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!

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!

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!

Montrail Canada Keeps Winning Form

This weekend was the inaugural Summer Solstice Marathon and Half Marathon presented by North Shore Athletics.
The route was a tough mountain course mainly through Grouse and Seymour in North Vancouver. The field was not huge, maybe partly because it was held on Father's Day. Not something I would have considered being an issue before I was...well a father.

So what happened:
1-Lisa Polizzi won the overall marathon quite easily
2-Cheryl Beatty won the Half Marathon after taking some ibuprophen to help get her through her injury
3-Aaron Pitt ran hard placing 2nd overall (1st was Simon Driver) and proved: he can wipe out but has the most ripped legs of anyone on the North Shore. I am jealous.

I think all the athletes kicked it in their Montrail Masochist!

Western Predictions

Here is a cool site
You can enter the contest by making your top 8 predicitons for Men and Women

Here are mine:
Men
Jurek
Omine
Mackey
Koerner
Cooper
Grossman
Robbins
Skaden

Women
Kimbal
Moehl
Abs
Oriz
Shelton
Gardner
Copal
Arbogast

Master Mens
Nicol
Master Womens
Gardner (Assuming 40 is masters????)

Prelim Western Calls from Meltzer (Not Melcher)

I have been watching Meltzer's blog for a week waiting for some prelim calls. His Official odds come out on Monday. Here are his Men's picks.
1. Scott Jurek. He has to be the favorite, he’s won the thing 7 times.
2. Dave Mackey. Hot on Scott’s heels, and with unfinished business at Western he’s my pick to win….even though I have him second here.
3. Hal Koerner. He likes to go out quickly, and if he holds it, he’ll be right there at the Auburn track at 930pm.
4. Eric Grossman. I should probably give him some more love here. He’s been stellar all year and this is his chance to shine. Definately the best on the east coast. The darkhorse (sort of) to win it.
5. Erik Skaden. He’s proven he can run fast at Western, and although he hasn’t shown big stuff this spring, I’m sure he’s focused on being another darkhorse to win.
5. The mens race is so tight it’s a tough call, but here’s another bunch of guys that will be in it at Robinson Flat…..at least. These are in the order I think they’ll finish.
Jasper Halekas, Zach Miller, Kubaragi from Japan, Todd Braje, John Olsen (if he runs), Josh Brimhall, Graham Cooper, Dave James, Dan Olmstead, Brian Morrison, Hiroki Ishikawa, Lon Freeman, Marco Olmo (he wins the over 60 category too), Laval Benoit, Mike Wolfe, AJW, Chikara Omine.

I think top 22 is enough for now. The real odds come out Monday
----
I would have to say it's hard to bet against those top 5 picks. Of course, I think one of our own Canadian team mates could run well and place well. This is a DEEEEEP Field. Jurek has to be the top pick, and if you don't think so.....well, I'm not sure what you are thinking (sorry Meltzer). I am not saying it is a sure thing but if I had to bet, I could not bet against the King of Western.

I would definitely put Robbins in that list of top 22. Anyone of these guys could press or blow up. All I know is it is going to be an epic battle out there....

More to come soon.

Mountain Hardwear /Montrail Contest

Check out the Go to Girl contest!

Mountain Hardwear and Montrail join forces to celebrate the inspiration and motivation women provide each other to climb, bike, hike, swim, surf, trail run, and paddle. We want to know who that Go-to-Girl is that motivates you! Give us 300 characters on who motivates you and include a photo. Let’s go!