Badwater Training for Bob

bob becker is an amazing athlete. at 63 he's doing his second badwater. which is "the worlds toughest foot race" at 135 miles through death valley in july heat. he came to ultrarunning camp and blew my mind. i can only wish to be half the athlete he is at 63.. anyway yesterday after camp, and a morning run lisa had a special training session for bob in preparation for badwater (which is just 2 weeks away now). so he donned the white badwater suit and we power hiked up and ran down teton pass twice! yes, twice.. once up 22 and once up the old pass road (over 5,000ft of gain).






good luck at badwater bob!!.. oh and say hi to my friend jen segger if you see her! good luck to you too jen!

DreamChasers Ultrarunning Camp - Day 4

our last day with this amazing group.







camper dusty posted some great blogs on the camp if you want to read some more (including some tire pulling photos!).

DreamChasers Ultrarunning Camp - Day 3

DreamChasers Ultrarunning Camp - Day 2

DreamChasers Ultrarunning Camp - Day 1

ultrarunning camp is a blast. coaching with jay and lisa has been a lot of fun. they are amazing teachers. the groups is very diverse and eager to learn... and the terrain, the scenary.. my goodness - it could not be better. we're sleeping at 8,000ft at the grand targhee resort and running at altitude - it is perfect. i am truly in my element here. i'll let the pictures tell the rest of the days story.

On the Ultra Road Again

my original plan had me training in the wind river range. i've heard so many good things about these mountains it was time to give them a shot.. and i still might later in the month (if the snow ever melts). but a few days before the big horn 50 miler lisa smith batchen asked if i'd come join her in the tetons as a coach at her ultrarunning camp. this in effect was an an offer i couldn't refuse.


so here i am, once again in the tetons. man i love this place..

Big Horn 50 Mile Race Report, June 2008

for two years in a row i signed up for the big horn 100 miler and injured myself in preparation for the race. last year i showed up and won the 50km instead (the freshman race). this year i showed up and won the 50 miler (the jv race).

i love these mountains and this terrain. but what keeps me coming back is the race. michelle and her race crew do a great job and there is an ultra community feel to the races. the races are staggered so the 30km, 50km, 50 mile and 100 mile races all finish in the same afternoon in scott park. burgers, music and lots of worked runners all hanging out in the sun comparing war stories - perfect.

doing this race at all was sort of a last second thing. there was a hip injury i had to let heal, then the guide job, etc. i didn't have high hopes going in and since i won i've subsiquently been called a "sandbagger". but the 3 weeks prior were not promising. i had run and been dropped by all my friends - roch horton and karl meltzer in salt lake city, rod bien and sean meissner in bend. so my gauge on my fitness was... it's not good, and won't be good enough to win a 50 miler. i just figured it would be fun and a great training run if nothing else. in hind sight it was the travel, training and altitude that had me tired and with a proper taper it all came together.

ok the race...
6am start out of dry fork at about 8,000ft. as we ran down to cow camp (aid station 1) i headed out first. after a few minutes there were two other guys with me; seattle billygoat bill huggins and a guy i had battle with last year in the 50km race cameron hanes (if you see an underarmor billboard with a guy running it's cam).

after 45min or so bill stopped to "make a deposit". as we ran the over 3,000ft vertical downhill in 18 miles i was able to shake cam too. the first drop bags were at footbridge aid station mile 18. i was in and out grabbing two new bottles of lemon lime nuun and 6 new clif shots.

as i started my ascent i thought to myself "anyone can run down here as fast as i did, the real race starts on this climb". i probably had just 5-7 minutes on cam, and bill was 1 minute behind him. the climb out felt pretty good. my goal was to run everything, which i did sans the 4-5 stupid steep sections. my diesel engine was working hard but comfy as i headed back up to dry fork and mile 34 drop bags. i had quite a few opportunities to look back over pretty long stretches of trail and never saw another 50 mile runner. in fact, mile 18 footbridge was the last time i saw another 50 mile competitor. this seems great, but in reality i had to play some mental games with myself to keep moving fast. that was my struggle for this 50 mile race.

running up to dry fork at mile 34 i had some twinges of calf cramping, not uncommon for the first hot race of the season. kevin was there to help me and i had him do a double tab of lemon lime nuun in my nathan thermal quickdraws. with just 16 miles left and no one in sight behind me i knew the race was mine to lose.

i climbed pretty well up into the tongue river canyon and had my quads tenderized by the beautiful singletrack 3,000+ foot descent. hitting the dreaded last 5 miles of dirt/paved road i just focused on quick turn over and held onto sub 8/min miles which i thought was good (at least it felt fast). i was pretty excited to get the win and it was awesome to have ty and angle there to congratulate me - thanks guys!

first place female and me recieving our rock awards
the montrail streaks were the perfect shoe for the terrain
final results

2008 Big Horn 100 Miler - June, 2008

pre-race photos
jeff browning and jamie gifford
justin angle getting ready to rock
ty draney and his buddy eric taft (who ran the 50 miler)
serious firepower
the stage was set for an epic battle. jeff browning was back after a year off. he had won the 100 miler in 2005 and 2006. justin angle showed up from seattle as fit as i've ever seen him. honestly, training with him and watching his training log blew my mind. massive volume and impressive speed work all wrapped into one prepared seattlite. and the sentimental favorite ty draney was back to break the "curse of browning". the two years browning won ty took second. to round it out we had savvy vets jamie gifford and roch horton in the mix. if the front runners beat each other up too bad they'd surely sneak in there for podium spots.

the race started at 11am in the beautiful sun, just up the tongue river road.



as you can see in the video ty, angle, browning and a guy from bozeman showed up together at the first drop bag location mile 18. they were 30 minutes ahead of the course record"ish" splits.

after this i had to get to bed for my 3am wakeup call for my 50 mile race. but apparently browning made a move at like mile 40 (which is early in a 100) and ran scared the rest of his race. jeff finished in 18:56, with justin in at 19:26 and ty in at 19:54. just about 30 minutes behind each other... competitive to say the least, and some very impressive running by all three of them.

although i didn't see jamie gifford after the race i heard he dropped. apparently his hamstring locked up. roch horton finished strong 23:28 - another sub 24hr. the talk after was does that mean roch has to grow back the mustach?

full results

2008 Big Horn 100 & 50 Mile Quick Update

quick post. jeff browning once again won the big horn 100 miler with justin angle coming in second and ty draney in 3rd. i have video i'll post later.

i ended up having a good one and running out front all day for an 8:11 victory in the big horn 50 miler. and seattle billygoat bill huggins took 4th.

great day at the races. more later...

Lisa Smith-Batchen's 810

my dear friend lisa smith-batchen is at it again.. running for great causes and raising money to support the aids orphans foundation. see the press release below:

---

Dreamchasers Contact:
Ted Archer
Press Relations
650.248.8003
pr@dreamchaserevents.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

World Class Athlete to Attempt “Death Valley 810”

in Support of AIDS Orphans Lisa Smith-Batchen to Run 302 Miles, Bike 508 to Benefit 'AIDS Orphans Rising' Grand Tetons, ID – June 4, 2008 – Dreamchasers Outdoor Adventures, an organization that helps athletes of all abilities conquer the world’s toughest running events, today announced that its founder has planned an unprecedented running and cycling event to raise money for AIDS Orphans Rising. Lisa Smith-Batchen will run 302 miles and cycle 508 more, all through the Nevada and California deserts, and in temperatures approaching 130 degrees. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to children who have been orphaned as a result of the AIDS virus.

The event is designed to call attention to the fact that there will likely be 25 million AIDS orphans by 2010; the organizers hope to raise awareness and money in order to reduce the starvation, rape, and death that confront many AIDS orphans.

The event will begin on July 9th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lisa will run to Badwater in Death Valley National Park, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere at 292 feet below sea level—and the starting point for the world-famous 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon. She will then compete in the official Badwater race, followed by a run to the top of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States at 14,496 feet. Following the 302-mile run, she will complete the Furnace Creek 508, a 508-mile non-stop cycling event in October.

The 810-mile course is even more aggressive than Lisa’s 2006 “Badwater Double,” a 300-mile run she completed to raise $294,000 for AIDS Orphans Rising.

“There is no greater purpose than helping children who have been orphaned by AIDS,” Smith-Batchen said. “These children lose everything; I am so blessed to have the opportunity to use athletics to raise money for this worthy cause. I have increased the difficulty of this year’s event in hopes that our donors will help us contribute even more to AIDS Orphans Rising than in 2006. Together, we can have an incredible impact on children’s lives.”

Sister Mary Beth Lloyd, founder of AIDS Orphans Rising, said the following of Lisa’s upcoming Death Valley 810: “Lisa is an inspiration to our organization, to me personally, and to so many around the world. Her work with our organization has directly saved countless lives. We wish her the very best with this ambitious endeavor, and we thank her, the entire Dreamchasers crew, and all other donors to this cause for their commitment to helping women and girls avoid poverty, starvation, and death.”

Lisa’s Death Valley 810 in support of AIDS Orphans Rising can be followed via the event’s website at http://www.lisas810.com/. Individuals, endowments, and corporations interested in sponsoring the cause are encouraged to visit the website, contact Dreamchasers at info@dreamchaserevents.com or 208.787.2077, or contact AIDS Orphans Rising directly at http://www.aidsorphansrising.com/.

About Dreamchasers and Lisa Smith-Batchen
Lisa founded Dreamchasers Outdoor Adventures, a teaching organization, official representative for some of the world’s toughest ultra-endurance races, and promoter of the Grand Teton Races. One of the most accomplished ultra-runners of all time, Lisa has completed eight Badwater Ultramarathons, one 300-mile Badwater Double, and been the only American woman ever to win Morocco’s 150-mile Marathon Des Sables. She has been featured in the NY Times, LA Times, Washington Post, Runner’s World, Sports Illustrated for Women, and ESPN Magazine. She has also appeared on ESPN, Discovery Channel, NBC’s Nightly News, and Good Morning America. Visit http://www.lisas810.com/ or http://www.dreamchaserevents.com/.

About AIDS Orphans Rising
Every 14 seconds a Child Headed Household is formed. This means that every 14 seconds, a child under 18 is left to take care of his or her younger siblings. Where do they live? How do they survive? How will they learn to cope in life—let alone succeed? These are the painful questions that AIDS Orphans Rising tries to address. Founded by Sister Mary-Beth Lloyd of the Religious Teachers Filippini, the organization seeks to provide shelter, food, and other critical assistance to those orphaned by the AIDS virus. Please visit http://www.aidsorphansrising.com/.

Fleet Feet Bend Bandit Races

fleet feet bend loves nuun

my boyz at fleet feet bend put on a free trail race each month called the trail bandit series. i was lucky enough to be in town today for the 10 mile kiwa butte crawl on sunday.

ps: i might be moving to bend after my summer adventure!

meissner in full bandit attire

montrail streaks (everybody's wearin' em)

Run By The Mckenzie River

the honda.. ready to go!
saturday krissy, meissner and i got a good easy 21 miles in on the mckenzie river trail on the west side of the cascades in oregon. although it involved a lot of snow and trail finding it was a great day out. with less overall vertical gain and being about 3,000ft lower than we have been running i thankfully felt great.

only krissy and i were tough enough for the cold water soak post run

Blast From the Past

today i got an email from seegs titled "blast from the past" with these photos of us back in the day... it brought back good memories!

Pine Mountain Run (25 Miles East of Bend)

yesterday i proved to myself that i can't just go and go and go, and run and run and run. i ran 25 on saturday, 7 with some vert on sunday. monday i started in salt lake city, flew to seattle, packed my van frantically, then drove the 6+hrs to bend/sisters, oregon to train with meissner. we got about 5 hrs of sleep then tried to run 38 miles. yeah it didn't work out so well. i managed 21 good slow miles w/4,600 feet of gain in some cold and super windy conditions. meissner managed to get 30 while i slept like a dead person in the car.



today rod bien and i joined meissner on his recon mission for a 17 mile race he has planned 25 miles east of bend at pine mountain. some sweet views!

Squaw Peak 50 Miler 2008 - Provo Utah

yesterday cheryl, karl and i headed over to the squaw peak 50 miler. nuun was a sponsor and was at all the aid stations to replenish the runners electrolytes. this was cheryl's first attempt at 50 miles. with the 9,000+ft of climbing, snow to posthole through, rough rockie trail and elevation she chose a not so easy one for her first! i applaud her courage.

wasatch speed goat runners scott mason and bryon powell
the race starts at 5am and it was raining and cold. i felt bad for cheryl and the rest of the hearty soles towing the line. karl, bryan (who writes a great ultra blog of his own), joan and i then drove to the 1/2 way point. karl was pacing cheryl the last 25 miles and had mentioned i should just run it myself. sounded like a perfect way to get 25 good hard miles in and check the course out. since i was't a paying customer i carried in my nathan 020 pack all i needed to be self sufficient. 120 oz of water is heavy! although i started out very slow in the rain, it turned out to be a great run. if you are curious what the course looks like check out the video i took of it. i've added squaw peak to the list of must runs.

the trail was rocky, snowy, buttery smooth and shoe sucking muddy at times and once again the montrail streak held up beautifully!.. although i would not consider them a great mud shoe there wasn't a ton of mud. the streaks combined with the "best socks on the planet" my feet have never been so happy.

the race start in the dark rain
i was kicking in steps as i went at times

karl and cheryl - congrats cheryl on your first 50 miler!

video of 1st, 2nd and cheryl's finish...

SLC Update

here are some shots from today's run. i'm still lovin' utah. these are from my bell's canyon run today with meltzer. at one point it got steep and turned into a hike. my mind wondered to us hiking in maine, rockin' the appalachian trail! that's right.. it's back on baby! if you didn't know meltzer is going for the speed record on the AT. i'm starting in maine with him on august 5th and running to new hampshire - 281 miles later. 47 miles a day for 6 days. a couple days ago i sat in on karl's meeting with backcountry.com. they are the title sponsor for his appalachian assault and are making it all happen.. budgets, rv's, support, marketing and stickers... yes 300,000 whereskarl.com stickers! with the size of this project it's no wonder western states has become more of a distraction to him. he's got a lot riding on the AT assault. ** but i'm sure he'll still rip one at western. any way you cut it the masters record is going down this year (either meltzer or ajw imo).

---

tomorrow meltzer's wife cheryl is running her first 50 miler - the tough as nails squaw peak 50. nuun is sponsoring it so i'll be up there representing, taking photos and maybe runnin' a lil bit too.

Summer Fun Baby!

i'm currently hashing out my summer plans... here are some of my ideas:

• monday i head to bend/sisters, oregon to train with meissner. we'll hopefully also get out with rod bien and krissy as well. i'm praying for sun. this is dependant on the vw being fixed. =(
• big horn 50 - i'm not even close to in shape to run well so don't expect much, it will be perfect training for the bullet points below however.
• possibly a whole month camping and training in the wind river range (read this!) **i'd love/will need some company
• run the speedgoat 50km??
• running the entire maine section of the appalacian trail with meltzer in 6 days!
• gortex transrockies 6 day ultra through colorado with meissner!
• epic adeventures in the shire in september
• grindstone 100 miler in virginia

Wasatch Front 100 Run

salt lake city is awesome. the options for amazing trail running and riding seem endless. in quick order you can be out of the city up one of the many canyons that run east.

sunday was a beautiful sunny day with temps reaching the mid 80's. i rode my bike to roch horton's house and we drove up parley's canyon to our starting point - mile 53 aid station at lamb's pass on the wasatch 100 course. i couldn't have asked for a better tour guide on this amazingly beautiful and tough terrain. roch, who runs for the patagonia ultrarunning team is running the upcoming big horn 100 miler on june 20. we ran north"ish" past emmigrant pass and up to the mile 39 aid station at big mountain pass, where the mormon's first crossed the mountains into slc.

roch had treated me to his weekly hill session the day before. repeats on mount olympus to the first stream and back.. 3x for a total of about 4,300 feet of climbing. it was awesome! i woke up happy to not be sore the next day, but i had absolutely no spunk in my legs for this wasatch trail run. we made it from lamb's pass to big mountain pass in 2:57 with the majority of the climbing on the way out. totals for the day were about 28 miles in 5:37 with 6,400 feet of gain. so sweet.

---

my gear:
shoes: montrail streaks with teko ecopoly socks (zero blisters, they are a thing of the past for me with this shoe/sock combo!)
electrolytes: nuun orange ginger (my new favorite!) and u
fuel: clif shots and clif bloks
sunglasses: rudy project ekynox sx - perfect for coming in and out of the treed areas. the lenses change on their own and i don't even notice.

coming soon.. the video footage! (it's uploading now)

Voted Off The Island

yep - i'm done. it appears that my passion and my priorities don't align with what backroads is looking for in a trip leader. their would be no way for me to train and race while working for this company. the job is a 16hr a day all encompassing position. you have to live this job. as i said to meisner today "if i'm working 16hr days it's going to be on trail". it was an interesting experience and one i do not regret.

one door closes another one opens.

i'm actually pretty excited about scratching an old itch being free to travel the country racing and training. there are so many possiblilties going through my head right now; 100 milers, appalachian trail with meltzer, training in the colorado mountains, living a simple ultra life... bring it.