406km Training Run

by George Audley

Hi All
The day after my 406 kilometre (251 miles) run and I have decided not to go
out for a jog for a couple of days.
My run started on my birthday at 10 am and the only one to see me off was
Christine. 8 hours later just before it go dark at 6 pm we pulled in for the
night with 55 k's (35 miles completed) Every 5 k's (3 miles) Christine had
waited for me with food and drink so she was also ready for a break. The
Camper was ideal.
Each day it was on the road for 6 am with a reflector vest on till it got
light. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th days were the same 75 k's (47 miles) run
This was broken up into 4 runs split by 3 x 30 minute breaks for meals and
rest, finishing just before 6 pm. The last night we finished at a service
station who served a lovely Fisherman's Basket. The last day was the
shortest with only 50 k's (31 miles). I think I ran too hard with Albany so
near and my knee started to trouble me, but nothing was going to stop me
that close to home. The TV came out to meet me along the road and that
picked me up and I cruised the last bit doing a bit of walking to make sure
I finished at the time I had said which was 2 pm.
The run was undulating with a constant headwind Main problem was the passing
road trains that almost pushed me backward but only got my hat once (Duck
your head or lose your hat) At about the halfway mark the rains came so I
had a backpack on with my rain jacket in because Christine could be a long
way off. All in all it was a great birthday present from Christine
A good training run for the Colac 6 Day Race in November
George

Hikers tackle Kokoda Trail

Hikers tackle Kokoda challenge
From: AAP From correspondents in Port Moresby
August 27, 2005

THE speed hikers are under way in a gruelling challenge race to be the first person to traverse Papua New Guinea's Kokoda Track on foot in less than 24 hours.

Four Australians, a New Zealander and 21 PNG nationals started from the village of Kokoda at midday today, each aiming to be the first across the Owen Stanley Range to finish before midday tomorrow.
A local favourite to win is Osborne Bogajiwai who has walked the track as a guide 270 times and is keen to win back his title of fastest track walker won in 1986 when he did it in 28 hours and 14 minutes.

Last year, Australian Brian Freeman set a new record of 24 hours and 59 minutes on his 40th birthday, sparking today's challenge race to do the track in under 24 hours.

The 96km trail is a gruelling trek over high jungle-clad ridges where Australian soldiers conducted a tough fighting withdrawal before the tables turned and they pursued retreating Japanese back to the north coast.

The organisers of today's Rusty's Super Kokoda 24-hour Challenge hope it will become an annual event.


Advertisement:
Early in today's race, residents of one village stopped competitors passing through in a bid to win compensation from organisers but police ordered them to desist and the race went on after a slight delay.
The trail from Kokoda to Owers Corner just north of Port Moresby usually takes more than a week and has become popular with Australian adventure trekkers keen to get a taste of what World War II diggers on the track endured.

Bogajiwai, now 43, said he was 19 when he set his record and the arduous walk would tell if his age would count against him.

But he said he was still fit and determined to win his record back and claim victory for a PNG national to restore local pride.

"It will be very, very painful but that's OK. We know the terrain and the rugged and steep bits."

The Australians and New Zealander in the race have teamed up as the "Anzacs" and expect the night-time hiking by headlamp to be a big challenge after so many hours on the go.

The race's oldest competitor, 51-year-old Charles Chambers of Kyneton in Victoria, hopes his endurance race experience will stand him in good stead.

He competes in many cross-country events and is current World Masters Half-Marathon champion but knows his first Kokoda walk will be hard and strenuous.

"There's no doubt about it, it will hurt, but I enjoy setting a challenge and achieving it. Definitely the locals have got the knowledge and we will find it difficult during the night.

"It's all about pacing yourself, it's so easy to go hard and run out of energy."

Prize money of 5000 kina ($2255) is up for the winner with another 5000 kina for beating the 24-hour mark.

World record to go at Colac 6 day race

WORLD RECORD TO GO AT COLAC 6-DAY RACE



The 20th Cliff Young Australian 6-day race looks like being one of the best ever with twenty nine runners having accepted for the race so far. This is incredible when you consider that the race doesn't start until the 20th November at Memorial Square, Colac. The field of twenty-eight runners includes fourteen runners from overseas. This is the second year that the race has been named after Colac legend, Cliff Young who won the inaugural Westfield Sydney to Melbourne race in 1983 and endeared him to the nation.



The race looks like being a battle between Claude Hardel from France and the contingent of four runners from Japan. Claude Hardel recently ran 923 km at the 6-day race in Erkath, Germany. He is also a previous winner of the Trans 333 which is known as the longest Desert race in the world.



The four Japanese runners that have been accepted into the race are Aki Inoue, Kenji Okiyama, Muneharu Kiroda and Katsuhiro Tanaka. Aki Inoue is a previous winner of the Colac 6-day race in 2002 with 800 plus kms and last year completed 304km in a 48hr race in America. Kenji Okiyama is probably the best-performed Japanese runner at the multi day level with a 252km at 24hrs and recently completed 407km in a 48hr race in Europe. Muneharu Kiroda is also an elite Ultra runner with several 24hr races over 200kms and recently ran 250km at the 24hr race in Taipei. The forth runner from Japan is Katsuhiro Tanaka. He has finished the Greek Spartathlon twice and has completed 338km in a 48hr race in 2005.



Australian Ultra Historian and this year's Race Commentator, Phil Essam, believes that with the quality of the top five runners in the field, the 6-day World record of 1023km held by Greek legend, Yiannis Kouros could be in jeopardy. “At the very least the top three runners will beat 900km in the six-days which hasn't happened in a Colac 6 day race for quite a few years” Essam was quoted as saying.



The race has been bolstered this year with the announcement of a $5,000 first prize for the race and a bonus $5,000 to the winner of the race if he has beaten 900km in the six days. “This is a tremendous bonus for the race and also a bonus for the sport in Australia, who haven't had a race with this sort of prize money for over fourteen years.” said Essam. “Hopefully the publicity generated from this year's race will have a flow on effect for the coming years” Essam was quoted as saying.



Of the nine remaining overseas runners entered in the field, three are from the United States, two from South Africa, 2 from New Zealand, one from Brazil and one from the Czech Republic.



The battle for the AURA Australian 6-day Championship looks like being a two-way battle between Westfield veteran, Tony Collins who this year won the Australian 48hr with 313km and Graeme Watts from Queens land who is previous winner of the race. These two won't want to falter during the race as Tasmanian runners, Peter Hoskinson and Vlastik Skavril will continue their battle around the Memorial Square at Colac and will be hot on their heels.



There are five women entered for the race so far. They include last year's winner, Dawn Parris, Carolyn Tassie from New Zealand, Sarah Barnett from Victoria, Heather Kick from the USA and Deb DeWilliams from Victoria. Dawn Parris with her wealth of Colac experience looks like being the favorite for the womens race, but will be chased all the way by the other three competitors.



There is still time to enter the Colac 6-day race, but runners had better enter quickly before there isn't space for any more competitors. The race will start on the 20th November and if you can't attend you will be able to follow it at http://sixdayrace.org.au . The web site will also have a webcam that people will be able to watch the race from all over the world.



For further information, please contact Phil Essam on 0407830263 or pessam@bigpond.net.au.

Interesting Training article

It's not ultra specific, but still very interesting

Mottram & Modern Training Methods

I wrote this article a while ago and since Busters Bronze Medal people may be talking more about his training methods.


Modern Training Methods

For over the past 50 years there has been a great effort put in by a multitude of experts to develop & present information to do with the training of athletes for better performance. There have been many theories that have been tested by numerous coaches & athletes that have been accepted as facts. Other ideas have failed or have been replaced by new improved ones. This is the nature of Science and by carefully learning from it we can develop better ways of training athletes.

The challenge is to know what to keep & what to leave behind. In recent years we have seen the emergence of the popularity of Pilates & Swiss Ball training for example. Large amounts of money have been made because people could market something different. In the last few decades with endurance running we saw the emergence of the Long Slow Distance approach and more recently the focus on much lower volume training at a higher intensity. With my own squad of athletes we have varied the balance of the ingredients over the years.

Australian Track & Field has had a disappointing few years since the Sydney Olympics . When Benita Johnson won the World Cross Country Championships in 2004 our athletes & coaches were thrilled and surprised. Then we were blown away by Craig Mottram’s 12:55 over 5000m. The interesting thing is that both Craig & Benita are in the same squad coached by Nic Bideau. The program they have followed is nothing surprising but it may be against the modern Australian or American train of thought. Benita often does around 160-170km a week with a long run of 1:45-2:00, a threshold run of 45min, a track session that includes abut 10km of reps mostly at 5-10km pace & her normal days routine is a 70min run in the morning & a 30min recovery run in the afternoon. Most of her training is at a heart rate which is at 70% of VO2max and Anaerobic Threshold runs are also done at the right intensity. The heart rates for both are determined from Laboratory Treadmill testing. Her strength training is quite simple. Craig’s program is similar to Benita but he often does 200-210km a week. Their coach emphasizes the importance of having the athlete not train too intensely in any session. There is a clear need for the athletes to fulfil the training sessions goals & not exceed the required intensity.

What is striking about both Benita & Craig’s breakthrough is that they are doing something that smells of the past but it is as if everyone else has moved onto a modern program of smaller volume & greater intensity with minimal success. This concept of volume versus intensity is one I have debated with many people & given great thought. A common program in Australia over the past few years has been a much lower volume (70-90km per week) but with a much higher lactic intensity all year. But the effects of this program has been to produce rapid initial improvement followed by unpredictable stagnation. Having seen some of the athletes experience many difficulties with the negative effects of the intensity I decided to quiz many of our more successful coaches including Norm Osborne (coach of Mike Hillardt 3:33) , Rick Mitchell (Moscow 400m Silver Medallist), Marg Crowley 4:01 & many others. Norm’s Middle Distance programs had 2 medium runs per week of 60min and a long run of at least 90min , he approached intensity with caution early in the year and built toward a more intense program which started to peak in intensity 12 weeks out from the first key race. His male athletes did close to 160km a week & many of his athletes had great longevity. I then did some more research on the Lydiard program & can see an abundance of evidence to suggest that his program & ones like it produce, in athletes who can biomechanically cope with the high volumes, long & successful careers.

I believe the best way forward for endurance athletes is to aim to do both the volume, at the right intensity to build a great base, while at the same time do activities on & off the track that will optimize the athletes efficiency & speed capabilities. This is where we return this discussion to Pilates & Swiss Ball. I believe that any type of mid torso work done well is beneficial & its even better if this work is integrated into their form drills & weight training as much as possible. Pilates & Swiss Ball activities have their place in any athletes training, however it is possible for athletes to have needs that are beyond what they offer. The athletes in my squad train at certain stages to improve their levels of strength in a range of mid-torso exercises eg hanging leg lifts, weighted crunches etc. At other stages they bounce medicine balls off walls to increase power & at other stages they do high reps of abdominal exercises (especially lower abdominals). It is all about how much time & adaptation resources an athlete is able to spend on all their activities. There is only so much time in the week & if they are doing hard running training then physical & mental recovery time is precious.

My current squad of mostly 1500m Middle Distance athletes are doing a program that resembles the main points of the Lydiard approach . Integrated into it is modern speed drills & mid torso training with a controlled approach to intensity, like Benita Johnson & Craig Mottram. Our program this year consists of 5-6 months base, 6 weeks hills/race pace phase, 9 weeks intense early comp and then the main race season. In the base period we are doing around 22km a week near Anaerobic Threshold (out of 100-125km a week). The athletes are staying fresh & eager to start increasing the volume of faster race pace work soon. We still have 5 months until the first important races & usually the athletes would be in much better race shape very early but they are usually under more pressure in training to see steady gains in more specific training. This year the group is more relaxed knowing that at this stage they are building a base & only need to feel ready for the upcoming period of intense work.

Young athletes should be encouraged to do a great variety of conditioning & strengthening training. Simulate the play of past generations & toughen them up. We need to develop a good training work ethic based out of a love of training in their early stages of involvement in this sport.

We need to never cast aside what has been proven to work with many athletes in the past while at the same time we need to refine the use of new strategies, especially ones that help in the implementation of tried & true methods of training.

regards
Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com
www.futuresprinting.com
www.futuremiddledistance.com

Leanhorse Photos

http://www.leanhorse.com/photo-gallery.html

Cle Elum 50 km Ridge Run

September 17, 2005





Name:________________________________________________

Mailing Address:________________________________________

City:___________________________ State/Province:________

Zip/PC:_________

Email: ________________________________

Phone:______-____________________

Age on Race Day:___________________

(Circle) Male/Female

Please fill out and return with fee to

Krissy Sybrowsky P.O. Box 4037 Seattle, WA 98194

Fee in U.S. Funds

Please make payable to Krissy Sybrowsky



BEFORE SEPTEMBER 1

$ 55 covers run (insurance, permits, aid food, etc) and finisher’s award



$70 AFTER SEPTEMBER 1



Proceeds benefit Kititas County Emergency Radio Club



Host Hotel:

Stewart Lodge

(509) 674-4548

www.stewartlodge.com



RELEASE (each participant must sign)

“In consideration of the acceptance of my entry, I for myself, my heirs,
executors, administrators and assigns waive, release and discharge any and
all rights and claims or damages against the race directors, race
workers/volunteers, the State of Washington, US Forest Service, USAT&F, Plum
Creek Timber, Kititas County Radio Club and all sponsors for claims arising
from my participating in the Cle Elum 50 km Ridge Run. I attest and verify
that I have full knowledge of the risks involved in this run and that I
assume those risks, and that I am physically fit and sufficiently trained to
participate in this run.”



Signature:_______________________________________________ Date:
______________



You will be notified via email or phone call of your acceptance to the race.
A runner’s packet will be mailed September 1st.

Top 20 Leadville Results

1 0014 Matt Carpenter Manitou Springs, CO 015:42:59 M4 1
2 0539 Dan Vega Colorado Springs, CO 019:03:01 M3 1
3 0570 Erik Solof Denver, CO 019:15:16 M3 2
4 0004 Joe Kulak Lakewood, CO 019:28:37 M3 3
5 0280 Mark Hartell Meerbrook, Staffs, UK 019:35:19 M4 2
6 0015 Brian Fisher Littleton, CO 019:51:10 M3 4
7 0541 Nikki Kimball Bozeman, MT 020:28:21 F3 1
8 0003 Jeffrey Tiegs Ft. Carson, CO 020:37:55 M3 5
9 0019 Daniel Schmidt Denver, CO 020:40:04 M4 3
10 0519 Harry Harcrow Woodland Park, CO 021:07:54 M3 6
11 0011 Ryan Cooper Erie, CO 021:45:25 M3 7
12 0489 Jeffrey Beuche Denver, CO 021:46:31 M3 8
13 0028 Kristin Moehl Sybrowsky Seattle, WA 022:03:03 F2 1
14 0329 Paul Adams Crested Butte, CO 022:15:04 M4 4
15 0267 John Lefever Lincoln, NE 022:22:25 M3 9
16 0053 Scott Klopfenstein Cascade, CO 022:37:50 M3 10
17 0041 David Coblentz Los Alamos, NM 022:41:16 M4 5
18 0526 Jason Poole Superior, CO 022:42:34 M3 11
19 0572 Tania Pacev Littleton, CO 022:49:07 F4 1
20 0565 Scott Gala Northville, MI 022:49:08 M3 12

Where's Waldo 100km results

Where's Waldo 100K results are now posted on our website.

http://www.wpsp.org/ww100k/stats/2005/results.php

Andy Jones-Wilkins set a new course record of 11:09:54, followed closely
by Jeff Riley in 11:11:52 who led until 4 miles to go and was also under
Tim Turk's previous course record of 11:15:00. Kami Semick, in a
tightly contested women's race, grabbed the lead from Bev Anderson-Abbs
with 3 miles to go and bested Ann Trason's course record with a
12:02:35, placing 3rd overall. Meghan Arbogast was 2nd female (4th
overall) in a new master's course record of 12:08:48 in her first race
over 50 miles. Anderson-Abbs was 3rd female and finished 5th overall.

38 out of 54 solo starters finished for a 70% finishing rate.

11 of the 12 two-person relay teams finished, with Josh Nordell and
Ashley Idema leading the relay teams with a time of 11:52:23.

Mike Burke won the Wet Waldo Award again for swimming in 6 lakes and
running 14:26:42. Sean Meissner won the Find Waldo Award for summiting
Fuji Mtn first.

Congrats and thanks to all who participated either as a runner or volunteer.

Join us next year on August 19, 2006.

Craig Thornley, Co-RD
http://www.wpsp.org/ww100k/