Ultramarathon Daily News, Wed, Jan 4

Ultramarathon Daily News From Around the World

OK, so what were the top three most competitive ultramarathon events in the US last year for men and women? I’ll give you the first: Western States for both sexes. The rest are right this way.

I whiffed my UROY ballot but am determined to better choosing the FKTOY. There are some incredible adventures to consider 2016, so how does one compare a 6 hour Mt Whitney car-to-car with Meghan Hicks’ Nolan’s 14, with Sue Johnston’s amazing “4000ers calendar grid” that took her the entire year to finish? Ack!

Ever wondered what some of the beer lingo actually meant? Here are 20 words you need to know.

Interview with professional adventurer who never really addresses the question of how to afford this. That’s always one of the first questions I have with these people.

Read it: Need a little smack-you-in-the-ass motivation? Here: Your life sucks and it’s probably your fault. Now do something about it.

The Shadow of the Giants 50k sponsored a few episodes last year and a bunch of you signed up for the race. For those who didn’t, here’s what a 50k next to Yosemite National Park looks like. Beautiful!

Or how about something even more exotic? There’s a race in Madagascar that I’d love to run, but I’ve promised to keep “work trips” to less than a week. Video right this way.

Check out Mike Wardian’s race schedule for 2017. It’s looks like everyone I know put their big race on one calendar.

What are your goals for this year? Bryon writes about how he determines, sets, and carries through with his.

The most effective fitness tracker? A good, tough friend.

Sometimes it’s all ya got: Nine treadmill workouts to get you through the winter. (Sits well with one of my goals for ’17: Stop yelling at kids from the garage that “I’m on the treadmill, will someone just bring me some foooood??!?!?”)

Although I’m not an adherent to the “hope” theory of life, this is a moving story about how an enjoyable trail run can change drastically into a fight for life.

Good interview with road ultramarathon stud Traci Falbo. I’d never seen that “before” picture of her! Wow! We chatted with her two years ago right here.

SEEN THIS YET? One of the coolest sites in awhile. Virtually stand atop any peak and find all the peaks around you.

14 Responses to "Ultramarathon Daily News, Wed, Jan 4"

Andy says:

January 4, 2017 at 7:10 am

added to my reading list for the later in the week.Reference

Reply
Khai says:

January 4, 2017 at 8:11 am

Wow, I’ve never seen anything like that before. But if there’s anyone who can do it…

Barkley!!!Reference

Reply
Jeremy says:

January 4, 2017 at 8:14 am

Ummmm…SpeedgoatReference

Reply
SteelTownRunner says:

January 4, 2017 at 8:28 am

I think Pete’s transcon handily gets the FKT nod… for anyone familiar with multi-day runningReference

Reply
Sean Ranney says:

January 4, 2017 at 8:56 am

I second Pete’s Transcon for FKTOY, that was a record that stood for 30+ years. Also Leor Pantilat’s SHR FKT should be thrown into the mix, with the understanding that it straddles running and mountaineering.Reference

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  January 4, 2017 at 9:19 am
  
  Oh for sure. Those are in there, as is Uli’s Mt Rainier, Karl’s AT, Jim’s R2R2R, Ghelfi’s Mt Shasta, and more. Voting for one man and one woman.
  
  Reply
Jared says:

January 4, 2017 at 10:08 am

That peakfinder site is incredible.

Reply
Steve says:

January 4, 2017 at 10:13 am

I think it’s interesting that on the men’s side 6 out of the 10 races were in northern California. Whereas with the women, only 3 were. The women’s list also included 3 east coast races compared to only one for the men. Not sure that it says anything significant, but thought it interesting.

Reply
SageCanaday says:

January 4, 2017 at 10:39 am

To quantitatively select the “most competitive” ultras, why not just take the Top 10 (or heck top 20) results in each race and look at the finisher density. Take the time spread from 1st to 10th (or 1st to 20th) and then scale it according to the duration of the race. High top finisher density = a more competitive race.

Reply
1. Michael Owen says:
  
  January 5, 2017 at 8:44 am
  
  What would happen if a new flat 50K had the top 20 finishers finish between 7:00-7:20……
  
  Reply
Bethany P says:

January 4, 2017 at 2:44 pm

Barkley, Western States, Hard Rock, and UTMB sounds like a lot, even for Mike. Wow!

Reply
Zach Miller says:

January 4, 2017 at 9:47 pm

Thanks for mentioning Meghan’s Nolans! Nolans is such a big accomplishment. I helped Brandon Stapanowich scout it out back in 2014 and it’s no joke. Huge props to Meghan for what she accomplished out there! I’m not sure what to call the best FKT but it’s nice to recognize all such incredible accomplishments.

Reply
Todd Sears says:

January 5, 2017 at 3:58 am

Kostelnick’s C2C was incredible. Thirty years But I’d suggest that Meltzer gets the edge for his AT SOBO:
(1) the guy is tenacious having tried twice before,
(2) the terrain is simply rougher, bonier, and more sustained the entire way,
(3) Karl and crew planned and executed meticulously within a landscape that is really tough to navigate by foot and vehicle.

If this FKTOY is US-only then maybe Meghan Hicks’ Nolans. Wow. But, if it is international, then Jasmin Paris’ efforts on the Rounds (Bob Graham, Paddy Buckley, and Ramsay) are simply astonishing; and nothing, to my mind, comes close, as a body of work in ’16, let alone each of them individually.
See this: https://www.inov-8.com/blog/jasmin-paris-record-breaker/

Also, thanks for this site, Eric.

Reply
santosh says:

January 17, 2017 at 4:24 am

I like the News posted by you. thank you

Reply

Please use real name. Anonymous comments will be deleted. Thanks.Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.