Barefootin' It

Many thanks to David Biersmith, for loaning me the book "Born to Run." I found the book to be an interesting read, although it wandered and switched-back like a Wyco trail, at times. It was fairly complimentary to trailrunning and ultrarunning in general, while not embellishing upon the characters (too much). And, it brought some names out of the woodwork that aren't normally mentioned in running circles, because they shun the talk show circuit and aren't self-PR whores.

On to the subject at hand: Barefoot Running.

Barefoot running can be used as a tool for gaining better running form, I'll give it that. But barefooting it in the "real world," whether on roads or trails, has it's hazards.

Even the Tarahumara tribesmen in the book, "Born to Run" wear hand-made Huaraches, constructed of car tire treads. While not "cushy," they still offer a large (1/2" thick rubber) degree of protection from rocks and "sharps" to the bottoms of the feet. Barefoot Ted, a character in the book, sustained somewhat "shredded" feet after 50-miles (on desert trails), while wearing his Vibram FiveFingers. And we've had local runners' break their little toes while wearing Vibram 5Fs on our rocky trails.

Local runner, Barefoot Rick Roeber has run in a few of our Trail Nerd races, with varying degrees of success (and injury), as evidenced by this photo after a 10-miler at Wyco. He admits that he has difficulty (running unshod) with some types of surfaces, like ordinary dirt & gravel roads.

Barefoot Rick's Feet
And then there's one of the main characters in the "Born to Run" book...Scott Jurek, arguably one of the best ultrarunners in the world...and he's a heel striker! Scott excels at both trail AND pavement ultramarathons. He helped with the design of his shoe of choice (the Cascadia), which is a "substantial," and fairly heavy and cushy shoe, by any means of measurement.

Can a person run on rocky trails, while unshod?
There is one local runner that (I think) has the form, speed, and relative lightness to run barefoot on rocky trails fairly successfully...and that is "Barefoot" Josh Snellink. While I've seen him injure and bloody himself a time or two, he has a "realistic view" of what is possible with barefoot running (IMHO), and when it makes sense to wear shoes, to prevent injury or frostbite. For Josh to run absolutely barefoot on our local rocky trails, he needs to be obsessively observant of trail conditions, but he also needs to slow down on the downhills. This guy is no slouch...if he were wearing some type shoes and could run at his normal and (beautiful to watch) fluid pace - even on the descents, I think he would cruise to victory in quite a few races.

Where am I leading with all of this? Barefoot running can be a means to an end to improve your running form. It can also make you more aware of your body in relation to its surroundings. But, in the long run (pun intended), you will probably still need to have your feet shod, at some time or in some capacity. This is especially true for snowy/icy weather conditions, and rocks and "sharps" protection on the trails and roads. And, if you want to go faster in a race, you should probably be shod. Find out what's right for you, whether it's a pair of super-light 3.8 oz Universe, or a pair tire tread huaraches. And if you're not having issues while still wearing your "normal" running shoes, then don't fix what ain't broke.

Happy trails,
Bad Ben

PS:

Barefoot runners have ALWAYS gotten a free entry into Trail Nerd events.

Killing Me Softly

It's not funny. A fantastic little piece of area running is in a hurt locker, right now: Great Plains Running Company. What's really sad: A lot of the folks who decry this tragedy have let it happen. How? by buying their shoes online, instead of seeking them out at one of their closest area running specialty stores.

Buy local. Keep local jobs and families sound.

Screwin' Shoes

Winter running doesn't have to be like "life on a slip and slide." Whether you are a pavement pounder or Trail Nerd, screwed shoes are an inexpensive answer to your traction problems. If you like to run outdoors year-round and want Velcro-like traction on ice, slush, and snow...read on.

I started my running life in Spokane, Washington, where the Winter weather can be colder and much more snowy than here in Kansas City. And the snow would stick around and stack-up, too. It was not unheard of to see our first snow in October, and not have the snow and ice not melt until late March. After a few major snowfalls, the City would run out of budgeted funds to plow the snow. From that point on, the city would just plow the main streets, (but not the side streets), for the rest of the Winter. The side streets and sidewalks would become a "life & death" dangerous place to run.

Cars got around okay on the unplowed side streets (for the most part), due to the use of studded tires. So, it was only natural for us to adapt our shoes (and bicycle tires) to "studding," through various ingenious means. I don't know who or where the idea originated, but it had been around for quite a few years prior to my first attempt at it.

The first pair of shoes that I studded was in 1985. Remember Avia brand shoes? I used hex-head screws on a pair of Avia's with about 200 miles on them. I was awe-struck by the sudden increase in traction. I felt completely confident and secure on the packed snow and ice, from that point on. Nothing, (other than windchill) would stop me from running through the winter again, from that point on.

How is it done? The screws are screwed into the bottom of the shoe and it is the head of the screw that is visible, and it is the head of the screw that provides the traction. Hex-head sheet metal screws are used, because they have many "cutting surfaces" that grip the ice. After some initial misadventures with using screws that were a "tad" too long, I found out what many others had realized. By using #6 or #8 screws that are 3/8 to 1/2 inch long, you strike a balance of having screws that would not only stay in place, but they are not be felt by your feet. Usually, ten to sixteen (or so) screws per shoe, does the trick. Matt Carpenter has a great "how to" description of the procedure on his site. There is also a direct link to his site at trailnerds.com.

Kelley Johnson gets screwed. Photo by Dick Ross, http://www.seekcrun.com/

Will it "hurt" your beloved running shoes? No, not really. But why not grab a used pair of shoes and try it out, and keep that pair "screwed" for the rest of their useful life? Sometimes, I will use the same pair of screwed shoes for two years, depending upon how many icy days we get.

Photo by Casey Yunger

At the Trail Nerds' annual February race, the "Psycho Wyco Run Toto Run," we have actually employed the use of NASCAR-style pit stops with "shoe-screwing" stations for the uninitiated or non-believer. Non-believers may run the first loop of the race without shoe screws, but after watching their "screwed competition" literally fly by them on the course, they are more than willing to "get screwed" before going out for another loop.

So, forget hitting the "dreadmill" this Winter. Get your running totally screwed-up, for some real fun this season.

Happy trails,
Ben Holmes

T-Shirt Etiquette

Time to lighten-up.

I haven't posted this for a while:

In the running and triathlete community the wearing of race T-Shirts has become a sign of accomplishment and fashion. Choosing just the right T-Shirt for that special occasion can be a daunting and difficult task. The following guidelines have been compiled (in fun), to help the responsible T-shirt wearer avoid potential embarrassment and/or elevate their perceived status in their athletic community.

This list was formed from using various tri and runners' submissions, and then acquired, edited, exfoliated, and added to by me. You can send any suggestions of yours to me. If they are semi-coherent and not too offensive, I might add them. But then again, I might not.

Note: This is meant to be a tongue-in-cheek review of the sometimes superstitious regard runners and triathletes have for their finisher shirts. My personal view: I don't care if you wear your shirts wrapped around your head in an ever-expanding turban...so please, no nasty-grams back to me on back-channel e-mail. Have fun.

T-Shirt Etiquette Guidelines:
1. A shirt cannot be worn unless the wearer has participated in the event. There is an exception, though: "significant others" and volunteers are exempt.

2. Any race tee, less than a marathon distance, shouldn’t be worn to an ultramarathon event. This goes double for the wearing of sprint-tri shirts to Ironman and Half-Ironman events. It simply doesn’t represent a high enough "cool factor " and sends a red flag regarding your rookiness. It's like taking a knife to a gunfight. It's probably best just to wear a generic name-brand athletic shirt, and go hide in a corner until race time.

3. When you are returning to a race in which you have previously finished, then wear the shirt from the first year you completed the race. Don’t short-change yourself by wearing the shirt from the year before. It doesn’t adequately display the feat of accomplishment or the consummate veteran status that you are due.

4. Never wear a race event shirt for the (same) race you are about to do. Only rookies do this. It displays a total lack of integrity and might put the bad-heebee-jeebee-mojo on you for the race. Wearing a T-shirt of the race, while currently running said race, is discouraged. It’s like being at work and constantly announcing "I’m at work". Besides, you wont have the correct post-race shirt then...unless you like to wear sweaty, pitted-out clothes on a regular basis. If you do, then go back to the swamp, Gomer.

5. Never wear a shirt from a run that you did not finish. To wear a race shirt is to say "I finished it". Exceptions: see guideline #1.

6. A DNF’er may wear a race shirt if... the letters DNF are boldly written on the shirt in question (using a fat Sharpie or a Marks-A-Lot).

7. During a race, the wearing of shirt from a previously completed year is acceptable. Wear the oldest T-shirt you have from that race (see guideline #3). This is probably a good practice because you now have no excuse to drop out since you’ve done it before.

8. If possible, runners should buy significant others T-shirts which can be worn without regard to running the race. (see guide #1). Keep in mind, they support your "running Jones" more than you think. They also have ways of punishing you that you can't even imagine. Or maybe you can.

9. Volunteers have full T-shirt rights and all privileges pertaining thereto. So there. Remember, you can always volunteer for a race and get a shirt. I encourage this as your civil duty to be a member of the running community. Races don't happen without volunteers, folks.

10. No souvenir shirts: therefore, friends or anyone else not associated with the race may not wear a race shirt. If your mom thinks that your Boston shirt is lovely, tell her to QUALIFY for Boston herself, & send in her application early for next year, so she can earn her own shirt. A downside to this: she still has plenty of time to write you out of her will between her training runs for the big race. Note that your mom CAN wear your finisher's shirt under one of these 4 conditions- 1) you still live with your mother; 2) she funded your trip to the race; 3) she recently bailed you out of the slammer; or 4) All of the above. There is an exception to this guideline: (refer to # 1...If you are a "non-traditional family," and your mom actually is your Significant Other).

11. Always wear the race shirt of your last race at the current race’s pre-race briefing. The more recent the race, the better. This is a good conversation starter. However, avoid the tendency to explain how that it was a training run for this, and this is just a training run for the next, etc. It just sounds like your rationalizing mediocre performances. Sometimes it’s best to live in the here and now.

12. Your t-shirt should be kept clean, but dried blood stains are okay, especially if it is a trail race or a particularly tough event. If you're an ultrarunner, you can even leave in mud and grass stains, (and porcupine quills). Not washing-out the skunk scent is pushing the macho thing a bit too far, though.

13. Never wear a T-shirt that vastly out-classes the event you're running. It’s like taking a gun to a knife fight. Or like unleashing an atomic bomb among aboriginal natives. You get the idea.

14. Also: never wear a blatantly prestigious T-shirt downtown or at the mall among non-running ilk. People will just think you have a big head, which you do. You'll also get stupid questions, like, "how long was that marathon?" If it's a shirt to a 50 or 100-miler, they'll think it's a shirt for a cycling event or just think you're totally nuts, which (of course), you probably are.

15. Never, ever, borrow a race finisher's shirt from another runner to wear to an event that you didn't run. If you do, remember that in Dante's Inferno, he wrote about a special Hell for characters such as you; right between Tax Collectors and Lawyers.

16. The Bad Ben Guideline: All children or grandchildren of mine can wear hand-me-down race finisher's shirts for races that I've run in. When they are asked, "did you run in that 100-mile trail race?" They can proudly respond, "no, but my daddy (or grandad) did." If your progeny has put-up with you being an ultrarunner, they have said rights too. If you have completed an Ironman, your kids also have the same rights. They've put up with a lot of crap (or outright neglect) over the years, and deserve to wear them.

17. The Bryner Guideline: Never wear a shirt that has more sponsors listed on it than people that ran in the event. (Are you listening, race directors?) A shirt with too many sponsorship logos on it is just plain ugly. If you're a race director, and have scored that many sponsors, how about sharing the wealth? Just give me a call at 555-6565, and ask for "Bad Ben." By the way, you can let ANYONE wear this ugly shirt; non-finishers and distant relatives, alike. If you respect your friends, kids, spouse or mother, though, you won't let any of them wear it. It would serve well as bedding in your kid's gerbil cage.

18. Never wear a shirt that has any sponsors on it that you don't agree with. For instance, if you're a Vegan, you shouldn't wear a shirt that proudly advertises "Omaha Steaks" on it. If you wear this shirt, the "Karma Gremlins" will catch-up with you . I swear that's why I fell and broke my nose in my last 50-mile trail run, or why I had plantar fascitis for most of '99. I never should have ran in the 1998 "Fantastic 4-Miler." Why would they enlist a sponsor from an North Korean land-mine manufacturer, anyway?

19. The Spencer Guideline: If an event is cancelled at the last minute, but the event shirts were already given out, you can't wear the shirt unless you actually ran the race on that day. This means you will have to run your own unsupported event, through snow storms, hurricanes, or whatever lame excuse the Race Organizers came up with for cancelling said event. If you still want to wear the shirt, you have to mark it with a sharpie, "I didn't run this lousy event, and I'm all the better for it, thank you," across the front of it.

20. This next one is a big one, and has something to do with the need for more good taste and asthetics in this sometimes ugly world. Never wear a shirt that is so old, thin, and threadbare that you can see the color of your nipples or chest hair through it. This seems to be just a "guy thing," especially and old-codger-runner-guy thing. Here's the test guys: if you're too scared to machine-wash your 1978 Tab Ten-Miler shirt for fear of it wafting down the drain as meer subatomic particles, then it's probably too transparent to wear in public. If you can (still) remember your great performance at that particular day and you want to save it for posterity, PLEASE have it framed so that you can keep it on the wall of your den or your "I love me" room, and (at least) out of public view. Better yet, have it sewn into a quilt. You can then sit on your couch and read back-copies of Runner's World, cuddled up with your "runner's binky," with a glass of warm milk.

21. By the way, if you don't know what terms like DNF, volunteer, or Significant Other are, then you shouldn't wear any race shirt until you know what they mean, and you shouldn’t have any meaningful relationships, either. You should probably become a hermit and/or New Age "Tantric" runner, sitting at home in the lotus position performing virtual marathons in your mind, while sniffing used GU packets, incense, and patchouli.

T-shirts must be used sensitively. Worn responsibly, they can help expand one's consciousness and immerse you in a great conversation with your running brethren. Worn stupidly, they can cause fright, horror, vacant stares, sprained ankles, and general social unrest. Don't be a "T-shirt Terrorist." Follow proper T-shirt etiquette to do your part for world peace.
___________________________________________
Happy trails,

Bad Ben

Stressssss Fracture

Yep. 2 fractures in my right foot. I ran for 2 months in denial for up to 67 miles/week like an idiot (and in pain). My last event was Dude, where's the trail 50K...where I ran until I couldn't run anymore...and then walked the last 5 miles to my slowest finish ever. Hat's off to Sophia and Greg and Chad and Kurt for coddling me. (I love you guys).

I've spent the last 4 full weeks of non-running-hell in limbo. Not pissed. Not unhappy. Not whining. Just resigned to the fact that I can't run.

Oh well...it could be worse. I could be a KC Chiefs fan.

I'll come back stronger than ever. Not just "Bad Ben." But Bad Motherfucker Ben.

A Little Help From My Friends

You may already know that Sophia, Nancy, Raul and I are putting on a race this weekend, the Pilgrim Pacer.

This race normally raises money for Harvesters, but this year, we are also raising money for the Braden Hofen Fund. Please read his story below:

Braden Hofen was diagnosed with Stage IV, high risk neuroblastoma on December 28, 2007 at the age of 3. Braden was given a 30% chance for survival at that time. He went through six high dose rounds of chemotherapy, an autologous bone marrow transplant, radiation therapy, and follow up therapies. Braden was declared to be in remission but merely a few months later, only a few weeks from his fifth birthday, his cancer relapsed. Braden now has only a 10% chance for survival. Braden is undergoing medical treatments both at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri and at the Children's Hopsital of Philadelphia. Braden and his family appreciate all of your thoughts, prayers, and hopes for a miracle! Thank you!
Braden's Website
Photos
Braden's Story

There is also a direct way to donate to the Braden Hofen Fund. And 100% of what you donate, will go to help pay for his medical expenses. There is now a link where you can donate directly. Please read these directions first:

Click on this link.

Read his story.

Click on "donate now."

Choose the charity.

Enter your information.

Thank you.

Pacing and Crewing at Leadville

One of the fun things in life that ultrarunners can do for their ultrarunning friends, is to crew for and pace for them in major ultrarunning events. Such was our crews' task for the Leadville Trail 100-mile trail race...we would be crewing and pacing fellow Trail Nerds, Greg Burger and Andy Henshaw, on their quests for a Leadville one-hundred finish.


Andy Henshaw gets "serious" the day prior to the big event.
He was the eventual 4th Place Overall Finisher!!!


Greg Burger, refueling at Twin Lakes aid station.

What is crewing and pacing, you might ask? The term "crew" stands for "cranky runner, endless waiting." Crewing involves driving from aid station to aid station to wait for your runner to come running in, and then it's the crew's job to heap upon them extra encouragement, dubious nutritional supplements, and positive vibrations to get them to the next aid station within the cut-off times for the race.


Pacing is allowed in the Leadville 100, from the 50-mile turnaround point, on. Pacing involves running with your runner for long periods of time, to keep them on task, and to lift their attitude above their (sometimes) subhuman doldrums; but mainly: to make yourself feel like a saint for putting up with bitchy crap from your cranky runner. And, as an added bonus (at Leadville), you get to run at an elevation of two-miles high, with absolutely no acclimation to the altitude! (My FlatLander's red blood cells are still giving me grief over that weekend escapade. I think I actually got a nasty text from one of those poor, hemoglobin-starved corpuscles the other day).


At Leadville, you can actually "mule" for your runner. Muling involves happily carrying stuff for your runner, while you run with them. In other words, you can carry as much as your runner wants to heap upon you, up to and including being a "mobile aid station" for your runner, too. Luckily for us, our two runners didn't need mobile aid stations. And the only heavy-muling performed that weekend was by Bad Ben's Mud Babe, Sophia, carrying Greg's Nathan pack partially up the back side of Hope Pass...(which has been renamed "Hope Not to Pass-out" by Sophia).


Anyway…getting back to my story: We decided to leave town on the Thursday evening prior to the (Saturday) Leadville event. Sophia and I left town in our car at 7 p.m., while Shelley and Derek left town in theirs, a little later. Shelley and Derek were going to be crewing for Andy Henshaw (with Andy’s mom, brother and friends), and Sophia and I were going to crew for and pace for Greg Burger, along with his girlfriend (Kristin) and Kristin’s daughter, Bailey. Danny Miller and his girlfriend (Erin) and Erin's son, were also going to be supporting Greg. Danny wanted to pace Greg from Fish Hatchery, all the way back to the finish line. Yes, it takes a Pillage.


It’s a good 11-hour drive to Leadville from Kansas City. We stopped for a night’s stay in western Kansas, also know as “God’s Country” to the locals. Which god?…I’m not sure. Another 6 hours or so of driving got us to Leadville by early afternoon on Friday. We met up with Greg and Andy, and the rest of our Midwest entourage.



Sophia, at a stop along the way, sporting a Team Henshaw shirt


Leadville Altitude-induced Lunacy.
Andy, Andy's mom Cheryl (in background), Sophia, Andy's brother Blake, & Derek's dog



Danny, Kristin, Bailey, Sophia, Erin


Sophia was supporting Andy’s shoe fetish, by drawing from her Mizuno Territory Manager account. She had 3 new pairs of Mizuno Ronin shoes and a pair of Precisions for Andy, and I had a new Trail Nerds shirt ready for him. Andy likes to run races in the Ronin racing flats, and (of course), he is true to his Trail Nerds’ roots. He wore a similar shirt four weeks prior, in the 50-mile national championship race, in which he finished in 6th place, overall, right behind Scott Jurek. In that race, Andy's shirt never made it to the finish line, because of his propensity for going topless in warm races. Would the shirt make it all the way to a Leadville finish? We shall see.




Leadville, Schmedville. Leadville is one of the highest townships in the nation. Is the air thin up at 10,300 feet? Does a bear crap in the woods? You bet. Just walking up a couple of flights of stairs seemed to leave us breathless. Luckily, the two athletes that we were supporting had acclimated to the altitude for about 2 weeks, already. (Two weeks is better than one day, anyway). Sophia and I couldn’t help but notice that we both had “background” headaches, which felt very similar to the feeling of having a hangover. This was (no doubt) a symptom of “altitudinal distress.” And we were going to run umpteen miles with our runners the next day??? Hmm. I had paced Lou Joline in his last attempt at the Leadville 100, back in 2004. But I had had the “luxury” of having stayed in Leadville for a week prior to pacing him. This time, it would be different.




Strategy: Sophia and I slept past the 4 a.m. start, so that we would be rested and ready to pace from mile fifty, on. We drove straight to Twin Lakes, and setup Greg’s boxes of goodies of stuff that he might need. He ended up rolling in and out of there in good time, heading for Hope Pass. So off we drove to Winfield…the half-way point of the race, on the other side of Hope Pass.


Greg at Twin Lakes, mile 40.



The road to Winfield is a dusty, bumpy little bugger of a dirt road. It takes every bit of 40 minutes to drive the 12 miles, from where it leaves the pavement. And the last two-and-one-half miles has runners on it, headed either toward Winfield, or back toward the Hope Pass trail. Poor bastards…it’s dustier than a desert sandstorm on that heavily-driven stretch of road. While driving in, we saw Andy running the road back toward the Pass. He was being paced by Derek! That was good, because he hadn’t counted on having a pacer that early. At that point, we heard that he was somewhere around seventh place in the race. Now that was exciting!


Sophia and I met up with some of the other support crews for other runners at Winfield. We were all worried about our own runners, for it had been an unseasonably hot day. The Hope Pass climb (on both sides of the mountain) was fully-exposed to the sun, and there was no relief from the heat. Greg rolled-in, right on schedule. At the aid station, he had to step onto the official race scale, to get weighed. He was 7 or 8 pounds lighter than what he had been at the start of the race. We sat him down, and proceeded to get him soup, fluids, and foods that he could “keep down.” After about 15 minutes, we threw his Nathan Pack onto Sophia’s back, and they headed out, onto the miserably dusty road toward Hope Pass.



Greg Burger, with Sophia helping him shove the food and fluids in.


Winfield is a beautiful place!


Winfield Beauty


Winfield Mayhem

Sophia did a great job running his butt over the 12,600-foot pass. She helped cue him to eat and drink at regular intervals. She’s good at coaching during long events, even when she’s breathless. During this particular event, she multi-tasked…also taking some time to take in the sights, and to take a few photos. They both rolled into the Twin Lakes aid station at about 6:30 p.m. or so. Sixty miles were behind Greg, with only 40 to go.



Now, it was my turn to pace. The climb out of Twin Lakes (in that direction) lasts for about 7 miles. Greg was eating well now, thanks to Sophia. He was also climbing well. But when we left the single-track trails and got onto jeep roads, where the terrain gets flatter, wider, and relatively boring, he lost his forward momentum. This is where a pacer earns his keep: you have to find a way to motivate your runner to actually RUN, using every method possible, (up to and including a Taser, if you have one handy). Unfortunately, I had left all of my torture devices at home, (in the bedroom closet, of course).



By the time we got to the section of paved road, right before Fish Hatchery aid station, Greg’s mental state had relegated him to a walk. Walk??? And not take advantage of such a flat section of pavement? But that was all that he was going to do, at this point. Fine, then! I’ll just make him walk FASTER! So, I kept the pace at about 4.2 miles per hour, and made sure that he kept up. That’s faster than some folks can jog, so it was better than nothing. But it was best left unsaid, (although it wasn’t by Greg), that he may not make his goal of a sub-25-hour finish, to receive the “big” finisher’s buckle. But I also knew that Greg wouldn’t beat himself up too badly, if he “just finished” and got a “normal” buckle. NOT finishing was not an option, at this point. So, into Fish Hatchery Aid Station we sauntered. Now, it was Danny Miller’s turn to “shine” as a pacer. It was his shift. Go, Danny, Go!


Danny went. And so did I. Sophia and I went straight to bed. We were tired, and were worried about not having enough zzz's in the bank to drive back to KC the next day. Sophia had gotten to see Andy finish, while I was pacing Greg. Andy had finished in a solid 4th place, overall, in eighteen hours! Not bad for a kid from Leavenworth, Kansas! And his best friend, Dallas had gotten to pace him for the last 13 miles, and pushed him hard...Andy moved up 2 places in the race under Dallas' pacing tenure. Schweet! And Greg ended up finishing in 28-something hours, well within the time limit for the race.


A few short hours of sleep later, we had a nice breakfast, and then headed to the awards ceremony. I got to see some old hundred-miler friends, and quite a few of the Midwest Contingent. Andy and Greg both took their turns hobbling-up to the front of the room to get their handshakes and buckles. It was a glorious end to a jam-packed weekend.


"Fast Andy" Henshaw, gets the big buckle and 4TH PLACE!



Greg does it!



Greg's Buckle


If you ever get the chance to crew or pace an ultra-friend, take that chance...you just might have some fun along the way. And by the way, the Trail Nerd shirt (on Andy) did make it to the finish line, this time.


Happy trails,


Bad Ben



Additional Photos:

Andy finishes!

Andy is totally spent from his effort!

Blake, Shelley, Derek



Stewart Johnson preps Paul Schoenlaub at Winfield



Darin and Sophia are ready to pace their runners


Sophia, Bob (Mayor of Leadville), Shelley


Sophia demonstrates the wonders of western Kansas/eastern Colorado

Our Next Trail Nerds' Ultra Event

Beer and Attitude in the Hood: the Mt Hood PCT 50-Mile Trail Race

Another year has passed. Once again, I decided to continue the 4-year tradition of going to the Oregon Brewer’s Festival and then running a 50-mile trail race on the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT). This time, my girlfriend, Sophia would be my traveling companion, along with my son & crew, Mighty Matt.


Sophia was going to be attempting her first 50-miler. Both of us were severely under-trained for any 50-mile event, let alone one with mountains. How under-trained, you might ask? Well, let’s put it this way; on a good week, either one of us maybe ran a total of 15-25 miles per week; and this has been the case for the past 5 months. This training lapse was mainly due to having too many things going on at once…in her case, it’s because she was figuring-out her new job as a Mizuno Territory Manager (for a 3-1/2 state area).

So, we both decided to do the race with the mantra of “Muscle Memory, Attitude, and Pain Denial.” And given the beauty of the location, maybe we’d have a fighting chance for success.


Sophia (Bad Ben’s Mud Babe) at the Oregon Brewer’s Festival, prior to the race.

Also at the race, there would be more Trail Nerds to attempt the distance, with four of them being first-time 50-milers. The Trail Nerd 50-Mile Newbies were: Debbie Webster, Julie Toft, and Kevin Pinkowski. And Nick Lang was there as another veteran 50-mile guy. Laurie Euler would be his support crew, and help all of us, as well. Coleen was also helping Christy with her first 50 mile, and there were 4 guys from Springfield, Missouri there that had run in Trail Nerd races, too.


We couldn’t have asked for better weather while we were in Portland. It was sunny in the afternoons, with highs in the 80s. Portland is a very nice place to visit as a tourist. With the MAX transit system, you can park your car and get around town quickly and efficiently. And, if you are going to imbibe at the brew fest, you always have a designated driver!



Sophia, Matt, and I landed in Portland on Thursday morning; two days before the race. My nephew (Andy) and brother (Jim) picked us up at PDX airport. After checking our luggage into our hotel, we scooted off to have a nice lunch at Deschute’s Restaurant. We then went to Waterfront Park on the Willamette River, and spent the rest of the afternoon at the Oregon Brewer’s Festival.

Oregon Brewer’s Festival: Sophia, Jim, Andy, Matt.

Allison and Kevin Pinkowski


After a lengthy stint at OBF, we bombed around downtown Portland and ended up having a lovely dinner at a seafood restaurant. From there, we hit downtown for some more debauchery, and then repaired to our hotel rooms for a good night’s sleep.

Mary’s: Portland’s oldest family-owned business.

Friday morning, Sophia and I got up early and went out for breakfast at the Bijou, a favorite local breakfast place. Breakfast was marvelous. She had to call her dad, a New Orleans expatriate, to tell him how wonderful her oyster omelette was.

Calling daddy George!


Sophia had some work to do for clients on her Mizunoputer, so we followed the strong WiFi signal next door to Stumptown Coffee. Stumptown is my pick for being one of the two best places for getting coffee in the Bad Ben known world. My other favorite is the original Caffé Vita, on Capitol Hill, in Seattle.


While there, we met an interesting artist that does journaling the old fashioned way…as an analogue-style book, using handwriting, and glued-in photos: basically, a daily “anablog,” you might say.

We decided to hit the brew fest one more time for a little while, to get rid of the rest of our drink tokens. From there, we headed up to the mountain and to packet pickup by Timothy Lake. Olga Varlamova (the co-race director), was happy to see us. She gave Sophia and I a warm hug and made sure we agreed with her as to how lucky we both were (to have found each other and to be together). We gave Olga and Monika Gold some newer-versions of Mud Babe shirts, with the new Jason Crosby designed logo, (inspired and advised with Sophia’s input).

After Packet Pickup, we headed up to Government Camp to have a meal, and then checked out our digs that Debbie, Julie, Tim, and Larry had secured for us. It was a big loft with room to sleep ten. Nice going, guys!

Early Saturday, the morning of the race, Sophia and I hit the lodging’s 24-hour restaurant, and had a hearty breakfast. We met a runner named Jason from Spokane, and we wished each other well at the race.

We had taken the early start at 5:30. After listening to a short speech by Olga, we headed north on the Pacific Coast Trail. We had previously decided to run at Sophia’s pace for the whole day. She is good at regulating her speed, while I tend to go out a little too fast. She also has a great uphill strategy, combining both running and walking, as needed. And since my walking speed is normally faster than hers, most of the time I could walk fast and catch up to her over and over again. In other words, the strategy worked well for us; well enough to help with our foolish endeavor to run a 50-miler with not enough training.

View from the trail at Mile10.

We jockeyed back and forth with the other runners for a while, and settled into a good pace (for under-trained fools). The first 28.8 mile out-and-back was fairly uneventful, other than me getting stung by a hornet on my shin. Sophia had some trouble between miles 25 to 28. Once she figured-out that she was okay and that the pain in her legs wasn’t out of the ordinary, she was fine. Our fine crew (Matt) procured some Advil at the main aid station for us, and she had no more trouble during the rest of the race. I, on the other hand, would have a little bit of trouble later on.

Watch Sophia Run: Video

Matt gets us some Advil. Photo by Laurie Euler.

By the way, the race course this year had changed, due to a new law. No longer would we run up Mount Hood to Timberline Lodge, and then run back on a simple out-and-back. Instead, there were two out-and-backs. We would run 14.4 miles north, turn-around, then run back through the starting area. From there we would do a southern out-and-back. We were all disappointed about running the course sans Mount Hood, but what the heck…we were there to run. And this course proved to be more challenging.

Debbie Webster and Julie Toft at mile 40. Photo by Laurie Euler

We hit the south turn-around point in decent time. We had a good downhill, followed by the toughest climb of the day. At about mile 42, I became overheated and nauseous. Sophia was having no trouble at all; she was still maintaining her great uphill run/walk method, and I was falling behind. She came back for me, and we took an easier pace up the hill.


We reached the last aid station at mile 44 or so, and I got a Tums from another runner. The second that I chewed it…I spewed it! It was like a chemical reaction. The alkaline Tums hitting my acid-filled stomach and presto: I puked foam for 5 minutes!
An aid station worker kept trying to talk me into quitting and taking a ride back to the finish line.

I wouldn’t hear of it. And Sophia said, “Are you kidding? This is Bad Ben. He’ll finish this race.” And besides, puking was the best thing that had happened to me for 4 miles. I felt much better. Sophia filled my two water bottles with ice and water, and we took off down the trail at a decent trot.

The long downhill was fine. But pulling a rookie mistake, and following 3 runners onto a road wasn’t fine. We had taken a wrong turn. Not good. More mileage. At this point, the wind went out of my sails. We ended up walking much of the final 2 to 3 miles.

At Mile 40 Aid Station. It’s no fair…first-time 50-miler (Sophia) looks great, and Nick and I look like we’re toasted!

Sophia and I finished the race holding hands. The "rookie" (Sophia) ended up being the strong one at the end of the race, and we were more of a couple with each mile covered. Were we foolish to attempt this race with our level of training? No, I don’t think so. We are a team. Because: one plus one equals seven, with the two of us.

Happy trails,
Bad Ben

Some other "personal performance" and race notes:

For the first time, I wore the most current edition of the Mizuno Wave Ascend 4 (trail running shoe) for a distance over 50 kilometers. I had absolutely no foot issues, including my arches, (which have been previously plagued by PF).

Mizuno Wave Trail Ascend 4

Inside the shoes, I wore a thin pair of Tetra Toe Socks, and over those, some thin Balga socks. I never changed shoes or socks, and didn’t lube or tape my feet. I didn't get any blisters or hot spots, while on this hot-temperature run. My feet felt fine after the race too, and were not beaten-up in the slightest.

I can’t wait to try the new Mizuno Wave Cabrakan trail shoe, available in September. It will have more rock protection with an extended, flexible rock plate. Here’s a video preview. Sophia has been wearing an advanced test model. They performed well during the race. She has quite a few miles on them, and still loves them. (They are a light blue color, in the women's shoe).

Preview of the Women's Cabrakan

For all 50 miles of the course, I wore a Trail Nerds SweatVac tee-shirt (with sublimated printing). This worked well in the dry heat of an Oregon Summer day. I also wore the new 2010 model of Mizuno Kaze shorts (with a 9" inseam). They stayed dry for the whole run, and I had no chafing issues at all. On top of everything was my SweatVac hat, which always works well to keep me cool and dry.

Concerning my puking issue: My body just can't handle more than 30 miles of using HEED as a sports drink. My stomach goes completely acid with that product, for some reason. I've tried it before on 100-milers, and 30 miles was all that I could take of this drink. I'll remember to bring my own Clip2 drink next time, for any race that's over the 50K distance. I know (from ten years of experience) that I'm good for at least 100 miles of (non-issue) Clip2 consumption.

Race Management:

Other than a few missing markers at trail intersections and roadways, the course was marked okay for a "mountain state" run. The aid stations have improved steadily over the past 4 years, and are now well-stocked and supported by knowledgeable ultrarunning staff. It was fun running in this race, (except for the 5 miles of dirt road, this year). Yep...I'd do it again.

Nick- Cooling off after the race, in a mountain stream. Better than an ice bath!



Going Home!

Whataya lookin' at? Give us some privacy, okay?

Video:

Intro To Summer...A Day of Fun with Friends

It was a fun Saturday. I spent some quality time with quality individuals. I will write something about it later, but to give some instant gratification, read Bad Ben's Mudbabe's Blog. She says it all, (and poetically, too).

Another One in the Bag

Race directing a trail ultra is much more akin to producing and directing a movie, rather than race directing a typical pavement foot race. Especially a "longish"ultra, of 50 miles or more. Believe me; I've done both.



First of all, you have a much longer "race-day timeline" to deal with. The logistics of finding volunteers for each spot is critical to a race's success. And with a 18-hour time limit (in the case of the Free State trail runs), you will not find volunteers (for the most part) that will "go the distance," and be out there for 18 or 20 hours straight. Well, luckily, I had some help this year, regarding volunteer coordination and logistics planning. Sophia Wharton stepped up to the plate and excelled at the job of co-race director. She not only found and filled the open shifts for the volunteers, but she helped me to focus on what I should be focusing on (on race day)...the runners.

For the two weeks leading up to the race, Sophia did everything from cranking-out directional signs and helping to mark the trail, to communicating with and rallying the volunteers. She definitely got the birds-eye view of what goes into a successful ultra trail race. And the questions...she asked questions like "why do we do it this way, or who's job is it to do this?" Her questions helped me to reassess my whole race directing process, especially since she usually had solutions in mind, when asking the questions. The long and the short of it is, this year's race was better-organized, coordinated, and executed, because of her presence. With Sophia as a co-Race Director, one plus one (definitely) equals seven! And the fun went on and on, for up to a week after the race. Our smallish apartment was turned into a race equipment and 5-gallon-water-jug cleaning station, and a race schwag laundromat (because EVERYTHING that was put into the truck was wet from our tornado-and-rainstorm-soaked raceday). Yet another reason why I absolutely love this woman!


Race Directors: Sophia & Ben (Photo by Brad Trimble)

Then there's Greg Burger: the man in charge of marking the course so well. Why didn't our Free State participants get lost? Because he has an intuitive knack for knowing where a newbie trailrunner might 2nd-guess themselves, and take a wrong turn. Sophia gained some knowledge here too, by helping Greg and by lining up volunteers (such as John King) to help Greg mark (and de-mark) the course. The Trail Nerds Marksmen, she called them. And de-marking the course...a job that usually took the better part of a week (for the past two years), was complete by 2:30 p.m., the day after the race!!! In fact, it was finished prior to the next storm moving in. Thanks to all of the Trail Nerds involved...Kurt Schueler, Greg, Kevin, Shane, Adam, Gabe, Darin and several others. By the way, we also had the nightmarish problem of having many flags taken down the night before the race by unknowing and clueless hikers. Sophia called Andy "Speedy Brew" Henshaw into action...he gladly ran the course and put flags back into place, right before the race.


Oh, and about the "tornado" that I mentioned. Weather-related issues are always an "issue" in Kansas, or at least on our (doppler) radar screen. Luckily, the marathon was completely finished and most of the 40-milers were done, prior to the 5 sets of tornado sirens going off. Check out my short race report, results, and other race reports on the Trail Nerds' blog. So add "tornado evacuation scenario" to the list of race directing worries for a 27-mile long race course (in the woods)! We had to make the decision to halt the race and get the participants off of the course. We had up to 80-MPH gusts of wind, heavy rain, and a lot of lightning. Our wooded course always has inherent danger from high winds (that can drop a tree or limb on somebody), and it also has at least two impassible streams on the trail during heavy rains and subsequent flooding. Of course, the lightning can be very dangerous, as well. In fact, one person (not in the race) was hit by lightning, just a short distance from the course. So with the NOAA information given (that yet another wall-cloud and storm system was headed our way), we stopped the race. It was the right decision.

During the storm, we had some real heros. The remote aid stations, staffed by KUS volunteers and the Nerds, had to communicate back and forth and to the main aid station. Phil Sheridan (AKA Mister KUS) decided to risk life & limb to sweep 10 miles of the course during the storm (between his aid station and the Nerd aid station). Stacy Sheridan said it was "okay" for him to do this! We also had people step-up to help pull runners off of the course, like Scott and Shannan (and many others).





In the meantime, Kyle & Stacey Amos had their hands full at the Nerds' "Lands End" aid station. They had some great help, from the likes of Caleb Chatfield, Andy Henshaw, and Rick Mayo. They all had to not only figure-out who was coming and going to their (complex) aid station / trail crossing, but try to think of safe places to send them.



We have the best volunteers in the world, and they worked extremely hard to make sure that everybody who could get off of the trails, safely did so. Other volunteers went above and beyond for this run: For instance my wonderful son, Matt; who worked like a red-headed version of a Nike Factory Worker, (as he usually does for his ol' man). Thanks, Matt!

Matt, Exchanging "volunteer wound" stories with Sophia. (Brad Trimble photo).

There was also Brett Hodges. He showed-up just at the times we needed him most, and for the worst possible jobs, like: taking care of runners late in the race, loading the truck up during a tornado, unloading the truck the day after the race (and drying-off crap), hauling trash, etcetera. Thanks, Brett!

Brett, Matt, Me at unloading/drying session.

Shelly Flones was incredible, too. She was there for the duration of race day, and did everything from selling Trail Nerd schwag, to taking care of runners and cooking.

We also had the "Manhattan Project" Team...Sean & Dave...who volunteered for about 10 hours straight at the main aid station, and took care of runners with their ultra-race-knowledge. Mary Ann and Heide were both awesome main-aid-station workers, as well. Race Volunteer Extraordinaire, Rick Hoopes was quite the help, when we needed him most.

And we had the KUS aid station team. Stacy Sheridan, Phil Sheridan, Randy Albrecht and team...they kept the Far End Runners going in the right direction: toward a healthy race finish.

Sorry, there are many others that I didn't mention, that put forth a great effort for the race. Thanks again for a great Free State Trail Run!

Happy trails,
Ben

Photos:

Dick Ross' Photos (http://www.seekcrun.com/)
Action
Fun

Brad Trimble's Photos

Webpage






Hui-Qing Yin (Photo by Dick Ross)





Emily "Mud Doc" Horn (Photo by Dick Ross)





Sloppy Runner (Photo by Dick Ross)





Sam & John (Photo by Dick Ross)





Danny Dehlin, winner 100K (Photo by Dick Ross)

Co-Race Director Sophia Wharton...loves taking care of runners. (Photo by Brad Trimble)