Ultramarathon Daily News | Tue, Nov 10

Three new members added to the Western States Board of Directors: Magda Boulet, Kara Teklinski, and Billy Yang. Always glad to see new blood and perspectives.

Jeffrey Stern (UltraRunning mag and Mario’s web guy for the Morning Shakeout) set a new FKT on the Backbone Trail in Southern California, besting Jeff Browning’s pervious record. Here’s a quick video.

Interesting discussion on reddit about amped-up libidos after an ultramarathon. Does the body think it’s dying and need to procreate? What’s the reasoning?

SCMP: Meditation for trail runners. Important to note (from personal experience, certainly not an expert) is that meditating and being present does not require “humming” or “Sa Ta Na Ma” fingers. Focus, concentration, breathing. It’s harder than it sounds but an excellent way to start the day of prepare for something big.

“In 2012, I was one of the fastest 800m runners on Planet Earth; that year I finished fifth at the Olympic Games. But there’s nothing particularly healthy about doing something to that extent,” says Symmonds. “The amount of damage it does to your body to be so singularly focused. I was always dealing with some little issue, whether it was a stress fracture here, or a torn ligament there, or the illnesses. I was constantly getting sick. I got a cold or flu every other month because I was training so hard and traveling so much my immune system was always run down.”

–Nick Symonds on why he’s healthier in his “retirement” than during his professional career.

Kevin Beck takes aim at, among others, those who refuse to decouple running from politics. Good read. What do you think?

99% it’s ‘roids, but seeing a doc this morning to get a good Dx. Ugh.

Alright, F it. Will someone talk to me about hemorrhoids and running?

— ultrarunnerpodcast (@UltraRunnerPod) November 9, 2020

Somehow I missed a 17yo HS girl running a 2:32 marathon on the bike path near my house. Dayum that’s fast!

I’m admittedly not as familiar with “The West Point Plain” as I should be, but it seems to be a pretty big deal that the Army, Navy, and Air Force XC teams are racing on The Plain on Veteran’s Day. Can anyone shed some light for us? Dammit, cancelled due to the shutdown. Ridiculous.

I wrote about “Mostly Harmless” mystery a few months ago and the internet is still trying to figure out who he is. So strange.

CJ Albertson just clicked off a new-record 2:42 50k on a treadmill.