Sunday, August 26, 2012

2012 USA 10K Trail Championship Photos




The Continental Divide Trail Race in Laurel Springs, NC once again served as the USA 10K Trail Championship.

For the 3rd year in a row, Shannon and I both ran it and served as volunteer photographers.


Here are links to all the photos:

Women's race Picasa photo album - by Anthony Corriveau
Women's race Facebook album


Men's Race on Picasa  - by Shannon Johnstone
Men's Race on Picasa -Best of (High Res)
Men's Race on Facebook

Award ceremony on Facebook- by Shannon Johnstone

NOTE: There are a few photos mixed up, so if you're looking for photos of yourself, check all the albums.

You may use photos as you wish, but attribution would be nice.
Please contact us if you would like any high res photos. Email: photos@running-down.com


Women's champ Megan Kimmel


Men's champ - David Roche




Thursday, August 23, 2012

Rival: Black Bart

My greatest running rival yet would have to the infamous Black Bart.
Over in Chapel Hill people know him as "Smoke". I believe this has something to do with him burning the bodies of his victims.

Since 2007, I have raced against him 20 times. For a while at least, we were evenly matched. He would beat me in a race, and I would take the next one. Going into 2011 we were an even 7-7.

The next race was the 2011 Uwharrie 40 miler. I was chasing him the whole way and was gaining on him towards the end. That's when he ambushed me. The evil rotten bastard stepped out of the woods and shot both of my knee caps off.

I haven't been the same since, and have lost 5 of the last 6 races to him. He has gotten stronger and faster, and I've just become more decrepit. But that one recent race I did beat him in was the (Eastern) Continental Divide Trail 10K last year.

It seems that I have had the upper hand in short trail races so far. Maybe it's those big cowboy boots he wears. Or his penchant for stopping and mercilessly killing small woodland animals along the way.
But I might have lost this advantage, because he told me he has been working on his speed on trails this past year.

Our last race was 2012 Uwharrie where he crushed me (literally) by 40 minutes.
Can I make this rivalry competitive again?
We will find out if this Saturday as we head for a rematch at the 2012 Continental Divide Trail 10K.

Stay tuned!


Rivalry Stats
Total Races vs20
Record vs (W-L)8-12
Greatest Victory2011 CDTR 10K (-4:09)
Worst Defeat2012 Uwharrie 40 Miler (+40:24)
Next Race2012 CDTR 10K
Current StatusLost 5 of last 6



Wednesday, August 1, 2012

2012 Women's Olympic Marathon

Those of us who are true running geeks can't wait for the Olympic track and field events to start.

A big one is the women's marathon which will start at 6am EDT on Sunday.

The 2008 Women's Olympic was one of the best sporting events I have ever watched. 38 year old underdog Constantina Dita of Romania took the lead early. The announcers dismissed her immediately, saying she had no chance and would not hold on. It was so satisfying to watch her prove them wrong and go on to win gold.

Shannon put together the spectator guide below to enhance your viewing pleasure.

Here is a link to the full spreadsheet.