tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post6618704168153183070..comments2024-02-29T02:06:59.726-09:00Comments on Fumbling Towards Endurance: ITI Analysis and Other ObservationsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-42491774360315724182013-03-06T14:19:39.946-09:002013-03-06T14:19:39.946-09:00Awesome response Dave, great to get a little taste...Awesome response Dave, great to get a little taste of what you went through out there. So much good info in your analysis. I can't wait to give this one another crack one of these years soon. thanks for sharing.Geoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03238385683129822240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-16018940448600633542013-03-04T18:46:23.786-09:002013-03-04T18:46:23.786-09:00Winter Ultra snow racing on foot is sort of a spec...Winter Ultra snow racing on foot is sort of a specialty sport, not for everyone but very addictive to those who try. The ITI is an extra unique race with variables such as weather, gear, sleep, food and safety that has to be dealt with on a daily basis for 350 miles. This is not an easy race no matter what speed you attempt it at, nor an easy race to walk either, with mile after mile of never ending whiteness that can really start to make you go mad. So how fast can you complete the ITI and can you "run" it the entire way. These are the questions i asked myself. Steve Reifenstuhl is a maniac and proved that this race can be done very fast. Find and read his race report http://reifenstuhl.blogspot.com/2008/02/alaska-ultra-sport-350-course-record.html , (it quite frankly scared me when i read it) yes his 2005 race should go down in history as one of the greatest endurance feats ever preformed. His courage and determination could have killed him and the people that assisted him at the finish line could not believe how close to the limits he pushed himself. Before the start of the 2013 ITI I knew I could not do this race like Steve (it would kill me) but i started thinking about running the entire distance and felt that i could maybe do 70 miles a day at best day after day for 5 days. I would only be able to sleep 2 hours a day to pull this off. (This was the biggest test and I had no clue I could go day after day on two hours sleep but I was going to try)) The rest of the time would be spent tending to my feet, eating, having a couple of beers and socializing (this was key because it took my mind off of the intensity of the race even for a short while). My sled and gear was heavy by my standards (36 lbs total)(this is where i will take off time in the future, lighter gear choices) but i had what i needed to survive a couple of days without shelter in the Alaskan elements. The weight you carry is the most crucial element of this race. It is a gamble. Steve Reifenstuhl risked it all and carried 15 lbs. I was not willing to do that, to go after a record. You also have to ask yourself are you willing to have a DNF in this race to go after the record (for me, no way, it is way too time consuming and expensive to risk it, and it only comes once a year and is an Invitational). So if you leave your overflow boots at home and there is miles of overflow (DNF), If you leave your snowshoes and the trail is overblown with 3 feet of snow for 100 miles (DNF), Sixty below and you bought your 10 below jacket (DNF)...you get it. This event is so long that you will experience many many problems and you have to decide on your feet how to overcome them. This year for me (a bad cold on day one, chronic diarrhea day two, blown knee day three and bad stomach/lack of appetite the entire distance) but i made the decision that i must go on. Multiple times I almost started to cry but scolded myself to wait til the finish and buck up buddy. At mile 210 I left the Rohn aid station at 2pm Wednesday (exactly 3 days).(effort wise Rohn is halfway). This was the number one goal I had set for myself (Rohn 3 days) to test the waters of this race. I had now become hardened and knew I would "run" the entire distance. After that, I put my head down and didn't look up til the finish. I ran about 4 mph every step I ran, walked every uphill, and screamed the downhills. I came up four hours short of the record but was all smiles at the finish and guzzled two Budweiser's. Hours later my beautiful wife surprised me and flew out to the finish in McGrath, i broke down in tears. My legs and feet took a severe beating and are very swollen, my knee is still hurt pretty badly and my mind lost some of its sharpness but i proved to myself that this course can be run and that Steve's impossible record is within reach. So i suggest to you racers out there; saw off your toothbrush handles, borrow a super-lightweight down bag, brush up on your wilderness skills and sign up for the 2014 ITI ASAP!!!!<br /><br />David JohnstonAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08875847926044081218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-23239773610077449062013-03-04T07:21:26.634-09:002013-03-04T07:21:26.634-09:00The ITI is an interesting beast, such contrast yea...The ITI is an interesting beast, such contrast year to year. Sections of trail that took an epic amuont of time previous years, whiz by this time around and vice versa. It's what makes it so addictive to me. Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02276596666223591698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-72073190143192563002013-03-03T20:38:23.913-09:002013-03-03T20:38:23.913-09:00Steve R. did the early Iditasport in 2000 and one ...Steve R. did the early Iditasport in 2000 and one more year I think. He was definitely experienced on the Iditarod Trail, but also already in his 50's when he set the record in 2005. He was pulling a tiny sled maybe 10-15 lbs. we called a lunchbox ( I was in the race that year and saw Steve on the trail)I heard Dave J. was pulling a 30-35 lbs sled. Steve walks instead of running and only stops 2-3 hours at the time. He averages about 3,5 -4 mph Great analysis Geoff. We hope to see you back out there on the trail.Alaska Ultra Sporthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07656417689582043653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-58965640219966484452013-03-03T18:02:58.032-09:002013-03-03T18:02:58.032-09:00Geoff,
I hear you about just wandering in Southern...Geoff,<br />I hear you about just wandering in Southern Utah. During our just ended 6-week stay, I had many multiple hour wanders into the La Sal foothills with no purpose... just looking, poking, absorbing, reflecting. That, perhaps more than anything else, is why I want to live there. I'm a kid in the woods again. Everything is special. There are many secrets and even more treasures. From wash to swell to ridge to summit, I want to get to know as much of it as I can.<br /><br />-BryonBryon Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03145211090529511625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-39656612697235713392013-03-03T17:42:18.340-09:002013-03-03T17:42:18.340-09:00Love seeing your pictures from Alaska. We did a Cr...Love seeing your pictures from Alaska. We did a Cruise/tour in 2011 that followed the gold rush from Anchorage all the way up to the Yukon Territory. Pictures just do not do it justice.<br />Art<br />http://fitatfifty-art.blogspot.com/Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03470169043998812328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-41394443369742647152013-03-03T17:33:25.351-09:002013-03-03T17:33:25.351-09:00I am pretty sure steve and rocky did the 2000 vers...I am pretty sure steve and rocky did the 2000 version of the ITI (or whatever they called it back then) together on foot, so steve was not really a rookie in 2005. Dave Johnston seemed in very good shape at the finish - quite a contrast to the stories about how wrecked steve was when he finished. spruceboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03599034480198063733noreply@blogger.com