Are We In A Trail Ultrarunning Golden Age?

Timmy Olson's 2012 Western States Record. Photo: irunfar

Selected World Records/Bests (All Surfaces)

50k:
Men - Thomson Magawana (RSA) 2h43m38s (1988)
Women - Frith Van Der Merwe (RSA) 3h08m39s (1989)

100k:
Men - Don Ritchie (GBR) 6h10m20s (1978)
Women - Tomoe Abe (JPN) 6h33m11s (2000) [I believe there were issues with a lack of drug testing making this potentially unofficial]

100 miles:
Men - Oleg Kharitonov (RUS) 11h28m03s (2002)
Women - Ann Trason (USA) 13h47m41s (1991)

24 Hours:
Men - Yiannis Kouros (GRE) 188.63 miles (1997)
Women - Mami Kudo (JPN) 158.11 miles (2009)

Arguably the end of the last century was the golden age for road ultras since most of the current road and track world records were set then (see above for a selection, sourced from the IAU here) but in recent years the focus has switched to trails.

As trail and mountain running has increased in popularity thanks to stars like Kilian Jornet, deeper fields of faster runners have been taking down records on a weekly basis. Some of these are mind-blowing and the old records were described by some as untouchable, like Ann Trason's Western States 100 record that Ellie Greenwood destroyed in 2012 by 50 minutes.

However, I'm not sure why the quality of runners in the flatter ultras plateaued in general, especially in the US and UK. Yes, road races at marathon distances have got bigger prize money now but it's not generally Americans (and certainly not Brits) that are at the front of these African-dominated races. There are less road runners around the top level (like sub 2:20 male marathoners) than there used to be in western countries, something I'd ascribe partly to increased wages with longer work hours making a tough life of training more difficult and less appealing, relatively.

Anyway, back to my original point that trail running talent is on the rise. Course records and Fastest Known Times ("FKTs") keep falling to give a good indication of what some runners are capable of, but the more impressive thing is how deep fields are becoming, especially on the men's side. Several times a year a race gets described as 'the most competitive ultra of the year' and I personally love the fact there are so many events where runners can race against a good selection of the best runners around. Times that would have been guaranteed to win races in the past now end up off the podium so everyone has to raise their game and it makes us all better runners. Ann Trason dominated women's fields for years and basically raced the men rather than other women, but who wouldn't have wanted to see her in her prime against the likes of Ellie Greenwood and others?

I wonder how much better runners can get. Cam Clayton suggested he could run a 14hr Western States and it'll be fantastic to see continuing mind-blowing performances. The addition of fast road runners who also specialize in mountains has made a difference. However, many of the top runners have never and will never race on roads - think of Kilian's disdain for the 12 miles of roads at UROC100k!

Some marks I hope can be reached over the next few years in a few of the classic trail ultras are below. I think they're possible with the help of perfect running weather and several fast runners pushing each other.

UTMB: sub 20hrs for men, sub 22hrs for women
Western States 100: sub 14h30m for men, sub 16h15m for women
Leadville 100: sub 15h40m for men, sub 17h30m for women
Any trail 100: sub 12h30m for men, sub 14hrs for women
Grand Slam: sub 68hrs for men, sub 75hrs for women
JFK 50: sub 5h20m for men, sub 6hrs for women

Some of these are likely to be more feasible than others and I think the UTMB and WS records are most likely to fall due to the higher level of competition at those races year in, year out.

Gorge Waterfalls 50k

Multnomah Falls

After taking February off running to let my remnants of a sore knee heal, plus to have an off season for once, the perfect first race back is the stunningly beautiful Gorge Waterfalls 50k along the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. With waterfalls in virtually every mile it's just about the prettiest 50k course I'm aware of anywhere. The most spectacular waterfall (and most popular with the tourists) is Multnomah Falls but there are so many  along the out-and-back route that it's almost a shame we race past them and can't stop to appreciate them all. Given I'm moving back to the San Francisco Bay Area next month this is the ideal send off and reminder of everything I love about Oregon.

There was even a pre-race Trail Film Fest at McMenamins Edgefield the night before with inspiring movies like the 'Dipsea Movie' and Kilian's 'A Fine Line.' Great idea and it looks like it be back again for next year.

Film Fest with Simon Mtuy's film about running around Kilimanjaro

The course is certainly short (probably somewhere around 28 miles allowing for the cliffs and trees interfering with the GPS) but has plenty of climbing (at least 4,500ft by general consensus and my barometric GPS showed 5,600ft). Also, the trails are rockier, twistier and more technical than most of what we see in Oregon, but that's what the Rainshadow Running races are known for.

As with last year, this was one of the most competitive ultras in Oregon which says a lot when you consider how many sponsored ultrarunners there are in the state, especially in Bend, Portland and Ashland. The race was close at the turn-around Chris Kollar from Missoula (MT) with Bend's 1:06 half marathoner, Mario Mendoza then ex-pro skier, Zach Violett (also Bend). Not far behind were James Bonnett from Scottsdale (AZ), Yassine Diboun (Portland), me, Hal Koerner (Ashland) and a string of other fast runners. Steph Howe (Bend) had a solid lead in the women's race too, as expected.

There were certainly some early season cobwebs amongst the runners but it was fun to leapfrog Hal throughout the first half (he had to be careful on the rocky sections due to a foot injury) then spending the entire second half doing the same with Yassine.

My legs felt dead throughout after a tough training week so I was really happy to keep gaining positions and be able to keep up a decent pace, not realizing I was only a little behind 2nd and 3rd, eventually finishing 4th.   As a bonus we had freaky weather for March (70 degrees F) and Hood River is just down the road, full of wineries like Mt Hood Winery - see the views of Hood below!

Results are already on Ultrasignup but Mario unfortunately bruised his foot and was limping so decided it wasn't worth pushing since he only recently came back from foot surgery which left Chris Kollar to win comfortably. He's clearly got a lot of speed and can run technical trails since he smashed Mike Foote's The Bear 100 course record last year by 44 mins, which beat Geoff Roes' record, which beat Karl Meltzer's record, which beat Hal Koerner's record.

Men:

1. Chris Kollar 3:22
2. James Bonnett 3:35
3. Zach Violett 3:37
4. Ian Sharman 3:38
5. Yassine Diboun 3:40
6. Jeff Browning 3:42
7. Jonathan Heinz 3:44
8. Jason Leman 3:46
9. Hal Koerner 3:47
10. Aaron Ray 3:47

Women:

1. Steph Howe 3:49 (NEW CR)
2. Catrin Jones 4:05
3. Darla Askew 4:24
4. Susan Barrows 4:24
5. Jenny Capel 4:27
6. Alicia Woodside 4:37
7. Lynde Fitzpatrick 4:51
8. Jessica Lamanna 4:57
9. Shamai Larsen 4:59
10. Debbie Gibson 5:00

Steph and myself at the finish

More photos (of all the runners as well as couple of waterfalls) by Glenn Tachiyama here.

Rocky Raccoon 2012 Recap

I'd set high goals for myself this year at Rocky Raccoon 100 as I thought there was only one thing to try to do after last year went so well - really go after the clock. Normally this is the opposite of what I do since I firmly believe that your best time in a race is usually from sensible pacing so that you don't slow down much or at all, as I mentioned in a previous post.

But it's a game of odds regarding maximizing your chances at a good run. So to go after the most ambitious target required more of a risk and that's what I decided was worth trying. I had A, B and C goals - 12:32:04 (World Best), 12:44:33 (Course Record) and 13:16:02 (previous Course Record), all of which were ambitious. And I thought that I'd need to go through the end of lap two at 40 miles in 4:50 (last year 4:54) and lap four at 80 miles in 9:50 (last year 9:58) to have a shot...not easy on the trails on a good day.

Race morning started and there were thunder, lightning and possibly the Mayan calendar's predicted end of the world. It was hard to tell with all the rain. Hal Koerner, Karl Meltzer and myself started off at the front in the dark first few miles, with Karl having to stick close since his headlamp was weak and he couldn't see the trail well without our lights.

The start line. Photo: Drymax Socks

By the DamNation aid station at 6.2 miles we also had Oswaldo Lopez running with us and it stayed like that for the first lap, with Oswaldo on my shoulder then the other two just behind. Great to meet him more after seeing his great win at Badwater last year first hand. 2:27 for lap one put us on target, but it felt fast, partly due to the mud. Oswaldo and myself had broken away slightly, then I sped up to go through 26.2 miles in 3:10 on my own, three minutes ahead of last year and flying along feeling good.

Oswaldo Lopez. Photo: From Oswaldo's Badwater-style crew.

Hal Koerner charging in the lead on lap three. Photo: Drymax Socks.

Me on lap three. Photo: Drymax Socks.

Karl Meltzer. Photo: Drymax Socks.

Sabrina Moran racing to victory. Photo: Drymax Socks.

Liza Howard before she got injured. Photo: Drymax Socks.

By around 30 miles I caught glimpses of Hal behind and the legs were starting to feel some fatigue. Even with the surface water, the course had been fairly easy to run on in lap one, but by lap two, 680 people had churned it and it was slippery. I could tell I was slowing and Hal caught me just before the end of the loop with us going through 40 miles together in 4:55, just over a minute off last year and too slow for my A goal given I wasn't going fast at that point.

Karl was barely behind us and both he and Hal went past me within the first couple of miles of lap three as I focused on nutrition to help me feel normal again. Even with some walking breaks, I couldn't get back up to the pace I needed and by 50 miles I felt my left hip flexor was very sore. All that sliding over the mud must have strained it more than normal and I soon started limping. By Park Road aid station at 55.6 miles, Hal was 14 minutes ahead and Karl around 5 minutes, but I couldn't run properly and walked parts of the next section to the loop finish.

At 60 miles I had my trusty pacers from last year (who'd done a great job of getting me through aid stations to that point very quickly), Paul and Meredith Terranova. So I ate some food, had a stretch and decided to start out the next loop and hope for an improvement. All (good) time goals had gone from my mind, but if I could only limp then I knew it'd be stupid to do it for over 40 miles and make things much worse. By the 63.1 mile aid station I decided to call it a day, over nine hours into the race. But somehow running through puddles and mud hadn't caused me any feet issues so I know I can trust my Drymax socks - that was something that had concerned me as a potential reason for slowing down.

Hal went on to win in a mightily impressive 13:24, faster than his 13:26 in 2011 and Karl ran 10 minutes quicker than last year, in 14:17. Oswaldo had dropped off a lot but came back for 3rd in 14:30.

Two-time defending champ, Liza Howard, had led for much of the day in the ladies' race but had to drop at mile 80 with a foot and shin injury to leave the way clear for Sabrina Moran to win by a huge margin in 17:06.

Full results and splits here. Congratulations to all the finishers (and starters).

Joe Prusaitis and his team put on a great event with fantastic volunteers and I can't fathom the effort it takes for the runners out there for up to 30 hours of rain and mud (I've still not done more than two thirds of a day on my feet!). I'm happy that I went for the record but learned that maybe less than perfect conditions on the trail should have made me adjust the goal. I think Hal, Karl and Oswaldo would all have run marginally better times if we hadn't started so fast and I'd have probably finished too, but that's hindsight for you. Next year...this is always worth coming back for.

Mt Hood 50 miler and a new race schedule



Mt Hood



Timothy Lake

I've been meaning to run the Mt Hood 50 miler for the past few years since it's a great excuse to run around a striking mountain I can see every day in Bend, albeit very far away. But it's always clashed with other races. In London I always had the Davos K78 since a large chunk of my running club would race there. Then last year I was in the Bay Area and chose the local San Francisco marathon (btw, congratulations to Mike Wardian for winning that yesterday).

So it was great to run it this year, even though it involved a four-hour drive from Amy's sister's PhD graduation in Eugene (another congratulations) and very little sleep in my car. However, once the race starts it's always easy to remember why I do the early mornings and minor inconveniences.

The race started near Clackamas Lake and was mainly shaded under tree canopies, although it was surprisingly cold for the first hour anyway. I'd planned to jog it with Yassine Diboun but he zoomed off with a group of about five others while I started at a more leisurely pace with Amy Sproston. Mind you, we were still going close to a six hour pace.

The trails were gentle enough for a first run back after WS100 and the first out-and-back had some perfect views of Timothy Lake (both with and without mist) and Mt Hood. The turn around was at 14.2 miles at Frog Lake and I was about a mile behind Yassine and his friend Nick Triolo. They were laughing and chatting so I decided to maybe speed up a little or I might end up a long way behind them. I mainly wanted a training run, but I also didn't want to be slow (kind of a contradiction, but hey).

Yasine and Nick headed back while I was still headed out

As the day heated up I arrived back at the start/finish for the 28.4 mile aid station and set off on the second, harder, out-and-back. I was in fifth and feeling fine so jogged off and saw Sean Meissner sitting and spectating (I think he ran to the race through the night, but I'm not sure where from).

It was a gentle climb up almost 1,000ft to the next aid station and just beyond and I saw Yassine and Nick there. They took a bit longer to get through the aid station and get going again so I ended up ahead then had a fairly steep and more technical downhill, although still good trail compared to high in the mountains.

It heated up and that out-and-back was steeper than the first one had been so I drank a lot more from my hydration pack and ran out just before the turn around. But after a couple of minutes of refueling I was good to go and almost immediately saw Yassine and Nick who were jogging uphill well.

It had now changed from a training jog to an attempt at the course record, which one of the other runners told me was 6:30. I would have to do the return section three minutes faster than the out section, but I felt like I'd put in enough effort to justify fighting for a win, if necessary. So I put more effort in to try to stay ahead of the other guys and left myself with 42 minutes for the last six miles, which were mainly downhill.

I felt like I was going fast, although I was barely staying on the required pace, but a little more effort for a CR compared to jogging in and just missing it seemed like a simple choice. Sean was waiting again near the end with a group of people and urged me on to break 6:30, which again suggested that was the CR. And as I sped up I realized it was going to be very close and the undulating terrain in that last mile made it hard to go all out, particularly when I got stuck behind a troupe of horse-riders on the single-track.

Finally I broke out on to the road just before the final turn to the finish and I sprinted through the line in 6:29:10, much more exhausted (and dehydrated, after running out of water five miles earlier) than I'd planned. Todd Janssen, the Race Director, then confirmed I had the CR...by 16 minutes. Hmmm...seems like I could have just jogged it in, but I feel fine two days later so no harm was done by speeding up. Yassine then finished in 6:45:00, also just under the previous CR and Nick was another four minutes back plus Amy Sproston knocked a few minutes off the ladies' CR. Full results are here.

The podium. L-R: Nick, me and Yassine

I had a good couple of hours catching up with new and old friends at the finish and was generally satisfied in my decision to move back to Oregon. If this is the type of fun I'll get regularly then it'll keep me happy, plus my Amy knows a lot more people up here too. I'll miss a lot of Californian races, particularly the great PCTR series, but there should hopefully be one of their races in Bend next year - you heard it here first.

The move to Bend, OR, has meant shifting my race schedule around a bit, such as giving up my spot at the SF marathon for the Mt Hood 50. I also turned down my spot on the GB 100k team for the World Championship in Winschoten in the Netherlands in September. That wasn't an easy choice but was made based on costs. I'll be able to do it another year, hopefully many times but it was an honor just to be selected in the first place to run for my country.

Instead, I'll now have space to fit in cheaper, local races instead. Luckily there's plenty of good ones (thank you, Oregon) and the next one is the first race in the Montrail Ultracup, Waldo 100k in three weeks. I've heard it's a hard one and the field looks fast too, so hopefully the Mt Hood 50 signalled the end of my overtraining and fatigue from the past few months.

I've also entered the UROC 100k on the other side of the country at the end of September. It's got a load of elite men already signed up and there will undoubtedly be more given the prize money and the organizers aiming to make it as easy and convenient for fast runners to enter, with help like accommodation and ground transport covered. Any opportunity to race a large, fast field is welcomed since the competitive aspect of racing is one of my favorite things...amongst many. It's what made Rocky Raccoon additionally good this year and attracts people to Comrades and WS100. It's also partly what draws me to the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc next year.

So I hope to see plenty of passionate runners out at the races in the next few months. And one final thought is to point out my fellow Serpentine RC friend's blog. James Adams has got through 44 days out of around 70 in the LA to NYC race, averaging around 45 miles per day. He's gone through days of diarrhea and the current heat wave through much of the US and is still his usual, chirpy self.

Ruth Anderson 50k

After using a double-header weekend in April last year to get ready for Comrades (Salt Lake City Marathon on a Saturday then Boston on the Monday), I wanted to do the same this year. But the closest I could fit in was Boston on last Monday then one of the Ruth Anderson Ultra distances on the Saturday. It was just a case of choosing what distance would be the best for me as well as the most fun - 50k, 50 miles or 100k. All I knew was that previous times were fast and it involved running around a lake in San Francisco, although I wasn't sure whether it was on a trail or if it had any hills.

Lucky, Race Director Rajeev Patel was really helpful and I opted for the 50k (on a basically flat bike path, it turns out) since I didn't want to be too tired to train well for the last few weeks before Comrades. It's against my general principle of running the longest distance if there's a choice, but 100k was really a bit much and something shorter and faster made more sense.

The course is around Lake Merced and all the distances involve combinations of laps and part laps of the accurate 4.47 mile route. I'd never been before so it was a good excuse to see somewhere new and not too far from home, plus it's a really fun race with a great, friendly atmosphere (well, it's an ultra so this isn't unexpected). Rajeev definitely knows what he's doing and it's a very efficient and effective operation.

All the races started together soon after sunrise and I found myself running in the lead with a French guy, Martin, for almost three laps. The trusty Garmin was there to keep me honest around a 6:15/mile pace (3:14 in total for the 50k) but Martin was pushing me faster and I couldn't help but stick with him.

Laps flew by and the legs seemed to be fine, even after a run up and down Mt Diablo two days before (Western States fear is kicking in as it's not far away). I managed to keep the pace even throughout, which is the main aim of a training run, but I couldn't settle down into Comrades pace at the 6:15s. It was weird but every time I tried to correct my pace I'd go too slow so I just had to stick with something a little closer to 6s since then I could then keep it even. As issues go, this is certainly better than if I could only settle into a pace that was too slow, but the main aim was to focus on learning the right pace.

The aid stations were great and everyone was really supportive as the laps ticked off until I got to the finish feeling a little more tired than I'd intended and having tried harder than I meant to. But I got a course record in just under 3:11 and felt like I could have kept going, although not for 40k more, as at Comrades. However, I'm really happy with my progress so far this year and it was very enjoyable. I did feel a bit left out when I saw everyone keep going but I'll wait a few months before doing a road 100k. Joe Binder knocked out an impressive 7:00 and a few seconds for a great win although I'm sure he's disappointed to get so close to breaking 7h. Full results here.

I've been mentioning Comrades more on the blog recently because I'm definitely getting more obsessed as it gets closer, and now it's just five weeks away. But if I can hit the target time of 2:41 next weekend at the Big Sur Marathon (to fill in one of two remaining gaps in my marathon minute game, as mentioned in earlier posts) then I'll feel like all's perfectly on track after about six weekends in a row of long races at a decent pace. Which will just leave the Miwok 100k the following weekend, but that's going to be at a much more comfortable pace and the leaders will have washed and showered by the time I finish. It was one of my most enjoyable runs last year and this year should be equally as good, plus I'll know a lot more of the guys this time around.

PCTR Tilden Trail 50k

Lake Anza and the reservoir, Tilden Park

SF and the Bay Bridge

Mt Diablo

SF and the GG Bridge

After dropping out of the last three PCTR ultras I've entered for various reasons on the theme of injury or lack of  recovery, I decided it'd be nice to finish one this time. And since I recently moved to the East Bay, it's convenient that the next available one was the brand new Tilden Trail 50k in Berkeley (only half an hour from home).

6,100ft of climbing on what I expected to be dry trails after a scorcher or a week with highs around 80+ degrees F. However, much of the lower trail network was shaded and the previous weeks of torrential rain had left it boggy and slippery.

That didn't make it any less fun, although I did lose both (road) shoes in one section on lap two of four (with the last loop being different) and had to walk through the mud to retrieve them. And once up to the highest section there were blue skies and perfect views of Mt Diablo as well as most of the Bay Area, with a great vista of SF.

After several months where I've been meaning to get my a@% in gear and run more trails uphill, I think I've finally got a start on the road to uphill fitness so the aim was to not walk too much. Oh, and to not pull either of my calves again. I think I managed it and probably had a running motion for maybe 4,500ft of the total ascent and a decent power walk for the rest.

As always, Sarah and Michael of PCTR put on a great event and were kind enough to leave the hardest climb to the last 400ft of ascent. I didn't ache during the race, felt recovered from last weekend's race and seem to fine the following day too. So all in all it was a 'sensible' way to train and get in a long, hilly run. Plus the 50k was fairly small with just 25 entrants so I was able to win too, in 4h19m.

Next up is American River 50 miler in a week and it looks like the elite field has thinned slightly (Chikara Omine out with a broken foot and Anton K has, I think, opted to give himself more time to get ready for the bigger, longer races of the summer). However, there's still a lot of guys who would generally win anything they turn up to, so a famous race like this will bring out the best in them. Should be fun.

I also just found out that the official rock of California is Serpentinite, which is particularly apt given my London club is Serpentine RC.

Rocky Raccoon 100 Course Record

I've had a bit of time to digest the race on Saturday and it still seems very surreal. I'm guessing that my normal blog readership of me and my Mum (actually, I know she doesn't even read it) may be slightly higher for this write up. I've just been blown away by the huge amount of coverage and attention I've received since I finished, from autographing shoes at the finish line (no, really) to having more activity on my Facebook page in a day than in a normal year.

And it seems all that much stranger to me because this wasn't meant to be a big deal. It was just me returning to the place where I tried to run my first 100 last year. I don't like DNFing or having a bad race, so had to come back to retry, even though the reason last year was a December injury that wiped out virtually all running in December and January. I only got back to training again a week before that race, largely thanks to Mark DeJohn (http://www.activebend.com/index.html) in Bend, OR, fixing me very quickly. But virtually no mileage for two months meant I only went to the race because everything was prepaid.

This year I was fit and fairly well rested, but I entered months ago and didn't see any super speedy guys entered at the same time. So my aim had been to train for the Phoenix marathon in mid-January to improve speed and then use this race as a start to the ultra season. That changed about 10 days before the race when a who's who of US ultrarunning (see http://karlmeltzer.com/2011/01/rocky-raccoon-odds/ to get an idea) suddenly signed up to turn it into one of the most competitive looking 100s of the year. Given there's not many chances to race a several famous ultrarunners on the same day, it seemed like a good idea to give it my best shot and see how I could do.

I won't go into too much detail about anything other than the race because Bryon Powell at irunfar interviewed me very thoroughly to give background to anyone who I haven't met and who is interested - http://www.irunfar.com/2011/02/ian-sharman-post-2011-rocky-raccoon-100-interview.html. irunfar also provided great live coverage via Twitter which (to my surprise) kept some of my friends back in the UK up into the wee hours. There's also a great race report for the entire event on irunfar at http://www.irunfar.com/2011/02/ian-sharman-destroys-rocky-raccoon-100-course-record.html and my pacers were lightning quick in writing up their story on there too - http://www.irunfar.com/2011/02/ian-sharmans-pacerscrew-report-on-his-rocky-raccoon-100-win.html.

As I said, it's all been a bit crazy since I finished and everyone suddenly seems to want to know how someone they hadn't heard of beat a 15-year course record. So, here's my take on the race, which was immaculately organized by Joe Prusaitis and his team.

Apart from the buzz about the big names attending the race, the main topic of discussion in the days before the race was the winter storm which was freezing Texas and even parts of Mexico. In the end, I think about 200 runners out of 600-700 across the 50-mile and 100-mile events didn't turn up and many just weren't able to travel thanks to flight delays.

Luckily I flew from San Jose, CA, where it was February heat wave time, but Houston airport was still suffering some delays. I wondered whether the elite field would be thinned out and I think it was for the women, but not the men. And even at the car hire I met a runner who I offered a lift to. We chatted and he mentioned he was doing the 50-mile and eventually we got round to names and I found out he was Todd Braje, a member of the US 100k team who I'd heard of. He also went on to smash the 6h01m CR in 5h41m (according to my memories from after the race) or 5h48m (from an unofficial posting I saw online). I'd like to say we swapped tips for breaking the records, but we mainly chatted about 100ks and how this would be a good opening ultra to start the season.

I met up with a friend from the UK, James Elson, at the Motel 6 in Huntsville. He's running a lot this year (RR, Umstead, Comrades and the Grand Slam) after finishing Badwater last year. Then we headed to packet pick-up, the pre-race meal and a chance for me to meet my Texas-based pacers, Paul and Meredith Terranova. I'd only met Paul once before, at the 50k TNFEC in San Francisco where we raced around each other for 1st and 2nd, so it had been great to get his offer to crew and pace for me at RR. And I'd not met Meredith before, so was pleased to see that she was totally focused and excited about the race. Probably a lot more focused and with more of a plan and strategy than I had.

Meredith told us that the course looked in great shape, although the wooden bridges were icy, then James and I ate and both got early nights while Meredith helped mark the course. I'd tried to gradually adjust my body clock for the previous few days so that a 2am (Pacific Time) alarm for a 6am (Central Time) start wouldn't leave me like a zombie on the start line. I envied the east coasters who'd been able to fly in since that would be almost a lie-in.

Race morning was cold, and was no higher than 25 degrees F even by the time we started, so I had to scrape ice off the hire car and had multiple layers on with hat and gloves. Even Anton Krupicka (the favorite for most people) wouldn't be doing his trademark topless running in this weather. Although I'd have been impressed if he had.

At 5:58am I was at the start line in Huntsville State Park, surrounded by ultra legends (all of whom were taller than me, by a large margin in Scott Jurek's case). They all knew each other well while I was looking forward to jogging with them for, hopefully, a long time and getting a chance to chat to them.

The gun went off and Zach Gingerich flew off into the pitch black and out of sight with Norman Decelles (who later dropped at 40 miles). I settled into a pack of about six, which included Scott, Anton, Hal Koerner, Mike Wolfe and Karl Meltzer. For a while it also included the women's winner, Liza Howard, although I think she backed off slightly when she recognized a couple of the guys.

The course involves five 20-mile loops with several sections that have two-way traffic, particularly the first and last few miles of each lap. Aid stations are spaced so it's usually 3-4 miles between them, but with a 6-mile loop out and back to the DamNation station. Each is well stocked with everything you need, so I opted to not really use any of my own food but just force myself to eat and take a gel almost every time I hit a station.

The first time we reached DamNation was 6.2 miles in and it was still dark. The guys around me stopped for a drink then Anton jumped into the bushes for a break while I was left on my own. This wasn't the (rather vague) plan. I'd expected Zach and Anton to probably go off at the front and set the pace, but I was in 3rd on my own and running around 7:45/mile. I purposefully left the Garmin at home so that I wouldn't try to adjust my pace to hit any kind of target. Instead I opted to run purely by how I felt and go at a pace that was comfortable but not too slow. At this point, that meant sub 8-minute miling, which was below CR pace (which was 7:57/mile).

I wasn't too concerned to be on my own but hoped they'd catch up soon since I could hear them around 30 seconds back, talking and occasionally hooting loudly. Instead, it got light and I caught up to Norman and ran with him for a few miles, including a nasty ankle twist that was close to ending my race. I concentrated a bit harder after that since it's well known as a rooty course that can easily trip a runner up. He was in just shorts and T-shirt and his hands were painfully cold, especially holding the block of ice that had been his water supply. My hydration pack had also frozen, so I was reduced to only drinking every few miles at the aid stations. But the forecast had said that it should go above freezing by around 10am, which should be mid-way through loop two...kind of a long time to run with almost no liquids being taken on board. We ran into the last aid station of the loop together, at 15.6 miles but he stayed longer than me and I was on my own again.

Luckily my crew were on the ball at the end of the loop they offered me a handheld water bottle while I asked them to thaw out my backpack in case I wanted it later. It was still too cold to strip down much, but I felt comfortable so was happy to keep wearing multiple layers.

Thanks to the out-and-back section into Dogwood (the start/finish aid station), I saw that Zach was about six minutes ahead (2h23m for his loop) and that a huge pack of maybe eight guys was right behind me by around a minute.

Loop two was uneventful and I was feeling very relaxed. At DamNation it was exactly 26.2 miles and I think my time was around 3h13m. That sounded a bit fast for a 100 miler, but I decided to stay with the same comfortable pace and not judge it on the times or splits (that was the point of not using the Garmin). What did surprise me was that I was told that Zach was about a minute ahead, which meant I'd closed five minutes in six miles. I didn't think I'd sped up that much, so presumed he'd slowed down.

I found out around 50k (31 miles) into the race, when I caught him and ran alongside for a while. Like everyone else in the sport, he was really down-to-earth and I asked him how he thought Umstead (where he ran 13h23m last year) compared to RR. He said it was a little harder, which Hal Koerner contradicted when I spoke to him at the end of the race. Maybe I'll run it one day to find out.

Zach seemed to be struggling slightly and so I gradually pulled away (not intentionally) by around 34 miles to take the lead. It was also starting to warm up a little, but only enough for me to loosen my clothing rather than take off another layer at the end of the loop. This made me think more about hydration and the next time I saw Meredith, at 35.6 miles, I took the 10 oz water bottle she offered me. I'd not really drunk much to this point and hadn't sweated much either due to the cold, but as it warmed up, I wouldn't be able to get away with not drinking more.

I heard later from my crew that Zach was having stomach issues and that showed since he was still in 2nd but was five minutes back at 40 miles, with me going through in 4h54m. Hal and Anton were together 10 minutes behind me, closely followed by several others, but the big pack had broken up.

At this point I was just enjoying the sunny day and the trails were a joy to run on. I didn't think too much about the fact I was leading or that I still had 60 miles to go. All that mattered was getting to the next aid station and making sure I kept drinking and eating. I'd refill the bottle at every opportunity, always with whatever sports drink was on offer. And while it was being refilled by volunteers, I'd eat as much as I could and drink a couple of cups of whatever was lying around.

Lap three was warmer and I felt fine as I went through 50 miles in just under 6h10m. I knew I hadn't slowed down and that my race was going well, but I could only hope that I'd last out the final laps without anything going wrong. And the list of potential problems that could wipe out a huge lead was long: dehydration, overhydration, stomach problems, muscle cramps, tripping on the roots, general fatigue etc. By no means did I feel like I had the race sewn up, even when I went through 60 miles in 7h23m with an increased lead of 18 minutes over Anton and Hal. I wasn't even thinking about anything like that, just about getting to the next aid station feeling ok and repeating.

Paul joined me for the fourth loop, which meant I got to run with someone for the first time in about a marathon. For hours I'd been passing people in both directions and it was helpful to have someone fresh to help call out to people, to say hi, to encourage them etc. The lap went smoothly for the most part and I was down to just shorts and T-shirt from the point he joined me. One urgent stomach problem caused a quick jump into the bushes, but it wasn't chronic and I was able to run freely straight away.

I'd told Paul that I didn't want to risk anything by running too hard and that 8-minute miling would be perfect for a 2h40m loop (following splits so far of 2h29m/2h25m/2h29m). That would have left just under three hours for the last loop to break 13 hours and be well under the CR of 13h16m. It seemed possible, but with no guarantees.

For a few miles I told Paul I'd have to talk less, particularly over some of the small inclines. But I came out the other side and finished the loop feeling strong and picking up the pace to hit 80 miles in 9h58m for a 2h35m loop. The first thing I said to Meredith was that I'd just like to take it easy and not risk blowing up or tripping, since I had three hours to break 13, just as I hoped. I think I may also have said that I'd be very happy with it being an 80-mile race and that sub 10 for that was a good achievement for the day. Unfortunately, there're no accolades for running mainly a good race and I still had potentially the hardest bit ahead.

Meredith was so easy to run with, just like Paul, letting me dictate pace and chatting away to take my mind off things. I had to stop and jump in the bushes early on, but felt fine immediately afterwards again. Then she nipped off for a bathroom stop after about four miles and arranged to meet me further along the trail since she knows it so well from racing and pacing at RR many, many times (as I only found out afterwards, Paul and she had paced winners for the past four years at RR).

I was still waiting for something bad to happen and saving my mental energy for dealing with it, but things kept going well. Along the lap, I was able to keep up a good pace and our target was to get to the final aid station at 95.6 miles before it got dark so that we could pick up headlamps from Paul. We easily made it and now I was willing to accept that I'd probably win. All I had to do was not trip on a root in the dark.

So, as we got to maybe three miles from the finish, we decided it was time for the lights. I looked down into my hands to adjust it and put it round my head and immediately tripped at full speed. Luckily I naturally rolled and was up again almost in one fluid motion. That had been a very close one and I became much more alert to avoid ruining everything in the last miles. However, the fall seemed to upset my stomach again and I had to jump into the bushes one last time (I hoped).

My lamp was kind of pathetic and Meredith's floodlight from behind me casted a shadow of my body, even though my lamp was aimed straight at the shadow. We managed to run in a formation so that her lamp lit my path better (as well as most of the forest). Even in the dark, I'd say we were able to keep up some pace, but it's so difficult to tell.

As we went into the final mile, then final half mile, we sped up. I knew it was all easy paths underfoot and the adrenaline was pumping. It wasn't just going to be below 13 hours, but well below and much faster than I would ever have anticipated.

The final straight towards the finish lights was gradual acceleration up to virtually a sprint. This was either flashy and a perfect finish to a day that went flawlessly or the chance to fall head-over-heels at full speed with everyone watching. But I didn't trip this time and crossed the mat in 12:44:33, slicing almost five hours off my best and only 100 mile time.

Meredith and Paul had done such a great job of keeping me going and making sure I had everything I needed to hand. And the volunteers, RD and weather had all made it enjoyable and excellent conditions for people to run their best.

I lay in the finish tent with my feet raised, trying to eat and drink while having people come up to me to congratulate me. I had no appetite, especially for anything sweet, but forced myself to eat and drink, especially the cheeseburger (which was good). It was almost anticlimactic since I'd been bracing myself to deal with issues for hours and nothing major had happened to screw up my race.

Then Anton came in and I remember seeing his face upside down (since I was lying down with elevated feet) and he may have said 'You bastard!' in a friendly way or I may have made that up while the blood was rushing to my head. He'd gone faster than his previous win, but just outside the old CR, getting 13:18:52 (results here - http://www.ultralive.net/rr100/webcast.php). I was just relieved he didn't catch me. Hal came in seven minutes later and I found myself sitting down with those boys plus Scott Jurek at the finish, having a beer. This is when it really seemed surreal - I expected to come in and see them sat there having won and me just being yet another person who finished behind them. It was a lot of fun and an honor to meet them all. Not sure there's been a 100-miler on trails with so many fast times before.

There was some talk of my time being a 100 mile world best, but the magic of Google quickly turned that into a lie, since Jonas Buud of Sweden ran 12:32 in 2010 in a trail race in Sweden. Whether it was an easier course or not is irrelevant, it was still not a road or track course, so at least his record has been better publicized now. I should get a chance to race him at Comrades in June and the 100k World Championships (where he's the current silver medallist) in September.

I went back in the morning to see some of the runners finishing around 28 hours and it just brought home what a great sport this is and how much emotion and camaraderie it brings out in people. I heard there was also some kind of big game down in Dallas a few hours later, but I was on a plane during that and didn't really want to watch the commercials or Christina Aguilera's bad memory anyway.

Photos below, plus my favorite one is here on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=501968859657&set=a.501968079657.285390.814289657 Looks like I'll be needing a beard to be taken seriously in this sport.

Photos courtesy of Paul and Meredith Terranova (am looking for the shots people took of the three of us if anyone has any)

Another swift pitstop

Done. Time for the first place pottery



I've looked worse

Congratrulations to all the finishers and those who had to drop too. Hope the injuries and soreness fade to leave memories as good as mine.