American ultrarunner 听is still recovering from her eye-popping effort听last weekend at France’s Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc. Schide, 32, in 22 hours, 9 minutes, and 31 seconds, slashing听nearly 21 minutes off of the course record, set in 2021 by Courtney Dauwalter.

When I read about the accolade, I immediately thought of Dauwaulter’s aura in women’s ultrarunning. In recent years she’s been 听untouchable at the biggest events: Western States Endurance Run, Hardrock 100, and UTMB. In 2023 国产吃瓜黑料 contributor Meaghen Brown called Dauwalter a “once-in-a-generation athlete” and “the best female trail runner ever to live.”

Well, Katie Schide鈥檚 UTMB record is a sign that she’s approaching Dauwalter’s level. I recently spoke to her about chasing after ultrarunning’s GOAT.

OUTSIDE: You won the Western States 100 in late June and then turned around and won UTMB on September 1. What did your recovery and training look like between the two events?
Schide: First, I do not think running these two races in the same season should be considered normal. I never thought I’d race them in the same year, and I don’t think it sets a great example to do two big races so close together. That said, I do think the sport has evolved quite a bit in recent years and the way in which we train before and fuel ourselves during races have allowed people to recover faster. My first UTMB was in 2019, and now, five years later, I have a much better sense of how my body reacts. So, I took an entire week off after Western States. I traveled back to Europe, and adjusting to the time change alone took a week. Then I had another week with easy jogs, maybe 30 to 40 minutes. Then I started to get back to my normal training. I traveled to Chamonix six weeks before UTMB and I was back to my normal training for three weeks and then it was time to taper again.

A lot of American ultrarunners live in the Rockies, or in communities with other runners, coaches, and training groups. You live in Saint-Dalmas-le-Selvage, a tiny village of 60 inhabitants in the Alps. What advantages and disadvantages does your location have?
The biggest advantage is there is really nothing else around here so there’s nothing to do other than train and rest. Living here truly allows you to rest. On a rest day you can’t also go get coffee with a friend, and then go to the bookstore and the grocery store. If I have a rest day, there’s really nothing I can do except sit on my couch and maybe go for a little walk around the village. I love going out for fancy coffee when I’m in a city, but it’s not the lifestyle I need every day. Living here gives us (she lives with her partner, professional ultrarunner Germain Grangier) quiet and allows us to disconnect.

And the disadvantages鈥攚e don’t have many healthcare resources here, so if I want to see a physio or get a massage, it’s an hour and a half drive. Our grocery store is also an hour and a half away. That makes us really have to plan ahead. When I was training in Flagstaff, Arizona before Western States, it was so easy to go see a masseuse when I needed one. But these disadvantages go hand-in-hand with the advantages,听so it’s a trade-off you have to choose.

Courtney Dauwalter has received a glut of mainstream media attention over the past few seasons. Has your view of Dauwalter changed as you’ve progressed in the sport?
Courtney’s been there since the beginning of my ultrarunning career, always raising the bar higher than any of us were ready to go at any given time. I first raced against her in 2019 at UTMB when she reset the standard of women’s racing. I remember sharing a few footsteps with her at that race, and her telling me that I would love my first 100-miler, and I was absolutely hating it. She also been a great ambassador for the sport and has brought a lot of non-endemic eyeballs to ultrarunning, which we can thank her for. What she’s done benefits everyone. She redefined what I thought was possible in these races, and because she was so far ahead of the other women, I think we all recognized the gap between us that needed to be closed.

Did it seem possible to narrow Dauwalter鈥檚 margin?
I never thought of my end point as getting within reach of her. But when you saw the margin between her and the other women, there was definitely space. I was like there shouldn’t be this much space between us, so in a way she inspired me to try and close the gap. But back then I never thought I would be able to get this close to her. I think she’s glad that we’re starting to close the gap.

How do your strengths and weaknesses measure up to Dauwalter鈥檚?
Courtney definitely has the advantage with experience. She’s done more ultras than me, so that is a clear advantage. Her husband is a big advantage, because he always crews for her, and if you can have a consistent crew you can dial in and always trust them. My partner is also a professional athlete, so we can’t crew for each other. My advantage is, well, I’m not sure. I don’t like to compare athletes, because ultrarunning is a sport where there are so many differences between athletes, and that’s what makes it interesting. It’s not like cycling where you can say this person has better power-to-weight, or this person is a better individual time trialist. In running, we don’t all come from the same sporting backgrounds, so we try to bring our strengths together on the same day and see what happens.

The post Katie Schide Is Ultrarunning鈥檚 Newest Star appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Trail running鈥檚 Super Bowl, the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc , wrapped up this weekend in Chamonix, France. If you’re like me, you probably followed the 106-mile race around the Mont Blanc Massif via grainy photos and cryptic single-sentence updates that popped up on social media every few minutes.

Lucky for us, the editors at听国产吃瓜黑料 Run were on the ground in France for the UTMB and the handful of shorter races in Chamonix that accompany it, and they have . I spent Monday night reading the听Run team’s race reports and analysis, and catching up on all of the twists and turns that occurred on the trail. If you’re searching for the most pressing storylines to discuss around the office watercooler, or with your post-work running club, here are three that are worthy of your attention.

A Shoe Designer Wins it All

During my time in the bicycle industry, I regularly met a familiar archetype when I visited companies that manufactured gear: the brilliant engineer who is also a world-class athlete. Every brand had its king or queen of the office lunch ride鈥攖he coworker that employees would claim could race the Tour de France if he or she ever quit and trained full-time.

Frenchman Vincent Bouillard, who is a product designer with shoe brand Hoka, just raised the bar for all of the talented men and women of this mold in the outdoor industry. The 31-year-old won the UTMB men’s race, completing the loop in 19 hours, 54 minutes, and 23 seconds. In doing so, he beat a lineup of impressive professional runners, including American Jim Walmsley, Brit Tom Evans, and Frenchmen Ludovic Pommel. And he won it in his first stab at UTMB.

Again, Bouillard is not a sponsored full-time runner. He’s a working stiff at Hoka’s offices in Annecy, France. In fact, last year he was part of the helper crew that assisted Walmsley in his victorious UTMB run. Bouillard hammered home the differences between himself and the full-time professionals when he spoke to media after the race.

鈥淗aving a contract to be a professional runner isn鈥檛 something I鈥檝e ever really thought about, but why not?鈥� Bouillard said. 鈥淚 would always be open to the discussion, but I also enjoy the freedom of not having any contract and not having any pressure to do any type of competition or posting on social media, which I do not at all. So it鈥檚 also fun to enjoy that full freedom.鈥�

I encourage you to read my colleague Brian Metzler’s , as he dives deep into the guy’s working-stiff bonafides, as well as the cool shoes he’s designed in recent years. Plus, Bouillard adopted an extremely smart strategy for UTMB, which paid off with the win.

We鈥檙e All Waiting for Dauwalter vs. Schide in 2025

If 2023 was the year of Courtney Dauwalter, then 2024 has belonged to Katie Schide.

Schide dominated the women’s UTMB, leading for the lion’s share of the race before finishing in 22 hours, 9 minutes, and 31 seconds. That time toppled the previous record by 21 minutes鈥攊t had been听set by Dauwalter in 2021. It’s the first of Dauwalter’s five popping course records (Western States 100, Hardrock 100 in both directions, and Grand Raid Reunion) to be beaten.

Wait, who is Katie Schide, you ask? The 32-year-old American may not have the name recognition of Dauwalter outside of the hardcore trail running community, but she’s quietly approaching the same level of accolades. I profile of Schide. She’s a Maine native who moved to a remote corner of the French Alps鈥攏o, not Chamonix!鈥攖o train for trail running’s biggest events.

And Schide, who is 32, beat the record the same year in which she won the Western States 100, becoming just the fourth person to win both in the same summer, alongside Dauwalter, Nikki Kimball, and Kilian Jornet. Exclusive company. It’s safe to say that trail running has another superstar in the making鈥攁nd one who looks primed to compete with the sport’s best.

Dauwalter, who attended UTMB but did not race, gave Schide some major props on Instagram after the finish. “Got to be here to see this in person. INCREDIBLE! Congratulations Katie Schide. Thanks for raising the bar for all of us!” she wrote.

After Schide’s thrilling 2024 season, we can’t wait to see what happens when she lines up next to Dauwalter in 2025.

Miao Yao Triumphant Return

A runner from China has never won the UTMB race in Chamonix, but the country’s top athlete has one another one of the shorter events that goes on during the race weekend. Miao Yao, the 28-year-old trail runner from Ghizhou, won the 57-kilometer Orsieres-Champex-Lac-Chamonix (OCC) race.

The victory is an important return for Yao, who just a few years ago appeared on the trajectory to the top, before injuries and setbacks derailed her progress. Her return to the sport is I suggest you read this

She grew up the youngest of six sisters on a farm. When she was 16, officials from China’s Ju Guo Ti Zhi听sports system identified her as a talented athlete and sent her to a sports boarding school. 鈥淚t was still better than making a living as a peasant in a village,” she told Runner’s World.

Yao was a talented runner鈥攕he clocked a 2:59 marathon鈥攂ut she was too slow for the Olympic track or distance-running programs. It seemed like her career was over at the age of 20, but then she discovered trail running and found her niche. Since then, she’s had ups, downs, setbacks and success.

Yao won the 100-kilometer Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix (CCC) race in 2018, but then abruptly faded from the spotlight. Her step back was a real bummer for running fans, because Yao has one of the most unorthodox backstories on the trail running circuit.

Her story is familiar to anyone who has followed the in China’s state-managed sports system. Children who show prowess at running, hand-eye coordination, or strength are plucked from their families and set to train as full-time athletes. Those who succeed go to the Olympics鈥攖hose who do not are left to fend for themselves, sometimes with substandard education and professional skills.

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The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc鈥攁ka UTMB鈥攊sn鈥檛 just one thing. It鈥檚 the Spandex Superbowl, wrapped in Gore-Tex Mardi Gras with a dash of Chafing World Cup. It鈥檚 a week-long festival of mountain racing that attracts thousands of runners to Chamonix, France.

What started as a stand-alone 171K (106-mile) race in 2003 has transformed into a weeklong acronym circus under the banner of UTMB Mont-Blanc. The alphabet soup of race names reference the tiny alpine villages in France, Italy, and Switzerland the races pass through. The epicenter is in Chamonix, France (elevation 3,400 feet) at the base of Mont Blanc鈥攖he highest summit in the Alps at 15,781 feet鈥攚here some of the races begin but all finish amid hordes of enthusiastic fans.

Beginning on August 24, the French village鈥檚 cobblestone streets will teem with compression-sock-clad competitors who will line up at one of the six events throughout the week. The six smaller races (perhaps in prestige, rather than mileage, as in the case of PTL) lead up to UTMB, considered by many to be the sport鈥檚 crown jewel.

But if you鈥檙e in Chamonix, the races are just the tip of the glacier. Walk through town during the last week of August and you鈥檒l find numerous fun runs, brand activations, parties, film releases, and new trail running shoe drops. If you鈥檙e a fan of the sport, it鈥檚 a who鈥檚 who of trail running athletes and personalities. And even if you鈥檙e not running one of the seven races, it鈥檚 still a fun time to be in Chamonix because there are hundreds of miles of trails to be run in between bouts of spectating, cheers, and chasing the races.

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Here is a rundown of the week鈥檚 races.

Spanish ultra trail star Kilian Jornet en route to a fourth victory at the fourth Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), where he set a new record time of under twenty hours. (Photo: Photo by JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images)

UTMB: The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc

The marquee and last event of the week-long series, UTMB completely circles its namesake summit in just over 100 miles with a whopping 32,808 feet of vertical gain鈥攎ore than it would take to summit Everest from sea level. About 2,300 runners will attempt to traverse the course鈥檚 10 alpine summits in under 46 hours 30 minutes.

Jim Walmsley became the first American man to win UTMB in 2023, but American women have crushed it in Chamonix since its inception. Krissy Moehl won the inaugural event in 2003, and again in 2009. Rory Bosio racked up two consecutive victories in 2013 and 2014, and Nikki Kimball claimed the title in 2007. Courtney Dauwalter won it in 2019, 2021, and 2023鈥攖he latter of which capped off an epic summer that also included wins at the Western States 100 and the Hardrock 100.

Other UTMB Mont-Blanc Races

PTL: Petite Trotte 脿 L茅on

Perhaps UTMB鈥檚 most distinctive event, the PTL takes teams of two to three runners over 300K (186 miles) of rugged, unmarked terrain around Mont Blanc. Named for an adventurous French baker and hardcore volunteer, it takes many teams the allowed 151 hours to get to the finish line in Chamonix. The PTL begins on the morning of August 26 in Chamonix and the final cutoff is September 1 just before UTMB officially ends. The course changes every year and there is no official winner. The event is so challenging that finishing is judged as a win.

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MCC: Martigny-Combe-Chamonix

The MCC is a 40K (24.8-mile) race for the 鈥渂茅n茅voles鈥� and 鈥済ens du pays,鈥� the volunteers and locals who help with UTMB. The shortest of the races, it provides an accessible yet surprisingly challenging (7,500 feet of elevation gain) glimpse into the French Alps. This year鈥檚 MCC begins in Martigny on the morning of August 26.

TDS: Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie

The extra-technical TDS is the 鈥渃ool-kids鈥� race, historically attracting a who鈥檚 who of mountain runners from around the world. With the advent of the UTMB World Series in 2022, which does not officially include TDS, this race has diminished in competitiveness and prestige a bit. However, it remains just as rugged. TDS traverses 148K (92 miles) from Courmayeur, Italy, to Chamonix around the Mont Blanc massif. This 鈥渕id-distance鈥� (by UTMB standards) event hosts 1,600 runners, and has a 42-hour cutoff. The TDS begins on the afternoon on August 26 and the first finishers will arrive in Chamonix on the morning of August 27. No American has ever won TDS, but Hillary Allen ran a ferocious race and finished second in 2019.

ETC: Experience Trail Courmayeur

The newest race to UTMB week, the ETC is a grueling 15K (9.3-mile) race from iconic village of Courmayeur, Italy, that includes a beastly 3,937 feet of total elevation gain in the heart of the Italian Alps. This year鈥檚 ETC will begin on the afternoon of August 27 and runners will have four and and a half hours to complete the race.

OCC: Orsi猫res-Champex-Chamonix

Probably the closest thing UTMB has to an entry-level race, this 55K (34-mile) race is a testing ground for many future UTMB competitors. It sends runners from Orsi猫res, Switzerland, to Chamonix during the daylight hours. The route climbs over 11,000 feet as it winds through the Swiss Valais region with a 14-hour-30-minute cutoff. The OCC begins on the morning of August 29 and the first finishers will arrive in Chamonix by early afternoon.

CCC: Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix

Previously seen as the 鈥渓ittle sister of the UTMB,鈥� CCC has become a respected race in its own right with a demanding 101-kilometer course that ascends over 20,000 feet. It just about covers the last 100K (62 miles) of the UTMB course, which offers an in-depth preview for many runners with UTMB dreams. Historically, Americans have been successful at CCC, with notable American victories by Clare Gallagher, Hayden Hawks, and Zach Miller. This year鈥檚 CCC will begin at 9 A.M. local time on August 30 in Courmayeur, Italy, and the first runners are expected to arrive in Chamonix later that evening, just a few hours after the UTMB runners depart from downtown.

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The post What Is the UTMB Mont-Blanc All About Anyway? appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

It鈥檚 been a busy summer for Heather Jackson. That might have something to do with the fact that she鈥檚 a professional athlete in two sports: ultrarunning and gravel cycling. She placed fifth in the 200-mile Unbound Gravel Race across Kansas in early June. Weeks later, she ran her way to a seventh-place finish at the . She trains in both sports daily, often spending four or five hours in the morning either on the bike or on foot, then switching to the other sport for an easier effort before dinner.

Despite that rigorous routine, Jackson says it could be worse, having spent 15 years as a professional triathlete who nabbed a pair of Ironman 70.3 World Championship podium finishes in 2012 and 2013. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little bit easier with just riding and running,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 actually have one less sport to work on.鈥�

Plus, the two disciplines complement each other well. 鈥淚鈥檓 still balancing the two [sports] and kind of blocking them out depending on what event is next,鈥� Jackson says, 鈥渂ut I mostly just continue to do both each day.鈥� The longer daylight hours certainly help to maximize summer days, as does the outdoor versatility of the new Hoka , Jackson鈥檚 training shoe of choice. The nicer weather doesn鈥檛 hurt either, especially when it comes to getting family and friends outside before, after鈥攁nd even during鈥攈er training to add some variety and fun to the double duty.

The 40-year-old has been an athlete her entire life, which she chalks up to her mother, who was a gym teacher in New Hampshire. 鈥淪he had us in pretty much everything,鈥� says Jackson. From tennis to basketball, lacrosse to horseback riding, Jackson鈥檚 not kidding about the 鈥渆verything鈥� part. 鈥淚t was soccer and hockey that I excelled at and loved the most,鈥� she explains. Jackson played ice hockey for Princeton and was close to making the 2006 Olympic hockey team before making the shift to triathlon.

Since switching from the regimented training of Ironman-distance road triathlons to gravel riding and trail running, Jackson says she loves not having to target a specific pace for every workout. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e climbing a canyon in Western States and you鈥檙e doing a 15-minute mile, but it鈥檚 irrelevant,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more like, 鈥榃hat can you do to get up this terrain?鈥� It鈥檚 freeing.鈥�

Jackson鈥檚 first 100-mile race was Arizona鈥檚 Javelina Jundred, in which she placed fifth in 2022 before winning it in 2023. She also started gravel racing in 2023 and has seen pretty much immediate success. 鈥淭hese two new sports are so fun,鈥� she says. 鈥淓very single run and every single race is different terrain鈥攜ou鈥檙e not staring at a watch. I now just get to be outside and see so many new places. Every day is new,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 refreshing.鈥�

Living most of the year in Bend, Oregon, and training in Tucson, Arizona, during late winter and early spring, makes the most of her environment. While she skate-skis, runs, and snowshoe runs in the winter months, she鈥檚 recently been out on dirt almost every waking moment.

 

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鈥淲e have such good summer weather,鈥� she says, 鈥渢hat I try to combine gravel riding and trail running with being outside, literally, as much as possible.鈥� She and her husband and friends often go camping on weekends. They鈥檒l all head out for their own rides or runs and then reconvene at the campsite. Or they鈥檒l explore the many lakes in the wilderness areas surrounding Bend or nab last-minute backcountry permits to play on new trail systems.

鈥淢y sister grabbed a permit for the Green Lakes area one day,鈥� Jackson explains. 鈥淪o it was like, 鈥極K, cool, tomorrow鈥檚 a run day.鈥欌�� She says she feels fortunate to have both family and friends to go run trails or ride anything from Mount Bachelor to Smith Rock. Her parents recently moved to the Bend area and frequently do a ten-mile mountain bike loop, and Jackson will run alongside them.

Later this summer, Jackson will head to France, where she鈥檒l run one of the UTMB races, either the 50K OCC (which she ran last summer), the 100K CCC, or the 106-mile UTMB. While she raced Western States in the Hoka Tecton X 2.5 (a prototype version of the Tecton X 3), she鈥檒l be wearing the new Hoka Speedgoat 6 in the rugged Alps.

鈥淭o have the grip of the new Speedgoats is huge,鈥� Jackson says, referring to the updated outsole that features Vibram Megagrip and toothier lugs than the Speedgoat 5. 鈥淚鈥檒l wear the to hike Mount Bachelor and other rugged terrain around here鈥攁nd for camping and just kicking around in the dirt,鈥� Jackson says of the perfect shoe for being outside all summer long.

HOKA is one of the fastest-growing performance footwear and apparel brands in history. Conceived in the mountains, HOKA footwear delivers an unprecedented combination of enhanced cushioning and support for a uniquely smooth ride. Every day, HOKA pushes the innovation and design of its footwear and apparel by teaming up with a deep roster of world champions, tastemakers, and everyday athletes. From finish lines to everyday life, HOKA fans love the brand for its bold and unexpected approach and its belief in the power of humanity to create change for a better world. HOKA empowers a world of athletes to fly over the earth. For more information, visit or follow @HOKA.

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In a previous life, John McAvoy would have only envisioned running from the law.

Once a hardened thief immersed in a world of crime, the 41-year-old British convict-turned-elite-athlete has a wild life story that would be best told in a feature-length film. He鈥檚 used the transformative power of sport to become a record-setting cyclist, successful age-group triathlete, and passionate mountain runner. And now he鈥檚 paying it forward.

Working with Youth Beyond Borders and with Nike鈥檚 support, McAvoy launched , a program to help disadvantaged adolescents and young adults around the UK engage in trail running for meaningful change and a positive outlook of their future. And, McAvoy said, keeping them from veering down dark paths that led to his own nefarious ways as a young man.

RELATED: His First Marathon Was in Prison. His Second Will Be in New York City.

Sharing the Power of Mountains

Born from the learnings of McAvoy鈥檚 own life experiences鈥攊ncluding recent forays trail running in the Alps鈥攖he intent of the program was to give 12 young people from a wide range of social, economic, and cultural backgrounds the opportunity to engage in regular exercise and immerse themselves in nature for what he believed would be a life-changing journey while training for a trail running race in Chamonix, France.

鈥淚 love the sensation when you use your own power and endurance to propel yourself up a mountain. It’s so incredible, and so addictive,鈥� McAvoy said. 鈥淏ut I realized how unfair it was that not many people get to experience the beauty and power of the mountains, especially young people.鈥�

The pilot program鈥攚hich included regular training and a springtime training camp in England鈥檚 Peak District National Park鈥攚as a smashing success, not solely because the participants had a good experience running the YCC 20K race during the week of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in late August. The triumph of the project has been more readily marked by the emotional development and social metamorphosis in each of their lives, McAvoy said.

Cut Media and JD Sports chronicled the program in that debuted at a theater in London this week. Next up, it will be one of the key films in the Kendal Mountain Festival from November 16-19, in the Lake District, then it will eventually become available for viewing via broad-based distribution.

David Ervine, a 20-year-old Alpine Run Project participant from Manchester who grew up in foster care and bounced around between 14 families by the time he was 15, said it was a life-changing experience. He said the immersion into trail running and the trip to Chamonix were a shock to his system, but he says it was the most meaningful thing he鈥檚 ever done.

鈥淚 think I underestimated how steep the hills are and how tough it is to run in the environment of the mountains, but once I did, it turned into an amazing memory that will stay with me forever,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I was growing up, I hated sports, but I think if you can just get kids into sport, you can show them that 鈥榶ou鈥檙e not a prisoner of your past鈥� and that 鈥榶ou can make the first step to live a better and healthier life.鈥� After this experience, I really believe that.鈥�

Consistency in Confinement

McAvoy grew up in southeast London in a family immersed in crime and eventually got sucked into the business himself. By the time he was 22, he had been to prison twice for armed robbery. The second time, in 2005, he was initially locked up in a maximum security adult prison, but eventually took a plea bargain and wound up at a high-security institution for young offenders. His career criminal stepfather and uncle taught him to hate the system and was unwilling to be controlled or broken by it. When McAvoy balked at harsh treatments handed down by the prison boss, he found himself in solitary confinement鈥攆irst for a week, then for a full year.

That鈥檚 where his journey and transformation really began.

While in solitary confinement, McAvoy remembers aching for human connection and, to some extent, the proper guidance he never had. With nothing to look forward to, and excess amounts of time on his hands, he turned to himself and began reading books and also doing a few basic strength exercises like burpees, sit-ups, and push-ups. Then a few more.

As weeks turned to months, he was consistent with his routine, developing considerable physical strength and a glimmer of personal freedom. Even though it was motivated by anger, he continued to the point where he was doing 1,000 reps of each exercise every single day.

鈥淚t wasn’t about becoming an athlete,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淚 wasn’t doing it for aesthetics to get a six pack. I was purely fueled by my hatred towards the system. When prison officers would come around and see me doing burpees in the cell and sweating, all I thought was 鈥榊ou can take everything away from me, but you can’t control my body. You can put me in this tiny little cage, but you can’t stop me from doing this.鈥� That was my motivation.鈥�

Simple Exercises, Big Changes

That desperate commitment to regular exercise brought purpose. Once back in normal prison life, he realized that the power to turn his whole life around, was inside him the whole time鈥攅ven after so many bad decisions. He just never had anyone to encourage him in the right direction.

At some point, a prison officer gave him Lance Armstrong’s autobiography, It鈥檚 Not About The Bike, and, combined with watching the Tour de France and the Ironman World Championship on TV, McAvoy developed an obsession for cycling and later to rowing in the prison鈥檚 gym. And that鈥檚 when he began to harness his dark energy and turn it into something brighter.

A prison gym manager named Darren Davis took note of his athleticism on the rowing machine one day and began to encourage and coach him. McAvoy credits that mentorship and the friendship that developed as prime catalysts that led him to breaking eight British indoor rowing records and three worlds鈥攚hile still in prison.

McAvoy spent 10 hard years in jail, but his transformation through sport eventually led to him being paroled from prison in 2012 at the age of 29. Once on the outside, he continued his pursuit of athletics by working as a personal trainer, learning to swim from YouTube videos, and buying a bike off eBay so he could train for triathlons.

He still wasn鈥檛 allowed to travel outside of the country, so he entered Ironman UK in 2013 after six weeks of training and then continued to race triathlons for several more years. His life story was captured in the 2017 book, , published the same year he earned a sponsorship from Nike.

It wasn鈥檛 until Sajid Javid, then the Secretary of State for the UK鈥檚 Home Department, repealed McAvoy鈥檚 life sentence in 2019, that McAvoy truly gained the freedom to live for the first time. On his initial international trip to Annecy, France, for a triathlon training camp, he was introduced to Alpe d’Huez, the famous hill climb in the French Alps that he鈥檇 watched cyclists grind up during the Tour de France while he was behind bars, and something about the mountains moved him.

鈥淚n my whole life, even when I was a little kid, I never felt settled and I never went to a place where I felt at home,鈥� said McAvoy, who moved to Alpe d’Huez in 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. 鈥淚 never felt I belonged anywhere. I felt like I was always searching for something. I’d never experienced the high mountains before, but it felt truly special and I immediately fell in love with it.鈥�

Running for Good

After going through all he did in the first half of his life, McAvoy says he wants to spend the second half giving back. Specifically, he wants to be a beacon for kids who need guidance so they don鈥檛 find themselves aimless or hopeless as they become adults.

Last year, after running the 42K Martigny-Combe to Chamonix (MCC) trail race in Chamonix, France, McAvoy watched teens and young adults compete in the Youth Chamonix Courmayeur (YCC) race and a lightbulb went on in his head.

Knowing the metamorphic power that endurance sports had on him, he knew it could benefit kids in need, too. Over the next several months, the Alpine Run Project took root and selected 12 British youths ranging in age from 16 to 20 to participate in the program based on a range of socioeconomic criteria.

RELATED: Mountain Running 101: Training for Hilly Races

鈥淚 think for every person that comes to the mountains, it profoundly changes them and they always want to come back,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think it’s because within our DNA. Throughout human history, we have traveled thousands of kilometers by foot into nature. So when you come to these places, you are actually coming home. You are coming to a place where humans belong.

鈥淭hat’s something that I want to open up again with these young people, to show them, when you look after your body and you are able to come to environments like this and reconnect back to nature where you belong, where we’ve all come from, that’s why it feels so good.鈥�

And while the runners in the program achieved success in the YCC race鈥擡leana Matos, a 17-year-old runner from Stockport, England, won the 4.9-mile 18-and-under women鈥檚 division, while Ervine was 20th overall in 9.3-mile 20-34 men鈥檚 age group鈥攖he social interaction among the participants was cathartic, too, McAvoy said.

The kids hailed from challenging backgrounds, different family circumstances, and a variety of religious and cultural backgrounds. They began as strangers who were well out of their comfort zones in an activity that was new to them, but their individual and collective journeys through the challenges and unknowns of trail running developed connective bonds, raised self-esteem, and creative positive outlooks for the future, McAvoy said. Even before race day, they forged fast friendships on high-mountain training runs by sharing meals, laughter, and music.

鈥淭his Is Just the Beginning鈥�

Although the program鈥檚 first year concluded three months ago, it has continued to pay dividends in each of their lives.

Ervine is a strong road runner, but his trail running experiences have inspired him to think outside the box as he pursues the life of a professional endurance athlete. As for Matos, she鈥檚 been keen on studying veterinary medicine since she was a young girl, but now she鈥檚 interested in finding a way to mix that with her newfound passion for running and living in the mountains.

鈥淚 don’t know how that will materialize, but I definitely think the experience of running in the Alps has changed my outlook on life,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 always thought about visiting a place like that, but it was just a bit out of reach in my mind. But I think now that I’ve done it, I know it鈥檚 possible. I want to go back again, and when I’m old enough I would like to do some of the longer races and some of the UTMB races in other countries. I definitely want to keep my running going and see where it will take me in life.鈥�

McAvoy admits he has to pinch himself sometimes knowing the journey he has been on. He said witnessing the life-changing moments of the inaugural Alpine Run Project gave him an invigorating jolt of inspiration for his own endurance pursuits. He competed in the OCC 50K in Chamonix in August and, in early November, ran the Kullamannen Seventh Seal 50K in Norway.

鈥淭his is just the beginning. It’s not the end, but all of us will be part of these young people’s lives forever,鈥� McAvoy said. 鈥淭o me, the real mark of success is how these young people have developed and what they will then go on to do with the rest of their lives based on this experience. My performance criteria for the program wasn’t about finding someone who could win the YCC, but it was giving them the opportunity to come and experience the mountains and see how it could positively change their lives.鈥�

The post The Alpine Run Project Teaches Kids They鈥檙e Not a Prisoner of Their Past appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

In what is certainly the pinnacle of the trail running world, Jim Walmsley and Courtney Dauwalter were each greeted by a riveting hero鈥檚 welcome from roaring spectators as they ran into the crowded pedestrian village of Chamonix, France, four hours apart on the afternoon of September 2.

Both were stunning moments that nearly drowned out the dramatic Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc鈥檚 (UTMB) theme song, Vangelis’s 鈥淐onquest of Paradise,鈥� blasting through the sound system. And deservedly so, as both American runners turned in remarkable efforts to win the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 races in the 20th edition of UTMB, the de facto world championship of ultra-distance trail running.

The legendary race began at 6 P.M. on September 1 and sent runners on an arduous 172K (106-mile) loop through parts of France, Italy, and Switzerland around the Mont Blanc massif. Although the course was slightly modified this year, it included 10 major climbs and descents and entailed nearly 33,000 feet of elevation gain during the circumnavigation of the highest peak in Western Europe.

Walmsley, a 33-year-old French transplant from Flagstaff, Arizona, became the first American man to win the race (19:37:43), while Dauwalter (23:29:14) won it for the third time in three tries since 2019 and, more emphatically, completed the unprecedented鈥攁nd largely unfathomable鈥攖riple crown of winning the Western States 100, Hardrock 100, and UMTB in same year.

The race has received a lot more attention in recent years, especially with the formation of the UTMB World Series global qualifying circuit last year. During this year鈥檚 event, there were moments on the course that looked reminiscent of frenzied fans cheering on riders during the Tour de France.

鈥淵ou Can鈥檛 Triple Unless You Try鈥�

鈥淭he fans out on the course this year were incredible. Their energy was definitely propelling me forward,鈥� said Dauwalter, a 38-year-old Salomon-sponsored runner from Leadville, Colorado. 鈥淚t was really, really hard. The last half of it was really just about holding it together. My stomach was a little bit finicky. My head was mostly OK, but I kept wondering how I was going to get back (to Chamonix).鈥�

Dauwalter鈥檚 victory is historic in its own right. But it鈥檚 nearly incomprehensible in the context of her summer. In late June, Dauwalter won the Western States 100 in Auburn, California, shattering the seemingly untouchable 11-year-old course record by more than 75 minutes, in 15:29:34.

She backed up that legendary performance just three weeks later with another course record at the grueling Hardrock 100鈥攁 race with 听33,197 feet of elevation gain in and around Silverton, Colorado鈥攚hile once again lowering the course record by an hour in a dominating victory (26:14:08). And by winning UTMB, Dauwalter, the undisputable queen of ultrarunning, completed her sweep of the sport鈥檚 most prestigious triple crown.

Dauwalter had already won each of those races twice by the time she arrived in Chamonix in early August, but becoming the first and only person to accomplish the hat trick in one summer, she catapulted herself into another realm. And she鈥檚 done it at a time when women鈥檚 ultrarunning has never been more popular or more competitive.

She took the lead early in the race and was never challenged, but she had to manage a finicky stomach for a while and was so fatigued from the summer of racing she seemingly had to turn herself inside out to reach the finish.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 triple unless you try,鈥� Dauwalter said. 鈥淎ny time we鈥檙e given the opportunity to try something difficult or crazy, we should absolutely take it. This was totally crazy and really, really difficult, but worth it.鈥�

鈥淎ny time we鈥檙e given the opportunity to try something difficult or crazy, we should absolutely take it. This was totally crazy and really, really difficult, but worth it.鈥�

While U.S. runners have had success since the inaugural UTMB race in 2003鈥擪rissy Moehl was the first women鈥檚 winner and American runners Topher Gaylord and Brandon Sybrowsky tied for second鈥攕everal U.S. women, but never an American man, found their way to the top step of the podium until Walmsley won this year. In addition to Moehl (who also won in 2009), Americans Nikki Kimball (2007), Rory Bosio (2013, 2014), Dauwalter (2019, 2021, 2023), and Katie Schide (2022) have all won the women鈥檚 UTMB race.听

Walmsley, a three-time Western States 100 winner, set out to try to eradicate his own frustrations from four prior UTMB races. Although always one of the favorites whenever he鈥檚 been on the starting line, he’s had two good-but-not-great finishes (fifth in 2017, fourth in 2022) and two DNFs (2018, 2021).

He and his wife, Jess, moved to France in May 2022 so he could focus on training for the race, but it took several months to feel comfortable living overseas鈥攑artially because they overstayed their initial 90-day visa and had to struggle for a full year to get the rest of their paperwork completed. After his disappointing fourth-place finish at UTMB last year, he was able to immerse in French life and enhanced his training with ski mountaineering during the winter and long spring and summer days of running and hiking on the steep trails through the massive mountains of the Beaufortain Valley near their home in Ar锚ches, about 50 miles southwest of Chamonix.

Combined with a revitalized nutrition strategy鈥攖hat excluded candy and sugary junk food that he had been so accustomed to鈥攈e said he just felt fitter, better prepared, and more confident heading to the starting line this year. But he had moments where he struggled, too, especially after Zach Miller鈥攁 34-year-old American runner who had three previous top-10 finishes in the race鈥攖ook the lead and pushed the pace near the 60-mile mark of the race.

After taking in key nutrients and changing into a lighter and softer pair of Hoka prototype shoes at the 79-mile aid station in the Swiss ski town of Champex-Lac, Walmsley felt revitalized and ready to race hard again.

鈥淗e got up from the table and the energy totally shifted,鈥� Jess said. 鈥淎nd as he was walking out, he looked back at me with a certain look. I know that face, it鈥檚 his race face. So it鈥檚 kind of like, 鈥楪ame on! Let鈥檚 go!鈥� And, and then that鈥檚 what we saw after that.鈥�

Walmsley caught and passed Miller about 90 minutes later and then quickly put a large, insurmountable gap on him, running the final 20 miles back to Chamonix unchallenged.

鈥淭hat felt terrible for quite a while,鈥� he said after the race. 鈥淕oing into Champex was a low moment, for sure, but we got things taken care of. It鈥檚 all just kind of a synergy that just worked out this year and almost a bit of luck because it seems at times things were going south and I just feel lucky that it turned around.鈥�

This year, Dauwalter was joined by compatriots Leah Yingling (eighth) and Sabrina Stanley (ninth) among the top 10, the second time U.S. women have had three top-ten finishers at UTMB.听

On the men鈥檚 side, Miller held on to finish second (19:58:58), 22 minutes behind Walmsley and 12 minutes ahead of mid-race challenger Germain Grangier of France (20:10:52), while Tyler Green, 39, of Portland, Oregon, finished seventh (21:19:21) two months after finishing second at the Western States 100.

Many of the all-time great American men have run UMTB through the years鈥擲cott Jurek, Anton Krupicka, Geoff Roes, Timmy Olson, Hal Koerner, Tim Twietmeyer, Tim Tollefson, Mike Wolfe, and Mike Foote, among others鈥攂ut have come up just short or spectacularly short in their quest to win the race.

Walmsley immediately credited the strong legacy of American women in UTMB, even as Dauwalter was still en route back to Chamonix to win her third title.

鈥淚t just means I can add my name alongside the strong U.S. women鈥檚 contingent,鈥� Walmsley said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e done it again and again here and I am just happy to stand on their shoulders.鈥�

The post Walmsley and Dauwalter Pull off American Sweep at UTMB in Chamonix appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

UTMB, or the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, is a 106-mile loop around the Mont Blanc massif with over 32,940 feet of elevation gain. This mountain ultra attracts some of the top competition in the world, drawing in names like Kilian Jornet and Courtney Dauwalter, while hosting thousands of runners from all over the world.

Runners must accumulate qualifying points via 鈥渟tones鈥� in UTMB-branded events of comparable distances in the UTMB World Series. For example, runners who want to run the 106-mile race in Chamonix must finish a UTMB event like Canyons by UTMB or Wildstrubel by UTMB. So, by the time many runners toe the line in Chamonix, they have some experience in the distance.

In 2022, . How do these runners train for such a beastly race? We parsed through the Strava data for some surprising finds.

How UTMB Runners Train

After analyzing Strava data from UTMB runners, there was not a statistically significant difference in training between finishers and non-finishers, who were nearly identical across all measures including training volume, vertical feet accumulated, and median longest run. A 68 percent finishing rate for UTMB is fairly respectable among mountain ultras. For comparison, the Western States Endurance Run鈥檚 (WSER) finishing rate in 2023 was 81 percent, versus the 2023 Leadville 100鈥檚 43 percent finishing rate, likely due to the absence of a qualification process and coupled with extreme altitude and this year鈥檚 hot conditions.

Over six months of training, UTMB runners average 931 cumulative miles, 140 hours of running time, and more than 130,000 feet of elevation gain. That averages out to 38 miles per week, or just under six hours a week of running over a 24-week training cycle. The average UTMB runner starts at a 30-mile-a-week average, which they build towards nearly 80 miles a week in their peak week.

RELATED: 10 Things to Know About Jim Walmsley鈥檚 Obsession to Win UTMB

The peak week for most runners is three weeks before race day, and the data shows a wide range in UTMB runners鈥� peak weeks. The average sits at just 79 miles in that peak week, but the majority of athletes fall somewhere between 66 to 97 miles in that high volume week.

On average, UTMB runners rack up 16,000 of elevation gain in their peak week. Diving into 2022鈥檚 UTMB men鈥檚 winner Kilian Jonet鈥檚 training data from last year, we can see that even while recovering from a win at the Hardrock 100, , logging runs that average between 396-750 feet per mile.

Long runs are also essential to prepare for an event like UTMB, and many athletes used a race to facilitate the build towards race day. Strava revealed that 57 percent of runners did a race in their training, while 39 percent of UTMB runners’ longest run was 100K or longer. Also, 62 percent of athletes logged a long run of over 50 miles.

Long runs like these were infrequent in UTMB runners鈥� training. Twenty-four percent of UTMB runners did more than one run of 50 miles or longer. In fact, when you control for these very long runs and races in UTMB runners鈥� training, the median long run in the two months leading up to the race is just 14 miles. Additionally, the median number of weeks an athlete logs a run of 20 miles or longer is six.

That鈥檚 generally in alignment with recommendations for 100-mile training, which are trending towards not overemphasizing the long run which risks injury, and has diminishing returns for adaptation. For example, while the exact data isn鈥檛 public, were typically between three or four hours, seeing that the cost of going over five hours outweighed the potential benefits.

UTMB Versus Western States

When comparing how athletes trained for the Western States Endurance Run with UTMB, interesting trends emerge. First, let鈥檚 acknowledge the obvious: these are very different events on almost every front, but this can still offer important comparisons.

WSER is a significantly less technical race, traversing from Olympic Valley to Auburn, California, on terrain that is much less steep than the European Alps. It鈥檚 also significantly hotter, though 2023 was a particularly cool year (a factor in this year鈥檚 somewhat anomalously high finishing rate of 81 percent). The field is also smaller, with just under 400 runners, versus UTMB鈥檚 2,400 runners. They both have that mandate runners have experience at a similar distance鈥攁 minimum of 100K for WSER runners.

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Finishing times and cutoffs are also different. Dauwalter, who currently holds the women鈥檚 record on both courses, demonstrates the difference in difficulty. Her course record for WSER is a blistering 15:29:33, while her equally impressive UTMB course record is 22:30:54.

Most UTMB runners take between 32 and 46 hours to finish, with the average finishing time being about 40 hours. The cutoff times for the courses are also very different, with WSER鈥檚 30-hour cutoff being in step with the relatively tame terrain, but also significant enough to confer an honor to all belt buckle recipients.

UTMB, on the other hand, has a cutoff time of 46.5 hours, which reflects the difficulty of the terrain and the difference between European and U.S.-based trail racing. When runners receive their bibs for UTMB, they also get a paper card that says 鈥淪leeping, Do Not Disturb鈥� due to anticipating the prevalence of napping on the course.

UTMB runners logged less volume than WSER runners, averaging just 38 miles a week compared to WSER鈥檚 50 average weekly miles. UTMB runners, however, packed a lot of vert into those miles, averaging 140 feet per mile over the training cycle, versus WSER鈥檚 115 feet. This means that UTMB runners鈥� training was 22 percent steeper than that of WSER runners. This makes sense as UTMB is significantly steeper, racking up almost double WSER鈥檚 15,540 total feet of elevation gain.

UTMB runners logged significantly less distance than their WSER counterparts, averaging just 931 miles over the six-month training cycle, versus 1,193 miles for WSER. Western States runners鈥� peak weeks were bigger, too, averaging 87 miles in their highest volume week, versus UTMB鈥檚 79 miles.

The clear trend that emerged from UTMB runners鈥� data is that you might not need to run as much as one might think to be successful at this event. Starting at 30 miles a week, and peaking at below 80 is achievable for many runners, which is perhaps what makes this extreme, but attainable, event so alluring for runners all over the world.

The post What Strava Data Tells Us About How Runners Train for UTMB appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Jim Walmsley has been one of the top ultrarunners in the world since he won the JFK 50 in 2015. The Hoka-sponsored runner has won the Western States 100 three times (2018, 2019, 2021) and holds the course record (14 hours 9 minutes) on the 100.2-mile run from Olympic Valley to Auburn, California. Since then, he鈥檚 won several international races鈥攖he Ultra Trail Cape Town 100K in South Africa, the Madeira Island Ultra Trail 115K in Portugal, and Endurance Trail des Templiers 80K in France鈥攂ut the one race he has yet to master is the that starts and finishes in in Chamonix, France. He鈥檚 run it four times with two strong finishes (fifth in 2017, fourth in 2022) and two DNFs (2018, 2021), but admits he鈥檚 never had the optimal race in which everything comes together.

The 33-year-old runner from Flagstaff, Arizona, is one of the top contenders in the men鈥檚 field at this year鈥檚 UTMB, which begins September 1 at 6 P.M. local time (12:00 P.M. ET). He moved to Ar锚ches, France, with his wife, Jess, 32, in May 2022, shortly after they were married to fully immerse in living and training as a local to optimally prepare for UTMB. While he ran better last year than he had in the past, he had a big lead late in the race but was caught by the hard-charging Spanish runner Kilian Jornet, who went on to win (in a course-record 19:49) for a record-tying fourth time while Walmsley slowed and finished fourth 80 minutes later.

Here are 10 things you should know about one of the best ultrarunners in the world.

1. He鈥檚 Been Living in a Small Ski Resort Town in France for 16 Months

Jim and Jess have been renting a house adjacent to , which is located in the 听southwest of the western portion of the UTMB race course loop. They live about 300 meters up the road from four-time UTMB winner and good friend Francois D鈥橦aene, and his family. Ar锚ches is a two-hour drive to Chamonix, but the Walmsleys’ trips to Chamonix have been infrequent, except when Jim has been training on the course or they have been visiting friends.

The Walmsleys aren鈥檛 fluent in French, but they have been learning the language slowly by taking online classes and talking with friends, training partners, acquaintances, and local merchants.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been slow, but there’s no way to speed it up,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n my big block of training, my French has gotten worse. We feel comfortable enough to go everywhere and do errands and stuff, and a lot of the people that work at the local stores know that our French isn’t the best, so they鈥檝e been nice and spoke English to us.鈥�

2. He鈥檚 Recovered from an Ankle Injury He Suffered in the Spring

In early May, about two weeks after winning the in Croatia, Walmsley was on an easy recovery run on a dirt road near Annecy, France, when he rolled his right ankle and suffered a bad sprain that resulted in two partially torn ligaments and one fully torn ligament. Although he didn鈥檛 need surgery, he had to take about a month off of running and miss the opportunity to compete for Team USA in the in Innsbruck, Austria, in early June. (He was supposed to compete in both the 7.5K vertical mountain running race and the 85K long trail running race.)

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It happened just before he and Jess returned to the U.S. for the first time in a year in May, which meant he was able to do physical therapy sessions in Flagstaff. He spent a lot of time riding indoors on a Wahoo bike trainer before progressing to riding outside and eventually running again by mid-June.

鈥淎ll things considered, it healed up pretty good and quick,鈥� Walmsley said. 鈥淚 think initially it was taking a little longer than I thought because it was just worse than I’d hoped, but then I was pretty patient with it and it improved. I just had to have the discipline to make sure I didn’t do too much and hoped it was the best case scenario and that I could stay on track. So yeah, I got lucky because I was able to stay on track and do all that I wanted to do training wise once it was healed.鈥�

3. Getting Immigration Paperwork Wasn鈥檛 Easy

The Walmsleys knew in early 2022 they intended to move to France so Jim could focus on training for UTMB. They started the paperwork process in April of that year, filling out a packet of forms and then visiting the French embassy in Los Angeles to take fingerprints and photos. But the process to get residency status finalized wound up taking more than 13 months and wasn鈥檛 finalized until late April of this year. Because they had overstayed 90-day limit that Americans are allowed to visit France without a visa, they weren鈥檛 allowed to leave the country until their paperwork was finalized. Once they had the French-issued long-stay visa certificate in hand, they returned to the U.S. and spent a busy month in the U.S. from late May to late June.

鈥淚t was slower than it should have been, but Hoka helped out by hiring an agency to speak with them and get us through the process,鈥� Walmsley said.

4. He鈥檚 Trained with Locals, and He鈥檚 Trained Alone

Not long after winning last October鈥檚 Festival Des Templiers, a 51-mile race with 12,000 feet of vertical gain, Walmsley took several months off from running and exclusively trained on alpine touring skis and indoors on his Wahoo bike trainer. He did a lot of ski mountaineering with D鈥橦aene for training last winter and ran a lot with him through the spring, however they haven鈥檛 connected much during the summer because they鈥檝e both been busy and traveling. He鈥檚 trained a lot more with Simon Gosselin, a 28-year-old French mountain runner who moved to the Beaufort region last fall, as well as small groups of other local French athletes.

Walmsley has also done a lot of training on his own, including during his recent UTMB buildup in July and August. Although he trained on specific sections of the UTMB course, he also created many new routes. For example, in early August he ran a 39-mile route with 15,000 feet of vertical gain from his house in Ar锚ches to Courmayeur, Italy. , he averaged about 200K (or 125 miles) of running with massive amounts of vertical gain and descents.

鈥淚 think I probably have done better training than last year,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 feel like I’ve nailed my training block as best as I would want, and from now until (the race) it鈥檚 just about trying to time the right sensations in the legs, because you don’t want to find yourself with flat legs after putting in so much work, which is something that has happened before. I don’t think there’s anything I’d change with training going into this or that I didn’t have any hiccups with injuries through the training block. With some foresight, before I got my mileage up, I put a cap on my volume and pretty much stuck to it so I wouldn鈥檛 do too much, but just the right amount.鈥�

5. He鈥檚 Improved His Ski-Mountaineering Skills

Walmsley moved to France as a relative novice as a ski mountaineer, but he was on skis for nearly 100 days last winter and became a strong uphiller and proficient skiing moderate downhill sections. He has raced in a few ski mountaineering races, although he says he鈥檚 still not an expert-level skier going downhill on variable snow and terrain. He didn鈥檛 participate in the that鈥檚 held near his house in March, but he has skied all of the local peaks included in the course.

鈥淚 improved a lot throughout the season and by the end of the season I’d say I’m competitive going uphill on a global scale, which is interesting,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut as far as being able to do a race, I’ll never have the touch to race on skis, and I don’t think I want to. I don’t think it would be good for me to try to push on skis like that, but to have the capability to do things within my comfort, I think that would be great.鈥�

6. He鈥檚 Excited to Race a Strong UTMB Field Once Again

In last year鈥檚 race, Walmsley made an aggressive move in Italy at about the 85K point (roughly 53 miles) between Courmayeur and Arnouvaz to open up a gap on Jornet and continued pushing the pace over the 8,300-foot high point on Grand Col Ferret (102K/63.4 miles) on the way into Switzerland. Walmsley led by about 15 minutes by the time he reached the Champex-Lac aid station (125K/77.6 miles), but after that he began to fade slightly on the ensuing 3,000-foot climb and was caught by Jornet before the Trient aid station (143K/88.5 miles). From there, Walmsley didn鈥檛 have the energy and faded to fourth place.

Although Jornet is sidelined with an injury this year, the rest of last year鈥檚 top 10 men鈥檚 finishers appear to be healthy and returning to this year鈥檚 race. That includes runner-up Mathieu Blanchard (France), third-place finisher and 2023 Western States 100 champion Tom Evans (UK), as well as Zach Miller (U.S.) and Be帽at Marmissolle (France), the fifth- and sixth-place finishers, respectively, and additional top-10 finishers Arthur Joyeux-Bouillon (France), Jonas Russi (Switzerland), Robert Hajnal (Romania), and 鈥嬧�婽hibaut Garrivier (France).

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Sweden鈥檚 Petter Engdahl, who won the CCC 100K in record-setting fashion, is in the field, as are experienced stalwarts Pau Capell (Spain), Tim Tollefson (U.S.), Daniel Jones (New Zealand), Ludovic Pommeret (France), and Jean-Philippe Tschumi (Switzerland). 鈥淵ou have the field that you always expect at UTMB, which kind of makes it the race that it is,鈥� Walmsley says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I love to compete in UTMB.鈥�

And what about not being able to race against Jornet? 鈥淚 mean, I don鈥檛 have much control about it, so, yeah, it just kind of is what it is,鈥� he says.

7. He鈥檚 Adapted His Fueling Strategy

At last year鈥檚 UTMB, Walmsley admits he might not have fueled as effectively as he should have during the middle section of the course.

鈥淟ast year was close but not quite and I ran my own legs out by myself,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 mean, there’s a good takeaway that it didn’t feel like anyone else rang my legs out. I felt like at some point in the race I broke away from everyone, but ultimately my stomach didn’t hold up, which means my energy didn’t hold up, which means my legs didn’t hold up. And having that energy at that point in the race is more important than being the most fit guy on the line.鈥�

During this year鈥檚 race, Walmsley plans to consume Never Second passion fruit energy gels and endurance/energy drinks, as well as eating a variety of mini rice cakes popularized by Dr. Allen Lim, author of and founder of Skratch Labs. Walmsley will have a variety of sweet and savory race cake options that Jess has been experimenting with in their kitchen. Other than that, he plans to eliminate all candy and junk food this year, although he might have a few crunchy chocolate cookies along the way.

Walmsley admits nutrition is always a bit of a moving target for him, but he says he feels more confident than ever about his fueling plan, especially after he did a long workout in which Jess manned an impromptu aid station with rice cakes and sparkling water.

鈥淭here’s definitely going to be a bigger focus on being quick through the aid stations,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t will all be based on the race situation, but you need to be ready to be quick because some of the guys in the front are going right through aid stations. And who knows if the race breaks open or if I break it open, then maybe there will be the luxury of having some time. But plan A will be to be in and out between probably one to two minutes or less.鈥�

8. He鈥檚 Racing in Customized Hoka Prototype Shoes

Walmsley has two different all-black Hoka prototype shoes that he鈥檚 been training in for UTMB. Both are customized versions of Hoka Tecton X 2 shoes that include Peba foam midsoles and dual/parallel carbon-fiber propulsion plates, but each has different plate, foam and upper componentry and characteristics. The primary pair that he thinks he might run the whole course in is lighter than the prototype he wore last year, has a different outsole with bigger lugs and has more interior padding. The secondary pair of shoes looks identical but it鈥檚 even lighter and more responsive. He鈥檚 not sure if he鈥檒l change into that pair during the latter stages of the race or not. (He rolled his ankle in a different pair of shoes when he was injured in June, not the racing prototypes.)

鈥淲e’re working a little bit within the box because it’s still the same mold as the Tecton X, but these shoes have different foams, different plates, different uppers,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here are some things that make this shoe really unique and awesome, but I’m not sure it’s a shoe that everyone would like. It’s really light and it’s nimble, but it takes some getting used to and knowing how it reacts and what it feels like. But it鈥檚 as close to a supershoe as you can have on the trails.鈥�

9. He Plans to Continue Living in France

Walmsley says he and Jess will probably spend more time in the U.S. in 2024, but also says, no matter how UTMB goes for him this year, he鈥檚 pretty sure they鈥檒l continue to live in France on and off into 2025. Now that he鈥檚 running UTMB for the fifth time, he says he鈥檚 learned a lot about the mountains and the culture of the event and appreciates it even more. Whereas he used to show up much closer to the race, the additional time immersing in the local terrain last year and especially this year, has changed his perspective entirely and helped him feel better prepared and confident than ever before.

鈥淟ooking back, was it immature to say the first time coming into the race my goal was to try to win it?鈥� he ponders. 鈥淚t kind of makes me wish I had taken more steps towards doing it so I could learn more. Because just kind of going straight into the fire, you don’t necessarily have the toolbox to do everything as you should probably. So yeah, at this point it probably would’ve been better off progressing forward and maybe I’m still on that progression. I think each year I come back and I make less mistakes from the year before. Hopefully that says I鈥檓 on an improving trajectory.

But for now, I’m really happy with the level of commitment that I’ve put towards it, how preparation has gone, basically what’s been in my control. So now it’s just time to race鈥nd if it works out, it makes for a really nice story. If it doesn’t, it goes on.鈥�

10. He鈥檚 Hoping to Run the Western States 100 in 2024

If all goes well, Walmsley says he鈥檒l run the Nice C么te d’Azur by UTMB 100-mile race on September 29鈥攍ess than a month after UTMB鈥攚ith the hopes of getting a Golden Ticket qualifier for the 2024 Western States 100. If he runs Western States next summer, he鈥檇 be trying to become only the fourth runner to win at least four times鈥攂ehind Scott Jurek (seven), Tim Twietmeyer (five), and Ann Transon (fourteen). He鈥檚 also strongly considering running the Transgrancanaria 126K race in the Canary Island or the Black Canyon 100K in Arizona late next winter.

But, as much as he鈥檚 focused on UTMB since living in France, the Western States 100 is near and dear to his heart. After that, who knows?

鈥淚 haven鈥檛 been there in a while, so it would be nice to go back,鈥� Walmsley says. 鈥淎fter that, I鈥檓 not sure what will happen next. Maybe I鈥檒l apply to Hardrock or just come back to UTMB or CCC. I鈥檝e never applied to Hardrock and I don’t know if the race is a goal or just that I鈥檓 inspired because it鈥檚 a prestigious race in a different way. I enjoy running in Silverton and I think I could run the whole thing without a map, like tomorrow.鈥�

The post 10 Things to Know About Jim Walmsley鈥檚 Obsession to Win UTMB appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

When the news broke in May 2021 that Ironman and UTMB were joining forces, the small corner of the internet that hosts the trail running community nearly lost its collective mind. Skeptics lamented the end of trail running鈥檚 eccentric, community-centric culture, while optimists celebrated the likelihood of better race organization, standardized rules, and real prize money. But nearly all of the hot takes missed the larger point entirely: Ironman, the largest operator of mass sporting events in the world, just went all-in on trail running? WHAT?!

Following his experience at Western States 100, David Roche made the argument that , especially in the long term. To paraphrase, trail running is evolving real-time as brands collectively invest millions of dollars each year. This added money is good for the sport, helping reach a wider audience and bringing in opportunities for everyone.

But IRONMAN鈥檚 bet on trail running wasn鈥檛 just a small, linear step forward. Much the opposite, actually. Already owning ultras in Australia and New Zealand, Ironman could have continued to invest incrementally, but instead opened up their pocketbook and bought the farm. This spring they rolled out an unprecedented suite of 25 races, spanning the globe from France to Thailand, China, Wales, Slovenia, Mexico, and Sweden. Crowned the UTMB World Series, it became, by far, the biggest race series in the sport’s history, almost overnight.

Which leaves a听 Mont Blanc-sized question: what did they know that the rest of us didn鈥檛? Catherine Poletti, UTMB President and Founder, and Andrew Messick, CEO of Ironman, presumably looked into their crystal ball and saw an opportunity too good to pass up. On the eve of the biggest race of the year in Chamonix, they opened up about the newly minted partnership and their bet on the future of the sport.

What The Data Says

鈥淭he data is pretty clear,鈥� said Messick, 鈥渢rail running has had double digit year-over-year growth in every continent for more than a decade.鈥� The reason behind this? Trail running offers something everyone needs right now: freedom. In a world more and more crowded every day, Messick wants to capitalize on our collective need for an escape. 鈥淭rail running looks identical to triathlons 30 years ago. Lots of races and events created by small groups of very passionate people, but most of these people don鈥檛 want the risk or work of scaling up. The natural step is being acquired by a company like ours.鈥�

World Athletics reports that trail running has grown , estimating that around 20 million people ran on trails this year. COVID is driving an even larger surge in the last couple years, which shows no signs of slowly down. There are roughly 3,600 organized races annually, most of which are run by small, local groups, with nearly 2 million race participants in total.

From a business perspective, the racing industry is built on fixed costs, says Messick. 鈥淭here are clear prices for pulling permits, closing roads, and setting up aids, which we know well. Once you鈥檝e paid these, the cost to add each additional athlete is low and the variable margin high.鈥� IRONMAN mastered this math en route to becoming the largest race production company in the world.

Growth Requires Capital

When it comes to costs, racing is similar to retail. Opening a new store is capital intensive, so you need a plan to bring in customers quickly. That tenant is the heart of this partnership. 鈥淲e work well together because we have different skill sets, but the same goals and values,鈥� said Messick. 鈥淥ur experience with triathlons gives us a framework for rolling out new events, and their connection to the community guarantees we reach large audiences and bring in a lot of participants.鈥�

Heading into 2020, UTMB had 10,000 spots for 32,000 applicants at their flagship race series in Chamonix, France. This might sound like a problem, but for Poletti and Messick, it was a huge opportunity. UTMB knew it had the ability to create sky-high demand, and Ironman had the firepower to create ample supply. 鈥淐OVID gave us time to think about what the future could be. UTMB was known around the world, but we had to find a way to export it to all the other continents,鈥� said Poletti. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when we started talking with Ironman.鈥�

At the time, UTMB was still a small company without the resources to tackle such an ambitious goal. Ironman, on the other hand, was perhaps better equipped than any company in the world. 鈥淲e were already working with Ironman through the Ultra Trail World Tour and knew we had the same vision of the future. We either could become partners or competitors, so it was an easy decision to work together,鈥� said Poletti.

Simple Economics

鈥淚t鈥檚 simple economics,鈥� said Messick, hinting at a threshold for profitability. 鈥淯ltra Trail Australia has over 8,000 runners across all races. Tarawera and Eiger each have 4,000. Lavaredo is closer to 6,000. Thousands of runners over multiple days is our sweet spot. We make sure all of our new races can scale to this.鈥� In the future, Poletti said that there might be 50 races or more under the UTMB umbrella.

While many companies have aspirations to scale exponentially, few try to do it overnight. To many in the trail community, the announcement of the World Series this spring came as a shock. The small sport isn鈥檛 accustomed to quick, drastic changes from global players like Ironman. Behind the scenes, Messick and Poletti spent the winter purchasing races around the world, but to the general consumer, it happened all at once. This surprise rubbed many the wrong way, throwing a wrench in their summer racing plans.

But Ironman saw the change as necessary from a business perspective. 鈥淭he idea was to establish a single qualification system to get to Chamonix鈥� said Messick, 鈥渢o do so we needed to move fast to provide a path. We risked losing customers to competitors if they didn鈥檛 have a local way to qualify. Rolling out the series in 5 or 10 years wasn鈥檛 an option for us, because it would ostracize too many people.鈥�

However, Messick admits it鈥檚 a work in progress, with a lot of expansion left. 鈥淩ight now we only have two races in the US and none in Canada. That鈥檚 two of the most important running markets in the world. And no races in Japan, India, or Korea, either. With the demand we鈥檙e already seeing, if we had 100 races in the series we鈥檇 probably fill them. It鈥檚 not so much about the future as it is about today.鈥�

In those few words, Messick inadvertently showed his hand.听 Ironman big bet wasn鈥檛 predicated on the long term growth of trail running at all, but instead on a monopoly of the market today. With UTMB as a partner, they have the ability to drive both demand and supply. They don鈥檛 need a quantum leap in the market cap to see a return on their investment if they can capture what already sits in front of them.

In her parting words, Poletti confirmed the notion. 鈥淭his is the next generation of the sport. It鈥檚 already happening today. We鈥檙e unifying all of trail running under the banner of the UTMB World Series.鈥�

The post Ironman鈥檚 Big Bet On Trail Running appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

After Kilian Jornet won the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) for a record-tying fourth time on August 27, it was easy to assume that running 100 miles is something that comes easy to him.

It doesn鈥檛, but it would be easy to think that because, well, it sure looked that way.

While the 34-year-old who hails from the Catalan region of Spain has long ago established himself as the G.O.A.T. of ultra-distance trail running in the mountains, he鈥檚 as human as each of the other 2,300 runners who toed the line at this year鈥檚 UTMB. Like his fellow competitors, Jornet felt fatigue in his legs from grinding through the 171.5km (106.5-mile) course and its 33,000 feet of elevation gain. He said he had difficulty breathing when he ran too fast or climbed too abruptly, likely the lingering effects of having just overcome Covid-19 earlier in the month.

And, like everyone else, he had to fight off low moments of mental torment, and maybe even a tiny trace of self-doubt鈥攔emember, he鈥檚 human鈥攁s American rival Jim Walmsley opened up a big lead on him over the Grand Col Ferret as the course passed from Italy to Switzerland.

But what sets Jornet apart, and what has always distinguished him as an athlete, is a unique combination of physical ability, smart racing strategy and a deep connection to the mountains that allows him to move joyfully, patiently and, at times, seemingly with relative ease amid the physical anguish that comes with running such a grueling race.

But make no mistake, he suffered enroute to winning UTMB in a course-record 19 hours, 49 minutes, even if he made it look easy overcoming Walmsley and dispatching competent French contender Mathieu Blanchard.

鈥淪ince the start there has not been a single moment in which I didn鈥檛 suffer,鈥� Jornet said after the race. 鈥淚 knew that I needed to keep my intensity under a certain threshold where it can be heavy for the lungs, but it was no problem. But muscularly it was very hard from the start of the race.鈥�

Jornet is human, even if it took a debilitating illness to show it. But as he turned in yet another masterwork performance on the world鈥檚 biggest stage, Jornet gave glimpses of what has made him so otherworldly for so long. Perhaps surprisingly, superior physicality is only a small part of it.

Patience and Respect

Having already won UTMB three times and Hardrock a record-tying five times鈥攎ost recently just six weeks earlier鈥擩ornet had nothing to prove in Chamonix. In fact, if he had never toed the line or for that matter retires from competition, his legacy of epic race victories and Fastest Known Time (FKT) records on some of the most difficult trails and biggest mountains around the world would stand the test of time.

But that brings up another element that makes Jornet great is that he has always run as if he had nothing to prove. Sure, he鈥檚 a competitive athlete, but his focus seems to be more about immersing in the zest of competition and the life-affirming bliss he鈥檚 always felt in the mountains.

For Jornet, the destination truly is the journey, not the outcome. That adventure-oriented focus was something he learned in his youth growing up in the high-alpine environment of the Cap de Rec mountain refuge in the Spanish Pyrenees, where his dad was a mountain guide and his mom was a ski instructor. He climbed his first peak at age 3 and started competing in ski mountaineering races at 12.

Along the way, he developed a grounded sense of presence in the mountains that has allowed him to remain calm and bide his time in ultra-distance races鈥攅specially more rugged mountain races like UTMB and Hardrock. Instead of going all-out from the front, he typically follows a more fluid strategy of just staying in contact with the lead group and letting the race play out a bit as the terrain dictates before becoming hyper-competitive.

Contrast that to Walmsley, who has been hellbent on becoming the first American man to win the race with a front-running mentality, countryman Zach Miller, who returned after injuries and Covid-19 kept him away from continuing the same pursuit for three years, and the hard-charging Blanchard, who was eager to steal the show and make a name for himself in front of a supportive mostly French crowd after a robust third-place finish in 2021.

Even when Jornet was younger, he ran with maturity and wisdom beyond his years, always earnestly clinging to the premise that the experience of racing鈥攁nd sharing it with his competitors, not to mention spectators and volunteers when possible鈥攊s always more important than the actual race itself.

When Walmsley built a big lead with a strong power-hiking surge up the Grand Col Ferret, Jornet was seemingly content, at that moment, to ease through the highest point of the course, chatting at times with volunteers, fans and videographers in French, Spanish or English as he had done at times earlier in the race. In previous UTMB races, he鈥檚 burst ahead on the switchbacks up Grand Col Ferret and other steep climbs on that course, only to stop on top and wait for his competitors to catch up while gazing at the stars or picking mushrooms with children.

鈥淎t Hardrock this year, when I saw him on top of Grant Swamp Pass, he stopped in the middle of the race just to chat with me because we hadn鈥檛 seen each other in a while,鈥� Miller says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just the way Kilian is.鈥�

A Versatile Mountain Athlete

Jornet has a much more diverse set of athletic skills and abilities than most ultrarunners. In addition to winning ultras, Jornet was a multiple world champion in ski mountaineering and SkyRunning in his twenties. He also set a host of new speed ascent marks and roundtrips on Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Aconcagua (Argentina), Mont Blanc (France) and the Matterhorn (Switzerland). Although he missed in his attempt to set a new FKT on 29,032-foot Mt. Everest in 2017, he actually summited the world鈥檚 highest mountain twice in six days without supplemental oxygen.

When he was a few years younger, he set a new record on the 171-mile Tahoe Rim Trail in California and Nevada and posted the fastest-ever time up the steep, rocky 1.3-mile Mt. Sanitas Trail in Boulder, Colorado.

鈥淜ilian is a beast,鈥� says Francois D鈥橦aene, the other four-time UTMB winner who last year became the first to win Hardrock and UTMB in the same summer. 鈥淲hen it comes to Vertical K races and distances from 40K to 100K, I think there is no competition between us. He鈥檚 faster than me and stronger than me, especially on technical terrain.鈥�

Aside from long-and-rugged Hardrock and UTMB, Jornet won the shorter and much faster 42km Zegama Alpine Marathon in Spain and placed fourth in the 31km Sierre-Zinal village-to-village race in Switzerland in August. A lot of it has to do with the fact that he still trains in much of the same fashion as he did as a kid, often focusing more on fun, hard, playful days of adventure on foot or on skis as much as he does structured high-performance workouts.

鈥淜ilian is unique in the range that he can cover,鈥� Miller says. 鈥淎s a runner, his ability to switch back and forth from something like Zegama to Hardrock to Sierre-Zinal to UTMB is just incredible. And because of that ability, I think he鈥檚 a bit of a mad scientist when it comes to training. He kind of turns himself into a guinea pig and trains in ways other guys might not be willing to for fear of overtraining.鈥�

All of that translated into Jornet鈥檚 ability to win this year鈥檚 UTMB despite trailing Walmsley by about 15 minutes at the 126km aid station at Champex. When the surging Blanchard caught him and quickly left the aid station, Jornet鈥檚 competitiveness and mountain practicality started to fire up. They passed Walmsley and gapped him and then ran stride for stride over the ensuing 2,300-foot climb from the village of Trient down into the ski town of Valloricine.

Finally, after leaving the 153km aid station at the same moment as Blanchard, Jornet surged on a gently sloped 4km section of trail to the base of the final 2,600-foot climb up T锚te aux Vents. Blanchard got a first-hand view of the master at work and all he could do was watch him run away to victory and hold on for second place.

鈥淩unning from Champex with Mathieu, I knew I was stronger going up but that he was catching on the downhills,鈥� said Jornet, who has lived in Norway for the past several years with his wife, Emelie Forsberg, and their two young children. 鈥淥nce we got to Valloricine, the strategy was to push very hard up the final climb to T锚te aux Vents and then manage the lead. I had about an 8-minute lead and I was feeling comfortable with it, but in a ultra race you never know, many things can happen.鈥�

A Transcendent Athlete

At some point a conversation about Jornet should transcend trail running and include the similarities he shares with other great athletes who have had a similarly dominant presence in other sports. And yes, that means Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, Lindsay Vonn, Eddie Merckx, Michael Phelps, Ann Trason, Lynn Hill, Kelly Slater and Eliud Kipchoge.

Why not? Like each of those all-time athletes, Jornet has consistently risen to the occasion at the biggest moments of his career, not only because he physically outclasses the competition, but also because his intellectual prowess as an athlete and his ability to outthink, outwit and outlast them. It鈥檚 not that he wins everything鈥攁lthough he鈥檚 won the vast majority of his races since winning UTMB as a 20-year-old in 2008鈥攊t鈥檚 more that he鈥檚 been competing at the highest level for 15 years and hasn鈥檛 regressed and has rarely had bad days.

In 2017, he had a rough go of it in the UTMB and finished second to D鈥橦aene and in 2018 he dropped out after inflammation and pain caused by a pre-race bee sting made it difficult to keep running.

鈥淓ven his bad races he performs well, and I think that鈥檚 what makes Kilian special,鈥� says Walmsley, who finished fourth at UTMB this year. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 a bad moment or a bad race, he鈥檚 always still competing at a really high level. I have raced him twice at UTMB and both times I have thought I have found a crack, but I haven鈥檛 been able to hold onto it.鈥�

Until recently, Jornet might have been viewed solely for his athletic. But with his bold move this year to break away from longtime sponsor Salomon and begin a new environmentally friendly trail running shoe brand called NNormal (with Spanish footwear brand Camper), he鈥檚 not only begun to hone his entrepreneurial spirit in the world of business but also to make an impact as the environmental steward he鈥檚 always been.

It’s a path only a handful of high-level outdoor athletes achieved success at after making their mark in their sport disciplines, most notably Yvon Chouinard, a climber, surfer and kayaker who founded Patagonia in 1970.

Jornet ran all of his races this year in the same model of NNormal shoes that will be available at running shops and online this fall. It鈥檚 a uniquely designed shoe that鈥檚 balanced under the midfoot to promote midfoot and forefoot running gaits, but with enough cushioning to run with a heel-striking stride, especially on downhill sections of a trail. A thin polyurethane plate provides protection from rocks and some energy return, while a proprietary version of a Vibram Litebase Megagrip outsole serves up secure traction.

That all might sound pretty standard, but Jornet really wants his NNormal shoes to stand out for their durability. He and his colleagues have gone to great lengths to source long-lasting components, but they鈥檝e also designed the shoe to be deconstructed so it will be easy to re-sole, repair or recycle it after hundreds of miles of wear and tear. It鈥檚 all part of that is all aimed at transparently designing gear with the smallest carbon footprint possible.

鈥淭here are a lot of good guys in the sport, but in [my] mind, Kilian is the king of the sport,鈥� says Miller, who was the fifth finisher at UTMB this year. 鈥淗e sets the tone for the entire sport and [is] a great representative of the sport.鈥�

The post Kilian Jornet Isn鈥檛 the G.O.A.T. of Trail Running Just Because He Wins Big Races appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.