鈥擨n April 2024, David Roche鈥檚 body was on a beeline toward death. Thrown off his bike by a turning car, Roche flew 100 feet into a fence. A concussion, a broken wrist, and stitches ensued, but so too did the lingering effects of a near-death experience, that strange and wildly scary reminder of fragility that feels all the more terrifying when one is blessed with a body that has never had to be reminded of such a thing.

For Roche, that accident was what led to his fuck it moment: a decision to live his life as a demonstration of love, grit, and joy. While recovering, Roche decided that he needed to go big. Fuck the haters. Climb the mountain. Do the thing. And he did. He won the historic Leadville Trail 100 just five months later. It was his first attempt at the distance. He set a course record.

When I first spoke to David Roche in February 2025, it only took him about 30 seconds to mention death. 鈥淓verything,鈥� Roche told me over the phone, 鈥渟tarts with death and impermanence.鈥� It was a jarring introduction for someone whose public persona feels so overwhelmingly positive. Love, kindness, awesomeness, even huzzah鈥攖hese words punctuate Roche鈥檚 social media posts, his Strava runs, and, recently, the texts and emails he sent my way. 鈥淪o excited,鈥� he emailed me, with four exclamation marks, when I told him I was flying out to Boulder, Colorado, to spend some time with him. And yet, as he told me over the phone, he is always subject to entropy, the unalterable process by which each of us, and I do mean each of us, is heading on that beeline toward death.

The post David Roche Is Betting Big on Carbs, Grit, and Love appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The post Need to Unburden Yourself of Secrets? Take a River Trip鈥擩ust Ask Mikah Meyer appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

American ultrarunner has set a bold goal for 2025: ascend Mount Everest without the use of supplemental oxygen faster than anyone in history. Andrews, 34, who has set speed records on 26,781-foot Manaslu and 22,837-foot Aconcagua, told 国产吃瓜黑料 that he鈥檚 going to attempt the Fastest Known Time (FKT) for ascending Everest via the South Col route this May.

鈥淚n mountaineering, it鈥檚 almost like Everest has gotten a bad reputation鈥攖oo crowded, too commercial, people doing it for the wrong reasons,鈥� Andrews told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淏ut when it comes to mountain running records, it represents the ultimate progression.鈥�

In May, Andrews will depart Nepal鈥檚 Everest Base Camp and ascend the Khumbu Icefall, the Western Cwm, Lhotse Face, past the South Col and on to the 29,032-foot summit. The total distance is 9.3 miles, with an elevation gain of 11,434 feet.

There are several speed records on Everest. Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa鈥檚 2003 ascent of Everest as the fastest at 10 hours, 56 minutes, 46 seconds. Lhakpa Gelu ascended the peak with supplemental oxygen. In 1998 Kaji Sherpa ascended the peak from Base Camp in 20 hours and 24 minutes, without the use of oxygen. In 2017, Catalan ultrarunner Kilian Jornet set a speed record of 26 hours for ascending the peak in true alpine style, without using oxygen or fixed ropes.

Andrews said he is targeting Kaji Sherpa鈥檚 record.

The tradeoff of going in May鈥攁nd following the main route used by commercial climbing parties鈥攊s that Andrews will have to potentially deal with traffic jams. Climbers form bottlenecks on the Nepal side. Andrews said he expects crowding on the peak in 2025.

鈥淲hen the previous record was set, there were definitely fewer people on the mountain,鈥� Andrews said. 鈥淏ut there weren鈥檛 any of those $10,000 espresso machines at Base Camp either, so there are pluses and minuses.鈥�

Andrews said his primary strategy for his Everest FKT attempt is to try and avoid the masses. 鈥淭he nice thing about Everest is that there鈥檚 a lot of groupthink, he said. 鈥淭he big climbing companies send all their teams up in the same couple of days.鈥�

He believes there鈥檚 wiggle room to start his climb before or after the biggest wave of climbers, even within a tight weather window, to make on-the-fly decisions that will help him avoid the route鈥檚 most notorious pinch points.

Andrews鈥� FKT attempt will be a solo ascent, backed by a significant support team on the mountain. 鈥淚t takes a village,鈥� he said. For logistics, including permitting, he鈥檚 working with Dawa Steven Sherpa, the CEO of Nepali guiding company Asian Trekking. The two worked together for Andrew鈥檚 FKT on Manaslu in September 2024. 鈥淗e鈥檚 the critical piece behind the scenes,鈥� Andrews told 国产吃瓜黑料.

On the lower sections of the route, Andrews will run with his good friend and climbing partner Chris Fisher. Fisher will also accompany Andrews through the Khumbu Icefall, considered one of the most dangerous sections of the South Col route. 鈥淗e鈥檚 my support person and my pacer,鈥� said Andrews.

Above the Khumbu Icefall, Andrews does not plan to spend a night at higher camps, but he will stash food, water, and gear in strategic locations along the route.

Andrews told 国产吃瓜黑料 that the peak鈥檚 upper-most section, from Camp 4 to the summit, will be the key to his attempt. 鈥淭he last 800 meters could take me four hours or it could take me 12 hours,鈥� Andrews said. 鈥淭hat will likely make or break the route.鈥�

In preparation for the climb, Andrews has been using a hypoxic generator at home to simulate the effects of extreme altitude while training.

For clothing, Andrews is planning both a “warm weather” and “cold weather” kit. 鈥淚 think the most important thing will be layering and having a setup where I can move comfortably and never get too hot or too cold,鈥� he said. Andrews worked with sponsor La Sportiva on a modular system to easily add and subtract layers as temperatures shift. The small, custom backpack he鈥檒l use to carry the essentials was made in the USA by FSP Outdoors.

He hopes that his attempt will inspire people to do hard things. 鈥淲hether that’s climbing a mountain, running a marathon, starting a business, asking out the girl at the coffee shop, whatever that is, I hope that what I’m doing can inspire a handful of people to do something hard, because it’s tremendously rewarding and fulfilling,鈥� Andrews said

He also hopes that it will encourage other high-level mountain athletes to come to the Himalayas to try to break speed records. 鈥淚 think that’s what’s exciting about sport,鈥� said Andrews, 鈥渢he continued competition across generations.鈥�

As for risk, Andrews recognizes the life-or-death stakes. but he doesn鈥檛 think that speed records lure climbers into taking unnecessary risks. 鈥淧eople who are realistically in a position to attempt something like a speed record on an 8000-meter peak understand there will always be risk and danger when you鈥檙e competing in the mountains,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always something that you have to weigh carefully.鈥�

Before he became a high-altitude mountain runner, Andrews was a two-time Olympic Trials qualifier for the marathon (in 2016 and 2020), and a world champion ultrarunner. He splits his time between Flagstaff, Arizona, and Quito, Ecuador, where he trains extensively at 16,000 feet and above.

His first major mountain speed record was in 2021 on 19,347-foot , Ecuador鈥檚 second highest summit, in 1:36:35. Andrews has since set FKTs on 19,340-foot , Africa鈥檚 tallest mountain, in 6:37:57, and Argentina鈥檚 22,838-foot , the highest peak outside of Asia, in 11:24:46.

Andrews鈥� perhaps greatest accomplishment yet came when he set a new in 2024. It was his first record on one of the world鈥檚 8000ers鈥攖he 14 peaks that stand at 8,000 metres (26,247 feet) and above.

鈥淭hat was the moment when running Everest became real for me,鈥� Andrews said.

The post Tyler Andrews to Attempt Everest Speed Record appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The course has won the 2025 Barkley Marathons.

Or really, we should say the winner is race founder . For the first time since 2022, there are no finishers at the Barkley Marathons. Three-time finisher John Kelly completed loop three in 39 hours, 50 minutes, and 27 seconds in the wee hours of Thursday morning, Barkley Marathons Chief Resident Tweeter (or should we now say, Xer?) .

In doing so, Kelly dipped under the cut-off by 10 minutes to earn a 鈥渇un run鈥� before tapping himself out. The course, which some believe included a new nasty 45-minute section to this year, was just too hard. Only two other runners made it onto loop three, Tomokazu Ihara (Japan) and S茅bastien Raichon (France.) Raichon returned to camp five minutes later without completing the loop. Two hours later Ihara returned, well beyond the cut-off.

The 2025 Barkley Marathons is over. There are no finishers.

鈥� Keith (@keithdunn)

While we鈥檙e disappointed that we鈥檙e robbed from 20 more hours of entertainment, really, we can all breathe a sigh of relief:

The Barkley Marathons can rightfully maintain it鈥檚 moniker as 鈥渢he world鈥檚 hardest race.鈥�

It鈥檚 the 25th time in 40 years that the Barkley Marathons has no finishers. Only 20 people total have ever done it. The 40th edition is the least 鈥渟uccessful鈥� (or should we say most successful?) since 2018, when similarly just one runner, Gary Robbins, completed a 鈥渇un run.鈥�

Kelly, who鈥檚 on a quest to tie Jared Campbell鈥檚 record of four finishes, will just have to come back again next year, armed with even more experience and grit.

Wondering what the Barkley Marathons is all about? Head over to our to learn about everything the rules, the course, the history and lore, and why an event that sounds an awful lot like orienteering actually isn鈥檛 orienteering at all.

Welcome to the 2025 Barkley Marathons

For those in the nichest of niche ultrarunning circles, Christmas came early. At 11:37 A.M. Eastern on Tuesday, March 18, the 2025 Barkley Marathons began.

The start date and time of this race that鈥檚 as fabled as it is mysterious change every year. But the third week of March is historically early. Perhaps race founder and his successor, Carl Laniak, were hopeful that pushing the event into the middle of March would bring colder, wetter, windier, and all-around grosser weather. After all, . And, ostensibly, they simply can鈥檛 let that happen again.

But if they were looking for miserable weather, the weather gods had their own tricks up their sleeves. A cold but clear Monday night gave way to a sunny Tuesday morning with temperatures projected to reach into the high 60s or even the low 70s, according to . That鈥檚 pretty damn perfect, for the runners anyway.

Of course, Laz and Laniak have other curve balls they can throw in the runners鈥� way. The biggest one, of course, is simply to make the course even harder. While the race is always five 20- to 26-mile loops and runners always have 13 hours and 20 minutes to complete each loop and 60 hours to complete the whole event, the course itself changes every year. But you can always expect a lot of nasty hills, prickly briars, and off-trail shwacking for a total of 120-130 miles and 60,000 feet of gain. No course markings, and no GPS devices allowed. Runners claimed last year鈥檚 edition was bramblier than ever, and yet more runners than ever rose to the challenge.

Here are our live updates from the 2025 Barkley Marathons, in reverse chronological order:

40 Hours Elapsed: The Course Wins

Kelly tapped himself out after earning a 鈥渇un run.鈥� Raichon returned to camp five minutes later in 39:55, but did not complete loop three, . Ihara made it back to camp two hours later.

Why did Kelly quit? With just 20 hours and 10 minutes left to run the final two loops after finishing loop three, time鈥�and any modicum of sanity鈥�was not on his side. When Kelly successfully finished the Barkley Marathons last year his splits on the final two loops were 14:10 and 13:30, respectively. We have 40 years of data showing the compounding effects of sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and delirium magnify exponentially over the final two loops at this race.

While in past years finishers have had some time to recoup in camp between loops, if they so chose, this year鈥檚 particularly brutal course forced runners fast enough to complete a loop in time to essentially head straight back out. Kelly spent less than 10 minutes in camp between loops two and three.

For the first time since 2022 and for the 25th time in 40 years, the Barkley Marathons has no finishers. The course (and let鈥檚 be honest, Laz) has won.

39:50 Elapsed: John Kelly Completes a 鈥淔un Run鈥�

Kelly was the first to return to camp. He arrived through the swirling wind and darkness at 3:28 A.M. on Thursday, . That鈥檚 just 10 minutes under the cut-off for earning a 鈥渇un run鈥� (completing three loops in under 40 hours).

Who鈥檚 Left in the 2025 Barkley Marathons:

• Tomokazu Ihara (Japan)鈥�on loop three. This is his sixth attempt. Ihara, 47, has run numerous ultras and is a coach and race director. In 2023 he won the 鈥淕rand Slam of Ultrarunning,鈥� meaning he had the fastest cumulative time at five 100-milers in one summer: the Old Dominion 100, Western States 100, Vermont 100, Leadville 100, and Wasatch 100.
• John Kelly (U.S.)鈥�on loop three. This is his eighth attempt. Kelly, 40, is a three-time Barkley Marathons finisher, making him the second-most finisher behind four-time finisher Jared Campbell. He also has a Ph.D. in electrical learning and machine learning and is the Chief Technology Officer at Envelop Risk and has set several high-profile fastest known times, including on the Pennine Way and the Long Trail.
• S茅bastien Raichon (France)鈥�on loop three. This is his second attempt. Raichon, 52, 听has finished Tor des Geants (2019) and set the GR20 FKT last year.

27 Hours Elapsed: Maxime Gauduin Quits

The Frenchman called it quits on loop three with no pages in tow, at 2:56 P.M. Eastern. And then there were three.

25:29 Elapsed: 4 Runners Total Have Finished Loop 2

Frenchmen S茅bastien Raichon and Maxime Gauduin finished loop two together in 25:29, with an hour and 11 minutes to spare, .

Meanwhile, after just 10-ish minutes in camp John Kelly (U.S) began loop three about 90 minutes before the cutoff. Raichon and Gauduin followed suit about 30 minutes later. There are now four runners on loop three, with Tomokazu Ihara (Japan) in the lead.

Beginning Loop 3.

鈥� Keith (@keithdunn)

25 Hours Elapsed: We Have 2 Loop 2 Finishers (Phew)

Tomokazu Ihara (Japan) finished loop 2 in 24:32, and the collective Barkley community took a sigh of relief. He began loop three just 15 or so minutes later, . Three-time Barkley finisher John Kelly (U.S.) finished loop two on 25 hours on the dot (and 40 seconds, but who鈥檚 counting). That鈥檚 five and a half hours slower than Kelly鈥檚 overall split through loop two last year, when he went all the way.

Both Ihara and Kelly split over two hours slower for loop two than loop one, which is pretty in line with the discrepancy between loops one and two in previous years. However, their loop two splits of roughly 12:35 and 13 hours, respectively, are about two hours slower than Kelly鈥檚 loop two split last year.

They have until 40 hours elapsed to make it back to the gate in time for a 鈥渇un run鈥� (three loops). That means they need to run faster than 14 hours for the third lap. Last year Kelly completed loop three in 12 hours, with the company of Ihor Verys and Damian Hall.

24 Hours In and No One Has Completed Loop 2

With the latest drop (Julien Chable from France), only six runners remain, . They have until 26:40 elapsed to return to the yellow gate and head back out on their merry (or should we say weary) way if they want to have any chance of completing a 鈥渇un run鈥� (three loops), much less the whole thing (five loops).

For context, 12 runners completed loop two in under 24 hours last year. The one runner to complete loop two in longer than that (Guillaume Calmettes, France, 26:25) made it to a fun run before tapping out. All five of last year鈥檚 finishers finished loop two in under 20 hours. And that includes Jasmin Paris, who finished the whole race with less than two minutes to spare.

Will the runners be able to pick up the pace now that they (theoretically) know the new course? Or will the alternating of loop directions, shifting from daylight to darkness, and compounding effects of sleep deprivation, fatigue, and frustration get the best of them?

We鈥檙e hoping for the former, but expecting the latter.

(And side note: the last time no one completed a 鈥渇un run鈥� was in 2006!)

21:00 Elapsed: 7 Runners Remain on Loop 2

Chris Fisher (U.S.) and Thomas Calmettes (France) both dropped from loop two at Bald Knob this morning, , noting, 鈥淭hough seemingly about a hundred yards apart, they did not see each other.鈥� This means at most 7 runners will successfully finish loop two within the time limit and move onto loop 3. That鈥檚 down from 13 who finished and 12 who moved onto loop three last year.

13:20 Elapsed: 10 Runners Complete Loop 1 Within Limit

That includes a final runner who finished the loop with under two minutes to spare, . They were able to do one of Barkley鈥檚 fastest-ever camp stops and turned it around in time to start loop two before the 13-hour-and-2o-minute cut-off.

Of those 10 runners, nine went on to loop 2, . Fourteen runners returned to camp, and a 16 remain out on the course. When they returned they will also receive a DNF and be ceremoniously dismissed from the race with the playing of 鈥淭aps鈥� on the bugle.

This means that there was just a 25 percent loop-one finish rate within the cutoff this year. That鈥檚 exactly half of what it was last year, when 20 of the 40 entrants finished loop one in time. What鈥檚 going on this year?

Some runners may have adopted the old 鈥渇ollow a veteran runner鈥� strategy, , maintaining that Laz was 鈥渘ot impressed鈥� by this game plan. We鈥檙e also hearing grumblings that Laz added a 鈥渧ery tough section鈥� that could add a whopping 45 minutes to each loop this year.

We鈥檙e also receiving reports that there are 16 books that runners must reach on every loop this year. If true, that鈥檚 at least one more than the typical 10 to 15.

11:00 Elapsed: Will It Be a Short Barkley This Year?

A third runner finished loop one in 10:20 elapsed, according to Dunn. Laz that 鈥渆very loop is easier than the loop before鈥� as he set out for loop two, which per tradition will be run in the opposite direction and also in the pitch black, about 20 minutes later. Ah, Laz, we鈥檝e missed your sense of humor!

snuck in under the 11-hour mark in 10:57:32 and 10:57:50, which means only five runners have finished loop one with one hour remaining before all runners left in the race must start loop two. The odds (and what seems to be an especially tough course, given the bluebird conditions today) do not appear to be in the runners鈥� favor this year.

Dunn that 鈥淭omo,鈥� otherwise known as Tomokazu Ihara (Japan), is one of the successful handful onto loop two.

9:45 Elapsed: Two Runners Complete Loop 1

They finished the loop in 9:44:55 and 9:44:57, . For reference, nine athletes completed loop one in well under nine hours last year. Given that we know of at least one (and we think more) Barkley finisher who was in that group of nine last year, signs are pointing to a very, very hard course this year.

Buckle up.

6:00 Elapsed: The DNFs Start Rolling In

Less than six hours into the 60-hour race and the 2025 Barkley Marathons already has its first drop. The first runner to quit the race returned back to camp on 鈥渜uitter鈥檚 road鈥� in the early evening, at 5:21 P.M. Eastern on Tuesday. They faced a rendition of 鈥淭aps鈥� played on the bugle horn, and with that their race ended. They made it about five miles in those six hours, Dunn said.

The second DNF followed just over an hour later. They made it about seven miles in seven hours, . An hour later and the DNF rate had doubled.

鈥淭he thing is, they are coming back to camp from all directions and in some cases cannot describe where they were,鈥� . 鈥淭his is old school Barkley.鈥�

鈥淔or as bad as you guys make it sound, it is worse.鈥� 鈥� a runner

鈥� Keith (@keithdunn)

For the first time, runners must return their race-issued analog watch when their race ends, .

11:37 A.M.: The 2025 Barkley Marathons Have Begun

After the classic 鈥渂rief memorial鈥� in which he cautioned runners to 鈥渕ake your peace with God,鈥� Laz lit the cigarette marking the start of the 2025 Barkley Marathons. Runners have 13 hours and 20 minutes to complete the loop and make it back to the yellow gate marking the entrance to Frozen Head State Park. That means we better see them all back there by 11:37 P.M. so they can begin their first night loop.

Who鈥檚 racing? We鈥檒l have to wait to find out until runners finish a loop鈥r two鈥r three, otherwise known as a 鈥渇un run.鈥� But Dunn outed three-time finisher John Kelly when the conch (eventually) was blown:

鈥淔inally,鈥� Kelly . 鈥淲e could have done a loop by now.鈥�

If Kelly, who was one of the five to finish last year, prevails again he will join the exceedingly rarified air of becoming just the second person ever along with Jared Campbell to finish the Barkley Marathons four times.

10:38: A.M.: The Conch Has Been Blown (Finally)

Technology鈥�namely online campsite reservation systems鈥�is making it increasingly challenging for Barkley custodians to keep the start date of this mystical event a secret. And sure enough, online grumblings came to fruition on Tuesday morning. At 10:38 A.M. Eastern after 鈥渕any failed attempts,鈥� Carl Laniak blew the conch marking one hour until the start of the 2025 Barkley Marathons.

After multiple failed attempts, the conch was blown at 10:37. The 2025 Barkley Marathons begins in one hour. .

鈥� Keith (@keithdunn)

Why didn鈥檛 race founder Gary 鈥淟azarus Lake鈥� Cantrell blow the conch?

鈥淏ecause he鈥檚 even worse than Carl at blowing it,鈥� Dunn (鈥渪鈥�-别诲?).

There鈥檚 probably at least some truth to that statement. For those who haven鈥檛 had the pleasure of trying, cajoling sound out of a big shell isn鈥檛 easy. But fans of this cult classic event are also wondering if it鈥檚 a sign of changing times. Laz, 69, has slated 听Laniak as his successor to overseeing the Barkley Marathons.

We鈥檒l have the next 60 hours to find out. One hour until the race begins.

The post There Are No Finishers at the 2025 Barkley Marathons appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

In a 2015 YouTube video, an interviewer asked Gary 鈥淟az鈥� Cantrell why no women had finished his race, the infamous Barkley Marathons in the rugged mountains of Tennessee. 鈥淭he race is too hard for women,鈥� he replied with a sly grin. 鈥淭hey are simply not tough enough to do it, and I get to say that for as long as it goes that no one proves me wrong.鈥� Since the inception of the race鈥攚hich consists of five consecutive 20-plus-mile loops, hence 鈥渕arathons鈥濃�攊n 1986, only 20 runners have finished. Until this year, all of them were men.

On March 22, a crowd flanked a tree-lined road at a campground in Frozen Head State Park. Spectators aimed their cameras at a woman in a red shirt and black capris running as fast as she could. Jasmin Paris, 40, was covered in dirt and scratches, and she could barely keep her eyes open. When the Brit touched the chipped yellow gate鈥攊n doing so becoming the first woman to ever finish the Barkley Marathons鈥攕he folded in half and then crumpled to the ground. The clock read 59 hours, 58 minutes, 21 seconds. Paris had attempted the Barkley on two previous occasions; in 2023, she became only the second woman ever to make it to the fourth lap. This year she completed all 100 unmarked, mostly off-trail miles, including approximately 65,000 feet of elevation gain, with just 99 seconds to spare before the 60-hour cutoff. Photographers closed in around her as her chest heaved and she gasped for air, capturing the soon-to-be widely shared images of the moment her life changed.

While the Barkley finish supercharged Paris鈥檚 notoriety鈥攕he made headlines in numerous media outlets and received an honor from the British royal family鈥攕he鈥檚 no stranger to long-distance success. In 2019, Paris became the first woman to win the 268-mile Montane Spine Race in the UK, breaking the course record by 12 hours even after stopping to pump breast milk for her 14-month-old daughter. Paris is a mother of two young children and a lecturer in the School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh, where she specializes in small-animal internal medicine. Her training for the Barkley took place during Scotland鈥檚 cold, wet winter in the early hours before her kids woke up.

Paris told the BBC that she ran her race for women around the world: 鈥淣ot just runners but any woman that wants to take on a challenge that maybe doesn鈥檛 have the confidence. The idea that I might have inspired them to believe in themselves and have a go鈥攖hat鈥檚 huge.鈥�

The post Women Weren鈥檛 鈥淭ough Enough鈥� to Finish the Barkley Marathons鈥擴ntil Jasmin Paris Came Along appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

My new book, Ultra-Something, explores humans鈥� weird proclivity for endurance, and how we express it鈥攊ncluding, but not limited to distance running, factory work, benign masochism, improv comedy, and rooting for football teams that will never win a championship. I ran thousands of miles and explored dozens of rabbit holes of research, athletics, and storytelling, then built it into a narrative, with more than 90 illustrations I drew. The final product is a 285-page book and it鈥檚 out now.听 (Buy it at Bookshop , or at Amazon in paperback , and on Kindle .)

Here鈥檚 the book trailer:

The below is excerpted from the book’s prologue.

At the finish line of the 2015 Western States Endurance Run, arguably the most famous and most prestigious American ultramarathon, the crowd suddenly became energized. A runner was coming, entering the Placer High School track, where the 100-mile race ends after winding up and over California鈥檚 Sierra Nevada mountains from Olympic Valley Ski Resort.

Spectators cheered, clapped, and frantically rang cowbells, as the runner, Gunhild Swanson, rounded the track. A group of runners who had joined her peeled off at the start of the straightaway, clearing the way for her finish. The sides of the track were lined with people anxiously yelling 鈥淐ome on, come on!鈥� and other words of encouragement which sounded more like worried hope. More spectators ran across the infield, and a few paralleled her on the other side of the barrier fence set up on the track. Dozens of cameras and phones recorded her as she chugged toward the white finish arch, her strides shortened by 99-plus miles of mountain running and hiking over the previous day and a half. As she crossed the timing mat at the finish, the crowd erupted, hundreds of arms popping up into the air in a coordinated burst of emotion. Three feet past the finish line, the runner bent at the waist, hands on her knees, exhausted but grateful to be finished. Online videos of this minute of running would be watched hundreds of thousands of times.

Gunhild Swanson had finished dead last, 254th out of 254 runners. When she crossed the finish line on the track, the clock above her head read:

She had beaten the final 30-hour cutoff time by six seconds.

When that year鈥檚 winners, Rob Krar and Magdalena Boulet, crossed the same finish line hours earlier, in 14:48:59 and 19:05:21, respectively, the scene was almost serene in comparison: some applause, some cheering, but with the overall energy and volume turned down.

The climax of Sylvester Stallone鈥檚 1976 movie Rocky, when boxer Rocky Balboa finally squares off with the defending champion, Apollo Creed, only lasts about nine minutes, but might be the most famous boxing match in film history.

Apollo, who had been scheduled to defend his title against a boxer who was injured, needs to find a new opponent, and decides to put on a show: As the original fight was scheduled to take place during America鈥檚 bicentennial year in 1976 in Philadelphia, Apollo says he鈥檒l fight an up-and-coming boxer. Rocky Balboa, a Philly club fighter with more heart than skill, is chosen.

When the fight begins, everyone, including Rocky and Apollo, is surprised that Rocky actually lasts more than a few rounds, even landing some good punches, and as the fight drags on, ends up making it longer in the ring than any other boxer has against Apollo.

After Apollo knocks Rocky down during the 14th round and he battles to pull himself back up, the camera cuts to two people who we believe have much better judgment as far as Rocky鈥檚 well-being: First, the trainer, Mick, who growls from just outside the ropes to Rocky, 鈥淒own. Stay down.鈥� Then, Rocky鈥檚 girlfriend Adrian, who has just entered the arena to see Rocky at his worst, writhing in pain on the canvas. She looks away.

Rocky staggers in his corner like a drunken man trying to get back up on a barstool. Apollo stands in his corner with both arms raised.

Rocky gets up at the count of nine. Apollo drops his arms and his jaw in disbelief. Just before the bell, Rocky lands a shot to Apollo鈥檚 ribs.

When both fighters are in their corners, Apollo鈥檚 trainer says to him, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e bleeding inside, Champ. I鈥檓 gonna stop the fight.鈥�

Apollo replies, 鈥淵ou ain鈥檛 stopping nothing, man.鈥�

Rocky鈥檚 team cuts the swollen skin around his eye so he can see again, and Rocky stands up, saying to Mick, 鈥淵ou stop this fight, I鈥檒l kill you.鈥�

The two haggard fighters trade punches throughout the 15th and final round, mumbling promises to each other that there will be no re-match, and the bell rings, both men barely upright, but having survived. A bloodied Rocky calls out for Adrian, who finds her way to the ring, where she and Rocky profess their love for each other.

In the 1979 book, Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, Syd Field laid out what would come to be known as 鈥淔ield鈥檚 Paradigm,鈥� or the Three-Act Structure. Every screenplay, or actually, the story that forms a screenplay, Field argued, has three acts: set-up, confrontation, and resolution. The three-act structure is often drawn as a diagram, in various levels of complexity. A simple version might look like this:

Rocky went on to be a surprise box office success, and was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning three, including Best Picture. The film spawned eight sequels over the next four and a half decades.

One scene in the original film, in which Rocky goes on a training run and ends by sprinting up the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, became famous, inspiring tourists to run up the stairs, and prompting tributes and parodies of the scene in other films and TV shows. The 72 steps themselves became known colloquially as the 鈥淩ocky Steps,鈥� and before the premiere of Rocky III, Stallone commissioned an eight-and-a-half-foot statue of Rocky to be built and placed at the top of the steps. Philadelphia City Commerce Director Dick Doran welcomed the statue and said Stallone had done more for Philadelphia鈥檚 image 鈥渢han anyone since Ben Franklin.鈥�

Rocky Balboa did not win the fight in Rocky. As the closing theme music builds, the ring announcer calls the fight 鈥渢he greatest exhibition of guts and stamina in the history of the ring,鈥� and then announces the split decision in favor of Apollo Creed.

The plot of Rocky, as well as the plots of all eight sequels, per the three-act structure, might look like this:

At almost any marathon race in the United States, there is a solid chance you will hear, played on a sound system near the starting line, or on a spectator鈥檚 stereo along the race route, one of two songs, if not both: The song 鈥淕onna Fly Now,鈥� also known as 鈥淭heme from Rocky鈥� (a version of which appears in the first five Rocky movies), and the Survivor song 鈥淓ye of the Tiger,鈥� commissioned by Sylvester Stallone for Rocky III.

Every year around the world, about 1.1 million people run a marathon, an organized race that鈥檚 26.2 miles, or 42.195 kilometers. The story of why we do this dates back to 490 BC: During the first Persian invasion of Greece, a heavily outmanned Athenian army defeated the Persian forces in battle near the town of Marathon, Greece. A herald named Pheidippides was chosen to deliver the news of the victory to Athens. He ran the entire distance of 26.2 miles/42.195 kilometers, addressed the magistrates in session saying something like, 鈥淛oy to you, we鈥檝e won!鈥� and then died on the spot.

The Greeks also created the tradition of the Olympic Games, held every four years, or each Olympiad, from 776 BC to 393 AD. The ancient Olympic Games never had a marathon race鈥攖he 鈥渓ong-distance race,鈥� or dolichos, introduced in the 15th Olympiad, was somewhere between four and nine kilometers (approximately 2.5 to 5.5 miles). The last recorded ancient Olympic Games were held in 393 A.D., after which they took a 1500-year hiatus.

When the Olympic Games were revived in 1896 in Athens, the first marathon race was held, celebrating Pheidippides鈥檚 legendary (and fatal) run from Marathon to Athens. A few months later, the Knickerbocker Athletic Club organized a marathon race from Stamford, Connecticut to The Bronx, and in March 1897, the Boston Athletic Association held the first-ever Boston Marathon. From there, the marathon race spread all over the world.

If you signed up to participate in a running race, such as a marathon or a 10K, your personal journey could also be seen as three acts:

No one, from the fast runners hoping to win the race to the people just hoping to finish, has any idea how their race is going to go. As the race day draws near, tension builds, whether you feel it or not, and the only thing that releases all that tension is the actual running of the race. When it鈥檚 over, whether you鈥檙e happy with the result or not, it鈥檚 over.

The first time Ray Yoder ate at a Cracker Barrel, he wasn鈥檛 that impressed. He was in Nashville in 1978, helping to set up an RV show at the Opryland Resort and Convention Center, and there was a Cracker Barrel nearby. So he ate there, and it didn鈥檛 exactly blow his mind. But he had a job delivering RVs across the country from a manufacturer in his hometown of Goshen, Indiana, and he spent a lot of time on the road. So he found himself in a lot of places with Cracker Barrel restaurants. He kept eating at Cracker Barrels, and they started to grow on him.

He was almost always on the road by himself while his wife, Wilma, was at home raising their four children. When all the kids had finished school and moved out of their house, Wilma started to join Ray on the road. Around 1993, they realized they had eaten at lots of Cracker Barrel restaurants, and decided to try visiting all of them.

By August of 2017, the Yoders had both turned 81, and had visited almost all of the 600-plus Cracker Barrel restaurants in the United States, Ray mostly eating blueberry pancakes if it was breakfast time, meatloaf if he was there for lunch or dinner, and pot roast if it was Sunday. Cracker Barrel caught wind of Ray and Wilma鈥檚 quest and flew them out to Portland to visit the newly-opened restaurant in Tualatin, Oregon, Number 645. A line of applauding Cracker Barrel employees greeted them at the door, with a bouquet of sunflowers and roses for Wilma, and custom aprons for both of them.

Their journey had taken them to 44 states, and Ray estimated they had driven more than 5 million miles. 鈥淲ell, everybody does something, usually anyway,鈥� Ray said. 鈥淪o we thought we would do this and it would be fun.鈥�

At the 2017 Run Rabbit Run starting line at the base of Colorado鈥檚 Steamboat Ski Resort, 314 runners stood in the corral, every one of them hoping to finish the 102.5-mile race. Only about 58 percent of them would actually make it to the finish line.

The Run Rabbit Run is not typically mentioned as one of the hardest ultramarathon races in the United States, and 2017 wasn鈥檛 an abnormally hot or difficult year. Generally, about one-third of people who start the race each year don鈥檛 finish for one reason or another: injury, gastrointestinal distress, dehydration, exhaustion.

No one standing in that starting corral believed it was impossible for a human being to travel 102.5 miles of mountainous terrain in 36 hours. Everyone was aware that it was something humans did. They had heard of these types of races before, maybe knew someone who had completed one, or maybe they鈥檇 even run this one in a previous year and had fun doing it. They believed they could be one of the people who earned a Run Rabbit Run 100 finisher belt buckle, and that鈥檚 why they were standing just inside the red start/finish arch, pacing, chatting with other runners, shaking out their nervous legs.

I was there too, standing in the corral, anxious and jittery, with a race number pinned to my running shorts, as the morning sun started to warm the high-altitude air. Like everyone else, I knew that people, arguably 鈥渘ormal鈥� people who had day jobs and families and credit card bills, were perfectly capable of running a 100-mile mountain ultramarathon in 36 hours. It was something that had been done plenty of times before by human beings just like me.

Well, maybe not like me. I wasn鈥檛 sure if I鈥檇 be just like them, a finisher. And I鈥檇 been unsure for eight months, since I鈥檇 paid my entry fee.

I was still unsure when the gun went off and the crowd of runners started shuffling forward through the starting arch. I started jogging with them, and no one tried to stop me, so I just kept going.

The post Brendan Leonard’s 鈥楿ltra-Something鈥� Explores Why We Push Our Limits appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

You may have heard about the diabolical running format called , in which competitors must for days on end. One by one, runners drop out until only one remains, and he or she is crowned champion. On October 19, the world’s best backyard ultrarunners听met in Bell Buckle, Tennessee for the annual Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra, which this year hosted the team world championships for the format (on even years the race serves as the individual world championships).

Scott Snell recorded the top distance this year, completing 366 miles in 88 hours. But the star of the event was Megan Eckert, who finished in second place. Her distance鈥�362 miles during 87 hours鈥攂roke the previous women’s record by a whopping 51 miles (and 13 hours).

Eckert, 38, is one of the world’s top ultrarunners. She also teaches special education and coaches high school cross-country in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 国产吃瓜黑料 caught up with Eckert to learn what it’s like to run for nearly four days without stopping for more than a few minutes between laps.

OUTSIDE: What attracted you to the backyard ultra format?
My first backyard ultra was actually in January, 2024, at the Saguaro Showdown in Mesa, Arizona. I had just completed a race in Houston where I ran 218 miles, and a friend suggested I try the Backyard Ultra format. I loved the open-ended nature of the event. You line up in the starting corral once every hour and go out and run this 4.167-mile loop, but how many times you’re doing to do that loop, nobody knows.

I love having a chance to see how far my body can go. I know that I’m going to face challenges out there. I know I’ll maybe get 5 minutes of rest every hour, if I’m lucky. I know I’m going to have to troubleshoot so many things during the race鈥攈ow much to eat, and drink, and rest. But otherwise everything else is unknown. I love the appeal of a race in which you have no idea when it’s going to end.

How do you keep your mind engaged while running for nearly four days?
I try to focus on the lap I’m in and not the ones that are coming up. During the night at Big’s I’d listen to music, and during the daytime I’d try and chat with other runners. I love to talk to people out there. In fact, at one point a few other runners told me that they wanted to run in silence. I was like “Oh, OK, sorry.” I find conversations with other runners to be really helpful to staying engaged.

Another thing I’d do out there鈥擨’d sing a song while I was running. But I’d often just sing every other word. I kept passing one guy when I was singing.听I was like “Oh, I’m so sorry! I have such a terrible singing voice and you’re just hearing every other word.” He was amused. But sometimes it gets really quiet out there and it helps to talk or sing to yourself. Another thing I did was dance when I hit the road sections. Dancing helped keep me awake.

Do you think backyard ultra races have the potential to attract casual competitive runners?
Absolutely, because you can pick your distance you’re aiming for before going in. Maybe you want to do your first 100-mile run and finish in under 24 hours. Maybe you just want to see if you can run through the night. Maybe your goal is 50 miles. You can map that out really easily at a Backyard Ultra because of the 4.167-mile lap distance.

A Backyard Ultra teaches you good pacing, because you don’t need to run as fast as you can. If you finish the lap in 40 minutes or 55 minutes, you still head back out after an hour. Also, you always come back to the same place after each lap, so you can fuel and hydrate properly . I see it as a welcoming format for a large swath of runners who are looking to push themselves to that ultramarathon distance.

I’m curious if the backyard ultra format has taught you lessons that you can apply to your everyday life?
I’ve noticed that when I come off of one I seem to have a lot more patience for things in my life. This lasts for weeks afterward. You realize you don’t have to always move so quickly during one of these races. After all, you’re just doing one thing, and you’re doing it for a long time. So yes, it teaches you about perseverance and patience. You become more kind. You become a better listener. Life slows down after one of these races, and you often feel like you’re living in a slow-motion situation.

What wisdom from your life as a professional runner do you try and pass on to the high school runners you coach?
I want the athletes to have fun and I want running to become a passion for them. Results are fine, of course, but you need to enjoy what you’re doing first. Yes, I teach them that they will sometimes have to push through pain, but I want them to enjoy the process of training, preparation for a race, and the lifestyle. And the other big thing is teaching them confidence. I ask my athletes to set goals before meets, and to talk about them with me. We create a plan for them to reach those goals by breaking things into smaller steps. Confidence can come from goal setting.

The post Megan Eckert Ran 362 Miles to Set a New Record for Backyard Ultras appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The post How to Come Up with a Good 国产吃瓜黑料 appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

On September 24, Conor Holt, the husband and coach of American ultrarunner , admitted to altering the biographies of Herron, Courtney Dauwalter, Kilian Jornet, and other prominent runners on the website Wikipedia. Holt’s edits boosted his wife鈥檚 accolades but also downgraded those of the other prominent ultrarunners.

“Camille had nothing to do with this,” Holt wrote in an email sent to 国产吃瓜黑料 and several running media websites. “I’m 100 percent responsible and apologize [to] any athletes affected by this and the wrong I did.”

The confession brought some clarity to an Internet mystery that embroiled the running community for several days and sparked a flurry of chatter on social media and running forums. Herron, 42, is one of the most visible ultrarunners in the sport, and over the years she has won South Africa’s Comrades Marathon and also held world records in several different events, including the 48-hour and six-day durations. But the Wikipedia controversy led to swift consequences for Herron鈥攈er major sponsor, Lululemon, .

The entire ordeal sprung from an who spent more than a week following digital breadcrumbs on dark corners of the Internet. For those who haven’t spent the last week breathlessly refreshing niche running websites, here’s how distance running’s most bizarre controversy in recent memory unfolded.

A Digital Sleuth Digs In

Marley Dickinson, a reporter for the website Canadian Running, began looking into the Wikipedia controversy in mid-September after receiving a tip from someone in the running community. The tipster told Dickinson, 29, that someone was attempting to delete important data from the Wikipedia entry for “.鈥�

The person had erased the accomplishments of a Danish runner named Stine Rex, who in 2024 broke two long-distance running records鈥攖he six-day and 48-hour marks鈥攚hich were previously held by Herron. At the time, the sport鈥檚 governing body, the International Association of Ultrarunners, was deciding whether or not to honor Rex’s six-day record of 567 miles.

“The person making the edits said the IAU had made a decision on the record, even though they hadn鈥檛 yet,” Dickinson told me. 鈥淲hoever was doing it really wanted to get Rex鈥檚 run off of Wikipedia.鈥�

Wikipedia allows anonymous users to edit entries, but it logs these changes in a public forum and shows which user accounts made them. After an edit is made, a team of volunteer moderators, known as Wikipedians, examines the changes and then decides whether or not to publish them. The site requires content to be verifiable through published and reliable sources, and it asks that information be presented in a neutral manner, without opinion or bias. The site can warn or even suspend a user for making edits that do not adhere to these standards.

Dickinson, who worked in database marketing at Thomson Reuters before joining Canadian Running, was intrigued by the bizarre edits. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been into looking at the backend of websites,鈥� he told me. 鈥淭here鈥檚 usually a way you can tie an account back to a person.鈥�

The editor in question used the name “Rundbowie,” and Dickinson saw that the account had also made numerous changes to Herron’s biography. Most of these edits were to insert glowing comments into the text. “I thought whoever this person is, they are a big fan of Camille Herron,” Dickinson said.

Rundbowie was prolific on Wikipedia, and made frequent tweaks and updates to other biographies. The account had removed language from the pages of Jornet and Dauwalter鈥攕pecifically deleting the text “widely regarded as one of the greatest ultramarathon runners of all time.” Rundbowie had then attempted to add this exact language to Herron鈥檚 page. Both attempts were eventually denied by Wikipedians.

After examining the edits, Dickinson began to suspect that Rundbowie was operated by either Herron or Holt. Further digital sleuthing bolstered this opinion. He saw that the Rundbowie account, which made almost daily edits between February and April, abruptly went silent between March 6-12. Those dates corresponded with Herron鈥檚 world-record run in a six-day race put on by Lululemon in California.

But Dickinson wasn鈥檛 done with his detective work. He saw that in March, on its public Incident Report page. The reason? Rundbowie’s activity was nearly identical to that of a previous commenter that had been suspended for making repeated edits to Herron鈥檚 Wikipedia biography. That account was named . Moderators had shut down Temporun73 on February 8, which was the same day that the Rundbowie account was created.

Moderators had warned Temporun73 in January about its updates to Herron’s page. A moderator emailed the account saying: 鈥淯sing language like 鈥榣egendary,鈥� 鈥榩restigious,鈥� and 鈥榮teely toughness鈥� is not the kind of neutral tone that is allowed in writing here. Wikipedia is a factual source of content, not a promotional platform for athletes.鈥�

A final Internet deep dive convinced Dickinson that he was on the right track. The IP address鈥攁 string of characters associated with a given computer鈥攑laced Temporun73 in Oklahoma, which is where Herron and Holt live. Then, on a , which is where Herron attended graduate school, Dickinson found an old Yahoo email address used by Herron. The email name: Temporun73.

鈥淭o me, this was a clear sign that it was either Conor or Camille鈥� Dickinson said.

The Running Community Reacts

Dickinson published his story to听Canadian Running on Monday, September 23. The piece included screenshots of Wikipedia edits as well as Dickinson’s trail to Herron and Holt. It started off a flurry of online reactions.

A thread on the generated 360 comments, and several hundred more appeared on the Reddit communities for and . Film My Run, a British YouTube site, uploaded the following day. Within 12 hours, more than a hundred people shared their thoughts in the comments section.

It鈥檚 understandable why. Lauded for her , Herron is also one of the most visible ultrarunners on the planet. She gives frequent interviews, and has been an outspoken advocate for the , for , and for the advancement of women runners.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e going to continue to see barriers being broken and bars raised. I want to see how close I can get to the men鈥檚 world records, or even exceed a men鈥檚 world record,” she told听国产吃瓜黑料 Run in 2023.

Herron has also spoken and written about her own mental health. Earlier this year, she began writing and giving interviews about her recent diagnosis with Autism and ADHD.

“Although I knew little about autism before seeking out a diagnosis, my husband, who observed my daily quirks and often reminded me to eat, drink, and go to bed, would jokingly speculate that I might be autistic,” on the website FloSpace in July.

Dickinson told me he had a very positive image of Herron from his short time at听Canadian Running. He joined the website in 2021.

“She’s always been super nice and welcoming,” Dickinson said.

Dickinson says he reached out to Herron and Holt via email and social media, but did not receive a reply. On Monday afternoon, a user on the social media platform X asked Herron about the story. “It’s made up,” Herron’s account replied. “Someone has an ax to grind and is bullying and harassing me.”

Herron’s social media accounts were deactivated shortly afterward鈥擧olt later said he took them down.

Some online commenters questioned if the story was legitimate鈥攕omething I did too, initially. Following Dickinson’s arcane trail through Wikipedia’s backend required a careful read, and a strong knowledge of the encyclopedia鈥檚 rules and regulations.

After speaking to Dickinson, I sent my notes to a Wikipedia expert named Rhiannon Ruff, who operates a digital consulting firm called Lumino that helps clients navigate the online encyclopedia. Ruff examined the story as well as the Wikipedia histories of Rundbowie and Temporun 73, and said that the evidence strongly suggested that both accounts were operated by the same person. But, since Wikipedia allows for anonymity, you cannot make the connection with 100 percent certainty.

Ruff pointed out that Wikipedia’s internal editors strongly believed the two accounts had a biased with Herron, because the accounts had attempted to write in the same sentence. “Both tried to add details about her crediting the influence of her father and grandfather, and how she runs with a smile,” Ruff said.

Ruff also pointed me to the prolific . Started in 2016, the account had made approximately 250 edits to various Wikipedia biographies. Most were to Herron’s own page, but the account also attempted to alter the pages for a wide variety of topics: South Africa’s Comrades Marathon, Kenyan runners Tegla Loroupe and Ruth Chepng’etich, American Jim Walmsley, Greek runner Yiannis Kouros, the city of Alamosa, Colorado (where Holt and Herron own a residence), British runner Lizzy Hawker, Lithuanian runner Aleksandr Sorokin, Barkley Marathons founder Lazarus Lake, and the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak, among others.

The account also made at least five edits to Dauwalter’s page.

Conor Holt Responds

国产吃瓜黑料 reached out to Herron via email, text, and phone calls shortly after the听Canadian Running听story published. On Tuesday, Holt emailed his mea culpa to听国产吃瓜黑料 and nine other outlets.听Canadian Running was not included on the list.

In his message, Holt said that he and Herron had been delayed in responding because they were in Greece to participate in the running race Spartathlon, which begins on Saturday, September 28. He said that Dickinson’s initial outreach had ended up in his email spam folder, which is why he did not respond to the Canadian Running听story.

“I never got a chance to say anything to the Canadian Running website before they published it,” Holt wrote.

Holt admitted that he was the operator of the Temporun73 and Rundbowie accounts. But he said his Wikipedia editing was aimed at combating online bullies who had removed biographical details from Herron’s Wikipedia page in the past.

“I kept adding back in the details, and then they blocked my account in early February of this year,” Holt wrote. “Nothing was out of line with what other athletes have on their pages. Wikipedia allows the creation of another account, so I created a new account Rundbowie. I was going off what other athletes had on their pages using the username Rundbowie and copying/pasting this info.”

“I was only trying to protect Camille from the constant bullying, harassment and accusations she has endured in her running career, which has severely impacted her mental health,” he added. “So much to the point that she has sought professional mental health help.”

国产吃瓜黑料 asked Holt via email to provide further details, but we did not receive a response. In an email to Canadian Running,听Holt said he was focused on Herron’s upcoming race, and would not be conducting interviews.

But the fallout from the admission came quickly. On Thursday morning Dickinson broke more news: apparel brand Lululemon, which has backed Herron since 2023, had ended its partnership. In a statement provided to several outlets, the brand said it was dedicated “to equitable competition in sport for all,” and that it sought to “intentionally partner with ambassadors who embody these same values.”

“After careful consideration and conversation, we have decided to end our ambassador partnership with Camille,” the statement said.

The announcement marked a bizarre bookend to the saga, and penned a weird new chapter into the history books of American endurance sports. In previous years, endurance athletes have faced criticism for comments made in interviews, for cheating, and for . But an endurance athlete ending up in the crosshairs due to edits on Wikipedia鈥攖hat truly is a first.

The post The Strange Saga of Ultrarunner Camille Herron and Wikipedia appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

American ultrarunner 听is still recovering from her eye-popping effort听last weekend at France’s Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc. Schide, 32, in 22 hours, 9 minutes, and 31 seconds, slashing听nearly 21 minutes off of the course record, set in 2021 by Courtney Dauwalter.

When I read about the accolade, I immediately thought of Dauwaulter’s aura in women’s ultrarunning. In recent years she’s been 听untouchable at the biggest events: Western States Endurance Run, Hardrock 100, and UTMB. In 2023 国产吃瓜黑料 contributor Meaghen Brown called Dauwalter a “once-in-a-generation athlete” and “the best female trail runner ever to live.”

Well, Katie Schide鈥檚 UTMB record is a sign that she’s approaching Dauwalter’s level. I recently spoke to her about chasing after ultrarunning’s GOAT.

OUTSIDE: You won the Western States 100 in late June and then turned around and won UTMB on September 1. What did your recovery and training look like between the two events?
Schide: First, I do not think running these two races in the same season should be considered normal. I never thought I’d race them in the same year, and I don’t think it sets a great example to do two big races so close together. That said, I do think the sport has evolved quite a bit in recent years and the way in which we train before and fuel ourselves during races have allowed people to recover faster. My first UTMB was in 2019, and now, five years later, I have a much better sense of how my body reacts. So, I took an entire week off after Western States. I traveled back to Europe, and adjusting to the time change alone took a week. Then I had another week with easy jogs, maybe 30 to 40 minutes. Then I started to get back to my normal training. I traveled to Chamonix six weeks before UTMB and I was back to my normal training for three weeks and then it was time to taper again.

A lot of American ultrarunners live in the Rockies, or in communities with other runners, coaches, and training groups. You live in Saint-Dalmas-le-Selvage, a tiny village of 60 inhabitants in the Alps. What advantages and disadvantages does your location have?
The biggest advantage is there is really nothing else around here so there’s nothing to do other than train and rest. Living here truly allows you to rest. On a rest day you can’t also go get coffee with a friend, and then go to the bookstore and the grocery store. If I have a rest day, there’s really nothing I can do except sit on my couch and maybe go for a little walk around the village. I love going out for fancy coffee when I’m in a city, but it’s not the lifestyle I need every day. Living here gives us (she lives with her partner, professional ultrarunner Germain Grangier) quiet and allows us to disconnect.

And the disadvantages鈥攚e don’t have many healthcare resources here, so if I want to see a physio or get a massage, it’s an hour and a half drive. Our grocery store is also an hour and a half away. That makes us really have to plan ahead. When I was training in Flagstaff, Arizona before Western States, it was so easy to go see a masseuse when I needed one. But these disadvantages go hand-in-hand with the advantages,听so it’s a trade-off you have to choose.

Courtney Dauwalter has received a glut of mainstream media attention over the past few seasons. Has your view of Dauwalter changed as you’ve progressed in the sport?
Courtney’s been there since the beginning of my ultrarunning career, always raising the bar higher than any of us were ready to go at any given time. I first raced against her in 2019 at UTMB when she reset the standard of women’s racing. I remember sharing a few footsteps with her at that race, and her telling me that I would love my first 100-miler, and I was absolutely hating it. She also been a great ambassador for the sport and has brought a lot of non-endemic eyeballs to ultrarunning, which we can thank her for. What she’s done benefits everyone. She redefined what I thought was possible in these races, and because she was so far ahead of the other women, I think we all recognized the gap between us that needed to be closed.

Did it seem possible to narrow Dauwalter鈥檚 margin?
I never thought of my end point as getting within reach of her. But when you saw the margin between her and the other women, there was definitely space. I was like there shouldn’t be this much space between us, so in a way she inspired me to try and close the gap. But back then I never thought I would be able to get this close to her. I think she’s glad that we’re starting to close the gap.

How do your strengths and weaknesses measure up to Dauwalter鈥檚?
Courtney definitely has the advantage with experience. She’s done more ultras than me, so that is a clear advantage. Her husband is a big advantage, because he always crews for her, and if you can have a consistent crew you can dial in and always trust them. My partner is also a professional athlete, so we can’t crew for each other. My advantage is, well, I’m not sure. I don’t like to compare athletes, because ultrarunning is a sport where there are so many differences between athletes, and that’s what makes it interesting. It’s not like cycling where you can say this person has better power-to-weight, or this person is a better individual time trialist. In running, we don’t all come from the same sporting backgrounds, so we try to bring our strengths together on the same day and see what happens.

The post Katie Schide Is Ultrarunning鈥檚 Newest Star appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.