The Javelina Jundred happens this weekend. A few fast guys out front should make this one to watch. Will Jorge finally break my record?, or will Paul DeWitt and Josh Brimhall get the best of the fast starter….we’ll see. Here’s my picks:
Jorge Pacheco 3-1. Jorge gets the nod because he’s the previous winner, but he’ll have to run smart to outdual the other two right below him. Last year he was on record pace, but fell off on the 5th lap. We’ll see if he holds it this year. Paul DeWitt 7-2. When Paul is on, he’s tough to beat, he’s certainly got the speed to run under the record too, if his legs hang on that long. He’s got a plan mentioned on his site...something about 14:30. Pretty ambitious with the current record at 15:25. His conservative start plan looks good on paper, we’ll see how it pans out on dirt. Josh Brimhall 5-1. Josh is real fit right now, but may have other plans with the “dream team” at JFK next month, so he may not show up, but if he does, he’s no rookie on the Pemberton trail, and can certainly hang with Paul and Jorge. 100s aren’t really his specialty, but he’s due for a fast one. David James 7-1. Tough call on David. He ran some fast times early this year at the Pocatello 50 in May, but had a hard day at Western. It’s his time to shine now. He’ll be the “darkhorse” for the men. The rest of the field below won’t contend for the win, but look for these guys to battle it out for 5th, and two steps off of the podium unless those up front call it a day early and go trick or treating. Alan Abbs, Sandy Baker, Mark Matyazic, Dean “the bowling machine” Dobberteen, Logan Beaulieau, and John Ticer should round out the rest, as well as a few others I’ve missed.The Ladies race is a two women battle + some darkhorse who may show up.
Bev Abbs gets the nod at 3-1. Bev has more 100 mile experience and is always tough to the end, so without any real issues, she’ll be the first women done by an hour. Michelle Barton 5-1. Close, but not quite as quick as Bev. She’ll go out a bit easier too, and will hope to chase down Bev later once the wolves start howling at the moon. Darkhorse #1 7-1. Don’t know who that is yet, but tune in during race day to find out, cuz’ there’s always a few in the field, and this race always puts a few fast ones from the Phoenix area on the starting line.My next race is the Pinhoti 100 down in Alabama, I’ll be looking for win #28 at 100 miles. This race looks sweet as 85% of it is singletrack deep in the woods. I’ll do odds on that one early next week, so stay tuned. The race looks like some good comp too, so it should be interesting to see if I can bang out one more to make it 5 100 mile wins this year.
The Speedgoat 50k applications are going online January 1st this time, one month later than last year to avoid the tax man. Put it on your calendar for July 31st. It’s the toughest one in town! Chances are it’ll fill up this year at 200 runners after that sweet spread in Ultrarunning mag in the October issue. If you want a cool shirt with that silly goatman on it, sign up on Jan 1st to assure a position in the herd.
If anyone local here in SLC is interested in some very cool “brain mapping”, contact Dr. Aharon Shumlinson for more details at aharon@xmission.com. He’s been doing extensive research on why us crazy people in ultrarunning can keep on going for 100s of miles at a time. He helps us at the Big Mountain aid station being the captain, why not help him with some cool research. It only takes about an hour.
Along with the Pinhoti odds next week, the Mountain Masochist 50 odds will also be attempted. Word is out that along with a few fast guys officially on the list, Anton Krupicka, Geoff Roes, and Brazilian star, Valmir Nunez is in the field. These guys will take a crack at earning the spot at Western next year thru that silly cup thing. Check back next week for my mildly entertaining write-up.
And don’t forget to click the goatman in the upper right corner for random deals at Backcountry.com. They constantly run specials, so always good to check back occasionally, especially with Christmas coming.
Is this the same Dave James that ran 13:06/100M at North Coast 24hr earlier this month? http://blogs.courant.com/running/2009/10/ultrarunning-dave-james-of-tru.html. If so, that is smoking fast. And to think that is “only” the sixth fastest time ever for an American.
Looks that way! The Umstead win tipped me off though, not the 13:06. It’ll be interesting to see what he does at Javelina. He didn’t do so well at Western, which I guess is odd. He seems to do alot better on pavement too. Umstead is a fast course. Javelina is fast, but not quite as fast cuz’ of some rolls and a little technical stuff to slow him and others down.
Did he bail at 100 miles in the 24 hour race? Granted, his 100 miles was sick, he should have gone after Godale’s record, otherwise, unfortunately, he ran 100 miles in 24 hours…65 or so miles short.
The results will look totally skewed if that’s the case. And he may see no love because of it. Even if the voters know what he did. He’s certainly one of those guys not too many people know or will even recognize.
I’d certainly race him on a mountain course, he’d kill me on the road. He could be a good candidate to take a run at the Badwater record…if he’s good in the heat, but maybe Western proved he’s not?
We’ll all be watching. Perhaps this will elevate the heartrate of Paul, Jorge, and Josh!
Yes, I do believe he bailed at NC24 in 17hrs/119M. So, apparently the burnout began shortly after the 100M mark. Certainly way off Godales record. I also believe he won Ancient Oaks last year, which is roughly another multiloop/flatter course.
This is my opinion and I agree with you, the mountains are your terrain and there wouldn’t be a challenge for you to worry about. Don’t get me wrong, this guy is fast, but not mountain fast. Time will tell at JJ to see who cracks first.
Forget to mention as well. Good luck at Pinhoti. I really only see may two guys who might give you a little grief. And that is a maybe: Satterfield and Peelle? You may know others who aren’t on the list. I’ll wait for your odds to come out.
Do I remember you saying that 15.25 was “soft” for Javalina? Then why is 14.30 ambitious?
Josh isn’t running….
That is as soft as my belly… VERY.
Paul (15:05), Jorge (15:45), Dave (16:00) and Josh (16:10).
I think Jorge can do 15:45 but at this point your record is safe. DeWitt would need to really pull it together to do 14:30 and David James must be tired. His 13:05 100 mile split was super solid but it was the same as Jurek’s 100 mile split at Spartathlon last year and what did that do for him? Roads and trails are totally different. And, if I can be so bold, not all trails are created equal either. Just compare WS and HR. The hard stuff at WS is where guys rest at HR!
If I said the record at Javelina was soft, I must have been joking around. I ran everything that day, so it can’t be nearly as soft as Joe’s belly!
I think Paul was amibitious with saying 14:30 because a whole hour? faster than the current 15:25? Once we start dipping into 100s this fast, the ability to break records by an hour gets that much tougher. I think if Paul, Jorge, Dave, or Josh have a super day, they can all run 15:25, but 14:30 is gonna have to be sick.
AJW, you are exactly right, WS hills are rest areas for Hardrockers! Just a different ballgame. It’s also “hot” for Hardrockers when it reaches 85 degrees. So there’s a little balance there.
I knew Josh may not run, I spoke with him a few days ago, but with his name on the list, he had to be added to the odds.
Hopefully it’ll pay off at JFK when the “dream team” of Torrence, Brimhall, Jurek, Clifton and Halomatic kill it in Maryland!
How did I forget Fred Roberts! Let’s add him to the extras on the bottom.
Looks like Paul and Jorge are running pretty smart, Dave’s second lap was faster than the first…my guess is that’s a mistake. We’ll see.
I even think that’s a little fast for Paul. He wanted to hit 2.05-2.10 - hope he’s not getting caught up in trying to keep James close. Wonder if Jorge is waiting to clean up the carnage?? It’s not like him to lag back… maybe older and wiser now huh?
I thought I’d see Jorge right with James, or even ahead. I think he learned his lesson from last year. Paul wa smart not to follow Dave, so even though he’s a little quick, he’s not getting too hung up in what Dave is doing. We’ll see what the 3rd lap holds. It should tell us alot about Jorge. Paul should still be right there.
We have a mystery man with Fabrice. We’ll see what happens there too. Good stuff…entertaining.
James it out there all alone now, can he keep that pace?? 4th lap will be a good indicator. Paul DNF, Fabrice 30 minutes back of James.
Well Dave is running the only way he knows how — Hard and fast…
Come on Dave keep it together brother
And keep an eye on Tracy Moore. He is not likely to win but he is not a fader. top-5
James would really have to blow it now to not break the record! By a large margin too. Once he gets # 5 done within even a 2:40 ( and unlikely ) lap, he should be able to still go sub 15. The womens race is getting good too, let’s not forget the ladies out there!
My estimates show Dave finishing in 14:38! He’s smoking. And he’s an incredibly humble and nice guy too.
Right on Dave!
Jared
He’ll win “blow up of the year”, if he doesn’t break the record now! :-), He’s killing it! And don’t forget Bev, now she’s in 2nd. Funny how that works!
Oops, poor calculation on my part, didn’t realize that the last lap isn’t full length. Should be around 13:55 or so. Go Dave!
12:34:17 SICK 8:08 min pace 93 miles in
CLOSE It out Dave, Get UNDER 14 hours!!
Awesome Job Dave… Congrats !!
He Killed it! Awesome run Dave, congrats.
This really has been the best year I’ve seen in Ultrarunning in quite a while. So many “over the top” performances over the entire year.
SMOKING!!!
http://www.irunultras.com/2009/04/friend-and-umstead-100-mile-winner-dave.html
Check out this article on Dave James.
I getting my feet checked out at the start / finish when Dave came across the line at 14:20, looking pretty relaxed. Amazing! (I was like, “Awwww man. I’ve still got 40 miles to go!”) The format of the race is such that you get to see everyone on the course again and again… I don’t think that dude failed to say, “Great job” to anyone he passed. Class act and fantastic job!
Been a while since I’ve caught up on your postings… as always an entertaining read. Good luck to you and Rocho this weekend! Look forward to hearing how things go.
best,
K