Hard Prairie

18/02/2024

“Saw briars snake around my ankles, yanking me back without warning. One snatches the hat from my head; another carves deep furrows into my thigh. The ground is liquid. The rain has washed away our footing and left vicious traps behind.”

—from ‘Only Now. Only Forward.’ by Laura Presley To read more, click https://hardprairie.com/product/hard-prairie-vol-1/

📸 Jenny Thorsen

07/02/2024

Go play. Play hard.

Photo of Michael Li taken during the FKTam300 in March 2022.

📸 Tim Roberts

04/02/2024

“A few months later, in September, a fire broke out on Mosquito Ridge Road near the Oxbow Reservoir south of Foresthill. It burned for forty-six days, destroying over 75,000 acres of rough country, including portions of the Western States Trail. I watched video of the Mosquito Fire online, saw the wishbone intersection north of Michigan Bluff consumed in flames and smoke and falling embers, and sadly conceded that the town had likely been lost. Asking around in the aftermath proved fruitless. No one seemed to know what had happened to Michigan Bluff, whether it still stood or had been reduced entirely to ash.“

—excerpt from ‘What the Fire Didn’t Take,’ a photo essay by Tim Roberts, found in Volume 1 of Hard Prairie. To read and see more, click here: https://hardprairie.com/product/hard-prairie-vol-1/

📸 Tim Roberts

02/02/2024

As we look ahead to future volumes of the magazine, what are the races and issues you’d like to read about in pages of Hard Prairie? It’s important to us that Hard Prairie reflects the full complexity of the wider trail and ultra running community while also diving into challenging topics that may extend beyond the trails. We look forward to your suggestions! Hit us up in the comments below!

📸 Jenny El Tee

31/01/2024

“Over eight grueling days, I not only threw up in that Subway parking lot, but I also dodged dozens of armadillos dead on the side of the road, slept in the lobby of a post office, got a sunburn so deep that pockets of yellow goo formed on my kneecaps…”
—excerpt from ‘Mind Over Marathon’ by Cory Reese.

To read more, click here: https://hardprairie.com/product/hard-prairie-vol-1/

📸 Jenny El Tee

29/01/2024

Go play. Play hard.

27/01/2024

Laying out Volume 1 of Hard Prairie, we wanted the magazine to be photo-forward, yet spacious. We conceived of the issue almost as an art gallery—granted a gritty, messy, smelly, often foul-mouthed gallery, one true to who we are as runners—allowing readers an opportunity to consider the photos in their own space or arranged in a complementary fashion. The pages are intended to be alluring and engaging, to be sat with and contemplated. Trail and ultra running is a beautiful sport. Hard Prairie seeks to celebrate that beauty.

To see more incredible photos, clink https://hardprairie.com/product/hard-prairie-vol-1/

📸 Jenny El Tee

24/01/2024

“Given the mechanism of injury and the location and severity of the pain, we had reasonable concern that he had fractured his femur. A femur fracture is a serious injury that cannot just be splinted or walked off. Rather, it requires true immobilization and extraction.

We were in for a long day.”

—excerpt from Trent Rosenbloom’s ‘Rescue on the Mountain.’ To read more, go to https://hardprairie.com/product/hard-prairie-vol-1/ and purchase Hard Prairie Volume 1!

📸 Colby Glass & Jenny El Tee

22/01/2024

Hard Prairie Volume 1 has arrived! And we could not be more proud! We’ve brought you stories from the Barkley Fall Classic, Western States, and UTMB-CCC, plus so much more. Nearly 70 pages of next-level storytelling and stunning photography, printed on the highest quality paper, and focused solely on trail and ultra running! You’re not going to want to miss this! Quantities are very limited, so they may go fast. Click the link https://hardprairie.com/product/hard-prairie-vol-1/ to purchase you copy!


Jenny El Tee, Paige Sullivan Roberts, Tim Roberts

20/06/2023

“The Vanished Sea” is a short love letter to the magic and allure of the Arizona desert, and a recognition of the tiny marvels that defy all logic.

Watch the FULL video HERE: https://youtu.be/LbPnGHmp7gc

Chad Sullivan Tim Roberts

12/06/2023

Go Hard 🏜️

Chad Sullivan

08/06/2023

“With the sixth grade now behind him, and summer ahead, Simon has wiggle room in his ordinarily hectic schedule to pursue some of his other hobbies—running being chief among them.”
-Excerpt from Simon Copeland: The Potawatomi Kid

Read the FULL Q&A HERE: https://hardprairie.com/simon-copeland-the-potawatomi-kid/
(📷: Naomi Copeland)

31/05/2023

“If talk is cheap and action speaks louder than words, then the lead-in to this year’s Potawatomi was all action.”
- Excerpt from Stepping Up to the Bar

Read the FULL article on breaking the 150 mile record HERE: https://hardprairie.com/stepping-up-to-the-bar/

(📷: Ralph Deene Milam & Morgan Mader)

15/05/2023

“Michael, as my crew chief, you taught me that what I was lacking, more than ability or desire or patience, was respect. I had no respect for what I was trying to do. I didn’t respect the distance or the land or the process.”
-Excerpt from Waiting on Minnows by Chad Sullivan

Read the full article HERE: https://hardprairie.com/grasping-at-minnows/
(📷: Tim Roberts)

Potawatomi Trail Races

08/05/2023

Did U Love Today

01/05/2023

“It’s a mixture of a few things. It’s the possibility that I might go through a rollercoaster of emotions by doing something difficult and come out the other side a changed person, an improved person. I want to be more humble and better able to deal with challenges in life, that’s why I go and do these races.”
- Excerpt from Kirk Cherep (Kirk Cherep) of Trailblazer Running Company (Trailblazer Running)

Read FULL Q&A HERE: https://hardprairie.com/kirk-cherep-of-trailblazer-running-company/

24/04/2023

Over the next month, Hard Prairie will be publishing a series of reflections from 2023’s Potawatomi Trail Races.

‘I am Dinosaur Man’ is the first installment in this series.

“My daughter is too young to understand distance; too young to grasp why someone would choose to run a hundred miles. She was, however, deeply aware that I was attempting something difficult, something other people seemed to think was odd or absurd, or crazy […] It gave her the ability to contextualize what she thought I was doing: Dad is doing something crazy. Dinosaurs are crazy. Dad is the Dinosaur Man.”
- Excerpt from I am Dinosaur Man by Chad Sullivan

Read the full article HERE: https://hardprairie.com/i-am-dinosaur-man/
(📷: Tim Roberts)

21/03/2023

Miles to Go - A documentary about a mother of four boys, Paige Sullivan Roberts, who sets her sights in 2022 on completing her first 50K, The Fancy Nonsense 50K (Curious Ultrarunner's Secret Society).

Watch the FULL documentary HERE: https://youtu.be/iU5G6SkO2GM

/

01/03/2023

“My heart cracks slightly. This is one of the hardest parts of ultrarunning. I know James is looking at me—right now, at this moment, having run 120 miles—and is begging me to let him sleep. I also know—right now, at this moment—that he’s also begging me not to let him sleep. He’s begging me to keep pushing him forward. When you love someone, you are all too familiar with the desire to prevent them from experiencing pain…There would be no stopping. There would be no sleep.”
- Excerpt from The Fall

Read the full article at the link in the bio!

James Solomon Potawatomi Trail Races

15/02/2023

“After recovering from M4M (a 200-mile run from Chicago to Indiana), and running many more ultramarathons, I started talking to friends about other long-distance challenges. That’s when someone asked if anyone had ever run the length of Illinois… In July 2013, a small group of us decided we would give it a shot. 410 miles in one week - all to support some local running-related charities…That brings us to 2022 and the most epic and meaningful trip to date, the East Coast Greenway Expedition. My partner, Joshuaine (Josh) Grant, wondered aloud one day if anyone had run the entire East Coast Greenway, a 3,000-mile trail that runs from Key West to Canada through twelve states and 450 communities.”
-Excerpt from Expedition Ultra (Shan Riggs)

Read Shan Riggs full story at the link in our bio!
(📸: Mary Paige McLaurin)

30/01/2023

“In November 2018, at the notoriously fast Tunnel Hill 100, Zach Bitter (Zach Bitter) set a world record for a 100-mile off-road course, with a time of 12:08:36. Less than a year later, at Six Days in the Dome, he would establish the overall record outright, running 100 miles in 11:19:13.”
-Excerpt from Zach Bitter: The World Be**er

Read the entire Q&A here: https://hardprairie.com/zach-bitter-the-world-beater/
(📷: Chad Colson Chad Colson & Micki Beth Colson Micki Colson Photography)

23/01/2023

“It’s hard to beat seeing a world record. For someone who never dreamed of seeing someone set a world record—especially in southern Illinois, in a small town like Vienna—the excitement of it was incredible. Camille had been so vocal about it…When Camille blew through 50 miles in 6:07, we were just shaking our heads in wonder. She was way ahead of record pace, and she continued to be as the day went on.”
—Excerpt from Steve Durbin: The Conductor of Tunnel Hill

Read the entire Q&A HERE: https://hardprairie.com/steve-durbin-the-conductor-of-tunnel-hill/
(📷: Chad Colson (Chad Colson) & Micki Beth Colson Micki Colson Photography)

20/01/2023

We are looking for writers who are interested in trail and ultra running. OR if you’ve recently completed a race, we’d love for you to share a race report with us.

Please reach out on our Contact Us page: https://hardprairie.com/contact/

16/01/2023

Hats off to all those who braved the frigid temps this past Saturday at Ornery Mule’s Frozen Gnome 10k & 50k (Ornery Mule Racing). You earned those rad looking medals!

See MORE photos here: https://hardprairie.com/frozen-gnome-10k-50k/
(📹: Tim Roberts)



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13/01/2023

13/01/2023

Hard Prairie’s mission is to engage with and celebrate Illinois’ growing community of trail and ultrarunners with stories, ideas, and information specific to our extraordinary experiences.

We’d love to hear and {possibly} share your story on our website. Fill out the form on our Contact Us page and we’ll get back to you.

(📷: Tim Roberts)

09/01/2023

“I have a lot of pictures from the height of my racing days that checked all those boxes but in the end, were utterly forgettable. Conversely, I have a handful of pictures from trail races and ultramarathons where I look like I’m in a lot of pain or just filthy and gross, where I’m crawling or limping along, shoulders slumped, gaze downcast…Those are the images that remain seared into my mind.”
— Excerpt from Beast of the East: A Photo Essay by Jenny Thorsen

View the full essay HERE: https://hardprairie.com/beast-of-the-east-a-photo-essay-by-jenny-thorsen/
(📸: Jenny El Tee)

02/01/2023

“Running was my only option to stay present and know that everything was going to be okay. With running, everyone suffers in some kind of way. But in the end, it’s all okay. I look at my panic attacks that way as well. Just take a deep breath, it’ll be fine. Running saved me, in a way.”
— Excerpt from John Alcantara: Remember to Breathe

Read the full story HERE: https://hardprairie.com/john-alcantara-remembering-to-breathe/
(📷: Christian Rasmussen Photography)