Just a quick bit about some spring time results. Not a lot of racing going on just yet - but some! Biggest result is Dianna coming back from injury to finish the Stories Ultra 6 hour race. After a broken foot knocked her out of last years events, this was the first race back for her in many months. The weather proved to be great for a run - no snow on the ground like in 2020 and with cold, but seasonal temperatures for February. Dianna's training heading into Stories had been limited due to the time, but she was still able to cover 12 miles. A huge accomplishment for someone who hadn't been running a month before the event! If you haven't tried a timed race, I strongly recommend looking at them. Very family and crew friendly and perfect for a first ultra. You can run as little or as long as time allows.  Dianna reaching the finish of her 6 hour event at Stories Ultra.  Coach Tracy finished up her Moab Triple Crown series with the Arches Ultra 50k and the Behind the Rock...

 Here's to hoping that 2021 will be slightly more normal then 2020. Races are slowly starting to come back on to the schedule, so it's time to start planning for a successful year. But how to do that? Well, it all depends on if you kept up with the training, building a solid foundation over the craziness of last year or if you were limited in your ability to get out and about. It also depends on if you are looking at different races for 2021 or if it's just rolling over the 2020 schedule.  If you have a new schedule, then things are a little easier. It's like any other year - where you balance the big goal races with smaller events to dial in the gear and preparation. Take into account that fields might be smaller and it might be harder to get into the races you want to do. Once you have your races set, it's a matter of designing the program around them. Start where your fitness is right now - not where it was last year at this time, and then work forwards. Remember...

Racing (in person) may have been canceled, but running hasn't! Yes, some locations are stricter on the lock downs and stay at home directives then others. Getting out to trails and the mountains has been challenging for some people. But others are getting creative and doing their runs around the block or even smaller. How to stay motivated when there's such a limited range for adventure? After so many March and April races were canceled, with May and June looking ominous, the race directors have stepped up. They need to stay in business - which means putting on races. No races means no money and possibly even worse as runners demand refunds for events that were canceled. (Side note - if you want your favorite grass roots race series to survive, don't ask for a refund if the race was canceled on short notice and don't do a charge back! That's a sure way to bankrupt the events. Let the RDs figure things out that will both help you and the events.) The solution isn...

Thelen Coach Athlete Dennis headed up to the Wind River Range in Wyoming for the inaugural Drift 100 Fat Bike race . It might have been one of the last race held before new guidance from the CDC came down! Here is his report from that race. Sounds like it was a great event and one that fatbikers should consider in the future! Remember - support your race directors and take a chance on the smaller events.  All photos from Dennis Pre-race and ready to go! Gear list coming soon... The Drift100 course was beautiful, challenging, and fun; everything a 100-mile fatbike race should be. Below is my perception of the course, at least as well as I can remember it. You can forget a lot of geography over the course of 25.5 hours of pedaling! Course markings and tracks The first 47 miles of the Drift100 are almost entirely spent climbing. From the start, the course climbs up the valley for 19 miles at a gentle gradient punctuated by a few short, steep grunts. There are a handful o...

The last few weeks (and the upcoming ones I'm sure...) have been crazy. It seemed each hour brought new cancellations to the racing world and new restrictions on everyday life. It's hard to see the effects that the widespread cancellations, closures and such will have on people and businesses. We do know that things are changing and changing rapidly. Some things will survive, others will not. It's our job to help the people, businesses and series so that when we emerge on the other side, they are marked on the survivor side. There's plenty of information out there on the importance of social distancing to slow the infection. That doesn't need to be repeated. Social distancing doesn't mean time to go out and plan an awesome vacation because you are "working from home." It means minimizing unneeded travel, decreased close up and in-person interactions. Yes, camping off the grid decreases social interaction, but that overlooks the unneeded travel part o...

December is an exciting time for athletes. It's lottery season for many of the big races - both running and riding. For athletes who aren't doing a race what requires a lottery, it's also when many races open registration for the next year. So many races, so few weekends and so little time to train. So how you decide what races to pencil in the calendar for next year? And if you do get lucky in the lottery or find yourself high up on a wait list, how you plan around those target races? First off the lottery races. Yay! You got into your dream race.... Now what happens with all those other fun sounding events you were looking at? Time to break out the big picture calendar. I like putting the goal races down a bold color, then all of the other events in different colors based on timing and how much you really want to do them. Darker the color, the higher the priority. Look at the goal race, then consider your training. If you are doing a 100 mile race, will you really want ...