Monhly Mileage check in! Just over 350 miles for me in March, a pretty high mileage month by my standards. Granted, many of those miles (about 150 of them) were run during the Dogwood Ultra 48 hour. Even so, I had solid, consistent training leading up to the event and picked back up with training less than a week after. This is all to say that I'm happy with my March training as a build up for Capital Backyard Ultra next month. Throwing a 48 hour test attempt in the build up of my training for Capital didn't derail it. It didn't destroy my body. If anything, it felt like great mental ..read more

  I’ll be running my first 48 hour timed race in just a few weeks at the Virginia Adventures Dogwood Ultramarathons held at Twin Lakes State Park in Green Bay, Virginia. I’m venturing into this “new to me” timed race format with some questions, a few hesitations, and a bit of uncertainty. Which is understandable and I would say to be expected as it will be only the fifth timed race I’ve run; I have previously run a pair of 6 hour (Squatchung Surprise and Fat Sass Switchback) and 24 hour races (Adventure Trail Challenge 2021 and 2023). Will it be more difficult to run 200 miles during ..read more

I finished February with 267 miles for an average of 9.2 miles a day! This was the last full month of training before my first race of the year, and also my first 48 hour race ever. It feels like my training has gone flawlessly and I am feeling so ready to see how far beyond 200 miles I can run in a 48 hour period at the Virginia Adventures Dogwood Ultramarathons. Only three weeks until… 2 nights with no sleep > 200 miles on foot a race that will span two sunrises and two sunsets shoveling in aid station foods and a ridiculous number of gels Only three weeks until go time! 1 Mar ..read more

Just under 283 miles for me last month which is my highest mileage for January ever! Hopefully that is a sign of bigger performances to come this year. With the race schedule I have planned for the year (a 48 hour race and 3 backyard ultras), I’m going to need to run some long distances to hit my goals! Let’s go! “Wish upon a star, and then act properly, in accordance with that aim.” - Jordan B. Peterson ..read more

Enjoy the journey en route to your goals. It's that time of year again. Time to assess last year's goals and set new goals to work towards in 2024. I figure the best way to do this is to just go down my list of goals from last year. 1. PR and CR at the 24 hr Adventure Trail Run in Triangle, VA. Status: Failed I made my attempt and came up short of my PR I ran there in 2021. I struggled with some digestive issues, inclement weather, and a lack of motivation, but I still managed to hit 100 miles which was good enough for first place. So although I failed to hit my personal goal, I ..read more

Prerace photo with my awesome crew man, Marty!   DNF Number Two I’ve run Big’s Backyard for the last two years and both years I put in more training and preparation than I had for any other race. And both years the course sent me home feeling defeated after serving me up with a heaping pile of humble pie. Coming up short of your goals and facing failure can be tough and is usually not a pleasant experience, but it can also be a learning experience that helps us grow and improve in our pursuit. With a few weeks between me and my second DNF at Big’s, I feel like I’ve handled this ..read more

I racked up 385 miles last month with the majority of them during the Big’s Backyard Individual World Championships. The end of the race was a little bittersweet for me as I had hoped to stay in the race quite a bit longer than I did. At the same time, my final yard was one of the most intense pushes to complete a yard that I have ever made at a backyard. It was all the more enjoyable as I was working with Levi Yoder, teammate from the 2022 USA Backyard Team, for the last two miles or so of the yard and we made it in with just over two minutes to spare. Overall, the experience was great with ..read more

  On a bit of whim that popped in my head while running I decided to create a poll to gauge the backyard community’s thoughts on how they expect and how they would hope to see the 2023 Individual World Championship play out this year at Big’s Backyard. I shared the link to the poll in multiple Facebook groups, on several ? posts, and on the r/backyardultra subreddit. The poll asked six questions: Will a new course record be set this year at Big's Backyard? Will a new world record be set this year at Big's Backyard? How many yards will Big's Backyard go this year? Who do you want to s ..read more

  “Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish.” — Michelangelo I was pretty apprehensive about going into my training plan this September. It is the last full month of training leading up to Big’s Backyard and I had just missed my mileage training goal for August. I wasn’t sure how I would rebound from that missed mark. I felt like if it didn’t go well, I wouldn’t have a chance at Big’s to accomplish anywhere near what I hope to accomplish. Thankfully, with some perseverance and determination, September’s training went better than I ever expected and I bounced ri ..read more

  #Monthlymileage check in... Initially I was pretty disappointed with my August mileage. I finished the month with 268 miles for an average of 8.66 miles per day. It felt like it was a pretty big drop from my July mileage of 313 miles with an average of 10.11 miles per day. Since my loose training plan for Big's is to increase my average daily mileage every month leading up to Big's (June - September), I obviously missed the mark for August. Like I said, at first I was pretty upset about this, but then I realized I had still run a higher daily average mileage this August than August o ..read more