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Category: Trail Race

Ultra Hard – 20 Years of Blues Cruise 50K Preview

Ultra Hard – 20 Years of Blues Cruise 50K Preview

Published by Patrick Durante on October 1, 2025

Active vs. passive challenges. The hard you choose vs. the hard you don’t. I’m back again for my 12th time at Blues Cruise 50K, the race that started it all. I was trying to figure out what made me take that initial leap of faith to the longer distance. How are things different now, having made that decision? Has it improved my life? That’s what this post will focus on, and why it’s so important to have challenges you choose vs. just the ones life hands you.

2011 – Blues Cruise had a mandatory stream crossing

I think part of it was I was searching for my endurance identity. I wanted to be able to call myself an “ultrarunner.” I had just finished my second Olympic distance triathlon. While they were fun, I never felt comfortable in the water, and a bike accident left me in the hospital for nine days. The first Blues Cruise opened my eyes to a world of adventure on the trails. I had done a handful of trail races, but nothing this long. It was the right amount of hard/uncertain fun, and the idea that some don’t finish really intrigued me. It was a hard I was choosing that most people thought was crazy. My parents were concerned about the distance and how long I was running, which seems hilarious now compared to some of my latest efforts. When others are questioning your life decisions, you know you are going in the right direction. They couldn’t wrap their brains around what was enjoyable about it.

For me, it was the fascination with new details that didn’t exist in any other race I had done before. Food intake, foot care, drop bags? How much pain could I endure? How do you pace this thing? Even as I come back after all this time, pace is one of those things you never know if you have fully dialed in until you’re more than ⅔ into the race. I was so nervous heading into this event, and now to see it morph into a footnote at the end of each season is amazing. This year, I gave it a lot more attention in my training, using lots of vert training and a very detailed plan for this year. I think I am primed to have a “good” year.

The reason this race was so important, like the shorter ones that came before it, was it was a challenge I picked vs. one I did not. There’s a lot of science on taking on challenges you choose; in psychology, it’s called “stress inoculation.” The basic idea: if you face manageable and chosen stress, you get better at handling all kinds of stress. That’s what I have seen in my life. I can’t be fazed by much after being completely drained in some of these events. When you master a hard thing that you willingly took on, you start to believe, “Hey, I can do hard stuff.” That belief has stuck with me, and life just keeps throwing something unexpected. The 50K was that first example of cramping and pain I had NEVER before felt in any event before it.

Ultras are a big part of my happiness, graph from longest running happiness study. Community was the biggest factor

Ultrarunners are experts at choosing suffering on purpose. Training for and finishing races means you’re constantly pushing through discomfort and testing your mental limits. Research has shown athletes have higher pain tolerance and can handle emotional distress better than people who don’t do endurance sports. It’s why sports are such an important part of life, and why it’s important for kids and adults to be involved in them.

I have discovered more about myself in the depths of ultrarunning than in any other activity that I have done. It’s built confidence and a deep sense of community and connection with others who are on the same crazy journey. Some of my best friends I have had were made and met on the trail and in the community.

Blues Cruise showed that if I loaded my year with a bunch of challenges that scared the crap out of me, I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment, and kept meeting new people and seeing new places as long as I kept coming back and kept training. I always added Blues Cruise because it was that first important win that sparked many that followed. I kept increasing the challenge until the point at which I have done some amazing races, been to amazing places, and helped amazing people. They are my calling card in ultras; the 100s became part of the hardest things I have done, and there are still so many more to take on. How crazy is it that one simple decision so long ago could have such long-lasting effects? It all started with that first step, that leap of faith to a new distance that seemed crazy. 50Ks are now normal, like a 5K becomes nothing to a marathoner. It’s perspective, it’s relative, but it’s intense at any distance.

Challenges are coming for you regardless. They are coming in all different forms, from ones you choose to ones you do not. Stress is a necessary part of our system, but not too much. Each ultra presents a unique challenge that’s relative to the person, the training they have put in, and the physical state they are in. They all teach the same thing: that constant effort will get you to the finish line. Congrats to anyone who is about to take on Blues Cruise for their first time. They are lucky, because they could be at the doorstep to a life of adventure, friendship, and challenges that will bring them to some amazing places. Have a great race, and I’ll see you on the starting line!

My video back in 2022 when I had a break through performance.
Breakneck Trail Runs Race Report – A Nobel Quest

Breakneck Trail Runs Race Report – A Nobel Quest

Published by Patrick Durante on May 16, 2025

I was listening to a podcast that talked about the need to determine your “noble quest” in life. At the end of my life, I don’t want to have just accumulated a bunch of stuff. I want to gather experiences and enjoy moments of completing hard things. When I look back, I want to be shocked by the risks I took in pursuit of my “noble quest.” I want my mind to be filled with these things before I go, because I like to think that when we die, the experiences in our minds might be the only things we take with us. If that doesn’t happen, maybe your life flashes before your eyes. If it does, and my life flashes before my eyes as I lay on my deathbed, I want to know I went hard, had fun, and laughed a lot.

This race checks all of those boxes. Ultras are my “noble quest” in life, and I think everybody should have one. Your “noble quest” becomes your guiding light for how to structure your days, and it becomes the “why” that gets you out of bed. How can you complete your quest if you don’t put in the training? It’s the driving story you center your life around—what’s most important. For me, it’s my family and my noble quest. I want to spend more on experiences rather than things.

That said, I did just get a new 360 camera to film with 😊. I consider the camera more of a tool than a toy. It helps me document my quest and gives me the ability to reflect on the hard things I’ve done on those days when insecurity fills my head and negative thoughts tell me I can’t do hard things. I have proof that I can.

So below is my race report and a list of what went right, what went wrong, and what I would have done differently.

Shared a lot of miles with Colson Zucker

What went right:

Training:

What I did half worked. My peak total training time was about 40–50 hours per week, which was fine, but the main issue was that I couldn’t get anywhere near the amount of climbing this race required. My primary target had been the 3,500 ft trail marathon in Philadelphia, not this 9,000 ft race. So, I knew I was going into the race undertrained for the vertical gain, which was NOT a good strategy. But if you’re racing constantly, you can’t focus equally on multiple races. I decided to set this as a B race, not my A, so it was more of a side quest to see if I liked the event and the course. I had no expectations on finish time or place.

Gear:

My new racing shorts that I’ve been using this year worked GREAT! I was even at the start line with some other people using the same shorts and sponsored T8 athlete:

Those are not love handles, its SIS gels I swear

These shorts allowed me to hold 9 Oreos, 15 SIS gels, and a phone. You can NEVER have enough pockets, especially for food. I downed SO many SIS gels and never felt any GI distress. Because of this, I didn’t need to be weighed down by a vest—which I’m not a huge fan of, as they tend to hold in heat and bounce around. I also carried a waist Ultimate Direction Unisex Ultra Belt that held my filming equipment: a hat camera, a self centered stick, and a 360 camera.

Miscellaneous:

For the first half of the race, I wore a pair of gloves. While they were helpful for the rock climbing section, I would have ditched them if it had been any hotter—they mostly just made my hands sweat. I think the change in the course this year meant there were slightly fewer scrambles, so it was less vertical gain than the advertised 9,000 ft.

What went wrong

Camping:

I was still hesitant to camp out, fearing I wouldn’t get a good night’s sleep. In hindsight, I should have camped, because I ended up making a poor hotel choice with a host of issues (which I won’t get into, since they had nothing to do with the race itself). It was a cheap motel about 15 minutes away, and it just wasn’t a great place to stay. If you plan to check out this race, I recommend bringing a tent. Check out my video for a look at the camping situation. There’s also a large parking lot for campers right at the start, spots for trailers on the side, and tents are right at the starting line.

Shoe Choice:

Carbon fiber shoes can roll your ankles. After speaking with another runner, I learned how using carbon in a shoe can be a bad idea for a technical trail run. I rolled my ankle badly during my first half marathon trail race this season—it was extremely painful, and the injury happened two more times with the new shoes. This isn’t an issue on flat gravel, but if you’re running off-camber, rocky terrain, you’re much more likely to roll an ankle. That led to injury and caused me to miss a few training runs as I recovered.

Poles in Wet Conditions ONLY:

The race recommended no poles for the scrambles, but I disagree if it’s a wet day. Poles would have been helpful for the first half, and I could have ditched them for the second half.

Cramping:

My training wasn’t at the level it needed to be for this much climbing per mile (300–350 ft/mile). I knew I was undertrained when I took the risk—and I paid for it with horrible cramping during the race. It wasn’t a nutrition issue; my muscles simply weren’t adapted for the demands of race day. Pushing on more difficult terrain than your body is ready for just causes muscle damage, so my body was trying to protect itself.

Hydration:

My hydration was borderline (medium to low). I wish there had been a few more aid stations, or that I had carried slightly more water. On a hot day, this could be a major issue. If you’re able to filter water on course, though, there are enough stream crossings to make up for it. I might just carry one bottle that can filter for next year.

Bugs:

Bugs! The gnats were relentless in some sections—I had them in my eyes more than twice. A bug net definitely would have helped, and bug spray might have made a difference too. There are small, packable bug nets you can carry. The bugs were not an issue the entire race, it seemed like only the first half.

AMAZING views in this race

What I Would Do Differently:

Next time, I would make this my A race, train with a lot more climbing, and definitely camp onsite. That’s my plan for next year. The views and climbs in this race are hard to match, especially if you’re used to the PA trail running scene. I’d also bring a bit more hydration, given the distance between aid stations, and I’d make sure to go to the top of that fire tower I saw to enjoy the view. I regret not doing that—adventures like this don’t come around very often for me.

I would also bring poles. When I started cramping, I really wished I’d had them. I saw one guy absolutely fly down a rocky section with poles—it was incredible. No one without poles could have done that. Poles are great, as long as you have a way to store them during the rockier sections.

Final Thoughts:

I loved the race, the views, the food, and the overall vibe from start to finish. This was such a well-run event—credit goes to the race director, and his crew that have run this race for 11 years. You can tell it’s a mature event that’s worked out most, if not all issues.

In life, you have to make space for something new to come in. After 21 years of running a flat, road race down Broad Street, I think I’ve found a great event to make a new yearly tradition. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt are baked into running ultras; they’re uncomfortable by design. Most will choose a life of comfort and avoid obstacles, but what happens if you always take the easy path? If you choose hard things, life becomes easier. I decided not to choose Broad Street this year because I didn’t want comfort—at least, not the kind I was used to. Comfortable is relative: ten miles on Broad Street used to be uncomfortable for me, but life keeps changing, and so should your challenges. When life gets hard beyond your control, it just doesn’t stress you out as much when you know how to push yourself. It’s still tough, don’t get me wrong, just not as bad.

Shavasana

One final thought I had was about trail running itself. The nature of your happiness lies in your relationships: to people, to places, to your community, and to your family—and in a race, in your relationship to your own body and to nature. So take care of your body, control your thoughts, and talk to the people next to you in a race because they’re going through the same thing you are. We’re all interconnected, especially with nature. So when you think you’re “alone” out there, you’re really not. You’re always connected to the world around you—and that’s a big part of why I love trail running so much.

I shot this race in a new style with my 360 camera. Let me know how you thought it came out in the comments. Thanks for reading! If you found this interesting or helpful please let me know.