On April 27, 2014, I finished my first ultra. They say time flies when you’re having fun. Apparently, it also flies when you struggle in race after race (after race) wondering why you keep signing up for these ridiculous events. Seriously though when I started out, I had a plan on how I wanted my…
Moments in Time: MDT FKT Attempt
In May 2021, I made my first self-supported attempt to run the Mason-Dixon Trail. The hardest section of the trail arrives just east of Shank’s Mare Outfitters. The Four Sisters section is probably the gnarliest section of trail in PA. I was about halfway through the section, 65+ miles into my run, and it was…
Behind The Curtain Of My Current Training Plan
I don’t often post the details of my training cycles. Pay no attention to the man behind the spreadsheet. My training plans always start with my Saturday long runs. During the past several years, I’ve scheduled my last 20 miler two weeks out from race day. I then work backward with available weeks to see…
Fresh Content, Every Wednesday (or your money back)
A couple years ago, I set myself a goal to publish a new post here every Wednesday. I follow a couple writers online who are able to post something every week and I’ve always been impressed with their dedication and discipline to knock out several hundred words each and every week. Especially as they’re insightful…
A Framework for Building and Maintaining Motivation During a Training Block
My three loyal readers are probably laughing their asses off at that title. Like I’m qualified to be giving advise on this topic? While it’s true I’ve developed some callouses hitting my snooze button this winter, I do have some opinions. Now do as I say. . . Choose Your Goal Wisely What you decide…
Easier, Never Easy (or why I suck at managing expectations)
I keep thinking running hundreds are going to get easy. That at some point I’ll be able to cruise through a race with no sweat off my brow. Like rolling out of bed for a Tuesday 5 miler. After twenty seven hundred mile finishes, I can tell you it hasn’t happened yet. This isn’t to say…
Rabid Racoon 100 Mile Race Report
Relentless. Let’s just just leave that word there by itself to emphasize what I think about this race. There’s a thing in psychology called the Framing Effect where what you think of something is based on how it’s presented. The course description starts out with the flat two miles before the continuous rolling terrain kicks…
Rabid Racoon 100M Preview
Finally kicking off my 2024 race calendar this weekend out by Pittsburgh. While this will only be the third year for the race, the race organization looks pretty large based on the number of other races they put on so I’m expecting a well oiled machine. Not that I need this in a race. They’ve…
Musing On The Value Of A Long Run
This isn’t about whether long runs are an important part of training for ultras. In my opinion, they should be a key component to your preparation. One of my core beliefs is that in order to get good at running long distances you need to . . . run long distances. Period. No, this is…
The Good Enough Ultrarunner
I feel like my motto these days should be “meh, good enough”, which would be one of the more ironic mottos in sports. People think of ultrarunners as elite athletes cranking out 100+ mile weeks in training or running for days on end. “Bigger, faster, longer” would be a great ultra motto. “Go big or…