In my opinion, there’s three big challenges in running a hundred miles. I’m going to ignore fitness when talking about challenges though. There’s a base level of endurance competence that you need to bring to the table. If all you’ve ever done are 5Ks or day hikes, you’ve no chance of moving your body 100…
Chasing 10K Update: Halfway to Halfway
For the uninitiated, this blog is documentation of my ultimate ultra career goal of finishing a hundred 100 mile races. 100 x 100 = 10k. Rather amazingly enough this was something I came up before I had even toed the line at my first hundred miler. As I was getting into ultras, hundred milers had…
Tussey mOUTaiNBACK 50 Mile Race Report
By popular demand – less words, more pictures! This was my first year running Tussey, which had been on my bucket list for quite some time. I read up about the race as much as possible, however still had a couple gear decisions that I was unsure about. The first was whether or not to…
Tussey mOUTaiNBACK Preview
I guess I need to start with the name, which has always challenged me. I can never seem to remember which letters are supposed to be capitalized and which not. It’s just an odd look. The second thing is that the name is flat out false advertising. You see the format is a a giant…
My Ultra Lifestyle
If I’m being honest, running ultras has become more of a lifestyle choice for me than a hobby. Consistently running. I managed to run 12 miles the week after Buckeye. I’ve logged 2,000-2,500 miles per year since 2018 and at least 1,700 miles since I started back in 2013. All of this without any injuries…
Buckeye 200 Mile Race Report
I came. I saw. I slew some monsters. Buckeye 200 is an out-and-back race from Ashtabula to Wellsville mostly following Ohio state route 45. The format is set up as a journey run, which means no course markings or aid stations. You can either do this crewed or screwed as they say. I chose the…
Buckeye 200 Preview: Thar Be Monsters
Nine years ago I began Lewis and Clarking my way through ultras. I had been running steadily for a couple years and spent a lot of time reading about the sport, but overall it was this large blank canvas. What to eat, how to pace, best way to prevent blisters, handling rain; I was faced…
Practicing Race Pace
One of the challenges of ultras, especially as you progress past the 50K distance, is that you never practice your race pace. Sure you’re running slow on your long run, but I guarantee that at whatever pace you’re doing that is going to be too fast for a 50 miler and waaaaaay too fast for…
Running Long Since 2013*
At what point is it acceptable to say “I have arrived as an ultrarunner”? Or rather “I’m an expert”? Is it a certain number of lifetime miles run? Maybe the number of races you’ve entered? Or finished? Does performance have anything to do with it? Should mid- or back-of-pack runners be ignored because we’re slower…
Long Range Weather Forecasts
I’m still over 3 weeks out from my next race, but that hasn’t stopped me from checking the weather forecast just about every day. Something I’ve been doing for the past couple weeks if I’m being honest. It’s not that I have a fear of the weather. Let’s just say I have a very healthy…