“Winter is quickly encroaching on trail runners everywhere. If running outside in all sorts of weather sounds better than turning indoors to sessions on the treadmill, you’ll need an outer layer to help protect you from the elements. Here’s the lowdown on some of the season’s best jackets for trail runners.” — Lisa Jhung

This fully-waterproof, hooded jacket keeps you covered on runs in foul weather. Pros: For a completely waterproof shell, we were impressed with the soft, stretchy and remarkably breathable technology called "Dry.Q Active" of this jacket. And, unlike other "hard" shells that block out moisture, this one is quiet; there’s no crinkly "slosh-slosh, swoosh-swoosh" sound with every arm swing. Taped seams work—and look—great in keeping out rain and snow. A rear zippered pocket and small interior pocket stash small goods. We also liked the hood; it extends past the brow for added protection from elements. Cons: At 11.8 ounces for men, and 10.1 ounces for women, this is the heaviest jacket in the round-up, but it’s also the most weather-protecting—by far. We do wish it was cut a tad longer. View all five shells featured on RunnersWorld.com/trail.

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.

 
By Dakota Jones
The problem with winter running is that you have to make certain sacrifices. Are you willing to be frozen and miserable at first so that the majority of the run will be comfortable, or would you rather take a nice jacket at the beginning and roast? Consider snow and ice – they’re very slippery and made out of water, and thus have the potential to leave you both broken and wet in very little time. Even the days are shorter, meaning time management around running is that much more difficult. With all these problems, the prospect of winter running can seem daunting and unpleasant. But the outdoors are beautiful in winter, and they offer a perspective on the running and the natural environment that we often miss in trying to avoid the cold. If done right, running can be fun and comfortable even on the coldest days. Here are eight tips to get you outdoors when the snow starts flying.

1. Wear warm clothes, but not too warm. The unfortunate truth is that you’ll be most comfortable if you start a little cold. Yes, going outside in a light jacket when the temperature is below freezing seems appalling at best, but within fifteen minutes you’ll be warm and comfortable. Taking too much clothing at the beginning will leave you sweaty and uncomfortable, so sacrifice comfort at the beginning for performance later.
2. Shoes are also crucial to winter running success. Do away with little racing flats and embrace something larger, with bigger lugs. Lightweight shoes are often thin and transparent, meaning snow and ice can melt into your feet and make you miserable. Larger shoes are more resilient to outside conditions and grip much better on slick surfaces. For those real icy days, try YakTrax or Micro-Spikes.
3. Wear gloves. No matter how well-suited your outfit may be for winter running, you’ll be powerless without gloves. In cold weather the body sucks all of its heat into the core, and in doing so leaves the extremities without adequate circulation, meaning your hands just won’t work right. Also, cold hands hurt a lot, and then even more when they warm up (this also refers to other extremities – see rule #6). Make sure to wear adequately warm gloves that also provide a level of waterproofing so that snow or rain won’t render them useless.

Dress appropriately. | Photo Kevin Winzeler
4. Hats. Conventional wisdom says that we lose up to 80% of our body heat through our head, which is why you should know that conventional wisdom is oftentimes completely false. You don’t lose any more heat through your head than through anywhere else on your body, but you’re usually (hopefully?) wearing clothes in most other places. Wearing a hat keeps your ears and head warm and saves energy by preventing body heat from radiating off into the atmosphere. Try out a buff, which can serve as a hat, ear-warmer, neck-warmer, bandit-hat or any combination of these.
5. Don’t forget water! In cold temperatures people often forget to drink enough water. I can attest to this – last winter I ran thirty-three miles in five hours and drank less than one bottle. This left me dehydrated for days. While you don’t need as much water on a cold day as on a hot day, forgetting about water on a run is detrimental to success. Continue to use your top two racing principles: eat before you’re hungry and drink before you’re thirsty.
6. Dudes: pad that crotch! I cannot stress the importance of this rule. Sometimes you’ll go out for a run in the winter wearing just shorts, saying your legs can handle the cold. And you’d probably be right – your legs can handle the cold. But you might incur other casualties by wearing shorts that you may not have expected, if you know what I mean. Fortunately, most winter running tights come with this technology built in. But always make sure. Remember – it won’t hurt during the run. It’s the thaw that will have you reconsidering any future reproduction.
7. Run with other people. The fact is that sometimes running sucks. Maybe you’re tired from a long day at work or from the previous day’s workout. Maybe your screaming, sick children kept you up all night. No matter what the reason, cold weather has a way of sucking even that last remnant of running motivation out of you. So plan runs with partners. That way you’ll have someone to keep you honest in your training, as well as someone to complain to incessantly about the damn weather.
8. Run less. Everyone needs a break from running now and then. You have to maintain your psyche for running in order to continue training hard. My advice is to avoid spending all that psyche just to get out the door for mediocre runs in the winter, and save most of it for when the nice weather rolls back around. As in all things in life, your fitness needs its ups and downs – you cannot continue to gain fitness forever. Stop running, eat some cookies and most of all don’t worry about it. You’ll gain that fitness back in the spring and you’ll feel so much better than if you had used up all of your willpower grinding through the cold.
9. OutDry. If you don’t what this is yet – check it out.
10. Tip #10 comes from you. What have I missed? Leave a comment and share your wisdom.

 
These tips won’t make you enjoy running in the winter, but they will provide the tools that will allow you to do so. The enjoyment you’ll find in winter running will be from the running itself, just as you enjoy running in the summertime. By eliminating the discomfort of the cold you can focus on the act we all love so much: just moving efficiently from point A to point B. Running is still running, even in the winter.

Update: Matt Hart has decided against running the Long Trail, as it’s currently unpassable in the wake of hurricane Irene.  Thus, he’ll set his sights on the New Hampshire section of the Appalachian Trail, 161 miles of rugged and mountainous trail.  Matt said, “The  Long Trail is unpassable in sections and would actually be dangerous to even attempt.  There are towns in Vermont still cut off from the world because of roads being washed away.  It was hard to admit, but it’s just not the time to run it.  Maybe next year.  Anyway the AT section through Maine is 161 miles and super cool and rugged.  There will be a ton of debre and damage on that as well, but nowhere near the amount of the Long Trail.”  Good luck Matt.  Follow his SPOT link below.

The Long Trail in Vermont runs 273 miles from the Massachusetts border to Canada, along the Green Mountains. It was built over a 20 year span, from 1910-1930, and is extremely rugged, rocky and remote. It has a long history of supported speed record attempts, but very few unsupported attempts.

Montrail athlete Matt Hart will be out on the trail alone over the next week, and is expecting to face many new obstacles created by the recent hurricane that swept through the area. With downed trees and bridges and sections of washed out trail, this is sure to be an epic adventure.

He’ll carry roughly 25 pounds on his back at the start, most of which is food supplies. He’ll be taking the best Mountain Hardwear kit available, mostly Spring 2012 product, including a Way Too Cool Singlet, Ghost Whisperer Jacket, Hooded Compressor Jacket (instead of a sleeping bag) and Quasar Pullover. He’ll use a Fluid 32 Pack and wear the Montrail Rockridge.

Follow Matt’s SPOT transceiver here to see his progress as he attempts to complete the Long Trail next week.

Jornet and Greenwood Take the Win at Western States

The Montrail Ultra Cup 2010/11 season comes to a close after an epic 38th annual Western States Endurance Run (WS100), the final race in the series. Spectators saw the international field steal the show on an exciting Saturday in the Sierras. Montrail is proud to once again sponsor the 2011/12 Ultra Cup and announce the upcoming season’s race schedule.

Western States Endurance Run Race Recap

Spaniard Kilian Jornet (returning after a 3rd place finish last year) ran in front of the men’s field for the majority of the day, but finished a tight race with just a slight lead. Jornet beat out second place finisher Mike Wolfe by only four minutes finishing in 15 hours 34 minutes.

Montrail athlete Ellie Greenwood, a Scotland native now living in Canada, won the women’s race in her 100-mile debut with an impressive time of 17:55:00, the second fastest female time ever at this race. She made an incredible comeback after having a tough first half of the race, dealing with muscle cramping and stomach issues early on. She began to turn things around after picking up pacer Ryne Melcher at Foresthill, mile 60, where she was roughly 30 minutes behind the leader Tracey Garneau. By mile 78, the lead was down to 20 minutes, and Greenwood eventually dropped her pacer and passed both Garneau and Kami Semick by mile 95. Greenwood surged on for the last five miles to take the win.

“I was having a really terrible race for the first 50 miles or so,” said Ellie. “My hamstrings were seizing up, and my body wasn’t processing the water I was drinking, leading to stomach issues. My crew and the race volunteers are the reason I was able to pull through and keep running. Eventually things started to feel good and I knew I could make up some time.”

Notable WS100 results from Montrail athletes include: Shunsuke Okunomiya who finished 13th overall (16:56) in his first 100-miler and the first time racing outside of his native Japan; Amy Sproston, racing Western States for her first time, finished 8th in the female race with a time of 19:36. Other Montrail athletes finishing the race include Erik Skaden (18:45), Jill Perry (23:07), and Luanne Park (26:08).

Montrail Wraps Up the 2010/11 Ultra Cup Series and Announces the 2011/12 Schedule

The Montrail Ultra Cup culminates each year at Western States 100 and on Sunday after the race, the 2010/2011 Ultra Cup winners were announced. Dave Mackey and Meghan Arbogast were crowned Ultra Cup champions and each awarded a $5000 cash prize. Mackey, who won the Bandera 100k, the American River 50 and the Miwok 100k, had a strong day at Western States with an 8th place finish earning enough points to surpass second place series finisher Dan Olmstead. 50 year-old Meghan Arbogast had another impressive race at WS100 helping her earn the women’s Ultra Cup champion title for the second consecutive year. Tim Olson (3rd), Scott Jaime (4th) and Glen Redpath (5th) round out the men’s top five, while Amy Sproston (2nd), Pam Smith (3rd), Gretchen Brugman (4th) and Helen Cospolich (5th) make up the women’s top five.

The Montrail Ultra Cup is the country’s only nationwide ultrarunning point series. The series consists of 10 races in 7 states with a total cash purse of $16,000. The schedule for the 2011/2012 Montrail Ultra Cup can be seen below and found online, along with more details, at Ultracup.montrail.com.

2011/12 Ultra Cup Race Schedule
1. Waldo 100k – Willamette Pass, OR – August 20, 2011
2. Run Rabbit Run 50 – Steamboat Springs, CO – September 17, 2011
3. Vermont 50 – Brownsville, VT – September 25, 2011
4. JFK 50 – Hagerstown, MD – November 19, 2011
5. Bandera Trail Runs – Bandera, TX – January 7, 2012
6. Way Too Cool 50k – Cool, CA – March 10, 2012
7. American River 50 – Sacramento, CA – April 7, 2012
8. Leona Divide 50 – Lake Hughes, CA – April 28, 2012
9. Ice Age 50– La Grange, WI – May 12, 2012
10. Western States 100 – Squaw Valley, CA – June 23, 2012

This weekend in Vail, Colorado, the annual Teva Mountain Games returns with a plethora of art, music, mountains and of course, sports.  Notable to Montrail are the Vail Pass Half Marathon and the 10k Spring Runoff, two running events that bring out both elite mountain runners and your everyday enthusiast runners, just out there for a good time and a challenging workout.

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Running uphill is fun, right?  The Vail Pass Half Marathon starts in Vail Village and climbs 2900 feet to the top of Vail Pass, at an altitude of over 10,000 feet.  Clearly this is not your average half marathon.  Team Montrail speedsters Megan Lund and Max King will both race on Saturday and have their sights set on a win.  Megan is the returning champion, finishing 1^st in 2010 in a time of 1:39:37.  Living at high altitude in Basalt, CO certainly gives her an advantage in this race.  Max King has never run this race, but we all know what he’s capable of.  If his lungs can handle the thin air, expect to see Max to finish near the front, chasing down the $1000 prize purse for first place.

After running an uphill half marathon, most of us desire to run a 10k trail race the next day.  Okay, maybe not most of us, but Max and Megan certainly do.  While in Vail they’ll race the 10k Spring Runoff, a 10km trail run at 9000’.  With constant elevation changes and mountainous terrain, expect this one to be challenging yet fast.

Good luck to Max, Megan, and everyone participating at the Teva Mountain Games this weekend.  The weather looks to be perfect, so go out there and enjoy.

This past weekend several Montrail athletes we’re off and racing, with the most notable race being the Miwok 100km, race number 10 in the Montrail Ultra Cup series. As expected, Dakota Jones, wearing the Rogue Racers, ran with the lead pack for most of the race, before hitting a lull around mile 48 that put him in 4^th place where he’d run for the remainder of the race. A 4^th place finish at Miwok 100km (8:18:01), behind Dave Mackey, Mike Wolfe and Hal Koerner is an outstanding finish for anyone, let alone a 20-year old college student. Great job Dakota, way to give it your all. Can’t wait to see you run Hardrock in July.

 
For the women, Amy Sproston showed up at Miwok 100km despite being injured since early April. With basically no training leading up to the race, she found endurance enough to run to a 4^th place finish (10:02:41). Super inspiring Amy, way to dig deep and persevere. Hopefully the calf injuries are behind you and Comrades and Western States 100 go smoothly.

Up in Washington, at the base of Chuckanut Mountain, Andy Henshaw and his Rogue Racers were running the Lost Lake 50km, his first true test since winning the USA 100km National Championships in April. Andy seems to have shaken out the soreness and fatigue, as he ran to a 1^st place overall finish in a time of 5:03:33. Way to go Andy, you’re on a roll!

And finally, in Colorado, Ryan Burch returned to action at the Collegiate Peaks 50 miler, where last year he ran the 25 mile distance to preview the course. The 50 mile distance is two laps on the 25 mile course. This year the sun was shining on Ryan, both literally and metaphorically, as he cruised to a 1^st place course record in 6:37 while wearing his Rogue Racers. Way to go Ryan, can’t wait to see what you can do at Western States 100.

 
Another Montrail athlete made us proud, Annette Bednosky placed 1st in the North Face Endurance Challenge at Bear Mountain, NY.
“The course is one of the most technical, yet mostly “runnable” (running/plodding/scampering) I’ve yet to experience!” – Annette

 
Shoe choice: “I brought both Mt. Masochist and Rogue Racers with me, yet after a short run on the rocky/scree course on Friday in the RR, I opted for the greater protection of the Mountain Masochist…a good choice!”

Overall an outstanding weekend of ultrarunning for Team Montrail (and the Rogue Racer trail racing flats) in what’s turning out to be one of the best years ever for this talented and humble group of athletes. Keep it up!

One of the really fun and enjoyable parts about having a Team of athletes is watching them all support and challenge each other, often times from across the country.  Last weekend after Ellie Greenwood’s win at American River 50, at least three or four of her Montrail teammates called to congratulate her (and one thought she should drive to Oregon for another race on Sunday).  Numerous team members publicly congratulated those with stellar results last weekend. As each weekend goes by, and another Montrail athlete is throwing down an impressive effort, whether it’s a course record or just a personal best, it’s safe to say that this impressive, talented and highly respected group of runners are challenging themselves week in and week out, bringing out the best in each other.  Very cool to watch this happen.

With that said, we’d like to wish a good luck to the following athletes who will be racing this weekend:

-Luanne Park at the Boston Marathon

-Geoff Roes at the Zane Grey 50, hoping to leave Arizona with another victory under his belt

-Dakota Jones at the Zane Grey 50, will hope to run with and eventually ahead of Roes and the rest

-Amy Sproston, if recovered from a calf injury, will also challenge the pack at Zane Grey 50

Zane Grey 50 Mile Course Marking:
This weekend, Brian Tinder and I headed south from Flagstaff to Payson, AZ to meet with Honey Albrecht, Zane Grey 50 Miler’s lead course marking official. We were charged with helping mark the miles between 17 and 33 on the race course. The trail is rocky as ever, but not as overgrown as years past. We didn’t have to crawl over a single downed tree. Continue reading here.

See you on the trails!

As our last blog post indicated, Team Montrail had a busy weekend across the country with ultra racing season kicking in to full gear.  After the dust has settled and the results have been posted, we find ourselves in a position to give many congratulations:

Andy Henshaw – Can you say blazing fast?  Andy has been focused on running the Mad City 100k for many months now, and making Team USA was his goal. Well he didn’t disappoint, far from it.  Andy won the Mad City 100k on Saturday in Madison, Wisconsin and set a new course record by 9 minutes with a finish time of 6:47:34, a pace of 6:33/mile.  Incredible, way to go Andy!  Andy ran the entire race in his Rogue Racers. Click through to read Andy’s race report.

Ellie Greenwood – Congratulations Ellie on winning the American River 50 in Sacramento, California on Saturday. Ellie ran stride for stride with Kami Semick for 30 miles before making her move and going on to win by 9 minutes in a time of 6:25:43. This was Ellie’s first race in California.  She’ll be back in June for Western States 100. Ellie won the race wearing her Fairhavens, a new hybrid from Montrail. Click through to read Ellie’s race report.

Annette Bednosky – Annette made her return to the 50-mile distance in a victorious manner by winning the Bull Run 50 in Virginia on Saturday. Five years after running the race for the first time and setting a course record, Annette raced to victory this time in 7:39:14. Annette won the race wearing her Mountain Masochists. Congratulations Annette! Read her race report here.

Joelle Vaught – Joelle showed up to race Sean Meissner’s Peterson Ridge Rumble 40 miler in Sisters, Oregon and like she so often does, she won the race in a time of 4:58:17, good enough for 6^th place overall.  Joelle is off to a hot start again this year, and next will race Pocatello 50 in May.  Joelle won this race wearing her new Badrock trail runners from Montrail.

Honorable mention – Ryan Burch showed up at American River 50 in fine fashion, finishing 5^th overall (6:09:09) in a very fast and competitive field (race report). Ryan said this was the longest he’s ever run on pavement, so when he hit the trails at the halfway point it was a major relief for him. This race does not play well to Ryan’s style, as he’s most comfortable in the high elevation and mountainous races, but in Sacramento on Saturday he showed his versatility and raw talent. Erik Skaden, a Sacramento local who trains regularly on the same trails he raced on on Saturday, showed that experience pays off as he raced to a 7^th place finish overall (6:36:21).

Jill Perry, also making her American River 50 debut, arrived in Sacramento very late Friday night after flight delays, yet despite only a few hours of sleep, rallied in time to be the 6^th female finisher (7:55:34). Gary Robbins is making his comeback after breaking his foot in November and raced the Peterson Ridge Rumble 20-mile event, finishing 3^rd overall in a time 2:25:56.

Meanwhile, Max King placed 1^st at the Pear Blossom 10 mile road race in Oregon, in a time of 49:10. That’s right, Max ran a 4:55 pace for 10 miles. Amazing! Read the race report here.

Another very successful weekend for Team Montrail. Way to go everyone, congratulations!

April showers bring May flowers? We’ll have to wait and see on the latter part of that cliche, but for a lot of us the showers part has been true, and in many cases, snow showers. So depending on where you live, you may or may not have much trail running under your belt at this point in the year. That’s one of the reasons why there are so many exciting races and surprising results in April.  Either way, the trail racing season is in full swing in many parts of the country, including major trail ultras and shorter distance races and series.

Here’s where you’ll find Montrail this weekend:

American River 50 – the fast and furious 50 miler in Sacramento on Saturday is race number 9 in the Montrail Ultra Cup series and as usual, is stacked at the top.  Some are gunning for Ultra Cup points, a few are after those coveted Western States 100 spots that will be awarded to the top 2 men and women, and many are out for a challenge, and perhaps their first ultra.  We love this race because of the diversity in runners you find.  Being that it’s half paved, half trail, it’s a great first 50-miler and is also a race where a few road marathoners usually show and surprise everyone.  It’s one of the largest 50-mile races in the country and the festivities and fanfare are there to back it up.  Montrail athletes Erik Skaden, Ryan Burch, Ellie Greenwood and Jill Perry will represent for Montrail and hope to throw down their best efforts.  We expect Kami Semick and Ellie Greenwood to duke it out for the women in their first race together, and Dave Mackey, Ian Sharman, Nick Clark and Scott Jaime to push the pace up front for the men.  This is a perfect race to get out your hybrid shoes, and we recommend the Fairhaven, Rogue Racer or Rockridge.

Peterson Ridge Rumble – this annual rite of passage and dog-friendly event in Oregon features a 40-mile and 20-mile distance.  Reports from race director Sean Meissner are that the trail is wet and muddy, with possible snow and rain in the forecast.  Sounds like our kind of race!  Gimpy Gary Robbins will be there to test his health in the 20-mile distance.  Be nice to him, he’s a little sensitive these days.

Dirty Duathlon – X-Dog Events kicks off their spring trail season in Hagg Lake, Oregon with two events:  the Dirty Duathlon comprised of a 5-mile trail run and 15-mile mountain bike, as well as The Dirt Dash, a 5-mile trail run.  Join in the fun and check out the schedule of events for X-Dog, there’s certainly something for everyone.

Other Montrail athletes racing this weekend:

Max King – Pear Blossom 10-miler in Medford, OR

Annette Bednosky – makes her return to the 50-mile distance after a few months of injury and recovery at the Bull Run 50 in Virginia.

Joelle Vaught – will be running the Peterson Ridge Rumble 40-miler..

Andy Henshaw – racing the Mad City 100k with a goal of making the 100k National Team.

Good luck everyone and have a great weekend.  Regardless of whether you’re racing or training, enjoy the trails!