Your Ultra-Training Bag of Tricks: Using Races to Prepare for Your Goal Event

My next training installment on iRunFar.com:  Using Races to Prepare for Your Goal Event

The concept of using shorter ultra races as training runs for a longer goal event has been embraced — with mixed results — by ultrarunners for decades. Ultrarunners can use these events wisely to peak perfectly for their “big race” or find themselves over-raced on game day. Read on to find out how to race yourself into shape in a smart, healthy, and effective manner...read the rest here.

The 2013 Zane Grey 50 Mile: Remote, Barren, and Brutal

Zane Grey grows rocks...Yup, this is the right way.

Thirty miles, as the crow flies, from the finish line of the Zane Grey 50 Mile lies Young, Arizona:  The heart of the true, real, and unforgiving west.  In the late 1880's the biggest family feud in US history took place there.  The Hatfield-McCoy feud seems to always take front and center and make the story line for a Kevin Coster series.  However, the Tewksbury-Graham feud was a much bloodier and more graphic affair.  During shoot outs between these families, they allowed each of the other's fallen family members to be devoured by hogs, all while continuing to fire on the other family.  The battle between lineages would wage on for more than a decade as family demolished family.  Depending on the historians you check with, between 12 and 36 people have been killed during this fighting.  What's more, the feud may or may not be over today.

However, for all of its rocks...this course definitely has its equal share of beauty.

The 50-mile long Highline Trail, which the Zane Grey course traverses, had a front row seat to much of this mayhem.  Had there been a Starbucks and Whole Foods on every corner at that time, things would have been much different.  The hatred ran deeper than just cow verses sheep herder.  This was a hard, unforgiving land.  A wild land.  Survival depended on your ability to get from point A to point B without losing your horse, life, or loved one.  Dehydration and starvation were consistent possibilities.  The Mogollon Rim territory, through where the Zane Grey ultramarathon passes, still remains like it did 130 years ago.  Remote, barren, and brutal.  That is why this race will always be the toughest in America.

Every year dudes and dudettes challenge its miles.  Ask them all...and they'll tell you it sucked and was one of the hardest races they've ever run.  So why return?  I'm not sure, but I'm willing to blame it on great race management, awesome volunteers, best friends, the Arizona weather, killer terrain, and a beat down that I'll never forget.  Photos came from Justin Lutick, Aravaiph Running, Emily Harrison, Kristin Wilson, MAP photography, and others.  Thank you!

Friends converge just before the start.

Smiles at the start at Pine Trailhead.

Still grooving at Washington Park (mile 17).

Things more difficult at Fish Hatchery (mile 33).

Oh, it feels like the weight of the world is on my shoulders at See Canyon (mile 44).

Is that a smile?

5.5 miles to go...does anyone have a fork...I'm done!  Toasted strudel!

Some of the many other characters at this year's Zane (in no particular order).

She's there every year!  Diana Finkel rocks another Zane!  This year she takes second.

Dom Grossman comes to play at Zane and gets a timeout at Hatchery.  I have a feeling he'll be back now that he knows what it's all about.

Chris Thornley, a 2013 Zane finisher, (and many others) spend an inordinate amount of time each year before race day clearing the trails.  Thanks ya'll!

adiUltra Teammate James Bonnet rips to a Zane Grey victory!  Nice work brother!

Bonnett at See Canyon.  Making it look easy peasy!

Jamil "Jam Jam" Coury takes board shorts to a whole new level!  This year's third place dude.

Jay Donosky warms up, literally, for his Grand Slam attempt.

Mogollon Monster 100 Mile race director Jeremy Dougherty finished a strong Zane!  

It's a true story:  adiUltra Team member, Emily Harrison, did get to run a few steps as she paced the ever -walking Torrence.

Your 2013 Zane Grey winner:  James Bonnett focuses on focusing.

Salomon sponsored athlete, Kerrie Bruxvoort, your 2013 Zane Grey women's winner, is paced by adiUltra Team member Brian Tinder.

Always consistent and always in front...Michael Carson.

I'm honored to have finally met the elusive Montanan Mike Foote.  This year's second place finisher.

Pre-race dinner at Gusippee's, no, Heraldo's, no, Ronald's...ah, heck, that place just down the road on the right!

FUC'er Scott Bajer has a solid day at Zane!  But still exclaims "Holy crap!" upon finishing.

Nice chops and 'stach Bonnett!  Looks...familiar.

Silverton, Colorado, resident, Anthony Culpepper, overcomes the heat to finish a rough and tough Zane.

Bret Sarnquist...this guy keeps rolling and improvin'.  A new Zane PR!

Pearl Izumi's captain, Scott Jaime, rolls on in!

Your Moment of Zen

Justin Lutick claims we'll both be sub-10 hours in 2014.

We encourage you to come find out next year at the 25th running of the Zane Grey 50 Mile. 

4 hours, 9 minutes, and 43 seconds: the 2013 Boston Marathon

4:09:43.  That's what the marathon clock read when the first of two blasts ripped through hundreds of spectators and runners along the finish line of the 117th running of the Boston Marathon; a race I had just finished an hour earlier.  

Today, as I struggle to comprehend the events that occurred in Boston on Monday April 15, 2013, I truly realize just how close I had become to being in the middle of the devastation.  9/11, Virginia Tech, Newtown, Atlanta, Columbine, Aurora, Oak Creek, Oklahoma City, the list grows.  You can't truly grasp the enormity unless you or your loved ones are involved.  I get it now.

The lights of downtown Boston the night before the marathon

Greg McMillan released his new book at this year's Boston Marathon Expo.  In doing so, McMillan Running Company had a booth for the three-day event.  We sold copies of the book, watched Greg sign away, and, most importantly, had the opportunity to meet hundreds of athletes that have worked with us over the years.  

The McMillan Running booth at the expo.

Greg McMillan, Miguel Almeida, and I at the Boston Marathon Expo

I saw old and new ultrarunning buddies.  Hung out at the adidas booth and attended one of their event soirees.  On race day, I bumped into a number of friends on a race course with more than 27,000 runners strung out across it.  I miraculously dodged countless runners as we dipped, wove, and danced through fast moving and crowded aid stations.  Several friends were able to spot me from the sidelines and cheer me on through the throngs of runners.  Our weather was ideal, much better than the heat and humidity folks struggled through a year earlier.  I ran for 26.2 miles and just barely squeaked under the 3-hour mark by 28 seconds.  I had finally run the famous Boston Marathon!  All amazing benefits of good timing.  

Greg and I post race.  The explosions would occur 40 minutes later and a block to our right. (photo by Tracy McMillan)

However, when timing really counted, I found myself among the extremely lucky.  I was back in my hotel, about three quarters of a mile from the finish line, when the bombs exploded.  Many of my friends and athletes I coach were much closer and missed the explosion by mere minutes.  Then there were those literally standing on the bombs when they detonated.  I, you, we could have very easily been in their place, with their injuries, and emotionally and physically scarred forever.

After the initial disbelief had faded, anger was certainly one of my first real reactions.  "What I wouldn't give to get my hands on the person or persons responsible."  I actually spent time scheming of ways how I, personally, could end that person's life as slowly and as painfully as possible.  Then I took a breath and realized I had immediately brought myself to their level and that the health of my family, my friends, and myself were paramount.  I had to reach out to everyone:  my friends, my coaching athletes, my colleagues and their families and make sure everyone was okay.  I had to let my own family know I was safe.  

Monday evening I ventured from my hotel, skirted around the closed and closely guarded city blocks, to Boston Common to have dinner with friends.  Columbus Avenue was lined with at least two dozen pre-postioned ambulances.  I walked by a building that had been turned into a staging area.  Soldiers dressed in full body armor and armed with assault rifles guarded the doors.  Within stood marathon runners still dressed in their day's running attire and wrapped in foil blankets.  They still hadn't made it back their hotels.  News vans and trucks of all sizes littered the streets as reporters spoke into cameras.  Though the state of emergency was apparent this city was still alive with people continuing to do what they needed to do.  Boston did not close shop and lock the doors.

Ambulances staged on Columbus Avenue.

What makes the bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon so horrific are the fact that they were carried out intentionally and with such malice and evil intent.  The purpose being to incite terror, fear, and destruction on the innocent and to alter the way YOU live your life and make decisions.

I believe in karma.  Those that caused the Boston Marathon tragedy will get what they deserve.  We need not worry about that.  Now is the time we must support those injured and those that have lost the ones they love.  Reach out to those who love you, let them know they are in your thoughts.  We will continue to run forward.  The 118th Boston Marathon will go forth on April 14th, 2014.  27,000 ambitious runners will again toe the line and show more strength and solidarity than ever while striding down the home stretch on Boylston Avenue.

The start of the 2013 Boston Marathon (photo by the Washington Post).

Here are a few other pieces by running authors I admire.  Here they share their thoughts on the awful tragedy in Boston:

Scott Douglas: Marathon Sports at epicenter of first boston bomb

Brian Metzler:  More than ever, running matters

Jonathan Beverly:  Once Each Spring

Michael Benge:  Boston tragedy brings community together

Training Volume

My next training column installment on iRunFar.com:  Training Volume

Training volume is the ultrarunner’s top concern. Without a solid endurance foundation those 50-mile, 100k, and 100+ mile races will be extremely difficult to complete. However, overdoing the miles can quickly lead to our undoing in the form of injury, chronic fatigue, and poor performance. The goal is to develop an approach that will challenge you, but create only positive training benefits...read the rest here.

The 2013 adiUltra Team Video

Meet the 2013 adiUltra Team!

adiUltra: Becoming a Team

 

from Brianna Torres on Vimeo.

Unbonk!

My next column installment for iRunFar:  Unbonk!  Read it here.

2013 Moab's Red Hot 33K and 55K: An adiUltra Team Introduction

Chris Martinez, the race director for the Moab Red Hot 33K and 55K, rang me last fall and shared that he'd be opening up his event to 800+ runners.  I wasn't surprised, his races have become well known winter icons in the trail racing world.  The 33K serves as the first race of the year for the La Sportiva Mountain Cup Series and the 55K acts as a competitive fitness test for hundreds of ultramarathoners.  You can't beat this contest's location: Moab, Utah.  Smack dab between Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and a finish line on the banks of the mighty Colorado River.  Red, sheer sandstone cliffs, petrified sand dunes, and the mighty snow covered La Sal Mountains act as the backdrop.

So, it's not hard to imagine how this little race, first run 2004, as a Fat Ass event, has blossomed into the behemoth it is today.  On that inaugural February day the course ran on the opposite side of the Colorado River.  With an arrow volley from Roch Horton, 44 runners headed up Pritchett Canyon, down Hunter Canyon to Kane Creek Road, over Hurrah Pass, past "Camelot", through Jackson Hole, and up to and down Amasa Back.  Then, in 2007, Martinez gave rebirth to this event and its course as it's known today.

Paul Dewitt on the cover of the 2004 edition of Ultrarunning Magazine.  He was the first to descend into icy Hunter Canyon that day.  He kept his lead and won the event in 3:57 by out kicking Grand Junction's Kevin Koch.  Dudes like Koerner, Meltzer, Hesseck, Vega, Ostrom, Graubins, and Torrence would give chase.  Crested Butte's Anthea Schmid would out run Darcy Piceu (now Africa) and Helen Cospolich to win in 4:39.  There were also 14 finishers in the 12 mile fun run option and a 50k mountain biker in the mix.

The opening lines of the story, by Jana Gustman, and a photo (by Jeff Heasley) of Roch Horton threading the bullseye with his bow and arrow to get the event underway.

2013 marked my fifth return to Martinez' official event.  This year I was able to wrangle the entire newly formed adiUltra Team into showing.  Like other teams before us, notably the Pearl Izumi Ultrarunning Team, we felt this a good place to have everyone together so team members could meet and greet one another.  Even though they had other racing plans, work to contend with, and some were recovering from illness they all put on a smile and ran either the 33K or 55K.  I look forward to seeing what this team does in 2013.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch a shot of our seventh adiUltra Team member Paulette Zillmer (who was recovering from a root canal, but ran the 55K anyway).  Be on the look out for her in these upcoming races:  Gorge Waterfalls 50K, the Wasatch Front 100 Mile, and as she defends her title at the Zane Grey 50 Mile.  Check out Paulette's team profile here.

Full 33K and 55K race day results can be found here.  On to the photos...

The adiUltra Team (led by Zoroaster) heads out on Kane Creek Road (the setting of the 2004 Red Hot) for a pre-race shake out run. (photo by Brianna Torres)

Race Director Chris Martinez assumes his race day position behind the megaphone.

Runners begin the first of many climbs as the "red hot" sun shines on.  (photo by Matt Clark)

The 55K lead pack with Rob Krar, Dakota Jones, Brian Tinder and Kevin Koch.  (photo by Jo Weakly Agnew)

The 33K lead pack with Jason Bryant, Trent Briney, Josh Brimhall and James Bonnett.  (photo by Jo Weakly Agnew)

Typical course terrain for roughly the first 17 miles.  The second half?  Well, that's a different story.  (photo by Jo Weakly Agnew)

Flagstaff's Rob Krar would go on to set a new Red Hot 55K course record in 3:44:05.  Factoid:  Krar ate 11 gels in the course of this race.  That's solid fueling!  (photo by Kristin Wilson)

adiUltra Team member and 2:32 marathoner Emily Harrison would set a new women's record in the 55K by breaking the tape in 4:24:02. (photo by Kristin Wilson)

Two weeks after his Sedona Marathon win, adiUltra Team member Brian Tinder cracks the top ten in the 55K event. (photo by Kristin Wilson)

Tinder with the classic La Sal Mountain backdrop.  (photo by Kristin Wilson)

adiUltra Team member Ian Torrence misses the masters podium by two minutes.  (photo by Kristin Wilson)

Krar refuels quickly at the Metal Masher Trailhead. (photo by Jo Weakly Agnew)

adiUltra Team member Trent Briney finishes third in the 33K.  (photo by Kristin Wilson)

Runners strung out along the course. (photo by Jo Weakly Agnew)

A week after his win at the Pemberton Trail 50K, adiUltra Team member and Red Rock Running Company (Las Vegas, NV) owner Josh Brimhall would stretch his legs in the 33K.  (photo by Kristin Wilson)

Crown King Scramble 50K's race director and adiUltra Team member James Bonnett runs the 33K event in good form.  (photo by Kristin Wilson)

Bonnett and Briney run stride for stride in the final four miles of the 33K.  (photo by Travis Zeke Burmaster)

Brimhall paces La Sportiva runner Jason Bryant in the final miles of the 33K.  (photo by Travis Zeke Burmaster)

The winning women:  Emily Harrison and Flagstaff's Alicia Shay (the 33K winner) enjoy the post-race festivities. (photo by Erin Strout)