I ran almost 400 miles in races in 2024! Far more than I’ve ever raced in a year. I also covered more training miles. It was a great year and I’m grateful I could do it all while remaining injury-free and healthy.

Races & Results

Trail Demon 10k, February 10th

• 1:03:07
• 6th overall, 1st AG 50-59

Mississippi Trail Run 100M, March 1st

• 24:53:21 (Personal Best)
• 8th overall

James River 50M, April 13th

• 10:39:23
• 9th overall

Miner’s Lady 8-hour, August 17th

• 31.09mi
• 12th overall, 1st AG 50-59

Grindstone 100M (104 actual miles), September 20th

• 33:29:23
• 118th overall, 3rd AG 60-64

Mamba 100M, November 8th

• 26:21:54
• 28th overall, 3rd AG 60-69

Yearly Totals

2,259 total miles

• 391 miles raced
• 1,868 miles of training
• 196 times I ran (including races)
• 11.5 miles per run, average
• 9.8 miles per run average, not including races

Toenails lost: 2

That’s a great statistic for all of my racing. Both big toes and both at the Mississippi race.

Toenails Blackened: 3

One more big toe and the second toe on each foot. They all hung in there and didn’t fall off.

Races with Rain: 3

All of my 100-mile races saw rain. In my Mississippi 100-mile race, I had to swim across a stream that was deeper than I was tall. There were multiple thunderstorms during Grindstone with hail during one of them. Mamba had a light rain a few times but was generally wet and miserable the entire day. Thankfully, the trail was only muddy in a few spots and never got slippery or sloppy.

100-Mile Races Fully Captured by My Garmin: 1

The watch, despite a 30+ hour advertised battery life, did not make it through two of my 100-milers. I tweaked the settings to maximize my chances for each race but it fell short by 10-15 miles at Grindstone and Mamba. It did make it through the entire race in Mississippi, however.

Observations And Looking Forward

2024 was spectacular in terms of my results. Finishing Grindstone, I would say, was my biggest accomplishment. With 21,000 feet of elevation gain and loss, a lot of technical trail running, and starting in the evening, it was the hardest race of the year. 

Completing Mamba was special because it was my third 100-mile finish in less than 12 months. It was also a bit of a disappointment because I had targeted it for a sub-24-hour finish but fell a bit short.

In 2025 I’ll still be chasing that sub-24h finish but I’m cutting back the racing volume a bit. At least that’s the plan. More on that soon. 

I’ll be back to working full-time again in 2025 but will continue my side gig with Vespa as an ambassador and as technical support/development, along with some coaching. It’s going to be tough to continue my training schedule but I’m planning for 2,000 miles as my yearly goal.

I hope, when you look back at your own 2024, you’re happy with what you were able to accomplish and have epic plans for 2025. Happy New Year!