Thanks for the feedback! I'm going to take a set for the second lap. They're collapsible so I can always stuff them in my pack. Settled on the Black Diamond Distance Z.

Cool. Try to practice with them before the trip, otherwise your arms are going to get really sore.

Are you doing a race, or just a day of hiking/running?

guessing he's referring to Bandera 100K, which is a 2 loop course. There's very little flat on the course, but there's a couple really steep/gnarly hills that come to mind that are brutal on that second lap.

This series of articles from ultrarunning coach and Texas Aggie Jason Koop is timely:

https://trainright.com/science-trekking-poles-trail-running-ultrarunning/

Quote:

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Utilizing the current research, the 'metabolic crossover' point where using poles becomes metabolically more economical than without is somewhere near a 26% grade. While in my opinion this exact crossover point is a bit fuzzy (it could be as shallow as a 15% grade or steeper than 26%), the point to remember is that in all but the steepest conditions, using poles will cost you more oxygen, making the effort cardiovascular harder.
To put a 26% grade in perspective, below are some common climbs in trail and ultrarunning with their gradients (all data obtained from Strava segments).

Hardrock 100
Cunningham Gulch to Little Giant Ridge
1.9 miles/2,432 feet
25% grade

Leadville Trail 100
Hope Pass- South Side
2.53 miles/2,456 feet
18% grade

Western States 100*
Devil's Thumb
1.53 miles/1,577 feet
19% grade

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I'm "running" the Franklin Mountains 50k in a few weeks. I've read that the first section is pretty rough so that's why I was considering poles. I appreciate you posting that article.

I'm also doing Bandera but probably won't mess with poles there.

Be sure to report back after Franklin mountains. As much as I'm not a fan of trot, it's the one race of his I might set aside my dislike for.

Good luck at Franklin.

FYI to all - registration opened today for The Canyons 100k. The entire course is run on the same trails as Western States, so for anyone who wants to get a taste of those trails but can't get into States, this is a great race. This will be one of my "A" races next year.

coop-aero-06 said:

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Good luck at Franklin.

FYI to all - registration opened today for The Canyons 100k. The entire course is run on the same trails as Western States, so for anyone who wants to get a taste of those trails but can't get into States, this is a great race. This will be one of my "A" races next year.

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Very interested in canyons, but I've vowed not step on the western states trail until ws100.

I'm running the wonderland half marathon tomorrow, but just taking it easy.

Went 2:01:51 for the half yesterday. Ran a mile before and after the race to get some extra mileage. Just kept the pace slightly uncomfortable the whole race, and was able to average 9:18 for the race. Not bad for where I am fitness-wise right now. Good enough for 7th male and 9th OA.

Nice!

Going under 9:30 on trails ain't easy.

Thanks. I still have a ways to go with my fitness, but starting to feel stronger. Need to drop about 10 lbs, but that's going to be hard to do this time of year.

Nice job! That looks like a pretty cool race.

The lottery for western states opened for registration today, if you have a qualifying race. Good luck!

I registered...for my lottery bye.

The lottery has been open for 36 hours and there's been 4400 applicants already. Last year there were 5800 total applicants. With 5 days left to register, I'm sure we'll blow by last year's total.

Which makes me ridiculously bummed about next year.

Also, good luck! As much as I'll be jealous, I hope you get in.

Yikes

A group of my friends were going to do the Tinejas relays in a few weeks at Colorado Bend and they just got an email that it was cancelled. Super disappointed because they had a really good crew.

It was cancelled because... the nesting Golden Cheek Warbler.

I totally get it but it's pretty funny.

Not entirely true. It was moved from March to fall due to golden cheek warblers. It was canceled bc tejas trails couldn't pull off the race after the move, which really makes no sense with their experience and resources. Something else was going on.

AggieOO said:

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Not entirely true. It was moved from March to fall due to golden cheek warblers. It was canceled bc tejas trails couldn't pull off the race after the move, which really makes no sense with their experience and resources. Something else was going on.

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Interesting, email just said something about the warbler. Chris seems like he has his stuff together so I can't imagine it's anything major. They did add one at Spider Mountain that looks fun.

I couldn't do it anyways next month, but I may try it if they move it to the spring

c-jags said:

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They did add one at Spider Mountain that looks fun.

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I came to post this when they announced, but then realized i got the ban hammer for a post over on the zoo. Its their site, so they can moderate however they want, but what i said was pretty tame compared to what is posted regularly over there.

anyway, i digress. I'm quite intrigued by the spider mountain race. I'm leaning toward running it, assuming we don't have any scheduling conflicts. I've been saying for years that I wish someone would put on a non-summer night race. The option to ride the lift is interesting. Its kind of strange that they are charging $20 for pacers, but i'm sure they have to pay per head for anyone on the property. Also feel like we are going to start seeing a lot of races charge for pacers to limit the number of crew/pacers at aid stations, but that's a whole discussion of its own.

I'm kind of interested. It has a 7:30 PM start time which should let me go and it's only about 45 minutes away. 8 mile sounds like a nice distance.

Good luck to anyone in the WS100 lottery.

Feels weird to not be in the lottery, but at least no disappointment this year.

Thanks. 2 tickets for me this year.

Got it

My buddy who I paced at the Moab 240 was just on a podcast and gave a nice break-down of the race. For anyone who might be interested:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/episode-36-scott-jenkins-post-moab-240/id1447479580?i=1000459970769

i listen to a ****load of podcasts these days, so I'll come back to this after i burn through my current queue.