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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The unseasonable heat was gone in mid-January and subsequently, over 50 runners toed the line for the sixth annual Hellcat 50K race at the Military Museum of North Florida in Green Cove Springs.

In a world of conveniences, why take on hard challenges? Perhaps because in the pain, misery and torture that we face in these abbreviated and self-imposed adventures, we grow empathetic and remember that we are all in it together, from the first person to the last person crossing the finish line.

In November 2019, the Lawrence Trail Hawks dedicated Sanders Saunter, their annual charity event, to 22BuddyCheck, a veteran suicide awareness organization, in honor of Colonel Christopher J. Wilson, USAR retired, who collapsed from a heart attack 2.6 miles from the 2018 Hawk Marathon finish line.