Ultramarathon Daily News | Tue June 13

Excellent advice about forming an ultramarathon support crew.  Do you have to have one? No. Is it nice? Sure.

This question came up on FaceBook a few weeks ago, and Mario dives into it deeper with real analysis: What’s a pro athlete? Semantically, is it synonymous with elite athlete? He makes his case around a female blogger recently picked up by Oiselle that doesn’t exactly fit the mold of a traditional sponsorship. Mario’s quick to admit that none of it actually matters, but that it’s an interesting discussion in our sports current landscape and I agree. However, I’d add another semantic category: Influencer.  Though it’s often used on the marketing side, I think people like Dean and the woman Mario writes about fall directly into this category. What do you think?

So where does someone like Allie Kieffer fit in? No coach, no sponsors, no training partners, but certainly elite in the T&F scene, right? Watch this quick interview where she not only talks about racing an indoor marathon for the the money, but also her comments on pain management when you’re redlining.

The Hillary Step is gone, not gone, pretty much gone. 

Mixed relays will soon be a part of the Olympic Games.  Cool!

The Guardian covers the FKT trend/phenomenon. I’ve got to point it out: On one hand, the article insists that “to be recognized as an FKT”, the athlete must build a case with GPS data, etc., but also immediately considers Kilian’s Everest ascent an FKT. Not saying he didn’t do it (I’m confident he did), but are there two sets of rules? Edit: I hadn’t seen that his GPS data on movescount was released. Check out the link in the comments below.

The pros and cons of running with a group.

During the race, I’d completely sworn off ultras. The only reason I was doing the race was to get the points for UTMB. I thought, this is a stupid sport. Why am I finishing if I am just getting points for something I’ll never do?

Great article about Tim Tollefson’s transition to MUT and his success in the sport.

Iranian women defying Islamic customs and threatening morality by….wait for it…riding bikes.

Avery’s latest video of RUNNINHIGH with his friends. Beautiful trail!

…and here’s an equally gorgeous trail north of Portland.

Meghan breaks down the mens field for Western States Endurance Run. Is she missing anyone? How will the strategy play out?

Speaking of Western, I’m excited to interview a guy today who just yesterday moved from the waitlist to the start list. What’s it like to train for a race that may not happen? What are the emotions when he got the email? Is he ready for this? Stay tuned.

I hit one of my favorite beer places last night (was there a basketball game on???) and had one of my most-liked styles of beer: Belgian Strong Ales.  The Repentance from Mraz Brewing in Northern CA missed the mark by a lot. It’s one of those beers that would be great shared with four people, but an 8oz pour was just too damn much. Syrupy, overly-sweet, and the barrel aging was excessive.  Anyone had anything else by this brewery?

More on Lorena Ramirez, the Tarahumara woman who recently won a 50k. Many of these articles seem to focus on the exotic nature of their dress and wierdness of huaraches, but this article gets deeper into her upbringing, training, and egalitarianism of their culture.

This map shows every single hiking trail in California.  Currently sold out, but a digital version is close to being released. I hope to have one on my studio wall soon.