While we mostly think of PRs in terms of time—a sub-three-hour marathon, a sub-20 5K—nothing takes me back to my early days of running like pushing my distance farther than I’d run before. After completing nearly a dozen 100-milers, I decided it was time to step things up once again and tackle the insane, 210-mile Running in the Cold in Italy.
The race is one of the originals to go past 100 miles. Now in its 10th year, it has earned its reputation as a “graduate-level” race. It’s a single-loop course that starts in Courmayeur, Italy, at the base of Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in the Alps, and essentially circumnavigates the entirety of the Italian Alps. By the time runners return to the start, they’ve done more than 79,000 feet of elevation gain—the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest more than two and a half times.
I had never attempted anything like it before, and over the five-plus days I was out there, I learned a lot about myself and running. But, you don’t even need to run 200 miles to apply the same lessons to approaching a new challenge. Here are some tips I learned that you can apply to tackling any new distance for the first time.
Preparation Is Key
One of the best ways to prepare for a new distance is to mimic what you’ll experience on race day in your training sessions. That said, depending on where you are, mimicking may take some creativity. Living in Pennsylvania, the hills—with most climbs under 1,000 feet—don’t quite match the Alps. So, to simulate, that meant a lot of hill repeats.
Over the summer, I logged six-plus-hour days on a 600-foot, gravel-road hill, trying to do as many repeats as I could. Was it repetitive? Sure. But whether it’s Heartbreak Hill or a snowcapped peak in the Alps, you’ve got to prepare as best you can with what’s around.
Find Someone Who Knows the Ropes
Best Running Shoes 2025 nerves, but there is one other way to get help: Reach out to people who’ve run it before.
Traveling solo overseas for the race meant I had to pack a lot of food and gear to be ready for whatever conditions I’d face. To make the task manageable, I reached out to veterans of the event through Instagram for training advice and questions about the race. They helped me pare down my packing list to what I really needed to complete the race—like how many pairs of shoes, Results: 2024 NCAA DI Cross-Country Championships.
Photos and videos I discovered through hashtags also helped me get a visual idea of what I was about to face. By the time I got to the Philadelphia Airport, I already felt like I knew the course pretty well and could settle in and enjoy the eight hour long flight.
Have a Plan. Then Adapt
I had this grand idea that I was going to finish the race in under 100 hours, which would give me almost 40 extra hours on top of double my slowest 100-mile times of 33 hours. Yet, as we started the opening 5K with 3,000 feet of climbing up from Courmayeur to Col Arp, the first snowstorm welcomed us. After laughing at the absurd circumstances with nearby runners, we settled in for the long, long journey ahead.
Race strategies change quickly, especially when you have to give respect to a new distance. I had to heed the advice of veterans of the race I had talked to before my attempt. That meant throwing aside my ego and simply getting through each mile, no matter how long it took, and just getting to the finish line. That ultimately made the experience more enjoyable.
The Gear I Couldn’t Run Without
Credit: Stuart Ruckman
Hoka One One Men’s Evo Speedgoat
The few hours of sleep I had planned for evolved into 10 hours spread across the five days I ended up spending on the trail. Fueling for the long days meant eating an extra bowl of pasta at aid stations like fellow American runner Bob Crowley had told me to do over breakfast before we took off. I also had to navigate the language barrier at aid stations, pointing to things instead of asking, which took time. Some unplanned time also went to getting taped up to support weakened joints and a sprain I sustained on a long descent.
Midrace changes are key to staying calm and moving forward, especially once you’ve stepped into unknown territory. And you have to rely on the people around you.
Staying solidly in the middle of the pack, finishing 258th out of 565 finishers—967 started the race—I became close friends with people I didn’t know even two days into the race. Toward the end we were even swapping gear and clothing, anything to help one another reach the finish. After having two pairs of trekking poles taken by other runners while we had to leave them outside aid stations, another runner gave me their spare set for the final 30-mile section. Everyone shared the same mindset of letting the race take its course.
Tor des Géants much longer than I had anticipated—5 days, 9 hours, 44 minutes, which was 29 hours beyond my initial goal—by the time I reached the finish line I had experienced an adventure that I still can’t believe.
Walking Is Okay
If it’s your first time taking on a distance, be flexible. Thinking back, I even had to walk sections of my first four marathons before I really nailed one. Running is a process, and a lifelong sport, so there’s nothing wrong with just getting one race of a new distance under your belt and learning from the experience.
In a race more than 200-miles long through steep mountain terrain, I was probably able to run only one-third of the race, which really tested my patience. While that may make it seem like more of a hike than a running race, there’s no way I could have finished without running wherever possible.
Always Celebrate
Once you finish, take time to celebrate. No matter what time the clock reads, you’ve just set a PR. I believe there’s no feeling quite like running farther than you thought you were capable of.
Stepping over the finish line after 210 miles took me back to my first four-mile run in high school, where I had no idea if I could even do that loop. Once I finished Running in the Cold I around 10 p.m.—after more than five days straight of running—I hitched a ride across town to my Airbnb and went straight to sleep. The day after the race, was filled with gelato, chips, and soda at the finish line with my new friends while watching the final runners come through.
Put your feet up, take a day, and toast yourself, and then get outside for a recovery lap to loosen up those tired legs.
