Ragnar Northwest Passage: Summer Fun Part 1

So you’ve run them all. The 5k, the 10k, a few track races, a token marathon, some trail races and that crazy ultra marathon thingy. After over 25 years of running, it wasn’t until a few months ago that I finally got my first road marathon finish and felt like I could finally join “the” club. See even though I’ve completed the marathon distance and further on the trails several times I never felt like I could jump in the “marathon” conversation while people listed off races like NYC, Boston, Portland, Marine Corp, Chicago and Grandma’s. Now that I’m officially a marathon finisher and I can now jump in those conversations with ease(and a Boston Qualifier) but I still reserve the right to play my “Ragnar” card.

A little puzzled, you tilt your head and ask “What is Ragnar?”.  Take a seat my friend and let me explain.

Ragnar is a relay series with destination races across the United States varying in distance from 180 to 200 miles and that offers you and 11 of your best buddies the opportunity to traverse a veritable cornucopia of scenic and challenging running routes that will no doubt awaken your senses, challenge your physical being, rob you of much need sleep and allow you to see those around you from a different and more colorful lens while celebrating the joy of 24 plus hours of running. Now that sounds like fun.

The series itself started in 2004 in Park City, Utah as Ragnar Wasatch Back and has grown to over 15 events nationwide with over 70,000 participants annually. Luckily for those of us who live in and actively enjoy all that Western Washington has to offer, the Ragnar Nortwest Passage runs right through our backyard-from Blaine to Langley.

The Ragnar Northwest Passage  began for me as a mere spectator in 2009 when a crazy friend of mine signed up to run the race again as a 6 person ultra team.  Each of the 6 runners were well accomplished in their own right, great ambassadors of the sport and looking to challenge themselves beyond the same-old, same-old. So there I was at 5:30 in the morning, watching the sun paint its orange signature across the Cascade Mountains and waiting for my buddy to come rambling by.  Due to the reverse seeding(fastest teams start last) of the race, which is pure genius, I was able to witness and cheer on hundreds of runners and spy dozens of brilliantly decorated vans, before my buddy came running  by. The vans arrived in Mardi-Gras type procession complete with blasting music, scantily clad runners and an energy that was rare for Whidbey Island. As runners poured out of the vans and started dancing in the street I was overcome with amazement and I wanted to throw on my running shoes right then and there to join this traveling circus of runners. With the party in full swing my buddy came running into the exchange zone: he looked physically beaten, dusty and dirt ridden and was covered in something that resembled a sweaty Gatorade smoothie, but he was smiling beyond belief, slapping high fives and bounding towards his awaiting teammates who had worked themselves into a frenzy.

In that moment a wristband is exchanged, a fresh runner takes off, the party moves on and Ragnar has filled the hearts and souls of everyone for miles around.

Sign me up, I’m all in, no questions asked!!!!

(This is Part 1 of a 3 article series that will lead up to Ragnar Northwest Passage that starts on July 20th in Blaine and finishes 190 miles later on July 21st in Langley)

US Olympic Trials Photos and an Excited Track Fan

I received a few photos last night from the US Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene. RB Wick of Bellingham, who is a strong runner himself and sponsors several Ski-to-Sea Teams each Spring, was able to get a few pics with some London bound Olympians. Most impressive though was the fact that RB asked Nick Symmonds, the 800 Meter Trials Champion in 1:43.92, for his race bib during his victory lap and Symmonds was more than happy to make Wick the most excited track fan at Hayward Field that night. Great job RB and thanks for the pics.

Croft and Kokebe Win Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Titles

Shortly after the start of the 2012 Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon the race announcer commented that there were a few “Rock 'n' Roll Legends” in the crowd. No, they didn’t play guitar for a living or sing any hit songs; however, they did have about 60 Rock 'n' Roll Marathons under their belts. While that is impressive and certainly noteworthy as the Rock 'n' Roll franchise has grown into "the" grand running tour that now includes worldwide stops, true “Legend” status was being achieved a few miles into the race as Sheila Croft and Teshome Kokebe were already pushing towards victory.

A few weeks ago I received an email from RUNRACEWA reader John Swenson who suggested a profile on a local runner who was flying under the radar, logging miles at the Redmond Watershed and posting some impressive performances. That runner's name is Sheila Croft and after doing some research, I found out that she was 13^th at the this year's Boston Marathon,  2^nd at the Rock 'n' Roll Portland Half-Marathon in May and that she is a very, very good triathlete. Croft, who is 37 and lives in Redmond, not only added another impressive performance to her resume today with her 2^nd Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon title, but she cut nearly 10 minutes off her marathon personal best to run 2:41:38. In addition to winning the women’s title by nearly 12 minutes, Croft was the 5^th overall finisher across the line today and is now officially on the radar as her time would easily rank her among the best women’s marathoners in the United States.  Rounding out the Top 3 on the women’s side was former Romanian Olympian Nuta Olaru in 2:53:25 and Danya Crawford of Utah in 2:55:49. 

On the men’s side, Teshome Kokebe was also sprucing up his already impressive running resume with a convincing win over Cheyne Inman of California. Kokebe, who runs for Club Northwest and has been battling a nagging injury, was 2^nd at the 2012 Eugene Marathon in May and has still managed to put together a stellar 2012 with fast times from the 5k to the Marathon. The Lynnwood resident, who is originally from Ethiopia, was 2^nd at last year’s Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in 2:27:13 and is no stranger to winning, as he already owns a Seattle Marathon title from 2010. Having had the unique opportunity to regularly train with/behind Kokebe as part of the Wednesday Night Runners in Seattle, I can say with ease that if he gets healthy he can run well under 2:20 and add a few more marathon titles to his name. Kokebe ran 2:31:47 today under cloudy skies and light showers, while Inman clocked 2:34:41 and Eric Brill of Bellingham finished 3^rd place today was Eric Brill from Bellingham.

Congrats to Sheila Croft and Teshome Kokebe, today you are Rock ‘n’ Roll Legends!!!!

Runner of the Month: HS Boys WIAA 1600 Meter Runners

RUNRACEWA is excited to announce the HS Boys 1600 Meter Runners from the WIAA State Track and Field Championships as its Runner of the Month for May. In looking at the results, May was a phenomenal month for track and field both on the high school and collegiate level with a great number of athletes performing at a high level. Additionally, Dan McLean, Uli Steidl, Megan Heuer and Claudia Copeland all posted some impressive victories last month at big road races. Joseph Gray continued his winning ways and ran superbly as he claimed several victories on both the roads and the trails; however, the fast times and depth of the Boys 1600 meter races at both states meets were possibly the fastest times amassed in state history and the results themselves is a great testament to the coaching, talent, dedication and development in our state.

For comparisons sake, in the 2011 WIAA year-end rankings only one runner broke 4:11 for 1600 meters. Forward to May of 2012, 10 athletes ran between 4:04 and 4:11.29 for 1600 meters. In one calendar year that is a phenomenal improvement and bodes well for the future as three of those performances were from underclassman. Looking beyond the borders of our state, California has long been known to, almost annually, produce busloads of talented 1600 meter runners/milers, though this year the State of Washington overtook that status as statistical analysis shows almost a 14 second advantage when combining the Top 10 1600 meter times from each state. The numbers also show over a one second advantage per runner for the Evergreen State and put Washington’s Top 10 average at 4:08.61 for 1600 meters while California’s Top 10 failed to crack 4:10, with an average of 4:10.01. 

State	Grade	Athlete	Time	State	Grade	Athlete	Time
WA	12	Izaic Yorks	4:04.00a	CA	11	Cody Brazeal	4:07.72a
WA	12	Nathan Weitz	4:05.60a	CA	12	Darren Fahy	4:08.15a
WA	12	Marcus Dickson	4:05.83a	CA	12	Luis Gutierrez	4:08.68a
WA	10	Joe Hardy	4:09.29a	CA	10	Blake Haney	4:10.04a
WA	12	Korey Krotzer	4:09.61a	CA	12	Thomas Joyce	4:10.35a
WA	11	Andrew Gardner	4:09.71a	CA	12	Austin O'neil	4:10.54a
WA	12	Conor McCandless	4:09.72a	CA	11	Daniel De La Torre	4:10.74a
WA	12	Jacob Smith	4:10.40a	CA	12	Billy Gaudreau	4:11.12a
WA	12	Anthony Armstrong	4:10.72a	CA	11	Juan Gonzalez	4:11.28a
WA	11	Patrick Gibson	4:11.29a	CA	12	Nicholas Woolf	4:11.57a

To further illustrate the presence of 1600 meter runners/milers in Washington state, at the Adidas Dream Mile in New York City on June 9^th, Marcus Dickson and Izaic Yorks ran 4:03.18 and 4:04.38 respectively to finish 5^th and 8^th in the most prestigious high school mile race in the United States. Dickson’s time was a personal best and helped place Washington ahead of California again as their best finisher was Blake Haney at 4:09.43 in 13^th place.

Kudos to all of the HS Boys WIAA 1600 meter runners, their teammates, coaches and parents as May was a great month and the culmination of a thousands of miles of hard work.

Summer All-Comers Track and Field Meet Information

The first day of summer is only a few days away on Wednesday June 20th and the kids are about to be done with school for the summer, so what better time to review the Summer All-Comers Meet Schedule. The greatest thing about these summer meets is that they are about as family friendly as possible, easy on the budget and they welcome all ages and abilities. Though most of the meets have gotten their summer schedule underway, it is never too late to run down to the meet closest to you and jump into the fun.

Below is a listing of meets within Washington with some basic information and a link to their website for more information such as directions, entry fees and event schedules. Be sure to check the meet information links as some meets only last for a month and others last the entire summer.

Monday

-Bellingham Parks/Recreation All-Comers Track & Field Meets, Civic Field, 6 pm, Meet Information

-Bainbridge Island All-Comers Track Meets, Bainbridge High School, 6 pm, Meet Information

Tuesday

-Spokane Big Foot All-Comers Track & Field Meets, SFCC/SCC, 6 pm, Meet Information

Wednesday

-Burlington All-Comers Track & Field Meets, B-E High School, 5:30 pm, Meet Information

-Club Northwest All-Comers Track & Field Meets, Shoreline Stadium, 6 pm, Meet Information

-Pierce County Parks/Recreation Track & Field Program, Sparks Stadium, 5 pm, Meet Information

Thursday

-South Sound All-Comers Track , Tumwater High School, 6 pm, Meet Information

An Evening with Ultrarunning Champion and Author Scott Jurek

As far as hometown heroes go, Scott Jurek is the kind you want. He’s humble, he’s genuine, he’s well spoken, but not rehearsed and oh yeah, he has kicked more ass than any runner who has ever dared to lace up their shoes and give ultrarunning the old college try.

On Tuesday night the Seattle running community(and beyond) was treated to an up close and personal look at Jurek as he spent several hours leading a group run, showing a movie, answering questions and signing his new book Eat and Run. Being that Jurek called Seattle home during his 7 victories at the Western States Endurance Run from 1999-2005, understandably there were many friends and old running buddies in the crowd, but more impressive was the mob of runners that gathered on Pine Street at Fleet Feet Sports to meet and run with the “Jerker”.  The scene looked very much like a road race start that had been pushed onto the sidewalk as it was filled with colorful race t-shirts, every running shoes imaginable, camelbaks and an energy that was part adrenaline, part curiosity and most definitely Seattle. Passersby, who craned their necks and stared in curiosity, may have though Eddie Vedder had donned a pair of Brooks, joined a running club and these were just his groupies waiting for him. 

The run itself was pretty casual as Jurek meandered through the crowd
of roughly 130 runners to chit chat and connect with as many people as possible. Again, humble and genuine, he wasn’t just zigzagging through the pack, pressing the flesh and moving on to the next person, he was making connections and was very present in the moment. It wouldn't have been Seattle without a little rain, but all in all runners were treated to great experience that allowed us all to scurry home and jot down in our logs “Ran w/ Scott Jurek”. Damn right, I did.

After the run, the crowd grew and moved into the basement of the Elliot Bay Book Company to hear Jurek-the author speak about Eat and Run and view a trailer that gave the audience a better idea about his roots and his journey to ultrarunning. The journey itself had humble beginnings, moose and rifles, running as punishment, a questionable mentor named “Dusty”, a major diet u-turn and lots of running once he discovered his passion for the sport. The lots of running part, at least in the 11 years he lived in Seattle, was comprised of running in the city during the week(he noted Discovery Park as his go-to-run) and tons of running on the East Side in what has become known as Issaquah Alps during the weekend. Runs with names like Rattlesnake Ridge, Mt. Si, Tiger Mt and Cougar Mt were sure to have the new trail runners in attendance leaving with an eagerness for the coming weekend and some time spent googling what Jurek’s old stomping grounds have to offer.

Though Jurek’s story of grabbing life by the horns while both literally and figuratively running himself so far from where his life once stagnated is super, the common theme on the evening seemed to be community and the people you surround yourself with.  In short, Jurek’s vocabulary contains a lot less I’s and me’s than the likes of the Ultra Running God/Sideshow/PR Machine Dean Karnazes and a lot more we’s.  In my travels I have found it pretty rare for the actual speaker or star of an event to shine a brighter spotlight on others in the audience than on himself, but that is what he did. Jurek delivered heartfelt thanks to Uli Stiedl, Brian Morrison and Glen Tachiyama for their support and role in his journey. Additionally, he shared running routes that he and Uli frequented, their bond and the story of how they met that was delivered in a very endearing and comedic German accent that brought the very attentive crowd to laughter. In the true spirit of community, Jurek revealed that he has no running/training secrets any longer and that he passed them on to Morrison long ago, so we need to see Brian.

Just like Jurek was lured into this thing called ultrarunning by “Dusty” many years ago in Minnesota, he has now placed before us a storied career, a memoir and a face to face urging to, as his father would say, “do things” when the going gets tough and we find ourselves face down on the ground in the pursuit of what we are passionate about.

-A big thanks is in order for Fleet Feet Sports on Capital Hill, the Elliot Bay Book Company, Brooks Running and Scott Jurek for making the event possible and presenting the running community with such an inspiring evening. For more information about Scott Jurek and his book Eat and Run visit his website. He will be visiting Seattle again on June 22 at the Seattle Rock & Roll Marathon Expo from 12-7pm.

Photos: Pacific Northwest Track and Field Open Championships

The Pacific Northwest Track and Field(PNTF) Open Championships were held at West Seattle Stadium on Saturday on what may have been one of the nicest days that we have seen this spring. Athletes of all ages were excited to run, jump and throw as they competed not only for victories, but the title of PNTF Champion.

Full meet results are not yet available, but can be found by checking the PNTF website in the next few days.

One performance of note on Saturday was Uli Steidl's solo effort in the men's 10,000 meters. Running alone from the sound of the gun, Steidl locked into a metronome-like rhythm of 75 second 400 meter circuits and never wavered as he finished, unofficially, in just over 31 minutes and 15 seconds for the 25 lap race.

                

Seattle: Three Days of Racing

Despite the weatherman calling for a bit of showers and clouds this weekend, runners will be treated to a wide variety of races starting tonight with the Fremont 5k & Relay in Fremont. The 5k, which is a pre-weekend party that features costumed runners, a briefcase relay and a beer garden(opens at 6pm) is both fast and flat and welcomes strollers, dogs and runners fleet of foot or slow of step. Guaranteed to be a blast, the relay kicks off at 6 pm and the 5k Run/walk gets going at 7pm. Race day registration will still be available tonight at the Solstice Plaza in Fremont on the corner of North 34th Street and Fremont Ave. The Fremont 5k benefits Solid Ground and Family Works.

If the Friday night party isn't too much for you in Fremont, get up early Saturday morning and journey out to Lake Youngs in Renton to join area runners at the Lake Youngs Ultra. You can choose how many times that you want to complete the 9.6 mile unpaved trail loop.The hardcore will do 3 laps for 28.8 miles starting at 7 am, but more or less is fine. It's a little hilly and with the expected overnight weather, it will also be a little muddy. Runners should expect a pretty low-key event, but should look forward to enjoying a finish line BBQ that will surely replace any calories that you may have lost out on the trail.

For track and field athletes, the Pacific Northwest Association of Track and Field(PNTF) will be hosting its annual NW Open Track and Field Championships at West Seattle Stadium in West Seattle On Saturday. Athletes can run, jump and throw all day long starting at 10:20 am with the men's 10,000 meter run. The meet will conclude at 3:15 pm with 4x400 meter relay and offers both men's and women's events. On-site registration is available at the stadium and will be $30 for the first event and $10 for each additional event. Athletes that are not members of the PNTF are welcome to compete as guests. Fuel up and get your run, jump and throw on.

Rounding out the weekend is the 35th Annual Shore Run 5k and 10k on Sunday morning along Lake Washington. Billed as the one of Seattle's most family-friendly and scenic races, the race celebrates the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The races, which finish in Madison Park, will cruise along Lake Washington and feature finish line festivities like music, food, awards and prize drawings. Race day registration will still be available on Sunday at Ferdinand Park for the 10k  from 7-9 am and at Leschi Park from 7-8 am for the 5k. The 5k goes off at 8:15 am and the 10k starts at 9:00 am. Information regarding shuttle buses, dogs and strollers can be found here.

Whether you're running in one of these wonderful events, cheering someone on or volunteering, have a great weekend!!!

Scott Jurek to Eat and Run in Seattle

Next Tuesday, seven time Western States Endurance Run Champion Scott Jurek will be visiting Seattle for a run and a book signing as he promotes his new book Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness. Jurek, who once called Seattle home, will be leading a group run from Fleet Feet Sports on Capitol Hill at 6 pm and then he will discuss and sign copies of Eat and Run at The Elliot Bay Book Company at 7 pm. His book, which was released on June 5^th, allows running fans to peek into Jurek’s life as an elite ultrarunner who is also a vegan. The evening is co-sponsored by Brooks Running and welcomes all paces during the run. Arrive at Fleet Feet Sports by 5:45 pm to register for a chance to win a pair of Brooks Shoes or a copy of Eat and Run.

Trail Runner Magazine’s review of Jurek’s book called Eat and Run “a shockingly honest, revealing and inspiring memoir.”

In addition to winning Western States seven years in row(1999-2005), Jurek also claimed victories in high profile races such as the Hardrock 100, the Miwok 100k, the Badwater 135 Mile Ultramarathon  and Greece’s legendary 153 Mile Spartathlon in 2007 and 2008.

More information about An Evening with Scott Jurek on June 12th.

Northwest Racing: Kenyan and Ethiopian Olympic Trials Held at Prefontaine Classic

The Prefontaine Classic at the University of Oregon in Eugene has long been one of the best track meets in the world, but this year the organizers raised the bar by adding Kenyan and Ethiopian Olympic Team selection races to the schedule. On Friday, Day 1 of the Pre Classic, track fans at Hollister Night at Hayward Field were treated to 5 star-studded races that included the National Women's 800 meters, the Men's International Mile, the National Women's 1500 meters and the marquee events of the evening: the Ethiopian Women's 10,000 meter trials and the Kenyan Men's 10,000 meter trials. In less than 2 hours, meet records were broken, world leading times were established, Olympic Teams were made and the long storied magic of Hayward Field was not only continued but exalted by the evenings performances. For full results click here.