Tag Archive for ‘Backcountry.com’ at KarlMeltzer.com

Tag Archive for 'Backcountry.com'

We are almost there!

Published

on December 29, 2009

. 10 Comments

Just a few more days till registration goes live for the Speedgoat 50k! Reserve your spot for the toughest 50k in the US. After some new mapping, I’ve found there to be 11,945′ of climb and descent. Throw in a few rocks, snow, scree, billy goats on the ridge, and 200 crazy runners, and we’ll have a race for $500 bucks!

We are also close for the announcement of “Ultrarunner of the Year”. There’s been lots of talk about last year, and how many stellar performances there were. They were everywhere, from the flats to the mountains. Big wins with big comp, big wins with little comp, fast performances all around. Who’s it gonna be? We’ll find out in a few weeks at Ultrarunning.com.

Next year? Still somewhat debating, but I’ve managed to send in 3 apps so far…..Hardrock, Mt. Blanc, and Wasatch. The only tough one is Mt. Blanc. Hardrock and Wasatch are guaranteed for me, so I can’t complain. Hopefully we’ll have strong competition at these two races. Of course Mt. Blanc will have some fast Europeans. Maybe if I get in, I can see how fast Mr. Jornet really is…cuz’ I don’t think we really know yet. It’s time for the US boys to show a presence there. We haven’t had our best runs there yet.

I haven’t run since the Chimera 45ish race. I’ve been on a battery recharge for the past few weeks. This is the first time I’ve taken a significant time off after a long season. My batteries are now 95% charged, once the last 5% loads, I’m heading out, and never turning back…. even to see if someone is on my tail. As I get older, I’ll probably be looking forward more often.

Thanks to all my personal sponsors for jumping on board for 2010. Red Bull, La Sportiva, First Endurance, Nathan hydration packs, Ryders Eyewear, Petzl, and Backcountry.com. Without these guys, I couldn’t do what I do. It’s an honor to have a line-up of sponsors like this….the best in the business!

Backcountry.com is now having the after Christmas blowout sales, so check it out if Santa didn’t bring every request down the chimney, I’d be willing to bet BC.com has what you need.

I guess I’ll run another 100

Published

Speedgoat Karl

on November 18, 2009

in Uncategorized

. 27 Comments

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’

A little Hiatus to Disneyland!

Published

Speedgoat Karl

on August 11, 2009

in Uncategorized

. 13 Comments

Tomorrow morning begins a 5 day backpack trip to the infamous Wind River Range in Wyoming. No mountain range compares to this one for prime backpacking and fly fishing. I’ll be eating lunkers in no time!

After this week’s Jupiter Peak Steeplechase 16 miler, I came home with some neuritis in my left foot. The 3rd and 4th toe are numb, but feel ok walking around. I’ll wear my nice soft La Sportiva Wildcat’s for the adventure, protecting my toes from further damage. Hopefully this won’t create any issues in 4 weeks when the Wasatch 100 comes into play. Do bad things come in 3’s?…maybe. While sitting on my couch watching Mr. Woods win again, a yellowjacket decided he’d sting me. This ain’t good for me, my arm is swollen, I broke out in hives, and my arm itches like hell. So now what’s next? Hopefully nothing. I keep telling myself, “it’ll go away”.

Let’s hope 5 days walking around the Winds will cure all issues.

On another note, I’ve teamed up with Sherpa Fit in NY to start running some guided mountain and desert running tours of Utah and surrounding states. We plan to run 3 of them a year. Spring, Summer and Fall trips. The summer trip may just be in the Wind River Range. I’ll be scoping it out this week. During winter months, guided ski tours will also come into play for anyone who is interested in finding all the cool spots to ski…local style. Not all locals tell where the stashes are, we will!

ON RACE NOTES:

The leadville 100 is coming the following weekend, I’ll have odds for that one when I return, we’ll see if Mr. Krupicka can rack up win #3 at the “Race across the sky”.

Check out Backcountry.com for sweet deals on summer stuff now. Summer is almost over and the gear will be flying off the shelves, time to bust a move.

Look for the Leadville 100 odds Wednesday morning and a brief summary of our epic 5-day pack trip in the Wind River Mountains.

An old legend back on track!

Published

Speedgoat Karl

on June 10, 2009

in Race Updates and Speedgoat 50K

. 14 Comments

When I started Ultrarunning, I had two guys I wanted to race…..One was Eric Clifton. Eric was so fast I had to go test myself against him to see if I had what it takes to succeed in this silly sport. I beat Eric the first time I raced against him at the Crown King 50 mile….only to be beaten at the finish by Dennis Poolheco.

A few months ago I noticed a guy named Ben Hian had run a race in California. I don’t remember if he won, but he ran fast and it reminded me of my first ever 50 mile race at the Leona Divide 50 in 1999. I won that race edging out Tom Nielsen by a scant 1:25. I didn’t go there to race Tom. I went there to race Ben Hian. At the time this guy was the fastest and seemingly unstoppable. He didn’t have his best day and ended up 4th…….soon thereafter, Ben dropped off the radar and pursued other interests.

Well….he’s back!! 10 years later. He recently won the San Diego 100 in a tight race with guess who? Tom Nielsen. His time was 18:15. The record of 17:40 (mine) hung in there, but I think it’s time to pay attention to Ben as his form is returning. And we all know being 40 years old doesn’t mean squat in a 100 mile race. We don’t have to run fast, we just have to run all day. Congrats to an old (not age old) legend!!!! It’s great to see his return.

This past weekend I had the pleasure to run an aid station at mile 29 at the Squaw Peak 50 mile. I only saw a little carnage, nothing major, but entertaining to say the least. The race had it’s highest finish rate ever. 95% of the runners finished the tough course in perfect weather conditions. The only real carnage was Scott Mason’s vehicle. A dead limb about 15 feet long fell on Scott’s car the evening before while we were camping at the aid station. Good thing he had the “hard shell” tent.

The Speedgoat 50k is coming soon as we only have 26 days to register and 5+ weeks till the start. Registration is still open. If it would only stop snowing here!….yah, that’s right, snow on the peak again this morning. I’ve never seen Utah this green. It’s melting fast but expect to see some snow in Little Cloud Bowl on the final climb and descent. We still need some course marshalls to help keep runners on track. If anyone out there is interested in helping out, contact me at speedgoatkarl@gmail.com for more info. It is certainly an entertaining day!

The Bighorn 100 is coming June 19th, I’ll be looking for a good run there. I’ve been a little erratic in how I feel, I think I’ll blame it on the weather. The rain continues and the joints hurt a little every morning waking up to 50 degrees. It seems like early spring around here. The “boxers fracture” I recieved running 6 weeks ago is now healed, so my days off can now consist of a round of golf to prepare myself for the senior tour…….I better get on it. My legs feel recovered, but as usual it’s always a mystery on how the race will go when I stack alot of 100s together. Hopefully I can find that “autopilot” gear and just run it like the rest of em’. It may just take me 6 hours or so to warm up…….silly how it works that way.

If recovery from injury is an issue for anyone out there, consider getting those bikes and their parts from Hucknroll.com or Realcyclist.com. These guys have all high quality bike gear to keep you going when running is not the option.

Other gear reviews can be found at my user profile page at Backcountry.com. The leader in gear AND gear knowledge. If anyone needs any gear, check it out as every item has multiple reviews from people who actually use the gear. It’s pretty cool.

The next few weeks have me trying to figure out some odds for the Western States 100. We all know the field is sick there and will be one hell of a race to say the least. AJW has posted his poll, check this out. We’ll use his poll as the “mass voting”. I’ll do my “Speedgoat Odds” for this one, in a week or two. First I’ll do Bighorn. Not sure who the favorite is at Bighorn, the field is still growing. It’s amazing this field is not full. It is easily one of the nicest courses in town.

Now go run!

The Miwok odds and the last 3 spots…for the big track meet at Squaw Valley.

Published

Speedgoat Karl

on April 27, 2009

in Race Updates and Speedgoat 50K

. 23 Comments

Dave Mackey’s record should remain a tall order, but the race to win will be tight as always.

Full Results here

The Men:

Scott Jurek 2-1. Let’s put a little pressure on Scott and give him the nod. He may not be racing this one to win, (maybe he is) He is sure to be in the mix as the race progresses.

Geoff Roes 5-2. His performance at the North Face 50 in December on the same trails proves he can run up front. He wasn’t 100% that day either, and he wants in at Western.

Eric Grossman 3-1. He’s fast on hills and flats, so this course should suit him well, his long loping stride that I witnessed (for a few minutes) at Cool was a good indicator he’ll be in it running for the win.

Todd Braje 4-1. His 5:30ish 50 mile was the fastest in recent history, not too long ago. If he’s still got that energy, he may just run away with it from the start.

Phil Kochik 5-1. He’s run here many times and always near the front. He’s a little erratic though, so I see him either running 5th or winning the thing.

Other guys in the mix, but not out front: Matt Lonergan, Erik Skaden, Scott Jaime, Graham Cooper, Brian Morrison, Mark Lantz, Mark Hartell, Jean Pommier……and maybe a few I missed as well.

The Ladies:

Kami Semick 2-1. Her performance on her home turf last year at the NF 50 was stellar and should be no different this week. She knows it and owns it, and should win by a comfy margin.

Joelle Vaught 4-1. She’s fast and just a little bit faster than Anita on smooth terrain, so she gets the nod for first loser…….in the women’s race.

Caitlin Smith 9-5. Caitlin has proved to be super fast in shorter races, but this is a bit new for her. I’ll call her the sleeper. If she manages her run well, she’ll be in it to win it and surprise a few…..then she can take a crack at 100 miles.

Anita Ortiz 5-1. Not enough leg speed to run to win, but hills are her friend and she’ll be no further back than third.

Prudence L’Heuruex. 7-1. She’s a little erratic, but has it in her to crack the top 3, but needs a great day to beat the three in front of her.

Suzanna Bon 8-1. I’m thinking this is not necessarily her type of course but she’s sneaky and may just squeeze out a third.

Rob Lang calls in Nicola Gildersleeve as a darkhorse from our neighbor to the north!

Needless to say the race will be fun to watch, and running at the front will be stressful for those trying to make the start line at Squaw. Scott has no pressure on him, he’s in this for the fun of it. Sometimes with no pressure we run better. I am a classic example of that!

For the right shoe, check out my user profile at Backcountry.com. This course is smooth and hilly, so the lighter the better!

It freakin’ snowed big again at Alta, making the Speedgoat 50k course buried even deeper, but have faith, it’ll melt…….at least most of it. Check back soon for good deals at Snowbird for the Speedgoat race.

I just ran the Bonneville Marathon, a muddy, singletrack marathon here in SLC. I went to break my previous CR and came up 6 minutes tall, breaking it by almost 6 minutes. The 6500′ of climb was no match for goat legs. I am finally feeling like I am back in solid form for my assault on 7, 100s this summer. 3:47.52 was the time, that one should hold for a while!

Now go run!

KarlMeltzer.com