Mother Nature “Strikes” again! Sitting here in No. Tahoe, it’s safe to say, it’s a smoker here, and wildfires suck, but life goes on. What will we do now? we’ll go running somewhere else. Perhaps the fire gods are telling me something…..to focus on the AT only. It’s a shame all those $300 entry fees can’t be at least partially returned, but it’s understandable, that’s the way it works. I’ll go for a smoker run tomorrow to emigrant pass…just because. We have to feel for the committee, nothing is harder than telling 400 runners we can’t run. Maybe we should all head to Silverton and run Hardrock bandit style, a day early. Or….everyone enters the speedgoat 50k on July 26th to celebrate cheryl’s(my wife)birthday. I’ll have another beer now, it’s ok……OUCH!

In this age of Ultrarunning, pacers play a large roll in motivating and assisting runners to finish the brutal 100 milerace. Is this really necessary? In France, pacers are not allowed, and the RD’s evendiscouragehaving a crew. The US is the opposite, why is that? Are the Europeans more purists? Are we weak in saying we need a pacer?, or have we just grown up knowing they are always allowed, so we take advantage of it? Someon the other side of the pond cut a few corners, maybe here in the US our form of cutting cornersis having a pacer/mule. For the lead runners, pacers should not be allowed if one is running for the win. There is a distinct advantage to having a friend by your side when the going gets rough…even if the “pacer” is not carrying anything. A prime example would be during nighttime, the extra person [...]