A few unpublished sketches...

Here are a few unpublished sketches/comics which I sent to Bryon as examples of my work pre-Happy Trails at iRunfar.com. If you haven't figured it out by now I have stepped down from my duties as the resident cartoonist at iRunFar.com. I thanked Bryon for giving me the opportunity and as I know he had high hopes for the comic series I can't help but feel that I let him down. I will always be grateful to him for allowing me to try although ultimately I, "Failed To Deliver" or FTD'd on what I had promised him. Unfortunately, after giving my all(including my talent, my available time, my resourcefulness) to the comic I came to the conclusion that I lacked a depth of knowledge and understanding of the "ultra culture" and "ultra scene"  which the "Happy Trails" series needed to make it relevant to the iRunFar community. FTDing on my first job as a cartoonist is a bit disappointing but I am at peace with it because I tried my best, I learned from the experience and I am moving forward.

A Run 3 Years In the Making...

Happy Trails on iRunFar #6- A Run Three Years in the Making...

Here is your chance to Toast/Roast Mr. iRunFar himself. Check out some of the funny stories and make sure to join in the fun and add one or two of your own.

URG at The DEPOT!

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW 

Thanks to Bryon for sending in his idea for an "URG".

Bryon's idea with some of my thoughts in (bold)-
Ok, now that I have my sketch in front of me, I have a two panel comic(2 panels Bryon, really??)... though, now that I think about it, it might be three panels(more like 6).
Panel 1: URG walks into a huge home repair/construction store akin to Home Depot/Lowes in the States. You can prominently see a sign that lists many, many aisles. Maybe you can read all of them, maybe you can't, but the last one is "outdoors" or "garden" or something like that. There are also an huge number of aisles radiating from the entry way.(huge number of aisles? I do have a life you know. Do you know how much work that is?? I did 5.)
Panel 2 (optional... originally not included): URG walking around some ridiculous aisle looking forlorn. He's clearly out of place.
Panel 3: URG has found the outdoor/garden department and is either completely at ease or running around the tree selection.
I suppose there could be another panel before Panel 1 in which Guy and Gal are talking about fixing an issue (leaky roof, broken pipe, etc) to set the story. Maybe it's clear it's a weekend and URG is gonna miss his Saturday run(Good idea but yes it did mean another panel plus one more to wrap it up).
Ok, there's my idea. I won't be the least bit offended if you toss it. :-) (well your idea escaped the trash bin, hope you like the final product;-p)

Out Too Fast...The Comic and the Contest!

If you haven't seen the comic "Out Too Fast" already then it means you either haven't gotten around to purchasing Bryon Powell's new book, "Relentless Forward Progress : A Guide to Running Ultramarathons" or you are just a slow reader and haven't come to page 178 yet. So for those of you who haven't seen it you'll find a preview of that page below plus two chapters of the book to preview here.

The Comic-

Click on image for larger view!

The Contest-

iRunFar Headsweats Race Hat

From reading your blogs I do know that there are many folks out there who have read and are following the training plans in Bryon's book. I would love to know some of your favorite tips about training/racing/nutrition/hydration etc, etc. that you picked up from "Relentless Forward Progress". Please leave your thoughts and comments below with your name and a winner will be randomly chosen to win a great iRunFar Headsweats Race Hat made of Coolmax mesh and built-in terrycloth headband to show off on your next run or race. Note: Make sure to check back August 23rd to see if you won.

The Contest Winner-
Thank-you to all who took the time to comment. It appears that everyone is in agreement that Bryon's book is an overdue and welcome resource for the ultrarunning community. I am sure that Bryon will be happy to hear that his book has been a helpful tool for you all. Now without further adieu the winner of the iRunFar.com Headsweats Race Hat is Alex. Congratulations Alex, please e-mail me your mailing details so Bryon can send you your prize;-)

Bryon Powell's Rejects ; )

Click On Image For Larger View! 

OFF COURSE
(remake of the original)



   I thought I would put up the two comics that will NOT appear in Bryon Powell's new book, "Relentless Forward Progress". As you can see both comics feature the author himself in one form or another. Using the table of contents of the book as my guide I submitted a re-make of "Off Course" for the chapter about navigation and "Good Water" for the chapter about hydration.  I really enjoyed trying my hand at capturing Bryon's likeness as this was the first time I actually looked at a picture of someone while I was sketching a comic. This then inspired me to attempt another caricature of three well known ultrarunners(the fourth being  mentioned by text) who's picture I found on Bryon's site. That comic called "Out Too Fast", is indeed the one that Bryon accepted for his book.  I am not sure why Bryon rejected the other comics however I have a theory that his modesty may have played a role and or he didn't appreciate seeing himself depicted  hanging from a cliff or as a pillar of salt. Go figure.

I would also like to mention that you still have time to enter the contest to win an advanced copy of the book so check it out here . Good Luck to everyone and thanks to all of those who have entered so far. Come back Sunday to see who won.

 Click On Image For Larger View!

GOOD WATER

URG From the Hill CONTEST!!

WIN Bryon Powell's New Book

"RELENTLESS FORWARD PROGRESS"

*All you have to do is GUESS URG's yearly mileage.
Guess Here Now or see the map below for clues.
Hint- It is between 5000 & 10000 miles

*Whoever's guess is closet without going over WINS plus everyone who enters will have a chance to win a Power Balance Band(see details below)

CLICK TO ENTER the contest or e-mail your answer to ultrarunningguy@gmail.com

CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW

THE CONTEST

I am very happy to announce that the winner of "URG from the Hill Contest" will win a personalized autographed advanced copy of Bryon Powell's NEW book, "Relentless Forward Progress". The book is sure to become "the standard for ultramarathon training books for a long time to come" and will be available to the public in late April at iRunFar.com . I would also like to give a quick mention(brag) that one of my comics was personally chosen by the author to appear in the book. "Out Too Fast" is a new comic that I drew especially for "Relentless Forward Progress". I can't say enough how very honored I was when Bryon accepted one of the three comics I had submitted to him(OK I was a bit offended that he turned down the other two but I got over it).  

I am also giving away 2 "Power Balance" wrist bands. The winners will be randomly chosen from the entries submitted and my Followers so if you are not Following URG please do so for another chance to win.

HOW YOU CAN WIN THE BOOK

All you have to do to add this great book to your library is to answer one QUESTION- What is URG's yearly mileage? (see the map). Your answer can be a guess or your best calculation. Whoever's  guess is the closest with out going over WINS!!: ) You don't need to answer the Bonus Questions, however if there is a tie then The Bonus Question/s break it and failing that the winner will be chosen by a random draw of the tiees(is that a word?). Only one guess per person per question.

E-mail your name and answer ONLY to ultrarunningguy@gmail.com.

 PLEASE DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWERS AS A COMMENT.

GOOD LUCK to everyone! CONTEST ENDS  Saturday, April the 9th at midnight.

HINTS

*Copy and print map if possible

*Read the Clues & Details along with the Question and Bonus Questions before beginning your calculations

*I shouldn't say but please note the distance key or you haven't got a hope; )

*The calculations are very easy so take it bit by bit and have fun.

*If I think of anymore HINTS I will add them here

*If you have any questions post them as comments so everyone can see them and my response

ENTER NOW or e-mail your answer to ultrarunningguy@gmail.com

iRunFar.com - 2009 Leadville 100 Shoe Interviews

Back to http://www.ultrarunningguy.com/
Click on picture for larger view

 One of URG's favorite Ultra Running .coms is iRunFar.com .

Check out two great interviews from Bryon Powell

with Duncan Callahan and Anton Krupicka from Leadville, CO.

http://blog.irunfar.com/2009/08/video-interviews-with-anton-krupicka.html

Leadville 100 Trail Run 2009

http://67.132.106.4/merchant.ihtml?id=1427&step=2

Leadville 100 2009 Results & Reports

http://67.132.106.4/racereportlist.ihtml?race=73