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 composed of volunteers giving hours and most importantly driving energy to runners intent on achieving what to many may seem ludicrous.

Sure, runners can get snarky in the heat of the moment—at race officials or at their own crew and pacers when things don’t go their way. But this has more to do with the stress of the event, and having their needs (however illogical or self-entitled they may be) properly met.

Time… wouldn’t we all love to have more of it? This can be particularly true when we have a full-time…

One of the simplest improvements a runner can make to his or her training is to approach every run with a simple question: “What am I trying to achieve today?” It sounds obvious, but it’s all too easy to get caught up aiming for weekly mileage targets for no better reason than because they sound impressive.

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 another way of measuring efficiency that doesn’t require a lab and can be done with common, everyday training technology.

Do you find your running mojo runs low sometimes? That every run feels the same and you’re pounding familiar paths…

If you ask most ultra runners about their training, many will acknowledge working with a coach at one point in time. Why? Well, the obvious reason is to have someone else help prepare you for a given distance or race.

What’s the most overworked piece in your ultra kit? In mine, it’s the elevation profile – marked up with notes, folded in a baggie, and stuffed it in a pocket. During long ultras, I pull it out too often and see how far and how much climbing till the next aid station. By the finish, it looks like an ancient scroll, as beat up as my toes.

I’ve been fortunate to have remained healthy, motivated and passionate about long-distance running over the years. I believe some of this longevity is due to training principles and guidelines derived from years of success and failure.

The word inspiration has almost become cliché these days. It’s so overused the true meaning has been diluted and cheapened. Yet there’s no denying that the words others say to us can have the power to, well, inspire.

There’s truly gold in them thar hills and it ain’t the shiny kind. It’s the super-efficient, multi-faceted, demanding workout kind that hills deliver. Lifting yourself up the slopes is strength training. Cycling through the hard climbs and descents is like interval training. Throw in some uphill sprints and you replicate speed and fartlek training as well. The trip up the hill puts a tremendous load on your hamstrings and calves. The trip down will strengthen your quads. Muscles, tendons and ligaments in the lower body are all strengthened in concert with one another.

by Cheryl Yanek Years ago, I was at a fatass 50k when ultra newbie said, “I’m not telling people I…

Around the end of the year we all look forward to a little downtime from running. Then after about five…

As best I can tell, the GPS mile is somewhere between eight and nine tenths of a mile as measured by a steel tape, a wheel, a surveyor or even a laser beam. Even at a race held on a paved, certified, one-mile loop, the race director was accosted by runners during the event, swearing that the loop distance was far more than a mile… their GPS measurements proved it.

by Dr. Duncan Simpson, Barry University As a runner and a professor of sport, exercise and performance psychology, I am…

Dear Ann, Some of my friends make me feel guilty about using a pacer. What do you think?  Paul Dear…

It’s always tragic when a BIG run gets taken down by a LITTLE culprit! Such is the case with blisters. While blisters can feel like a mystery, there are four solid basics to avoiding blisters that you should know about.