“Preparation is the key to success,” a coach I used to train with liked to say. This post covers the mental, logistical and physical preparation that gave me a fast and fun first 100-miler.
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The Journey to the Starting Line of a 100-Mile Ultra
One year after a DNS caused by injury, I’m going back to the race to attempt my first 100-miler.
My Wild Week at the Grand to Grand Ultra, Part 3: Good Guys and Goodbyes
Would our tent hold in the storm? Probably. I wasn’t worried. I actually felt calm, cozy and secure. I had developed a mindset of taking anything and everything in stride. Whatever happened, happened.
My Wild Week at the Grand to Grand Ultra, Part 2: The Long Stage
Whereas Stages 1 and 2 were like an appetizer and salad course, Stage 3 would be the Grand to Grand Ultra’s Supersized Full Meal Deal. It would dish up hot, hard roads; steep, rocky climbs; debilitating deep-sand tracks; gnarly, in-your-face vegetation; slippery slickrock, monotonous highway shoulders, and beautiful, baffling fine-sand dunes—relentless, towering, engulfing sand dunes.
My Wild Week at the 2014 Grand to Grand Ultra, Part 1
I was completely unplugged, off the grid and rocking out. I was going native, kicking ass and feeling half my age. And it just kept getting better. Inevitably—hilariously—something had to harsh my buzz.
My 2014 Grand to Grand Ultra Food and Gear List
Very soon I’ll start the week-long Grand to Grand Ultra 170-mile self-supported stage race that goes from the north rim of the Grand Canyon to the pink cliffs of Southern Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Here’s what I plan to bring to get through an event that’s been listed with the world’s toughest ultramarathons.
My Favorite Place in Costa Rica (and other Costa Rica Travel must-do’s)
Highlights from our family’s week in Costa Rica–where to go, what to do–and how one out-of-the-way small lodge in a river valley captured the essence of “pura vida.”
Report from the 2014 Hardrock 100, Part 2: Extreme Highs and Slows
What makes Hardrock so slow? It’s not just the thin air. It’s the ever-changing terrain, which includes broken-up rock, boggy mud, slick snow, rushing streams. It’s the skill and care required to spot hard-to-find trail markers when no clear trail is apparent; to step methodically and precisely along the face of a summit while leaning […]
An Ode to Telluride, Family Ghosts and the Hardrock Spirit
Getting ready to road trip to Telluride, an annual pilgrimage that does something to my psyche. Keeps me younger, makes me tougher. Reminds me what I’m made of and where I came from. Because I was a wild child, thanks to Telluride.
An Ultra That Became a Midlife Crossroads and Catharsis
How the Miwok 100K transported me way outside of my comfort zone, made me feel like I lived a lifetime in a day and then reduced me to tears.