A lucky place

My Hellgate race this year was full of more personal ups and downs than the course itself, and considering the elevation changes on the course, that’s saying something (the race could just as easily be called Up and Over because it feels like Dave Horton simply drives you out into the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains and then weaves a trail roughly 65miles long, up and over every mountain between you and the finish line).  Read more

Iroquois 100

This is the course of the Iroquois 100 held in October 2009, the event has since been renamed Virgil Crest Ultras. Read more

There Will Be Mud: An Appalachian Tale

-And on the Seventh Day, while others rested, the God of Trails, said “nay, there is much still to be done. It is said they man is created in His image, but he shall travel on mine.” And He, creator of stick and stone, judge of all legs, shaper of twist and turn looked down on his work and upon the Earth He saw paths criss-crossing the land, broken by streams, littered with rocks and limbs and nose grinding hills and lo, he thought, man will still travel too easily. And he said “Let there be mud”. Read more

My Little Death Race

So this past weekend, I journeyed North again to take part in the Pittsfield Death Race. Not your typical race, this involved little to no running while pushing you to your physical and mental limits as you struggle to complete the various physical challenges. The race directors, Joe and Andy, spend the entire year devising the hellish tasks and delight in the pain and anguish emanating from the racers. Read more

Rougly half of us will want this

Hopefully this is in the development pipeline. If not, I see a niche in the market that needs filling.

http://runtrails.blogspot.com/2005/10/product-idea-injinji-nut-tsak.html

Hot Times, Cold Weather: Hellgate 2008

So Hellgate has been on my radar for several weeks now and I was pumped at the idea of completing my first 100k. The stories I had heard from other Bimblers (icy weather, treacherous footing, Horton miles, freezing eyeballs) were both daunting and exciting but I loved the idea of adventure and overcoming the challenges. On the other hand, no matter who you are or what races you’ve done, hearing such tales of peril and difficulty is enough to give anyone pause. Read more

Mr. Brightside

So I ran my first 50miler yesterday, the Stonecat 50mile in Ipswich, MA, and came away with mixed feelings.

The day started, as they all do, with an alarm going off well before I was ready to get up. After a quick breakfast in the hotel with a couple dozen fellow Stonecat-ers, I was at the check-in site at 5.30am. Got my number, milled around and listened to some music until the RD gave his pre-race speech. He gave us the usual info, what colors to follow, what arrows to look for, what aid would be available and then dropped a gem of a comment and said that they had to adjust the course at the last minute and the total distance would now be a solid 54miles and dropped the term Horton Miles.  Now, I fully expect the given distance of a trail course to be taken with a grain of salt, but I’d rather know the total AFTER I’ve ran it. Not before so that I dwell on it throughout the race. So on that bombshell, it was outside to the starting line. Read more

Chi town urbanathlon Oct. 18, 2008

I was excited at the idea of traveling to chicago and running a race, but the fact that this was an obstacle course over a good distance, 10.5 miles, intrigued both my adventurous and endurance sides. I was also pumped to see my high school buddy Todd since we had been planning this trip for a couple of months.

The day started at 5.30 am in the hotel. Normally, i enjoy staying at hotels because of the breakfast in the morning, so imagine my excitement when i found that there was no complimentary continental breakfast. NO FREE BREAKFAST!!! I was devastated. To add insult to injury, there was a resturant in the hotel that offered a buffet but that didn’t start till 6.30. We left at 6. Read more