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2021
The iRunFar introduction for David reads “David Laney was born and raised in Oregon, and that just about covers it. David runs for Nike Trail and coaches with Trails and Tarmac. You can follow him from mountain tops to donut shops on his Instagram account.”
With numerous wins to his name, a 3rd (2015) and 4th (2016) place at UTMB, we’re excited to welcome David to our 100 km route. We might have changed everything around to be able to go ahead with a “Special Edition” for 2021 but we still promise plenty of wild and mountainous trails.
In David’s own words:
Doug Mayer, owner and founder of Run the Alps first recommended the race to me. He said it was a wild and mountainous race and the place Lizzy Hawker trained for UTMB, so I had to check it out!
I have been wanting to run UTMR for years, and just finally felt like this was the year to explore a different region of the Alps. I will be racing UTMR two weeks after Ultravasan, so the summer will be a combination of long training runs in the North Cascades (my home mountain range) and long flat runs in the valleys of the Pacific Northwest. I hope this combination of fast training and mountain training will have me ready for both Ultravasan and UTMR.
When things get tough during a race or training day, I start by taking a deep breath, soaking in the beauty of the surroundings and reminding myself that running, and life, are often a roller coaster. You may be in a bit of a slump and feeling tired but you never know when things could turn around! Once you realise you are on a bit of a ride, you roll with it! You learn to adapt and respond to the challenge. I often find energy in gratitude, and sometimes just feeling thankful for the opportunity to race and experience the beauty of the hills is enough to light a fire and get rolling again.
I can’t wait to meet the other UTMR runners and share this experience!
Thanks David & good luck!