Tag: Badwater

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Being a running fan/spectator part five…

In the first four posts about following running as a spectator it was emphasized that the longer the distance, the fewer races an athlete typically does per year. Also, you can make reasonable predictions on how runners will do based on past performances, the weather, meet/event types, and in the case of road running, different types of courses. For ultramarathons, toss all of that out the window. It’s a completely different sport.

Most ultramarathons (any distance that is longer than 26.2 miles) occur on trails. Years ago, I did my first trail 50K (31+ miles) in Virginia. Based on my marathon personal best of 3:11 (at the time), I figured that accounting for the trail surface, I would be done somewhere in the four to four and a half hour range. Six hours and twenty-six minutes after the gun went off, I crossed the line in 9th place overall. Fortunately, a veteran ultra runner had told me to be patient when the race started. I was patient, I felt good the whole way, and I finished strong. That’s when it hit me how different trail racing is from road or track racing. There are some remarkable mountain runners out there who can cover the distances quickly. But, when you look at winning times of ultras on trails versus the world record for the same distances, you can see how the different running surfaces and conditions affect time. The course record at the Leadville 100 is 15:42 whereas the world record for 100 miles is 11:28 (Leadville time source;  100 mile WR source).

(Some ultramarathon runners measure their time in terms of how much elevation they gain over a period of time as opposed to minutes per mile. This makes sense, given that there are long stretches in ultras where you may be climbing for miles, or descending. You’re not going to have the even mile splits that you would find in a road marathon or a track race.)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, most professional marathoners will do two per year, maybe three. By this logic, an ultramarathoner would only be able to do one or two. That is incorrect. Many ultramarathoners do a bunch every year. For some, it’s a lifestyle. The winner of the Western States 100 may not take 90-100 days of recovery time. Scott Jurek won the Western States 100 mile in 2005 and then three weeks later, won the Badwater 135 mile race (Jurek Western States source;  Jurek Badwater source).

How do you keep up with ultra news, events, and athletes? Unlike some track or road events that might require a certain television channel or subscription package, many of them have webcasts which you can pull up on your laptop or device free of charge.

The more difficult part, at least for having broad expertise with ultras, is that there are a bunch of them out there. While there are some marquee events, there’s not a nice set of several races/meets where, if someone wins, they are generally considered the best in the world. I attribute this to two things. One, as I mentioned, for many ultramarathon runners, it’s a lifestyle and I’ll discuss that more below. Also, many ultras don’t offer prize money. If there were a $100,000 check waiting at the end of races like Leadville or Badwater, the dynamics of the ultra world might be different.

Also, not all trail races are created equally which can make them difficult to compare. The winning time for the Leadville 100 may be in the 16 hour range whereas the winning time for the Hardrock 100 may be 24 hours. The difference there is in the cumulative elevation gain/descent. Both are held in the mountains of Colorado, but Leadville features approximately 26,000 feet of gain/descent, whereas Hardrock features 66,000 feet of gain/descent (Leadville source; Leadville elevation source; Hardrock source).   Even converting the times if you’re familiar with the courses may not be rock-solid since some runners may be better at climbing whereas others may be exceptionally good in extreme heat or cold.

Furthermore, even if you’re familiar with the events and the relative runners’ strengths and weaknesses, you may not know what they have planned and this is where the ultra lifestyle comes into play. A week prior to this year’s Badwater ultramarathon, Harvey Lewis, a past winner, finished running the complete Appalachian Trail. Only several days after this year’s Badwater, Pete Kostelnick, another past winner, set off on a 5,300+ mile run from Alaska to the Florida Keys (Harvey Lewis source; Pete Kostelnick source).

If ultras interest you, there is a ton of information to read out there. If you’re a casual observer, it can be fun to read up on the race results. Given the length of some of the races, the athletes have plenty of experiences and adventures out there. Or, you can keep track of one or two and enjoy it that way. The only one that I follow thoroughly is Badwater. Even for that, I only look at the list of the current year’s entrants (released in the spring of the race year) and check to see which of the top-ranked folks have competed in prior Badwater races to get an idea of how the race might turn out. One website that has some ultra coverage is irunfar. It’s not as comprehensive relative to the ultra world as LetsRun is to the track and road racing world, but it has good articles and news. Also, the individual races’ websites have lots of good information and you can find further follow-up online.

This concludes my one-post-which-turned-into-five on how to follow running as a spectator. It takes some effort since the format is different from many other sports and you don’t get the 24 hours media coverage. Though it can take a while to get a deep knowledge base, it’s very rewarding. It was nothing short of thrilling to watch Kipchoge break the world record, despite the obnoxious hour of the morning. While it can always be exciting to watch a world record fall, knowing Berlin, knowing his running history, and knowing what he was capable of made it much more compelling. This is also the case for many other distances.

A Chicago preview next week (unfortunately a couple of the elite American women have already pulled out) and safety on the run.

Running food review of the week: (note–gels, bars, chews, and other items affect everyone differently. Try them on a short run before using them for a key training run or race): Gu Vanilla Bean.  Maybe it’s just me, but I’m weirded out when the term “bean” is used in conjunction with a flavor most commonly used to describe ice cream. However, this tasted just like vanilla and it worked well.

Sources used:

http://www.americanultra.org/news/2002news/23oct02b.html
http://l283s3pxq2ktw6gs37ski16ee.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Leadville-100-Run-thru-2016.pdf

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Road runner…

The new menu item, Running Food Reviews, is up and live–check it out while you’re here.

One of my favorite events of the year is coming up. But first, how to prepare for running while you travel.

I love running when I’m on the road be it in London, Death Valley, traveling for business, or visiting family. How do you pack and prepare? This is pretty easy. When traveling, I have a few dedicated articles of clothing: a bright orange shirt, a bright white running hat, and a pair of shorts with a decent-sized zippered pocket. The first two items are all about visibility. People in some areas of the country may not be used to seeing runners and even if you’re on sidewalks, it’s good to make yourself as visible as possible. If I’m on a road and sidewalks are not an option, when I see a car coming, I’ll weave back and forth a little to add to my visibility. It may sound odd and look weird, but it’s better than getting smashed by a car.

For the shorts, the zippered pocket means I can stash my ID and credit card without them falling out, as well as a hotel key if that’s where I’m staying. It keeps my hands free so I don’t have to worry about dropping something if I need to push sidewalk crossing buttons or hold my hand up to make sure a car sees me. The items in your pocket can get sweaty. What to do? Stick in a few plastic baggies to wrap them in. If you fold them right, they’ll keep all the moisture off and you can toss the bags when you’re done.

If the weather is colder, I can either pack a long-sleeve short to wear under the bright orange one, or I have a bright yellow pullover. A hat and light gloves don’t take up very much room. Typically when I’m traveling, I’m keeping my runs to 3-6 miles so if my wardrobe isn’t complete, it may be a little less comfortable in cold or inclement weather but it’s not the end of the world.

So far when I’ve traveled, my running has occurred during daylight hours. If you know it will be dark when you run or you’re not sure, stick a flashlight or headlamp in.

I do a couple of things before I pack the car and/or head to the airport. I’ll take a quick look at Google Maps to get a sense of the area. Once I’m there, I may ask the hotel clerk if there are areas I should try, or avoid. If you’re staying with friends or family, they will have ideas for places you can go.

If you’re in a new area, you want to be focused on the run and staying safe. While you always need to use common sense and make sure you’re aware of what’s going on around you (enhanced visibility doesn’t make you car accident-proof) a couple of simple items can go a long way in helping you stay safe and running.

On to Badwater. I first learned about Badwater in 2005 and have enjoyed following the race ever since. All facts, numbers, etc. are from badwater.com (except for the Scott Jurek and Marshall Ulrich details which are from their Wikipedia pages).

The course and start times have seen a couple of changes over the years. This year’s race is on July 23rd and goes from Badwater Basin to Whitney Portals. 99 runners will leave in equal-numbered waves at 8:00 p.m., 9:30 p.m., and 11:00 p.m.

I have never run the race or seen it in person. If you look at the last point under the spectator section, they actually request that spectators not attend. However, they do have a webcast and more recently added GPS trackers to the runners so you have stride by stride updates on the race. There is also a Twitter feed.

Given how poor internet and cell reception are in Death Valley, it can be a tricky race to follow. But, it’s a lot of fun. The first time station is in Furnace Creek, 17 miles from Badwater Basin, so the initial splits don’t come in for a few hours. As the race moves along, it’s a full day of checking time splits, looking at the Twitter feed, and watching as some runners, even seasoned veterans, fall back while others make up large chunks of time in the latter stages of the course. Many remarkable accomplishments have been witnessed here. Marshall Ulrich did the event self-supported one year, pulling a cart loaded with his own supplies and water (most runners have a multi-person crew with vehicles). Scott Jurek won the 2005 edition and set the course record a mere few weeks after winning his seventh straight Western States 100. Pam Reed was the first female to win the overall race in 2002 and repeated as overall champion in 2003.

This year’s race will feature many Badwater veterans, including past champions and runners up: Pete Kostelnick, Oswaldo Lopez, Amy Costa, Brenda Guajardo to name just a few. You never know how it will turn out. Enjoy following it.

Running food review of the week: (note–gels, bars, chews, and other items affect everyone differently. Try them on a short run before using them for a key training run or race): Mandarin Orange Gu. This one is interesting. For the flavor, it has an orange flavor when you first eat it, but the mandarin-orange specific flavor hits more as an aftertaste. The important factor, does it work, is a yes. It does give a pleasant boost of energy.

Badwater recap next time, leading off with my own Death Valley running adventure…