Sponsored First Endurance Ultra runner Nick Clark, running for Team Pearl Izumi/Smith  set a new course record at the Ghost Town 50K.   Eight days earlier he set the course record and qualified for Western States at the Bandera 100K.    Nick offered some insight on his motivation and nutrition for these races. 

1) You recently won both the Bandera 100K and Ghost Town 50K in record time.   What were your goals going into these races'

NC: The goal going into Bandera was to qualify for the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. I had tried to get in through the lottery to no avail, so was left with the option of looking elsewhere or running my way in at one of a handful of qualifiers. With the field at States looking like it will be one of the most competitive in the history of endurance running, I wanted to at least try and get to the start line. I mean how often are you going to have a shot at testing your mettle against the very best 100 milers in Europe, Asia and North America' Bandera would be my one and only shot at qualifying, so the goal was to finish top two (there are two spots on offer at each of the 6 or 7 qualifying races). I knew there were going to be some fast guys there, most of whom I had never run against, so I was somewhat unsure how realistic my goal was.  

Ghost Town was a much lower-key event for me than Bandera. I went down with my wife and young son, and it was really more about getting out of Colorado for a long weekend than it was about racing. The fact that there were a couple of big names from the ultra world running inspired me to go hard, but I think I would have been as happy with a third place finish and no injuries as I would have been with the win. As it turned out, I was able to run comfortably, get the win, not degrade my body too much more after the Bandera effort the weekend before, and have a great time with family and friends, so it was a very successful weekend.

2) Did you do anything different going into these races that let to your great results'

NC: I decided late (four weeks before the race) to run Bandera after initially figuring I wouldn’t bother with Western States this year, so I went from running 60-70 miles a week to 100+ within a week. I don’t usually like to bump my training miles up that dramatically in such a short time, but as I only had two weeks to put serious miles on my legs that is what I decided to do. I also like to give myself a three-week gradual taper before a goal race, but again because of the impulse decision to run Bandera, I cut that to two weeks and was a little more aggressive in cutting the mileage. Fortunately I had a solid base going in, so it worked out well.

I’m not going to flat out say EFS Liquid Shot was a driver of my performance, but I used it for the first time in a race at Bandera and I felt like I had great energy the whole way round. I was also thoroughly content in not having to fumble around with gel packets. I taped a gel flask to my water bottle, so I had my hydration and fuel right there in one hand – a nice set-up which I will refine a bit as I build up to Western States.

3) What is planned for the rest of the year and what are your goals'

NC: All roads currently lead to Western States at the end of June. I plan to train with big miles, as I tend to respond best to mileage (almost all of it easy mountain trail miles), with a monthly race of marathon distance or longer (up to 50 miles) to sharpen the volume. As I said earlier, the best 100 milers in the world will be running at States so to say that my goal is to win seems almost laughable to me, yet that is my goal. That said, I’ll be over the moon with a top-five finish.

4) Which First Endurance products did you use to train for these races and how did you use them'

NC: I am very much a minimalist runner and I don’t use much product in training. For anything under a two-hour run, I carry water only (if that). I will supplement that with EFS Liquid Shot when going longer, but still fuel way less than most probably do. I actually subscribe to the theory that less fueling in training leads to better results in racing in terms of your body’s response to the fuel and its ability to burn fat for energy.

5) What First Endurance product(s) did you use for the race and how did they work for you'

NC:I was 90 percent fueled by EFS Liquid Shot (Vanilla) at Bandera, with a 10 percent supplement of fruits (mainly oranges). While the Liquid Shot is all the fuel I needed, my stomach really needs the comfort of solids in these longer races and oranges and bananas tend to work very well in that respect. I’ve only been using First Endurance product for a month or two, so I am still dialing it in, but I love how non-viscous the Liquid Shot is. Fumbling around with gooey gel packs has cost me minutes at races in the past and caused nausea. At Bandera, I felt like I had very consistent energy levels, even though I didn’t hit my goal of consuming 250 calories an hour. I was probably closer to 200 but the race fueling side of things is still a work in progress – another reason for the monthly races leading to Western States.

6) What motivates or drives you to run Ultras'

NC: My motivation for running long distances comes from the mountains. I grew up in an area of England that is very flat, and I spent the last six years before moving to Colorado in New York City, so when we finally got out here I was like a kid in a candy store (I still am). I can’t get enough of the mountains, which is why I spend as much time as my work schedule and family life will allow running and racing in them. That tends to be the case with most of the guys I train and race with out here – the running is just an excuse to be in the mountains, and the longer you run the greater your pleasure.