UltraRunning July/August 2020
- Dewayne Satterfield: The Rare Heart of The South
- Training Without A Race
- The Future of Trail Running
- Racing Through A Quarantine
- Maintaining Fitness During Detraining
- Following in The Footsteps of Latimer
At last, I found a race held in the shadow of the COVID-19 lockdown, and there was no series of ominous email warnings followed by a reluctant cancellation notice. The Loco Challenge race series held in parts of the Lassen National Forest on June 6 in north central California.
It had been three days post-Quarantine Backyard Ultra when Mike Wardian and I got on the phone. I am half expecting to hear him talk about all the sleep he has gotten, but then again, it’s Wardian. He is actually walking around his neighborhood, which does not surprise me.
For a company that innovates as frequently as HOKA, it’s a testament to the success of the original Torrent shoe that they left it untouched for two full years. The Torrent was often described as “The HOKA shoe for people who don’t like HOKAs.”
With virtually all races canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we “organized” a FatAss 50K for runners to celebrate on the day that Western States would have been run. Completely tongue-in-cheek, we called it the “Not Exactly Western States FatAss 50K,” (or NEWS 50K) run entirely on the Arizona Trail just north of Flagstaff, Arizona.
We caught up with Kevin Youngblood last week in the midst of what he considers to be the most pivotal moment of his life. “I’m in a truck on the Ice Age Trail at 2:30 a.m. answering questions to be featured in UltraRunning Magazine,” just as he was one day away from finishing a three-plus-week trip following Coree Woltering as he set a new FKT on the trail in 21 days, 13 hours and 35 minutes.
My path to ultrarunning has taught me an important lesson—we’re all stronger and more capable than we often realize. Things can seem overwhelming right now, but as every ultrarunner has heard before, “Just put one foot in front of the other.”
The UltrAspire Synaptic 2.0 and Speedgoat 3.0 Waist Belts impressed us with their comfort and efficiency. They are nearly identical in design with the only difference being fluid capacity – the Synaptic 2.0 holds a single 550mL bottle while the Speedgoat 3.0 carries two.
I ran Land Between the Lakes in Grand Rivers, Kentucky, for the first time back in 2014—it was my first trail race ever. I keep going back because LBL is more than a trail. I go back to be among friends and family who continue to believe in me, support me and encourage me.
In lieu of racing Western States this year due to its cancellation, I’ve renewed my general commitments and made my own backyard running goals. If I follow through, I think the payoffs will be much greater than finishing any race. I hope the following list inspires you to make your own set of goals.
With the recent tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, it is clear that systemic racism continues to exist in our society. We condemn these acts of brutal violence, and believe that racism, bigotry and discrimination in our country is a major problem and needs to be eradicated.