Will Peterson: Just Go For It
A record-setting 273 miles in 4 days on the Vermont Long Trail
“If you love something or are inspired by an athletic goal, just go for it. You’ll fail along the way, but overcoming that failure makes ultimately reaching your goals that much more rewarding.”
Will Peterson loves backpacking, but when Medical School demanded more, he turned to ultramarathoning the trails to save time. Now he holds Fastest Known Times (FKTs) for the NH 4,000 Footers and numerous other mountain trails of New England. After setting his sights on the famously rigorous 273-mile Vermont Long Trail last year, he worked with Neil MacKenzie, PT to help overcome nagging leg pain and proceeded to run unsupported for 4 days, 11 hours, and 34 minutes, breaking the previous record by over a day and a half. This year, he went back with a new goal in mind, and in a supported attempt, became the first to complete it in under four days (3 days, 21 hours, 9 minutes). We had a chance to catch up with him recently following his successful attempt and ask about his experiences…
“I came to multi-day ultras from a backpacking background, which is different from many of my peers who came here from a competitive running background. At the root of all my efforts is a love for adventure and the outdoors. It’s the same love that pushed me to go backpacking for the first time. As I’ve gotten more into the scene, I think I have certainly enjoyed the competitive aspect more and more with each effort, but the foundation remains the love of adventure.”
“Last year I was really struggling with some calf/achilles issues. As a mountain athlete, having achilles issues are brutal because they make it very difficult to run uphill. [During my PT at Cioffredi & Associates,] Neil taught me the importance of putting force through the tendon as a necessary part of recovery and strength building. One thing that I’ve kept with me going forward is the importance of regularly lifting heavy weights to make muscles/tendons strong and to mimic the heavy forces that go through your body when running… I’ve come to realize, both through my personal experiences in athletics and through medicine, is that 100% rest is almost never the answer for recovering from soft tissue injuries. You might not be running at 100%, but your body needs movement to repair itself correctly. I think Neil was keenly aware of that during my achilles recovery. Neil advised me to basically move as much as I was able without further aggravating the injury, and I think that is great advice.”
“I often still find myself questioning if I am any good or if people will look at me differently if I fail at a big goal. My biggest advice is to try to put those doubts to the side. In the end, people don’t think about you nearly as much as you think they do, good or bad. My list of failures in ultras is at least as long as my successes, and no one cares. If you love something or are inspired by an athletic goal, just go for it. You’ll fail along the way, but overcoming that failure makes ultimately reaching your goals that much more rewarding.”
“I’m so thankful for my amazing support system that enables me to handle competitive running and medical school at the same time. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this stuff if it weren’t for my parents, friends, local community, school, etc. As for what I’m looking forward to next from a running perspective, for now I’m keeping the calendar open. I’ll be pulling the trigger on something big in 2025, but I’m not quite sure what yet!”
-Will Peterson
Read Will Peterson’s incredible Supported Vermont Long Trail FKT Report below:
