Women's History Month / International Women's Day 2019

To celebrate March as “Women's History Month” and as the month that hosts International Women's Day, I decided to write short features on female ultrarunners that inspire me. In the order in which I posted them, which in no way suggests greater or lesser importance of any, below are the features I put together on four amazing ultrarunners who happen to be female. I stopped at only four not for lack of material, but strictly only because of my personal time limitations. There are obviously many other female ultrarunners who have impressive accomplishments and stories that deserve to be told. So if any of the below runners inspire you, I encourage you to seek out further inspiration via blogs and vlogs of other female ultrarunners who are sharing their own story with us all.

#IWD2019

Courtney Dauwalter

To celebrate March as “Women's History Month”, I will be posting what are hopefully inspirational posts of female runners that I find inspiring. To start I dusted off this meme I made a little less than a year ago, just a little late for last year's International Women's Day. None other than Courtney Dauwalter! Keep pushing those boundaries and helping us all learn what is truly humanly possible.

Jasmin Paris

Photo Credit:: Yann Besrest-Butler/Montane Spine Race

The second female ultrarunner to be featured to celebrate March as “Women's History Month” is Jasmin Paris. While in the process of winning outright the 2019 edition of Britain’s brutal 268 mile Spine Race, Paris expressed milk at aid stations for her 14 month old daughter. If that’s not impressive enough, Paris improved the overall course record by over 12 hours with a finishing time of 83:12:23. She is the first female to win the Spine Race outright and she did it definitively. Amazingly, she foresaw the greatest challenge of this race not being the demanding course, but being away from her daughter as she wrote in a pre race blog post “I think the mental battle will probably be my biggest challenge. For one thing, I think I’ll really miss Rowan, who I have only been away from a couple of times for a single night since she was born. On the plus side, I think I’ll have the very best motivation for getting to Kirk Yetholm as quickly as possible!”

https://www.inov-8.com/blog/jasmin-paris-recordbreaking-spine-race-win/

Ann Trason

Photo from IRunFar.com, “Ann Trason and the 1995 Western States 100”, 1994 Western States 100.
I would be doing a disservice to all of the ultrarunning world and women in general if I failed to include the legendary Ann Trason as a featured female athlete to celebrate March as “Women's History Month” and International Women's Day. Where to begin with Ann Trason and her lengthy list of ultrarunning accomplishments. Let’s start with course records.

6:09:08 – American River 50 mile (1993)
3:59:32 – Cool Canyon Crawl 50K (1993)
7:31:24 – Dick Collins Firetrails 50 mile (1987)
6:13:54 – Hunter Thompson 50 mile
18:06:24 – Leadville Trail 100 women's record (2nd place overall in 1994)
8:55:49 – Miwok 100K Trail Race (2001)
6:43:52 – Quicksilver 50 mile (1992)
7:29:36 – Silver State 50 mile (1994)
7:00:47 – World 100K (1995)

Should we continue to World Records?

50-mile (5:40:18 in 1991)
100K (7:00:47, 1995)
12-Hour (91 miles 1312 yards, 1991)
100-mile (13:47:42, 1991)

If her records don’t impress or inspire you, maybe her persistence will. She DNF’d her first two attempts at running the Western States 100 (1987 and 1988) due to knee problems and dehydration respectively. Rather than giving up, she went back in 1989 and won the race. She went on to win it for the next nine years to achieve an unprecedented 10 year win streak. She won the race for an additional four more consecutive years from 2000-2004. Her course record (17:37:51) set in 1994 stood for 18 years. Did I mention that two of those Western States wins came less than two weeks after winning the ultra competitive 56 mile Comrades Marathon?

Even with all of these accolades, it is likely that many people were introduced to Ann via Christopher mcDougall’s rather unflattering portrayal of her in his book Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. Thankfully in recent years, through the work of content creators such as Billy Yang (see link to podcast/video), the ultrarunning community has painted a more complete picture of who Ann Trason is. If any of this captivates you, follow the links below to learn more about Ann Trason and her amazing ultrarunning accomplishments. Also linked to is my Mines of Spain race report where I tell my account of unknowingly sharing my final aid station stop with Ann Trason debating whether or not I should do a shot of Fireball.

http://www.beastcoasttrailrunning.com/2018/11/2018-mines-of-spain-100-mile-footrace.html

https://billyyangpodcast.libsyn.com/ann-trason-byp-009

https://trailrunnermag.com/video/watch-a-video-portrait-of-ann-trason-trail-running-legend.html

Candice Burt

Photo from Candice’s website, Wild Defined (http://www.wilddefined.com/).

The final female athlete to be featured and wrap up my weekly posts to celebrate March as “Women's History Month” and as the month that hosts International Women's Day is Candice Burt. If you haven’t heard of Candice Burt, then you probably haven’t heard of 200 mile races either. Sometimes referred to as the “Queen of 200s”, Candice is making the 200 mile distance a bit more of a standardized ultramarathon distance and probably as mainstream as it has ever been. I don’t say “ever will become” because I believe as much as Candice has already popularized the distance, it will likely gain further popularity in large part thanks to her efforts.

Candice is the Race Director (RD) for and creator of three of what are arguably the most popular 200 or more mile ultramarathons: Tahoe 200, Moab 240, and Bigfoot 200. The bulk majority of all the miles for all three races is made up of primarily a single loop course design, making them a rarity even amongst most 200 mile or more races in the US which tend to rely heavy on multiple loops or repeated out and backs. Candice’s races are a niche category within the niche sport of ultrarunning. However, with her attention to detail, focus on scenic and quality course design, and her intense marketing skills (#200IsTheNew100), Candice has built a following and demand for these types of races.

Maybe her success as a RD is in part due to her broad experience as an accomplished ultrarunner herself. Candice holds the current unsupported Fastest Known Times (FKTs) for two routes: the Wonderland Trail (95 miles) and the Trans-Zion (48 miles). Additionally, with four HURT 100 finishes (4th F, 2nd F, 2nd F, and 3rd F) amongst a slew of other impressive ultra finishes on her Ultrasignup, there is ample evidence that not only does Candice know how to direct ultras, she also knows how to run them.

#IWD2019

Were CEP Compression Socks Responsible For My 50K PR?

"Disclaimer: I received a pair of CEP 3.0 Tall Compression Socks to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"

When my CEP 3.0 tall compression socks arrived in the mail I was excited to try them out to see if they lived up to the hype I’ve heard. When I say hype, I don’t specifically mean just CEP compression socks, but the running benefits of compression socks in general. I see them being worn by many ultrarunners and shorter distance runners and have heard many runners rave about them. My experience with them is limited. I’ve only worn a single pair for a couple days immediately following my first 100 mile race. Maybe they helped with recovery a bit, but it is hard to say as it was still somewhat painful and a bit rough on my body as a whole. Although, if the recovery from my first 100 miler didn’t hurt to a certain degree, in my opinion I would say I probably did something wrong for it.

My first reaction to my new CEP 3.0 tall compression socks was eagerness to get outside and run a hard paced 10 miler. The fact that this was my first non-treadmill run in awhile and the weather had finally warmed enough to be comfortable to run in shorts in early March may have contributed to my zest to get out and run on this particular occasion. My second impression of these new socks was “Dang! These things are really tough to put on!” Well that ten miler went really well, even earning some Strava Best Effort medals (https://strava.app.link/dGqJLCdEjV)! Everything felt great for the entire ten, including my feet and calves. And after a few more trial runs, managing to put the socks on became much easier with a little practice and learned technique.

After a few more weeks and test runs, it was time for the real test: wearing my CEP compression socks for my first race of the season, Rat Race 50k. I figured if 31 miles of trails with a few stretches of semi technical terrain went well wearing CEP socks, I would be a convert as well. I'm happy to report that the race went wonderfully (improving my 50k PR from 4:54:29 to 4:15:24) and the socks performed beautifully (race report). My greatest concerns when trying new socks for long runs is comfort and blister prevention. I was relieved to find CEP compression socks kept my feet feeling good for the whole distance and I went home without a single blister. I’m not naive enough to credit any pair of socks for a nearly 40 minute improvement in my 50K PR nor am I too bashful to claim that it was my hard work that was the primary factor that made that degree of improvement possible. However, I am willing to admit that a quality pair of socks never hurts the cause and if a placebo effect improves my performance, I’ll take it. 

So that is just my anecdotal experience with CEP compression socks, but as a skeptic I always ask what the research shows when I hear anecdotal evidence. Many claims are made by companies selling the socks: improved blood flow, reduced swelling, muscle stabilization, and decreased recovery time among others. All sound like great benefits, but does the research support these claims? Armstrong et al. (2015) found in a randomized, replicated study that the wearing of compression socks for 48 hours immediately after running a marathon reduced recovery time. This conclusion was reached based on the data showing a significant difference in the amount of time it took for participants to reach exhaustion during a controlled, incline treadmill run two weeks before and after running a marathon. The time until exhaustion for the treadmill run after the marathon for the group of runners wearing placebo socks decreased by 3.4% while the time increased for the compression sock group by 2.6%. A similar study performed by Kemmler et al. (2009) came to similar conclusions, finding that running performance was significantly improved by calf muscle compression.

If I haven’t sold you on them yet (not that I’m trying to), here are three quick points that may close the deal:

1. They look and feel good (at a very minimum cover bad calf tattoos)
2. Six Month Guarantee: 150-200 wears before compression lessens
3. Thirty Day Return Policy: No questions asked money back guarantee

If you would like to try out a pair of CEP compression socks for yourself, they are available on Amazon. The 3.0 socks I tested are currently available for $59.95. If you want to give just the calf sleeves without the socks a try, they are available for $39.95.

It's not everyday you get to run trails with Rich Riopel, some NJ ultrarunning pride showing here.

Works Cited:

Armstrong, S.A., E.S. Till, S.R. Maloney, and G.A Harris. 2015. Compression Socks and Functional Recovery Following Marathon Running: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 29(2):528-533. 

Kemmler, W., S. Stengel, C. Kockritz, J. Mayhew, A. Wassermann, and J. Zapf. 2009. Effect of Compression Stockings on Running Performance in Men Runners. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 23(1):101-105.

24 Treadmill Miles To The Bowl

Twenty four miles on one bowl of oatmeal.

Just this morning I finished what will probably be my last long run (24 miles on the treadmill) prior to my first race of the year, the Rat Race 50k. It felt good for having not run much in the last week due to work obligations and some family celebrations. I know a whole lot of people will disagree with my opinion, but it wasn’t that bad doing a long run on the treadmill. Especially since I have a pretty solid spotify playlist prepared just for such occasions. The other benefit of long runs on the treadmill is the ability to set the pace and stick to it mindlessly, which is what I had planned for this run. I ran the first 18 miles at my target race pace for the NJ Novo Nordisk Marathon, (8:30/mile) which would be under my marathon PR by less than a minute. After that I increased my pace slightly until the last 2 miles when I ran sub 8 minute miles. Being able to run 22 miles at my target pace without feeling like I was struggling at all and then being able to pick up my pace a bit at the end is a huge confidence booster for my PR goal at the NJ marathon. However, I still have my doubts about whether I’ll actually pull it off. Not because I don’t think the fitness or ability will be there, but because the Hyner 50k is the weekend before. And not just because the Hyner is a tough 50k with some big climbs, but because now that I’m committed to running the PA Triple Crown Series all three of those races (which begin with Hyner 50k) are my “A” races for the year. This means that I intend to not hold anything back at Hyner and if it goes well and there’s nothing left in the tank at the finish, I likely won’t be fully recovered after one week when I go for the marathon PR. Whether I blame poor planning or just myself for making stupid decisions doesn’t really matter because I’m not changing my plans regardless of how dumb they may be. The way I see it is if I do run a good time at Hyner and still hit my marathon PR goal it will just be that much more impressive. Additionally, it will likely motivate me to go for another marathon PR soon after in hopes that I could surely run a better time on fresh legs.

Before I wrap this up, just a side note, or more so a bit of a humorous story. One of the earlier mentioned family celebrations was a trip to Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos of PA. While this trip took some time away from what would have been dedicated training time, I still got on a treadmill to run at the Great Wolf Lodge resort. While it wasn’t a great work out or run, it was a pretty entertaining one. The fitness room is small even by hotel fitness room standards. And one of the three walls is made of glass windows along a busy hallway. This hallway is a pretty high traffic area between the water park, arcade, and a wing of the hotel rooms. Never before have I had more ice cream eating children stopping to stare at me running on a treadmill than during this treadmill run at Great Wolf Lodge. I’m not complaining about this. I actually found it pretty humorous at the time and still do. It was somewhat surreal as I kind of felt like I was an attraction at the resort with all of the attention I was getting. If you’re ever at a Great Wolf Lodge don’t totally blow off your work out if the weather is crappy, you’re slightly drunk, or just feeling exhausted. Find the fitness room and run some miles on the treadmill. It will entertain the kids roaming the halls and if you’re like me you’ll get a few chuckles from their fascination.


Scott Snell
March 2, 2019