Ultramarathon Daily News | Tue, Feb 14
Results from a wide-ranging survey (The Trail Ultra Project) of ultramarathon and trail runners. How many of us repair our clothes? Who’s the most inspirational female runner in Britain? How many of us are religious? How much money do we make? Brian Metzler analyses eight key takeaways right here.
I wasn’t familiar with Gabriela Lasalle, but after watching this clip of her cruise through the varied terrain of the Las Palmas Trail, I’ll be keeping an eye on her. She makes it look soooo easy.
Need a shoe for cold, wet, snowy conditions? Melissa at Ultrarunning Magazine reviews the new Scarpa Ribelle Run Kalibra G right here. This looks like a great option for snowshoe racing, doesn’t it?
A-ha! A Super Bowl slash ultramarathon tie-in: The Super Bowl sod farm we’ve heard so much about over the past few days is owned by Jay Danek, an Ultrarunners based in Scottsdale. h/t Nicole Whiting for finding the gem!
While Candice was (and still is) running her ultramarathon-a-day project, this dude in Peru was doing the same thing, but using the distance to traverse his entire country.
Industry news: Strava CEO/cofounder resigns and other platform updates from Ray Maker.
Ninth grader XC phenom Sherry Drury (living in Tokyo), scratches from a major Ekiden because she doesn’t like the media attention. Not sure what to say here….I understand her position and her disgust at journalists questioning her neighbors and friends, but at the same time, it’s rather naive for her to think she can make it as a pro athlete and somehow control the narrative and the time/place of coverage. Overall, the decision she made is probably best for her growth and mental health. Media can come later.
Speaking of youngsters, Sebastian Salsbury (URP episode here) proposes a Youth Trail badge to help entice more kids to the trails. I love the idea and hope it catches on! Coincidentally, my son Van (11) will be running his first trail race in April in Carson City. He poured over the options and chose this race because he wants “hills, but not trees. I want to see where I’m going.”
Welcome to the Woke Racing Toolkit 101. Can we please get back to running?
Bryon writes about the various “commitments” we use as runners. Are your goals based on geography? Time? Geographic structures like peaks?
One race over the weekend and FIFTY F’ING TWO guys went sub 4 in the mile. What is going on??? Mario Fraioli has some thoughts over here.
Woman promises husband he’ll make new running friends where they’re moving.
Long time readers of these pages will recall The Angry Jogger’s old posts about training, eating, copious drinking, and vagabonding around Europe. After a good streak of fitness and sobriety, he fell off both wagons a bit, but is back and writing about how get got back on track.
We’ve got UROY, FKTOY, TROY, and various rankings all meant to determine the “best” of our sport. Here’s a cheat sheet for you to keep them all organized.
Personal News: Many of you have watched my daughter Sunny grow up from a little girl tagging along at aid stations to a spunky 8th grader who loves vert, dirt, (and ahem, Gilmore Girls.) Last week Sunny got her acceptance letter to a local school (private Catholic all-girl school….her choice) that’s got a great XC/TF program and rigorous college prep curriculum. I can’t believe she’ll be in high school in a few months, and am exceedingly proud of the young lady she’s become. (And yes, she’s still riding her unicycle.) Parenting is a wild ride!
Happy Valentine’s Day.
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