The Adventures of Rune

12 for 12!

2012-01-12T18:20:00.001-08:00

12 days, 12 runs in a row. Yeah I know, incredibly exciting. Maybe I'll go for one of those streak things people rave about. Well, except actually counting a mile as a run. No offence but that's pretty lamer mclamerton. Especially if you run ultras. I mean I teach beginner run clinics and for the first run of their lives typically with a combination of running and walking they cover 1.25-1.5 miles pending their pace. Seems sacraligous (I've tried spelling this word right for 30 seconds now and the stupid red line indicating a spelling error keeps coming up - I don't care if it's wrong, I'm leaving it).

Anyway, short and sweet it's been 12 straight days of running (shortest day is 4 miles - once) and the rest are all 6 miles or longer. I feel less fat but the stretch marks in my sweater still point towards me being more bulbous than I should be.

Happy trails!

Canadian UROY Results & Recap

2012-01-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

Adam Campbell Wins! Adam Campbell Wins!

Bogus claims the leftists...how can one win with less than 50% of the popular vote??!! Um, he got more votes than anyone else so just zip it and deal with it for the year!

Anyways, got a little sidetracked there! It sure was an interesting 3 days of voting. Jason jumped out to a brief lead. Then votes started coming in for Adam left, right and center. Glen mounted a massive comeback tying things up with a few hours left before another barrage of votes for Adam sealed the deal and knocked Glen off his two time UROY pearch.

All four nominees had VERY worthy performances to be on that list. I was going to get in to who I voted for and why but I'll leave that in my head. When you look at what those 4 accomplished you have podiums in major international competition including a Silver Medal at a World Championship, age group records being shattered, podiums at major 100 milers and National Championships, National Records being lowered. All in all a fantastic year for Ultra Running north of the 49th (sorry Southern Ontario...)

There certainly is a lot to be excited for in 2012 as well. Each of the four finalists have big plans for the year and no doubt other folks that didn't make the list have plans to make a splash in the upcoming 12 months as well. Gary Robbins will certainly be looking to make up for lost time in 2011. Aaron Heidt is always dangerous when he toes the line of an ultra. Wayne Gaudet made an impressive debut at the Commonwealth Championships in Wales in the 24 hour going over 200km. The list goes on and on.

Some of the memorable performances by Canadians that weren't on the list for UROY include:

- Taylor Murphy a 3:20 at Blackfoot 50k and 3:25 at Run for the Toad (50k Nationals) both for victories

- Aaron Heidt a 3:50 at Chuckanut for 4th place in a stacked field and 8:36 at the Miwok 100k for 5th place in an equally loaded field. Also snagged a win with a 4:53 at the Knee Knacker 50km

- Ryan Day in his 50 mile debut going 7:04 at the North Face in San Fran

- David Papineau and Mike Palichuk with great WS100 debuts (20:37 and 20:42 respectively)

- Grant Guise who missed the Canadian Death Race record for fastest Canadian male by 22 seconds (13:48:46)

And for those curious on the final breakdown of votes it was:

Adam Campbell - 89 votes (46%)

Glen Redpath - 76 votes (40%)

Jason Loutitt - 22 votes (11%)

Chris Downie - 3 votes (1%)

Hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season and wish you all the best for a healthy and happy 2012. Hopefully we'll cross paths on the trails!

Ryne

Canadian Male UROY

2011-12-28T14:37:00.000-08:00

Been a while since I've made a blog update and it's that time of year again to pick your brains on who should be given bragging rights for UROY (Canadian Edition).

There were certainly some tremendous performances once again put forth by Canadians this past calendar year. Including some big ones on the International Stage. Once this poll has closed to voting I will fire up a vote for the Canadian Male Performance of the Year.

For simplicity sake I have kept the poll short to 4 people. I believe these are the legitimate contenders to take home the big award. Feel free to comment though if you think I have overlooked someone that had a shot at potentially taking top honors. The link is on the side and candidates are listed alphabetically. Below is a summary of each athlete and their results for 2011.

Also I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the best for your 2012 Running Endeavors!

Canadian Male UROY Candidates:

ADAM CAMPBELL

* Chuckanut 50km - 3:54 (8th Place)

* Elk Beaver 50 Miler - 5:44 (1st Place - set National Record for 50 miles on Trail)

* Knee Knacker 50km - 5:06 (2nd Place)

* CCC (France) 98km - 10:29 (2nd Place)

* TNF 50 Miler - 6:34 (3rd Place)

CHRIS DOWNIE

* Sequoia 50km - 4:17 (2nd Place)

* Where's Waldo 100km - 10:22 (4th Place)

* Walk in the Park 54km - 4:45 (1st Place)

* Pine to Palm 100 Miler - 19:15 (2nd Place)

* Whistler 50 Miler - 5:52 (1st Place)

JASON LOUTITT

* HURT 100 Miler - 22:27 (1st Place)

* American River 50 Miler - 5:59 (2nd Place)

* Elk-Beaver 100km - 7:28 (1st Place)

* IAU World Trail Championships (70km) - 6:40 (2nd Place)

* TNF 50 Miler - 7:21 (23rd Place)

GLEN REDPATH

* New Jersey 50 Miler - 6:19 (1st Place)

* Umstead 100 Miler - 14:47 (3rd Place - National Age Group Record)

* Miwok 100km - 9:04 (12th Place)

* Ice Age Trail 50 Miler - 6:48 (4th Place)

* Western States 100 Miler - 16:57 (14th Place - Canadian WS100 Record)

* IAU World Trail Championships (70km) - 8:22 (50th Place)

* Vermont 50 Miler - 7:17 (6th Place)

* Run for the Toad - 3:46 (3rd Place)

* Crooked Road 24 Hour - 139 Miles (1st Place - National Age Group Record)

Western States 2011 - A Crew Perspective

2011-07-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

Western States 2011

What a phenominal weekend down in California this past weekend. I was privileged to be part of Ellie Greenwood’s crew.

The journey started by flying into Reno on Wednesday to get a little sun and heat in (we don’t get much of that here north of the 49th). Mike Palichuk, who was also making his debut 100, Ellie, Kristin and myself landed midday in the lovely gambling town. We headed straight for the trails and hit up the Patagonia Trailhead for a 50 minute shakeout from the plane and take in some heat running. Then it was time to work on getting our pasty white skin converted to a more tanned look. Gotta look good for the cameras that may be present on Saturday!

Over dinner I went over the course with Mike and Ellie (yes I know I’ve failed miserably three times at WS!) but have a weird memory to remember distances, splits, landmarks etc. I was thoroughly impressed at how much homework Mike and Ellie had done on the course and I knew they would be in good shape come Saturday morning.

Like well behaved 100 mile runners Ellie and Mike hit the pillow at 9pm sharp at the Sands Resort and Casino. Sean Meissner made record time from Bend, Oregon to Reno and joined Kristin and myself for a night of gambling and shuffleboarding. Due to a pact the three of us made the details can’t be fully released but I can report two things; Sean lost a dollar in the casino and if Montrail ever starts a Shuffleboard Team there is a strong possibility Kristin, Sean and myself will not make the team. Ever!

Thursday took us to Alpine Meadows, our home for the next two days. Ellie was busy getting her picture taken and being famous so the crew, now joined by Ana, Jackie and Ken (www.runningstupid.com) from San Francisco took care of groceries and getting things prepared. We shared the house with Mike and his trusty pacer/crew Ran Katzman from Vancouver.

Ellie is pretty laid back about specifics at stations. The biggest thing is seeing a friendly face to help make transitions a touch quicker and break down the distance from crew point to crew point. Ellie always has been pretty successful at just using what the stations have. We prepared drop bags, planned where is best for what and got both crews loaded with things Ellie would need. Mostly just a swap of hydration packs loaded with all the goodies ultra runners crave, Clif Shots, Clif Bloks, thermalytes, bodyglide…

Friday again both Ellie and Mike had great sleeps and managed to come down at 9am. Great stuff I thought. We did the usual pre-race briefing stuff and then had some lunch back at the cabin. Then one of the best moves I think Ellie and Mike made that day is we went down to a park at Lake Tahoe and just played tourist for a while. No one really talked about the race, just about the beauty of the lake, the area and we stood in the majestic blue Lake Tahoe soaking the legs.

Race morning came and what a sight to see 375 people head up the climb to Emigrant Pass. Due to the snow in the backcountry all crews had a lengthy wait to catch their runners at either Michigan Bluff or Foresthill. We went back to the cabin, had some breakfast, grabbed an hour nap and then cleaned up and started the trek to Foresthill.

Meghan’s updates on behalf of Bryon from iRunFar were great to keep us informed of the going on’s in the backcountry. Jackie and Ana were headed to Michigan Bluff to meet Ellie while Kristin, Ken and myself were stationed at Foresthill. I found some wifi in the Subway so set up the Ellie Express Headquarters there to follow the progress. We got a little concerned about the report iRunFar tweeted out of Dusty Corners with Ellie looking sad and having shot quads and hammies. Not the best to have that feeling heading into the canyons but lots of time to pull it back together as well. It was also sad to learn Geoff was having a rough go and falling out of contention.

We followed the reports up to Devil’s Thumb and left the confines of the friendly Subway to see the lead men come through Foresthill. Kilian and Jez came through neck and neck and looked like they were out for a Sunday stroll.

Reports came through that Tracy was still leading through Michigan Bluff and still slowly pulling away from Ellie. Suddenly Jackie and Ana appeared at Foresthill screaming to get over here quick we need to talk! Oh shit, Ellie’s not in the car is she?! “Ellie was rough at Foresthill, she puked three times and cried for a bit.” Poor Ellie. “She also said to get here before you start pacing her to make sure you don’t push her, she’s worried about this!” (In hindsight isn’t this hilarious?!) “Did she say the codeword?” I asked. “No, but she said you can’t push her!” Ellie and myself had a codeword that once she said it we switch to get her to the finish line by any legal means possible. Until then she gets pushed and treated like she’s trying to win regardless of how much she vomits, cries or how many blisters she pops all over the crew!

The deficit leaving Michigan Bluff was 36 minutes. Lots of miles left but certainly some work would need to be done starting instantly to get that gap erased. I sent Kristin down with the other pace bib to run down to Bath Road and meet Ellie. I figured an extra mile and a half with a friendly face might be welcome at that point. Ellie was in 6th place leaving Michigan Bluff. We saw Anita Ortiz coming in and Nikki right behind her in 4th and 5th at Foresthill. Behind and charging was Kristin and Ellie! Game back on!

We spent some time changing Ellie’s shoes and socks and getting some calories in her. The quote of the day came from Ellie during this change. “I can’t push but I really want to hold this position or stay top 10 cause even though this hurts right now I might want to come back next year and do it again!” Classic. There crew shared a good laugh while Ellie popped a golf ball sized blister. Down the road we left in search of some runners. I knew this part of the course is in Ellie’s strengths and some damage can be done as long as she keeps getting fuel in and keeps it under control for a bit. Someone yelled out as we ran down the street, “go get ‘em Ellie your in this!” How true despite the gap at the time.

We talked about the scenery and what she thought of the California backcountry. Within a mile of Foresthill we passed Anita. One down four to go. We shared some stories. Ellie was definitely coherent just having some stomach troubles. While the pace was faster than any other woman on the course at that point it stayed tame and relaxed and in a rhythm. Things were going to be just fine. We talked about last years race and how Tracy went hard from the gun and faded from Auburn Lakes in but had a large enough lead to hang on. We both knew that if someone knocks an amazing run out of the park they earned it but Ellie was in position to pounce as soon as that pace fell off.

A few miles later we passed Nikki. I must say Nikki was so positive and cheered for Ellie as she ran down the trail. We heard her for at least a mile hooting and hollering to go chase!

Just before the 70 mile aid station we passed Joelle. She looked decent still but the Ellie Express was starting to roll! I’m sorry to learn Joelle didn’t make it to Auburn but she looked chipper when we saw her!

The pace stayed great all the way to the river. Power walk the uphills. Relaxed on the flats and a shade faster on the downhills. Along the way we passed Hal, Ryan and Scott Jamie. You never take satisfaction in passing someone who’s race is in jeopardy or struggling but passing names of this caliber gave Ellie some confidence in the race she was running.

We had a helicopter keep flying over us as we approached the river and were meet by Jackie and Ana. A boat was ready to cross so we made a quick exchange here to make sure we were solo in that boat across the American River. Montrail President Topher Gaylord and his wife Kim were also at this aid station as well. I didn’t catch the whole exchange as I was getting a plate of fruit for Ellie but when I returned Ellie was trying to take off her Fairhaven’s and show Topher a blister and he was just saying get your shoe back on! Into the boat with some fruit and a bag of salt and vinegar chips for some snacks on the river crossing. The cold water felt nice to splash on the legs and head.

Another classic Ellie line on the other side of the river once out of the boat we’re ready to begin the 2 mile climb to Green Gate and the aid station asks if we need anything. We changed packs for Ellie on the other side and Ken and Kristin are a mere 15-20 minutes away. Ellie politely says no thanks to the aid station on needing anything and asks if they can use the half bag of chips left for other runners! They look kind of amused and confused at the same time. You don’t want anything at mile 78 but want to donate food for other runners coming through?! Cool beans!

Ken and Kristin report the deficit (still dropping) and how Tracy and Kami looked, felt, what they said to the crew, how long they stayed. Ellie is very splits oriented and this information was taken at each station either from crew or I would check with the timekeeper at aid stations to get the lowdown.

I think from here is where it may of clicked for Ellie that completing the comeback was doable. Although she was still having some stomach and bathroom issues the pace was picking up when we were running, the short hills were no longer being walked and there were no major downhills so running them the pace picked up as well.

Auburn Lake Trails we learned Tracy and Kami were dead even. We made a decision coming in to refill her Nathan pack so we could save time not having to do it at Highway 49. This would be the last fill. There were enough gels, bloks and calories to get her to the finish. About a half mile out of ALT the pace kicked into another gear and this was the beginning of the assault on the final miles of the Western States Trail. Darkness was approaching, I gave Ellie an exact briefing of distances to each aid station left, elevation, terrain. She just put her head down and hammered. We were cruising the section from ALT to Brown’s Bar. Nothing needed to be said. I would throw out a “helluva pace” but it was quite clear now this was the move and she was in a zone that you may see in a 10k race. It got dark about a mile from Brown’s Bar. I asked if she was okay without headlamps until Brown’s. Yup. Good keep the hammer down!

A very quick transition in and out of that station and time to strap on headlamps. All of a sudden I felt a touch dizzy and lightheaded. I had been neglecting calories and fluid in all the excitement (my mistake) and figured this is best for Ellie to go ahead solo. The pace was great, she had the zone. 5k to Ken and Kristin at Hwy 49, 5k more to Ana and Jackie at No Hands and then just shy of 4k to Robie Point (where I said I would re-join her).

I ran/walked the next 5k out to Highway 49 just laughing to myself. It was unreal what had just happened. From reports of Ellie sad at mile 38, to barfing and bawling at mile 56 to now running a time trial like she’s on a track! I knew she would catch Tracy as Kami was reported to be pulling away. I hoped she would catch her and knew it would be close but she may run out of miles. The only thing Ellie said after leaving Brown’s Bar was “dammit this always happens where I get a burst of energy near the end!”

I came into the 93.5 mile station giggling. Ken and Kristin looked terrified! “What happened?! Ellie tore through here and didn’t change anything and said wait here for Ryne!”

“We started time trialing and I couldn’t keep up anymore! Lets go to Robie.” Ellie was 3 minutes behind Tracy and 9 ½ behind Kami. Tracy is her’s. Kami….tight. A few minutes later Ana and Jackie texted the report from No Hands. “Ellie’s leading!”

I can’t even begin to describe the reaction from the three of us in the car. Kind of like the shot by Tiger Woods on hole 16 at the masters. Is this REALLY happening?! I mean I knew at the pace she was on 3 minutes on Tracy over the 6.5 miles left was doable but how in the world did she put 9 minutes and counting into Kami in 3.3 miles?!

I started running back down to Robie Point while Ken and Kristin parked the car at the high school. I found a rowdy crowd at mile 99 and informed them Ellie was winning and asked if they had any information on what the gap was after No Hands. Jackie had caught up as well and ran down the hill to Robie Aid Station to get Ellie. Shortly headlamps came into sight and it was Ellie and Jackie! Ellie said she saw a bear and chased it up a tree. I visioned it of a bear being on the trail. Ellie very politely asking it to move, the bear refusing so Ellie picked it up by the scruff of the neck and threw it up a tree. That’s the zone she was in! We charged through the raucous ovation at mile 99. One mile to go, no one in sight! Ellie keeps saying it’s not done yet all the while accelerating. Shortly later we are joined by Ken, Kristin, Topher, Kim and Geoff Roes. The eight of us try to hang on to Ellie charging down the road at 6’s! Geoff comments its the fastest he’s run all day and the best he’s felt (he’s also wearing Molokai Flips!). It’s great to see Geoff come support Ellie despite his day not panning out. Ultra running camaraderie and respect at its finest.

No lights in sight, the track section is all that remains. Ellie blasts around the track sealing her place in history with not only the second fastest time ever but the biggest comeback ever!

I’m equal part dumbfounded and giddy and what just happened. I don’t know if I can entirely explain it or put it on paper. It was one of those things you needed to be there and see to believe it actually happened. Ana went to the announcer at the track once back from No Hands as they didn’t have a report yet and told them Ellie was first through No Hands. They didn’t believe it. Ana said I was standing there I guarantee she was first through No Hands. They still didn’t believe it!

I was honored to be there and be a part of that beautiful day and historic run. A special thanks naturally to the crew of Ken Michal, Kristin Ohm-Pedersen, Ana Shapiro, Jackie Muir but also to Mike’s pacer Ran Katzman, Sean Meissner, Meghan Hicks, Topher Gaylord, Kim Gaylord, Geoff Roes and all the heroic aid station volunteers. In one way or another not only did you make this a special day for Ellie but really gave me a sense of why I enjoy being in the ultra community with your passion, care and love.

Lastly congratulations to you Ellie. You are one of the most humble runners I have ever come across and for that you’ll always have my utmost respect. When things were dark you still smiled, you still enjoyed the beauty of the course, you still laughed, and you still put up with me (well for 30ish miles anyways!) Enjoy and savor the moment of your remarkable achievement.

Happy trails!

Ryne

Hobo or UltraRunner?

2011-02-01T22:10:00.000-08:00

Recently I've been skimming through the photos from races over the years and always thought, man, sometimes I'm not sure if people would be able to tell if I was a runner or a hobo. Then last year there was this facebook game called crackshack or $1,000,000 mansion which basically showed a bunch of crap houses in the Greater Vancouver Area and you voted if you thought it was a crackshack or a mansion. It was hard to differentiate. Then I thought it would be funny as hell to every couple days post a picture of an ultra runner (I'm not putting any of me up cause Hobo would take 100% of the votes) up and put it to a vote of Hobo or UltraRunner!

Photo #4 now up for voting!

Results for Photo Below

Hobo - 38%

Runner - 62%

Actual Photo - Runner

RESULTS FOR PHOTO BELOW

HOBO - 74%

RUNNER - 26%

Actual Photo - Runner, dude who routinely runs shirtless in Edmonton even in the chill of a -35 day mid-winter!

RESULTS!!!! (For Photo Below)

HOBO - 51%

RUNNER - 49%

ACTUAL PHOTO - Jackie Muir, UltraRunner - after the Fat Dog 130 miler.

My Favorite Holiday Running Adventure

2011-01-27T12:19:00.000-08:00

It was the wee hours of Christmas morning in 2006. I was out in Kananaskis Country parked at the Beaver Flats campground. The X-Trail was a rockin'! Sadly it was just me in it trying to get some sleep in the back before embarking on an epic Christmas Day Trail Adventure. The winds were howling as a chinook blew in. Sleep didn't happen much. So at 330am I crawled out of my sleeping bag and the back of the car and got ready to hit the trails.

Doing a long run on Christmas Day had become a tradition since I was 14 years old training for my first ultramarathon. It was my way of justifying shoving my face full of chocolate and junk during the tour of family visits. Christmas Day 1994 took me out for a 30 mile run. It was peaceful, quiet and a great way to kill time after morning presents and before Christmas dinner. It beat sitting around watching the same old shitty Christmas movies!

2006 was the first year I lived no where near my family. I just saw them in November so didn't see the need to buy a ridiculously overpriced plane ticket across the country to go home for Christmas. Instead I went to my second family, the trail!

I mapped out what would be roughly about 30 miles of epic K-Country trail. The snow levels weren't crazy yet and the weather looked like it would be decent enough for Alberta where I wouldn't freeze my nuts off. The route planned was start at Powderface parking lot and head up to Powderface Pass (elev. 7200') and the take Powderface Ridge over to Little Elbow Campground and then up Nihahi Ridge (7800') to catch sunrise coming over the mountains and then retrace my steps back to the car. Total climb would be well over 10,000 and equal descent.

With those chinook winds blowing in hard sleep didn't happen so I set out earlier than planned to start the adventure. At around 330am I headed up Powderface Creek Trail towards the pass. It's a 4 mile climb starting around 4800' heading up past 7000'. Once up on the ridge and Powderface Trail the winds really started whipping up. I was now alpine. My Mountain Hardwear jacket and base layers kept the body warm and the Montrail Hurricane Ridges (old school I know!) were awesome on the slightly snow covered trails. My face was numb from snow being wisked up and blown in my face from the wind. After about 3 miles of alpine I started the long descent to Little Elbow and got some shelter in the trees. It was awesome, not a sole around for miles I assumed. The road into these campgrounds gets locked at the trail I started so figured I had this entire backcountry heaven all to myself.

Down at Little Elbow I took a break to have a Clif Bar for Christmas breakfast and washed it down with a few Clif Shots and water. Then I started the ascent up Nihahi Ridge. The first mile is pretty brutal doing some switchbacks before reaching a meadow you kind of horseshoe around before scrambling a long way up a scree slope to the ridge.

Once I went alpine again the winds crushed me. The temperature I could feel getting warmer by the minute as those chinook winds blew in from the west. The pace was a little quicker as well and when I got to the ridge line it was still going to be about an hour till sunrise. I quickly realized that I would freeze to death sitting on a near 8000 foot ridge exposed to the 40-50 mile an hour winds and started the trek back to Beaver Flats.

(pic of Nihahi Ridge - obviously not from Dec 25th!)

Descending Nihahi Ridge was awesome as it was a combo of scree and snow and basically I just did some skiing on shoes down the slope. Once near Little Elbow the sun started to show its face.

Somewhere near the top of the ascent climbing back up Powderface Ridge I realized I wasn't alone on the trail. I was the only human. 20 feet away was a moose the size of a bus. He stared at me like I was an idiot. I offered him a Clif Bar. He wasn't hungry. I backed away slowly and he started pacing towards me. I'm pretty sure I crapped myself. I got behind a good sized tree and waited until he buggered off into the woods.

From there it was uneventful back to the car. Got some sun on the run across the alpine Powderface Ridge and flew down the 4 miles descent from 7500 feet back to the car at 4800 feet.

Aside from missing the sunrise on Nihahi Ridge it was an amazing Christmas Day Run. Still to date my most memorable and fun Christmas Day run which is now 17 years running.

Happy trails!

Ryne

UROY Recap

2011-01-10T22:46:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna make this short and sweet cause (a) Gary summed it up pretty decently in his recap of the women's vote and (b) I can't find my pants.

Congratulations to Glen Redpath for defending his title of Canadian UROY. Very well earned indeed and had my vote! Gary was second and certainly had some killer performances in the 2010 season earning him those votes.

Thanks everyone for voting and commenting. It made it fun!

Hope everyone has some great resolutions and races planned for 2011 and look forward to seeing ya'll on the trails!

Canadian Male Ultra Runner of the Year

2010-12-31T12:04:00.000-08:00

We are going to go with a slightly different format this time around for debate and voting for the Canadian Male Ultra Runner of the Year (UROY). Some names are going to be posted below with the results from races in 2010. Gary and myself deemed these ones as obvious choices to be put to the vote. There are certainly some obvious choices out there that we missed. This is where you the readers come into play! If you feel someone should be added to the list make a mention of it in the comments section with that persons known results and I will add it into the text of people to be voted for.

Debate will be open until Sunday at 6pm PST and then those on the list and those that have been added will be listed in the poll that will go for about 4 days.

In alphabetical order here are the contenders:

(1) ADAM HILL (ONT)

* 4th place Bull Run Run 50 miler - 6:52:51

* 1st place Sulphur Springs 50 miler - 6:28:07

* 3rd place Ultimate XC 58km - 7:03:37

* 1st place Haliburton Forest 50km - 4:26:17

* 1st place Vulture Bait 50km - 3:54:12

* 3rd place Mountain Masochist 50 miler - 7:42:39

(2) CHRIS DOWNIE (BC)

* 2nd place Orcas Island 50k - 4:38:44

* 12th place Chuckanut Mountain 50k - 4:16:00

* 2nd place Diez Vista 50k - 4:26:37

* 7th place Miwok 100k - 9:00:23

(3) GARY ROBBINS (BC)

* 4th place Vancouver New Years Day 50k - 3:59:55

* 1st place HURT 100 miler - 20:12 (CR)

* 11th place Chuckanut Mountain 50k - 4:12:14

* 1st place Diez Vista 50k - 4:10:38 (CR)

* 6th place Western States 100 miler - 17:06:20

* 4th place Knee Knacker 50k - 5:05:52

* West Coast Trail 75km Speed Record - 10:08

* East Coast Trail 220km Speed Record - 35:17

(4) Glen Redpath (NY)

* 3rd place Umstead 100 miler - 14:27:51

* 8th place Miwok 100km - 9:06:45

* 6th place Bear Mountain TNFEC 50 miler - 8:23:23

* 1st place South Mountain 100km - 10:31:00 (CR)

* 7th place Western States 100 miler - 17:10:06

* 5th place Trans Rockies 3 Day Race

* 2nd place VASS Vermont 50 miler - 7:01:31

* 1st place Oil Creek 100 miler - 17:25:54 (CR)

* 1st place Delaware Water Gap 50k - 5:29:00 (CR)

(5) Ryne Melcher (BC)

* 2nd place Vancouver New Years Day 50k - 3:55:11

* 3rd place Calgary Frozen Ass 52k - 3:46:54

* 18th place Chuckanut Mountain 50k - 4:21:36

* 1st place Mount Si 50 miler - 5:54:15 (CR)

* 1st place Capitol Peak 60km - 4:45:32 (CR)

* 1st place Lake Youngs 50km - 3:17:00

* Stormy 50 miler 10:29:07 (pacer for Kristin to get her WS Qualifier)

* 5th place Run for the Toad 50k - 4:15:15

So there you have five to get things rolling. There are names for sure that need to be added to this list. Get them comments flowing and I will get them added as they come up!

Happy New Year to everyone, play safe tonight and voting again will commence at 6pm PST Sunday January 2nd.

The exact same debate is over on Gary's Blog for the Canadian Women.

Happy trails!

Ryne

Results for Canadian Performance of the Year

2010-12-30T12:50:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and is getting those resolutions for 2011 hammered out as its a mere 35 hours away!

Thanks to everyone who participated and contributed information and results for the Canadian Male Ultra Performance of 2010. Polls closed on Boxing Day and the results are still up on the right sidebar of the blog.

Congratulations to Gary Robbins and the HURT 100 miler performance which took 48 votes (43% of the vote). My Mount Si 50 miler took the silver with 36 votes (32%) and Gary's Western States 100 took the bronze with 11 votes (10%).

My personal thoughts are:

(1) Given the amount of votes Tracey was getting for her great Western States victory over on Gary's blog I thought both Gary and Glen's WS100 performance would garner more votes.

(2) I really thought Glen's blazing 14:27 at the Umstead 100 miler would get more consideration as well (it's the 4th fastest 100 miler in Canadian History). It got 3 votes (one of them was from me!)

(3) I figured I would get some votes for sure with my Mt Si 50 and Canadian Trail Record run but know more weight is typically given to 100 milers. I didn't think 32% would be the total, maybe 10-15%

(4) I'm glad to see Adam Hill's Sulphur 50 miler picked up at least a few votes. I didn't want to drum myself up in mentioning this performance but in 2005 I was in the shape of my life and ran 6:26 in my final preparations for DNFing Western States. It broke the course record at the time by 75 minutes. Adam for the last few years has been within a minute or two of taking out that record. I know first hand how impressive running 6:28 there is. Adam if your reading this if you agree to supply the post race beer I could be conned into coming out this year and we can hammer each other into the ground and both get under that 6:26 mark!

(5) There were A LOT of impressive results by Canadians this year from both sexes. My gut tells me in the voting for female UROY by Ultra Running magazine Canadian women will be 1-2. I think that had a legitimate shot of being 1-2-3 until Beverley Anderson-Abbs got injured early in the spring. She had 4 amazing races with 3 wins and a close 2nd at Way to Cool all before April 10th!

(6) Gary and myself are going to have a few beers tonight and getting the debate going on male and female UROY in Canada. I will be hosting the men's debate and vote again and Gary will handle the women's.

Happy New Year to everyone and look forward to some debate/banter on here in the coming days with opinions on who should win ultimate bragging rights as top dog in the Canadian Ultra World!

Voting Time for Canadian Male Ultra Performance of the Year

2010-12-19T15:57:00.001-08:00

Alright folks. Thanks to all for the comments, suggestions and weighing in on the list of male ultra performances. It certainly was a great year for Canadian Ultra Running not only on the men's side but especially on the women's side. Gary Robbins is hosting the debate and now the vote on the women's ultra performance of the year on his blog.

Voting is now available on the right hand side of the blog page. The time frame for being able to vote will be from December 19th to December 26th ending at 5pm PST. I just want to stress that the goal of this is to vote on the performance you believe is most worthy and not be a vote for my friend contest. All performances on the finalist list are phenomenal as were the few that didn't make the cut and each deserve a huge pat on the back to the respective athlete.

Comments are still welcome to come in and if you want your more than welcome to state who you voted for and why.

Congratulations not only to those on this list but everyone this year on your respective runs, adventures, journeys and any other miles along the way. Best wishes for a happy holiday season and a healthy 2011 running season.

Again in chronological order, here are the ten finalist.

(1) Gary Robbins

HURT 100 miler - 20:12 - 1st place, course record

Gary's time lowered the course record set by Geoff Roes the year earlier from 20:28 to 20:12. He also became only the 5th person in the history of the run to break 24 hours.

(2) Adam Campbell

Chuckanut 50k - 3:52:59 - 3rd place

Adam's time was the 4th fastest in the long history of the Chuckanut 50k. Unfortunately for him this year 2 of the 3 times faster than his were run by competitors Erik Skaggs and race winner Andy Martin. With nearly 5000 feet of climb this time is very impressive.

(3) Glen Redpath

Umstead 100 miler - 14:27:51 - 3rd place

Glen's time was the fastest 100 miler recorded by a Canadian in 2010 and the 4th fastest all time. It should also land him in the top 5 100 mile times in North America as well for 2010.

(4) Ryne Melcher

Mount Si 50 miler - 5:54:15 - 1st place, course record

The time was good enough to squeak under the old course record held by James Kirby by 22 seconds and is also the fastest 50 miler ever run by a Canadian on trail .

(5) Chris Downie

Miwok 100km - 9:00:23 - 7th place

Chris' time is the fastest known time laid down by a Canadian at the Miwok 100k. 7th place was impressive given the list of people at the race aiming for one of the final two Western States slots.

(6) Adam Hill

Sulphur Springs 50 miler - 6:28:07 - 1st place

With an elevation gain of 6000' over the 50 miles 6:28 is a very impressive time. It also came within 100 seconds of breaking the course record of 6:26 set in 2005.

(7) Taylor Murphy

Fast Trax 50k - 3:32 - 1st place, course record

Taylor continued his success in ultras following up his brilliant Run for the Toad 50k victory with an impressive time laid down in hot conditions

(8) Gary Robbins

Western States 100 miler - 17:06:20

Gary narrowly missed the fastest time run at the WS100 by a mere 3 minutes. His time also placed him 6th in arguably the best field ever assembled for the race.

(9) Glen Redpath

Western States 100 miler - 17:10:06

Right behind Gary for 7th place Glen also took home the honors for top masters runner at the Western States 100.

(10) Thierry Asselin

IAU World 100k Championships - 7:40:37

Thierry's time landed him the top Canadian on a course not exactly designed for PRs. His time was also the fastest 100k run by a Canadian in 2010.

(11) Other

If you think the best performance of 2010 by a Canadian Male was not on this list. Vote for other!

Again thanks to everyone for participating in this and making it fun. Once the vote closes on December 26th at 5pm PST the initial list will go up for Canadian Male Ultra Runner of the Year.

Happy holidays!

Ryne

Canadian Ultra Performance of the Year - Male

2010-12-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again to not only get fat and drunk over the holidays but to put your $0.02 in on who had the best ultra performance for 2010.

Gary Robbins and myself decided to share the work load this year and each take a gender. He's had more than his share of men lately so I offered to give him a bit of a break and tackle the men while he will be posting for the women.

Best way I figure is to start with a list of notable performances and leave them up for a few days to debate about and find any hidden gems that we might have missed over the year. Once the debate is over I'll post up a poll of the top 10 and we'll take to voting! Winner receives bragging rights and dinner with the Prime Minister!

So here, in chronological order, are the top male ultra performances of the year:

(1) Gary Robbins - HURT 100 Miler - 20h12m and course record (Geoff Roes old record holder). Rumor is the course was in wicked fast shape but that shouldn't take away from becoming only the 5th person to break the 24 hour barrier in the history of the race.

(2) Eric Deshaies - Rocky Raccoon 100 miler - 16:37:13 in what I believe is the second fastest 100 miler of the year behind Glen Redpath's Umstead 100.

(3) Adam Campbell - Chuckanut 50k - 3:52:59 somehow placed him 3rd in the stacked field this year behind Andy Martin and Erik Skaggs but Adam's time is the 4th fastest in the history of the event.

(4) Glen Redpath - Umstead 100 miler - 14h27m placing him 3rd overall. This is one of the fastest 100 milers run in Canadian history (4th all time) and may well also be the Canadian Masters record as well

(5) Adam Hill - Bull Run Run - 6:52:21 placing him 4th and missing the podium by less than a minute. One of the top 25 times laid down on that course full of history and fast people that have ran it over its 18 year life span.

(6) Ryne Melcher - Mount Si 50 miler - 5:54:15 broke the course record by 22 seconds and is the fastest known time for a Canadian on a trail 50 miler.

(7) Chris Downie - Miwok 100k - 9:00:23 landed Chris 7th place in the highly competitive Miwok 100k this year filled with people desperate for one of the last 2 Western States entries. Chris' time may also well by the fastest Canadian time recorded at the Miwok 100k.

(8) Adam Hill - Sulphur Springs 50 miler - 6:28:07 and within 2 minutes of the course record.

(9) Taylor Murphy - Fast Trax 50k - 3:32 was good enough to give Taylor the National Championship on what was rumored to be a hot day in Edmonton.

(10) Gary Robbins - Western States 100 miler - 17:06:20 was about 3 minutes shy of the fastest time laid down by a Canadian at the WS100. 17h06m also landed a spot securely in the top 10 at 6th place this year

(11) Glen Redpath - Western States 100 miler - 17:10:06 was right behind Gary for 7th spot and 7 minutes off the Canadian record at Western. Glen also took home the Gold for the Masters Division at the 2010 Western States Track Meet.

(12) Guy Gilbert - Ultramarathon Michel Gouin 48 hour race - 312.610km is a long way to go in 2 days! Imagine running 100 miler and breaking 24 hours, not bad. Now get up and do it again the next day as well!

(13) Thierry Asselin - IAU World 100k - 7:40:37 landed him as the top Canadian male at this years IAU World 100k Challenge in Gibraltar. The course at Gibraltar isn't exactly designed for PRs either.

Please comment on your thoughts of how the above stack up and certainly if you feel something should be added to the list that isn't on here! Again to view the same list but for the women go to Gary Robbins site!

2010 Year in Review

2010-11-12T17:44:00.001-08:00

VANCOUVER NYD 50k

This race has been an annual event for me since moving to North Vancouver in 2007. Typically this time of year in Vancouver sees a plethera of rain with the exception of 2009 (it snowed) and this year was no exception. Most of the day we encountered monsoon like conditions. Yet 106 hearty souls toed the line including "Rain, No Train" Ean Jackson who was making this his 100th ultramarathon.

A group of 4 consisting of David Papineau, Dario Herrera, Sammy and myself spent many miles shooting the shit and wondering when we would catch Ryan Conroy who had bolted from the starting gun like he was running from the cops. It took quite sometime but just past the turnaround at the halfway mark we got him. Shortly after Papineau threw down some speed intervals with over 10 miles to go and he was never seen again. I found myself beside Sammy with a few miles to go and we cruised in together under 4 hours and the old course record but 4 minutes behind the studly "Big Papi." I then proceeded to set the world record for the longest hot shower!

CALGARY FROZEN ASS 52k

February I had plans of doing a back to back ultra weekend with the Pemberton 50k in Arizona on Saturday and the Calgary Frozen Ass 52k the next day. Unfortunately I came down with pnuemonia the week of that plan and cancelled the Arizona portion of the plan but kept the Calgary portion alive as I used Air Miles to book that leg of the flight and didn't want to waste them!

All things considered the race went well and I finished in 3:46 about 90 seconds behind the leader. I would of liked a little more zip in the legs in the final few miles to make a charge at the leader but the lungs didn't want to cooperate with that notion.

CHUCKANUT 50k

Next up on the racing list was the Chuckanut 50k. The field was absolutely stacked this year. A

typical year has seen times around 4:05-4:10 take the "W." I had a decent start to the race and found myself hovering around 10th about 1/3rd of the way through the race heading up Cleator Road to the Ridge Trail. I chatted with Peter Ellis for a brief bit and he mentioned that he was ahead of his pace when he ran 4:05 two years back en route to a 2nd place finish. The next 5-6 miles I got passed a few times and got depressed. Not at the time I was running but more on the position I was in.

Looking back I'm a little frustrated with myself for this. I had a decent time going and lost time just by giving up because I wasn't as high up as I wanted to be. I finished in 4:21 and 18th place. I really want to head back next year and have another good go at this course. I know I have more in me on that course and will just focus on running my time goal and my race plan.

MT SI 50 Miler

3 weeks later was my return to Mount Si for the 50 miler. I actually wrote a somewhat lengthy blog post on the recap of this race so won't go into too much detail other than my plan was to break the course record. It ended up being a lot closer than I would have liked but managed to break it by 22 seconds. I was very happy with the time of 5:54:15 and it looks like that time might hold up for one of the top 10 times for 50 miles in North America for 2010 and will likely be the fastest 50 mile time by a Canadian.

CAPITOL PEAK 55k

Riding that high I made a last minute call to head down to the Capitol Peak 55k (which I'm convinced was closer to 60k!) It was refreshing to run some trails I've never been on and had very little effect of the effort at Mt Si two weeks prior. Managed again to bag a win in 4:45:32.

After this race my focus shifted to train for Western States. I had found out that I got in and the race was a mere 7 weeks away. May was a massive mileage month, knocking down

501 miles to be exact. No races just heavy mileage.

LAKE YOUNGS 50k

To tune up for Western and try to get some heat training in (our high temperature in May and early June was something like a whopping 60F!) I went down to the Lake Youngs 50k (actually 47k) in Seattle. The forecast called for 70F for the race so I was jacked to use this as my heat training long run - pathetic I know!!!

The course was a very boring 3 loops around a lake that you never got a view of. However it was very well organized and friendly. I enjoyed it and didn't do anything to stupid and ran a solid 3:17 to grab a 3rd win in a row.

WESTERN STATES 100

Then the big clusterfuck at Western States. Still not entirely sure what my issue is with that race but were not on speaking terms nor do I ever wish to head there again, wearing a race bib anyways. This was my 3rd kick at the can at WS100, my 3rd different strategy and approach and the 3rd time I've had the same result which left my pants sans buckle. I'm okay with letting Western States win. I know I am not a 100 mile runner (unless I'm holding hands with Wakefield running from hillbillies through the Ozarks). Maybe in my next life I'll be a 100 mile runne

r but for now I really just need to stick to stuff I'm good at. And stuff that leaves me in a coherent enough state to drink beer after crossing the finish line!

I got a little depressed after the Western debacle and didn't run much in the following weeks. I mostly just lazed around the house eating Joe Louis' and watching soap operas in my moo-moo. Then I remembered I agreed to pace Jackie Muir for the Fat Dog 100 miler. Well, actually, I had initially said I would enter the race and run the full 100 miles with her. That was back in my younger days when I was ambitious and foolish. We both agreed me pacing her for the last 60 miles was probably a safer option.

FAT DOG 100 Mile +++++++++++++++++++

This race made Horton Miles look short! The course was terribly mis-labelled. It was billed as runable and fast. It was not runable, orienteering at times, measured in nautical miles and then some and so on and so on. The leaders hit the "54k" aid station over 8 hours into the race. I knew then this was going to be a LONG day out there. I had projected Jackie would finish in 22-24 hours. I picked her up at the "70k" aid station almost 14 full hours into the race, with the toughest section still ahead! Being at aid stations I had heard all the reports from runners and relay people saying how long the course was. A leg that was billed as 17 miles ended up being 26 miles.

I tried to keep Jackie motivated and figured maybe someone just screwed the pooch on that section and it would get better and more accurate the rest of the way. WRONG! I had been running/walking with Jackie for 3 hours and we still hadn't hit the 85k water drop. Finally 3h0

2m later we finished the 15k flat section and got to the water. Next up 15k more to the manned aid station where the crew was and all downhill, 4000ft net loss of elevation. We ran, and ran, and ran and Jackie came back to life. 2 hours in no sign of the station. 2.5 hours, no sign, 3 hours, no sign, 3.5 hours no sign. WTF?! 3h46m later we finish the 15k downhill segment! The aid station tells us the reports have been that section was actually 48k not 30k. I vow to buy the RDs a calculator for Christmas. I start doing math in my head and realize this is going to be a long time. Jackie is determined to finish. I get another crew member to be ready to pace at the next checkpoint so I can grab a quick nap and have energy for the last section which is supposed to take 6-7 hours. 3 hours later we pull into that station which is only 9k away. I've paced for 10 hours and according to this bloody RD we've only covered 39k!

I sleep briefly and pull into Gary Robbins aid station and we have a shot of newfie screech. Gary's been a one man party/aid station/cheerleader out in the woods. With no radio contact with the world he's got no idea what's been happening. We estimate that there may only be about 12 people left in the race! The last section is supposed to be 26k but I clearly know its a lie at this point. Jackie pulls into the station at 11am (31hrs race time). She loads up on goodies and I relieve Mike of pacing duties and we set out with Ken Legg and his pacer Action Jackson.

Jackie is in full on death march mode. We're told there is a water drop 13k into this 26k section. Its scorching out, its day two and 85F. We're headed up to an alpine meadow exposed to the sun with no shade. Its a glorious day. Jackson is doing anything and everything to keep Ken and Jackie motivated. He takes off his shorts and hikes his gonchies up his backside and makes them into a thong. This scars me but makes Jackie chuckle. We've been hiking up this 5000 foot ascent to the ridgeline for a good two hours and out of nowhere a man walking a poodle comes around one of the switchbacks. We're as surprised to see him as he is to see a man hiking with no pants and gonch converted into a thong. We figure this will make great dinner conversation for whoever he has dinner with that night.

Soon Ted from Ohio catches us and informs us he's the last runner. So Jackie, Ken and Ted form a group and agree to stay together for the remainder. Jackson and myself assume comedy duties and tell every dirty story from our ultra running careers. We hit Mowich Camp 13k from Robbins aid station. No water. All of us are out. Its been four hours since we left the aid station. I see a tiny snowbank and ask Jackson to do a naked snow angel to pep Jackie up from the disappointment of the water drop being MIA. He obliges and Ted regrets his decision to march with us. We trudge on and the hours pass. No water. No food. No help or access to get out except at the finish. The course sweeps catch us. They are out of water too. Its getting late. An hour from sundown maybe. We finally after almost 8 hours reach the water cache. According to the sweeps we have covered 22k since leaving the aid station. We are running a 26k section. We're nowhere near the finish. The group comes to grips with this section likely being at least 5 miles long too. Maybe more. The death march continues and we barely make it out of the alpine before dark. Ken is the only one who finds Jackson and my jokes about vasoline and popsicle sticks funny.

We have one lamp between five of us and the last half hour we need it and make our way to the finish line. 41 hours and 51 minutes after it started, Ken, Ted and Jackie finish the Fat Dog "100" miler.

We guestimate its pretty much bang on 200k (125 miles). My pacing stint which I thought would be maybe 10-12 hours ended up being near 30. We all have a beer and quickly pass out for well earned sleep. Jackson and myself have a morning Guinness and share stories at the cabin of the previous days adventure.

Shortly after I head out with Kristin, Mike and Megan up to Frosty Mountain for a 25k run. There isn't a cloud in the sky and stunning vistas whichever direction you look. It was a tiring climb 4500' up but worth every bit of it!

STORMY 50 Miler

This also served as one of the last training runs for Kristin's debut 50 miler at the Stormy 50 mil

er in Squamish. She was using it to get her Western States qualifier as she wants to see one of the buckles but knows I sure ain't getting one!

I ran alongside her for the 50 miles taking photos, videos and documenting how it played out. Things went remarkably well up to the 40 mile mark until fatigue set in. The last 10 miles were challenging for her but there was enough time in the bank to walk in and break 11 hours to gain that WS qualifier. We crossed the line in 10:29 and a very respectable 6th female for Kristin and mission accomplished for qualifying for Western.

RUN FOR THE TOAD 50k

In October I returned to the 9th Annual Run for the Toad 50k in Ontario with Montrail teammate Ellie Greenwood. Although this year I was a little more bulbous and a lot slower than previous years! I set an original goal in 2010 of running 5000 miles. I was mostly on track for that and entered September with 3161 miles under my belt. I needed a break. I only ran 8 days in all of September. Rare for me to run that little.

Not exactly the best time to get out of shape but I needed a body recharge and a mental recharge as well. Really not much to report from the race other than it hurt just like I thought it would. It wasn't the running 50k that was the challenge. Of the 8 runs in September I did 4 of them were 20 miles or longer. It was just that racing intensity. I had it for maybe 1/4 of the race and the rest was just a long tempo run, no extra zip, no other gears.

4:15 was the slowest I've run in the 5 years I've done that race and 5th place was the worst finish I've had there (had 1 Win and 3 silvers) but it was expected. Since then the mileage has come back to getting near the norm. Upcoming I have the North Face 50 Miler in San Francisco in 3 weeks.

Other than that I'm just trying to finalize the 2011 race plans. Hopefully I'll get a schedule nailed out soon!

Happy trails!

Ryne

What do you do during taper times?!?!

2010-06-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

With Western States a mere 12 days away I figure it is now time to officially start tapering. I'm normally not good at this because I just like to go run even if I'm tired or off.

This past weekend I went down to the Lake Youngs 50k (well 47k) and was going to use that as my last long run for WS100. Sadly it also doubled as my only long run in heat (if you can call low 70s hot). The course is 3 loops around Lake Youngs. It is very runable and has just under 1000 feet of climb per loop. Ran the first loop with Stuart Johnson and we seemed to be feeding well off each other. Came through lap 1 in about 62 minutes. My goal was to run about 3:30-3:40 to make sure I wasn't doing anything too dumb before Western. I had to stop and take a whiz about halfway through the second loop and used that chance to fill up my water bottle at the unmaned station so I did that and let Stuart cruise away. With about 6 miles to go in the race I saw him up ahead and took a time check to see what the gap was. It was about 50 seconds and when I took another one a half mile later it was 22 seconds. I decided to just put the hammer down for a few miles (despite wanting to relax) and managed to put a gap in those miles and I glanced back with a mile to go and all looked clear so just dogged it in. Crossed the line in 3:17 for the "W" and got me some more points in the Trail Runner Trophy Series.

Wore the Montrail Rockridge again for this race. I really love this shoe and have had zero blister issues in the lat 3 ultras and numerous long runs with them. Hope I can keep that streak going at WS!

So what do folks do in time of taper? Its super nice outside and I haven't seen sun in near a month and the trails are calling my name but its time to nap, eat, turn down offers to run etc.

9 days till leaving for Squaw so thankfully this lack of mega miles will stop shortly!

Happy trails!
Ryne

PS. I normally would take the chance to watch the World Cup despite not being a huge soccer fan but (a) the games start at 4:15am local time and (b) those damn vuvuzelas give me a headache just hearing it via TV!

Is taper time here yet?!

2010-05-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

May has been an INSANE month of mileage and although it feels great I am certainly looking forward to some shorter weeks in preparation for Western States. If the last weekend of running pans out as planned I should surpass 500 miles in the month of May and be back ahead of pace to run 5000 this year. This week as long as tomorrows run to and from work happen and Saturday's run home from work will put me at 134 miles this week.

On tap tonight is the always dangerous sauna date with Gary Robbins He has promised to leave his speedo that resembles dental floss at home this time!

Also Ken from Running Stupid needs you to join his army of happy runners and log your miles in a podcast challenge! Do it before May 31st! Check out Running Stupid for all the details of it.

See ya on the trails!
Ryne

Capitol Peak 55k (ish)

2010-05-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

Two weeks after the Mt Si 50 I decided to head back down to Washington State for the Capitol Peak Ultra. The event has a 55k and a 50 miler. I opted for the 55k as I didn't want to push the envelope 13 days after Mt Si and I was in the midst of a massive mileage week when I made the decision to enter.

Got in super late and didn't eat dinner till near 11pm that night. The plus to that was there was no real need to be up super early to eat breakfast before the race as the previous nights dinner ought to suffice!

The gun went at 6am after a brief speech from RD John Pearch. We left the Mima Falls Campground and into the single track trails of the Capitol Peak Forest. Due to logging activities in the park the course had been completely changed from previous years. The profile looked like it was a gradual climb to about the 16 mile mark and then a one mile, one thousand foot climb to the top of Capitol Peak. There was a longer 3 miles descent to get to the Capitol Peak Grunt before taking the same 16 miles back to the start/finish area.

I had planned on going on very slow. Painfully slow in fact. I wanted to be trailing ideally at the top so I could really push on the downhills which has become a weakness for me. I set out with Yassine and Matt (both of whom were running the 50 mile) and had a great chat with Yassine for a few miles while enjoying the sun coming up over the mountains to the east of us. It became evident that it was going to be a mudbath as well. Within a few miles I was already covered knees down!

We pulled into aid station one at the 8 1/2 mile mark together and left together. I had to make a pit stop in the woods and those two went on ahead. I settled into a groove solo once business was taken care of. The course was great single track with some nice views. It was slightly overcast so no views of Mt Rainier, Mt St. Helens which are visable on clear days.

Just before starting the grunt climb Alex Henry caught me. I hiked the first half of the grunt and then figured I would run the second bit of it. Hit the 17 mile aid station in 2:19. I was thinking I would hit the juncture where the main trail and the CP Grunt trail were as 55k is 34 miles but minutes kept going and going and I hit the junction 30 minutes after I left the 17 mile station (obviously much more than a mile to that point!) From there I knew there were 16 miles left and the race was likely closer to 60k than 55k. I felt pretty strong and tried to open up and attack the downhills. It was a little challenging to run a kamakazee mission down as there were runners coming up the trail and lots of little blind corners. Was great to wave and cheer people to pass the miles to the finish though.

Met Kristin at the 13 mile to go station and fueled up on many cokes and slathered on some more body lube to prevent the boys from chaffing. The next 4 1/2 miles are pretty much all downhill. I attacked pretty hard and got word that at the 13 mile station I had a 6 minute lead on 2nd place. I knew it was unlikely much time was gained on me if any during the last section cause I managed a great clip through it. The last 8 1/2 miles have a climb for the first 2 miles then pretty much a gentle descent from there. I knew if I didn't screw up too badly climbing then it should be smooth sailing.

Hit the un-manned water station with about 5 miles to go and recall it was 36 minutes to get to this juncture on the way out and that was all uphill. The miles started clicking off pretty easily in the last bit and was surprised the zip I had left considering this race put my weekly mileage total near 130.

Broke the tape for W #2 in 2 weeks in 4:45:32. Felt fatigued from the effort but not destroyed like I felt the day after Mt Si. Spent the afternoon the walking around the State Capitol grounds and went to the Seattle Art Museum and out to Cafe Flora in Seattle from some vege dinner.
Went for a run the next morning at Cougar Mt with Kristin. Love that park and the trail system in there!

Happy trails!
Ryne

Mt Si 50 mile

2010-05-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

This year was my second go at this race. It's an event that's been happening since 1983 down in Snoqualmie just about a half hour east of Seattle. Last year I managed a win there in 6:17 despite being in the middle of recovering from an MCL and medial and lateral meniscus tear with a surgery slated for shortly after the race. While I was thrilled with the time and win I knew there was some room for improvement time wise.

The record was set by a phenominal runner (Jim Kerby) and that was the benchmark I set for myself. His CR was 5:54:37 and my personal record was 5:52:00 so if both could be achieved in the same race I would have been thrilled! I must admit I was just pumped reading about the results coming in from my Montrail teammates at the various races that happened that weekend. Geoff Roes had cruised to a very impressive with at American River 50 Miler and Max King took a bronze in the same event. Gary Robbins had lowered his own course record at the Diez Vista 50k. Annette Bednosky had run 8:05 at the Mad City 100k qualifying her for the US 100k Team and Beverley Anderson-Abbs had notched a victory at the 50k at Mad City setting a Canadian Age Group Record in the process.

Got some chow at Whole Foods and checked into the hotel and just chilled out and hit the hay early as the wakeup call at 4:15am would come all too soon.

The course at Mt. Si is basically two out and back sections. The first goes out just under 10 miles and you come within about a half mile of the finish line at the 19 mile mark before heading out on the second out and back portion of the course. The nice part I like about the out and back portions are (a) you can see where your competition is and (b) you get to smile and wave at people! The event has the 50 mile distance and a 57 mile relay as well. A 50k event goes off a few hours after the 50 mile starts so the course is full of bubbly, sweaty people so you don't get too lonely!

Uncharacteristically I took off like a jack rabbit from the gun. About two miles in I did a little shoulder check and realized it would be running solo against the clock for the day. 10 mile split came around 64 minutes and all felt pretty decent. It was a great day for running. Temperatures in the low 50s and slightly overcast. The first bit of grumbling I had about the day came on my way into the 22 mile aid station. It was a long straight segment and a pretty strong headwind. I just told myself that it would be a tailwind in the final miles which is a much better scenario! I cleared the 22 mile station in 2:23 and still felt like there was some zip before the mental aspect took over. Last year when I left the 22 mile station I became unraveled and lost a good chunk of time between the 22 and 29 mile stations. This year I checked into the 29 mile station at 3:13. I was a little winded and starting to get energy depleted from the expenditure into the wind. Some coke and salty chips really do make everything alright again!

The next section is 11 miles of 5.5 uphill to the turn point and return to the 29/40 mile station. I had a pretty strong ascent but didn't have the best downhill section which put me in the position of doing the math in my head and realizing that breaking the record would come down to a matter of seconds to spare potentially!

I had a pretty quick transition out of the 40 mile station. There was one last crew stop at 46.5 miles that Kristin was going to meet me at but I knew that would be a grab and go for sure. I broke the last 10 miles up into different sections and with 5 miles to go the projected pace had me sitting in that 5:54 range. To make life a little more interesting that wind direction had shifted to be a headwind for the return trip!

I did a quick bottle fill with Kristin at the 3.5 mile to go mark and just put the head down and tried to turn the legs over as fast as they would go. I needed energy in me and decided to take a quick 20 second power walk to down a Clif Gel and hope that would give me one final burst of energy. I actually started laughing to myself aloud with about 2 miles to go and then ended up talking to myself saying "if you have energy to laugh you have energy to go faster!" I was laughing at the fact that I was about 40 minutes up on second place with a few mere miles till the finish but to hit a CR would require a flat out kick to avoid missing it!

It hit the pavement off the trail into the town of Snoqualmie which meant about 3/4 a mile to go. It seemed like back in the track days but I just sprinted as fast as I could possibly sprint having just covered 49 miles and change. Broke the tape in 5:54:15 to sneak under Jim Kerby's record by 22 seconds. It was most likely the ugliest finish line photo ever as I couldn't muster a smile nor have the energy to lift my arms and am pretty sure I had drool on the left side of my face and a misfired snot rocket on the right side.

I'm already looking forward to another crack at this course as I learned a few things and know some spots where I can take some more time off if training and nutrition improve.

Results are here if your keen on having a peek!

Happy trails!
Ryne

Miles, miles, miles

2010-05-05T17:10:00.000-07:00

Goal for 5000 miles in 2010 still seems to be attainable after 1/3rd of the year in the books. A low February due to pnuemonia is long past and after April 30th I sit at 1574 miles (on pace for about 4800).

April was a stellar month of racing down at the Mount Si 50 miler in Snoqualmie and the Capitol Peak 55k in Olympia. Reports I hope to have done in the next day or so then I also thought I would re-live the adventure from a year ago on the Juan de Fuca with Gary Robbins. I don't think I ever really wrote a story about that but it was such an epic trip on so many levels from the standoff with a bear on the trail, trying for 4 hours to hitch hike back to the car, drunk locals waking us up at 5am in the boonies and sleeping in the car cause we missed the ferry home. Good times!

Also a fine gent by the name of Ken Michal is in a mileage challenge with some fellow podcasters and is recruiting people for his team to log miles for the Team "Running Stupid" for the month of May. Go to www.buckeyeoutdoors.com and you can create a log and register for the "There can only be One" challenge and join the group Running Stupid. This is the last month and Ken and his "Stupidheads" are in the lead!

He also has some pretty entertaining podcasts available on his Running Stupid site as well including a 90 minute interview with Gary a few weeks back. Check it out!

Later!
Ryne

Catching Up

2010-03-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

Man I am one bad blogger. Don't know how all these people update their blogs so often! Its not that I don't have things to write just can't seem to find the dang time.

February was an interesting month. Lingering cold I thought I had was actually pnuemonia so that was a rough few weeks. Then the Olympics and the post-hangover of that and next thing you know we are a few days away from spring!

This weekend is the Chuckanut 50k and the field looks stacked with a pile of solid runners including Hal Koerner, Andy Martin, Kyle Skaggs, Peter Ellis, Gary Robbins, Adam Campbell, Adam Lint, Brian Morrison to name a few. Should make for a great race and produce some fast times.

To catch up from past races though here is a little report on the Calgary Frozen Ass 50k that I did February 15th.

This was the 3rd time I had run the Frozen Ass 50k. It is a fun event dead in the middle of winter in Alberta following the Irrigation Canal from Calgary out to Chestermere and back. Weather can be from a nice sunny 40F day to a -40F day with feet of snow burying the course.

Last year I ran the race and it was -20F at the start. At one point I thought my elbow had froze over and fallen off as I felt a bump jingling around in my sleeve. Turns out it was just sweat that had frozen into an ice ball. It was so cold I couldn't even drink coke at the aid stations. For those that know me well to have that happen where I can't even find a way to drink coke is unfathomable.

After the race I spent about $50 on those hot patches and kept putting them on my crotch, it took about 3 days for me to get feeling down there aagin. For some strange reason I decided to go back to the race again despite that cold experience a year prior.

Weather looked to be a little more tolerable is comparison to the year before, forecast called for 34F and sunny skies. Probably about 50% of the path was clear of snow and the parts that weren't for the most part were decently hard packed.

I wasn't sure how the race would pan out for me. I had a great base of miles over the winter but came down with pnuemonia earlier in the week and was a little sluggish given the medication and time off from running (100 mile weeks are the norm for me not 10 mile weeks!)

Despite those challenges I was very satisfied with my run. Crossed in 3:46 about 2 minutes behind the leader. I just didn't have that extra energy to try to make a charge and overtake him. I was sore and beat up for the next few days which is unusual for me after a 50k but got me a few more days rest and this past week hit 112 miles for the week with relative ease. Excited about Chuckanut coming up this week as well as Mount Si 50 miler which is a little less than 4 weeks away. I am really keen on gunning for a PR there (currently my PR is 5:52)

Peace

Mountain Hardwear Send a Kid to Camp Program

2010-02-19T11:08:00.000-08:00

Please click on the link below daily to help raise money to send kids to camp! Info in the link and on the Mountain Hardwear site. While your there check out all the cool gear/product they have too!

Mountain Hardwear’s Send a Kid to Camp campaign is back again. For every click on the “Send a Kid to Camp” button found at www.mountainhardwear.com/givesback.aspx Mountain Hardwear will donate $1 to the cause, up to $40,000. You can and should come back each day until April 15^th and click the button until we’ve reached our goal. The following organizations are part of the 2010 Send a Kid to Camp program:

Big City Mountaineers – Denver, Colorado

City Wild – Denver, Colorado

Girl Ventures – San Francisco, California

Kismet Rock Foundation - North Conway, New Hampshire

Outdoor Outreach - San Diego, California

San Jose Inner City Outings, Sierra Club – San Jose, California

St. Louis Inner City Outings, Sierra Club – St. Louis, Missouri

SOS Outreach - Avon, Colorado

Summer Search - New York, New York

Youth Enrichment Strategies (YES) - Richmond, California

January Mileage

2010-02-01T15:18:00.000-08:00

Ended the month with 428 miles (got a little sick towards the end so mileage to a bit of a dive) but nonetheless came out on pace for 5039 miles in 2010. Looking forward to getting rid of this dang clogged throat and heading down to Arizona in 10 days for some sun and a 50k jaunt on the Pemberton Trail!

Had a great run to end the month yesterday on the north shore trails with Beatty, Kristin and Dom "Long Term" Repta.

Double Ultra Weekend

2010-01-21T19:55:00.001-08:00

Its been some time since I've done two ultras in the same weekend (2003 did Chicago Lakefront 50k & Buffalo 6 hour) and in 3 weeks I'll do it again! Kind of extreme weather opposites with this one planned however. First one will be the Pemberton Trail 50k in Fountain Hills, Arizona followed by the Frozen Ass 50k in Calgary, Alberta.

While Arizona can see cold snaps in February likely temps should be around 60-70F. I did the Frozen Ass last year and literally needed three days to get feeling back in my crotch. The starting temperature was a balmy -10F. It did warm up to about 5F by the end of the run. Calgary can have chinooks to make it more tolerable so hopefully that'll happen.

If the weather is clear would love to cap the trip with a midnight summit of Prairie Mountain (7245') out in Kananaskis Country before the 7am flight back to Vancouver!

Figure this ought to be a good kick in the pants to get in shape for the spring! Not to mention help pad those miles for the goal of hitting 5000 this year!

5000 miles in 2010?

2010-01-19T22:01:00.000-08:00

I have long been a mileage junkie. My idea of cross training is running in rain or snow. Rather than stretching I would rather run a few more miles and skip that evil. I am strangely proud that my flexibility basically allows me to bend over and touch my knees (on good days).

So I set out to track and run 5000 miles in 2010. I don't see it as a major challenge as I get about 50 miles a week running home as my form of commuting from work.

Its easy to run and keep running on the North Shore and the Pacific Northwest as the choices for trails are endless! So far above seasonal temperatures have made a normally lower mileage January turn out pretty decent. As of the end of 19 days in I'm sitting at 256 miles (on pace for 4918). Got a 40 miler planned for Sunday so that should help pad the stats.

Blog world here I come...

2010-01-11T20:47:00.000-08:00

I have been reading a bunch of other blogs for some time now and have always thought, "hey those look neat" but have just been to dang lazy to actually make one of my own. Not to mention I am the least tech savvy person on the planet so combining those two make for all the more reason to not have a blog.

Then Ellie Greenwood started a blog a week or so ago and I figured if that's what the young kids are doing these days I better keep up. And I hired a tech team to take care of all the logistics for me that don't mind being paid in fake Canadian Tire money. So here I am!

I doubt any serious thoughts will come out of me here but if your keen on following look for stories about ultras, trails and adventures past, present and future. Maybe some polls, maybe some jokes that only make sense to me, I really don't know!

That's all for now. Gotta go catch this episode of Gossip Girl about to come on the TV.

Rune