Skip to content

Tag: trail race

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.

Shawangunk Ridge Trail Run (30M)

Shawangunk Ridge Trail Run (30M)

Published by Patrick Durante on September 14, 2023

The Shawangunk Ridge Trail (SRT) is a 70-mile trail that traverses the entire length of the Shawangunk Mountains, from High Point State Park in New Jersey, where the SRT intersects the Appalachian Trail, all the way to the town of Rosendale, New York, where the trail ends just beyond a restored railroad trestle 140 feet above the Rondout Creek.

Along the way, the SRT passes through rolling hills, wetlands, rare dwarf pine barrens, sky lakes, waterfalls, and the distinctive white conglomerate cliffs of the Shawangunk mountains uplifted almost three hundred million years ago.

This was a completely new type of race format for me. They label it as an “unsupported” trail race which means a few things. No food, no water, and no trail markings to guide your way. If you get lost it’s your fault, and you gotta find your way back. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well here is my race report of how it went.

What went right

I made sure to diversify my food intake for this race.  I used chew blocks because you can load them in your pack.  Every snack I had in my bag I made sure to split up over the course of an hour and used a 30-minute timer to remember to eat.  Splitting up each snack made sure I was adding calories slowly and easier for my stomach to digest.  Pack was loaded with 4 scoops in the 2L bladder with Tailwind.  The GPX loaded from the race was in reverse so I edited the file down to 30M, you can find the course file I modified here on Garmin.

30M

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/192968686

70M

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/188422735

Water filtering for the course was pretty easy to do, I loaded my bladder to the max at the start, but next time I would have loaded it halfway and used water on the course. I timed my pain relief (cracked my shin on a rock, normally wouldn’t do anything for this distance) and caffeine (halfway mark I felt tired from being up since 12:30 AM) and they made for a comfortable energy and pain experience through the race.

What went wrong

There were a few times I was off course and then had to cross over brush.  This is what slowed me down the most but as I tell my kids, first is the worst.  I couldn’t sleep the night before as I had some pre-race excitement so I decided to leave early so I could charge my car at the destination.  I fell a few times on slippery rocks.  If it rains you will need to be mindful of traction.  The rocks were very slippery at points and only having poles would have helped to prevent some nasty falls.  You need fast feet for this course, which means jump rope and running drills as it is a rocky course.

What would I have done differently?  

Poles would be a must if it was wet!  I should have taken a picture of my kit.  I forgot calf sleeves and you need them to protect from brush in the beginning.  There wasn’t a whole lot I would change with how this race went.  I took my time where it was scenic and enjoyed the course.  I didn’t rush it, was able to locate most trail markers on only went off the trail a handful of times.  Now that I am aware of where the water refill spots are it eases my mind for next time, if there is a next time.  

I used water sources at Mile 3, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23

I used water sources at Mile 3, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23

Final Thoughts:

I just finished the book Die with Zero and it talks about the 3 things we need to maximize our life experience.  We need health, money, and free time.  There are certain experiences that we get locked out of if we wait too long to do them in life.  I was laughing as I don’t think this is a race I could do in my 70s or 80s.  This was a HARDER ultra, but not impossible.  The 70 miler might be worth taking on next year now that I have an understanding of the course.  Someone said that it was harder than Eastern States because of managing both the course and unsupported.  I believe that in the fact that is a ton of food you would need to carry.  It might be a fun challenge for next year. 

   

Another idea from Die with Zero is the idea of autopilot.  In most races, your brain can go on autopilot following the markers until you finish.  I think that’s why I enjoyed this race so much.  There was no autopilot, you had to be engaged.  You were always paying attention to water, food, and trail markings because if you didn’t you could only blame YOURSELF if you missed it!  That’s how life is, you can easily be going the wrong path and doing the wrong thing far too long in life.  You might think you are going the right way, but it’s only once you have traveled down the wrong path far too long you realize your mistake. In life, you CAN’T turn around!  It’s this idea of living a well-intentioned life and constantly evaluating choices.  That’s kind of what this race reminded me of.  You have to constantly evaluate your decisions in life to see if you have missed a “life marker” telling you that you should have turned.  If only life had more “markers” or signs to show you where you should be going, you may only get little hints here and there.  Autopilot is dangerous as you stop thinking, stop interacting, and stop paying attention to the beauty that life could offer only if you had gone the right way.  I add races I’ve never done every year to avoid autopilot.  What other things in your life are on autopilot?  If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you keep getting what you’ve always got.  CHANGE IT UP!  Go somewhere new, do something different, and add novelty, it’s the only thing that extends how long our life feels.  When we are in routine life speeds by, when we are doing new and novel experiences it slows down.  

I still do some of the same races every year, but I am glad for the new ones I add. They opened my eyes to the beauty and diversity of the trails you will find.  The Catskill Mountains are amazing and I can’t wait to run more races there!