Anna Frost says she didn’t “have a lot of race” in her at the 2014 The Rut 50k, but she had enough to take third and, as a result, tie for second in the Ultra Skymarathon Series. In the following interview, Anna talks about how her race played out and what she’s thinking about going into her first 100 miler in two weeks.
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Anna Frost Post-2014 The Rut 50k Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Bryon Powell of iRunFar here with Anna Frost after her third-place finish at the 2014 The Rut 50k. Nice work, Anna.
Anna Frost: Thank you.
iRunFar: You had some great racing this season and another strong performance here. You were running with Kasie [Enman] early. When did she pull away?
Frost: She pulled away just after the first aid station—seven or eight miles. I wasn’t really feeling much… I was feeling fine. I just wasn’t feeling much ‘race’ in me today. She was obviously running much faster than me on the flat. I just said to her that she should just get going at a natural speed. Otherwise it’s really hard to run at not a natural speed in a race. Yeah, but we had a really good gossip for awhile.
iRunFar: Did you? You had a fun first hour and change?
Frost: Yeah! Yeah, it was good. Yeah, it’s really nice to share time with people when you’re in a race.
iRunFar: And there were some flatter sections early on in the race.
Frost: In the first part for sure, yeah.
iRunFar: Then you hit the Lone Peak and all those ridges.
Frost: Yeah, the first ridge was really fun. It was good to finally get off the running which I wasn’t feeling very strong on and to start powerhiking back up the hill. Then coming back down off of that I was pretty slow as usual. It’s a weakness for me on the downhills. Then it’s a really nice section in the part between the first peak and the Lone Peak because you have a little out-and-back, so you can see how everyone is going and cheer everyone on. There were a lot of supporters in there. So that was really fun. For me, I really enjoyed the uphill today on Lone Peak. That was really great.
iRunFar: Great views.
Frost: Yeah, it was really nice views. Last time I was up there it was snowing and cold and I couldn’t see anything. Today it was really hot and lovely.
iRunFar: It was spectacular.
Frost: It was beautiful.
iRunFar: You’re probably… once you pick your line you can look around a little bit.
Frost: The marking was so awesome. The whole organization of the race was just spot on. They did everything really, really well—very, very classy. I couldn’t fault anything from the race. It was wonderful.
iRunFar: You made some good time, even though you maybe weren’t feeling the flats early, late in the race you were moving pretty well.
iRunFar: As soon as I got to the hills where I could stomp up them, I was happy. Then you just feel better when you’re doing something that you’ve been doing for awhile. Once I got off the mountain, because it took me forever to get off the mountain, then it was five miles flatter sort of running. I felt good then. I felt like I’d actually warmed up. I found it really, really cold today. Everyone else I don’t think were that bad.
iRunFar: It was below freezing for quite awhile.
Frost: Yeah, I think I probably didn’t actually warm up until I got to Lone Peak which is at 20 miles into the race. The last five miles I was finally like, Okay, I’m warm. I can run now. Yeah, it was an interesting day. I loved everything about it, but I just had no race in me.
iRunFar: You ended up finishing third and tied precisely with Kasie [Enman] for second in the series. Joining one of your teammates on the podium tonight?
Frost: Yeah, very, very cool.
iRunFar: Where do you go from here in terms of racing?
Frost: Well, for the next week we’re going to go into Yellowstone and play there with the team and just have some really nice running. I’ll probably race San Fran (TNF EC 50) at the end of the year. We’ll see. Maybe, maybe not. It’s a long season when you start in February in New Zealand and keep going all the way through to December. It’s a long season, so we’ll see. I’d like to spend some time down in the Grand Canyon and potentially do a few FKTs there. I’d also like to get in a 100 miler before the end of the year. That’s hopefully going to happen soon.
iRunFar: Give a little shot to get into Hardrock, maybe?
Frost: Yes, that would be the ultimate goal.
iRunFar: How do you feel about something like that in terms of…?
Frost: The fun thing about it is it’s exciting but it’s scary because you don’t know anything about it. It’s intriguing because you’ve never been there before. So you don’t know how sore it’s going to be or when it’s going to be sore or what’s going to be sore. For me that’s really exciting. It’s a nice, new challenge to have and to go against as well.
iRunFar: Sort of uncharted territory for you.
Frost: Yeah, exactly. It will be fun.
iRunFar: You can always see from one day to the next if you have a good day for racing or not, but it’s familiar.
Frost: Yeah, exactly, but this is totally different. It’s going to be really fun to do, and it’s just another step to trying something new and stepping out of your own comfort zone.
iRunFar: It’s a step in the direction of Nolan’s 14 which is something you’ve talked a lot about in the past and having that… even if Nolan’s isn’t quite that… I don’t know if it’s maybe a little under 100 miles, but…
Frost: It depends if you go the long way or the short way or if you get lost or not.
iRunFar: Exactly, but in terms of time…
Frost: It’s about 100 miles.
iRunFar: The time will be about double what a 100 miler would be.
Frost: It’s about double. Yeah, but you’re not running very much at all in Nolan’s.
iRunFar: This is a step mentally in that direction.
Frost: Yeah, for sure. I’ve spent a lot of time scouting the route now this year. I’m feeling pretty confident about having a go at it next year. But that sort of thing, everything has to be in your… playing your way—the weather, your food, your crew, everything. I could take three or four years of having a go at it to get it done. That’s what I’m looking forward to.
iRunFar: On the 100-mile side, physically and mentally, that’s all new territory, but do you feel having been around and attending a lot of 100 milers in support of your friends and teammates that you’re sort of comfortable with the preparation in terms of training and nutrition and that sort of thing?
Frost: Yeah, I mean, I’ve learned a lot from watching them. I’ve paced a lot of them, so I’ve seen how it looks from the outside. So, yeah, they all give me a lot of advice which is amazing. I’ve got great friends that are always that way. You never know how much it’s going to hurt until you’re there. If you want to vomit you just vomit and start again. All this stuff it’s like, Wow, I never thought of that, but I learn. I think at the point that you’re actually at mile 90 or 99 then I think you’re like, Wow, this was a bit of a journey.
iRunFar: And when you’re at mile 70 or 80 you’re thinking, This is a really hard journey.
Frost: Yeah, what am I doing here?
iRunFar: Well, enjoy that journey and let’s go to some mountains—up to Yellowstone!
Frost: Yeah, cool!
