The Shoes on the Podium at Beast

Who wore what, and which shoes created champions at this year’s Beast of Big Creek? Coincidently iRunFar just posted their analysis of the entire Westerns States field, and which shoes runners choose when the race in question is a 100 mile race on California Carpet^(TM). But, what’ if it’s a short, steep, technical mountain race in the Pacific Northwest? Which shoes do runners select?

Here’s your full list, broken down by gender, athlete, and ranking:

WOMEN OVERALL — TOP 10

1. Eve Pannone – Brooks Catamount Agil
2. Natalie Beadle – Arc’teryx Sylan 2
3. Claudia Corral – Scarpa Spin Ultra 2
4. Carmen Graves – Merrell Long Sky 2
5. Kalie McCrystal – Nnormal Kjerag Brut
6. Careth Arnold – Altra Mont Blanc Carbon
7. Robin Vieira Brower – Norda 005
8. Ainhoa Garikano – Salomon S/Lab Salomon Genesis 2
9. Abby Stone – NNormal Kjerag Brut
10. Rachel Hebaus – Hoka Mafate 5

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MEN OVERALL — TOP 10

1. Morgan Elliott – Merrell MTL Agility Sky – prototype – launch date Spring 2027
2. José Manuel Quispe – Merrell MTL Long Sky 2
3. Daniel Antonioli – Scarpa prototype – launch date UTMB week
4. Jackson Cole – La Sportiva Prodigio Pro
5. Beñat Albisu – La Sportiva Prodigio Pro
6. Joshua Potvin – Merrell MTL Agility Sky – prototype – launch date Spring 2027
7. Cole Campbell – Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed 2
8. Scott Maguire – Norda 005
9. Ibai Angulo – Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 4
10. Jimmy Buchanan – La Sportiva Prodigio Pro

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Sorted by brand and shoe type this is what this looks like:

• Merrell scored 4 in the top 20 *
• La Sportiva follows with 3.
• NNormal, Scarpa, Norda all had two runners wearing their shoes.

In a delightful surprise (to me personally) the La Sportiva Prodigio Pro was the most worn shoe. Three athletes, all men – wore that shoe on Saturday + plus, me the race director who marked the course in it – that should count for something too, right?

Merrrell’s athletes split their selection with two runners wearing the MTL Agility Sky (which will be announced in the Spring of ’27) and the MTL Long Sky 2.

Two women wore the NNormal Kjerag Brut, and two more folks ran in the Norda 005.

Brands completely missing here are: Nike/ACG, Mount 2 Coast, On, The North Face.

There’s probably more smart analysis that can be pulled from this data, but for now, if you’re looking for a shoe good for skyrunning, let this be an inspiration.

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(*The Skyrunner World Series is sponsored by Merrell and they had their full NA athlete team present.)