Registration is now open for the 2010 Logan Peak Trail race, which will be held Saturday, June 26, 2010. This is a tough 28 mile mountain trail race on predominantly singletrack and jeep trail with 7200+ feet of vertical gain/descent. Located in the Cache-Wasatch National Forest of northern Utah, the scenery is spectacular. The course follows a modified lollipop pattern in which Logan Dry Canyon makes up the stem, and the loop is formed by circumnavigating Logan Peak. Midway through the loop, runners climb to and descend from the peak.

Kelly Bradbury first organized this race three years ago. Scott Datwyler and I are the race directors for 2010. This year we are offering online registration through UltraSignup.com. The race will be capped at 100 runners.

The breakout bestseller "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall has stimulated a number of recent ultrarunning blog articles extolling the biomechanical virtues of Tarahumara (Raramuri) Indian running style (see e.g. Proper Running Technique Can Improve Performance, and Elements of the Perfect Trail Running Shoe). But the Tarahumara Indian approach to eating on the run is equally intriguing. These runners use pinole (a form of corn meal) as a primary energy source when distance running. Interestingly American Indians and 18th and 19th century Mountain Men (all known to rapidly cover long distances on foot) also often subsisted on pinole supplemented with pemmican or jerky. For a couple months now, I've been experimenting with pinole as my carbohydrate energy source on longer runs. For me, pinole seems to work every bit as well as—maybe better than—gel.

Pinole is easy to prepare. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, blend 2 cups corn meal, 1/3 cup honey, 0.5 teaspoon lite salt, and 0.25 teaspoon table salt. Spread the mixture uniformly on a cookie sheet (with sides) and bake for about 15 - 20 minutes until medium golden. About every 5 minutes, you will need to use a spatula to mix (breaking up any big lumps that remain) and spread the pinole on the cookie sheet. This keeps it from getting too browned, and the corn meal mixes more easily with the honey as it gets hot. When the pinole is medium golden, remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let cool. Store the pinole in a closed container at room temperature.

Corn meal contains about 160 calories per ounce by weight. So in energy terms, pinole is pretty much a direct replacement for gel on a volume basis. I find that gel flasks are a convenient way to carry pinole. Simply unscrew the flask top, and pour about an ounce volume of pinole into your mouth. Pinole tastes like a slightly sweet, crunchy version of popcorn. Chew and swallow most of it; then chase with 6 - 8 ounces of water. It takes somewhat longer to digest cornmeal than maltodextran or simple sugars, which are used in many gels. In this respect pinole is more comparable to gels based on brown rice syrup. If you're one of those runners who wait until your blood sugar starts to dive before consuming a gel, pinole probably won't work very well for you.

The Indians mix some cinnamon with their pinole. I don't particularly like cinnamon, but it does help modulate blood sugar. Regular corn meal works fine for piñole, but if you can find blue corn or one of the other maize meals, go for it!

For years I've been deeply dissatisfied with most available trail running shoes. Several weeks ago, I read "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall—a fascinating and highly entertaining book about the Tarahumara Indians and ultrarunning in general. McDougall's book reinforced many of my complaints with commercial trail running shoes, and helped to focus my ideas about what a perfect trail running shoe really ought to be.

I recognize that feet come in a variety of shapes and sizes and that not every trail runner (or road runner) needs or wants the same thing. On the other hand ultrarunning is all about pushing boundaries, and where our feet are concerned, frankly many of us need to push the boundaries a bit further. There is a widespread misconception that characteristics like arch height/strength, tendency to supinate or pronate, etc. are dictated primarily by genetics. This is not really true, as any serious cyclist who started with 'flat feet' knows. It is perfectly possible to build and strengthen your arch, and doing so leads to feet that are more 'neutral'. Unfortunately the current emphasis on running shoes that provide motion control, stability, and cushioning simply serves to perpetuate weaker feet. I'm not suggesting that every trail runner throw out their shoes and run barefoot (even most primitive human cultures wore some type of foot protection). Nor am I suggesting that ultrarunners quit using their favorite shoes for long

Last weekend, I decided it was time to get out for one last, long, high-country run this season. We had already experienced several early snowstorms, but most of the snow had melted below the 8500 - 9000 foot level. With another major snowstorm and cold temperatures predicted for the following Tuesday, it seemed likely that the high country would soon be too inaccessible for distance running. All summer long, I had been wanting to get back to some parts of the old Bear 100 course. This seemed like it might be a good opportunity.

I drove up Cub River canyon to the base of German Dugway. My plan was to run up German Dugway to the top of Paris Canyon and then take the Highline Trail north over into Horseshoe Basin, on to the top of Dry Basin, and then back—about 20 miles round trip, with elevations ranging from 7000 - 8600 feet. By mid-morning it was already a gorgeous day: clear, 28 degrees fahrenheit, and no wind. Climbing up German Dugway, the ground was still nicely frozen, and running conditions were perfect. The vistas to the west were beautiful. I felt strong, and my dog and I made good time. Once we got over onto the Highline Trail, we began encountering mud in places where there had been a lot of recent ATV traffic. I wondered how bad this might get in another two hours.

The portion of Highline Trail that descends from the ridge into Horseshoe Basin is high and north facing. Here there was about six inches of firm, crusty snow, and the running was fantastic! As we reached Horseshoe Basin proper, we began to again encounter places with lots of sloppy, freeze-thaw mud. This continued all the way to the top of Dry Basin, except for about half a mile where the trail winds through a heavily protected forest of pines and firs.

On the return trip the mud was definitely getting worse in places, but overall not too bad. The views were still spectacular, and we flew down German Dugway to the car. The run took just over four hours—not bad considering the mud. It was a great way to end the main running season!

My wife Gayle and I have worked as volunteers (aid station captains, flagging trail, etc.) for the Bear 100 since 2003. In 2007, I ran the Bear 100 (the last year of the old course). 2008 was the first year of the new course. I had run the Bighorn 100 earlier that season, and so I agreed to man an aid station and do some pacing. However by the time race day rolled around in 2008, it was obvious I was in really good condition and should have been running the race. Moreover I was thoroughly familiar with the new course. When it turned out that so many runners had problems navigating the new course, I made the decision then and there that I was going to run the new course this year.

There would be complications, however. Inadequate trail signage is/has been a nagging problem in the Cache Wasatch National Forest. Worse, we have persistent problems at ultra races in this area due to people (disgruntled hunters, disgruntled hippies, disgruntled motorized users, etc.) removing (or intentionally moving) trail flagging. Because of last year's navigation problems on the new course, I volunteered this year to be in charge of course marking. I also really wanted to eliminate the longstanding hassle of putting up glow sticks along some 60 miles of the course immediately before dark. If I was going to accomplish these tasks AND run the Bear 100, I would have to get organized. I managed to put together a team of 12 experienced runners/hikers to mark the course. Then late in August, we came up with high intensity reflector technology to replace glow sticks for night time trail marking. Hopefully everything would go according to plan, because if it didn't, I was going to end up spending a great deal of time fixing course markings while I was supposedly trying to race the Bear 100.

On race day it was slightly chilly at the start, but nowhere near as cold as normal in late September. We've been having a heat wave. At 6:00 AM everybody took off. Initially we were pretty well massed together. After passing ten people or so, I managed to settle in with a large group that went at a pace I liked. I remember it was nice chatting with friends and acquaintances from other races. But most of the first 5 or 6 hours of the race itself weren't especially memorable to me; I spend too much time on that part of the course during the rest of the year.


After screaming down Leatham Hollow, I was right on pace when I reached the Leatham aid station. There, Gayle was ready with my drop bag. After a quick shirt change, water bottle refills, and some melon, I was running again. The climb up Left Hand Fork and Richards Hollow was uneventful. Near the top of Richards, I caught up with Tim Seminoff and Errol Jones. Soon Errol and I took off fast on the descent to the Cowley aid station. Somewhere along there in the powdery dust that obscures the road underneath, I managed to stub my right middle toe on a rock. I slowed a bit, and at the Cowley aid station, I spent a couple minutes taping the toe tightly. It would annoy but not slow me the rest of the race.

The 2009 Bear 100 will be using high-intensity reflectors instead of glow sticks to mark the night time part of the course. Ultra trail races have for years used glow sticks to mark the trail at night. While glow sticks do a decent job indicating night time routes, they are abhorrent in many other respects. Glow sticks are expensive; they generate complaints from other trail users; they are environmentally unsatisfactory; and they require a special trip over the course for placement (because of their short life time). Here at the Bear 100, we have been searching for a good alternative to glow sticks, and we think we have found it in the form of high-intensity reflective film or tape.

There are actually quite a variety of high-intensity reflective materials available. The material we are using is 3M Scotchlite Diamond Grade 983 reflective tape. A great deal of optical engineering has gone into this and related products, yielding a very high reflectivity even at low light levels (R_A ~ 800 cd/lux/m² at optimal angles) and good reflectivity at low angles from the reflective surface (R_A ~ 300 cd/lux/m² at 45 degrees). This material is also highly durable (seven to ten year life), meaning we should be able to reuse these reflectors for quite a few races.

We will be deploying reflectors as 1/2 in. x 3 in. strips attached to standard plastic flagging. This shape is similar to a glow stick and will hopefully make it easier for runners to make the transition from glow sticks to reflectors. The linear shape should also increase the likelihood that reflectors will still be visible when partially obscured by foliage. These strips cost roughly 13 - 14 cents apiece. In testing, these reflectors are easily visible at 100 yards—similar to glow sticks (see 2_reflectors_at_100_yards).

With four weeks remaining until the 2009 Bear 100, it's time to map out a race strategy. I want to try something a little different for this race because I always seem to have big problems with stomach distress and hypoglycemia between miles 20 to 35 in races. I plan to start slow and go easy. This way I can hopefully avoid trashing my muscles during the period when my energy maintenance is poor. Then at about 40 miles, I plan to speed up and hopefully keep a faster pace for the remainder of the race.

Since mid July I've been working to maintain much of the conditioning base I had built (but didn't really get to use) for Hardrock. Because that was mainly steep up-canyon/down-canyon conditioning, I have lately been doing more speed work on relatively flat terrain. Much of my long distance training for the Bear 100 has been and will be pacing. A week ago I paced one of my running partners for the last half of the Leadville 100, (congratulations Milada, you did really well), and I'll be pacing for a little under 40 miles at the Wasatch 100 in two weeks. Pacing long distances as a form of training fits well with my new race strategy, since the typical average speed while pacing is about what I want to shoot for in the first third of a 100-mile race. 

I'm pretty familiar with the Bear 100 course. Yesterday, I took one of my sled dogs for a quick run up Blind Hollow to Tony Grove and back. This is the only portion of the course I had never been over. The grade and terrain is reminiscent of Richards Hollow. I alternated running and power hiking on the way up, and then blasted down it on the return trip. The route is fairly easy to follow, except in the vicinity of Tony Grove, where there is a maze of trails. Fortunately this will be well-marked on race day for Bear 100 runners.

2009 was supposed to be my year to run the Hardrock 100. Alas it was not to happen. I was position 32 on the wait list after the lottery in early February. Over the next 5 months I advanced to position 5. Based on past years, my chances for getting into the race looked good. So we drove to Silverton, CO. Unfortunately this year, for the first time, no one on the wait list got in at the end of registration.

Frustrated, I decided to see if someone still needed a pacer. Ouray, 56 miles into the race and the lowest point on the course, seemed like a good place to look for a runner who might want a pacer. Sure enough around 8 PM Kirsten Thompson showed up looking for a pacer for her husband Sam Thompson, who was expected to arrive soon. I was careful to caution her that Sam is a lot faster than me, and I might not be able to keep up for the entire last 44 miles of the race. On the other hand, I climb well, have good skills on technical downhills, and lots of experience with night trail running. I was confident I could get Sam from Ouray to Telluride and probably to Chapman at a good pace. There also weren't any other available pacers.

Sam and I left Ouray a little before 9 PM and headed up the trail through Box Canyon Park, which eventually spilled us out onto the Camp Bird Road. We power hiked this FS road almost 6 miles and 2800 feet up to the Governor Basin aid station. Along the way we saw a total of two trail markers.

This morning it was time for the annual snow trek to Logan Peak. The run begins and ends at the old quarry half way up Providence Canyon. Participants this year were Ron Stagg, Leland Barker, Scott Datwyler, and myself.

As we headed east up Providence Canyon at 6:30 AM, the creek was flowing over the entire jeep road. Clearly the snow is melting fast! About half a mile further up the road, we hit snow, which continued to the top of the canyon. Although temperatures were in the high forties, the snow in the canyon bottom was good and firm. About halfway up the remainder of the canyon, we encountered a place where an ATV had recently been 'mudding' the side of the canyon. I shot a couple of photos to document this for the Forest Service and the Bear River Watershed Council. 

The 2009 Antelope Island Buffalo Run was a great success! Jim Skaggs, the race director, once again put on an outstanding event. This year Antelope Island State Park allowed uncapped registration, and there were nearly 500 runners spread amongst the 25K, 50K, and 50 mile distances—great for competition! The trails were in good shape, and the weather was perfect for running (very fortuitous considering that today we have a blizzard with near whiteout).

I went into this race seriously undertrained for the 50 mile distance (there still isn't more than 15 miles of trail open anywhere here in Cache Valley). Nevertheless I managed to knock 26 minutes off my time for last year by using a new fueling strategy. It seems that my fat burning rate isn't very high (I've been borderline hypoglycemic all my life). So to compensate for this, I consumed three carbohydrate gels per hour for the last 6-7 hours of the race. This strategy worked well, and I was able to comfortably maintain a higher than usual pace late in the race. Since three gels (90 g) per hour is getting near the carbohydrate fueling limit for the human body, I had to make certain that I spaced out my gels properly and consumed adequate quantities of water. To compensate for undertraining, I also used a caffeinated gel/blocks every third or fourth gel from the 30 mile point onward.

I only saw six buffalo all day (frequently I see many more when training on the island). Coming off the Elephant Head trail section, six buffalo decided to stampede across the trail right in front of the runner ahead of me. He was probably shell-shocked for hours afterward.

Congratulations to one of my training partners, Milada Copeland, for winning the women's 50 mile competition. All in all it was a successful race!

With the Buffalo Run 50-mile only two weekends away and most trails in northernmost Utah far too muddy, it seemed like a good time to head to Moab for some heat acclimation training. The plan was to run the Gemini Bridges road, Gold Bar Trail, Golden Spike Trail, and Poison Spider Trail—the same route used for the Red Hot Moab 33k.

We arrived in Moab at 9:00 in the morning. After a fortuitous encounter with Chris Martinez at the start of the Gemini Bridges road, my sled dog Chilli and I set off. I began with a 70 oz water bladder and two full 24 oz water bottles.

It was a pleasant 4 mile climb along the Gemini Bridges road. We then turned onto the Gold Bar Trail, which is reasonably easy to follow all the way out to the east overlook. At that point Gold Bar becomes the Golden Spike Trail heading south. Golden Spike is difficult to follow because in many places the 4x4s have cut several different routes to handle difficult terrain. It is often necessary to pursue these different routes some distance to find the marked route.

Somewhere around mile 11, we got off course and ended up covering an additional 6 miles. This occurred at a four-way trail junction where we took a well-marked trail approximately west for about 3 miles. Several times along this route, I checked map and compass bearings. In each case the trail appeared to follow the course indicated on the map for the Poison Spider Trail. Eventually our trail began to turn north, and it was obvious we were not on the correct route. We turned back. There were some nice climbs and descents on slickrock—this section could have been a lot of fun if we hadn't been off course.

Finally we reached the four-way junction again and eventually found the correct (Golden Spike) trail. It didn't hurt to pick up some extra miles, but in retrospect I should have originally taken the time to check all the trail possibilities at the four-way junction.

We continued along the correct Golden Spike trail for about another 1.5 mile before it turned into what was obviously the Poison Spider Trail. Navigation was straightforward along Poison Spider, and the trail eventually spit us out at the trailhead next to the Colorado river.

Overall it was a good training run. There were lots of great views! Temperatures were in the mid seventies, but there were half a dozen pools in the slickrock where Chilli was able to get water.

This is the second of two articles that examine ways to increase the maximum field sizes for 100 mile trail races. In the first article I noted three main factors which limit the maximum sizes of 100 mile mountain trail races: trail impacts, availability of race volunteers, and aid station parking/road congestion. The first article focused on limiting crew (somewhat) as a way to control aid station parking/road congestion and thereby allow larger race sizes. I also noted that trail impacts really SHOULD NOT be a huge issue limiting 100 mile race size because of the amount of trail work that ultrarunners do. Here I want to take a closer look at how service and/or trail work requirements affect 100 mile race volunteership, and to some extent trail impacts.

Service (including trail work) requirements have been part of 100 mile races for a long time. Some races require service; some do not. Races which DO require service vary considerably in what they require. Some races allow either trail work or volunteer service at another (typically ultra) race. Some races require trail work specifically, and there are even races that require trail work to be done on a 100 mile race course. Races also vary considerably in what they accept as proof of service. At least one race requires another 100 mile race director to sign off on any trail work done. It has sometimes been argued that service requirements are ineffective because the work should be voluntary. I'm not going to get into the argument about mandatory versus voluntary service, except to note that the overwhelming majority of ultrarunners I know DO or WOULD DO service regardless whether it is required or not.

This article is the first of two articles which examine ways to increase the maximum field sizes for 100 mile trail races. Three main factors limit the maximum sizes of 100 mile mountain trail races: trail impacts caused by runners (as determined typically by public land managers), availability (and access) of race volunteers, and aid station parking/road congestion associated with runner crews (see e.g. Sherpa John's interview with Massanutten RD Stan Duobinis in "Are Lotteries Really Fair?")

Of these factors, trail impacts should generally be the least significant. Trail runners—especially 100 mile trail runners—perform far more trail work than any other class of trail user, even when adjusted for trail mileage. This is a point we must continually reinforce in the minds of public land and forest managers. In the second of these two articles, I will address some aspects of service/trail work requirements and race volunteers as they affect maximum race size. Here I want to focus on the use of crew by runners and its relationship to maximum race size.

There are really two different components of crew: pacers and motorized food/equipment/medical support that travels from aid station to aid station. These two components have overlapping, but different, impacts on races. Pacers contribute (slightly) to trail damage, and depending on race rules may raise the number of aid station supplies and volunteers needed. Commonly, pacers also rely on motorized access to aid stations, but this doesn't necessarily need to be the case. Motorized support crew contribute to aid station congestion, parking congestion, and sometimes traffic congestion on access roads. This latter can be an especially significant problem when cars share the road with runners (e.g. the 2-3 miles before Upper Big Water aid station at Wasatch).

Race registration forms are now posted online for the 2009 Logan Peak Trail race to be held Saturday, June 27, 2009. This 28 mile course circumnavigates and ascends to/from Logan Peak in the Cache-Wasatch National Forest of northern Utah. It is a tough course on predominantly singletrack and jeep trail with 7200+ feet of vertical gain/descent amid spectacular scenery.

Kelly Bradbury first organized this race two years ago. This year Scott Datwyler and I will be serving as race directors. You can read previous race reports at Davy Crockett's 2008 Logan PeakRun-UT and Brian Beckstead's Logan Peak Trail Run 08. Greg Norrander has graciously made available many wonderful photographs of the 2008 race.

We hope to make the race a little greener this year by providing a recycling bin where race participants can donate/recycle used or unwanted running gear and by helping to facilitate carpooling to/from the race. 

For efficient winter running traction on packed snow trails here in the Wasatch mountains, nothing beats the Yaktrax Pro! They slip over running shoes easily, and the velcro strap makes it easy (and comfortable) to cinch them down securely. At 5.5 oz per pair, they add very little weight to your feet, and they are simple to pack because there are no sharp spikes or abrasive edges to worry about.

The mountains of Utah tend to have drier, powdery snow. If we get ice, it's usually a thin layer at the very bottom of the snow. Most years that is a long way down. Yaktrax are designed to grip over their entire bottom webbed surface. This gives optimal traction in packed snow, where spikes would have little or nothing to grip against.  

Yaktrax are not for everybody. If you run in some other part of the world where there is a lot of ice or crust, you may be better off with spikes. Also Yaktrax do not hold up well on rocks or dirt. For traction on roads or trails where there is occasional ice, you're probably better off with spikes or studded shoes (my preference on icy pavement).

If you need traction on packed snow trails that don't have exposed rock or dirt, I highly recommend the Yaktrax Pro.

There have been quite a few posts on different trail and ultrarunning blogs about people getting upset stomachs from gels (see e.g. http://blog.irunfar.com/2008/12/energy-gel-comparison.html). I truly believe some runners CANNOT tolerate prolonged gel consumption. However, before you conclude that you're one of those people, let's make certain something else isn't the problem. [Some of what follows can also be found in the special topics article "Biochemical Strategies for Ultramarathon Running" as part of a broader discussion of carbohydrate and fat calorie needs for running.]

Long distance running is inherently stressful to the stomach. Very small tears occur in the stomach and intestinal lining. This is not dangerous, but it does significantly upset the stomach. Moreover heavy exercise diverts blood from the stomach to the muscles, thereby decreasing the digestive and nutrient uptake activity that the stomach can support. Race stress further affects the stomach. Your stomach may be unhappy regardless what you eat! If you are running a sub-20 hour pace for a 100 mile race, you are pushing the limits of human aerobic energy metabolism. I really applaud you, but it is fairly certain you will encounter stomach problems.

There is an established upper limit to how much carbohydrate a runner can consume per hour before their stomach shuts down. For a 150 lb runner, that limit is 100-130 grams (about 350 calories or a little over 3 gels). If you weigh less or more than 150 lb, scale that number down or up accordingly. A few elite ultrarunners may be able to get away with consuming 3 gels per hour, but most of us mere mortals are much safer with 2 gels per hour. OK, when I say 2 gels per hour I mean 2 gels per hour—I do NOT mean zero gels one hour and 4 gels the next. Even at 2 gels per hour, you can still find yourself in trouble if you consume a sports drink or eat large amounts of other food. Sports drinks contain upwards of 50 grams carbohydrate per liter (quart).

Here on the Wasatch Front we're having a VERY late Fall. Many of my preferred mountain trails are free of snow, but extremely muddy! As a result, I've been doing most of my running at lower elevations. That brings me to the problem I've recently encountered: fur trapping on urban trails.

The local National Forest boundary has a game fence to keep deer from coming down the mountains and eating all the tasty landscaping around urban homes. One of our best lower elevation trails follows the game fence, and I frequently run there with one of my sled dogs. Lately someone has been setting wire snare traps in breaks under the game fence to trap foxes. This is illegal along certain parts of the trail and legal along other parts.

I'm not opposed to hunting or trapping in any general sense—in fact I've hunted grouse and pheasant for years, and deer before that. Also as an ultrarunner who spends lots of time in the backcountry, I readily understand the natural balance between predator and prey, and I accept the fact that humans are sometimes the predator. But fur trapping along a semi-urban fence bothers me at several different levels. First, many people run or hike that trail with their dogs or children, and the traps pose an unreasonable hazard. Second it seems unsporting to use breaks in the unnatural fence boundary as the basis for trapping wild game. And last I believe any decent trapper ought to be able to travel at least half as far into the backcountry as an ultrarunner.

(Addendum, December 7, 2008) And here's what all this nonsense leads to. The snare was tightly wrapped around the abdomen of the cat (you can see the snare wire in front of the cat's face in the picture). Fortunately we were successful in freeing the kitty.

Ultrarunners often get asked the question "How can you run that far?" For several years now there has been a provocative scientific hypothesis which says distance running was a significant part of human evolution. According to that hypothesis [D. M. Bramble and D. E. Lieberman, "Endurance running and the evolution of Homo." Nature, vol. 432, pp. 345-352, 18 Nov. 2004], such well-known human traits as lack of body hair, high perspiration rate, upright stature, high arches, broad shoulders, and large gluteus maximus were selected through evolution to make it easier for us to run long distances.

Nothing makes it simpler for me to 'just get out there' than the Camelbak Octane 8+ hydration pack. It is light enough for racing, but roomy enough for long, self-supported, backcountry trail runs. Unexpanded (525 cu in), it is sleek and efficient. Fully expanded, it has huge capacity. The shoulder straps are wide and comfortable, and the substantial belt makes it possible to loosen the shoulder straps considerably for a more relaxed upper body when running. The two side belt pockets—easily accessible while running—are perfect for carrying 5.5 oz gel bottles and/or electrolytes, meds, etc.

I've never been very satisfied with fanny packs for running—they simply bounce around the tops of my hips too much. Apart from this, the advantage of the Octane 8+ is that it makes it possible to carry lightweight but bulky items that would never fit in a fanny pack. During cold nighttime portions of races, I have sometimes used the Octane to carry spare tights, top, socks, gloves, emergency equipment and extra gel/food without even pushing the unexpanded capacity of the pack. I have only used the expansion capacity once, but merely knowing it is available greatly simplifies clothing choices for extended runs.

All runners benefit from a certain amount of speedwork. Speedwork can substantially improve overall health and fitness, and that applies equally to those of us who do trail running and ultramarathons. In fact, it is sometimes claimed that ultrarunners develop slow legs because we spend too large a fraction of our mileage doing long, slow distances.

But what kind of speedwork? The terminology can be confusing and often doesn't describe either how the workout is done or what the workout is supposed to accomplish. So here's a breakdown of the main types of speed work for ALL runners: