Manitou’s Revenge might the hardest 50 (technically it is 54) mile race in the United States. In 50 miles runners climb over 15,000 feet of hand over foot, rocky, root …
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Because this race is out-and-back and because the return has a net elevation loss I expected most runners would run close to even splits but a comparison of the halfway …
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Buckle fever, or chronic ego driven exhaustion (CEDE), has been known to cause premature DNF and extreme remorse. This case study is taken from the 2015 Western States Endurance Run.
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The noun “verity” is described by Webster as “the quality or state of being true or real.” A recent letter to Ultrarunning (Jan/Feb ’86) identified handicapping ultras as an idea …
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In 2005, just one week before her 61st birthday, Gunhild Swanson set the 60-and-older female record for Western States with a time of 25:40. Without a doubt, her husband Jack …
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When you meet Marin County’s Mark Richtman, it’s hard to believe that he’s 60 years old. Despite his longish graying hair, his stride is fluid and he remains a fierce …
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Why is my first ultra story any different from the next newbie’s story? It was a double newbie scenario; I sweated through the inaugural race, which skirted through jungle hill …
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What do Michael Wardian, Sage Canaday, Ellie Greenwood, Yassine Diboun, Aliza Lapierre and Adam Chase have in common? Yes, they’re all elite ultra marathon runners who have raced consistently at …
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Like it’s been since its inaugural run in 2011, the Yakima Skyline Rim 50k is a testament to toughness. It’s hot. It’s dry. It’s rocky. It can be windy. It’s …
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The nine volcanic islands that make up the archipelago of the Azores have sprung up from the ocean floor relatively recently. Altogether devoid of human habitation until the adventurous seafarers …
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The MMT course is not an easy one, with over 16,000 feet of ascension over 103.7 miles, and the weather conditions (approaching 90 F and humid on race day, followed …
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Aid stations are a critical component of ultras. They serve as not only the lifeline for many runners, but are also a telling reflection of a caring community. They are …
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“Since when is running 40 miles in under 6 hours the mark of a failure?” my wife asked me — for about the fifth time. I didn’t respond. I was …
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Long-time RD and Texas ultrarunning insititution Joe Prusaitis recently announced the sale of his well-known and highly regarded ultra races, including the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler and the Bandera 100k …
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Colorado is an oasis of spectacular natural beauty in the middle of thousands of miles of high desert to the west and flat plains to the east. Right at the …
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I’m equally thankful, however, for races in our sport that are still off the grid. For races, that is, like the Peak Ultra, where the key take-away from the RD’s …
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by Chris McWatters The weeks leading up to the race brought a lot of rain and intermittent heat. After everyone watched on, trying to guess the weather forecast for the …
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by Alyssa Godesky The 11th annual Bel Monte Endurance Races took place during a perfect spring day in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This came as a much needed escape after a …
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Last year, my friend Todd Jennings and I organized a race to celebrate the Shawangunk Ridge Trail (SRT), a magical footpath that traverses the entire 74-mile length of the Shawangunk …
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By Katrin Silva I enjoy running with music. I don’t do it all the time, and never while racing. But on days when weather conditions keep me off the trails, …
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I prefer to write about the races where everything goes wrong instead of right. I don’t know why. Through extensive psychoanalysis I could probably figure it out, but my self-prescribed …
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This was my third time running the Hilo to Volcano 50K, as I had also participated in the 2004 and 2005 events. My flight from Portland, OR, arrived late Friday, …
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Some runners may be sensitive enough to their body’s rhythms and needs that they will instinctively know when it’s time for a walk. They are fortunate, and I don’t want …
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by Shir Regev, Race Director The most beautiful thing about ultra-running is the emphasis placed on effort versus times. This spirit is what makes an ultra-marathon one of the most …
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Efficiency is a very good way of gauging a runner’s aerobic fitness. The problem is that measuring efficiency in a lab is not only inconvenient, it’s also expensive. Fortunately, there’s …
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There I was. Departing the final Massanutten 100 Mile Endurance Race aid station. Most military guys start stories with “there I was” in case you didn’t know. One steep climb, …
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Bill Tharion, a Research Psychologist with the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, was explaining to me some research that he was conducting on the psychological factors that limit …
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Sometimes, the race is the least important part of a trip when traveling for an ultramarathon. Especially when it doesn’t happen.
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The International Trail Running Association (ITRA) held its first-ever General Assembly on March 22 2015 in Paris. ITRA aims to be the international spokesperson for the sport of trail-running and …
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The sun is barely up as fifty-odd runners gather for the Fort Ordnance 100K in Monterey, CA. The gun fires and they patter off, mentally setting their sights on the …