observations from Leadville

I spent a week in Leadville before the 2013 Leadville Trail 100 mile race.  Let me make it clear up front - I was there to watch the race and run some parts of the course, but I wasn't in the race.  I had a great week anyhow, exploring the course and seeing the race itself.

Leadville is a great small mountain town.  After a couple of days I was feeling like a  regular at City on a Hill Coffee Shop, I  ate at High Mountain Pies (pizza) enough times that I had to buy the official t-shirt, and had a steak dinner at Quincy's - twice.  Life is good.  The people are really nice.  I met Bryon Powell of "IRunFar.com" in the City on a Hill coffee shop and got to tell him I really liked his blog.  I mentioned I planned to be on the course at various locations on race day, and he encouraged me to send him some texts or pictures as the leaders came by.  I think I provided some useful reports from my early location up on Powerline hill as the leaders came down.  But reporting later from Twin Lakes aid station as the runners came off the trail and crossed the electronic timing mat was clearly not useful ...it wasn't until a while later - when I had internet access again - that I realize how good the real-time updates were from the official Leadville site, the IRunFar blog and tweets.  The coverage was pretty darn good.  Sorry Bryon if I spammed your texting inbox!  (and I look forward to following your UTMB coverage this weekend).

I think the ideal Leadville training plan would include a couple of weeks in Leadville to get acclimated to running at altitude.  I think altitude is going to affect you two ways - it might cause real physical problems (make you sick), or at a minimum it will reduce your level of performance.  My own reaction this week was mostly that I just slowed down.  But my Leadville training plan would include staying in Twin Lakes for a couple of days and running across-Hope-Pass-and-back at least once.  I'd also make sure to try Powerline both ways, and run around Turquoise Lake.  Even though I wasn't racing, I did a lot of running during the week - here are a few shots of some of the course.

Me - after running up and down Powerline (only about a third of the hill is visible)

Hope Pass from the Twin Lakes side

Hope Pass - wind will cool you down fast as you go over the top

Running back down to Twin Lakes a ran into the Hope Pass aid station team coming up with a pack of llamas carrying supplies for the aid station.  Quite a sight!

Llamas hauling supplies up for Hope Pass aid station

Going down the trail later in the week on the Winfield side, I saw about eight mountain sheep cross the trail just ahead of me (by the time I fumbled my camera out they were gone though).

The start on race day was 4:00 a.m. - pretty early.  I enjoyed seeing Scott Jurek at the starting line before the race.  There were quite a few runners who wanted a picture taken at the start with Jurek and he wasn't turning anyone down.  It must be a distraction for him, taking his focus off the start ... I just don't think the other favorites were having the same sort of demands  made on them.  Jurek may have become the unofficial Ambassador of Ultrarunning in the US, the face of the sport.  He's doing a fine job of it.

After the race started, I had breakfast, then headed out to Powerline.  I climbed about a third of the way up the hill and waited to watch the leaders coming down that hill.

Scott Jurek coming down Powerline

Next I spent quit a bit of time at Twin Lakes, watching the leaders come through on their way up Hope Pass, and then eventually seeing the leaders returning after making the turn-around in Winfield and coming back over the pass.

For the finish, I walked from the finish line toward Turquoise Lake, until I decided I didn't really want to be that far out in the dark.  So I was getting back towards the finish line when Ian Sharman passed me on his way to winning the race in 16hrs 30 min.

Ian Sharman and pacer, about half mile from finishing in first place

There is a huge difference in what the elite runners are doing and what the run-to-beat-the-cutoff runners are doing.  For example - when Scott talks about leaving the 100 miler scene and making a 24-hour record attempt he's talking about running much longer races.  I think the runners just trying to beat the cutoff times just aren't as fast or efficient as the elite runners, and might need to adjust their nutrition planning to account for the time they are going to be doing... gels are interesting but it might be better to just stop for a couple of real meals sometime during the 30 hours.  To think that the spaghetti dinner you had the night before the race has much to do with powering you to the finish almost 40 hours later is crazy ...

I had a great week in the mountain, watching a lot of great runners, and getting to think about running all the time.  Life is good!

Keep your feet under you ...

Sebastien Chaigneau interview

I just have to put a link to this interview with the men's winner of the 2013 Hardrock 100.  I love this interview - the baby moose story, having Scott Jurek as a pacer, Scott hurrying him out of aid stations, the American 'spirit' of not using sticks on climbs...

Sebastien Chaigneau interview

Seb at the finish line

running with the bulls

The final running of the bulls at this year's festival in Spain was run on a short and very fast course ... just 850 meters, taking the fastest bull just 2 minutes and 16 seconds ... that's not much over 4 minutes a mile.  It's hard to imagine a winning strategy in this event - it's not just the fastest bulls you need to worry about.  I do wish all the runners the best of luck though.

PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) — An Australian woman has been injured in a goring in the final bull run of Spain's San Fermin festival, while four other runners sustained cuts and bruises.

A regional health official, Javier Sesma, says the 23-year-old woman was gored in the thorax and was hospitalized along with the other four.

The Australian, whose condition wasn't immediately released, was struck by a massive Miura bull as she clung to wooden barriers yards outside the bull ring entrance. Other runners got tossed by the bulls or fell as they ran.

Miuras are renowned as Spain's largest and fastest fighting bulls, and Sunday's run was quick, taking 2 minutes, 16 seconds to cover 928 yards (850 meters) from stables just outside Pamplona's medieval stone wall to the central bullring.

fall races

I was completing my application for this years Punxsutawney 50K, and stumbled across a link to a race report from last year's event. It's written by Staci Calder who ran most of the race with me. I got a really nice mention in her write-up.  Looking at some of her other blog postings, you can tell she's really a tough, dedicated runner doing something good to support  good causes. Go, Staci!

http://runningforwater.blog.com/2012/09/09/punxsatawney-groundhog-50k/

I do love the Punxsutawney 50K.  It's got a great race director and plenty of good support on race day.  I keep going back, thinking eventually I'm going to figure out how to get around this course faster ...  This years race will be September 7, 2013.  Just do it!

http://www.runpunxsyrun.org/

probably scarred for life ...

I tangled with a tree branch, and picked up a nice scratch that reminds me of the Brooks logo.

Brooks should sponsor me, maybe? New Cascadias perhaps?

Appalachian Trail

It's hard to believe it took until May to get out on the Appalachian Trail for the first time in 2013 ... I got out there on the section near Boonsboro, MD this morning for a short run out to the scenic overlook that is pictured in my profile for this blog.  Here is a selfie from this morning.

I headed out early because I had a feeling it was going to get hot today.  Wrong!  It was overcast the whole time.  In fact it rained a bit.  The trail was in great shape - there is still a a fair amount of crushed leaves on the trail,  making what can be a pretty rocky trail a bit softer in places.  The climbing was tough though - I've got a lot of work to do.

2013 Adventure Run - Pimmit Run, and Potomac Heritage Trail

Yesterday was a good day for a little trail adventure run with some friends.We met up at my house at 8:30, checked our laces and headed out the door.  Our plan was to follow Pimmit Run to where it ends near the Chain Bridge, and then run along the Potomac Heritage trail to Rosslyn.  We stayed on plan pretty well.

2013 Adventure Run #1 - the plan

We've had quite a bit of rain, but the trail along Pimmit Run at the beginning was in pretty good shape.  Beginning somewhere around the Potomac School, the trail became hard to follow - it pretty much comes down to "the creek is running that direction, let's keep following it".  In running terms, it was slow going ...  Jim took this picture near where we crossed Kirby Road.  From the left that's Mark, Erik, Jim (with the camera) and me.

near Kirby Road

Once we made it to Chain Bridge, it was clear that the Potomac had quite a bit of water running down it.  The Potomac Heritage trail had some underwater segments, pushing us further up the bank into more rocks and brush than usual.  The first mile heading southeast from Chain Bridge was a pretty rugged rock crawl.  We pressed on through pretty much without incident or injuries.

Getting into Rosslyn, my Garmin indicated we covered 10+ miles, though the map indicates it was a little shorter.  I think some of the difference comes from all the zig-zagging we did on parts of the trail trying to find the best way forward at times.  In Rosslyn, we wound up taking the metro two stops up to Clarendon for a nice, late lunch at the Northside Social Club, then the metro (and a two-mile jog) back to my house.  Here is the group near the end of the adventure.

survivors

It's always a pleasant surprise to be reminded there are running adventures that can begin practically from my door-step, even though I'm inside the beltway in the country's capital city.  I'm glad the guys came out to run today!