Archive | October, 2011

Kenyan Marathoner Wilson Kipsang

Wilson Kipsang Runs 2nd Fastest Marathon Ever at Frankfurt Marathon

Kenya’s Wilson Kipsang ran the 2nd fastest marathon ever recorded (on an official course)  at the Frankfurt Marathon on Sunday morning in Germany in 2:03:42.

Fellow countryman Patrick Makau, just a month ago, set the new world record for the marathon at 2:03:38.

It was the second consecutive win for Kipsang at the Frankfurt Marathon.

Kenyans took home 9 of the top 10 spots.

Frankfurt Marathon Top 10 Results

  1. Wilson Kipsang (Kenya) – 2:03:42
  2. Levy Matebo (Kenya) – 2:05:16
  3. Albert Matebor (Kenya) – 2:05:25
  4. Philip Sanga (Kenya) – 2:06:07
  5. Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot (Kenya) – 2:06:29
  6. Peter Kirui (Kenya) – 2:06:31
  7. Chumba Dickson Kiptolo (Kenya) – 2:07:23
  8. Siraj Gena (Ethiopia) – 2:08:31
  9. Duncan Koech (Kenya) – 2:08:38
  10. Henry Sugut (Kenya) – 2:08:56

Congrats to Wilson! I’m sure Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is extremely pleased with his good friend.

Mamitu Daska won the women’s race, finishing in 2:21:59.

Posted in Marathon, Running0 Comments

Marine Corps Marathon

Chad Ware Wins 2011 Marine Corps Marathon (Results)

Chad Ware won the 36th Marine Corps Marathon early Sunday morning in Washington, D.C. with a time of 2:26:37.  Ware is a first lieutenant in the United States Army.

Top 5 Male – Marine Corps Marathon Results

  1. Chad Ware (Wheeling, IL) – 2:19:16
  2. Michael Wardian (Arlington, VA) – 2:23:46
  3. Patrick Fernandez (Alexandria, VA) – 2:26:37
  4. Keith Matiskella (Leavenworth, KS) – 2:27:23
  5. Adam Condit (Cedar Rapids, IA) – 2:29:28

Turkey native Tezata Dengersa won the women’s race in 2:45:28 just 27 seconds ahead of second place finisher Emily Shertzer.

Top 5 Female – Marine Corps Marathon Results

  1. Tezata Dengersa (Ellicott City, MD) – 2:45:28
  2. Emily Shertzer (Jonestown, PA) – 2:45:55
  3. Getachew Shiferaw (Ellicott City, MD) – 2:47:30
  4. Autumn Ray (Tucson, AZ)- 2:49:42
  5. Sandra McClellan (Spring Park, MN) – 2:52:35

Marine Corps Marathon Results (Searchable)

Run It Fast Ragnar team member Scott Flowers ran his first marathon at MCM today and finished in 3:58:17.

Congrats to David, Narr, and all the runners that completed the MCM today.

Posted in Marathon, Results, Running1 Comment

Big Dog Backyard Ultra Race Report (Wartrace, TN)

Big Dog Backyard Ultra Wartrace TN

As Tom Dolan said, “What was I thinking?”

I had wanted to run the Big Dog, a 4.2 mile trail loop that is run once an hour, every hour, until the last man is left standing, when I first heard of it but, for some reason, did not sign up. Sometime early September, Forrest started talking about it and I decided to get in, then found that the 42 person limit was full. Along with missing out on getting in Umstead 100, I had already struck out twice.

Friday afternoon, I got an email, letting me know that a few runners had come to their senses and decided either not to run or could not make it and that there was a couple openings, and if I wanted to I could get in. I immediately decided that yes, I wanted to run, then figured that I really needed to ask Terri since she had our Saturday evening planned. I called Terri, all excited, and as dedicated wives usually do, was cleared to go “play in the woods”.

Sometimes short notice on something like this is really all you need. Dolan had been on me for 2 weeks to go to Chicago with him and run the 50 miler and I had thought about it, but really could not miss Friday and Saturday work. He had come by earlier and I gave him my half bottle of Hammer Electrolyte tabs. Never thought I would need them this weekend. Boy, could I have used them! When I got home from work around 6, I started getting my stuff together. I’m pretty anal about a lot of things when it comes to racing, everything has to be right or I stress about it. I got a loose pair of shorts, My red Strolling Jim Tee shirt, The Swamp2K singlet for when it got warm (70 degrees) light jacket, gloves, 2 pair of trail shoes in case I needed them and a pretty good selection of food (Fig Newtons, pretzels, Peanuts, bananas, 2 gallons of water and a 2 liter bottle of Mt Dew (great for long distance running), put it all on ice and went to bed around 9 for a 3AM wakeup.

The clock went off, and I quickly got my stuff in the truck and headed out. It’s about 65 miles to Laz’s house and I made it with about an hour and a half before the 7AM start time. I always like to get to a race with plenty of time to unwind. When I pulled up, there were about 20 tents set up in the yard with sleeping runners inside. Most of the 42 runners were from out of state, only 6 were from Tennessee. You really have to know Laz to realize the influence he has on crazy ultra runners. One of my intentions in running this race was to get to know him better, since my 2013 plans include running the Barkley Marathons at Frozen Head State Park and there are only 35 entrants allowed in Barkley, which is one of the hardest races in America to get into. I setup my folding table about 15 feet from the official race tent and right beside the trail that we would be running on. I spent a half hour getting my stuff just exactly where I wanted it so I could grab what I needed without having to dig. Body glide, bandaids, headlamps, clothing changes, etc would not be a problem finding.. Once I got setup, I spent the next 45 minutes mingling with the awakening runners. My buddy Naresh, who ran the Vol state 500k in July in a pair of Vibrams was one of the first to greet me (He wore the Vibrams here too), then Diane Taylor (no relation) who runs every ultra that she can. I met a bunch of folks that I had read about, some heavy hitters in the ultra community.

At 6:57, the whistle blew 3 times, then 6:58 two times, then one and at precisely 7AM, Laz rang the cowbell and we were off. The loop consisted of a short out and back on the highway so the runners could string out a bit before hitting the single track trail. From the start to the highway was a small rise, which turned out to really be a bear in later hours. Down a hill and a turnaround at the gas tank, which literally was a car gas tank laying 20 feet off the road. It was a bit wet as we circled the gas tank, which turned into slop in later runs. Back up the hill on the highway and the turn into Laz’s driveway, past the tents, up the hill, and the hard left onto the singletrack. At this point, I was in 3rd or 4th place and really did not know what to expect since I had not been on the trail. Most of the runners had walked the trail with Laz the day before and had some sort of familiarity with it. I quickly figured that there would not be a whole lot of passing once you got going. Immediately, Laz’s evilness showed up when, as we entered the trail on what should have been a short straight part, he had wiggled the trail between cedar trees, in and out and in and out for about 30 feet, just enough to break any momentum that you might have. Then across some big rocks that you literally had to jump off of as you descended the hill, curves, up another hill and on and on. At the 7/10 mile mark, we passed Laz’s backyard then an hard turn and down another hill. Where the ground appeared smooth, there were roots and little stobs where trees had not been cut even with the ground. Another left hard turn and at the mile mark was a small cedar tree that was leaning into the path and you had to lean over to keep it from slapping you in the face. At this point, I was in second place behind Sal Coll, who was about 50 feet in front of me.

More rocks to jump off of and then the first creek bed (on the return loop, this would be the One mile to go mark). The creek was 60-70 feet of big 10-15 lb loose flat rocks that would move if you didn’t step just right. Up the bank, another wiggle place in and out of small cedar trees and into a clearing for 100 feet. Back into the woods and a jump between 2 trees that were growing in a V shape. You almost had to turn sideways to get through them. Somewhat past this, you came into what would later be called the Perpetual loop. Up a pretty good hill with a bunch of stones (which I walked on most laps) then a right, up another hill with a cave on the left at the top of the hill. More curves, a 1/4 of downhill, which felt pretty good, then another creek bed to cross and up another hill. A great big shagbark hickory had fallen and it had to be climbed over. The rough shagbark would tear at your bottom as you scooted across it. This thing ended up being part of ending my race. As I threw my legs over, it caused a pretty good charleyhorse to work up in the back of my leg. At the 2 mile mark was a big rock that had enough room to scoot between it and the fence. The next 1/2 mile or so was up and down with at least 2 places where you ran between big rocks with lots of hard turns, then a long straight place, along a fence then a turn into another meadow that was slightly downhill with sagegrass and lots of loose rocks. A giant oak tree with a deer stand was on the left and then we made a hard right back into the woods, through some marshy ground, which got sloppy after a few loops and back up another hill, in and out of trees. Another long straight place, along a fence and then….the perpetual loop began. I did not notice that at the end of the fence, I was suppose to turn 360 and follow the other side of the fence, so I went on, back up the rocky hill and as I passed the cave on the left, Since I am quite observant of my surroundings, I quickly figured out that I had been here before. I was quite a bit in front of the 3rd place guy, so I stopped and listened for runners. I could hear nothing, so I turned around and ran back to the fence where I ran into Chase Cantrell. At that point we made the correct turn. 11 of the later runners ran completely around that mile loop the 2nd time and I think one ran it 3 times. The crazy thing is that most of these had walked the course the day before! In the daylight!

At that point, we were back on the original mile back, wiggle through the cedars, the creek bed with the big flat stones, jump through the V tree and follow the fence. You really had to watch your footing in this place due to the stobs and roots. A Hard turn to the right and up the hill to the backyard of Laz’s house. At that point, it was about 1/3 mile back to the finish. The final part had the big rocks that we had to jump off of, except this time, you were going the other direction. Once on top of the rocks, through a clearing with a telephone line overhead, wiggle through the cedars and a hard right onto the road back to the finish.

I finished my first lap in 44:00 or so, and felt pretty good. I took a small rest in my chair, drank some water, ate a bit and waited on the rest to come in. There was some worry in the camp that some of the pre-race favorites were not going to make in within the 60:00 cutoff time (they were on the perpetual loop) and as the time wound down, it was obvious that they would not make it. At that point, Laz decided that he would bend the rule and allow them to start the next loop as long as they could finish both laps in 2 hours. A couple did not make it and a couple hit it with only seconds to spare. At 7:57, the whistle blew three times, then 2, then 1 and at 8AM, the cowbell rang and we were off again. This time, I had a good idea what to expect and race my run under control. Needless to say, I never missed the loop part again. Someone had thrown down a red hat to mark the spot, which helped a lot. I finished 2nd again, in 42 something, about half a minute behind Sal Coll. Laz mentioned that we were running faster. At the end of lap 2 there were 2-3 runners already gone.

Lap 3 started at 9AM and again, I handled it with no problems and finished in about 45-46 minutes. I kept noticing that some of the guys were finishing in the mid 50s and decided that maybe that is what I should have been doing. Less time to cramp up, of course, less time to rest, but in some cases, rest is not good. I finished lap 3 in about 48:00, then lap 4 under 50:00. It was getting warm and at that point, I changed my tee shirt for a singlet and started carrying a water bottle. Lap 5 was in the low 50s, lap 6 around 52. Almost every lap, we were losing runners and by lap 7 there were about 18 runners left in the field. It was getting harder. I had run a hard 9 mile Longview hill run on Thursday, which I would have never done 2 days before a race and I was starting to feel the effect of that. Lap 7, I came in under 53 and then lap 8. Every time I climbed over the big shagbark hickory, my charleyhorse was working me, then I started having an issue with the left hip. When I finished lap 8, I had just about all that I wanted. I finished in the 54 min range and could have certainly gone on, but decided to call it a day.

I was really getting hungry, having run for 8 hours so I wolfed down a bunch of food and sat in my chair while lap 9 started and finished. I watched 9-10-11 and at the beginning of lap 12, darkness was coming upon us. The winner of lap 12 would receive $50 and we all watched Dave from Ontario whip the field to claim the $50 in the dark. By the time lap 13 had started, the field had dwindled to about 8-10 and runners were doing face plants. Laz had built a big bonfire and as it was getting cold, the survivors had pulled their chairs around the fire to warm up and cook some brats. My first attempt at the brat resulted in a half cooked brat, which after a bite of a slimy bratwurst resulted in several more minutes of cook time. Sal Coll’s wife had made some awesome nut bread which he gave a loaf to each person there and we ate brats, bread and told war stories while the remaining runners ran in the dark. Lap 13 finished at 8PM and at 9, the cowbell rang again. Runners were coming in without smiles on their faces and in some cases, barely made it in time to start again. Lap 13 had 2 runners to finish in 59:59. At that point, once lap 14 began, I went to get the truck to load my junk all up. I was tired, had a lot to do on Sunday and decided to trek it on home to Gallatin.

I ended up running 8 laps, finishing in 17th place, a pretty decent showing considering that almost all that were there were Ultra legends. Counting 2 runs to the truck and back and a small 3 mile run after I quit, I ended up with about 41 miles for the day. Not too bad, since I had no idea that I would be running the day before.

The race ended up going 18 laps and Tim Englund from Seattle WA ran one more lap than Dave from Ontario. I think the race finished at 1AM. I read about it all the next morning on the chat page.

What did I learn from this race? First, that if you are in really good shape, you can do just about anything you want to, That Laz has a demented mind. I met a lot of cool people from all over the USA and Canada that I will run with again.

What would I do different? I would run all my laps in the 53-55 min range with less time to rest. Those first 4 laps were too fast. I would not have quit at 8. My goal was 10-12 and I was a wienie for stopping. Winners don’t quit. If I had known that I was running earlier, I would have camped there.

Will I run this race again? Absolutely!!! Would not miss it for anything. Next year, I will drag some of my HRC buds to Wartrace with me to experience Big Dog Ultra.

Posted in Race Reports, Running, Ultra Marathon1 Comment

Where Run It Fast Runners Are Running This Weekend! (October 29-30, 2011)

Where Run It Fast Runners Are Running This Weekend! (October 29-30, 2011)

We asked on Twitter (@runitfast) where you were running this weekend and a record 43 of you responded!

Good luck to everyone running this weekend, especially all of you that are running your first 1/2, full, or any distance.  Run It Fast!!!!

The biggest race this weekend is the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C.

Scott Stader – @ScottStader – where am I running u ask? The Bad Apple Ultra outside of Grand Rapids, Micheeegan. How bout them apples??

Gerard Pescatore – @GPescatore – Last long run (21+) in prep for Philly Marathon!

Lori Dee – @lulububbly – Monster Dash half marathon in Chicago!

Rosario Garcia – @Chayo_RGH – South Mountain 10 miler.. Bethlehem, PA.. tough hill!!

Jon King – @jonmking – last weekend before

Ms. Swan – @SheRunsforLove – Chicago Monster Dash!! In full costume 🙂 bzzz bzzz

Reni Marlina – @renimarl1na – I’ll be racing 10K on Standard Chartered Half Marathon & 10K at RagunanZoo in Jakarta 🙂

Shawna – @ssulax33 – Silver Comet Half Marathon, GA. First.Half.Ever!

Michele Gonzalez – @nycrunningmama – Poland Spring Marathon Kick-off in NYC on Sunday! (5 miler)

Kara Navas – @karanavas – 20 mile training run in my Bronx neighborhood… in the snow and rain. Can’t say I’m looking forward to it.

Chad Norton – @cnorton0818 – Marine Corps Marathon in DC

Dean Luther – @deanlu1 – Wicked 10k in Va Beach.

Jeremy Holley – @jeremy_ms – I’m running in the Race for the Cure 5K in Tupelo, MS!

Andy Caulkett – @Andy7532 – Original Mountain Marathon at Crieff in Scotland

Niall Coppinger – @standupdouble – does a bank holiday Monday count as W/E? If so, @dublinmarathon with 14,000 soul mates.

Cassie B. – @CassieBritton82 – running the Rock and Roll LA Half with my husband, sister in law and friends!

Dean Cornish – @DeanCornish1966 – 3 of us from Igloo Books in UK are running Frankfurt Marathon on Sunday, and Dublin Marathon the following day.

Terri Selig – @TerriSelig – racing the Monster Dash 1/2 Marathon, Chicago Saturday!!!!

Kat – @kljwm – I’ll be hitting the Monster Dash Half in Saint Paul, MN!

Ricky Wood – @WoodRicky – i will be running my 34th half marathon this year in barns green horsham. -)

Sun Torke – @storke10 – I’m racing the Haunted Hustle Half Marathon in Middleton, Wisconsin on Saturday morning!

Michelle Hibbert – @HibbertMichelle – I’m running the Great South Run in portsmouth for the @mssocietyuk ….

Amber M. – @amber4miles – Race of the Dead 5k in Chicago!

April Rossetti – @AprilRossetti – Saturday I will be racing at UMD in the XC alliance meet & Sunday I will be racing in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure in BO!

Jeremy Aaronson – @JeremyAaronson – MCM! Time to take on the MCM “Gauntlet’

Boone Marathon Series – @Boone_Marathon – BMS Autumn Leaves Marathon on Saturday.

H K – @Jirnsum – Will be trying to run off an impending jet-lag back home in The Netherlands after spending the week in DC

Karen French – @everhippie – Tustin/Irvine, CA area. RT Where are you running/racing this weekend? Responses will be used in post later this morning!! 🙂

Colleen Lerro – @ColleenLerro – Marine Corps Marathon! #36thmcm

Regular Runner – @RegularRunner – Will be running in Montreal, going to go up that damn mountain again!

Alex Davis – @alex45674 – In Ashford Kent, with my club. Not a race, just usual 10-12 miler on a Sunday.

Danielle Marquis – @Nello33 – I will be running at the Race for the Cure in South Boston on Sunday!

Evan Gilead – @wanderingpenman – Miami Halloween Half with @HurricanePhipps.Runnin’ hard and taking names.

MassielSim – @massielSm – I’ll be running 5 miles in the Panama Canal area in Central America this Saturday. I’ll shoot you a pic while there.

Theresa Unruh – @RNrunnerdiva – Tulsa Run!! 🙂

Janine – @TheRamblingDuck – I shall be waddling in the #greatsouthrun as @fibroduck

Jeffery Stefancic – @JeffStefancic#bighithalf in Louisville, KY.

Journey Steward – @JourneySteward – The Marine Corps Marathon in DC! My first full marathon….eek!

Rebecca Mudd – @BeccaM88 – Great South Run, Portsmouth. Running for @TheBHF !

MichaelJackson901 – @mjasbond007 – Big Hit 1/2 marathon in Louisville, Ky!!!

David McDonnell – @mcdonnellracing – I’m doing the Bromley park run.

Michael Champagne – @iamchampy – Halloween Wrentham Duathlon!

April Shelly – @aprilshelly – Run Like Hell 6k tomorrow night in Allentown, PA. Possibly in a snowstorm.

Posted in Running0 Comments

Rock N Roll St. Louis Marathon 2011

Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Louis Marathon & 1/2 Marathon Medal (Inaugural)

The inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Louis Marathon & 1/2 Marathon took place over the weekend on October 23, 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Both the full and half finisher’s medals were similar except for the color of the ring circling around the medal. The full was red (Cardinals red) and the half was navy.

Overall, I think it’s a very pretty medal that focuses on St. Louis’ most historic landmark, the Gateway Arch, with a riverboat at the base of it.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Stl full medal photo submitted by David D. Follow him on Twitter @bigcat48.  Stl half medal photos submitted by Lauren Stone (@laurens3386) and Kevin Kozuszek (@kkozuszek).

Posted in Bling, Featured, Half Marathon, Marathon, Medals0 Comments

Mount Lemmon Marathon Medal 10232011

Mount Lemmon Marathon Medal (2011)

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Mount Lemmon Marathon & 1/2 Marathon that took place in Tucson, Arizona on October 23, 2011.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

Mount Lemmon Marathon Website

[Medal photo submitted by Robert Boluyt. Follow him on Twitter @Bateluer]

Posted in Bling, Featured, Marathon, Medals1 Comment

sonny-tweet-garmin-pls

Why Doesn’t Garmin Have a Solar Powered Running Watch?

My good running friend, Chris Estes, and I often ask each other, “Why doesn’t Garmin have a solar powered running watch?

We live in a day in age where many things are solar powered.

Sure, Garmin has the 310XT that has a near 20-hour battery life, but for those of us that run extreme ultras of 100-miles+ that just isn’t nearly long enough.

I am fortunate enough to have the 310XT and my old 305 that I usually tag-team to get me through a 100 but it’s not ideal.  Either I have to wear both throughout the entire race or try to figure out which drop bag to leave the 305 in for when the 310XT will die.

How hard would it be to have a mini solar panel on the Garmin watch-face to power it once the battery life wore down or to extend it?  12 hours of sunlight would have to be worth something.

I posed the question on Twitter and many of you agreed or had your own solutions you replied with:

According to the numerous replies I received, the market is there for a solar or kinetic powered GPS watch.

Can Garmin make it happen?

Garmin, are you listening?  If you aren’t, then your competition likely is…

Posted in Running, Ultra Marathon3 Comments

Myrtle Beach 5K – 2011

Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon Medal (2011) – Unique and Pretty

Here is the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon finisher’s medal from the race that took place on October 23, 2012.

This medal was designed by Darius Daniel, who won a contest on Facebook to design the medal.  You can follow him on Twitter @dzoid11.

Memo to Race Directors: You might want to hire this guy to design your bling!!

Also, below you will see the beautiful Myrtle Beach 5K medal as well.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal photos submitted by Darius Daniel (see above) and Jen. Follow Jen on Twitter @PhilanthropyInk]

Posted in Bling, Featured, Half Marathon, Medals0 Comments

Niagara Falls Marathon USA 2011 Medal

Niagara Falls International Marathon Medal (2011)

Above is the finisher’s medal from the 2011 Niagara Falls International Marathon that took place on October 23, 2011 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

The flag near the top of the medal spins and rotates between the USA and Canadian flags.

A very spiffy medal….we like it!!!

MORE MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS & BUCKLES

Niagara Falls International Marathon Website

[NFIM medal pics submitted by Patrick Conlen. Follow him on Twitter @pconlen]

Posted in Bling, Featured, Marathon, Medals0 Comments

Bloody 11W 100 Mile Buckle – 2011

Bloody 11W 100 Mile Ultra Belt Buckle (Inaugural)

Six started, three finished. It was ugly, bloody, and extremely tough!

And now we have proof that it actually took place.

Here is the finisher’s buckle from the inaugural Bloody 11W 100 Mile Ultra that took place on September 3-5, 2011 in Tennessee.

Bloody 11W 100 Mile Ultra Website

[Submitted by RD Naresh Kumar. Follow him on Twitter @iamarunr]

Posted in Bling, Featured, Medals, Ultra Marathon0 Comments


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