Ultramarathon Daily News, St Patrick's Day Edition

A rough guide to fell running, and how it’s different from trail running and cross country running.

How ’bout some more bike ballet with Danny Macaskill. Incredible stuff.

No ultramarathon content, but advice on productivity (and training?) we can all use. Especially those of us who work from home. How to turn “it” off and back on.

If I were an NOP athlete, I’d want to keep this article/study faaaaar away from Coach Al. “Hi, so yeah, test results are back for electronic brain zapping. If I turn it up past the accepted protocol, I’m seeing even better results. Sure, it f&cks up the athlete for awhile and they forget how to eat with a spoon, but they’re not feeling any pain and can run forever. I’ll be in touch. –Al”

Cool video from the Old Ghost 85k trail race in New Zealand.

Hayden Hawks signs with NATHAN Hydration. So now they’ve got Rob, Zach, Jim, Hayden, Sage, and Wardian. Wow, there’s your dream team! Here’s our interview with the relatively unknown Hayden from just four months ago.

Great write up about the (un)importance of what message a coach conveys to an athlete immediately after a race. I’ve been struggling with what to say to my daughter after hers and this gives me a good framework.

It’s St Patrick’s Day, so now’s a good time to revisit our interview with Paddy O’Leary from last year, right?

Business idea: Take coach’s and writer’s proprietary training plans, post them all on a website together, and charge people to access them. Oh, wait, that’s already being done? Dang. (Not cool, runneruniverse, not cool.)

Meanwhile, Altra announces their endurance team (with new members) for 2017.

Still no official word on who’s on the Nike team for 2017. Strange, right?

Ben reviews the Hoka One One Speed Instinct right here. In depth review with comparisons to similar shoes and a promise to report back re abnormal wear.

Zach Miller writes about aid stations both during races and in “real life.”

I posted a new Patron-exclusive episode over on the Patreon page yesterday. I spoke with strength and conditioning coach Nate Helming about how and why to make our bodies strong while avoiding injuries. Thanks for the support.

Releasing a URP episode today with a fun guy from Alaska with some great stories to share. Stay tuned.

Jeff says:

March 17, 2017 at 6:52 am

Nike is surely too focused on their sub-two hour marathon project then to bother forming a trail team.Reference

eric schranz says:

March 17, 2017 at 7:00 am

But it’s not, and that’s what is weird. They still have a team, but won’t share who’s on it. Other teams push Press Releases about so-and-so athlete joining the team (see recent post about Hayden), because, well, they’re paying for the runner to rep them so they want an ROI. Nike won’t even announce who’s on their team. I understand with one prominent member, contract negotiations are still underway, but the others would make great ambassadors for Nike in the MUT space.

Matthew says:

March 17, 2017 at 7:16 am

The fanboy in me would love to see Walmsley/Hawks/Miller take on one of the classic fell and hill races in England and Scotland like Borrowdale/Wasdale or Ben Nevis. Who knows? Maybe one day.

I got the pleasure of jogging in the same company as Kilian, Max and the Salomon runners in the Lakes last year, was an awesome experience!

Ben says:

March 17, 2017 at 7:36 am

I really wish Nike would communicate better. From firsthand experience they treat people poorly and give off an attitude of “we’re Nike and we’re cool so we will decide if or when to care”. It’s a real bummer.

Peter Andersson says:

March 18, 2017 at 1:13 am

Maybe they’re just sitting out the XC World Champs in Uganda next weekend? Nike aims global, and they value big stage medals, so it would make sense for them to hold on a little to see if they end up with a gold medalist there (or if they can quickly sign him/her for cheap if it turns out to be someone previously unknown).

https://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-cross-country-championships

Camas says:

March 17, 2017 at 11:12 am

I didn’t see Nick Clark on the roster (new or returning member) for the Altra team. I wonder why? To be honest, he doesn’t seem to be as omnipresent as he once was about 3-5 years ago. He’s still a good dude though, and I hope for the best for him. Met him a couple times at Fort Collins trail runner meetups.

eric schranz says:

March 17, 2017 at 4:29 pm

Great point, and I agree, Nick is a fantastic guy and I’d love to see him race hard again. Wonderful person and a superb ambassador for this ridiculous sport. I’m guessing “life” is in the way right now.

Peter Andersson says:

March 18, 2017 at 1:04 am

Post-race debriefing 101:

1 – What went right?
2 – What did you learn?
3 – What are you gonna do about it?

The first question might look counterintuitive after a failed race, but as some chess master said; “some part of a mistake is always correct”, or as the proverb goes; “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water”.

Question number two is actually “what went wrong” but in a different form that lets the athlete’s emotions immediately lead and (most importantly) frame the post-race analysis as a pure learning experience. This is not the time for theory, plenty of time for that before the next race anyway.

Number three lets the athlete take the learning experience process and post-race emotions and transform it all into plans, focus and commitment for the future.Reference

Peter Andersson says:

March 18, 2017 at 1:18 am

“This is not the time for theory” should be “This is not the time for a coach’s theories”.

Ultramarathon Daily News, Friday, Mar 17

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