Flagstaff Sky Race And US Skyrunning Series

Flagstaff Sky Race and US Skyrunning Series


Last week I raced in the US Skyrunning Championships held outside of Flagstaff, Arizona. The final race in the US Skyrunning Ultra Series, I was excited to try and race against some of the best runners in the country and check out some new mountains. I knew the course had some serious climbs, as well as a long running section which worried me, so I was not sure how I would do. My right foot and ankle had been wonky since the Tushar 93K race in Utah, and although it had been improving on a daily basis, I had basically only been able to speed hike since the beginning of August. No worries, hopefully I would make up all the time I knew I would lose on the rolling flat section on the big monster climbs - especially the Vertical K in the last 3 miles of the course.

So the week before, in an effort to "rest" as much as possible, I went bouldering, skateboarding, and read books - as well as worked a ton. 

 These are two poems I found in a book of Chinese Poetry published in 1919. These were written by Po Chu-i, who lived between 772-846. Although I'm not the biggest reader of poetry - or really any reader of poetry - they struck me when I read them. 

 Some bouldering up at Guanella Pass on the local granite. Good problems up there, with a wide diversity of grades. Love Matters Low (V8?) was a fun problem, although the amount of excavation work on the boulder is slightly disturbing. I'm psyched to go back when it is a tad cooler to try the slopy arete on the boulder below - looks hard and temperature dependent.

 

Blasting down a mountain road on the board - I need to get some better wheels and tighten up the back truck a bit. Still a great way to check out the aspens.

 Some of the topography around Flagstaff, Arizona.

 The start of the race. At 6am, the sun was just peaking above the horizon, so we didn't need headlamps, which was great, since I forgot to bring mine! I felt OK, but my legs really didn't seem to respond for the first couple miles which was frustrating.

 This is coming down off the second big climb. We ascended a peak, then dropped down off the backside to the valley floor before running around and then ascending it again via a different route. Two big climbs done in the first 13 miles - now for 15 miles of rolling, sandy Ponderosa forest running. I was still doing good here, but over the next 15 miles I once again became discourage and lacked the necessary energy to keep pace. I do really well when it is up-down-up-down, but throw in some rolling terrain, and I get dropped by those who can crank out 7:30ish miles. Of course, if I'm lucky, I catch back up on the next big climb... but not this time.

 

Still up high. The mountain in the background is where we were headed, and was the final climb up to 11,500' after 31 miles of running. It kicked pretty much everyone's ass.

 At the finish! I had to really fight on this race, as I was really discourage during the long rolling section about my place and overall performance. However, I just kept pushing and ended up finishing 19th overall, 2nd master. I was pretty happy with that, as I thought I was somewhere in the 30s in terms of place.

What really made it sweet, however, was that I ended up with 7th place overall for the series, and 1st master. I'm pretty happy with how it all worked out, and after only really running for 4 years (my first race ever was in 2012) I've come a long way. However, I know I can still improve, and that keeps my fire burning. The learning curve has been pretty steep when it comes to racing, running, and ultras, but it's starting to come around and I'm only going to keep working and improving (or so I tell myself ;))

North Fork 50K

North Fork 50K

Yesterday was the 4th running of the North Fork 50K/50M race in Pine, Colorado, and boy what a great race it is. This was my 4th race ever, and my 3rd race in the past 30 days, so I was more focused on improving my time and performance from the Sageburner 50K. To that end, the race was a great success.

The North Fork 50 is a beautiful ultra that alternates between pine forests, lush creeks, and old forest fire burnout zones as it goes up and down and up and down in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. The day started off fairly cool at around 65 degrees, but quickly heated up to close to 90 degrees. After a quick sprint on the flats, the race hits the first climb up Buck Gulch. This climb is not too bad, but my legs were not feeling as snappy as I was hoping, so I sat just outside of the leader pack. Taking a left onto Skipper, you hit a nice downhill to rolling section and the first aid station. I don't think anyone stops here on the way out, and we all blew past it towards the Gashouse trail. Following a very subtle climb until the real Gashouse, the race up to here is all in the shade, with only the last quarter section of Gashouse exposed to the increasing heat and sun of the day. A quick top-off of the water bottle and onto the next climb of Tramway, again in a nice thick shaded creek valley as you climb up to the Colorado Trail. My legs were feeling good, and I was trying to remember all of my lessons from the Sageburner on drinking and eating. I was still just a bit behind the leader pack. The Colorado Trail section is again all in the shade, with more down then up as it winds around and eventually drops you at aid station 3. From here, you hit your first major burnout section (other then the short bit on Gashouse), as you run down Shinglemill and then Morrison Creek. This section was hot, and the trail was very dusty. Along this section I noticed my first mistake - wearing my new Brooks shoes. The mistake was not that the shoes were new and I was going to get blisters (never did), but rather that the Brooks are closer to a minimalist shoe (in some regards), and the balls of my feet started to get tender (my previous shoes were adidas, but since they discontinued them, I had to get these). This would prove to be my biggest time loser, as the longer I ran the race, the more tender the souls of my feet became, until it was hard to even run/shuffle on any of the downhills. At aid station 4 you head up Baldy, the first half of which is still in a burnout zone and your heat level is rapidly increasing. Lots of people were dropping here or falling behind. Finally, after some climbing Baldy goes into the shade and things pick up. A quick jaunt over to aid station 5 and you start the descent on Miller Gulch, again in full exposure. Hang a left, up Homestead, which is partially in the shade, hit aid station 6, and then it is all downhill to the finish. I ran the race in 5.47:37. Not the best time, but a vast improvement over Sageburner, and this race course felt much harder with longer ascents and descents.

After the massive bonk on Sageburner, I've been working on my fuel and hydration. I think I have most of it down, although I tried to eat a Powerbar Harvest bar after aid station 4 and that was really hard. It was dry, too sweet, and the crisp rice puffs were just not palatable. I'll switch that out for some more goos or something next time. However, my biggest mistake was with the shoes, as I was in 10 place until around aid station 5 at which point I had to really slow down because my feet were so tender. If I had been in that model longer (or a similar more minimalist model) my feet would have the muscles necessary for that kind of shoe and I know I could have at least saved 15 to 20 minutes as my quads were fine. But with each step it felt like I was running on bruised feet, and that really impacted my time. Another lesson learned.

The North Fork 50 is a great race. The director and volunteers were awesome (especially the dude who dumped the water on me at aid station 4), and the after race BBQ is great (tons of food, beer, sodas, etc.). The course is beautiful, and there is a fair amount of shade. It was hot, and that really impacted a lot of people, but it is June/July in the foothills of Colorado, so unless it rains that day, it will always be hot. The course felt harder as I said then the Sageburner course, as the hills are much, much longer. All in all, a great day, and a nice improvement from my first ultra. I'm really excited for Steamboat to see if I can finally get my sh*t together and put in a good showing at a ultra.

Ultra Runner Marhsall Ulrich Completes Run Across America

Marshall Ulrich ran for 52 days across America, through Death Valley, the mountains of Colorado, the snows of Pennsylvania, the colors of Central Park, the whole majesty of the nation and all its wicked weather.

As word spread Tuesday that he was setting all kinds of records, Manhattanites joined him on his final triumphant miles, down the middle of Broadway to City Hall as dark crept in on Election Day.

"People cheered me on, policemen on horses gave me the thumbs-up," Ulrich, 57, who lives in Idaho Springs, said today.

"It was just after dark, about the time the polls closed, but there were so many lights I didn't need my night gear," Ulrich said. "We got to city hall and past security. I finished with my wife. Without her, I couldn't have finished it, or even started it.

"She's been an extraordinary person and wife and friend."

Ulrich, who has run more than 100 races of more than 100 miles, easily smashed the 50-and-older record for running across the nation. For good measure, he also broke the record for 40-year-olds and above.

He thinks it's the third or fourth fastest time ever. The record for the 3,043-mile trek is 48 days set by Frank Giannino in 1980. Giannino was there at the finish to congratulate Ulrich.

Ulrich ran for himself, but also for a United Way campaign to battle obesity in the United States. He's not yet sure how much money he raised, but is sure that he raised some awareness.

He started at San Francisco City Hall in mid-September, weighing in at 162 lbs.

He finished 52 days later, having lost just 4 lbs.

Read more about Ulrich and his amazing run here or check out his blog here.