My experience pacing at Rocky Raccoon 100miles OFFERING TO PACE THE LAST 30 MILES OF A 100-MILE RACE IS MORE THAN JUST PHYSICAL CHALLENGES. THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL CHALLENGES THAT NEED TO BE OVERCOME ARE KEY TO GETTING THAT ELUSIVE 100 MILE BELT BUCKLE. If you’ve ever run an ultra, and I’m talking an ultra where you’re out for 24hrs+, you’ll know that it’s the people around you that can make or break your race.  When I heard my dear friend, Amanda, was going to be running her first 100 miles at Tejas Trails Rocky Raccoon in Huntsville, Texas in early February I reached out to h ..read more

January 2022, 5 eager beavers pressed the registration button for Javelina Jundred, myself included and embarked upon a journey. A journey of ups and downs, sideway moves and even a few backflips! Javelina Jundred is the original costumed trail party! Every Jalloween Weekend the race is held on a +/- 20mile looped course comprised mostly on the Pemberton Trail in McDowell Mountain Regional Park just outside of Phoenix, AZ. With race distances of 30k, 100k and 100 mile there is something for everyone. And yes everything starts with a J, pronounced as a H! The privilege. Taking four runners on t ..read more

I’m 70 miles into the iconic 200 mile race, the Tahoe 200. It’s been a hell of a journey to be here and I’m excited to be running in this awesome location. But somethings not been right all race, I’m simply exhausted with every movement and even though I’ve already climbed over 11’000 ft of vertical gain I feel like my legs are on fire. My lungs are bursting out of my chest and I’m gasping and wheezing like nothing I’ve experienced before. As I contemplate my next steps up the mountain climb I feel really cold, the wind picks up and it starts to snow. As I wipe the flurry of flakes out of my e ..read more

“We can endure much more than we think we can.”   Some say 200 is the new 100, maybe it’s 240!  The Moab 240 mile footrace is a non-stop race through some of Utah’s most stunning and challenging terrain; traversing canyons, two mountain ranges and stunning red rock mesas with temperature fluctuations between 80f (26C) during some days  with rain or sunshine to below freezing at night and snow storms wreaking havoc on the back of the pack during the final 24 hours of the race. Before the race I had the unwavering support of a full crew and pacing team for Moab consisting of hus ..read more

My body screamed at me to stop, but I kept looking at my watch checking my splits, after 202 miles through the most technical and treacherous terrain the 7 miles to the finish line of the 209 mile Bigfoot 200 mile race was on the road, but I was scared.  I was scared to try, scared I might give it my all and still fall short, scared to hurt more than I was hurting but I kept looking at my watch to check my splits.  Dion had worked out that I needed to run 14min/mile for the 7 miles to finish sub-90hours.  He was there beside me, coaxing me telling me I could do it and I was scre ..read more

Some say I’m crazy for even thinking about running 200 miles but I prefer to say I’m courageous.  I dared try and try I did.  Bigfoot 200 is a point to point race in Washington State, starting at Mt Saint Helens in the Cascade Mountain Range and finishing in Randle after transversing 42,000ft/12,802m of ascent through beautiful, tough, rugged and extremely remote single track trails.  Starting with the volcanic blast zone of Mt Saint Helens (which erupted in 1980), lava fields, long mountaintop ridge lines with stunning forest, mountain and lake views, deep old growth forests as ..read more

It’s hard to articulate the feelings of completing such a distance on foot. Do you focus on the belly-aching negativity of the low moments that come again and again or do you look back misty-eyed and full of optimism with that warm feeling of satisfaction with your rose tinted glasses on? I think you need to look back with a healthy dose of both reflections taking the ‘ughs’ with the ‘ahhs’ in equal measure to answer the sure to come questions of ‘why do I do this?’ or ‘will I ever do it again?’. To read the full story head over to Run Ultra for all the details ..read more

It’s 2:30am; my alarm’s gone off although I’ve had no sleep because I’m super excited to be going on an adventure I’ve been dreaming of for years.  Today I’m going to be running the famed Rim to Rim to Rim; an epic adventure in the Grand Canyon, Arizona.  The Rim to Rim to Rim (R2R2R) is a 48 mile trek with an elevation change of 22,000 feet, out of the 11,000 feet of ascending 7 miles of this is set on a calf burning 20-30% gradient.  This is no regular run or hike and I’m not taking this challenge lightly; temperatures throughout the hike could be as low as 30f to a high of 10 ..read more

As the Corona virus continues to spread throughout the world; with varying degrees of lockdowns, shutdowns, curfews and regulations, it’s likely that many of us have not had the race year that we had hoped for in 2020.  In the US, with nearly 15 million confirmed cases and rising there is one race company (among others), speaking from a US perspective, that has lead the way on how to hold an event safely during a worldwide pandemic, Aravaipa Running (AR).  Having adapted swiftly and promptly to public demand and hosting a raft of virtual events since the pandemic struck and going bac ..read more

My breathing is panicked & shallow, it’s pitch dark and I feel trapped.  I’m fumbling about near my head in the dark to switch on my head torch so I can see where the zip is to free me from the bivvy that feels like its suffocating me.  Found it! Light, zip, night sky and cold air.  Phew I’m released!  I’ve never slept in a bivvy, actually my camping experience is limited to multi day race camps, and it’s taking me a bit to get used to.  With the zip fully done up I’m totally sealed in and cutting the oxygen and I think I’m just breathing carbon dioxide but if I on ..read more