Walking (and Running) Events for the Truly Sick

There are some good events over the upcoming winter/spring season. I am seriously thinking about these three:

• 24-26 February, 2006, Houston, Texas (Centurion USA race)

Houston Ultra Weekend (features a Centurion 24 hour walk): Link to the Houston Ultra Weekend Website is here:
http://www.ultrarunners.info/
and a link to the entry form is here:
http://www.ultrarunners.info/BCracentry06.htm
and a copy of it is at the end of this post.
This race features a 48 hour, 24 hour, 12 hour, 6 hour and 100km run, and a 24 hour Centuion walk. In the past, the 48 hour run has started at 6 pm on Friday, the 100 km and 12 hour at 7 am on Saturday, the 24 hour at 8 am on Saturday, and the 6 hour at noon on Sunday.

The Centruion 24 Hour Walk Announcement Follows:

The Houston Ultrarunning Weekend will include a competitive walk in 2006 for the first time, the directors announced Saturday. The race will be known as Centurion Walk and will be held together with the 24 Hour Run portion of the Weekend, starting at 8:00am on February 25. The course is a flat 2.006-mile asphalt loop in Bear Creek Park in western Houston.
Centurion Walks are conducted worldwide to give recognition to individuals who can walk 100 miles in 24 hours. Only 61 individuals have earned the designation of Centurion in U. S. races. The rules are usually different from the race walking rules used at shorter distances. The Houston walk will use the same rules used in the only two Centurion walks held in the U. S. in 2004-2005, as described at http://www.geocities.com/bambiruns/centurionusa2005.htm .
Southeast Texas has been without a competitive walk longer than 50 kilometers for 20 years, and the U. S. generally has seen a dearth of long walking competitions for about the same period.
Entry forms are not yet available for the Weekend. Interested walkers are asked to contact Dave Gwyn at jesfine@houston.rr.com or 281-544-7899. Runners should E-mail desertview@ev1.net .
Dave Gwyn, Treasurer
Race Walking Committee, Gulf Association, USATF
281-498-0027 fax 281-544-7512 jesfine@houston.rr.com
6502 Briar Bayou, Houston, TX 77072

• March 18-19, Near Peoria, IL (Jubilee Park near Brimfield, IL)

ALL-NIGHT RUNTO REDUCE STIGMA

Dates: March 18 & 19, 2006

Time 6:00pm – 6:00am

Place: Jubilee State Park – Prairie Pavilion

Course: Beautiful 5-mile loop. Approximately three miles are hilly, single-track bike trail with remainder on wider, more open trails. As many loops as you care to do in 12 hours.

Aid: One fully-stocked at Start/Finish. Breakfast afterward.

Awards: Cheap and tacky, but also door prizes.

Timing: Self-timed with sign-in after each loop. RD to run.

Entry Fee: $50 with give-away $30 without give-away($10 of each entry goes to the Mental Health Association of Illinois Valley)

Packet Pick Up: Race day 5:00-6:00p.m. Confirmations with maps emailed. LIMITED TO 50 PARTICIPANTS________________________________________________________________Mail Applications and Make Checks Payable To: Paul Kelley c/o Independence Village 1201 W. Northmoor Rd. Peoria, IL 61614

Email: paulkelley47@hotmail.com

Phone: (309) 691-1888Name_______________________ Age___ Sex_____Address_____________________ City__________ State___ Zip___ email address______________Favorite Ultra Foods________ Beverages_____

Ultra Experience___________________________

Waiver: I know that trail running is a potentially hazardous activity. I assume all risks associated with this event, including, but not limited to: falls, contact w/ other participants, the effects of weather, including heat and cold. Having read this waiver and knowing these facts, I, for myself, and anyone entitled to act on my behalf, waive and release Paul Kelley, Jubilee State Park and the Illinois Valley Striders

• 15-16 April, McNaughton Park Trail runs (and walk) 30, 50, 100 miles,

Pekin, Illinois (near Peoria)

Website is here
http://www.mcnaughtonparktrailruns.com/index2.htm

• For information on the walking division, go here and go to the bottom of the page.
  http://www.mcnaughtonparktrailruns.com/geninfo.htm

• Houston Ultra Weekend Form (Centurion walkers should enter the 24 hour event)

2006 HOUSTON ULTRA EVENT WEEKEND
Feb. 24-26, 2006 at Bear Creek Park, Houston, TX

For the hardcore ultrarunners:
48-hour Starts 3:00 PM - Fri., Feb. 24 $80.00
24-hour Starts 8:00 AM - Sat., Feb. 25 $70.00

For those wanting to challenge the standard international ultra distance:
100k Starts 7:00 AM - Sat., Feb. 25 $50.00
For the less experienced (or those with less time):
12-hour Starts 7:00 AM - Sat., Feb. 25 $50.00
6-hour Starts 9:00 AM - Sun., Feb. 26 $40.00

Format: Complete as many asphalt, certified 2.0080231 mile loops as you can in the allotted time limit (a shorter certified loop may be available for use in the final minutes of the race) or finish 31 loops (less 196 yards) for the 100k.

T-shirt to all entrants, awards to first place males and females in each race, performance awards (see next page), snack-type foods, water and an electrolyte drink will be provided (bring your own special foods). Lap counting also provided.

Call Joe Sellers at (713) 799-1800 x 303 or e-mail Joe Sellers at desertview@ev1.net or scott@wellnessimperative.com. Sponsored by the Kansas Ultrarunners’ Society (KUS), www.ultrarunners.info, $5.00 discount to KUS members.
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Name:________________________________ Sex:____ Age:____ Phone#:_____________ Address:______________________________ City:_______________ State:___ Zip:_______
E-mail:__________________________ Event entered (circle): 6-H 12-H 100K 24-H 48-H
T-shirt size:______ How many ultras have you completed?_______ Longest?____________
Your realistic expectation for this race?____________ “Dream” race goal?_______________

For entries postmarked after Feb. 15, 2006 add $10 to entry fee.
Make check payable to Kansas Ultrarunners' Society and mail to: 16316 Smith St., Jersey Village, TX 77040

Waiver: In consideration of acceptance of this entry, I release for myself and my heirs, THE KANSAS ULTRARUNNERS’ SOCIETY, the Road Runners Club of America, Harris County Parks and Recreation, and any sponsor or organizer of this race, from all claims, demand, liabilities, damages, or causes of action, of any nature, including claims from death injury, or illness, arising out of my participation in the Ultra Weekend. I state that I have trained and am in proper physical condition to participate in this event. I hereby grant full permission to use my name and any photograph, videotapes, or other record of this event for any purpose. Furthermore, I grant irrevocable permission to race management to remove me from the event, at any time, for any reason whatsoever, solely at race management’s discretion.

Signature:_________________________________________Date_______________

Minimum age of participation: 18 years on 2/25/06

Houston Ultra Event Weekend Performance Awards

6-hour Male 37 miles - Conroe Award
49 miles - Galveston Award

Female 33 miles - Rosenberg Award
45 miles - Prairie View Award

12-hour Male 61 miles - Freeport Award
83 miles - Brenham Award

Female 57 miles - Lake Jackson Award
75 miles - Livingston Award

24-hour Male 100 miles - Bryan Award
136 miles - Gonzales Award

Female 89 miles - Port Arthur Award
120 miles - Victoria Award

48-hour Male 149 miles - Austin Award
200 miles - San Antonio Award

Female 143 miles - Austin Award
193 miles - San Antonio Award

100K Male 10:44:00 - AB 60% Award
7:54:00 - AB 80% Award

Female 11:34:00 - AB 60% Award
8:30:00 - AB 80% Award

If competition is your main interest, there will be winners’ trophies for the best male and female performance in each race. In addition, we give performance awards to be mailed out after the race. These awards have names that indicate where you might have ended up had you chosen to run the roads out of Houston, instead of repeating the Bear Creek loop over and over. They are set at roughly 60% and 80% of the relevant American Best for each race.
For example, any woman in the 24-hour who runs at least 44 laps but less than 60 laps will receive the Port Arthur Award, and only those that run at least 60 laps get the Victoria Award. To give you some reference using another example, for a man to finish 100 miles in 24 hours is not easy, but 136 miles in that time is spectacular! The men’s record for 24-hours is 162.5 miles and for women it’s 145.3 miles.
The 100 kilometer awards need some explanation. For men the AB 60% Award goes to any male who finishes under 10:44, which represents an average speed that is 60% of the average for the men’s American Best (AB).
There will be an award given to the man or woman whose performance comes closest to their respective AB. We recognize our method is not perfect, as all the races don’t take place at the same time, and weather changes could give an advantage to some runners. Despite that limitation, this individual will be considered the overall winner of the Houston Ultra Event Weekend.
One last thing: we intend to make every effort to use the shorter laps at the end of the race, but if race personnel are limited, we reserve the right to only count the full 2 mile loops.