Welcome, outdoor lovers and friends!
(All smiles at the finish of the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Lahti, Finland, August, 2023)
You are invited to follow along my personal journal of endurance racing, traveling, and sports technology. I previously published the award-winning “A Trail Runner’s Blog”, but have switched to the Substack platform in 2023 to return to a more interactive medium. No paid subscription needed - just enter your email/follow to get full access to the newsletter and website. This blog is for longer narratives - if you prefer a more condensed medium, or like detailed stats/training tracking, you can also follow me on the adidas Running app, Strava, Zwift (look for “Scott Dunlap ///”), or Instagram.
Who Am I?
My name is Scott Dunlap, and I have been enjoying endurance sports for a few decades now. It is a deep passion, and I find it to be an endless source of optimism, adventure, and metaphysical exploration, particularly as I enjoy my mid-50’s. Endurance racing is also a great excuse to travel, eat lots of good food, and meet amazing people! Trail running, triathlons, ultramarathons, big city marathons, cycling, or local 10k’s - you’ll likely find me at the start line with a smile, a camera in hand, encouraging others to embrace fitness and to get outdoors. Sometimes to compete, often just to be present, and always to have fun.
(Quinn [now 13], my wife Christi, Sophie [now 18], and me in our adopted US hometown of Santa Barbara, CA, in December, 2022. If you look closely off my left shoulder, you’ll see my brother-in-law and fellow endurance warrior, Brian Drue, hamming it up)
In 2019, I merged my Silicon Valley nerd career with my love of sports to become the VP, Consumer Experience & General Manager, Digital Sports for adidas. This gives me the opportunity to explore many intersections of sports and technology, such as new gadgets, web3/#movetoearn, AI, and working with some very talented teams to create the biggest virtual participatory events in the world (Run For The Oceans hit 6.76m participants in 2022, a world record). This also involved moving from California, USA, to Vienna, Austria, with my wife, two daughters, and two dogs, our first ex-pat experience. It has been quite an adventure!
Racing in 2024/2025
Here is what is on the 2024/25 race roster so far. Do let me know if you’ll be at any of these races, and let’s get a pic together!
Ironman 70.3 Puerto Rico (March 18th, 2024) - done! (click on race links for stories)
Boston Marathon (April 16th, 2024) - 20th in a row, done!
London Marathon (April 21st, 2024) - done!
Wings For Life World Run (May 5th, 2024) - done!
Ironman 70.3 Mallorca (May 11th, 2024) - done!
Passage del Stelvio (Sep 1st, 2024) - done!
Warsaw Marathon (Sep 29th, 2024) - done!
Ironman 70.3 Tangier (Oct 27th, 2024) - done!
Ironman 70.3 World Championships (Dec 14th, 2024) - done! (write up pending)
Tour of Flanders (April 5th, 2025) - did you know that amateurs can ride the courses of many cycling one-day Spring Classics the day before the pros race? I did not! I’ve always been curious about the cobbles, so will take up Flanders in Belgium, a 177km monster of a ride, before settling in to watch the pro men and women the next day.
Boston Marathon (April 21st, 2025) - returning to Boston for my 21st consecutive running.
XTerra Malta Gozo 50k (May 5th, 2025) - a trail run circumventing the island of Gozo in Malta, this will be my first trail ultra in a long time. Looking forward to getting dirty on these beautiful coastlines!
XTerra Worlds Trail Marathon (July 12th, 2025) - should I get a slot at Gozo, will head to Wales for the Worlds.
