Run It Fast®

This is the medal for the 25th Anniversary of the Spillway Classic Trail Run held on July 15, 2012 on the Bonnet Carre Spillway, Norco, LA .

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal submitted by David Monett. Follow him on Twitter @dmmonett]

This is the medal for the Stonewall Peak Half Marathon that was held in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, CA on July 14, 2012.

The medal does not do justice to how beautiful this trail run was! It was the most beautiful course I’ve done so far.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal submitted by RIF #5 Lisa Gonzales. Follow her on Twitter @runlikeacoyote]

This is the medal for the PsychoPsummer 50K that was held in Kansas City, KS on July 14, 2012.

A fun medal that includes a bottle opener!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal submitted by Dustin Washam. Follow him on Twitter @washamrunning]

Day 6 of the Last Annual Vol State! It’s getting close! Do we have a winner? Any minute now, I expect…if it hasn’t happened already. And where is our fearless leader at? Sulaiman? What of all the other runners still out there?  I’ll be updating today’s live blog throughout the day so check back to see who is close and who has a while to go yet. If you didn’t get a chance to read the live blog for any of the previous 5 days, you can check them out here:

Day 1      Day 2      Day 3     Day 4       Day 5

And don’t forget, you can always:

-See what Joshua (@bayou) is up to on twitter or search the tag #VS500 on twitter.
-Check out The Last Annual Vol State Road Race page on Facebook.
-Check out the Vol State 2012 Map to see where the runners are (updated 2x per day w/ last location).
-Carl Laniak is adding photos to his album if you’d like to check those out as well:  Vol State 2012 Album
-Naresh is at the Vol State now and taking photos! Check it out: Naresh’s Vol State 2012 Album 

So far today:

Email from Carl at 4:41 am

4am on the rock (laz)

it’s 4am on the rock…

paul is lost in 2500 acres of 10′ tall corn.
naresh has gone on foot to look for paul.
carl drove off, to look for naresh.
i’m standing in the rain, without any of my shit.

i really want to get back to the room
so i can get an hour of sleep
before the morning call ins start.

i wouldnt mind just being dry.

i am in hell.

but i really can’t complain.
juli is on monteagle mountain,
in a monster electrical storm.
10 miles from the nearest town.

sulaiman is lost in tracy city.
being eyed by the local cops.

psyche is trying to sleep on a bench
on the front porch of the walking horse hotel in wartrace.
she wanted to room with dusty.
but the hotel is locked,
and dusty’s phone is off while she sleeps.
a shower and a bed are but feet away.
but might as well be back in Missouri.

jan has a shower and a bed,
but a cop picked her up tonight
and took her 6 miles off course to a motel.
she’s not sure how she’ll return to the course tomorrow.

jay, sherry, charlie, and john
are trudging their way up monteagle mountain.
in the dark.
with nothing open.

diane is already up this morning.
heading from columbia to shelbyville.
trying to stay on pace for a 10 day finish.

marv is striving for columbia,
pushing to get back on pace
after a foot care appointment at the hospital.

dusty and shannon are the only two,
in this whole race
who aren’t hungry, thirsty,
and miserable.
they’re only tired and sore,
and getting ready to head back out for another day…

accept no imitations…
there’s nothing quite like the vol state.

laz

Email from Carl at 3:25 am

5:20:05:06 – #3 Paul Lefelhocz

Who ran thru the maelstrom, and came out clean.

Carl

Posted by Joshua at 12:47 am

Email from Carl at 12:26 am (Woo! Way to Run It Fast #1!)

 5:17:04:49 – #2 is Joshua Holmes

Charging up sand mountain in under an hour, fighting off Paul…and god’s weather furry.

Carl

Email from Carl at 11:03 pm

Re: Vol state update from poseidon’s perch

Joshua got in his crew vehicle when a limb blew down out of a tree and hit him, while a lightning bolt struck within spitting distance.

But Paul is apparently running on thru this storm. Gaining.

With the amount of rain coming down, he *might* even have most of the stink washed off of him.

This hellacious bit of weather just might have a huge impact on the race…if it keeps up long enough for Paul to make up 6 more miles….

Carl

Email from Carl at 10:30 pm

 Vol state update from poseidon’s perch

We are at castle rock ranch, awaiting the #2 runner.

But…

The sky is coming apart. This storm is more than laz or I have ever been in, from a volume of rain standpoint. It’s raining more than a hurricane. Just incredible.
Josh and Paul have both retreated to their crew vehicles, but juli is up on the monteagle plateau with just the poncho in her pack. She is experiencing…. something… up there right now.

Carl

Posted by Joshua at 10:02 pm

Posted by Joshua at 8:39 pm (Come on Josh! Go, go, go! Run It Fast!)

Update of runner status by Laz at 8:39 pm

vol state update 11-5.5 days

today the people who were too lazy to already finish got a taste of real heat.
it cost us one more, as thomas mikkleson bailed at 250.

standings after 5.5 days:

1) dan fox 314 (5:03:09:33) king dan II; “if you get tired after 200 miles; that just shows a lack of training.”
2) joshua holmes 297- hoping to finish after midnight
3) paul lefelhocz 285- making one last surge & closing ground. will it be too late?
4) juli aistars 280- resilient. what else can you say?
5) sulaiman sericki 254- he says he isnt stopping again until he reaches the rock
6) jay dobrojetski 252- can anyone say “hot pursuit?”
7) richard westbrook 250 – he has been in this spot for a day and a half.
8 ) charlie taylor 246-“this race right here is a man-maker. it makes you reach down in places you forgot you had”
9) john price 245- sounding very weary. but has 5 places within 9 miles. expect him to respond.
10) sherry meador 237- this is one tough girl, entering the homestretch.
11) psyche wimberly 231-in war trace and moving
12) dusty hardman 221- headed out into the night well rested
13) shannon burke 214- fighting to reach shelbyville and take a break
14) jan silverman 210- “my feet are a mess”
15) diane taylor 179- sleeping in columbia, preparing to spend all night on the road.
16) marvin skagerberg 155- medical care has worked miracles on his feet. fighting to get back on pace.
17) oprah 154- what can we say that hasnt already been said?
18) thomas mikkleson 250-RIP
19) rita barnes 185- RIP
20) sal coll 156- RIP
21) fred davis 125- RIP
22) erika matheny/adam venn 122-RIP
23) mike melton 121- RIP
24) abi meadows 100- RIP

tight races for the remaining places coming out of manchester.
nobody wants to yield a place after 5 and a half days in hell.
everybody would like to take one.
gonna be a couple of wild days coming up.
the only thing we know for sure…

there are no ties at the vol-state.

laz

Posted by Joshua at 2:03 pm

Email from Carl at 11:07 am

Re: King Dan…5:03:09:33

He broke his own unscrewed record.
And he is the first unscrewed King.

Carl

In reply to:

Hail King Dan!. That is a great time. Is that the uncrewed record?

Fred in Connecticut

Posted by Joshua at 11:04 am

Email from Carl at 10:31 pm

King Dan…5:03:09:33

“this feels soooo good”

Pictures in my picasa album

Carl

Posted by Joshua at 8:38 am

Update of runner stats from Carl at 8:18 am

vol state update 10 – 5 day standings

1) dan fox 303
2) joshua holmes 271
3) juli aistars 259
4) paul lefelhocz 250
5) sulaiman sericki 240
6) thomas mikkelson 235
7)  jay dobroplusk 234
8 ) charlie taylor 223
9) john price 222
10) sherry meador 220
11) psyche wimberly 203
12) richard westbrook -over 200, but has forgotten how to use phone
13) dusty hardman 190
14) shannon burke 187
15) rita barnes 185 (RIP)
16) jan silverman 184
17) sal coll 156 (RIP)
18) diane taylor over 144, but probably in dead (brain) cell zone
19) marvin skagerberg 136
20) oprah 135
21) fred davis 125 (RIP)
22) erika matheny/adam vess 122 (RIP)
23) mike melton 121 (RIP)
24) abi meadows 100 (RIP)

Email from Carl at 7:18 am

best beer?

the debate can be put to rest.
at mile 300, dan fox slapped a $20 bill in laz’s hand,
and said, “bring me a beer to the rock.”

not sure what we’ll get, but it’ll be the undisputed best beer in ultrarunning….

the one you down at the finish,
after winning the race.

king don’s reign is into the final minutes.

Email from Carl at 7:09 am

the heir apparent (volstate – from laz)

crown prince dan is nearing south pittsburg.
he has passed the interstate and will cross the tennessee river for the second time in about a half hour.
one more mountain to climb.
victory is now literally within sight.

he built his kingdom on 5 days of nearly continuous movement,
living on short naps in the woods alongside the road…

and putting in killing surges;
long strings of 4.5 and 5 mile hours during the crucial days when the race was being decided.
pulling away when his rivals were trying to close the gap.

saw him passing the 300 mile mark, at 4d 23h 25m,
with an ear to ear grin.

what an inspiring effort.

laz (update for the mortals to follow)

Day 5 of the Last Annual Vol State! Saturday they had wild rain, yesterday they had steamy heat…what will be in store for our small band of runners today? I’ll be updating today’s live blog throughout the day so check back to see all the happenings. Here are the first 4 Days if you didn’t get a chance to read them:

Day 1      Day 2      Day 3     Day 4

And don’t forget, you can always:

-See what Joshua (@bayou) is up to on twitter or search the tag #VS500 on twitter.
-Check out The Last Annual Vol State Road Race page on Facebook.
-Check out the Vol State 2012 Map to see where the runners are (updated 2x per day w/ last location).
-Carl Laniak is adding photos to his album if you’d like to check those out as well:  Vol State 2012 Album
-Naresh is at the Vol State now and taking photos! Check it out: Naresh’s Vol State 2012 Album 

So far today:

 Update of runner status by Laz at 10:38 pm

 vol state update 9: 4.5 days, the hammer comes down

i always get frustrated at the “horror moves” where the victim gains the upper hand,
then immediately turns her back on the villain,’only to be grabbed again when the villain comes back to life.
once you knock them down, you are supposed to make sure they never get back up.
i always coached basketball by the same theory.
it wasnt that i believed in running up a score,
but when you get the upper hand you keep hammering until you know the opponent is not coming back.

the feral fox apparently comes from the same school.
he opened a small lead at 3.5 days.
blew it open at 4.
the surviving contenders tried to answer.
but fox was like a runaway train.
by 4.5 days, he had the race in hand.

42 miles thru the east tennessee mountains isnt exactly a formality.
it falls short of being a victory procession.
but with a 27 mile lead, the feral fox can almost feel the crown on his head….

after his call-in from the top of mointeagle mountain,
we watched as an intense electrical storm descended on his position.
lightning was hammering the top of the mountain,
huge bolts that ran from ground to sky like dancing pillars,
some lasting 4 or 5 seconds.
dan had lost his rain gear 12 hours earlier, while making his 4-day call-in.

i reckon he will have an entertaining night to tell us about when he arrives.
we expect him to reach the rock sometime tomorrow morning.

dan’s lost raingear was part of an all-male attempt to cut into the women’s lead in the battle of the sexes.
the men tallied 2 sets of lost raingear, a lost phone charger, and a drop.
the women answered with a lost phone charger, a lost pair of pants (!?), a couple of lost hats, and another drop.

and we havent even counted sunglasses.
we saw one woman, who had lost her sunglasses on day one, running with several spare pairs hanging from her pack.

however, no one may be able to match the performance of sulaiman and jay.
after running off course in the wee hours of the morning, and unwittingly taking a room in a motel far from the course,
they awoke to find themselves on a road that they could not reconcile to their maps,
and spent 6 hours circling lewisburg on the bypass…
a new twist on the concept of the endless loop.

11 hours in lewisburg.

we received several frantic phone calls from the wayward duo during their treadmill experience.
but we couldnt figure out where they were, either.
we finally came across them during our afternoon drive thru…
only a mile short of where they called in from that morning.

lets see the women top that one.

standings after 4.5 days

1) dan fox- 272 (monteagle)
2) paul lefelhocz- 245 (he finally had to sleep)
3) joshua holmes- 244.5
4) juli aistars- 244 (and starting to lean)
5) thomas mikkelson- 235.5 (waiting in his car for the electrical storms to subside)
6) sulaiman sericki- 212 (off the treadmill)
7) jay dobrovinski- 211 (still dizzy from circling the bypass)
8 ) charlie taylor-207.5 (just passed jp)
9) john price- 207
10) sherry meador-202 (rest break!)
11) richard westbrook- last sighted at mile 200 (might b e as high as 8th place)
12) psyche wimberly- 195
13) rita barnes- 185 (dropped at the bench of despair)
14-15-16) jan silverman, dusty hardman, and shannon burke- 179 (rest break in columbia)
17) sal coll- 156 (gone home)
18) diane taylor- 144 (short break in hohenwald, then a big push to get back on track)
19) fred taylor 125 (gone home)
20) marvin skagerberg-125 (linden rest break)
21) oprah- 124
22) erika matheny/adam vess relay- 122 (gone home)
23) mike melton- 121 (gone home)
24) abi meadows- 100 (gone home)

there is no way to tell all the stories.

laz

Posted by Joshua at 10:32 pm

Posted by Joshua at 10:27 pm

Naresh added a bunch of photos to his Vol State 2012 from the weekend. Check out the rain they were dealing with and the “bench of despair” (see Email from Laz at 7:25 am on Day 4)! Naresh’s Vol State 2012 Album Thanks to Naresh for letting me share some of them here.

Email from Carl at 2:00 pm

Fly 5

Melton is picked up.
121 miles in 103 hours.

Carl

Email from Carl at 11:29 am

More tails from the road…

In shelbyville, juli was hiding from the sun under her umbrella, when I semi went by and blew it inside out. It was destroyed by the blast.

She had just climbed a rise past the dollar general…but, oh, the effort to go back down the hill for a new sunshade!

She went in the convenience store where she was, and sweet talked her way into purchasing the clerk’s umbrella, for $10.

The great added benefit?
“This one is prettier!”

Now, tell me, would you rather get online and order a $300 garmin watch, or get yourself to shelbyville at mile 226 and scavenge an umbrella off a startled and confused quick-mart clerk???

Welcome to volstate!

Carl

Update from Carl at 11:09 am

As an update, we just received word from jays family, and then directly from sulaiman by text message, that those two are currently sleeping in lewisburg at 202.

Carl

Email from Carl at 11:04 am

As we head out for the LONG drive thru today (the runners are spread from 113 to 250, and we will drive that twice!) it is hard not to start getting excited about the race charging towards the rock.
It seems the contenders are down to the Ohioans. The Fox and the Hocz.

Paul called us from wartrace, wondering where he could go down for a major rest. When he learned that he was second by less than 10 miles, his voice wavered between excitement and despair….. “oh no! I guess I’ll just take a quick nap on this bench and then keep going.”

….

Driving backwards on the course, we’ve just seen a hunched over figure operating at a semblance of a jog. It was juli aistars, coming in to shelbyville just before 11am.

The sun is heating up the roads, these runners are in for a baking hot day, where their brains will be as hot as their feet.

From the shimmering heat of Pelham for the leaders as they press towards monteagle mountain….to the mortals who are toiling in the no mans land between Columbia and culleoka, all those runners still on the course can truly say that they know what it means to push themselves to the brink.

For those of you on the edge of your seats in your air conditioned offices….get out your number 2 pencils and start planning for vol state 2013. The Tennessee roads will welcome you just like they have Thomas mikkelson, (who we just passed in Wheel, TN) with a warm (stiflingly warm) embrace.

Carl

Posted by Joshua at 9:07 am

 Update of runner status by Laz at 8:45 am

vol state update 8: what comes down must go up

vol staters may be consistent with their performance,
but their emotional state is a different matter.
part of running the vol-state, at least successfully,
is surviving the crushing emotional and physical lows that accompany the effort.
sitting at home (or even putting in endless miles up and down the route in a car)
it is easy to say that every low will pass,
that highs
(such as one can feel a “high” after a couple of hundred miles, with over a hundred remaining)
will be in the future.
at the time when it is only with the greatest effort one can trudge along at 30 minutes a mile,
it seems like this is the state that will last forever.
that, if anything, it will get even worse.
the ever-present pain seems to crescendo,
until it’s cacaphonous screaming wracks your body and fills your head.
the mind can only calculate the endlessly depressing slow progress,
which will never get you to the finish.
the downward spiral disappears into the mists below you.
the freefall can only end when you crash to earth in a total collapse.

to succeed at the volstate
you must preserve a spark of hope deep inside.
you must persevere thru any depression.
it will not always be that way.
there are still times in the future when you will move strongly,
and you will feel invincible,
as if you could go on forever.
and somewhere out there in the future is the rock.
the reward for never losing sight of your goal.
the incredible power of that moment,
when you step on, touch, or kiss the rock,
and all the pressure ends cannot be described.
it can only be felt.
and the memory of that moment will last a lifetime,
with a power that could not be, if it were not for the hopeless, horrible lows.
so easy to understand on the sofa,
so hard to believe on the road.
what comes down must go up.

standings after 4 days:

1) dan (feral) fox- 243 nearing manchester. dan is putting together an astonishing uncrewed run.
2) paul lefelhocz- 230 nearing war trace. these guys are writing the book on running crewless… and competing.
3) joshua holmes- 221 fixing to take a break
4) juli aistars- 210 moving, after finally taking a nights sleep
5) thomas mikkelson- 209 moving
6) john price- 185 moving
7) charkley taylor- 181 moving
8 ) sherry meador- 180 moving
9) richard westbrook- 179.5 moving

10-11) sulaiman sericki and jay dobrobluski were last reported resting at 179. they might have started and not had cell phone reception to check in…

12) psyche wimberly- 175 she was forced off the course by a cop in columbia last night. back on course this morning.
13) jan silverman – 161 moving
14) sal coll- 156 (gone home)
15) rita barnes- 152 moving
16) dusty hardman- 151 moving
17) shannon burke- 147 moving
18) dian taylor- 126 moving
19) fred davis- 125 (gone home)
20) erika matheny/adam vess relay- 122 (gone home)
21) marvin skagerberg- 115 (across the river!) moving
22) oprah- 114 moving
23) mike melton- 108 moving (?) describes seeing oprah blow past as “emasculating”
24) abi meadows- 100 (gone home)

Email from Laz last night at 10:13 pm

possibly the greatest race photo ever taken

https://picasaweb.google.com/107684748124952715657/VolState2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ3qzrTy4cH8GA#5765595852625751250

Sorry for the late start. I had a half this morning and just got a chance to catch up. Looks like it’s been a wild day for the VS500K runners. Check out below to see what happened during the day and check back for any updates.

And don’t forget, you can always:

See what Joshua (@bayou) is up to on twitter or search the tag #VS500 on twitter.

Check out The Last Annual Vol State Road Race page on Facebook.

Or check out this map to see where all the runners are. The runner’s locations are marked with “stickpins”. The map is updated twice per day and shows their last location.

http://www.tinyurl.com/VolState2012

Carl Laniak is adding photos to his album if you’d like to check those out as well:  Vol State 2012 Album

Naresh is at the Vol State now and taking photos! He’ll be adding to it over the weekend. Check it out:Naresh’s Vol State 2012 Album

So far today:

Posted by Joshua at 10:52 pm

Posted by Joshua at 10:50 pm

60 Hour Update of runner status from Laz at 8:46pm

vol state update 5: it’s all downhill from here
the front end has turned into a desperate struggle.
whoever takes home the crown will have earned it the hard way.

1) paul lefelhocz 161. thru hampshire and running
2) dan fox 158. running
3) juli aistars 156. natches trace. running.
4) joshua holmes 151. struggling at times, but moving forward.
5) jay dobromowski 150. stopped at walmart in hohenwald to cobble together blister kit. lost 4 places doing it. back running.
6) thomas mikkelson 149. stopped for a rest break.
7) sulaiman sericki 142, entering hohenwald. he has a heel blister that looks like a crater. says he no longer feels it thru the pain in his knee. moving.
8 ) richard westbrook 130. on the way to hohenwald, moving.

there are several at various points in rest breaks at 125 (commodore hotel in linden):

9-12) charlie taylor, sal coll, psyche winberly, sherry meador

13) john price 124, in linden, not stopping
14) dusty hardman 124, in linden, stopping at 125
15) fred davis 115, crossing the tennessee river. moving.

16-18) holed up at the pine tree motel on the wrong side of the river: rita barnes, shannon burke, jan silverman

19) erika matheny and adam venn relay team 108 and taking a break
20) abi meadows 100 and dropped.
21-22) mike melton and diane taylor 92: gone to earth in lexington days inn.
23) marvin skagerberg: 90 and taking a break. briefly caught taylor and melton earlier today. gunning for them tomorrow.
24) oprah 89

besides the deluges (parts of the course are now under a flash flood watch)
the watchword of the day is pain.
everyone is hurting somewhere.
the constant moisture is destroying feet.
the constant running and walking is breaking bodies and crushing wills.
and there is still so far to go.
dont let all the people on evening breaks fool you.
the breaks are short. the days are long.
while you sleep the footwarriors fight on.

the score in the battle between the sexes:
women, 1 doused cellphone, two lost chargers. 1 drop.
men, all cellphone systems intact. full field intact.

just saying.

laz

Email from Laz at 4:50 pm

all hell is breaking loose
and the heavens are opening up.

no more showers for the vol-staters.
today the rains steadily increased in frequency and strength,
until we saw some monumental deluges.
conditions are terrible,
with deep puddles covering the roads,
as the rain came down faster than it could run off.

we wont know for sure, until call in
(we couldnt locate dobronewski)
but it looks like lefelhocz has seized control,
with about a 4 mile lead on fox.
(both have passed the halfway point, and are running strong… not walking)
paul made us promise again not to reveal his position to his wife.
good thing he can trust me & carl.

juli looked like a strong maybe third, coming out of hohenwald
and joshua holmes is experiencing one of those special times,
but still moving in 4th and at about 145, in hohenwald.

laz

Update from Carl at 12:36 pm

Driving thru the course, we can update that reports of Rita Barnes’ demise were greatly exaggerated. She is on course and moving into Parsons.

Carl

48 Hour Update of runner status by Laz at 8:53 am

Vol State Update 4: emerging from the mists
while most of you slept, the vol-staters trudged onward.
it took 2 days, but the competition is taking shape….
and the competitors are becoming clear.

too many people are too close together to do any serious handicapping,
but the number of serious contenders for the crown has shrunk considerably.

we can scratch abi, out after 100 miles with gastric distress.
we can scratch rita, down at 92 and talking drop with ankle issues.

joshua holmes surged back into the lead last night,
but paid the price for those fast miles and bailed for some sleep, short of hohenwald at 140 miles.
not so his pursuers, who have already had their rest breaks…
if, indeed, they are taking any.

jay dobrodrewski has pushed his way into 2nd, past linden at 128,
followed closely by uncrewed runners dan fox (127)
and paul lefelhocz (124)

juli aistars (117)
and thomas mikkelson (115)
had also crossed the tennessee river,
and cannot be counted out as a potential leaders before day’s end.

behind them, the peleton strung out between parsons and the river.
in a section of endless hills, runners made their way down the road in seeming isolation,
unable to see the runners but one hill ahead or behind:
7) psyche winberly 109
8 ) sal coll 107
9) charlie taylor 106
10) sulaiman sericki 105
11) sherry meador 104
12) richard westbrook 103
13) jan silverman 102
14) abi meadows 100 (and out)
15) john price 97 (leaving lexington)
16) fred davis 96
17) dusty hardman 93
18) rita barnes 92 (and wavering)

not yet to the turn in lexington:
19) shannon burke 88
20) the erika matherny/adam venn relay team 85
21) mike melton 69
22) dian taylor 68
23) marvin skagerberg 67
24) the relentless oprah 66

look for today to be another day of fruitbasket turnover,
as a long lunch break might cost a half dozen places.
the good news is that it is only supposed to be a little warmer than yesterday.
the bad news is that the thunderstorms are expected to continue.
all that wet weather has created some nasty foot & blister issues very early in the race.
i think a lot of folks would prefer the heat!

laz

Posted by Joshua at 6:43 am

Two EPIC races will be starting in the next few days. Guess what? Two Run It Fast – The Club members will be representing at both races and pushing their limts to the extreme!

You’ve probably heard of one of the races – AdventureCORPS Badwater, a 135 mile race across Death Valley in California. It starts on Monday, July 16th and I hear the temperatures for this year’s race will be in the range of 118 to 123 degrees! The runners start out from Badwater (85Ft below sea level, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere) and climb up to the trailhead at Mt. Whitney. Along the way, they will battle the heat, possibly melting shoes, their own minds and bodies and do a little climbing (13000 Ft). That sounds like fun, right?

Some famous names in the running world are running Badwater this year: Marshall Ulrich, Dean Karnazes, Pam Reed, and Amy Palmiero-Winters. Last year’s winners, Oswaldo Lopez and Sumie Inagaki will be back this year to defend their titles.

And back for his second year at Badwater is our very own Ed Ettinghausen, RIF #121! He will be starting this year’s race in the 10:00 am wave. At last year’s Badwater, Ed finished 13th in a time of 31:21:54. I’d say he was running it fast! Now that he’s no longer a rookie, I expect he’ll Run It Fast this year too. I just wonder if he’s going to be sporting the Jester hats at Badwater?  Good luck Ed!

The other race? You probably haven’t heard of that one. It’s a “little” race called the Last Annual Vol State 500K. The race is 314 miles across Tennessee…in the middle of July. Now it may not be as hot as it is in Death Valley but it’s WAY more humid. Also, a FEW more miles too. The small band of runners in this race will leave tomorrow morning from Dorena Landing, Missouri and make their way across Tennessee to “The Rock” at Castle Rock, Georgia. The runners have 10 days to complete the journey.

Our fearless leader, Joshua Holmes RIF #1, is running the Last Annual Vol State 500K…again! He ran it last year in 8 days and 7 minutes and change. He has plans to Run It Faster this year and I KNOW he will. He’s got the experience and this year he’s a much stronger runner. I can’t wait to see how much time he shaves off his time from last year. Good luck Joshua!

What I find so amazing and inspiring about both Ed and Josh is that they did these races before and STILL signed up for another year. They know exactly what they are getting in to and they aren’t afraid to face those challenges again. While marathons across the country are being cancelled because of “heat”, these two, along with all the other entrants, are saying “Bring it on!”. I know they have every intention of running harder, faster, and stronger this year and it will be fun to watch.

I hope you’ll join me in sending lots of encouragement to Ed & Josh as they head out. They are two of the most supportive and encouraging runners I’ve met. They love running and they share that love with runners of all ages and abilities. Both of them are so down to earth as well that they would probably be embarrassed when I say they are inspiring but I know I’m not alone in thinking this. They are AWESOME! Please show them some love!

Here are some links you can use to follow both races/runners:

Badwater

Twitter: @adventurecorps
Facebook: Badwater Ultramarathon
On the Web: webcast
The live photostream on Instagram: RD Chris Kostman

 Last Annual Vol State 500K

Runner’s Map (updated twice a day): Google Map
Joshua on Twitter: @bayou
Joshua on Facebook: Joshua Holmes
Run It Fast on Twitter: @RunItFast
RunItFast on Facebook: Run It Fast
Joshua’s 2011 Vol State 500K Race Report

And don’t forget to check back here for updates and results!

*Update* I just found out another RIF Club member will be running the Last Annual Vol State 500K! Please also send Run It Fast Good Luck vibes to Sulaiman Seriki RIF #154!

If you’d like to join Run It Fast – The Club or would like more information about it, please click this link:

Run It Fast – The Club (JOIN TODAY)

Hideki Kinoshita (RIF #88) is back on top of the Extreme Racer Standings with 681.6 points.  Joshua Holmes (RIF #1) is in second place with 575 points.

Third place is Emily Conley (RIF #24) who is leading the women with 426.4 points.  She is followed on the women’s board by Laura Raeder (RIF #20) and Nadia Ruiz Gonzales (RIF #69).

Each runner is awarded 1 point for each race mile. (More details HERE)

This is the medal for the Media Maraton de Cali. The half marathon was held on July 8, 2012 in Cali, Colombia.

Fun medal with mascot Juancho Correlon!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal submitted by Jorge Angel. Follow him on Twitter @777jaah]

This is the medal for the Duo At The Ledge Half Marathon that was held on July 7, 2012 in Grand Ledge, MI.

It was a hot, hot Half so congrats to all the runners who finished and earned the medal!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal submitted by RIF #108 Mark Sikkila. Follow him on Twitter @MarkSikkila]