I had an entirely different post planned for today. There are still a few days of the Hawai’i adventure we need to get through, and much, much… Read more “A Thank-You Letter to Volunteers from Drew Dinan”
Category: Running
“What Do You Think About When Running That Far?” + My Cool Moon Hallucinations
Many people assume that running long distances must be somewhat boring (if suffering from constant pain can be called boring, that is). You have only your own… Read more ““What Do You Think About When Running That Far?” + My Cool Moon Hallucinations”
Cool Moon 50-Miler: I Hallucinated, I Ached, And I Threw Up Blood. But I Finished.
This post, just like the run could have, can go two ways; either it’s going to be a quick business or a long journey with more twists… Read more “Cool Moon 50-Miler: I Hallucinated, I Ached, And I Threw Up Blood. But I Finished.”
Two of the Best Wonderland Trail FKT Films (Yes, this is a very subjective statement.)
I am a slow runner. This is not a complaint, and it’s not a critique. It’s just a plain statement of the truth. I can hold a 12-minute/mile pace for about 10 kilometers, and a 15-minute/mile pace for 20 miles, but that’s about it. After giving it absolutely everything, I was able to finish my first 50-mile race in just under 25 hours. Yes, I did spend roughly four hours in aid stations and getting my foot iced and taped so that I could keep moving, but still, this is SLOW.
And so it might come as a bit of a surprise that I do, in fact, enjoy seeing people chase FKTs (fastest known times), even though I know that nothing like that will ever be possible for me. (Well, unless I establish a route and keep my snail-paced FKT until someone comes to take a stroll and beats it.)
Today, I wanted to share with you two of my favourite FKT documentaries (oh wow, saying I’ve got a favourite FKT documentary feels like choosing a favourite child), both of them from the wonderful Wonderland Trail (most up-to-date FKTs can be found on this link).
The first Wonderland Trail FKT film I ever saw was about Gary Robbins who got his FKT in 2015, made by Ethan Newberry, also knows as The Ginger Runner. I re-watched it several times since. Gary is a beyond-inspiring runner (seriously, watch “Where Dreams Go to Die” to see what real grit is).
The second film I’m going to recommend today is also by Ethan Newberry, and follows Kaytlyn Gerbin, the current holder of the female supported FKT, and Dylan Bowman, who held the male supported FKT on the Wonderland Trail for just five days.
I hope you’ll enjoy these, I hope they’ll motivate you, and I’ll be back next week, hopefully back from the dead so I can tell you all about my Cool Moon 50-mile race which I haven’t recovered from yet. Just a little teaser: I totally got my money’s worth, having experienced it all; hallucinations, chafing, unstoppable nosebleed, nausea and throwing up, ridiculous heat, being stripped naked at an aid station to be brought back from the dead, and having to walk downhill backwards because legs gave up on me.
That One Idiotic Friend We All Need
“Because your phone might die, write my number on your arm. You might lose a piece of paper, but you’re not going to lose your arm… most… Read more “That One Idiotic Friend We All Need”
Running Diary (Vol IV)
If you want to read a little intro on how this series came to be, you can do so by clicking HERE 🙂 More thoughts that run… Read more “Running Diary (Vol IV)”
A Runner’s Body
My body, objectively speaking, is not a runner’s body. I was born wrong. By the time other kids were crawling, I was pushing myself on my butt.… Read more “A Runner’s Body”
Why I Really Keep Running
There are plenty of things that are amazing about running: Nutella sandwiches with bananas in them. Dogs running towards me on the trail, wagging their tails and… Read more “Why I Really Keep Running”
A Day in My Life as an Aid Station Volunteer | Video
Hello everyone, this is the video version of my earlier post about wht a typical day in my life as an aid station volunteer looks like.
(This totally didn’t take me two weeks longer to make than I anticipated, nu-uh.)
I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Love,
—P
I Ran. | Poetry Reading
This is a poem about running. This is a poem about so much more… I decided to give a try to reading my poetry and making videos… Read more “I Ran. | Poetry Reading”
Hit the Road with Me 