Speed Work During The Olympics

I'm now fairly exhausted, mentally and physically, from about the hardest couple of training days I've ever done plus the excitement of the athletics at the Olympics with three fantastic British golds in under an hour (Jess Ennis - Heptathlon, Greg Rutherford - long jump, Mo Farah - 10,000m). So the races this weekend in Bend were extra special and I was hyper motivated from British, American and every country's star athletes. Therefore this is a brief posting getting straight to the point.

Firstly, reasons to spend your summer running in Oregon (I couldn't help doing all of these):

- 28 July, Mt Hood 50 miler (fun and fast trails along the Pacific Crest Trail)
- 3-4 August, Cascade Lakes Relay (216 miles in 36 legs for a team of 12 or less, starting near Crater Lake, finishing in Bend and not really sleeping)
- 5 August, Haulin Aspen 7.1/Half/Marathon (lots of single track in Bend)
- 11 August, Crater Lake Marathon (rolling road at altitude around the lake in the National Park)
- 18 August, Waldo 100k (12,000ft of climb and absolutely stunning - Oregon's premier ultra and a Montrail Ultracup qualifier for Western States)
- there're more races but this'll do for now
- Oregon-based Mo Farah and Galen Rupp (10,000m), Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher (marathon) plus a few other track athletes raced in the Olympics this weekend

Then my last 48 hours in numbers:

- Number of 100% effort runs: 4
- Miles raced: 31.4
- Number of wives at home: 0 (of 1, obviously)
- Miles raced on trails: 13.2
- Miles above 5,000ft: 18.2
- Miles raced above 5,000ft as Spiderman: 2.1 (costume competition leg)
- Total ascent: 1,755ft
- Total descent: 1,872ft
- Total time racing: 3:17:12
- Hours slept: 6
- Highs each day: 90-100F
- Race results: 2 (Mixed team win at Cascade Lakes Relay, 3rd overall in approx 23:59:30 for 216 miles; 5th in 1:25:58 at Haulin Aspen Half)
- Number of times our team got lost: 1 (wouldn't have made for as dramatic finish without this, just nipping under 24 hrs)
- Number of Olympic events I got up in the middle of the night for: 2 (women's marathon, men's tennis final)
- Number of times I screamed at the online video stream: too many
- Number of times in my life I've thought twice about getting out of bed for a half marathon: 1 (Murray was almost two sets up on Federer when I left home)
- Number of times a man called me handsome in the middle of the night: 1 (3 Non Joggers' Carl the Mailman, possibly while drunk and watching the women's marathon on TV, although he denies drinking)
- Inspiration and motivation from seeing the Olympic athletes: unmeasurable
- Need for more sleep: high
- Chance of sleeping with so many Olympic events on: zero


Photos from Cascade Lakes Relay:

Change-over after leg three

Jordan finishing leg four at speed

Change-over area after leg four - hot

Change-over area after leg four

Our van - minimal decorations for speed

Relaxing after our first six legs while the girls did their thing in  the second van

Silver Lake van change-over area after leg 12

The second change-over of vans after leg 12, just as the sun was setting

A Badger-themed Ultra team (six or fewer runners instead of 12)

The final van change after the men had completed all their lags with the ladies finishing the final six legs

Katie running a very steep downhill (actually flat)

Slick hand-over between Frans and JJ in the boiling heat

Both van 1 (men) and van 2 (women) waiting around the 32nd  handover

About to finish as a group as the clock ticks to 23:59

Mt Hood 50 and a Busy Ultra Weekend Globally

View along the first out-and-back

Around Monday last week I looked at the options for crewing, sweeping or generally helping out at the Mt Hood 50 miler in Oregon which I ran last year. The website showed two last minute entries available so I emailed the RD, Todd Janssen, as a long run seemed like a good idea and I knew plenty of Oregonian friends would be there. I was also feeling the Olympic vibe and doing a race therefore appealed.

But other than Mt Hood, there were numerous major races around the world this weekend. Too many to note them all, but the most interesting were probably as follows:

Davos Swiss Alpine K78 (Switzerland) - a sixth consecutive win for Jonas Buud (unless I've lost count) in this classic 49-mile race in the Swiss Alps, running 5:57. Hope he comes to some US ultras soon! Lizzy Hawker came second and has won or been second here numerous times, but local Jasmine Nunige won a long way ahead in 6:31. Good day for the Brits, as Jo Zakrzewski was behind Lizzy to round out the ladies' podium.

High parts of the Davos course

More Davos loveliness

Speedgoat 50k Skyrace (Utah) - Kilian won, but didn't win. A top-class field on the men's side and yet another win for Frosty on the women's side. Read the comments on the irunfar results article for the debate on whether Kilian should have been DQed for cutting the switch-backs, but in the end he was given the win for Skyrunning series points but not the course record or the prize money, which second-place, Rickey Gates got. I'm not going to go into it here but the debate is interesting and it seems more than odd that Kilian can win the Skyrace but lose the American race. Also, there's some debate about whether he was the only one to cut corners, not that any of them intended to cheat.

White River 50 (Washington) - Sage Canaday smashed the tough CR with a super-human 6:16, lower than multiple attempts by Uli Stedl and Anton Krupicka. Ellie Greenwood turned up and therefore she won the women's race, of course. But since she didn't taper and just ran on tired legs, she was a few mins off the CR (head shake - we're all sooo disappointed).

Lakeland 100 (UK) - Have to admit I didn't really follow this, but it has become one of the premier 100s in the UK and involves navigation along a beautiful course.

Giir di Mont Skyrace (Italy) - A 20-mile major European mountain race. There's an increasing overlap between the runners at different mountain distances although some of the longer distance guys were at Speedgoat instead of this. Won by Tofol Castanyer of Spain in 3:19, just ahead of Tom Owen of the UK. For the ladies, Kasie Enman of the US won comfortably in 3:45.

So as well as running, I was keenly following all these other races, some of which I've run, some are on my to-do list.

But getting back to Mt Hood, the weather was perfect and the trails are sublime for running on. It's 99% single track with not a whole lot of elevation gain (+/- 5,600ft), so it's great for cruising along through the woods with views of Mt Hood occasionally - very enjoyable. The course has a north-bound, 14.2-mile out-and-back which is slightly faster than the south-bound, 10.8-mile out-and-back that finishes the race. A good option for someone doing their first trail 50.

I wanted to see how my fitness was without going at 100% and all that Western States training is still paying off as I generally felt strong. Last year I ran 6:29 so the only target was to try to go under that and, hopefully, feel good at the end. I went through 28.4 miles in 3:12 but still had to push to run 6:24 for the full distance for a new CR.  Legs not perfect but not too trashed either.

Here's a video from Yassine Diboun and Animal Athletics with some shots of the trails near a couple of aid stations. I couldn't help doing a sprint finish as it's a fun way to end a race, even if completely unnecessary - see 2:50 into the video.



The coming weeks are busy for me but all based in Oregon. Firstly, the Cascade Lakes Relay (216 miles for a team of 12 over 36 legs) next Friday, the Crater Lake Marathon the following weekend then Waldo 100k the week after with the likes of Hal Koerner, Timmy Olson, Joe Uhan and many more fast Oregonians and two Western States places available. That last one's getting me excited already. There are definite benefits to living in Oregon!

Badwater Pacing For Aussie Dave Eadie

The crew - Mike, me, Bonnie, Adrian and Casey; photo: Mike Toby.

After enjoying pacing for Mike Wardian at Badwater last year I decided to go back again so managed to find a runner needing some crew. Dave Eadie from Australia is a prolific runner of all distances with a 29 minute 10k a few years ago so I knew he'd be a great competitor and able to push himself, plus Aussie banter would make the hours go by faster as I could rub in how weak his country is at sport, especially cricket. It's also very helpful for me as a coach to pace and crew for others to learn and put into practice things I've learned from experience.

I met the whole crew of Aussies and Americans for the first time (excluding emails) a couple of days before the race - Mike Toby, Adrian Panozzo, Casey Cooper (local knowledge as he lives in Vegas) and Bonnie Busch (serial finisher and crew member at BW). Dave's wife, Kim, and young son, Lucas were also along to be part of the whole adventure.

Three significant climbs over 135 miles.

There's a brief description of the event and this year's podiums that I wrote for irunfar here, but my main experience from the day was Dave's experience (albeit much easier for me since as I kept jumping into an air-con car). The race is kind of crazy with temperatures that are best summed up in the photos - people don't dress like this unless the heat is a serious issue. We had a 'cold' year where the high was only around 114F according to one of out vehicles. It was windy too, which was helpful while it was from behind, but after Stovepipe Wells (42 miles) we had hours of headwind.

Dave Eadie charging through the heat

Me near the finish with the mountains in the background.

Looking back down from half-way up the final climb.

Power-strutting the last couple of miles.

There are three start times on the Monday of the race - 6am, 8am and 10am with faster runners in the later starts and a 48-hour cut-off for each start. We were in the last start due to Speedy Eadie's credentials as a winner of many ultras. He aimed to go under the fastest time by an Australian at the race, which was just over 32 hours, so this was on his mind from the start. But as we entered the first climb, around 44 miles into the race, Dave's stomach felt the heat of the full day and his speed went down as the sun set.

In these types of extreme conditions you expect very low points and his slow climb, including a 30-min nap in the car, wasn't ideal, but we all focused on bringing him back to feeling more normal. It cost a little time, but managing his overall well-being was the priority and in the scheme of 30+ hours it was merely a blip. We just wanted to minimize any future blips.

The rest of the race saw Dave back to running through the night and his resolve was extremely strong. Considering how bad he looked while ill (every runner in this race looks close to death at some point), his turn-around was inspiring. Plenty of running and strong power-walking when needed or when it got steeper led to Dave passing people continuously through to the finish.

Many people were reduced to zombie-like lurching for many of the later miles as parts of their bodies started breaking down. Dave's running form remained surprisingly good throughout and the final climb from Lone Pine to Whitney Portal was a walk, but faster than others could manage. In fact, Dave's split for his final four miles was the second fastest of anyone! He finished 14th in 30:24, so was comfortably under target.

This is an event I still have little desire to do myself, due to cost and the fact it doesn't have much enjoyment during the course for the runner, unlike most 100s. I don't mean it's harder, just less fun to suffer through extreme heat. However, for the crew it's incredibly enjoyable to act as (in Dave's words) a butler, driving a mile or less each time to provide a mobile aid station. Pacing is also more involved than in other ultras due to muling being allowed - carrying things for the runner. As many teams did, we used a sprayer with iced water to run behind and cool Dave down. Weirdly, because he's more reliant on his crew than a runner normally needs to be, it means we all feel more involved in the event.

I'm sure I'll pace again, especially as the timing is ideal for a relaxing trip, in relative terms, after Western States each year. Congratulations to all the runners and their crews - full results and splits here. Of particular note was Mike Morton who was under course record pace almost the whole way, just losing out by a minute in 22:52 as he slowed right at the end. Still mightily impressive from the man who's run three 13:xx 100 mile course records already in 2012 - see Ultrasignup.

How to train for...Western States 100

This posting continues my irregular articles with tips on how to train for various major world ultras which I've personally run several times. I've been top 10 at Western States nine times (having run two different snow routes and the official course too), with a best time of 15:47. I've also completed the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning which involves four 100-milers in the same summer, starting with Western States.

So I now feel that I've learned enough about the race to be able to give a few useful pointers for anyone planning on running this iconic event. There are things I've learnt along the way that you may find helpful, as have runners who I've coached for the event over the past decade. You can find out more about coaching here.

I'll include posts on other races over time and have already written about how to train for the Marathon des Sables, Flat 100 milers like Rocky Raccoon and Comrades.

What is it?

Western States Endurance Run (WS100 or WSER) in California from Squaw Valley to Auburn is the race that began the concept of 100-mile trail races. The history can be found here but in summary, there was a 100-mile horse race along the Western States trail that had a runner attempt the course in 1974. This captured people's imaginations and it became an event in itself as well as spawning other races to lead to 96 North American 100-milers at the time of writing, plus many others around the world. It's also part of the 'Grand Slam of Ultrarunning' which involves running four 100s over one summer - WS100, Vermont 100, Leadville 100 and Wasatch 100.

For me, the thing that makes Western States so special is the history with a beautiful course through mountains and canyons. It's also incredibly competitive, increasingly so in recent years (in 2012 the time for 10th place overall would have won the race outright almost every other year!) which creates an atmosphere of everyone peaking and not using it as a training run, as can happen at many races. It has approximately 1,500 volunteers to cover almost 400 runners (and their pacers and crews), showing how the running community really gets behind the event.

The race is extremely difficult to get into due to an over-subscribed lottery. However, there are several races within the Montrail Ultracup that offer entry places for the top two men and women who don't already have a guaranteed entry, rolling down to third if required. The top 10 runners from the previous year are given guaranteed entries too. Foreign runners can also get into the race with special consideration given for anyone who could enhance the competitiveness of the event.

What's the race like?

• 100.2 miles (161.2km) of trails with 22,970ft of descent and 18,090ft of ascent - generally a downhill course that trashes your legs
• High point of 8,750ft at Emigrant Pass, four miles into the race
• Fairly non-technical trails as mountain races go so even pure road runners shouldn't find anything too difficult in the footing
• A real silver buckle for finishers under 24 hours
• Strict 30 hour cut-off with intermediate cut-offs and a bronze buckle for finishing between 24 and 30 hours
• Several canyons that can be extremely hot (100F+) in an average year, plus the possibility of snow and very cold conditions in the earlier, higher miles - see the profile below

• Start is pre-dawn and the leaders just finish before it gets dark but most people run through the dark and the full night
• Pacers allowed from Foresthill at 62.0 miles
• Although there are several points to get your feet wet in streams earlier in the race, the main dunking is at the American River crossing at 78.1 miles, although in high water years rafts take the runners and pacers over the water
• Finish on Placer High School track 

The finish at Placer High track.

How on Earth do you start training for that?

• This isn't a road race and will be difficult to train for if you can't get into the hills and run a lot on trails
• The two factors that cause the most issues are the heat and the pounding from the downhills, so these are both things that should be trained for, even though you may get a colder year like 2012:
• Heat training can include sitting or any sort of exercise in a sauna, ideally from about 2-3 weeks out (most of the heat adaptations occur within about two weeks) but not too close to the race as this is exhausting and draining on the body
• Long downhills of several miles will help to strengthen your legs, but if that's not available locally then power-hiking with a weight vest can simulate some of the adaptations in your thighs as a second-best option
• Still include speed work even though your expected race pace will be low - hill sessions aimed at fast up- or downhill running are especially useful
• Long runs will become more important than for shorter races - races can be ideal for fitting in 50k, 50-mile and 100k training runs but these will tire you out and require some taper and recovery time
• Back-to-back long runs are excellent training but have to be weighed up against the time it takes to recover; two marathons/50ks on a weekend are particularly good and much less stress on the body than a 50-miler in one day and the race offers big training weekends like over Memorial Day weekend along the actual course
• Although the first 40 miles are above 5,000ft, altitude is not a major issue compared to some mountain races and coming from sea level will have little disadvantage so altitude training is not necessary
• Specificity is the key with your training so running trails with decent climbs and descents up to about 10-12% gradient will help - steeper training will make these seem easier (early on, at least) but there's not really any part of the course that's got greater slopes
• Strength training on the legs is more important than for marathons due to the length and hills, but make the exercises specific to running, not just about building up big leg muscles
• Core training is more important than for shorter races since poor running form over a full day (or more!) will slow you down a lot and raise the chance of injuries. However, sit-ups and what you may normally think of as core work for getting a six-pack won't be very useful because these don't help your muscles for the specific movements performed when running - as a general rule, exercises performed standing up and challenging your balance (like on one leg) will be most useful.

One of the aid stations along the way.

What mistakes should you avoid doing in training?

• Bad or inadequate nutrition will slow you dramatically and the effect in a 100-miler is exponentially larger than in a shorter ultra. There're 25 aid stations with a wide variety of food and drinks, making some of the best-stocked aid stations in the US. So don't forget to look at who the sponsors are on the official website to try out their products so you know in advance whether they work for you in long runs or if you'll need to supply a lot of your own food and drinks. Your crew can supply these at multiple points along the course.
• If you don't train for the specific challenges of the course (that specificity point comes in again) then these will be your undoing
• Don't just focus on just uphill training as those downhills add up and can force you into a death march to the finish, even if well training, so the more you can do, the better
• Don't just practice running as you will be doing some power-hiking, guaranteed (unless you break 15 hours). For example, in running sub 16 hours I probably walked up to 10 miles of the total distance, but a strong power-hike can be almost as fast as a jog and can be much more efficient
• Heat stroke can be a significant risk so it helps a lot to train for the high temperatures, either using time in a sauna or jogging at the hottest part of the day with multiple layers on
• Practice hydration in your training runs and try to get an idea of which sports' drinks you can stomach best, ideally trying out the brand of drink that currently sponsors the race since this will be available at every aid station even when your crew isn't there. The rate you need to drink at will vary with temperature and effort so doing training runs that simulate the race will give a better idea of the correct rate to drink at, but the feeling of thirst and the frequency and color of your urine (not clear but not darker yellow or brown either) are both good indicators.
• Don't over-race before the event. It's tempting to try to do too many long runs or races to give you confidence but it's definitely better to turn up a little under-trained than a little over-trained, as the official race booklet advises

Early miles out of Squaw Valley.

Near the top of the first climb.

What about tactics for the race itself?

• Beware of hypothermia in the early miles. Although the race is known for heat, it can involve cold, wind, rain, snow, hail etc early on - it's the mountains after all. So check the forecast and carry a little too much clothing if unsure as you can always leave it at an aid station or tie it around your waist.
• Clock-watching and aiming for a sub 24-hour silver buckle can push you too hard, too early and it's better to go at a pace that your body dictates instead of a set schedule. This should lead to a faster finish time anyway and if that time is over 24 hours then you probably aren't in shape for a silver buckle and could DNF by aiming for one as the main target.
• Related to the last point, like in most ultras, people tend to go out too fast at WS100. It starts with a steep climb and there's no need to burn yourself out at this point. This applies to the entire first half since the course gets easier in terms of terrain after Foresthill at 62.0 miles and if you're in good shape at this point you can run some relatively fast miles and catch up time. This will also be more enjoyable than going too hard, blowing up and death marching in on sections of trail that should be easy to run on.
• Altitude can be a minor issue in the early stages and it's worth giving it a little respect by not pushing too hard, but that is already sensible as mentioned above. So, the not-going-out-too-fast is important enough to be in three different bullet points.
• Blisters can also ruin your race. Having changes of socks and/or shoes can help, especially at aid stations after water crossings, but this isn't necessary. A better option is to find socks and shoes that don't cause issues in the first place. The shoes will be very individual, but I'd suggest a good fit with a fair degree of protection from the rocks and that don't allow your feet to slide around much. Socks are worth an investment to not just get the cheapest pair from Walmart and Drymax are the best I've ever tried and are what I use for all of my runs. I had no blisters from the 2012 WS100, although I may lose a toe-nail or two, which can't really be avoided with that much downhilling.
• Not eating enough can end your race or at least slow you down a lot. Odds are you won't be able to force down enough calories during the race no matter how hard you try (although I can think of a couple of people who virtually manage to eat their own body-weight in an ultra!).
• Be careful about markings which are generally good but if you stop concentrating or rely on the guy in front paying full attention, you may add on mileage. Every year I've run there have been men at the front who've got temporarily lost because the markings are not always perfect, and a minute of your mind wandering can lead to not seeing a turn.
• Crews can make or break your race so it helps if they've been to the race before in some capacity, but the important thing is to brief them as well as possible with what you expect, exact directions for where and when to meet you and it's generally up to the runner to tell their crew everything the crew needs to know. I'd generally advise to not rely too heavily on the crew and use them as a bonus, so that if something goes wrong (a flat tire etc), the runner isn't screwed, especially mentally, from the crew not being there.

A well-trained and informed crew helps a lot.

• Like most ultras, people tend to go out too fast, but Comrades has hot spot prizes for runners who get to various points first and still finish which encourages extra speed. So make sure you have a plan and don’t get carried away as everyone around you goes past you in the first miles.
• Make sure you have a good idea of where the hills are from the course profile, which can be best understood if you're able to get out on to the course for training weekends, even once. Mentally it helps so much to know how hard and long a climb or descent is.
• As well as learning about the course profile, it helps to know how far the gaps are between aid stations so you can plan the amount of food and drink you'll need to carry. Writing them out on your arm with their distances included is one option, as is a small, laminated card with them all written down.
• Take the downhill sections easy, especially early on, as these can trash your quads and lead to walking earlier than you want to. It’s tempting to try to catch up some time but practicing a relaxed downhill stride in advance, with minimal breaking where the legs absorb a lot of the shock, can still allow for good pace on those descents. The course is rarely technical so downhills can be run smoothly and fast. By the end, your quads will be trashed no matter what you do, so the better you can look after them through the day, the quicker your time will be and the more chance of avoiding a DNF.
• Just before it gets dark it's worth increasing your effort level slightly since you will slow down when the light fades due to the terrain being more difficult to traverse and your brain trying to tell you to take it easy as you've clearly been out longer than it wants.
• Beware the chair, like in any ultra - if you sit down, you'll find it a lot harder to get going again.
• Avoid trying anything new on race day. Have your kit, food, drink and everything else tried and tested in your long runs so there are no nasty surprises.
• Finally, don't forget to smile and have fun as it'll make the day more enjoyable and you'll probably run better too.

You'll get a nice, shiny buckle at the end.

Western States III

Top of the Escarpment at 4 miles; photo by Drymax Socks

Writing up something about the 2012 Western States 100 could be a 10,000 word novella but I'm going to save that version (including swearing and long descriptions about being generally very uncomfortable) in my head.

Bryon Powell's irunfar has covered most of it in minute detail, mainly summarized here so instead I'll give a quick overview of one of the most memorable and inspiring days in trail running history. Admittedly there were a few top runners who either didn't enter or had to miss the starting line, but on paper it looked like the men and women would be racing to new levels of excellence.

After doing the 2010 and 2011 races, both with what were considered to be faster snow course diversions, I was looking forward to the full course. Weather reports suggested it'd be cold and wet early on then not very hot at all later and these proved to be true.

In summary, it started cold with rain then snow, sleet and hail. Winds cooled things down further and it wasn't until getting below 5,000ft for the first time after maybe 40 miles that temperatures became more comfortable. The canyons were mild and the hottest temperatures all day were barely over 70F (around 20C) - way lower than the usual furnace.

A lead pack of six hit the Escarpment summit at four miles and these guys pushed each other all day. After reaching that point a few minutes behind and around fifteenth, I zoomed down the first descents and really enjoyed the lack of snow on the course. I wasn't trying to eat into their lead, but went a little too fast and so had sore thighs from very soon afterwards which groaned at me all day. But thanks to the lead pack (Wolfeman, DBo, Jesus 2, Smokey (see the cigar photos of Nick Clark), Elder Statesman Mackey and the Zeke) getting lost along the still-marked 2011 snow diversions for a few minutes, I was somehow in the lead with Ryan Sandes.

They caught back up, then by Duncan Canyon at 23.8 miles I was with Ryan and they had a small lead. Some walking left me in eighth as they climbed to Robinson Flat, but I went past Zeke who looked rough. I wished him luck and suggested he spend a few mins in the next aid station to recover (he did and then had an amazing surge late on to come in sixth) then powered on in seventh, which I held solo for about eight hours. Annoyingly, the six ahead were together and at each aid station I was told this, so knew that catching one of them meant getting back in the lead.

But by Foresthill at 62.0 miles the group had spread slightly with Timmy leading and powering on to his new, super-human, course record. I was 18 minutes behind him and just behind Nick who supposedly looked rough and would be 'easy to catch' according to the volunteers. He wasn't and his ability to come back from the dead suggested more Jesus-like powers, combined with the beard...maybe that does help (beard thoughts). Or maybe his strength comes from the beard, like Samson. Whatever it is, it's biblical.

With my pacers along to help me out, I hoped to capitalize on the easier running in the course in the last 38. Instead I'd used up my ammunition too early and could only grunt through to the finish, albeit fairly steadily. Mike Wolfe was seen after the river doing a slow walk and I thought he was dropping at Green Gate (79.9 miles) but he battled on like at last year's UTMB and still finished a respectable eighteenth man.

Some miles went by well but I was in more pain than previous years, compensated for by being better trained for the hills and starting the race fresher than 2010 or 2011. All I wanted was to break 16 hours and I'd take whatever position that meant. I needed around 10 minute miles for the last 20 miles and kept pushing through miserable sections, just wanting it to finish. With a couple of miles to go I caught Dylan Bowman who was spent, then kept going with a little sprint around the track at the end, mainly to get it over with faster.

Here's a video of the first 10 men finishing and another of the first 10 women too. Plus Greg Lanctot was kind enough to scream at me while shooting me sprint round Placer High track:



I'd describe it as the hardest day of my life (yes, I've led a sheltered life) but with the consolation that as soon as you stop, much of the pain and effort evaporates. Focusing more on this race in 2012 has helped but there are still a lot of things to work on for next year, as I'm sure there will be for the following year, etc. Much as it felt like hell for most of the day, there's something irresistible about the race, not least the level of competition.

Six of us broke 16 hours when only nine had ever done this before and most had done it on supposedly faster (but hotter) courses. Anyway, irunfar can give you all the stats and full results are here. I was extremely happy with 5th in 15:54 and a third top 10 finish. But hats off to so many people for their speedy running, particularly Timmy and Ellie's ground-breaking course records of 14:46 and 16:47.

Damned good runs by Oregonians too with three in the top 10 men and the same in the top 10 women. Too many great performances to mention but it'll be worth reading all the blog reports and irunfar will link to plenty of them once they've been written. Thanks to everyone who helped to put on the race, help out or just turn up and especially to my pacers Zach Violett and Jeff Caba. Somehow listening to me grunt for several hours didn't put them off the race at all.

Dirty Half Marathon

The past two years I've had my Junes filled with Western States and the Dirty Half Marathon in Bend two weeks before. Usually I also had Comrades two weeks before that but this year in an effort to be slightly more sensible (unlike Ellie Greenwood who foolishly put in lots of effort for her close second place at Comrades just three weeks before WS - tut, tut [head shake]), I skipped Comrades and the days of flying it involves.

Last year I opted to run the Dirty Half in 10 layers of clothing for heat training and most people kept asking if I was ok or if I wanted to leave some layars at an aid station. I didn't. This time I tried going for a hard run, especially since it's a competitive race with the leaders gunning for the national USATF half marathon trail title. It's really a race for second since Max King rolls out of bed each time after a hard shorter distance race the day before (this time it was an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 8:36 in the 3,000m steeplechase in Portland). He won in 1:15, as expected. 

The course is pure Central Oregon with beautiful, twisty single-track trails through the pine forests with plenty of sandy-colored background inbetween thanks to this being the beautiful Central Oregon High Desert. Not too much ascent, just rolling and sharp mini climbs. Basically really fun and fast for most of it. I managed a 1:20 so was happy with 8th and some faster running on trails thaan I usually would do.

Everyone had a great time, but later that day we found out there was a real tragedy that one man had collapsed on the course and died. The organizers weren't at fault at all and put on a fantastic event again, but there's always that chance that something can go wrong with any extreme exercise, as accidents can happen anywhere, any time.

The women's race was tight with local Marci Klimek edging out Colorado's Megan Kimmel in a sprint to the line in 1:24. My North Face team-mate (and Bend resident), Steph Howe rounded out the podium in 1:26 after winning her third Pole, Peddle, Paddle race the month before. Full results here. Come and do this sell-out trail race next year.

Do Ultra Beards Make You Run Faster?

Nick Clark - definitely bearded

At the end of last year I made a few light-hearted predictions about ultrarunning in 2012, including that ultra beards would go out of fashion. From what I've seen so far this year the men with beards still have beards. But for anyone trying to emulate their achievements, the important question is...do beards make you run faster in the mountains?

Using rigorous scientific methods which I'm unwilling to disclose, I've decided that the secret to success does not lie in some kind of Samson-like ability from not cutting your hair anywhere. Western States and Hardrock will put this to the test in the US but here's a sample comparison for interest's sake:

Bearded:

Tony Krupicka (injured)
Geoff Roes (taking time off to get back his mojo)
Nick Clark (see photo above which I'm posting again - clearly there are some issues)
Joe Grant (calls everything 'douche grade' and wears racing flats to do muddy, technical, Spanish mountain races)
Timothy Olson (seems to be winning a lot of stuff and providing a ray of hope for pogonophiles)

Unbearded:

Kilian Journet and all the Europeans (they seem to do well in general)
Dakota Jones (pretty sure he couldn't grow a grizzly beard yet but this isn't holding him back)
Mike Wolfe (with a name like that you might expect a beard, but it would just get in the way of him Tweeting)
Dave Mackey (Ultrarunner of the Year 2011 with zero beard)
Adam Campbell (on fire, so it's lucky he doesn't have a beard to burn)
Anna Frost (unstoppable and definitely beard-less)

Clearly beards are not benefiting runners in 2012 as much as, say, in 2010. My own accidental experiment with a pathetic beard while I forgot my razor in Chamonix did seem to suggest I was improving...but that could well have been down to training rather than mystical beard-related powers. The beard has gone and I haven't slowed down, so I believe it was either too weak a beard or just didn't help anyway.

I'm also fairly confident that beards don't make women faster. I'm yet to see a woman with a beard win a race, although I'll admit there may be a few further back in the pack.

The predictions in full and how they're panning out:

1. Mike Wardian will win at least one really major trail ultra, finally proving that he can find his way through the woods as well as run fast. It's only mid-season so Mike has at least 30 ultras left this year and I'm confident he'll win plenty.

2. Several people will run under 14 hours for 100 miles on various surfaces and at least a couple will break 13 too. Mike Morton is making this true all by himself with three already in 2012, plus Hal Koerner knocked out a 13:24 at Rocky Raccoon. I think there's still scope for some sub-13h action this year.

3. Western States will be run on the normal course and won't be as fast as the past two years. Looking like a safe bet, but with such a classy field they may well run the fastest full course time to break the 15:40 best by Mike Morton.

4. Some men you've never heard of will win big ultras in the US but you'll have the same names for the women at the front of the top races. Ok, this hasn't really happened yet but it's only the start of the main summer season.

5. China will join the ultra bandwagon, train up some marathon runners and send them to races to make them the 'Salomon' of 2012. These runners will then run away at the finish line and claim asylum. I've heard there's a secret program and these Chinese runners will be at the Olympics then will become British citizens.

6. North Korea will try to copy this 'success' but their runners will run away before the starting gun even goes off. I think they're too messed up to know what the Chinese are up to right now.

7. Races in the Euro area will become very cheap (to the rest of the world) as the currency becomes monopoly money. This is happening to an alarming degree and if Greece leaves the Euro, as it looks like they may, then plan to do some cheap trips to Europe.

8. In the quest for lighter and more minimalist shoes, one company will come up with the idea of injecting shoes with helium, which will lead to hilarious accidents on course as people with squeaky voices limp into aid stations. If anyone does this I'm suing as it's my idea and I'm in America so I'd probably win.

9. Ultra beards will go out of fashion. See above.

10. A tribe from the Amazon will be discovered who run all day and night in Hoka-like shoes and have done for centuries. A book will be written and Scott Jurek will race them. I'm really hoping there's an explorer down in the Amazon who'll find a lost tribe who run all day with dead leopards stuck to their feet and that these large, cushioned shoes allow them to achieve untapped levels of running. If so, I'll let Scott know and he can take a break from his book tour.

Chamonix in Photos - Mountain Training

I just got home from a month away in Europe where I fitted in more mountain running than ever before. It's eye-opening to try to fit in more vertical than I'm used to and on gradients that are steeper than I'd usually train on (up to 1,900ft/mile - definitely not douche grade as the Skyrunners described easier slopes!). I have an even more deep-founded respect for the guys who can fly up those slopes and achieve things like 30-minute Vertical K times (a 3,300ft climb over 3 miles or less).

Combining the volcanic slopes of La Palma for the Transvulcania race, then muddy slopes of the Spanish Pyrenees for Zegama-Aizkorri was tough. Then an easier weekend at the Northants Ultra 35 miler with just 2,000ft of ascent before heading to Chamonix to run around the Mt Blanc area and 'run' (ie hike) up thousands of feet per day and trash the legs on the downhills. And all while watching the Comrades Marathon jealously from afar, especially the incredible runs from Ellie Greenwood (2nd), Jo Zakrzewski (4th) and Devon Crosby-Helms (5th) and Mike Wardian battling through pain from the start line to still run 6h03m, only half an hour off the men's lead.

There's an obvious trade-off within training that if you run up and down mountains all day long you lose some of that speed for the flatter races and specialization is the key to success within the increasingly competitive men's fields. For example, just nine minutes separated the top 10 men at Comrades. So this summer I'm giving Western States a bit more respect and training for it rather than the road races. It's just 17 days away and I'm getting kids-at-Christmas giddy about it. As a nice reward, I got some of the views below within the last week.

Chamonix Vertical K course up a ski slope