Brian Sterling
2024
I've started 2024 with a lingering Achilles tendonopathy, originally from the 2023 Chicago Marathon but aggravated in February. I have gotten in 2 races with minimal run training but good cross training via cycling, skateboarding, and hiking.
June
This was a unique and fun race consisting of running up to the Tahoe Via Ferrata from the Palisades Village, traversing the via ferrata, then running back down. It's done in a time-trial format to try to minimize bottlenecks on the via ferrata.
I was able to win my age group, which was a nice surprise.
The legendary Dipsea Race is the oldest trail race in the US and is one of my favorite races. The format, the course, and the scenery are just amazing. It has an age based handicap system where older (and very young) runners start earlier, which gives people of all age groups a chance to win. The top 35 earn black shirts, and the top 100 get their place on their bib for the next year.
I had a breakout race last year, getting in to the top 100 for the first time. My goal this year was just to requalify for the invitational division for next year, which required finishing in the top 450 - I was 219th.
2023
October
I got in to the Chicago Marathon with a time qualifier from CIM. I was in decent enough shape from training for the Berlin Inline Skate Marathon, but had not had a good build-up in terms of running.
I was able to squeak out a PR of 3:16:14, but my legs were pretty wiped out for days afterwards. This was the start of my achilles tendon issues. In retrospect, I should have taken it easier and just enjoyed being out there.
September
When I failed to get in to the Berlin Marathon for running via the lottery, the marathon offered guaranteed entry next year if I complete the inline skate marathon this year.
That sounded like a fun challenge to me, so I started skating, found some local skaters to train with, and found a local coach, who was instrumental in helping me improve my poor technique..
In my usual way, I got a little too exuberant in training and had to deal with some hip pain that affected both my skating and running. But the race itself went well - it was super fun to cruise all around Berlin with thousands of other skaters. And I finished in 1:39, which was faster than expected.
This is a fun low-key local race from the Mill Valley Depot to the top of Mt Tamalpais. I placed third in my age group.
August
This another one of my favorites. It's not quite as chaotic as the Dipsea Race, but also has a fun handicapping system where runners in slower age groups get various head starts.
I did very little running before this race, having been dealing with some hip pain. But I had been cross training, and luckily was just getting over the pain. I took it easy from Stinson Beach to Mill Valley, then went hard on the way back to end up 7th in my age group.
June
In my third time running the Dipsea Race, I was happy to finish 84th. As a top-100 finisher, I proudly got to have my place as my race bib number the next year.
This race was the last in a string with pretty good fitness. A few weeks later, I got a little too exuberant with my training and ended up with hip pain that stopped me from running for a while, affecting my next few races.
May
This is a fun local race that traverses a lot of the trails I like to train on.
I came in pretty fit and was able to take down a 7-time age group winner to win my age group and get 6th place overall.
Palo Alto Run Club took two wins for the day.
Miwok 100k pacing duty (Strava)
Paced a friend the last 14 miles to her first 100k finish.
This was the first race I've been to where my entire focus was on helping someone else, and it was so much fun. Coaching brings me the same kind of joy through its all-consuming focus on helping others.
April
This is a day I had been working for for years - qualifying for and completing Boston. Being there lived up to the hype.
Although we had some pretty hard cold rain during the race, I was able to set a new PR of 3:17:06.
2022
September
This is a fun race from Manitou Springs to the top of Pikes Peak, which is at an elevation of 14,115 feet. There is nearly 8000 feet of elevation gain.
My fitness was pretty good coming in. In spite of living at sea level, the elevation didn't bother me too much - only at the very end I started getting a little dizzy. I ended up 8th in my age group.
August
This was one of my favorite races. Since it has a handicapped start system, we started in a small group with age group competitors, so we were racing head-to-head. I stuck a bit behind the leaders up the first climb until one guy attacked and disappeared up the trail. By the turnaround in Mill Valley, I had gotten into 2nd place in the age group, and caught the leader on the climb up out of Muir Woods. I ran scared down into Stinson Beach, but was able to secure the age group win!
June
Part of a big weekend of trail running, this race has a ton of climbing up into the snow and back down to the Village at Palisades Tahoe. It's a very well-run and high-energy event.
I was 4th in my age group, which is not usually a fun position to be in, but when I saw the gap to 3rd, I realized I will need to get to another level to podium here.
Considering I didn't run at all from May 6th to May 20th due to some hip issues, this race went surprisingly well. The cross training I did really paid off. In fact, my fitness continued to build afterwards, leading to a series of pretty good races for the rest of the year.
This was my first year in the invitational division, and I finished in 113th place, giving me hope that I might be able to crack the top 100 in the future.
2021
December
I picked this marathon both because it's close to home and also because it's known as a fast course, producing tons of BQs.
For my age, a BQ required running under 3:35, but in previous years, a buffer of up to 7 minutes was required to actually be admitted, so my goal was to be well under 3:30. I was able to pick it up a bit in the last few miles to have a slight negative split and finish in 3:21:26, which I was very happy with. Boston here I come!
November
I remember reading about the legendary Dipsea Race in Runner's World way back in high school. It's normally quite hard to get in to, so I dutifully printed out the application and sent in my check by registered mail the same day the application period opened.
It turned out that, due to Covid, there were fewer applications and everyone who applied got in. Also, it was moved to the fall from its usual May date.
I placed 30th in the Runner Division, which qualified me for the Invitational Division for the next year!
October
This is a fun local race, half on the road and half on dirt and with 500 feet of elevation gain and loss.
I ran a 42:34 to win my age group and place 8th overall. On that course, this means I was start to get pretty fit. I was able to keep progressing and having good races the rest of the year.
2020
After February, due to COVID, I only participated in some "social distancing" virtual events sponsored by the IDSA. One highlight was the completion of a challenge to skate 100 miles within 24 hours (sponsored by the Dutch Ultraskate).
Mt Unumhum Trail Run 14k (Strava)
My first ever trail race had 1800 feet of vert in 9 miles. The course was never flat. I had both legs cramp up as I approached the finish line, so hobbled in from there.
Before this race, I had been experimenting with doing all training below my MAF heartrate. I learned that I need some race-specific adaptations as well - namely some amount of running fast uphill and downhill.
Focus on Running
A few things triggered my switch to focus on running:
COVID shut down all the skateboard races.
A family friend ran the Napa Valley Marathon, and I started wondering if I would be able to do that.
A good runner I was following on Strava casually mentioned that his shoe color matched his Boston Marathon jacket. I started wondering if I would ever be able to qualify for Boston myself. It took me a few years, but I did eventually fulfill the dream of qualifying for and running Boston.
2019
My main focus was still on long-distance skateboarding. Still using my strategy of hanging on for dear life and drafting off the front group for as long as possible, I was again undefeated in my age group.
The Chief Ladiga/Silver was a new challenge I took on. It covers 188 miles over 3 days across Georgia and Alabama, so required upping my mileage and focusing a lot more on hydration and fueling. I was happy to get 4th overall after a grueling 3 days.
P-Town Throwdown (Portland, OR) (Strava)
Chief Ladiga/Silver Comet Skate Challenge (Georgia/Alabama)
Centennial Sk8 Fest (Centennial Trail, WA)
No Name Race (Breckenridge, CO) (Strava)
April
Palo Alto Great Race for Saving Water 5k (Strava)
In January, I gradually started doing more running and eventually hopped in a few local races.
In this 5k, set a post-college PR of 20:00. Just couldn't quite eke out another second to get under 20.
2018
November
The Idea of Running
The Bay Area was shrouded in thick smoke from a nearby wildfire. In search of some cleaner air at higher elevation, I drove down to Mt Umunhum and ran the trail up to the top. It was my first run in quite a while, but I had so much fun that it sparked the idea of getting back in to running.
September
Push in the Woods, (Banks-Vernonia Trail, OR)
I was especially proud of the 10k, which was my only ever overall podium in an IDSA race.
August
It was fun going up to WA again. The Pacific Northwest has a great, welcoming skating community. I was again able to sweep the races for my age group.
July
This was a unique set of short skateboard races. It was a fun challenge to learn how to train for very short efforts, including all-out 200 m sprints.
January
This is a slightly crazy outlaw race across Golden Gate Park to the beach. It's partially flat and rolling and partially hill bombing. I'm now way too scared to try it again, but was 2nd overall in both 2018 and 2019.
2017
November
In my 2nd attempt at the Adrenalina, I used the speed I had gained since last year to get in a faster draft group. Eventually, that group broke up, but by then I was well ahead of the guy who had beat me last year, and I was able to stay ahead to finished in 1:50:29.
October
Bend Beatdown
I took another age group win in the 10k, but the 25k was tougher for me. It involved going uphill out of Bend for the half the race and bombing back down for the 2nd half. I ended up doing a fair amount of footbraking to stay at a safe speed. My competitor, Rick Stubblefield, was a much better downhiller and deservedly took the win.
September
Based on my first race at the Adrenalina Marathon last year, I knew I needed to work on my speed and being able to put in a hard effort off the start line in order to get with a fast group of riders for drafting. So I spent time in my training working on that as well endurance and sustained race pace.
That strategy paid off this weekend (and for the remainder of my skate race career), as I was able to stay with the lead pack and get well ahead of my age group competitors in each race.
2016
November
In November of 2015, I had been doing a fair amount of longboarding for a while, then I first heard about the Adrenalina Skateboard Marathon. I was super excited, and thought it would be something right up my alley. It was too late to make it to that year's race, but I started planning for 2016.
Looking at previous times, I knew I'd need to be under 2 hours to have a chance of placing in my age group. I wasn't sure that I'd be able to do that, but was able to maintain 13 mph for some shorter periods of time.
The race itself started much faster than I expected, and I immediately ended up in oxygen debt. Eventually, I found some other skaters to draft with and came in at 1:54:57 for 2nd in my age group.
2008 - 2011
In the fall of 2008, I had a wake-up call with my health. One day, my back suddenly became very painful. I remember having to bring a camp chair with me to coach my son's soccer team because I couldn't stand or walk without pain. I decided I had been way too sedentary since getting married and having kids, so I dusted off my old road bike.
Eventually, I gave myself a target of getting under 20 minutes on Old La Honda. If I could do that, I would buy myself a new bike, which I did in December of 2009
Bike racing reprise with Alto Velo
I joined the Alto Velo Racing Club, and did a number of races in the 45+ division through 2011.
One highlight was getting 5th place in 45+ at the Mt Hamilton Classic Road Race, which is a race that starts in San Jose, climbs Mt Hamilton, and finished near Livermore. It was a fun race where my teammates and I were able to use team tactics - one up the road, the others sitting on the chase group - to get 1st, 2nd, and 5th.
1992 - 1999
Ultimate
I played with a bunch of different teams over the years, both coed and open, and got to compete all over the west coast and Hawaii.
One highlight was qualifying for and competing at the USA Ultimate Open Nationals in Las Vegas in 1996 with the team Perfect Teeth.
1989 - 1991
Stanford Cycling Team
I raced with the Stanford Cycling Team for three years. Highlights include:
1990 Collegiate Nationals
19th in the road race
5th in team omnium
2nd in the team time trial
25th in the road race
4th in team omnium
1982 - 1986
Triathlons
I did a few triathlons in the years after high school. My main weakness was that I was a terrible swimmer. In retrospect, I could have been much better if I had hired someone to help me work on form.
Highlights include:
2nd in my first triathlon in Wichita Falls, TX
3rd in the Roanoke, VA 72-Mile Triathlon
Beating Lance Armstrong in the Texas Hill Country Triathlon
More on that last point: At the time, Lance was a 15-year-old wunderkind who was competing with the top triathlon pros. On the bike section, I saw him standing on the side of the road with a flat in one of his tubular ties. As a less-competitive, triathlete, I always rode clinchers and had a spare tube and patch kit.
1978 - 1982
Track and Cross-Country
I ran track and cross-country throughout high school. I was pretty mediocre until my senior year, when I was 13th in the Texas State Cross Country Meet. We missed the team win by one point, which is why we don't look too happy with our silver medals in the photo.
In the 3200 m, my best time was 9:54.
コメント