Ultramarathon Daily News | Tue, Aug 1

Excellent: Four truths all ultramarathon runners need to accept.

Boom! USADA’s on it! Busting 60yo old competitive race-walking eye doctors. Got him! (If this guy’s account of the testing process is accurate…we’re in a far worse place than I thought we were.)

Join Guillaume as he climbs to the top of Mt Olympus in Greece at 9800′.

Apparently Pennsylvania has only one designated wilderness trail. Here it is.

One of the toughest jobs in the sport: Pulling runners who’ve fallen behind the cutoffs.

Mario’s Morning Shakeout: Rickey’s penultimate run, speed, running books, Tarahumnara, and more.

Also excellent: How to get pacing right in an ultramarathon.

I dunno, I wouldn’t be opposed to these angry old men serving up some vigilante justice on the trails when runners stop for selfies.

Here’s an article about Avery Collins’ cannabis use for training and recovery. Starts on page 70. I spoke with Avery Collins last year in this episode.

How stress impacts your training and performance.

Short news day. New interview and new review coming out today. Stay tuned.

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12 Responses to "Ultramarathon Daily News | Tue, Aug 1"

Zach says:

August 1, 2017 at 8:57 am

Avery doesn’t prevent a very convincing case in this article that his cannabis use is not performance-enhancing. Reduces inflammation. Speeds recovery. Relieves pain. Sounds pretty performance-enhancing.

That said, he seems to be adhering to the USADA rules, which bans in-competition use only. But there’s still something dirty about it that I don’t like.

Reply
1. Kyle Larson says:
  
  August 1, 2017 at 9:49 am
  
  Not sure what’s dirty about it. He doesn’t use it leading up to the race or during, so I’m not sure how his personal decisions to opt with CBD or cannabis for his recovery is a dirty one. He’s been very clear that because it’s still a nebulous issue that he runs clean when he races. If he’s playing by the rules, I don’t see why he should be judged any different than runners who like to have a couple beers after a race or long run.
  
  Personally, I don’t understand how he can stand to “smoke” it and still train, just because it would shred most folks lungs. There are so many other ways to take in cannabis other than smoking, I’d figure he’d want to keep his lungs fresh.
  
  Reply
  1. Zach says:
    
    August 1, 2017 at 11:15 am
    
    If he can recover quicker and consequently go harder and pack in extra miles up to say 6 weeks before a big race, then I’d say he achieves a performance gain from his use.
    
    And those within the US, outside of the 8 states that have recreational laws on the books, cannot legally benefit from the same use, even if they wanted to. I’d say that gives him (and anyone else in the same camp) an unfair advantage, and that’s what I mean when I say it’s dirty.
    
    Reply
    1. Sniff says:
      
      August 1, 2017 at 1:00 pm
      
      Is the only reason it seems dirty is because it has been labeled that for so long by society? So unless all states legalize it , it is dirty to use? Stem Cell Therapy, would you consider that dirty( it may be legal in all states now)?
      
      Reply
    2. John G says:
      
      August 1, 2017 at 1:18 pm
      
      Don’t NSAIDs reduce inflammation and help recovery? Are they dirty too? What about getting 10 hours of sleep instead of 6? Sounds like a performance enhancer.
      
      Reply
    3. Kyle Larson says:
      
      August 1, 2017 at 1:30 pm
      
      But he doesn’t use cannabis when he races. He only uses it in training. He’s on record as saying such, has volunteered to be drug tested at every race, and is very open about his use. There’s nothing dirty about that. If he was breaking rules or being sneaky that would be a different story, but I don’t think he is.
      
      I apologize if I’m coming off as argumentative. I’m just sick of the stigma cannabis has, especially when it sounds like he uses it responsibly, not to mention legally. I understand your opinion and I’m not trying to discount your point of view, just trying to say that Avery is pretty transparent about his use.
      
      Reply
    4. Jamie Hobbs says:
      
      August 1, 2017 at 1:37 pm
      
      You could make a version of that last argument about a lot of things. People in only a handful of states can take advantage of training and living at altitude (and no I don’t believe tents or masks do nearly the same thing). Not everyone has the kinds of environment ideal for mountain running training. Not everyone has the time and money to do all the things we could be doing to speed recovery and maximize training. There are all sorts of uneven advantages out there. They are “unfair” only in the sense that life is unfair.
      
      We should have rules against certain kinds of performance enhancers. But in a lot of cases, it is a tough call what should or should not be banned, and this is one of them. There are lots of kosher things that are used to try to reduce inflammation and pain and speed recovery (NSAIDs, turmeric and curcumin, compression gear, massage, ice, sleep, arnica, recovery runs, etc.). No one has an issue with them if they are used within the rules. I don’t think it is reasonable to accuse someone of playing unfairly or dirty if they are following those rules. It’s not like this is a novel, designer substance that the rule makers haven’t had time to consider. They’ve made a rule for this particular thing, and he follows it. What else is he expected to do?
      
      Reply
      1. Adam Davis says:
        
        August 1, 2017 at 2:24 pm
        
        What Jamie said.
      2. eric schranz says:
        
        August 1, 2017 at 2:30 pm
        
        I’ll have to agree and disagree with you guys on this. To/for me, cannabis is certainly a PED that affects running and recovery in the positive. Running in an elevated state raises my pain threshold and allows me to focus on something other than my legs and simply helps me have more fun. I’d describe it as a mental enhancer more than physical. (I use a PAX loose leaf vaporizer and bake my own edibles.). Some people sit on a couch and play x-box, I want to listen to music and run through nature.
        But here we go: Though I view it as a PED, I still believe it should be legal–both in and out of competition. It’s a plant, and though it may not be available legally to everyone in every state, either is altitude, heat, cold, mountains…and let’s not get into NSAIDS or other “legally” obtained pharmaceuticals via the TUE process.
Cb says:

August 1, 2017 at 1:24 pm

The corn rows were a greater offense than the pot use in my opinion.

Reply
1. Sniff says:
  
  August 2, 2017 at 7:32 am
  
  LOL +1
  
  Reply
ChrisB says:

August 1, 2017 at 3:48 pm

I disagree that it should be legal during competition with one caveat. I think those not running for podiums or prize money should be allowed to run high. If we celebrate shots and drinking during races, I think outside of the elite ranks cannabis should be allowed where legal.

Avery could use CBD products during races totally legally. The fact that he says he uses no cannabis products during races says a lot since CBD products offer many of the same benefits of anti-nausea and pain killing without the psychoactive effects.

Reply

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