Thursday, January 15, 2009

WS 100 Synchroblog Project

Anyone who knows American ultrarunning knows about the Western States Endurance Run, arguably the most well-known 100 mile race in the world. After the 2008 race was cancelled due to forest fires, this year marks the 36th year of the event that crosses the Sierra Nevada mountains along the Western States trail starting at Squaw Valley and finishing in Auburn, CA.

Though I've never seen the event firsthand, I got a tiny taste of the WSER while in California in December '07 when I attended the 2008 lottery and ran a few miles on the trail.

I just read the blog entries of five runner/writers, grouped in a unique project titled the "Western States Synchroblog Project." These bloggers aim to post simultaneous blog entries in the months leading to this year's race. One synchroblogger is iRunFar's Bryon Powell, who describes the project:

"Sprung from the mind of creative genius Craig Thornley is the Western States 100 synchroblog, a series of five Western States 100 simultaneous blog posts leading up to the 2009 race. For this first post, I join the following four bloggers in making a suggestion, plea, or request directly to the Western States Board."

The all-star synchroblog lineup:

Bryon Powell pleas for accountability and transparency in the operation of the WSER.
Craig Thornley ponders WSER's requirement for mandatory “volunteer” hours.
Andy Jones-Wilkins suggests ten course changes to the WSER course.
Sean Meissner offers a suggestion on WSER's special entry considerations.
Scott Dunlap interviews WSER board member John Trent on the function of the Board of Trustees.

Interesting commentary, to say the least. If you are a fan of the Western States Endurance Run, it's operations, or in the larger ultrarunning community, this initial synchroblog is a great read.