What is your relationship with the trails you run? Are you someone who passes over them and enjoys the beautiful views along the way? Or, are you someone who actively maintains the trails, picks up litter when you see it, moves a fallen branch out of the way or participates in trail work days when you can?
Articles by Amy Rusiecki
What is your relationship with the trails you run? Are you someone who passes over them and enjoys the beautiful views along the way? Or, are you someone who actively maintains the trails, picks up litter when you see it...
A year ago, I was running a 70-mile race and around 45 miles in, a female runner was passing me and said, “I might sound crazy, but are you Amy?” Turns out, she was a runner that I had run many races with over the years,...
The role of race director has many parallels to training for an ultra. Directing a race can be a time consuming and frustrating process and at times, it can test your patience and passion. I find that I often need to employ the same psychological tricks and techniques that I would for training and racing an ultra to race directing.
While most of the strength I built during CrossFit has long since been forgotten, there’s a term that stuck with me. CrossFit uses the term “goat” to define a movement that challenges you. Given my abilities, that meant...
When I think about the ultrarunning community, there are a few common themes that come to mind. Ultrarunners show up for each other. The community welcomes and supports everyone. And for me, the Vermont 100 (VT100) alway...
The author hugs Wes Judd, winner of the Vermont 100k in 2019. Photo: courtesy author I’ve been in the sport of ultrarunning for over 15 years. I started when I was in my late 20s, a plucky an...
The role of race director has many parallels to training for an ultra. Directing a race can be a time consuming and frustrating process and at times, it can test your patience and passion. I find that I often need to emp...
At this year’s Vermont 100 (VT100), I would yell, “Let’s hear it for the volunteers!” just before leaving each aid station and allow the crews (eagerly awaiting their runners) to do what I couldn’t appropriatel...
Seven Sisters Trail Race female podium (L-R, Bonnie Lathrop in second, Colleen Chase in third and Carmen Bango in first). Rebecca_González-Kreisberg For the past several years, I have directed the Seven S...
I’ve been a runner for about 30 years now, and an ultrarunner for nearly 15 years. Over the years and miles, I’ve learned a lot of lessons—often the hard way. I was asked to speak to a local running club about my expe...
If you peek behind the curtain of any race, you might (or might not) be surprised by how on the verge of chaos things can be. After many years of race directing, I’ve actually started getting more nervous when things aren’t going wrong or when there isn’t an issue to resolve. My goal is always to remain duck-like through the process: calm above the water no matter how desperately the legs are working below the surface.
On a Saturday morning in April, 17-year-old Will Draxler set off up the trail to begin his “design your own” 100-mile journey through the Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. Will was a senior at the local Academy at Char...
Winter in New England is always full of cross-training, as it’s hard to maintain regular running without a bit of flexibility and creativity. Snow-covered trails, slick roadways and sub-Arctic temperatures often force...
I sit in my backyard, completely comfortable in the old camp chair. My shower and bed (and kitty cats) are mere feet away inside my house, and the temptation to give into these creature comforts is intense. I have run 10...
In this crazy year, I’ve found it hard to find inspiration. I think that I just wasn’t invested in anything enough to capture my imagination. Particularly, there was the struggle of trying to navigate the immense work st...
I’ll admit it. My mental game can be weak. Of all the muscles in my body that I train to prepare for an ultra, my brain is the most neglected and undertrained. And, in those late miles of an ultra, it’s a critical compon...
On Monday, April 20, I ran 26.2 miles around my community. I was supposed to be running from Hopkinton to Boston, but COVID-19 changed that. Still, I couldn’t allow Marathon Monday to pass without celebrating the best wa...
When I first started running ultras I remember reading about the Hellgate 100K, and was immediately intrigued. The race is in mid-December, starts one minute past midnight, and is a challenging mountain race (it’s also actually longer than 100k)
There’s a joke between me and Brian about his training habits. If it’s a Saturday, he’s probably running the Seven Sisters. If it’s a Sunday, he’s probably running the Seven Sisters. If it’s a holiday, day off from work or even one of his every-other Fridays off, he’s probably running the Seven Sisters.