USA Ultrarunning

Hey, for all who are interested the organizers in Wales finally gave us some info on the event for 2013.  That information is below along with what MUT had put together for team selection.  The selection dates may change as the race dates possibly change as well.  We will post more information here as it becomes available.

Selection Criteria:

2013 IAU Trail World Championships – U.S. Team Qualification Guidelines

A contingent of American Trail Ultrarunners will be selected to compete at the 2013 International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) Trail World Championships under the patronage of the IAAF.  This event is a IAU Championship, but would be considered a Challenge event by IAAF.  This approximately 54km trail race is scheduled for July 6 or 7, 2013 in Wales.

The U.S. would like to send a contingent of six men and six women ultrarunners. The contingent and alternates (if applicable) will be selected by the USATF Mountain/Ultra/Trail (MUT) Running Council which was established in 1998 to help USATF administer ultrarunning in the United States.

Standards for Consideration for 2011 US Contingent to the IAU Trail World Championships

1. An American who finishes in the top 10 men or women at the 2011 IAU World Trail Challenge will receive automatic team selection (up to 2 per gender). Men – Ben Nephew

2. The winner of the 2013 USATF 50km trail championship (Sept 22, 2012), 50 mile trail championship (March 2, 2013), and 100km trail championship (January 12, 2013) will receive automatic selection.  if four runners are selected under criteria #1, the selection will proceed: 50km champion, then 50 mile champion.

50K – Max King  -  Erica Barton
100K – Sage Canaday  -  Michele Yates
50 Mile – TBD
Automatic selection athletes must confirm their place on the team by April 30, 2013.

3. The top American male and female finishers at the 2011 IAU World Trail Challenge will be selected into the pool of potential team members if they place in the top 15 overall for their gender.
Women – Alison Bryant

4. American athletes can also enter the selection pool through running resume – consideration given to trail ultra racing experience, national championship placing, placing at key ultra events, & international experience. Running resumes should be sent to Jason Bryant – runningmtn.goat@yahoo.com with cc to Howard Nippert – howardvchair@gmail.com.  Must be received by April 26, 2013.

5. Athletes not automatically selected to the team through standards 1-3 above will be selected according to best performances (as deemed so by USATF Mountain, Ultra, and Trail Council) within qualifying guidelines.  Important criteria considered in the selection pool will be high placing at international trail ultra races, top placing at national championships, top placing at other nationally recognized trail ultra races.  An athletes experience in trail ultra racing will be considered such as performances at known trail ultra races.  Strong road ultra performances are considered in team selection as well.

6. Athletes must be US citizens and be current USATF members.

7. Six athletes will be named to the US Team with up to three alternates. The three alternates will be named sequentially based on performance.

8. This is an unfunded team, so no travel funds are provided for athletes from USATF.  There may be some small reimbursement available from the IAU (to be determined at the event and distributed evenly among competing athletes as quickly as possible following the event).  Team uniforms may be provided.

For additional information please contact Jason Bryant–runningmtn.goat@yahoo.com

Team Selected: May 1, 2013

Team Announced: May 2, 2013 (With press announcement to follow soon thereafter)

Info from Wales organization:

World Trail Championships (Steve Brace via Norman Wilson)

Date in questions 7/6/2013

Delay is due to the need to possibly reconsider the original date of July 6, 2013. The problem is securing the forest commission permit since the time of the race is congruent with the breeding of a species of bird in the area.

The current effort is to request consideration of the original request. The Welsh government is now involved to persuade the forest commission to host the race on the original date of July 6. This is the current status and the IAU waits for the date confirmation.

In the event the date of July 6 is not an option, the alternative date will be September 15. This date was selected as the alternate date to avoid conflicts with other events happening on the Welsh and IAU calendars. Although we do not currently know if the July 6 date would work, we do know that the alternate date of September 15 will work, however the July 6 is the preference.

The deadline for a definitive date will be January 31, 2013. Once the date is known, the planning process will move forward and information will be provided..

The course will be 75-80 km in length, more likely close to 80km as the trail is a 20km loop. The course is described as difficult. There may be some modifications of the current course if the July 6 date is confirmed to avoid as little interruption to the breeding species as possible.

Opening ceremonies will be in the same sports center that hosted the opening ceremonies of the 2011 Commonwealth Games.

More information will be available following the January 31^st deadline of a date selection.

Sage Canaday wins Bandera 100K

Appearing in his first ultra championship, Sage Canaday, 27, Boulder, CO won his first ultra championships and a share of the $5,000 purse.

Last year, Canaday won his first national title at the USATF Mountain Running Championships.  This surely suited his skills and talent on the course in Hill Country State Natural Area near Bandera, TX, site of the 11^thannual Bandera Trail Races.

From the start, Canaday took the lead and widened it as the day wore on. While most were hampered by the damp day, with mud-slick trails, he seemed to thrive on it, using his mountain running talent and breaking the course record, set in 2011, by Dave Mackey in 8:16:48.

Sage’s 8:13:49 CR, put him nearly 40 minutes ahead of runner-up Mackey, 43, of Novato, CA, who won the Masters for the second consecutive year. Mackey, a medical student, raised his total of USATF Masters victories to 7, in the process, with his 8:53:27.

Paul Terranova, 39, of Austin, TX, completed the Grand Slam and an Ironman in Hawaii last year, but his focus this year was to win a slot for the Western States 100 Endurance Run, which was offered to top runners at Bandera.  He reached his goal with his 8:55:41.

Liza Howard, 40, of San Antonio, came into the race as the defending champion and course record holder, with an ankle sprained only 5 days earlier, knowing it would be a tough day.

Michele Yates reigns at Bandera

Michele Yates, formerly Suszek, 30, of Estes Park, CO, recently married, did not plan to be the bridesmaid at Bandera.  She took the lead and widened it nearly all day long, winning in a time of 10:08:48.

The personal trainer won her first national title at last year’s 50-mile trail championships at the Nueces Trail Run, also in Texas.  She plans on returning to Nueces to defend her title, this March.  The former track and field athlete at UNLV also enjoys road racing.

Runner-up, San Antonio’s Melanie Fryar, 32, a self-employed single mother of two boys and a girl, moved through the field and into second place before the halfway mark closing on Yates and at one point was just 3 minutes back. She ran a strong race finishing in 10:17:30.

Sabrina Little, a 26-year-old from Texas, best known for her stellar 24-hour performance at the North Coast 24-hour in 2012, managed to catch and pass the slightly hampered Liza Howard in a time of 11:00:03.

Showing the toughness that has brought her many ultra victories, Howard won the Masters division, with a smile on her face, knowing the odds were against her, doing what she does best, running hard, no matter what, finishing fourth overall in 11:07:56.

Other finishers:

Men

4.  Erik Stanley, 27, TX, 9:21:50

5.  Gary Gellin, 44, CA, 9:27:41

6.  Jeff Browning, 41, OR, 9:37:52

7.  Steven Moore, 45, TX, 10:39:28

8.  Loren Woheltz, 27, NM, 10:41:08

9.  Von Jones, 44, TX, 11:06:36

10. Jack Pilla, 54, VT, 11:07:02

Women

5.  Sydney Pitt, 26, TX, 12:19:42

6.  Erica Baron, 41, NM, 12:21:11

7.  Meghan Arbogast, 51, OR, 12:23:27

8.  Shannon Meridith, 42, CO, 12:33:45

9.  Anabel Pearson, 42, TX, 13:21:4

10. Lee Conner, 39, OH, 14:36:39