Ultramarathon Daily News | Monday, Apr 22

Justin Mock/IRF: All the trail and ultramarathon results from the past weekend.
What caught my eye:
-Ruy Ueda at Mt. Awa SkyRace. I hadn’t heard much of him in the past year, but glad to see he’s back. The guy is an absolute beast and fun to watch.
-Suzanna Bon’s win at Napa Valley 50k. You’ll recall her interview from 2017 with us…she’s not getting older, just getting tougher. Nice work!
-Canyons 100k Golden Ticket race this weekend is looking stout. See below.

Speaking Panel: Heading to Canyons this weekend? I’ll be hosting a panel discussion Fri from 4:30-6 at The Aid Station (packet pickup) in Auburn with a group of elite runners. Join us!

Adventure Journal: Good interview with super mom and “hill walker” Jasmin Paris. And while you’re at it…subscribe to AJ’s print publication. Excellent writing and photography by an independent team with no advertorials.

Danger: If you’re running trails in Colorado, watch out for undetonated avalanche bombs.

WTH: As far as I can tell, Beyonce cut food out of her diet. Yay for holding her up as someone young girls should look up to. (That’s sarcasm, folks.)

Tragic: Bodies of three TNF alpinists recovered from mountains outside Banff.

Cycling: Overeager fans crowding out riders and making for dangerous conditions at big races. Interested to see how the cycling world handles this and what we can learn.

“His easiest training week of the year would likely put most people in the hospital.”

–Outside Magazine reviews Kilian’s new book.

LetsRun: Another thread about how lame ultrarunners are. Of course.

Fast Women: Check out Allison’s rundown of women’s running news from the past week.

What does an average day at Everest Base Camp look like?

Guardian UK: The secrets of sports recovery. Some are legit, some seem a bit sketchy.

I don’t know anything about this race, but whoa, check out that kick! And where is this track? I’d love to see more events on grass!

I’ve wondered about Alex Honnold’s mom and how she handles seeing him do what he does. Turns out she’s a climber too.

Are you an RD in the Midwest? Here’s a possible new gig.

Angry Irishman: This writer thinks that “extreme” sports are just a bunch of self-absorbed wankers masquerading as real athletes. He’s not entirely wrong, is he?

Toni Reavis: Toni does a great job of analyzing the term “elite” and how it effects marathon fields, prizes, competition, and whether new race formats make it impossible for non-sponsored runners to win a big race. Excellent analysis with plenty of harbingers for the trail and ultramarathon world.

Personal

After a pathetic string of DNS, I finally finished something on Saturday and got that damn money off my back. It was slow and ugly and painful, but it was a finish and I’m proud of it.
I’d run the Mendocino Coast 50k a few years ago, then came back this year to run the opposite direction. A few notes:

My long run going into the race was 9.5 miles, and I’d run that on roads. This was going to be tough.
I give people sh*t on URP when they say they “just want to finish”, but that was my goal on Saturday…just finish the damn thing and move on. Zero time goals.
Mendocino 50k is an incredible event. Small race vibe (150 runners), one race distance for a big loop through the redwoods, breathtaking single track along coast trails, and excellent markings and aid stations. As close to perfection as a race can get. It’s slow, but it allows you to take it all in.
Fueling on Roctane, Coke, and Oreos was a dumb decision and my stomach paid the price.
Soleus held up fine. No physical issues at all!
Wore the Opti-Shokz glasses the entire time and am now ready to write full review. Stay tuned.
My time was a half hour slower than my 50 mile PR. Oof.
I was fiddling with my phone charger early in the race (mile 7?) and inadvertently dropped a bar wrapper, reusable cup, and a small electronic device. Didn’t realize until the next aid station. 🙁
Finished up the day with tender feet and sore legs, but got back to the hotel, took a shower and headed out for dinner with the family. I got into the car wearing my Oofos sandals and caught my toe on something that bent my big toe nail back at 90 degrees. Swore for 5 minutes straight, cleaned up the blood and puss with a dry old baby wipe, and headed to pizza. It’s now being held on by a Band-Aid.
I got it done, but also realized I’m in no shape to run Miwok 100k in two weeks so will be taking a DNS. Anyone need one night at Holiday Inn Mill Valley? I’ll be in Sacramento geeking out on something else…

16 Responses to "Ultramarathon Daily News | Monday, Apr 22"

Candice says:

April 22, 2019 at 7:56 am

In response to the Angry Irishman article: To answer your question Eric, YES he is wrong, or at least misguided in his analysis. In short, it’s a silly, pseudo-funny and short sighted rant. Extremism: it’s all relative. I don’t think any of the events he lists are extreme except perhaps the RAM. Not everyone is trying to prove something or be heroic who participates in multi-day endurance events. Some of us, I’d say most of us who do longer endurance events, enjoy them. It’s only masochism if you’re not having fun! Even if it is masochism, what’s wrong with that? Most of us enjoy the process of training, strategy and execution. I did a 219 mile/350 km foot race in Australia in February and it was one of the most spiritual and enjoyable experiences of my life. Build up to the distance with time and proper training and it’s like any other challenge. I have seen first hand how these “extreme” events are accessible to most able bodied humans. There are things you experience and learn about yourself that you cannot learn without taking yourself out of the day to day grind of everyday life. For many of us, the immersion into nature is in of itself a worthy endeavor. Who says running or riding all day is extreme compared to sitting all day at a computer or in front of a TV? Humans are made to move.

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KS Petty says:

April 22, 2019 at 8:34 am

A review of Katie Arnold’s book was printed in yesterday’s NYTimes. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/12/books/review/katie-arnold-running-home.html?searchResultPosition=1

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Rob says:

April 22, 2019 at 9:39 am

So Beyonce went vegan for a while and that’s supposed to be shameful? Your reaction, and those of the twitter users on the link, all seem a bit extreme. Would you say the same to vegan ultrarunner friends? I seem to remember a certain El Venado writing a NYT bestselling running book containing similar recipes (albeit with some bread and pasta).

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1. eric schranz says:
  
  April 22, 2019 at 10:34 am
  
  Settle down Rob. Since when did vegans abstain from sugar…and carbs…and alcohol? I understood a vegan diet to not require hunger as a main tenet.
  
  Reply
Sarah Bradham says:

April 22, 2019 at 10:38 am

It seems as though the reaction is to her severe calorie restriction and the fact that she was complaining about being so hungry all the time, rather than the veganism aspect.

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Christopher Rusch says:

April 22, 2019 at 11:41 am

What shoes did you wear for your race?

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1. eric schranz says:
  
  April 22, 2019 at 12:32 pm
  
  I wore Altra Lone Peak 2.0s. My criteria:
  -Allow my feet to swell.
  -Good traction for the mud.
  -Worn plenty of times…no surprises. (Race has no crew points so it’d just be me an my shoes w no chance to swap out.)
  -Good traction for descending. It’s terrifying running downhill with my vision and I wanted all the help I could get.
  
  They were fine. Could’ve gone with less, but these were no problem at all.
  
  Reply
Patrick Krott says:

April 22, 2019 at 11:52 am

I’m a vegan, but giving up carbs as well? That doesn’t leave many options.

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PA says:

April 22, 2019 at 2:48 pm

Is the article about the tragic death of the mountaineers in Canada supposed to be so short, or do you need a subscription to read it?

Thanks for these summaries!

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Nicolas says:

April 22, 2019 at 3:07 pm

I’ll have to side with Eric on this one (no kidding). Few things annoy me more than no-carbs, vegan or otherwise. And I’m vegan. I don’t think Beyonce’s schtick or that Eric’s fair annoyance have anything to do with her being vegan.

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1. eric schranz says:
  
  April 22, 2019 at 3:10 pm
  
  Exactly. Thank You.
  
  Reply
Mike Porter says:

April 22, 2019 at 3:56 pm

I dunno, Eric. Beyonce’s performance in Homecoming was pretty amazing. I’ll never have to give birth to twins via emergency c-section after dealing with preeclampsia, and then have less than a year to get back to the top of my game for the performance of a lifetime. If that’s part of what she felt she had to do to get there, maybe we shouldn’t get all sarcastic and judgmental towards her.

ps. I think her quote in the Harper’s Bazaar article came across a little differently when I heard it in the context of the film. Just my opinion.

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Wade N says:

April 22, 2019 at 6:36 pm

Happy Earth Day! Carbon neutral by 2037!

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Andrew says:

April 22, 2019 at 10:27 pm

Eric, your note is the first thing I’ve heard about a packet pickup on Friday for Canyons. Did you get confirmation on that? I only ask because I would love the extra 10 minutes of sleep on Friday night.

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micahward says:

April 23, 2019 at 5:53 am

Congratulations on the 50K. Sometimes just finishing is ok. For some of us that is about the extent of our abilities.

Everest base camp? For someone who lives in Florida, that one was brutal to read.

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RichardG says:

April 24, 2019 at 6:36 am

It’s impossible to give up carbs, as even red meat contains some (small) proportion of carbohydrates. Beyonce is perpetuating a scary myth – carbs are essential to life. What most people mean when they say “giving up carbs” is that they’re giving up grains (rice, quinoa) or processed grains (bread, pasta). While processed grains are made nutritionally less valuable by the processing, whole grains are a valuable source of carbs and nutrients for millions (erm, rice again). Whole grains can have an inflammatory effect on the body though (see the Whole30 diet – sounds like Beyonce is following this) and eliminating them can reduce inflammation and eliminate some water weight. Jeff Browning and Tim Olsen have written/spoken about a grain-free diet.

I follow a vegan diet except for the odd scrambled egg. I’m usually stuffed full of avocados (fat), cashews (protein) and sweet potato (carbs). It’s great. I quit alcohol in Jan and dropped 5+lbs (155->148). It’s not the calories, it’s the associated inflammation and water weight. I run 30-35m/week and go bouldering 2x/week.

Diet is one of those things that folks get really fired up and judgey about. But someone in Beyonce’s position should be a little more careful with how she describes her diet – kids shouldn’t be going to bed hungry.

Reply

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