With the off season fast approaching for many, the most important thing an athlete can do at this time of year is re-evaluate their rest & recovery (R&R). Look back and reflect on your achievements as well as the races or workouts that didn't exactly go as planned. Ask yourself, could you have done better with your rest & preparation?

In 1958, Chris Goetze broke the 31 year-old record for the Mahoosuc Traverse by over two hours, running the rugged 29 mile route with over 10k of climb in 8:06:30.  Late last week, Ryan Welts emailed a few of us to see if anyone was interested in joining him for a hard run over the traverse.  

Your Threshold is simply the hardest possible effort you can sustain for 60 minutes straight. Your average heart rate, power and pace for this effort is your threshold. To do a 60 minute all out effort is extremely challenging and is not necessary. A shorter 20 minute test can be done to establish your threshold.

Mile for mile the Telluride Mountain Run is the toughest race I’ve ever ran and might be the toughest race around. TMR is filled with big mountains, minimal support and a group of 50 adventure seeking athletes. I learned about this race after not being selected in the Hardrock 100 lottery and jumped at the opportunity to experience the San Juan Mountains.

I haven’t been racing many races under 3 hrs in quite a while other than a few snowshoe races, and when I got invited to run the most competitive mountain race in the UK, the Snowdon International Mountain Race, I thought it might be a good idea...

The inaugural Eastern States 100 brought 162 hardy runners to the start line to traverse some of the most challenging terrain on the East Coast.  Runners would experience the most scenic and challenging views on the East that would include the Black Forest Trail, Western Rim Trail, the Donut Hole Trail, T Squared Trail, Long Branch Trail, the Tiadaghton Trail, and a few others that comprise the 100 mile loop.

10:00 am Friday morning, August 15, 2014, I began a 120 mile foot race in the mountains of British Columbia. The race had close to 29,000 ft of climbing, unknown terrain, I had no crew, 1 pacer and 9 drop bags...

By MPF Athlete, Len Huffman
I am what companies call brand loyal. When I find a product that I like and it works for me I tend to stick with it. I am like this with my running shoes. I started my running days in Pearl Izumi's. I loved them. I had 4 or 5 pairs, same model (shines). I ran my best marathon in Synco Fuels. Unfortunately Pearl Izumi stopped making the ones I liked and the models they replaced them with just didn’t feel the same.

The 2014 Escarpment Trail Run was held on July 27th. This was my second running of the race, which has been happening since 1977. Held in the Catskills Mountains, it a grueling 18 mile trek up and over 3 peaks on trails littered with roots & rocks. I was excited to try to best last years time of 4 hours 20 minutes. My goal was 4 hours.

Video of the 2014 Escarpment 18.6 Mile Trail Run. This was the 38th running of the event! Joe had the chance to follow most of the race along the course and caught a little footage of just about each mile.

As advertised the Wild and Scenic Bighorn 100 is probably the most scenic trail run that I have ever participated in. The terrain and views were beautiful. The mountains were picturesque and their stone faces were amazing.  That is saying a lot from a guy who usually only focuses in the trail and where my feet strike.

To really understand this race you have to know the trails, or at least get a good description of the course.  If you can’t experience the trails in person, I think photos or video do a better job than any sort of written description, at least as far as my writing skills are concerned.  Luckily, we have great pics and video from the race thanks to Joe.

By Joe Azze
Here are some videos and photos from the 2014 Manitou's Revenge Ultramarathon & Relay. We will be updating this post as often as possible over the next week or so. Check back regularly for new photos and videos.

Check out Ben Nephew's Race Report from last weekends Cayuga Trails 50 Mile USATF Championship! It was a stacked field with some kung fu, back flips and the lambada being necessary in order to finish in the top 5.

Hey Bear Mountain - shove it! Yeah, you heard me. Yes I am pointing 2 appendages your way. You always try to thwart us with your rocky and rooty paths. Your climbs often make us want to curl up into little balls. This year you added streams of water where there shouldn’t have been and mud...

The days leading up to the race the area suffered intense rain storms, the roads, rivers and streams were flooded. For some reason I didn’t think much about the trail conditions while driving on the winding road towards the start. I should of known better when we were following a truck plowing the road of debris and mud but I was overwhelmed by the vibrant colors of green, the wild flowers, and the sounds of the flowing water. Everything felt alive, begging for adventure...

By Joe Azze
With the 20th Massanutten Mountain Trail 100 Mile Run completed, its time to reflect a bit and share some of the footage we captured during the weekend. The race was epic in every sense of the word... 

While I run in New Paltz, NY all the time due to it being Steph’s hometown, I rarely run on the carriage roads.  I love singletrack and that area has some of the best.  The carriage roads winding through the Mohonk Preserve are also some of the best, and the scenery along the roads is spectacular so I was excited when they announced the first RTR last year...

When I heard about the Rock the Ridge 50 early last year I was torn, I wanted to support this local race but we along with our athletes have been a part of The North Face Bear Mountain races since its inception in 2008, not to mention both of the races were being held on the same day...