Toluu

A Trail Runner's Blog

Scott Dunlap's blog of trail running, ultrarunning, and triathlon racing in the Western United States. Scott was the 2004 Overall Champion for the Trail Runner Magazine Trophy Series (marathon-and-shorter division), the largest trail running series in the world. This blog contains interviews, research, original fiction, new product ideas, and all things trail running.

What Is An Electrolyte Anyway?Yesterday

If you're like me, you probably throw around the word "electrolyte" regularly without really knowing what they are. It's that salty stuff that helps you consumer water, right? ;-)

Dr. Shawn Dolan at First Endurance has an updated article about electrolytes that spelled it out quite thoroughly. Here's a sample that taught me something about how the body triggers thirst:

"During exercise, the body loses fluids and sodium through sweating. This causes a decrease in blood volume, thereby increasing sodium and chloride concentrations in the blood. The increased concentration of electrolytes in the blood through decreased blood volume is what triggers the thirst mechanism. By the time an athlete becomes thirsty; the electrolytes are already out of balance, so restoration of blood volume is critical for the prevention of dehydration. Water consumption is effective in increasing blood volume; however, there is a consequential dilution of sodium in the blood due to the increased blood volume and excessive sodium losses in sweat, so electrolyte replenishment is key."Electrolyte concentration triggers thirst...who knew? Go here to read the whole article. It's worth checking out.

- SD

Sneak Peak at What Inov-8 Has In Store for 2009August 20

Inov-8 showed off some of their upcoming products at the Kendal Outdoor Retail Show (KORS) in the UK this month, and I see a couple of must-haves for my closet! Of course, I am a bit biased. But still, it looks like some great new product coming down the pipe:

A 212-gram mountain running shoe, potentially their fastest yet...


The X-Talon 212 is due out in mid-September (soon!). Also a new line-up of Women's shoes...

A 230-gram racing flat...

And some new Elite backpacks f

The Where's Waldo 100k - Ultra Adventure Oregon StyleAugust 19

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of joining 110 ultrarunners for the 7th annual Where’s Waldo 100k at Willamette Pass, OR. Some of the fastest runners on the planet came to duke it out for the USATF 100k Trail Championships on this challenging course, which features over 20,000’ of vertical change in five climbs. Many others came to enjoy the scenery, meet the wonderful volunteers, and get in a solid day of communing with Mother Nature. This race had been on my “must race” list for ages, largely due to the fact that anyone who has done it came back raving about the soft single track, awesome volunteers, and BBQ at the end. Finally fate put me here!

3am came early on Saturday and my Dad (Dr. Larry Dunlap) and I headed up to the start from Eugene, OR. I was still coughing from a cold I picked up last week, so we had a good discussion on how to approach a race when you’re still under the weather. Luckily he would be volunteering at Charlton Lake (the 50k point), so it made sense to just take it easy and see if I could make it there in one piec

Some Days It Is Harder To Get To The Starting Line Than The Finish LineAugust 14

Three weeks ago, I was clocking big miles to get ready for the Where's Waldo 100k this Saturday. Everything was going well thanks to the unapplied Western States training, and I started to have glimpses of a Top 10 finish at a USATF National Championship. Oh how grand it will be! (play Olympic theme song now)

Then the other (trail running) shoe dropped. Man oh man, how soon we forget that the most important part of a race is to show up healthy.

First, an annoying bump on my hip grew to the size of a golf ball in less than three days, and I found myself using a lunch break to get an abscessed cyst removed. The lunch break turned into a day off as the doctor removed a cup and a half of "fluid" (yuck) and then instructed me to "leave the wound open to heal for few days". Ex-squeeze me? When I got a peek at his handiwork, I nearly fainted. These things are nasty...bad enough my wife won't even look in my direction. And let me tell you, nothing cuts into your training like a huge open wound on your ass. ;-)

A few days later it healed enough to be stitched up, which was more pleasing to the eye but not much of a boost to the running. I put on my gear every morning in

Ultrarunners In The NewsAugust 5

Some ultra stories that you might find interesting:

1) Kevin Sullivan, who placed 2nd at the Vermont 100-miler in his first 100m event (16:15), is interviewed by his local Andover, MA newspaper here. You can also read reports from Inov-8 Team members Andy Jones-Wilkins and Devon Crosby-Helms about their respective wins at the Vermont 100.

2) Danny Abshire, co-founder of Newton Shoes, tells Inc Magazine about how his experience at the Leadville 100 helped prompt him to start a shoe company from scratch (even though he wasn't in the biz).

3) Seattle's Van Phan has a nice blurb and pic in the Seattle Times.

4) Karl Meltzer talks about preparing for his speed record attempt on the 2,174 mile Appalachian Trail.

5) Peter Lubbers and Catherine Sullivan take on the 12 Hours of Coo