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Sent: Wednesday, July 08, 2009 9:00 PM
Subject: Incline Club News V13 TH #15 LR #33 — BTMR, 131 steps
Good Evening Incline Club!
Nice to see so many IC’ers out at the SRTR this past weekend. It was especially nice to see so many of your names on the awards page. For the 91 of you who’s names I spotted on the finishers list, good job! (Now why did I only get 2 race reports? :~)
This week we have the Barr Trail Mountain Race. Now in its 10th year, this is the best races in the state if not the country. The course is hard, the pace is fast, 100% of the entry fees go to local organizations and there is pizza at the end. What more can you want?
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NEXT RUN: Taper (Thursday), BTMR (Sunday)
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Thursday, July 9, 5:45pm — COG Depot
If you are running the BTMR: Warm up from Memorial Park in time to get to the COG Depot. Do a time check from the BTMR start to the 1st switchback. Done, taper time!
If you are not running the BTMR: Do 30 minutes of 1 min hard, 1 min easy up the Barr Trail. Easy back down the Barr Trail. Do 425 Ruxton Ave hill repeats as penance for not running in the BTMR :-).
Sunday, July 12, 7:00AM — COG Depot
Barr Trail Mountain Race (race it or work it)
Otherwise, please stay off the lower Barr Trail!
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This Weeks Quote:
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...you’re not going to even come close to what you can do unless you’re scared every once in a while.
--Tom Hogan
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BTMR Packets
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Race numbers for the BTMR are now at the Colorado Running Company. Come
and get’em! http://www.runpikespeak.com/packet.htm
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Barr Trail on Sunday
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For those not running the BTMR, please avoid the entire section below Barr Camp this Sunday. In years past we had a few IC’ers try and start early only to get caught by the runners. To avoid the evil eye of the racers, it is best to simply avoid the entire area. You can do Elk park, a 3-2-1, Section 16, Waldo, GOG... just please avoid Barr Trail below Barr Camp.
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Barr Trail Snow Tracker
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The snow tracker at http://www.skyrunner.com/snowpeak.htm will be needing an update soon. Sunday there were only 131 steps in the snow and the last of the snow on the Barr Trail could be gone within the week. If you happen to go up and not touch snow let us know!
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Pikes Peak Hill Climb
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Just a reminder, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb is on July 19th. From now until race day, the Pikes Peak Highway will be intermittently closed (usually in the morning until 9am or so) for race practice. On race day, the highway will be closed until the race is over, which is often after 6pm.
Dont make the mistake of thinking that you can jog to the top and catch a ride down off of the summit on the 19th. A few IC’ers discovered this the hard way last year and ended up doing the marathon when they thought they were going to just do the ascent.
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Weekend Weather Report:
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Thursday: Mid 80’s, 7% chance of thunderstorms. In other words, Hot and Dry (totally different from last week's Thursday run)
Sunday’s BTMR: Mid 60’s for the start of the race at 7am, getting up to the mid 70’s by the finish. Not much sky cover and little chance of rain the night before. It is going to be hot and dry.
Remember that this is a weather forecast made 4 days before the race, so don't blame me if we get perfect weather :-)
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Race Reports:
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(2) Summer Round up Trail Run — Bear Creek Park — 07/05/2009
Boogies Diner Buddy 5 mile race — Aspen, Colorado — 07/04/2009
Big Horn Mountain Wild & Scenic Trail Run — Dayton, WY — 06/20/2009
(2) Mt. Marathon Race — Seward Alaska — 07/04/2009
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Summer Round up Trail Run — Bear Creek Park — 07/05/2009
Daniel Cockrell reports:
Distance: 12 K
Goal: Under 1 hr
Results: 1:01:42
General Summary:
Overall a decent race for me. Great weather, good trail and aid stations. Thanks to all the volunteers. This race was in dire need of more porta pottys.
Things Done Right:
Not much, but I finished.
Things Done Wrong:
Never visited the course for familiarity. Went out way too hard, underestimated the climb near turn around. Had to deal with IT band issues all week. Let visiting family dictate too much of my diet and sleep wake cycles. Late night watching fireworks at the AF Academy. Dinner was Spare ribs and cheese potatoes? Since when does this work as a pre-race meal?
Any Other Stuff:
Need more porta pottys! Many racers were running to the line after we took off.
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Summer Roundup — Colorado Springs — 07/05/2009
Phil Goulding reports:
Distance: 12 K
Goal: 1:04 but mostly beat last year’s time
Results: 1:04:11 and was 2:12 faster than last year
Website: http://www.summerroundup.com/
General Summary:
This course starts with a short downhill with a transition to uphill. It rolls for the next couple miles and then goes up to the turnaround. It is mostly downhill in the second half with two significant uphill sections. The weather was near perfect. For all the rain we’ve had the trail was in reasonable condition. It packed down well so the ball bearing gravel was not an issue with just a couple very muddy spots.
Things Done Right:
Mostly everything. Training is going well, took appropriate water at all the aid stations and maintained a good steady effort. I passed quite a few runners on the uphill sections and only a few people passed me either uphill or down. I’ve changed to trail shoes for most of my running and the 904s really have helped my stability and balance.
Things Done Wrong:
I’ve got to figure out how to tie the laces on the 904s. Even with a double knot they are too long and I ended up needing to tie them at the turnaround. Lost quite a few seconds and would have made both my goals had I not had to stop. I need to remember to pick up my pace/effort when I hit the flatter sections.
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Boogies Diner Buddy 5 mile race — Aspen, Colorado — 07/04/2009
Michael Everson reports:
Distance: 5 Miles
Goal: top 50 men
Results: 48th 36:06
Website: http://www.buddyprogram.org/sitepages/pid33.php
General Summary:
Nice, cool morning at 7800 feet. Run travels along the Roaring Fork River through Aspen for first 2-2.5 miles. Then up Cemetary Hill for about 1/2 mile, and back through the City of Aspen along relatively flat asphalt streets. The course was beautiful.
Things Done Right:
Signed up and ran. Did well on miles 1, 2, 3, and 5.
Let my brother pay for my entry ($40.00 is pretty steep, but then again, this is Aspen!!!).
Things Done Wrong:
Signed up the night before the race. I didn’t know about it until I arrived in Aspen on the day before.
I sucked on mile 3-4 because I ran Cemetery Hill too quickly. It cost me at least a minute. I was aiming for 7 minute pace, and this mile was a 7:55 on flat surface.
Any Other Stuff:
Brother talked me in to race. I’m glad he did as I ran pretty well on a course I never have seen before.
Ryan Hafer (Craig’s son) won the race, and I believe he set CR, but this I am not positive about. Ricky Gates was supposed to run, but I never saw him, and he does not appear on the finisher list.
No water on the course until Mile 3. Then 2 stations within 1/2 mile of each other. I was thirsty at 1.5 mile, and had to wait another 1.5 to get water. For $40.00, I want water at 1.5 mile and 3 mile. And in Aspen, it should be the finest imported water from the summit of Mt. Everest (but I’m not picky).
The next day, I climbed Aspen Mountain so I could get above 10,000 feet (11,310 by my Garmin). No * or R, but a great weekend in a beautiful setting.
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Big Horn Mountain Wild & Scenic Trail Run — Dayton, WY — 06/20/2009
Larry Rosenkranz reports:
Distance: 50K
Goal: 6 hours
Results: 5 hours, 48 minutes, 59 seconds
Website: http://www.bighorntrailrun.com/
General Summary:
This is a very well organized race in the Big Horn Mountains of WY with 4 distances to choose from: 30K, 50K, 50 mile, and 100 mile. The race has lots of steep hills and is on a combination of 4wd roads, dirt roads, single track, and double track. The aid stations are superb with the usual stuff and also some unusual fare such as freshly cooked bacon, salt potatoes, shrimp, and cool down mist stations at the last 2 aid stations. The scenery was spectacular. I decided this was my first and last 50K since it is just too long for my legs. I would like to return some time and race the 30K.
Things Done Right:
Trained well for this race and it paid off when I placed 3rd in my age group.
Things Done Wrong:
Lost the trail around mile 8 due to poor trail markings and ended up running an extra 1/2 to 3/4 mile. I would have come in 2nd in my age group if I had not made this mistake.
Any Other Stuff:
Did not like the fact that the 30K runners started 2 hours after the 50K and I had to pass all of the slower 30K back of the pack runners. There were many walkers in the 30K, but most of them were great about stepping off the trail to let me by. There were a few clueless 30K walkers wearing ipods who had no idea I was coming up behind them.
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MT. MARATHON RACE — SEWARD, AK — 07/04/2009
SHAWN ERCHINGER reports:
Distance: 3.5 MILES
Goal: 47:33 & Win my age group
Results: 52:26 & 4th in my age group
Website: http://www.seward.com
General Summary:
The race begins at roughly 30 feet above sea level. The first 1/2 mile in on paved streets that turn to dirt about 200 meters from Mt. Marathon. This section is slightly uphill. When you arrive at the base of the mountain being in the front of the pack is very important as the bottleneck at the base of the mountain has ruined races for many people.
The “trail” heading up the mountain during the first two minutes of the climb is very steep and dangerous. One misstep and you’ll be glad the hospital is only a block away:) It’s crucial to get up the first two minutes quickly in order to get on the main trail which is a single track with some wider parts throughout the first half of the climb.
Establishing good position here is vital since it’s very difficult to pass on the narrow trail.
During the race I didn’t “run” a single step of the climbing part of the race. I had planned to put in some running spurts but due to the 85 degree temps I chose to use caution in order to see how the race would unfold. It turned out to be a good decision since the leader of the pack collapsed with about 1 block left before the finish line. Total dehydration took it’s toll on two athletes who train to compete on the U.S. Olympic Cross Country Ski Team. The top woman and the top man to come off Mt. Marathon didn’t reach the finish line as they had hoped. The top lady just limped right into the emergency room and got some fluids through an IV. She later walked out and finished the race so she could run next year. The top man fell to the pavement and began to crawl toward the finish line before rolling onto his back and passing out. He was taken to the hospital and recovered but the last I heard he had taken 5 bags of fluid through his IV.
Things Done Right:
I was prepared for the uphill portion by training with Eddie and Fred Baxter on the Incline throughout the year. We discussed race strategies and I chose to focus on the ascent to the summit and trained specifically to this end. I got a good start and when I felt the pack trying to swallow me up with 200 meters left before we hit the mountain I sped up and increased my stride considerably over those last 200 meters and hit the mountain in 4th position.
Perhaps the most important thing Eddie and I did besides training was we were thoroughly hydrated. Eddie was insistent that we watch our weight very closely the month before the race and that we make hydration a top priority starting three days before the race. It turned out to be a very wise decision.
Thanks Eddie! (the diet part sucked though but was well worth the sacrifices)
I climbed the uphill portion almost to perfection and managed to get to the summit of 3,022’ Mt. Marathon in 5th position on a perfect cloudless day which took a serious toll on many racers. The runner who hit the summit just in front of me finished in 3rd position and was about 47 seconds behind the winner. With this said I can’t help to feel that I ran a good race strategically but just couldn’t bring it home because I hadn’t expected to have any issues with my downhill.
I finished side by side with Eddie which should make for a good photo at the finish line. Pictures will be available for viewing at www.seward.com by going to the news and events link and clicking on Mt. Marathon. Eddie started the race wearing bib #22 and I was bib #8 due to our finishing positions in the 2008 race.
I did wear a Colorado Running Company hat with a wet rag on top of my head which helped keep me cool. In addition the amphipod I picked up at CRC allowed me to pack a 6 or 8 ounce bottle of water on one side and gatorade on the other. I drank the gatorade when I started getting cotton mouth and it was heavenly on the hot dusty trail. I used the water to pour over my head throughout the race. It also was heavenly.
I also wore my Incline Club T-shirt although I would have preferred to ditch it on the mountain...but that would have meant another trip up to retreave it or spend another $25 for a new one and I’m just to cheap for that. Shame on Eddie for removing his and carrying it to the summit and NOT putting it on for our finish line photo!
Lastly, I lived to run another day and after seeing the foot doctor today I’ll be back running in another week:) The Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon are approaching and I’ll be able to participate since I didn’t permanently injur myself. Thank God!
Things Done Wrong:
I didn’t give enough attention to the downhill portion of the race. We had decided the downhill would take care of itself. My downhill portion of the race lasted maybe 2 minutes and I was done. My heels were taking a beating as were the front of the bottom of my feet and I would have ended up seriously injured if I had continued to race to the finish line.
Coming off the summit of Mt. Marathon is very steep. I fell once on the bedrock and was thankful I had worn leather gloves. They saved my hands as I slid feet first down a 10-15’ section and came to a complete stop before beginning again to descend.
Immediately my feet began to heat up and within seconds it felt like I had submerged my feet in gasoline and then they ignited. I literally felt like my heels were either on fire or that they were getting ripped off the bottom of my feet.
I had a decision to make. Clint McCool who is in my age group was in front of me. I could see that the gap could be closed but chose to simply throw in the towel at this point. I knew I was hurt badly already and still had at least 8 or 9 minutes left to descend before the 1/2 mile run down city streets.
I’ve learned that one mistake I’ve made often in this race is not giving myself enough credit regarding my ability to compete. Eddie seemed to know that I could climb with a 6 time race winner who happened to be in my age group and he encouraged me to make beating him to the summit one of my main goals. With that goal accomplished I will look forward to the 2010 race with renewed confidence and as Eddie put it now they will think of trying to beat me to the summit in 2010 instead of me having to worry about if I can keep up with them or not.
Any Other Stuff:
I finished the Mt. Marathon Race in 1986 in 47:34. In 2008 I had my first sub 50 race in a long time and finished in around 49:30. This year I had prepared myself to attempt to run faster at 41 years old then I ran when I was 18 but the downhill didn’t make that possible. You can see some great footage on the 2008 race at youtube.com by putting in Mt. Marathon Top 5 clip 1 of 3 in the search box.
It would be AWESOME to see Matt Carpenter show up in Seward someday and blitz the field but this race is very difficult to get into. Racers from the previous year have “priority” status and take up most of the 350 available spots. There is a lottery for any left over positions and an auction the night before the race. In 2005 Eddie shelled out around $660 for his race bib and now most bibs in the men's auction go for over $1,000. Since Eddie has run the race 5 times now his “investment” is proving to have been a good one.
For anyone who has climbed or trains regularly on the Incline, the trail up Mt. Marathon is as steep as the steepest part of the Incline for the first 20+ minutes before the slope high above treeline changes to a less severe degree. By this time most racers legs are toast. Parts of the trail are way steeper then the steepest part of the Incline. The downtrail is crazy steep.
You can read the articles about the Mt. Marathon Race by going to www.adn.com which is the site for the Anchorage Daily News. The pictures of people racing down don’t do justice to how steep this mountain really is. Enjoy.
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Mt. Marathon Race — Seward Alaska — 07/04/2009
Eddie Baxter reports:
Distance: 3.5 miles
Goal: 49:59
Results: 52:27
General Summary:
One tough climb up the mountain, then an insane decent back into the town of Seward. Average grade on this climb/ run is 38 degrees, steepest grade I think is 68 degrees. It’s kinda like the Incline but longer and on loose scree/shale. Also has 2 small water falls and a cliff to navigate.
Things Done Right:
Lots of Incline training. Fueled/ hydrated.
Things Done Wrong:
Needed to go faster.
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IC BIRTHDAYS: 7/8/2009 — 7/14/2009
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Akihiko Ohnaka:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Akihiko%20Ohnaka
Andy Cullan:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Andy%20Cullan
Caitlin Jones:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Caitlin%20Jones
Carrie Fertig:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Carrie%20Fertig
Christy Brand:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Christy%20Brand
Darrell Weaver:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Darrell%20Weaver
Felix Colonnieves:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Felix%20Colonnieves
Halee Wulfkuhle:
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Harry Harcrow:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Harry%20Harcrow
James Crank:
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Jay McNallie:
Karl Schaller:
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Kyla Carpenter:
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Len DeMoss:
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Linda Ambard:
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Maritsa Yupa:
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Martin Reed:
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Nessa Linnebur:
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Robin D’Aloise:
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Sven Sud:
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Timothy Edwards:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Timothy%20Edwards
Werner Kroer:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Werner%20Kroer
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NEW IC MEMBERS: 7/1/2009 — 7/7/2009
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Anna Cote:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Anna%20Cote
K Lakatosh:
(About Me page was not filled out)
Lawrence Wilson:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Lawrence%20Wilson
Rita DeHart:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Rita%20DeHart
Wilbur Starner:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Wilbur%20Starner
Willie Lawson:
(About Me page was not filled out)
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UPDATED ABOUT ME PAGES: 7/1/2009 — 7/7/2009
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Andrea Hill:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Andrea%20Hill
Chuck Moore:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Chuck%20Moore
Daniel Cockrell:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Daniel%20Cockrell
Eric Hallam:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Eric%20Hallam
Margaret Everson:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Margaret%20Everson
Melissa Marr:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Melissa%20Marr
Phil Redinger:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Phil%20Redinger
Tim Virgo:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Tim%20Virgo
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