In 2015 and 2016 I failed at my attempts to complete the Eastern States 100. Disappointed and in the throes of existential angst, I went to the finish line both times to watch people finish. What do these people have that I don’t?
The race starts with a bit of single track, and as much as I try to begin at the back, there are others who come in behind me and then bumble about in the rocks and high grass, passing me where there’s no room to do so. Race director Chris McWatters is standing at his post to send us down a mile out-n-back and this is a wide enough jeep road that finally allows all the poor trap-ees behind me to escape and sprint past.
“Take one step,” was the mantra that got me through the 35 hours and 40 minutes of my first 100-mile race.
Do I trust myself to do the training, to put in the hours required? To show up for myself, even if that means pulling the plug when my ego really doesn’t want to? Do I trust myself to not listen to the brain when it says “Stop!” when it is only pain, and not actually debilitating? Do I trust myself to know the difference?
Summer in Kansas can get brutally hot and humid so that is why the Lawrence Trail Hawks came up with the Night Hawk. It’s a chance to run a trail ultra at night when summertime temps can be a bit cooler.
Many folks think that Promise Land is the best 50k in the East. Runners camp for free Friday night at the start/finish. We provide 100 pizzas for the runners and they bring all the desserts. After the pre-race briefing, we have a big bonfire and make s’mores. There is great fellowship that goes on before and after the race.
It was almost 143 hours into a six-day race when I finished my fifth consecutive eight-minute mile. I felt invincible. With a little more than an hour left, I wondered how long I could hold this break-neck pace.
Think about your favorite trails. Do you know who owns the land they wind through? Most likely, especially in the West, you own it – along with me, the editors of this magazine, your cousin and every other American.
The 14th Annual Virginia 24 Hour Run for Cancer proved that determined people with strong willpower can overcome all obstacles.
Deutschlandlauf (translation: Germany Run) travels the length of Germany from north to south in a giant, S-shaped route, starting at sea level on the German island of Sylt at the Danish border, and ending at the highest point in Germany on the Austrian border—820 miles over 19 days.
Last year’s Angeles Crest 100 was an experience I will never forget. I went out too fast early and wasted precious time at aid stations. This year I made some adjustments…
Sandra Villines, still smokin’ from her top female finish at the 2017 Badwater Ultramarathon, will leave San Francisco City Hall on August 28, headed for New York chasing the transcon speed record.
Coming off a year of successful ultramarathons, I was pretty jacked. My plan was to complete more of my “bucket list” races for the summer. Could I complete three more ultras this year? Four more? It was a big stretch, but possible. If I was smart, that is…
Whether you’re an ultrarunner, a musician, or in my case, both – you’re never ready for The Call when you get The Call.
Hotter than Hell, Dusk to Dawn is a night trail run that pits runners against the oppressive heat and humidity of a South Louisiana summer. The race starts at dusk on the middle weekend of July and ends ten hours later at dawn.
My five-foot-one and barely-north-of-100-pound frame was patiently waiting in the shadow of a literal castle to embark on my first 100-mile adventure. Thoughts of “What will happen?” and “Can I even do it?” swirled through my mind.
On a devilishly hot July day, 56 runners from five states met to run the 5th edition of the Harrisburg Area Road Runners Club’s Conococheague 50K Trail Run. The event is held on rock-covered single track and forest service roads in the wilds of western Perry County, Pennsylvania, in the Tuscarora State Forest.
There are many things about ultrarunning that are hard to describe, and even harder to understand. The Spartathlon, a 153-mile race from Athens to Sparta, is one of them.
Why am I out there six days a week, usually before 4 a.m., making myself uncomfortable? Why do I and millions of other people willingly subject ourselves to it?
This is the story of how our running club developed a comprehensive trail work program that we call TrailFit. Each year we clear brush on 25 miles of trail, remove over 150 downed trees, and contribute more than 1,500 volunteer hours on trails in the San Diego mountains while overseeing maintenance on 150+ miles of trails.
You’re not supposed to look good after you run a hundred miles. Didn’t matter. It was still the worst race finish photo I had ever taken, yet it was the most important one. It was the singular moment when all the training, the doubts, the worries, the planning, was about to give way to relief, triumph and pure joy.
For those not inclined to venture into a six-hour, mid-July run in suburban St. Louis, the race’s name is a sufficient deterrent to participation. However, devout masochists take the tone behind the name as a dare.
The Trail Verbier St. Bernard is a series of trail races in the mountains surrounding Verbier, Switzerland. The X-Alpine race at 110 kilometers is the longest race with the Grand Traversée being the next longest in the series at about 65k and just under 14,000 net gain.
When I signed up for the Eagle Up Ultra in Canal Fulton, Ohio, it was for the sole purpose of earning a belt buckle. The course was newbie friendly, a five mile loop on a flat tow path and had nice swag like a headlamp.
I stood at the finish line of my first half marathon, confused. I was surrounded by people who had somehow found a singular, defining experience that morning. Was this why people run? What had I done wrong that prevented me from reveling in a sense of accomplishment?
Among the many alternative cross training and recovery methods out there, I’ve found the one true, revitalizing cure-all: the steam room.
Mild temperatures and a gentle breeze in Central Pennsylvania’s Moshannon State Forest ushered in the daylight at Mid-State Regional Airport for the fifth annual Allegheny Front Trail Run.
I first ran the Peterson Ridge Rumble 40-Mile two years ago – my first ultra. This year the race was a 65th birthday present to myself.
When I first found out I was pregnant, I googled “running while pregnant” and was disappointed in the lack of information out there. There was information about Olympic athletes and information for recreational runners, but not much for someone who fell in between these two categories.
ed note: The following was issued by ITRA in response to a press release issued by Hardrock and 8 other…