Minimalism seems to be a continuing trend in the outdoor scene, and for good reason. After all, who wants to lug around a ton of heavy stuff that slows you down and makes trail adventures even harder? But (and this is a...
Articles by Ellie Greenwood
Most of us have been there – we make grand plans for running in the months ahead and visualize optimistic ideals of both our time and motivation for training. Then, before we know it, our New Year’s resolutions are fadin...
Running is a simple and joyful sport, but my-oh-my how complicated we can make it. It’s not that we mean to, but with good intentions of becoming a faster runner, it’s easy to get bogged down with the details and not see...
Pool running is an activity that many injured runners love to hate. It’s indoors, smells of chlorine and lacks adventure. Persuading friends to ditch a Sunday trail run and head to the pool is a tough sell. However, I pr...
I’m not a big fan of Strava crowns or FKT’s, but when runners start to proclaim how cold it is outside I somehow manage to weave into conversations the fact that I once ran when it was minus 38 degrees. Whether in Celsiu...
I have often said that one of the main criteria to be an ultrarunner is to really enjoy running. This might seem amusing but if you think about it, it’s really essential given doing anything “ultra” implies that you’ll b...
Each year I try to volunteer at a few races – something I feel that we should all do in order to give back to the running community that gives us so much. It’s surprising how rewarding volunteering at a race can be – you...
With the influence of the Internet, and social media in particular, more and more folks are getting out to explore our trails. We’re presented daily with beautiful images on Instagram and Facebook, and inspired to trail...
Taking on your first ever ultra might have been a daunting prospect – sure, a 50k is “just” five miles more than a marathon but as we all know, with the uneven terrain and all too often hilly course profiles, a 50k is of...
The final month of preparation for a key ultra is not always as straight forward as you might think. When you sit down to plan out your training months in advance it can be easy to just think of the final month as time t...
I am sure many readers are now kicking off their 2018 racing season. Sure, maybe not too many of you have run a 100-miler yet this year but by now 50ks are happening every weekend and many 50-milers or 100ks are looming....
Being competitive, driven and hardworking are admirable, and one could even argue, desirable traits in a long-distance runner. Set the bar high and you’ll often put in the work to achieve those lofty goals – be they a ne...
Many runners casually throw around the word “cross-training” in conversation – we talk about speed intervals, special diets, the latest gear and… cross-training – it’s like it can almost be a bragging point that someone...
Have you strung together a good number of 50k and 50-mile finishes? Do you feel like you are a reasonably capable ultrarunner? Sure you may not be fast and you might not post podium results, but you’re confident running...
Some ultrarunners like to think of themselves as in tune with nature, at one with their natural surroundings. We get to disconnect from technology, escape the stresses of modern life and embrace wilderness spaces that ca...
If some of you follow my running you might have noticed a slight absence of race results in the past 14 months or so. What was initially a slight niggling annoyance in my left leg in April 2016 soon led to full blown hob...
Pacing a perfect ultra or trail race is as much an art as it is a science. It’s a craft that needs to be learned; a craft that comes more naturally to some but for most has to be learned through trial and error. But just...
One question I get asked a lot by folks in my local running community here in Vancouver, BC, is how I went from a semi-reasonable but not exceptional runner, to a runner who has competed and placed well at several big ul...
Sometimes it’s worth sitting back and reflecting on what a wonderful community we are lucky to be a part of. If you’ve already been running trails and ultras for many years then you might be easily nodding your head in a...
For more experienced veterans of our sport a local 50k might seem like a walk in the park and something they could knock off without much prior planning and specific training, but for the majority of us taking part in an...
There are many aspects of the ultrarunning community that I love, and one of the most important is the fact that at 99% of races 99% of the folks out there helping the runners are volunteers. It’s easy to take this for g...
As a kid I remember by mum having a packing list for our annual camping vacations to Europe. This was a seemingly huge list of all the essentials from tents to clothes to food that we would bring in our trailer for a fun...
I’ve had my fair share of running injuries. I (un)fortunately feel rather like an expert on the subject – in fact, when a local run club asked me to come talk to their members, and I asked what they’d like me to talk abo...
I’m willing to bet that many of you spend far more hours at a desk in front of a computer screen than you do on the trails. We rarely stop to think what effect all that sitting in a fixed position might have on our healt...
“Uh, excuse me, I thought that this was UltraRunning?” Well, that might be your initial reaction as you read this piece as I extoll the virtues of running sub-ultra-distance races. Now, don’t get me wrong: I am a diehard...
In this issue, I wanted to write about gender and its impact on ultrarunning. While I had my own thoughts, I knew they were very much based on personal experience, so a quick online survey would be a good way to see if m...
When signing up for a race that’s quite a few months ahead, it’s easy to be overly optimistic about what sort of training and preparation we will be able to do. Whether this is due to simply having an enthusiastic nature...
As ultrarunners, we are often forced to plan out our race calendar many months, and sometimes a year or more, in advance. This can be because we are trying to get into races which require qualifiers or enter races which...
“What’s your next race?” “What are you training for?” “Sorry your race didn’t go as planned.” “Are you happy with your result?” So often in our sport, it’s racing – performing at our best on one particular day – that is...
For me, and I know I am far from alone, one of the big lures of trail and ultrarunning is escaping the busyness of daily life. We live in cities where traffic roars through our streets, where we never really see a starre...