The final showdown in Marin! The North Face 50
See what a little cash purse brings…….
I’ve decided not to do “odds”, but to rather just make my picks for this year’s North Face 50. With the worldwide talent, it’s gonna be a tough one. I had some help with names from Bryon Powell at irunfar. I let him do all the research, I’ll just make the picks. I haven’t seen a good women’s list, so it’s tough for me to “guess” what’ll happen there. Although I’m sure it’ll be tight for the 10 grand! I’ll post if I find the correct list. Bryon? help?
So here it goes:
1. Anton Krupicka. Healthy Tony=very fast! Unfortunately for all of us, Tony won’t be running. 🙁
2. Geoff Roes. Must stay close to Tony, and he will, but his best distance is 100 miles. The kicker here is that he and Tony are pretty much running for “Ultrarunner of the Year” in the US, something overlooked so far.
THESE FIRST TWO GUYS HAVE KILLED IT THIS YEAR, LOOK FOR IT TO BE AN INSIDE BATTLE UP FRONT!
3. Dave Mackey. His Firetrails time was sick about a month and a half ago.
4. Ulli Steidl. Very fast, but claims to not be as fit….as of two months ago
5. Erik Skaggs. If he puts it together, he’ll be in it near the end. 50 miles could be his distance.
6. Miguel Heras. Almost as fast as Killian Jornet, but on US soil.
7. Sebastian Chaigneau. Fast Frenchman, and since he just got in late, he’s probably quite fit. Seems as though Sebastian also won’t be there…:-(
8. Leigh Schmitt. Ran fast here before, why not now?
9. Jez Bragg. He’s had an impressive year, this could cap off his best if he ends up much higher in the field….we’ll see.
10. Chris Lundstrom. Another quick marathoner who placed 3rd last year, this year is a little more competitive.
11. Hal Koerner. No comment but all smiles!
12. Dakota Jones. Has to keep his head in it, if so, he’ll be way higher than this place, he’s got it in him.
Pretty tough not to include some names on this list, but go to www.irunfar.com to check out some more insight on actual stats of some of these runners. I just pick em’ off the cuff….but usually pretty close.
It’s christmas time too, so consider checking out Backcountry.com for some great deals.
Also don’t forget, registration for the Speedgoat 50k (just about as hard as this 50 miler!) will go online January 1st at 7am MST.
