Operation Jack 7hr Challenge

I'm back, and it feels awesome.

left to right, Steve Walters, Sam Felsenfeld, and that funky looking guy on the right is me!

Sunday, September 5th was my first ultra since November of '08, and it feels incredible to be back at it. Basically, in that time, I did no running at all except a little bit of barefoot running over the last couple months, so I had minimal mileage under my belt. In fact, the longest run I had done in the few weeks prior to the Operation Jack 7hr was a 12mi barefoot run on hot pavement less than 2 weeks earlier.

I wasn't expecting a great distance due to my extremely low miles and that it would be the longest run I had ever done in my Vibrams, but I had one thing on my side, I am intimately accustomed to the slow burn of long runs.

I ran "fast" for a while, but slowed down soon after, I wasted a lot of time talking and laughing at the aid station, and I just didn't care about distance; I was there to have a good time, and a good time I had! I finished 32.3mi within that 7hrs and even ran the last half mile, or so, barefoot to see how my feet were doing. They were great; no blisters, no pre-blisters, nothing, just smelly. haha

The run was for a great cause, and if you want to hear more about the run and what all happened, here is Sam's race report: http://operationjack.org/blog/?i=231

Whats been going on with me!?

So.... My original plans for this year included running a 24hr race this weekend, and next month running the Sri Chinmoy 6 day race back in New York.

As I said, those WERE my plans, but after a couple injuries, battling being sick, and now a servere case of apathy, I just havent been running. Instead, I've been focusing on my "photography."

I went up to the 24hr race anyway, to take some pictures and to cheer on my friends, in hopes that I may be inpired by being around fellow Ultrarunners again, but still I feel a little Apathetic.... How do the rest of you stay inspired to run even though you may not feel like it?

I mentioned I took some pics at Pacific Rim 24hr this weekend..... I will be posting them soon, but here is a prieview of whats to come. If you want any of the pics, email me, and I will send you the full-size image.

Update… FINALLY!!!

Okay… now I take on the daunting task of trying to get caught up on everything since Labor Day ha-ha…

I’ll FLY through what happened:

I didn’t run enough,
Then I increased my mileage too fast,
Then I was disappointed at Ultracentric, but I don’t want to go into that,
Then I was too lethargic to run a lot,
Then the snow came and gave me an excuse not to run,
Then I decided to get off my butt and run,
Then I was going to run 100k at Purge & Splurge, but the ice and snow convinced me to cut back to a marathon,
Then I started running more regularly,
And now I’m increasing my mileage further, adding hill workouts, and speed-work, and
Soon I’ll me racing a 6hr, then a 24hr, and then a 6day race.

So, feeling caught up? Ha-ha

Oh… And finally, you can count on me to update my blog more regularly in ‘09

Sorry again for the massive delay, and I’ll leave you with a couple more images from my winter….

awesome running :-)

trying to look intimidating ha-ha

I promise I'll update more soon....

-Tim-

He's On His Way!

sorry for the delay.... I havent been doing too much exciting recently, but I want to update you on what I'll be watching over the course of the next month.....

Karl's Run Has Begun!

On August 5th 2008, one of America’s best ultrarunners, Karl Meltzer, began an incredible journey. The goal: to cover all 2,174 miles of the Appalachian TrailAppalachian Trail within 47 days. (The standing record is 47days 13hrs 31min)

It may seem sheer insanity, but if anyone can do it, Karl’s your man. He has won twenty-three 100mile races to date, setting several course records in the process, he holds the record for the most 100mile wins within a year at 6, and he is the Rocky Mountain Slam record holder: Hardrock + Leadville + Wasatch + Bear = 88hr 53min!

But back to his Appalachian Assault…

Karl will be took off from the summit of Mt. Kathadin, Maine, supported by a small team from Backcountry.com (who will also be in charge of all the IT gobbledygook) and will head south. The majority of the run he will be completely alone, but from time to time he will have some friends run along with him, NOT for the purpose of “pacing” or “muling” for him, but because “they get to run supported all day.”

“Okay,” you might be thinking, “that’s kind of cool, but has no bearing on me….” But that’s where you’d be wrong; the guys at Backcountry are turning Karl’s suffering into a game for the rest of us! (I think he got the worse end of that bargin :-) ) During his run, Karl is wearing a SPOT Personal Locator Device, which allows us to track him in real-time through WheresKarl.com (Command Center for the run.) They’re turning it all into a contest in which we have a chance to win gear from Backcountry.com if we can guess where he’ll be finishing each day!

There's a lot of stuff happening at WheresKarl aside from the contest; during his run there’ll be a blog, forums, videos, pictures and podcasts to keep us up to date on the very latest.

Command Center
Karl Meltzer's Site
Itinerary (subject to change)
Backcountry Profile
La Sportiva Profile
Interview



Some other questions Karl was kind enough to answer…

What you do for rest?

“I have an RV for evening rest that sleeps 4... I'm pretty dialed with that… it has been provided by Backcountry.com, they are also part of crew and will be handling details in the IT department. As you know they are the title sponsor and more info (as it accumulates) will be on the whereskarl.com site as well as my own karlmeltzer.com site.” – KM

Do you have any aspirations of later taking on the Pacific Crest Trail, and/or the Continental Divide Trail?

“That is also a common question. At this point it's hard to say. If this goes well, then maybe the PCT is next, but who knows, I really want to win more 100s too as 23 is nowhere near enough to hold that record till I die...so you can see where I'm going with this. I plan to run at Mt. Blanc next year on fresh legs and no jetlag, that race is the primary goal for next year. I have to show those Euros I'm for real.... right?” –KM

Why do it?

“Why? To raise the bar. Challenging myself to run 100 miles is easy now, so 2175 miles should satisfy my need to go further. Also if I can have a good run at the record, it is possible that I could drop that record significantly. It could be a record that stands for a while. It's hard to say what will happen, but the challenge of not knowing is the real fun of it...not to mention as we promote to the media, it'll be fun for everyone to watch me suffer.” -KM

Whew... What A Week!

Wow..... that was quite a week! ( June 30th - July 6th )

-I attended the Olympic Trials on the 30th, and got to watch the Oregon Boys sweep the 800meter!!! Here's The Incredible Video

-I ran into my fast friend (Elijah Greer) at the Trials and got to chat with him for a while.

-I got inspired to put in the milage that I should be doing

-I put in 115mi for the week, and

-I ran 41mi (slow) on the 4th (scrambling up and down steep embankmets off the trail, finding the highest peaks around to summit, playing in the snow, and pausing to take a lot of pictures is not the most efficient way to cover a lot of milage.... thus, the 41mi took me from 6:30a to 9:45p)
on my 4th of July run... I ran into some guys who were up in the snow above 4,000ft who had never been up that high before, didn't know the trails, and stupidly did not have a map.... so I gave them mine.

The feeling of the run was wierd....

There was a dense fog covering much of the run causing an eerie feeling .... and that mixed with the twisted trees and branches littering the ground made the place have almost a haunting feel.



but eventually the fog lifted and I found myself running in the snow!

I took it easy.... and had lunch on the edge of a 200+ft cliff.... I was taking my time and just enjoying it all. I got going again and as I made it up toward Whatum Lake I decided to climb up Mt Chinidere.... at 4,673ft, I wouldnt really consider it a Mountain.... But thats it's name. I was beautiful atop the mountain. One day I will Camp out up there and enjoy sunrise from up there. Were it clear, it would be an awesome vantage point for Mt Hood, but it was foggy

for more pics.... check out this link

NATIONAL TEAM FOR 2008 WORLD 24-HOUR RUN CHAMPIONSHIP

As I write this, I will express my remorse to all those to whom Western States did not pan out; and if you did not already know, I'ld like to bring your attention to the face that the Grand Teton Races will be offering discounts to some of those who cannot participate in Western States this year.

For more information about this, go to "Note To Western States Runners"

Now back to my post.....

Yesterday, the AUA (American Ultrarunning Association) announced the members of its 2008 National team, this is the article:

"The 6th Annual World Championship 24-Hour Run of the International Association of Ultrarunners will be held in Seoul, Korea on Oct. 18-19 of this year. U.S.
National Teams have performed well at the event, usually finishing among the top 5 national teams and making the team medals podium twice. The highest individual American finishes in the world title event's half-decade history were achieved by Stephanie Ehret (3rd in 2005) and Phil McCarthy (4th in 2007). This year will mark the second time the event has been hosted by an Asian city. The 2006 World 24 Hour was held in Taipei, Taiwan.

This year's National Team includes
the following members:

WOMEN
Connie Gardner, Medina, Ohio
Debra Horn, Shake Heights, Ohio
Jamie Donaldson, Freeport, Pennsylvania
Carilyn Johnson, El Paso, Texas
Laura Nelson, Woodstock, Virginia

MEN
William Allen, Prince Frederick, Maryland
Scott Jurek, Seattle, Washington
Dean Karnazes, San Francisco, California
Phil McCarthy, New York, New York
Roy Pirrung, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Alex Swenson, Vashon, Washington

TEAM MANAGER
John Geesler, St. Johnsville, NY

TEAM MEDICAL ADVISOR

Dr. Andy Lovy, D.O., Kirksville, MO

Gardner, Horn, Johnson, Pirrung, and McCarthy were automatic team selections by virtue of their top 3 finishes in the Ultracentric National 24-Hour Championship in November 2007. Donaldson, Nelson, Jurek, Karnazes, Allen, and Swenson were selected by virtue of their rankings in non-championship qualifying events in the previous 18 months. Pirrung, at age 59, for the fourth consecutive year becomes the oldest athlete ever named to an open National Team in the sport of Athletics. He is the only runner to have been selected for all 6 of the 24-Hour Run National Teams since the World event's inception in 2003. Pirrung won the inaugural U.S. National 24-Hour Run Championship in 1988, then again in 1991, and has finished second in that event for the past 3 years.

The team's Medical Advisor, Dr. Andy Lovy, was recently honored by the American Osteopathic Association as one of the "Great Pioneers in Osteopathic Medicine."

The team is sponsored by apparel manufacturers Sport Science and Injinji. The team is coordinated and managed by the American Ultrarunning Association."

I told you so.... :-)

Quick update.....

I know this has nothing to do with Ultrarunning, but when I posted: Keep an Eye On This Kid (Elijah Greer), I had no Idea that just a few weeks later he would break the 800meter American Record for a 17yr old.... running 1:47.68

I know the video isn't great, but here's the Link

Mt Hood Scramble

Since I hurt my calf (see previous post), I've had to take some down time, and it has been difficult. I want to be out there, so I do smart things like sign up for races when I'm injured.

So the Monday after I injured myself at 20th Century 100k, I signed up for the Mt Hood Scramble, not just a race, but a brutal one at that. I couldn't run, but at least I had something to look forward to.

I tested out my legs a few days later, and something wasn't right; I wasn't feeling the kind of pain that I endured with the torn calf that weekend before, but my calf and the back of my knee just felt wierd. I dont know how to describe it.

I took it easier after that, but my calf continued in that manner for a while. Even when I went for a short three-mile jog the day before the Scramble, I wasn't feeling right only a mile into the jog. When I woke up the next day to get to the race, I still wasn't feeling right, and I was already favoring that foot.

So against my better judgement, I decided to run. I met up with a couple other runners at the Portland Running Company to carpool, and we were off to the Mountain. We arrived early, collected our bibs and I watched enviously ar others were warming up, I was afraid that if I were to try to warm up, I might injur myself (smart, huh).

I lined up in the back for the start of the race, and ran gingerly from the beginning. People were breaking through the snow, faceplanting, and falling into tree wells all over the place. My leg wasn't feeling horrible so I kept a conservative pace but passed several people with ease.

I had a great time, enjoyed the views, and kept a smile on my face, although I have to say, it wasn't all that hard to remain happy out there.

I was originally dreading the several ice-cold river crossings (I would guess probobly 10), but with every crossing, my leg felt better and better. Or maybe It was simply becoming more and more numb. (Photo Courtesy Brian Conaghan)... I need to get back into shape!

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I eventually felt good enough that I even started kicking after the last turnaround and caught at least a dozen runners in the final treacherous downhill stretch.

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The Red Lizards were well represented at the Scramble.

Beautiful Views! And as a testement to the difficulty of this 6.8 mile course, no one was able to break an hour. My time of 1:54:47 put me in the middle of the pack.

One of the guys who I carpooled with, Pat Fear, finished 4th overall with a time of 1:07:29, only 2:24 behind the winner.

The Worst I've Ever Raced

I’ll begin with a question: If every bad run is just a good learning experience, why don’t I teach this stuff?

Everything at the 20th Century 100k began all right. I was running right at or just faster than my goal time up through the Garcia Station at mile 19.6 and was keeping very close to Tim Englund and Lisa Bliss. Up through Garcia I was averaging 9:38 per mile, right on track to achieve my goal of sub 10:30 or possibly a sub 10hr race. Everything was great, I was feeling good, I was healthy, and I was getting enough food and water in me, but then I inexplicably just died.

The next 5.6 miles up to Bandera were a battle. I wanted to run it, but I couldn’t. There were a couple points along the way in which my quads even began spasming, but I pressed on with people passing me right and left. It all was a little disheartening, but I was encouraged when Tim and Lisa, running the other way now, cheered me on telling me that I was sure to “resurrect” once I got to the Bandera turn-around. I finally made the 5.6mi to the Bandera Station in a time of 1:19:06, a 14:07 mile avg.

They were right, I sped way up once I made it past the turn-around averaging a 10:59 mile back down to Garcia, though I may have been helped a little by the couple of handfuls of snow I put in my hat. Ha ha. Over the course of the next 12.8 miles, I was running on a rollercoaster of highs and lows, at times slowing down beyond a 13 min mile pace, and sometimes running a sub 10.

I knew there was no way I would be able to run a sub 10:30 race from the way things had been going, and even an 11 or 11:30 would be a stretch, but I knew that there was no way I wanted to finish slower than 12hrs (my slowest 100k to date had been about 12:06, and that was with a broken leg) and the only way I was going to be able to complete the race within 12 would be to average a 12 min mile from that point on.

I pushed myself, and I was happy to see that I was staying just under a 12min mile up to the next aid station. Then the unthinkable happened; a mere 100yards before the Mt. Si Golf Course aid station, I felt an incredibly sharp, almost crippling pain, deep in the meat of my left calf. The pain was incredible. After tearing my calf, the next 2.8 miles took me an excruciating 56:05, and I wasn’t going to be speeding up very much beyond that. Less than a mile later, three more runners passed me. Soon after they passed me, an early starter, who I thought had dropped a while before, came up behind me and soon we were “running” together. This was by far the furthest he has ever run, and his hip flexors were causing him a lot of pain, so we limped on towards the finish line.

During the next 3 odd miles to the next aid station, I was able to speed up slightly, but I had to be careful because I was dancing that line between good and bad pain (the pain of working, and the pain of injury). I achieved that 3.8 miles in a blisteringly fast [tongue in cheek] 55:53. When we reached the next aid station, the volunteers there told us that the only people behind us had dropped, so we were it, last on the course.

We pushed the last 7.7 miles to the finish, cheering each other on and straining to continue, and we made decent time, all things considered. About an hour into the last stretch we were passed by someone sweeping the course, and we continued on at our labored pace envious of his fresh legs. When we reached the final turn off, only 2 miles to go, he took off with a surge of adrenalin, and I could muster nothing faster than I was currently doing. Trail markers were being picked up behind me as I continued over the last couple miles, the last one out there.

Finally I approached the suspension bridge, over which was the finish line. I wanted to finish strong, but as I attempted to run up one side, my calf seared with pain again and I had to walk. I was able to shuffle across and then a noise arose that I met with mixed emotions, cheering. I was 3hrs behind my target, and I almost wanted to slip in unnoticed, but at the same time, the cheering was comforting and it hurt that I couldn’t finish strong without doing further damage to my calf. I crossed the bridge, and as I came down the opposite side, tears of pain welled up in my eyes, but I continued the few yards across the finish where waiting for me was chicken noodle soup, hot dogs, and comradery. It was well worth it.

My time for the last 7.7mi was 2:06:55, for an overall finish time of 13:01:16.

As poorly as things went for me, I do still recommend this race. It’s a fast course with a lot of aid, and a whole lot of fun (as long as you aren’t injured).

Until next time,
Tim Lawson

Results Link

Keep an eye on this kid ( Elijah Greer )

I'm just tapering right now so nothing exciting is really happening.... so I thought I'ld tell you about what transpired at the recent OSAA Track and Field championships....

Elijah Greer, a junior at Lake Oswego Highschool, who also happens to be a friend, ran an outstanding 800m race : 1:50.60 , which also happens to be a State Meet Record!

Here's the Video (he's starting in lane 4)





I contacted him after seeing the highlights on the News to ask what other races he was running that weekend.... his reply "Just running 4x400 and 800... Our 4x400 team got 6th at the finals with a 3:20.99. i splited a low 48 for my leg."

Crazy..... Keep an eye out for him.... I'm certain we'll be hearing much more about him in the near future (he is only 17 after all)

Self-Transcendence Multiday Races Finished

Congratulations to everyone who took part in this years Self-Transcendence 6 and 10 day races!

John Geesler, Kaneenika Janakova, Dipali Cunningham, and Wolfgang Schwerk

This years champions were....

Wolfgang Schwerk (Germany) is the overall Men's 10day Champion with a distance of 829miles!!!! This in and of itself is absolutly incredible, but taking into concideration his win at the Athens International Ultramarathon Fesival just last month (1.012,00km / 628.8mi in 7 days) he is an absolute machine!

He was the favorite going into the race. His resume includes holding 70 records for distances over 1,300mi including the world record for the world's longest certified race: 3,100mi in 41 days 8hrs! He has also completed 627mi within 6 days to become only the 13th person to break 600 in 6 within the last 150yrs! His 24hr PR is also outageously fast: 171mi in 24hrs! Congratulations!!!!

In second place with an impressive resume of his own is his countryman Achim Heukemes with 701miles! Heukemes has a 1,000 mi PR of 11 days,18 hours, and has run over 150 miles for 24 hours. He has even run 2838 miles in the Trans Australia Race Stage Race!

Vladimir Balatsky of Ukraine rounds out the top three men with 660mi. He broke last years Distance by 7 miles.

In fourth is Glen Turner of Boulder, Colorado with 647mi.... I just had to include him on here to tell you what is coming up next for him.... This summer, Glen will be embarking on a 3 year, 25,000mi run around the world.... you can check it out at http://www.worldrun.org/

In the women's race... Kaneenika Janakova is the Women's champion with 667mi. Her previous PRs are 422 mi in the 6day, 700 miles in 10 days, 19 hrs, and 1,000 miles in 15 days, 19 hrs. Not only are these her Personal Records...they also are Slovakian national records.

Second place woman is Ivana Nemcova with 634mi. Her previous record was 507mi; 127mi improvement!

Lenka Svecova (Czech Republic) finished third with 465mi. Her bests include 1000 miles in 15 days 15 hrs, 635 miles for ten days (split), and 413 miles for 6 days - all national records.

In the 6day:

John Geesler (USA) is the Men's Champion with 433 miles! John's bests include the US record of 248 mi in 48 hrs, his age-group record of 157.9mi in 24 hrs, and in 2005 he ran 300mi within 3 days!

Igor Mudryk (Ukraine) came in second in the 6 day with 420 mi! His previous 10 day PR was 533mi.

Pranjal Milovnik of Slovakia finished third with 375mi. He has previously run 622 mi for the 10day and 392 in the 6 day. He also has completed the 3,100 mi race 3 times with a PR of 51 days 16hrs.

In the Women's 6 day....

Dipali Cunningham, an incredible runner and World Record holder from Australia, won with 467miles; she came out the overall wimmer in the 6 day.

"Dipali is one of the world's best women ultra-distance runners. She has won 19 of the 22 multiday events she has entered since 1992, including five overall victories. In the spring of 2001 she set a new women’s world record on the road for six days with 510 miles, defeating all the men in that race. In 2001 she ran 700 miles in 9 days 11 hours, the third fastest all-time for women. In 1998 she set a women’s world best on the road for six-days with 504 miles, despite heavy rains at Wards Island Park. In 1999 she won the 700 mile race overall in 10 days, 21 hours. She is ranked third in the world for 700 miles, and third for 1000 miles, having dominated the women's 1000 mile race in 1997 in 13 days, 20 hours. She has won all ten Six Day titles in our spring-time event. She is also the women’s course record holder for the Ten Day with 723 miles.In 2004,Dipali set a new women’s age group 45-49 world best for six days with 479 miles. Later in the fall, she won the 700 mile race overall, her eighth victory in that event.*" Excerpt From Race Website

Second place is Barbara Sorrell of the USA with 319 miles in her first ever Miltiday!

Third place is Uljana Jevdokimova if Finland. In this, her second miltiday, she finished 276 miles; 31miles petter than in her previous race.









For full results, check out the following links...
Race Home Page
Daily Results
Photo Gallery

Self-Transcendence Six and Ten Day Race 2008 - April 23 to May 3

Those of you who know me know I am fascinated with Multiday racing, especially the 6 day event. I love the history of the 6 day race: New York Times Article posted Dec. 2 1888 covering George Littlewood's World Record Performance; and more recent events: Yiannis Kouros running 643 miles in 6 days on 3 hours of sleep in 2005. If you also love the history of this sport, This Article is another must-read.

But back to why I am posting this.... In spite of my love of the 6 day, I am not competing this coming week. Some have asked me why, and I have to say it is that although I love the 6 day, I really want to be focusing on the 24hr race to improve at that distance, but I do plan to compete in a 6 day every-other year, so you can expect me back next year; this year I have to be content to sit on the sidelines.

I was originally worried about the turnout at this year's event because of Sri Chinmoy's death this past year; he was a spiritual guide for the majority of the runners, and the race was put together by his organization, however there is a large gathering of runners back in New York right now to run, including some remarkable runners......

All Bios of the runners can be read at http://www.srichinmoyraces.org/us/ultras/6-10-day-race/6-10-day-race-2008/runners_bios, and believe me..... they are worth reading.

The array of runners includes some World Record holders, several National Record holders, and just some downright crazy people.... now you've got me feeling sentimental....

The 10 day race began Wednesday April 23rd at Noon EST, and the 6 day race is scheduled to join them Sunday April 27th also at Noon EST. Both Races will Conclude May 3rd at Noon, and you can expect updates from me throughout the race.... I may be across the country, but I am watching the website like a hawk, and have even spent some time on the phone with some of the racers.

Anyway.... Check out the Following links to learn more...

Race Home Page

Daily Results

Photo Gallery

Andy Carson 40 mile Fun Run (+10)

When I heard a couple months ago that local television personality and weatherman, Andy Carson, was going to celebrate his 40th birthday by running 40 miles, I was excited to sign up. The fact that they were putting the run on as a benefit for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society made it all the better.

So on Wednesday, April 16th, Steve and I got down to the Portland waterfront at about 7:30am to pick up our packets and get ready to run. We got to talk to Andy for a little while before the start, and during the 7 1/2 hour long day, we got to talk to him quite a bit more.

Steve, Andy, and I before the start.

We couldnt have asked for a better day; it was high 40s low 50s all day, overcast, and fairly dry. Andy being a Weatherman, I give him the credit for the awesome day. Of the group of us who started the day with Andy, 7 of us completed the entire 40mi with him. Other people were coming and going all the while showing their support. We finished faster than Andy had originally projected, 7:23:14! Not too shabby, but he said he didn't catch the ultrarunning bug..... famous last words.....

Andy with the 40 milers (save 1)

Dave and Paula Harkin of Portland Running Company and RunWithPaula.com who really put this whole thing together.

On the Air.....

For clips from throughout the day, follow the links below.....

Pre-Run Video

Run Start Video

Post-Run Video

Steve and I wanted to finish the day with 50mi, so we joined up with the Wednesday group run and then I put in another 1.5 miles to finish off the great day with exactly 50mi. it was a lot of fun, and I hope Andy decides that this pain is fun (ha ha), and I hope to see him at some future ultras.

Heal Quick Andy!

Tim Lawson

Pacific Rim 24hr

Well I went into the race with high hopes, I wanted to aim for 200k within 24 hrs, but that wasn't going to happen.

Steve Walters picked me up at about 6:50 to carpool up to Longview, approximately 61 miles away. We chatted about our goals and how we would achieve them. In order to achieve my goals, I wanted to complete the first 50k within 5 hrs, 50mi within 8 hrs, 100k within 10.5 hrs, 100 mi within 17hrs, and finish the day with over 200k. Steve wanted to finish 50k in 5.5hrs, 50 mi in 10hrs, 100k in 12hrs, and 100mi in 20hrs to finish the day with 105mi. (4 marathons)

When we started, I was close to the front along with Steve for the first couple miles, but the front runners were rookies running too hard to last, so I slowed up and let them run ahead. I watched in dismay as Steve took off with them and I thought to myself, "He'll regret that later! My goals are higher than his, why is he running 8:30 miles!?" When I finally was close to him, I reminded him that he needs to take walking breaks, or there's no way he'll last the night. I also tried to warn the other front runners, Fred and Jamal, but only Fred listened and later thanked me, saying that my advice saved him. Jamal, on the other hand, ran hard and fast and dropped out at mile 41.

In spite of the fact that Steve and I ran together, took it easy, and made sure to walk a little bit of every lap, we crossed the 50k mark in 4:52:44, a PR time for both of us. I was on track to achieve my goals, and Steve was over 30 min ahead of his. It was at about four hours into the race that my left hamstrings started to cramp a little, so I slowed up a bit and stretched my leg out whenever I could.

Between the 50k and 50mi mark I slowed even more because of the cramping, but made sure to take in as much water as possible along with some salt tablets. We stayed together, virtually stride for stride, and finished 50mi in 8:33:33. I was now a half hour behind my goal, but Steve was an hour and a half ahead of his. At 8 hrs into the run, I noticed something even more disturbing than the cramping earlier; although I was taking in a lot of liquids virtually every lap, I hadn't needed to use the bathroom since before the start, and I wasn't sweating hardly at all, except for salt that is. At this point I also became nauseated and my stomach was in turmoil. It seemed I could take in no more food or water, or if I did, I would promptly throw it up. I knew I was in trouble if I couldn't take in any calories.

Steve and I slowed more. At this point I was struggling to keep up with him even though we were taking two walking breaks every lap. My nausea didn't seem to get any better, my strength was failing, I still wasn't sweating or going to the bathroom in spite of all the fluids I was forcing down, and I was becoming more and more worried about my well being.

I decided that if I still wasn't able to use the bathroom by the 100k mark, I would walk out the 63rd mile and rest to see if I could get things straightened out. However, by the 100k mark (11:28:15) I was still having problems, so I alerted the race officials that I was leaving the course, and I went to take a nap. Before I got to the car to sleep, Olga showed up along with some other runners who had been running up at Chukanut and she gave me some sage advice: stop on salt and drink a lot more water. It made sense, I thought I had taken enough salt, by this point I had probably overdone it on salt and that could have caused all my problems. I took her advice but still went and took my nap. I rested and rested, but it wasn't until 7am the next morning (23hrs after I last used the bathroom) that I was once again functioning "normally."

I didn't run any more, and I really hated having to pull out of the race, but at least I got 3 PRs out of it. I watched the other runners finish, and Steve was able to achieve 107 miles for 5th place. First place went to Tim Englund with 121miles!

We got back to Portland and I went right to bed for some more sleep. I woke up a couple hours later and went to my Church's Evening service, followed by a meal with some friends at Laurelwood Pizza Co. I had the Davide's Special Calazone. A great way to recover after having some digestive / intestinal issues I know. ha ha. I'm all back to normal and ready to up the training to take vengance on this run at Ultracentric in November. I WILL do better! Lord willing.

Another Ultra Double

-Part One- Preparation

There I was sitting in a parking lot, knowing what I needed to do, but not sure if I had the guts to do it. Finally, after mustering the courage, I got out of my car, walked into the Goodwill, and started looking for a skirt for the next week’s race. I knew there would be “men in skirts” at Hagg Lake 50k, and I wanted to be one among their number. I found the skirt I was looking for, and with some trepidation I went to go try it on. Now at this store, you have to be let into the dressing rooms by someone with a key. I attempted to explain myself to the man in charge of the dressing rooms, but if\t was of no avail; he obviously didn’t believe it was a one-time use kind of thing. When I finally got to try on the red-plaid-pleated skirt, it fit well. I was glad; I didn’t want to go back out there and look for another skirt. On my way towards the counter, a good half dozen women asked me if the skirt fit. With a smile, I was able to reply yes, and then I started to pass by the skirt rack where I had originally picked out the skirt. Now there had been this woman there giving me an odd look as I had been picking out the skirt, but now she spoke up and asked, “Did you go to Westside Christian High school?”

I was horrified at being recognized while picking out the skirt, but I still had to reply, “Yes.”

“Are you Melody Lawson’s little brother, Tim?” she inquired.

She even knew my name! I have never been so embarrassed in my life, but I tried to explain my way out of it, and by the end of our conversation, she decided it was “for a good cause” and went on to tell me that she wasn’t sure what to think of this guy she recognized from a Christian High school trying on a skirt. I got out of there quickly, paid 5 bucks for the skirt and made my escape. Next time I need to go buy a skirt, I’m going to bring a girl with me; it’ll be less embarrassing.

-Part Two- Hagg Lake 50k (in a skirt)

Steve “Marathon Freak” Walters and I got to Hagg Lake about 45min before the race start. I wasn’t yet brave enough to don the skirt until I saw others in them also. As soon as we got down to the pavilion where we were to pick up our race packets, I saw Mike “Bushwhacker” Burke wearing his skirt, a little hot pink skirt with matching gaiters. Ha Ha. After seeing him and a few others, I decided it was time for me to finally show off my skirt. I got changed in the car, and on my way back down to the pavilion, I received quite a few compliments on my skirt.

Now the funniest thing happened while I was there; Olga came up behind me before the race start, lifted up the back of the skirt, and looked underneath to make sure I was wearing something else also. I was caught completely off guard but it was absolutely hilarious. Most simply asked if I was wearing anything.


As the start of the race neared, all the runners gathered around and all the “men in skirts” were pulled to the front for judging who looked the best. I have to say, there was no contest; one of the guys showed up in a full out granny dress and fake teeth. He looked so bad that he was immediately everyone’s favorite.


The race started, and we could not have asked for better weather:
Sunny, 35degrees at the start, and about 55 at the finish.
Technical trail, muddy in parts, lots of little hills.


In spite of having “stupidly” injured myself the day before, I has pulled a tendon in the arch of my foot, I ran fairly hard during the start. After about 10 miles, my foot was bothering me pretty bad, so I slowed way down until I got to the second loop. I ran virtually the entirety of the second loop around the loop with Carrie White. I was in pain and didn’t want to slow down too much, so running with her forced me to push a little. My biggest concern at the race was to finish injury free, I guess it was a little late considering I didn’t even start injury free, but I got through the race in a time of 6:01:17 without severely aggravating the injury.

-Part Three- Yours Truly 50k (on a treadmill)

Still tired and sore from the previous day’s adventure, Steve and I went over to 24hour Fitness to run a treadmill 50k. I can see how treadmill races have the potential of being incredibly fast, as long as you didn’t run a 50k the day before. We were able to keep an eye on exactly how fast the other is running, and how much you lead or trail by.

For the majority of the race, I was between three-quarters and a full mile behind Steve, but I passed him up with about 10min left. My splits were:

5k ----- 34:02 ----- 10:59 min/mile pace
10k ----- 1:06:46 ----- 10:46 min/mile pace
Half Marathon ----- 2:21:06 ----- 10:46 min/mile pace
25k halfway! ----- 2:46:36 ----- 10:43 min/mile pace
Marathon ----- 4:41:15 ----- 10:44 min/mile pace
50k ----- 5:28:26 ----- 10:34 min/mile pace

I ran the second half 4:46 faster than the first half, most of which I made up in the last 3 miles averaging about an 8:30 min/mile.

I would have probably been able to run faster if I had real food with me, but we were trying to be discreet about hogging the treadmills for 5 ½ hours, so all I had was a couple bottles of diluted GU20 and a couple bottles of PowerAde and a single Hammer Gel, not exactly the best way to run a 50k, but at least I survived.

Thankfully, because of the way the internationally run Yours Truly 50k is held, this run will count as a run for me, I doubt I will ever do this again unless it counts as a race, but I’m sure I will be running some treadmill races in the future.

-Part Four- Post Races

Monday I went for a three-mile walk, and then later that afternoon, I went for an easy 7mile jog to get my legs moving and the blood circulating. I’m still nursing that foot, and during the Hagg Lake 50k I tweaked an ankle, which I aggravated on the treadmill at Yours Truly. Right now, I am wearing a ProTech Ankle Wrap to help speed up recovery. I’ve also been icing my foot to help further that cause. I am no longer sore, just slightly injured, and I need to recover fast; I’m now entering into my taper for the Pacific Rim 24hour Race, and I need to be healthy for the race.