Mr Trail Safety Speaks!

This seems apropos somehow The Tarahumaran/Raramuri runners of northern Mexico have an exalted ultra reputation. Their legendary running skills have cyclically transfixed ultras here in the USA going back to the early nineties. Coming out of deep, remote canyons in Chihuahua, the optics were magnetic. What gets lost in the media pixie dust is that they are desperately poor, sustaining themselves in a harsh landscape, and beset by loggers, narcos, and an indifferent ruling class and government. Starvation is a constant threat, now exacerbated by global warming climate change. Here it comes: “Born To Run” McDougall’s “Born To Run” book is often cited as a primary source on the Raramuri. Last time it was mentioned by an aggrieved SJW who was newly woke on ultras, I nearly shot coffee out my nose. Wikipedia can be like that. But McDougall’s done well with it, bullshitting TED talks in Davos etc. I get it, writing doesn’t pay much, and Davos can be fun.  Rewind! The Raramuri h...

The Legit Solo Runner in its purest form is almost a unicorn. I know several of you—and I respect it. My first two hundreds were pacer-less. I got thru Angeles Crest in '91, and Wasatch '92 without a pacer. I had a crew in '91, no crew in '92. But crews and pacers can be fun, if you're willing to be responsible. More on that here . I hear distant “Chariots of Fire” trumpets.  The Solo Runner heroically running the 100 all by themselves—without an entourage, posse, or circus caravan.  The Solo Runner idea was to encourage or goose signups in the Lottery Age we now live in. It's obvious that this can be gamed by  clever people, with few penalties.  However rules are mysteriously bent when celebrity or a course-record might be involved. Take the doddering AC100 for instance. RD Ken Hamada was trying to get less cars up on Highway 2, because each runner had 14 friends with 2 cars each, creating traffic and confusion. So the answer there is to only let in pe...

I was not equal to the task set before me. When I dropped at Mile 32 I gave my DFL/DNF podium speech, picked up the keys to the Benzo, thanked my sponsors . Luke Nelson puts on a very tough race with amazing volunteers.  The Scout Mountain Ultras [100/50/21 miles] is old school in the best way possible, with a Zero Douche Factor. Finish line at Mink Creek is quiet, but maybe the mosquitoes hadn't woken up yet.  But now, back to my shit: #brandambassadork #SocialMediaWhoring #BullshitExcusesYo Then I drove on down that Lonesome Highway to a Happy End.   [Insert Interlude of Beautiful Music] Now, for something to really jerk off to, where the fine blend of butt hurt is laid on [wait for it....] THICC .  That's this season's meme-worthy term, kid you not. In the beginning is the end, and shit. Just prior to the 0500 start I was trying to stay warm by a fire, knowing I'd be sweating like a pig within a mile. Two local guys were discussing ultr...

Baden-Powell, with Angela Shartel, 2013. The AC100 is asking the public’s support for the race’s survival as a trail race. At stake is the iconic portion from Vincent Gap over Mt Baden-Powell. Which could disappear.  Their email came to my attention: This past December, the San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Act was presented by Congresswoman Judy Chu. The legislation adds new wilderness areas the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, and the effect on the Angeles Crest 100 Mile course would require another road section skipping the pinnacle of the course, Mount Baden-Powell. We need your help to reach out to your congressional representative to help get AC100 trail access and prevent the race from becoming a road race. Then the following text on how to locate your congressperson: Step 1 : https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative  Step 2 : Contact your Congressperson via their website. Copy and paste the following letter (a...

Mere moments before I did my first ultra, Sept 1989. I was at a wedding several summers back and a handsome young dude asked me "don't you ever wish you were young and beautiful like me?" I looked at him, thinking, "...sure." But I answered him "Billy, play your cards right, and you can be old and ugly like me." This wasn't the answer he expected.  But I deal in the unexpected. Have a seat. Oh very young, what will you leave us this time? I see your fresh faces thundering down the trail in your most Recent Race Shirt. You're young and enthusiastic. It's springtime, and Ultras are magical. Your Luck Bag is full, and your Injury Bag is empty.  As it should be. In time, typically about five seasons, you'll look around and suddenly wonder "who the fuck are all these new people?" They'll be wearing their own styles, carrying gear that is different from yours, and probably look at your flat-brimmed trucker ...

This is what a deluged SOB50k looks like when you're pulled. Of course if you were faster you missed out on this. A massive winter storm front rolled in on the rescheduled Sean O'Brien 50, and hit it squarely in the face. In the Pacific Northwest that's an average day, but here in SoCal its a shocker.  The race was torched out of its original Malibu locale by the Woolsey Fire. Now it got drenched in its Verdugo Mountains relocation. It couldn't catch a break this year. The original field of 250 was 93 DNS—for many runners driving from outlying areas probably bagged it on justified fears of highway closures.  I was looking for a sub cutoff 50k finish, but didn't get it. The race was called shortly after noon as local mudslides and washouts prompted the Verdugo Mtn park authorities to call the race, the end. Those of us out there when it was called were credited with a 30k finish . Wet-Look Fashion Victims At the starting line from my jaun...

Last year's AC100 winner gets to wait his turn in the wait list. Just when the AC100 is getting its act together, it reverts to form.  Rene Dorantes  won it in 2018. And here he is, #93 on the wait-list. Really? Rene Dorantes, focused and unstoppable. All the previous years champions went up in flames. The previous year's winner used to be invited/admitted into the next year's race.  This used to be customary and automatic.   Another quaint and delirious custom from a bygone epoch is now buried in a shallow grave. Which begs the question: who's gonna get Bib #1? Again, this used to be worn by the previous year's champion. And the following 9 bibs were worn by other worthies of note. Things like this will be fun to note when they're assigned. Think I'm kidding? See for yourself . Merry Xmas and Happy New Year! UPDATE: Somebody got woke, on or around Jan 2 2019: The revised entrant list Revised Dec 31 1400hrs. Because I'm pissed. ...

You might get invited . The Few, The Wowed, The Chosen Soon top-tier ultras will be invitationals. Demand, and instant online signups are driving this. The HardRock 100 is a conspicuous example. Their field is capped at 145, because of remote aid-station space/logistic constraints.  Nobody is particularly happy with the lottery for whatever reason; full qualification details here .  Solution: make it an Invitational. That removes the whole lottery/convoluted entry process/RD Sharpie Thing. Then the disgruntled can bitch about that too. Most ultra-lotteries are cryptic events anyway. Correct me if I'm wrong.  Further down the list, change the qualifications. Like maybe have 2-5 qualifying 100s done before you enter the inner circle of elite 100s. Ditch the 100k or 50miler as a qualifier. It hasn't been 1986 for a long time now. Flying Wait-List Standby So you didn't get in to your dream 100, now you're wait-listed. Great! Lets say you're 93rd a...

Goodbye trees and shade. It'll be a scorched hell scape for many years to come. These are the Days of the Expanding Fire. Currently the entire western Santa Monica Mountains are either burned, or going to be burned. Years of persistent drought, global warming weather have brought us here. Fires that used to be confined somewhat to autumn are now year-round. A big hole has been blown into the SoCal ultra calendar.  The Ray Miller 50/50/30 is cancelled. I'm expecting the Sean O'Brien 50/50/100k [Feb 2 2019] to follow suit. Race management has promised rollovers to next year.  Backbone Trail 68 & 100, gone. Also cancelled this weekend was the No Name races that were slated to start/finish in Chesebro Cyn up in Agoura. Just yesterday [Nov 12 2018] Rocky Peak and Corriganville burned, up in Simi Valley.  Malibu was under mandatory evacuation. Any property up a winding canyon road is likely a goner. The Pacific Coast Hwy [PC...

There's always an exit. Finally. Proof that the ice-caps are melting, Rapture, whatever.  The Ultra World learned this afternoon that the venerable and creaky AC100 was now on Ultrasignup . This transition finally happened, long years after it had been suggested by parties irreverent and impertinent.  RD Ken Hamada is famously cheap, and that somehow the idea that runners were going to pay a fee to effectively process their entry had gotten through to him.  Assistant RD Jakob Herrmann simultaneously announced his departure, and has left Uncle Kenny's Kabin. Hermann didn't go into great detail, but its safe to surmise that enough was enough.  Jakob had the patience for this kind of glass wall-climbing, but has decided to suffer better elsewhere.  AC100 had already startled long-time observers several months ago by finally getting on board with a wait-list, paired with an entry open date in December, not the day after end ...

The Solo Runner category in the current 100-mile race scene is bullshit, and should die immediately. Its unenforceable, and subject to gaming by the more clever out there.  "Oh hey, I didn't really understand that part of the rules where it said a solo runner was Lonesome Me, with no crew or pacers, gosh..." Somehow these people pass their DMV tests. In theory it supposedly confers a registration advantage at the AC100, and reduces the number of cars out on the course and in aid stations. On the face of it, OK; because this is America, and every runner has 3 friends and 4 extra cars. But is a solo runner theoretically a nobody, with no casual admirers?  At the AC100 this is Panic Level DefCon 2. Runners got a multi-signature contract form, pretty much like buying a house. You swore that you know all the rules, you read the rules, understand the rules. Got that Adventure Pass, Crew Parking Pass? Don't give aid out on the road [because there's 12 miles o...

My BigFoot 40 Avatar and Spirit Animal. I finished BigFoot 40 in style—behind the wheel of a Buick Regal, driving three other woebegone 28mile DNFs like myself. It was a far cry from my race morning start that ended at Windy Ridge 27.79666 miles later.  My first shameless thought on dropping was "how the fuck do I get out of here?" Yeah, me love ultras long time, but I was a drowned rat looking for a lifeboat. Fortunately, I said this to Ryan Good who offered me his Buick Regal to drive to the finish. He was going to pace a friend for the last 15+miles and that saved him a long-ass stinky-butt drive to get his car.  Let it be noted for all the city types that driving in rural Washington involves hours, the roads are curvy, and prone to sinks, sags, waves, and potholes as occur in a dynamic geology and weather.  Prologue-Jamming The day started well enough, but once the preliminaries had been replaced by lava boulder fields my shit-summer training made itself kn...