Dear 100-Miler, Dude, we are absolutely crushing it this year. My first two sub-24 hour finishes to start things off followed by an enjoyable ES100 finish. I wouldn’t quite say I feel comfortable with our relationship, but I’m definitely becoming more comfortable. When things are going well, there’s a tendency to do one of two…
Who Finished 2017 ES100?
When I pulled together the information for my demographics post, it was primarily to see who would be able to finish. I had some ideas about who would be better able to finish this race and I have to say I’m a little surprised at how wrong I was on several many all of them.…
2017 Eastern States 100 Race Report
Easier doesn’t mean easy. The cooler temperatures just about doubled the finisher rate (59% vs. 34%), however it didn’t feel that much easier that last year. The website has an overly detailed course description, however it does a poor job of adequately explaining how difficult the trails are (i.e. there are exactly 3 runnable sections…
2017 Eastern States 100 Preview
I’m in the front row of a roller coaster heading up the first climb. This isn’t one of those newfangled metal constructions though, but an old school one. I can hear the wood creaking as we gain altitude and . . . yes, I think the track is even swaying a bit in the breeze. …
2017 ES100 Participant Demographics
So who’s running Eastern States this year? I was curious what type of person would sign up for the race so pulled together the below numbers. Huge honkin’ disclaimer: these numbers were pulled from Ultrasignup and while they are very accurate for US races, they don’t have a lot on international races. Also, some runners…
My 100-Miler Ranks
I’ve done six different 100s over the past couple years. No race is exactly the same and since everyone looks for something different when choosing races, I thought I would give you my ranks in various categories. Disclaimer: These are my own personal opinions based on how I remember them over the past 2 years. …
Dear Me of Five Years Ago
Congrats on busting out that six mile run! Doesn’t it feel nice to hit a PR? It doesn’t matter whether it’s during a race or not, that’s an awesome accomplishment. It was only a couple months ago that you couldn’t even do a 5k without walking half of it. And guess what? You get to…
2017 Old Dominion 100 Mile Splits
The RD for the OD100 mailed out the detailed splits a week ago for this year’s race. I don’t think pace charts work too well for 100-mile races due to the variability of terrain and the inevitable lows that you go through. Hopefully, these can provide a guideline as to times you can expect to…
Becoming Proficient
Fact #1: The first time you attempt something you’re gonna suck at it. Fact #2: You’re not going to be much better the second time. I don’t know why I seemed to have forgotten these facts as I started my quest to finish a hundred 100-milers. I had some “successes” at shorter ultras (i.e. I finished them) mixed…
2017 Eastern States 100 Training Plan
I’m 59 days out from ES100 so I guess it’s time I came up with a training plan. The good news is that Old Dominion proved that I’m in the best 100 mile shape of my life. Granted, I’ve only been doing these for a little over 2 years now (boy, 2015 C&O 100 seems…