Trail Runner Product Review: BioLite HeadLamp 200

BioLite HeadLamp 200

Colorado Springs, Colorado-based trail runner Dan Vega reviewed the BioLite HeadLamp 200 headlamp for the American Trail Running Association.  What I love most about the BioLite HeadLamp 200, is that it hugs your head with no movement even when running at fast speeds flying down the mountains at night here in Colorado. The internal battery… Read more »

Our 25th Year Celebrations Kick-off With A Virtual Challenge

Challenge

Coming up in 2021, the non-profit American Trail Running Association (ATRA) will celebrate its 25th anniversary. Founded in Colorado by Nancy Hobbs in 1996 with “Trail Times“, a newsletter and calendar for the emerging sport of trail running, it seems like just yesterday that we got our start in what is now a popular global… Read more »

Race to Benefit Native American Youth Runners Goes Virtual

Native American Runners

Announcement from Kerri Cottle Mwangaza Community Outreach and Education Coordinator and Abraham Kosgei Mwangaza Race Director for the Buffalo Thunder Half and Marathon Relay. Kerri is an avid trail runner and attended the U.S. National Snowshoe Championships this past winter in Leadville, Colorado. Mwangaza Athletics Club is so grateful and humbled for all of the… Read more »

Inside Sarah Hansel New Unsupported Record on Nolan’s 14

Sarah Hansel

Last month, Sarah Hansel set a new women’s unsupported northbound Nolan’s 14 record of 57 hours and 43 minutes across 80+miles and 40,000 feet of vertical gain. Colorado’s Nolan’s 14 is arguably one of the most difficult tests of trail running and mountaineering skills. Learn about the specifics of the challenge in my article Nolan’s… Read more »

Trail Runner Product Review: HOKA ONE ONE Torrent 2

HOKA ONE ONE

HOKA ONE ONE Torrent 2 shoe review by American Trail Running Association (ATRA) advisory board member and Wisconsin trail runner Susan Kendrick. Susan is the Director of Sponsorship for the American Birkebeiner® Ski Foundation and was featured in our View from the Pack series of articles. Shoes provided free of charge by HOKA ONE ONE…. Read more »

A Quick Fix For Trail Runners With IT Band Injuries

IT Band

Tight or painful iliotibial bands (IT bands) are one of the most common trail running-related injuries, but can be resolved within several days or weeks with the right recovery methods. IT band tightness can extend from the hip down to the kneecap and in some cases, can include shooting pains down the outside of the… Read more »

USA Team for the 6-Hour Global Solidarity Run Announced

Global Solidarity Run

The International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU), will stage the Virtual Global Solidarity Run, an event pitting athletes from national federations against one another as they run a 6-hour virtual challenge later this month. In their call to action for this event, the IAU stated, “Athletes need to have some motivation to train and compete during… Read more »

Spartan Trail World Championship Kicks off at Sweden’s Fjällmaraton

Fjällmaraton

The Trail Ultra (100 km) and Trail Run (43 km) categories of Spartan Trail World Championship have their first leaders and lightens the competition for the upcoming challenges. At Fjällmaraton, it was a perfect day for running in Scandinavian Peninsula with proper health and safety measures, and a star-studded elite field. The first stop of… Read more »

Trail Runner Product Review: Swiftwick Pursuit Ultralights

Swiftwick

Swiftwick Pursuit Ultralights sock review by American Trail Running Association (ATRA) advisory board member and Wisconsin trail runner Susan Kendrick. Susan is the Director of Sponsorship for the American Birkebeiner® Ski Foundation and was featured in our View from the Pack series of articles. Socks provided free of charge by ATRA corporate member Swiftwick. The… Read more »

Nolan’s 14: A How To Guide By Brandon Stapanowich

Nolan's 14

In the past two weeks, both the men’s and women’s Fastest Known Time (FKT) records for the historic Nolan’s 14 route in Colorado’s Sawatch mountain range were broken. Fastest Known Times, or FKTs, are times records set on particular routes in the trail running world. [PRO TIP] Now you know what an FKT is; bone… Read more »

Catching up with Coach Andrew Simmons and Health Care Worker Dani Mead

Coach Andrew Simmons

Last Month, Lifelong Endurance and the American Trail Running Association (ATRA) staged a trail runner essay contest where the winner was awarded a free 90-day coaching package. Medical intensive care unit nurse Dani Mead (pictured below) from Aurora, Colorado, was the recipient of the package. In this article, Lifelong Endurance Coach Andrew Simmons catches up… Read more »

Peak Performance Altitude Camp Returns with COVID-19 Modifications

Altitude Camp

I recently attended the Peak Performance Altitude Camp in Keystone, Colorado as an assistant coach. In attendance were 43 middle and high school athletes — including 19 from outside Colorado — who trained on the trails and enjoyed the camp’s many activities. The altitude camp schedule included daily runs on some of the most beautiful… Read more »

Record Numbers at the National High School Trail Championships

Trail Championship

This past Saturday, the 4th annual National High School Trail Championships, held in Salida, Colorado, drew some of the nation’s top high school trail runners and doubled total participant numbers from last year, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The race drew familiar names in youth trail running circles including Colorado standouts Colin Szuch… Read more »

Damian Hall “Plogs” His Way to a 268-mile Pennine Way Record

Damian Hall

Top ultramarathon runner Damian Hall has set a new record time for the 268-mile Pennine Way – while also “plogging” (e.g. cleaning the trail of litter) at the same time. The 44-year-old inov-8 ambassador completed the iconic route from Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders to Edale, Derbyshire, which includes a section along Hadrian’s Wall,… Read more »

Max King Hosts “How to Trail Run” Zoom Workshop

Max King

[Editor’s Note: Scroll down for the full workshop replay on YouTube] Can you really learn something about trail running from a Zoom workshop? You can if the instructor is 2011 World Mountain Running Champion and trail running pro Max King. I tuned into an hour-long Zoom video presentation entitled, “How to Trail Run,” on July… Read more »

New Selection Criteria for 2020 USATF Mountain Running Team

USATF Mountain Running

[Editors UPDATE September 6, 2020 – The World Mountain Running Championships have been cancelled. The USATF MUT Council will not name a team in 2020. Selection criteria for the 2021 World Mountain Running Championships will be announced in December.] The following is the updated selection criteria for the 2020 USATF Mountain Running Team scheduled to… Read more »

Kenosha Running Company Helps Canicross Grow Nationwide

Canicross

Last month, I attended my first-ever canicross training event in Colorado Springs, Colorado to learn about this emerging sport of trail running with dogs. The experience left me wanting to learn more about the sport and what canicross racing and training opportunities exist across the United States. To get answers to my questions, I interviewed… Read more »

Trail Runner’s Race Report: Dodge the Deer 5K

Dodge the Deer

Trail race report written by ATRA contributor Laura Clark (pictured below). Laura is an avid mountain, trail and snowshoe runner who lives in Saratoga Springs, NY, where she is a children’s librarian. The 2020 Dodge the Deer trail race took place on private property with modifications for COVID-19. Photos courtesy of the Albany Running Exchange…. Read more »