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."