Likely trail running’s fastest middle school teacher, Tyler Green started 2019 off with a bang by winning Bandera 100k and earning himself a Golden Ticket into Western States 100. Last year he set the fastest known time on the 40 mile Timberline Trail around Mt. Hood and placed 3rd at the Sean Obrien 100K. He has lived in Nepal and Libya, and been running competitively since he got his start on the 2nd grade cross country team. Get to know a little more about Tyler in the following interview that digs into his 2019 racing schedule, love of teaching and must read books. 

It’s been a few years now that David and I have talked about a long list of places where we might be able to host an in person running trip. As a business which primarily serves online coaching clients Trails and Tarmac has been wanting to roll out some more in person offerings. This year we think we have found the perfect trip. 

The Wonderland Trail circumnavigates Mt Rainier, perhaps the most impressive peak in the entire lower 48 United States. It’s 93 miles in length and has around 25,000ft of elevation gain and loss. It’s a daunting task with only a few access points. I was lucky enough to be able to do the trail in a single day last September, but this method of seeing this route left me wanting a different kind of experience. This September 11-14 David and I along with 11 other adventurous trail lovers will be having that experience.

Our newest coach is Rachel Drake! A few weeks after a second place finish at the 2019 US 50K Trail Championships Rachel won the Trail du Ventoux 46km. Last year she won the Waldo 100K and USA Trail Marathon Championships in Moab. Between great races Rachel pursues her MD/PhD at Oregon Health and Science University, with a focus on metabolism. We are thrilled to have her joining the Trails and Tarmac coaching team!

February in California can be a total crap shoot weather wise. Some years it’ll be sunny and warm in the foothills of the Sierra. Others well, not so much. This is my third year in a row racing near Auburn in the middle of winter. In 2017 I ran Fourmidable, 2018 Way Too Cool, and 2019 back to Fourmidable. All three races have been complete and total mud baths. So much for drought plaguing the state, I think maybe not this year! While much of my personal racing focus has moved towards longer distances I still love to do 50k races! They are hard, and I get to run fairly fast for a change which is not so much the case when I employ my pacing strategies in 100 mile races. My wish was granted as we began the first descent in a pack of about 20 guys running solidly under 6 min pace.

 

 

A little background might help. 2018 was pretty much a year off from racing and a significant reduction in training. All the training and racing of the previous 10 years just piled up and it was clear some real rest was in order. So that’s what I did. As the year came to a close I found myself happily fit. I cut an hour off a favorite 26 mile mountain loop, all of the sudden I was running faster on my everyday runs (still at easy effort) and started doing some light workouts. I’d heard great things about Rocky Raccoon 100 and since I really prefer the 100 mile distance I decided it would be a good first race of 2019. 

Last weekend Trails and Tarmac coaches Camelia Mayfield and Cole Watson raced the California International Marathon, both punched tickets to the 2020 Marathon Olympic Trials.  Camelia finished in 2:42:38 and Cole in 2:18:05. We got the chance to ask them a few questions about their training, the race, and their new plans for 2019 and 2020!

Trails and Tarmac is a relatively new company in the grand scheme of things. We are small, but we had been talking this year about how we might start to give back and make a difference outside of our coaching programs as a small company. After a long search through different organizations we settled on a group called the Siskiyou Mountain Club. Our monetary contribution would barely crack four figures, which would not go far in large organizations, but with a small grass roots non profit like SMC we can make a real difference. This article talks about why we chose to give to SMC, what they do here in Southern Oregon and Northern California, and how their model for trail restoration may be extremely important beyond our region.

Wildfire and wildfire smoke seem to be the biggest reason races are cancelled in the Western US right now. Smoke used to roll through the small towns bordering wild lands, now smoke blankets major metropolitan areas for weeks cancelling events from 5k’s to ultramarathons. A cancelled race pales in comparison to the devastation experienced by people and land that suffer directly from these huge fires. It is still a big bummer to have apocalyptic conditions become the norm, and have something you worked hard and trained for, cancelled. This has been a reality for me every summer since 2013 when smoke over took the Rogue Valley for weeks. Events were cancelled and running moved indoors to the dreaded treadmill. This week the North Face Endurance Challenge events, for very good reason, were cancelled, leaving many runners wondering what to do. Zach Miller wisely advises runners on twitter to make lemonade out of lemons! I could not agree more, so lets dive a little deeper into what your options are, and how to make the best out of possible future cancellations.