Pine Creek Challenge is held just outside Wellsboro, PA on the Pine Creek Rail Trail. It’s put on by the Tyoga Running Club who offer 4 race distances (100M, 100K, 50M, Marathon). The Challenge uses 25 miles of the trail, which mostly follows Pine Creek. It’s a wide flat trail and impossible for someone to…
Pine Creek 100 Mile Preview
After almost 8 long months, it’s time for me to the line up for another 100 miler. This was my 3rd or 4th backup option so I didn’t even sign up until about 10 days ago. For the past couple months, I had been targeting Wawayanda 100 up in NJ which is a hilly course…
This Will Be Interesting
So I finally know what my next 100 miler will be: Pine Creek Challenge. I think. Given how this year has gone, I’m almost afraid to jinx things by mentioning it. But we’re less than 2 weeks out and they say they have their permits, COVID plan, and volunteers all set up so I guess…
M-DT Trip Report – Maps 3&4
I knocked out 2 more sections Saturday of the Mason-Dixon Trail leaving me with the just the 2 most western maps left to complete the entire trail. The temperatures were up into the mid to high 80s, but I had a great time. Map 3 Map 4 The next section of trail could have been…
FAQ: Can I Finish an Ultra?
I’m on Reddit’s r/ultrarunning regularly and it seems like not a week goes by that someone does ask a question along these lines. Typically, it’s someone relatively new and wants to know whether they can finish a 50k, 100 miler, or whatever race they’ve got their eye on. It’s a pretty supportive group on there…
M-DT Trip Report – Map 5
I got out onto the Mason-Dixon Trail Saturday and completed Map 5. This is an almost 30 mile section along the Susquehanna River from Otter Creek Campground to the PA/MD state line. I ran west to east so had my wife drop my off at Otter Creek Campground a little after 7am. The trail was…
Speed Work
I guess the title of this post should really be “Speed Work?!?!” considering how often I do it. Which is never. Last time I tried was back in 2016. I two workouts and hated them so called it quits. My dislike of speed in general goes back to when I started running. I never liked…
M-DT Trip Report – Map 6
I was able to knock out Map 6 of the Mason-Dixon Trail Saturday along with the beginning of Map 7 heading into Havre de Grace. This is the third time I’ve been out on the M-DT with the first being last summer with my son and then earlier this spring. My goal is to section…
A Shift In How I Approach Racing
My last race really highlighted to me how much my approach to racing has changed over the years. I still enjoy racing as much as I ever have. It’s just that the focus has shifted. When I started out, my goal was to run and complete the race as quickly as possible. I mean, it’s…
2020 Catoctin 50K Race Report
Last weekend was my second running of the Catoctin 50K or what I’m sure will become known as the COVID CAT50K. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the race was quite a bit different than last year’s race. Here a just a couple of the changes: No official start time. You could start whenever you wanted…