Western States time predictions based on historical data, courtesy of David Roche. Did you get your picks into FreeTrail Fantasy yet? (I've re-added Ailsa MacDonald to my podium.) Geez, I wear a fanny pack to school and the students make fun of me for a ...
Geez, I wear a fanny pack to school and the students make fun of me for a week. I can’t imagine what this parent will face.
Another great shot of Kilian’s new CR at Zegama. It looks like Biel is on a bike with a gimbal mount, right? Can’t figure out how he gets some of these shots.
iRunFar: Zach Miller writes about the different gears necessary to succeed in running. Excellent essay with appropriate comparisons to cars, trucks, SUVs, etc.
Wardian Update! Mike is planning to be done with his transcon some time next week. Here are the relevant links to watch his progress, join him, and most importantly, help get him to his goal of $100k raised.
Gediminas Grinius (I’d forgotten about him!) lays down five tips to help speed up your ultramarathon game.
Ultrarunning Mag/Stern: What’s up in the ultramarathon world this weekend? Yeah, like, anything going on?
Interesting predicament for the Western States Board: Trueheart Brown earned a Golden Ticket for this years’ race, but was busy fighting the wildfires in Flagstaff and had to decline his entry. Here’s the deal.
Q1: Should the WS Board allow him to use his Golden Ticket for next year’s event?
Q2: What if, instead of a GT, he’d earned his spot thru a lottery draw. Would a deferral be appropriate? (Personally, my choice would be a “special consideration” spot from the BOD.)
Q3: Is a change.org petition the right avenue in which to deal with this? (No.)
Harvard: Cannabis makes you sto0pid.
Question: Would be willing to give up 5.5 IQ points for better overall mental health and a good night sleep each night?
This weekend: Sunny and I will be in Foresthill (look for the blonde on a unicycle) and then the track. See you there.
Sorry about not posting yesterday. Still recovering from an awesome weekend in Tahoe at Broken Arrow Skyrace. Here’s Justin’s breakdown of all the ultramarathon and trail results from the weekend. More of my thoughts on BASR below.
Here’s iRunFar’s Western States preview for the women’s division. And here’s the preview for the fellas. My predictions? Ruth Kroft and Emily Hawgood on the podium along with a still unidentified dark horse. And for the guys? Gotta go with Timmy, Jared, and mid-40s French dude with legs, Ludovic Pommeret. I’ll head over to FreeTrail Fantasy to input my choices.
Peter Bromka writes about the “Endurance Dad Dilemma” and whoa can I relate. Many of you were with me during the time I almost lost my marriage due to training and running and I’ve certainly shared the guilt and paradox of trying to be a better dad by running more. Nice that Peter is writing about it.
Do you have to go ultralight, or is an RV with a generator a necessity? Nope, there’s a nice gray area that many of us find relaxing. Sarah writes about her kind of camping.
Ultrarunning/Stern: Jeff writes about the Dipsea race and all its glory. Wanna see the race from a head-mounted GoPro? Here y’are.
Broken Arrow Recap and Highlights:
First, full transparency, Broken Arrow is probably my favorite weekend of the year. We go up as a whole family and Sam relaxes by the beautiful pool at Squaw Valley Lodge while Sunny runs around the village (and, ahem, sings karaoke with Brittany), my son Van hangs out and finds other mountain kids to play with, and I get the best seat in the house to watch the world’s best take on the various events over the weekend. I’ve been the race announcer since the inaugural year and I really love this race.
It’s not often Brittany Charboneau gets beat in the mountains, and that’s exactly what happened when Jennifer Lichter (new North Face athlete from Whitefish, MT) did during Saturday’s 52k. Lichter led from the gun and never let up. These two ladies had an awesome race and it was a pleasure watching the action unfold. Also worth mentioning is that Jennifer bears a striking resemblance to Julie Millon, a friend, adventurer, and itinerant volunteer who was tragically killed a few years ago. Julia volunteered at BASR and the race named an aid station after her.
Likewise, it’s not often the incredible Allie “Allie Mac” McLaughlin gets beat in a race with vert, but that’s exactly what happened when Olympic skier Sophia Laukli put on a clinic in the 26k. Both women had outstanding performances you can watch in the archived livefeed. Next up for Allie is my favorite-race-I’ve-never-been-to Mount Marathon on July 4th weekend in Alaska. Emelie Forsberg has the record but I’ve got money on Allie taking it back to Colorado. Stay tuned.
Huge shoutout to Brendan Madigan, Jeff Quine, Ethan Veneklasen, Sean Flanagan, Andy Anderson, and the massive team of volunteers who make this event possible. I can’t imagine the amount of work these guys put into the race.
Sounds crazy to say, but despite being there in person, the real action was best seen on the screen as the event was livestreamed courtesy of Strava. Dylan Bowman and Corrine Malcolm once again provided top level commentary while a team of drone pilots, mountain bikers, runners, photographers, and tech folks all worked to provide the best footage in the world. Photographer and Producer Scott Rokis was the brains behind the telecast and he did an absolute bang up job. You can find the livestream here.
Sage Canaday took his camera up with him during the Iron Face Challenge on Friday and I’m anxious to see the footage. The event combined trail running and rock climbing and was apparently an awesome experience. Can’t wait to see the video!
I ran into past guest Carol Seppilu in the village after her 52k and she told me that there’s a race in Alaska named after her now. Very cool! (If you haven’t listened to that episode, I’d urge you to go on a run and check it out. She’s an absolutely remarkable woman.)
Broken Arrow has the highest dog:people ratio of any race I’ve attended and I’m secretly hoping Brendan has the bandwidth for a canicross event next year.
The first name I called on Friday was Max King during his Iron Face Challenge finish and the last name I called Sunday was Shari Rogers from Texas who finished DFL because she’d stopped to help another runner who was having a medical emergency on the mountain. Those two bookends are a great example of what makes this sport so damn incredible.
As far as this upcoming weekend, I won’t be up in Tahoe on Friday to sleep on the lift or blow my alpenhorn at the start. Long story, but my son’s birthday was in December and we still haven’t celebrated it. Family comes first and I’ll be spending the day shooting NERF guns and eating pizza with 10 year olds at the park. Sunny and I will likely be up at Foresthill and Auburn on Saturday afternoon. Look for the blonde on a unicycle.
Looking for a job in the MUT field? Finn over at Run Singletrack has put together a job board with a few dozen current listings.
Trailrunner Mag: Your watch doesn’t know how much recovery you need. There’s a similar algorithm that trips my Garmin and tells me I need to relax when I’m sitting down quietly reading a book.
Tuesday Funny: Athletic Brewing releases line of no-calorie gels.
Weather forecast for this weekend’s Broken Arrow Skyrace is looking cool. Low to mid 50s for a high with some snow up top. (For those keeping track, 2019 was my favorite year for the race, with runners and skiers sharing the mountain.)
iRunFar: Preview of the women’s field at Western States.
Ultrarunning Mag: Donald reviews the new Aidas Telex Agravic Pro trail shoe. Looks like a hybrid of a lot of shoes I like, and I’m a huge fan of BOA lacing systems. Might have to get me a pair of those.
Sunny and I had a great time running The Dipsea Race on Sunday. While I’m still struggling with post-covid lungs, she had a great time and did well finishing in 58th place. Your friendly author was quite a ways back. I plan on running that race for the next few decades.
Free advice: Don’t break into the car of an Olympic hammer throw champion.
Last week of school here in Sacramento! We’re all done on Thursday then heading up to Tahoe to volunteer at Broken Arrow. See you there.
And hey Broken Arrow Skyrace runners! If you haven’t yet returned your athlete questionnaire, please do so ASAP. The finish line announcer needs something to talk about as you cross the line and ring the bell!
Speaking of Dipsea, I’m running on Sunday and my lungs are still in rough shape from Covid. (I’m pooped after a mile and feel like I’ve got a tight band around my chest.) Anyone have recommendations other than go slooooow?
AJW/IRF: Intriguing stories and predictions for Western States.
iRunFar: Justin Mock runs down all this weekend’s ultramarathon and trail running results from around the world. Highlight for me was Ruperto Romero–58 years old!–winning San Diego 100. Here’s our interview with this incredible man from a few years ago.
Watch Emelie Forsberg crush a VK at Zegama right here. My legs burn just watching this.
Retailer REI is making a big move to be a major player in the running space. Whenever I’m in an REI I’ll check out their shoes and they always have a decent selection, but the staff never seems to know what they’re talking about. Same where you are?
Jax Mustafa has completed an impressive list of ultramarathons and stage races all while battling some serious foot problems.
Adventure Journal: BLM (Land Management) is “unlocking” access to hundreds of parcels of public lands that have been otherwise inaccessible due to their location next to private lands. Great news!
