Since 2020, Yassine Diboun has made it a point each year to black out one square on his calendar with a Sharpie.

It’s a gesture to signify that on this day, typically set around the winter solstice, this 45-year-old ultrarunner and coach from Portland, Oregon, won’t run during the day, as he does most every other day of the year. Instead, he’ll watch a movie with his daughter, Farah, or cook a meal with his wife, Erica, eagerly waiting for night to fall. Because that is when the action starts.

Diboun has become a fixture in Portland’s trail running scene, a and one of the most electric and positive forces in the U.S. ultrarunning scene today. He is also an athlete in active substance addiction recovery since 2004.

And here, at the confluence of endurance and recovery, is where Diboun enacts an annual tradition in Portland called . From sundown to sunup, Diboun runs through the evening, covering a route that connects city streets with trails in Forest Park while accompanied by dozens of other runners.

On December 9, Diboun will start his fourth-annual Move Through Darkness run. It may exceed 70 miles. It may not. That’s not really the point, though in some sense it is, for the more miles he runs, the more pledge-per-mile dollars he gains to funnel into future recovery programs, the very support structures that saved his own life two decades prior.

A Personal Mission

In 2009, Diboun and his wife moved to Portland, where he pursued a career in coaching. One of the first things Diboun did upon arrival was to connect with the recovery community, which led him to , the largest recovery support center in the United States.

Diboun’s personal history of substance addiction is circuitous and complicated—documented extensively in , , interviews, and others—but what’s most important to know is that it led him down a path that wasn’t his own. Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and the 12-step program threw him a lifeline and he white-knuckled it to shore, reinforced by commitments to a plant-based diet and a healthy dose of body movement. (That’s code for running a ton of miles.)

Such discipline brought him to the highest levels of ultrarunning. He’s a four-time finisher of the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (once in the top 10), a three-time finisher of the H.U.R.T. 100, in Hawaii, and he represented the U.S. at the IAU Trail World Championships in 2015. These accolades sit beside countless ultra wins and podiums.

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His success story prompted Brent Canode, executive director of the Alano Club or Portland, to reach out to Diboun in 2018 with a proposition. Diboun had, by then, teamed up with mountain athlete Willie McBride, to start in 2012. The business offers group functional fitness programs, youth programs, and personal guidance to get people outdoors and on trails.

Under Canode’s leadership, the Alano Club just launched (TRG)—a CrossFit-style facility offering courses for those in recovery, and Canode saw running as a natural extension of this program. He asked Diboun to spearhead a new running portion of the gym. For Canode, though models like the 12-step program were widely available and proven effective, he found the diversity of options for community lacking beyond that.

“What we learned was that a lot of folks don’t attend 12-step programs,” Canode says. “They haven’t found a connection anywhere else, and that’s a matter of life or death for a person in recovery.”

Together, the two started regular informal runs called the Recovery Trail Running Series, which evolved into a more formalized wing of the gym: Run TRG. This program quickly took off, offering evening group runs, outings that would often end in post-run dinners and fun gatherings. The groups grew bigger each week.

“We cultivated this community for anybody in or seeking recovery from substance addiction, and it really picked up some good momentum,” Diboun says.

When the pandemic shut everything down in March 2020, including The Recovery Gym and its new Run program, regulars instantly lost the group’s connection. Many relapsed and started using substances again. A few turned to suicide, including a prospective coaching client for Diboun who had met with him just one week prior.

“I know from personal experience that life can get too overwhelming at times and you get too stressed or overwhelmed and you can’t see anything,” Diboun says. “You can’t see any hope, so you just live recklessly, helplessly. In extreme cases, life can feel not worth living anymore.”

A Resilient Collaboration

While running one evening by headlamp, Diboun thought about the fragility of hope, the pandemic, the recent suicides, and the ever-increasing need for community. The combination of isolation and mental health decline, paired with an uptick in running popularity during the pandemic (Run TRG, once relaunched, tripled in size), created an opportunity for Diboun to leverage his visibility as both a decorated ultrarunner and someone vocal about his addiction history.

An idea was born: Move Through Darkness.

For one night, sundown to sunrise, he would organize a run to crisscross the city, connecting various trail systems and raising visibility of the mental health challenges entangled with isolation and addiction. It would take place around the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.

The initiative would serve three main purposes: First, it would be a personal pilgrimage for Diboun, a reminder of his own ongoing relationship with sobriety. Second, it would offer another way for those in recovery to come closer during difficult times. And third, the event would raise financial support for the which serves more than 10,000 people in recovery each year through mutual support groups like A.A., peer mentoring services, art programs, harm reduction services, and fitness-based initiatives like The Recovery Gym and Peak Recovery, Alano’s newest program, which provides free courses in split boarding, rock climbing, and mountaineering. Over the last eight years Alano has won four national awards for innovation in the behavioral health field.

Inaugural Success

December 2020 was the first-ever Move Through Darkness event. About 30 runners participated throughout the night, joining Diboun in various sections of his sinuous route. Given that the invitation was to run upwards of 100K through the night in some of the worst weather of the year, the turnout was impressive. The group eventually made their way to Portland’s Duniway Track to complete a few hours of loops, encouraged onward by music.

One of those runners that first year was Mike Grant, 47, from Portland. Grant has been in long-term recovery with substance addiction and understands the initial hurdles of getting out there. During the event, Grant completed his first ultra-distance run by covering 50 miles. He hasn’t missed a Move Through Darkness run since.

This year, he’ll be joining again, in large because of Diboun.

“You hang out with Yassine for any length of time, and the next thing you know you’re running further than you ever have before,” Grant says. “He’s one of those people you just feel better when you’re around.”

The Move Through Darkness route is roughly the same every year, but it always starts and ends at the Alano Club, located in Portland’s Northwest neighborhood. This first year, his daughter, Farah, ran with him from Duniway to the Alano Club, which was a particularly special moment to share.

The fundraising component is a pledge-per-mile model, where you can pay a certain dollar amount for every mile Diboun will cover. All funds go to support the Alano Club, specifically the Recovery Toolkit Series. Other recovery-focused gyms are increasingly available nationwide, but The Recovery Gym is the only CrossFit affiliate in the U.S. designed from the ground up, exclusively for individuals in recovery.

Each week, TRG offers six to eight classes free of charge to anyone in recovery. Every coach holds credentials in both CrossFit instruction and peer mentoring for substance use and mental health disorders. An original inspiration for Run TRG was the , a nonprofit established in 2015 to provide running community reinforcement for those affected by addiction and substance addiction.

The Mental Health Crisis

, 29 percent of U.S. adults have been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives—the highest rate since such data was measured. Suicides in the U.S. reached all-time highs in 2022, —about 135 people per day lost to self-inflicted death. In 2022, 20.4 million people in the U.S. were diagnosed with substance abuse disorder (SUD).

Oregon, specifically, is rated number one in the country for illicit drug use. In 2020, Oregon had the , while ranking last in treatment options.

Canode says that, after 40 years of researching addiction and effective recovery, the single most important aspect of recovery success is authentic connection to a like-minded community. That’s why both Canode and Diboun are building an all-hands-on-deck approach to recovery through running, to strengthen connections through movement.

“In recovery, we know how to grind,” he says. “We are naturally great endurance athletes. We also know how to consistently move through darkness, which is especially true in the beginning of someone’s recovery journey. It’s often not rainbows and unicorns and lots of positivity. It’s a grind. It’s grueling.”

Annalou Vincent, 42, a senior production manager at Nike, is one of the many people who have reached out to Diboun from all over the Portland community.

“Finding Yassine and Run TRG saved my life,” she says. After starting a running practice in her thirties, she started feeling better and decided to question decisions like drinking alcohol. She eventually dropped booze and became a regular at the Run TRG. Vincent has worked closely with Yassine to develop and promote Run TRG, and has joined Diboun for various legs of Move Through Darkness over the years.

“I can’t imagine my life or my sobriety without running and this program, says Vincent. “Over the years I’ve seen it change the lives of many others. Move Through Darkness is an extension of that. This program and others like it are saving lives.”

Gratitude Is a Verb

Willie McBride, Diboun’s business partner, supports Move Through Darkness each year and has witnessed its evolution and impact.

“I think people really connect with this project because they understand those dark parts of life, and how challenging they can be. Darkness comes in all different forms,” he says. “But also the very tangible act of running all night, literally putting their body out there—coming together as a group sheds light right into that darkness.”

Diboun is reminded daily of his life’s work, to remain sober and offer his endurance as a gift to others, even when it gets difficult.

“I’m coming up on 20 years sober, but I’m not cured of this,” he says. “This is something I need to keep doing and stay on the frontlines.”

With record rainfall aiming for Oregon in December, this Saturday night calls for a 58 percent chance of rain showers, with the last light at 5 P.M. and the first light around 7 A.M. That’s potentially 14 soggy hours of night running. But this forecast doesn’t cause Diboun any concern. He’s used to it, used to running for hours in the dark, used to being drenched. He’s faced that long tunnel and knows that there’s always light at the end, as long as you keep trudging forward, and best when together.

“You keep passing it on,” he says. “You keep giving it away, in order to keep it. Gratitude is a verb.”

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Mike Spinnler cries nearly every time he recounts memories as a runner and long-time race director of the , the oldest continuously run ultra in the country.

Such memories include the time he first ran the iconic Maryland race when he was 12 years old, or the year he cheered on his 60-year-old wife as she crossed the finish, or memories of watching his two sons racing. For him, this race is a member of the family.

In 1993, five years after his tenth JFK finish, Spinnler became the race’s second race director, where he’s been ever since. By then, he’d set the course record (5:53:05) in 1982, and added another win in 1983, for a total of five top-five and six top-ten finishes.

Thirty years later, it’s still his pride and joy. He’ll immerse in the magic of the event again on Saturday, November 18, as more than 1,000 runners take the journey through the historic route that’s so dear to his heart.

“It just keeps growing in its prestige,” he says.

A Race and a Pledge

The JFK 50 started in 1963, the same year President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The president had instituted a public health program to improve the nation’s fitness, supporting the launch of a series of 50-mile races around the country. But as years went on, the only one that stuck around was the JFK 50.

“Kennedy’s mission was this: Improve your physical fitness, improve your lifestyle, improve your country,” says Spinnler. “We heeded his call and have been doing it for 60-plus years.”

The JFK 50 course is located about an hour northwest of Washington D.C., covering traditional lands of the Indigenous Massawomek and Shawandassee Tule (Shawanaki/Shawnee). One of the race’s primary appeals is that it’s a horseshoe-shaped, point-to-point course with three distinct sections: The Appalachian Trail (miles 0-15), the Canal/Tow Path (miles 15-42), and the rolling finish (miles 42-50).

The race starts in Boonsboro, Maryland, follows a few miles of paved roads before connecting with the Appalachian Trail (AT), where the course climbs more than 1,000 vertical feet in five miles, crests to the high point, and follows rocky singletrack before dropping 1,000 vertical feet halfway into the race (mile 14.5), to connect with a flat marathon distance along the C&O Canal Tow Path. The last several miles are rolling country roads, where it finishes at Springfield Middle School in Williamsport.

Ruhling Aims for the Win

In 2019, Seth Ruhling, an unsponsored athlete, showed up to the JFK 50, slept in his car the night before, and won the race in a blistering 5:38:11, his debut 50-miler. Within hours of winning, he sealed a sponsorship with The North Face.

Ruhling, 29, now lives and trains in Boulder, Colorado, and he’ll be returning for his second JFK 50. Since Ruhling’s 2019 win, he has made a name for himself with a sixth place finish at the Pikes Peak Marathon in 2021, second place at Montana’s Rut 50K, first place at the Broken Arrow Skyrace 46K, and most recently, .

In 2020, JFK 50 was one of the only races in the country that didn’t shut down with the pandemic. Ruhling had planned on racing, but got injured. “I always wanted to go back,” he says.

Ruhling was particularly drawn into this year’s race because of its deep field of registered elites, which had at one point included 2023 Western States winner Tom Evans, Matt Daniels, Adam Merry, and Sean Van Horn—all of whom have since dropped.

His strategy for the mixed course, which requires technical trail chops as well as fast road turnover, is to attack every single section. He says that, while the JFK 50 is known more as a “track race,” it’s a mistake to discount the early trail miles. “The record is going to happen on the towpath, sure, but only if it’s set up with efficient running on the AT section,” he says.

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Speaking of records, when asked about his goals for the race, Ruhling did not mince words. “I definitely want to win,” he says. “I’m going to go for the course record. I’m going to send it.” He also showed deep respect for Hayden Hawks’s stout course record of 5:18:40, set in 2020. “Really, I just want to go run fast and see what I can do.”

The JFK 50 may be a forgiving course, and a great first race to consider for the ultra-curious. “If you’re coming from a road background, JFK 50 is the best intro to trail running and ultra,” Ruhling says. “There are people all over the towpath cheering for you. It’s so fun. Such a good community event.”

‘This Race Is Going to Be a Celebration’

, 27, is a professional athlete for The North Face living in Missoula, Montana, and she too will be gunning for the win at this year’s JFK 50 Mile.

Lichter is a three-time winner of the Rut 50K, two-time winner of the Lake Sonoma Marathon, the Broken Arrow 50K course record holder, and she recently represented the USA at the World Mountain Running Championships 46K, in Innsbruck, Austria, where she placed fourth, and first American.

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This April, after winning the Lake Sonoma marathon for the second time (second overall), North Face colleagues Zach Miller and Ruhling both encouraged Lichter to sign up for the JFK 50. With a background in collegiate track and cross-country and, more recently, a strong mountain running resume, this varied skill set will suit her well for JFK 50 success.

“I’m ready for a new challenge,” she says. “I love mountainous runs, but I also like grinding out controlled long efforts.” Her normal training incorporates a lot of speed and road running, anyway, so it wasn’t an entirely new approach for this build. According to Strava, she’s been putting in heavy miles. “Not gonna lie, this has been the best training block in 2023,” she says.

After an injury last winter, she approached this year with intention and strategic rest. For example, after winning the Rut 50K in September, she took a full week off before easing back into training for for JFK 50. This will be Lichter’s first 50-mile race, and she’s on the hunt for the win and course record set in 2022 by Sarah Biehl (6:05:42). Biehl broke the ten-year-old course record (6:12:00) set by Ellie Greenwood in 2012.

“This race is going to be a celebration of everything I’ve been through physically and mentally this year,” she says. “I’m just excited to support that race community and tradition. I’m all about that.”

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Pushing Edges, Changing Lives

“We love to look back with great pride about this race,” says Spinnler. “But we’re also constantly looking forward, always wanting to make it better.” He thanks his predecessor, William “Buzz” Sawyer, the original JFK 50 race director (1963–1992), who really instilled that outlook into the event team.

Spinnler likes to summon JFK for inspiration, too. “President Kennedy would be pleased to know that this race is still going on,” says Spinnler. “He was trying to get people to live a life of vigor, to use their bodies. I just want to really revel in the positivity of the event. People come out for the JFK 50 and—I know this is clichĂ©, but it’s true—it changes their lives.”

Perhaps Spinnler’s favorite JFK 50 memory of all was when, in 1983, he glimpsed his mother and father at the finish line right before winning the race. “There’s a photo floating around of my mother grabbing my hand to celebrate as I won. I still look at that photo and tear up, and that was 40 years ago,” he says.

“When all the runners are there, lined up at the start, at downtown Boonsboro, I’m telling you, I get goosebumps just thinking about it. What’s going to unfold? Race day always has this ‘Christmas morning’ effect, and Christmas morning never gets old.”

The post America’s Oldest Continuously-Held Ultramarathon Is Only Looking Forward appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

What happens when you squeeze over 53,000 runners and 2 million spectators onto a 26.2-mile course that threads through all five boroughs of America’s most beloved city? Well, you get the , the biggest and rowdiest party in running.

“The TCS New York City Marathon course traverses vibrant, diverse neighborhoods filled with millions of roaring fans,” said Suresh Muthuswami, Chairman of North America, TCS. “It’s where the world comes to celebrate running,”

On Sunday, November 5, the sixth and final World Major Marathons race of the year will take place, and it’s bound to be fast, real fast. But in addition to the elite field hunting for that podium (and the $100,000 awarded to each winner), this week, race organizers announced several new tech upgrades to enhance the race-day spectating experience.

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“We are thrilled to be launching new activations that will elevate the fan and spectator experience further—whether it be for those following the marathon for the first time or those who have been part of our running community for decades,” said Rob Simmelkjaer, CEO of New York Road Runners (NYRR).

Here’s what we know.

New Earpiece Radios for Spectators

OK, this is a first. For the first time in a major marathon, anyone at the finish area who is a Mastercard user will be able to snag an earpiece radio to pipe in the race’s live WABC-TV/ESPN2 broadcast. Imagine watching with anticipation in Central Park (along with tens of thousands of others) just as you’re listening to real-time play-by–play as the field pummels toward the finish.

App Upgrades for Better Race Tracking

This year, race organizers have upped the number of timing mats and added five cameras along the route, for a more intimate runner tracking experience on the app.

Where’s your loved one on course? How is your running buddy looking at mile 10? What’s your coworker’s 20-mile split? A quick dash of the thumb and you’ll be able to see exactly where they are, and perhaps even watch as they fly through several points along the course.

In addition, there will be a livestream of the professional race available in the app, built with “second screen” compatibility, meaning you’ll be able to seamlessly watch the race just as you toggle to track runners.

This year’s live commentary will be dished out by American legends Des Linden, Galen Rupp, and two-time NYC Marathon champion and three-time Paralympian Amanda McGrory. Another exciting bonus with this year’s app upgrade is that it now offers an integrated sustainability survey for app users to measure their environmental impact during race weekend and, in turn, make greener choices. What gets measured gets improved, right?

User-Generated, Crowd-Sourced Cheer

Other than a New York City Marathon app with second-screen capabilities and enhanced camera footage along the course you can stream in the palm of your hand, other activations this year include New Balance mobile feeds, where runners and their cheer teams can amplify their support from any phone to jumbotrons, interactive selfie stations with elite runners, a Citizens Stage that will host three days of speaker panels, and interactive maps at the expo where runners will be able to scan their bibs and a large map will light up their hometown. Last year, there were 131-plus countries represented, so expect the map to be a veritable fireworks display.

How to Watch the New York City Marathon?

on ESPN2 (and livestreamed on its app on ESPN.com) from 8 A.M. ET to 11:30 A.M ET. Pre-race coverage for the 2023 New York City Marathon will begin at 7 A.M. ET. You can also download the ESPN app or ABC 7 New York App to stream the event.

The post How to Watch the 2023 New York City Marathon appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

The first time I met Eli and Tabor Hemming, two of America’s most exciting “sub-ultra” trail runners right now, they were herding me and several other runners across a highway as if we were cattle.

I had joined a hut-to-hut trip in Colorado this July, guided by trail running legend Rickey Gates. He’d been offering this trip for the past 12 years, and he has a tradition to mark the one-and-only road crossing of the route: everyone has to come up with a fun theme for crossing the road. The quirkier the better.

Previous groups had acted as crabs. Others paired up and wheelbarrowed across. Our group decided that Eli and Tabor would herd everyone across the road as if we were stubborn cows. After all, they aren’t only two of the most promising stars in the U.S. trail running scene—they’re also ranchers on their family’s land near Kremmling, Colorado.

This introduction to the Hemmings made a lasting impression. After joining our group for the rest of the day, the married couple decided to casually run the 10 miles to their car and back home to their 200 head of Black Angus cattle, back to the trails on the family property where they’ve logged thousands of miles. The Hemmings have honed their unique lifestyle and training regimen to become two of the top runners in the (GTWS) international circuit of short and fast trail races. This week they’ve stepped away from ranch life to compete in the two-day GTWS Final in Noli, Italy.

Endurance from the Start

Eli and Tabor Hemming started their journeys in endurance sports young. Tabor, now 26, ran cross-country and track in high school. In 2013 and 2014, she competed in the World Trail and Mountain Running Championships as a junior, where she helped Team USA earn a silver medal. Tabor went on to run at the University of Colorado in Boulder, where she contributed to the Buffaloes’ 2018 NCAA cross-country championship team and earned All-American accolades.

After college, Tabor turned to trail running, and, in July 2022, won the USATF Mountain Running Championship in Whiteface, New York. This secured her a spot to represent Team USA and compete in last year’s World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Eli’s endurance started even earlier, when he was seven years old—the age most children learn how to tie their shoes—after his mother started a youth triathlon team in 2003. Eli took to swim-bike-run events and was coached by his mother until he was 19 years old, where he found his way as a professional triathlete for six years. After moving up the ranks and gunning to qualify for the Olympics, he eventually retired from triathlon in May 2021, not due to a lack of discipline, but a lack of inspiration.

“I was unable to do anything else in my life,” . “There wasn’t even any grief there, which was a little scary. It wasn’t driving me to happiness.”

Eli’s expertise in triathlon wasn’t Ironman—considered the ultra-distance of triathlon—but rather his expertise was the International Triathlon Union (ITU), or “short-course” triathlons, the faster and more dynamic distances. This speed would translate well to his move from triathlon to “short-course” trail running. In 2021, Eli finished sixth at the USATF Mountain Running Championships at Mount Hood in Oregon, then second in the same race last year, along with a second-place finish at California’s Way Too Cool 50K in 3:16:33, three minutes behind ultra-legend Tim Tollefson.

This June, Eli won the 23K at the Broken Arrow Skyrace in Olympic Valley, California, but perhaps an even more impressive performance was his second-place finish a week later at Mont Blanc Marathon in Chamonix, France, the second stop on the GTWS circuit. He was only a few minutes behind Swiss phenom Remi Bonnet, who currently after back-to-back victories at Pikes Peak and the Mammoth Trail Festival. Eli currently sits as the fourth-ranked in the men’s category for the Golden Trail World Series, the only American in the top 10 of the series going into the finals.

Ranching and Running

For Eli and Tabor, finding their way to the high court of trail running has been anything but conventional. After getting married in 2021, they bought a house in Louisville, Colorado, a suburb near Boulder, but found that, though on paper everything made sense, they weren’t happy. Eli was still following his triathlon dreams, while Tabor kept pursuing track goals. The two rarely saw each other.

“We wanted to be anywhere else but there,” says Eli. “We are trying to spend as many hours of the day outside as possible, and that setup wasn’t working.” Quickly, they flipped it 180 degrees, sold their house, and moved into the basement of Tabor’s 86-year-old grandmother’s house on the family ranch in Kremmling. They’ve never been happier.

“There are like three trail runners in Kremmling,” says Tabor with a laugh, teasing her own hometown located a few hours west of Boulder, with a population of 1,500 people. “My family’s been here for five generations,” she says. “I snuck away to college, found Eli, got married, and then was like, ‘OK, we’re coming back up here.’”

Ranching and running trails may sound romantic, but they are quick to mention that it’s not always the case. Often, Tabor’s dad, nicknamed “Shooter,” will walk into their house unannounced, sliding in “like Kramer from Seinfeld” to announce himself. Though privacy may have been forfeited in their relocation, the two have never been more aligned with their values.

“Where we live, you very much disconnect,” says Tabor. “We only have Wi-Fi and cell service at the house. As soon as you’re 400 meters from our StarLink, there’s nothing.”

This distance, however, is a welcome barrier between the buzz of scenes like Boulder, a healthy compartmentalization that invites a certain intention. When they’re training, they train. When they’re on the ranch, it’s chores, duties that often double as strength training.

“Right now is firewood season,” Eli says. “Yesterday afternoon we were getting truckloads of wood to bring down because we are the wood fetchers.” Eli and Tabor will drive an old beater truck into the woods, where Tabor’s dad (“Shooter!”) chainsaws wood that Tabor and Eli will load, stack, transport, and split
for the whole family.

They also occasionally help out at the Big Shooter coffee and ice cream shop that the family owns in Kremmling. With aging parents and two demanding businesses, the move home was ultimately to support Tabor’s family. “I just really didn’t want to see that go under for my family,” Tabor says. “Running is a time in our life. But the ranch is forever.”

Last winter, both Eli and Tabor signed on with Salomon’s elite running team. As a married couple who lives together, trains together, ranches together, and runs a coaching business together, “Aerobic Monsters,” their systems of dialogue and unending patience must be fully intact. And, by all accounts, they are.

“Everything comes down to communication,” Eli says. “Our athletic life and our personal life are one and the same. We always talk about things before a [training] session.”

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A critical key in their success is to not dwell on things, personally or on the trail. After a training run, they’ll take five minutes to debrief, and move on. “If something’s bothering us, we say it,” says Tabor. “There is danger in assuming the other person knows what you’re thinking.”

They find a ton of benefit in simply showing up, every day, for each other and for the training session, even if it didn’t go as planned. “C’s get degrees, is something I always tell my athletes,” Eli says.

Tabriz Holtz, 46, is a computer software engineer from Los Gatos, California. She’s been coached by the Hemmings for the past two years after experiencing a series of serious health setbacks. Eli and Tabor worked tirelessly, and she slowly moved from a one-minute run, one-minute walk, to a sub two-hour half marathon. “I never thought that was possible. Ever,” Holtz says.

“Tabor and Eli bring science-backed, evidence-based encouragement and belief to their coaching,” remarked Melissa Kovacs, 50, another one of the Hemmings’s athletes. She came to them “a mid-pack road runner beaten down by menopause, and their belief in me pulled me out of a dark place. They literally believe in me more than I believe in me.”

The Final Test

Eli and Tabor flew out this week to compete in the GTWS Final held in conjunction with the in Italy. But that wasn’t before the two ran the , last weekend in Big Bear, California, to qualify for next year’s OCC 55K in Chamonix.

Eli nabbed second place in 3:49:35, while Tabor made her way to the podium, finishing third woman in 4:40:49. After less than a week of rest, they’ll be racing the 5K prologue and the 24K mountain race (with 4,500 feet of vertical gain) of the GTWS Final.

Such race stacking might sound crazy, but it’s all part of their training strategy. “I don’t know if it’s mental or if it’s actually physical, but it just works really well,” says Eli.

“If you think about a taper, you’re kind of getting stale,” Tabor adds. “That stimulus of elevating lactate even a little helps clear the system. Then, mentally, you’re like, ‘Oh, I made it to that place and I survived.’ You know that place.”

What the two seem to prioritize is diversifying their races and having fun, while not being overly committed to one single race or result. “We work toward the race that’s coming up and find enjoyment from that,” says Tabor. “While not having all our eggs in one basket for the [GTWS] final. Because then, if the plan goes poorly, there goes the whole season.”

The Hemmings have become the American darlings of the Golden Trail World Series, the world’s leading series of lightning-fast short-course trail races around the world, including crowd favorites like Zegama, Sierre-Zinal, Pikes Peak Ascent, and others, while attracting some .

“What’s different about the Golden Trail Series is how it’s helping spark a sub-ultra push, especially for athletes like us who are just getting into it but who are trying to compete at the elite level,” Eli says. “They’re trying to create a college-type feel, organizing it so you feel like you’re part of the event.”

One of the many friends they’ve met during their time with Golden Trail World Series is Caitlin Fielder, one of New Zealand’s most talented trail and mountain athletes. Fielder, 30, lives and trains in Andorra.

“Before starting the GTWS, I went to races alone, stayed alone, and just kind of kept to myself,” says Fielder. “But the GTWS really made me feel like I’m part of a team, forming relationships with people like the Hemmings that would have been harder to create otherwise.” She is going into the GTWS ranked seventh in the women’s division, with Tabor close behind in 12th place.

But perhaps more than the glory of rankings is what this series has done to bring athletes closer together, to elevate each other’s performances through relationships.

“It’s just super cool to feel like you’re making lifelong friendships built on the foundations of a sport that everyone understands its difficulties and joys,” Fielder says. “It’s like you’re competing to make yourself and your friends better.”

The Golden Trail World Series has a total prize purse of about $315,000, which includes $18,000 spread among the top 10 finishers of each race during the season and nearly $8,000 for the finals. While it helps elite runners make a living at their craft, it also creates community.

“You get to live and breathe with them for a week. You’re making amazing friendships, seeing how everyone else likes trains, how everybody else lives,” adds Tabor. “They try to do a really good job of getting the best in the world together.”

The Golden Trail World Series finals will be held from October 19 – 22, and each day’s races .Ìę

The post Meet the Fastest Trail Running Couple in America  appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

The 128th Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America just began informing qualified applicants of their status this morning, and the numbers are as fascinating as they are fast.

After 33,058 qualifier applications came flooding in during registration week earlier this month to run next year’s race—taking place on April 15, 2024—22,019 applicants were accepted (pending final verification).

“This year’s registration week resulted in the highest number of qualified applicants in race history, a testament to the strength of the marathon community,” said David Tyrie, Chief Digital Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for Bank of America.

‘Cut-Off’ Times Five and a Half Minutes Faster

To gain entry into the Boston Marathon requires each runner to have an official qualifying race prior to applying, with . However, with such high demand for the race by qualified runners, the unofficial “cut-off” times for being accepted into the race are often minutes faster than the official qualifying standards.

RELATED: șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű’s 2023 Boston Marathon Coverage

For the 2024 Boston Marathon race, this year’s “cut-off” time needed to gain acceptance was 5 minutes, 29 seconds or faster than the official qualifying time.ÌęFor example, say you are a 40-year-old male applicant. The official B.A.A. qualifying standard for this age/gender is 3 hours, 10 minutes. But in order to be accepted into next year’s race, any qualifying times slower than 3 hours, 4 minutes, 31 seconds would not be accepted.

This stout benchmark translated this year to more than 11,000 applicants not being accepted into next year’s Boston Marathon.

Boston Marathon Applicants, By the Numbers

Looking into the 22,000-plus runners who were just notified of their acceptance—with ages ranging from 18 to 82—here’s how the numbers break down: 12,535 men, 9,440 women, and 44 non-binary athletes from all 50 states. In addition, automatic entry is offered to those who’ve finished 10 or more previous Boston Marathons, and 660 of these applicants were granted entry.

What’s also interesting is that over one-third of the entire field at next year’s Boston Marathon will be newbies—11,391 of the accepted applicants will be running Boston for the first time.

RELATED: How the Boston Marathon Qualifying System Fails Runners

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) was established 1887, and has become a non-profit organization that manages the Boston Marathon and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round programming. The Boston Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, along with international marathons in Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City.

I Wasn’t Accepted into the 2024 Boston Marathon? Can I Still Run?  

Athletes interested in running next year’s race as part of a fundraising effort, affiliated with select charity programs, are invited to contact the nonprofit or organization to see what opportunities there are. Read more about the race’s charity program.

How Can I Successfully Plan for the 2025 Boston Marathon?

The 2025 qualifying window has already begun on September 1, 2023, and further registration information will be announced following the conclusion of the 128th race. Stay tuned—and keep training.

RELATED: Your Perfect 8-Week Marathon Training Plan

The post The 2024 Boston Marathon Acceptance Letters Arrived Today. Here’s What the Data Tells Us. appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

The magic of the Colorado hut-to-hut trip really sunk in when the puzzles came out. Puzzles and whiskey.

It was day two, the second hut of a four-day trip hosted by Salomon and Rickey Gates, writer and trail running legend. There were six runners, including me, all arriving from various parts of the country to enjoy a multiday route designed by Gates that would string together a series of high elevation huts—two of which were part of the

Four days. Three nights. Forty-five miles. Each day’s run would include 9 to 15 miles with 3,000 vertical feet of climbing. This was no race, no FKT pace. Rather, it was a multi-day running experience within Colorado’s White River National Forest joined by several others for an extended period of time.

OK, back to the puzzle. That evening, after a dinner of sausages and salad, a few circled around the jigsaw puzzle by headlamp. Some drank whiskey. Others sipped tea. All fiddled with puzzle pieces and shared about their lives and running goals, huddled in the warmth of a high elevation hut after two days running across some of the most gorgeous terrain in the world.

If something like this, a four-day trail running adventure along Colorado’s high country ridgelines during peak wildflower season, sounds like an activity you’d be keen to pursue, the following is a primer for where to start: what makes hut running so unique, what gear you might consider, and what options there are out there for you to start planning.

What Is Hut Running?

A hut-to-hut trip is any multiday adventure that links up a series of established sleeping structures in the backcountry. Most hut link-ups have traditionally been designed with hikers, backpackers, skiers, and mountaineers in mind, but running between huts is fully compatible and can offer a whole new level of adventure.

Depending on the location, huts vary in quality and amenities, from rustic lean-tos to fully staffed cabins with electricity, running water, warm meals, and beds. What you’ll find in the , for example, will look quite different than hut accommodations in system. Common denominators include walled shelter, a place to prepare food, and a bathroom of some kind.

Doug Mayer is the founder of and a long-time organizer of multiday hut trips in and around Chamonix, France. To Mayer, the secret sauce of hut running is in the extended time within a landscape.

“A hut trip is a great way to mix trail running with the alpine world,” says Mayer. “You get to stay high, often interacting with technical climbers and having an in-depth interaction with alpine culture. Also, you can step outside the hut at night, walk a few feet, and find yourself in a magical, high mountain environment. At some of the huts we use, you literally get to sleep next to a glacier.”

What’s also special about hut running is that it’s never quite the same wherever you go. “In Europe, hut culture is dramatically different than in the U.S.” says Mayer. “There’s no differentiation between front country and backcountry in the Alps. So huts are closer to remote, high-elevation hotels, complete with great meals, wine, and beer, and other services.”

Compare this to Ecuador’s Cotopaxi hut route, which provides a whole new level of experience and challenge. “Ecuador has all the ingredients for a world-class hut-to-hut trail running trip: stunning landscapes, a web of rugged mountain trails, colorful haciendas with regional food, warm showers, beds to crash in,” . “The infrastructure is basic compared to popular hut-to-hut routes in Europe, but the novelty drew us to its less-beaten path.”

For Gates’s Colorado Hut Run Hut trip, the 10th Mountain Division huts were part of a network of over 30 shelters dotted across the Rockies, the first constructed in the early 1980s and adhering to a similar layout and accommodation: a simple bunk loft with several cots and pads, a wood fired stove, and a full kitchen with running water, propane, and electricity. (His crew provided sleeping bags and liners.)

Why Should You Consider a Hut Running Trip?

In a time of growing interest in trail running, more races are available than ever before, domestically and internationally. There’s also been an emerging trend of alternative running destination experiences that emphasize the experiential and communal over single-day competition. Popular options include and , to name a few. But hut running offers something even more unique within this space of experiential foot travel.

Here are four distinct benefits that differentiate hut-to-hut trips:

1. Community. The social component of hut-to-hut running is an underappreciated, central component. If you’re with a group, each participant is invited to make their way every day as a collective, though most spread out along the trail for most of the day. Alongside demands of covering the miles, there are often evenings with food and games, and plenty of downtime to get to know each other. Even if you’re customizing your own hut trip, accommodations are typically shared, so chances are you’ll rub shoulders with people each night.

2. Extended Time Outdoors. To be away from phones and laptops and be enmeshed in a landscape for multiple days on end is a valuable—if not exceedingly rare—experience these days. A hut trip offers just that: multiple days strung together, often point-to-point runs at a manageable pace, doing what you love while undistracted by front country temptations. Hut running scratches the itch of overnights on the trail and yet, unlike backpacking, offers a chance to travel light and fast over longer distances with little gear.

3. Retreat. If your life does not permit you to take up residency in a mountain monastery or pledge ascetic minimalism for a year—welcome to the club. But that doesn’t mean you can’t engineer smaller, shorter retreats into your schedule, a fail-safe antidote to burnout. According to a recent , “about three in four employees in the U.S. experience workplace burnout at least sometimes, and about one in four experience burnout either ‘very often’ or ‘always.’” If this is you, hut running might be a helpful counterbalance.

“It’s an experience you won’t find anywhere else, especially for those who feel like they need a break from work and technology,” says Seth Epley, a Hut Run Hut participant from Austin, Texas. “Climbing up a mountain, drinking glacial melt, overlooking a horizon of peaks and ridges—it’s all just so revitalizing.”

That’s just it, hut-to-hut running’s winning formula: a prolonged opportunity to pause, a suspended exhalation in wild space surrounded by like-minded people, an accessible form of active wilderness retreat that can return you to work or daily life feeling recalibrated and reset.

4. Accomplishment. Gates has been organizing these Colorado Hut Run Hut trips since 2014, and his typical offering is a six-day, 100-mile trip from Aspen to Red Cliff. He’s expanded the trips to include running experiences in New Mexico, Alaska, and Japan, and yet what continues to inspire him every time is watching people set hard challenges for themselves and making them happen.

“The most powerful moment for me on these trips is seeing the looks on peoples’ faces when they’ve accomplished something they didn’t know they had in them,” says Gates. On this Colorado hut trip, while some runners were familiar with high elevation running, others arrived from lower elevations and were forced to push their personal edges, to great benefit.

This included Tonya Russell, a freelance writer and avid road runner from Philadelphia. Her hut experience sparked a whole new love for running, even after having some low moments.

“Forcing myself to take on the challenge taught me how much of a beating my body could take, but also, the prize of trail running eventually revealed itself,” she said. “During the tough parts, I picked apart the miles, trying to conceptualize how long it would take to finish, about how many minutes would get me to the next mile. My guide, Gus, would say: ‘Don’t worry about the time. We’ll get there when we get there.’”

Essential Hut-to-Hut Gear Pieces

Some hut running experiences shuttle your bags, which means that all you must carry is a day’s worth of water, nutrition, and layers. Others, like Run the Alps, have options for guides to help carry some gear, but most runners carry all they need, sans bedding, for multiple days.

Mayer recommends a sleep sack (“to protect against itchy classic alp hut blankets!”), a pillowcase, a lightweight change of clothes, and toiletries. Every organized hut running adventure will offer a region- and route-specific gear list commensurate with the miles and climate. In general, here are a few hut-to-hut gear recommendations:

“Sacred Clothes.” For Gates, it’s all about leaning into comfort for the hut trips, as his crew shuttles small bags to every hut via 4×4 access roads. “Essential gear for me is a really comfortable set of hut clothes,” he says. “I call them ‘sacred clothes.’” The evening time is meant for recovery and socializing, so make sure you prepare with comfortable, warm clothing.

Running Vest with Extra Capacity. A sturdy running vest with enough capacity to hold water and all-weather clothing is critical. Hut running trips put you out in the elements for long days on end, and though you may have access later to a duffle bag of stuff, being prepared for unsettled weather will help your kit remain fresh and your mind strong. For my hut experience, I used the .

RELATED: The Gear I Used for a Hut-to-Hut Trail-Running Trip in Switzerland

Water Filtration. Another piece of gear that’s helpful is an inline water filter flask. You might consider the hut-to-hut as a sort of end-of-day aid station, but during the run you’ll have to fend for yourself on hydration. Pick up a or Salomon’s 16-ounce and consider yourself covered.

Whole Foods. Get creative with food. For trail races, often it’s best to stick to gels: simple carbohydrates and sugar, but on hut trips the pace is typically slower and you’ll likely be on your feet for longer stretches with time to metabolize heartier, more whole food options. Complement your trusted gels or sports drink with savory wraps, nut butter sandwiches, dried fruits, and bars.

Musical Instruments. Because many hut running operations are supported by a shuttle, pack that small instrument to play tunes with the group.

“Some sort of musical instrument is a requirement for me on my trips,” says Gates. “It can be as small as a or as large as a guitar. Music can help bring you back to your present self.” (Gates brought along and played both his accordion and a ukulele.)

Hut Running Trips to Consider

There are a growing number of hut-to-hut routes popping up around the world, some of which are easy to self-organize, while others come as a pre-arranged package. There are pros and cons to both, but the main benefit of an organized hut trip is that hut permits and reservations have already been taken care of—which can be a pain in the ass—in addition to taking the logistics out of the equation and just requiring you to show up to do what you love most—run.

RELATED: The 13 Best Hut-to-Hut Hikes in the World

Here is a selection of six hut-to-hut running trips to jumpstart your wanderlust.

•  – Colorado, Japan, Alaska
• – Italy
• – Ecuador
• – New Hampshire
• Otter Trail – South Africa
• – France, Switzerland, Italy

The post Is Hut-to-Hut Running on Your Bucket List? It Should Be. appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Last year, everything changed. I turned into a fan of track and field after following the 2022 World Athletic Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Partially it was because of all the buzz, but also it was a result of being held in the U.S, at Hayward Field. The athletes felt like superheroes, larger-than-life personalities with performances that lived so far from what any “normal” athlete could perform. The specificity! The chest-pumping celebrations! The finish line kick!

When I learned that the 2023 were taking place in Budapest, Hungary, on August 19-27, I wanted to learn everything I could about the event’s inner workings: why it exists, its special relationship to the Olympic Games, and how I might follow the action.

For those who are veterans to the wonderfully complicated world of track and field, I salute you. But those of us who don’t understand its allure, I see you. Here’s a primer to get you up to speed.

What Are the World Athletics Championships?

The whole enterprise of track and field has come a long way since flexing our human might for Zeus and the gods at the first Olympic games three thousand years ago, even though several of the original disciplines remain in today’s track and field meets. At its most basic, track and field lumps together a slew of athletic disciplines, both of strength and endurance, to demonstrate the full continuum of human potential. In ancient Greece, the events were to impress the gods. These days, track and field events are more a secular pursuit of glory. Even speed walking.

In fact, we have the unusual and extraordinary sport of to thank for the birth of the World Athletics Championships (otherwise known as “Worlds.” Also, “Athletics” is a word more commonly used instead of track and field in Britain, New Zealand, and Australia). Sure, you might not take speed walking seriously, but ?

In 1976, the International Olympic Committee dropped the sport of race walking, so a body called the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) started World Athletics to continue, well, walking fast. (Speedy competitive walking was the only event at the first limited Worlds in 1976.)

Luckily, more events expressed an interest in joining the party and, in 1983, IAAF held the first official World Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland, with a full roster of disciplines. What this also did was keep track and field on people’s radars, from the Summer Olympics once-every-four-years event to a full-fledged sport. The response was overwhelming. About 1,333 athletes from 153 countries showed up. Not bad, right?

What’s the Difference Between Worlds and the Summer Olympic Games?

Because the Summer Olympic Games happen every four years, the World Athletics Championships are established as a biennial every two years. Unlike the Olympics, countries and their sport federations, like the USA Track and Field (USATF), can hold their own national championships.

Of course, the Summer Olympics showcases far more events across multiple sports over more days. (The 2024 Summer Olympics, for example, will take place in Paris and include 139 events—including !—over 18 days.)

What’s really compelling about the World Athletics Championships is that it can offer a strong preview for what to see the following year in the Summer Olympics. You might think of Worlds as a practice round for the greatest track and field athletes to battle it out before they get to the Olympics, but that’s not exactly right, as Worlds can offer some of the fastest and most dynamic performances ever seen on the track.

RELATED: 10 Things to Know About the World’s Fastest Man

Because of this, you’ll always see two records in track and field. Perhaps you’ve wondered about it on the screen while watching track and field on TV: the Olympic Record (OR) and the World Record (WR). World records are all-time bests and can be set in the Olympics or any sanctioned event around the world, whereas Olympic records are the best marks ever recorded in Olympic competition. Both coexist and reinforce each other, with Worlds offering top-shelf credibility within the sport, while the Olympics bear the prestige of medals and international glory. Imagine watching your all-time favorite band play at a small downtown venue, up close and personal, and then, months later, seeing them headline at Madison Square Gardens.

Eugene 2022 Worlds: The Most-Viewed Track and Field Event Ever

You might remember a ton of buzz last year over running events in Eugene, Oregon, Track Town U.S.A. That was because the World Athletics Championships was held at Hayward Field, with every national broadcasting channel serving up regular updates. Never had there previously been such a craze in the United States about track. An estimated 18.7 million viewers watched the 2022 World Athletics Championships, making it the most-watched world track and field championships ever.

The 2022 World Athletic Championships was electric. , which is over 20 feet, the height of two NBA basketball hoops stacked atop of each other. We watched as the two-time Olympian Faith Kipyegon dominated the 1,500 meters. And we cheered as the charismatic, 25-year-old former Stanford University track star Grant Fisher pushed his limits of what’s possible in the finals of the 5K.

The World Athletics Championships is the third-largest sporting event on the planet, in terms of athletes participating, trailing only the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympic Games. The event is so large that it has its own mascot, which changes with each edition and host city. This year, in Budapest, it’s Youhuu the Sheep. Youhuu is a , a beloved animal found all over Hungary. (The country boasts 1.3 million sheep.) Youhuu comes alongside a standing tradition of mascots for Worlds including, in Eugene 2022, Legend the Bigfoot, Falah in Qatar 2022, and Hero the Hedgehog for London Worlds in 2017 ().

Just like the International Olympic Committee is behind the Olympic Games, it’s World Athletics (formerly IAAF) that’s behind the World Athletics Championships, along with several other events through the year, including the the , a series of more than a dozen one-day track and field events set around the world, replete with 32 disciplines. Those who win at the Diamond League Finals receive a trophy, a cash prize, and a wild card entry to the next Worlds.

Looking forward, we’ll see the 20th edition of World Athletics next year in Tokyo, Japan. It’s anyone’s guess what the mascot will be, but, based on the past several choices, expect something furry, toothy, and goofy.

What Events Are Included in the World Athletics Championships?

The 2023 edition will happen from August 19 to August 27. That’s nine days jam-packed with 49 track and field events: 24 events for men and 24 events for women, with one mixed-gender relay event. Nearly 2,000 athletes will be representing 180 countries. That’s a lot of events. It makes it sound like a state fair or something.

In addition to the aforementioned race walk category, one way to wrap your head around the nine-day, 49-event bonanza is to think of Worlds in three main buckets: Run, Jump, and Throw.

Run: Expect electricity. Expect flag-wagging. Expect vomit. For many, sprints and hurdles are some of the most exciting, most dynamic events to watch, while the longer events can squeeze every last drop of endurance out of the runners that’ll leave you, and them, breathless.

• “Sprints” – 100-, 200-, and 400-meter races, both flat and with hurdles
• “Middle distance” – 800- and 1500-meter races
• “Long distance” – 3K steeplechase (which involves four fixed barriers and a water jump for each lap), 5K, 10K, and marathon

Jump: Here, you’ll find the long jump, high jump, triple jump, and pole vault. You may not have much of a relationship with these niche events, but damn are they fun to watch.

Throw: Javelin. Shot put. Discus. Hammer. Each throwing event demands a different, highly specific and trained technique. Don’t miss these events, as so often they feel as though throwing disciplines will throw you back in time, to some deep history reverie of Greek sport.

Lastly, there’s the overachievers, the ones who combine all three categories: the all-mighty decathlon (men), competing in 10 events, and the seven-event heptathlon (women), both over two days. To combine speed, strength, agility, and power into a two-day bender of high performance is something earmarked not for mere mortals but for superheroes. These elites are such fun to marvel at their overall aptitude, to wonder at how in the hell they have time to train for such myriad specialties, and, most importantly, what they eat—more than Wheaties, I’ll bet.

Who to Follow from Team USA?

The U.S. is sending 139 athletes, nine of whom are previous world champions. The U.S. just announced its team for the World Athletics Championships, .

RELATED: How U.S. Record Holder Alicia Monson Prepares for a World Title Run

How Can I Watch This Year’s World Athletics Championships?

If you are a lucky dog and currently in Europe, catch a cheap flight or train to Budapest and be sure and spectate—you’ll be glad you did. Each day is essentially chunked up into two halves, morning sessions and evening sessions. For about $50 per session, you can watch a combination of events, and, for $500, you can have access to every event for all nine days. Not bad!

But I’m guessing you’re not on a European holiday. (Here’s me, daydreaming.) If you’re not planning to be in Budapest anytime soon, be sure and watch or stream the 2023 World Athletics Championships live on , , NBC, and the USA Network. For live updates on the championships schedule, .

The post WTF Is the World Athletics Championships and Why Should I Care?   appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

I’ve been an ardent fan of the Adidas Adios for over a decade. I bought my first pair in 2012, four years after Halie Gebreselassie broke the 2:04 barrier in the marathon in the original Adios. I can still picture him flying to a world record on a moody day in Berlin while wearing a fluorescent yellow prototype.

His whiplash finishing time of 2:03:59 shattered everyone’s conception of fast, and, every time I laced them up, I held confidence that I, too, could be speedy. Since then, I’ve worn several versions of the top-shelf racing shoe throughout its lifecycle, thousands of miles clocked on road workouts and light trails.

I love this shoe.

Which is why the recently released Adios 8 arrived at a particularly interesting time, a time of leaps and bounds in high performance footwear, where supershoes and carbon plates have stolen the show, and often for good reason. I wondered: What role does a shoe like the Adidas Adios 8 fill today? What role does a non-carbon-plated, high-performance flat like the Adios play in a shoe ecosystem full of Alphaflys and Endorphin Elites and Rocket Xs?

I took the latest version of my beloved Adios out for a spin to find out.

The Adidas Adios: A Quick History

Before we look under the hood, it might be helpful to contextualize the Adidas Adios. Adidas started making performance shoes in the 1920s—the three stripes have been on the feet of Olympic athletes —which means that, for nearly a century, the company has been refining footwear for some of the fastest running performances
ever.

The Adidas Adios shoe first emerged on the scene in 2008, following Gebreselassie’s aforementioned marathon record and alongside Adidas’ launch of the “Adizero” line, a proprietary innovation led by Japanese shoe designer Toshiaki Omori. The Adizero group sought to obsessively reengineer shoes and apparel to be as lightweight as possible, while still hitting the highest performance marks. Cult classics like the Adidas’ Boston, first debuted in 1982, got pulled into the Adizero vortex in 2010, and the franchise grew with shoes like the Takumi-Sen, the Adios and its carbon-plated version, the Adios Pro—we’ll get to these later—the Prime X, and others.

The Supershoe Revolution Will Be Televised

For nearly a decade, the Adidas Adios dominated road racing podiums before Nike’s 2016 introduction of supershoes to the market, demanding responses from other players to stay competitive. In June 2020, Adidas launched the Adios Pro, but the non-carbon-plated Adios continued to live on, by that time living into its sixth incarnation.

Interestingly, the Adios 6 was the first version in which I ever noticed any significant change in the Adios quality and durability. The Adios 6 didn’t quite work for me. Sure, I wore them for hundreds of miles, but they felt narrow and unstable. They blew out faster. And, forgive me, all those technocrat shoe reviewers out there, but the outsole rubber felt slappy and flat, offering less responsiveness than previous versions.

Last summer’s Adios 7 saw minor updates to its upper, and a few ounces shaved, but concerns about durability and overall comfort remained. Was this non-supershoe getting ignored, at risk of being phased out? Finally, this June, Adidas introduced the Adios 8, with the promise of a significant overhaul.

The results? Maybe the best Adios yet.

Adidas Adios 8: The Specs

The Adios 8 features a 28mm stack height in the heel with 20mm in the forefoot—both 1mm higher than the Adios 7—with the same 8mm drop. Under the forefoot is a layer of the brand’s top-end, bouncy Lightstrike Pro foam while softer, lighter Lightstrike 2.0 cushions under the heel and midfoot.

The pink Energy Torsion Rod 2.0 system follows the outsole from heel to toe for wobble prevention, with a new, third rod running down the middle to provide more snap (the flexible material acting more like a rebounding spike plate than the curved, rigid, rocker plates in supershoes). On the outside, you’ll find Continental rubber, mainly under the forefoot.

But you’ll find the most significant update in the Adios 8 in the upper, a fine mesh made from 50 percent recycled materials. You can nearly see through the upper to whatever color socks you’re wearing, which makes for a highly breathable yet comfortable ride that holds the foot securely for confident, powerful turns and push-offs. In addition, the shoe has a very thin, partially gusseted tongue, adding up to less than 200 grams (7 ounces!), the lightest Adios that’s ever been. (Chef’s kiss.)

Where Does the Adidas Adios 8 Shine?

Unlike the trend of high stacks which need to be moderated by carbon plates, the Adidas Adios 8 commits to a reasonably low stack (for comparison: the Adios Pro 3 has 39.5 mm in the heel, opposed to 28 mm in the Adios 8), which keeps your foot closer to the ground and makes your stance more stable and agile.

The ride, however, is still propulsive and protective. I found this shoe performs exceptionally well for fast workouts and tempos—its lightweight, breathable pop tempted me to try and replicate Gebreslessie’s kick in Berlin—but less so when moving slower—as soon I backed off the pace, its minimal cushion resulted in a subtly less smooth ride.

Another of the Adidas Adios 8’s main appeals is the price. For $130, you are getting a lightweight, high-performance racing shoe that will endure hundreds of miles of workouts and racing at a fraction of the cost of supershoes.

The Bottom Line

After a decade-long love affair with the Adidas Adios, I’m happy to report that my involvement with this shoe will remain unabashed. And though I still reminisce about some of the more robust earlier models of the Adios, this new Adios 8 is winning me over as a cool-kid streamlined trainer that is extremely fun to wear.

I look forward to lacing them up each time for two main reasons: First, call me shallow but they look sleek and wrap perfectly around the foot, without being too narrow. Second, when I pull out the Adios, I just know I’ll be going fast. They will now undoubtedly be my go-to shoe for tempos, progressions, and track work.

So if you’re a seasoned Adios lover, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. And if you’ve never owned a stripped down, race-ready road flat but are looking for a speedy shoe and aren’t willing to take a loan out for a $300 pair of supershoes—or have some and find them too squishy or controlling—the Adios 8 might just be the perfect addition to your lineup.

The post Why the New Adidas Adios 8 Is My Favorite Speedy Shoe appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

I’ve never been much of a water person. More a terrestrial type, really. Once I nearly drowned getting caught in a frothy rip at Newport Beach, California, along with two kids who, terrified, tried using my flailing body as a life raft and almost took me down with them. Luckily, we all survived. Barely.Ìę

So when I finally mustered up the courage to YouTube how to inflate my new 2.25-pound and give it a whirl, my palms grew clammy. Blood pressure rose a few points, even though the seven-point plan I’d outlined was embarrassingly safe:

1. Squish the boat into my Ultimate Direction 25L fastpack.
2. Run seven miles of trail up Missoula, Montana’s Clark Fork River.
3. Find a convenient put-in and inflate the thing.
4. Float downriver back to where I’d begun.
5. Deflate and stuff it in my pack.
6. Run home.
7. Eat a cheeseburger.

This would be a front country microadventure—within cellphone range and never more than 20 minutes from a coffee shop. It was also something I’d dreamt about doing for years: watershed travel! To combine elements of running trails with running water. After all, it’s water that carves the very mountains that we run, right?

Introducing: The Ghost Packraft

A ghost is something you cannot quite see. An apparition. Near-to-weightless. At 2.25 pounds (1kg), Alpacka’s Ghost fits this criteria.

Other things that weigh 2.25 pounds include a bag of apples, seven raw chicken legs, a toaster, or a pineapple.

The Ghost is Alpacka Raft’s lightest craft offering. According to the website, the boat is designed “for those looking to sacrifice durability for weight—ultrarunning, exploratory canyoneering, and unexpected water crossings.” The boat measures two inches shorter than the (their next lightest boat in the fleet), with a 70d ripstop nylon hull (d is for “denier,” the official unit of density for fabric or yarn), a 200d nylon floor, and single seamtape construction. Because of its hyper-minimal build, the Ghost does not come with any spray deck or cargo fly add-ons.

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Thor Tingey is the co-founder of Alpacka Raft, along with his mother, Sheri. As an outdoor-loving family who cut their expeditionary teeth in the Alaskan wilderness, the Tingey’s are enthusiastic about these new ultralight boats. Thor has completed some difficult overland trips, including a 180-mile crossing in the Alaska range, and another in the Brooks Range that was over 800 miles. But his mother is the mountain matriarch and visionary, expressed most recently in a new film on her life and work, premiering later this fall at the Mountainfilm Festival.

Admittedly, the Tingey’s are not a family of runners. “I’m content to hike all day through rough terrain,” says Thor. “But if I have to run like 50 yards or something, I collapse and think I’m going to die.”

Fortunately, one of Alpacka Raft’s lead designers, Dustin Partridge, is an accomplished mountain runner and advocate for getting run-compatible boats into the lineup, as he works from the company’s headquarters in Mancos, near Durango, Colorado.

Origins of Alpacka Packraft

Thor Tingey started Alpacka Raft with his mother in 2000, after being introduced to the sport by Roman Dial, the “Father of Packrafting,” who himself learned from one the earliest packrafting pioneers, Dick Griffith, known in the 1950s for taking World War Two life rafts to explore the Grand Canyon. Thor was moved by Dial’s many adventures, including one expedition where Dial used only bicycles and early packraft prototypes to complete a 700-mile traverse of the Alaska Range in 1996.

Thor eventually left the business (“I was just not ready to work with Mom full-time at age 25!”), only to return 12 years later. At 76, Sheri is still the company’s lead designer for all the boats. The team has now expanded, and others have more sway in the direction of the company, but she remains the final word for every boat.

The Alpacka Ghost Packraft: First Impressions

After running a trail several miles upriver, putting in, and taking the Ghost successfully down Missoula’s Clark Fork river (rewarding myself with that cheeseburger), I can say with confidence that, as a novice, the boat felt easy to use and is an exceptional entry-level craft. Its weight-to-durability index is freakishly strong, and it took me only three minutes and twenty-three seconds (I timed myself) to inflate the boat using the included air bag.

Comfort levels on the water were divine, too, as osprey and bald eagles passed overhead, and I was able to navigate just fine without paddles. (I used my hands.) The boat did get a touch squirrely on a babbling rapid—whitewater is discouraged in the Ghost, tsk tsk—but I did not capsize or take on much water. No clammy palms, either. The pack set between my legs got wet, sure, but that didn’t matter—the fun factor was through the roof.

As a featherweight boat, the Ghost is not the first of its kind. Seattle-based Curtis Designs once manufactured a 2.5-pound boat of lightweight nylon, designed for enjoying Washington State’s high mountain lakes. Another company, FlyWeight Designs, made similar models, while Supai further evolved the ultralight class using upgraded quality materials. With boats that you could stuff in a Nalgene bottle, these have become popular with canyoneers.

“Originally, we didn’t want to make a super light mountain lake boat because there were other companies already offering that,” says Thor. “And it didn’t really fit with our brand,” which was their burlier, Alaska-strong boats to get through the toughest conditions.

Starting in the mid-2000s, trail running was gaining in popularity and people kept requesting lighter boats. In 2013, Alpacka Raft launched its very first Ghost, at under two pounds. But with 30d material they were far too delicate and expensive, and didn’t sell well, so they pumped the brakes.

Nowadays, people are buying boats for all types of travel, not just niche Alaska wilderness travel, and many mountain runners became interested in packrafts. “We thought, maybe if we go back and look at this Ghost idea again, we could make something more practical—like we have the 70d material and put a slightly more durable floor on it,” says Thor. “It’s still a really lightweight, delicate boat, but it’s practical.”

Choosing the Right Packraft and Paddle

If you’re considering picking up a packraft but don’t know if the Ghost, the Scout, or some other model is right for you, it all comes down to comfort levels and what activities you’re interested in.

“The Scout is a big step up in fabric and durability,” says Thor. “It’s in our lightweight class but can handle tons of stuff, like normal everyday paddling. The Ghost is a more specialized craft, designed more for runners who need to cut every ounce.”

Perhaps more than the ounce-for-ounce difference is the bulk difference—the packing size. The Ghost is small enough to potentially haul in a waist pack, whereas the Scout requires a backpack. As mentioned, I carried the Ghost in my fastpack, which offered more than enough capacity. I worried mostly about rolling the Ghost too tight or messing up the seams, to which Thor laughed (lovingly) at me. “No, you can crush them super tight,” he said. “Roll it up as much as you want. They’re tough.”

As for paddles, well, I didn’t have a paddle for my first outings, but this didn’t seem to be an issue. In fact, many ultralight packrafters opt out of paddles and use hand paddles instead. Alpacka did come out with a 15-ounce “Ninja” paddle, but it’s being discontinued due to supply issues and quality concerns. Thor recommends the . At 24 ounces, with a carbon option, these are the best paddles for keeping things light and strong.

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How to Pick the Perfect Packrafting Route

So what’s the optimal use for a trail runner interested in taking a packrafting adventure?

“High mountain lakes,” Thor recommends. “Exploring areas like Colorado’s Weminuche Wilderness, Wyoming’s Wind Rivers, or the Cascade Mountains.” Point-to-point routes are particularly exciting for him, too, like alternatives to the Grand Canyon’s popular Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim. “There are some amazing mixed running canyon routes through the Grand Canyon. If you were interested in exploring crossings that weren’t on the main Bright Angel Trail, you need to be able to cross the river. The Ghost is perfect for that.”

Ultrarunners have certainly taken packrafts on previous adventures, including Salomon athlete Rickey Gates’s , and his trip with Dakota Jones, where in 2016, . Flagstaff, Arizona’s Rob Krar dabbles into packrafting and is .

Boating Newbie? Not a Problem.

Sure, the Ghost may be a specialized craft at a committed price point ($745), but it does make for a wonderful entry point into water sports if you’re anything like me: far more comfortable on terra firma than water.

“For a substantial number of our customers, packrafting is their first experience with a paddle sport,” says Thor. “Unlike kayaking—heavier boats, special skills—to pick up a packraft and have an adventure is pretty easy. I think that’s one of its biggest appeals.” He likens packrafting to the gravel bike craze, where you can just go out and have fun on a wide variety of surfaces, thanks to their versatility.

“Even in big cities, there’s really cool urban adventures you can do,” says Thor. He recalls a trip where he took his packraft to New York City, rented a bike from Times Square, crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, inflated his raft, and paddled all the way to East River, past Harlem, then got a taxi back. “Please don’t do this on your first float!” Thor cautions, laughing nervously, due to its tricky slosh of currents and boats.

If you do end up falling in love with packrafting and wish to take your relationship to the next level—and perhaps a few levels after that—here are two packrafting events to consider checking out, at your own risk:

– Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic: First held in 1982, this event is considered integral to the development of packrafting itself. Some argue it’s the hardest adventure race in the world, with 150- to 250-mile routes through formidable terrain. No organizing body. No aid. No race, really.

– McCarthy Whitewater Festival and Packrafting Race. Every July in McCarthy, Alaska, the finishing times at this event are getting terrifyingly fast, won by local runners like Nordic skier Galen Johnson. “The Mountain Marathon is like a training race for him,” says Thor. “McCarthy is what he’s most proud of.”

I, for one, will not be competing in either of these events any time soon. I did, however, take Thor’s advice and follow wilderness trails up into Montana’s Bitterroot Mountains, to test the Ghost out on some high alpine lakes.

First, I found that moving along trails with the Ghost was a nonissue. Negligibly small and light. Second, once inflated and out on the lake, the Ghost was in its element. So was I. After hugging the shoreline, I eventually paddled toward the middle of the lake, where I gained a stunning view of the range’s highest summits. And finally, after paddling to lake’s deepest point, I laid back into the boat and decided to conduct the most hardcore endurance activity of them all: I took a nap.

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Rod Farvard’s mustache might be my favorite in all of running. It’s neither thick nor groomed, neither oiled nor manicured. It’s messy. It’s patchy. It curls at the ends. I think I caught him snacking on his own facial hair the day his whole body began snacking on itself at the highest point in Thailand, as he attempted to run the 100-miler in December, 2022.

I didn’t know it at the time but his kidneys were failing and his father had nearly died from cardiac arrest on the plane a few days prior. I’d probably gnaw on my mustache, too.

Rod Farvard, 27, from Mammoth Lakes, California, is an up-and-coming elite ultrarunner and former triathlete. In 2022, he was selected as one of 17 athletes for the North Face’s (ADP), the latest emerging model of innovative athlete support and sponsorship, ways that companies and organizations are beginning to think differently about how to support athletes and changemakers within the endurance community.

The North Face announced ADP in March 2022 as a way to “to equip aspiring athletes with the tools and financial means to achieve their athletic goals and inspire other adventurers within their communities.” The program was established to face systemic barriers in the recruitment process that often keep underrepresented communities across race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and differently-abled athletes from excelling in their discipline.

The North Face would select a small cohort of athletes and offer them a two-year contract with funding, gear, education, and one-on-one mentorship to accelerate their progress and reach the next level of their sport. After a short application period, they received 2,500 applicants, and athletes were chosen in February 2023, . In addition to Farvard, ADP trail runners include Helen Mino Faukner, Rudy Lindquist, Sophia Gorman, Terence Copeland, Laura Cortez.

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To Pro or Not to Pro

To understand why Farvard was selected in this pool of talented athletes, it’s helpful to know more about his background. Farvard ran cross country in high school. In 2012, during senior year, he dropped out of a California state race after hitting a wall at mile two.

“For whatever reason it ate at me for so long,” he said.

Farvard eventually turned to marathons, then to triathlons, where he competed at U.C. Santa Barbara for two years. “Ever since then, I’ve been trying to find that wall again. I want to get to that cracking point so much. I want to prove to myself that I am better than that internally,” he said.

After college, Farvard lived in San Francisco and worked in tech. He ran his first ultra when he was 19, and went on to podium several races in California over the next few years, including a win in 2019, at the Kodiak 100. In 2021, he set the supported FKT for the John Muir Trail, north-to-south (3 days, 16 hours, 2 minutes), an impressive effort that positioned him for future success in ultras. In 2022, he picked up a Golden Ticket at Canyons 100K, had a rough day at Western States, but fortunately made up for it with a 23rd place finish at UTMB, one of the top American finishers. He’ll be returning to States this year.

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As someone who had been a competitive athlete while also holding a full-time job, he’s flirted for years with trying to run full-time. “All it means is that you’re giving yourself a shot,” he said. This sentiment lies at the heart of why he applied for the ADP program in the first place. He wanted to give himself a shot to commit fully to ultrarunning. Farvard found himself in a position where he was less interested in acquiring any random sponsor, and more inspired to collaborate with a brand he could get behind. That’s when he thought of the North Face.

 

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“The type of people here, like the level of boundaries that the athletes want to push, was just always incredibly inspiring to me,” he said.

All 17 ADP athletes come from different backgrounds, sports, and vocations. In fact, most athletes applied to the program for different reasons. “The North Face comes at it from an angle of: how do we represent more people in our sport that still have incredible potential to be really good athletes, but that they may be getting overlooked right now?” he said. “If you want to foster talent in the sport and not just have a one-hit wonder with athletes, I think these mentorship programs are incredibly important.”

One-on-One Mentorship

Every ADP athlete gets paired with a to collaborate on projects and receive mentorship through their two-year contract. The cohort meets bi-weekly, with new guest speakers on each call. Recently, a session has been focused on developing the athletes’ deepest intentions for pursuing the sport and goals—cultivating their why.

“It’s easy when you’re racing all the time to just think about who you want to be as an athlete and what races you want to podium at and where you want to get to the sport,” said Farvard. “But, why? Why do you want to get to that level? The North Face is stopping us here and having us craft our story, to try and figure out our why, what drives us to want to do all these goals.”

Farvard was paired with North Face Global Athlete Zach Miller, 2023 winner of the Tarawera 100 Mile race, fifth place and first American at the 2022 Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, and, most recently, his epic finish at the , to name a few of his many accolades. “We both have really big goals and both like love getting after it. So we’ve had fun creating different ideas,” said Farvard.

“I’ve really enjoyed getting to mentor Rod,” said Miller. “He’s a great guy who has already done some impressive things in the trail running space. He’s motivated, thoughtful, and dialed in his pursuits. He shows a lot of maturity and a desire to learn and grow as an athlete. I’m enjoying seeing Rod progress and hope that in some way I can take the knowledge and experience that I’ve acquired in this sport and pass it on to him.”

Every ADP athlete gets a guaranteed $5,000 to spend on a project of their choosing, but they’ll work with their mentor to devise a project proposal and pitch to The North Face, with the intention of telling stories through expeditionary projects of each athletes’ reason for doing what they do. In the process, Farvard has already had great opportunities to network, skillshare, and commit to manifesting his dreams.

“I’ve been more encouraged to take ownership of what I’m most passionate about and pursue it to a full level,” said Farvard. “And being surrounded by all these different athletes who are doing that is really encouraging.”

The Collective Is Key

Esther Kendall is the North Face’s Global Sports Marketing Manager, and she is overwhelmed with how generative the program has been. “It has been a huge team effort,” said Kendall. “The athletes are so positive, so eager to learn, and so open to having conversations, and have come together as a team so quickly.” A central goal of the Athlete Development Program, according to Kendall, was rethinking the North Face’s approach to working with athletes.

“If you talk to any athlete on our team, they didn’t get to where they are alone,” said Kendall. “The primary goal is to equip aspiring athletes with tools and resources to achieve their athletic goals, to take responsibility as a brand, looking for the best athletes in the world and help people get there who might not have a clear path to connections or opportunities.”

Her selection committee really looked for athletes who were on the cusp of the next big thing. “Rod’s a great example of someone who has had successes but still has so much more to offer our sport, not only in terms of performance but as someone interested in building and growing the trail community,” said Kendall. “He is resilient and is able to find joy and positivity, even when things are not going to plan.”

Another ADP athlete Laura Cortez, 29, from Denver, Colorado. Cortez’s personal mission, as part of the program, is to “foster welcoming environments for the communities to define what the outdoors is for themselves.” , Cortez’s experience with the ADP program, like Farvard’s, has been overwhelmingly positive. “A large part of this process is getting the chance to look behind the curtain at what being a professional athlete with a big brand looks like, and learning the business side of it,” she said.

In 2020, Cortez started Trailtinos, a running group for Latinx and Hispanic runners in the Denver area. The group hosts group runs and meet-ups to increase visibility for the Latinx community and provide a sense of community and source of support in a predominately white sport.

If you want to foster talent in the sport and not just have a one-hit wonder with athletes, I think these mentorship programs are incredibly important.

Cortez is paired with Flagstaff, Arizona, runner Rob Krar, and they chat weekly. “He’s been in the sport for a hot minute, so it’s really special to listen to him talk about how much the sport has changed and how the opportunities on the professional side have grown, too.”

Cortez’s goals with the ADP were twofold. First, she really wanted to dive into what it would feel like to be a professional athlete. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to give myself the chance to do, by having enough financial and athlete support (coach, nutrition help, strength/conditioning, mentorship, connections),” said Cortez. “The support the North Face is providing us with has helped me make major strides there.” Second, she wanted to grow as an advocate for cultural healing through sport. “This more action-taking approach has helped me think of new ways to show up for my community and really assess the underlying barriers and layers of nuance that can interfere not only our participation in sport, but being outside in general.”

But perhaps the most compelling case to be made for the power of something like the ADP is the community. With the ADP, athletes are representing disciplines of climbing, skiing, snowboarding, trail running, and alpinism, and the diversity of creative skill-sharing is powerful.

As someone who grew up playing team sports, Cortez found being part of this cohort of talent energizing. “Once you become an adult and continue doing sports at a higher level, the overall participation changes. Schedules and priorities shift, engagement wears off, and it can be difficult to find a group of like-minded folks who want to push themselves as much as you do,” she said.

Next Up? Western States

On June 24, Farvard will toe the line at Western States, his third time running the historic race. In some ways, Western States is one of his greatest challenges. “What keeps bringing me back is that I have not figured it out. It’s just such a hard race to understand,” he said. “It’s like this massive puzzle; there’s just so many more pieces to get it right.”

After recovering from States, he’ll build for TDS at UTMB, a 90-mile course with over 30,000 feet of vertical gain. And though he couldn’t share every detail about the The North Face project he’s developing, with the assistance of Zach Miller, it will be attempted at the end of September, and it will involve an attempt to link up all the eastern Sierra 14ers by human-power. One can only hope that his mustache will come along for the ride.

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