Coach Weber
World-Class Ultramarathon Coaching
July 27, 1994. Age 41. Moments before I began my first running of Badwater. (Yes that is the entire 1994 Badwater field ... a bit smaller back then). That's me at the 9 o'clock position with the blue sunglasses between the two bearded fellows. I finished the 135 miles that year in 52 hours and 30 minutes. In the forefront of the picture ... with 'Jack' on his shirt ... is Jack Denness.
Photo by Badwater RD Chris Kostman, AdventureCORPS
14 years later. Age 55. July 16, 2008 ... moments after I completed my 12th official finish of the Badwater Ultramarathon. I finished the 135 miles in 51 hours and 56 minutes. And, there's Badwater Hall of Fame Member Jack Denness, who retired (for now at least) in 2005 at age 70 with 11 official finishes. Jack confided with me that he just might return to race in 2010 to celebrate his 75th birthday.
Badwater 2009 ... How about you?
Badwater is not for everyone. But, is it for you? I am happy to give you an honest appraisal based on my 14 years of Badwater experience. If it's Badwater, be it crewing, soloing the course or participating in the race, I can help. First step ... write to me and tell me about yourself and your goal. I coached 3 athletes for Badwater in 2008: Scott Snyder of Colorado; Mike Whalen of California; and Jesse Doggett of Arizona (soloed). All 3 finished. All 3 PR'ed. All 3 went disco dancing in Vegas the next night ... well, maybe not that ... :-)
Want Badwater? Where do you start?
Are you ready to move up from the marathon?
Every ultramarathoner, no matter how famous, accomplished, fast or slow, had a moment when they first encountered the ultramarathon and wondered, "Could I do that?". For me, at a coffee shop in Boulder, Colorado, in 1986, it was seeing a magazine picture of a long line of runners heading up the initial climb at the Western States 100. Just seeing that picture changed my life. I knew that was for me ... I could see myself in that picture ... someday.
Are you at the same point in your life? Have you seen yourself, if only in your mind, perhaps after reading a book, seeing a video, or being at a ultra event ... finishing an ultra ... yourself? What next? How do you make that 'picture in your head' become real ... as soon as possible ... as safely as possible?
I offer a free 30 minute consultation where we can talk about your ultramarathon dream and how to make it happen. Send me a quick email and tell me about yourself and your goal. I will then send over an athlete's questionnaire that will allow me to better understand your current level of fitness and ultramarathon goals. Then, I will offer you my ideas gained from 40 years as a runner and 20 years as a coach.
It is neither to late to make your move for 2008; nor, is it too early to begin your quest for 2009 or even 2010. Today is the day.
Want to become an Ultramarathoner?
Where do you begin?
DNF'ed Leadville?
You trained hard, you showed up on race day, you ran your heart out ... but you DNF'ed. A whole lot of people are blaming the weather ... I've got bad news ... Leadville 2009 might have the same weather or worse. Ready for some tough love? It wasn't the weather. It was being unprepared for the weather. But was that all there was to the DNF? So many Leadville runners fail to take a look at the total picture after a DNF; and, in doing so, set themselves up for another ass-whooping one year later. How about if we take a careful look at all the elements that go into a successful Leadville 100 finish ... now. Let's figure out where you went wrong. If it was simply bad luck, I'll tell you ... but luck is at the bottom of the list of reasons why runners are sent to the sidelines at Leadville. You finish 100s, especially the difficult 100s like Leadville, by knowing 'what's what' up front and then training and racing for a full year to gain the experience, skills and fitness required to get to the Leadville finish line. Is it worth it? You bet it is ... ask anyone who has ever crossed that Leadville finish line.
I'll use my 20 years of Leadville 100 experience to help identify what happened to you at Leadville 2008. I charge $100 for a comprehensive Leadville analysis; I'll spend up to 2 hours talking with you to learn about your training, fueling, pace, and support/crewing for Leadville and offering my analysis of 'what went wrong ... and what needs to be fixed' as well as identify what went right and should not be changed. You might even decide you want me to be your coach for Leadville 2009. If we decide to work together as coach and athlete I'll credit 100% of the fee to your first month's coaching.
My goal is to get you on the right track for Leadville 2009. Finishing that race is so awesome ... make it happen in 2009.
Want to know what really went wrong?
Want to know the fix?
Leadville Trail 100 Info, Charts and Links
USA 2008 Ultrarunning Calendar
The Coach's 2008 Badwater Training Log
Badwater July 14, 2008 Webcast
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Scott Weber
This site was last updated 08/25/2008 15:13:18 -0000
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