It's 2026!

(Apologies for the atrocious formatting. There were supposed to be lines and indents, but in the final version, Blogger jumbled it all up) Greetings! I'm still here. It looks like my last post was from May of 2025 and I've had a busy running schedule since then. Not sure why the last post now has 1,000+ views. AI? Robots? I had planned to get back into running regularly, but this winter has been crummy for running and I've been feeling super lazy on days I've had no excuse to not run. I even got a great deal on two pairs of my first carbon running shoes, a pair of Nike Alpha Fly 2's and a pair of Saucony Endorphin Pro 4's. I figured testing these out would motivate me some, but I have yet to run a step in either pair. That said, here are some highlights from the past 9 months between blog posts. 1. Murderkill Ultras - This was my friend, Jon's, second ultra event and now my second ultra in Delaware 2. Three Sisters Marathon - This was an inaugural event in the booming metropolis of Danville, VA. Difficult course (marathon wise), hot weather, not very scenic, but overall an okayish event. The volunteer support was amazing. 3. Greensprings 24 Hour - This was a spur the moment race. I ended up doing 68.6 miles, which isn't much for a 24 hour event, but it was still the most I have done since 2019. 4. Richmond Marathon - This was my 12th Richmond Marathon and 3rd year running with my buddy, Jon. Our goal was to go as slow as possible and finish under the 7 hour time limit. Well, we finished in 6:59:35 and were officially the last place finishers. I'd call that a success! 5. Angela Ivory 50k - I can't believe I did another race in Delaware, but I did. My official finish time of 10:01 (yes ten hours) now gives me 50k finish times that end in 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. So, as of this writing, I am now sitting at 190 ultra/marathons. I have at least 4-5 races this spring and will likely reach 200 this upcoming fall. Stay posted! -Mike

Countdown to 200

Howdy folks! I'm still here and I'm still running! Much to my surprise it looks like a few people still drop by this old blog of mine. Sorry, I haven't posted in a while, but I'm thinking about starting back up again. That said, I've still been running about 4-5 races per year, though I've ramped up my participation recently, including three ultras in the month of April. I run very little these days and have basically been run/walking most of my utlras. I don't mind as I have really enjoyed the slower pace, the many friendly conversations, and literally being able to stop and smell the roses. I'm still doing strength training and have kept my weight down, which has allowed me to maintain a higher volume of event participation and to run a little faster when I feel the need for "speed". My marathon/ultra grand total now stands at 180, despite only doing one ultra and one marathon in 2022. I ended 2024 with a full race schedule and went into 2025 with a similar plan. If I stay healthy, it would be fair to assume I will end 2025 with around 185 marathons/ultras and will hit 200 within the next two years. Of course, if my body is feeling really good and the motivation is there, I might hit 200 within 2026 at the ripe age of 45. Man. 45. It still feels weird to read that as 30, 25, and the college years still feel relatively recent. But, a lot of life has happened since then. It also feels surreal looking at the ages of some of my running colleagues from entrants lists from 20 years ago when they were in their 40's and 50's and now realizing some are in their 80's, or no longer with us. It's also strange seeing many of their race results come to a complete halt 10-15 years ago. Time. As Rocky Balboa once said. It's undefeated. Even at my age, I'm coming to terms with focusing on aging gracefully, but far from riding off into the sunset. Here are a few photos from recent years up until this past April.

4th Annual Grindstone 100 Predictions!

*Last updated 10/4/11 (weather forcast-sunny highs in the mid 70's, lows in the 40's) Ladies and gentleman! Here come the 2011 Grindstone 100 predictions.This will be my third set of predictions for Grindstone, so here's to hoping they are the best. 23,000 ft of climb. Over 100 miles of varying terrain. Quirky fall weather. Who's ready? Karl Meltzer still owns the course record of 18:46. I'm sure he could have run much faster, sub 18 perhaps, but he was never challenged in the race, having won by over 2.5 hours. The men's field is deep, but as always expect a few drops here and there. I'm sure to miss a few folks, but here are who I think are the key players. Neal Gorman: Grand Slam record holder is no longer an up and comer in the sport of ultras. He is already there. This summer alone he has been 2nd at Massanutten (19:40), 1st at Old Dominion(16:16 with 20 minute detour), and 3rd at the oxygen deprived Leadville(17:48). Predict Neal for the win in 19:15 Andy Jones Wilkins: *update- AJW will not be running* Keith Knipling: Tons of experience in the VA mountains. He's the TWOT 100 record holder, which overlaps a large section of the Grindstone course, and he's been a contender in this race before. Predict 22:30 Frank Gonzalez: He's been a running machine this year and is fresh off a course record win at Cheat Mountain Moonshine Madness (7:16). Frank the tank is my sleeper for the top 3, and I think he'll be in around 22 hours. James Brennan: Ran well at his only two 100's (Vermont in 19:19 and Rocky Raccoon in17:34). James seems to always be in the hunt. I suspect he'll be in the top 10 and cracking the sub 24 barrier. Jordan Chang: 1st 100? Jordan is a fast youngster who could make things fun. It'll be interesting to see how his road speed plays out in the mountains. Prediction??? Matt Hart: solid coach and runner. Don't know much about Matt, but he will probably be a top 5 contender. Predict 22:45 Jason Lantz: Lots of 100 mile experience. Another guy who can run sub 24 on pretty much any course, even when he has a "bad" day. 2 time Old Dominion champ (in the hot years). Predict a 22:30, and a top 5 Patrick McGlade: fast youngster who already has an impresive resume of wins, and a cross country run to boot. DNF'ed in '09, ran for fun in '10. Depending on whether he is running for fun, or competitive, he could be in the mix. Capable of 22-23 hours, or better. Craig Thornley: Has finished WS consistently in 18-20 hours. Lots of experience on the west coast, and ultras in general. I suspect he'll challenge for a top 5. Predict 22:45 Mario Raymond: Another very seasoned runner, who's been running well the past few years. He has broken 24 at Grindstone before, and I'd expect the same. Predict 23 hours, or better, and a top 8 David Ploskonka: Had an inspiring and gutsy "return from the dead" performance at MMT. Dave is fast, and pacing will make or break his race. Predict 23:59, or better if he stays on course David Ruttum: '10 Old Dominion winner. He's run well at Grindstone before. Predict a top 6 22:15 Sleepers in the men's race. Potential sub 24 and top 10: Yosuke Murase- 2011 grand slammer has really come into his own as an ultrarunner the past couple years. Tom Syre is a fast youngster, though I think this is his first 100? Aaron Mulder is another consistent runner who could sneak into the top 10. Thad Meyer has done well in 24 hour races and Matt Bugin is yet another speedy 50k and 50 mile guy in the mix. I've been informed that Jason Wiley is one to watch as well, and is a strong late race runner Age Group: look for Mike Campbell to set an age group course record. The guy seriously proves aging does not mean slowing down. Women's race: ?? Grindstone has historically had very, very few woman. Not sure why the draw isn't there. Not really sure on the contenders, though I suspect Alyssa Wildeboer may be the fastest. Zsuzanna Carlson and Kerry Owens have a lot of experience, and could round out the top 3 women. *update- Sophie Speidel informs me Katherine Dowson is one to watch. She was the 2009 Bear 100 winner and Bighorn 50 winner. Per Zsuzanna Carlson, Deb livingston is another speedy one, though it appears much of her success, and wins, have been at the trail marathon and 50k distance. Alicia Hudelson has the women's Superior Hiking Trail record, covering 205 miles in 4 days and 15 hours. Rebecca Phalen- solid local runner. Not sure what she's been up to recently, but in previous years she's done well. The women's race thickens!

The Future of Course Records: Part 2

In 2012, I first wrote about the future of ultramarathon course records. Just nine years later several of my predictions came true, including breaking 22:30 at Hardrock, sub 14:30 at Western States, and a sub 5:30 at the JFK 50. At the time, I had in mind the names of runners who I thought could break these records, and while some did, they were ultimately lowered more by someone else. Many of the current records, if mentioned a decade ago, would have been shrugged off as silly impossible notions. However, here we are and in another decade, I believe these times will continue to drop, even more so if lucrative prize money and incentives continue to draw faster talent. And trust me, much faster talent is out there, it just needs the proper financial motivation to venture into ultras. Currently, few would debate that Jim Walmsley is the best all around ultrarunner in the US, and yet his marathon personal best is a 2:15. Maybe on a good day and faster course, Jim runs a 2:13, which is certainly blazing fast, until you consider that recently 40 Japanese runners broke 2:10....all on in the same race on the same day. If you factor in the global running community, you literally have hundreds of runners who are faster marathoners than Jim, which means they mostly all have the potential to break his course records and others. The key word here is potential, which you will see a lot. No, not every 2:10, or even 2:05, marathoner is capable of running fast over 50-100+ miles, or on technical mountain terrain, but it's a great starting point for lowering those times. The reality is all our super fast ultra legends and course records, on an international scale, aren't as great as we thought. Mathematically, if someone can run 5 minutes faster than you for 26.2 miles, then over double the distance, with relatively similar pacing and training, they should be able to double that time gap to 10 minutes. In essence, a 2:10 marathoner has the potential to run 10 minutes faster than Mr. Walmsley over 52.4 miles, or about 9.5 minutes over 50 miles. That means all those sub 2:10 marathoners have the potential of lowering the 50 mile world record of 4:50 to the very minimum 4:41:30. That figure drops closer to 4:30, when you figure in the potential for sub 2:05 marathoners. Now, while this is all cute daydreaming, I do believe if you put the money out there, maybe in the $100,000+ range, or $1M just for fun conversation, I see EVERY ultra record getting destroyed. So, here are my new predictions for what the fastest marathoners on earth have the potential to do if they specifically trained for their ultra course and distance for, let's say, a year, the financial incentive was there, and weather conditions are ideal. I say Western States, in a cool year like 2012, would see times around 13:30. The JFK 50 would be sub 5 hours, the 100 mile world record could go under 10 hours, 20 hours for Hardrock, 5:45 for 100k, and 4:25 for 50 miles, and sub 2:30 for 50k. So, while these will likely never happen because of lack of money, I do think in the real world, within the next decade, we'll see a 13:45 at Western States, sub 5:15 at JFK, a sub 6 hour 100k.

Hampton 24 Hour Run for Cancer

A bit late on this, but here's my quick recap from the Hampton 24 Hour Run for Cancer. The 2020 event was postponed to November, but I opted to run a smaller race that day because vaccines hadn't rolled out and my parents are high risk. But, alas, April 2021 things were looking brighter and with a fully vaccinated family I decided to attend my 4th Hampton 24 hour.

Although certainly not back to our old normal, this race was the most normal feeling, thus far, in the pandemic. While we still had temperature checks, a staggered wave start, and masks were still worn, for the first time in a long time there were hugs and hand shakes. Having only run several times in the previous two months, there was absolutely no distance goals set for the day, other than to collect my 112th ultra distance. My starting wave began at 7:35am and I was content to run the first 15 miles as a long workout. It was my first run over 4 miles since running Holiday Lake ten weeks earlier. I then made it a point to catch up with a few old friends of mine and clicked off the hours and miles.

As the day carried on, the cool spring rain came, and also some very sore legs and feet. The lack of running is apparent to me every day, but after 41 miles and ten hours, my body wasn't having any more of it, and I was more than content with that. As in person running events gradually start coming back, for me it will be more about celebrating the people that makes the running community what it is, and the fact that we are finally together again doing what we love.

The Difference a Year Makes

Yesterday was Easter Sunday for my family. It's both easy and hard to believe it's been over a year now since the pandemic started. However, although we are still far from our "old normal" we are in a drastically better place, covid wise, than we were at this point last year. Easter of last year covid-19 had just started appearing in the state of Virginia and everything, for the most part, was in complete lockdown. I drove down from Charlottesville, brought my own food, and a lawn chair to socially distance from my entire family. Everything felt so fragile as I methodically sanitized every surface in my vehicle and made sure my parents had their appropriate stock pile of impossible to find hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes. We sat in my parent's front yard, six feet apart, and tried our best to make a typical annual family gathering feel as normal as possible. We did an easter egg hunt for my nephew as my very pregnant sister watched from a distance, but even such a benign activity carried some degree of constant stress. Were the plastic eggs clean? Was my nephew getting too close to my dad? Was the basket sanitized? Nothing could just be a moment of simple unencumbered joy. In our separate little pods, we talked, we ate, and then a few hours later said our goodbyes. No handshakes, no hugs, and certainly no kisses. Just an exchange of "I love you's"....from at least six feet away.

This year, Easter looked a lot different, and we had a new member of the family there as well, my 11 month old niece. It was a drastically different picture, all four grandparents, fully vaccinated, gathered indoors to enjoy an Easter brunch together. We spent the morning playing with the kids, catching up, spending time in the sun, and finding those magical Easter eggs. After such a crazy 2020, this was the first holiday that truly felt normal. I don't think any of us took it for granted, and I suspect we will be equally as grateful for the time spent together for future gatherings. I hope the rest of the world lives in the moment and is able to reflect back on the gift of in person interaction, though like many things, I suspect some will return to taking it for granted. For now, I am just happy that our family time together looks like this.

Covid-19 Antibody Test Results

Seven months ago I experienced what felt like 36 hours of mild flu like symptoms, for which I later tested positive for covid-19. Given all the chaotic information/misinformation out there, I wasn't 100% sure that I actually had covid, though most signs pointed to yes. So, I decided the best way to confirm all this was to take an antibody test. Of course, even then, I had heard antibodies may be gone within as little as three months, so testing negative would keep things fairly inconclusive. At my appointment my lab technician had asked me about my covid experience, and believe it or not, she claimed that most likely I just had the regular flu (due to the mild symptoms), and "they" created a false positive result. I had no idea why the lab tech was telling me this, but it added to the numerous doubts I have had about literally everything surrounding this pandemic, and I am by no means a conspiracy theorist. As such, the lab tech said she wouldn't be suprised if I didn't have antibodies and it wouldn't be the first time a patient that tested positive for covid, also tested negative for antibodies. Seriously? Anyway, we did a simple blood draw and I was told my results would be ready within 48 hours. And here they are....

Well, well, well. After seven months, look who still has covid antibodies....I guess that confirms I definitely had covid last year, and that I my circumstances and results were not a product of a rigged testing system. At least, not my results. Interestingly, recovered covid patients are widely being told their antibodies will be gone after 3 months, apparently, so they choose to get vaccinated. I will likely still get my vaccine, long after everyone else does, but I urge those recovered to get antibody tests so we can learn the true numbers. I really don't understand why antibody testing, which was free with my health coverage, is not something being suggested to people. Anyway, in five months I plan to get another test done to see if I still have antibodies one year post covid. Despite my immunity, for the greater peace of mind, I will still mask up, disinfect, socially distance, and choose safer social options. It's the least I can do for others. As always, be safe everyone. We're getting through this!