Arriving at Squaw Valley as a registered runner for the Western States Endurance Run is magical. And that’s a bit of an understatement. Runners are treated like royalty throughout registration while being told, “We’ll se...

Dear Ann,Some of my friends ask me why I volunteer at ultras when I could be running them. I don’t need volunteer hours but I like volunteering as much, if not more, than running races. What else can I do to help? —Kathy...

“I’m running my first 100-miler next month. How long would you suggest I taper prior to the race, and should I do anything different beforehand?”—JakeGreat question! You’ve picked your event, put in months of hard work,...

I often get asked if there’s a secret to maintaining consistency. This question usually has the undertone of having your cake and eating it too, i.e. doing excessive training and getting away with it. Yet, it’s a fairly...

With the summer racing season in full swing, many ultrarunners are taking to the challenge of overnight FKTs, 200-milers and other trail adventures spanning more than 48 hours. These longer ultras present a unique challe...

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...

With its hot temperatures and a fast pace, the bright spotlight of Western States can really showcase athletes while also being an Achilles heel for others, especially when it comes to nutrition. I asked a collection of...

Adventure runs are the heart of my running. Sure, I love being competitive, training hard and lining up for races. What I get most excited about, though, is playing outside in the mountains or desert with my wife and dog...

In memoriam of Dr. Pernille Højman Immediately after completing my PhD, I had the privilege of working as a post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Inflammation and Metabolism in Copenhagen, Denmark. I worked in a lab of...

Like many in the ultrarunning community, I crave adventure. This has pushed me to enter 100-mile races and run a few epic routes “just because.” However, I don’t always have time to travel to a race, or even carve out a...

Nobody really knows who came up with it, but the quote, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics,” is a part of American culture. There is a good reason for the ubiquity of this quote. Data and st...

Outside’s op-ed piece, Trail Runners Are Lazy Parasites, elicited a number of responses from the trail running community. In the 11 years I’ve been running ultras, I’ve gotten to meet a variety of runners and empathize w...

As days get longer and nights are warmer, many of us extend our adventures to multi-day outings, travelling fast and light to maximize distance while minimizing the cargo load. Our next two gear reviews focus on equipmen...

Sometimes life gets in the way of training. Sometimes there are family or work obligations. Sometimes it’s an injury. And then sometimes, it just boils down to the naughty “L” word. That’s right. Laziness. Your bed is ju...

The 200-miler is becoming the new marathon. Well, maybe not that commonplace, but you get my point. In the old days before iPhones, finding a 200-mile ultramarathon was practically unheard of. There was Badwater (135-mil...

Not all adventure runs are Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempts, but all FKTs are surely adventure runs. Long before Peter Bakwin and Buzz Burrell’s FKT-concept-birthing adventure run on the John Muir Trail (JMT) in 2000 (l...

When my son, Kyle, proudly grasped his diploma and pumped his fist in triumph during his high school graduation this past June, I cheered loudly while infused with feelings of relief, happiness and love. As odd as it mig...

Age: 39Where do you live currently? Hastings / Silver Bay, MinnesotaWhere did you grow up? Hastings, MinnesotaOccupation: Graphic & web designer, field technician for an ecological restoration firm, race directorFamily (...

Even if it was cool by Western States standards, the compelling severity of what lay before him was on the mind of Jim Walmsley as he walked slowly to the start of his fourth Western States Endurance Run.Talk in the days...

This year’s San Diego 100 Mile Endurance Run (SD100) witnessed the third change in race directorship spanning 18 years of the race. While the run has changed significantly over nearly two decades, the foundation of the r...

This year’s rendition of the Bighorn had challenging mud and snow conditions, complicating the renowned course. Volunteers took two hours to go two miles because of post-holing snow conditions, and made multiple subseque...

Listening to Bob Dylan is a treasured ritual that marks every trip I’ve made up the iconic drive on Highway 61 to the North Shore of Minnesota, bound for the 12.5k, 25k and 50k Spring Superior Trail Races. Put on by John...

Running your first 100-miler under the best of circumstances strips you to the core. Todd McMillion did just that, just weeks after losing his spouse. Todd and his wife, Lisa, knew each other in grade school, reconnected...

While the ultrarunning world clamors to get into Western States, the country’s second oldest 100-mile race on the other side of the continent remains relatively cheap, easy to get into, and a testament to what ultrarunni...

The Smith Rock Ascent 50K had one heck of a backdrop. The colorful panorama of rock was hypnotic, while the Crooked River quietly meandered along the base of the rocks. This was Smith Rock State Park – a rock climbing me...