The Runner's Trip: Run Long, Travel Far, Discover More
trail running and travel blog by Sarah Lavender Smith
I spent ten months coaching two clients for the Grand to Grand Ultra and the Atacama Crossing. Here’s the outline of their training plans, and their stories of what the events were like, to show how to meet the myriad challenges of an ultra-long stage race—and, perhaps, to inspire your new year’s goals.
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.
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.
Researching and fantasizing about ultra runs made me moody and distracted. This post describes being in a funk and snapping out of it. Also included: a list and links to 17 self-supported stage races around the globe.
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.
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 […]
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.
It’s close to 110 degrees, and Joe Osha is suffering through the Long Day, the 50-mile leg in the seven-day, 250K (155 mile) Gobi March. He’s carrying all his own food and supplies. What makes a foot race across a desert worthwhile, and how does he go the distance?