Monthly Archive for July, 2008

Speedgoat 50K Humbles Everyone!

The Speedgoat 50K wasa huge success this year…..yah we had a few more dropouts, a few injuries, but in Speedgoat Country it’s a common scene. The Wasatch Mountains are relentless and Saturday was no exception. Find the results on the Speedgoat 50k page, just click on the link!

Nate McDowell and Anita Ortiz dominated the race and lead start to finish, right after the BAAAAHHHH starting gun.

I’m off to the AT tomorrow morning, 3 days of powerdriving…47 days of powerhiking to follow. Follow me online at whereskarl.com. The Backcountry crew will be handling the website from here. I won’t dissappear, butit’ll be erratic on my posting. Stay tuned for the Leadville and Wasatch odds. That one I won’t miss, even on the long green tunnel.

I’m off and thanks to all who follow my silly website. Wait till the real story comes out when it’s all over!

Stay on this site to get 15% off at Backcountry.com, one of the only places with a standard discount on almost everything they sell, not just trail running gear.

The Speedgoat 50K is in town! And so is the White River 50

The USATF National Championship is on the line at White River….the Scott McCoubrey 50 mile adventure!

The boys: This is a tough one, a very stacked field of roadies and trail dogs!
Mike Wardian 5-2. His speed is there, and if he has some left, should run away down that nasty road.
Brian Morrison 5-2. Seems it’s his turn to run a fast one and he knows this course well.
Greg Crowther 3-1. Greg, like Mike has superior speed, hasn’t raced much and is likely to be near the front all day….if he has a good day.
Hal Koerner 4-1. His 2:35 marathon speed is certainly fast enough to hang on this route, and is the best technical runner of the other 3 above him..
Mark Lundblad 5-1. Kills it on the road, but we’ll see what happens when some roots become part of the road.
Josh Brimhall 5-1. He’s run right around 7 hours here…he’ll be in it!
Paul Dewitt 6-1. If Paul sticks with a good race plan, he can catch them all on the Skookum Flats trail at the end.
Jasper Halekas 8-1. The only thing Jasper lacks a little is raw speed, but he’ll power right through it and get in under 7:30.
Jonathan Basham 8-1. The sleeper from the East coast will also be in the early Peleton.
William Emerson 10-1. If he can bring back some old form, he could run top 3…Previous winner here around 7 hours.
The Ladies:
Susannah Beck 7-4. Her speed will prevail, and her experience is now intact. She’ll run away with it early and win by 12 minutes.
Kami Semick 7-2. She’s next in line if Susannah doesn’t have her day, but it’ll be tough to hang on that dusty road if the race is close.
Prudence Le’Heureux 6-1. She’ll crack top 3, but that’s it.
Ronda Sundermeier 8-1. Needs a great day to slip into the top 3, but she’ll run a fast time either way.
Shannon Willford 12-1. Doesn’t have the speed as those few up front, but is in good shape, and looking for a good tune-up run before Wasatch.
And on the tougher course….The Speedgoat 50K!
Men’s Race:
Nate McDowell 3-2. If he makes the drive, he’ll run away with it, his skills are far better than anyone around this weekend.
Erik Storheim 5-1. Erik has shown real promise with a close to 7 hour 50 mile PR, but the boy in front of him will be gone.
Adam Cassaday 6-1. The boy from the east is the sleeper. He’s got some speed, but he better be able to hike fast.
The women:
Anita Ortiz 3-2. She’ll be the first to the topfor the $100 sprint bonus, and never look back. She may win it outright if Nate doesn’t make the drive.
Jenn Coulter 5-1. Jenn brings altitude training to the plate, just like Anita, she’ll hang early and take the “bridesmaid” spot easily
Sarah Evans 7-1. Alta Local, knows the course almost as well as I, local knowledge will help!
I’m out the door to run, then I’llpack up the RV for the Speedgoat 50K command center!

TRT 100 and the Vermont 100 up next!

The USATF 100 Mile Trail Championship on the line!

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He kinda looks like Mr. Bill!

And the odds are:

Erik Skaden: 5-2. He was ready for Western and will likely be ready forthis one
Jon Olsen: 7-2. Not far behind Erik, these two guys should battle it out.
Ian Torrence: 12-1. Claims he’s not quite readyto race up front, but I know he has it in him, every time we run, he kicks my ass!
The women’s race gets good too!
Nikki Kimball: 3-1. Simply put, she’s the best, but this course could test her raw speed, a few speedsters will be following.
Jenn Shelton: 7-2. She’s probably the one with the most speed, and if she nails it, she’ll run away withit. The technicality is the only thing that can slow her down, and I’m not sure how technical it is.
Bev Abbs: 6-1. In it all the way, she can win too, if she has a good run!
Connie Gardner: 8-1. Better at the smoother and flatter stuff, but who knows!
Jenny Capel: 9-1. It’s certainly her turn to win something, she could easily make the podium…..if they have one.

The Vermont 100, an old classic!

Glen Redpath: 5-2. I’m thinking it’s his turn to show his speed, and Vermont is essentially a dirt road race.
Bradley Mongold: 4-1. He showed uslots of promise early season, and this race fits his style. Still a rookie at 100 though, he could blow early if he’s not careful
Andy Jones-Wilkins: 5-1. Andy always has a good race in him, he’ll run solid as usual and win by slight default if #1 and #2 suffer.
Joe Kulak: 7-1. We’d like to see some of that old Vermont speed return, but he might be consuming some Long Trail Ale, it could slow him down a bit.
Kevin Sullivan: 10-1. Not as much experience as those few others, but the potential isthere.

The ladies:

I only see two right now:

Devon Crosby-Helms: 3-2. Should be a no-brainer for her to win, she just needs to run smart and not let the fast early pace get her.
Michelle Barton: 5-1. She’ll be styling in her Moeben Sleeves, the ice in the sleeve trick could keep her cool and give her a chance at a win in the Green Mountain State.
Diana Fitzpatrick: 9-1. Experience will take her to the top 3, and potentially even a win.

I may have missed a few here, so help, I’ll update tomorrow if needed.

Today was the last day for the Speedgoat 50k apps to come in, but I’ll take more as we have not yet reached our limit, so send it in and come run the sickest 50k in the US! The goats will be out in force on July 26th.

Check out the new Whereskarl.com website, it is a thing of beauty!
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Click the Goat man for 15% off at Backcountry.com or use coupon code 2JV-1-QJE3H. The discount will show when you update the cart! Order up!

Pacheco Wins Badwater 135……23:20!

AKOS KONYA not far behind at 23:49.

Jamie Donaldson has passed Pam Reed to take over first, but it’ ain’t overyet, and Pam is not far behind.

live ongoing results at Badwater here.

Tune back this evening for the Vermont 100 and Tahoe Rim Trail 100 odds. They both appear to be quite competitive. But first I must go run, cuz’ that’s my job!

Hardrock Updates and an inside look at what’s going on up front!

Now that Kyle is asleep……………..

Let’s sit back and watch Diana Finkel finish tough, and give Krissy’s record a shot! I don’t think she’ll get it by 3 freakin’ hours but she’s got a chance to take home the cake, unless Kyle already ate that too!

Congrats Kyle, you are the man now!

And after briefly looking at Kyle’s split from Cunningham, the record is soft as his split from that last aid station is NOT the fastest (nor was mine)…..of course Kyle was likely barefoot as he “blew out his shoes”.

Grouse Gulch Aid #8

I guess the race is for 2nd, and it’s a good one, this could be the year more than 3 break 30. Jared, Scott and Glenn have a good run at sub 28!

Diana Finkel still rolling, showing that altitude is not a factor, she too, has a chance at taking Krissy’s record down

Someone cutting corners out there?…..yah right! Damn it’s fast!

Ouray Aid #6

Well the boy is flying, the only hope I have left? Will he run a faster split from Sherman in? probably.

The race for second is awesome right now. Jared is starting to gap the group, his 20,000′ vertical days are paying off!

And Diana Finkel is kicking some arse, showing off on her Leadville speed

Telluride Aid #3

Skaggs is now 1:18 ahead of record pace, will he turn around and run the second half backwards? Give me a chance to keep the clockwise record. Shall I predict that the Pole Creek and Maggie aid stations will be sound asleep…..hopefully that’s not the case. Go Kyle! He’s flying, we’ll see if it continues.

Aid #1 Kamm Traverse, Mile 12

AT Kamm Traverse,(mile 12)it looks like Kyle has thefastest split ever, according to my records, the year I ran 26:39 my split there was 2:52! Kyle ran by in 2:19…AdvantageSkaggs by 33 minutes!

Roch Hortonmaking an early run at it in 2:35, with Jared Campbell with the smartest start at 2:33. All the other boys are still in there quickly under 2:40-2:50.

Diana Finkel (Leadville winner), and Kim Holak (Bear Winner), both Hardrock rookies, have the early lead. Betsy and Betsy are lurking behind. A true look at experience.

I’ll be back after Telluride and perhaps Chapman for another race update!

Check outthis year’s odds below

The Hardrock 100 promises to be exciting,not necessarily who will likely win, but what will the time be? That is the question this week. The race for second should be the spectators delight. A battle of the Betsy’s part 8 will be the women’s race.

The Men:

Kyle Skaggs 1-2. That’s right 1-2, he lives there, knows it, and is the fastest kid around, and although young to some standards, Kyle has mature experience….he’ll be gone at the first water crossing, and never look back. And the record will fall if snow doesn’t protect it.
Jared Campbell 3-1. Anything happens to Kyle, Jared is the man, he’sextra strong right now and a veteran at Hardrock, he just has to go out a little faster. Potential to go under 28 hours.
Ricky Denesik 4-1. Previous Hardrock winner, made a little mistake last year early, butthis year he probably has a better gameplan…..sub 30 easy.
Paul Sweeney 4-1. Another previous winner, always a strong finisher, he could be the sleeper if he doesn’tnap
Kevin Schilling 7-1. Has what it takes on a good day, he’s been running hard and should be ready to go sub 30 too!
Kieth Knipling 7-1. If altitude doesn’t slow him down, his technical running skills could bring him in top 5 and another sub 30 time.
Scott Jaime 8-1. If hebrings some of his shorter racespeed, he could run top 5.
Kirk Apt 13-1. He’s slipped in there before, and a sub30 to his credit.
James Varner 14-1. How can we forget Varner, master of technical terrain.
Thomas Schnitzius 41-1. German name keeps him on the list
Others: Sean Andrish, Scott Eppleman, Roch Horton, and Paul Hopwood.

The women:

Betsy Kalmeyer 3-1. Multi winner at Hardrock, always in it, comes out on top here more often than not. I think 4 wins, maybe 5. She gets the nod.
Betsy Nye 7-2. It’ll be the battle of the Betsy’s again, if she can finish strong, she’ll have the best chance at coming out on top.
Diana Finkel 9-1. Won Leadville a few years ago, with an impressive time. Altitude shouldn’t hurt her much, but this ain’t no Leadville, there are big hills at Hardrock.
Kim Holak 12-1. She’sgot the speed, but a rookie at Hardrock has a slight disadvantage at this big dance.
Kathy D’Onofrio 20-1. She’ll do real well if sheholds back early, she has a tendancy to go out too fast, and this course is not made for that!
And the BADWATER 135, pavement…ouch!
The men:
Jorge Pacheco 4-1. Moeben is a new sponsor of the event, so why not have a Moeben runner win it. It’s Jorge’s turn, if he can hold back early. He tends to go out a little fast…bad idea in the heat.
David Goggins 5-1. He’s been getting faster and faster, and will play it smart, it’s time he finally busts one out…..and he’s more rested than any time last year.
Akos Konya 5-1. The road is his friend, and no rookie here, runs well in the heat.
Dean Karnazes 8-1. Makes it look easy to run top 5, off to the next desert he goes.
Charlie Engle 12-1. Sube 30 before, so he’s not out of it.
The women:
Monica Scholz 3-1. It’s her race, she just roll through as always, not a record but solid.
Shanna Armstrong 7-1. I loaded her ipod, so she has a chance. Strong triathlete, wins regularly, but can she run 135?
Pam Reed11-1. She’ll get it done and round out top 3.
In other news
The whereskarl RV was part of the Park City Parade on the 4th. I sat on the hood like a celebrity waving like a rockstar to 10,000 parade goers. PBR and bagels for breakfast made it just right. Thanks Backcountry.com!
For the Speedgoat 50K, registrations must be postmarked by July 15 oryou lose a chance to run with some 150 other goats through Snowbird’s killer singletrack.

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Click the goat for 15% off at Backcountry.com on almost everything they sell




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