It's the Little Things

Dialing in some ultra details, plus a birthday wish

It’s funny, I bet half the readers here are distracted this week by following the Cocodona 250 livestream while the other half has no idea what Cocodona is. I’m grateful this newsletter attracts both ultrarunner and non-runner readers who find their way here via other newsletters (many of them related to writing or the environment). In any case, it’s been a while since I asked subscribers to introduce themselves, and I have a lot of new subscribers. If you’re relatively new here, I invite you to comment in the thread below about how you found this newsletter, why you subscribed, and then share a bit about your background or some fun fact about yourself.

A photo from last weekend’s run. I’m showing my friend the decades-old horse head carvings that decorate some aspens, most made by a famous old cowboy in the region, some from earlier shepherds.

Inspiration for today’s post comes from a new podcast that hooked me, Pen Pals by

Kelton Wright

and her friend and writing-accountability partner Krisserin Canary. Kelton writes the newsletter

Shangrilogs

, and we have gotten to know each other in real life since we both write about living in this region of the San Juan Mountains. If you’re an aspiring writer, I recommend Pen Pals—and start at the beginning with the first episode to hear how their book projects develop and the challenges they face.

In the latest episode, they were discussing writing with an authentic and original voice, even if the storyline has been done before, by bringing very specific and weird personal details to the narrative. Kelton talked about how she weaves elements of her tiny mountain community into her essays: “… like why you should break down your cardboard, or the fact that a dirt road does not ruin your car—it’s how you drive on the dirt road that ruins your car. These little niches of information about where I live drive a lot of the subject matter. When you have deep passion for these micro issues, even if someone doesn’t necessarily relate to it, it’s fun to read someone deeply care about something, especially if you hadn’t considered it before. It’s like, ‘hmm, look at that, how peculiar.’” (emphasis added)

With that in mind, I’ll get very specific with some “weird micro issues” related to my ultrarunning clothing choices, which I hope you find informative or at least intriguing.

Last Friday, I reconnected with Jennifer Mann, an ultrarunner I haven’t run with for about a year, for a three-hour run. She gave me the full debrief of her successful Ouray 100 last summer, and then she asked highly particular questions about my logistical prep for Hardrock.

Miles passed easily, absorbed as we were in conversation, and we nerded out and debated finer points, such as: if you’re committed to wear a sun-protection long-sleeve layer, should you also wear a shirt under it, or does that just add to the heat? And for nighttime running, should you bother changing from shorts into tights, or should you just stick with shorts and then put on rain pants, which you’ll also carry in case of mountain downpours, when you get cold? And should you wear underwear under your shorts, in spite of the short’s liner that obviates the need for underwear, so you can quickly change your bottoms in front of other people at aid stations without baring your ass?

Prompted by her, I’ll share some details about what I’m planning to use at this Saturday’s Quad Rock 50, which is a dress rehearsal for the Hardrock Hundred. Over the past year, I modified some of my long-standing habits and choices.

My two sock choices: Drymax vs. Injinjis.

The toe sock divide

You’re either pro-toe-sock or against. For more than a decade, I was anti-toe-sock because I tried them once and they felt distractingly odd, as if my toes were being flossed. Then, I suffered a quasi-traumatizing event that left me with toe-sock PTSD. (I’m mostly joking; a friend who shared the experience and I still laugh about it. But [shiver] ugh.)

I was pacing a runner friend in the 2017 Hardrock Hundred, a guy who was quite particular—one might say fussy—about his things being just so. He wanted to change his stream-soaked wet socks at every single aid station, and he wanted my friend and me—the crew/pacers—to do it for him while he focused on eating. No problem, I’m game. But the process of kneeling down to his foot level and lubing each of his gross toes—because he wanted a moisture barrier of lube covering the skin for blister prevention—and then laboriously working each toe-sock cap of fabric onto each goo-covered toe, all while trying to work quickly, left me inwardly stressed and repulsed. I vowed, I am never using toe socks.

Instead, I use the excellent DryMax socks, and for extra-long ultras, I often tape my toes, creating a similar effect as toe socks with fabric protection around each digit to prevent the friction that causes blisters.

My perfectly taped toes pre-ultra.

Last summer, however, my friend Yitka Winn (profiled here), who had a phenomenal run at 2024’s Hardrock, convinced me to give Injinji’s toe socks another try. She swears by them for blister prevention.

Since then, I’ve become a convert. I use toe socks for longer runs, but for most weekday training runs, I still throw on a pair of DryMax, which also work well.

Another ultrarunner friend and Hardrock veteran told me I should use Desitin diaper cream to lube my toes before putting on the toe socks, which triggers the memories of lubing that guy’s toes, but I’m going to experiment with it. She says the Desitin works better than regular anti-chafe lube such as Squirrel’s Nut Butter or my favorite, Trail Toes, because the diaper cream makes a better moisture barrier, which is important since our feet will be constantly wet from stream crossings at Hardrock. But I also suspect that all the zinc oxide in Desitin will make a mess in my laundry, so I’ve held off trying it.

Recently, I also switched from ankle-height to crew-height Injinji toe socks because I figure that when they get wet, they’ll be less likely to slip and scrunch down in my shoes. Plus, I like the feel of a little bit more fabric up my ankle. This is my new pair—the Courtney Dauwalter-inspired design—with my new favorite Hokas, the Mafates (which I realized are better than the Hoka Stinsons I had been wearing because the Mafates have a Vibram sole with better grip, whereas Hoka’s in-house sole on the Stinsons wears out too fast.)

Buff vs. bandana

I almost always have a Buff around my neck for longer runs, which serves many purposes: sun protection for my neck, warmth or cooling (if I get it wet), a handy way to wipe my always-runny nose; and if I fall and sustain a serious injury with bleeding, it could serve as a bandage. Thanks again to Yitka, however, I’ll likely use a rolled-up bandana around my neck for most long runs this summer. A bandana, she showed me, is easier to quickly untie and dip into a stream to get wet, then re-tie around the neck. By contrast, with a Buff, you have to take off your hat and sunglasses to get it off your neck and put it back on.

Yitka and me at last July’s Hardrock as we left an aid station. Note that she has an old-school bandana around her neck, whereas I have a Buff.

However, I will always use a Buff on my head at night. It works well for warmth, plus it keeps the headlamp from slipping around my forehead. (In the photo above, I had forgotten to pack two Buffs—one for neck, one for head—so later in the evening, I moved the Buff from my neck to my head, to better secure the headlamp and to keep it from digging into my forehead’s skin.)

My friend Cristal and me showing our Buffs plus headlamps for nighttime running at 2023’s Run Rabbit Run 100.

Other pieces I discovered and recommend*

(* I am not sponsored and get no compensation from these recommendations; I’m just sharing what I like!)

A few years ago, a dermatologist zapped several pre-cancerous spots off my forearms and told me to get serious about using sunscreen there and everywhere, which I’m better about doing now. But I gave up on sun-protection layers because I want my skin to breathe, and I don’t like the tight feel of sun sleeves.

Then I found rabbit’s UPF Deflector Hoodie and now want to wear it on every run (for some reason it’s no longer available on rabbit’s site, but REI sells it here). I love the loose feel and perforated sides for ventilation. I also like getting the sleeves and shoulders wet at stream crossings, which keeps me feeling cool for miles.

My new favorite sun-protection top by rabbit, with perforation for ventilation under the armpits.

But I haven’t given up on wearing a short-sleeve shirt under it, in case the top layer starts to bug me and I want to take it off. But maybe I should? Then I’d be cooler. To be determined...

I also want to recommend a new underwear line I discovered (I’ll spare you photos of me modeling it), and they make my new-favorite sports bra. I had never before clicked through an Instagram ad, until for some reason I did with Branwyn, because I needed new underwear and wanted the kind of wool fabric they advertised. Merino wool works the best, in my opinion, for moisture-wicking and quick drying.

I love this product and ended up buying several of their bikini briefs and also their sports bra, which is now the only one I want to wear. It doesn’t restrict my rib cage, as so many others do, nor does it chafe along the bra line. It’s the most comfy I’ve found.

I could go on and on about clothing and gear choices, but I’ll save it for later posts. How about you—have you recently started using a new running product that you recommend? Please share in the comments below.

A birthday wish involving a Hikeathon

This week, I turn 56 (!). I’m not focusing on it much—I’ll be preoccupied with driving seven hours north to Fort Collins to do the Quad Rock 50 on Saturday, a key long training run for my Hardrock buildup—but I’ll celebrate Sunday with a combo of Mother’s Day, grateful that my son will be home for the week.

I do, however, have a request for support—a birthday wish.

I’d greatly appreciate if you would consider donating to a fundraiser I’ve launched. This spring, as leader of our Telluride Rotary Club, I created a new community fundraiser to raise money for our club and for other nonprofits. It’s a four-week Hikeathon during June. It’s intended to inspire other community members to register to hike and log their miles, and to raise much-needed funds. So far, we have a good number of hikers registered, and I’m doing a lot of outreach to get more to participate.

I’ve set a goal to raise at least $2000 and to hike/run 200 miles (50/week) during the four weeks of June. You could support my effort by making a tax-deductible one-time donation or a per-mile pledge at this link. Any donation, no matter the size, is deeply appreciated!

The money will go toward the many worthwhile things our small Rotary Club supports, including: an international youth-exchange program, college scholarships for high school seniors, and community and international service projects.

I have put so much work into creating and promoting this event, and admittedly it’s been stressful, worrying if it will be a success or a flop. With your help, I hope to reach my goal and raise enough money so our club can continue supporting youth and community.

Thank you for reading this far! I’ll be back next week with something about the 50-miler.

Me, standing second from left, with some of our Rotary Club members on a trail-work day I organized last year.