I've decided. I'm running the Afton Trail Run 50K next year (36 weeks; the post title is beginning a count-down) and plan to win the over-50 age class. That means, among other things, taking an entire hour off my best time on that course! It's possible - barely.
Here's the probable competition:
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| Sub-11 hour Ironman triathlete Scott Ross and 15:37 100-Miler John Maas |
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| 2013 Overall winner of Superior 100 Mile (23:16), John Horns. |
Ross has the Afton age-class record of 4:27. Horns has run 4:35 there. Maas has run 4:29. My best on the course is 5:28... and I usually end up looking like this:
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| Coincidentally, that's John Maas' wife on the left. |
The three other guys are specialists at much longer distances; I'm a short distance guy. They're not training specifically for this one race, however. If I get in shape, train correctly and run a smart race, I could win; I need to focus and get serious.
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| Well, as serious as I get. |
8 comments:
Sounds great Steve! Good luck. I'm pulling for you. Staying healthy is the key. Steve is a heck of a coach, but will Quick listen to him?
John K.
Sounds like a good plan! I see last year's M40 winner finished 32nd overall (behind two M50 competitors as well as the F40 winner) - perhaps I should join you and go for the M40 title, which seems easier than competing with you "old" guys! :)
Steve, I am very happy to hear about your 2014 Afton goal. I hope you have a great and injury-free season of training. I look forward to seeing you on the start line!
BTW (Colin), last year's M40 winner was me, and that time is definitely shaky. I'll still be in the M40 division at the 2014 race and will be pushing hard to knock 30 min from that time. Of course, heat seems to be the wildcard at Afton, not the course. Some days, no records will be going down. Should be fun.
No disrespect intended, stillwaterrunner, congrats on your division win! I just sometimes feel lucky to be (at 44) in a bit of a gap between the faster younger and older runners. Best of luck in both your preparations, and let's hope for cooler race-day conditions in 2014!
Glad to hear you are you are back and dialing it up for another race. Hope to be out on the course with you next year.
Jordan: I still need to update my race report to acknowledge you as "downhill dude."
Colin: I think the masters record there is 3:46, which is like a 2:35 marathon. Depends on who shows up!
Stillwaterrunner: Heat's why I'm saying "win" rather than "record."
Colin: no disrespect taken. Your competitive spirit is great!
Steve: Have you done a post, similar to the one for Superior, on the best Afton 50k strategy? Fast first loop while it is still cool, and hang on for the second? Which hills to run, and which to hike?
At a 4 1/2 hour pace, no hills are getting hiked by me! My plan is to do what I do worst - run very even splits. I did do a post on how to use the terrain at Afton (though I need to correct direction on one turn).
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