Life is an ultramarathon

I've been thinking for a while about a system to broadcast the runners GPS positions live during a race. Nowadays, things are getting more and more simple for three main reasons: the integration of GPS in mobile phones or the easy connection via BlueTooth, the possibility to program mobile/satellite phones, and the simplicity to broadcast positions over the internet via tools such as GoogleEarth. There is no need for a PDA to link the GPS receiver and the mobile phone anymore.
On races such as the UTMB (r), mobile phones will be out of coverage. Therefore satellite phones seem to be the key. Most of them include a GPS as well (*), and embed a decent operating system. I was thinking to buy a cheap second hand satellite phone for that purpose, but they don't seem so cheap Even more expensive on ebay than through regular retailers... The other issue is to write the application that will get the GPS position every 15 minutes and send it though the satellite link via SMS or HTTP, the latter being easier if available. In order to use all the specific functionalities of the phone, a SDK is probably necessary. I've not found any for Thuraya phones for example.

Can anyone help me with one of these two points: where to find a cheap satellite phone and how to develop on it ?

Ultra tracking.

(*) this is not as obvious as it may seem, as satellite phones and GPS devices use different kinds of satellites and technologies.

Ultrafondus, the French ultrarunners association, running a monthly paper and a website, started a survey on ultrarunners mental preparation. After replying to this survey, I compiled and translated some of the questions.

• What is mental preparation?
  Mostly 3 things: The capacity of prior projection into the race, the relaxation just before the race and the lucidity during.
• What is the proportion of mental preparation in a performance objective?
  It's quite hard to estimate, because mental preparation can be done at any time, in the office, in the tube, before sleeping... I would say roughly about 50%. I guess this proportion increases when the objective comes close.
• Do you do a specific mental training?
  No, training comes by itself. It's often an advantage, but sometimes a problem as it may not happen (see question on improvement).
• What kind of training do you do precisely?
  Mostly imaginary conditioning. As an easy start, I simply imagine the route using maps and elevation profiles, as well as pictures and videos. Then I add the hardest possible conditions. For the UTMB for example, I imagined the snow, wind, hail, cold, mud, as well personal conditions such as cramps and hypoglycemia. Reports and stories about the 2003 edition help ... I try to visualise that as precisely as possible, up to a point I can actually feel the same as during the race. I try to see how I could deal with it. Actually it's fairly tiring. It gives the impression that these conditions are known and helps to make them less alarming.
  I also try to convince myself of a couple of strategical points beforehand, for example not to suddenly withdraw, but at least try to walk for a few hours and decide afterwards.
• What could help you to develop mental skills?
  Maybe a team mental training could help, just as for the physical bit.
• What techniques do you mostly use during the race?
  When it's not going so well, think about something else, look at the landscape, try to cheer up with simple things such as a glass of water. Try to listen to your body in a positive way to make the pain(s) less ... painful.
  When it's going well, focus on the stride while trying to keep optimistic. Or look at the landscape anyway
• How did you get your mental skills?
  I didn't really mean it. Hiking in harsh conditions, fear of the UTMB, internet forums...
• What mental skill would you need while racing?
  The lucidity in hard times.
• What is your best mental skill?
  The race previsualisation.
• What mental skill do you need to improve the most?
  It seems that my mental preparation is mostly linked to a sort of fear of the race. The mental preparation then comes by itself, as it helps to demystify the objective and I feel better afterwards. So no fear means no preparation... And then I'm in trouble when I don't take an ultra seriously enough. For example, once a race has been run and then known (eg. UTMB 2005), it will look a priori easy the next year. Follows a natural laziness. I should then force myself to work on mental preparation depending on the objective and not on the fear of this objective.
• What is the advantage of a mentally performant runner compared to others?
  In ultramarathons, there are often harder moments, not to say always. The numerous overtaking runners then make your mental drop quite badly. The tiredness helping, it's quite easy to withdraw at the next water station. A mentally performant runner will ignore the DNF sirens and will simply slow down a bit until it gets better. Probably less stress as well, and therefore a better sleep before the race.

Ultra survey.

The UTMB organisation just released a list of qualifying races to enter the UTMB. Each race gives you 1 or 2 points. You'll need to get 2 points in the last 2 years to be able to enter the UTMB. These are mostly European races, including for example the GUCR (2 points), the Fellsman (2 points) and the Thames Meander (1 point) in the UK, but missing the West Highland Way race, which is probably the most similar one ! Note that the organisers will consider adding qualifying races on request. Apparently, the American 100miles races also give 2 points.
Not much change to the previous rules (1 trail over 80km or 2 over 50km), rather a clarification of the process.

Ultra formalisation.

Quick news. I've been feeling a bit of chest pressure lately, particularly after the 3 Forts Martathon, and decided to see a doctor. I then did various tests including an ECG, blood test and chest x-rays. Apparently everything seems normal, and the doctor reckons that given the amount of exercice I'm doing, I'm probably just over-conscious about my health. In other words, an hypochondriac ...

Ultra sort of not so well defined medical results...