Max King and Western States

Unless EL1 is Max King this thread is stupid. Max is a tougher kid than almost every runner/ultra runner I have ever met. Obviously preparation is required, but if he really wants this, and does his home work, he will have a shot. There are no guarantees in this race, but I guess that is just my point.

King is one tough nut, but being able to transfer that speed and toughness to 100 miles is certainly not a given. Fully prepared, it seems he would be an ideal candidate for some international quality 50 mile and 100 km times. But at 100 miles, road or trail, lots of things happen that performance at the shorter stuff doesn't predict.

But lets be clear, it is NOT just toughness that dicates long-ultra performance. Most fast marathoners and ultrarunners are plenty TOUGH enough to run a fast 100 miler, but it is their physiology that limits performance at 100 miles. It is a unique, not yet fully explained muscular physiology that enables some runners to carry their speed through 100 miles when most can't. Jurek is obviously one of them, Krupika seems to be another. A more recent phenomenon is Dave James who raced a 59 min 10 mile in the weeks leading up to a 13:06/100 miler.

King vs. James at 10 miles and King wins 100% of the time. At 100 miles I say the odds are on James for now until King shows evidence of holding up for a full 100.

None of this is to put King down. As an ultrarunner I love seeing fast guys like him step up and attempt to run blistering fast ultras. All the best to him for trying when so many other fast folks just criticize what they have never tried.