tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90317958124961325592012-01-22T07:07:00.489-07:00Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.comBlogger3181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-63055833407109345112012-01-15T08:49:00.002-07:002012-01-17T08:54:28.938-07:00

Like a lot runners who sometimes take iPods out on their long runs, I like to keep one of my ears bud-free so I can keep some semblance of alertness to my surroundings.  The problem with this is that some music - and even podcasts - are recorded in stereo, some heavily so. This led to one of the more vivid memories I have of the 2009 Big Horn 100.  Coming out of the Footbridge aid station just

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-51699354378197272472011-12-20T12:31:00.002-07:002011-12-23T14:35:15.667-07:00

George Whitman died last week in Paris at age 98.  I'd spoken with him only once - and for just a few minutes - but he and his bookshop in the shadow of Notre Dame - Shakespeare & Co - had a profound impact on me.  Long a devotee of James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and other modernists of the Lost Generation, I'd read much about Shakespeare & Co, so when I found myself in Paris in my early 20

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-9233972542104295512011-12-10T21:28:00.001-07:002011-12-11T08:22:29.288-07:00

I sit here writing ensconced in the good life of the off season - "You've gained how many pounds already?" one good running buddy asked the other week.  Yet, with dreams of 2012 starting to dance in my head, it seemed time to do a little post facto analysis of my training in the 2011 high season. After a disappointing and pretty much non-existent 2010 season because of my too-documented knee

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-92138671192237705282011-11-30T18:11:00.001-07:002011-11-30T20:02:57.015-07:00

I came across this video today thanks to a post by the band, Orgone, and I really found it stunning.  It's a time lapse of landscapes all across Oregon, but I felt that it reached well beyond that and spoke to me, not just as a resident of the Pacific Northwest, but as someone with a broad attachment to the Western wild places. And while there isn't a step of running in this video, if you've

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-44340061381258972482011-11-15T12:49:00.001-07:002011-11-15T19:17:21.690-07:00

Over the past week, I ran a short photos series on the Run Junkie Twitter feed that highlights some of the frames I captured over the summer that didn't make it into my singletrack:photos portfolio or on to Run Junkie proper.  Until now. Since there's not perfect overlap between my Twitter followers and my regular blog readers, I thought I'd post them here as well.  Hope they have something to

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-90728692844511957522011-10-26T22:17:00.000-06:002011-10-26T22:40:52.788-06:00

To anyone who frequents Run Junkie, it's apparent - perhaps painfully so - that I enjoy taking photos on my long runs.  I have little actual technical ability, mind you.  I'm all point and shoot, but I do what I can to try to capture some of those great moments on the trail we all experience - even if it means taking 130 bad photos to get 3 decent ones. Perhaps the best way to characterize what

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-54657168954220327432011-10-23T21:16:00.001-06:002011-10-24T06:49:59.846-06:00

Brad Mitchell (Scott) and Joelle Vaught (Montrail) took the top men's and women's spots, respectively, in Saturday's inaugural Foothills 50k Frenzy in Boise.  Mitchell covered the challenging (6,000 ft of vert), largely singletrack course though the Boise foothills in a quick 4:13, with Vaught coming home in 4:32 to also claim second overall.  Vaught kept Mitchell in her sights through the

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-46365858864229132082011-10-09T07:58:00.000-06:002011-10-09T07:58:20.094-06:00

Hard to believe it's come to this:  whittling down the list of envisioned long runs to those select few you have a realistic chance of getting in before the snow falls. No matter that it happens like clockwork every year, it's always disappointing to have to table those great plans until coming seasons. One run that made the short list in these closing days - and one that got pushed off the list

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-30219739722427531942011-09-28T23:13:00.002-06:002011-09-29T14:20:04.810-06:00

"Nothing in the real world is as beautiful as the illusions of a person about to lose consciousness." "Most of what I know about writing I’ve learned through running every day." "To exaggerate a bit, it was as if by completing the over-sixty-mile race I’d stepped into a different place." Last week my wife couldn't contain her excitement about the English language release of Haruki Murakami's

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-45969001419871530512011-09-24T20:45:00.004-06:002011-09-25T07:07:27.517-06:00

Today was the 33rd Annual Baldy Hill Climb in Sun Valley, Idaho - A true all-comers affair that doesn't seem to favor athletes from any one sport.  All you need is to bring a will to suffer and, if you want to be at all competitive, a training regimen and VO2 max in line with the past, present, and future Olympians who always toe the line next to you.  The course is 1.9 miles straight up the

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-76356739678510222082011-09-22T09:04:00.002-06:002011-09-22T12:45:52.152-06:00

I've had a few false starts to this post - opening sentences rightfully abandoned for either lack of clarity or richness in sniveling.  For example: #1  After posting a few tweets on this topic over the last few days, none of which found any purchase on the collective interest (sample), I should probably have heeded the people's choice and just let it go.  #2  I can't say I don't feel a bit put

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-31504141392734505012011-09-13T12:10:00.000-06:002011-09-13T12:19:18.868-06:00

The link to this video made the rounds this winter, but I had to take another look at it with summer coming to a close, and the snow getting set to fall before too long.  Ueli Steck free climbs the Eiger in 2:47, in nothing short of amazing fashion.  The videography is great; the climbing is great, but what I'm always astounded by is how fast he moves once he hits the snow fields.  It's worth a

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-20613732009144620892011-09-12T11:16:00.001-06:002011-09-12T13:03:16.696-06:00

Crossing the northern cirque of Sawtooth Lake on the way to Observation Peak; Sawtooth Wilderness; Idaho

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-58617810020481290512011-09-04T22:02:00.000-06:002011-09-05T08:26:43.652-06:00

There's a scene in the fantastically campy 1985 bike racing movie American Flyers (montage) where Kevin Costner's character - in leather hairnet, mustache, and the twilight of his pro career - shows his younger brother a video of the imperceptible moment in a previous year's stage race when he lost his drive - where he essentially handed the win to someone else. I was thinking about this scene

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-72098692431543912152011-08-29T07:37:00.002-06:002011-08-29T07:55:50.929-06:00

[click to enlarge]Any resemblance to runners past or present, real or imaginary, fast or slow, is purely coincidence

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-46916615835826631402011-08-22T16:25:00.001-06:002011-08-22T16:26:01.508-06:00

"Steri-Pen Meditation" 90 mindful seconds at Pot Creek, filling up and sterilizing ahead of the climb up Box Canyon

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-82576551134008968752011-08-15T15:26:00.000-06:002011-08-15T15:26:57.057-06:00

Travis, AJW, and Brad dropping like stones toward Miner Lake A little HDR work, as the trio overlooks Miner Lake

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-78508623387338087742011-08-13T22:00:00.006-06:002011-08-14T06:59:18.492-06:00

Summer's been much kinder to me than I would ever have predicted in spring.  Though my weekly miles haven't been that big, I've been able to get a nice string of runs in the 3 - 6 hour range and in some astounding backcountry. That said, my knee was ready for a rest this weekend - a preemptive strike before forced time off came to the fore. Ahhhh, the best laid plans. The Sun Valley crew got the

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-6348843337142688312011-08-08T15:28:00.001-06:002011-08-08T17:37:21.964-06:00

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-40775915456306108272011-08-08T07:03:00.003-06:002011-08-13T21:22:33.446-06:00

Coming off of Snowyside Pass looking through the ages at Twin Lakes in the Sawtooth National Forest; Idaho. Nearing Snowyside Pass from Toxaway Lake; Sawtooth National Forrest; Idaho.

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-16294308453213116502011-08-01T12:32:00.001-06:002011-08-13T21:22:55.058-06:00

So, how does trail running differ from road running?  A picture's worth a thousand words.  Closing out 19 backcountry miles with a grunt up from Box Canyon to Johnstone Pass (elev 10,000 ft); Pioneer Mountains, Idaho.

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-83397993086789264112011-07-31T12:35:00.000-06:002011-07-31T12:35:30.560-06:00

If yesterday's challenging 19 mile (6,000 ft vert) run on the PK Pass to Johnstone Pass loop in the Pioneer Mountains was anything, it was comic.  So what better way to do it justice than with...a comic?  Below is Volume 1; Issue 1 of Running in the Pioneers. (Click image to enlarge)

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-13908829873413540532011-07-25T21:58:00.009-06:002011-07-26T10:53:05.049-06:00

As was general across the mountain west this year, summer took a long time to arrive here in Sun Valley.  The dreary spring gave new energy to the snow gods who were able to hold on to the high country well beyond their usual reign. And while we runners have not necessarily been patient, we've endured a long long wait to visit those trails we've been longing for since last October. The last ten

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-73612805631673816352011-07-11T23:23:00.005-06:002011-07-11T23:44:34.396-06:00

For whatever reason, my long runs this summer have all been lackluster at best and real chores at worst, a frustrating thing in what should be the high season of mountain life. But, in a rare moment of successfully channeling negative energy in a positive direction, I decided that on Sunday's outing up to Pioneer Cabin in Sun Valley (up the North Fork of Hyndman Crk and down Johnstone Crk, for

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-89596025417544259192011-07-03T08:18:00.001-06:002011-07-03T08:19:42.699-06:00

I've been posting a lot of photos lately on Run Junkie, so much so that even this camera-crazed trail runner decided to go light on images for a little bit. And then there was yesterday's run with a handful of Sun Valley locals and Boise's Ben Blessing, who was in town for some July 4 gigs. Despite inexplicably bonking on the last 5 miles, I maintained enough strength to snap some photos of what

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-18185990299171699302011-06-28T12:58:00.015-06:002011-06-28T16:59:30.642-06:00

Angels Landing - Lower switchbacks leading up to Refrigerator Canyon As great a run as it was and as fabulous a setting as it was, I had second thoughts about posting anything about my Saturday morning trip up to Angels Landing in Zion National Park.  Though I'd never heard of the trail before the trip to Zion, it quickly became clear that Angels Landing was "the" destination in the Park proper

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-80452130360856254812011-06-24T08:01:00.001-06:002011-06-24T08:04:13.732-06:00

Amidst the chaos of a family trip to Zion National Park this week, I was able to find a little sanctuary of my own yesterday with a blazing hot, noontime trip up to Observation Point, a 4 mile trail up to - you guessed it - a fantastic lookout over Zion Canyon. The trail climbs about 2,200 feet over 4 miles, with basically two steep climbs punctuated in between by a fairly flat section through

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-82821436705509433102011-06-16T05:27:00.006-06:002011-06-16T12:53:03.872-06:00

Today is June 16 -  Bloomsday - a red letter date for fans of James Joyce and his expansive novel, Ulysses, because it is the day all the events in the book take place: where the lives of two souls - Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom (hence, Bloomsday) - are laid bare as they make their distracted, angst-ridden, and entertaining way around 1904 Dublin, Ireland. It is an amazing work that is

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-57520950900242209112011-06-05T21:22:00.002-06:002011-06-05T21:28:55.745-06:00

Bittersweet day today on the trails - no two ways about.  While it was the warmest and sunniest morning of the season so far and was marked by a great mid-distance cruise with great friends, it was also one of the last regular runs we'd get in with AJW before he leaves Sun Valley for different climes and a different set of trail. The significance of it all didn't rear its head on the run,

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-69209654333476130422011-05-28T20:04:00.015-06:002011-06-29T09:16:53.844-06:00

For now, let's forget its technical specs and wonky features and strange wavy-sole, and cut to the chase:  the new La Sportiva Electron makes a bold dash for the trail shoe sweet spot - the nexus of comfort, nimbleness, and durability.   So many trails shoes these days shine in just one, or maybe even two, of these areas but fall short in the grand triumverate.  And it's something we all put up

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-26523548554803310582011-05-20T12:54:00.005-06:002011-05-24T16:44:05.495-06:00

The numbers were whittled down a bit from last year's record-breaking turnout - as smarter souls found themselves "unexpectedly" tied down with other obligations - but the 2011 running of the Titus Van Rijn (TVR) One Hour Distance Classic - Sun Valley Edition was as grand an affair as always.  Eleven toed the line on what turned out to be a rare beautiful spring day. The TVR is a festival of

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-612977972744446832011-05-15T21:57:00.005-06:002011-05-18T13:09:28.991-06:00

Idaho gets a bad rap, even if, admittedly, some of it is deserved: From the militias that muster in the northern pan handle to the annonymous-bathroom-sex-loving conservative GOP senator Larry Craig.  Yet, I'm a real booster for the state, especially when it comes to the grandeur of its wildlands, something I try to chronicle with a running bend on the pages here in Run Junkie. This weekend, I

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-27704441713797591302011-05-05T18:33:00.003-06:002011-05-06T17:05:53.453-06:00

Continuing the video trend, I felt a need to post this Wednesday Workout from Flotrack, featuring two-time World Champion Bernard Lagat banging out 600m repeats on some soft golf course grass.  Good reminder that you don't really need a 400m oval if you feel a need for speed. I lost count, but they covered something like 10 x 600m at 1:40 (which he hopes to drop down to 1:30 by July).  It's hard

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-86504795875776831232011-05-02T09:35:00.005-06:002011-05-02T11:00:45.468-06:00

Geoff Roes handily won the Santa Barbara Endurance Race 100 miler over the weekend, in a swift time of 16:32 (race site).  Because of the wet spring, the Forest Service pulled permits for the race in the weeks leading up to the start, causing race directors to reroute the original course, which was to have 36,000 feet of climbing, largely over singletrack.  The revised course took place largely

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-57013299928685907752011-04-22T22:06:00.002-06:002011-04-23T07:25:55.532-06:00

It's a rite of spring for me - the photo-chronicle of the first passable trip around the Vorberg Gulch loop here in Hailey.  Being one of the first trails with a backcountry feel to shed the winter snow, it's always a bit of a hosannah moment for trail runners in the Valley, so I always feel compelled to take a handful of photos.  This year, it also gave me the chance to test out my new

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-52078366505616588632011-04-04T20:57:00.003-06:002011-04-06T06:58:48.678-06:00

One of my brilliant wife's guilty pleasures is B-grade reality TV, the entertaining yet brainless vortex of which I sometimes get caught up in as well.  One of these shows she occasionally watches is a Discovery Channel offering called My Strange Addiction, which chronicles people's addiction to things like glass eating, chalk eating, detergent drinking, and, of course, ultra-running.  Yes,

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-7626752055860409782011-04-02T22:40:00.005-06:002011-04-03T10:42:22.549-06:00

OK, the SuperTour Nordic race series may not be directly related to running, but it's one inspiring spectacle, I have to say.  I spent the morning yesterday out at the Lake Creek Nordic area in Sun Valley watching the classic sprint finals (prelims, heats, and finals), and it was quite a show of grit, athleticism, and technical prowess.  I stationed myself and my camera atop the final climb (

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-64779382294794390372011-03-20T08:28:00.008-06:002011-03-20T08:47:39.734-06:00

AJW and Jared Campbell getting word at Cozy Dell (mile 68( on cancellation. For the second year in a row, the Coyote Two Moon 100 in Ojai, CA was dealt extreme weather.  Unlike last year, though, the weather won this time. Heavy wind and rain on the valley floors and heavy wind and snow on the frequently travelled Nordhoff ridge caused the race director to stop the race for safety reasons

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-86555606086002016692011-03-08T22:14:00.003-07:002011-03-09T08:58:26.300-07:00

Through twist of kizmet and school break schedules, I get to do a little light crewing during the 2011 running of the Coyote Two Moon 100m/100k in Ojai, CA (March 18 - 20), and I'm pretty excited about it.  C2M holds a special place in my heart.  I did the 100k in 2009, and it was the first ultra I did that took me through the night, that took me well over 12 hours, and that had close to 20,000

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-87501065917977149352011-03-01T22:38:00.001-07:002011-03-02T07:58:06.699-07:00

Ever since I was in junior high, when my love for endurance sport really started to express itself, my father's been an ardent, if at times bewildered, supporter of my various adventures -- something I believe most of us could say about at least one of our close family members.  Being a long time lover of comics, he will occasionally send me links to comics he thinks might speak to me.   Two days

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-21763533621217521552011-02-18T06:16:00.006-07:002011-02-18T06:44:23.484-07:00

It may not matter too much in the realm of ultra-running, where one pinnacle of the sport is a race like the Hardrock 100, but a recent paper in the journal Psychological Sciences had some pretty interesting insight into the  manner in which people overestimate - and grossly so - the steepness of climbs or descents (study).  That people overestimate the percent grade of a climb is nothing new -

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-8362402969916400462011-01-28T20:38:00.006-07:002011-01-31T09:19:12.660-07:00

Not holding public office and considering myself to be a generally amiable person, I was surprised to get word a few years back that someone I didn't even know actively hated me.  It was a strange feeling, to be sure, that, without my knowledge, I had done something to some stranger that raised his ire to the point that it transformed to actual hate. Of course, I am fully aware that people who

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-80573098696695910712011-01-26T15:40:00.001-07:002011-01-26T15:51:22.346-07:00

After a cold and snowy November and December, we've had a bit of January thaw in our part of the Northern Rockies.  So, it seemed time to abandon the diagonal stride for some real striding on the Carbonate Mountain spine - a short, steep 1,300 ft climb that gets enough foot traffic in winter, barring a big snow fall, to make for a pretty enjoyable up and down with Yak Trax or, my favorites,

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-81512840347760789762011-01-06T08:52:00.003-07:002011-01-07T11:26:29.467-07:00

Maybe I'm naive, but I don't generally prepare for a head on collision with existential crisis in the middle of a holiday party, but that's just what I should have done a few weeks ago. It was a little before Christmas, and my wife and I were at a gathering at a friend's house.  We began chatting with a woman who we'd never met before, a new transplant to the area who also happens to be a trail

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-52061677489401927132010-10-30T16:41:00.004-06:002010-11-02T09:37:17.611-06:00

Update (Nov 2, 2010): Full results now up. It was a great morning at the Trail Creek 12k in Sun Valley, Idaho, an inaugural trail run put on by speedy La Sportiva mountain runner and friend, Brad Mitchell (sunvalleyrunning.com).  As one would expect from a Mitchell affair, it was a brutal, fun, and well-engineered race that featured at least one Olympian and a number of hopefuls.   Though

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-48937990011557904682010-10-29T11:56:00.001-06:002010-10-29T11:58:30.136-06:00

Wading deep into fall - a time for late season runs on quiet trails, a bit of rest for weary limbs, and, most notably, the pending release of another Tribute to the Trails calendar filled with the great photography of Glenn Tachiyama.  A fundraiser for the Washington Trails Association, the calendar, now in its sixth year, highlights a race photo each month as well as upcoming trail races of all

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-49812194366908977142010-10-26T15:26:00.004-06:002010-10-26T16:41:37.244-06:00

In case you missed these, or would like to see them again, I've embedded Parts 1 - 3 of Patagonia's Tracing the Edge featuring Krissy Moehl.  For the great videography and trail-wisdom alone, these are worth 15 minutes of your time. Enjoy. Tracing the Edge - Part 1 Tracing the Edge - Part 2 Tracing the Edge - Part 3

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-48485681515013766112010-10-17T10:54:00.001-06:002010-10-17T12:49:33.681-06:00

As a lot of us have, I've taken a lot of photos on my training runs and during some of my races over the past number of years, and I've been lucky enough to capture a handful that, for various reasons, feel special to me.  It's not that the photography itself is special (I'm a realist), it's that the images seem to reveal to me something special about life on the trail that is often hard to put

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-36007986912952453992010-09-27T10:32:00.002-06:002010-09-27T10:32:43.255-06:00

On borrowed time before snow starts to close things down, my wife and I made another trip to the Eastern Pioneers this weekend. Goat Lake viewed from the scramble to the top of Standhope Peak (elev 11,890 ft)

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-1113605543550501682010-09-19T12:22:00.002-06:002010-09-20T08:39:01.887-06:00

Yesterday afternoon I set off for Hyndman Peak like a mafia informant being whisked away to the witness protection program.  It's been one of those weeks where it wasn't at all clear when or if I'd be able to get in a good run - between soccer coaching duties, regular weekend tasks, and a sickness running rampant through the household.  So when a window opened up unexpectedly in the late

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-13541114841557422352010-09-18T11:47:00.002-06:002010-09-20T09:23:00.291-06:00

AJW, Mike, Brad, and me - top of Summit Creek Trail, Idaho I've been keeping to fairly low mileage since my six weeks off in early summer, just giving my knee some rest through 2010, and it's only been recently that I've logged enough miles to be able to take part (even partially) on the classic Gang of Four group runs in the Sun Valley area - occasional and often masochistic outings with Brad

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-25449761413455768082010-09-08T07:25:00.010-06:002010-09-19T18:03:37.034-06:00

A beefed up version of Nathan's race vests with room for pretty much anything you'd need for those epic runs in the backcountry. Testing the Nathan Synergy hydration pack for the first time on a multi-hour run was a lot like visiting the beer aisle of the local grocery store and being pleasantly surprised to find that your favorite hand-crafted ale now comes in larger 22 ounce bottles. Most of

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-72632227206583312982010-09-05T07:19:00.006-06:002010-09-05T09:58:29.727-06:00

At the 2010 Grand Teton 100, Andy Jones-Wilkins (Patagonia, La Sportiva) showed his typical closing ability, finishing first in 18:35:23 and demolishing the course record of 19:19:51 set last year.   Despite small numbers toeing the line, the lead end of the race featured two big guns, Andy Jones-Wilkins (AJW), winner of the 2010 Vermont 100 and perennial top 10 at the Western States 100, and

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-11766430876813281562010-09-04T14:46:00.006-06:002010-09-05T08:55:00.523-06:00

Update (9-5-10):  Report on final results In what is the swan song for the Grand Teton 100 (the other distances will continue), 2010 Leadville 100 winner, Duncan Callahan, and 2010 Vermont 100 winner, Andy Jones-Wilkins, have run to a near draw halfway through, with Callahan taking a slight lead heading out for the closing 50 miles (live results, lagged). Ty Draney's 2009 course record of 19:

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-8195092320179835132010-09-03T18:47:00.008-06:002010-09-05T12:47:17.659-06:00

While I may not be the most "outdoorsy" of ultra-runners, falling closer to the "Green Acres" category than "Man vs Wild," I think I fall pretty high on the scale when it comes to shear appreciation of the great outdoors.  So it's been great this year to watch Ken Burn's The National Parks: America's Best Idea and read Timothy Egan's The Big Burn - both of which trace the creation of the

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-57410283671621803692010-08-16T17:28:00.003-06:002010-08-17T09:48:34.003-06:00

As a medical writer, I've gnashed my teeth many times reading Gina Kolata's health pieces in the New York Times, but I have to say I almost always enjoy it when she writes about her passion for running.  And today was no exception as she wrote about the non-sequitur most folks and most MD's see when a runner experiences repeat major injuries but still feels the need to run. It's a nice, little

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-47760891901508056652010-08-08T17:08:00.003-06:002010-08-08T18:32:02.400-06:00

I've lived in the Wood River Valley for a little over five years now and, sad to say, before this weekend hadn't made the relatively short trip over the Trail Creek dirt road pass to explore the Eastern Pioneer Mountains.  For being so close to the Sun Valley area, just 20 - 30 miles, it offers some of the most remote and spectacular trails the area has to offer.  And save a few select hot spots,

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-68781004954434801802010-08-04T18:17:00.003-06:002011-04-17T11:15:28.740-06:00

This is the run the Sun Valley locals hit when they're jonesing for a trip to Pioneer Cabin but want to avoid the crush of tourist traffic that can make an outing to the popular destination more travail than treat mid Summer.  It's about 3 - 4 miles longer than the standard routes up to the cabin (detailed here), with a little more vert and a lot more technical trail.  But the payoff in views of

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-79704521289740337302010-07-23T08:06:00.006-06:002011-05-28T20:03:57.744-06:00

It's little secret to folks who read my blog and follow my Twitter feed that I'm a bit of a curmudgeon when it comes to the book Born to Run (my review) and the barefoot/minimalist approach to running that it's come to represent.  It's not really worth detailing my knee-jerk reasoning for this, but it has a lot to do with the book not being that well written and the scientific evidence on the

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-36447552315442996782010-07-07T13:07:00.008-06:002011-04-17T11:15:28.742-06:00

This edition of Sun Valley Runs features a classic middle-distance run to the storied Pioneer Cabin, which rests at 9,500 feet at the base of the Pioneer Mountains. While the most popular route up and down to the cabin is the out/back on the Pioneer Cabin Trail, it can be overrun with foot traffic in summer and a little short for anyone looking to get in a bit of distance.  We've found that

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-89172264646194682812010-06-28T14:55:00.004-06:002010-07-21T18:07:25.433-06:00

As a palette cleanser between the rush of Western States 100 reports, I had to mark my official return to the trails yesterday after my 6-weeks of full rest.  It was all of two miles, taking a dash over 16 minutes, but it felt epic nevertheless.  On the first mid 80s afternoon here in the Wood River Valley, it was a true gift to get to lace up a new pair of green and black Wildcats, grab my visor

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-84275838451757971102010-06-21T20:57:00.003-06:002010-06-21T21:38:26.690-06:00

Well, I'm coming to the end of my 6-weeks' self-imposed exile from running and pretty much all other physical activities.  It's gone alright, which is to say that I've adhered to the full-rest aspect of my plan but have done so in a particularly moody and twitchy manner that has left me searching for the bells atop Notre Dame from which to swing.  Life around the house with me could easily be

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-91106797516787470632010-06-11T16:21:00.010-06:002010-06-11T19:05:15.288-06:00

Nationwide results for the Titus Van Rijn One Hour Distance Classic are in, and the Sun Valley Edition shined. While furthest distance overall, with 15,602 meters, went to 38 year old Washingtonian, Erik Brooks, Sun Valley runners Brad Mitchell (15,500 meters) and Andy Jones-Wilkins (14, 850 meters) took second and third respectively, as well as first and second in the Masters division.  Your

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-54222884837497272142010-06-05T09:24:00.001-06:002010-06-05T19:58:23.690-06:00

Chocolate milk has been riding a wave of popular press in the endurance sports world, and some new results from the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine will only add to this.  In a series of two small studies, researchers William Lunn and Nancy Rodriguez found that non-fat chocolate milk performed better than a carbohydrate-only drink when it came to post-run glycogen

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-81620443918023704422010-05-31T21:51:00.019-06:002010-07-21T18:26:02.785-06:00

As my oft-chagrined training buddies can tell you, it's rare for me to hit the trail on a 2-plus hour run without my camera. Even if it's a route we've run dozens of times, I feel that each long outing, however seemingly routine, is rich with moments worth capturing. And although I'll never be in the same class as Glenn Tachiyama or Greg Norrander, I've taken some shots I've really liked over the

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-45028942242708053592010-05-29T16:07:00.018-06:002010-05-29T19:55:50.880-06:00

A brutal weather system that brought freezing temperatures, snow, sleet, and white out conditions caused the Pocatello 50 miler to be stopped mid-race today, as many runners from the lead end to the tail end of the pack found themselves lost. The race started under decent but threatening conditions, which turned about 90 minutes into the race into challenging, and ultimately dangerous, conditions

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-16957303390951477852010-05-19T21:13:00.005-06:002010-05-26T13:23:39.119-06:00

Crap.  It's finally come to this:  6 weeks off.  Just as I'd started to gain some fitness and log some decent miles in hopes of a late season pairing of White River and Cascade Crest, the knee took a bad turn, and it was nasty about it.  It'd be fine one day.  Ornery the next.  Not only would it not let me get in the miles I needed but it also started to sap my love for running.  I stopped

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-76237902416625567662010-05-15T11:56:00.010-06:002010-05-18T11:48:43.684-06:00

The turnout alone was spectacular, add in sunshine, temps in the 60s, and relatively calm conditions, and it set up to be a great day on the Wood River High School track for the 2010 running of the Titus Van Rijn One Hour Distance Classic - Sun Valley Edition.  Nineteen stalwart runners toed the line in the 60 minute timed test, nearly doubling the combined number for the previous three years.

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-32723142427855305692010-05-08T16:03:00.011-06:002010-05-08T20:36:39.050-06:00

My first thought was to wish for my camera, but that was wrong.  It could not have captured what I was seeing - the lone ten foot fir whipped by the wind until it rippled and waved and looked as if it'd unearthed its roots and was spinning in place.  It made me think of Orpheus, his music so magical that the trees wrenched themselves from the ground and danced and followed him until he calmed

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-39768252870040030192010-05-01T08:22:00.000-06:002010-05-01T11:14:45.883-06:00

As the calendar alerts on my computer and phone have been reminding me, I was supposed to be shirking my soccer coaching duties and deserting my family this weekend for a trip down to Michigan Bluff for some big training on the Western States course. That Western isn't happening for me this year is no longer news, though I did finally let the RD officially know last week that I wouldn't be coming

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-30951417715441145202010-04-18T15:55:00.015-06:002010-04-18T19:58:12.940-06:00

Bare trail, spring fever, and good legs seem to bring out the worst in me.  For two years in a row now - on the third Sunday in April - I deserted good sense and ran much longer than I'd told anyone I was going to. I just could not ignore the Siren song of another lap of Vorberg Gulch in 60 degree, sunny weather. Last year, this inspired me to write a poem inspired by William Carlos Williams'

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-57472154296612850582010-04-16T19:26:00.006-06:002010-04-16T19:42:51.064-06:00

We've finally hit a stretch of warmer weather here in the Wood River Valley, and however haltingly, more trail is starting to open up - buoying the spirits of even this semi-jaded (read: injured) runner.  This week I was able to do a recon run of the Vorberg Gulch loop, which starts or ends (depending which direction you run it) with the much discussed Carbonate trail (posts).  It's about eight

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-56865824929784862382010-04-15T13:10:00.004-06:002010-04-15T13:23:13.983-06:00

Capping off what has been already been an amazing year, ultrarunner Amy Palmiero-Winters was honored by the Amateur Athletic Union yesterday with the James E. Sullivan Award "for her outstanding athletic abilities and accomplishments in her sport as well as sportsmanship, leadership and character (on & off the field) in her lifestyle as a whole." (AAU Sullivan site). Among other impressive

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-87966447156202954232010-04-11T15:37:00.011-06:002010-12-09T11:18:55.464-07:00

As is abundantly, and possibly by now irritatingly, clear these days to anyone who follows the blogs or training logs of ultrarunners who call the Sun Valley area home, April running revolves around Carbonate Mountain (Carbo).  Basically, it's the only bare singletrack with decent vert for miles around, so as I said in a previous paean to Carbo (here), we live on its slopes mid March to early May

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-6087419564347348622010-04-09T20:58:00.025-06:002010-04-16T18:45:38.140-06:00

Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain.-The Waste Land; TS EliotI've been thinking about this post for a while now - the way the trail and my iPod leave a deep imprint on my memory.  I don't know why it's taken me so long to write, but now that the premise has fought the test of time, it seemed like it deserved to be written up.   Like a lot of runners, I do a lot of my solo 3+

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-56366353101994703822010-04-01T21:30:00.004-06:002010-04-16T19:13:27.509-06:00

Editor's note: Snivel filters alerted my good sense and had me revise my original version of this post, which went to press last night for a few short moments, but is here revised with, one hopes, a more digestible tone.  "Really?," you might say.Well, I had the long-anticipated MRI of my right knee last week, and I have to say that the past seven days have generally been positive.  The MRI

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-22678236992758063162010-03-28T18:10:00.008-06:002010-05-01T11:16:21.304-06:00

I was in Park City this weekend for my wife's Rowmark reunion and one of the events on our schedule took us to the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon, and I couldn't resist driving up to the Brighton ski area to see what it looked like in the daylight after a short drive, rather than in the middle of the night after 75 miles on foot during the Wasatch Front 100. (Enlarged photo). Given where it comes in

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-25453744076892751202010-03-23T20:59:00.006-06:002010-08-05T07:23:41.409-06:00

You can have your crocuses, your Easter eggs, your spring solstice.  For me, the real first day of spring is when the snow's cleared enough that I can run the full length of the Carbonate Mountain trail. Spring officially broke yesterday. Now, among the small but stalwart ultrarunning community here in the Sun Valley, Idaho area, Carbonate (aka Carbo) holds a special place, so the meaning of

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-67663310693283902962010-03-10T21:30:00.009-07:002010-03-10T22:10:15.921-07:00

I've come to call it "The Knob," the Quato-like protuberance on my knee that showed itself a number of weeks after a very hard fall I took in early September, 2009, on the Vorberg Gulch trail.  My immediate concern back then was toeing the line at Wasatch four days later.  And while that went off without a hitch (at least as far as the knee was concerned), Quoto The Knob, seemed to be lying in

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-57542502478241772552010-03-05T18:00:00.028-07:002010-03-09T10:19:19.438-07:00

In the natural history of running injuries, I've now crossed into phase IV - recurrence - also known as the backslide, or using pyschological metrics - despondency (mostly joking; mostly). After charting some good rebuilding following a largely run-less winter, things descended quickly last week, with my knee turning to stabbing pain sooner and sooner on each successive run.  And while I can't

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-49436498398416061882010-02-20T16:04:00.005-07:002010-08-05T07:23:41.411-06:00

At the risk of boring my 8.3 regular readers, I thought I'd post another handful of photos from another great session on the Bald Mountain loop in Sun Valley - again with Brad Mitchell and AJW.  With the 6am start, we had the entire mountain pretty much to ourselves top to bottom.  With three inches of new ungroomed snow for most of the climb, it was a tougher affair than last week - as evidenced

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-65728295208670349672010-02-13T19:33:00.004-07:002010-08-05T07:23:41.413-06:00

Hungry for some big vert, Brad Mitchell, AJW, and I put on our micro-spikes this morning and took on Bald Mountain (Baldy), the Sun Valley, ID ski hill (elev 9200).  It was a great outing, filled with sunny skies, trash talk, gossip, one ornery skier, and 3,300 feet of climbing and descending over 10 miles.  "We're going up there?" - Brad and AJW  Two-thirds up; bottom of Upper College    Up the

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-38652919183659039262010-02-11T22:39:00.004-07:002010-02-14T07:01:05.702-07:00

Coming up on the eve of the Red Hot 50k+, I'm really starting to feel the sting of lost time.  Red Hot was my  first race of the season last year and with its bare trails and varied terrain was the perfect antidote to a snowy winter that played prelude to a great first half of 2009, which culminated in my inaugural 100 at Bighorn. I'd hoped for a carbon copy schedule this year.  Red Hot,

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-7701148121968939182010-01-25T19:42:00.021-07:002010-07-22T22:03:45.082-06:00

The day was dark; the charcoal clouds were dropping snow, and the temperature hovered around 33 degrees.  In short, it was not the day for a run in my summer go-to trail shoe - the standard La Sportiva Wildcat - and I paid for it with painfully cold feet that slowed me to a crawl.  The breezy ventilation of the standard Wildcats that helped keep my feet cool and blister-free through August and

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-87042700888189797512010-01-18T21:36:00.005-07:002010-01-19T05:52:24.416-07:00

For a supposedly ascetic pursuit built of little more than earth, air and motivation, ultrarunning can be a surprisingly expensive sport.  Shoes, gels, drinks, travel, lodging and entrance fees - even for the sponsored - can total into the thousands.  Last season, I spent over $800 on entrance fees alone, and I didn't even race that much.  For the costs beyond that, I prefer to stick to the "

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-37145902497117512372010-01-17T18:01:00.011-07:002010-05-01T11:16:21.305-06:00

Team Montrail runner, Gary Robbins, took the men's crown at the 2010 HURT 100 in Honolulu, Hawaii in a record time of 20:12, beating Geoff Roes' 2009 record of 20:28.  Tracy Garneau took the women's race (and third overall) also in record time.  Her 24:06 bested Krissy Moehl's 2007 record of 26:15. It was a big day in paradise for Canada.  Canucks took the top three spots in the women's race,

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-60306278907726574082010-01-16T20:13:00.011-07:002010-05-01T11:16:21.307-06:00

Update (1-17-10):  Gary Robbins takes 2010 HURT 100 in a course record time of 20:12.  Thanks for the update, Derrick.  Online live results are still down but check out Gary's Twitter feed. Midway through the HURT 100 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Gary Robbins and Tracy Garneau lead the men's and women's fields, respectively (race site). Run on a 20 mile technical loop course with approximately 5,000

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-5066068139758545412010-01-05T17:31:00.010-07:002010-05-01T11:16:21.308-06:00

Yes. Yes. Yes. It's time to put to rest the rosy-glasses look at the past season and take 2010 head on. But I had to afford myself one last dispensation with a photo log of my 2009 season. Admittedly, this is more for me than anyone else, but if you look closely, you just might see yourself. If possible, view it in HQ.

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-30018130312797711382010-01-04T18:53:00.001-07:002010-01-04T18:54:07.150-07:00

OK.  You're an ultrarunner.  Your resting heart rate is 35.  A 3,000 foot climb is just a warm up, and you can throw up and pee while you run.  You're hard core. And, still, there are those times when it's hard to get out the door to get the miles in.  Work has sapped your energy;  the kids have sapped your energy; or it's minus 10 outside and you're just plain sick of running after your third

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-89577404700009711422010-01-02T12:51:00.011-07:002010-01-04T09:58:07.937-07:00

Update (1-4-10):  Race filled around 8:45 am (MST), January 4, 2010 Interested in running the standout and arduous Pocatello 50 this spring (race site)? Well, you better get cracking. Registration opened New Year's Day, and the solo 50 mile category is already over 70 percent full. The May 29, 2010 event boasts 13,500 feet of climbing, with options to run solo or as part of a 2 or 3 person

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-79510330668473895132010-01-01T20:09:00.009-07:002010-01-01T22:20:29.359-07:00

With a strange off-season injury keeping me sidelined from running for much of the late fall and early winter, my hopes of logging 3,000 miles in 2009 fell well short at 2,500.Still, I didn't let that stop me from taking the New Year's Day tour of my Attackpoint.org training log. Along with the requisite hindsight answers to musings like "don't know why I was so tired today" (because you ran 120

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-82902734265250629102009-12-30T07:36:00.001-07:002009-12-30T07:40:48.233-07:00

(Click for larger image)Related: Reflections on the 2009 Season

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-41147677111304647252009-12-23T20:05:00.011-07:002009-12-28T12:09:28.367-07:00

Protein is often overplayed in sport. From the time of Charles Atlas and leather head football, a lot of athletes have been told they should consume much more protein on a daily basis than they really need for optimal performance, and even for good health.So, it was with some trepidation that I started testing out a (full disclosure: complimentary) sampling of Clif Shot Roks (Clif site),

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-19833463975229790802009-12-12T18:04:00.004-07:002010-01-25T20:27:21.255-07:00

Update (1-25-10): Review of Wildcat GTX (Gore-Tex version) The shoe the Brooks Cascadia yearns to be If there was one positive thing about the left foot neuroma that struck me four weeks ahead of this year's Wasatch Front 100, it was that I discovered the La Sportiva Wildcat (retail $100). I was looking for a new shoe that didn't anger the nerve in my foot, and while I would have settled for

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-14498795553683263572009-12-12T13:00:00.010-07:002009-12-14T08:28:45.492-07:00

It's a select few that get to see what it looks like at the head of a race like this month's The North Face Endurance Challenge 50m. Film maker JB Benna felt more of us should have the privilege, so he toted his camera up amongst the ferns of those buffed out Marin trails and got some fabulous footage of women's winner Caitlin Smith and the men's winner and runner up, Uli Steidl and Geoff Roes.

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-66710048803569371252009-12-06T10:34:00.011-07:002010-05-01T11:16:21.309-06:00

To be sure, confetti was tossed by many of those glued to their computers and smart phones yesterday, but it was set up to be a disappointing day for most. The odds simply foretold it. Less than 20 percent would make it out of the Western States 100 lottery and get a golden ticket to the Big Dance in June 2010. The probability was just large enough to spark great hope but small enough to

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-2070753427077763562009-12-02T20:59:00.010-07:002010-05-01T11:16:21.310-06:00

Update: (12-6-09) Post-lottery report on number of lottery winners with 100 mile history (update).Yes, The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship is this Saturday, and despite astounding battles setting up at the head of the 50 mile race in both the men's and women's fields, a good number of us will be shackled to our computers and smart phones not to see if Uli can run down Geoff Roes in

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-17002119233185276042009-11-23T18:59:00.008-07:002009-11-23T19:51:19.970-07:00

Ok, the results are in, and headlamps rule the night in this unscientific poll on the types of lighting ultrarunners prefer to make their way on darkened trail.Headlamps by themselves (with no other light sources) came up tops, preferred by 35.5 percent of runners. When this percentage was combined with those who prefer a headlamp on the head as well around the waist, the percentage of folks

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-61950619763101319862009-11-17T17:26:00.006-07:002009-11-23T19:12:11.735-07:00

Poll closes Monday, November 23 at 5:30pm (Mountain)Ultrarunners can get pretty attached to their lighting sources. Pitch black backcountry trails have a way of teaching us very quickly what works and what doesn't. Share your thoughts on how you prefer to light the way on those through-the-night runs and see how you stack up with your compatriots. Really feel strongly about things? Leave a

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031795812496132559.post-78557168944576969582009-11-05T19:56:00.007-07:002009-11-10T12:20:02.735-07:00

They swarmed my passive black lab, and the mass turned like a hurricane tracked on radar - her small body the eye of the storm surrounded by churning golden fur. I could hear her yelps and all the growls, and picked up a rock - no fallen branches in reach - running to her defense. Seeing she wasn't alone, the pack fell away - seven, then five, then two. Then just she and I running down the

Hank Darthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168709676047000763noreply@blogger.com0