Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Community

Another from the Salt Flats 100 site: In 2008 I was introduced to the concept of the Ultramarathon when I was asked to provide the timing for Karl Meltzer's Speedgoat 50K at Snowbird UT. At the time, I was a runner for two reasons: First - I had my annual fitness assessment in the National Guard each year so I needed to maintain a reasonable level of fitness for that, and Second - I was running daily to de-stress from a very difficult business collapse. Meeting Karl was an eye-opener to be sure. The idea of running beyond 15 miles or so never even occurred to me, and here was this guy telling me that 31 miles through the mountains in a day is "normal". I'd never even entered a 5K in my entire life, and yet I signed up to run the Speedgoat the next year, and it became my first-ever "race". Obviously, I was absorbed into the culture and have adopted running at ultra distances as a major part of my life. I've gone on adventure runs across the Highline Trail in the Uinta Mountains, and run solo through the West Desert in Utah. I've met 100s of amazing people who I call my friends. I enjoy the general lack of "competitiveness" and the supportive nature of most participants in these events. I've stopped to help others many times during an event I in which I was "competing" in, and had others offer their help when I was struggling. My competition has always been with myself, and for me the process of the ultramarathon has more importance than the result. I realize there are many to whom that concept is unappealing, but that's the magic of this sport; it is capable of supporting many different perspectives within it's ranks while not alienating any one of them. Recently however, I've observed situations that indicate the culture of our sport is in danger. Some within this community are willing to deride and degrade others because of any number of things that aren't in-line with their own perspectives. I see exclusionary statements are being directed at people just looking into our sport via online forums because they've "only" done a 10K or 1/2. I've now heard of ridicule and derision being relentlessly laid upon a runner who became lost in the dark and epic storm of last years Salt Flats 100 event. I find it inconceivable that someone would find it acceptable to be anything but fully supportive and concerned for someone who experienced such a traumatic event. I believe we are better than that. I believe that the ultramarathon itself allows us to become introspective, resilient, accommodating and generally better people as a result of our participation. I think we're a special community simply because we run in places where we often need volunteers, and each other to succeed. I hope that we as a community will work hard to continue to make our sport as welcoming and inclusive as when I was first introduced to it by Karl. Keep running!

2014 Salt Flats 100 Recap

I posted this recap on the Salt Flats 100 website, but thought I'd start posting these here as well. This is the recap from the 2014 Salt Flats 100 Event. The NOAA radar picture Friday morning looked a little concerning with a number of storm cells in the area but the temperatures were good, and the forecast was wildly variable from hour to hour, so we started the race on time and sent the runners out onto the beautiful salt flats. All was looking good until just before dusk, when both the weather, and the NOAA radar picture turned very ugly. 80 mile per hour winds hit various parts of the course, and by night-fall the rain was in full force. It turns out, the rainstorm was a "100 year storm"... average April rainfall is 0.40 inches, and this one storm alone was 1.1 inches. Temperature fell to below freezing by 0400. The entire Salt Flats flooded with 6" of water by 0600. Runners were dropping at every aid station, and the volunteers were shifting to Hypothermia triage rather than aid station workers. The racers that came through the finish in the dark were at various stages of hypothermia, and we quickly shuttled them into the trailer and fed them hot soup. The 50 milers who were supposed to start at 0500 and run out on the Salt Flats ended up being re-routed twice... once off the salt (as it was under water), and again off the dirt roads (as aid vehicles were sliding off the road and unable to get out to the aid stations). It was chaotic, stressful, and insane. By 1000 on Saturday, the sun was poking through the clouds, the rain had stopped, and it was perfect running weather again. I thought back to the previous 3 years and how each had it's own "character", but all had been pretty friendly compared to this. It is truly amazing how much can change during the course of a 100 mile event. When all was said and done, everyone was safe (one rescue did occur, proving our SAR and Comm team are truly world-class). All vehicles were accounted for, although one was stuck for several more days until Ray Smith (Assistant RD) and I could get out and extract it after the mud had dried a bit. One of the portable toilets was blown 2 1/2 miles away from it's original position on the Salt Flats. I found course flagging alongside the freeway near Wendover, many miles from its closest possible origin. The Salt Flats is always a harsh environment. On the website I state that runners and volunteers alike should be prepared for any weather, but I must admit that mother nature hit with all she had this time, and it challenged every facet of the event. Good emergency plans, excellent personnel, and great teamwork paid off, and the event was a success despite all of it. Epic. No other word for it.

Altra Olympus Review

I'm now throwing my hat into the ring on the topic of Altra Olympus reviews and provide my personal experience in the following paragraphs. First off, a little history. Six years ago I started running in a Solomon shoe , but then moved onto the Sportiva Wildcat and stuck with that for a couple years. I then tried the Sportiva Vertical K and the Hoka Mafate (ran in both, just depended on the terrain) for a couple years. I ended up with two sizes (8 and 8.5) of the Hoka trying to dial in the fit, but neither really stopped the blister and toenail issues. Then tried the Altra Wasatch, and at the beginning of 2014 I purchased a pair of the Altra Olympus. With that perspective of history, on to the Olympus. I've now logged over 1000 miles on the Olympus (distributed between three different pairs), and am starting to really like them. I've done about 300 of those miles on pavement, and the remaining on trail, including a 66 mile Highline Trail crossing, several trail Ultras, a rim-to-river-to-rim in the Grand Canyon (all south side), and then endless Wasatch Mountain trails. I feel like the Hoka offers a bit more cushion on the downhills, and has a slightly better fit on my heel, but the Hoka pretty much trashes my fore-foot with that narrow toe-box. The Olympus really shines for me with it's wide toe box. I've yet to get a blister on any part of my foot in the Olympus. The tread is holding up on all three pairs well, as is the sole and upper. I'm optimistic I'll get better longevity out of these than out of my Hokas. What do I think could be improved? The heel pocket would be a good start, as well as a lacing system that allows more torque in closing the shoe. It's pretty tough to get the sides cinched in. Other than that, I have to admit that I have a new favorite shoe, and just bought another pair to start alternating with. Good job Altra!