When Len Stanmore sold his company in 1998 he was 49. Then he got depressed — he’d achieved financial independence, but now what? So in 2001 he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. It was the only mountain he’d ever heard of other than Mt. Everest, and after making it to the top he realized he [ more... ]

Kaytlynn and Heather Welsch are 10 and 12 and they’re competing in 10Ks and half-marathons and triathlons — sometimes blowing away the whole field, others “merely” the other female runners. But questions are being raised: In two years Kaytlynn has competed in more than 90 endurance events. The two girls, still well short of five [ more... ]

The sheer volume of hours of headache-inducing helmet cam footage uploaded by trail runners and mountain bikers is unfathomable. You think there’d be some level of self editing. It’s baffling that not only do some of these videos actually get watched, but the shooters continue to run their cameras after seeing what the footage looks like after their first filmmaking attempt. And you can’t blame them entirely; there’s the chance they’ll have an encounter like this one. Skip to the 3-minute mark of the run (and you can stop watching 30 seconds later).

The Recreational Trails Program, the federal assistance program that helps states pay for development and maintenance of recreational trails, won’t be cut from budgets for 2013 and 2014, after congressional backers announced it will be retained as part of a larger transportation law. The Recreational Trails Program includes trails for both motorized and non-motorized use, [ more... ]

It’s been known for quite some time that marathon participants suffer temporary heart injury after running a marathon. Within one week the weakness of the right side of the heart muscle returns to normal, however. But these studies were done on elite runners aged 18-40. A new study of runners older than 50 now confirms [ more... ]

Running on the beach, you probably already know, is a lot harder than running on a trail or pavement. The mechanics of why that is are now understood and explained by a recent study, which suggests that running on sand is on average 1.6 times harder. The reason is that whether you’re a forefoot striker [ more... ]

The voiceover for the short film The Beauty of the Irrational points out that “making irrational decisions is precisely what makes us human,” which is a lovely way to rationalize making terrible decisions. This video (and run) was not a terrible decision. The drone shots from the air (or what I can only imagine are drone shots) are incredible. I can’t wait until they’re legalized in the U.S…it’ll be the next big wave of amateur filmmaking, and it can’t come soon enough to replace timelapse.

On a related note, Ryan Sandes, the South African Ultra-Runner and subject of this film, is a beast. He ran the 84km Fish River Canyon Hiking Trail featured here in under seven hours.

Alistair Humphreys writes a lot about the need for “micro-adventures” — small but gratifying challenges close to home — and David Gonzales, filmmaker, photographer, writer, and bark beetle antagonist, clearly needs no extra encouragement. The Jackson local created a new self-test a couple weeks ago, riding his bike from town to the east side of [ more... ]

Looking to supplement your gear selection in a big way fast? Go to a nearby soccer field, park your ’69 Bronco (or other acceptable classic convertible automobile) on the grass, and wait. Or opt for the more reliable experience by checking out Backcountry.com’s Semi-Annual Sale. This is an entertaining little ditty that pulls from the daydreams of outdoor gear lovers everywhere. And rumor has it, it only took them 172 (and a half) hours to make.

Krissy Moehl is an ultra-distance trail runner, doing for fun what most of us would only do at gunpoint during forced relocation at wartime. The Wild Love series kicked off about 5 months back with an intimate look at how guide Jake Norton and his wife Wende Valentine balanced travel, adventure, and their lives together. It’s one of those nice, life affirming things. Not bad to watch once in a while to distract us from life in the cubicle farm. Enjoy.

via Adventure Blog