Red Bull 400?

Just one bump, I promise.

I've not heard of this until your post. I would like to give it a try to see how I stack up. Sadly I don't live anywhere close to one of the events.

Seems like they're expanding, I think Whistler earlier this year was the first one outside of Europe. Maybe they'll bring it to Lake Placid or somewhere back east soon. For anyone else who's thinking WTF?:

http://www.redbull.com/us/en/events/1331718858544/red-bull-400-international

How fast do the winners usually run? We used to do an uphill 400 (not this steep of course) at UCLA and the goal was sub-60 or you had to continue with a 300, 200, and a few 150s up the same hill.

kimani wrote:

How fast do the winners usually run? We used to do an uphill 400 (not this steep of course) at UCLA and the goal was sub-60 or you had to continue with a 300, 200, and a few 150s up the same hill.

From the Red Bull site:

1. Brandon Crichton (3m43s) - Red Bull 400 Record-breaking time

2. Shaun Stephens-Whale (3m55s)

3. Michael Simpson (4m01s)

This was the Whistler Race. Seems kind of slow, even with the steepness. That's why I'd like to try it. I have no idea how fast I would be.

That site says the course gains 400m, which I'm almost certain is incorrect. I think it's more like 400 feet. Still, I've run up hills with similar slopes before and typically 18-20 minutes/mile is pretty solid, so that would translate into 4-5 minutes for a quarter or so.

Hahaha, this is fantastic. I would love to do one of these totally unprepared to see how it felt.

My in-laws have a place in the NC mountains and I believe the altitude is around 3,600 feet. One of the runs I do there has (what I think) is a 150 meter hill that is super steep. I have done a few hill repeat workouts on it and they just about burst my heart.

I am glad this race exists, but I don't think I'll be traveling to any European ski towns any time soon.

when is it? let us know what happens

I have heard of them. Looks like it would shred your thighs, doesn't look like too much fun to me. Who knows, maybe in the summer.

afgdsf wrote:

when is it? let us know what happens

Race is Saturday. Will update with info afterwards... going in with the goal just to make it into the finals. Not worried about it "shredding the thighs", a couple uphill repeats won't hurt too bad in the longer term. Coming down that thing would be a different story.

its a 400 m race with 37 degree grade at parts.

Gains about 200m:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM3_TMEc-qw

So this was yesterday. It was really a pretty good time. There were 6 men's heats of 50 guys and the top 50 overall times made finals. Being in heat 5 meant that I had a good idea of what sort of time I needed to run but would get a bit less recovery between qualifying and finals.

I went out on the flat section that starts the race fast but not out of control, 4:30 pace or so. Lots of people went out really hard and died as soon as they hit the steep bit. There were maybe 10 guys ahead of me when we got to the climbing and I started working my way up steadily, by the time we reached the middle section and climbed to the take off ramp I think I was in 3rd and held on to that spot, looking at my watch and knowing I could let up, save my legs and qualify no problem. One of the guys that beat me was Torin Koos, a retired Olympic XC skier who ran track for Utah when they had a team. I ended up 14th overall in the heats at around 4:55, easily making the final.

The final was about 1.5 hours after my heat, so I had enough time to refuel a bit, stay loose and hydrated and then get ready for finals. The top 50 advanced, so I really just wanted to run a bit faster time than the first round and end up top 10 or so. I started similarly, going out fast but not crazy, and was running mid pack while consistently passing guys. By the time we'd hit the take off ramp I was up to about 10th, and unlike the first round I gave it everything. I passed a couple guys but then a couple came from behind and rallied (Bill Demong, ex- Olympic nordic combined medallist was one of them). I ended up in a diving finish across the line, they put timing chips on wristbands so we both lunged and looking back at results I lost, coming in at 11th overall, which I'm happy with considering I ran about 4:45 in the final for 10 seconds faster, and short efforts like that are way, way out of my wheelhouse.

I'd definitely recommend doing one of these if you can. Think about it like racing a mile in terms of duration. The fastest guys were all climbers... the winner was a euro who'd won some of the other RB400s over there, 2nd was a local guy who's got a bunch of FKTs on local and Boulder peaks and has done well racing over the years, 4th was one of the best skimo racers in the US and then filling out the top 10 were some XCski guys, cyclists and runners. The field was definitely deep, I know some BYU track runners were out there, so to nearly come out in the top 10 I was excited. The burn at the top of the course in the finals was nastier than anything I've felt recently.

The race could have been run a bit smoother at time but all in all it worked out. I'll definitely do it again if it comes back.

Oh, and my legs feel fine after the whole thing, but my lungs got wrecked. I run in Park City somewhat frequently but not usually anything intense, I think something about the dryness and altitude at that intensity really got me. I wasn't coughing before but I have been since, other competitors felt the same way.