Tenerife, one of the Spanish islands part of the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa played host to one of UTMB’s early season events. The Vertical Night Challenge got canceled due to weather but all other events went off as advertised. Several other races, not listed on the UTMB website were happening focused on folks with disabilities and shorter more family focused events. I love that UTMB is able to partner with these local events and allow the specific flavors and traditions to continue to exist. Here’s how UTMB’s press release talks about this:

Inclusion is one of the fundamental values of Tenerife Bluetrail by UTMB, which is why this 2025 has offered two types of races so that everyone can take part in the experience. The Joëlettes is a race designed for athletes who require technical assistance, and the Challenge, in which around thirty athletes took part, divided into three circuits of 8, 5 and 1 kilometres. In addition, the 5-kilometre Family Race and the Peque Race were held, with twenty participants respectively.

Find more UTMB coverage on my dedicated UTMB page here. For full results visit the UTMB website, below the top runners by race:

110K (100M – 4 Stones)

Women:

1. Estel ROIG FORTIN – Spain – 15:16:32
2. Linda BOLDĀNE – Latvia – 15:58:15
3. Mélanie DELASOIE – Switzerland – 16:30:00

Men:

1. Tom EVANS – Great Britain – 12:32:20
2. Manuel Alexis MARTÍN LORENZO – Spain – 13:18:27
3. Jean-François CAUCHON – Canada – 13:35:35

73K (100K – 3 Stones)

Women:

1. Anna TARASOVA – Neutral – 06:57:37
2. Emily HAWGOOD – Zimbabwe – 07:23:42
3. Beatriz PARRÓN ÁLVAREZ – Spain – 07:49:47

Men:

1. Andrzej WITEK – Poland – 05:55:36
2. Miguel HERAS – Spain – 06:14:12
3. Baptiste PETITJEAN – France – 06:16:17

47K (50K – 2 Stones)

Women:

1. Inés ASTRAIN – Spain – 04:24:01
2. Julia FONT GOMEZ – Spain – 04:29:23
3. Gemma ARENAS – Spain – 04:31:56

Men:

1. Marcin KUBICA – Poland – 03:49:08
2. Yoel DE PAZ BAEZA – Spain – 03:50:35
3. Pablo BAUTISTA ROVIRA – Spain – 03:51:17

24K (20K – 1 Stone)

Women:

1. Toni MCCANN – South Africa – 02:08:45
2. Maria FUENTES – Spain – 02:10:32
3. Katarzyna SOLIŃSKA – Poland – 02:13:58

Men:

1. Alex GARCIA CARRILLO – Spain – 01:54:19
2. Adrian IVARS – Spain – 01:57:31
3. Kamil LEŚNIAK – Poland – 01:57:48

Below are the numbers broken down by distance and gender:

• 110K Starters: 478. DNF: 153 + Finishers: 325. Women 32 (10%), Men 293 (90%).
• 73 Starters: 457. DNF: 30 + Finishers: 427. Women 85 (10%), Men 342 (80%).
• 47 Starters: 735. DNF: 45 + Finishers: 690. Women 164 (24%), Men 526 (76%).
• 24 Starters: 802. DNF: 71 + Finishers: 734. Women 191 (26%), Men 543 (74%).
• 47 Relay 49 teams participated in the event.
• Vertical Night Challenge: Race cancelled due to weather. Bib fees are being refunded.

Tenerife Bluetrail by UTMB saw a total 2,472 starters and 2,176 finishers, not counting the relay racers, the various local events I mentioned above, or the cancelled Night Challenge race. 472 (22%) women and 1,704 (78%) men reached the finish line and earned themselves their respective stones and an UTMB index (or directly punched their ticket to the Finals in Chamonix for 2025).

Next up is another doubleheader with Istria 100 in Croatia on 10-13 April, 2025 and the Desert RATS Trail Running Festival kicking off the UTMB racing in the USA on the 11-13 April 2025.

This week has been all about Trump’s insane, erratic, and nonsensical tariffs, but I wanted to circle back to the issue of DOGE firing, or threatening to fire, or firing and then rehiring public lands staff. Zoë Rom wrote an article for iRunFar a couple of weeks ago highlighting the realities:

…emergent changes to how these public lands are administered may threaten the future of trail running and racing, making advocacy and volunteer efforts increasingly critical to maintaining access for the global trail running community.

The article focuses in large part on trail work – something that’s within our power and something we can do and contribute and help. And while this is all good and even vital in some places, the reality is that without event permits there won’t be any need to clear the trails for races, as none will be happening.

In this conversation folks often have knee-jerk reactions suggesting that maybe having these lands in private hands may be a better solution in the long run (this is the common response in America where government can’t be trusted). And I just laugh in response as golf course owners and mining companies aren’t known to welcome recreation events to their properties – and if they do it would come at exorbitant costs making trail races unaffordable.

On a personal note (or one on behalf of Rock Candy Running):

I had submitted the permit for our Beast of Big Creek races in the Olympic National Forest back in November of 2024. Initially I was told to have a response by December. That took longer, which pushed the decision past the inauguration, and then with Trump in office everything was put on hold. Back in March, after the DOGE layoff announcements I messaged my contacts – who had been temporarily laid off – hoping to get some good news, or rather any update at all. I was told (by the incredibly apologetic and friendly staff!) that permits will be issued in May, leaving me still unsure if my permits would be granted. But I have since gotten word that I will get my recreation permit granted for the upcoming event. So, an event that’s happening in August will not have a signed permit until late May. I will, of course, open registration and announce the event, but this is all on a verbal/email agreement, and does not include an actual permit in hand, which puts the entire operation in potential jeopardy. Not sharing this to slam the NFS staff, as I mentioned above they have responded exemplary, super supportive, and friendly throughout all this. But this is me sharing the realities race directors are facing in trying to navigate these choppy waters of unnecessary knee-jerk decisions by actual jerks-in-charge thinking they have even the slightest clue of what they are doing. “Oh Trump and Musk are business geniuses and know exactly what they are doing…” Fuck, what a joke.

I leave you with the short film ‘Run With Respect‘, commissioned by Brooks and shot on Snoqualmie land:

When we no longer look at the land as something to conquer but instead as something to respect, protect, and learn from, we show respect to Indigenous people and help protect their land for generations to come. Listen to different runners reflect on their learnings from the Snoqualmie Tribe Ancestral Lands Movement and how they connect with the land they run on.

This is the way.

The folks behind the Borderland podcast finally launched their much talked about app:

Wylder is a mobile app that helps runners find their community through shared miles and meaningful connections.

The app allows one to organize group runs and gather their local community. Wylder is focusing on one small slice of what Strava is offering, but has seemingly neglected in recent years.

One side note: there’s another outdoor focused app by the name ‘Wylder‘ in the (Apple and Google) app stores (although only in the UK one). What is it with these Utah guys not knowing how to do a proper online search when picking a name for their projects?

Rickey Gates and friends found a publisher for their Fifty Classic Trails project I previously mentioned on ECC:

We are thrilled to announce that Rizzoli has acquired 50 Classic Trails of America. 
.
This large format, image driven book will explore the beautiful and diverse ecology that the United States has to offer through 2,000 miles of trail across 26 states. We have curated our list of single-day adventures for both inspiration and aspiration and hope that, along the way, readers can learn more about the natural and human histories of these amazing landscapes.

You know of my love for coffee table looks and this one will be a great one, and one that definitely, hopefully will make it into print. Let’s hope that by the time this book is published the lands featured aren’t turned into golf courses, logging sites, and mining pits.

Lots of feature films are being released and new projects are announced, here’s a list of the ones I saw fly through my mentions over the last couple of weeks:

• The Chase Film – a film about the 2024 Cocodona’s men’s race, currently touring the country.
• The Finisher – a film about Jasmin Paris’ Barkeley finish, released on YouTube.
• The King of Moab – a film by and about Max Jolliffe’s 2024 Moab 240.
• “Courtney at Cocodona” – a new film project announced by Freetrail about Courtney Dauwalter’s 2025 Cocodona race.
• Unbreakable 2 – a film project announced by Freetrail and Journeyfilm on the Western States 2025 race.
• The Trail Running Film Festival is still touring the globe. Get your tickets and see it on the big screen!

Trail running and film making have a long history. I spoke with Scott Jurek about this at our Seattle show as he marveled at “how far” trail running films have come with those sweeping drone shots and general increase in quality. And I agreed, the films of TRFFF’25 looked extremely spectacular on that Cinerama screen of the recently renamed SIFF Downtown. But more so than the quality what has made trail running films special is the focus on the story. Trail running films aren’t just about shredding down a mountains by the burliest dudes. It’s about adventure, and humans exposing themselves to the possibility of failure, willing to struggle in order to feel alive, and individuals vulnerably and personally sharing a piece of themselves. In a time when many races have opted to adopt instantaneous livestreams and breathless recording of the action as it happens these stories are a great reminder of what trail running is all about, and I am glad they are not getting kicked to the curb in favor of ESPN-style live reporting.

Teased on Instagram the full team is unveiled on stage at Salomon’s headquarters in Annecy, France. Replay available on Youtube:

Join us as Salomon, the leading mountain sports brand, revolutionizes trail running with the launch of their cutting-edge Athlete Performance Program. Led by renowned sports scientist Aitor Viribay, this program is designed to elevate athlete performance through science-based training, custom gear, and a dedicated team of specialists. Meet the 30 exceptional athletes from around the globe who will be part of this groundbreaking initiative. From seasoned legends to rising stars, these athletes are set to redefine the limits of trail running.

Over the winter with several athletes leaving the Salomon team, there had been some talk about their shifting focus, possibly away from trail running, but this announcement looks very serious and purposeful.

Via official press release:

Innovative women’s running brand, Oiselle, proudly announced today that they are now a woman-owned company. This milestone comes after the brand welcomed new leadership in late 2023 and has since experienced impressive growth and momentum, culminating in a majority investment from long-time proponent and runner, Margo Cramer.

This is a terrific step. What’s unclear from the announcement though is how this affects their partnership with Janji, if at all.

Adrain Koch, German trail runner and college student got picked in the WSER lottery with just a single lottery ticket. Now he’s trying to get to the starting line and needs your help. A GoFundMe is setup to help him pay his way to California. He’s almost there, let’s support him and get this campaign over the finish line and Adrian to California this June.

The UTMB World Series today announces the first new race to their calendar: Puglia by UTMB is the fourth event in Italy and joins Lavaredo, Chianti, and Monterosa Walser Waeg. Puglia will be held in November and is already on the schedule for this year, 2025. From the technical Director Pierdavide Losavio in the press email:

“Our trail through the Regional Natural Park of the Gravine is much more than just a race: it is an immersion into the heart of a wild and unspoiled territory. Under the gentle November sun, between centuries-old olive trees and the hidden treasures of the Gravine, every step is an invitation to savour the untamed beauty of Puglia. Here, effort goes hand in hand with wonder, in a golden light that embraces the landscape. It is an authentic adventure where good weather, nature, and passion come together to create unforgettable memories.”

Exact race distances will be announced shortly with registrations opening in mid-April.

With their full calendar unveiling a few weeks ago I wasn’t sure if they were slowing down in adding new events, as this calendar felt pretty final – for this year at least. Clearly I was wrong.

The ECC UTMB World Series Calendar is updated.

I posted about this effort a few weeks ago when it had first launched and made myself a note in the calendar to check in how the progress of the campaign just before its conclusion.

As it stands right now with less than a day to go there are 98 backers with $9,446 raised, but way shy of the goal of $66,019 to get the project to print. Just 14% was reached.

I’m not here to gloat, but find it fascinating that the Barkley Marathos book a few years ago had no problem getting funding but both the UTMB book last year and the FKT book now – all done using the same crowdfunding mechanism and published by the same publisher – failed to reach its goal. More so, one would think that UTMB and FKTs have a much larger appeal than the seemingly obscure Barkley Marathons book. But, before I draw some possible conclusions I wanted to share some numbers to compare:

• The FKT book ‘Fastest Known Times Records Made to be Broken‘ received 99 backers with $9,597 of the required $66,065 was pledged, or 15% to goal.
• The UTMB book ‘UTMB The Race that Transformed a Sport‘ received 243 backers, $22,091 of the required $71,946 was pledged, or 30% to goal.
• The Barkley Book ‘Finishers‘ received 715 backers, $55,064 of the required $47,964 was pledged, or 114% to goal.

The pledge goals were higher for the two failed campaign, but not significantly in a way that it would’ve made a difference and gotten the project funded.

The pledges or pre-order amounts for each book were about the same:

• FKT: $55 – $120
• UTMB: $60 – $125
• Barkley: $55 – $125

715 people backed the Barkley book, while only 243 the UTMB one, and less than a 100 for the FKT book.

Why was the Barkley one that much more popular? Is it the mystic around the event? The allure of the thing outside our reach? The fabled storylines of the few people who actually finished the event? Does a book lend itself better to celebrate such an “old school” event without livestream? And one that in and of itself uses books as a fundamental element during the race? Was this campaign marketed better? Hit the market at a different time? So many questions and I have no answers. But I truly wish I could own all three of them.

Also via LinkedIn (and auto-translated):

On March 29th, I will set off with my brother-in-law Stéphane Causse — violinist at the Paris Opera and ultra-trailer — for a “slow travel” through Europe, Asia and Oceania. Starting from France, to reach Sydney by crossing Turkey, Central Asia, China and Southeast Asia. No planes (or almost), but trains and buses. We will take the time to let the world pass slowly through the window, to feel the distances, to meet those who live where we pass.

This journey is inspired by the reflection carried out by UTMB Group on the place of travel in our sport, at a time of ecological emergency. Travelling is an invaluable asset, but it’s time to question our habits.

They setup a fun webpage using Polarsteps where you can follow along on their journey: UTMB Slow Path.

Via their LinkedIn profile:

Lately, we had an exciting AI video session with our creative agency stilbezirk testing how AI can help us in creating video content.

The videos of Hannes Namberger running looked awful. My reply to them:

It’s like getting running shoes from TEMU.

I mean look at this stuff… it looks amateurish, cheap and really not great.

Chianti was the first of two UTMB World Series events this past weekend, Valhöll Fin del Mundo in Argentina the other. The Chianti Castles 120K race, a Western States Golden Ticket event had folks talking for weeks. Several elite men found themselves in Italy’s wine country of Tuscany to chase their hope of getting to race Western States this year. Among them Jim (who didn’t need the ticket as previous year’s winner) Walmsley, Kilian (just became a father for the 3rd time) Jornet and Vincent (now we know who he is) Bouillard. They finished in this order and that big exciting race didn’t really happen, but everyone who wanted it got their Golden Tickets. For everyone else, there were a lot of rolling hills, vineyards, and lots and lots of muddy pre-season trails.

• Find more UTMB coverage on ECC’s dedicated UTMB page here.
• For full results visit the UTMB website, below are the top runners by race:

Ultra Trail Chianti Castles 120K (100M – 4 Stones)

Women:

1. Fiona PASCALL – Great Britain – 12:34:59
2. Johanna ANTILA – Finland – 12:53:22
3. Azara GARCIA DE LOS SALMONES – Spain – 13:12:31

Men:

1. Jim WALMSLEY – USA – 09:59:48
2. Kilian JORNET BURGADA – Spain – 10:27:27
3. Vincent BOUILLARD – France – 10:27:57

Chianti Ultra Trail 73K (100K – 3 Stones)

Women:

1. Gemma HILLIER MOSES – Great Britain – 07:02:09
2. Rosanna BUCHAUER – Germany – 07:04:27
3. Emily SCHMITZ – USA – 07:27:58

Men:

1. Germain GRANGIER – France – 06:11:26
2. Davide CHERAZ – Italy – 00:06:13
3. Dimitri MOREL-JEAN – France – 06:18:00

Chianti Marathon Trail 46K (50K – 2 Stones)

Women:

1. Judith WYDER – Switzerland – 03:43:20
2. Ida Amelie ROBSAHM – Norway – 03:51:18
3. Maëlle BEAUVIR – France – 04:00:30

Men:

1. Francesco PUPPI – Italy – 03:16:57
2. Mattia BERTONCINI – Italy – 03:24:09
3. Marcos RAMOS GONZALEZ – Spain – 03:25:45

Chianti Half Trail 20K (20K – 1 Stone)

Women:

1. Sophie MASCHI – Italy – 01:38:27
2. Aleksandra BAZUŁKA – Poland – 01:41:05
3. Axelle VICARI – Italy – 01:42:30

Men:

1. Elhousine ELAZZAOUI – Morocco – 01:16:32
2. Luciano ROTA – Italy – 01:17:14
3. Hannes PERKMANN – Italy – 01:23:12

Below are the numbers broken down by distance and gender:

• Ultra Trail Chianti Castles Starters: 590. DNF: 123 + Finishers: 470. Women 56 (12%), Men 414 (88%).
• ‌Chianti Ultra Trail Starters: 964. DNF: 53 + Finishers: 911. Women 151 (17%), Men 760 (83%).
• Chianti Marathon Trail Starters: 1016. DNF: 99 + Finishers: 918. Women 190 (21%), Men 728 (79%).
• Chianti Half Trail Starters: 922. DNF: 17 + Finishers: 905. Women 316 (35%), Men 589 (65%).
• Chianti Wine Trail Starters: 250. DNF: 0 + Finishers: 250. Women 121 (48%), Men 129 (52%).

All in all Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB saw a total 3,742 starters and 3,454 finishers. 834 (24%) women and 2,620 (76%) men reached the finish line and earned themselves their respective stones and an UTMB index (or directly punched their ticket to the Finals in Chamonix for 2025).

Next up is Tenerife Bluetrail in Spain on March 27-29, 2025.

While all eyes were on Chianti, Italy this weekend another UTMB World Series event went down in Argentina. The Valhöll Fin del Mundo offered six sold out races, all in an incredible remote and beautiful setting.

Find all UTMB coverage on my dedicated UTMB page here.

For full results visit the UTMB website, below the top runners by race:

EPIC 130K (100M – 4 Stones)

Women:

1. Mariana HAMMOND – Argentina – 19:54:14
2. Barbara GASSMANN – Argentina – 21:34:48
3. Leticia DA SILVA SALTORI – Brazil – 21:41:21

Men:

1. Beñat MARMISSOLLE – France – 13:46:46
2. Aleksei TOLSTENKO – Neutral Athlete – 14:21:12
3. Pablo NADALEZ – Argentina – 14:38:29

ADVANCE 85K (100K – 3 Stones)

Women:

1. Anabel OVIEDO ZELARAYÁN – Argentina – 10:14:04
2. Ariane WILHEM – Switzerland – 10:21:39
3. Cristina SANTURINO – Spain – 11:04:01

Men:

1. Alejandro MAYOR – Spain – 08:59:57
2. Gediminas GRINIUS – Lithuania – 09:16:36
3. Jason SCHLARB – USA – 09:36:53

CHALLENGE 50K (50K – 2 Stones)

Women:

1. Alison MCPHERSON – Canada – 05:58:55
2. Maria Jose SAAVEDRA CALDERON – Chile – 06:11:18
3. Noelia Lucia FANTIN – Argentina – 06:11:23

Men:

1. Antonio MARTÍNEZ PÉREZ – Spain – 04:46:36
2. Joaquin NARVAEZ – Argentina – 04:56:24
3. Nicolas Ignacio BENAVIDES – Chile – 05:04:05

COURAGE 32K (20K – 1 Stone)

Women:

1. Erica SOLLA – Argentina – 03:57:39
2. Ana María PINEDA – Colombia – 04:03:18
3. Brenda Antonella TAPIA – Argentina – 04:05:31

Men:

1. Marcelo DEL COLLADO – Argentina – 03:16:53
2. Braian MONTES VIEIRA – Argentina – 03:19:18
3. Gustavo BUITRAGO ARÉVALO – Colombia – 03:21:18

POWER 22K (20K – 1 Stone)

Women:

1. Amelie LANE – Great Britain – 02:17:08
2. Paula NAZAL LABRIN – Chile – 02:25:03
3. Beatriz PINTOS – Argentina – 02:53:30

Men:

1. Diego Ramon SIMON – Argentina – 02:12:40
2. Victor PEREZ – Chile – 02:13:37
3. Amelie LANE – Great Britain – 02:17:08

Total numbers broken down by distance and gender:

• EPIC 130K Starters: 164. DNF: 42 + Finishers: 121. Women 16 (13%), Men 105 (87%).
• ADVANCE 85K Starters: 270. DNF: 14 + Finishers: 255. Women 44 (17%), Men 211 (83%).
• CHALLENGE 50K Starters: 553. DNF: 38 + Finishers: 516. Women 147 (28%), Men 369 (72%).
• COURAGE 32K Starters: 551. DNF: 18 + Finishers: 534. Women 241 (45%), Men 292 (55%).
• POWER 22K Starters: 480. DNF: 5 + Finishers: 475. Women 261 (55%), Men 208 (45%).
• EXPLORE 12K Starters: 246. DNF: 1 + Finishers: 245. Women 154 (63%), Men 91 (37%).

Valhöll by UTMB saw 2,264 starters and 2,146 finishers. And while these overall numbers seem respectable, compared to last year’s event this is over a 1/3 drop in participation (2024: 3,535 starters). The event overall had another respectable gender split, with the shorter distances having a higher percentage of women at the starting line making up for the less ideal representation at the longer races. In total 863 (40%) women and 1,276 (60%) men reached the finish line and earned themselves their respective stones and an UTMB index (or directly punched their ticket to the Finals in Chamonix for 2025).

Next up is Tenerife Bluetrail in Spain on March 27-29, 2025.

Komoot was Germany’s most popular trail and mapping service. And it was just acquired by Bending Spoons, Italian “app-acquirer”. Ray Maker with the pessimistic (realistic) view:

Komoot Acquired: History Says This Won’t End Well

Bending Spoons owns WeTransfer and I enjoy using the product, so maybe I am not as pessimistic as if Komoot would’ve been acquired by a Silicon Valley private equity firm, but in all reality the writing is on the wall:

In all of these cases [previous acquisitions], Bending Spoons has simply taken companies that are generally software-as-a-service/platform-based, and then pulled the website into their existing IT infrastructure and laid almost everyone off.

Fantastic move, bosses, fantastic move. According to the comments, not even the employees knew about these negotiations… and you wonder why people start talking about guillotines again?

Seemingly inspired by the success of Mountain Gazette another American outdoor magazine gets resurrected and published as a ‘high quality – in print only’ magazine subscription. I am, for obvious reasons connection Summit Journal to Mountain Gazette here, but I don’t mean this in a ‘copy cat’ fashion. This is brilliant and I want more of it. Especially in the light of Outside magazine turning itself into the complete laughing stock of the outdoor journalism world, it’s great to see people taking chances on new-old ideas.

And man, I love that Summit Journal logo.

PS: Back when Summit was sort of defunct I published under The Outdoor Society brand (also now defunct) an annual book called “The Summit Book”. We published two editions, one for 2016 and one the 2019. These books were self-published, had tons of typos, and overall weren’t amazing, but man, was it a thrill to put this together. One of the highlights of my graphic design career.

UltraSignup is diving deeper into the media space with a second podcast offering. After the ‘The Trailhead Podcast’ they are launching ‘The Buzz with Buzz Burrell‘. So Buzz gets a second show with a different angle. The ‘A New Voice in Trail and Ultrarunning’ is a bit cheeky, since Buzz’s voice isn’t really new, but here’s what they are aiming for:

This isn’t just race results and training advice—it’s about the soul of the sport. It’s about the thinkers, the historians, the innovators—the people who have shaped trail and ultrarunning in ways that go beyond podiums and splits. 

….

As trail and ultrarunning continue to grow, The Buzz is here to make sure the conversations that matter don’t get drowned out. So whether you’re a veteran ultrarunner or training for your first trail race, tune in, you might just hear something that changes the way you see the sport. 

We are promised unfiltered conversations, and I am curious if they can deliver. Will be fun to tune in and see. Launch date is March 25th.

A new magazine, or probably rather an ‘experience’ by the creators of The Speed Project:

Discover how the run turns life’s chaos into fuel for growth as this latest issue (scheduled to update on a yearly cadence in March) brings 194 pages worth of visceral raw content, grounded in the theme of unrest and surrounding the run & and it’s sphere of influence. 

If you look at the kind of magazines that are out on the market you can immediately tell that this one’s gonna be different. There are others (as I’ve recently learned) that fit that cool niche. Will be interesting to see how this one is going to present the so basic ‘act of putting one foot in front of the other’.

The grueling and fabled race is happening right now at Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee.

• If you want to follow along here’s the definitive spreadsheet put together by Taka.
• And Keith Dunn has now *finally* moved from X/Twitter to Bluesky.
• There’s also a hashtag folks can follow.

Currently folks are out on their first loop and us, sitting at our screens back home don’t even know yet who all the runners are out on course. What an event.

Her words, not mine.

On the latest ‘Rest Day’ episode of Freetrail Corinne Malcolm points out that at the upcoming Golden Ticket races – and last chance to snag one of these coveted tickets – the Canyon Endurance Runs 100K is already sold out. And well, her point is that race directors should/need, to always hold bibs back for anyone (anyone elite enough) wanting to jump in last minute, to chase a Golden Ticket.

I guess I am… ‘ignorant’ might be the word here? But I don’t understand why pro runners can’t register early? Sure, if they fail to get a ticket at one race, they might want another chance later in the “Golden Ticket season”, and pre-registering for several races, just in case, seems costly, but isn’t that sort of part of your elite race calendar planning? Don’t sponsors pay for race entries?

Well, Canyons 100K isn’t really sold out Charity bibs, or ‘UTMB Cares’ entries are still available for that 100K Golden Ticket race, but are $763, ouch.

Maybe it’s a blind sport that UTMB has? At the UMTB Finals, with a larger field, there seems to always be room to “squeeze one more elite runner late in the year onto the entry list”. Or maybe UTMB doesn’t really care to offer this at Canyons, since these entries are for “Golden Ticket chasing”, and that after all is for Western States and not the UTMB Finals. So maybe this expectation should come from the Western States organization, or it should come from sponsors of the Golden Tickets HOKA. But, whatever the reason is here, this seems to something that can be easily solved without requiring big structural changes? But, I am not trying to be snarky here, I don’t understand elite racing, it might just be that “jumping at the last minute into a competitive race” is much bigger thing than I make it out to be.