Thursday, July 23, 2009
Will we see Lance on the Trails?
Interesting news today. Lance Armstrong is forming a new U.S team. Team Radioshack. Check out this article link....He says he will be a cyclist, triathlete and runner for the team. Will we see him on the trails? I hope so!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Team Takes Knee Knacker
Aaron Heidt's Race Report
An Impressive day. Aaron Heidt set the course record, Ellie Greenwood won the women's race, and Gary Robbins finished 4th overall just a couple weeks after Western 100.
2009 Knee Knacker Race Report
Pre Race Jitters.
My race plans are usually simple. I like to start strong, push hard through the middle, and finish fast. Primary goal: course record. Secondary goal: win. That usually works well, but it certainly didn’t in the 2008 version of this race, where I bonked hard and slogged up Seymour Grind to finish 3rd in 4:59. As a result, the night before the race I couldn’t decide whether to go for the record or play it safe and sit back and see how the race played out. I knew I was fit but I had not tested myself over an ultra distance since Chuckanut in March. Not until midnight pre-race did I decide to go for it.
¼ of the Way There.
Usually I don’t know how an ultra is going to go until at least the half way point but this race was different. While I felt heavy and slow in the first few miles by 30 minutes into the race my legs began to respond and with each mile I felt stronger. By the time I got to the Cypress check point at 12km I was feeling relaxed and loose: This despite being 2 minutes under the record pace and 1200 meters of elevation gain. I was pretty confident that today was going to be a good day.
The Home Stretch.
It turned out to be my most uneventful and enjoyable ultra to-date. I focused on staying relaxed and running strong, my wife and son met me at all the check points proving to be my most reliable support crew yet, and I continued to consistently and rather effortlessly click away the miles at a decent pace over some beautiful single track. An ultra runners dream day.
One of my major goals this year was to feel strong up the Seymour Grind, which proved to be the nail in my coffin last year. While still an unrelenting climb at a cruelly late stage in the race I managed to run the entire climb and feel pretty good about the up coming plunge into Deep Cove. The last task was not tripping in the final few kilometers.
The Knee Knackers has one of the most spectacular finishing venues around. As I cruised into Panorama Park just slipping under 4 hours and 40 minutes the mountain and ocean views capped off a perfect day of racing for me.
Thanks to all the amazing race organizers and volunteers – everyone and everything was top notch. Congrats to fellow Montrail Team athletes Ellie Greenwood for her spectacular win in her first ever Knee Knacker and to Gary Robbins who managed to finish 4th despite completing the Western States 100 mile only 2 weeks prior – what a stubborn beast!
An Impressive day. Aaron Heidt set the course record, Ellie Greenwood won the women's race, and Gary Robbins finished 4th overall just a couple weeks after Western 100.
2009 Knee Knacker Race Report
Pre Race Jitters.
My race plans are usually simple. I like to start strong, push hard through the middle, and finish fast. Primary goal: course record. Secondary goal: win. That usually works well, but it certainly didn’t in the 2008 version of this race, where I bonked hard and slogged up Seymour Grind to finish 3rd in 4:59. As a result, the night before the race I couldn’t decide whether to go for the record or play it safe and sit back and see how the race played out. I knew I was fit but I had not tested myself over an ultra distance since Chuckanut in March. Not until midnight pre-race did I decide to go for it.
¼ of the Way There.
Usually I don’t know how an ultra is going to go until at least the half way point but this race was different. While I felt heavy and slow in the first few miles by 30 minutes into the race my legs began to respond and with each mile I felt stronger. By the time I got to the Cypress check point at 12km I was feeling relaxed and loose: This despite being 2 minutes under the record pace and 1200 meters of elevation gain. I was pretty confident that today was going to be a good day.
The Home Stretch.
It turned out to be my most uneventful and enjoyable ultra to-date. I focused on staying relaxed and running strong, my wife and son met me at all the check points proving to be my most reliable support crew yet, and I continued to consistently and rather effortlessly click away the miles at a decent pace over some beautiful single track. An ultra runners dream day.
One of my major goals this year was to feel strong up the Seymour Grind, which proved to be the nail in my coffin last year. While still an unrelenting climb at a cruelly late stage in the race I managed to run the entire climb and feel pretty good about the up coming plunge into Deep Cove. The last task was not tripping in the final few kilometers.
The Knee Knackers has one of the most spectacular finishing venues around. As I cruised into Panorama Park just slipping under 4 hours and 40 minutes the mountain and ocean views capped off a perfect day of racing for me.
Thanks to all the amazing race organizers and volunteers – everyone and everything was top notch. Congrats to fellow Montrail Team athletes Ellie Greenwood for her spectacular win in her first ever Knee Knacker and to Gary Robbins who managed to finish 4th despite completing the Western States 100 mile only 2 weeks prior – what a stubborn beast!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Western 100 takes some hostages!
Well, first of all, congrats to everyone that gave it their all on what was an EPIC day. 115 degree heat, 100 miles, and a stacked field. Some big name casualties include Jurek, Mackie, Omine.... When it's not your day, sometimes you just need to pack it in and get ready for the next race.
But, saying that, more people finished under 20 hours this year than the previous few. So some of the big guns like the heat and seem to not be affected.
Our own Gary Robbins was going into this race primed! He trained properly, raced fast, and seemed to be at an ideal race weight. He earned his silver buckle finishing around 23 hours. Sometimes the perfect race does not happen (rarely), but we need these races to make us more experienced and stronger in the end!
I spent the day watching Gary, Andy Nicol, and my brother Wade. Wade has had a string of issues at WS100. I thought this was his year. He fought hard to the end. However, at 28:15 he simply ran out of time and had to drop. But like he says, next year if he does not get in the lottery he's not doing WS100!
Ok, I am now just waiting for my free DINNER from Gary......I lied gary, I am hungry!
But, saying that, more people finished under 20 hours this year than the previous few. So some of the big guns like the heat and seem to not be affected.
Our own Gary Robbins was going into this race primed! He trained properly, raced fast, and seemed to be at an ideal race weight. He earned his silver buckle finishing around 23 hours. Sometimes the perfect race does not happen (rarely), but we need these races to make us more experienced and stronger in the end!
I spent the day watching Gary, Andy Nicol, and my brother Wade. Wade has had a string of issues at WS100. I thought this was his year. He fought hard to the end. However, at 28:15 he simply ran out of time and had to drop. But like he says, next year if he does not get in the lottery he's not doing WS100!
Ok, I am now just waiting for my free DINNER from Gary......I lied gary, I am hungry!
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