Ultramarathon Daily News | Tuesday, Sep 4

Justin runs down the trail and ultramarathon results from this past weekend. Mostly focused on UTMB, but hey, a pretty good race at The Rut and a couple of new FKTs to consider.

Rule #3: There will be no beeping sounds on GPS watches. Ever. That sh*t sucks.

—Stephen at Citius Mag took Rousea’s Social Contract and adapted it to fit our lifestyle.

I had a great time at the SLO Ultra 50k on Saturday guiding Kyle for 23 miles on some beautiful trails on private land. Lots of climbing, but still a very fast and runnable course. Two main takeaways:
–One: I can understand how blind/VI runners run on flat terrain, but running trails–especially downhills–impresses the heck out of me. (Just take a sec and consider closing your eyes next time you’re running down a rocky trail.) I finally asked Kyle about how he bombs downhills and his response is something I’ll use in the future: “Shorten your stride and hope for the best.” Simple.
–And two: The course seemed to have a lot of military personnel running. I hung out at an aid station for awhile waiting for Kyle and started noticing a different style of runner: Self-sufficient runners passing the aid stations. High and tight cuts. Fit. Rucksacks. Yes ma’am and yes sirs. It’s what I love about this sport…the diversity of backgrounds and walks of life, then everyone lines up on the start line to get dirty together.

If you’ve got questions about guiding or would like to volunteer your eyes on the trail, shoot me a message or jump on over here. United in Stride matches blind/VI runners with sighted guides in your area.

Mario turns in his Morning Shakeout from Chamonix. Tough day out there as he saw two of his prime athletes take DNFs at UTMB. What a weekend!

Wyatt has been obsessed with Leadville for as long as I’ve been following his blog and he’s got a bunch of buckles to show his admiration for the event. But after this past race kicked his ass, he’s done, turning the page, and won’t be back.

World 100ks are coming up too. Here’s Byron’s preview for this weekend. Another loopy course.

Chinese ultramarathon runners are starting to show up on podiums a lot more than usual, and apparently some people believe it’s due to doping. Seems simple: You have a country of that many people, and you’re bound to have some incredible talents. That said, the author seems to think it’s abhorrent and unfairly discriminatory to be skeptical of someone’s performance due to their country of origin, and there are plenty of examples in recent years where it made sense. East German weightlifters in the 80s…wrought with state-sponsored dopers. Russian athletes from the past decade…plenty of evidence that many were doping.

More on the burgeoning Ultramarathon scene in China. The country is putting serious money into creating a tourism economy and I expect to see them on the big stages for many years to come.

Right around now, Ryan Ghelfi will be setting out to break Gary Robbins’ FKT on the Wonderland Trail. Go get it!

10 Responses to "Ultramarathon Daily News | Tuesday, Sep 4"

Doug says:

September 4, 2018 at 8:36 am

Give the Chinese runners their credit. The issue is that real drug testing is scandalously absent in the trail world, not that Chinese athletes or any other people in particular are cheaters. America has had plenty of cheats including the once beloved Lance Armstrong, so maybe we should shut our mouths, or push for true testing for all podium finishers at least. And those programs you mentioned Eric were for Olympic competition – you think China would start a state sponsored doping program for niche events like UTMB? Very ugly and inappropriate accusation in my opinion at a time we should be applauding their success (unless you have any shred of actual, non circumstantial evidence). Lobby for testing for all, don’t just wait until Chinese start winning and then slickly cast aspersions.

Reply
1. Peter Andersson says:
  
  September 4, 2018 at 10:17 am
  
  I think it’s important to remember that the Chinese voluntarily shut down their female Track and Field doping program in the 90s. It was working so well that it became an international embaressement. The 3000 meter World Record outdoors is still 10-15 seconds out of reach, and they had 5-6 women out of nowhere running unheard of times. Except for the 10000 flash in the pan in front of home crowd winner in Beijing 2008 it has taken them 25 years to build a legitimate running program. A doping bust in ultra running would reflect badly on that, so I don’t see it happen on a state sponsored level (but of course you can never totally control all individuals even in a dictatorship).
  
  Reply
  1. Doug says:
    
    September 4, 2018 at 10:37 am
    
    In my opinion, it’s distasteful to insinuate that individuals from any one country are any more suspect of doping than another in this environment, because there is no true testing. We really have no clue how many ultra runners use performance enhancing substances, because it’s a total free for all. We don’t even have an authoritative list of what is and is not ‘performance enhancing’, and what is and is not allowed. When races say “no performance enhancing substances”, what does that even mean? Obviously caffeine is used, some participants use Adderall, marijuana and or edibles, etc. The lack of clarity and slapdash (at best) testing is a dark cloud over the sport that we need to get on top of before we become stained like the Tour de France.
    
    Reply
    1. eric schranz says:
      
      September 4, 2018 at 11:36 am
      
      Distasteful maybe, but that doesn’t make it any less accurate. Take ten Russian weight lifters from the 1980s and ten Canadian weightlifters from the 80s, and we both know who’d be more likely to test positive.
      All the rest of your comment…I agree with completely.
      
      Reply
      1. arvidmcfly says:
        
        September 4, 2018 at 1:51 pm
        
        Of course, the greatest systemic cheating scam ever was perpetuated by an American, Lance Armstrong, and many question if justice has ever really been served, so we may want to get our own house in order before giving anyone else advice.
      2. Nicolas says:
        
        September 4, 2018 at 3:06 pm
        
        How can it be accurate regarding Chinese athlete if we don’t have any shred of evidence?
2. eric schranz says:
  
  September 4, 2018 at 11:32 am
  
  No, I certainly don’t think any country would sanction a doping program for UTMB. I’m not sure what I wrote to insinuate any lack of respect for Chinese athletes, but apparently I need to go back and check it out.
  
  Reply
msharafinski says:

September 4, 2018 at 1:48 pm

Eric, looks like you’re running in the new Lone Peaks? If so, have you been able to make peace with zero drop?

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  September 5, 2018 at 7:24 am
  
  Yeah, I’m liking them a lot. I’ve been inconsistent with Altras in the past, but these are great. Zero drop isn’t causing any issues, though I’m being careful with how often I wear them.
  
  Reply
Paul says:

September 4, 2018 at 3:41 pm

I kinda like hearing everyone’s watches beep, especially in a road race. It’s interesting to notice how we get out of sync with each other and with the mile markers as the race goes on.

That said, I set my watch to vibrate.

Reply

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