I love how some of the "elite athletes" were 2 hours behind the winners. There is nothing elite about that. Also Max and Sage became lost a couple of times and then had to repass the other "elites".
I love how some of the "elite athletes" were 2 hours behind the winners. There is nothing elite about that. Also Max and Sage became lost a couple of times and then had to repass the other "elites".
Nope, never been to Speedgoat. I've just heard it described as smooth (e.g. Killian). Those pics help answer my question though.
Killian downplays everything in the US. He also called the course "very flat and fast".
True. He called Pikes Peak flat too. Thank you for the info.
Ultras are a different animal. Top ultra runners often go out with the leaders, or lead races, and fall off when it's not their day. With ultra's, obviously when they crash they often still have a long way to go. With that said, I will agree that elite status in ultras is often pretty weak in comparison to their marathon counterparts. Ultra Race of Champions and North Face Nationals are exceptions, but since most ultras offer little or no prize money, assembling high quality "elite" fields in Ultras is difficult.
With decent prize money showing up I wonder when more sub-2:20 marathoners with strong cross country backgrounds start running them competitively. TNF 50mi victory is worth $10k.
Longshot wrote:Ultra Race of Champions and North Face Nationals are exceptions...
The men's field at UROC was pretty decent, but did you see the women's field? Cash goes 5 deep and they only had 5 women competing for it. Just finishing guaranteed them at least $500.
So anyone know the exact course difference this year? I know Max killed it but just want to get a better idea of how much. Ian Sharman ran an hour faster than last year. No way the course can be an hour faster though.
Looks like Sage and King caught up and dropped the others after the 25.3 mile aid station. If it went to script you should of had them leading until then, and the marathon disliking ultra dudes take over. This is 60 something miles after all.
I was primarily looking at the men's field and didn't realize the women's field was so small... obviously that is pretty weak on the women's side.
Wardian didn't run because he's injured. If I remember right it's a pelvic fracture.
Last year Wardian took a wrong turn and ended up second, but he was destroying the field when he made the booboo.
Max King is a very strong and talented runner. Sage Canady popped a good one as well.
I wonder what the course ran like. Their times would not have been competitive on hilly roads, so it must have been a bit wicked.
Actually accurate wrote:
More accurate wrote:Where has King run very technical terrain? (Honest question) Speedgoat is all smooth single track.
Clearly you're not familiar with Speedgoat.
http://seekingsunrise.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/fun-3-of-9.jpghttp://www.dirtproof.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Speedgoat-50K-14.jpghttp://www.dirtproof.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Speedgoat-50K-32.jpghttp://seekingsunrise.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/fun-9-of-9.jpghttp://www.dirtproof.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Speedgoat-50K-37.jpg(No trail, you follow the flags up to 11,050')
http://seekingsunrise.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/fun-4-of-9.jpg(Can you even find the trail here?)
That is mellow terrain compared to many mountain courses in Europe. And Pikes Peak's Barr Trail is like a road, I've ran it before, and it's mellow.
Speedgoat is lame.
Thanks for the info.
impossible goals wrote:
Actually accurate wrote:Clearly you're not familiar with Speedgoat.
http://seekingsunrise.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/fun-3-of-9.jpghttp://www.dirtproof.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Speedgoat-50K-14.jpghttp://www.dirtproof.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Speedgoat-50K-32.jpghttp://seekingsunrise.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/fun-9-of-9.jpghttp://www.dirtproof.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Speedgoat-50K-37.jpg(No trail, you follow the flags up to 11,050')
http://seekingsunrise.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/fun-4-of-9.jpg(Can you even find the trail here?)
That is mellow terrain compared to many mountain courses in Europe. And Pikes Peak's Barr Trail is like a road, I've ran it before, and it's mellow.
We were discussing Speedgoat as a means of discussing whether Max King could beat top ultra guys on technical terrain. The fact that Europe has more technical terrain doesn't mean that Speedgoat isn't technical.
For reference the 9th place finisher, Shinji Nakadai from Japan, was the 2010 100km world champ on the roads and sports a PR of 6:40 or so.
Ultra Obsesso wrote:
Wardian didn't run because he's injured. If I remember right it's a pelvic fracture.
Last year Wardian took a wrong turn and ended up second, but he was destroying the field when he made the booboo.
Max King is a very strong and talented runner. Sage Canady popped a good one as well.
I wonder what the course ran like. Their times would not have been competitive on hilly roads, so it must have been a bit wicked.
Ultra Obsesso wrote:
I wonder what the course ran like. Their times would not have been competitive on hilly roads, so it must have been a bit wicked.
It had about 9k' gain, from what I hear (Dominic Grossman is claiming that it had 3k' less than Miwok, which has 12k').
Until this year Miwok had 10k of gain (I have run it a few times). Now it has 12k but the times were much slower at this years Miwok because of it.
Dominic was feeling very confident going into the race but got destroyed by hours. He is very overrated. On his latest post on his blog he calls himself elite.
You can't blame those who ran, or the race organizers, if a field is "weak." Bad to the Bone has worked hard to bring in big sponsors to put up some serious dollars. When there's money like that on the line, why wouldn't you show up and work for it?
I volunteered at the race last year and it was competitive, challenging, and overall a fun event to watch unfold - even with Wardian's miscue on the trail. Someone else already mentioned his pelvic stress fracture, which is why he didn't race. The course is not easy, and Max King just showed he's rolling right now (hence his cover on RT).
Actually accurate wrote:
Killian downplays everything in the US. He also called the course "very flat and fast".
Very true. He called Mt. Everest "a slight grade, and moderately fast".