As the American Trail Running Association’s (ATRA) designated “Trail Trotter,” I have had many wonderful experiences in 2021 traveling to events and connecting further with people doing amazing things in our trail running community. In spite of ongoing challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic, the trail running community has become closer, stronger and more resilient… Read more »
Race director Megan DeHaan is progressing trail running inclusion and Indigenous rights at The Crazy Mountain 100, which will be held for the first time on July 29, 2022. The Crazy Mountain 100 will be the only 100-mile race in Montana this upcoming year. The point-to-point course takes runners through the remote Crazy Mountain Range… Read more »
Athlete ranking systems are used in nearly every major sport around the world, including Mountain, Ultra, Trail (MUT) Running. Ranking systems are used to analyze and categorize athletes’ performances and rank the top athletes in the sport. In contrast to many other sports, some of the most prominent MUT ranking systems provide rankings for both… Read more »
Joe McConaughy is looking to empower the next generation of ultrarunners. McConaughy, an ultrarunning and fastpacking coach at TheStringBean and accomplished trail runner sponsored by Columbia Montrail, is teaming up with some of the sport’s top coaches to develop a Sub-Elite Trail Running Scholarship program. This scholarship aims to give mentorship and coaching guidance to… Read more »
Nicholas Turco, twenty-three year old trail runner and recent Summa Cum Laude graduate from the University of Colorado Boulder, is following up his senior research project on the sports climate for LGBTQ+ student-athletes in the NCAA with a scholarship program that will increase LGBTQ+ inclusion in college sports. The scholarship, known as The Colorado Athletics… Read more »
This holiday season is a wonderful time to reflect on all that we have to be grateful for as trail runners. We have opportunities to run on beautiful trails in all different environments from forests to deserts and mountains to city parks. We all share a simple connection to the natural world that only requires… Read more »
Trail running contains many stories of perseverance, bravery, and adventure which make it one of the most exciting and scenic sports to watch and follow as a fan. There have been many great achievements in our sport’s history, legendary athletes, and unforgettable races that have shaped trail running into what it is today creating a… Read more »
Earlier this month, World Athletics broadcast “Run Wild— Mountain and Trail Running: Capturing New Frontiers,” a live webinar that included impactful discussions amongst leaders in the Mountain, Ultra and Trail (MUT) running communities. The webinar was hosted by Mass Participation World and moderated by Chris Robb. Speakers included Jonathan Wyatt, 6-time world champion and President… Read more »
The USATF Marathon Trail Championships were hosted by the Moab Trail Marathon in Moab, Utah, on Saturday, November 6, the second to last USATF Championship before the 2021 USATF 100 Mile Trail Championship on December 4. Allie McLaughlin (31 – Colorado Springs, CO) and Adam Peterman (26 – Missoula, MT) defended their National Trail Marathon… Read more »
This past weekend October 30 and 31, the 2021 Spartan Trail US Championships were held in Trail Town Fayetteville, Arkansas in the lush the Ozark National Forest. Since its inception in 2018, Spartan Trail, the dedicated trail running branch of the larger Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) Spartan corporation, has organized many large, high-energy and well-funded… Read more »
Saturday, October 30, the 2021 US Trail Running Conference came to an end in Fayetteville, Arkansas. After three days of activities for event directors, the conference’s annual “Trail Runner Day” included presentations and panel discussions to help trail runners learn more about the sport they love. The day’s first activity was a group trail run… Read more »
Friday October 29th marked the last of three days of race director content at the ninth annual US Trail Running Conference in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The day was focused on “Community and Business” and included engaging presentations, panel discussions, as well as outdoor activities such as the morning group run and electric scooter tour of downtown… Read more »
Thursday, October 28 marked day two of the ninth annual US Trail Running Conference in Fayetteville, AR, with a series of exhibitor presentations and panel discussions for trail race directors. Day two’s focus was on diversity. Several well-known presenters made virtual appearances including legendary mountain runner Pablo Vigil, Coach Morgon Latimore, Jordan Marie Daniel and… Read more »
Yesterday, the ninth annual US Trail Running Conference kicked off for the second year in a row in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with a theme for 2021: “Trail Running as a Restorative Sport.” Attendees included trail running race directors and fans of the sport who enjoyed content in-person or virtually. Taking place at the Fayetteville Town Center,… Read more »
On October 16, Italian Francesco Puppi won the 2021 Golden Trail World Series (GTWS) Grand Final hosted by THE ONE RACE in El Hierro, Canary Islands, Spain. In the lead-up to the Grand Final race, the Golden Trail World Series included six of the world’s most competitive trail races, L’Olla de Nuria (Spain), Mont Blanc… Read more »
“200s” Are NOT About Speed Annie Hughes, up-and-coming ultra running star from Leadville, Colorado, is 120 miles into a 240 mile race across the isolated and harsh desert environment of Moab, Utah. It’s the middle of the night, temperatures are dropping into the forties and she’s fighting off sleep deprivation. She plans to take quick… Read more »
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) consultant Patti Flynn is working to create an inclusive space for the transgender community in trail running. In 2020, Flynn wrote a transgender policy for the TransRockies Run six day stage race. The goal of this policy is to inspire increased participation by transgender runners in the TransRockies Run and… Read more »
Following last weekend’s Mountain Running World Cup stage eleven race, Trofeo Ciolo, in Gagliano del Capo, Italy, the World Cup returns to the United States for the first time since 2019. Stages twelve and thirteen of this global sixteen-stage race series will be held at Friday’s Broken Arrow VK (Vertical Kilometer) and Sunday’s 26 km… Read more »
“Make the impossible possible, the possible easy, the easy elegant.” -Moshé Pinchas Feldenkrais This past Saturday Elevated Retreats Co. hosted their first “Feldenkrais-running retreat” in the scenic mountain town of Salida, Colorado. Feldenkrais is a form of exercise therapy that uses awareness of body movements to improve physical and mental function. This one day event… Read more »
Proper course marking is one of a race director’s most important tasks and is essential for putting on a safe and successful trail race. Trail races can be more challenging to mark than road or cross country events because they are often staged in large parks, forest, or mountainous areas with trail systems with complex… Read more »
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