Race Philosophy/No Whining
Non Laurus Luctatio
This event is about as tough as they come while still being doable (this is no Barkley, our oldest finisher was 62). It's low key, no frills, and pretty old school in terms of the philosophy of the race. This event goes against the grain of the everyone's-a-winner, participant-trophy nonsense that my generation grew up on, and that seems to be creeping into the sport.
Here is my reasoning. I believe in my heart of hearts that most of you can complete this. That’s why you aren’t going to get a 50 mile buckle when you sign up for the 100 miler and DNF after 50+ miles. Plus, the back 50 is harder anyways. ;)
If you want to grow at anything—anything—you have to push the envelope, to step outside of your comfort zone. You have to leave that warm, cozy place where a win is guaranteed. If you want to explore the limits of what you can really do, the only way to do that is to embrace the prospect of failure—or at least act in spite of it. That’s where the magic happens, where you might fail at something, but you just might succeed too. That’s where excitement lives, on that razor edge of uncertainty. That’s where you go if you like the feeling of butterflies in your stomach.
Our society has a distorted view of failure, that you are worthless because you failed. But it’s not that simple. Funny, it’s often not the wins, but the failures that get studied, that cause people to reflect, regroup, and come back smarter and stronger. It’s the failures that give us the biggest opportunities to grow. That is my philosophy for this race, for it to be right on the edge of what a normal, non-elite athlete is capable of. It’s designed to be hard and to test you, but also to be doable.
To that end, a no-whining rule is in effect from here on out, for the runner, the crew, the pacers. My vision for this event is not a binary one where people fall into a winner bucket or a DNF bucket. More and more I view this as a celebration of that razor edge of uncertainly. It’s a salute to a small group of people, who despite the knowledge that it could go either way, still showed up, eager for the fight.
Non Laurus Luctatio
“Not the prize but the struggle”
(Thanks to my old coach Al Lawrence for introducing me to that quote.)
Important Route Information
(Drop bag information here.)
Camping or RV Options Near Ouray
Ouray KOA
http://koa.com/campgrounds/ouray/
Ouray RV Park & Cabins
Four J RV
No website: 970-325-4418
Amphitheater Campground
Angel Creek Campground
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/gmug/recarea/?recid=32524
Thistledown Campground
Showers
Be aware that the Ouray Hot Springs has pay showers ($4) and towels for sale ($10).
Parking
Ouray is particularly busy in July. The hot springs parking lot tends to get overrun with visitors who aren't there for the hot springs, and then the hot springs customers have no place to park. This creates headaches and generally bad juju with other locals and visitors, and it sometimes results in ticketed and/or towed vehicles, especially when parked overnight.
So here's what you and your crews should do instead: Park on one of the nearby side roads (e.g. 8th Ave., 7th Ave., 2nd St., etc.). The awesome thing about the side roads is you can park there for three days.
Things you and your crews should not do: (1) Park on main street overnight (only ok during the day). (2) Park in the RV parking lot south of the gazebo overnight (only ok during the day). (3) Park in the hot springs parking lot overnight--or for any extended period of time.
We want to keep good relationships with local law enforcement, local officials, the hot springs staff, other visitors, and locals in general. The longevity of our event depends on it. And you can help us with that.
Flatlanders Beware
If you are coming from a lower elevation or have had issues with altitude sickness in the past, I would encourage you to refrain from enjoying our delicious Colorado craft beer in the days prior to the race. Even just a couple drinks at altitude can send your system into a tailspin that results in a DNS days later. I wouldn’t take any risks until after the race.
Schedule
100 Miler (July):
Thursday, 7/18/24, Fellin Park (look for a gazebo)
4:00 - 7:00 PM Early packet pickup
6:00 PM Brief pre-race talk (optional, but super useful for learning things like where mountain lions have denned near trails)
Friday, 7/19/24, Fellin Park
7:00 - 7:45 AM Race day packet pickup/runner check-in for 100 milers
8:00 AM 100 mile start (52 hour cutoff)
Sunday, 7/21/24, Fellin Park
11:00 AM Formal drug testing samples collected from 1st place finishers
***winners may also be required to provide urine and/or blood samples after crossing the finish line***
12:00 PM Cutoff for official finish, both events
12:30 PM Award ceremony
Fellin Park is on the north side of Ouray, immediately next to the Ouray Hot Springs at 1220 Main St, Ouray, CO 81427.
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50 Miler (September):
Friday, 9/13/24, Fellin Park (look for a gazebo)
4:00 - 7:00 PM Early packet pickup
6:00 PM Brief pre-race talk (optional, but super useful for learning things like where mountain lions have denned near trails)
Saturday, 9/14/24, Fellin Park
11:00 – 11:45 AM Race day packet pickup/runner check-in for 50 milers
12:00 PM 50 mile start, (24 hour cutoff)
Sunday, 9/15/24, Fellin Park
11:00 AM Formal drug testing samples collected from 1st place finishers
***winners may also be required to provide urine and/or blood samples after crossing the finish line***
12:00 PM Cutoff for official finish, both events
12:30 PM Award ceremony
Fellin Park is on the north side of Ouray, immediately next to the Ouray Hot Springs at 1220 Main St, Ouray, CO 81427.
Free Advice on Race Strategy
You know what they say about free advice, right? Well here comes some. ;)
This course is very finishable. A gentleman in his 60s completed the 100 miler in 2015. And it stormed all weekend, which added extra challenges for runners. Notwithstanding injuries/medical issues/whoops I forgot to train, the odds are you are physically capable of finishing this. Now you may decide at some point you don’t want to, and that’s ok. But don’t for a second believe that you aren’t capable of doing it if you want it bad enough.
This course, while finishable, is still damn tough. It’s probably going to push you to a place you’ve never been. You might quit. You might beat yourself up. You might beat me up. You might grow from it. Alternatively, you might stick it out and discover just how tough you are.
There is a reason for the 52 hour cutoff (24 for the 50 miler). Go to UltraSignup and study the 2015 and 2016 results. Ignore 2014 because the route was much easier. You will see that almost all of the finishers brushed up against the cutoff. That’s around 2 miles per hour, or 30-minute miles. Note that the back 50 is harder.
What I’m getting at—your plan, whatever it is, it’s probably too ambitious. Your mental game in this race is what is going to make or break you. You might think you can do 18 minute miles on this course. (And maybe you can. High five!!) So you are prepared for a 30-hour adventure. And your crew is prepared for a 30-hour adventure. And your pacer is prepared for a 10 or 15-hour adventure. Then after 35 miles you realize your plan was way off. Your mental game just got destroyed because you are going to be out on course almost a day longer than you thought. Now your crew plan is busted, and your crew is worried about you. Your pacer is probably not prepared to be out as long as they need to be. You have just set yourself up for disaster.
The common thread among the people who have finished is how relaxed they all were, and how relaxed their crews were. I strongly recommend you have a plan based on using most of all of the allotted time. It’s better to be on track or hours ahead of schedule later in the race than to be hours behind it. After all, it’s just a mental game. So you need to play the game and set yourself up to win it.
Medical
We will have four medical professionals on shifts (2 on at any given time). Additionally, the RD as well as two key volunteers will have current CPR/Basic First Aid certification.
Foot care will be largely the responsibility of the runner. Beyond standard items found in a first aid kit, we won't have anything special for feet.
Aid Station Offerings
Aid stations will be stocked with your standard ultra fare: fruit, sweet snacks, salty snacks, water, sports drink, etc..
The first two physical aid stations (Lower Camp Bird, Richmond Trailhead) will not have hot food. All of the remaining aid stations (excluding the water-only Richmond Trailhead on return trip) will have hot food (soup, ramen, grilled cheese, quesadillas, etc.).
The five physical aid stations with hot food (Ironton, Weehawken, Crystal Lake, Fellin Park, Silvershield) will also have propane space heaters.
We are thankful to be sponsored by Hammer Nutrition for the third year in a row. Hammer is sending us: HEED (sports drink), Endurolytes (electrolyte tabs), Endurolytes Fizz (dissolvable tabs), and Hammer Gels.
I do expect to run out of gels, so if your entire fueling strategy consists of eating gels, bring some of your own and put them in your drop bags.
Mandatory Gear
Provided by runner:
-Headlamp (or waist lamp)
-Backup light source (e.g. headlamp, flashlight, keychain light, …)
[I’m going to assume you are smart enough to bring a way to carry liquids, maybe even slather some sunscreen on your nose and ears…]
Provided by event organizer:
-SPOT Gen3 Tracker
-Emergency poncho
-Emergency Mylar blanket
-Emergency flashlight (This is a white LED that you tape to a coin battery that lasts for days. This is in addition to your other required light sources.)
-Water treatment tabs for 1 gal. (It’s 4 little pill looking things, each treats 1 quart/liter. Put tab in water and wait at least 30 minutes before drinking.)
-Bic mini lighter
-Tealight candle (if you get cold and wet, wrap yourself in the Mylar blanket and huddle over this candle)
The items above will be provided in little ziplock bags (except the SPOT which goes on your pack). The bag is about the size/weight of a smart phone. These items will come in very handy if you get into trouble in the mountains. You are required to carry them throughout the event. We reserve the right to spot check your pack throughout the race. If you can’t produce the little baggie, you will be immediately disqualified. I believe in packing lite, but I also believe in being prepared for emergencies. So I put a lot of thought into how to give you a lot of useful stuff without adding much weight. I don’t care if you are an elite weight weenie, or if you were raised by a pack of Grizzly Bears in Alaska, there will be no exceptions to this. Everyone will carry these required items.
Strongly recommended gear:
-Trekking poles
-Bandana (to save your lungs on the Jeep roads if it’s dusty, also handy for neck ice bandana if it gets hot)
-Sunglasses
-Chap stick/small sunscreen bottle
-Gloves (for cold)
-Weight lifting gloves (the ones with cut out fingertips and mesh back—these can save your wrists when you take a spill)
-Lite waterproof/windproof jacket
-Shoes with 4-6 Ice Spikes/sheet metal screws for extra traction (specially for the steeper/mainly dirt trails on the back 50)
Live Tracking
Each runner will be provided a SPOT Gen3 GPS tracker at check-in. Runners are required to wear the device throughout the event. Runners’ locations will be transmitted to a satellite every 2.5 minutes and updated on a map on our website (www.ouray100.com) under the tracking tab.
We will still do the “old school” paper tracking at each aid station (shout your bib # and a volunteer logs you) as a backup. However, having near real-time information on a runner’s location is handy for many reasons, including:
-Allows race organizer to keep better tabs on runners for timing openings/closing of aid stations
-Allows race organizer to know if a runner has gone off course/is in danger of being lost almost immediately instead of learning it when it’s time to close an aid station and the runner is missing. (A volunteer sweeper is not able to know if a middle of the pack runner west off course.)
-Allows crews/pacers (IF they have data service on their phone) to plan better when/where they will meet a runner.
-Allows runners the ability to send an SOS distress signal that tells search and rescue exactly where the runner is located.
In reality, this course is not as remote as, say Hardrock, so the risk of getting lost is not as high. It’s also well marked. Finally, runners are constantly passing each other due to the out and backs. So if someone breaks a leg, it’s likely another runner would pass them and communicate the problem to an aid station.
Nonetheless, the trackers will help to mitigate some of these risks, even if minor. But mainly, they will provide a fantastic tool to crews/pacers/spectators/Uncle Mike in Iowa/anyone wanting to watch this epic adventure unfold.
Some notes on the trackers so that runners and crews understand their limitations:
They work great some of the time, maybe even most of the time. Certainly it’s by far the best technology available to date. But’s it’s not perfect yet.
Sometimes they work intermittently. The mountains around you can obstruct the sky. Storms or thick cloud cover can make this worse. So the units will sometimes misread their own location and send incorrect information back to the satellite. A runner’s track might be following the route, and then it jumps a mile all at once. That’s a false reading. If that runner was truly off track, there would be a series of tracks as opposed to an immediate jump.
Sometimes the signal can’t reach the satellite, so there is no reading at all. This can happen for an extended period of time, especially in valleys, if there is dense tree cover, and in storms. So if runner Johnny was pinging the satellite every 2.5 minutes, and there have been no new signals in the last hour, that is probably all that is happening. This is not a situation where we need to immediately send in the rescue helicopters.
Finally, on rare occasions a unit will crap out mid race. We will have spare units along the route. If we identify a dud, we will do our best to swap the unit with a good one when a runner comes through the next aid station.
So generally be aware that this technology is imperfect. Don’t use the fact that we will have trackers as an excuse for you and your crew to not have a plan. Come here prepared for an old-school race that doesn’t have tracking. Then you’ll all be on cloud nine when this new technology exceeds your expectations.
GPS Watch Users Beware
How to put this lightly. Your $400 GPS is not survey grade, especially not here due to mountains obstructing the sky, dense trees, and even storms. Go to our FAQ page and scroll down to "I heard that the 2015 race was 120+ miles. Is that true?" for a case study on everything that can go wrong with a wrist GPS.
Directionally Challenged? Download Gaia or Backcountry Navigator
If you are even slightly directionally challenged, I highly recommend you download a navigation app like Gaia or Backcountry Navigator to your smartphone. In short, it turns your phone into a GPS navigator you can use when you don’t have reception. The app costs $10 or $20, but after you purchase it you have unlimited use of many map layers, including the Forest Service maps. You select the area around Ouray and download those maps to your phones memory. Then you download the Ouray route GPX files from our website and pull them into the app. Now you have the full Ouray route overlaying a zoomable Forest Service map. Turn your phone to airplane mode to preserve battery. If you ever doubt your location, you simply flip on the location function on your phone, and your location will show up on the map. Then flip the location function back off to save battery. If you would like to use this app, but are having trouble with it, try to catch me at runner check-in on Thursday and I’ll give you a lesson.
Lightning
Nearby Hardrock has always maintained that any death from their event would likely be from lightning. You may recall that Adam Campbell and his pacer got their headlamps fried at the 2015 Hardrock when a bolt came down right by them. They were incredibly lucky. Every year people die from lightning strikes in the CO high country.
Because of the distance of this event, runners will be spread out all over the course. IT IS UP TO YOU to make sure you don't get caught above tree line in a storm. DO NOT go above tree line if a storm is brewing. Make yourself comfortable below the tree line and wait it out. This is just a race, after all. If you get pinned down by a storm and it results in you narrowly missing a cutoff, we are likely to give you some leeway.
Ok, I won’t do all caps and yell at you anymore. Just please take this seriously. I don’t want someone hurt or killed because they tried to beat a storm. If you roll the dice, you are asking for it. Be smart and you will have a fun and safe event.
Study this whole graphic, but pay special attention to the top right text: “If your hair begins to stand on end or your skin starts to tingle, a lightning strike is imminent. Immediately get into the crouching position.”
Wildlife 101 for City Folk
The likelihood of you having a dangerous wildlife encounter in the San Juans is extremely low. The odds of a dangerous encounter are even lower if you know what to do.
Bears:
There are no Grizzly bears in this area. “So I got that going for me, which is nice.” We do have Black Bears. They are smaller, vary in color (can be black, brown/cinnamon), and almost never bother humans. Unless stupid humans leave trash out.
So if you are camping in this area, don’t invite a bear by having food in your tent. And don’t leave a standard cooler sitting outside. If you have a bear proof cooler like a Yeti, remember that it is only bearproof if it is locked. If you ignore these guidelines, not only are you likely to get a visitor, it’s also likely you will have indirectly killed a bear. Bears that get used to human food typically become problem bears and are euthanized.
Back to the trail. If you see a bear(s) on the trail, more than likely they will just run off. I surprised two mature bears on the Gunnison National Forest last summer running by myself. I stopped, shouted at them, and stood up tall. And within seconds they just… ran off. Usually the situation will resolve itself, but certainly do not run or try to climb a tree. The bear is way better at both of those things than you are.
About the only time a black bear might cause you trouble is if you surprise a sow (a.k.a. mother) and cub(s). I have only seen a sow and cub once. It was at a reasonable distance a few miles north of Ouray off the Dallas Trail. I slowly backed away. Then when I was at a safe distance, I started to make some noise by banging sticks together to communicate my presence. Never saw them again.
Only if you get very close to a cub are you likely to have an issue. The sows often do a false charge to test you. Don’t bother running. She’s way faster than you. You are best to stand your ground in hopes of a false charge. It may just stop and snort at you, and then leave. In the event you find yourself getting wailed on by a sow, you are best to ball up, cover your face and stomach, and play dead for 10-20 minutes. She’s just trying to protect her kid, not eat you. She’ll eventually leave.
Mountain Lions:
As with Black Bears, it is very rare for mountain lions to give adult humans any trouble. They are powerful creatures, but they are also pretty smart. They like to eat small things, because it is much easier and safer to kill and eat 100 rabbits or foxes than try to kill a bull elk or moose and risk injury. So they primarily judge a potential meal based on size.
An adult human is big enough they usually just don’t want to mess with it. The very rare instances of a Mountain Lion attacking or killing a human are almost always cases of small children (i.e. a three-year-old is in the fox sized category), or mountain bikers going at a high rate of speed (yummy!! Looks like prey!!) in highly populated areas like California where the cats are desensitized to humans.
In the unlikely event you see a mountain lion up close, let’s say it’s studying you, then it may be trying to decide which category you are in. Unlike Black Bears, a mountain lion in close proximity is actually sizing you up as a potential meal. So your job is to communicate you are not a meal by: standing your ground, standing tall, shouting confidently, raising your clothing or pack to appear larger, throwing sticks or rocks, etc. Absolutely under no circumstances should you ever ever ever ever run from a mountain lion.
And in the extremely unlikely event a mountain lion decides to charge, it’s trying to eat you. Don’t ever play dead with a mountain lion or you will be. Fight it with anything you can find. Convince it to go find a rabbit, because ultrarunners are too much trouble to eat.
I have never seen a mountain lion in the wild.
Elk:
Elk usually just run off. They are scared of you, you scary, stinky, beast. On rare occasions bull elk can be aggressive during mating season, but that tends to be September/October in Colorado.
Moose:
Moose can ornery. If you see a moose, steer clear of it. If it’s on the trail, try to get off the trail and go around it with plenty of space. They can be more ornery during mating season, but that tends to begin mid to late September, well after Ouray.
Dogs:
I sometimes carry bear spray as insurance on long solo outings (for use on anything). The only thing I have come close to using it on was a large dog near a campsite. I would guess you are much more likely to have an issue with a dog (in town, a camper’s dog, or a sheep herder’s dog) than any other animal listed above.
Foot Care/Water Crossings
Since we aren’t quite as popular as Western States just yet (ha!), we don’t have an army of budding podiatrists waiting to tape your feet and gaze with fascination upon your jacked-up toenails. Don’t get me wrong, we will be happy to help any way we can. Some of the volunteers might be willing to try to tape up your feet. And we might be fascinated by your toenails—or lack thereof. But my point is, don’t expect elite, world-class foot care. If there is something special you want, bring it along in your drop bag.
There are numerous, small water crossings on the route (refer to map and section descriptions). Everyone has a different preference as far as gear and foot care, but I have found I can run all day with wet feet if I have:
-very thin socks (they shed water and dry out more quickly)
-thin layer of Vaseline/generic petroleum jelly/Trail Toes/whatever (put a small amount all over your foot and rub it in well, if you use too much your foot will slide all around on these steep descents)
Prize Purse
100 Mile, Top Female, $1,250
100 Mile, Top Male, $1,000
50 Mile, Top Female, $675
50 Mile, Top Male, $500
Drugs in Ultrarunning – Houston, we have a problem
I know from my auditing background (I’m a CPA) that people commit financial fraud and theft, they cheat, when three things are present: Incentive, opportunity, and rationalization.
I’m poor and about to lose my house (incentive), I have access to the company checkbook (opportunity), and my boss is verbally abusive to me (rationalization).
I have a gambling habit (incentive), I have access to the warehouse at work where they store valuable tools that con easily be converted to cash (opportunity), and I’ve seen several other people at work take items, so it’s acceptable for me also (rationalization).
It can take on many forms, but you get the idea.
With that framework, I can say without hesitation that there is currently an issue with doping in ultrarunning. I repeat. There is currently an issue with doping in ultrarunning. I’m sure some will argue against this, but they simply haven’t done their research.
(1) There is already incentive to do it. Gear sponsorships, books deals, etc. are at stake. There are a handful of successful ultramarathoners actually make a living doing it. Not getting rich, certainly, but making a living, and perhaps more importantly, getting a lot of fame and recognition from the ultrarunning community. So there is an example of just one of the plausible reasons to do it. “Maybe that little bump is all I need to make it big time.”
(2) There is the opportunity to do it. This is twofold. First, races simple don’t test. After all, it’s prohibitively expensive for a small race to test. More on that later. Second, the drugs are readily available. No, seriously. The market for steroids and other performance enhancing drugs is monstrous—a market way too big to be supported solely by elite athletes. This is a big problem that most people don’t understand the scope of. This is a fantastic article regarding the size of the PED market. Everyone’s Juicing: Latest raids of undercover steroid labs suggest the market for steroids goes way beyond the world of elite athletes. https://www.propublica.org/article/raids-steroid-labs-suggest-market-for-steroids-beyond-elite-athletes
(3) The only missing piece is the rationalization. And that’s the easy one. It is very personal, of course. A person with high ethical standards won’t ever dope because they can’t rationalize it. But there are plenty of people who could easily rationalize it. “I just know these elite guys must be doping. I do all this training, 150 miles a week, year after year, and I still can’t catch them. It’s time for me to level the playing field!”
Take a second and Google “cheating statistics”. You will get a bunch of links to studies on sexual infidelity in marriage. At quick glance, the studies don’t all agree, but the percentage of spouses who have cheated ranges somewhere between 25-70%. Even if the real number is on the low end, which hopefully it is, it ought to tell us something. The “nobody would ever cheat in our dearly beloved sport” argument is absolute, fantastical, fairy-tale, head-in-the-clouds bullshit.
Take the top 50 all-time finishes for men and women at Western States, Leadville. I bet most of them are clean, and I’m not picking on the fastest runners either. But I am saying this. Out of those top 50 performances do you truly believe all of them are clean?
I sure don’t.
<rant />
Drugs in Ultrarunning – Challenges of Testing
I’m guessing ultrarunning cheats are not yet as sophisticated as your Tour de France crowd with the army of doctors, IVs, access to blood testing machines, and team buses parked on back roads. Maybe it will get there one day, but at this point there isn’t even enough testing to warrant someone using more than basic techniques. So at least for now, just basic testing at events might go a long way.
But unfortunately the economics simply don’t work. At least not with your off-the-shelf anti-doping programs.
I contacted the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) early this year. They were fantastic. They spent over an hour on the phone with me answering questions. My hope was to have them put together an anti-doping program for Ouray, and to test at the very least the 100 and 50 mile winners (so four people). They sent me their quote. They wanted a $10,000 retainer to test four runners, or $2,500 a runner, or almost 100% of my 2016 event budget (a few of my 2016 entries are comps).
So in short, don’t expect any of your big races to start testing anytime soon. It makes absolutely zero economic sense.
In my opinion, our sport needs an anti-doping body. Ultrarunning is not an Olympic sport, so ultra events are not by default subject to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standards via USADA. An event can elect to be subject to them, for example by seeking event sanctioning through USA Track and Field (USATF). Ouray is a USATF sanctioned event, which consequently makes the event subject to WADA standards. But you still have to pay a hefty fee (at least for a small race) to actually get testing.
Time to get creative.
I contacted the only drug testing company within 60 miles of my home. Their lab of course doesn’t provide a test for every single banned substance on the WADA list, but I was surprised they could cover many of the major categories for a very reasonable price:
$300 Sample collection for four individuals, total (including backup samples for each individual to guard against a false positive)
$58 5-panel (THC > 50 ng/ml, Cocaine, Opiates, Amph/Meth, PCP), per person
$45 Anabolic steroids (multiple), per person
$62 HGH, per person
$161 EPO, per person
So for $1,604 out the door, I can provide reasonable assurance that my winners are clean. And there are backup samples to protect the runners from a mistake.
That is still a sizable chunk of my budget with the race still in its infancy. But to me it’s worth it to be in the red one more year to do this thing right. If race directors don’t get creative and find a solution to this problem, then it will never get solved.
Ever Run Racing LLC Drug Policy
(This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly as improvements are identified.)
Any athlete who has been caught using prohibited substances in any sport, under any official anti-doping program has a lifetime prohibition from participating in any event promoted by Ever Run Racing LLC. The performance enhancing effects of doping do not immediately go away because someone ceases the use of a prohibited substance. On the contrary. Some amount of benefit can be retained for a long period of time. The lifetime ban is less about being punitive, and more about addressing the residual effects of doping to ensure fair play.
The top male and female finisher from each event may be required to provide urine and/or blood samples immediately after finishing. To be clear, this is in addition to any blood or urine on your clothing--those don't count.
The top male and female finisher from each event will also make themselves available for sample collection (urine, blood) at Fellin Park at 11:00 AM on Sunday, August 7th. A no-show for sample collection will automatically disqualify a runner’s result. Prize money will be forfeited and awarded to the next fastest runner.
A backup sample will be collected. In the event of a positive result on the initial test, the results will not immediately be made public. The runner will privately be notified of the result, and the backup sample will come into play. The backup sample will be sent to one of the two WADA accredited labs in the United States, the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory in Los Angeles, or the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) in Salt Lake City.
If for any reason one of the two WADA labs cannot do the testing, the sample will be sent to another lab that is mutually agreed upon by the athlete and Ever Run Racing LLC. If the athlete cannot be reached after three good faith attempts (email, phone call, and certified letter) and the passage of five business days, Ever Run Racing LLC may select the lab used for backup testing. Under no circumstances can the lab used for backup testing be the same lab that tested the original sample.
If the result of the backup test is negative, that result will be binding. The athlete’s official result will stand, and they will retain the prize money originally awarded.
If the result of the backup test is also positive, that result will be binding. Ever Run Racing LLC will make an official statement regarding the failed test. The athlete’s official result will be stripped, and they are required to return the prize money. To the extent that the prize money can be recovered, it will be awarded to the next fastest runner.
Alcohol/Recreational Drug Policy for Non-Runners
Understanding that I can’t police everyone, I respectfully ask that non-runners (crews, pacers, and especially race volunteers) also refrain from alcohol and marijuana use during the event. I understand that some new races actually encourage this, but I think that is a mistake, especially at this event. This is a difficult race, and to keep the runners as safe as possible, everyone who has even a small role in helping the runners needs to be fully alert and undistracted.
That being said, let’s all meet at the Ouray Brewery after the award ceremony on Sunday and enjoy some 550 Red Ale. :) Mmmmmmmm…..
UTMB/Hardrock/Western States
UTMB: The Ouray 100 is worth 6 points, and the Ouray 50 is worth 5 points.
Hardrock: We applied to become a Hardrock qualifier in 2016. We were not selected. The HR Board indicated they did not need any new qualifiers. When/if new qualifiers are added, Ouray may be considered.
Western States: We are not a Western States qualifier currently. They tend to use larger races, so I expect it will be many years before we have any chance at becoming a Western States qualifier.