Murdock wrote:
People who haven’t raced mountain 100s are especially frustrating to me when they comment on paces. The first 50 miles on mountainous trails isn’t really that hard because you’re running maybe 30 mins slower than your 50 miler race effort. Those next 50 miles are beyond words - you just have to experience it to understand.
Stomach issues, the inability to eat/drink, running for 12 hours on basically no glycogen, running through the night, the list goes on. Mountain trails are tough enough in the daylight, try running them with a headlamp after already putting in 70 miles. Not to mention the crazy changing weather in the mountains, the altitude, and necessity of actually stopping for at least a few minutes at aid stations which means you’re standing still.
Anyone who wants to call 10-12 minute pace easy for the last 30-50 miles of a mountainous 100 is either an elite pro or totally delusional without any respect for the sport. I raced a 2:33 marathon and then lost a 100 miler 5 weeks later by well over an hour to someone who hasn’t even broken 3 in the marathon but was incredibly gritty and consistent. I’m well-trained and have been running ultras for years so it’s not like I didn’t know what i was getting into - the winner was just a much better 100 mile mountain runner on that day. Mile/5k/marathon times don’t matter all that much in the mountains but uneducated people keep wanting to argue that elite pro marathoners would just jump in and destroy everyone.
Nice comment.
People who don't know, just don't know. Most of these talkers here will never even start at a 100 miler.