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📬 Edition #10: Jen Curtis on The Speed Project, and the adventure of uncertainty.

Where The World Begins

Over 160 miles into the race of her life, Jen Curtis was thinking about a line from Forrest Gump. Describing a spectacular sunrise during a run through the desert, he says: “I couldn't tell where heaven stopped and the Earth began.” 

Curtis was halfway through The Speed Project – an extraordinary slog from Santa Monica Pier to the welcome sign on the Las Vegas strip – and taking in her own spectacular sunrise, as she ran through the desert. 

“This is why I’m here,” she thought. 

Curtis, a long-time runner, is by no means a veteran ultramarathoner. She completed her first ultra last September, running 35.5 miles (and dozens of loops) around Herbert Von King Park in Brooklyn at a Girls Run NYC anniversary event. 

More would follow – a 50-miler in Prospect Park in December, and the Black Canyon 50K in February – over the subsequent months, but nothing near the 300-odd miles she would tackle at The Speed Project. 

This unsanctioned, invitation-only trek across the Mojave Desert has no rules, no spectators, and no set route: just a start and a finish.  

“I’ve been thinking a lot about what kind of person I am,” she told The Footprint before setting out, “and what makes me afraid and what makes me excited. I actually don’t mind the unknown. Knowing everything stresses me out. You have all this information you feel you should know.  

“Whereas uncertainty is kind of a pass. Okay, you don’t know. Everything’s going to be okay. As long as you finish, and as long as you don’t get hurt, it’s going to be an adventure.” 

When the adventure began, at 4am one Monday last month, Curtis found herself in a pack of 40 runners in LA, with their sights set on Vegas. Dozens of people had gathered, taking pictures. After an electric countdown, she was off. 

“LA’s not my city, but I’ve been training in New York,” she said. “Urban ultras. The first day felt like my race.” 

It got hard, quickly. Temperatures climbed as high as 90°F (about 32°C) on the first day. Nausea hit, and stuck around for the best part of 24 hours, setting up a rough second day as she tried her best to run through it and take on food. 

The first stages of each day proved toughest. ‘Mornings’ started in the middle of the night – as early as 3.30am – allowing time to run in cooler temperatures, but also extending stints in the dark. The sunrise couldn’t come soon enough. 

Curtis was running solo, but not alone. A support crew, led by her mom, Debbie, was with her through it all. Debbie is no stranger to physical challenges herself, having biked from San Diego to New York and walked from New York up to Buffalo. 

Her sister, Nicole, a doctor; Jamilé (Jams) Ramírez, captain of Adidas Runners NYC; and close friend BoBi Ahn; were also on hand to help with whatever the trail threw at her, from a wild dog to blisters on almost every toe. 

Partway through Friday, her fifth and longest day, it all started to take its toll. For the first time that week, Curtis did not want to run. “I just knew I needed to lock in,” she said, and overcome the negativity. She tried to take any little win she could, focusing on the gradual decline of the miles ahead, and tricking her head into thinking she was into the single digits. 

She was pushing to reach a 20-mile stretch along Powerline Road: a shortcut from the original course, in the middle of nowhere. “It’s a remote place,” said Curtis. “You’re in the desert. It’s just you.” 

There was no chance of the crew’s RV accompanying her for this part. Nicole joined her, carrying water and food. They walked it all, finishing at 10.30pm. 

Waking up the next morning, with 36 miles to go, she was glad to return to pavement after days in the desert. “Regular Jen” returned. “I didn’t have to run/walk.” 

Vegas was her target. But it wasn’t her aim. 

Curtis took on The Speed Project to spread awareness on mental health. Her family established 4TeamBrock, a non-profit, to honor her brother, Brock, who died in January 2021, about three years after he was diagnosed with Bipolar I. 

With the city in her sights, she blasted Thunderstruck by AC/DC non-stop for the last three miles. “I don’t think my crew liked it as much as I did,” she said. “But I didn’t care.” 

She took her final steps, with her team close behind, passing a long line of tourists waiting to take pictures as she finally reached the Vegas sign.  

How did it feel? “I definitely felt a huge sense of relief, and accomplishment,” said Curtis. But there was also a bit of sadness, too. 

It was done – and she knew she would miss it. “It’s not sustainable to do this all the time,” she said. “But it was a very special time.” 

As it came to a close, Curtis made sure to wear a red Bubba Gump Shrimp Co baseball cap – worn by Forrest Gump in the movie, and her brother, Brock, on a marathon they ran together in 2020.

“It was a symbol,” she said, “that he’s the one that got me to the finish line.” 

AROUND AND ABOUT

💭 Is social media slowing you down? Reporting on an interesting new study for Outside, Alex Hutchinson considers the impact of scrolling through apps on performance. “The things we do — social media, yes, but also real-world socializing, reading a book, listening to music, working, commuting, daydreaming, and so on — affect our mental state and readiness to perform,” he concludes.

🏟️ Grand Slam Track shows promise. The new global track league kicked off in Kingston, Jamaica last weekend. The meet underlined the strength of GST’s format – with some of the fastest athletes in the world running two separate races over three days – but also the size of the mountain organizers must scale as they try to take the sport to new heights. Much of the vast stadium was empty.

💨 The race of the weekend in Kingston was the Men’s Long Distance 5000m. Until the last lap, it might have been the worst. But after a slow start, the race accelerated with 400m to go – and Grant Fisher navigated his way from the back of the pack to the very front, just in time.

💡 Olympic champion triathlete Alex Yee is gearing up to run the London Marathon. In this YouTube update, he talks about training, taking risks, and the excitement of the unknown. “I think there’s a realistic chance that it may not go to plan,” he says. “But I think, for me, that’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

📍 Washington, DC: The US Capitol before dawn last Sunday, ahead of the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run. It was a great race, with brilliant crowds – led by two record-breaking Americans: Taylor Roe and Charles Hicks.

RECENT EDITIONS

• #09 Running Behind Bars | with the leaders of the 1000 Mile Club

• #08 Fearless Movement | with Edith Zuschmann of 261 Fearless

• #07 Boston Beckons | with a first-timer and a last-timer

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend.

– Callum