i know he's busy, but it seems to me they could find someone else to pick up the baton. Outpost has 10K+ subscribers. Not all those are watching, but there are also a bunch of people who don't subscribe that watch, so let's say its 10K. That's a lot of brand exposure, especially when they can highlight their own races, which helps drive registrations. If it wasn't for Outhouse News, Aravaipa would have been on my radar as much as they are now. There's gotta be someone the staff who can do the news, or a personable ultra runner who could use a few bucks. An ultra runner who picked up the gig would get more exposure, which would make them more attractive to brand sponsorships.

Obviously, its not my company, so not my decision, but I wish they'd bring it back in some form or another.

Just signed up for Bandera with the 20% off code.

I'm trying my first official ultra and aiming for the Tejas Trails Wild Hare 50K in Nov. I'm primarily a 10K /10 Mile runner so this is a challenge for me. Anyone else done this one?

That's honestly not a bad first one to do. Done it a couple times and both times had pretty crappy weather. But, lots of novice trail runners as well as more experienced runners using it as a prep for later in the winter or going fast. Kinda like Hells Hills in that it is on a private ranch. Good choice.

Nice job on grabbing the 20%. I'll see you there - but just 25K for me. Amazing how fast those 20% and 15% go. Training run for Rocky 50K (maybe 100K depending on training).

I had it queued up and ready to go and typed in the code and hit apply right away. I was looking at Rocky, but a friend from NOLA is coming to pace me and she'll have Mardi Gras obligations in February.

Thanks! Sounds like a good first ultra try for me to try, so I'm now officially signed up.

What kind of shoes do you recommend? For my previous trail events (25K and shorter) I've worn my road racing shoes (saucony Endorphin Speed 2/3), but I've got a trail shoe (Saucony Peregrine 12's) also, just prefer the road shoes if at all possible.

For Wild Hare, you could probably get away with some road runners unless it is REALLY wet or there is a lot of morning dew. Aggie00 could probably back me up on this, but I've seen folks run in road runners at Rocky Racoon - don't recommend it, but I've seen it. With Hells Hills, Bandera and (in my opinion, due to the roots) Rocky Racoon, you are better off with a trail shoe with a 4-5mm lug - like your Saucony Peregrine 12 or the 13s. You don't need something SUPER aggressive like the Saucony Peregrine 13 ST or Salomon Speedcross 6 unless it is really muddy and sloppy. But if you are a Saucony Loyalist, the Saucony Peregrine 12/13 would work fine. You could bring both and always change depending on conditions.

Signed up for Capt'n Karls Colorado Bend 30k today. The race schedule is starting to fill out. I think I might do a 50k in November as a training race for Bandera. If I weren't doing Bandera, I'd do the 100k, but I'm trying to be smart about all this this year.

Thank you, that helps a great deal. While I'm definitely a Saucony Endorphin series loyalist for road shoes, I'm less attached to my Peregrines. They are good for what I use them for (speedy 10 mile trail runs on roots, rocks, mud, etc) they aren't the most comfortable shoe.

So I may shop around and see if I can find a trail shoe with slightly more cushion.

I ran RR100 in road shoes. They were fine. I wouldn't do it if the course was wet though.

First year I ran Rocky, I saw a young lady running in the original Hoka Carbon Xs - she was both muddy and bloody at the end. I have run in the HOKA Speedgoat 2s and Speedgoat EVOs and they were pretty ideal. Lugs weren't overkill, great cushion and pretty light. The roots at Rocky are dangerous in dry conditions and borderline lethal if wet...

Well, my 'shopping around' didn't last long. Picked up a pair of HOKA Speedgoat 5's today. Swore I'd never wear HOKA's again after having tried/returned a pair of Bondi's several years ago.

But the speedgoats felt good on a short run tonight and they should allow miles my Peregrine 12's just won't comfortably take me.

Running Habanero 100 (team relay) in August, NIght Moves Half in September, then will train up for Wild Hare for my first official ultra.

Pretty sure you could have counted ALL of the non-Speedgoat shoes at RR this past February and it would not have equaled the number of Speedgoat 5s that I saw on the trails. By all accounts, the SG5s are pretty good and a definite upgrade over the 4s. I just ran through my second set of SG2s and have a little bit of life left on my SG Evos and just recently picked up a pair of the Mafate 4s - midsole on those things are amazing.

I've been running in the Torrents and they've been pretty good for me. I have a pair of speedgoats to work in.

Yeah, as I was closing in on 40 pacer miles in those Peregrines at RR last Feb, I definitely noticed all the cushy looking shoes others had on (and my feet were pretty sore).

Running a road race (Half) this weekend, but after that will be putting the miles on the new SG's getting in shape for Habanero and eventually Wild Hare.

At 40 miles, you feet are likely gonna be getting sore, regardless of shoes.

Nobody really talks about the consequences of running an ultra, except for losing toe nails.

aggiespartan said:

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Nobody really talks about the consequences of running an ultra, except for losing toe nails.

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I've never lost one.

Neither have I...

If you are losing toenails, that means there was a lot of steep-grade, brutal, quad-killing downhill or your shoes aren't sized properly...

I think I've only lost one. My biggest complaint is that I can't regulate my body temperature very well after a race and it's hard for me to sleep. And I have to pee every 10 minutes.

For 50+ miles, I always run hot/fever after the race. And yeah, sleeping pretty much sucks. After AT100 one year, I suffered through 45 minutes of terrible sleep before I gave up, packed my stuff up, and drove like 5 hours to Dallas to a friend's place. We went out for beers, and I drank several high ABV beers to knock me out.

For those who are looking for some good trail running content, I highly recommend Running Towards Life by John Trent. John has been involved in the trail running community since the mid-90's, and has been on the Western States Board since the mid-2000's. He has so many wonderful stories to share about the trail running community. He welcomed my wife and I into the Reno trail running community when we moved out there in 2014, and he's been a constant mentor since then.

The book is similar to Dean's Ultramarathon Man in some ways; but replace Dean's self-centered-ness with John's humility and a focus on the ultrarunning community.

Looks like Bandera is out as a golden ticket race.

aggiespartan said:

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Looks like Bandera is out as a golden ticket race.

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Here's the list if anyone is curious

CCC 100K
Grindstone 100K
Nice 115K
Javelina 100M
Thailand 100M
Black Canyon 100K
The Canyons 100K

Thanks, I'll check it out!

In case anyone wants to give it a listen, Jam jam is on the newest episode of Adventure Jogger. I haven't listened to the full episode yet, but they are partly talking about Aravaipa on the east coast.

I'm doing the Colorado Bend 30k and Bandera. I'll see you there!

pretty good interview with Jamil on Freetrail Podcast if anyone is interested. talked about the past, present, and future of Aravaipa.

Also, currently watching the livestream of the VK at broken arrow. There's a lot of snow this year!

Bummed we couldn't get back up there this year, but my wife's sister and brother are running this weekend so looking forward to seeing pics/video.

Think I'm going to do the 20k at colorado bend…first race back of the year. Seems like there is a decent number of texagers that do that race

Looks like it's going to be a Texags party out at Colorado Bend.

That race is at night - how does that work? Everyone camping?

I haven't decided yet. I'm afraid it will be too hot for me to sleep after I'm done if I camp.