32-year-old Todd Braje has risen quickly in the world of ultrarunning. Now thanks to his 5:30 finish at the Jed Smith 50-mile, has gone right to the ranks of the Top 50 American 50-mile performances of all time. Rumors that this 2:26 marathoner was tearing up the trails began in 2007, when he was fi...

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of joining 450 trail runners for the Muir Beach 12k/17k/30k/50k in the Bay Area headlands near San Francisco, CA. It was an epic adventure of staggering climbs, windy peaks, and a storm that chased us into the hills. All in all, a great way to end the season. I thin...

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of joining 450 trail runners for the Stinson Beach 12k/20k/30k/50k in Stinson Beach, CA. This hilly course put on by Pacific Coast Trail Runs tours through some of the most beautiful and challenging trails in the Bay Area, sharing terrain with races like The Dipsea,...

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of joining 220 ultrarunners for the sold out Skyline to the Sea 50k in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California. This new race put on by Pacific Coast Trail Runs has plenty of beautiful single track through the redwoods of Big Basin State Park before taking a...

Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of joining 200 trail runners for the wicked hot Mt. Diablo 8k/25k/50k put on by Pacific Coast Trail Runs in Clayton, CA. I had hoped to get in one last hot and hilly run before Western States (coming in a few weeks!), and this race definitely fell into the “be caref...

Yup, you read it right. Despite a beautiful day and perfectly organized race at the 2008 Quicksilver 50k/50m last Saturday, I had my first ever DNF. In over 100 endurance events, that three letter acronym for “Did Not Finishâ€� has never been next to my name in the results. Now there it is. And Iâ...

Few would argue that Greek runner Yiannis Kouros isn't one of the most phenomenal endurance athletes the world has ever seen. His world records (particularly the multi-day records) are so staggering, they stretch the mind about what is humanly possible. But read his blog/Web site lately, and it feel...

This Saturday I had the unexpected pleasure of joining 250+ runners for the Sequoia 10k/20k/30k/50k in the hills of Oakland, CA. I hadn’t planned on racing this weekend, but part of my Valentine’s Day gift from my wife was an afternoon off for a long run, and I had been meaning to cross to bay t...

Last Saturday I joined 250+ runners for PCTR’s Woodside 10k/17k/35k/50k on a cool winter day in Huddart Park in Woodside, CA. It’s always a pleasure to race on my home course (my driveway is aid station #1) and I was looking forward to my first ultra of the 2008 season. Sharing the course with o...

It's that wonderful time of year again - time to look at the cornucopia of ultras, triathlons, and marathons available in 2008 and plan my season! I get such satisfaction out of seeing a whole year of races planned out. As I mentioned last year, a full schedule is proof that I'm choosing to live in ...