CLOUDSPLITTER 100 MILES | HOW TO NOT RUN AN ULTRA

[@lkopelov]

Nice video, Martin. After running No Business the past two Octobers, I’m considering Cloudsplitter in ‘24. Rolled ankles are no joke, and I can totally relate to your experience during this race.

[@ultrakraut]

Thanks, yeah, Cloudsplitter is a worthy challenge.

[@joshkeckwv]

Great video Martin! Smooth editing, especially with the drone shots and music. I did not expect that vehicle crash haha.. Cloudsplitter is a tough one! I rolled my ankle early at last year's with a couple of falls in the rock garden but luckily I didnt start to feel the effects until around mile 65. I don't think I had it as bad as you did. Those loose rocks are tough though. Treking poles really helped me push through.

[@ultrakraut]

Thanks very much! Yeah, thankfully my left ankle feels pretty good already, so looks like I made the right choice. I’ll be back in 2024:-)

[@andrewopenside3224]

Liked and sub'd. Really enjoying going back through your catalogue of videos. Fantastic.

[@ultrakraut]

Thanks for the kind words and thanks very much for subscribing!

[@gh7213]

Great video! I DNFd this one as well. It was a tough course/ tough day.

[@ultrakraut]

I'm headed back for redemption in 2024.

[@gh7213]

@@ultrakraut I believe that's my plan as well. I would have done 2023 but I will be in Germany that week. I hope to see you in 2024.

[@ultrakraut]

@@gh7213 Nice! See you in 2024.

[@katedwards8620]

So cool to have your video randomly pop up in my feed! I ran with you a bit between bark lake and high knob at mile 40.5. This course was quite the experience! Devils Bathtub was......terrible.

[@ultrakraut]

I’m kinda glad I missed out on the last part due to my ankle, but I’m coming back for redemption in 2024.

[@tyler9123]

If there was any race to drop out of. It's this one haha. I was there. Devils fork after all that climbing and crossing is no joke. My feet still haven't fully healed after finishing. I had blisters all over and parts are still discolored and healing. Thank you for sharing your expeience!!

[@ultrakraut]

Congrats on completing this one! I've already decided to go back for redemption in 2024.

[@tyler9123]

@@ultrakraut Good luck!! I heard they had a lot of problems organizing it this year. That's why everyone started at the same time. Maybe in 2024 you'll get the Premium Cloudsplitter Experience.

[@austinado16]

Martin, I wonder if you'd have less ankle rolling if you switched to a shoe that didn't have a wide, flat heel area? I don't run ultras but I only train on rocky, technical trails, hours at a time, and I run R2R's a the Grand Canyon. I'm wondering if something with a rounded heel would allow your brain to have better response time, to the tilt that starts to happen at the ankle, and then maybe you'd sort of "auto-adjust" naturally, with sort of a pivot/slide action, vs the condition where that wide, flat heel is like laying a book on a golf ball, and the book (your heel) just winds up tipping at a steep angle, taking your whole body with it, and creating a bunch of rolling torque on the ankle, that then can't be stopped easily. A shoe like a Merrell Trail Glove or Vapor Glove, or the VivoBarefoot Primus Trail is built like this. I run in Vibram FiveFingers, but again, I'm not doing ultras. The R2R's, from the North Rim Lodge, are only 26mi. I'm sure the FF's would be murder for a real ultra, so I'm not suggesting they'd be a choice. That said, I run on ridiculous terrain, and haven't rolled an ankle in the 10yrs that I've been in the FF's. When I have a situation that would normally generate a rolled ankle, I literally just get a little heel skid to the side, and my whole body auto-corrects balance, and it happens so fast that all I can do is think, "Wow, that could have been really bad." Anyway, just thinking out loud. I'm not trying to troll you.

[@ultrakraut]

Todd, thanks for your thoughts on the subject. I've run with my shoes for nearly 10 years, always foot shaped as that is what my feet need due to Morton's Neuroma. I've never had any issues with rolled ankles. This was an injury caused in a single race and worsened in the same race by reinsuring it twice. I never let it heal or get it corrected via surgery. It absolutely does not matter what shoes I wear, I would roll my ankle. I've worn heavy duty ankle braces and still rolled the ankle. I have gotten a diagnosis, but choose to tape it rather than have surgery at this time. Regarding stack height, I wear everything from minimal to cushion, it really isn't related to that at all. My ankle tendons are shot and no longer able to do their job. Strength and stability exercises can help, but only surgery will correct it at this point. Thanks again, I am thankful to have run injury free for 10 years, but when you do a lot of trail races, it is just a matter of time when something happens outside your control. BTW, I've done the R2R2R before as well, the Grand Canyon is spectacular. Yeah, you do really need more than trail gloves to run 100 miles and more, but one should always opt for a show that provides stable footing on any terrain and ground feel as well.

[@austinado16]

@@ultrakraut I'm sorry to hear about the injury. I'm 59, and yes, if you run long enough...it's going to happen. Your career running ultras is amazing!! I wonder if stem cell with PRP injections would help those tissues heal? Regenexx in Colorado is sort of ground zero for it.

[@ultrakraut]

@@austinado16 I will look into it.

[@austinado16]

@@ultrakraut I have bowed legs, which I'm just learning, eventually destroys the inner areas of the knee joint, because the forces of walking and running travel up through the inner area, instead of through the middle of the knee. I had the stem cell/prp injections in both knees in late June this year, in the middle of training for another R2R. I took 10 days off, and then went back to training. Not the best scenario, but my daughter and I were running it together again, had a date set, and I wasn't going to miss that. The injections have made a huge difference. Wound up running one with her, and then ran another one in early Oct. solo, and fast.

[@capelookout7]

Great video. Thanks for putting that together. I was there..super tough course.

[@ultrakraut]

Yup, tough to get much running done on that terrain. I take lots of vertical gainover rocky terrain any day🙂

[@capelookout7]

@@ultrakraut agree! if looking at speed. I do like technical but it is so slow

[@carlstoakes6240]

Hi, new subscriber. Have noticed you often (always?) wear check/plaid shirts. Are they actually running shirts as I wonder how they'd cope with alot of sweat? I sweat LOADS and literally soak through technical tee-shirts. We don't seem to have those shirts in the UK...

[@ultrakraut]

Hi there, first of all, thanks for subscribing! The shirts I wear are actually made for running. Check out Cali based company Run In Rabbit. They make some cool trail running clothes that can go straight to the brew pub after:-) NFI

[@carlstoakes6240]

@@ultrakraut just checked and yep they're great but no UK retailers & only 1 in Europe! WTF !!?

[@ultrakraut]

@@carlstoakes6240 still a fairly young brand.

[@carlstoakes6240]

@@ultrakraut thanks for replying. I have reached out to them, but will carry on looking for alternatives...

[@paulgoodsort1824]

Hardest line to cross is always the start