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The Ultraliving Lessons – An Inspirational Guide to the Ultrarunning Way of Life

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jwickett
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I haven’t posted in a while and for a good reason… I wrote a book! I self published The Ultraliving Lessons, An Inspirational Guide to the Ultrarunning Way of Life in December, 2022 and the book is currently on sale through Amazon. It’s the first book that I’ve written and it took me around two and a half years to write.

In the first half of my book, I recount inspirational stories and the lessons that I’ve learned from them. The second half of my book is an ultrarunning manual which has all the tools you need to complete your first ultra. Even experienced ultrarunners can learn something. Here’s the description on the back of the book:

From first weighing close to 300 pounds to then being able to run 100 miles, Jordan Wickett’s journey through the world of ultrarunning is both courageous and inspiring. The Ultraliving Lessons shares Jordan’s adventures in ultrarunning and the uplifting lessons that he’s learned from them. Part inspirational guide and part manual, this book has all the tools necessary for a runner to complete their first ultramarathon.

In addition to the captivating stories, The Ultraliving Lessons has a reference guide with all the technical information a runner needs to finish any ultradistance race. Complete with detailed advice on running gear, guidance on race-day preparation and nutrition, and input on how to build an ultrarunning toolkit, the guide is a wealth of ultrarunning knowledge. The guide also includes comprehensive and proven training plans for 50-kilometre, 50-mile, 100-kilometre, or 100-mile races, as well as an overview of the top personalities in the sport.

A beginner can become an accomplished ultrarunner if they take The Ultraliving Lessons to heart.

I would love to hear from you if you have read my book. Please drop me a comment below or send me an E-mail.

Short Film – Self-Supported Bruce Trail FKT Attempt, 2021

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jwickett
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Jordan at the southern terminus of the Bruce Trail at the start of his FKT attempt.

I’m excited to share the short film that Andrew Downey (Instagram: @darkforestfilmstudio) and I made about my self-supported Bruce Trail fastest known time (FKT) attempt from the fall of 2021. The video starts with my food and gear preparations and ends with footage of my time on the trail. This FKT attempt was my first large scale endurance project and I hope to attempt projects of the same size and scope in future years.

Self-supported Bruce Trail FKT Attempt, 2021

By
jwickett
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I’m very happy to share that I’m attempting to break the self-supported fastest known time (FKT) for the 890 km Bruce Trail on Sunday, August 29th, 2021. Self-supported means that I won’t have help from a support crew, I’ll be carrying a 30 pound backpack with my camping gear and I’ll be on my own most of the time. I’ve included the definition for self-supported further below which the Fastest Known Time web site includes in their guidelines section.

Current FKT: The current FKT is held by Charlotte Vasarhelyi who completed the Bruce Trail in 16 days and 21 hours in 2016.

Goal for completion: I hope to complete the Bruce Trail in just under 14 days.

Direction: I’m starting at the south terminus in Niagara and traveling north to Tobermory.

How can you run with a 30 pound backpack? I’ve tried to run with a heavy backpack and it just isn’t sustainable over a long distance. As a result, I’ll be attempting to hike the whole length of the Bruce Trail.

Tracking: I’m carrying a Garmin inReach Explorer however I won’t be sharing my progress live since I’ll be on the trail alone. I’ll post daily updates on my Instagram account and will share my Garmin inReach tracking information at the end of my attempt. I also plan on documenting my journey with daily video diaries and journaling, which I’ll also share at the end of my attempt.

Accommodation: I’ll be camping most nights and I’ve booked camp sites along the way. I’ve arranged for a B&B for one night along my route.

Supplies: I’ll be carrying a maximum of 4 days worth of supplies at any given moment. I’ve mailed myself three re-supply boxes which I’ll pick up every 3-4 days along my route.

Recognition:

I can’t thank my wife Lindsay enough for her support in this attempt. Lindsay has been a huge help in my planning and she will be looking after our three kids while I’m away on this adventure.

I’ve also been very fortunate to have Canadian endurance legend Ray Zahab as a resource for my planning. I have been having monthly calls with Ray and have received invaluable advice.

Self-supported definition: “Self-Supported means you may have as much support as you can manage or find along the way, but not from any thing or person just for you; any support you employ must be equally available to anyone else. This can range from caching supplies in advance, purchasing supplies along the way, staying at motels, to finding or begging for food or water; camping in a friends yard would be Supported, because that is not available to the public.“

Hiking the Bruce Trail – 130 km from Georgetown to Orangeville

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jwickett
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Sunrise, just outside of Mono Mills on Sunday, July 11th.

I had a mission when I started my Bruce Trail hike at 3:00 am on Saturday, July 10th. I needed to make it from just outside of Georgetown, Ontario to Starbucks in Mono Mills near Orangeville. My plans at Starbucks – I wanted to refill my water and get a milkshake.

I’ve included my 11 minute video below of my ~130 km, overnight hike on the Bruce Trail. The video captures some of the beautiful scenes along the way and includes a commentary on my journey.

Setting the Guelph to Goderich Unsupported FKT

By
jwickett
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Starting at the Guelph train station

The water rose up to my mid-thigh as I trudged through the Maitland river right after sun down. I knew that I’d be in trouble if I got my shorts wet. I had been running for over 16 hours, the temperatures were starting to drop and I was already starting to shiver. Luckily, I remembered the advice that I got from Jeremiah Sommer, the supported FKT holder of the G2G trail.

I started my unsupported FKT attempt of the G2G trail at 4:19am on Saturday, May 29. I was excited to get started and I carried two Salomon filter bottles for water, and all of the food that I needed for the day. I had two goals, I wanted to set the unsupported FKT for the G2G trail and I wanted to see if I could beat the supported FKT as well, set by Jeremiah Sommer on October 5th, 2019. 

A covered bridge in Zuber’s Corners. The river was a great water source for my filter bottles.

My running felt great for the first 8 hours of the run. I found water easily from rivers and healthy looking streams. After 8 hours, my pace started to lag and I had a hard time finding water. I needed to go off trail to fill up my bottles and decided to walk away from a few sketchy looking water sources.

I was very relieved when I reached the Maitland river crossing as this meant that I only had around 13 km into Goderich. The only thing was that the river was huge, around 30 meters across. I took some time to find the crossing area that Jeremiah had told me about. It took a few attempts of walking into the river and getting water up to my knees, until I found the right crossing. Finally across the river and still warm, I picked up the pace on the last stretch of the G2G trail. 

Looking rather salty in Walton – after running for around 100 km.

I arrived at the end of the G2G trail at 11:45pm to cheers from my family and from Jeremiah Sommer and his son. In the end, I set the fastest known time for an unsupported completion of the G2G trail at 19 h 26 m. I fell short of beating the supported FKT however I’m still pleased with my results. I didn’t have any help along the way, no pacers joined me, I didn’t buy any food and I filtered all of my water from rivers and streams.

I’ll be writing a more detailed FKT recap over the next week or so. Please come back to check it out.

Link to my Garmin stats: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/6865409137

The day after the finish, at the end of the trail in Goderich. Everyone was too tired to take pictures, the night before.

Guelph to Goderich Rail Trail FKT Attempt

By
jwickett
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Today's taper run, a few day's before my FKT attempt.

I thought that running 138 km in one shot sounded like a good idea until I realized that it was only 22 km short of 100 miles. Having run 100 miles before, I’m fully aware of the pain that accompanies this distance. I’ll have to remember professional ultra runner, Karl Meltzer’s motto – 100 miles isn’t that far.

I first heard of the 138 km, Guelph to Goderich (G2G) Rail Trail last summer, when I was researching local fastest known times (FKTs). I was surprised that I had never heard of the trail before since I live in Georgetown, Ontario which is only a short drive away from Guelph. The G2G trail travels is a relatively straight line from the heart of downtown Guelph all the way to the shore of Lake Huron in downtown Goderich. It appears that there is very little elevation on the trail, less than 1,000m.

A capture of the G2G Rail Trail map, taken from g2grailtrail.com

I plan on making my attempt for the FKT of the G2G trail on Saturday, May 29th. I’ll be starting early in the morning with the hopes of beating the current speed record of 15 h 40 m, which was set by Jeremiah Sommer on October 5th, 2019. I’m very impressed by Sommer’s time and I know that I’ll need to set an aggressive pace to beat his record. To make things more interesting, I’ll be attempting to set the FKT unsupported which means that I’ll carry all of my own food and will filter water from rivers and streams. I don’t know the full details of Sommer’s FKT however his speed record is listed as supported, which means that he had outside help. Supported efforts typically mean that runners are assisted by friends who bring food and water along the way.

Although I would be thrilled to beat the current FKT, I would be very happy to hold the unsupported speed record for this route. My stretch goal is to set the overall FKT while my main goal is to finish. I’m looking forward to running over 100 km as it has been a long time since I’ve attempted this distance. I’ll be posting a full recap of this weekend’s adventure, next week.

Returning to Running after Injury

By
jwickett
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Feeling great to be back on long runs - training for ultra distances.

It’s like I’m being greeted by an old friend as I step out my front door. The birds are chirping, the sun is rising over the horizon and I can smell the fresh scent of daffodils and magnolias. It’s 7:00 a.m. and I’m about to begin a three hour training run, the longest run that I’ve attempted in a long time. In fact, it’s been around seven months since I’ve run for three hours or longer. I struggled with minor running related injuries for most of last year and decided to lower my training volume as a result. Before getting injured, these early morning long runs were a regular occurrence for me.

With a sense of trepidation, I leave my house and run north. I’ve planned a run to Glen Williams, a beautiful rural area in Halton Hills, Ontario. I’ve been steadily building mileage for the last few weeks however I’m still concerned that this run will cause an injury flare up. Before long, I’ve run out of town and I’m in the country, taking in the vistas of the farmland and enjoying the familiar movement of running along country roads. I’ve already run for one hour and my knees and ankles feel good, my two previous problem areas. I turn on a running podcast and continue putting one foot in front of the other. In what seems like a short time, I’ve run for another half hour and I turn around to make my way back home. The excitement of pain free running drives me along and I complete the remaining one and a half hours with hardly any effort. As I walk through my front door I can’t help but thinking that I’m back – I’m finally ready to train for ultra distances again.

Rolling through Glen Williams on my long run. This small town is one of my favourite places to run.

Although I still have some nagging strains, I’ve been keeping them under control with daily stretching and foam rolling. Since this first three hour run, I have completed another three, three hour or longer, training runs. Two friends and I are planning a fastest known time attempt at the end of May (more details to come) and I feel like I’m on track for a good performance. I’ve included my training plan below for the rest of April and May, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my running continues to go well.

April’s training plan
May’s training plan

Anton Krupicka at Leadville 2021

By
jwickett
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Anton Krupicka on the title image for the Unbreakable movie by Journefilm

Ultra running legend Anton Krupicka has signed up for the Leadville 100, 2021 in Leadville, Colorado. Krupicka told Becki Lynn Lassley yesterday, in an Instagram Live interview, that he would be running the August 21st event. Krupicka has run the Leadville 100, 5 times and has won the event twice. The last Leadville 100 that Krupicka ran, however, was 9 years ago. The ultra running community has been anxiously waiting for Krupicka to return to ultra running. The last ultra marathon that Krupicka ran was the Transgrancanaria 125km in 2016, in which he came in 6th place.

Krupicka told Becki Lyn Lassley that he has been has been increasing his running mileage lately. He ran the 44 mile, Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim route, at the end of January. He’s also done 20 mile training runs, three weeks in a row.

Anton Krupicka is known for his outdoor chic style, donning long hair and a beard and running most of his races without a shirt. Krupicka might be best known for his showdown with ultra running stars Kilian Jornet, Geoff Roes and Hal Koerner at the 2010, Western States 100. This race was documented in the amazing film, Unbreakable.

I’ve been a fan of Krupicka’s ever since I watched Unbreakable, a few years ago. I’m excited that he is running again and hope that he takes the field by storm at this year’s Leadville 100. it appears that I’m not the only one excited by Krupicka’s potential return to ultra running. Ultra Running Memes, a favourite Instagram account among trail runners shared the post below, earlier today.

Do Ultra Runners get Better with Age

By
jwickett
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1
Jordan, striving for faster times, even as he gets older.

“There’s a grandma who’s beating you,”.

I was told this in the middle of the night by the race staff during my first 100 mile race. It was 2018 and I was 37 years old. At the time, I didn’t feel great about a 62 year old beating me in a race however I am now very much encouraged by this. I hit a significant benchmark earlier this week when I turned 40 years old. The start of a new decade has me reflecting on what life is going to be like in my 40s. As an avid runner, I was naturally curious if I would slow down with age.

The good news is that there is a large amount of evidence which cites that some of the fastest ultra runners in the world are near 40 years old. A 2013 study found that the fastest 100 mile runners in the world had a mean age of 39 for women and 37 for men. Another 2013 study found that in 24 hour running races, the fastest male runners were 42 years old and the fastest female runners were 40 years old. In addition to these statistics, there are some amazing examples of older athletes who are considered among the top ultra runners in the world.

At 48 years old, Jeff Browning is a force of nature in trail running. Browning’s ultrasignup page includes wins at the 2018 Hardrock 100, 2019 Tarawera 100 and a 5th place finish at the 2018 Western States 100.

At 44 years old, Rob Krar is continuing to post amazing results. Krar recently set the fastest known time for the iconic Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim route at the Grand Canyon. Krar and his friend Mike Foote completed the rugged 43 mile run in 11 h 32 m, taking almost 50 minutes off the record that was previously held by Jim Walmsley and his two friends. Walmsley, at 31 years old is considered by many as the fastest ultra runner in the world.

Encouraged by all of this supporting material, I don’t plan on slowing down my running as I venture into my 40’s. Having started running later in life, I believe that my fastest times are still ahead of me. The 62 year old grandma who beat me at my first 100 mile race gives me something to strive to. She shows me what is possible in this great sport.

Ultra marathon training plan – easy running

By
jwickett
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0
Jordan running some easy miles, earlier this week

I’ve been running ultra marathons for 6 years and during this time, I have hardly ever done a speed workout. The majority of my training is made up of easy miles. Runner’s World calls these, the other miles, “not the tempos or track repeats or long runs”. Despite the lack of tempo runs, I’ve been getting faster. I ran my fastest 6 hour race in 2020, completing 65 km.

As a busy parent with a full time job, I like to keep things simple with my training. I run at a manageable pace for one hour, four out of five days during the week. I do my long runs exclusively on the weekend, and these runs typically range from 1.5 – 4 hours in length.

I recently did some research to support my training method of running mostly easy miles. I found that there’s an abundance of material which supports a large volume of easy running.

David Roche is a well-known ultra running coach. He was the 2014 USA Track and Field trail runner of the year and he regularly appears on the Ginger Runner Live podcast. He and his wife Megan co-authored the Happy Runner, a runner’s manual for healthy and happy training, in 2019. Roche shares his thoughts on ultra marathon training plans in an excellent 2017 article from Trail Runner magazine. His top piece of advice is to build a base before attempting longer distances. This base is built from easy, moderate length runs.

“Most runs should be easy and not too long—between 30 and 90 minutes depending on your background. Then, after you have a base, start doing weekly long runs as you would for marathon training.”

I should point out that Roche recommends at least one speed workout per week. I think that my running would benefit from a tempo or track run and I might still try them out. That being said, I won’t be overly concerned if I miss a speed workout. I’m happy with the progress that I’ve made with current training method of mostly easy miles.

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