Ultra-Running Panel at Speedy Reedy, coming up on May 14th

Ultra-Running Panel and Q&A
6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14th
Here at Speedy Reedy

We invite you to join us on the evening of May 14th for a conversation with ultra-distance athletes Randy Perkins, Jess Mullen, Andre Kajlich and Kyle McCoy.

Come, listen, ask questions.  The specific races our speakers will focus on are:

Jess Mullen: Badwater Ultramarathon
Randy Perkins: Marathon des Sables
Kyle McCoy: Atacama Crossing
Andre Kajlich: Brazil 135

Jess Mullen at the Badwater Ultramarathon

Kyle McCoy running Atacama Crossing

Randy Perkins after finishing MdS

We will begin with a panel discussion and have each speaker relate some of their racing and training experiences, insights and stories.  Afterward, we'll open the floor for audience questions.

On a personal note, I've met Randy and Andre.  Both are down-to-earth, kind, very real people.  I'm sure Kyle and Jess are of the same sort.  I think you'll like them, and I think you'll be impressed and inspired by what they've done.


If you're curious about the races mentioned above, here are some brief summaries:

Badwater Ultramarathon
135 miles, previously run through Death Valley; now run to the west (because of permit issues), finishing on Mt. Whitney.  Total ascent: 19,000 feet.  Total descent: 14,600 feet.  48-hour cutoff.
Badwater website

Atacama Crossing
Dry.  Very dry.  6 stages over 7 days, through the Atacama Desert in Chile; total run distance of 250km (155 miles).  Racers must carry everything they need except for water, which is given out by ration at checkpoints over the course of each stage.
Atacama Crossing website

Marathon des Sables
Morocco. Also very dry.  And hot.  6 stages, covering 150 to 155 miles total, with a longer, 55-mile stage thrown in somewhere.  Like Atacama Crossing, runners carry all their equipment except water, which is rationed out at checkpoints over the course of each stage.
MdS website

Brazil 135
135 miles (naturally).  60 hour cutoff.  I don't know much about this race aside from what Andre has told me, and the website is kind of unclear on some things...but I gather it's a lot of climbing around in the forest on trails, passing through a few towns on the way.
Brazil 135 website

New Hoka shoes are a bit more subtle

Some of the latest color options from Hoka (maker of super-cushioned running shoes, if you haven't cast your eyes through a running magazine lately) look much sleeker.  The thick sole stays, of course, but the branding on the sides mostly goes away, which makes the shoes look a lot cleaner.
We have the colors below in stock now.

Women's Bondi 3

Men's Bondi 3

Also the Men's Bondi 3

For Hokas we carry now, click here.

For other color and model options, the Hoka page is here for men's shoes, and here for women's.

Book Launch Party & Reading by Charles Kastner @ U Book Store

On May 5th, at the University Book Store, author Charles Kastner will be reading from and taking questions about his new book,  The 1929 Bunion Derby.  If you're an endurance nut, check it out.

The Bunion Derbies (or Trans-American Footraces, as I believe they were officially named) were races (by foot, yes) from L.A. to New York City.  Still awesome, 85 years later.  Charles Kastner has previously written a book covering the first Bunion Derby; his latest completes the set.

The book launch party will begin at 7 p.m. and run about an hour.

More details and info about the author and his books available on his website.