Katelyn Benton

The first 10 days of the new year have proved to be nothing but awesome, and I hope that this indicates what the rest of the year will hold. I’m beginning to see glimmers of light within my music career, getting more shows, beginning to get paid more frequently, and writing new material that I think will actually stick.

Last week I played at Hotel Cafe with Nina Storey and the rest of the band. This is the third time I’ve played this show with Nina. I’ve really enjoyed doing this with her because the band is basically the same folks each time around and they are all people I genuinely enjoy playing with and hanging out with.

Singing for Nina at Hotel Cafe

Nina Storey at Hotel Cafe January 2010

I’ve started to notice the positive effects of training harder and higher mileage recently during my training runs and workouts. I’m planning some pretty fun races this year. This is what I have so far:

Feb: Twin Peaks 50 Miler

March: Malibu Creek 50k

April: America River 50 Miler

May: Miwok 100k

June: San Diego 100 Miler

August: Pikes Peak

October: Oil Creek 100??

Yesterday I ran in the Boney Mountain Half Xterra race and surprised myself with a 1st place age group finish. It was a really fun run and I had the benefit of previewing the course last weekend when I ran it with the Coyotes. There are some good climbs in that course which I really enjoyed. My downhill running has improved tremendously over the past few months as well. I used to be pretty tentative and slow in the downhills. Now, I’m sure if I fall I’ll go tumbling down the mountain, but I’m really enjoying the downhill running more and find I’m becoming  more natural at handing more technical sections of trails.

At the start of Boney Mountain (I'm far right)

Moeben Love (Bev Carpenter, Me, Erin Chavin)

Team Top to Top/Creative Citizen/Coyotes. All of us placed in our age group. Daniel Weissauer (left) and Dominic Grossman (right)

1st place Women 20-24

I’ve also started running in the New Balance Trail 100’s (WT100) and I LOVE them. Especially coming from a heavier brand like Salomon, the 100’s feel incredible and light, but still possess some essential features of a trail shoe as far as grip and protection goes.

Daniel Weissauer and I both breaking in our New Balance Trail 100's out at Boney Mountain

Yesterday was also the kickoff for my brother’s trail racing series, Forge Racing, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I’m so proud of him for putting this series together. It’s really great to see people come together and get the city of Baton Rouge spending more time outside and being active. Love it.

This week I head to Boston to visit some old haunts before flying to Denver for a few shows and the Parks and Recreation Showcase to try and book some shows through the summer and fall.  If I’m lucky I’ll get some good altitude training in and try not to feel left out while my buddies get ready for Rocky Raccoon! It’s okay, many more races to come…

I’m not really sure why it has taken me so long to give some sort of race report on Javelina Jundred, my first 100 mile race. Maybe the idea of reporting a 100 mile adventure seems a little much to take on in writing. You go through an incredible range of physical and psychological conditions during the course of a 100 mile run, especially if it takes you over 30 hours to complete. The thought of sitting down and doing a full recap is exhausting.

I also believe that I have many more hundred mile races in my future. This is not the epic event of my running career. It is merely a first glimpse into the world of 100 mile running. I have learned that I am tougher than I think and running brings me a peace that I have found no where else in my life.

My sister and I spoke during the days leading up to the Javelina Jundred. I told her that running makes me present. It pushes me so much into the present moment that I can manage to completely turn my mind off and just enjoy the silence of the trails, the smell of the woods, the company of another runner, appreciate the strength and power that is my body, and not be interrupted by the chaos that can be my mind. It is similar to the feeling I get when writing or performing music, only without the melancholy.

So as for a full race report on Javelina, I don’t think it is necessary. I will say it was one of the most fun 30 hours of my entire life. I learned that my will is stronger than my feet and my legs were built for distance. Running in the desert made me believe that a cactus can have an emotion, coca cola might be the greatest thing ever invented, and dragons really do exist. I got to witness the power of incredible friendship and crewing and see the largest moving Halloween party on the planet. What an adventure.

Three ultra-kates before the race (Katie DeSplinter, me, Kate Martini Freeman)

My number

Having ALL the fun

Me and my bro-in-law Fred Knapp rocking our Salomons.

Party in the desert!!

Still smiling!

Me and Coach Jimmy

Sun is setting...

Blister crew working the night shift

...and into the next morning

last 10 miles...

Finished at last

Sleep at last

Feet before...

Feet after

Thanksgiving weekend I went up to San Francisco with Brian Krogmann to watch/crew for the Quad Dipsea. On Thanksgiving morning Brian and I went out with friend Rick Gaston and some of his running friends to run a double Dipsea. One time through the trail is just over 7 miles and kicks off with somewhere around 650-700 stairs. Twice through was enough for me. Watching the quad 2 days later was incredible.

Me (in all black) on the Dipsea trail

5 weeks after my finish at Javelina I raced the Ridgecrest 50k on December 6^th. This was my first ever trail run and ultra marathon last year. Our weather was chilly with headwinds on the climbs reaching 20-30 MPH. In spite of all of this, I beat my time from last year by almost an hour, finishing in 5:14. I was hoping for a sub-5 hour time, but I am incredibly happy and proud with the way I finished that race. I felt strong and recovery time was none. This race has boosted my confidence in what I can take on and accomplish in my races of 2010.

I’d also like to take a moment here and say how much I love my Moeben sleeves after last week’s race. I can’t stand being overdressed for running, but without my sleeves I would have been absolutely freezing in that wind. My Wigwam sleeves don’t hold a candle to them. If you’re looking into running sleeves, check Moeben out. They’re stylish and warm and there’s certainly nothing wrong with supporting a small business.

with Brian Krogmann at Ridgecrest 50k, both rocking our Moeben sleeves

On the music front, I have had a string of excellent shows during this past stay in Los Angeles. I played to a full room at Genghis Cohen the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving. It was encouraging to see so many people come out to a 10:00 show on a Tuesday. This is the first L.A. show I’ve played where I got to take home door money. Things are coming along. I also played at The Joint this past Tuesday (Dec. 8^th) and also had a great turn out. Again, I got a share of the venue’s door money and sold some CD’s as well. I am so grateful for the support of my friends and followers in the Los Angeles area. I rarely play shows out here that encourage me in the least, but those two shows gave me quite a lift.

playing at Genghis Cohen

On Thursday (Dec. 10^th) I accompanied Nina Storey at Hotel Café’ where Sara Barielles sat in the audience as we opened for my new favorite band, The Rescues. What a night. Playing with Nina always trips me out a little bit because of how badly I wanted to be just like Jeremy Lawton (her former keyboard player) when I was a teenager.

me with Nina Storey (right) and Nicole Latorre (left)

Now I’m sitting in the Las Vegas Airport en route to Baton Rouge for the holidays. I hope the next couple weeks will serve as a little bit of a break for me to get some writing done and book some more winter/spring shows. I’ll also be deciding which ultra I’ll be doing the first 4-6 weeks of the New Year. Suggestions are certainly welcome.

A written update will follow soon. What an incredible experience.

This Saturday, October 31st, is my first 100 mile ultra-marathon. I’m feeling overall pretty good, though a little nervous. I’ll be running in the desert just outside of Phoenix.

The race starts at 6am on Saturday morning. If I have cell reception, I’ll be tweeting updates throughout the day. You can follow me here – http://twitter.com/KatelynBenton

Or you can track me at the race website. I’m number 534. http://www.javelinajundred.com/webcast/live_results.html

Wish me luck.

As of right now, the forecast for next Saturday in Phoenix is a high of 73 and a chance of showers. PERFECT.

* crosses fingers *

I am less than two weeks away from running my first 100 mile length ultra-marathon. I’m feeling good about the last 6 or 7 weeks of training and if I handle my taper right, I should be going into Javelina without injuries and eager to run.

I’m trying not to concentrate on the things that are worrying me about the race. I have a list of concerns, but all I can do is try and stay positive and take care/listen to my body.

I just got back from a 3 week stay in Los Angeles and am now in Colorado until I fly to Phoenix for the race next weekend. The back and forth leaves me a bit disoriented. I’m not sure who exactly I am or what I’m doing and this race seems to be the only thing in my life right now that I am feeling in control over. I’m not sure how I’m going to feel when this race is over. I hope I can find my North soon and start to feel a little more balanced.

Speaking of balance, I got this Power Balance bracelet this last weekend that makes me feel like I have super powers. It made me nauseous the first half hour I wore it, but I did notice an immediate improvement in my balance.

Ultra-runners lost for 72 hours without water

September 1, 2009, Nashville -  Singer/songwriter Katelyn Benton walked away from the Just Plain Folks Awards in Nashville last weekend with the Best Music Video award for her song “Impossible Love”.

The Just Plain Folks (JPF) organization was founded by Brian Austin Whitney and currently represents over 50,000 musicians from 163 countries, making the JPF Awards the largest award show in independent music.

Whitney felt the music made by the “other 98%” of the music world often ignored by the mainstream televised music awards shows deserved its own recognition. After all, “We’re all in this together” states the organization’s motto.

“I’m very honored that Impossible Love was chosen as Best Video. This seems to be a very fitting award for the nature of this project,” says Benton. “Just about all of the materials and talent that went into making this video were donated. We pulled this together on a budget of roughly $400 and a group of very talented and generous people. This is a success for everyone involved.”

Heading the video’s creative team was director Brandon Nicholas, who at only 24-years-old operates Aurora Features in Los Angeles, CA, which just finished shooting the feature film Desert Son.

“Impossible Love” is one of the five original songs featured on Benton’s latest EP, Once, which was released in Spring 2009. Once is available at www.digstation.com/katelynbenton. See the Impossible Love music video and get more information on Katelyn Benton including tour dates at www.KatelynBenton.com or www.myspace.com/katelynbenton.

Maybe not my most glamerous moments, but certianly a lot of fun.