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In only its third year, Saturday’s Grey Rock 50K Trail Run in the Ahtanum has transformed itself from a seemingly doomed endeavor into a legitimate fundraising event … and an ultramarathon of growing renown.

After attracting just seven starters (six of whom actually finished) for its 2005 debut, the Grey Rock 50K drew

10 entrants last year and another six to the accompanying 25K run. And this year those numbers will essentially double, with 23 to 25 runners expected to line up for the 50K and 10 to 12 in the 25K. A half-dozen entrants are coming from outside Washington.

“The first year I thought, that’s it, we’re toast, this thing’s never going to fly,” said Gailon Gentry, who organizes the event as a fundraiser for the Ahtanum Valley Museum. “But it’s been good. The first couple of years it made a little money, and this year could pull in about $1,500 for a little, tiny museum society.

“It’s been kind of neat how this thing has turned around.”

Read the rest at Yakima Herald Republic Online

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The Russian runners look set to dominate - amongst the ladies - in this year’s down run Comrades Marathon.

Ian Laxton from the Comrades Marathon Association says Elena Nurgalieva - who broke the up record last year - is virtually unstoppable. He predicts that South Africa’s top female athlete Farwa Mentoor will come in around sixth place.

However, Laxton says there could well be a South African victory among the men in the 89.3km marathon.

Read the rest at SABCnews.com

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Want to come to the desert at the end of October instead of freezing your butts off in the Midwest and Northeast???? Or you could just shiver back in the cold climates. It should be about 65-70 degrees on race day and we don’t get snow (usually).

What could be better than a trail race in the Las Vegas area on a world famous trail at Bootleg Canyon. This canyon is so beautiful, so single track and so rugged that only an ultrarunner endurance athlete could start salivating over it.

On the weekend of October 27, 2007, Red Rock Running Company (an ultrarunner owned local running store and ranked 37th in Runner’s World for Specialty Running Stores) will be sponsoring the “Sin City World of Hurt 50k Ultra Run and 25k Fun Run.”

Read the rest at Planet Ultramarathon

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Almost every day is a scorching 120 degrees for Connie Karras. Even in the shade or inside an air-conditioned building.

Karras works out on a treadmill wearing more threads than a space-walking astronaut.

“It’s heat training,” she said. “I have to train my body for the extreme temperatures.”

Either the 41-year-old Highland woman takes Al Gore’s traveling slideshow too seriously, or she’s just plain crazy. When finding out what Karras is preparing for, many people may assume the latter.

But Karras is set to run the Badwater Ultramarathon, a brutal 135-mile trek through California’s Death Valley. The race will start July 1 and end — at least for the faster finishers — two days later.

You would think organizers of the event — which has been featured on “60 Minutes” — could have scheduled the race safely away from the apex of summer. But what fun would that be?

“That’s what makes the race so extreme,” Karras said.

Karras has run ultramarathons before, but this will be her first Badwater as a participant. Last summer, she was part of a team that assisted Bill LaDieu of Harrisburg, Pa. Now, Karras has a formed a team that will assist her. The squad includes Perri Cummins, Victoria Gordon, Jim Stroup, Dennis Ohnstad and John Spannuth — experienced runners from all corners of the nation.

Read the rest at nwi.com

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Peter Chandler: Running and hallucinating for good causes

Ask most people what they consider to be the ultimate physical challenge, and the London Marathon would probably feature.

But for Peter Chandler from Worcester Park, the 26-mile race is a walk in the park compared to the sort of distances he is used to running Peter, who is a member of running club the Wimbledon Windmilers, will embark on an epic 145-mile run in May.

He will forego sleep to run alongside the Grand Union Canal from Birmingham to London, stopping for a maximum of just 40 minutes at a time.

This is the second time the determined 39-year-old will attempt the run, having completed it last year in 41 hours and 50 minutes.

He said: “It was OK for the first 70 miles. After that point, you can have a running buddy who goes along with you and makes sure you don’t fall into the canal.

Read the rest at theSurrey Comet

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