Thanks for your honesty. There’s so much I can relate to in this post, aside from running. The passing of time. Dreams of my father, of my mother, who both recently passed. A better time when human kindness was both. Aging not always gracefully. Running slower. The lingering uncertainty from the pandemic.
Terawera has been on my list and I may still pinch my nose about the UTMB’ness and run it. I crewed at the Bear and would love to do it some year. And I’m currently listening to Katie Arnold’s wonderful book, which is full of grief and melancholy, incidentally, and it really made me want to run a race in New Mexico.
This deeply resonates with me. In the past few years I've lost most of my parent's generation of relatives. And my father is slowly dying from dementia. It has been grueling and at times I can't see a light at the end of all of this. What helps the most is running in my favorite woods. Peace and all blessings to you.
I love this contrast of melancholy against the optimism of race planning. Thanks for sharing.
And what a good list — there are some races here I hadn’t heard of, and will now check out. The only one I can personally vouch for is Hellgate (I’ve done it six times). Yes, it is special (it’s a race that’s hard to master — best to think of it as kind of a “hillbilly road race” rather than a pure trail race, since about half of it’s on forest roads and/or double-track). I’d really recommend getting to it soon, while David Horton is still directing (not that the next RD won’t be great, but I think a lot of this race’s “special” comes from Horton). And of course Hardrock is at the top of my own list (I paced there one year, and I still hold out a vanishing hope that I might hit the lottery one of these years and run it myself).
As for list-worthy Beast Coast ultras… there are so, so many, but I’ll name three:
- Eastern States 100. I’m biased — Eastern was my first 100-miler, and I’ve been working with the race for many years now. It’s a tough and beautiful course, and we are doing our very best to do things right (and well) to keep it a world-class, runner-centric race.
- Manitou’s Revenge. “Only” about 54 miles long, but with the elevation density of Hardrock/UTMB, off-the-charts technicality, and June heat and humidity. Of all the races I’ve done, this is mile-for-mile the hardest, and also the most pure fun. The Catskills (and especially Devil’s Path) feel like a giant playground.
- Hyner Trail Challenge. The quintessential eastern mountain race, this is where most of us PA locals run our first ultra. It’s also the de facto “family reunion” for our trailrunner community… it’s one of our oldest races, it’s the first big race of spring, it has a field of 1400 runners (between the 50k and 25k), and it has room to host the best post-race feast and party anywhere for all of those runners and the army of supporting volunteers, with roast chicken and local beer and campfires, etc.
Regarding UTMB… I have mixed feelings. I was lucky enough to run it back in 2017, before recent changes, and it was one of the best running experiences of my life (the closest thing to an Olympic experience a mid-pack runner like me will ever have). Under their old system, I qualified with points from races like Manitou’s Revenge, Mogollon Monster, and Black Canyon, but I guess those days are gone. I haven’t completely deciphered the new system, but I think I mainly agree with your sentiments.
I got a prompt to "chat" about my top 3 list, but I can't seem to find it now so I'm going to leave my thoughts here :)
Hardrock is top of my list (as I know it is for many of us, you included, Sarah), but besides that, I'd love to run UTMB one day, as well as the Speedgoat 50K! UTMB/Hardrock depend on the lottery, of course, and I need more experience under my belt :D I'd do Speedgoat this year but it's the weekend before my A-Race 100 miler (the Crazy Mountain 100... Which I'm also SO stoked about!).
I'd highly, highly recommend the Bighorn Trail Run (100 miler, or any distance really) and the Run the Rut events. I've done the VK, 28K, and 50K there, and I have to say.... The 28K is my favorite. It's so punchy, playful, and tough. Super fun if you like technical, gnarly, steep shit!
So many good races out there, and I've loved seeing what others have dropped in the comments too.
I did the Grand Traverse in 2021! It is not super technical. The first climb up to star pass is nearly all runnable until the last mile or so. Then you’re on 4x4 roads for the majority of the middle section, rolling and somewhat runnable. If you are familiar with Imogene Pass near Telluride for example, it’s much less steep and technical than that. The last 3-5 miles coming down Aspen Mountain is super steep and will destroy your quads!
I can certainly relate to feeling guilty about being down when there is so much heartache in this world and I am blessed with so much. At the same time, nobody is immune from grief and you are allowed to feel sad and angry. I lost my Dad in 2019, and I still miss him terribly. It was a lovely post.
I would love to learn more about the Grand Traverse if anyone has done it. Is it very technical?
I always think to myself, "if I could have just one more conversation with my Dad...." I was with him when he passed away in 2015 and I quite literally felt a shift in energy from his leaving. I also felt a large part of history go with him as I am of Jewish descent and feeling a great loss of those who experienced the Holocaust, as many of my family did. Thanks for sharing :)
I have to recommend the Desert Rats stage race. It takes place in the heat of June, and follows the Kokopelli trail from Fruita to Moab, for about 147 miles or so. Heat training is a must for this race and for me provided a great focus in my training for fear of running exposed in 112 degree temps! The cut offs are super lenient, every aid station had ample COLD water, and the field is usually pretty small, around 25 - 35 runners. If you've looked around for a stage race in the U.S. you know there aren't many! This one is fairly affordable and if you are local to this area you could get a deal on the entry (I paid half price). Also, you get a tent set up for you, breakfast and dinner (food much better than I would ever make in my own kitchen), and lunch to go (you make it the night before and they will keep it in a cooler for you at the specified aid station). The terrain is super varied; from the Colorado River corridor to desolate exposed junky desert to breathtaking sandstone cliffs to the La Sal mountains then down into Moab. There's so much more I could write about it but if you're curious go to the Gemini Adventures website.
Sarah, I've been curious about the Whiskey Basin! I think that one will go on my list.
Feb 8, 2023·edited Feb 8, 2023Liked by Sarah Lavender Smith
Good list of races! Maybe a return to Quad in November? It'll be the 40th one, not many ultras have been around that long. Lisa & I are planning to go back. I think signup starts August 1. (Unsure if there's a lottery, but if so not to worry - I know a guy. . .)
That dream with your dad sounds so vivid and bittersweet :( I can definitely relate to this post and appreciate the beautiful way you described that sense of loss for the past and people we miss. As for the related run-therapy: love the ultra list and will be looking at many of these races in the future, thanks for this great resource!
I would add the Bandera 100K/50K in January to the list. It has a variety of terrains, but mainly rocky and nasty with short, steep climbs. Runners are rewarded with beautiful views of the Texas hill country at the top of every climb.
Thanks for your honesty. There’s so much I can relate to in this post, aside from running. The passing of time. Dreams of my father, of my mother, who both recently passed. A better time when human kindness was both. Aging not always gracefully. Running slower. The lingering uncertainty from the pandemic.
Run gently, run long.
Terawera has been on my list and I may still pinch my nose about the UTMB’ness and run it. I crewed at the Bear and would love to do it some year. And I’m currently listening to Katie Arnold’s wonderful book, which is full of grief and melancholy, incidentally, and it really made me want to run a race in New Mexico.
This deeply resonates with me. In the past few years I've lost most of my parent's generation of relatives. And my father is slowly dying from dementia. It has been grueling and at times I can't see a light at the end of all of this. What helps the most is running in my favorite woods. Peace and all blessings to you.
This is so inspiring!! Your write-up gives me renewed motivation to face some unproductive fears and sign up for a race. Thank you!
I love this contrast of melancholy against the optimism of race planning. Thanks for sharing.
And what a good list — there are some races here I hadn’t heard of, and will now check out. The only one I can personally vouch for is Hellgate (I’ve done it six times). Yes, it is special (it’s a race that’s hard to master — best to think of it as kind of a “hillbilly road race” rather than a pure trail race, since about half of it’s on forest roads and/or double-track). I’d really recommend getting to it soon, while David Horton is still directing (not that the next RD won’t be great, but I think a lot of this race’s “special” comes from Horton). And of course Hardrock is at the top of my own list (I paced there one year, and I still hold out a vanishing hope that I might hit the lottery one of these years and run it myself).
As for list-worthy Beast Coast ultras… there are so, so many, but I’ll name three:
- Eastern States 100. I’m biased — Eastern was my first 100-miler, and I’ve been working with the race for many years now. It’s a tough and beautiful course, and we are doing our very best to do things right (and well) to keep it a world-class, runner-centric race.
- Manitou’s Revenge. “Only” about 54 miles long, but with the elevation density of Hardrock/UTMB, off-the-charts technicality, and June heat and humidity. Of all the races I’ve done, this is mile-for-mile the hardest, and also the most pure fun. The Catskills (and especially Devil’s Path) feel like a giant playground.
- Hyner Trail Challenge. The quintessential eastern mountain race, this is where most of us PA locals run our first ultra. It’s also the de facto “family reunion” for our trailrunner community… it’s one of our oldest races, it’s the first big race of spring, it has a field of 1400 runners (between the 50k and 25k), and it has room to host the best post-race feast and party anywhere for all of those runners and the army of supporting volunteers, with roast chicken and local beer and campfires, etc.
Regarding UTMB… I have mixed feelings. I was lucky enough to run it back in 2017, before recent changes, and it was one of the best running experiences of my life (the closest thing to an Olympic experience a mid-pack runner like me will ever have). Under their old system, I qualified with points from races like Manitou’s Revenge, Mogollon Monster, and Black Canyon, but I guess those days are gone. I haven’t completely deciphered the new system, but I think I mainly agree with your sentiments.
I got a prompt to "chat" about my top 3 list, but I can't seem to find it now so I'm going to leave my thoughts here :)
Hardrock is top of my list (as I know it is for many of us, you included, Sarah), but besides that, I'd love to run UTMB one day, as well as the Speedgoat 50K! UTMB/Hardrock depend on the lottery, of course, and I need more experience under my belt :D I'd do Speedgoat this year but it's the weekend before my A-Race 100 miler (the Crazy Mountain 100... Which I'm also SO stoked about!).
I'd highly, highly recommend the Bighorn Trail Run (100 miler, or any distance really) and the Run the Rut events. I've done the VK, 28K, and 50K there, and I have to say.... The 28K is my favorite. It's so punchy, playful, and tough. Super fun if you like technical, gnarly, steep shit!
So many good races out there, and I've loved seeing what others have dropped in the comments too.
Morgan
I did the Grand Traverse in 2021! It is not super technical. The first climb up to star pass is nearly all runnable until the last mile or so. Then you’re on 4x4 roads for the majority of the middle section, rolling and somewhat runnable. If you are familiar with Imogene Pass near Telluride for example, it’s much less steep and technical than that. The last 3-5 miles coming down Aspen Mountain is super steep and will destroy your quads!
I can certainly relate to feeling guilty about being down when there is so much heartache in this world and I am blessed with so much. At the same time, nobody is immune from grief and you are allowed to feel sad and angry. I lost my Dad in 2019, and I still miss him terribly. It was a lovely post.
I would love to learn more about the Grand Traverse if anyone has done it. Is it very technical?
Always fun to daydream :)
I always think to myself, "if I could have just one more conversation with my Dad...." I was with him when he passed away in 2015 and I quite literally felt a shift in energy from his leaving. I also felt a large part of history go with him as I am of Jewish descent and feeling a great loss of those who experienced the Holocaust, as many of my family did. Thanks for sharing :)
I have to recommend the Desert Rats stage race. It takes place in the heat of June, and follows the Kokopelli trail from Fruita to Moab, for about 147 miles or so. Heat training is a must for this race and for me provided a great focus in my training for fear of running exposed in 112 degree temps! The cut offs are super lenient, every aid station had ample COLD water, and the field is usually pretty small, around 25 - 35 runners. If you've looked around for a stage race in the U.S. you know there aren't many! This one is fairly affordable and if you are local to this area you could get a deal on the entry (I paid half price). Also, you get a tent set up for you, breakfast and dinner (food much better than I would ever make in my own kitchen), and lunch to go (you make it the night before and they will keep it in a cooler for you at the specified aid station). The terrain is super varied; from the Colorado River corridor to desolate exposed junky desert to breathtaking sandstone cliffs to the La Sal mountains then down into Moab. There's so much more I could write about it but if you're curious go to the Gemini Adventures website.
Sarah, I've been curious about the Whiskey Basin! I think that one will go on my list.
Good list of races! Maybe a return to Quad in November? It'll be the 40th one, not many ultras have been around that long. Lisa & I are planning to go back. I think signup starts August 1. (Unsure if there's a lottery, but if so not to worry - I know a guy. . .)
See you at WS100 if not before. aloha, TJ
That dream with your dad sounds so vivid and bittersweet :( I can definitely relate to this post and appreciate the beautiful way you described that sense of loss for the past and people we miss. As for the related run-therapy: love the ultra list and will be looking at many of these races in the future, thanks for this great resource!
I would add the Bandera 100K/50K in January to the list. It has a variety of terrains, but mainly rocky and nasty with short, steep climbs. Runners are rewarded with beautiful views of the Texas hill country at the top of every climb.
Also-dreams are so strange. Dreams that feel so real like that are so strange-but good. They feel so real. And they do sort of affect your whole day.
I think this post is so good-and reminds us about the ups and downs of life and loss. I will be thinking about it all day!