Monthly Archives: May 2013

Giants Causeway – Ireland

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A selection of images from an afternoon on the Giants Causway, Ireland ahead of Saturday’s ‘Causeway Crossing’ by Lost Worlds Racing.

Thought for the day….

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Team RWB is transforming the way that America supports its veterans when they return from combat.  Team RWB are creating communities of veterans, their families, and American citizens that enjoy authentic interaction through physical and social activities and events all across the country.

Today Eric Browy is preparing to take part in the Causeway Crossing in Ireland, part of the Lost Worlds Racing series of races.

Need I say more…. inspirational.

Eric Browy from Team RWB ahead of the Causeway Crossing in Ireland

Eric Browy from Team RWB ahead of the Causeway Crossing in Ireland

Eric’s first tour of duty in Iraq lasted from March 2003 to March 2004. Eric’s unit was part of an operation that took the town of Taj and held it during this period. The unit did many missions and patrols, provided security for rocket systems, and set up and manned operations posts (OPs). Engaging in any number of firefights with insurgents and foreign fighters, Eric’s unit sustained nine killed in action, as well as four wounded. Three Bradleys assigned to his unit hit improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
During his second tour of duty in Iraq, which began in December 2005, Eric served as a scout in the southern part of Baghdad, doing patrols, OPs, and other scouting tasks. In March 2006, Eric was setting up observation posts. He was walking atop a wall 25 feet above the ground, carrying 80 pounds of gear while, at the same time, keeping track of a suspicious guy on the ground through his night vision goggles. He missed a step, falling from the wall and severely damaging both feet.
A helicopter took him to an Army hospital in Baghdad. From there he was flown to the Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where he stabilized for a week. He then went to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where his right leg was amputated below the knee. Because his left foot was so severely damaged, amputation of great toe and ball of that foot was also required.
Eric had ten surgeries in all.
Eric received medical retirement from the Army on December 28, 2006.
Recuperation: “Walter Reed’s rehabilitation system rocks,” Eric said enthusiastically. “I was walking without limping within two months. It was painful. It was work. But the system is great.”
Involvement with Wounded Warrior Project: “WWP was awesome because, when I got back I didn’t even have underwear. So when WWP came by with a backpack, it contained something I definitely needed, and a whole lot more. And when I was in a wheelchair, I used that backpack as a wheelchair backpack.”
“WWP makes sure everything’s okay.”
Employment Narrative: Eric plans to do volunteer work until he begins college in the fall. He will study engineering.
Feelings about Military Service: “Loved it.”
Feelings about Helping Other Vets thru WWP: “Now that I’m further along in recovery, the WWP rep tells me about other veterans who need help, and I go talk to them: what happened to me and how I recovered. There are a lot of people like me, who are facing recovery, and they need to talk to somebody who’s been down that road. I know I would not have had as much confidence as I made my own decision about amputation if I hadn’t talked to other amputees. So I know how important it is now for me to talk with others who are facing that decision.”

Article taken from: http://anamericanconservative.blogspot.co.uk

 

 

Episode 34 – Hollon, Hicks, Davies & Stephenson

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TU34

On this weeks show we speak to 22 year old Nick Hollon who just recently finished the infamous Barkley Marathon. We catch up with Natalie White who tells us all about the future plans for UK based Inov-8 who are 10 years old in June. We have chat with Ozzies Brendan Davies and Shona Stepehenson who placed 5th and 2nd respectively at UTMF in Japan. In Talk Training we speak to Mitch from Stride UK. We also speak to Chris Mills in 15 mins of fame. We have a blog, the news, up and coming races and of course, Speedgoat.

00:00:00

00:00:45 Start

00:09:50 News

Evesham Ultra

Robbie Britton 6:47:17, Mark Davies 07:11:58, Mark Denby 07:12:04

Hayley Stockwell 8:47:51, Joan Clarke 8:57:08, Sandra Goldsack 9:12:54

Lizzy Hawker

once again continues to inspire, she recently broke her own speed record from running Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu – 319km in 63hr 8min.

She is now pack in Nepal to do the Mustang Mountain Trail Race – multi stage 277k in 8 days

Iznik Ultra

130km

1  Mahmut Yavuz 13:52 2 .Aykut Çelikbas 14:15 3 . Mustafa Poyraz 15:14

1. Elena Polyakova 15:00 2. Muazzez Özçelik 19:53 3. Bakiye Duran 22:55

80km

1. Tanzer Dursun 8:13 2  Ahmet Zeren 8:19 3  Özgür Tetik 8:2

1.Amy Sproston 7:12 2.  Alessia De Matteis 9:29 3  Sirin Mine Kiliç 9:55

Leona Divide

50k

Yassine Diboun 4:03:33, Jeremy Humphrey 4:09:59 and Aaron Keller 4:33:19

Rachel Lipman 5:21:56, Gwendolyn Ostrosky 5:30:59 and Ruth McCoy 5:41:43

50m

Robert Krar 5:53:51, Jason Wolfe 6:43:10 and Jason Schlarb 6:44:54

Melanie Peters 7:30:47, Jenny Capel 7:59:23 and Kristina Folcik 8:31:05

UTMF 

1. Hara 19:39 2. Chorier 19:48 3.Chaigneau 19:50 4. Gary Robbins 20:20 5. Brendan Davies 20:38

1. Krissy Moehl 24:35:45 2. Shona Stephenson 25:56:52 3. Hitomi Ogawa 26:15:25

IAU – 100km European Championships on April 27th

Asier CUEVAS 6:53:14 Michaël BOCH 6:56:49 José Antonio REQUEJO 6:57:02

Irina ANTROPOVA 7:42:52, Sue HARRISON 7:48:12 and Sophia SUNDBERG 7:53:21

http://www.5000mileproject.org – British couple, David and Katherine are  running 5000m across South America in 1 year! They started on July 28th. I have had some email chats with David and we hope to hook up within the next month or so.

Zion 100

Pierre Loic Deragne 17:52:10, Andy Pearson 17:55:12, Matt Cecill 18:42:22

Jennifer Benna (and 5th overall) 19:01, Larisa Dannis 20:22:23, Pam Reed 24:09:23

Hoka Highland Fling

Lee Kemp 7:02:50 (new CR), Ricky Lightfoot 7:09:30 and Matt Williamson 7:21:51

Tracy Dean had a real battle to the line with a calf injury but held on to win by just over 1 min ahead of Fionna Cameron 9:12:21. Third was Sandra Bowers in 9:17:02

00:2415 Brendan Davies – Brendan recently raced at Tarawera ultra in New Zealand. Part of the Inov-8 international team, he recently raced at the Ultra Trail Mt Fuji in Japan. He says it is the hardest race he has ever done… he was 5th. We caught up with Brendan just days after the race. Website HERE

00:36:37 Back to News

00:38:30 Shona Stephenson – Shona, a personal trainer and mum of two girls also raced at the Ultra Trail Mt Fuji. Like Brendan, she is also part of the Inov-8 international team. Shona secured an impressive second place behind US based Krissy Moehl, we caught up with Shona when she arrived back home in Australia. Website HERE

00:56:08 Back to News

01:05:10 Meghan Hicks – has raced at Marathon des Sables several times before. However, in 2013 she returned with several objectives. Her main priority was to make the podium but her ultimate goal was to win the race…. we caught up with Meghan at her home in Utah, less than 14 days after the iconic 28th edition of the MDS. Website HERE

01:43:10 Blog – Anton Krupicka is back…. he always writes a very detailed daily post. Here is a highlight:

Sat-AM: 6:59, 11,500′ ~ Grand Canyon Double Crossing

Used the standard South-North Kaibab route and clocked a 6:59:24 roundtrip, which was a 17min PR for me and I think ~30sec under Mackey’s previously 2nd-fastest time (but still 6min short of Dakota’s FKT). I didn’t know if I was going to go particularly quick today, but thought I’d just see how the legs were feeling. After getting down to the river pretty quickly (despite being slowed a minute or two by a descending mule train), I decided to keep going steady and see how things shook out. Felt pretty solid all the way to the North Rim, hiking a fair bit above the Supai Tunnel, but then on the way back down I was definitely already getting pretty tired by time I made it back to the residence water spigot. Things got progressively worse on the run back to Phantom Ranch (stiff, achey, tired legs), but I pounded three bottles of water there (spending 4min at the spigot) and then climbed quite strongly all the way to Tip-Off, but above there things got pretty weak/queasy as I ran out of water about half-way up. At Tip-Off I thought there was a really good chance I could still get Dakota’s record–even take 5min or so off of it–but in the end I was just psyched to sneak in under 7hr. Great run, and a good confidence boost going into TV, as I know I still have a lot of running fitness to gain. Had another 12min of running on the day, getting to and from the South Rim. Splits: River, :46; Phantom Ranch, :53-54; Cottonwood, 1:54; Residence, 2:09-10; Bridge, 2:42; Supai Tunnel, 2:56; North Rim, 3:22; Supai Tunnel, 3:35; Bridge, 3:43?; Residence, 4:04-6; Cottonwood, 4:16; Phantom, 5:08-12; River, 5:19; Tip-Off, 5:49; Skeleton Pt, 6:14; Cedar Ridge, 6:37; South Rim, 6:59:24.

01:45:10 Talk Training – this week we introduce Mitch to Talk Training. Mitch is based in the UK and has a practice called STRIDE UK (http://www.strideuk.com). In our first episode we touch on the importance of flexibility and stretching.

01:59:45 Natalie White Inov-8 – UK based company Inov-8 have a reputation for making some of the best running shoes available. They have made some iconic products such as the famous ‘Mud Claw’. In 2013 they are introducing a new clothing range to the brand, they have created an inter nation racing team and they also celebrate a 10th birthday in June. Website HERE

02:17:45 Nickademus Holllon – Barkley ultra marathon is infamous. It strikes fear into any runner. So difficult is this iconic ultra that finishers are few and far between, Nick Hollon not only completed the race in 2013 but at the age of 22 he also became the youngest ever winner. We caught up with Nick to hear all about how he achieved a finish and also to find out how started in running… he has a great story. Believe me, he doesn’t like to make things easy! Website HERE

03:09:45 Back to Karl

03:14:00 Meltzer Moment – Speedgoat gives us his Good, Bad and Ugly.

03:18:40 15 min of fame – this week we speak to Chris Mills (24fifty.com). Chris is just an ordinary guy. He actually hasn’t run an ultra…. yet! But I am sure when you listen to him, you will find his story inspiring.

03:3210 Races – the up and coming races for the next two weeks.

03:40:05

Links

Lesotho Ultra Trail

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Inaugural Lesotho Ultra Trail attracts world class field
On 30 November 2013, Skyrunners® from all over the world will toe the start line of the inaugural Lesotho Ultra Trail – Africa’s first Ultra Skymarathon® – ready to tackle the 55km, high altitude course through the Tsehlanyane National Park in the heart of the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho.
As the event continues to attract the keen interest of both the local and international trail and skyrunning communities, four of the world’s top international men’s athletes have already confirmed their entry into the race. Americans Mike Wolfe (The North Face), winner of the 2012 Transvulcania Dakota Jones (Montrail/Clif Bar), and 2nd place finisher at the 2012 Hardrock 100 Joe Grant (INOV-8/Arc’teryx), will join 2012 Canadian ultra trail runner of the year Adam Campbell (Arc’teryx) in making the long trip across the Atlantic Ocean to go head to head with some of South Africa’s best.
“One aspect that I love about mountain running is the opportunity to explore beautiful places around the world” comments Campbell. “I specifically choose races based on their aesthetic and the accompanying sense of adventure that they bring. Being able to compete in Africa’s first Ultra Skymarathon®, amongst some of the most stunning mountain terrain that I’ve seen more than satisfies that criteria. I can’t wait to experience the local culture and to race through the region’s mountainous landscape on foot.”
Mike Wolfe, having never travelled to Africa, is thrilled to be making the journey in November:
“The locale looks amazing, and I have always wanted to travel to South Africa to experience a new landscape and people. It is wonderful that the South African Skyrunning Association and the organizers of Lesotho Ultra Trail are enthusiastic about hosting international athletes. This kind of event helps our sport of ultra running grow on an international level, and continues to grow the international community of runners.”
Amongst the top South African men’s athletes already securing their spots, is up-and-coming trail star AJ Calitz (K-Way/Vivobarefoot) joined by winner of the 2013 SA Ultra Trail Champs Nic De Beer and mountain running legend, and winner of the 2012 Otter African Trail Run, Iain Don Wauchope (Mountain Splendour).
Not to be out done, the women’s field is also stacking up to be a stellar affair with confirmation already coming in from local South African ultra running legend Linda Doke (Salomon South Africa), winner of the 2013 Women’s SA Ultra Champs Tracy Zunkel (Race Food), 2011 Otter African Trail Run winner Su Don Wauchope (Mountain Splendour) as she makes a firm come back after almost 8 months of injury, and 3rd place finisher 2013 Women’s SA Ultra Champs Chantel Nienaber. On the international front, Canadian ultra-runner and winner of the 2012 Gobi March in China, Stephanie Case, will be making the journey from her newly-adopted home of Kyrgyzstan, ready to test the skills of the local girls.
Having raced at the 2012 Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland, one of Europe’s oldest Skymarathon® events, Linda Doke knows the excitement and prospects of skyrunning first hand:
“I’m thrilled to be doing the Lesotho Ultra Trail” explains Doke. “Not only is it a new ultra on the trail calendar, but it’s in Lesotho, which guarantees fantastic running. Also, being an Ultra Skymarathon® will see the start of skyrunning in southern Africa and having experienced it last year, it’s brilliant that it’s coming to southern Africa!”
Hosted by the luxury 5 star Maliba Mountain Lodge, the Lesotho Ultra Trail will encompass some of the most spectacular mountain trails that the Tsehlanyane National Park has to offer, affording runners the opportunity to climb to over 3100m above sea level while immersed in the rich culture of Africa’s “mountain kingdom”.
For more information about the event, head to http://www.lesothoultratrail.com or follow @LesothoUltra on Twitter