Peterthon

Peterthon VII: The Ultrabrittneypeterthon

Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

October 25, 2026 at 05:00:00 · 32.1 miles · 4:24:57

Two years ago, my friend Brittney ran 30 miles on her 30th birthday.

Last year, she joined Peterthon VI from Philly to make it a Brittneypeterthon.

This summer, she was taken from us too soon, too young, and too suddenly. So this Peterthon is for Brittney: The Ultrabrittneypeterthon.

Shoutout to Sapan, who’s joining the Ultrabrittneypeterthon with a 10k in Denver!

Since you couldn’t run this with me, this one was for you, Brittney! We miss you!

The theme of this Peterthon was people supporting and being good to each other. And it was amazing. My coach and I had been working together for two years, basically working toward an ultra like this. My sister, brother, niece, my own family, and over half a dozen friends came out early to hold up posters and cheer me on. And so many others sent me well-timed messages for a boost, right when I needed it. I only cried a little! And Sapan and Tori each ran a 10k in Denver!

My goals were different than they’d have been if this hadn’t been in honor of Brittney, but goals are goals: be in control, be consistent, negative split. And I fucking nailed it. I felt so good about it. I had a bit of gas left in the tank, but for a first time over 50k, that was kind of the point. I picked up the pace at the end (243W avg for 28mi, then 255W for the last 4ish) to prove this to myself.

Y’all! I love you. And I love running.

Peterthon VI

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

November 23, 2025 at 05:30:00 · 3:21:48

aka Brittneypeterthon! (Brittney Johnson did one too!)

a number of things over the last couple of weeks had resulted in pretty low ambitions for this peterthon, so my plan was somewhere between taking it easy and seeing how i feel. i didn’t sleep well for a third night in a row, but the temp was a better than forecast, so i could wear my favorite gear.

stryd said i should target 264W for a ~3:20, but my plan was to go 3.1mi at 245, then decide to go up to 255 or maybe 264 for the next 20mi, then whatever i could muster for the final 3.1. this breakdown has worked well for me before when i wasn’t confident of my pace target. but… once my legs started moving, i felt great. so i did 255 for the first bit, then 265 for the rest. i had a slightly positive split but i blame that on the ridiculous wind gusts (the wind was fine but the gusts made it really hard to be consistent) and the direct sunlight at the end.

brittney sent me a perfectly timed message — i got it right as i touched the 31st st beach house to turn into a headwind for the next 13mi.

i crossed the “finish” at 3:21:48 with a little boost and felt great. then panicked that maybe strava would think it was less than 26.2 so i ran a few more meters.

thank you Brittney, Min, and Coach Fahey for always supporting me on my peterthons!

Peterthon V

Sat, 24 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

May 24, 2025 at 05:00:00 · 3:19:28

this was hard! my legs weren’t into it but i’m happy i was able to make it work.

hits:

hydration. nailed it!
fueling. nailed it!
weather. perfect! (little warm on the way back)
pre-race diet. nailed it! no tummy troubles, no potty stops.
spectators! my folks came out to gillson and made my day. much appreciated boost on the way out, much needed boost on the way back.
nailed my target on the first half: 275W, as planned, in 1:36
no stops! i have a mental thing about stopping. definitely wanted to stop a couple times but didn’t!
sub 3:20!!
power PR — 265W compared to PR of 262W

misses:

didn’t PR (3:17)
didn’t get 3:15
i had a much worse second half than first
right hamstring came close to cramping a few times
didn’t sleep much last night or the night before. too excited!
northwestern closed part of the trail so i had to detour
this route… never again. WAY too much mental energy required to follow the route. next time i’m sticking to the trail.

once a long time ago i told benji i could’ve done better in a race, and he pushed back and said if that’s true, i would have. i feel the same about today. i’m as fit as i’ve ever been, but the stars aligned for a 3:19. i’m not overjoyed and i’m not pissed — i feel like i earned a 3:19, and that’s an accurate measure of my capabilities now. hell yeah!

Peterthon IV

Sun, 27 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

October 27, 2024 at 05:00:00 · 3:20:16

I was much calmer and less (zero?) anxious about this Peterthon than any in the past, which really had a huge impact. This one was mapped as 26.2 pretty precisely because no funny business on the lakefront like there is along the river.

I was a few watts over target on the way out, and kinda worried about it, but had a hell of a time finding a bathroom for an unfortunately necessary bio break so I’m glad I banked some time: I stopped several times at beach houses but all the doors were locked for the season. Ended up losing 3min running into McCormick (but I’m super grateful I had the option). Struggled pretty hard to make up the time, but almost managed, finishing 16 seconds behind my goal.

Oh! And the water fountains were still mostly on. A handful were off but my usuals were all on.

Peterthon III

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

June 2, 2024 at 04:56:00 · 3:21:44

well! that was tough, but i was more or less in control the entire time! my plan was to avg 257W for the first 10mi cruise (after a slower warmup), and then 258W for the second 10mi cruise, then a fingers-crossed-for-258W for the rest. and i did! my first avg was 260, a bit high, and the second was 258, on target but positive split. and i managed to keep at 260 for the last 5k. and with the wind as it was, i’ll take it!

the temperature wasn’t as bad as my long run two weeks ago, but the humidity was a beast — 98%, with obvious moisture in the air.

i got home to zero fanfare. not sure anyone in my family even noticed. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Peterthon II

Sat, 20 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

May 20, 2023 at 05:00:00 · 3:17:24

3:17:24 when watch said 26.22, but i ran a little extra in case the GPS was wrong. other than the possibility of my GPS being wrong, i may never do an official race again. this was so much better.

felt amazing. couldn’t have asked for better weather. struggled the last few miles, but nearly cried because i could’ve run those last three at a 10min/mi pace and still would’ve hit my 3:20 target.

my sister, mom, and friend’s family all came out to cheer me on 😊

Peterthon I

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

December 4, 2022 · DNS

I broke my shoulder and couldn’t run this one.

It also sent me spiraling into a midlife crisis. I didn’t realize how much of my identity was around running, biking, and generally being active.