Bridger Ridge Run Registration Update Late May 2013

Important Dates

Registration for the lottery closed on Saturday May 18.

Late last night (May 23rd) the registration committee and the race director finalized the list of those selected for the 2013 Bridger Ridge Run.

Over the next day or so, you will get an email indicating your selection status. Those accepted, can start registering for the race Sunday May 26. You will have until Saturday June 1st to complete signing up for the race at http://www.racemontana.com.

Direct your questions to KendraBRR at gmail dot com if you have a question or don’t get your notification.

Encouragement for those Disappointed

Unfortunately, not everyone that wants to do the race gets accepted. So there are inevitable disappointments. Remember, there is always next year.

If you failed to get in this year, you will get to bypass the random lottery next year and get automatic selection if you try again next year.

Worse case, over time, at a minimum, you will be able to get in every other year.

In fact, numerous people that tried, but failed to get in last year got in automatically this year bypassing the lottery.

There are always several family groups and friend groups that want to do the race together. It is impossible to accommodate these requests. If your group got broken up, blame it on the Microsoft random number generator function, rand(). Those that did not get in can always cheer and train with those that did.

Some Tidbits about the Selection Process

To try and accommodate as many people as possible, the race committee actually significantly overbooks the race. The race initially lets in many more people as compared to the number agreed upon with the US Forest Service. This practice is just like that used by the airlines. Inevitably, there is a large number of people that plan to do the race, but later can’t for various reasons. So far, over the years, this strategy has worked. What initially seems like a scarily high number of participants eventually dwindles down to just within the target number come race day.

This year, the vast majority of people were selected by pure random lottery. There were only two previous winners and a handful of 10 timers that get automatic entry. There was another handful of charitable auction entries. There were probably a couple dozen people that got selected because they failed to get in last year and tried again this year. And there were probably a few dozen people the selection committee (along with the race director) subjectively selected to make sure they got in the race. This subjective selection was based upon their story and the uniqueness and service they bring to the race.

At a Glance, Another Fast Field of Participants

From a cursory look at the list of people selected, on the women’s side there are a couple of returning winners and last year’s runner up. There are no returning men’s winners, but there a couple of the very fastest finishers from last year and last year’s runner up doing it again. And there is a very talented (probably one of the fastest non-collegiate runners in the state) that got in and will be doing it for the first time. So the race on both sides of the sex divide will be highly competitive. Will we see a sub 4 hour for the women and a sub 3 hour for the men?

Baldy Blitz Results

As mentioned in the previous post, last Saturday May 18th was the Baldy Blitz. It was a great day of light winds mild temperatures and an atmosphere heavy with moisture and mystery.

Baldy Blitz 2013 above the Meadow approaching Baldy Base

Remember, doubling your round trip Baldy time is a good way to estimate your Ridge Run potential time. Looking at the results, one must conclude that there are a lot of fast people lurking around Bozeman.

Baldy Blitz 2013 Race Directors at the Start Finish M TH

Following are the results:

• Mark Raymond 1:51:56
• Jonathan Hockett 1:54:03
• Craig Clouatre 1:56:22
• Alex Lussier 1:57:06
• Ed Detzi 1:57:43
• Frank Jacques 1:58:40
• Andy Morgosh 2:00:41
• Mitch Steckmest 2:01:58
• Joe Davis 2:03:19
• Joh Apple 2:04:21
• Tomas Dumbrowski 2:04:25
• Minde Erickson 2:05:46
• Marcus Giese 2:05:49
• Adam Freund 2:09:38
• Jon Cummins 2:11:10
• Terry Leist 2:14:47
• Tim Stefan 2:15:35
• Jordan Oberdorf 2:19:37
• Amy Stefan 2:21:54
• Peter Harned 2:23:28
• Ben Latrance 2:24:54
• Jeff Johnson 2:25:05
• Kyle McKenzie 2:25:10
• Gro Lunde 2:26:35
• Jason Tanguay 2:26:49
• Katie Dolesh 2:27:16
• Justin Bigart 2:27:33
• Patrick Murphy 2:32:58
• Larry Johnson 2:34:50
• Brian Williams 2:39:11
• Daryl Baker 2:41:02
• Tom Moore 2:43:03
• Bill Flannagan 2:52:49
• Carrie Krause 2:53:00
• Jen Swica 2:55:41
• Megan DeHaan 2:57:22
• Randy Oostema 2:59:49
• Roger Roots 3:00:42
• Aga Apple 3:00:43
• Katie Adams 3:02:24
• Tamara Allen 3:07:18
• Alyson Sperry 3:10:52
• Daryl DeFrance 3:12:32
• Joshua Burnin 3:21:12
• Kelby Barton 3:21:13
• Stephanie Davison Very Fast

Bridger Ridge Run 2013 News and Updates for Spring

Registration Process Begins this Month!

Mark your calendars. Registration for the lottery opens up Sunday May 12 and lasts for one week. Anyone who plans on or desires to be in the race must register for the lottery. Those applicants that the lottery selects get notified and then must go through an additional full race registration process. See a description of the full registration process at the Wind Drinkers website.

When is a Lottery not a Lottery?

Some folks have pointed out and complained that the registration process is not a true lottery and we should not call it a lottery. Yes, that is true. Not all those that are selected are by a pure random lottery process. So a better term instead of Lottery would be Selection Process.

To clarify the process, there are three categories of selection.

• The first category is those who get in automatically by their prior accomplishments such as previous winners or people that have finished more than 10 official Ridge Runs.
• The second category includes those subjectively selected by merit, from their stories, reasons, previous attempts to get in and their service.
• The third category is a true lottery and includes those selected purely on a random drawing basis.

New Registration People

For the last dozen years, the same person has been working the Ridge Run Registration task. This year, will be their last and they will be training some new volunteers. The new people will take over next year after apprenticing this year under the tutelage of the current registration master. It looks like there is at least one volunteer that has expressed serious interest in taking on the role. If there are any readers of this Blog that would be interested, just post a comment here and we will get back to you.

If interested, it is helpful if you have some skills with data tools such as Excel and direct email tools such as Mail Chimp.

Training Season Begins

With the race about three months away, it is time to start some specific Ridge Run training. There are plenty of previous posts on this Blog site detailing training recommendations. See the Best Of link above.

At this time of the year, you should already have a pretty good foundation or base level of fitness. Now as the snow clears in the Mountains, it is time to hone your uphill and downhill skills and toughness.

Use the Baldy Blitz as a Fitness Test

Start of 2011 Baldy Blitz (Picture from Outside Bozeman)

In mid May there is a low key race up and down Mount Baldy from the M trail head. Other than the May 18 date, I have not found much information about it. So you may have to do some asking around for more details.

Remember, a quick way to estimate your Ridge Run time is to double your Mount Baldy round trip time.

There are plenty of other local races that offer opportunities of quality training, fitness tests and tune ups. There is just something about an official race that peaks your willingness to go fast and push yourself beyond what you would normally do in training. Take advantage of all what a race offers such as fundraising for a good cause, enjoyable social event and a chance to really push your abilities.

My Personal Ridge Run Plans

I have lost count of how many official Ridge Runs I have finished over the last few decades. Perhaps 15 or 16 I think? So at this point in my life (I’m closer to 60 years old than 50) doing something like the Ridge Run is certainly not getting any easier!

Last year, I was nearly 10 pounds heavier than I usually am in the middle of the summer. That winter bulge around the waist tends to linger longer and longer the older I get. Carrying an extra 10 pounds makes climbing up those steep grades to Sacajawea, Bridger and Saddle Peak an exhausting endeavor. It was with a certain sad realization in the weeks leading up to last year’s race, that I admitted to my wife that the days of breaking 4 hours are probably behind me. Oh well. I still plan on doing it this year regardless of my speed, weight or fitness.

Ironically, I have way more trouble wrapping my mind around the concept of NOT participating than I do around training for and committing to another Ridge Run.

After some serious health challenges last year (vertigo from inner ear problems being the most debilitating) I got fired up to participate in even more events and races. You never know when you may no longer be able to do certain things.

Embrace this moment’s opportunity and keep participating.

The day after last year’s Ridge Run, I made a resolution to do some other events and adventures that I have always wanted to do. One was doing a trail race down in the southern Utah desert. So last fall, I did the Moab Trail Marathon.

2012 Moab Trail Marathon

It is always an adventure to run through the red rock country of the Utah desert. The Moab Trail Marathon incorporated some challenging slick rock sections and twisty turny single track surrounded by stunning vistas.

Danelle Ballengee is the race director. She routed a section of the course through the slick rock canyon where back in December of 2006 she fell and broke her pelvis nearly perishing. For you not familiar with Danelle’s story, it is an inspiring one of survival and of her dog Taz’s love and devotion. Taz helped lead rescuers to the accident site just in time to save her. Here are a couple fascinating interviews of Danelle.

I had a great experience doing the Moab Trail Marathon. I am glad I did it and have some fond memories. For me, doing it once is enough though. There are a couple things I did not like about the course that will discourage me from doing it again. A painfully congested start and some contrived and congested narrow out and back sections detract from an otherwise classic route through the Moab backcountry.

2012 Moab Trail Marathon, Section Along Colorado River

Over the years, I certainly have gotten a lot of mileage out of that Jim Bridger Trail Run shirt. I actually bought a new race shirt last year to replace the one in the picture. But the new shirt chaffed my nipples. So I had to go back to my old blood stained and frayed JBTR shirt.

Next goal is to do a trail race in the Wasatch Range in northern Utah. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Review Comparison of the Best Trail Running Shoe

Overall this shoe feels wonderfully comfortable – no pain. When running in them, I forget about my feet. And I forget about my shoes because they are doing their job and not interfering with mine. These shoes just simply feel right – a protective extension of my feet. They make running fun and feel natural. They inspire me to run fast. (Thanks to the RunBlogger for an insightful description of what a great running shoe feels like)

Following is a list of features and characteristics of this trail running shoe:

• For a shoe that offers comfort and protection it is fairly light at less than 10 ounces for a men’s size 10.
• It flexes very easy at the ball of the foot and is stiffer under the arch.
• The upper is very soft in the forefoot allowing for easy flexing without creasing and pressuring the top of the foot.
• The upper is stiffer and supportive in the rear of the foot to provide a secure fit and anchoring of the foot to the sole.
• The upper fits snug, at the sides of the mid and rear foot.
• The forefoot upper has enough room allowing the fore foot (toes and metatarsals) to spread and widen naturally upon foot fall without feeling constrained and tight.
• There are no rough seams in the interior of the shoe causing irritation.
• The upper material is very breathable, but does not allow dust and sand to penetrate.
• The upper is hydrophobic and sheds waters.
• When water does get inside, it quickly drains out through the breathable upper.
• There is a stiff toe bumper protecting the toes from getting whacked when stubbing a toe.
• The midsole is cushy, but durable. It is only thick enough to provide enough cushioning for a comfortable ride.
• When the shoe flexes going uphill, the shoe does not shorten and leaves the heel and Achilles comfortable without contact pressure.
• The mid sole is thickest at the middle of the foot allowing the foot to naturally strike the ground first on the outside of the middle of the foot.
• The mid sole is slightly laterally convex and longitudinally convex. As foot strike progresses the foot gently and smoothly rolls slightly inward (pronates) putting weight onto the ball of foot and big toe preparing for toe off.
• The shoe is built on a straight last and along with a laterally convex sole makes the shoe highly resistive to abrupt and catastrophic ankle rolls (twists) to the outside when landing on uneven terrain.
• The Sole thickness tapers at the toe to protect catching or stubbing the toe and the sole thickness tapers at the heel to discourage the heel from striking the ground first.
• The Sole thickness profile is thickest under the midfoot. There are no sole cutouts or odd features in the sole that catch debris and interfere with a smooth rolling foot strike.
• The comfortable snug upper combined with a flexible cushy sole encourages a natural quick rolling foot strike making it downright fun to run.
• The rockplate is thin and flexible but protects the foot from sharp rocks.
• The outsole is made of a thin layer of sticky rubber for terrific traction.
• The lugs on the outsole are outies that provide good grip but are spread far enough apart to easily shed debris (mud, snow, rocks) They are also only high enough to provide traction yet do not catch or interfere with the cushion or feel of the midsole.
• The insoles or sock liners have a high friction surface that prevents the foot from sliding side to side or fore to aft inside the shoe.
• The insoles are made of conformable closed cell foam that over time form fits the foot. The insole has a small ridge behind the toes to fill the gap between the metatarsal heads and toes. This gives the toes something to grip and prevents the foot from sliding inside the shoe.
• The lacing system consists of conventional eyelets that go down past the instep towards the toes. This gives lots of lacing options for customizing fit and avoiding pressure points.
• The laces do not stretch or give. They provide a secure consistent fit when tied. The laces are a bit course and have an oval cross section to prevent slipping and inadvertent untying.

Sounds Like a Great Shoe Eh?

The bad news is that this shoe does not exist. There are shoes that incorporate many of these characteristics. But no shoe I know of puts it all together.

So for any shoe manufactures out there – the market is wide open for a gimmick free trail running shoe that works! Right now the market may be flooded with a lot of trail running shoes. But there is always room for something better. Are the shoe manufactures of the world listening?

Here is a pictorial look at my current crop of trail running shoes. It is a reality check and illustrates what shoe characteristics work and what don’t. For those looking to make a shoe choice, perhaps this blog post will help you to know what to look for and what to avoid. (Click on the pictures for larger images)

Outsole Material and Lugs Designed for Traction

Nike Zoom Trail – Sticky Rubber Outsole

Sticky rubber. Need I say more? Is there any reason to have an outsole made of anything else? Durability perhaps, but, I would rather have a shoe work really well for a shorter lifetime than one that sucked and never wore out.

If you are a world class trail runner, you can get your shoe sponsor to replace the stock soles with sticky rubber ones (view 1:14 into the following video) Remember this guy? He lived in Bozeman for a little while but moved to Boulder Colorado for better weather.

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Brooks Pure Grit Outsole

There is a lot of variation of lug design. Some lugs look like they would offer great traction, but for mysterious reasons, they just don’t. Looks aren’t everything. Obviously, the design team was creative, but someone forgot to actually test the shoes under real world conditions. Case in point is the Brooks Pure Grit. Looks good, but lacks traction. The new version addressed this flaw.

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Scarpa Spark Outsole

In my experience, the type of lugs that seem to work the best and offer the best traction over a wide range of conditions are sharp edged square or triangular in shape such as those on the Nike Zoom Trail or the Scarpa Spark. They are tall enough to get a grip, but not tall enough to catch on debris or get broken off. They are spaced out just far enough to shed mud and debris.

(Note the curved (sickle shape) last of the Scarpa, probably the biggest drawback for running on irregular surfaces.)

Inov8 Outsole

The lugs on some models of the Invo8 shoes tend toward the other extreme. They are too high and too spread out and end up catching on rocks and tearing off.

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Skechers GOtrail Outsole

The Skechers GOtrail suffers from having large round lugs that act as part of the midsole. So the sole of the shoe is more a collection of grooves than lugs. The grooves or holes tend to fill with rocks, mud and snow.

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Hoka Bondi Outsole

Hoka shoes have a soft compressible sole that conforms to the ground surface. This offers surprisingly good traction on dry surfaces even though their outsole is fairly smooth without much in the way of deep lugs. But on wet vegetation, (grass, leaves), mud or hard snow where lugs are essential for traction, Hokas are dangerously slippery.

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Montrail Rogue Racer Outsole

The Montrail Rogue Racers have small low lugs but their sharp edges offer adequate traction. Using a softer sticky rubber and making the lugs just a bit taller would give them superior gription.

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NB MT100 Outsole

The NB MT100 offers poor traction at best. The lugs are lower (flatter) than the Montrail’s and more spread out.

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Nike Zoom Trail Outsole

The Nike Zoom Trail’s outsole is an example of what works well in varying conditions. First off, the material is sticky rubber like that found on rock climbing shoes. The lugs are a good design offering good bite, but not prone to collecting debris and suffering from mud build up. There are also sipes or small grooves that give it some grip on hard snow and ice - kind of like a studless snow tire.

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Straight Last for Stability

Hoka & Skechers Straight Last vs Scarpa Curved Last

On trails, a straight lasted shoe is more stable and less prone to an ankle roll than a curve lasted shoe. Supposedly a curve lasted shoe fits the foot better, but that is not my experience either. Maybe, I just have straight feet, but I find that in most curved lasted shoes, there will be more pressure on the outside of my little toe and excess material and space on the inside of my big toe. Having this extra sole ledge on the inside of the forefoot of the shoe gives leverage to an object in the trail that you step on underneath the inside edge of the shoe. This levers the foot over and since there is less material on the outside of the shoe to prevent the foot from rolling – it rolls over fairly easily.

For technical terrain, I like my big toe and inside ball of foot nestled up right against the shoe – kind of like a the feeling you get in a rock climbing shoe or pressuring the inside edge of a ski. A curved last interferes with this feel and control.

The Scarpa Spark has a lot going for it as a trail shoe, but it has a severely curved last. Look back at the picture of the Scarpa Spark Outsole above. With the Scarpa, it comes close to being a great shoe, but the curved last (and flat sole) makes it unstable and prone to ankle twisting rendering it a risky choice for rugged terrain. Maybe if you are duck footed with sickle shaped feet it would work for you, but for most people – no, not a good shoe for the Ridge Run.

Flexibility at Ball of Foot for Comfort and Performance

The human foot only flexes at the ball of the foot. That is also where your shoe should flex. The rest of the foot does not bend easily although it does flatten and spread out when weight bearing. Your shoe should mimic the foot and flex most easily at the ball of the foot.

A stiff flexing shoe feels harsh and interferes with natural running motion and toe off. When going up a steep hill, a stiff shoe puts extra pressure on the back of the heel and makes your calf work harder. The toes of the foot want to flex when going uphill and your shoe should accommodate this action.

A shoe that flexes in the middle instead of the toe, significantly shortens in length when going uphill. When the shoe shortens, it puts pressure on the back of the heel. The back of the heel is where the Achilles tendon attaches to the heel bone (calcaneus). The back of the heel can get very sore when going uphill in either stiff shoes or shoes that flex in the wrong place.

Skechers GOtrail Flex Test

The Skechers GOtrail shoes offers good flexibility at the ball of the foot.

So does the Montrail Rogue Racer.

These are examples of shoes that have an easy flexing sole that flexes right where it should – at the ball of the foot.

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Montrail Rogue Racer Flex Test

Compare the Skechers and the Montrail to the Hoka Bondi B that is the stiffest of all the shoes pictured here.

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Hoka Bondi B Flex

The way I set these up for the pictures, I put the heel of the shoe against my knee and used one had to press on the toe to flex the shoe. I could barely budge the Hoka. Admit it all you Hoka One One super fans, the extra thick sole of the Hoka is partly a gimmick. You can accomplish the same amount of cushioning and the same cushioned feel with a lot less material. The drawback of the Hoka’a thick sole is that it makes the shoe stiff and awkward on steep uphills.

Brooks Pure Grit Flex Test

Not just flexibility, but where the sole flexes can impact the feel and runability of a shoe. The Brooks Pure Grit has an overall stiff flex and it tends to flex through the entire length of the sole instead of a more anatomically accurate flex of just at the toe. This makes it put pressure on the back of my heels as the shoe shortens going uphill.

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Newton Flex Test

Many shoes have various contrivances or features in the sole that interfere with its flex. One such gimmick is the metatarsal pads in the Newton shoe. They create a hard stiff flat spot right where the shoe should be flexing. Instead, Newtons flex easily and unnaturally in the middle – right were the foot is the stiffest. The Newton also feels like there is a hard lump right under the ball of the foot. That is because there is a hard lump right under the ball of the foot! It hurts to run in these.

Newton Actuator Lugs Interfere with Flex

Yes, I realize that there are some people that enjoy running in Newtons and subscribe to the theory behind the technology of the metatarsal actuator lugs. When running in Newtons, I could not come to any working justification for the approach the Newton people took in their actuator technology.

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Nike Red Rocks Flex Test

The Nike Red Rocks Trail shoes flex easily at the toes, but has a flat spot under the ball of the foot where the air bladder is. There is a hard plastic protection layer to showcase the air insert and protect it. This is also just a showy gimmick that interferes with the functioning of the shoe.

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Nike Red Rocks Air Feature

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Nike Zoom Trail Flex Test

In an otherwise great shoe, the Nike Zoom Trail has a very stiff rock plate. This makes it a stiff flexing shoe especially at the ball of the foot. Yes, the rock plate gives it high marks for protection, but on long steep uphills this shoe will leave me with sore heels. Interesting how a shoe’s flex location or lack of flex can cause soreness in the heels. At first you would not think they were related.

Flexible Rock Plate for Protection

Science knows how to make flexible fabric that is bullet proof so shoe manufactures should be able to come up with a Rock Plate that protects the foot, but is still flexible. A hard nylon plate with flex groves would be a simple and inexpensive solution. I’ve actually taken a hack saw to the rock plate on a pair of Nike Zoom Trails to create lateral flex groves. It worked well. The rock plate still protected my foot, but the groves made the shoe flex much easier and run better.

Convex Sole for Performance and Protection

When running barefoot, my foot tends to first strike the ground on the outside of my foot. It feels like the whole outside touches down from the ball of the foot back to the outside of the heel. So it is hard to characterize it as forefoot, midfoot or heel strike. Immediately, after first contact my foot rolls inward (pronates) onto the whole foot and my foot spreads out absorbing impact. My foot continues rolling inward loading the ball of my foot and my big toe as it prepares for push off.

Any shoe that allows my foot to go through this gentle rolling contact feels good to me. A shoe that has a slightly convex or curved sole surface allows this motion. In contrast, a flat soled shoe interferes with this motion. A flat soled shoe feels clomppy or slappy. A flat sole shoe will even make a louder noise on foot strike than a curved sole shoe. When I say a convex curved sole shoe I mean one that looks rounded when viewed from the back (laterally convex). When viewed from the side, the toe and heel looked curved up just slightly. The amount of curvature does not need to be very much – just enough curvature to not be flat flat.

A sole thickness profile of thickest in the mid foot and slightly tapering at the toe and heel also promotes this gentle rolling foot strike. Simple bio-mechanics says that your foot will strike the ground first where the shoe sole is thickest.

A shoe with a sole that is thickest at the heel (high heel) will strike the ground first at the heel (heel strike). You can force yourself to land mid foot or fore foot in a high heel shoe, but this requires compensation and adaption to the high heel. For me (and I recognize others may have different preferences) a shoe that is slightly convex and thickest in the mid foot works well. It allows me to run relaxed without adjusting and compensating for the shoe.

Nike Air Terra Lat. Curved Sole

On trails, another advantage of a laterally convex sole is that it makes the shoe resistant to ankle rolls (spraining an ankle). The Nike Air Terra is a good example of a shoe with a laterally curved convex sole.

More typical are shoes that are flat laterally or side to side, such as the Montrail Rogue Racer.

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Montrail Rogue Racer Lat. Flat Sole

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Breathable Upper that also Keeps Out Debris

Montrail Rogue Racer has Porous Upper

Air molecules are very small, much smaller than dust and sand. So an upper that breathes well should still be able to keep out sand and debris. Last fall, I did the Moab Trail Marathon. The course traverses some very sandy sections in the Utah desert. My desire was to use my Montrail Rogue Racers for the race. The day before the race I did a little course reconnaissance and noticed my Montrails would fill rather quickly with sand requiring stopping and emptying my shoes. The Montrails are a nice easy flexing shoe and were my first choice for the Marathon, but the fact they were not impervious to sand had me worried.

Nike Zoom Trail with Sand Blocking Upper

So, I tried a pair of Nike Zoom Trails to see how they worked in the sand. Amazingly, they kept out the sand quite well. The Nike Zoom Trails are a stiffer and heavier shoe then the Montrail Rogue Racers and not my first choice for running a Marathon. Come race day, I ended up running in the Nikes and was glad I did. Over the entire race, I did not have to stop ever to empty sand out of my shoes.

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Grippy Formable Insoles to Prevent Foot from Sliding

Hoka, Brooks, Montrail, Custom Insoles

The lowly insole can make a huge difference on how a shoe performs and feels. One of my biggest complaints are insoles that are low friction. Sure they make it easy to slide your foot into the shoe and put them on, but your foot will also have a tendency to slide inside the shoe when you don’t want it to slide. Such as when going up or down hills or traversing across a side hill. The Brooks Pure Grit has an insole with a very slippery surface.

Most Nikes and Montrails have a fairly grippy insole. The most grippy insoles have a rubbery surface. Some insoles I got from Zombro Physical Therapy have the grippiest surface I’ve encountered. When using them, it takes extra work to put your shoes on as your socks tend to pull and wrinkle when sliding on shoes. If you take the time getting your shoes on, you are rewarded with a footbed that grips your foot preventing it from sliding. The confidence this gives you on undulating terrain has huge positive impact on your running.

Grippy Nike Insoles with added Metatarsal Pads

If I had my druthers, I would have a toe grip ridge or bump between the toes and the ball of the foot built into the insole. Overtime with use, as an insole compresses, this ridge forms. This ridge gives the toes something to grip and helps stabilize and keep the foot from sliding inside the shoe. I add a metatarsal pad on some of my insoles. This accomplishes two things, it help protect and cushion the metatarsals and it helps form this toe grip ridge.

Laces that Stay Tied and Customizable Lacing System

Shoe Laces

Laces aren’t that important are they? Yes, the wrong laces can ruin your run. The right laces will not be noticed. Laces need to have two characteristics. First, they need to stay tied. Second, they need to give consistent foot security, by NOT stretching over time.

I’ve seen some shoes come with laces that are total disasters. The laces in the Brook Pure Grit (top in the picture) have an undulating thickness like a string of sausages. In theory, they were supposes to stay tied. In reality, they tended to loosen and untie quicker than standard laces. Hard slippery surface laces also tend to untie easily. The best laces I have used have an almost coarse or grippy texture that does not untie easily. Flat laces tend to be more stretchy than laces with a round or oval cross section. Some laces are actually designed to stretch to accommodate swelling feet. Sounds good in theory. But on a trail where the terrain is undulating, a stretchy lace allows your foot to move around in the shoe – not a good thing. Blisters anyone?

My favorite laces have an oval cross section (bottom in the picture). They stay tied and do not stretch. They are fairly standard and come with a wide variety of shoe brands and models. Nike has used this type of laces for decades.

From my experience the lacing system that works the best, is the simplest. Just standard eyelets from the ball of the foot up to the ankle top. Loops are inferior to eyelets as they are more prone to failure, and do not accommodate customization as easily.

Skechers GOtrail Review

Skechers GOtrail Blue

After really loving the original GOrun, my expectations for the GOtrail were sky high. After many weeks and miles running in the GOtrail, I’m disappointed. I was expecting a ruggedized, trailized version of the original GOrun. But the GOtrail feels and runs very differently than the GOrun. The GOtrail lacks the magic runability of the original GOrun. The GOtrail does NOT stand out in a now crowded field of decent trail running shoes. It is adequate, but there are other trail shoes I like better. It has a much harsher harder ride than the original GOrun. This may be due to the use of a harder midsole material or the flatter sole profile than the GOrun. The GOtrail unfortunately lends itself to a more heel pounding foot slapping stride as compared to the “whole foot”, gentle rolling foot strike of the original GOrun.

I first started using the GOtrail this winter in the Texas Hill country near Bandera; then in the rugged Santa Catalina Mountains outside of Tucson; then on the trails at the Grand Canyon; and most recently on the trails at the Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park in Montana. So I have put the GOtrail to the test in a diverse smorgasbord of trail conditions. What I do like and did notice about the GOtrail is its comfortable fit and flexible sole.

GOtrail with Rocks Stuck Between Outsole Lugs

The trails at the Texas Hill Country are a mix of dirt and limestone rocks surfaces and rolling terrain. Other than picking up rocks in the sole and getting caked with mud, the GOtrails worked OK in these conditions. The Santa Catalina’s are very steep trails with a mix of sand, gravel and strewn with large rocks and boulders. In some places the rocks are polished smooth from water and wear. Stepping on these smooth rocks with the GOtrail was risky. They GOtrails are downright slippery on hard smooth rock surfaces. The Grand Canyon trails (the hermit trail is my favorite) are quite similar with a mix of large rocks, dirt and sand. The steep up and down terrain in Arizona caused my foot to slide back inside the shoe on the ups and slide forward on the downs. This caused pressure on my Achilles on extended uphills and crunching of my toes on steep downhills.

Missing the Magic of the GOrun

The GOtrail is comfy and flexible but lacks the hump of the original GOrun. So it feels more like a standard running shoe. It feels better for walking than the GOrun, but it lacks the running magic.

The hump in the middle of the original GOrun may feel weird to some when standing or walking, but it encourages whole foot running and keeps the foot from sliding forward or backward in the shoe when going up or down hills. The GOtrail would benefit from the hump in the middle as it would help minimize the foot sliding and give it a gentler rolling feel on foot strike.

The GOtrail has a midsole height profile that is probably closer to that of the GOrun 2. Skechers took out most of the hump when designing the GOrun 2. Pete Larson the RunBlogger claims to have had a lot of input in the design of the GOrun2 and GOtrail. Making them feel better when standing or walking by removing the hump was one of the changes they made. Odd criteria, as making a shoe feel better when standing in them or when walking in them does not necessarily make them better for running.

Slippery Outsole

I found the outsoles to be slippery on rock surfaces – where you need a bit of friction to grip. The GOtrails have no friction! The outsole feels dry and hard and slippery. They are the opposite of sticky rubber. Sticky rubber has been used on the outsoles of rock climbing shoes since the early 1980’s. Are there any valid reasons to use anything besides a sticky rubber outsole on a trail running shoe?

GOtrail with Mud Caked Between Outsole Lugs

The deep lugged sole gives the GOtrail adequate grip on surfaces that are soft enough for the lugs to penetrate into – such as soft dirt and soft dry snow. Even though the GOtrail has an aggressive deep lugged sole, ironically they become slippery again in mud and wet snow. I think this is because the outsole tends to get packed with stuff filling in the gaps between the lugs.

Sloppy Fit

The upper is very comfy and soft, but this leads to a sloppy feel - not a real secure fixture between foot and shoe sole. Lacking the hump in the middle gives the GOtrail a flat interior insole surface. This makes it easier for the foot to slide around within the GOtrail as compared to the original GOrun. The hump in the original GOrun kind of gives the foot something grip – analogous to a bird perching on a branch.

Weight

The GOtrail is a midweight shoe. My men’s size 10 weigh 8.8 oz (single shoe). This is lighter than more rugged trail shoes and heavier than more minimal trail shoes. The GOtrails tendency to collect rocks and mud in the outsole makes it gain significant weight under certain trail conditions.

Marginal Rock Protection

The GOtrail certainly has more protection than the GOrun for rocks, but when running fast on sharp limestone rocks you can still get bit by a sharp rock poking up into the shoe.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The GOtrail is suitable for mellow trails where traction on large smooth rock surfaces or crossing wet rocks at streams is not part of the equation. They do offer way more protection from rocks than the GOrun. They work good on gravel surfaces except for the fact that small rocks tend to get jammed and stuck into the spaces between the lugs. The GOtrail lacks the revolutionary magic hump of the original GOrun. It is a good but not great shoe for mellow trail running. It lacks the traction required for more technical and challenging conditions. It has a comfy fit and feel, but this forgiving fit gives it a sloppy fit on steep terrain. I can’t recommend the GOtrail for a rugged course like the Bridger Ridge Run.

What I would Change

• Use a different outsole material that is sticky and grippy on rocks.
• Decrease the height of the outsole lugs to prevent rocks and debris from getting stuck between the lugs.
• Use a softer more compressible midsole material to give it a more cushioned ride and eliminate the hard feeling.
• Give the upper more structure to hold the foot better and eliminate squashy-ness.
• Use a standard eyelet lacing system instead of the loops. Standard eyelets allow for more choices in lacing schemes for customizing fit and avoiding pressure points on the top of the foot.
• Beef up the rock plate for protection.
• Duplicate the sole stack height (thickness at toe, arch and heel) of the GOrun to bring some of the original GOrun magic to a trail shoe.

2012 Ridge Run Recap

Yes, the 2012 Ridge Run took place more than 4 months ago, but given its era shifting nature, it is worth looking back before we look forward to 2013.

End of One Era, Beginning of Another

What is most memorable from 2012 is the sheer speed of the winner, Mike Wolfe, and the fact that not just one but two people broke the old course record. Sure nature cooperated with a recently rain moistened course and nearly perfect weather conditions for racing, but 2012 will be remembered as a pivotal year. It makes one wonder, what will be in store for the 2013 Bridger Ridge Run?

The End of the Age of Creel

Does 2012 mark the end of Scott Creel’s dozen-year long total dominance of the Ridge Run? Undefeated with 10 victories in 10 races over the span of a dozen or so years, no one has owned the race like Scott Creel has. In 2012, not just one but two people ran faster than Scott ever has. Or ever will, given Scott’s age. It is foolish to underestimate Scott, he is tough and fast, but there is a certain limited reality that comes with being over 50 years old and Scott’s Ridge Run PR is probably behind him.

Scott may no longer hold the overall course record, but he still has the 40 year old age group record and will likely hold onto that for quite some time. If he decides to do the Ridge Run again, he is certainly capable of winning again. And when he does run again, the 50 year old age group record is his for the plucking. He could easily lop 20 minutes off Matt Lavin’s 50 year old age group record of 3:43. Matt’s record is very stout for 50 year olds, with the sole exception of a 50 year old Scott Creel.

The Beginning of the Age of the… The Next Generation

Looking forward, will someone dominate the Ridge Run like Scott did racking up 10 wins and being undefeated? Not likely. During Scott’s reign, he chose to not participate a few years and each of those years, the field was wide open and someone different won each of those non Creel years. That trend will likely continue. The future of the Ridge Run will probably NOT be dominated by a single runner. There are just so many fast young trail runners these days. It will be hard for someone to duplicate Scott’s accomplishments and dedication.

How 2012 Played Out

If you read the surprisingly prescient pre-race blog post “A Brief Look at Who is Running the 2012 Bridger Ridge Run”, the race played out nearly to script as predicted. Mike Wolfe certainly did challenge the course record and lurking in the list of first time men that had projected a fast time for themselves, Daniel Kraft was the one that turned out to be a potential next Scott Creel. 50 plus year old Mike Carey did notch another sub 4 hour finish and was the master’s age champ.

The women’s race indeed saw Minde Erickson notching her first victory. And Alyssa Larsen turned out to be the chaser with lots of drama and excitement in their dual to the finish.

Perhaps as a harbinger to the future, there were rumors of a world class female trail runner entering the race. The pre-race forecast, did not mention that possibility. The blog writer/prognosticator saw that possibility as low probability and did not have enough confidence in that happening to mention it in the pre-race post.

Maybe 2012’s rumor indicates that soon, the Ridge Run will host another woman of Nikki Kimball’s talent and they will challenge Nikki’s course record. We will see.

What went Wrong

Not everything turned out perfect with the 2012 Ridge Run. Races seldom are flawless. There were a few screw-ups on the Race organizers side of things. Not to dwell on the mistakes, but they are worth mentioning as learning points to prevent such things from happening again. With the goal of a better future, we roll out the dirty laundry…

One mess up was mainly just a nuisance, but two mistakes arguably may have affected how the race unfolded. These are the things that I wish I could roll back the recording tape of life and have the race organizers do things differently.

Course Marking Omissions

Over the years, the Ridge Run has experimented with different degrees of course markings. Strategies have ranged from nearly painting a stripe across the entire Ridge, to ribbons every so often, to no markings at all.

With the exception of around aid stations (where they are not really needed), 2012 employed the no course markings approach. As the years go on, the course gets more worn in and obvious. So course markings are not as critical as they use to be to keep people on track. Nevertheless, 2012 saw more than a few people go off course. From what I heard, it was all at one particular location.

Minde Erickson the woman’s leader was one of those that went off course just past Bridger Bowl. As the trail traverses along just to the west of the Ridge, the course takes an abrupt left turn going steeply back up to the Ridge. This course turn is not obvious. The most worn and visible trail continues straight – traversing below the Ridge. Someone who is not familiar with the course has no way of knowing that they need to leave the most visibly obvious trail by taking a sharp left turn and then head up a steep hill to regain the Ridge. Even those familiar with the course such as Minde can get seduced into going straight, missing the turn.

Speculating on What Could Have Been…

Was Minde’s race affected by going off course? We can only speculate. What we do know is that she lost some time and from her account expended extra energy to get back on course. She got passed when off course and did not regain the lead till right before the finish.

Maybe the course mishap fueled her fire to overcome and race well? Humans do respond courageously when challenged with adversity. And conversely when given a life of ease and a predictable safety net, people become complacent and accomplish little.

Or did the time and energy Minde lost cost her the chance to be the second woman to ever break 4 hours on the Ridge? We will never know what could have been. We will have to gaze to a future race to see if cracking 4 hours is within her grasp.

Granted it is the runner’s responsibility to know the course. An experienced runner such as Minde should have known better and not gone off course. But this is one place where it makes sense to mark the course and give the runners some direction. It is not that far from the Bridge Bowl Aid Station and it could be added to the task list of those setting up the aid station to go down the trail and mark this turn.

Regardless of the current minimalist marking philosophy, I think this is a place on the course that deserves to be well marked.

Wave Assignment

An even more serious mistake, and one that was entirely the race organizers fault, was not putting Daniel Kraft the eventual second place finisher in the first wave.

What Ifs…

This screw up inspires the questions: If Daniel and Mike Wolfe had started together, would it have inspired them to even faster finishes? Or would the added competition cause them to crash and burn and not break the course record? Would having someone near him have pushed Mike to the first sub 3 hour Ridge Run in history? Again we will never know and it is just pure speculation of what could have been. What is done, is done.

Assigning waves to runners is a time consuming and tedious project for the race organizers. There are always people that do not get into the wave they want or the wave they should be in. We’ve had more than one first time participant enter the Ridge Run with very impressive credentials (such as a marathon PR well under 3 hours) end up taking way longer than they thought they would. So it has been a policy of the registration gal to keep all first time runners out of the first wave. In the past and in 2012, there have been many exceptions to this rule and most of the time we get it right of who should be in the first wave.

Apologies

Unfortunately in the case of Daniel Kraft, this was a major screw up and one I feel bad about. Before the race, I was aware of Daniel’s predicted time and his story about running the course while training in well under 4 hours. When I wrote up the preview of the competition, I included Daniel in the list of first timers with fast sub 4 hour predicted finishing times. As I scrutinized the list of participants and wrote up the pre-race blog post, I should have double checked to make sure all those potential fast people were in the first wave. Being on the race committee, I do have some input (not the final say so) of who is in what wave. So I’d like to personally apologize to Daniel and Mike and to everyone for this mistake.

The Infamous “Fairly Lake Road is BAD” Email

A couple days before the race, registration sent an email to all participants espousing the terrible conditions of the road and to plan on taking twice as long as usual to drive up to the start. This caused a bit of stress and consternation in some participants.

The warning email based on second hand information, turned out to be false and a bit of an embarrassing mistake. The road conditions were some of the best they’ve been – certainly better than most years. I doubt the email significantly affected anyone’s race. But it would have been better to have avoided all the unnecessary reaction, questions, communications, reassurances and hand holding the email stirred up. Especially when coupled with a poorly timed Forest Service announcement in the local paper regarding closing the road up to Fairy Lake because of fire danger.

The needless panic did inspire participants to skip a bit of sleep in the morning. Everyone got up to the start very early. All runners checked in at the start faster than any year I can remember. Never underestimate the power of fear and panic.

Bulk or Mass EMails are a powerful tool when used sparingly and only when necessary. We will try and keep it that way.

On to next year – 2013.

Figuring Out Fatigue

Figuring Out Fatigue

For years, I’ve been trying to figure out how to postpone and mitigate the accumulating fatigue that invariably is an unwelcome companion on long runs. I’m talking about the kind of fatigue associated with events that last a couple hours or longer. This is not about the short term fatigue that a full tilt 400 meter sprint around the track produces or even the fatigue of a fast 5K or 10K race.

Decades ago, when I did my first Ridge Run and my first few marathons, I was clueless on how to successfully fuel and hydrate. I would start out at an easy pace – a pace that initially I felt like I could run at all day. But, after a couple hours into a long event, I would start to fatigue. And of course, slow considerably. That initial easy pace didn’t feel so easy anymore. Why?

Over the years, I’ve learned plenty about fatigue. But I’m still learning. It seems every race teaches me something new.

Hitting the Wall, Bonking

Matt Carpenter Skyrunner Extraordinaire Circa 1990’s

Looking back, there was only one event where I think I technically totally bonked or hit the wall. It was back in the mid 1990’s at the Fila Aspen Sky Marathon. It was back in the era when Matt Carpenter ruled the roost of trail running. He of course won that Aspen Sky Marathon.

What was memorable about bonking was the utter fatigue and weakness I felt. Crippling fatigue left me unable to even muster more than a slow shuffle even when going down a gentle slope. Running was next to impossible. It was like being drugged. My body just did not respond. My foggy mind finally realized, ah this is what it is like to run out of gas and totally bonk. So this is The Wall so often talked about.

What also was memorable was the immediate energy boost and relief I got after crossing the finish line and commencing in the act of gorging on bananas, sports drinks and anything editable within reach.

Aid Station Feast

That fiasco taught me much. Ever since, I’ve been able to avoid that total level of fatigue. Yet in the 2012 Ridge Run, I witnessed more than a few people bonk. Even someone that I had trained with on the course this past summer bonked. At about the 2 and a half hour point into the race, I caught them and passed them trudging up Saddle peak. All they could muster as a response to my inquiry on how they were doing was “I am running out of gas.” They should have known better. My retort was to admonish them to eat, eat EAT! Their eventual race time was slower than our training times! When talking to them later, we figured they only took in about 150 calories total during the entire Ridge Run. What? Are you kidding? That is simply not enough. They said they did not feel like eating. Oh well. Live and learn.

Obviously, there are many people still figuring out fatigue. Hence, the motivation to write up this dissection and analysis of fatigue and how to mitigate it. May you, the reader, learn faster than I did and not have to repeat my mistakes.

Who you going to call? Bonk Busters. Honey, don’t just carry that pack of Clif Blocks in your sweaty little fist, start eating them and now!

Eat the Clif Blocks

The Four Fountains of Fatigue

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi

In my experience, there are 4 major types of fatigue. Again, I’m talking about the fatigue that comes with multi hour events. I’m talking about the fatigue that a runner only experiences in events longer than say a half marathon.

In brief, here are the four types of fatigue that can set in on a multi hour event and compromise performance.

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• Glycogen Depletion – “Running Out of Gas”
• Neurotransmitter Depletion – “Mental Fatigue, Loss of Coordination, Quickness and Motivation”
• Blood Depletion – “Dehydration, Loss of Oxygen Carrying Ability, Cardiac Drift”
• Muscle Damage – “Blown Quads, Soreness, Weakness, Pain, Stiffness”

It is helpful to take a look at each types of fatigue independently and figure out how to prevent or minimize it. My understanding of this subject and that of exercise scientist’s understand is ever evolving. What this blog post presents is the current state of knowledge – specifically my knowledge. Expect it to change as future experience supersedes it.

Here is a table summarizing the Four Fountains of Fatigue. After the table, look for a more in depth discussion of each.

Type of Fatigue	Symptoms	Prevention
Glycogen Depletion	Bonking Running out of Gas	Refuel 100 to 300 Calories per Hour Endurance Training Become Fat Burning Adapted
Neurotransmitter Depletion	Bad Attitude Mental Fatigue Loss of Quickness Lack of Motivation Loss of Coordination Boredom, Mental Fog	Adequate Nutrition Supplement with Choline, B Vitamins Eating High Nutrition Meals
Blood Depletion	Dehydration Cardiac Drift Light Headed Easily Winded Low Blood Pressure	Adequate Hydration Build Red Blood Cells Before Event
Muscle Damage	Pain Stiffness Soreness Weakness Blown Quads	Toughening Training such as: Downhill Running   Go Low Impact During Events

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Glycogen Depletion – “Running Out of Gas”

The body has a finite and unfortunately very limited supply of easy accessible fuel in the form of glycogen or muscle sugar. This fuel source is what the body goes to first. The bummer is that there just isn’t enough glycogen reserves to sustain efforts beyond a couple hours. This reality is what makes the Marathon such a challenge. Humans do not carry around enough glycogen to fuel an entire marathon. You must either utilize some other fuel source in the body such as fat or add (eat) more fuel during the event.

Glycogen Depletion, Prevent by Proper Fueling

It is interesting to note the amount of fuel the winners of this past Ridge Run consumed during the event. Mike Wolfe used 4 Gels, Minde Erickson used 3 Gels and 20oz of Sports Drink. Daniel Kraft ate 4 Gels and Alyssa Larsen ate one and a half packs of Clif Blocks and 1 Clif Bar. Figuring a standard Gel is about 90 calories and 20oz of Sports Drink is also probably around 90 calories; Mike, Daniel and Minde all consumed about the same amount of calories at 360 each. Alyssa’s Clif Blocks and Clif Bar total out at about 500 calories. In comparison, I feel like a glutton. Between sports drink, Clif Blocks and Gel I took in about 700 calories during my 2012 Ridge Run.

There has been a lot of research on the ideal amount of calories one should consume during long endurance events. The recommended values vary between 100 and 300 calories per hour depending upon body size, stomach tolerance and running speed. Values much above 250 calories per hour tend to trigger stomach problems. Values below 100 calories per hour are usually just not enough to sustain a quality long term effort. With the exception of Minde Erickson, all the people mentioned above consumed between 100 and 200 calories per hour. Minde’s intake was probably just under 100 per hour.

Research shows that the type of fuel that is absorbed the quickest and causes the least stomach distress is a 50/50 blend of sucrose and glucose. There are many competing products out there with claims that their form of carbohydrate is the best. I’m not going to get into comparing and contrasting different carb types. In my experience, personal preferences play a big role. Experiment and try various concoctions.

Personally, I don’t do well with Gels. I tend to have an immediate negative reaction when swigging down a Gel. My preferences are Sports Drinks and Clif Blocks (gummy bears). Other people thrive on Gels. Find what works for you.

In a trail marathon this fall, that was perhaps a bit longer effort than the Ridge Run, I used Skratch Sports Drink, Clif Blocks and Vitargo sports drink. And that combination worked quite well. Over the first 20 miles (3.5 hours), I drank three 24oz bottles of Skratch Sports Drink (160 calories each). I started with a full bottle and then mixed bottles at aid stations. I carried the sports drink powder in a couple Gel flasks. At aid stations, I would pour the powder into my empty bottle and then add water available at the aid station. It takes a bit of time and I had to come to a stop in Aid Stations, but the hassle was worth it. Besides the Skratch sports drink I also gobbled down a pack (6 pieces) of Clif Blocks chewing down one block every half hour.

Vitargo

This particular event only allowed one drop bag at the mile 20 aid station. In my drop bag, I had a stashed a 24oz bottle that had 400 calories of Vitargo mixed in water. By the time I hit the 20 mile mark, I was starting to get a sour stomach from the diet of Skratch Sports Drink and Clif Blocks. Chugging down the 400 calories of Vitargo in one fell swoop really gave me a boost. The next 3 to 4 miles after the Vitargo, I felt energized and picked up the pace again. Vitargo has a very bland taste. For me, it goes down rather easy. It was a welcome change from the sweet sugary Skratch Sports drink and Clif Blocks. Unfortunately, I started to fatigue again with about 2 to 3 miles left.

Skratch Sports Drink

By then the Vitargo boost had worn off. I tried to drink some more Skratch, but I just had no appetite for it. I wished I had more Vitargo! Realizing I could finish up the last couple miles without any problems, I choose to forgo further refueling. My pace slowed a bit and suffered from lack of fuel, but I made the decision to spare my stomach and tough it out – it was only a couple more miles, but they were the slowest of the day.

Glycogen Depletion, Prevent by Becoming Fat Fuel Adapted

Proper training can condition your body to become more efficient at using body fat instead of glycogen as fuel. Spare the glycogen and burn the fat. Humans typically have enough body fat to fuel many marathons back to back. So if you can burn the body’s plentiful fat and preserve the limited glycogen, theoretically you will never bonk.

There are a couple training techniques to maximize the body’s fat burning skills. The simplest is to partake in long training runs of more than a couple hours in duration. Do these runs without consuming any carbohydrates. This forces your body to tap into its fat reserves just to get through the workout.

The second method is to do your training runs in a fasted or glycogen depleted state. Running in the morning before breakfast is a simple approach. And to really further deplete your glycogen levels you can do an evening run followed the next day with a morning run. Make sure you do not eat anything in between runs. This method works well if you can only get out for a couple shorter hour long runs instead of a longer 2 hour run. Depending upon your health state and other nutrition factors, glycogen depleted runs can be a bit unpleasant; because you are pushing the edge of bonking.

Glycogen Depletion, Prevent by Supplementing your Way to Fat Burning?

Vespa

Some supplements claim to increase your body’s ability to burn fat as a fuel. One is Vespa. I’ve given it a serious try and notice no difference in my fueling needs and must conclude it is not worth its pricy cost. Other folks (those sponsored by Vespa and presumably get all they want for free) such as Nikki Kimball and Timothy Olsen claim it reduces their fueling needs. They could be right? Give it a try if you have the spare $. Perhaps it will work for you better than it did for me. I like the taste and it did no harm. But at close to $10.00 a serving? Nope. Sorry, it has to have a noticeable effect for me to justify the $ or recommend it.

UCAN

Another supposed fuel that promotes fat burning is the so called Super Starch UCAN. America’s best marathon runner Meb Keflezighi promotes it. It is a specially processed form of corn starch. I do not find it very palatable. It is slowly absorbed; supposedly preventing your body’s natural insulin response. The claim is that it allows you to refuel without triggering carb utilization keeping you in fat burning mode. A close inspection of their data does show that it indeed absorbs slower than your typical sugar sports drink. Some of this is due to the fact that acording to their data about a third of the UCAN appears to be never absorbed. Hmmm? Perhaps not taking in as much carbs forces you to burn more fat?

Absorb Less Carbs Burn More Fat

Duh. Why yes, isn’t that obvious. But caloric restriction seems rather counter-productive.

Personally, I do not like the texture or taste of UCAN.

And the price for this type of modified corn starch is criminal compared to just plain old modified corn starch. Maybe it will work for you? Again, experiment and find what works.

When you start factoring the cost of some of these fuels and the cost of a pricy pair of shoes, running can start to get expensive. Does a dollar or two a mile sound expensive? It sure does. The IRS only allows you to deduct about $0.55 per mile and that is for vehicles. They would probably call into question deductions based on the cost of running miles.

Neurotransmitter Depletion – “Mental Fatigue, Loss of Coordination, Quickness and Motivation”

During physical activity, there is a complex bio chemical dance that takes place between your brain, nervous system and muscles. After hours of continuous activity and muscle contractions, the chemicals (neurotransmitters) that facilitate the communication between the brain’s signals and the muscles contracting begin to get depleted. You slow down, loose that zip and become tired, bored, unmotivated, fatigued and even sleepy. Eventually, you lose the desire and the will to keep moving at a fast clip. Your body needs to rest and reestablish the supply of neurotransmitters.

This situation begins to set in after about 2 hours of high intensity physical activity. It becomes cumulative. It progresses until you restore your neurotransmitter levels either with rest or by eating nutrient dense foods.

Neurotransmitter Depletion, Prevent by Supplementation

Sometimes you need some Real Food

During an endurance event, you may crave a good meal of real food, but it can be impractical to chow down on a four egg spinach omelet or a couple of burgers. Both of which contain good sources of B Vitamins and Choline; the most readily utilized neurotransmitters needed to combat fatigue. Fortunately, both Choline and B Vitamins are available over the counter in supplement form.

Many sports fueling products contain micro nutrients such as trace minerals, B Vitamins and Choline that help combat neurotransmitter depletion.

Emergen-C

One that comes to mind is Emergen-C. It tastes pretty good, is easy to carry and mix and when you are feeling low it gives you a bit of a boost.

Super Orange is my favorite flavor.

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Hammer Nutrition has an assortment of products and supplements which target nutrient depletion during endurance events. There isn’t any I personally use as I find their products way overpriced. I just stick with a simple B Complex and Choline supplement in tablet form.

Now Brand B Vitamins

I’ve been using the Now Brand B-50 Tablets and the Country Life Choline Tablets. One B-50 Tablet is really all you need for a 4 to 6 hour event. You can take a little bite off it so you don’t get a huge dose all at once – perhaps a third to a half of a B-50 every couple hours. With the Choline tablets, taking a couple grams every couple hours works well. Most tablets are around 500 milligrams (0.5 gram) so that translates into taking 1 tablet every half hour. Tablets are more durable than capsules when jostling around in your waist belt. They also hold up better in wet conditions.

Choline Tablets

These two simple supplements really help to keep my mood, attitude, motivation, mental and physical energy at a high level for hours on end. Every hour, I’ll take a little bite off a B-50 tablet and swallow a couple Choline Bitartrate tablets and I’m good to go.

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Blood Depletion

As the body gets dehydrated, blood volume decreases resulting in decreased oxygen carrying capacity. So the body and heart have to work harder just to sustain the same pace. If you maintain the same running pace as your blood volume drops, your heart will have to beat faster. This is known as cardiac drift. You will also start to breath harder as you try to get enough oxygen into your oxygen carrying compromised blood. To keep your heart rate from drifting higher and to keep from breathing harder, you naturally slow down as you become dehydrated. Also, as blood depletion progresses, your blood pressure starts to fall and you can feel weak and light headed.

Toward the end of my recent trail marathon, I really noticed the effects of blood depletion. I had been drinking pretty good at about 20 to 24 ounces per hour. It may have been comfortably cool temperature wise, but my fluid losses were probably in the range of 30 to 40 ounces per hour as it was sunny and desert dry. After four hours, I was probably down a quart or two and my running was affected. I could chug along comfortably at a slow pace. I felt fine, but as soon as I picked up the pace to what would have been a more normal faster but still easy pace, I would be panting and out of breath. It was as if I was running full tilt but just not moving very fast. Even after finishing the event and just sitting or walking around, I noticed I was breathing harder than usual. This lasted for many hours afterwards until I finally got rehydrated and my body had a chance to start replenishing lost red blood cells.

Obviously to prevent slowing down from blood volume loss, you have to hydrate. Depending upon conditions, it can be hard to drink enough to keep up with fluid loss. The maximum amount most people can drink in an hour is 20 to 30 ounces. If it is hot, sweat rates can be significantly higher than this and dehydration and the resulting blood volume decrease will occur as time goes on.

Some ultra-marathon events track the weight of runners as the event progresses. If your weight drops too much from your start weight, you must pause and hang out at an aid station eating and rehydrating. Once your weight gets back up to within an acceptable range, you are then allowed to continue.

Maintaining proper hydration is a balancing act as drinking too much can cause serious problems such as hyponatremia (low blood sodium).

In addition to blood volume loss from dehydration causing diminished oxygen carrying capacity; the pounding activity of running damages red blood cells. This effect is probably not as significant as dehydration but it does compromise physical output on long events.

You can think of blood depletion from dehydration and red blood cell loss from the pounding of running as a short term exercise induced anemia. So if there is anything you can do ahead of time to boost your red blood cell count, the more resistant you will be to this type of anemia. Obviously proper nutrition especially B-12 and Iron that is needed for blood cell creation is important. And if you can boost your Natural EPO (Erythropoietin that stimulates the body to make red blood cells) levels legally by living at high elevation or sleeping in an altitude tent – that works.

Muscle Damage

The act of loading and using your muscles causes trauma to your muscles. In response to this damage, during recovery days, your body repairs and rebuilds tissue stronger and tougher. This is the act of conditioning.

You can do a lot of muscle damage in a short period of time by exposing them to huge loads or you can do a lot of damage by exposing muscles to light loads but over a long period of time. As a long run continues, the damage to muscles is accumulative and progressive. The damage consists of micro tearing and destruction of the muscle fibers and cells. As damage accumulates, you will inevitably feel fatigue, stiffness, weakness and pain. As time goes on, the number of undamaged healthy muscle fibers decreases. There is less muscle to share the load and bear the burden. Fatigue sets in and you inevitably slow down.

Certain types of loading cause more damage than other. The big culprit is eccentric loading. This occurs when the muscle is contracted, but simultaneously stretched or lengthened. The most obvious example is downhill running that eccentrically loads the quadriceps muscles. And “Blown Quads” is one of the most common, noticeable and limiting muscle damage people experience on long runs. But even running on level terrain, eccentric loading is experienced by nearly all the muscles in the legs at different points in the stride. It is common for the hips and calves to get tight and sore during multi hour runs. Are there any ways to limit muscle damage and mitigate its effects?

Muscle Damage, Prevent by Toughening Conditioning

You can mitigate the muscle damage by toughening and conditioning your muscles properly. Specificity is the key. For example, for the Ridge Run where steep downhills are the norm, it pays to condition your quads by incorporating downhill running into your training. There is a previous blog post talking about this.

A toughening workout for level terrain would be to do a long easy run of about 2 hours and finishing up this long easy run with a few miles at quality fast race pace. The long run fatigues and damages the muscles a bit. Finishing up with a few miles at quality pace forces recruitment of more muscle fibers stimulating adaption of being able to keep running fast when your muscles have a bit of damage.

Muscle Damage, Prevent by Low Impact Form

Low Impact Running Form

You can avoid muscle damage by utilizing a running form or style that minimizes the impact and pounding on your body. It is important to focus on maintaining form especially during a race event.

Although they may not be the fastest or the most efficient way to run, low impact running styles such as POSE or Chi Running do have the benefit of minimizing impact. They emphasize gentle easy foot striking minimizing pounding and damage to the body.

The essence of these running styles is:

• Proper Upright Posture
• Fast Cadence/Turnover
• Slight Lean from the Ankles
• Midfoot Strike
• Avoiding Over Striding.

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Citulline

Taking in a bit of protein on long runs also helps minimize muscle damage. The body will start to break down muscle and catabolize muscle tissue as fuel if not supplied with a bit of protein as food. I take a couple grams of Citrulline every hour during long events. Unlike other forms of protein, Citrulline has the advantage of not increasing the body’s ammonia levels. Increasing ammonia levels increases the brain’s sense of fatigue – not a good thing. Avoiding fatigue is what this whole ramble is about, right?

If you are well trained and are properly fueling and hydrating, then muscle and tissue damage becomes the limiting factor for ultra-length events. So run smart. Avoid falling and banging up your legs by needlessly pounding down the trail.

Ridge Run Blogger Interview – Part 2, New Media, Old Media, Media Bias, Remote Viewing the False Prophet

Recently, a college student with aspirations of becoming a Journalist and needing some practice interviewing, conducted a series of interviews with the Ridge Run Blogger.

The interviews began on the topic of the Blogging. Questions quickly became wide ranging and explored some controversial topics. Given their length, it makes sense to brake them up into parts and post pieces periodically.

This is the second part of the interview. You can read the first part here.

What newspapers do you read? What are your sources of news and information?

It is fascinating to me that a journalism student like yourself who is about one third my age and has spent almost all of their life living in the Internet age is asking about old waning media concepts like newspapers.

Nevertheless, I suppose the concept of the newspaper is still bound to our image of the news and information.

Getting back to your question, I do not currently read any newspapers. I never was much of a reader of newspapers. The only print newspaper I ever subscribed to and read with any frequency was Investor’s Business Daily.  That was a long time ago!

Given the technology of the Internet, I can’t find any reason to read the paper version of a newspaper. Oh I suppose, for local news and events they have usefulness. But for current national and world news, most newspapers just parrot the major news feeds like the AP. You can access it all online.

This is the new era of the citizen journalist. That is what the Bridger Ridge Run blog is – citizen journalism. It is a narrow and focused topic, covered in depth and accurately as possible.

As long as the Internet remains unregulated uncontrolled and viable, curious people can get past what the Big Media sources of information want you to know. You can be and must be your own investigator to ferret out the truth. For those willing to make the effort, new information tools such as video, podcasting, blogging have opened the door for anyone to be an information or news reporter and consumer. We live in a golden age of information access and creation.

It sounds like you do not trust the more traditional news media and do not take their news feeds at face value. Do you think the dominate media outlets are biased?

Yes. All humans have beliefs and their beliefs shape their biases. Show me a person who has no biases and I will show you a person that is beyond belief!

It is very challenging to be impartial, unbiased and without favorites.

The media and news they report will reflect the beliefs and biases of the people such as the editors and journalists that are working in the media. It is just human nature.

So to protect yourself from being manipulated and swayed by biased reporting, you must always ask the question, why is this story being reported the way it is and what is not being reported.

What has tragically happened is that the belief and bias in the dominant Big Media (with a capital M) has become consistent across all the major American news outlets. Anything that is outside a kind of materialistic tranny that the Media promotes is universally ridiculed, marginalized or just plain ignored.

The press or media is protected under our constitution – freedom of the press. The Big Media has betrayed that constitutional protection and in many ways has become the enemy of the people. They have influenced and steered this country away from our founding principles of limited government, liberty, individual rights and responsibilities to one of group rights, dependency, celebrity worship, apathy and materialism.

Although there have been some high profile cases of major news networks fudging or faking news stories, most of the bias takes place by what stories or parts of a story are not reported. So what the Media reports may be mostly true, where they fail is by not reporting the whole truth. It is very easy to tilt a story by selective editing and intentionally not reporting details that do not support the overall narrative or theme that reporters want to get across. They will emphasize facts and stories that are consistent with their agenda and suppress facts and stories that do not support their agenda.

How did the Media become so biased as you say?

I’ve thought about that a lot over the years.

Do you understand the concept of feedback? The most common experienced feedback phenomena is what happens in a PA or sound system when you bring a microphone too close to a speaker and it creates a single pitch screech. It is a closed loop system where the sound that comes out the speaker is picked up by the microphone and then amplified and played out the speaker again and then picked up by the microphone and then amplified and played out the speaker and on and on and on.

Well that is what has happened in our news media. A media outlet will report the news shaped by their biases, other media outlets consume that information and likewise report it. It shapes opinion and influences future reporting. It is a feedback loop. Over time, only a single theme or narrative is what gets through. It is analogous to the single screechy feedback note in a PA system or sound system at a concert.

That is one way to explain why over 90% of the people in the journalism field and those who work in Big Media have the same beliefs and biases – feedback. When surveyed, the vast majority of news media people have the same political affiliation, the same science and religious beliefs, the same cultural beliefs, the same beliefs about the environment and natural resources etc. They may tout diversity, but there is very little diversity in the dominant American media players.

I’ve never been a news worthy person or involved in news worthy events or activities. But way back in the 1980’s when Bozeman was just a sleepy little town, I was involved in a local business that garnered the attention of the Montana State Government. There was a desire of the Government to get involved in the business to promote jobs and I suppose take credit for some of our success. And as soon as the Government gets involved and there is a little controversy, the press or media deems it newsworthy and they want to do a story. It was always a shock at how wrong, tilted and one-sided the local newspaper would report the story. They interviewed me, but would get facts wrong or leave out information if it did not fit the story or narrative they were intent on reporting. Someone reading the story would get the totally opposite impression of what was actually going on.

Feedback and a monoculture of belief – that is a face value explanation I have for the cause of media bias. If you want a more esoteric and darker sinister explanation, let me know. I can proffer that as well.

First, what do you recommend as information sources both general current events and running related?

One of the best running related information sources that I have utilized and benefited from in the past was Running Research News. Before the Internet, I use to subscribe to it. Now with a little research and investigative journalism, I can find most of the information free online. There are some coaches (Steve Magness) and running science researchers (Alex Hutchinson) that have blogs that I check now and then. These are prefect examples of citizen journalism.

For current events, nothing beats the Drudge Report. It is a convenient online starting place to begin your exploration of the current news. The Drudge Report is mainly just a portal and list of links to just about every news outlet both foreign and domestic that you can imagine. It links to the all the major Big Media network news outlets as well as lesser known news blogs. It does not do much reporting itself, but instead just lists stories that are reported elsewhere online.

The major Internet portals such as Yahoo, MSN, Google, CNN all have news feeds. But it is pure cruft – designed to entertain, waste time and misinform. Avoid getting trapped into reading that junk. It is also the most biased agendized of any news on the web.

How about TV or radio news, is there anything of value there?

Other than local stuff, TV news is all the same and parrots the same stories. They even use the same words and phrases when reporting a particular narrative. Switch channels, the news readers faces may change, but the story remains the same. TV has the added challenge of being very terse. Time limitations prevent going into enough depth to accurately cover the whole story.

With TV or Radio, you have to consider who the advertisers are and who is funding the operation. For example, NPR is funded by large corporations, foundations and the government. That will influence what they report and what stories are off limits and not reported. Years ago, I use to listen to NPR but I found my values starting to get twisted by their biases. Perhaps NPR does stand for National Propaganda Radio. I rarely listen to NPR anymore, but when I do, it becomes a fatiguing activity. A lot of my mental energy goes into remaining aware of their background platform and bias to understand why they are reporting the way they do.

Last year there were some high profile shake ups at NPR. Some NPR higher ups were exposed selling favorable reporting to donors. It became exposed that NPR directly promoted certain prejudices. They give special favorable treatment to particular people and topics and likewise give special negative treatment of those people and stories that did not fit with their agenda. Sure some of the top NPR management is now gone, but it is foolish to now expect NPR’s reporting to become unbiased.

So what is the more esoteric and darker sinister explanation for Media bias that you previously alluded to?

The News Media is the False Prophet.

What exactly does that mean?

It is a simple statement to say the News Media is the False Prophet. But I suppose it does require a fairly long explanation of just what it means and where such a notion comes from.

The concept of the False Prophet comes from the book of Revelation in the New Testament (Rev 16:13 19:20 20:10). How that biblical concept of the False Prophet got to be identified as the News Media and by who requires introducing and explaining the concept of Remote Viewing.

In the simplest terms, Remote Viewing is a trainable structured mental technique that allows a person to describe details about a target that is inaccessible to normal senses due to distance or time.

Back in the 1970’s during the cold war, our military in a joint effort with SRI (Stanford Research Institute) developed Remote Viewing as an intelligence gathering and espionage technique. It was used with some success for gathering data during the cold war. The last military use I am aware of was in the early 1990’s during the first gulf war.

Government funding for the program ended back in the mid 1990’s. At that time, some of the military project leaders retired and began openly teaching the technique to the public. In 1995, I took an intensive course in Remote Viewing. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people of all walks of life have been trained in the technique. You can now purchase DVD’s and learn the skills at home.

Getting back to the concept of the News Media as the False Profit – it is a rather interesting story. Here goes.

One of the military trainers and intelligence officers of the Remote Viewing program was a Christian. As most Christians are, he was fascinated by some of the biblical concepts such as the crucifixion, the resurrection and the symbolism like the False Profit, the Mark of Beast etc. When training his team and practicing, this particular trainer took advantage of his position. He explored his interests in Christianity with the help of his remote viewing team. He used these biblical concepts as practice targets or calibration targets. And in this case, when his team would remote view the concept of the False Prophet the data gathered was consistent with the target being the News Media. Consequently, the conclusion drawn is that the biblical concept of the False Prophet is the News Media.

Knowing this sure helps come to terms with and explain why the News Media sometimes seems just as intent in deceiving and hiding the truth as they do in honestly reporting it. The job of the False Prophet is to deceive. Big Media does that job quite well.

Big Media is also vested in destroying the reputations of good and moral people and at the same time defends and protects immoral people. The realization that the News Media is the False Prophet sure helps to understand this behavior.

I’m not sure I understand what you mean by Remote Viewing. It seems we are getting off topic in regards to the new media and blogging. But I am intrigued. I’m hesitant to ask you to explain more about Remote Viewing, but what the heck. Can you give some more examples that help explain it? Can you remote view anything? Solve or see some of the mysteries of life?

The interview changes direction here. This is a good breaking point. Look for it to continue and be posted in part 3 at a future date.