just trying to be a better person
The North Face has just announced a new race – in ATLANTA, GA. That’s so far away that it would take almost 2 days of driving non-stop to get there. So I think I’ll pass on it and focus on December in San Francisco.
Find out more by visiting http://www2.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge/
There are now 18 people signed up for the 50mile challenge, I was one of the first 4 to sign up as you can see on the confirmation screen above.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Gore-Tex® 50 Mile
Start 5:00 a.m.
Finish Cutoff 7:00 p.m. (14 hrs)
Registration for The North Face Endurance Challenge events will be capped by distance.
Don’t miss out, registration opens March 1, 2010.
Gore-Tex® 50 Mile: 200 race participants
50K: 250 race participants <-- last year
Marathon: 400 race participants
Marathon Teams: 150 teams of two – four participants
Half Marathon: 500 race participants
10K: 350 race participants
5K: 150 race participants
As is with all 2010 Endurance Challenges, a set number of race entries are reserved for members of The North Face Running Club. For more information on The North Face Running Club click here.
As each Endurance Challenge race reaches maximum capacity, runners will have the option to sign up for the event wait list. If a registered participant cancels, race entry will be granted to wait listed runners in the order their registration was received. Upon acceptance into the event, entrants must confirm their intent to participant and submit their registration payment within 24 hours to secure their spot. All wait listed runners will be notified of their registration status no later than one week prior to the event date.
Note: Last year I was wait listed for the 50k and I was number 5 on the wait list, I got in which was great. But I waited until 4-6 weeks before the event to sign up.
It opened today, what will you take on? Will you sign up to run further than ever before? or will you run last years distance and aim for a PR? What ever you choose to do, let have fun out there and be safe.
The Challenge: Race registration for The North Face® Endurance Challenge Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest Regionals are open! Sign up for any of the different race options – 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon, Marathon Relay, 50K, and 50 Mile – before this event sells out!
January 23, 2010 • Ultra, race calander, races • Comments
The registration for this event has closed. The numbers are full but you can registar for the waitlist and it’s on a first come first served basis.
Learn more here http://www.tahoemtnmilers.org/trt50/
January 20, 2010 • Ultra, race calander • Comments
Race registration for The North Face® Endurance Challenge Northeast Regional in Bear Mountain, NY will go live at 4:00 p.m. (EST) Wednesday, January 20th! Sign up for any of the different race options – 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon, Marathon Relay, 50K, and 50 Mile – before this event sells out!
Important Notice: Race registration for the other four Endurance Challenge markets has been moved and will open at a later date, to be announced by January 31st. Stay tuned for registration updates and secure your spot to Never Stop Exploring!
Learn more here thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge/runclub
Wanting to keep running, or need new distances or reasons to talke a holiday to new locations, here you go the most up to date listing of ultra running.
Walking to the support car to get clean warm clothes 
December 6, 2009 • DBM Endurance, Marathon, Ultra, races, running • Comments
Activity Type: Trail Running, Event Type: Race, Time: 07:32:47, Distance: 32.52 mi / 52.34km, Elevation Gain: 11,178 ft, Calories: 4,076 C
Today was the day of the ultimate challenge, to run further than I ever had.
I start the day with a bagel and juice, a shot of Sub 8 Fuel, 4 anti fatigue caps.
It started off well, feeling comfortable running and taking it easy not pushing too hard, the hills I was still running but slowly as I do. Downhills going faster than others feeling good. First aid station, nice to see but not needed. Continue and then we start to get into hills, with long climbs. Really long climbs that are hard. Now starting to walk and run going up. Get to the 13.4 mile aid station. Tired but ok. Get a new bottle of fuel (Perpetum 6 scoops + HEED 1 scoop) leave the old one and leave my jacket and beanie, take a cap.
Pace
Continue up some more before starting down hill through what must be the toughest trail I’ve ever see, but now I’m trying to run it! Have to stop and tape knees at a point they are starting to hurt. Also right leg below the knee is sore. At 15.5 miles in running down a hill I catch a root and do down on my left side. Nothing too sore, I jump up and continue. Heading down hill the steep large steps are causing pain in my right leg. So I take it slow. After a while I stop to tape some more. This time taping my fore foot and ankle.
We now go up in the same wooded area, it’s tough, we are walking and taking our time, can’t go fast at this point.
Finally out of the woods and able to run again. Heading along single track trails that rise and fall in a smooth manner, so nice to have easy trails to run on. Aid station that is so so nice to see. Take 2 Advil. Oranges, banana and coke. Run down and across the road and on to trails that can be run on. We run back on some of the same trails we came out on.
Avg Pace: 13:55 min/mi, Best Pace: 05:50 min/mi
Arrive at Muir Beach after a fast down hill and a short run on the road. Nice to see an Aid Station again, but no time to laze around I know I have to keep going of the body with start to lock up. Orange, nuun water, and a banana.
Up a hill, they are just in my way to finishing this run, so I push on and go up, start running with head down so I can’t see more than 3 meters in front of me, after a while it turns to walking. Then I try running again and catch the biker that is struggling up the hill. Again walking and I try walking backwards, it’s not much help. It’s just tough and I need to keep going the faster I climb and the less I rest the faster the finish will arrive. It’s a tough hill that just keeps going and going. But it will finish.
Elevation
Elevation Gain: 11,178 ft, Elevation Loss: 11,201 ft, Min Elevation: -24 ft, Max Elevation: 1,704 ft
I arrive into Tessesee Valley aid station and grab my drop bag and change my sox, t-shirt and strap my right fore foot and ankle. Take a banana, an orange and some drinks. I take my second shot of Sub 8 Fuel, this stuff is the business. Head on up the hills, every race distance runs this route from here back to the finish. So the branches have all the colours on them, red, blue, yellow and maybe orange? It’s a tough hill, I start running it slowly but in time that changes to walking, the hill goes on for every, but eventually that changes and it flattens out before a dip that is a challenge as it’s steep and not fun to run. Then we go up again and it’s a slow walk. But it ends. Then we get to something that is nicer to run on flat and shaded. I see the final check point and have my number taken.
I start down the hill and my left leg is full of pain. I can only walk! It’s all down hill and I can only walk that’s not fare. I stop and tap my left left, outside ankle to knee, top and bottom around ankle and knee. Above the knee also. Ok lets hope this helps.
Heart rate
Avg HR: 159 bpm, Max HR: 241 bpm
It does and I can run again, slowly at first but then it’s ok and I start finding some pace. It’s nice to be going down for the final time today. 2.7 miles to the finish. It feels good. I run and chat to a 50 mile runner, we run for 1.5 miles together then he has to walk, I continue on. Now pass through areas that I know and it feels good. I come out to the road and know it’s go to to be close now. Along the road and I finally cross the road and start up the final hill the finish hill. I run as it’s so close, it doesn’t hurt any more it’s fine, I run. I take and breathe and note where I am, rounding the final corner I see the finish it’s only 300 meters away, I keep going it’s tough but I focus and run, run to the end of the road and turn to run through the finish. I cross the line and hear the beep of the chip and know it’s over. I get my medal and chip removed and see a familiar face and know it’s done.
I’m now lost and don’t know what to do – I’m early and the support crew isn’t here yet. What a day, what a race, what a test of what I can do.
–
Some of the run was in heavy wooded areas that were very rooty and difficult to run, larger than standard down steps. It was in here that I caught a toe and went down. Around 15.5 mile into the run.
Sitting waiting for the start of the race, trying to keep warm next to the heaters. All rugged up with my hydration pack that worked really well, love the magnetic clip for the drinking tube – totally stops it moving around while running and it’s just there.
