Ultramarathon Daily News | Fri, July 23 and more...

Newsweek: Sad update on famed ultramarathon runner and adventurer Fred Zalokar.

Runner’s World: Comparing elites to amateurs and men and women on Strava.

iRunFar: Timothy Olson sets a new supported FKT on the 2600 mile Pacific Crest Trail. Here are his final few days on the FKT Boards. And in this new post, AJW writes about Timothy and Dylan and their impact on the sport of ultramarathon and trail running.

With DBo in mind, check out this incredible…I don’t even know what to call it…film(?) by Derrick Lytle of Hardrock 100 shot in s l  o  w   m o  t   i  o   n. I want this on my desktop all day.

And speaking of Hardrock, be sure to listen to the latest URP episode with Hardrock DFL finisher Terry Miller. In our talk, Terry shares the raw emotion of what he went through during his 47 hours and 43 minutes on the trail. Great story with some strong messages.

Follow your heart, follow your feet, and take that first step. Literally. That initial movement, as we all know, can set into motion a momentum that propels us forward … from one small adventure at a local park near home to a weekend car camping adventure to an overnight backpacking trip. Then again no one says you have to go bigger, farther, faster when it comes to how you experience the outdoors … you do you, in whatever way that means.

—HOKA ambassador writes letter to anyone why feels “outside” the outdoors. Great stuff.

Honest question: So will Sherpa John’s race series really have seven different categories (and winners) for each event? (Male, female, agender, gender fluid, gender expansive, etc)
[UPDATE: Looks like I’m 180 deg wrong, or something? See comments.]

Trailrunner/Roche: Alcohol isn’t good for recovery so David’s done drinking. Whatever your reasoning, quitting alcohol is always a good thing.

Still no sign of trail runner Philip Kreycik. Case is baffling law enforcement and family, as there’s zero leads as to his disappearance.

URP News: Daily News updates will be scant next week. Immediately following my race on Sunday, we’re going on a road trip up through Rainier for some trail running, then to Northern Idaho, and ultimately over to Montana for a pack rafting (them on a raft, me on an SUP) overnight trip on the Yellowstone River, then back home through Twin Falls, ID.  Lots of driving, but the kids are at a perfect age for this and we’re ready to go! Any trails I need to know about?

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I was DFL at #hr100
Not the result I was hoping for, but I think I learned even more this way. Been trying to get here for about 10 years. pic.twitter.com/DFWkR6zhdk

— Terry Miller (@Terrysrunning) July 19, 2021

Intro/Outro music used with permission from David Rosales.

The post Terry Miller | Lessons from DFL at Hardrock 100 appeared first on Ultrarunnerpodcast.com.

    

Run Spirited: Six questions after Hardrock.

Treeline Journal: Chase previews this weekend’s Speedgoat 50k. Lots of great talent up front and I’m very anxious to see who comes out on top. I’ll be keeping a close on Mike Sunseri (past winner and Broken Arrow stud), Outdoorable Annie Hughes, and because of her Bridger Ridge win, Kristina Trygstad-Saari.

iRunFar/Malcolm: The science and luxury of pacers in ultramarathons. I get her points, but still don’t like the usage of pacers for a few reasons. First, if it’s not a major event that’s got impacted registration, I don’t have an issue. Use them all you want. However, if it’s an elite-level race, I believe those runners should be running on their own, just like they do in every other country in the world. Aside from taking away from the individuality of the sport, extra people on the course adds to the degradation of the trail and can impact permit numbers. I understand the appeal–and have run with pacers in the long-ago past–but wish more races would only allow registered runners on the trail.

Badwater 135 is under way! Follow the webcast right here.

Masters mountain climber and accomplished trail/ultramarathon runner goes missing in Yosemite NP. More on Fred right here…wow, he’s been on some incredible adventures!

Trailrunner/Roche: How much does talent really matter? Good points in here.

Ethan Newberry was out on a run showing the portion of the PCT that Timothy Olson is running and poof, guess who shows up.

Reuters: Top brewers toast the end of the pandemic by releasing NA brews. I can’t find a link to it on their site, but I’ve been drinking the hell out of Athletic Brewery’s Lemon Radler. Perfect summer beer.

Outside/Trailrunner is looking for an Assistant Editor. Something tells me they’re a lot more interested in the diversity of skin color and body parts than the diversity of experience and perspective. Might be the perfect opportunity for someone. Check it out.

Mark Remy: Treadmill enthusiast wishes there were some way to replicate experience outside of gym.

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Well, Hardrock was pretty awesome, wasn’t it? The weather was dramatic, iRunFar’s coverage was on point, the field was stacked, and for once, I called the winners correctly!  Francois made it almost boring while DBo’s push kept the men’s race exciting. Meanwhile Courtney’s stomach issues caused a DNF and Sabrina’s close call with the record was heartbreaking. Here’s iRunFar’s wrap up. Also huge respect to 70yo Scotty Mills who finished his 10th Hardrock…that buckle will go next to his twenty Western States buckles on his mantle.

Trailrunner Mag: Hardrock updates its policy on female participation for 2022. Seems to be smart changes that make sense.

Did you catch our latest episode with Alek Simpson? Alek is an MUT runner from California with plenty of podium finishes to his name, and he’s run all of them while dealing with the symptoms of narcolepsy. How do you run ultras when your body wants to fall asleep immediately? How about when the side effects of your meds cause you to never be hungry?  And what animals does he see the most of while running at night in the Sierra? Lots to talk about with this really interesting guy.  Also stick around for a new NATHAN and HOKA review from Gear Guy Ben.

Who’d you say are the most prominent MUT film makers? I’d go with Billy Yang, Jamil Coury, Ethan Newberry and Kim Teshima Newberry , and Sage Canaday. Help me understand why then there needs to be a special DEI grant for trail and ultra films.

Joe Gray and Grayson Murphy (hmmm, coincidence???) took the wins at the Cirque Series in Alta, UT yesterday.

Guardian UK: Being wholly goal-driven sets us up for constant comedowns, but some high achievers–and ultramarathoners–have found a solution.

Looks like there was a pretty great race in the Womens division at Tahoe Rim Trail 100 on Saturday. Top three women (Susan Oh, Breek Lambert, and Jenelle Potvin) all within 50 minutes of each other.

Personal: Haven’t been to the doc yet, but I seem to have broken my middle toe yesterday. Swollen like crazy, black and blue, and very sensitive to the touch. How’d I do it? Running down singletrack with dodgy vision? Nope, paddleboarding on a flat lake. WTF?!?

YouTube: Ultramarathon masters record holder and HOF member Bernd Heinrich talks about his unusual life as a biologist (and runner) living in a cabin in Maine.

SCMP: What does it take to smash the Pacific (SF to Hawaii) rowing record by fourteen days? Positivity and gratitude. Dang ladies, nice work!

Ultramarathon runner and dad Philip Kreycik went out for an hour run a few days ago and never returned. Now a huge SAR operation is desperately trying to find him.

Note: I wrote all of this thinking that today was Monday. Surprise! One more weekend day!

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Alek Simpson was diagnosed with narcolepsy and cataplexy at 18 years old and has continued running ultramarathons and trail races. He’s on a combination of drugs to keep him “normal”, never gets hungry, has extreme light sensitivity, and has experienced sleep paralysis…but none of this is changing his love and passion for the trails and racing.

In this interview, I ask Alek about the disorders and how they affect his personal and running life. We talk about where he grew up, his upcoming races, and we talk about everything from falling porcupines to a new route from San Diego to Mexico that I didn’t know existed.  Alek is very candid about this mysterious disorder and hopes to bring some attention and light to it.

Gear Review with Ben Zuehlsdorf

Nathan Pinnacle 4L Hydration Vest ($175 | Affiliate link.)  And the women’s version right here.
Ben says: “A vest I actually don’t mind wearing. Doesn’t heat me up or chafe. Would be great for Hardrock.”

Hoka ONE ONE Clifton 8 ($130)
Ben says: “Excellent update to an already great shoe you can wear on the road or firetrail.”

Hoka ONE ONE Zinal ($160)
Ben says: “Great go-fast trail shoe that you can wear from the doorstep to the trail.”

We also spoke about SOAR Running. Here’s more on the new company from Europe.

Episode Notes:

More on the Baja Divide Trail

More on Diane VanDeren

Follow Alek on Twitter.

Intro/Outro music used courtesy of David Rosales.

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