At this time of year, kids are heading back to school, and inevitably, they are asked to perhaps present to the class what they did over the summer. I haven’t done that in a LONG time, but this past weekend, I got to wondering what I would say about this past summer, one that was VERY different from all the previous ones. The thing is, I came to the conclusion that my summer was, in fact, awesome! Different, yes, but still full of adventures, challenges, new experiences, and general fun. And that is in spite of really only taking a […]
running
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As a result of my late November ankle surgery, part of my plan for the 2019 race season was to play it safe. For me, that meant trying not to bite off more than I could chew, and look at racing a few events closer to home and perhaps not super long distance. In my searching I realized that MEC had a local trail race series that was very cheap, and had 3 events all within a couple hours of home. They are no frills for sure (no swag, meals, etc.), but at a starting price of $20, they fit […]
Building off the relative success I had a few weeks earlier at the Raid Pulse 8 hour adventure race, I decided that it might be time to put the ankle to a real test and sign up for a real trail running race. To those ends, I’d already committed to racing the 80km Quebec Mega Trail race on the July 1st long weekend. However, that wasn’t quite good enough for my liking. My training volume had been quite low to date, and I didn’t want to go straight into a 50 miler without a bit of a test. And I […]
As I crested yet another little rise, feeling the many kilometers in my entire body, I could utter only a single word to myself in my internal monologue: “run”. So goes the simple existence of an ultra-runner deep into a long race. In this case, it was the 106km Midnight Moose Ultra, taking place in Gatineau Parc, so near my house, yet so far away mentally. The mantra I trained myself to repeat ad nauseum is simple: “Run where you can, walk where you have to”. This truly is the key to getting through an ultra. You need to simplify, […]
Welcome back race fans. Two weeks ago I lined up at the start line of the Cayuga Trails 50 Mile race for the second time. This is notable in some respects, as I VERY rarely repeat ‘away’ races. I ran in (and covered) this race last year, and was captivated by it for a few reasons. Firstly, Ithaca is a really cool little New York town, with a hidden secret: the canyons / waterfalls just outside the core! I had absolutely no idea that there were such cool natural features so close! Add to the fact that there is a […]