At the Jemez 50
Kyle Skaggs once again showed us his speed, eclipsing his own course record by a scant minute and change, not to mention the course was about a mile longer than last year.8:08 was the time.Another stellar performance with many more to come! I slipped in for second place only 1 minute per mile behind at 8:58. Local favorite and course designer Nate Mcdowell finished 3rd at 9:13.
Susan Brozik stayed out front all day running 11:30, Lori Cooper was just out of sight 13 minutes back at 11:43, Christina Sheehan ran third…evenly spaced out at 11:58.
Full results: http://www.highaltitudeathletics.org/jmtr/results50mi2008.pdf
The closest race was in Virgina at Massannutten
Todd Walker looked over his shoulder all day, trying to find out how close Kieth Knipling really was. It had to be a stressful day for Mr. Walker. Kieth Knipling played the same role last year when I stayed out in front. Todd’s time was 20:58, Kieth finished at 21:07, and newcomer Adam Cassaday was hoping they both would have bonked, but ended up third at 21:37…great run for Adam!
Amy Sproston took home the win comfortably as expected at 26:08, almost three hours ahead of Laurel Valley at 29:04, and Ruth Ann Helfrick slipping under 30 hours at 29:35.
Full results: http://www.vhtrc.com/mmt/2008/results.htm
Time to check out whereskarl.com in a few days as I have some more video coming, more AT details, my recent updates on how training for the AT is going, and a few more great races, before the Western States Track Meet at Squaw Valley, California..
Off to Vegas this weekend for the Red Bull Cola Launch, I think I’ll do a little Heat Training, and go suffer at Red Rocks.
Have fun in Vegas Karl! I’ll be out there in a couple of weeks for a work conference and plan on hitting the trails at Red Rocks at least once.
i actually think T. Walker was behind most of the day and caught Knipling much later on nearing the end.
Walker caught Knipling for good at Gap 2 (mile 65). Interesting is they left the last aid station only 40 seconds apart and that last climb can be a beast. Walker pulled away on the climb and that was it. Was fun to hear about back in in the middle pack with the rest of the mortals.
Yes, Karl, heat training has switched on in the West while you were on the other side (Ohlone had his toll on the braves who took the start), and you should get plenty in Vegas!
See you in June,
Jean
Farther Faster
Just got back from Vegas. Was over 100F Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Dropped into the 80’s yesterday. Had a sweet run in the Red Rocks Canyon area yesterday afternoon before the red-eye back to chilly Philly. Enjoy!
Cheers.
Joe
Looks like the high in vegas this weekend will be 75, what heat?
I’m looking forward to following your thru-hike. Is there a regularly-updated website which lists the fastest thru-hikes for the major trails in the US?
Hello Atwell, I’ll look into that, there might be a list of fast hikes. I don’t think my team at Backcountry.com has found one yet, but it would be nice to show that stuff..HMMMM, I’m on it!
Hey, Karl, congrats on your interview in Backpacker. It was interesting to see this piece along with the one on the yo-yo “race” of the CDT, as I know a lot of the backpacking purist frown upon speed attempts. Maybe things are changing?
There will always be naysayers out there, that’s OK, at least there out there. It’s highly likely the impact I put on the trail is far lower than any “thru-hiker”.
Great! Hope the weather is a bit cooler for you. The only temps I saw below 85F when I was there were in the casinos and my icey cold beer.
Karl,
Came to your site for the MMT100 coverage (I was a front-of-the-middle-of-packer last week) and AT record attempt. I oversee the last AT section your itenerary covers… “Day 25. PA Rt 233-Weverton Road Parking Lot. 52mi.”
The Weverton parking lot is a party spot and can attract a crowd you will want to avoid. Construction is planned this summer - hard to say how long it will be torn up. If you plan to pitch a tent/hammock there, really would be good to push through to WV/VA. If the PA rocks have you looking for a ’short’ day, Garvey Shelter is a fine stop 3mi N of Weverton.
The MD section is tailor made to run/speedhike sobo and ends with 3 supremely easy miles readily covered past twilight, which gets you into Harpers Ferry and will your mental game a big favor.
Let me know if I can supply info or trail magic in these parts. Hope to cross paths with you in MD somewhere.
“Toothbrush” PATC