Fall has arrived. In a typical year, back-to-school activities would be in full swing and fall races would fill the weekends. While much of that has changed, brisk morning runs and leaf-lined trails are a sign that summe...
October 2020
Features
In recent years, the variety of ultra races has moved beyond just distance or time. For example, the Piece of String Fun Run in the UK is an event with a concept where the length is a mystery, along the lines of the age...
As athletes are pivoting towards personal projects, virtual races, Fastest Known Times (FKTs) and (virtual) last person standing events, I’ve had to pivot what I do as a coach to help athletes meet these demands. In my h...
While there are some races still happening, most people have cleared the calendar of 2020. In late March and early April, as the world was changing more rapidly than a sprint finish, ultrarunners didn’t know what do to....
As a reader of this magazine, you’re likely an ultrarunner. And as an ultrarunner, you’ve probably run at least one ultramarathon race that’s a standard ultra distance: 50k, 50 miles, 100k or 100 miles. Or perhaps you’ve...
Carbohydrate has four calories per gram which equates to 240 - 360 calories per hour. Current nutritional guidelines for carbohydrate intake during ultra activity is 60-90 grams per hour (g/hr), which lasts 2.5 hours or...
In this crazy year, I’ve found it hard to find inspiration. I think that I just wasn’t invested in anything enough to capture my imagination. Particularly, there was the struggle of trying to navigate the immense work st...
It has now been over six months since the initial wave of COVID-19 hit the United States, which means we are finally getting some early information about the long-term effects of the illness. What type of disease will CO...
In the small world of adventure racing (yeah, that’s even smaller than the world of ultrarunning), the return of Eco-Challenge in 2019 was big news. Sixty teams of five, four coed athletes plus one crew member, descended...
He had only been gone a few weeks. But when Amanda Espinoza-Martinez spoke of her late husband, Chris, it’s obvious his guiding spirit still remained.“He was so good at leading people,” Amanda says of Chris, who died on...
Nike Pegasus Trail 2TMSRP: $13011.7 oz M / 9.5 oz WHeel/forefoot (mm): 30/21Best for: High mileage training in cool conditions; 100-milers on moderate terrainNike made significant overhauls to its entire Trail lineup ov...
“I’m feeling good – better every day,” Courtney Dauwalter said just two weeks after her 500-mile Colorado Trail (CT) fastest known time (FKT) attempt. “I’ll be back to 100% soon, I hope,” she continued, clearly optimisti...
Last year was pretty amazing. I ran Western States 100, my first 100-mile race ever. I also earned a Fulbright scholarship to teach and research in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for my sabbatical from the Criminology and...
Up in the mountains, Pau Capell’s mastery is unstoppable. The 29-year-old from Sant Boi de Llobregat, a small town near Barcelona, Spain, has every modern mountain trail runner in check. In 2019, he won the Ultra Trail d...
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...
What if there was a race that had no end? And what if the starting time was equally uncertain? And what if deception and false hope were thrown into the mix? You might be told the race will likely start sometime tomorrow...
They travel internationally from countries around the globe to race together, run with enough food and gear for seven days in lightweight packs on their backs and traverse some 250 kilometers over remote, rugged terrain,...
As I write this, we are three days into a six-week lockdown – the strictest lockdown Victoria, Australia, has ever seen. All businesses, bars, supermarkets, pharmacies and petrol stations are closed. In regards to the ou...
Name: Faye AsseeAge: 46Where do you live currently? Canada, MontrealWhere did you grow up? Canada, MontrealOccupation: Social workerFamily (kids, spouse, pets)? Twin sister, and boyfriend Martin PaquetteNumber of ultras...
Feature Races
Dark and Dirty took place as part of the Outlaw Trail Race Series, a collection of eight scenic trail races located primarily in the state parks of Oklahoma and Kansas. With 250 registered entrants, the nighttime race co...
Summiting five 14ers in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains is an awesome feeling. That is, of course, until you realize you’re only halfway through the High Five 100 in Lake City, CO. Stretching across some of the storied ter...
About two hours into the Maah Daah Hey Trail 100, I paused to take stock. Since the race began, we’d been riding roller coaster, twisting single track through the classic badlands terrain of western North Dakota, surroun...

Courtney Dauwalter is followed by part of her crew, Maggie Guterl, Paul Terranova and Cameron Hanes, as they approach Cottonwood Pass during her FKT attempt on the Colorado Trail. Photo: Howie Stern