Sure!

I did Rockledge Rumble this last weekend in Grapevine if anybody wants to hear about that. It was put on by Blaze Trailrunning and they seemed pretty solid.

i'm up to #20 on the Angeles Crest 100 waiting list, which is pretty much guaranteed to get in this far out. Trying to decide if I'm going to still try and throw my name in leadville or just go out to cali and run AC.

Man, Leadville is bucket list type stuff for me...

Altitude at leadville kicked my as this summer. Going to try again, but will have to totally change my approach. I spent 3 weeks there acclimating. It wasn't enough.

JeremiahJohnson said:

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Altitude at leadville kicked my as this summer. Going to try again, but will have to totally change my approach. I spent 3 weeks there acclimating. It wasn't enough.

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you go to Breck a lot. Does the altitude not bother you there? It gets me after 2 days or so. Living at 10,000 is tough for a south texas boy.

I mean it definitely takes a bit of time for me to get used to Breck. I was running there regularly in the 3 weeks leading up to the race and got up to 25 miles in Breck. I ran 20+ miles 10 or more times leading up to Leadville. However it was not enough. Going to have to add more steep climbing at altitude. My heart rate was 190bpm at Hope Pass. I just couldn't recover fast enough on the flats and descents. My coach and I are working on a plan. I don't handle altitude well.

Tamuag04 said:

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Man, Leadville is bucket list type stuff for me...

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I agree, and may still throw my name in. But AC100 is also an OG race. We will see.

With respect to elevation training; I stayed in Leadville for 4 weeks last year and Buena Vista for 3 weeks this year. Maybe 1-2 long-ish runs (no more than 15) but lots and lots of hiking and cycling, pounding of the water and lots of electrolytes and zero alcohol for the entire trip.

It was super hot this year; my heart rate was more elevated than I wanted pretty much the whole time. Fortunate enough to buckle Leadville '22 and the entire leadman series for '23. The backside of hope pass is just never very forgiving.

Put in for Western States this year and just signed up for Brazos Bend this afternoon to try and get my lottery ticket for WS '25 out of the way!

Dino Valley 50k

This race report is going to sound pretty hypocritical. I liked the race, but I wouldn't run it again.
The 100m and 100k started at 7. All other distances (50k, 25k, and 5m) started at 8. Something like 168 people did the 100m and 100k. I don't know how many started at 8, but it created a bottleneck for a good bit of time. The course was a lot of single track. There were a lot of rocks, some loose and some big stable rocks. I had about 2600 feet of gain on my strava. The loops were 10.5 miles long. 50k was 3 loops.

There were a lot of miles on the course where there was traffic coming and going. I usually don't mind that too much, but a lot of those spots on the course were pretty narrow, so it was a hassle.

The race director was very enthusiastic and all the volunteers were great. I think the race starts could have been staggered a little more and it would have been better. They are trying to get enough finishers for the 100m and 100k this year to be a qualifier for Western States. We set up a tent in the crew area and that was convenient.

Overall it was a good course, and I PR'd by quite a bit, but I just can't imagine running those loops 6+ times.

Feel free to ask any questions, I still have some race brain, so I'm sure I left something out.

I had the same feeling about the race - nice, but probably wouldn't run again with all the single track bottleneck.

Looks like Dam Yeti sold out in about 40 minutes. I was originally planning on doing it, but my goals sort of shifted. Their races look like a lot of fun, though.

Up to #16 on AC100 waitlist.

I'm not regretting signing up, but Buffalo Run is probably going to be harder for me than I planned. First 100, they moved back to a Friday/Saturday format, and it's Easter weekend. That being said, if anyone around Antelope Island in Utah wants to pace or help crew, I'll need it.

I know some people in the area. I can ask around if you'd liked. Ill actually be there around that time, but for a wedding.

Salomon tv has a youtube documentary about Ash Bartholomew's Western States run. It's a pretty good little film.

Leadville opening back up this week.

Lifetime member registration is open now. Looks like I am headed back next summer for some redemption

Just saw Brazos Bend got rescheduled due to weather. Sucks for everyone running.

Weather? Seriously? I was curious so I checked. It's a 40% chance of rain. Temps in the 60s this weekend. It's essentially a "soft surface" road race. I don't get it.

What am I missing?

No idea. Now it's one week before Bandera. If anyone wants to do a different race, Loup Garou over in Louisiana is Saturday and it's fantastic.

aggiespartan said:

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Salomon tv has a youtube documentary about Ash Bartholomew's Western States run. It's a pretty good little film.

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finally watched. I didn't realize he got off course. That sucks b/c he was so close to finishing, even with the mistake.

and man, this one hurts. So many feelings having gone through something similar (but very different) at WS100. I think his was harder to deal with, but having spend 10 years trying to get in and then timing out of my dream race at mile 30 due to covid that I didn't know I had was really, really tough. I've not really written much about it, but I still have a rough time with what happened.

I didn't realize he went off course either. A missed turn that took an hour to get back on course, and he was 2 minutes over. And his kid was leading him. You know he has a lot of guilt.

Feeling pretty frustrated right now. Dino Valley was just named a WSER qualifer. If you finished the 100k in 22 hours, you get a ticket. Bandera is 17. Had I known it was going to be so lenient, I would have pushed for the 100k at Dino.

aggiespartan said:

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Feeling pretty frustrated right now. Dino Valley was just named a WSER qualifer. If you finished the 100k in 22 hours, you get a ticket. Bandera is 17. Had I known it was going to be so lenient, I would have pushed for the 100k at Dino.

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they are doing it retroactively? And those are just lottery tickets.

Ragoo said:

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aggiespartan said:

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Feeling pretty frustrated right now. Dino Valley was just named a WSER qualifer. If you finished the 100k in 22 hours, you get a ticket. Bandera is 17. Had I known it was going to be so lenient, I would have pushed for the 100k at Dino.

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they are doing it retroactively? And those are just lottery tickets.

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I know they are lottery tickets. But I'm going to probably have to have a pretty good day to get a lottery ticket at Bandera. I would have had a pretty big buffer at Dino.

Yes, retroactively. It's a lottery ticket for the 2024 lottery (2025 race).

I'll put on my running snob hat for a minute...22 hours for a 100k in texas (not in the mountains)? You can walk the entire race. Absolutely shouldn't be acceptable for a race like WS100. Anyone pushing 22 hours at that race isn't finishing western states I under 30 hours.

With that out if the way...yes, completely sucks that they announced after the race, which prevented you from taking the option of the 100k.

AggieOO said:

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I'll put on my running snob hat for a minute...22 hours for a 100k in texas (not in the mountains)? You can walk the entire race. Absolutely shouldn't be acceptable for a race like WS100. Anyone pushing 22 hours at that race isn't finishing western states I under 30 hours.

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This was my first thought when I saw the time, but then was disappointed that I could have easily made it. I've been working hard for Bandera but it's still frustrating. I don't know how they come up with the cutoffs, whether its WSER or if the RD makes a suggestion, but it seems very generous even just looking through the list.

They also recorded all the 100 milers as 100k finishers too (they had 100k times recorded on ultrasignup). Is that normal? I don't think that's happened in my other races.

No, that is not normal. That said, I've not done any WS100 qualifiers that have 100 mile and 100k at the same race.

So I'm assuming if some pro showed up to run the 100 miler but came through the 100k faster than any 100k runners, she would crown them champion of both races? And do the two races have the same start time? If no to both of those questions, I'm not sure I'm ok with giving a finish time in a race you didn't run.

They started at the same time. The RD's email said she wanted any 100 miler who dropped out after 100km to have a 100 km time.

her race, her rules. There are plenty of races that allow people to drop down, but i don't know of any that give a finish to multiple distances. I guess as long as Western States is ok with it, it is what it is.

I'd still be curious what she'd do in the unlikely event I posted above about a pro showing up and crossing the 100k mark first and then going on to win the 100 miler.

I think she'd stick to their registered distance, but I don't remember any clarifying remarks about it.

if that's the case, then in my opinion, those runners aren't running the 100k and shouldn't get a 100k finish.

none of it really matters, and its HIGHLY unlikely that situation ever comes up anyway.

Overall, I'm just happy Texas got another WS100 qualifier.

Are they seeing a dip in WS100 lottery qualifying and trying to get more people in the lottery? Is that why it is retroactive?

if by "they" you mean WS, no. Its another record number of entrants for the lottery.

if by "they" you mean the dinosaur valley race, no. It literally just became a qualifier this week.