I’m glad that’s over. Every four years I go through a long stressful buildup to what I consider to be the most important race I’ll have on the calendar. The Olympic Trials is just like every other race, only it’s not. No one treats it the same, and as hard as I try, my mind just won’t let me treat it the same as every other race. I’ll try to keep this a short report but there was so much that I could tell you about leading to the Olympic Trials this January that I could write much more than you would ever care to read.

No matter what people want to believe or perceive from my year of training and racing, this year and everything I did during the year and beyond have been about maximizing my potential at the Trials. I took things a little differently, sure (see my article in Running Times for more on this), but for me it was the way I needed to do it. Multiple races in a weekend for strength and durability, hills and mountains for endurance and strength, core work (pretty obvious), keeping busy with work to keep my mind occupied, etc. Training went very well this year as evidenced by other race results, including a World Championship win. I stayed healthy too. I told myself going into this year that I wouldn’t be one of those guys that just trains like mad because it’s an Olympic year and fry myself. I felt like I was doing pretty well with that and had a plan leading up to the Trials to prevent that. But then just as I was putting that plan into action I had a small set back just after Thanksgiving. My Achilles flared up out of the blue. It was just a really tight gastroc muscle and really didn’t interrupt training for more than a couple days but that felt like it was enough to derail me or send me over that edge where I never really felt quite like I did leading up to November. I’d been training in three week blocks of about 120-140 miles through the year with a down week between. My plan leading up to Jan 14 was a block of 100-120 miles followed by a block of 80-90 miles, then a two week taper. That would give my body a chance to really absorb all that training and rest a bit. That whole period felt awful. I’m speculating now that I might have been a bit over trained. As messed up mentally as I already am, that did not help.
But, the Wednesday before the trials I finally had that workout I’d been looking for. It was one of those rare workouts where it just feels like you could float to a 2:10 marathon. You’re running effortlessly, with your HR down, legs churning. It was a beautiful, perfect weather, sunny, 50 degrees with no wind. Ryan Bak and I cruised through a 10:00 two mile, then cranked out 4 X 800 at 2:20-2:23 nice and relaxed. I was excited because I knew doing that workout in Bend, it would be about 5 sec/mile faster at sea level in Houston. That was reassuring and a confidence builder.

I was back. Feeling like I had the fitness back and ready for a good race. I did not foresee what would happen in the race. I assumed the lead pack would go out at about 2:10 pace or slower, at least for a couple miles. I knew a fast honest race would be the best scenario for me but I didn’t mean for that honest pace to be 2:06 for the leaders and 2:08 for the second group. Honestly, that caught me a bit off guard even knowing that I had to be ready for anything. I can say “what if” all I want but 2:08 pace through the early part of the race then 2:09 pace halfway was too fast for me and unfortunately I knew it. I had to go with it though. You don’t enter the trials just trying to get in the money or make top ten, you go to get First, Second, or Third. And had I had enough strength to finish an even race I would have captured one of the three coveted spots on the team. It’s always a long shot whether you can have the race of your life on that day but if you’re ever going to have that day you’ve got to put yourself in a position even early in the race to have that once-in-a-lifetime race.
So, anyway, the perfect race eluded me and I suffered the last four miles for it. I was picking up the pieces of that second group falling apart along with people coming up from behind and swallowing me up. I allowed the group to get away from me around mile 10 to back off the pace a bit because I knew better than to expect to run a 2:08. I went through half at 1:04:27. I race that pace to about 21 miles then it was all downhill after that. I wasn’t alone in my misery either. The rest of the field had obviously gone out too fast as well and were all falling apart. Guys that were more conservative were moving in to make the kill and they moved through the field without much resistance. To keep going I had to audibly tell myself to keep it up, just a couple miles, keep moving. You can check my splits here for an accurate race history and here you can see my HR profile and GPS data from my Polar RCX5.
Analyzing the race, I can look at it and figure out that I would have placed a lot higher by going out more conservative and I can also speculate that I might have run a 2:11 if I had, but that’s a “what if”. So now I just have to run another one.

But first though I have some other business back on the trail and the mountains before hopping on the road again. And maybe even an appearance in the steeplechase this spring. My non-sub 8:30 PR still isn’t where I think it should be, so we’ll see. The big question is can I do that while working on my 50 mile endurance at the same time. Has that ever been done before? My guess is that I’ll get a lot of odd looks and some inane comments on Letsrun.com message boards about how I can’t do it and it won’t work. And that’s fine cus that’s just fuel for the fire. I might fail but at least I tried and I’ll prove something to myself in the process.

I’ve got to throw out some well deserved thanks to my family, Dory and Micah, for putting up with travel, training, and everything that goes along with athletics. And to my sponsors Mountain Hardwear, Montrail, Hammer Nutrition, Swiftwick Socks, Polar Monitors, and Reco-Fit recovery.
And good work to my teammate Megan Lund-Lizotte, and my other Mountain Running compatriots.

Now I’m in Kauai…

Becoming the first American woman to win the Sierre Zinal mountain race in Switzerland made Megan Lund-Lizotte a household name in the trail world. She is no slouch on the roads though. She is a 2x Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier and recently added 2011 USA Trail Marathon Champion to the list of her accomplishments.
 
Runners Feed: Take us through a typical day of your life
Megan Lund-Lizotte: In the summer, I usually run first thing in the morning, but Colorado winters are cold so I mostly run in the middle of the day when it’s warmer. I get up, drink a few cups of coffee, eat some toast and check my email. I then usually work on training plans for my clients (I’m an online running coach). However, if I’m meeting with clients on-site, I will do my workout beforehand so I can utilize my energy wisely and take advantage of my client’s workout as a shake-out or recovery run. Continue reading.

From the Trails to the Trials: Max King talks about his curious path to the 2012 Olympic trials marathon
Just as all of the other Olympic trials marathon qualifiers started their run up to this week’s race, mine started four years ago.

It’s the path I took that could be considered somewhat out of the ordinary for many of the other elite racers in the field. My first race after the last Olympic trials in 2008 was a 50K … a week later. I was in great steeplechase shape even though my race at Hayward Field didn’t reflect that. I was not in 50K shape, nor did I know how to run one “correctly”, knew nothing about ultra race nutrition, and did not know how my body would react to running 31 miles. But it was that race that shaped the next four years of training.

I’ve always like trails and mountains, and the idea that a person can run incredible distances across land that hasn’t been touched by the mechanized world. Continue reading.
 
 
Left: Max King, en route to finishing 39th at last year’s world cross country championships in Spain.

 
Team Montrail Athlete, Amy Sproston, crushed it this past Saturday in Virginia at the Hellgate 100k. 1st place for women’s and 4th overall… and broke Krissy Moehl’s 2006 course record by 37 minutes.

Amy’s Pre-Race Report, Crazy Enough for Hellgate:
Hellgate calls itself a 100K, although everyone except Horton, seem willing to admit that it’s actually 66 miles. Starting at midnight (or rather 12:01 a.m. on Saturday) in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia the second Friday of December, it almost guarantees to be a suffer-fest and a race where no 100K PR will ever be set. To celebrate my 5 year anniversary as an ultrarunner, I’m finally just crazy enough to see for myself what it is about Hellgate that causes everyone to complain so, yet return to the source of the agony, again and again. Whether I’m tough enough to endure Hellgate is a question yet to be answered. Oregon has made me a bit soft, I’m afraid. – She’s certainly proved her strength!
 

Words from other runners:

Davis Ploskonka
It has been said that the Hellgate 100K is a “special” race, for a number of reasons. It was certainly a “special” race for me this year. And here’s why . . As you may know, I’ve dedicated this past fall to “redemption” in races that I’ve failed in falls past. First The Ring, where I still didn’t finish, but made it further than my previous attempt.

Nicole Knutson
It was challenging, beautiful, nicely marked, and nicely groomed (well, for what was able to be groomed). Where I went wrong (in case you were wondering) – sleep. I have never tried to run more than a couple miles on a treadmill after staying up all day (the few lack-luster naps at Camp Bethel didn’t do much for me).

Carrie Lombardo
No matter how you think about it, it’s always a gamble…any race…any time…something can take you out of the game. For me, I know my weaknesses, all night, sleep deprivation, and always my mind. From the beginning of the Beast, right at Holiday Lake, I started picking everyone’s brains about being up 2 nights at GS100 and used all I could of those techniques at Hellgate. I carried a big can of Red Bull in my pack, I had a mantra for the dark hours, and one for the daylight hours. Luckily, as I had started 2 Hellgates, the last 2 years, I knew what to expect in starting the race, so I was relaxed. I knew what to pack, I was however coached in how much time to think about changing before actually changing, haha. It is a bit of a wait from the end of the prerace briefing until it’s time to drive to the start.

Jennifer Nichols
I’m sitting here on sunday afternoon with fat, blistered feet, sore achilles in both legs, wondering what would be the best way to describe this amazing journey I was fortunate enough to go on. It’s really almost a surreal experience to be able to sit here and say “I’m a hellgate finisher.”. Hellgate 100k in my mind was always the ZENITH of any of the ultras on the east coast. It’s where VERY TOUGH ultrarunners test their metal against the elements, rocky leaf covered trails and 14,000ft of vertical climbing over 66.6 miles.

Dakota Jones was runner up to Mike Wolfe at the 2011 The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile Championships. In this interview iRunFar chats about how his race unfolded, what he did to prepare for the race, why he’ll race less frequently next year, and why Hardrock and UTMB will likely be on his 2012 schedule. Bonus guest appearance by the Dakota Jones Fan Club. Check it out here.

Ellie Greenwood ran to a strong second place at The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile Championships. Listen along as she talks about her race on Saturday, banging up her toe, taking a break from training, the highlights of her 2012 schedule, and whether she’s got a chance of breaking Ann Trason’s Western States course record.

Here’s some amazing footage from the race with Mike Wolfe, Dakota Jones battling it out to the end:

 
With Lithia Loop serving as the U.S. trail marathon championship for the third straight year, competitive runners again lined up to race the dirt roads and trails around the Ashland watershed, even if they were sometimes snow-covered. On an snowy/icy course Megan Lund-Lizotte was the first woman to cross the finish line with a time of 3:03:46. . Lund-Lizotte’s time is the race’s second-fastest ever, trailing only Susannah Beck’s 3:00:29 course record in the race’s inaugural year. Kremer, who has announced that she also will seek a berth on the 2012 U.S. Mountain Running Team, was second in 3:05:34. Bend’s Stephanie Howe was a competitive third in 3:09:27. More info here.
 
A quick interview with the Trail Marathon Champ:
 
What are your thoughts surrounding the race?
This is the first time running this race. I felt really strong for the most part and pleased I was able to execute my race strategy just as I had planned. I went out hard on the climb (first 10 miles) and was able to create a big enough gap that no one would be within striking distance the rest of the race… and that is exactly how it unfolded. Stevie Kremer (2nd women) ran 2 strides behind me for the first 5 miles and then I broke away and focused on increasing my lead for the rest of the race. Uphill running is my strength of all aspects of running so I knew if I could take a commanding lead on the ascent I would be able to win. This is my first national title so I’m pretty stoked!

Goals for this race?
My goal going into this race was to win and break the course record. I managed to win (and snag my first USA national title), however I was misinformed on the course record. The website states that it was 3:08:42 when in fact it’s actually 3:00::29. So, I thought I had broken it by almost 5 minutes, when in fact I was actually still 3 minutes away. I do think I could have been really close to breaking the real record had we not had blizzard conditions and an icy course.

How many people usually enter this particular race?
Around 150, this year was a record turnout of 192.

What were the weather conditions like?
Snowy/icy course for the majority of the ascent and pelting snow. However, the last 6 miles where dry and clear–great variety of tough conditions!

What food supplies did you use for fuel during the race?
I took about half of an Espresso Clif Shot at mile 16 and washed it down with some snow I scraped off the course (all my water spilled out of the cup I grabbed at the aid station so I had to get resourceful!).

Pre-race meal?
The night before I had smoked mozzarella & basil pasta for dinner…I don’t have a typical/superstitious meal…I just eat what sounds good! For breakfast before the race, I always have oatmeal mixed with some Justin’s Maple Almond Butter (need some fat for those longer races) and a strong cup of coffee. I actually ended up making my instant oatmeal with coffee because the hotel I was staying at forgot to set out hot water for tea (there were cups and tea bags everywhere but no water!), so I used coffee instead! Needless to say, I was super jittery after I ate, but maybe that was the extra jolt I needed to pull out the win!

Highlights from the race?
Firstly, the course was beautiful! Even though it snowed half of the race, the scenery was awesome! At about mile 18 I started feeling bad…not only was I physically tired, I was mentally stressed because I wasn’t sure how big my lead was and if the girl in 2nd was gaining on me. I just kept telling myself that I was only in control of my own race and that if I just kept running as fast as I could, that’s all I could ask of myself. I just kept telling myself how bad I wanted to win and that got me through the next two miles. Once I hit mile 22 I knew I was gonna win and promised myself no one was going to catch me. It’s always rewarding to experience something the way you had hoped it would come to fruition.

Shoe choice?
I am also (like Max) running in the Rogue Racer and wore that shoe in the race. It was the perfect option for this race because the conditions were snowy and icy the majority of the race. The shoes responded really well and I didn’t experience much slipping while running fast–good quality to have in a shoe when you’re racing on snow-covered frozen ground!

Learn more about Megan in the following interview, All in the Family (Megan Lund-Lizotte comes from a family of distance runners)

 
Hiroki Ishikawa took 2nd place in Spain’s 80km Ultimafrontera 160. Recently, Spain is becoming known for its strong trail runners. Hiroki also commented that this race was merely research and will adjust his conditioning for the next race, the Red Rock 50 mile in Santa Barbara in late November. He wore Montrail Bajadas during the race.

A little about the Ultimafrontera 160:
The popularity of the international multi-day stage race Al Andalus Ultimate Trail, which draws some of the world’s best Ultra stage-racers to the southern Poniente de Granada, helped inspire the development of a race in the northern part of the region. The Poniente de Granada is known as the Last Frontier of Moorish Iberia, historically referred to as Al Andalus. The Christian conquest of these lands in the 1480’s saw the fall of the Nazarine Kingdom of Granada, and consequent fall of Muslim domination in the Iberian Peninsular. The Ultima Frontera 160 route takes you through a number of the fortified towns which made up this final line of defense.

 
Montefrio, in the Parapanda Mountains, was a natural frontier of the Nazarine Kingdom. In June 1486, it became the final conquest in the whole territory, leading to the definitive victory of the Catholic Kings over Islam. Some of the castle and its battlements remain, as well as the cistern and some stretches of wall. This is the furthest north the race goes. CP3 (48km/128km), at Hotel La Enrea, will have hot food and drink available. Drop-bags will be available at CP3 (48km/128km).

 
This time, rather than a staged race in hot, desert-like conditions, it was a weekend of ultra events, for those who enjoy single stage ultras. Races included a 50km, for those looking to make the step from marathon to ultra, an 80km, and 160km (80km loop two times), which equals 100 miles, a distance very popular in the USA. Upon completion, the 80km distance earns 2 points, and the 160km earns 4 points, towards Europe’s famous Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, which requires that competitors have previous experience with extreme running.

Congratulations Hiroki for the amazing second place finish!

 
Shunsuke Okunomiya took 2nd place with a time of 7:50:32 at Japan’s Hasetsune Endurance Race. This race is the biggest, baddest, longest, toughest and yet most popular endurance race in Japan. Runners must tackle a technical 71.5K trail within 24 hours, and it’s here that new trail stars are born. Total number of participants were 2,157 (Men 1,920 , Women 237) and 1,724 (Men 1,532, Women 192) crossed the line this year.

Andy Henshaw placed 1st and claimed the course record for the Defiance Ultra 50k. Point Defiance might be the finest park on Puget Sound — and one of the finest urban parks in all of America — and not just because there are so many fun things to do across its almost 700 green acres. The trees are so fantastic, you can feel like you’re all alone. You can be alone and commune with nature within city limits.

The park, originally a U.S. Army reserve that was never used and was given to Tacoma in 1888, sits on a two-mile, proboscis-shape peninsula that pokes out into Puget Sound and separates The Narrows from Dalco Passage. The singular thing about it is it remains mostly forested despite being in the heart of the biggest urban corridor in the Pacific Northwest, the almost continuous stretch of development between Everett and Olympia.
The course is approximately three 16.6 kilometer loops through old growth forest. Each loop will come by the start – finish. Course is mostly single track and typically dry mid october. Train for some HILLS but the course is 95% runable. On the course you will see sweeping views of the Puget Sound, run on soft trails beneath 500 year old giant cedars and firs in one of the top 20 urban parks in the United States. Course design is primarily by Mike Lynes with technical consulting by tony phillippi, both have logged many miles through the forest.
 
Winner of the Defiance Ultra 50k, Andy Henshaw:
 

When was your weakest/strongest moment?
To be honest, my weakest moment was before the race even began. I was a little worried about how my legs were going to feel since this was my first race coming off of the World 100k. However, once I started moving I felt strong and controlled. Due to repeating this Pt. Defiance park race numerous times, I knew where to push it. I definitely felt a sense of strength in knowing exactly where I was the entire time.

What was last year’s finishing time?
Last year I took 1st with a 3:40:12 time. My goal this year was simply to beat that time while keeping my splits even.

How far behind was the 2nd placer?
This year, 2nd place finished in 4:07:57.  He was approximately 30 minutes back! Oh what a great feeling.

When is your next race?
JFK 50 is my next race, and I’m hoping to break the course record.  There will be a lot of competition to drive the times way down!

Do you usually take a few days rest after a big race or do you tend to go for slow jogs to loosen up tired muscles?
After Worlds I took off a full week with no running.  After the Point Defiance race I felt pretty fatigue and pain free, so I managed to get in a nice run. I go by feel on when to run next and how far/fast.

What Montrail shoe did you wear?
I ran the race in the Rogue Racers.  Now that I look back, I have won every race in which I’ve worn them But really they are great shoes.. super light.

What endurance food supplies did you use? GU etc?
I used CLIF gels for this race. Mostly Citrus and Raspberry, but I did take one chocolate cherry at the end to kick on the afterburners.

Read more race stories on Andy’s Blog.

 
Yesterdays ‘Ultramaraton de los Andes’ 50 miler in Santiago, Chile has to be one of my most fun races of the year, which is really saying quite a lot given how much fun I have had this year. But with this being my prize from winning the Canadian Death Race in 2010, it being a real destination race and one to wrap up the racing year with, there was a lot less pressure than at most other races. It was great to be in Santiago with quite a few of the North American North Face athletes (TNF are the race organizers/ sponsors) but really with most of the field being Chilean or some other South American nationality there was not the usual expectation of who might win, who might beat who etc.

North Face did a great job of adopting me as the lone Montrail/ Mountain Hardwear athlete for the weekend so there were fun times even before the race with team meals, a group run with the local TNF store runners and they even picked me up from the swish W hotel at 3am to take me to the race start, just a 20-min drive from central Santiago.

Having spent most of the summer training for World 100km and then having followed that up with Run for the Toad (trails, but flat trails) I knew that I was unprepared for the over 4100m of climbing (plus same of descent) that this race would encompass, but hey ho – I’d done a few Sulphur hikes, a scramble up Rundle and a slow slog up Edith/ Cory pass in Banff in the few weeks prior to at least warn my quads that they were in for a beating.

With the race starting at 4am we had a good 2.5hrs in darkness. Just like at Western States I used both a headlamp and a handheld flashlight and was glad to have both. It’s always amazing how dark it is out on the trails even with fellow runners all with flashlights around. We had about 5km of flattish trail to start and then the first of the major climbs started with avengance. It was hands on the quads, try to look up, and keep on going. I was in a small group of men and knew I was lead female but was just focusing on the climb. It as actually over pretty soon, we crested the top and began a steep ‘a la Canadian Death Race’ descent. Sometimes it was definitely a case of just going for it and hoping you stayed upright on the shrubby grass and loose soil. Continue reading on Ellie’s blog, Trail Running Tales.

“Chile was an awesome race and I was glad to get Montrail in for the win at a TNF race Still in Chile, enjoying a little vacation time. Swore that Chile would be my last race of the year (need some rest) but we´ll see… “ —Ellie Greenwood

 
Montrail’s Japan Athlete, Takuya Yamada established the course record which was 4hrs 14min 55sec to win the Madarao Forest Trails 50k on October 10th.

Takuya was born in 1978. Inside Out Ski Club affiliation, national leader of the ski archery. The support of Kuraray Specialites Europe since 2003 in southern Germany Wallgau across Europe. Belongs to a local ski club Skigau Weldenfels activities taking part in cross-country ski archery as a player in Europe. In 2007 he has competed vigorously in recent years trail running, earning good results at each event.

 
This is the 5th year the race has been directed by Hiroki Ishikawa, an Overseas Adventure Racer who turned to the world of trail running and directing races.