Sage! Great job on the run and it was fun hearing you chat with DBow, Billy Yang, and Sally about the race and event. I recommend the freetrail podcasts to all who are eagerly awaiting the races and results.
Sage! Great job on the run and it was fun hearing you chat with DBow, Billy Yang, and Sally about the race and event. I recommend the freetrail podcasts to all who are eagerly awaiting the races and results.
Freetrail has been killing it on early coverage. I checked in on the pod today and saw 5-6 new episode were up in the last day or two. I’ve only listened to the Roches interview with DBo so far. They are a bit nerdy and quirky, but very fun to listen to, tons of energy, and a well of training theory/info. I’d recommend that interview and their own podcast to anyone who likes learning about the science of training, but don’t want to listen to people who sound like a textbook.
Courtney for the women. The men…Zach Miller is motivated and just put in a monster training block. If his risks pay off, he’s in contention for the win. The field is pretty stacked and with no Kilian this could be a helluva battle. I think top 5 are all gonna be really close together.
Who is the Blanchard of 2023? Always expect a surprise. Jim can keep getting Top 5 and I think that would be awesome. Kilian, Zach, Thevenard, Francois have all had their DNFs etc. great sport.
UTMB 2023 is here, so it's time to preview the contenders. In this one we're looking at the mens race. Let me know your picks in the comments below.Thanks fo...
Without Kilian the men's side is wide open. Can Big Jim finally pull it off? I so want to see it, but if I had to put money on it I would likely go with Tom.
On the women's side, it seems more like a competition between Courtney and Courtney's recovery from Western and Hardrock. Ergo - she either wins or drops.
Go >>>
That a great thread thanksOP!
Jim maybe but I am leaning toward Blanchard, his interview addressed WSs just suspect of over doing it since then. Yes it’s do or die time for Jim, as I am sure Hoka feels the same way. Courtney you truly are the GOAT.
Shout out to Katie Schide and Rachel Drake, two American women finishing 2nd and 6th in OCC this morning. And all-time runner name Jeshurun Small, finishing 5th, top American male.
I think a runner many are sleeping on for this race is Adrian Macdonald, who won Leadville the last two years. He recently got 3rd at speedgoat 50k (speed isn't his thing) which impressed me. I doubt he will win but I think he has a great shot at top 10
Jim is done, he has been for years. He's got a bouncy, efficient stride - great for smooth flat stuff. He's also tall and lean, great for dissipating heat in hot weather. Put it together, and he's great at mild weathered flat races, like WS, or that Hoka rocket event. The opposite end of the spectrum is cold courses, lots of vert, which he has always done poorly at. The only question is which aid station he is going to cry at this time before slowing way down / dropping like usual.
Matthieu Blanchard for men’s win by a large margin. Jim to be 5th - 10th or drop. Courtney to drop or fkt.
I want Jim to win but everyone but Killian was irrelevant to Blanchard last year and no reason that would change now. Still would like Jim to win
I wanted Mathieu to come back and win this year (because he should have just ran past the struggling Kilian for the win last year), but, look at what he did at Western States compared to Tom Evans this year? He did those long races this year before WS and clearly suffered more than Tom. I just don't see him somehow recovering better than Tom since then.
Other than the continuing Wamsley UTMB saga, I'm most interested to see how Petter Engdal does. He's so crazy fast and has been training and racing well in that area for months, as well as having a good skimo season.
Jim is done, he has been for years. He's got a bouncy, efficient stride - great for smooth flat stuff. He's also tall and lean, great for dissipating heat in hot weather. Put it together, and he's great at mild weathered flat races, like WS, or that Hoka rocket event. The opposite end of the spectrum is cold courses, lots of vert, which he has always done poorly at. The only question is which aid station he is going to cry at this time before slowing way down / dropping like usual.
if being tall and lean is a disadvantage why is francois, at 6'4", always a threat in these types of race?
I've always thought Jim struggled more with altitude than vert or cold. Yes, has done well at hot weather races but he also bombed his FKT attempt at the Hard rock course in what was hot weather for the San Juans (IIRC). I think he knows the altitude is a struggle and thats why he opted to live at altitude. Hopefully it pays off.
But I'll always be convinced he' be faster whatever shoe of his own choice and not what Hoka has to offer. He was winning ultras in Adidas Adios before he was sponsored so I doubt he prefers those big clunkers.
Jim is done, he has been for years. He's got a bouncy, efficient stride - great for smooth flat stuff. He's also tall and lean, great for dissipating heat in hot weather. Put it together, and he's great at mild weathered flat races, like WS, or that Hoka rocket event. The opposite end of the spectrum is cold courses, lots of vert, which he has always done poorly at. The only question is which aid station he is going to cry at this time before slowing way down / dropping like usual.
if being tall and lean is a disadvantage why is francois, at 6'4", always a threat in these types of race?
1) He's lived/trained in the Alps all his life.
2) His stride mechanics are the polar opposite of Jim's.
All you need to know is he waxed Jim in the 2017 UTMB in some challenging weather. Subsequently, Jim waxed him at Western the following summer in "Jim weather".
I've always thought Jim struggled more with altitude than vert or cold. Yes, has done well at hot weather races but he also bombed his FKT attempt at the Hard rock course in what was hot weather for the San Juans (IIRC). I think he knows the altitude is a struggle and thats why he opted to live at altitude. Hopefully it pays off.
But I'll always be convinced he' be faster whatever shoe of his own choice and not what Hoka has to offer. He was winning ultras in Adidas Adios before he was sponsored so I doubt he prefers those big clunkers.
UTMB is downright low altitude for some of us - the highpoint is lower than nearly all of Hardrock (outside of the Ouray checkpoint).
My perspective of Jim’s downfall last year: the full body suit - there must have been a degree of resistance when he drove his knee - over heated coming into Courmayeur unzipped and at the aid station he seemed to be focused on hydration over food consumption later he bonked and that was the race. Please set me straight if I am wrong.
Shout out to Katie Schide and Rachel Drake, two American women finishing 2nd and 6th in OCC this morning. And all-time runner name Jeshurun Small, finishing 5th, top American male.
Katie did an incredible job on the OCC. Showing she’s got speed in shorter races and in 100s in the same season. She is a fantastic talent.
I’m curious about Jeshurun. Looks like he has won Speedgoat and has done well in a lot of mountain ultras that are around 50k. Great result today.