Archive | August, 2014

Grand Canyon Now Requiring Permits for R2R2R Crossings

Grand Canyon Announces $175 Permit Requirement for Runners

The Grand Canyon has released new rules requiring groups of runners to apply for and pay for a permit to run there. Runners and adventure seekers had been awaiting for this news to fall from the National Park Service for several weeks.

From Runner’s World:

As a result, officials announced today that they will take measures to ensure that groups who dare to traverse that single crossing, double crossing or even running from the rim down to the Colorado River and back in one day are aware of the wilderness etiquette and safety precautions that are needed for a successful run or hike. Organized groups planning such endeavors will be required to apply for a $175 special use permit beginning on Sept. 15, 2014.

Runners and hikers alike have been taxing park rangers and resources by getting into serious health trouble while biting off more than they can chew with the canyon’s deceptive heat and stairway to heaven climbs.

“Park rangers are also seeing an increase in unprepared and injured rim-to-rim participants resulting in additional search-and-rescue responses, which then results in an overall delay of all search-and rescue operations,” according to the news release.

Experienced ultrarunner Ian Torrence, who has worked for the National Park Service, agrees with the NPS decision and thinks its been a long time in coming:

“There’s a price for fame and we’ve done that to the Grand Canyon through publicizing fastest-known-times, posting videos and having runs covered in the magazines,” he said. “Now it’s on the park to cover their bases. They’re not stopping us from running there, but they are controlling who is making money off of it and adding a safety component. I think it should have been done a long time ago.”

The permits can be applied for starting on September 15, 2014. Beyond the $175 price tag, there are requirements that come with the permit including:

Oltrogge added that a group of seven will need to have one member who is certified as a wilderness first responder or certified in emergency response, CPR and first aid. A group of more than seven will need two certified people.

It’s an affordable price tag when split amongst a group taking on Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim (R2R2R), single crossing, or going down to Phantom Ranch and back in one day. Some people are just abusers of nature and it’s beauty by littering it and not using common sense for themselves, others, and park rangers.

Read more about the NPS Decision at Runner’s World

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Run It Fast Runners at Badwater – Eric Spencer, Ed Ettinhausen, Joshua Holmes 2014 – Run It Fat

Run It Fast’s Extreme Racer Standings (July 2014)

Extreme Racer – (thru July 2014)

I would love to say that we finally have the hottest month of the year behind us. But it seems, at least in Tennessee, that August has been much hotter than July, and September isn’t looking too promising either. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am very much looking forward to some autumn running and racing.

Here are the Extreme Racer standings through July. On the men’s leaderboard, RIF #121 Ed Ettinghausen is still in the lead with 1,868.8 points. Our fearless leader, RIF #1 Joshua Holmes, has taken over the #2 spot with 960.8 points. RIF #279 George Southgate is in third place with 877.37 points. Both Ed “the Jester” and Joshua ran and completed Badwater 135 this month.

On our ladies’ leaderboard, RIF #323 Jennifer Hatcher is in the lead with 699.4 points. RIF #159 Diane Bolton is just a marathon behind Jennifer with 674.2 points. RIF #134 Robin Mancinelli takes third place with 555.6 points.

Throughout the year, 53 Run It Fast club members have competed in the Extreme Racer competition. Just among those 53 runners, RIF has completed 15,402.79 race miles. These miles include 117 5ks, 22 10ks, 57 half marathons, 229 marathons, 9 50-milers, 27 100-milers and a handful of other distances.

The Extreme Racer standings through July are as follows:

Extreme Racer Top 10 Leaderboard:

1. Ed Ettinghausen – 1868.8 (RIF #121)
2. Joshua Holmes – 960.8 (RIF #1)
3. George Southgate – 877.37 (RIF #279)
4. John Kent Leighton – 803.9 (RIF #190)
5. Jennifer Hatcher – 699.4 (RIF #323)
6. Diane Bolton – 674.2 (RIF #159)
7. Hideki Kinoshita – 640.8 (RIF #88)
8. Shane Tucker – 603.06 (RIF #337)
9. Robin Mancinelli – 555.6 (RIF #134)
10. Heather Zeigler – 548.7 (RIF #246) 

Extreme Racer Male Leaderboard:

1. Ed Ettinghausen – 1868.8 (RIF #121)
2. Joshua Holmes – 960.8 (RIF #1)
3. George Southgate – 877.37 (RIF #279)
4. John Kent Leighton – 803.9 (RIF #190)
5. Hideki Kinoshita – 640.8 (RIF #88)
6. Shane Tucker – 603.06 (RIF #337)
7. Bill Wells – 515.7 (RIF #327)
8. Denis McCarthy – 428.52 (RIF #263)
9. Jeff Le – 392.6 (RIF #248)
10. Danny Staggs – 361.3 (RIF #186)
11. Jeff Lui – 325.1 (RIF #275)
12. Rob Distante – 255.805 (RIF #259)
13. Ben Pennington – 207.6 (RIF #315)
14. Bill Baker – 160.6 (RIF #196)
15. Eric Waterman – 133.33 (RIF #289)
16. Eric Spencer – 121.23 (RIF #320)
17. Arland Blanton – 107.9 (RIF #290)
18. Nathan Bass – 106.8 (RIF #174)
19. Jeff Van Demark – 82.2 (RIF #322)
20. Roy Tamez – 74.8 (RIF #324)
21. Stephen Griffin – 68.6 (RIF #48)
22. Robin Robbins – 56.7 (RIF #33)
23. Alex Barrientos – 41.7 (RIF #258)
24. Dennis Arriaga – 39.3 (RIF #140)
25. Brendan Thompson – 37.4 (RIF #274)
26. Jason Scott – 26.2 (RIF #265)
27. Steven Reagan – 16.2 (RIF #157)

Extreme Racer Women’s Leaderboard:

1. Jennifer Hatcher – 699.4 (RIF#323)
2. Diane Bolton – 674.2 (RIF #159)
3. Robin Mancinelli – 555.6 (RIF #134)
4. Heather Zeigler – 548.7 (RIF #246)
5. Carol Earles – 541.8 (RIF #287)
6. Suzanne Michelson – 437.6 (RIF #280)
7. Belinda Young – 359.3 (RIF #358)
8. Christy Scott – 296.9 (RIF #231)
9. Kim Crowe – 255.8 (RIF #245)
10. Julia Beavers – 213.8 (RIF #339)
11. Christy Bowers – 207.47 (RIF #60)
12. Amanda Staggs – 191.3 (RIF #210)
13. Alicia Eno – 181.5 (RIF #126)
14. Marj Mitchell – 173.9 (RIF #4)
15. Amber Goetz-Bouchard – 172.8 (RIF #15)
16. Donna England – 168.9 (RIF #277)
17. Tiffani Glass – 125.1 (RIF #328)
18. Michelle Lenahan – 114.8 (RIF #283)
19. Shannon Miller – 85.4 (RIF #338)
20. Sue Stephens-Wright – 38.6 (RIF #321)
21. Kristen Love – 26.2 (RIF #238)
22. Natalie Torres – 13.1 (RIF #72)
23. Lisa Gonzales – 6.3 (RIF #5)

The first half of the year is already past, but every race mile counts! There are still a few cool months of the year left to get in those miles and really enjoy a fast race.

There is no drawing this month, but the random drawing will continue in the month of August.

Join Run It Fast – The Club

[Extreme Racer points are rewarded per each racing mile completed. Example: marathon = 26.2 points, half marathon 13.1 points, etc.

 

Posted in Extreme Racer, Running, THE CLUB0 Comments

LLHM 2014

Running From Cancer – Queen Of The Road

Note: I’m writing a series on my bout with ovarian cancer and how my running was affected by it and helped me deal with it. You can read Part 1 for a little history on my running and cancer herePart 2  for a look at how I planned my running while going through chemotherapy here Part 3 for how I took things one day at a time here, and Part 4 how I returned to running here.

On Sunday, August 18, 2013, I took what would be the first of many tests in my cancer journey. I remember thinking “I have to pee” (I had to drink a boat load of water before hand) and wondering what they would find as I waited to take the ultrasound. I think at that time I still had some small hope that it was fibroids or something easy to fix. I got my first inkling that it was more than that when the technician (who didn’t have a very good poker face) made a comment something along the lines of “you didn’t feel uncomfortable or pain before this”? She wasn’t allowed to tell me what she saw but I knew then it wasn’t going to be the easy fix I’d hoped for.

The past year has flown by. It feels like yesterday that I was sitting in that waiting room with my mom, both of us scared but not admitting it to each other. So much has changed since then but so much is still the same. I am still the same woman who loves running and riding and reading but now I have fun stuff like hot flashes and a slower metabolism and doctor’s appointments to make life interesting. But really, the only thing that matters is that I am an Ovarian Cancer survivor and I am finally…thank goodness…finally getting back to some semblance of normal.

Fast forward one year from that ultrasound to August 17, 2014 and the Leading Ladies Half Marathon, my 27th half. That day had so much more hope and joy than the year before. It felt like my rebirth. I was a runner again.

Let me back up a little first. In my last post, I talked about finally getting back to running and racing again. Sadly, I didn’t make much progress after that post. My times were still slow and I still wasn’t losing any weight. I was still exhausted some days. I had to do something drastic! I had been thinking of joining 24 Hour Fitness and decided to make the leap. I not only joined 24 Hour Fitness, but I booked 12 weeks with a trainer! Yikes! I needed someone to push me and help me get my body back. My trainer asked me what my goals were and I told him they were to lose weight, and get total overall body strength so I could do anything I wanted to do – running, rock climbing, a pull up. I want to be ready for whatever adventure pops up.

The first sessions were hard and exhausting. I would get home at night after a training session and fall asleep before 8 pm. I had to do modified everythings because I had no core or upper body strength or balance. I just had some endurance. But I got stronger with each week that passed and I was losing weight! Woo!

2 weeks after I started with my trainer, who I affectionately call Phil The Masochist, I ran a 9 mile run to prep for the half and it took me 2 hours and 14 minutes. I was pretty embarrassed by that time. I’d had to do some walking and even sat down for a few minutes. 15ish minute miles? I was looking at a 3:15 half marathon time. That is not how I want to run a half marathon. And on top of that, I was exhausted the rest of the day. I must admit, I was a little depressed that day but also determined to not give up.

I kept working with Phil and asked him to keep pushing me. I was less exhausted as each week passed and could feel the changes in my body, including weight loss (13 pounds and counting!). And the next week, I ran a 10 miler in that same time as the 9. Then I felt like I was strong enough that I could add tempo miles and fartleks/surges into my runs and they were fun and really helped. And then the next weekend, I ran an 11 miler in 2:13. Things were definitely headed in the right direction! Woo!

So I ran 11 miles at 12:07 pace but I had stopped twice to eat some Clif Bloks and refill my water. And of course, I had little rests at the stoplights. 11 miles was also the longest I had run since 8/10/13 (my last half marathon). I figured I might need to do some walking during the half so I set a goal of 2:45. Just a few weeks ago, I had anticipated a 3 hour + finish time but was confident (mostly) I could make 2:45.

In my last training session before the race, Phil asked me if I was scared. I told him no and that was true. I knew I could and would finish the race. It might take me longer than I anticipated but the race had a generous time limit so I wasn’t worried about being swept from the course. I was more worried about oversleeping than I was about the race.

Race morning dawned cool and beautiful. We, the runners, boarded the bus that took us up Spearfish Canyon, SD at 4:15 am and headed to the start. It was dark and the bus ride was quiet. The race started a few minutes late and we passed the time talking races and states and running in general.

Once the race started, I took off like a bat out of hell. Well, not really. But the first mile was 10:36. Oops. I slowed myself down and ran 11ish +/- miles through mile 9. By then my stomach was feeling queasy and my legs were starting to tighten up. I let myself walk through 2 of the aid stations to grab/eat some pretzels but other than that, I ran the whole way. Slower than the first 8 miles but still moving forward. I really wanted to walk but talked myself out of it with distractions. Did I mention the course was beautiful?

Finally, it was the last mile and I picked it up a little. I caught another woman who was walking and said “Come on, just a little more. You can’t let me beat you at the end!”. And she took off running and I used trying to catch her again as incentive to keep up the pace. I crossed the line in 2:33:42 (official) and was pretty excited to have finished and beat my goal. I felt inklings of the old racing Lisa deep inside. I felt good. I felt proud. I felt happy. I felt like the Queen of the Road! 🙂 (by the way, that was the theme for the Leading Ladies Half this year, which I didn’t know when I signed up for it but is pretty appropriate because RIF #1 Josh (@bayou) used to call me the Half Queen!).

So…I am pretty happy with the progress I’ve made in the past 6 weeks. I am still way off my PR time of 1:57 but I feel like it’s not out of reach anymore. The weight loss has plateaued a little but I know it will continue to happen eventually. I graduated to knee pushups from wall pushups this week and am able to lift more. I feel good about things. I feel hope and I feel content.

I think probably the biggest thing that has made me less frustrated and a lot happier was coming to the decision to put marathons and ultras on hold for a while and to cut out some of the things that I no longer had fun doing. I feel less pressure and more relaxed and I am having a lot more fun now. I want to work on my speed and strength first before running longer again. If ever. I know it probably seems blasphemous saying that on this site but I am okay with it. I used to think I had to be the perfect cancer survivor, whatever that is. I felt like I was pressured to always be positive, always have a smile on my face, to be an ultrarunner…because that’s what heroic cancer survivors do. I don’t see myself as a hero. I am just a girl who survived one of the scariest things out there with the help of some great doctors and my family and friends.

I want to share 2 great quotes that I saw this past month that really hit home to me.

The first is by Gabriele Grunewald (@gg_runs), an awesome, inspiring runner and cancer survivor: “I don’t try to live harder, I just try to live more authentically. It’s not about just fitting more in, it’s about fitting in the things that are most meaningful to me.”

The other is from Kara Goucher (@karagoucher), another of my favorite runners: “I know that there are people that think I am done and that’s fine, they can think that. But I’m not running to prove anything to them; I’m running to prove everything to myself. I know what I am still capable of, and I know the last couple years haven’t shown it, but I know what I’m capable of and I know how my body is responding to the training. I guess, yeah, it is a comeback.”

The first one by Gabriele perfectly expressed the thing that surviving cancer taught me. Do what you love and what is meaningful to you and don’t let anyone tell how you should live or what you should do. It’s my life. I am not going to waste it on the things I don’t enjoy or don’t bring me peace. I’m not saying I’ll never run marathons or ultras again but right now, I don’t feel the need to prove my self in that way. More is not always better (unless it’s chocolate, pancakes, or burritos), at least not right now.

Kara’s quote feels like she is talking about me. For me, the past year was about surviving cancer and the year before that was dealing with the effects/symptoms of it. I haven’t been at my best running-wise for about 2 years too. I also feel like I’m making a comeback and I also know what I am capable of.

I’m going to prove it to myself.

Just watch!

***

Check back soon for the next chapter in my running from cancer journey! And don’t forget, if you missed earlier chapters, you can read them here:

Running With Cancer – Part 1
Running with Cancer – Part 2 The “Moderate” Runner?
Running With Cancer – Part 3 One Day At A Time
Running From Cancer – Part 4 Running Reboot…Again

If you’ve been through cancer and chemotherapy and are a runner, I would love to hear how it went for you. Please let me know in the comments or email me at the link below.

Posted in Running0 Comments

Rob Krar – Leadville Trail 100 Run Winner – Run It Fast

Rob Krar Wins the 2014 Leadville 100 (Results)

Rob Krar, of Flagstaff, Arizona, won the 2014 Leadville Trail 100 Run tonight with a time of 16:09:02. It extends an amazing 2014 for Krar who won the prestigious Western States 100 Miler in late June.

Krar posted the following message on his Facebook page:

I was humbled by the ‪#‎LT100‬ course today. It was without a doubt the most challenging effort of my life, emotionally and physically. I’m so damn inspired by each and everyone out there, competitors, crew, pacers and volunteers, it’s a journey for all. Thank-you to so many for your love, support and encouragement—as the saying goes, it means more than you know. Final HUGE thank-you to my incredible crew Alicia Shay, @dougtumminello and Michael Smith, you guys rock!

Second place went to Michael Aish, of Arvada, Colorado, in 16:38:35. Aish led the race for a portion early on.

Defending champ, Ian Sharman, finished in third place in 16:41:38 just minutes behind Aish. Fourth place went to Zeke Tiernan in 17:35:13.

Top 20 Leadville Trail 100 Run Finishers

  1. Rob Krar – 16:09:02
  2. Michael Aish – 16:38:35
  3. Ian Sharman – 16:41:38
  4. Zeke Tiernan – 17:35:13
  5. Dave Mackey – 19:10:44
  6. Lars Kjerengtroen – 19:19:40
  7. Richard Airey – 19:27:15
  8. Emma Rocca – 19:38:04 (1st Female)
  9. Craig Howie – 19:43:31
  10. Liza Howard – 20:01:13 (2nd Female)
  11. John Wros – 20:17:47
  12. Bob Africa – 20:25:10
  13. Duncan Callahan – 20:27:19
  14. Daniel Verdi – 20:30:24
  15. Matthew Curtis – 20:38:37
  16. Michael Ambrose – 20:41:16
  17. Chuck Radford – 20:46:32
  18. Bob Sweeney – 20:51:11
  19. Marvin Sandoval – 21:20:00
  20. Fernando Gonzalez Diaz – 21:40:37

Other wins by Krar include UROC 100K, Leona Divide 50 Miler, Moab’s Red Hot 50K (2013), McDowell Mountain Frenzy 50K, Jemez Mountain, and Moab’s Red Hot 33K (2012)

Spain’s Emma Roca was the 2014 Leadville Trail 100 Run winner in 19:38:04. Second place female went to Liza Howard, who led for most of the race, with a finishing time of 20:01:13.

[photo: Rob Krar Facebook]

Posted in Results, Ultra Marathon0 Comments

Joshua Holmes and Steve Durbin at Six Days in the Dome resize – Run It Fast

48 Hours of Doom at Six Days in the Dome – Race Report

Six Days in the Dome (48 Hour Race) 
Anchorage, Alaska – August 4-5, 2014

It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up nor wanted to miss. A chance to run the 48-Hour race at Six Days in the Dome with some of the all-time legends of ultra running. When Joe Fejes first told me about the race, the venue, and how he as going to try to break Stu Mittleton’s 6-Day record I knew I had to be there.

I knew it would start 12 days after I had run the Badwater 135. I knew I wouldn’t be my best, fresh, or perhaps even able to run it. I didn’t even buy my plane ticket until 6 days before the race. I also didn’t run a single step between my Badwater finish on July 22nd and the start of the Six Days in the Dome on August 4th.

I arrived in Anchorage around 3pm on Sunday, the third. I took a taxi to The Dome and arrived about 15 minutes later. I took a quick self-tour of the dome and didn’t see anyone else associated with the race. I then spent a few minutes on my phone trying to figure out where the pre-race mixer was taking place and to see if I had in fact packed a Toga (OK, that last part isn’t exactly true).

I found an email on my phone that the mixer was at Humpy’s. So I called the taxi company and arranged for a ride from The Dome to Humpy’s. I get to Humpy’s and can’t find Joe, other runners, or anyone else associated with the race so I walked out. Down $40 in cab fares to this point, and strapped down with my 50-pound backpack, I decided to walk the 3 miles to Wal-Mart to get stuff for the race instead of ponying up for another taxi. I probably should have called for a taxi but my frugality got the better of me. That was one very long three mile walk, with that heavy backpack on, in minimalist shoes, while the brisk Alaskan sun cooked me so slightly. I was smart enough to get a taxi back to The Dome after buying a good bit of junk at Sam Walton’s.

The Dome was a brisk with activity when I arrived back at it Sunday evening with my haul from Wal-Mart. I got my stuff settled at my race side table for the race and quickly made my pallet in a half dim room and relatively quickly, for me, found sleep.

The start of Six Days in the Dome was delayed 2 hours for timing issues. In retrospect, many of the 6-Dayers would say that was a sign of things to come. Everyone was ready to go at 9am and we got word that it would be delayed 1 hour until 10am and then that it would be delayed another hour until 11am. I had just taken a Gu Roctane and been through my pre-race rituals when news of the first delay got to me. Don’t let that sound like more than it is…I have very few pre-race rituals. But with a race delay, it’s beyond your control, and there is nothing you can do about it. So you wait along with everyone else. It affects everyone the same by and large.

Finally at 11am local time the race started. Most everyone probably started faster than they wanted to because of the pent up energy from being delayed for a couple of hours. I was pretty fast the first 40 laps on the 413 meter track but not nearly as fast as Zach Bitter who was there for one thing – to set the World Record for the fastest 100 miler.

I was lapping nearly everyone on the track at some point during that time, but Zach was lapping me what seemed like every 10 minutes or less. He was blazing fast, running like you’d see someone trying to put down a fast mile on a high school track. It would be easy to compare him to a gazelle or cheetah but in comparison to Zach any normally fluid animal’s form would be considered ragged and inferior.  And all the while he did it with a smile on his face, while we encouraged each other, and while he was gracious with every other runner on the track including going wide into lane 6 on several laps to high five dozens of elementary kids who were in The Dome for day camp that were cheering us all on. He was ultra smooth with the emphasis on smooth.

I ran really well for the first 15-20 miles. Through 20 miles I was right on pace to replicate my 100 mile PR time of 18:49 that I set at Across the Years back in late December.

However, my right ankle and feet were starting to bother me just 10 miles into the race. I thought it might be the shoes I was wearing (Hoka One One Conquest). So after 10 miles I changed into the Hoka One One Bondi B. The change helped very briefly before the pain and discomfort grew to a point that I knew a new 100-mile PR was not going to happen. The surface was harder than any other track I had run on before. I wasn’t the only runner to notice this early on in the race. Many complained about it as the race unfolded. I believe the hard surface along with the residual bruising, beating, and wear and tear from Badwater just 12 days before were likely the culprit for my feet and ankle feeling like they had been beaten over and over with an aluminum baseball bat.

And with that the entire race changed for me. I could have stopped at that point. There is no DNF after finishing 1 loop at a timed event. But I didn’t travel all the way to Alaska to run just 25 miles. For better or dumb I still wanted to knock off another 100 miler.  I walked as fast as I could and did so for most of the next 60 miles. The pain was still fluent, but it wasn’t as bad as it was when I would run. The bright side of walking for many hours on end was that I got to meet and talk with some of the pioneers and all-time legends of ultra running.

Those slow painful miles of walking were distracted by great conversations with Bill Schultz, Yolanda Holder, Marylou Corina, Joel Gat, Frank Bozanich, Josh Irvan, Andy Noise, Ken Rubeli, Bob Davidson, K-G Nystrom, Martin Fryer, Ed Ettinghausen, Lazarus Lake, Gregg Ellis, Brandon Wood, Francesca Carmichael, David Johnston’s son, Mark Mccaslin, Steve & Terri ‘Theresa’ Durbin and many others.

After about 15 hours of race time I took a shower and went down for a nice 3 hour nap in my sleeping bag. The rest and time off my feet helped a bit. I hit 24 hours with a paltry 71 miles. After about 80 miles I started to feel a bit better. The Dome had a gym full of weights right next to the track. So I’d lay down on the bench press, elevate my feet, and do a set of 40 reps just with the weight of the bar. This seemed to be a great magic trick to my body. I was able to run at a pretty good pace for several laps in a row after my chest pump. I believe elevating my feet, while sending the rush of warm blood to my chest, away from my legs and feet was a nice shot of adrenaline and redirect of the discomfort. I did this 3-4 more times over the course of that second afternoon and it helped each time.

I finally hit 100 miles in a Personal Worst of 33 hours and 45 minutes. I sat down and took a couple of small breaks before hitting 100 miles in an attempt to put my PW so far out of reach that I could never touch it again. I was extremely elated upon hitting 100 miles because of the mental focus and push it required to get to that point.

The miles were slow and painful after 100, but I continued to push through it. I made a deal with myself that if I made it to 110 miles before 1am that I’d go shower, lay down to sleep and not set an alarm. If I got up by 11am before the race was over I’d do more miles. If not I was content with what I had battled through to get to 110 miles in 38 hours.

I slept for 5-6 hours, quickly dressed, put on my shoes, and was back on the track at 7:30am with about 3.5 hours of race time left. I walked several laps at a brisk pace to wake myself up and to see how my feet, ankle, and the rest of my body was feeling. Once I felt like my body functioning at an operative level and well hydrated I started to feel the loud tick-tock of the race clock ticking down. I started chugging sweet tea and taking Gu Roctane again. I wanted to see how many more miles I could pour out of my body onto that concrete track before time expired. It was a point of the race where I could empty and dump all of my energy, and what remained in my body, to maximizing a strong effort until the end of the clock.

My motor started revving high and my legs started kicking and throwing down the soles of my shoes off the track at a pace that would have made a half marathoner and most 10K’ers proud. My laps went from 4:20 to 3:30 to 2:45 to 2:15, all the way down to 1:42 and 1:43 (6:40 mile/pace). I ran the last 20-24 laps between 1:42-2:10 and was able to put down several extra miles with my increased turnover of the track. I ran a couple of 7’s, and several 7:30-8 min miles during this stretch to conclude the race.

When I had started back at 110 miles, I had hoped to be able to get around the track enough to reach 120 miles.

The clock stopped and the trackside television monitor had me at 500 laps and 128+ miles. For some reason that number evolved down to 127.47 miles within a few hours of the conclusion of the race. It was nothing that I was going to throw a frenzy over or complain about at that point. As poor as my race had gone, I was able to feel really good with the way I finished it.

My quick explanation of my race is that I had a good four hours to start the race and a really great last two hours to conclude my 48 hour Six Days in the Dome…it was just that very poor and painful 42 hours in between those two strong stretches that had to be endured.

The highlight of my race was watching my friend Traci Falbo set a World and American record for running 242.35 miles in the 48 hour race. It was an amazing spectacle to behold. It was also a visual spectacular to watch Zach Bitter run 100 miles in 12:08 which is the third fastest American time ever. I also go to witness the first 60 hours of Joe Fejes’ U.S. record of 580.3 miles in six days. I was as equally impressed by power walking Run It Fast member Yolanda Holder who gracefully walked, at a very high speed, to 400 miles in six days.

A few days later, at the conclusion of all of the Six Days in the Dome races, I found out I was the 1st overall male winner for the 48 hour race. The 48 hour field was small, especially on the male side. I ended up 4th overall behind three great female performances and a mere 400+ laps behind Traci.

– joshua holmes

[photos: Jeff Genova/Joshua Holmes]

Posted in Race Reports, Running, Ultra Marathon0 Comments

Robin Williams Track and Field – Run It Fast

Robin Williams the XC and Track Runner

As we mourn the death of comedian Robin Williams we are reminded that he was a track and cross country runner in high school with a personal record of 1:58 for the 800 meters according to Scott Fishman.

Williams donated much of his time and money to the Challenged Athletes Foundation as well and was an avid cyclist.

[@scottfishman]

Posted in Celebrities, Running0 Comments

Joe Fejes Six Days in the Dome Record Breaker – Run It Fast

Joe Fejes Breaks U.S. 6-Day Record at Six Days in the Dome

Georgia native Joe Fejes just set the 6-Day record with 580.3 miles at the Six Days in the Dome ultramarathon in Anchorage, Alaska.

The previous record of 577.75 miles was set by Stu Mittleman 30 years ago.

The race was the first competitive indoor 6-Day race since the 1994 race in La Rochelle, France.

Six Days in the Dome took place at The Dome which is an indoor track that measures 413 meters long, slightly longer than a traditional quarter mile track. The surface was harder than most participants expected, but the venue was flawless otherwise with it’s artificial lighting around the clock, restrooms right off the track, and ample infield area for runners to sleep and rest. Joe and others took their down time in RV’s they rented that were parked just outside a side door.

Fejes rose to national attention late last year at the Across the Years 6-Day race where he beat legendary ultrarunner Yiannis Kouros by putting down 555.36 miles to Kouros’ 550.157 miles. The first 6-Day defeat ever for Kouros.

Several other records were broken at The Dome including Traci Falbo running 242.09 miles in 48 hours to set the US 48-hour record and World 48-hour indoor record. Andrew Snope put down 136.98 miles to set the 24-hour record for most miles run barefoot.

[photo: Israel Archuletta]

Posted in Half Marathon, Running0 Comments

Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run Logo – Run It Fast

Ruperto Romero Wins 2014 Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run (Results)

Ruperto Romero won the Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run (AC 100) early Sunday morning with a time of 19:28:01.

Second place, nearly a hour behind Romero, went to Michele Graglia in 20:25:19. Last year’s defending champ Dominic Grossman finished in third place in 20:41:38.

Pam Smith was the first female to finish the AC 100 in 21:04:18 which was an impressive 6th overall. It was also a new course record.

The next closest female was Keira Henninger in 25:04:46. Third place female went to Amelia Valinsky-Fillipow in 25:54:23.

Top 10 Angeles Crest 100 Miler Results

  1. Ruperto Romero – 19:28:01
  2. Michele Graglia – 20:25:19
  3. Dominic Grossman – 20:41:38
  4. Randy Vander Tuig – 20:49:02
  5. Christophe Sigel – 20:55:16
  6. Pam Smith – 21:04:18 (female)
  7. David Villalobos – 21:59:03
  8. Andy Pearson – 22:24:21
  9. Guillaume Calmettes – 22:43:55
  10. Tom Nielson – 22:56:48

Congrats to all of the finishers of the Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run.

Posted in Results, Running, Ultra Marathon0 Comments



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