Skip to content

Tag: Ultra running

Hyner 50K Trail Challenge – PA Triple Crown

Hyner 50K Trail Challenge – PA Triple Crown

Published by Patrick Durante on April 26, 2026

This is my quick recap of the Hyner Trail Challenge, a 50K that kicks off the PA Triple Crown of racing for this year.

Question 1: Did I achieve my outcome goal and execute my process goals?

The goal was just to finish for this race, so yes, I achieved that. I had set a PacePro plan of at 6 hours, and I was an HOUR late! I had set this from looking at stats of past races, but I really had no idea. The thing about running a course for the first time is that its very hard to predict. The heat slowed me down as well as the hard start. I should have seeded myself more toward the back, and picked up time as the race progressed. Instead I put myself at the front and blew up, like the bomb I was. That was OK, I didn’t fully “blow up” I was more just out there to get this race done. If I had to do it again I would have taken that first climb easier, and the first descent slower. Word to the wise! Watch that first descent and that you don’t wreck your quads.

Question 2: Was I clearly under-prepared in any specific areas?

Yes, I was not ready for this much vert, and the heat got me, it was a lot hotter than I thought it was going to be so I didn’t have enough hydration for some of the sections. While there was a lot of aid stations I needed more water in some of them. I tried to get away with just one handheld. That was a pretty fatal mistake, as even SLIGHT dehydration will severally affect performance. That was my only major failing of the race, and I was still “OK” but for sure I was thirsty.

Question 3: Did I start the race too fast — how was my pacing and RPE effort?

The pace starting out seemed fine, but something happened mid race where I was moving too fast and burning up. I can see from the HR data it was too hard that lead to a struggle at the end. My quads got killed on the downhill so I paid a price for that as well.

Question 4: Did I stick to my tested nutrition and hydration script?

Yes, except for the lack of water. Near the end I didn’t want to eat any cookies and just started slamming gels, they seem to be the only thing that I can get down in the heat when I am forced to eat.

Question 5: How effectively did I troubleshoot any issues that happened?

The water issue was mitigated by dipping my hat in as many streams as I could. I used ice in sleeves to help cool me at the aid stations that had them, then also dipped them in the streams and wrapped them around my neck.

Question 6: What were my primary “limiting factors” during the race?

Heat slowed my pace and poor hydration. I wasn’t ready for this much vert early in the season. The start of the season makes it always difficult to get in enough training with weather conditions, and this year wasn’t ideal. What is the total amount of training I can and should do to increase performance? What if tried 10-12 hours a week? I need to balance energy for kids as well. When I am older I will have all the time in the world to train, but right now I don’t. That’s OK. I am also OK with everything else that is going on in my life. I am content to A-finish, and B-have fun. I did both of those. I think I had more anxiety about sleeping in the car, as this was my first FULL night alone. It went amazingly well, I slept better than I thought, and dinner with some friends the night before was awesome.

Question 7: Did my gear perform as expected under race conditions?

Yes, the shoes and double socks I wore made my feet bullet proof. This new double sock combo of Injinji toe socks with darn tough create a barrier that absorbed the shock of all the rocks and roots. I could tell I would have needed a sock change soon after I had finished. I did keep my feet dry, as that always saves your feet long term in these races.

Question 8: Was my mental “WHY” strong enough to pull me through dark spells?

Yes, I told myself that I was a coach, that I set an example. I tried NO MUSIC, and just my thoughts. I focused on the now. This worked very well, I stayed present, and I kept moving.

Question 9: What is the number one thing I need to stop doing?

Thinking about the end, I had to rope myself back into just realizing I had to run the mile I was in. I didn’t know the distance to aid stations, I didn’t have a pace chart, I didn’t have it on my watch. Why not? Because this was just a 50K and for me that is a short distance. I can get it done with less planning, I had an idea but I didn’t have it written down. That did create a little bit of race stress but I knew it was always 3-4 miles away per aid station.

Question 10: What went well with the race, and I should keep doing going forward?

The social aspect of it. The fact that I met many people, talking with them, and hung out afterward was what made this great. I did things a lot different in this race than what I normally do. If I keep doing what I have done in the past, nothing will change, so try new things! I pushed myself in different and unique ways. The car camping seemed scary going in but now I love it. It’s never as bad as you think… I have to always remind myself of that.

False Summits

False Summits

Published by Patrick Durante on March 23, 2026

I met a man training to summit Everest this past weekend.  I thought that surely if you can conquer that mountain for the average cost of 50,000 dollars, then there’s no other mountains to climb, right?  I started thinking about how many previous mountains I have climbed, and once I got to the summit, it didn’t provide any different view than some of the previous ones. Ultras can have that same effect, you think crossing the finish line will change everything, or once I get that PR I’ll be content. Life is filled with false summits, what you think is the peak, even your limit, but its not. There’s more left, and its critical you keep going. I’ll tell you why.

Life is filled with these things.  As I look back at my brief 44 years, I’ve chased after a lot of things. At the time it felt like an important achievement, house, cars, job titles, or PRs.  Each I ran down, like a persistence hunt, knowing it was only a matter of time and it was mine.  Once there, be it the new status, or title, its shimmer and glory was brief until they dulled over time and became the new baseline.  

There’s been a shift in my recent years as I had talked about my 100 – 100s post, that the more races I conquer at the 100 mile distance don’t provide any more sense of enjoyment as the first,  except ES100 the entire DFL thing that happened. That was just nuts, but even after that, like clockwork, I am back on ultrasignup, looking for my next fix.  Anthony De Mello covered it best in his book Stop Fixing Yourself. I am trying to shed awareness on why I am doing these events and boiled it down to these few items.

  1. Struggle – that 50/50 shot of success is magical.
  2. Novelty – I need new experiences.
  3. Reason to train – why I put in the work.
  4. Evolution of self – I learned so much when races go off the rails, not as much when they go perfect
  5. Experience for Coaching
What’s at the top?

How I help others achieve a massive goal if I am not on the same path?  It’s only through the shared experience, and getting humbled that I realize where others might make mistakes.  I can’t do it for just the finish line, or age group award, or bragging rights. Those are just a bunch of false summits, where you think you’ve reached the apex of your performance, your career, but no, there’s still more to go.  The journey over the past year of training is where all the magic happens, those early runs with friends, seeing new places, and trying new things you never dreamed you would do (see sleeping in my car).  The goal is to be content with my work at the end of the year.  To keep stacking those blocks, year after year, so I know that if I couldn’t do this tomorrow, I would be grateful for what I achieved.  Did I put myself out there in a new and interesting ways?  Did I meet others in the same fight?  Is the man in the mirror inspiring, or is he self absorbed?  

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”

In the past few weeks I have been creating tools for myself, and athletes to be better at ultras. UltraRunTools 1.0 released for athletes I coach. To give them more insight to get to the finish line, because I have to keep evolving and learning.  The second I stop, and say, “that’ll do pig”, I stop learning, I will stop being who I am destined to be.  What’s at the top of the mountains?  More mountains!  There are endless mountains to climb.  Thank god, because if there was one ultra to rule them all, like Everest, and you finished it.  Would you then put down the sword and stop the fight?  Would you say, I can rest because there’s nothing more to conquer?

The journey of self improvement can be another endless trap, but we grow when under pressure, when someone depends on us.  You need something out there that demands you show up, be it your kids, be it that title of manager, its the thing that demands responsibility in all your actions.  Those are the main reasons to chase any “False Summit”.  They require your standard is high on all fronts, even down to what you put in your mouth on a daily basis.  They will command you to show up, say what your going to do, and and actually do it. Don’t talk about it, be about it! (I love saying that line to my kids)

“I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune. You have passed through life without an opponent, no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you.”

So it’s important to chase the summit, the top, not to say that you did it, but to say I have a goal that’s big. I don’t know if I am strong enough, but I wake up, every day, and work toward that goal until I achieve it.  I love the stories adventure creates, I love close calls with danger, I love that view from the summit, even if its false or brief.  I love the problems solved, and places explored.  I create a list at the end of every year for what I want next year to look like, because it’s the guiding light for connection, and my reason to get up.  Without that, we are nothing. Never content to sit idle. I will always want more.

PA Triple Crown… Let’s dance!