We’ve all been heartbroken in love and on the trails. In order to protect ourselves from more heartbreak, we play it safe. We don’t embrace the sweet complexity of the …
Commentary
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I set out to define myself – who I am and who I aim to be. The company I now keep is a collective group of people all striving to …
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I hadn’t trained much that spring in preparation for the 2010 Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. I had spent more time sitting in a chair next to a hospice bed …
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Charlie Sabatini has been running the roads and trails in Rochester, New York for over 63 years. He is so in tune with what has gone on around him that …
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I have been programmed, as most of us, to always look at the next mountain, the next obstacle; look forward, set goals, and make it happen. However, I really want …
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I’m halfway into a 50k race. I have had the same racer on my shoulder for the last five kilometres. We feel a camaraderie as we jointly conquer the hilly …
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The Comrades Marathon has been an utterly life-changing event in my life for so many reasons – all of them extremely positive. They say that “life is what happens while …
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The San Juans hold a special place in my heart. It was the natural place for me to go for some healing after having miscarried what was to be our …
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Is it possible to run across the USA in less than 46 days? That is what I wanted to find out, so I joined Pete Kostelnick and his crew at …
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As Tropical John Medinger astutely observed, ultrarunning is a hard sport for everyone – back of the pack, middle of the pack and those at the front – and it …
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The past three weeks I have been riding the high of one of the biggest runs/races I’ve completed. This piece is about what happens after the recovery party is over …
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Like any runner alone on the trails, you make friends and talk about things runners talk about: shoes, poles, clothing, fuel, food and beer. Those bonds grow and materialize into …
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“You don’t have the grit for the grind.” Those words, uttered over five years ago, still resonate with me today. I decided to run anyway. The more I raced, the …
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Ultrarunners’ feet take a pounding like no others’. They are the workhorses that allow us to do what we do. But too often, we take them for granted until something …
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When the physical blow finally fell, and a new sort of running reality had set in, both Chris Jones and Jean Pommier did not know what was happening, or what …
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How we had come to be sharing the intimate moments of a collapsing transcontinental run attempt was quite a story in and of itself. A month earlier, when he began …
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while i was plugging along down the road, today, i was thinking about the time period you have entered. This time immediately before the big race. these are the days …
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In modern society, with ubiquitous technology making life easier, and media streaming all forms of drama and entertainment 24/7, the opportunity and inclination for us as individuals to do something …
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People get into the sport of ultrarunning for various reasons. Some to escape: the roads, the crowds, the noise and the stresses of everyday life. Others, to explore: nature, new …
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“How you are now, is how you will be.” I was at a weekly group meditation sit and the guest speaker said this during his talk. My first thought was …
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On September 10, John Vanderpot will attempt his fifth consecutive completion of the Los Pinos 50K. He currently has the most finishes by a runner for what some consider one …
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Toeing the line and completing an ultramarathon is a huge accomplishment. But racing an ultra is an entirely different proposition. Both are wonderful and life changing endeavors, but since this …
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Maybe you’ve seen the acronym DNF > DNS. Simply put, it means that it is better to attempt and fail than to not try at all. But let’s face it …
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Many deep seated feelings of fear can be stirred up when we go running, especially when we are running for more than a few hours. It’s no wonder so few …
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Fail or succeed. But for the love of all things ultra – STOP making excuses!
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The UltraRunning Race Series records the race results of every ultrarunner in North America and calculates points for each one based on all relevant factors. It adds up every ultrarunner’s …
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Doing ultras is a huge deal, and only driven people and those who dream big are drawn to it. Often, the people having the most fun with it are those …
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If you know me, you may know who my spirit animal is. Her name is Jenn Shelton.
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Some say that those who run ultramarathons are running from something: depression, demons, daily stress. Some counter that they are actually running toward something: the finish line, a personal record, …
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When I saw that Lance Armstrong was planning to run the WS100 training run in February and pace someone at Western States my mind started to spin. That’s so cool; …