Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Reality Bites... Sometimes for the Better!

The cliché that “life happens” is certainly true. So is Steinbeck’s famous line “the best laid plans of mice and men, gang aft agley”. So it is with running the Moab 100 this year. The scheduling of the Moab 100 fell on the same weekend as ski-racing event for which I had the responsibility for providing the timing, and unfortunately the person I was planning on being able to do that timing for me ended up not being able to. So, no dice!

HOWEVER, out of crisis rises opportunity (aren’t I just the king of cliché?)! I have decided to start my own 100 mile event in April! Currently, April is devoid of any 100 Milers anywhere near Utah, so starting at 0700, in Grantsville, UT, I’ll start running along the Hastings Cutoff trail and Donner-Reed road across the Bonneville Salt Flats to Donner Spring, UT. I figure if those stalwart folks working their way to the riches of California could brave that stretch, I can do it too! Hopefully, so will some of my Ultra-running buddies!

This inaugural event will be a benefit for both the Crossroads chapter of the Oregon-California Trails Association and the MORE Project charity, and each year we’ll dedicate the race proceeds to these non-profit organizations. This terrain should prove uniquely challenging, despite the course being predominantly flat, it is relentless!

I’m hoping that this will become a regular for many in the Ultra running community, and will provide a great benefit to the OCTA and MORE organizations. Stay tuned!

Monday, March 7, 2011

I'm Wearing Clown Shoes!

Just about a year ago, a new shoe entered the trail running world... the Hoka One One Mafate. This shoe went the opposite direction of the current trend towards "minimalist" shoes.

Minimalist shoes promote the concept of running a "barefoot" technique, which most ultra-runners use by default as it's really the only technique that can be sustained for 20+ hours. However, the Mafate flies in the face of minimalist shoes.



In fact, they are so cushioned, that running downhill is pretty much a party on legs! At the end of the Bear 100 last year, the steep descent into the Bear Lake valley was nothing but punishment, but with these, I'm pretty sure I would have been in a LOT less pain. Obviously, those looking at them on my feet would have experienced some pain, but that's their problem ;)

So, this year, I'll be wearing my clown shoes on the Moab 100! It'll be super easy to pick me out in the photos and videos I'll post from the race, just look for the lime-green clown shoes and that'll be me! As always, donate to The MORE Project Expedition if you can at the link on my blog, and most importantly, stay tuned!