Trials of Miles for the Legs and Mind It’s not about how many miles you run but about how and why you run those miles that determine the kind of runner (and human) you are becoming. In her first book, The Examined Run: Why Good People Make Better Runners, philosopher, assistant professor at Christopher Newport… Read more »
Janet Ng, President of The International Trail Running Association (ITRA) since 2021, race director, and avid trail runner based in Hong Kong has been a key figure in trail running on both the Asian and international stages. Ng’s varied roles in the sport have allowed her to develop unique perspectives on the growth of the… Read more »
In March 2023, I was chasing fuzzy yellow balls that led me to my first experience of California’s historic Catalina Island. I was on vacation developing my tennis skills with two professional coaches and friends, Dayday and Daytri Kay, based in Long Beach, CA. While there, I caught wind that the forty-sixth edition of California’s… Read more »
On the 75-minute ferry ride from Long Beach Harbor to Catalina Island’s port town of Avalon, I lost my voice as I strained to talk over the roaring engines on the deck of the Catalina Express. I was headed over to the island 26 miles off the shore of Los Angeles with friend and colleague,… Read more »
Some might recognize Coree Woltering, a professional ultrarunner from Ottawa, IL, who graced the cover of the September 2020 edition of UltraRunning Magazine. Others may be most familiar with Woltering clad in his iconic Speedo that he wore during several of his top race performances, including his win at the 2016 Tunnel Hill 50 Mile,… Read more »
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 »
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 »
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 “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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
“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 (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 »
“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 »
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 »
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 »
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