Mark Lambert will speak at June 11th Meeting
Mark is the person in charge of the trails in the Forest Service land around Foresthill. He will talk about the trails available for hiking, riding, running, etc. above Foresthill. If you're looking for some suggestions of trails to explore this summer, or have questions about trails in the Forest Service area, please join us.

July Meeting Date and Place Changed
In July the FTA will shift its meeting to the third Wednesday, July 16th, in order to accommodate a slide show from Jerry Ledbetter of the Backcountry Horsemen. They have beautiful slides and some information about how to tread lightly in the backcountry. We have also changed the location of the meeting to the Community room behind the Foresthill Library (next to the Forest House in downtown Foresthill) because it will be easier to show slides there. We will have our regular business meeting at 6 PM and the slide show will start around 7 PM.

Gordon Ainsleigh - Stories and Advice
First I need to apologize for sending the newsletter out so late that most people outside of Foresthill didn't receive it before the last meeting and missed the opportunity to hear Gordy. I'll try to do better in the future. I tried to take good notes to pass on some of his comments, but there is no substitute to listening to him in person.

Gordy told us a bit more about how he came to run the Tevis instead of ride. In 1973 Gordy's horse became lame a week before the Tevis. The Tevis was THE event that was a focal point in his life, for which he prepared all year. When he talked to Drucilla Barner about it she said they had all been wondering when he was going to leave the horse behind and just run it. Gordy had been thinking about the idea, but actually committing himself to doing it was a huge leap. At this time there were no 100 mile trail runs. With Dru's help the seed was planted and for the next year Gordy prepared to run. His experience as an endurance rider in many ways was what prepared him -- knowing the course, how to train on it and being able to imagine going that distance. His equestrian mentors and friends joked about having to "run their hippy" and trained with him. In 1974 he finished in 23:42.

Gordy has been able to run the WS 100 year after year and usually finishes in under 24 hours. Only once has he not finished the run. There are no other runners that have the record that he does. He is 50 years old this year and says he doesn't have an incredibly sound body. He believes that his method of training has a great deal to do with his ability to continue to run the way he does. He basically runs for 40 to 100 minutes every other day. The first half hour is for your body and the rest is for your mind. In order to get the mental benefits you need to get well into that second half. After running, it is important to treat yourself like you would a horse and walk for 15 minutes to cool down.

Once every week and a half or two weeks he does a long run and the length of this run is what changes as he gets into shape. He increases the length of this run by about 20%. He has trained up from not running at all to finishing the WS100 in two months, although he doesn't recommend doing that. He said that you can only do things like that after you have run 100 miles before. Once a body has developed the structural strength needed to run 100 miles, it can quickly come back up to that level. If you are starting from being a 10K runner, he recommends that you plan for 4 years of working up to your first 100 -- do 1/2 marathon the first year, a marathon the second year, a 50 miler the third year and then a 100.

Gordy also had some advice on things to eat. He said to feed yourself like you would your horse ... whole grains and fresh foods. Hydrogenated fats have a molecular structure that doesn't work in the body; they just happen to be solid at room temperature. Legumes, especially lentils and garbanzo beans, are very helpful if taken for about three weeks before the event. He takes vitamin supplements, vitamin E and selenium. He takes 1000 mg calcium and 500 mg magnesium daily with citrus juice to aid absorption. He also takes Siberian ginseng, 3 capsules twice a day for the 3 days before the WS100. He has good results with keeping his body caffeine-free normally, but using caffeine during the last 40 miles WS100 to help him through the night.

Gordy had an interesting suggestion for cross-training. He has noticed that he runs better when he has gone rock climbing. He says that adrenaline is helpful in reducing the swelling of tissues and healing the body quickly. He also thinks that getting the body accustomed to operating with adrenaline is important for getting through the night in the WS100. One way of doing this is to charge up hills in training so that you feel kind of woozy at the top. He also said that running slowly downhills helps strengthen the inner thigh muscles which often become the Achilles' heel in the WS100. On race day he does the opposite of what he does in training - he runs slowly or walks the uphills and goes more quickly downhills. He goes against the common wisdom and will sit down or lay down at aid stations. He knows it will hurt when he gets up, but he also knows it will stop hurting after a few minutes and he has a strong enough will to get through it. He recommended those having stomach problems at Devil's Thumb to get an adjustment (he's a chiropractor) from the people he has trained who will be working the race.

In general, he advocates living an exciting life. He told a story about flying down the trail at night racing with his friend Diane who was on horseback, having no rational explanation for how they were able to do this without falling. He had mystical feelings of merging consciousness with the trail, the night, his friend and her horse. This feeling can happen to anyone anywhere, but it seems to happen more out on the trails. Experiences like that remind him of what the Buddha says when it's time to order at the hamburger stand, "Make me one with everything."

Foresthill Trails Alliance                      PO Box 468, Foresthill, CA 95631
http://foothill.net/fta/                        email: fta@foothill.net