Lost or Found?
AJW ponders whether we head to the trails or out for the long run to find ourselves or lose ourselves.
Andy Jones-Wilkins
Title: AJW’s Taproom Columnist
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Social Media Links
Expertise
- Topics of Expertise: Trail running, ultrarunning, run coaching
- Amount of Expertise: 22 years trail running, 30 years ultrarunning, and 12 years coaching running, along with more than 500 articles published in the AJW’s Taproom column.
Education & Certifications
- Education: Bachelor of Arts, American Studies, Hamilton College; Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, Villanova University
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Years of Professional Experience Relevant to iRunFar: 11 years writing AJW’s Taproom
- Club Memberships: Aravaipa Running, Virginia Happy Trails Running Club, Charlottesville Area Trail Runners Club
- Other Relevant Positions, Current or Past: Senior-level coach with CTS, frequent contributor to Trail Runner Nation Podcast, Koopcast, and the Adventure Jogger podcast.
A Word from Andy Jones-Wilkins
I aim to inspire and motivate others about and through trail running and ultrarunning by providing thoughtful and provocative columns. My personal interests include trail running, ultrarunning, gravel cycling, and pizza making.
The Daily Constitutional: What Makes You a Runner
AJW explores how “your run,” whatever it is, makes you a runner.
Simplicity, Freedom, and Service: The Legacy of Caballo Blanco
AJW talks about the legacy of Caballo Blanco.
Freedom With Responsibility
A discussion of the degree to which it’s a runner’s responsibility to know the course he or she is running?
Flow: The Path to Optimal Experience
AJW discusses “flow” and how it allows for optimal ultrarunning performance.
Open Season (Or Is It The Endless Season?)
AJW takes a look at whether there’s now an endless competitive ultrarunning season and what that means.
Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose: Running’s Raisons D’Etre?
AJW takes a look into what motivates runners to run.
Barkley or the Olympic Trials?
AJW asks which is more difficult, finishing the Barkley Marathons or qualifying for the United States Olympic Marathon Trials.
Pitchers and Catchers Report This Week!
AJW reflects on how the routines of spring yield the rhythm of our years.
Essential Paradox
AJW looks into whether simplicity is attainable in trail running and whether it takes complexity to get there.
Lessons From the Long Trail
A look at the lessons that can be gained from training for and running ultramarathons.
Reflections on the Women’s Ultra Performance of the Year
AJW looks at the 2011 women’s ultrarunning performance of the year.
Montrail Ultra Cup and Other Race Series Ideas
AJW takes a look at the Montrail Ultra Cup and some humorous alternatives.
Train the Brain
AJW looks into the Central Governor Model and ponders its possible effect on ultrarunners.
Competition: Can You Feel It Spreading?
AJW takes a look at 2012’s most competitive 100 mile races and what they mean for the sport of ultrarunning.
UROY and Other Year-End Award Favorites
AJW’s nominees for various 2011 end-of-year awards for ultrarunners.
Ultra Prize Money Doesn’t Change Why They Run
AJW explains why prize money hasn’t changed ultras for the worse, but how it could.
Course Records & Their Relative Difficulty: Men’s 100 Mile Examples
AJW takes a look at some of the most impressive course records in ultrarunning.
Temperament and Disposition
AJW, the ultra philosopher, takes a look at the temperaments and dispositions that go into making a successful ultrarunner.
Supply and Demand at the Western States 100
A look at the Western States 100 lottery problem and what to do about it.
