Arlen Glick | 2023 Western States 100 Pre-Race Interview

Welcome back, or welcome to, the Single Track Podcast. I'm your host, finn Malanson, and in this episode we're joined by Arlene Glick, the head of the 2023 Western States 100. Before we get started, though, this episode is brought to you by Hoka Rabbit Morton and Features Head to the show notes page of this episode for new product releases and discount codes from each of our four sponsors. With that, let's get started. Arlene Glick, it's great to have you back on the Single Track Podcast.

Thanks, I'm excited to be here.

Yeah, it's exciting that we're finally all here in Palisades Race Week. So you're returning M3, you get a special bib. How much weight does that bib number carry going into the 50th running of this race?

Well, i mean it's funny because, like I mean, if I analyzed last year, like I have to remind myself that that was my first mountain race ever. Yes, so like I think, like, if you, when I look at that element, that's pretty cool, i agree.

Talk about what went right on that day and also talk about what you felt went wrong on that day that you're looking to correct this time around.

Yeah, there's like last year leading up to it. I remember people talking about the importance of experience on the chorus And I kind of wanted to joke around and be like yeah right, like I can get it the first try, right. But that just learning the highs and lows of the chorus because it is so different from, you know, going over the high country, climbing out of the canyons and then the last 38 miles of just like cruisey trail Yeah, with having learned kind of the highs and lows of the chorus, like, and then analyzing what went wrong last year I mean, there was plenty that went wrong. If you want me to dive into a couple of the things Top three. Top three. So the worst three things about last year, yeah, so like I would have to back up a little bit. February of last year worst injury in my career butchered my left hip at jackpot. finished the race, yep. So came back from that. Training went really smooth, for you know, leading up to the race, fortunately. Unfortunately, like then, right leg compensation caught up with me. mid-race had severe hamstring cramping. mid-race dealt with that from 40 to finish line pretty much. So that was just mechanically things weren't working properly. But I mean I did a ton of things right. Nutritionally it was decent. I had poor planning, got short on calories just because of my stupid planning. other than that, i came back from it. I figured it out around Michigan bluff and then, nutritionally the rest of the race went smooth. So whatever there's some content.

And you feel like you. I mean, some of those things are out of your control. Like you know injuries that happened mid-race But do you feel like the things that you can control you have corrected for heading into this race?

Yeah, i mean a lot of things. So last year I mean. The other thing is I spent a week on course last year. This year I've spent five weeks in the mountains.

Did you cover the whole?

course, three of those not quite There's. Some of those miles are unproductive up in the high country When I was out here. Maybe they're better now, but I spent a lot of time on course. Now learned that hopefully corrected everything Like the mechanics haven't been 100%, but I think we're shooting towards an amazing day. Fine, though.

I was listening to your interview on the adventure jogger podcast earlier this spring And one thing that stood out to me was the fact that I'm stead. Earlier this year You were incredibly efficient. You spent 21 seconds of stoppage time in aid en route to a win there. Talk about how you did that and maybe preview what we can expect at Western States in terms of trying to come anywhere close to that low of stoppage time.

Yeah, hate to blow it right away, but you can't expect anything like that. At Western Umstead is a 12.4 mile loop that we do eight times aid halfway through the loop So we have like two aid stops So approximately every 45 minutes, where I'm looking for about 300 calories every 45 minutes. So we were doing handoffs And that worked very smooth, other than one failed attempt at a handoff which accounted for part of those 21 seconds. Wow.

Ballparking for Western states. What do you? what's your goal? Stoppage time.

Yeah. So on a hot year like last year, I think 20 minutes is probably minimum. On a cool year, I'm thinking like 10 minutes, but I had 38 minutes last year. So like a lot to shave, a lot to shave. I think a lot can be shaved, but I don't think it's possible, especially with less crew access, to go under that like 10 minutes.

Yeah, i guess, yes, going from last year to this year, um, you know a decent amount has changed. You know you'd said that you know Western states, the first mountainous race she then went on to you know, compete at run rabbit, um, which then got you into hard rock. Um, you signed a professional contract with Kraft. Um, how, how is all that, if it has, uh, changed your approach to you know, running or the sport in general?

Well, i mean, yeah, like having sort of some success last year, which I like. Yeah, i'm really stoked and grateful for what. What went down last year. I had an amazing season, but like mechanically, things were screwed up all year, so, um it it means a lot, though like just being sponsored is is a really big deal, a big change, a mindset shift. That's really amazing. Um, having someone that believes in you and and and is actually willing to invest in you makes a big difference, especially coming from East coast. Um, i could never afford to be to put to invest what I have into Western states on my own. Um, so that's probably the biggest shift.

Would you characterize yourself as a hundred mile specialist?

Yeah, for sure.

And your record at that distance is unassailable. You're one of the best in the sport. There's no question about it. but one curious thing you said in that adventure jogger interview is when you compare yourself to someone like Tom Evans in this field or Anthony Castellas, you have different skillsets, different strengths, different weaknesses When it comes to competing at this race, hopefully to get on the podium again, maybe even win the race. What do you see as your strengths against those types of runners that allow you to have success on race day?

Yeah, i think I was. I was discussing this with Cole Watson. We know he can run fast and he can also tackle mountains and like, but I don't have the element of speed that co Watson has. Tom Evans, those guys Okay, um, but one thing that that co Watson said he said last year he did Western States and then he tried to get back in marathon shape And he said it was harder than it's ever been for him. For me, being a hundred mile specialist, i can just kind of roll from one race to the next and never have to switch that up And I think it allows for a lot smoother ride going from one race to the next When you don't have to try to switch the pace up, switch the efficiency up, and I think you can just all in all like get really dialed on your distance.

Have you put much thought into what rolling into the next race is going to look like, or mostly just keeping the blinders on?

I didn't say anything about rolling from here to hard rock, but what ever? um, let's just. Let's just assume that hard rock is a 200 mile race. Okay 24 hours is an amazing time. There, right, i've spent I think 19 hours on my feet is my record, okay, so I don't know That'll be a vision quest. Yeah, it's going to be an adventure.

That's super exciting. Yeah, I mean, not many people have the opportunity to do, you know, a double like this.

Yeah, and like I think it's really awesome to have this on my calendar because I was telling people like I'm at I lost count How many hundreds Probably like getting close to 20. And like I haven't challenged my crazy in a little while.

Mm.

And I am so excited that somebody threw this on my. I mean, obviously I applied for it, but yeah. I'm so excited that someone threw this on my calendar that I could be perfectly justified, and yet challenging my crazy to beyond anything I ever have When was the last time you'd say you challenged your crazy. Um, i'm not sure. Run rabbit, yeah, but they were all such small challenges. I'm not the guy that, like I tend to think of myself as being a cautious guy. Like I like small incremental steps and I feel like hard rock. Is that next step after run rabbit? right, but give me a trashed body for that next step, and then we've got like there's a crazy challenge.

Are you going to pivot straight from Olympic Valley to hanging out in Silverton, like those three?

weeks Two, three weeks Almost. So I was advised I would be best to go home for like five days, recover, sort of at sea level. I think recovery will go a little bit smoother. And then, yes, going for the two weeks before the race. I'll be arriving close to Silverton and spending the two weeks leading up to the race.

I forgot to ask you about nutrition for states. Are you going all liquid calories this year?

The plan is to go liquid calories, um. I have been so much smoother going liquid. I've experimented with a lot of other things, but the more liquids in the less solids I've went with the least stop for the least, the least chance for a pit stop. So we're probably going to go with that, but still be flexible if something has something goes wrong.

Coca-cola Um yeah, one, two, three, twenty.

Yeah, coca-cola is. Is I tell people, coca-cola is my secret weapon? Okay, there's, i have no secrets. But if I did that?

would be the one is the secret.

So, yes, coca-cola is what takes me out of a bad time. So if the better the race goes, the less coke I drink, at Umstead I had like two and a half swallows of coke. That was a race where nutrition went well. If I'm drinking coke at 30 miles in, yeah You know, it's probably not going good.

Where should we based on your race strategy? Well, actually, let me ask you this question Is when you think about what is a successful day at Western States on Saturday, given that you've already put into this race? is anything less than second place, or winning this race on Saturday, in your book a failure?

Uh, no, not at all. Like I think, like, yeah, it would be awesome to win this thing. Like I can't think of anything more special than taking that you know, be in the East Coast, or that come out here and broke the 26 year curse. I think that would be so special. Um, i would love to to see that happen. Um, i would love to give back to Kraft in that way for the way they've invested into me. I would love to give back to the East Coast for the fan base that I have back there. Um, that would be awesome. But all I need for me is I want to get to that finish line and be able to say what I haven't for a long, long time. I want to say that was all I had And that's to me. It doesn't matter so much. Now I think if I get there and say that's all I had, i think I'm going to be a tough dude to beat. Okay, if I, if I have my day, i think if I have my day, it's going to be I'm going to be a tough dude to beat. That doesn't mean I'm unbeatable. Okay, i don't think I'm the fastest guy in the world. I want to believe I'm the strongest guy on the start line at this time. But I mean I think that's healthy for everybody to think that. So, yeah, i don't see not winning or even like going as deep as fifth or 10th, like. I don't see that as being failure. I'm racing myself. I want to be able to say that was all I had. I like that.

That checked all my question box. I'm just really.

I'm just really. I was inspiring, I got chills. We got to clip that Yeah.

I'm ready. I'm ready for the, for the gun to go off so I can actually watch this thing unfold Before we let you go. Though we do have a little tradition here that we started at the single track HQ. Mike, do you want to go grab our? Oh, Dylan's got it, Dylan's got it.

I'm gonna take your mic, Oh. So Arlon, Take that Ben.

So this is the official watermelon of Western States for 2023. And there's two things we would love for you to do since you've come by and give us your time here at this single track headquarters. We'd love for you. You'll have 15 seconds to draw your best cougar. And then we would love for you to sign it, can I?

sign somebody else's cougar. We got a cougar right there.

It's a one to one. Oh, it's a one to one ratio. This is terrible, all right, so here we'll give you a spot.

I'm gonna give you a three, two, one countdown.

once you have it in hand, i'm gonna say ultra runners suck at our wow, yeah, so you're fine. Okay, i feel at home.

Three, two, one go.

Got a long, uh, 10.

Oh no, it's our shark. You got a I jinxed the shark. Oh, we're gonna start over here, we're gonna start over.

Start over Cougar DNF.

Where's the shark?

Technical difficulties. Technical difficulties. Technical, maybe it was a bad pair of the water. We got it. We got it. We got it Another shark. All right new Sharpie, new countdown. All right Refresh that was a shake out. Now let me, let me test this one. Okay, all right. three, two, one go 10, nine, eight, seven, six.

You only got five. I got a sign.

Four, three, two, one time.

I know I did halfway through the signature. Let's take a look. All right.

Arlen only needed eight seconds for the Cougar.

That's a record. you have a chorus record, Chorus record.

That's a chorus record Yeah, chorus record on a good looking Cougar too. I mean check it out, I like it.

Arlen, i gotta ask you one more question because it just came to mind. Given that you are a 100 mile specialist, has Carl Meltzer's 100 mile win record ever crossed your mind, and has that ever been something that you might go for as your career develops?

I mean that's really cool Do you know what he's at?

I think he's at 40 something. It's like 44, 45 in that neighborhood.

Well, i mean, what are you at? I'm probably at like around 10 or something. You're young, though I'm young, i better be young.

Carl was young once too.

He was young once too. That's a good question. I mean it crossed my mind, but I didn't even know what it was at. So if it's at 40 something, i mean assume it less. I mean, if he doesn't keep stacking it up, maybe someday But I think, like maybe in the belt buckle collecting stage of my career Okay, if I were to like avoid competition, maybe that would be something that would be pretty cool. But I doubt I'll get up stack up a whole lot of wins at you know big events like this Cool.

Well, arlen, such a pleasure to have you on the show. We really appreciate your time. We know it's a busy media week, especially for someone like you, and it means a lot for you to stop by. So thank you so much And we're looking forward to following your race on Saturday. Yeah, thanks for having me.