Is there a list of existing active 24 hour runs?

Also, I would be interested in anyone's personal favorite 24 hour events.

Thanks again.

Question: If one were seeking to a personal best for a 24 hour run, what are some considerations or preferences for choice of venue?

 

- Surface: paved, dirt, track?

- Length of loop?

 

Any and all comments appreciated.

 I would say this is a very unscientific study but try to figure out where the 12 people who just competed in France performed their qualify run.

You know 6 (top 3 M and F) got automatic entry at Northcoast, but want about the other 6?  Mike Henze did it at FANS, Amy did it in AZ on New Years Eve.  It would take minimal research to figure it out. I believe it was listed on the papework for Brive Fr.

Byron Lane (2008 Nat Champ) was just at 3 Days at the Fair and trying to hit the national standard for the 24 Hour run.  He ended up having GI issues and not getting the minimum 130 but he thought the course was definitely designed to be record worthy (the American Female Masters record was set in the 48 hour).

I could see it being paved or track, short loops, having a crew in place to help you when needed.

Are you looking at any particular races?

 I would say this is a very unscientific study but try to figure out where the 12 people who just competed in France performed their qualify run.

 

You know 6 (top 3 M and F) got automatic entry at Northcoast, but want about the other 6?  Mike Henze did it at FANS, Amy did it in AZ on New Years Eve.  It would take minimal research to figure it out. I believe it was listed on the papework for Brive Fr.

 

Byron Lane (2008 Nat Champ) was just at 3 Days at the Fair and trying to hit the national standard for the 24 Hour run.  He ended up having GI issues and not getting the minimum 130 but he thought the course was definitely designed to be record worthy (the American Female Masters record was set in the 48 hour).

 

I could see it being paved or track, short loops, having a crew in place to help you when needed.

 

Thanks Rick. Yes, I agree the comparisons are quite unscientific since conditions vary from venue to venue and from year to year.

Northcoast is right in my backyard but I am not convinced the best venue is adjacent to an open body of water. Too exposed to wind and weather. Same goes for SF One Day under the Golden Gate Bridge. I would like a course more protected from the wind.

Last summer, I ran a couple laps around Lake Nokomis (FANS) when i visited. I sort of liked the 2 mile loop but the concrete was a turn-off.

I liked the distance of the Northcoast loop (0.9 mile) as convenient for frequency of aid.

My only experience with a timed ultra is a 12-hour on a 1-mile loop.

Brive was a tough course - like a formula 1 course - 1 hairpin, 2 straigh aways and 11 other corners, gravel, sand, cobblestone a sharp little up and down a gradual little up and down - But the weather was perfect and the competition and reason why we were there unbeatable.

Fans is a 2.4 mile loop with a big sloping concrete bridge, a small 15 ft steep hill a few grass sections, some concrete and some pavement.  Great group of people, but competition is light.

NorthCoast - Has the 1 little sharpish hill but generally is a top notch course - It is much nicer than Brive, but how nice will depend on the number of entrants - Last year was nice - this year it might get a little tight is the numbers are up.

A track ... I have no experience, but I believe it depends on how well the event is run.  I have heard of track events that let people walk laps with their runners and that could mean passing people 2-3 wide - maybe in lane #3.  Both FANS, NorthCoast and Brive had some very beautiful features - lakes or rivers etc to look at - I would worry about 16 cornes to the mile - If the event was top notch like Sri - I would consider it.

Roots - I thought you would be at NorthCoast this year???

Further to what Purdey has said, I ran the same 12 hour race this year that he did last on a 400 metre track...totally different experience to what I have done before. The track is a flat, relentless surface, all over taking is done on the inside with slower runners/walkers being advised to run in lane 2, discipline does go out of the window in the latter stages.

I have done 6 hour events that are circuits of the local park, but the problem with them is they are not flat and often on a slope and it ends up as a 6 hour fartlek on a 1000 metre loop...different discipline all together and did I say tough.

In the 12 hour rack race we changed direction at 7 hours (long story why not 6 hours) and I really suffered when my IT Band cramped due to the stride and gait change....oooo I squealed like a little piggy when the sports med pulled that knot out allowing me to carry on.

As for flat courses, come to England and try some of our canal races, flat as a pancake, little mental stimulus, you see a side of England that does not appear on post cards but fast especially when you can see the checkpoint 1 miles ahead.

To sum up, I am not a great lover of totally flat.

The Around the Lake 24 Hour in Wakefield, MA in July is a 5K loop around a lake (duh) with a couple of gradual ups and downs, some concrete sidewalks but some asphalt paths as well, and one short section of dirt and grass. So it's varying terrain, which could be a benefit toward a PR.

 

There's a small aid station at the halfway mark and a larger one at the main area where the finish is. You can set up your own private area to visit every 3 miles. It's in the parking lot of a hotel which most runners stay at, so a shower and bed are not far away.

 

The race has 4 components: a marathon, a 12 hour ultra, a 24 hour ultra, and a 24 hour team relay.

 

I've done the marathon (2009- a PR) and the 24 Hour (2008, my first and only ultra, a so-so 58 miles which included a good night's sleep after the first 29 since I live nearby). Support is pretty good, as the teams generally have cheering sections. I'm toying with doing one of the ultras again this year.

 

Last year they instituted chip timing with a chute instead of lap counters. This year they'll do the same, but with a common start for all runners. The marathon used to be 8 laps, plus an extra loop. It sounds like this year they will have a common start and have said that all runners will receive certified credit for completing a marathon on completing 26.2 miles, even if they keep going. They will also use the d-tag system and have live updates.

 

Course record is something like 140 miles. It used to be that you had to complete a lap for it to count. They did not measure partial laps. Most likely that will remain, since it's a big lake and it seems like it would be too difficult to measure partial loops.

 

They give out special awards to all runners completing 31 laps, or approx. 101 miles.

 

http://www.srr.org/events/annual_events/24hour/2010/index.htm

I'm in the club that puts this one on. I had a blast doing the relay last year and am on the fence about doing the relay or the 12 hour this year.

 

During the track 24's, I have found that shortening my stride in the corners, and legnthening it down the straight parts helps the legs out so that my gait isn't always the same.  It seems to work well for me.

 

Thanks Wriggler - top tip.

Obvious really - but I am an idiot.