Hello new ultra-runners and aspiring ultra-runners: I’m Ben Light and I currently live in Heber City just outside of Park City, UT.
I am a sponsored ambassador/athlete of Gnarly Nutrition and Altra Running, and in today’s blog post, I wanted to share how I got involved in the sport of ultra-running.
Fitness and nutrition have been a huge part of my life since I was young. I grew up playing baseball, soccer, football, and adventuring the outdoors through alpine skiing and hiking. As a young adult, I became increasingly passionate about weightlifting and strength training. This passion led to becoming a personal trainer and a high school strength coach.
In my early 30s, I began to increase my cardio volume with activities such as running and swimming to help create lean muscle mass and decrease the impact on my joints from the heavy weight lifting. I soon added biking to the mix and found myself training for my first Sprint Triathlon. Through this personal fitness evolution, I discovered how much I enjoyed the art of balancing the mental and physical challenges associated with sustaining your body in a constant forward motion.
In 2012, I moved to Utah and was introduced to trail running. After my first full year of trail running, in 2013, I participated in my first trail relay race, then trail Half Marathon and soon after, my first 50k ultra marathon.
The following year, my eyes were opened even wider to the possibilities of going even further. I paced a friend 93 miles of the inaugural year for the Tahoe 200, then paced another friend 50 miles of The Bear 100. I completed my first 50-miler at the North Face Endurance Challenge in Park City.
In 2016, I had the pleasure to work alongside Ultra Adventures and run every Ultra Adventure race as a UA Ambassador.
Attending and volunteering at each one of the Ultra Adventure Races became a bonding experience for me and my family as I would bring my kids with me. My passion for ultras and the ultra-community grew exponentially over this year.
I’m excited about where my ultra-running experiences have taken me but even more excited about my future adventures. In September, I plan to run the Wasatch 100 in northern Utah and the Tahoe 200 in Northern California and Nevada both of which start the same day.
I hope you will follow my journey and take up the exciting sport of ultra-running, too! It’s a great way to awaken the senses — mind, body and spirit.
Happy Trails!