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C&O Canal 100 Mile 2013 Race Report The inaugural run of the C&O Canal 100 Mile Run was held on April 27-28, 2013. After many months of preparation and training, race morning was finally here. We arrived at Camp Manidokan, in Knoxville, Maryland a little after 6 am. We brought some tents and folding chairs so that we would have a “camp” to hang out at in case anyone wanted to stay here overnight on Saturday night while I was running. Some runners actually slept over on Friday night, but I felt like I’d rather be in the comfort of my own bed on the night before the race, and just leave early to get to the starting line on time. We live about an hour away from Knoxville, MD, so we left home at 5 am. For those that wanted to camp, you could drive your car up to the top of the hill, near the covered shelter that was acting as race headquarters.Those just parking were lined up by parking volunteers down by the road (Harpers Ferry Road). As soon as we arrived, I went over to the race HQ to sign my waiver and pick up my […]
New York City Marathon Some things in life come easily, and some don’t. Filed under the “don’t” category, would be my ability to come out successful in the New York City Marathon lottery process. Fortunately for me, the process was set up such that if lottery hopefuls miss getting picked three years in a row, they’d get guaranteed entry the 4th year. Note, they have since done away with this 4th year guarantee, but I was fortunate enough to be a part of that program. Another note: I was actually fortunate to NOT to get picked in 2012, as that one was cancelled in the final hours due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. And so, 2013 was the magical year that I got to run in the NYC Marathon. To say that I was excited about this event would be an understatement. It was hard (and still is) not to get all choked up when reflecting on the journey that brought me to the NYCM starting line. Especially considering that this was me only one month prior to the race: Rocky Terrain-1 Jenny-0 Somewhere in there is a patella. Because sometimes **** happens, I was forced to […]
Remember what it was like on your first day of school each year? You wore your best outfit, you were excited to see your friends again, and while there was a nervousness in the air, no one would ever let on that they were anxious about what this year would bring. Pulling into Frozen Head State Park had the same feeling. I’ve looked forward to this for so long and I could not actually believe that it was finally happening. In January of 2014, I moved off the “Weight List” from the #3 position and was granted a seat in Lazarus Lake’s class room. I knew a few of this year’s classmates from years of stalking them on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, and the rest of the class would not be strangers for long. Karen Jackson, fellow Barkley Weight lister, joined me in the 8 hour trek to Tennessee in hopes that the stars would align and she too would be standing at the Yellow Gate when Laz lit his cigarette this year. The drive was pretty uneventful with a quick stop for lunch in Spartanburg with Tiana Cain. When we reached the state line going into Tennessee, the snow […]
Here is my race report from the Lake Martin 50 Mile Endurance Run: I spent the week prior to the race glued to weather.com in order to get an idea of what this race would have in store for us. Earlier in the week it called for thunderstorms on Friday with a clear day on Saturday but as the weekend drew closer the thunderstorms started creeping into Saturdays forecast as well. As of Friday night at the pre-race dinner, it was pretty set on thunderstorms throughout the morning until about 10 am and then clearing up the rest of the day. Well, 4 am came and it had yet to start its downpour. I got ready and finished packing and handed off all my bags to David who wanted to get them packed up in the car before the rain hit. So we get loaded up and on the road for the one hour trip from the hotel to the course. Practically as soon as we got in the car it started raining. Before we even made it out of the parking lot, the lightning started. Pretty much the entire drive to the course it was pouring. As we turned […]
Sep 15, 2014 I completed an Ironman 70.3 yesterday. What an experience! I got so much positive feedback from it that I thought I’d write a little bit about it for anyone who is truly interested. This story starts a few years ago, actually, when I decided to do my first triathlon. To make a long story short, in that first triathlon I almost died during the swim, kicked ass on the bike, and then took two wrong turns in the run and was disqualified. That was an Olympic distance triathlon: 1 mile ocean swim followed by a 25 mile bike ride followed by a 6 mile run. The Ironman 70.3 I did yesterday was more than double that. Also, until yesterday, I had never: swam more than 1 mile biked more than 42 miles ran more than 12 miles (without stopping) So yesterday, I swam 1.2 miles in the ocean, biked 56 miles, and ran a half marathon (13 miles). Personal records as far as distance in all three disciplines. —– I had a tentative goal going in to the race. I wanted to finish around 5 hours. It was a very lofty goal, but my training was going […]
This is my race report for the 2014 Georgia Jewel 100 mile race. This was my first 100 and the race I chose to hold that title for me proved to be a VERY tough one indeed. First, let me give a very brief overview of the course as described on the Georgia Jewel Website. “This rugged course on North West Georgia’s Pinhoti Trail will escort you across five scenic mountains and along the narrow crests of several ridges of the Chattahoochee National Forest. This mostly single track trail is technically rocky and rooty but is well maintained by our friends at NWGA SORBA. There are several stream crossings to be experienced during the race. The lowest elevation on the course is 770 feet and the highest elevation of 1788 feet will reveal the views from the top of Dug Mountain. Because of the out and back nature of the course, runners will both climb 16,053 feet and descend 16,053 feet during the 100 mile distance. The course consists of roughly 70 miles of single track trail, 21.5 miles of jeep road and 8.5 miles of paved road. Tenacity will allow you a final downhill finish to a unique award […]
The last time I ran over 10 miles was at Grindstone 100. The race was back in October, over 5 months ago. My 6th hundred wasn’t a normal one for me …if there is such a thing as a normal 100. Most hundreds hurt in more ways than one. But this one– it was pure mental, emotional, and physical hell for reasons I could not have foreseen… Grindstone is a brutal 100 mile race that takes place in the rugged, rock-laced mountains of Virginia. The always picturesque state is pretty on a postcard, but it’s downright ugly for a long ultrarunning experience. There’s roughly 46 thousand feet of elevation change on the out and back course. I went into race weekend completely 100% mentally and physically prepared. I was nervous about the pain to come, but who isn’t. Despite nerves, I had an unshakable confidence that I would finish the 100, and nothing could stop my efforts. But absolutely all of that changed with a single phone call…. LEVI. The race had an evening start, and I spent my day anxiously preparing everything I would need for the night of running. I was making a last minute trip to Walmart […]
Like most big races, this one started weeks before while watching the weather forecasts quite religiously. Over the course of the weeks and days before race day the forecast changed quite drastically and with each slight change I got either excited or dismayed. Up until a few days out when it pretty much settled on a chance of rain during the day and thunderstorms all night. At least I knew what to prepare for …. and that was being quite wet. I began the packing process with the weather forecast in mind and felt it was better to be safe than sorry. I packed every pair of road shoes I owned with the justification being that IF it stopped raining for a bit I would have fresh shoes and socks to slip into. I was planning on doing the majority of the run in my Altra Intuitions but brought my Altra Torins for a change of pace during the run if I needed it. I also had my Altra Olympus in case my feet got REALLY bad. And then to round things out, I brought my Merrell Bare Access and Saucony Kinvaras as backup “just in case shoes”. I also […]
Race Date: January 17-18, 2015 Well this is way past due, but since this was such a momentous accomplishment for me, I thought I better write this up. Better late than never. I had tried to get into the 2014 Hawaii Ultra Running Team (HURT) 100 Trail Run, not really knowing much about it at the time, other than it was to be in Hawaii in January. I figured it would be a good way to get some vacation time in paradise while Washington DC was freezing. I didn’t get picked in the lottery that year, and after reading more about the race, I was somewhat relieved that I wasn’t selected. However, the next year, I decided to try for the lottery again, not seriously feeling that I would get selected. On the evening of the lottery selection, I had my iPad at the dinner table and was checking the progress of the lottery when I saw my name printed on the screen. I thought, hmm, okay are those names of people that applied? Is there a glitch? After rubbing my eyes and double-checking, I turned to my wife and with no expression, said “I got selected for HURT”. I […]
It was cold in Alcoa, Tennessee that January day. Really cold for a Georgia girl; fourteen degrees to be exact. I was bundled up tightly in my heavy WeatherEdge jacket, old thermal gloves, and layers of sweats, but nothing could ease the bite of the windchill. I pulled my jacket up a little higher over my mouth, and I breathed in and out to feel some kind of warmth…Man, it’s freezing. I glanced over at my husband, Dan, who was staring back at me….Thumbs up… a reminder that being cold was the least of my worries that day. I was standing outside of a local middle school, under a huge banner, surrounded by people of all shapes and sizes with one common goal— to finish an ultra. The Pistol Ultra. And the gun was about to signal the start of another 100 mile journey for me. Another life lesson I would never forget… Starting Over If you have followed my blog for awhile, you will likely remember the last story I wrote about a 100 mile race, Ancient Oaks in 2012. If you haven’t read it, a quick recap would be that I decided I needed a break from hundreds. […]
Having run Mountain Mist the previous two years I was ecstatic to have successfully convinced two more runners to join our party- Ron Brooks and Wes Trueblood. Although we had lost Beau “Boy” Hollis due to the birth of his second child, the core of our group: Jeff “Screech” Yoder and myself remained. Going into the race Glein Hein tried to hype me on a course record but I knew that such feat could not be accomplished unless David Riddle and I were to work together like we did in 2013. With Riddle out of the race this possibility was out of the question. We were slated to leave Bloomington at 8:00AM on Friday, although in typical Screech fashion he didn’t end up picking me up till after 9AM. Screech pulled up in a brand new KIA SUV, our rental car for the weekend. I congratulated him on choosing such a great car but all he had to say was, “The last time I drove an SUV I wrecked it.” The trip to Louisville (home of Ron Brooks) passed uneventful other than the ever interesting topography of the Knobstone Escarpment. Screech quipped, “Dude. I can’t even drive right now. Just […]
Well this is an extremely late “race report” on the Zion 100 mile run I did on April 10-11, 2015 in Virgin, Utah. In fact, it won’t be much of a race report. I just jotted down some quick notes after the race, and then captured the experience in a video that I put together with GoPro footage from Gilbert Gray, my wife Telly, and myself. Then added some photos taken by the same folks, plus Maggi Gray, Aaryn Riccadonna, and Photosynthetix. The race was quite a challenge, being hot during day, with very little shade, and very cold at night. There was lots of dry red dust getting kicked up by runners and passing cars, finding its way into our lungs. I was coughing up red dirt until several days after the event. Some of the race, particularly up on the slick rock on the mesas, was on mountain biking trails. Going up the Flying Monkey mesa, there was even a rope to climb up a very steep portion, or one could traverse a diagonal path up the cliff, as long as you didn’t lose your footing and plunge down the steep cliff on the side. It was nice […]
The Dirty German 50k is held in Pennypack Park which is located in the heart of Philadelphia. The race is great for anyone new to Ultrarunning. It is relatively flat and not very technical which makes it optimal for anyone thinking about giving Ultrarunning a try. The race itself consists of two 15.5 mile loops. I highly recommend this race for anyone wanting to give Ultrarunning a try.
“The World’s Hardest 50K” …. this is what was promised by race director Sean “Run Bum” Blanton. These 4 words intrigued me. They called to me. They made me question if I had what it took to tackle such beast. And, of course, I now had to find out. I could start on the morning of the race itself, but as everyone who has ever tackled the seemingly impossible knows, the story starts LONG before that. I’ll take it back a good ways to the first of the year. To mark the new year I had run the Pistol 100 miler in Alcoa, TN. This was a race that was both amazing and yet not so amazing on many levels. It was amazing in that the race was absolutely top notch, with fantastic staff, aid and course. I achieved several PR’s at the race including 50k, 50 mile and my 100 mile. What made it not so amazing is the fact that I pushed myself past my breaking point. After reaching my 50 mile PR, I became slightly injured which led to me taking it easy which then led to my body attempting to shut down on me. But being […]
The Leadup: I signed up for Laurel Highlands 70.5 for one reason and one reason only; I have a dream of running Western states and this is one of the closest non-100 miler qualifiers. I’d like to make Western States my first and only 100 miler (and maybe last). All qualifying races for WSER are now 100k+. I wanted to run well at Laurel Highlands, but a decent finish is all I could expect because 70 miles is was a new distance for me, and I can’t say I’m totally confident with the 50 mile distance yet. I got a pretty good amount of training in and I felt pretty good and strong leading up to this race. I managed to get some decent mileage and decent climbing in. Three weeks out I had close to an 85 mile week, with back-to-back 23 mile trail runs and another 22 mile run that same week. The next week I had a 30 mile run. I think I did a decent job training after recovering from Bull Run Run. But with any new distance, the first race probably isn’t going to be your best. By looking at past race results, I thought […]
On Saturday, August 1st, I ran the Tralee 100K Ultra for the second time. Last year I had to pull out all the stops to beat the cut-off time, and ended up beating it by just 8 seconds, this year I was determined to go for a slightly less dramatic finish. The best laid plans of mice and men…. I arrived at the start line on Ballyard Hill nice and early, and had time to chat to the other runners and crews, and wish them well. It was a cool, dark morning, but dry and not too cold – perfect running conditions. Soon, the countdown started, and we were off. I had made a last-minute decision to carry a backpack, as my crew weren’t joining me until later on, and the pack started to annoy me from early on – must try to train more with it to get used to it. We headed down Ballyard hill, through the outskirts of Tralee, and then headed up the slight incline of Caherslee, before heading out the long road to Ardfert. I ran this section with a group of my Born To Run teammates, and it certainly shortened the road, as there […]
The Leadup: Seven weeks prior to this race I race the Laurel Highlands 70 Miler and that was a grueling 14.5 hours. That race left me with completely toasted, trembling legs and a seemingly perpetual recovery ahead. I learned about the Altra Coventry Woods 6 Hour from the store owner and Race Director Don Morrisson. I was at the store because I was having issues with my first pair of Hokas (Challenger ATR). The cheap insole wasn’t doing anything and toward the back of my arch was bruised because it kept landing on the giant rubber walls that surround your foot. It’s a strange shoe. Anway, Done gave me a pair of insoles for free and the shoes actually ended up working out for me. The Coventry 6-Hour sounded like an interesting race to follow Laurel Highlands and it would presumably keep me in race shape for my fall A-Race, Blues Cruise 50k. There was a 3-hour option, but whenever there are different lengths of races going on at the same event, the longer ones tend to me the more fun and competitive. For the seven weeks between races, I felt pretty beat up. I wasn’t fully recovered, but I […]
I had always wanted to run an Ultra. I have been a runner for almost 30 years. I worked a schedule that did not allow for regular training. Over the years I would enter a race ever now and again. Anywhere from 10 to 26 miles. But the ultra always had its charm. Finally I made the decision to run one in 2015. A friend and I decided we would motivate each other toward this goal. We chose to run the Blue Cruise 50k. My work schedule changed and allowed me weekends off for regular long runs. I met some very patient and knowledgeable ultra runners who always invited me along to train. Even though these runners were far superior athletes. I learned a lot from them and worked hard. By race day I felt more prepared then I have ever been in the past. I had logged half a dozen 20+ milers. I learned one of the secrets in training from the seasoned trail vets, elevation. I had logged over 60,000 feet of climbing in those months of training and it was the difference in my opinion. Race day came. I wore my vest with one 20 ounce bottle. I […]
The Leadup: I started running Ultra Marathons in the Spring of 2013 with Ironmasters Challenge. I had only been Ultra training for 5 months and although I was an instant student of the sport, I was only going to learn so much from reading other people’s advice. There is a science to this stuff… but not a perfect science. The variable is us. We are all different and without experience, there is no opportunity to make mistakes and accidentally discover what works for you as a unique individual and to learn from mistakes. Improvement is a sign of increased fitness, but it’s also proof that you’re LEARNING. And in order to learn you have to pay attention to your failures and successes. What does this have to do with the Blues Cruise 50k? Well, in my first year of running Ultras I ran Ironmasters 50k, Dirty German 50k and Blues Cruise 50k. I did fairly well and was happy with the results, but I barely knew what I was doing. The following year I ran both races and chopped 32 minutes off my Ironmaster time and almost 27 minutes off my Dirty german time. So in my head, I figured […]
Last year, I got to 69.3 miles before I tapped out due to pain in my IT band on my left leg that reduced my pace to 40 minutes per mile. The sweepers were on my tail and there was no way I could get to AS #2 on the 3rd loop before the cutoff. Painful as it was, I had to drop at AS #1. This year, I came in to the race physically fit, with no injuries handicapping me. Two weeks prior, I picked up a cold on my final days on a business trip to our offices in Reading, UK, so the only thing I was dealing with was some lingering cough from the cold. But otherwise, I was feeling fit, well-tapered and eager to spend the weekend in the beautiful mountains around Oil Creek. My plan for this year was to execute the same plan that I had prepared for 2014. One thing that changed was my nutrition. Last year I had been using UCAN. However, I learned that UCAN was not really working well with my stomach. It would invariably cause stomach upset after a while. In late 2014, I switched to Tailwind, and had significantly […]
This wasn’t my fastest 5K ever, but it was my 2nd fastest (22:21, official time)
Sunday, October 18, 2015 At Long Last Sixty five and sunny is what smacked my face when I got off the plane after a red-eye from Seattle to Cleveland. Is it really October? That was my initial question. Oftentimes Ohio is mid 40’s, snowing, or just plain out miserable. I couldn’t believe that this was going to be the weather that I was going to have for the duration of my stay in Ohio and Pennsylvania. I flew home to take on the 7th annual Oil Creek 100 in Titusville, PA. The course is known to be rocky, technical, and difficult overall. It boasts an impressive 17.6k feet of climbing during the duration of the race. Challenge accepted. I in an odd way enjoy technical courses, particularly if climbing is involved. Ever since moving to WA, my climbing technique has improved drastically. As odd as it may sound my mentality going into this race wasn’t that of a “a race,” but more of an experience. Trees and fall foliage are impressive this time of year in the Midwest. I have heard rumors how beautiful the course would be. This, along with proximity to family, is what brought me home. Before heading […]
This was my 5th road marathon. My goal was to qualify for the Boston marathon. I hired coach Chris Vargo for my training. All my previous attempts were self-trained (or from books, websites, etc.). As a 43-year-old, my qualifying time for Boston is 3:15:00. For 2016, you needed 2:30 under your qualifying time to get in. Through my 17 weeks of training, Chris and I felt I should be able to easily run a 3:10:00. I thought I could break 3:05:00 and made that my goal. My previous marathon attempts were in the 3:43:00 to 3:55:00 range. In April of 2015, I ran the Garden Spot Village marathon and attempted to break 3:30:00. That resulted in a miserable failure. I partially blamed running a 40-mile ultra just two weeks prior to that race. But I wasn’t really training for a marathon at the time, either. I decided to start the race at a 7:00 minute/mile pace. Steamtown has some really long downhills in the first eight miles. A 3:05:00 marathon is a 7:03 pace, and I figured with the benefit of the downhills, a 7:00 pace would be comfortable. And it was for a long time. I held onto that […]
The Backstory: I don’t have much history running marathons. I ran my first in 2013–the Delaware and Lehigh Heritage Marathon–and although I finished, it was pretty ugly. I battled some sharp knee pain during the second half, which really slowed me down, and my time was a sluggish 4:45. Last year, rather than adjust my training and try again, I decided to go bigger, and ran a 50k, with a similar result–lots of pain, and a very slow finishing time (6:14). This year, one of my goals was to get more comfortable with marathon distance. In March, I ran a trail marathon at Blue Marsh (sloooowwww: 5:31), and then in April, I ran from my former residence in Phoenixville to Philadelphia in about 4:42. In both instances, my pace dramatically fell off after 20 miles. Over the summer, after moving back to Reading, I did a lot of elevation work in order to get ready for another trail marathon–the Megatransect in Lock Haven, PA. That race was incredibly challenging, but after finishing it in reasonable shape, I hoped that a flat, road marathon would seem relatively easy. In September, I started doing some speed work, following a Hal Higdon training […]
I wasn’t planning on running this race, since I just did the Marine Corps Marathon the previous weekend, but Yuriko wanted to do the 5k, and so of course I had to run, too. And I couldn’t just do the 5K when there was a 10 mile option. After last Sunday’s marathon, I took the whole week off, and so this was my first time lacing up my Brooks since Washington. I felt more or less recovered and ready to go. The weather was nice and cool—mid 50s, overcast. I was planning on running 8 minute miles, which is a tad slower than my best 10k pace. Goal time was 1:20. I ate some toast with peanut butter when I woke up at 7 and drank a 5 Hour Energy. Walked Kima at 7:30; headed to the race with Yuriko at 8:00. The race, organized by the Pagoda Pacers (of which I’m a proud, new member) started right on time at 9:00am. (The 5k started at 9:10.) I had heard that the course was flat, but I guess I didn’t completely believe that, since the area surrounding Oley has a lot of rolling hills. But the rumor was true—a very […]
This past Saturday, November 7, 2015 was my 7th half marathon. After a couple 50K races and a few 50 mile or more attempts, I pretty much wrote off road racing for a couple reason, none of which I go into here. However; the difference for me is that this race was my first race, regardless of distance, since June 2014. We did the Palmetto 200 earlier this year, but that is a team event and we were far from racing. From June 2014 through the first couple months of 2015 I was dealing with small nagging injuries that kept my mileage to a minimum. After that, I spent most of the time working with Jenny, who just so happens to be my favorite yoga instructor, and Elise, our friend and owner of the gym we go to, to gain some flexibility back in my steel-plate hamstrings. After finally getting flexible enough to start working out and regularly running again, I set my eyes back on doing ultras by immediately signing up for the Blind Pig 100 in April 2016. Shortly after that, Jenny said she was considering running the Lexington Half Marathon on November 14th. My gears started turning […]
NOTE: I have added to the end of this race report at the very bottom with a quick recap of my 2016 Stone Mill 50. The Leadup: My last race was Blues Cruise 50k on October 4th. After that I had planned on running the DWG 50k Fattass. I wasn’t sure how I would do there as I had been working on my speed, and neglecting my climbing. Once I felt recovered enough after Blue Cruise, I ran a couple hilly workout until I realized that my girlfriend and I had tickets to see comedian Bill Burr in Philly the night before the race. We got the tickets months ago and I didn’t realize the date. We had talked about staying that night in the city, and even if we came home, I wouldn’t get much sleep. Then I found out that DWG 50k started at 6am!!! With a 1.5 hour drive, there was just no way. I withdrew my entry for DWG. I felt like I was on my way to being prepared for another race and I just mentally was geared up for one more before winter base building. Last year I had looked at Stone Mill 50 Mile and I can’t […]
I’m writing this nearly 7 weeks after the race. Life got a little busy, and I just kept putting it off. For as much as I want other people to contribute to this site, it’s lazy of me! So here it is. FINALLY. I have little headlines so you can skip all the travel sections and just read about what you’re interested in. The Leadup In 2015 I ended a pretty busy season with a solid 50 mile race at Stone Mill 50. Once that race was over, I was ready for a little break and scaled back my training. I took my now customary forced week off from running then got back into with with strict base training. For 5 weeks I just jogged. Nice and easy. Worked on my stride rate. Just got around 35 miles a week in and just maintained some fitness while recovering from a 5 Ultra year that had 234 racing miles. The base building felt great. I felt rejuvenated and ready to start getting back into the high intensity grind that is my road marathon training. After 5 weeks of jogging I gave myself a little fitness test and comfortably ran […]
The Leadup After my first Boston Marathon, I took a week completely off. This is something I force myself to do. After that week I had exactly 6 weeks, including any kind of taper, to prepare for Cayuga 50. I use the FIRST method for road marathon training which is three key workouts, all pretty hard, and everything else is just recovery miles if any. I averaged only 35 miles a week and maybe 3.5-6 hours of running time each week. That’s far from what I need for a 50 mile race, especially one as tough as Cayuga. I was in killer shape, for sure, but it was 5 months before Boston since I had run for longer than 2:37. There’s a gear you just don’t have without regular runs of 3, 4 and 5+ hours. And believe me, I want to do well at Cayuga. It was my first REAL 50 mile race back in 2014 and I was unprepared and went out way too hard. I suffered a lot in the last 12 miles and finished in 9:22. Much worse than I am capable of, even then. Cayuga is the USATF 50 Mile Trail National Championship with decent prize money […]
Prologue This is my first race report of the year, but it wasn’t my first race of the year. I was just a little too busy in the spring to find the time to write about all the fun I had at the Chilly Cheeks 7 Mile Trail Run (which is so close to home I can see my house from one section of the course) or the Naked Bavarian Trail Marathon (shaving 31 minutes off my super-slow 2015 time) or the 7 Sisters Trail Race (which was was so steep, muddy, and rocky that it was pretty much entirely unrunnable–yet I still had a great time). I heard about Cayuga from my friend Michael Heimes, who ran the 50-mile race in 2014, loved the course, and was eager to return and outperform his earlier effort. I was interested because I knew the area well from my graduate school days in nearby Binghamton. I had hiked and swam in Treman and Buttermilk Falls State Parks, knew how “gorgeous/gorges” they were, and thought it would be great to run a race there. I also have friends in the area, whom I rarely see, and would love to reconnect with. The only problem […]
This was my second time running Pretzel City Sports‘ Double Trouble. The first time (2014) was the only year that it was held in the Fall. Prior to that, it had always been a summer race, and after the experimental switch resulted in lower registration (probably due to the increased competition from other races that time of year), Pretzel City decided to move it back to July. Most Pretzel City events take place on the Mount Penn trails in Reading (very close to home for me!), but this event is in beautiful French Creek State Park, which is about 30 minutes out of town (or 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia). The course, a 15k loop, is almost entirely single track, with rolling hills and scenic views of the park’s two lakes. Runners choose to do one loop or two when they register, but they are also allowed to change their minds mid-race if they want to, and still qualify for awards for the distance they end up doing. My 2014 time was 3:27, and so my goal this year was simply to do better than that. The days leading up to the race were very hot and humid, hitting the low […]
Intro: I trained for 11 weeks and ran 702 miles for one goal: to run my first west coast race and knock it out of the park. I had a training plan. I hit it hard, I didn’t let up. I was dedicated and disciplined. I had a race plan. And even with all that… I still had a bad race. Why? Because it happens and it happens to everyone. I had a feeling I might have a bad race a few weeks out but denied it until it happened. But I survived. I finished (DEATH BEFORE DNF!) and my place was respectable. And above all it was fun and hard and painful and an adventure and above all worth it. The Leadup: As many reading this know, Western States is a historic race that takes place in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is the oldest 100 Miler in the world and pretty much the Super Bowl of Ultrarunning. Oh, and it’s really hard to get into. Due to permits only 425 applicants get in and over 3500 people applied last year. Applicants have to run a qualifying race which are 100k and longer. Oh, and there are only 79 […]
Why Pikes Peak For a long time, I’ve wanted to take a vacation in the Rockies. The Appalachians can’t really compare in terms of size and drama, and as a mountain lover, I knew I was long overdue for some real mountains. As I’ve gotten into trail running over the past few years, and started learning about many of the challenging events out west, my excitement to take a trip out there grew. I learned about the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon from Trail Runner magazine, and I thought the Ascent sounded like a first great “real mountain” race. The distance was only 13 miles, so I wouldn’t have to worry about a DNF, as I probably would have if I had tried to make my first high-altitude race an ultra. But even though the distance was mild, the course was pretty extreme: 7,700 feet of climbing up one of America’s most famous mountains, with a finish line above 14,000 feet. I had no idea what 14,000 feet would feel like. Hell, I had never really run much above 2,000 feet. When I registered for the event (which sells out quickly), I didn’t realize that the Marathon (held the following day) […]
This was my first 10k and first organized run after a couple years off. The location was fun. Right downtown at Waterfront so there was a great festival air with about 25 breweries representing plus other local stuff. For visitors, it’s in a kind of ‘touristy’ area close to Voodoo, Saturday Market, Food Carts, etc. Parking was kind of a pain but whatever. The race course goes up and over the Freemont Bridge which you cannot walk over normally. Since I drive on it daily it a treat to do it on foot. Once up in NoPo the course snakes around which was kind of annoying but I guess they have to get the distance in somehow. The dubstep didgeridoo duo over here was cool, but likely hipsters keeping the party going from the night prior and not associated with the event at all. The course ended over Hawthore Bridge for a quick downhill ending. The T shirt was actually wearable and I got like 2.5 beers worth of tickets. Why not an even 2 or 3? I paced with a buddy at the beginning before leaving him behind so the time probably suffered a couple minutes. I’d do this one again. Terrapin […]
The Leadup: I had run Stone Mill 50 in November of 2016 with hopes of a win and big PR. Instead, a poorly marked course made the day one I’d like to forget. I still finished 3rd with a slight PR, but I left frustrated and felt like my training was wasted. Either way, my season was over and I was ready for the off-season. Some careless easy running for a month or so when a long training block leading up to A-race #1 (yes, I have more than ONE A-race), Bull Run Run 50. I ran Bull Run Run in 2015. It was my second trail 50 miler with my first being an underwhelming performance at Cayuga 50 that same year in June. I was still a noob, especially at 50 milers. I wanted another crack at it and Bull Run was it. Well, a new job, life stressors (the job sucked), and what seemed like going from one cold to another for weeks made my pathetic training blog barely existent. We had a cold, snowy winter and the best I could do is cram in a hilly road 50k 2 weeks before the race. I felt OK during the […]
The Leadup: I’ve never run so many miles for so many months in a row in my life. Not even close. In 2014 I ran just over 1500 miles and this year I broke that by June 10. Since my career change from being a Police Officer to eventually a self-employed Web Developer, my ability to train more days per week and at flexible times has been key. Working 12-hour shifts 2-3 days in a row with a 30-40 minute commute plus court made it hard to get more than 3-4 days of running in a week. Now, I run whatever time of the day the weather is ideal and 6-days a week. Of course, this often means I’m up until past midnight working to make up for my early afternoon 2-hour workout, but it’s well worth it and sure beats early morning or late night running in the freezing cold with a headlamp. All the miles and my fifth progression through all or part of Sage Canaday’s Advanced 50m-100k Training Plan has me feeling like I’m in by far the best shape of my life! With a slightly disappointing 3rd place at November 2016’s Stone Mill 50 (I got lost more […]
A 5-pack of runners from Reading, PA headed out to the western part of our state this summer to compete in the Laurel Highlands Ultras. Michael Heimes and Kyle Gery were registered for the main event–a 70.5 mile race along the entirety of the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (LHHT)–while the rest of us (Matt Hottenstein, Steve Vida, and myself) were ready to attempt the more humble 50k. Both races are point-to-point and begin at the start of the LHHT in Ohiopyle, PA, by the waters of the raging Youghiougheny River. (Hottenstein told me how to pronounce that, but I can’t remember.) The 50k ends a bit north of the Seven Springs Ski Resort, while the 70-miler ends north of Johnstown, PA. There happened to be a Jehovah’s Witness convention going on in Johnstown, but Kyle was able to sweet talk the folks at the local EconoLodge into booking 2 rooms for us. (Steve wondered what the hotel housekeeping staff might have imagined we were up to: 5 guys, 2 rooms, multiple jars of Vaseline). Walking-distance from the EconoLodge was a Holiday Inn where the pre-race dinner and registration took place the evening before the race. The food was pretty good, […]
Finger Lakes 50’s! I signed up for this on January 1st as soon as it opened, knowing it has a reputation for selling out quick. It has a limited field entry for 250 runners and this is for the 25k, 50k, and 50 miler options. The race itself is popular and established, so it sold out in 3-1/2 hours. The plan when signing up was to do the 50k, but I also knew you could make the decision to move up to the 50 miler the day of, and during the race. The prelude: My spring races were the Naked Bavarian 20 miler (which went well) , The HAT50K ( which I rolled my ankle and had to drop @ 18miles) and my confidence builder race, the Dirty German 50K. DG was a downpour with lots of mud. Many runners dropped but I toughed it out to finish in 5:55. Way above my goal of sub 5 but the conditions didn’t help so it was a great mental victory just to finish. The course: This consists of 16.5 mile loops. 1 for 25, 2 for 50k and 3 for 50mile plus 1/2 mile baby loop. You go through single track, […]
The Catskill Mountains have a special place in my memory, imagination, and heart. I grew up not far away, in a small town outside of Albany, NY, and during my years at Bard College, the Catskills were the backdrop of a picturesque campus on the Hudson River. From the garden at Blithewood–Bard’s most beautiful spot–you could look across the river and see the northern peaks popping up from the horizon. In 2013, for my bachelor party, I talked a bunch of old friends from home, college, and graduate school to hike up Slide Mountain with me. Yuriko and I returned the next couple summers, in August, meeting up with friends of ours from Ithaca, to explore trails by day and listen to classical music at the Bard Music Festival by night. View of Catskills from Blithewood Garden, Bard College As I started getting into trail running in 2014, I was curious if there were any races in the Catskills. Google quickly pointed me to the Escarpment Trail Run–a point-to-point 30k race, organized by Dick Vincent, with big climbs and extremely technical terrain. The total elevation for the course is around 5,000 feet, including a steep ascent up Blackhead Mountain (1,000+ […]
This was my first experience running a big Philly race, and it was exceptionally good. The communication from the moment I registered through the finishing results and photos was professional and concise. The expo was quick and easy to get through for packet pickup, and race day coral setup and mc/audio services were great. The volunteers were really helpful and encouraging despite the cold temps and winds. The finishers area was a little sparse, and it would have been great to have a better view of the finish line so we could cheer for fellow runners coming in, but that’s just nit-picking. I had an excellent experience overall, and I am very glad to have given Philadelphia, (not always my favorite city) and the Love Run a chance.
3/31/2018 – Ran this Easter themed race with my dog Boone. He was extremely excited for it, and did a great job maintaining pace and not causing any problems. There were many dogs there, and the race director encourages a dog-friendly environment. The Lititz Fire Company offers a delicious omelette made to order before your eyes at the finish, which was the highlight for me AND Boone. He got his own! The course is fairly flat, with smooth, easy inclines in the first half as well as downhills for most of the second half. The final 1/4 mile is a little tricky. There are two tight turns before the finish in front of the fire hall, and walkers can become an issue. They start at the same time, but only go out for two miles, so some are occupying valuable racing lanes on the final sprint. I wish they had a divided finish to keep them to one side or the other. despite that minor complaint, I loved the run, and it was organized well. The longsleeve shirt was nice, and the Sauders eggs for awards were delicious!
Lucked out getting into this race on my first try! Had a big PR goal for this distance, and the course was a good one to go for it! Blossoms were out, and so were the big names on hand, including Meb, an Altra athlete I follow – Tyler McCandless from Easton, and Olympic Champion Joan Benoit Samuelson, who I met at the expo and raced shoulder to shoulder at mile 4. She was 30 seconds behind me at the finish! I thought the expo was one of the best I’ve ever seen, with a lot of great gear and fun interactive booths. The open floor plan was terrific for catching portions of different speakers throughout the day. Autograph sessions were awesome too. The race day was well organized, volunteers were excellent, and results were up quickly. My wife loved the tracking app, and said it was the best she’d ever used. I wish the photos were included in the rather high registration price, but what can you do. Their were some runners complaining about that there was no medal included (available for additional cost), and the cheap cotton shirts weren’t impressive (also available to upgrade $$$), but just running […]
Race report: Catoctin 50K Date: 07/14/2018 Finishing time: 9:05 hr Weather: Low 70s at start and low 80’s at end, low humidity I’m writing this report to help other runners that are interested in running the Cat50K since other race reports helped me out while planning. The link to my strava data is here: https://www.strava.com/activities/1702842105/embed/c71f09ddc263c55341e52328bdd323bee219caf5 I had only run one previous 50K (Cloudland Canyon 50K) prior to running the Cat50K. My first 50K had been somewhat of a nutrition disaster so I was looking for some local events where I could seek redemption. I think there may be something wrong with my mind because I eagerly signed up after reading the numerous warning statements in the Cat50K description about the slow technical trail and being hosted on the hottest day of the year. As the race director, Kevin Sayers, states “It has been known to make grown men weep and woman to curse the day race management was born. Once the race starts sympathy is not displayed to anyone regardless of the circumstance. This is an ultra event and it will be conducted accordingly.” Surely, the description was meant to be humorous but what if it wasn’t? After all, this […]
Ironman Maryland is finally in the books and it had plenty of surprises and a lot of lessons to be learned! It started with a relatively easy 3 and half hour solo car ride that was almost enjoyable in comparison to the trek to IM Mont-Tremblant or IM Lake Placid! This race was unusual for this distance in that it occurred on a saturday and the last day athletes had for check-in was on thursday! Not sure what the reason is for such logistics, but in the end it was good for the local community. Cambridge was very welcoming and it has a unique charm that is both familiar but distinct! It has the old historic downtown and of course the Chesapeake bay which makes this an ideal spot for a triathlon event. The obligatory gear checks, test rides, shake off swims, and activation runs were all carefully scheduled and executed and just as I am about to head to the hotel on friday afternoon to wind down, I realized I don’t have my car keys! I went for a run after dropping off my gear and opted for leaving my phone in the rental car and carrying the key […]
Cup Noodles is the nectar of the gods. Admittedly, my taste buds may have been affected by the 50 miles run over the previous 10 hours. However, the McDonald’s bacon smokehouse burger was afforded no such transformation. Saturday, November 17th I toed the line for the Stone Mill 50 Miler and my longest run yet. My training had been great including Catherines 50k and Big Schloss 50k with VHTRC, Iron Mountain 30, and the CATs Pounding Creek Marathon. Pounding Creek turned out to be whose muddy trails were the perfect training for SM50. As with most races, I set three goals going in: Primary Goal: Finish – always my primary goal for a distance PR Secondary Goal: Sub 10-hour finish – should be achievable on a good day Stretch Goal: Sub 9-hour – I figured this would take perfect run/perfect conditions Clearly, these goals did not take into consideration the our first winter storm of the season and the trails were a crazy, muddy mess. My feet were wet within the first few miles and stayed that way the whole day. The first half was just about finding a comfortable pace and knocking out the miles. Before I knew […]
After a ton of training but low expectations in a stacked field, I finished in 4th place and had a great JFK 50 Mile Debut.
Eastern States 100 Race Report: (Warning: long post) Race started at 5AM. I got about an hour of sleep from 1:30-2:30. The crew and I had rented a house 45 minutes north of the start/finish line where we did some logistics planning the night before. We found out it was located in one of the darkest spots in PA, some people rent that house to stargaze. We noticed we could see the milky way when we first arrived. We left the house about 3:20. Lots of commotion going on once we got there a little after 4 but I just chilled in the car until shortly before the race start. Went to the bathroom one last time and I was set to go. I had many doubts and fears going into the race based on race reports and the huge DNF rate in such a remote area. Along with my knee issues I’ve been dealing with all year but at least I had doctor permission to push through the pain no matter how severe and it wouldn’t cause any permanent damage. It seemed like the race director still had a lot more announcements to go through with minutes to go […]
As I write my race report for IRONMAN #5, I can’t help but to think that #4 is still outstanding! I honestly been meaning to do it for quite a long time now since I know there is some folks I must acknowledge as being integral into getting me here. Something has been keeping me from putting #4 down on paper which is quite strange since it was a unique experience even as IRONMAN races go! Anyway… I digress! Let’s talk IRONMAN Maryland. So getting past the drive, and the town, and the logistics (you can read that here) , the biggest thing about this race is that I was doing it with my wife! In fact, I was doing this with my wife, my brother, some friends and training partners, but for everyone that knows the time commitments involved in training for a full IRONMAN race, let me just repeat that I was doing an IRONMAN with my wife!!! (If you don’t know why that is big it just takes too long to explain). A triathlon is not a team sport and you are on your own pretty much from the start, so I had to do my thing, […]
Hellgate 100K++ 12/14/19 “If there is no struggle, there is no progress” –Frederick Douglas Every year of the Hellgate 100K, prior to the race, registered runners are presented with race shirts, as is common in running races as a memorial or marketing piece for the event. The Hellgate shirts are not common though. They include snazzy, almost ridiculous colors that not many people would wear in public. On the front of the shirt, to capture the challenges that a race named “Hellgate” must present, is a logo of a person running through a fiery gate at the bottom of a flaming mountain. And there is always a quote underneath that logo along the lines of facing pain and overcoming obstacles. This year’s quote was that of Mr. Frederick Douglas. The Hellgate race is extremely challenging, and although I have not yet encountered any flaming gates of hell, every year’s race has been unique in the struggles that it presented to me and the other runners. As if a race that begins at 12:01 am on the second Saturday of December is not enough cause for concern and some question about the runners’ sanity levels, we also traverse mountains with over […]
After several years of gaining experience and cultivating endurance, 2020 sprouted an exciting crop of anticipated goals and experiences…until COVID-19 scorched the earth. I had an exciting running line-up scheduled this spring culminating in my first 100 miler: Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 (MMT100). I knew it would be hard, but I had been building up for a few years and I knew I would be ready. In a matter of weeks, all of those races were taken from me. While my life doesn’t revolve around running, endurance running has definitely become one of the structural pillars. It has become a constant; a piece of who I am that has carried me through some pretty high highs and a couple very low lows. Along with MMT100, the VHTRC Chocolate Bunny (a nighttime mountain marathon) was also cancelled. This would have been my second running of the Chocolate Bunny. The first was last year on 4/20/2019, the day after my niece (Norah) died from an infection. So, as we approached the one-year anniversary of Norah’s passing, I was not ready to entirely give up either of these runs and I decided to run my own 100 mile race on the anniversary weekend. […]
RACE REPORT: Kissing Bridge Trailway FKT The trails are my playground. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of nimbly winding in and around trees and branches while avoiding treacherous roots and rocks that want nothing more than to grab hold of your feet and make you eat dirt. And let’s not forget the charged anticipation of climbing up steep hills like a roller coaster gearing up to let loose and bomb down the other side – pure magic. The Kissing Bridge Trailway has exactly none of that – which is why it was such an interesting prospect for me. It’s also admittedly near-by, happily still open for use in this Covid-19 world we now find ourselves living in, and a relatively short and simple first-go to lose my FKT (fastest known time) virginity to as I build up to seemingly greater challenges. The other thing that the Kissing Bridge Trailway provides is a stout test for what I would consider my biggest weakness in running: outright speed. Yeah, I’ve proven myself to be a strong runner, but I am no speedster. My successes have come from being able to maintain pace over those playground obstacles I mentioned […]
A hellishly hard to run race, deserves an impossible to read behemoth of a race report…. early on…all good BTU miler (160km odd) I’d toyed with cancelling this race. I’d entered it, expecting it to be in July in the depths of winter. Of course, due to Covid, it was delayed til October, which in Brisbane gets pretty balmy to be running. I’d run the BVRT “miler” & the 100km at Glasshouse over winter & the date just sorta crept up on me. I became aware that the numbers in the 160km race had dwindled from around 30 to only 10 starters, albeit, the runners at the front had very strong pedigree. So felt compelled to go for one reason & another. This race, in stark contrast to BVRT, has 8,000m of climbing. I was looking at the cutoff thinking that 30 hours may test me. (BVRT is a race that uses an old rail trail, hence is relatively flat) 18 finished last year out of 26 starters. Only 7 of the field finished under 27 hours, & only 4 finished under 26 hours. And I believed our conditions were going to be tougher, with the heat & humidity […]
So #IMLP2021 actually started in Couer d’Alene about a month before. My plan was to use structured training right up to IM Couer d’Alene and then use some of the fitness gains from that race to carry me to IM Lake Placid. For reasons still mysterious to me, I was not able to complete IMCDA and so in terms of training I just sort of made it up as I went along for those last few weeks. I did do a bit of hill climbing rides but I can honestly say I was super tapered going into this race. The Swim: So all I can say here is that it was exactly what I expected. It was a full contact swim with lots of zig-zaggers, sighting boobers, and pace over-estimators. I am not a fast swimmer but if you are faster than me you really should have learned to sight by now. Pretty much the same exact experience as 3 years ago with the exception that from the start I was really focused on staying in my comfort zone. Just really really comfortable in my breathing and exertion level. Much like Couer d’Alene I was surprised to be in the […]
Photo from mile 19, making the push up the long climb to Fort Peabody, the high point of the Ouray 100 course at 13,340 feet. Photo credit Eszter Horanyi. The Ouray 100 Endurance Run had long been a dream of mine, since about 8 years ago when I first started looking at doing a 100 mile running event. Back then I remember seeing an article for the Ouray 100 in Trail Runner Magazine and thinking this run must be the toughest hundred-miler out there, and while I was far from ready to do something like that at the time, someday I would be able to make an attempt at it. Pretty much every year since then I’ve been motivated by signing up for and training for a tough 100 mile run, each year upping the difficulty. But it wasn’t until this year when my friend Jeff suggested I finally do Ouray, and that he thought I was ready, that I dared sign up. Signing up for this event scared me which ensured my training was solid and that I was fit for the event. Several months of 3-5 hour sessions running 100 foot hill repeats, as well as strength […]
Living life in a day. That was my experience running Bear 100. It was an amazing, humbling, eye opening experience that left me with a huge sense of accomplishment. I can’t thank my crew, pacers, coach and most importantly my wife for helping me through the highs and lows on my way to my first buckle. This race was very challenging, and I knew going in I needed to train hard to be able to withstand the 22,000+ feet of elevation gain and altitude. My coach put me through very high mileage training throughout the summer and it paid off. This is not to say I didn’t struggle on a few climbs or had to stop to catch my breath at times, but training made the race doable. Huge shoutout to the race director and volunteers who helped put on an amazing race. Everything went about as well as it could have with me only suffering one blister on my foot and my right quad cramping up at times. With stretching this went away quickly. I struggled with keeping blood sugars as tight as I would have liked but prioritized safety and having a successful race over having perfect blood […]
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