I don’t know how to start this article. So, I suppose I’ll just start by saying that I don’t know how to start this article. I am incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to write a monthly column for UltraRu...
Articles by Cory Reese
Not only am I a Springsteen fan, cinnamon roll addict and owner of a Great Dane named Little Debbie, I am also a licensed clinical social worker. After nearly 20 years in practice, I thought I had a solid understandin...
Panic had set in. It was the middle of the night at the inaugural Zion 100 and the only thing we could see by the light of our headlamps was a vast expanse of slickrock. I was running with a dozen other runners and we were all lost because the markings on this particular section of the course were sorely lacking.
Cory receives support from his friend and pacer Jared at the finish line of Western States. Paul Nelson I made it to mile 99 of the Western States 100. I felt a sinking despair knowing I had traveled so...
Cory and Matt Gunn at the Zion 100 finish line. Cory Reese Panic had set in. It was the middle of the night at the inaugural Zion 100 and the only thing we could see by the light of our headlamps...
Her toenails click-clack on the kitchen floor, sounding like a writer slaving away feverishly at a typewriter. She snorts in excitement. Her tail thumps against the wall until I guide her to the middle of the room. Th...
A few days ago, my friend Chris told me a story that was equal parts hilarious and captivating. Chris works as a teacher at a youth crisis center. Last January, he was shopping at Target, when he passed a discount bin...
My wife, Mel, and I have a tradition for our Sunday morning runs. We run to the gas station 5.5 miles away, buy a snack, sit out on the curb for a few minutes and then we run 5.5 miles back home. I always head straigh...
Looking at this year’s results of the Yeti 100 on Ultrasignup, you can get a snapshot of what transpired over the course of 100 miles. Patrick Reagan decimated the rest of the field, winning in 13 hours and 33 minutes...
I want to tell the grocery store cashier to stop being so judgmental. Even though she doesn’t say anything as she scans the groceries, I can see it in her eyes. I have exceeded the amount of high-fructose corn syrup that...
My manager walked toward my office and hesitantly stopped at the door when he saw me at my new standing desk. He got a puzzled look on his face like he was trying to solve a difficult math problem. “Wow, what made you de...
I pulled into the parking lot, an asphalt oasis surrounded by the scorching Arizona desert, and walked over to a line of people where I waited to check in and receive my bib number. Everyone around me looked confident an...
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, I watched the news in terror. I saw the number of positive cases growing exponentially and after a few nights, it all became too much. I broke. I laid down in bed and felt hot...
I’ve got a fever. And the only prescription is More Cowbell. The More Cowbell Trail, to be exact. Southern Utah is a largely undiscovered mecca of trail running. Wide desert vistas. Rolling slick rock. Trails skirting th...
There is mounting evidence that ultramarathons are creeping into the realm of Hollywood. Ultrarunning’s influence on the silver screen is subtle, but if you know what you’re looking for, the evidence is unmistakable. As...
I’ve had some personal experiences running an ultramarathon with a spouse. I ran every step of a 100-miler with my wife, Mel. I also DNF’d a 100-miler with her. During both experiences, the miles tried to kill us. And at some point (okay, multiple points) during each race, we wanted to kill each other.
On a March afternoon in Minnesota, the greatest event in running history took place on a modern-day Field of Dreams. Iconic races like Western States, the Boston Marathon and Badwater pale in comparison to this new quintessential race: The Sandlot Marathon.
It is difficult to explain to a non-runner what it’s like to run an ultramarathon. How can you possibly put into words the excitement, the highs, the lows, the torture and the triumph of such an audacious pursuit? Here’s my attempt to explain the stages of running an ultramarathon by using something everyone can understand: cartoon characters.
Donuts and running bring great happiness to my life, so I jumped at the offer to tackle the legendary Donut Trail in Ohio, which hits twelve gourmet donut shops connected by more than 80 miles of rural, and unbelievably beautiful roads.
I have run ultras in the mountains. I have run ultras in the deserts. I have run looped-course ultras. I have run an ultra across Death Valley. I have run solo ultras. But there was one glaring omission from my previous running resume: an ultramarathon with the opportunity to eat ice cream sixteen times per mile.
There’s something about standing on the side of the highway in Iceland hitchhiking with your wife that has a way of bringing you together. We stood there in the kind of storm where at any moment it will literally start raining cats and dogs.
I’d like to think that the characteristics needed to run ultramarathons can translate to other areas of everyday life. The attributes of determination and perseverance are important to finish a…
“I think I might throw up,” I heard Shacky mutter during the steep climb. My friends Vanessa and Shacky and I managed to make it to the top of Gooseberry Mesa without anyone throwing up (or dying). The climb to the top of the mesa ascended more than 1,500 feet in less than a mile, early in the Zion 100.
I am a member of a special club. You pay the membership dues with grit, tenacity, stubbornness and courage. The members of my club understand each other on an unspoken level. We feel each other’s pain. We relish each other’s accomplishments. We know each other’s struggles. This club is called the Back-of-the-Packers.
I circled the high school track, loop after loop, hour after hour, mile after mile. For 100 miles, to be exact. It was July in southern Utah, where summer temperatures feel like you’re standing on the sun. The high was 107 degrees. I tried to think of some profound response when people asked why I was running 100 miles around a track in July. The best I could come up with was “Well, it seemed like a unique challenge. And I had some glazed donuts I needed to burn off.”