Run Rabbit Run 100
A non-running subject to start. Join me on Thursday, February 19 at 11am PST for a live online event about backpacking shelters. We’ll be discussing pros & cons of double- and single-wall tents, tarps, hammocks, and bivies. Register here: http://sierradesigns.yourbrandlive.com/c/2015tents This year excites me, a lot. It’s the first since 2010 in which I have both the desire…
Last Saturday I kicked off my ultra racing season with the Dirty 30 in nearby Golden Gate Canyon State Park. Unofficially, the 31.8-mile course has 7,800 vertical feet of gain, with elevations ranging from 7,750 to 9,500 feet. For me, this race was a perfect season-opener. It was conveniently local. The late-May date guaranteed at…
The starting pistol for the Run Rabbit Run 100 fires at noon on Friday. For the next 20 +/- hours I’ll be running and hiking through the mountains surrounding Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The course’s 40,000+ vertical feet of change won’t be easy, especially at elevations up to 10,500 feet. This is my first 100-mile race…
On Friday I’m racing Run Rabbit Run 100 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The official distance for this ultra marathon is 102.7 miles, though the consensus among participants is more like 107. There is 20,000+ vertical feet of climbing and elevations are often around 10,000 feet. It will be my longest race of the year, and my first 100-mile race since…
Later this week, once I’m more fully recovered, I’ll post more detailed content from Run Rabbit Run 100. For now, a few quick comments and some easily shareable content: My finish time of 20 hours, 12 minutes was in line with my expectations, based on how I have historically performed against the 2014 winner, Rob Krar. In…
That I’m already talking about a “next time” is a good indication that I was pleased with my Run Rabbit Run 100 performance and that my recovery has been relatively mild. I have no specific plans yet, but I think it’s apparent that I do relatively better in races that are longer and have more…
Did anyone predict this result? I’m doubtful, given my running resume compared to the deep and talented field at the 2015 Run Rabbit Run 100. To know how it happened, read on. I won’t apologize for it being a long post — I wrote it mostly for me and for family members and close friends who couldn’t…
Prior to Run Rabbit Run 100, I wanted to tweak the recording settings and display fields on my Suunto Ambit GPS Watch + Heart Rate Monitor to be more optimized for an ultra marathon race. I found few recommendations online, so to fill that void I will share my decisions here. Other GPS watches like the…
What is the optimal pacing strategy for an ultra marathon, especially for a mountainous trail course? Since Run Rabbit Run 100 last month, this question has been of great interest to me: by being more conscious of it than other elites, I think I finished better than I should have given my talent, fitness,…
Fifteen months ago, my bitterness reached its peak. The cause was obvious: for four consecutive years, starting with 2011, I had worked too much and adventured too little. Essentially, I had stopped being me. During the first two years, I wasn’t bothered. My work — mostly guiding, speaking, and writing — was novel and challenging,…