The thing about these races
2013 WC race is in May
18 Months prior to that will start the qualification period. Mid November 2011 - Maybe January 1st 2013.
Of the current list of men - I think all the distances were run prior to November 2011. Top 10 at WC are auto on team + you would expect some good distances at WC race. But for the men the races the next 5 weeks may get you onto 2013 team even if it doesn't make the 2012 team.
So I still plan on trying to destroy myself, even if there are a couple of 150+ run.
Right now
141 puts you on #2 open spot, 135-140 in the #3 open spot.
I still predict it will take 145 to make the men's team ...
Long dead ... But my stench lingers !
He had a good Desert Solstice - 125.x
Nice guy - I talked to him a bit at FANS ~ He stayed possitive the whole race.
FYI, Tatsunori is a Japanese resident living in Philadelphia, so even if he ran 200 miles he still wouldn't make the US Team. He got screwed out of money / a ribbon at North Coast last year, because even though he is a USATF member he is not a legal US resident so he didn't count in the results.
Kalsarikännit
And if you go back through her splits it all hit the wall in the middle of the night when she had some GI issues and spent a few to many minutes off the course in the bathroom. No matter how she tried for the next 6+ hours she could make up the needed time / distance to get back on track for the record.
I think that was a big wake-up call and ego check for me. It really made you realize the level that she is playing at is so far above 99% of us. In so many races it is important to minimize down time, but you don't think about the effect that one long stop can have. And truthfully, her stop wasn't all that long. It wasn't like she took a 25 minute break. To think about how hard she had to fight to regain that time and how close she got to the record is astonishing. She was a fierce machine at the NC24 I did. I was in awe and completely humbled. It is one of the best performances that I have ever seen in person.
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart
I truly believe for anyone to hit 95% of what potential they have trained to is very special. Connie was likely in 150+ shape, but too many things can take miles away. GI issues, getting calories, hydration, electrolytes and pacing right. I think this is important for all runners to realize ... it's a mean bitch of a race ~ celebrate hitting 90% of what you think you are capable of ~ 95% is like winning the lottery ~ 100% I do not think happens.
150 x 95% = 142.5
To WG point ~ I have seen Phil and Serge have many things go bad for them and still run big distances Phil 139-142 and Serge 150. That just shows how good they are.
I wrote something similar about Phil McCarthy's record run in 2011 for Ultra Running magazine, almost everything has to go perfect for that record run.
I also think its similar to a lot of sports ... bowling, golf etc ~ There are a lot of ways to improve and move up a level when you are shooting 100 (18 holes) in golf, Its pretty easy to move from 100 to 90. A lot harder to move from 90 to 80 and the curve keeps getting steeper as you approach par.
Running 100 miles in a 24 hour race ~ Very doable.
120 gets harder ~
130 gets a lot harder
140
To me 150 for men is like par in golf. To do it consistently is pretty special. Both Phil and Serge have hit it ... along with Mike Morton.
150 is such a peak for me ~ I cannot do it consistently
The weather report for NC24 has been all over the place..Initially rain all day--then no rain but closing in on a high of 80. Right now is about the best forecast we've seen..High of 71.
Running it counter clockwise may hurt if wind is a factor--if it is windy Saturday morning, they will go back to running it clockwise.
I would have liked it if they changed it up during the race. They don't need to do it as often as a track race, but every six hours would be nice.
I may have to get my USATF membership - would hate to qualify for the team and not get it because I wasnt a member . Seriously--I may have a chance to medal in my age group (There are only 40-44M registered and Im sure they all arent USATF), I may not have to do much more than show up.
I appreciate all the 24 hour talk. There's one they put on for the first time last year here in the Little Rock area. They're unsure if they're going to do it again, but if they do, I'm in.
When I actually have miles under me for the first time in a long time, it'll be interesting to see if I can handle it.
Look at my log - who needs miles . I still want to see what I can do when trained. And it is inspiring to be on the track and seeing the consistancy of the top runners churning out the miles in the middle of the night.
I also think its similar to a lot of sports ... bowling, golf etc ~ There are a lot of ways to improve and move up a level when you are shooting 100 (18 holes) in golf, Its pretty easy to move from 100 to 90. A lot harder to move from 90 to 80 and the curve keeps getting steeper as you approach par. Running 100 miles in a 24 hour race ~ Very doable. 120 gets harder ~ 130 gets a lot harder 140 To me 150 for men is like par in golf. To do it consistently is pretty special. Both Phil and Serge have hit it ... along with Mike Morton. 150 is such a peak for me ~ I cannot do it consistently
Great analogy DB. Makes you really think about how special Jureks effort was.
More remarkable is Yannis (No I am not a fan - But you have to appreciate the greatness) - Consistently performing time and time again at levels few of us mere mortals dream of performing.
Scott ran mulitple Spartathans (153 miles) under 24 hours and the one great 24 ~ 166 miles. Running Spartathan in 22ish hours is comparable or maybe even a little better than running a flat course with ideal weather for 166 miles. I would guess is everything came together Scott could run 170-175.
Buzzie, how is your foot? Are you going to be ok for Sat?
Bacon Party!
Let's just say, I still won't be in contention!
I'm now sporting a new mass of tissue on the outside edge of my left foot (where that bony point is on the 5th met). It's not particularly painful, but is aggravated by certain shoes and after a certain number of steps. At that point, I start to land more toward the inside of my foot and the old Lisfranc injury gets riled up ... which is of greater concern.
So, the question is (as ever), how many steps do I have in me?
It's had time and care to recover and may turn out to be a non-issue.
We'll give it a go.
Liz
pace sera, sera
Im sure you'll do great Buzzie..I'll look for you..I can just yell Buzzie!! every so often until someone responds