Author: Joe Creighton

SRC Member Race Reports – June 2018

Post author By Joe Creighton
Post date July 6, 2018

Once a month we’d like to showcase the races for members courageous enough to spend a few minutes filling out a Google Form, and until we get that sick shout-out from the CEO himself on Twitter or, preferably, Instagram®, we will *NOT* promote Run Gum!

First-placers, mid-packers, sweepers, we want to hear all the tales: heroism, zeroism, and everything in between.

You racing this July? Probably! Here’s an incomplete list of “races” I accept:

Real races! (road, track, trail, relays, obstacle course…..is that it?)
Strava CRs! (no bikes)
Strava CR attempts! (definitely no bikes)
Beer Miles (5% abv or even PBR beer miles!)
Beer ultras (Fat Glass is coming!)

Submit Your Race Report!

Let’s hand it off to June 2018’s BOSS HOSSES!
🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻

Jim Mansen

Member #: 1569
Race name: Bend Beer Chase
When was this race? 6/2/2018
How did you place?! Who cares?
Race website: Bend Beer Chase
Race report:

The Bend Beer Chase always starts in the cool morning hours and then summer heat breaks out almost instantly and turns any porta-potty into a porta-sauna. Team Beerly Running managed to stay cool thanks to the conveniently-located breweries along the exchanges. Our team of 5 was also supporting a solo runner so while we managed to gain several leads into the exchanges, we spent time in the care and feeding of our maniacal friend in his quest to be the solo division champ. A great way to enjoy the run (and brewery) community instead of our likely Men’s Masters champion position. We arranged to keep the finish open so Our Beery Godmother could finish all 56 miles with a roaring crowd and an awaiting champion plaque. Two teams, one race, and free beer. Seems like a win all the way around.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No
Race image(s):

Shoeless Joe Sez!

Ah, the ol’ BBC. More memories from this race than I have hairs on my back. I’d be remiss to not link once more to my own race report from Bend Oregon, ca 2015. I’m not going to read it again; I’m sure it’s aged quite well, not unlike a well-timed Al Bundy zinger.

…summer heat breaks out almost instantly and turns any porta-potty into a porta-sauna.

The key here, having run this race twice under similarly atrocious conditions, is to forgo the porta-potties altogether and just jerry-rig a ~~fancy~~ functioning jar/bottle setup in the car.

Another solution is to just not drink *any* fluids. Run/sweat hard enough and *boom*….no porta-potty needs for DAYS.

Samir Rahman

Member #: 1968
Race name: Color Run 2k18
When was this race? 06/13/18
How did you place?! Who cares?
*Your* website URL: http://www.SponsoredByRunGum.com
Race report:

I arrived in the parking lot, used the port-o-potty facilities, and began to embark on my warmup. I was locked in for this extremely competitive race – I had just begun my sponsorship from RunGum and knew that a bad race would put me off to a bad relationship with the organization. I scouted out my competition, but oddly enough, just saw a bunch of guys jogging in baggy t shirts and basketball shorts. “An easier win for me I guess,” I thought to himself.

The starting gun went off and my body was full of adrenaline. I didn’t want to get boxed in, so I went out hard, threw some elbows (knocked down a kid in the process, but oh well) and found myself quickly in the lead. After the first turn, I noticed a bunch of hoodlum teenagers covered in purple clothing trying to throw purple powder at me! I was both perplexed and infuriated, as I had no idea what these kids were doing, but angrier because this distraction was slowing down my running!

I encountered more of these troublesome individuals throughout the race, though each group had a different color (My guess was that the colors corresponded to each group’s gang affiliation). I crossed the finish line, glanced at my watch, and was shocked. “13:44? There’s no way this was a full 5k. Why did I spend 40 bucks on this stupid race?” I asked myself in utter rage.

Suddenly, I found myself in a foreign land. I was lying down, covered in blankets, and my alarm clock was beeping.

“What an odd dream. It’s already starting to get real fuzzy, but I think it was about running or something,” I thought to myself as I groggily got up to brush my teeth. I checked my phone’s calendar and realized I needed to get going quickly for my race later that morning. I was about to race the Color Run 2k18, a classic Seattle road race known for its fierce competition. I rushed to my car stuffing down a Clif bar, and off I went…

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No

Shoeless Joe Sez!

Since Color Runs don’t have an extensive database of results from their races, I can’t confirm if you actually did run this race and throw elbows and get attacked by gang members or if this is something you wrote for credit at one of Amazon’s inter-office creative writing workshops. As a double-dipper myself, I suppose I’ll allow it.

I had just begun my sponsorship from RunGum

Wait, how did you get this sponsorship? I’ve been emailing them for months now. Did you tell them about this feature? I *have* to assume they’ve seen it by now but you never know…

I checked my phone’s calendar

#HumbleBrag

Martin Criminale

Member #: 1348
Race name: Alaska Mountain Ultrarunning Camp Beer Mile
When was this race? 6/13/18
How did you place?! I won
Race website: Race Site
*Your* website URL: Link
Race report:

I beat Dakota Jones! Is there any need to say more?

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No
Race image(s):

Shoeless Joe Sez!

Hate to do this to ya boss, but FYI:

Rufus Park

Member #: 1545
Race name: Hope in the Vineyard 5K
When was this race? June 16 2018
How did you place?! 12th overall
Race website: Results
Race report:

This event was in Benton City at Hedges Winery about 2 miles from my new home. I rode my Stumpjumper on vineyard roads which I discovered are difficult to ride. I was probably the only person that did not come in a car. There were 175 entrants at this wine-themed American Cancer Society fund raiser. The start had a long uphill followed by a long downhill on a paved road with amazing scenery. This was probably the most scenic 5k that I have run, I ran all-out. The course was not marked and there seemed to be some confusion in the directions given by volunteers about half of us ran about 3.5 miles including me. My 3.5mi finish time was 31:06 good enough for 12th overall. I raced with much younger people! I talked with a few people afterwards. A local senior told me about a senior meetup running group in Richland which I will go to some time. This was a fun event for me. Then rode the difficult vineyard roads to home.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No
Race image(s):

Shoeless Joe Sez!

I rode my Stumpjumper on vineyard roads which I discovered are difficult to ride. I was probably the only person that did not come in a car.

The Ruf, the Ruf, the Ruf is inspired!

He don’t need no carpool let those knobby tires turn!

That pic of you pulling away from that golf cart has earned you a one-month reprieve from me complaining to the QFC cashiers that you insinuated I don’t put women #1 in my life. Congrats! Wine and 5Ks are definitely part of the proper Boston Qualifying marathon training plan, imo!

Aaron Roche

Member #: 1960
Race name: 29th Annual Fall City Day Run 10k
When was this race? 9 June 2018
How did you place?! 8th/101
Race website: Link
*Your* website URL: Link
Race report:

Highlights/lowlights:

I think we passed two (or was it three?) gun stores on the course on the way out of town.

[SHAMLESS NAME DROP ALERT] I looked down at my watch as we came off the bridge with 600m to go, turned to Amber (Morrison of the Bellingham Distance Project) and exclaimed, “Holy Sh!t, we’re gonna break 37!!?

I thought we were out of the nipple bleeding season and that a race of this distance wouldn’t be a problem up there. Nerp. They buh-led. It wasn’t uncomfortable during the race, though it could have been embarrassing had I noticed it while chatting with anyone shortly after the race in my copper-tinged, sky blue Seattle Running Club singlet.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No
Race image(s):

Shoeless Joe Sez!

Holy Sh!t, we’re gonna break 37!!? I thought we were out of the nipple bleeding season…

I appreciate how you censor yourself on behalf of my younger fans with the dreaded S word, but you chose to *not* censor yourself when reporting about your n!pple bleed!ng.

Nerp. They buh-led.

Yours or Amber’s?

Look Aaron, this is a place for genial race reports (and sure, name dropping [and, I guess if you’re Samir, making up race reports]), not graphic descriptions of blood coming out of your….whatever. Less about the bleeding, more about the….feeding (on gels)? Meeting (of celeb runners)? Beating (of CNW)? Reading (of Dean Karnazeszszzes books)?

Joe Kelly

Member #: 1938
Race name: Cougar 14.5
When was this race? June 9
How did you place?! I lost
Race website: Link
Race report:

After a pulled hamstring kept me out of the first Cougar race of the year, I was excited to get back onto the trails for some racing. I took the first few miles out easy and settled into a comfortable pace not too far off the lead (that’s the 14.5 mile lead, Evan (Williams) and Brett (Winegar) were way ahead in the 8.2 mile race). I stopped to tie my shoe at aid station 1 and was only a few seconds off the lead pack of 3 as I passed a raucous aid station 2. I caught the leaders near the top of Wilderness Peak and then opened up a small lead on the 1.5 mile decent. I was immediately confused. I never run the downhills well. What was this alternative reality that I had entered? The lead was short lived as former Portland U stud Alex Bowns caught me about halfway up the ensuing ascent. He sat on my shoulder until I inexplicably fell on the uphill when he decided to pass. Little did I know, that would not the only time I would eat trail on this day. The next 5ish or so miles were mostly uneventful. I didn’t see Alex again, I didn’t see 3rd place again, and the DeLeo Wall still hurt a lot. The real action occurred about 2.5 miles from finish line on the last few downhill switchbacks of Marshall’s Hill. My left leg decided not to lift high enough so my toes caught a root driving me straight into the ground. My right knee was pretty banged up and I had scrapes all along my right side. I got up, screamed a few expletives, and jogged toward Quarry. The last 2 miles were uneventful except for the few hikers that I freaked out with my bloody knees.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No
Race image(s):

Shoeless Joe Sez!

…as I passed a raucous aid station 2.

Shameless sucking up will get you everywhere, Joe!

(Sees pic of Joe’s knees)

Gah! More blood?! You know, children read this web blog! At least that’s what I tell the executive members of this running club’s board. The least you could have done was send me a picture in black & white. Or sepia-toned. In fact, that gives me a cool idea. I’m going to find my favorite gif and add some old-timey sepia toning!

Oh that’s pretty boss! It’s as if Cinnamon Frosted Flakes, milk, and kitchen islands existed in the 1890s!

On a less interesting note, I volunteered at this Cougar race Joe’s reporting from and while jogging around the park afterward, *also* tripped on a rock and ate dirt! Instead of blood though, I merely tore all five ligaments in my left knee 🙁 My vibram-clad feet were happy though!

(Watches that tony the tiger gif loop 7 more times)

Nice 😎

Jim Mansen

Member #: 1569
Race name: Ross Lake Rally 50k
When was this race? 6/9/2018
How did you place?! Who cares?
Race website: aspireadventurerunning.com
Race report:

North Cascades is a spectacular place to run. In the long-long ago when I wasn’t a runner, I used to backpack along Ross Lake every year. Now that I’m often a runner, I’ve wanted to return to those trails. This year Aspire Adventure Running Company hosted a trip with an overnight camp and a boat ride that dropped us mere feet away from Canada. It’s a low-key trip with great folks, really more of a group run than a race and just the way I wanted to ease into 50k season. After a 45 minute boat ride with raging water falls and misty mountain peaks, we ran through a campground only accessible from Canada and incurred some puzzled looks. Nice, soft single-track through mossy woods with lake and creek views; there was no shortage of scenery. My watch suggests I spent 3 hours stopping for the scenery and taking photos, otherwise it was one of my faster 50k runs. It was a good opportunity to practice fueling and pacing, and highlight my first run of the season with a pack (oops). Most everything held up pretty well even though I wasn’t quite ready for the distance yet, but I did learn that when everything starts going South just pick up the pace again for a bit and work through it. So I was able to scream the last 5k downhill and finish strong. Just have to work on my middle game a bit more for the Lake Marlette 50k in August above Lake Tahoe.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race? No
Race image(s):

Shoeless Joe Sez!

but I did learn that when everything starts going South just pick up the pace again for a bit and work through it.

OH IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO DO, JIM?!!?…….I’ll remember that next time my hamstring tears at the 2 mi mark of a 10k xc race and the CNW coach says “Tough luck! At least you guys have enough for a full team…..right?”

we ran through a campground only accessible from Canada and incurred some puzzled looks.

I actually got nothing else for this one…..look at those pics!!

Emma Saarel

Member #: 1947
Race name: Squaw Peak 50 Mi
When was this race? 6/2/18
How did you place?! 2nd Place Age Group
Race website: squawpeak50.com
Race report:

I ran my first official Ultra on June 2nd back in my home state of Utah! 50 miles, 14,000 ft of gain/loss, topping out at 9,300 ft.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race? No

Shoeless Joe Sez!

Lose that exclamation point and this is downright Hemingway-esque!

(I just listened to one of his audio books)

(No further questions!)

my home state of Utah

This reminds me of the first time I met Emma and found this out and spent the entire conversation convinced she was Mormon, so I didn’t talk about energy drink’s.

Trisha Steidl

Member #: 328
Race name: Whistler 30k
When was this race? June 2, 2018
How did you place?! 2nd woman, 1st masters woman
Race website: whistlerhalfmarathon.com/
Race report:

I had a lot of fun racing this course. The first half of the course is primarily paved trails and residential roads, whereas the second half is primarily ski runs/roads, with a short section of single track, finishing back on paved trail.

The half and 30k start together, so it’s difficult to tell who is racing which distance. There is an out-and-back section fairly early on in the race, though, so you can look at the bibs ahead of and behind you to see (distances each have their own colour on the bib).

For the first ~10k of the race I was with a group of women. I felt a great energy running in a group with 5 other women for awhile. I can’t recall the last time I had an experience like that. I savoured it while it lasted.

I also felt like the local ladies were using team tactics on me early in the race. It didn’t pan out as I ended up passing almost all of those ladies later on in the race, but it sure was fun!

One lady had started super fast (and looked strong doing so) and was way out front already by the short out-and-back section and I was able to see she was racing the 30k. Just before the half-way point, all of a sudden I saw a lady ahead of me who looked like that lady. I thought, “Gosh, did she take a wrong turn somehow (virtually impossible as the course is really well marked)? Or did she have to answer the call of nature? Or maybe it’s not the lady who had been in first and just looks like her?” Turned out to be her. No wrong turn, just bonked. HARD.

After that point, it was pretty much me against myself, the clock, and a couple of guys as the now first place lady was fairly far ahead and I knew the third place woman wasn’t going to bounce back without some serious magic happening.

I was able to push fairly well, but took a gel that had 35mg of caffeine in it, which is not something I usually use, which seemed to backfire. It actually made me feel more tired (I have actually had another experience with caffeine making me feel tired, but it was significantly more than this)! That was a bummer, but nothing I could do about it other than keep pushing.

The last 3k+ is back on paved trail and the half-marathoners and 30k runners meet again. The trail isn’t very wide and I spent a lot of energy calling out, “On your left,” and other, similar things. At one point, a lady was in front of me and despite calling out three times, she didn’t move to the side. Since I expected her to move, I hadn’t slowed down at all and by the time I figured out she wasn’t going to move, *I* didn’t have time to move (and there wasn’t anywhere for me to go as there was a small drop off to the left of the path and more people to our right). I put my hands out, grabbed her shoulders and, as gently as possible, but still firmly moved her slightly to the right so I could squeeze by on the left. The weird thing is that she didn’t even seem surprised by it (nor did she apologize…there really wasn’t any response…strange). Crisis averted!

I was able to hold onto second and put ~7 minutes on the third place woman, beating the previous CR, but, of course, that didn’t mean much since the woman who won beat me and bested it by quite a bit.

The best news is that my hammy held up for the most part! There was still a concerning twinge, some discomfort, and I didn’t feel I could fully push the last 5-ish miles, but such a big, positive step forward!! I hope I can go back next year!

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race? No
Race image(s):

Shoeless Joe Sez!

I was able to push fairly well, but took a gel that had 35mg of caffeine in it

Speaking of energy drink’s, I haven’t raced in what feels like 10 years, has Monster or Rockstar or NOS gotten into the ultra distance fuel game yet, with some xtreme gelz that have like full-on GRAMZ of caffeine in em?

I spent a lot of energy calling out, “On your left,” and other, similar things.

For some reason I’m reminded of that Ludacris song that all the #teens in my neighborhood sing at me outside the local Marshall’s even if I’m nowhere near their path and just minding my own business, carrying bologna.

Martin Criminale

Member #: 1348
Race name: Needles 50k
When was this race? 6/30/2018
How did you place?! I won my age group and got 9th overall.
Race website: facebook.com/needles50k/
*Your* website URL: martin.criminale.com
Race report:

This was the 3rd edition of this race and I’m so glad to have finally run it. I usually do better and prefer races with some vertical gain but course takes that to the next level with 10k of climbing. For reference, people were taking about 2 hours longer to finish this than your “average” 50k.

This race starts and finishes in Easton, WA. The first half of this race is remote! Which is cool! You are running through old, big trees, climbing over logs that are 5′ in diameter and you don’t see anyone that isn’t part of this event. Oh yeah, it’s a “Fat Ass” style event so there are only two aid stations which pretty much just have water. Not literally, but pretty much. Plan your nutrition and hydration accordingly.

The second half of this course is more-or-less the last 15 miles of the Cascade Crest 100 course. You climb up to the Thorp Mountain fire lookout and then head back down to Easton.

Everything that goes up must come down and this last descent is a quad buster if you have not been training your descents…

If there is very little aid (and no timing mats, etc.), how does the promoter tell that you really ran the course? Well, they give you a map at the start and there are two hole punches hung on trees along the route. And you need to punch your map with them. For real.

Thanks to fellow SRC member Arthur Martineau for taking the only picture of me actually running in this race.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race? No
Race image(s):

Shoeless Joe Sez!

how does the promoter tell that you really ran the course?

Hmm. They aske–

They give you a map at the start and there are two hole punches hung on trees along the route.

Oh I see, you were asking rhetorically.

this last descent is a quad buster

Word to the wise: do *not* google “quad buster” on your work computer if you’re at all happy at your job.

(Leaves to update LinkedIn)

Tags members, Race Reports, Run Gum, shoeless joe

Club News Featured Member Information Race Reports

SRC Member Race Reports – May 2018

Post author By Joe Creighton
Post date June 7, 2018

First-placers, mid-packers, sweepers, we want to hear all the tales of heroism, zeroism, and everything in between.

You racing this June? Probably! And let me state here that starting now, what I’ll *also* allow as a “race report” are bomb tales about taking down those sweet sweet Strava CRs!

Submit Your Race Report!

Let’s hand it off to the BOSS HOSSES of MAY of 2018!
🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻

😋Flavorful Race of the Month!😋

Ellen Lavoie

Member #: 1738
Race name: Lake Hills 50k (solo version)
When was this race? 5/6/18
How did you place?! I almost won…2nd place overall!
Race website: http://nwtrailruns.com/events/lake-hills-50k-relay/
*Your* website URL: elgranola.wordpress.com
Race report:

Ten out and backs on a flat as a pancake (ok a fluffy pancake) of a 5km course. My goal was to a PR and indeed it was…by less than 10 minutes – I’ll take it! In a small field I managed a 2nd place overall finish coming in a smidge under 6 hours.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No
Race image(s):

Images: Yutaka Suzue, Yutaka Suzue, Taryn Graham

Shoeless Joe Sez!

Shout out to recently-departed Rufus for insinuating that I don’t put ladies #1 in my life because last month I had Trisha Steidl at the bottom of the report list, while I was actually merely posting them in the order in which they were submitted! Thanks Rufus, a true blue wingman!

“I managed a 2nd place overall finish coming in a smidge under 6 hours.”

“a smidge under 6 hours” is also how long it took me & Ellen to finish a round of mini golf and 8 rounds of oyster shooters at Flatstick Pub at a #srcbrooks party last year. Congrats Ellen! Fluffy pancakes are great, but any course that has “10 out and backs” in its course description is the opposite of that. You are #1 in my life!

Trisha Steidl

Member #: 328
Race name: Rhody Run 12k
When was this race? 5/21/2018
How did you place?! 2nd woman overall, 1st masters woman
Race website: http://www.rhodyrun.com
Race report:

This race has become an annual tradition for the Steidl household. We run this even if we just came back from across the country, have an injury, are sick, just raced a marathon, whatever. No excuses! The setting is beautiful and I love the small town feel and cheering.

I didn’t come into the race with big expectations as I learned just a couple weeks before the race that my hamstring was partially torn. Long story short, it had already been healing for quite awhile and in this race I could feel another step in a positive direction of healing as I was finally able to run uphill with some semblance of strength (which was good because this course is pretty hilly).

I was happy to run to a 2nd place finish, continue my streak of finishing as the top masters woman, and represent SRC on the podium!

As always I got to meet new people, reconnect with long time friends, and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No

Shoeless Joe Sez!

“I learned just a couple weeks before the race that my hamstring was partially torn”

Whoa! I also tore my hamstring! (High five) But….back in November 2017, and I can still taste the pudding I ate all day for about 3 months while I did *not* race 12Ks.

“top masters woman”

One thing that’s becoming more and more frequent an occurrence is me passing a teen in a race cause they went out too fast and their friends seem to invariably witness it from the side of the course and will laugh at their friend getting passed by a “old masters runner” and I’ll yell out “joke’s on you teens; I’m not masters yet!” And I’ll usually hear them muttering to themselves something like “Look at his eyebrows, no way he’s not 45 years old!” and I’ll just shake my head and feel sorry for them.

“woman”

You’re #1 in my life, Trisha!

Ryan Parker

Member #: 1548
Race name: Sunflower Marathon
When was this race? 5-5-2018
How did you place?! 4th Place
Race website: Link
*Your* website URL: https://www.strava.com/athletes/7278262
Race report:

Beautiful course, nice weather, sunflowers in full bloom, a good friend stride for stride with me the entire way. I ran about as fast as I could reasonably have hoped given that I didn’t do much marathon-specific training and have been dealing with injuries this winter and spring. Other than a brief bout with quad cramps around mile 21 I felt great the whole way. The post-race grain and vegetable bowls were fantastic too. I highly recommend this race.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No

Shoeless Joe Sez!

Based on your glowing review, allow me to be the first to congratulate whichever family member of yours organizes this race!

“The post-race grain and vegetable bowls were fantastic too. I highly recommend this race.”

Maybe it’s just the 12 year old in me, but if I’m going to run a trail marathon (someday! once this psoriasis clears up!), and I’m presented with a grain and vegetable bowl on the nicer side of the finish line, my reaction would likely be along the lines of:

Aaron Roche

Member #: 1960
Race name: Joe Hourigan Memorial Midleton 5 Mile Road Race 2018
When was this race? 3 May 2018
How did you place?! 36/594, 1st American! (1/1) 🤣
Race website: Link
*Your* website URL: rocheam.com/move.html#MidletonAC5
Race report:

“Hijacking this space to direct traffic to the full recap on my website.

Tl;dr
– I raced patiently and wise
– 600 runners from various athletics clubs in Co. Cork in Southwest Ireland for a local race starting at *8pm!* on a Thursday night!
– Spectator friendly event. The course is woven through the countryside on roads that are lined with stone walls, spotted with cow poop, and are closed to traffic during the event. Locals come out from behind their walled compounds to cheer the racers passing by. I couldn’t get any of my cousins to stick around during the race, although the various Irish folks cheering us on was helpful enough.
– The entry fee for this race was €10.95! (That’s pronounced “ten Euro ninety-five” or super effin’ cheap!)
– For 11 quid you got: a pre-race gala and post-race party with food and drink, a tote bag with the race logo that contained a Mars bar, a banana, and postcards about the local sponsors and cubs. Chocolate milk was handed out by local dairy farmers at the finish. I passed on that last option. NAF of cow’s milk, but I appreciated the gesture!”

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No
Race image(s):

Shoeless Joe Sez!

Our 1st international submission!

“I couldn’t get any of my cousins to stick around during the race”

Aaron Roche: “Hello cousin, please watch me race?”

Aaron Roche’s red-headed cousin: “Naw cuz, yous shorts are a holy show! I’m knackered, gonna leg it to the pub and git on the tear Guinness Tayto Hurling Jameson Murphy*. Gonna be a craic, don’t follow me” (throws cigarette at Aaron)

*I’m Irish, I can make this (good) joke

“…that contained a Mars bar, a banana, and postcards about the local sponsors and cubs.”

Was always a Les Lancaster man myself

Congrats Aaron, that singlet looks pretty swank on ya.

Dan Myers

Member #: 1627
Race name: Kal’s Knoya Ridge Race 2018
When was this race? May 24
How did you place?! 40th
Race website: Link
*Your* website URL: lol
Race report:

Things are good up here! I miss the banter of The FLB 5miler. No Bodhizafa up here. 🙁 As I write this, I am 40 minutes from starting a 1/2 marathon but I destroyed myself on Thursday in a race that was a 4.4k climb over 5+ miles. Wish you all would come up for a race. ❤ to the SRC peeps. Gotta warm up now, but sexting with you was a good start.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No
Race image(s):

Shoeless Joe Sez!

……interesting race report, Dan!

“❤ to the SRC peeps.”

Good to hear you’re still alive Danny, though possibly barely functioning without the all-powerful Bodhi. That pic of you looks like after that Lincoln Park XC workout in 2015 when we made you walk to Beveridge Place. In your honor, here’s a random guy on the internet who’s really fired up about that thicc Bodhi head. Cheers!

Brett Walton

Member #: 1581
Race name: Ski to Sea
When was this race? May 27, 2018
How did you place?! 6th in the downhill run
Race website: SkitoSea.com
Race report:

Sprinting 8 miles downhill, as you do for the Ski to Sea running leg, is a great way to get a gnarly pump going in your calves and quads. Two days later I still can’t use stairs like a normal person.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No
Race image(s):
Brett Walton, Ski to Sea 2018

Shoeless Joe Sez!

“…a great way to get a gnarly pump going”

Lookit this guy, looking like a 1989 brah from California. In his honor:

My Best Guess at This Dude’s Top 5 Mountain Dew varietals

5. Mountain Dew Supyrnova Iced Arctic Storm
4. Mountain Dew Call of Duty Xtreme Gamer Alliance Squadron Blue Edition #3
3. Mountain Dew, original
2. Mountain Dew 5% Swole
1. Mountain Dew Baja Blast

Aaron Roche

Member #: 1960
Race name: UW Bothell Husky 5k
When was this race? 19 May 2018
How did you place?! 5 places and 56s ahead of Samir Rahman
Race website: https://www.uwb.edu/alumni/events/5krun
*Your* website URL: http://www.rocheam.com/move
Race report:

It was a typical 5k. Nothing too extraordinary to report. Actually, it was about 150m or so short of the full 5k. It was fairly hilly for a road race at that distance and was probably a sub-18 effort, though the 17’39” finish time is probably a tad misleading.

Btw, did I mention I beat Samir? By 56 seconds? Okay he had a rough week, but when you talk smack, are you allowed to make excuses??

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No
Race image(s):

Shoeless Joe Sez!

“150m or so short of the full 5k”

How’d you know the nickname my high school XC coach gave me?!

“Btw, did I mention I beat Samir?”

Yeah you did, way to bring out the welcome wagon for one of our newer members! I see you’re also posing with a guy in a CNW shirt who’s developing a pretty nice neard, but instead of teaming up with Samir to think of all the different words that rhyme with “neard” and getting that freestyle* ready, you’re making fun of your teammate! #kissesnotdisses #teamsamir

*”Next to Samir I peered at a weird neard that nobody feared

He ran for a club that nobody cheered”

#justkidding #friends #friendly #rivals #alllove #src❤️cnw

Tags members, Race Reports, Run Gum

Club News Featured Member Information Race Reports Uncategorized

SRC Member Race Reports – April 2018

Post author By Joe Creighton
Post date May 5, 2018

Once a month we’d like to showcase the races for members courageous enough to spend a few minutes filling out a Google Form, and until the boxes or $ starts rolling in, we would like to *NOT* promote Run Gum!

First-placers, mid-packers, sweepers, we want to hear all the tales of heroism, zeroism, and everything in between. Let’s celebrate the old fashioned written word to combat this sport’s descent into selfies, IG stories and GoPro madness (that said, selfies, IG stories, and GoPro madness are all happily accepted as part of your reports). I’ll try to provide incisive commentary on races if I feel the urge. #SorryNotSorry if it’s not very witty or informative or useful in any way.

You racing this May?

Submit Your Race Report!

Let’s hear from our inaugural reporters, who raced like BOSS HOSSES this April of 2018!
🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻

Martin Criminale

Martin Criminale Yakima Skyline 50k 2018
Member #: 1348
Race name: Yakima Skyline Rim 50k
When was this race? 4/21/18
How did you place?! 2nd – Men 50-59
Race website: Link
*Your* website URL: Link
Race report:

Okay, so this race is not 100% up and down, it’s just about 90% up and down. But luckily most of that flat 10% is rocky. I got what I wanted, a hard 50k. This course took me a little more one hour longer than the Chuckanut 50k for reference. This really fast (because, you know, anyone faster than me must be REALLY, REALLY FAST) guy from MT beat me by 12 minutes. He has beaten me before and I didn’t like it this time either. Amazing views, you could see Mt Adams, Mt Rainier, some mountain that I forgot the name of, and lots of rocks. The tallest plant on this course is about 3′. I fell three times and broke one trekking pole. There is no shade. But there was wind, strong enough to move me sideways on the last descent when both of my feet were off the ground. But there was pizza and beer at the finish. And each time I fell some nice person stopped for a minute to see if I was okay. Each time I lied and carried on. The overall winner ran in a button down shirt. I’m sore today. I should buy more button down shirts.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No
Race image(s): Martin Criminale Yakima Skyline 50k 2018

Shoeless Joe Sez!

Well, he was #FIRST! so I guess we should start this whole thing off with the club president huh?

“The tallest plant on this course is about 3′.”

I’ve always been kinda interested in running this race, but I’m always wary of reg’ing for races like 9 months in advance when I can’t be sure I’ll ever be healthy for more than 2 weeks at a time. But 3 feet tall plants? COUNT ME IN FOR 2019!

“But there was pizza and beer at the finish.”

This put a smile on my face. I fondly remember back when I was 16 years old, my dad gave me my first sip of beer when the waiter’s back was turned. And I was all “NO THANKS lol 🤢🤮😂” Once I hit my 30s though, something flipped in my brain and now I can easily split a beer with my dad with relatively few problems at reasonably-priced eateries.

😋Flavorful Race of the Month!😋

Spencer Gaddy

Member #: 1874
Race name: Boston
When was this race? 16/4/18
How did you place?! I lost
*Your* website URL: Link
Race report:

I spent the winter gearing up for the Boston Marathon by running cold, dark, and wet ovals during SRC Wednesday Workouts, then logging steady miles by the waterfront on weekends. Fortunately the weather for the race was just as shitty as during the training, so I was ready. As I sheltered from the rain during my morning duties (doodies) in the porta-john on marathon Monday, I thought to myself “It’s nice and dry in here, how long can I stay?”

I shed my warmups and rain cape just minutes before the start as the rain came down, looking forward to running if only for the warmth.

I settled into my rhythm in the first few miles and used the first 6 mostly-downhill miles to easily run at race pace. Through 15 miles I focused on hydrating, eating and running steady but to not expend any unnecessary energy. At mile 16 I was expecting a big downhill and used it not to go faster but to rest for the upcoming ‘Newton hills’.

When the rolling hills came around mile 17 I felt strong, but was careful not to immediately expel all the energy and strength I had worked to save. Over the top of the hills around mile 21 I put in a bit of effort to get back up to speed over the hills. At this point of the race I was reacquainted with my marathon legs, the legs that will not go faster, the brain and heart say “sub 6 minute pace” but the legs say “I don’t know how to do that”. As I struggled to find the speed I knew my legs had, I was snapped back to the moment by another runner yelling ferociously at himself as if vocalizing his motivation would help. A crowd member yelling “F#CK Yeah Seattle!” at me renewed my focus on the race as I drained the rest of the fast out of my legs to push through downtown Boston and cross the finish line in 2:44:58 (chip).

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No

Shoeless Joe Sez!

“duties (doodies)”

Nice 😎

“I drained the rest of the fast out of my legs to push through downtown Boston and cross the finish line in 2:44:58 (chip).”

Full disclosure: I’ve run workouts with Spencer a few times. He’s a former competitive cyclist, so naturally much of our conversation during rest periods is me making spectacularly-broad negative generalizations about PNW cyclists and him politely going “……yeah, I guess” til the next interval starts. All that to say (no offense Spenc), I had *no* idea this guy could run a 2:44:58 in those atrocious conditions. Until I can manage to beat that time, I will shut up (to him, on Wednesdays, at the Garfield High School track) about idiot cyclists.

A performance this strong simple *has* to be my first-ever Flavorful Race of the Month!®™©, even though he lost.

Joe Kelly

Member #: 1938
Race name: Oiselle Tenacious Ten Mile
When was this race? 4/21
How did you place?! I won
Race website: Link
Race report:

I decided two days before the race to sign up for the ten miler (there was also a 10k) because I wanted to do a nice long tempo. I got to Gas Works Park about 45 minutes before the start and immediately had to use the facilities. Those were the cleanest port-o-potties that I have ever seen (I guess that’s what happens when a group of women organize the race – nice work Oiselle!). After a quick warm up, I headed toward the start line to be greeted by Aid Station #2’s Olin Berger who was there cheering on his girlfriend.

Because the 10k had some decent prize money, there were quite a few elite women and Club NW dudes (one of those jokers decided to go shirtless on the 45 degree morning) so I grabbed a spot about 5 rows back. The 10kers were blazing form the start (a couple of sub 31 dudes and a sub 34 female – damn fast!) so I settled in just under 6 minute pace with what seemed to be a mixed pack of 10 milers. At 5 miles, where the two courses split, our pack was down to two – 2 time Olympian Kara Goucher and me. According to her Wikipedia page, all of her PRs are faster than mine except for the 1500. We clipped off a couple 5:50s while passing the dude in second and closing the gap with the leader. I started pulling away at the first hairpin turn around mile 7, much to the dismay of the predominately female field who wanted to see the Oiselle star take the overall W. I overtook the lead with a little over a mile to go and cruised into Gas Works with an 18s victory. Goucher ended up in 5th overall about 30s back. She thanked me for my 3 miles of “pacing” and gave me quite the high five.

I had friends running the Yakima Skyline 50k so I couldn’t stick around for the awards. I Irish goodbye’d out of there and hightailed it to Ellensburg.

Oiselle did a great job organizing the race and I felt pretty great for most of the run. Definitely a win-win.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No

Shoeless Joe Sez!

“I got to Gas Works Park about 45 minutes before the start and immediately had to use the facilities.”

When I proposed this feature for the site about 3 years ago, this is more or less the exact example sentence I used for what people could be telling us about their races.

“…and a sub 34 female”

Mel Lawrence. On my interview bucket list. (‘sup, Mel.)

“At 5 miles, where the two courses split, our pack was down to two – 2 time Olympian Kara Goucher and me. According to her Wikipedia page, all of her PRs are faster than mine except for the 1500.”

Oh man, I *really* hope you told her this at some point during the race.

“Goucher ended up in 5th overall about 30s back. She thanked me for my 3 miles of ‘pacing’ and gave me quite the high five.”

Right right, congrats on the hand contact, but did you hand her an SRC membership form or not? I still don’t see her name on our member list.

“I had friends running the Yakima Skyline 50k…”

Nice #humblebrag about having friends. 😒

Max Ferguson

Member #: 1247
Race name: Yakima Skyline 50k
When was this race? 4/21/18
How did you place?! 4th
Race website: Link
Race report:

Regret is not a meal best served cold. Thats revenge. However, regret could be a tex-mex dish served in a curiously expensive food emporium adjacent a Yakima winery. This is a story of the latter.

5:00 am 4/21/18. I awake without the grogginess of pre-evening drinks at The Brick, or of the reefer the cooks at the bar were smoking that evening. The air is cold in Roslyn, the drive to Yakima is longer than I’d like, and the gas station coffee is sufficient. No regrets have yet to occur.

7:00 am 4/21/18. The Italian rimpiangere phase of the race. I manage a nice pre-race constitutional. As does Grete. I regret not bringing more poop bags.

8:01 am 4/21/18. The Albanian keqardhje phase of the race. The race starts. I regret somehow being in the front. For some ungodly reason it is holy ultrarunning scripture to run a near army crawl pace from the gun. I regret this is the only sport I’m half decent at.

8:03 am 4/21/18. The French katua phase of the race. We hit the first uphill. I start walking, the rest of the field behind me does not. I regret taking a prerace dump wishing I could instead crop dust these sand baggers. I do not regret not running more section line repeats. This portion of the race blows goats.

8:35 am 4/21/18. The German bedauern phase of the race. The lead group hits the ridgeline. I begin running. The rest of the leaders seamlessly transition from running up a 60% grade to picking wildflowers at a pace befitting a 90 year old. I do not regret making up all the distance they put on me on the climb with near zero effort. This pacing is Donald Trump-level consistent. Oscillating wildly between extremes.

9:15 am 4/21/18. The Welsh yn ofid phase of the race. After completely destroying ourselves for no reason, then erasing all forms of competitive pace on the flats once more. The lead group hits the first climb. For the first time all day I am running some uphill. I think to myself I am going to “wreck some fools” in an hour or so. I might regret this line of thinking.

9:45 am 4/21/18. The Polish zal phase of the race. I notice my legs are already sunburned. I regret not wearing sunscreen. This will not get better in future phases.

10:15 am 4/21/18. The Spanish lamentar phase of the race. The descent into Buffalo Road has completely decimated what feeling my feet never had. I regret believing any rockplate is worth a damn.

10:25 am 4/21/18. The Dutch betreuren phase of the race. The lead group hits the Buffalo Road aid station. My plan is to run the entire climb out of the aid, then coast on good good good vibrations to a victory. I regret bringing my Nathan softflask, it literally takes multiple people and several minutes just to put the cap on.

10:27 am 4/21/18. The Cebuano ikasubo phase of the race. The cap is not on the softflask. I dont regret the moisture from the leaking bottle at this point in the race. It is nice and cooling. I blame Rob Krar.

11:00 am 4/21/18. The Scottish Gaelic aithreachas phase of the race. I just successfully ran nearly that entire climb. Somehow I’m farther behind Mike Wolfe than when I started the climb. I am also in a world of hurt. I regret that my race plan only had one step to it.

11:30 am 4/21/18. The Corsican rigrettu phase of the race. I am yet farther behind Mike Wolfe. Catching second now seems a desperate proposition. I trip no less than 4 times on this descent and still to this day don’t know how I didnt eat a face full of tumbleweed. I regret not picking my feet up better. This is going to be a very VERY long next hour.

11:55 am 4/21/18. The Afrikaans spyt phase of the race. I am staring up at the final climb. 2nd and 3rd are not far away. They are walking. I however am in full cramped leg lock mode. I am walking sideways up the climb. This is not as efficient. In fact, one could say it’s both stupid, and stupid looking. I am regretting not doing like ONE additional section line repeat.

12:40 pm 4/21/18. The Sudanese kaduhung phase of the race. I have made it to the top of the final climb. I leaked time to both remaining podium positions like a colander. I dreamt of running this final ridgeline with Walmsley-esque form. Unlike Letsrun.com, those dreams are not a reality.

12:20 pm 4/21/18. The English regret phase of the race. I finish the descent back to Umtaneum Canyon. My feet are hamburger. Thinking of this makes me wish I’d eaten a hamburger since the last aid station. Or a gel. Or anything. I arrive at the parking lot and realize we now need to run a quarter mile around it to the finish. To be clear here, my legs cannot move. Running is as much an option for me now as Joe Creighton modeling for L’Oreal. Attempting to hobble to the finish line I regret checking over my shoulder for anyone hot on my tail. I think my best race strategy at that point would be to throw my leaky soft flask at them.

12:27 pm 4/21/18. Finish. I somehow do not regret running the race.

12:28 pm 4/21/18. I regret not bringing a glass for the keg.

6:32 am 4/22/18. I awake. Instantly I regret trail running being the only thing I’m passably competitive at. I should have focused on something less painful like competitive oil painting, or poetry jams.

8:00 am 4/23/18. A friend emails me a link to a race in Idaho. I spend 2 hours investigating it. I have yet to learn from all the phases of these damn races.
“

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No

Shoeless Joe Sez!

“As does Grete”

You still trying to get this dog over?

“Running is as much an option for me now as Joe Creighton modeling for L’Oreal.”

Another crack like that and next time I’m not gonna spend 20 minutes fixing all your formatting/grammer/spelling issues!,

“Instantly I regret trail running being the only thing I’m passably competitive at.”

“Most Burner Accounts on the LetsRun Message Board” not a competition anymore?

“I regret not bringing a glass for the keg.”

Their post-race keg was “cupless”?? Allow me to use this opportunity to promote the Cougar Mtn Summer Series, which includes Flying Lion Brewing kegs (made-specifically-for-us Cougar Mountain Kolsch available May 12th, post-race!) and hands out drinkin’ hardware when you cross the finish line.

I love Max enough that I read most of his report, but I understand if many of you just don’t have the time. So, tl;dr: he took a nice pre-race dump and got 4th overall.

Martin Criminale

Martin Criminale Chirico 10 Peat 2018

Member #: 1348
Race name: Chirico Tenpeat
When was this race? 4/25/2018
How did you place?! 2nd Overall
Race website: Link
*Your* website URL: Link
Race report:

This race is a challenge by choice. You can do 1-10 laps of the Chirico Trail up to Poo Poo Point on Tiger Mt. I tried to do all 10 in 2014 and failed, this time I made it and surprised myself with 2nd place. It’s always on a Wednesday to avoid the weekend hiker traffic. This year it took me TEN HOURS to finish, but on reflection, it would have taken me over 10 hours back in 2014 if I had been able to finish…the event is put on by the Seattle Mountain Running Group Facebook Group (Jess Mullen specifically) and is a massive community effort. Officially there is no aid, no timing, no nothing; but we had the best aid station I have ever experienced, digital timing and loads of support including two event photographers. Wow.

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No
Race image(s): Martin Criminale Chirico 10 Peat 2018

Shoeless Joe Sez!

“Martin Criminale”

You again?

“This race is a challenge by choice. You can do 1-10 laps of the Chirico Trail up to Poo Poo Point on Tiger Mt.”

As someone who once ran back and forth on Madison St from Lake Washington to Puget Sound like 4 times, and then shuffled through the world’s saddest “cooldown” just so I could be closer to 35 total miles, I am officially forbidden from snarking on how dumb this sounds. We’re all equally sad and bored with life.

“It’s always on a Wednesday to avoid the weekend hiker traffic.”

And look at that start line photo! How do all these people get off work?! If I tried to pull a stunt like this, I’d be fixing typos on my LinkedIn by noon pm.

Ryan Parker

Member #: 1548
Race name: Top Pot 5k
When was this race? 4-29-2018
How did you place?! 11th place overall
Race website: Link
*Your* website URL: Strava
Race report:

This was my first race since Thanksgiving so it was painful! My only goals were to run hard, show Samir Rahman who’s the boss, and eat some donuts after. Mission accomplished!

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No

Shoeless Joe Sez!

“who’s the boss”

Get it? 😀

(Thanks for this paragraph Ryan. Your dollar is in the mail.)

Trisha Steidl

Member #: 328
Race name: Whidbey Island Marathon
When was this race? April 22
How did you place?! 3rd woman overall, 1st masters woman
Race website: http://runwhidbey.com/run/
Race report:

I didn’t want to run it because I had been dealing with a hamstring injury since Chuckanut and my left leg hasn’t worked normally since, but I knew I could and you never know, maybe today my L leg would surprise me and finally feel ok.

Warmed up, got to the start line, saw there were three fast women there (prizes only go to top three), and almost asked the race folks to drive me to the finish (it’s a point-to-point course). Note: In the past 6 years, the winning time has only been “fast” the two years I’ve run this race.

Gun went off, we ran across the bridge (beautiful), my L leg reminded me that it didn’t like to move normally, but it was just fine enough to not drop out on the other side of the bridge where my friend was standing, taking photos.

L leg finally felt warmed up somewhere between mile 6 and 7, giving me a glimmer of hope.

11 miles in I was 3:30 behind places 1-3 (they were all together). I did some in-race math (not usually a good idea)…That meant that by the end I would be at least 10 mins behind. That was a frustrating prospect.

Most of the rest of the race was spent feeling discomfort and pain move from area to area of my L leg and trying to get it to move with some semblance of normalcy (that glimmer I felt earlier was truly just a glimmer). I also learned that my L leg had zero ability to push off going uphill. The course is very hilly. These two things are not a good combo. (Running an easy effort up a hill in a marathon because your leg doesn’t work and not because you’re dead tired is excruciatingly frustrating.)

Around mile 15 a lady passed me near the top of a hill. That was irritating. Fortunately, there was a downhill right after and I “took off” (taking off is a relative term). Around mile 19 she passed me near the top of another hill (the 5th of 5 in a row). Fortunately, again, there was a downhill soon after and I, again, “took off.”

At mile 20, I figured I only had a little over 6 miles left, so I might as well finish the darn thing (this decision was made harder every time I saw my friend driving by in her van…I really wanted to get in that van).

A little later I could see the 3rd place lady far in the distance and was determined to catch her. I still had 5-6 miles to catch her and since she had been so far ahead, I though I had a pretty decent shot. I caught her with a few miles to go and then was determined that “hill lady” wasn’t going to catch me since I was now in 3rd place.

My L leg felt terrible and I continued to use all the mental strength I had to get it to move into the strong headwind we were now running into.

I could see 2nd place’s (and fellow SRC teammate’s) pink calf sleeves up ahead. Unless she died hard, I wasn’t going to catch her, but you never know what might happen in the last 1.5 miles of a marathon, so I had to stay on it (and I was sure hill lady wasn’t too far behind).

I finished in 3rd place, not that the announcer mentioned anything as I came in and crossed the finish.

It was probably the most mentally taxing race of my life and also high on the list of the most disappointing. What I was proud of was a) how mentally strong I stayed despite all the discomfort in and lack of my leg working and b) to work my way up to 3rd on a bad day made the experience sting just a little less.

Yep, some rough days are really rough. We’ve all had ’em. They’ll make us stronger, even though they suck donkey balls in the moment (especially when that moment lasts a few hours). Keep at it!

Did iRunFar interview you before or after the race?: No

Shoeless Joe Sez!

“I had been dealing with a hamstring injury since Chuckanut and my left leg hasn’t worked normally since…”

I feel like my left leg/hamstring hasn’t worked normally since about 2013!

“It was probably the most mentally taxing race of my life and also high on the list of the most disappointing. What I was proud of was a) how mentally strong I stayed despite all the discomfort in and lack of my leg working and b) to work my way up to 3rd on a bad day made the experience sting just a little less. Yep, some rough days are really rough. We’ve all had ’em. They’ll make us stronger, even though they suck donkey balls in the moment (especially when that moment lasts a few hours).”

As my ankles cry and gray chest hairs threaten to clog up my drain during my Tuesday and Friday night baths, I’m reminded that I might agree to suck on a donkey’s balls if it meant I could pull off one more 3rd place in a marathon! Never don’t be proud of fighting to the end!

Tags members, Race Reports, Run Gum, shoeless joe

Featured Media Race Reports

#SackLunch at the 2015 Bend Beer Chase

Post author By Joe Creighton
Post date June 17, 2015

The 2015 Bend Beer Chase. Seventy miles of Bend’s most beautiful high-trafficked roads, hopping from brewery to brewery in a magical land that, based on their lush green lawns and heavily-sprinklered sidewalks, seems not to think much of our region’s drought woes.

Olin Berger (left) proposed this race awhile back and I jumped on board once I got the scheduling worked out. Derek Reiff (good beard) is always up for a good run. Brett Walton (Cochese glasses) is somewhat “choosy” when it comes to racing and didn’t want to run but said he’d drive us around, and Evan Williams was too busy planning on setting his 3rd PR in a month back in Seattle. This left the three of us to complete the 12 leg relay race, each running four legs and finishing with anywhere from 21-24 miles apiece. Not ideal (most teams had six members running two legs each) but eh, whaddya gonna do.

The team name was another matter and I don’t remember any of the story behind it, other than we’re all huge Seinfeld (read:Elaine) fans and I think Olin really wanted to get bags from Fred Meyer and make a huge “sack” for us to appear in at check points, the start+finish lines, the after party, the AirB&B driveway, and other general public areas of interest in beautiful Bend, OR.

The evening before the race we stopped in Redmond and Derek finally found the $1.29 baloney needed to complete our lunch supplies for the rest of the field. We would make a bunch of brown bag lunches with actual “edible” lunch items (baloney sandwich and snack pack) and offer them our to opponents in an attempt to ~~pysche them out~~ bribe their friendship. The woman checker at the Grocery Outlet was named Capriola and another was named Baylea, and in case either of you are reading this, Derek is single and easy to get ahold of. We promise he did not consume (much of) the baloney you saw him purchase. Just before we entered the store, we found out Evan ran a 15:46 5k and completed his PR trifecta! Motivation levels +3!

The goal was to hit last year’s winning time and if last year’s winning team showed up, let’s race! Derek’s stated plan was to go with the leader for the “first few miles” of his 6.47 mile leg and see what happens.
“What if he goes out at five minute pace?”
“I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

(He went out at five minute pace.)

Handoff of the day was, not surprisingly, the very first one between Derek and Olin, when we were only two minutes down on the lead and the future still looked bright with promise. Olin took off for his 9 mile leg on the hunt at what appeared to be ~4:15 pace. It was also here that I started to worry about the heat, considering it was 9am, I hadn’t run one mile yet, and I was already moaning to Brett about how tired I was and could I just go sit in the shade over there?

Highlight(s) of the day was whenever when you were done running your leg and sitting comfortably in the cool car while driving to the next checkpoint, seeing your running teammate suffering along the stretch of busy street, and hooting/hollering for him as you passed, oftentimes while holding out a brown sack of lunch and quoting Ayn Rand. Lowlights of the day would be when you yourself were the guy running on the road while your team drove by and away, them holding out sacks and yelling at you to “Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil! That sentence is the leper’s bell of an approaching looter!”

It was mildly amusing that our fittest-looking guy, 73 inches tall in his skin tight Adidas tank top and the shortest shorts seen in Bend all year, was actually our driver who ran zero miles. While his shorter, balder, back hairier cousin with the elephant legs ran 21.

Unfortunately the majority of the race scenery looked like this. You were advised to admire the majestic Three Sisters mountain peaks, which proved difficult when you were mostly concerned with not getting hit by the oncoming Ford Excursion on the busy freeway.

As a team we took pride in at least *attempting* to use the snap bracelet “batons” as god intended them. This worked well and impressed the women initially at the exchanges, but as heat stroke gradually set in, we got sloppy and form broke, snap bracelets falling to the ground like tears from a frustrated child.

Personally, my hardest leg on paper was my 2nd one (6th in the overall race), a 6.6 jaunt up highway 126 which featured up close & personal views of the many large trucks Oregonians like to drive at high rates of speed. This was probably also the high-water mark for our team on the day, as Olin ripped it and got us back to around 7 minutes off the lead. Fired up, I ran way too fast considering I would only be halfway done upon finishing the leg, and for my efforts we fell 15 seconds further behind. :\

Derek Reiff, shown here completing his 4th and final handoff, showed tremendous courage in running himself nearly to death so that we could ultimately finish 36 minutes behind first place instead of 38. As of this writing, Derek has not run one step since this photo was taken. Worth it!

After that depressing series of photos, here’s a little extra special NSFW shot for the Derek fans, from earlier in the day when things were only just beginning to descend into hell. If the kids have been put to bed, click the image for the full UNCENSORED action! ;p

Olin was our MVP and rock for the day. While Derek and I suffered/wilted in the heat and elevation, Olin showed a capacity to just put his head down and suffer. To this day I still do not understand how he held a 6:37 pace for his final 3pm, 6.9 mi leg. I should say that for most of the race, this was the scenery. On the shoulder of a busy road, completely exposed to the worst life has to offer.

Bend proved to have that lovely southern hospitality during my final 100m kick, during which a couple bros outside a bar heckled me for reasons unknown to me until I saw these finish-line pictures.

The team that suffers together, appears to also shower together…? 2nd place in 7:26. Thirty six minutes behind the lead team, who were annoyingly 13 minutes faster than the year before.

Brett drove us all over Bend that day, took the photo of the day (Derek/Olin handoff) paced a couple of us late in the race when life was its most dire, and was for the most part not very annoying. He doesn’t like beer though, so the least I could do for him at the after party was agree to get him a sample cup of Kombucha and then make a big deal about it.

Olin was sad we didn’t win any team-themed awards during the afterparty, and that Derek’s beard not only did not win, but finished behind a guy whose “beard” wasn’t even a real beard. He medicated this sadness by standing in many beer lines and handing out our remaining sack lunches to whomever seemed most inspired and ready to party. A couple witty one-liners later and Sack Lunch are suddenly BFFs with the all-female Hot Messes team.

Derek spent most of the post-race festivities throwing up in our host house’s lawn and remaining seated and stoic during the afterparty. He bought a meat stick and actually ate it on the drive back to Seattle the next day, which I thought would raise his moods but didn’t really. Sunday night he stated he has lost those last pesky 6 lbs.

You can’t go to 87 degree Bend and not hot tub it up! Last order of business was achieved after a Sunday morning shakeout run with Brett and Olin. I decided blue was the best otter pop flavor.

It’s been real, Bend. Real hot. Next year we’re bringing six, and one of them has bigger calves than Max King.

Tags Bend Beer Chase, race images, Race Reports

Featured Race Reports

Three Random Guys Trying to PR in the Half Marathon: An Oral History

Post author By Joe Creighton
Post date December 10, 2014

After an autumn spent doing Wednesday Night Workouts together, as well as finishing very near each other at a few XC & trail races, an idea was planted to add *one more* race after the XC season ended. Evan Williams (1:18:13 half marathon pr), Derek Reiff (1:18:46), and Joe Creighton (1:18:41) would each try to set a personal record at the Seattle Half Marathon. Calendar proximity defeated course flatness in importance as their three-way date with destiny approached.

PART I – BEFORE THE RACE

Evan Williams
A couple months before the race, I had a feeling that I would be in town for Thanksgiving this year and wanted to go for a half marathon or 5k PR. In 2012, I accomplished PRs in both distances, three days apart. This year, there weren’t enough days after the Club XC Regional 10k to recover for a turkey trot AND the Seattle half. Thus, I picked one.

Joe Creighton
Running XC loops in Lower Woodland Park or in horrendous mud at Lincoln Park can mask yourself from what shape you’re really in. The Seattle Half Marathon was ideal in that it was, conveniently, one week after our last XC race.

Evan Williams
Joe, Derek, and I committed (to each other) to do the half on the Tuesday preceding the race, over pints after a regular Tuesday Fleet Feet jog.

Joe Creighton
I was carded for the first time ever, and I was empty-handed. My bald scalp didn’t convince her. My white chin-hair didn’t convince her. But my “sweet laugh lines” saved the day for me, before I had to pull out the case-closing white back hair.

Evan Williams
We all went home and then balked at the price.

Joe Creighton
The Seattle Marathon was *not* ideal in that it was, inconveniently, $135 fucking dollars for 13.1 miles. Do you realize how many energy drinks I could have bought with that money?

Evan Williams
On Thanksgiving night, Joe and I bit the bullet and then proceeded to enjoy whiskey while bombarding Derek with texts until he also pulled out his credit card.

Joe Creighton
Whiskey and Cointreau, to be precise.

Derek Reiff
I basically signed up under duress. But each of the three XC races I ran this year were run pretty closely with Joe and Evan, so I’d have hated to miss out on a potentially great contest.

Evan Williams
I should have signed up earlier, when the cost was semi-reasonable.

Derek Reiff
Tell me about it. I think all races should start cheap, like they currently do, and ramp up. But the days before, if there are spots left, race entry prices should start dropping, each hour. Fill those spots up.

Joe Creighton
The half marathon is probably my best distance, which I’m at times a little discouraged by. Mostly because of the race distance’s name. Half-marathon. Who cares how good one is at a HALF marathon? If a 5k was simply referred to as “half 10k,” then who knows if I would have wasted six years of my life trying to PR for 3.1 miles, which I did, back in Jun–.

Derek Reiff
The half is definitely my favorite distance. My first half I “trained” for was in Vancouver in 2011. The second half was miserable, but I signed up for another a year and a half later. I liked it because I was ready for it, and it doesn’t require speed if you don’t want it to.

Evan Williams
Half marathons are excellent. You get almost all of the beauty of a long road race with much less than half of the recovery time from a full marathon.

Derek Reiff
When we were discussing doing this race days before it happened, I was _extremely_ confident that I was in good enough shape to PR. Until Joe started talking about all the hills and the weather.

Joe Creighton
Before the race, I was probably 50/50 that I would PR, because I lack conviction of any kind.

::THE RACE EXPO::

Derek Reiff
There was a bathroom in the hotel in which the expo was held. Which was nice, as I needed one.

Evan Williams
I loved the sweet potato chips at the expo, which were almost as good as connecting with teammate Justin Houck at the trail running calendar signing.

Joe Creighton
Heh, “connecting.” Seeing Justin Houck brightens any day. Aside from that, my favorite moment was probably taking a free sample of EAS whey protein powder from what looked to be a 13 year old girl. My least favorite moment was days later when I made the world’s worst Egg Cream.

::TRAINING & PREPARATION::

Derek Reiff
I’ve been putting in consistent miles for a year now, so I’d say I’m in the best post-collegiate shape of my life. And team SRC cross country workouts helped considerably with getting my pace down a bit.

Joe Creighton
I’d dealt with a calf injury in August that kept me out of the (very comfortable Brooks) shoes for two weeks and slowed my preparation for XC. I probably wasn’t ~100% until the last XC race on Nov 23rd. I was only topping out at about 50 miles a week but I was very consistent the past 5 weeks. Still, 50 miles a week ain’t super for half marathons, so I just focused on happy thoughts, like Evan’s ridiculous quadriceps muscles.

Evan Williams
I usually have a pretty careful routine for loading up on energy before long races, but when there’s a holiday involved, the holiday wins. I ate an alarming amount on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. In order to offset food-coma grogginess, I followed up consumption with too much coffee. The one thing I kept consistent with past races was to not get stressed about pre-race plan deviations. The past is the past. Don’t let unchangeable decisions negatively affect your state of mind on race day.

Derek Reiff
My friend Eric says carboloading is dumb but I don’t follow diets of any kind except for no high-fructose corn syrup so I ignored Eric. (Eric did, however, turn me on to wet wipes for the bathroom. Which is necessary if you have a nervous day like I did on Saturday.)

And don’t wet wipes just make sense? I won’t go into details, but they make sense. Right?

Joe Creighton
You are a monster.

Evan Williams
I never felt the need to have a detailed race plan. The three of us are so similar in ability right now that it was going to be impossible to “drop” one another early without dearly paying for it later. Thus, stick together for a while, get faster in the second half if you feel good. Simple.

Derek Reiff
In this group’s recent XC past, I never pulled off a win against these guys, so I figured I’d tuck in behind Joe’s broad shoulders and Evan’s massive quads for wind resistance.

But seriously no, not that. I know that I wanted a PR and that these guys were in great shape and wanted a similar PR, so we should stick together and stay below 6:00/mile pace.

Joe Creighton
I had no concerns about running/racing with Evan and Derek, aside from Evan’s threats to be blowing ass all race and inviting us to “run in his slipstream.” Visually we likely appear to Joe Public as three very different runners, but we actually couldn’t be more alike, ability-wise.

Evan Williams
I went through extensive clothing research the night before, including weighing various shirt options as a joke to Joe/Derek and refreshing weather forecasts constantly. In 2012, I was way too warm in long sleeves and 36F. But, this year was drier and colder. Ultimately, I laid out my trusty pair of green judo shorts, gloves, sunglasses, and a black long sleeve Brooks-SRC shirt.

Derek Reiff
I’d like to solicit Brooks to make a cold-weather racing singlet. I paired two of their jerseys up for a nice little ‘duo-core singlet’ and boy was my upper body (core) warm.
No, it wasn’t at all actually. But it did make me feel more secure out there. Like a thundershirt.

::RACE MORNING::

Joe Creighton
It was really cold that morning. I wore gloves and covered my ears, but I run pretty hot so I figured I’d ditch them by mile 1.5. I never ditched any article of clothing though. And idoit liberal atheists still think global warming isn’t a hoax lmao

Derek Reiff
I assume complete failure will happen each and every morning of my life, so I like to map things out in order, in 15 minute blocks. 6:00-6:45 am was “Sit and wait.”

Joe Creighton
I just eat cereal and try to poop.

Evan Williams
When morning came around, I laid in bed as long as possible, called my mom, my wife, and checked texts to see if Joe and Derek were already at the start (Derek was). I skipped coffee, ate three clementines, and put on old sweatpants and an ugly sweater to bike 4 mi to the Space Needle. I felt barely warmed up and then jogged about 3/4 mi with Joe until my body was a little closer to proper operating temperature. Usually, I eat more before racing for 60+ minutes, but I didn’t have time and trusted my previous feasting to have saturated my glycogen stores.

Joe Creighton
I live out in the middle of nowhere so I had to get up at 5am and wanted to be on the road to lower Queen Anne by 6:30. I was also California-raised, and getting out of bed at 5am when it’s 25 degrees outside is literally the worst thing in the world.

Derek Reiff
After we miscommunicated and jogged to and from Evan’s bike for absolutely no reason, we got ourselves back to the start line with 1.5 minutes to spare. So at 7:29 I was thinking “I can’t believe Joe is just wearing a t-shirt.” Occasionally I’m self-conscious standing next to Rockstar-cap Joe. But so far it’s a 50/50 split between this and another hat. Turns out he wore it to the race.

Joe Creighton
I actually have two Rockstar hats and I’m not comfortable admitting how many minutes I spent deciding between the two.

Evan Williams
After a few last moment strides, I appreciated how easy it was to get to the front of the chute (excellent start layout), and bodied up with Joe and Derek to await the gun.

Joe Creighton
In my mind, the best-case scenario was all three of us running together en route to what we thought at the time was Evan’s PR (1:17:30), and then sprinting the final tenth of a mile on our own and letting the chips fall where they may. Which likely would have led to a finish order of Evan, Derek, and then myself, dry-heaving. :\

Evan Williams
I kept myself distracted from the impending pain by making a series of terrible jokes. And, several “don’t try to beat that guy” pointers in the direction of a handful of really in-shape specimens who had tights or shorts sculpted to their muscles. We would soon find out what kind of internal engines they had. Lastly, I located all the orange Club Northwest jerseys and tried to size up our rival competition.

Joe Creighton
I felt the typical “half marathon anxiety” on the start line. It’s gonna hurt, but I had about 30 minutes of painless running to ease me into it. I do remember around 7:27am Evan letting us know that he found out the night before his PR was actually only 1:18:13, which calmed me more, though I did wonder why he thought it was in the 1:17s to begin with. I probably farted at some point.

PART II – THE RACE

Derek Reiff
The end of mile 1 was about a half mile after I noted “Isn’t this so much easier than cross country?” We were just moving right along and we’re barely at 5:55 pace!

Evan Williams
I missed the first mile marker entirely. After my watch showed 7:45, I got concerned and asked Joe for the first split…5:55 I think, which was perfect.

Derek Reiff
“This is going to be a perfect race,” I thought to myself.

“Why does my left shoe suddenly feel a bit less secure?”

“Don’t look down. Don’t look down.”

(Look down)

“Ah shit.”

“How fast can I tie this shoe?”

“There should be professional shoe tiers on the course at aid stations, especially when it’s only 28° outside.”

“If I take a full 30 seconds to tie my shoes with my gloves off, can I catch up with these bozos? Would they wait for me if I asked nicely?”

Joe Creighton
“Oh geez look, Derek’s shoelace is untied on one of his shoes. What a noob! lol. So, wait…do we have to stop and wait for him if and when he decides to tie his shoe?”

Derek Reiff
“No, no way. Joe would never wait. His whole online persona is dedicated to being shoeless. What a jerk.”

“All right. This is where my expert stubbornness comes into play. No shoe tying. Maybe I’ll even rip it off at the end. Now my pre-race routine will incorporate triple knots.”

Evan Williams
Into the express lanes around mile 3, Joe, Derek, and I took turns leading through the headwind and tucked behind some fellow racers for a moment. These other guys weren’t too pleased about our drafting and dropped off pace.

Joe Creighton
That guy really didn’t want us to be drafting off of him. We were less than 1/4 into this race, on a 20-person wide road, and he’s cutting me off while I followed Derek into the lead of our pack.

Evan Williams
The tunnel mile was warmer (nice!) and as soon as we pulled away from the others in our pack, they charged back to catch us again. We couldn’t figure out what their strategy was, but the three of us kept steady and eventually chatted and jostled our way to isolation, about 20 seconds ahead.

Joe Creighton
Shortly after Mile 4, in the I-90 tunnel, Evan exclaimed “this feels fast!” I tried to ignore him. I figured Evan would feel strongest in this race while Derek and I slaughtered ourselves trying to keep up with him. I didn’t want to hear him suffering so early. Shutup, Evan.

Evan Williams
I had been suggesting a slightly slower pace for a while. Derek agreed, but Joe seemed full of energy and pushed on. Derek yells out, “5:35 pace, if you care!” I cared.

Joe Creighton
I’m self-taught to just go off the mile markers and cross my fingers that they’re accurate. I heard “5:35 pace” but right after Derek said that, we passed the mile 5 marker in 29:40. So I maintained my effort.

Derek Reiff
“Hey look, it’s lifetime members Uli and Trisha Steidl! I didn’t know they had a dog. Why don’t they bring the dog to practices? I love dogs. Not a bad place for a house either. Uli seems too happy to be outside in 28° weather.

Evan Williams
Trisha and Uli Steidl gave us some hollers. I felt like a champ, having been encouraged by our SRC teammates, and VERY accomplished Seattle runners.

Joe Creighton
“38:50” was what I saw on my watch when I crossed the half marker during this interminably-boring stretch of course. “Hmm, that works out to a 1:17:40 finish time, assuming I pull a rabbit out of my ass and even-split this course.” My confidence dropped from 60% to 30% upon doing this math.

Evan Williams
The rolling hills started near here, which caused moments of separation between us three. Ups have been tough for me all season, but I came back on the downs in order to keep everyone together for a few more minutes. The half-way split was a little terrifying when I realized I needed to even split the tough second half in order to PR. I had a little rhythm going, but was almost completely certain that my legs didn’t have enough gas.

Derek Reiff
“I wonder if Uli has any recommendations for my upcoming Germany trip. My god, it’s cold outside.”

Joe Creighton
As expected on the Galer+Madison hill, I felt like ass and I was probably down to about 20% confident I could PR. And I was pulling away from Derek and Evan?! We’re all gonna fail. This sucks. 135 bucks!?!?

Derek Reiff
“Oh my god. Dammit.”

Evan Williams
Joe and Derek put a gap on me up the Madison hill. No choice, I had to let them go in order to save my own race. It was bittersweet, knowing that all three of us were comfortable enough to be okay with the inevitable split. We shifted into our personal mental spaces and end-game strategy.

Derek Reiff
“Mother.”

Evan Williams
I recovered a lot of time on the downhill, post-Madison. Not enough to catch Joe or Derek, but sufficient to keep on PR pace.

Joe Creighton
Shortly after mile 9, the Interlaken hill settled down a bit and I cratered in confidence. Call it 10%. And I was leading us! And I couldn’t even hear Evan or Derek behind me! I really needed to see a cute woman around this point. Or a particularly happy dog.

Derek Reiff
“I’m so tired of seeing Joe’s back get further and further away. I can’t feel my legs. Are my legs actually kicking? Let’s do some high knees.” Nope, high knees are not possible. Too afraid to kick my butt for a few strides in fear of legs snapping.

Evan Williams
I increased my pain tolerance in order to maintain pace, but wasn’t sure it was sustainable. Things were looking dire. To beat 1:18:13, I needed to be at least 30 seconds ahead for the last 0.1 mi. I only had 20 to spare at this point. I had previously caught a guy named Phil, wearing a 7 Hills shirt, but he went into finish-mode and clocked some impressive late-race miles. I decided to refer to him as 7 Phills. He was not catchable, but I had to find some motivation. The thought of Derek and Joe ahead of me, reaching their PRs left me fearing the chance of being the odd-man-out. I could see myself regretting a missed opportunity and resolved right then to redline my aerobic capacity to the finish.

Joe Creighton
Coming out of Interlaken, slightly past mile 10, I knew I had moved well up that relatively hilly section, but I was still wary from prior races of the ~2 mile stretch before the downhills come around mile 12. Then I reminded myself that if anything, I would have a slight tailwind for that stretch, and I would say my confidence rose to about 80%. By the time I made the turn onto Republican (mile 12) and saw all that downhill in front of me, I was up to about 95%.

Derek Reiff
Mile 11.5/12 brought my soon-to-be-last attempt at catching Joe. Little bit of road ice here. Got into my recent habit of doing raspberries in the air to relieve race-stress. (It helps, try it. A bit weird when passing, though.)

But since I was upping my pace to try and catch Joe, I started doing it every breath. Spittle started flying. Started thinking “Is this the mindset those crazy people are in when they cross the finish line with spit all over their faces? I’d better stop.” /wipes mouth off.

I think it helped, though.

Evan Williams
Red lining is paying off! 40 seconds to spare for the final 0.1 and some downhill ahead. Finally felt like I might complete the PR trifecta. My hamstrings had moved from painful to numb. A Club Northwest guy was closing on me fast, but I was flat out already and he told me to hang tough as he passed…a rival, but a gentleman.

Derek Reiff
The final mile-ish is almost entirely downhill. Super hard on the legs at this point. Joe’s really putting me away now.

Evan Williams
The final mile was the toughest mile. There are a few surprisingly hard rises in the last full mile that just about caused me to DNF. It felt like some external being was marching my feet up and down to hold as close to pace as possible. I was fading, but my watch showed 46 seconds in the bank for 0.1 mi.

Derek Reiff
“Is it possible that I could get top 10 at this race? I have no idea how many people are ahead of me, but it can’t be too many now…

“You’re 11 and 12!” says the guy as we enter the stadium. “Shit. Way to go, Joe!”

Joe Creighton
I entered the stadium knowing I wasn’t only going to PR, I was gonna come in under 1:17. For a brief moment I tried to think of a clever way to draw attention to myself as I crossed the finish line in victory. Raising your arms doesn’t really make sense unless you outright won…I can’t do a back flip. At least I don’t think I can. Eh, I’ll settle for a subtle fist pump in my head. I turned around and immediately saw Derek coming in right behind me. We squeezed in a quick photo but I admit I kept glancing at the clock, not knowing if Evan would make it and not feeling particularly confident.

Derek Reiff
One last guy. Passed right before I hit the stadium. Sprinted the grass in. Announcer said “These guys got up very early this morning to be here. Great athletes.”

Joe Creighton
It felt like we dropped Evan really quickly on the Madison hill around mile 8, which is a brutal point in the course to lose contact. I was merely hopeful, doubting he was gonna make it, as I saw the clock tick towards 1:18. If anyone could somehow rally though, I knew he had the stones.

Evan Williams
Made it! Ten seconds to spare and badly needing to descend from the world of suffering experienced in the final 5k. I got a little emotional as Derek and Joe went nuts…they weren’t sure where I was and knew the PR would be really close.

PART III – POST RACE

Joe Creighton
I’m at a loss on how the race could have gone better. I suppose all of us finishing together (me perhaps a second ahead of both of them and with someone handing me a cheeseburger immediately upon finishing, that would have been pretty sweet.) But outside of that scenario…

Derek Reiff
Why didn’t the race director postpone a week? It’s supposed to be 50+ next Sunday!

Evan Williams
With a little more care in preparation, I would have liked to be a bit slimmer and better on hill repeats. But, those are both minor critiques. XC season is a great training plan for nearly ANY distance!

Derek Reiff
I was really expecting to see something hot in the recovery area afterward. Did I miss it?

Evan Williams
I’m sure the post-race spread was tremendous, but I was hurting too much to consume anything more than a bottle of chocolate milk. I remember the days of eating everything in sight post-race. I think I am now better at pushing myself further during the race, such that all my systems need some freak-out time before I can think about digesting solid food.

Joe Creighton
As I now expect from running this race a few times and pacing a few times, the post-race spread was fairly dismal. I did do the full marathoners a solid and (politely) requested the Darigold chocolate milk ladies set aside enough bottles for the 26.2ers, so if any full marathoners want to reach out and thank me, I can be reached at jayaresea69420@skaforever.biz.

Evan Williams
After finishing something like this, I: find family/friends, drink water, walk around, try to jog a little, and then make a plan that gets me to a horizontal resting state as fast as possible.

Joe Creighton
We enjoyed a post-race breakfast at Roxy’s Diner near Derek’s house since he was low on bus money and needed a ride home. My notes state we split about six mimosas and Evan made some joke about diuretics that I don’t remember.

Derek Reiff
I added about 3 pounds after the race, from 11AM to my last 1/2 pizza at 11PM. No joke there.

Joe Creighton
When I got home, I announced my accomplishment to my lovely girlfriend, who then asked me if I got any milk from the grocery store on the way home.

Evan Williams
Succeeding at the Seattle Half has given me confidence that I’m doing something right with training. In some sense, that also means my other job and hobby responsibilities haven’t distracted too much from running. Thus, I can now say that I’ve improved my life across the board in a very busy 2014. That’s pretty cool.

Derek Reiff
These legs aren’t going to massage themselves. Man, I’m going to take it easy for a good month.

Evan Williams
Next up is a month long break of more casual running, with hopefully higher mileage. Then, I’ll race 10 mi at the Bridle Trails Winter Running Festival in January and start thinking about a spring marathon. The Escarpment Trail 30k in NY state is on my summer calendar already. It will be a vacation race to see my running friends from the east coast. Oh! I almost forgot, the Mercer Island Half on March 22nd. I’ve wanted to do it for years, as it’s the perfect warm up distance from my house.

Joe Creighton
Evan is bandying about the idea of doing something at Bridle Trails in mid-January, and as I said earlier, I have no conviction so I’ll probably do whatever he tells me I’m doing that day. Maybe run the 10 mile, maybe form a mediocre relay team, we’ll see.

Derek Reiff
Can I ask again, why does this race cost so much? Can’t top 20 get a partial refund? Frequent racers club?

Joe Creighton
It’s gonna be a bleak Christmas for a few important people in my life.

Evan Williams
My last thought on this experience is that it is extraordinarily refreshing to place in the top percentages of a community race after being a back-of-the-pack regular for the club XC season. When all-out efforts and PRs put you 10 places from last, you know your competition is a formidable subset of Seattle’s running population. 17th place at the Seattle half feels really nice.

Tags oral history, Race Reports, seattle half marathon

Featured Interviews Media

Shoeless Joe Interview #8 I Think – Justin Houck

Post author By Joe Creighton
Post date November 7, 2014

It’s almost the end of the year, so it must be time for another really long Shoeless Joe interview! I met Justin Houck awhile back (read: May) and was enamored by his thoughtful intelligence, sparkling wit, and, I’ll just come right out and say it, his elegance. This is a handsome man. I knew he’d be perfect for this interview format, and I think you’ll all agree!

********

Shoeless Joe: Hi everybody! I’m so excited to be back with my new favorite runner, Justin Houck (mispronounced)! And I’m not just saying that because I tower over him! I’m a big fan because he has the best house of anyone I’ve interviewed and who also let me into their home. A gorgeous spread overlooking Lake Washington, I admit I was mostly distracted during the interview which is the reason if you think this interview is terrible. But most importantly, Justin is an SRC member and wore an SRC shirt too, so maybe now I won’t be lectured at the next board meeting! Justin Houck (mispronounced), welcome! And thank you for sitting here with me, in person!
Justin Houck: Thanks for having me Joe. That’s a great stab at pronouncing my name and sitting with you is an honor. Let the interview begin!

SJ: I’m honored that you are honored! To be honest though I don’t know much about you. All I know is you were a teammate of Uli Steidl at the University of Portland.
JH: Well, you’re right in saying that Uli and I went to the same alma mater but he preceded me by quite a few years…eight years, to be exact (Sorry Uli).

SJ: Oh I see. In my defense, I didn’t have any time this morning to do any research. What is your earliest running memory and how did you get enveloped by the sport?
JH: I won’t take it personally that you don’t know me, Joe. Even if you did do the research, I’m fairly certain there isn’t too much stuff out there. As to my earliest running memory, I have to go way back in preschool where as a class we were running a 400 meter race.

SJ: Where did you go to preschool?
JH: I attended the prestigious North Central Preschool.

SJ: Never heard of it. Go on.
JH: I made a tactical error that day by wearing my nicest dress shoes rather than some sneakers. As we rounded the first bend on the track, I was way back and losing ground. My preschool mentor saw this and picked me up on his shoulders and passed all the kids to give me my first track race win. This may have technically been cheating but I basked in the glory of winning and since have never turned back.

SJ: Never?
JH: Well maybe a couple times, but I’m still going strong.

SJ: Wait a minute, I’m going to have to back you up a bit and ask you what in the world a “preschool mentor” is.
JH: You didn’t have a preschool mentor? Well…that explains a lot.

SJ: Thank you! But did your mentor also happen to be married to your mom? My dad helped me cheat a few times back when I was a kid.
JH: My dad wasn’t my preschool mentor in particular, but I definitely looked up to him. He’s not a runner per se, but he had moments that showed he could have been a good runner. I don’t know if my dad helped me cheat, but it’s always a possibility…

SJ: I hear that. Has your dad or your mom or maybe both or maybe other relatives seemed disappointed at your wanting to be a competitive runner?
JH: I can’t think of anyone that has been disappointed. At least they haven’t told me to my face. On the flip side, my family closest to me have been overwhelmingly supportive, especially my wife. Although some may get tired of the non-stop conversations about everything running-related. I just can’t help but to bring up another running story.

SJ: Well, it could be worse. My uncle actually left the room the last time I started talking about running. In his defense though it was a pretty dumb story and I don’t know why I brought it up. Got any good recent running stories for us?
JH: Recent running stories, hmm…What comes to mind is my father-in-law, who ran the White River 50 mile.

SJ: I’ve run that race!
JH: Anyway, during the race, he had several hard falls, but in the end he finished. A truly inspirational story with him completing chemotherapy only months beforehand and then finishing an absolutely epic race. I hope to be just running at age 63!

SJ: Wow, that is intense. I hope to merely be alive at 63. But that reminds me of a question I have…well, let me preface; you’re 33 years old, right?
JH: I’m honored you think I’m that mature. I’m actually 28.

SJ: Oh right, 28. You’re welcome! Well my question is regarding running style. Would you say *you* have a running style? Your dad has that…63 year-old, post-chemo ultra style. High schoolers have that eyes-glazed-over, can-barely-dress-themselves-but-think-they-know-everything-cause-they-can-finally-drive-to-the-mall style. College guys think they’re so hip with their tattoos, girlfriends, and cool haircuts. How would you describe your running style? Has it developed and changed over the years? Can you envision your style, say, 20 years from now, when you’re….however old you’ll be?
JH: Haha. You’ve totally pegged the high schooler style. I wouldn’t say I have any particular style. As you know styles change and that goes for my running as well. I used to be a peppy toe runner but my body over the years has molded a more efficient gait. More midfoot strike and less back kick. Perfectly suited for some speedy ultramarathoning.

SJ: Well, speaking of speedy, I think you know what it’s time for!
JH: I can only imagine.

SJ: Epic FKT thrown down there on the speed round Justin! I have just a few more things I wanted to ask you. Speaking of FKT’s, the one and only Joe Gray is on record stating that those known for them are “no bueno” and “Real athletes r known for competing, not practice” (sic) My question is: do you think you could beat Joe Gray in a beer mile?
JH: Hmmm I don’t really see how FKTs and a beer mile throw-down with Joe relate, but yeah I think I could take him.

SJ: Nice! Would you be willing to be our spokesman and challenge Club Northwest to an intergendered Beer Mile to Determine Local Club Dominance at Beer Miling?
JH: Most certainly!

SJ: You used to work with the world-famous Joe Grant at Portland Running Company. Any dirt you can share?
JH: I don’t remember too much dirt. What I can remember is that he was a cool dude and he told me he was friends with the guy in the movie we kept playing in the store on repeat. The guy I later learned was Anton Krupicka.

SJ: So you’re saying Joe’s a name-dropper. That’s ok though, my name’s also Joe and I’m already doing that with your name! Is his hair real? I admit I’m a little jealous of it.
JH: I’m a little jealous of the Amish hat he’s been rocking. Instead of hair, you should rock the hat.

SJ: Before we go, I figured I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you about White River. That was an incredible performance. Your 6:26 was the fastest Washingtonian time ever, and you still only have 52 twitter followers. At what point during the race did you stop worrying about leading your first-ever 50 miler versus some stout names and start thinking “you know, I can win this and in a pretty damn fast time too!”?
JH: To be honest, I came into the race thinking that I could win and with a pretty darn fast time. I projected myself at 6:30 and left Sage’s record for an ultimate goal. During the race I didn’t think much about time until about a few miles left. I did a quick calculation and realized Sage’s time was impossible. I didn’t know Anton’s time but if I did I probably would of gone a little harder at the end…oh well.

SJ: Any plans on increasing that twitter following?
JH: Well yeah, as for twitter followers, I thought 52 was good. No plans yet but you definitely have instilled some embarrassment on only having 52–

SJ: I have 132.
JH: …

SJ:You handily won the Crystal Mountain Sky Marathon, you placed 4th at the hotly-contested USATF Trail Half Marathon National Championships, and most recently you cake-walked your way to the PNTF XC 10k title at Lower Woodland Park. Where do you predict we’ll be seeing Hawkeye in the months and years to come?
JH: If you mean races, I’ll be at the The North Face 50 Mile Endurance Run in San Francisco in December. Maybe a beer mile in January? Boston Marathon? The 2015 Sky Running Ultra Series? Western States and/or UTMB someday. Other than that, you can probably find me running around Seattle.

SJ: Is there anything you’ve always wanted to ask me?
JH: I was recently asked on a run if I was completing an FKT. I was a little frustrated by this and told the guy “No, I’m just trying to run up and down the mountain safely.” What do you think of FKTs and Strava? Do you think someone will die from trying to complete an FKT?

SJ: What is Strava?

Call for Comments

Which is your favorite whiskey?
Do you want to take part in our beer mile?
Do you think someone will die trying to complete an FKT?
Do you have Twitter? If so, follow Justin! And me!

Call for Support

Did you enjoy this? Are you already a club member? If not, consider becoming a member! Our partner stores (Balanced Athlete and Fleet Feet) also accept cash and most major credit cards and are fully stocked with excellent Thanksgiving or Veteran’s Day gift ideas!
Did you not enjoy this? 🙁

Prior Episodes

All photos & video: Terry Creighton

Tags beer mile, interview, Justin Houck, Old Crow, shoeless joe, videos

Race Reports Uncategorized

Cougars, Coozies, and Cookies

Post author By Joe Creighton
Post date October 28, 2014

Volunteering may be something I *have* to do to fulfill my legal obligations as a famed member of the #SRCBrooks team for 2014, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve dreaded any of my duties this year on Cougar Mountain. Well, aside from that one awful wheelbarrowing task back in July which only reminded me that my oven mitts are probably better suited for getting manicures than manual labor. All in all it’s been rewarding and fun and dare I say pretty easy at times!

A couple days ago I found myself yet again pulling into the Sky Country trailhead parking lot with no intention of racing. I was there to work the “Finish Line” at the fall Cougar Mountain races, which includes 8mi, 20mi, and 50k distances. I had actually already fulfilled my volunteer hour requirement, so “Finish Line” sounded like a nice & effortless victory lap of sorts after a summer of wheelbarrowin’, aid-stationin’, and John Wallace-ignorin’. I would high-five finishers and hand them socks and beer coozies and they would thank me and hug me and maybe ask me out on a date (to which I’d decline because I have a girlfriend and she might read this post but probably won’t).

The following is a running diary I kept during the day on my phone.

*****

8:19am: I’m here! Parked, almost on time for my 8:15 shift start!

8:30am: Megan the volunteer coordinator just asked if I’d be willing to run to the mile 6.5 fork in the road and direct 8 milers to the right towards the finish line and the 20 milers and 50kers to the left and far away from the finish line. I really want to say no because I could see them setting up the food tent (with cookies!) like 20 ft away, but Erik Barkhaus, my 22 year old #SRCBrooks teammate and Finish Line co-worker today, hasn’t showed yet. So off I’m going.

8:33am: I’m slightly lost, not sure how I got off track so quickly.

8:47am: Ok I asked a nice old couple and they helped me find the right trail, and I’m here at the 6.5 mile fork.

9:35am: Lots of cool and happy people have run by! I am hearing a lot of British accents actually, which is kind of weird. Are they all related? I have been called “mate” three times too. Yeah, that’s the punchline to that anecdote, by the way.

10:10am: By and large the racers are much happier to see me than people usually are, especially QFC employees. If I’m being honest. I mean, I would literally eat garbage off their sticky floor if a QFC employee looked at me like this:

cougar8mi

10:35am: I went off trail twice but I’m back to the finish line to start doing what I originally signed up for. Eric Sach (owner of The Balanced Athlete and apparently now *not* the owner of razors at home) directed me on how to size runners for socks. It all sounded really complicated and I hope Erik can handle that specific task. I threw away my application to work at The Balanced Athlete while walking by the food tent for a cookie.

11:04am: Our first 20 mile finisher just arrived, #SRCBrooks teammate Martin Criminale! Addy Davis, the 2nd place finisher, was only 45 seconds behind! Erik and I were immediately thrown in “rush hour” and I’m sure one of them got the wrong size socks 🙁 Erik’s fault though 😉

11:15am: Beth Steen finishes 3rd overall and first for women! I think on the spectrum of “amazingly happy to see me” to “pretty damn miserable to see me,” Beth was squarely right smack dab in the middle. I’ll take it!

11:25am: The conversation with my coworker is currently kind of weak so I showed Erik a SICK youtube video of this guy’s awesome energy drink can collection, trying to see if we have any similar interests besides running and wearing Brooks running clothes and shoes. He’s probably a smart guy but I gotta say I’m not impressed with Erik’s knowledge of the energy drink culture.

11:40-11:50am: Big rush of finishers, I think I’m developing a callous on my left hand from picking up beer coozies and recklessly throwing out high-fives, so I took a cookie break. I’ve run the 50k at this race before and I have to say so far I’m impressed with the composure of the finishers. While most don’t laugh much at my jokes, they seem coherent and happy to have raced and finished.

12:05pm: Fellow #SRCBrooks’er Evan Williams has come over from the food tent and he bears gifts! By which I mean a cup of soup, which looks really good as I’ve started to get pretty cold standing mostly still at the rainy finish line. Well, he brings a cup for soup for himself and says I’m free to go get my own. So I get one…and why not, a cookie for dippin’.

12:12pm: When I got back the three of us brainstormed the best unusual pizza toppings. Everyone laughed at mine though I’m not sure what’s so funny about tortilla chips.

12:16pm: One of the afore-mentioned British racers just finished and wasn’t receptive to my high-five. He left me hanging in front of what was probably tens of people. I think it was a culture thing, not malicious. Unfortunately Evan and Erik were among those tens and are having a good laugh about it.

12:30pm: Spent 5 whole minutes explaining to Erik about this drink from my day (Erik is only 22 I think, did I mention that?) called “Caffeine Free” Pepsi that was like regular Pepsi but only drank by your middle-aged relatives at family reunion picnics and I think was only sold in the summer. Erik confuses me by saying “cool” but with not much enthusiasm.

12:40pm: Olin Berger is the 50k champ, and wearing a beautiful SRC singlet to boot! Some may recognize Olin as the 2014 Fat Glass 50k champ (see below) but ironically he was dirtier after that race than today’s muddy mountain run. I just said to him something like “A performance like that deserves a cookie!” (but more witty in the moment, I swear) and I went to get him one but then I forgot to give it to him and accidentally ate it.

Race leader Olin “that’s not how you pronounce my name” Berger through four loops and feelin dirty. #fatglass pic.twitter.com/3Rppu8A86x

— Seattle Running Club (@SeattleRunning) September 27, 2014

1:10pm: I can’t decide if I’m more impressed with the racers or with their friends and family patiently waiting at the finish line in this windy, rainy weather. I think they deserve at least a beer coozie too if not a pair of dry socks. They don’t even seem to be partaking in the cookies at the food tent. Heroes.

1:15pm: I found an app for my phone and Erik helped me figure out that my eyebrow hair is growing an average of 1/16″ per day! I’ll just say he didn’t not seem impressed. Phones these days!

1:25pm: Ugh, kind of embarrassing. I made a really funny joke (IMO) and Erik I think pretended not to hear me even though it was pretty obvious he did because I said it plenty loud so to get the upper hand I decided to retell the joke but then I mispronounced the word “Nantucket” and the whole thing was ruined so I did the first thing I could think of and that was to go to the food tent and get another cookie. Damnit!

2:20pm: Erik’s friend and ride and fellow SRCBrooks’er Matthew McClement has showed up after his volunteer gig at the Highway 900 aid station and now Erik is threatening to leave any minute. :\ Also I’m pretty sure they’re talking about me.

2:58pm: Erik is still here, still talking about leaving.

3:12pm: Uh oh, I just realized I gave two women *last year’s* Cougar tech shirt. I am already thinking of ways to blame John Wallace.

3:16pm: Erik finally left. It was fun getting to know him but I just don’t think we share enough life interests to really take our friendship to the next level. Unless he changes my mind. I’ll email him tonight.

4:37pm: It’s been 20 minutes and there are still three people out there. And their friends are waiting and it’s apparent that the friends are nervous. Two of them arrive though, separated by only a minute. You can almost see the breath of relief leave their friends’ mouths.

4:43pm: Nancy is the latter of the two recent finishers and after skillfully receiving my gift of socks and beer coozie, she more or less immediately turns around and heads back out. “Where is she going?! Doesn’t she want a cookie?!” I ask her friend who’d been waiting patiently the past hour. “She’s crazy!” she replies. Fifteen seconds later, Nancy re-emerges from the woods with Sherrard Ewing, the final finisher in 8:41.

This is what happens during muddy and wet and windy and arduous trail runs. You meet people you’d otherwise never meet and you suffer together and then you separate. Maybe you’ll see each other at another suffer-fest. Maybe never again. Who knows where these two met on the course and how long if at all they ran/hiked/ate/swore together. At some point and somehow they bonded enough that Nancy, rather than luxuriating with hot soup and cookies and warmth that she’d definitely earned over the course of 8.5+ hours today, headed back out into the muck to help bring in her new compadre.

*****

All in all, it was a great day for racing, especially those well-versed in late-October weather here in Seattle. Many other volunteers were working a lot harder than me Sunday to make this race happen, but it always feels good to at least lend a small, delicate hand. I know from experience that the course is pretty brutal and how happy it can be to finally cross that finish line and be done with it all. Seeing it from the other side, up close on so many people’s faces, was a joy that more than made up for the wet and the cold and the fact that the food tent eventually ran out of cookies.

You won my heart years ago, Cougar Mountain, and I’ll see you in 2015!

Tags Cougar Mountain Series

Featured Interviews

9000 Days – A Visit With John Wallace

Post author By Joe Creighton
Post date August 20, 2014

Hey everyone! Aren’t we all excited for that Saved By The Bell feature on Lifetime in a couple weeks? While I wait, I sat down for a mini interview with fellow #SRCBrooks member John Wallace! I would beat John in most races that are shorter than 24 hours long (pauses for applause), but I can’t hold a candle to his consistency and longevity. Not only is John *really* old (he has two kids!), he’s run, as of today, 8,999 days in a row! Tomorrow is the big #9,000, so we thought we’d honor his odd addiction with some prime website real estate. Enjoy!

(If you’re not into reading and would rather just run with John, tomorrow he’s inviting anyone/everyone to join him for the 9000th run. Details here.)

********

SJ: Hi John, I’m Joe. We met at a couple SRC board meetings, in case you don’t remember me. Win Van Pelt told me to interview you about some “9000 days, 9000 miles” something or other. I could barely decipher his email. Do you know what he’s talking about?
JW: Hi Joe, or do you prefer Mr. Creighton?

SJ: Mr. Creighton will be fine.
JW: Yes, tomorrow, August 21st, will be my 9000th consecutive day of running.

SJ: 9000 days in a row?! Wow, that’s like…35 years ago right?! You can’t be much older than 40. Did you really start when you were only 5 years old?
JW: That’s closing in on 24 full years and year 25 will start on New Year’s Eve. It started on a cold wintery Michigan day; December 31st, 1989. I thought I’d get in some training miles for a New Year’s Day 5 mile race. I started the streak a few days before my 14th birthday, of course not intending to run everyday for a full week or month, much less a couple decades. There isn’t really anything special about the first run. It was just our regular 4 mile loop and I didn’t even take an accurate time. The race went well and I went out again the next day. After a week straight, my dad placed a bet. The first person to miss a day has to pay the other one $20. Another week passed and still going strong. January passed and I wasn’t about to lose $20. Two months, six months and finally a whole year passed. Today, I am the youngest person to get to 9000 straight days. About two years younger then the next guy who is #3 on the active list with 43+ years right now.

SJ: How long before CPS rescued you from your dad? rotflmao!
JW: Luckily head of CPS was also a local streak runner. He was actually disappointed I didn’t start earlier.

SJ: What counts as a “running day”?
JW: The official definition of a running streak, as adopted by the Streak Runners International, Inc., and United States Running Streak Association, Inc., is to run at least one continuous mile (1.61 kilometers) within each calendar day under one’s own body power (without the utilization of any type of health or mechanical aid other than prosthetic devices).

Running under one’s own body power can occur on either the roads, a track, over hill and dale, or on a treadmill. Running cannot occur through the use of canes, crutches or banisters, or reliance on pools or aquatic devices to create artificial buoyancy.

Technicalities aside, run a complete mile every day without stopping. Watch out for time zones, International Date Lines, and taking naps after 11pm.

SJ: So you started the streak when you were 14 years old. That means it spanned your entire high school tenure. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you weren’t homecoming king.
JW: Correct. Although I had my picture taken with all the homecoming queens (benefits of my father being official school photographer).

SJ: Were there ever any close calls in high school or college? I’m thinking along the lines of…you’re in the back of your dad’s Impala with Susie, and you see it’s 11:47pm and you still haven’t gotten your run in. Are you telling me you actually told Susie to hang tight while you squeezed in a quick mile?
JW: A couple of minor updates on the facts: it was a Plymouth Reliant and 11:53pm. Not any extremely close calls. I did miss the end of Twister to get a mall parking lot mile in. I think I missed the end of The Lion King as well but not sure why I was watching that in college anyway. Had an emergency appendectomy my junior year of college and ran 12 hours after that, trying to keep the glue from coming apart on my incision. Everyone that knew about the streak in high school or college would not let me miss a day. They all said “not on my watch.” So it was pretty easy to get in the miles.

SJ: Your friends sound pretty sadistic. Having started so young, you surely learned the hard way about how to best schedule around events and potential emergencies. What was the most recent lesson you learned?
JW: Have backup plans for your backup plans. I can’t be leaving my 6-year old to watch my 1-year old while I head out on an easy 10. You generally can find 10-15 minutes in your day to get in a mile. I haven’t had any jeans runs lately so planning must be going well. I have amazing neighbors and family that can help out with the kids in a crunch. It’s actually much tougher to convince my wife to keep them for a six-day run. But that’s another story!

SJ: You obviously have a(n admittedly harmless) form of OCD that you might need to see a therapist about, but can you look into the future and see any potential events or causes that could force your hand and have you end the streak?
JW: There are no specific threats but there are things I know I won’t be able to do unless/until the streak ends. Summit Mt. Everest. Space Walk. Command a nuclear submarine (unless there was a treadmill on board). I suppose amputation might be something to worry about. I have heard anecdotal evidence of women running close to or on the days of giving birth. That’s hard core!

SJ: I’m going to guess this isn’t the only “streak” you’re in the midst of…spill the beans John.
JW: I had a few mini streaks during the main streak. I ran only in daylight for a full year, which is harder than it sounds. I ran a minimum of 2 miles per day for a year. I ran 4 miles a day and only 4 miles for a whole month. You have to mix things up!

SJ: You sound like a wild man. Based on your experiences growing up and now being a grown adult father, how will you feel if any of your own kids want to follow in dad and grandpa’s footsteps? Would you recommend it to them?
JW: My son and I just had to walk 0.3 miles *downhill* from the parking lot to work today.

SJ: Wait, your 6 year old son has a job? Maybe I should call CPS on *you*!
JW: If you call playing Jetpack Joyride, organizing Pokemon cards, and sketching Angry Birds then you got me!

SJ: I like Angry Birds!
JW: Anyway, he was not happy with that walk and wanted to be dropped off at the front door. I’m not too worried about him yet. He’ll have to ramp up pretty quickly though because there is a guy that started at nine years old erasing all my “youngest to xxxx days” records. He already has a few races under his belt though and likes to be first at everything. It’s not something I’d force on him, but if it came naturally that would be great.

SJ: If I were you, I’d make an event of this 9000th day. Like a group run or something, followed by cake. You ever consider that?
JW: Great idea. 5:30am. Corner of California Ave SW and SW Alaska St in West Seattle (Map. 5-6 miles. If you’re not in the Seattle area, I’m looking for folks to combine all their mileage run on that day in the hopes of reaching 9000. Obligatory Facebook Event Page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/927089323984849/

Or go straight to the mileage entry page on 8/21: http://bit.ly/9000days

SJ: On a scale of 1-10, how much do you *really* believe that your dad doesn’t owe you $20?
JW: So it’s $20 per year, which will be $500 at the end of this year. As there is definitely no fame or fortune involved in this endeavor, I’d give it a solid 10. Let me reread that poorly worded question…I’ll just say that I believe he’s run all 8999 days in a row as well and we’ll both see how 9000 goes tomorrow!

SJ: Final question. With your ability to stay healthy, I bet people would love to know what your favorite pair of Vibrams are!
JW: I do have a great pair of hiking boots with Vibram outsole. For running I love the Brooks Launch, Ghost and want to try out the new Grits.

SJ: Good enough! Any Plans for the 10,000th day?
JW: Take a day off? 🙂
Maybe take another crack at the fastest run across America?
Maybe a 10k with my almost 10 year old?
Day 20,000 or 25,000 will be a big celebration!
Maybe cake…?

SJ: I like cake!

Prior Episodes (warning: much longer and harder to get through)

Tags interview, john wallace, shoeless joe, vibram five fingers

Race Reports

Oooohhh…On The Cougar Mountain Tip

Post author By Joe Creighton
Post date May 16, 2014

Cougar Mountain Series History

Marathons, 5Ks, 100 milers, Ragnars, 12Ks, whiskey miles. If you run somewhat regularly, you’ve no doubt been quizzed on why you run and what you’re training for and what races you like and what distances you prefer and do you do speedwork have you ever met Jodee Adams-Moore cause I have and have you ever run an ultra and well, why the hell not and wait where are you going? I’d just like to say I’m sorry for bombarding you with those questions at the Fleet Feet group run last month but I’m socially awkward and have no clue what to talk about until I’m certain you’re a Seinfeld or Fraiser fan.

If you had harrassed me with the questions listed above, I’d probably refer to myself as a tried and true *distance* runner BRO who logs hella miles and reads Joe Grant blog posts and would totally be best-suited at gnarly ultras like the Hardrock 100 if I really *wanted* to. You’d look at my bald head and George Costanza physique and have no choice but to believe me, but my training* and list of races run the past couple years suggests otherwise.

*This includes weekly SRC Wednesday track workouts, which only perhaps further confuse my brain as I train with even less distance-inclined guys who somehow manage to lap me during 200m repeats. “It’s only cause I’m a hella milage *distance* bro,” I’ll tell myself while gasping for air.

No matter your preference, there’s something for everyone on the weekend mornings of Cougar Mountain races. One per month from May through August, there’s something for the roadie who’s never set foot on a dirt trail to the grizzled Pigtails veteran who only sometimes leaves the mountains and everyone in between. It’s been around since 2003 and has been the playground for many of the wacky characters many of us have heard about over the years in this occasional hotbed of running talent. Just browse some of the old results. In 2003 we had young unknown phenoms with familiar-sounding names like “Jodi Adams-Moore” coupled with a not-quite-the-Fleet-Feet-owner-nor-can-he-rent-a-car Brian Morrison. The future owner of the Balanced Athlete was only my age! Most of the women are running under maiden names you might not recognize today. It’s a time capsule, and with good reason. For someone like me, who can’t pick a discipline and type of running I want to move forward with, I can always rely on the Cougar Series.

So with the 2014 season opener to the historic series looming last weekend, and my lazy spring, the piddly little 5 mile it was. The 5 mile was my very first foray onto Cougar Mountain back in 2008 and I loved it enough that six years later I’m sitting here on my really expensive futon practically begging you to run it yourself (or any other distance in the series) before you die. Compared to the Fremont 5k, it’s an earth-shatteringly hilly course, but compared to all other races in the series it’s easily the gentlest. You climb for a bit after a mile, a bit before and after the aid station at mile 3, but for the most part you can let it fly. To put it another way, it’s the race at which you’re most likely find a Club Northwest runner. On that note, it’s also the race you’ll finish closest to Joe Gray if he decides to show up. I had run the 5 mile four times before last weekend, with what I think are spectacularly consistent results:

2008: 33:59*
2009: 33:31
2010: 33:41
2012: 32:57

*Interestingly, 2008 was the year I PR’d in the (road) 5k with a 16:40, a round, thousand second number I’ve not been able to touch since. As my track splits seem to also confirm my declining speed compared to then, my Cougar times are still somehow trending downward.

Last weekend I was back for #5, this though my first time as an “#SRC-Brooks” honoree. That wish to impress my new teammate Nick Symmonds, combined with the facts that I hadn’t *really* raced since last December and that short races terrify me, had me sweating bullets the morning of. But I had a good poo and ate well and made sure the hay was in the barn. Thirty three minutes and one second later I was done, two places behind the win, behind two fellow #SRC-Brooks “teammates” that I’m not ashamed to admit would have beaten me 99 times out of 100. Four seconds slower than 2012 but on a much sloppier and slower course. All things being equal, I probably ran my best 5 mile yet.

A few months ago I was still entertaining the idea of running the White River 50 mile in late July, because it’s been 3 years since my last jaunt past 50k and I need to believe I’m still a hella distance bro. But as is often the case, I’ve procrastinated and now I find myself only a couple months away from the race and really zero 50 mile-specific training done. Not even an obligatory Mt. Si ascent. Am I still an “ultra runner”? Does it matter? So far in 2014 I’ve raced a beer mile, a 5.2 mile leg in a relay race and a 5.14 mile trail race. In two days I’m going to race a road 5k and a couple weeks after that I’m going to look like am Oompa Loompa next to Brett in his purple spandex at the Fremont 5k.

TLC once famously said “what about your friends?” Well, at the moment my friends like track workouts and short trail races so I guess that’s what I like too. TLC also famously said “Realize the realism of reality treats” which I fully take to heart with my running. Realistically I’ve only got so many more “fast” miles on these legs. Lastly though, ultramarathons, TLC also famously said “Oh baby, baby, baby, I got so much love in me.” And I do. For you. Someday I’ll return to you and become an honest ultrarunner once again, but probably not before a few more of those historic Cougar Mountain races.

I like TLC 🙂

Brooks Ghost with Mud

Tags Cougar Mountain Series, Race Reports

Featured Interviews

Shoeless Joe “Where Are They Now?” 2013 Holiday Special Xtravaganza Facebook One Direction!

Post author By Joe Creighton
Post date December 17, 2013

Hello everyone! Welcome to a special “Where Are They Now?” edition of the Shoeless Joe Interview! I took all those awesome souls who let me into their lives and invited them to sit at a round table inside a Starbucks in Greenwood. Then I conducted mini interviews with them all, one at a time. Then I asked them to pull out their phone and txt message me a pic or two or ten and voila! After the Starbucks lady asked me to leave, I put it all together into this package. Sit back, perhaps in a Starbucks, and find out what everyone’s been up to!

Happy Holidays, and to all a great 2014! <3

******

JODEE ADAMS-MOORE

Date of original interview: April 9, 2013
Dirty Dancing or Pretty Woman: Labyrinth
Interview number: 5/6

SJ: I recently stopped by UltraSignup for my weekly ogling at your 99.5% score and saw you’ve signed up for White River 50 next July! Are my eyes deceiving me? Will you pleeeaaase chick me?
Jodee Adams-Moore: Chick me? Not sure what you mean by that but…I am now running for Scott and as they put on this grand event they would like me to run it. It’s about time I try a 50 miler and in my own back yard even better!

SJ: Speaking of, any #fun reactions you can recall getting from guys as you fly by them during a race?
JAM: I can’t think of any but I usually just start out fast and try to stay there, so there isn’t much passing anyhow.

SJ: What would you need to get out of the deal to allow me to tell people “My running is sponsored by Jodee Adams-Moore” because I totally haven’t done that already.
JAM: A nice little cabin with a wood stove and a bunch of windows dripping with crystal prisms.

SJ: :\ What do you hope to have learned and/or accomplished in the upcoming year, running or otherwise?
JAM: I’d like to go further into the space of floating – longer and at even more peace. I just want to further my practice of dancing within the ring of fire. I hope this ring travels to Europe. I hope this ring floats over to Isla de La Palma sometime around May 10th, 2014.

SJ: Besides your new Scott Sports sponsorship, what other doors have opened to you as a result of our interview?
JAM: Well the tap dancing has really just taken off, but I’m afraid I can’t talk about that now.

(ABBREVIATED) SPEED ROUND!!

SJ: This one is a request from a fan of mine (or maybe yours?) named “Max F.” that was so good I had to include it: “Least favorite way to open a beer?”
JAM: With my teeth.

SJ: What amount of annual salary would convince you to accept a job as a meter maid?
JAM: Good question Joe! I’m gonna have to meditate real hard on that one for quite some time.

******

SAGE CANADAY

Website :: Twitter
Date of original interview: November 13, 2012
Dirty Dancing or Pretty Woman: Pretty Woman
Interview number: 3/6

SJ: Most of our previous interview centered around the fact that you were borderline undateable but still pining for a cute runner girlfriend. And shortly after our interview you suddenly had one. Coincidence? What other factors were involved there?
Sage Canaday: I got really lucky! It just so happened that my dream girl came along and decided to put up with my shenanigans! We have a ton in common and she’s my ideal adventure partner. Dreams really do come true!

SJ: You’ve spent quite a bit of time traveling the world this year. Seen anything cool?
SC: There was this cool bird in New Zealand called the “Kiwi.” It’s like their national bird there and it’s endangered. I got to see one in captivity and it was really funny looking…kind of like a chicken with a super long beak.

SJ: What do you hope to have learned and/or accomplished in the upcoming year?
SC: I’ve learned that I have a lot more to learn when it comes to mountain-ultra-trail running. So far I think the White River 50 was my best 50-mile race ever…it’s kind of been all downhill from there. In the long-term though I want to be competing for the win in every ultra I enter.

SJ: What other doors have opened to you as a result of our interview, besides your improved roommate situation?
SC: Well the improved roommate situation was huge! I’d have to say the luxury of getting to travel from New Zealand to La Palma to Switzerland all in a year was pretty sweet. I really owe that to our first interview (you know, getting the word out there for my sponsors too). I also officially have Avery Brewing as my beer sponsor now (major plug).

(ABBREVIATED) SPEED ROUND!!

SJ: You mentioned getting “Plain Cheese Canaday” as a(n awful) nickname during your time at Hansons. Do you have a new, better nickname now?
SC: I’d like to be known as a “MUT Runner.” It’s also the title of a film project I’m working on.

SJ: What amount of annual salary would convince you to accept a job as a meter maid?
SC: Hmmmm. Can my title be “Meter Man?” That job sounds pretty priceless. It would have to be at least quadruple what I make as a pro ultra-runner!

******

GREG CROWTHER

Website :: Twitter
Date of original interview: July 24, 2012
Dirty Dancing or Pretty Woman: Dirty Dancing
Interview number: 2/6

SJ: Last time we spoke, you were nursing a long-suffering achilles injury. What is the status on that? Do you still like running?
Greg Crowther: I’m currently running about 50 miles a week, including some speedwork, and my Achilles seems fine. I’m enjoying the chance to train for races again, as opposed to being a fitness jogger. I guess I’m like a lot of people in that I have to be training for something.

SJ: You recently turned 40 and became a Masters runner. Has that caused you to think about your own mortality?
GC: Nope — I was already thinking about it. Has it caused YOU to think about my mortality?

SJ: Not often. What do you hope to have learned and/or accomplished in the year 2014?
GC: Running-wise, I hope to return to ultramarathons, starting with the Bridle Trails 50K in January. Perhaps the Mad City 100K and/or the White River 50 after that, if all goes well.

SJ: What doors have opened to you as a result of our interview?
GC: Well, my paper “Cofactor-independent phosphoglycerate mutase from nematodes has limited druggability, as revealed by two high-throughput screens” was accepted for publication by the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Coincidence?

Shoeless Joe Holiday Special - Greg with Joe Gray

Shoeless Joe Holiday Special - Greg's Book

Shoeless Joe Holiday Special - Greg at Bumbershoot

(ABBREVIATED) SPEED ROUND!!

SJ: Christmas is fast approaching. Wait, are you Jewish?
GC: No.

SJ: Ok good! What is one thing on Greg Crowther’s wish list this holiday season?
GC: A light running backpack for commuting. (Deuter Race x Air or something similar.) And some packs of those Honey Stingers for ultras. My friend Pam Smith (Western States champ) recommended them as being easier to chew than Clif Shot Bloks, and she’s right!

SJ: I agree, I love Shot Bloks! What amount of annual salary would convince you to accept a job as a meter maid?
GC: Joe, I gotta go. Happy holidays.

******

MARTIN MUDRY

Website
Date of original interview: December 3, 2013
Dirty Dancing or Pretty Woman: forgot to ask but probably Pretty Woman
Interview number: 6/6

SJ: Have you showed your girlfriend or boss or parents or other family members our most excellent interview, particularly the video speed round? What were their thoughts?
Martin Mudry: I got the following e-mail from a friend I rarely hear from:
“My mom just sent me a link to an interview you did. Maybe she saw it on Facebook…I don’t understand the world anymore. Looked like good stuff.”

SJ: As a public service, what words of wisdom/advice/encouragement would you give future interview subjects of mine before we get started?
MM: Be ready to be in it for the long haul.

SJ: What do you hope to have learned and/or accomplished in the upcoming year?
MM: I feel like that is such an important question, and sadly I’m not sure I have an answer yet.

SJ: What doors have opened to you as a result of our interview?
MM: Still waiting, at this point I’d be happy with even a window or two.

(ABBREVIATED) SPEED ROUND!!

SJ: What was the best (non-video game) christmas gift you’ve ever received? What’s the worst you’ve ever given?
MM: There were few feelings that matched the anticipation from wait for a battery to charge up in order to use a new remote control car.
I’m pretty bad about giving gifts, but think when I go for it they’re usually not too bad. Maybe some sort of art related thing that I end up liking more than the recipient?

SJ: What amount of annual salary would convince you to accept a job as a meter maid?
MM: I saw an opening for a position in the spring and remember thinking I’d consider it if it was $18/hour or more. Now I’d probably take 115k or more a year, but ya never know–life changes fast.

******

SARAH ROBINSON

Website :: Twitter
Date of original interview: December 17, 2012
Dirty Dancing or Pretty Woman: Dirty Dancing
Interview number: 4/6

SJ: Since our interview, you kinda blew up. You ran a 1:18 half and tho you fell short of your ultimate goal in the Chicago Marathon (Olympic Trials qualification), you still ran a 2:47 in just your 2nd serious marathon attempt. First off, you’re welcome 😀 Secondly, I guess my question is what happened to my Oiselle Rundies Model application? I never got a call-back! 🙁
SR: Blew up in more ways than one, I suppose. Yeah…we found someone a little less…ummm…

SJ: Oiselle is also blowing up. What is it like to pretty much be accomplishing things 24 hours a day?
SR: So much blowing up! Yeah when I look at short comings in Chicago, I also remember how much else is going on in life. The picture is bigger than finish lines. This summer was a dream…on location photoshoot in Bend starring Lauren Fleshman, walking the runway in NYC, launching an amazing F13 line on Oiselle.com. I have a good life.

SJ: What do you hope to have learned and/or accomplished in the upcoming year, running or otherwise?
SR: How to enjoy the process and respect the accomplishments along the way. I’m an all or nothing person, that can be dangerous…especially when you find yourself on the nothing side. My glass is never half full or empty. That thing is either spilling over or bone dry.

SJ: What other doors have opened to you as a result of our interview?
SR: So many! I’m guest starring on a past episode of 30 Rock as Liz Lemon’s BFF.

Shoeless Joe Holiday Special - Sarah Robinson

Shoeless Joe Holiday Special - Sarah and a Oiselle photoshoot

Shoeless Joe Holiday Special - Sarah at New York Fashion Week

(ABBREVIATED) SPEED ROUND!!

SJ: Christmas Movie Sequel Showdown FMK! Elf vs. Christmas Story vs. Home Alone
SR: Write in vote: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Although I do share Buddy’s love of sugar.

SJ: What amount of annual salary would convince you to accept a job as a meter maid?
SR: Solid gold bars and Apple stock.

******

ULI STEIDL

Date of original interview: May 1, 2012
Dirty Dancing or Pretty Woman: Pretty Woman
Interview number: 1/6

SJ: You recently jumped into and won the Seattle Marathon for the 10th time. What are all your competitors doing wrong? How come no one can beat a bald 41 year-old?
Uli Steidl: Clearly, my competitors are running too slow. They could run faster by either increasing their stride frequency or stride length, or both. It is actually pretty simple.
And less hair means less weight, and less air resistance. That definitely helped at this year’s race, as anyone who ran it this year can confirm.

SJ: You’re going to turn 42 next year. What worries do you have about degeneration of your muscles and joints from all this running? What if you’re in a wheelchair at 50?!
US: Why do you feel it is necessary to point out my age in both your first and second question? Is that because you’re as bald as I am, even though you are 8 years younger?
Muscle degeneration???!!?!? Have you SEEN my legs??? Those are the best looking legs in town. Why do you think I always wear short shorts?
I will not be in a wheelchair at 50 from too much running. If you think I will, I happily take a bet with $XXX,XXX.00 wager.

SJ: What do you hope to have learned and/or accomplished in the upcoming year?
US: There are a few things I would like to accomplish next year, but I don’t want to talk about them publicly. I’d rather accomplish something first, and then others can talk about it if they want to.

SJ: What doors have opened to you as a result of our interview?
US: Sadly, none to date. Although I had quite a few people tell me they “read the interview with you by Shoeless Joe.” That was usually followed by comments like “Is this guy for real?” or “This guy is nuts!” or “You’re really patient. How did you not walk out this interview after the third question?” And those were the PG comments…

Shoeless Joe Holiday Special - Uli in 2006

Shoeless Joe Holiday Special - Uli in normal clothes

(ABBREVIATED) SPEED ROUND!!

SJ: I’m running my first ever beer mile in early January.
US: Congratulations! How is you training going? I know your time at Chico State prepared you well for the drinking part – only a Wazzu education could have prepared you better…but the running part needs some work.

SJ: Have you ever run one? If not, what do you think you could run one in?
US: No, I have not done one. Based on the official rules, a beer mile would require me to drink more than my average monthly beer consumption within a 5 – 6 minute period.

SJ: Would you be interested in participating in my beer mile?
US: Possibly. Over the years quite a few people said they would pay good money to see me get drunk. If there is a way to monetize this beer mile, I’m interested.

SJ: What amount of annual salary would convince you to accept a job as a meter maid?
US: About $50,000. Plus benefits. That’s $25 per hour for 40 hours per week for 50 weeks. plus benefits. It would be boring, though. But still more entertaining than, say, updating websites all the time.

******

Call for Comments

Look at Uli’s hair! 😀
How much salary would you require to become a meter maid?
Predict my inaugural beer mile time!

Call for Support

Did you enjoy this? Are you already a club member? If not, consider becoming a member! Our partner stores (Balanced Athlete and Fleet Feet) also accept cash and most major credit cards and are chock full of great xmas gift ideas!
Did you not enjoy this? 🙁

Prior Episodes

Tags greg crowther, interview, jodee adams-moore, martin mudry, sage canaday, sarah robinson, shoeless joe, Uli Steidl