HURT 100 Race Report

I went into this race not really certain of what to expect. I did not approach this as a "focus" race so I didn't even take the time before hand to check out any of the course, instead I spent most of the 3 days that I was in Hawaii before the run hanging out at the beach and doing runs that were pretty mellow, but a bit running more than I usually do the few days before such a tough race. Basically I was looking for that fine line between being as prepared as possible, but without forcing my body into too much a valley and then a peak such that it would throw too much of a kink into my Iditarod Invitational training.

Because this was my approach I was able to sleep much more the night before the race than I usually am. I had very little performance anxiety about this one so instead of laying in bed thinking about every last detail for hours on end I actually slept for about 5 of the 8 hours that I was trying to sleep (about twice as much as my average the night before a race). It felt weird the next morning to drive to the race feeling pretty well rested. Usually I feel like a train wreck as I'm making my way to a race.

I stuck with my usual approach though of showing up as late to the start as comfortably possible. Nothing worse than standing around in the dark, freezing your ass off, wishing you had slept an extra 30 minutes so you didn't have to stand there for so long.

And then we were off. I started somewhere near the back of the pack because I didn't want to get caught up in the mindset of racing right off the start. I figured the more removed I was from the leaders early on the more likely I would be able to actually hold back as much as I hoped to for at least the first couple laps. I stuck pretty well to this plan until heading into the first aid station (mile 7). The way the course is laid out (out and back stretches leading into 2 of the 3 aid stations on each 20 mile lap) you pretty much see the entire field every couple hours. At this point I was pretty surprised by how far ahead of me a few guys were. I knew that we were all running much faster than any of us could possibly sustain but it seemed very odd nonetheless.

For the rest of that first lap I tried as best I could to hold back but I ended up getting to the start/finish aid station in 3:45 (about 30 minutes faster than I assumed I would). Surprisingly this still put me about 15 minutes behind Paul Hopwood who was running in the lead.

On the second lap I didn't speed up at all, but I also didn't slow down as I wanted to. I was trying to slow down but I ended up running about the exact same time on the second lap as the first. I was a lot more relaxed on this lap because I did take over the lead at about mile 28. This was certainly earlier in the race than I wanted to be pulling away from the entire field if this really was to be a "training" run, but I just went with it because I began to feel much more warmed up and comfortable with the idea of likely being able to maintain a similar pace for most of the race.

I did have a really tough stretch on the second lap climbing up out of Jackass Ginger aid station. For about 3 miles (around race mile 34-37) I felt really depleted and weak. I was pretty concerned about this at the time but I really focused on getting down as much liquid and calories as possible and within about 30 minutes I was feeling much better.

Lap 3 was when I really started to pay attention to my potential for a great finishing time if I could sustain anything close to the pace I was cruising along at. I decided early on in lap 3 that I would run that lap with the same effort as the first 2 laps and assess my chances at going for the course record based on what my lap time for lap 3 was. I could feel that my 3rd lap wasn't going to be quite as fast as my first two, but I also knew that if it was anywhere below 4:15 I probably had a shot at breaking the course record.

Heading down into Jackass Ginger on the 3rd lap I ran into my buddy Dave Johnston who was climbing up out of there on his second lap. Dave's one of those guys who is always in a good mood with a huge smile on his face. I don't know that I've ever seen anyone who so obviously loves ultra racing as much as Dave. Problem is Dave looked really beaten and it was clear that he was struggling. I later heard that he dropped out at the end of his second lap. Bummer. I suspect he'll be back to tackle that beast another time.

I finished lap 3 in 4:00 and although I had slowed down a little bit I was actually beginning to feel even more comfortable with the much faster than planned effort that I was putting in. The course was very technical, but also very similar to the trails I run here in Juneau in the summer time. When I get in a groove I can move through roots and mud like they're not hardly there. By about mile 50 (middle of 3rd lap) I was really getting into that groove. I was also getting my aid station routine perfectly dialed in. Throughout most of the race Jill was biking back and forth between the start/finish aid station and the Paradise aid station so twice per lap she was there with my drop bag items spread out on the ground for me to get anything I wanted almost instantly. While an aid station volunteer was filling my water bladder and/or bottles I'd grab a flask of gel, a bottle of perpetuem, and anything else I might need. Typically I was in and out of each aid station in 90 seconds or less.

By the middle of lap 3 I was also finally running my race and not focusing too much on the racers chasing me from behind. Now that I was thinking about going for the race record I didn't even really pay attention to how far the "chase" group was behind me. Looking at the splits now I see that they were less than an hour behind me at mile 60 so there was still a potentially close race going on if I slipped up much at all.

It got dark on lap 4 which was just fine with me. I really like running in the dark. Even though I know it slows me down it always feels like I'm running faster. Everything outside the beam of my headlamp just fades away and I feel like I'm running into a narrow tube with the sides just whizzing by me faster and faster as it gets darker and darker.

Dropping down into Paradise aid station (race mile 67) I met another friend, Evan Hone who was climbing up on his third lap. He was just about halfway through his race and he was sounding really good. To see Evan so upbeat at mile 50 was really exciting to me. Evan is a really strong runner who has had a tendency in the past to get pretty frustrated with himself (usually half jokingly and half seriously) during the tough stretches that everyone faces when racing an ultra. I was really rooting for him to have a breakthrough race and I was really stoked to see that he appeared to be well on his way to doing so.

The rest of that lap I just kept moving forward and feeling very relaxed. Time was dropping away quickly and I was doing a great job of sticking to my 300 or so calories per hour and drinking tons of water (I probably drank about 6 or 7 gallons throughout the entire race). I finished my 4th lap in 4:20 (the darkness probably accounted for most of my slowdown from lap 3).

I started my last lap with about 4:50 to break the course record. I knew I had a great shot at it, but it was close enough that it wasn't going to come without a solid last 20 miles. This would be my first lap run completely in the dark so I knew this would probably slow me down another 5 or 10 minutes from my previous lap so I really only had about 20 minutes to spare. If I faded by much more than that then I wasn't going to make it. The first half of that last lap I still felt very strong but at about mile 90 I began to have some really weak and dizzy feelings (very similar to how I had felt earlier in the race around mile 35). I was tired and I wasn't taking in enough calories. Even though it seems completely ridiculous now, I remember at about mile 85 I started to think that I would just finish on the calories I had in me and not bother to consume anymore of the fuel that I was kind of getting sick of. It's amazing how dumb one can be under the drunken spell of 85 hard miles. Luckily I snapped out of it around mile 90 and took in about 500 calories of gel all at once and that brought me back around. I popped in and out of Jackass Ginger aid station and now I only had 7 miles to go. I didn't let up, but I was slowing down as more fatigue crept in. Finally with just a few miles to go I knew I had the record in the bag and just relaxed and shuffled into the finish. The funny thing is that as soon as I slowed down I was having a terrible time staying on my feet. I never took a single fall the entire race until the last 2 miles when I fell 3 times and almost fell a few others.

I made my way down to the finish line with a 4:35 last lap, 20:28 total time, 15 minutes ahead of Matt Estes' 2007 record time. Jill, Anne, and Pam (all from Alaska) were all there when I came into the finish (even though it was the middle of the night). It felt good to be done, but as usual I didn't want to leave any time soon. I wanted to sit there and take it all in and root for other racers as they came through.

About 2 hours after I finished Evan came through with the end of his 4th lap. I was very relieved to see that he was still very positive and was heading back out entirely confident that he was going to finish. He ended up finishing in 10th place, just under 29 hours. Pretty kick ass for his first 100 mile finish. Check out his race report here.

I finally got up and made my way back to my hotel for a bath and a few hours sleep. I wanted to get back to see Evan finish but he ran his last lap too damn fast so we missed him come in by about 30 minutes. I suspect this won't be the last 100 miler I'll be seeing him at.

Obviously I ended up running this race harder than a "training" run but I'm very happy with how my body has felt afterwards. I did not push myself 100% into the ground the way I would in a "focus" race and now, 6 days later, I feel pretty near fully recovered and ready to move forward with my Iditarod Invitational final preparations (just over 5 weeks until that one starts).

Screw Yer Shoes

Before last weekend's "Swannanoa Splashdown" 15K, I winterized my Highlanders. The race climbed High Windy in Black Mountain North Carolina. Based on the weather here I thought we'd be running on snow and ice. Turned out the course was clean, if still steep (2000' in about 4 miles!).

I did get to use the shoes on Sunday back here in Virginia. I produded this short video to show the conversion: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5455366886140893823

50k Race Director Dilemma (How much will the entry fee be?)

This photo was taken 9/08 looking north on the NRT 50k course to Fries Junction.

I have been working on the ’09 version of The New River Trail 50k on and off for the past couple of months. My goal is to open online registration by February 1, 2009.The race will be 10/10/09.

Registration can’t open yet as I am still waiting on details from event sponsors and I need to sort out some choices. My 1st priority as an RD is to deliver a quality and safe race that is environmentally responsible. The 2nd is to give a generous amount of proceeds to The National Committee for the New River.

For it’s inaugural year in 2008, I was pleased at how things went. My biggest disappointment is that as hard as we tried we didn’t get the distance quite right, From differing gps units and other measuring devices out there I think the ’08 version was somewhere between 1/10th and 4/10th a mile too long. I want to have the course USATF certified as a 50k. I think it is an excellent course to record PRs and perhaps even American records-age group records at the very least…and one day would like the venue to be a Regional or National Championship Event.

Yet, already due to increased expenses with our post-race lunch, and cost of finishers shirts and pottery mugs the price will climb by $7.00 a person-from $50.00 in ’08 to 57.00 in ’09-not unreasonable considering last year we didn’t quite know how much everything would cost or come together.

Today I received the cost to certify the course. 1750.00 which could include chip timing...

The certification would be good for 10 years.

This is what I am in a dilemma about. Our race cap this year is 225. I think we can well handle and attract that number, especially with a certified course-yet I am going to be very conservative and base my expenses on 150 entrants. That would mean base fee of 57.00 + more to cover the cost of certification. The difference is 11.66 per person. That means almost 70.00 per person-or over 2.00 per mile! And I am not willing to go there-some 50ks in the region cost 65.00 or 85.00 …and they fill up… I just don’t want to ask runners to pay that much!

It’s a bunch of $$$ to lay out-yet the returns could be substantial. And these are tough economic times for all of us-I want to be in the position of providing opportunities for experiences-not making it harder to participate…

I expect I will still roll with a “swag opt out option” that would keep the registration to a bare minimum for folks who do not want stuff to take home…Oh, what to do?

Of course seeking a sponsor to donate $1000 or more to NCNR to help pay for the certification could be an option…

…Yet how much can runners pay? How much is fair to ask runners to pay? Especially for this where runners from ’09 will be asked to cover a cost benefiting the next 10 years?

Are USATF certified courses of the 50k length appealing to runners? Will folks come to VA to play on the flat New River Trail again in ’09 with a substantially increased fee?

Please check out the website (which is yet to be updated with information on the 2009 race) for information about last year…and please share your thoughts!

HURT

A huge congratulations to one of our newest teamates, Geoff Roes, for his convincing win and new course record on the rocks and roots at HURT yesterday. Way to rock it, Geoff! Enjoy some cheese fries and drinks with cool little umbrellas as a part of your recovery.

Great Eastern Endurance Run 100K "Press Release"

For Immediate Release, January 16, 2009
The race directors for the Great Eastern Endurance Run will offer a discounted, half-price rate to the first 100 runners in the 100K race.

Charlottesville, VA, January 16th, 2009 — In the world of long distance running, the 100K distance is internationally renowned. It is less well known in the United States, where only a few 100K races exist. In order to promote the 100K distance to runners in the United States, Gill and Francesca, race directors for the Great Eastern Endurance Run 100K, will offer a discounted, half-price rate to the first 100 runners in the 2009 one hundred kilometers race.

The Great Eastern endurance Run was born out of Gill and Francesca’s love for the Blue Ridge Mountains and their desire to share these trails and distance with other runners. Many international ultra events feature the 100K distance. Gill and Francesca’s vision has always been to promote this distance in the United States. The Great Eastern Endurance Run was born to fulfill this purpose. Seven years ago, when GEER was established, it was the first 100K trail race in the East, followed soon thereafter by several others.

For 2009, Gill and Francesca are offering a special opportunity for runners to compete in the Great eastern Endurance Run 100K and truly experience the beauty and challenges this distance has to offer.

The offer is valid for the first 100 spots in the 100K race for half of the normal entry fee. This means that the first 100 runners to sign-up (via online entry only) will pay only $62.50 (and still receive all the normal race amenities). Once the first 100 spots in the 100K are taken, the cost will go to the normal entry fee ($125 until August 15th, $140 thereafter).

Entry will open at 11:00 A.M. EST on February 2nd. The discounted rate will be available online only (paper applications are not eligible). Active.com will keep track of the discounted 100K spots. Once these are filled, they will raise the fee to the normal rate as outlined above. The entrants list will be updated regularly on the race website.

Please note that the other two races, the 50K and 25K, will not be impacted by this opportunity. Pricing and entry procedures will remain the same for both of these events. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ENTRANTS FOR ALL THREE EVENTS WILL BE LIMITED TO 350.

The Great Eastern 100K is a beautiful, majestic and stimulating race. Gill and Francesca’s offer will expose many runners to the 100K distance, and promote it in the United States.

Website: www.badtothebone.biz

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NPR Interview - Matt Hart

part of my morning ritual includes listening to the NPR news. back in november i was contacted by the NPR's seattle affiliate to do an interview. this tuesday i headed down to their university district radio station to sit down with jeremy richards and chat about my ultra distance racing.

yesterday they aired the interview. other than having to bleep me twice, i think it went pretty well.

you be the judge - sound focus page | mp3 of interview

original post on my blog at CoachingEndurance.com

Trail Fail on Massanutten Mountain!

(This post has a few graphic images. You’ll probably all want to look anyways being trail runners, but just be warned!)

 

Last weekend I sporadically and rather impulsively joined about 20 members of the VHTRC for the Boyer’s Furnace 40 miler on the MMT trail down in Virginia. The plan was to run 50k of the course as a nice long run, as I finalize my prep for Rocky Raccoon.

 

Got up at 4:15 on Sunday morning to leave for the race, wearing my trusty Hardrocks (can’t wait to get my new Hardrock '08 version in a couple of days!) and plenty of warm layers. Our small group assembled, and we set out. I took off up the first climb.... and by "took off" I mean barely jogged and by "climb" I mean freaking huge mountain. The first few miles were slow as I slogged the 2,300 feet of elevation half asleep with what felt like imminent nausea. But the VHTRC’ers are chipper people, and after some nice conversations along the trail I started feeling better and picked it up

 

Next, well, let's just say I called it out when I said I was gonna get schooled up on the MMT  - epic fail! Around mile 6.5 along the Eastern Ridgeline, I zoned out and swiftly tripped on a rock. Or maybe a stump. Or a small land mine. I was down in a ball screaming for help with what looked through my spandex like a dislocated knee (I guess it was just a swollen ball of flesh).

 

Within a few minutes a group of good people had run up the trail behind me and completely stopped their run to help me out. This compassionate and collected group of people stuck with me during the 2 hour climb down the mountain, going totally out of their way to keep me warm, safe, and as comfortable as possible. There were even two nurses among the runners! (And a vet, I was in good hands haha). We made it to the bottom where the EMTs met us and took me for a nice little ride to the ER. I’m pretty sure they thought I was crazy because I kept asking if I could run my 100 miler in a month, haha.

 

Check out the cut, the knee, and the scar!

 

 

I got my first glimpse of the damage in the ER….one look down and I could see bone, fat, and lots of other ugly stuff. Luckily, no bones broke and no muscles were torn! Just a flesh wound.  The surgeon sent me home the next day with plenty of stitches, narcotics, and antibiotics. These bad boys come out next Monday and hopefully I’ll be back in the swing of things with just three weeks to go before Rocky! Talk about literally cutting it close….haha.

Once again the camaraderie and good spirit of ultra-running prove true on the trail……I hope I never have to return the favor to the runners who helped me but I’m so very very thankful to everyone who did! Ultra-runners might be the craziest athletes out there, but they’re definitely the nicest!

Follow my blog at http://50100beyond.blogspot.com to keep up with more of my (hopefully less gory) antics!

Happy (safe) running!

Look Out Miwok, Montrail's Coming

I am very happy to say that after reviewing the list of entrants into Miwok 100k, 5 Montrail athletes were picked in the lottery. Look out everyone, because Eric Grossman, Erik Skaden, Geoff Roes, and Russell Gill will be gunning for top spots for the men, and Luanne Park and Joelle Vaught will be toeing the line for the women. Catch us if you can!

Marathon Des Sables Running Camp Recap

i just returned to the flooded city of seattle from a trip to tucson, az. i was there to coach a running camp for the marathon des sables 6 day staged race through the sahara desert. tucson provides some amazing terrain and we had 65-73 degrees every day. the ten campers were led by mds veteran jay batchen and myself. our daily routine included yoga, 1-2 runs, cross training, a classroom session focused on mds and lots of eating! we held the camp at the cycling house, so jay and i could focus on coaching and not cooking. it also provided a great environment for campers to hang out together.

check out the camp videos and recap on my blog.

Trail Running, Your path to better health, the video series

A short while ago I pitched the idea of a video series and archive to the fine folks at Montrail. The winter training week with Bradley Mongold (see previous post) gave me a good opportunity to produce a sample. Check it out and let me know what you think. It is so important to stress the healthful benefits of trail running! I tried to post the video to this blog, but it was a bit too large, so I posted it to google. If the embed doesn't work you can go to: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8887021987043180975

Winter Training Week

How can you compete with epoch bear hunts off the coast of Alaska? That's the problem when Bradley Mongold stays at your place for a few days of winter training.

The Virginia High Country came through yesterday with a timely winter storm blast. Mongold and I romped around Mt. Rogers while about 6 inches of snow blew on to the mountain. Stay tuned for some video captured with my Kodak EasyShare point-and-shoot. I'm integrating the footage with an educational piece about trail running and healthy lifestyles.

Yesterday's run capped off a four day running fest that included an "over the top" tour of White Top, a speed climb of The Cuckoo from Damascus, speed work parallel to the flood swollen Laurel River, and ingestion of ample protein derived from Mongold's hunting exploits. We had a very similar week this time last year. I hope it becomes an annual event. When Mongold arrived on Monday I was moping around the house with sinus congestion and caffeine withdrawal. By this morning even the winter darkness and 15 degree temperature didn't deter an early morning jog before the wife and kids got up.

I'm restless to race again, but this will have to hold me as I'm determined to keep my ultra racing schedule pared down this year. I don't want any excuses when Cool comes around in mid March. We'll have to wait and see if Mongold, second at that race in '07, will help me represent the East.

Freedom Park New Year’s Ultra 24 Hour: An Impulsive Adventure!

A partial group photo 1 hour after finishing 24 hours...

This event was held yesterday and today on a USATF approximately 1 mile certified loop in a city park in the town of Morganton, NC. This was an asphalt course in the middle of a little city-not quite the "norm" of a race written about on this blog...yet very much an ultra experience. This post is a small part of the post I put up on my blog earlier today.

Originally I’d signed up for the 6 hour…yet after much silent deliberation and a couple sleepless nights –switched to the 24 hour 14 hours before it’s start.
Was I trained to the 24? No.
Logistically prepared? No.
Have a stragedy? No.
Ever run on pavement for more than 3.5 hours? No.
Have a passion for doing something extravagent to honor the transition of the years? YES!
Was I willing to step back and pull out if I was over my head? (With reluctance-but yes).

My thinking-logical and otherwise is this:
Running 6 hours would already cause me to be up all night…if I ran during the day, I could watch and learn. I felt like a wimp for starting to run in the darkness and cold at 8pm. I didn’t want to be “left out” and I wanted a sensible risk to welcome the 365 days ahead. I also figured I would run much slower for 24 than 6 hours, lessening the possibility of tweaking my calf.

So I ran in loops for 24 hours. On pavement. In the past I vowed never to do this. It would be boring or ugly. Why waste time on pavement when I could rollick on trails? Yet coming off of this past years injury, I am finding smooth pavement and flatter surfaces kinder at times than I want to admit! At this point with my running I am happy to be able to run just about anywhere so long as I can!

The 24 hours went by very fast. It was both a social and solitary experience. Never boring. Cold and challenging too. And not ugly.

The 6 and 12-hour runners joined in at 8pm. It was refreshing to have fresh legs on the course and witness people really running hard! Montrail teammate Russell Gill seemed to be tearing it up in the 6 hour…he was moving so fast and me comparatively so slow, we didn’t exchange much more than waves!

I really felt good for most the day and night. Yet around 4:30ish am I started second guessing myself and fearing I’d bit off more than I deserved. I whined. Outloud a little. Inwardly, a lot! I ate grilled cheese. And things got better eventually! (I finally remembered that I tend to hit a low about 2-3 hours before dawn!)

Anyway, as not to drag on this post-I know I am sleep deprived and babbling…I ran (unofficially) 121.97 for 2nd place overall and Matt Chaffin from near Syracuse, NY was 1st over all with almost 126 miles. Results will be verified and posted ASAP on the event website. I met the minimum qualifying standard of 120 miles for the National 24 hour team. Of course qualifying doesn't mean selection-yet it is something I will pursue and see what is possible (January 1, 2009 was the close of the qualifying window for the May 2009 event!)

In summary, somewhere around 5:30am this morning another runner asked me if I still felt half human. We both said we did and wished each other well as we continued to slog along. I thought about the question as I plodded on in the predawn cold. I didn’t feel half human. I felt never MORE wholly human! Existing and living in the moment, experiencing the elements, companionship, celebrating with others, sharing stories, disappointments, self-doubts. It was a beautiful star filled night with the foothills visible in some directions.

This run was far from the self-reliant solitude of the Massanutten or High Sierra Mountains. It was a much different style adventure! I am privileged to have had this experience. My thanks to RD’s David and Rhonda Lee, all the volunteers and all the 6, 12, and 24-hour runners for a fabulous New Years Eve celebration!
A more detailed entry and soon link to photos is on my blog.