- The Pikes marathon start list is shaping up - as the top ten folks from last year, and some competitive entries, have started to register in. I need to do a bit more homework on digging into the names I don't recognize. There are easily 2 dozen folks up front based on predicted times. Some of these are folks who have predicted way over their head ("I ran a two hour half marathon so I can run the marathon in four hours."), newbies with decent road times, etc. So - if I am missing someone here ... I apologize. I am just starting this research ... (and I have not looked into the Ascent or women's lists at all yet).
- On the marathon, names of note are:
- Parr (predicting 3:30 on a double!) (2:19 ascent last year),
- Dayton (4:04 last year),
- Parker (4:07 last year),
- Boettcher (4:02 last year but predicting 4:08),
- Vail (has ascended in 2:36, predicting 3:54),
- Seymour (a Pikes newbie from what I gather but has run 2:29 in a road marathon)
- Dignum (a Pikes newbie, a 9:15 IM tri guy and in via competitive entry)
- Henegan (a Pikes newbie, in via competitive entry)
- Feucht (I believe he was a competitive entry last year but then a DNS? Accomplished Team Inov-8 runner)
- Smiley (solid vet)
- Hutchinson (solid vet)
- Erchinger (whose times are not super fast on based on prior results, but seems to be improving rapidly based on other recent results)
- Mock (sandbagging with his prediction at 4:45 given he ran 4:15 last year)
- Of note, are the names we don't see there yet ... Carpenter, Mackey and Meltzer.
- It is not wholly clear if Matt will do the Ascent, the Marathon or both or none of the races. Of course, as a prior (multiple time) champ, he has won that privilege to declare up to race day. In any case, he has to be considered the odds on favorite to WIN in any of the races he enters.
- Mackey has committed to WS100 earlier in the summer (late June) and so it is not clear if he will do Pikes. 2 months between WS100 and Pikes ... depending on who you ask, that is plenty of time to recover ... or not (it is a hundred mile race).
- Meltzer ... got the hint from him from Brett (thread there). Be interesting to see if he looks to go competitive entry.
- Also watch for Ricks.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Pikes Prognosticating
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I did not realize there was so much time between WS100 and PPM. I thought it was a week apart. Maybe I had Leadville on my mind.
ReplyDeleteWith that much time in between the two races and with him living in CO, I want to see Anton in the marathon.
My 4:45, I think I give people enough motivation and bulletin board material on my blog, so didn't want to get caught up in that game. I believe I told you my goal though.
Just thinking aloud.... as every body has a different strategy.... but I have to ask:
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that some might consider 2 months between races not enough?
Is it that one may reach peak form, race hard enough to feel fatigue for a week or 2, rest, then have to re-train back to peak form?
Some are able to maintain a peak (or near peak) year round (Dave comes to mind), so it seems to me that a few weeks should be plenty of recovery time.
Personally, I feel that I am fully recovered from ANYTHING in no more than two weeks, but then again, I am not winning races or running 100miles.
Justin - I had the same confusion on WS100 and Pikes. I went to the WS site and saw that it is in the end of June though.
ReplyDelete... and just teasin' on the prediction time. I am stoked to see what you can put up there.
JV - I agree - if anyone can bounce back that I know - it is Dave. I just would not want to assume that. It is a 100 miler ... not some 10k.
JV, I think part of the issue is that peak fitness for WS100 does not equal peak fitness for PPM. Similarly for me, while I may be at peak fitness in May for a road marathon, this won't mean jack for PPM.
ReplyDeleteI would think training for PPM would involve more altitude runs than WS100, more uphill, more downhill, more focus on speed, less focus on endurance. While one could recover from WS100 quickly enough then, I would think that when they resume training, it'd be a lot of different stuff than for WS100. Not that I know anything about training for a 100 though.
If I can get in through the comp. entry I will be there. I guess we will see...
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about the PPM, but am uber-reluctant to commit to a race so many months out. This is a huge frustration of mine in the ultra-racing scene (having to commit--financially at least--months in advance).
ReplyDeletePPM could possibly be my "fall-back" race if the recovery from WS is crappy and the LT100 isn't feeling like a wise option come August.
JV-All I can say is that 100 mile races--if truly raced--mess you up. I find it hard to believe that Karl is giving 100% in every 100 miler he does when he racks up 5+ in a season. My recovery history from 100s has been pretty bad: mono after the first Leadville, broken foot after the second, but no major issues after Rocky Raccoon in '07. So, I'm not commiting to anything until I see how the body is doing post-WS in July.
In a similar vein, George, I wouldn't expect great things out of Karl if he does PPM this year. It will be sandwiched between two of the toughest 100 mile races in the country, both of which mean a lot to him (Hardrock and Wasatch).
Well, I'd like to line up against Karl as much as anybody else. But being his plans are as such, I suspect that means he is even less likely to get a competitive entry.
ReplyDeleteGeorge,
ReplyDeleteSorry, I didn't mean that comment to seem like I was denigrating Karl or his running abilities; I was just observing that I don't think it will really be a focus race for him.
And yes, we'll have to try to hook up for some runs this fall once I move to Boulder.
Tony