Running
I ran my first marathon in 2008 and my first ultra in 2017. Since then, my motto has been "the longer, the better" and I've taken on several big desert races of 200+ miles. Check out writing, films, and conversations below about my experiences.
The record
Gansu, China
China's first non-stop, self-navigated, self-supported ultra. Four days of continuous movement across the Gobi. I finished holding hands with Jack Carey, and raised more than $10,000 for Live Oak Camp scholarships along the way.
California → Nevada
A third solo crossing from Santa Monica to Las Vegas, this time as part of Team Solo.
Moab, Utah
I entered the lottery while my wife was pregnant, and ran it when our daughter was about two and a half months old. The last stretch of training happened as a new parent.
California → Nevada
The relay, run days after finishing the same route solo.
California → Nevada
I ran the solo, and then a few days later turned around and ran the relay on the same route.
Iquique → San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
The longest of my solo crossings, across the driest desert on earth. I decided late that the cost and the missed Thanksgiving were worth it.
California → Nevada
My first attempt at anything beyond 100 miles. Santa Monica to Las Vegas, crewed by nine women, and I won it outright.
Media
An hour on why I keep choosing hard things: The Speed Project, 100-milers and the Gobi, following the opportunities that give me butterflies, the people who carry me when my confidence doesn't, and starting Watch Women's Sports IRL after struggling to find games to take my daughter to.
I'll miss the community, shared suffering (and shared triumph), the silliness, absurdity, and challenge of the entire endeavor. Mostly, I'll miss the people. It's always about the people.
The race's own write-up of my 94 hour crossing of the Gobi, running it with Jack Carey, and the scholarship money it raised for Live Oak Camp.
Running ultras has never really been about running or the numbers. It's about people, community, connection, and adventure. It's about experiencing the beauty of the world. It's about doing something really hard and feeling gratitude for all that the body is capable of.
Ian Corless's photo essay from the 2025 race, under the heading 'Teamwork Makes the Dream Work': “Over five relentless days, they navigated fatigue, breakdown, and the psychological toll of isolation. Together, they moved forward, trading off leadership, motivating each other, and managing the fine line between pace and survival.”
A short film about my Moab 240, made by R.A.D. 240 miles of desert, canyon, and mountain, with my closest friends there, along with my wife Maggie and our ten week old daughter.
Looking back on the 2025 run from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, running solo and as part of Team Solo.
A film by Ashley Stewart, made during the 2025 run from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. It's 'a mile for every woman who's ever been told she can't.' I ran it as part of Team Solo.
A third solo run from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, this time as part of Team Solo.
Race coverage from days two and three of the 2025 solo run from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, catching up with Team Solo as the field pushes through the heat into Palmdale, Adelanto, Victorville, and Barstow.
A year ago, on my way to finishing 300 miles from LA to Vegas. Looking back before heading to the start line again.
It was a tough decision because my wife was pregnant with our first child, and the race was when the baby would be about 2.5 months old. The final 2.5 months of training would be as a new parent, with a newborn.
The long version: running a marathon as a college freshman, learning to fit running around work, Boston in 2017, moving to trail, a first 100 miler paced by my wife, and how The Speed Project keeps turning up at pivotal moments.
Running the solo, and then coming back for the relay on the same stretch of desert.
On racing with a party vibe: my first marathon in 2008, moving into ultras in 2017, and a training week built on long steady miles rather than speed work.
Alex Roudayna and I run solo through the driest desert on earth, which nobody had done on that route before.
Flying to Chile to run across the Atacama desert was going to be expensive and missing Thanksgiving with my family was tough to do.
Outside's dispatch from The Speed Project Atacama: 300 plus miles and 11,000 feet of climbing from Iquique to San Pedro de Atacama, with no spectators, no cell reception, and no fixed route.
On winning The Speed Project solo with an all-female crew, and why that sense of community matters so much in running.
A New Orleans profile covering Live Oak Wilderness Camp, coaching with Youth Run NOLA, and running with The 504th, plus the line I keep coming back to: 'running is a team sport.'
Trail Runner's account of The Speed Project Solo record, and a race that looked more like a party moving across the desert than a trip to the pain cave.
A long interview about preparation over raw speed: 'Planning and preparation is one of my strong suits,' and 'so much of ultrarunning is mental.'
A New Orleans neighbourhood conversation with me and Jack Carey, who I've run a lot of miles with.
The Speed Project Solo win, from the inside. 293 miles from Santa Monica to Las Vegas, finished faster than anyone else in the field.
Recorded a few weeks after the win. What it actually takes to run 293 miles from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, why I went in self-coached, and the crew of nine women who got me to Vegas.
Runner's World on the 2023 Speed Project Solo: 84 hours and 45 minutes, first overall, on a first attempt at anything beyond 100 miles.
I've spent the last week feeling proud, loved by my community, sad it's over, and uncertain about what's next. Just like during a 300 mile race, the feelings come in waves. The unsurprising headline: running is a team sport, and I've got the best team.
Nothing in this category yet.
