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Evel Knievel Dead .....

Man, I thought he would live forever. Story Here

Rest in peace, Tough Guy.

I Call Bullshit .....
On 9/11 Truthers.

Richard Miniter has a very good article at Pajamas Media - Tinfoil Nation: Why 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Linger. Simple basic info and a good read. Take a few and check it out.

He references a recent New York Post article titled - 'BLAME U.S. FOR 9/11' IDIOTS IN MAJORITY on poll results regarding conspiracies.

Reading the comment section of the Miniter article is what got me re-ignited on 9/11 Truthers.

I HATE FRIGGIN' TRUTHERS!

It didn't take long after 9/11 for people to start questioning the official version of events. That's ok. Our security agencies, intelligence agencies, law enforcement and just about everyone connected with this event were, for a host of reasons, left looking bad. Whether this shits been fixed yet is another story entirely. But I doubt it.

All of them were made to look bad by a small group of dedicated terrorists who -
1) Put together a well thought out plan.
2) Maintained very good operational security.
3) Took advantage of our good nature, naivety and culture of openness.
4) And exploited the holes in our defenses.

What I refuse to believe is this -
George Bush, The Government, The CIA, etc.
1) Knew about it and allowed it to happen.
2) Made it happen. As in - "9/11 was an Inside Job".

Sorry. I call Bullshit.
Can't buy either one of those Bullshit scenarios.

Nobody will ever convince me that This President or Any President would idly stand by and allow 3,000 American Citizens to be killed for "Oil", or any of the other reasons I've heard postulated. I call Bullshit on that.

And you certainly can't convince me that -
1) The "Most inept President We've Ever Had" could come up with this idea and could actually make it happen.
2) GWB was able to mastermind and secretly place enough explosive charges to bring down two huge skyscrapers without anyone noticing. (Three, if you count WTC #7)
3) Send a cruise missle into the Pentagon.
4) Send remotely guided airplanes into the WTC.
5) Was somehow able to hide and kill all the people on the airliners that WEREN'T used in the attacks. (If it were indeed remote drones or cruise missiles)
6) Figure out how to keep the THOUSANDS of people necessary for such a plot to be successful from talking. Secrets don't last in Washington DC. Little secrets don't. Something this big and NO ONE INVOLVED HAS SAID A FRIGGIN' WORD IN 6 YEARS?
7) Thinks nothing of killing 3,000 innocents - but allow the makers of "Loose Change" to go about making money from their movie without having "An Accident" yet?

I call Bullshit on the whole Truther Movement.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of joining 100 ultrarunners for the extremely challenging Santa Barbara 9 Trails 35-miler. This beast climbs over 10,500 feet in an out-and-back course through the hills of Santa Barbara, CA, presenting a perfect way to melt off any pounds left over from the Thanksgiving feast. The weather was perfect, the volunteers were awesome, resulting in an epic day. But I haven't been able to get down a flight of stairs w/o handrails since. ;-)



Race Director Luis Escobar gave us the run-down as the sun came up, providing plenty of tips and warnings (he would know - he has finished this race like 14 times or so). Many strong runners were here to race hard, including Mike Swan (3rd last year), Joe De Vresse (5th last year), ultra-God Guillermo Medina, local triathlete superstar Shigy Suzuki, and NoCal's Ron Gutierrez. The Women's race was anyone's guess - Krissy Moehl, who set the course record last year, was tackling the Quad Dipsea today, and the rest of the field included a number of fast women that could take the race (much in thanks to a strong showing from the Montrail/Nathan team). As a welcome sun came over the hill to warm us up, we charged into the single track on the first climb. Let the fun begin!


“Fun” was exactly my goal for this race. It was my last scheduled ultra for the year, and I wanted to soak in every view, every step, and every smiling face. I ran this race in ’05, and remembered there was little room for blowing up on this course – if a quad or calf gave out, the steep declines would be nearly impossible. Best to take it easy. I wanted to get some good pics, but my camera mysteriously malfunctioned in the morning, so I was using my iPhone again.

I found myself around 20th place or so as we “rode the snake”, zig-zagging up the bluffs beyond the shady creek trails. The leading ladies were right in front of me, keeping each other in sight. As we broke out of the trees and into a more technical section, the runners spread out along the trail. It was an odd sensation - you could hear runners all around you through the manzanita on different sections of the switchbacks, but couldn’t see a soul. I caught up to Luis Escobar, who was already fretting about missing course markings even though he had run the course twice this week already! But he was still having a good time.


The first aid station (mile 4) was a quick stop, then we tackled the steep Tunnel Trail. I ran/hiked with Clanci Chiu, a fast 41-year-old woman tacking SB9T for her first ultra. She was doing great! I let her know how impressive it was to do this as a first ultra – I thought for sure it was tougher than many 50-milers. We chugged along at a good pace, with her leading the climbs and me leading the downhills.


By the time we popped out on top of the Rattlesnake Trail (mile 7) at the highest point on the course, the temperature had quickly reached a warm 65 degrees. Clanci took the road section at a fast pace, and I lagged behind her getting some snapshots of the gorgeous view. We hit the party known as aid station 2 (mile 9), where many friends and family had driven up to give support. There was more cheering here than races 5x this size – what a community!


My quads were already screaming as I charged down the Cold Springs West Fork. I wasn’t the only one – a group of three guys who had charged from the start had slowed significantly to save their legs for the next few sections. I caught up to Kathy Higgins, who had a great pace going although she swears she was taking it easy. I took a wrong turn at the bottom of the trail, but was quickly corrected by a fellow hiker and ran back to pace with Kathy again. She led most of the way, then I broke off again to pick up the pace. After a few minutes solo, I found a great view spot and noticed that all the other runners were going DOWN hill while I was going UP. Darn! Missed another turn! No problem, it all comes with the territory. Plus I got a bonus view!

The turn was an easy one to miss, even though it was well-marked. That’s because this is a crazy connector (read – drainage) trail that takes you through rabbit holes, tunnels, creeks, and all kinds of stuff. I found myself on all fours on a couple of sections! I hit the aid station on the other side (mile 14), where volunteer Jeff Zahn was busy re-marking the course to keep people on track. My bottles were empty (again) – one of the drawbacks of wrong turns – so I drank some extra for the exposed last section.


Mile 14-17 is the hardest part of this course, IMHO. The fire roads are so steep that it’s nearly impossible to run up or down them (for me, anyway). I turned off my tunes and focused on my effort, taking short strides and staying upright. The race leaders came blazing the other way around mile 15, with newcomer Teage O’Conner leading the charge about 6 minutes ahead of Mike Swan and 9 minutes ahead of Guillermo Medina. The leading women, Michelle Jensen and Amy Travis, were running close together about 25 minutes back in 10th and 11th place.



As soon as the turnaround was in sight, I heard “DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!” as Sophie caught my eye. She latched onto me as I walked up (this is becoming a common thing and it just melts my heart every time!), and I knew I was going to have a long aid station visit. We picked out some “naners” and “crackas”, and said hello to Jessica who came up to cheer on her OCTR teammates. Christi handed me her Sony T-3 camera for the way back, and I let her know it would be a good 8-9 hours before I finished. With a few more hugs and kisses, I headed back into the canyon, refreshed and ready!


I caught up to Clanci as we tackled the steep hills, and she was nursing a sore calf that limited her downhill speed significantly. But she wasn’t giving up yet! A couple of miles later, I caught up to Luis Escobar, Zach Comon, and Andy Kumeda, all of whom were pressing forward through the heat with a few groans. We sighed with relief to get back down into the creek areas of the Cold Spring Trail (mile 24). Hikers and families were everywhere, enjoying a perfect day outside and cheering on the runners.


The climb up Gibralter was a tough one, accented by empty bottles and a hungry stomach. The volunteers are Aid Station 2 (mile 26) were happy to fill me up with potatoes, M&M’s, and flat coke, giving me a boost to tackle the stretch of road. I walked with Bill Waiz from the Montrail Team, who had signed up for the race a few days earlier and found himself going out too hard, too early. We had a good chat, and I took off down the technical downhill suspecting I would see him again before the finish. Turns out I was right – he and Rob Cowan came by me in the last two miles, pacing strong to the finish (8:24).


I wound down the hill and popped up at the finish in 8:27, good enough for 21st place. As I sipped beer and gorged on the fantastic food, I had learned that 24-year-old Teague O’Conner had won in 6:22 in his first ultra, just holding off Mike Swan (6:35) and Guillermo Medina (6:52). Shigy Suzuki (7:07) and Ron Gutierrez (7:25) rounded out the top five. Michele Jensen won the Women’s division in 8:05, just a few minutes ahead of Amy Travis (8:08) and Kathy Higgins (8:15). Nearly every finisher had some battle scars from the rocks and roots, but big smiles on their faces (particularly when they saw the beer!). It was a tough day, but well worth the effort.


I collected my goodies (great t-shirt, akabill amulet) and headed back to catch up with the family. Our new dog, Martha, was happy to clean my salt marks with her massive tongue as I slipped away into a nap with Sophie. The euphoric post-race feeling made me realize that we are only truly alive in the moments our hearts are conscious of the treasures around us, like family, friends, health, and the beauty of nature. Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be once a year after all, especially if you can have an epic run on the trails and enjoy all of the treasures in a single day!

Thank you, Luis and fellow volunteers, for helping me find that place again.


Happy Thanksgiving!

- SD

WTF is This Shit ????
From the Daily Mail -
"118 arrested and 1,300 guns seized in massive firearms raid"
Sounds pretty impressive, eh?

"Nearly 120 people were arrested and 1,300 guns and imitation firearms seized in a major police crackdown, it was announced today.

Raids in hotspots which account for more than half of Britain's gun crime - Manchester, London, Liverpool and Birmingham - involved more than 1,000 officers yesterday."

"The operation seized 10 handguns and £5,900 in cash.

Officers also confiscated six imitation handguns, 1,290 other realistic imitation firearms, three CS gas canisters, a stun gun and four air weapons." (emphasis mine)

WHOA! Hold it right there!! The Headline clearly said "1300 Guns". But, but, but, Doing the math here......................

6 imitation handguns + 1290 other realistic imitation firearms + 4 air guns..... That equals, um, something like -

4 Fucking BB Guns and a shitload of TOYS.

THat's a "Massive Firearms Raid"? - 4 fucking BB guns?

The way the article is written, it may be that they actually did get 10 handguns. But it's kinda hard to tell if that's not the 6 fake and the 4 BB guns, that they're talking about.
Who the hell knows. Nothing to brag about either way.

And it took 1000 Cops for that shit? How friggin' lame is that shit? 250 cops per BB gun. That's pretty pathetic.

The headline should have read something like this - "Cops steal Christmas Toys from 1300 Children in Early Morning Raid!"

That's some seriously lame shit. I can't imagine what the headlines would be like if they raided my ............. Never mind.

Granted, this crap took place in Briton, but you can be damn sure that there are a lot of MoFo's in this country who would love to give the authorities the go ahead on raids like this here.

This just in:

November 26, 2007

2007 MUT Awards Winners: Runners of the Year and Contributor of the Year

The Mountain Ultra Trail (MUT) Council of long distance running has chosen the 2007 USATF Mountain Runners of the Year, Ultrarunners of the Year, and Contributor of the Year. The following will receive their awards at the annual USATF National Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday, December 1 at an awards breakfast.

Rickey Gates, 26, Boulder, CO, is the mountain runner of the year. This is the first time Gates has received this award. He had a stellar year winning the USA Mountain Champs and USA Trail (10km) Champs on back-to-back weekends in June, and made his second consecutive Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team. Gates raced extensively on the European Mountain Running Circuit this past summer with his best finish, a fourth place at the WMRA Grand Prix event Grossglockner in Austria. He finished 57th at the World Mountain Running Trophy as part of the ninth-place U.S. team.

Simon Gutierrez, 41, Alamosa, CO, is a repeat winner of the masters mountain runner of the year honors. Gutierrez made his sixth consecutive Teva U.S. Mountain Team with his second place finish at the USA 10km Trail Championships in Steamboat Springs where he won the masters title. He was first master at the Mount Washington Road Race where he finished in third position overall. He was the overall winner at the La Luz Hill Climb. He won the WMRA World Masters Mountain Running Championships in Bludenz, Austria in September, one week after the World Mountain Running Trophy where he placed 65th. He works at the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center as an outpatient manual /orthopedic physical therapist and works closely with the Adams State men's and women's cross country and track teams.

Christine Lundy, 37, Sausalito, CA, is the women’s mountain runner of the year. Lundy was the USA Trail Champion at Steamboat Springs, CO, and with the win made her third consecutive Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team. She placed second at the USA Mountain Championships, was first at the NACAC Mountain Running Championships, and finished seventh at the Mt Obudu Mountain Race (Nigeria). Lundy placed eighth and was the second scoring team member for the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team at the World Mountain Running Trophy and with her teammates won the gold medal for the second year in a row. Lundy also directed the Mt. Tam Trophy Race which served as the final mountain team selection race. She is a veterinarian in San Francisco.

Anita Ortiz, 43, Eagle, CO, is the masters mountain runner of the year having also won the award in 2004. As the USA Mountain Running Champion, Ortiz made her record fifth Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team. This mother of four was also the overall female champion at the very competitive Teva Mountain Games 10Km in Vail, and was the masters USA 50 Mile Trail Champion at White River 50 Miler. Ortiz is an elementary school teacher and serves on the USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Council.

Greg Crowther, 34, Seattle, WA, is the ultrarunner of the year. Crowther was the USA National 50km Champion setting a course record of 3:04:35. He was the USA 100km Road Champion running 7:14:31, placed second at Miwok 100km trail, finished in eleventh place to score for the bronze-medal winning USA 100km Team at the IAU World Cup in The Netherlands running 6:52:52, first place and course record at Bridle Trails 50km, and first place at SunMart 50 Miler in 5:37:36. Crowther is on the faculty at the University of Washington, where he is acting lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He graduated from Williams College in Vermont in 1995 with a degree in biology and earned a Ph.D. in Physiology & Biophysics from the University of Washington.

Roy Pirrung, 59, Sheboygan, WI, is the masters ultrarunner of the year. Pirrung dominated his age group in most every race he entered. He finished 1st at the 24-hour national championships, second at Sunmart Texas Trail Endurance 50-mile, second at the USA 50km Road Championships, first at the USA 100km National Road Championships in an American Record time, first at the Ice Age Trail 50 miler, second at the USA 100km National Masters Trail Championships, fourth at the USA 50km Trail Championships, third at the IAU World Cup Masters 100km Road event, breaking his own American Record, and was first master at the USA 50 Mile Road Championships and the Door County Fall 50-miler. Pirrung organizes the USA 24 Hour Team and also has been a member of the team for the past six years.. He is a fitness trainer at Sports Core for Kohler Company and is the Vice Chair of the USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Council.

Nikki Kimball, 36, Bozeman, MT, is a repeat winner of the ultrarunner of the year award. Kimball finished first in course record time at the Spokane River 50km Race, finished second at Miwok 100km, first at Western States 100 Miler setting a course record, and finished first in course record time at the Ultra Tour Du Mont Blanc. She was also winner of Mount Masochist. Kimball, like Crowther, is a graduate of Williams College. She is a physical therapist in Livingston, Montana.

Beverly Anderson-Abbs, 43, Red Bluff, CA, is the masters ultrarunner of the year. Anderson-Abbs finished first at the Muir Beach 50km, finished first at the Costa Rica Coastal Challenge, first masters and course record at the Way Too Cool Race, first place and course record at the Pony Express 50km, second place at the Peterson Ridge Rumble, first place and course record at the Diablo 50 Miler, third place at Miwok 100km, first place and course record at the Mt Diablo 50km, second place at Western States 100 Miler, second place at Where’s Waldo 100km, National Champion at the USA 50km Trail Championships, and first place at the Whiskeytown 50km which served as the Pacific Association USATF championship.

Contributors of the Year: The White Mountain Milers Running Club is the Mountain Running Contributor of the Year. The Milers hosted the USA Mountain Running Championships and was very supportive of the USA mountain running program and the USATF New England Mountain Running Circuit. The Mad City 100km Road Race is the Ultrarunning Contributor of the Year. The event, directed by Tim Yanacheck, hosted the USA 100km Road Championships and served as a selection race for the USA 100km Team. The event earned the prestigious designation as a bronze IAU event. Other nominees in the Contributor of the Year category included Running Times magazine, Teva, Windermere Real Estate, Fleet Feet Sports Boulder. Past winners in this category include the American Ultra Running Association, Teva, North Texas Trail Runners, and La Sportiva/GoLite.

In order to be considered for the USATF Mountain and Ultrarunning awards an athlete must show top results in U.S. competitions for 2007 (November 1, 2006 through October 31, 2007) to include mountain races (these may be on paved/gravel surfaces as long as there is significant elevation loss or gain) and trail races of varying lengths, as well as road races for the ultra category (distances beyond the marathon). International results are also considered. The nominee must be an ambassador for the sport. Nominee must be a USATF member for 2007 and to be considered for the masters category, athlete must be a minimum of 40 years of age.

To see the MUT award criteria and the lists of past recipients, click here.

KONI Sport and FSD (Frequency Selective Damping)

During a typical mile of travel down the road, the damper will move in (compression) and out (rebound) millions of times. Break that mile into one second of travel, and the number of times the damper moves (stroke) defines the operating frequency (Hertz, Hz). Controlling body roll entering a corner induces relatively few strokes of the damper (low frequency), while chattering over broken pavement at highway speed results in a much higher quantity (high frequency) of very short strokes. Knowing this, damper frequency can also be used to tune handling and ride quality. Vehicle body roll control needed to aid handling occurs at a frequency of around 1Hz. Ride impact harshness is felt when damper frequency reaches approximately 10Hz.

Hit a bump without dampers, and the suspension would continue to bounce up and down uncontrollably like a bobble head doll. The damper's job is to reduce the size and/or speed of the suspension movement, preventing the never-ending bobble head scenario. We've all seen that older car going down a smooth highway with one of the rear tires visibly vibrating up and down very rapidly, which is caused by a worn-out damper that is no longer controlling the movement of the suspension. The lack of damper control allows the suspension to move uncontrolled.

The piston moving back and forth through the oil inside the damper creates the resistance needed to control (dampen) the suspension movement. How much resistance (force) develops for a given movement is determined by internal valves that control the flow of oil. Based on the force, the valves open or close to self adjust to each bump or any vehicle body roll. All dampers do this; but KONI's FSD units add a second valve system that responds to the damper's operating frequency, allowing ride and handling to be tuned more independently than with conventional dampers.

KONI's design theory for tuning dampers uses the compression (in) force to dictate the amount of axle movement and is directly linked to handling like steering response, road holding, etc. The rebound (out) force is used to control body movements (side-to-side body roll and/or pitch fore and aft) and is also directly linked to ride comfort.

KONI's traditional user-adjustable yellow sport dampers most applications have a fixed setting for the compression rate, but allow the user to manually adjust the amount of rebound control to tune the balance between ride comfort and handling. The FSD dampers also have a fixed compression setting, but instead of allowing the user to manually adjust the rebound, the internals of the FSD dampers automatically adjust the rate and shape of the force curve (when plotted on a graph) on the fly, responding immediately to the frequency of the damper’s movement. The unique secondary valve used inside the FSD units is engineered to provide large amounts of force to control vehicle body movement at relatively low frequencies, while generating less force at the higher frequencies that affect ride quality.

$10k each to the male and female winner - the largest prize ever in ultrarunning - at the North Face Endurance Challenge at the Marin Headlands this weekend. Quite a roster of runners! Check out the press release below.

- SD

Elite Endurance Athletes Brace for The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship
World’s top long-distance runners vie for biggest prize purse in trail ultrarunning

San Leandro, CA, November 26, 2007— The North Face Endurance Challenge, a four-region, nationwide running event for outdoor athletes seeking to explore their personal limits, culminates in grand fashion on the Pacific shores north of San Francisco on December 1, 2007. The event, which offers distances of 10K, Half Marathon, 50K, and 50 Miles, is also the series’ championship event, where 50-mile participants will compete for the largest prize purse in trail ultrarunning. The male and female winners will each receive $10,000.

Many of the world’s most elite endurance runners have registered for the event in hopes of going home with the big prize. The entrant list is highlighted by several members of The North Face Endurance Team as well as many other legends of the sport that have never competed toe-to-toe.

WOMEN’S 50-MILE CHAMPIONSHIP
Devon Crosby-Helms (San Francisco, CA)
Crosby-Helms, 24, has quickly established herself as one of the up-and-coming elite female endurance runners in the country. In March 2007, she won the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon with a time of 2:52:49. She is also a member of the U.S. Women’s National 100K Team, having finishing 15th overall at the 2007 World 100K Championships in September.

Susie Gray Dyck (Ankeny, IA)
Dyck arrives at this weekend’s Endurance Challenge championship courtesy of her impressive win at the September 1 Des Moines race, where she credits positive energy—and pacing from her dad—for delivering a win in her first-ever ultramarathon. Her time of 8:10:10 was 45 minutes faster than that of her closest competitor.

Elizabeth Hawker (Chester, United Kingdom)
A member of The North Face Endurance Team in Europe, Hawker arrives at the Endurance Challenge Championship just two months after registering a record run from Mount Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu – a distance of 188 miles with over 32,000 feet of climbing and 46,000 feet of descent which she covered in three days, two hours, and 35 minutes. Sporting a unique blend of mountain durability and road-running legspeed, “Lizzy” won gold at the 2006 100K World Championships in Korea and is a past champion of The North Face Ultra Tour du Mont Blanc, widely considered the most difficult and prized mountain endurance title on the continent.

Justine Morrison (Washington, DC)
Morrison, 27, is still a relative newcomer to endurance running, but had an attention-grabbing, breakthrough win in the August 4 Washington DC Endurance Challenge when she finished with a time of 8:32:20. Morrison registered a strong sixth-place showing at the Mountain Masochist 50 (Lynchburg, VA) on November 3 in what appeared to be a warm-up for the Challenge Championship.

Kami Semick (Bend, OR)
Semick, a member of The North Face Endurance Team, headlines one of the most competitive women’s endurance race fields in some time. She has had remarkable success racing on the trails where the Endurance Challenge championship takes place; in 2007, she won the prestigious Miwok 100K here, and she also took the 2006 Headlands 50K USATF Trail Championship. She enters this weekend’s race after winning the October 6 Endurance Challenge 50K (Seattle) and the November 4 San Jose Marathon with a time of 2:55:28.

Jenn Shelton (Virginia Beach, VA)
At 23 years old, Shelton is more than one of the future stars of endurance running – she is a current star. In 2006, she won the Lynchburg (VA) Ultra Series, a circuit of three tough 50K and 50-mile mountain races. Also in 2006, she placed second in the highly competitive Mountain Masochist 50 (Lynchburg, VA), clocking an astounding time of 7:57.

Caren Spore (Davis, CA)
Spore, 39, brings legspeed and a bevy of experience to The North Face Endurance challenge Championship. Locally, she has won two consecutive Dick Collins 50 Milers (Oakland, CA) as well as the very burly Ohlone 50K Wilderness Run (in course record time). In 2007, she was a very close third at the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run.

Diane Van Deren (Sedalia, CO)
Van Deren, who is a member of The North Face Endurance Team, clicked off a streak of impressive ultramarathon wins on her way to the 2007 Trail Runner Trophy Series Ultra Title. She won the Dances with Dirt 50 Miler (Hell, MI), McNaughton Park 150 (IL), and the 24 Hours of Frisco (CO), where she registered a record 114 miles on high altitude trail along the way. The 10,000+ of vertical climbing on the Endurance Challenge course will play to Van Deren’s strengths, as she trains and races regularly in the rugged Rocky Mountains.


MEN’S 50-MILE CHAMPIONSHIP
Matt Carpenter (Manitou Springs, CO)
Matt Carpenter casts a long shadow over every race in which he toes the line. The 43-year-old has claimed titles in some of the world’s most prestigious off-road running events, ranging in distance from 10K to 100 miles. In 2005, he demolished the Leadville Trail 100 course record with a time of 15:42:59—90 minutes better than the previous record. Also, Carpenter owns the course record and has won eight times at the Pikes Peak Marathon, a beyond-grueling event which climbs 7,815 feet to the top of 14,115-foot Pikes Peak before descending another 13 bone-crunching miles. He also has the record for the Pikes Peak Ascent—a race which he has won a record six times.

William Emerson (Portland, OR)
Emerson, 44, is a past champion at the Quad Dipsea, a 28.4-mile run on some of the same trails covered in The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship. He is the recipient of multiple USATF Masters Ultrarunner of the Year Awards and in 2004 won an amazing 18 ultramarathons.

Karl Gilpin (Russellville, MO)
A newcomer to the sport of endurance running, Gilpin won the Endurance Challenge 50 in Des Moines, Iowa, by averaging a 6:47-per-mile pace. Iowa was his first-ever attempt at the ultra distance, but his pedigree indicates he could be a diamond in the rough. Gilpin, 28, was a former Division II All-American cross-country runner.

Phil Kochik (Seattle, WA)
Kochik nipped at the heels of Uli Steidl (see below) during the October 6 Endurance Challenge and promises to be right near the front of the pack again on December 1. He owns the very fast course record at the Rainier-to-Ruston 50-mile ultramarathon (6:19, set in 2006) and placed fifth at the 2007 Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run (17:26). No stranger to the 50-mile distance, Kochik won the USATF 50-Mile Trail Championship in 2005 when he ran 6:58 on a very difficult mountain course in Crystal Mountain, WA.

Hal Koerner (Ashland, OR)
Koerner comes into the Endurance Challenge Championship after claiming one of the sport’s most prestigious and sacred titles: in June, he beat out a deep, elite field to win the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. Koerner’s record also includes a win at the 2006 Angeles Crest 100-Miler and five victories and a course record at The Bear 100 in Idaho’s rugged backcountry.

Joe Kulak. (Oreland, PA)
Kulak, who runs on The North Face Endurance Team, has completed the grueling Leadville Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run in high-altitude Colorado 11 times. A past Trail Runner Magazine Trail Runner of the Year, he owns the speed record for the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, having completed the nation’s four most renowned 100-mile races (Western States 100, Vermont 100, Wasatch Front 100, Leadville Trail 100) in the same summer in a cumulative time of 75 hours and seven minutes.

Guillermo Medina. (Solvang, CA)
A member of The North Face Endurance Team, Medina has won many ultramarathons covering distances up to 100 miles. In 2005, he was the winner of the Angeles Crest 100-Mile Endurance Run in southern California and is a perennial top-three finisher at the nation’s toughest endurance races.

Leigh Schmitt (Conway, MA)
Schmitt comes to The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship by way of winning the August 4 50-Mile Endurance Challenge in Washington, DC, with a blazing time of 6:59:34. Schmitt owns course records at the Vermont 50, Vermont 100, Jay Challenge Marathon (VT), and Finger Lakes 50 (NY).

Uli Steidl (Shoreline, WA)
Steidl, who received a trip to The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship by winning the Endurance Challenge 50-mile race in Seattle on October 6, excels at a wide range of distances. He’s run in the World Cross Country Championships and notched 13 sub-2:20 marathons—a distinction that places him among the world’s most elite runners. At the ultramarathon distance, he has been unbeatable—literally. He has won every 50K and 50-mile trail ultramarathon he has ever entered, breaking course records in all but two of them.

Sam Thompson (Seattle, WA)
Thompson is widely considered one of the sport’s up-and-comers and has exhibited remarkable durability and resilience in notching top finishes at the country’s toughest ultramarathons in 2007. In 2006, Thompson shuttled throughout the country while completing 51 marathons in 51 days in 50 states, plus Washington, DC.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Results to The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship, plus the other three distances offered by the event (10K, Half Marathon, and 50K), will be posted at www.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge by Monday, December 3, 2007.

Dates and locations for The North Face Endurance Challenge 2008 events will appear on the website later in December 2007.

Starbucks Coffee Moment ......
I went to Starbucks today. Something I hate to do.

QueenBuffness, the wife is ill today & being the wonderful guy I am, I stopped at Starbucks and bought her an expensive FooFoo coffee drink. $5 bucks for a friggin' coffee.

G-d love Starbucks. They are friggin' geniuses of marketing and I do admire that in a company. they not only convince legions of folks to spend waaaaaaay to much money for shitty coffee, they have convinced them to become loyal Starbots.
That's the American way and I fully support them in that.

But I'll be damned if I will buy anything from them under normal circumstances.

Here's why-

My first visit to a Starbucks was 2-3 years ago. The problem may have been that I was in Bloomington, Indiana. Home of Indiana University.

College town.
Full of pretentious college kids.
One of which happened to be behind the counter when I stopped at 7:30 in the morning.

After working all night.

I was in need of some coffee to keep me awake and spotted the Starbucks. OK. They have coffee and in I go. I almost never use drive through windows, but probably should have that morning.

Knowing nothing about all the different types of coffee to choose from, I asked the multi pierced, young chowderhead for his recommendation for a good cup of basic coffee. He suggested some sort of Breakfast Blend and I placed my order for a "Large".

And that's where things began to go downhill.
Young, "Facefull of Stainless Steel" (or FFOSS) tells me, "We don't have Large."

Me - "Huh?"
FFOSS - "We have Vente."
Me - "What? Vente? No. Just a large cup of that Breakfast Blend you told me about."
FFOSS - "We don't have Large. We have Tall, Grande and Vente."
Me - "No, I just want a large black coffee."
FFOSS - We have Vente. No large."
Me - (Still not getting it.) "WTF are you saying? A large coffee. Please."
FFOSS - "I'm sorry, but we don't HAVE large. We have Vente."
Me - (Finally catching on.) "Ooooooh. You don't have large. You have Vente."
FFOSS - (With slightly upturned nose and smarmy ass look on his face) "That's correct."

I was so tired at this point, I wasn't aware that this exchange was being monitored by the ever growing line behind me. That is until FFOSS delivered that last line and I heard a stifled laugh behind me. There were several older men, dressed in work clothes and boots, watching this whole thing and getting a kick out it.

I stood there for about 30 seconds without saying a thing, just letting him hang.

Me - "I'd like a large black coffee."
FFOSS - (Exasperated now) "I told you, We don't have large. We have Vente."
Me - (Putting on my best Drill Instructors voice and pointing to the 3 different stacks of cups.) "You will now reach over and get a cup from the stack on the right. That's your left, Shithead. That would be the LARGE ones. You will fill it with Breakfast Blend coffee. No condiments. You will not EVEN THINK of spitting in it, because I am watching you. You will then hand it to me nicely and take my money in a courteous, professional manner. Any variation of this scenario and I will come over this counter and rip your fucking throat out and SHIT DOWN YOUR FUCKING NECK! Do you have any questions regarding these instructions, FuckWeasel?"

FFOSS - "No."
Me - "No what?"
FFOSS - "No Sir."
Me - "Good."

FFOSS followed the directions and didn't try to spit in my coffee.

And he is still alive today to the best of my knowledge.

But you can see why I have a thing about Starbucks.

42-year old Beth Vitalis set a new Women's course record (4:39:39) and 25-year-old Erik Skaggs came within 38 seconds of Carl Anderson's "untouchable" course record at the 25th annual Quad Dipsea this year. Skaggs (3:53:07) set a blistering pace from the start at the 28.4 mile course, and ended up winning by a 20-minute margin over Victor Ballesteros. Vitalis bested Krissy Moehl by 13 minutes.

You can read a longer story here at the Marin Independent Journal. Overall results should be posted soon!

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all ....
Hope all of ya are able to enjoy this day. Say a prayer of thanks for all the good things you have.

Remember our Men and Women in Uniform today. It's time to start thinking about doing something special for those folks. Please think seriously about supporting the folks who are in the Military this season. Several good places to start with in the links in the sidebar on the right.

It's about time to cue up Arlo Guthie's, "Alice's Restaurant" for the annual play.












If this isn't part of your Thanksgiving tradition - It should be.

Start today - LISTEN TO IT HERE

I joined up with Kristin Armstrong and her friends the Allisons for some Turkey Trot action this morning. I love these races! Four miles is just enough to work up an appetite for the Thanksgiving feast, and it's wonderful to see families out enjoying the weather together. This Turkey Trot was in Goleta, CA, just north of Santa Barbara.

In the morning mayhem to get out the door, I forgot to grab my camera which is charging in preparation for the SB9T on Saturday. But I did have my iPhone handy, so I figured we would see how well it does in action. These days I should call it "Sophie's iPhone" - she plays with it endlessly, and has already figured out how to take a picture (chip off the 'ole Mom block for sure).

I met Kik at the start, and she introduced me to her friends. The Allison family is definitely an "active clan" and were all decked out and ready to run, including 7-year-old Kate who was tackling her first race. Around 9am, the gun went off and we hit the road!

As we jogged, I learned that Jamie had founded a group called Moms in Motion, a social and fitness club for Moms that now boasts thousands of members in hundreds of cities. They organize around all kinds of activities from 5k's to triathlons to hiking trips, keeping it fun, building community with Moms in the area, and staying fit. It sounds very cool! Hey, where's the Dads in Motion club?!?


As we hit the first mile and turned onto a bike path, we caught up with this smiling older gentlemen shuffling along at a quick pace. I saw his UC Santa Barbara Cross Country shirt and hollared "Go Gauchos!". He shouted back "Class of '57 and still going strong!". Wow - 50 years later and still at it!

Kik and Jamie ran together, sharing hellos with runners along the way. It seemed like every age, shape, and size was out here today enjoying the morning sun. Even a few four-legged friends joined in on the fun. Jamie knew a lot of the women out on the course today, no surprise. Maybe it's a Santa Barbara thing, but they all seemed to have that magical Mom combo of a big smile, fit body, and buff deltoids that only come about from the continuous 30-lb curl of holding a little one.


We turned a corner around mile 2.5 where a sax player filled the valley with soft jazz. The mountains came into view through the haze, and we all took a few moments of silence to enjoy the sun on our faces. The Santa Barbara area is one of those amazing locations that always seems to have mountains AND ocean in view at all times. Natures extremes living in harmony.



Before we knew it, we were back at the park in about 31 minutes. Kate came cruising in with her Dad and sister about 20 minutes later, and quickly found the powdered doughnuts at the post-race food table. I was definitely all over that!



After a few more hugs and hellos, everybody headed home to begin their day of thanks (and feasts!). It's hard not to be thankful on a gorgeous day like today. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, and hope you are enjoying time with friends, family, and Mother Nature.

Now let the EATING BEGIN!!! ;-)

SD

Olga shared on her blog that the Montrail-Nathan Ultrarunning Team was recently told that they will be disbanding for 2008. Per the e-mail sent to team members:

Akos Konya won the Ultracentric 24-Hour this weekend, covering 146.25 miles. He was just ahead of Connie Gardner, who put out an amazing effort to get 2nd overall and cover 145.25 miles, just yards off of breaking the American Record (you can read a Q&A with her here). Bob Sweeney was sthe first American, netting him the National 24-Hour Championship. Connie picked up a check for $4,000 and a national title. Roy Pirrung chalked up yet another age-group win with his 4th place finish. Nearly 30 runners broke the 100-mile mark at the race.


You can get all results here; below are the top 29 finishers. The 48-Hour Detail Results are also interesting, in that you can clearly pick out where winner David Goggins took a rest at lap 67, 100, etc.

Place Name Bib No Gender/Age Laps Time Pace Distance
1 Akos Konya 105 M/33 95 23:59:22.20 9:51/M 146.250
2 Connie Gardner 147 F/44 91 23:59:54.95 9:55/M 145.250
3 Bob Sweeney 149 M/40 82 23:58:29.50 10:19/M 139.500
4 Roy Pirrung 106 M/59 92 23:59:53.85 10:24/M 138.500
5 Philip McCarthy 114 M/39 82 23:57:49.90 11:09/M 129.000
6 Debra Horn 129 F/48 74 23:58:25.50 11:20/M 127.000
7 Carilyn Johnson 119 F/40 80 23:57:40.20 11:21/M 126.750
8 Steven Escaler 126 M/30 80 23:57:56.45 11:50/M 121.500
9 Jamie Donaldson 138 F/33 71 23:57:07.65 12:03/M 119.250
10 John Geesler 89 M/48 70 23:58:10.80 12:05/M 119.000
11 Ray Zirblis 93 M/53 67 23:57:58.00 12:32/M 114.750
12 Karen Gall 83 F/48 57 23:53:13.65 12:34/M 114.000
13 Chuck Goetschel 123 M/41 70 23:59:08.25 12:39/M 113.750
14 Scott Eppelman 151 M/41 67 24:01:51.15 12:46/M 113.000
15 Pam Reed 96 F/46 66 23:57:57.40 12:45/M 112.750
16 Charlotte Vasarhelyi 79 F/31 71 23:58:44.00 12:49/M 112.250
17 Cherie Harthun 95 F/31 70 23:59:41.50 13:04/M 110.250
18 Alex Swenson 104 M/43 55 17:47:13.00 9:42/M 110.000
19 Hans Bern Bauer 91 M/38 76 23:58:37.40 13:05/M 110.000
20 Newton Baker 94 M/65 71 23:57:27.60 13:13/M 108.750
21 Leon Rothstein 115 M/50 63 23:59:30.75 13:16/M 108.500
22 Jeffrey Snyder 42 M/30 67 23:58:33.45 13:34/M 106.000
23 John Hagin 88 M/64 65 23:56:40.70 13:37/M 105.500
24 Edward Parrot 112 M/37 51 32:01:18.75 18:50/M 102.000
25 Marcel Dekker 132 M/49 66 23:58:46.75 14:19/M 100.500
26 Marcelino Sobczak 131 M/39 50 20:11:56.80 12:07/M 100.000
27 Frank Van Der Gulik 133 M/30 50 21:21:50.40 12:49/M 100.000
28 Douglas Johnson 128 M/47 50 23:25:01.50 14:03/M 100.000
29 Geoff Hain 99 M/61 57 23:25:14.00 14:03/M 100.000

Once you have built your new motor, or fitted any tuning parts you will NEED to visit a good automotive Dynamometer or rolling road. If you don't you will never be able to set up your engine properly. A good dynamometer allows you to use a gas analyser while under load so you can see the real air fuel mixture at all RPM's while driving.

Rather than discuss the subject on this site it is better if you go to my Automotive Dynamometer pages, as I used to build them! (Below)

Non Turbo Cars

Heard a boy racer telling his mate the other day "just fitted a chip to my xxxxx car (non turbo) yesterday, and its loads faster!". Well that is just NOT possible.

I asked him how and he didn't know, but said it was about 20mph faster flat out! Now since it takes 4x the power to go twice as fast, that equates to a simply huge power increase! So he was obviously lying...

First of all, a noticeable increase in power is simply not possible with a naturally aspirated car (no turbo) by fitting a "chip" or having it "chipped". As we said in the first few pages engines breath air. If you do not increase this flow somehow it cannot make more power than it already is doing! That chip simply tells the fuel system how much is the CORRECT amount of fuel to add! The manufacturers stock settings are usually optimum for peak power. It also controls the Ignition timing, but again the stock settings will be about perfect for full power. It is only possible to get tiny gains in "drivability" rather than more real power.

t is possible to gain a few percent here and there at different rpm's and throttle plate positions, because the manufacturers tailor the fuel map to give optimum economy, smoothness and low emissions. But these gains are pretty small. They "may" result in better drivability, but definitely not enough extra power to notice!

Turbo Cars

It is possible however to chip a turbo car for more power in many cases. The max boost level is often controlled by the engine management system. So in this case reprogramming, or rather remapping the ECU or chip can bring power increases. Be careful though because the manufacturers set these things as they are often for good reasons - usually reliability!

By allowing the turbo to make higher boost the engine gets more air and therefore can make more power, often considerably more.

By "conventional engine tuning" we mean internal engine work. Not Turbocharging, Supercharging, Nitrous Oxide Injection, etc. No "bolt on power" modifications. but tuning the internals to give better airflow.

Getting more power from a standard car engine by conventional tuning means is at best difficult. (we will ignore standard turbocharged cars for the moment). The only way is to increase the airflow drawn through the engine. There are lots of ways to do this and it all involves a lot of work and money! For example:

• Bigger side draft carbs or throttle bodies

• Bigger engine bores / pistons (machined to increase capacity)

• Bigger engine stroke (offset ground machined crankpins and shorter connecting rods)

• better tubular exhaust manifolds and system

• better port shape in the head (ported head)

• Bigger inlet and exhaust valves fitted with specially shaped valve seats

• Higher compression ratio

• longer duration and higher lift camshaft

• forged pistons (for strength)

• stronger connecting rods to cope with higher RPM's

• uprated oil pump/system to help engine reliability at higher RPM's

• Crank / Connecting rod lightening, balancing, strengthening etc to cope with higher RPM's than standard engine

Depending on what you are trying to achieve you may need to do all of the above or just some! A fully tuned and "built" race engine is seriously expensive, loud, and unsuitable for road car use. It has bad driving characteristics, uneven idle, little low rpm power etc. And it is usually short lived as it has to be revved hard to get to any useful power. Obviously then it is best to start with the biggest engine variant of your model of car to begin with! This way you may not need to tune it at all to get the same power! If you do tune it it will not need as extensive modification to achieve the desired power so will be more user friendly.

Conventional tuning has low limits on how much power you can expect too. Its easy to get a few horsepower more, but very difficult to get any big power increases. And the cost of power goes up and up as more power is wanted...

Unless you have a good reason to use "conventional tuning" rather than fitting a bigger engine, or a turbocharger or Nitrous injection then these are probably better options for road use.

First we need to understand the differences between the two common road fuels we all use, and a few "race" fuels.

1st we have all those "additives" that claim to improve power, and torque, improve "smoothness" emissions, and mileage! Sometimes by 25 percent! But they cannot, or will not tell you how! Well get real! They are a CON!

2nd we have "octane boosters" SOME of these work well. Look for tests and recommendations, or just use proper high octane fuels in the first place!

3rd we have "upper cylinder lubricants" such as Redex etc. Well in a road car they may not hurt. In a highly stressed race engine running on the borderline of detonation, it might just be enough to kill it! You see oils radically lower the total cylinders Octane So be careful!

4th Methanol. This can if added in small amounts increase octane. But it may make the total fuel mixture weaker so again be careful!

Then there are the lead replacement additives. These may or may not work, some definitely don't. They are designed to replace the lead that some engines like to stop valve/head seating problems in pre unleaded fuel days! Don't confuse lead and Octane. Lead is for lubrication. Octane is a measure of the fuels ant knock properties. Although lead happens to increase octane a little too!

A little known fact...

In the UK leaded pump fuel if you can get it when mixed with super unleaded gives a higher octane than either alone! Because both use different additives to increase octane that work less effectively the higher the concentration