Ultramarathon Daily News, President's Day Edition

Justin/IRF’s week of ultramarathon and trail results.

If you haven’t watched the story of 72 year old Wally Hazeltine’s WS (non)finish recently, do so now. Such a great story.

Physical fitness is the basis for all other forms of excellence. –JFK

If you dread the weekly long run, ~~these tips are for you~~, you’re probably not reading this page right now.

I was up at the USATF Trail Championships held at the FOURmidable 50k on Saturday. Course was a slop-fest, but the rain held off for most of the day. Andy Wacker bailed around mile 4 and DNFed (7 stitches in his knee), and Megan Roche didn’t start due to a sick pup. Max King and Cole Watson battled for first (after David Roche lost his shoe in a mud pit) until Max pulled away around mile 20. YiOu Wang and Addie Bracy were together through 24 until YiOu pushed hard for the win (and the cash!) YiOu tells me she’ll decide on Way Too Cool or Chuckanut, depending on how she feels in the next few weeks. Great organization and lots of fun with preliminary results right here. Here’s Jean Pommier’s report from first master/top ten. Here are two funny collages that show Max and Cole running through the same stream, 2:15 apart, though with the same Oregon style:

ultramarathon river

You don’t have to have the ideal body to call yourself a runner.

The next pseudo-science craze is all about….genetics!

Quiz: Which shoe brand was the only company to post gains in January? Answer right this way. Surprised? I wish “major shoe brands” was defined…does that include Hoka? Altra?

517km of Ultraman madness in three days…barefoot.

Short news day…what did I miss???

Heads up: Massive storms expected in Northern CA and power outages likely. If there’s no news tomorrow, send a boat full of beer to my house please.

Baseball practice has been cancelled in our area due to the rain, but track workouts go on! Teaching these kids that you keep going, regardless of conditions and excuses.

Sunny and Presly Oak Hill — Sunny and Presly, Oak Hill Athletics.

Mic Med says:

February 20, 2017 at 7:16 am

Typically you cancel a baseball practice or a “field” sport as to not unnecessarily ruin the field. It’s not just cause you don’t want kids out in the rain.

eric schranz says:

February 20, 2017 at 7:25 am

There’s a battle going on in my ‘hood right now between soccer and baseball teams. They share a field and blame other for playing in inclement weather and destroying the turf. And come on, you know me. I’ll take any opportunity–legit or not–not say running’s a better sport. 😉

John Onate says:

February 20, 2017 at 8:01 am

Black Canyon 100K due to a storm system turned into a very different race. Last year it was a hot, low 90’s, exposed point to point with 9500 feet of decline and 3500 feet to climbing. This year it was an out and back, each leg roughly 31 miles, with 10,500 of climbing-most on the second half. The weather was cold rain that got worse in the second half. Alex Nichols gave a master class on cleaning up the carnage on the second half. I think the Scott Brand got top 3 in the men.

Amy says:

February 21, 2017 at 12:48 pm

Last year didn’t have 9500 ft of decline and 3500 ft of climbing. That would imply that the finish line was 6,000 ft lower than the start line (it’s not). It’s advertised as 7,000 ft of climb with 9,000 ft of descent. This year’s course description for the changed course said there was only 4,000 ft of climb.

1. Jeremy says:
  
  February 21, 2017 at 5:43 pm
  
  The original course is probably in the 4500-5000 climbing range, and this year’s out-and-back was probably a little over 5000. It sure as hell seemed like the out and back course had more climbing, but more mud and less downhill probably affected the perception.

Micah Ward says:

February 20, 2017 at 8:34 am

Kelly Roberts is a great example of the idea that “it’s not what your body looks like, it’s what your body can do!”

Good luck to Wally Hesseltine at WS and congrats to the runner that gave their entry to Wally.

scott says:

February 20, 2017 at 8:38 am

Missed this! Thank you!Reference

Michael J says:

February 20, 2017 at 8:49 am

:)) awesome, that’s how you pass the love of the sport onto the next generationReference

John Onatej says:

February 20, 2017 at 9:51 am

Eric, did you watch this race? https://youtu.be/-3ZJerXUEHo

drew says:

February 20, 2017 at 1:45 pm

Wow :0 Amazing race. I’m no eric, but thanks for the link. Watching those too battle for so long with a great finish, great race.

Mike says:

February 20, 2017 at 11:16 am

Hey, don’t forget your (barely) frozen friends up north. The Susitna 100 and Little Su 50K races took place over the weekend. 15 runners finished the 100 (about 50% of those who started, including yours truly; a bunch of us bailed at the 100K mark, the second of two spots accessible by road) and another 17 finished the 50K. Soft trails made for a tough course, and melting swamps early on in the 100 course (miles 10-15?) made for a wet start. Snow overnight for the 100, too, dropping about 4 inches on top of already soft snow.

Also, heads up that the Iditarod Trail Invitational starts next weekend (2pm on Sunday the 26th). Looks like it’ll be warm this year.

Jesse says:

February 20, 2017 at 1:38 pm

Thanks for being out there Eric. It was indeed a swamp but fun nonetheless.

Ultramarathon Daily News, President’s Day Edition

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