Ultramarathon Daily News | Monday, Nov 20
Justin breaks down all of the ultramarathon and trail results from this weekend. My quick takes:
- The lack of DNFs (especially for the fellas) at TNF50 was refreshing. With few exceptions, all of the elites finished (sometimes gutted out) the race.
- Of the top three guys, Freriks’ stride and energy at the finish was on a different level. He crushed that race and looks like he could’ve gone quite a bit longer and harder.
- Ida wasn’t going to get caught, but Clare gave he one helluva race. She too came through the finish looking powerful.
- Kudos again to iRunFar for excellent race coverage.
Why everyone should try jogging up Mont Blanc.
Great story about Steph heading to Mozambique (40+ hours of travel!) to compete in her first self-supported stager race. Her experience sounds similar to mine in India…meeting runners from all over the world, sharing incredible stories, and pushing the body to its limits.
If artificial intelligence is dictating what FaceBook posts will be of most interest to me (FAIL), I don’t have a lot of faith in AI’s ability to put together a good training plan for my next race.
I wonder whether the same lizard brain that is more likely to buy an item at $4.99 than $5 is what leads runners when we reach for time goals beyond our ability.
Great essay about why runners (of all abilities) continue to chase faster times. Read it.
Race Directors: If you’re going to hire a professional finish line announcer, please make sure he/she is familiar with basic race format and the names of the top athletes.
Read this: Sarah reconciles with “her old self” about the realities of aging and running.
Three good, basic tenets of running really far.
Be safe out there: This weekend, a runner fell down a 100M cliff during a 100 mile ultramarathon in Japan and died.
Well, I asked Walmsley face to face if the rumors are true about him going after Klecker’s 50M American Road Record this year. Unfortunately, they’re not, but we did some talking and he seems interested in an attempt. (Coulda been the beer though.) Just to refresh: 4:51:25 (that’s 5:49/mile pace) was set in 1980 by Barney Klecker and remains the oldest American running record on the books. Someone’s gotta give it an honest effort and Jim (paced by the Coconino Cowboys) may be perfect for the adventure.
I don’t think Sandy Villines’ recent trans-con is getting its deserved attention: Fifty seven miles a day for 54 days straight with an incredible final 140 mile push at the end. Read more here on The Ocho.
Of all the emotions I’ve felt in this silly sport, loneliness has never once been one of them. Though I’m a social guy and like people, I also relish the opportunity to be out there alone with no one to depend on me and no one to fall back on.
Time management, expert level: Jean Pommier (53) works and travels all over the world, has a family at home, volunteers extensively, competes prolifically at a high level, and is still able to pound out race reports the night of the race. Check out his post from this weekends PAUSATF XC champs in San Francisco.
Personal note: I had my first experience guiding a visually imparted runner on Saturday. Richard Hunter and I ran 20 miles together on pavement (ouch!) and I learned the ins and outs of tethers, signals, and the importance of calling out every detail of the surface. Next up, CIM with Kyle! If you’re interested in guiding a VI runner, please head over to United in Stride to learn more.