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After the JFK 50, I really wanted a step up — both Ray and I really want to do at least one 100-mile race. To get ready, I ran the Laurel Highlands Ultra, which does the full 70-mile Laurel Highlands Trail in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Unfortunately, Ray now lives in Bozeman, Montana, so I was on my own for this one. Fortunately, my friend Nick crewed for me, and my Mom and Dad decided to come along too at the last minute. They all deserve major thanks for hanging around for more than 16 hours!

The race wound up being one my favorites ever — the trail is gorgeous! There are only 4 checkpoints on the whole thing, so you have to be pretty self-sufficient, carrying your own food and water. Here are the best pictures.

Back in November 2003, my friend Ray Baker and I ran the JFK 50-miler in Maryland. About a third of it's on the Appalachian Trail, and the rest is on the C&O canal towpath. Neither of us had ever run an ultramarathon before, but we'd been doing 30+ mile fast day hikes for a while, so this seemed like the logical progression. The race went great, and now we're both pretty into running ultras. Check out the pictures!