The Challenge of the Thing

By Sheryl Collmer
June 19, 2018
General,Training

Cameron Cozac finished TPU in 2016. Throughout the race, he was a cheerful, smiling runner. He obviously had a good time, so I contacted him to tell us more about his experience. It is worth mentioning that his beautiful fiancée, Jess, now his wife, was a TPU volunteer that year, and was waiting for him at the finish line each day. That may have contributed to his big smile.

How did you find TPU and how far ahead of the event did you register?

I was looking up routes in Big Bend on Google Earth for an off-road motorcycle trip I was planning with friends. In the process, I found some photos of TPU from the year before. I had never heard of a stage race happening in Big Bend, so I did some research and signed up immediately.

I registered in February for the race in October, so I was committed around 8 months ahead of time.

What was your primary goal for registering?

It was just the challenge of it. I’ve done a lot of hiking and running in Big Bend, and I knew how difficult it would be. When I saw other people had done it already, I thought I’d take a stab at it.

How far ahead of the event did you begin really serious training?

I’m always running, biking, swimming, hiking and doing other stuff outdoors. It’s always nice to have a goal, though; it helps to really motivate me.

But I only really started serious training around 2-3 months before the race. My main goal was to try to get 100 miles a week in. I only managed to do that twice before the race, though.

What did your training look like?

My goal was to get some 100-mile running weeks before the race.

It was always some version of this:

Monday: active non-running day (walk, bike, hike, paddle board, etc.)

Tuesday: 10-mile run

Wednesday: 5 miles easy run with the dog.

Thursday: 3 easy morning miles, then 15-20 miles in the evening.

Friday: marathon minimum: 26 miles

Saturday: marathon minimum: 26 miles.

Sunday: whatever it takes to make it to 100 miles for the week.

Obviously I built up to that gradually, over time. I started at around 20 miles a week.

How did you integrate your training into your work/personal life?

My wife, Jess, works nights as a nurse at Texas Children’s Medical. So normally I would try to get my long runs in overnight while she was working.

I commute 104 miles a day for my job. So sometimes sitting in Houston traffic made it especially difficult to fit a long run into my schedule. I developed a habit of just pulling over to any parking lot I could find off the freeway whenever I hit heavy traffic. I would just run from the random parking lot until traffic died down.

Anytime I had to take my car or motorcycle into the shop, I would just run home and then run back when it was ready to pickup.

Was there anything you would change in your preparation if you were doing TPU over?

I would leave all of the oatmeal I brought at home. A waste of space. It just made me want to vomit after day one.

What do you think of the new 3-stage “mini” TPU?

It’s a nice option for someone who doesn’t feel ready to make the full commitment.

Did TPU meet your expectations? What was the best part of it for you?

Yes. TPU was great. I really enjoyed how small the field of runners was. And the setting was unbelievable.

My favorite part was the Solitario section.

Note: El Solitario is a long-extinct volcano crater. It’s big, about 50 square miles; the caldera is 10 miles across. The Solitario resembles an impact crater (as from a meteor strike) but it is actually a result of complex erosion and later uplift. Geology enthusiasts will enjoy reading more about its formation.

The Singular Geology of El Solitario

A Sense of Place: El Solitario

Geology of the Solitario

TPU athletes will be traversing parts of El Solitario during Stages 1 and 2, and will be part of their horizon view during Stage 5.

Course Maps and Descriptions

Cameron’s wife Jess, leading TPU media coordinator Sheryl through a simulated finish line.

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Nothing I Can’t Do

By Sheryl Collmer
April 12, 2018
General,Training

Six Months to Multi-Stage Readiness

featuring TPU veteran Jess Kolko

When the countdown timer ticks down to six months, it’s time to start training, says Jess Kolko, a veteran of the 2017 Trans-Pecos Ultra.

That six-month milestone for TPU is April 20, 2018. If you haven’t signed up yet, make the leap and get serious about preparation. If you’re already registered, it’s time to get down to business.

Jess is a seasoned endurance athlete, with multiple finishes in ultras and Ironmans. As a professional dietician, she knows bodies and their requirements. This month, she’s my go-to for a complete picture of multi-stage readiness.

1. Just Dig It

For physical training, Jess followed a typical ultra marathon training schedule, stacking long runs on consecutive days, and using a rhythm of 3 weeks of increasing intensity followed by 1 week of recovery. Later in the summer, she began running with her weighted pack for more specific training.

On PT, Jess advises: Dig it. Enjoy the routine and habit of training. Weave it into your life. Run a few miles to the gym for your weight workout, then enjoy running home on fatigued legs. Think up new ways to integrate extra miles into your daily schedule. Make it a pleasure.

Jess also recommends that you not skimp on strength training. TPU isn’t flat and you’ll be glad you powered through your squats and lunges during training.

2. Gearheading

The whole strategy for gear is to get the lightest you can afford. After all, you’re going to be carrying it on your back for a week. In fastpacking gear, you pay for every ounce you save; the less to weigh, the more you pay. If you love numbers, you’ll enjoy comparing tech specs on all sorts of packs, bags and mats. Check the TPU blogs for posts that compare some of the most in-demand items.

Ultralight backpacks

Sleeping bags and pads

Nutrition

Jess reported that she did take her smartphone, but kept it turned off except to take pictures. Since there is no way for athletes to recharge devices, and there is no cell reception in Big Bend anyway, it’s a tossup whether the weight of a phone is worth it for the week.

She also reported that she slept well each night in the tent with only the help of silicone earplugs.

Jess was very intentional about planning nutrition, though not quite as detailed as some others (see interview with Travis Ralph, an Army Special Ops veteran, for a view of mega-intentional planning). As a vegan, she planned carefully for protein needs and potential “palate fatigue.” Her favorite go-to foods were ProBars and Justin’s Nut Butters. When she told me that she consumed everything she packed for the week, I knew she’d done good planning. She didn’t overpack, and she didn’t get too tired of any one food to leave it.

3. Mental Fitness

TPU ain’t easy. It can be hot, the terrain is often rugged, and there are enough different species of cactus for a botanist’s dissertation. Jess remembered one afternoon on the trail, finishing up an already long day, when she encountered a dry river bed with soft, unstable sand, the kind that makes you feel like you’re running in place. She’d thought she was close to the end of the trail by then, and such an obstacle made the day seem like it would never end. That’s when mental fitness pays off.

Mental fitness is built when an athlete pushes forward on fatigued legs, sets strict limits on rest periods, completes workouts in adverse conditions.

For both physical and mental fitness, running on tired legs is Jess’s best tip. It strengthens your legs, builds staying power and gives you the confidence of doing more than you thought you could.

The payoff is huge. Jess calls TPU an “amazing life-changing experience,” primarily because it gave an already highly accomplished endurance athlete the confidence to believe that there is nothing she can’t do. She’ll take that confidence into more fastpacking trips, possibly a solo.

The greatest gift of TPU, according to Jess, is the week of utter simplicity, when there is nothing that needs to be done besides run, eat and enjoy. The TPU race organization is very adept at providing everything to allow the athletes to immerse themselves fully in the experience. The stress of life falls away as you have nothing to do but the very things you love the most.

To those pondering TPU who have not yet registered, Jess says the race transplants you into an amazing other-worldly universe. Come experience the wonder and awe of a Big Bend vacation! Explore our website, talk to our race director, read our blog. Then register for the adventure of a lifetime!

Register at: http://trans-pecosultra.com/registration-details and check for group and military discounts, as well as payment options.

You can talk directly to the Race Director, Chris Herrera at 432.294.5284 or email him at [email protected].

Explore the magic of Trans-Pecos Ultra at: http://trans-pecosultra.com/photos-and-videos/

Many thanks to Jess Kolko for her willingness to share her experience and expertise!

Leap of Confidence

By Sheryl Collmer
March 15, 2018
General,Training

Looking at a multi-day stage race?

featuring Travis Rolph

A self-supported multi-day stage race is a lot to bite off; few people have attempted it. TPU appeals to that pioneer spirit that remains in us, even into the 21^st century. Many are attracted to the experience.

If you’ve already made the leap, congratulations! You’re embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, and we will support you all the way, with content and coaching on nutrition, gear, planning and training that you can put right to work in your preparation phase.

If you’ve been eyeing TPU with desire, but aren’t sure yet whether to make the leap, let us introduce you to Travis Rolph, who successfully completed the inaugural TPU race in 2015. He has some tried-and-true strategies that may catapult you over your doubts.

Travis is an Army Special Ops veteran, and thus an expert in many of the things that intimidate us ordinary civilian runners and hikers: weather, gear, energy management.

Here’s what I learned from “the expert.”

There are three aspects to a self-supported stage race:

physical training
mental toughness
PLANNING

Travis had lots to share about that last one, so the emphasis is his. His military training has taught him to be highly attuned to planning, which may be sometimes neglected by runners as they focus on miles and miles of just putting in time on their feet.

Travis’s training was different than most. He did not do mega-training runs, but instead did medium-distance runs, every day, day after day after day. Instead of typical distance training, with shorter daily runs and huge volume runs on the weekends, he would do something like 8 miles every day for a week.

He emphasized consistency rather than heavy mileage, and recommended that participants train with a full pack in the last several months leading up to the race.

Travis devised training routes that simulated the actual course, setting up his own checkpoints. For example, TPU situates checkpoints every 5-6 miles. The exact mileage between aid stations can be found online at http://trans-pecosultra.com/course-info-rules/#course. On longer runs, Travis would stash water and supplies on his training routes, mimicking the intervals of TPU checkpoints, then practice a very specific routine for clearing each checkpoint:

When aid station in sight, finish off water.
Refill bottles.
Consume calories pre-packed and labeled for each checkpoint.
Drink half bottle of water.
Refill bottle
Exit checkpoint.

He followed this routine at each and every checkpoint, completing it in 1-2 minutes, thus eliminating time that can just droozle away when you’re tired. He wasn’t seeking a speed record, but he was conscious that the more time he squandered uselessly in an aid station, the less time he had for recovery in camp at the finish of the stage.

Daily recovery is essential for a happy stage race.

Travis practiced the checkpoint routine, even on training runs, so that it smoothly rolled out without much thought, at every checkpoint. Efficient, is what it was.

This is the first I’ve ever heard of practicing transition through aid stations. I tried it in a recent trail race, saving myself the minutes that I used to spend standing around, wondering what I should do next and chit-chatting with people, until I would nearly forget I was in a race.

Something else Travis brought from his military training was the weight of his starting pack: 15.8 pounds, without water. That’s ultralight, and it doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the product of careful planning:

Calories packed by day in sealed bags

Sleeping bag, pillow, night gear, clothin

Water bottles, toiletries, safety gear, pack

Food for the week is the heaviest item in the pack, and deserves careful planning. Travis had his calories in separate sealed packs for each day (top of photo.) He had realistically anticipated his energy needs, based on difficulty of the stage and time on feet, and provided just enough. He did not dip into future calories, nor fail to consume those allocated to the present day. It was very precise.

This was Travis’s calorie plan. It should only be used as an example, as every runner has different calorie needs and tolerances.

(See our training blog at http://trans-pecosultra.com/food-self-supported-stage-race/ for more details about calorie planning. You will also find posts about sleeping bags, heat training and other essentials for stage racing.)

Identify mission-essential tasks.

Military training has also taught Travis to prioritize. He identifies tasks that are mission-essential, and those that are secondary. For example, his routine upon coming into camp each afternoon took care of first things first. As soon as he dropped his pack, he consumed his recovery shake, launching metabolic recovery. Next he stripped down and tended to his feet. Then he began food prep, to get calories replenished. After he laid out his supplies for bedtime (bag, toiletries, mat), he rested and caught up with the other athletes and volunteers. It was the same every day: mission-essential tasks first, in order of importance, in order to be able to start the next day at 100%.

I asked Travis what he would say to someone 7 months out from their own TPU adventure. He said to look forward to the experience of being “escaped”. TPU is an opportunity to entirely dis-connect from the demands of technology, which make us accessible to others 24/7 via texts and email. In Big Bend Ranch, you don’t have cell reception, so you’re on true vacation.

“Time travel”

TPU gave him the chance to go back in time, to an era when the daily routine was simple, and people talked to each other at night for entertainment. At TPU, you will be totally engrossed in the uncomplicated daily task of running through a remote, epic wilderness, with companions waiting around a campfire at the end of the day.

If you’ve been sitting on the fence, drawn by the unique experience of TPU, let the specifics of Travis’s experience give you the confidence to leap!

Register at: http://trans-pecosultra.com/registration-details and check for group and military discounts, as well as payment options.

Need more information before leaping? You can talk directly to the Race Director, Chris Herrera at 432.294.5284.

Many thanks to Travis Rolph for his willingness to share his experience and expertise!

Explore the magic of Trans-Pecos Ultra at: http://trans-pecosultra.com/photos-and-videos/

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Food for Self-Supported Stage Race

Food, glorious food!

A conversation with TPU veterans Cheryl Tulkoff and Thomas Mullins

The heaviest, bulkiest and most important item in your pack in a self-supported stage race like TPU is your food. You’ll be fully loaded on Day One, and you’ll whittle it down as the week goes on, but planning is essential. You don’t want to be overloaded when you start, and you also don’t want to be foraging on the native plant life by Day Five.

Several factors to consider:

Calories, or how much energy is in each food item
Its weight
Its protein content
Its ability to put a smile on your face (not to be underestimated)

Some TPU veterans describe their nutrition plan as a “controlled starve” because the calories needed to be extremely active for many hours per day over seven days is more than you really want to carry on your back.

The Math: Roughly, the average number of calories per ounce of popular trail foods is about 100. Let’s say you burn 80 calories a mile, on average, at a walk/run pace (more if you’re male and more if you run more than you walk). TPU courses are about 26 miles per day, which means you need about 2100 calories in addition to your basal metabolism burn for the day… so 3600-5000 calories per day. That works out to carrying 2-3 pounds of food, per day, or 14-21 pounds of food for the week. With water, sleeping bag, pack and food, you’d be looking at carrying 22-27 pounds starting out the week, which is a lot of weight riding on your back.

So let’s just say you may lose a few pounds over the course of TPU. Now what’s your best strategy?

TPU race regulations require you to begin the week with a minimum of 14,000 calories (2000 per day). 2015 TPU female winner Cheryl Tulkoff began her week with 8 pounds of food (14,275 calories), approximately the same weight as all her other gear put together. Cheryl is a 110-pound female so she was carrying the low end of the calorie scale.

2015 TPU overall winner Thomas Mullins estimates that 80% of his starting pack weight was nutrition and the pack was well over 20 pounds. He opted for the high side of calories based on his own running experiences. While his pack was heavier than most, he took comfort in knowing that it would become lighter with each passing day as he consumed the nutrition. And he won the race, so that’s a vote for going with your instincts and personal experience.

At the least, plan to get the most bang for your buck, the most calories for the weight. Check the nutrition labels on the food you propose to pack and compute its calories-per-ounce. You’ll no doubt include some foods that are lower calories-per-ounce just because they work for you, but you’ll want to maximize calories to the extent possible.

Here are some examples:

Calories per ounce of popular trail foods
CLIF Pizza Margherita Organic Trail Food	38
Vita Classic Nova Smoked Salmon	50
Dried Apricots	69
GU Roctane Vanilla Orange Energy Gel	91
Vega Protein & Greens Vanilla Shake (20 g protein)	104
Quaker Instant Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal	105
ProBar Meal Replacement Koka-Moka	123
Mountain House freeze-dried Beef Stroganoff	129
Jack Link’s Small Batch Bacon Jerky	130
CLIF Nut-Butter Filled Chocolate Peanut Butter bar	131
Cashews, raw	155
ProBar Sriracha Peanut Butter pouch	157

There is something to be said for having a “luxury” food in your back-pantry. After a long day on the trail, it can be a sweet reward that perks you up nicely. Thomas says his “luxury” food of smoked salmon was worth every ounce of extra weight. He consumed it at strategic points during the week, and it had many nutritional benefits as well as being a special treat.

One of Cheryl’s staple foods was the ProBar. Meal replacement ProBars score high on the calorie-per-ounce scale and are vegan, gluten-free and multi-flavored. A Koka-Moka or Superfruit Slam might very well satisfy the craving for a “luxury” food while delivering clean calories, fiber and protein.

ProBar and Justin’s both make nut butters in small-serving packs (1.15 oz) that are perfect for trail use, about the size of a GU pack. With a variety of flavors, these make good luxury foods, too: coconut almond caffeine or sriracha peanut butter, for example. Tulkoff recommends packing something with a little kick if you are accustomed to spicy food. Freeze-dried or processed foods can begin to seem excessively bland over the course of a week.

Tulkoff also highly advises a recovery shake option for your immediate post-run recovery period each afternoon. As a vegan, she used VegaProtein&Greens, but strongly recommends you use whatever your stomach is used to.

Protein becomes critical on a long expedition like TPU, when you are on a minimal calorie diet with heavy exertion. Protein is essential for healing the micro muscle tears of running, and for minimizing the breakdown of muscle mass that can cause kidney trouble in extreme athletes. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends ½-1 gram of daily protein for every pound of body weight. Thus a 110-pound woman needs between 55 and 110 grams of protein per day, and should err on the high side on days of hard exercise. The more prolonged or intense the exercise, the more protein the body cannibalizes the working muscles for protein, and the more is needed for recovery.

Cheryl put VegaProtein powder and almonds in her morning oatmeal. Combined with ProBars on the trail and a post-run protein recovery shake, she banked 75 grams of protein even before her evening meal. Her success on the trail speaks highly for this regimen.

Both Cheryl and Thomas stress that runners should practice their nutrition before they start packing for TPU. Everything you bring should have been thoroughly pre-tested on your runs. Thomas encourages his runners to “do the math”… take the time to calculate your calorie burn for run and recovery, and use that as a baseline for the amount of food you pack. He encourages runners to use foods they are familiar with and have tested extensively.

Everything’s a trade-off when you are self-supporting on a long effort like TPU with your world on your back. Plan your nutrition well, and you’ll have some cushion for a little luxury item. Cheryl’s luxury was five pairs of socks, one fresh pair for each day. For Thomas, it was a full-length air mattress.

For further questions about nutrition, packs or registration, contact TPU Race Director Chris Herrera at 432-294-5284

Useful Links:

Vegan Options - https://myvega.com/vega-protein-and-greens

Customized Freeze-Dried Meals - https://www.packitgourmet.com/

Other Freeze Dried Meals - http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com

Trail Food and Equipment of All Kinds - https://www.rei.com/c/food

Sleeping Bags for Self-Supported Stage Races

“In the Bag”

Nowhere does your equipment dollar buy such a difference as in sleeping bags. You trade dollars for weight. On the high side, you can go incredibly light and small…or pay less and get a heavier bag.

Set a budget range for yourself before you begin looking; that will simplify your decision. For example, if I decide I want the best I can get for under $300; that allows me to rule out the mega-light options on the top and the Girl Scout options on the bottom.

A question you might ask as you choose a price range: will I use this bag again after TPU, and for what purposes? In terms of weather, TPU is light duty; you won’t get rained on and it rarely gets colder than 45° at night. If this bag is only going to see action at TPU, you can get by just fine with a cheaper bag. But if you’re also planning a thru-hike on the Pacific Crest next year or you’re an incurable camper, you’ll be willing to pay more to have a bag that will work in colder climates than Big Bend.

The temperature rating for bags qualifying for TPU is 45° F minimum (7° C). Almost all three-season and summer bags meet that standard. If you don’t see any later cold-season camping in your future, a summer bag might be all you need.

The historical average temperatures for Big Bend Ranch in October range from 45°F at night to 75°F high during the day. (www.myweather2.com). In reality, the high temp each day is usually in the 85°F - 90°F range given the high degree of southern exposure and the night temp is a desert climate so it feels cooler to some. With that all said - it’ll be personal preference but remember you’ll be sleeping inside our teepee tents, which does conserve some warmth at night.

Now… down or synthetic materials? Down is ultralight, compressible (small volume in your pack) and it holds warmth well; on the down side (so to speak)… it clumps up when it gets wet, it’s an animal product and it’s more costly than synthetic.

Synthetic is easier to clean, hypoallergenic, and less expensive, but it is also heavier, bulkier and provides less warmth per ounce. You can read more about the comparisons here.

Now down to the nitty-gritty. After you’ve made your decision about future use of the bag, temperature requirements, materials, and cost range, you can dive into some particular bags.

WAA sleep system / jacket and zip-in half-bag

There are some good choices from Europe, where expedition stage races like Marathon des Sables are more common than in the US and manufacturers design specifically for multi-day stage races. WAA, a French company, offers an innovative system, the Ultra Sleeping Jacket, a two-in-one product, down-filled and weighing in at a total of 24 oz. It’s a down jacket that zips onto a half bag. By day, the bag fits into the pocket of the jacket. Fully compressed, the whole rig measures 9”x 8”x 3”. At $400, it leans toward the high end, but the jacket will likely get good use by any runner, even if the lower bag sees limited use.

Peter Hutchinson Designs (PHD), a British outfit, allows you to custom-build your own bag. This is probably overkill for TPU, but if you have other expeditions in your future, you might take a look. After you choose the base bag rated for temperature, you can add options like a foot zip, mummy hood, fill pattern, and custom length. The cheapest no-frills bag is £276, or about $350. If you are unusually tall, their custom sizes might be worth the price tag.

On the American side, Western Mountaineering’s Everlite down-filled bag packs down to a mere 5”x10”, weighs less than a pound and is rated to 45°. List price is $320, but I saw it on sale for $285. Nice. (But if you like “pretty” in a bag, this one only comes in brown.) The Everlite was the bag of choice for 2016 finishers Eric and Paul Chan.

Sea-to-Summit makes a great three-season bag, the Spark II, that packs down to the size of a grapefruit. It’s rated to 35° and weighs a pound. It’ll run you around $375.

REI carries some great bags, and you get the extra advantage of in-store advising and getting to touch the product before buying. The REI Helio Down bag sits at the lower end of cost at $140, but it meets the 45° temperature rating, stuffs down to about 9”x7” and weighs 26 oz.

The Marmot Atom (sold by REI) is a down three-season bag rated to 35°, weighing in at 21 oz and costing $289. The Atom’s synthetic cousin would be the Trestles bag, which costs only $100 but weighs nearly 3 pounds.

The North Face Aleutian 40 is a synthetic bag with a light price tag of $100 and a lighter weight at 2 lbs 3 oz. It stuffs down to 9”x16”.

More and more fastpackers are looking at sleeping quilts now, rather than bags. A sleeping quilt is lighter, packs down to a smaller volume, allows more freedom of movement for toss-and-turners and is more versatile than a bag. You can cover your torso while leaving legs free, or vice versa, with no zipper issues, making it more agreeable on warmer nights. Most are available with a drawstring at the bottom to close up for foot warmth, but it’s not draft-proof in truly cold weather. The sleep quilt is an approved option for a race like TPU (so long as it has the drawstring or zip function).

Choices Available from Enlightened Equipment

Enlightened Equipment has down and synthetic versions, with about $100 price difference. I like the freedom to choose your own interior and exterior colors, length, width, and temperature rating. The custom choices require 2-4 weeks lead time.

You’ll probably want a sleep mat, too. You may not need it for warmth insulation, but it’ll make the rocky ground more sleepable. TPU veteran Cheryl Tulkoff uses a Therm A Rest Neo Air Xtherm which will run you about $150. It weighs just less than a pound and is constructed with over 100 cells, which works well on the rocky terrain that is a feature of Big Bend. The Therm A Rest XLite at $130 weighs a half-pound less, but there may a reason for the link to the video “How to Fix a Leaky Sleeping Pad” on the Amazon page. TPU veteran Eric Chan found that the valve on his XLite leaked over time.

The Klymit Static V is a full-size mat that weighs only 18 oz, costs $55 and is constructed of rugged material that isn’t afraid of rough terrain. Klymit’s Inertia X-Frame takes out bulk and leaves padding only at pressure points (head, shoulders, hips). Pared down to a skeleton, it weighs only 6 oz., stuffs down to the size of a soda can and costs $60 on Amazon.

For 3 more ounces and about the same price, you can get the full-length Inertia X-Frame.

There are ever so many more choices; I’m only scratching the surface for simplicity’s sake. You get the idea: the more you’re willing to pay, the lighter you can go.

Check out your local mountain store, countless outdoor websites or your nearest REI retailer.

If the many choices have you bewildered, contact the Race Director, Chris Herrera. If he doesn’t have the answer, he can steer you to someone who does. Reach him at [email protected] or 432.294.5284.

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