After countless miles over the span of months, Mr. Reynolds traveled to the hills of Scotland to run a race. He ran 98 miles in 24 hours. 

Mr. Reynolds enjoying a break in the rain at mile 72 of his race. Photo provided by: Mr. Reynolds

Mr. Reynolds did not always have his sights set on running an ultramarathon, though. His previous athletic endeavors led to running. He says, “When I was younger, I was really into triathlon… I never liked swimming in general… and the Greenwich roads seemed a little too dastardly to ride on, and so I just sort of got into trail running.” What started as an exploration of a safer, more enjoyable activity turned into a new passion that Mr. Reynolds worked to include in his daily life whenever he could. As his love for running grew, so did his interest in pushing his distance limits–often asking himself how long he could run.

After experimenting with other ultra distances —such as 50ks— an ultramarathon in Scotland caught his eye, and became his next big goal. He explains, “[the course] in Scotland, which is just very near and dear to my own heart, has been hosting an ultramarathon for quite some time.” However, signing up for ultramarathons can be a long process without any guarantee of being on the race roster. Mr. Reynolds explains, “there’s a lottery and it’s hard to get chosen. It’s kind of hit or miss but this year it just happened to hit!” 

With the challenges of signing up for the race behind him, Mr. Reynold started his training.  However, balancing life with training proved to be a challenge; a full-time job, family, and hours of running. Mr. Reynolds says he realized, “it never goes over well at home when you say, ‘I’m gonna leave for eight hours to go running.’” 

Since some of his training days were also school days, he commented that his running sessions consisted of, “a lot of early mornings; before school you try to get out on the road. You try to run about five days a week. Need to get on the road by like 4:30[AM] and you’d run until about 6:15[AM] or so.” Weekends consisted of even more early morning runs, Mr. Reynolds concluded, “You run anywhere from 25-30 ish miles, maybe a little more… Training was all done in the cracks of the day.”

Thumbs up for mile 75! Photo provided by: Mr. Reynolds.

However, Mr. Reynolds’s training was more than just running. He notes, “On some days you specifically go out to say ‘oh, this is going to be my slow day; I’m purposely going to run at 12 minutes per mile.’ Other days you were running, it would be all about food like, ‘here I am and I’m running and I’m eating this sandwich; is that going well? Is this something I can run and eat at the same time?’ Sometimes it would be great and sometimes it wouldn’t, you’d throw up and there it would be… Each day had a specific goal to it.” 

When reflecting on his training, Mr. Reynolds remembers, “There were plenty of days where there was no motivation, and you would hit the snooze button and you wouldn’t get up and go.” 

The duration and stresses of training are difficult for every athlete. However, even on the hardest training days, Mr. Reynolds was encouraged by race day on the horizon.

Mr. Reynolds tying his shoes at mile 27 at 7:00AM. Photo provided by: Mr. Reynolds.

When race day finally came, Mr. Reynolds approached the startline after months of preparation and anticipation. Mr. Reynolds remembers the best parts of race day; he recalls, “There’s that five minutes before the race starts where you’re like, ‘you know what? I’ve put in the work, I feel good, and I’m in a great spot’ and the aura around the other racers is just awesome… And then, likewise, that mile leading up to the end of the race where you’re super, super tired, but the end is literally in sight and knowing that you’re going to make it… That was an awesome feeling.” Race days are emotion-filled days, and the day of the Scotland ultramarathon was no exception.

Mr. Reynolds posing for photos after his race. Photo provided by: Mr. Reynolds.

When Mr. Reynolds crossed the finish line, he ran 98 miles with a time of 23 hours, six minutes, and nine seconds. When he received this news, Mr. Reynolds was ecstatic, explaining, “I was hoping for anywhere between 25 and 26 hours and I was able to come in sub-24!” After all the time and effort he had put in, Mr. Reynolds had done it! 

For athletes who are thinking about running an ultramarathon —or running in general— Mr. Reynolds recommends, “Do it!” But he also advises, “There’s a lot of work that goes into setting yourself up for success, but it’s just running, running, running… Get into the woods and explore, and be ready to put the hours in beforehand because that is very much the effort that pays off on race day.”

After the Scotland ultramarathon, Mr. Reynolds has his next goal set: going back overseas to Italy to run another ultramarathon in the mountains. Training for any sport is an incredible journey, and Mr. Reynolds has taken that journey to the highest of heights.