Waldo 100k

Being back in Oregon means all the races I meant to fit in last time I was here are now back on my to-do list. That meant I was able to squeeze in Waldo 100k through the Cascades in Central Oregon and see some of the lakes from the Cascade Lakes Relay from high up. Supposedly 11,000ft of climbing in 100k, but several people claim it's more like 13,000ft and, given Miwok 100k is around 10,000ft, this one feels way steeper. Mind you, still a lot less than the UTMB races in a week - the CCC 100k there is over 20,000ft of ascent.

A lack of air-con at home has meant that getting to sleep at a reasonable hour is very difficult right now so I wasn't able to pre-adjust myself for the 5am start but drove down to Willamette Ski Pass the night before to sleep in the car then wake up in a complete daze about five hours too early for my body.

Being the first race of the 2011/12 Montrail Ultracup (which finishes with Western States), it meant runners were attracted by being part of the cup, by the decent prize money to the top finishers overall and by the lure of qualification spots for WS100 for the top two men and women (dropping down to third if any of the top two had already qualified). Given Dave Mackey was the clear favorite (CR holder at Bandera and Miwok 100ks as well as winning both of those this year) and had a WS100 entry already, plus I already had my WS100 place too, that meant it would be very likely that top three in the men would be enough to get that coveted spot. Ditto for the women since Aliza Lapierre was running as the favorite and already had her spot too.

Many of the guys I'd met at Mt Hood 50 and the run around Mt Hood shortly afterwards were there, plus a whole host of other Oregonian and Californian ultrarunners whose names many would recognize. Yassine Diboun in particular was gunning for a WS100 qualifier and looked like he had a great chance to get it...I knew I'd be looking out for him along the whole way and hoping to stay ahead.

The course went up the ski run from the lodge, climbing steeply enough to make me walk before the top of the approx 1,200ft climb. It was pitch black and my headlamp was dying so I had to focus very hard through the trees (no moonlight to help out) to not fall and to spot the lights ahead of me so I wouldn't miss a turn on the single-track.

By the first aid station at 7.4 miles, Dave had zoomed off but the next six or so guys were all together and we could finally turn off the lights. Time to make the ascent from under 5,000ft (lowest point on the course) to around 7,200ft on top of Mt Fuji. Hopefully I'll see its namesake next year in Japan for TNF Ultra-Trail Mt Fuji but this one was mainly runnable and in the last few steps we were given a sudden and spectacular view out over Waldo Lake and a large chunk of the Cascades.

Waldo, photo courtesy of Craig Thornley.

Fuji view from a random Flickr account online.

Unfortunately we then headed straight back the way we came so the view was only for a few seconds. I'd have loved to stay longer but the heat was on and I was only in about fifth with Dave already about 10 minutes ahead, judging by the out-and-back to the summit. I at least wanted a chance of winning.

Lots of fast downhill followed and I moved past Yassine into fourth, trying to conserve energy and reduce pounding on the thighs given I was only about 15 miles into the race. Nick put some distance on me but I felt I was going fast enough and looked at the splits I'd written on my arm for the CR and saw I ran that section below CR pace, albeit still five minutes too slow overall.

Annoyingly, I still haven't felt fresh and good in a race since about March, just before I ran way too many races and overtrained. I'd hoped to be back to normal by now but the legs still had that heavy feeling and, relatively, a distinct lack of pace compared to five months ago. I've accepted that I need to do a hell of a lot more proper hill training to improve running in races like Waldo, but Bend is the perfect place to do that. I've already started, with runs around Mt Hood and up to the top of Mt Bachelor a week ago (can hardly call it a run, but 'crawl' would be fairer). It's funny that I went an entire winter with no snow in Cali but now it's summer in Oregon I'm getting in a couple of snow runs every week by going up high.

The day heated up on the way through to the third climb up to the Twins and I kept discipline to run where possible, even if just for 50 yards, and power-walk any harder gradients. I could see how Dave was going so fast since the course was almost all runnable, but not yet for me. I went over the top of the first Twin and reached the 32 mile aid station on the way down, still in fourth and having run solo for quite a while.

I eventually caught up to third after the bottom of the descent and managed to overtake since he had stomach problems and later dropped. Then the climb up started again, but it was fairly easy at first and a slow jog was possible. It did gradually get steeper, but I jogged maybe half the time and on every section that I could.

By about 40 miles the power-hike/jog combo put me in sight of Nick Triolo in second, who was having a great race in his first 100k. I met Nick at Mt Hood 50, where he was third, then again running round that mountain where he carried one of my water bottles after my big fall left too much blood on my right hand to carry anything with it. We pushed up and up, maybe jogging half the time as we hit the snow. It's very rare for this course to have snow as it's in late August, but luckily the last few weeks of melting after a monster winter had meant we never had more than about 200 yards of snow and trail-finding was very easy with the pink surveyor's markers.

At 42 miles I felt slightly fresher after not having run much in the last few miles so I started running more than Nick and soon left him behind near the top of the climb. Just two more downhills left and one evil bitch of an ascent in-between.

I kept stuffing food and gels into me whenever possible but I was knackered and had lost my uphill legs, or whatever I had of them in the first place. Luckily I still felt fine on downhills and was cruising those through the single-track (almost the entire race is single-track and, if not tired, really enjoyable running).

The final climb started and was gentle at first so I hit the 49.9 mile aid station looking hot and bothered and really not looking forward to the steepest and greatest climb of the day up to Maiden Peak at over 7,800ft. However, I'd been told by Jeff Browning (who at that exact point was en route to a solid fifth at Leadville Trail 100 - nice work, mate!) that the gradient changes a lot so there are plenty of short runnable bits. Maybe for him, but after a third of the climb I was stuck in a power-walk. Well, not even that - more of a determined tip-toeing gradually uphill. I was working so hard, even at a very slow pace that I couldn't take on any food - I literally didn't have enough breath or saliva to swallow and didn't want to stop to eat. That's a new sensation, but reflects that I'd hammered through the day on legs that hadn't had any taper whatsoever (not smart, but I need the hill training and miles to get ready for UROC 100k and TNFEC Championship Final).

When I finally got to the top, the view was just amazing, but I was paranoid about losing my position and was sure that at least one of the guys behind me wouldn't have been so slow on that climb. I did stop for a few seconds to take it in, but then headed straight back downhill and didn't see anyone on the out-and-back final section to the peak so knew I had at least six minutes on third.

Maiden Peak summit view, courtesy of a random Flickr account.

Down, down, down and very steeply at first. Now I could feel it a bit in the legs but knowing it was only 7.5 miles to go from the next and final aid station, I didn't mind. I ate, drank and was generally incoherent while the aid station volunteers were very helpful. Now I just wanted it over and it felt more like closing out a 100-miler than a 100k.

Theoretically it was great running to the end, with three miles of gentle rolling trails then a gentle downhill for the final 750ft descent. Normally this would have been the type of trail to make me smile like a lunatic, especially with the few sections along the edges of the turquoise mountain lakes. But I was running with the fear of being caught by third, who I assumed would be able to chase me down after such a slow section previously.

Eventually I saw Lake Odell and the Ski Lodge and ran in for second in 9:42:51, exactly 36 minutes behind Dave. He crushed the CR by over four minutes and was on a massage table looking much better than when I last saw him post-race at WS100 where it looked like he was on a drip. He'd led from start to finish and run a very solid race, but I still posted the sixth fastest time in the race's history and only Dave has run the final section faster (so I probably wasn't in danger of being caught, in hindsight). A tough day which didn't go to plan and felt pretty awful 90% of the time, but it should make future races feel better and this was one I'm glad I got the chance to do.

It's a fantastic race course and was a chance to catch up with many of the non-Ashland-based Oregonian speedsters who either ran, paced or just showed up to chill out with a beer. Nick held on for third in 10:08 so has his spot at WS100 booked, which is great for him, but unfortunate for Yassine who really had his heart set on it (he ended up fifth after a hard day with a very respectable 10:28). Aliza won but just missed the women's CR by 10 minutes and finished in sixth overall in 10:33. Full results here.

Going to the Bend Brewfest afterwards was also a slight endurance feat, but in a town with so many breweries, this is something I couldn't miss.

Next up is a trip to the Alps to crew for a TNF athlete at UTMB, probably Hal from how things seem to be headed. I fly in two days and once I feel less exhausted I'll have enough adrenaline to get really pumped up about this instead. But I'm very glad I didn't enter it this year since I'm clearly not ready for it yet. One year of training should be enough so I can at least get through it ok without completely breaking myself.

What a busy weekend of races it's been and congratulations to all the finishers at all of them, especially the friends I've got running these: Pike's Peak Ascent/Marathon, Leadville Trail 100, Trans Rockies.

Training, Waldo and a TNF Running Video

Training's been going well towards the races over the next few months and I'm looking forward to a great course and several fast guys to race against at the Waldo 100k. I've heard it's got a pretty tough set of hills but recent weeks have shown me just how weak I was (and still am to a lesser degree) on the climbs so it should be fun to do the work to improve. This type of fun: running 40 miles around Mt Hood with 12,000ft of ascent/descent with friends, as recorded by Yassine Diboun on his blog.

Also, I did a promotional shoot last month with Kami Semick around Marin County for TNF Japan and the video is now on YouTube here and on my blog here. It shows off some great trails near Pan Toll, just up from Rodeo Beach and high up above Stinson Beach which show why there are so many fantastic races based there (like Miwok 100k, TNF Endurance Challenge Final, PCTR Headlands races and several other PCTR races). Kami's running alone until about 3:25, then just me until 6:25 then both of us for the last few minutes. Was really fun to shoot and a perfect reminder of the trails there now I've moved away.

Kami and myself running around Marin for a TNF Japan promotion

Cascade Lakes Relay - 216.6 miles touring Oregon

Diamond Lake the night before the race

These two didn't manage any legs and looked sorry and deflated by the end.

Since I moved to Oregon and changed my race schedule, I've been able to get some last minute entries to races. That includes the 216.6 mile relay around Central Oregon which starts at Diamond Lake (near Crater Lake), weaves round a whole lot of other lakes then ends in Bend. The Cascade Lakes Relay is only in its first few years but has a great reputation as a more scenic, fun and relaxed version of Hood 2 Coast, its more famous Oregonian cousin.

I've never run a long distance relay and was lucky to be able to get a last minute place on the Pace Invaders team due to one of them being unable to get the time off work at the last minute. All I knew in advance of the race was that some of them had run it the previous year and a spreadsheet of the predicted times on each of the 36 legs, showing roughly a 35-hour finish time and about a 9:30/mile pace. I've never been in a race for that long so I knew it'd be a totally different experience, plus the team element would make it feel more like crewing for Mike Wardian at Badwater than running a race solo.

I met the guys the Thursday evening before the race at Diamond Lake after a day of hiking and walking round Crater Lake with Amy. We were split into two vans with me in van one with Gillian, Mary Beth, Katie and Lauren then the other van had Toni, Lynn (the boss), Terri, Corban, Eric and another Lauren. The first van runs legs 1-6, 13-18 then 25-30 and van two does the other legs up to 36.

Everyone seemed ready to have a good time and there were plenty of beers around but since I'd be sleeping in the car with Amy and getting up really early for our 6:20am start I thought I'd wait til the running was over. There's always a little risk joining a new group, especially when committing to sitting in a car with them for a day and a half and working up a stink on the roads and trails. But there's a self-selection in ultra running and this counts as that type of race, which tends to mean only kick-ass people bother turning up. The rest do triathlons.

After some car decorating (in an alien-related theme for Pace Invaders) we got a relatively early night and were all bright-eyed and raring to go around dawn. Well, mainly sleepy and glad that Lauren was doing the first leg so we'd get some time to wake up and let the temperature rise from around 40F. Most legs would be supported by the van but a few trail sections were inaccessible, including the starting 8.5 miles round Diamond Lake so we had to wait and have no idea when we'd see Lauren come through the mist.

I loved the way on each leg we had the stream of teams coming through, some in costumes or at least a team theme. Unlike Badwater where I was running at some point in virtually every hour of Mike's run, here I was scheduled to run basically once every 12 hours. In the end I got more runs in than just my scheduled once per grouping of six legs, but unfortunately that was due to Kurt's knee not holding up from an injury he's been suffering from.

Kurt while his knee still held out.

Our first section took close to the predicted eightish hours but most of us ran a little slower than we expected due to heat, soft trails and altitude of 5,000ft. It was certainly toasty out on the soft red dust trail for my 8.7 miles and I wished I had one of the road sections since I fancied a fast run to stretch out the legs. In temperatures around 80F, I was fairly happy with keeping just under a 6:30/mile pace but it did feel hard.

Gillian finished off our sixth leg then we drove to the van switching point in a small town called Silver Lake where we'd pick it up from van two after leg 12. Teams were laid out in the shade in a field and we had several hours to chill and chat to other teams, including the favorites and winners every year, Team Rebound/Footzone. I knew about half their team given they're from Bend and they were running solidly with some wicked fast times (they won it with an average pace of 6:29/mile). I'm loving the choice of races I'm getting now I'm back in Oregon - this one is definitely a gem.

Mary Beth and Katie relaxing at Silver Lake.

The scenery along the first stages involved roads straight through the forest but in legs 13-18 we were more out in the open in cowboy country. It was also sunset and after the first few miles we were in the dark on dusty double-track trails which all the passing crew vans turned into a choking mess. However, the vans did entertain too with music, comments and their lit-up decorations. I remember the pirate ship on top of one van, in particular - I think their team name was Chasing Booty, which was about a typical name (many involved either the words 'ass' or 'beer'). Kurt had suggested the raunchier name for our team of 'The Third Leg Is The Hardest' which was certainly a good one given the third leg for each of us probably would be the hardest after little sleep and general fatigue.

Through the dark we had plenty of softer surfaces to run on while in the middle of nowhere due to a lack of paved roads. It was difficult to judge pace at night and all of us thought we were running faster than we were and that our sections went slowly. I had my Garmin to help me and enjoyed most of my 7.1 miles of gently uphill track (plus most of Kurt's leg an hour earlier). Then by around 2am Gillian anchored home leg 18 and we headed to LaPine to get a couple of hours rest in a cabin that had been rented. It was a reasonably high spec place but we were all ready to drop and didn't even shower first. Some of the girls did wash in the morning but I stayed asleep until the last second.

Our final legs were generally shorter and prettier back in the woods with views of the Cascade Mountains and finally seeing some of the lakes too after going within a short distance of many more in earlier stages. It was hot again by the time it got round to my final runs (a 7.5 miler from Kurt then my own final 2.1 mile sprint) but I hammered them out for a bit more speed work. It felt a lot harder than the day before, but at least I didn't have to slow down during each run.

Unfortunately Lauren joined Kurt on the injured list and Gillian picked up her leg after a couple of miles. We all gave a lot to the race and the team and were exhausted and mosquito-bitten (some times we seemed to get attacked by entire swarms) by the end of our part, leaving the final six legs to van two to finish in style.

Van one's final leg - straight uphill for Gillian with help from Katie.

The finish in the west side of Bend was almost an anti-climax since we stopped running at 1pm but had to wait until almost 5:30pm for the proper race finish as we finished it as a group of twelve in 35h9m. The beers tasted good in the sun after that much time on our feet. Full results available on the CLR website.

Pace Invaders were a fun bunch and I was so glad to be able to join their team - thanks guys! We came 128th out of 153 finishing teams, 12 hours after the winners. But it's not a whole lot different being on a fast or a slow team since both involve supporting the team and pushing yourself. The main difference is just the expectations of times and places are altered, but the fun is still basically the same...it just lasts longer :) I love the variety of different types of terrain, distances and event styles. But I also enjoy having some races where everything is hyper competitive while in others it's more about just taking it all in and enjoying the experience. I try to mix both together often but it's most important to get good experiences and just have fun. Otherwise I can't see the point of running or any endeavor, really.

Next up is a fun jog around Mt Hood on Tuesday for 40 miles with friends. Will be my longest run ever outside of a race and almost equivalent in terms of altitude gain per mile to UTMB.

Lauren and Katie at Devil's Lake after our last leg.

Devil's Lake.

Mt Bachelor, the ski mountain for Bend.

Most of van one (L-R: me, Gillian, Katie and Mary Beth).

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.

Crewing for Mike Wardian at Badwater 135

Right next to the start line below sea level

Mike plus crew checking out the conditions the day before the race

Mike's ice bath at 42 miles

The entrance to Death Valley

What sort of idiots would run here before the race...or during?

Night running

Dawn sprints

Half way up the final climb and looking back with Mt Whitney behind

I’d heard that Mike was running Badwater earlier in the year and my first thought was ‘rather him than me.’ I’ve run two 100-milers so far this year and am not feeling the need to extend the distance just yet. I've never had any inclination to run this monster of a race, not because it's too hard, just that it doesn't look like 135 miles of pure heat would be fun. 

Friends have run this before plus it’s a race with a big reputation for being brutal due to numerous factors – it’s 135 miles, it starts below sea level but finishes around 9,000ft plus it’s in Death Valley with temperatures reaching 130F (50C) in the shade, of which there’s almost none. Blogs and personal accounts of this race include horror stories of very experienced runners being reduced to crawling while unpleasant things happen in their stomachs, causing extreme issues which I don’t need to go into. This is why it calls itself ‘the world’s toughest footrace’.

And until this year it had a cut-off time of 60 hours (now it’s been reduced to 48). 60 hours of non-stop racing in the most debilitating conditions imaginable while feeling like hell. Sounds fun to you?

Even though it didn’t sound like it would be enjoyable for the runners, it’s clearly an epic challenge and I asked Mike if he’d like an extra pacer to add to his crew so I could see first-hand. Luckily he took me up on the offer and I joined a group of his friends (Vince, Andy, Rick, Jay and Mike’s brother, Matt) who he’d known for years although only Jay had serious ultra experience, having run Badwater and crewed for it numerous times. He was the man we all looked to for advice and it was invaluable to have his logistical knowledge.

I didn’t really know what I was letting myself in for since I’ve run many ultras, some with pacers, but Badwater involves so much more input from the crews and pacers. Usually pacers can’t ‘mule’ for their runners, which means carrying supplies and kit for the runner. Only the crew can do this and usually only at designated aid stations. But at Badwater, the crew drives along the route and stops every mile or so to offer food and drink refills while a pacer runs behind (not in front or side-by-side according to the rules) carrying water etc. No pacers are allowed for the first 17 miles from the start at Badwater but then the pacers can carry iced water in a spray and continuously spray their runner. That’s a lot of effort given the harsh conditions.

Anyway, the pre-race days went well with everyone getting to know each other and Mike giving off a relaxed vibe, even though he said he was nervous. Race day came along and Mike was in the third wave of runners at 10am, reserved for those expected to run the fastest times. This meant he’d spend much of the race catching people who had either a two or four hour head start.

Mike started conservatively and was a few minutes behind the leaders after two miles. This was the plan and we were glad to see he didn’t feel the need to zoom off at the start and was saving his energy. Most runners wore mainly white to reflect the heat, except last year’s winner, Zach Gingerich, who had a blue top with long, baggy orange shorts and led from the start. Mike had plenty of lycra to reduce chaffing, bandanas to give him an ‘ice turban’ plus more ice on his neck and around his chest. Everything we could do to keep him cool would help, even with the lower temperatures than usual (‘merely’ 115F).

The crew was kept busy switching his small water bottles using the multiple ice coolers and enough water in the cars to fill a swimming pool. We had a huge selection of food for both Mike and ourselves and tried to offer it as and when he requested. This became easier after Furnace Creek at 17 miles since we could then pace him and carry a walkie-talkie to relay instructions through to the main van in advance of him arriving.

I hadn’t expected to be running through Death Valley with a radio in one hand, a spray filled with iced water in another and gels, bandanas or whatever else he wanted in pockets or balanced in our hands. For some reason I thought it’d be fairly easy to pace and crew this race, but it was great from my perspective that we were all more involved. It felt more like we were in the race. Except, any time we got tired we could just sit in the air-con of the van and relax. None of us ever ran more than about 3-4 miles at a time with him and had plenty of time to recover.

The first 42 miles are basically flat to Stovepipe Wells, but were hot and hard enough to cause multiple finisher and winner, Pam Reed, to have to drop out. Mike looked strong at this point and we had an ice bath ready for him to help cool him down. Given that conditions weren’t quite as bad as they could be, we hoped he wouldn’t need too many of these but the use of the radios meant we could always have one ready for him if he needed it.

After Stovepipe Wells, which is really only a hotel, store and gas station, Mike had the first of the three serious climbs. In addition, this was the hottest part of the day and a headwind of frazzling air increased the difficulty by drying out his eyes, nose and mouth. A good way to describe this section is a 5,000ft climb over 18 miles in dry sauna conditions with a hairdryer blowing in your face. Luckily for the pacers, we had Mike to block the hot wind so we could focus on spraying water on his upper body. During this section, Mike and I also popped out Spiderman masks for a photo (which I'm trying to get hold of now), in reference to us both breaking the Guinness World Record for Fastest Superhero in a Marathon (me first then Mike smashed it the following weekend).

It got marginally cooler as we climbed and it was starting to get dark by the top. Mike was still talking and in great spirits. So much so that we let him jog the downhill on his own since he was moving reasonably fast and we wanted to save our own energy to keep as fresh as possible when the sleep deprivation set in. It’s extremely important for the crew to look after themselves as well as the runner since nobody wants to be a drag on the person who is actually in the event. We all wanted to be able to jump to help every time he needed it.

I had my first break as nightfall hit. Mike didn’t get any of these, but I fitted in a meal at Panamint Springs which is the third desert outpost along the course, at 72 miles. Mike came through around fourth place and still looked good as the second long climb started in the dark.

It was now completely dark but with almost a full moon to light the road enough to see. Everyone, including Mike, had red flashing lights on front and back for safety, but while the moon stayed visible we didn’t need a headlamp.

This climb was slower although Mike did move into third place along the way. There was more walking as the miles started to take their toll, even with the temperatures hitting as low as the 60s. From this point it was all about survival and maintaining the body through fuelling and electrolytes. This meant we constantly reminded Mike to eat, even though he had no appetite.

Mike was passed by the eventual winner, Oswaldo Lopez, along this climb. Oswaldo had looked pretty exhausted 30 miles earlier but was now fresh and moving at a great pace. We wished him well then continued the hard slog uphill. Soon after Mike felt so bad he had to walk even in the mild heat and on the flat. These are the times that really test the runners and make the difference between losing a lot of time and getting a second wind. Mike is mentally as tough as can be but couldn’t stomach food so it was difficult to turn him around and get him back to feeling more comfortable. After more walking he was able to eat a little and soon came back to us and ran again.

The hour before dawn is meant to be one of the hardest in any ultra due to the lack of sleep and time on the feet to this point. But at the first hint of light Mike perked right up. He started running fast enough to tire the other guys pacing him and I stepped in to sit behind him, offering anything he needed. Amusingly, he was listening to music and started accelerating even more as the songs got into his blood. He was in a zone and we’d covered over 100 miles, but still had plenty left so it was too early for any kind of sprint finish. But Mike was in third and wanted to go for the win so he went with it, even throwing in surges which stretched out my legs more than I wanted to at this point.

I then switched out, told the other guys to not bother pacing until he slowed (mainly because he was going so fast it’d just tire us out too much) and took a break while the others agreed to stop every half mile for him, given the lack of a pacer mule. Instead, I went ahead to see where first and second were and to time the gap to Mike.

By the time Mike got to me he was just over an hour off the lead and had around 20 miles left, but he’d slowed back down to a jog. It would all come down to the last 13 miles after Lone Pine, which is basically all uphill for a winding route up to the base of Mt Whitney and the finish line. Anything can happen in ultras this long and runners can lose hours if they have serious problems. A mile can take an hour or even more and some people have to just stop and rest for long periods to sort out the damage they’ve done to themselves.

It was bright and sunny again but not too hot, especially compared to the previous day. Sub 24 hours looked possible at a stretch, but only if Mike could feel good the whole way up. We spurred him on to catch second place, who was only a couple of miles ahead. Unfortunately Mike then had his worst patch of the race and could barely walk at a crawling pace. He also couldn’t keep any food in him, which made it hard to bring him back. We were forced to stop and let him sit down, sipping water gradually.

This was the toughest part of the race for all of us. Mike was in his own personal hell while we could only sit there and wait. There was nothing we could do since even the stomach medicine or ginger ale was too much for him. If he didn’t get better soon, we’d have to suggest a lie down in the hotel after leaving a stake by the road to show where he was when he went off course (another nuance of the race).

Mike forced himself up although he wasn’t much better and decided to push through the last four miles of switchbacks. Catching second had left our radar but keeping third was now a serious task and we constantly looked over our shoulders. Seeing Mike keep going, surviving on just iced water, was inspiring and really showed the spirit of this race. I told him that if it had been easy it wouldn’t mean as much to finish. So he kept walking and did the last 3.6 miles in just over an hour, which is generally considered to be a good pace. Not many have broken an hour for the final section of climb and nobody runs it…until they see the finish line, anyway.

As he approached the last corner, all the crew joined him to jog across the finish line. This reflects that the crew has a large part to play to get their runner through it all and is a nice touch. An hour previously I wasn’t certain Mike would finish without going to the hotel first but he looked surprisingly sprightly. I think that when he accepted he wouldn’t feel any better, he just dug in to grind out those last miles without expecting to feel fine again. 26 hours 22 minutes for third place.

I was honored to be part of Mike’s race and the whole crew loved helping him achieve a great finish. It wasn’t the win he’d wanted but it also wasn’t a DNF (did not finish). I’ve never seen anyone go through such highs and lows in an ultra, but I know it is standard for this race. It was incredible to watch first-hand and harder, yet more fun, to be crewing and pacing than I’d imagined. My opinion of the race has changed slightly and I'd love to return to crew/pace, but I'd still rather run on trails and have more fun than run this whole thing myself. Plus it's not cheap - budget for around $10,000 to cover entry, travel, car hire etc for the runner plus the crew. Never say never, but I'll stick to Western States for my long run at this time of year for now...or maybe Hardrock if I can get an entry.

Full results on the race website here. And a Washington Post article on Mike and two other runners is here (it includes the only copy of the photo of the two Spidermen).

The Big Dance - Western States 2011

Eagle Falls at Lake Tahoe (not visible from the course at all)

Snow route course change

The last few days have been crazy for so many reasons. Doing a quick brain dump, some big highlights were:

1. a ski village with virtually every ultra celeb you can think of (almost surreal to walk around)
2. grown men dressed as Slash (Greg Lanctot) and the devil (Scott Dunlap)
3. seeing Tahoe again in perfect summer weather with family and friends
4. being part of an insanely competitive race
5. having flat-feeling legs but still giving the race a 100% effort (it is WS, after all)
6. spending all day trying to earn my spot for 2012 then finally breaking into the top 10 at 96 miles
7. bears upsetting the leading ladies in the last few miles

I don't think there's ever been a stronger ultra field put together (maybe TNF's 50 mile Championship Final last December). The sport is clearly moving onwards and upwards and it's great when this means more exciting races for both the runners and anyone crewing/spectating/pacing etc.

The build up days were fairly relaxed but there was clearly a lot of pressure on several of the top runners to win. Then the race started before the dawn at 5am on Saturday and it wasn't quite as fast paced as last year (nerves?). The snow was deeper and covered more of the course than even last year so we were running the C course (a variation on last year's B snow course). Conditions were cooler than normal with a high of maybe 90 degrees F in the second half but the snow was still icy and treacherous higher up. I heard that three people broke a leg on the snow, so I hope there wasn't anything too serious.

I slid all around in the high country and was glad to get temporarily out of it around mile 13. It was undoubtedly beautiful but this was lost on me as I tried to avoid twisting an ankle or breaking my wrist (note to self: practice this more since it should be fun). Then the course had some seriously easy terrain on a fire road where it was perfect for cruising at a decent pace. Duncan Canyon aid station came along at 23.8 miles and Quicksilver Running Club gave everyone a boost, including Slash and other costumes. Almost a quarter of the way through and everyone looked great, but I heard snippets from other runners that the leaders had had some wrong turns. I think Geoff Roes and Kilian Journet went off on a 15 minute diversion in the snow and some of the other leaders then did the same with Mike Wolfe and Dave Mackey doing something similar too. I gather that this left several people pissed off at the not always perfect course markings.

I was around 20th and felt like things were going well without having to push too much but that first section has to feel really easy. Soon after I started to feel much less positive and even the relatively slow 100 mile pace was tough. My legs had no energy and it was similar to Comrades a month earlier where I held the right pace for about 20 miles then the legs showed the lack of strength due to too much racing.

From 30-40 miles I was struggling and was seriously considering dropping out. I was still keeping up a decent pace and gaining positions but my legs were fairly trashed before hitting the three canyons which didn't bode well. I had the chance to run with so many excellent athletes up to this point and enjoyed chatting but kept thinking that this was not going to be a good day. Then I saw Geoff Roes at an aid station and he was hitting a really bad patch at the same time as me. I thought he was dropping but then he was running behind me and we managed a few miles together, both feeling a little sorry for ourselves. It seems the overtraining (over racing, really) that got me at Comrades hadn't disappeared fully, but it's still just about possible to run well in that situation, just not at your best.

It's a real shame to see such a great runner on an off day but when we ran down into the Devil's Thumb Canyon I could tell that he was much worse off than me. I was just flat and fatigued, while he had sore thighs and was fighting a cold. I hiked up the other side with Geoff and Sean Pope but suspected Geoff's day was over given he was hiking slower than me (it was a hard climb but the sort of thing he'd usually be able to run). I later learned that he dropped at just over halfway, but it was a pleasure to get to meet him and nobody's immune from illness hitting before a big race. I can see why he still chose to start since who wants to miss this race?

By this point I'd decided to give it my best shot and get everything out of my legs that I could. This race is not worth a tactical DNF and I was definitely capable of finishing so mentally switched gear and prepared myself to grind out the second 50.

The snow meant that the first time anyone could see their crew was Michigan Bluff at 55.7 miles so I got a boost from seeing Amy and her parents. Paul Terranova would be at Foresthill at 62.0 miles to pace me again as he did at Rocky Raccoon so I had that to look forward to as well. Unfortunately I took a wrong turn and missed Volcano Canyon, running off the wrong way for 3/4 of a mile before I accepted that there wouldn't be any course markings suddenly appearing and I had to turn back. I lost about 12 minutes and mentally was knocked off my perch, but ran the last canyon hard to reach Foresthill feeling good and faster than last year in 15th.

Paul and I ran strongly down towards the river and this section wasn't nearly as hot as last year, making it much more comfortable. I felt like I was going fast but really it was the tired legs exaggerating things. Then I saw Hal Koerner sat at the side who had to drop with trashed thighs. That meant two big guns out but still plenty of talent left in the race. We gradually caught a few people and passed a Japanese guy who I initially thought was a woman from behind from the way he was dressed (if you were there you know who I mean, but I can hardly talk about odd running costumes) and a Korean guy who I'd heard has the Massanutten 100 record as well as a 3rd place at WS a few years ago. Both these guys let me pass and I thought were out of it but then zoomed past me minutes later.

We raced down to the river and Paul and I managed to get enough of a gap that they couldn't see us so we had a boat to ourselves at 78 miles to cross the American River. This was the second year in a row of the water being so high that boats were required but one day I'll get to cross it myself on foot.

From this point Paul and I were in 100% race mode since I was 11th and top 10 is the big aim which gets the guaranteed entry for the next year. I expected someone to drop after the river (last year I was gifted about four places there) but nobody in the top 10 did, so I had to chase them down if I wanted it. I did!

At the start of the day I wouldn't have been happy with the prospect of 10th but I still had a chance at a very respectable time which would be much faster than I ran in 2010 and sometimes you have to adjust your targets mid-race.

I had a slight issue with running out of water for a mile leading up to Green Gate at 79.9 miles but soon got over it and seeing my crew helped boost me along. By this point you expect your legs to feel sore but I hadn't deteriorated as much as I'd feared earlier so felt like I was hammering along at a crazy pace when it was really much slower than when I'd been cruising earlier. The aid stations didn't quite fly by but I kept up a solid effort and just focused on getting to the next one.

At Auburn Lake Trails Paul checked how far ahead 10th place was and it was an eight minute gap with exactly 15 miles left. By Highway 49 at 93.5 miles it was a three minute gap and I got a final boost from seeing Amy so headed off in hot pursuit. After spending the previous five or so hours just focusing on catching the top 10, I was going for bust and nothing short of catching him would be enough. I didn't know who it was but I hoped I could go past strongly, put on some distance then tackle the last few miles uphill in the dark.

I don't think I've ever gone that hard for so long in a race and it was completely exhausting. My breathing made me sound like I was giving birth and I was dancing a fine line between staying mentally alert and bonking by taking on regular gels.

There's something intensely satisfying about racing and pushing yourself as far as you can but it's not necessarily fun at the time, especially if you fail at your goal, whatever it may be. That's why I couldn't let the hard day's work go to waste.

I know it's possible to have much more fun while also running as hard as you can, especially on beautiful trails in canyons, but this time it was just a pain fest. I'm really feeling it today and have never been this bad after a race before.

However, the day turned into a big success for me when I overtook Dan Olmstead with a little over four miles to go, charging downhill in the approaching darkness as if it was a 10k. The hard work wasn't over and I was paranoid about being caught all the way to the finish where I hit the Placer High School track just as AJW was finishing in 9th (in a huge PR of 16:39). I virtually collapsed and was a basket case but 16:40 and 10th was enough to make it all worthwhile.

I was never really in the proper race for the top positions and that was hard to take early on in the race but once I decided to see what I could do on tired legs, it became every bit as exciting (and stressful) as running for the win. The men's race was extremely close with four men under 16 hours and 14 under 17 hours. It sounds like a classic and eventually finished off with Kilian being the worthy winner but hotly followed by a several guys on top form.

1. Kilian Journet (Salomon) 15:34
2. Mike Wolfe (The North Face) 15:38
3. Nick Clark (Pearl Izumi) 15:50
4. Jez Bragg (The North Face) 15:55
5. Tsoyushi Kaburaki (The North Face) 16:04 (50 minutes off his own 40+ masters' record)
6. Tim Olson (Pearl Izumi) 16:18
7. Graham Cooper (??) 16:34
8. Dave Mackey (Hoka One One) 16:36
9. Andy Jones-Wilkins (Patagonia) 16:39
10. Ian Sharman (The North Face) 16:40

Damn that wrong turn! Full results here.

The ladies' race was equally thrilling and we'd hear updates at the finish as they passed the last aid stations. It seems the lead changed a few times in the second half but Ellie Greenwood flew through to take the win in her first 100 miler and is only the second lady to break 18 hours (the other is Ann Trason and I keep telling Ellie she needs to take down some of Ann's records...I'm sure it's just a matter of time).

There was a bear (supposedly with cubs) in the last few miles which held the lead women up. It seems that Ellie stopped briefly, then a male runner came along and they chased the bear off. The next ladies (Kami Semick, then Nikki Kimball and Tracy Garneau) had a concertina effect as they each got stopped by the bear for several minutes. Then Kami narrowly beat Nikki in a sprint finish on the track. I'm sure other blogs will tell the story more accurately.

The top ladies were:

1. Ellie Greenwood (Montrail) 17:55
2. Kami Semick (The North Face) 18:17
3. Nikki Kimball (The North Face) 18:17
4. Tracy Garneau (The North Face) 18:22
5. Rory Bosio (The North Face) 18:37
6. Aliza Lapierre (Salomon) 18:45
7. Megan Arbogast (Sunsweet) 18:50 (3 hours off the 50+ masters' record)
8. Amy Sproston (Montrail) 19:36
9. Becky Wheeler (??) 19:46
10. Pam Smith (unsponsored, but not for long) 20:40

Great day for The North Face as well as for Brits with Nick C, Jez, Ellie and myself up there. And I'm 99% certain that the top five men will all be at UTMB in August, as will Geoff and plenty of other fast guys. I think the women will mainly be skipping it in favor of the 100k Road World Championships in September in the Netherlands.

WS 2011 was something very special to be part of and I'm very glad I didn't opt to drop. Friends from the UK also came over to run and most finished. In particular, James Elson kicked off his Grand Slam (WS 100, Vermont 100, Leadville 100 and Wasatch 100 in the same year) with a 28:25. Not as fast as he'd hoped originally but after being completely injured from Rocky Raccoon in February he's barely put together a couple of days of running and told me last week that he can't really run downhill. I have no idea how he forced himself through the course but I'm seriously impressed. Two whole weeks of recovery then he'll be on the Vermont starting line.

Time for a rest and a couple of weeks completely off.

Pacifica 9.3k Sharpener Before WS100

Last proper run before WS yesterday, apart from a few light jogs. I was planning on running the half marathon at the PCTR Pacifica race, which I'd done back in January too, but opted instead for the shortest race of the day (9.3km) and to use it as a slightly harder effort but short enough to not cause much damage to the legs.

Perfect, sunny weather started us off and it just got warmer and brighter as the day progressed, which should have made the 50k runners struggle a little. But all I wanted was a confidence boost that my legs would be ok and that I can climb and descend well enough to run WS well a week later. +/-1,200ft in two hills with a quarter of a mile on the flat in between them, means it's a good speed test so I was happy to lead from start to finish and win by over three minutes in 39:47.

After the disappointment of Comrades this year I needed this and it's a good sign, especially how easy the downhills felt...WS is a downhill course after all. There's only so much a short race can tell you about ultra form but the important thing was to feel that the overtraining was over. It probably is, so now there's just the really easy part of the taper left and a load more sauna sessions.

It looks like most of the men at WS will be showing up fit and ready so anything could happen on the day and I'd say there's probably around eight guys who could plausibly win, but if I was putting money on it then I'd say the winner will be one of Kilian Journet, Geoff Roes or Nick Clark. One thing's for certain, that whoever wins will have to hold off very hot competition and probably do the best run of their life. I also think the top 10 will be much less spread out than last year.

The women's field is very strong too and there's several women who are dominant in the shorter ultras versus some 100 mile specialists. I won't make a prediction, although I think I could call the lead pack at Foresthill (62 miles). But that's not important unless they keep it up for another 38 miles.

irunfar has a great prediction contest for the race as well as interviews with a lot of the male (US and foreign) and female (interview 1 and 2) contenders.

Also, on race day the runners can be followed on the live webcast site here. Twitter will undoubtedly have a million updates too, with the tag #WS100 (I assume).

Other random ultra stuff:

It's certainly ultra season now with the San Diego 100 last weekend (nice work, everyone, especially fellow PCTR team-mate, Larissa Polischuck, with her first 100 mile finish). There's a lot of other races too, but today is the start of the longest one out there - the LANY race covering 3,200 miles coast to coast from LA to NYC. One of my friends from London, James Adams, is running this and the stages average 45 miles per day through to late August. He will be blogging about it in painfully graphic detail here (if you know him, you know what I mean). Good luck, mate!

Fundraising


All my major races this year are dedicated to helping the Starfish Greathearts Foundation, which includes Western States. They support children who have been orphaned or made vulnerable by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa.

Given the extremely high rates of infection in South Africa and around parts of the Comrades course plus the many orphans resulting from this, I thought it'd be a great idea to help out. Therefore I've set up a justgiving site for UK residents who wish to donate at: http://www.justgiving.com/sharmanian/ as well as a donation website for anyone wanting to donate in dollars at: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/comradesTNF/comradesmarathon. Both these links also have more information about the work the charity does. Any donation is extremely welcome. Thanks.

Dirty Half Marathon Back in Bend

First mile was on the road allowing everyone to spread out.

Just back from a great trip to Bend where Amy and I used to live. Oregon is such a perfect place for trail running and the Dirty Half is now in its tenth year and is a top-class race which I did last year too. Great long weekend seeing friends and favorite restaurants (so many of both).

It was a new course and was also the USATF National Trail Half Marathon Championship for the second time, meaning lots of fast runners. At some point I'll race this one but it was more sensible to use it as a WS training run and sit back and enjoy the ride. I layered up with as many jackets and warm tops as possible to get a reasonable fat suit look and hoped it'd be a hot day on top of that.

It was sunny and warm, providing near perfect running conditions but maybe a little hot towards the end for fast running. So I started at the back of the first wave and was comfortable for the first five miles but then started to feel the heat. The course had some steep sections and I doubted whether the winners would break 1:15 by much. Only one person did, local Max King, who had won the race multiple times before. A great recap of the whole race is on Scott Dunlap's blog here. All results here.

I was nowhere near the sharp end of the race but kept up an even pace to finish in 1:44. The heat got to me and plenty of volunteers and supporters seemed concerned that I was wearing too much, but everything that makes the heat feel easier in less than two weeks is worth it. Combining this with torturous sauna sessions is hard but worthwhile and the big showdown at Squaw Valley looks like being pretty special.

Comrades 2011

Well, not quite to plan this time around. Comrades is always such an overwhelming experience and that was the case again, but this time in the sense that the race humbled me and left me heartbroken after spending so long focusing on it.

My race went bad after around 35km before even hitting the marathon mark and I could only jog from that point, losing motivation given that a sub 6h time was clearly not on the cards, never mind a gold medal for top 10. Luckily I perked up a bit nearer the end after seeing Kami Semick charging along as if it was the first few miles and with a shot of chasing down the Russian twins for a win. 6:25 was my final time, which was well off the 5:51 needed to get a gold medal this year.

But the real story, which I'm really glad I got to see first hand, was the set of amazing performances by the top Brits and Americans. Before I mention the names and times, I'll just lay out the stats of the course so people can appreciate how good their performances were.

• 87km (54 miles) long, from Durban to Pietermaritzburg in South Africa
• 7,000ft of ascent and 5,000ft of descent along the road between those cities (reverse those numbers when it's the down run in every other year)
• Up to $100,000 available for a win, based on sponsor/time/local bonuses and plenty more for the rest of the top 10s
• Men's course record of 5:24 and women's of 6:09
• 19,000 entrants with the deepest and strongest ultra field in the world
• Strict cut-offs with a finish line cut-off of exactly 12 hours, not a second longer

So, it's a tough race and those roads hammer the legs over the distance, especially at the pace the leaders go at. The men's winner was Stephen Muzhingi for the third year in a row, in 5:32 and the women's winner was Elena Nurgalieva for her sixth and slowest win in 6:24, with her twin sister Olesya a few seconds behind. These twins have marathon PBs under 2:30 and have won eight of the last nine Comrades, just being beaten once.

However, the twins were supposedly a bit tired from racing very hard at the Two Oceans 56km race five weeks ago (it's always over Easter which was particularly late this year) and they did look slightly weary when I ran with them for about 10k in the latter stages of the race before dropping off their pace. Kami Semick (The North Face) was chasing them hard and finished in third, only two minutes back in 6:26. If it had been a 100k, I'm certain she'd have caught them. And fellow Brit, Ellie Greenwood (Montrail), was overtaking people through the second half to finish in 6:32 for fourth, who may also have caught them given more distance. These two are on fire and now have a 1-1 record against each other after Ellie's win at American River 50 last month. Anyone want to bet who'll win their next showdown at Western States?

Kami and Ellie are both former 100k World Champions (in 2009 and 2010, respectively), but we also had the 2006 winner running since Lizzie Hawker (also a Brit running for The North Face) was out there and took it out hard. Lizzie was in third in the early stages but fell back a little to finish in seventh in 6:48. So Kami gained a position from her 2010 fourth place and Lizzie was one lower after sixth last year. Looks like it was a hell of a race out there and much closer than usual. I think all three ladies will be back to take down those Russians and it'll be good to see those battles over the coming years.

On the men's side, Mike Wardian and myself (both for The North Face) had our sights set on gold medals. The girls were all but certain to break the top 10, but the exact positions were what made it interesting. But Mike and I were 14 and 13 minutes off a gold last year, respectively, and even 10th would be a huge victory (or ideally both of us top 10). Mike had a storming race and our pre-race estimate of needing to run sub 5:50 to get a gold wasn't far off. Mike had the painful pleasure of coming 11th in 5:52, just over a minute off 10th. That is a ridiculously good run, even given his pace at the shorter distances. I'm pretty sure he'll go for and get a gold next year.

So, that's just the top end of the field and the remaining thousands included tales of victory and despair as people hit goals they'd never thought they'd achieve (for many, just to finish in the 12 hours is the pinnacle of years of training and attempts).

One other excellent British run was from Scot (hmmm...I think you're really English) Jo Zakrzewski who ran 7:14 in her first ultra (excluding Atacama Crossing). World domination for the British ladies? Also, Amy Sproston (Montrail) squeezed in the race while on a work trip to Africa and knocked out a 7:34, just missing the silver medal cut-off at 7:30. She'll be yet another person attempting the Comrades/Western States double.

All these people had fantastic Comrades runs on a course that was hillier than I remembered from my 2008 up run. It wasn't my day and the seven consecutive weekends of marathons or ultras at a decent effort level, which culminated in Miwok 100k three weeks ago, just pushed me over the edge of overtraining. My legs have felt heavy for a while, but particularly over the last month so it just made it an impossible struggle to get them to function well. Even with everything going perfectly it's a big ask for me to run fast enough for a gold and my marathon time (2:32) is significantly slower than the other guys who aim for that.

I wanted it so much and was overzealous with my training, but I'll learn my lesson and regroup. One day I know I can get a gold and it'll mean so very much to me. The race is like no other and always lives up to its billing as the 'ultimate human race.' Full results here and you can filter it for Americans, Aussies, Brits or whatever you're searching for.

It was a great trip and a lot of fun (for the most part), especially meeting old and new friends from around the world. Special thanks goes to Dave Pearse for being the best host and crew in the world, even when doing so for more people than can fit in his house.

I also ran to support the Starfish Greathearts Foundation, which helps AIDS orphans around the Comrades course amongst other places (see my Miwok posting). Brits can donate here and everyone else here. Any donation is much appreciated.