Course

The 50 mile course consisted of three 16.7 mile loops which contained six aid-stations per loop.

50 mile course map

The marathon course had one 16.7 mile loop and one 9.5 mile loop. There were four aid-station stops on loop one and six buffet tables on loop two.

marathon course map

The 10 km adventure was one 6.2 mile loop with two aid-station to support your fluid and fueling needs.

10 km course map

Ultrarunning Energizer bunny, Olga, from Run More Talk Less, provided some great insight on the course in her race report.

When someone emailed the local trail group what’s the course is like, Joe responded” think Bandera with ledges and river crossings”.

…it was pretty, extremely technical, with over 1/4 of each loop being “a la Charlie Torn (HR100 RD)” cross-country (Joe kinda tried to make new trails, but the effort was futile and too fresh), with barely a flat section. Longest uphill about 1.2 miles (per time), and longest downhill at about the same. The rest – rolls with rocks, rocks and more of that.

It is definitely worth checking out Joe’s course/area photos as well.

Results

50 mile

29 athletes began the 6 am start and 23 (79%) completed the entire distance.

The male race was dominated by Austin athletes and only two athletes were even in the same zip code at the front end of the race. I would imagine Josh Beckham and Steven Moore enjoyed some miles on the trail throughout this 7+ hour trail running journey as less than 11 minutes separated the two when it was all said and done. Beckham had a bit more speed across the distance to win with a time of 7:16:09.

Top 3 male:

1. Josh Beckham – 7:16:09
2. Steven Moore – 7:37:07
3. John Reynolds – 9:19:40

The female race had only one runner that remained at the front and that was Olga Varlamova. The next female was over one hour back. Varlamova won with a 9:59:09.

Top 3 female:

1. Olga Varlamova – 9:59:09 (*7th overall*)
2. Oakley Gardner – 11:04:58
3. Jean Perez – 11:16:21

Marathon

The marathon distance had the largest field with 41 starters and 40 finishers (98%).

2010 Rocky Raccoon 100 female winner (EP podcast interview), Liza Howard,  handily won the female race with a time of 4:06 and outran her coach by 25 minutes. I would hate to see Howard’s schedule for this week…lots of VO2 work – Ouch!

Top 3 female:

1. Liza Howard – 4:06:24 (*4th overall*)
2. Amanda McIntosh – 4:31:41
3. Stephanie Huie – 5:24:07

Rob Clark controlled the male race and won with a 3:48:42. The excitement was behind him as Joe Constantino and Max Gray pushed each other for second place. It may have come down to a max effort, nothing left sprint as Constantino crossed the finish one second in front of Gray.

Top 3 male:

1. Rob Clark – 3:48:42
2. Joe Constantino – 3:59:28
3. Max Gray – 3:59:29

10 km

16 athletes enjoyed the 10 km course all of them finished.

Brenda Rodgers not only won the female race but she took the overall by over four minutes with a time of 58:27.

Top 3 female:

1. Brenda Rodgers – 58:27 (*1st overall*)
2. Amanda Angel-Chua – 1:03:07 (*3rd overall*)
3. Marcia Inger – 1:07:00 (*5th overall*)

John Brown won the male race by over two minutes in 1:02:30.

Top 3 male:

1. John Brown – 1:02:30
2. Chris Aspra – 1:04:48
3. Adrian Haley – 1:27:45

Complete Results for all distances.

The Tough-as-Nails Award

The final finishers of an ultra distance event are some of the toughest athletes that are willing to stick with it to the best of their current ability and cross that darn finish line.

The Tough-as-Nails award recipients:

• Ryan Hopkins persevered and had the opportunity to enjoy the most trail time and finish the challenging 50 mile adventure in 13:57:03.

Race Reports and Photos

• 50 mile: “Without even planning. Or pushing hard. Controlled effort, that was all there was. Joe opened his arms and said I won…” by Olga @ Run More Talk Less
• 10 km: “And then finally came down off the climbs and hit the water … and the rock shelves that ran along the edge of it. It was too hard to even run this section … more just picking my way along trying not to fall in the river.” by Marcia @ marcia, marcia, marcia!
• Event Photos

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

Related Articles:

• Rocky Raccoon 100 Trail Run Loop Flyover
• Piney Woods Trail Run 2010 Results
• Big Bend 50 Trail Run Updates
• Bandera Trail Run 2010 Race Results
• Big Bend 50 – Possible Ultramarathon in Big Bend National Park

For example:

• Trail shoe A – General all-around trail shoe. 100 miler shoe.
• Trail shoe B – Muddy conditions.
• Trail shoe C – Extremely technical conditions.
• Trail shoe D –  Racing trail shoe. 50 miles or less.

For road running, I have two pairs; a general training shoe and a lighter, more minimal racing shoe. Things are pretty simple on the road.

The trail appears like it could be a different beast due to the wide range of conditions (mud, sand, 1000 ft climbs, gnarly terrain, water, snow, etc) one could be exposed to. I currently use one pair of trail shoes, the Montrail Mountain Masochist. They have worked well for all the trails and conditions I have ran on but I am curious what you all think and your experiences.

Do you own multiple pairs of trail shoes to fit a particular trail condition/situation or are you a one shoe fits all kind of runner?

Also, feel free to mark your response in the new poll located on the right sidebar.

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

(Photo: Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/ficken/ / CC BY 2.0)

Related Articles:

• Brooks Cascadia 5 – Insight From Scott Jurek
• Trail Running Shoe: Brooks Cascadia 5 – Sneak Peek

On February 27th, the Cowtown Ultra took place on Febrary 27th along with the marathon event that danced its way through the streets of  Ft. Worth, Texas. This is one of the few road ultras in the region and there was a pretty solid turnout with 213 ultra athletes toeing the line.

Course

The 50 km ultra run follows the marathon course until mile 23.5 where an extra five mile section is included for those that think a marathon just isn’t enough. After this extra jaunt, the ultra athletes rejoin the marathon course for the final 2.5 miles.

This road course would probably be described as rolling. The profile image is anything but flat. The maximum spread between high/low points in 200 feet.

Course map

Course (marathon) profile

Results

Of the 213 runners, 157 were men and 56 were women.

Average finish time:

• women – 5:35:00
• men – 5:19:00

The female race was dominated by Kris Klotzbach who ran an average pace of 7:12 min/mile and out ran 97% of the male finishers. Klotzbach won with an even paced effort of 3:43:49.

Top 3 female:

1. Kris Klotzbach (CO) – 3:43:49
2. Allyson Weimer (OK) – 4:03:33
3. Lorena Devlyn (TX) – 4:09:50

The top two males were separated by 1.5 minutes with Thomas Whalen and Jason Razo going after the win.

Whalen’s pace was hot through the halfway point but the miles began to take their toll and his pace remained fairly consistent but slower for a second place finish.

Razo displayed the most pacing wisdom with the most consistent pacing throughout the distance. He had the slowest start of the two runners through the halfway point. While Whalen began to slow after the 18 mile mark, Razo had his fastest eight mile stretch before slowing slightly the last five miles. This was fast enough for Razo to win with an average pace of 6:32 min/mile and time of 3:23:05.

Top 3 male:

1. Jason Razo (TX) – 3:23:05
2. Thomas Whalen (MO) – 3:24:41
3. Patrick Flores (TX) – 3:35:38

Complete Results

The Tough-as-Nails Award

The final finishers of an ultra distance event are some of the toughest athletes that are willing to stick with it to the best of their current ability and cross that darn finish line.

The Tough-as-Nails award recipients:

• J Cohen (TX) persevered and finished the foot-based city tour in 8:17:43.

Race Reports

• “…given the fact that my 6 year old Ayden, decided he would run through the finish line with me. Well, that was the plan my wife said, but once I got to him, about 200 yards from the finish, the little guy turns on after burners and sprints into the finish leaving me in the dust…” - Dan @ Tri My Will
• Pacer’s view - “Over the next thirteen miles, however, we would lose all of them, as the heat and the distance took its toll, slowing each runner’s pace below ours.  By the time we reached mile twenty, Jason and I were on our own.” - Ryan V. @ Distorted Veracity
• “Coming off the Trinity back onto the marathon course was great, only had a little over 2 miles to go and was seeing all the marathoners that were really struggling. I offered words of encouragement to every runner that I passed and told them they would get to that line soon.” – Derek @ Journey Through the Ultra World

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

(Photo: Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterdog/ / CC BY-ND 2.0)

Related Articles:

• Nueces Trail Run 2010 Races Results
• Big Bend 50 Trail Run Updates

Check out this cool video of a trail runner enjoying the frozen trail and waterfall in northern Minnesota with his trusted companion. This almost sparked an interest to relocate back to the state I grew up in…almost.

Chester Creek Winter Trail Run from Andy Holak on Vimeo.

(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

Have a great weekend.

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

Related Articles:

• Trail Running Inspiration – Kilian’s Quest

Last weekend, the inaugural TRC Post Oak Lodge trail run event had two days of trail running fun that included 50 km, marathon, 25 km, and 10 km distances. The marathon run was on Saturday and the other three distances were all on Sunday. You now had the opportunity to run two races in one weekend…and a few actually did just that!

As a special feature, Russell Secker, the Texas athlete that ran the 2009 Trans-Europe Footrace, spoke at the pasta dinner about his experience.

Course

The course is described as a combination of existing gravel roads, old farm roads, a couple of chat trails, and miles and miles of single track winding through the meadows and deep woods.

Most distances are a loop course besides the marathon which ran a 25 km loop and two out-and-back sections.

Results

Saturday: Marathon

There were 133 athletes that finished the marathon trail run.

The male race came down to Michael Adams and Gary Hula pushing each other for the win.  Adams was able to outrun Hula by just under four minutes with a chip time of 4:02:09.

Top 3 male:

1. Michael Adams (TX) – 4:02:09
2. Gary Hula (OK) – 4:05:53
3. Keith Wilson (KS) – 4:16:15

One week after her female win and second overall placing at the Cross Timbers marathon, Christine Tokarz still had the legs to win the female race by nearly 30 minutes and hold onto second overall. Tokarz crossed the finish line in 4:05:10.

Top 3 female:

1. Christine Tokarz (TX) – 4:05:10 (*2nd overall*)
2. Penny Welchel (AR) – 4:34:56
3. Tiffany Crumbaugh (WA) – 4:44:30

Complete marathon results.

Sunday: 50 km

57 athletes completed the 50 km trail run.

The female race was a fairly tightly contested challenge between Krystle Martinez and Kelly Zeier with 3 minutes 37 seconds separating the two after 50 km of up, down, and around. Martinez held on to win with a time of 5:43:08.

Top 3 female:

1. Krystle Martinez (FL) – 5:43:08
2. Kelly Zeier (MO) – 5:46:45
3. Tammy Winn (OK) – 6:00:56

After winning the marathon on Saturday, Michael Adams was back on the trails going after a second win for the weekend but Troy Albright had other plans. Albright pushed the pace beyond what Adams could sustain and won by nine-plus minutes at 4:51:26.

Top 3 male:

1. Troy Albright (OK) – 4:51:26
2. Michael Adams (TX) – 5:10:50
3. Chris Bennett (OK) – 5:30:02

Complete 50 km results.

Sunday: 25 km

74 athletes finished the trail run.

Joel Stansloski dominated the male race to win with a time of 1:44:11. Second place was over 12 minutes back.

Top 3 male:

1. Joel Stansloski (OK) – 1:44:11
2. Blake Hern (MO) – 1:56:39
3. Mark Sitton (OK) – 2:36:36

After the marathon win on Saturday, Christine Tokarz had enough left in the tank to win by over 12 minutes and take fifth overall. Second and third place was an extremely tight 25 kms of trail running between Stephanie Flynn and Muge Park with 15 seconds separating them at the finish. An interesting final few miles I am sure.

Top 3 female:

1. Christine Tokarz (TX) – 2:42:33 (*5th overall*)
2. Stephanie Flynn (OK) – 2:50:47
3. Muge Park (OK) – 2:51:02

Complete 25 km results.

Sunday: 10 km

191 athletes finished the 10 km trail race.

Juan Martinez out-paced all runners to hold onto the male win with a 50:34 chip time. Not too far behind, Reynaldo Waldestran and Bryan Warren were red-lining for second place. Waldestran was able to out kick Warren by eight seconds to take second place with a 51:21.

Top 3 male:

1. Juan Martinez (OK) – 50:34
2. Reynaldo Waldestran (OK) – 51:21
3. Bryan Warren (OK) – 51:29

Jennifer Johnson took off and never looked back to dominate the female race with a finish time of 51:21. The female race also had a close challenge for second place between Caroline Sullivan and Cherie Kail as a mere 33 seconds separated the two. Sullivan kept the legs churning a bit quicker to take second place.

Top 3 female:

1. Jennifer Johnson (OK) – 51:21
2. Caroline Sullivan (AR) – 57:47
3. Cherie Kail (OK) – 58:20

Complete 10 km results.

The Tough-as-Nails Award

The final finishers of an ultra distance event are some of the toughest athletes that are willing to stick with it to the best of their current ability and cross that darn finish line.

The Tough-as-Nails award recipients:

• 50 km: Debbie Colletta (MO) dug deep to become the last official (9 hr) finisher at 8:55:00.

Race Reports and Photos

• marathon and 50 km – “The view was awesome. It truly seemed like you were way up towering over the Tulsa horizon. A great place to visit, and a good place to get down from since it was frickin cold.” - TZ @ …Miles To Go Before I Sleep
• volunteer - “On Sunday, I think that I spotted Bigfoot. I could make millions in the tabloids with this.” - TomDog @ The Strenuous
• A selection of photos.

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

(Photo: Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/seattlemunicipalarchives/ / CC BY 2.0)

Related Articles:

• Russell Secker Inner Views Interview: 64 Days Across Europe
• Sooner State Games Trail Run 2010 Results
• Oklahoma Trail Running and Ultrarunning Clubs
• 2009 Leadville 100 Trail Run South Midwest Region Results
• TransEurope-FootRace: Let’s Go Run 2920 Miles

Without Limits is a running film based on the legendary years of University of Oregon runner, Steve Prefontaine.

What are some of the running stats of this man affectionately known as “Pre”?

• Once held the American record in seven track events ranging from the 2000 meter to 10,000 meter.
• Lost only three races in his college career.
• Won three straight Division I NCAA Cross Country Championships.
• Represented the United States in the 1972 Olympics in the 5000 meter.

The Film

The film focuses on the relationship between the University of Oregon Cross Country coach, Bill Bowerman (eventual co-founder of NIKE),  and Prefontaine. Watching Bowerman sketch around a runner’s foot in order to make custom shoes to save weight and the waffle iron used to create a new sole for running shoes – classic stuff.

There is also plenty of running/racing that includes some actual footage of “Pre” from the 70s. Extremely fun, intense, edge-of-your-seat kind of stuff.

Finally, there is a cat and mouse love-interest story between Prefontaine and a fellow female college student.

The film is rated PG-13 which is probably due to a rollin’ in the hay scene. Language is tame.

Film Trailer

Note, the video has OK quality.

(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

My Thoughts

Fluid moving story line – Solid acting – Running – A message that transcends sport

Inspiring! Since this is a film and not a documentary, what you see is not all completely factual, but that is understood coming into watching such a film. That doesn’t diminish the impact and in fact is irrelevant.

In Without Limits, Prefontaine embodied a passion and a message of individual excellence that can directly pertain to each one of us, in all areas of our life that we deem important. Simply, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift.”

Soak on that for a while…

Huge.

If you would like to learn more about Steve Prefontaine:

• Fire on the Track: The Steve Prefontaine Story – DVD Documentary
• Pre: The Story of America’s Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine – Book
• Official Website

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

Related Articles:

• No Related Post

Race director, Bart Childers, dedicates these races to his father.

“These races are dedicated to my dad, Bill Childers, now deceased.  He was a retired CMSGT with 28 years in the Air Force, proudly served.  He passed away in March of 2009.  These races are dedicated to his memory and are as close to the date of his death possible.  Some people have questioned the date of these races, but never asked the reason for the date.  So there it is for those that care to ask.”

Course

The Eisnehower 10 km course is described as:

Paved trails and unpaved trails; hilly and challenging. This is a tough course, but it is fun. The hardest steepest parts of the park are not included in this race. When you are off the paved trails you will be running on some rocky areas, some areas are covered in cedar-very smooth and nice.

The Paesano’s Salado Creek 8 mile / 5 km is described as an eight mile single-track course.

Results

Eisenhower 10 km Challenge

The female race was won by Margo Martinez with a time of 46:30.

Top 3 female:

1. Margo Martinez – 46:30
2. Jennifer Cardella – 48:53
3. Diana Ruderman – 49:45

The male race was won handled by James Bales with a time of 36:24.

Top 3 male:

1. James Bales – 36:24
2. Pablo Fajordo – 42:15
3. Philip Edelen – 43:14

Complete 10 km Results

Paesano’s Salado Creek 8 mile

James Bales outran Robert Michell by 39 seconds to win with a time of 54:34.

Top 3 male:

1. James Bales – 54:34
2. Robert Michell – 55:13
3. Eric Herzoy – 58:37

Holly Stewart and Diana Ruderman was separated by less than 3 seconds after the 8 mile run. Stewart had a bit more left in the tank to take the win with a time of 1:08:24. Had to be fun to watch.

Top 3 female:

1. Holly Stewart – 1:08:24
2. Diana Ruderman – 1:08:27
3. LaToya Payne – 1:11:28

Complete 8 mile results.

Paesano’s Salado Creek 5 km

Kristy Kalisky went on to win the female race with a 8:36 min/mile pace and time finish time of 26:40.

Top 3 female:

1. Kristy Kalisky – 26:40
2. Amy Griffin – 27:00
3. Laurie Krock – 30:15

Ulises Marrufo was all alone at the front to win with a time of 21:37 in the male race.

Top 3 male:

1. Ulises Marrufo – 21:37
2. Charles Cetina – 24:54
3. Steve Johns – 26:41

Complete 5 km results

Race Reports

• 10 km – “There was a few places where it looked like they had put in speed bumps on the trail.  Massive foot-high speed bumps.  I think they were put in to keep the trails from washing out when it rained, but somehow the idea of putting in speed bumps to help runners manage their speeds was amusing.” by Ann @ Life According to Annabelle
• 8 mile – “The trail we were on was barely a foot wide at that point, so when I tried to step aside to let them pass, I had to either hug a tree or get clawed by the nearby shrubberies.  Later I discover a small twig stuck in my hair.” by Ann @ Life According to Annabelle

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

Related Articles:

• Nueces Trail Run 2010 Races Results
• Cross Timbers Trail Run 2010 Results
• Cross Timbers Trail Run Photos and Volunteer Report
• Rocky Raccoon 100 Trail Run Video – Psychedelic Re-mix
• Rocky Raccoon 100 Trail Run Loop Flyover

• 30 mile long runs
• 60 mile weeks
• Effortless Running
• Feel Like an Ultrarunning Warrior
• Race

Injury.

• 3 mile long runs
• 12 mile weeks
• Sluggish Running
• Feel Like an Ultrarunning Wuss

Me.

Since my knee issue at Rocky, I have been in serious healing/recovery mode and enjoying a few too many scoops of ice cream.

Oh how perspective can change. From a solid sweat building five hour trail run, to being grateful for a three mile continuous run without any knee discomfort. So abrupt. Little warning. Life.

As an ultra athlete that finds great pleasure and joy in the the long stuff, a three mile run is two miles short of a warm-up.

Recovering from an injury can be a hard pill to swallow. Recent running memories tease you with what use to be. Frustration and disappointment can control our mental states. But I want to be there. Sometimes it can be tough to get the mental focus out of our head.

To eliminate/reduce the mental madness and powerless victim role, I have tried to approach this situation with acceptance and active engagement in my recovery process.

Instead of concerning myself with where I have been, I focus on where I am at.

My focus is on:

• Pain-free running – This is currently 3 mile runs, every other day.
• A renewed focus on overall strength and core work – 4 days per week
• Flexibility
• Eating ice cream every day

Volunteering at Cross Timbers was another way to stay involved/connected to the sport and support others on their ultra journey.

The recovery continues…

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

Related Articles:

• Cross Timbers Trail Run 2010 Results
• Cross Timbers Trail Run Photos and Volunteer Report
• 6 Steps to Ultrarunner DNF Recovery
• Rocky Raccoon 100 Trail Run Video – Psychedelic Re-mix
• Rocky Raccoon 100 Winner Liza Howard – Endurance Planet Interview

Course

The out-and-back course is described as mostly narrow, hilly trails with some rocky and hazardous areas. I remember participating in this event a couple years ago and there were a couple sections that you had to get on all fours to climb up the short, steep section.

The event website mentions the following elevation gain/loss for each distance:

• 50 mile – 10,900 feet
• marathon – 5,510 feet
• half marathon – 3480 feet
• 5 mile – 1370 feet

I would have to say these numbers are probably a bit high but the take-away is the course is not pancake flat.

Results

50 mile

31 athletes started the 50 mile adventure and 27 (87%) were able to get to the finish line.

The front-end of the male race became a two person race between Ian Ridgway and Pete Mehok. After completing 25 miles with a time of 3:37, Ridway and Mehok were still stride-for-stride. Within the next five miles, Mehok began to slow and Ridgway continued to separate himself and go on to win with a time of 7:49:15.

Top 3 male:

1. Iain Ridgway – 7:49:15
2. Pete Mehok – 8:35:49
3. Charles Corfield – 9:11:56

The female race ended up being an even tighter race between Rachel Lindner and Mariela Botella. Through 25 miles, Lindner had a time of 5:00 and held on to a 9 minute lead over Botella. Over the next 12.5 miles, Botella closed the gap and reduced the lead to one minute. Botella left the PawPawPoint like a hunter going after her prey (I worked this aid-station so saw this play out).

Lindner continued her consistant effort and would not be caught. She won the event with a time of 10:45:35. Botella finished just under 13 minutes later.

Top 3 female:

1. Rachel Lindner – 10:45:35 (*6th overall*)
2. Mariela Botella – 10:58:18 (*10th overall*)
3. Cindy Melder – 11:50:10

Marathon

The trail marathon (or something within 10% of that label) had 52 spunky athletes ready to test that tempo effort. 51 trail runners (98%) had enough spunk to complete the distance.

The female race was crushed by a name we are beginning to hear quite frequently at the top of trail running events in this region, Christine Tokarz. Tokarz passed through the half-way point in 1:59, with only two minutes separating her from the overall race lead. Tokarz remained consistent on the return run back to the finish to win with a 4:02:14 and second overall.

(Tokarz (top) and Underwood (bottom) halfway through the marathon)

Top 3 female:

1. Christine Tokarz – 4:02:14 (*2nd overall*)
2. Samantha Lambert – 4:39:19 (*5th overall*)
3. Laurie Underwood – 5:38:34

The male race was won with an impressive even-split by Frank Livaudais and a time of 3:54:45. The next male was 20 minutes back.

Top 3 male:

1. Frank Livaudais – 3:54:45
2. Dalton Wilson – 4:15:21
3. Neil Smith – 4:38:52

Half Marathon

The half marathon distance had 105 eager runners and 103 finishers.

The male race became a who-would-pop-first burn-fest between Sean Mcmahon, Tommy Swanson, and Joel Gibbs. All three trail runners hit the halfway point in 1:04. Mcmahon then made his move and separated himself from the other two runners to win with a negative split and time of 2:07:15.

Swanson and Gibbs left the last aid-station together, with a little over 20 minutes to decide second place. Swanson was able to maintain his pace while Gibbs slowed just enough to allow Swanson a 2:20 second place margin.

Top 3 male:

1. Sean Mcmahon – 2:07:15
2. Tommy Swanson – 2:12:01
3. Joel Gibbs – 2:14:21

Julie Bergfield handily won the female race with a near even split effort and finish time of 2:23:12.

Top 3 female:

1. Julie Bergfield – 2:23:12
2. Merry Wolf – 2:38:04
3. Marlee Clark  - 2:42:44

5 Mile

The five mile trail run saw 57 athletes ready to get a bit dirty. All finished the run.

The female race had four women separated by one minute with 2.5 miles to go. The largest negative split between the four was by Amber Block who won with a 58:05. Danika Trierweiler was able to hold onto second place by just under 30 seconds with a time of 1:00:08.

Top 3 female:

1. Amber Block – 58:05 (*5th overall*)
2. Danika Trierweiler – 1:00:08 (*7th overall*)
3. Martha Howe – 1:00:36 (*9th overall)

Keith Schoby left all male runners behind early on and hit the half-way point in 24 minutes. Schoby had enough in the tank to negative split and cross the finish line in 47:38.  Second place was over six minutes back.

Top 3 male:

1. Keith Schoby – 47:38
2. Brian Baldwin – 54:07
3. Brandon Denmon – 57:20

Complete Results for all distances (Spreadsheet).

My PawPawPoint photos.

The Tough-as-Nails Award

The final finishers of an ultra distance event are some of the toughest athletes that are willing to stick with it to the best of their current ability and cross that darn finish line.

The Tough-as-Nails award recipients:

• 50 mile: Paul Mastin –  Mastin kept chipping away at the distance and completed the 50 mile day in 14:57:19.

Race Reports

• 50 mile – “…parts of the trail where you almost have to use your hands to pull yourself along, where it’s steeper than a steep staircase, or where only a mountain goat on speed could actually run down it.” – Paul @ Lean Forward Run Farther
• half marathon – “I had never run the Cross Timbers Trail…and if I had, I would have thought twice about running it with a 40 lb Pack.” Dave @ …And the Adventure Continues
• marathon – “In other words, when you get done with the race, if you look in the mirror at your hindquarters it may look as if you have the ass of a dancer in a rap video! Your butt is gonna be sore!” – Mark @ The Naked Runner

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

Related Articles:

• Cross Timbers Trail Run Photos and Volunteer Report
• Nueces Trail Run 2010 Races Results
• Double Trouble Trail Challenge 2010 Results
• The Journey Back to Ultrarunning
• Rocky Raccoon 100 Trail Run Video – Psychedelic Re-mix

Texas ultra athlete, Russell Secker, the only American athlete that participated and completed the 2920 mile 2009 Transeurope Footrace was recently interviewed by an Austin radio show called INNER VIEWS.

Secker talked about what brought him to ultrarunning and his 64 day experience in Europe.

Here are a few of the moments that caught my attention.

Planting The Ultrarunning Seed

• Prior to ultrarunning, Secker ran 5 km, 10 km, and marathons like most normal people.
• The event that started his ultrarunning journey – The book, Running the Trans America Footrace by Barry Lewis. This book was about the 1992 Trans America race.

It is always fascinating to find out about the trigger that causes people to make a change in their life. Over 10 years ago, a friend asked me to go mountain biking with him and I said, “yes.” That started my endurance sports journey.

The 2009 Transeurope Footrace

• Preparation – Ran 3-4 hours a day at the peak training.
• Race miles – Each stage consisted of ~30-60 miles per day. This translated to typically 6-14 hours for Secker. (We are talking about a 64 day event!)
• Mind games – Secker’s approach to dealing with the magnitude of each day and the event would be to visualize himself forward in the event, whether that was the end of the day or crossing the finish line.
• Complete runner – This kind of event is 100% mental and 100% physical. Small physical imbalances over 64 days become big problems.
• Worst weather – Towards the end of the race in Norway, running against 20-40 mph headwinds joined with periods of sleet/hail.
• One of the Best days – The day before the worst. Secker ran 10 miles with a herd of reindeer.
• The experience – Secker wrote a book called Running Across Countries, that captures this huge ultrarunning experience.

To simply have the courage to attempt and then finish an event like this is amazing (…long pause…). Oh, the layers of self you must witness, and most likely layers of flesh (ouch!). Insightful interview and inspiring stuff.

To listen to the complete audio interview:  Inner Views – Russell Secker Interview

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David - EnduranceBuzz.com

(Photo: Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulsimpson1976/ / CC BY 2.0)

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