Category: My Personal Journey
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Squamish 23K – Race Recap
This year, I made an intentional decision to go down in distance on the trails, working on fundamental speed and efficiency over total vertical gain, long training weekends, and all the extra layers that go into ultras. Along the way, I’ve relearned what I’ve always known: I’m much better when races get longer. This would…
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Whistler Half Marathon – Race Recap
The Whistler Half Marathon had the makings of something special. I’d been on course enough in the month leading into the race, and had the experience of running fast along several key sections. But I just couldn’t execute on race day. In the end it was back in my usual spot, with another fourth place…
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Trail des Collines 16K Recap
Normally when I finish a race, I’m jumping for joy (or limping through the airport with joy), excited to write a post-race recap of my experience. But truth be told, I’ve never wanted to pretend a race didn’t exist more.
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Vancouver Sun Run 10K – Race Recap – Mario Kart Vancouver
Around 8K, I told myself “this is the moment to get that 10K best. It’s now or never.” I got a little more mushroom power-up in my legs but unfortunately no coins or star power. This managed to bridge the gap between the other dudes fighting in that Yellow bib wave as we continued to…
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Newsletter: How much trail time do you really need for trail races?
In any sport, I’ve long been a proponent of “game-realistic training”. The notion is that you need to prepare for the specific demands of what the game actually looks like. When it comes to endurance sports, this becomes more complex. What we need to develop as athletes is a well-rounded skillset.
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Weekly Newsletter: Giving yourself an off-season
Last Sunday, I concluded my season with a historic half marathon (literally called the Historic Half Marathon). I think I’ve often looked at this year’s races as somewhere within the ‘B’ tier, with no standout results, no podium finishes and no ‘A+’ days. I’m inevitably hungry for what’s to come in 2026 and to put…
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Dancing in the storm
It’s been over a year now in B.C., and almost two since the reason I’m really here. And it forever feels difficult feeling like most of that has been thrown behind either in pursuit and prioritization of the efforts I put into my work in Ontario at the time, or after it inevitably ended so…
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Jackass 31K @ Javelina – Race Recap – Alone in the dark 🔦
I treated this trip like an adventure. I didn’t have an exact time or place goal. I just wanted to have fun. And despite all the darkness of the race, there was a whole lot of adventure light. Here is my race recap of my 4th place finish at Javelina Jackass 31K!
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Weekly Newsletter – The biggest lesson I learned each year on the trails
As another year of training racing starts to approach its end, I reflect on the biggest lessons I’ve learned in each of my years in the sport of trail running so far!
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My recipe for a good race
Last year, I arrived at the UTHC 42K Classique with a nagging knee injury, but in one of the most pressure-free states of my adult life. It was one of my best races ever. I now reflect upon how I can produce more races like this in the future, including my return to Harricana this…
Rhys Desmond 