Years ago, someone once told me that “snowshoeing made the winter bearable.” I would go farther than that and say snowshoeing makes the winter fun. I actually think it’s the secret training weapon of those ultrarunners w...
Articles by Amy Rusiecki
Over the past few years, runners like Kyle Robidoux have made the ultrarunning news for their participation in races. Kyle is a well-known fixture in the New England running scene, having completed races such as the Verm...
There has been a lot of discussion recently regarding the wide categorization of gender in ultrarunning. Conversations, policies and debates have centered around male versus female topics including where transgender athl...
Anyone who’s directed a race likely has some crazy stories of the unexpected, humorous and stressful things that can happen behind the scenes. And anyone who’s directed an ultra has many more stories – as things only get...
Like many in the ultrarunning community, I crave adventure. This has pushed me to enter 100-mile races and run a few epic routes “just because.” However, I don’t always have time to travel to a race, or even carve out a...
I’m an engineer with a Type A personality. If there was such a thing as being Type A+ that would be me. I like organization and anyone who has done one of my races has received race announcements that include bullet poin...
While most of us will never hold an FKT, simply perusing the list of FKT routes will fill up any ultrarunner’s bucket list. The Beast Coast offers plenty of such routes – one of the most popular being the Presidential Tr...
A small ultrarunning community in Western Massachusetts has been doing amazing things under the radar. Their name says it all – the BURCS (Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service). These awesome ultrarunners focus...
Over the past 20 years, I have coached numerous high school and college teams. For the past five years, I have provided personal coaching for ultrarunners working towards their next races. While I am embarrassed to admit...
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 a...
I don’t think I am alone in favoring the fall as my favorite season for running. The temperature drops, the humidity decreases and the foliage pops. Each year, my passion for running is renewed as I simply enjoy the weat...
While most of us will never hold an FKT, simply perusing the list of FKT routes will fill up any ultrarunner’s bucket list. The Beast Coast offers plenty of such routes – one of my personal favorites is the Pemi Loop. Th...
One of the random facts about the East Coast is that many of the states are smaller so you can run across an entire state in one fell-swoop. That has an awesome sound of badassery to it, which can be the icing on adventu...
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...
As I stand on the starting line of the Massanutten 100 (in VA), I am slightly chilled, wanting to keep my puffy jacket on until the last minute. I start the race with a long sleeve shirt…and immediately regret that decis...
A few years ago, I stood at the starting line of the TARC To Hale and Back 6-Hour Race. There was about a foot of snow on the ground and unbroken trail along the three-mile loop. As instructed in my pre-race email (becau...
Over the last few years, the term Beast Coast has popped up to describe East Coast trail running. Some runners have even sported Beast Coast temporary tattoos to show their pride in where they live and train. Being a tra...
I grew up in New England and I was a cross-country ski racer in my youth. I’ve always played outside in the winter – no matter the weather and no matter the temperatures. I am in my happy place when outside on the snow....
When I think of racing on the East Coast, I think of dancing through rocky technical trails, I think of power hiking up and cruising downhills with only rare flat terrain to test the leg speed, and I think of low-key but...
Folks often comment on how wonderful it must be to be married to a fellow ultrarunner. I’ll admit, it’s a pretty sweet deal – beyond being married to an amazingly kind and sweet guy (Brian Rusiecki), we also share this t...