Sunday, May 20, 2012

UROY: 2012

My objective in this post is not to cause a big fuss or develop a conversation ad nauseam about UROY, but simply to share an opinion I currently hold.  Thus far, in 2012, male UROY is a one horse race.  Bryon Powell, of iRunFar.com (obviously), is way out in front as the leader.
Bryon’s tireless efforts at iRunFar.com provide running geeks worldwide constant information, which stirs all sorts of conversations, provides inspiration and entertainment and, in the process, has helped to take trail running and ultra running (in the US, at least) to a whole new level.  By providing to the masses a steady stream of race previews, results, interviews, feature stories and photos of runners smoking cigars Bryon is seemingly everywhere, all the time.  Clearly, Bryon is on top of his game and in a class of his own.
A casual look back on the early months of 2012 reveals Bryon on-site covering numerous events, both racing and otherwise.  A look forward is no different.  Or maybe it is in that Bryon will be even more places.  Here is a quick guess of where else Bryon will be in 2012, inspiring and entertaining us: Western States, Pikes Peak, Leadville, UTMB, Wasatch, UROC, Run Rabbit Run, NF San Fran, and God knows at how many other races and events.  Who else can touch this?  Knowing that Bryon will no doubt continue his tireless efforts over the remainder of 2012, I think it will take a series of truly unbelievable performances, acts and or occurrences for a second male runner to come even close as UROY.
To my knowledge, no “runner” has ever been voted UROY without running a single ultra marathon in the year of actual voting.  And to my knowledge, Bryon hasn’t raced since last year, though he is expected to toe the line at Leadville in August.  I hope Bryon runs Leadville, and finishes of course, because without at least a single race result to his credit in 2012 it is unlikely he will get the nod as a candidate.  Hell, he may not get the nod anyway but he damn well should.  Then again, I’m just a guy with an opinion.

12 comments:

  1. Agree 100%. I wouldn't put it past him to race Leadville and somehow cover Pikes Peak the next day.

    See you next month.

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  2. If he wins Leadville, does that put him as a lock? Although, how is he going to live-tweet Leadville as he runs it?

    "I'm in first place at Fish Hatchery 2. I have no idea how far back my competition is. Coming back over Hope Pass many hours ago, second place was a distant 30 min behind me and seemed to be fading..."

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  3. Couldn't have said it better!

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  4. Great recommendation -- he really has changed the ultrarunning scene with irunfar.com.

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  5. Aw, this is super nice of you Neal!

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  6. maybe when he covers the Speedgoat 50k and beats Killian, he'll have a chance. :-) He does amazing work, he's taken media in ultras to another level.

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  7. Sorry to be the one to break the news, but Bryon, as per his latest post on Irunfar, is skipping Leadville. His efforts in covering ultras have meant that his training has taken a back seat, basically.

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  8. Ultrafolks are so nice. Bryon is a great guy, does awesome work for the sport, but UROY is a far stretch unless he wins a bunch of top races. Ultra "writer" of the Year he has won hands down, not "runner" just yet.

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  9. Anonymous makes a decent point but since there is no definition of UROY, there is no reason why Bryon couldn't be considered. MVP races and the like are fraught with bullcrap. Is there anyone on the planet who can legitimately argue that Michael Jordan should not have been MVP every single year he played?!

    i think Bryon should be at least considered because of his efforts.

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