D
Dot
Guest
(Long so I've divided into sections on background, technique, course chatter, and take-home msg if
you just want to pass by a section - or ignore the whole thing. This was definitely a different type
of event (more formal) than what we are used to here so added detail not normally present and I
think different from many races that people here have been involved with.)
Background:
The World Mountain Running Trophy races were held on Mt. Alyeska (downhill ski resort), Girdwood,
AK, on Sep 20-21. This was the first time they were held in North America and only 2nd time outside
Europe. Yikes - a hyped running race in Alaska. I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of crowds,
accessibility, etc, but it turned out to be a nice international event - uniforms, country flags,
etc - with a distinctly Alaskan flavor (see pics). Spectators might be standing side by side with
some of the coaches watching the runners. http://www.wmrt2003.org/home.htm
http://home.att.net/~akrunning/WMRT2003/index.html (double clicking on images brings larger image -
same is true for the newspaper clippings near end)
I was mainly looking at technique, so there's a couple comments to that extent in the annotations,
but I also included some of the flavor of the event.
As with all championship-type events, there's a pile of regulations (extremely rare in Alaska trail
races where getting from A to B in one piece is usually the prime objective). Course has to be
runnable both for steepness and footing, distance / elevation gain restrictions, etc. A typical
Alaskan mountain race (and I suspect elsewhere) probably has about 1000ft/mi gradient or steeper or
glacial river crossings or bears or ... As the newspaper last year put it, Alaska mtn running
emphasizes "mountain" while international mtn running emphasizes "running" and needed a flatter
course than normally used. Mother nature apparently thought the course needed a touch more challenge
and provided some - to the delight of the runners (see pics) (stated seriously, not facetiously).
The junior races for 16-20 yo and senior for over 20. Each country sends a team of runners. In the
US, there are 3 selection races (east, west, Alaska) where the winner gets an automatic berth. Other
positions are selected by a committee using overall performance of the runners in relevant races.
Team scoring is used as well as individual competitions.
I wanted to watch elite runners run some of these steeper single-track hills, and run they did,
although this course had to be flattened for the competition, so it wasn't quite what I was looking
for. This race *almost* (not quite) reminded me a little of roller derby when people were trying to
pass on the single track and the lead runner in a group was almost toast. Some of the senior men
looked like they were still sprinting on their 2nd time up the steep part (about 900m / 3000 ft elev
gain). Most the spectators just about gasped to see them that close and running that hard this far
into the race. Course routes / profiles are here
http://www.wmrt2003.org/SrMen.htm http://www.wmrt2003.org/SrWomen.htm
The course is not the steady grind for a couple 1000 feet or more like many of our mountain runs are
- no river crossings and no hand over hand climbing. None of the course near the top was steep
enough to watch technical downhill, so I focused on the uphill.
Technique observations:
1. Most people were running in what r.r would consider good form - upright, head forward, small
steps, etc - until the steep (probably short 20-30+% pitches), muddy sections where most anything
was valid. The stronger runners leaned forward a little more for balance, some went into the
bent-over-hands-on-thighs power hike position with sometimes large steps, others just grovelled
up somehow (I could relate to this last technique
I've replayed some of my video many times
and it's interesting how the form changes at just about the same spot for everyone - but the
change isn't quite as dramatic for the stronger runners. It's also apparent in some of the jr men
stills on the web page.
2. People that tried to climb too fast on the steep single-track became road blocks for others as
soon as the grade let up. This was getting almost physical as the stronger, better-paced runners
could hit the flatter section running, but the gasping-for-air runner was in the way. It was hard
to pass in the snow if you had to get around, but never heard anyone call for the trail. Big
lesson about being able to judge effort properly.
3. Recovery. On day 2, there were a few people doing recovery runs at the base, and some looked a
little sore. But while I was waiting on top for next race, a couple of USA women emerged from the
hill - just enjoying an easy, fun recovery run in the beautiful snow. These are the people who
really love running in the mountains and are trained for it. As has been said many times here,
it's about recovery. Bring on the hills for these folks.
Course Chatter:
Yep, the stuff we didn't get all last winter fell on the last couple days of summer. Many (not all)
of the runners were just ecstatic: they had a tougher mountain than they've had on some previous
races and they had snow. As several said, this is what mountain running is all about.
It was interesting listening to various comments from coaches and competitors. The volunteers were
scraping snow off the course - initially so you could find the trail (see pics), then to make the
footing better and widen it. One of the younger runners (apparently inexperienced in snow) wanted
the course to be salted (heard via rumor
mill), but one of the coaches of a top team was more of the feeling that this is the way the
mountain is today. This is the way it should be run
- leave the snow alone - almost a reverence in his voice when he said
it. This was sooo exciting to hear people welcoming the challenge! As one of the volunteers put it,
Saturday separated the mountain runners from the others. Volunteers had the course pretty clear
on Sunday and there were only minor flurries.
One coach thought the downhill was a little steep. Another (same one as above) wished they had laid
out the course the other way - with the downhilll going down the steep single track. Apparently his
runners are really good at single-track downhill. (I definitely would have watched that.)
Perspective: most spectators were having trouble standing on it in the snow without slipping. Good
snowball / snowman weather as attested by the snowball fights and snowman building by spectators,
which also included competitors that had already run their races - international incident as one
newspaper playfully called it. Many runners that were just watching that particular race just took a
few leaps down and landed in the upright and vertical position, while most others ended up on their
butts at some point.
One particularly interesting sidelight was Melissa Moon (New Zealand) who won the senior women's
race. For some reason, she brought what she called racing flats (not sure if there's a difference in
what people call racing flats in NZ or not), which had terrible traction in the snow. The English
team lent her a pair of prototype shoes for the race - not just not having been tested in training,
but the shoe model itself apparently is new. And she won the sr women's race. So much for never try
anything new on race day - unless you know that what you've got ain't gonna cut the mustard.
http://www.adn.com/sports/story/3972923p-3994412c.html
Take-home message:
Top runners / teams want the challenge of a tough course and can deal with whatever nature has
to offer that day. Challenging courses and conditions are valued, not shunned. I suspect it has
something to do with practice, practice, practice - on all kinds of trails and under all kinds
of weather.
Other stories - some of these have better pictures than I do of other portions of the course since I
pretty much parked in one spot.
http://www.adn.com/sports/story/3956859p-3978611c.html
http://www.adn.com/front/story/3972916p-3994458c.html
http://www.adn.com/sports/story/3980828p-4002485c.html
Oh, and this was also the first time in their 19-yr history the Trophy races were held while it
snowed. Leave it to Alaska!
Now I'm really looking forward to being able to watch the Matanuska Peak Challenge next summer
(should be able to adjust field season to be home at that time) to watch steeper hill technique -
while I continue work on my wimpy 3 to 5-min hills.
Dot Wondering if this is a sign of what's coming this winter. As the clouds lifted today,
it might be.
--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope
you just want to pass by a section - or ignore the whole thing. This was definitely a different type
of event (more formal) than what we are used to here so added detail not normally present and I
think different from many races that people here have been involved with.)
Background:
The World Mountain Running Trophy races were held on Mt. Alyeska (downhill ski resort), Girdwood,
AK, on Sep 20-21. This was the first time they were held in North America and only 2nd time outside
Europe. Yikes - a hyped running race in Alaska. I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of crowds,
accessibility, etc, but it turned out to be a nice international event - uniforms, country flags,
etc - with a distinctly Alaskan flavor (see pics). Spectators might be standing side by side with
some of the coaches watching the runners. http://www.wmrt2003.org/home.htm
http://home.att.net/~akrunning/WMRT2003/index.html (double clicking on images brings larger image -
same is true for the newspaper clippings near end)
I was mainly looking at technique, so there's a couple comments to that extent in the annotations,
but I also included some of the flavor of the event.
As with all championship-type events, there's a pile of regulations (extremely rare in Alaska trail
races where getting from A to B in one piece is usually the prime objective). Course has to be
runnable both for steepness and footing, distance / elevation gain restrictions, etc. A typical
Alaskan mountain race (and I suspect elsewhere) probably has about 1000ft/mi gradient or steeper or
glacial river crossings or bears or ... As the newspaper last year put it, Alaska mtn running
emphasizes "mountain" while international mtn running emphasizes "running" and needed a flatter
course than normally used. Mother nature apparently thought the course needed a touch more challenge
and provided some - to the delight of the runners (see pics) (stated seriously, not facetiously).
The junior races for 16-20 yo and senior for over 20. Each country sends a team of runners. In the
US, there are 3 selection races (east, west, Alaska) where the winner gets an automatic berth. Other
positions are selected by a committee using overall performance of the runners in relevant races.
Team scoring is used as well as individual competitions.
I wanted to watch elite runners run some of these steeper single-track hills, and run they did,
although this course had to be flattened for the competition, so it wasn't quite what I was looking
for. This race *almost* (not quite) reminded me a little of roller derby when people were trying to
pass on the single track and the lead runner in a group was almost toast. Some of the senior men
looked like they were still sprinting on their 2nd time up the steep part (about 900m / 3000 ft elev
gain). Most the spectators just about gasped to see them that close and running that hard this far
into the race. Course routes / profiles are here
http://www.wmrt2003.org/SrMen.htm http://www.wmrt2003.org/SrWomen.htm
The course is not the steady grind for a couple 1000 feet or more like many of our mountain runs are
- no river crossings and no hand over hand climbing. None of the course near the top was steep
enough to watch technical downhill, so I focused on the uphill.
Technique observations:
1. Most people were running in what r.r would consider good form - upright, head forward, small
steps, etc - until the steep (probably short 20-30+% pitches), muddy sections where most anything
was valid. The stronger runners leaned forward a little more for balance, some went into the
bent-over-hands-on-thighs power hike position with sometimes large steps, others just grovelled
up somehow (I could relate to this last technique
I've replayed some of my video many timesand it's interesting how the form changes at just about the same spot for everyone - but the
change isn't quite as dramatic for the stronger runners. It's also apparent in some of the jr men
stills on the web page.
2. People that tried to climb too fast on the steep single-track became road blocks for others as
soon as the grade let up. This was getting almost physical as the stronger, better-paced runners
could hit the flatter section running, but the gasping-for-air runner was in the way. It was hard
to pass in the snow if you had to get around, but never heard anyone call for the trail. Big
lesson about being able to judge effort properly.
3. Recovery. On day 2, there were a few people doing recovery runs at the base, and some looked a
little sore. But while I was waiting on top for next race, a couple of USA women emerged from the
hill - just enjoying an easy, fun recovery run in the beautiful snow. These are the people who
really love running in the mountains and are trained for it. As has been said many times here,
it's about recovery. Bring on the hills for these folks.
Course Chatter:
Yep, the stuff we didn't get all last winter fell on the last couple days of summer. Many (not all)
of the runners were just ecstatic: they had a tougher mountain than they've had on some previous
races and they had snow. As several said, this is what mountain running is all about.
It was interesting listening to various comments from coaches and competitors. The volunteers were
scraping snow off the course - initially so you could find the trail (see pics), then to make the
footing better and widen it. One of the younger runners (apparently inexperienced in snow) wanted
the course to be salted (heard via rumor
mill), but one of the coaches of a top team was more of the feeling that this is the way the
mountain is today. This is the way it should be run
- leave the snow alone - almost a reverence in his voice when he said
it. This was sooo exciting to hear people welcoming the challenge! As one of the volunteers put it,
Saturday separated the mountain runners from the others. Volunteers had the course pretty clear
on Sunday and there were only minor flurries.
One coach thought the downhill was a little steep. Another (same one as above) wished they had laid
out the course the other way - with the downhilll going down the steep single track. Apparently his
runners are really good at single-track downhill. (I definitely would have watched that.)
Perspective: most spectators were having trouble standing on it in the snow without slipping. Good
snowball / snowman weather as attested by the snowball fights and snowman building by spectators,
which also included competitors that had already run their races - international incident as one
newspaper playfully called it. Many runners that were just watching that particular race just took a
few leaps down and landed in the upright and vertical position, while most others ended up on their
butts at some point.
One particularly interesting sidelight was Melissa Moon (New Zealand) who won the senior women's
race. For some reason, she brought what she called racing flats (not sure if there's a difference in
what people call racing flats in NZ or not), which had terrible traction in the snow. The English
team lent her a pair of prototype shoes for the race - not just not having been tested in training,
but the shoe model itself apparently is new. And she won the sr women's race. So much for never try
anything new on race day - unless you know that what you've got ain't gonna cut the mustard.
http://www.adn.com/sports/story/3972923p-3994412c.html
Take-home message:
Top runners / teams want the challenge of a tough course and can deal with whatever nature has
to offer that day. Challenging courses and conditions are valued, not shunned. I suspect it has
something to do with practice, practice, practice - on all kinds of trails and under all kinds
of weather.
Other stories - some of these have better pictures than I do of other portions of the course since I
pretty much parked in one spot.
http://www.adn.com/sports/story/3956859p-3978611c.html
http://www.adn.com/front/story/3972916p-3994458c.html
http://www.adn.com/sports/story/3980828p-4002485c.html
Oh, and this was also the first time in their 19-yr history the Trophy races were held while it
snowed. Leave it to Alaska!
Now I'm really looking forward to being able to watch the Matanuska Peak Challenge next summer
(should be able to adjust field season to be home at that time) to watch steeper hill technique -
while I continue work on my wimpy 3 to 5-min hills.
Dot Wondering if this is a sign of what's coming this winter. As the clouds lifted today,
it might be.
--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope