UTMB Course

Here are the details for following the race:

My crew will do their best to post updates on Twitter when possible. Follow me on Twitter: @scottjurek

Live UTMB webcast: UTMB home page

Click on UK flag for website in English.
Follow link to the LIVE coverage. The Live Webcast will probably only be in French, but you should be able to navigate it fairly

My race number (dosier in French): 4073

Fellow Americano friends running the race:
Jenny Uehisa 3403
Krissy Moehl 2477
John Stamstad 4026
Topher Gaylord 11
Joe Grant 2118
Jamshid Khajavi 313
Kim Gaylord 9543 (running TDS race)

Bon course! to all runners including my friends from all over the globe who will be running around Mt Blanc!

I also posted a small photo album of a week in Chamonix on my Facebook Fan Page. Check out some of the scenery I will be enjoying on race day!

Finally a big thank you to all the support and encouragement all of you have sent my way over here in France! Thank you to my sponsors Brooks Sports, Green Foods, & Pro-Tec.

direct link between protein and enhanced performance. One may think the calories from the fat and protein eaten while running provides energy, but that’s not the case. Our bodies have enough stored fat to provide energy at low to moderate intensities, and ideally we should not be burning protein for fuel. For higher intensities, carbohydrate is the fuel of choice. We usually have only 60-90 minutes of stored carbohydrate in the muscles (i.e. glycogen) at our disposal. Any additional carbohydrate needs to come from food we ingest. So, from a scientific view we really only need to eat or drink carbohydrate for optimal energy levels.

So why might we want to eat protein and fat while exercising? Why do we crave the fat and protein on long runs? Although the jury is still out, I have found protein and fat to be beneficial during ultra endurance events (i.e. those lasting 3+ hours) for the following reasons:

1. Fat and protein give a feeling of satiety.
2. The presence of protein and fat lower the glycemic index (sugar spike effect) of carbohydrates.
3. They break up the carbohydrate taste bud monotony. We all know that eating carbs in the form of gels and drinks can get old, so the protein and fat can refresh the palette.

During racing and training, I always make sure I consume enough carbohydrates every 20-30 minutes and I have found it helpful to incorporate protein and fat. I prefer to get those from whole foods such as bean & rice burritos, energy bars, and liquids (i.e. shake or smoothie) regularly throughout a race. Over the years, I’ve used a drink called “Balanced” that no longer was available due to the company reformulating the product. I was forced to find an alternative protein “meal in a can” drink. A number of people use “meal in a can” drinks like Boost and Ensure that contain dairy and lesser quality ingredients. So I went to the labratory (aka my kitchen) to create my own vegan concoction.

There are many protein powders on the market, but I use Jarrow Soy Essence because it is less processed, non GMO, and fermented for better digestibility. And it tastes good and easily dissolves into most liquids!

Protein On the Run

2 tablespoons Jarrow Soy Essence Protein Powder
8 oz rice milk*

Combine ingredients and shake, blend or whisk until smooth.

If you want to add more carbohydrate calories, add 1 tablespoon of agave nectar, brown rice syrup, or other sweetener. Other options include ½ banana or 1-2 dates. For more sodium, add ¼ sea salt.

* making your own rice milk is easy and reduces the waste produced from containers.

1 cup of cooked white or brown rice
3 cups water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon agave nectar, brown rice syrup or other sweetener

Combine ingredients in blender and blend for 2 minutes until smooth. If the texture is grainy, strain through cheesecloth or fine strainer.

At the end of November, I headed down to So Cal to volunteer at the Santa Barbara 9 Trails Race (aka the Rose Valley 33 Mile Endurance Run). My good buddy Luis did a fantastic job re-routing the entire course to Ojai at the last minute due to several trail and road closures brought on by the Santa Barbara Tea Fire just a few weeks prior to race day.

I refilled water bottles, cheered runners on and soaked up some Vitamin D at an aid station on Nordoff Ridge for most of the morning until Luis put me to work on the grill. Hey, who said vegans can’t make a mean burger?!?!

While it may be hard to sit on the sidelines a race, it is very rewarding, not to mention a ton of fun to give back the sport we all love. If it were not for volunteers, most running races would not happen. Check with your local race directors and running clubs to see how you can help others have a fantastic race experience!

While I was in town, I gave a free pre race slide show on race day nutrition at the Santa Barbara Running Company.

Back in Seattle, I did some trail maintenance and worked on a new trail at Cougar Mountain with the Issaquah Trails Club. Trail maintenance is vital to the preservation of the trails we all enjoy. With the drop in governmental funding for parks and trails throughout the country it is imperative that we pick up a shovel, pick mattock, or McLeod. While it may seem like a thankless job, there is nothing like seeing the fruits of your labor the next time you pass that maintained section of single track. And if you worry that you are missing a run by working on the trails, never fear as trailwork will definitely work you over both aerobically and anaerobically. Just insert some rock splitting and removal to your training plan!

To get involved with trail building and maintenance check with your local hiking clubs, trail work organizations, government land management agencies, trail race directors, or American Trails.

I also gave a presentation at Starbucks Headquarters which was chronicled on the Brooks blog.

What else did I do while on my running hiatus? I spent a lot of time enjoying the wilderness in other capacities like backpacking and hiking…

surfing, sailing,…

and even some rock climbing!

Having more down time made it possible for me to explore various farmers markets (Ballard, University District, Ojai, Ventura), harvest fruit, and make food for friends.

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
– JRR Tolkien

At the end of January, I attended the Outdoor Retailer show to promote the latest version of the Brooks Cascadia 4 which won the “Editor’s Choice” award in Runners World’s “Spring 2009 Trail Shoe Guide.” If you pick up a pair, the insoles have my course record from Western States 100 printed on them.

My racing season began in early February when I flew to Costa Rica to participate in the 6 day Coastal Challenge.

Needless to say, I was a bit out of shape for this but had a blast! I’ll post a race report and photos next time…

Thanks for staying tuned in!

Photo credits: Luis Escobar, J. Vargas

So you may be wondering why I’ve been off the blog for a stint. I’ve been on what I call “winter hibernation,” where I recharge my batteries so to speak, both mentally and physically. I just needed some down time from running.

So what exactly have I been doing for the past month and a half other than not blogging? Not running! When I say “not running,” I mean NOT running. I’ve always taken 4 – 6 weeks off at the end of every race season to let my muscles and mind mend from the long months of hard racing and training. I truly believe this recovery period has been instrumental in enabling me to churn out top race results year after year.

I first began “hibernating” in my nordic skiing days. At the end of the ski season, the snow would start to melt away, and suitable ski conditions along with it. The warm temps and slush caused me to lose motivation to ski or even cross train. So instead of becoming depressed, I embraced the opportunity to take a complete rest from all types of specific training. Although it seemed unnatural at first, it later felt like the right thing to do. I started recognizing it was not only beneficial physically, but also mentally. Following the hibernation period I was ready to start running and cross training with a newly found enthusiasm for my goals for next season.

Then in my first couple years of ultrarunning, I came across the book Train Hard, Win Easy: The Kenyan Way by Toby Tanser. Tanser traveled to Kenya to learn the Kenyan secrets of success. He interviewed the Kenyan elite and coaches to better understand their training philosophies. A recurrent theme in their philosophies was the importance of rest and recovery during the offseason. Yes, even the Kenyans lay on the couch at the end of their season! Many of the athletes refer to taking time off in which they do not run a single step, sometimes for two months.

Top marathoner, Moses Kiptanui, states that he takes a two month break after the race season. 800 meter runner, Nixon Kiprotich describes the importance of the break for an “opportunity to relax, put on a few pounds, and catch up on family life he has missed while spending the summer on the European circuit.”

So not only was taking a break backed up by the Kenyans, but the restocking of my fat stores was given Kenyan approval. Even though I usually put on a few pounds during all of my breaks, I never worry about it. After a couple of good base building months I am back to my normal body composition. So stop feeling guilty about those pounds you packed on during the holidays!

Cosmas Ndeti says “The marathon recovery cannot be hurried; I like to eat well and spend time with my children, then begin a hard buildup.”

I have been eating well, while my break has hardly been hurried. What I thought would be 4 weeks turned into 6 weeks, and no it was not spent in front of a tv on the couch. I have been enjoying getting back in touch with some of the activities and friends that I was not able to keep up with during my busy travel and racing schedule. The break has been physically and mentally refreshing. In my next posts I will be giving the full rundown of what I did to get recharged and what lies ahead in 2009!

So the lessons learned from the Kenyans and the art of hibernation:

1. Take a hibernation break at the end of every season.
2. During the break, run as few steps as possible.
3. Eat well and don’t be afraid to put on a few pounds.
4. Make time for friends, family, and life outside of running.
5. Hibernate four to eight weeks or until fully recharged!

Upon arriving to check out the race course on Friday, I was shocked to see the amount of climbing and descending on the 1.15 mile loop. I had been told and it was posted on the website that the loop was flat and fast with nine and a half feet of gain. I decided against using my altimeter to measure the elevation gain and loss and would just accept the course as it was presented. Too late now. I had spent too much time and money, as well as extending my training and racing season to let the course derail my plans for an American record. Mental outlook is so important prior to a big performance. Plus, I had my friend and crew member Justin, telling me the hills were no big deal. I knew it wasn’t true, but the positive talk was appreciated.

On Saturday at the start it would have been easy to complain about the weather as it was 35-40 degrees with 30 mph gusts and a steady 15-20 mph wind. The temps were supposed to warm to a perfect 55-60 degrees and I felt that I could deal with the wind as it was supposed to decrease late in the day and throughout the night. I settled into a rhythm running 6:30 pace. It was a little faster than I had planned. I knew I would back off to 7:00-7:15 pace as planned. I enjoyed the company of Seth, a 2:26 marathoner from Salt Lake doing his first ultra, and Elijah an East African who was also participating in his first ultra. It was a pleasure meeting and running with both of these talented athletes.

As the miles clicked by I began to memorize all the intricate details of the course. I learned where the cambers of the pavement and the tangents met each other so as to keep a balance between running on level pavement as much as possible without losing too much of the tangent line. The hills seemed manageable, but I knew in the back of my mind that these hills would become mountains late into the race. On the back side of the course one hill was made particularly difficult because of the wind. It not only consisted of a nice climb, but 30 mph wind blowing right into my face. It became the worst stretch on the course and I tried to waltz through this section as smoothly as possible. It was too early to expend more energy than needed.

A benefit of 24-hour races is having fellow runners pass by and offer encouragement. It was a pleasure to share some quick exchanges with runners I have known for years, as well as runners I was meeting for the first time. I was impressed with the 48-hour runners as they had been on the course for over 24 hours and still had another day to go!

The volunteers and those that came to offer their support were wonderful. They gave a good Texan welcome to all the runners and I would like to thank all of those who helped out with this event.
I came through the marathon at 3:04. I was right on schedule with my splits. I was hoping for a 3:05-10 marathon split. The hills were making my splits tougher to attain, but I stuck to the plan and kept moving along. My 50K split was approximately 3:44. Unfortunately the race organizers did not have enough volunteers to give splits out on the course. The distances were marked on the course, although it was hard to remember where they were, as my crew would tell me what lap I was on and approximate distance.

Somewhere around the 40 mile mark I started to notice the effect of the hills more and more. I was holding 8:15-30 pace and well ahead of American record pace, but I began to question whether this was a course for an American record. I also was feeling the effects of my Spartathlon performance from six weeks prior. The effort I would have to put out on this hilly course would be even greater than what I did at Spartathlon. As I went by my crew I told them I was contemplating dropping from the race and saving myself for another day and another course. Of course they were tough on me, encouraging me to go on saying I couldn’t drop now as I was still on American record pace. I told myself I would continue until 50 miles and be done. I knew what would lie ahead and it was not worth risking injury for a below American record performance. At 49 miles I called it a day.

When I stopped, I felt good about my decision. It is never easy dropping from a race and I have only done this a handful of times, but in those instances it has been a wise choice. It was clearly a wise choice in this case, as I checked my altimeter to see how much elevation gain I experienced. In 49 miles I climbed and descended 1069 meters! Yes, 3,500 feet, 71 feet per mile! To break the American record of 162 miles I would have climbed over 11,500 feet! Despite being a seasoned trail and mountain runner, 24-hour with elevation gain are not desirable. In order to achieve my best possible performance and compare against the world’s best, the course needs to be flat as possible.
Despite all the negative criticism that has surrounded Ultracentric I would like to compliment Robert on his efforts to offer prize money at the 24-hour distance and encourage top athletes to go after American records. This is seldom seen in the sport of ultrarunning.

So what I have learned? The most important lesson learned for me going forward in 24-hour record attempts is to check out a course before competing. I trusted that the course would be flat and fast with nine and a half feet of elevation gain. I went off what the RD had told me in a phone discussion and the info posted on the Ultracentric website. In retrospect, I should have had someone in the Dallas area check out the course before I committed and spent the time and money. Most importantly, I only have so many great 100 mile plus performances left in my career and I need to be selective when I put my body, mind, and soul on the line.

I want to thank my crew Justin Angle and Dusty Olson for taking time to come and support me. They did a great job making sure smooth transitions were made for aid and calculations made on distance updates. Although they were bummed that I did not succeed, I am sure they were happy they didn’t have to spend a sleepless night in windy 32 degree weather…

Finally a big thank you to my sponsors Brooks Sports, Green Foods, and Pro-Tec for the generous support this season!

The weather looks good with temperatures near ideal, high of 60 degrees and low of 32 degrees. Wind is supposed to be blowing 15 to 20 miles per hour with occasional gusts of 30 miles per hour, so the wind will be making me earn my keep.

The 1.15 mile course is not flat, but the undulations (or hills as we normally refer to them) may be welcomed to vary the repetitiveness. Or, that “special treat” of variation may be loathed as the hours click by and the climb seems to grow in size.

The current American record is 162.46 miles, set by Mark Godale. Mark gave me a call this past week to wish me good luck and it is comraderie like this amongst fellow competitors in our sport that has always impressed me.

The world record is held by Yiannis Kouros at 180.33 miles and only one has come within 10% of this legendary mark. My goal is to see where I stack among these marks and measure myself in an event that has been testing athletes since the ancient Greek games to indoor 24-hour races in Madison Square Gardens to modern day world record performances by the great Greek, Kouros.

Like me, Nikki Kimball will be making her debut in the 24-hour event and she is ready to go after the American record. Although both of us have a wealth of ultra experience, we are embarking on an adventure in uncharted territory.

And finally, it occurred to me the other day that I have never done a race where there is no finish line. 24-hour races have a starting line and that is it. The finish line will be elusive, a moment in time that I will chase around and around the one mile loop.

On the inside cover of Ultramarathon is the following text that serves as a reminder of what will lie ahead in my 24-hour adventure.

To Go On.
When Everything Else
Wants To Stop…

It is not pain I feel but sinking.
My involvement with the world grows dimmer.
It occurs to me that it would be nice to keel over.
A barely audible whisper says it would be a nice way out.
It seems almost impossible to bother any more…
but I do.

What took so long? To be honest, 24-hour events once seemed kind of nuts to me. I loved running 50 or 100 miles on a trail, spending a day and night in the wilderness following a ribbon of singletrack –- that seemed sane enough. But running around a small pavement loop or rubber track for 24 hours just to find out how many miles I could crank out, well, I didn’t really see it.

Then in 2000 while training for my second Western States 100, a coworker at Seattle Running Company, Jeff Dean, gave me his old paperback, Ultramarathon by James Shapiro. He said it was a must read, a classic from the early 80’s. It was worn around the edges and had that musty old book smell, and it took me a couple of months to get around to reading it.

Well, the book blew me away. The first chapter describes the author’s experience in a 24-hour race at the Crystal Palace in London, and the writing is some of the best I have read on what happens to the human psyche in an ultramarathon. After reading that chapter I started to think I could wrap my body and mind around a 24-hour race. And I began to appreciate the mystery and adventure of an event so many see as mind numbing and insane. Here’s how Shapiro says it:

“The 24-hour is one of the classics. Too many men and women I admired had done it and I hadn’t. It had too perfect a shape and handle for me not to yearn to pick it up and use it to pry myself open to see what I am made of. One learns to accept the destinies one creates for oneself. Besides, a race would be impossibly dull without some fear and doubts to wrestle against.”

So there are many reasons I’ll find myself on the starting line this coming Saturday: a book written three decades years ago, the challenge of seeing where I stack up against the legends of ultramarathoning, and a desire to pry myself open once again and see what I am made of.

If you can’t get your hands on one of the few existing copies of Ultramarathon, check out Shapiro’s article:“It’s Seven O’clock In The Morning” Sports Illustrated July 28, 1980. It’s an excerpt from the first chapter of Ultramarathon. It might just move you to run a 24-hour race!

I needed to take a break to focus on my personal life. I never intended to take as long of a break as I did, but a long inward journey pulled me away from expressing myself here.

Sometimes life takes us on a journey that we never anticipated, down paths that we would rather not take. You know those paths — seldom traveled and barely maintained, the ones that go careening down a mountain with treacherous drop offs, and then on relentless uphill climbs. Sometimes life ends up leading the way, tugging us along. The past seven months have been one of those journeys for me.

Seems like no matter how much a person has been through, difficult times are still difficult. I even had to swallow my own medicine as many people reminded me of things I said in various interviews. This quote: “Like in life, sometimes the most difficult times bring the most clarity…” was one of the bigger “pills” for me to swallow. And it was true. As with races and training runs, summits of those long climbs come into view and at the end of the journey we arrive with greater clarity and ultimately a deeper understanding of who we are.

In addition to this inward journey I had some great journeys both on and off the race course. One thing I never gave up during the blog hiatus was racing, and I’ll be filling you in on these experiences with upcoming entries that will include race reports, what I learned while traveling and racing, upcoming events, and training tips.

So thanks for staying tuned, and keep climbing those mountains!

Read the P-I article about the evening here.

I didn’t take top honors for the evening. I have one fan out there protesting. Read Jim Moore’s P-I story here.

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.