[Author’s Note: This article is part of an occasional series on the unique opportunities and challenges of growing older as a runner.]
Of the various challenges dealing with getting old ultrarunners, one of the vital steadily mentioned is making race cutoffs. For these of us who’ve been within the sport for a very long time, it may be a tough actuality to come back to grips with. In our youthful years, these support station cutoffs appeared so far-off, however they have a tendency to shut in because the years go by, and a few of us find yourself leaving the game annoyed and disillusioned because of this.
Enter the great world of fixed-time occasions! These races don’t have cutoffs, they usually don’t even have DNFs. Members merely arrive on the beginning line and run, stroll, relaxation, and repeat for so long as the clock is working. A fast scan of “UltraRunning Journal’s” race calendar signifies that there are at present greater than 75 fixed-time occasions in North America starting from three hours to 10 days, with many time increments in between.
AJW clearly having fun with his 500-meter laps on the 2024 Hotfoot Hamster. Picture courtesy of Andy Jones-Wilkins.
Down right here in Arizona the place I reside, I used to be lucky sufficient to take part in a fixed-time occasion earlier this month. Staged at Nardini Manor, a turn-of-the-century mansion with an authorized 500-meter monitor encircling it, Hotfoot Hamster is a 24-hour occasion, which additionally has six- and 12-hour choices, held each June outdoors of Buckeye, Arizona.
Members of the 24-hour occasion begin working at 7 a.m. on Saturday and cease at 7 a.m. on Sunday. The six- and 12-hour runners have their alternative of beginning occasions relying on whether or not they wish to run in the course of the day or night time, so there are between 40 and 80 runners on the course at any given time.
Hotfoot Hamster runners in entrance of the Nardini Manor. Picture: Aravaipa Operating
The race venue options an enormous party-style tent for shade, which is generally a marriage venue, in addition to an expansive grass garden with large timber offering shade the place runners can eat, relaxation, camp, and socialize. Most folk arrive about half-hour earlier than their respective beginning occasions and arrange tents, chairs, coolers, and every thing else they’re going to make use of all through the occasion.
This 12 months’s race felt quite a bit like a homecoming weekend in school, as many individuals knew one another as regulars on the fixed-time working scene and had been excited to spend the day and night time working collectively. All through the day, runners would cease to relaxation within the shade, chat with buddies, and eat between laps. Each three hours, the race modifications course, and race organizers current the runners with treats like popsicles, smoothies, and ice cream cones. It’s a splendidly low-key and celebratory occasion.
Repair-time races space nice low-key different to different kinds of extremely occasions. Picture: Aravaipa Operating
For older athletes changing into annoyed with chasing or lacking cutoffs, occasions like Hotfoot Hamster present all of the neighborhood and camaraderie of the big-time path occasions with none of the nervousness or strain that comes with chasing cutoffs. The shortage of strain lends an air of levity to the proceedings, permitting athletes of all ages, shapes, and sizes to problem themselves in opposition to the clock. And, given the truth that so many skilled ultrarunners discover their technique to most of these occasions, the knowledge and expertise on show at fixed-time races is second to none!
Bottoms up!
AJW’s Beer of the Week
This week’s Beer of the Week comes from Stiegl brewery in Salzburg, Austria. Whereas some may not take into account the Steigl Grapefruit Radler a beer, it’s nonetheless a scrumptious summer season deal with. Mixing a basic crisp pilsner with glowing grapefruit soda, this 2.5% ABV beer “cocktail” is the proper drink to battle off the June warmth within the desert. Extensively out there in the US, it is a nice beer to convey to your subsequent summer season cookout.
Name for Feedback
- Have cutoffs dissuaded you from signing up for an extremely earlier than?
- Have you ever tried out a fixed-time occasion? What did you assume?
The five hundred-meter gravel monitor of the Hotfoot Hamster. Picture: Aravaipa Operating
The five hundred-meter gravel monitor of the Hotfoot Hamster. Picture: Aravaipa Operating