At Least 60 Percent of Applicants in Western States 100 Lottery Have 100 Mile History

Update: (12-6-09) Post-lottery report on number of lottery winners with 100 mile history (update).

Yes, The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship is this Saturday, and despite astounding battles setting up at the head of the 50 mile race in both the men's and women's fields, a good number of us will be shackled to our computers and smart phones not to see if Uli can run down Geoff Roes in the closing kilometers but to see if we drew the golden ticket in the lottery for the 2010 Western States 100 (site).

Amidst all the anticipation, there's been a great deal of thoughtful and often fervent discussion about qualification standards for Western. Craig Thornley's most recent post on the the current lottery has drawn over 100 comments alone (post), and for a full immersion in the niceties of the myriad views on the topic, I suggest you read Craig's post and comments. But, one of the perennial issues is whether Western States - the quintessential 100 on the calendar many would argue - should require a 100 mile qualifier rather than the more liberal qualifying standards currently in place.

Flipping through the applicant pool last month on Ultra Signup, it seemed to me that a good portion would already meet a 100 mile qualifying standard. So, with too much time on my hands as I work through an off-season injury, I decided to click through the site with Madame Defarge-like tenacity to get a more accurate sense of what proportion of the current applicant pool has completed a 100 mile race in 2008/2009 or at any other time, as found in the Ultra Signup database.

A few caveats. This is a slightly blurry snapshot. Applicants were being culled as I was going through, so it was a bit of a moving target. Some applicants clearly showed results for people with the same name. Foreign applicants often listed no results. I assume many of these runners had 100 mile equivalents, but I didn't count them, unless their profile photo showed them finishing UTMB (a very small number). Finally, crashed browsers or fighting kids may have resulted in a few errant clicks on my part.

So, what did the numbers show? Out of a current pool of 1519 approved and pending applicants, a little over 60 percent (923) have at some point completed a 100 mile race registered in the Ultra Signup database. Just under 54 percent (818) have completed a 100 mile race recently - in either 2008 or 2009.

Exactly what these results would mean for the size of a lottery requiring a 100 mile qualifier is unclear. Yes, the pool would be smaller, but it certainly wouldn't be an easy in. These numbers here are likely an underestimate, and still, over 900 applicants have completed a 100 miler in the past, over 800 of them fairly recently. If a 100 mile qualifier were put into place in a year like this one, it's likely that lottery numbers would still crest over 1,000, possibly well over.

The implications this would have on the quality and character of the race, I'll leave for others to discuss.

Poll Results: How Runners Light Up the Night

Ok, the results are in, and headlamps rule the night in this unscientific poll on the types of lighting ultrarunners prefer to make their way on darkened trail.

Headlamps by themselves (with no other light sources) came up tops, preferred by 35.5 percent of runners. When this percentage was combined with those who prefer a headlamp on the head as well around the waist, the percentage of folks using headlamps to light the way jumped to 64.5 percent.

Surprisingly, flashlights by themselves, with no other lighting sources came up with a low 6.5 percent. Save some from the new generation of super powerful headlamps, I'd choose a flashlight alone over a headlamp alone any day, just given the relief flashlights reveal.

Finally, those choosing a headlamp and handheld flashlight came out to 29 percent.

(click for larger image)

Runners' Poll: How do you light your way on nighttime runs?

Poll closes Monday, November 23 at 5:30pm (Mountain)

Ultrarunners can get pretty attached to their lighting sources. Pitch black backcountry trails have a way of teaching us very quickly what works and what doesn't. Share your thoughts on how you prefer to light the way on those through-the-night runs and see how you stack up with your compatriots. Really feel strongly about things? Leave a comment about the type of headlamp or flashlight you use and what you love and/or hate about it.

Poll Closed. Click for Results.

Vert Libre: The Swarm

They swarmed my passive black lab, and the mass turned like a hurricane tracked on radar - her small body the eye of the storm surrounded by churning golden fur. I could hear her yelps and all the growls, and picked up a rock - no fallen branches in reach - running to her defense. Seeing she wasn't alone, the pack fell away - seven, then five, then two. Then just she and I running down the gulch without looking back, rock still in my hand. We dared a quick drink at the junction, still breathing hard, then climbed the singletrack for home as if it had all happened long ago.

Vert Libre: free-form poetry and observations from the trail

RJ Review: Fenix L2D Q5 Flashlight

About ten years ago I read an article in the newspaper about the resurgence of men's hats - of the fedora, bowler varieties. One of the men quoted in the article, who'd recently bought a Homburg - a type of hat with a fashionably rugged style - said that whenever he put it on and went outside it made him feel like he was carrying a loaded gun.

Hyperbole, of course, and probably just plain ludicrous. But I nevertheless think of that quote every time I reach into my drop bag in the waning light and pull out my Fenix L2D Q5 flashlight for a long night on the trail. Something about this light just buoys my confidence.

I've used it on two long-night runs - Coyote Two Moon in March and Wasatch Front in September - and one short-night run - Bighorn 100 on the solstice - and in all settings, on all types of darkened trail, it was flawless. With up to 180 lumens, it's got plenty of power to light the way. Its focused beam is great for searching out trail markers, harrowing drop-offs, or those things that go crack in the night. The brushed aluminum body of the L2D feels solid in the hand (even a sweaty hand) and wipes off easily when gel loading goes bad. And for the brightness it delivers, it's compact and light.

Best of all, and the main reason I bought mine in the first place, is the battery life. In medium mode (53 lumens), with just two standard AA batteries, the L2D shined brighter and longer than I needed it to at Coyote and Wasatch, each with nighttime running between ten and eleven hours.

As with most anything, there are some minor frailties worth noting. First, some folks with bigger hands might actually find the light too small in diameter to comfortably carry for hours on end. My hands fit solidly in the "medium" bin, and the L2D works nicely for me. Those in the L/XL range, though, may find it a bit small. Second, and this is likely the biggest frailty, the L2D is pricey. It retails for around $60.00; though, there are some deals out there since it's being sunsetted for the newer LD20.

Overall, though, if you're looking to run your first or your fiftieth nighttime trail run and you've got a few dollars stored away, the Fenix L2D is a great light source that'll get you where you're going with confidence, and on just two AA's.

For detailed specs on different brightness modes (including SOS flashing!), lens coating, and other things I can in no way assess properly, click here.

More reviews on Run Junkie (reviews).

Vert Libre: Changes - Fall Running

The running is so different this time of year. Races done and the big miles logged. Once overgrown trails cut back by the dry tail-end of summer and new chill of fall. I know I should be resting but legs and singletrack yell "speed" and push me along with reminders that this run - today, right now - could be the last one before the snows put things to rest until March? April? Heaven forbid, May? And though the edge is a little rough and my waist a little more full, the PR's still come. So free is the running, so relaxed, my legs find the contours of the trails like they never did in the heat of the season. Up the valley, I see the full grey clouds dropping snow, and the forecast says they're coming this way. Time to see how fast I really am.

Vert Libre: free-form poetry and observations from the trail

Top Twenty @Run_Junkie Tweets from October 2009

For those intelligent folks disinclined to follow the Run Junkie Twitter feed but who have just a dash of voyeur in their souls, I offer this executive summary from the last month. Here they are, such as they are: the top 20 tweets of October from @run_junkie.

1. Beautiful early evening run yesterday through campus and around The Dish at Stanford. Pretty stout little loop.7:18 AM Oct 24th from Echofon
2. Yes, it dilutes things a bit. But why should it bother me? "Plodders Have a Place, but Is It in a Marathon?" - NYT: http://bit.ly/19SWYY5:32 AM Oct 23rd from Echofon
3. Palm Drive - Stanford: http://twitpic.com/mi0r612:20 PM Oct 22nd from Echofon
4. In Palo Alto with the family for the big 20th college reunion. Stopped by Zombie Runner, of course: http://twitpic.com/mhn2j10:41 AM Oct 22nd from Echofon
5. Something Buddhist about latte art. Impermanent. http://twitpic.com/mcpfu6:48 AM Oct 21st from Echofon
6. For a bookish ultra runner, how great to get a nod on the Ulysses "Seen" blog (1st paragraph)? - http://tinyurl.com/yjw7uwv8:42 AM Oct 20th from Echofon
7. New blog post: Race-Day Demons and Their Long Shadows http://bit.ly/rw7JN9:48 PM Oct 19th from twitterfeed
8. Bowling shirts & boner minutes. Coyote Two Moon 100 opens applications - a Chris Scott event not to be missed: http://coyotetwomoon.com7:33 AM Oct 19th from web
9. 1700 in the bowl as Western States 100 application period comes to a close. It's going to take some good luck in Dec to get a golden ticket.12:52 PM Oct 16th from Echofon
10. Nice run in the fall sun on some brand new singletrack. Hard to beat it.11:30 AM Oct 16th from Echofon
11. Lance seems to be France's White Whale, one hopes they don't meet the Pequod's end. VeloNews: http://bit.ly/13UIc69:21 AM Oct 13th from Echofon
12. Can't go wrong following Hicham El Guerrouj's example. "Exercise and company: Fitter with friends" | The Economist - http://shar.es/1l6qQ8:00 AM Oct 12th from ShareThis.com
13. New blog post: 10 for '10: Goals for the Season Ahead http://bit.ly/l5us56:47 PM Oct 11th from twitterfeed
14. Didn't run this morning. But I did spend 2 hours "cross-training" at the new pump park in Hailey. http://twitpic.com/l4v2l10:09 AM Oct 11th from Echofon
15. "Growth in Mountain Biking May Put Western Park Trails Off Limits" - NY Times: http://bit.ly/19LtNC7:38 AM Oct 11th from Echofon
16. Western States study: Quercetin does not affect rating of perceived exertion [or finish time]: Res Sports Med. 2009 - http://shar.es/1j9pM9:14 AM Oct 8th from ShareThis.com
17. Snow piling up atop Baldy. This didn't happen until mid December last year: http://www.sunvalley.com/Su...1:12 PM Oct 5th from Echofon
18. Sitting at Costco in Twin, eating pizza and wondering Rocky or Coyote10:58 AM Oct 2nd from Echofon
19. New blog post: Reflections on the 2009 Season http://bit.ly/27ouhF9:47 PM Oct 1st from twitterfeed
20. Name's in the WS hat. Feel like I should hit the sauna, just in case...7:07 AM Oct 1st from Echofon

Confronting Race-Day Demons and Their Long Shadows

We all have a race-day demon. Some of us are quicker to admit it than others, but for each of us, by the time we toe the line at an ultra-distance event, the specter of some past failure or some past breakdown haunts our psyches. For many runners, these demons float away as soon as the gun goes off. For others, they rear their heads post race. And for some, like me, they travel with us many miles and many hours along the trail.

My big demon? It's mile 39. It was at that point of the Grand Teton 50 in 2008 where things started to descend quickly into a nutritional DNF a few miles later on. And even though I've had some decent finishes at a number of harder and longer events since then, I still feel some level of relief every time I get past mile 39 in good shape.

And that's the thing about these demons. They can have long shadows that can cast across race after race, even training run after training run. We simply have to learn how to deal with them until they eventually fade away.

Training was my proving ground - The lab where I was able to build up a new calorie, fluid, and electrolyte plan that helped me toe the line at my first 100k with enough confidence that the demon of the Tetons, while not silenced, was somewhat muted. Race after race since then, the demon has been increasingly small and quiet, until at the 2009 Wasatch Front 100, mile 39 came and went without much notice (editors note, Wasatch was not without issues).

Of course, it's still something I occasionally think about, and rightfully so. The Teton DNF was a pivotal moment in my would-be ultra life, and one that could have easily been the death knell of the distance for me. But defeat (especially born of inaction) casts a longer and more indelible shadow than any sort of race-day demon that toes the line with us. By taking it head on, race after race, we weaken it until it dissolves completely.

I hadn't thought much about this topic until I read a piece in the most recent UltraRUNNING by Stan Beutler (UR; Oct 2009; pg 41) who chronicled his successful return to this year's Bighorn 100 seven years after a harrowing, near-death experience with hyponatremia in the 2002 race.

With great heart, he writes:
"When I crossed the finish line in this year's 100-mile race, I felt gratitude, more than triumph, relief, or any other emotion. I was grateful for the chance to make it all the way back."

That's what tackling our demons does. It brings us back, full circle. Yet, we return not as the same person who began the trip, but one who has grown mentally, physically, and maybe even spiritually in the process. Of course, most of our demons pale in comparison to Mr. Beutler's but what they all offer us is the chance for growth and the ability to look ahead knowing the future is ours to make.

10 for '10: Goals for the Season Ahead

With off-season life all bon-bons and foot massages and easy chairs, and my 2009 season summed up (here), why not move on toward goals for 2010? At no time will they seem more attainable than as I sit here sipping an Americano and eating some chocolate, so here they are, in no particular order. Some are pretty global; some pretty specific to local training.

1. Run a challenging 100 miler in under 24 hours. (PR 25:34, Wasatch)
2. Run Bald Mountain Trail (Sun Valley ski mountain) in under an hour. (PR 1:00:46).
3. Run Bald Mountain Trail in under 59:00.
4. Run Carbonate climb (trailhead to mineshaft) in under 26:00. (PR 26:37).
5. Write, and get published, more long-form pieces on ultra-running.
6. Write more poetry, running-inspired or otherwise
7. Find some level of relief from the full-price of shoes, equipment, and calories
8. Take more planned easy weeks during the heat of training
9. Get more group runs in with friends
10. Get at least two long runs on trails I've never trod

Reflections on the 2009 Season

Yes, there are a number of races yet to be run this year - but not by me. So, it seemed time to reflect on the long 2009 season before it faded away in my memory as planning for 2010 takes hold. Here, you'll find my "best of" list for 2009. I thought about including the "worst of" as well. But, in the balance of things, it seemed a little petty and belittling to what on all accounts was a really fabulous 2009. (The truly inquisitive can still glean the season's downsides in my Attackpoint training log).

Best race:

A toss-up between the Wasatch Front 100 and Pocatello 50. For pure effort and grit and successfully working through some tough times, it's Wasatch (see Best turnaround). For pure performance, it's got to be Pocatello.

Best race schwag:

The chock-full and esoteric Coyote Two Moon goodie bag, which included one very nice Patagonia Slopestyle Hoodie.

Best hike:

Idaho's Hyndman Peak (12,009), with my wife.

Best photo:

A tired AJW bringing up the rear in a training run post Western/Hardrock double.

Best video of someone else's race:

While it's hard not to give this to the AJW/Kevin Sullivan Leadville regurgitation special, it has to go to the pacer's view video of Kim Holak's Hardrock (below):

Best song:

Blitzen Trapper's Furr, which played a key role on one of my winter long runs, and which I played over and over during the night at the Bighorn 100.

Best sensation:

Entering the shaded woods of Bare Ass Pass at Wasatch after the baking heat between Big Mountain and Lambs.

Best quest for vertical:

The climbs up and runs down the snowy slopes of Sun Valley's Bald Mountain ahead of March's Coyote Two Moon 100k.

Best turnaround:

Getting past the early-stage GI meltdown at Wasatch and making it to the finish in decent shape and still OK time.

Best hardest track workout:

A Brad Mitchell special that finished with a 20-minute "tempo" with AJW and Brad leading the lightning charge. I stumbled home afterward with a tingling face and drank 32 ounces of chocolate milk.

Best training run:

The April quadruple Carbonate/Vorberg loop. 32 miles with 6,000 feet of climbing that felt about as effortless as it gets. Also inspired Best running-related poem.

Best running-related poem:

I didn't write too many this season, but the hands down winner was the This is Just Say knock off, which actually made it on the wall of my wife's office.