I’ve Run Ultras. I’d Never Crewed One. Here’s What Happened - No Finish Line Episode 25

Two friends from my running group decided to take on Run Woodstock’s 50K. One had completed an ultra before. For the other, this was her first. They had a general pace strategy, a rough timeframe, and a pretty solid attitude of, “We’ll see how it goes.” I, on the other hand, showed up ready to CREW. I’d never crewed for a specific runner at an ultra before, so naturally I brought approximately ALL THE STUFF and immediately started wondering where the spreadsheet was. These are my people—easygoing, go-with-the-flow runners who know how to have fun out there. So my job wasn’t to take over their race. It was to support them, help solve problems, keep them fueled and hydrated, and give them a little push when the aid station started feeling a little too comfortable. Run Woodstock’s 50K is two 16.5-ish-mile loops of primarily single-track trail, with plenty of elevation, technical sections, and a whole lot of opportunity for things to get interesting. In this video, I break down what I learned from my first experience crewing an ultra: 🏃 Know your runners 🥤 Pay attention to hydration and fueling 🩹 Look for problems they may not even realize they have 🧠 Support their decisions instead of making the decisions for them ⏱️ Let them recover at aid stations—but don’t let them move in 💪 Keep them moving when things get tough ❤️ And remember: your job is to help them have THEIR race Both runners finished their first/next 50K in about 9 hours, healthy and happy. Watching them cross that finish line was seriously awesome. And as it turns out, I absolutely LOVE crewing. Acts of service may be my love language, and apparently my love language also involves carrying a ridiculous amount of stuff around a trail race all day. Would I crew another ultra? 100%. Will I have a spreadsheet next time? Obviously. *Grit, grind & hard work.* --- Follow on social https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...   / nofinishline_189