Sniff, Sniff. Runners to Watch at Way Too Cool
Just to rub salt in the eye of an already challenging week, I've come down with a nice headache, stuffed up, sniffling, scratchy throat damn cold. So the intent of my race has shifted to "run 50k on Saturday" instead of feeling competitive. Whatever. On the brighter side, I have a meeting in the city today with a company that is pretty exciting and could make things interesting, so that's a good thing.
Back to Way Too Cool 50k
Some of the people who will be competitive are:
Men:
Leor Pantilat -
The course has been tweaked yet again at WTC, so course records are a dime a dozen but watch for Leor to go under Uli's 3:18 time for the win.
Gary Gellin -
Gary is on a roll and has been shredding some shorter races lately, including a 2 hour flat win in our Chabot 30k (18.4 miles) trail run.
Those are my top two picks. I'd be here all day trying to predict the top 10, so I'll just throw out names of guys capable of having a top 10 day.
Rod Bien
Jacob Rydman
Jean Pommier
Van McCarty
Brian Miller
Scott Dunlap
Joel Lanz
Graham Cooper
Eric Skaden
Women:
Caitlin Smith -
Caitlin seems healthy and sharp, coming off a 50k win a few weeks ago.
Jennifer Pfeifer -
Jennifer just won our Chabot 50k (true 50k at 31.5 miles) in 4:14 a couple weeks ago. She'll be pushing Caitlin and could surprise her for the win.
Darcy Africa -
With her heavy focus on climbing and mountain running last year, it'll be interesting to see how she does on a fast course.
Rory Bosio -
She runs hot and cold. Knows the course and should run hot.
Others:
Mary Churchill
Luanne Park
Ashley Arnold
Denise Bourassa
Certainly, I missed some people. Looks like it's going to be beautiful weather and the course will be fast. Hope everyone has a great run.
Back to Way Too Cool 50k
Some of the people who will be competitive are:
Men:
Leor Pantilat -
The course has been tweaked yet again at WTC, so course records are a dime a dozen but watch for Leor to go under Uli's 3:18 time for the win.
Gary Gellin -
Gary is on a roll and has been shredding some shorter races lately, including a 2 hour flat win in our Chabot 30k (18.4 miles) trail run.
Those are my top two picks. I'd be here all day trying to predict the top 10, so I'll just throw out names of guys capable of having a top 10 day.
Rod Bien
Jacob Rydman
Jean Pommier
Van McCarty
Brian Miller
Scott Dunlap
Joel Lanz
Graham Cooper
Eric Skaden
Women:
Caitlin Smith -
Caitlin seems healthy and sharp, coming off a 50k win a few weeks ago.
Jennifer Pfeifer -
Jennifer just won our Chabot 50k (true 50k at 31.5 miles) in 4:14 a couple weeks ago. She'll be pushing Caitlin and could surprise her for the win.
Darcy Africa -
With her heavy focus on climbing and mountain running last year, it'll be interesting to see how she does on a fast course.
Rory Bosio -
She runs hot and cold. Knows the course and should run hot.
Others:
Mary Churchill
Luanne Park
Ashley Arnold
Denise Bourassa
Certainly, I missed some people. Looks like it's going to be beautiful weather and the course will be fast. Hope everyone has a great run.
Michael Smith or Sam Robinson should have op for the win. Gary will be there if either faulter.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin Smith under 4hr.
Agree on Caitlin. Why not Leor for the win? He dominated the field, including Gary at Quad Dipsea.
ReplyDeleteThis one will be interesting. In the men's field, the top contenders behind Leor in my view are all guys with much more road and cross country experience than ultra: Shaun Martin (Speedgoat Karl's Pick), Mike Smith, Sam Robinson, and Rich Hanna.
ReplyDelete