In the race manual it gives 'Trashed Quads' as one of the main reasons for not finishing Western States 100. I had never really had trashed quads before but let me tell you it hurts bad. I recommend doing some running before doing WS and particularly, doing long downhills to get your legs used to being battered by descending.... sadly I hadn't run downhill since early February. I guess this was really an experiment in whether I could finish a tough 100 on just cross training and some mental stones.
I spent the Friday morning before race day going through runner registration involving signing the usual liability waivers, picking up a medical card, having a photo and short video clip taken for the webcast and then picking up the free race swag (Mountain Hardwear Pack, calf and arm sleeves, 2 race t shirts, fleece etc - all in all $$$s of free stuff). Then followed the medical check where they took our blood pressure, pulse and weight. The weight thing is good but annoying, they check us regularly throughout the race and if our weight differed by more than 3% up or down of registration weight, we may be asked to wait at an aid station to drink/ eat/ pee until our weight normalised before we can go on. If our weights differ from that at registration by 7% or more we would be pulled from the course on medical grounds (either dehydration or hyponatraemia).
I was one of the few people there without designated crew or pacers but I didn't mind, given that there were 24 aid stations over the 100 miles plus 10 places you could leave drop bags. Unfortunately I realised I had forgotten the gels GU had sent me for the race, plus my headlamps and cap so I went outside and found the GU rep who I kind of begged to help me out by giving me replacement gels (thank you GU rep) and then bought the other stuff. I spent the rest of the day chilling out with Ian Sharman, discussing his race strategy for at the least, breaking the top 10 again and then later with David Snipes (Sniper) a friend of mine from VA going for the Last Great Race this year (Old Dominion, Western States, Vermont, Angeles Crest, Leadville and Wasatch Front all in one summer).
I got up the following morning at 3am, drove the car back up to Squaw Valley and climbed out into the freezing morning air. When I got back to the check in it was packed with runners and their crews mostly eating and forcing that second morning movement pre race. At 0455, I lined up with 400 other runners and watched the clock click down the last few minutes to 5am and race start.
Obviously I had no idea how things were going to go. My one goal was to cross the finish line in Auburn. To have presumed I was capable of achieving anything more than that on a stress fracture and a total of 11 running miles in the preceeding 6 weeks would have been naive to say the least. Whilst I am by no means an elite runner I do usually make the top 10% of the field at most races so I made sure I forced myself to wait back of the bulk of the field at the start and to try to stay there as much as possible to make sure i didn't get swept up in racing anybody.
The first 4.5 miles of WS climbs from the base of Squaw Valley and winds up gravel paths under the ski lifts all the way to the escarpment and over the top of the mountain. There is no downhill or flat in this section, just a slope which varies in pitch from runnable to a steep hike. When the gun went I could see the front runners streaming away up the path, I ran maybe 300 - 400 yards and then settled in to a power walk up the hill. The first 3 miles went by quickly as the sun started to come up and from there we turned left to go directly up the ski slope which was still covered in thick snow.
It was here that I first realised how bad my road shoes were going to be at gripping on snow with an icy crust on top. I slid around a lot but made it up and over the top of the climb in around an hour. The views across Lake Tahoe behind were incredible as everyone told me they would be.
(language warning in almost all videos....)
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Once over the summit, we hit a smooth downhill trail which led us straight into a forest where the snow was at its thickest. The going for the next 9 miles through that stuff varied between runnable snow and sliding on hands and arse down steep icy slopes ie. between 0.5 and 7 miles per hour. I went over hard over a dozen times and by the time we had descended far enough to get out of the snow, my arms were killing me from arresting so many falls.
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I went through Talbot aid at Mile 13 in 3 hours exactly, had a couple of gels and refilled my water before making quick work of the next 7 mile section down to Poppy at mile 20, hitting that in 4 hours dead. By this time my quads were already sore. Anybody who has run Western States before will know that if your quads are sore by mile 20 you are in serious trouble, because you have about 20000 feet of downhill to contend with after that point. I knew I was in pain because I had done no running, I was asking my legs to do work that they were just not used to. The fact that I knew this would happen coming in to the race made me better equipped just to block it out and get on with it.
The short section between here and Duncan Canyon at mile 23 was stunning, all single track winding through trees around the edge of a lake and crossing small streams. From Duncan Canyon followed a long downhill descent on trail and then road, before a steep climb in the now building heat back up to Mosquito Ridge at Mile 31. This was the first time in the day I felt like I'd gone too hard. People had started to pass me on the down hills where I was already in pain but on the ascents I made all that time back and more with pretty strong climbing legs. At Mosquito Ridge I caught up with Sniper and we ran the 4 mile loop at the top together, grabbing snow from the trail to dump under my hat which helped cool me back down from overheating temporarily. I let Sniper go once we went through Millers Defeat at 35 and the next 3 miles were on what should have been a lovely winding, easily runnable descent. Unfortunately I was getting overtaken again by everyone I'd just cruised past because my quads felt like they were being jarred out of my legs. If I'd know what was to come I would have started to panic, luckily I was blissfully unaware.
The next section of WS, the canyons, should be reasonably straight forward but cause many to come unstuck. Over the next 20ish miles (38 - 56) you descend deep down into a canyon and climb back up the other side, repeat 3 times. It is this section that most runners do in the heat of the day and there is no air down there. Luckily we only had 90 ish degree temps rather than the usual 110 to 120. The first canyon drops steeply from Last Chance at mile 43 all the way down to a creek at the bottom before climbing back up the fabled Devils Thumb at mile 47. If you had gone on a nice trail run and your legs weren't trashed already, the descent would be one of the most enjoyable running experiences imaginable with lots of sweeping switchbacks. My quads were so battered however that I was forced to walk most of the descent and every step was causing more and more pain. At the bottom, I spent some time stretching my legs out and had already lost a lot of the flex and bend. The climb up Devils Thumb is intense. 1500 feet in a mile or so with 36 switchbacks. It is the kind of climb where you look up above you and the runners ahead look like they are perched on a cliff directly above you. When I got to the top at mile 43 I felt totally spaced out and my weight was down 4 lbs which was right on the limit. I had again passed everyone that had cruised past me on the descent but I'd overdone it and let my HR climb too high for too long. I forced some food down at this point and just kept moving so as not to let my legs seize up. Into the next canyon was a repeat performance, although less steep the descent was again horrific and the climb back out to Michigan Bluff at mile 55.7 was long and hard too.
I realised I had a chance of making Forest Hill at Mile 62 before dark and wanted to do so to give myself a boost psycologically. Apart from my quads everything else was pretty ok, no chaffing, blisters bad but manageable and i'd been eating and drinking well. I head out of the aid there and went on my way with two of the medic sweepers that are out running sections of the course throughout the day. I got chatting to those guys and one of them really kindly offered to go ahead the last mile into Forest Hill and find me a pacer. I made good time on this section and got to Forest Hill at mile 62 before it got dark in 15:22. Slow by any normal standards but good going for me all things considered.
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Everyone tells you pre race to 'save some running in your legs for after Forest Hill - it gets much easier'. Well that's all well and good but if your quads are shot to pieces there is nothing you can do to recover them. I tried everything, snatching sticks out of the bushes to push down my legs and try and run the lactic acid out, stretching. Nothing worked.
At Forest Hill I picked up my pacer, Jeff which the medic had kindly sorted out for me (i offered him a free spot in the TP100 for helping me out). Jeff was amazing. He had been waiting for a friend to come through Forest Hill from where he would pace him to the finish. Unfortunately his friend had dropped earlier in the race and that was to my benefit. Jeff just got it straight away. I told him my expectations at that point were just to finish and not kill myself doing it given that Vermont was three weeks away. Was it possible to go sub 24 still? Probably, but to find out might put me so far into the red that it could take months to get back out again like Badwater last year. I said 25 - 26 hours seemed reasonable and that I just wanted my shin to hold up and he agreed. Jeff lives for these trails. God knows how many hours he has spent on the Western States trail over the years but he knew every nook and cranny. He had also paced somebody last year from the same point. To have someone in a race when it's getting dark and you've been on your feet for 16 hours already, telling you exactly how long the next climb is or how far to the next runnable section is invaluable. Not only that but his help at the aid stations was out of this world. As we approached I would let him know what i needed ie. how much powder to put in to the water bladder, what i needed from the bag, food etc etc and he just did it allowing me to either stretch, puke or just stand at the food table eating everything I could.
I say puke because over the next 10 - 15 miles I started to get pretty nauseous. We ran down the Cal Street trail until it got dark and made ok time through the aid station at 65, then on to Peachstone at mile 70. At this point though I tried to put a cup of coke, a quesadilla and 2 ibuprofen in my mouth at the same time, starting chewing and blew everything all over the side of the aid station. It came hard and fast and I missed Jeff by inches. What followed was a total evacuation of everything I had in my system. Retching really hard made me pull my stomach muscles but once it was all out I felt tons better. We proceeded on through the dark trails and got to the river crossing at mile 78 around 1am.
The American River is usually crossed on foot at this point but it was almost in flood this year with all the meltwater. At Rucky Chucky - Mile 78, Jeff and I donned life jackets and climbed into a raft for a quick journey across to the other side. It would have been spectacular had I not been freezing cold and in pain but despite that it was still an experience I'll never forget.
When we got to the other side I changed socks for the first time and found all the skin had come away from the bottom of my feet. There was a foot guy there but I just placed the socks over the flaps of skin and pressed down into my shoes to get it to all stay put. We began the 2 mile climb up to Green Gate at mile 80 and the going was slow but steady. The next 10 miles or so we tried to keep a pace of between 3 and 4 mph over all terrain, the trail just winding through the woods was great and again any other time would have been incredible running but with quads this sore it was hard to enjoy that much. The light started to come up just as we hit Browns Bar at Mile 90 which was an experience....
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Once through Browns Bar we had roughly 3 x 3.5 mile sections to go and plenty of time in the bag. I had gone a little quiet but Jeff knew it was just the pain in my legs causing that. He kept pushing me to eat salt and drink a little as my hands were pretty swollen and my weight still up 3 or 4 pounds at the previous weigh in. We got down to Highway 49 crossing and went straight on through the aid station. They don't tell you that this last 10 miles is almost all straight up or straight down but it is. Nothing severe but pretty rough going actually. It was getting to the point where I was having real trouble negotiating the descents now at any speed. I felt pretty sick with the pain and didn't want to puke again so just gutted it out as best I could but we were really crawling along. From mile 93.5 we made the climb up and then the steep descent down to No Hands Bridge at 96.5. This should have been really enjoyable again but it was a death march. This being the last downhill however, I started to lighten up a little. Across No Hands, we then made the climb up to Robie Pt at mile 98.9 out of the trail and the heat and on to the last mile to the track at Auburn. Tim Twietmeyer came past at this point the other way down the trail and said well done which was flattering considering he's run WS 25 times, all in under 24 hours.
The last mile to the track was a gentle stroll. I couldn't have cared less about the overall time at that point, I had 2 hours to do a mile so we just ambled in with Jeff trying to get me to 'loosen up my quads' to run round the track at the end. When we got there the reception was fantastic, people cheering all the way round the 300 yards. Sniper, who'd finished a couple of hours before, got up and jogged the last 200 with us across the finish line as John Medinger the announcer read out my name. It felt good to cross the line, total time 28:25.
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I was elated that I'd got it done. Mentally it was my strongest ever performance. Not once did I even come close to contemplating taking extended time at an aid station, let alone sleeping/ stopping or just dropping out. Ordinarily I would be disappointed with a crappy death march to the finish but to have expected anything else would have been insane. As a result I did what I could and I was lucky enough to be allowed to make a 100 mile journey last weekend. And what's more my shin lasted the distance. Western States lived up to everything it is pertained to be. Yes the organisation is fantastic albeit a little fanatical but mostly it is the trail itself that holds this race up there at the top. It is simply an awesome track.
As soon as I crossed the line a medic took my pulse and told me it was 121 so high. I had just covered 100 miles and run the last 300 yard section in to the finish. No shit my pulse was high. Then I made my way over and got a sports massage. Two people clamping me to the table basically pushed as much crap out of my quads as possible and it was excruciating. I lasted about 10 minutes under their care and it was deeply painful but ultimately beneficial. Sniper, John his pacer and I took a long drive back to Truckee after and grabbed some lunch but we were all falling asleep at the table having been up for 38+ hours so hit the sack shortly after.
I have to say thanks to Lisa Smith-batchen who coached me through the worst period in my running career. In short, Lisa got me through this race by training almost entirely on a stationary bike, stepper and strider. Not too many people could have got me to a place where i could even start on that basis, let alone finish with time to spare. Joe and Mike at the EIS who were able to finally diagnose my bone issues and set me on the straight and narrow deserve the reward of this finish also. Jeff Egolf, I am deeply indebted to you my friend you are one hell of a pacer.
So what's next? Well that was race 1 of the 4 in the Grand Slam. Vermont is next in just 3 weeks time (16th July) which is not a lot of time to recover. Of 32 who stared the slam at Western States, 8 DNF'd there so we are down to 24 already. On the way home my feet swelled up to horrendous proportions and my blisters and quads are going to take time to heal but with the right preparation and lots of rest I should yet be ok for Vermont. The only blocker will be if my shin shows any residual damage when the swelling in my legs goes down. I have made no secret of the fact that in order of priority, Western States and then Leadville came top for me so if Vermont will force me from Leadville I won't start there. It's one day and one race at a time this summer. Who knows what could happen, I got through that one ok!
Wednesday 29 June 2011
Sunday 26 June 2011
Western States Done
Obviously a full and overblown race report will follow but I wanted to say thanks to all the people that sent messages and e mails wishing me luck and congratulations on finishing. I know I went on and on about my total lack of preparedness for this event but today was by far my strongest ever performance mentally. My body was not capable of giving an ounce more than I dragged out of it and consequently it was an extremely painful race at times but not once did I think I wouldn't finish.
The Western States course is everything and more that has been written of it. To think as we rounded the track at Placer High School in Auburn, that climbing up and over a mountain to kick off was part of the same race is incredible. It is worth the time and expense to make it out here for this one if you get the chance....
The Western States course is everything and more that has been written of it. To think as we rounded the track at Placer High School in Auburn, that climbing up and over a mountain to kick off was part of the same race is incredible. It is worth the time and expense to make it out here for this one if you get the chance....
Thursday 23 June 2011
The day before the day before WS100
I arrived in Reno last night after a 22 hour journey yesterday and drove up to Truckee from there. Truckee is 8 miles down the hill from Squaw Valley resort which is the start point of Western States.
This morning I parked near the start line and hiked the first 4 miles of the course. I have to say I am in awe of the surroundings. It is 80 degrees here without a cloud in the sky and it almost feels like I'm on holiday. The lingering snow pack that everyone keeps talking about and that has forced the re-route away from the traditional course this year, is clearly an issue. The slope begins 5 yards in front of the start line as the course winds its way up the mountain following a gravel road. There are plenty of twists and turns under chair lifts not unlike UTMB but just before the 3 mile point the course turns into thick snow. Making progress is hard going in that stuff, it's slippery so powering uphill is pretty hard. Apparently we will be on the snow from 3 - 13 miles but I'm not that worried about it, if anything it might be slightly less impactful on my shin.
The views from the top are awesome back over Squaw Valley and Lake Tahoe in the distance. I walked back down the hill from the summit to the top of the escarpment where about 60 people had gathered for the flag raising and a couple of the WSER board members gave us some goo advice and history from the course.
Back tonight for the Grand Slam meeting then again tomorrow for registration, medical check in and a bunch of other stuff. It is GREAT to finally be here.
This morning I parked near the start line and hiked the first 4 miles of the course. I have to say I am in awe of the surroundings. It is 80 degrees here without a cloud in the sky and it almost feels like I'm on holiday. The lingering snow pack that everyone keeps talking about and that has forced the re-route away from the traditional course this year, is clearly an issue. The slope begins 5 yards in front of the start line as the course winds its way up the mountain following a gravel road. There are plenty of twists and turns under chair lifts not unlike UTMB but just before the 3 mile point the course turns into thick snow. Making progress is hard going in that stuff, it's slippery so powering uphill is pretty hard. Apparently we will be on the snow from 3 - 13 miles but I'm not that worried about it, if anything it might be slightly less impactful on my shin.
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| View from just below the top of the first 4 mile climb |
Back tonight for the Grand Slam meeting then again tomorrow for registration, medical check in and a bunch of other stuff. It is GREAT to finally be here.
Tuesday 21 June 2011
Western States 100 2011
Well my training is done, taper well under way and I'm pretty sure I have my nutrition and hydration strategy really 'dialed in' for Saturdays race.
Here's what my run training schedule has looked like in the 6 week lead up to this years WS100:
May 14th: 4.6 miles - 42 minutes
June 3rd: 5 miles - 1 hour
June 21st: 2.12 miles - 19 minutes
So pretty consistent as you can see. This mornings run was the icing on the cake really where it all just came together in that first 2 miles and then a hard push the last 0.12 back to the car.
I may as well joke about it because there's pretty much nothing I can do about it now. I have done some basic cycling and swimming but not loads.
Last night I had one of those 'this is total stupidity' moments where after 2 weeks of talking myself into starting the race, I decided it was pointless. My 'coin flip' was the 2 miles this morning. If I was pain free through the night, during the 'run' and all day today with no residual effects and felt ok then I would start. It's 2pm and so far I am pain free so I am about to pack some stuff in a bag. I have to look at this as a very long training run for the other Grand Slam races. Job 1 is to finish, Job 2 is to finish and not cause further injury. If I can achieve those goals it will be a minor miracle but perhaps being forced to go slow will allow me to save more in the tank for Vermont? Anything could happen....
I fly tomorrow morning to Dallas and then on to Reno from where I drive up to Truckee where I am staying for the week (end). Finally it's on to Squaw Valley on Thursday morning. I am supposed to be meeting the other Grand Slammers there (the others doing all 4 x 100s this summer) but I don't really feel like I can legitimately turn up to that meet. I will go along however to catch up with my buddy David Snipes who has already run 3 x 100s in the past 2 months and is adding the Grand Slam plus Angeles Crest in the same 11 weeks.
The RD announced the course change due it being a 'snow year' and it turns out that between miles 3 and 15 and again between 31 and 35, we can expect 'thick snow'. They have re-routed and re-planned the first 3rd of the race and the distance between aid stations has been strung out. All of that is pretty much irrelevant to me, I've done no training so the best I can hope for is to slog it out at the back and scrape through the cut offs one by one in an attempt to make the 30 hour time limit. It will likely slow everyone else down however and therefore I will have more company at the back as a result I would guess....
Going in to a race with zero expectations is kind of refreshing. I am just excited to see the mechanics of the race and gain some further useful insights into race management/ logistics etc for our own Centurion Races. The only other remaining question is how much stuff I buy at the pre race expo because as everyone knows you can't wear race logo gear of races you haven't finished. I have some comrades stuff in a box which i got free even though i didn't start so I guess if the worst comes to the worst I can just fill it up with Western States stuff too and then get it out sometime in the next 2 decades when I might be able to turn in another chance to run and perhaps even a semi - decent finishing time....
'Don't the best of them bleed it out whilst the rest of them peter out'
Here's what my run training schedule has looked like in the 6 week lead up to this years WS100:
May 14th: 4.6 miles - 42 minutes
June 3rd: 5 miles - 1 hour
June 21st: 2.12 miles - 19 minutes
So pretty consistent as you can see. This mornings run was the icing on the cake really where it all just came together in that first 2 miles and then a hard push the last 0.12 back to the car.
I may as well joke about it because there's pretty much nothing I can do about it now. I have done some basic cycling and swimming but not loads.
Last night I had one of those 'this is total stupidity' moments where after 2 weeks of talking myself into starting the race, I decided it was pointless. My 'coin flip' was the 2 miles this morning. If I was pain free through the night, during the 'run' and all day today with no residual effects and felt ok then I would start. It's 2pm and so far I am pain free so I am about to pack some stuff in a bag. I have to look at this as a very long training run for the other Grand Slam races. Job 1 is to finish, Job 2 is to finish and not cause further injury. If I can achieve those goals it will be a minor miracle but perhaps being forced to go slow will allow me to save more in the tank for Vermont? Anything could happen....
I fly tomorrow morning to Dallas and then on to Reno from where I drive up to Truckee where I am staying for the week (end). Finally it's on to Squaw Valley on Thursday morning. I am supposed to be meeting the other Grand Slammers there (the others doing all 4 x 100s this summer) but I don't really feel like I can legitimately turn up to that meet. I will go along however to catch up with my buddy David Snipes who has already run 3 x 100s in the past 2 months and is adding the Grand Slam plus Angeles Crest in the same 11 weeks.
The RD announced the course change due it being a 'snow year' and it turns out that between miles 3 and 15 and again between 31 and 35, we can expect 'thick snow'. They have re-routed and re-planned the first 3rd of the race and the distance between aid stations has been strung out. All of that is pretty much irrelevant to me, I've done no training so the best I can hope for is to slog it out at the back and scrape through the cut offs one by one in an attempt to make the 30 hour time limit. It will likely slow everyone else down however and therefore I will have more company at the back as a result I would guess....
Going in to a race with zero expectations is kind of refreshing. I am just excited to see the mechanics of the race and gain some further useful insights into race management/ logistics etc for our own Centurion Races. The only other remaining question is how much stuff I buy at the pre race expo because as everyone knows you can't wear race logo gear of races you haven't finished. I have some comrades stuff in a box which i got free even though i didn't start so I guess if the worst comes to the worst I can just fill it up with Western States stuff too and then get it out sometime in the next 2 decades when I might be able to turn in another chance to run and perhaps even a semi - decent finishing time....
'Don't the best of them bleed it out whilst the rest of them peter out'
Thursday 16 June 2011
Western States Odds
Plenty of guys out there offering odds on Western States right. Try irunfar's outstanding site with a prediction table to be launched here.
From a British perspective it is going to be the first time that arguably the three fastest Brits over the 100 mile distance are going to go head to head. Nick Clark has had another fantastic season and continues to go from strength to strength each year that passes. Ian Sharman ran top 10 in his first ever Western States last year and followed that with a 12:44 over 100 miles at Rocky Raccoon in February setting a North American Trail 100 record which I was lucky enough to witness. Finally Jez Bragg has just crushed the course at the Fellsman and is a previous podium finisher at the race in 2009. Nick and Ian went head to head at American River 50 just a couple of months ago and Nick won out by under a minute passing Ian on the final stretches of the course.
I think the battle for the win is going to be played out by 4 of the same 5 as last year, Geoff Roes, Killian Jornet, Hal Koerner and Nick Clark. Anton Krupicka the ultra running worlds favourite minimalist runner has broken his leg just this week so won't start. You can look for Ian to fill that 5th spot somewhere and Dave Mackey who has won everything he has entered pretty much this year, in front of very strong fields to be there too. Here is my prediction for Mens Top 10:
1. Jornet
2. Roes
3. Clark
4. Mackey
5. Wolfe
6. Sharman
7. Koerner
8. Bragg
9. Redpath
10. Braje
This is the most closely followed ultra race pretty much anywhere and each year that goes by the coverage improves. This year the webcast is already live and there is now a mobile phone app for following every step of the race. http://www.ultralive.net/ws100/webcast.php
Finally, the snow remains at the higher altitude and the pre race e mail this week stated that as runners we can expect snow to cover the first 20 - 30 miles of the course, that it will likely slow everyones anticipated times down by an additional hour. That is why I am pipping Roes and Jornet for the top spots. Both are the fastest proven guys but also train hundreds of hours a year in and out of snow.
It remains to be seen how far I'll get on the course but at this stage with the pain abating in my shin finally, it looks like I'll line up. No guarantees and feel free to follow me Bib No. 84 (type number into top right box on above webcast link to pull up results). If I make it to Red Star Ridge at Mile 16 it will be longest run since Rocky Raccoon on February 5th.
From a British perspective it is going to be the first time that arguably the three fastest Brits over the 100 mile distance are going to go head to head. Nick Clark has had another fantastic season and continues to go from strength to strength each year that passes. Ian Sharman ran top 10 in his first ever Western States last year and followed that with a 12:44 over 100 miles at Rocky Raccoon in February setting a North American Trail 100 record which I was lucky enough to witness. Finally Jez Bragg has just crushed the course at the Fellsman and is a previous podium finisher at the race in 2009. Nick and Ian went head to head at American River 50 just a couple of months ago and Nick won out by under a minute passing Ian on the final stretches of the course.
I think the battle for the win is going to be played out by 4 of the same 5 as last year, Geoff Roes, Killian Jornet, Hal Koerner and Nick Clark. Anton Krupicka the ultra running worlds favourite minimalist runner has broken his leg just this week so won't start. You can look for Ian to fill that 5th spot somewhere and Dave Mackey who has won everything he has entered pretty much this year, in front of very strong fields to be there too. Here is my prediction for Mens Top 10:
1. Jornet
2. Roes
3. Clark
4. Mackey
5. Wolfe
6. Sharman
7. Koerner
8. Bragg
9. Redpath
10. Braje
This is the most closely followed ultra race pretty much anywhere and each year that goes by the coverage improves. This year the webcast is already live and there is now a mobile phone app for following every step of the race. http://www.ultralive.net/ws100/webcast.php
Finally, the snow remains at the higher altitude and the pre race e mail this week stated that as runners we can expect snow to cover the first 20 - 30 miles of the course, that it will likely slow everyones anticipated times down by an additional hour. That is why I am pipping Roes and Jornet for the top spots. Both are the fastest proven guys but also train hundreds of hours a year in and out of snow.
It remains to be seen how far I'll get on the course but at this stage with the pain abating in my shin finally, it looks like I'll line up. No guarantees and feel free to follow me Bib No. 84 (type number into top right box on above webcast link to pull up results). If I make it to Red Star Ridge at Mile 16 it will be longest run since Rocky Raccoon on February 5th.
Tuesday 14 June 2011
Results of the Poll
We set up a poll on the website to see which races the people coming across Centurion Running wanted to run the most. The objective was to find out which existing races people aspire towards doing. It is that kind of information that will best help us put on the right kind of events in the future. I can only hypothesise why people chose the race that they did and I have done so below. This is a bit of a rambling post but maybe there's a couple of snippets of information in there which might help aspiring runners. From a personal point of view, I like to see what races really excite other people.
Out of the 207 votes from a limited pool of answers over a period of a couple of months, the results were as follows (note this did not include information about whether the respondent had previously run any of the races on the list):
Question: Which of the following races is it your dream to run?
Answers fixed as below, number of votes on the right (click on any race to link to the webpage)
UTMB 41
Badwater 25
Comrades 19
Spartathlon 17
Leadville 12
Obviously this is an extremely simplistic testing method but the answers are nevertheless very interesting.
Starting from the top, UTMB and Western States are now the two biggest 100 milers in the world and by a massive margin so it either makes sense that given we are focusing a good amount of our efforts on trail 100s that these would come out on top ie. we are attracting that kind of runner to our website or trail 100s in awesome places are a really desirable races to do right now. Probably a bit of both.
Western States as the original 100 miler has attracted large fields for a long time (over 400 starters since the early 1990s). It is the most prestigious trail race in the US as the grandfather of the other 90 existing 100 milers in the US and with a rich history. UTMB has only been in existence for 8 years but quickly grew in to the superbowl of trail running. Both races offer spectacular scenery, extremely tough courses and deep fields, drawing the top trail runners from across the globe. Whereas Western States has remained more US focused, UTMB has more of a multi-national field, appealing to the very strong trail and mountain running scene across Western Europe. The level of local support and spectator numbers for UTMB are overwhelming. The explosion in the last few years of running blogs and consumption of online information about ultra races has no doubt also helped swing these two to the top of runners' bucket lists. Whereas Western States has had its heroes for many years, recording streaks of back to back wins, shattering preconceptions about what can be achieved on the course, UTMB has only recently started to see the same kind of pattern emerge as each passing race allows it to forge out its own history.
UTMB now as an entry limit of 2300. In 2009 everyone who applied, got a spot. This year, 4500 people applied for the 2300 places. The reaction from UTMB has been to tighten the qualification criteria somewhat and in my opinion they have responded in the right way to the increase in demand. There has been a massive DNF rate at UTMB over the years, rarely do 50% of the field make the finish. It is an extremely difficult race, without doubt in the top 10 hardest non stop trail races in the world, therefore it would seem crazy to allow those unqualified, to start. Races are being given less qualifying points than before (our own North Downs 100 is worth only 3 points out of the 5 you need from a maximum of two races) whereas before you required only 4 points from an unlimited number of races. So I guess their hope is that more people will work harder and gain more experience in order to qualify for the lottery. Of course the benefit for races like ours that don't yet have the prestige, history or big name attraction, grow, as people support more local events in order to have a crack at the most prestigious. Western States has only just begun to move with the demand. A few years ago Western still employed a two time loser strategy. That was if you had entered the lottery for a place and been unlucky twice, you were guaranteed a spot the following year. This year Western had 2500 applicants for around 300 open places (100 more going to previous top 10ers, benefactors, sponsors and Montrail Ultra Cup Winners), with half of those being 2 time applicants. Western States' problem is that they are restricted to 400 each year by the Granite Chief Wilderness Permit they require to stage the race. UTMB can allow 6 times that number and potentially even more. For the first time in 2012 Western States has a list of qualifying races, of which you must have completed one in order to enter the lottery. With the way this is set up, it will again attract majority US entrants as the included International races are extremely limited. Although I requested our events go on as qualifiers, the RD of Western has decreed first time races are not accepted, which is fair enough, although in the UK you are restricted to running one of only two events to earn a spot.
Western States as the original 100 miler has attracted large fields for a long time (over 400 starters since the early 1990s). It is the most prestigious trail race in the US as the grandfather of the other 90 existing 100 milers in the US and with a rich history. UTMB has only been in existence for 8 years but quickly grew in to the superbowl of trail running. Both races offer spectacular scenery, extremely tough courses and deep fields, drawing the top trail runners from across the globe. Whereas Western States has remained more US focused, UTMB has more of a multi-national field, appealing to the very strong trail and mountain running scene across Western Europe. The level of local support and spectator numbers for UTMB are overwhelming. The explosion in the last few years of running blogs and consumption of online information about ultra races has no doubt also helped swing these two to the top of runners' bucket lists. Whereas Western States has had its heroes for many years, recording streaks of back to back wins, shattering preconceptions about what can be achieved on the course, UTMB has only recently started to see the same kind of pattern emerge as each passing race allows it to forge out its own history.
UTMB now as an entry limit of 2300. In 2009 everyone who applied, got a spot. This year, 4500 people applied for the 2300 places. The reaction from UTMB has been to tighten the qualification criteria somewhat and in my opinion they have responded in the right way to the increase in demand. There has been a massive DNF rate at UTMB over the years, rarely do 50% of the field make the finish. It is an extremely difficult race, without doubt in the top 10 hardest non stop trail races in the world, therefore it would seem crazy to allow those unqualified, to start. Races are being given less qualifying points than before (our own North Downs 100 is worth only 3 points out of the 5 you need from a maximum of two races) whereas before you required only 4 points from an unlimited number of races. So I guess their hope is that more people will work harder and gain more experience in order to qualify for the lottery. Of course the benefit for races like ours that don't yet have the prestige, history or big name attraction, grow, as people support more local events in order to have a crack at the most prestigious. Western States has only just begun to move with the demand. A few years ago Western still employed a two time loser strategy. That was if you had entered the lottery for a place and been unlucky twice, you were guaranteed a spot the following year. This year Western had 2500 applicants for around 300 open places (100 more going to previous top 10ers, benefactors, sponsors and Montrail Ultra Cup Winners), with half of those being 2 time applicants. Western States' problem is that they are restricted to 400 each year by the Granite Chief Wilderness Permit they require to stage the race. UTMB can allow 6 times that number and potentially even more. For the first time in 2012 Western States has a list of qualifying races, of which you must have completed one in order to enter the lottery. With the way this is set up, it will again attract majority US entrants as the included International races are extremely limited. Although I requested our events go on as qualifiers, the RD of Western has decreed first time races are not accepted, which is fair enough, although in the UK you are restricted to running one of only two events to earn a spot.
So as these two grow in popularity, which they undoubtedly will, the entry criteria will no doubt continue to get harder in order to shrink down the number of people actually making the hat each year. There really is no other way around it in my opinion and it is entirely fair that if you want to try your hand at a race at the very top of the difficulty spectrum, you should have had to battle your way through other tough races to earn a spot.
The next two races in the list, Badwater and Comrades, are road runs but are again two of the biggest names on the ultra calender. Badwater has the reputation of being the hardest ultra out there. Part of the reason for that is its entry policy, where would be runners are required to fill out an athletic CV alongside a bank of lengthy questions in order to be elegible for selection by the race committee. Letting only 90 people start the run each year is a restriction imposed on the race organisers adventurecorps, by Death Valley National Park but has caused a knock on effect in that demand has ballooned because so few people get to try their hand at the course. Each year they allow just 45 vets and 45 rookies to take the start line. In 2003 my good friend Frank entered the race with a CV which included some mountaineering experience and a couple of 50 milers. In 2006 when I first looked at it, the criteria was that you must have completed one 100km race within the time limits of the course. This year the time limit for reaching the finish has been reduced from 60 hours to 48 for the first time and as a bare minimum you must have completed 3 x 100 milers to enter. Not easy. I've never seen any figures published on how many entries they receive each year but it wouldn't suprise me to find out if was in the mid to high 100s. With that in mind and only 90 spots available, a race that captures the imagination of so many people will only get more and more popular and potentially also continue to raise it's entry criteria.
Comrades I had the pleasure of seeing first hand a couple of weeks ago, albeit I wasn't able to run because of injury. It is a spectacular event with huge numbers of runners and an open door policy to anyone who can complete a marathon. As an experience, those that have run it put it right at the very top and as ultra running grows, so will the number of international entrants to an event already in its 87th year and rooted at the heart of the South African national psyche.
The biggest surprises on the poll list for me are the next two, Spartathlon and the Marathon Des Sables. I didn't expect Sparta to feature so highly as it is so incredibly difficult and less publicised than many of the others. It perhaps is somewhat of a 'dream' for many to even think about being in a position to cross the finish line of a 153 mile race involving many different obstacles (heat/ a mountain climb) within a 36 hour time limit. There is no doubt that the handful of Brits that take part each year will grow in number as those before them return with stories of just how epic a race it is. Perhaps the growth in the number of Brits running the GUCR each year and thus qualifying for sparta in the process is helping to blossom that number. The Marathon Des Sables seems to have fallen from its position as 'the race at the top of everyones list' ever so slightly. The scenery is incredible and it remains one of the toughest challenges out there, but with so many other more sociably organised, less military, more affordable multi day races out there (desert or otherwise), it isn't necessarily top of the pile any longer in anything other than name. Still at 1000 runners this year it is clearly the premier desert stage race on the ultra calender.
In 7th place was the GUCR. A classic British Ultramarathon and one, again, that is growing in size and reputation which is wonderful to see. It isn't suprising that it got a good few votes.
Leadville followed GUCR and is again, a race that has absolutely blown up in size in the US. This year the race will be staged by Lifetime Fitness who bought out the incumbent race directors. Potentially a sign of things to come, the 2011 race has gone on to sell out all 700 places. This again is a record. Books like Born To Run and Dean Karnazes' ultramarathonman have spread the word about Leadville to a much wider audience.
The Jungle Marathon came next and I confess to knowing very little about it. I know a few people who have had a crack at it and whom have also raced the MdS/ 4Deserts etc and who rate this as extremely difficult due to the humidity and heat as a combination.
The North Pole Marathon is astronomically expensive to get too but clearly is, as this poll asks, 'a dream race'.
Finally the 4 Deserts Series only got 2 votes, perhaps I sold it short by not naming one of the deserts out and bundling them together so hard to tell if that would have changed anything.
Last but not least 'the marathon' got 0 votes. I guess that's maybe as everyone has already done it. It's still on my list though, 6 years and counting....
In 7th place was the GUCR. A classic British Ultramarathon and one, again, that is growing in size and reputation which is wonderful to see. It isn't suprising that it got a good few votes.
Leadville followed GUCR and is again, a race that has absolutely blown up in size in the US. This year the race will be staged by Lifetime Fitness who bought out the incumbent race directors. Potentially a sign of things to come, the 2011 race has gone on to sell out all 700 places. This again is a record. Books like Born To Run and Dean Karnazes' ultramarathonman have spread the word about Leadville to a much wider audience.
The Jungle Marathon came next and I confess to knowing very little about it. I know a few people who have had a crack at it and whom have also raced the MdS/ 4Deserts etc and who rate this as extremely difficult due to the humidity and heat as a combination.
The North Pole Marathon is astronomically expensive to get too but clearly is, as this poll asks, 'a dream race'.
Finally the 4 Deserts Series only got 2 votes, perhaps I sold it short by not naming one of the deserts out and bundling them together so hard to tell if that would have changed anything.
Last but not least 'the marathon' got 0 votes. I guess that's maybe as everyone has already done it. It's still on my list though, 6 years and counting....
How much anybody can take away from the above is marginal but it will be interesting to see if we repeat the process in a years time if we get similar results. All in all, the biggest races get bigger as our sport grows exponentially. Hopefully the races that rush to fill this rise in level of interest will continue to add to the incredible pedigree displayed in most of the above listed races. I hope one day in the not too distant future people will talk about Centurion Races in the same way but we must earn that right through hard work just as each of the others has had to.
Any other poll suggestions gladly accepted. The current one sucks. Scroll down to bottom right on here
Monday 13 June 2011
North Downs Way 26.2, 50 & 100 mile
Just a message to anybody reading this who has signed up for the NDW races. Thank you. When we set up the Mara, 50 and 100 in November 2010, we were told we could expect around 50 runners to participate across all 3 distances in our first year. Registrations started trickling in slowly to begin with but have increased exponentially in the last two months in particular, so much so, that we have had to put limits on the entry numbers because I am acutely aware that we need to make sure we manage a lower number of runners exceptionally well rather than a higher number, averagely.
I made it clear at the beginning that I wanted to put on the kind of races that I personally wanted to run, taking learnings from some of the best organised ultras I have been able to run myself. We are getting there now and as each day passes another thing drops in to place. I think it helps that I can visualise exactly how I want the race to play out, but there is a massive amount of pressure now to deliver. The humbling thing is that so many people obviously think we can because so many have entered!! That and the fact that many have run on the North Downs Way and love the trail. Needless to say we continue to work harder than ever to make this first event as great as it can be.
I have mentioned the info packs a couple of times but they are now all finished and will be mailed out on Friday. The only thing missing is the detail on our nutritional sponsor which I am hoping we can announce at the same time.
There is a mammoth blog to follow this on the results of the poll on 'dream races' but I may cut it down a bit yet.....
On a personal level I have 11 days to go to Western States and still I haven't run barely a step (well since early May anyway). 2.5 miles up Lions head and 2.5 back down again isn't quite the level of training I'd hoped to have going in to a mountain 100. It seems prudent now to start to ease up on the cycling and swimming and give the shin every chance at repairing itself in time to make it through my 'dream race'....
I made it clear at the beginning that I wanted to put on the kind of races that I personally wanted to run, taking learnings from some of the best organised ultras I have been able to run myself. We are getting there now and as each day passes another thing drops in to place. I think it helps that I can visualise exactly how I want the race to play out, but there is a massive amount of pressure now to deliver. The humbling thing is that so many people obviously think we can because so many have entered!! That and the fact that many have run on the North Downs Way and love the trail. Needless to say we continue to work harder than ever to make this first event as great as it can be.
I have mentioned the info packs a couple of times but they are now all finished and will be mailed out on Friday. The only thing missing is the detail on our nutritional sponsor which I am hoping we can announce at the same time.
There is a mammoth blog to follow this on the results of the poll on 'dream races' but I may cut it down a bit yet.....
On a personal level I have 11 days to go to Western States and still I haven't run barely a step (well since early May anyway). 2.5 miles up Lions head and 2.5 back down again isn't quite the level of training I'd hoped to have going in to a mountain 100. It seems prudent now to start to ease up on the cycling and swimming and give the shin every chance at repairing itself in time to make it through my 'dream race'....
Wednesday 8 June 2011
17 days to Western States
Last night I got e mail confirmation from Greg Soderlund the RD of Western States that the race is definitely on. Rumours had been circulating for some time that the lingering snow pack in the Californian High Country would force the abandonment of the 2011 race. The only previous occasion WS as been cancelled was 2008 and as a result of fires. On that occasion, the 2008 field became the 2009 field and everyone else had to wait another 2 years to try their hand in the lottery (including me).
So with a persistent shin problem, that news is pretty mixed in my book. If they had postponed it I could have waited until next year and hopefully been in better shape to tackle it, but on the other hand the whole grand slam would have been out of the window. Now it's on, I intend to start it, see how I go and then take each of the following 3 races as they come.
I ran up and down Lions Head in Cape Town last Friday, which felt like a breeze. It is about a 1800 foot climb in the space of 2.5 miles from sea level which is a similar pitch to the 4 mile 2500 foot climb at the start of Western States. Going uphill my leg is fine. I ran every step and was breathing hard in places but not blowing up (there is no way I would dream of starting Western States that hard). Coming down felt a bit shaky but I'd been pain free in the days preceeding it so it was time to test it out.
A couple of days later and both of the previous stress fracture areas on the outside of the bone feel solid and pain free. I still have some sensation in the central cortex of the tibia however which is where the stress reaction resides.
So it isn't quite ready yet, nearly but not quite. The docs view is that I shouldn't have trouble getting it pain free and the reaction cleared up in time for the race. The problem is that whilst it isn't 100% I can't run on it. It is therefore likely that I will start the race on zero running miles for over a month.
That sounds insane but actually the massive amount of biking and added swimming i have been doing has clearly helped me maintain good fitness. It has been achingly dull but the little sojourn up the side of Lions Head showed me exactly what coach Lisa has been saying, keep up the cross training and you will start as fit as you have for all of the other races I have done. The problem is purely that the running muscles are going to be stale as anything.
So between now and the race, it is head down, bike and swim each day as usual, work hard on Centurion and be patient as the pain continues to ease. If we get to race week and i'm in pain then Western States will go on ice....
So with a persistent shin problem, that news is pretty mixed in my book. If they had postponed it I could have waited until next year and hopefully been in better shape to tackle it, but on the other hand the whole grand slam would have been out of the window. Now it's on, I intend to start it, see how I go and then take each of the following 3 races as they come.
I ran up and down Lions Head in Cape Town last Friday, which felt like a breeze. It is about a 1800 foot climb in the space of 2.5 miles from sea level which is a similar pitch to the 4 mile 2500 foot climb at the start of Western States. Going uphill my leg is fine. I ran every step and was breathing hard in places but not blowing up (there is no way I would dream of starting Western States that hard). Coming down felt a bit shaky but I'd been pain free in the days preceeding it so it was time to test it out.
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| Lions Head overlooking Cape Town. My run ended in the clouds |
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| Profile of the first 3 miles of Western States |
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| The small strand structure in the centre of my bone has tiny cracks in it |
So it isn't quite ready yet, nearly but not quite. The docs view is that I shouldn't have trouble getting it pain free and the reaction cleared up in time for the race. The problem is that whilst it isn't 100% I can't run on it. It is therefore likely that I will start the race on zero running miles for over a month.
That sounds insane but actually the massive amount of biking and added swimming i have been doing has clearly helped me maintain good fitness. It has been achingly dull but the little sojourn up the side of Lions Head showed me exactly what coach Lisa has been saying, keep up the cross training and you will start as fit as you have for all of the other races I have done. The problem is purely that the running muscles are going to be stale as anything.
So between now and the race, it is head down, bike and swim each day as usual, work hard on Centurion and be patient as the pain continues to ease. If we get to race week and i'm in pain then Western States will go on ice....
Sunday 5 June 2011
Comrades
Just returned from a great trip to South Africa, sadly it didn't involve me doing pretty much any running but I'm starting to make my peace with my busted shin.
We flew out to Durban on Friday night, the day after I finally said goodbye to my job and the rat race altogether, landing Saturday morning to blazing sunshine and 25 degree temps.
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| View out over Durban Beach |
We hooked up with the boys at the hotel, had a couple of beers and then hit the Comrades expo to get them registered. The expo is a behemoth of running paraphernalia. As with all of the big city marathons you can get pretty much any running equipment you want plus a whole lot more but this was different.
I am not going to harp on about the event now, I'd rather leave that to people who've actually run it but you hear people talking about the spirit of Comrades and what makes it an extra special event. Up until last year I'd never considered it due to the cost of travelling to and from South Africa. It was predominantly Ian Sharman who convinced me it was absolutely worth the effort of getting out there and that it truly is the greatest race going. From what I witnessed it is more than just a race but rather a whole experience. 19000 people signed up this year and 5000 others like myself didn't make the start-line yet of those 14000 starters, only 4000 were first time runners.
Comrades is a road run between the cities of Durban and Pietmaritzburg. Each year the direction of the race changes. The down run comes from Pietmaritzburg back to Durban, this year was an up year with the course headed in the opposite direction. The distance was approx 87km with 5 major climbs and a total elevation gain of around 2000m. Bearing all that in mind there were some tremendous performances as always. Most notable for me:
Seeing Stephen Muzhingi finish in 5:32 an change for a hat trick of victories
Mike Wardian the US ultra and marathon runner, winner of the DC marathon the year I ran it, finish in 11th place in 5:51
Ian Sharman picking up his 5th Silver Medal in 6:25 despite feeling badly overtrained the day before and during the race
Ellie Greenwood finishing in 4th on her Comrades debut. With Lizzy Hawker not far behind the UK really are blessed with some of the top ultra runners in the world right now.
Almost as notable was seeing the Comrades final cut off gun go in real time. I've posted something similar before but it is a cut off like no other I have seen. To the second, the mayor turns his back and at 12:00:00 hours into the race, there is an absolute line between those who finish and those who quite literally finish a yard or second too late.
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Almost as notable was seeing the Comrades final cut off gun go in real time. I've posted something similar before but it is a cut off like no other I have seen. To the second, the mayor turns his back and at 12:00:00 hours into the race, there is an absolute line between those who finish and those who quite literally finish a yard or second too late.
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We flew to Cape Town the following morning and spent 5 days down at Cape Point and in the Winelands, getting up Table Mountain in the sunshine on the final day.
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| Above the clouds at table mountain |
I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone. The landscape down at the cape is phenomenal and the wildlife is incredible. Particularly stand out was the baboon who ran into the restaurant we were in at the Cape, jumped on the table and snatched a bread roll before heading back out of the door.
I'll be back to run Comrades and I hope to be lucky enough to finish both the up and the down courses. My frustration at not being able to take part this year was tempered greatly by the thought of Western States which is now just 3 weeks away. More to follow on that subject soon....
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