I wish I had written this all down sooner so the highlights hadn't already started fading to the abyss, but let's see what I can cobble together.
More than a talk
The event actually kicked off with a run through some pretty cool trails behind the campus of University of North Carolina Asheville. With a whole bunch of people of varying abilities along for the run, it turned into more of a trot/walk, but it was a nice little showcase of some of the trails that make Asheville such a great place for trail- and ultra-runners.
The most notable thing about the run for me though, was the fact that I was able to grab running great Scott Jurek (quick CV: 3x Spartathalon winner, 7x Western States winner, 2x Badwater winner, U.S. record holder for 24-hour race) for a second. I asked him for his thoughts on where to run my first ultra. He suggested that, particularly for my first, I choose a race on a terrain similar to what I can train on. He did, however, speak pretty highly of the Chuckanut 50K in Washington.
What really jumped out at me though, was just how down-to-earth and mellow Jurek was. He's had a ridiculous level of success in the sport and yet talking to him you'd have no idea -- he's just a cool guy.
Barefoot
A big part of Born to Run is the attack on the shoe industry and advocacy of barefoot running -- or at least more minimal footwear. So not surprisingly, this was covered during McDougall's talk. What I like about his approach (and the others echoed this) is that he stresses that you can't jump right into it. That is, you can't expect to go from a "normal" pair of shoes to the Vibrams and expect to log 50 mile weeks in them right off the bat.Handling adversity
Jurek spent some time talking about how he handles adversity on the course. I really wish I remember this more clearly, but he basically offered a three-step process:
1. Allow the emotions: You're likely feeling frustrated, angry, or some combination of any number of other emotions. Don't try to fight them. Let them run their course then move on to...
2. Assess: Jurek gave the qualifier that he's a physical therapist and said that there are a lot of aches and pains and other problems that you can fight through and not do any lasting damage. He talked about how he sprained his ankle early on in a 100 mile race and still finished. He pointed out that the swelling provided a natural support for the ankle through the rest of the race. But basically, the idea is that it's very likely that whatever happened is something you can fight through, but in this step you figure that out.
3. Address it: Do what you have to do and fix whatever it is that's going on. Getting dehydrated? Get to some water or pop an electrolyte tab. Flagging energy? Try some food. Blister? Tape it up.
(If you're reading this Scott, I'm pretty sure I messed this up, so feel free to correct me...)
Get excited
One of the really cool things about Jurek is that you can tell how much he loves running. As part of the show he showed pictures from some of the races that he's run. They were alternately breathtaking, cool, badass, and all of the above at once... like this one of him running in Badwater.Wrapping up his photo show, Jurek gave an impassioned pitch for running ultras, noting that it's his belief that unless you have a serious medical condition there's no reason that you can't do it. And, according to him, it's a heck of a lot of fun.
Special guest
Asheville native Will Harlan was brought into the mix by McDougall. Fortunately I don't have to challenge my memory to recount his contribution. I'll just share the video that he showed:
Surprise!
One of the coolest parts of the evening was completely off the schedule. It just so happened that sitting right in front of me were ultrarunners Mark and Anne Lundblad. Among Mark's big wins are the high-profile JFK 50-miler in Maryland and the 40-mile Mt. Mitchell Challenge. Anne, meanwhile, has also notched wins at JFK (course record) and Mt. Mitchell as well as Mountain Masochist. She was also named Western North Carolina's outdoor athlete of the decade.
Like Jurek, both of the Lundblads were really laid back, very cool, and very helpful. As far as breaking into ultras, Mark suggested that I start with a 50K rather than a 50-miler and echoed Jurek's view that I should pick a race with terrain similar to what I can train on. They both also gave me their email addresses and encouraged me to email them if I had any other questions.
Famous last words...
Since then I've already emailed them, asking about their views on low-profile (barefootish) shoes and using a Garmin watch while running. Mark got back to me quickly and said that they're big on the lower profile shoes, but emphasized that it's important to ease into them. I had been checking out the trailrunners from inov-8 (Mark and Anne are both part of Team inov-8) and Mark recommended that I check out Roclite 295 for a good transition shoe.
As far as using a Garmin, Mark was pretty practical about it -- he said that he used one for a bit, but had trouble getting and keeping a signal in the WNC trails and so abandoned it. His view was that if it seems like it's something that's helpful, use it; otherwise, chuck it.
And lastly...
Since I don't want to make this already-long post too much longer, I'll leave you with this. You may not be on the list of places where McDougall and crew are going to touch down, but fortunately you can still catch him on TED:
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