The Trail Team started in December 2022 and spent its inaugural year as a team in 2023, developing the first elite trail running club of its kind in the country. The team was founded to provide opportunity, mentorship, skill development, funding, and media exposure to a team of six talented young athletes (ages 20 to… Read more »
Posts By: Tayte Pollmann
How To Hydrate for Trail Running in ALL Seasons
Dehydration is not just a hot summer topic, even though runners typically associate sweating or feeling thirsty with warmer months. Dehydration can be a serious issue even in colder weather and inhibit performance, recovery, and basic bodily functions. From a physical standpoint, cold, dry air requires increased fluids to humidify the air as it enters… Read more »
Athlete Profile: Maria Dalzot Reflects on Life-Changing Team USA Moments
Lessons in flight booking Maria Dalzot’s race of her life came at a time when she completely didn’t expect it. Dalzot, a varsity member of an NCAA Division I Championship fourth place cross country team, top-ten finisher at Italy’s prestigious Lavaredo 80K, member of four US mountain running teams, winner of the 2014 National Trail… Read more »
Trail Runner’s Book Review: Ultra Running for Normal People
Trail Runner’s Book Review: Ultra Running for Normal People “I believe ultrarunning is not only possible but profoundly beneficial for most Normal People.” Sid Garza-Hillman, author, coach, and trail race director based in Mendocino, CA, aims to “demystify” ultramarathon trail running to the general population in his fourth book: Ultra Running For Normal People. Garza-Hillman,… Read more »
Cliff Pittman On Science-Based Coaching
Science-based, personalized coaching is the future for trail runners who want to make the most of their training. Historically, the majority of trail runners (elites included) often feel like they’re guessing about how they should train for races. This is largely due to a lack of trail running specific-sports science and coaches with backgrounds in… Read more »
XTERRA Grows International Trail Racing Opportunities in 2024
All photos included in this article have been generously provided by Emily McIlvaine/XTERRA. After the success of XTERRA’s inaugural Trail Run World Championships in 2023, XTERRA is set to return in 2024 with a larger World Series and more opportunities for elites and amateur trail runners. XTERRA, the world’s leading off-road triathlon brand, has invested… Read more »
Trailblazer Running Introduces Trail Golf Racing
“A one-day 9-hole stage race where the lowest cumulative score wins” Trailblazer Running, a trail race event company based in Valparaiso, IN, is offering a “hole new experience” for trail runners with their concept of the Trail Golf Endurance Challenge on June 15, 2024 at the Creekside Trails. The challenge involves no actual balls or… Read more »
U.S. Junior Team Member Turned Race Director, Denver Perry, Builds Utah Trail Culture
Denver Perry’s Push To The Top of The Pyrenees The Pyrenees mountains never fail to highlight the difficulties of trail running. With over 1,800 feet of climbing in 7.3 kilometers, the 2018 World Junior Mountain Running Championship – set on the ski slopes of Grandvalira Ski Resort in the heart of the Andorran Pyrenees –… Read more »
Inaugural NATRO@Soboba Race Encouraging Native American Participation in Trail Running
Sheldon Subith is realizing his dreams of bringing more Native runners to trail running. Subith, an Armenian raised near the Soboba Indian reservation in San Jacinto, CA, is an accomplished masters’ trail runner, cross country coach at the Noli Indian School (also located in San Jacinto, CA), and recently founded the Native American Trail Running… Read more »
Runners For Public Lands Fund Promotes Equal Access To Trails
The following article features Runners For Public Lands Everyone Runs Fund, its history, its mission, and the application process. Photos by: Runner’s for Public Lands. Shaun Wahl, a sixth grader from Ventura, CA, has cerebral palsy. He always dreamed of competing in sports. In 2022, Wahl’s dream came true at the inaugural Born To Adapt… Read more »
Luis Escobar, Photographer and Event Director, Promotes Cooperative Trail Running Media
In the following article, Luis Escobar shares his insights as a photographer and tips for event directors hiring photographers. We discuss the importance of photography in trail running, future trends, potential problems, and advice for navigating the world of professional trail race photography. Featured photo by: Luis Escobar. Setting the stage Stills capture stories in… Read more »
Ashworth Awards, A Leader in Sustainable Trail Race Business
Ashworth Awards, a family-owned and operated event awards company based in North Attleboro, MA, is paving the way for a shift to more sustainable running event awards. Since its inception in 1965, Ashworth Awards has taken actions to improve their sustainability efforts as a company, which include sourcing US-made products, reducing packaging materials, and calculating… Read more »
Roots of RouteArrows and Better Trail Race Course Marking
“Exaggerate the essential, leave the obvious vague.” ― Vincent Van Gogh Trail race participants may take the process of course marking for granted, until they get lost following poorly placed signage. Course marking is an essential step of every trail race and is not only time-consuming for race organizers, but is one of the basic… Read more »
Protect Our Winters Holiday Stoke Fest Highlights Climate-Advocacy Storytelling
Protect Our Winters (POW), one of the nation’s leading organizations for climate action in outdoor communities, is launching a virtual “Holiday Stoke Fest” film festival free to the public. POW has been one of the most influential groups empowering trail runners as climate action leaders (see our article from 2020 with POW athletes Clare Gallagher… Read more »
Launch Point Leadville: Former U.S. Junior Team Member Ben Butler’s Return To Trails
“Trail running is less about the finishing kick and more about the heart.” — Ben Butler The Jersey Still Fits For two years, Ben Butler did not want to look at his Team USA singlet. He earned his “red, white and blue” attire at age eighteen by competing on the silver medal-winning junior boys’ team… Read more »
The Trail Mix Fund Diversifies Trail Race Startlines
The Trail Mix Fund, founded in 2021 by Renee Janssen of Go Beyond Racing, is one of the best examples of a grassroots initiative that addresses the lack of diversity in trail running. White, affluent runners comprise the majority of startlines at trail races and the Trail Mix Fund suggests that one of the best… Read more »
Trail Runners Got Goat
This is a story for trail runners who seek adventure and high places. It is a story for the ones who climb, no matter the terrain, and seek to find the inner mountain goat waiting inside us all. The herd follows me. I’ve laid claim to this high alpine basin, situated just below a great… Read more »
Build Stronger To Race Longer With Endurance Coach Jason Fitzgerald
Strength training is an increasingly popular cross training method for runners—especially among ultrarunners. Runners seeking to increase race distance (from 26.2 miles all the way up to 250-mile races and beyond!) while also staying durable, improving running efficiency, and reducing injury risk from high-volume running loads have put as much emphasis on hitting the gym… Read more »
2023 US Trail Running Conference Pursuing Sustainable Sport
The eleventh annual US Trail Running Conference presented by Marathon Printing, was held for a second year in a row at the Rosehill Community Center in Mukilteo, WA, on October 18 to 20, 2023, with the support of Snohomish County Sports Commission and American Trail Running Association. The event invited runners, race directors, and brands… Read more »
Tim Tollefson to Headline 2023 US Trail Running Conference
Race directors are busy people. Race directors who are also full-time athletes are the ultimate definition of a Type A Energizer Bunny. Several weeks ago, I was on a phone call with race director and elite trail runner, Tim Tollefson, before his event, The Mammoth Trail Fest. Only minutes into our conversation he had to… Read more »