Run It Fast®

Last January, we presented Hope Shull with a membership to Run It Fast – The Club at the Race for Hope 5K in Henderson, Tennessee.

The 5K was held to honor Hope as she had terminal cancer with just a few weeks to live. She died shortly after the race was held.

Hope was a personal friend to myself and many other of the early members of Run It Fast. I ran several of my very first 5K races with Hope and her good friend Marj Mitchell in West Tennessee.

I wrote Hope a letter to be presented to her at the Race for Hope 5K last January that Marj read to her at the race.  The letter included a permanent membership to Run It Fast along with a few other words that included the creation of an award in her honor –  ‘The Hope Award.’

January 12, 2012

Hope,

I’m amiss that I can’t be at the race today.  I’m in Los Angeles, but you are on my mind as you often are.

I asked Marj if it would be ok ,and she thought it would be, so I want to proudly announce you as the newest member of Run It Fast – The Club.

You will always be RIF #225, a special number to me as 25 has always been one of my two most favorite numbers.  You will always be a part of the club no matter what transpires from this day forward between any of us.

I’ve always wanted you to be a part of the club because you embody EVERYTHING that Run It Fast was created to become. Run It Fast is a club full of members that have this deep down desire to overcome obstacles in life and limitations that most others let hold them back or down. Run It Fast members don’t let their situation or hardship in life dictate their life for them.

Instead they go out and conquer life by digging deep to train hard, run races, and forge friendships along the way that inspire others to do things that perhaps they didn’t think were possible either.

Also, I want to announce that starting this year, at the end of the year, the Run It Fast – Club will annually give one member the honor of being named the Hope Shull Inspirational Runner of the Year!

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the example you’ve set for me not only with running but with life.  I’ll never forget sharing the car ride back to the start of the Labor Day 5 Miler with you a couple of years ago. That was a beautiful day and a lot of fun.

With my utmost love, respect and admiration, 

Joshua Holmes

Run It Fast ® (RIF #1)

I’m proud and honored to announce that the ‘2013 Hope Shull Inspirational Runner Award’ goes to RIF #5 Lisa Gonzales from Alta Loma, California.

Lisa has inspired all of us with her bravery, courage, and tough inner fortitude in battling cancer over the last few months while never losing faith and being extremely positive and supportive of every member of Run It Fast, as she recovered from surgery and continues to go through chemotherapy.

Lisa insisted upon crewing me at the EC 100 just two weeks after her surgery. She has yet to deliver me a good cheeseburger during a 100 miler when crewing me, but she did a great job that day crewing me to a Top 5 finish.

She has been vital to the growth of Run It Fast over the last two years and has a true passion and desire for the club to become the best.

She is one of the toughest people I know. I draw inspiration from her, not only during my races, but in life in general. My worst days are nowhere near what she has gone through and survived in the past year.

Lisa gives ‘Hope’ to hundreds of runners in the running community across the globe every day!

I’m very proud of Lisa and honored that she is the 2013 recipient of ‘The Hope Shull Inspirational Runner Award.’

Aravaipa Running wasted no time in interviewing Joe Fejes just minutes after he knocked off the once immortal Yiannis Kouros at the Across The Years 6-Day endurance race in Glendale, Arizona on January 3, 2014.

In the interview, Joe discusses his strategy before and during the race, sleep, diet, and details about his 6-day indoor Alaskan race coming up in August.

The best line from Joe’s interview about what he ate during the race: “I had two buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken, original, crispy!”

Across The Years 2013/14 Results

American Joe Fejes bested the legendary Yiannia Kouros in an epic battle at the Across The Years 6 Day Race earlier this morning.

Fejes, a native of Georgia, finished the race with 555.35 miles (893.75 kilometers) to beat Kouros, of Greece, who finished with 550.1 miles (885.3 kilometers).

Yiannis, the Michael Jordan of ultra running, is revered deeply within the sport and holds every endurance running record from 100 miles to 1000 miles and 12 hours to 6 days.

However, the great Fejes wasn’t intimidated and set the pace throughout the race. Kouros never had a big lead and Joe held the lead for the majority of the race by less than a handful of miles. They battled hard in the desert and it was a race that will not soon be forgotten.

It was the best of all-time versus the best American endurance runner of the past two years.

Fejes set an American 6-day record with his performance. He also won the prestigious Last Annual Vol State 500K back in July with a record breaking performance as well.

Third place went to California’s Ed ‘The Jester’ Ettinghausen who set a record for his age group in the 6-day. He finished with 476.61 miles to come from behind on the last day to beat and hold off William Sichel for third place who finished with 472.41 miles.

Across The Years 6 Day Men Results

1. Joe Fejes – 555.35 miles
2. Yiannis Kouros – 550.1 miles
3. Ed Ettinghausen – 476.61 miles
4. William Sichel – 472.41 miles
5. John Geesler – 404.18 miles
6. Bill Heldenbrand – 392.62 miles
7. Andy Noise – 322.29 miles
8. Michel Gouin – 317.04 miles
9. Victor Vella – 314.94 miles
10. Anthony Culpepper – 310.74 miles

First place female went to Liz Bauer with 415.72 miles. She holds the record for most 100 milers run in a calendar year. She led from the start and never looked back.

Second place female went to Vikena Yutz with 361.13 miles and third place went to Martina Hausmann with 321.24 miles.

Across The Years 6 Day Women Results

1. Liz Bauer – 415.72 miles
2. Vikena Yutz – 361.13 miles
3. Martina Hausmann – 321.24 miles
4. Karen Vollan – 204.71 miles
5. Maria Walton – 201.56 miles
6. Terrie Wurzbacher – 200.51 miles
7. Shelley Devere – 200.51 miles
8. Betty Smith – 186.87 miles
9. Midnight Tenenbaum – 162.72 miles
10. Teagan Redden – 100.78 miles (8 years old)

Congrats to Joe, Liz and all of these amazing runners that pushed their bodies to their max over 6 grueling days.

Here is a look at the winners and top 10 from the other distances at Across The Years that took place on December 28, 2013 to January 3, 2014.

1. Marylou Corino – 265.6 miles (1st female)
2. Michael Miller – 243.56 miles (1st male)
3. Annabel Hepworth – 233.06 miles (2nd female)
4. Rasmivan Collinson – 232.01 miles (2nd male)
5. Juli Aistars – 212.06 miles (3rd female)
6. Jason Romero – 204.71 miles (3rd male)
7. Leigh Saint – 200.51 miles
8. Thomas Skinner – 200.51 miles
9. Charlotte Vasarhelyi – 194.21 miles
10. Steve Kissell – 186.87 miles

*results are from the Ultracast and aren’t official yet.

[Image: Aravaipa Running]

We asked on Twitter for some of your running resolutions and goals for 2014, and you responded with these New Year Resolutions.

Thanks to all who took time to respond and good luck in 2014!

Travis Redden returned to Jackson, Tennessee on December 21, 2013 with a heart full of desire to win the Trail of Fears. Last year, he had finished second to the ‘Last Man Standing’ Jonathan Harrison.

On Saturday, Redden did just that as he was the ‘Last Man Standing’ after Jackson native Karl Studtmann turned in half-way through the 12th loop and called it a day.

Shortly thereafter tornado sirens sounded and the heavens opened up to one of the nastiest rain and wind storms this side of Noah’s ark.  Runners had waited and anticipated the nasty weather all day but instead were greeted with high temperatures laced with humidity.  The bad weather could not hold off any longer on that 12th loop around 7 pm.

A mad scramble ensued to get all of the race gear off of the hill before it and we were all blown away. We also waited for Redden to finish that 12th loop (which was unnecessary since he had won the 11th loop). Sirens continued to blare, trees buckled and swayed, and everything in sight was soaked as Redden and his good friend Jim Donahue, who had backtracked a bit to find Redden, came off the hill.

Redden was soaked but thrilled to claim the ‘Last Man Standing’ buckle.

2013 Trail of Fears Results

1. Travis Redden – 51.6 miles (12 loops)
2. Karl Studtmann – 47.2 miles (11 loops)
3. Joshua Holmes – 38.7 miles (9 loops)
4. Rob Philip – 34.4 miles (8 loops)
5. Nathan Judd – 34.4 miles (8 loops)
6. Nathan Bass – 30.1 miles (7 loops)
7. Billy Cannon – 25.8 miles (6 loops)
8. Marc Gilbert – 25.8 miles (6 loops)
9. Courtney Munson – 25.8 miles (6 loops) – Last Female
10. James Donahue – 25.8 miles (6 loops)
11. Mark Ogletree – 21.5 miles (5 loops)
12. Brett Beckham – 17.2 miles (4 loops)
13. Todd Shadburn – 17.2 miles (4 loops)
14. Beth Hosick – 17.2 miles (4 loops)
15. Arthur Priddy – 17.2 miles (4 loops)
16. Bob Beasley – 17.2 miles (4 loops)
17. Julie Montgomery – 17.2 miles (4 loops)
18. Clark Bilbrey – 8.6 miles (2 loops)

Congrats to all of these runners, many of which set a new personal long.

Trail of Fears Tidbits:

• 34:00 – Fastest lap put down by Arthur Priddy
• 0:06 – Smallest amount of time left on successful lap by Jim Donahue
• 2 – Laps won by Priddy
• 7 – Laps won by Karl Studtmann
• 2 – Laps won by Travis Redden
• 1 – Laps won by Joshua Holmes
• Top 3 Laps: Studtmann (11), Holmes (8), Redden (8), Priddy (2), Rob Philip (1), Brett Beckham (1)

Thanks to Shannon Miller and Anthony Ohrey for their help in race directing and taking care of all of the runners.

We posted last week a hypothesis of why we thought Death Valley National Park might have ceased giving permits to running and cycling races within the park without notice/warning/discussion.

Our story gained national attention and created a honest and, at times, hotly debated discussion as to why this might have happened.

We believed that after radiation readings in the park tested extremely high 4 weeks ago that it might have been enough to sound an alarm within the park chain of command to cease permits to look into it more closely.

Read our FULL STORY HERE!

Death Valley National Park superintendent Kathy Billings has finally and officially responded to her reasonings as to why she made her decision. You can read her full letter of explanation by clicking HERE.

She states over and over in the letter that it’s about safety and park safety. Billings says there has been several close calls with spectators and motor visitors to the park on the road and highways.

We, here at Run It Fast, believe that 1. radiation education and the high amounts since the Fukushima meltdown are very important and 2. that transparency from government agencies is extremely important.

We are glad that Billings finally came forward to at least provide an explanation for her decision. She might be late to explain her decision but finally we have some transparency from her as to why.

As we initially stated, transparency serves everyone best.

Do you believe her explanation? She speaks of close calls, but AdventureCORPS founder Chris Kostman, stated in his initial response to the park’s decision, that there had not been any deaths or close calls at his events including Badwater 135. (Read Kostman’s statement HERE)

If in fact Billings explanation is the true explanation then her decision will likely be overturned unless she has a pure vendetta against either AdventureCORPS, Kostman, or endurance sports.

Is her answer/explanation still too vague?

While we are still devastated by Billings decision, we are glad that she finally came forward to at least offer an explanation.

RELATED: Badwater 135 Race Director Chris Kostman replies to DVNP’s Kathy Billings

[The following is what I’ve deciphered as the reason DVNP has suspended all permits for endurance activities within the park including the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon. DVNP has neither confirmed or denied my theory.]

Death Valley National Park Website: “Effective immediately Death Valley National Park will temporarily discontinue issuance of running and bicycling event permits. Future event permits will not be considered until a thorough safety evaluation of this type of activity has been completed.”

AdventureCORPS Website in Response to DVNP’s Decision: AdventureCORPS and Chris Kostman have hosted 89 events since 1990 under DVNP special event permits without ever being refused a permit by DVNP, the Department of Transportation, or Inyo County. There have been no deaths, no car crashes, no citations issued, and only a few evacuations by ambulance after literally millions of miles covered on foot or by bike by event participants.

Death Valley National Park is host to most famously the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon, along with The 508 (cycling), CORPScamp, Death Valley Trail Marathon, and several other endurance sports.

So why all of a sudden, out of the blue, would Death Valley National Park immediately suspend all running and cycling activities within the park without any warning or discussion?

The one word possibility – RADIOACTIVITY.

EnviroReporter, Michael Collins, tested the radiation at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park on November 23, 2013 (video below).

He measured the radiation at Furnace Creek at an astonishing 31.5x background via a water sample.

Collins states after the testing, “These are levels that far exceed what is considered safe. California Highway Patrol considers anything over 3x background to cause a hazardous material situation.”

Collins did tests over two days at varying spots across Death Valley. They read anywhere from 26.7x to 31.5x background.

It’s one thing for DVNP to let events proceed as normal with runners signing waivers from killing themselves in extreme heat, but it’s quite another to allow endurance athletes to inhale extremely high levels of radioactive air and dust for hours and days on end, with the dangerous possibility of said runners developing leukemia, thyroid cancer, or any cancer or damning health issue. It would truly be horrible and devastating.

Also, lawsuits would rapidly pile high in judge’s chambers from San Diego to Susanville and everywhere in between against DVNP and the government for (1) knowing of the radioactivity, (2) not disclosing it, (3) not taking extra precautions to protect the health and safety of citizens within the park.

Naturally, endurance athletes (in these great Death Valley races) would consume massive amounts of oxygen and dust filled with radioactive particles. Excessive exposure to extreme radiation for several days is a good bit different than Johnny B. Citizen’s one day journey to the park to take photos of the beautiful landscape of Death Valley.

Exposure in both cases though is dangerous. It’s a lot easier to deny a permit to race directors than to shut down the entire park to every tourist in the world.

So when you re-read the wording from DVNP about no race permits, “…until a thorough safety evaluation of this type of activity,” one may be able to piece together that something far more serious is happening than just the DVNP being cruel to ultra-runners.

Perhaps DVNP is actually doing tests and homework to see what type of harm can be caused by athletes being exposed to high levels of radiation in endurance events over many hours and days. They might also be running scenarios through it’s team of lawyers to determine what they can and should do to prevent potential lawsuits and liability.

Kostman eloquently stated in his response to the devastating news that there has been no deaths or serious health issues from any of the races that AdventureCORPS has held at Death Valley since 1990.

“It is unprecedented to place a one-year ban on existing sporting events within a National Park without any specific incident, accident, or complaint triggering such a drastic move. It is our contention that the events should be allowed to continue while the “safety review” unfolds.”

If there is extremely dangerous radiation levels currently in the park poisoning the air, dust, and water that likely could persist for some time.

Kostman has likely been left out in the cold and hasn’t been informed by DVNP officials of the exact reason. He comes across as sincerely befuddled by it all as would most of us after being blindsided out of the blue after many successful years hosting races in the park.

The radiation exposure and spike in California is of grave concern. For months those that were sounding off the dangerous siren regarding Fukushima were considered crazy or fearmongers.

Fukushima is an epic disaster that is eventually going to poison all of us in one way or another, directly or through the water we drink and food we consume no matter what coast we reside on.

Politicians and communities along the West Coast are finally waking up to the dangers from the Fukashima reactors.

The city of Fairfax, California recently drafted Resolution 13-57 in Support of Urgent International Rescue of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Facility:

“WHEREAS, this disaster presents one of the gravest threats and greatest technological challenges facing the international community, and as such demands an international response utilizing the world’s most accomplished experts as well as international funding on a level commensurate with humankind’s most ambitious efforts, in the interest of every nation; and,”

The resolution was signed by Fairfax’s mayor, John Reed, on November 6, 2013. Fairfax is northwest of Death Valley.

The radiation news coming out of Japan is not getting any better. It’s progressively growing into an even bigger and unsolvable problem that is killing ocean life and dropping radiation bombs all over the United States, mostly on the West Coast and California, but all over the country in different spots dependent upon various weather patterns.

Just today in Japan, TEPCO detected record radiation at reactor #2 of 1.9 million becquerels (bc/liter) up from the previous high of 1.8 million recorded just days ago on December 13th.

There is even a fictional book titled Badwater that is based on the theory of radioactive material being in Death Valley.

From the book cover: Forensic geologists Cassie Oldfield and Walter Shaws embark on a perilous hunt–tracking a terrorist who has stolen radioactive material that is hotter than the desert in August. He threatens to release it in America’s most fragile national park, Death Valley.

Coincidental…I think!

Running and endurance sports are an addiction and a lot of fun to many of us. Most of us have been inspired by other runners and in turn have inspired many others to take up running and endurance races.

I’ve applied to run Badwater the past two years and likely will try once again in February to get in to this prestigious race.

However, running and many other things become silly when extreme risks, like running in a radioactive hotbed of potential health issues become an added risk factor.

Is Badwater…….truly radioactive bad water, dust, and air?

I hope not! I hope the correlation I’ve tied above is totally not the reason and coincidental. I want Badwater to resume in July like it has for dozens of years. However, even if high radiation readings are not the reason for the suspension off race permits, it doesn’t mean that the extremely high levels of radiation in Death Valley National Park, and along the West Coast, aren’t legit and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

Hopefully, Death Valley National Park will come forward if the issue involves something as serious as high radiation levels within the park and be upfront with their reasons for denying the permits to Chris Kostman, AdventureCORPS, and other race directors.

Transparency is often promised but more often than not we get opaqueness.

[Read AdventureCORPS (Kostman’s) Full Response to DVNP and How to Help]

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” – Andy Durfresne

-joshua holmes
(Follow on Twitter @bayou)

UPDATE: Response from Death Valley National Park

UPDATE 2: Badwater 135 Race Director Chris Kostman Responds to DVNP’s Kathy Billings

[Fukushima is spelled a couple of ways by different organizations/translations. I’ve seen it as Fukushima, Fukashima (Fairfax, CA), Fukishima]

Run It Fast – Club on Strava Club Leaderboard from the week ending December 8, 2013.

Here is a look at how Run It Fast – Club members stacked up against each other on our Strava club page:

Total Distance:
1. Nick Nudell – 58.3
2. Alex Barrientos – 39.2
3. Dennis Arriaga – 34.6

Total Running Time:
1. Nick Nudell – 15hr 28min
2. Alex Barrientos – 6hr 21min

Fastest Pace
1. Dennis Arriaga – 7:57
2. Natalie Torres – 8:08
3. Matt George – 8:37

Longest Run
1. Nick Nudell – 50.4 mi
2. Alex Barrientos – 20.6 mi
3. Nathan Judd – 14.5 mi

Most Elevation Gain:
1. Nick Nudell – 10,413 ft
2. Dennis Arriaga – 757 ft
3. Matt George – 738 ft

If you are a Run It Fast – Club member then join our club on Strava (free) and see where you compare week to week: http://www.strava.com/clubs/run-it-fast-the-club

Join Run It Fast – The Club HERE

Zach Bitter went down to Arizona to battle it out with the best of the best at the Desert Solstice 24 Hour in Phoenix and he’ll be going home with a new U.S. 100 Mile Open Track record after blazing 100 miles in 11:47:21.

So that must be kinda fast right? Oh, yeah, well just a 7:04 per mile pace. Run It Fast!

The previous record was recently set by Jon Olsen in 11:59.

He followed it up with the 12 Hour WORLD Record with 101.66 miles.

American Pam Smith, not to be outdone by Bitter, set the female U.S. and World 100 Mile Track Record in 14:11:26.

The Desert Solstice 24 Hour is hosted and put on by Aravaipa Running.

Overall winner of the 24 hour event was Olivier Leblond with 152.36 miles. He was followed in second place by Ed ‘the Jester’ Ettinghausen with 144.41 miles and third overall (first female) went to Connie Gardner with 110.11 miles in just 19:41:23.

2013 Desert Solstice 24 Hour Results:

1. Olivier Leblond – 152.36 miles (23:57:19)
2. Ed Ettinghausen – 144.41 miles (23:58:26)
3. Connie Gardner – 110.11 miles (19:41:23) – 1st female
4. Roy Pirrung – 106.88 miles (23:59:39)
5. Hung K Ng – 103.64 miles (18:50:00)
6. Zach Bitter – 101.66 miles (11:59:15)
7. Pam Smith – 101.41 miles (14:44:28) – 2nd female
8. Jay Smithberger – 100.91 miles (17:36:25)
9. Victor Vella – 100.66 miles (17:47:14)
10. Padraig Mullins – 100.17 miles (17:12:02)
11. Beth McCurdy – 84.76 miles (16:57:49) – 3rd female
12. Debra Horn – 82.02 miles (14:18:05)
13. John Maas – 78.79 miles (12:50:09)
14. Anthony Forsyth – 77.8 miles (11:12:08)
15. Anthony Culpepper – 76.06 miles (12:46:24)
16. David Ploskonka – 71.58 miles (12:46:02)
17. Kristina Pham – 65.37 miles (10:24:50)
18. Eric Clifton – 62.39 miles (10:09:47)
19. John Ticer – 62.14 miles (10:39:55)
20. Carilyn Johnson – 52.44 miles (8:42:57)
21. Jennifer Aradi – 51.7 miles (9:18:25)
22. Tracy Hoeg – 31.57 miles (5:14:03)

——

Congrats to all of these elite ultramarathoners!

[image: Aravaipa Running]

Here is a look at where everyone is running this weekend. We had 14 responses this week. Good luck to everyone and Run It Fast!

To join Run It Fast – The Club then click HERE to read more details.