Friday, July 2, 2010

Western States 100 Race Report-2010

My full report is posted over at Running Times, now.

My apologies if it's a little too long and self-indulgent.

48 comments:

Unknown said...

It's great. Thanks for all this. And please continue to let us into your mountains, trails, dreams, mind and heart. It's a great gift.

jayaresea said...

great report...no apologies needed after a performance like that. it's one of the perks to being an elite ultrarunner. indulge away.

oh and nice race too.

Derrick said...

Excellent report. It was great to be able to piece everything together as to what happened on the trail between aid station splits.

Huge congrats having a great race and making a great race for others.

Devon said...

Awesome report and great race. Congrats on your run and the breakthrough performance you had. Look forward to seeing how that translates for the future. Congrats.

Mark C. Ryan said...

Awesome report. Indulgent??? Not at all. After reading Geoff's and your race reports it gives quite the picture of what happened through the day. Definitely a race for the ages.

Unknown said...

Great Report and Great Race Tony!! I was glued to the live coverage all day on saturday. Congrats again!!

Chris said...

Thanks for the details! Us ultra fans appreciate it. I did have a question about Killian. In Geoff's report he said Killian was the most physically gifted runner he has seen. Given the fact that you spent a lot more time with Killian than Geoff do you have a similar assessment? Also how do you think the race would have played out had Killian stayed on top of his hydration and been more consistent in his pacing and efficient in aid station stops? Thanks.

Unknown said...

Toni, Thank-you so much for taking the time to write up your race so fully - what an incredible experience and really inspiring to read for someone like me racing at the other end of the field.

Hope we see you over here in Europe sometime soon.

Thanks again, Jeremy

Eric@URP said...

Killer job, Tony. Great race, great race report as always.

For anyone who's interested, here's Killian's RR, as translated from Catalan by the intraweb robots at Google. Interesting read.

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=es&sl=es&tl=en&u=http://kilianjornet.blogspot.com/search/label/ULTRA&rurl=translate.google.es&usg=ALkJrhisgRF4cpH9yNJIJvhqgJ2LpQZbbw

mtnrunner2 said...

Anton,

It's the those so-called "indulgent" details that make it worth reading, because it it's from a viewpoint only you can provide. Great report, thanks!

Unknown said...

Eric,

Thanks for the tip on Killian's report. The original is in Spanish (not Catalan). I thought others here may speak Spanish and will prefer to read the original versus the robot's translation to English.

Kirk said...

Wow, another brilliant report! Thank you for continuing to eloquently share your experiences with us.

Stuart Swineford said...

Awesome race report. You guys made it a terrific race to follow. Solid effort, man.

~stubert.

Rick said...

Great write Tony, no where near self-indulgent; thanks for sharing.
Why do you think Killian didn't carry water? Perhpas just much cooler where he's used to racing?

Lynette said...

Great race and great report!

Anonymous said...

Thanks much for sharing your recap of the race.

Here is Kilian's blog in spanish.
http://kilianjornet.blogspot.com/2010/06/ws-100.html

crowther said...

I am not a big fan of super-long race reports, but even I can understand that an epic battle like the one you had is worth documenting in detail. Congratulations on a great, great effort. So, are you coming to White River, are you going to give us slow guys a shot at the win this year?

Frank Bott said...

Tony, boy did you learn a lot running up Green Mountain day after day.. and it show.. both through your performance.. and in your excellent write up..

keep learning..

Ben L said...

Thanks mate, this was was an amazing read. You're an inspiration. If you can come back from injury and run 100miles, well then I can at least get back to running 9mi.

Tony said...

Mind-blowing, Anton... so inspiring!! I followed the race online from out here in Japan last weekend.
I'm a complete rookie at distance running in the mountains, but I've got my first 45km mountain marathon tomorrow morning, and your blog and your "Indulgence" DVD has been a huge part of my motivation for the last year... thanks so much for the inspiration Anton... you've enriched my life and many others, I'm sure. Tony

HollyV said...

Great report, thanks for sharing! It is fascinating to read such a detailed report from the front lines! And what a race!

Anonymous said...

That's a great western states race report from the lead of a great race! Great job Tony!

Jon Allen said...

Enjoyed the whole report- nice race! Inspirational, and I enjoy your thoughtful insights.

Chris said...

Amazing Report! No apologies needed and congrats!

Anonymous said...

Amazing race and report, Anton, bravo!

Looking forward to have you racing here in the Alps.

Thanks!

Mauro,
from Italy

Dominic Grossman said...

Watching you out there, I really felt proud of everything you've accomplished thus far, and how it all manifested in 100 miles of brilliant running. Do you think being underweight later in the race held you back from making the final surge? What were your s-cap intervals? Were they time, or fluid intake related?

RJM said...

Being underweight will no doubt have an impact, particularly late in such a race when you are fighting to stay hydrated(which you never will be) and with the lack of water making up your plasma, your heart will consequently have to work much harder to pump it.

I wonder if Anton has tried broth, with any success, on such runs.

Anonymous said...
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Barry Bliss said...

Good writing, Anton.
I am interested in hearing your reply to the other man--regarding possibly being underweight/underfeuled at the end.
Maybe you weren't and he was just a bit faster that day.
Any thoughts regarding this?

Todd said...

Tony,
Outstanding race and race report. Looking back, if you could do one thing differently during WS to give yourself a better chance to win, what would it be? Or do the "what ifs" not even enter your mind?

Kieran McCarthy said...

Just read Kilian's race report, and he's very complimentary of you, Anton. He seems as if he's a real class act. He also said he was coming to Denver for the next couple of weeks. You guys should try to meet up and get a few leisurely runs in together...

Flaco said...

Fantastic race report! Inspiring to finally read what I was following online!

Congrats on the great race

Rop said...

A truly inspiring race by you, Geoff, and Kilian. thanks for the detailed race report.

rustyboy said...

Dude. AMAZINGLY written report. You looked so damned good through to the finish.

Thanks agiain for your time pre and post race!

Russ

Scott McMurtrey said...

Congrats again on the awesome race. Thanks for sharing the write-up.

Anonymous said...

When and where can we see the Ricky Gates movie?!!

Anonymous said...

Here is a post idea: recovery. Everyone recovers differently. What is your process like? Aside from the obvious building back the volume. Sleep, diet, massage, etc. How do you adjust your habits and lifestyle in the weeks after a 100? Just curious...

Vava said...

I just recently discovered your blog and just want to say thank you for sharing your training and experiences in this way! What other world class athlete posts his/her training in such a public forum?

Anyway, I really enjoyed your Western States 100 race report(s) and, of course, want to extend my congratulations on a tremendous accomplishment!

I also have a question: In a post long ago (where you explained your reasons for disliking the lottery system for the WS100 and how it serves to devalue the quality of the competition, etc.) you talked about reaching that place of self-discovery that can only be achieved through racing great competition and pushing your body to its absolute limits, and how you only ever had that experience once in your first ultra-trail race. I am wondering if this year's Western States 100 got you to that same place? (I also apologize if you've written about this topic in between that post in December 2007 and more recently as I have not had the opportunity to read all of your posts in 2008 and 2009.)

Geoff said...

hey tony,
can you drop me an email so i have your email address. i have a few things i'd like to ask you. hope all is well,
geoff roes

Geoff said...

oh yeah, my email is: grroes@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

T.,
Perhaps it's time to learn something new from WS experience and modify training routine: 1. Less mileage. 2. Different shoes (apparently this excess of minimalism doesn't help). And, please relax, stop playing a star. All these over-sweet comments make your blog more and more one sided and monotonous. You might take a look at Geoff Roes and his style and approach to running. Running is not religion, it's fun. Just be simple. All the best.

Barry Bliss said...

Anonymous,
I would not state my opinion as fact that way, but that's me.
Personally I appreciateb the way Anton writes and I find him honest and humble.
Secondly it is my personal experience from 30 years of semi-regular distance running in all kinds of shoes that minimal footwear is best for good form and for keeping all the leg/ankle/foot muscles equally strong.
I find both Geoff and Anton interesting in their own way(s).

Kakapo said...

Anonymous is just another troll from the letsrun forums. Disregard and do not feed. Geoff and Anton actually have very similar outlooks.

Anonymous said...
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Unknown said...

great report, well done!!!!

Christian Louboutin said...

Look forward to seeing how that translates for the future. Congrats. Excellent report. It was great to be able to piece everything together as to what happened on the trail between aid station splits. Why do you think Killian didn't carry water? Perhpas just much cooler where he's used to racing?

vibram five fingers said...

Offering a very good excuse for taking it very easy getting back into running, it provided an in-my-face reminder of how miserable wind, heat/humidity, and mosquitos can be.

Jay said...

Tony, great race. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Us "western state dreamers" want to know what the experience would be like and now we have a better idea.

Just wondering what shoes you were using in the Western States run?