I couldn’t remember how many marathons and ultras I’ve finished, so I took a look through the annals of history - mostly on UltraSignUp.com and the Flying Pig’s website.

1. 2015 Flying Pig Marathon

2. 2015 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

3. 2016 Flying Pig Marathon

4. 2016 Cloudsplitter 50K

5. 2017 Land Between the Lakes Marathon

6. 2017 Flying Pig Marathon

7. 2017 Yamacraw 50K

8. 2018 Big Turtle 50K

9. 2018 Flying Pig Marathon

10. 2018 Cloudsplitter 50K

11. 2019 Land Between the Lakes Marathon

12. 2019 Big Turtle 50K

13. 2019 Hawthorne Half Day (60K)

14. 2019 Georgia Jewel 35-miler

15. 2019 Cloudsplitter 50K

16. 2021 Yamacraw 50K

17. 2024 Flying Pig Marathon

For the balance of this year’s race calendar, it’s Cloudsplitter 50K in October and Millinocket Half Marathon in December. And, I might try to add a November race, but we’ll see.

As to the races on this list, I love all of them for different reasons:

• Flying Pig Marathon (Cincinnati, OH) - local course, huge crowd support, tough race if it gets hot - and it usually does

• Monumental Marathon (Indianapolis, IN) - flat course, cool weather, great place for a PR, but you gotta train pancake flat - might run this one again soon

• Cloudsplitter 50K (Norton, VA, formerly Elkhorn City, KY) - classic Cumberland Mountains race, gorgeous forest, tough racing, old school trail race vibes, 40-hour cutoff so no sweat on time

• Land Between the Lakes (Grand Rivers, KY) - lots of good trail running, flowy trails, cool weather, great Spring opener

• Yamacraw 50K (Stearns, KY) - spectacular course, mostly easy running, kick in the teeth late race climb, glorious finishing scene, a must for anyone running ultras in Kentucky

• Big Turtle/Sheltowee Trace Ultras 50K (Morehead, KY) - lots of good running with a stiff opening climb, undulating ridgeline, gravel roads, great atmosphere, awesome race directors, fun town, Sawstone Brewing is AWESOME!

• Hawthorne Half Day (Terre Haute, IN) - community driven, loop course, hot as Hades, bring your own aid station, triple up on the ice, outstanding post-race hang with a true family vibe

• Georgia Jewel 35-miler (Dalton, GA) - Pinhoti Trail, point-to-point, awesome race directors, beautiful forest, a couple nice views, great volunteers, can be stupid hot, final climb is a friendly and funny gut punch

Also, I feel like I need to do the Derby Marathon at some point and finish checking the boxes of Kentucky marathons and ultras. I’m sure those will make their way onto my calendar in the future.

Actually, I have a moratorium on the Pig for now, so Derby 2025 for sure. Handsome Klatzke already said yes, so we’ll be hammered in the ‘ville next year. Brewery recommendations are welcome at hello@kentuckyhiker.com

BTW, one of the ways I keep myself in a generally decent mood is to always have a race or big hiking/skiing trip on the calendar. Races are fun as hell even when they’re hell…if y’know what I mean. And there’s the added benefit of more outdoor time while training on roads and trails.