Category Archives: Trail Running

Lost Boys – My Tribe

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There was a time when I was alone
Nowhere to go and no place to call home
My only friend was the man in the moon
And even sometimes he would go away, too

I’ve always been the black sheep of the family, marching to the beat of my own drum, never coloring between the lines….all the clichés that describe that person who refuses to conform to fit in. Even now, my family doesn’t quite get me. There’s always the passive aggressive guilt-trips that they try to put on me about how I live my life. I suspect that’s the same with many people. It used to bother me a lot, but now, it bothers me a little. And while I’ve always felt like a little bit of an outcast, I figured that I was just unique in my way of thinking. But, I’m not. Continue reading →

North Face 50-Miler – Freedom Run

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“She was born to be free, let her run wild in her own way and you will never lose her.” ― Nikki Rowe

On Saturday, April 9th, I ran my 4th 50-miler in DC. This was my 3rd time running the DC North Face Endurance Challenge. And for the first time in a very long time, I went into a race without a goal. As I started running ultras, I became more and more focused on goals (if that’s even possible for my obsessive brain) and the pressure of meeting these self-imposed goals started to get to me. Race after race, I would put myself through moments of despair and self loathing that I would come out wondering, why am I so mean to myself? I was afraid that I was heading towards being burnt out so I re-evaluated my goals for the year and frankly, they are pretty aggressive. After taking a look at the big picture, I realized that I needed a freedom run. I needed to toss out the goal of setting a PR and let my spirit and my heart run free. And so I did. Continue reading →

Redemption Run

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There’s nothing more glorious than a redemption run after having the confidence knocked out of you. And today was redemption day.

We headed out to my happy place at Gunpowder Falls for 12 miles. We took the pink trail which starts with a climb. I settled in with my mid-pack but then something happened at about mile 2 or 3. It clicked. Continue reading →

Chasing Fast Boys (Training Recap – 2/15/16 – 2/21/16)

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When you want to be fast, you gotta run with the fast. This week, I was chasing fast boys and barely keeping up. My target mileage for this week was 44 miles. I ran 37 leaving me short 7 miles. We had another winter blast that came in on Tuesday and with my work schedule, I just couldn’t make the run happen indoors or out. While the missed mileage wasn’t ideal, I did nail some of the runs that I did get in. Continue reading →

The Joy of Running with Friends (Training Recap – 2/8/16 – 2/14/16)

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Last week had its ups and downs, which is typical during training. But after looking at last week’s totals, I actually did better than I thought. As you can see below, there were hits and misses, but overall, not too terrible. Continue reading →

All Lost Souls are Found on the Trails

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There’s something to be said about the joy and healing of running. While I despised the act of it when I started, something happened along the way. It was as if someone gave me medicine that I didn’t want and eventually realized I needed. Then I discovered the trails, and it took this thing called running into an entirely new level. And the journey of the discovery of myself went into a new dimension. Continue reading →

PHUNT 25k/50k 2016 Race Recap – Should’ve Stuck to Plan A

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Last Saturday completed my first race of the season and boy was it a little ridiculous. The 13th Annual PHUNT 25k/50k took place on January 16th at Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area.  I heard such great things about PHUNT over the past few years and after a few nudges from friends, I decided to sign up. While it was sold out by the time I decided to move forward with it, I didn’t have to stay on the wait list long. PHUNT is one of the few races that I’ve come across where transferring registration is easy and they make every effort to try and have those on the wait list fill in the spots for runners who just can’t make it. I was very grateful for this. Continue reading →

2016’s Race Schedule – I Think I’ve Got It!

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So, after the fiasco last month of trying to figure out what 100-miler to sign up for and be able to qualify for Western States, I think I’ve finally got it figured out.

Here is what my schedule looks like so far:

  • January 16th Phunt 50k
  • March 19th HAT Run 50k
  • April 9th North Face Endurance Challenge – DC 50-miler
  • June 11th – Laurel Highlands 70.5 miler (WS qualifier/on wait list)
  • July 9th – Mount Hood 50-miler (in the lottery)
  • September 23rd – Mountain Lakes 100 (registration in February)

Continue reading →

2015 – What a Year!

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I usually have no problems with writing my end of year post. It typically flows right through me. But this year, I’ve seem to be plagued with writers block. Do you know when you have so much to say that you just can’t say anything? Well, that’s me. All. Year. Long.

I had a pretty big year in the world of racing. Actually, while I ran less races this year, the races I did run were pretty epic. Continue reading →

Decisions, Decisions…

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Well hell. When you think you’ve got it all figured out, someone throws a wrench in your plans. And when you come up with a new plan, someone throws another wrench in your new plans. I CAN’T WIN!

After I didn’t get into the Western States (WS) drawing, I was 100% sure that I was going back to Run Woodstock and run the Hallucination 100. 100% SURE. Then my friend David sent me this… Continue reading →