I had big dreams for 2025. Mountain ultras, technical trails, pushing my limits on vertical gain. And on top of improving as a mountain runner, I wanted to PR the 24-hour distance at German Championships. The season had other plans. My gut refused to cooperate—not at races, not in training, not ever. Digestive issues meant […]
Ultrarunning Season 2025 Recap Read More »
My mind felt empty as I climbed the steep hill around 2 am. It was a warm night; the bright moon and star-filled sky provided enough light to see without a headlamp. A sense of calm and peace washed over me as I moved my exhausted body around another loop on the motocross track, accompanied
Mindfulness for Runners Read More »
“You will not give up again,” I told myself. “Stop calculating. Just keep running.” I took a sip of water and trudged forward in the dark forest. “Just until the next checkpoint. Then you can take a break.” I wondered if they had coffee. Halfway through my first 100-mile race, I was on the verge
Psychological Secrets of Ultrarunning Success Read More »
Disappointment and anger rose to new heights as I typed out the email. I had prepared for months and invested in new clothes, a backpack, and poles. I learned how to navigate with a compass and map and logged countless mind-numbing hill repeats up and down the same small hill in my local park. All
The Art of Self-Coaching: A Guide for Runners Read More »
“Should I do this tempo run today? What if I just ran them slower? Take it a bit easy?” I had just gotten ready for my morning run after a terrible night of 6 hours of sleep, interrupted by frequent fireworks going off in the distance. It was already January the 7th and people still
Creating Your Ultramarathon Training Plan Read More »
“I really did it! Now I really am an ultrarunner.” Pride fills me as I write these words in my training journal. I had just completed a 50km training run – my longest long run to date and the last long run before my first ultramarathon. I had started running again just 7 months prior,
Ultramarathon Long Runs – A Framework for Success Read More »
“Come on, last one!” I mutter as I hype myself up to start the last interval. It would be only 30 seconds up that hill, but those 30 seconds seemed as impossible now as winning a 24-hour race once seemed. While I had accomplished the latter just a few months before this hill workout, I
The Science of Speed in Ultrarunning Read More »
“The most important thing now is to get mileage in and stay injury-free.” I kept repeating this sentence as I slogged up the tiny hill in my local park, wondering what passing runners would think of me and my snails-pace. The urge to speed up and prove to myself (and those other runners) that I
Understanding Easy Running for Ultra Distances Read More »
My running journey started on the trails. I discovered my love for running in 2016 while living in South Africa for 6 months. Just 3 months after I had landed on the continent, I gained around 5 kg, which I disliked. And so I did what many people do when they want to lose weight
How Do You Train for an Ultramarathon When You Live in a Big (Flat) City? Read More »