A thick mist hangs in the air above Chagrin River Road. It is very early and still dark as we pass through an idyllic pastoral farmscape of stone walls, duck ponds, rail fences, shade trees and brown horses. The hundred...
Articles by Gary Dudney
The first time you run an ultra you’re probably going to get a whole new perspective on what it means to suffer. Getting way out beyond your training at speeds and distances and numbers of hours you’ve never experienced...
Don’t let race day be a negative experience for you. Concerns about how well you will perform and worries about not meeting the goals you’ve set will detract from enjoying the race experience and can actually undermine y...
It doesn’t matter which distance you pick, the 100-mile, the 50-mile, or the 27-mile “fun run,” at the Lake Martin Trail Races. You’ll use the Russell Forest Trail System on Lake Martin in east central Alabama near Alexa...
Once I realized I could make it to the finish line of a 100-mile race, my first impulse was to do all the big, classic hundred mile runs. I put in for Western States over and over again, ran Leadville, Superior, Angeles...
When you first signed up to be an ultrarunner, you know, at your local ultrarunning recruitment center at the mall, I hope you paid attention to the fine print on the contract. It said in no uncertain terms, “You are now...
A surprise email arrived the Wednesday before the Saturday start of the 19th Cascade Crest Classic 100 held in the heart of the Central Cascades area of Washington State. Bad news: The Jolly Mountain fire was threatening...
Talk about a race that showcases a particular area of the country and its running community…and you’re talking about the Burning River 100/50 Mile in Northeast Ohio in the Cleveland, Akron and Cuyahoga Falls area. The...
Many runners have picked up on the close connection between running and mindfulness. When you practice mindfulness, you get a definite reduction in your levels of stress and anxiety. You also feel a lift in your self-est...
A well-marked course is a prerequisite for staging a successful ultra. It’s something runners have a right to expect when they pony up their registration fees. It’s also a safety issue. You don’t want runners overnightin...
Just eight miles into the 106-mile Cruel Jewel 100, runners pass the White Oak Stomp aid station and encounter the longest unbroken segment of the race, a 7.6-mile stretch of the Duncan Ridge Trail known as the Dragon’s...
When you dress for success in business, it is all about appearance and image. Looking the part is half the battle. When you dress for success in ultrarunning, image and appearance mean virtually squat. Clothes do not mak...
Running at the back of the pack in an ultra is like being way behind in a yacht race. You may not be winning the race, but hey, you’re still sailing around in a yacht. If you’re healthy enough and lucky enough to be doin...
I’m always leery of races that have words like “sky,” “hell and back,” “cloud’s rest,” “death,” or in this case, “FOURmidable” in their names. It’s like saying, “This race is going to be so hard we want to scare you away...
Some military phrases seem like they fit ultrarunning like a hand in a glove. Take the Marine Corp’s quote, “Pain is good; extreme pain is extremely good!” Can you beat that for summing up the right attitude to have head...
You might think the first week of February is an inauspicious time to stage an ultra, but you would be wrong if the race location is the Ford Ord National Monument and Laguna Seca Recreation Area on the central coast of...
We prepare ourselves for the physical challenge of an ultra with long runs, hill training, intervals, fartlek, weight lifting, cross training, tempo runs, and back-to-back workouts, all done with capital “I” Intensity. W...
It’s virtually impossible to run a race and not hear someone say, “We couldn’t do this without our volunteers,” or “Don’t forget to thank the volunteers.” A race director might be the backbone of an ultra event, but the...
What sets James Bond apart from other run-of-the-mill espionage types is his famous “license to kill.” While other spies fret over pulling the trigger, Bond blithely blows away lowlifes with his Walther PPK 7.65mm, or pr...
It’s a lucky ultrarunner who gets to plan a trip exclusively around running an ultra. What a treat! You can focus on the race, the exotic locale, and the new people you’re meeting. Your itinerary can be designed to get y...