The North Face is putting down the cash to attract the fastest runners in the sport! Last year was a huge show down between Steidl and Carpenter as Steidl held on for the win. The 2008 Endurance Challenge has a four race series:

1. Bear Mountain, New York April 12

2. Seattle, Washington May 10

3. Madison, Wisconsin October 18

4. San Francisco, California December 6

Its great to see The North Face step it up and create a more competitive atmosphere with some prize money for the runners! The sport needs more recognition and competition with in specific races, this is one way to do so.

Wasatch Speed Goat

Time to get ready for the Silver State 50/50 in Reno, Nevada. I ran this race a couple years ago and what a great event. The course takes you through two states California and Nevada.The first half of the course is real run able until you cross over the highway and you hit some monster climbs and then traverse through some beautiful pine trees which will be full of snow!! In fact with the snow fall this winter the course is going to be slow gong the second half!

C-ya on the trails

Wasatch Speed Goat

Gu Energy Gel is really food on the run! Gu is super easy to digest and gives you immediate energy when racing those long trail races. These gels contain maltodextrin, which is the key for your body to get back all those carbohydrates you have been losing. This carb combined with fructose raises your blood sugar level, allowing you to run fast for 20 to 30 hours. I recommend you train with GU so you know when and how much to consume.

I generally consume one GU every half hour or so along with a occasional boiled potato and peanut butter sandwich. Less food is better for your stomach on those long treks!

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HAPPY TRAILS!

Wasatch Speed Goat

Karl hooks up with Robert Kunz of First Endurance to discuss the advantages of using OPTYGEN and ULTRAGEN in the world of Ultrarunning! Karl is attempting to break the current record for running the entire Appalachian Trail in less then 47 days 13 hours and 31 minutes! He will need all the help he can get, his body must hold together and receive the right nutrition to accomplish this tough goal!

Karl Meltzers interview with First Endurance

Iron is one of the most abundant minerals on earth and is essential to normal human physiology. About 2/3 of the body’s iron is found in hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to cells. An adequate supply of iron is necessary for the body to produce hemoglobin and red blood cells (RBC). If too little iron is available, fewer and/or smaller RBC’s are produced, leading to decreased oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. This is called iron deficiency anemia and can cause fatigue, poor work capacity, and decreased immunity. It is important to understand there are different levels of iron deficiency. The least severe is when someone has low iron stores (low serum ferritin levels), the next is depleted iron stores (using cut-off values), while the most severe category is iron deficiency anemia.

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Check this out, I paced John Maack at the 2007 Wasatch 100 and this guy really had his drop bags worked out! No they were not bags he used orange 5 gallon buckets with lids! Yea, buckets, what a great ideal! Here are the immediate advantages I noticed;

* Easy to spot your drop bag (bucket) at the aid stations, even if you are tired.
* The bucket seals up and this keeps your gear dry from the weather and your items will not get crushed like your gu packs or lights.
* This can also be a chair if all the seats are taken at the aid station.
* If you are passing a aid station more then once it is nice to have a bucket instead of a ripped up or wet drop bag!
* Easy to find your buckets at the finish line when you are hammered.
* I don’t think the race directors would like to see 300 orange buckets for a to be hauled around!

Wasatch Speed Goat - SM

The GoLite Streak lumbar pack is built for runners who need hydration and performance without the weight of two water bottles. The Streak comes with a Grip water bottle, which fits into the angled holster. The foam mesh panels are breathable and stretchy, so your workout won’t be hindered by your hydration. A zip pocket holds your keys, cash, and gel, so you’ll be prepared for anything. Easy to pull the water bottles are sweet when you are tired, no wasted energy!

GoLite Streak Lumbar Pack
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The first ever Speed Goat of the Year has been chosen by the readers of Wasatchspeedgoat.com! Three Scrapes for Hal !

Hal wins the polls with 944 votes over runner up Nikki Kimball who posted 803. A total of 3,655 votes were cast, thanks for all!

Hal receiving his medal after dominating the 2007 Westerns States 100!

Hal will receive the goat skull award designed by Wynn Davis, trophy designer for the Speedgoat 50k. Hal will also receive a comp entry to the Speedgoat 50k at Snowbird Ski Resort on 7/26/08. Karl and I will present the award to Hal at the Coyote Two Moon in March!

Top 5 Speed Goats for 2007, way to go ladies!

1. Hal Koerner 944

2. Nikki Kimball 803

3. Krissy Moehl 613

4. Karl Meltzer 564

5. Kyle Skaggs 495

Wasatch Speed Goat - Scott

For those out there thinking about the UTMB…think no more. After finding out last year over 7000 runners applied to get into the ultimate 163k race, everyone applied at once. In the US the time was 1am MST to do it. The Europeans really love their Ultra runs! Cheers to the 2500 that got in!

What Americans will try to win this big race this year?

Generally regarded as the father of American ultrarunning, Corbitt died in Houston on December 11 from cancer.

Born in South Carolina in 1919, Corbitt was a quarter miler in college at the University of Cincinnati. He began running marathons in 1950 and competed in the marathon in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. He ran his first ultra, a 30-mile race, in 1958 and in 1960 was elected the first President of the Road Runners Club of America.

In 1966, RRCA established a national 50-mile championship and Corbitt finished second. He won the 1968 RRCA 50-mile championship in a time of 5:39:45. He continued his competitive career well into his 50s, setting an American record at 100 miles (13:33:06) at age 50 and running 134.7 miles in 24 hours at age 54.

Injuries and asthma removed him from the competitive scene for many years, but he continued to run well into his 80s, and completed 303 miles in the Sri Chinmoy 6-Day race at age 82. He worked as a physical therapist for more than 40 years, and could often be found quietly volunteering at races in the New York City area. Corbitt was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1998.

A founding father of Ultrarunning.