My predictions (which were on The Trailhead podcast a couple episodes ago):
1) Super Shoes are a total thing on the trail, whether you know it, like it, or not. At the WS100 you had to go to #10 Male for someone not wearing Pebax, and for Female down to #17!
2) Remember the weird “Birther” thing when some Republicans said Obama was not born in the United States? I’m going to accuse Kilian Jornet of the same thing - I want to see his Birth Certificate, because I’m convinced he’s from another planet. His Alpine Connections project started 3 days after his CR at Sierre-Zinal. I was at S-Z and he finished eating lunch before I finished my race.
3) Carb doping. Who’d have thunk? Keto is way out, pounding sugar is in, and dentists are either very happy or unhappy, depending on if they’re saving up to buy a second home in Cabo. 500 calories an hour is a LOT. Instead of finishing a race and feeling famished, now I finish and can’t eat for hours because my stomach feels like I just ate all the Halloween candy at once.
4) Either Courtney Dauwalter or Katie Shide will win the Female Ultra Runner of the Year Award. Am I a genius or what? But I have no idea what Kilian will do next - hopefully not wingsuit flying.
5) I would like to predict that Strava will add Dancing as one of its Activities, seeing as they already have Handcycle, Wheelchair, and Badminton, but I’ve been lobbying for this for 8 years, so this is not likely. I won’t be able to impress anyone with number of lifts and spins, and will have to stick with miles and vertical feet.
I wonder about the continuing growth in the 200+ mile race scene - how many people out there really want to run these, and more importantly, how many people out there are willing to volunteer at aid stations for these? At some point I have to imagine it's going to get harder and harder to put these one, especially as the scene grows and they compete more and more for runners and volunteers. The number of participants is growing, no doubt, but it seems like the number of races is growing faster.
Right; I'm a -1 for participation and especially volunteering, but like you say, Bigger is Better in America and these events are growing (and getting longer).
I'm for the bringing top end performance to the midpack but am interested to see how new brands handle it. There seemed to be pushback and talk of elitism (in my bubble) to Salomon releasing two versions of their carbon road shoe depending on your target pace. Interested to see how On and others navigate that or if that elitism narrative goes away
Not thought of it like that - a designed elitism in product development. Tbh I’m not sure I see it that way, its a product designed to get the best out of your current level. Not much benefit in buying something expensive that you don’t get maximum benefit from. It’s like trying to lift a heavy weight at the gym - sure you could probably do yank one rep, but you won’t get as much benefit as using a lighter weight in a controlled fashion for higher reps
Totally agree but also imagine that lots of folks, with out proper education on benefits and presented with similar costs, would default to what's considered the best or what the pros use. Or maybe just aspirational purchase.
My predictions (which were on The Trailhead podcast a couple episodes ago):
1) Super Shoes are a total thing on the trail, whether you know it, like it, or not. At the WS100 you had to go to #10 Male for someone not wearing Pebax, and for Female down to #17!
2) Remember the weird “Birther” thing when some Republicans said Obama was not born in the United States? I’m going to accuse Kilian Jornet of the same thing - I want to see his Birth Certificate, because I’m convinced he’s from another planet. His Alpine Connections project started 3 days after his CR at Sierre-Zinal. I was at S-Z and he finished eating lunch before I finished my race.
3) Carb doping. Who’d have thunk? Keto is way out, pounding sugar is in, and dentists are either very happy or unhappy, depending on if they’re saving up to buy a second home in Cabo. 500 calories an hour is a LOT. Instead of finishing a race and feeling famished, now I finish and can’t eat for hours because my stomach feels like I just ate all the Halloween candy at once.
4) Either Courtney Dauwalter or Katie Shide will win the Female Ultra Runner of the Year Award. Am I a genius or what? But I have no idea what Kilian will do next - hopefully not wingsuit flying.
5) I would like to predict that Strava will add Dancing as one of its Activities, seeing as they already have Handcycle, Wheelchair, and Badminton, but I’ve been lobbying for this for 8 years, so this is not likely. I won’t be able to impress anyone with number of lifts and spins, and will have to stick with miles and vertical feet.
I wonder about the continuing growth in the 200+ mile race scene - how many people out there really want to run these, and more importantly, how many people out there are willing to volunteer at aid stations for these? At some point I have to imagine it's going to get harder and harder to put these one, especially as the scene grows and they compete more and more for runners and volunteers. The number of participants is growing, no doubt, but it seems like the number of races is growing faster.
Love this, great angle! The heavy need for volunteers is a biggie.. not only the number of people but the logistics to.
Right; I'm a -1 for participation and especially volunteering, but like you say, Bigger is Better in America and these events are growing (and getting longer).
I'm for the bringing top end performance to the midpack but am interested to see how new brands handle it. There seemed to be pushback and talk of elitism (in my bubble) to Salomon releasing two versions of their carbon road shoe depending on your target pace. Interested to see how On and others navigate that or if that elitism narrative goes away
Not thought of it like that - a designed elitism in product development. Tbh I’m not sure I see it that way, its a product designed to get the best out of your current level. Not much benefit in buying something expensive that you don’t get maximum benefit from. It’s like trying to lift a heavy weight at the gym - sure you could probably do yank one rep, but you won’t get as much benefit as using a lighter weight in a controlled fashion for higher reps
Totally agree but also imagine that lots of folks, with out proper education on benefits and presented with similar costs, would default to what's considered the best or what the pros use. Or maybe just aspirational purchase.