Date: Sat, 28 Jan 95 16:49:05 MST
From: bpw@ctxsys.lanl.gov (Blake P. Wood)
To: ultra@DARTCMS1.DARTMOUTH.EDU
Subject: Trail Runner's Test

A while ago (alright, it was a long time ago), someone on this
listserver asked the difference between a trail runner and a road
runner.  Here is an easy to administer self-test to help you answer this
question for yourself.  Simply add the points indicated in parens for
each ``yes" answer, and score yourself at the end.  I'm afraid my own
biases as a reformed road racer show through, however I do not intend to
belittle road racers.  I, myself, still occasionally race a 5k on the
roads, just to prove to myself that I still have what it takes.
Additions to the questionaire are welcome.  That said, you may now turn
over your exams and begin.


Blake P. Wood
Physics Div., Plasma Physics Group P-24, MS-E526,
Los Alamos Nat'l Lab, Los Alamos NM 87545
(505) 665-6524  Fax: (505) 665-3552  bwood@lanl.gov
http://harry.lanl.gov/bpw/bpwplan.html

1. Which would you rather run: (a) the Boston Marathon in under 3
hours (0), (b) the Pike's Peak Marathon in under 5 hours (+1), the
Hardrock 100, who cares about the time? (+2)

2. Do you regularly return from runs bleeding? (+1)

3. Do you regularly encounter animals which could maim or kill you
(i.e., elk, bear, cougar, or rattlesnake)?  (dogs don't count.  Cows
count, but only if you've actually been threatened by one.) (+1)

4. Are all your running socks brown? (+1)

5. Have you ever gotten dirt in your mouth or up your nose from a
fall? (+1)

6. Have you ever taken a detour in a race to top a peak or ``see
what's over the next ridge"? (+1)

7. Do you time your workouts? (-1)  Do you record the times? (-1)

8. Which do you fear more on runs, getting shot by hunters (+1),
or getting shot up by thugs (-1)?

9. Do you keep a written PR list? (-1)  Is it publicly accessible
(i.e., pinned to the wall of your office, or posted on a WWW home
page)? (-1)

10. Have you ever missed a meeting at work because that loop was ``a
little longer than you thought"? (+1)

11. Have you ever had to pull cactus thorns out of your shoe, or
a yucca spine out of your shin? (+1)

12. On most of your runs, do you often have to decide whether to cross
against the red light? (-1)

13. How long does it take a fresh pair of shoes to lose that ``new"
look: two weeks (-1), one week (0), three days (+1), one day (+2)?

14. Have you ever torn your shirt, shorts, or flesh on a barbed wire
fence? (+1)

15. Do you regularly carry a street map on runs? (+1) A topo map? (+2)

16. Do you regularly wear gaiters or dump large amounts of dirt from
your shoes? (+1)

17. Have you ever gotten lost enough on a run that someone had to
come looking for you? (+1)

18. Are there times you can't go on your favorite run because of mud
or high water? (+1)

19. Can you pee anywhere you want on runs? (+1)

Score:

  <7: A true road runner - may your PRs forever quicken.
7-12: A trail runner in spirit.  Now get the hell out of the city and
      move to where there ARE some trails!
 >12: A hardcore trail runner - I can almost see your bloody knees
      from here!