I was dead scared of running the Leadville Trail 100, or more precisely, of failing spectacularly. At 30 hours, it’s a tight cut-off for a high-altitude race, which contributes to only about half of participants finishing each year. As I stepped out of the bus on the town’s wide main road, lined by old-time Saloons,…
Did you do the Ultra-Trail Australia this year and are wondering how the champions manage to run all those stairs even late in the race? Perhaps you need an Ultra Trail Australia training plan. Lithuanian elite runner Andrius Ramonas, who has been living in New Zealand for the past year and a half,…
Nestled into the idyllic Bay of Plenty region on New Zealand’s North Island, there is a town that smells like no other. A famous tourist attraction for its geothermal activity, geysers and hot spas, Rotorua greets you with the distinct odor of rotten eggs. Nicknamed Sulphur City, it is also the home of New Zealand’s…
Broadcast on ABC Radio National’s Life Matters on February 4, 2016. Extreme sports were once considered the exclusive domain of men. Nicky Redl explores the trailblazing world of female ultrarunners. Online story: The sport of ultra trail running has boomed in recent years, with 80,000 ultramarathon finishes in the USA alone last year. The races are…
Often called one of the world’s most beautiful one-day hikes, the Tongariro Crossing on New Zealand’s North Island is nothing short of spectacular. Starting at Mangatepopo car park, the nearly 20k route takes you through an active volcanic area and past stunning alpine lakes. The Tongariro National Park is New Zealand’s oldest national park and…
Dangling skeletons, boozed-up volunteers and a blow-up sex doll. The Javelina Jundred in Arizona with its 100 mile and 100 kilometre distances is a cross between an ultra and a Halloween party, with runners sporting anything from elaborate dresses to the minimalist mankini look. There was, after all, a “best ass” award to compete for….
I had to get to the start line within half an hour or I’d miss it. Stuck in this foreign town, I was lost between winding streets and strange houses, unable to find my race bag, or drop bags, or anything at all. Hadn’t I had some hiking poles somewhere? This was Logan, Utah. Wandering past…
“No peein’ off the porch” is the sign that greets me as I wait on Craig Thornley’s deck. He is in the kitchen to make tea and one of his cats is keeping an eye on me from under a wooden bench. What do Western States runners get up to on their race director’s porch?…
What I remember most about dragging myself up steep, muddy and slippery mountain trails during the 2014 Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc CCC is a sense of embarrassment about hating 90% of it. It was raining from afternoon onwards and come nighttime, the trails looked as you would expect after thousands of people have trodden on wet ground ahead…
Listen to the full interview with Ann Trason The popularity of ultra running has shot through the roof with finisher numbers in the U.S. nearly tripling since 2007, and the number of women in the traditionally male-dominated sport rising dramatically. One of the world’s most famous female runners is Ann Trason, who broke 20 records…