Tag: Races
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It’s more fun if you sing along
I can’t quite pinpoint it, but I just know that I’ve not been having fun so far with my races. I’ve been having fun in training. But maybe because training’s been going so well, I’ve started to put more pressure on myself to punch above my old belief systems. So in the second half of…
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Weekly Newsletter – Making races more fun!
So as we all build toward our next races together, I encourage you to think of ways that you can make racing more fun!
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Quebec Mega Trail 50K – 2025 – We survived…
It seemed like everything conspired against me to hit me like a muddy brick wall when I went to Duchesnay, and I wanted to do everything in my power to make sure I had a more pleasant experience the second time around in Quebec this year – at the National Championships for 50K. But it ended…
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Constructing your racing calendar
With so many options at the touch of a registration button, it can be difficult for athletes to not overdo it when selecting their races. For many of us, myself included, racing is like nothing else in the sport. It is the #1 thing that can keep us motivated, curious, excited, and just feeling our…
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Weekly Newsletter – How much vert do you actually need for mountain races?
This weekend marked the anniversary of one of my favourite races – Sulphur Springs. It’s the fastest and most competitive trail race in Ontario, and with its runnable terrain and modest elevation, provides the opportunity for trail and road runners to intertwine. In Ontario, you don’t get that much high-quality, runnable trails, as they’re either…
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Trail du Coureur des Bois de Duchesnay 34K Race Recap – Mud Wars & Water Slides
If you combined all of the mud and water on every single one of my trail races so far and tripled the number, it wouldn’t compare to Trail de Duchesnay on Sunday. And I’ve run on some super muddy courses. Falling Water was torn apart and super slippery; The Bad Thing rained throughout, turning bridges…
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Gorge Waterfalls 30K Race Recap – Penguins 🐧
I wasn’t meant to be in this race. I mean, to the extent where my bib still said ’50K’ on the day. While 30K might not ever be my race distance of choice, I felt fortunate to even make it to the start-line. Seven months of dealing with this injury on and off has taught…
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How I fuel for training and races with XACT Nutrition
In the puzzle to become the best trail runner that I can be, I’m often running through the numbers and experimenting with nutrition to identify what works best for my body. High-carb fuelling has been something I’ve experimented with through diligent practice across the past two years, and essential to both my training and recovery…
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Ending my year in September
I’ve long been an advocate that the year should start in September. But this time around, I am ending my year in September. No Bromont for me and no Defi des Couleurs for me.
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Race day preparation
My experiment in La Malbaie served as one of the most useful experiences I’ve had on the trails. Primarily, as a reminder of how critical race day preparation can be to putting together a performance. I knew everything I wanted to do on race day, at each different stage of the race or section of…
Rhys Desmond 