🎉 SHOUT OUT to 🪅

Jamie started running with his high school cross country team in the summer between his freshman and sophomore years of high school because he did not make the cut for the baseball team. He admits he wasn’t great at sports but really wanted to continue playing, and that’s when he began running. He did not run during his college years, but would run trails once in a while. 

Once he moved to Nevada County in 2021 he took the plunge into trail running and found ultrarunning last year. Jamie prefers to run the 50-mile to 100K range. He feels maintaining a fast pace for a 50K is much harder than sustaining the slower pace necessary for longer distances. He follows a strict training plan during his training blocks in the months leading up to the race. Then, a few days before the race, he uses Ultrapacer to determine best-case scenarios for projected time goals, but ultimately ends up running by feel instead of worrying about splits, once he is out on the course. 

We asked Jamie what mantra he uses when the going gets tough and he has a new one from Ursula K. Leguin’s, The Dispossessed: “The reality of pain is not pain.”

Jamie suggests to anyone thinking about running – ‘Lace up a pair of running shoes and get out there. Start with walking, and alternating between running and walking is much better than trying to run further than you're able and getting discouraged. Running is all about the slow accumulation of consistent miles.’

Speaking of more miles, Jamie has plans to run Tamalpa Headlands 50K in August and the JFK 50 mile in November. He would like to run at least one more 100K before trying 100 miles.

Congratulations on your win at SOB, Jamie, and good luck in the future! Sierra TrailBlazers are here cheering for you!