Michael leading race winner Rob Karr. Photo Matt Trappe www.trappephoto.com

•    Leadville 2014- was this the best day you have had on the trails? It seems like you nailed it out there. Talk us through it if you can-

Things turned out well, but it was touch and go all day. I think I ran from mile 30 to 50 just a little to hard and I really paid for it on the way back down Hope Pass. My knees where finished and I was having trouble just trying to walk at that point. Rob Krarr came by me about then and put 30 minutes on me in the next 3 miles. I was finished and was just looking for a way out as people were passing me by. When I got to the next aid station I was still in a world of hurt, but for some reason I started to think that I could go on. I got a dry pair of shoes and headed back out. From then on I don’t really remember much. I remember getting in to a groove and getting myself back in to second place. Then I paid for that effort and got passed in to 3^rd about 10 miles later. From mile 82 to 87 I got on a rolling again and was back into 2^nd, and blew again and got pushed back in to 3^rd, and by the time I got to the last aid station, I was more than 5 minutes back from 2^nd and the race should have been over. At Mile 87 I picked up a new pacer and somehow pulled in 4 minutes on 2^nd place with 4 miles to go. From there it was just a matter of taking my time and getting the job done. I made the final pass with about two miles to go and never looked back.

•    Your 3rd time lining up at Leadville- why do you keep returning?

Leadville is a magic place, and the race is very special. It has a very “local” feel and you really feel part of a family. If I had a choice to win any ultra in the world, I’d pick Leadville.

Michael climbing Hope Pass. Photo Matt Trappe www.trappephoto.com

•    Last year you did around 18hr30 at LT100 and in June you were 6+hrs behind Rob Karr at Western States, but on Saturday you ran 16hr38 and were less that 30mins behind Rob! A 2hr PB and on Rob’s heals- what contributed to these improvements?

100% nutrition, this year has been about learning to keep the gas tank topped up as I go.

•     Following up on the nutrition- What are you using and how much?

Nutrition has been a hard learning curve for me, you don’t really eat that much in a 5,000m track race….. I found out that I go through a lot of salt when I’m racing and with the help of the guys at Skratch Labs I’ve really been able to load up and keep things topped up along the way.

•    This was the 5th  100mile race you lined up in- do you feel like you are getting the hang of them now? What are some of the biggest things you learnt from lining up the previous 4 times that helped you succeed at LT100 2014?

I’ve realized that the training is only about 25% of this ultra game. 25% is mental and about 50% is nutrition. I’m still making mistakes, but this year has been all about trying to get my nutrition down.

•    How has your training developed since your first crack at Leadville- are you still doing big 250km weeks?

My training really hasn’t changed that much. I run 5 days a week, between 15-20 hours a week. When I was back home in March I got in a few 200 mile weeks (320km) weeks but I tend to keep things around 120-150 miles per week.

•    You said during your first Leadville the slow pace was uncomfortable for you- do you still find the pace “slow” in 100mile races?

No, I’ve become confortable with the slower pace and I’ve learned to fast hike as well.

A massive smile after a massive result. 2nd place and 6th fastest LT100 time ever. Photo Matt Trappe www.trappephoto.com

•    How is it being a full time runner again? How has it changed since the first time?

It was nice at the start of the year, and I had all these plans to train harder than ever before but life is different now and I have a lot of “other” things going on in my life. Working with Mizuno was a real blessing and I’m really thankful that I got the opportunity to focus on running again.

•    We just posted a story on BCR about the multiple “world champs” in trail/ultra/mountain running. You have been to the Olympics and World Champs- which are actual world championships with the best. What is your take on races and series like UROC, Sky Running and the Ultra Trail World Tour?

The sport is growing fast and everyone is trying to make their race the “best”. I think that the faster these races hit the mainstream the better. Races offering prize money, travel and accommodation will be the next step and as the races grow and develop, the performances will only get better.

•    You helped out with Mizuno Kazan- which to me looks like a great, “middle of the road” and sensible shoe. Have you tried the 2 big trends in shoes- barefoot “shoes” and the “clown” shoes? 

I’m a real “shoe geek” at heart and this was a dream job. I was able to help mold the shoe in to what I wanted to run in; simple, with no crazy bells or whistles. This is a shoe that I would buy. It has everything I want out of a shoe and nothing more.

Tarwera is an amazing event and I’d love to get back for a little redemption. Right now my bank manger would say no, but you’ll have to ask Paul…..

If this interview has left you wanting more Aish, then have a listen to this interview on Elevation Trail.

Big thanks to Michael Aish for his time and to Matt Trappe for letting us use the amazing photos. Matt’s photos of Leadville and the recent Hardrock 100 are the best around! Check them out- www.trappephoto.com

2014 TuM top 4 men- Mike Aish, Sage Canaday, Vajin and Yun Yanqiao, early in the race.

In Ultra running, one of the key lessons you need to learn is that no matter how well you prepare no matter how thorough your plans are, something will go wrong. This in itself is not the problem, some of my best and most satisfying races have involved things going seriously wrong. It is how we respond and deal with these situations that determines the outcome of our event. Obviously to start with something went quite wrong with this years Tarawera Ultra Marathon before the race had even begun. Whenever I was out training and was visualising the race and how it would play out, it was always sunny; sunny and very hot. I was looking forward to getting out on the original course and having the opportunity to test myself against the 2011 and 2012 Vajin, and hopefully show the world that YES I have improved. So when the news came that it could possibly be rainy, this immediately put me on the back foot. When this was followed up by the last minute decision that we would be racing a shortened course this could have been the knock out punch. But luckily after talking to a friend (thanks GTG) who reminded me that “Ultra Running is all about being adaptable”, I consciously choose that this current situation was exactly what I wanted and this new course and event was perfect for me. Ultra running is hard enough as it is without lining up with doubts, regrets and excuses filling your mind.

Race morning 3.30am Breakfast – three slices of Vogels Gluten Free six seed bread lightly toasted topped with Nutella(I am just waiting for Anton to land the first Nutella sponsorship deal) and sliced Banana. Leave for start 6.05am arrive 6.10am. Make my way to the front of the field, short jog and a couple of drills to warm up. Feeling very calm and collected, I have learnt that the less energy I spend on worrying and stressing about the race the more I have for the actual running. Singing, Haka, the bringing together of our community, one moment, one goal. Bring it on, time to race.

The first lap was great, more of a warm up than anything else, the chance to stretch out the legs and relax into the race. As soon as we returned to that start line though it was race on. I settled in with the guys that I considered to be the main contenders and we started rollin’ at a decent clip. I was feeling good, comfortable and relaxed and between Blue Lake and Lake Okareka aid stations I decided to up the tempo. Heading out onto Millar Rd I passed Sam Clark and had the overall race lead, I didn’t even look at my GPS watch as I didn’t want to know how fast we were running, I was just happy to be moving well and feeling good. It was on this same stretch of road that Sage made his move last year and I was expecting the same today. Without fail as the climbing started he moved past me with Mike Aish in tow. I was still feeling good and was felt I was running the right tempo for me so let them go.

Vajin on the out and back section past Okataina.

We hit the trail and I cruised up the first climb but as soon as I started descending I realised something was not right. Ten days before the race Christchurch was suffering from a serious bout of flooding. I was out for an easy recovery run and happened to step into a large hole, cunningly hidden by water, that had opened up in the road. It was a near miss I thought as this was the type of hole that could easy snap a leg in two. From me all it asked for was some skin and bruising to the shin. It hadn’t been a problem during training since then but now, 30km into the race my tibialis anterior (the small muscle on the front of the shin) was starting to cramp up and felt like it was going to explode. The bruising to the muscle sheath and the point where the impact had occurred had lead to this poor muscle becoming angry, irritated and over worked. It got to the point where the pain was so much that I had to stop to try and stretch it out. This is where Yun Yanqiao, from China, passed me, good man I thought, all the best. I walked for a bit and then tried to get started again. After another couple of hundred metres, pain, increasing pain, then boom, walking again. This is it I thought, I am out of the race, there was no way I could see myself making it another 30+kms in this condition. It was at this point that the one and only Mike Wardian passed me, lovely guy checked up on me, before he disappeared down the trail. I was walking now and was just waiting for the rest of the field to come storming past. But something strange happened…..no one came and at this point when it seemed all was lost inspiration struck. “This is not how I am going out of this race, never give up”. Too many people had given too much time, love and support to get me to this place, I couldn’t give up without knowing that I had given everything I had. So I started running again, it was painful for sure but the more I ran on it the more the pain began to recede, the fact that the track was now climbing again certainly helped. After stopping and walking for 5 or so minutes I felt that I would be out of the race but very quickly, far quicker than I could have imagined, I saw Mike Wardian ahead of me. Passing him quickly put me into fourth and suddenly I found myself “back” in the race.

I ran solidly down to Okatina, ignoring any protests coming from the shin, and found myself now with 21km to go and feeling pretty good. Having a nice little rest and walk in the middle of a race has an amazingly rejuvenating quality to it. Coming back into the aid station after heading out to the turn around I found myself 8+ mins down on Yun in 2nd, and 4+mins down on Mike Aish in 3rd. “Time to get to work” I told myself, and “Don’t let me walk even for one step” I told my pacer. I gave everything I had over this next stretch climbing as hard as I could and pouring my heart and soul into it. To all those that stopped and let me past and all those that offered so much support to me, you are all awesome and are the reason why this sport is so great. With 7 or 8kms to go I saw two yellow singlets ahead which could mean only one thing, game on for 3rd place. I blew past Aish as he was suffering through a bit of a bad patch and thought that would be the last I saw of him. How wrong could I be…..

After cruising through the next 3-4 kms we were approaching Millar Rd aid station, that magical spot which would mean only 2 kms to go, when I asked my pacer just to check behind us to make sure the coast was clear. He turned back to casually inform me that Mike was there and was closing in on us. At that point in any race it’s not really what you want to hear, but at km 70 in a race like Tarawera with only two fast road km’s to go, you really don’t want to hear that a former 27min 10km runner is hot on your heels. In that moment you have two choices a) accept the “inevitable” and let the “faster” runner run you down or b) fight with everything you have got and see what you are made of. We hit the road and I started giving it everything, I looked at one split on my GPS and saw that we were going sub 3min km pace and still Aish was coming for me. The gap went (according to my pacer) from 80m to 60m and with 1km to go it was down to less than 40m. I was running as fast as I could at this point and was just hoping that the finish line would reach me before Aish did. At this point my pacer looks back and says “Your holding him” and then even more excitedly “You are pulling away, you’ve got 100m”. I didn’t look back and carried on pushing hard all the way to the line. At this point after finishing a race I didn’t think I was going to finish, having held out a quality runner like Mike Aish over the final stages I was in a word “PUMPED”.

Vajin crossing for his 4th podium finish at Tarawera.

More than results Ultra Trail to me is about experiences, it’s about getting to that point where you think you have nothing left and can’t go on and then taking that next step. Of finding that our capacities are indeed greater than we know, of finding out what we are truly capable of. Huge thanks to Paul and his team for providing us all with the opportunity to step into the unknown and find out where our limits are.

Big thanks to all my sponsors and supporters and of course my wife Prasasta, Ultimate Direction (the original and still the best handhelds), MACPAC (Chch’s finest), Buff (good for anything) the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team (inspirational) and the wonderful Lotus-Heart in Christchurch (all things nutritional).

Tarawera Results HERE

Tarawera Ultra Website

Ultra Trail World Tour Website

Michael Aish- “ just some old retired track runner…”

Michael Aish is a name that will be familiar to those that can cast their mind all the way back and remember the early 2000′s. It was a joyful time with the realization that the whole silly Y2K scare did not end the world and The Facebook was just in its infancy. It was also a pretty good time for Michael Aish as he lit up the track, clocking smoking times in the 5000m and 10 000m and representing New Zealand at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. This weekend Michael is looking to light things up once again, this time on the trails, for 100miles…..

I posted a great little video on the BCR facebook page a few days ago- “Crushing Hope” and have added to the bottom of this interview if you haven’t seen it yet and if the early 2000′s are a little hazy, check out this article over at Running Times on Michael. Michael admits to being very new to trail ultra running, but in his first outing last month he won the  Leadville Silver Rush 50 Mile, no doubt there is some real excitement about how he will go at the Leadville Trail 100mile. While he does now have a US passport, “we” are still going to claim him and we are hopeful of him adding to the current string of top results by kiwi ultra runners off shore.

BCR- Thanks for making time for us Michael, we are less than a week out from Leadville now. I think the biggest question I would have is why? You’re an exceptionally fast runner (27:46 10k, 2hr13 marathon) and an Olympian (10,000 in ’00 and 5000 in ’04) what is the motivation to step up to the Leadville 100mile?
Michael Aish- I really don’t know. This race has always been on my “Bucket List”, it’s a big deal here in Colorado and I’ve always wanted to see just how tough I really was. The race has a 47% drop-out rate and gets up to 12,600ft (or about 3,800m).

BCR- How has the transition been training for a marathon on the road to a 100miles on trail?
MA- I stopped running for a long time and was just working lots and skateboarding when I could to try and keep somewhat fit. I had the idea to run about 10 weeks ago when I was walking the dogs in the hills and things kind of grew from there. My first week back was 8 miles, second was 50 miles and from then on I’ve been over 100 miles on 5 days running.

BCR- What are your expectations going into Leadville? What are your goals?
MA- I really don’t know. My goal is to compete as long as I can. I like to race, so it’s not really about me taking my time and just making the finish line. I’m going to go out with the leaders and hang on, if there is a time when I can push, I will. I think that with this approach only two things can really happen. I run well and get in the top few or you’ll find me in a ditch finished.

BCR- Who is more nervous this week do you think- yourself about to run your first 100mile and lining up against the likes of Nick Clark, Tony Krupicka and Tom Lorblanchet, or Nick, Tony and Tom because they are going to be racing you, or Matt Carpenter and his LT course record?
MA- Truth is, I’m shitting my pants (just don’t tell them that). Ultra running is a whole different game. I think that more people want to just see how I do, and if I can make the end. I’ve had to teach myself to run slow (real slow) which was harder than it seems, learn how to hike, lots of different kinds of stuff. Thing is I’ll have every man and his dog betting against me, so I have nothing to lose. If I can just beat one of them I’ll be real happy. This is what they do, this is their game. I’m just some old retired track runner that will be on the start line. So I think to answer your question, Them.

BCR- Thanks Michael and all the best for the weekend!