2023 Recap & 2024 Preview

2023 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.

The Canyons 100 featured some serious early season heat. I suffered during the day but kept it together and rallied at night for a sub 24 hour finish and elite entry to UTMB.

I put in what was probably my best ever training block leading up to UTMB. A highlight of the block was the difficult Courmayeur Vertical Trail 60K on a stunningly beautiful day. I’d love to come back to this race with fresher legs and without the silly carbon-plated shoes that were wildly overmatched by the course!

I came into UTMB feeling ready for a special day. Well, “special” turned out to feature Covid and serious GI issues. With the fitness I had, I was still able to muscle through to a 30 hour finish, slower than I had hoped but perhaps a UTMBCOVIDFKT?

After UTMB, my fitness felt solid, and I enjoyed putting in a road marathon training block and building some speed. I ended up running Marine Corps, Richmond, and Rehobeth marathons in a short stretch. I managed a BQ at Richmond, but all 3 races felt off my potential. I’m hoping to return to the marathon again in 2024 and really nail it!

Now I’m in a quick build for the HURT 100 and looking forward to a big adventure in Hawaii.

As fun as my racing was, I enjoyed coaching even more. I had athletes with strong finishes at Western States, Canyons, Grindstone, Javelina, UTMB, Leadville, Speedgoat, Massanutten, and many more races. Many had first-time 100 mile finishes. Two earned elite entry to UTMB, and several ran BQs, including multiple sub 3s. So proud of this crew and so lucky to be able to work with these amazing athletes!

I’m already wildly excited about 2024. First up is the HURT 100, a race I have wanted to run for a long time. The next big challenge will likely be the Southern States 200, an inaugural 200 mile race on the Pinhotti Trail in Georgia and Alabama.

The big goal though will be returning to Tor. Tor was the hardest thing I have done, I’m honestly still terrified of it even after finishing. But it was also the most memorable and extraordinary race I have done by a longshot. My big, scary goal is to try to break 100 hours (my first Tor was 104 hours). Also, there have been only 9 Americans (as far as I know) who have finished in under 100 hours. 3 have now done it twice (Nick de la Rosa, John Kelly, and Kyle Curtin). It’s silly and arbitrary, but it would be cool to be the 10th American to go sub-100.

I hope you all had an epic 2023, and I’d love to hear what you have in store for 2024!