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In the midst of a summer riddled with uncertainty, Jean-François (Jeff) Cauchon, one of Canada’s top ultrarunners, attempted to set a new world record. Jeff’s grounded resilience fueled his epic ambitions to break the current record for greatest elevation gain on foot in 24 hours.

Thirty years ago, at age 39, endurance athlete Marshall Ulrich completed his first 146-mile crossing from Badwater Basin (282 feet below sea level) to the summit of Mount Whitney (14,505 feet). At 6 a.m. on Monday, August 24, 69-year-old Marshall Ulrich began his journey across the desert to climb the highest mountain in the contiguous United States for his 30th crossing of Death Valley and his 27th summit of Mount Whitney.

In a pandemic world, live races are possible. On August 1, we held the 12th annual Dahlgren Heritage Rail Trail 50K as a live event, on an old converted railbed in King George, Virginia. We took COVID-19 seriously and produced a quality event centered around safety, respect for others and personal responsibility.

We all continue to listen, learn, unlearn and roll with the punches, and as this pandemic continues to evolve, so do we. But one thing is for sure: the sheer joy of that finish line will never change.

The Warriors UltraRun stands as one of the most unique road races in the country and allows runners to recreate the escape route from the iconic 1979 cult film “The Warriors” by Walter Hill, wherein a street gang is framed for a murder and must race through the dangerous streets of NYC in order to reach their home turf in Coney Island.

Like most of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic hit us hard – as people, as a company and as members of the racing industry. As the shelter-in-place orders continued, we realized that waiting this out wasn’t an option. The Bryce Ultras at the end of May was our first opportunity to see if there was a way to hold races during the pandemic while also keeping our runners and staff safe.

Was I nervous? Absolutely. I had one week to prepare for a high elevation mountain race. But despite that aforementioned absurdity, my excitement to pin on an actual race bib completely trumped my fears, and I dove in head first without looking back.

At the end of the day, whatever it takes to preserve our sanity and keep us moving is a good thing. And maybe, just maybe, when all this is over, our running community will have gained a few members for life from this surge in virtual races.

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.

The inaugural Sugar Badger 50/50 and Half Marathon was supposed to take place on May 30 on the Badger Trail in Wisconsin, but the universe had other plans. Not surprisingly, the race couldn’t proceed as an in-person event due to coronavirus restrictions, so Ten Junk Miles Racing converted it to a virtual version.

I have been the race director for all 26 years of the Mountain Mist Trail Run. I have seen the 10th, 20th and 25th anniversaries come and go, but none have been more emotional than this year’s 26th running.

I got a new 100K buckle to wear around town and had a warm Jeep to crawl into after a satisfying finish. This is why I ran around a traffic cone for as long as I could in a 24-hour race.

Twenty minutes before the race orientation meeting was to begin, a message was received from the state capital in Tallahassee that every special event being held in Florida State Parks was to be shut down and canceled, effective immediately.

If you’ve never thanked the race director of an event that touched you as a runner, send them a note, because right now we could really use your patience and support.

Melissa takes a look at 3 relatively new headlamps. The Silva Trail Speed 4XT, Knog Bilby, and BioLite 200

Like several runners in the trail running community, I decided that this was the perfect time to go after an FKT. I settled on the Shawnee State Forest Backpack Loop, a 38-mile trail loop in southern Ohio that has over 8,000 ft of vert – enough elevation that Shawnee State Forest is known as Ohio’s “Little Smokies.”

When I started this race in 1995, I had no idea how long I would direct it. I think 25 years is enough. In 2021, Jamie and Brenton Swyers will take over as race directors of Holiday Lake 50K.

On January 3, 2020, I ran my first ultramarathon at Across the Years in Arizona. I should mention that I was only 16 years old.

Despite the weather, there were 65 hardy runners entered into the USATF 50K championship race with many others in the open 50K race. Promptly at 8:30 a.m., the race started, as did an increase in the wind velocity. But ultrarunners are a strong and tenacious group, and nothing stood in their way.

Brooks is making a concentrated entry into the bra category in 2020 with Dare products being introduced this spring and more models coming in the fall. With the Strappy Bra, Brooks offers a visually appealing design that proves strappy bras can be sporty, too.

I’ve been wanting to run the Iron Horse 100K in Palataka, Florida, for a few years. Thankfully, a low-cost airline, a couch to crash on and reasonable race fee allowed it to finally happen this year.

The COROS APEX Pro is an upgrade from the APEX, with an even longer battery life and a more robust set of features, including a built-in pulse oximeter for monitoring oxygen saturation, and touch screen technology.

Some pretty amazing things happened at Peyton’s Wild and Wacky Ultra (5K and 10x5K) this year. There were some incredibly fast times, there were first-time 50k and 5k finishers, and there was my Mom, Phyllis Moore, finishing a 5k on her 81st birthday.

It turns out getting to the starting line is really the hardest part of an ultramarathon. This was supposed to be my Zion 100 race report, but COVID-19 has other plans.

The coronavirus is becoming a big factor in all our lives and apparently, our spring running season as well. School and track practices are canceled, most races, potentially the Olympics, professional sports and more are either canceled or at risk. But the world is not ending. I think that this time has a lot of potential depending on how we handle it.

I signed up for the Chattanooga 50-miler in May as soon as registration opened. The race is 800 miles from my home in Northern Illinois, and the thought of escaping from our frozen tundra in March was part of the allure. My wife and I looked at the calendar and thought that the race wouldn’t conflict with our younger son’s club wrestling schedule. Of course, we were wrong.

Held mid-February, the Tarawera Ultramarathon on New Zealand’s north island has always attracted a high level of international competition, and there are three clear reasons why top level racers travel this far early in the year.

I’d like to thank the unsung heroes of the trails I run on every day – those thoughtful folks who leave bags of dog poop on the trails. As an avid trail runner, I think it’s important to point out what each of your contributions has done to help improve my running game.

The first thing you might spot when you see Lisa DeVona, is her purple ponytail. It may lead you to believe that she has superpowers, and considering how she has climbed the ultrarunning ranks over the last few years, she just might.