Ultramarathon Daily News, Tue, Dec 22

Kudos to Canyons 100k Endurance Run for clearly stating their drug policy for all to see. If you haven’t read my post on this, here it is. And if you’re looking for a tough race (or the best prep available for Western States), definitely check out the race. This year’s winners were Rob Krar and Magdalena Boulet.

Rob climbing out of Devil's Thumb. Canyons 100k 2015. — Rob climbing out of Devil’s Thumb. Canyons 100k 2015.

If you’re worried about pushing too hard, you also need to be weary of backing off too much.

Didya catch the latest episode with Karl, Sarah, and myself? We talk about standout performances from 2015, surprises, trends, and influential companies and try to guess what the sport of ultrarunning will look like next year. Sponsored by destinationtrailrun.com with some awesome outro music by Matt Flaherty.

Jeff’s run a bunch of ultramarathons, but this was only his second marathon, and it was on trail. He won it in 2:50! Great story Jeff!

When I think of running in Ireland, this is pretty much what pops into my mind. Here, Guillaume takes us on an adventure on the Cliffs of Moher.

The most underrated “talent” of (ultra)distance running success is durability. Here’s how to improve that.

In response to the PED issues, this site has popped up with “pledges” from elite runners to stay clean. It’s a great idea and it’s showing how elites feel about the situation–which is great–but in my opinion it’s putting too much faith in IAAF and hinging on WADA’s list, which I find to be not appropriate for our sport.

…because one thing is for sure: We need to stay the hell away from the IAAF.

Why we can stop doing sit ups. Whew!

A well-reasoned and thorough explanation of Gordy’s Western States predicament. I hope this issue is over.

Arvid McFly says:

December 22, 2015 at 6:45 am

Dang, I like push ups. Good thing the article is about sit-ups, which everybody hates.Reference

eric schranz says:

December 22, 2015 at 6:58 am

Oops. Fixed. I’m not a fan of either.

Kevin Tilton says:

December 22, 2015 at 7:26 am

I think it’s a good start.Reference

Gary says:

December 22, 2015 at 7:38 am

In some of the things I’ve read recently, it seems that Karl Meltzer has been known to smoke weed during 100’s… which would make his record number of wins somewhat dubious. Including the large prize purse at RRR a few years ago… Has anyone ever heard him address this?Reference

Sam in Oakland says:

December 22, 2015 at 9:51 am

Thanks for sharing the pledge link. From my perspective the pledge is actually a recognition of how LITTLE faith we all have in the current testing regime, and how we need to go beyond the letter of the existing rules to create a culture that considers cheating as beyond the pale. While it does not mean they are guilty of anything, people who don’t sign this pledge are going to raise one of my eyebrows when they win races. The stakes have been raised, however slightly.

Pledges cannot solve the issue by itself, but they do help change the nature of the conversation. Since signing the pledge, I keep thinking of the numerous petitions that Quaker communities continually sent to Parliament in the 1790s asking the British government to outlaw the Transatlantic Slave Trade. By 1807 they had convinced a large coalition of voters–all of whom benefited directly or indirectly from the slave trade–that it was morally wrong. A small group (less than 1% of the population) helped change the discourse of an entire nation in the face of stark economic incentives. The comparisons between doping to chattel slavery are, of course, limited, but I hope the pledge plays a similar role in changing how we think about creating a culture in which doping is simply unacceptable. Cheers.Reference

Tim says:

December 22, 2015 at 10:21 am

Would some have a job if it wasn’t for Gordy? This is why social media is sometimes a good thing it brings these things to the forefront. WS organizers should be ashamed of themselves.

For their part, Thornley and the Western States 100 maintain that there is no story here, and that they have acted in the best interests of the legendary race. “Gordy was fine with the rules until this year, when he didn’t qualify,” says Thornley.Reference

TheDude says:

December 23, 2015 at 9:55 am

Will Canyons keep out/DQ all pot smokers? Many MUT runners admit use openly…

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