George Deane: emaildaughter, and twin 8-year olds). I work in Finance, and really enjoy getting outside, doing just about anything active to clear my head and enjoy the outdoors. I have run roughly 20 marathons, a few sub 3 hours (just barely), and have been doing more ultras and trail runs of late. Right now, I am training for an endurance Skimo race (“24 hours of Bolton”) as I like to mix it up a bit.

My training is not very structured. This year I plan to start to increase my running after the Skimo race in early February. I will spend the first month or more, slowly ramping up miles; just keeping it very easy and adding some running miles to skiing. As I have aged (now 40), I have found that just establishing a good base, with easy miles (~50 – 60 miles per week) is most valuable for me. Once I have a good base, just a little speed and hill work (likely in April) will go a long way. I just need to be careful not to overdo it. I always keep up at least some cross training a couple days a week – either skiing(skimo), biking, and/or strength training. For me, a rigid training plan just doesn’t fit with work and family, and I always find it more valuable to listen to what your body needs.

If I have any advice for you all, it’s just to relax, remember why you are running (to be fit, have fun with friends, de-stress) and not get overly worked up over the race and/or training. Use it as motivation to get out on a cold/ snowy Feb morning, but don’t get overly concerned about pace or missing a workout. If you have been getting out and logging miles, and are broadly on plan, you will do great.

If you have any questions about training, the area, the race, or anything, please feel free to reach out. If interested, you are welcome to take a look at my training on Strava (‘Jason W’ from Waterbury, VT). Happy Training!