Ultramarathon Daily News | Mon, Mar 6

Ultramarathon Weekend Recap from Jeff Stern at Ultrarunning Magazine. Way Too Cool, Jackpot 100 Mile Championships, old guys…It’s all there. (Remember when WTC was the 50k in the country?)

Trailrunner Mag: Should endurance athletes donate blood? And if so, when?

Gorgeous video: Stage race through the country of Georgia. Any country seen through the eyes of trail runners becomes magical, doesn’t it?

Am I missing something? Why isn’t this article about Candice Burt?

So what exactly is the state of MUT journalism? We’ve got a few magazines, websites, a million podcasts and pretty robust social media, but what are people clicking on? Are the “journalists” doing the job of traditional journalists or are they (we?) just essentially fans writing about what we want to write about? Two takes here: Matt Walsh of TrailMix writes a compelling and well organized essay about the changing landscape and zeroes in on a few key writers. Then there’s Kevin Beck who’s got his own take on the shortcomings of the running media–including many of its key players–and how much of it is representative of modern American culture.
What do you think? Is our level of discourse and writing appropriate and fair for the size and growth of the sport? Are all sides being represented and is there a good separation between ads and editorials? Is there enough focus on running, or should outlets be advocating for causes and political angles? Are readers interested in the growth of the sport, or do they just want to read/hear/see the elites? These are all great questions.

Speaking of media, Runner’s World covers Courtney’s latest win at Transgrancanaria.

Fun thread. How would you use the money to promote the sport?

100% year over year growth and $1,000,000,000 in sales. @hoka is on fire.

(You’ve just been hired as the HOKA marketing VP and are given $1M to spend on increasing MUT visibility. What’s your plan?) https://t.co/KeN3mLBJtj

— Ultrarunnerpodcast (@UltraRunnerPod) March 3, 2023

Every ~~running~~ town needs a Phil Snyder.

Run Spirited: Twelve ultra women who inspire us.

Looks like HOKA has reissued the Huaka as the Huaka Origin.

A Dipsea livestream? Let’s make it happen! Volunteer info right here.

There is a new 40 mile world record. Ollie Garrod broke Don Ritchie’s record (3:48 set in 1982) with a 3:45:07 (that’s 5:41/mile) over the weekend. I didn’t even realize there was a record for that distance, but hey, nice work!

A bit longer than 40 miles, the 1000 mile Iditarod Trail Invitational is still going on up north. Brrrr. Leaderboard and live tracking right this way.

Ultrarunning Mag: Menopause for runners.

Speaking of 50 year old women, Tiffany Newell, a biological man who set the 50-55 year old women’s WR last week has “retired” from running so as not to cause a distraction. Good on him.

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11 Responses to "Ultramarathon Daily News | Mon, Mar 6"

scottywk2 says:

March 6, 2023 at 7:09 am

I like a lot of the things Beck says, and I like people that think outside the norm or say the things other people are afraid to say. My turn off is that he tends to beat a dead horse. I can suffer through an article even about me being terrible without walking away from someone. And I totally agree with him on some issues. But I don’t need 500 articles on Covid and LaToya Snell. Though both terrible, discussing them as much as he does is just, unnecessary. That being said, I DO want to live in a world where we have reporters, journalists, podcasters, etc. saying different things, saying things that I disagree with, make my blood boil, make me think, etc. Hopefully we are going through a period where more of those kinds of things rise. It seems like we’ve gone a long time with everyone loving everyone and being afraid to bring up uncomfortable subjects. And have hard conversations.

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  March 6, 2023 at 7:38 am
  
  I agree with both points.
  
  Reply
Candice Burt says:

March 6, 2023 at 9:01 am

Hey Eric, the answer to your question about the consecutive ultramarathons Guinness world record: it comes down to how they structure their submitting of evidence. Rules state that you cannot be verified for your world record until you are done with your world record. So, despite starting my ultramarathon streak 40 days before Ms. Cassidy, (I started Nov 5) she was able to submit her run of 23 days which she began around dec 17 in January to Guinness when I was 70+ days in because she started and stopped while I was still setting the record but BEFORE my runs are verified. Since I’m STILL going, her record will stay in place until 1. Someone else sets a record while I’m still running that’s longer than hers, say 24 days and/or 2. until I complete my runs and Guinness finishes verifying my efforts. It’s kind of a weird situation that can only happen with these very long records. It’s odd to me that Guinness knows I’m running (I applied and paid them in October) and yet I have to wait to have my evidence verified despite surpassing the record in November. Another weird thing in the article you link to is that they are claiming the record was 22 days but it was actually 11 days when Ms. Cassidy started going for it. The 22 days record is the “non binary” record and was switched from female to non binary about 11 days after I started going for it— I found out about the switcheroo when I was on day 11 or 12 because I remember thinking whoa, ok, well I guess I just beat it then? Anyway, hope that explains it!

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  March 6, 2023 at 10:31 am
  
  Ah, makes sense.
  But wait, does Guinness recognize “non-binary” for records?
  
  Reply
Sheila D. Boyle says:

March 6, 2023 at 10:45 am

Eric, regarding the Tiffany Newell story- not sure if it was an oversight or intentional, but perhaps you meant “Good on her”?

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  March 6, 2023 at 10:56 am
  
  Intentional. If Newell won’t respect women and sporting, I’ve got no reason to respect his wishes.
  
  Reply
Candice Burt says:

March 6, 2023 at 11:01 am

Yes Guinness does recognize non binary or they just started to recognize it according the the ultra record. That’s why they changed the original 22 day record to a non binary record after I started my attempt, the previous record holder just have requested it changed while I was going after it, it was confusing because they never told me the record changed. When it changed it reverted to the previous record of 11 days which Megan Cassidy was aware of because she had the record as 11 days on her sign she used for her instagram. I apologize if this is confusing, it’s a bit convoluted.

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  March 6, 2023 at 12:06 pm
  
  Does this mean that I could identify as NB and set records? If so, I’m clearing my calendar and will start growing my finger nails out, hiccuping on consecutive days, riding unicycles to god knows where…Oh the possibilities are endless!
  
  Reply
micahward says:

March 6, 2023 at 11:53 am

Eric, with the exception of your website I have trended away from all levels of running journalism over the past few years. Since 1977 I have subscribed to every running publication out there with Ultrarunning being the longest from 1990 to 2020. In my experience I’ve found that running is a very simple activity and with the exception of race results, there really isn’t all that much new to write about. Sure, training theories come and go and get tweeked and new gear comes along. But as I hit 67 and my major competition becomes the Senior Games, I’ve realized that there really isn’t anything new under the sun. I let my Ultrarunning subscription lapse when I found myself reading articles and thinking, “I’ve read that before” or “I already know that” or “that’s just a new way of saying the same old thing”. And I’m sure I would be criticized as an “old white man”, but I’m just not interested in political, social or climate crusades in my running journalism. I get enough of that in regular news journalism.

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  March 6, 2023 at 3:20 pm
  
  Well thanks Micah!
  
  Reply
Andrew says:

March 6, 2023 at 2:31 pm

One of the more balanced Beck articles I’ve read in a while. And, his point about April Fools Jokes, I feel that. We’ll see how things go down this year….

Reply

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