Time for a New Plan

"The best laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew,."  Most people think this famous line,  written by the 18th century Scottish poet, Robert Burns,   was original with him.  In reality, Burns copied it from a much earlier poem, the Old English epic "Beowulf."  Here is the original line in Old English.  "ofer swanrade secean wolde, mærne þeoden, þa him wæs þearf ðone siðfæt."  I know most of us have a little difficulty reading Old English so here is the modern translation as accepted by most scholars.  "The best laid plans of ultrarunners for electrolyte balance and hydration often go to hell-in-a-handbasket."


That is exactly what happened to me in the Tahoe 100, TWICE.   Yes, twice I managed to totally get my electrolytes out of balance, and twice it made me really sick.  The first time was in the middle of the afternoon the first day.  I realized pretty quick what happened and fixed it.  The second time was in the middle of the night and it effected the rest of the run.


It is almost impossible to add an exact amount of water to the bladder of any Nathan hydration pak, or any hydration pack for that mater.  Although the measurements are on the bladder itself, the slightest push, tilt or lack of attention will result in an incorrect amount being added.  If you are just adding water that is no big deal.  If you need 30 oz to get to the next aid station and you end up with 27 or 35, you will still get there with no problems.  Without knowing exactly how much water was added I never knew exactly how many NUUN tablets to add.  Just to be save, I threw in a little extra NUUN tablet.  If I added 12 oz of water I needed 3/4 of a tablet.  But I did not add 3/4 tablet, I threw in one whole tablet and so on.  I thought it best to err on the side of too much electrolyte than not enough.  Consequently the problem compounded itself.


Actually the first screw-up was not an accident.  At one aid station I added water but forgot to add NUUN tablets.  I soon realized that the mix was too weak so at the next AS I added one additional tablet to the number I needed for the amount of water added.  The mix still tasted weak so at the next aid station I added one more extra tablet.  By this time I probably had twice the recommended concentration.  After that aid station I started feeling sick so I ate a ginger chew.  By then the water began to taste really bad and was becoming hard to drink.  I ate another ginger chew.  I realized there was way too much NUUN stuff in the water.


I stopped at the next aid station and poured out some water and added plain water with no NUUN added.  I began feeling better in a while and by the Snow Valley Peak aid station  (mile 43) I felt good.  By the time I reached the Spooner Lake AS (Half way) I felt great and started back on the second loop on a 30 hour pace.  I still felt pretty good at Hobart (mile 56.)  It was now dark and very windy and cold up on the ridge and again I started feeling sick at my stomach.  I was reduced to walking most of the ridge to Tunnel Creek (six more miles.)  By then, the only thing I could eat was the chicken noodle soup.  I ate a cup as I headed down the "Red House Loop" trail, the hardest section of the course, for me anyway.  The loop consists of a very long, very steep, very slippery descent on a gravel road.  At the bottom are several stream crossings of very cold water.  Then you start the 4 mile climb back up to Tunnel Creek on another very steep, slippery gravel road.  (Slippery because of lots of loose ball-bearing size rocks, not mud.)  Things were made worse by feeling sick all the way down and up.  (I walked virtually all the Red House Loop.)  At the red house AS I again ate soup and that helped a little.  I was also eating ginger chews when I could find them.


I finally dragged myself into the Tunnel Creek AS, ate more soup and picked up a few more ginger chews and started out for Bull Wheel AS at about mile 70.5.  By the time I got there I had figured out that the problem was again incorrectly mixed electrolytes.  From Bull Wheel it is 9.5 miles to Diamond Peak aid station so I added a lot of water and no electrolytes..  I grabbed a few electrolyte capsules just in case.  The trail continues to follow the ridge for several miles before starting a 5.5 mile descent to Diamond Peak.  As soon at I started down this steep descent I felt good enough to run all the way to the Aid Station.  I actually passed a number of other runners.


By now I had gone all night without being able to drink even one 10oz bottle of Perpetuem.  I took one bottle out of my Nathan belt and put it in the  pack just in case.  I left the Hydration belt with Marye Jo at the aid station.  (Diamond Peak is at mile 80.)  I also only took two Honey Stinger packs and only ate one the rest of the day.  I could still only eat soup and Vespa.  (I have not mentioned my Vespa pouches.)  I think they must really work because I was eating virtually nothing but an occasional bowl of soup and a slice or two of orange and Vespa every 3 hours.  This is the stuff I was experimenting with that helps you burn fat instead of carbs.


I continued to eat bowls of soup and a few slices of orange and drinking nothing but water.  I did manage to swallow one electrolyte tablet per hour.  After the Hobart aid station we had a 1,000 ft., 2.5 mile climb to the Snow Valley Peak aid station at mile 92.7.  (Does any one else have a problem with a mountain named "Snow Valley Peak?)  By this time I felt good again and literally ran the final 7+ miles to the finish.  Actually, I raced a guy about 5 of those 7 miles.  He stopped about 2 miles from the end and I did not.  Then I could not stop because I was afraid he might pass me back.  Of course I never looked back to see if he is back there.  I am sure you know the rule.  "When you pass someone you must never look back to see how far back they are.  If they see you look back, they know you are worried about them and they may be emboldened to speed up and pass you again.  If you never look back, they assume you don't care that they are close behind you because you know you can speed up and run off and leave them if they try to pass you back."  Anyway, I never look back after passing someone, ever.


So what am I going to do about this problem?  (Electrolytes) I have two options.  One is to quit using trekking poles and run with handheld water bottles.  That way it will be easy to see exactly how much water I add and throw in the correct number of NUUN tablets.  I like the poles though, and intend to continue using them in any race with a lot of very long climbs like Wasatch, Hardrock and Tahoe.  I am going to start experimenting with other options in my training runs.  One is to use a waist belt to hold the water bottles when I am using the poles.  It is hard to get the poles back in the backpack so I may try a sling for the poles.  Another thing I will try is using the Nathan Pack but carrying an empty 20 oz bottle so I can add the exact amount of water I need.  I think this will be the best solution for when I run with poles.


Do any of you have any other ideas?

Link to some of the pictures I took during the race.

I took a lot of pictures during the first day of the race.  Here are the ones that are not too embarrassing.  Some were pretty bad.  Tahoe Rim Trail 100 Pictures.

Here are the pictures Marye Jo took at the race and some of the Tahoe area we took after the race.
Marye Jo's Pictures.

A few are repeated from the post earlier today, like this one.

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Tahoe Rim Trail 100

Last weekend Marye Jo and I headed out to Tahoe so I could run the Tahoe Rim Trail 100.  This is the most beautiful race I have ever run.  The course follows the crest for about 9 miles along the east and west sides of the eastern crest of the Tahoe Rim Trail.  This section is repeated four times during the race and has absolutely spectacular views of Lake Tahoe, Marlette Lake and Washoe Lake (near Carson City.)  The trail is fine granite sand from one end to the other and was the most comfortable trail running I have found anywhere.  It was like running at Veteran's Park here in Birmingham.  (The location of the Run for Kids Challenge)  Let me modify that.  With 21,000 ft of elevation gain and almost all single-track trail, it is not quite like running at Veteran's Park.  The trail surface is just as smooth.

Just before the 5:00AM Start

This is mile 50, the Start/Finish are at Spooner Lake.

And the Finish.  You might guess I was happy to be there!

I actually finished in 33:17:07 but it took a minute to get around to taking a picture.


Below are four pictures form along the course.  First is a section along the crest of the TRT.  
You will notice I am not the only runner stopping to take pictures.

Looking back at Lake Tahoe from near Tunnel Creek aid station.

One of many snow traverses.  Some had to have steps cut into them to be able to cross.  Some like this we were able to just walk up.  The problem was, in the heat of day they became very soft and slushy.  At night, the refroze and became treacherous.  If you slipped, it would be hard to stop your slide.

The approach to Snow Valley Peak, the high point on the course at 9,214.

I was about to forget this one.

I will post more pictures from the race and the area around Tahoe as soon as I have a few minutes.

Hardrock 100 Trail Work

I have a lot of pictures and video from the trail work and marking I did last week for the Hardrock 100.  I will post some of them as soon as I have a few minutes.  It was a lot of fun and hard work with some really interesting and amazing people.  Almost all had done Hardrock before, most had done it several times.  We worked on some spectacular trails, several blasted right out of the side of cliffs.  I only thought I was about to die on three occasions and was absolutely sure I was about to die on one.  Here is a brief description of the 4 work days.

 We arrived in Silverton Wednesday night and Thursday morning Marye Jo dropped me off at Ouray.  I went with the trail marking crew up from the Governor's Basin aid station location (about 10,500 ft) to the top of Virginius Pass (Kroger's Canteen) at 13,100 ft .  Most of the last 2,000 ft was all on snow.   Some of it was pretty steep.  One of the lower snow fields funneled into a couloir.  We had to traverse a 45deg. slope, at least 100 feet across and about 20 feet above the drop into oblivion.  That is where I knew I was about to die.  I don't think the trekking pole I was carrying would have stopped my slide if I had slipped.  After reaching Kroger's and hanging out for a few minutes taking pictures and trying not to be blown off the ridge by 60+mph winds, Everyone else went back down to Governor's except me.  Marye Jo had driven on to Telluride where we were staying the rest of the week so I continued on to Telluride.  I climbed down into Marshall Basin then up and over Mendota Ridge (12,500 ft) and then down into Liberty Bell Basin and took the Liberty Bell Trail down to town.  The hike down from Mendota Ridge to town was on "ground" not snow.  I could finally relax a little.  (Except for the lightning!)

Friday we did trail work up on Ouray's "Bear Creek Trail."  (There is also a Telluride Bear Creek trail and a Silverton Bear Creek trail)  This was quite a hike along about 2.5 miles of trail blasted out of the side of the cliff wall.  At places, a fall would send you down the cliff more than 400 ft.  We dug out a wash, (beyond the cliffs) creating a trail that can be safely traversed about 20 feet above the creek.

Saturday we scouted a new trail that will have to be used this year up from Telluride to Oscar Pass.  (There is a contested mining lease high in Bear Creek that is 300 ft wide and spans the entire canyon.  The owner has closed off the trail and threatens to post armed guards and have any trespassers arrested.) We also cleared a new path across Bear Creek "Telluride," Over a  large fallen pine.  The original route was too dangerous due to the 100+ inches of snow that fell in April and May that is now melting.  All the streams are at very high levels.  (crossing that stream was the 2nd time I thought I would die.)  I hiked up about 500 feet higher into La Junta Basin and intended to go over a pass to the old Hardrock course on Bear Creek and come back down, but I would have to cross a snow bridge over a raging creek so I opted to turn around and head back down the way we came up.  

Sunday was trail work up on that same trail, called "Ballard Mountain Trail."   We had to repair several washes on the way up and cross through about 0.5 miles of trail blasted out of the cliff wall.  This time the potential fall was more like 300 ft. but the trail was even narrower at places.  Most of our time was spent trying to dig a narrow trail across a very unstable, 100 ft wide section of a wash.  We tried to dig out a path at least a foot wide, but every time you knocked out a rock, everything above it slid down the hill.  We finally had a decent trail created that seemed OK.  Then someone pulled out one more rock.  This started a new landslide that continued to pull down more and  more of the hill side above us until finally a near car size bolder was released and that pulled down even more.  After everything finally stopped moving we had to go back and dig out about 20 ft of the trail again, hoping no more came down on us.

I feel like I got a pretty good workout.  You should try to keep up with Rick Trujillo (Hardrock board member and President of the Imogene Pass Run Board) for two days!  Even when he is carrying a chainsaw!  

A Little Experimenting.

It is now 25 days to the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 and over the weekend I did my final two "Killer" training runs before starting the taper for the race.  Very hard "back-to-back" runs are a good was to evaluate whether you are ready, not to mention that they are just plain hard!!  When I do these back-to-back runs I always make the Saturday run extremely hard which psychologically makes the Sunday run easier at least at the start.  I also decided to try a new supplement.  I purchased 4 packs of Vespa Sports Supplements from Zombie and tried them on Saturday and Sunday.  I normally carry Perpetuem and Honey Stingers on all my training runs.  Saturday I only carried Hammer's Perpetuem for an energy drink and Sunday I took only Honey Stinger gel packs with me.  Because Vespa is supposed to help your body burn fat instead of carbs, supposedly you do not need to consume as many carbs from Gu type products.  I gave it a test.  Both days I ate about half the carbs I normally consume during such a run just to see what happened.

Saturday was a 5 hour, 15 minute hill repeat workout at Oak Mountain State Park on my usual hill repeat "hill," the White Trail.  I start at the north trail head and run in just over a mile to Maggie's Glen.  From there I climb about 550 feet over three fourths of a mile to the crest of the ridge and then up to where the trail levels out.  The first 8 repeat took me 13:40 to 14:10 to run up to the top and about the same time to run back down. (Old Age!!)  The last two reps took a little over 15 minutes each.  I was tired, it was really hot and my water, mixed with NUUN tablets was hot and almost undrinkable.  NUUN tablets in water are OK as long as the water is cold or cool.  When the water gets hot, it really tastes so bad.  By the time I finished the Saturday run the temp. was 95.  I consumed a Vespa Pak just before starting and drank the second a little over 3 hours into the run.  I only drank two, 10 oz. flasks of Perpetuem during the 5 hours  which is about 1/2 what I would normally consume.  The run hurt about as bad as usual and I had no stomach problems.  It was extremely hot and humid (Alabama Summer norm) but all-in-all the run was good and I felt strong until the very end.

Sunday started out even hotter than it had been on Saturday.  Again, I drank a Vespa just before starting the run.  I felt really good for the first two hours but after a long climb up the Blue Trail to the East crest of Double Oak Mountain at Oak Mountain State Park I was beginning to struggle.  I ran the 5 miles across the crest to near Peavine Falls where I headed back down to get more water.  I only carried Honey Stingers and ate one pack every two hours (half the normal consumption rate) and by the third hour I was dying.  I had decided the Vespa didn't work.  Then I ate another Vespa (exactly at the 3 hour mark)  and within a few minutes I felt much better.  I finally make it back to my truck at about 4 hour.  By then the heat was almost unbearable but I still had to run more.  I got rid of my back-pak with very hot water mixed and grabbed my Nathan "Quick Draw" with fairly cool water in it, added a NUUN tablet to it and started off on a lap around the "swimming lake" on a new trail built by "BUMP" (Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers).  Then I realized my car keys were in the back-pak I just locked in the back of my RX300.   I retrieved the emergency key under the bumper and got the real key and was off again.

Although I was struggling with the heat again I felt OK and make it around the lake with no problems although I really do not want to know what my pace was.  (It was VERY SLOW!)  Afterwords, I lay on the ground about 15 minutes and drank cold water and cold Endurox.  Then I got in the truck and headed home.  I did stop by Bruster's and get a Chocolate Shake.  That was my reward and I enjoyed it with absolutely no guilt.  I had one Saturday, too.

Here is a link to an article by Donald?? about Vespa and I tend to agree with most of what it says.  I felt as good as usual and consumed less gels and endurance drink than normal.  There was certainly no feeling of super-power or even just a little stronger than normal but how do you compare two very hard workouts on the same weekend when it is 95 degrees by the end of the runs.  One thing I do not agree with from Donald's article, is his opinion of the taste of Vespa.  I found Vespa to have almost not taste at all, and it was certainly better than the NUUN flavored hot water I had been drinking.

In conclusion:  I don't know!  I may try Vespa in the Tahoe Rim Trail 100.  They don't seem to create any problems and maybe they do help.  I can guarantee you that I am NOT going to use them as a regular supplement for training runs.  They cost $ 5.99 per pack!

Weight Change During a 100-Mile Race

by Marty Hoffman, MD
and Tamara Hew-Butler, DPM, PhD

As is often the case in life, a little information can be dangerous. Then, as we learn more, we begin to recognize how complicated an issue really is and that we still have a lot to learn. Certainly, that’s been the situation with fluid and electrolyte balance during endurance exercise.

One thing that’s evident is that we’ve got to get beyond the idea that achieving proper fluid and electrolyte balance is simply a matter of replacing the water and electrolytes that are lost in sweat. Furthermore, just following your weight during an event doesn’t give an adequate picture of what might be happening with your blood electrolyte concentrations. Weight gain doesn’t equate to the development of hyponatremia nor does weight loss eliminate the chance of hyponatremia. For instance, in our recent studies at 100-mile races, we saw runners with weight gains over four percent who had normal sodium levels. We also saw runners with five – six percent weight loss who were hyponatremic. In fact, in the 2009 Western States Endurance Run, we found that half of the study participants developing hyponatremia had lost over three percent of their body weight during the race. So, the weight scale is of no value as a sole measure to estimate electrolyte concentrations.

What we can say about weight is that maintaining a stable weight during exercise will mean that one is likely to be over-hydrated. That’s largely because water is stored with glycogen (about three grams of water for each gram of glycogen), so when you utilize glycogen stores during exercise, you are releasing a considerable amount of water into the body. Most of that water moves into the blood stream. Assuming you start an event with good glycogen stores and appropriate hydration levels, you should actually lose around two – three percent of your body weight to maintain a stable hydration level. If your weight remains constant or increases during exercise, then you are likely taking in too much fluid.

We also now know that, contrary to conventional wisdom, there is no evidence that weight loss of a few percent impairs performance in ultramarathons considering the baseline weight is in the hydrated and carbohydrate-loaded condition. In fact, we’ve seen a direct relationship between running speed and percent body weight loss in our recent studies at 100-mile races. In other words, there is a trend for the faster runners to lose more weight than slower runners. Some of the fastest runners have lost five – seven percent of their starting body weight by the time they reach the finish line, feeling fine and without medical problems.

With this information in mind, imagine a situation where a well-intentioned race medical staff holds and forces a runner to drink because his weight is down five percent. The runner drinks a combination of water and energy drinks and his/her weight increases a little at which point he/she is allowed to continue. The concern is that we cannot know if the race medical staff might have just caused the runner to develop dilutional hyponatremia from the forced hydration. We certainly wouldn’t want to induce or exacerbate hyponatremia, and then send the runner out on the course where they could develop hyponatremic encephalopathy (brain swelling due to the hyponatremia) and progress to impaired consciousness, seizures and death. Conversely, the well-intentioned race medical personnel who advises a runner who has gained weight to increase sodium intake could also make matters worse. In such a case, the additional sodium could increase the runner’s thirst and cause him/her to increase fluid intake further and gain even more weight.

Therefore, it imperative for runners, race staff and medical personnel to understand and recognize that: 1) the scale is NOT a diagnostic tool and 2) body weight is NOT an accurate indicator of electrolyte status during an ultramarathon race. The signs and symptoms of emergent medical conditions such as dehydration/ hypovolemia, hypernatremia, hypoglycemia, heat illness and hyponatremia all overlap and can only be diagnosed through blood tests and core temperature measurement. Body weight changes should not be the sole determinant whether or not a runner is in medical “danger” but alternatively considered as adjunct information if the runner is symptomatic and onsite electrolyte analysis is unavailable.

Given this information, it’s evident that we need to adjust the conventional thinking that our goal should be to maintain body weight during an endurance event, that we are likely to be hyponatremic if we gain much weight, and that we are unlikely to be hyponatremic if we lose weight. But, how then do we use the weight scale during a race? The following guidelines are offered:

Runners and medical personnel should use caution in interpreting the measured weights at aid stations. Scales are not always calibrated or may read inaccurately if not on a level surface. It is more important to pay attention to the trend being observed.

Runners and medical personnel should recognize that they cannot use weight as a sole measure for the estimation of electrolyte status or for the provision of definitive recommendations. But, these loose practical guiding principles should be considered with caution:

Weight gain. The runner should be advised to reduce fluid and salt intake until urinating, particularly if there are signs of swelling (rings are tight, runner feels puffy).

Up to five percent weight loss. This is an appropriate weight loss, and the runner should be allowed to continue unless there are signs of distress.

Five – seven percent weight loss. The runner should be encouraged to increase fluid and salt intake and allowed to continue unless there are signs of distress.

Seven percent or greater weight loss. If mental status is satisfactory, the runner should be advised to increase fluid and salt intake. If vomiting or the inability to rehydrate is evident, the runner should attempt to recuperate until rehydration is possible before continuing.

In summary, runners need to understand the importance of responsible drinking during long periods of exercise - avoiding dehydration as well as over-hydration. A two – three percent weight loss during long endurance events is appropriate, will generally keep one at normal hydration levels and will not impair performance. Feedback from intermittent monitoring of body weight can help runners achieve this goal of two – three percent weight loss. But, the weight scale cannot be used to define electrolyte status, and any recommendations regarding fluid and salt intake based on changes in body weight should be provided with caution. Nonetheless, it would be appropriate for a runner to increase sodium and fluid intake when weight has decreased by five percent and to reduce sodium and fluid intake when weight is stable or increasing.

Getting Started By Gary Cantrell

I guess it is cheating to keep using articles I copy from Ultrarunner, but they are good, I give proper credit and things are really busy right now so here is another.

An article from Ultrarunner Magazine.

There seems to be a consistent demand for how-to articles on ultrarunning. Newcomers to our joyous sport eagerly seek advice on how to minimize the time spent as novices so that they can play the game without learning many lessons through painful experience. So, in answer to that call, I will offer you the tips of an experienced plodder. These are not secrets to becoming one of the great ones -- that is all done with talent and hard work. This article is about how to have fun. After all, that is what ultrarunning is all about.Not very long ago choosing an ultra was an easy task. If it was possible to find one within your geographical area, that was your race. 

Times have changed and now we see a great variety of choices in each month's listings. Since no one can do them all, and most of us can do very few, a selective process is necessary.The first factor to consider is distance. Weigh this factor based on your experience. If you have never even run a marathon, then do one first. Certainly many, perhaps most, of us can successfully negotiate an ultramarathon without prior experience at the marathon distance, but that is not the point. Ultrarunning reserves its greatest rewards for those with the patience to work toward long-term goals. The first lesson that we each must learn is how to take one step at a time; that is how every ultra is done. Marathoners deal with a mythical 20-mile wall. For ultrarunners there turns out to be a series of walls, each indicating a change in the basic nature of the race in question. If we bypass all these landmarks and run a 1,000-mile race after our first 10-km, then we have wasted the opportunity of enjoying the personal fulfillment at the successful passing of each of these barriers.

Here is an evaluation of the different race groupings as I see them. Most ultrarunners would agree with this division, although the exact cutoff points depend on individual ability and the nature of the course.

1. Races under 20 miles are your basic road races. Be it a 10-km or a 30-km, the factors to be reckoned with are roughly the same. Being able to finish is not the question; it is simply a matter of how fast.
2. The 20-40 mile distance consists, essentially, of races similar to a marathon. Fifty kilometers is technically an ultra, but it is run simply as a long marathon. At these distances mistakes no longer penalize only your finishing time, but bring to the fore the very real possibility of failure to finish at all. The 20-mile wall is real, and going beyond it while attempting to perform at the maximum of your ability is an accomplishment to be proud of.
3. The range between 40 and 70 miles brings us to the realm of the 50-mile and 100-km. The barrier we passed at 20 miles seems only to have been put there to prepare us for the bigger wall waiting between 40 and 45 miles. For the average runner, walking is now an important part of the equation for success. Still, these are essentially running events.
4. Races between 75 and 100 miles put us into elite company. Walking is now a major consideration and sleep deprivation becomes a new critical factor. If the barrier we conquered to reach 50 miles seemed demoralizing, the wall between that and 100 miles is devastating beyond description. Training and experience may render marathons and 50-milers routine, but even the great ultrarunners will tell you that 100 miles is always hard.
5. At 120 miles and beyond we reach the multi-day level (if you can run 120+ miles in an event that is not a multi-day, then my advice will be of no use to you anyway). At these distances the barriers are no longer clearly defined and periods of depression and elation rise and fall as inevitably as the ocean's tides. Here, during these ultimate running experiences, we one day reach the realization that no longer are we limited by distance, but only by the time it will take to achieve it.

So my first sage advice is to take each of these steps one at a time. Savor each moment of success, celebrate each passage into greater things separately, and, most of all, learn to appreciate the journey as well as its completion.

Now that you have decided to work your way up the ultradistance ladder, there comes the choice of which races to run. The variety here is almost infinite. There are the choices between road, track, or trail, and the great variation in race organization, from the small low-key events to the mega-races such as Western States. Again, my philosophy is one of gradual accretion of difficulty. Begin on the more moderate track or road courses and work up to the monsters.

As nice a dream as it makes, running one's first 100-miler at Western States is an error. First, why enter a lottery situation and take a slot that someone more experienced could have filled, someone whose dues are paid? Second, why combine two magic moments and ultimately get only half the thrill? Your first hundred and your first WS should each be savored individually.

When selecting your races, start well in advance, go through all the listings, and send for every entry form that interests you. Don't be afraid to ask questions about items of concern, such as probable weather, requirements for handlers, and so on. The information you collect will be useful far beyond that one year's running. The wise ultrarunner is out to experience every type of event available; if two of your choices are irresistible, then one may have to become another year's dream.

For your first race at some landmark distance you want to select a moderate course and a small event. The moderate course is due to the fact that your challenge will be merely to make it, and that is enough. Choosing a small event will mean that most of the runners and race people will know what you are after and you'll be aided by the kind of personal support that such a special occasion warrants.

Later, as the distances become part of your normal range, you can go after the challenges of the monster courses and the celebrations of the big races. Some will become annual pilgrimages and others you'll taste once only as you move on in the quest for new experiences. These decisions may not be so much conscious decisions as simply a feeling you'll have in your heart about certain events.

There is one final consideration in picking an ultra: location. Initially you might prefer to stay close to home and concentrate on the race itself. As he or she matures, the smart ultrarunner begins to think about more exotic locales. Ultrarunning constitutes more than just an opportunity to travel; it is a reason to travel. The average tourist visits a place by staying in a motel full of tourists, visiting tourist places, and, generally, leaving without ever really "seeing" the place at all. As an ultrarunner we go and spend our time with the local runners, doing something that gives us a genuine taste of the locales we visit.

Each year Tennessee is visited by millions of travelers. They go to Opryland and ride carnival rides, they visit the Grand Ole Opry and see a show put on just for them. They do a multitude of things that are found in every other tourist spot in America and then carry home cheap souvenirs stamped with "Tennessee," or "Smoky Mountains," or some such, which are identical to souvenirs stamped "Philadelphia" or "Hawaii." At the same time, about fifty out of these millions come for the Strolling Jim. These visitors sit on the porch of the old Walking Horse Hotel and talk, they eat a little dust on gravel roads, they cross creaky old wooden bridges, and they spend their time as guests, not tourists. These people go home with a genuine taste of Tennessee. Veteran ultrarunners call this the "s___ in the woods" tour. While some people drive cars plastered with stickers stating the names of places they have visited, I can point with pride to having defecated in the woods in places ranging from Maine to Hawaii. Sure, lots of folks have been to Pensacola Beach. I, however, have squatted amongst the briars in a swamp to relieve myself. They have passed through; I have been there.

So my third bit of advice is to constantly look for new places to race. There are only so many hot spots for touristing; there are an infinite number of wonderful places to visit.

By Gary Cantrell