Simon Donato

The new thing among runners here in Canmore is going after something called “fastest known times” (FKT) for a number […]

  A few weeks ago I jumped into my first running race of the season, a bit of a late […]

Finding a constructive way of dealing with this stress is critically important however, as numerous studies correlate stress with illness. When I’m not training, my mind is usually racing, considering all the tasks that need to be done and constantly reshuffling my weekly seriatim. The longer these periods last, the less productive I become. What I’ve learned about myself is that when I recognize that I’m getting stressed, I need exercise to calm my mind and help me refocus.

Yes, I was one of the millions of viewers who watched (part 1 of 2) Oprah grill Lance Armstrong about his drug use, his culture of blatant denial, and his viciousness towards those who sought to spoke the truth. Before I ran, I rode a bike, and that was in large part due to the inspiration I gained from Lance and US Postal. To me, he made road riding cool.

An experience like this is worth nothing without learning some life lessons along the way. Filming this show was the hardest challenge I have ever undertaken. The toll it took on my body, spirit, and mind cannot be summed in 600 words.

As we ease into 2013, I find it important to take some time to forecast what the next 12 months might look like for me, and reflect on the past year.

In the past 30 days, I’ve pulled off a personal coup. I’ve finished two 7-day staged ultra-marathons, for a total of 450 kilometers.

Nobody likes being called crazy, but it did make me think. In the last year I’ve sold my house, quit my job, and embarked on a world tour racing tough ultra endurance sports across the globe.

I recently traveled to Lakipia, one of these lesser-known regions in northeastern Kenya to participate in the Amazing Maasai Ultra Marathon. The race is a charity event in its second year that raises money to provide academic scholarships for Maasai girls to attend secondary school. It consists of three races – a half, full, and 75 km ultra marathon run through the heavily rutted and dust covered ochre roads that penetrate the bushlands north of Mt. Kenya.

Simon Donato talks about his experience at the Fire and Ice Ultra, a 250K off-road race in Iceland.

What better way to return to running than with an ill advised attempt at a speed record on the Kootenay’s infamous Rock Wall, a 55 km trail that is typically done as a 3-5 day hike.

As I start this post, 18:00:00 of the Western States Endurance Run have elapsed. We have a male and a female winner and 20 competitors have reached the finish in Auburn…It’s now 18:25:33 into the race and 25 racers have finished with the oldest being 48, youngest 26, and 3 females. Not too shabby for 100 miles!