Scott Simmons

Every year when September rolls around, Scott Simmons of Cambridge, Maryland knows he’ll be spending hours upon hours in the woods at Pemberton Park. He’s been a staple at Pemberton 24 since the beginning. Learn more about Scott’s streak and what he has planned as his biggest goal yet.

How long have you been a runner?
I started running in 2010 at age 35. I trained with my wife, Shannon, for the Seaside 10 in Ocean City.

What’s your favorite distance to run? Do you prefer roads or trails? 
I like to run a little bit of both, but I prefer to run trails when I can. Ten miles is still my favorite road distance. There are no logistics to deal with and you don’t have to be overly concerned about pacing. On trails, 50 miles is my current favorite. Mostly because I have struggled so far in my 100k attempts.

You have now achieved a remarkable feat – you are the only person who has finished Pemberton 24 for seven times. That’s 75 miles of 5Ks every hour for 24 hours! For seven years..that’s 521 miles of race miles at Pemberton! How did you first hear about the race? 
I honestly don’t remember how I heard about it the first year. I know that my sister and I decided at her birthday dinner that we were going to sign up. This was about 6 weeks before the race and I hadn’t really been running for most of that year. After 5 weeks of training, I showed up at the race with a goal to just keep moving.

How have you been able to keep this streak alive? What was your training leading up to Pemberton? (I know you had some injuries, etc.) 
Pure stubbornness. Some years are better than others. Some hours are better than others. I go into the race with a plan to keep moving forward until I have a reason to quit. A reason to quit and an excuse to quit are not the same thing. My training was a little different this time around. I’ve been dealing with a knee injury for more than a year, so I haven’t been able to run a lot. I did a lot of biking, walking, hiking, and strength training for the first half of the year. I started to mix in some running about 8 weeks before the race and had a solid final 3 weeks leading up to race day. 

Running that far is hard enough on the body; what’s the mental challenge of covering that distance? 
The doubt. No matter how well the training has gone or how close I stick to my pacing and fueling plan, the doubt still shows up when things get tough. 

Any favorite races you want to share? Trent Swanson said you better say Algonquin/DUC. (The DUC is Delmarva Ultra Challenge: Algonquin 50K plus a 50K immediately before that. Runners are not told the location or any details until an hour before the start.)
DUC for sure. As someone who plans for everything, that race puts me outside of my comfort zone. How do you plan for a race that you know nothing about? I also love the Freedom’s Run Marathon. It starts in Harpers Ferry National Park, runs on the C&O Canal towpath, winds through Antietam National Battlefield, and ends on the 50-yard line of Ram Stadium at Shepherd University.

Tell us a little more about non-running Scott. 
31 years ago, I married my prom date! Easily the wisest decision I have ever made (maybe a bit questionable on her part). When Shannon and I aren’t running, we love to travel, which we loosely define as finding new places to eat. Bonus points if there is a vineyard or brewery nearby.

Any running goals/plans you want to share? 
If I can stay healthy, my first 100 miler is in the not-too-distant future.