This week the Miwok 100k is set and primed to be fast, the field is stacked as usual.  I don’t think either Tony Krupicka or Geoff Roes will be running.  There names are on the list, but Tony hasn’t mentioned it as he normally would, and Geoff just ran a smooth 100 in Santa Barbara last weekend.  So, that being said, the rest of the best are below: The men: 1.  Dave Mackey 3-2  He’s the record holder, and rarely loses at any race.  He just won American River a month ago and is likely in fine shape.  He knows the trails well here, so getting lost should not be an issue.  And, he”ll be in his Hoka Bondi B’s, I bet his legs won’t even hurt much when it’s over. 2.  Mike Wolfe 3-1  His fine showing at Way Too Cool proved he can run himself into shape quickly [...]

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” [...]

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 [...]