Scott’s Blog

Late last week UltraRunning Magazine announced their 2007 North American Ultrarunners of the Year. It was a great year of performances on the ultramarathoning scene. I feel honored to have received recognition as male Ultrarunner of the Year as well as male Performance of the Year for my course record run at Hardrock Hundred.

Congrats to Nikki Kimball for being named as female Ultrarunner of the Year and Krissy Moehl for receiving female Performance of the Year also for her course record run at Hardrock. Congratulations as well to all the other athletes receiving recognition for their great performances throughout the season.

View the complete press release here.

The Final Sprint just posted an interview I provided them with recently. We discussed my 2007 season, what’s coming up in 2008, mental aspects of ultrarunning, pain, and giving back to the sport.

2007 has turned out to be a year with many incredible performances in distance running, a sport which is making leaps forward with continually growing enthusiasm. This is partially due to the resurgence in performances of recent years. If you are a distance running fan, this is a great time for our country. There are many men and women inspiring some of us mortals to get out there, train harder, and live better.

Running USA, a non-profit association “dedicated to serve and facilitate the growth of all aspects and entities of running and its health and fitness benefits,” has been a much needed backbone to the development of the sport since 1999. Every year they recognize great performances. This year there were many! Of which, I’m grateful to receive an honorable mention in “The 10 Best Moments for Distance Running in 2007″ for my Spartathlon victory. (Last year I was honored with a #8 ranking for my win in the same event.) (more…)

I have always felt one of the beauties of running is the lack of required gear. Feel inspired, step outside, go. Unless we’re running barefoot and naked, which some of us nuts are, we require only simple clothing and shoes. I’ve commented some in previous posts about shoes I’ve raced with, but I’m frequently asked what shoes I wear for training. I’ll comment again on both. Here’s the scoop.

Most of us don’t have the exact same biomechanics side to side, which is also true for me. I am a strong supinater on one side and a neutral pronater on the other. I alternate a bit from a neutral cushion shoe to a mild stability shoe when training on the roads. For optimal performance on the trails I feel it’s important to run with a lower profile shoe without as much consideration to pronation and supination, unless severe, as the foot and ankle are continually adjusting to the varied terrain. (more…)

I recently received a copy of a new book featuring select endurance running events on all seven continents. “Extreme Running” is beautiful. The photography says plenty on its own. From the top of the world to the bottom, it captures the “extremes” in foot races- from the hottest to the coldest, the wettest to the driest, the highest to the lowest. Beauty everywhere. In addition, authors Kym McConnell and Dave Horsley capture the human spirit through the athletes’ experiences.

As well as making for a great coffee table book, it’s a way to travel from the living room, gaining inspiration to explore new environments and cultures, something I value greatly. When we travel and race in “extremes,” we explore inward, the ultimate journey.

Coming off of a spectacular season filled with new adventures, tough competition, successes, lessons, and a couple of bizarre traumatic injuries, I’ve decided to call it a year. Having been eager to try a 24 hour race for the unique ability to “race” against all other previous 24 hour runners, I had been thinking I’d make my first attempt at Across the Years this 31st of December. However I usually take at least four weeks off this time of year to recover mentally and physically and quite frankly I feel like doing just that right now rather than waiting until January to do so. (more…)

Last February I did an interview with EliteRunning.com. We discussed my training, transition to becoming vegan, racing, and ultrarunning in general. I’m commonly asked a lot about these topics and feel this interview provides some insight.

Tomorrow, Saturday November 3, is the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the Men’s Marathon. More than 130 Olympic hopefuls, the fastest field in history, will start at Rockefeller Center at 7:35 AM, run through Time’s Square, and continue with five loops of Central Park. Usually a small-field, stand-alone race, I’m envious of anyone there to watch it before Sunday’s NYC Marathon. But the event will be broadcast live on NBCSports.com. I’m not going to miss that!

Recently I had the opportunity to view the documentary “Forever Running” which chronicles the life and running pursuits of the legendary ultramarathoner Yiannis Kouros. While including archival race footage and interviews with Yiannis in his home, at work, and while training, Yiannis shares with us his upbringing, historical events, and inspirations that led him to amazing feats of endurance. Over the past thirty years Yiannis has set many world records that may, in his own words, last for centuries. His records span from the 200K to the 10 Day distances. These include his spectacular marks which no one has come near for the 24 Hour road at 290.2 km and 24 Hour track at 303.5 km (188 miles, 7:38/mile)!

Having great respect and admiration for this great Greek runner, I feel he is an inspiration for all runners aspiring to explore the depths of their endurance and inner abilities.

“Forever Running” is available for the first time in the US and can be purchased online through ZombieRunner.

The women’s finish at the 2007 Chicago Marathon is another memorable moment in sports. Worth taking a look. The course closure may have gotten the press, but this is one amazing finish! This is a fine example of race strategy and tactics.

Better quality and original footage on CBS2 Chicago’s site.