Category: Races

Prologue It was 2014. Early that year, I ran my first half-marathon. Then, for the first time, I trained consistently with long runs through the summer. I started trail running. At group runs and races, I rubbed elbows with marathoners and… ultramarathoners?  I had known of marathons for a long time, but ultramarathons were new… Continue reading 2018 Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Stagecoach Line 100

This might read like a list of excuses, but that’s not what it’s meant to be. It also might read like some sort of extended self-flagellation, but that’s not what it’s meant to be, either. I made a lot of mistakes leading up to and during the race (only one of which was really out… Continue reading 2018 Zane Grey 50: Analyzing My First DNF

I don’t know how I’m going to do another 20 miles. I said more than that, but it seemed like that was where my pacer, Lisa, got worried and stopped listening. I was actually trying to be a little inspirational, leading with a complaint, but finishing with resolution. Instead, I shot wide of the mark… Continue reading 2016 Javelina Jundred 100k

If you want to read about how I trained for the race, you can find it here. Race Day I showed up early on race day to see the 50 mile runners start. Partly because one of my friends from San Tan was running it, and partly because I just wanted to cheer for them as… Continue reading All Day in the Desert: McDowell Mountain Frenzy 50K

Last weekend, I ran my second Ragnar Trail Relay! As before, it was on the trails out at McDowell Mountain Park. I talk a lot about my first Ragnar Trail Relay—a lot of the posts on this site reference it in one way or another—but there’s a reason for that. It planted so many important seeds of my… Continue reading Half as Many Going Twice as Far: Ragnar Trail Ultra 2015

I ran the Javelina Jangover (25K) out at McDowell Mountain Park this year, and I enjoyed it. It’s one of Aravaipa Running’s series of Insomniac summer night races. It was hot, as you’d expect, but there were rainstorms moving around us to the north and east, and that helped bring the temperature down a bit… Continue reading Javelina Jangover 2015: How I Accidentally Learned How to Be An Ultramarathoner

“I’ve been running far enough that I should be able to handle a 10k without too much trouble.” I forget exactly how it went in my mind, but it was something like that. It was what I was thinking when I signed up to run Vertigo in July of 2014. Vertigo, run out at White Tank Mountain… Continue reading Vertigo Trail Race: One Year of Trail Running