Desolate Peaks, Take 2 (August 16-17, 2025)
Last year I wrote a long report on Desolate Peaks, with lots of pictures, course descriptions, subjective impressions, etc. Here’s a link if you want all of that. This year I’m just going to focus on what was different and how that affected my race. Here’s what changed: 1. This year was way less windy.…
Ouray 100M (July 18, 2025)
Last December my friend Garret asked if I’d pace him at Hardrock. I leaned toward “yes,” but Colorado’s San Juan mountains are not close, so I wondered if I could get more out of the trip than a pacing gig. I recalled another race in the same neighborhood–the Ouray 100–which turned out to be only…
Desolate Peaks (August 17-18, 2024)
What is Desolate Peaks? One could be forgiven for thinking it’s a race: it has aid stations, drop bags, timers, a course guide, and even a page on Ultrasignup. But races (and organized events more generally) are not allowed in the Desolation Wilderness, so it can’t be that. As the participant guide states–no less than…
Tor des Geants (September 2023)
Note: I’m writing this in July 2024, ten months after the race, so some details are fuzzy. But be warned: there are still a lot of details. If you’d told me ten years ago that I’d end up doing a multi-day 350k race through the Alps, I might have asked “Why?” I’d always been better…
Miwok 100k (May 4, 2024)
The Miwok 100k is, as its website claims, an iconic trail ultramarathon. Back in the day, it regularly attracted a who’s who of elite runners, who often used it as a tune-up for Western States. Things have changed: there are way more April/May races these days, including the high-profile Canyons 100k, and Miwok now feels…
Western States
I’m way behind on my race reports, with Swiss Peaks, Quad Dipsea, Way Too Cool, Miwok, and Dipsea still in the queue. But I’m going to jump that queue and write up Western States, because…well, it’s Western States. This is, after all, where modern ultrarunning began, back in 1974 when Gordy Ainsleigh ditched his horse…
Coming Home: Vermont 100M
I’ve been waiting a long time to run the Vermont 100. This is true in a narrow sense: I registered in late 2019 but rolled my entry over twice due to Covid cancellations in 2020 and 2021. But I also grew up in Vermont, and have wanted to do this race since I started running…
Bighorn 100M (June 17, 2022)
The Bighorn 100M had never been on my radar, but when Megan suggested we do it, I immediately agreed. I mean, why not? I had no other plans for mid-June, and a long run in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains sounded fun. I didn’t know anything about the race, except that it’s famous for its mud. That’s…
Spring Trifecta? Lake Sonoma, Canyons, Miwok
My spring race schedule was pretty demanding, with five 50M/100K runs in eight weeks: Marin Ultra Challenge 50M (March 12), a 54-mile “Birthday Run” (March 27), Lake Sonoma 50M (April 9), Canyons 100K (April 23), and Miwok 100K (May 7). In the grand scheme of things, this lineup wasn’t that tough: nothing like Dean Karnazes…
Early Spring 2022
My last two years, like everyone’s, have not gone according to plan. I began 2020 by signing up for a ton of races, only to see them all canceled. I was optimistic about 2021–which got off to a good start–but ultimately scaled back my racing and training due to wildfires and work. Given this track…
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