White Knuckles
Written By George CallahanThe blue sky turned grey, the concrete turned to ice, and our wandering eyes, exploring the Virginia mountainsides, turned to the road. The snow fell in clumps and the temperature dropped; the higher our four wheels drove, the whiter my...
The Timing of Chaos
Written By George CallahanHumans instinctually amass resources. It’s hammered into our ancient DNA to acquire and protect. It’s hunger and thirst, wealth and ease; it’s each of these with a propensity to the stimulation of our mind’s reward—pleasure—centers. We’re...
Torture Your Faults
Written By George CallahanMornings are hard. Cold weather is hard. Late nights are hard. Saying no to fun is hard. Nobody asked you to Be Your Own Culture, to chase something intangible and pursue an imagined ideal. You don't have to do whatever hard thing you're...
Comfort Is A Lie
Written By George CallahanFREE "Comfort Is A Lie" Sticker! No Credit Card Required!!The man looks around at his life. Not much to worry about. Not a lot of sweat. No real adversity. "Perfect," he thinks. "I'm comfortable." Isn't life supposed to...
Don’t Uber Through Life: An Ultrarunner’s Reflection
Written By George CallahanAt mile 70, I said "I'm done." I didn't want to go on. The race hadn't gone the way I wanted, and my torched hip was bleeding doubts into my mind. My crew didn't argue, there was no thinking; it was "I'm done" and we were walking away from...
3 Lessons of a 100 Mile DNF
Written By George CallahanI was 8 minutes shy of the 30-hour cut off. It was not how I imagined finishing my first 100 mile ultra marathon. I pictured gritting my teeth, conquering, and smiling across the finish line of that point-to-point race from Cleveland to...
The Pain Cave: You’re On Stage
Motivation Is Not Real: Run Without It
Written By George CallahanTo an outsider, the ultra marathon community appears to lean on motivation. To the outside world, motivation drives an ultra marathon runner to explore possibility, their own iron wills, and the limits of their bodies. Ultra marathon...
Ask Yourself One Question
Written By George CallahanMost people, even many hardened by the pursuit of the experience and sensation that is ultra marathon running, lack fulfillment. What is fulfillment, anyway? I’ll let you answer that yourself; most people have a decent idea of what their...
So Long, And Thanks For The Suffering
Written By Michael MoranI chose to do this. Nobody forced me to run 50 miles. Pouring sweat into a paper cup of Gatorade three quarters of the way through the race, I felt like I was about to cave inward. The weight of the last few months, the heat, my wet and muddy...
Instinct For Meaning: My Journey to 100 Miles
Written By George CallahanMeaning is heavy. You’ve felt it. Haven’t you? It’s the highest good of your existence, that place where your passions and curiosities interact musically with the history and future of our world. A chill up your spine, tears in your eyes,...
Bleed For It
Written By George Callahan It’s easy to sit on the side and watch it all go by. I’ve done it. You’ve done it. People around you and I do it every single day. There it goes, right now, while you read this. What is it? What is all this going by? Opportunity. Not...
Why Run An Ultra Marathon? The Taller Peak…
Written By George CallahanI know what it's like to fall asleep while running. I've rested my hands on my knees as I trudged up a rugged trail, 90 miles from the starting line, wondering where the race had gone wrong. Stumbling over roots and rocks in the dark, I...
Are Ultra Marathons Bad For You?
Written By George Callahan "Boy, That's a Long Distance" I remember the first time someone asked if I ever wanted to run a marathon. My longest run to that point had probably been a lung-searing 5 miles. I set down the greasy pizza I was eating: "No way! Marathons are...
Shawn Livingston: Be Somebody’s Pacer
FREE "Be Somebody's Pacer " Sticker! No Credit Card Required!⬇️Read Below⬇️ about Be Somebody's Pacer Written By George CallahanWoke The Monster “He’s a lazy, lying, lost, hopeless drug addict,” Shawn Livingston...
Ultra Runner Candice Burt: Read the Fine Print
Written By George CallahanMile 92 When I reached mile 92 (shortly before the above picture was taken) of my first 100 mile race, the Burning River 100, I was told I wouldn’t finish. I was almost hoping to miss cut-offs by this point in the race, for someone to pull me...
Afraid to Run That Ultra Marathon?
Written By George CallahanWho Is Fear? Fear is a jester. He dances around the hall of greatness and mocks passersby, planting doubts and insecurities in the minds of those peeking in. He sings of their shortcomings; he jokes about their failures. His greatest trick is...
Victims Die Slow
Written By George CallahanCasting Call The Victim strolls through life, uninhibited by his own tragic state, unaware of the folly of his existence. When life goes well, he laughs and sings and is captivated by his circumstances. Life is glorious and wonderful; all is...
One Breath Of Air
Written By George CallahanPeople fear what is inside them. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. You probably fear what is inside you. All of your hopes and dreams, your wildest ambitions and most profound daydreams, the talents and skills and experiences you possess,...
Let’s Cut Back On Tolerance
Written By George CallahanThere are moments in a person’s life when he or she says, “Why am I tolerating this?” He knows he deserves better treatment at work; his skills are undervalued and underutilized. She sees her care and affection wasted in an emotionally absent...
Be Your Own Culture
Written By George CallahanWhen a person embraces mediocrity and settles into a complacent existence, he or she admits an unpreparedness for life and an unwillingness to reach the highest fulfillment of his or her time on Earth. This person lives in the culture of the...
Barbed Wire
Written By Scott WaldropScott is the Road Runner's Club of America's North Carolina State Representative, an RRCA and New Balance Raleigh Run Coach, and is one of 22 ambassadors for The Herren Project, an organization with the mission to support, inspire, and empower...
Training and Expectations
Written By George CallahanMost people running their first, or second, or third ultra marathon carry expectations into the race. They had training expectations; they planned the miles and hours they'd have to train, running and strengthening and stretching their way to...
![My Top 3 Ultra Marathon Tips [Mental Hacks]](https://i2.wp.com/wickedtrailrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ultra-Marathon-Tips-and-Tricks-Hack-Your-Mind.png?resize=795%2C500&ssl=1)
My Top 3 Ultra Marathon Tips [Mental Hacks]
Written By George CallahanMy Three Tips and Tricks for ultra marathoners The top three Tips and Tricks I used in the beginning of my ultra marathon running journey, the three Mind Hacks that led me to my first 100 mile finish, my first 50 mile victory, and conquering...
My First DNF: Umstead 100
Written By George CallahanUmstead 100, My First DNF: Excuses I'm not one for dramatizing a DNF, let alone my first DNF, so I'll get right to it. My first DNF came at the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run on April 6th, 2019 not because I wasn't physically prepared, or I...
You DNF Months Before Your Race
Written By George CallahanWhen you toe the line for your first ultra marathon, or any race after, there will be someone running with you that no one else can see. His bib has no number. It simply reads "DNF." He's right there when you start the long journey down the...
Run 100 Miles With No Pain
Written By George CallahanIf a person hasn't experienced physical pain in union with mental and emotional pain, an ultra marathon could be a worthwhile lesson in pain management. What is pain? A physical sensation? An emotional state? A mental yearning for comfort?...
5 Things Your First Ultra Will Teach You
Written By George CallahanYou've signed up. You've decided the Wicked Trail is meant for you; you want to experience your first ultra marathon and all the joy that comes with conquering, and the eradication of complacency that comes with the pain. Are you ready? Have...
3 Reasons To Practice Fasted Running
Written By George CallahanFasted Running: Welcome to the Wicked Trail For thirteen miles, I felt invincible. During the final three miles, I wasn't sure I'd finish. I felt like I did near the end of my first 100 mile race, of course with much less lower body-body...
The Best Ultra Marathons Aren’t What You Think
Written By George Callahan"What's the best ultra marathon?" Is it the most remote or adventurous like Marathon des Sables, the most challenging like Badwater or the H.U.R.T 100? Rather, is the best ultra marathon simply your first 100 miler, the one that breaks you...
White Knuckles
Written By George CallahanThe blue sky turned grey, the concrete turned to ice, and our wandering eyes, exploring the Virginia mountainsides, turned to the road. The snow fell in clumps and the temperature dropped; the higher our four wheels drove, the whiter my...
The Timing of Chaos
Written By George CallahanHumans instinctually amass resources. It’s hammered into our ancient DNA to acquire and protect. It’s hunger and thirst, wealth and ease; it’s each of these with a propensity to the stimulation of our mind’s reward—pleasure—centers. We’re...
Torture Your Faults
Written By George CallahanMornings are hard. Cold weather is hard. Late nights are hard. Saying no to fun is hard. Nobody asked you to Be Your Own Culture, to chase something intangible and pursue an imagined ideal. You don't have to do whatever hard thing you're...
Comfort Is A Lie
Written By George CallahanFREE "Comfort Is A Lie" Sticker! No Credit Card Required!!The man looks around at his life. Not much to worry about. Not a lot of sweat. No real adversity. "Perfect," he thinks. "I'm comfortable." Isn't life supposed to...
Don’t Uber Through Life: An Ultrarunner’s Reflection
Written By George CallahanAt mile 70, I said "I'm done." I didn't want to go on. The race hadn't gone the way I wanted, and my torched hip was bleeding doubts into my mind. My crew didn't argue, there was no thinking; it was "I'm done" and we were walking away from...
3 Lessons of a 100 Mile DNF
Written By George CallahanI was 8 minutes shy of the 30-hour cut off. It was not how I imagined finishing my first 100 mile ultra marathon. I pictured gritting my teeth, conquering, and smiling across the finish line of that point-to-point race from Cleveland to...
The Pain Cave: You’re On Stage
Motivation Is Not Real: Run Without It
Written By George CallahanTo an outsider, the ultra marathon community appears to lean on motivation. To the outside world, motivation drives an ultra marathon runner to explore possibility, their own iron wills, and the limits of their bodies. Ultra marathon...
Ask Yourself One Question
Written By George CallahanMost people, even many hardened by the pursuit of the experience and sensation that is ultra marathon running, lack fulfillment. What is fulfillment, anyway? I’ll let you answer that yourself; most people have a decent idea of what their...
So Long, And Thanks For The Suffering
Written By Michael MoranI chose to do this. Nobody forced me to run 50 miles. Pouring sweat into a paper cup of Gatorade three quarters of the way through the race, I felt like I was about to cave inward. The weight of the last few months, the heat, my wet and muddy...
Instinct For Meaning: My Journey to 100 Miles
Written By George CallahanMeaning is heavy. You’ve felt it. Haven’t you? It’s the highest good of your existence, that place where your passions and curiosities interact musically with the history and future of our world. A chill up your spine, tears in your eyes,...
Bleed For It
Written By George Callahan It’s easy to sit on the side and watch it all go by. I’ve done it. You’ve done it. People around you and I do it every single day. There it goes, right now, while you read this. What is it? What is all this going by? Opportunity. Not...
Why Run An Ultra Marathon? The Taller Peak…
Written By George CallahanI know what it's like to fall asleep while running. I've rested my hands on my knees as I trudged up a rugged trail, 90 miles from the starting line, wondering where the race had gone wrong. Stumbling over roots and rocks in the dark, I...
Are Ultra Marathons Bad For You?
Written By George Callahan "Boy, That's a Long Distance" I remember the first time someone asked if I ever wanted to run a marathon. My longest run to that point had probably been a lung-searing 5 miles. I set down the greasy pizza I was eating: "No way! Marathons are...
Shawn Livingston: Be Somebody’s Pacer
FREE "Be Somebody's Pacer " Sticker! No Credit Card Required!⬇️Read Below⬇️ about Be Somebody's Pacer Written By George CallahanWoke The Monster “He’s a lazy, lying, lost, hopeless drug addict,” Shawn Livingston...
Ultra Runner Candice Burt: Read the Fine Print
Written By George CallahanMile 92 When I reached mile 92 (shortly before the above picture was taken) of my first 100 mile race, the Burning River 100, I was told I wouldn’t finish. I was almost hoping to miss cut-offs by this point in the race, for someone to pull me...
Afraid to Run That Ultra Marathon?
Written By George CallahanWho Is Fear? Fear is a jester. He dances around the hall of greatness and mocks passersby, planting doubts and insecurities in the minds of those peeking in. He sings of their shortcomings; he jokes about their failures. His greatest trick is...
Victims Die Slow
Written By George CallahanCasting Call The Victim strolls through life, uninhibited by his own tragic state, unaware of the folly of his existence. When life goes well, he laughs and sings and is captivated by his circumstances. Life is glorious and wonderful; all is...
One Breath Of Air
Written By George CallahanPeople fear what is inside them. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. You probably fear what is inside you. All of your hopes and dreams, your wildest ambitions and most profound daydreams, the talents and skills and experiences you possess,...
Let’s Cut Back On Tolerance
Written By George CallahanThere are moments in a person’s life when he or she says, “Why am I tolerating this?” He knows he deserves better treatment at work; his skills are undervalued and underutilized. She sees her care and affection wasted in an emotionally absent...
Be Your Own Culture
Written By George CallahanWhen a person embraces mediocrity and settles into a complacent existence, he or she admits an unpreparedness for life and an unwillingness to reach the highest fulfillment of his or her time on Earth. This person lives in the culture of the...
Barbed Wire
Written By Scott WaldropScott is the Road Runner's Club of America's North Carolina State Representative, an RRCA and New Balance Raleigh Run Coach, and is one of 22 ambassadors for The Herren Project, an organization with the mission to support, inspire, and empower...
Training and Expectations
Written By George CallahanMost people running their first, or second, or third ultra marathon carry expectations into the race. They had training expectations; they planned the miles and hours they'd have to train, running and strengthening and stretching their way to...
My Top 3 Ultra Marathon Tips [Mental Hacks]
Written By George CallahanMy Three Tips and Tricks for ultra marathoners The top three Tips and Tricks I used in the beginning of my ultra marathon running journey, the three Mind Hacks that led me to my first 100 mile finish, my first 50 mile victory, and conquering...
My First DNF: Umstead 100
Written By George CallahanUmstead 100, My First DNF: Excuses I'm not one for dramatizing a DNF, let alone my first DNF, so I'll get right to it. My first DNF came at the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run on April 6th, 2019 not because I wasn't physically prepared, or I...
You DNF Months Before Your Race
Written By George CallahanWhen you toe the line for your first ultra marathon, or any race after, there will be someone running with you that no one else can see. His bib has no number. It simply reads "DNF." He's right there when you start the long journey down the...
Run 100 Miles With No Pain
Written By George CallahanIf a person hasn't experienced physical pain in union with mental and emotional pain, an ultra marathon could be a worthwhile lesson in pain management. What is pain? A physical sensation? An emotional state? A mental yearning for comfort?...
5 Things Your First Ultra Will Teach You
Written By George CallahanYou've signed up. You've decided the Wicked Trail is meant for you; you want to experience your first ultra marathon and all the joy that comes with conquering, and the eradication of complacency that comes with the pain. Are you ready? Have...
3 Reasons To Practice Fasted Running
Written By George CallahanFasted Running: Welcome to the Wicked Trail For thirteen miles, I felt invincible. During the final three miles, I wasn't sure I'd finish. I felt like I did near the end of my first 100 mile race, of course with much less lower body-body...
The Best Ultra Marathons Aren’t What You Think
Written By George Callahan"What's the best ultra marathon?" Is it the most remote or adventurous like Marathon des Sables, the most challenging like Badwater or the H.U.R.T 100? Rather, is the best ultra marathon simply your first 100 miler, the one that breaks you...
White Knuckles
Written By George CallahanThe blue sky turned grey, the concrete turned to ice, and our wandering eyes, exploring the Virginia mountainsides, turned to the road. The snow fell in clumps and the temperature dropped; the higher our four wheels drove, the whiter my...
The Timing of Chaos
Written By George CallahanHumans instinctually amass resources. It’s hammered into our ancient DNA to acquire and protect. It’s hunger and thirst, wealth and ease; it’s each of these with a propensity to the stimulation of our mind’s reward—pleasure—centers. We’re...
Torture Your Faults
Written By George CallahanMornings are hard. Cold weather is hard. Late nights are hard. Saying no to fun is hard. Nobody asked you to Be Your Own Culture, to chase something intangible and pursue an imagined ideal. You don't have to do whatever hard thing you're...
Comfort Is A Lie
Written By George CallahanFREE "Comfort Is A Lie" Sticker! No Credit Card Required!!The man looks around at his life. Not much to worry about. Not a lot of sweat. No real adversity. "Perfect," he thinks. "I'm comfortable." Isn't life supposed to...
Don’t Uber Through Life: An Ultrarunner’s Reflection
Written By George CallahanAt mile 70, I said "I'm done." I didn't want to go on. The race hadn't gone the way I wanted, and my torched hip was bleeding doubts into my mind. My crew didn't argue, there was no thinking; it was "I'm done" and we were walking away from...
3 Lessons of a 100 Mile DNF
Written By George CallahanI was 8 minutes shy of the 30-hour cut off. It was not how I imagined finishing my first 100 mile ultra marathon. I pictured gritting my teeth, conquering, and smiling across the finish line of that point-to-point race from Cleveland to...
The Pain Cave: You’re On Stage
Motivation Is Not Real: Run Without It
Written By George CallahanTo an outsider, the ultra marathon community appears to lean on motivation. To the outside world, motivation drives an ultra marathon runner to explore possibility, their own iron wills, and the limits of their bodies. Ultra marathon...
Ask Yourself One Question
Written By George CallahanMost people, even many hardened by the pursuit of the experience and sensation that is ultra marathon running, lack fulfillment. What is fulfillment, anyway? I’ll let you answer that yourself; most people have a decent idea of what their...
So Long, And Thanks For The Suffering
Written By Michael MoranI chose to do this. Nobody forced me to run 50 miles. Pouring sweat into a paper cup of Gatorade three quarters of the way through the race, I felt like I was about to cave inward. The weight of the last few months, the heat, my wet and muddy...
Instinct For Meaning: My Journey to 100 Miles
Written By George CallahanMeaning is heavy. You’ve felt it. Haven’t you? It’s the highest good of your existence, that place where your passions and curiosities interact musically with the history and future of our world. A chill up your spine, tears in your eyes,...
Bleed For It
Written By George Callahan It’s easy to sit on the side and watch it all go by. I’ve done it. You’ve done it. People around you and I do it every single day. There it goes, right now, while you read this. What is it? What is all this going by? Opportunity. Not...
Why Run An Ultra Marathon? The Taller Peak…
Written By George CallahanI know what it's like to fall asleep while running. I've rested my hands on my knees as I trudged up a rugged trail, 90 miles from the starting line, wondering where the race had gone wrong. Stumbling over roots and rocks in the dark, I...
Are Ultra Marathons Bad For You?
Written By George Callahan "Boy, That's a Long Distance" I remember the first time someone asked if I ever wanted to run a marathon. My longest run to that point had probably been a lung-searing 5 miles. I set down the greasy pizza I was eating: "No way! Marathons are...
Shawn Livingston: Be Somebody’s Pacer
FREE "Be Somebody's Pacer " Sticker! No Credit Card Required!⬇️Read Below⬇️ about Be Somebody's Pacer Written By George CallahanWoke The Monster “He’s a lazy, lying, lost, hopeless drug addict,” Shawn Livingston...
Ultra Runner Candice Burt: Read the Fine Print
Written By George CallahanMile 92 When I reached mile 92 (shortly before the above picture was taken) of my first 100 mile race, the Burning River 100, I was told I wouldn’t finish. I was almost hoping to miss cut-offs by this point in the race, for someone to pull me...
Afraid to Run That Ultra Marathon?
Written By George CallahanWho Is Fear? Fear is a jester. He dances around the hall of greatness and mocks passersby, planting doubts and insecurities in the minds of those peeking in. He sings of their shortcomings; he jokes about their failures. His greatest trick is...
Victims Die Slow
Written By George CallahanCasting Call The Victim strolls through life, uninhibited by his own tragic state, unaware of the folly of his existence. When life goes well, he laughs and sings and is captivated by his circumstances. Life is glorious and wonderful; all is...
One Breath Of Air
Written By George CallahanPeople fear what is inside them. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. You probably fear what is inside you. All of your hopes and dreams, your wildest ambitions and most profound daydreams, the talents and skills and experiences you possess,...
Let’s Cut Back On Tolerance
Written By George CallahanThere are moments in a person’s life when he or she says, “Why am I tolerating this?” He knows he deserves better treatment at work; his skills are undervalued and underutilized. She sees her care and affection wasted in an emotionally absent...
Be Your Own Culture
Written By George CallahanWhen a person embraces mediocrity and settles into a complacent existence, he or she admits an unpreparedness for life and an unwillingness to reach the highest fulfillment of his or her time on Earth. This person lives in the culture of the...
Barbed Wire
Written By Scott WaldropScott is the Road Runner's Club of America's North Carolina State Representative, an RRCA and New Balance Raleigh Run Coach, and is one of 22 ambassadors for The Herren Project, an organization with the mission to support, inspire, and empower...
Training and Expectations
Written By George CallahanMost people running their first, or second, or third ultra marathon carry expectations into the race. They had training expectations; they planned the miles and hours they'd have to train, running and strengthening and stretching their way to...
My Top 3 Ultra Marathon Tips [Mental Hacks]
Written By George CallahanMy Three Tips and Tricks for ultra marathoners The top three Tips and Tricks I used in the beginning of my ultra marathon running journey, the three Mind Hacks that led me to my first 100 mile finish, my first 50 mile victory, and conquering...
My First DNF: Umstead 100
Written By George CallahanUmstead 100, My First DNF: Excuses I'm not one for dramatizing a DNF, let alone my first DNF, so I'll get right to it. My first DNF came at the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run on April 6th, 2019 not because I wasn't physically prepared, or I...
You DNF Months Before Your Race
Written By George CallahanWhen you toe the line for your first ultra marathon, or any race after, there will be someone running with you that no one else can see. His bib has no number. It simply reads "DNF." He's right there when you start the long journey down the...
Run 100 Miles With No Pain
Written By George CallahanIf a person hasn't experienced physical pain in union with mental and emotional pain, an ultra marathon could be a worthwhile lesson in pain management. What is pain? A physical sensation? An emotional state? A mental yearning for comfort?...
5 Things Your First Ultra Will Teach You
Written By George CallahanYou've signed up. You've decided the Wicked Trail is meant for you; you want to experience your first ultra marathon and all the joy that comes with conquering, and the eradication of complacency that comes with the pain. Are you ready? Have...
3 Reasons To Practice Fasted Running
Written By George CallahanFasted Running: Welcome to the Wicked Trail For thirteen miles, I felt invincible. During the final three miles, I wasn't sure I'd finish. I felt like I did near the end of my first 100 mile race, of course with much less lower body-body...
The Best Ultra Marathons Aren’t What You Think
Written By George Callahan"What's the best ultra marathon?" Is it the most remote or adventurous like Marathon des Sables, the most challenging like Badwater or the H.U.R.T 100? Rather, is the best ultra marathon simply your first 100 miler, the one that breaks you...
Torture Your Faults
Written By George CallahanMornings are hard. Cold weather is hard. Late nights are hard. Saying no to fun is hard. Nobody asked you to Be Your Own Culture, to chase something intangible and pursue an imagined ideal. You don't have to do whatever hard thing you're...
My Dirty Hat
Written By George Callahan“I thought about buying a new hat, a fresh and clean one, but it wouldn’t be the same. It’s my hat. It knows my struggles on the trail and my successes. I’ve trained and raced with it. It’s tasted sweat and dirt and lots of stream water on...
Creation Trail
Written By George CallahanI smell the trees and taste the sun. Have you ever tasted the sun? The hairs on my arms stand at attention as a strange nostalgia envelops me. I haven’t been here before, but its like the ghost of every other explorer who’s helped to pack the...
Gravel
Written By George Callahan Rugged shoes stand before a yellow gate; it reads: Those who know the song. “What song?” I wonder. I step from the parking lot and pass the yellow gate onto the crushed limestone of a logging trail. The trail is worn and rutted and damp, and...
Grounded By Home Trails
Written By Michael MoranI’m not lost. I’m grinding to the top of a pine-lined logging road, only 2 miles from the trail head and I know exactly where I am. I’m not a thousand miles away, reading an upside down topo map tea stained with sweat, wondering if I have...
Cape Cod 50K: A High Five and a Seashell
Written By Michael MoranCape Cod 50K: A High Five and a Seashell By the time I reached mile 28 of the Cape Cod 50k, I had already gone cosmic. I fell on a root, experienced a full body charlie horse, got up, smiled with deep satisfaction, and held my arms out by my...
Barbed Wire
Written By Scott WaldropScott is the Road Runner's Club of America's North Carolina State Representative, an RRCA and New Balance Raleigh Run Coach, and is one of 22 ambassadors for The Herren Project, an organization with the mission to support, inspire, and empower...
Synthetic Trance
Written By Erik Hamilton Back in my day --because all good stories begin this way-- I was a child of the 80's. I wanted it all: the loudest guitars, the longest and biggest hair, the fastest car. Too young to have any of this, I was glued to my drum set, Lego bricks,...
Torture Your Faults
Written By George CallahanMornings are hard. Cold weather is hard. Late nights are hard. Saying no to fun is hard. Nobody asked you to Be Your Own Culture, to chase something intangible and pursue an imagined ideal. You don't have to do whatever hard thing you're...
My Dirty Hat
Written By George Callahan“I thought about buying a new hat, a fresh and clean one, but it wouldn’t be the same. It’s my hat. It knows my struggles on the trail and my successes. I’ve trained and raced with it. It’s tasted sweat and dirt and lots of stream water on...
Creation Trail
Written By George CallahanI smell the trees and taste the sun. Have you ever tasted the sun? The hairs on my arms stand at attention as a strange nostalgia envelops me. I haven’t been here before, but its like the ghost of every other explorer who’s helped to pack the...
Gravel
Written By George Callahan Rugged shoes stand before a yellow gate; it reads: Those who know the song. “What song?” I wonder. I step from the parking lot and pass the yellow gate onto the crushed limestone of a logging trail. The trail is worn and rutted and damp, and...
Grounded By Home Trails
Written By Michael MoranI’m not lost. I’m grinding to the top of a pine-lined logging road, only 2 miles from the trail head and I know exactly where I am. I’m not a thousand miles away, reading an upside down topo map tea stained with sweat, wondering if I have...
Cape Cod 50K: A High Five and a Seashell
Written By Michael MoranCape Cod 50K: A High Five and a Seashell By the time I reached mile 28 of the Cape Cod 50k, I had already gone cosmic. I fell on a root, experienced a full body charlie horse, got up, smiled with deep satisfaction, and held my arms out by my...
Barbed Wire
Written By Scott WaldropScott is the Road Runner's Club of America's North Carolina State Representative, an RRCA and New Balance Raleigh Run Coach, and is one of 22 ambassadors for The Herren Project, an organization with the mission to support, inspire, and empower...
Synthetic Trance
Written By Erik Hamilton Back in my day --because all good stories begin this way-- I was a child of the 80's. I wanted it all: the loudest guitars, the longest and biggest hair, the fastest car. Too young to have any of this, I was glued to my drum set, Lego bricks,...
Torture Your Faults
Written By George CallahanMornings are hard. Cold weather is hard. Late nights are hard. Saying no to fun is hard. Nobody asked you to Be Your Own Culture, to chase something intangible and pursue an imagined ideal. You don't have to do whatever hard thing you're...
My Dirty Hat
Written By George Callahan“I thought about buying a new hat, a fresh and clean one, but it wouldn’t be the same. It’s my hat. It knows my struggles on the trail and my successes. I’ve trained and raced with it. It’s tasted sweat and dirt and lots of stream water on...
Creation Trail
Written By George CallahanI smell the trees and taste the sun. Have you ever tasted the sun? The hairs on my arms stand at attention as a strange nostalgia envelops me. I haven’t been here before, but its like the ghost of every other explorer who’s helped to pack the...
Gravel
Written By George Callahan Rugged shoes stand before a yellow gate; it reads: Those who know the song. “What song?” I wonder. I step from the parking lot and pass the yellow gate onto the crushed limestone of a logging trail. The trail is worn and rutted and damp, and...
Grounded By Home Trails
Written By Michael MoranI’m not lost. I’m grinding to the top of a pine-lined logging road, only 2 miles from the trail head and I know exactly where I am. I’m not a thousand miles away, reading an upside down topo map tea stained with sweat, wondering if I have...
Cape Cod 50K: A High Five and a Seashell
Written By Michael MoranCape Cod 50K: A High Five and a Seashell By the time I reached mile 28 of the Cape Cod 50k, I had already gone cosmic. I fell on a root, experienced a full body charlie horse, got up, smiled with deep satisfaction, and held my arms out by my...
Barbed Wire
Written By Scott WaldropScott is the Road Runner's Club of America's North Carolina State Representative, an RRCA and New Balance Raleigh Run Coach, and is one of 22 ambassadors for The Herren Project, an organization with the mission to support, inspire, and empower...
Synthetic Trance
Written By Erik Hamilton Back in my day --because all good stories begin this way-- I was a child of the 80's. I wanted it all: the loudest guitars, the longest and biggest hair, the fastest car. Too young to have any of this, I was glued to my drum set, Lego bricks,...
So Long, And Thanks For The Suffering
Written By Michael MoranI chose to do this. Nobody forced me to run 50 miles. Pouring sweat into a paper cup of Gatorade three quarters of the way through the race, I felt like I was about to cave inward. The weight of the last few months, the heat, my wet and muddy...
Cape Cod 50K: A High Five and a Seashell
Written By Michael MoranCape Cod 50K: A High Five and a Seashell By the time I reached mile 28 of the Cape Cod 50k, I had already gone cosmic. I fell on a root, experienced a full body charlie horse, got up, smiled with deep satisfaction, and held my arms out by my...
My First DNF: Umstead 100
Written By George CallahanUmstead 100, My First DNF: Excuses I'm not one for dramatizing a DNF, let alone my first DNF, so I'll get right to it. My first DNF came at the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run on April 6th, 2019 not because I wasn't physically prepared, or I...
Bel Monte 50 Mile Race Report
Written By George CallahanWe didn't expect snow, and we didn't expect my sister's SUV to be anything less than AWD, but (just like an ultra marathon) weather in the mountains of Virginia is fast-changing and can be hard to predict. My first mountain ultra marathon,...
Light 2 Light 50 Race Report
Written By George CallahanUltra marathon running isn't about winning, unless it is. Ultra marathon running is subjective; a person's journey through the darkness, down the Wicked Trail, is driven by his or her own passions, fears, and desires. This journey into pain...
Light 2 Light 50: One Week Out
Written By George CallahanMy third ultra marathon, in my home state of North Carolina, has nearly arrived. The Light 2 Light 50 Miler will take place one week from today; I haven't run an ultra marathon since my 29-hour Burning River 100 nightmare in July, six whole...
Burning River 100 Race Report: My Wicked Trail
Written By George Callahan***Note: This race report represents the Burning River 100 as a point-to-point course, before it was changed in 2019. HOWEVER, this race report is about expectations, experience, and pain more than the course, so read on! Especially if this...
So Long, And Thanks For The Suffering
Written By Michael MoranI chose to do this. Nobody forced me to run 50 miles. Pouring sweat into a paper cup of Gatorade three quarters of the way through the race, I felt like I was about to cave inward. The weight of the last few months, the heat, my wet and muddy...
Cape Cod 50K: A High Five and a Seashell
Written By Michael MoranCape Cod 50K: A High Five and a Seashell By the time I reached mile 28 of the Cape Cod 50k, I had already gone cosmic. I fell on a root, experienced a full body charlie horse, got up, smiled with deep satisfaction, and held my arms out by my...
My First DNF: Umstead 100
Written By George CallahanUmstead 100, My First DNF: Excuses I'm not one for dramatizing a DNF, let alone my first DNF, so I'll get right to it. My first DNF came at the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run on April 6th, 2019 not because I wasn't physically prepared, or I...
Bel Monte 50 Mile Race Report
Written By George CallahanWe didn't expect snow, and we didn't expect my sister's SUV to be anything less than AWD, but (just like an ultra marathon) weather in the mountains of Virginia is fast-changing and can be hard to predict. My first mountain ultra marathon,...
Light 2 Light 50 Race Report
Written By George CallahanUltra marathon running isn't about winning, unless it is. Ultra marathon running is subjective; a person's journey through the darkness, down the Wicked Trail, is driven by his or her own passions, fears, and desires. This journey into pain...
Light 2 Light 50: One Week Out
Written By George CallahanMy third ultra marathon, in my home state of North Carolina, has nearly arrived. The Light 2 Light 50 Miler will take place one week from today; I haven't run an ultra marathon since my 29-hour Burning River 100 nightmare in July, six whole...
Burning River 100 Race Report: My Wicked Trail
Written By George Callahan***Note: This race report represents the Burning River 100 as a point-to-point course, before it was changed in 2019. HOWEVER, this race report is about expectations, experience, and pain more than the course, so read on! Especially if this...
So Long, And Thanks For The Suffering
Written By Michael MoranI chose to do this. Nobody forced me to run 50 miles. Pouring sweat into a paper cup of Gatorade three quarters of the way through the race, I felt like I was about to cave inward. The weight of the last few months, the heat, my wet and muddy...
Cape Cod 50K: A High Five and a Seashell
Written By Michael MoranCape Cod 50K: A High Five and a Seashell By the time I reached mile 28 of the Cape Cod 50k, I had already gone cosmic. I fell on a root, experienced a full body charlie horse, got up, smiled with deep satisfaction, and held my arms out by my...
My First DNF: Umstead 100
Written By George CallahanUmstead 100, My First DNF: Excuses I'm not one for dramatizing a DNF, let alone my first DNF, so I'll get right to it. My first DNF came at the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run on April 6th, 2019 not because I wasn't physically prepared, or I...
Bel Monte 50 Mile Race Report
Written By George CallahanWe didn't expect snow, and we didn't expect my sister's SUV to be anything less than AWD, but (just like an ultra marathon) weather in the mountains of Virginia is fast-changing and can be hard to predict. My first mountain ultra marathon,...
Light 2 Light 50 Race Report
Written By George CallahanUltra marathon running isn't about winning, unless it is. Ultra marathon running is subjective; a person's journey through the darkness, down the Wicked Trail, is driven by his or her own passions, fears, and desires. This journey into pain...
Light 2 Light 50: One Week Out
Written By George CallahanMy third ultra marathon, in my home state of North Carolina, has nearly arrived. The Light 2 Light 50 Miler will take place one week from today; I haven't run an ultra marathon since my 29-hour Burning River 100 nightmare in July, six whole...
Burning River 100 Race Report: My Wicked Trail
Written By George Callahan***Note: This race report represents the Burning River 100 as a point-to-point course, before it was changed in 2019. HOWEVER, this race report is about expectations, experience, and pain more than the course, so read on! Especially if this...
George Callahan