Ultramarathon Daily News and POY Voting, Thurs, Dec 15
Ultramarathon Daily News
Two big interviews today with two very fast ladies. I’ll make this quick.
There is now a beer mile racing flat.
The pressure for more extreme content is causing people to people killed. People are being stupid, not evaluating the risks/rewards appropriately, and dying grisly deaths.
It’s not every day one of Ann’s records gets taken down…especially by over 20 minutes. Here’s Caroline Boller’s report from her Brazos Bend 50 mile American Record.
North Face Endurance Challenge announces there will be a new event in Massachusetts next year. Who’s familiar with the area and the course?
All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other, right? Not so fast. Scientist are more comfortable calling our sport a thinking person’s sport:
Instead, running seems to be a kind of mobile math puzzle. “It requires complex navigational skills,” Dr. Alexander says, “plus an ability to plan, monitor and respond to the environment, juggle memories of past runs and current conditions, and also continue with all of the sequential motor activities of running, which are, themselves, very complicated.”
Five winter trail running items worth spending a few more bucks on. Anything else?
Great interview with professional adventure entrepreneur Belinda Kirk.
Smart shoes. Hmm. I’m both weirded out and intrigued. What do you think?
And below, my votes for Male Ultramarathon Performance of the Year. (Again, FKTs were not eligible for this category.) I really struggled with this. Zach’s 100 mile AR should be higher on the list, but who’d get bumped? And how can I leave Hayden Hawks off the list if he was only a few minutes behind Zach at TNF? Comparing these performances is like comparing lagers to sours to stouts. Fun, tough, and lots of regrets the next morning.
–>>And while we’re talking about this…be sure to read Jason Scholar’s comments from yesterday’s Daily News about the UROY voting and the race-frequency mentality we have in the US. His is a fair criticism, but what’s the solution? Sponsors expect an ROI through appearances, visibility, and results, and racing a few times each year won’t provide that–at least as a full time job. Thoughts?
MALE SINGLE BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
- Jim Walmsley JFK CR
- Zach Miller TNF CR
- Tim Tollefson UTMB 3rd place OA
- Kostelnick’s 163 miles at Desert Solstice (8:50mpm)
- Zach Bitter Desert 11:40 100 mile at Desert Solstice (7mpm)
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