The Runner's Trip: Run Long, Travel Far, Discover More
trail running and travel blog by Sarah Lavender Smith
If you approach a hard ultra ambivalent and less than prepared as I did, thinking, “Whatever, I’ll wing it!” then you’re setting yourself up for a painful race and a high likelihood of quitting. And that’s not fun, no matter how good the hot shower and beer feel post-DNF.
Two days before the race, I felt heavy-legged and thought, “I am not ready for this terrain.” But the dense, fecund forest of crown ferns and towering beech trees, which are garnished with clumpy moss, tangled vines, Frisbee-sized mushrooms and dripping moisture, enchanted me.
I’m eager to get the word out about ways I’m helping others—maybe YOU?—learn about, prepare for and reach the finish line of the next Grand to Grand Ultra.
2014 was a breakthrough year for me, so I indulged in a year-in-review to highlight a lot of the best moments. Happy Past Year, Happy New Year!
From packs to headlamps to books for runners, I’m getting on the gift guide bandwagon to spotlight some products I discovered and genuinely like.
“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.
One year after a DNS caused by injury, I’m going back to the race to attempt my first 100-miler.
This is the story of how I became friends with and virtually coached an unlikely ultrarunner in her first 24-hour endurance event. The story begins one month ago, and I admit, I was a little drunk.
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.
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.