“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, 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Above: Hayden Hawks at the Western States 100 Endurance Run. Photo by: Peter Maksimow. The injury sideline deserves as much attention as the podium spotlight. Media typically favors the most recent race winners and tends to forget about winners from previous years or talented athletes who would be in the spotlight if it weren’t for… Read more »
Above photo by: Life Time. The Leadville Trail 100, presented by Lifetime, is one of the greatest undertakings in American ultrarunning. From the race course’s natural beauty in the heart of the Rockies to the rich mining history of America’s highest incorporated town of Leadville, CO (situated at 10,200 feet) to the lore of its mythic… Read more »
Almost all trail runners struggle with running-related injuries, yet few have specific strategies for overcoming these injuries in ways that make them stronger runners or leave their injuries gone for good. Injury cycles or repeated injuries caused by rushing recovery or failing to fix the original weaknesses plague even the best trail runners. Although running… Read more »
Above: Photo by: Himalayan Trail Running From April 19 to June 6, 2023 Tayte Pollmann, American Trail Running Association, “Trail Trotter” traveled to the highest mountains in the world, the Himalayas, to discover Nepal’s trail running scene. He had traveled to the country five years prior, and was impressed by the talents of Nepali runners… Read more »
Trail runners have an up close and personal view of rapidly changing and increasingly devastating fire seasons across the United States. As trail runners, it is on trails we recreate and find our happy place. Many trails are drying out and becoming more susceptible to burning. On smoke-filled days, our lungs are screaming, “Please don’t… Read more »
The Hardrock 100, a one-hundred-mile race through the San Juan Mountains of Southern Colorado, has become one of the world’s most sought outraces for ultrarunners. The limited number of participants each year, less than 150, makes the race hype even more intense. With so much demand and so few entries, Hardock has become the ultimate… Read more »
From April 19 to June 6, 2023, Tayte Pollmann, American Trail Running Association, “Trail Trotter” traveled to the highest mountains in the world, the Himalayas, to discover Nepal’s trail running scene. He had traveled to the country five years prior and was impressed by the talents of Nepali runners who moved with ease on some… Read more »
Above: Start of the 2023 U20 Classic Mountain Running Race. Photo: WMTRC 2023. Team USA had many unforgettable moments at the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, held on June 7 to 10, in Innsbruck, Austria. One such moment was had by 2019 World Mountain Running Champion Grayson Murphy who returned to the podium… Read more »
“The downhill is by far my favorite part of Mount Marathon. This is when I’m most in my element. When I’m cruising down a mountain, I feel so powerful, and I’m just smiling just thinking about how fun it will be to run this race again one day.” —Allie Ostrander, 2017 Mount Marathon Champion and… Read more »
Featured photo credit: Rana Bates. Zach Bates, twenty-one-year-old autistic runner from Lakeside, AZ, became the youngest finisher at the 2023 Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. In Bates’ short but successful running career, he has already completed three 100-mile races, a 100-kilometer, 50-mile, and over five 50-kilometer races. Bates pushes his limits on trails and… Read more »
Zach Friedley wakes up with a mission each morning to find his purpose. Friedley, a professional trail runner for On Running, adaptive athlete, founder of the Born To Adapt trail race, and a featured athlete in Born To Run 2, lives far from what most call a normal life. When he’s not traveling the world… Read more »
In the sport of trail running, there is no comparison more accurate than this: Midwest trail runners are like pickle juice. As butter is to bread, salt to pepper, or caffeine to the busy-bee American working population (dreaming of Europe’s extensive paid vacation days), this salty, powerful yet humble elixir is the perfect embodiment of… Read more »
Featured photo by: Joe Viger The Tamalpa Headlands 50K will be back this August! As you prepare your summer racing calendar, consider taking part in this historic West Coast ultra on August 19, 2023. The race started in 1998 but hasn’t been held since 2019 due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The course… Read more »
Jason Hardrath, a full-time elementary gym, and health school teacher and mountain adventurer sponsored by Swiftwick (he somehow has time to be full-time at both), is going to infinity and beyond. Pardon the Pixar Toy Story reference, but his latest project begs the connection as Hardrath completed the first Infinity Loop on Mexico’s Pico de… Read more »
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