Saturday, August 05, 2006

Dean Karnazes wins, Anderson-Abbs breaks record at 2006 Vermont 100

The Red Bluff Daily News wrote a great article about the 2006 Vermont 100 from the perspective of Bev Abbs. The Vermont 100 is part of the Ultra Grand Slam of the US' four original 100-milers, and like Western States, began as a horse race (although at the Vermont 100, the foot race and horse race continues to happen on the same day).

(Bev loads up on her way to her record-breaking finish; photo courtesy of Vermont 100)

Dean Karnazes won the event in 16:26:12, with Bev Abbs placing 2nd overall and breaking the Women's course record by 57 minutes with her 16:52:33 finish (and even beat the first horse!). 2004 Trail Runner Magazine Ultra Champion Eric Grossman, Jack Pilla, and Darcy Africa finished out the top 5. Alan Abbs placed 7th in 18:45.

Bev does a great job talking through the race in this article, including running with Dean, the great work of her pacers, wrong turns, running with horses, and more. Definitely check it out.

(Dean gets a full service stop at Stage Road on the way to winning the Vermont 100;
photo courtesy of Vermont 100)

I'm also pleased to see Dean rack up another 100-miler win. If anything just to remind his critics you can say what you want, but you can't deny that Dean is a phenomenal ultrarunner.

Congrats to Dean, Bev, Alan, and everybody who gave the Vermont 100 their best!

- SD
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3 comments:

  1. Anonymous8/06/2006 09:09:00 PM

    Holy cow...I didn't realize Beverly Anderson Abbs was so ripped! Look at those biceps!!!!

    That means both winners were of the "built like a tank" physique. Do you think that's what it takes to do well in ultras?

    LP

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8/07/2006 06:14:00 AM

    That ripped look is the side effect of VERY low body fat %.

    It is tough for men to get that low, and even tougher for the women.

    I think for a lot of the athletes of that level, it is more a side effect of the high miles than an intentional effort to be ripped.

    CCR

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  3. Scott Dunlap8/07/2006 10:44:00 AM

    Bev was a bodybuilder in her college days (you can read about it here), and also maintains a low body fat. That's the killer combo for looking ripped.

    The ultra elite come in all shapes and sizes, from the slender Kenyan-like build of Scott Jurek, the petite build of Tania Pacev, or to the solid build of somebody like Dean or Bev. They all do well as long as they are trained and have the mental game.

    SD

    ReplyDelete

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