Articles by Buzz Burrell

Now I Am Inspired

I’ve raced all around the world, from New Zealand to Norway, but I only recently discovered how little I know about this sport. A woman ran a marathon dressed as a fish, which won her a “best dressed” award. Charlott...

The Widowmaker

If you know what a widowmaker is, the above title certainly caught your attention. Unfortunately, I had never heard of the term until three months ago when it happened to me. I have been an accomplished endurance athl...

Should You Run Off and Join the Circus?

I did not run the biggest race of 2023, but I was there. Along with 70,000 other people.   The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) has become the most important trail race in the world by a very wide margin. The event is n...

You Are (Probably) a Nice Person

Scott Jurek won the Western States 100 seven consecutive years in a row, which is not likely to happen again. He famously was also at the finish line to greet the last-place finisher during each of those years. In 2004,...

When the Going Gets Tough

The tough get going. This is what my high school track and XC coach used to say to us every day. These words have been chiseled into my brain. I can’t remember who I met yesterday, but I’ll never forget...

You Run on Public Land

On December 15, 2022, the Pro Trail Runners Association (PTRA) was formed. The organization is headquartered in Switzerland but operates internationally, with a mission focused on: “Athletes Rights, Competitions, Anti...

Past Running Journalism Is the Future

Remember when magazines arrived in the mail, and we paid for them with subscriptions? If you do, you’re dating yourself. Paying for subscriptions seemingly disappeared when we were able to read...

A Good Question

“Never ask yourself why.” This is one of the original adage’s I heard after entering the sport of ultrarunning years ago. It was a dark, insider joke that meant don’t ask the question because you won’t be able to find a...

Enjoy the Process

Running is very egalitarian. If you practice then you get better—no special skill, equipment, age, gender, location or cost involved.Which is great news, except for one thing: you really do have to practice....

Running with Age in Mind

Seeing a photo of Gene Dykes standing on the podium next to Eliud Kipchoge got my attention. I have done things with world-class athletes from many sports, but this photo got my attention. Dykes had just won his age g...

Find Your Threshold

Burrell finished the GranTrail Courmayeur 30K in Italy this summer at age 71. courtesy TORX One January morning many years ago, I did a 10k classic XC ski race, then the 15k open (skating) race and 2...

History Repeats Itself

I used to train by running in one direction and when I got tired, I’d turn around and run back home. This simple plan guaranteed a good workout. One summer day, I left my home in Kalamazoo, Michigan, ran...

Adventure Terminology

Everything in life is an adventure. Or at least, it should be. But there are differences – while road sub-ultrarunners never leave home without first starting their sport watch, trail runners almost always bring a cam...

How to Run in the Mountains

I’ve been wanting to talk about safety for decades. After over 50 years of running (and skiing, climbing and paddling) in the backcountry, here is the full list of the disasters, injuries and near-death experiences I’...

Returning to Race

I am entered in eight races over eight weeks this summer, most of them in the Alps. Seeing how I entered almost no running races over the past five years, friends are commenting that this is a very ambitious schedule (wh...

The Truth About Aging

I am an expert on age and running. I wish I wasn’t. I wish I was 40 years old and knew nothing about this miserable topic. That was way more fun. But hold on, 40 years old is classified as “master” which was three d...

Fastest Known Times of the Year

Half of these award-winning FKTs were done outside the US, which is great to see and something new for 2021.  The FKT scene is very active all over the world, and our voters recognized that.   There were some long rou...

Fastest Known Times of the Year

Fastest Known Times (FKT) can easily be undertaken while maintaining a distance of six feet (or six miles, in some cases). Not only can runners skip the hassle of lotteries for the privilege of entering...

Most Notable Fastest Known Times of 2018

The Fastest Known Time of the Year Award is back again for its third year. FKTs are now a fundamental element of ultrarunning. From the best runners in the world to back-of-packers, runners are creating their own adventu...

Most Notable Fastest Known Times of 2017

The Most Notable FKTOYs is back for its second year. And with even more vigor: runners are really going after their personal projects. In June Cat Bradley won the prestigious Western States 100 race, then in November fin...