We’re halfway through the shortest month that often feels like the longest. It can be hard to keep the stoke high during these winter days, but scroll on for a fresh delivery of inspiration. Howie Stern shares a riveting photo collection of ultra running feels and Doug Mayer ponders if getting to the start line isn’t perhaps the ultimate victory.
As for start lines, here at UltraSignupNews, this is ours. Ready, set, welcome to what we hope will become your favorite email of the week. Like a great pacer, we’ll arrive with new stories and a drop bag of the best trail dirt from around the web.
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Howie Stern’s Favorite Photos of 2021
Transporting us into the heart of the ultra running experience, Howie Stern offers the ultimate antidote to mid-winter blahs with his dramatic selection of favorite 2021 photos.
Helgi Olafson, 20 miles from the finish of the Moab 240 on his way to completing three 200 milers this year in support of Ankylosing Spondylitis, which he suffers from. – Howie Stern
Terumichi Morishita, Big’s Backyard. The moment you could hear a pin drop. He tripped while nearing the end of the loop and briefly lost consciousness and track of time. Such a heartbreaking end for this warrior and beautiful spirit. – Howie Stern
Pam Smith, Desert Solstice. She fought through COVID and injury on her way back to racing. As she put it, the work to get back to form isn’t sexy, but it’s what you need to do. At DS, she set age group records for 50 miles, 100k, 12 hours and 100 miles. – Howie Stern
Coree Woltering at the Cocodona 250, showing the collective feeling of the entire field of runners after suffering through a brutal first 50k with 10,000′ of climb and only one aid station to offer respite from the unrelenting Arizona sun and heat. – Howie Stern
Doug Mayer considers what it takes for each of us to enter the arena. If, by simply getting ourselves there, we have already shown the grit and determination needed to win the day.
The Courage to Start
– Doug Mayer
Standing at the starting line of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in 2017, I witnessed perhaps the widest range of emotions I will see in my life.
You could almost pick any emotion a sentient being could feel, and it was there somewhere in the crowd.
It was in those minutes before the starting gun to what is indisputably the world’s most famous trail race, that I realized something. In a sense, I was already done
