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Tag: Long distance running

Worlds End 100K – Quest for the Crown Race 2

Worlds End 100K – Quest for the Crown Race 2

Published by Patrick Durante on June 6, 2026

Race Recap

My goal going into this race was simple: be able to run at the end. That meant pacing the first half properly, matching my effort to what the weather and course allowed rather than chasing a preset number that’s almost impossible to estimate. I went out slow, staying aware of heart rate and temps, knowing the cooler conditions would work in my favor. The course was muddy in sections and very rocky. I kept waiting to see how the day played out before deciding when to push. I took a lot of time at aid stations because I could, and I don’t regret it. I ran my best 100K to date, below will be some of the tips and tricks that made that happen.

Preparation and Fitness

This was the most mileage I’d put in leading up to any race. I did double days when I could, I ran with my son Isaac on days he needed training for his race, went for quick climbs at lunch to build strength at the local park. I practiced power hiking on the treadmill through the winter months (walking), and it showed. I was catching people on climbs, and someone actually commented that I had an amazingly fast hiking (walking) pace going uphill. Climbing strength, nutrition, heat acclimation: there was nowhere I felt under prepared for this race.

My pace chart that I generated on UltraRunTools.com (in beta)

Nutrition

This was the high point of the race. Using larger bottles for concentrated gel was the right call (see tool here), and being able to eat consistently with just a quick sip is a game changer for running late into an ultra. I was eating far more than in any previous race: aid station food, concentrated gels, and bags of cookies and candy from my pack. Oreo’s and peanut butter M&Ms worked well early on, and even when I stopped wanting solid food late in the race, I could keep going on my gel. Real food was king: hot soups, protein, the egg and sausage burrito at the final aid station. Real food should always make an appearance late in ultras with adding in protein to avoid muscle breakdown. The constant high carb calories, with real food layered in, kept everything feeling great. Order of preference: gel first, then aid station food, then the bag of snacks as a backup.

Nutrition Guideline I generate on UltraRunTools.com, I was WAAAY over this.

Foot Care

It was a stunning course

I put an over emphasis on foot care and it paid off. I never let my feet get wet, changed socks constantly, and pushed my first shoe change back further than usual simply because my feet felt so good. Double socks are a complete game changer for rocky, high-friction courses, and there’s no better way to keep your feet healthy deep into a race. I was still running when others had slowed to a walk. The mud made me more cautious in spots, but staying conservative there was the right call. If my feet are in pain, I will slow to a crawl. I ended up using 3 pairs of shoes in this race, except I didn’t do the first change until 37 miles, which is farther than I normally let a pair of shoes go.

Gear and Execution

I decided not to use poles and it was the right call. They would have slowed me down, and I’d didn’t train with them for this race. The one gear miss was the pace chart, which got crumbled; next time I’ll print it cleaner and attach it somewhere accessible. A single earbud paired to my Garmin watch lasted twelve hours and was critical for navigation, keeping me on course throughout, I then had the 2nd ear bud in a later drop bag. The caffeine and pain management I saved for later in the race, and when I took them together it was massive jolt, and the feeling of fresh legs. I was suddenly running noticeably faster. One note: the caffeine kept me up after I got back to the room, which made the drive home rough the next day. Next time I’ll be more careful with timing caffeine late in a race.

Mental Game

The best feeling was when I left the final aid station, and I knew I had executed the race that I wanted, not the course dictating what should happen. I stayed focused on my own race, not what others around me were doing. That last 10K was genuinely runnable, and I felt amazing, as I passed over 10 different runners on the course. Using my camera to film kept me moving and present in the moment to always think to myself “would this make a good shot?” I shot over an hour of footage I compressed into 10 minutes, but this was only a brief glimpse of the 17 hour race I had that was amazing.

This race completes number 2 on the quest for the crown. This was actually the race that I most feared, the stories I kept hearing told me that I would be chasing cut offs. That was never the case, I was so lucky with the weather it was unbelievable. If you couldn’t get it done on a day like today, then either you just had some bad luck, or your training didn’t match what was needed for the course. I have never raced in such perfect weather conditions in my entire career. What a well run, and amazing race. I am having thoughts of heading back next year already…

The pace plan called for a 15:30 finish, and while I didn’t hit that (final moving time was 17:35:21), my main goal was to enjoy myself, and be able to run those last 6 miles. I did that, and shot a decent video in the process.

My First Ultra – Blues Cruise 50K

Published by Patrick Durante on October 6, 2011

Blues Cruise Ultra 50K
The Loop

So how did I get here? That’s what I usually ask myself.  It’s always when I ‘m pushing myself to some new extreme or event that I had never done before.  I was browsing this subreddit when I came upon the video “Running Madness”.  If you haven’t seen it you can check it out here (WARNING:  You may feel the need to enter an ultra after watching. )  That video helped spark the idea of, “Would it be possible”?  Would I be able to get ready for an ultra in under 2 months?  I had already put in a decent amount of training to complete Steelman a few weeks ago.  In my previous post, I had mentioned I was following this schedule.  I would fit the long runs in during the week with running to work, and then get the rest in during the weekend.  At least that was the plan…

This same time last year, I was preparing for the Philly marathon and having some issues with top-of-the-foot-pain.  I worked hard to correct my form, I even recorded myself running on a treadmill to analyze it.  That information helped me correct my form and I haven’t had an issue since.  I’ve done high mileage and some of the hardest runs to date.  So everything was falling into place, if I was able to get in more miles and stay injury free the ultra would be easy, right?  Well that’s what I originally thought, I would later find out that they made a HUGE change to the course.

I felt as though the training was difficult but not unbearable, I actually started to really enjoy my long runs to work.  They were a time to relax and unwind, except for the part where I run through a state park at 5:30AM in the dark.  Running in the dark was a new experience and I picked up this.  Either way, most of my miles were done with a mix of road and light trail.  This didn’t fully prepare me for the new course this year.

The starting/finishing line of the race
Stephan Weiss informs us how much we will suffer.

Of course the night before the race it starts raining.  This has me worried about what conditions would be like, and to top it off, it starts pouring on the way there.  I know that this won’t be good for the trails, I had run a trail race earlier in the year, the Mt. Penn Mudfest, in the rain and nearly twisted my ankle twice on the course.  The idea of doing that again was starting to worry me, I was fortunate in the fact that the rain stopped right before the start of the race.

So the race is off and I seeded myself near the back.  I know I’m going to be in for the long haul and I wanted to avoid as much pain as I could.  I was amazed at how fast some people went out, I guess I was expecting more of a leasiurly pace but that wasn’t what most seemed to be doing.  They have you start with running on the road for a half mile before you enter the trail.  It was 98% trail, there was only a few short sections where you had to run on the road.  Most of the time you spent it running parallel to the lake, or opposite corn fields.  The rain had made conditions very slippery.  I can’t count the number of times I had to catch myself from slipping on mud and going down.  The week before I had spoken to multiple people who had done the course last year.  They all said the same thing, it wasn’t much of a challenge, and it’s relatively flat.  They had done an out and back but this year they opted for one big loop .  The first 10 miles were relatively easy, as you can see from my Garmin data below, the difficult hills didn’t come till later in the race.  I had done hill work but nothing near the level of what I experienced.  Looking back, I know I should have spent more time with hill training.  I had heard from someone else that you should walk the larger hills of a trail race, so that’s what I did.  I think this helped save my legs for the finish.

Stream crossing at the Blues Cruise Ultra 50K
That's COLD!

If I had to say anything about the people you meet in a trail run, it’s that they just seem to be a nicer group.  I talked to a few different people along my 31 mile journey and they were all very friendly.  I actually took a spill going down this one hill and a guy took the time to stop and help me up.  He even turned around and pulled the tree root out of the ground that tripped me so it didn’t get anyone else.  You don’t experience this when you run the big city marathon.  Everybody has their headphones on and focused on their run.  There’s a bond between trail runners as you suffer the course together, it makes you talk to your fellow runner.  That, and the fact that there’s not 20,000 people running the race at the same time.

I had an additional “ace up the sleeve” to help me get through the race.  My parents were actually worried about me heading out on such a long run, my Dad offered to drive up with me.  In the “Running Madness” video they talked about pacers, so I asked him if he would be willing to meet me for the last portion of the race.   I can’t begin to explain the difference this made, after mile 22 I had been running alone.  When I got to the last aid station to meet up with him, he had already run 4 miles out to meet me.  I was dead at this point and my legs were in pain, but when I got behind him to finish out the last leg of the race it gave me a second wind.  I was able to pick the pace up and continue on to the finish.  I wouldn’t have done nearly as well for those last 4 miles, the most difficult to complete.  I can see why a pacer is so critical, especially if this had been a longer race.

My pacer helped me get through the race
"Pacer Dad" helped me finish the 50K

When I did cross the finish line it was the single best experience in running to date.  I have never felt such a sense of accomplishment as I did completing that race.  As for my results, I was 17th with a time of 4:45.  I’m pretty happy with all things considered.  I learned a lot in this race, and I learned just how critical your pace can be.  I should have taken it easier on the start, maybe walked a few more hills, and pushed a little harder on the downhills.  This was the most fun I have ever had running a course.  The aid stations were packed with good food and good people.  I can say for sure that I will be showing up next year.  I heard they are doing the course in reverse!!!