Brian Outten

When you meet Brian Outten, he’ll ask you about yourself. He doesn’t seek the limelight – he’d rather tell you puns while running alongside you – but we convinced him to sit still for a bit and share his running journey through the years with us. Brian’s wife Colette was a previous featured runner. They live in Pocomoke, Md.

When did you start running and why?
When I was in high school, I had a cousin that was into fitness. I did a few 5ks with him. I remember being impressed by all the people that could run the entire three miles without taking walking breaks. Shortly after high school, I started gaining weight and decided running would be a way to keep eating whatever I wanted and not get fat.

What was your progression from shorter distances into ultras?
I was actually surprised to find that I am very goal oriented. I would set a goal (5k,10 miler, marathon). I trained for them and each time I accomplished the goal, I would set another one. I set a goal to complete a full ironman distance triathlon (Chesapeake Man 140.6 in Cambridge, Maryland) when I turned 40. Once I did that, I started looking for another challenge. I found the Bel Monte 50 miler in Love, Virginia. It sounded hard, and that’s what I wanted. Jeff Hale came to pace me. I was their last official finisher in 13 hours and 5 minutes, but I was hooked and started looking for other races. I had always wanted to do the JFK 50 (Western Maryland), but back then you needed a qualifying race, and I didn’t have one. In 2016, they allowed my 2015 Ironman Maryland finish as a qualifier, so I signed up for the JFK 50 and the first Algonquin 50K on the same day. While training for those races, I met several other local runners.  Zach Freistat and Steve Zubko started training and racing with me. Steve joined me for JFK50. We all ran Algonquin 50k, then the Uwaharrie 100k (N. Carolina). It was the day after Uwaharrie that we all three decided to try a hundo. Devil Dogs (Virginia) was our first. Trent Swanson and Robert Beucker came out to pace us. Those two always go out of their way to help everyone.  

According to UltraSignup, you started off with a few 50ks and 50 milers but then, bam, the hundred fever hit!  How many 100 milers have you run?
None! Lol. I have finished five 100 mile trail runs, but that’s the great thing about ultra running – I can boast these really long distances and make myself sound really awesome, but for average guys like me, there is a lot of walking or fast hiking involved. I bet that I run more in a 50k than I do in a hundred miler. The five are: Devil Dogs, Cloudsplitter (Virginia), Burning River (Ohio), Rim to River (W.Virginia), and No Business (Tennessee). What made these races extra great, and definitely more enjoyable, is that Zach Freistat has been by my side for each and every one.

To close out 2025, you completed a race that was recorded in days, not hours. The Across Florida 200 literally took you across the entire state, west to east, 200 miles, for 3 days, 10 hours, 8 minutes and 40 seconds. Only 35 out of 56 finished. Share the details!
Again, being goal-oriented, after I finished a few hundred-milers, I started looking at 200 milers. Big Foot (Washington state) caught my eye and I set a goal to do that as my turning 50 race. As I looked into it, it was out west with a very expensive entry fee. By the time I entered, bought a plane ticket, got a rental car and a hotel, I would have enough money invested to buy a really nice used car!  I just couldn’t justify that. 

Zach and I put our names on the waitlist to run No Business the opposite direction from the year we did it. (If completed, the finisher gets a special belt buckle for having done it in both directions).  After we waitlisted, I found the Across Florida 200 on Facebook.  I wanted to do it but had already made a commitment and was going to stick with it.  Zach got chosen first for the No Business entry and there were issues with his UltraSignup as he tried to register, so he missed the chance. My name was next and when I got the invitation, I thought about doing it alone (again, that special buckle), but decided that this may be my shot at the 200. I was nervous, so I let the thought fester for a few weeks, but Memorial Day weekend, I decided to give it a go. I could drive to Florida and have my truck. My parents have a home 45 minutes from the finish line in St. Augustine, and the race itself was almost half the price of any other 200 I had considered.

Once I signed up, the running community really did everything they could do to help me reach this goal. I never had to run a long run alone, and I did a lot of long runs.  Karen Cathell ran with me most weekends (strongest girl I know). When she wasn’t available to run with me, I ran with Nate Hanley (always inspiring), John Taylor (my local running hero), Sheila Loar (always uplifting), Josie Brown (way stronger than she thinks she is), Amber Thompson (going to be kicking my tail at this soon), and of course my best running friends Zach Freistat, Stephen Zubko, and Jeff Hale (these guys always lift me up physically and spiritually). I knew that with 200 miles, a pacer and some company would be a HUGE asset, so I started asking everyone I knew. This was no small request! Time off work, trip to Florida, slow grueling miles with bad jokes, time away from family. I didn’t expect anyone to say yes, but asked anyway. Everyone, as I expected, said they could not.

One month before the race I found out that Mark and Amber Thompson were going to surprise me and help crew and pace (I blew the surprise). My confidence level shot way up after that! I am still very thankful!!! I did the first 80 miles alone with my awesome wife (best crew in the world and wife for that matter) meeting me at every aid station and taking care of my needs. I had someone with me for the last 125 miles (yes, the race was 205). Amber, still new to running, did an amazing 70 miles with me. Mark, a non-runner, hammered out 20 miles. My biggest supporter, Colette, did 35 miles. It was great to have Colette, who makes all this crazy stuff possible, finish with me. She has made huge sacrifices to help me reach all of my endurance goals. The night after the race, I could not sleep. I spent a lot of time on Facebook reading the encouraging comments and people cheering me on over the previous 3 days. I felt so loved, supported, and uplifted (and still do) that I was almost in tears (I may have been in tears but will not admit it). I am so thankful for each and every one of you. As far as the race itself, it was 205 miles of mostly the Florida trail, dirt and clay roads, rails to trails, and a few miles of actual road to link them all together. I would have you reading all day if I try to go over that 82 hours with you but would love to talk about it when asked.

You volunteer your time with TEAM 360 to help others with unique needs cross the finish lines. Why do you participate?
Colette started with TEAM 360 before I did. I thought that it was a great program but working retail at the time, I couldn’t have off Saturdays and didn’t think I could help. Through Colette, I met the kids! Everyone involved with TEAM 360 has a big heart, but the kids and their parents are the most loving of all! These are fun-loving, light-hearted kids that really looked forward to hanging out with me and others like me. I found that although I couldn’t race on Saturday, I could train with them on Wednesdays, my day off. I also found that I enjoyed it more than the kids did. I would sing silly songs, tell stupid jokes, ask stupid questions and when they laughed, it always warmed my heart. I also found that the adults liked my silliness as much as the children did so I started incorporating that into my group runs. 

When I do get to race, the thankfulness and respect I get from the parents and other racers is inspiring. I had the privilege of doing Eagleman and Ironman Muncie (Indiana) 70.3 with Team Andrew. Out of all the races I have done, those are the ones I am proudest of!  I joined TEAM 360 to bless the kids but I am always the one blessed by them. I have changed careers and work Wednesday now so I have not been as active, but they still have my heart. When Zach, Colette, and I created the Blades Trail Race, we knew where the proceeds should go.

Do you have a favorite race and/or distance?
Almost every race has a special memory so it’s hard to choose. The No Business 100 and Rim to River 100 are probably tied for my favorite. Both were very well organized, have beautiful courses, and were challenging without being over taxing. 

As far as my favorite distance, I have a secret! I don’t really like racing. I sign up for longer distance races to challenge myself, keep myself training, and continue to set goals. If it’s a 100 miler and the cutoff is 32 hours, that’s the goal! Just to finish. I look at them as fully supported long runs in interesting areas.

I definitely don’t care for 5ks.  It takes this old body three miles to get loose enough that I am ready to run, but I will do them for TEAM 360 or a good cause.   guess 50ks hit the sweet spot of being really challenging, not too time consuming, and not requiring a lot of recovery time.

Any advice on how to keep going when a race gets tough?
I have a favorite quote! (I have a lot of them.) “It’s not the mountain ahead that’s going to get you, it’s the stone in your shoe.” 

I have found this to be very true. We read the race description and train for the big stuff, but it’s the little things that 9 out of 10 times end your race. Stomach issues because of nutrition, blisters, chafing, or even a stone in your shoe! Stop! Take care of the little things, and move on. Colette would tell you that this is great advice that I don’t take but it’s true and I want to give it to you. As for me, I have a strange super power of putting things out of my mind and putting my mind elsewhere. I have a strange focus when it comes to endurance sports that I wish I had in other aspects of my life. I’m not advising this in any way.

Another quote I love is “Get comfortable being uncomfortable” and I think about this a lot as I am pushing myself to do what my body doesn’t want to do. Play tricks with yourself such as breaking the race up from aid station to aid station distance instead of the total distance and setting smaller goals. Think about how far you have gone and all the training you have done and how close the finish line is (even though it may not feel close at the time) and how it would stink to have to try and do it over if you DNF. I have used all of these and more! You can do it; just don’t stop and eventually you will see that finish line.

What’s next?
I don’t have any big race plans for this year. I have a goal to run/hike the Appalachian trail over the course of the next 20 years. I run 20 to 30 mile sections of that as often as I can. Colette and our friend Amber Thompson have set a big goal for this year (I will let them tell you) and I want to help them train and support them through it. They have done it for me!  Also, if anyone reading this has a big goal that they think I can advise or help with, I would love to do that. This running community has helped me and I want to be a part of helping it. Let me be a part of your goal. Big Foot 200 may still happen one day. It’s an itch that I may have to scratch eventually.

My family thinks this is funny. They said to ask: Have you ever had to carry a crazy woman out of the woods? No need to answer!
That’s funny!  I want to answer. Michelle Nelson is one of the sweetest and most inspiring people I know. I look up to her physically and spiritually!  She has a love for everyone and most importantly, a love for God and her faith. 

As we train and push our limits, sometimes we cross them. We all need help sometimes. Colette had to call 911 to find and get me out of the woods in the Smoky Mountains a few years ago and I have no idea where I would be if she hadn’t. (It’s a story for another time). Michelle was trying to get a Tour de Salisbury segment at the South Pole. She had tried several times in a row on this one day and always got off course so I agreed to go out and help. By this time she had already run several miles in the cold and was starting to wear but was undeterred. About 3 miles in she tripped and broke her leg. I am so thankful that I was there. It could have happened to anyone!  I am also thankful that it didn’t happen to someone heavier. Lol. I wrote her a silly song to cheer her up that I shared with her. She is welcome to share it if she wants. *posted at the end!