I raced the Kodiak 100M back on October 9-10 and ended up having a pretty bad day. Here’s my story.

*Disclaimer: The event was awesome, and none of this is even a slight dig at the RD, I loved every second of it and can't wait to do it again

Spoiler : Us mid/back of packers PR'd Kodiak 100 DNFs by over 50.

"Training"/"Preparation" : Back in March, I stumbled across the finish line of my first-ever 50 miler (Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker). I was fresh off a severe Achilles injury that sidelined me for months; I decided to run it anyway, no mileage, nothing. It sucked, but I finished a short hour under the cutoff.I had to look at myself and my already paid-for race on the other side of the country in October with much chagrin.

Knowing full well I was moving, would be working two jobs, and about 80 hours a week from here on out. I took a few weeks off to recover, ran a 25k, then proceeded to take a whole month off.

Starting mid-June, I held mileage around 25-35mpw, eventually upping it to 45 mpw with up to 9k vert during my "peak" 4 weeks. This was, in my mind, bolstered by the 6-9 miles I walk at either of my labor-intensive jobs, 7 days a week. (It wasn't) . I started to feel odd aches and pains in my feet and Achilles and decided, for some unknown reason, to start a 4-week taper, cutting what would have been a solid training block in half.

I did partake in heat training, as I live in North Carolina and have no way to prep for altitude within a 3-hour radius. I arrived at Big Bear twelve hours before the race, as you can imagine, fully prepared and ready to break 26 with my trusty single-man circus crew/pacer.

Race "Plan": I was going to attempt to split 12-13 hours at the first 50, then kill myself for the next 14 hours. I had my Bags all ready and turned them into the drop-off point at 7 am, race day morning, when I picked up my bibs. The race began in 5 hours.

Nutrition : I'd purchased plenty of gels to use, between Honeystingers and Maurten; I planned to take one every 30 minutes or so. I had 3 500ml flasks, to use for water.

The Race

I moved into the chute early to get my gear checked with enough time to grab extra from my crew if necessary. I, much to my own dismay and amusement, was moved through the gate into the elite starting area, all the while wearing my stupendously low-ranking bib number 176. I helped myself to the back of the pack and waited for go time.

(This is where my story and, u/tyrannosaurarms accounts begin to separate, not only in distance, but also in will to live, I applaud him for being good)

I'll include each station's kill count

It was a blistering 77 degrees, at 7000ft elevation, which many runners noted felt more akin to 85F or 90F. Altogether not horrid, but nothing to shake your head at. I went out fast, way too fast, and luckily, due to my own ginormous brain, decided to slow down. I was passed by nearly 50 people between the rolling hills at the start and along the fire road.

Crab Flat 8MI (1 Kill) 2:35pm: one mid-pack runner was already having what appeared to be having some heat-related issues going on, including vomiting and eventually DNF'D at the location. I filled my two bottles of water, leaving my third empty (foolishly). The lion had not been present for the course briefing. I left after a few short minutes for the 11-mile stretch to Camp Whittle.

Truth be told, the run between Crab Flats and Camp Whittle was quite enjoyable save for the massive uphill directly leading into the camp itself. I took it relatively easy, but still could not get my heart rate below 170. I continued to lay off the gas as my water supply dwindled. A previous 172km winner decided to drop near me at this point and offered me some of her water and an applesauce pack.

I was passed by no fewer than 132 runners in this section. If only we had not been so blind.

Camp Whittle 19.4MI (15 Kills) 5:44pm: I wandered into the aid station, semi-exhausted due to the heat and lack of water. Accompanied by my currently dropping, newfound friend. I was greeted by the squabble of dozens of runners already taking fully seated breaks, munching on watermelon, or notifying the volunteer that they are, in fact, dropping at 20 miles in.

Despite the absolute nutritional/hydrational ruin I found myself in after being entirely out of water and gels for nearly an hour. I came to terms with my situation and headed quickly into the setting sun. I felt revived, carrying the weight of my fallen brothers and sisters.

The next section, I remember very little about, other than it was still hot for a good while until the sun set. Like any good hero, upon donning my Ultraspire light belt, my legs flickered back into existence with all the ferocity of your neighbor's ancient Ford finally starting on its fifteenth attempt to turn over. I scampered towards the legendary Doble aid station, passing briefly through the Van Dusen aid station on my way.

Van Dusen 26.8MI (31 Kills): An unremarkable little aid station that became a graveyard of rejected gels, knees, and dreams. I passed through before most of the crowd showed, and I'm glad to have missed the slaughter.

I continued my quest through dusk into the night, revived and flying high, unaware of the absolute devastation in my wake. I had passed nearly 40 runners back and saw no end to it in sight.

Doble 1 33.6MI (0 Kills) 9:33PM: As I neared the promised land in the middle of the night, I could hear the cheers and bells of supporters. I was able to quickly find my friend, refill bottles, eat some quesadilla. My legs continued to churn down the smooth single pack towards the next aid station, and I was even passed during this section by the very front of the pack, and holy shit, were they moving. I continued my leisurely run, as my heart rate had finally found a decent place around 120-130bpm. Burns Canyon was next up.

I'll spare you the details between Burns Canyon and doble 2/burns canyon 2 (you loop through both again, in addition to two others). In short, it was a rocky, uneven, rolling service road until it became a heinous, uphill service road, which then went down. During this point, I had several stimulating experiences, including a gentle fellow who seemed to always yell "David Goggins" whenever he would break into a trot.

Burns Canyon 1 39.7MI 11:02pm (6 kills): a serene oasis in the woods

Smarts Ranch 47.4MI 1:15am(11 kills): The lion had not inspected the aid station charts well enough, and ran out of gels yet again.

Cactus Flats 51.3MI 2:33am (30 Kills) - NOTE: There is a relatively heinous uphill section here that was taking names.

**Doble 2 55.4MI 4:11am (0 kills)**ever merciful and dropless.

Burns Canyon 2 61.4MI 6:01 am (12 kills): At this point, nearing sunrise, the reality of such an undertaking began to dawn on me. My legs had finally begun to slow. An older woman in the tent huddled around the heater noted that she was having trouble seeing before she ran off citing that she "just needed to keep going". I left soon after and passed her on the next section.

As the sun rose, what once seemed an idyllic mountainside gave way to a nascent hellscape, abandoning all remnants of pretence, leaving only room for anguish and lies. My legs grew weary as we ascended deadmans ridge, and once that was crested, my legs ceased to move though my mind willed them. What was once a trot slowed to what can only be aptly described as a waddle.

Through great hardship I marched my defeated soul to the next aid station, fully resigned to be on of the next casualties of war.

Sugarloaf 1 69.2MI 9:02am (23 Kills): If Doble was the blitz, Sugarloaf could only be described as Landing at Normandy. Mountains of spectators, crew, pacers, dropping runners, medics galore. My friend joined me as my pacer, barely keeping me going as I noted my feet had swelled significantly, yet I had no change of shoes. I swapped socks, ate and drank, then we began our slow trudge towards the summit of Mount Doom.

If only I'd known what gods we had angered so I could make peace for the greater good.

A strict 3000ft uphill on rocks, somehow the entire way, broken only by the herds of 100k runners blitzing down from above like falcons spurred on by the sun.

Search and rescue warned us about the stretch to the summit, that several runners had reached it and refused to come back down. Yet we continued on; if the whores persist, then so to do I. To our left and right, 100m runners flailing, sitting on logs treating their wounds, One peacefully seated on a root, not two inches from the trail, his head leaned against the tree like a soldier to slow on the draw. Motionless. I myself limped towards a tree and held my head in my hands, as my right leg had developed a sharp, unknown pain with every step,

We pressed on only to find the glory of the climb consisted of a turnaround and no view at all. Just a squatters' encampment of exhausted runners, passed out at 10,000 feet.

We continued down the trail towards Balky Horse. An aid station, we were told by a volunteer, would be a mile and a half earlier than it appeared. My legs still could only run a few steps at a time between bouts of searing pain. We eventually descended to safety.

Balky Horse 78.1MI 1:13pm (2 kills): when we arrived at Balky Horse, everyone was on the ground, eating, crying, or praying. The one cot was taken by one of a pair of runners who'd passed us on the uphill previously. Much to my dismay, he was woken by his pacer. Before I could even take a sip of my coke, another runner had flung themselves on the cot, thrown the blanket over themselves, and passed out. It's truly remarkable this aid station didn't have more drops, I've thought in retrospect, perhaps because those had not yet dropped, were yet to realize the Gods had deserted us.

I slowly marched my way back down to Normandy, spurred on by my pacer and sheer fear of failure. All goals were lost, except one. To finish,

Sugarloaf 2 83.2 MI 3:37pm (11 kills): We arrived back at the most populous aid station, surrounded by volunteers, runners, and crew. I took a solid break to assess my wounds and decided to continue my assault on Big Bear.

Bear Mountain 89.2 Miles 6:10pm (3 kills): This was described by a volunteer as a flat "largely downhill" section. Indeed, in the UTMB live notes, it shows +/- 0. This is decidedly true, offset by the rolling up-and-down hills at the beginning of the section, only to be evened out by the most bullshit asphalt hill the state of California could construct without being forcefully removed from the union.

We arrived to a pirate's welcome, and deep concerns that, in my weakened and, at this point, deeply in pain legs, would be unable to finish the paltry ten miles between our ship of safety and victory.

We decided to press on, at an increased pace, slowly pushing on until the aid station on the GPS map grew closer.

It wasn't an aid station. It never was. Hoka's name rose out of the ground at the base of a fucking ski slope in which we were to ascend 1800+ feet in 1.2 miles. My pacer fell to his knees, babies cried, women wept as they handed their loved ones supplies. Fueled by pure rage, I left my pacer behind as I ascended the hill, passing everyone in sight. Which, to be perfectly frank, felt pretty metal. I felt like I was storming Eagle's Nest, except there was no Hitler, just a delusional ghost of a my dreams.

Snow Summit 95.6MI 8:44pm (4 kills): I'd lie if I said I was happy to even be there. My leg was in agony, my ankle refused to move, and my ability to go up or down any sort of incline rivaled that of the most desperate attention-seeking grandmother-in-law. I fled from the station, desperate; I simply wanted to end my suffering. I flowed through my most hated enemy, mountain bike trails, which, for some reason, every RD and their mothers really love to toss in at the end of a race. I ran as much as I could, blocking out the pain until it worsened to a point where I could no longer run, and finally, after 33 hours, 29 minutes, and 18 seconds, I finished the 101 miles. Out of 428 runners, only 279 made it to the end.

My ankle still doesn't work well; my ability to go up stairs is still nonexistent on the other leg. But I'm alive, and I had a fucking awesome time.

*Disclaimer: The event was awesome, and none of this is even a slight dig at the RD, volunteers or anyone else other than myself and my own stupidity. I loved every second of it and can't wait to do it again.

As some of you may know, the 101km Eiger Ultra Trail in Switzerland is not for the faint of heart. I raced it back in July and pushed myself to my absolute limit...

...I've just released my first book, VICARIOUS, that follows my experience of running for 21 hours straight through the Swiss Alps and hopefully is an inspiration to anyone wondering what they're capable of. It tackles the prospect of wanting to find your limit for many years, but questions the reality once you've received what you've asked for.

Hello everyone, I hope you're well! My name is Sam, a 24-year-old athlete from Nottingham. I've spent the last few months writing, editing, and even self-publishing my brand-new book, and it's finally out (I even drew the cover!).

I'd be honoured for you to check it out, available both in e-book and paperback format through Amazon! There's also a free sample if you fancy that first!

VICARIOUS - On Amazon!

I'm also sharing my journey on social media, trying to inspire people to get involved with this crazy sport!

My Instagram!

Thank you all in advance, and all the best with your ventures!

- Sam :)

Some context- I have my first 50k ultra in a month, and I have a backyard ultra next Friday that I’m using as training for the regular 50k ultra. The backyard falls at the end of my peak week.

I’ve been dealing with the worst illness I’ve had in years for the past 2 weeks, so badly that it put me out of running for 2 weeks. I’m very slowly getting back into it. This upcoming next week is supposed to be the start of my peak week and then I taper for 2.5 weeks after.

But I’m worried that my 2 weeks off put me behind in training. Should I still go forward with my peak week and taper weeks plan? Or can I use the next few weeks to just train like normal (usually about 25 miles a week).

I'm running a 60k race in the new year and wanted a new race vest. My budget is low so I was interested in the new Rat Race vests.

The 10l version is currently on on offer this week for 40 quid.

Has anyone had chance to try them out yet? If so, any good?

cheers.

I know this probably isn’t the place for this kind of post but i really need some advice. Recently i have been struggling doing the thing i love which is running due to the fact that normal heart palpitations cause me to start worrying that something is wrong with me and i get into this loop of anxiety which tenses my neck muscles, temples and overall i don’t feel very pleasant. If anyone has had something similar happen or has dealt with something similar can i get some advice on how to deal with it. I also know that nothing is wrong with my heart ive recently done a 100k ultra w significant gain so something should have happened if something is wrong.

What’s the best awards you’ve gotten from a race? Particularly top placements or random awards (like exactly middle of the pack award). Which race and upload a photo if you can! Would be fun to see who’s got the cool bling!

My first 100m attempt and completed. I see now why it’s such a big deal for a buckle. What a ride. Wolverine state 100. 32 hours 14 min.

I have 4 months for training ultra, if you have mandatory thing i need to know for performing correctly

I mildly sprained my ankle a few days ago, I was able to bear weight the next day but it’s still feeling pretty tight and weak ~4 days after. I have my first ultra coming up in 10 days, it’s a 50km technical trail with +/-2000m of elevation change. I’ve been training so hard all year, and I’m so devastated to maybe have to back out.

Is there any hope of being able to run? What indicators should i look for that I can maybe do the run? I was going to try jogging on flat this weekend and if that goes well trying a short trail next week with terrain similar to the course. I am not looking for a fast time, I just want to finish.

my priorities are workout tracking, sleep trends, comfort, and features that are genuinely useful in everyday life. Battery life and how easy it is to review activity data would also factor into my decision. i'd appreciate some longer-term feedback before choosing my next smartwatch. The Amazfit Balance 3, Active 3 Premium, and T-Rex 3 Pro are on my shortlist, and I'm trying to work out which one makes the most sense beyond the initial excitement of buying a new gadget. Which of these models would you recommend for someone who wants a reliable everyday fitness companion rather than a watch packed with features they may never use?

Anyone ever summit this old baldy in lewistown Montana?

Start coordinates 46.730181, -109.203665

Strava shows a trail for 1.5 miles…

Hello runners,

I’ve got it in my head that id like to have a bash at a back yard ultra, specifically the 24 hour format rather than last man standing, purely because I think having an end goal might make it feel more achievable for me
Appreciate that’s not necessarily the idea of a BYU but nevertheless.
I’m having trouble finding an event that is specifically 24 hour format - can anyone recommend any?
I’m based in the south west but happy to consider travelling a bit if the event comes well recommended

Thanks

ETA: sorry should have specified, SW of the UK

For context, I'm 25, 180-185 lbs, and currently run 3-4 times per week. Most of my runs are 5K-10K distances, and the longest race I've completed is a road marathon. I live in Florida, so heat acclimation shouldn't be a major concern.

My current weekly mileage is roughly 20 miles per week(but can go up to 30 some weeks).

Would 7 months be a realistic timeline to train for and finish either the Keys 50K or 50 miler? My primary goal would be to finish rather than compete for placement. Also, are there any Florida ultras that might be better for a first ultra that would also really push my body?

I want to run my first hundo next year. Ideally in the Pacific NW (I’m in the Seattle area) in the mountains. I was targeting the Oregon Cascades 100 but someone clued me into the risk of cancellation for wild fires like happened last year. What other races in the area have folks run and would recommend for the 100 mile distance? For what it’s worth, I’ve completed two mountain 100ks and about dozen or so 50ks with fairly substantial vert profiles, but I want to finish and not just suffer. Willing to travel but I’d rather stay in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho.

Yes I know I’m slow compared to many of you.

Stoked on my race considering I couldnt really run the last 15 miles since my quads and knee were blown up. Big bear was alot of fun and super nice trail. I feel like after mile 40 I could not eat anything besides ramen at aid stations lol. Probably need to get in the gym and strength train quads to help that. After the downhills I was wrecked but my hiking/going uphills was great even at the end!

Run Information

What: Cape Fear 24 Hour Race

When: October 10-11th, 2026

How far: 100.0142 miles

Time: 22:15:56

Where: Lillington, NC

Website: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=133758

Strava activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/20541135765

Intro

I first ran an ultramarathon (a 50k) in January of 2024 after watching all kinds of running videos on youtube that inspired me to give longer distances a shot. I had run a few half marathons before that but I always wanted to get to at least marathons and, eventually, ultras. I never had a timeline on getting to these distances, just that I wanted to do them if my body and schedule and everything could align to allow it. Turns out 2026 was a helluva year to check off some distance milestones for me.

Training

I did a self supported marathon in October of 2025 and knew I wanted to take it further going into 2026. I setup my own training plan by piecing together free plans online and working with my wife around appropriate timelines and ended up doing a beer marathon and a 50 miler in the first half of the year. Towards the end of my 50 mile training, I decided I wanted to go for 100 sometime soon and again, pieced together a training plan from free resources online and aimed for the Cape Fear 24 Hour due to this post and ended up working it out with my family and schedule.

Without getting into the nitty gritty details (which I can do in comments if people want) I went with meeting all distances scheduled until a 50k right before peaking messed with recovery too much. I then went with some advice on running your first 100 miler from an ultra coach channel on youtube and changed my peak phase to 6 straight weeks of 9+ hours of running while really focusing on the final 3 weeks with 2 sets of back to back marathons. Final peak mileage weeks were 63, 63, 60, 73, 62, 77 before a 3 week taper.

Goals

Goal Description Done?

A Finish 100 miles Y

B Run for all 24 hours N

C 110+ miles N

Pre Race

I watched the weather forecast like a hawk due to Isaias coming through. Final forecast was mid 60's temps with spotty rain with about a half inch in precipitation so I prepared what I could for that. I had myself packed up and ready Friday night and settled down to an awful nights sleep. Got up around 4:15 and did quiet stuff around the house to try to help my wife while I was running. My wife (the incredible woman she is) signed herself to crew for me and rode down to the race with me (about an hour) and helped me check in and get our spot setup. I still had about 45 minutes to kill once we got all setup so we just got some stuff organized and slowly got myself prepped for the run with bathroom breaks and lubing up etc etc.

Race

8 AM-1 PM

Race Start

It started raining decently about 5 minutes before start time so everyone popped on some rain gear and headed to the start line. Race started and I went to a comfortable-for-me pace of 9:30 ish per mile and really tried to stick to it, I didn't want to start too hot and death march this thing due to my stupidity now. It stopped raining after the first lap (of course) and I dropped my poncho thing at the tent. My wife left shortly after so she could go home and live her life until she wanted to come back. I just cruised and hit my marks on water and nutrition for the first few hours. They offered pizza starting around 11 and this was the first jump into the unknown for me, I have done some eating and running challenges and had done lots of eating of running friendly foods during training but I also learned during my 50 miler that I needed something more substantial, so I ate a piece of pizza to see how it would settle. Things felt fine after an hour, so I had another one just after noon. Sometime around 12:45 my stomach doesn't want anything to be put in it at all. I was moving fine but I was fighting my stomach just getting water and Gatorade in while trying to use gels to keep my intake high enough. Concern jumps up right here that it could be a looooong race.

1 PM-5 PM

First 50 Miles

I fought to keep to running unless I was eating while dealing with my stomach issues before trying a more clear run/walk split that would hopefully help keep digestion moving. Turned out that eating a decent mouthful (usually a quarter PB&J and some gel where necessary) and walking half a lap before running the next lap and a half and repeating was a cycle that worked really well for me so I stuck to that through 9 ish hours and 50 miles (new 50 mile PR!!). Everything from here out was new territory and I was so ready for it. My wife came back during this section and helped with charging my phone and cutting down on some of my stop times which was awesome.

5 PM - 10 PM

Knee Troubles and Passing Out

At some point around 56 miles, I tried to restart my run after my half lap of walking and my left knee was not having it. It felt like it popped up out of nowhere, I didn't have any issues with this during training, there was no lead in on pain, nothing that I can think of lead to the sudden onset of how it felt. My wife and son walked a few laps with me here which was great, I figured I would be able to walk through the knee pain and this was a great way to do it! Vibes were high still, stomach stuff had been mitigated, normal levels of tiredness/body complaining, I am out here with my wonderful family and kicking ass! Then I tried to run again and the pain in my knee was waaayyyy worse than before. Fuck. Wife and son went to get some food, figured I would try again when they got back. Pain levels still high. Cool cool cool. My parents were available so I gave them a call and we talked a little while about lots of stuff. Wife and son joined me for another couple laps around 8 ish and I just kept walking. They went into the tent to go to bed and I just kept walking. My wife popped out of the tent after little guy was asleep and I told her I felt a blister forming on the ball of my left foot and I was going to stop and get it sorted with the medical folks onsite. While on the table getting the blister handled, I full on passed out. I was talking to the guy and next thing I know, one of the women was shining a light in my eyes saying hello. Minor moment of panic that this was the end of my race but they told me its a thing that can happen (I think it's called Post-exercise hypotension?) and I need to take the next few laps careful to be sure there aren't any other issues hiding out. I walked with one of the medical assistant folks and surprised my wife, who was worried about me, with the info that I passed out on the table! Somewhere in this timeframe it rained again for the last forecasted time so I changed my clothes and shoes.

10 PM - 5 AM

Walking it out to Speed Shuffling

My Dad had mentioned that he was going to stay up and watch the White Sox - Guardians game and to give him a call around 10 so I did after walking off the passing out thing. I talked with him for a good while, mixed in talking with a buddy of mine, and again talking to my Dad, I was distracted until about 12:30 with a plan. I had slowed down a bit and doing the mental math, it wasn't working out that I was going to make my goal of 100 miles before 24 hours. My Dad and I did some math, I needed to get to 170 laps and if I could hold 10-ish minute laps (15-ish minute miles) then I would have about an hour and a half of "spare" time. I broke that down into doing 3 laps every half hour and focused hard on getting that done regardless of what stops I needed to make. So I hammered that into my head and went for it. At some point I got the gumption to try to speed walk. I figured I might as well lay it all on the line since I am seemingly ok to return to walking. So I went for it and turned out I could kinda shuffle/speed walk/heel strike with a good arm pump and land 8-9 minute laps without pain. It rained again a little unexpectedly and I could feel some more blisters forming on my feet but I couldn't convince myself the stop was worth it. I knew my feet would be wrecked so I just went for it. I had some low moments between 2-5 am and I just had my headphones on and just keep walking/shuffling.

5 AM-6:15 AM

Finish

Right around here I got to 10 laps left and it was a huge mental relief. The RD also was starting to hand out some medals to folks finishing and hitting their goals and was at the lap finish and noted that "you're going to do it too!" which was great. Another runner who was ahead of me distance-wise commented "that dude is getting 100" as I shuffled past and it was a boost as well. I was fully getting worn out here but knew I was close. My wife woke up and came out of the tent when I had 4 laps left and it was so nice to see her. I just kept my feet moving even though I was slowing down, I knew I was going to do it, I knew the plan I talked through with my Dad was going to work out, I knew that I hadn't completely wasted my time with all the training, and I knew that the walking I kept doing hours ago was worth it. My last lap was full of emotion as expected and it felt incredible to finally walk across the lap line with my wife for the last time to hit 100 miles at 22 hours 15 minutes and 56 seconds.

After

The RD was really rooting for me to keep going but I had no plans to do so. I went back to get my feet looked at and the med folks helped me out. Putting my shoes and socks back on and getting back on my feet after was a big ole nudge in the "stop" direction so I listened to my feet. I found the RD and told her I was done and she gave me my buckle. After hobbling back to the tent, I sat down and got slightly changed, cracked a beer I was so looking forward to (it did not hit the spot which was disappointing), and texted some folks I had finished before crashing out on the floor of the tent for like an hour until the horn was blown for the 5 minute warning I think? Big shout out to the guy who finished 100 miles in 23:59:34. I ended up 10th overall and 8th male and am so stoked to have done it. The race was awesome and the experience was fantastic, highly recommend this race to anyone considering it.

My wife (again, the incredible woman she is) got me and my son some food and packed up the tent and everything, and then we headed home. I drifted in and out of sleep in the car and got home and soaked in an Epsom salt bath and got cleaned up. Zonked out in bed for the rest of the day (through a tornado warning) and finished the night with a pizza party and movie night in bed with the fam.

As for what's next, I have no idea. Please comment all your ideas below. If you read all this, then thank you!

my 3rd and best 50k to date!!! some of the PR came from the fact that there was half the elevation gain than the course I previously raced 2x. But the rest of the PR is due to good fueling, good grit, cool weather. I’m so so happy with how this turned out!! they still haven’t posted standings or age group results and I’m interested to see. But either way, I’m so happy with this result!

my only goal was to have fun and not get injured or push too hard and injure myself. my secret goal was average pace under 12 min/mi. and in the back of my mind I was hoping for a tiny bit faster than my other race despite a shorter training block. crushed it all!

my favorite thing was that early in the race I kept seeing people ahead of me that I thought I could keep up with but they were a bit fast. I told myself to trust myself and trust my pacing and HR and run my race. Turns out I passed most of them by the end and gained a 12 min lead on a few! made me really feel like I knew what I was doing.

legs hurt so much omg but I’m so happy

Just signed up for The Canyons 50K in April...my first ultra! I’m local to the Auburn/Sacramento area, so I’m excited to train on the course once I get through CIM in December.

For anyone who’s run Canyons, what do you wish you’d known beforehand? Any sections worth spending extra time training on? Also, what trail shoes would you recommend for this course?

I’d love advice on transitioning from marathon training to a trail 50K - especially long runs, practicing fueling, and figuring out when to hike versus run the climbs. What helped you most before your first ultra?

Hello, long time lurker, first time poster :)
I have a 53km, 2400m elevation race this weekend. I have been managing shin splints for about a month leading up until now. The good news is they are feeling pretty good thanks to a well managed recovery. But I was thinking of strapping them with K tape for the race to support them and hopefully take some of the load off as a safety measure.

As above, I am wondering if the community has any opinions about the effectiveness of K tape, if it is worth doing etc. I have read some studies, they seem to conclude that it is unclear whether or not there is benefit from this. So I am seeking some anecdotal evidence if it has/hasn’t worked for you lovely people out there.

For context, it has been a pretty mild instance of shin splints (I have dealt with a nasty case of them a few years ago before I began ultra running), I never had to stop running completely, I had kept up bi-weekly long runs with the only discomfort really occurring in the first 30 minutes of a run - but importantly, no pain in the days after. I have been strictly cross training over the last 10 days in an effort to show up to the race with no niggles. A best case scenario for me would be to come out of this race without re-injury, so I am pretty keen to know people’s opinions - or alternative advice

Thanks in advance! I also apologise if this is something that gets asked frequently haha

Did my first 100 miler this past weekend, took me 28 hours to finish it. I’m honestly hooked on this. I enjoy it. I was wondering what should be in vision next? I’ve done a marathon a 50 and a 100. I sort of want to do a trail 100 next. Any advice?????? I’m not really sure where to go next when it comes to racing. Which is why I’m asking for advice. The 100 was tough honestly, I only averaged about 50-60 miles a week. Although I was lifting 5 days a week on top of that. And I’m extremely active throughout my day with time on feet. Please let me know! Advice on training, races, the next step. Anything!

I was blessed enough to be able to run 50 miles in SF this past Saturday while visiting for the first time. I was able to explore so much of the city in what is one of my best feeling runs I’ve ever done. Wasn’t focused on speed, just wanted to see as much as I could.

Ran my first 50K this weekend. 4 laps around an 8.2 mile trail with fully stocked aid stations at the start/finish and 3 mile mark, and a water station around 6 miles. Such an awesome day, and nailed my time goal. Hit a big low point from miles 20-24ish but am really happy with how I pushed through. Pivoted to another fueling strategy and felt much better. Once I started the last lap I knew I’d finish and that “weight” coming off helped me pick up the pace quite a bit on the last loop. Already looking forward to the next one!

Hey Guys, i'm running now fore 5 Years. Backyards, Trail Races, Marathons... I did everything. It just seems that i cant overcome the 80km mark. i failed this year 3x at that mark. Once it was the lungs, once foot and once my stomach. Is it my head???