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, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]