Run It Fast®

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Rock/Creek Stump Jump 50K that took place on October 5, 2013 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Brent Fuqua said about the race, ‘Hot, humid and overrun with yellow jackets!”

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[medal photo submitted by Brent Fuqua – follow him on Twitter @brent_fuqua]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Brooks Yarkon Ultra that took place on September 20, 2013 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

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[medal photo submitted by Hudi. – follow him on Twitter @aunderwood]

Rocky Balboa, American hero, rose to fame for his boxing prowess with his World Champion wins in the ring against James ‘Clubber’ Lang and Apollo Creed along with numerous bouts in between.

He showed us that an average American, with heart, could become a world champion!

While we knew no other boxer trained harder than Rocky, we didn’t know that during Rocky II that Rocky ran just over 30 miles during a single training run (watch above). It was a well hidden secret just how far Rocky went on that run across Philadelphia until this week.

We now know, thanks to Dan McQuade of Philly Mag, just how far Rocky went on that run. McQuade, upon recently viewing the movie, had this to say:

What’s always amused me about this scene is how absolutely little sense Rocky’s route makes: South Philly becomes North Philly becomes the Italian Market becomes North Philly again, and so on. Obviously, the montage isn’t meant to be taken seriously as an actual workout; it’s just a few scenes strung together so “Gonna Fly Now” can play and Rocky can finish at the top of the Art Museum steps.

But, I wondered, what if this roadwork were treated as one actual run? How far would Rocky go? Well, I decided to find out. I pieced together the routes Rocky could have traveled from scene to scene in this training montage and calculated distance.

So McQuade used a USA Track and Field online mapping/measuring tool to figure out just how far Rocky went during his Rocky II training run:

View the Actual Rocky II Training Route

Rocky covered 30.61 miles with little to no hydration, without Gu, without an ounce of tech-clothing, in high-tops.

Read the entire segment by segment breakdown of Rocky’s run across Philly, by McQuade HERE (fun read).

Rocky was ultramarathon cool before marathons or ultramarathons swept the country. I mean even by today’s standards, who goes out on a 30-mile training run?

I didn’t see Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather out running more than a handful of miles at a time during any of his recent training runs for fights.

And let’s not even talk about ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson. His cardio used to come exclusively from juggling pageant contestants and actresses in and out of his limo.

The only boxer that might have come close to the ‘Rocky the Ultramarathoner’ was Little Mac from Mike Tyson’s Punchout.

Mac used to get in several miles of training on the shoreline of New York City after defeating the likes of Glass Joe, Bald Bull and King Hippo.  His trainer, Doc Louis, would always lead the way on his 10-speed.

Rocky was hard-nosed like an ultramarathoner. He didn’t always win. Heck, his career record was 54-27-1, but he always bounced back, ready to battle to an inch of his life when the rest of us thought he was dead or better off dead.

Do long 30-mile training runs through Philly pay off? Well it wasn’t without merit as Rocky defeated Apollo Creed for some serious bling at the conclusion of Rocky II –  the WBC World Heavyweight Championship belt.

Long live, Rocky!

He did have a few pacers along the way!

Read Dan McQuade’s Article: How Far Did Rocky Go in His Training Run In ‘Rocky II’?

“The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight. They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor.” – Albert Camus

The Silverton Challenge 48 Hour Race Report

The gods were Mark and Sharill Hellenthal. The condemnation they had laid down on us runners was a 1 mile loop in the mountains of Silverton, Colorado at 9,500 feet with a gain of 250 ft per mile and a subsequent loss of 250 ft per mile as well.

Others must have committed far worse sins for they had been sentenced to six days and three days on that mountain, repeating that same punishing loop over and over. Some even dared to piss off the gods by bringing tents to sneak naps and breaks in.  A portable shower was even spotted, but even it couldn’t diminish the stench the mountains had left on the imprisoned runners of Silverton.

My journey to the mountain was complicated, two flights to Albuquerque then a 5.5 hour drive to Silverton. In retrospect it was the calm before the storm. I checked into a small cabin, then headed over to prison headquarters, where I knew my sentence was to begin the next day. I picked up my prison number and spoke for a bit with the gods behind a veil curtain so that they could keep their omnipresence spell over us that had been sent there.

While there I saw the long faces and worrisome looks from the six and three day runners. They looked at me with jealousy knowing I was soon to retire to my cabin before returning the next day, but they also looked at me with sympathy knowing I had no clue what was about to happen to me the following morning at 9am.

I slept well that night, showered the next morning, and showed up early at the barracks to begin my sentence. I had assumed that this might do me some favor with the gods. It wasn’t the only faulty assumption I had over the next 48 hours.

The games of the gods began promptly at 9am after a group photo. The photo I assumed was to remind us eventual survivors that we had been the fortunate ones. The race started and those not long for this earth started sprinting up that mountain. We saw them again within 5 minutes as the altitude had filled their lungs and gravity had harnessed their pride back towards the laughter of the gods.

Two hundred and fifty feet of climb over a mile would be punishing enough but no, that would have been too easy for some. The 250-ft climb happened in the first 0.33 mile to the summit where we’d catch our breath, run on level ground for roughly 25 yards before our heads started falling ahead of our feet and our legs wouldn’t stop. Our legs were moving at a warped speed as we couldn’t slow down, we couldn’t stop and our minds were searching and begging for the slightest incline so we could slow down. Some thought they had fallen into a black hole.  No inclines were to be found. Our quads ignited, rocks beneath our feet gave way as we were moving too fast and cutting too hard on switchbacks down towards the gods, and spots in our shoes became hotter than molasses on a Tennessee sidewalk in the heart of summer.

The 250-ft asteroid-like fall from the summit back to flat land took just 0.25 of a mile. Flat land had never felt so secure before. It was also time to walk for a few seconds to let the muscles in the leg rescind back to where they normally reside. A third of a mile later we were back at the tented residence of the gods. The tent was full of food, drink, and mocking. The treats were an oasis of hope that did just that…it made us forget the punishment we had just endured and before we had realized it, we had exited the tent, usually with cookies or gummy worms, and were scaling back up the mountain towards the summit.

I went into Silverton hoping and wanting to reach 100 miles to repay my sins. I didn’t know if the angels would call before I reached that distance, but I thought that once I reached it that my sentence on the mountain would be over and that the gods would release me.

Just five miles into this spectacle, my hamstrings, calf muscles, and feet were begging for no more. They had run 100 miles the weekend before at the Lean Horse 100. I didn’t believe I’d be able to reach 100 miles on this hellanthalish mountain loop. I knew I could stop at any time, since it was timed, but that the gods would laugh, mock, and scorn me by flashing me with the 100-mile buckle I had fallen short of before decapitating me. Foolish pride and a constant restocking of gummy worms and grilled cheeses (upon request) kept me leaving that tent and going back up and down that mountain 100 times over.

After 100x up and down that mountain I had reached 25,000ft of gain and 25,000ft of loss. A hundred times should have been enough. It had taken 35 hours 42 minutes and 44 seconds.

There was one problem…the male and female that did the most loops on this mountain in 48 hours would receive a free pair of Hoka One One shoes ($170 value). It was a mean and cruel trick by the gods that toyed with two of our deadliest sins – pride and greed.

That’s when I realized a 12-yr old boy by the name of Colby Wentlandt was in second place and on my heels. Twelve years old and sentenced to 48 hours on this mountain. What was his crime? How serious must it have been for him to be sentenced with the adults? Had his parents abandoned him while passing through Colorado? Had he murdered his parents? It turns out his parents were on that mountain too, doing painful 1-mile loop after another, but they were so many miles behind young Colby.

Colby moved at such speed it was as if he we was hoping that he could improve the fate of his parents if he could do more miles than any of the other prisoners. However, the gods had no rollover miles plan where he could convey his bounty to his mom and dad.

Colby would taunt me when we’d cross paths under the tent of the gods. He’d tell me how tired I looked and how I should go down. I’m not sure if he meant I should take a nap or if someone with a longer rap sheet should put me down behind the barn. He was sneaky wicked like that and it helped keep me alert and on my toes. I made sure to stay on the opposite side of the mountain to keep him from sneaking up behind and cutting me.

He was easy to spot from the high side of the mountain as he was always with shady characters like a Jester that went by the name of Ed Ettinghausen and two other munchkins by the names of Brandon and Cameron Plate (all sentenced to the 72-Hour and trying to keep up with 48-Hour Colby).

The taunts continued among the inmates as the night became late. ‘The Jester’ and ‘The Boy’ kept putting down 1 mile after another as Colby started to get close to tres digitos. I remained roughly 6-7 miles ahead of Colby per the prison LCD screens that were connected to our anklet tracers.

Colby hit 100 miles (his second time to reach said distance) and everyone within the tent celebrated briefly for most still had many loops left to complete before any hopes of being pardoned from Silverton.

I came in after 107 miles to learn that Colby the Cannibal had retired for the night after 101 tough and strenuous miles. I had met a rough, rugged, and dreaded female convict by the name of Sarah Johnson during these early AM miles. I had spotted a wild bear during this time as I stumbled across one of the ridges high up on the mountain. The bear was a hundred feet away or so looking for food (or bearded runners) in a dumpster near the ski lodge.

I reported the bear to the gods and they called other gods with badges. The gods had planted the bear for us prisoners. My mistake was reporting the creature as the gods then scared the bear back up the mountain near our trail where dozens of us were still circling around in the dark.

The ‘Dreaded One’ stayed close either due to fear of the bear, thinking I had Oreos, or because she couldn’t figure out if her headlamp had an actual light. The company was nice even if albeit fundamentally radical.

“Often the best guys are just those that can suffer longer, who don’t give up. And it’s so easy to give up, when you’re on a mountain and it’s really hurting.” – David Millar

After 110 miles (in 40:38:44) which was a new course record I decided I needed to attempt some rest and sleep as I planned a 6 hour drive back to Albuquerque to catch my flight upon my anticipated release date of 900 hours. I knew I had to be sneaky to dodge the gods so I curled up in the back of my rental car and probably slept for 90-120 minutes.

I was paranoid that Colby had arisen early (thinking it was a school morning) and gone back out on the course for more miles before the sun came up. I went back over to the holding tent and found out that Colby was still fast asleep and far away.

I was surprised to win the race and even more impressed by Colby’s 101 miles and second place finish.

There was great joy celebrating the liberation of several of my fellow companions on the mountain as they came in after 100 miles or more. Some of the highlights were seeing Eric ‘The Fireman’ Waterman complete 100 miles after several failed pardons during other prison stays. Collen Zato was impressive in setting the 72-Hour female course record while setting up several touchdown celebrations for others as they reached memorable milestones during the event and by pacing Rachel Spatz to the female 48-Hour course record. The Jester set a male 72-Hour record for most miles on the course with or without a Jester costume. I was impressed watching Rob Distante who arose from the dead (almost literally) on day two and ran out the rest of his sentence to reach 100 miles. All four Run It Fast – Club members went over 100 miles.

“Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was.” – Dag Hammarskjold

The gods were cruel but the punishment was cleansing like a toxic bleaching to the soul. The mountain had beaten us down physically yet our bodies were renewed from the pounding. We left the mountain not knowing if we could survive again on the outside. Many of us knew we couldn’t and we’d be back. Some of us knew that the gods would not give us a choice either way.

“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that damn mountain.” – Jack Kerouac

– joshua holmes (Aug 31-Sep 2, 2013)

This is the 100 Mile Club buckle for the Silverton 1000 that was held from August 27th to September 1st, 2013 in Silverton, Colorado.

The Silverton 1000 is held over 6 days and there are 6 day, 72 Hour, 48 Hour, and 24 Hour options. For an even bigger challenge, runners can choose to try the Silverton 1000 challenge (to be completed in 18 days with special rules – like you have to run at least 1 loop each hour!). The course is a rocky 1 mile loop at 9,318 ft elevation and the course has a gain and loss of 250 ft each loop. Oh, and there are bears! This is a beautiful and tough!

Congratulations to RIF #1 Joshua Holmes who was 1st Overall in the 48 Hour and set a course record of 110 miles! And that’s just ONE week after running the Lean Horse 100! Way to Run It Fast Josh!

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[Buckle submitted by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes – follow him on Twitter @bayou]

This is the Sub 24 buckle for the Lean Horse 100 that was held on August 24-25, 2013 in Spearfish, South Dakota.

This Sub 24 buckle was earned by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes who shaved 33 minutes off his time from last year and won his Age Group! Congratulations Joshua! Way to Run It Fast!

Here is a photo of his Age Group award along with a photo of fellow RIFers RIF #83 Brad Box and RIF #221 Karl Studtmann. Both Brad and Karl completed their 1st 100 Milers at Lean Horse AND won their Age Groups too! In fact, Run It Fast Club members took 3 of the top 9 spots: Brad was 5th Overall, Karl was 6th Overall, and Josh was 9th Overall. Also, RIF #20 Laura Raeder completed her first 50 Miler there and was 3rd in her Age Group! You guys rock and we are so proud of you!

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[Buckle submitted by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes – follow him on Twitter @bayou]

This is the fun finisher’s medal for the ET Full Moon Midnight Marathon/51K/Half Marathon/10K that was held on August 18, 2013 in Rachel, Nevada.

This is a fun race that starts at midnight in the desert near the infamous Area 51 in Nevada. The medal is totally appropriate for this race…and it glows in the dark! This is one of my favorite races.

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[Medal photo submitted by RIF #70 Chuck “MarathonJunkie” Engle. Follow on Twitter @MarathonJunkie]

Ian Sharman won the Leadville Trail 100 Run (FULL RESULTS) on Saturday evening in 16:30:04, the fourth fastest time in the event’s history.  He was even faster in writing his Leadville race report as it was posted bright and early this morning.

Sharman stated that his body wouldn’t let him sleep so he got to writing. We are the beneficiaries of his sleepless night as he delivered a to the point race report full of his thoughts at different points of the race.

Here are a couple of excerpts from his Leadville Report:

How He Attacked Hope Pass as a Flat Lander: “I decided fairly early on that since I live at sea level and the race is almost all above 10,000ft I’d need to keep my perceived effort down to make my legs and energy reserves last the whole way. Plus I’d already run the other 100 milers recently so wanted to be conservative due to that too. So I hiked every step of Hope Pass both directions but I practice that a lot since I’m not a strong uphill runner and it seemed to work well since I got into second by the top (12,600ft) on the way out, although Nick and Ryan were just behind. Ryan dropped at this point with back problems after looking so strong through the first half.”

His Lowest Point: “Things kept going well through to the Outward Bound aid station at mile 76 and my crew and pacers, Meredith Terranova and Sean Meissner were looking after me well. Hiking up Powerline in the next few miles I still felt fairly good but by about mile 82 things turned and I felt delerious. On the downhill trail into Mayqueen (86.5 miles) I was dizzy and almost tripping over every rock. Nick managed to close on me during this section although I had no idea. Then after Mayqueen a toilet stop seemed to bring me back to life and I was able to cruise along the rolling lake single track.”

Click over to Ian’s website (HERE) to read his complete Leadville Trail 100 Run Race Report.

[image: iRunFar]

Ian Sharman was terrific on Saturday in Colorado and won the 2013 Leadville Trail 100 Run with a winning time of 16:30:04 which is the 4th fastest in race history according to iRunFar.

Sharman finished over 45 minutes ahead of second place finisher Nick Clark who finished with a time of 17:06:29.

After Ian and Nick there was a rather large gap before Michael Aish, who led a large portion of the race early on, finished in 18:27:59.

The rest of the top 10 for the men was rounded out with Kyle Pietari (4th), Andrew Catalano (5th), Timo Meyer (6th), Eric Sullivan (7th), Scott Jurek (8th), Bob Africa (9th), and Javier Montero (10th).

Leadville Trail 100 Top 10 Men for 2013

1. Ian Sharman – 16:30:04
2. Nick Clark – 17:06:29
3. Michael Aish – 18:27:59
4. Kyle Pietari – 18:37:22
5. Andrew Catalano – 18:43:26
6. Timo Meyer – 19:04:20
7. Eric Sullivan – 19:17:34
8. Scott Jurek – 19:21:55
9. Bob Africa – 19:38:42
10. Javier Montero – 19:45:46

Ashley Arnold was the female winner of the 2013 Leadville Trail 100 Run with a winning time of 20:25:43.

Arnolds winning margin was 2 hrs 17 min over second place finisher Shaheen Sattar who finished in 22:42:42. Closely behind Sattar was Keila Merino in 22:47:36.

The remaining Top 10 Women were Katrin Silva (4th), Rebecca Hall (5th), Kara Henry (6th), Abby Penamonte (7th), Maddy Hribar (8th), Nicole Studer (9th), and Margaret Nelsen (10th).

Leadville Trail 100 Top 10 Women for 2013

1. Ashley Arnold – 20:25:43
2. Shaheen Sattar – 22:42:42
3. Keila Merino – 22:47:36
4. Katrin Silva – 23:16:25
5. Rebecca Hall – 23:43:13
6. Kara Henry – 23:50:20
7. Abby Penamonte – 24:06:20
8. Maddy Hribar – 24:24:20
9. Nicole Studer – 24:25:43
10. Margaret Nelsen – 24:37:45

Congrats to all of these runners, all of the LT100 finishers, and to all of the LT100 starters.

Full Leadville Trail 100 Run Race Results

[image: iRunFar]

This is the cool finisher’s medal for the Speedgoat 50K that took place on July 27, 2013 in Snowbird Resort, Utah.

Love the shape and the cut outs! Congratulations to RIF #289 Eric for completing this very tough 50K!

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[Medal submitted by RIF #289 Eric Waterman.]