Ultramarathon Daily News, Fri, Nov 18
Ultramarathon Daily News – Friday, November 18
Did you check out our latest podcast with Hayden Hawks? He showed up for his first ultramarathon earlier this year (Speedgoat, no less) at the last minute with no idea what to do and ended up winning it. Since then, he’s been targeting North Face 50, and I’ll bet that after this interview, you consider him for a top podium spot.
That podcast was generously sponsored by the C&O Canal 100. Held on April 29-30 in Knoxville, MD, it’s a two loop course on a flat towpath that’s perfect for first timers and those looking to lower their 100 mile PRs. Best part? It’s only $150! Registration opens Dec 17…put it on your calendar.
Four reasons you should love cross country. I can think of 10 more.
NYT catches up with ultramarathon icon Charlie Engle. We interviewed Charlie shortly after his release from prison back in 2012….check it out here. That was a fun interview.
Wow, some beautiful trail running pics from New Zealand. Earthquake, be dammed. We’re hitting the trails!
Now that is a fast trail dog! Wow! Our Standard Poodle (named Carlos) is good for about a mile at top speed, then bonks and walks the rest of the way. Yes, he’s male.
Are minimalist running shoes making a comeback?
Alright, so about yesterday. I chose to run an anonymously written “Open Letter to Jim Walmsley” that appealed to his position and leverage in the sport to ask his sponsors to pay for bio testing and a bio passport. This, the author presumed, would prompt other athletes and sponsors to follow suit, and ta-da, we’d have clean athletes with bio testing not paid by race entrants or athletes. Seemed like a decent plan, albeit it one with a few flaws. After I posted it, many readers took it as a public “calling out” of Jim and read into something entirely different than I had when I received it. The entire purpose of running the letter was to promote a healthy discussion on the very important PED issue, and what was going on was anything but constructive–I didn’t like that some were seeing the letter as an accusation that Jim dopes and decided to pull the letter. In hindsight, I should have kept it up and controlled the conversation a bit more (or demanded that anonymous defend the post), but hey, it’s just me running this show and I spent a lovely fall day at the park with my 4 year old. Moving on…
Speaking of drugs, Sage gives a thorough explanation of how he feels about the issue.
And if you’re tired of hearing/reading about PEDs in our sport, I’d urge you to exercise your forefinger and click past the links. It’s an important subject–even though I still have no concrete opinions on the matter–and I’ll continue to share different viewpoints.
Race Directors, you’re on notice: I want these at aid stations. All of them.
Amy urges us to keep our chins up and get ready to kiss 2016 goodbye.
I was reading the Dec issue of TrailRunner magazine last night about Rachel and Ben Bucklin and their trail running lives and family in Spokane, Washington. The article says that he reads the URP Daily News each morning to keep up on what’s going on, so….Hi Ben!
Cool article on the founders and staff of letsrun. They seem like fun guys who run an asylum.
I don’t know how things work in Japan, but over here, we simply cap the registrations rather than cancel the event.
I mentioned on Monday that Hoka’s Bob Shebest hit a tree mid-race…here’s the whole story.
Good luck to those running JFK this weekend. AJW, Jim Walmsley, Mike Wardian… Who else is running the oldest 50 miler in the country?