Ultramarathon Daily News | Wed, June 17

Trailrunner/Metzler: Sometimes running with a partner sucks. Head out there alone and be in your own head, with your own pace, on your own schedule. Agree completely.

FKT: Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy wrecks the Vermont Long Trail FKT by over 23 hours…soaking wet and with no flashlight…and makes a statement on society en route. Here’s our chat with Joe, post-Appalachian Trail FKT.

Meanwhile, this 69 year old (!) just set a new supported FKT on the 301 mile Superior Hiking Trail. Nice!

VeloNews: Strava deletes racially insensitive segment names after pressure from users. Wouldn’t it have helped to list the names of the segments though? If they’re blatant, everyone understands, but if they’re nuanced or unintentional, it could be used as a learning experience, right?

These are my new running shorts from BOA and they are…eye catching. (My wife hates them.)

Oh, what to do with all this expired beer?

I was on Derrick Lytle’s Juniper Lab Podcast a few weeks ago to talk about MUT media and had a great talk. Check it out here.

Speaking of podcasts, I’ll have Leah Yingling on the show today to talk about training in the Wasatch, running as a kid, FKT plans, and more. We’ll follow it up with a set of reviews from our new Gear Gal Lydia. Stay tuned.

I’m really digging these “blue collar runner” profiles. This one’s on Robert Gantz, a guy who came out of the military with PTSD and has found new life in the East Coast trail and ultra community.

Bummer: Got the email yesterday of more cancellations: TOR330 – Tor des Géants, TOR450 – Tor des Glaciers, TOR130 – Tot Dret and TOR30 – Passage au Malatrà are all done for the year.

Obstacle Racing Media: Spartan hosts its first mass participation race since Covid began, with 1200+ people racing (in waves) at an event in Florida. Like him or not, Joe Desena pushes forward and advocates hard for his company and sport. Who’s the ultra/trail RD who’ll do that for our sport?

Anton on his bike in Nebraska.

SCMP: The push to attract and encourage more Asian girls into trail running.

Should you use cannabis before going out on a run? My answer: If you’re comfortable with the effects, then emphatically YES.

Thanks for everyone’s comments and emails about social media. I’ll be honest, I’ve rolled my eyes hundreds of times when I see others make announcements about “leaving Facebook”, but dang, to do it feels so good. Please take no offense, but I’ve dumped nearly everyone from my friends list and purged anyone else who publishes negative posts on politics, society, etc. Since I need to keep my profile up for other interests (NA beer, kids running, neighborhood stuff), I’m not deleting my account, but this feels really healthy and I intend to keep it up.