“All I want is for it to rain ALL summer; I would take that over a smoky summer any day.”
The Pengelly Ridge Trail by the summit of South Sentinel
It was March, and Nico was already lamenting the impending smoke season months away. I gazed out over the Missoula Valley as the two of us ran slowly up the Pengelly Ridge Trail. A faint brown cloud, an inversion trapping pollutants from escaping into the atmosphere above, hung low in the valley. Nico and I both realized that while Missoula is a fantastic place to live, it is also often inundated with poor air quality. We kept looking out at the surrounding peaks and forests as we ascended the ridge, making our way over to Mt. Sentinel. Nico’s exclamation rattled around in my head – how many months would we be forced indoors that summer due to wildfire smoke?
Seemingly against all odds, Missoula dodged the worst of the 2019 fire season. But memories from the historic 2017 season are fresh in the minds of many of us. The American Lung Association agrees – their 2019 “State of the Air” report found that the Missoula area is the fifth most polluted area in the country for short-term particle pollution and the 11th most polluted for annual particle pollution. For a community defined by its amazing access to public lands and exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities, it’s not surprising that poor air quality strikes fear into the hearts of even the hardiest of Missoulians. Nobody wants to be laboring up the steep flanks of Mt. Sentinel while inhaling a big gulp of wildfire smoke or pollutants trapped by a wintertime inversion. Unfortunately, scientists are finding that climate change may well increase western wildfires and poor air quality in the coming years (1, 2, 3, 4). It’s easy to feel helpless when faced with smoke-filled skies, but trail runners in Utah and Colorado have found a constructive, fun way to fight for clean air.
Descending the Boy Scout Trail, part of the RUFA Mt Sentinel course, on a quick New Year’s Day Sentinel lap
Salt Lake City, Utah, home to famously dangerous air quality during wintertime inversions, is also filled with outdoor enthusiasts. Ultrarunner Jared Campbell started an event in 2011 while running laps on a local Wasatch Range peak. Campbell wanted to raise awareness and money to address Salt Lake’s air quality issues. Soon it became a formal wintertime challenge, called Running Up for Air (RUFA) that engages hundreds of participants each year. The Up For Air Series, which includes both climbing and running events, spread throughout the Wasatch Range and into Colorado over the past few years. RUFA events ask participants to rise to the occasion and climb a literal mountain, while also tackling the figurative mountain of air quality issues. For 3, 6, 12, or 24 hours, participants scale a local peak in February, climbing it as many times as possible in the given time limit.
While enjoying the clean air atop Mt. Sentinel with Nico last March, the rambling conversation we were having drifted again to Missoula’s air quality. We soon realized that Missoula would be a perfect fit for another RUFA event. Our valley is home to everyday adventurers and athletes that head up Mt. Sentinel on a regular basis. People that love being outside and cherish their easy access to trails as much as they do their access clean air. Our wheels got turning, and it wasn’t long before RUFA Mt. Sentinel was born.
Enjoying a beautiful view during an early-summer smoke-free day on Mt. Sentinel
The Runner’s Edge is excited to put on Montana’s first RUFA event, RUFA Mt. Sentinel! Join us on February 22nd, 2020 to ascend Mt. Sentinel for 3, 6, or 12 hours and take a stand for clean air in Missoula. All proceeds from the event will go to Climate Smart Missoula and their work to both address climate change, and provide vulnerable people and groups with HEPA air filters. Whether it’s your first time up Sentinel or your 100th, join us for a wintertime lap (or two, four, or ten) on Missoula’s favorite mountain. Casual hikers/runners trying to summit the mountain once can rub shoulders with those running and walking for 12 hours. It doesn’t matter whether you’re fast or slow, what matters is that our community comes together to take on the task of keeping air clean in our community. All events will finish at the same time (6:00pm) in a celebration of clean air and time well spent outdoors.
Tackling air quality issues is an incredibly challenging endeavor. Climbing a mountain in the winter is too. Join us on February 22nd for a hard, fun, and rewarding day on the trails of Mt. Sentinel to support clean air in Missoula.
RUFA Mt. Sentinel will take place on February 22nd, 2020.
To sign up or for more info, please click HERE.
Jeff Mogavero is a Runner’s Edge employee and RUFA Mt. Sentinel race director. When not running the trails around Missoula, he can be found surfing in the Clark Fork or dancing in his kitchen.
Running Up For Air Mt. Sentinel
“All I want is for it to rain ALL summer; I would take that over a smoky summer any day.”
The Pengelly Ridge Trail by the summit of South Sentinel
It was March, and Nico was already lamenting the impending smoke season months away. I gazed out over the Missoula Valley as the two of us ran slowly up the Pengelly Ridge Trail. A faint brown cloud, an inversion trapping pollutants from escaping into the atmosphere above, hung low in the valley. Nico and I both realized that while Missoula is a fantastic place to live, it is also often inundated with poor air quality. We kept looking out at the surrounding peaks and forests as we ascended the ridge, making our way over to Mt. Sentinel. Nico’s exclamation rattled around in my head – how many months would we be forced indoors that summer due to wildfire smoke?
Seemingly against all odds, Missoula dodged the worst of the 2019 fire season. But memories from the historic 2017 season are fresh in the minds of many of us. The American Lung Association agrees – their 2019 “State of the Air” report found that the Missoula area is the fifth most polluted area in the country for short-term particle pollution and the 11th most polluted for annual particle pollution. For a community defined by its amazing access to public lands and exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities, it’s not surprising that poor air quality strikes fear into the hearts of even the hardiest of Missoulians. Nobody wants to be laboring up the steep flanks of Mt. Sentinel while inhaling a big gulp of wildfire smoke or pollutants trapped by a wintertime inversion. Unfortunately, scientists are finding that climate change may well increase western wildfires and poor air quality in the coming years (1, 2, 3, 4). It’s easy to feel helpless when faced with smoke-filled skies, but trail runners in Utah and Colorado have found a constructive, fun way to fight for clean air.
Descending the Boy Scout Trail, part of the RUFA Mt Sentinel course, on a quick New Year’s Day Sentinel lap
Salt Lake City, Utah, home to famously dangerous air quality during wintertime inversions, is also filled with outdoor enthusiasts. Ultrarunner Jared Campbell started an event in 2011 while running laps on a local Wasatch Range peak. Campbell wanted to raise awareness and money to address Salt Lake’s air quality issues. Soon it became a formal wintertime challenge, called Running Up for Air (RUFA) that engages hundreds of participants each year. The Up For Air Series, which includes both climbing and running events, spread throughout the Wasatch Range and into Colorado over the past few years. RUFA events ask participants to rise to the occasion and climb a literal mountain, while also tackling the figurative mountain of air quality issues. For 3, 6, 12, or 24 hours, participants scale a local peak in February, climbing it as many times as possible in the given time limit.
While enjoying the clean air atop Mt. Sentinel with Nico last March, the rambling conversation we were having drifted again to Missoula’s air quality. We soon realized that Missoula would be a perfect fit for another RUFA event. Our valley is home to everyday adventurers and athletes that head up Mt. Sentinel on a regular basis. People that love being outside and cherish their easy access to trails as much as they do their access clean air. Our wheels got turning, and it wasn’t long before RUFA Mt. Sentinel was born.
Enjoying a beautiful view during an early-summer smoke-free day on Mt. Sentinel
The Runner’s Edge is excited to put on Montana’s first RUFA event, RUFA Mt. Sentinel! Join us on February 22nd, 2020 to ascend Mt. Sentinel for 3, 6, or 12 hours and take a stand for clean air in Missoula. All proceeds from the event will go to Climate Smart Missoula and their work to both address climate change, and provide vulnerable people and groups with HEPA air filters. Whether it’s your first time up Sentinel or your 100th, join us for a wintertime lap (or two, four, or ten) on Missoula’s favorite mountain. Casual hikers/runners trying to summit the mountain once can rub shoulders with those running and walking for 12 hours. It doesn’t matter whether you’re fast or slow, what matters is that our community comes together to take on the task of keeping air clean in our community. All events will finish at the same time (6:00pm) in a celebration of clean air and time well spent outdoors.
Tackling air quality issues is an incredibly challenging endeavor. Climbing a mountain in the winter is too. Join us on February 22nd for a hard, fun, and rewarding day on the trails of Mt. Sentinel to support clean air in Missoula.
RUFA Mt. Sentinel will take place on February 22nd, 2020.
To sign up or for more info, please click HERE.
Jeff Mogavero is a Runner’s Edge employee and RUFA Mt. Sentinel race director. When not running the trails around Missoula, he can be found surfing in the Clark Fork or dancing in his kitchen.
Product Review: On Cloud Venture
Lee Macholz is one of our 2018/2019 RErun ambassadors. She is a stud! After work and family time, she still manages to volunteer and/or run many events through Runners Edge and Run Wild Missoula. We got a new trail shoe called the Cloud Venture. Since Lee rocks the trails, we asked her to test out these shoes and her thoughts are below…
OnCloud Cloudventure
Specs: 6 mm; Neutral; 7.9 oz
I grabbed a pair of Cloudventures just before heading down to Moab, UT for spring break play time with the family. I was set to run the Behind the Rocks 30k and still hadn’t decided which shoes to wear. But since I didn’t have the time to take them out for a test run before the race, I stuck with my Xodus because I was already completely un-trained for the race and felt it was not terribly smart to add new shoes to the mix as well. However, we still had a full week to play after the race and I wore the Cloudventure for the rest of our time running and hiking in the desert. I also raced the Bitterroot Runoff in them last weekend so these shoes have seen some great early-season action.
OnCloud is a new brand to me, I’d seen a few folks in them over the past year or so, but I had not yet tried them on. In the store, my initial impression was that they were stiff and didn’t have much cushion.
The really noticeable thing about the Cloudventure is the sole. It is really knobby and kind of crazy looking. Most of the cushion for this shoe seems to be in the material of the sole. I am not the lightest on my feed on the downhill but the sole absorbs impact really well. The downhill sections of the
This impression didn’t last though. As soon as I got out on the trail with them, they proved to be really responsive and comfortable. I find that I don’t need, or even want, as much cushion in my trail shoes as I do in my road shoes. The Cloudventure has good support throughout the shoe. I can feel the arch support just enough to know that it is helping my foot, but not so much that it is too tall. The arch support does feel like it extends forward more than other shoes I’ve worn. It was noticeable enough to wonder if it would hurt or fatigue my foot, but it didn’t take long to get used to it and by the end of my first run I’d forgotten all about that. I tend to get a couple tender toes, but I have not had that issue yet with these shoes. The rest of the fit is good, with skinny laces that don’t come untied and a soft tongue that doesn’t slip or pinch. And they are really light weight – easily the lightest running shoes I’ve ever worn!
Bitterroot Runoff felt really great in these shoes. Then there is the traction. I love the “Missiongrip” traction on these Cloudventures. Wearing these in Moab was super fun and I felt kind of like spiderman on the rocks in these shoes. They gripped everything – going up and going down. The one thing that annoys me about the sole is that the spacing and depth between the lugs will pick up rather large rocks.
You know the feeling/sound when you get a little rock stuck in the tread of your shoe? Yeah, instead of smaller-than-pea-sized rocks that are usually easy enough to scuff out of your tread without stopping, I get thumb-sized rocks stuck and usually have to reach down and dislodge the rock. I’m not sure yet if that was just a factor of the rocks in Moab, or if that will continue to be an annoyance on the trails
around Missoula. We’ll see.
All in all, I think the Cloudventure is a great trail running shoe. My favorite things about them is how incredibly light they feel and how grippy the soles are. This makes going up and down hills a dream. If you are looking for a new trail shoe, check them out and come join me in chasing clouds in the mountains this summer!
High Speed 2D Video Running Analysis
The strongest predictors of of running injury include a prior history of running injury, running throughout the year without a break, and a rapid increase in running mileage of >10% per week (Br J Sports Med 2007).
Once compensatory movement patterns are addressed through a comprehensive physical therapy evaluation, underlying strength and mobility deficits can be effectively addressed.
If you are looking to improve your running efficiency or are plagued by nagging or recurrent running injuries, a running analysis is a great place to start. Sapphire PT has four physical therapists trained in running analysis. Sapphire PT provides on-site, real-time 2D running gait analysis. We are excited to provide this informative, interactive, diagnostic technology in our Missoula PT clinic. While an iPhone or iPad is capable of recording treadmill running for basic analysis, high-speed camera technology and interpretive software are necessary to objectively quantify joint angles quality of movement. Utilizing 2D video running analysis during a physical
therapy evaluation takes the guesswork out of determining the underlying cause of movement inefficiency and/or injury. Sapphire PT uses the Simi Aktisys 2D running analysis system. Developed in Germany, the Simi Aktisys software records joint angles along the frontal (anterior and posterior views) and sagittal (side) planes of motion as a person runs. Planes of movement and joint ankles (ankle, knee, hip, trunk) are recorded and observed as a person runs. The software analyses the measured video data and an easy to read, usable PDF
report is produced for the runner and physical therapist. Colored LED markers on key body landmarks are read by two high-speed cameras which provide real-time feedback for both the runner and the physical therapist. We also utilize the Run Scribe accelerometer system which accurately measures impact force, pronation angle, pronation velocity. Accelerometer data often reveals compensations for pain, prior injury, or weakness and is used in conjunction with our 2D video system.
Once a compensatory movement pattern is recorded, the runner can return to the treadmill and make changes in his or her running mechanics while observing themselves in real-time on the monitor screen. Coupled with a wireless EMG (electromyography) system, runners can then focus on strengthening weak muscles which play a role in their unique running compensation. Walking biomechanics is fairly universal in healthy individuals, but running biomechanics is diverse and very difficult to accurately assess visually or with a hand-held recording device. The Sapphire Physical Therapy staff looks forward to helping Missoula runners improve their running efficiency and determining the underlying cause of recurrent injuries.
Running analysis is useful for healthy athletes as well by improving running efficiency. Our website (sapphirept.com) has a complete list of our running services. Call Sapphire Physical Therapy (549-5283) to schedule your video running analysis or email me (john@sapphirept.com) for additional information.
John Fiore, PT
A Beginner’s Guide to Race Day
So you’ve committed to jumping in your first race, you’re all trained up for the big day, have the shoes, the watch, the hat, and the anti-chafe stuff that your best friend said is vital. But now what?
Race day can be daunting. Looking at the scene when you pull into the parking lot can be overwhelming with fast looking runners jogging about, and hundreds of people all milling around a collection of brightly colored pop-up tents. Where are you supposed to go? What are you supposed to do for the next 15 minutes before the gun goes off?
Pick up your bib early
Here’s how to navigate race morning stress free…
Find your spot in the corral
friends, and generally talk about anything except the race for a while.
Take advantage of the post-race food
If you are considering signing up for your first race I would highly recommend the Run Like a Mother 5k (for women), or the Mountain to Meadow 5k, 10k, and 1/2 Marathon. Both are very laid back and have a fantastic post-race vibe (meaning food!).
See you out on there,
Forrest Boughner
Forrest is a manager and race director at Runner’s Edge, and coaches local adults. He has been racing competitively for the last 18 years and often struggles with remaining calm before races.
Where to run. What’s Clear and What’s Not
This time of year we are all playing the guessing game of what trail are clear of snow and what still has thigh deep post holes designed to cut shins with crystalized snow.
Here’s a few ideas in and around Missoula that may keep you running snow free. Please remember that if you do encounter mud, snow, or puddles stay on the trail! Run over the snow, through mud, and ankle deep in that puddle. If you have any recommendations to add please let me know!
Photo courtesy of Lee Macholz
ch are surprisingly dry.
If you have any questions on where these trails are either give us a call, or take a look at the Cairn Cartography map of the area (the featured image). We can point them out to you on the map as well!
Happy Trails!
Product Review: Brooks Fast Forward Zip Bra
Raise your hand if you’ve come home from a winter run cold and sweaty with fingers too numb and body so tired that wrestling a wet sports bra off your clammy skin felt like an insurmountable task. Me too. Death by soggy bra is a good way to kill even the coziest pre-run situation but wriggling out of a damp bra underneath a pile of winter layers is the worst.
Enter the Brooks Fast Forward Zip Sports Bra.
I’m not someone who needs a lot of support from a running bra so I usually just go for whatever pullover racer back has the softest fabric or cutest pattern. I have never owned a sports bra that wasn’t a pullover until last month. I always thought the fancy ones with hooks or zippers weren’t for me.
And I was a little skeptical of the Fast Forward bra. Would the zipper make a weird bump under my shirt or bounce around? Would I hear in clinking as I ran? Would the zipper feel like cold metal when I put it on? Nope, nope and nope. Despite the zipper, this bra has a simple construction with a mesh racer back, sleek front panels and a wide soft elastic band along the bottom. Like most bras it came with pads, although, like always, I removed them right away. The zipper has a cozy panel behind it that protects your skin from ever feeling the zipper and the zipper lies smoothly under your shirt. The zipper pull locks down and doesn’t bounce. The best feature? When your run is done the zipper is smooth and easy to undo freeing you from a soggy bra in seconds. No struggle!
Despite having a zipper this bra feels light, breathable and sleek, and I’m sure it will be in heavy rotation all summer. I recommend this bra for anyone looking for an option that doesn’t require a clammy wrestling match to get out of.