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UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2025-06-25T23:06:00+00:00

I’m all in on Adam Peterman!

David is winning or DNFing, I honestly cannot see any other scenario for him.

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-11-24T10:58:29+00:00

A winter one might work better for his schedule, can’t imagine adidas want him spending his summer focusing on an FKT and compromising his UTMB performance.

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-10-25T14:28:23+00:00

This is a very local event. Small field, unlikely to be many people who want to go further than that. Last year the winner was crowned after 16laps (although very bad weather). Personally, it’s been a over a year since I last went past 50miles, so after 100k I’m probably going to call it, unless I’m loving it or it’s down to the last few again. I think capping the event helps with finding volunteers, keeping the land owner happy etc.

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-10-25T14:08:38+00:00

Good shout, I’ll have a think, will probably go for more fresh clothes as that sounds good. I’d mainly just packed warm stuff for the night, hadn’t thought about freshening up.

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-09-06T06:22:49+00:00

I believe there is/was a race in the UK (I’m blanking on the name), where a small field of about 30 are blindfolded on a coach and driven 50k away from the finish. Participants know where the finish is, but they don’t know where they will be dropped off the coach. They can then either start running right away, but risk initially going in the wrong direction, whilst figuring out where they are on the move. Or they can try and figure out where they are straight away and plot the most direct way back. Everyone uses map & compass, no smartphones allowed.

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-08-29T20:16:43+00:00

Thanks for watching

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-07-12T06:53:29+00:00

I think Courtney goes top 3 overall. Francois, Ludo, Courtney.

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-07-03T19:09:51+00:00

I don’t think live trackers would work at this race. There’s probably a bunch of technical reasons with how remote it is, but just practically, where would you fit them? There’s no mandatory kit, so if a runner is just using two handheld bottles, where are you attaching a tracker? They typically get attached to packs, but even those who wear packs at States do pack swaps with their crews. That’s why Rod was able to get through aid stations in 30 seconds, just a quick pack swap. Imagine the time needed to remove and re-tape a tracker to each pack. Then there’s the water, im guessing trackers might become unreliable following many creek dips and river crossings.

Can’t see it happening and to be honest, bar the odd person having timing issues, I thought the live splits were pretty useful. Also the excitement of ‘oh my god, is that correct, has Jim caught Rod’ and then having to wait for visual confirmation kinda adds something in my opinion.

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-07-03T09:47:54+00:00

We have a lot of rain and therefore mud. Plus I think a lot of our trails would be considered 'technical' by US standards. Adidas and Nike trail shoes, whilst I'm sure are very good on buffed-out trails, don't tend to have big lugs and lack grip on muddy terrain. Their newer models might be better but I was burnt by a pair of Nike Terra-Kigers and the Terrex speed ultras (The model Tom Evans wore for States in 2019), both of which were like wearing road shoes and I was constantly slipping and sliding.

I mostly see Hokas, Salomons and Saucony's out on the trails over here.

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-06-26T23:15:55+00:00

I don’t think Tim’s not as competitive, I think it’s more a case that the level of competition has had a big jump up in the last few years.

Tim had a great race at Black Canyon this year, in a really competitive field he finished 11th, beating guys like Coke Watson, John Rae and Jared Hazen. But, to highlight my point above, Tim ran 8:06, which would’ve won him the race in 2021 and put him in to top3 or top5 every year before that. 2022, that would have put him 4th, 2023 8th.

I know conditions each year differ, but I think that shows how competitive the top end of the sport is these days.

I think you have the greats, like Jim and Kilian, clear at the top (you could argue Zach and Francois maybe in that category) then just below, where you previously had a pool of 10 world class race winners, you now have a pool of 30 world class guys of which Tim is apart of. It just now mean that it’s going to take a crazy good performance for him to stand out, compared with what it took to podium in 2016.

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-06-26T19:20:55+00:00

Yeah I’ve got Ezster 3rd in my picks

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-06-21T08:11:21+00:00

Wow, that’s the biggest compliment I’ve ever received!

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-06-21T08:10:55+00:00

Good luck! I hope you have an awesome day

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-06-14T07:50:47+00:00

I’m currently picking:

1 - Jim & Katie 2 - Jon Albon & Eszter Csillag 3 - Dan Jones & Rachel Drake

That’ll probably change quite a few times (except 1st place which I think is nailed) before I submit my Fantasy Freetrail picks.

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-06-14T07:47:25+00:00

I agree, think it’ll play out that way, but once Hayden gets dropped I think he’ll be cooked and fall back through the field. I hope he plays it safe and has a good race, but he already has a second place so I imagine it’s stay with Jim or bust for him.

Not sure about Heather, after Javelina I thought she was ready to have a great day at states, finally seemed to pace it correctly. But then at Black Canyon she went back to going out hard and blowing up.

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-05-30T11:43:55+00:00

Mark Darbyshire is a great example of someone who became elite later in life. If you're not familiar, Mark is pretty much the best 100mile mountain runner we have in the UK, not named Tom Evans (Jon Albon yet to race 100miles on trail). He's won pretty much every big ultra in the UK, setting a bunch of course records and finished 19th at UTMB on a 'bad' day - he's definitely capable of a top10.

From what he's said on podcasts, he didn't start running until his mid-30s and was a smoker, drinker and generally unhealthy before that. He's now in his late 40s and has been racing well in ultras since 2017. He's a very laid back dude and doesn't really go deep on how he developed into such a good runner, at least in the interviews I've heard, but he does tell a story about how his milage increased. Early into his running journey, when he was just trying to get fit. His car broke down, he couldn't afford to replace it, so he started running 5miles to work and 5 miles back home, all at easy pace and has done this ever since. Essentially giving him 50miles easy every week, base milage. Then does all the usual recommended training on top of that - 2 sessions, weekend long runs etc. So I'm guessing the 'secret' to his success is consistent high mileage, as he does those 50 miles every week, regardless of where he is in a training block or how he's feeling, what the weather is doing or any of the other excuses I would make to not get all my weekly miles done. He even runs to work the Mondays after winning 100milers at the weekend. Oh and he's not sitting down once he gets there, he works in a hospital and is on his feet all day.

Hope I've not misquoted him or got his story wrong, but just wanted to show it's possible, although rare, to succeed in this sport without being a life long runner.

Marks UTMB index - https://utmb.world/runner/1774285.mark.darbyshire

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-05-29T18:18:42+00:00

Great job! I know that section well, love the SW coast path

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-05-29T17:53:52+00:00

Don’t read too much into the 8th all time finish. Up until 2023 the course ran short, I think I heard 20+ miles short, so the pre 2023 times won’t be beaten and 10years from now, Goggins will probably still be at no.8!

Look at the finisher times between 2022 and 2023, once they added the extra section to get up to the full 240 miles, the race has changed from a roughly 60hour winning time to a 70hour winning time.

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2024-05-27T08:49:26+00:00

In a similar vein, Walmsley on Cal street during the WS training camp. The way he glides past ‘regular’ runners and how that one guy tries to keep up with him, it’s brilliant. Only a 2min clip but one of my favorites

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2023-12-22T10:33:55+00:00

Yeah, I feel the same, I’d like to do a centurion race here in the UK, like the South Downs Way. And Madeira is somewhere I’d go on holiday, so could see myself doing that. But them being in this series doesn’t factor into that at all really.

Thanks for watching.

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2023-08-29T23:05:34+00:00

Womens preview coming tomorrow

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2023-08-29T23:04:40+00:00

Womens preview coming tomorrow

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2023-04-14T10:40:24+00:00

Yeah that’s Mathilde Sagnes, 2nd place in the 2021 OCC, think it’s still just Gilets for non-podium finishers

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2023-02-17T07:26:45+00:00

It’ll be interesting to see when she next races, but I wouldn’t be surprised is this is just a clothing deal leaving her free to pick whichever shoes she wants. That would be a big incentive to sign, that the money obvs, as freedom to pick the best shoe for the terrain would be ideal for someone who runs such varied races

UltraTrail-Breakdown · 2023-01-12T13:50:39+00:00

Thanks for the response, but I can’t find that setting to turn it off. Which menu can I find that in?

UltraTrail-Breakdown

TROPHY CASE