By the time I woke up, I was already feeling the impact of the altitude. Training at the sea levels of Virginia for a race at the high elevations of Utah was not going to be a vacation getaway.

Race entry and lottery season is an exciting time of year on the Mountain Peak Fitness trail running team. This year I was the only one selected to run the Wasatch Front “100 miles of heaven and hell” Endurance Run. Luckily 4 of my teammates had experienced the 2013 Wasatch 100, giving me a good network of people to lean-on for advice during the months leading up to race day.

People often ask me why I run ultras or why I prefer the 100 mile distance? There are several reasons why, one is the feeling I have right now while sitting in my living room in NY,  the memories of the amazing people I met, the 100 miles of endless beauty I got to see.

My 2nd battle against altitude started 3 years ago and the war is still officially in progress! After my DNF at the Wasatch 100 mile race in 2010 (at mile 82 or so after Brighton AS, from major illness), I took some much needed time off to reflect, heal and improve myself. At the beginning of 2013, I began to feel rested...

40 days after the completion of my 2nd 100 mile race and 3rd ultra with in 5 months I decided to keep the train going and take the opportunity given to me earlier in the year when I was lucky enough to gain entry into the Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance Run.

Here a few photos from the Wasatch 100 Mile Endurance Run on 9/10/10.

After a bit of deliberating, we have decided to tackle the Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance Run in the beautiful state of Utah. The Wasatch 100 boasts 26,822 ft of elevation gain and a cumulative loss of 26,131ft, not to mention most of the race is as at significant altitude. It looks like the highest point is 10,450ft, which is at mile 78.46, how fun, just when your fresh and feeling your best it starts getting interesting.