Ultramarathon Daily News, Tue, Jan 3

Ultramarathon Daily News From Around the World

Thanks for sticking with me! In the seven years I’ve been writing this, that’s the longest I’ve taken off. Christmas, New Years, my son’s 5th birthday, my sister had her first baby, house projects, some running, some gear testing…Whew! I hope you had a good one too. Let’s get going with 2017!

You want 2016 ultramarathon stats? You can’t handle the stats! Dig in here and get ready to geek out.

Anyone in OKC know what’s going on here? Trail runners (and seemingly everyone else on two feet) banned from the trails? Any insight?

Justin’s recap of the week of ultramarathon and trail results is right here.

I’d like to see the details, but Ethiopia is now giving lifetime bans for drug cheats.

And Billy Yang’s recap of the whole year is right this way. Great video!

Luke tempts me to move to the PNW with this awesome recap of his year on the trails.

Believe it! Exercise does more good if you believe it will.

It was pretty cool (and surprising!) to get named one of the Best Podcasts of 2016 by Outside Magazine. It wouldn’t have been possible without Jim’s candor about the wrong turn heard ’round the world.

Seventeen beer and running clubs to join in 2017. And on a personal note, I’m on my yearly sabbatical from beer. Each year I choose a month to abstain, and this year it’s January…get it out of the way quick!

We could talk Trump, gun control, abortion, or who’s got the best pho in San Francisco, but here’s something that gets people fired up even more: Should ultramarathon runners go on a ketogenic diet?

Five things female runners should know about their private parts.

Not entirely sure what’s going on behind the scenes at NIKE, but they’ve lost the vast majority of the Trail Elite team to a competitor. Tim Tollefson, Chris Vargo, Alicia Vargo, David Roche and Megan Roche are all on Team HOKA as of this week. Caroline Boller left Nike and has decided to go sans-shoe sponsor for the time being, and HOKA also signed Sabrina Little, Jared Hazen, and a few others. The NIKE stable is getting thinner with rumors of Zach Miller’s exodus coming soon.

My impression is that Nike is not fully invested–or even very interested–in trail and ultrarunning. The budget is minuscule compared to the company cap, and with all the resources available, the “connection” to the sport and runners has been absent. Will they be willing to match competitors offers, or will they lose the rest of the mens team? Stay tuned.

Speaking of UROYs, definitely take a few minutes and read the interviews with both Jim Walmsley and Kaci Lickteig in Ultrarunning Magazine. Very good interviews about what we should expect from each of them this year. Fourteen flat at Western?!? Yow!

Imagine living on the world’s steepest street (35%!) and the hill shape you’d be in after just a few weeks of walking to the store! Then I think of my kids toys, balls, and bikes, and I’m perfectly happy here.

Most “top trail running races around the world” are pretty generic and similar. This list has a few races I’ve never heard about and leaves out some obvious big ones. Have a looksie.

You heard Clare Gallagher on this podcast, but check out this video she did for REI right this way. Definitely a fun and spunky personality to add to the trails!

Do you have a race on your calendar? Check out Sarah’s four tips to structure your training for real ultramarathon success.

Here’s Mario’s Morning Shakeout for the week with a great analysis of Ed Whitlock’s success. No fancy shoes, no GPS, no ice baths, no Tailwind, etc…

Will these be the top 20 fitness trends for 2017? Anything you think will be on the list, specifically for out little neck o’ the woods?

And finally. In an attempt to bring involvement and value to you–both readers and listeners–I’ll be launching a campaign later this week that will keep everything exactly as it is! Exciting, right?

Ah, but there’ll also be a few options for monthly subscriptions where you’ll have access to additional content, podcasts, and be eligible for gear giveaways and beer tours. Stay tuned, and thanks always for your support.

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20 Responses to "Ultramarathon Daily News, Tue, Jan 3"

Doug says:

January 3, 2017 at 8:03 am

Damn man, we been getting thirsty for the daily news out here! Hope you had a great break and happy new year!.

Reply
Travis says:

January 3, 2017 at 8:21 am

Welcome back from a well deserved break, Eric. Happy New Year! Thanks for keeping it rolling in 2017. Was starting to get the shakes.

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Khai says:

January 3, 2017 at 8:44 am

Congrats!Reference

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Henry Bickerstaff says:

January 3, 2017 at 9:07 am

This might give you a little more insight.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1179261972180713/?hc_location=ufiReference

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Bethany P says:

January 3, 2017 at 9:10 am

I wondered the same thing about Nike. Amanda Basham left also for Altra. It’s crazy that they don’t invest even a little more money into the sport. It wouldn’t even be a dent in their profits, and yet somehow Hoka manages to put its money where it’s mouth is. Maybe they are moving the way of my beloved Pearl Izumi, and are deciding it’s just not worth the investment.

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1. Mic Med says:
  
  January 3, 2017 at 9:38 am
  
  Pearl did that to themselves by making mediocre (if not downright terrible) apparel for the past 2 years. They had the best trail/long distance shorts on the market with their Ultra shorts and decided to stop making them, their colorways were ugly, and their quality control went into the sewers. BUT, they continued to charge the same prices.
  
  Reply
  1. Bethany P says:
    
    January 3, 2017 at 11:13 am
    
    I don’t know anything about their apparel, but their shoes were my absolute favorite in my 17 years of Ultrarunning.
    
    Reply
  2. Luke Distelhorst says:
    
    January 3, 2017 at 3:11 pm
    
    I never had any issues with the quality of the apparel, but agree that for ultra-trail PI’s best items were only made for about a year in that 2013-14 time. However, Mic Med, you have to consider how small that ultra-trail-apparel market is. I hope you stocked up when you had the chance! And as Bethany said, the shoes were pretty dang good for a lot of people 🙁 .
    
    Reply
    1. Mic Med says:
      
      January 4, 2017 at 4:43 am
      
      I’m well aware how small that market is, PI came right out and said that they weren’t going after that market anymore because the money isn’t there. That’s why they also dropped their Ultrarunning team, which in my opinion, was done at the exact wrong time. Pearl was in the game before the game took off, then when the game took off, Peal left the game. I’m obviously just dropping opinions on the matter, so I’m not trying to win an argument here. I’m simply saying Pearl went from being my favorite brand of apparel, to something I wouldn’t even buy with the superior discount I was given from them. I used to have friends who would beg me to get them PI stuff, towards this last year I couldn’t give it away.
      
      Reply
Daniel Metzger says:

January 3, 2017 at 9:12 am

Welcome back Eric! Thanks for keeping us all informed!

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George says:

January 3, 2017 at 9:29 am

Welcome back and happy 2017!

I for one would love to know more about how MUT sponsor contracts work – what does Nike or any other sponsor pay (roughly), what gets comp’ed (gear, travel, entries, etc.), what bonuses and/or incentives or mandatory appearances (if any), etc. I find it strange that we know (or can know, I don’t bother most of the time) about contract specifics for almost every other sport but it’s a mystery for running. Maybe a podcast episode with someone in the know? Or, do nondisclosure agreements prevent talking about this stuff?

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1. Vargo says:
  
  January 3, 2017 at 4:12 pm
  
  Nondisclosure agreements won’t allow for anyone to talk about it. There’s a good amount of people making a decent living off of sponsorships and there’s a lot of folks who maybe just get travel and gear. Regardless, why should anyone have to know? I don’t care to know how much money anyone makes in whatever job they hold.
  
  Reply
  1. Vargo says:
    
    January 3, 2017 at 4:17 pm
    
    However, if we were allowed to talk about it, maybe salaries would increase or be more fair? I’m not sure. It’s definitely an interesting subject, though. Thanks for bringing it up!
    
    Reply
2. Vargo says:
  
  January 3, 2017 at 4:25 pm
  
  Also, to be clear, I wasn’t trying to be a dick with my first comment!
  
  Reply
  1. George says:
    
    January 4, 2017 at 6:19 am
    
    Chris –
    
    No worries – didn’t think you were being a dick! My wife is an attorney so I’m well versed in nondisclosure agreements.
    
    I’m asking entirely out of curiosity – in a few podcasts (just listened to the Negative Splits interview with Zach Miller), certain things came up (appearance fees, pressure from sponsors to do certain races, etc.) and I realized I had literally no idea how professional MUT runners’ contracts work. And, I realized, I would like to know more, as I feel (much like listening to these interviews, reading blogs, etc.) that knowing more behind the scenes helps me appreciate the sport and what top runners do even more.
    
    I just wondered even about generalities – what is a typical (is there a typical) contract like, what does it cover, etc. If we can’t talk about it even at that level, that’s okay – just think it’s weird in some ways – like I saw on ESPN on Sunday that if a certain NFL lineman got a half sack he would get a $500k bonus. If we know that level of specificity about his contract, why not about running contracts?
    
    Thanks for weighing in,
    George
    
    Thanks,
    George
    
    Reply
scott says:

January 3, 2017 at 12:41 pm

There’s little to no signage on this trail. Put up one small sign every two miles reminding people to step out of the way of cyclists, resurvey in 6 months, and I doubt this will be an issue.Reference

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scott says:

January 3, 2017 at 12:46 pm

From what I understand, Nike athletes were still paying out of pocket to compete if they had travel involved.
Must have been bad if people would rather have no sponsor than have them.Reference

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AJW says:

January 3, 2017 at 2:26 pm

On the topic of different ultrarunner’s contracts I know Ethan Veneklasen has done some research on the subject and may be able to provide helpful data. My hunch on Nike is that they gave it a go for a few years, tested the market, and decided to spend their billions elsewhere. HOKA, Altra, etc…are obviously making a longer term commitment to ultras/trails these days and appear to be here to stay, for now:)

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1. Nelson says:
  
  January 3, 2017 at 4:18 pm
  
  Yet they manage to keep Kaci and sign Camille Herron? Maybe Nike are focusing on fewer athletes.
  
  Reply
  1. Ben says:
    
    January 3, 2017 at 6:30 pm
    
    Laney, Varner, and Miller opted back in too I believe but not entirely sure.
    
    Reply

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