So, have any of you guys read about Dean Karnazes, aka Ultra Marathon Man? This guy is seriously f%@king crazy, but reading his stories is pretty cool and entertaining. And motivational. I haven't run in about 15 years (and may never again, since my knees are so trashed) but after reading his book I was almost ready to go sign up for a marathon. :-)
And how about that Western States 100 Endurance run? Anybody here ever tried anything like that, or even know anybody that has? That's crazy shit...
And how about that Western States 100 Endurance run? Anybody here ever tried anything like that, or even know anybody that has?
I worked with a woman who would run ultras, and had finished the Western States 100. I've read the book and talked to her about Karnazes, who she had met on a few occassions and talked to, albeit briefly.
What I got from the conversations is, basically it's like anything else. You have to train for it. You also have to be careful not to develop overuse injuries while training and competing. The woman I worked with would plan about 3 ultras -- longer than marathon distance --- a year. Essentially it's what she and her husband would do for vacations. She definately knew her running and helped my wife with training for the New York Marathon.
As far as Karnazes goes, I don't have any first hand information. But I got the impression that people who run in ultras are a pretty small community. It seemed like after a while everyone knew everyone, more or less.
Dean is a freak of nature and in a league of his own. (Read the part where he falls asleep during a run...upright....with his legs moving) You don't have to be a runner to appreciate the pure physical talent that guy has.
Yeah, he's in freaky good shape. And what's even scarier is, I don't think he's the "cream of the crop" of the ultra world. Look at the results for the Western States 100: http://www.ws100.com/recordholders.htm...
Scott Jurek has won seven years in a row and holds the course record. How much of a freak must he be???
Oh, and look how many times Ann Trason has won the womens division. Talk about "Ultra Marathon Woman." Wow.
Western States 100 is insane, it starts at about 6200 feet then climbs up to over 8200 in the first few miles. There is also the Leadville 100 (highest incorperated town in the US).
Does he talk about his stride? I read about chi running somewhere on the forum, but cant find the post anymore that described the stance and form of the stride.
I've attempted one ultra (dnf), and am training for another later this year. Ultra running is surprisingly very much like BJJ. Small community of like minded hardcore individual athletes who repeatedly get called "crazy" by people who don't roll or run for extended periods of time. Also, both sports weed out the weak early on.
"Does he talk about his stride? I read about chi running somewhere on the forum, but cant find the post anymore that described the stance and form of the stride."
Take a look at www.posetech.com the running method is so similar that some of the pose supporters think the chi running guy stole it (how can you steal a style of running?). Anyway the pose website has a lot of good info for free and a decent message board.
The basics of the running style are:
-cadence of atleast 180 contact per minute
-land on the forefoot contacting the ground directly under the hip.
-at the time of contact the leg should be slightly bent to absorb shock. The leg is never completely straightened.
-try to contact as quietly and softly as possible
-use the hamstring to explosively remove the foot from the ground as soon as contact is made, bring the heel directly towards the butt.
-keep the back and neck straight eyes looking at a point ~100ft ahead
-keep the shoulders relaxed and down
-arms should be bent at 90 degrees and swing pretty much straight ahead and straight back (swinging arms across the front of your body causes your trunk to twist, this is a bad thing)
-forward lean. Keeping your back and neck straight lean forward very slightly. You are not bending at the waist but sort of failing forward with the sternum leading. The further forward you lean the faster you will run. For slow running there is almost no noticable lean at all.
The last thing is footwear. The forefoot landing is easier to achieve with a shoe that has little or no heal lift. Your aren't landing on the heal so you won't need the extra padding there anyway.
I don't think I missed anything but you'll find better and more detailed explainations at the website I listed. I think they have even added video to help demonstrate.