Official UTMB Discussion thread

anbr1003 wrote:

X's race to lose.

Tollefson can compete though if he has his "A" day.

Zach Miller has no good 100 mile performances... for someone to say he can compete at UTMB is a reach. However, with Francois, Kilian, and Walmsley on the sidelines he may have a shot.

Hayden Hawks.. idk maybe - he's a weird dude and races wack events. He's like that one kid in high school that dominates a weird out-of-town weak conference and shows up to the state tournament... no one knows if he is overrated or underrated.

I honestly don't know who else to mention besides these guys.. such a weak field.

"Hayden Hawks.. idk maybe - he's a weird dude and races wack events. He's like that one kid in high school that dominates a weird out-of-town weak conference and shows up to the state tournament... no one knows if he is overrated or underrated."

^^^POTD!

We had one of those in Ohio when I was in school. In that particular case, he was a freshman, single-A, ran in black Sunday school like socks, and few of us could have even located his hometown on a map if we tried. Then he showed up at states (cross country) and smoked the CR (all divisions), winning his division by maybe 2 minutes, and roughly 30 seconds faster than anyone that day. In short - sent the rest of us home DEVASTATED.

Speaking of wacky - maybe watch the irunfar pre-race interview with Zach. Nice guy and all, the kind you so want to root for given his "Pre" like go for broke running style, but wow he seems kinda lost/unsure of himself. Usually that's not a good thing going into a big race, but sometimes...

Just Another Run of the Mill ex-D1 er wrote:

Xavier is obviously clockwork on this course but let's not forget the one guy in the field who has beaten him - Tim in '17 of course (although Xavier was reportedly a little under the weather at the time). Here's hoping Tim has regained that form, injury free, and can make it a race again in the late stages!

As far as Zach goes, sad to hear he's gone down that road to ruin like so many others. Still, it's hard not to root for him but if his typical strategy is used again, it's also hard to imagine anything other than the same result again. If he changes things up, who knows?

Of course anything and everything can happen out there, epic late race charges/carnage are the norm. Any one of the top guys could podium.

Tollefson is in good form too, hasn't raced too much, although, I don't think he's over raced in his short career, I'd be stunned if he isn't top 5, if not podium, if not challenging for the win.

Zach Miller, man I am hoping for a magical day for him. Love that dude, been a rough year for him though. I am hoping he mixes it up next year, then again, I haven't raced in the magical beauty around Mount Blanc, so I am sure it's hard to not toe the line there. Realistically, he's been injured a lot of this year. His IrunFar interview gave some insight that he's clearly been at a crossroads, like what's the next race that really stokes the fire. I hope he has a solid day and moves on from UTMB next year, so many races that he could crush.

Xavier wins. Hayden Hawks hasn't reached a 100 yet, will be very interesting to see how he fares.

anbr1003 wrote:

Hayden Hawks.. idk maybe - he's a weird dude and races wack events. He's like that one kid in high school that dominates a weird out-of-town weak conference and shows up to the state tournament... no one knows if he is overrated or underrated.

I honestly don't know who else to mention besides these guys.. such a weak field.

wack events? he won CCC in the fastest time ever 2 years ago. attempted TDS last year. won Lavaredo in 2018. lots of wins in the US in the last few years. lots of international racing at events under 100mi.

transgrancanaria

penyagolosa 60k during the iau world champs

transvulcania

all in the last 2 years or so.

"I am hoping he mixes it up next year, then again, I haven't raced in the magical beauty around Mount Blanc, so I am sure it's hard to not toe the line there... His IrunFar interview gave some insight that he's clearly been at a crossroads, like what's the next race that really stokes the fire. I hope he has a solid day and moves on from UTMB next year, so many races that he could crush."

Two very keen insights there:

1) it is the magical nature of the UTMB event itself that is the draw (not necessarily those mountains). I ran that race once at it still lives in my mind as it's own fairy tale of sorts - the fans, the festiveness, the everything, beyond any words I could ever have. In my case, I prefer not to return and risk ruining those memories.

2) sometimes it's better to skip an event you've lost your zest for, if only for a year - absence truly does make the heart grow fonder. You are right - maybe he would do well to do the same.

This is quite an impressive survey. I wonder how accurate it is, how it was actually taken. Did runners fill out a form detailing things down to the socks they wear?

...this analysis was done by amateur statisticians and inspired by the Ironman “bike survey” in Kona.

Andy Symonds and Tom Owens could sneak Top 10s.

Abdoujaparov wrote:

Andy Symonds and Tom Owens could sneak Top 10s.

I always get Tom Owens and Tom Evans mixed up - they could secretly do it as a relay and I'd never be the wiser.

Yeah, Zach’s interview was interesting. Gotta give him some credit though, Powell was throwing some shade and I don’t think Zach expected it, lol. I wish Zach the best. Hope he kills it.

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Alex Nichols, dude is a stud and out of the Americans has just as good of a chance on the podium as any. He may not race a ton and may be lesser known because of that but fkt on Nolan’s 14 is no joke and he rarely doesn’t make the podium at the races he starts. He took a bad fall right off the starting line last year and had to drop. Hoping for some redemption for my fellow Minnesotan.

I knew Tomo a million years ago and yes, not that he needs anyone feeling sorry for him but the arrival of another solidly built blond Brit ultrarunner with a very similar name and recent results, has kind of put him in the shade.

anbr1003 wrote:

Yeah, Zach’s interview was interesting. Gotta give him some credit though, Powell was throwing some shade and I don’t think Zach expected it, lol. I wish Zach the best. Hope he kills it.

Interesting shade comment there and it almost makes me want to re-watch it, but it was pretty uncomfortable to begin with. However, I would suggest that Bryon Powell shade, if you can call it that, is rarely that shady. Sometimes he hems/haws and looks kinda scared of his own shadow - so I guess you picked up on something I missed. Mostly what I saw was Zach looking a little lost this time around - we've all been there. Hopefully he finds it.

Okay, so Altra was #2 worn at that race. In every ultra I've run it's predominately Hoka and Altra and I could not tell you the 3rd most worn. Many 1000s of people have finished 100 and 200 milers in all kinds of shoes. The only difference is not many true world class professional runners are wearing zero drop shoes in ultras.x

Separately, I read up a little on the ladies side of things and see a couple top-notch Americans, Courtney and Rory, are lined up, but at the same time have to be question marks of sorts. I have little insight on the rest of that field. Comments?

REAL. wrote:

reed, this is why you don't have any credibility on Trail/Mountain. Even with altra being the presenting sponsor of WSER, they still lost out to HOKA for the #1 brand worn. You don't even do your research and spew garbage.

https://www.wser.org/2018/07/05/2018-runner-survey-results/

reed wrote:

By the way, more people at Western States wore Altras than any other brand.

For a more UTMB centered gear report, check this link out. It's focused on gear of runners that finished on the podium:

Is there a woman in ultra running who's beaten Courtney over the last few years?

If her hip is okay she's going to crush it as usual with that smile and shuffle of her's.

The OCC has already completed, and it was quite competitive with VK/Sky specialist, Stian Angermund-Vik (Norway/Salomon) continuing the great year for Norway athletics. His time of 5:19:24 held off Spaniard Andreu Simon Aymerich (BUFF), by a little over a minute, 5:20:46.

What is fascinating about a lot of these guys that run well that are not completely professional is the amount of cycling done during training, making up almost 1/4 to 1/2 of their overall mileage. It just makes them aerobically and physically strong, especially for descending.

Tao Luo of China/adidas Terrex placed third overall in 5:25:24.

Top American male was Cole Watson (HOKA) in 8th place in 5:38:03. Good to see him perform well after a rough Mont Blanc Marathon earlier in the year. Top American female was Emily Schmitz, placing 5th in 6:29:21.

https://utmbmontblanc.com/en/live/occ

Interesting dynamics in the CCC with Luis Alberto and a Chinese in front Lanne in third and a group of 5 right behind him! Luis Alberto ftw in my opinion

Surprised wrote:

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Alex Nichols, dude is a stud and out of the Americans has just as good of a chance on the podium as any. He may not race a ton and may be lesser known because of that but fkt on Nolan’s 14 is no joke and he rarely doesn’t make the podium at the races he starts. He took a bad fall right off the starting line last year and had to drop. Hoping for some redemption for my fellow Minnesotan.

Good point, Alex Nichols is def top 10 potential. He'll fly under the radar, wouldn't surprise me, if he's on, to go anywhere from 5-10th. He was 2nd @ WS 2 years ago in a wild weather condition year, so he can endure some crazy.

His 100 mile resume isn't that long, but it's impressive nonetheless. Hope he has a solid day.