The Other 10% Rule

Fast uphill running. Photo: Ian Sharman

Before I start, this isn't a post about how men or women are 'better' than each other. This is just a simple and high level look at stats and comparisons between the sexes. I've met women who are made of granite as well as men whose wills could slice through diamond. Pretty much anyone who undertakes an ultra is unusually strong-willed.

We already have age-grading that allows a degree of comparison between the sexes and ages. But it assumes that the records (especially age-group records) are equally as impressive for men and women, plus that the record is equivalent to the fastest non-masters runner. If either the men's or women's record is relatively more competitive then it skews the results of that sex. More on this in the conclusion.

What is the other 10% rule?

We've all heard about the 10% rule for increasing mileage week-on-week to avoid getting injured, but there's a more precise relationship I've noticed throughout watching the Olympics all my life. The two events that most captured my imagination, the 100m and the marathon, had a relationship between the best men's and best women's record times. Doing simple calcs in my head I could see it was about a 10% gap - women's times were around this much slower than men's times. It seemed to roughly apply across a lot of track and field events, so I thought I'd see how exact that figure is and what it says about ultras.

I've heard people state that at longer distances women have an advantage and I know that scientists predicted the female marathoners would catch the men's times within a short period of time. Unfortunately they based that off simple extrapolation from women's times improving faster than men's in the past when the women's field became more competitive, while the men's already were.

Is there an advantage for women in ultras? Are they more efficient and physically superior for these types of endurance events? Or perhaps they're mentally stronger, able to withstand more pain or are more determined? If so then we'd expect to see that showing through in results at the most competitive ultras and the fastest times by the best athletes.

The stats

Below are the world bests on any surface for various running distances and events for men and women. I've split these into four categories, with the first three being Olympic or at least fully professional and competitive distances - Sprints, Middle Distance and Long Distance. Then I've separated ultra distances below because these don't tend to have the same deep level of full-time pro athletes as the distances up to the marathon. The professional distances are where I'd expect to see enough competition to make the records be a good representation of the best athletes in the world ever at their respective events.

TABLE 1: Olympic/Professional Distances

Distance (All Surfaces)	Men	Women	Percentage Difference	Notes
100m	9.58	10.49	9.50%	Women's record by Florence Griffith Joyner (USA) record has some doping questions, never proved
200m	19.19	21.34	11.20%	Also a Flo Jo record yet relatively less impressive, doping or not
400m	43.18	47.6	10.24%	Women's record by Marita Koch (East Germany) during period of known doping by Eastern Bloc
Avg for sprints			10.31%
800m	01:40.910	01:53.280	9.50%	Women's record by Jarmila Kratochvílová (Czechoslovakia) during period of known doping by Eastern Bloc
1500m	03:26.000	03:50.460	11.87%
1 mile	03:43.130	04:12.560	13.19%
Avg for middle distance			11.52%
5000m	12:37.350	14:11.150	12.39%
10000m	26:17.530	29:31.780	12.31%
Half	0:58:23	1:05:40	12.48%
Marathon	2:03:23	2:15:25	9.75%	No woman other than Paula Radcliffe has broken 2:18, showing just how special her record is
Avg for long distance (pro)			11.73%

Source: IAAF 

What this shows is that it's rare for female world bests to be within 10% of the men's time. In fact, the two distances that made me think about this relationship are two of the toughest and most impressive female records. Both Flo Jo (100m) and Paula Radcliffe (marathon) have run records that have barely been approached - Paula's marathon time is a decade old and is so good it's almost a 3-minute gap to the next best female time, while the men's marathon record has numerous other runners within 1 minute, plus it's only 1 month old at the time of writing. Flo Jo's record is even older.

What seems most notable to me for these Olympic distances is that getting within 10% of the men's performance is the sign of a mind-blowing record. And that's for the most fiercely fought events in world running!

How does the 10% rule relate to ultras?

Already it can be seen that most women's professional distance records are more than 10% slower than men's records. So what about the increasingly competitive world of ultrarunning? I'd argue that the only ultra races that have a long history and truly deep fields on both the men's and women's sides are the South African road ultras - Comrades and Two Oceans.

TABLE 2: Ultra Distances

Distance (All Surfaces)	Men	Women	Percentage Difference	Notes
50k	2:43:38	3:08:39	15.29%
Two Oceans (34.8 miles)	3:03:44	3:30:36	14.62%	The 50k records were the same runs as these records, as a 50k split
Comrades Down Run (55.5 miles)	5:20:49	5:54:43	10.57%	Better representation of 50 mile comparisons as 50 mile distance wasn't raced at the top level by women outside of Comrades
100k (Ann Trason)	6:10:20	7:00:47	13.62%	Second best female 100k time by Ann Trason (USA) - see below for reason
100 miles	11:28:03	13:47:41	20.29%	Not raced by women at the same deeper competitive level as by men in 1980s-2000 when male record set
24 hrs (m)	303,506	254,425	19.29%
UTMB (trail)	20:34:57	22:37:56	9.96%	Records set same year so weather not a differential
WS100 (trail)	14:46:44	16:47:19	13.60%	Records set same year so weather not a differential
Avg for long distance (ultra/semi-pro) without Tomoe Abe			14.66%
Avg for long distance (ultra/semi-pro) with Tomoe Abe			13.72%	More info about the Tomoe Abe record here
Other Results of Note:
50 miles	4:50:51	5:40:18	17.00%	Top women ran much faster for 50 miles at Comrades, so that's a better comparison
100k	6:10:20	6:33:11	6.17%	Record by Tomoe Abe (JPN) who was a professional marathoner

Sources: IAU, race websites

The 10% rule almost applies to Comrades, the larger, older and more competitive of these two races with a longer history - a 10.57% difference. But not so much for Two Oceans, despite the record holder for women being the same person as at Comrades, Frith van der Merwe.

It certainly doesn't hold up for most of the events in the table, possibly due to lower female participation but also because Yiannis Kouros spear-headed huge improvements in men's ultra road and track running. In fact, his dominance is so great that his 24-hour record is a half marathon ahead of his next closest challenger!

Most trail ultras are either too new or have fields that are only a few elite runners deep. So I included the two that have the longest and deepest history of competitiveness, especially since their records for men and women were set in the same editions (2012 for Western States 100 and 2013 for UTMB), removing differences in trail conditions, distances or weather. What stands out is that Rory Bosio's record at UTMB is a truly competitive record relative to a very impressive men's record.

The 10% rule doesn't seem to apply to ultras as much, probably due to it being a male-dominated sport with deeper men's fields to push the men's limits closer to a theoretical maximum than for the women. But women like Frith and Rory show that women's records at the top level can hit around 10% off the men's bests.

Women's records at some ultra races are indeed within 10% and sometimes women win outright, but I'd argue that those results reflect more on the lead women being closer to the best of the best than the lead men in those cases. That's why I've only included the most competitive races that are directly comparable. A separate question is whether women below the very top level race better than equivalent men, since women's finish rates are often higher than those of the their male counterparts. However, that's a different angle and is where I'd expect to see sensible tactics and a lack of testosterone-fueled over-exuberance giving women a relative edge on average...but not enough to overcome the physical attributes that lead to the 10% advantage at the upper limit of what's possible.

The one clear outlier is Tomoe Abe's 100k world best for women, which is so fast it's 27 minutes better than the next result and this is the only ultra result I can find from her. She was a professional road marathoner with a 2:26 PR, roughly equivalent to many of the fastest male 100k runners. So I've excluded her because she was a pro marathon runner while the top men weren't (making her closer to the female 'potential' than the men may have been to the male 'potential'). Her 100k time is around what would be expected from a male runner with an equivalent marathon time and very good aptitude for road ultras.

Predictions

Although the 10% rule doesn't hold up perfectly throughout, it looks like it roughly applies when both the men's and women's records are equally close to the best possible results a human can achieve. This doesn't seem to be the case in most truly top level ultra events yet, but if we use it as a benchmark, what kind of times might we see at ultra events by women as the fields get deeper and more astounding women push each other to their limits?

Note that the predictions below have an obvious caveat - the weather and conditions need to be equivalent to compare results year-on-year. So Timmy Olson's Western States 100 record was run in near perfect conditions for the course and no man or woman is likely to get an equivalent performance without equally good weather. If they manage it it tougher conditions, it's not equivalent - it's better.

TABLE 3: Predictions For Women's Times For Selected Fast Men's Global Records

Distance (All Surfaces)	Men's Actual Record	Women's Predicted Record	Women's Actual Record	Notes
Two Oceans (34.8 miles)	3:03:44	3:22:06	3:30:36
Comrades Down Run (55.5 miles)	5:20:49	5:52:54	5:54:43
100 Miles	11:28:03	12:36:51	13:47:41
24 hrs (m)	303,506	275,915	254,425	That's 171.5 miles - 1 mile short of the US men's 24 hr record!
UTMB (trail)	20:34:57	22:38:27	22:37:56
WS100 (trail)	14:46:44	16:15:24	16:47:19
Rocky Raccoon 100 (trail)	12:44:33	14:01:00	14:57:18
Leadville 100 (trail)	15:42:59	17:17:17	18:06:24
Grand Slam (trail)	69:49:38	76:48:36	79:23:21
Hardrock 100 (trail)	23:23:30	25:43:51	27:18:24
Spartathlon 153 (road/trail)	20:25:00	22:27:30	27:02:17
Rim2Rim2Rim (Grand Canyon)	6:21:47	6:59:58	8:15:51
JFK50 (trail)	5:34:58	6:08:28	6:11:59
TNF100 Australia (trail)	9:16:12	10:11:49	11:01:08
Speedgoat 50k (trail)	5:08:07	5:38:56	6:17:02
Vertical K (trail)	0:30:26	0:33:29	0:36:48	Included this one for fun, despite not being an ultra as it's very competitive

Sources: IAU, race websites

Conclusion

I think the 10% rule stands up as a way of measuring potential. It only applies when the men's best times are truly at the top end of what's physically possible, but even allowing for that it can compare when women have out-done the men on a given course, allowing for differences in weather etc. Distance running women in that list include Paula Radcliffe, Frith van der Merwe, Tomoe Abe and Rory Bosio with several other women around that level.

So I'd argue that men have been 'virtually chicked' ('chicking' refers to a woman passing a man in a race) if a woman runs 10% slower than them...look out all those guys that thought they could beat Rory or Ellie Greenwood currently! This would also allow for a ranking at a race based on times adjusted for the sex of the runner.

Age gradings could also be altered to allow for when the record for one sex is relatively less impressive than that of the other sex by making the gap in theoretical fastest times be 10% (ie whichever record is relatively slower gets improved to retain the 10% gap). That is likely to apply when the female field is a lot smaller than the male field, but makes the amazing masters' records of people like Meghan Arbogast even more impressive.

Apologies if I offended anyone with this article, but I found it fascinating to look at the results and comparisons for all types of running. The data is as objective as I could make it, but I'm sure many would disagree with even the sentiment of what I was comparing.

Exploring The Limits Of The Body

I started the Javelina Jundred 100-miler yesterday, but didn't finish. Normally that would feel like abject failure but this year I feel I've been getting a better idea of when I can push and when to cut my losses.

After the Grand Slam through the summer, I was able to push myself harder than I'd previously thought possible, largely thanks to having Nick Clark to race against. To me ultrarunning is about finding out more about myself and not getting constrained by what I think should be possible. My instinct told me that four 100-milers in a 10-week period would lead to gradual deterioration of my body (and mind), yet some aspects of my fitness actually improved. At the end of each race I was completely spent, but more so after the final 100, the hardest and slowest course at Wasatch.

Since I seemed to still be in one piece after the summer I made a late season decision to run Javelina since it's a faster course and the organizers, the Coury brothers, put on such excellent events. Each of the Slam races was either three or four weeks apart so I thought a seven week gap might be ok. If I didn't try I know I'd wonder for the future whether the summer had made me reach a new level of fitness or worn me out.

So I started at Javelina and felt surprisingly good on lap one of 6.5. It was so much fun running and chatting around sunrise to Hal Koerner, Joe Grant and my Scott team-mate, Jeremy Humphries. Even better when we went through the first loop in course record pace, all feeling good. Things stayed together for most of the second loop too and we all hit the end of loop two within a minute of each other, in 3:54 for 30.6 miles.

By that point I was starting to feel a little tired, but wasn't worried as 30 miles is a long way and the pace was good. However, in the next few miles my legs felt dead with nothing left in the tank. I tried hiking to kick-start things but after a couple of miles of switching between walking and running I found I could barely run. I kept walking for the rest of that loop but even 50ft of running felt like too much, so I opted to just walk in to the end of the loop, worried that pushing more might dig me into a deep hole for the next few months.

Although it was hot, there was a light breeze that meant it felt fine as long as I kept dousing myself in water. The walk back was genuinely pleasant as the desert looked beautiful plus the number of runners in Halloween costumes certainly adds to the experience - it's amazing they do that in the desert heat.

I wasn't feeling down about things not working out since 2013 has been a great year for me. Instead I was glad I took a chance to try one more ultra this year and that I picked an event as fun as Javelina. If I never fail, success seems hollow as it means I'm staying within my comfort zone.

The initial lead back broke up over laps three and four, leaving Hal in front and he won in 14:56 with Catlow Shipcek second and Joe in third. Jeremy got progressively more injured throughout and had to drop at mile 70 with a suspected broken foot, so hopefully it won't turn out to be that bad. Nice work by all the runners and this is a race I'd highly recommend and will return to.

Full results here when available.

Back To Running

I felt a little uneasy not running for two weeks after Wasatch 100 since I already had so much time off running in-between each 100 miler this summer. It may sound weird, but I felt like I really took things easy for most of the past few months - I just had four major days of running dawn 'til dusk.

So it's been surprisingly liberating to try to run fast again in the past week after a lot of plodding and hiking. To kick things off I entered the Coastal Trails Diablo half marathon as it's just down the road and I wanted an excuse to push hard on Mt Diablo as it's my favorite place to run in the Bay Area. A few weeks ago the mountain was on fire (apt, given the name) but luckily the majority of trails were basically ok. It uses the most direct route to the summit from Mitchell Canyon Trailhead, a 6.7-mile, 3,400ft climb up fire-roads and single-track then back again at full speed.

One thing that appeals is that I want to chase the Fastest Known Time (FKT) for the climb and descent and the quickest that I can find evidence for is the 1:49:20 CR from this race in 2012. I think a Sage or Max King could run low 1:30s, so as long as they stay away I think I've got a shot and will give it a few attempts through the winter.

In this race I got to chase Jonas Oppedal but was five to six mins back by the summit (1:12 was my split), before hammering after him in a fun chase that even didn't get me within sight. He ran a tantalizing 13 seconds over the course record and I was 81 seconds behind him in 1:50:54. Strava info here.

Another great event from Coastal Trail Runs, one of the best reasons to live in the Bay Area.

Also, UltraSportsLive.tv made a video of the race showing some of the great trails and views on Diablo:

Are We In A Trail Ultrarunning Golden Age?

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

Selected World Records/Bests (All Surfaces)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grand Slam Stats

Some facts and figures I found interesting from the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, involving running the Western States 100, Vermont 100, Leadville Trail 100 and Wasatch Front 100 in the same summer.

Average age of finishers: 44.77
Official finishers prior to 2013: 266
Official finishers including 2013: 288

Number of those 288 who broke 100 hours in total: 54 (plus Nick Clark)
Number of women who broke 100 hours: 6 (including Krissy Moehl, Darcy Africa and Ann Trason...plus Abby McQueeney Penamonte in 2013)

Most finishes by one person: 8 (Dan Brendan - missed only two years from 2004 to 2013)
Most starters in one year: 36 (1998)
Most finishers in one year: 22 (plus Nick Clark for 23) (2013)
State or country with most finishers since 1986: California (51)

Total ascent according to run100s.com: 74,732ft
Total descent according to run100s.com: 78,861ft
Total ascent according to my Garmin: 74,116ft (including several hours of using a less accurate 305 model at Wasatch that tends to underestimate)

Most stats above taken from run100s.com, the rest from Strava/Garmin.

Wasatch Front 100 - The Finale of the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning

The end of 400 miles. Photo: irunfar

Just 20 days after Leadville the remaining 23 Grand Slammers turned up in Utah to crown the summer's efforts. Much as Nick and I wanted to do well in the race itself, it was now all down to whether he could beat me by over 69 minutes, which was my lead from the other races. As he said in post-Leadville interviews, it was 'game on.' See my race reports from the other three races (Western States, Vermont and Leadville).

A canceled flight the day before the race didn't help my stress levels but I eventually got to the race briefing late, direct from the airport. There was a lot of uncertainty in the air for me despite the fact everyone I spoke to seemed to think I had the Slam record in the bag. I didn't think that, but at least I was uninjured and as well rested as possible.

The race itself started with almost two hours of dark and the first few miles were on gently rolling trails, an easy introduction into the 26,500ft of ascent and almost that much descent (it's a point-to-point course). This race is by far the hardest of the Grand Slam events and wasn't helped by it being one of, if not the, hottest year in the race's history.

Nick and I went to the front from about mile three onwards then the first huge climb started and Nick disappeared into the darkness. By the top of the climb, a 4,000ft net gain, I could just see him about three minutes ahead and I was just ahead of the chase pack. I felt that was a good start and that my legs were cooperating. Some of the early miles were beautiful and I was able to enjoy it before feeling the fatigue and soreness that would inevitably follow. Rod Bien and I ran together for many miles and I considered him the biggest threat for the win after Nick since I used to live in Bend, OR, where Rod lives and I'd seen his strength on the climbs. Rod eventually got a comfortable margin for third, but all I cared about was how far ahead Nick was.

Nick led from start to finish and I was in second almost the whole day as well, but he had me worried when he started increasing his lead through the day. It didn't help that I missed a turn before half-way and added 15 minutes, meaning he had a 38-minute lead at mile 52. The heat took it's toll in the first half too and therefore many people dropped fairly early on, plus all the runners were slowed by the lack of shade for long sections. Even though Western States was far hotter this year than Wasatch, I had about as many issues dealing with dizziness and difficulty eating at both. The additional altitude of Wasatch certainly added to this, with much of the course above 9,000ft.

From about 25 miles in I could definitely tell my legs had run several 100s recently, which wasn't how it felt at Leadville. All I could do was to look after myself enough to avoid a melt-down (or a serious one anyway). Yet Nick kept his lead to between 27 and 41 minutes for most of the second half so I had to push.

I've never vomited in a race before so when I got light-headed then started spewing at mile 80, I got very worried. It had been dark for over an hour and the trails in the last 25 miles are sketchy to say the least. Technical, rocky trails are fun, but there were some nasty super-steep descents down v-shaped scree slopes with fist-sized rocks throughout. Combining high altitude, exhaustion, night and those downhills led to a lot of falls, swearing and frustration. I struggled to get into a rhythm with constant ups and downs from mile 85 and was generally feeling sorry for myself. I was sure Nick must have been zooming ahead of me to get close to the 69-minute win he needed, but I wasn't the only one feeling the effects of the day and the previous races.

After a 9.7-mile stretch between aid stations on the hardest terrain of the day I'd somehow pulled back a few minutes, which got me so excited I sped up then had to puke again. With 7.6 miles to go Nick was only about 35 minutes ahead, so even my second bout of stomach issues wasn't enough to worry me.

In contrast to some of the insanely hard night sections before it, the last few miles are gentle and very runnable. There's still a lot of downhill to the finish but it's at more of a pedestrian 12% gradient than the near vertical sections earlier, plus it's all on fire roads finishing with a couple of miles of paved road.

Wasatch is undoubtedly the hardest race I've ever run and makes for a seriously tough finish to the Grand Slam. I look back now and know the only reason I got through it and kept motivated was that nick and I had pushed each other for the whole summer and I was never going to let that hard work go to waste.

Nick won in 20h24m, a slower time than he should have run due to the heat and leg fatigue. I heard him finish as I was running down the side of the mountains about three and a half miles away. Then I came in just under 21 hours after more night running than I've ever dealt with, but couldn't find the route to the finish line when just feet away from it. I was shouted at very angrily by a race volunteer (I assume) who told me to follow the glow-sticks, which just weren't very visible from 100ft away. That little altercation cost me a couple of minutes and I finished in 21h01m. I felt no emotion, not even relief, and was just drained. The day had been full of so many emotions and highs and lows as varied as the course profile, that I think there was just nothing left. It took me about two hours to eat a grilled cheese sandwich as even that was too much effort after the running stopped. Full race results here.

Nick at the finish. Photo: irunfar

Congratulating each other on our wins (everyone's a winner). Photo: irunfar

In summary

So Nick ran the fastest combined time for the four Slam races in 70h21m but 37 minutes later I lowered that again to 69h49m. Just writing that makes me wonder how we both were able to go head-to-head for such a huge amount of time and finish so close. It really came down to the final miles and nothing was certain until we both crossed the line.

Much as the body gets damaged by these consecutive 100-milers, the mind takes a beating too. Forcing myself to give it everything through the last 30-70 miles (depending on which race in the series it was) four times in succession drained me to my core.

I'll have many fond memories of this summer and the main theme will be the friendly, but committed, competition with a good friend and incredible runner. I've nothing but the utmost respect for Nick and we drove each other to perform better and run faster than solo efforts would have allowed. It's rare to see a close rivalry between just two runners in the ultra world and to have us so evenly matched through the summer. I look forward to the next time we face off against each other, probably at the 2014 Western States.

There were 22 finishers in the official Grand Slam plus Nick completed the races without entering the overall series. Their details are here and all went through more than I could have imagined before I attempted it myself.

My full Grand Slam write-up is on irunfar.

Also, here are the Strava GPS files for the four Slam races:

Western States 100

Vermont 100

Leadville Trail 100

Wasatch Front 100

And finally the gear I used, which was basically identical through all four races and worked really well for me:

Scott Kinabalu T2 trail shoes
UltrAspire handhelds, Spry and Alpha vests
Julbo Dust shades
Clif Bar Shot gels and Shot Bloks
Drymax Max Protection Trail socks
Hypoxico Altitude Tent (for Wasatch only)

Thank you to everyone who helped or supported me, whether it was my pacers Sean Meissner and Aaron Keller, my sponsors or my wife who had to put up with me spending half the summer away from home.

Leadville Quick Race Report

Photo: irunfar

Epic summer battling with fellow Brit Nick Clark. Photo: irunfar

Leadville went well, especially since it was race three of the Grand Slam and race two (Vermont 100) was kind of horrible for me. Since my body won't let me sleep I might as well write the race up briefly.

In summary, there were some fast guys aiming to do ridiculous times. Scott Jurek wanted to be the second man to break 16 hours and Ryan Sandes was coming back after a fast win in 2011. irunfar did a great write up of the contenders. So Nick Clark and I were dark horses given the two 100s in our legs from recent weeks and we weren't expected to be around the lead at the end.

It started off with a huge pack zooming off in the pre-dawn dark, which wasn't surprising given it's downhill and there were around 1,000 runners. Most of that pack stayed together to Mayqueen at 13.5 miles but then by the first proper climb around mile 15, former Olympian Mike Aish took off followed by Ryan Sandes, Andrew Catalano, Nick Clark and myself. I was amazed by how flat a lot of the course was, especially the road sections, but I bore this in mind for later so that I could aim to conserve energy to allow me to run those easy bits on the way back (it's 50 miles out and back).

Nick and I spent much of the first half running together or near each other in around fourth and fifth and entered the Twin Lakes aid station at mile 39 together. We'd had plenty of banter all day long but were both running well so headed off towards the 3,000ft+ climb up Hope Pass.

I decided fairly early on that since I live at sea level and the race is almost all above 10,000ft I'd need to keep my perceived effort down to make my legs and energy reserves last the whole way. Plus I'd already run the other 100 milers recently so wanted to be conservative due to that too. So I hiked every step of Hope Pass both directions but I practice that a lot since I'm not a strong uphill runner and it seemed to work well since I got into second by the top (12,600ft) on the way out, although Nick and Ryan were just behind. Ryan dropped at this point with back problems after looking so strong through the first half.

On the return journey I kept focusing on power-hiking anything tougher than about a 5% gradient and was catching Mike Aish gradually as well as pulling away from Nick. Now I was thinking about the possibility of winning but couldn't let myself think about that and instead stuck to my tactics and just hoped they'd pay off. Amazingly I was still feeling good at mile 60 and at around mile 67 I caught Mike as he was walking - he looked destroyed and I just hoped he'd be able to finish after dropping the previous year.

Things kept going well through to the Outward Bound aid station at mile 76 and my crew and pacers, Meredith Terranova and Sean Meissner were looking after me well. Hiking up Powerline in the next few miles I still felt fairly good but by about mile 82 things turned and I felt delerious. On the downhill trail into Mayqueen (86.5 miles) I was dizzy and almost tripping over every rock. Nick managed to close on me during this section although I had no idea. Then after Mayqueen a toilet stop seemed to bring me back to life and I was able to cruise along the rolling lake single track.

About eight miles from the finish I was told at the last time check (Mayqueen) Nick was 10 mins behind me so that lit a fire under me and I suddenly kicked it up a gear and ran really hard. I couldn't eat anything and just hoped I wouldn't bonk and that Nick wouldn't catch me - frankly I was terrified he'd take the win from me in the last couple of miles.

Somehow my body let me run in those final miles fast enough to break two hours for the split for the last 13.5 miles and I gapped Nick by 36 mins in the end, but I only found that out when he crossed the line. I assumed he was still catching me.

So Grand Slammers got 1-2 in the race and now we're around 4h40m (me) and 3h30m (Nick) under the Slam record splits with just Wasatch Front left. I really don't want to think about doing another 100 now but I'm sure that'll change in about a week.

My GPS watch lasted long enough to capture each of the three Slam races so far so here are the data for my runs on Strava:

Western States 100 (6/29): http://app.strava.com/activities/63921494

Vermont 100 (7/20): http://app.strava.com/activities/69091265

Leadville Trail 100 (8/17): http://app.strava.com/activities/75597891

Gear used at Leadville:

Scott Kinabalu T2 trail shoes
UltrAspire handhelds and Spry vest
Julbo Dust shades
Clif Bar Shot gels and Shot Bloks
Drymax Max Protection Trail socks

Also, here's a TV interview I did about the race with Mike Wardian called Gotta Get Running:

Mayqueen on the way out (mile 13.5), briefly leading. Photo: irunfar

Meredith helping a speedy transition around mile 72. Photo: Eric Senseman

Nick and myself at the finish, completely drained. Photo: Meredith Terranova

Top Five Tips for Recovering Between Grand Slam Races

Only photo I have of massage, back at the 2009 Rome Marathon with Roberto 'the Butcher of Pimlico'

One of the biggest challenges of running four 100-milers over the summer for the Grand Slam is recovering in the three to four weeks between each race. So far I've found a few easy tips have helped but the more races I do, the more the body has to deal with so the more important these become.

1. Rest - don't feel the need to run much between races. The main training occurs before the first race so I take at least one week completely off running after each 100. Even after that my mileage is tiny compared to normal, generally not running on consecutive days.

2. Don't race in the rest periods - it's tempting to throw in extra races to fit in long runs to get rid of the 'guilt' of running less than normal. I paced at the Badwater 135 a few days before race number two at Vermont. The speeds involved were gentle enough to not be an issue but the sleep deprivation and overnight flights didn't help.

3. Eat well - the body has so much more muscle damage to deal with than during normal training and the recovery rate needs to be so much quicker. Nutritionist Meredith Terranova gave me some pointers here - lots of protein, branch chain amino acid supplements, CoQ10 supplements and BComplex/B12 vitamins. Generally I try to get my nutrients purely through food, but in this extreme case I can see the benefit of topping things up.

4. Quality sleep - giving sleep a higher priority than usual and aiming to get eight hours or more as often as possible allows the body to heal itself more effectively. Events like the Grand Slam involve a huge amount of time so it's worth including this as part of that commitment.

5. Massage - I generally get a sports massage every two to four weeks even when in normal training, but I find it really helps to get one of these about three to four days after each race (to allow enough time for muscle soreness to subside) and again about a week later (when a deeper massage can be given). It reduces tightness and I certainly find it speeds up recovery, even if that hasn't been proved conclusively in scientific studies.

Vermont 100 - Stage Two Of The Grand Slam

When I first signed up for the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning (four of the original 100 milers in one summer – Western States, Vermont, Leadville and Wasatch Front), I never expected it to be easy. That’s kind of the point, to challenge my mind and body in a new way. However, I think I was getting caught up in the fun side of things and not appreciating that even the race with the least climbing of the four, Vermont, is very tough just three weeks after running Western States.

If there’s a theme so far in this year’s summer for me, it’s heat. Western States was the second hottest in its 40-year history and Vermont in summer is guaranteed to be humid and probably boiling too. The North-East was hit by a heat wave combined with huge amounts of rain so I mentally prepared myself for dealing with that and applying the lessons from Western States on keeping cool.

Just to add to the mix I decided to pace a friend, Glen Redpath, at Badwater 135, which finished just four days before Vermont and screwed up sleep and rest in the final week. However, it was very enjoyable and worthwhile to see Glen wrestle through 125 degree Fahrenheit highs and close well enough to finish under 30 hours, in 29h58m for 12^th place. It’s the third year I’ve paced through Death Valley and each has been rewarding as well as very enlightening about how to deal with extreme heat and lack of shade. If I was to run that race in the future I know I’d be much better prepared but pacing is a lot more pleasurable, and at a fraction of the cost. Just to make the rest of us feel like wimps, Keith Straw is running the Grand Slam plus Badwater for the second time…he ran sub 24 hours at both Western and Vermont!

Badlands near Badwater

10am start wave at Badwater 135

Glen being paced by his brother, Mike Redpath

Glen at the dawn of day two of Badwater

Long road to Mt Whitney

Glen with the crew he may have wished he had

I took a red-eye to Boston from Badwater on Wednesday night pre-Vermont then arrived at the race HQ, a field with no phone reception and basically no nearby hotels, on Friday. Spirits were high as everybody contemplated the weather and how that might impact things. With many people camping I opted to sleep in the small rental car, which wasn’t ideal. When a seriously impressive and dramatic thunderstorm erupted at 11pm, I was happy I’d avoided my tiny, non-waterproof tent. Even though I had to be up for the 4am start I couldn’t help watching the storm for a while as it lit up the sky and helped to bring the humidity and temperature down briefly.

That storm helped to make the weather much more manageable for the first 40-50 miles of the race although it warmed up and both Nick Clark and Nick Pedatella told me afterwards that they really felt the heat. The weather was the least of my worries since I’ve never had so many things go wrong in a race. Although I’d done some test runs, even with speed, I hadn’t run anything remotely long since Western States and therefore didn’t know how much fatigue I would have to deal with on race day. The answer was lots.

Eating too much at the pre-race dinner meant I had three emergency toilet stops in the first 20 miles and kept dropping off the lead pack each time then gradually reeling them in. The fairly gentle hills and mainly fire-road trails felt reasonably good, even in the first hour which was fully dark. We had plenty of chat and banter between our small group, which included Jason Lantz (the eventual winner), Chad Ricklefs (leader up to mile 98.5) and Nick Clark. The race within the race was between Nick and myself since we were both comfortably under the Grand Slam record split from Western States with a relatively narrow margin of 36 minutes between us. So when Nick disappeared in the distance and I dropped to around eighth after 25-30 miles, it wasn’t a good sign. Getting lost for a few minutes at mile 40-something didn’t help either, but the mistake was quickly corrected.

The relatively easy and non-technical terrain is deceptive in that much of it (but not all) is fast and gentle in itself but it cumulatively adds up enough that tired legs soon become nearly useless. 100 milers tend to be large patches of feeling good mixed in with a few bad spots and a grind to the finish. This one was almost reversed for me, with long sections of feeling completely fatigued and sore with the occasional fast couple of miles. I had periods of dizziness, light-headedness and sickness with the best sections merely hurting, even early on. Throughout it all I had to fight off the demons of negative voices in my head and stop myself from thinking about anything that wasn’t going well, instead reminding myself I was moving forwards and that nothing was serious enough to warrant giving up or not pushing on. As per Bryon Powell’s, it was all about ‘Relentless Forward Progress.’

It wasn’t fun for me and I wasn’t able to enjoy the course like I’d hoped to. At mile 70 my pacer, Jordan Fields, joined me and I felt sorry for him for having to go so slowly since he’s a top class cross-country skier and 12-15 minute miles were like going backwards. Miles 70-80 were so about my slowest and I expected that the final 20 would be equally poor. Luckily the pain and dizziness faded to a more standard dull ultra ache and that meant faster running was more feasible. I was in fifth and Nick was 13-14 minutes ahead so my aim was to minimize that gap and maybe catch him if he hit a particularly bad spell.

In honesty I don’t want to remember much of the day because the best memory was crossing the finish line. I’m very happy I didn’t give up and managed the worst parts of the day well enough to keep moving at a fair pace throughout, so I’ve got my grinder hat on and am ready to dig in for the last two races of the Slam. DNF is not an option, especially after forcing myself through two tough days already.

I closed slightly on Nick in the final miles and overtook last year’s winner (who only missed the course record by a minute in 2012), Brian Rusiecki, to climb to fourth. He passed me like I was petrified at mile 50 but was suffering at the end and didn’t really try to race me. 15h57m was my eventual time, three minutes behind Nick and with splits that weren’t too uneven – around 7h30m for the first half and 8h27m for the remainder. Here’s the Strava data. Both Nick and myself clocked the altitude gain at 15,300ft, a little more than advertized (in contrast, my watch showed WS as 500ft of ascent less than advertised). Full results here.

The race had several differences to what I’m used to on the West Coast, including having multiple distances of horse races at the same time as the run, although they didn’t really impact runners under about 18 hours in the 100 mile run. Aid stations were plentiful as there were 30, but many were unmanned with just water, Coke and Gatorade in huge containers that were awkward to fill water bottles from. No gels at any aid stations also made it harder to fuel as I usually have 50+ in this type of race and was limited to what I brought with me. I’d guess this is a result of littering on the private property the race goes through in the past.

It’s an historic and great race which I feel I didn’t do justice too, except through the fact I didn’t give up. On second thoughts that’s probably the most defining aspect of a 100-miler, so the other bits I care about personally (like times and positions) are less relevant. The scenery very much reminded me of the UK and of many trail races I’ve run there, including the muddy woodland paths.

Leadville is four weeks away so the extra week of recovery should help, plus I’ll be staying in Colorado for two weeks pre-race to get some easy altitude acclimatization in. From speaking to past Slammers things usually feel better by Leadville so I really hope that’s true. Paul Terranova was able to run the Hawaii Ironman after his 80-hour slam last year and did so pretty fast (for mere mortals, not by his standards).

Grand Slam stats so far:

Number of starters – 31 (plus Nick Clark unofficially)
Number of runners left after Western States – 28 (plus Nick)
Number of runners left after Vermont – 26 (plus Nick)
Neil Gorman’s 2010 total time to the end of Vermont when setting the GS record: 34h47m
Scott Jurek’s 2004 total time to the end of Vermont in his GS: 32h17m
Nick Clark’s total GS time to date: 32h51m
My total GS time to date: 32h18m

Gear used at Vermont:

Scott Kinabalu T2 trail shoes
UltrAspire handhelds
Julbo Dust shades
Clif Bar Shot gels (not nearly as many as I needed)
Drymax Max Protection Trail socks

Western States 2013 And The Start Of The Grand Slam

Day before the race with Jorge Maravilla and Cameron Clayton. I told them we should have waited til the countdown clock showed 14:45...

This year was hot at Western States. If you're reading this, you already know that (and you probably followed it on irunfar and Twitter). You also know that Oregon dominated the race with the male and female winners (Timmy Olson and Pam Smith) and 3/10 of the top men (I only recently left the state and still count myself as being from there) and 4/10 of the top women, especially three of the first four! Not bad considering the high at Auburn airport was 102F (39C), which is the measure used for comparison between the years. On the course itself it could have been as high as 110F!

The starters' list was deep as always with a good 10-15 men who'd place at the top of any trail ultra you chose to name and almost as many women. However, the heat meant that more would drop or fade than in a cooler year so the priority for most was to run an intelligent race and deal with the conditions and take advantage of the faster sections of the course. I was worried about an ankle sprain from three weeks earlier but it was only noticeable in the first half of the race and somehow faded after that so I think I got lucky in not damaging it too much.

Near the top of Emigrants Pass at dawn. Photo: Drymax Socks

I think of the race as being made up of four parts - the high country (miles 0-35), the canyons (miles 35-62), Cal St down to the river (miles 62-78) then the flatter other side of the river (miles 78-100.2). The heat didn't really hit until the end of the high country and that section was the most fun I've had in a race for a while. The weather was beautiful, the High Sierra views were stunning and I got to run with the chase pack behind early leaders Cameron Clayton and Hal Koerner (who both dropped later in the race). The good thing about 100s is that the early pace is comfortable but I usually can't keep up with the mountain guys on the climbs so I knew the training had paid off when that wasn't an issue.

WS profile, run from right to left

As we started to drop down towards the canyons the pack (which now contained Hal) split up with Hal charging ahead to take the lead. I had a bad patch from 28-38 miles but knew it was early on so focused on eating more and aiming to keep myself cool with ice and cold water on my head. It worked and I only dropped back to 8th place, not helped by a section of trail for a few miles with no markings on it which made me question the route, turn around then run back until I bumped into Rob Krar and Dylan Bowman.

Starting the canyons it was certainly getting hot but nowhere near the maximums for the day so there were no real issues and I had a few miles with Jorge Maravilla who I then expected to run with for the rest of the day. He faded slightly and at an aid station I was leaving as he entered so I missed out on more fun with him (trust me, running with Jorge is always a pleasure).

I hiked up to Devil's Thumb at 47.8 miles and had to concentrate on taking it easy as the temperatures rose, but at least the trees provided plenty of shade. The only thing that really helped to make it more manageable was having ice in my bandana around my neck and this was the single most important thing I did at each aid station, stopping me from melting. Immersing myself in every small creek or stream was also worth the time so much more effort was put into physical management than the previous cold year at the race. On average I probably spent 1-2 mins at each aid station after mile 30 and that was time well spent.

The favorite for the Grand Slam as well as a likely winner of WS100 itself, Nick Clark, was in the Devil's Thumb aid station when I got there so we set off down the long descent to El Dorado Creek together. He's not the chattiest of runners but both of us were suffering by this point anyway so we barely exchanged a few sentences. He did get to hear me grunt a lot and have some heavy breathing every time I took a drink then had to regain my breath. I also think Nick didn't want to let me pass, even though it was relatively early in the race so he pushed the pace downhill and we were frequently running around a 6:30/mile pace.

At El Dorado Creek the now familiar restocking of bandana ice was the priority plus taking on plenty of calories and a drink of iced coke. Rob Krar was there too and he must have left while my back was turned since I thought I was the first out the aid station and only found out much later that he was still ahead. However, I was in 5th at this point and over half-way through plus I was holding together well so kept looking after myself and not worrying too much about where the guys ahead had got to.

The ascent to Michigan Bluff went fairly quickly but not fast enough to stop the ice melting so I was starting to get woozy by that aid station at 55.7 miles. A restocking from my crew with military precision (literally - I had Casey Cooper helping me out and he flies those famous Obama drones so dealing with a dizzy Brit in the sun wasn't taxing for him) got me on my way but it wasn't long before Mike Morton caught me. We had a chat for a mile or so but he seemed to be almost unaffected by the heat so zoomed of and put a couple of minutes on me by Foresthill at 62.0 miles, which also ended the canyon section.

Foresthill with a pat on the back from Brett Rivers (SF Running Co). Photo: Drymax Socks

This is where the race really starts so I ate and drank, restocked on ice and eventually got out the aid station and on my way. Suddenly I felt great and the 3.7 miles down to Cal 1 took a mere 28 mins. The aid station volunteers commented that I looked like I'd just started running, although that short burst of feeling amazing only lasted a couple more miles.

Cal St was tough as ever and it always seems that the next aid station is much farther away than advertised. Since I had a GPS watch with enough battery for the whole race I could tell for once how close I was getting but it wasn't very encouraging as my pace was slower than I hoped but I did pass DBo while he had some stomach issues at an aid station plus Hal before he dropped. Luckily most of Cal St was shaded at this time of day so I was saved from the hottest sun of the day except on a few exposed sections, then again for the final miles to the river.

Even though WS100 is famed for the rope crossing over the American River at 78 miles between the two Rucky Chucky aid stations, I've never crossed it on my own and have been boated across every time. My fourth experience here was just the same, but I spent plenty of time in the water on the other side to cool down, just up to the point where I heard DBo getting into the boat on the other side.

Rucky Chucky. Photo: Gary Wang.

Rucky Chucky far side. Photo: Patrick Sweeney.

That just left the last 22 miles of easier trails but with destroyed legs, a stomach that wasn't desiring any food and plenty of heat whenever there wasn't shade. I now had a last minute pacer in Gary Gellin since he'd offered to run two days earlier although I'd planned to run solo. Dylan was under two minutes behind so I was running scared and knew that if I faltered he'd catch me. Ahead was Timmy Olson, followed by a charging Rob Krar and determined Mike Morton, but they had 24+ mins of a cushion so I'd only catch them if they blew up. It wasn't worth worrying about and all I could control was my own race by making sure I got to the finish as fast as possible, preferably in daylight.

I grunted and groaned my way through those miles with Gary talking and me generally giving short answers. At least I was running the easier stuff and power-hiking well on the slower terrain, but I had several bouts of giddiness that were only partially fixed by small amounts of food and drink. Dbo remained a few mins behind and I managed to extend that gradually to five mins by Highway 49 at mile 93.5. A final burst of energy allowed me to run hard down to No Hands Bridge and fly through that aid station without taking anything on board.

The gamesmanship came into play now and I told Gary to not use his headlamp on the final ascent to Auburn and to not talk so Dylan wouldn't have a clue how close we were if he was catching. It was fully dark by halfway up the climb but the adrenalin was pumping and it was easy enough to get to the top unscathed. That just left the final 1.3 miles through Auburn from Robie Point, which I powered through so that I could end the pain sooner.

As ever, the last sections of the race felt like hell and I questioned several times why I think it's a good idea to do these races. I completely avoided thinking about the rest of the Grand Slam on purpose as that was too overwhelming and it's only a couple of days later that the other three 100s this summer seems like a good idea.

It was an emotional race and drained me completely, leaving me feeling temporarily empty and wiped out at the finish. The only emotion I really felt was relief that it was over, but as I recovered in the following hours it all seemed worthwhile. Still, I strongly believe that this race is a hugely enjoyable endeavor for 364.5 days a year with just a mere half day of nastiness after about 50 miles into the race. Being in Tahoe and Squaw Valley pre-race is incredibly enjoyable and exciting plus it's the best chance of the year to catch up with ultra friends from all over the US and also the world.

Finish line with repeat winner Timmy Olson and Gary Gellin. I think Timmy had time for a shower, meal and sleep! Photo: Shahid Ali.

All results are here and the top 10s were a lot more spread out than last year with a lot more carnage. In hindsight I can enjoy the spectacle that is Western States and pretend I loved every second. Well, I did love most of it.

Awards with my fast coaching client Henrik Westerlin (2nd left), his wife Barbara and pacer Victor Ballesteros. A solid  20:46 for Henrik in his first 100.

One down, three to go. My 16:20 is 1:54 under the Grand Slam record set by Neal Gorman in 2010 but it's just the beginning so there's a lot to deal with before I can get too excited about the record being achievable. Nick Clark finished in 6th in 16:56 so he's also comfortably under the record so far.

Neal's 2010 race times were as follows:

Western States 100 - 18:14:00
Vermont 100 - 16:33:11
Leadville Trail 100 - 18:47:54
Wasatch Front 100 - 21:19:11

Total - 74:54:16

Thanks so much to my the organizers, my crew and my wife plus my sponsors - here's the gear I used in the race, which I spent months deciding on and it all worked perfectly:

- UltrAspire Alpha and Surge hydration packs (switching between the two)
- Scott T2 Kinabalu shoes
- Drymax Max Protection Trail Running Socks
- Julbo Dust Sunglasses (blue)
- About 60 Clif Shot gels

Plus some general photos in and around Tahoe and Squaw from the week before the race.