The Runner's Trip: Run Long, Travel Far, Discover More
trail running and travel blog by Sarah Lavender Smith
The Grand to Grand Ultra is two weeks away! As with past stage races, I’ve made a list of my gear & food to help others who may be preparing for a self-supported stage race, or who want to find out about ultra-lightweight gear for fastpacking and camping.
This is the story of my client Will Barkan, who’s legally blind, and how Will recently nailed his first 100-miler, the Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Run.
This post is about a topsy-turvy two months. I’ve been in a funk, facing fears and experiencing exaggerated moods, but I’m reminded that peace of mind and a normal rhythm return in good time.
I left here with a deeper understanding that this sacred, scenic public land is fragile and threatened. But I did not expect to find—and was pleasantly surprised to learn—about the good news coming out of this area.
This is a book about the therapeutic power of running and becoming a top ultrarunner. But it’s the backstory about her family, and her personal development, that drew me in, even when chapters served as a sometimes-painful mirror of self-reflection.
OK, so maybe I’m all by myself in a high-desert forest running 56 miles in a giant circle for no better reason than to order a pizza at the end, but at times out there, it feels purposeful and connected to something larger, like …. like … oh Christ I don’t know. Are you there, […]
I’m doing this race again less as an endurance competition, more as an opportunity to revisit and revere this region up close, and ultimately do what I can to help protect it.
Why I’m thinking about parties, ropes and chainsaws—and what they have to do with procrastination, running, parenting and aging.
The farther away I got from road marathoning and that PR set in 2009, the more intimidating and daunting it felt to try it again.
I made a mental list of circumstances that make a long training run extra challenging. What happens when all these things conspire on the same run? Let me tell you.