Ultramarathon Daily News | Wednesday, Dec 5

Excellent post by Fegy about the “guilt” of getting drawn as an “else” at the Hardrock Lottery.

Speaking of Hardrock, Nikki Kimball was just elected to the Board of Directors.

Semi-Rad: Why finish lines will get you every time.

It can be hard to learn that Santa isn’t a real man who lives at the North Pole with toymaking elves, or that his G.I. tract can betray him in a publicly humiliating way.

–Explaining Santa’s existence to kids, courtesy of Mark Remy. Very funny.

The Angry Jogger is not dealing with Portugal’s stray dog problem well. I love dogs too, but on the loose like that? No thanks.

Who ever is putting the team together for rabbit is doing a mighty fin job of finding men and women in both the trail and road racing world. They had a pretty solid weekend.

Gear check: Part two of an excellent series on adventure planning, courtesy of the Trail Sisters.

Following up on Ellie’s post from yesterday about the importance of half marathons, Jim Walmsley is running Houston and is targeting 64 minutes for an OTQ. Can’t. Freaking. Wait. to watch this! So just imagine…Jim’s ultra trail prowess now has training blocks that include running at 4:52 pace. He’s going to be on fire next year.

I remember writing about this guy a few years ago. A 75yo hermit who lives in am off the grid bus in the mountains around BC and races ultramarathons. Now there’s a movie about him that I’m going to watch the second the kids take off for school.

This story is a lot deeper and more complex than this short article suggests. I’ve heard first-hand stories from former NOP athletes with some incredible stories…people with health issues still affecting them 10 years after leaving the team.

Interesting numbers from a year of Strava data. Guess which three sports have more Strava participation than running? Yep, got the easy one. The second one is pretty similar, and no one got the third one.

Got a few minutes. Sit down and read this story about the 1950s…long before the modern age of ultramarathons as we know it, but a time when runners competed against horses.

Jeff Young’s results at CIM this past weekend caught my eye. He ran a 2:41 at age 60. Incredible! Looked into him a bit more and he’s an Alaskan guy who cross trains by working construction. Of course. He also seems to do pretty well on the trails.

I’m having Matt B. Davis from Obstacle Racing Media on the show tomorrow to talk about the Spartan Trail Series. Not just the spectating aspect, but acquisitions, trends, and more. Should be a good talk. I’ve reached out Spartan, series rep Luis Escobar, and series partner Trail Runner Magazine for comments.

21 Responses to "Ultramarathon Daily News | Wednesday, Dec 5"

sabineheilandunihd says:

December 5, 2018 at 7:38 am

The Semi-rad link seems to be corrupt.

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  December 5, 2018 at 7:41 am
  
  Fixed. Thanks.
  
  Reply
Sarah Lavender Smith says:

December 5, 2018 at 8:03 am

Re Fegy’s post about getting drawn for Hardrock — he was in the “Else” pool. I think he’s being too hard on himself and should go for it & savor the experience. But, I wish more runners in the Veteran pool who’ve run it 10+ times would share a bit of that guilt and graciously say “enough” and step aside, and that the HR Board would shrink the Veteran pool — say, from 33 to 20 — and transfer those spots to Else and Never. Also I wish the Never and Else pools had more parity; as it is, Else gets 22 more slots even though its applicant pool is about one-tenth the Nevers.
For the record, here’s how it stacked up this year:
Never: 45 entry slots, 2222 applicants, 16818 tickets total.
Else: 67 entry slots, 229 applicants, 891 tickets total.
Veteran: 33 entry slots, 37 applicants, 362 ticket total.
Finally, I wish Dale the RD would increase the field by a few more tickets (which the permit would allow) and use those additional spots as his picks for deserving Nevers. Regarding the argument against increasing the field above 145 — that the aid stations would be too crowded with crew and traffic, and that not everyone could fit into the Silverton gym for post-race celebration — I believe those numbers could be regulated; just ask runners to limit their number of crew attending.
Those are my wishes — and I doubt they’ll come true.

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1. Brad Bishop says:
  
  December 5, 2018 at 8:20 am
  
  The argument against increasing the field also includes aid station capacity. For our 3-4 pack-in aid stations (most notably Kroger’s), there’s a limit to how much they’re able to physically bring in and keep on site. Yes, we could reduce offerings (which experience shows would most impact the back of the pack), but as Aid Station Director, I’m proud of my captains when they tell me they strive to give a high level of service to every runner throughout the field and want to maintain that standard.
  
  Reply
  1. Sarah Lavender Smith says:
    
    December 5, 2018 at 8:45 am
    
    Brad, you should be proud of the HR aid stations — they’re the best! Thank you for all you do. But, could aid stations handle 10 more people (5 runners plus a pacer for each)? That seems feasible to me. I’m just suggesting increasing the total count from 145 back to 150ish, which it used to be, if I recall correctly.
    
    Reply
    1. Brad Bishop says:
      
      December 5, 2018 at 8:51 am
      
      Sarah, thanks!, and excellent question. We did have 152 entrants in 2016/2015, and the main reason we stepped back from 152 to the current entrant number of 145 is that Krogers gave a convincing statement that in the counter-clockwise direction (when Krogers also serves pacers), it was enough to tip the scale on both supplies and volunteer energy from stretched thin to rapidly fraying.
      
      Reply
      1. Sarah Lavender Smith says:
        
        December 5, 2018 at 9:09 am
        
        So you’re saying 152 is too many but 150 is possible 😉 Just kidding, thanks for the info above. Good to know. I would like to see the Board consider adding a few more spots for Nevers, whatever is feasible, because every ticket is so golden.
2. Chris Wristen says:
  
  December 5, 2018 at 8:30 am
  
  I loved Fegy’s post. If much has been written previously about the feeling of guilt from being selected in one of the major lotteries then I haven’t seen it. I loved the honesty of what he wrote, how one can go from elation a year ago after trying for seven or eight years to get into these races and finally having luck go his way (in both, of all things), to feeling a different wave of emotions by being both elated again and at the same time overwhelmed by empathy for others who share his dreams. It’s one of the most thought-provoking ultra posts I’ve read this year. Great stuff.
  
  Reply
3. Andy Healey says:
  
  December 5, 2018 at 8:56 am
  
  I kind of feel that the only way around the problem of Hardrock is either waiting until popularity in the race and ultrarunning in general wanes to 1990 proportions or that people stop caring about it and take interest in other races. Of course neither scenario is about to play out any time soon. Sometimes I get the feeling that Hardrock and Western States are the Eva and Zsa Zsa Gábor of ultrarunning, famous for just being famous. That said, I, like so many others, dutifully put my name in the proverbial hat every year for a chance at a once in a lifetime date with Zsa Zsa so I might some day find out for real what all the hoopla is about.
  
  Reply
4. Sunaad says:
  
  December 5, 2018 at 11:48 am
  
  Couldn’t agree more, Sarah! The lottery system has definitely got to a point where it defies logic. Based on the odds this year, someone who has been trying to get in for six years(8.8% chance) to experience a race has about the same odds as a runner who just ran Hardrock the previous year. (8.5%)
  
  Reply
  1. Jeremy says:
    
    December 5, 2018 at 3:43 pm
    
    It’s absolutely insane. That they (the Hardrock board) believe someone who has run the race 2-3 times deserves 2-3 more chances before someone else deserves a first chance doesn’t just defy logic; it is unconscionable. For a community that complains about elitism so much, we sure don’t seem to care if they participate in it.
    
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Nan says:

December 5, 2018 at 9:59 am

I agree that Fegy shouldn’t feel guilty about the HR spot.

About the strava link, it can be highlighted that the chart is for group activities by sport. In places with a few months of winter, many cyclists transition to nordic skiing or fat biking. While people do ski alone, perhaps it’s more common for a runner to run alone. With nordic skiing, it may be safer to ski together. It is cold and if injured, sitting on the snow for awhile could be dangerous. Many of the ski trails here are not patrolled like at the downhill ski resorts.

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Jill Homer says:

December 5, 2018 at 2:26 pm

I was picked with just a single entry in hardrock’s never lottery back in 2014. Decided to race my mountain bike across south Africa instead, and I have no regrets. In a way it was liberating, because I have no intention of applying for hardrock again, and zero angst about it. I had my chance.

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1. eric schranz says:
  
  December 5, 2018 at 2:37 pm
  
  Similar boat. I was drawn at Western in 2008 for the 09 race. Found out Sunny was due that week and I passed my ticket on to the next person. No regrets.
  
  Reply
  1. Sarah Lavender Smith says:
    
    December 5, 2018 at 4:44 pm
    
    Jill & Eric, it sounds like you’re both suggesting, “Get over it.” That is hard to do if you feel a deep personal connection to the race route and if you desire the opporunity to participate in the event and to experience it fully, and if you’ve spent years on the sidelines trying to get in. I agree there are plenty of other wonderful opportunities available to run 100s and to pursue adventure, but it doesn’t lessen the disappointment or the feeling of regret and tough luck for those in the “Never” pool who’ll likely never ever get a chance.
    
    Reply
    1. Jill Homer says:
      
      December 5, 2018 at 5:36 pm
      
      Sarah, I didn’t mean to suggest that at all. I have my own obsessions about certain Alaska races, and I’d never intentionally criticize others’ passions for particular events.
      
      Every year when these mountain race lotteries roll around, I can’t help but muse over the outcome. I’m drawn to beautiful mountain courses like any of the thousands of runners in the lottery. Given my chance — if I could return to a similar state of health and fitness as I had several years ago — I yearn for a do-over in the Tor des Geants, which I DNF’d due to a blunt-force injury in 2014.
      
      But Hardrock doesn’t carry the same appeal. I love being on the sidelines of Hardrock … I’ve crewed three. It’s a fun crowd and a beautiful setting. But I don’t feel drawn to it. And I think that may be because I already had a chance, and opted out. I only wanted extra tickets for a future year when I applied for the 2014 race, and was rather dismayed when I found out my one ticket was somehow drawn. I already had the Race Across South Africa on my calendar, and I genuinely considered giving up all of that up for Hardrock. Then I came to my senses and realized that would mean giving up an incredible adventure for a comparatively small experience, all because of an exaggerated sense of value based on scarcity.
      
      I suppose making this decision makes me feel like I’ve had my shot, and because I didn’t take it, the passion isn’t there to fight the huge uphill battle that is qualifying and earning a spot at Hardrock. Let others who have that passion do so. I just want those folks to stay away from the lotteries of the races I love. 😉
      
      Reply
      1. Sarah Lavender Smith says:
        
        December 5, 2018 at 6:41 pm
        
        Jill, thank you for writing all that — I really appreciated reading it, and I hope to see you and Beat in Ouray again!
Scott W. Kummer says:

December 6, 2018 at 2:45 pm

I’ve always wondered why Hardrock and Western States use the lottery for the waitlist. Why not just load up those with the most tickets not picked. It would be one more way to get people in that have been waiting a long time.

Another idea would be the deduct a point or ticket for every time someone has already run the race. Including top ten, sponsor spots and the like.

Of course these would only be things to consider if the powers that be were really interested in giving new people a chance.

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  December 6, 2018 at 3:00 pm
  
  I’ve never been to Hardrock and this is an honest question:
  
  You have a party at home each year and it’s awesome. Your best friends are there, every so often someone else shows up and that’s cool, but your core group is what makes the party so great. Further, everyone in your extended group of friends talks about how great your party is and that “it’s the people” that really make it so wonderful. The guys and gals who showed up a loooong time ago when you were all young still show up and impart a certain wisdom and history to your shindig.
  
  Why in the world would you want to swap out a bunch of your cool friends for a bunch of people you don’t really know about?
  
  Reply
  1. Nicolas says:
    
    December 7, 2018 at 5:22 pm
    
    That’s a great analogy, and I feel like you about the party. But that’s why we don’t advertise parties on dedicated websites, organizing blind lotteries to select parties and secretly inviting world-class parties to attend, building on and boasting publicly, internationally about the reputation of our parties, and kinda pretending that we’re among the crown jewel of parties. These parties are our parties, not the crown jewels of parties. Hardrock wants to have a distinctive standing among races; our parties don’t want to have a distinctive standing among parties. Hardrock can’t have it all. It can’t be a friends’ party and a race with an international reputation at the same time. I think that’s the issue — they’re happy to make people who are not their friends dream about it, but they don’t really want to let them in. It’s like if your friends advertised the party and made it look like the best party but didn’t really want anyone new to attend. That’s where the analogy breaks down while revealing the hypocrisy of Hardrock.
    
    Reply
    1. Nicolas says:
      
      December 7, 2018 at 5:24 pm
      
      dang — “organizing blind lotteries to select partieRs and secretly inviting world-class partieRs”
      
      Reply

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