Author: Ultimate Direction

APRIL 1 -  It’s spring; time for our Annual Shoe Review! The Shoe Review is a time-honored tradition - every running publication always does Shoe Reviews, seemingly every other issue is a Shoe Review, so it’s time Zola did one too. We will use the same format all the other top-notch magazines use, but since shoe companies don't advertise with us we're a little unsure…

Guest UD Blogger: RunAroundaRoo's Heidi Kumm about Jeremy Ebel's Adventurous Training Run Over the Western Slope, essentially from Boulder to Winter Park as the crow flies! [caption id="attachment_1953" align="alignleft" width="200"] Jermey Ebel - West Bound[/caption] There are a few reasons to head into the wilderness with a pack full of gear, a compass and a map but this particular trip had a very specific purpose – navigation and misery…

To celebrate our 30th we want to kick off ~The Retro UD Gear Photo Contest~ Post a photo in the comments below or on Facebook of your old, retro, vintage, or well-loved UD gear to be featured in our weekly #TBT #UDXXX post and for a chance to WIN a UD Prize Package. See the entries so far on Facebook and Instagram under the hashtag…

There’s a limit on how many grocery bags you can carry from your car to the house. (Though my pinky is stronger than I thought!) There’s a limit on how fast you can drive a car—even when there’s no police in sight, as Dimity recently relearned. (Dang those hidden cameras!) There’s a limit—thankfully—on how many Hershey’s Kisses you can eat before feeling slightly ill. And…

We often hear how "the sport is changing”. Some people devote inordinate amounts of time lamenting these changes and wondering about the future. I strongly believe in values – our values and vision drive our personal lives, our businesses, and then ultimately our individual lives translate into the state of our sport - these few and fundamental values do not change. However, everything else does…

Buying a holiday present is a total pain in the derriere, right?  It's probably why the suicide rate goes up during the holidays.  So what to do? You could buy that special him, her, or yourself (let's not kid ourselves about who's really special) a bottle of wine, but since you understand wine about as well as you understand the Higgs boson particle, that won't…

R2R2R is a world-class route, staring on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, running 5,000' down to the Colorado River, across a bridge, then 6,000'' up to the North Rim. Then back again - "Rim to Rim to Rim". I first ran it sometime in the 80's, and it was quite the thing back then, but in the last few years this route has…

UD Ambassador Ethan Veneklasen Shares: Ummm, duh! Everybody knows that. It’s one of the most oft-repeated maxims in running. But did you ever stop to think about why we all know this useful little nugget? One can only assume that it’s because most of us continue to do stupid things and thus, its repetition is warranted. As athletes, we like to think that our experience will…

Pregnancy is no joke! I don’t care how many Ultra Marathons you have run, or how close together they were… pregnancy will suck the life and energy out of you like nothing ever before.  Regardless of how tough I try to be, it still slaps me upside the head and knocks me right out (in bed for days at times!).  Your energy level is limited,…

The Wind River High Route is possibly one of the best backpacking routes in the world. It runs along the spine of the Wind River Range in northern Wyoming, probably the most wild and remote range in the Lower 48, is modeled after the famed Sierra High Route, and thus is mostly off-trail and above timberline.  I put together the great team of Andrew Skurka…