60

latest in handheld bottles, HYDRATE OR DIE // The waistbelts and backpacks

One Dirty Magazine

AUGUST 2009  ISSUE 60

MUSINGS OF A

VAGABOND RUNNER Rickey Gates on running the European circuit

Truth about caffeine Drop-bag advice Choosing sunscreen

Q&A with rising

PICTURE PERFECT

ultra star Jenn Shelton

SPECIAL

PERFORMANCE SECTION > > > >

Retraining after a layoff User's guide to the best trail blogs Night-running tips An amazing (hellish) four-minute workout

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TRAIL TIPS

Get your PR in trailrunning photography DISPLAY THRU AUG.

$4.99 US // $5.99 CAN

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60

ONE DIRTY MAGAZINE AUGUST 2009 TRAILRUNNERMAG.COM

DEPARTMENTS

54 Picture Perfect

Tips for getting your PR in trailrunning photography

4

EDITOR’S NOTE

6

LETTERS

8

MAKING TRACKS Q&A with up-and-coming ultrarunning hit Jenn Shelton; Colorado’s giant stairmaster— the Incline—verges on becoming “legal.”

18

TAKE YOUR MARK

14

ASK THE COACH Avoid the smothering sunscreen effect; drop-bag tactics; the truth about caffeine

Text and photos by Duane Raleigh

49 TRAIL TESTED Liquid for the Long Haul.

Hydration systems to suit your needs.

By Allison Pattillo and Michael Benge 62

RUN AMOK Footloose. A trail runner shares his untrained melody.

By Garett Graubins

SUPPLEMENT

18

TS

On a Shoestring

Confessions of a vagabond runner: racing on the European mountainrunning circuit, with a pair of shoes, bike panniers and two wheels.

By Rickey Gates // Photos by Pete Hartley TS- 4

EDITOR’S NOTE

SPECIAL PERFORMANCE SECTION > TS -8

Comeback Trail. How to regain your trail-running fitness.

By Roy Stevenson

TS -12

COVER Megan Lund pounds out some evening miles on the Doc Holiday Loop, Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

The Fabulous 4 (Minutes). The short— intense—workout that delivers.

By Rich Butkevic

TS-14

THIS PAGEAndrew Skurka (right) and Tim Long on the Eldorado Trail, near Boulder, Colorado.

Photos by David Clifford

Trail Bloggers. Find training tip and wacky wisdom on the blogosphere’s virtual trails.

By Sarah Lavender Smith

TS-16

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh, My! Running at night isn’t as scary as you’d think.

By Kevin Patrick

TS-30

LAST GASP Trails Through Time. What do you do to make yourself happy?

By Bernie Boettcher

TRAIL RUNNER (USPS 024-696, ISSN 1536-3134) is published 7 times a year (February, April, June, August, October, December and an annual issue) by Big Stone Publishing, 417 Main St Unit N, Carbondale, CO 81623. Periodicals postage paid at Carbondale, CO, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Trail Runner, 417 Main St Unit N, Carbondale, CO 81623. Subscription rates are $19.95 per year, $29.95 for two years. Canada, add $12.50 per year for surface postage; all other countries add $15 per year for surface postage (US funds only). Canada Post CPM #7157697.

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6/3/09 11:46:08 AM

EDITOR’S NOTE

by MICHAEL BENGE

Doggonit // F or an instant, my brain marveled at how the sleek, rapidly approaching Doberman silently floated down the trail. In the next nano-second, though, my sphincter tightened in fear, as the dog stopped short, canines bared, growling, barking and snapping within biting distance. Its owner yelled for it to come, but the dog was oblivious, answering some primal need. To make matters worse, he was quickly flanked by two other frothing mongrels.

“Get control of your freaking dogs!” I yelled, as they continued false charging from three sides. Finally, the owner strode over, whipped a leash on the Doberman and subdued the other two.

“They’ve never done that before!” said the owner, incredulously. “I don’t know why they reacted that way to you.” As if I, innocently running down the singletrack,

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DO DOGS AND TRAIL RUNNING MIX?

had somehow provoked the attack.

“Bull-,” I said, remembering a nearly identical encounter with the same foursome a half year prior.

I can name a handful of other hairy encounters, none of which, fortunately, ended in me getting bitten. But friends have been bitten, and that’s not right.

I like dogs. It’s some owners that need to step up. In “leashless” areas, it’s great to let your beasts run free—if you can keep them under voice control. From what I’ve seen, many dogs should be leashed at all times. Like parents who don’t discipline their children, dog owners often become lax and that’s when bad things happen.

And, aside from encounters with people (and other dogs), there are other issues.

Dogs seem to poop a lot. Sure, some owners scoop up after their dogs, but this same local trail, especially at the start,

features a trail of poop cairns. Numerous times, I’ve witnessed owners shirk their cleanup duties.

I’ve also observed dogs chasing deer and cattle, and it’s not always the quarry that gets the bad end. A friend’s dog got cartwheeled by a cow’s hoof to the jaw, which may be one reason that dog stopped chasing. Again, do you think you can call your dog off his natural instinct to chase down that deer?

So I’m not sure how well dogs and trails mix. Often, not all that well. Most dog lovers view their pets as children, and we know how parents like others criticizing their offspring. But two simple things would go a long way toward making you and your dogs welcome on the trails— keep all dogs on leashes or under strict, reliable voice control, and clean up your dog’s poop every time. ■

6/3/09 12:41:32 PM

N A T U R E ’S TO I L E T P A P E R (A N

O B J E C T I V E

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GREEN ASH

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The staple of the American runner.

Nice surface area. Ample thickness.

Abundant.

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POI SON IVY

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OAK

Almond-shaped, urushiol poison-drenched leaflets cause catastrophic pain and itching.

Better off wiping with hornet’s nest.

Double-serrated edges are the only drawback to this otherwise popular, woodland mainstay.

Widely available. Decent surface area.

Word of caution: Fall leaves crumble upon contact.

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FERN

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Long, narrow, mature leaves offer poor coverage. In a pinch, a fistful of the younger, curled fiddleheads will suffice.

Nice, broad leaves. Mother Nature’s answer to quilted softness. Plus, thick foliage for extra privacy.

Spine-tipped serrations make this an act of painful desperation. As an added blow, berries are toxic and induce vomiting.

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USA Trail Championships 2009 Schedule See It. Feel It. Experience It.

LETTERS

PLEASE EMAIL: LETTERS@TRAILRUNNERMAG.COM

BUSTED! I was recently reading Trail Runner the night before a big race as I find reading a few articles and looking at some great trail-running gear puts me “in the zone.” I came across an advertisement for a pair of trail-running shoes I was expecting in the mail soon. The advertisement had a horizontal layout so I was holding the magazine on its side when my wife entered the room.

“What in the world are you looking at!” she exclaimed. I had to admit I was reading One Dirty Magazine, but then showed her what had captured my interest. I was drooling over an advertisement that showed a trail leading up the Italian Dolomites to which she replied, “Nice peaks.”

For those of us who live in “vertically-challenged” landscapes, thanks for publishing articles, advertisements and images that keep us dreaming.

—Aaron Bennis, Murphy, TX

THE CURE As a physical therapist, coach and endurance athlete, I want to thank you for such a great April edition [Issue 58]. The articles

June 28

USA Mountain Championships North Conway, NH ACCOUNTING

EDITORIAL

July 18

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Duane Raleigh

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www.usatf.org/events Complete 2008 Results • 2009 Championship Calendar

WARNING! The activities described in Trail Runner carry a significant risk of personal injury or death. DO NOT participate in these activities unless you are an expert, have sought or obtained qualified professional instruction or guidance, are knowledgeable about the risks involved, and are willing to assume personal responsibility for all risks associated with these activities. TRAIL RUNNER MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, OF ANY KIND REGARDING THE CONTENTS OF THIS MAGAZINE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY REGARDING THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. Trail Runner further disclaims any responsibility for injuries or death incurred by any person engaging in these activities. Use the information contained in this magazine at your own risk, and do not depend on the information contained in this magazine for personal safety or for determining whether to attempt any climb, route or activity described herein.

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T R A I L R U N N E R M A G . C O M AUGUST 2009 6

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LETTERS

“Trail Stability” and “Below the Belt” are indispensable tools for all runners, with accurate information and wise solutions to the common and uncommon ailments.

As a matter of fact, I’ve purchased extra copies of the issue to pass out to my running-based clients.

Please keep up the good work, but not too much—you may put me out of a job.

—Roger Dyjak, PT MS | Harper Woods, MI

THE PRICE IS RIGHT After reading your articles concerning large and costly races, I wanted to let you know about my small (50-runner limit) and inexpensive ($25) A-OK 25K/50K trail race, held for 16 years on my Oklahoma mountain property. I use leftover bib numbers and T-shirts from other races, excess caps and stuffed animals from my church clothes project and cheap “freebies” such as candles and water bottles. A volunteer makes beautiful finishers’ plaques from a cedar tree cut from my property. Finishers also receive jars of Oklahoma honey, expensive but more useful than most awards.

Winners receive bottles of local wine and free entry into the next year’s race. Pre-

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race pasta, post-race chili and healthy cookies are brought from home.

The three aid stations may or may not be manned. A photographer takes pictures that may be purchased for nine cents, and a race report and results are sent to all participants. Camping is encouraged. A genuine outhouse is available at the startfinish line. Trash is sorted for recyclables.

For the top several runners, the race is competitive; for the rest, it is simply a running experience in a beautiful place—transformed once a year into a unique race site.

the environment and by lumping them together with a few extremists, Mr. Gray paints a misleading and grossly inaccurate picture. The “greenies” fight to keep our trail lands from being sold off, paved over and closed to the public. Conversely many anti-environmentalists, represented by powerful lobbies in Washington D.C., would love nothing more than to see our parks and wild places converted into strip malls, mines, oil fields and private, gated communities.

—Mary Ann Miller | Atoka, OK

COLOR COMMENTARY I picked up a copy of Issue 57 [February 2009], excited by the cover image of Eric Jennings, an African-American trail runner like me. I was disappointed, however, to open the magazine and find nothing about him.

As an outdoor journalist myself, I am convinced that the key to getting more people of color into things like trail running, mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, etc., is to publish more stories and images of people who look like them in the pages of the magazines they may read.

PURE HOGWA SH I read with amusement the anti-environmental letter, “Here Come the Greenies” [June 2009, Issue 59]. The letter attempts to frighten trail runners into believing that the same people who work to preserve our trails and trail lands (aka environmentalists) will one day “... decide Mother Earth and the great outdoors should not even be enjoyed at all.”

This is of course pure hogwash. By misrepresenting those who care about

—Don Weise | West Milford, NJ

—Dudley Edmondson | Duluth, MN

6/8/09 3:31:02 PM

MAKING TRACKS

by JEN BURN » photo by ALISON REYNOLDS

Q+A

Do you train with other runners in Ashland?

I am in a group that meets every Wednesday at Hal Koerner’s running store [Rogue Valley Runners]. After the run, we all grab pizza and beer together. Other ultrarunners often pass through, so when someone is visiting we make an effort to go on a big group run.

These are some of the best guys in the country, and I have to wear racing flats to stand a chance of staying up with them, even on long, slow runs. That being said, some of my favorite running buddies are Erik [Skaggs] and Hal [Koerner], who are giant goofballs.

When you train with Erik, though, you’re either going to get fast or get injured.

Has moving to Ashland improved your running?

I don’t know, but I guess I’ll find out in June at Western States. Ashland has forced me to become a mountain runner. It takes years to become good in the mountains, and I’ve only been here a year. In the past, I was not as tough as Bev [Anderson-Abbs] or Nikki [Kimball], but I was faster in the flat sections. I may have lost that fast edge, but I’ve become much stronger in the mountains.

Jenn Shelton on a “training” run with Erik Skaggs.Ashland, Oregon.

Catch Me If You Can

FREE-SPIRITED ULTRARUNNER JENN SHELTON MAKES HAVING FUN HER PRIORITY

W

ith a habit of racing in silly outfits and no standard training method, Jenn Shelton, 25, of Ashland, Oregon, doesn’t take life too seriously.

However, this party animal has churned out a sub-three-hour marathon while wearing nothing but a rainbow-colored string bikini.

Two years ago, Shelton took the ultrarunning community by storm when she sustained sub-nine-minute miles to set a new women’s course record (14:57:18) in the Rocky Raccoon Trail 100 in Huntsville, Texas.

“Jenn is one of the most amazing downhill runners I’ve ever seen,” says fellow Ashland runner Hal Koerner. “She certainly has a couple of extra gears when the fall line approaches.”

Shelton has continued to shatter records—including, in Virginia, the Swinging Bridge 50K in Cumberland, and the Old Dominion 100 in Woodstock—in a sport that is often dictated by carefully planned workouts and computer-like gadgets. For Shelton, the only thing that’s planned is not having a plan.

Her flexible job selling shoes for an online store, Earthly Goods, allows her to log up to 130 miles per week on leaf-strewn trails that meander along the edge of town. Most of the trails shoot steeply upward, something Shelton says she is only now adjusting to after growing up in flat Virginia Beach.

A grade-school gymnast and a highschool runner, Shelton played rugby at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Then, after taking a brief hiatus to write poetry in San Francisco, she transferred to Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. But it was only on a whim that Shelton picked up ultrarunning.

“When I was 19 my friend Billy and I decided to sign up for a 50-miler,” says Shelton, who was lifeguarding on the beach in Virginia at the time. “We were young and bored and looking for something to do.”

Although Shelton doesn’t have a coach and rarely does speedwork, her competition at the upcoming Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run will be taking her seriously. The race will include Krissy Moehl, Nikki Kimball and Bev AndersonAbbs, among others.

Do you ever do speedwork?

My main form of speedwork is entering local 5K or 10Ks. A lot of times Erik [Skaggs] will run as hard as he can straight up a mountain road, and I’ll do that with him. I don’t wear a watch, because I don’t care what my time is.

I would never say, “Every Wednesday I am going to run 800s on the track,” because that is completely unappealing.

Have you ever been seriously injured from your high-mileage training?

After the American River 50K in 2008, I was out four months with a calf injury. For a long time I got away with a lot because I started running ultras at 19. Now that I’m 25, I have to take better care of myself, stop ignoring the pain and not let myself get severely dehydrated on training runs.

A big part of my injury prevention is not racing too many ultras each year. I think it is better to focus your efforts and really go for one or two big races. I’d rather do three to four strong 20-milers a week than one 40-miler on the weekend. Those get really boring and recovery takes too long.

What is your greatest running accomplishment?

The Rocky Raccoon 100. The great thing about 100-milers is the finish line is completely anticlimatic. I finished Rocky after running the fastest-ever trail 100-miler by a woman and all I got was a pat on the back. There’s really no glamour in ultrarunning. One of my favorite memories from the race was seeing XY Weiss, an ultrarunning legend, out on the course. She yelled, “Jenn, make those boys crazy!”

“When I arrive on race day, I don’t necessarily want to be the fastest, but the best prepared,” says Shelton. “I like to step on the line knowing my body is ready to do the work I have been training for.” ■

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MAKING TRACKS

Stair master Tony Krupicka on the Incline. Manitou Springs, Colorado.

Steep Uphill Battle

COLORADO SPRINGS TRAIL ABOUT TO BECOME LEGAL

T

rail runners in the Colorado Springs region of Colorado have long set their sights on one destination: the Incline. Once home to a scenic cog railway that climbed a mountainside above the nearby town of Manitou Springs, the railway is long gone, but the railroad ties remain. In essence, the Incline has become a giant Stairmaster that gains 2000 quad-burning vertical feet in barely more than a mile, averaging a 40-percent grade and maxing out at 70 percent.

Until recently, Incline runners have faced one big problem: no-trespassing signs.

While the bottom quarter of the Incline lies on public city of Colorado Springs land

and the top quarter is U.S. Forest Service land, the middle half is on private property. But that hasn’t stopped rebellious runners from poaching the occasional run.

These runners included members of the Incline Club, a loose affiliation of locals who trained on the namesake run until 2000, when it was officially posted as “no trespassing.” Since then, they’ve taken their runs elsewhere, but other trail runners continue to run past the signs.

Now, the issue has come to a head and, happily, the Incline is on the verge of legal, public access. Matt Carpenter, a heavyweight in the local trail-running community, founder of the Incline Club and record holder for the Incline ascent (18:31), is cautiously optimistic: “The steps we’ve taken are one mile in a hundred-mile race.”

Maybe so, but they’ve been crucial steps.

All the major players—the property owner, USFS, city of Colorado Springs and city of Manitou Springs—have publicly supported the efforts to open the Incline. Certain details remain: finalizing trailhead parking, arranging for long-term trail maintenance and making the trail easement across private property official. But it seems that all systems are a “go” in the uphill battle to open the Incline.

It isn’t the only point of focus for Springsarea runners. They are also working to preserve White Acres, a scenic property bordered on three sides by permanently protected open space. The popular trail-running locale is threatened by the prospect of residential development. While White Acres’ outcome is much less certain than that of the Incline, there’s good reason to believe that it, too, will become one more reason for local trail runners to rejoice. (For more information go to www.savewhiteacres.org.)

—Peter Bronski

Probing Probiotics // Good germs undo stomach upset and improve immunity

> IMMUNE-BOOSTING BACTERIA ■ “Strenuous training makes runners especially vulnerable to illness,” says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, a nutritionist and marathon runner. In the Australian study, published in British Journal of Sports Medicine, elite endurance runners who took Lactobacillus fermentum over four months more than halved the number of days they suffered respiratory symptoms (and lessened their severity) compared to those taking a placebo.

How? Seventy percent of the immune system is located in the digestive tract, where specialized cells serve as the body’s first line of defense against harmful bacteria. So by “topping up” the amount of healthy bacteria in the gut with probiotics, you improve digestion and your ability to fight off infection.

> DIGESTIVE RESCUE ■ Probiotics also mitigate running-related gastro-intestinal distress. A study published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism tracked runners during three months of training prior to a marathon and for two weeks after. The runners taking the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus suffered less abdominal pain, cramping and diarrhea during training and post-race than the placebo-taking runners. > THE DAILY DOSE ■ For general health, Gerbstadt recommends two servings daily of probiotic-rich or enhanced foods (totaling approximately two cups) such as yogurt with active cultures, a cup of cottage cheese, six ounces of tempeh or two cups of kefir.

Alternatively, take probiotic supplements as recommended by your doctor. “Ironically, some people experience some initial digestive discomfort, so start with a small dose and build up over a week or two,” says Gerbstadt. Probiotics can usually be found in the refrigerated section of grocery and health-food stores.

—Wendy McMillan

DAVE PHILIPPS

Not all bacteria are bad. Probiotics, the “good bacteria,” are obtained through regular consumption of foods such as yogurt or supplements and are shown to improve common diseases such as irritable bowl syndrome, high blood pressure, diarrhea, constipation and high cholesterol. And a recent study conducted at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra points to illness-fighting benefits for runners in particular.

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TA K E Y O U R M A R K

by ASHLEY ARNOLD » photo by PETER LOPES

of nowhere,” says Chris Grothe, a 2008 Goblin Valley Ultra competitor. “It’s a lowkey, no frills race for people that just want to have some fun and do a great run.”

Due to its remote location, either drive over early from Green River, or camp in the valley under a star-fi lled sky with other competitors the night before. The full-service campground has only 21 sites, so make reservations early.

VULTURE BAIT TRAIL RACE Runners scramble over the rocky “Raw Trail” as they approach the final climb around mile 20 of the Bald Eagle Mountain Megatransect in Pennsylvania.

Autumn Adventures

PACK THE TENT AND MAKE A WEEKEND OUT OF THESE FALL RACES BALD EAGLE MOUNTAIN MEGATRANSECT Location: Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Date: October 3, 2009 Distance: 24.9 miles Terrain: Technical singletrack Information: www.ultrahike.com Why you should go: Filling to its 700-runner limit in just three weeks, the 7th annual Bald Eagle Mountain Megatransect is fast becoming one of Pennsylvania’s top trail events. When Jeff Stover founded the event in 2002, it was only supposed to be a “hike,” but after a successful first year with 135 runners and hikers, the challenging Megatransect grew.

“It’s a course that will make a hiker out of the best runners,” says race director Dave Hunter. “The trails here are gnarly, with craggy rocks waiting to eat any misplaced ankles. And the verticals are extreme.”

Early on, smooth forgiving singletrack ends abruptly with brutal technical sections of lichen-covered, marble-like stone. Then, you clamber up a sandstone boulderfield and weave around a series of tow dams until you feel like you’ve left Pennsylvania altogether and are running through a cool, dense rainforest along the McElhattan Stream with sharp cliffs rising on either side. To escape this gorge, tackle the steepest climb on the course. Expect multiple water crossings, a

gain of 5157 vertical feet and enthusiastic cheers from the finish-line pavilion. Post race, refuel at the pig roast and enjoy cold brews from Troeg’s Brewing Company.

It’s too late to register as a participant this year, but volunteers are welcome. The course improves yearly—you’ll have more to look forward to in 2010.

GOBLIN VALLEY ULTRA Location: Goblin Valley State Park, Utah Date: October 24, 2009 Distance: 25K, 50K Terrain: Mostly dirt roads, some trail Information: www.goblinvalleyultra.com Why you should go: Located about an hour outside Green River, in the high desert of central Utah, Goblin Valley gets its name from the eerie goblin-like windand water-carved structures that serve as a ghostly backdrop for the start and fi nish of this event.

The gently rolling out-and-back course follows dirt roads and traverses open range land surrounding the park, before returning for a final mile amongst the thousands of spooky mushroom-topped structures and sharp, skeletal cliffs.

“It’s worth doing, just to see all the strange rock formations and run out in the middle

Location: Fanshawe Conservation Area, London, Ontario Date: October 17, 2009 Distance: 25K, 50K Terrain: Wide pine-chip singletrack, grass sections, minimal paved path Information: www.vulturebaitrace.com Why you should go: As the last race of the Ontario Ultra Series, the 6th annual Vulture Bait Trail Race is the perfect course for a PR and a casual race your entire family can enjoy.

Participants run under a blanket of colorful fall leaves on this fast, gently rolling course, carving a loop around Fanshawe Reservoir. Pass through mature forests of mostly maple and black-cherry trees on rugged singletrack, traverse open meadows and spot the occasional racenamesake turkey vulture.

Run the loop once for the 25K or twice for the 50K. “This is a great race for beginners,” says race director Jennifer-Anne Meneray. “It’s not an easy trail, but one that will build confidence. And once people come, they keep coming back.”

While runners are out on the course, family members enjoy a crackling fire and hot beverages at the ski-pavilion lodge and children scramble around the playground.

After the race, spend the weekend camping and enjoy haunted hayrides at Pioneer Village just south of the race’s start. “It has all the amenities and swag of a much bigger race with the friendliness and ease of a smaller event,” says previous participant Karen Lowry of London, Ontario.

Every month leading up to the race, organizers hold a random drawing, offering registrants a chance to win custom Vulture Bait Race Wear. The earlier you enter, the more chances you have to win.

Plus, if you sign up before September 12th, you’re automatically entered into a drawing for a free night’s hotel stay. ■

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Photo: Tim Kemple

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TRIM > 8.25”x10.875"

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LIVE > 7.5"x10.25"

6/1/09 5/29/09 2:54:25 4:28 PM PM

REDEFINING

HUMANLY POSSIBLE

ASK THE COACH

by THERESE IKNOIAN » illustration by JEREMY DUNCAN

Suffering Sunscreen I slathered on some sweat-proof, hypo-allergenic, SPF 45 sunblock and felt smothered. What gives?

—Tom Paul Geha, Los Angeles, CA

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We consulted a few experts, and found that avoiding sunscreen isn’t the answer (sunburns can elevate body temperature, which could put a kink in your summer training success). The solution is choosing the right sunscreen concoction.

Basically, sunscreen is made of organic or inorganic compounds combined with a carrier, such as oils and water, and hocuspocused into a potion that, when applied, creates a film on your skin. The film blocks the sun’s searing rays, but it also covers up sweat glands and follicles. If the film is too dense or thick, you can’t sweat effectively (or cool yourself with the evaporation), creating that smothered sensation.

“You’re really feeling the reduced ability to sweat,” says Steven Johnson, president of the sunscreen producer Sol Sunguard. Johnson says to avoid heavy, thick sunscreens, such as ones made with a lot of petrolatum, heavy waxes (e.g. beeswax) or tropical oils (e.g. coconut oil).

Also, avoid sprays that have acrylic adhesives, a.k.a. acrylates, since they are too glue-like for activity, albeit great for lying around on a beach.

Johnson advises a sweat- or waterproof sunscreen, so you stay protected longer.

The trick is picking one that is lightweight enough that you don’t feel smothered. Sample a dab in the store for feel and smell, then trail test it. Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before a run so it “sets up” on the skin and improves sweat’s ability to permeate.

Drop the Bag Can you explain how “drop bags” work.

For example, is there a standard type bag and what do you put in it?

—Jim Salyers, Lexington, KY At most ultra races, runners are allowed to use “drop bags,” in which they place personal gear, and which race organizers transport to designated aid stations. Choose a bag that stands out from the stack, such as a bright color. Label the bag with your name and race number, inside and out.

Don’t pack perishables since they may sit in the heat for a long time. Nix on glass containers too. Think small—you don’t need the kitchen sink.

For overnight races, pack a flashlight (and extra batteries) in bags “earlier” than you think you might need it—many things can delay you on race day. Although many seasoned hands rely on aid-station food, if there are particular gels or bars you just must have, pack them. If you wear contacts, pack spares. Put a list in or on the bag noting what you plan to drop off and/or pick up at that station. You may be brain dead when you get there.

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ASK THE COACH

Consider extra clothing for overnight races or wet weather. River crossings or rain may mean extra shoes and socks in a bag.

Always carry medications and foot-care items on your person. Coach has a friend who once used disposable drop bags— Tyvek mailing envelopes with just some drink powders and gels in baggies inside.

Remember to pick up your bags post race.

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BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DESSERTS • CATERING

Caffeine seems to help me get through a race but, with summer’s heat, should I worry I’ll get dehydrated if I ingest too much?

RUNCOLORADO

—Terry Waddell, Tulsa, OK Over the years we have been warned against caffeine because of dehydration.

Now, all those scary caffeine stories are apparently like ghost stories around a campfire: More boo than true.

A study in a recent journal from the American College of Sports Medicine backs that up: Researchers in Spain tested trained cyclists during a hard, two-hour ride in nearly 100-degree, moderately dry heat, feeding them water or an electrolyte sports drink or nothing at all. They repeated the same trial with riders taking caffeine pills 45 minutes before exercising equal to 6 mg per kilogram of body weight (e.g. for a 165 pounder about 450 mg or the equivalent of three very strong cups of coffee).

The result? Caffeine increased urine output and electrolytes in the sweat, but neither was enough to make riders become less able to dissipate heat, get dehydrated or cause an electrolyte deficiency. Since several riders needed a break to relieve themselves, researchers from the Spain study concluded that the effects should be weighed against “the detriment in performance caused by time wasted to void.” ■

GEAR GIVEAWAY > Trail Runner would like to answer your questions on training, medicine, gear and technique.

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SPECIAL PERFORMANCE SECTION Retraining after a layoff > User's guide to the best trail blogs > Night-running tips > An amazing (hellish) four-minute workout >

LAST GASP

Bernie Boettcher on the meaning of running trails cover TS.60.indd 1

ON A SHOESTRING

Running on the European circuit, dirtbag style 6/9/09 2:05:04 PM

Nouveau Monde DDB - 344 446 810 RCS ANNECY - photos : Stef Candé.

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5/26/09 10:26:10 AM

18 On a Shoestring

TS

COVERTaylor Murphy (out front) on his way to victory at the 2009 5 Peaks Trail Running Series Race in Kingston, Ontario. Photo by Sean Burges/ Mundo Sport Images THIS PAGE High suffering. Alwynne Shannon of Ireland at the 2007 European Mountain Running Championships, French Pyrenees. Please see American Rickey Gates’ story about competing on the European circuit on page TS-18. Photo by Pete Hartley

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Confessions of a vagabond runner: racing on the European mountain-running circuit, with a pair of shoes, bike panniers and two wheels.

by Rickey Gates photos by Pete Hartley

TS-14 Trail Bloggers.

TS- 4

EDITOR’S NOTE

SPECIAL PERFORMANCE SECTION > TS -8

Comeback Trail. How to regain your trailrunning fitness.

By Roy Stevenson

TS -12 The Fabulous 4 (Minutes).

The short—intense— workout that delivers.

By Rich Butkevic

Find training tips and wacky wisdom on the blogosphere’s virtual trails.

By Sarah Lavender Smith TS-16 Lions and Tigers and Bears,

Oh, My! Running at night isn’t as scary as you’d think.

By Kevin Patrick

TS-30 LAST

GASP Trails Through Time.

What do you do to make yourself happy?

By Bernie Boettcher

6/3/09 12:03:49 PM

Editor’s note by allison pattillo

We’re Pulling For You

Sign up now for the 2009 trophy series

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This course is a must for anyone who is serious about running and outdoor photography and will cover composition, critical lens selection, maximizing available light, strobe (Profoto) lighting, digital in-camera tricks, capturing action, tuning images in post production, understanding market needs and packaging and presenting images for sale.

We report on professional and sponsored runners and their winning moments in the pages of the magazine, and hopefully our stories inspire you to get outside and run. But sometimes reality interferes with our Rocky moments. The Trophy Series lets you grab those moments for yourself. The Series is for those of us who fit runs in on our lunch break, between soccer practice and school shuttling and perhaps not as often as we would like.

You don’t have to qualify to be a contender in the Trophy Series—you just have to race. Finish a race and you get points.

Place in your age group or win a race and you get even more points. At the end of the series, the top three males and females in each division and the top male and female age-group winners all collect prize packages from our Trophy Series sponsors.

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ome of us love trail running for its solitary Zen qualities. We may even try to suggest we aren’t racers. But after hours of pounding the trails jetting from pine tree to pine tree, our competitive nature inevitably surfaces, and we realize it’s time to rub elbows with other runners. How else can we honestly determine whether or not we’ve been slacking on our favorite lung-busting rocky climb or truly sprinting through the fragrant haze of sage bushes?

Our quest for competition is what makes pinning on a number in the early morning haze, eating half a banana or stale bagel and lining up with kindred spirits at the floured start line of a trail race such a satisfying experience. Sharing the trails with friends, having fun and engaging in some good-natured competition is what the Trail Runner Trophy Series is all about.

female who run in the most Trophy Series races each wins a trip to a week-long running camp at Nipika Mountain Resort in the majestic Canadian Rockies.

This special Trophy Series issue offers a mid-season kick-in-the-pants to keep you racing hard through September. In our special Performance Section, you will find articles about getting back on the trail after being sidelined, Tabata training (a quick, wicked-hard workout that burns calories and builds muscle) and running at night (to keep you logging miles as the days get shorter). For a view into the life of a top-level mountain runner, check out Rickey Gates’ feature about his European racing experiences.

The Sixth Annual Trail Runner Trophy Series, presented by GORE-TEX, is in full swing, and we’re pulling for you. The glory days of summer won’t last forever, so grab your shoes and sign up for a race now.

For more information on the Trail Runner Trophy Series, visit www.trailrunnermag.com. ■

WHEN, WHAT & WHERE: The camp will be held October 8-11, 2009, in Colorado’s stunning Elk Mountains in the height of the fallcolor explosion. For four days you’ll shoot running models in action and work with expert photographers who will provide constant feedback to make each shot better than your last.

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TO ENROLL OR FOR MORE INFORMATION: E-mail draleigh@bigstonepub.com or call 970.704.1442 x26

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1st Annual

A Wet, Wet Road

Personifying Mud As I approach, the Earth broadens its smile to welcome me I’ve reached a place An earthen sea

O my Mud’s on a wet, wet road That’s newly closed in May; O my Mud’s on a slippery path That’s red-orange Georgia clay.

As fair art thou, my bonnie shoes, So deep in Mud am I; But I will scrub thee clean, my dears, Tho’ never may thou dry.

Mud! Its multiple hands groping Engulfing my shoes My back sloping Form is broken Mud! It laughs deep within its throat with each step I take

Till ‘a the trails gang dry, my dears, And snakes sleep in the sun; Then will I splash through Mud, my dears, While all the creeks do run.

I fare weel in darling Mud, The muck I find not vile; And I will run again in Mud, Tho’ it ware ten thousand mile.

Water and dirt I’ve found Hell’s lake Mud! Lactic acid accumulating

—Karen Hayes

Feet sinking

I know

Ah ... Spring Skunks, birds, sage, the snow reveals its bones.

The Great Wheel of Birth and Death turns silently again, my running shoes are muddy.

inov-8!

Mouth blaspheming Mud! Who can save me?

What will make this mud abate?

—Aaron Saft

UNTITLED as your shoes disappear from sight with each foot strike as you see tracks left in wet clay from runs of a previous daze as your feet fight for purchase while your eye searches searching for a common feel on what seems to be a foreign field as you look down the trail you no longer feel sluggish or frail as you grin and enjoy this treat with inov-8 on your feet

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—Kent Gallup

—David Adamson

POETRY EXCERPTS

Four-thirty alarm Up before dawn Rained all night long But I got my iNOV-8’s on Bring it.

—Mann Conrad

Run in the mud with all your might.

Ignore all the crud.

Put up a good fight.

—Barb Klinner

6/9/09 3:23:53 PM

Congratulations to the 10 winners of inov-8 shoes.

Some submissions below are printed in part; visit www.trailrunnermag.com to view complete entries.

PROSE EXCERPTS The day’s stresses now gone as the mud caked to my legs like a cloak protecting me from the corporate grind, I felt one with nature and at peace with myself. The solitude of trail running is what captured the moment, the trail my guide and the mud my addiction.

Find your solitude.

—Troy Kapinos

The air was damp from the recent night’s rain and little did I think about the conditions of the trail. Minutes after the start, I could sense this was going to be an eventful race as the entire field was bottlenecked up a steep incline that was thick with slick muck.

—Chris Bolick

Yes, I love running in the mud so much the words have become interchangeable.

It has been a little over a year I’ve been running in the mud. Last March, I sent Bad Ben a text message. My hand was shaking a little, but I pressed “send.”

“Are you falling in mud with me?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Mud U.” “Mud U, too.

So, from running in the mud a great love was born.

—Sandra Wharton (to Ben)

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Manor Water Hill Race The weather was nearly perfect although once up into the hills there was a chilly breeze coming at us from the west. The ground was soft, with patches of swamp now and again. I noticed on every steep bit of ground I was overtaken by a young lad. Usually chaps of his tender years (the results say “j15”—I've no idea how old this makes him but he did look pleased picking up a beer at prize giving) in general have the grace not to run in hill races and in particular not to show up those of mature years. I thought everyone under 20 stayed indoors all weekend texting, playstationing and being groomed in chat rooms? However I did manage to regain the place every time the track levelled off. This is one of the reasons I like the course: although we are heading up to the top of the (romantically named) Scrape (past the nostalgic Dead Wife's Grave) then returning, the route climbs slowly enough to run all but the last hill, and there are even a couple of downhills on the way up to recover your composure (and re-take positions). ...

Willie is trying to make out why his brother Scott has evolved into a mud-man. Shortly before the end of the race, somewhere in the swampy fields Scott took a flying header into the squelch. He is covered head to toe (even getting a mouthful). ...

After a cup of delicious soup and a filled roll we collected for the prize giving and despite me telling Tony I was no way up for a prize I got a bottle of beer for being seventh. I had done the absolute minimum (with a margin of nine seconds) to win a prize ...

I forgot to say, everyone who crossed the finish line got a bottle of Broughton Ale's most excellent beverage, a treacly brew that would give even the most faint hearted the courage to vault a gate like a proper man. Very tasty and hopefully a tradition to be continued beyond this, the 15th running of an excellent race.

—Peter Buchanon, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK (with permission from the Portobello Running Club)

6/9/09 3:24:34 PM

S p e c ia l P e r f o r m an c e S e c ti o n

TS-

12 The Fabulous 4 (Minutes)

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14 Trail Bloggers

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TRAINING

by Roy Stevenson photo by chris hunter

Comeback Trail

How to regain your trail-running fitness

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t some point in their careers, most runners face periods when they’re forced to stop training due to illness, injury, travel or overriding life priorities. By the time they return to running, their fitness has been significantly reduced. This is called detraining: the partial or complete loss of training-induced physiological adaptations in response to a cessation of a substantial decrease in training load. The subsequent process of regaining one’s former fitness level is called retraining.

8 Comeback Trail

-16 Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh, My!

Test Subjects To understand the process of detraining and retraining, let’s study the experiences of two trail runners, Joe and Sharon.

Joe is a 45-year-old competitive runner with a marathon time of 2:50 and 10K time of 37 minutes. He’s trained consistently for 10 years with few interruptions, until now. Sick with pneumonia and completely bed ridden for three months, he’s finally recovered and ready to resume training.

Sharon, 30, has been trail running for five years, logging 25 to 50 miles a week, and has finished middle-of-the-pack at several 50K and 50-mile ultramarathons.

She just returned from six months of traveling in Asia, during which she did not run but hiked daily.

Both fretted about how much hardearned fitness they had lost and how they faced a long, hard slog to regain it. A few days’ rest or inactivity would not have impaired Joe or Sharon’s performance, but research has shown that after two to three weeks of inactivity, fitness begins to decrease dramatically.

Matters of the Heart During detraining, rapid and dramatic changes occur in the heart, which is the engine driving your endurance. After

T r a i l r u n n e r m a g . c o m August 2009 ts-8

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St rpaei nciinag l performance p e r f o r m a n c e Section Se ct io n Special her race times to slow by about two to five per> When runners stop training completely, or cut back on cent. For ultrarunners ■ workout intensity by one or two thirds (even if they run just who take time off, the as often and as far), their VO2 max drops dramatically. longer the intended race, > If, however, the intensity is unchanged and frequency the more noticeable the ■ and duration is reduced by as much as two thirds, VO2 drop in endurance. max can be maintained for up to 15 weeks.

Sharon’s V02 max de> So, if Sharon had knocked out regular 20- to 30-mincline was less steep than ■ ute tempo runs in Asia (see main text), she would have Joe’s because she had had little decrease in her VO2 max for the first four less fitness to lose and months of her vacation, and would face a much shorter was still active. A study retraining period. of female track athletes > Ultrarunners who want to retain their aerobic fitness ■ who took three months should never stop running (or cross training) completely off after their racing unless they are sick or injured. seasons showed they lost 15 percent of the only four to seven days of no running, VO2 max they had reached during the the heart’s left-ventricle dimensions, race season. This means that Sharon’s wall thickness and mass begin to deaerobic fitness, after six months’ vacacrease, contributing to less blood being tion, has returned to its original level pushed through the heart. of pre-training fitness—she’s lost all her Equally as dramatic are the associated cardiovascular conditioning. reductions in maximal oxygen uptake.

Joe is even worse off. One study found After two to three weeks of detraining, that completely bedridden people lost Sharon’s VO2 max, or maximal oxygen their VO2 max faster than if they were uptake (the body’s ability to process moderately active. This same study oxygen), decreased four percent, causing found that VO2 max declines by a stag-

Dodge the Decline >

gering 27 percent, a reduction of about one percent of VO2 max per day over three weeks. Thus being bedridden encourages a much steeper decline than just being moderately active and not training. And the VO2 max of very fit runners declines more and faster than those who are less fit.

Joe’s sub-maximal heart rate began to decline after the first 20 days of bed rest, and his sub-maximal stroke volume (the amount of blood ejected from his left ventricle with each heart beat) declined 25 percent. His maximal cardiac output (the maximum amount of blood pumped from the heart in one minute) also dropped 25 percent. The result was a decreased ability to transfer oxygenated blood from the lungs to the working muscles and return carbon dioxide to the lungs.

If this isn’t disheartening enough, after two to four weeks of detraining, both Joe and Sharon’s blood volume—and therefore oxygen-carrying capacity— decreased nine percent.

Also, their muscles lost capillaries, the small arteries that deliver oxygen Voted by Colorado Runner as the “Best Half Marathon”

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ining S p e c i a l Performance P e r f o r m a n c e Section Sterca t ion Special

to the working muscles (contributing to lower VO2 levels).

What about Joe and Sharon’s fuel levels?

Glycogen—the fuel stored in muscles and the liver—is a major source of energy for endurance runners. Joe’s glycogen stores decreased by more than 40 percent after four weeks of inactivity, and Sharon’s only slightly less, around 30 percent.

And while Joe and Sharon were not running, they likely lost as much as 43 percent of their slow-twitch (endurance) muscle fibers. The majority of this reduction takes place in the first two to four weeks, but Joe’s loss will be steeper because of his complete inactivity. However, Sharon’s longer running layoff has resulted in a similar loss. Combined with these other myriad changes, Joe and Sharon would find their racing times significantly slower, almost at their pretraining levels.

Retraining Regimen Joe and Sharon’s situations illustrate how critical it is that runners never stop training entirely, even in off-season. Joe, being initially fitter than Sharon, faces a longer,

more difficult battle to regain his lost fitmonths to regain his anaerobic threshold ness. It could take up to six months for and maximal oxygen uptake levels. With Joe to completely retrain, due in part to his mileage base re-established, Joe will his age. Evidence shows it takes longer be ready for speed work by the seventh to retrain as you age, or eighth month. because as we age we Sharon also faces a Evidence shows lose fast-twitch muscle long comeback trail fibers, fiber strength and but has the advantage it takes longer to muscle elasticity. Thus, of not being debilitated retrain as you age, our ability to contract from illness and being our muscles at maximal because as we age younger. Therefore or sub-maximal levels is bounce back in we lose fast-twitch she’ll reduced, especially durthree to four months. muscle fibers, ing aerobic activity.

She can start jogging Joe’s return to traintwo to three miles a fiber strength and ing should be very day, and add a mile to muscle elasticity gradual, because he each run each week. By is completely de-conbuilding up to weekly ditioned and severely debilitated from long runs of two to three hours for the his illness. He should start walking two last two to three months, Sharon will be to three miles, several days each week, ready for an ultra in six months. and gradually add jogging “bursts” of two to three minutes, with a two- to threeRoy Stevenson has a master’s degree in minute recovery walk. He can increase coaching and exercise physiology from his jogging stints by two minutes every Ohio University. He competed in New week, until he is running his former Zealand championships on the track, weekly mileage, which will take four to road and cross country, and has coached six months. It will require a few more hundreds of Seattle-area runners.

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THE SHORT—INTENSE—WORKOUT THAT DELIVERS

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any great things have come from Japan. The Lexus GS, sushi and ninjas are some of my favorites. But one invention outshines them all—Tabata training.

You probably haven’t heard of Tabata training, a short, intense workout that yields inexplicable gains. The method may seem unusual, and like something meant only for extremists or mystical Japanese runners with scraggly three-foot beards that live in the high mountains and scurry up ancient trails without their feet touching the ground.

Don’t worry; it’s not that complicated, and, remember, it wasn’t that long ago that only rebels ate sushi.

What is it?

Way back in the dark ages (1996), Izumi Tabata from the National Institute of Fit-

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ness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan, was searching for a better training protocol for the Japanese speed-skating team.

He eventually hit the jackpot with an unorthodox program, in which participants performed speed skating interval training for 20 seconds at a time alternated with 10-second rest intervals for eight sets—a total of four minutes of training. He compared the results with a more common training regimen of 60 minutes of traditional steady state endurance training.

Participants who used Tabata’s interval technique for six weeks improved their maximum aerobic capacity by 14 percent, compared to 10 percent for the participants training for an extra 56 minutes.

The real gem was that this training also improved anaerobic capacity simultaneously by 28 percent, while the 60-minute group experienced no increase at all!

What does all this mean in English?

Tabata training can improve the results of your cardio training by almost 50 percent according to Tabata’s study.

If that isn’t enough, the kicker is that during those short four minutes, you can actually build muscle at the same time– despite burning calories.

The method is so effective that Alex Koch, Ph.D., an assistant professor of exercise science at Missouri’s Truman State University, says, “The ‘Tabata protocol’— which sounds like it could be a tantric sex act or a secret martial art—deserves its reputation.”

The Quick and Dirty Tabata training is downright simple. As previously mentioned, you perform eight 20-second interval sets, with 10 seconds of rest in between each set.

What’s an interval? It a short burst of intense activity, in our case, a sprint. Warm up for 5 to 10 minutes at an easy pace.

Then, hold on tight, because the next four minutes will be brutal.

Take off in a full-blown sprint, like someone is chasing you, for 20 seconds. Then rest for 10 seconds, then sprint again for 20 seconds. Do eight sets. Perform the routine over relatively flat terrain, or even a treadmill, because the key is speed.

The Rest of the Story Start by doing a weekly Tabata session, and see how quickly you improve. If you’re really hard core, you can even do

Total Body Tabata Strength Training For trail runners, strength training offers injury prevention, body-composition benefits and speed increases. Focus on multi-jointed exercises (e.g. in a dumbbell curl, the only action is at the elbow, while in a squat, you use your knees and hips), and use the power of Tabata training to squeeze more from every rep and cut your training time drastically. Then you will have more time for the trails.

Aim to strength train three days a week.

Every time you work out you’re training your whole body—no need to train arms one day, calves the next, and all that other nonsense that requires you to keep a cot at the gym.

In every workout perform an exercise that pushes and another that pulls horizontally and vertically, and also alternate between squat and dead-lift variations.

Just like your Tabata cardio routine, do as many reps as you can of each exercise for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds and repeat for a total of eight sets. Don’t count reps.

Use about half the weight you would normally use for 10 to 12 reps. Your rest periods are short, so no gabbing or drinking water. > Vertical push exercises. Dumbbell or ■

barbell presses (incline, flat or decline).

Dips are also good push exercises. > Horizontal push exercises. Barbell or ■

dumbbell overhead presses. > Vertical pull exercises. Pullups and chin■

ups, or lat pulldowns. > Horizontal pull exercises. Dumbbell or ■

barbell rows. > Squat or dead-lift exercise. Every ■

workout should also include one of these, alternating between workouts.

Keep a journal of the exercises and weights you use, and remember your body adapts to exercise quickly. Every week or two, try to increase the weight slightly or do more reps in each 20-second period.

Switch up the exercises every week.

For example, if you do dumbbell/barbell presses one week as your horizontal push movement, do barbell incline presses the next week. Also, change the order in which you perform the exercises.

a Tabata session after your regular run.

The workout does not change. Over time, your speed will simply increase, so your sprints become more intense.

If you’re a beginner, start with a single Tabata workout a week. If you’re intermediate, try two at the end of your usual workouts. If you need to outrun the paparazzi, go for three sessions weekly. ■ ts-13 august 2009 T r a i l r u n n e r m a g . c o m

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trail tips

S p e c i a l Performance P e r f o r m a n c e Section Se ct io n Special

TRAIL TIPS

by Sarah Lavender Smith illustration by Jeremy duncan

Trail Bloggers

Find tr aining tips and wack y wisdom on the blogosphere’s virtual trails

T

rail runners make great bloggers. Seeking adventure while spending hours in the quiet company of nature, they spin yarns like Twain and wax philosophical like Thoreau. They sweat the details of their sport and yearn to swap information about it. And they tend have a geek streak.

It’s no wonder so many trail runners have established a presence online to chronicle their experiences and connect with kindred spirits. The search tool Technorati recently counted over 245 blogs tagged for “trail running” and some 5000 postings on the topic. They’re brimming with trail tips, race reports, personal progress, gear gripes and, of course, the meaning of life. But like the idiosyncratic runners themselves, they’re all over the map. Many personal blogs are virtual bogs—unless you really like to read about every mile logged and the runner’s gastrointestinal well being along the way.

Reading blogs can inspire and inform your own training, but fruitlessly searching for worthwhile ones can drain time better spent outdoors. What follows is a guide to 25 hot blogspots. Think of them as virtual trailheads—good starting points to visit frequently—that link to other paths to explore.

News and Reviews Two runners-who-blog have earned reputations as the go-to guys for reliable and timely trail-running news and commentary: Scott Dunlap and Bryon Powell.

Since 2004—a year that could be considered the Renaissance in the medium’s relatively short history—Dunlap’s Trail Run-

ner’s Blog (runtrails.blogspot. com) has maintained a smart balance between journalistic reporting and personal reflections. Powell’s IRunFar (blog. irunfar.com), which took root as a personal blog, has blossomed as a news hub powered by a team that cranks out thoroughly trail-tested gear reviews and race recaps along with lively features.

A couple of full-scale websites (which aren’t really blogs per se) deserve mention because they rely heavily on blogs to create a clearinghouse of trail-running info. While this kitchen-sink approach leads to uneven quality and multiple personalities, the grab bag of content is rarely dull. Trail Running Soul (trailrunningSoul.com) draws on multiple sources for a content package not unlike trail mix—varied ingredients, very filling and easy to digest for running—while Muddy Socks (muddysocks.com), a social networking site, allows its users (including you, if you’re so inclined) to sign in and blog away.

Blogs by Top Dogs Some of the best trail runners make the best bloggers. Here’s where the hardcore reveal their secrets, offer an insider’s perspective and share their pain as they reflect on their “blistering” times.

Case in point: ski-bum-turned-ultraphenom Karl Meltzer (karlmeltzer.com).

With a style like a sportscaster, he handicaps the who’s-who of the trail ultrarunning race circuit and takes readers on his odysseys along the Appalachian Trail or through the Wasatch Mountains. In a similar but more contemplative vein is Anton Krupicka, who could have a second career as a travel writer. His blog, Riding the Wind (antonkrupicka.blogspot.com), transports readers to singletracks near his home base of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and beyond.

For a while, it seemed as though Scott Jurek had abandoned his blog (scottjurek. com/blog), but he was just taking a welldeserved break. His post on the benefits of

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off-season “hibernating” typifies his best writing: personal yet practical, informal yet informative. The same might be said of posts by Andy Jones-Wilkins (ajwsblog. blogspot.com), plus Andy adds an extra shot of humor to his mix of commentary and race reports (for example, search his archives for his satirical open letter to the Western States Board of Trustees).

On the women’s side, a couple of past winners of the 135-mile Badwater—Lisa Bliss (lisabliss.blogspot.com) and Jamie Donaldson (altitudeultrarunner.blogspot. com)—both bring a likeable voice and sharp eye to their posts, while the prolific Devon Crosby Helms (devoncrosbyhelms. com) spices up engaging race reports with details on diet and nutrition influenced by her background as a chef. Blogs by Annette Bednosky (www.annettebednosky.blogspot.com) and Krissy Moehl (web.me.com/krissymoehl) may make you wish you could run with them, too.

Team Spirit Team blogs feature elite runners as guest authors who spread the word

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about upcoming events and industry news. La Sportiva Mountain Running Blog (mountainrun.wordpress.com), Wasatch Speed Goat Mountain Racing Team (www.wasatchspeedgoat.com) and Team Montrail (ultracup.blogspot. com) are all worth a visit.

If teams were judged by their blogs, however, the Rogue Valley Runners (roguevalleyrunners.blogspot.com) might get the gold. Forget about the Ashland Shakespeare Festival; a constellation of ultra stars who blog here make trail running seem like the most dramatic thing happening around Southern Oregon (but the blog’s friendly vibe suggests they don’t take themselves too seriously).

Blogs Less Traveled Several lesser-known but not necessarily less talented trail runners have developed highly readable and reliable blogs—guys like Jean Pommier (fartherfaster.blogspot.com), Adam Blum (coursetrained.blogspot.com) and New Zealand’s Paul Charteris (trailrunz.blogspot.com). While many personal blogs

suffer from bad poetry and Too Much Information, the diary-like postings of Tim Long (www.footfeathers.com) and the Oprah-inspired Julie Berg (julieberg.blogspot.com) may hook you.

Finally, let us now praise not-sofamous blogs for their comic relief. Want to read a Seussical spoof, “Green Skin and Puke,” on why a particular runner deserves a spot in the Barkley 100miler? Then search the archives of Alan Geraldi (endurazone.blogspot.com).

Want to learn how an ER doc copes with delirium while shoehorning ultras in between graveyard shifts and parenting?

Then subscribe to the always-entertaining Mark Tanaka (ultrailnaka.blogspot. com). And if you want a deadpan wit enhanced by offbeat graphics, follow Ken Childress (trailzombie.blogspot. com). He’s a TATUR­ (Tulsa Area Trail & Ultra Runner) who finds lots to laugh at on the trail—and in the mirror.

Sarah Lavender Smith (www.sarahlavendersmith.com/blog) is a Bay Area trail runner and writer.

5/27/09 10:07:57 AM

S p e c i a l Performance P e r f o r m a n c e Section Se ct io n Special

A New way to See in the Dark Wearable hi-output lighting

www.

go m o t i o n G e a r .com

Photo by: Patitucci Photo

Trail Runner LiteVest

Extend the Day™

®

TRAINING

by kevin patrick photo by david clifford

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh, My!

Running at night isn’t as scary as you’d think

I

t was three o’clock in the morning in rural northeast Kansas and, watching two steadily moving lights bobbing on the black horizon, I wondered, “How many UFO sightings are actually just ultrarunners cutting a path through the darkness?”

The two lights belonged to a couple of weary friends making their way around the five-mile loop of the Nathaniel’s Run Ultra on the Prairie Center Trail just outside Olathe, Kansas. Running trails at night is a skill developed primarily through repetition and experience, but you can get a jumpstart by listening to runners who have already spent many a sleepless hour in the dark.

Trail Feel Kansas City Trail Nerds members Ben Holmes and Gary Henry are two such runners.

Holmes, also known as “Bad Ben” for his penchant for both microbrews and running, has completed countless ultramarathons across the country and is the father of the Trail Nerds, which is several hundred runners strong and hosts virtually all of the trail races in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. He

says there is something special about the Trail Nerds’ fivetimes-a-week night runs. Gary Henry, whose sense of humor seems to grow in proportion to the amount of suffering he’s enduring, agrees.

“I enjoy night runs because of the 180-degree contrast to day runs,” says Holmes. “You can just focus on the tunnel of light ahead of you, and run as fast as your legs and lungs allow. It’s the best way

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on on SEE THE LIGHT > Look for “broad-beam” diffuse lighting that walks the fine line of light weight, long battery life and high-lumen output, and uses batteries that you can buy at the grocery store. You don’t want to be trying to find special Z-157A batteries in Ponca, Arkansas, the night before a race. Also, most bike lighting models—although very bright—are heavy and sometimes use proprietary batteries.

to obtain ‘trail feel,’ like you for example, spooking a flock are a part of the trail.” of giant flapping wild turkeys Until you get that feel, off the roost.”

Henry recommends taking Henry recalls a nightprecautions. “Keep your time scare during Colorado’s steps high,” he says. “Even Leadville Trail 100: “Just a with lights, those trip hazfew minutes into the run I ards are hard to see. Some noticed several pairs of green, runners like to carry a glowing eyes peering at me. handheld flashlight in addiI was sure I was going to be tion to a headlamp, but I dragged down and devoured never found it helped and by a mountain lion. Then, like to keep my hands free at first light, I saw the eyes to break falls.” belonged to deer.”

Holmes, however, prefers Odds are that the inanimate using both a handheld and objects—rocks, roots and a headlamp. “A handheld even fallen hedge apples—will needs to be held low and pardo you the most harm (Henry allel to the ground, so it casts a recommends wearing shoes shadow to show the height of with good toe protection). trail obstacles,” he says. “It’s But there are occasions when amazing how you’ll encounfast you can ter exactly NIGHT RUNNING TIPS run at night what you > Run with a group. using this techfear. Holmes > Always let someone know nique. And I recalls during where you’re going. set my headWashington’s > Use a headlamp and/or lamp on ‘low, 2007 Cascade hand-held flashlight. broad beam’ to Crest 100, “I > Wear shoes with good best see trail spotted sometoe protection. > Focus on the trail ahead. markers and thing moving > Keep your steps higher low-hanging to my left. It than usual. branches.” was a huge > Stay calm.

But even black bear, with proper staring at me lighting, Holmes says the and my bright set of lights. All most essential tool is your I could muster was a muffled own power of concentration. ‘hi,’ whereupon he sauntered “Focus, focus, focus. Keep back into the woods.” your eyes on the trail,” he says. “If you look anywhere Safety In Numbers other than straight ahead, Henry also advises that you you’ll go down.” run with a group, at least when you’re learning. Not only is Stay Cool it safer in case of an injury, “Night running reincarit gives you more confidence. nates your primordial id and “And start on an easy, familiar brings out your fight-or-flight trail,” he adds. “Always tell instincts,” says Holmes. “Occasomeone where you’re going sionally, you’ll have adrenalineto be, and, above all, enjoy the producing wildlife encounters, spooky strangeness!” ■ ts-17 August 2009 T r a i l r u n n e r m a g . c o m

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on a shoestring confessions of a vagabond runner: racing on the european mountainrunning circuit, with a pair of shoes, bike panniers and two wheels.

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why europe? because the alps are to mountain running what university of oregon’s hayward field is to the 5000 meters—a mecca, of sorts, where the culture runs thick and people just seem to ... get it.

mid-july

30 miles from lublijana, slovenia,

I hear an accordion in the distance, echoing the remembrance of a dream.

I’m above treeline and people are scattered about, shouting at me in a language I do not understand. Behind me, the lush, green valley of gushing springs and gnarled trees falls off 3000 feet to the valley floor where the race had started only three miles earlier. I have to climb another 400 feet before I reach halfway.

For the first time in my life, I’m wishing for a louder accordion because, according to the Doppler effect, a louder accordion could only mean closer proximity. Three hundred vertical feet to go. Looking back down the rocky slope, I can see the Pole in second place, only a few hundred feet back. A jolt of adrenaline hits me and for a moment I

forget the accordion. I forget the 30-percent incline. I forget about trying to understand what the spectators are yelling. I forget where I am, what month it is, what shoes I’m wearing and who I should be missing, so far away from home.

One hundred vertical feet to go. Coercing my body to lengthen the gap between me and the Pole, I call myself awful names.

Names I wouldn’t utter in a barroom fight ... if I were the fighting type. The accordion is getting louder. More spectators.

“Bravo!” then, “Dajmo!” “Pojdi!” Upon reaching the halfway point I’m disappointed to find the accordion in the hands of a non-descript Slovenian man rather than the devilish jester I had conjured. We exchange looks of confusion, and I begin to suspect that he would be up here playing his polka with or without the other

600 runners who would pass by him.

Looking back at the Pole, I see a pale visage of despair. Though I still have another 3000 vertical feet to climb in just under three miles I know that it is now only a race between me and Grintovec—a mountain that cares not about how many miles I ran back in January, what I ate for dinner last night or how much money is at stake.

For a second consecutive summer, I find myself in the heart of the Alps, living out of a backpack (well, panniers anyway) and racing every weekend. Friends back home ask me, Why Europe? There’s mountains in Colorado. There’s races in Colorado. Why not stay here? Because the Alps are to mountain running what University of Oregon’s Hayward Field is to the 5000 meters—a mecca, of sorts, where the culture runs thick and people just seem to ... get it. Here, I have a dozen choices of races in a half dozen countries on any given weekend. I come to the Alps because here I am not considered crazy. A couple screws loose, sure, but that seems to be about average.

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OPENING SPREAD: Runners climbing and descending Pen-y-Ghent at the 2008 World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge (The Yorkshire 3 Peaks), England.

FAR LEFT: The Italian Marco Gaiardo (aka The Dead Dog) on the spectacular final section of the 2008 Grossglockner race, Austria.

CENTER: The start of the senior women’s race at the 2006 European Mountain Running Championships in the Czech Republic. The eventual winner was Anna Pichrtova (#16).

RIGHT: Ricky Gates, Jonathan Wyatt and Martin Cox at 2008 Grossglockner race awards presentation.

Early August telfes, austria

I arrived several nights ago after riding my bike for three days, from the Julian Alps in Slovenia into Italy. I rode through the limestone monoliths known as the Dolomites and finally crossed up into the political peninsula of western Austria. I camped where I could for free, which included a streamside cave, the rough on the ninth hole on a golf course and the end of a dead-end road in a Slovenian mountain park.

Though I have been stretching and massaging my legs for two days now, they seem unwilling to make the switch from biking to running, which I knew in advance would be a risk in riding the bike so much. I resort to the wine-bottle leg roller—I roll my leg with the full weight of my body over the bottle (generally it’s best to consume some of the wine first to soften the pain).

The race director, Ernst Kunst, asks if I’ve decided to bike from race to race this year for extra training. Half jokingly, I turn the insides of my pockets out, revealing nothing more than lint and a couple of ibuprofen pills.

“Not for training,” I say. “For no money.”

The other half of the truth is that I am interested in seeing more of the Alps. Racing once a week allows me six days to do what I want. I decided to bike for three of these days and run for the other three. If the distance from Grintovec to Telfes proves to be more than the 200 or so miles that I can handle in a few days’ time, then I simply put my bike on the train and finish by rail.

The other runners have been filing in throughout the past couple days, filling the two hotels that Ernst has provided for the elite athletes. Already I have seen the pale-faced Pole, a Frenchman by the name

of Georges who punctuates his English sentences with “oui,” and runners from the Czech Republic, UK, Slovenia and Switzerland. Being a Grand Prix race, the competition will be much more fierce than the Slovenian race, as stronger runners travel from farther away not only to compete for money but points as well.

ten years ago, wanting a greater cohesion for the sport of mountain running, a small group of enthusiasts—primarily race directors—started the Grand Prix, which took place in four countries: Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. They designed the Grand Prix after the Alpine Skiing World Cup, and runners are awarded 100 points for first, 90 for second and on down for each of five races. In October, the Grand Prix culminates with a final race and an overall winner.

One of the last runners to arrive is the mountain-running poster boy himself, Jonathan Wyatt of New Zealand. On the flyer for this race Wyatt, 35, is pictured approaching the finish in his machine-like stride, arms pumping like the driving arm of a locomotive, his head turned down, focused four feet in front of him and not a competitor in sight. Nobody deserves the spotlight more than he, as his name is found in nearly every course description in the European mountain-running world: “CR: Jonathan Wyatt.” If the name next to the course record is somebody other than Wyatt’s, it is unlikely that he has run the course.

In the hotel lobby, on my way out for a run, I encounter “Jono,” who is just coming back from one.

“How’s the riding been going, Rickey?” he asks. i tell him about sleeping

in caves and on golf courses and mention the fatigue in my legs.

“Ha, ha, ha! Yeah, all right.” He laughs a stunted Kiwi laugh. “Be careful biking too much,” he warns me. “It makes you stronger for a bit, yeah, but it can catch up with you just as quick.”

He excuses himself as he always does— by narrating his next move, then clicking his tongue as you would to spur a horse.

“Well, I’m off to get some ice cream, all right, click, click.”

Wyatt’s first mountain race was in 1998, amid a track season in Europe. At the time he was traveling by train from Milan to Stockholm to Munich with a backpack that contained an all-black uniform, a change of clothes, two pairs of trainers and a pair of spikes. Ten years and two Olympic teams later (5000 meters in Atlanta, marathon in Athens), he is traveling from his new home in the Dolomites to small ski towns scattered throughout the Alps. The Grand Prix comprises a mere third of the races that he runs from May through October.

Wyatt is as much the gold standard for mountain running as Michael Phelps has become for swimming. Like a Swiss train, you can set your watch to him and be within seconds of the hour. In a sport where distances, vertical gain, competition and severity of the terrain can fluctuate greatly from course to course, a unit of measurement seems to follow him wherever he goes—Minutes Behind Jono (MBJ). To be five MBJ is to be one of the top mountain runners in any given European country. To be three MBJ is to be top 10 in the world.

On American soil, New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Road Race has long been used as a similar gage. In 1999, the long-time undisputed king of American mountain running, Matt Carpenter, ran nearly one minute faster than any other American with a time of 59:16. Five years later, despite fog, rain and 30 mph wind gusts, Wyatt would break the course record with a time of 56:41.

the race makes a small tour

of Telfes before climbing steeply up the ski area towering above. Wyatt has likely finished by now as the well-thatched pelt of Marco Gaiardo brushes past me as we make for the final ascent to the finish. Il Cani Morti, his teammates call him: The Dead Dog. It’s all I can think about, looking up the hill at him. Mesmerized by the thickness of the TS-21 August 2009 T r a i l r u n n e r m a g . c o m

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mountain●running●resources hair on his arms, shoulders and neck, I begin questioning the moniker Dead Dog. Why not Woolly Mammoth or the Hirsute Mufloni? The mind will wander to some amazing places in order to pretend that the body is not suffering.

Race the same people long enough and you get to know their strengths and weaknesses. You get to know every aspect of their stride, how they breathe, how long one of their surges might last and, if you are lucky, you get to know what their skeleton dance looks like. Gaiardo looks back. He looks back again to see me 10 meters closer. At the tape, Il Cani Morti grows and expands like a puffer fish as I try to squeeze past ... but, alas, I have to settle for third.

The event continues in the school gymnasium well into the night with beers and schnapps. Wyatt, Kunst, some Brits, myself and 30 runners from the Czech Republic gather in a circle around a keg of Czech beer that was brought on their bus as an offering.

Kunst invites runners here year after year—young, old, fast, slow—just to see them each make their way to the top of the course. A guitar is playing, Kunst is yodeling and the color of his cheeks and nose is approaching the tint of the merlot in his glass. An excess of muscles spills out of every orifice of his polo shirt. Triceps, biceps, deltoids and sternocleido-mastoids.

He puts his massive arm around me like an elephant trunk and says, “You know why I like zis sport? Because before ze race you are friends,” waving his other hand about the room, a trail of wine following in its path.

“After ze race you are friends. But during ze

race”—the trunk releases me and punctuates his remark with an uppercut through the air—“how you can fight!”

i pedal away late in the morning

with a hangover that could split the pavement in front of me. My third-place finish earned me enough euros to take a left turn at the edge of town, downhill with the wind at my back to the train station in Innsbruck only 15 miles away. The right-hand turn that I was dreading would have taken me 30 miles up to the top of Brenner Pass before I could begin the long and slow descent into Italy.

At an internet cabin in Innsbruck, while waiting for my train to depart, I find a note from the illustrious British mountain runner Martin Cox, containing all of the information that I need in order to take over his flight from Bergamo, Italy to Oslo, Norway, three days from now. Due to a nagging problem with his calf and not being able to run the very steep pitches that Norway is renowned for, Martin has insisted I go in his place. His initial suggestion was to simply use his ticket and passport, thus avoiding the 100-euro name-change fee. I suggested that this might not be the best solution since we look nothing alike. More important, I told him about my long history of failed Monty Python impersonations. No, my British accent would not even fool a Norwegian customs official.

When I arrived at the first race of the season last summer, admittedly clueless in Europe’s mountain-running scene, Martin took me under his wing and taught me the ways of the vagabond runner. I hadn’t realized at the time that I was to be traveling

● World Mountain Running Association (Grand Prix and World Mountain Running Championships organizing committee); many European races listed here: www.wmra.info ● United States Teva Mountain Running Team: www.usmrt.com

from race to race with one of the legends of European mountain running, despite his blatant admission as such. “I’ve got my fingers on the pulse,” he’d say to me. With over 10 summers of racing in the Alps, Martin has accrued no less than 50 wins. Race directors know him for his speed, temper and occasional dyed-blond hair.

From Martin I learned that a bag of chips and a can of beer can make a complete meal, that the complimentary hotel shampoo is all you need to wash your socks in the bathroom sink and which race directors to ask for travel assistance. Last, Martin taught me about the “worst type of people.”

“Fell runners [English mountain runners] are the worst type of people,” he said.

“But I thought you told me that the Bavarians were the worst type of people.”

“I said the Bavarians are the worst type of Germans,” he replied.

“Oh, then what about the Swiss Germans?”

“They’re horrible, indeed. Worse than the Bavarians. But they aren’t German.”

I never really did find out who was the worst type of person, since they all seemed to have fallen under the category at some point or another.

For the next six weeks, we made our way from one race to the next. With a few words to each race director he would arrange for us both free entrance into the race, free

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he saw in me a young, fresh heart with a résumé not unlike his own. curriculum vitae: no job, no wife, no home, abnormal and unconventional lifestyle and, last, a willingness to earn your meal in the ageold fashion of simply running it down.

lodging, three meals a day and occasionally a small sum of money for travel expenses.

I often wondered how he benefited from including me in the scene. One more decent runner meant the possibility of him finishing one more place back in the prize purse, and I knew Martin needed the money. As a grassroots sport, mountain running needs its shoestring athletes no less than it needs the race directors, aficionados or Olympians. At 39, Martin is nearing the end of his years as a handto-mouth professional runner. He saw in me a young, fresh heart with a résumé not unlike his own. Curriculum Vitae: no job, no wife, no home, abnormal and unconventional lifestyle and, last, a willingness to earn your meal in the age-old fashion of simply running it down.

Mid-August turtagrø, norway

If Martin failed to warn me about the Norwegians being the worst type of people, it’s only because he figured the race courses

and rules already implied it. The course is as steep as Grintovec but the rain is impossibly cold and the obligatory fivepound backpack gets heavier with every agonizing step up the trail, which starts at sea level and finishes at 6000 feet. The race is just over five miles long. Despite his age, 44-year-old Jon Tvedt wins these races in his home country by as much as 15 minutes. The two-minute lead that he maintains on me today keeps him out of sight. When I finish second to him, I am consoled by the Norwegians, who insist that the man is hardly human.

Mid-September crans-montana, switzerland

If there was any discussion of the lack of vertical or the amount of pavement to be found on the World Mountain Running Trophy course, it has been lost amid the steel-gray drizzle, the gasping for air, the perfectly planted rows of pinot noir bulging for the harvest and the ever-present thwopping of the helicopter blades just

overhead. Still early enough in the race, the unbroken stream of runners works its way up the mountain—red, green, white, yellow, blue, black jerseys from 39 countries. With the strongest men’s team ever represented by the United States, I find myself in the top fifth of the field, within meters of all five of my teammates’.

Immediately ahead of me is Eric Blake, 29, propelled upward by the massive and muscular legs that have earned him the moniker “Quadzilla.” Just behind me are two of the three first-year members—Zack Freudenber, 30, of St. Louis, Missouri, and Matthew Byrne, 33, of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Leading the American team is its youngest member, Joseph Gray, 24, of Lakewood, Washington. Having raced Joe no less than five times in the past year, I know that his clamorous, college sense of humor gets turned off entirely for the race. His statuesque frame is the vehicle for a long and elegant stride.

Last, just behind Joe is Simon Gutierrez, 42, of Alamosa, Colorado (see “Mountain Master,” February 2008, Issue 50). Simon, more than any runner I know, has had a legitimate “career” in running: 25 years of road, cross-country, track and mountain running. A week ago, Simon won the Masters World Mountain Running Trophy for a second consecutive year. And now, for a seventh year, he is bounding up the mountain, not unlike the Jack Russell terrier he left back in Colorado.

At the first and longest of three plateaus on the course, Joe and I take the lead for the Americans, maintaining line-of-sight UPPER LEFT: Steep action at the 2006 European Mountain Running Championships, Czech Republic.

CENTER: Paul Low (USA) finishing the 2006 World Mountain Running Trophy in Bursa, Turkey.

ABOVE: Rickey Gates on the final section of the 2008 Grossglockner Race.

TS-23 August 2009 T r a i l r u n n e r m a g . c o m

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contact with Wyatt and 10 others determined to stay within reach. I concentrate on running close behind Joe, knowing that his recent college track background in the steeplechase will provide him with a pace worth matching. Overexertion causes my vision to blur, which I don’t bother to correct. I just try to enjoy this distilled moment of few ingredients and precise mechanics—legs, arms, heart and lungs, pumping, driving, in, out, up and down. From the periphery of my stainedglass vision protrude rhythmically the pale pistons of my legs.

My mind wanders back to the days immediately following Telfes when, just as Wyatt had warned, the miles on my bike, the number of races, the numerous beds and make-shift campgrounds finally caught up with me. I found myself needing more sleep to run fewer miles at a dwindling pace.

I did what any running fool would do in my situation and doubled my weekly mileage.

Although it took over three weeks, the miles slowly brought my body back to life.

I pull ahead of Joe as the flat pavement ends and the singletrack begins, hoping that he will follow my lead. With the amount of rain that has fallen and the number of runners that have trodden this trail already today, I pray that my shoes

will stick to the greasy corners and offtime,” says Simon. We unanimously agree camber straightaways. The exhaust from a that he will forever be the caretaker of the helicopter fills the forest like a phantom, heavy metal trophy. morphing into billowing clouds, one after another, into the still, cold air.

As I turn a corner, I catch a glimpse of southern germany the furry Italian disappearing behind the Two weeks have passed since the World next bend. I get closer and closer until I Trophy as I bike through the cold Bavaram finally matching his pace only a stride ian rain on my way to the final race of behind. I know that I should be thinking the season where I will face Il Cani Morti about the race, but of course I’m thinking yet again. My panniers seem to be lighter about his nickname. The only thing to take somehow, despite the addition of a medal my mind off it is the swelling of spectators that marks the third time the American as we enter the final kilometer.

Mountain Running Team has earned a spot The crowd is three people deep, and they on the podium—a first for the men. are playing accordions, blowing horns and When I finally arrive in Bergen, the race swinging pumpkin-sized Swiss cowbells. director, Bibi, welcomes me into his home.

The cowbells are in fact so large that they As I’m peeling off my soaking clothes he must be swung between the legs like a tells me about the American mountain runchild rolling a bowling ball. “Dai, dai! Allez! ner, Jay Johnson, who was invited to stay Bravo! Soupair! Hup, hup, hup! Go, go!” for a few days after he won the World TroJust behind Il Cani Morti, I cross the finphy in 1989. He stayed for six weeks. ish line in 12th place, and wait anxiously for I suspect that Jay saw the same thing that my teammates. In rapid succession they file I see now—a mountain range that has crethrough. The six of us gather near the finish ated a thousand different cultures with a line waiting for a word from the officials conthousand different histories, all of them firming the team’s finishing place. With the convening on the mountain top. race still in full effect, an official leans out of a van full of computers and video monitors Last year, at 26, Rickey Gates became and says just one word: “Third.” the first to win both the USATF Trail and RunRabbitRunCORunAd09:Layout 1 1/13/09 “I’ve been waiting for this for a long Mountain Running titles.11:53 AM Page 1

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> WHAT? 123 races divided into two categories: Marathon and Longer, Non Marathon (less than 26 miles). > WHO? Finish any Trophy Series race and you’re automatically entered. Win bonus points for finishing in the top three (Marathon and Longer) or winning your age group (Non Marathon).

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FOOT&LOWER LEG ACHES & PAINS

TROPHY SERIES RACES Creemore Vertical Challenge 25K, 50K; Creemore, ON, Canada; Pierre_Marcoux@hcm.honda.com; www.ouser.org

08/08

Dirty Girls Trail Race 6H, 12H, 24H; Mansfield, ON, Canada; heydiane@ dirtyrunnerproductions.com; www.dirtygirlsrun.com

07/04 Kelly Canyon Trail Challenge 3M, 5M, 10M; Idaho Falls, ID; Info@PB-Performance.com; www.PB-Performance.com

08/08

Jupiter Peak Steeplechase 16M; Park City, UT; heinrichdeters@ yahoo.com; www.mountaintrails.org

07/04

07/04

Sinister 7 Ultra + Relay 90M; Blairmore, AB, Canada; info@ sinister7.com; www.sinister7.com

07/04

STooPID Run 5M North Vernon, IN; Brian09@DINOseries.com; www.DINOseries.com

07/05

Summer Roundup Trail Run 12K; Colorado Springs, CO; raceinfo@ pikespeakmarathon.org; www.summerroundup.com

07/11

Brian Waterbury Memorial Rock To Pier Fun Run 6M; Morro Bay, CA; ksweeny@morro-bay.ca.us; www.leaguelineup. com/rock2pier

07/11 07/11 07/13 07/14 07/18 07/18

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07/23

Dances With Dirt - Devil’s Lake 50K, 50M, 100K; Baraboo, WI; events@runningfit.com; www.danceswithdirt.com Wildest Run In The West - 100K 100K; Foresthill, CA; glenn. carnahan@yahoo.com; www.wildestrun.com Laurel Highlands Ultra 50K, 70.5M; Ohiopyle, PA; rick.freeman1@ verizon.net; www.laurelultra.com Wolf Run 7 Miler 7M; Kingsport, TN; markskelton@markskelton. com; www.RunTriCities.org Kendall Mountain Run 13.1M; Silverton, CO; info@silvertonevents. com; www.KendallRun.com

08/08 Mt Disappointment 50/50 Endurance Race 50K, 50M; Angeles National Forest, CA; gary@mtdisappointment50k.com; www. mtdisappointment50k.com 08/09 Haulin’ Aspen Trail Marathon And Half Marathon 13.1M, 26.1M; Bend, OR; haulinaspen@freshairsports.com; www. freshairsports.com/events/haulin_aspen/index.php 08/15

Northstar at Tahoe Nirvana Mountain Trail Run 10K; Truckee, CA; info@scarsports.com

08/15

Tahqua Trail 25K 10K, 25K; Paradise, MI; info@greatlakesendurance. com; www.greatlakesendurance.com

08/22 5 Peaks Trail Run - Whistler Blackcomb 5.6K, 10.8K; Vancouver, BC, Canada; info@5peaks.com; www.5peaks.com 08/22

Bulldog 25K/50K Ultra Run 25K, 50K; Calabasas, CA; bulldogultra@ yahoo.com; www.trailrunevents.com

08/22 Lean Horse Hundred & Half Hundred 50M, 100M; Hot Springs, SD; leanhorse@rushmore.com; www.leanhorse.com 08/22 Mt Madonna Challenge 6K, 12K; Gilroy, CA; allan@svrchome. org; www.svrchome.org/mtmadonnachallenge 08/22

Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Runs 50K 50M 100M, Lake Tahoe NV, trt50k50m@sbcglobal.net, www.tahoemtnmilers.org/trt50

Springmaid Splash Xstream Races 10K; Spruce Pine, NC; matthollifield@mitchellraces.com; www.mitchellraces.com

08/22

Teva Paint Mines 6K 6K; Calhan, CO; trlrunner@aol.com; www. trailrunner.com

Taos Ski Valley 10K Up And Over Trail Run 10K; Taos Ski Valley, NM; info@taosskivalley.com; www.taosskivalley.com/trailrun

08/23

Bramble Scramble 15K, 30K; Williston, VT; eric@catamountoutdoor. com; www.catamountoutdoor.com

08/29

Moose Mountain Trail Races 16K, 29K, 42K; Bragg Creek, AB, Canada; jen.silverthorn@shaw.ca; www.moosetrailraces.com Bergen Peak 11.5M; Evergreen, CO; pshea@evergreenrecreation. com; www.evergreenrecreation.com

07/25 Rock Creek Trail Series Night Run 5M, 10M, 20M; Ozawkie, KS; wlambert@greatplainsrunning.com; www. greatplainsrunning.com 07/26

Original Bare Buns Fun Run 5K; Loon Lake, WA; bbfr5k@aol. com; www.kaniksufamily.com

09/05

08/01

Burning River 100 Mike Endurance Run 100M; Willoughby Hills, OH; info@burningriver100.org; www.burningriver100.org

09/05 Grand Teton 50 & 100 50M, 100M; Alta, WY; info@tetonraces. com; www.tetonraces.com

08/01

LaSportiva Eldora Trail 10K 10K; Nederland, CO; info@ digdeepsports.com; www.digdeepsports.com

09/05 Meeteetse Absaroka Challenge 5K, 10K, 15K; Meeteetse, WY; meetrec@tctwest.net; www.meetrec.org

08/01

Legend 5M, 10M; Laingsburg, MI; events@runningfit.com; www.runlegend.com

09/05 Vasque DINO Trail Run Series - Town Run 5K, 15K; Indianapolis, IN; Brian09@DINOseries.com; www.DINOseries.com

08/01

North Face® Canadian Death Race 125K; Grande Cache, AB, Canada; www.canadiandeathrace.com

09/06 Breck Crest 5M, 13.1M, 22.5M; Breckenridge, CO; westy@ mavsports.com; www.mavsports.com

08/01

Squaw Mountain Run 3.6M; Truckee, CA; squawmountainrun@ gmail.com; www.squawmountainrun.com

09/06 Grand Teton Trail Marathon 26.2M; Alta, WY; info@tetonraces. com; www.tetonraces.com

E S T. 1 9 9 9

T R A I L R U N N E R M A G . C O M AUGUST 2009 TS-26

T

E S T. 1 9 9 9

p.TS-26-27 Race Calendar 60.indd 26

6/9/09 3:29:56 PM

Trophy series races 09/06 Walk In The Park 18-36-54K 18K, 36K, 54K; Kamloops, BC, Canada; witp@shaw.ca; www.members.shaw.ca/witp 09/07 American Discovery Trail Marathon And Half Marathon 13.1M, 26.2M; Palmer Lake/Colorado Springs, CO; wulfkuhle@yahoo. com; www.adtmarathon.com 09/12 5 Peaks Trail Run - Canmore Nordic Centre 6.8K, 11.5K, 21K; Calgary, AB, Canada; info@5peaks.com; www.5peaks.com 09/12

5 Peaks Trail Run - Horseshoe Resort 4.6K, 9.8K 21K; Toronto, ON,

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09/12 Haliburton Forest 100Mile Trail Race, 50M/50K/25K Options 26K, 50K, 50M, 100M; Haliburton, ON, Canada; helen.malmberg@ dhltd.com; www.ouser.org 09/19 12-Hour Adventure Trail Run 12H; Triangle, VA; Alexp@ athletic-equation.com; www.athletic-equation.com 09/19 Bays Mountain Trail Race 15M; Kingsport, TN; markskelton@ markskelton.com; www.RunTriCities.org 09/19

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Iroqouis Trails 50, 100 and 100 Relay 50M, 100M; Virgil, NY; ian@ fingerlakesrunningcompany.com; www.IroquoisTrails100.com

09/19 Odyssey Trail Running Rampage 13M, 26.2M, 40M; Clifton Forge, VA; info@OARevents.com; www.OARevents.com 09/19 Sombrero Trail Run 4.5M; Estes Park, CO; matt@bolderboulder.

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10K, 13.1M, 50K, 50M; Washington, Dc, DC; endurancechallenge@ hawkeyeww.com; www.challenge.thenorthface.com 09/20 Boulder Marathon 13.1M, 26.2M; Boulder Colorado, CO; info@ bouldermarathon.com; www.bouldermarathon.com 09/20 Lead King Loop Charity Races 2.5K, 12.5K, 25K; Marble, CO; macek57@hotmail.com; www.leadkingloop25k.com 09/20 Rock Cut Hobo Run 25K; Rockford, IL; larrydswanson@

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envirosports.com; www.envirosports.com/events/event. php?eventid=2324 09/26 Birkie Trail Run, Relay And Trek 13.1M, 26.2M, 5K, 13.1M; Hayward, WI; ned@birkie.com; www.birkie.com 09/26 Great Eastern Endurance Run 13.1M, 50K, 100K, Charlottesville VA rungillrun@comcast.net www.badtothebone.biz n

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TS-27 August 2009 T r a i l r u nRESEARCH-PROVEN nermag.com

p.TS-26-27 Race Calendar 60.indd 27

RECOVERY

6/3/09 12:15:54 PM

Pacific/Desert USA RUN AZ 4740 E. Warner Rd Ste 2 Phoenix, AZ SUMMIT HUT 5045 E Speedway Tucson, AZ RUNNING SHOP 3055 N Campbell #153 Tucson, AZ

Ma g a z in e a n d the G ORE-TE X® b rand In v it e y ou t o St op in b ef ore or a f t er y ou r ra ce t o ch eck ou t t h e l at est in G ORE-TE X® g ea r at t h ese fine st ores

FORWARD MOTION SPORTS 432 Hartz Ave Danville, CA TRANSPORTS 6014 Collge Ave Oakville, CA MEL COTTONS SPORTING GOODS 1266 W San Carlos St. San Jose, CA RUNNING REVOLUTION 511 E Campbell Ave Campbell, CA MAGIC SPORTS 1024 Oak Grove Ave Burlingame, CA FUTURE TRACK RUNNING CENTER 30125 Agoura Road Ste A Agoura Hills, CA EUGENE RUNNING COMPANY 116 Oakway Center Eugene, OR Seattle Running Company 911 E. Pine St Seattle, WA 98122

SHORTT SUPPLY COMPANY 1414 12th Street Hood River, OR FOOT ZONE OF BEND 845 Wall St Bend, OR FLEET FEET SPORTS 19685 E State Route 410 Bonney Lake, WA SOUND SPORTS 80 Madison Street Seattle, WA SOUTH SOUND RUNNING 1736 Pacific Ave Tacoma, WA SMALL CHANGES 1418 Nw 53rd Street Seattle, WA

MOUNTAIN OUTFITTERS 112 S. Ridge Street Breckenridge, CO SKI HAUS 1457 Pine Grove Road Steamboat Springs, CO COLORADO RUNNING COMPANY 833 N Tejon Ave Colorado Springs, CO RUNNERS ROOST 107 E Bijou Colorado Springs, CO BOULDER RUNNING COMPANY 3659 Austin Bluffs Pkwy Colorado Springs, CO

FIRST ENDURANCE 8027 Top Of The World Dr Salt Lake City, UT

INDEPENDENCE RUN & HIKE 995 Cowan Drive #101 Carbondale, CO

FOOT PURSUIT 4324 Cochran St Simi Valley, CA

UTE MOUNTAINEER 308 S. Mill Street Aspen, CO

RED MOUNTAIN OUTFITTERS 1275 E Red Mountain Circle Ivins, UT

SUMMIT CANYON MOUNTAINEERING 307 8th Street Glendwood Springs, CO

ECLIPSE RUNNING 960 W Moana Ln Reno, NV

BANDANNA RUNNING 504 W Main St Boise, ID

FLEET FEET SPORTS - CARSON CITY 3246 N Carson St #121 Carson City, NV

RED ROCK RUNNING COMPANY 7350 W Cheyenne Ste 101 Las Vegas, NV

ROCKIES USA WILDERNESS SPORTS 266 Summit Place Silverthorne, CO

GORETEX spread.indd 28

MONT-BELL 1755 28th Street Boulder, CO

FOOT PURSUIT 4324 Cochran St Simi Valley, CA

VILLAGE RUNNER 217 N Stephanie St #C Henderson, NV

experience more...

TRAILHEAD 707 Hwy 24 North Buena Vista, CO

RUNNERS ROOST 1685 S. Colorado Blvd Denver, CO

SHU’S IDAHO RUNNING COMPANY 1758 W State St Boise, ID FLEET FEET SPORTS - COEUR D’ALENE 511 E Sherman Ave Coeur D’alene, ID MOUNTAIN SPORTS - CASPER 543 S Center Casper, WY WILD IRIS MTN SPORTS 333 W Main St Lander, WY FOOT OF THE ROCKIES CHEYENNE 1740 Dell Range Blvd Cheyenne, WY

6/3/09 3:52:52 PM

Retail Stores in or near T rophy Series T owns SANGRE DE CRISTO MTNWORKS 328 S Guadalupe, Ste I Santa Fe, NM

RUNNING WITH E’S 146 N Main St Adrian, MI

ATHLETES EDGE 7120 Wyoming Blvd Suite 15 Albuquerque, NM

ROCK CREEK OUTFITTERS 4250 Benton Dr Ste D Chattanooga, TN

RUNNING HUB 527 W Cordova Rd Ste B Santa Fe, NM

RIVER SPORTS OUTFITTERS 2918 Sutherland Knoxville, TN

SPORTZ OUTDOOR 6915 Montgomery Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM ABQ RUNNING SHOP 12611 Montgomery Blvd Ne #A6b Albuquerque, NM WHITE MOUNTAIN OUTDOOR STORE 2810 Sudderth Dr #B & C Ruidoso, NM

HEARTLAND USA UNIVERSAL SOLE 3052 N Lincoln Ave Chicago, IL RS EDGE LIBERTYVILLE 111 E Cook LibErtyville, IL GREAT PLAINS RUNNING CO 5967 SW 29th Street Ste #250 Topeka, KS RUNNING FIT 42 Enterprise Drive Ann Arbor, MI TOTAL RUNNER 29207 Northwestern Hwy Southfield, MI DOWN WIND SPORTS 308 Shelden Houghton, MI

OUTDOOR EXPERIENCE 136 S Walnut Ave Cookeville, TN CLEAR WATER OUTDOOR 744 West Main St Lake Geneva, WI FOX VALLEY RUNNING CO 3404 West College Ave Appleton, WI BERKELEY RUNNING COMPANY 3234 University Avenue Madison, WI MOUNTAIN HIGH OUTFITTERS HUNTSVILLE 300 Bridge St Ste 120 Huntsville, AL TRAIL STORE 1321 Herr Ln, Ste 185 Louisville, KY RUN WALK SHOP 317 S Ashland Ave Lexington, KY LUKES LOCKER HOUSTON 1953 W Gray Blvd Houston, TX ATHLETIC ANNEX RUNNING CE 1411 W 86th St Indianapolis, IN

PLAYMAKERS 2299 W Grand River Okemos, MI

FT WAYNE OUTFITTERS & BIKE DEPOT 1004 Cass St Fort Wayne, IN

APEX OUTDOOR GEAR 4222 29th St E Kentwood, MI

BOB RONCKER’S RUNNING SPOT 1993 Madison Rd Cincinnati, OH

GORETEX spread.indd 29

FRONTRUNNER COLUMBUS 1344 W Lane Ave Columbus, OH SECOND SOLE ATHLETIC FOOTWEAR - CLV 5114 Mayfield Rd Lyndhurst, OH SECOND SOLE OF YOUNGSTOWN 755 BoardmanCanfield Rd Youngstown, OH VERTICAL RUNNER 134 N Main St Hudson, OH TRIATHLETE STORE 3570 Bainbridge Rd Cleveland Heights, OH

EAST USA MARATHON SPORTS 255 Washington St Norwell, MA MARATHON SPORTS 1638 Beacon St Brookline, MA MARATHON SPORTS 1654 Massachusetts Ave Cambridge, MA MARATHON SPORTS 671 Boylston St Boston, MA MAINE RUNNING COMPANY 563 Forest Ave Portland, ME RUNNERS EDGE 242 Main St Farmingdale, NY FLEET FEET SPORTS 3453 Erie Blvd East Dewitt, NY AARDVARK SPORTS SHOP 571 Main St Bethlehem, PA ELITE RUNNERS & WALKERS 5992 Steubenville Pike Mckee Rocks, PA CHARLOTTESVILLE RUNNING COMPANY 110 Old Preston Ave Charlottesville, VA

BLUE RIDGE MTN SPORTS 251 West Lee Hwy Ste 643 Warrenton, VA

AARDVARK SPORTS SHOP STROUDSBURG 639 Main St Stroudsburg, PA

RIVERSIDE RUNNERS 2301 Rivermont Ave Lynchburg, VA

CHESTER COUNTY RUNNING STORE 38 Glocker Way Pottstown, PA

OUTDOOR GEAR EXCHANGE 152 Cherry St Burlington, VT SKIRACK 85 Main St Burlington, VT ON A SHOESTRING 3633 Cortez Rd West A4 Bradenton, FL CLIMBMAX 43 Wall Street Asheville, NC BLACK DOME MTN SHOP 140 Tunnel Road Asheville, NC FOOT RX ASHEVILLE 63 Turtle Creek Dr Asheville, NC SHAWANGUNKS RUNNING COMPANY 2 Church St New Paltz, NY OUTDOOR SPORTS CENTER 80 Danbury Rd Wilton, CT RUNNERS ALLEY PORTSMOUTH 104 Congress St Portsmouth, NH MOUNTAIN GOAT HANOVER 68 S Main St Hanover, NH BLUE RIDGE MTN SPORTS #12 1560 S Main St Ste 100 Blacksburg, VA HUDSON TRAIL OUTFITTERS 8525 Atlas Dr Gaithersburg, MD INSIDE TRACK 1659 Lititz Pike LanCaster, PA

CANADA BUSHTUKAH 250 City Center Ave Ottawa, ON LA CORDEE PLEIN AIR 405 Marien St Montreal, QC FAST TRAX RUN & SKI SHOP 7326 - 101 Ave Edmonton, AB FEET IN MOTION 72 S. Main Street Georgetown, ON RUNNING FACTORY 5480 Wyandotte St. E Windsor, ON OUTTER LIMITS 630 Broadway Saskatoon, SK GORD’S RUNNING STORE 919 Center St. N Calgary, AB OUT THERE ADVENTURE CENTER 151 8th Ave SW Calgary, AB RUNNER’S SOLE 1395 Hillside Drive Unit 74 Kamloops, BC STRIDE AND GLIDE 1655 A 15th Ave Prince George, BC FRONTRUNNERS FOOTWEAR 182-911 Yates Street Victoria, BC FRONTRUNNERS FOOTWEAR 5767 Turner Rd Unit 3 Nanaimo, BC

6/3/09 3:52:53 PM

Last gasp

by Bernie Boettcher » illustration by kevin howdeshell

Trails Through Time

What do you do to make yourself happy?

R

unners, by nature, have a propensity to seek happiness in the measurement of things. In the beginning, you might say you ran to the end of a trail and back in about half an hour, and you’re thrilled. As you train more, you might run four miles in 29:30, and you’re happy to break 30 minutes. When you become more competitive, the measurements multiply.

Now you run six miles in 36:06 at a 6:01 per-mile pace, you finished at 9:20 a.m., the temperature was 50 degrees and there was a slight headwind, but you don’t think you’ll be happy till you break 6:00.

And then you win a race and happiness seems within your grasp, but the course record is 38 seconds faster than you ran, so you train even harder.

Measuring gets obsessive now, because shaving every second counts. You study food labels for fat and calories, cholesterol and sodium, carbs and fiber, sugars and protein and vitamins A to zinc. You measure how much fluid you need to complete a required run, how much sleep you need, how much time you need to eat your meal before a race. You measure the effects of all your meals right down to bowel movements in preparation for race day.

You measure your weight and the weight of your shoes and gear. You count situps and

pullups and squats and lunges. You know to the tenth of a mile how long every road and trail is within a 12-mile radius of your home and how long it’ll take to run there at a slow, medium or fast pace. You might measure heartbeats and body fat and VO2 max. You measure how many miles you’ve run per day, week, month and year and check the average pace for each one.

And then you break the old course record, but someone else beats you by five seconds and happiness slips away. You convince yourself you might really find happiness if you can run six seconds faster, or a sub-fiveminute mile. And when you do that, you’ll say you won’t be happy till you can average sub-five’s in a 5K.

It’s never enough. Happiness is fleeting or always just one measurement away.

If you’re really lucky, though, one day you might see that some of your greatest runs have little to do with measuring anything at all. You might see that you have been running away from, rather than to, a place of happiness within.

Some of my best days are when I practically forget I’m running and just enjoy the sights, sounds, smells and the beauty of the world I’m in, like I did when I first started.

According to the University of California researcher Sonja Lyumbomirsky, PhD, about 40 percent of our happiness is influenced by what we do deliberately to make ourselves happy. Several studies have indicated that simply running is a potent mood elevator. One study even found that 30 minutes of exercise was more effective than drugs in relieving depression.

Simply put, running can make you happy.

Some people call it “flow.” Flow can be defined as a form of happiness that emerges when we become so immersed in an activity we love that time seems to stop.

Beyond all the assessment that might lie between a 4:59 and a 5:01, there’s a place where measurements are forgotten and you run to experience the sheer joy of running.

All you need do is leave the watch at home.

On a recent trip to the Utah desert, I found the flow I’d seemingly lost obsessing over measurements of time. I’d planned on going to this secret location for years, having once seen a photograph of it in 1993. It took me 14 years to find its location, and two more years to get there and explore.

(But who’s measuring?)

In the stratified layers of petrified dunes, I saw geologic ages unraveling before me, from dinosaur tracks to petroglyphs to footprints in the sand. A span of a million years passed underfoot in a matter of minutes.

I ran through the layers like I was climbing a ladder through time. I saw things so beautiful I just had to smile. For a moment, I found happiness.

But moments, like grains of sand on a dune, eventually get buried or blow by on the wind. When you reset the hourglass, a new measurement begins. Time to set a new goal.

In the pursuit of happiness, trail running can get you there. The trick lies in knowing to pursue it all over again tomorrow.

Bernie measures time and finds flow near Silt, Colorado.

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6 113 sTa g e s

m i le s

Photo: Kevin Arnold

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Challenge yourself in some of The mosT speCTaCular sCenery anywhere. Join oTher Two-runner Teams from around The world in This fully-supporTed, mulTi-sTage enduranCe raCe. The advenTure ConTinues.

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Join us to help make history. © 2009 W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. - GORE®, GORE-TEX®, GORE-TEXTM TRANSROCKIES RUN, and designs are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates 1-800-GORE-TEX Salomon is a registered trademark of Salomon SA

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RUNNING IN THE COMFORT ZONE The reality of perception EXPERIENCE MORE...

Mind games are nothing new in running; just ask any front runner who has finished second after hearing footsteps or someone who has resorted to deal making to get through a difficult race. To the next water stop, to the next mile marker, to the next tree.

A runner’s comfort, both real and perceived, plays an important part in maintaining strong performance and the mental state needed to perform. If personal comfort becomes a distraction or diverts energy, then running performance suffers.

We all know about the importance of biomechanics and a comfortable stride. Also, hours have been burned considering clothing that fits and performs well, and doesn’t chafe. Not enough thought goes into thermophysiological comfort, or the body’s ability to manage heat while running.

The body goes to great lengths to achieve thermophysiological balance, or the maintenance of correct temperature during running. The feet play a huge role in this process due to their concentration of sweat glands. The amount of sweat produced and the rate at which that sweat evaporates off the skin to cool the body helps determine total comfort.

Running shoe upper function has a critical impact on the climate comfort experience of the runner. Properly constructed footwear allows a runner to maintain balance and stay in the comfort zone longer.

Hot or cold feet are a signal to the rest of the body that temperature issues are a problem. Circulation, respiration and other systems in the body need to react to this temperature imbalance signal. These adjustments divert energy from the running activity or worse, cause a runner to quit short of his or her goal.

During hot conditions, poorly designed running shoes can slow the evaporation of perspiration from the skin impeding the body’s ability to cool itself. Perspiration build-up inside a shoe can also increase the onset of painful skin damage in the form of blisters. The perception of feeling too hot and the reality of rubbing skin are both problematic.

In wintry conditions, cold feet often dominate the overall perception of thermal comfort. Poor perspiration management, or the introduction of outside moisture into the shoe micro-climate, creates a moisture rich environment that gives cold an advantage. Heat is rapidly lost through wet layers. With “frozen” toes, a runner suffers or simply quits. After all, you are only as warm as your coldest digit.

To stay in the comfort zone, runners need footwear which has been optimized for providing microclimate comfort: a system that allows the feet to do their job managing temperature while also protecting feet from weather and wet ground conditions.

GORE-TEX® Footwear available from:

© 2009 W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. - GORE, GORE-TEX, GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY and designs are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates

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TRAIL TESTED

by ALLISON PATTILLO and MICHAEL BENGE

Liquid for the Long Haul HYDRATION SYSTEMS TO SUIT YOUR NEEDS

know better, but I often hit the trails at lunchtime sans water. Then co-workers have to endure my dry, hacking cough for the rest of the day. Thus my assignment to test and review hydration systems was either ironic or carefully calculated.

To set the parameters, I polled runners on our website and discovered their thirst-quenching preferences were evenly divided among handheld bottles, waistbelts and backpacks.

Testing time saw us on the trails, in races and back at the office debating the merits of the latest models.

Now, I don’t leave the office without water—and it’s a happier place.

Handhelds

■ + PROS > Light and convenient > Often equipped with small pockets for a gel or keys > Protect your hands in a fall

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■ – CONS > You have something in your hand > Need to plan for refills on longer runs > Make your hands cold or sweaty depending upon the weather

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Too Much of a Good Thing HOW TO KNOW IF YOU’RE OV ERTR AINING

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1. FUEL BELT Sahara Palm Holder | $15.95 | 22 oz bottle | 3.7 oz empty weight | www. fuelbelt.com | Simple carrier with zippered gel pocket, mesh trash outer compartment

and Velcro key compartment. With a securely locking hand strap and bright colors, this handheld is the bargain of the bunch.

2. NATHAN Quickdraw Elite | $25 | 22 oz bottle | 4.1 oz empty weight | www.nathans-

ports.com | This unit features a mesh, moisture-wicking, adjustable hand strap with thumb slot, which allows alternative hand positions and eliminates the need to “grip” the bottle. Strap adjustments are made via a Velcro strip that wraps under the bottle and holds tight without loosening. A zippered pocket with key clip accommodates a couple gels, and an external mesh pocket holds trash.

3. ULTIMATE DIRECTION Fast Draw Extreme | $22 | 20 oz bottle | 4.5 oz empty weight | www.ultimatedirection.com | This proven performer features an elasticized, mesh hand

band with a tension-lock strap and small zippered pocket. A neoprene sleeve covers the BPA-free bottle to keep your beverage cold and hand warm, plus provides a cush grip. The Kicker Valve, a unique soft-plastic nipple, can be a bit confusing to first-time users, but with a couple swigs and flicks (to get it into the closed position), most testers praised its merits.

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Waistbelts

■ + PROS > Offer hands-free, unencumbered running > Hold one or more bottles > Have pockets for extra storage

■ – CONS > Will jostle if the fit isn’t good > Can cause shirt bunching 2

1. AMPHIPOD Run Lite 2+ Trail Runner | $36 | 21 oz bottle | 8.6 oz empty weight | www.amphipod.com | The unique, barely-know-it’sthere system features a soft-mesh Velcro-closure waistbelt with a zippered pouch for gels, electrolyte tabs and energy bars, and “quickdraw” bottles that snap into modular docks. You can move, add or subtract docks, and the standard carrier accommodates both eight- and 10.5-ounce bottles, making it a great racing setup.

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2. GOLITE Hydrosprint | $40 | 21 oz bottle plus 5 oz gel fl ask |

10.5oz empty weight | www.golite.com | This belt features a breathable, quick-dry, mesh belt and adjusts for a comfortable, no-jostle fit. Stretch-mesh hip pockets hold necessities and the angled, insulated bottle holster keeps water cold and handy. When the “load stabilizers” were cranked down to prevent bouncing, some testers found it difficult to reinsert the bottle. A gel flask nestles in a holster next to the bottle carrier; just be sure to shove the flask securely in its pocket so you don’t lose it.

3. INOV-8 Race Elite 3 | $35 | 22 oz bottle | 6.4oz empty weight |

www.inov-8.com | Large weather-resistant and stretch-mesh wing pockets provide room for everything you need on a two- or threehour run. The angled bottle sleeve allows easy access, and an elastic loop hooks over the bottle to make sure it stays put. The Race Elite has wide straps and padding for comfort, and mesh to keep you cool. Testers liked wearing it both in the front and the back.

4. LAFUMA Cinetik Bottle Plus | $29.95 | 22 oz bottle | 5.9 oz

4

empty weight | www.lafumausa.com | The wide, soft Velcro waist-

band was comfortable and secure and the diagonal water-bottle positioning made for a clean swipe and return. Bonuses are a handy stash pocket on the waist belt and a rear pocket to accommodate an extra layer.

KEEP IT CLEAN Filling a bottle out of a cool mountain stream speaks to the rugged individualist in all of us, but, to stay healthy, purify that water before drinking it.

AQUAMIRA Water Treatment Drops and Water Purifier Tablets (www.aquamira. com) and POTABLE Aqua Water Purification Tablets (www.potableaqua.com) (not pictured) are super-lightweight, proven performers that use chlorine dioxide, a broad-spectrum water purifier.

AQUAMIRA Water Bottle & Filter | $26.95 | 22 oz | 5.9 oz empty weight | www. aquamira.com | Aquamira fit an activated carbon microbiological filter to a Nalgene sport bottle, with a pop-up spout and flip-top lid. The replaceable filter treats up to 230 refills, and, according to Aquamira, traps 99.9 percent of Giardia, Cryptosporidium, organic material and water-borne pathogens. Flow is a bit slow until the filter is fully wet.

STERIPEN Journey | $99.99; 5 oz with batteries | www.steripen.com | Simply stick the ultraviolet lamp in your water container, push the button, watch the clock countdown on the LCD display screen and drink when the smiley face appears. This idiot-proof, hand-held water purifier treats up to one liter of water at a time. For larger volumes of water, treat one-liter batches then transfer to your container of choice.

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Photograph by: Scott McClarrinon

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LA SPORTIVA 10K @ 10,000 Feet

AUG 22

Beaver Creek Vertical Ascent *

SEPT 13

LA SPORTIVA Evergold 10K * Not a series event.

VRD is an equal opportunity service provider and operates under special permission from the White River National Forest.

For more information and to register, contact:

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AMERICAN TRAIL RUNNING ASSOCIATION Join the American Trail Running Association, a 501© 3 not for profit corporation whose mission is to represent and promote trail and mountain running.

October 10, 2009 Titusville, PA 50K, 50 & 100 mile trail races BRECKENRIDGE,COLORADO

2009 RACE SCHEDULE

Unforgiving | Historic | Gnarly Do you have what it takes?

Membership is affordable ($35) and includes a subscription to our partner publications: Trail Runner magazine and Running Times.

Members also receive ATRA’s quarterly newsletter Trail Times.

Visit our website for more info and a complete list of benefits.

www.trailrunner.com

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Oil Creek State Park -

birthplace of the oil industry in 1859

www.OilCreek100.org

1

Wednesday, June 10

2

Wednesday, June 17

3

Wednesday, July 8

4

Wednesday, July 22

5

Wednesday, August 5

6

Wednesday, August 12

Flumes(5K/10K)

Little French(5K/10K)

Breck Ski Area(5K/12K) Horseshoe Gulch(8K/20K) B a k e r ’s Ta n k ( 5 K / 1 0 K ) Carter Park(10K/15K)

register at

w w w. t o w n o f b r e c k e n r i d g e . c o m or call (970) 453-1734

6/9/09 1:19:59 PM

TRAIL TESTED

Backpacks

■ + PROS > Great for long runs where you want extra gear and food > Offer ergonomic designs for a comfortable, non-jostling fit ■ – CONS > Can result in water sloshing, which either relaxes you or encourages frequent pit stops > Can get hot or dig into shoulders if not well designed > Can feel encumbering

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1. CAMELBAK Octane XC | $60 | 2.1 l

bladder 1 lb 5 oz empty weight | 90 cu | www. camelbak.com | This streamlined pack

features an external fill reservoir (made of super-tough plastic treated to eliminate 99.9 percent—according to Camelbak—of the slime that typically grows in reservoirs) fitted in an insulated pocket. The back panel features raised, mesh-covered foam for enhanced ventilation. An external zip pocket, dual waist-belt stash pockets and external bungee allow space for a jacket, snacks and essentials. Mesh shoulder straps provide a cool, secure fit, and nifty Velcro strap tabs keep excess webbing from flapping.

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2. NATHAN HPL #020 | $85 | 13.9 oz | 2 l fluid capacity | 800 cu | www.nathansports. com | This pack features a unique harness

system that adjusts via side straps to give a comfortable, vest-like fit. The shoulder straps are lightweight wide mesh, with an open pocket on one strap and a small zippered pocket on the other. A compact rear compartment features an outer zip pocket, divided for bars and other small items, while the main pocket holds the included two-liter bladder and offers room for extra layers. This is a wicked setup for ultra racing and long weekend runs.

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3. GREGORY Rufous | $89 | 1 lb 1 oz

(bladder not included) | 480 cu | www. gregorypack.co gregorypack.com | With an aero-mesh back panel this pack features a hydration port and sleeve with convenient back-fill access, internal-compression system for on-the-fly adjustments and two water-bottle pockets.

Dual, stretch-mesh waistbelt pockets with cargo stabilizer loops, an internal mesh organizer and pocket with Velcro closure, plus plenty of external loops ensure you can carry gear to spare.

4. OSPREY Talon 5.5 | $69 | 1 lb 1 oz

(bladder not included) | 240 cu | www. ospreypacks.co ospreypacks.com | Available in two sizes

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with a unique torso-length adjustment, this pack ensures a locked-on fit. Snap clips allow quick access to the three-liter-bladdercapacity hydration slot. Two stretch gel pockets on the shoulder straps, a stretchwoven front pocket with bungee, and large top-access inner and tool pockets provide plenty of room for gear. For maximum ventilation, Osprey uses mesh and foam in the back panel, and an external tow strap gives you the option to attach stragglers.

5. SALOMON XT Wings Hydration Pack

| $70 | 1 lb 2 oz empty weight | 366 cu | www.salomonsports.com | Don’t like suck-

ing from moldy bladders, having a hip belt jostling around your lower back or holding anything in your hands? Well, complainer— voila! This pack features rigid, three-sided bottle carriers with matching bottles on each side hip “wing,” allowing quick-draw access. The three-sided bottles aren’t especially ergonomic but work. Unpadded, mesh shoulder straps and well-ventilated, padded back keep you surprisingly cool.

The slim, main compartment, with innerorganizer mesh pocket and bladder sleeve accommodates extra layers. ■

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Don't hit the wall...

Sunday, October 4, 2009 Limited to 250 runners $50.00 registration Beautiful, hilly, challenging singletrack trails in Upper Bidwell Park.

CTMRA recognizes Trail Runner Magazine as it’s official member magazine and the voice of the sport!

Join CTMRA today!

www.mountainrunning.ca We’re proud to partner with Trail Runner to provide subscriptions to our members and increase the coverage of Canadian off-road running events and athletes.

—John Lofranco, President

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Hit the Ground Running!

Put your feet in the hands of USA Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier and running coach Megan Lund.

Customized training programs designed to get you to any finish-line.

www.chicorunningclub.org

Hit the Ground Running 970.618.9763 | megan@hgrunning.com

www.hgrunning.com

6/8/09 3:48:33 PM

Trail running is all about the environment. When you have a dramatic landscape, make the most of it by shooting wide and minimizing the runner.

When the backdrop is drab, shoot tight and emphasize the runner and action. Runner: Russ Daniels. Location: Treasure Mountain, Colorado.

Story & Photos By Duane Raleigh

Picture Perfect Tips for getting your PR in trail-running photography

S

omewhere along one of our trail runs we’ve all crested a stony ridge and been smacked in the face by a Kodachrome moment: a breathtaking panorama of rolling green meadows, azure sky and screaming yellow wildflowers. To immortalize the moment, we snap a photo and a couple of weeks later, eager to relive the experience, load it onto a computer. They say that time changes things, and this time it sure did. That magical moment

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looks fuzzy, dim and as unappealing as a warm mayo sandwich. What happened?

Read on and glean the photography secrets of the pros—guys like David Clifford—tips culled from experimentation, mistakes, getting lucky and actual book schooling. Photography is too vast and tricky a subject to detail in a few thousand words, so think of this as a primer, the starting point for your trail-running photography ultra.

6/3/09 10:48:44 AM

GEARING UP__You can trail run in army boots, and you can photograph trail running with a disposable camera. But, if you want to actually enjoy the experience and nail quality shots, specialized gear is a must. You need a camera with interchangeable lenses, manual adjustments for the shutter, aperture and ISO, and a continuous-firing or “burst” mode that will let you take multiple photos per second, increasing your chances of getting the shot where the runner’s stride is picture perfect. The higher a camera’s burst rate, the better: nine frames per second great; four per sec is just passable.

A few of the better point-and-shoots have most of the features you’ll need (see David Clifford’s top picks on page 34), and highend point-and-shoots can be better than low-end digital-single-lens-reflex (DSLR) cameras. Lightweight, small, simple to use and relatively inexpensive, point-andshoots are ideal for getting shots to post online, show at slideshows or make prints for mom. For pro photography, however, they fall short in too many areas.

If you want to sell your photos or do pro-caliber work, the lens-changing ability of a DSLR makes it a must. There are dozens of great models by companies such as Canon and Nikon, but, fundamentally, they are similar and have many of the same features. I shop by price and megapixels, the smallest bit of information a camera can capture—more megapixels equals better photos. To print a sharp photo in a classy mag like Trail Runner you need a camera that will take photos of 10 megapixels, minimum. This resolution allows us to print the photo as a full page and gives the art director cropping options. Most top-tier cameras deliver this resolution—some even double it. Images around eight megapixels are common for today’s point-and-shoots, although 10 megapixels is becoming more common.

Besides choosing a camera with as many megapixels as you can afford, get one that uses quality lenses such as those from Canon or Nikon. Middling lenses by Tamron, Tokina, Sigma and the ilk cost a fraction as much, but can have disappointing optical qualities. To be sure, some offbrand lenses are very good, but you won’t know until you buy one and test it out. At Trail Runner, we see thousands of photos a year. The sharpest, best ones are always taken with a top-shelf lens. The website www.kenrockwell.com is loaded with solid camera and lens reviews.

If money is tight, look at inexpensive prime (nonzoom-length) lenses. If you can just buy one lens, get a 50mm f/1.4. That versatile lens from Canon or Nikon will be in the $300 to $350 range. Next, get either a 12mm or 24mm.

One of these wide angles will let you get close and personal with the runner, while including the sweeping landscape.

As budget allows, add a medium telephoto such as a 85mm or 105mm. With all lenses, buy the lowest aperture you can afford.

For instance, choose the 50mm f/1.4 over the 50mm f/1.8. The “faster” f/1.4 will cost over twice as much, but because it can shoot in lower light, will occasionally let you get a pic that’s impossible with the f/1.8.

More importantly, it has a much shallower depth of field when it is shot wide open, letting you blur out a distracting background or foreground (more on depth of field later).

Having your subject run straight at you presents a focusing nightmare, because the distance between the camera’s lens and the runner changes rapidly. To nail the shot, don’t focus on the runner. Instead, pick a spot on the trail in front of the runner (a clump of grass in this photo) and pre-focus on it. Set the shutter on burst, fire away right before the runner hits that spot and keep firing until she is past it. This photo was shot at a risky and slow shutter speed of 1/320th second. Look closely and you’ll see that the runner’s right hand is blurred because it is moving slightly faster than the rest of her body. Running straight toward the camera can also create the undesirable “peg-leg” effect shown here, where the back, lower leg is partly hidden, giving the appearance of being cut off below the knee. Runner: Jessa Younker. Location: Marble, Colorado.

RAW POWER__Digital cameras have a confusing display of settings that can make the cockpit of a passenger jet seem like a deprivation tank. Most vexing are the Image Quality options. Almost all DSLRs and some pointand-shoots give you the option of shooting JPEG (low quality), JPEG fine (medium quality) or RAW (maximum quality). RAW captures the most data and delivers an undoctored image, one that has not been adjusted in-camera for sharpness, contrast or other settings, hence the term “raw.” A RAW photo has to be processed for color, sharpness, etc., back at the house, and on your computer, which takes time. But since your computer is more powerful than the processor in your camera, your options for making adjustments are nearly unlimited.

Disadvantages: RAW photos gobble up card space and are slow to load on a computer.

Most of that post-production work goes out the window if you take JPEGs. Then,

your camera’s processor makes the adjustments to spiff up the image. Usually, your camera will do a good job of processing JPEGs, and if you don’t know what you are doing in Photoshop, a processed RAW file can actually look worse than a JPEG. Most of the better cameras let you shoot in RAW and JPEG format at the same time. If you are sending your images out for consideration in print, include the JPEGs—many photo editors prefer to preview photos in JPEG, but only accept hi-resolution RAW images for publication. Check before you send. Trail Runner prefers high-res tiffs converted from RAW with low-res JPEGs for previewing. If you don’t care to market your photos commercially, shooting JPEG is fine.

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ity and reduces your ability to change composition on the fly. When you are getting started, you’ll have the best luck shooting with lenses in the 12mm to 105mm range.

Happily, these lenses are also usually the least expensive.

This runner’s face and part of her shirt are sharp, while the rest of the image blurs by, giving the photo a sense of movement. This was achieved using a “pan blur,” with the shutter set on just 1/30th of a second. The photographer tracked the runner as she zipped by and a wide 50mm lens stopped way down to f/16 minimized focus error. Still, it took about a dozen takes to get this shot.

Runner: Ashey Arnold. Location: Redstone, Colorado.

GET FOCUSED__Focus problems are second only to shutter speed as the cause of blurred running shots. When someone is running, the point of focus relative to your camera constantly changes. What is in-focus one instant is out-of-focus the next. There are, however, tricks you can use to increase your chances of nailing a sharp pic. Having your runner run parallel to you instead of at you, for instance, will keep the runner in the focus plane longer. If the runner is going to be coming at you, pre-focus on a spot on the trail. Pick a pebble on the trail at a place where you like the composition, focus on that pebble, compose, then start shooting right before the runner arrives at the pebble.

Continue shooting until the runner is past the pebble. Set the camera on burst so it will fire multiple frames per second, increasing your chances of getting an in-focus shot.

Another tip for nailing focus is to adjust your lens aperture to give you a deep depth

of field, the invisible box inside which everything in your photo will be in-focus and everything not in the box is out-of-focus. If the light is bright enough, do this by adjusting your aperture, or “f-stop,” to a higher number (called “stopping down”), say f/16 instead of f/2.8. The larger the aperture number, the deeper the depth of field, and the more likely you’ll get your subject infocus. The trade off is that when you shoot with a large aperture, much of what you see through the viewfinder will be in-focus and you lose that blurred painterly feel where those flowers in the foreground or peaks in the background are softly out-of-focus.

The lens you stick onto your camera will also affect sharpness. Wide-angle lenses, those from 10mm to 24mm, are very forgiving of focus error, and because they are small and lightweight, are easy to hold so you are less likely to get blur caused by camera shake. Big, heavy lenses such as a 200mm or 300mm, on the other hand, are unforgiving. They demand precise focusing when you shoot at the lower apertures and are tiring to hold, making it more likely you’ll jiggle the camera and blur the photo. A tripod or monopod will help you steady a camera with a big heavy lens, but setting up a tripod eliminates spontane-

Choose the right camera to capture your great trail moments // By David Clifford

an action sport—your subject is always moving, making it easy to miss the focus and get a blurry or “soft” image. Soft photos are caused by using a shutter speed that is too slow to freeze the action and/or blowing the focus.

To freeze action, a shutter speed of 1/320th of a second is the lowest you can go, and even then you’ll get more blurry than crisp shots. Eliminate motion blur by shooting with a shutter speed of 1/400th or faster.

PICTURE PERFECT

SHOOT SHARP__Running photography is

COMPOSITION__Trail-running photography lends itself to panoramic horizontal compositions, where you get the nice green vegetation in the foreground, blue sky or mountains in the background and the runner somewhere in the middle, usually running left to right, and slightly toward the camera. Easy. But, study the photos by greats such as Clifford and Dan Patitucci and you’ll note that (usually) either the foreground or background or both are intentionally softly out-of-focus, while the runner is tack sharp. Photos such as these isolate the runner, drawing your eye to the action, which is the ultimate goal. As mentioned earlier, use your camera’s aperture to set a depth of field that puts the runner in-focus and other parts of the photo outof-focus. The aperture adjustment will vary wildly depending on your lens—take the same photo with the aperture all the way open, then fully stopped down and watch the depth of field change.

To shoot like a pro you will have to move around. Most shooters, for simple lack of knowing better, just stand flat footed facing the runner and bang away. For sure, you can get great images this way, but this standard, eye-level perspective gets boring quickly. Find a unique perspective by climbing a tree, standing on a boulder, lying on your back or shooting from a higher or lower vantage point. The extra effort will give your shots a unique look that elevates them above the drudge.

We get thousands of great photos and many of them look the same. Same-size runner, same lens, same light, same perspective and even the same runners. It’s like watching replays of the Olympic mara-

Olympus FE-20 | $89, 3.8 ounces | ★ ★ ★ ½ | The FE-20 point-and-shoot digital camera is perfect for fast-and-light grab shots. It is small, lightweight and takes decent-quality, 8-mega-

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thon over and over. Make it a habit to often switch out lenses and constantly be on the move. For instance, lie on your back and shoot up with a wide-angle lens, then switch to a 200mm lens and shoot the runner from a distance in profile, with the lens opened to f/2.8. Same runner, same trail, but wildly different perspectives.

OBeY tHe ruLe Of tHirDS__Centering your subject is visual suicide for photography. Strive for a pleasant, balanced photo by dividing your viewfinder into thirds vertically and horizontally and placing your subject in a quadrant that isn’t centered. If you are shooting a horizontal landscape, for example, make the top horizontal one third of the image the sky and the bottom two thirds the land, or vice versa if the clouds are more interesting.

having both feet down or the lead foot all the way down, where the runner seems anchored to the turf and usually hunched.

Hand position is also critical. You want the hands relaxed rather than clinched; think of holding a potato chip between your thumb and forefinger.

Getting the hands and stride right takes timing and instruction—tell your runners what you want. Set your camera to burst (just keep it there, always!), pre-focus and,

them both to begin running at the same time, and off the same foot will increase your chances. Naturally, if you are shooting a race you’ll have to take what you get.

When someone is running straight at you, you’ll often get the undesirable “peg leg,” effect, where one foot is kicked high and obscured by the runner’s thigh, making that leg appear as if it was bitten off at the knee.

Positioning yourself so the runner is slightly in profile will eliminate peg legs.

SHOOt tHe fAce__Imagine Mona Lisa.

Now imagine that instead of coyly smiling at you, she is looking away. Facial expressions convey information and add drama, while seeing someone’s eyes engages you.

Add these personal elements to your photos and avoid shots where the runner is running away.

Shooting the face isn’t easy. Most people run with their faces screwed up into an unflattering wince or have their eyes squinted nearly shut or have their mouths agape. Turn on your camera’s burst mode—digital frames are free—and you’ll increase your chances of getting the right expression. Be sure to focus so you get the eyes sharp, and, unless you are capturing your subject running out of a bank, never let him wear sunglasses.

You can use depth of field to blur out the foreground and background, creating a painterly effect. This image isolates the runners by using a wide aperture setting of f/3.2. A fast shutter speed of 1/200th froze the action. Keeping the runners nearly parallel to the camera reduced the chance of a missed focus.

Runners: Jeremy Duncan and Ashley Arnold. Location: Carbondale, Colorado.

phy is all about stride, capturing the instant when at least one (ideally both) of the runner’s feet are in the air. Having the lead foot just beginning to touch down or push off also works well. What doesn’t work is

usually, you’ll still have to ask the runner to do it again and again.

Photographing one runner simplifies the work. If you are shooting two or more runners, the problems compound exponentially—it’s tough to snap that pic where everyone is simultaneously in a nice stride with pleasing facial expressions. Asking

pixel pics. This little gem is packed with goodies like face detection, a 3x optical zoom (36-108mm zoom in 35mm equivalent), a digital image stabilizer and a bright 2.5-inch viewfinder.

For the cost of a pair of running shoes, you can get great pics of your buddies on a grueling trail race and grab some cool VGA video clips at 30 frames per second with sound. The in-camera image editing and help guide is perfect for adding shadow detail and removing red eye on the fly.

Finally, fill out your kit with an extra battery (LI-42B Lithium Ion), a couple of two gigabyte xD picture cards (Type M +) and a Lowepro Apex 20AW camera bag.

Canon PowerShot G10 | $410 | 12.3 ounces | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ | At 14.7 megapixels, this is the point-and-shoot camera designed for pros.

With top-notch optics, it provides resolution to burn—enough to get your photo published in Trail Runner. The 5x, 28-140mm zoom lens (35mm equivalent) allows you to shoot true wide angle or zoom in for a closer perspective.

With an ISO range from

riGHt StriDe__Great running photogra-

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MOtiON BLur__Images where the runner is blurred and the background and foreground aren’t, or where the runner is sharp against blurred surroundings, convey action, and make them stand out. You don’t see many shots like these because they are tough to get just right. To blur running action, you’ll need to shoot around 1/30th of a second.

80-1600, an aperture of f/2.8-4.5 and built-in image stabilizer, you can shoot in low light and nail quality images.

The G10 has the ability to shoot in RAW and/ or JPEG, which allows you to print directly from the JPEG and, for serious shooters, archive your RAW file. RAW gives you the ability to make major adjustments in exposure, color balance and sharpening in post processing.

6/3/09 10:49:10 AM

Don’t place your subject dead center in the photo, but instead use the rule of thirds to create a more pleasing composition. Here, the runner is off center and the beach and sea occupy just a third of the frame. The upper two thirds was reserved for the sky. On cloudless days or when

you don’t have palm trees to add interest to the sky, you’ll usually want to minimize the stark sky and instead compose so the ground is two thirds of the image, and the sky is just one third. Runner: Lisa Raleigh.

Location: Cancun, Mexico.

Camera shake is a problem and will ruin most of your images. A tripod can help, but usually you’ll be shooting on the fly and won’t have one. Steady yourself by bracing against a tree and keep your elbows tight to your sides. To blur the runner, adjust the shutter to 1/30th and press the shutter (set on burst) as he goes by. If you hold it steady, you might have an interesting photo.

The better, more difficult pic to get is

to “pan” your camera to track the runner.

This will blur the surroundings and freeze the runner’s action. To pan, keep the runner centered in the viewfinder (break the rule of thirds) and track him as you hold the shutter down. Moving the camera and yourself at a steady pace that matches that of the runner requires practice, lots of it. Again, keep your elbows pressed in and concentrate on only moving the

camera laterally, not up and down. Using a wide-angle lens such as 24mm will make it easier to follow the runner and will reduce camera shake.

Don’t get discouraged if you do everything right and still get a blurry photo.

When most people run, their arms and legs are churning, yet their torsos and heads aren’t—you get the head sharp but the rest of the body is blurred. Finding

Canon 50D w/ 18-200 IS lens kit | $1750 | 25.7 ounces (body only) | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ | This 15.1-megapixel camera with live-view mode, a 3-inch LCD monitor and a super-fast and accurate auto-focus mode is the perfect camera for an aspiring pro. This little sucker packs a punch.

With the ability to shoot 6.3 frames per second and an ISO range from 100-12,800, you will be able to get stop-action shots of Ricky Gates in any lighting conditions and with a perfect stride to boot.

Built with lightweight, durable materials, the camera is shock-, dust- and weather-resistant. This lean,

fast machine records JPEGs, RAW files or both at the same time on CF compact flash cards.

I suggest shooting both formats so you can archive the RAW or send it to the editors of Trail Runner for publication.

For lenses, don’t mess around—buy the L series (pro glass) zoom lenses: 16-35mm 2.8, 24-120mm IS and 70-200mm 2.8 IS. Also, get the Sandisk 4- or 8-gig extreme IV cards for maximum performance.

I like the Lowepro mini trekker AW bag for this camera; it is light and protective, and you can even fit in a jacket, food and water. I’ve used this bag for fastpacking!

Nikon D60/18-55 VR lens kit | $698 | 16.1 ounces (without battery or lens) | ★ ★ ★ ★ |This 10.2-megapixel camera is the smallest D-SLR Nikon has produced with ample resolution and sharp glass. The included do-it-all 18-55mm f/3.55.6 VR (vibration-reduction) lens is light, sharp and

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6/3/09 10:49:20 AM

that middle ground where you have some sharpness in the action is the trick that takes timing, practice and luck.

CLEAN THE CLUTTER__Junky photos with power lines, gear strewn on the ground and other visual detritus don’t hack it.

Eliminate clutter and you’ll draw the viewer’s eye to your subject, which is the point of shooting in the first place. Usually, this is as simple as looking through the viewfinder, recognizing clutter and adjusting your position or composition to crop it out. Or, it can be as difficult as shooting at a shallow depth of field with a mediumlength lens, say an 80mm at f/2.8 and blurring out the background and/or foreground. Some of the junk can be cloned out in Photoshop, but it’s best to get it right to begin with.

DON THE DUDS__Runners love to show off their glistening pecs, but pearly white skin against a stunning backdrop is unappetizing. Make your runners pop by dressing them in bright, contrasting shirts and shorts. Light blue, red and yellow stand out in almost all situations. Keep clothing of each color in your pack and force feed it to your subjects. White garb can work, but brown, grey, black and all natural tones are often duds. Colorful knit caps add another good color splash, but brimmed caps shade the eyes—don’t allow them.

NAP AT NOON__Amateur (and lazy professional) photographers shoot midday, when the sun is highest and the light is brightest. Unless you have overcast skies to soften the light and bring out the colors, you are wasting your time. Bright sunlight washes out colors and produces harsh, distracting shadows—especially on faces. Shoot at sunrise and sunset, focuses very fast. With a quick start-up time and nearly zero shutter lag, the combo is perfect for stalking Matt Carpenter and Uli Steidl at The North Face Endurance Challenge.

The D60 has an ISO range of 100-1600 and a shutter speed of 1/4000th of a second all the way down to 30 seconds. With a bright 2.5-inch LCD it is easy to view your pics, and the In-Camera Image Editing and Enhanced Retouch Menu allows you to crop, eliminate red eye, overlay images, choose black-andwhite or sepia and cyanotype or even add a host of cool filters to your already captured pics. The D60 records in RAW or JPEG. Buy an extra battery and at least two SD or SDHC cards. I like the 4- or 8-gig cards.

Check out the F-stop Navin Bag.

when the low slant of light brings out the colors and adds a nice golden hue. However, don’t just shoot at these hours.

The couple of hours after sunrise and before sunset can be great as well, and photos taken in full but bright shade, say on the northern side of a hill, can be snappy.

ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING__ Using an on-camera fill flash spells death to any photo. They just look fake and, since most cameras will shoot at the fastest at 1/250th of a second shutter speed, shots taken with your camera’s flash are destined to be blurry.

There are, however, a whole quiver of tricks you can use to make artificial Running photography is all about stride. The ideal moment is lighting appear natural, when both of the runner’s feet are in the air, as shown here. If as well as ways to cheat one or both feet are down, the runner’s back usually hunches the shutter speed. These and he looks as if he is rooted to the ground, rather than running. This photo was taken with two off-camera studio lights to techniques are advanced, make the runner pop against a cluttered background and add however, and beyond the drama. Shooting running with off-camera lighting is tricky as it scope of this article. If requires a slow shutter speed (here, 1/350th second) and you you’d like to learn them, can’t use your camera’s burst mode—you can only fire the shuter once and hope you get it right. To learn more about trail runcheck out Trail Runner’s ning photography, including off-camera lighting, check out Trail Photo Camp, held Runner’s Photo Camp coming up in October. Runner: Carl October 8-11. Email me Bruggeman. Location: Carbondale, CO. at draleigh@bigstonepub. com for details (see ad on page TS-4). Also check out the excellent artificial lighting website calibrated to SWOP print standards, while www.thestrobistblogspot.com. yours likely isn’t, meaning the colors you behold are different from the ones an ediRUTHLESSLY EDIT__Ripping off a thoutor will see. Some basic capture sharpensand digi images is one thing, but then ing and color correction is fine, but leave what? Edit, baby, edit. View your work the big strokes for an editor. Be sure to on your camera display and delete the include your name and caption info in ones that are obviously junk. Copy the meta data for each photo. survivors to your computer, then view them in JPEG mode. Photo-management NOW, FORGET EVERYTHING__The works software such as Lightroom 2 or Photo of abstract and impressionist painters may Mechanic are great tools. look like a child’s hand painting, but if you Once you have your photos selected, it’s ever look at these master’s early works time to dress them up in post-production you’ll realize that they learned the rules, software such as Photoshop. Go hog wild then chose to break them. Photography if the photos are for your own use, but use is the same way. Get a solid foundation a light touch if you are sending them to a by knowing how you are supposed to do publisher. Editors prefer to do the color it, then do it your way. Anyone can press correcting and sharpening themselves, a camera’s button and adhere to the rule as they are familiar with their printing of thirds, but only a true artist can bring a process and paper. And their monitor is vision to life. ■ 59 August 2009 T r a i l r u n n e r m a g . c o m

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OUTFITTERS > LIST YOUR STORE! | CALL 877.762.5423 x16 | w w w.trailrunnermag.com CA N A DA

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•p.060-61 Outfitters 60.indd 2

A L A BA M A

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FUTURE TRACK RUNNING CENTER 30125 Agoura Rd Ste. A, Agoura Hills, CA 91301 818-991-4786 • F 818-991-4784 www.futuretrackrunning.com futuretrack@aol.com

ADVENTURE 16 11161 W Pico Blvd West Los Angeles, CA 90064 310-473-4574 for other SO CAL locations, see: www.adventure16.com

FOOT PURSUIT 4324 Cochran St Simi Valley CA 93063 805 578 8786 • F 805 578 8709 www.footpursuit.com info@footpursuit.com

GRANITE CHIEF SKI & MOUNTAIN SHOP 11368 Donner Pass Rd Truckee, CA 96161 (530) 587-2809 Truckee (530) 583-2832 Squaw Valley www.granitechief.com info@granitechief.com RUNNING REVOLUTION 511 E Campbell Ave Campbell, CA 95008; 408-374-9310 www.runningrevolution.com info@runningrevolution.com THE NORTH FACE 180 Post St San Francisco, CA 94108 415-433-3223 www.thenorthface.com THE NORTH FACE 217 Alma St Palo Alto, CA 94301 650-327-1563 www.thenorthface.com THE NORTH FACE 423 N Beverly Dr Beverly Hills, CA 90210 310-246-4120 www.thenorthface.com THE NORTH FACE Valley Fair Mall 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd, Ste B32 Santa Clara, CA 95050-6709 (408) 553-0190 www.thenorthface.com COLOR A DO BOULDER RUNNING COMPANY 2775 Pearl St #103 Boulder, CO 80302 303-RUN-WALK www.boulderrunningcompany.com BOULDER RUNNING COMPANY 3659 Austin Bluffs Pkwy #32 Colorado Springs, CO 80918 719-278-3535 www.boulderrunningcompany.com

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5/28/09 9:44:13 AM

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THE NORTH FACE 160 N Gulph Rd King of Prussia PA 19406 610-337-1773 www.thenorthface.com RIVER SPORTS OUTFITTERS 2918 Sutherland Knoxville, TN 37919 865 523-0066 • F 865 525-6921 www.riversportsoutfitters.com info@riversportsoutfitters.com ROCK/CREEK OUTFITTERS 301 Manufacturers Road Chattanooga, TN 37405 423-265-5969 www.RockCreek.com info@RockCreek.com ROCK/CREEK OUTFITTERS 2200 Hamilton Place Blvd Hamilton Crossing Chattanooga, TN 37421 423-485-8775 www.RockCreek.com info@RockCreek.com RUNNER’S MARKET 4443 Kingston Pike Knoxville, TN 37919 865-588-1650 www.runnersmarket.com runnersmarket@nxs.net UTAH SALT LAKE RUNNING CO 3142 S Highland Dr #A3, Salt Lake City, UT 84106 801-484-9144 • F 801-484-9215 www.saltlakerunningco.com info@saltlakerunningco.com

WASATCH RUNNING CENTER 8946 S State St, Sandy, UT 84070 801-566-8786 www.wasatchrunningcenter.com wasatchrunning@earthlink.net

SKIRACK 85 Main St. Burlington, VT 05401 800-882-4530 www.skirack.com info@skirack.com Vermont’s Community Running Store V IRGINIA CHARLOTTESVILLE RUNNING COMPANY 110 Old Preston Ave Charlottesville, VA 22902 434-293-7115 • F 434-293-7015 www.charlottesvillerunningcompany.com info@charlottesvillerunningcompany.com THE NORTH FACE 78701 Tyson’s Corner Center McLean, VA 22102 703-917-0111 www.thenorthface.com WA SHINGTON

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V ERMONT

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THE NORTH FACE Hilldale Shopping Center 702 North Midvale Blvd Madison, WI 53705 608-233-1399 www.thenorthface.com

ONLINE GEAR RESOURCE CAMPMOR

www.campmor.com info@campmor.com 800-CAMPMOR 800-226-7667 Catalog - PO Box 680-TR9 Mahwah, NJ 07430

RIVER SPORTS OUTFITTERS www.riversportsoutfitters.com ed@riversportsoutfitters.com 865-523-0066 F 865-525-6921 2918 Sutherland, Knoxville, TN 37919

ROCK/CREEK OUTFITTERS www.RockCreek.com info@RockCreek.com 888-707-6708 301 Manufacturers Road Chattanooga, TN 37405

RUNNING FREE SPORTS www.runningfree.com running . triathlon . adventure 416-410-FREE (3733)

THE TRIATHLETE STORE

www.TheTriathleteStore.com sales@TheTriathleteStore.com 14041 Midland Rd Poway, CA 92064 216-849-5468 • F 216-373-2637

ZOMBIE RUNNER www.zombierunner.com info@zombierunner.com 650-325-2048 F 650-852-0231 429 S California Ave Palo Alto CA 94306

5/28/09 9:44:27 AM

run amok

by Garett Graubins » illustration by jeremy collins

Footloose

A trail runner shares his untrained melody

F

act: As of last September, over 173 million iPods had been sold worldwide.

That is enough for every Trail Runner reader to give an iPod to every family member (living and dead) and still have enough left for every man, woman, child, dog, hamster and road runner in France, Germany and Austria. Just imagine half the European continent—Frankforters, Hamburgers and Wieners alike— striding rhythmically to techno or even Mozart. Sacrebleu. Rock Me Amadeus!

Here in the States, the solid-as-a-rock Karl Meltzer, who has won more mountain 100-milers than any living Austrian or American, relates to the euphoric cocktail of wide-open spaces and inspiring songs fed into his head. Why else does he cover most of his miles wearing headphones?

His fave: anything by Strangefolk, a Vermont band.

Myself, I find inspiration in my iPod when my training plan says 20, but my mind says “naptime.” Sure, I r-e-s-p-e-c-t the unadulterated joy of listening to nature’s breathing. But sometimes the sound of silence is better left for meditation. With ear buds plugged in, I pump up the volume and send my body movin’ up the singletrack.

The iPod Shuffle command may be the best invention since BodyGlide. Thanks to this option, I don’t have to listen alphabetically to “Billie Jean” immediately after “Big Yellow Taxi.” Instead, my pocket-sized Sir Mix-A-Lot keeps me on my toes wondering what is coming next. Just like a great trail.

Shuffle can backfire, though. It may play certain songs at the most inopportune times. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” for example, is not conducive to frantic interval training on a smooth fire road. And more than once, “Baby Got Back” has bent me over in laughter when I had to dig deep on a climb. “The Reflex” is a very bad song if you’re experiencing stomach problems. And once “Yellow Submarine,” “My Sharona” or

the “Mission Impossible” theme worms its way into your head, I recommend you go home. Because they are here to stay until a proper exorcism is administered.

But music helps drive me, complementing the trail experience like Dolly Parton to Kenny Rogers, Bob Dylan to Johnny Cash, or Simon to Garfunkel. When a mix of songs achieves perfect synchronicity with my pace and the terrain, I’m swept away in a moment of zen not unlike the first Lollapalooza.

As I am churning uphill, my lungs burning, “Ring of Fire” fuels me to ignore the aching in my quads. My legs spin into a vertigo of leg pumps and toe-offs. While the miles unfold, I imagine I can run forever, to where the streets have no name.

Over Blueberry Hill and then on the road again, to the next trailhead.

The beat goes on, for miles and miles. I picture myself as Forrest Gump, running on empty across grassy plains and past pink houses, my hair waving with the dust in the wind.

Eventually, one of two things returns me to reality. Sometimes the iPod battery dies out. This happened at mile 15 of a 20-mile snowshoe race, and I was forced to listen to the laborious clop-clop of my snowshoes instead of Gwen Stefani’s alluring call.

Usually, plain fatigue ends my effort. My legs succumb to a final countdown of lactic acid and undertraining. I hit the wall. Even after I choke down one more energy gel to the Goo Goo Dolls (or is that Gu® Gu®?), the mountains win again.

Some would argue that listening to music places the runner at the whim of that moment’s melody. Inherent to my iPod runs is a nearly uncontrollable urge to whip it, to stride myself into a beautiful oblivion.

Yet many days and several forgotten years on the trails have taught me it’s best to let it be. A pace is not to be forced, because we all need to discover our own rhythm.

So I occasionally remove the headphones, and declare a sweet surrender. After all, it’s five o’clock somewhere and there’s a cold beverage waiting in the car.

Inspired by several iPod-fueled trail runs, Garett Graubins tucked 38 song titles in this sing-song journey (including the title and those in quotes). See if you can find them and submit your entry to aosius@ bigstonepub.com. The first correct entry gains a free subscription.

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Invites You to Roll Up Your Sleeves and Get Dirty on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009 If you’re planning to vo lunteer or lead a trail work crew, send us an e-mail and let us kn ow.

NPLD2009@trailrunne rmag.com We’d love to hear from you!

National Public Lands Day is the nation’s largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands Americans enjoy.

To learn more about NPLD and how you can do your part to support and maintain running trails on public lands, go to

www.publiclandsday.org

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