I finished the Swiss Alps 100 in 29:03, 13th place in the most competitive year of the race to date. It was all I had hoped for and then some.
The Hardrock 100 has the famous tagline: “Wild and Tough”. I’m giving the Swiss Alps 100, a Hardrock qualifier, the tagline “Scenic and Savage.” I had a hard time finding a good comparison between Swiss Alps and UTMB, but I definitely believe Swiss Alps runs tougher and slower. Even with a 50 hour cutoff, over half the field DNFed.
Read MoreThe Old Dominion 100 is the second oldest 100-miler. Despite it being in my backyard, my schedule has never worked out to run it.
Well, the schedule wasn’t ideal this year either with Hellbender 4 weeks before, but on a whim I threw my name on a long wait list. I had forgotten all about it when my named got pulled – surprise! Recovery from Hellbender went well, so I decided to give it a go.
Read MoreI returned this year for my fourth Hellbender 100 miler, one of my all-time favorite races. After the devastation of Hurricane Helene, this year’s course would be largely different. While I love the original course, I was looking forward to exploring some new mountains and trails.
This edition featured ~19,000 feet of vert compared to the original 24,000 feet. There would still be plenty of steep, technical terrain, but I figured the course would run about 1.5 hours faster. Previously my best time was low 25 hours, so I built my splits for 23.5 hours.
Read MoreI have long been terrified of a runnable 100 mile course. I am better at steep climbs and descents than flat, fast running. A runnable course is relentless and monotonous, and I also find it much harder to keep nutrition on the rails when running a faster pace. The only runnable 100s I’ve tried ended in DNFs many years ago.
It is good to challenge yourself though, and I figured something different was called for after Tor des Geants. Rocky Raccoon is a 5-loop course in Texas with about 7,000 feet of climbing. The race has been around for over 30 years with many historically fast times. For four months, I’ve focused more on speed and running economy. Marine Corps Marathon (2:58) and Devil Dog 100K (9:23, CR) both went really well, so I was excited to see what would happen at Rocky.
Read MoreRecovery went surprisingly well after Tor this year. With only 2 weeks of training, I was able to run 2:58 at the Marine Corps Marathon. I had a huge base for Tor and was able to layer some solid speed on top.
I signed up for the Devil Dog 100K in Prince William Forest. I hadn’t run it before, but I have run the OSS CIA 50 miler many times, which covers most of the same trails. I also coached several athletes at Devil Dog last year.
The route has 3 laps primarily on single track trail with about 6,000 feet of vertical. It is largely runnable with some punchy, steep hills and a few sections that are quite technical, notably the South Valley Trail.
I looked up historical results and set an ambitious goal of trying to break the course record of 9:44. That seemed like a big stretch and would take an amazing day, but it was a fun and motivating goal to chase.
Read MoreTor is an unimaginably difficult race. It has around 85,000 feet of vert packed into 215 miles. Some sections are so steep and technical that it is hard to believe they would put 1,100+ runners on it. It is also an unimaginably beautiful race. I have been fortunate to run in many places on this planet, and Tor is the most beautiful course by far.
Read MoreSouthern States is a 200-mile, point-to-point route on the Pinhoti Trail through Georgia and Alabama. I signed up for the inaugural year, excited for a new adventure.
With my return to Tor des Geants in September, I was looking for a 200 miler in the first half of year that fit with the family schedule. While Tor went well, it was my first time going past 30 hours. I felt I left some time on the table with sleep management and multi-day nutrition. Plus, another 200 miler under my belt might make me less terrified at this year’s Tor. Sure, I’m sure that will work.
Read MoreIn a break of tradition, I decided not to do a full race report for HURT. It is a beautiful event with a warm and vibrant community. However, a course with 5 laps that each contain loops and out-and-backs within the jungle rainforest may not make for exciting reading. There were roots, there were rocks, I went up steep climbs, I went down steep descents. Overall, it went well, and I was happy to finish in 11th place in 27 hours.
Read More2023 was another amazing year in this crazy sport.
At the start of the year, I set the out-and-back FKT on the Bull Run trail and was pumped to hit a 7min PR and finish in 3rd place at the Terrapin 50K.
Read MoreI’ve become quite fond of the Aosta Valley over the years. Since Tor des Geants last year, a little part of it has stayed with me. When looking for a pre-UTMB training race while in Chamonix, I was excited to find the Vertical Trail Courmayeur 60K. Not unlike Tor, it looked rugged and tough with 36 miles, 15500 feet of climbing, and lots of time spent up over 9,000 feet. Was it too challenging of a course to be optimal training for UTMB? Most definitely. But it would also be a whole lot of fun.
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