People keep using the word “amazing” to describe my race, to which I want to reply, “It’s really not all that amazing compared to what the others around me did!” This post spotlights a few of those characters and their experiences.
Tag Archives | Sarah Lavender Smith
Final Prep for the Grand to Grand, When Just Getting Ready for the Start Feels Like an Ultra
Over these past four weeks, I kept asking myself how the heck could I find time and energy to train at a peak level and get ready to run across the back country between Arizona and Utah. Then my mind sharpened its focus on the task of getting every detail of food and gear figured […]
My Grand to Grand Ultra Gear and Food List
An annotated itemized list of all the things I’ll bring along for the seven-day 2012 Grand to Grand Ultra.
Getting Ready for the Grand to Grand: I Need to Be Committed
I’m getting serious about this training. With only about 37 days left, I’d better if I’m going to do it. I still say “if.” My hesitancy stems from three things: fear, guilt and injury.
What I Learned at Geoff Roes’s Alaska Mountain Ultrarunning Camp
What’s it like to spend several days in the mountains around Juneau at a champion ultrarunner’s camp, and how can it change you? It’s hard to describe how amazing it is, but I try.
Book Review: Scott Jurek’s Journey to Vegan Ultrarunning Champ, As Told in the Inspiring “Eat & Run”
I picked up Jurek’s new book, Eat & Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness, eager to read his reflections on his journey as an athlete, since he had been on my radar screen for more than a decade. Also, I was curious about the nutritional side of his book. Here’s why I recommend it, […]
Trying to Break the Busy Trap Through Summer Training and Travel
What happened to my running and state of mind the past two months? In this post, I take a deep breath and reflect. Also included: “Training for a Self-Supported Stage Race,” a reprint of a recent article on preparing for the Grand to Grand Ultra.
2012 Miwok 100K Race Report: The Highs, the Lows, the Strange Bodily Functions and Everything In Between
Running the Miwok 100k was a pivotal experience in my 18 years of running—longest distance ever, hardest course, a new approach to training and preparation—and it almost didn’t happen. Here’s the story of my very long day out there.
Q&A with Rickey Gates on Trail Running, Traveling and Living the Dream
In a sport not lacking offbeat characters with exceptional endurance, Rickey Gates stands out. Trail running’s Kerouac-quoting, motorcycle-riding nomad with the serious ’stache and tangled tresses talks about mountain running, ultra distances, global travel and what inspires him.
The G2G Ultra: A Grand Adventure Is Calling
Seven days, 160 miles, Arizona to Utah, carrying my food and gear. Can I do it? I don’t know, but I do know I can’t pass up the opportunity to attempt and report on this amazing inaugural event.