Ireland - Day 0

Blowing a gale, rainy, grey and menacing...ah, Ireland! All 14 competitors present and accounted for on the big, purple bus. Fun starts at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Our first Guinnesses have been satisfactorily dispatched.

What's with these Ultra hurricanes?

Just as our TransAmerican friends ran into Hurricane Irene on the August day their race finished in New York City, we now appear to be running into her younger sister Katia as we get ready to head to Ireland. Hopefully travel logistics won't get too messed up. But with 20 people taking different routes and trying to get to Malin Head by Wednesday, things could get a little tricky. Life's never simple.

One week to go

Starting to get impatient...this is the time I like least, marking time, everything in suspended animation. Now that our few "long" weeks of training are over, I keep imagining injuries, aches and pains, and illnesses starting to take hold. But nothing serious so far. I just want to get going.

Today's windy, hilly, rainy 10 miles felt really good - no pain, no stress, very smooth and comfortable. Six more days of the same, and then we're off!

Keepin' on keepin' on

Two twenty-milers in the last three days have gone pretty well. We've managed to incorporate some modest hills at the beginning and end of these jaunts, and this is good for the head as much as the legs.

Two doggie incidents today. First we spotted a very sad looking beagle looking for his owner. As we'd seen an owner calling for a dog shortly before, I ran back a half-mile to find him and advised him of the whereabouts of missing pooch. "Oh, he knows where to find me," he said and walked off. Grrrrr.

Then later, we encountered two guys walking a Jack Russell off leash. It took an immediate shine to Claire's bright red Zensa compression socks, and started barking aggressively. You can never quite trust protestations that "she's friendly". Fortunately no stitches required this time.

Location:Hertfordshire

3 weeks until Ireland

Suddenly the ground is starting to rush up towards us. Training - or lack thereof - is almost at an end. We've run between 10 and 15 miles most days here in England over the last week or so, which is good. We have only been training by running along the very flat River Lee, which is not good. Our training pace has been pretty reasonable (good) - only my varicose right leg hurts, which is partly good (or partly bad, depending on one's viewpoint). But it is - as they say these days - what is is. Of course it is.

Now of course I'm very keen to get underway. I have never been to Northern Ireland before, so a new experience for me there soon. And for Claire also, whose ancestors probably originated in Donegal or West Tyrone, given her maiden name McMenamin.

OK, time to get serious!

...and get the ol' blog back into action ready for the M2M Ultra. Today I leave Tulsa for 3 weeks before the race starts in England, taking care of family stuff and hopefully getting in some final training miles in cooler weather. In case you missed the news, Tulsa has languished under record heat this summer. Not just anecdotal - July 2011 was actually the hottest average temperature month ever recorded in the US since records started to be kept in 1895. We had days and days of hot (100F+) and humid temperatures.

I've run a decent number of miles and a few races, and done a lot of stationary biking at the gym (in part to escape the heat outdoors), but as usual I'm not as prepared as I would've liked. Brief health check (and early excuses!): Everything from the knees up is working OK. That's good. Feet are painful, especially the left one, and I've developed a very sore varicose vein above my right ankle. Not so good. But not too serious, I hope.


So on September 14th, the M2M Ultra starts - just over a dozen of us covering the length of Ireland from north to south (344.5 miles) divided into eleven daily stages averaging 32 miles each. We start at Malin Head in the North, and finish at Mizen head in the Republic. We will fly to Belfast on the day before the race starts, meet race organizers Rory & Jen for the first time, and be whisked to the start on a sleeper bus with our own personal chef. Sounds groovy. Rumor has it that it was once Status Quo's (the legendary hard rock band) tour bus. In a beautiful piece of life's symmetry, this was the first band I ever saw perform live, as a spotty 14-year old at the Wake Arms pub in Epping, England. Like me, they must be getting on a bit by now.

Chris Brown Duathlon

Two better than estimated runs, exactly as estimated (i.e., slooow) bike ride. A shockingly hot morning - my car thermometer said 86F at 6 a.m. on the way to the start. A very well organized, low key, enjoyable event put on by Fleet Feet Tulsa. Third place in the old man's age group to show for it:

Location:Tulsa, OK

Duathlon tomorrow...

Time to demonstrate to the world once more the infinite crappiness of my cycling...



...not to mention the lack of any 5K speed. I'm ready to blame my pathetic splits on anticipated silly saunaesque temperatures, as Tulsa swelters.

Trans America - ah, the glamor

The finish line of today's stage - Tour de France it ain't! Finish banner in front of Ponca Auto World, flashing 108F. Everyone survived.

Great video of Rainer, Peter and the rest of the Trans America team...

Click here to see video...

More from Trans America...

My German friend Peter Bartel, who as he did for Trans Europe and Baltic Run is kickbiking across the United States. Peter was extremely pleased to see two friendly faces in the middle of nowhere, just east of the New Mexico state line. He is tired, and finding the weather and conditions very difficult - but he is nearly halfway across this huge country. Viel Glück, Peter!

Rainer Koch

Finally I can keep up with Rainer for 10K! This was taken by his Korean crew person June, somewhere in western Oklahoma, towards the New Mexico stateline. Rainer is German - a former winner of Trans Gaule and Trans Europe, an awesome athlete and a fine young man. He is leading LA-NY 2011 comfortably, and in his usual unassuming, understated, modest style. Go, Rainer!

James is tough

James finishes 55-mile stage 28 in Guymon after over 13 hours in temperatures which rose by mid-afternoon well above 100F. We really enjoyed keeping him company for some of those miles. His girlfriend Gemma arrived today - it was great to have her join the party!



Cheers, James!

Boise City to Guymon

A 55-mile stage for our friends today - flat, straight, hot and plenty of truck traffic, but at least there was a decent shoulder most of the way. Here's Claire keeping James company:



We crewed for most of the day, and then brought Jenni home the last few miles as the heat was really beginning to affect her, and we didn't want to have to make this particular detour:

It's REALLY hot out there...

100 degrees...


Jenni toughing it out...



...and James...



Don't be fooled by those fluffy clouds - they provide zero shade.

Location:Boise City, OK

Trans America (LA-NY) 2011

Rainer Koch from Germany, winner of Trans Europe 2009, is coasting along comfortably in first place after 26 brutally hot days. It was great running with him for a few miles, and seeing his Korean crew person June again.



Seven other runners (two Japanese, two Italian, two French and one Brit) are still in the race and battling along well. Today we helped our Dutch friends Jenni and Anneke to survive 100F temps, and met fellow countryman James for the first time. Our other German friend Peter Bartel is doing very well on his scooter. All are doing very well despite horrendous daily mileages and weather to match.



Now we're back at our finish line motel in Boise City. The Four Seasons it ain't. And not much like a stage finish at the Tour de France. But the air conditioning works, and here that's what matters most. Our friends have several more hours on the road today, which I don't envy them, but at least they will all have a cool place to rest up before another 55 miles of "fun in the sun" tomorrow.

Location:Boise City, OK

End the Madness!

A brilliantly organized event - 5 loops of 10.3 miles along the Arkansas River starting at midnight. Heat took its toll on me especially after the sun rose, but I was pleased to beat my 10 hour goal by 25 minutes. Claire had to settle for 3 loops, as her Achilles started to bother her, and we can't risk a tear less than 3 months before Ireland.

Location:Tulsa

Nearly midnight

Headed to the start of "Midnight Madness". It's hot out there - 88F. Mercy!

Location:Tulsa

Little Feat

No running today...time for some rock'n'roll! One of my all-time favorite bands (regrettably sans Lowell George) in a classic location.

Salomon South Down Trail Marathon - June 11, 2011

A beautiful day, beautiful weather, and a beautiful trail course event across the spectacular but very hilly, chalky and flinty South Downs in England. Claire placed second in her age group and beat her expectations by a huge margin, running 4hr 50mins. I ran a comfortable 4hr 16mins - way off the age group podium but - as ever these days for me - kein Stress.

Next up in Tulsa two weeks from now: a 50-miler starting at midnight aptly titled Midnight Madness. It's hot here now - 103F (40C) today. Ireland in September should be a pleasant change, as long as it doesn't rain continually!