There is no time to think about how much I hurt; there is only time to run. – Ben Logsdon
The description of the fifth stage of the ENDURrun is as follows: “This demanding and hilly 25.6km cross-country course is run through the Chicopee Ski Resort and boasts incredible alpine scenery. This multi-loop course includes many extended hill climbs.” Ask anyone who’s run this stage before, and they’ll tell you that this is a HUGE UNDERSTATEMENT of what the course is about.
The essential thing in life is not so much conquering as fighting well – Baron de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games
Trail Race. 30km. 5km loop. Each loop run six (6) times. Hilly and demanding course, with parts asphalt, grass, dirt, and wood chips. Eight (8) hills per 5km loop, for a total of 48 hills to ascend and descend. This stage separates the men from the boys, the women from the girls, the runners from the casual joggers.
I race in order to dig deep within myself and see what I’m really made of – Maggie, runner from Idaho
Monday. Traditionally bad-mouthed the world over, as it is the first day of the work week, and many people are probably still mentally wishing that the weekend was still in effect. Nobody likes Monday, especially me. However, this Monday was different, and I liked it. Today was Stage 2 of the ENDURrun, and, after a ton of sleep the following afternoon and evening, coupled with some liberal doses of cough and cold syrup, I was actually feeling quite normal, and not hacking up a lung.
When people ask me why I run, I tell them, there’s not really a reason, it’s just the adrenalin when you start, and the feeling when you cross that finish line, and know that you are a winner no matter what place you got. – Courtney Parsons
Today I woke up to the sound of rain pattering my window. Great, I thought. My first ENDURrun stage in the rain. Last year, it rained a few times during the week, and quite hard, but always at night.
To succeed you have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a reality – Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop
So, it is the night before Stage 1 of the ENDURrun, I’ve just finished a very wonderful IPA, and am getting my things ready for tomorrow. In just about 8 hours, I will be running the half marathon. I am excited, scared, and nervous, all at the same time.
The runner’s greatest asset, apart from essential fitness of body, is a cool and calculating brain allied to confidence and courage. – Franz Stampfl
Today’s stage is the last stage of the ENDURrun. The Marathon is a significantly difficult event in it’s own right, humbling even the most prepared athletes. To attempt to run a marathon in mid-August, after already running 118km in the previous 7 days seems foolhardy. Yet that is what I prepared to do.
Running is a statement to society. It is saying ’no’ to always being on call, to sacrificing our daily runs for others’ needs. When we run we are doing something for ourselves. – Phoebe Jones
Today’s stage is, on paper, the easiest of the seven stages. With the exception of a small dip in the road between the 2km and 3km mark, the run is pancake flat, on paved roads, and ends up being a net downhill.
Racing is pain, and that’s why you do it, to challenge yourself and the limits of your physical and mental barriers. You don’t experience that in an armchair watching television. – Mark Allen
Today’s stage was the last “mountain” stage, and arguably the hardest stage of the series. It was the one I was scared of the most. The “Alpine” run. Various experienced ENDURrunners had warned us rookies of the dangers of the course, that it was steep, that it shredded quads at whim, and that it humbles even the most elite of runners.
Running hills breaks up your rhythm and forces your muscles to adapt to new stresses. The result? You become stronger. – Eamonn Coughlan
After the hilly and repetitive Stage 3, we were given a morning off to rest before Stage 4. It started at 6:00pm, the only evening run of the stages. On paper, a 10 mile (16km) run doesn’t sound all that bad after 25km. But the devil is in the details, and the elevation map.
You have a choice. You can throw in the towel, or use it to wipe the sweat off your face. – Gatorade Ad
I met Lloyd Schmidt, the ENDURrun race director, in early June of this year, at the Mud Run. I’d already signed up for the ENDURrun, and it was cool to actually meet the mastermind behind this event. He was saying to me that the race is tough. The first two days (marathon, 15km time trial) are fairly flat, on roads, and lull many runners into a false sense of familiarity and security.