Red Wing, Minnesota

I just returned from a short visit to Red Wing, MN. Before traveling to this cozy little hamlet located some 50+ miles from Minneapolis, I was talking with some friends and we lamented over the challenges facing inhabitants of such a cool - well, sometimes downright frosty - climate. My cousins live in Golden Valley and I visited them one Christmas when the temperatures didn't get above zero for over one week. This is a place where car batteries are plugged in overnight... and during the day for most every day in the winter (or so it seems), and people spend lots of time indoors to avoid frostbite from just stepping out the door to get the mail.

Fortunately I checked the weather forecast before traveling, which I always do and highly recommend to anyone traveling to another city - no matter what the season. Most likely the weather at your destination will not be the same as the weather where you live. It can be colder, warmer, wetter, drier... you get the picture. Although I was prepared - I'm known as an overachieving planner - some of the others who I met up with in Red Wing had not even glanced at a weather forecast for the area including one of this year's Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team members, Matt Byrne.

En route to Red Wing on a shuttle van I asked Matt if he wanted to go for a run. It was hovering around the freezing mark and a bit windy when we arrived in Red Wing at 3:15 p.m. We decided to meet in the hotel lobby at 3:30. I wore tights, a long sleeve shirt, heavy gloves, and a jacket. Matt, on the other hand, was dressed in shorts and a long sleeve shirt. I asked Matt if he was sure he'd be warm enough. He said that he had no other warm clothes with him, not even a jacket although he was wearing a pair of lightweight gloves. He said that just looking at me all bundled up would probably make him think he was warmer. Maybe there is some type of osmosis or channeling effect I wasn't aware of.

We decided to go for an hour of easy running. I like to find trails in every city that I visit, but sometimes it is a challenge. Not so on this particular adventure. Matt and I set off down Main Street (honestly, this was the name of the street where our hotel was located), heading toward a hillside that presumably from the top overlooked the town of Red Wing. As we ran down the road we both looked at the hillside and said... almost in unison... something to the effect of, "There's got to be a way to get to the top of that hill, let's go find it."

We ran on Main Street for about 3/4 of a mile and then turned onto an overpass. That was definitely the wrong direction as we were heading toward Wisconsin over a bridge that spanned the Mississippi River. We backtracked and headed up a two-lane highway flanking the hillside. We looked for an access point - a road, a trail, something to get up to the top of the hill. Another 1/2 mile and there it was... a trail. A very steep trail that went straight up. Matt took off like a rabbit and I trudged along behind him ascending the hillside. We ran under a canopy of elms, oaks, and other deciduous trees some still sporting their fall colors, while others were already bare. The trail was fairly wide and had a light blanket of leaves although we could still see the trail underfoot. We continued up and encountered steps, about 120 of them as I recall the number embossed on the adjacent memorial plaque. These were the Kiwanis Steps we later discovered on the run. We crested the hill, ran out to a lovely overlook with a sweeping 360 degree view of the area, backtracked to the river-side of the hill, and headed down. The other side of the hill was mostly single track trail covered in leaves that were knee deep in spots. Not only were there mounds of leaves, we couldn't see the trail which had lots of tree roots and rocks underfoot. I was careful picking through the trail whereas Matt charged ahead stopping every once in a while to make sure I hadn't taken a digger on the trail. It was about one mile or so down and included a few switchbacks and a lot more leaves. We ended up at a visitor's gazebo which had a large map describing the trail system we had just enjoyed.

We decided to head back to the hotel another way and ran down a road toward a gravel pathway next to railroad tracks. It flanked the Mississippi and was a bit chillier by the water with no shelter from the insulating leaves or trees we had just left. After about 45 minutes I asked Matt if he was cold... this is after I mentioned to Matt several times during the run that I was very toasty warm. Perhaps the reason Matt surged ahead a few times was to avoid my gloating over my preparedness for the weather. He said he was alternating between cold and not-so-cold. After nearly an hour I headed back to the hotel and Matt continued on for a few more miles.

It was a great run and the following morning at about 7:00 (when it was still dark as the sunrise was at 7:45 a.m.) a group of about eight of us headed out to run the trails on the "bluffs" which is what the hillside was named by the locals. It was way colder in the morning and only a few of us had appropriate layers of clothing. Lots of chilly extremities on the morning run.

Again, the lesson learned is to check the weather forecast and be prepared for your trail runs with the appropriate gear! To the left are some well-dressed statues on Main Street outside the hotel St. James and below a photo of Matt and me at dinner one evening.

Nancy's XTerra Finish

  

USA 50 Mile Road Championships

I traveled to Boalsburg, PA (the town adjacent to State College – home of the Penn State Nittany Lions who happen to be undefeated this collegiate football season), site of the USA 50 Mile Road Championships on Saturday, October 11. It was the fourth time the event – Tussey Mountainback – hosted the champs (www.tusseymountainback.com). The event will again host the championships on October 3, 2009.

The course is a mixture of paved road and dirt/gravel road making it somewhat of a "trail" course, although it is designated a "road" championship. The USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Council considers the event somewhat of a "hybrid" course because of the mixture of surfaces. The USATF certified distance winds through a large portion of state park land on a narrow road—just wide enough for two cars if they proceed rather slowly to pass one another. Overhead, forested canopies were abundant along the route displaying a palette of vibrant golds, yellows, reds, and browns. There were incredible vistas along parts of the course that climbed above the valley floor – enjoyed by runners who were not too tired to avert their glance from the roadway underfoot to take in the view.

There were just shy of 30 finishers in the USATF Championship division and 87 finishers overall. As championships go, this was a pretty good turnout for a USATF ultramarathon distance event. There was also a relay with 12 legs and some 94 teams of 2 to 12 runners participating. One of the teams had eight team members all over age 65 with the oldest member a lively 88. He ran two legs including the anchor leg and at the awards ceremony when asked to give some comments said, "I’m tired." This octogenarian is pictured to the right.

During my two-night stay in Boalsburg, I managed to get out for two runs. When I travel I always seem to find a trail, but I don’t like to drive to one...I would rather hoof it from my hotel and hope to run into a trail – which I usually do. Having been to State College many years ago to see friends at Penn State, I had very distant memories of the area. In fact, the only real memory I have is drinking beer and eating popcorn at a local bar. My recollection of an east coast fall day is more reminiscent of my years growing up in the Lehigh Valley and includes scents of acorns and smashed crabapples, smoke rising from fireplaces on crisp mornings, deer looking for remnants of berries on nearly-dormant bushes, and the crackle of leaves underfoot. And...color. Lots of color.

On my hour-plus run on Saturday (I was at the race check in at 5:45 a.m., stayed for the start, and then went back to my hotel for a run) I ventured toward campus. After 24 minutes I located a trail which flanked a golf course on the west side of campus. The trail wove in and out of the boundary to a golf course and had a mixture of terrain from grassy spots, root-laden trail, rocks, quite a few fallen leaves, dirt, and gravel. I’d hesitate to call it "rolling" as the elevation change was less than 100 feet. It was a nice out-and-back run primarily because of the sections by the golf course. To get to the trail, I ran on paved road and concrete sidewalk. The night before I talked to some locals who said the bike paths were non-existent. I couldn’t imagine a college town without good bike paths or road access for cyclists. It was true. There was no shoulder and cars came dangerously close to the side of the road making it impossible to opt for pavement over concrete sidewalks (which is truly a bit softer on the legs).

On Sunday morning, I decided to go for a two-hour run. I’m getting ready for a ten mile race in November in my hometown of Bethlehem, PA, so the longer Sunday runs will certainly help in my preparation. I ran from my hotel toward the site of Saturday’s Championship event at Tussey Mountain Ski Area where the race started and finished. I was hoping that I could run long enough to make my way to the top of the ski slope which I did. It is amazing to climb just a few hundred feet (the top of the slope is at about 1800 feet above sea level) and see fantastic views. The colors are at their peak at month’s end, but that didn’t detract from the emerging changes in the leaves along the valley floor. Plus, the climb up the hillside was so enjoyable after pounding the pavement for 45 minutes.

After the run back to the hotel I headed to Harrisburg for my flight home. Lots of delays – mechanical issues, crew changes – the usual set of travel woes – and I’m back in the Rockies looking forward to my next adventure.

American Trail Running Association (ATRA) News

The American Trail Running Association (ATRA) and the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team Announce Partnership with CW-X Conditioning Wear

Colorado Springs, CO --- Wacoal Sports Science Corp., New York, recently entered into an agreement with the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team on behalf of its CW-X® Conditioning Wear to provide running tights for the 2009 team. CW-X Conditioning Wear (www.cw-x.com) is the world's first truly anatomically engineered high performance sports apparel.

We are looking forward to our relationship with CW-X whose mission is to meet the sports performance needs of active athletes. Our team members certainly fall into the active athlete category.  In the coming year we will work closely with the staff at Wacoal Sports Science to create more awareness for their brand through their relationship with mountain team, said Nancy Hobbs, manager of the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team.

John L.A. Wilson, president and COO of Wacoal Sports Science Corp., adds,  For almost six years since we introduced CW-X in the U.S., we had been receiving glowing testimonials from explorers, adventurers, and elite mountain runners. This new relationship with this hard-core team of mountain runners will provide us with an opportunity to effectively  demonstrate product performance in harsh conditions.

There can be no better proving ground, said Wilson, a former collegiate track athlete.

The Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team has been title sponsored by Teva, the official footwear of the team, since 2002. Team uniforms are provided by SportHill, Windermere Real Estate/Teton Valley is the official real estate company, Fleet Feet Sports-Boulder is the official specialty running store, OrthoLite is the official insole, Wicked Fast sports nutrition is the official dietary supplements for pre-exercise energy/endurance (Energ-Ease) and post-exercise recovery (Recover-Ease), FuelBelt provides hydration products for the team, Costa Del Mar provides performance sunglasses, and Youth Runner magazine provides support for the junior team.

The 2009 team will compete in the 25th World Mountain Running Championships in Europe in September 2009. This year's World Championship races will be held on an up/down course (as opposed to even-numbered years when the events are run on an uphill-only course) with the senior men running 12km, the senior women and junior men running 8km, and the junior women running just under 4km (course distances are approximate).

The women's team includes four athletes with the top three finishers scoring for the team.  Six athletes will represent the men's team with the top four finishers scoring. The junior men's team includes a maximum of four with top three scoring while the junior women's team is a maximum of three with the top two scoring. Team manager Nancy Hobbs, Colorado Springs, CO, and three staff members to be announced in December at the USATF Annual Meeting in Reno, NV, will accompany the team to the Championships.

Also at the USATF meeting, the Mountain Ultra Trail (MUT) Council will chose a second selection race from which automatic qualifiers to the U.S. team will be selected.  The USA Mountain Running Championships was announced as a selection race at last year's USATF meeting in Honolulu. The USA Mountain Running Championships will be hosted at North Conway, NH, on June 28 where top U.S. men and top U.S. women finishers will receive automatic berths on the team (the number of selected athletes will be announced at the USATF meeting in Reno).

 

Following the selection races, the remaining members of the senior squad, (typically one male, one female), will be selected by the Mountain Ultra Trail Council with input from the team staff based on results at the selection races, national and international racing experience including mountain, road, cross country, and track.  Senior athletes MUST run a selection race in order to be considered for the team. The junior team is selected based on resumes with criteria available at www.usmrt.com. To be considered for the team all team members MUST be current USATF members prior to running a selection race and in the case of juniors, USATF membership is also mandatory.

Interested athletes should submit running resumes to: Richard Bolt (richard.bolt@usmrt.com) and Nancy Hobbs (trlrunner@aol.com). The full team will be announced by August 15, 2009.

For additional information visit the websites listed below:

                             

USA Mountain Running Championships	www.whitemountainmilers.com
World Mountain Running Association	www.wmra.info
USA Track & Field	www.usatf.org
American Trail Running Association	www.trailrunner.com
Teva	www.teva.com
SportHill Clothing	www.sporthill.com
CW-X Conditioning Wear	www.cw-x.com
Costa Del Mar	www.costadelmar.com
Windermere	www.juliebryan.mywindermere.com
Fleet Feet Sports-Boulder	www.fleetfeetboulder.com
Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition	www.recover-ease.com
OrthoLite	www.ortholitefoam.com
FuelBelt	www.fuelbelt.com
Youth Runner	www.youthrunner.com

 

Japan's Wacoal Corp. (NASDAQ: WACLY) www.wacoal.com , the world's largest manufacturer of intimate apparel, has spent half a century creating clothing born of a deep understanding of the body. Combining its scientific knowledge of the human anatomy with its experience in complex fabrications and apparel design, the company first entered the performance sports apparel market in Japan in 1991 with CW® Performance Conditioning Wear. Recently the company launched the CW® brand in the US market through the newly formed Wacoal Sports Science Corp., headquartered at 136 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016, 212-743-9636.

American Trail Running Association (ATRA) Meeting

On Friday evening we held our annual American Trail Running Association (ATRA) meeting (www.trailrunner.com), this year in Boulder, CO, at the home of our president Adam Chase. Enclosed is a view off the deck at chez-Chase which borders on Open Space. This photo was taken in the morning when I hoped I would see some deer, or a fox, or perhaps a mountain lion as one of Adam's house mates had seen in the not-so-distant past. No animals from the deck, but we did run past five deer in the morning on the trails. Back to the meeting...

We had a great turnout for the meeting which had been rescheduled from late September due to our board's travel schedule. With everyone so busy, it is difficult to synchronize our calendars in order to get together. However, on this night we had a great group with all but one of our board in attendance.

We got down to business after visiting with each other over a vegetarian potluck including five types of bread, cheeses, olives, pasta and bean salads, home-made cookies (from Jeff's significant other who arguably baked better than he did), and chocolates from Switzerland (brought back from this year's World Trophy in Sierre, Crans-Montana and rivaled the cookies from Jeff which he brought straight from Los Angeles).

The meeting included administrative matters including a minor change to our bylaws to state that we would meet at least one time per year (as opposed to two), and more often as called by the president. This bylaw change passed unanimously.

Other administrative matters included approving the minutes from our September 2007 meeting, financial updates, website updates, and attendance.

We opted to "go green" with our quarterly newsletter Trail Times and will publish our final hard copy issue in December (winter '08 issue). Thereafter we will put the newsletter Online for our membership in either a .pdf or html format. The newsletter will be in color AND will provide more exposure for our advertisers, sponsors, corporate, race, and club members. It will also give an opportunity to include more feature articles.

We held elections for board positions. Elected unanimously were Adam Chase, president, Ellen Miller, Vice President, Doug Laufer, treasurer, and Lisa Goldsmith, secretary. We also appointed our advisory board for the coming year to include: Andy Ames, Danelle Ballengee, Erick Black, Dave Mackey, and Tom Sobal. ATRA welcomes any and all input from members and non-members alike so that we can grow and improve our programs and services.

ATRA will be involved with two events in 2009, the 2nd Annual Vail Athletic Club Winter Uphill (snowshoe, heavy metal, skins...name your method of climbing!) on Saturday, February 21 in Vail, CO, and the 4th Annual Teva Paint Mines 6k Run on Thursday evening, July 23 in Calhan, CO, located 35 minutes east of Colorado Springs.

We had several proposals to review regarding online retailers and online registration. There was unanimous approval (after much thoughtful discussions) to enter an agreement with imATHLETE. The details of this partnership will be announced soon.

A report from this year's World Mountain Running Trophy include the great news on our Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team results, sponsorship update (most of the existing sponsors have renewed and we entered into an agreement with CW-X conditioning wear just last week for the 2009 team), and coverage on the www.usmrt.com site. The Trophy has been held for 24 years and this 25th year will be very exciting as the name of the event has changed to the World Mountain Running Championships. The venue has not yet been confirmed, but Europe will host in early September.

We also talked about the selection for the mountain team and it was suggested that our selection races provide prize money for at least all of the slots that would qualify for the team. For instance, if a race provided four men's automatic qualifiers and two women, there should be prize money at least that deep. With athletes having (in most cases) to travel to the region which holds a selection race, some incentive should be provided. This will insure a better quality field going after those coveted slots. This will be discussed at the annual USATF meeting of the Mountain Ultra Trail Council in Reno, Nevada in December.

Next year we will again host the ATRA meeting in the fall at our president's home. The date will be announced on our website at www.trailrunner.com.

In the mean time, please feel free to send a story to me for inclusion in an upcoming issue of Trail Times. If you have any comments about our website, or about our sport (even an idea for a new program), please let me know. My email is: trlrunner@aol.com.

My biggest news is that ATRA now has a new laptop and Broadband service - no more dial up! I'll be mobile for all of my travels and can now work on the road, or on the trails!

Enjoy the crisp fall days and the crackle of fallen leaves underfoot on your favorite trails.

Racing in Bend

Bend, Oregon was the site of this year's Xterra National Trail Running Championships on Saturday, September 28. The race was 21 kilometers and advertised 1,000 feet of elevation gain. Those of us who ran the course were quite sure that the elevation hovered more around the 200 foot range. The course was more of a road runner's course, but this did in no way diminish the beauty of the trails and the scenery offered by the environs of Bend. With the Cascade Mountains in the distance and the Deschutes River running through the town, the setting was superb.

The Xterra crew did a fantastic job of creating a runner and spectator-friendly atmosphere at the start/finish line. But, the attention to detail didn't just become apparent on race day. Our contact was Xterra team member Emily who welcomed members of the Teva US Mountain Running Team – past and present – to the event. When we got to town after a nice and rather leisurely drive from Portland which included a few stops at Fred Meyer (a Kroger property) stores along the way for refreshments, we headed straight to our hotel. Our group of four included Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team member Richard Bolt, Lisa Goldsmith – Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team member most recently in 2006 (also on the '97 mountain team) – Joe Gray, 2008 team member, and me.

After dropping Lisa and Joe at the hotel to do a short run, Rich and I headed to Foot Zone, the host of race registration and a pre-race meeting about the course and what else...trail running. Rich was to speak at this "Paul Mitchell-sponsored" event. Paul Mitchell would also be sponsoring a cut-a-thon on race day which seemed initially like a rather odd fit, but in reality it was great to see sweaty runners seated in barber-shop quality chairs getting their locks shorn post race. All while raising money for charity.

The meeting was truly a clinic to impart ideas and tips about our sport. I was introduced along with Richard and ended up joining him on the dais to impart facts about training, racing, and the short history of our sport. There were about 20 people in our audience, all of whom would be racing the 21 km. There was also to be a 5 km and a 10 km race as well as a kids' run and a canine obstacle course as part of the Xterra festivities.

Rich and I answered questions about training, racing, pacing, how to warm up before the race, what to eat before the race and what to eat and drink during the race. Someone even asked about the history of ATRA and why and how we formed the association. We talked about the opportunities of racing both in the U.S. and abroad, for open and master athletes. We talked about what to wear from shoes to apparel – for racing and training.

After the 40-minute clinic, Rich and I went to the local Safeway to grab something to cook for dinner and then headed back to the hotel – complete with kitchen – to cook and watch the first Presidential Debate.

The morning was rather crisp. We all bundled up in layers – tights, long sleeve shirts, jackets, hats, and gloves – and headed to the start area by car which was a mere five-minute drive. The venue for the start/finish was ideal. The parking was convenient in the Old Mill District and the race set up was superb. There was great signage, announcements indicating all type of instructions with a countdown to race start, introduction of athletes who would be competing, where to go for your race number (no race day registration, only number pick up), where to go for the start line.

As soon as we parked the car, we met up with another Coloradoan (Lisa and I from Colorado, Joe from Washington and Rich from Oregon), Bernie Boettcher...from Silt. Bernie is probably the most-raced athlete in the country and a darn good masters' runner. In fact he is a past recipient of the USATF Masters Mountain Runner of the Year award. Bernie had car-camped and was looking forward to some sight seeing after the race on his way to Utah for the St. George Marathon, a race where he was masters' champion last year. At 45, this guy is not even close to slowing down.

Although it was crisp in the early morning (we got to the race site by 8:00 a.m. for the 9:00 a.m. start), it was sunny with a cloudless sky and most of the trail would be in fairly open areas...not much tree cover. Running in singlet and shorts was the right choice and for me, sunglasses too. I wore my Costa Del Mar sunglasses as did Rich – one of our team sponsors – the glasses are fantastic. The interchangeable lens system is ideal, the fit and feel of the frames is perfect for running and they are easily placed on top of your head if the light level changes dramatically on course and warrants a few thousand feet sans glasses. I wore the Teva X-1 Controls which was an excellent choice for the day.

Most of the Xterra courses are notoriously difficult. Lots of climbs and descents, rather gnarly terrain...tough stuff. This course was more of a super highway of trails and great for road runners who were just trying the trails for the first time. Yes, there were some ups and downs though nothing of significance, or of a gut-buster, oxygen-deficit variety. The course started on the pavement for about 3/4 mile to the trail. There were a lot of long, straight sections with little elevation change. The terrain was gravel and rock-strewn in parts, and also had some sandy single-track sections. There were some residential neighborhoods flanking the trails and a few sections near the river that had lots of switchbacks. For most of us, the windy sections by the river on the return trip (it was a keyhole type course) were the most fun.

For this event there were no qualifiers, rather numerous Xterra races scattered around the country. After this 21 km, there would be the Xterra Worlds in Hawaii in December. Anyone could participate in the competition this year, with next year possibly having qualifiers to feed into Worlds.

At the awards ceremony, each of our group made the podium. Joe was 4th overall and top finisher in the 20-24 age group, Rich won the 35-39 age group (and sixth overall), Lisa was 5th overall among the women (herself a masters runner), Bernie won the 45-49 category, and I was second in the 45-49 group. The prizes were great – custom-made certificates, product from GU and Paul Mitchell, medals, prize money for Lisa and Joe along with purple leis. Bernie, Joe, and Rich also won technical long sleeve shirts designating them as Xterra age group champions.

Following the awards ceremony we stopped at where else...Fred Meyer...for some refreshments, and then drove up to the Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood. We saw where Rich and Joe raced the previous weekend and toured through the lodge. We took some photos of the snow-covered mountain and marveled at people walking down the path in ski and snowboard gear as the mountain is open yearround for skiing and snowboarding.

Lisa and I dined at Rich and Kelly's that night enjoying the view of the river and downtown Portland off their deck. Joe was staying with friends downtown and told Rich he was going to Ben and Jerry's for Ice Cream! At Rich's, we four split a bottle of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (2006 which was supposedly a pretty good year for Pinot), complimented with cheese, salad, and three kinds of bread.

In the morning we enjoyed a great 52 minute run. (Rich asked Lisa and me if we needed to add a few minutes to make it exactly one hour and we were both OK with the cumulative time). The trails were accessed just a fewminutes running on the roads from Rich and Kelly's house. We ran on sections of the Wildwood Trail on our loop course and through some gorgeous neighborhoods where no two homes are alike and flower gardens abound – each neighbor surely trying to outdo the other. We got some good climbs in and ran in and out of the forest. The views were incredible as we climbed to about 900 feet above sea level.

We've all decided to race in Bend again next year and Joe is planning to also race the Xterra Worlds in Hawaii. Results from this year are posted at: www.xterraplanet.com/xduro/nationals.html. An article from the Bend Bulletin can be found at: www.bendbulletin.com