Alex Cyr in an op-ed for Marathon Handbook:

Runners had to decide which part of this new model sounded most dreadful: lugging a flask for 26 miles and braving potential mid-race lineups just to hydrate; or going full-Sahara and risking dehydration to avoid the awkwardness of carrying water; or accepting that all of it — however virtuous it may appear on Instagram — had next to no impact on the race’s footprint anyway. Yes, the Paris Marathon jeopardized the performance and safety of its runners for negligible, if not symbolic, sustainability gains.

Oh the dreadful horror of having to lug a flask for 26 miles.

Yes, it’s a logistical challenge to try to provide efficient aid stations for thousands of runners compared to the few that trickle in at an trail race, stretched out by the terrain of the course, that I give Alex. But his main argument is that the CO2 saving of going cupless is an environmental rounding error and not worth the effort. Which is just a lazy argument letting everyone off the hook in trying to reshape the way we operate, cause “our individual efforts anyway don’t make a difference”. But it’s exactly this thinking that leads us to not caring about our own actions and those of others. Let’s care more. Let’s try new things. Let’s believe that our small efforts can lead to bigger change.

The very orange Gorge Waterfalls races by Daybreak and Freetrail happened this week. I previously mentioned Nike/ACG’s colorful takeover of the event. It’s definitely worth browsing the photos and reels on Instagram to see just how much ACG is committed to the bit. It worked extremely well against the moody PNW waterfalls pics.

Let’s start with the podium of the three different distances (check UltraSignup for the full results):

100K

Women:

1. Lotti Brinks – Boise, ID – 9:06:23 – HOKA
2. Liz Hogan – Salida, CO – 9:58:33 – Nike employee
3. Erin Moyer – Washoe Valley, NV – 10:05:15 – NA

Men:

1. Jeshurun Small – Golden, CO – 8:07:29 – Adidas
2. Drew Holmen – Boulder, CO – 8:22:11 – ACG
3. Rob King – Washington Court House, OH – 8:44:19 – Aravaipa

50K

Women:

1. Jennifer Lichter – Missoula, MT – 4:08:02 – ACG
2. Miao Yao – China – 4:11:46 – ACG
3. Tara Dower – Durango, CO – 4:17:06 – Altra

Men:

1. Koken Ogasawara – Tokyo, Japan – 3:40:25 – ACG
2. Anthony Costales – Salt Lake City, UT – 3:48:19 – ACG
3. David Norris – Steamboat Springs, CO – 3:56:05 – ON

30K:

Women:

1. Lauren Gregory – Nederland, CO – 2:13:37 – ACG
2. Tayler Tuttle – Longmont, CO – 2:15:58 – NA
3. Riley Brady – USA – 2:20:38 – ACG

Men:

1. Mason Coppi – Lakewood, CO – 1:58:34 – NA
2. Liam Meirow – Portland, OR – 1:59:17 – ACG
3. Grant Colligan – Golden, CO – 2:03:48 – Speedland

The festivities in the Columbia Gorge got slightly interrupted by comments and questions being raised on how some elites, those sponsored by ACG, were given preferential treatment at the starting line. Here’s what I can parse went down:

For the 30K and 50K all runners are being bussed to a logistically challenging trailhead for the starting line. The official race management directive is NO PRIVATE CARS – EVERYONE HAS TO TAKE THE SHUTTLE. As it turned out, the shuttles had challenges to get to the trailhead and upon arrival the ACG runners were already there, had plenty of time to warm up and seemingly took dedicated transportation to get there.

Asked on Instagram by Sean Olson:

Care to address the bus of runners that were given no time to warmup due to driver error? As well as Nike runners being given an unfair advantage by not having to adhere to the race rules for getting to the start?

Freetrail responds:

We made the decision to balance the late bus arrival with a 15 minute delayed start. We do our best to be flexible given the complexities of the event logistics, while also accounting for the time of everyone involved in the event. Nike ACG is presenting sponsor of our event and our agreement allows for their access to the start line.

That busses arrive late is a logistical challenge, that on one side isn’t new for this race, but shit does happen and I am not gonna rake them over the coals for this one. (Although it’s worth nothing that if this would happen at a UTMB race they’d get heat for it. And if local races aim to play on the worlds’ stage they need to get these things sorted out, just like the big guys.) But the last sentence in the comment from Freetrail is the rub here.

Nike ACG is presenting sponsor of our event and our agreement allows for their access to the start line.

If anyone is receiving preferential treatment – especially one they are contractually committed to – it probably should be known to the other runners. Especially if elites are competing for a prize purse that’s been furnished by the same sponsor who’s aiming to give its athlete a leg up. In the grand scheme of things I don’t think this is a HUGE deal, but in a sport that prides itself with giving everyone equal access to to the same starting line this can been seen as a potential ominous sign – especially since it’s not out in the open. This is the side of increased professionalism we don’t want to see in trail running.

In other sports home field advantages are well documented and can be a real boost to the receiving athletes. But in team sports this is supposed to balance itself out by teams competing at home and on the road in equal measures. Mostly that advantage is supposed to come from fans in the stands and not written into the contract unbeknownst to the competing athletes.

Nike/ACG is making a big splash currently in our sport, and with that they are an easy target. They gotta WANT to get things right – especially given the amount of money they are throwing around – as this has the potential to distort realities very quickly.

Addendum:

Above, for the podiums I added the brand sponsors for each of the athletes (Information taken from Freetrail’s Fantasy tracker and Instagram). Daybreak/Freetrail announced a prize purse for Gorge of $75,000 combined. This was the breakdown:

• 100K: $15,000 for 1st Place; $7,000 for 2nd Place; $4,000 for 3rd Place
• 50K: $5,000 for 1st Place; $2,000 for 2nd Place; $1,000 for 3rd Place
• 30K: $2,000 for 1st Place; $1,000 for 2nd Place; $500 for 3rd Place

In total (if I include Nike employee Liz Hogan, who’s not an elite runner but came in 2nd in the 100K women’s race) Nike/ACG runners walked away from this weekend with a combined $31,500 or 42% of the total purse. Not a bad haul.

The Mountaineers shares the news:

We are deeply saddened to share the passing of legendary mountaineer, author, and lifelong Mountaineers member Jim Whittaker. Jim passed away peacefully at his home in Port Townsend on April 7, 2026, with his wife Dianne and other family members at his side. ‘Big Jim’ was 97. 

Jim was a beloved legend among mountaineers worldwide and one of the most influential climbers in American history.
…
 In 1963, Jim became the first American to summit Mount Everest, reaching the top alongside his Sherpa partner, Nawang Gombu. A parade was thrown in his honor in Seattle, and Jim was awarded the Hubbard Medal by President John Kennedy. 

REI press release:

For REI, Jim’s legacy is at our very core. Hired in 1955 by REI Co-op co-founder Lloyd Anderson as our first full-time paid employee, Jim was an early leader and went on to serve as the second CEO from 1971 to 1979.

I met Jim many years ago in Seattle at an event with fellow mountaineer Reinhold Messner. Back then I had no idea how truly influential he was for the Washington outdoor industry and way beyond that. Truly a remarkable person. What an inspirational life he lived.

Desert RATS by UTMB in Fruita, Colorado kicked off UTMB racing in the US for this year.

Find all UTMB coverage on my dedicated UTMB page here.

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

100K – 102K (100K – 3 Stones) – Full Results

Women:

1. Heather JACKSON – USA – 09:45:12
2. Tay CAVETT – USA – 09:52:04
3. Corinne SHALVOY – USA – 10:20:24

Men:

1. Spencer SHELLBERG – USA – 08:19:29
2. Michael MITCHELL – USA – 09:21:20
3. Cody COOK – USA – 09:24:25

50K – 49K (50K – 2 Stones) – Full Results

Women:

1. Sarah CARTER – USA – 04:09:45
2. Claudia TREMPS – ESP – 04:09:57
3. Sydney PETERSEN – USA – 04:15:22

Men:

1. Taylor STACK – USA – 03:39:41
2. Justin GRUNEWALD – USA – 03:44:25
3. Preston CATES – USA – 00:22:42

21K – 20K (20K – 1 Stone) – Full Results

Women:

1. Janelle LINCKS – USA – 01:36:48
2. Mira RAI – NEP – 01:46:14
3. Chloe RYLANCE – GBR – 01:46:31

Men:

1. Whit BLAIR – USA – 01:23:05
2. Marty ANDRIE – USA – 01:27:30
3. Brian GLASSEY – USA – 01:27:42

Below are the numbers broken down by distance and gender:

• 100K Starters: 280. DNF: 46 + Finishers: 234. Women 50 (21%), Men 184 (79%).
• 50K Starters: 446. DNF: 24 + Finishers: 422. Women 142 (34%), Men 280 (66%).
• 21K Starters: 547. DNF: 4 + Finishers: 543. Women 276 (51%), Men 83 (49%).
• 10K Starters: 241. DNF: 0 + Finishers: 241. Women 158 (66%), Men 445 (34%).

Desert RATS by UTMB saw a total 1,514 starters (increase of 18% over last year) and 1,440 finishers. 626 (43%) women and 814 (57%) men – that’s almost gender parity in the 4 distances combined! – reached the finish line and earned collectively 2,089 UTMB Stones.

Next up, on 23-26 April 2026 we’ll head to France for the Grand Raid Ventoux and to California for the final WSER Golden Ticket race for 2026 The Canyons Endurance Runs.

Istria 100 by UTMB in the Republic of Croatia is one of the biggest early season races in Europe and one of the biggest trail events in Eastern Europe period.

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

168K (100M – 4 Stones) – Full Results

Women:

1. Marina OANA – Romania – 21:36:12
2. Martina KLANCNIK POTRČ – Slovenia – 22:07:08
3. Hana VÁCHOVÁ – Czech Republic – 23:05:58

Men:

1. Bartosz GORCZYCA – Poland – 17:56:25
2. Juuso SIMPANEN – Finland – 19:05:50
3. Piotr UZNANSKI – Poland – 20:20:43

110K (100K – 3 Stones) – Full Results

Women:

1. Anna-Stiina ERKKILÄ – Finland – 11:05:40
2. Beliana HILBERT – Germany – 11:56:52
3. Enrica DEMATTEIS – Italy – 12:00:40

Men:

1. Patrik MILATA – Slovakia – 09:27:19
2. Gionata COGLIATI – Italy – 09:49:44
3. Alexandros KARYKAS – Greece – 10:37:38

69K (50K – 2 Stones) – Full Results

Women:

1. Rosanna BUCHAUER – Geramny – 06:00:15
2. Mirjam NIEDERBERGER – Switzerland – 06:23:19
3. Miria MEINHEIT – Germany – 06:32:51

Men:

1. Gianluca GHIANO – Italy – 05:39:08
2. Suman KULUNG – Nepal – 05:40:17
3. Martin HALASZ – Slovakia – 05:44:03

42K (50K – 2 Stones) – Full Results

Women:

1. Camilla MAGLIANO – Italy – 03:21:44
2. Emily SCHMITZ – USA – 03:49:44
3. Camilla RIZZARDI – Italy – 03:56:34

Men:

1. Roberto DELORENZI – Switzerland – 02:50:48
2. Lorenzo BELTRAMI – Italy – 02:51:57
3. Roger COMELLAS ESPELT – Spain – 03:10:22

21K (20K – 1 Stone) – Full Results

Women:

1. Vivien BONZI – Italy – 01:23:10
2. Adéla HAITLOVÁ – Czech Republic – 01:30:19
3. Viktoria SCHMIDHUBER – Austria – 01:36:42

Men:

1. Isacco COSTA – Italy – 01:08:25
2. Jacopo TURRA – Italy – 01:16:28
3. Michael ZAGATO – Italy – 01:20:50

Below are the numbers broken down by distance and gender:

• 168K Starters: 374. DNF: 118 + Finishers: 256. Women 33 (13%), Men 223 (87%).
• 110K Starters: 472. DNF: 58 + Finishers: 414. Women 83 (20%), Men 331 (80%).
• 69K Starters: 633. DNF: 55 + Finishers: 578. Women 208 (36%), Men 370 (64%).
• 42K Starters: 682. DNF: 29 + Finishers: 653. Women 208 (32%), Men 445 (68%).
• 21K Starters: 417. DNF: 5 + Finishers: 412. Women 199 (48%), Men 213 (52%).

Istria 100 by UTMB saw a total 2,578 starters and 2,313 finishers. 731 (32%) women and 1,582 (68%) men reached the finish line and earned collectively 5,140 UTMB Stones.

Next up, on 23-26 April 2026 we’ll head to France for the Grand Raid Ventoux and to California for the final WSER Golden Ticket race for 2026 The Canyons Endurance Runs.

Calamorro Skyrace 2026 Results in the Andalusia region of Spain is the fourth spot of the Skyrunner World Series. Watch the highlight video.

Find all Skyrunning coverage on my dedicated page.

Here are the current rankings and below are your top podium finishers:

Calamorro Skyrace – 30KM +2,200 m

Women:

1. Sara Alonso – Spain – 3:25:42
2. Jane Maus – USA – 3:33:55
3. Shangave Balendran – Norway – 3:36:48
4. Elena Karanfiloska – North Macedonia – 3:37:19
5. Patricia Pineda – Spain – 3:40:09

Men:

1. Manuel Merillas – Spain – 2:51:13
2. Frederic Tranchand – France – 2:51:37
3. Tom Spencer – Great Britain – 2:52:37
4. Marcos Villamuera – Spain – 2:54:13
5. Mattia Tanara – Italy – 2:57:57

Next up, we’re heading to Asia for the first time this season for the Penang Skyrace in Malaysia on 26th April 2026.

Ultra-Trail Mogan took the UTMB World Series to Deqing, China for the first time. Situated just inland from the coastal region of Shanghai this event drew an almost entirely Chinese podium.

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

DMG (100M – 4 Stones) – Full Results

Women:

1. Aili WANG – China – 16:54:53
2. Anna LI – China – 16:54:54
3. Liping Wang – China – 17:06:15

Men:

1. Xingzhi BAI – China – 14:55:32
2. Hualing CHEN – China – 15:28:42
3. Weiqiang ZHANG – China – 15:28:42

CMG (100K – 3 Stones) – Full Results

Women:

1. Shikanova Varvara – Individual Neutral Athlete – 09:52:17
2. Wenli JIANG – China – 10:51:33
3. Guoping ZHAO – China – 13:03:00

Men:

1. Yong YANG – China – 08:48:37
2. Peng TIAN – China – 09:12:50
3. 3. Fujun HE – China – 09:47:48

MMG (50K – 2 Stones) – Full Results

Women:

1. Yan LEI – China – 05:03:49
2. Bingling ZHENG – China – 05:04:04
3. Meiling XU – China – 05:13:01

Men:

1. Tao LUO – China – 04:13:48
2. Ji DUO – China – 04:23:03
3. Tao YANG – China – 04:30:44

EMG (20K – 1 Stone) – Full Results

Women:

1. Linlin YANG – CHN – 02:32:03
2. Wenwen LI – CHN – 02:40:11
3. Weiling YANG – CHN – 02:44:26

Men:

1. Guangfu MENG – CHN – 01:53:43
2. Zhengqiang XIONG – CHN – 01:54:33
3. Chaohai QI – CHN – 01:56:12

Below are the numbers broken down by distance and gender:

• DMG Starters: 757. DNF: 386 + Finishers: 371. Women 74 (20%), Men 297 (80%).
• CMG Starters: 1,056. DNF: 378 + Finishers: 678. Women 139 (21%), Men 539 (79%).
• MMG Starters: 1,945. DNF: 22 + Finishers: 1,320. Women 494 (32%), Men 826 (63%).
• EMG Starters: 1,342. DNF: 22 + Finishers: 1,320. Women 494 (37%), Men 826 (63%).

Ultra-Trail Mogan by UTMB saw a total 5,100 starters and 4,039 finishers. 1,177 (29%) women and 2862 (71%) men reached the finish line and earned collectively 8178 UTMB Stones.

Next up, on 23-26 April 2026 we’ll head to France for the Grand Raid Ventoux and to California for the final WSER Golden Ticket race for 2026 The Canyons Endurance Runs.

This weekend are the historic Gorge Waterfalls trail races along the Columbia River in Oregon. The event was previously managed by Rainshadow Running and has a long history – in fact if I remember the tour element of the Trail Running Film Festival had its event alongside the Gorge races way back in the days – before my time. But, either way, Daybreak Racing is co-owning the event now with Freetrail, and this year Nike ACG stepped up as sponsor of the event. Following the various IG accounts of Freetrail, ACG and of course hype man Dylan Bowman one can get a good sense – even from afar – of how ACG is taking the marketing around trail races to a new level. The amount of money that’s been spend to plaster the orange ACG logos on everything is truly breathtaking. We’ve seen the orange train at this year’s Winter Olympics, but this was THE OLYMPICS. This here, is “just” a trail race. And one of several high profile ones happening around the world this weekend. Maybe it’s because the Gorge races are close to my home, or maybe it’s just that this event has their own media partner built into the event that it feels different. Maybe it’s just the eye-catching orange, after years and years of Hoka blue everywhere that seems to be cutting through, but to me, from afar – again I don’t have reports from folks on the ground – this feels different, fresh, orange. One to follow along this weekend for sure, even without a livestream.

If this is a taste of what’s to come for Broken Arrow, which is also sponsored by ACG this year, we can look forward to Nike having painted the gondola in the Olympic Valley orange.

Side note: how will competing brands respond to this almost excessive marketing spend by Nike here? Will be fascinating to see what Western States and UTMB will look like this summer.

I know everything is on fire right now and it’s hard to keep track on what is the biggest pile of shit but this one has the potential to have massive implications for trail runners and is worth keeping a close eye on.

Here’s the official announcement from the National Forest Service:

As part of the USDA reorganization plan, the Forest Service is realigning its organizational structure to strengthen local leadership, streamline operations, and improve mission delivery. The changes include moving headquarters to Salt Lake City, transitioning to a state-based leadership model, building a network of Operations Service Centers, and unifying the agency’s research program.

People who know more than me, folks at Patagonia have this to say about it:

Moving the USFS to Utah will gut the agency. By shutting down its research stations, culling its staff, and moving the headquarters to Salt Lake City, it will be surprising if USFS can effectively manage anything at all.

The only beneficiaries of the move and other rollbacks to public land policy from this past year are billionaires and extractive industries.

Runners for Public Lands has a good summary of what this all means for trail runners:

For runners, this is not happening in isolation. It comes alongside USDA’s final rule on how it implements the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when conducting environmental reviews of projects on Forest Service and other lands, the proposed rescission of the 25-year-old Roadless Rule, and a push to significantly expand timber production across national forests. Together, these moves suggest a Forest Service less focused on stewardship, recreation, science, and public participation—and one more focused on speed, shorter (and less robust) environmental review, and resource extraction.

The website SaveUSFS.org puts it this way:

Trump just ordered the most devastating dismantling of the US Forest Service in 121 years. The outdoor brands that built their entire business on public lands haven’t said a word. It’s time to change that.

It’s just all so exhausting, and this is exactly the goal. But this one could have a huge impact for our sport and it behooves us to watch the development around it closely.

German website ‘Trail Running World’ (which up unto this week I hadn’t heard of) has an interesting interview with head of ITRA Janet Ng (quotes are auto-translated, as always). If you don’t have a translation tool it’s still worth clicking through and checking to the screenshot graphics, they are in English.

A few things that stick out:

• ITRA membership is the lowest in North America compared to all other regions. –> Americans really don’t want to be part of larger global organizations.
• Germany has the fifth largest membership, even though their overall runner numbers are nowhere near the top. –> Germans love being part of organizations.

And on the opening question by Egon Theiner if the trail running world actually needs ITRA Janet responds:

In a nutshell: Yes, the scene needs ITRA. At a time when trail running is evolving and becoming more commercialized, it is essential to have an independent authority that protects the core values of the sport and ensures a balanced development. The role of ITRA is to serve and represent the sport as a whole, on behalf of runners and organizers worldwide. As a non-profit organization, we can set priorities that are in the best interests of the sport, and not just what is most commercially attractive.

There is also a fundamental structural difference between ITRA and private actors. ITRA operates through democratic governance: Elections are held every four years, members can run, present their vision and actively shape the future of sport.

Private organizations pursue other goals by definition and are primarily responsible to their shareholders. Thus, in summary: with the growth of sport, transparency and the avoidance of real or perceived conflicts of interest become increasingly important. ITRA plays a key role in ensuring this balance.

In general I agree with the notion that it’s a net positive for our sport that ITRA exists, but the organization still have a massive challenge on their plate to try to justify their existence. Their “brand” needs something that makes them relevant, currently almost every one of their offerings is also covered in some way by another entity.

In a new-to-me blog titled ‘The Ultra Trail Ledger‘ author Sam King takes a swing at the popular Squamish 50 event from Coast Mountain Trail Series. Of the 14 articles posted six mention the for-profit business aspect of the Squamish 50 event.

Seems like someone has an axe to grind? Not sure I understand the single focus on one event and business entity.

The point I am gathering from reading his posts can be summarized in: ‘nonprofit event management organizations’ are good ‘for profit businesses’ are bad. It’s a lot of words published to make that one point. Am I missing something here?

New book by ‘blogger’ Raziq Rauf:

This is Running is a celebration of the world of running, exploring everything you’d need to know about the sport and the rich culture that surrounds it.

Raziq has been making the media tour and I’ve heard him talk about this book now several times, excited for this one to hit the streets. Get your copy at Amazon or better yet at your favorite indie bookshop.

Over the last few years trail running lead the charge and we’d seen a solid effort being made to include nonbinary podiums and prize purses at big events like Broken Arrow and other high profile races. This was largely a positive development and one driven from the US trail running scene. Euro-centric UTMB for example never showed signs to add this option. Now with the IOC drawing a (very shortsighted line in the sand) and ACG funding some of the largest prize purses I wonder if we see the this progress stalling out. As of today Broken Arrow has not announced their solution for a nonbinary podium. Gorge Waterfalls also only has a prize purse for men and women. Black Canyon Ultras only cashed out their crowdfunded ‘Race Purse‘ for the top men and women.

This is not a criticism toward the race directors, but an observation of a larger trend. At my LBA race this March I had zero nonbinary runners at the starting line. Several nonbinary athletes ran in 2025.

For 2026:

• Broken Arrow 23k lists 1078 runners and 12 (1.1%) of those self-selected nonbinary as their gender.
• Gorge Waterfalls 50K lists 458 runners and (1%) of those self-selected nonbinary as their gender.
• Black Canyon 50K had only 1 non-binary finisher out of 850.

These numbers aren’t meant to discourage the efforts of diversity advocates, quite the opposite. This is meant as an open question and reminder for us to continue to do right for all runners and participants of our sport. As trail running more and more professionalizes it behooves us to remember what makes us special and fight for inclusion for everyone.

Back in January I shared Kilian’s post titled “Trail Running 2026, where are we, where are we going.” and added the following note: “I largely agree with him and see similar trends and issue emerge.” The one point he made I sort of overlooked but is often being quoted is this one:

3. The Death of technical races?

The general consensus is that as races get longer and more professional, and as UTMB is taking over the attention of the elites, events get “tamer”, easier to control and manage, and safer.

I wonder though if this is the right perspective. Are events really getting tamer, or are athletes, including Kilian just choosing the more popular races, which have always been “easier”?

There was a time when Kilian himself raced skyraces and selected events all over the world that he decided were “fun” and “unique”. Nowadays his race calendar rarely includes events off the beaten path and he replaced it with his own FKT mountaineering projects. When he does race, he runs WSER, UTMB and Zegama. I wonder though if these races do actually still exist. Elite runners just only pick the events that have media attention, sponsorship dollars, and the opportunity to present their brand attached to it?

I can’t believe I am sharing here a link to anything golf related, I can’t stand golf. But in our continued conversation around how to position ultra distance trail races to broadcast partners due to their challenging nature to fit into tight broadcasting schedules I thought it would be worth sharing the 2026 Masters Tournament timetable. Again, you can argue that comparing golf to trail running is sort of like comparing apples to oranges, but comparing ultra running to any other sport is sort of just that.

The full schedule is from Monday April 6 – Sunday April 12. Various channels and outlets and apps broadcast various elements on TV and online but all in all for the week there’s so much going on. For one tournament, for a handful of players, incredible.

Abbreviated schedule:

• Monday, April 6: Noon – 7pm (7hrs)
• Tuesday, April 7: 9am – 9pm (12hrs)
• Wednesday, April 8: 9am – 9pm (12hrs)
• Thursday, April 9: 7:30am – 9:30pm (14hrs)
• Friday, April 10: 8:30am – 9:30pm (13hrs)
• Saturday, April 11: 10am – 9pm (11hrs)
• Sunday, April 12: 10am – 9pm (11hrs)

That’s a lot of hours of coverage, a total of 80hrs to be precise.

So clearly there’s a way to broadcast an entire week long sporting event. One that is really just a single tournament, we’re not talking the Olympics with dozens of short events here. Smart programming, a defined schedule. Clear updates on what is what helps.

Broadcasts and livestreams for trail running can get there without sacrificing its format and shortening its courses. It just needs more fine tuning, more creativity, and a few more dollars behind it to build these shows.

Episode 344 with Adam Lee:

Adam Lee stops by Singletrack just a couple of days ahead of hosting his first of several TRFF show in 2026. Adam and his team sold out the Rio in Vancouver, BC and we chat about what his unique approach to hosting and marketing TRFF in his community. Also, Adam’s next race on his calendar: The Fat Dog 120… that’s like almost 200 kilometers!

Links

• Community Trail Running
• Trail Running Film Festival

Wes Allen with a terrific article, alas on LinkedIn, on the current state of the outdoor/outside economy:

I’ve been thinking about this as the difference between the outside economy and the outdoor economy. They sound similar. They’re not.

The outside economy is aesthetic-driven and frequency-light. It’s a vibe-based lifestyle that involves very occasional activity in what many would consider core outdoor pursuits. Vuori joggers at the coffee shop. Blundstones because they look good with jeans. On Running shoes on someone who doesn’t run. These consumers vibe with outdoor culture without participating in outdoor activities with any regularity or technical need. They might occasionally go for a hike, but not often.

The outdoor economy is activity-driven. Forward-moving, muscle-powered pursuits done by people who choose products based on what the activity demands. The customer who walks into a specialty shop because they’re heading into the backcountry next week and can’t afford to buy the wrong thing. These customers keep coming back because the activity keeps sending them back.

Both economies are real. Both are valuable. But they run on completely different money.

Using the terms ‘outdoor’ vs. ‘outside’ to differentiate brands stocked at outdoor retailers is a fantastic way to explain and make sense of the current market challenges many of our favorite brands are experiencing. But here’s the reality they’ve been operating in over the last few years:

A Better Sweater fleece sold to someone who wears it to a brewery isn’t an outdoor sale. It’s an outside sale made through an outdoor channel. Patagonia counted it as outdoor. 

And now heritage brands: Patagonia, etc. are feeling the competition:

Heritage outdoor brands competing for the same consumer are bringing a $600 Gore-Tex jacket to a $90 jogger fight.

If you know your lane you might still do okay:

Vuori knows it’s an outside brand. They distribute through Nordstrom and general retail. They don’t pretend to make technical gear. They’re crushing it. Arc’teryx knows it’s an outdoor brand. They maintain technical focus and premium positioning. They’re also crushing it. The brands that are failing – or about to fail – are the ones stuck in the middle.

And all these challenges are enlarged by the challenging (to put it mildly) economic climate of tariffs and wars and political leaders who have lost (or never had) their marbles.

The surf industry took 15 years to recover from chasing lifestyle consumers at the expense of core surfers. The bike industry is collapsing right now for the same reason. The outdoor industry is heading down the same path.

That’s probably why so many brands are pivoting to trail running and are trying to serve that market segment – it’s still growing, for now.

For articles like these it’s worth to have a LinkedIn account, but luckily I just checked and it seems you can read it without logging in – it’s worth it, the reading, not the logging in.

“A ultramarathon matching platform” is the tagline of this new (seemingly also vibe-coded) match-making website that allows you to find pacers for your next race:

We do the work of pairing compatible racers and pacers. You hit the ground running, build the partnership and plan for success.

Another new web platform without a byline – who’s behind this project? Another impressive-looking tool that sort of creates more questions than answers – like, how do you trust some rando from the internet to pace you for miles alone through the wilderness?

Ahead of the busy summer in sports lots of policy updates are being announced:

New policy reflects the diversity of all athletes’ journeys to parenthood, whether elite or amateur. After introducing a pioneering pregnancy policy in 2023, UTMB® World Seriesis expanding its commitment to inclusion by evolving its parental support policy. Developed in collaboration with the Pro Trail Runners Association (PTRA), it both addresses the specific needs of elite athletes, and reflects the different forms of parenthood and life journeys for all runners across the UTMB WS circuit.

Stephanie Case, who seems to have her head on right, is excited for this development, so it gets my endorsement as well.

Enrique Alpañés for El País:

The meta-analysis, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, analyzed 2,943 transgender women who had undergone hormone therapy for one to three years. It found no evidence of any physical advantage. There were no observable differences in upper or lower body strength, or in maximum oxygen consumption — a key measure of cardiorespiratory fitness — between trans and cisgender women. In fact, after gender-affirming hormone therapy, transgender and cisgender women showed similar levels of physical fitness across all variables analyzed. Therefore, based on the scientific evidence, Gualano concludes that transgender women “do not pose a threat to women’s sports.”

The IOC has a long history of kowtowing to extreme and dangerous leaders around the world. With the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics looming they saw how the winds were blowing in the host country and made decisions to curry favors in advance.

Trail running isn’t part of the Olympics – yet. And won’t be for LA28. But sporting organizations are often looking at the IOC and their official ruling for guidance to determine their own policies, so this could have some implications for trail running in the near future.