World Class Endurance Runner
Ulli Steidl runs 6:33 and change, while Geoff capped off his “Runner of the Year” performance throwing down a 6:40. Both these times are faster than last year, but let’s remember it was a slightly different route.
More to come from me, but follow Irunfar.com and click on his twitter feed for the best up to date info for now.
First off, this is a tough one. There are so many solid runners in this race, it could go to any of the top 10 I have listed below. I like to think experience will play a role in who takes home the cake!
The men:
Ulli Stiedl 5-2. No doubt Ulli is the fastest in the field when it comes to turnover. The man runs like a gazelle. He’s the only guy in the field this year that’s gone under 7 hours, won the innaugural and was a close second last year….he gets the nod from me again. Dave Mackey 3-1. Dave will take the place of Carpenter this year and stay right on Ulli’s heals if he’s not ahead of him to begin with. Dave’s incredible 7:51 at Miwok this year tells all of us he’s got it down at Marin and won’t lose the trail. He’s the man to dethrone Ulli, if Ulli is not on his game. Dave will be on his game. Tsuyoshi Kaburaki 4-1. 3rd last year and has to get the nod to place the same. He ran super strong at WS. What this tells me is he is a tough competitor and will dig deeper than anyone else if it comes down to a sprint up that last little hill nearing the finish line. Geoff Roes 9-2. What can we say about Geoff, he’s the “Ultrarunner of the Year” for 2009 (in my book) and after his Masochist performance, is probably not getting as much love on this list as he deserves. He broke Mackey’s record by about 20 minutes at MM, so he’s got it in him to pay for his Alaskan flight if he’s still on fire. My guess is that he’s still on fire. MIke Wardian 5-1. He’s kind of a mystery man to me, although I certainly know he’s capable of running up front….something will happen putting him 5th in the end. Sal Bautista 6-1. Sal won two NF 50 qualifiers, beating some tough comp, so if he’s fit he’ll be one of those guys not everyone up front recognizes, and this is somewhat of his home turf. Chikara Omina 7-1. Super fast at Helen Klein and over the past few years has been running strong. He’s the guy that might surprise us all if he has a good day. Leigh Schmitt 8-1. Another guy who ran well here last year, I think 5th. So like Geoff doesn’t get as much love as he should on this list, but certainly one who’ll be in it for the cash. He’s faltered a few times in races at the end, hopefully not at this one. Hal Koerner 9-1. Fresh off a 6:06 at JFK, so he’s got some speed, but his camera might slow him down. He claims to be this year’s front running photographer. Chris Lundstrom 10-1. I’ve been notified he’s a super fast guy form the upper midwest, but failed to get good google results when I looked, so he slips in the top 10.Other men looking to run well, but won’t make any money: Maybe they’ll win some shorts for the size of elephants in a age division category! 
Don’t forget I stumbled upon two other Japanese runners….Hidefumi Kimura, and Minehiro Yokoyama, who knows, they might be fast too. If they are wearing a billboard like Kaburaki, you can count on them being quick.
The Ladies:
Kami Semick 3-2. It’s her home turf, she’s the previous champion and is likely the “Ultrarunner of the Year” again. She’s fast, but will have lots of pressure on her, especially from the two listed below. She may end up being the richest NF athete in town when it’s all over. Caitlin Smith 3-1. Caitlin has what it takes to win this thing if the stars line up for her, but it’s hard to put her ahead of the other two. She ran well at Miwok, but was beaten by Kami. She’ll earn some cash. Joelle Vaught 4-1. Joelle is my sleeper to perform well here. Most won’t be watching her, and on a good day can run with the best of em’. She’ll look to squeeze out $1000 bucks for third. Lizzy Hawker 5-1. Fast girl that hasnt’ proved herself to me yet on this track, but like Joelle, she’s quick and could surprise the few girls ahead of her. Helen Cospolich 6-1. Helen doesn’t give herself enough credit and with 10,000′ of climbing here, it works with her strength. If she holds together the whole day, she’ll be thinking about $1000 bucks too. Chris Lundy 8-1. Don’t know much about her, so I give her some love on the list, we’ll see what happens. Anton mentions she’s just run a 2:40 marathon at Twin Cities. And beat Kami and Susannah there. I guess on Anton’s recommendation look for her to be the sleeper. Still, it’s 50 miles, not 26.2……..very different in my opinion. But that’s only worth a penny.
Just my two cents, worth about a penny!
Check out this flyover of the course, brought to you by “run scout”
Don’t forget the real mountain race, the Speedgoat 50k applications go online on January 1st. We know I”ll keep mentioning it. My prize money is no $10,000, but I”m working on $500 for the winners. It’s a mountain race with real vertical!
After this one, I won’t promise odds for the last 100 of the year….the Chimera 100 in Southern California. My last race and thankfully my last 100 of the year. This year was slim for me, only 7 100s. Next year we may almost double that….we’ll see.
With the big turkey day upon us, think about running far today.
Coming next week is the North Face 50 odds! This should definately be a hot race to follow. Hopefully, I’ll have some connection in Cali to get me the results. I’m working on that. With $10,000 on the line for the winner, it’s sure to be fast. The Men’s and Women’s races will both be tigth, right from the start.
The Speedgoat 50k online registration will begin on January 1st, 2010. We’re still hoping to get 200 runners in this crazy race. 11,000′ of climb is all I should need to say to get 200 of you here. Trust me, it’ll entertain you! Watch the video here, let us entice you a little bit.
On my own end of things, I’ve found it entertaining to flip through a few blogs and read about the Western States Track Meet Lottery, coming Dec. 5. I’m sure there will be plenty of discussion after a few fast guys and gals miss out, so I’ll leave that for another date and put it on the backburner for now.
The Chimera 100 mile is rapidly approaching, and rapidly closing, so if one more 100 is in the cards for you, this is the last 100 mile trail race of the decade. But that has no significance. :-) I’ll be looking for win #6 this year. I still have the textbook in the back pocket, so I should at least run a decent race…..but we’ll see.
“100 miles is not that far”
Well, the plan was to run the North Face 50 in San Francisco. Due to a weak webpage and updated runners list, I didn’t get the invitation or money in, in time. So I bagged it. I don’t feel I am qualified to compete for the $$ anyway, so I decided I’d go run another 100 miles to get rid of this nagging periformis issue I’ve been having. The one thing I’ll be missing is chasing the front of the women’s race in the Marin Headlands…..not to mention the original plan was to go visit some good friends in Ashland before the race. That’ll have to wait for another road trip.
So another 100? Why not? I feel fine, other than the periformis. The periformis hurt before the Pinhoti 100 two weeks ago, only to go numb by mile 40. It stayed numb until the following Wednesday. Funny how running a 100 miles for me gets rid of injuries instead of creating them. I am truly a freak sometimes.
The Chimera 100 is the race, it boasts 24,000′ of climb. I figured that sounds like another 20 hours of fine trail running in California. It also gives me a chance to win at 100 miles for a 6th time this year. NO, I’m not cherrypicking races, (if anyone out there thinks I am) I’m running this one cuz’ I have nothing better to do that weekend and it looks like a fun course. Unfortunately on the competition side, most of the faster guys will be in San Fran the week before. The beauty of it is I get to run all day supported, they only get to run 7-8 hours. So I win! :-) Funny how my brain thinks that way.
The Speedgoat 50k is rapidly approaching the opening of registration, that’ll be on January 1st. Sign up early and commit this time, or take the risk and sign up later. Either way, it’ll be a fun day at Snowbird Ski Resort running on one of the most beautiful courses this planet has to offer. Check out the video of the race here. Some day when my site takes a u-tube video, I’ll have it here to view. At least the link works!
Backcountry.com is constantly having sales these days, with coupon codes, deals and motivation to get the gear we need. Click the goatman on the right hand corner above and check out this week’s specials.
Also, the JFK 50 mile is happening Saturday. It should be a great race to follow. Team Rogue Valley Runners are looking to win yet another team title with Ian Torrence leading the way with the most JFK finishes. His team consists of Hal Koerner, Josh Brimhall, Scott Jurek, CR holder Eric Clifton, and Ian himself. The dream team is set. Enjoy! I”m goin’ runnin’
This weekend I’ll be at the Pinhoti Trail 100 down in Alabama. Roch Horton are running for team Utah. My wife Cheryl will be crewing, keeping us efficient throughout. It should be a pretty good race with about 5 of us thinking about winning the thing. I have some periformis issues, but hope for that to get numb by mile 40 so I can start running. It’s been a little shifty after a short 5 mile run about a week ago. But I’m not gonna sandbag….I know I’m the favorite.
Also check out the Mountain Masochist 50 mile in Virginia this weekend as the field seems to be real competitive. Through the grapevine (but not confirmed) Geoff Roes, Anton Krupicka, and Valmir Nunes should be on the list. Jasper Halekas should also give these three some problems. I was gonna do odds, but because these three aren’t on the runners list, I decided to bag it and think about Alabama. If I were to pick anyone, I’d pick Anton, then Geoff right behind. Valmir is probably the fastest guy in there, but his trail experience is nothing compared to Anton, Geoff and Jasper. We’ll see if Mr. Badwater can hang with some trail junkies.
Gotta go, cuz’ I got a flight to catch.
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.
Of course not! I’m just a slacker and haven’t posted anything in two weeks. I guess running is taking over my life.
The snow has started to fall here in the Wasatch range. Everything up high above 9000′ is now either buried or super icy, leaving me with lower (but still stellar) trails to run on. The legs are still a little shaky from the last 100 miler in Virginia two weeks ago, but seem to be coming around slowly….just in time for my next adventure.
I am headed to the Moab area this weekend, along with a two day excursion to the Needles District of Canyonlands. If you’ve never been down this way, save some time for next spring and get a real tour. Check my guiding page for more details on that.
When I return, the winter boots will be pulled out of the closet for more abuse, shoveling the greatest snow on earth at Alta. I start when the real snow flies in a month or so. My core workout program is on the horizon. Some would look at this as a tough job. I only look at it as a good workout. Ultrarunners are wierd, and sometimes I think I lead the way. Who in their right mind would have a job shoveling at a ski area that recieves 500″ annually? Only me.
I’ll get to the North Face 50 miler in Marin Headlands near San Fran on December 5th. I’ll have a better chance of beating all the ladies this year as the Appalachian Trail legs won’t be slowing me down this time. It should be a great showdown up front. I hope I can stay close to the women this year for the first hand look at a great race. The men up front will probably be out of my sight by mile 3…or even sooner. There aren’t many of the fastest guys or gals on the list yet, but I would assume for the $10,000 first prize, that “elite list” will grow quite rapidly once mid November falls. Maybe this year I can win a pair of underwear that fit. Last year I won some panties that hung past my shins. :-) They were a little big. Perhaps NF should re-evaluate their guess on sizes. Runners are typically smaller people, right?
Interested in having your brain mapped? DR. Aharon Shumlinson is doing state of the art research with brain mapping, trying to figure out how us silly ultrarunners think and run 100s of miles. It is VERY COOL, if interested in having this done, it takes only an hour and a half. Dr. Shumlinson’s office is conveniently located here in the Salt lake Valley, in Sugarhouse. Check back next week as I’ll be recieving the images from my brain and post a few on this site……sure to entertain everyone! Contact me at speedgoatkarl@gmail.com if interested in the study, I’ll hook you up with the Doc.
Always good deals going on at Backcountry.com, jot down this coupon code, then click the goatman on the upper right hand corner and start shopping. The code gives 20% off, and Christmas is just around the corner. 4LO-1-M8Z8P for the deals.
Now go shop!
I have to be brief, I only have 30 minutes of time to use this internet, or I’m chumped 10 bucks an hour for usage…:-)
Check out the seedings for this year’s Grindstone 100, brought to you by eco-xsports!
Here’s the link for seeds, also you can watch it live here:
Looks like I’m on the top of the list. I’m not sure how it’s gonna pan out, but if it’s as technical as the first few miles I ran today…..I like my chances! I feel OK, not really sure how the body will hold up. But that’s ultras…always a mystery!
Something different sits on the horizon for a few lucky souls interested in a quick get-a-way to Disneyland! No, not the Disneyland our kids love, the Disneyland for Ultrarunners. A quick 5 day excursion to southern Utah to play in the sand and go on the most epic of runs, all with the luxury of having a guide…….who knows all the great routes. Here’s the details:
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