Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Big win at Bandera!

photo from EnduranceBuzz.com
LPTRunner Cassie Scallon started 2012 just like she finished 2011 - With a BIG win!!

The sequel to her late November win at JFK found her headed to Texas for the Bandera 100k.  The race served as the USATF 100k National Championship for 2012, and Cassie came up big again - winning the race and claiming the National 100k title!

See her post-race print AND video interviews here at irunfar.

Her success has also earned her a spot on the Salomon Racing Team!  See the rest of the team here.   (Seems like I have heard of that Kilian Jornet guy from somewhere...hmmmm...)

I shot a few questions off to Cassie about Bandera and here is what she had to say...


Did you know what your lead was along the way (was Sean able to keep you updated?) such that you could actually “enjoy” the last 8-10 with a pretty comfortable lead - Or were you running scared to the end?    I took the lead at about 1/2 way and was able to hear updates from Sean at several aid stations, though there were some stations without crew access.  I didn't know who all had dropped, and Sean was giving me an idea of who was right behind me.  I was never running scared--I was just letting the race play out.  I didn't have a plan to win, and once in the lead I maintained that anything could happen, so I just pushed myself comfortably along.  Of course I wanted to stay in the lead, but sometimes things hurt and doubt crept in.  I enjoyed the finish of this race more than most others.  I guess I'm getting used to ultras and the normal ups, downs and exhaustion that go with running that long.  It also helped that Sean was right there waiting for me!

LPTRunner Dave Dehart represented the United States at the 2002 World 100k Championships in Taiwan - When and Where will the World Championships be held for the 100k this time around?    Well, I'm not officially on the national 100k team yet -  The team will be announced on the 25th.  If I am chosen, I'll be heading to Seregno/Brianza, Italy (Northern Italy) which is awesome because it's not too far from where I lived after college, so I'll get to visit friends and catch up.

Seeing your success at multiple distances this year, what distance and terrain is your strongest, or at least gives you the most confidence? 50k? 50 miles? 100k?  You excelled at JFK which has significant flat sections, but also did well at Glacial and Bandera – both of which are technical... Preference?   It seems like longer is better for me and I'm really excited for my first 100 miler this year!  I said I'd never try a 100 until I'm 30, and I'll turn 30 in March!  I really like a variety of terrain.  If a race is too long of any one thing--uphill, rocky, flat, grass...it gets monotonous.  But when there are sections it's easy to break the race into mentally manageable parts.

Can't wait to see what's next - What's on the schedule?  Here's a little about some of my  plans this year.  Take note, it's a heavy schedule and lots could change...

 March: Rim to Rim to Rim Grand Canyon
April : Salomon's Advanced Week in Greece
     -Peterson Ridge Rumble (Sean's race in central OR)
     -World 100k in Italy
May: Ice Age
     -possibly TNF Australia
June: Western States
July: Kilian's Klassik in France
August: TransRockies in Colorado
September: possibly Run Rabbit Run in Colorado
October: Les Templiers in France
December: possibly TNF San Francisco

Can't wait to see her year unfold - It's going to be fun to watch!! Go Cassie!!!!!!!

   







No comments:

Post a Comment