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Category: Ultra

Black Forest 100K – Black List

Black Forest 100K – Black List

Published by Patrick Durante on October 9, 2026

What a crazy season it has been. When I set this as a goal last year, it seemed so far away, but there were three new-to-me races I would be taking on in addition to Eastern States 100: Hyner 50K, World’s End 100K, and finally Black Forest 100K to complete the “Black List.”

The views don’t get better than this!

If you had asked me which of these four races I thought would be the hardest, I would have said World’s End. I had heard a lot of horror stories about racing the cutoffs there. I knew I could do ES100 without issue; I had done it twice before. Black Forest? Well, I thought that was a joke! It was the end, an afterthought after I would have the most fitness built up.

Well, I know now it’s pretty dumb to ever underestimate running 62 miles with 13,400 ft of climbing. That’s never easy, but compared to the others, I thought it was going to be “easier.”

I was wrong. I was dead wrong, and DEAD LAST. I headed into the race with a time goal of 17:00 flat, just because I thought I could run a better race than I did at World’s End. I was HIGHLY mistaken and should have known that was going to come back to bite me. I would say it had more technical sections than World’s End, and the navigation piece of it was bad. The back half of the race wasn’t marked, and having never done it before, I didn’t know what to expect.

I love racing in the fall.

First off, I had the fitness. That I knew. But something very strange happened in this race. A pair of shoes I had worn a ton in training started to irritate my Achilles. This was a brand-new pain I had never felt, and it had to do with the rocky terrain and how the shoe was digging into the back of my heel. It slowed me to a crawl until I could get a new pair of shoes around mile 30.

Pacing was fine at the start. I was moving fast enough to offset the cold weather. No issues there. I stuck to my nutrition of homemade gels that I FORGOT to use at ES100. I froze them after that race and used them for Black Forest. A fun new fuel I used a bunch in the race was Nerds Gummy Clusters. They tasted AMAZING.

OMG my new favorite fuel

This season did identify a flaw in my ankle mobility that I need to address for next season. I plan to work on that over winter break and during my transition season.

For motivation in the race, I for sure had the goal of completing the “Black List,” which was the entire reason I was there. As for race day, running with Doug from the Hills and Friends VF group was the highlight of the run. A few things happened that got me across the finish line. One was that Doug corrected a miscalculation I had made of the distance to the aid station after I went off course. Had I not run into him, I don’t think I would have paced correctly to get to the aid station in time. There is an energy you feed off of when you are running with someone. I was stronger on the climbs, he was stronger on the descents, and we just kept trading places.

You get some great views you miss in ES100 because you are there at night.

In my head, I was calling it a “mutually assured finish.” I knew I was finishing with him no matter what. Once we both left that aid station, I knew I had to keep up with him, and at times he knew he had to keep up with me. MASSIVE amounts of fear were driving my pace, and sprinting to the finish in the dark was insane! I tried to use the light on my watch to help see some of the rocks and roots, but I kept thinking, we can’t move this fast in the dark without going down. I would say luck was on our side, but we also both had the fitness. To pull off that long of a push was brutal!

Running groups and running with friends will be the biggest memories I take from this entire season. This season was so much fun. It was the group runs I got out on with people that had the biggest impact, and there were a lot of them. It was the people who made the season, not the individual races. We don’t remember days; we remember moments. I put the races on the calendar to create more chances for those magical moments to happen. Adventure may hurt, but it’s worth the risk every single time. Every race where I’m cursing my existence, suffering, or out in crazy conditions, I know that Monday is just around the corner.

Doug is a BEAST of a runner!

Make sure to subscribe, as I plan to do a follow-up video on the entire PA Triple Crown / Black List journey that will include the lost Eastern States footage from the damaged camera.

Eastern States 100 Pre-Race Report 2026

Eastern States 100 Pre-Race Report 2026

Published by Patrick Durante on August 4, 2026

Well, here I am again, back another year at Eastern States. PA’s best, and biggest 100 mile race. A year has past since the dreaded “DFL”. So what did I learn? What changed in my process and training to avoid it this year? Here’s a few things that are different than last years training build up.

What I did different?

World’s End, Hyner, and Breakneck got me ready for ES100
  1. Higher race volume of terrain specific training.
  2. (Breakneck, Hyner, and Worlds End). If you are training for other races your overall fitness and readiness to take on ES will be at a higher level. Last year I didn’t race as much except for a Last Person Standing and pacing my friend at Western States. Races are a great way to build fitness if you can work them into your schedule. The 2 other races in the triple crown series have the same type of vertical gain/terrain as ES100.
  3. Racing is its own microcosm, the way it feels, the stress, and how to handle different situations that arise. You can’t get that in training and why its best to have a test event before your A race.
  4. Higher volume of running in the heat (mid day running) with back-to-back training days. ES100 is basically two very long days of running. Running back-to-back days teaches the legs how to run fatigued and tired. I made sure to have a lot of double days of climbing.
  5. Gear specific training with vest/poles – I brought my gear I would be wearing and using on a bunch of runs, I didn’t do that too much last year.
  6. Large amount of uninterrupted training blocks. Last year we went on two short vacations and I traveled to Western States before the race. Total training volume and climbing was decreased before Es100 in 2025, not this time.
Highlight of this year – Trail Classic with my son!

What I would like to happen this year?

  1. Foot care is paramount.
    • This year, I have made huge efforts to make sure my feet stay happy and healthy. I had a massive amount of damage to my feet in last years ES100, I even say in the video as I come into this one aid station that I need to get my feet fixed. This is what slowed me to a CRAWL last year. Shoes that I should have broke in more, poor timing with a shoe change, and a whole host of issues like that caused the foot problems. I plan to wear double socks to cut down on the friction from the rocky terrain.
  2. Custom Gels and Aid Stations
    • Last year, I spent TOO much time at the amazing aid stations, mostly taking in the amazing buffet of food. I need to be mindful of getting in and out by just loading my pockets and keep moving. I won’t waste so much time this year. It’s hard to make up that time running when its easier to be more efficient at aid stations.
  3. I plan to put my poles away when I can and RUN. The power line trail, and many sections are very runnable.
I practiced putting my poles away to focus on running more.

Goal of the race?

Enjoying the course, and the event. I want to be less stressed than last year. I was a nervous wreck at the end, racing cut offs, and barely making it. I DO NOT want to be in that position this year. I would like to actually RUN the last 20 miles. I said in Worlds End I wanted to run the last 5 miles,and made that happen. I am looking for the same outcome this year at ES100. No time goal, just able to move well on the final sections and RUN vs hike. Enjoy the course, the aid stations, and the people I share the race with as much as I can before the pain and fatigue set in.

This race will grind you down to a nub with the 21,000K vert. Leading to tired legs, destroyed quads, and a level of discomfort you won’t find in other 100s. I’ve shared a lot of training runs with friends Buddy, Alex, and the EYB runners at the Wiss. I would like an enjoyable experience, but I am OK with whatever happens, either way I’ll learn something from it. This is only the 2nd time ever for a 100 I will have a pacer! The one and only Rich Sharkey, and experienced ultra runner who has agreed to join me for the last 20 miles. I am excited for that as well.

Murphs with friends made up most of my strength training

I am grateful to get to line up again for a 3rd time! Such a well run and amazing experience is always had, and if I can pull off another race finish, I will have achieved this year’s goal of a triple crown. After that, just one final race of the Black Forest Ultra to round out this years racing. What an amazing experience its been so far. PA trail racing doesn’t get any better than this!