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Promise Land finish

Bill Potts, David Horton, and Sophie Speidel at the finish of the Promise Land 50K.

David Horton’s Promise Land 50K is a rite of Spring for many ultrarunners on the East Coast. This beautiful course climbs up and over the Appalachian Mountains from the East, crosses into the Shenandoah Valley, and then returns up and over back to the start. In typical Horton fashion, nothing is easy. The run crosses the Blue Ridge at Apple Orchard Mountain (4,225 feet), the tallest mountain in central Virginia (headed South to North, this point is also the last time the Appalachian Trail rises above 4,200 feet until New England).

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Finish of the Terrapin Mountain Marathon

The scene at the finish of the Terrapin Mountain Marathon. That’s David Horton getting friendly with a female finisher. Terrapin Mountain looms in the distance.

“You’re going to like this one a lot more than the last one.” That’s what David Horton told me at Saturday morning’s check-in of the Terrapin Mountain Marathon, “the last one” referring to his Holiday Lake 50K. While this wasn’t saying much, Horton was right — I really did like this one.

This was the inaugural year of the Terrapin Mountain Marathon, and the first time in nearly a decade that the half marathon was run. Since the race is relatively unknown, I’ll first describe the course and then describe how my race went.

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In a previous article I discussed how my heart rate varies during ultramarathons, which was in response to a post by Greg Loomis inquiring about heart rate zones appropriate for ultramarathon training. My original article focused on racing, which was necessary since knowing how to train requires knowing how you race. Now that that that’s done, I’ll provide some insight into how I train.
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A couple of weeks ago my friend, Greg Loomis, asked about heart rate zones appropriate for ultramarathon training. Having trained consistently with with a heart rate monitor (HRM) for the past four years, and having run a few ultras during that time, I thought I might be able to shed some light on the subject. In this article, I present and discuss heart rate data from marathon and popular ultramarathon distances: 26.2 mi, 50 km, 50 mi, 100 km, and 100 mi. The data I present are from races, each run at an “all-out

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Rehydrate Electrolyte Sports Drink for Dogs

The latest in canine electrolyte replenishment.

Rehydrate Electrolyte Sports Drink for Dogs is the first rehydration supplement for dogs, designed to replenish lost electrolytes and spent energy to be given before, during, or after workouts or other vigorous activity. The tablets, once dissolved in water, provide an effervescent performance drink fortified with canine-appropriate levels of sodium, chloride, potassium, and vitamin C.

Call me a skeptic, but I think this looks suspiciously like NUUN. Don’t take my word for it, however — see for yourself.

Four years ago, David Horton introduced us to Hellgate, a unique 100-km ultramarathon starting at midnight in the middle of December (the inaugural event started Friday night December 13, 2003). The race, which traverses the Blue Ridge Mountains near central Virginia, is famous for its frigid and icy weather.

Much has been written about this unique event (see the Hellgate website for several race reports). Aaron Schwartzbard (five-time Hellgate finisher and winner in 2007), has written an excellent course summary. His mileages, however, are based on David Horton’s published numbers, which we know are never accurate. During this year’s race, I wore a Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS, and in this report I provide what I believe to be accurate mileages for this event. I’ll also tell you how it went.

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