A 90-minute drive from Los Angeles, Leona Divide is run mostly on the scenic Pacific Crest Trail among undulating green mountains and views of distant Lake Hughes.
In the modern world, decisions on what to eat and drink and when, can be as confusing as they are convenient.
Sometimes it takes a great loss to reach an all-time high.
This is the last text from the Sahara, my friends, after three days of cruel intensity. Magdalena Boulet won the race easy. She still looks amazing. Most of us survived it, struggling.
The sandstorm happened last night at midnight and was awful. But it also gave birth to the best day we’ve had so far. The Sahara… go figure.
Gaël Couturier, five-time Marathon Des Sables finisher, reports while running the 2018 Marathon Des Sables in the Sahara desert in Morocco.
By Laurie Staton Snowflakes swirled and wind whipped around us at the Friday noon start of the 2018 Antelope Island…
Was it really possible in the modern world to use the feet more than fossil fuels to get around? It sounded like a life adventure worthy of an attempt and, as a longtime ultra runner, Phil Kiddoo had always thought it somewhat ridiculous how many miles he drove simply to go for runs.
Runners, beware, you are about to enter the twilight zone. This is the dimension that exposes long-held beliefs that cause of chronic burn-out. It is a journey into a wondrous land that defies dogma and disposes of the monotonous. A place where mindless, boring exercise goes to die.
Some people can run ultramarathons for years, even decades, and never get a serious injury. Others are very injury-prone, forced into taking extended breaks often. Surely, some runner’s bodies are better suited to the demands of running far than others, but there’s got to be more to it.
After falling in love with a man who shirks labels and simply states there is a darkness that at moments is all consuming, I have learned more profoundly than through all my years working in mental health the heartbreaking meaning behind this statement.
The sky was dark and the ground was dry when we arrived at the shore of Lake Superior for the ninth annual Wild Duluth 100K on October 21, 2017. There were 74 of us with our crews, gathered at Bayfront Park, only half of whom would finish.
“When you backpack the JMT you explore the outer world; when you FKT the JMT you explore your inner world.” Going as fast as I could on the JMT, as it turns out, I explored both, and in nearly overwhelming quantities.
This year’s race was small and intimate. Due to a variety of reasons (not the least being flu or car problems) 12 runners took the start at the Ghost Town 50K, held outside of Hillsboro, New Mexico.
Feeling a lack of motivation? Feeling uninspired? Listen to your heart. It is the wellspring of emotional engagement, and it will tell you what to do.
The stray dog joined David and Amy on the sixth day into their journey and was just the diversion they needed to make the miles a bit less tedious and painful.
In the heart of winter, the Arrowhead 135, from International Falls to Tower, Minnesota offers many choices to participants: bike, ski, or foot division; supported or unsupported.
Hellgate 100K is actually 66.6 miles starting at 12:01 a.m. on the second Saturday in December at the northern terminus of the Glenwood Horse Trail at the Big Hellgate Parking lot next to Big Hellgate Creek in Central Virginia.
The urban dictionary defines “more cowbell” as ‘an extra quality that will make something or someone better.’ My raceday cowbell was patience, and I needed a lot more of it, especially to see those changes through, even when they appeared to be ineffective midrace. We all have a cowbell we need more of in order to progress in running, and in life. What is yours?
So how was it for me as a newbie to support running? I really enjoyed it and was fully wrapped up in helping Lorrel achieve her aims. Would I do it again? Absolutely!
I have known Krissy, Hal, and numerous others through the sport, for many years, but the totality of our interactions would likely barely rate ‘acquaintance’ status in most other walks of life. Yet somehow whenever the trails of our lives do intersect, that limited time spent at the junction yields a sum of experience much greater than the timepieces would seem capable of producing.
The Lakeland 50, held in the Lake District of Cumbria, England, is a tough race. The first seven miles were undulating, but nothing too challenging. Then mile eight happened.
While most people were bundled up in their cozy beds on this cold and windy Saturday morning, a few intrepid men and women laced up their running shoes to participate in the 40th annual Avalon 50K/50M Benefit Run on Catalina Island, California.
The fifth annual Snowdrop Foundation ULTRA 55-Hour Race and Relay was one for the record books. Featuring a new course and a larger and deeper field, we knew big things could happen, and they did.
The line of ultrarunners that have come forward over the years to speak openly about their battles with depression is long and illustrious; and that darkness is often confusing when held against the light of their accomplishments and the boundless energy and enthusiasm permeating this sport. And it is impossible to ignore the implications; it seems no kind or amount of success or communal recognition affords illimitable immunity.
What better way for two runners to celebrate New Year’s Eve than by throwing a 6-Hour Ultra celebration with 30 of their best and brand-new running friends?
The last of five articles, each about a different national park the author visited during the summer of 2017.
We’re all essentially on David Byrne’s road to nowhere, often wondering, ‘How did I get here?’ A choose your own adventure novel where we’re constantly being forced to decide which page to turn to before continuing a story of which we desperately want to sneak a final paragraph peek.
At age 60, this distance running veteran and former monk has lived a rare and impressive journey, holds many Canadian national records, and has logged over 42,000 ultramarathon racing miles in his career.
