Like I said, her story was totally fabricated (see Sanam’s lined article below). It’s why I responded the way I did. Now if I didn’t personally know the RDs, many of the aid station volunteers, the course, my community, etc., I would give some thought to your comment. No disrespect, but I’ll just leave my response at that.
  
  Andrew
  
  Reply
Clint says:

July 26, 2019 at 8:31 am

I found that to be odd too Ed. It was as if the criticism was for the volunteers doing their job.

Reply
Sam Bosworth says:

July 26, 2019 at 8:35 am

I’ve run and been involved with the Sd 100 on and off since 2007. Scotty Mills and Angela Shartel are two role models for both running and life that don’t have a racist bone in their body. That said, over the years at many a Socal Ultra I have witnessed what I call aid station Gestapo, that like a bad ump in baseball, decide to make their role WAY more than it is. No crew rules while within the rules of a race, are not in the rules of the park. A 100 takes many volunteers to put on. I hope a great race and a beautiful city are not associated with the over zealous aid station workers. Fill bottles, make burgers and cheer guys. Leave the rule policing for the gods in heaven!

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Paul says:

July 26, 2019 at 10:26 am

I was at SD 100 as both crew and pacer. As crew, I can confirm nobody told me food was “for runners only” so that part of the story checks out (that white folks were not being told food was for runners only). Granted, I didn’t get that close to the food.

Reports like hers usually get a lot of backlash (as seen here), so it takes some courage to come forward. I will take it as a lesson-learned to be more self-aware in how I treat others.

Reply
Eric says:

July 26, 2019 at 11:38 am

Trail running is a conspicuously white sport. I get it. The comments about this article deploy the kind of phrases and ideologies like having a “racist bone” (which, you know, isn’t a thing) or that 99.9% of white people treating others kindly (which, come on) that tells me that some readers of this website have a surface-level understanding of what the author is talking about. My family is from Chula Vista and the kind of assertion that there hasn’t been acts of racism directed towards Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in Southern California is ridiculous. I understand the author’s feelings of alienation. She is not a trail runner, so why would she understand the difference between a crewed and non-crewed aid station. I think race volunteers, myself included, can take their responsibilities a bit more seriously than necessary. In spite of that, volunteers are a large part of what makes races so enjoyable and I look forward to seeing them tomorrow at my race.

Her tone is justifiably angry. I agree with her feelings of alienation at a trail race. But I also understand why the aid station reacted the way they did as well. Nothing in her writing is easily dismissible and I hope her participation in trail running doesn’t end with that race.

Reply
Paul C says:

July 26, 2019 at 12:24 pm

Very thought provoking article and comments. The 3 big take aways for me were:

1. It is hard to know the intent of someone’s actions especially if they offend you

2. Be kind and welcoming

3. God bless our public lands

Reply
Melissa says:

July 26, 2019 at 6:32 pm

Many good responses to that article. I like Jason’s comments best. It helps a lot to examine why we feel so much resistance to hearing different perspectives.

Reply
Paul says:

July 26, 2019 at 7:24 pm

Reading the comments here makes me think about the article from a couple days ago on growth mindset vs fixed mindset. Some of us read the SD 100 article and reflect on how we can improve ourselves as we relate to others, while others take it as a personal attack and get defensive.

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  July 27, 2019 at 12:51 pm
  
  I just heard from the a/s captain with whom the author had her encounter. It’s safe to say she had a very different version of events.
  https://medium.com/@sanam_21773/response-to-myriam-gurba-2c3fe4707729
  
  Reply
Jose Guerrero says:

July 27, 2019 at 12:04 am

hmm I wonder if all these SJW’s are campaigning for the NBA to be more “diverse”. Funny that only sports popular with white people have a “diversity problem”.

Reply

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