If you’ve been following the news in our sport during the past few months, you might feel inclined to believe that trail- and ultrarunning as we know it is under attack; that the foundation of our sport and its culture are crumbling beneath our feet.
Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: As Corporatization Creeps In, Runners Responsible for Maintaining Sport’s CultureCategory Archives: Columns
From the Editor’s Desk: Reflections on Coming Up Short
WINDSOR, Mass. – The range of emotions I’ve experienced during nearly 12 years of running trail ultramarathons runs the gamut from elation to extreme exhaustion, optimism to dread, confident and determined, to concerned and a bit scared, to almost always ending with a sense of fulfillment.
If you’ve been in this sport long enough then you’ve likely had your own run-ins with all of these and more. Heck, you may have experienced them all if you’ve run a single ultra, depending on the course, the conditions, the distance and countless other factors.
Still, as I lay on a mattress in the back of the Subaru on Saturday afternoon, July 8, knowing my run at the Notchview Ultra was likely finished, I felt something that I’ve never felt before at an ultra: I felt empty.
Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: Reflections on Coming Up Short
From the Editor’s Desk: Celebrating the Silliness
For around 90 minutes, I perched halfway up the hill below Wright’s Tower and clicked away with my Nikon D90 camera as runners came toward me in both directions. Some danced down the hill, navigating its tangled web of tree roots while others dug deep and made the steep, rocky march upward.
Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: Celebrating the Silliness
From the Editor’s Desk: Log Off and Lace Up to Reconnect in 2022
One of the true privileges I’ve enjoyed during my dozen years as a trail-runner has been the opportunity to share the trails with so many wonderful people. It began with my earliest runs on the dirt in Kansas City, a know-nothing newbie weaving through the trees and hopping over rocks and roots alongside far more experienced runners who chatted away about the 50-mile and 100-mile races at Rocky Raccoon that they were training for. In the weeks and months that followed, they educated me on all sorts of things, from hydration systems to consider, to which week it would grow dark enough that I should start bringing a headlamp, to other trails in the area I should explore.
Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: Log Off and Lace Up to Reconnect in 2022
From the Editor’s Desk: 2020 Reminded Us of Value of Community
It’s a little after 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 31, just a few hours until we officially kick 2020 to the curb and welcome in 2021 with hope and optimism for better days ahead.
Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: 2020 Reminded Us of Value of CommunityFrom the Editor’s Desk: Race Coverage During Pandemic a Weird, Welcome Experience
The Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail was the last race I expected to take place during this COVID-19 pandemic-ravaged year, if I’m being honest.
Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: Race Coverage During Pandemic a Weird, Welcome Experience
From the Editor’s Desk: The Tools to Grow
A few weeks ago I woke up early and went for a short run around the neighborhood – 2.23 miles. The run was in honor of Ahmaud Arbery, on what would have been his 26th birthday had he not been chased down and killed by a white former police officer and his son on Feb. 23 for running while Black in a white Georgia neighborhood. Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: The Tools to Grow
From the Editor’s Desk: Telling Stories While Our Sport Presses Pause
Whether you first started reading the site this year or you’ve been following along from the beginning in early 2016, you likely came to MassUltra because you care about your local ultrarunning community. You’re here because you want to know the latest news, because you draw inspiration from the people around you, or because you simply want to feel a little more connected. It’s probably some combination of all of those reasons; in fact, all of them played a role in my decision to launch this site four-plus years ago, and they are why it continues today. Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: Telling Stories While Our Sport Presses Pause
From the Editor’s Desk: Cheers to the Givers
Four-hundred laps around a track seems awful – at least to me. Running 402.3 laps sounds even worse.
That’s exactly what Joe McConaughy did on Saturday, Dec. 21, however. The 28-year-old Boston resident set out to complete 402.3 laps – 100 miles – on the Anderson High School track in Cincinnati, Ohio, as a fundraiser for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. His wife, Katie, was diagnosed with Crohn’s four years ago, so it’s something that has touched their family deeply.
Ultrarunning is a selfish endeavor in many ways. The countless hours and miles required just to prepare to run even longer distances mean that other people and activities are often put on hold. Joe’s track feat reminds us that our running can be done in service to others, too, and we can use ultrarunning as a vehicle for doing tremendous good. There is no cure for Crohn’s – at least not yet – but we’ll hopefully be a few steps closer to finding one thanks in part to the efforts of Joe and Katie. Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: Cheers to the Givers
From the Editor’s Desk: In Choosing to Incite Rather than Inspire, Outside Commentary Fails the “Leave No Trace” Test
Something special is happening in Missoula, Montana, and we’d all be well-served to read about it.
Sparked by conversations on several trail runs more than five years ago, the Montana Trail Crew (MTC) was born. In addition to organizing runs, the MTC’s primary mission is to promote trail stewardship within the Montana trail-running community, including trail building, trail maintenance and conservation work. It’s noble work that all of us who use and love trails and wild places should admire and attempt to emulate as best we can. Heck, it just might be a model that could be replicated in trail communities across the country.
Here’s a link to the MTC’s website where you can learn more about what they’re up to. I’d give you a link to the write-up about the organization in Outside Magazine, but unfortunately there’s not much to peruse. The columnist and his editors decided it wasn’t a story worth digging into, opting to bury it within a piece of clickbait instead. Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: In Choosing to Incite Rather than Inspire, Outside Commentary Fails the “Leave No Trace” Test
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