Articles by UltraRunning Magazine

We caught up with Jim just as he was wrapping up the first of two workouts. With the Olympic Trials Marathon on the horizon, he’s entering a new training block that includes daily doubles. On this particular day, he elec...

Courtney Dauwalter continues to embrace her journey in the sport of ultrarunning in her usual, humble nature. When we caught up with her, she expressed gratitude for being able to do what she does, and to those who suppo...

On October 15, 2011, 32 runners assembled in my yard in Short Creek, Tennessee. Little did anyone suspect that they had showed up for the first running of a race that was about to go viral. It was our second year out on...

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) will host an exhibition of documentary photographs by artist Larry Gassan entitled, 100 Mile Runners & Dead Man’s Bench.

It’s no surprise, given Brett Farrell’s background in psychology and running, that he’s created a business which not only sells clothing, but promotes a lifestyle that revolves around the beauty of running using films, photography and stories about trail runners from all over the country.

As the intensity of training peaks and races conclude for the season, the allure of sitting down with a good book can’t be denied. Fortunately, there are a number of new ultrarunning-inspired books that will keep even the most exhausted runners entertained and dreaming about a future race. Here are a few of our staff picks from this summer.

This film from Tony Hill captures the magic of the 2019 Silverheels 100-Mile Endurance Run. Running at an average elevation of 11,000 feet with over 17,000 feet of gain, the race is second only to The Hardrock 100, in average elevation across the 100-mile course, and starts and finishes in Fairplay, Colorado.

Merrell’s newly released short film features Anna Frost — elite ultrarunner and Merrell Ambassador — as she navigates a whole new adventure in her life: pregnancy and motherhood.

Each year a few races attract a large number of elite runners. In this analysis, we have examined the races in which those who received votes for Runner of the Year competed. Giving the runners of the year 40 points, the runners-up 39 points, and so on, we have devised a system for determining which races had the most competitive fields.

Courtney Dauwalter is the 2018 Ultra Runner of the Year. Dauwalter had a prodigious year, running 12 ultras and winning nine of them. She showed remarkable range, winning races from 50K to 279 miles. She had major wins at Western States, posting the second fastest women’s time ever, and Japan’s Ultra Trail Mt. Fuji. Perhaps her most talked about race was Big’s Backyard Ultra, a quirky-format event where runners have to complete a 4.1-mile loop every hour to stay in the competition. She did this for 68 consecutive hours before yielding. A star cross-country skier at the University of Denver, Dauwalter lives in Golden, Colorado with her husband Kevin.

Jeff Browning is the second ranked runner in 2018. Browning had an impressively consistent year, winning three 100-milers, placing third at Run Rabbit Run and fifth at Western States. A graphic artist, gear designer and running coach, ”Bronco Billy” lives in Logan, Utah with his wife Jennifer and their three children.

Darcy Piceu is the third ranked woman for 2018. Piceu was undefeated at the 100-mile distance, impressively winning on four significantly different courses – the highly technical HURT 100, the severely mountainous Ronda dels Cims in Andorra, the mountainous but runnable Angeles Crest, and the swift Javelina 100. A psychologist and counselor, the three-time Hardrock champion lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Dylan Bowman is ranked fourth in the Ultra Runner of the Year balloting for 2018. “DBo” had an outstanding year, winning two major international races, Ultra Trail Mt. Fuji in Japan and Tarawera 100K in New Zealand. He also placed a very close second at Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie (TDS), the 119km race in the UTMB series.

Kaytlyn Gerbin is ranked 5th among the women for 2018. She set a course record while winning the Bear 100, was 2nd at Western States and 10th in the World Trail Championships in Spain. Gerbin, who has a PhD in bioengineering, is a scientist at the Allen Institute for Cell Science. She lives in Seattle with her husband, Ely.

Jason Schlarb is the 6th ranked man for 2018. Schlarb had a very busy year, winning Run Rabbit Run 100, Ultra Trail Oman, and the Desert RATS 50K, while placing 2nd at the Eiger Ultra Trail 101K in Switzerland and Mt. Gaoligong 55K in China. When not traipsing around the globe, the former Montana State track athlete lives in Durango, Colorado.

Amanda Basham is the 7th ranked woman for 2018. Basham won the UROC 100K, was 2nd at the Tarawera 100K in New Zealand, and 4th at Western States. Originally from Sweet Home, Oregon, she now lives in North Logan, Utah.

Mark Hammond checks in at number eight in the 2018 voting. The highly consistent Hammond placed third at Western States 100 and second at Run Rabbit Run 100 – both places identical to the previous year. He also finished eighth at Ultra Trail Mt. Fuji in his first international race.

Katie Schide is the ninth ranked runner for 2018. She won two major European races—the Madeira Island Ultra in Portugal, and the MaXi Race International in France. Katie was also second at the Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix (CCC) 101km.

Jared Hazen was voted in at number 10 in the Ultrarunner of the Year balloting. Originally from Titusville, Pennsylvania, Hazen won the JFK 50 in November, posting the second fastest time in the 57-year history of the race despite muddy conditions.

The Trail Running Film Festival has grown to include a nation wide tour that showcases two hours of the top films to inspire and cultivate current and future trail running athletes. Join the tour at any of the 40+ cities through the end of December.

Amy Clark will be the new editor for UltraRunning Magazine beginning with the December/January 2018 issue. Amy is an editor, freelance writer and ultrarunner, and was previously a columnist for ultrarunning.com.

Features The Mental Approach of Elite Endurance Athletes by Tyler W. Baxley Finding Peace in Ultrarunning by Scott Waldrop Summer Running Apparel Review by Donald Buraglio Barkley Marathons by Gary…

Over at UItraRunningGuy.com we recently held a contest called “Top Ten Signs You Are Training (Too) Hard For Your Next Ultra”. There were so many entries that it became the Top 20 because, just like your mileage, ten simply isn’t enough.

LEKI is excited to announce the LEKI Full Ride Scholarship to Timothy Olson’s Run Mindful Retreat taking place in Boulder, CO, June 7-10. The scholarship includes registration fees, air travel, lodging and LEKI Trail Running gear for one deserving trail runner.

Orange Mud and UltraRunning Magazine will be giving away 4 Orange Mud Endurance Packs

VF Corporation, a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories, and ICON Health & Fitness, Inc., a world leader in home, commercial and connected fitness, today announced that they have signed a definitive purchase agreement for the Altra® footwear brand. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Each year a few races attract a large number of elite runners. In this analysis, we have examined the races in which those who received votes for Runner of the Year competed. Giving the runners of the year 40 points, the runners-up 39 points, and so on, we have devised a system for determining which races had the most competitive fields.

On December 7th, 2007, Adam Popp lost his right leg from an IED exploding underneath him while deployed in Afghanistan. In 2015, he found running. Within five months after relearning to run on a prosthetic, Adam ran a half-marathon, in seven months, a marathon, and in nineteen months, a 100-miler.

The AT has a long history of very strong efforts with the men including David Horton ’91, Pete Palmer ’99, Andrew Thompson ’05, Scott Jurek ’15, and Karl Meltzer ’16, all supported. Joe McConaughy bettered them all while going Self-Supported, being 10 hours faster than “Speedgoat” from the previous year.

François D’Haene smashed the previous supported JMT FKT by over 12 hours, running the route northbound, and was the first person to complete the route under 3 days. His approach was unusual in that by choosing to run in mid-October he gave up daylight in exchange for cooler temperatures and easier access to hiking permits for the area. He also had pacers the entire way, probably a first.

Ashley Nordell has the fastest time Overall (Women & Men) on the Ozark Highlands Trail. The previous best was also by a woman, Jenny Foster, 2d 14h 25m (2009). Iker Karrera bested Andrew Hamilton’s time from June on the Nolan’s 14 by 6h, 2m, including significant time spent being lost.

The California Coastal Trail combines wilderness, beach, and urban running/hiking for 1,200 miles along the coast of CA. An OKT (Only Known Time), Larson’s self-supported trip was an adventure in every sense, and was documented by satellite tracking and an evocative, complete report.

Bryan Williams took the Collegiate West option of the Colorado Trail, which is a little longer (83 vs. 78 miles), with more vertical gain and a generally higher altitude, than the Collegiate East route taken by other FKT trips. Nevertheless, he beat Scott Jamie’s 2013 time by over 7 hours.