2014

Each year I always aim to explore new parts of the running world as well as enjoying favorite races like they're old friends. I expect the highlights to be the races where things work out perfectly but that's generally not the case.

Although I did have fun at the races I focused on (Rocky Raccoon 100, Western States 100 and Leadville Trail 100), the highlights of the year were very different. The first of these was running the Grand Canyon Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim with Sean Meissner, one of the most beautiful runs I've been on. Much as many ultra runners focus on races, I think the biggest benefit of getting fitter is that it makes epic long runs possible, delving deep into remote locations. That includes a lot of summits of my local hill, Mt Diablo.

The Big Ditch in a more relaxed fashion.

A couple of years ago I ran the 40-mile route around Mt Hood in Oregon with friends and this was equally as fun so that style of run is something I want to do more of when I move back to Oregon next year (a few other items on the to do list include circumnavigating the Three Sisters, climbing Mts Hood, Rainier and Shasta, running portions of the Oregonian section of the Pacific Crest Trail and a couple of other ideas much farther afield).

Back to 2014, the two most enjoyable races were extremely competitive events where I chose to just enjoy the experience rather than push as hard as I could. I've done that plenty of times at smaller, local races but never at major competitions. These races were Lake Sonoma 50  and Comrades in South Africa. Again, part of the fun was having the fitness to be able to run well but holding back to avoid the pain and suffering associated with a maximum effort. In particular, Comrades was most enjoyable for seeing Ellie Greenwood (who I started coaching a few months earlier) win from the best seat in the house - running around the same pace to see her take the lead and run around the stadium while the crowd went wild for her win. Even though I love Comrades and have always given it my all, having some very rewarding hard runs, this one where the glory was all Ellie's was so much better.

Congratulating Ellie at the finish of Comrades before she was whisked off for TV interviews.

Then the other highlights of the year include summiting some of California's and Colorado's 14ers in the US. There's something truly inspiring about reaching high places and I've never been anywhere more beautiful than the Himalayas (back in 2008) so the High Sierra and various parts of the Rockies were perfect playgrounds. Mt Whitney was very busy but still worth seeing since it deserves the attention. I even met a friend at the summit by coincidence (Chikara Omine), despite it being in the middle of a wilderness area and an 11-mile hike to get to the top.

Mt Whitney at 14,500ft - the highest point in the US outside Alaska.

More of Whitney and the High Sierras.

Colorado was a little too fun and I ended up going up a few too many mountains right before Leadville, but wouldn't change that in hindsight. My biggest week of vertical in the entire year was the first week I spent in Colorado at the start of August. The difference between the hordes at Whitney and the sparse hikers on the Rocky Mountain trails was a welcome surprise and in many ways I'd have preferred to keep doing that rather than racing Leadville and wrecking my legs for a few weeks! Below are a few shots with my favorite being the San Juans and Mt Sneffels (I especially liked it for the link via the name to Jules Vernes' Journey to the Center of the Earth).

View of Twin Lakes (on the Leadville course) from Mt Elbert

Mt Sherman

View from Mt Massive...possibly of Mt Elbert (I can't quite tell)

The mountains above Telluride, CO

Mt Sneffels - unbelievably beautiful (and my current desktop background)

The Leadville beer mile with my crew

So the year was more than I could have hoped for or expected because there was so much I didn't think I'd experience. That's the aim for every year if I'm truly honest and it's those unscripted moments that mean the most.

Even the last few months of the year worked out surprisingly well given I picked up a foot fracture on Mt Whitney back in July and spend most of the time off running post-August. The final races of the inaugural US Skyrunner Series kept me sane and it was a pleasure to see the first year go so well and be received by runners very positively. Directing the Series is fun but next year I'll be running many of the events myself, giving the perfect excuse to run in the mountains all across the US. Hope to see many of you out there too.

Runners on the final section of the ascent of Lone Peak at the RUT  in Montana (around 11,000ft)

Jeremy Wolf near the highest point at the Flagstaff Sky Run 55k (around 11,500ft)

Happy New Year and here's to a spectacular 2015! Give yourself goals but allow freedom to experience the unexpected too.

Back From Injury Plus Skyrunning

The joy of a stress fracture

It's been a while since I wrote a blog post, mainly because I've been very busy setting up the 2015 US Skyrunner Series and also because I've not been running. Also, I spoke to Ultra Runner Podcast about the same topics a couple of weeks ago.

Firstly, the Skyrunning side of things - I've loved these epic mountain-style races for years and have been involved with the International Skyrunning Federation since 2012 on the Board. It's an honor to be involved and I'm very happy with the range of races brought together in the Series across nine different States in the US. In particular it's very enjoyable to work with Race Directors with a real passion for trails and mountains who live that lifestyle every day. Here are a few shots from the 2014 US Skyrunner Series races I went to in person.

Lone Peak at the Rut in Montana

Runners ascending Lone Peak

Kilian on top the VK podium at the Rut 

Anna Frost coming into an aid station at the Rut 50k

Fellow coach, Ellie Greenwood, with a switch from road dominance at Comrades to the mountains at the Rut

Try getting those prizes home on a plane!

Jeremy Wolf above 11,000ft at the Flagstaff Sky Race in Arizona

Michael Versteeg starting the final descent at Flagstaff

Secondly, I've been traveling around a lot but not running due to a stress fracture in my right foot. I first felt it back in July after running down Mt Whitney after pacing at the Badwater 135, where I hit the same spot multiple times near my second toe with some sharp rocks. I felt like a bruise and I ignored it, including through the Leadville 100 a month later. After that I'd planned to rest a month as an off-season anyway, so I wasn't as aware of the problem til I tried to run again in mid-September.

Overall, I've not been too worried about it since I really needed a rest after the three 100s this year (Rocky Raccoon, Western States and Leadville), at which I already felt fatigued due to the Grand Slam last year. So I took it easy, had a three-week visit from my parents where we went to a few National Parks (Yosemite, Sequoia, King's Canyon and the Grand Canyon) then realized I needed a break from even walking...and a break from taking a break! Below are a couple of photos from those beautiful places, although I do wish I could have run in them properly instead of light walking.

No running shots in the GC, but it's well 'just' taking in the views

"I wish I could run down there right now"

Thanks to the crutches at the top of this post, I then took around nine days of zero impact for my right foot and that was obviously frustrating. However it seems to have paid off in combination with Sarah Lavender-Smith's ultrasound machine (see photo below) since I've been able to get back to walking longer distances. 20 mins a day of this machine seems to have helped, although it's difficult to tell and the science behind it isn't conclusive for this type of situation. I'd be willing t try it again if I get a similar problem, since it's better to have proactive options like this rather than just pure rest. It's also helpful for giving me more insight as a coach - a stress fracture is almost a right of passage for a runner and I've never had one before. So although the use of ultrasound hasn't been conclusively proven to help with healing fractures, it seems to have a neutral effect at worst and it helps pyschologically to be doing something proactive.

Ultrasound for bone stimulation

Amy and I even power-walked the US Half Marathon together in 2h59m at the start of November, which gave me the confidence to restart running. The following week I took a risk in starting the Berkeley Half Marathon and just hoped I could run every step, so was pleasantly surprised to still have some speed and to run a 1h25m with only minor soreness afterwards (except my muscles which really weren't used to it). In the few days after that it feels fine again and I've been able to run pain-free, so I can hopefully progress beyond runs every other day very soon.

So that sums up the past three months. Really busy and that probably helped by stopping me worry about the injury. I'm very optimistic that this long break will pay off in my 2015 season and it's certainly got me excited about running again. Now I have just over three weeks to my next benchmark, the California International Marathon. Originally I'd planned to have a long, solid build-up and to go for a sub 2h30m, but now the main focus is to run every step pain-free as a confirmation that I can train hard again.

Grand Canyon Rim2Rim2Rim - Super Hero Edition

Pre-Rim2Rim2Rim at 5:30am

One of the biggest perks of being an ultra runner is that it allows us to get deeper into beautiful landscapes in shorter spaces of time. A great example is the Grand Canyon, a place most tourists only see from the rim but a runner can cover from one side to the other and back in a day.

The fastest route chosen by those aiming to set a fast time is about 42 miles with 11,000ft of ascent, plus the same descent, using the South Kaibab Trail then going up to the North Rim and back to the same point. I hadn't seen much previously except the South Rim so went along a marginally longer route going down the South Kaibab Trail but coming back via the Bright Angel Trail, making it closer to 45 miles.

Like many ultrarunners the Rim2Rim2Rim route was a bucket list run for me and it lived up to expectations. I ran with Sean Meissner, who paced me at Leadville and Wasatch last year. A few days before the run I saw a photo of Sean online at a recent race in an, umm, disturbing Superman costume so suggested he wear that through the canyon while I wear my old Spiderman costume (here it was the last time I used it). We were also joined by David Sooter and John Moore who didn't get the memo about wearing something stupid :)

Here's a selection of photos highlighting the beauty of the Grand Canyon. A great day by all accounts and virtually dawn to dusk on trails. This was the route.

Done!