Ultramarathon Daily News | Wed, Jan 24

“You run ultramarathons? Your knees must be destroyed! Running ruins your knees and gives you arthiritis, you know.” No, actually, it doesn’t.

Skimo tips from Rob Krar. Once Gear Editor Ben gets off the disabled list, he’s planning on writing an intro piece to skimo for us fair-weathered folks. Anxious to learn more!

Is social media pushing outdoor adventure athletes do to increasingly dangerous and stupid things? How has this shown itself in our sport?

Are you subscribed to URP? With FaceBook making it exceedingly difficult to reach fans and followers, stay up to date on news and interviews by subscribing! (And I’ll never sell or use addresses for any other reason, don’t worry.)

With technological advances and more gizmos on the market, our ability to quantify and track every single metric is getting easier every day. But is it a good thing?

Speaking of gizmos, any interest in sunglasses with a heads-up display and communication capabilities between athletes?

Another example of why I don’t consider USATF titles as very impressive.

The Independent covers the 9 best ultramarathon shoes. Did they get it right?

OK, now this is cool: OCR races for your pooch.

Here’s some extra life motivation to get you up and over Hump Day.

Looking forward to an interview tomorrow with a guest I’ve wanted to talk with for awhile. Twelve dollar Patrons know who it is and have the opportunity to submit questions.

Seems like it’s been awhile since a runner has found a dead body. Funnies right this way.

Here’s more on what makes 15year old Katelyn Tuohy’s indoor 5k so damn amazing.

Interesting article on high altitude psychosis that affects some climbers. Symptoms sound awfully familiar to hallucinatory episodes ultramarathon runners experience on particularly grueling races. Here’s a great example, as told by Nickademus (Hollon) DeLaRosa, of one such trip during Tor des Geants.

Here’s what the Continental Divide Trail looks like, filmed one second each day.

18 Responses to "Ultramarathon Daily News | Wed, Jan 24"

Nelson says:

January 24, 2018 at 8:48 am

Hi, will you guys post an updated review of the Krar shoe once Ben has managed to put more mileage on his pair? It would be really appreciated, even just a mention in the podcast, since it’s a big question how these shoes are going to break down after they hit doble digits. Thanks!

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  January 24, 2018 at 8:58 am
  
  I think Ben’s itching to get some real miles in the shoe and assume he’ll post a comprehensive review of the shoe.
  
  Reply
  1. Nelson says:
    
    January 24, 2018 at 10:32 am
    
    That’s great news, thanks!
    
    Reply
    1. Ben Zuehlsdorf says:
      
      January 24, 2018 at 12:04 pm
      
      I’m certainly planning on it Nelson – unfortunately I’m in a walking boot for 3-6 more weeks it appears 🙁
      
      Reply
      1. Nelson says:
        
        January 24, 2018 at 12:30 pm
        
        Oh, sh1t. Sorry to hear about it. Don’t try to speed up recovery, though. There’s always more running ahead.
Alex Kurt says:

January 24, 2018 at 9:10 am

It seems like the “lighter and faster” ethic has picked up more steam, especially with influence from (very inspiring) content by Kilian and Anton, et al, in the last decade. I’m increasingly worried we’ll see an FKT attempt go south when someone gets caught in the elements and is wholly unprepared to deal with them, or otherwise gets lost, stranded, etc. Additionally, I think of accidents befalling people like Adam Campbell, Hillary Allen and Dave Mackey, and wonder what role content like this plays in pushing people to take those risks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAeHysSVMUk

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1. Nelson says:
  
  January 24, 2018 at 10:53 am
  
  First, damn, Kilian is Spider-Man!
  
  Campbell, Allen, and Mackey are professionals with years of experience. Running in the mountains and climbing involve some risks, as I’m sure they were aware. It wasn’t recklessness that led to their accidents.
  
  Footage of the world’s top climbers and skyrunners isn’t more responsible for amateurs going out unprepared than F1 or Nascar are responsible for every jackas$ out there speeding with their cars. We’re all adults.
  
  If Kilian or Anton were advocating for making sh1t up as you go, then I’d see an issue given how influential they are in the community, but I think both, especially Kilian, have spoken numerous times about the importance of preparation and skill, whether you like to go minimal or not. And also about personal responsibility and how each person should be free to assume risks.
  
  Reply
  1. Ben Zuehlsdorf says:
    
    January 24, 2018 at 12:17 pm
    
    I’ve got to disagree with you a bit there Nelson. While Kilian or Anton certainly do not directly say “everyone should do what I do from a minimalist standpoint” they certainly post appealing content which leads some folks in to believing what they do is doable as well by say, the average ultrarunner (and don’t we all overestimate our abilities? It’s human nature.). I’ve spoken with race organizers and friends in Spain, where Kilian is a rockstar, and they have explicitly told me that they believe his influence has caused some folks to be underprepared in mountain situations.
    
    We are all adults but I could point you to endless examples of people seeing something and believing it “looks easy, I can do that” only to be very surprised in the situation and unprepared.
    
    The examples of F1 or NASCAR don’t really apply here given things like laws we have in place. In most cases there are no laws to prevent someone from heading out in to the wilderness unprepared. Plus, the immediate risk felt and seen by say, speeding, is far different from the risk felt and seen when heading out in to the wilderness unprepared. Apples and oranges there I believe.
    
    And I don’t think anyone said the three examples cited were the result of recklessness.
    
    Reply
    1. Nelson says:
      
      January 24, 2018 at 1:12 pm
      
      On your last point, maybe not, but then I fail to see the reason to link those accidents with a question about the influence of videos like the one linked and people taking risks in the mountains and trails.
      
      It’s not that they (Kilian and Anton) don’t encourage people to do things like they do, they’ve explicitly discourage people from going to the mountains unprepared.
      
      I don’t think anyone can be blamed for someone else’s lack of common sense or overestimating their own abilities.
      
      I think the law doesn’t really play a part in whether that’s a good example or not, it’s about people trying to emulate risks taken by professionals. I can tell you that after watching enough Japanese drifting competitions, I broke some driving laws too.
      
      I see your position, though, but then, what do you propose? Of course I’m in favor of making people aware of the risks and the necessary preparation to attempt a skyrunning race or a long fkt. Ultimately, though, each one has the right to decide the degree of risk he’s comfortable with.
      
      Reply
Sam Bosworth says:

January 24, 2018 at 9:53 am

they obviously blackballed Altra Lone peaks and Hoka ATRs-the two most popular shoes on the market

Reply
Clint Zirk says:

January 24, 2018 at 10:04 am

does following via RSS feed still help URP for impressions/clicks or do I need to subscribe as well?

Reply
afvarner says:

January 24, 2018 at 12:07 pm

They should probably do away with the ulta-distance USATF championships. The only USATF titles that carry much merit in my book are the T&F ones held once a year over the summer and double as Oly Trials every 4 years and the shorter distance road ones (maybe the 50k road as well since that usually seems to draw a pretty fast crowd). Those events actually have a lot of people running really fast and the titles are truly contested.

The ultra distance (especially trail) USATF championships are usually sparsely contested aside from maybe 2-3 “elites” who show up because they know there won’t be a ton of competition and USATF champion looks great on your resume. Part of this lack of competition is due to the fact that USATF picks championship races based on bids from races and the super competitive ultras (TNFCA50, LS50, WSER100, Leadville to name a few) don’t bid to become a championship event. So you have less prestigious races (no offense intended to those races, but that’s how it goes) holding what are pretty often less-than-competitive championships and you get people touting how they’ve won 3-4-5-6-7 USATF/national titles mostly because they prioritized that race over a more competitive one that’s not a USATF championship. It’s time for USATF to either designate which races are national championships instead of soliciting bids, or just BURN THIS MOTHER DOWN and do away with it once and for all.

/endrant

Reply
1. Ben Zuehlsdorf says:
  
  January 24, 2018 at 12:19 pm
  
  ^ what he said.
  
  Reply
2. Gary Gellin says:
  
  January 24, 2018 at 12:38 pm
  
  Actually, that article Eric linked to in the Auburn Journal referenced “USTAF”, not “USATF”. Ironic?
  
  Reply
3. eric schranz says:
  
  January 26, 2018 at 7:16 am
  
  Will you run for a seat on the board? It needs you.
  
  Reply
Ben Zuehlsdorf says:

January 24, 2018 at 12:22 pm

The Independent most certainly did not get it right. All they had to do was ask?! 🙂

Reply
1. Nelson says:
  
  January 24, 2018 at 12:55 pm
  
  I can’t speak for the rest of the shoes in that list, but the Xodus ISO 2 are pretty good: more agile than their weight suggests, pretty rugged, great traction, and super durable. Once broken in, they ride pretty sweet too. I’ve used then on fire roads, trails, asphalt, some light rock scrambling, and they’ve done well every time. Still only 50 miles in, the outsole (and the rest of the shoe) shows zero signs of wear, not even the light pattern over the lugs. I’m loving the 4mm drop. I’d say it covers the same use as the Wildhorse 3-4, maybe a bit more technical and not as plush. Presumably more durable than the Nike, which is remarkable. Great last, foot-hold, and no heel slippage.
  
  Reply
Paul says:

January 24, 2018 at 12:40 pm

Wait, someone ran 1,016 marathons?

Reply

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