Ultramarathon Daily News | Friday, Dec 7

Here’s a good run down of went down at Ultra Trail Cape Town. Anyone have more details on Krar’s drop? Was it just a bad day or is something more long term?

Jason had Pete Kostelnick on his show to talk about his incredible Alaska to Key West run. Give it a listen here.

Stereotypes are real, folks: Aussie guy gets attacked by roo but doesn’t drop his beer.

Speaking of beer, I know there are quite a few home and pro brewers out there. But I’ll bet you’re not as fast as this dude.

Some of the junior XC nationals will be streamed here.

Miwok 100k lottery results. I’m in! Looks like everyone is.

Yesterday morning I had OCR media guy Matt B. Davis on the show to talk about not just the spectator fee situation, but about the $1,000,000 that Skyrunning champ Jonathan Albon is running for this weekend. Good talk that hopefully cleared some things up. Here’s the episode.

In that interview, Matt talked about Warrior Dash…turns out, they’re hiring for a Marketing Manager position. Info here. Tip: If ya get the job, emphasize the importance of not charging kids to watch their mom race.

OK, so catch me up. Who exactly has the Grand Canyon FKT right now?

OK, how about now? (Anyone making an attempt this weekend?)

Cool perspective: The logistics and fitness required to photograph Courtney in a 200 miler.

Running a race in Eastern Europe soon? Be on the lookout for nuclear wolves with mutant radiation rabies.

I love this report about Amy’s run at CIM. She ditched the watch, ran with heart, and hit a 17 minute personal best. I haven’t run or raced with a watch in years after I realize how liberating it was.

Last bit on CIM: What makes it such an attractive and fast race to runners from the front to back. I agree with the author…it feels like a celebration of amateur and just-barely-elite running without all the extra hoopla.

Certainly interested in these new Inov-8s with graphene-enhanced rubber. The transformation once they hit the dirt is intriguing, especially with the focus on big miles. I’ll make sure Ben and Sarah get a test pair.

Something tells me that this college also has a pretty attractive student body.

Sarah got a boost of motivation from a box of old pictures and is signing up for races in 2019. Funny how strong images and words can be!

WooHoo! Outdoor Retailer cut to three days. Good move by the organizers, but now won’t the new last day be the dead one?

I’ll be at Desert Solstice this weekend doing my best to make smart comments and not get into trouble. Follow me on Twitter or Instagram.

Taylor says:

December 7, 2018 at 7:20 am

Seems like it was just a bad day for Krar! https://twitter.com/robkrar/status/1068800584084541440

pogo69 [Pat Janes] says:

December 9, 2018 at 8:17 pm

I really can’t see how this is going to translate to value for money, for spectators of a trail race.

Charging spectators has long been a sore point in the OCR world. But at least with an OCR, they tend to bunch obstacles together, in a circuitous course around the start/finish precinct. So there is plenty to see, as your friends/family axe themselves on one obstacle after another.

In a trail race, if it is worth running, you will see a participant exactly twice; as they start, and finish. Not exactly riveting viewing.

Mario says:

December 11, 2018 at 5:18 am

I followed the podcast with interest about the OCR/Spartan races charging for spectator access. OCR races always have been commercialized pretty much since they have become more mainstream. Personally I enjoyed them when they first came around in the late 90’s and did quite a few of the original Tough Guy events on a farm near Wolverhampton in the UK. It was all laid out as being a big challenge for body and mind utilizing man made and natural obstacles and definitely quite hard in January when you had to swim in ice cold water and dive under a bridge along the way. Hypothermia was a real threat and some years only saw a 50% finisher rate. Then came the Tough Mudders, Rat Races, Survival of the Fittest, Wolf Run races to name a few and they all wanted to tell you that these races were the toughest in the world. Good Marketing was being applied and aimed at an audience of casual runners looking for a challenge to complete. They paid a premium fee for the experience but if there is a market then why they shouldn’t cater for it? Take nothing away from the top competitors in those races, most of them are seriously fast and are also great Trail runners.
I don’t see a trend or development where spectators will be charged for access to races – there will be some that will build a race around a festival type event environment, maybe a 24 hour race or Last Man Standing type race – I expect that this will segment will grow further. But there will always be organizers and runners that will prefer races true to the original spirit of trail running of being an activity that is largely free to attend and easily accessible to spectate and volunteer.

Eric, I discovered this podcast fairly recently and love the mix of content that you put up so regularly. Your passion for the sport shines through and thank you for sharing these interesting stories.

Ultramarathon Daily News | Friday, Dec 7

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