The Ultra Experience

Here's to the adventures of my life which are usually ultra marathon trail running or fly fishing but may include other trips, experiences, thoughts, opinions, or pretty much whatever I want. As co-founder of Altra Footwear my life and adventures seemingly revolve more around developing and promoting the best footwear in the world...and I love it!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Closing in on the Bear

It draws near...100 miles. It's always such an anxious feeling. This year in particular as I have had two tough 100 milers over as many years and without a huge base it makes me a bit unsettled. The nice thing is that I have decided to begin at a very conservative pace. No grandeur goals this year. My tentative splits put me at 27 hrs but that is after a slow start. To achieve that goal I will have to run much of the second half of the race, which by all means I intend to do. 100 milers have a way of forcing you to adapt though.
I do have some interesting plans for shoes, nutrition, hydration, lighting, and a trekking pole (I've become quite fond of using a single trekking pole as of late). We shall see how it all turns out and I'm excited for the challenge.

Competition looks hard to predict. After his huge performance at Wasatch Geoff Roes has to be the standout favorite. Some young relative newcomers Luke Nelson and Nick Pedatella will be in it for 2nd and 3rd but will be tested by none other then The King himself Leland Barker. With so many runners coming from out of state I didn't see too many other standouts. There's probably of few of them out there though. Good luck to all...I know I need more than my share!

Anyone else get excited looking at this?

The Bear!

7 comments:

Jon Allen said...

Hey, good luck to you, Brian. I'll be cheering from Leatham Hollow aid station, plus I'll be pacing someone starting at Temple Fork. He's aiming for 28 hours, so maybe I'll see you along the way.

Just curious- what lighting system do you use? I'm trying to decide if I want to spend the money on Petzl MYO RXP, or if I should just go with Tikka Plus. Any experience with these?

Kristen said...

Good luck, little bro! I hope you have the success you've been hoping for! I wish it was down this way, the kids really want to see you run! So know that we'll be cheering for you!

peter said...

Brian,
Good luck. Don't run fast, but when you can run.
Peter

Christian said...

You've already got the right attitude, now hold on to it for the duration and I know you'll make it.

YPR said...

Hi, I'm Bill. A friend and I flagged White Pine yesterday afternoon. The trail is in good shape and the weather is perfect. Good luck.

Manners said...

Good Luck Brian. After talking to you at Wasatch, I have no doubt you will have a great race. Enjoy it.
Aric

Brian Beckstead said...

Thanks for all the encouragement!

Jon- Myo RXP is a lot of head bouncing but does illuminate the trail nicely (you can extend the battery pack into a backpack which is recommended). Tikka Plus- is more practical but a more dispersed light.

I have really liked a small dispersed headlight (like the Tikka Plus) with a focused beam hand flashlight. The combo is awesome.