Structural Elements

(se) Joins Team Newton Running at Badwater

Badwater- “the world’s toughest foot race”, is the most demanding and extreme running race offered anywhere on the planet and it takes place annually in July. It is 135 miles long non-stop from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, CA in temperatures up to 130F (55c).  Each year this race pits 90 of the world’s toughest athletes against each other from runners to triathletes to adventure racers. This year, proving to be one of the toughest was world famous adventure racer Ian Adamson.

Ian has seven world championship wins, 22 world championship podium finishes and 18 international adventure race championship titles. He is a three time and current world record holder for endurance kayaking (262 miles in 24 hours) and has competed internationally in adventure racing, canoeing, kayaking, orienteering and sailing.

Four years out of retirement Ian, who now races for Newton Running, decided to accept the invite to give Badwater a go, finishing a very impressive 18th overall and 1st in the master’s category (45+) with a time of 34:32.  This race is considered the “Mt. Everest” of the Ultramarathon and not only did he reach it’s summit, but did so with tremendous grace.  To finish this race is an accomplishment that is hard to wrap your head around, but to finish with healthy tissue and without injury is unheard of.

Structural Elements-(se) specializes in the tissue health of endurance athletes and as we have made clear in previous posts, is a big fan of Newton Running shoes and of Natural Running.  If an athlete has good cellular health, a balanced structure, and good form there is limitless potential.  Newton Running shoes are built to promote low impact and highly efficient “Natural Running”.  The fundamental difference between Natural Running and mainstream running form is a mid-foot foot strike as opposed to a hind-foot or heel strike.  There has been a considerable amount of talk in the media about barefoot running since the book “Born to Run”.  It is not uncommon to see runners doing barefoot drills or even running in boating slippers like the Vibram Five Fingers.  There has been mass confusion about why this minimalist style of running is beneficial.  Put simply, running barefoot or in a boating slipper will encourage a mid-foot foot strike.  It has been well researched that runners will stop heel striking if they do not have a significant cushion over the heel as  found in most modern running shoes. Barefoot drills or short runs in a slipper will promote “Natural Running” form.  The Newton approach to Natural Running is a running shoe that is built with a very low volume heel and mid-foot lugs to promote and sustain a natural foot strike.

(se) is attracted to this natural running style and Newton Running shoes because we see far less injury amongst mid- foot runners, the reason being the ankle is a mobile joint and the ball of the foot is stable.  If your first point of contact is the heel, you will brake forward momentum and load a mobile joint with excessive force.  When landing on the mid-foot, the ankle is reserved for absorbing energy that can be reused as the foot lifts back off the ground. This is far more stable and efficient.  Not only is there less impact in Newton shoes, but by landing on the stable surface of the mid-foot there is also far less torque of the lower leg.  Most heel strikers fall into the categories of under and over pronators. Anything less than a perfectly neutral foot strike will introduce a tremendous amount of rotation of the lower leg.  This rotation of the lower leg then puts abnormal strain on the knee (which is also a stable joint). The knee works great if used as a hinge, but the minute a rotational shearing force is applied, trouble starts.

When we found out that Ian was running Badwater in Newton Running Shoes, we felt this would be the perfect chance to integrate the (se) approach.  So after a shameless plea from (se) founder Doug Bertram, we had a spot on the team.  (se) looks at the body from a structural perspective of push and pull.  There are two forces that are in constant dialogue, a compressive element and a tension element.  When these forces are not in balance, pathology is born.  Big Picture Posture as we call it is based on a nice long, straight spine, an open chest and neutral pelvis.  If these principals are applied to running form and the body is kept in good relative alignment, all one needs to do is fall forward and let the feet catch you.

(se) founder Doug Bertram flew into Las Vegas where he met Ian’s primary pacer Harvey Lewis (who holds a course record at the Sulphur  Springs 100 mile trail race), before heading to the hotel to meet the rest of the crew.  After going for a short run to prove that the 105F heat of Vegas was “no sweat” it was time to go to work. Due to Ian’s phenomenal conditioning, incredible running form, and use of Newton shoes, he suffers very few injuries. Prior to the race, Doug assessed Ian for any structural imbalances that could lead to injury as the body fatigues.  There were a few adjustments made to the pelvis and attention paid to small focal adhesions in the connective tissue that form to compensate for a “biomechanical wobble”.  “Following our session I had total confidence that Ian would toe the start line with excellent alignment”, said (se) founder Doug Bertram.

The Crew packed up and headed out to our next stop, Furnace Creek, for runner check-in.  The athletes that compete in the Badwater Ultramarathon are an elite group. “You could just feel the buzz in the room”, said Bertram.  After runner check -in and crew meeting, it was fast to bed for all.

There were three wave starts, 6:00am, 8:00am, and 10:00am.  Because Ian was in the 10:00am wave, we had the chance to pass runners from the earlier waves on the road and get a good sense of who looked good and who was already over heating. One of the runners we passed on the road was Jack Denness,  the official oldest finisher of Badwater at age 75.  He already owns that record for finishing five years earlier at the age of 70, but figured why not raise the bar.

The National Anthem was sung, the gun was fired, and off they went.  There were no pacers allowed for the first 18 miles, as crew we had to make sure Ian got everything he needed and that he was properly cooled each mile.

In efforts to keep Ian’s core temperature managed external cooling methods were used.  Most importantly was the stylish outfit, head to toe white.  This is to help reflect the UV rays from the sun that penetrate into the body and heat the body from inside. We all wore Headsweats Hats with the neck flap, Moben arm sleeves, and of course, Newton Running shoes.  Ian also kept his full legs covered with Skins compression tights; not only did these work to keep him cool, but aided in the reduction of fluid accumulation and muscle vibration.

In addition to the use of specialized clothing, we also had to keep spraying him down with ice water, keep an ice bandanna around his neck, and ice tucked into his arm sleeves.  As a crew we went through close to 500 gallons of water and 600 lbs of ice. When running in the extreme heat it is also critical that the feet do not get wet. If the feet get wet they are almost sure to blister.  Because the main form of external cooling was to spray Ian down with the “Ghost Buster” backpack sprayer- he wore velcro sewn sweat bands around his ankles to trap the water and prevent it from dripping into his shoes.  We were also very lucky to have sponsorship from Rail Riders clothing company who make the best UV protective extreme weather clothing. The stuff was tough, kept you cool and had great utility.

After mile 18, Harvey was able to jump in with Ian and ditch the”GB” backpack for a hand held garden mister.  The one gear over site was that all bottles, including the misters, should be wide mouth.  Anything that needs to be filled with ice 100+ times should be easy to fill with ice.

Ian and Harvey got into an amazing groove, they kept a very steady pace through some of the hottest temps ever recorded on planet Earth.  As a crew member, we leapfrogged ahead every 3/4 of a mile or so and filled bottles with ice and water, electrolytes and calories.  In the extreme heat the stomach can not tolerate the intake of solid foods when the body is under exertion, so most nutrition would come in the form of liquids.

Time seemed to both stand still and fly by.  We were all so busy that it was nightfall before we knew it.  We loosely tried to plan sleeping shifts where we all got at least 4 hours, but this proved to be impossible.  By this time Harvey was due for a break, he had now covered close to 50 miles with Ian, it was time for us to take turns doing some pacing.  Running with Ian was an absolute delight.  He is such a gentleman and has more life experience of doing crazy adventure then anyone you are likely to ever meet. He literally wrote the book on adventure racing. The night time was so surreal, it was a new moon so there was very little light in the sky- making for superb stars.  Each runner/crew is required to wear a reflective vest with blinking red LED lights on the front and back. Running behind Ian through the night without sleep after being in the extreme heat was insanely mesmerizing. Keeping him alert and awake was at times difficult, often finding ourselves entranced.

Throughout the night we pulled out the massage table and Ian took short 10-15 minute breaks for imperative revitalizing (se) treatments.  The treatments focused on ridding his legs of lactic acid, realigning his structure, and stretching him out. These treatments actually improve a runners overall time because of the increased efficiency once they get moving again. It was surprising to watch how cold Ian would get when he stopped moving at night even though it was still in the high 80’s.  This was however 50+ degrees cooler than it had been just a few hours earlier.  Almost immediately once he started running again, the layers would come back off.  The cooler temps of the night also proved to be a great time to get in some calories. Since the heat was not turning his stomach inside out, he was able to eat a few handfuls of potato chips and a can or two of chicken soup.  Because most liquid calories are simple sugars, the body starts to crave some salt, fat, and protein.  There is a considerable amount of debate as to whether the body can digest and make use of protein during a race, but it is widely accepted that protein helps with the feeling of satiation.

At times you felt bad for talking too much because there is obvious need for slipping into the Zen mind of pure experience, yet the last thing you want to happen is let your runner start to slip away.  It was crucial to keep a good balance of spacious conversation with plenty of positive “WOW! We are so lucky to be out here in this incredible place” comments and several hours dialogue about efficient form.

It was always helpful to say things like, “Man, you look so strong when get nice and tall and just let your shoulders relax” or “That arm swing is really helping set the tempo for your stride”, “Just keep that nice forward lean and let this road carry you home” and “Now is the time to walk the talk about how important form is and your’s is looking so great, nice and tall”.

Once the daylight came on the second day a big second wind kicked in for everyone and the temps were back into the 120’s. Somehow it seemed not so hot the second day, it almost felt good to rewarm after the chilly 80 degree weather of the night. Ian kept plugging along, some running, a bit of walking, more running……..repeat, all the while smiling and being very polite. He even thanked his pacer every time that he was sprayed with the sprayer 1,000+ times.  Once again, time stood still and flew by.  The heat of the road had a way of bending light and the mountains in the distance seemed close enough to reach out and touch. Yet the distant mountains seemed to stay equally distant no matter how far you ran.  That is until finally a left turn along the long straight road as we started heading through the town of Lone Pine towards Mt. Whitney.

Again the sun started to set as the 12 mile climb from Lone Pine up to the finish at the portals of Mt.Whitney started to get nice and steep. One of Ian’s strongest skills is hill climbing.

From his years as an adventure racer he has incredibly powerful legs, and where on the flats it had been easy to keep up with him, it was now a serious pace.

Despite Ian’s tremendous strength in climbing, he started to develop a “Biomechanical Wobble”.  The wobble was less from imbalance in his body than from the pitch of the side of the road. Because the road sloped to the left for drainage it gave Ian a functional leg length difference.  In a matter a couple of miles, after having maintained near perfect for over 120miles, his hips started to show the toll that this race has on a body. The Wobble did not slow him down and by this point in the race pain is your friend being the only thing reminding you that you are alive.

(Check out this YouTube link to watch a video of the wobble that shows up in his hips).

The last few miles were unbelievable, he found the “Zone”.  Anyone who has ever done an ultra or a longer triathalon can relate to this phenomena, it’s the thing that keeps us all coming back for more.  We in the medical and scientific community can not fully explain why some people are able to persevere through such an event. The body should not physiologically be able complete an event like Badwater. If you ask just about any ultrarunner they can tell you that they reach a point where the ego, the big “I”, says “I can’t do this”; and that is the point where the “something else” takes over.  Some people call it getting into the Zone. No matter what you call it, Ian found it and it was amazing to watch.