As a runner who is active on social media, it’s easy to see that virtual races are exploding in popularity. I’ve been hesitant to sign up for a virtual race – I didn’t know if a virtual race could capture that same sense of community as a traditional race. I decided to sign up for a virtual race when I read Trail Running magazine’s article on the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee. Lazarus Lake (of Barkley Marathons) is directing, and the race has an amazing 10,000+ participants as of May 1st – making it the most subscribed ultra running race in the world. The fact that 10,000+ runners registered got rid of any hesitancy that I had. I didn’t want to miss the chance to participate in an event with so many other like minded people.

The virtual race officially started on May 1st but you can still sign up. The rules are that you can only log kilometres from the day that you registered. This is bad news for me because I signed up today, May 3rd and I logged 32kms yesterday. I’m not too concerned though – there’s a lot of time to catch up. The race is 1,000 virtual kilometres which span from the southwestern tip to the northwestern tip of Tennessee. 1,000kms is a big distance but you have until July 31st to complete it. All registrants get a T-shirt and finishers get a medal – pretty cool opportunity to get some race swag from a Lazarus Lake event. Laz and his team will have a map to show your progress across Tennessee and will share interesting facts, pictures and stories about the areas you pass.

I did my first run of the race today and I’m keen to post my virtual kilometres. I’ll be sure to share my progress along with any highlights from the whole experience. It appears that there is something to virtual races after all – I have that same excited feeling that I get when I sign up for a traditional race.

Hiking is frequently overlooked in training plans even though it is a key ultra-marathon skill. Amateur ultra-runners can spend up to half of a race hiking – this is especially true for mountain races. Even elite runners spend a good amount of time hiking during a race. Among many important racing aspects, hiking plays an important role for climbing hills, covering technical terrain and active recovery (resting while moving). 

In addition to racing, hiking is a great and necessary part of training. It took me a while to realize this – you need to train hiking muscles since they are different from running muscles. When I trained for the Midnight Moose 100 miler in September, 2019 I split my training between running and hiking. This wasn’t easy, I had to consciously hold myself back from running during training. Like most runners, I want to run when I’m out for a training session. In the end, all of the hiking really paid off – I placed second overall in the Midnight Moose, my best finish ever for an ultra marathon. Hiking is a great way to maintain training through strains and fatigue. I’ll choose to hike during a long training session instead of running so that I don’t aggravate the strain. I’ll also hike during training sessions when I’m overly tired and sore.   

Hiking is often underrated for speed. I recently learned about the amazing speeds at which race walkers compete. Yohann Diniz, a French race walker, holds the world record for 50km with an amazing 3:32:33. In comparison, it took me 6 hours to complete 65km around a track back in January and I was running as hard as I could! 

It’s easy to forget about hiking when you’re training for running. I accidentally left hiking out of this year’s training plan and needed a reminder to build it back in. A fast hike is an amazing weapon to have in your ultra-running arsenal. Give hiking a try during your training and you’ll be sure to see the benefits in your next race.

Gary Robbins is one of Canada’s best known ultra-runners. Among many impressive accomplishments, Gary won and set the course record for Hawaii’s HURT 100, one of the biggest and toughest trail races in the world in 2010 and 2013. Gary continued having success in running and he entered the Barkley Marathons in 2017 and 2018 – the basis for the movie, Where Dreams go to Die. The movie helped elevate Gary to one of the most well-known ultra runners in the sport. It also led to the documentary “Endless” which aired nationally on TSN. I recently read an interview with Gary Robbins from Running Magazine in March, 2018. Gary was asked what are the defining characteristics of a runner, and his answer really resonated with me. 

“An unwavering dedication to a goal, high pain tolerance, mental strength and resilience, ability to rally from deep lows in an expeditious manner, and a really good appetite,”.

An unwavering dedication to a goal, mental strength and resilience are particularly relevant to the current Covid-19 situation. Most races in 2020 have been cancelled and as a result, it’s hard to stay motivated with training. It’s important to keep in mind that races will resume in 2021 though. You will have to postpone many of your race goals to 2021 but you can use this time for building fitness, planning, and other areas of self-improvement. I also loved that Gary mentioned a really good appetite. A love of food is common among ultra-runners – you often see photos of donuts, pancakes and beer on runner instagram pages. One of the reasons that I love ultra-running is that you can eat a lot of delicious food, guilt free. 

I was looking forward to following Gary’s attempt at this year’s Barkley Marathons and was disappointed when the race was cancelled because of Covid-19. I hope that Gary decides to go back to Barkley in 2021. Hopefully Gary’s inspirational words will help motivate you to keep up your training and to maintain an unwavering dedication to your goal.

It’s a bad situation for trail runners – more trail races are being canceled every week because of social distancing. I’m very motivated by races and they drive my training. I’ve felt a dip in my motivation since most of my races this year will likely get canceled. This made me think about a 50 mile trek that I did in November, 2015 with my friends Chris and Joe. We ran the Bruce Trail from Georgetown, Ontario to the Forks of the Credit Park and back in one day. This was the first time that I ran an ultra-distance – something longer than a marathon (26.2 miles). Although the trek wasn’t an official race, it was very motivating and helped me take my training to the next level. I’ve decided to do a big trek on the Bruce Trail for late summer which has helped re-energize my training. I’m still figuring out exactly what the trek will look like. The Bruce Trail is currently closed but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it reopens soon. I hope that the story of my 2015 trek helps keep you motivated with your training and inspires you to plan a trek of your own. 

My Bruce Trail trek started 10km West of Georgetown at 6am on a Sunday in early November. It was silent and still – we could only hear our breath and the crunch of our feet on frozen grass. Joe and I crossed a farmer’s field as the sun rose. There was a light mist over the field and the sunrise made the mist glow. This was one of my first sunrises on the trails and I was hooked. I have experienced many sunrises since and I always take time to appreciate their beauty and associated positive feelings – life affirmation, joy and thoughtfulness. 

Joe and I covered 30km pretty quickly as we ran into Terra Cotta. We met Chris there, who joined us for the remaining 50km. Chris brought a nice lunch with hummus wraps, cookies and cupcakes. An amazing thing about running ultras is that you can eat whatever you want – candy, cookies, chips, you name it. It isn’t possible to replace all of the calories that you burn. 

We got back to running and the trails turned muddy – the ground had thawed and this slowed us down. We watched our footing as we descended a 200m cliff into Belfountain – just outside of the Forks of the Credit Park. This section is both beautiful and challenging, having one of the highest elevations on the Bruce Trail. We ran through Belfountain and then passed through a small village called Brimstone. Brimstone has a great sign, “Once home to several hundred hard living quarry men 1880s – 1910s”. We ran into the Forks of the Credit park – a beautiful area with rolling hills and great views of the Credit River. We were also treated to an amazing sunset – it’s pretty special when you see a sunrise and a sunset on the trails in the same day. Forks of the Credit marked the half point for our trek – we were going to cover the same trail on our way home. We reluctantly left the beautiful park and started our journey home. We climbed the cliff out of Belfountain in the dark and surprised a family whose house backed on to the trail. The family was unpacking groceries from their van as we ran by with our headlamps on. I’m sure that’s not a sight that they see every day. 

We had around 20km left when we came to the top of a hill near the Cheltenham Badlands. It was a clear night and we got an amazing view of the city lights of the Greater Toronto Area. We ran our last few miles through the cold and dark and I got some great encouragement from Chris and Joe. Chris and Joe were already experienced ultra-runners and they were excited that I was about to finish my first ultra. I was tired and sore but I finally finished the trek – it took over 12 hours. It felt amazing to have finished my first 50 mile run and to be an official ultra-runner.

This was an incredible experience and it was a great, low pressure environment for my first ultra-marathon. I was very fortunate to lean on the experience of my friends Chris and Joe. I would definitely recommend a trek as a substitute for racing and hope that my late summer Bruce Trail trek comes to fruition.

It’s great to be a runner in the time of social distancing. The gyms, pools and yoga studios are closed but you can still get outside for a run. The amazing thing about running is that all you need is a pair of shoes. Heck, you don’t even need shoes – more and more people are running barefoot. I would recommend starting with shoes though! A common misconception is that you need to be slim to run. Although I’ve slimmed down in the past few months, I have run most of my ultra-marathons carrying an extra 20 lbs. I still have a big frame and people are generally surprised when I tell them that I run ultra-marathons. 

I have seen so many different body types through my years of racing. You can never tell who is going to do well in a race based solely on their body type. In my first mountain race, I got passed in the last kilometre by a racer who outweighed me by at least 50 lbs. In another 50km trail race, I remember a muscle bound runner needing to pull sticks out of the woods and use them as crutches to finish the race. My friend Chris was in some of the best shape of his life when he ran a 100 mile race a few years ago. Chris set a super fast pace but ultimately lost the race to another runner who was at least 10 years older and 40 pounds heavier than Chris.

Now is the perfect time to start running if you’ve been thinking about it. You don’t need to wait until you’re in better shape – running is for everyone. Start with alternating between walking and running if it’s been a long time since you’ve run. Run for 1 minute and walk for 4 minutes – you can walk for less time depending on your fitness level. You can do this for sessions of 15 to 30 minutes. Running helps get you in shape, improves your mood and most importantly, it gives you a break from all of the people you have been self-isolating with.

It’s hard to keep a bright outlook with all of the uncertainty in the world. The cases of Covid-19 continue to rise and society as we know it is temporarily shutting down. Everyday life has become very challenging with social distancing, self isolation and general anxiety. It is very important to stay realistic and informed about Covid-19 but it is also important to stay positive. It might sound insignificant, but simple acts like smiling and positive talk can do wonders for lifting your mood. Smiling and positive talk helped me deal with the very challenging situation of completing my first 100 mile race. 

I made a conscious effort to smile frequently during my first 100 mile race. There were aid stations every 10km where I could refill my water and get something to eat. I made sure to smile when coming into any aid station and to thank the aid station volunteers. I was super tired and sore but I still kept a smile on my face, even though I didn’t feel like it. The aid station volunteers had big smiles for me in return and told me how fresh I looked. Smiling helped me believe that I was actually doing okay. A 2018 article in Runner’s World cites scientific evidence that smiling actually makes you run faster. A group of trained runners were asked to run intervals on the treadmill while smiling and frowning. Runners saved 2.8% more energy while smiling and researchers believed that smiling helped the runners relax and have less muscle tension.

I also decided that I would never complain about how I felt during my first 100 mile race. While racing, you’re often asked “how are you doing?” by volunteers, family and friends. They are being polite but the honest answer to this question is always “I feel like complete crap,”. I never let on that I was struggling though and only responded “I’m doing great,”. Similar to smiling, positive talk helped me control my negative thoughts. It takes a long time to finish 100 miles and you need to carefully control your thoughts and emotions. Letting the smallest amount of negative emotion come through can put you in a dark hole and potentially lead to dropping out of a race.

Take a moment to smile at a loved one the next time that you’re feeling overwhelmed about our new reality with Covid-19. It’s not going to fix our problem but it will help you feel better. Don’t complain to your partner if you’re frustrated that you can’t go out for dinner on Friday night. Complaining will only make both of you feel worse. Don’t get me wrong, you should definitely share your feelings but this is different than complaining. We are living in stressful times and it’s important to be mindful of our situation but this doesn’t mean that you have to feel terrible all the time. Protect and nurture your mindset – you’ll be glad that you did.

Kilian Jornet is one of the top trail runners of all time. He has won countless trail races including Western States, Hardrock 100 (4 times) and Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (3 times). Kilian was also the Ultra Running World Champion in 2012, 2013 and 2014. I enjoyed reading Kilian’s book Run or Die a while back and picked two inspirational quotes to share. 

Favourite quotes from Run or Die:

“A race is a life that is born when you get up in the morning and dies when you cross the finish line.”

Kilian uses this quote to describe how you must be completely focused when you are running an ultra marathon. He talks about creating a bubble and keeping out the worries from your daily routine. You can’t let these worries sneak in because you have enough to deal with. You have to stay positive and be very focused to finish an ultra marathon. Doubts about your training, your pace, your nutrition – none of these thoughts will help you during the race. This is one of the main reasons that I always smile and refuse to complain at aid stations. You get amazing reactions from volunteers – “You look so fresh”! You might be feeling terrible but complaining about it won’t help. Acting like you are feeling good helps you feel better. Getting complimented on how good you look helps you feel better. Protect your bubble during a race.

“The secret isn’t in your legs, but in your strength of mind. You need to go for a run when it is raining, windy, and snowing, when lightning sets trees on fire as you pass them, when snowflakes or hailstones strike your legs and body in the storm and make you weep, and in order to keep running, you have to wipe away the tears to see the stones, walls, or sky.”

This is part of the skyrunner’s manifesto – the whole manifesto was pinned to the door of an old apartment where Kilian lived during the early days of his ultra-running career. He would read it every day before going out to train. I’m a big fan of this quote except the part about running past trees that are being set on fire – that’s nuts.

I read once that you might have symptoms of an eating disorder if you train in extreme conditions – snow, rain, wind, etc. This concerned me because I knew that I ran in all of those conditions, was there something wrong with me? It wasn’t until I started to get to know other trail runners that I realized that we’re cut from a different cloth and we train in the extreme cold, heat, wind and rain.  You might ask, why do this to yourself? It’s not because I’m a masochist, it’s because it’s good practice. You never know what conditions are going to be like on race day. I’ve run through snow, rain and thunderstorms. You can’t control the weather but you can control the way that you react to it. As long as you are prepared for it, running in the rain, snow and heat will make you better. Don’t run past trees that have been set on fire by lightning, that is just crazy.

My wife and kids had an absolute blast on our recent trip to Disney World and I was really happy that they did. Although I enjoyed myself, I don’t need to go back to Disney any time soon. I prefer nature to theme parks, quiet to loud and small groups to huge crowds. I was joking with some friends last night about the experience. My friends said that it made sense that I didn’t like the crowds at Disney since I love to spend hours running alone in the woods and the ability to step off the trail and pee on a tree. 

I knew I was going to be uncomfortable when we planned the Disney trip but I also recognized that this trip was for my family, not me. My wife and family do a lot for me and the least that I could do was act pleasantly and engage with everyone for our time at Disney. I overheard another dad arguing with his wife while we were at Disney. 

“I am absolutely not going on the It’s a Small World Ride!”. 

This dad was having a tantrum, he raised his voice and was making a scene. Unfortunately, this was a familiar scene to me – I was that man baby, ten years ago. I could not handle being uncomfortable and would complain and act out. Ultra running has really helped me deal with discomfort. I can now rationalize that discomfort is temporary and that it is not worth getting upset about. Why stress yourself out about something you can’t change? It’s much easier to have a positive attitude and deal with the situation while it lasts. Author Adharand Finn talks about this in his new book, The Rise of the Ultra Runners. Finn recounts his first ultra marathon, he travelled to Oman for the Oman Desert Ultramarathon. When he arrived at the Oman airport, he was told that he needed to spend eight hours overnight in the airport before being taken to his hotel. He complained and made a scene with one of the organizers, which didn’t help. When he finally realized that there was nothing he could do, he saw that fellow racers had already accepted the delay and had set up small camps with their sleeping bags. This is the mindset of an ultrarunner at work. Even though a situation sucks, you realize that it’s temporary, look for a solution and try to make the best of it. It doesn’t benefit anyone to be a man baby and complain. I might not want to go back to Disney but I know that my family does. When the time comes, I’ll be fine. If I can last through 100 miles of running, I can certainly last through a day or two at Disney.

I have wanted to run the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) in Chamonix, France ever since I started trail running. UTMB is one the biggest trail races in the world and is very tough to get into. You have to complete at least two qualifying races every year and then enter a lottery. It usually takes a few years to gain entry. The UTMB organization changed their rules this year though to make the race more accessible. You can get guaranteed access into UTMB, Chamonix by finishing one of the new UTMB races. I am super excited to be running one of these new races in July, the UTMB Val D’Aran in Spain. It’s a 100 miler with 10,600m of vertical gain. I’m really looking forward to travelling to Spain with my family but I’ll need to be ready for the 10,600m of climbing. I started my four month training plan this weekend and have included it below. Hopefully coronavirus doesn’t interfere with my plans!