Race Report - 2017 Zugspitz Ultratrail 100K

Valley descent.

The Zugspitz Ultratrail 100K would be my third mountain race in the span of 8 days during my most recent 14 day work trip to Europe that had me spending two weekends in Switzerland and Germany. I hadn't really known about this race, which happens to be the biggest trail race in Germany around the tallest mountain in Germany, until Bryan McClure, a fellow US runner currently living in Germany, told me about it. He had attempted it the year prior and it didn't take much effort for me to convince him to join me in running this race to take care of some unfinished business.

Race Report - 2017 Scenic Trail 54K

Alpenhorn players at the top of one of the early climbs, simply amazing!

A business trip to Europe had aligned in a way that I was able to sign up for a race just a three hour drive from my work in St. Gallen, in the quaint town of Tesserete in the south of Switzerland right near the border to Italy. I had registered for the Scenic Trail 54K, featuring +12,000 feet of vertical gain and part of a weekend of five trail races ranging from a Vertical K to 113K. The 54K course takes runners on a loop along the ridge line of the mountains surrounding the villages near lake Como and lake Lugano. Along the way, runners take on some serious climbs and are provided with some spectacular views.

Race Report - 2017 Quest For The Crest 50K

No, it's not the ocean, it's clouds above the Black Mountains.

While I still consider myself a newbie in ultrarunning, I started looking for challenging races pretty soon after finishing my first trail race. Volcanoes in Nicaragua, mountains in the French alps, rugged North Georgia trails, the more elevation gain, the better. I enjoy a good climb and even better if that climb is rewarded with spectacular views. This has happened to me only a couple of times so far and the Quest For The Crest 50K was one such race that provided both the challenging climbs and the rewarding vistas.

Race Report - 2017 Smokies Challenge Adventure Run 70+ Miles (DNF)

Probably my favorite view and pic of the day.

It all started simple enough. I received a FB message from Jobie Williams in early April: "Hey, any interest in doing SCAR next month or so? Would be great Fat Dog 120 training, but it wouldn't be pretty." "Sure", I relied and the seed was planted. Fast forward three weeks, I was in the midst of the final stages of planning my SCRA attempt. Jobie had to bail due to other commitments, but I had convinced Jerry Abbott to join me, Thankfully, his wife graciously volunteered to shuttle and crew us during our adventure in the Smoky Mountains.

Race Report - 2017 Grand Viduta Stage Races 43M

About halfway through stage 1.

I don't recall why exactly, but it seemed I always had something else on my running schedule ever since the Grand Viduta Stage Races were created a couple of years ago. As a result, I had only ever run one of the Saturday stages a while back. So this year, and as a result of my goal to run races I hadn't done before, I decided to sign up as soon as registration opened for the 2017 Grand Viduta Stage Races.  Early commitment and signup also ensured that I got to benefit from the ridiculously low "early bird" registration fee (so keep that in mind for 2018 as you don't want to miss this event).