Turk Turkleton said:

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Any suggestions for best coverage of UTMB this week?

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UTMB will have live coverage.
https://live.utmb.world/utmb/2023
https://live.utmb.world/utmb/2023/utmb

I was surprised to see that Heather Jackson is racing. The snow was rough for her at WSER but hopefully she will have better luck at UTMB.

i think she's just really enjoying the trail racing scene. listening to interviews/podcasts/etc, it seems like trail racing is breath of fresh air after her years in triathlon. She's just having a lot of fun. Obviously she's competitive and wants to do well, but i feel like she wants to race a lot b/c she just enjoys it.

That's probably true, but she seemed pretty upset about having to drop out of WSER. I'm sure she'll be chasing a golden ticket whenever those races start.

She is a phenomenal athlete and is just getting into ultra as well as hitting the gravel and MTB scene pretty hard. I think she will do well once she figures out the cadence of these races.

I've watched some Bandera videos and some people are using poles and some aren't. I wasn't considering poles at all. Do I need to reconsider?

aggiespartan said:

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I've watched some Bandera videos and some people are using poles and some aren't. I wasn't considering poles at all. Do I need to reconsider?

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You don't need poles at Bandera. I've done both 50K and 100k. Great race, enjoy!

That's what I thought. It looks pretty similar to Colorado Bend.

No poles. The climbs generally aren't long enough and there is one you might even use your hands on. Nothing like the climb at Caprock, though might feel like it on that second loop.

Heather Jackson did the 50k today. She finished 118th overall/20th female.

super early, but Walmsley/Miller/Evans up front.

no surprise, Courtney in the lead on the womens side, but 2nd and 3rd are pretty much with her.

Zach is a fun story and easy to root for. Runs hard. Always looks like he's on the brink of a heart attack. When will he make his move? Will his ambition get the best of him? Has he legitimately learned from his past mistakes?

Rooting for Jim and hope he can persevere but still thinking top 5 for him, 3 tops.

Still thinking Evans here.

Courtney will Courtney. Others will keep with her for 60 miles or so and she and her Fab 5 basketball shorts will eventually break them...

i'm pulling for Jim and Courtney, but i don't think Jim will take it. I do like Zach as well, so hoping he at least stays on the Podium. Evans seems like a great guy too, so really hard to be upset with any of the top 3 as they stand now.

As far as regular (non elite) people go, this is a cool story. This is the autistic kid that did WSER. I hope he is able to finish.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwpEhpxuZmO/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

that's awesome.

should probably also add, he did WSER sub 24.

At 99k Miller is ahead of walmsley by about 90 seconds.

Long way to go, but this could be HUGE for American men at UTMB.

Lead appears to be bigger than that currently.

Did Evans drop?

Yeah, reports said he was looking pretty disoriented when he got to Courmayeur, been with the medics ever since.

Seeing about a 4 minute gap.

I'm about to throw the live feed on the TV for a bit. Just got down with my "long run." Football season means Friday night Long runs.

You mind posting some notable stuff for those who aren't in a position to stream?

Looks cold and foggy going over grand col ferret. Sun is starting to come up.

Zach looks strong through 113k. No sign of Jim, so guessing the gap has grown, but in a race this long, it doesn't take long to make up ground sometimes.

Gap is 7-8 minutes. Jim looks a bit labored.

They said Zach is about 9 minutes ahead of his spilt from last year.

And Germaine is only a couple minutes behind Jim, so he's catching up.

And of course Courtney is currently ahead of her course record.

I know Zach and Jim have very different builds and different styles but boy does Zach just look much more comfortable right now.

Courtney smiling coming over gran col ferret.

Turk Turkleton said:

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I know Zach and Jim have very different builds and different styles but boy does Zach just look much more comfortable right now.

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Agreed.

I like that pack Courtney has with the "quiver" for poles.

Francois out on the course to cheer Jim on as he ran by. That was kinda cool.

I gotta get some sleep. May or may not see the men's finish, depending on when the kids wake up.

Germain has caught Jim just before Champex-Lac pit stop