“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…
You might think that grueling 100 mile foot races through remote wilderness are nothing for people who are easily scared, but you’d be wrong. A woman who only runs after taking precautions against anything from rattle snakes to serial killers has not only run dozens of iconic ultramarathons but also Badwater, a 135 mile race…
Listen to the full interview with Ana Braga-Levaggi: Want to get into ultra running but don’t know how to fit it around your kids? Get inspired to become an ultra marathon parent from a mom and personal trainer who has run some of the world’s toughest 100 milers. Your kids might actually love you for…
Trail running has taken off in recent years and an increasing number of athletes take their cameras for a run. Nicky Redl spoke to Robert Rhodes, who is the tour director for the Trails in Motion film festival in Northern California. Trails in Motion offer an inspiring mix of insights from around the world. In…
Listen to the full interview with Karen Low: Ten years ago, you wouldn’t have picked Karen Low for a runner. A heavy smoker for two decades, getting into running for health and fitness didn’t just help her steer clear of cigarettes, she also dropped 20 kilos along the way. “I gave up smoking in…
Listen to the full interview with Stuart Mills: In the little French town of Chamonix at the base of Mt. Blanc, New Zealand-born Stuart Mills is getting ready to run the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc – a distance of 168 kilometers with positive elevation of more than 9,600 meters. Now a principle lecturer at the…