Becoming Ultra Project

The Becoming Ultra project is something new I've just started working on with film-maker, Matt Trappe, and Scott Jones from 'Athlete on Fire.' It's a fun idea to document the progress of two runners in the build up to their first ultra at the Audi Power of 4 50k Skyrunning event in Aspen, CO, this July.

Michele Yates (2013 Ultrarunner of the Year) and myself are coaching the runners with live broadcasts every week like the one below. This second episode discusses the differences and similarities between Michele's and my coaching philosophies on a number of areas, including speed work, base training, nutrition and cross training.

Check it out below and through the project website. Welcome aboard!

Team Scoring At The US Skyrunner Series

Recently there's been some online and in-person discussion about team scoring surrounding the North Face Endurance Challenge 50-miler in Marin, including some great thoughts from Ryan Ghelfi (his latest blog post). It got me thinking along lines I'd previously considered before being involved in the US Skyrunner Series as the Series Director - namely that sports need teams for people to support.

Now that I'm in a position to create a system of scoring for teams at a national level, I decided to relate my thoughts in a blog to get comments before putting it into practice, so please let me know what you think. Bear in mind a couple of constraints - there's no budget for offering prize money for this in 2015 and there's no time to create a budget...but this may kick start that side of things for 2016.

As an additional feature, I'm currently working on a way to include live, real-time scoring during each race for teams but details are not ready to be released yet.

Scoring principles:

Here are the key elements I'd like to incorporate in team scoring:

1. Allow both elites and the entire field to effect the scoring.
2. Incorporate both women and men into a combined score for both elites and the entire field.
3. Create teams that people will genuinely care about.
4. Only include it if it adds something to a given race and/or the entire Series.

To achieve these aims I'm considering scoring for both the top runners and the entire field, but with the top runners still scoring for the masses as well. To get people behind teams, I believe the most effective common denominator is geography as this is what works in basically every sport globally. Then I hope the combination of these factors makes it of interest and gets people psyched to run for and support their team.

The geographical scoring makes most sense if based on US States plus international countries, given all the races are in the US. Every State will score in every race even if they have no runners - see the scoring described below. Only countries with finishers will be included, but once they have a single finisher in a single race they will be scored in every race, even if they have no runners.

Elite team scoring:

Cross-country scoring is tried and tested, so I propose that the top two men and one woman from a team have they gender positions added up. For example, a team with men in 2nd and 3rd plus the 1st woman would score 6 points (2+3+1). If there are not enough finishers for a team to complete their three finishers then each missing runner scores 25 points, so the previously mentioned team score without a female finisher would score 30 points (2+3+25). The most a team can score is 75 and if a team's runner is lower than 25th place then they still score 25 points at worst.

Full team scoring:

Every runner counts for the State or Country they enter under originally (even if they move before race day), including elites. The average position of the runners in their gender is the number that counts for scoring, with a bonus for the more runners they have.

The State or country with the most runners in a race gets a 5 point deduction from their score, second largest gets 4 points off, third largest gets 3 points off, fourth largest gets 2 points off and the 5th largest gets a single point off their score. The lowest score possible is 1 point above the worst scoring team that has finishers. This score applies to all teams that fail to have 3 finishers.

For example, if Colorado has the most runners in a race and the average finisher's position in their gender is 22.567th then we round to one decimal place then deduct the 5 point bonus to give a score of 17.6.

Single race v entire Series:

I aim to include scoring for every distance at every event to give a result for the individual race plus a league table over the season. I guess I'll get comments about how all the scoring favors the States that hold more races since it's easier to get locals to turn up, but the bonus points' system only gives a slight advantage to big numbers. Regarding the elite races, 2015 should see some high-level competition across the entire Series, meaning that the States with the best mountain runners should do better in the elite rankings and they aren't punished too much if they can't get a full scoring team out given it only requires two men and one woman and there's only so many points that can be added as a penalty.

Overall thoughts:

There's a degree of trial and error with this approach since it's something new and relies on the races being reasonably geographically diverse and competitive. Both of these elements should increase over time and this is just the first step. Depending on how it goes it could morph into a number of things in 2016, especially with discussions with sponsors to get top athlete's sponsors on board.

Let me know what you think. Is this an exciting addition to the sport of trail running? Does it add something to the US Skyrunner Series? What would you change to my proposal (be realistic as well as ideas for where to aim for the in the longer term)?

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.

Skyrunning etc - a general update

Downhill running fun (although this was last year at Crate Lake)

I've been working hard in recent weeks to bring together the inaugural US Skyrunning Series and am really happy with the races I've been able to join together across the country. This is now up and running at this website although the races themselves don't all have websites with full details and are not necessarily open for registration yet.

In the background I was also training to lower my marathon time after the slower running through the summer. I've always enjoyed all forms of running and come from a background of ball sports so it's only more recently that I stopped sprinting everywhere and started endurance running. Roads, trails, mountains, deserts, jungles - they all appeal to me - and if I stick to just one I miss the others. I'll admit that I have the most fun running when flying down the side of a mountain on technical trails, but it was good to get back into road running again too.

I decided to run the net downhill Tucson Marathon in Arizona, starting at 4,800ft and ending at 3,000ft, hoping I'd be able to cheat my way to a faster time. However, a combination of a lot of travel (including to The Running Event in Austin, TX, for Scott Running which was extremely interesting), some overly hard (but fun) runs and a headwind on the (surprisingly) rolling course meant I was well off my target. In the training I included some hard downhill sessions on Mt Diablo to really hammer my legs and these led to some painful sports massages! I did manage to destroy my 5k, 10k, 10 mile and half marathon bests on Diablo so was optimistic about Tucson. I felt relatively ok doing a 29:40 10k but the 48:51 10-miler was one of the hardest runs I've ever done. I wish I could hit those kind of paces on the flat and have even more respect for the Olympians who cruise at these speeds.

Tucson started with a fast downhill mile with the wind in 5:11 but then turned into the wind and things just got worse from there, holding on to a 2:37:03 with a poor positive split of 1:17/1:20. I usually consider anything over 1 minute slow down to be a race that was screwed up. However, it was my fastest marathon of the year and gives me confidence that the Grand Slam didn't break me!

So onwards to next year with just the Walnut Creek Half Marathon this weekend on my doorstep before some snowy running in Oregon over Christmas. I'm planning on including a couple of articles about Grand Slam and Leadville training before the end of the year so will post them when I get around to it.

Hope everyone has a great Christmas or whatever festivities you're celebrating. 2013 was very memorable for me and I can't believe how much happening in the sport in general. It's an exciting time to be an ultrarunner.

Top Global Ultra Performances in 2012

This year has been spectacular for ultrarunning. Given we're near the end of 2012 and there aren't many chances for mind-blowing performances left before 2013 (probably none on trails), I thought I'd go through some of the incredible runs that people have done this year. I've been lucky enough to see many of these in person and each has been inspiring and helped to push the boundaries of our sport. There were many more great runs than those below, but these are the ones that really stood out to me as being on a different level.

Men:

Dakota Jones, Transvulcania, Canary Islands (Spain), May - With almost 15,000ft of ascent in somewhere around 50 miles in this Skyrunning Ultra, plus heat, humidity and a large portion of the world's best mountain runners, Dakota ran a 6:58 course record. Having run the course up and around a stunning volcano personally, his dominating performance was really special and set the bar early in the season.

Dakota after winning Transvulcania. Photo: International Skyrunning Federation

Ludwick Mamabolo, Comrades, South Africa, June - Arguably always the deepest field of ultrarunners in the world, it takes sub 6 min/mile pace over 55.5 hilly miles to win this in a 'down run' year. The top 10 men were spaced out by a mere nine minutes and the winner has to be considered to be one of the most impressive ultrarunners globally. Sadly, this year was marred by the fact that Mamabolo seemingly failed his A and B sample drug tests according to all the newspaper articles I could find. Strangely he's not been disqualified and there doesn't seem to be any news on this since July (when his B sample was tested and failed).

Tim Olson, Western States 100, USA, June - Admittedly the weather was favorably mild but Tim destroyed the full course and the record with his 14:47 finish (20 minutes off Geoff Roes' 2010 North American Ultra Performance of the Year). His pace over the last 38 miles distanced him from the pack who were all around course record pace (and annoyingly just a few minutes ahead of me) for the fastest finishing split ever. This is a record that I suspect will last at least until the next time the weather is freakishly easy and that could be a long time. I'm not sure anyone could come close to that time in the heat.

Mike Morton, Badwater 135, USA, July - Mike's run was a minute off the course record of 22:51 for 135 miles through Death Valley in obscene temperatures. I only saw him once while I crewed Aussie Dave Eadie since he zoomed off at such a pace it seemed impossible to sustain. He was under the course record splits until very close to the end but a slow climb up towards Mt Whitney robbed him of the record. It was the first time I witnessed Mike's running and his style and pace makes it such a great thing for the sport that he's back to full fitness and racing again.

Hal Koerner, Hard Rock 100, USA, July - Hal's proved he's a tough runner on any type of terrain but is better known for his fast times at relatively flatter 100-milers, like his wins at Western States, Rocky Raccoon and Javelina show. But he ran 24:50 for one of the fastest times ever at this insanely hard and high altitude race. Not bad for someone not living at altitude and firmly placing him among the top ultrarunners of the year.

Kilian Jornet, Skyrunning and Other Ultras, Globally, All Through Summer - I don't even know which of his runs was most impressive but he showed again that i the mountains he's second to none with wins at Speedgoat 50k (controversial and technically a DNF), Trofeo Kima, Cavalls del Vent and Grand Raid de la Reunion. He also won numerous non-ultra mountain races, often beating the best runners in the world, including Max King (see below for what he does out of the mountains).

Mike Morton, World Championship 24-hour race, Poland, September - Mike won the gold medal with one of the best 24-hour results of recent years and smashed the US record too with over 172 miles. That's an AVERAGE pace of 8:20/mile for a full day! Amazing as this is, it's still 16 miles short of Yiannis Kouros' mind-bending 188.6 miles, the world record from 1997. That's probably Yiannis' most amazing record (just my opinion there) and that's saying something from such a legend, so Mike's distance is still absolutely incredible.

Max King, UROC 100k, USA, September - After a couple of 50-milers that saw Max blow up near the end, he focused more on long runs and it paid off with 7:57 for at least 60 miles and something like 10,000ft of ascent. Running behind I was convinced he'd blow up (or more likely get lost given he has a tendency to do this while leading) but he sustained the pace and broke away from speedy marathoner and US Mountain Running Team member, Sage Canaday. Yes, there was a lot of road in this one, but not much was flat and this was probably the most impressive performance I saw this year.

Max King, JFK 50, USA, September - Last year David Riddle's 5:40 course record got the North American Performance of the Year so Max's 5:34 shows another level of pace and was yet more proof of his incredible abilities in ultras.

Miguel Heras, TNFEC San Francisco, USA, December - Probably the deepest field of the year at an ultra, although a few top contenders certainly weren't there (Max King, Geoff Roes, Anton Krupicka, Kilian Jornet and others) but there's no way that everyone will manage to turn up uninjured and pick the same race since that doesn't even happen at the Olympics. Miguel ran incredibly fast and benefited from the leaders going off course then having to catch up later. However, his closing lap was so much better than everyone else that there's a good chance he'd have caught and overtaken the leaders anyway. 5:33 for almost 47 miles of muddy hills was truly exceptional.

Women:

Anna Frost, Transvulcania, Canary Islands (Spain), May - Like Dakota's run at this race was his most impressive of the year, this was Anna's most amazing run. 8:11 smashed the course record but nobody else even got close to her and she was mainly racing to get into the top 10 men in a deep field of talent, just missing out with 11th.

Anna Frost celebrates after Transvulcania by smoking Dakota's prize. Photo: Ian Sharman

Elena Nurgalieva, Comrades, South Africa, June - The Nurgalieva twins have dominated both major South African road ultras (the other being Two Oceans) for a decade but since Olesya was having a baby there was no chance of another 1-2 finish. Even when they had a bad year in 2011 and struggled, they still managed to finish in the top two spots. Elena racked up her seventh win (third in a row) and tenth consecutive podium with her fastest ever time - 6:07 (6:36/mile) for 43rd overall!

Ellie Greenwood, Comrades/Western States 100 double, South Africa and USA, June - Ellie chased Elena down at Comrades and finished a mere minute off the win (48th overall), which is impressive enough in itself. Then three weeks later she took a whopping 50 minutes off Ann Trason's rock solid course record at Western States 100, running 16:47. These are probably the two best performances of the year by a North American (yes she comes from Scotland but is virtually a Canadian citizen now). Admittedly there's the same asterisk by the Western States time that Timmy has for his CR, but I have no doubt that both of them ran the best performances ever by a woman and man, respectively, at Western States.

Lizzy Hawker, Spartathlon 153, Greece, September - After a month in which she won the shortened UTMB and Run Rabbit Run 100, she also won the Spartathlon 153-mile road race with a course record 27:02 for third overall. Lizzy's always pushing boundaries, but that month was something special and the Spartathlon win on what must have been tired legs was impressive.

Ellie Greenwood, JFK 50, USA, November - obviously 2012 was kind of Ellie's year given her results at trail, mountain and road ultras of multiple distances. But the other really notable performance was her 17 minutes off the course record of America's biggest and oldest ultra. Her win and record was no surprise but cemented just what a versatile and fast runner she is, running 6:12 for tenth overall.

So I think it's fair to say that 2012 showed a step change in the level of trail ultrarunning with so many course records being broken, often by large margins. For example, we saw the eight of the top 20 Western States times for the men in the 2012 race, plus six of the top 20 women's times. Many major races required times that would normally win just to get anywhere close to the podium. So 2013 is something to look forward to.