2010 AZTR discussion thread

[layla]

Hello, I am Mark Caminiti's girlfriend from Idaho Springs, Colorado.  I registered here today so that I could let you know about Mark's progress so far. (since he is not "spotted") since he hitched a ride with Jefe in Gunnison (btw:great azt ride Jefe! wow) I have received several calls when he was able to dry out his phone and when he was in service area....I just received another call @ (8:44 Mountain time). and he was on the Catalina Road/hwy, and as we were speaking he came upon Tim? another racer.  Soooo, he is having rear brake issues, but still slogging along and determined to finish the race.  I think you are all pretty amazing or possibly crazy? not sure. lol Mark turned a certain age milestone yesterday, I won't reveal cuz he might not like me spouting off his age, but it was his birthday yesterday!!!!! One he won't foget I'm pretty sure..... Layla

[layla]

Oh I forgot to mention that Mark told me he is averaging 68 miles per day. not bad for an old man ehh?!

[ScottM]

Thanks for the update on Mark, he is doing well.

I talked to Jefe this morning for just a minute before the phone died.  It sounded like he had a phenomenal ride.  6:15 was his finish time.  

Todd Johnson has joined full AZTers Brad Kee and Matt Fusco.  They left Oracle early this morning and are about to begin the legendary gasline, home of 1,000 or so climbs.

It looks like Lee Blackwell found a warm place to stay in Summerhaven last night.  Good call there.  No doubt he took time to fill up on breakfast at the cafe there before braving Oracle Ridge.  The furthest Lee has made it on the 300 is to the start of Oracle Ridge, so this will be new territory for him, starting right now.  I'm really psyched to see Lee doing so well.

Jackson, Tim and Mark are all likely on the Catalina Highway, having camped at Prison Camp, perhaps all together, last night.  They should have no problem making Oracle tonight, should they choose to stay there to rest up a bit.

Ian found his way to Broadway Bikes late last night.  He must need a part, or service, or some other issue.  It should be opening now, and hopefully we see his SPOT leave Tucson and continue on the route.

[mtbcast]

Got the same information from Mark Caminiti just now. You can hear it here: http://mtbcast.com/podcasts/2010/aztr10/markcam_042610_0857.mp3.

Got a call in from Jefe too! Congrats on an awesome finish! http://mtbcast.com/podcasts/2010/aztr10/jefeb_042610_1028.mp3

[ScottM]

Thanks Joe, it's cool to hear people's voices out there.  I wish I would have gotten the word out about the call ins earlier.  Some people didn't get the number at the start unfortunately.  It really adds a nice dimension to the coverage, IMO.

I heard a bit more from Jefe.  His last 24 hours were pretty epic, with many downed trees on Oracle Ridge and very hard to follow trail there as well.  He said, he "couldn't believe that he forgot how bad it really is up there."

He said it was hot in the Box and that it was a zoo of jeepers and what not.  He ran out of water for last 2 hours, which led to some pretty intense suffering.  But all was well when he pedaled into Superior, grabbed a hotel/shower/bed/food.  He seemed like he was absolutely glowing from the experience.

He slept about 1.5 hours the whole time.  Awesome.

[sherpaxc]

I just wanted to give a huge shout out to Corey for giving this thing a go.  This is a guy who just started riding about 2 years ago.  He's quickly becoming a very strong rider.  Good job my friend!

I also wanted to say, "Go Jackson!!!"  he is making us folks down in Austin very proud right now.  I've never seen him so focused leading up to this race and he is really kicking some butt out there!  Keep it up my friend!

[PirateGirl]

Phenomenal job out there Jefe! Congrats!!

Still cheering for the riders still out there and moving forward. Keep it up!

[the_mc5]

This has been humbling just to observe. A blistering record-setting pace of 5 mph? The mid-pack is more like 3mph. Could it be hiked faster? I can't imagine such conditions. Makes me wonder if the term "trail" is a bit optimistic - How about the "Arizona Big Pile of Sharp Pointy Rocks 300"?  ;-) Y'all are the real deal - way to go.

[ScottM]

I don't think it could be hiked faster, but I would love to have a foot category in the race as well.  I've challenged some locals to it, but none have accepted that challenge.  Some of the road sections would be tedious, no doubt.

5mph is pretty good for singletrack travel, but I know it doesn't sound very fast.  Inevitably there is down time for something this long.  Even if you don't sleep you have to find food, eat it, make bike/gear adjustments, open gates, or sometimes just stop and wonder what course of events led you to be on a tiny trail in the middle of nowhere at 3am -- that sort of thing.

[ScottM]

As of 4pm Monday we have the group of three well into the Boulders segment of the AZT, and on the downhill run to the Gila River.  We might see Todd Johnson go all out for a finish into the wee hours of the night (since he is racing the 300).  I think Brad and Matt would be well advised to bivy beforehand and save some energy for the rest of the AZT.

Lee Blackwell has finished Oracle Ridge and is likely in Oracle itself, though his last point was still on the trail, over an hour ago.

It appears that Action Jackson has turned around at the top of Mt. Lemmon, descending the highway back to Tucson rather than the brutal trail down to Oracle.  Tim and Mark C. are unknowns at this point.  I am hoping to hear from Tim soon (if anyone talks to him, have him call me) so I can fix his SPOT.

Ian was in Tucson for quite some time, presumably dealing with bike issues, but has rejoined the trail and is in the Redington Pass area.  The terrain is ledge filled 4x4 roads through here, followed by some sweet ridgeline AZT miles.

[ScottM]

Just talked to Lee from Oracle, on his way out.  He is psyched for some full moon night riding and what he called perfect weather.  He knows the trail ahead well, and is very much looking forward to it.

Tim rolled up, fresh off Oracle Ridge, as Lee was talking to me.  He's got to go into town to refuel, but I did tell him how to get his SPOT going.  Hopefully he'll show up from now on.

I got a text from Jackson -- he is out in Tucson.

[krefs]

Ha, I love Mark's comment on the 5 mph record-setting pace.  Record pace for the Divide is more like 6 mph.  That sure makes one feel rather pokey. 

[PirateGirl]

This has been humbling just to observe. A blistering record-setting pace of 5 mph? The mid-pack is more like 3mph. Could it be hiked faster?

5 mph pace is an average of 12 minute/miles. To put it in perspective, Pam Reed (champion ultrarunner) did a 300 mile road run and it took her 80 hours with no sleep. That's an average of 16 min/mi, and it was on road vs. a really hard trail. She also had a crew of 50 to help with feeding, hydration, and pacing. If a runner were to follow the same rules as the bikers (no support, carry all gear, etc) it would definitely slow the pace and the technical difficulty of the trail in certain areas would definitely take it's toll.

[Jilleo]

I've often wondered what the foot vs. bike spread would be on these tough singletrack endurance races. There is a law of diminishing turns when it comes to bikes and trail conditions (as evidenced in the 350-mile Iditarod/Ididabike race, where the bike record is only about 25 percent faster than the foot record.) Karl Meltzer averaged something like 60 miles a day on the Appalachian Trail, in an effort that took weeks and didn't even break the record. In a shorter trail race, forgoing sleep, even 90-100 miles a day doesn't seem like a complete stretch for a talented ultrarunner (Because any 100-mile stretch of the AZT is still less strenuous than most western 100-mile trail races, although the racer would have to carry their own gear in the AZT.) Does anyone know what the foot record is on the Arizona Trail or the Colorado Trail? It seems like there must be one.

Anyhow, it would be cool to see more multiday trail running races out there. AZT would be a great candidate. And congrats to this year's participants and finishers! I wasn't around to track this race but from what I've read here, it seems like an excitng one!

[Stefan_G]

Does anyone know what the foot record is on the Arizona Trail or the Colorado Trail? It seems like there must be one.

Indeed!  FKT by foot on the CT is 8d12h14m supported, and 14d9h30m unsupported by the same guy (Boulder's Paul Pomeroy).  This includes the Wilderness sections though, so isn't really a fair comparison to the CTR.  The CTR is about the same length, but 15k' less climbing.  I did the entire CT (fully supported) in 7d20h with a combination of biking and hiking in 2006.  I slept 5ish hours per night during that effort.  An effort to match Paul's 8d12h, but with a hike/bike combo would likely be 5 days or less.

I don't see a foot record for the AZT, but a friend of mine keeps track of these kind of things and has a whole FKT bulletin board just for this purpose:  http://fastestknowntime.proboards.com/  Super fun and motivating to browse.

[layla]

I got a call from Mark @ 12:40 Mtn. Time.  He was in Oracle and had been there about 1 or 2 hours before he felt like he could make any calls.  He sounded strong, but i could tell that he was totally thrashed by the amount of time, heat and the scortched earth he experienced.  He mentioned he was going to camp out behind a circle K? or something like that...He mentioned connecting with Tim in the a.m. Btw  He is still having brake and battery charging issues, but is determined to get to the finish line. Layla

[ScottM]

Alright!  The three pack kept moving all night and finished around 5am this morning!

It is hard to tell if they finished together or not, though the leaderboard has Matt Fusco finishing first, followed by Brad, then Todd.  In any case they are our 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finishers in the 300.  Brad and Matt are in the full AZT, but they have gone off route to refuel in Superior.  Looks like a Los Hermanos breakfast to me.

Nice work, gentleman.

[Stefan_G]

Matt, Brad, Todd - Great job guys!  And go Brad and Matt, you guys should be nicely warmed up by now.  :-)

Jefe, you are one amazing dude!  Your mental toughness to push through so many multi-day events time and time again, with such little sleep, while keeping the hammer down....  just mind boggling.  A huge congrats on a well earned new course record and win.

[DaveC]

Foot v. bike times.  In the grand scheme of this debate, the AZT 300 course is pretty buff and nontechnical.  Plenty of stretches where bikes can go fast.  As such, bikes will win by days. 

On a course like the Hardrock or Wasatch (foot) 100s a mountain bike would be harder pressed to keep up with the foot records. 

[ScottM]

In the grand scheme of this debate, the AZT 300 course is pretty buff and nontechnical. 

I agree with your comparative point, but I want to hear the above words coming out of your mouth when you reach Superior some year in the future. 

On a course like the Hardrock or Wasatch (foot) 100s a mountain bike would be harder pressed to keep up with the foot records. 

Yes, someone needs to man up and give W100 a go.  Holy hike-a-bike at the start though.