Last June we took a trip to the West Coast of the United States, to Portland, Oregon to visit our friends (who are like family!) Deb and Dan; and then we flew down to San Ramon, California to visit our family (who are also friends!) Debbie and Jack. Instead of doing a spring race, we decided to have this vacation with, among other things, a lot of trail running in new and fun places. We put together this ‘menu’ of the runs we did, from the seemingly endless options we had tempting us every day. From the Oregon Coast to the Columbia River Gorge; from admiring the volcanic mountains of the Cascade Range to getting up high in the Sierra Nevada; from the unique and beautiful jewel of the East Ba
The Golden Ultra is a three day stage race being held for the first time this year in beautiful Golden, BC. Runners may participate solo in the stage race, as a relay team of three, or may register for any single stage individually. Day 1 – The Blood (5km uphill with 1000m of elevation gain) Day 2 – The Sweat (55km with 2500m of elevation gain and loss) Day 3 – The Tears (20km rolling single track with 375m of elevation gain) Golden Ultra Race Director Magi Scallion, asked me to share some tips for runners preparing for the Golden Ultra. Check out my 8 Golden Ultra Training Tips, and then sign up for one, two, or all three, of these awesome races! www.GoldenUltra..com
Last Saturday, about 50 runners gathered on a crisp morning for a snowshoe race at Frontenac Provincial Park not far from Kingston, Ontario. Derrick Spafford, the owner of Spafford Health and Adventure put on the event. It's one of several he organizes in eastern Ontario. Spafford says more and more runners are strapping on snowshoes as part of their running training in the winter. Spafford is an experienced ultra-runner who is sponsored by La Sportiva. He's also an avid believer in the benefits of snowshoeing. "A winter of snowshoe running is a great way of building strength, and it's almost like doing a whole hill phase," Spafford says. "So you're developing that much more strength, that y
With the increased popularity of ultra running over the past few years, there has been a tremendous amount of interest in athletes looking for information on the sport. Ultras, in general, seem to have a much wider variety of training and race nutrition approaches than for marathon-and-shorter distances. Sorting through what is right for you as an athlete can be a very daunting and confusing task. More runners are turning to coaches to help guide their training and help them achieve their goals. Why do I need a coach? Some runners can do just fine self-coaching, however an objective set of eyes on your training can help you decide if you’re doing too much, not enough, or not the correct type
