Hard(rock 100) to Grasp

I had so much fun blogging a couple of weeks ago in the aftermath of Western States, and really wanted to maintain some consistency in posting some of my neurotic thoughts on so many things sport. I've started 84 different posts in my head only to fail to get to the keyboard. But seriously, I've been slammed at work. Grateful am I!

My latest excuse for waiting to post is actually a good one: I wanted to wait until a friend of mine finished Hardrock 100. There was a lot of build-up to this race, at least in the small virtual space where I sometimes loiter on blogger and twitter. The Matt Harts, Karl Meltzers, Dakota Smiths and Irunfars of the world were making their ways to Silverton. Of course, Tim was on his way having gotten into the race officially at the llth hour, as were Sir Clark and Mr. Jamie, Joe Grant, another Solomon sponsored euro, Julien Chorier (who'd been touted during WS100 and else where), as well as a whole host of other runners and fans (I have virtually no familiarization with the women other than Darcy Africa and Diana Finkel appeared to be racing mano a mano for the win).

So, granted, there was certainly some buzz, but I was by far most interested in how Footfeathers would fair. I got to see and kinda feel some of his pain at the end of the SD100 about a month ago. He talked in his race report about how he'd definitely been running and ultra racing consistently leading-up to this race in the San Juan Mountains. He wasn't going-in that brand-spankin new; he's been living and breathing trail ultra (read some of his interviews), legitimately. Or so it seemed.

Definitely read his race report, all of it. The best word I can come-up with now is "troubling" (I say courageous, brave, resilient, and ballsy too; but this 2011 Hardrock sounds downright dark, especially from my friend's perspective).

I started digging the trail back in 2008. I found the Lucho/GZ tribe and have been pretty dialed-in ever since. I started with 25k southern Cali trail races with ~3k vert and lovely views of the Pacific or Vegas and that was about as much as I felt like going. I trained with some ultra folk, did some big training runs in the Lagunas of San Diego county, but had not and still have not toed the line for a 50k or up (which is all going to change, I promise).

But my point is that despite wanting at some point to run an ultra marathon, I thought the 100 mile distance was foolhardy. I felt like the distance invited too much potential for genuine trouble. Sure, some elites might have a go and let her rip for ~20 hours, but the mid to rear packer had no reason to be there creeping so close to that edge. "You want to do 100 miles (or 135 from valley to mountain top)? Fine. But take a tent and some camping gear."

And the cherry on top was a picture I saw on one guy's blog, capturing one of the "highlights" of his travels during Badwater, I believe, where he's laid-out in a chair at an aid station, both feet in the air like he's giving birth, with two crew members attending to his feet/socks/shoes, and another handful milling about with various gear and refreshment. In my own naviete, ignorance (yet competitive soul) I thought this is pathetic. The dire condition. The dependence upon all of these friends and volunteers. Wow. Not for me.

I have changed somewhat. The blogging has kept that possibility alive, of my own pilgrimage to run something really big. And helping (in whatever slight way I could) Tim at SD100 definitely got me thinking. I'm going to run 50k and 50mi and there's an outside chance I try a 100, especially the one in my own backyard.

But then there's a race report like Tim's. It's tough to reconcile. I know these trials and tribulations define us, create us. We grow through and because of them. Admittedly, I think this race is different. Hardrock seems otherworldly, brutally harsh. Troubling. I haven't talked to Tim other than a couple of texts and a comment on his blog. I'm confused.

My gut says no way was that worth it. The breathing problems, the danger on some of the passes, especially the one on which "Chris" totally saved his phucking life. I'm blown away by the recklessness of it. The rapids, the lightning. The wet feet.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I firmly believe that. But I doubted it for a second while reading Tim's report. Of course, there were many runners certainly who fared worse than he. His report, along with some of the photos made me think of Chris McCandless. Spooky.

I would love to do 100 miles in the San Juans. On a long weekend. With a lot of beer. And a beach chair at my own personal aid station at the end of each day.

God bless Tim and the other survivors. Seriously.

PS
Stay-tuned for more: I'm wondering about a champion's true appeal. And, of course, the euros are coming? Wrong. They already own the place. . .

Ultra Running: an addendum

The sport is leaving the dusty, single-track margins of our media lathered world. At least where I'm from and go on a occasion, the discussion is constant, it's tethers reaching further and further socially in a world becoming defined by networks and clicking links.

Having said that, what happens in these big races becomes part of bigger discussions. With the aforementioned omnipresence of social media, sharing, linking, etc., the lives leading up to these big races have become fodder for the fan and for the fans' discussions. Race winnings are and/or will increase, sponsorships will likewise increase in volume and size all because of this rise in popularity, due in part to these discussions. In the context of this sport becoming more main stream than it ever has been, those discussions I mentioned, that will begin to flourish (that already have), will include a critique of athletic performance.

Is my analysis overbearing? Does it seem like my take on one runner is too intimate? Perhaps the points of my analysis give some people a sense that I care too much. Those who read only that miss my main claim: The guy's DNF was totally predictable (or the accompanying claim that he is uber talented). The DNF was waving it's flabby arms on a punctured Goodyear blimp float on fire rolling down 5th Avenue in parade procession.

Didn't you see it? Aren't you paying attention?

Are we critiquing the mid-packer? No. We're looking at the elite, for obvious reasons (modeling, professionalism, culture of expectations, hell: gambling!). With that, the analysis is warranted. These athletes represent a lot more than brothers and sisters in sneakers.

Granted, I could leave a benign, throw-away comment that simply adds to the long yawn of indifference, say something like: "Oh well, better luck next time." "Don't worry about it, dude, you'll come back stronger than ever."

In the end, this is a study of character. The more attention a sport gets, the more critique and analysis that comes its way towards the entire affair (events, people, equipment, etc). People who love the sport, and who appreciate the variety of elements that coexist along with the people and stories that dramatize the narrative like to share that appreciation.

That's how people like Michael Jordan and Matt Carpenter have become history, legend, and myth (Tolkien). Their ethos, their respective sport's ethos, is partly product of the discourse.

Western States and Geoff Roes

I actually paid a lot of attention to this race, at least early-on. I got up around 6:00 and found myself on the couch, watching Wimbledon, eating home-made granola and refreshing the twitter/WS100 update page, etc. It was too early for anything other than the cereal. I went back to bed and went in and out of consciousness for the next few hours tired and sore from playing tag with a bunch of 6-8 year-olds the night before, I guess.

As the race progressed Saturday morning, any inspiration I'd hoped to get from following WS100 (and subsequently getting excited about getting my day started) failed to materialize. I had a bad feeling about the day and the race. As my last post suggested, I pretty much figured Killian would win, ho hum. Any drama that seemed built-in to last year's show-down (even before the start) wasn't there. Like I said in that previous post, last year was LOADED with hype-worthy energy. And Geoff Roes had an epic come-from-behind win, in CR fashion.

Since getting into trail running a couple of years ago, it has been great watching Geoff Roes ascend to become an elite ultra distance runner and maintain a cool, casual demeanor about the whole thing, despite his success. I really like Roes' style both in terms of racing and training, not to mention his blog (and from what I hear his in-run chatting) can be quite an interesting read.

But he got too interesting this year. That's the critic in me. The arm-chair quarterback/ultra runner (of which i am neither: quarter back or ultra runner). But I am a sports fan. I love the competition. I love the build-up to a race like WS100 2011 like I do the prospects of watching a big tennis match, or basketball game (admittedly, my love for American television sports is waning). The sports fan in me couldn't wait to see the players lay it all on the line. And Roes didn't have it that day. As I said in my previous post and comments, there was a lot of evidence to suggest it wouldn't be his day. To my surprise, Anton graciously contributed to the discussion and said I had it wrong, that Geoff was fine, and in fact Killian was in for some trouble. Fantastic insight. He knows Geoff well. I am very grateful for the insight.

But my gut was right. I didn't feel Roes' competitive juices bubbling for this one. Whether it was illness or over-training, he wasn't there. We could say the same about Mackey. He just didn't seem 100% (hell, if that guy was 100%, and got to mile 70-80 in tact, with cooler temps, perhaps no one could've touched him with a late surge of which he's capable). Although Clark seemed poised, I still had him as a dark horse. A favorite dark horse, sure, but I didn't see him breaking through against Killian.

I mentioned Roes' possible illness or over-training that could have kept him from going big this year at WS100. I didn't mention lack of focus, which many readers may suggest was the problem. Many of us remember "Cloud" making an ass out of himself on Roes' blog. Despite being somewhat validated, s/he is still an ass. More troubling perhaps are Roes' own terribly ominous words regarding his "approach" to this race, which will become part of American ultrarunning lore: (to paraphrase) I'm more interested in my next run, tomorrow, than I am in WS100, which is _______ away (use "X months," "X days"). He finally became interested (focused) when his "next" run was in fact WS100. Many of us are critical of this. Some of us are jerks, and some just let down. We love when these athletes perform. See the recent Lebron James discourse as an example of how fans' enthusiastic support can become vitriolic when reality contradicts their lofty expectations.

I'm not so sure the lack of focus criticism is justified. I think it's pretty natural for an athlete to be somewhat excited for a race (I'm sure he was, but I mentioned this too in my previous post), but since he dominated so the year before (dramatic win and incredible CR), he therefore might have other goals now, such as UTMB, or the newly designed championship coming this fall. Remember, UTMB was canceled last year literally while the athletes stood on the starting line. His thoughts are, perhaps, simply else where. And perhaps they should be.

For those who care, like I, what do we make of this poor showing at WS100? Even though Roes has had a solid year (CR win at Chukanut in a deep field, win at Zane Grey and other solid efforts), for some reason this year I think is a little sub-par (I know, what the hell do I know). The Bandera 100k DNF stands-out because he was not feeling well, and I do remember how there was a period of time when he was not adapting to his move to CO. He wasn't sure what it was. Elevation? Homesickness? All I know is this 2011 is following his move to CO and we all know how much he loves AK and how a big move like that can affect people in a variety of ways. So that caught my eye. Has he just not had the depth of training early on in the year that translates to mid to late season domination we've seen in the past? The early season illness, and the DNF at Bandera just stand-out.

In addition, there's his growth as a human being (sound philosophical enough?). As we grow and mature, we change our focus, find different priorities. Based on how much he talks about his girlfriend now, that relationship naturally and fortunately has become a bigger part of this life (if you're talking sports and athletes, better-halves/significant others/marriage play fairly big roles in how the athlete performs on the field. Other sports, like tennis, have documented the dramatic drop in performance. It's life. The bottom-line is people develop more interests in things away from the sport.

His narrative underscores this change. Go back and read his blog, read/watch interviews.

And along with that kind of relationship absorbing an athlete's time and energy, his/her professional relationships can affect performance. How? Why? We can surmise reasonably on the reputation/results dynamic, but let's just say there are many examples of athlete's struggling for whatever specific reasons once they have found "success." Training is secondary, complacency, etc. etc.

All I know is I have noticed a change in Geoff Roes and I witnessed on Saturday a completely different kind of result.

OF COURSE, SHIT HAPPENS. AND IT'S A 100 MILE RACE. A LOT OF SHIT HAPPENS.

Nonetheless, I saw it coming. For whatever reason, I'm not surprised. And for that I'm disappointed. But. Who. Really. Cares. Does. It. Really. Matter.
__________________________________________

Congrats to Nick Clark. He is a model of consistency and grit. No question. MVP.

AJW is a gamer. He walks the walk. And his pre-race interview while drinking a beer is classic. Another model of consistency. Huge props.

I don't follow the women in the sport and shame on me, but that race was pretty dramatic. I think irunfar tweeted early in the race (mile ~30ish?) that Greenwood was thrashed and the whole scene was "sad." Her comeback is pretty remarkable. Roes does a nice job with some perspective on that.

And Roes finding Killian at the finish is very cool to see. No question about Roes' character.

If only Mackey could have laid the wood to the front and won this thing. That would have been greeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaat (out-loud in the voice of Tony the Tiger).

And congrats to Mr. Jornet (although that's not even his late name is it?). He's a young giant. Will be fun to watch him grow and dominate the sport.

I can't wait for UTMB. Time to reassert yourself, Mr. Roes.
For what it's worth (I know, nothing) I still think he's the best in the business. When he's on.

Despite this overly interested bullshit on my part, I am in awe of all 100 milers. I am full of aspiration not to mention inspiration (but I'm past that). As one commenter said on a friend's blog, "I have no idea why, but there seems to be something out there you guys/gals find. I'm in."

I would only hope that all you WS100ers are drinkin an ice cold beer right about now (after the several you've already had). Cheers.

ps
I wish every trail/mountain race with that much leverage has that good a coverage. Fantastic.