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Colorado Marathon: Smooth Move, Pacing & more Notes for Next Time

By Andrew Skurka / May 2, 2016 /
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Previous “Notes for Next Time” posts (like this one and this one) have proven helpful to me, and popular with you. Why make the same mistakes twice, or risk forgetting something that could help us achieve better results on a second attempt? Here are my takeaways from last weekend’s Colorado Marathon: Training Tempo efforts offer the…

Race Report: Colorado Marathon || 2:44:42, 5th overall

By Andrew Skurka / May 2, 2016 /
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Last year’s racing season opened with a dirty wake-up. But I’m ecstatic about its start this year, with a strong finish at yesterday’s Colorado Marathon: My time of 2:44:42 (6:16 minutes/mile pace) was faster than my goal of high-2:40’s Race execution was textbook: running partner Steve Clark and I were relaxed and steady through about Mile…

An adventure run around Volcan Osorno || Race Report: VUT 100k

By Andrew Skurka / December 14, 2015 /
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The end of my 2015 ultra running season was originally scheduled to happen in the Marin Headlands with The North Face 50-Mile Championships, as it did last year. The course’s extensive butter-smooth jeep roads and trails aren’t my top choice, but the event is excellently managed and it attracts the sport’s top talent. But instead, I jumped on…

Brown is down | Hunt Report: Second Rifle Colorado Elk

By Andrew Skurka / October 20, 2015 /
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Last Saturday I shot and killed, and then — with the help of my hunting partner, Noel — field dressed and packed out a cow elk from Colorado’s Indian Peaks Wilderness. It was my first-ever successful hunt, and the emotional and physical effort was about as significant as I expected. Next week I will share…

Motivations: My elk + deer season opens in 2 weeks

By Andrew Skurka / October 3, 2015 /
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Two weeks from yesterday is the start of Colorado’s second rifle season, for which my hunting partner Noel and I both have cow elk and buck deer tags for GMU 29, which encompasses the southern Indian Peaks Wilderness and Boulder’s foothills. I recognize that hunting is not supported by some fraction of my readers, most of…

The backpacker takes third! Race report: Run Rabbit Run 100

By Andrew Skurka / September 26, 2015 /
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Did anyone predict this result? I’m doubtful, given my running resume compared to the deep and talented field at the 2015 Run Rabbit Run 100. To know how it happened, read on. I won’t apologize for it being a long post — I wrote it mostly for me and for family members and close friends who couldn’t…

Notes for next time: Pacing, gear, intakes, and crewing

By Andrew Skurka / September 22, 2015 /
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That I’m already talking about a “next time” is a good indication that I was pleased with my Run Rabbit Run 100 performance and that my recovery has been relatively mild. I have no specific plans yet, but I think it’s apparent that I do relatively better in races that are longer and have more…

Strava data + post-race interview from Run Rabbit Run 100

By Andrew Skurka / September 21, 2015 /
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Later this week, once I’m more fully recovered, I’ll post more detailed content from Run Rabbit Run 100. For now, a few quick comments and some easily shareable content: My finish time of 20 hours, 12 minutes was in line with my expectations, based on how I have historically performed against the 2014 winner, Rob Krar. In…

I’m racing 100 miles on Friday. Track me, live.

By Andrew Skurka / September 15, 2015 /
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The starting pistol for the Run Rabbit Run 100 fires at noon on Friday. For the next 20 +/- hours I’ll be running and hiking through the mountains surrounding Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The course’s 40,000+ vertical feet of change won’t be easy, especially at elevations up to 10,500 feet. This is my first 100-mile race…

Glaciers & Granite: Wind River High Route thru-hike photos

By Andrew Skurka / September 14, 2015 /
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Earlier this month I completed the Wind River High Route, a project that I’d been working on since 2008 and that I left frustratingly incomplete after a failed attempt last year with Buzz Burrell and Peter Bakwin. It took me about 4.25 days to complete the 95-mile trip, which has 60,000+ vertical feet of change and which is two-thirds off-trail.…