It’s 6 am on Sunday morning and I am waiting at the race start.  Despite what you might think, I’m not nervous at all. Mainly because I started and finished the 50 mile race I had entered over 12 hours ago.  I now had the privilege of helping to crew a runner attempting to finish his first 100-mile race.

It’s that time of year again, Mountain Madness 50k (aka MoMa)!  For the last 3 years, this race has been a staple of my race calendar, and no matter what other events I had planned or injuries I sustained throughout the year, I have always managed to make it to the starting line of this race.

“The Bull Run Run is a beautiful, tough run on the Bull Run Trail in Northern Virginia.” The Bull Run Run (or BRR), sponsored by the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club, is a 50 mile trail race first held in 1993.  Due to the race’s history, popularity and long list of returning runners, race entry is decided through a lottery that opens the January before the race.

Out of all the NJ Trail Series races, this is one of my favorite events.  Mountain Madness is a rugged 50K with approximately 5,000 feet of elevation gain held on the rocky trails throughout the Ramapo Mountains of Northern New Jersey.

Within the first two months of 2011, I had already raced two 50K’s and a marathon. I had a heavy upcoming race schedule for the year and was feeling as fit as ever.  Unfortunately, at the NJ Ultra Festival 100 mile race in March, I suffered a tendon injury in my foot and had to drop out of the race.  As all too common after coming back from an injury, I rushed back...

The first generation Saucony Xodus and I have had a long past.  It was my first “true” trail running sneaker, and the shoe in which I ran my first ultra.  I probably ended up putting close to 500 miles on those sneakers before they were retired