Western States part 2

For Great coverage of Western States check out Irunfar they even have a prediction contest.  Here is how I see the women's field stacking up....

#1 Rory Bosio
Rory has been in the top 5 each of the three years she has run Western States. With Ellie Greenwood (defending champ) out look for her to be close to breaking 18 hours.









#2 Nikki Kimball
Kimball is not new to Western States and has even multiple wins.  Since the fall she has only done one event and looks to be in good form.  I expect her and Rory to duke it out for the lead.









#3 Aliza Lapierre
Since her last Western States where she finished 3rd among the ladies Aliza put a good showing on the trails of Colorado at Leadville finishing in the top 5.  Look for her to finish among the leaders.







#4 Amy Sproston
Sproston has won in the past at JFK, Pine to Palm, and Mt Hood.  Last year she won Gold at the World Championships 100k.  I hope that she can break 19 hours and crack the top 5 this year.




Rounding out the top 10
#5 Ashley Nordell
#6 Meg Arbogast
#7 Emily Harrison
#8 Pam Smith
#9 Denise Bourassa
#10 Melaine Peters

Good luck to all runners.  Hope to see you on the track real soon.

Western States

The end of June can only mean one thing.  Hot weather and WESTERN STATES!  I am excited to follow many of my running heroes as they push their bodies and the limits of ultra running. The Western States 100 was originally an 100 mile horse trek race.  But after a horse was knocked out of the competition Gordy Ainsleigh was inspired to race against the horses and travel on foot the following year.  This was the start of the 100 mile ultra event.  The event takes place in California in the Serria Nevada Mountains.  It starts at Squaw Valley and takes you up and down mountains and valleys of snow and heat to Auburn California.  Last year Tim Olsen won in a record time of 16:44.  I was able to see him finish 7th at the Ice Age 50 and was impressed how easy he made running look.  This year at Western States there are many great athletes entered, here is how I see them finishing.

#1 Tim Olsen  
I think that he has a great shot to repeat this year.  With it being a hot year look for him to finish just over 15 hours.

#2 Dylan Bowman
Last year Dylan finished just over 16 hours in 7th place.  Look for him to improve and break 16 this year.  Just this May he won Miwok 60k and took second in the fall at Run Rabbit Run 100.

#3 Nick Clark
Nick has been on the doorstep of winning Western States and anything can happen in 100 miles.  Nick is capable of winning, but I don't think this is the year.  Nick did have great performances at Leadvill 100 beating Anton Krupicka almost breaking 17 hours.

#4 Rob Krar
Krar does not have a long running resume, but what is on it is amazing.  Rob smashed a running record for the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim trail in the grand canyon.  He has speed in college broke 2 minuets for 800.  Krar won Leona Divide 50 just this April.  This is his 100 mile debut





Rounding out the top ten
#5 Dave Mackey
#6 Hal Koerner
#7 Karl Meltzer
#8 Ian Sharman
#9 Jorge Maravilla
#10 Yassine Diboun

Follow live at http://www.ultralive.net/ws100

Tomorrow I will preview the Ladies.....

Spectators

     Do you have family or friends come to watch you run?  I love to run, but I think that watching someone run would rival watching paint dry.  Yet as a runner I love having spectators at events.  Spectators are the ones standing in the rain or heat when we are running.  There is dedication in that as much as training for a marathon.  With my BIG race coming up I wonder if my family will show up for the finish.  My wife and kids only came to one other race, my first 10k.  I was new to racing and events so there were many things to learn.  My wife said it was a nightmare trying to find each other.  Not to mention having young kids in an unfamiliar place.  My wife was at my first 5k, but I cannot remember if she even saw me finish.  We have also ran the same event before, but not able to see each other finish.
  At big city races it is almost impossible to get a spot at the finish line to see your runner cross the finish line.  When I ran Chicago my wife and I planned to meet up in the hotel lobby.  In Chicago the prime view spots were sold to raise money for charity.  I was 30-45 minutes slower than expected and she sat there a ball of nerves.  That combined with a trip to the triage tent I was super late.  I wonder because of what happened at Boston, if spectators will stay home.  Spectators are the ones that are giving up not only time on race day but time all training season for long runs and tempo workouts.  I am thankful for my wife to give me time to work on my craft.  
    At the end of running 50 miles I am going to be tired.  Will I even want others around me?  Will I be able to drive home?  There are a lot of logistics to running 50 miles!  This is one of many kinks that need to be ironed out.

     I am proud to say that I have not had a doughnut to eat ALL summer.  Yes I get that summer is a few days old.  However it almost happened today.  On my way home from a run I drove by the bakery or as I like to call it now "where the devil lives"  Good thing I was sweaty and gross and the store was full of people.  I kept driving and rejoiced at the fact I didn't give in.  Yea I win!  Until mid afternoon when I wanted Ice cream.  It was so warm out and it sounded so good.  A summer day and Ice Cream they are SUPPOSED to go together.  I chose a hand full of cashews in place of ice cream.  Yea I win again!  2-0 ME! Later that day the air conditioning broke and the kids were being naughty and I was a sweaty mess.  My my shirt off and my belly sticking out as I sat on the couch and looked on the computer for Sonic half priced Ice Cream drinks.  I got up and made myself a protein shake and had a clif bar.  3-0 OHH YEA!
     I struggle to eat a lot of food, and food that is good for you.  Where I work we have meals provided to us, but they are really bad and not good for you at all.  So most days I end up eating a salad and skip dressing because I don't want 17-20g of fat and HFCS.  We cannot bring our own food due to other issues, so that is out of the question too.  I am debating eating an early dinner and a late dinner to solve this trouble.  This is the last week I will be counting calories.  I have learned that I need to cut fat out of my diet and lower my sodium levels too.  Ha, makes those cashews sound like an iffy option.
    I feel like I won today, but then again I didn't.  If I am going to eat healthy this is going to be a lifestyle change.  So with this minor victory I move on to tomorrow where a whole new world of big mac's and sweet foods await me.  Ooo big mac's, is McDonald's still open?