Ultramarathon Daily News | Monday, Nov 5

Ultramarathon and Trail results from this past weekend, courtesy of Justin’s excellent sleuthing at IRF. Standout performance: Bronco Billy’s win at Pinhoti. Jeff’s having one hell of a year and will likely land on the UROY top three list. And add Rachel Drake to the list of women I’ll be watching keenly next year.

Should you give your mind a rest by leaving your headphones at home?

This will probably stir up more controversy than pregnancy deferrals and PEDs, but what would you think about pickle pizza at an aid station? (My answer: HELL YES.)

What a cross country bike road taught this scientist about climate change.

I got out of the water and thought this is gonna be amazing, I’ll run in like Baywatch…The reality is that I’m really chubby now, really hairy, and I had a pink tow buoy. 

–Dude had a jellyfish attach to his face and sting him repeatedly, his tongue started to rot, and he was forced to eat cheesecake (yuck) during his bonkers 1,700 mile swim around Great Britain.

Hardrock now allows pregnant women to defer entries. I still don’t get it. I got into Western in 2009 when my name got drawn, but withdrew my entry when we found out Sam was having complications and that Sunny would be due right around that time. My entry wouldn’t be deferred for that, why should an expectant mother’s? This is an issue we need to be able to talk through without the invective that cuts off reasonable and constructive discussion.

The day my heart short-circuited: A cautionary tale to pay attention to your body. 219 BPM…wow! Personal note: I was born with one minor and manageable heart issue (medium VSD) and have had an entirely different issue for the past twenty five years.  It’s caused black-out spells (with zero warning), a broken jaw, a bazillion invasive tests, the loss of my driver’s license, and some serious fear from my family. Gotta pay attention to the motor, folks.

IRF previews the men’s field for North Face. One real issue, one minor quibble and one comment: One, Patrick Caron should be moved up. His performances in the North East have been far more impressive than some others higher on the list. Just my opinion. The silly quibble: Why do Americans use whilst? Reminds me of college when kids would go abroad for a semester and come back with an accent. And a comment: Mohammed Teman Husien will be flying in from Ethiopia to run his first ultramarathon distance race. While he’s got a PR of 2:12:xx, he’s more recently run 2:14:26 last December. Should be very interesting to see how he does and I’m hoping Kimaiyo’s visa gets approves in time! This is the type of stuff we’ve been waiting for! A runnable course, a reasonable distance, and a relatively decent prize purse. Now throw in a few Japanese runners and let’s call it a party.

Seven of the best hikes trail runs in Ireland. Gorgeous!

Those who get the reference, I salute you.

–Interesting perspective: How sucking at cycling made me a better runner.

I’ll add a few more things to this piece, those from the pitchee side of the equation: If you’re outsourcing your race PR, have someone familiar with running write your press releases. I’ve seen “10k marathon” used more than I care to admit and those get a quick “delete.” Second, when promoting the race to media, include appropriate hashtags so we can follow/support the race on the same page.  Also: Get those results up ASAP. 

…and I guess, get your race on the ‘gram.

Nations voice their concerns and disgust at WADA’s (in)actions, but will anything change in the beleaguered organization? Does seeing this type of problem change the way you think about having an MUT governing body?

Speaking of cheating, does this video of the 4% change the way you think about the shoe? Sure, it’s interesting, but does it prove anything? I dunno.

New episode dropping today. Stay tuned.

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