Articles by Errol Jones

Nirvana

Every year since Gordy’s first trek from Squaw Valley to Auburn, many runners have tried to answer the call of the wild and make that epic journey. For some it’s been a successful quest, for others it’s been a dream unfu...

On Drop Bags

It was zero-dark-hundred and I was driving to a 100k event that I'd be working for the next 14 to 16 hours. I reflected on the many times over the years that I'd gotten up at such an hour to work or run a race. I thought...

It’s Not All Sweetness and Light

When you’re out there pounding the trail and things are flowing well, you’ve got to revel in the moment, because it’s one of the primary reasons for being there in the first place. We know that those moments won’t last f...

One Tribe Y’all

For as far back as I can remember, I’ve run. I never owned a bike growing up, and my family never owed a car, so everywhere I went, I ran, walked or took public transportation. It just seemed more fun to run rather than...

Don’t Shoot the Messenger

In one of my early pieces for UltraRunning, I commented on some of the changes I’d seen come to the sport. I mentioned the explosion of people showing up for races wearing costumes – tutus, capes, court jester caps and s...

Shelf Life

The longer I’m in the sport of ultrarunning, the harder it seems to become, but the greater my understanding and appreciation are for what I was once able to do in terms of time and placing, training and recovery. My app...

Too Much of a Good Thing

I was at a race recently where I was holding down a spot at an aid station like I was a storefront Indian statue. I’d arrived about an hour or so in advance of my runner’s expected arrival time, as I knew he might be an...

Do Your Homework

Do everything that you humanly can to get up on the game before you take on the course. Recently, I participated in a very popular 50k, and as one would expect, the usual accolades, comments and a few complaints came rol...

Aid Station Etiquette

Little is more deflating to the spirit of a suffering runner who has struggled to get to what he or she thought would be an oasis, only to find that what they craved most—ice and cold drinks—is not there, or has been adu...

Bittersweet but Not Unbearable

The 2015 running of Western States is concluded, and congratulations are due to last-place female finisher Gunhild Swanson, to first-place male finisher Rob Krar and to all those in between. But some didn't get that cove...

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

I'm not an avid reader of poetry, but the words in this Dylan Thomas poem have always resonated with me, and I think they express what I've done and what I continue to attempt to do in my ultrarunning. At various times o...

I’m Entitled!

In the past 10 to 15 years there’s been an explosion in trail running events, especially 100k and 100-mile races. With the esteemed Running Times publishing an article called “Is 100 Miles the New Marathon?,” it appears...

Six Inches Versus 100 Miles

It’s universally understood that there’s nothing easy about running and racing ultra distances of 31 to 100-plus miles, and that there are lots of components necessary for the successful completion of the task. Weather,...

Whiners and Winners

As the years fly by, I’m increasingly appreciative of what I was once capable of, especially compared to what I’m able to do now. For years, I took what I did in my running as something of a given, and felt that I could...

The Real Badwater

Every great ultra has its particular characteristics, its claim to fame or infamy, distinguishing topography and such that attract its following. Runners seek events that provide them with physical and mental challenges,...

Technology and Ultrarunning

The title of this column is Rocket Rants, and I’ve got to let loose with something because it’s been on my mind for quite awhile now. Everywhere I see people with their attention diverted as they fiddle with their ear bu...