Völlig Losgelöst von der Erde...
Völlig Losgelöst von der Erde...
By Mathias Eichler
Electric Cable Car is part of Trail Tracks Network.
Brooks Running invites you to a very soecial screening of TRFF'26. Scott Jurek will host the evening. Truckee, CA, Jun 25 - get your tickets.
A friendly – and almost annual – reminder that there are three massive trail running events that are happening in the coming weekends in the Alps. While America’s eyes, and the trail media’s, and mine this year are on Broken Arrow and Western States, Europe is embracing the mountains trails melted out by the early summer sun:
These three events are just a couple hundred miles apart from each other, one in Germany on the Northern side of the Alps, one in Italy on the Southern side, and one in France, on the southeastern side. All three in breathtaking locations – Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Chamonix are all previous host locations of the Winter Olympics. Lavaredo, which I ran last year and is an absolutely incredible event with races in the most beautiful location = the Dolomites but this event will always be in competition for global trail media attention. Garmisch’s Zugspitz is finding itself in the same place now. Chamonix does need no introduction. All three events would be talked about and covered, if they’d happen on a weekend with no competition for attention. All three events are the biggest in their respective countries and regions and proof that while trail running is global sports media is largely regional and limited.
Francesco Puppi is thinking out loud ahead of his 100 mile debut at Western States:
I struggle with the idea that a 100m race may be more of an adventure than a competitive feat.
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I’m not an athlete who does it just for the feeling of adventure, of being in the wild, or for the connection with nature.
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For Western States, I’ve had to lean more into the outdoor side of the sport in order to survive and enjoy my preparation.
What a fascinating perspective, and I am not being snarky here.
For one, we rarely ever get elite athletes giving us a personal brain dump ahead of a big race. Usually they are locked in and might tease us with sharing their training volume or number of gels consumed, but that’s all we get – until after. Secondly, MY understanding has always been that Western States is considered the most “track and cross country” type race there is, so him feeling like this is an outdoor adventure is surprising, especially for an elite runner who’s planning on finishing before nightfall. Usually it’s the US runners, after having raced “California carpet races” who are struggling to adapt to “really mountain races” of the Alps like UTMB. Euro runners struggle to adapt to WSER too, but for different reasons. Francesco has raced – and won – CCC already. Is WSER – for an elite – really that much more “outdoorsy” than CCC?
Episode 348 with Zach Hauer:
Just ahead of “Tahoe Week”, where we’ll meet in person, I chat with Open Fuel co-founder Zach Hauer about marketing an outdoor brand in today’s business and media landscape. We chat about AI, ROI, high carb slushies, plogging and how in the end this all just has to make sense.
The Steep Stuff podcast with my buddy James Lauriello is partnering with the US Skyrunning National Series to provide exclusive media coverage for the 4 race series:
We’re excited to announce our official media partner for the 2026 season of the Merrell Skyrunner® US National Series: @steepstuff_pod Bringing stories, athletes, and the spirit of Skyrunning to the community with host @jameslauriello!
Make sure to catch the lates episode of The Steep Stuff podcast: ‘Inside the 2026 Merrell Skyrunner U.S. National Series‘ with guests Eti Rodriguez (Managing Director, Skyrunner World Series), Ben Stark (Brand Manager, Merrell), and Louis Down (Media and Communications, Skyrunner) for a roundtable on what the new Merrell Skyrunner U.S. National Series is, why the timing finally makes sense, and how this season can grow a real skyrunning fan base in the United States.
Getting excited over here!
Side note: Join us for Beast of Big Creek – we still got a couple of bibs left!
Bram Ribbers writes (auto-translated via my browser):
Sometimes you just need a push. A good book can help, a new shoe sometimes too, but little works as well as a running movie that makes you think afterwards: forward, still a round.
Last week we were at the Brooks Trail Running Film Festival in Maastricht. A few beautiful short trail films were played there, including Becky Bates, Not a Running Story and Dipsea Generations.
Always appreciate the positive press for TRFF. If you’re in Tahoe next week be sure to catch us in Truckee on Thursday evening for an evening hosted by Scott Jurek and presented by Brooks – get your FREE tickets.
Will be on the official Nike Youtube account.
ACG partnered with the Broken Arrow Skyrace to help independent trail races do what they do: bring communities together and convince otherwise sane people to run straight up a mountain.
Will be fun to see what they’ll pull of here. And worth reading the whole summary under the Youtube video block. Nike does have some great writers – each page, for each race Ascent, 23K, 46K has a slightly different version of it. All a great.
This voice, and it’s not swagger, it’s some sort of self-deprecating snark, has been missing in the trail running space. I’m here for it.
On a side note: I just watched an interview with a German national team soccer player and he was asked about his cleats and pronounced Nike like Mike – cause that’s how most Germans think it is pronounced.
Local News King 5 reports:
Trails on Mt. Si are closed while authorities track down a black bear that attacked a group of teenagers Tuesday afternoon.
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State Fish and Wildlife Department officials are currently hunting the bear with guns, according to officials.
Black bear attacks are rare – like they NEVER happen – unless it involves a mama bear protecting their cubs.
… the group of teens accidentally got too close to the bear’s cubs, which prompted the aggressive behavior.
That’ll do. Glad this one ended without more serious consequences.
The Skyrunning Federation on Instagram with the news:
We have received the very sad news that top skyrunner Megan Kimmel has passed away. We’d like to remember her and share some of her amazing successes with you.
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An extraordinary athlete and true skyrunner whose legacy will live on.
And iRunFar with an obituary by Meghan Hicks:
A beloved off-road runner, backcountry skier, hiker, dog mom, entrepreneur, free spirit, family member, and friend, Megan brought joy to the lives of so many. Her loss is felt throughout the world, from those she raced with in the far reaches of the globe to those she shared her home with in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. While most people will know Megan as a world-class runner, she was much more than that.
What a loss for the trail running world. Sending condolences to her family and friends who knew her.
Word on the street is that for 2026 the Broken Arrow Skyrace will have a livestream again, but it’s not contracted with or supported by Mountain Outpost (arguably the most experienced and only real livestream provider in the trail space). But apparently Nike/ACG is providing their own?
I cannot wait to see what this will look like.
And speaking of words on the street… another birdie told me that the Broken Arrow team has asked ACG to tone down the “orange” for the event, and cool it with the heavy-handed branding.
It seems we won’t be getting an orange gondola – I am very sad about that.
Chris Foster – Editorial Director of Endurance, Outside Inc. shares the news:
Trail Runner is now the home of everything from hard-hitting journalism and brutally honest gear reviews to trail-obsessed poems, doodles, and cartoons.
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As the sport expands around us, Trail Runner is rising to meet the moment with an improved version that is bolder, louder, deeper, and weirder than before.
After firing all their longtime writers, smoothing off all their opinionated edges, and unifying all their media properties Outside is here to announce that they will get ‘weird’ again. This has some massive “Zuckerberg on a jet ski” energy and I cannot wait to see how Outside will turn this into action. More memes!
This explains Kilian’s teaser on IG about some form of collab with Eliud in the lead up to WSER. From the app’s ‘story’ page:
At Kotcha, we have an obsession: the science and craft behind elite running. How a season is structured, how effort is rationed across months so the body adapts instead of breaking, how strength work and recovery quietly do as much as the hard sessions, how discipline compounds, day after day, into performance. These are the decisions that separate the best in the world from everyone chasing them.
That’s why Kilian Jornet and Eliud Kipchoge are athlete-founders. The greatest mountain runner and the greatest marathoner of all time sat down to build the product with us, opening up the real logic behind their training: why a given week looks the way it does, when to push and when to hold back, how a plan bends to the runner instead of the other way around. We take that logic, distill it and translate it into a plan that adapts to you: your level, your goal, your life.
These days the word ‘founder’ is stretched into interesting terrain. I don’t believe Kilian and Eliud were just text messaging each other debating in which ones’ garage they should build their first prototypes. They are brought into the project by an experienced team of app builders and marketers with the goal to give the app some celebrity cache. And in lieu of endorsement fees – startups often don’t have that cash laying around – they are being offering equity shares into the company at ground level does earning themselves the title of ‘founder’ – which in turn adds even more credibility to the app.
Is the app any good? Who knows. I’m not the target market for this, maybe DCRainmaker will take it for a spin? Or maybe I will get a chance to chat with the folks behind it at TrailCon? Kotcha seems to certainly be aimed at the folks who are looking for a AI powered training app with celebrity endorsement.
Add this one to the growing bucket of ‘tech entering the trail running space’.
Lastly I’m just gonna note that Kilian is extremely good at using Western States especially to launch and market his products and businesses.
Just announced today:
This face does not belong to just one person.
It is yours: the face of the runners who push their limits every day on the trails, the many volunteers present all along the course, the elite athletes who inspire us and make us dream through their performances, and the supporters who, behind the scenes, make it possible for their loved ones to pursue their passion – our passion: trail running.
There is no single hero here, but a collective portrait made up of many faces, representing all those who bring this adventure to life and allowing everyone to see themselves in it.
And behind all these faces, there is always the mountain. The backdrop to this shared adventure across France, Italy, and Switzerland.
I do appreciate UTMB’s putting the efforts in to create a unique poster each year. It creates a visual representation and allows us to speculate a bit on where ‘their’ head is at.
Here are the versions for previous years: 2025, 2024, and some versions from 2023 and before.
We need a word or tagline to describe this incredible concentration of trail events happening on and around Lake Tahoe in Northern California every June. Is it Cali Week? NorCal Week? Howdy Tahoe? Good Morning ‘Merica? I’m taking suggestions – let me know what you think we should call this annual pilgrimage to Lake Tahoe, Olympic Valley accumulating in a finish on a modest high school track in Auburn, California.
Here’s what’s on the agenda:
*Okay, the last event is just a self-serving promotion for our Film Festival screening – you are welcome and you should come!
UltraSignup’s Trailhead Media calls it Tahoe Week and has a more detailed schedule of events for the entire long week – if you’re coming this one’s worth keeping handy.
I’ll be in town for TrailCon and staying through Western States. Here on Electric Cable Car I’ll try to provide updates and observations, right from the ground – stay tuned for those.
Back in 2024 I connected DT’s Tahoe 200 to the rest of the festivities. Some might find that offensive, or undeserving, and I’m not sure why this doesn’t get connected? Is this on Candice who likes to play ‘Lone Ranger’ or is this a clique thing where the some folks aren’t invited to the party?
Broken Arrow is sponsored by Nike/ACG this year, so it’ll be interesting to see how much the valley will be orange and mimic the heavy-handed branding we’ve seen the Gorge earlier this year. I am told race management has asked ACG to tone it down a bit – so we might, to my great disappointment not see the gondola painted orange after all. The other aspect worth looking out for is that this is the first post-Golden Trail Series year weekend for Broken Arrow. Will this be felt in at the races?
TrailCon will be offering 57 events in the three days between the two race weekends. Of those, over half, 33 with my counting, are considered ‘official brand activations’ and sponsored by a shoe brand or hydration brand provider. Is this the hidden genius of TrailCon? They found a way to charge brands a fee to officially promote their activation? TrailCon here gives brands which are not affiliated with Broken Arrow or Western States a platform and helps them promote their activation, which they probably would’ve anyway in in the lead up to WSER. Compare this to UTMB week in Chamonix. HOKA, as title sponsor (and all their other official sponsors) get their activations listed on the official schedule, but everyone else is considered “ambush marketing” in some way or another.
This massive week in trail running will be climaxing with the historic Western States Endurance Run. Is this event under threat to feel drowned out by all the new shiny efforts being put on by brands and businesses entering the trail space? Will it still feel historic and important? What will the brands – like HOKA – do to stand out against the displays ACG is putting on at Broken Arrow? What will WSER do to not have their story be told just by the for profit businesses entering the space.
Yes, this extended week is about the races and performances, but I’ll be looking for the stories found between the lines and results.
First update on the Freetrail website since mid-January, here’s the schedule for Freetrail-related events happening in and around Olympic Valley next week:
We’re excited to announce our 2026 Trailgating schedule for Broken Arrow and Western States! All shows will be broadcast live on our YouTube channel. Our Western States pre-race shows (6/22-6/25) can also be attended in person in Palisades Tahoe.
Will be fun to experience this in person.
UltraSignup’s new system to award their sponsor spot into Western States:
Each year, UltraSignup awards one Western States entry to a runner. Our goal is to reward a runner who has been waiting in the lottery pool and active in their community, racing, volunteering, and showing up year after year. We’re tallying this up with “Forsaken Points.”
UltraSignup has a leaderboard tracker posted sharing who’s currently “in the lead”.
What a fun idea.
Mountain Outpost’s Race Purse – which some people have considered dead already – is getting an update. The app morphed into a database tracking prize purses across trail and ultra running events:
Track every prize purse and every dollar won, browse upcoming races, see what’s on the line, and follow the money list.
Not sure I love the inclusion of ‘ultra races’ like Comrades. This skews the overall numbers too much. Maybe the option to sort by just ‘trail events’ would solve that problem.
What’s funny to me about this project is that Aravaipa (owner of Mountain Outpost, Steep Life Media, Read Reckoning Labs and this Race Purse app) – I believe – have never paid out prize money for any of their races (except the crowdfunded prize purse at Black Canyon from earlier this year) but now their new tool is tracking and putting a spotlight on other races.
Laura Hall for the BBC coins a new-to-me term: ‘darecation’:
Earlier this year, Pinterest identified “darecations” as one of their top trends for 2026, reporting a 75% increase in searches for adventure tourism and forecasting a boom in “full-throttle, adrenaline-inspired tourism” among Gen Z and Millennials.
More mainstream coverage of the phenomenon that is ultra trail running.
“The ultimate gain at the end is not speed-related metrics: it’s about how cool the course was, what you saw along the route and the stories and adventures you bring back,” she said.
Less than two weeks until the anniversary of my last big race: Lavaredo Ultra Trail. Did it hurt? Yes, but man, I am so ready to go back to the Dolomites.
99 Laps is a relentless elimination race on a 1.2 km loop. Every 15 minutes, a new lap begins, and the last athlete to finish is eliminated. With 99 eliminations and only one winner, the pressure builds lap after lap. Live timing and a real-time leaderboard keep the intensity high until the very end.
A more “managable” backyard style format that has a fixed ending and focus on more competition rather than collaboration. And another event pushing supplements. Fascinating developments from “that side” of the trail running world and a somewhat polar opposite approach to the idea that people love races because of the places where they are held. This one hasn’t even announced where it’ll be:
The location is still a secret but it will be visually iconic.
So they say.
Bri Sullivan on her blog responds to the Edgelords from The Next Aid Station podcast and their lazy ripoff of the ‘Here For The Women’s Race’ shirt:
This script has played out my whole life, and I think most women can recognize it immediately. I watched it play out again this week in trail running: a sport I love, a community I’m part of, a world that has lately been doing some genuinely exciting things around visibility for women. Unfortunately, alongside those exciting things, there’s been a creeping comfort with invalidating women – with making them the butt of the joke or invalidating women’s achievements and then saying women are dramatic for having negative emotions towards it all (read my piece on Rachel Entrekin and Cocodona 250, too). I want to talk about it. Not because I’m angry – I mean, I am, but that’s not the point – but because I think it’s worth really understanding why this keeps happening, what it’s actually doing, and what it costs all of us when we let it slide.
Bri should be commended here for doing the work explaining and outlining in detail of why their effort fell flat. I probably would’ve just called their copycat slogan a “fucking loser move”. But then again, I’m also a man, and I would’ve gotten away with it.
Bri in closing:
Women expressed discomfort with being erased from their own visibility campaign. Men responded by making a shirt that sexualized their presence in the sport. And the lesson drawn is that if women hadn’t been upset in the first place, none of this would have happened. Women’s feelings, again, are the origin of the problem. Not the actions. The feelings.
This.
This floated across my radar this morning – thank Zach! – and I’ve been trying to decide if it’s worth commenting on and linking to it.
The gist of ‘Trail Running Isn’t an Environmental Sport’ posted by Trailsnultrasnc is can be boiled down to the assertion that the sport of trail running is hypocritical as it pertains to its environmental stands.
Here are 4,000 words (not counting the notes) written generated to say “yes, but”.
This blog is anonymous. Yes, there can be a reason to keep someone’s persona private and I am not asking for a social security identification but everyone has a bias and a frame of reference. Dropping an article of this magnitude and taking a swing at the entire world of our sport without any context is hard to take serious.
In the last paragraph the admission is made that this was penned with support of AI writing tools. And you know my general stance on AI so of course I gotta comment on that. When it comes to using AI writing tools maybe my general point is not that someone shouldn’t use them at all – although it feels a bit rich to comment on environmental concerns while using AI – but that AI just generates so so so so many words. AI doesn’t have a regard for the reader. Could the point of the article – which was important enough for the creator to generate – only be made in 4,000 words? It’s just asking a lot of the reader.
Maybe, probably. But just as I had been writing this the entire blog (all of Substack) went offline. So there, jokes on me.
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