New Laz Report from the ultralist:
"being on hand presents an interesting change in perspective.
there would be no reason in making the trip,
if I came with a closed mind.
that said, there are questions that deserve to be answered.
some things I see a lot differently.
other questions remain for now.
some issues that raised such questions for many
were quickly resolved.
"what runner runs behind his aid vehicle?"
Robert young runs behind his aid vehicle.
one of my first comments, as we followed him thru the night,
was that whatever was blocking his taillight
needed to be removed.
it turned out to be a towel.
he spent a lot of time running at the back of the vehicle.
the had a regular aid station set up on the back bumper
and in a compartment just above the bumper.
using his flashlight (torch) to signal the driver,
they were able to coordinate their speed to allow RY access to the range of supplies,
while running.
"RY does not look fatigued enough to have run that far."
I have seen fatigue.
he started today the same as any multi-day runner;
moving slow and looking stiff.
it took about 3 miles, before he could start running.
then, after the cooker heated up,
I saw him look like death at times in the heat....
but he has remarkable recuperative abilities
(reminding me of steve warshawer, for the old-timers)
and he feeds off of human contact.
regardless of his physical state, RY animates when he talks to people.
"his credentials do not support the mile times he is claiming."
it did not take me long to figure out that "race" does not mean the same thing to RY as it does to me.
I need no further convincing that RY does not give his best effort in races.
not because he "chokes" under pressure,
but because he simply does not care.
his race results have no relationship to what he might be able to run.
we clocked him in some miles this morning, after he loosened up.
they ranged from 5:47 to 6:12.
coordinating with case, those were showing up on the tracker as 7:00 and up.
I am sure that was because he stopped at his van after every one.
not for long, but it does not take long to make the average time go up.
tracker undoubtedly did not put the same endpoints as he began and ended his running segments.
the most "6 minute" miles in a row was 4,
which is far short of the numbers strung together earlier.
but he is capable of running 6 minute miles without blowing up.
however, he does not seem to have any steady state.
his approach to multiday running seems undisciplined
with more exposure.
perhaps a pattern will emerge for me.
he did, as best I could tell, make the mileage he needed to stay on pace for his "record" today
that is the first time in almost a week.
tomorrow will be revealing.
if he can back up today's mileage by making pace tomorrow,
he will no longer appear to be spiraling out of control.
I am going to stop for now.
it is not like you can figure out everything in a single day.
and it is not like I am signing off on the run.
but, there are a lot of challenges that have been made,
which are easily explained.
i figured I would dispense with a few of those.
the more lingering questions I will give them a chance to address
before I say any more.
laz"