This month, , with fascinating insights about where running might be headed. Running was the most-uploaded sport in 2023. (Hear that? That’s the sound of job security!) Most runners log their miles solo, 9 percent are in groups of three or more people, and an additional 9 percent are logged running in a pair.

Trail running, specifically, continues its trend upwards, with the share of athletes running off-road up 6 percent year over year. Almost half (47 percent!) of runners took at least one trail run. Friends, welcome to the club. We have jackets! (Haha, no we don’t.)

Racing On The Rise

Many runners use competition as motivation and inspiration. Plus, athletes who race are 5.3 times more likely to set a distance PR. While men are currently more likely to compete than women, the rate at which men and women are participating is increasing at the same speed.

When life after the COVID lockdowns stabilized for many folks, the Strava Year in Sport review shows that they laced up their running shoes to compete. Twenty-one percent of runners on Strava ran at least one race in 2023, a 24 percent increase over 2022.

Racing was equally split across genders, with 21 percent of men and women competing at least once. Runners from Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980) were the most likely to race, with 26 percent logging at least one competition on Strava. Twenty-two percent of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) raced, and 24 percent of boomers (born before 1965) pinned on a bib in 2023.

Going the Distance

Ultramarathons, while still less popular than shorter distances, are steadily becoming more popular, too, according to statistics. While just 2 percent of runners on Strava completed an ultra in 2023, that’s still up 11 percent from 2022.

Out of all ultrarunners on the app, two-thirds completed at least one 50K, meaning plenty of runners double-dipped on super long-distance runs in 2023. Women were 43 percent less likely to have run an ultra of any distance (so, yeah, we might have a problem). Participation in ultras may be growing at the same rate among men and women, but there is still plenty of work to be done—for instance, —in order to reach equity. The longer the distance, the greater the gender gap tends to be, with half marathons having the smallest disparity—7 percent of women completing a half and 8 percent of men.

Longer races are less popular this year, sure, but participation is growing by about 10 to 15 percent. Less than 1 percent of runners on Strava completed an ultra over 50K, though this distance remains the most popular to run. Participation in 50 miles is roughly half that of 50Ks, and 100K participation is roughly half that. So, if you ran a 100K this year, pat yourself on the back, as you’re part of the 1 percent (.0025 percent, to be exact).

RELATED: Your Successful Race Season Starts Now

Marathons remain a popular distance for runners. Five percent of runners on Strava ran a 26.2-mile race in 2023, up 20 percent from last year. Again, women were 32 percent less likely to have run a marathon than men (4 percent of women on Strava ran a marathon versus. 5 percent of men), but both groups saw participation jump 20 percent compared to last year.

OK, Zoomer

Gen Zers are not running as much as previous generations did at their age. Running, while less cost-prohibitive than, say, surfing, skiing, or mountain biking, still requires some financial investment. pinned the “average” run budget to between $937 and $1,132 annually. I guess those gels really do add up!

And when you consider that 60 percent of young adults don’t feel their basic needs are met, a decline in participation makes sense. , an independent group that produces industry surveys, the number of runners in the 35-44 and 45-54 age groups has dropped significantly since 2015, while participation in the 25-34 age group only increased slightly. According to the report, Gen Z runners prefer to run for experiential benefits like socializing, fun, and mental health.

Interestingly, data about Gen Z runners on the Strava Year in Sport says the opposite, reporting that this generation is 31 percent less likely to exercise primarily for their health compared to millennial and Gen X counterparts. The difference could be that runners committed enough to sign up for an activity tracking app are already a self-select group. Zoomers on Strava report that their primary motivation for exercise is athletic performance. This is echoed by the speed of their training runs, which average out to be a pace of 8:59 a mile. Zoinks!

Gen Z runners are also more run-dominant than other generations. Seventy percent of the generation’s Strava users uploaded runs onto the app versus 52 percent of Gen X, a 35 percent higher likelihood (this might as well be the likelihood to Google “What is a Zendaya?”) Gen Z runners saw the greatest percentage of growth in race participation this year, with a 60 percent jump in attendance at the marathon distance and a 68 percent increase at 13.1. (My mind would fully melt if I lined up against someone born in 2004, but also, welcome! Please be gentle.) According to Running USA, Gen Z runners gravitate towards races with a compelling theme or cause that resonates with their values.

RELATED: Finding Love on Strava

Trends are different across training habits, too. Gen Z runners are twice as likely as boomers to have weekday activity after 4 P.M. and are 31 percent less likely to exercise before 10 A.M.. Fascinatingly, 39 percent of Gen Z Strava athletes started a new job, and a third of the cohort reported relocating in 2023, which could speak to flexibility or economic instability for younger runners.

Over the year, Gen Z runners logged 17 percent less mileage than Gen X athletes, explained primarily with a shorter average run length. Plus, Gen Z athletes have slightly fewer running weeks in a year. (Maybe if they weren’t so busy eating all that avocado toast, they could run more!) JK, as the kids on TikTok say. In truth, Gen Z runners might train less because they are shooting for shorter distances, or the other way around—it’s impossible to disentangle causation here.

Looking Ahead

It’s not only a fun pastime to browse the year-in-review data, poking fun at the generations before or after us like they’re siblings (“No, I run more!” “Well, I run faster!”), but it’s also a way to see where the industry is lacking.

The Strava Year in Sport data shows that the running industry will have to work to bring in more Gen Z athletes. This might mean that race directors and event organizers will have to continue tailoring their offerings to speak to a younger, more experience-driven demographic. Numbers also prove that, while the female section of the running pie has grown overall, more changes need to be made to reach gender equity. The statistics tell us a lot, but one of the biggest, if not the biggest, takeaways is that people are running more now than ever. And that? Well, that’s pretty rad.

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In our monthly column in partnership with Strava, we take a deep dive into compelling data points that reveal the more human side of sport. 

While summer race goals might feel far off, athletes know winter is an important time to commit to consistency. With new year’s resolutions right around the corner (see our recent column on how to meet your yearly mileage goals), we looked at how the most consistent runners use their winter season to get stronger and faster.

Cross-Training Can Help Athletes Stay Consistent Through the Winter

Consistency is key for progressing training and minimizing injury risk. Staying consistent can help you avoid injury, and avoiding injury helps you stay consistent.

Muscle fiber growth and recruitment is improved with consistent stress and recovery cycles, and you don’t need huge efforts to reap the benefits. Short bouts of running (even just 10-20 minutes a day) can produce adaptations down to a cellular level. Consistency is also critical for aerobic and metabolic adaptations, helping your body more efficiently transport oxygen-rich red blood cells to your muscles via capillaries through increased capillarization, a process known as angiogenesis.

When it comes to winter training, don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Twenty to thirty minutes on a treadmill or running in the snow is always better than zero (in the context of good health and recovery).

Suppose your goals are primarily to stay healthy and active through the winter. (While we didn’t assess how cross-training affects fitness or speed, it can be assumed that increased consistency and activity frequency usually correlate with improved speed, fitness, and health.)

In that case, cross-training can be an important part of your winter training regimen. Most runners on Strava don’t just run. Seventy-five percent of runners cross-train in the summer, too, using activities like outdoor cycling, walking and hiking to increase their activity frequency.

Runners who cross-trained in the summer had a 20 percent higher chance of staying active through the winter. Eighty-nine percent of athletes who cross-trained in the summer continued to be active throughout the winter, compared to 74 percent of athletes who didn’t cross-train through the summer and continued to be active in the winter.

Consistent athletes stay consistent through the winter. Twenty-four percent of athletes who run three times a week continue to hit that cadence in the winter, while 58 percent further reduce frequency. Fifty-two percent of athletes who run seven times a week in the summer continue to do so in the winter, with only 48 percent reducing run frequency. Still, half of all committed runners scale back to an extent in the winter, but more on that later when discussing offseasons.

Don’t Fear the Treadmill

While many runners may not be thrilled to take their runs indoors and onto the dreadmill, consistent athletes gravitate towards the treadmill when conditions are tough.

The share of indoor runs doubles from December to February on Strava, with 16 percent of all runs occurring indoors. The treadmill can be a great training tool for athletes, with elites like Elsey Davis logging before her Golden Ticket win at UTMB’s Val D’Aran.

 

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According to Strava, winter cross-training also moves indoors, with activities like indoor cycling, strength training, and walking as the most popular cross-training options.

RELATED: I’m an Ultrarunner. Taylor Swift’s Treadmill Workout Wrecked Me.

Many Runners Take an ‘Off-Season’

While there’s been much discussion about what constitutes an off-season and the benefits for athletes, Strava data shows that many highly committed and consistent runners take a down-season from higher volume.

Data suggests a modest off-season won’t set reasonably consistent runners back too much, but that athletes who are already running at a moderate to low volume (less than five times a week) should focus on maintaining a base of consistency through the winter rather than rushing to take time off of already low volume.

We’re not saying don’t take time off. Winter can be a great time to emphasize cross-training and strength training and enjoy a new mix of winter sports. But the higher your healthy volume is coming into the winter, the more flexibility athletes have to add additional winter activities into their training without sacrificing fitness. The athletes who have the most success (defined as returning to consistent running come summertime) put themselves in a position to jump back into spring training with a bit of a base.

Ideally, runners shouldn’t need more than a few weeks to get back to their main-season training volume. Swings in training volume increase the risk of injury, and weeks spent “getting back in shape” are less effective at progressing your training forward.

Runners who reduced running volume (defined in average weekly distance) in the winter by 1-10 percent averaged within ten percent of their summer average mileage in spring (March-May). Runners running three times a week in summer who reduced volume in winter by 1-10 percent were still able to put in spring training weeks just seven percent shy on average of their summer mileage.

Usually, this difference is a few miles a week, which is fairly easily re-established. On average, runners who ran five times a week remained within ten percent of their summer average mileage. Runners who reduced volume by 11 to 25 percent were still able to build back effectively in the spring, with three-time-a-week runners only 14 percent behind summer volume and five-time-a-week runners 19 percent behind their summer average.

Runners who reduced volume by 50 percent or more struggled to make up the volume come spring. Three-time-a-week and five-time-a-week runners couldn’t effectively bridge the gap in spring between their winter off-season and summer volume.

In winter, of runners who run three times weekly during the summer, only six percent stop being active altogether, suggesting that many fall back on indoor cross-training activities. Even among athletes from this group who paused running in the winter, 64 percent still logged at least one non-running activity per week. Of runners who average seven runs a week during the summer, there are still low inactivity rates (only eight percent halt activity completely), but only 23 percent of the group average at least one non-run activity a week.

In sum, folks who don’t cross-train don’t have much to fall back on in case of injury or crappy weather, and having a cross-training option that helps you stay active in those scenarios can help you stay more consistent and support your running in the long-term.

Tips For Reaching Your 2024 Mileage Goals

Staying on track for a goal is a tough line to walk. In 2022, 22.8 percent of Strava users who set yearly mileage goals finished within 80 to 90 percent of their goal. So close! Thirteen percent were within 10 percent of their goal. For folks within a stone’s throw of their yearly mileage but didn’t quite make it, here are some data-driven tips to make 2024 your most consistent year of running yet.

• Focus on the hard months. The toughest months to stay on track were November, December, and February (except January, when many people panic-commit to a goal and stay consistent for exactly one month). Focusing on consistency in the tough parts of the year will set you up for year-round success.
• Every bit counts! The median distance for goal completers’ individual runs was 24 percent higher than those who didn’t make it. Yearly goals aren’t achieved with heroic efforts and super-high volume days but through weeks and weeks of easily attainable consistent volume.
• Find a friend. Athletes who ran with other folks in 2022 had a 17 percent higher goal completion rate. We are similar to the folks we surround ourselves with, so surround yourself with stoked goal-getters this year.
• Consistency is key. Folks who met their goal had 15 percent more active days than goal-setters who missed their goals.  To quote author Brad Stulberg, “Don’t aim to be consistently great; aim to be great at being consistent.”

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Last week, Taylor Swift released her training regimen for the Eras Tour, her three-and-a-half-hour stadium extravaganza, and the running internet went wild.

Swift said she began training for the tour six months before the first show, saying, “Every day I would run on the treadmill, singing the entire set list out loud. Fast for fast songs, and a jog or a fast walk for slow songs.”

That’s three and a half hours on a treadmill, singing the entire time. Swift would also increase the incline for songs that required more movement during the show. Keep in mind that during the actual show, she’s romping around in sparkly boots with three-inch heels. In an interview with Time—in which Swift was named Person of the Year—Taylor said her feet often make crunching sounds the day after shows from hours in those boots, a feeling relatable to any runner flirting with plantar fasciitis.

I’m an ultrarunner. I’ve knocked off 50- and 100-mile races and won them on occasion. I haven’t been this excited about a specific training regimen since , and the principles behind this workout are solid. It’s essentially a controlled fartlek workout with alternating intensities. The singing while training will keep you honest, ensuring you never wander too far outside your aerobic threshold lest you lose your breath.

First of all, this workout is a behemoth. Even ultra legend Courtney Dauwalter usually caps her long runs at three hours. But not T-Swift. To prepare for a career-spanning show with ten costume changes (depending on the acoustic set, give or take an additional costume) and upwards of three guest appearances and bonus tracks, Taylor dropped miles like they were scarves at Jake Gyllenhaal’s house. Not only did she likely log as many miles as many marathoners (I propose we now measure time in “Eras,” or 3.5 hours. As in, “I’d like to run a sub-Eras marathon this year.”), but she did so while singing. Well.

The Workout

I approached my own workout with the strategy and prep that I’d usually put into a marathon. I planned my fuel and liquid breaks. I assembled the playlist. Showtime!

Each era in the show is between seven and 42 minutes. The Lover set is fairly uptempo but manageable. Infused with pre-pandemic pop-timism, it moves and shakes at a lightly aerobic effort. I’ve got this! I thought to myself, singing at the top of my lungs to the songs I love. At least you’re not wearing heels! Then Fearless (Taylor’s Version, obvi) kicks in, with driving guitar bridges and epic crescendos. But still manageable. It’s a tempo run, baby, just say yes!

Thirty-two minutes in, the downbeat Evermore set begins. A folksy 23-minute respite. I took a gel and a swig of water. When did Taylor have time to fuel during the Eras Tour? Was there a bottle of Maurten just out of view or a Clif Bar tucked into a brazier? What was her electrolyte strategy? You can’t do this show in Nashville or Brazil without a dialed-in electrolyte plan. Taylor, if you’re reading this, we recommend between 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour for this level of activity.

At this point, I’m feeling the miles but reasonably well recovered from Tay’s first pandemic album. My bangs are plastered to my forehead, but I’m glad I don’t have to wiggle into a sequined leotard.  No sooner had I brought my heart rate back down to baseline than the Reputation set blasts on with (somewhat regrettable and very 2017) bass horns. Every song on this album is a banger of a sonic middle finger to anyone who has ever crossed Ms. Swift, and it shows in the BPM. This was likely the crux of the workout, leaving me more or less part gasping, part belting over “Look What You Made Me Do.” Then, Speak Now offered a brief but necessary reprieve before I dove into the steady-state effort of Red. (Break-up albums are great to run to; it’s just science!) There is no catharsis quite like screaming and running on a treadmill.

The Folklore set offered another brief rest of slower and middle-tempo hits. I drank. I fueled. I prepared myself mentally for what was to come. The 1989 and Midnights sets are back to back, offering a double-whammy of Taylor-in-her-prime-pissed-off-about-Harry-Styles magic—42 minutes of dazzling, danceable, near-threshold effort.

Beyonce–if you’re reading this, please don’t tell us how you got ready for Renaissance. I don’t think my soft tissue and joints can handle it.

I Got Swiftied

I’ve done one-mile repeats. Hill workouts. Track workouts. Long runs with tempo efforts. This is the hardest workout I’ve ever done. I was wrecked. My trachea felt like I had swallowed Taylor’s bejeweled duster. I was soaked in sweat and fighting the urge to lie down on the gym floor (lest I lose favor in a gym that had already so kindly lent me a private room to sing to myself as I ran on the treadmill). Is it possible to get DOMS in your feels?

But it wasn’t just hard. It was fun. Constantly varying efforts help you stay engaged, and focusing on remembering the lyrics helps you stay more present with the effort, rather than hyper-fixating on how far you’ve gone, or time elapsed. Though I’ve had the set list nearly memorized since it dropped at 3:31 P.M. EST on March 18th, the unpredictability in song length and intensities is a nice mental challenge. It’s tough but flexible. Demanding but fun. Much like the singer herself.

I could say that I like the Taylor Swift workout because it made time pass more quickly on the treadmill or because it made otherwise dreary winter running fun, or because it helped me hone in on my aerobic effort, and all of that would be true. But the thing that I really liked about Taylor Swift’s treadmill workout is that it makes not shrinking your body but growing your capacity the focus.

So much fitness and workout advice aimed at women is premised on minimizing our ability to show up in the world, sapping us of time, energy, and the stuff of our very bodies. They tell us how to run to make ourselves smaller or lift to make certain acceptable and desirable parts of our bodies bigger. But Taylor’s workout is different. It doesn’t claim to make you thinner or faster. No part of it will help you look better in a swimsuit, or a dress, or even a cardigan. But it has a vital purpose. It’s about owning your strength so that you can own your voice and own your story. And that’s a fitness trend I can get behind.

, the editor-in-chief of , is a host on the new ���ϳԹ��� Show, on which you’ll see more of her Taylor Swift treadmill workout soon. 

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While marathons like Chicago and Berlin are known for their fast and flat courses, marathon majors like the New York City and Boston Marathons are known for their demanding climbs, descends, and deafening cheer sections. We looked at thousands of data points provided by Strava to understand better how runners fare in the Boston and NYC marathons.

A Note On Courses, Weather, and Methods

Each course is unique and has different participant density, while the logistics of the race themselves vary, too. Those variables should be taken into account when looking at why runners perform differently at each event. Boston also has a qualifying standard, too, which means that most of the field has run a marathon previously and is self-selected for faster finishes.

We’ve removed the data from NYC 2022 because the historically hot temps were a bigger factor in finishing times than the course itself. That said, both marathons are susceptible to swingy weather. For the three years we analyzed, Boston had starting temperatures at 60, 46, and 48 degrees Fahrenheit, with 88 to 99 percent humidity, while NYC had temperatures ranging from 44 to 71 degrees Fahrenheit (excluded year) and 50 degrees Fahrenheit with 71 percent and 64 percent humidity.

Most of our analysis compares runners in a certain pace group (for example, runners targeting a sub-four-hour finish). Simply comparing results across both races would skew the analysis because of their varied pace distributions (in no small part because of Boston’s stringent qualifying requirements for most participants). Both races are fairly similar in gender composition. This year, 55 percent of NYC competitors identified as male, as well as 57 percent of Boston runners.

Performance Indicators Across Marathons

A major indicator of marathon performance is a negative split, or running the second half faster than the first. It’s a prudent racing strategy but tough to implement on race day, especially on hilly courses like NYC or Boston.

In the faster pacing groups, more runners at Boston managed to successfully negative split (again, likely due to previous race experience, as evidenced in this previous analysis of Boston Strava data). Runners aiming for a 2:30 to 3:00 finish were 38 percent more likely to negative split Boston (11 percent versus just 8 percent of the same pace cohort at NYC). Runners shooting for a 3:00 to 3:30 finish were 19 percent more likely to negative split at Boston than NYC, but for runners targeting just under four hours, there was a similar likelihood of a negative split. Interestingly, for runners aiming for a finish over four hours, Boston runners were less likely to negative split. While Boston is a net downhill course, those Newton hills can really chew up quads!

RELATED: Looking to Qualify for the Boston Marathon? Here’s What Strava Data Says About That Elusive BQ.

Now, let’s look at how many runners at each race met their goals. To do this, we compared runners’ average pace in the first eight miles and their projected finish times. We instituted a strict threshold and didn’t count times even a second over their goal finish time. Using this analysis, runners are significantly more likely to hit their goals at Boston. Again, this is likely because qualified runners have more marathons under their belt, and experience is invaluable in pacing and race-day execution.

But executing an ideal marathon is easier said than done, regardless of the course. Less than 10 percent of runners nailed their exact goal in either field, regardless of race or pace group. The biggest difference between races was in the 3:00 to 3:30 pace group, with a 67 percent difference between Boston and NYC runners in that particular pace group hitting their goal. In pace groups for four hours or longer, there was a fairly negligible difference between pace groups.

What About The Bonk?

While it’s fascinating to determine what makes for a successful marathon experience, we’d be remiss if we didn’t use our fine-tooth data comb to parse the fascinating data around what makes a bad day at a marathon.

“Bonking” or “hitting the wall” happens when the body has depleted its glycogen stores and starts to fatigue and burn fat, causing the legs to slow and energy to plummet. Legs feel heavy, exhaustion can feel overwhelming, and taking a quick asphalt nap can be tempting. This tends to happen around miles 16 to 20 and is many marathoners’ worst nightmare.

RELATED: Why Do I Bonk When It Gets Hot?

We looked at the difference in runners’ average pace for the last 10K versus the first 20 miles to see how many people bonk. A 10 percent slowdown is an off-day, not totally outside of the realm of possibility for many runners. It isn’t out of line with fairly normal marathon fatigue (or a quad-explosion in the Newton Hills). But a 20 percent slowdown is a true bonk, a pretty bad day. For athletes targeting a sub-4:00 finish, a ten percent slowdown would look like going from 9:09 miles to 10:04. A 20 percent slowdown would go from 9:09 to 10:59.

Here’s where things get fun. There’s significantly more variation between years for Boston, with 2023 being a more consistent year with fewer bonks in the field. The footprint of the 2022 NYC Marathon is also clear here, with the majority (71 percent) of the field (speedsters included!) slowing down significantly in the heat and humidity. The groups with the biggest bonks were the folks shooting for four hours or longer at Boston (more time on feet can increase the potential for a bonk, especially if there’s significant time between aid stations).

Bonking is still significantly more likely at the NYC marathon across all pace groups and years. For instance, for athletes targeting a 2.5- to 3-hour finish, runners are 33 percent more likely to experience a moderate bonk (slowing down 10 percent or more) at NYC, and 55 percent more likely to experience a severe bonk (or 20 percent or more slowdown), at NYC (accounting for 20 percent of this group at NYC, versus 13 percent at Boston).

Hills Versus Bridges

Boston is known for its hills, both Newton and Heartbreak. New York has bridges and boroughs. But which causes runners to slow down the most?

To do this, we looked at the first eight miles to establish a “goal pace” for athletes targeting a sub-four-hour finish and saw that both races are pretty evenly split across the halfway mark.

About a third of athletes start to slow down at the halfway mark, but not by too much. At NYC, things get tricky in miles 15 to 16, with almost all athletes slowing by 5 percent as they tackle the Queensboro Bridge. (79 percent of runners slowed down here, and to the 21 percent that didn’t, please DM us your strength routine.)

There’s another crux at mile 24 of the NYC marathon, with a mile-long climb into Central Park. We see 85 percent of runners miss their goal pace here, with runners averaging a 20 percent slowdown (for four-hour marathoners, going from 9:09 to 10:59 pace).

Boston has its infamous Heartbreak Hill, which causes the biggest slowdown of that race. Eighty-one percent of runners slow as they hit the 20th mile, and 90 percent slowing in the 21st mile. So, while the hills of Boston are undoubtedly hard and have earned their reputation, maybe it’s time we pay the bridges the respect and attention they deserve, too!

Regardless of the course, running a marathon is a major accomplishment, and to all the competitors who toed the line, we say hats off to you and your majorly impressive data!

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In our monthly column in partnership with Strava, we take a deep dive into compelling data points that reveal the more human side of sport. 

In 2023, a record-breaking 33,058 athletes applied for the 128th Boston Marathon. Of those, just 22,019 were accepted (pending final verification). Qualifying times are established for different age and gender categories. Still, with so many applicants, the unofficial cutoff times for acceptance were five minutes and 29 seconds faster than the official qualifying time many athletes push for.

Looking at data from several 2022 marathons, interesting trends emerge. We analyzed Strava data from the Berlin, Chicago, Marine Corps, New York City, CIM, and Valencia marathons. Here’s what the data tells us about qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

A Quick Note on Courses

Before we get too deep into the data, it’s worth discussing the fact that the above courses have different course dynamics and demographics, which influence median finishing times. Berlin, CIM, and Valencia are all fast courses that attract folks gunning for a BQ. (Hola Valencia! Peep that four feet of total gain, with a net descent of 106 feet.) CIM has a particularly high percentage of BQs since it combines a fast course with a smaller field—many run CIM specifically to qualify for Boston.

Last year was a record-breaking heat year at the NYC Marathon, which resulted in an anomalously low negative-split rate. More than 2,000 runners didn’t cross the finish line in 2022, with temperatures soaring to 75 degrees with  75 percent humidity, which radically affected finishing times. We’ll still look at data from NYC, but 2022 was exceptional. Only 30 percent of runners at NYC who were aiming for a sub-three finish met that goal, and only half of runners looking to go sub-four did so.

Training for A BQ Versus Training For a Marathon

Across all the marathons we analyzed, athletes had similar training. Most started at a base of around 20 miles a week and a 10-mile long run. On average, they worked up to a 30-mile week and a 20-mile long run. While there’s a slight variation in average miles per week (mpw), the training time in the peak week is similar (and each race has a different mix of target paces for participants).

CIM had the highest average mileage baseline and peak week, suggesting that it attracts more experienced runners with a specific goal in mind. CIM runners started with a 30 mpw base and progressed to a 50-mile peak week and 21-mile long run. BQ runners at CIM started with a 43-mile peak week (the highest of any marathon analyzed). When we just look at athletes who hit the BQ standard to equalize the field, CIM runners have a higher baseline and peak week.

While many newer distance runners tend to focus on flashy long runs, the distance of the longest run was not strongly correlated with a BQ. Comparing BQ runners and all other athletes, the distance of the longest run was 20 to 22 miles across each marathon. But, the base mileage was higher for BQ runners, bearing in mind that base volume matters more than the distance of any long run. BQ runners at CIM averaged 65 miles during their peak week, while the rest of the field averaged 50 mpw. Similarly, Chicago BQers averaged 57 miles during peak week, compared to the rest of the field’s 41 mpw peak week.

RELATED: Didn’t Qualify for the Boston Marathon? Fundraise for One of These Charities.

Interestingly, there was not a strong correlation between success on hillier courses and runners averaging more elevation gain in their training. Across all races, BQ runners did have more elevation in their training. For example, CIM and Berlin BQers had 15 percent more elevation gain in their training than runners who didn’t BQ (even when you control for average mileage). CIM runners hit the most vertical gain, averaging 100 feet of elevation gain per mile over the training cycle.

Speed and Experience

There’s no teacher like experience, and marathons are no different. Runners who finished one of the above races between 2:30 and 2:59 on average have completed six previous marathons. Runners who finished between 4:00 and 4:30 had completed, on average, four previous marathons. Experience helps with pacing, fueling, and other elements of the marathon that are sometimes only learned through trial and error.

Chilling Out

Keep easy days easy. There’s a strong positive correlation between keeping training runs intentionally slower than race pace and runners hitting their goal pace (defined as the pace runners averaged over the first eight miles of the marathon). Running slower than marathon effort helps build dense capillary beds, strengthen the heart, increase stroke volume (the amount of blood your heart can pump per beat), and increase the endurance capabilities of your muscle fibers by increasing the number of mitochondria in muscle cells. Running too fast causes the breakdown of bone and muscle tissue at a rate that can’t be outpaced in recovery; plus it makes the body less efficient at processing oxygen.

Runners that kept easy runs about 30 percent slower than goal pace had a 27 percent success rate, finishing at or close to their goal time. For runners who did easy runs only 10 percent slower than their goal pace (the approach of about a third of the runners analyzed), only 19 percent met their goal time, equating to a 31 percent reduction in success rate. Of runners who did “easy” days around marathon pace, only 14 percent hit their goal time.

Faster runners, who are more experienced, keep easy runs easier. Runners who finish in 2:30, on average, run their easy days 29 percent slower than goal pace. Compare this with runners who finish an hour later in 3:30, whereas the average runner ran their easy days just 11 percent slower than race pace, and only 20 percent hit their goal finish time.

Runners aiming for a 3:00 marathon (6:52 mile-pace) should shoot for easy days between 7:48 and 8:36. Runners looking to hit a 3:30 time (8:01 mile-pace) should strive for easy days between 9:02 and 9:56, and 4-hour marathoners (9:09 mile-pace) should shoot to keep easy days between 10:11- and 11:11-minute miles. As demonstrated by the data, to go fast, you have to learn to run slow.

Course Choice and Negative Split

Of all the courses, CIM and Valencia had the highest percentage qualifying for Boston, with 32 percent of the field BQing. Only six percent of NYC runners hit the Boston standard (heat!), and the Marine Corps Marathon, popular amongst beginner runners, had a similar qualifying rate. At Chicago and Berline, 18 percent of the runners qualified.

NYC and Marine Corps had the slowest median finish time, just over 4:30, averaged across all runners (NYC usually runs faster in cooler years). NYC is also the largest race, with over 47,000 competitors (compared to CIM’s 10,000). Valencia had the quickest average finish time (3:28), with a relatively small field of 30,000 runners.

Even more than gain and loss, the strongest predictor of BQ success was a negative split, running the second half of the race faster than the first. Take, for instance, Kelvin Kiptum’s recent world record win in Chicago, in which Kiptum ran a 59:47 negative split to run just 35 seconds over the two-hour barrier.

Just three percent of NYC runners (the heat! The humidity!) negative split in the rising temps, again pointing to an outlier year in NYC. Eleven percent of runners negative split both Chicago and Marine Corps, but experience won out in the Chicago crowd, with its 18 percent BQ rate, eclipsing Marine Corps’ six percent (a race that traditionally has more beginner runners).

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Berlin and CIM both boosted a 16 percent negative split rate, though a higher percentage (32 percent) of CIM runners hit the BQ compared to Berlin’s 18 percent. Valencia had the highest percentage of negative splits. Still, a significant portion of that can be attributed to the extremely flat course, with just enough downhill to boost speed but not enough to bash the quads too badly.

So, if you’re searching for an elusive BQ, here’s what the data show: slow your runs down, choose your course wisely, shoot for a negative split, and remember that practice makes perfect. It may take a couple of marathons to get it absolutely right, but that experience will be invaluable.

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Scott Traer qualified for his first U.S. national team more than a decade ago in 2012. He was new to the sport and naive about what it took to compete at the international level—even after being selected as one of the country’s best athletes in the 24-hour discipline, a niche tributary of trail and ultrarunning where athletes complete as many laps around a track as possible within 24 hours.

While the 24-hour race format may seem eccentric, well-known names like Courtney Dauwalter, Kilian Jornet, and Camille Heron have dabbled in the ultra-track scene. International governing bodies regulate the discipline with USA Track & Field (USATF), the national governing body for track and field, cross country, road running, race walking, and mountain-ultra-trail (MUT) disciplines, overseeing the American contingent. 

Traer, then 31, was working odd construction jobs in and around Boston to make ends meet while training when he got the call from USATF that he had been selected for Team USA.

“I was really excited,” says Traer. “Then, I found out that I had to pay for everything. So I was like, ‘Forget about it.’” 

That financial reality took the wind out of Traer’s sails. He didn’t have the disposable income to foot the bill for international travel and didn’t have paid time off from his jobs. While he was disappointed that he wouldn’t get to represent his country in 2012, he was still determined to pursue his dream of chasing a career in coaching and racing. 

Now, Traer, 42, is a living near Phoenix and working with the Arizona-based event organization as an assistant race director. He has earned top accolades in the sport, including a course record at the Javelina 100K and a Golden Ticket to Western States at the Black Canyons 100K, eventually leading to a top-ten finish at the Western States Endurance Run. 

True to his blue-collar roots, he is known for racing in unbranded gear, typically a long-sleeve, white SPF shirt unbuttoned and flapping in time with his stride. Ten years after making his first 24-hour team, he re-qualified for the opportunity to compete for the U.S. again, this time for the 2023 IAU 24-Hour World Championships in Taiwan (which international sports federating bodies officially refer to as Chinese Taipei), on December 2. 

The catch: USATF is only providing a stipend of $600 to Team USA athletes.

RELATED: Camille Herron’s Advice for Ultra Athletes: Skip the Long Run

Growth and Professionalization in Trail Running

Oregon ultrarunner Pam Smith has competed on Team USA seven times in the 24-hour and 100K world championship events. Now, she’s serving as the Team USA manager to help steward the next generation of ultra athletes. But that passion has come at a cost. 

“I estimate I’ve spent around $10,000 in personal funds to be able to compete at the world championships and to represent the USA at these events,” says Smith, 49, who finished fourth at the 2019 IAU World Championships in France. “USATF does pay for the manager’s travel expenses, but there is no other compensation; in fact, the managers have to use their own funds to cover some fees, like membership dues and background checks.”

It might surprise fans of the sport that many of their favorite athletes are paying significant money to sport the red, white, and blue uniform—and that many can’t compete because they cannot shoulder the cost. The U.S. is known for strong 24-hour runners, and the men’s and women’s teams both won gold at the previous in 2019 in Albi, France, with two individual podium spots. 

“The U.S. has many of the best 24-hour runners in the world,” says Smith. “It’s a shame that these athletes don’t even get their airfare covered.”

While Smith’s airfare is covered, her work and that of her colleagues is presumed to be done on a volunteer basis. (A quick online search shows a flight to Chinese Taipei from most U.S. cities costs in the $1,500-$2,400 price range.)

Trail running, particularly the elite side of the sport, is at an inflection point. While some races dole out prize money, and a select few athletes at the top of the sport command respectable salaries, most runners at the elite level rely on a scattershot combination of brand partnerships and personal funding to float their racing. While the sport’s very best athletes are well compensated professionals, most “sponsored” trail runners earn between $10,000 and $30,000 per year. Between travel, gear, nutrition, and other expenses, many runners at the elite level are fronting their own cash to compete. 

When Chad Lasater qualified for Team USA after a strong run at the Desert Solstice 24-Hour Race, he hadn’t planned on making the team. But, when he found out he’d qualified, he started looking into the logistics and was shocked to discover he’d be responsible for paying his way to Taipei. 

“The cost of airfare, lodging, food, and time away from work can be significant, especially when traveling to somewhere like Taipei,” says Lasater, 51, from Sugar Land, Texas. “I feel that everyone should have an equal opportunity to be on the U.S. team, and the cost of traveling to the world championships should not preclude anyone from accepting a spot on the team. We should really be sending our best 24-hour athletes to the world championships, not the best athletes who can afford to travel.”

Teams that rely on individual brands or athletes to foot the bill will prefer runners with sponsorships or disposable income and can afford to take time off work and pay for childcare. 

Sponsorship Challenges

At the top of the sport, like the world championships, it’s routine to see completely unsponsored runners competing with no brand affiliation, especially in the eccentric realm of 24-hour track events. Even some sponsored runners don’t always get their travel expenses covered. 

While a world championship event is certainly a big deal, it doesn’t command the same fanfare and media attention as other marquee events, like the Western States Endurance Run or Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, where many brands prefer to focus their resources. 

Jeff Colt, a 32-year-old professional ultrarunner for On who lives in Carbondale, Colorado, publicly debated the merits of returning to Western States in California this year or competing in the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Austria in early June. (The trail running world championships and 24-hour world championships are different events, but the Team USA athletes who compete in each one face similar challenges when it comes to funding and market value to brands.) He ultimately decided to claim his Golden Ticket and compete at States. More eyeballs on the event mean a higher return on the investment for running brands, which in turn elevates athletes’ value to their sponsors 

“My sponsor, On, was clear that they supported my decision either way, but they were more interested in me running Western States,” says Colt. “And rightfully so. There’s a lot of media attention at races like States and UTMB, which allow brands to activate and get visibility for their logo. That support feels good as an athlete, too. It’s not just better for the brand.”

Nike has an exclusive partnership with USATF; all athletes competing at any world championship event in the mountain-ultra-trail disciplines (as well as the Olympics and World Athletics Championships for track and field and the marathon) must wear Nike-issued Team USA uniforms that are provided to the athletes free of charge, with the exception of shoes. Any photos or videos of professional runners at these events are less valuable to competing running brands because their athletes will appear bedecked in another company’s logo. This disincentivizes many brands from investing in unsponsored athletes’ travel expenses and limits athletes’ ability to get financial support, most of which currently comes from shoe and apparel brands in the trail running industry. And if athletes cannot compete because of illness or injury, they must return parts of the kit. Even if they keep the kit, many sponsored runners’ contracts prohibit them from training and racing in the gear, so it gathers dust at the back of their closets. 

Arizona runner Nick Coury, preparing to compete on his third U.S. 24-hour team, says this contract limits the economic opportunities of unsponsored athletes—partially because it disallows an athlete to place another sponsor’s logo on the Nike gear.

“This is especially upsetting to many because Nike provides large sums of money to USATF for this arrangement, yet neither passes through significant support to national teams despite USATF being a nonprofit aimed at ‘driving competitive excellence and popular engagement in our sport,’” says Coury, 35, from Scottsdale, Arizona. “USATF is taking money from Nike, restricting elite athletes to fund themselves through sponsorship, and doing little to nothing to encourage a competitive national team.”

One athlete, sharing anonymously, reported selling parts of their Nike kit to help offset travel expenses. “It’s the same kit [100-meter and 200-meter track and field superstar] Noah Lyles wears, so it’s super valuable.”

Traer thinks it’s unfair that athletes are forced to wear Nike gear and render free labor supporting a huge company, especially when the 24-hour team isn’t fully funded. Lyles, an Adidas athlete who won the 100-meter dash at this year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, had to wear Nike gear while warming up and racing, too. But his travel and expenses were paid in full by USATF, and his Adidas relationship benefits because track and field stars get considerably more exposure than ultrarunners. Furthermore, in track and field, the world championships serve as a prelude to the biggest running event on the calendar, the Olympics, which take place every four years and attract an expansive viewership that reaches far beyond hardcore running fans.

“It bothers me because Nike is making a huge amount of money,” Traer says. “I don’t want to hear that there isn’t enough money to support athletes because I see smaller brands in our sport that have less money doing a much better job supporting athletes.” 

How Funding Is Allocated

Nancy Hobbs is the chairperson of the USATF Mountain and Ultra Trail Running Council, the division of USATF that oversees the U.S. 24-Hour Team. Her executive committee has been discussing more equitable distribution of funds. Initially, funding was based on the number of years the championships had been held and how many athletes were attending. 

Ultimately though, it comes down to the relatively small amount of Nike money that USATF allocates to the USATF MUT Running Council.

“With a certain amount of money in the budget, we could choose to send fewer athletes (i.e., just a scoring team with no spares in case of injury, etc.), but the council discussion has been on the importance of fielding a full team with some additional athletes for attrition and providing more athletes an opportunity to compete internationally (provided they qualify for the team based on selection criteria),” says Hobbs. 

Though the compensation for mountain-ultra-trail athletes may feel low, it is significantly higher than in the past. In 1999, a mere $250 was distributed to each MUT subcommittee, totaling $750 for all 1999 expenses. In 2013, MUT teams received $25,000 in funding for travel. This year, $83,000 was distributed across all of the teams it sends to international championships for MUT disciplines. 

“We’ve come a long way with MUT since 1998,” says Hobbs. “We have more work to do. This is a volunteer-driven group which is passionate about our sport and trying to provide athletes opportunities through championships, teams, and programs within the structure of USATF.”

Coury qualified for his third U.S. 24-hour team in 2021 and broke the American 24-hour record. He’s had to fund his travel out of pocket for all three international appearances. He says the lack of funding limits the team’s ability to compete on the world stage. 

“I’ve found it extremely challenging to train for a 24-hour event while holding a full-time job, as have others, and I know I haven’t and won’t hit my personal potential as a result,” says Coury. “We’ve seen an explosion in the competitiveness and interest in trail races, and part of that is the ability for ultrarunners to make a living as professional athletes. We see very few runners in the 24-hour space who can go professional, which reflects in our team’s competitiveness.”

While Team USA won both gold medals in 2019, international competition is escalating. Coury says opening up additional funding would help draw elites and strong amateurs alike to try their hand at the 24-hour format, which would help Team USA’s standing on the world stage. 

“Athletes like Courtney Dauwalter and Camille Herron have represented Team USA multiple times and been key to our results,” says Coury. “Yet I am certain they must weigh training, qualifying, and representing Team USA against the sponsorship opportunities in trail ultrarunning, where financial support is much greater. I imagine there would be more interest from some of our most capable athletes if we had a better financial story around the team, providing a path for it to fund an athlete’s career instead of costing out of pocket. Given the prospects of making a living at a trail race versus paying to represent Team USA, I’m positive we’re discouraging some of our best athletes from even wanting to try.”

Making It Work

In previous years, Team USA has resorted to raising money through bake sales and selling T-shirts to raise funds for the team’s travel expenses. Past team captain Howard Nippert made and sold ice bandanas to support the team. This year’s captain Smith is hosting fundraising dinners. Coury says that the ultrarunning community has stepped up to support the team where traditional funding has failed. 

“It reminds me in some ways of the amateur athlete situation back in the 1970s, where representing your country came at a significant financial burden and really made athletes reconsider it,” says Coury. “Why isn’t USATF making it desirable to train and compete for Team USA? Why is it seemingly doing the opposite?”

The 24-hour team is at a crossroads: either it will receive adequate funding and support to send the best team possible to the world championships, or it will maintain this status quo while Team USA falls further and further behind on the international stage. and is determined to sound the alarm about how a lack of funding holds athletes and all of Team USA back. 

“No one should have to decide that they made Team USA but can’t afford to pay to wear their country’s flag,” says Traer. “If an athlete earns their spot on the team, they should get the support they need to compete. End of story.”

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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 “stones” 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’s (WSER) finishing rate in 2023 was 81 percent, versus the 2023 Leadville 100’s 43 percent finishing rate, likely due to the absence of a qualification process and coupled with extreme altitude and this year’s 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’s 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’ 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’s UTMB men’s winner Kilian Jonet’s 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’ 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’ 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’s 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’t 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’s 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’s also significantly hotter, though 2023 was a particularly cool year (a factor in this year’s somewhat anomalously high finishing rate of 81 percent). The field is also smaller, with just under 400 runners, versus UTMB’s 2,400 runners. They both have that mandate runners have experience at a similar distance—a minimum of 100K for WSER runners.

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Finishing times and cutoffs are also different. Dauwalter, who currently holds the women’s 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’s 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 “Sleeping, Do Not Disturb” 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’s 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’s 115 feet. This means that UTMB runners’ training was 22 percent steeper than that of WSER runners. This makes sense as UTMB is significantly steeper, racking up almost double WSER’s 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’ peak weeks were bigger, too, averaging 87 miles in their highest volume week, versus UTMB’s 79 miles.

The clear trend that emerged from UTMB runners’ 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.

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Nike has been in the trail running game for as long as any brand in the shoe biz, dating back to its original models in the early 1980s. But despite being one of the predominant brands in track and road racing, its line has lacked high-performance trail racing shoes. 

Until now, that is. 

The mid-August launch of the Nike Ultrafly ($260) puts the brand in the race with other trail-running supershoes, and reinforces its recent all-in commitment to trail running. The shoe features a curvy, pronged, carbon-fiber Flyplate embedded in a hyper-responsive ZoomX foam midsole, a lightweight micromesh upper, and a grippy Vibram outsole with low-profile 3.5mm lugs.

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Nike released a near-final prologue version of the shoe last summer to its athletes and select retailers, influencers, and media. Those early testers reported that the outsole rubber wasn’t tacky enough, that the foam midsole was too soft and unstable—particularly in the heel—and the sole had poor grip. Nike listened to the feedback and made the shoe much better. Although the new Ultrafly is essentially the same shoe, the final production version has a Vibram Megagrip Litebase outsole and its ZoomX midsole is tightly wrapped in a thin, durable mesh fabric that significantly stabilizes and moderates the foam.

The Ultrafly is nearly a max-cushioned shoe—it has 38.5 millimeters of foam and rubber under the heel and 30 millimeters under the forefoot—making it cushy enough to run long distances, but it’s also light and nimble enough to run fast. The ZoomX foam—the same material found in Nike’s high-end Vaporfly and Alphafly marathon racing shoes—is incredibly responsive and puts a noticeable spring in every step. Plus, the low forefoot provides a good proprioceptive feel for the ground that makes it conducive to quick footsteps and sharp cornering at faster speeds.

The Ultrafly arrives at a time when The North Face, Adidas Terrex, Craft, Saucony, Salomon, Hoka, and New Balance have launched, or will soon be releasing, high-performance trail running shoes that follow a similar carbon-plated design that has already revolutionized road and track racing. Although the jury is still out as to how much a carbon-fiber propulsion plate is needed or wanted for long trail races—as always, it depends on the terrain, course profile, and runner preference—Nike has put itself in the front pack of high-performance trail running shoes. 

Each brand uses its own strategy for modifying the carbon-fiber plate to adapt to uneven terrain, from creating parallel, independent rails to making a plate that bends in one direction and stays stiff in the other. Nike’s version is shaped in a two-prong fork to allow better flexibility and movement on the trail. It’s shorter than the plate found in the Vaporfly and Alphafly, and designed to provide more control of side-to-side movements.

RELATED: Eight Fast and Agile Carbon-Plated Trail Running Shoes

The Nike Ultrafly: Fit and Feel

The Ultrafly fits true to size, with a narrow-medium interior volume that opens in the forefoot for a little bit of toe wiggle room. The upper is secured by a thinly padded, semi-gusseted tongue and a moderate heel counter. The shoe feels light (estimated at about 8.3 ounces for a women’s size 8 and 9.8 ounces for a men’s size 9), agile, energetic, and stable on mild to moderate trails and fire roads—which is where it excels. 

Although the foam is soft and responsive like Nike’s road running supershoes, it’s not marshmallowy (thanks to the nylon mesh-reinforced wrapping of the midsole foam) and, with a wide forefoot profile, it provides a bit of stability (especially compared to last year’s version) on off-camber terrain. As expected, it’s a little less at home on technical trail terrain, although the outsole rubber and interior plate do a good job at keeping under-foot stingers from sharp rocks at bay, and the forked plate does seem to reduce the tippiness somewhat. The rip-stop micromesh upper is modestly reinforced—but barely so around the toe box, which can make your feet vulnerable to sidewall abrasions and stubbed toes.

The Vibram Litebase outsole rubber, although not nearly as tacky as the sticky rubber of the industry-leading La Sportiva Frixion outsole, is a huge upgrade from all previous Nike trail running shoes. Over the past several years, Nike has improved its line of trail running shoes—especially the Wildhorse, Kiger and Zegama models—but the biggest shortcoming has always been that they’ve lacked optimal traction for high-performance running. Nike solved that problem with the Ultrafly by partnering with Vibram for the first time, making it the best light-and-fast trail shoe in its lineup since the Air Tupu in 2002–2003.

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Compared to other carbon-fiber trail running shoes out on the market, the Ultrafly falls somewhere between the stable and durable and the light and exceptionally springy and propulsive from The North Face. And although looks don’t have anything to do with performance, the bright white upper and midsole become dingy and dirty after the first run. (But the fast and agile ride remains even when it becomes a shade of grimy gray.)

Nike elite trail-running athletes Tyler Green, Nienke Brinkman, Brittany Peterson, Matt Daniels, Addie Bracy, Drew Holmen, and Erin Clark have been wearing prototypes of the Ultrafly for two years, and Green wore a pair (a custom model without the plate) en route to a second-place finish at this year’s Western States 100, while Bracy wore them in her recent third-place finish at the Speedgoat 50K.  

The other notable aspect of the Ultrafly is that it’s not cheap. In fact, with a $260 price tag, it’s downright expensive and might make you consider whether you need such a high-performance shoe or whether you’d rather buy a pair of light, versatile non-plated shoes like the Altra Superior ($130), Saucony Peregrine ($140), Salomon Ultra Glide 2 ($150), or Nike Zegama 2 ($160)—and spend the difference on other trail running gear you need.

Bottom line: The Ultrafly is a top-tier, high-performance shoe that blends a great combination of speed, agility, cushioning, and traction. If you’re interested in fast-paced training and racing on moderate trails, it’s definitely a shoe to consider adding to your quiver.

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The Mont Blanc massif looms large over the Chamonix valley. The summit, Western Europe’s tallest, reaches 15,777 feet above sea level, and the mountain’s shoulders sprawl into Switzerland, Italy, and France. Mont Blanc’s snowcapped ridge dominates the skyline of its surrounding towns and villages, capturing the imaginations of many mountain athletes.

“Living in Chamonix, you’re looking at Mont Blanc all the time. It’s such an emblematic summit,” says Hillary Gerardi, a professional mountain runner for Black Diamond, who grew up in the U.S. but lives in Chamonix, France.

Gerardi, 35, has long been big in the skyrunning scene, with wins at the 2021 Marathon du Mont-Blanc 90K, 2018 Tromso Skyrace, and 2018 Skyrunner World Series. Her mountain movement isn’t limited to running, though. Gerardi set the first and Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Chamonix to Zermatt Haute Route Ski Traverse in 2021.

Mountain Movement

Gerardi’s love for exceptionally difficult mountain travel was forged in New Hampshire, where she worked in Appalachian Mountain Club huts and spent summers traversing the rocky and rooty Appalachian Trail (AT). After graduating from Middlebury College, she and her now husband Brad Carlson moved to the French Alps to flesh out her alpine skill set with technical climbing and ski mountaineering. At her European racing debut, she won a 12-pound leg of prosciutto.

Gerardi has been competing internationally for years and found herself increasingly drawn to the legendarily fast times on her hometown peak. Trail legends Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg () previously held the Mont Blanc FKTs, and the stout times and multidisciplinary skill set required made the challenge even more alluring for Gerardi.

, author of , and a close friend of Gerardi’s, who also fell in love with running on the AT before moving to explore new heights in Chamonix, says her achievement is extraordinary, even in a community of athletes know for their outlier achievements.

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“Mont Blanc is the highest summit in Western Europe, and it’s technically challenging. It’s about as iconic a peak as you can get. The FKT is one that also breaks down walls between mountaineering and trail running, so it’s both creative and difficult to accomplish—you need a wide range of skill sets. To break Forsberg’s record, Hillary needed to be damn fast and strong and technically at the top of her game. It’s the purest definition of badass that I have seen in quite some time,” says Mayer.

“For the trail running community, this route is one that merges all kinds of challenges. You shouldn’t go near it without being a strong technical climber. It’s an FKT that combines a wide range of skills and disciplines. This is a multidimensional FKT,” he adds.

After ascending the peak with training partner Mimmi Kotka last season, the seed of the FKT was planted: Gerardi was determined to go for it. She was motivated by having a fast time to beat and challenged by the demanding and ever-changing conditions on the mountain.

Conditions and a Changing Climate

The section of the mountain known as “The Junction” is a labyrinth of treacherous crevasses that had become more difficult after a two-year drought on the mountain. Gerardi began to question if an FKT was in reach, not just for herself, but for anyone.

“I started to wonder: seriously, are these records ever going to be repeatable? Is anyone going to be able to go for them again?” says Gerardi. But, heavy snow in March and April of 2023 improved conditions, and the route started to seem more attainable.

After stepping back somewhat from alpine climbing after an accident in the mountains 11 years ago, Gerardi had begun to rekindle her love for the discipline that would be essential for the FKT, where she would take the more technical North Ridge route, rather than the route taken by Jornet and Forsberg when they set their respective FKTs (for mountain FKTs that don’t otherwise specify a certain route, athletes can choose whatever line feels most efficient and safe to them).

RELATED: A Legendary Alpinist, a French Mayor, and the Melting Glaciers on Mont Blanc

Her training included big days out and lots of vert, coupled with strength training that focused on eccentric loading to prepare her legs for the punishing descents on ice, snow, and technical trails. Gerardi got on the mountain as much as possible, acclimating to the thin air and steep terrain. In addition, she worked on mountaineering-specific skills like glacier travel, crampon-ing, and crevasse rescue skills to mitigate risk in the uncertain terrain.

She also honed her gear, shaving grams off everything she could. Gerardi wanted to involve as many women from the Chamonix community as possible, too, aiming for an all-female ascent with a rotation of different partners for the different segments of the FKT, depending on the partner’s skill set.

Gerardi gave herself a two-month window, an almost absurd amount of time to optimize for, but necessary because of the increased instability of weather related to climate change. Leading up to the big day, Gerardi obsessively checked mountain forecasts and collated information from mountain guides and hut caretakers from around the valley to find the best window for the attempt. She needed the perfect confluence of factors to come together: cold enough up high for the snow to be stable, with warmer temperatures down low to allow the snow to soften from ice and absorb impact.

Finally, on June 17, a weather window opened, and Gerardi was ready.

Setting the FKT

Even with a good window of opportunity, Gerardi and her team were met with extremely windy and cold conditions on Mont Blanc.

“It was so cold that all my water froze,” says Gerardi. “It was really challenging to eat enough and drink enough.” Things started to improve as Gerardi crested the North Ridge right around sunrise, and her movement became more confident and efficient. “The sunrise was absolutely stellar.”

On the descent, the snow didn’t soften as Gerardi had hoped and planned, as she aimed for a refreeze so that she could glissade down and save her legs for the later on-trail descent.

“When I got back down to The Junction, the snow was hard, and frozen suncups, where I twisted my ankle a couple of times, and let out several f-bombs,” says Gerardi. (Suncups are bowl-shaped depressions in the snow’s surface that form a tough-to-traverse honeycomb pattern).

Friend and fellow skyrunner Meg Mackenzie was waiting just on the other side of the glacier with running shoes, ready to pace, and that helped boost Gerardi’s spirit after the low moment trying to move efficiently through the suncupped snow. Gerardi says the relationships she forged with other women were a highlight of the attempt.

“There were just like a whole bunch of really great gals who have all been super supportive in wanting to help and interested in the project and sort of getting my eyes opened a little bit more into all of these strong badass women who are around here in the Alps,” says Gerardi.

, Gerardi had lowered Forsberg’s FKT by 26 minutes.

Running to Raise Awareness

Half of all mountain glaciers could disappear by 2100, according to , but it’s not just the mountain’s signature dressing that’s threatened. Permafrost, typically found above 8,000 feet, runs deep into cracks in the rock, helping stabilize them. Rising temperatures cause the permafrost to thaw, creating instability in the mountain’s face, and making it more prone to rockfall and slides. In the last few years, the number of rockfall events in the Alps has increased as temperatures rise, making mountain travel riskier.

Gerardi, who used to work at the Research Center for Alpine Ecosystems (CREA Mont-Blanc), is well aware of the perils that climate change brings to her beloved mountains.

“I felt torn about going for the record because in some ways, it’s going to encourage more people to do Mont Blanc. And Mont Blanc, especially by the regular route, has become objectively more dangerous with time because of climate change. There’s a lot more rockfall, especially in the Goûter couloir, also known as the couloir of death,” says Gerardi.

Of the approximately 20,000 people who ascend the massif each year, the majority traverse this couloir, The tricky traverse has gotten worse as freeze-thaw cycles associated with climate change destabilize rocks, causing more frequent falls. Now, .

“ with freeze-thaw cycles tied to climate change. and the phenomena will continue to be less predictable and more deadly as global temperatures increase.

“Then, I thought that because it’s such a well-known and emblematic summit, it would be an opportunity to kind of call people’s attention to some of the changes we’re seeing.”

Living in Mont Blanc’s shadow, the changes are impossible to ignore. Glaciers that used to spill down and fill entire couloirs have now been reduced to ruddy, blunted snowfields. Some, like the famous .

“These are things that you can’t not see when you’re here,” says Gerardi. “Glacier melt, water availability, rock fall, serac fall. It’s been my desire to call attention to these issues through talking about this route.”

The Future Climate of Mountain Travel Is Unstable

Mountaineers in the Anthropocene have had to add increasing patience to their toolset. Weather windows are less reliable and people looking for optimal conditions have to be more patient and flexible. Scientists and mountain athletes alike have increasingly been raising the alarm of what rising temperatures mean in some of Earth’s most extreme environments.

“The Alps, in a lot of ways, are on the front lines, canaries in the coal mine of climate change because it really is warming twice as fast as most of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere,” says Gerardi. “We’re seeing changes at an incredible speed. You have to keep in mind when you’re doing a route like this that there are going to be a lot of things that are not in your control.”

That loss of control is something Gerardi thinks about frequently with her partner Brad Carlson, who is a mountain guide and researcher in alpine ecology.

“We often talk about how can we still see value in getting out in the mountains when it’s not necessarily based on specific summits or objectives. I think that’s something that people who want to be in the alpine should definitely understand, that maybe you shouldn’t be wedded to a specific route.”

Gerardi sits with a certain level of discomfort, as someone who loves the mountains but desperately wants to bring attention to the impacts that climate change has on them. She is an athlete and human who is inextricably tied to the systems hastening their demise.

“I can’t not care about issues around climate change,” says Gerardi. “The big challenge for me is this tension that exists between being an athlete who wants to compete internationally, and who gets sponsored by brands who want to sell things.”

Mayer says she has continually used her platform as a professional athlete to draw attention to the issues that matter to her.

“When I first got to know her, she was just coming onto the international trail running and Skyrunning scene. So there was a natural period of getting your feet on the ground and learning the lay of the land. Once she was established, she clearly saw the opportunity to use her platform to create change,” says Mayer. “And no one I know walks the walk more than Gerardi. She bikes to work, takes the train, organizes friends to carpool if there’s a long drive involved, and does it all without being preachy. In that sense, she’s a wonderful role model for a way of behaving we all need to emulate.”

Encountering Climate Change from Every Angle

Since becoming a full-time athlete, Gerardi has been able to get more involved in bringing attention to climate issues, giving her time to the environmental working group for and volunteering for a citizen science effort to study air pollution in the Chamonix valley. Gerardi likes to push the brands she works with on their environmental practices. She has also been involved in the development of recycled shoes, discussions around the durability of gear, and sustainability of brands. She says she’s determined to encounter the challenge of climate change from every angle.

“It’s important to take into account systemic and individual actions,” says Gerardi. “I’m not really an either-or person. I am neither going to shame people for taking a plane, nor am I going to say we are absolved of all responsibility because it is the fault of ExxonMobil.”

For her contribution, she’s more focused on solutions. “We need to normalize talking about this and normalize finding solutions,” says Gerardi. “We can all be imperfect advocates, but we all need to do something.”

Mayer thinks Gerardi’s qualities make her an ideal candidate to bring attention to a changing climate. “I am not sure I know anyone who is as smart and determined as Hillary. She is a force of nature, and when she gets a plan in her mind and believes she can accomplish it, all the obstacles are systematically knocked aside, one by one,” says Mayer. It’s an amazing thing to watch and a lesson for anyone paying attention. There’s a persistence that leaves you shaking your head in awe.”

For now, Gerardi is focused on keeping her adventures local and enjoying her accomplishment.

“What has been so rewarding with my FKT has been to, as my husband likes to call it, cultivate my garden. It’s my local mountain and I get to look up at it and, you know, sort of beam with pride,” says Gerardi. But, those who know her say she probably won’t sit still for long.

“Watch this space. She did the Mont Blanc FKT with such style and elegance, you might think that’s a crowning achievement of her outdoors career. And for a lot of people, it would be. But she’s not tapering,” says Mayer. “There’s much more to come. And whatever comes next, it’s going to leave you shaking your head thinking, ‘Damn, that is pretty badass!’”

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Less than nine percent of Americans are able to stick to their New Year’s resolutions for a full year, . In 2023, the most common resolution for Americans was to exercise more. But, when it comes to setting SMART goals, we runners are smarter, right?

Many runners set ambitious goals for their yearly mileage. According to Strava, 53 percent of runners who set yearly mileage goals for 2023 are on track to achieve those goals– with plenty of year to spare. Staying on track towards a yearly mileage goal is a balancing act that requires athletes to manage their training load over the course of a year. In 2022, 22.8 percent of athletes finished less than 20 percent shy of their goal– and 12.5 percent completed 90 percent of their yearly goal volume –so close, and yet, so far!

The most popular year-end goal for Strava users was 1,000 kilometers, followed by 1,000 miles (so much to love about an affinity for big, round numbers that transcends the Imperial/Metric system binary!). There was also a spike in interest in 2023k and 2023M goals, because…2023. To meet that goal, runners would need to log just under three miles or three kilometers a day, or 18 miles a week. Doable? Definitely.

Let’s take a deep dive into the data to examine what strategies help, and what strategies hinder runners en route to achieving their yearly mileage.

Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Runners tend to hit more mileage in the warmer months (surprising no one who, resigned to logging winter miles on the treadmill, ran out of Great British Bake Off reruns). According to Strava’s data, the athletes who met their yearly mileage goals tended to log more runs in August, September, and October. These months, in that tender spot between the heat of the summer and the chill of winter, gave athletes an opportunity to bank some miles before daylight savings and December.

Runners who met their goals tended to run up to 10 percent more than was needed for their goal in these months (also coinciding with the pinnacle of summer trail race season and preparation for fall marathons). September tended to be the goal-meeter’s peak month, with average monthly volume 33 percent higher than December 2022. For the best shot at meeting your year-end goal, the time to recommit to consistency is now.

Don’t Procrastinate

Strava’s data shows that waiting for a last-minute push isn’t a productive method for runners looking to meet their year-end goals. Athletes tended to trend under the consistency needed for their goals in February, November and December. Colder weather and shorter days provide enough friction to prevent many athletes from reaching the goals they were excited about in January. Even among folks who met their year-end goals, November and December, with all their holiday travel and schedule interruptions, were the lowest-volume months of the year, with December being the lowest month of all.

Get Right Back on the Bandwagon

The best advice for staying consistent enough to meet your goals is to not let one missed day become three, then become a week, then become a month off. It’s okay to have a down week, or even a down month as long as you’re able to maintain a base of consistency.

Among the runners who met their yearly goals in 2022, 52 percent ran less in June than was required for their goal. Almost half of runners who ultimately met their yearly goal went into June behind pace and used August, September, and October as an opportunity to make up for some lost volume. 20 percent of runners who were 20 percent behind their goals going into July of 2022 ended up making it up by the end of the year. So, right now is the perfect time to take stock of where you’re at, and recommit to those year-end goals.

Tips for Staying Consistent, According to Strava Data

Analyzing thousands of Strava uploads, there were clear patterns among runners who were able to meet their year-end goals vs. those who fell short. Here’s what we learned from the data:

• Every bit counts. The median distance for runners who completed their goal vs. those who didn’t was 24 percent higher. Rather than trying to meet your goal through heroic efforts and super-long runs, consider adding volume in more manageable increments. Adding an extra mile or 10 minutes a couple of times a week could end up making the difference between meeting your goal and falling short.

• Run with a buddy.  Athletes who ran with others in 2022 had a 17 percent higher goal completion rate. Runs with friends or a group tend to be longer, and runners who go the distance together are 78 percent more active than athletes who run solo. So, if you feel your motivation waning, grab a friend or join a group!

Consistency is key. Big, year-long goals aren’t achieved through one-off heroic efforts, but by doing the best you can to get out as often as is healthy and productive for your training. Athletes who met their goals had about 15 percent more active days than folks who didn’t. So, if you’re struggling to meet your goal, consider adding an additional, lower-volume day to your run week.

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