Every year, we ask our subscribers what we can do to improve their experience with UltraRunning. A reader survey gives us a quick snapshot of who our readers are, and what they want to see more of in each issue. In 2023, our survey showed an overwhelming demand for more content related to the aging ultrarunner, and so we decided to create an entire issue dedicated to just that: the aging ultrarunner.
In this year’s survey, we discovered that 65% of you are tackling the 50k distance, with 32% taking on 50-milers and 31% going the 100-mile distance, all in the last 12 months. With those percentages in mind, we continue to look for ways to educate our readers about how to train for running long distances and stay healthy in the process. We’ve tapped into our columnists who have plenty of experience with not just running long distances, but also dealing with getting older and continuing to run 100 miles and beyond.
Ultrarunning veteran Buzz Burrell continues to tackle races across the globe at the age of 72. While he continues to sign up and race against (and beat) younger competitors, he also recognizes that his body doesn’t work the way it used to, so he has to adjust his racing and recovery accordingly. In this issue, he writes about how “Age Is Not Just a Number” and how focusing internally, rather than on external validation, can make a huge shift in any athlete at any age.
Columnist and 100-mile veteran Gary Dudney has been running ultramarathons for over 30 years. At age 71, he continues to line up at multiple 100-milers each year, with a goal of finishing one hundred 100-milers. However, in this issue, he writes about “Getting Older” and makes a point about adjusting not just your training as you age, but making sure your mentality shifts as well. Grumbling about age and beating yourself up about things outside of your control (aging), can be detrimental to your success in the sport, and he has dialed in a positive mindset to keep doing what he’s doing. He’s confident that you can, too.
The older he gets, the more veteran runner Max King seems to take on new challenges and find success. In his recent win at the 6-day, 236-mile Dragon’s Back race in Wales, King offered up this about the race in his post on Instagram, “Certainly worth putting on your bucket list, well, as long as you enjoy the kind of suffering that only the combination of a road ultra, gnarly mountain race, gravel grinding, cutoff chasing, brutal stage racer would appreciate.” King is known for his adventure racing and, at age 44, he continues to prevail over his competitors. In this issue, he writes about watching other ultrarunners succeed at older ages and how they inspire him to “Keep Grinding Away.”
With experienced writers who continue to find ways to keep doing what they love, we hope you’ll find some great pieces of advice in this issue and stay inspired to get out on the trails or wherever it is you enjoy running, at any age.