Run It Fast®

Most ultra marathons offer the option of leaving a ‘Drop Bag’ at various points along the course.  This offers runners the opportunity to have needed items available throughout the race.

Drop bags can be anything from a clear plastic bin to a plastic bag to a duffle bag.  Since most races will specifically dictate what is or isn‘t allowed, be sure to check your race website.

As for which is best, my personal preference is a clear plastic container, about the size of a shoebox,  that allows you to easily find what you‘re looking for. What you’ll need to pack depends largely on the race distance, the layout of the course, and the offerings at aid stations.

While the following is a list of suggested items to pack, you’ll want to make sure that you don’t have so much ‘stuff’ that you spend a lot of time rifling through your bag to find what you need.

Also, make sure that the things you need are placed at the appropriate aid stations.  For example, if you’re packing a headlamp in a race bag, you’ll want to make sure that it will be at the aid station you’ll pass as it’s getting dark.  Likewise, suncreen won’t do you much good at night.

Most of all, remember that someone is kind enough to haul your ‘necessities’ to the aid station so that you’ll have what you need so DO NOT OVERPACK.  Happy Trails…

Fuel:  (Gels, Energy Bars, Electrolyte tablets) Although most ultra marathons offer a standard fare of sweet and salty snacks, you will want to make sure you have plenty of what your body is used to.  I find that cutting energy bars into bite sized pieces and putting them in a Ziploc works for me.

Extra shoes:  Especially for ultras of 50 miles or more, you may want to consider having an extra pair of shoes.  You may also want to consider making sure that your ‘spare pair’ is at least a half size larger since your feet will most likely swell.

Extra Socks:  Dry feet are happy feet.  Period.

Extra Clothes:  Know your race.  Check the weather forecast and be prepared.  If there’s a chance of rain, pack a light water-proof jacket.  If it’s a scorcher, getting out of sweaty clothes before the sun goes down will help with chills.  Temps in some races can vary 30-40 degrees between day and night so be prepared.

BodyGlide:  Whether you prefer Glide, Vaseline, Desitin Clear, or some other goo, you’ll want something on hand in case chaffing becomes an issue.  This should be in EVERY drop bag.

Blister Kit: You can buy these or make your own.  Basically, you need a sterilized needle and a bandage.  Frankly, I like duct tape as well or better than any type of band-aid I’ve tried.  If you run far enough, you WILL have a blister.  Use the needle to relieve the pressure, cover tightly with your bandage of choice and move on.  Just make sure you store the needle so that it won’t ‘poke’ you while you’re looking though your bag.

Sunscreen:  As you sweat (or go through water crossings if you’re lucky) you’ll want to re-apply.  You’ll most likely hurt in enough places when the race is over that you won’t need a sunburn to remind you of your accomplishment.

Headlamp (and extra batteries):  Obviously, you won’t need this for most 50K’s but for longer races such as 100 milers, a headlamp is your best friend.

Bug Spray:  I include this for personal reasons after running 50 miles at Ouachita and swatting horseflies for hours.  Likewise, you will find that a battle against mosquitoes is one you won’t win.

Small pack baby wipes: All I can say is that a clean ___ is a happy ___.  Fill in the blanks as you wish.  You can never go wrong with baby wipes.

Here is a look at the impressive Land Between the Lakes 50 Mile & 60K belt buckle. The buckle is given out to the finishers of both distances.

The buckle pictured here is from the 2010 race, but it will likely be the same buckle given out at the 2011 event as well.

The 2011 Land Between the Lake races will take place on March 12, 2011.

Land Between the Lakes Facebook Page

[photo: Naresh Kumar]

Here is the Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Trail Race finisher’s belt buckle from the 2011 race that took place in Huntsville, Texas.

The race is really well put on and has superb aid stations throughout the 20-mile loop.

Rocky Raccoon Race Website

2011 Rocky Raccoon Results

An elite field showed up in Huntsville, Texas this Saturday for the 2011 Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Trail Race that included Scott Jurek, Anton Krupicka, Karl Meltzer, Liza Howard, Zach Gingerich and a young pup by the name of Ian Sharman, who not only won the race but set a course record by 32 minutes with a time of 12:44:33.

Liza Howard was the first female finisher with a blazing time of 15:33:09

Here is a look at the top finishers from 2011RR100:

Elites Scott Jurek and Zach Gingerich dropped out and did not finish RR100.

From time to time here on Run It Fast we feature races that we highly recommend because one of us have run the race before and had a great experience doing so.

The Strolling Jim 40 Mile Run in Wartrace, TN is one of these races. It’s an ultra marathon of 40 miles that is run entirely on paved roads.

The race is challenging and very hilly. The heat and humidity can also take a toll on you as the day progresses.  SJ40 usually comprises a collection of elite athletes, ultra veterans, and newbies to ultras.  There is always a friendly environment between all of the runners and you get a lot of bang for your buck with a pre-race pasta dinner and post race meal included.

The 2010 edition of ‘The Jim’ was won by 2007 Badwater champion Valmir Nunes, of Brazil, with at time of 4:44:43.  The last finisher crossed the line in 12:46:37. The race has no cut off and waits for everyone who wants to finish it.

The 33rd annual Strolling Jim takes place on May 7, 2011.  Signups are underway and the race will be capped at 250 runners (101 ran it last year).

Strolling Jim 40 Miler Website – (Sign Up at UltraSignUp.com) -$50 before Feb 28, $60 after

Race Director Mike Melton can be reached via email at mike@mcmelton.com

Strolling Jim 40 Mile Ultra Marathon Review

Here is a photo of the official medal, or is that finisher’s wood, from the 2010 Recover from the Holidays 50km trail ultra marathon that took place on December 31, 2010.

A very unique and desirable finisher’s medal for sure.

The race takes place in Huntsville, Alabama at the Huntsville Cross Country Running Park.

Recover from the Holidays 50km Website

Thanks to Chris Estes for sending in the photo of his newly acquired bling.

The Across The Years 72-Hour Endurance Race is over and Vikena Yutz was the female winner putting down 216.237 miles during the three-day race.  Not only was she the #1 female, but Kena placed sixth overall.

Second place female went to Joan Hellman with 200.082 miles and third to Iliana Dimitrova with 157.518 miles.

All of the ATY races take place in Buckeye, Arizona at the Nardini Manor each year.

Across The Years 72-Hour Female Results

1. Kena Yutz – 216.237 miles
2. Joan Hellman – 200.082 miles
3. Iliana Dimitrova 157.518 miles
4. Juli Aistars – 155.964 miles
5. Martina Hausmann – 153.168 miles

The 72-Hour male winner was George Biondic who covered an astounding 248.548 miles. Truly, a bionic man! Second place went to Andreas Falk and Ed Ettinghausen who both  did 238.607 miles.

Across The Years 72-Hour Male Results

1. George Biondic – 248.548 miles
2. Andreas Falk – 238.607 miles (tie)
3. Ed Ettinghausen 238.607 miles (tie)
4. Jeff Hagen – 222.762 miles
5. John Geesler – 217.791 miles

And here is a look at the results from the rest of the 2010 ATY races that took place from December 29, 2010 – January 1, 2011.

Across The Years 48-Hour Female Results

Across The Years 48-Hour Male Results

Across The Years 24-Hour Female Results

Across The Years 24-Hour Male Results

View All of the 2010 Across The Years Results

ACROSS THE YEARS Website

[image by: Ray Krolewicz]

Ultra marathon legend Scott Jurek discusses how he became interested in running, ultra marathons, and how he gets through such extreme races and distances with CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Scott has won Badwater, Western States several times, and almost every other endurance running race in the United States.

Follow Scott Jurek on Twitter

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I am exhausted and in pain now. I know running Ultra is painful, but I just tend to forget how painful the last Ultra was and still end up signing for a couple more. I can feel the twinge of soreness in my achilles tendon and I dare to break those nasty blisters. I’d decided that I would rather leave the room lights ON and go to sleep instead of making an attempt to get up and turn it off.

3:18AM, Oct 16th, I forced myself out from the bed at this God forsaken hour to hit the shower. Race starts at 5:00AM. I decided to start along with my friend Diane, two hours prior to official start time. My ambitious goal was to get the 50 miler under 10 hours and run until 7:00PM to get a 100K. Little did I knew what was in store for me for the rest of the day.

It was very cold that morning that one could see their breath. I wasn’t expecting it to get this cold. No long sleeved shirt and no gloves. About 20 runners took off, into the fog, into the darkness. Not knowing where you are running at times is a bliss. I could hardly see anything ahead of me and that included the elevation as well. The first few miles were quiet hilly until we reached Kohls from where we ran towards Percy priest dam and back to the start line. Running that long wooden bridge along Stones river has always been my favorite course. While running back towards the start I saw the runners who started at 7:00AM. There were many faces that I could recognize. Dallas Smith, Josh Hite, Mike Melton, Mike from Bartlett, John Titjen and more. By the time I got to the start line which was mile 16 now, my hands were completely frozen and I had to take Angela’s help, another awesome runner and a good friend, to even open a can of coke and the cap of the water bottle.

The sun was up by now and I headed my way towards Shelby Bottoms. The course was great and the course directions were marked pretty clear. There was NU written all along the intersections. It was a pleasant surprise when the arrow turned right detouring from the pavement to a dirt/grass trail. The grass drenched in early morning dew, with trees covering both sides of the trail, it felt like running in the wild. That’s when the unexpected happened. I landed myself in a small ditch which was camouflaged by the covering of grass and I really twisted my ankle and felt a sharp pain shoot out from my Achilles. I walked a bit and when I felt good I started running again. The grass trail was winding through all along the course until a few miles short to the Shelby Bottoms Aid station.

It wasn’t until after crossing the Pedestrian Bridge, mile 26, that my feet started hurting from the earlier ankle twist. It was getting hotter but nothing unbearable. Running along the Cheatham lake reminded me that it’s the Purity 10K course which I ran earlier this year and I ran the purity 10K just for the unlimited ice cream after you finish. I saw the turn around point for 60K and 70K and was eagerly waiting to approach the 50 Mile turn around point. Mile 31, finally I made it to the turn around. Now all the way back to the start in addition to a small loop to the finish line.

Mile 33, piercing pain hit my achilles and even running a 13 min pace was becoming impossible. I was well in time until now for a sub 10:00 and decided to take it easy and walk till the pedestrian bridge but when I reached mile 37 I lost all hopes and the goal was just to finish. A doc at the aid station looked at my leg and after examining my feet he said that my feet is swollen and it’s going to be difficult but when I insisted to continue, he decided to splint my achilles which offered very little support. It was still painful but at least helped me keep moving. Prolonged walks on the hot pavement, my Vibrams couldn’t hold it, and ended up developing blisters. At mile 40, when I reached the aid station I had nothing in my mind but to quit. Should I drop down to 40 mile and finish the race, running another 10 miles in this situation was something too daunting. While my body was waging a battle against my mind, I decided to keep moving on the course so that I will not have a choice but to continue to the finish line.

Soon I hit the grass/dirt trail. The same course which I loved running earlier that morning was looking like a crazy demon waiting to devour my leg as soon as I set my feet on it.

READ THE REST OF NARESH’S NASHVILLE ULTRA RACE REPORT HERE

I skipped the Mohawk Hudson Marathon on 10/10 in order to spend 6 days in Portsmouth, NH.   I decided to skip the race after my half for the Ulman Fund on 10/3.   My ACL had become very painful the day after that run, thus I imagined the marathon would have just left me home recovering for days.  Right now, I really need to be training not resting.  In exchange for a hard 26.2, I opted for 42 easier miles along some of the most beautiful waterside scenic routes.

Portsmouth, NH  has a wonderful running community.   The local running club ( http://www.coastalathletic.org/)    has links to group runs, pub runs, and trail and road races.    All the roads that I covered seemed to have a beaten down foot path along side the shoulders showing just how much runners are out there pounding out miles.   I mapped a  wonderful 13 mile loop through downtown Portsmouth and over the island town of New Castle, settled in the early 1600’s making it the oldest town in NH.   Hampton Beach and Rye are a short trip south from Portsmouth and a wonderful place to log some ocean and cliff-side miles over mildly rolling terrain.  The crisp 45-60 degree weather just made every run perfect.  Walk up to the window of the Beach Plum for a post-run Lobster Roll or some Pumpkin ice cream when in Hampton or stop by  Me and Ollie’s Café when back in Portsmouth for butternut squash/cranberry soup and a thick slice of gooey cinnamon swirl breac and it really it doesn’t get much better that this.

Skipping the marathon left me feeling good enough to run some mileage this weekend, so I attended to two local races: the Mountain Madness 50k and the Asbury Park Marathon.  My plan was to run while paying attention to my knee in order to stop before I do damage that would require rest and recovery.   There were not goal races, so I did not feel compelled to push through the pain.

Mountain Madness (MoMA)

Rick and Jennifer McNulty organize New Jersey Trail Series races (http://sites.google.com/site/xxctrailseries/Home).  The MoMa is in its second year.  The idea of running through the woods for hours and hours on a crisp fall day is so alluring.   I recall  feeling incredibly overwhelmed by the warm colors of the fallen leaves last year.  I looked forward to another beautiful day of slow hilly running.

The MoMa is truly second most difficult course I have run in NJ.  The first is another NJ Trail series run called Running with the Devil (RwtD), which takes place at Mountain Creek Ski Resort at the end of July.   At RwtD runners travel up 933 ft over 1 mile, then back down, and repeat for 3, 6, or 12 hours in the heat and humidity while being tortured by the sounds of people enjoying the adjacent water park.

The MoMa is much kinder, but the 50k loop over long hilly terrain is really quite challenging (for me).  Some sections are a bit too rocky for my trail running ability and I end up twisting my ankles a bit more than I care to tolerate.  Getting lost, as a group, is common.   Last year, a few of us were lost for a good half hour due to pulled markings.   This year, it seems the course markings were pulled again.  It became a group effort to determine where to go next.  This race is really beautiful, but runners could be disappointed if they expect to post a fast time.   As for me, after twisting my ankle four times, my ACL was not very happy.  It took just one very long decent around 13-14 miles for me to decide it was time to bail hoping to be able to run at least half if not all of the Asbury Marathon the next day.

Asbury Park Marathon

The Asbury Park Marathon is a fun race (http://www.runasburypark.org/index.html).   It is primarily a relay that takes place over a flat, fast, 8 loop course running through Bruce Springsteen’s home town.   The cool weather was absolutely perfect for a fast race.  The headwind in the early section of each loop was really the only obstacle.

As soon as I started, I could feel how the slow pace at the MoMa the day before left my legs feeling less than peppy. Regardless, I started just about sub-8 for the first mile.  It didnt take very long for my knee to rebel and knew I wasn’t going to run the entire way.   After 7 miles, I ran past my car, dropped off my gels and decided maybe a 10 mile run will be enough for the day.

At that point I met Art, who rode up to me on his bike and asked me if I was having knee pain.  Since my knee is taped, I laughed asking “Yes, how did you know?”  He told me that he is a physical therapist who just attended a seminar on knee problems in runners. He came to watch runners and talk to those who experience knee pain.  For the most part, I generally don’t engage men who ride up to me on their bike while I am running, but since there was zero creepiness about Art, I listened to what he had to say.  I ran a bit while Art rode and he asked if he could video tape my stride for a few seconds and discuss with me what he saw.  Since my run was almost over, I figured why not hear what he has to say.

Art explained that most runners try to strengthen their quads in order better hold the knee cap properly.   However, he recenty learned that the newer thinking is that the knee is being pulled out of place by strong quads and therefore the muscle groups that need the most attention are the glutes and hamstrings.  We discussed a few different types of exercises that could be done at the gym and I was off to finish my run.   I would love to hear more thoughts about this.

Just as I was about to finish off the run, I saw Colleen running along with her friend Valerie.  I met Colleen at the start and she is a Marathon Maniac who was working on her first double marathon weekend.  (Congratulations Colleen!)  I returned my chip at approximately the 9 mile mark  as I passed through the start/finish, I caught up  and talked with Colleen and Valerie while planning to stop once I reached my car at 11.   As I passed my car, I was feeling good enough to continue so I took things about ½ loop at time.  Once reaching the S/F line (very close to  my car), I decided to continue on.   Upon passing my car again, I decided I still was not ready to stop and went back out.  Again crossing the S/F line, I decided to continue on.   Briefly, I thought I would end up finishing the entire run.  That idea quickly vanished just after 16 miles, when I could feel my ACL  straining too much for my comfort level.   I ended up with about 17 miles for the day and 32 miles of wondering running for the weekend.

Thank you all so much for reading my posts.

Shannon