We had a ton of really exciting early season training “races” this year. Spring is generally the time when most folks are not peaking for key races, so the results sometimes are not the most pleasing. Generally, if you peak too early in these runs there’s often a lag in performance and sometimes a feeling of being stale during the later “key” race. Instead, all of the Flight Phase athletes this year were smart in choosing shorter events that would be fun and relatively local, but not heartbreaking if the results weren’t stellar. Also many of these events were challenging environmentally which allowed for realistic exposure to the elements helping the body to start adapting before the real race comes. The heat was a particular stand out this spring for many of us, and it was impressive how well everyone responded in real-time to manage as well as possible–practicing with mitigating sun exposure, managing water and electrolyte intake, slowing down to allow for continued progress, etc. Also particularly stand out was the general ability to psychologically push through these challenges. The foundation of fitness for many of these athletes was strong enough to allow them to push through rather than having to stop. Training works; spread the word and keep flying!
-kpat
April 2024 News:
April 13th: Cody Henderson headed to Birch Bay, Washington, for a hard-charging 15km road race to build up to his next half marathon, Whitefish Half Marathon. Taking the opportunity to complete a tempo run in race format is brave but it also exposes us to our strengths and weaknesses. It turned out to be a courageous push into the burn before the next half (see below).
Also on April 13th, Chelsey Miller of Missoula, Montana pushed through the pain cave in the heat of Utah desert at Zion 100km in preparation for her key event, Sedona Canyons 125mi in Arizona in May. This event was a perfect way for her to learn more about her process and dial in the logistics prior to the actual event, and luckily didn’t end up stealing the show from the main event (see below).
April 20: Coach KPat escaped to the Yakima Skyline 50km in Washington for an early season trail race with 9300ft of gain on dry trails. The event is organized by James Varner of Rainshadow Running and draws some strong competition out of the Northwest. It’s hot and dry and relatively rugged on a mixture of dirt and volcanic rock. It’s hard to find 50km races with this much gain on dry trails in the north this early in the year, so Yakima is a special find. Camping at the start/finish and the chill finish line vibes also make this a super enjoyable race–highly recommend this race!
April 21st: Catie Arno of Missoula, Montana, and Grant Cunningham of Eugene, Oregon, also ran a short, zippy trail race near Missoula, the Bitterroot Runoff 10mi with about 1900ft gain. This distance is really challenging for folks because it’s just short enough you can really push up and above threshold the entire event. It also is runnable enough it pulls out some fast road runners who specialize in these short distances. Both Catie and Grant ran extremely strong races and were able to bounce right back into training for future ultras without missing a beat.
May 2024 News:
May 8-9: Chelsey Miller of Missoula, Montana ran an absolutely incredible race at her key event for the spring: Sedona Canyons 125mi (actually 128.5mi). She finished 9F and 24 overall in a field of over 205 starters and 82 women. This was Chelsey’s first top-ten finish and an ultra and she hit a 100mi PR along the way. She pushed super hard to keep moving, especially in the unknown zone over 100mi and was able to finish 1.5h under her goal finish time in 38:32. This exposes an oft under-recognized truth about ultra racing: it’s not always the fastest runner who excels, it’s the person who slows down the least. Chelsey was particularly good about not wasting time in aid stations, and continuing to move always, even when eating or nauseous. And she managed to push herself hard on the last stretch to pull into 9th place.
May 10-12: Karen Weintraub of Chico, California pulled off an extremely impressive triple at the Tillamook Burn stage race in Oregon, running a total of 100mi with over 20k feet gain over three days. In its second year, the race has seen only 20 people finish (five of them women). Karen currently holds the 3rd fastest time for women at this event, placing second female and 6th overall this year. Karen is continuing her final build up to Bigfoot 208 in August.
May 11th: Yun-Yi Pai of Cupertino, California, ran impressively strong at the Quicksilver 100km in California also despite punishing heat. This race had a 45% drop out rate which is fairly high for an event of its nature. For Pai this is a relatively short event as he is continuing his build up to Ouray 100mi in July, Bigfoot 208mi in August, and Moab 240mi in October. I believe this was also a 100km PR for Pai, which is a testament to how hard he works in only his second year running ultras.
May 18th: Cody Henderson finished his second half marathon of the year in Whitefish, Montana. This event takes place around 3000ft altitude which is high for Cody who lives at sea level. It was a good strong effort for a race that entailed some of the challenges of travel and terrain. Shout out to Cody who is working his way up to his first trail 50km this year!
May 19th: Sydney Williams of Livingston, Montana headed to Billings for the Queen Bee Half Marathon, where she pulled off a stellar pace and hit a 10mi and half-marathon PB in recent history.
Syd is building up to the Missoula Marathon June 30th–big cheers for Syd as she heads into race weekend!
May 25-27: Yun-Yi Pai also pulled off an incredible b2b2b of 73mi at the Western States Training Camp runs in California. Not a race, this event allows folks to get out on the course prior to the event coming up in a few days, and for him, this was a perfect opportunity to work on nutrition, hydration and pacing for a multi-day event as he heads into 200+ mile events this year. Another great event to keep in mind if you’re planning to bump up to the 100+ mile race distances. Pai will be pacing a friend at Western States this weekend–shoutout to all of you pacing and volunteering at events this year!
June 2024 News:
June 7-8: Grant Cunningham took the opportunity to mark and sweep the Sinks Canyon 50km for an extra long b2b training run in Wyoming with his pup Goose while training for Crazy Mtn 100mi in July. You may remember Grant herding Buffalo off the course on Antelope Island in March where he ran to a 4th place 100-mile finish. Interestingly Grant and Goose had a bit of a run-in with a moose on the Sinks course and worth noting were able to scare it off with bear spray and lots of yelling! As Grant works his way toward Crazy, he also donated one of his hand-made knives to the race for a special prize for the last-place (or DFL) finisher. If you haven’t followed Grant or seen his special creations yet, check out his page on instagram @grunningham.
June 7-8th: Tom Attard ran the Scout Mountain 100mi event in Pocatello, Idaho. This race had a high dropout rate this year with some extremely hot temperatures with a mid-day start at 90deg F. Tom made it 99-miles of this 103mi course before missing the last cutoff due to a headlamp mishap. This is a really important point for all of us: it’s absolutely imperative to have an extra headlamp and extra batteries or a battery charger for both headlamps. You cannot use a headlamp and charge it at the same time. This was just bad luck for Tom who had an extra headlamp at some point. I recommend carrying two Petzl headlamps with two removable and rechargeable batteries. Tom has a good attitude about the experience, however, as it was his last big opportunity to train and work out the kinks prior to the Mighty Gallatin 300mi stage race in Montana in July.
June 8th: Catie Arno followed up the Bitterroot Runoff with an outstanding performance at the Mountain to Meadow half marathon outside Lolo, Montana. Setting PRs for the last couple years in the 10km, 10mi and HM distances, Catie ran strong and felt strong the entire run, having a day we all wish for–again despite the high temps and altitude. She has been consistently putting in the work this spring and it definitely paid off on this run.
June 15th: Keiki Howe of Helena, Montana finished the Old Gabe 32km race which includes over 6500ft of vertical gain. The conditions on this course can be a huge killer with snow drifts and weather often slowing people down and getting people lost. But she pushed through for the finish!
June 15th: Coach KPat returned to River of No Return 108km in Challis, Idaho–a spectacular course with about 16,000ft gain. The event is organized by Paul Lind and his family including son and sponsored mountain and ultra runner, Cody Lind–who won with a time of 11:11! Paul’s dad held the responsibility of pulling the trigger on the 20-gauge shotgun to initiate the start of Western States 100-mile run for many years, and the Lind fellas are well-known internationally in the world of ultra. This year was the 10th anniversary of RONR and is showing no signs of slowing down–absolutely 100% recommend this race!
In other news: where are they now?
June 14th: Kat Sullivan, former Flight Phase athlete of Teton Village, Wyoming, made it through Smokejumper Rookie training for the West Yellowstone Smokejumpers.
June 23rd: Emma Cheyne former Flight Phase athlete of Michigan, who is currently working on the Lewis and Clark Hotshots took a shot at the half-ironman race in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on her days off and noted using what she’s learned from ultra to have a fantastic day despite limited experience in the discipline.
UPCOMING EVENTS: SUMMER 2024
June 30th: Missoula Marathon, Montana. Sydney Williams will be running the Missoula Marathon, voted one of the top marathons in the US!
July 7th: Beartooth Run 10km, Montana. Scott Williams and sister-in-law Sydney Williams plan to run the high-altitude Beartooth 10km on Beartooth Highway–all above 10,000ft altitude outside Red Lodge, Montana.
July 13th: McCall Trail Running Classic “McClassic” 50km, Idaho. Catie Arno will head to a mountainous 50km outside McCall Idaho, organized by the same race directors and on some of the same trails as IMTUF 100.
July 26th: Crazy Mountain 100mi, Montana. Grant Cunningham and Scott Williams are planning on taking on this burly event in the mountains outside Livingston–the only 100mi event in MT!
July 27th: RATBOB 50mi, Montana. KPat and former Flight Phase athletes Kat Sullivan and Tom Attard will head to the Bob Marshall wilderness with a group of runners who have run across this area every year for ten years. More of a “fatass” style run for locals. Still time to get involved if you want in contact me.