Kilian Jornet is many things: greatest ultra-trail runner of all-time. Greatest sub-ultra trail runner of all time. Father. Husband. Founder of an environmental nonprofit. Founder of an outdoor footwear and apparel company.

He鈥檚 also an enigma.

Jornet eschews the commercialization of a sport that he鈥檚 helped to grow. He loves the freedom of exploration but also the rigor of science. He鈥檚 intensely introverted yet is the most popular and public trail runner ever.

These incongruences are perhaps no better exemplified than through his current quest. While most of the top ultra-trail runners from around the world have descended upon Chamonix, France, for the this week, Jornet, too, is in the area. On August 24, he essentially ran a handful of miles along the backside of the UTMB course in Switzerland. He came even closer鈥攎uch closer鈥攕hortly thereafter.

But, and I鈥檓 sorry to disappoint you, Jornet is not here to race UTMB. He鈥檚 two weeks into an even bigger vision quest: link all 82 4,000-meter peaks in the Alps. He鈥檚 calling it the Alpine Connections project.

Of course, he hasn鈥檛 officially stated he鈥檚 trying to link all 82. He鈥檚 simply trying to 鈥渆xplore his physical, technical, and mental limits while connecting 4,000-meter peaks in the Alps.鈥� But if you know Jornet, one of the most anti-spray runners in this spray era, you know he wants to tag them all鈥攊n record time.

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Ueli Steck, the legendary 鈥淪wiss Machine,鈥� currently holds that record of 62 days. While most who have attempted this mind-blowing feat drove from one mountain to the next, Steck linked them via bike.

That鈥檚 the style Jornet chose, too. For environmental reasons. For the aesthetic of self-powered adventure. But like so many of the defining moments of his career, he has a camera crew following, in cars. (Since some of his outings on foot are point-to-point, it鈥檚 also not clear if his crew is transporting his bike from the start to the finish for him.) And he鈥檚 posting his progress on and , along with updates on the NNormal .

With just 30 peaks to go, the most imposing mountain left on his list is none other than Mont Blanc, the tallest peak in Western Europe at 15,766 feet. It happens to be the massif around which UTMB circumvents.

What inspired Jornet鈥攚ho lives on a farm in 脜ndalsnes, Norway, with his Swedish wife and elite runner Emelie Tina Forsberg and their two young daughters鈥攖o test himself so close yet so far from UTMB? We spoke with him earlier this summer to find out.

But First, What the Heck Is the Alpine Connections Project?

On August 10, Jornet outsprinted Kenya鈥檚 Philemon Kiriago down the finishing chute to win Sierre-Zinal by one and a half seconds. His time of two hours, 25 minutes, and 34.8 seconds bested his own course record by just one second. It was Jornet鈥檚 10th win at what many consider the most prestigious and competitive mountain running race in the world.

At just 19.3 miles with more than 7,200 feet of climbing, most of which is packed into the first 6 miles, it鈥檚 a test of VO2max more than anything. Jornet averaged 7:21 minute per mile pace鈥攏o, not grade adjusted pace鈥攐n the net-uphill alpine trail route with pitches up to 33 percent grade.

Apparently, it was just the tune-up he needed for weeks of 15 to 20 hour days climbing technical alpine routes and stringing them all together by foot and two wheels. He departed from Pontresina, Switzerland, to commence the Alpine Connections project just three days later on August 13. It鈥檚 the logical continuation of his (Re)discovering the Pyrenees project from last October, when Jornet linked all 177 peaks over 3,000-meters in the Pyrenees in eight days.

Alpine Connections is the Pyrenees project with the dial turned all the way up and then some. Over the first week of technical alpine climbing, running, and biking, he logged more than 91 hours with 330 miles and nearly 108,000 feet of gain.

How is he fitting in such big days, you may be wondering? Why, by hardly sleeping. Over the first three days he slept an average of 3 hours and 35 minutes a night. He bumped it up slightly to an average of 4 hours and 49 minutes on days four through seven.

In case that doesn鈥檛 sound challenging enough, the weather hasn鈥檛 made it any easier.

鈥淎s it had been raining (and snowing on the summits) the entire afternoon and night before, I left solo at 6:15 in the morning and had another relatively 鈥榮hort鈥� (8:40) day of climbing to make the most out of the conditions,鈥� Jornet wrote on on August 18, five days into the project. 鈥淪till, I am used to this 鈥楴orwegian鈥� weather that feels just like home, so I managed to summit D眉rrenhorn (4034m), Hohberghorn (4218m), Stecknadelhorn (4239m) and Nadelhorn (4327m).鈥�

Jornet was greeted by snow, rain, and copious amounts of fog while traversing glaciated peaks for much of that first week. Nonetheless, over the first week he had already submitted 51 of the 4,000-meter peaks over 825K (512 miles) of running, climbing, and biking and more than 52,000 meters (170,600 feet) of gain.

In his most recent update, Jornet shared that he took a full day off due to the weather. He used the time to try and refuel, rehydrate, and to heal the skin on his hands and feet.

Exclusive Kilian Jornet Interview听

Jornet, 36, has long been able to subvert the processes and platforms on which he鈥檚 made his name. After building up his cachet by traveling to鈥攁nd usually winning鈥攖he most prestigious trail races and mountain projects around the world, he announced several years ago that he would minimize airplane travel to a couple of times a year. A Salomon athlete for over a decade, he left the brand to take what he鈥檇 learned and start his own. And after winning UTMB four times, he along with 2023 runner-up Zach Miller proposed a boycott of the race last year until the organization cleans up some of its , including rampant global growth and its partnership with the car company Dacia.

We sat down with Jornet in person to unpack his relationship with the sport and himself.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

RUN: You say you鈥檙e in the best shape of your life. How did you get here?

Kilian Jornet: Training has been good and especially it鈥檚 been consistent. We had amazing weather this winter on the west coast of Norway with super good ice climbing and mountain climbing conditions. Blue sky, super cold for like two months, so we could climb a lot. This spring it was warmer here, which is surprising. We had some good dry trails.

I鈥檓 also doing less. When I go to races, there鈥檚 a lot of stuff you need to do. I鈥檓 an introvert, so being with people takes a lot of energy. After a race, I need to recover physically but also mentally because it takes a lot of energy. So I鈥檓 embracing less, which means I can train better.

And I鈥檓 doing things I like, like spending my time on NNormal or science projects and that鈥檚 giving me positive vibes and making me feel energized.

I think having stability in life, having a routine, makes training easier than racing. I can train better for a longer time. And then I can be more focused when I come to races.

Do you think 鈥渄ad strength鈥� is real?

No, it takes a lot of energy. But you also feel like you can get into a routine. I can train while the kids are at kindergarten, and then take the weekends easy. So maybe it helps to organize things. Normally I was training when I wanted to and now I can鈥檛. But you get into a routine and that might help. I鈥檓 more efficient and I train better.

 

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Before it was like, 鈥極h I have all the days, so I just go out for many, many hours. And I do what I want to. I go to that summit, or that other.鈥� Now it鈥檚 like, 鈥極h no, I have these hours, I have this goal, I want to train this way.鈥� I still have days where I say, 鈥極K, today is a mountain day, and so I go do whatever I want to do.鈥� But there are some other days where I know, 鈥極K, I have this time to train, so I do this session.鈥�

You love the science behind training, and you love just playing in the mountains. How do you strike that balance?

I studied sports science in school, so I probably was already nerdy when I was young. When I was like 16 or 17 years old, I was already doing tests. So it鈥檚 always been there in an observatory way. Like 鈥業 want to try this, and see what it implies. How can I analyze that from a science point of view?鈥� Not taking science and then applying it to me. It鈥檚 always been there in more of an exploratory way than a prescriptive way.

So you view science similarly to how you view the mountains: as an avenue for exploration?

Yeah, it鈥檚 a bit the same. When you go to a race, like I have gone to Zegama 12 times. That鈥檚 not a lot of exploration. But going to the mountains and doing projects there, it鈥檚 much more about exploring things and then seeing what鈥檚 happening.

Now that you鈥檙e launched NNormal, do you feel additional pressure to go and perform at key races to boost brand visibility?听

I would say the opposite. Because now, with NNormal I鈥檓 part of it. I decide what I want to do. Now it鈥檚 really like, 鈥榊eah, I want to do the race because I鈥檓 training well and I鈥檓 in shape and I want to do a nice race that I feel connected to somehow.鈥� Or I want to do this project in the mountains because it鈥檚 what I feel I want to do, and I don鈥檛 feel any kind of pressure. I know that it helps NNormal, of course, if I鈥檓 showing up. But not even racing, like we saw it last year with the project in the Pyrenees.

It was a last-minute thing, like I decided literally two weeks before that. Now that they analyze the press and social media and all that, that project had more exposure than when I did UTMB. So, it鈥檚 not only about racing and showing up and things. It鈥檚 more like, if you want to do something deeply, you will probably do it better. And if you do something in a good state of mind, probably you will get more inspired and do things that push me further than to set up a calendar and say, 鈥極K, I鈥檒l do that, that, that, that.鈥�

Because I know that it鈥檚 somehow comfortable. But to break this routine into things like even if it鈥檚 races that I want to push the effort or to do big projects that require a lot of energy, I think that needs to be in this space where I have the tranquility of knowing that I don鈥檛 have any pressure to do one thing or another.

Your versatility is mindblowing. Do you consciously sacrifice optimal performance at any particular race or objective to prioritize being able to do it all?

Yeah. Last year, for example, I was injured but the plan was to do a project at Everest, a link up there, and then to try and do some short and long races, and then to do a project in the mountains and a ski project.

Long term, I want this versatility. And then I know that if I want to perform on this project, well, I need to have specificity. So the specificity is in the short term. Like I say I know that to get in very good shape for a specific race or project,听 specific adaptations don鈥檛 take more than six to eight weeks. So the last six to eight weeks before a race or a project, if my training is specific I know that I can perform the best.

But yeah, I can do specificity multiple times in a year and do different kinds of projects. And at the end, I think that鈥檚 what keeps me so motivated. Because if I was only racing, I wouldn鈥檛 like it. And if听 I was doing just things in the mountains, probably then I would get slower and my capacities in the mountains will decrease, too.

Have your athletic goals shifted over time?

I used to be much more competition-centered at the beginning because then I was doing ski mountaineering season in the winter and dry running season in the summer. That was very structured for many years. And I think that also gave me all the base and fundamentals and the knowledge and all that to be able to do other things. It was many years just focused on training.

Then I started to put some projects on steeper skiing or mountaineering,听 but around this calendar. Like two racing seasons. And then at some point, they became more like separate things.

Where do you see your career going?

I don鈥檛 know actually, because I feel that I鈥檓 still in good shape. I鈥檓 still performing and I鈥檓 still improving things. So yeah, I still really like racing and like pushing myself in听 training. So I don鈥檛 know how long that will last, but as far as I see that I am happy pushing and racing, I will keep doing it.

And then I will stop doing international races, but I will still do local races because that鈥檚 fun. And then projects in the mountains, I will do that hopefully all the time I can. But of course professionally, there will be a moment that it will not be able to sustain my life. Then I think I will still do running and mountaineering for all my life as a pleasure.

You famously were a disciple of a fat adaptation nutrition strategy. Has that evolved at all?

I have shifted my nutrition in the day-to-day a lot over the years. When I was young, I couldn鈥檛 afford much, so I was just buying pasta or a big package of rice and tomato sauce. My nutrition was not very varied. As the years have gone on, I鈥檝e taken more care of that. We have a big garden so we get a lot of veggies from there. We try to eat a lot more foods that are fermented and this kind of thing. And I feel like performance-wise that has helped a lot.

In competitions, I鈥檓 eating much, much more now. But in training I鈥檓 not eating anything during training. Only if I do a very specific session, where I鈥檒l take gels or something like that. But will only happen about one time every month. If it鈥檚 a four hour session, I can take a gel every 30 minutes. If I鈥檓 doing two uphill thresholds and then maybe some flat, I鈥檒l take a gel between the uphill and the flat on the recovery. That鈥檚 very targeted for specific sessions.

In winter, I have a half a liter bottle and it doesn鈥檛 matter how long, if it鈥檚 eight hours, I take that. In summer, I don鈥檛 take anything. And I think that鈥檚 helping me in a way because I am developing听 some metabolic adaptations. If you have a better metabolism, it鈥檚 much more open, so then you don鈥檛 really need to train your gut for having much more intake because your metabolism is more flexible on switching from fat to carbs. So you don鈥檛 need to train the gut.

Someone who has a worse metabolism and let鈥檚 say wants to take 120 grams of carbs an hour in a race, they probably need a long gut training to be able to do that, even if he鈥檚 eating and I鈥檓 not eating during training. And then it鈥檚 just because the logistics are hard. If you鈥檙e in the mountains, you don鈥檛 want to have to carry a bunch of stuff.

The point is supplements and gels are great for racing, but for daily consumption the chemicals are not good.

Given the state of affairs with UTMB, do you think you鈥檒l ever go back?

Yeah, it鈥檚 a race I like. I like the volunteers, I have lived in Chamonix for many years. I love many things about the race. I don鈥檛 like many things, but I鈥檝e talked with the race organizers and I have a good relationship with them. Many times we agree that we just disagree. I鈥檓 not doing it this year because I have another project. But I think it鈥檚 good to disagree on things to build together, and I hope in the future there is change on some things that I don鈥檛 agree, like some things on the corporation side, like in the race acquisition or some vision with the impact of their entity when it comes to sponsorships, or their impact on the land.

So it鈥檚 things like that that we鈥檙e not on the same page. But we can discuss, and it鈥檚 good. But it鈥檚 a race I might go back to in the future, and I would love to do in the future.

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

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

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

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

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Here is a rundown of the week鈥檚 races.

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

UTMB: The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc

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

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

Other UTMB Mont-Blanc Races

PTL: Petite Trotte 脿 L茅on

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

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MCC: Martigny-Combe-Chamonix

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

TDS: Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie

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

ETC: Experience Trail Courmayeur

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

OCC: Orsi猫res-Champex-Chamonix

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

CCC: Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix

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

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Spanish ultrarunner Kilian Jornet raised the bar of backyard adventuring this week听by climbing 177 peaks in his home range of the Pyrenees in just eight days. Jornet completed the entire journey with human power and covered the transfers between trails by bike. Jornet described this challenge as not only a test of physical and mental endurance, but also a heartfelt return to the terrain that shaped his youth.

The Spanish ultrarunner decided on the project after an injury scuttled his plans to enter endurance races. 鈥淚 had this idea in mind but wasn’t sure if it would be a feasible challenge or pure madness,鈥� he said in a press release.

Jornet was raised in Refugi de Cap de Rec, a mountain hut situated at 6,500 feet in the Catalonian听Pyrenees, where his father worked as a groundskeeper and mountain guide. The Catalan embraced the mountains since his birth鈥攈e entered his first cross-country ski race at age three. The peaks around his home anchored his love for moving fast in the mountains, so it was only natural that he returned to them for his most difficult challenge to date.

Pica d鈥橢stats, Jornet鈥檚 finish line, is nestled in the peaks near his childhood home.

Jornet had an impressive year in 2022, and it’s no surprise he tackled an adventure on such a massive scale. The ultrarunner won a fourth title, as well as setting a new course record of 21:36:24 at Colorado鈥檚 Hardrock 100. Over the course of this challenge, Jornet, who in 2022 founded the running brand NNormal, had the opportunity to test prototypes of his shoes in technical and varied terrain. 鈥淚t has been an excellent testing ground: the wear and tear a product might face over several years, concentrated into one week,” Jornet said.

The Pyrenean route linked a staggering number of peaks and reconnected him with terrain he hadn鈥檛 seen since he was young. 鈥淩ediscovering peaks that I had forgotten was a spectacular experience,鈥� Jornet said.

On October 2, Jornet stood at the base of the听 10,003-foot Frondella peak and started his challenge. The ultrarunner revisited the ridgelines of Garmo Negro, Pic Long, and Montcalm. 鈥淢oving along these ridges has been a pleasure, and I enjoyed the routes very much,鈥� said Jornet. 鈥淚 had climbed these peaks when I was 13 but did not remember them, making this a visually intense experience.鈥�

Jornet鈥檚 run culminated at 10,312-foot Pica d鈥橢stats on October 10. He climbed over 130,000 feet of vertical gain across more than 300 miles for the entire journey. 鈥淚 came to my edge, both physically and mentally,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was probably the hardest thing I鈥檝e ever done.鈥�

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In the fall of 1991, a notice appeared in the back of Ultrarunning magazine advertising the emergence of a new 100-mile run through the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado.

The man behind the ad was Gordon Hardman, a Boulder resident whose enthusiasm for the event was unaffected by his relative inexperience in the region. He roped in Telluride local John Cappis to develop a route that connected the four major mining towns of Silverton, Telluride, Ouray, and Lake City, mostly using historic mining trails and paths. The event was conceived as a 鈥減ostgraduate鈥� level run, requiring years of mountain experience, hard-earned fitness, and previous 100-mile finishes.

By January of 1992, a preliminary route using USGS survey maps was born, as Charlie Thorn of Los Alamos, New Mexico, joined the team around the time they received permits for the route. Six months later, in June, Thorn and Cappis, as well as Rick Trujillo and Dale Garland, began to scout the route, testing its viability and tweaking the course. While they were excited about their passion project, they had no idea what it would become.

鈥淚t was never our intent to put on an event that has such broad appeal and popularity,鈥� says event director Dale Garland. 鈥淭he first years were not that way at all.鈥�

The first Hardrock Endurance Run (HR100) had 18 people. In the following years, word got out, and that bloomed to 30, then 40. This year’s Hardrock 100, which takes place July 14-16, will see 140 registered runners from a lottery of over 2,414 entrants.

The race begins and ends in the historic mining town of Silverton, Colorado, and traverses some of the Centennial State鈥檚 most rugged and vertiginous terrain. Today, Hardrock is an event with international appeal, inviting its runners to complete a 100.5-mile loop with over 33,000 feet of vertical gain at an average elevation of over 11,000 feet, a course that alternates directions each year.

鈥淭his idea of having waitlists and a lottery was never in our design,鈥� says Garland. He attributes Hardrock鈥檚 success and enduring appeal to the historical significance of the towns it links, and what it鈥檚 like to connect those landmarks on foot. But for Garland, the primary appeal is the community that Hardrock attracts and the landscape it traverses.

In an age of consolidation and commercialization in trail running, this relatively low-key endurance run is thriving. Why does an event with ramshackle beginnings that takes place in the far-flung regions of Colorado鈥檚 Rocky Mountains continue to draw such committed spectatorship and community?

鈥淲e鈥檝e been successful in creating something that is seen by many people as a community event,鈥� says Garland. 鈥淟ots of people are involved, from the runners to volunteers. The success is kind of a double-edged sword. More and more people are becoming enamored by the beauty of the San Juans. People just want to come and explore them.鈥�

Why Hardrock Is Not a 鈥淩ace鈥�

The Hardrock Endurance Run is not a race, and if you call it a race, you will be gently corrected by the enthusiastic community surrounding the event. Though it鈥檚 touted as non-competitive, the run attracts high-caliber competition, earning repeat visits from the best mountain runners on the planet, including Kilian Jornet and Courtney Dauwalter.

鈥淗ardrock 100 is special because the mountains are huge and wild, the community feels like a family, and the tough course guarantees a big adventure,鈥� says Dauwalter, the women鈥檚 course record holder, who is lining up for her third go at the course after a DNF in 2021, and winning in 2022. 鈥淚t doesn’t matter where you finish in the race, sharing stories afterward with the other runners, the volunteers, and the entire community is what it’s all about.鈥�

Meghan Hicks, four-time Hardrocker and editor-in-chief of iRunFar, a website dedicated to ultrarunning, agrees that the distinguished competition is drawn in by more than the promise of a fierce race.

鈥淚 think the fast runners of our sport, at least the ones who are drawn to an event like this, are drawn for the same reasons as the folks who finish after them: history, community, difficulty鈥攂oth of the course and probably to get in鈥攖he quirkiness, the outstanding course, and so much more.鈥�

Gold In Them Hills

To further understand the gravitational force that compels so many of the world’s greatest runners to try their hand at Hardrock, this race’s own mythology echoes of a settler mining history that tempted so many to the region.

鈥淭he history of mining in the region is fascinating, and the event is a tribute to those who sought their fortune in the mountains. Much of the course takes place on trails created by the Hardrock miners of the early 1900s, so you can feel that energy throughout the 100-mile journey,鈥� says Dylan Bowman, host of the Freetrail Podcast and second-place finisher at Hardrock in 2021, who will toe the line again in 2023.

The San Juans might be the oldest known major mineral-rich area in the United States. Over a century before the California Gold Rush, Spanish explorers hinted at riches embedded in the region, though most of that settler knowledge was lost when the Spanish retreated back to Mexico. After California鈥檚 1849 rush, many trappers found themselves in the lush river valleys and rugged peaks of the San Juans, hoping to also catch a glimmer of silver, or a glimpse of gold shimmering in shallow waters, or see the sun catch in a stripe of ore in exposed rock.

The 1860s saw an influx of frustrated prospectors stymied by the inhospitable terrain, and many were deterred by the lack of easily accessible placer gold, and faced down starvation and harsh Colorado winters. This bought the San Juans an additional decade of peace before the 1873 Ute treaty lands were revoked, ushering in a new era of resource extraction.

Silverton became the San Juan County seat in 1874, with between 300-400 summer residents (compared to the now 668 residents). When Leadville experienced its own silver boom in 1879, it momentarily stole Silverton鈥檚 shine before the Denver & Rio Grande railroad connected the languishing town with new transportation opportunities in 1882.

As mining opportunities waned in the 1950s (at its peak, Silverton鈥檚 population was 1,375, before plummeting to just 890 in 1957 after the mines closed), determined miners could still see gold in the hills. Tourism to Colorado鈥檚 high country boomed in the postwar economy, and the San Juans once again began to draw adventurous spirits into their orbit.

Kiss the Rock

The San Juans are almost the Platonic ideal of mountains. With jagged peaks striated with snow and lush alpine meadows dotted with every color of bright alpine flowers, photos fail to capture the scale and texture that makes the San Juans unique.

Upon finishing the run, athletes kiss a painted hunk of rock, about the size of a bean bag chair, pulled from the San Juans and emblazoned with an image of a mountain goat, and the event鈥檚 official motto, 鈥淲ild and Tough.鈥�

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鈥淧eople who’ve never run this race or have been to the San Juans should know that the course itself, based on the remoteness of the San Juans and inaccessibility of the aid stations, is inherently wild,鈥� says Yassine Diboun, a professional runner from Portland, Oregon. 鈥淎dd to that all the climbing over high peaks, and it鈥檚 very tough. The San Juans are more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. You have to see it with your own eyes.鈥�

The extremity of the environment brings many adventurers into Hardrock鈥檚 orbit, including Kimino Miyazaki from Japan, who works as a hypoxic altitude trainer for climbers venturing into earth鈥檚 thin atmosphere. She says the extreme altitude of Hardrock, with a high point over 14,000 feet, is personally and professionally intriguing.

鈥淚 want to know how my body changes at high altitude,鈥� says Miyazaki. 鈥淎fter trying out a portion of the course, it awakened a sense of adventure to play with the mountains, not only because of the high altitude but also to use my skills to make decisions, to move forward in a remote area!鈥� She says that the rugged terrain inspires a sense of collaboration between runners, rather than competition. 鈥淚 am not competing with others, but rather, I am competing with myself. I feel once again that the fun of trail running is not competing with others, but talking to oneself and remembering the spirit of playing in the mountains.鈥�

Bowman agrees that the environment is a bigger pull than the competition. 鈥淭he major draw is the sheer enormity and beauty of the course. It needs to be experienced in order to be understood. The competitive depth is never analogous to Western States or UTMB, but it remains a huge goal for most professional trail runners. The special community vibe and a rich history make it even more compelling. It is a privilege to participate in this event.鈥�

The elevation, technicality, remoteness, sustained climbs, and descents make this event uniquely challenging in a sport with many tough competitions. With over 33,000 feet of elevation gain, completing the Hardrock loop is roughly equivalent to scaling Mount Everest.

鈥淔or me, these big races and projects that I take on are like a Rubik’s Cube. You have to keep turning it in different ways to complete it, and each respective race and adventure is different, says Diboun. 鈥淐ompetitive athletes not only have to get our bodies and minds trained for the task but we have to manage the physiological responses to altitude and deal with potential weather patterns that are specific to high altitude.鈥�

Run Through Time

Not even Hardrock鈥檚 鈥渨ild and tough鈥� 100 miles can fully excavate the rich history of the San Juan Mountains. The Nuche or Ute, Pueblo, and Navajo people all have ancestral ties to the jagged peaks and surrounding forests. The Nuche thrived among the rich animal and plant life of the San Juans, hunting elk, deer, and other game as well gathering wild berries and roots. In warmer seasons, the Nuche followed game into the high country of the San Juans, and in colder seasons, followed the hunt to the lower river valleys. For centuries, the San Juans would remain unknown to anyone but the Indigenous peoples who were intimately familiar with the foreboding landscape.

When minerals including silver and gold were found in the 19th century, it initiated a violent process of removal that would dispossess entire communities from their ancestral homelands. The land was formally captured in 1868 by a series of land cession treaties between the U.S. government and Ute tribe between 1868 and 1873, furthered by the passage of the General Mining Law that would encourage white settlement by creating a legal 鈥渞ight鈥� to claims on newly acquired Indigenous lands. This history of mining and extraction is still celebrated, and now, recreation continues to define the region.

Not-So-Humble Beginnings

While Hardrock remains a niche and somewhat rarefied event, it continues to serve as an entry point to the (increasingly less so) obscure sport of mountain ultrarunning.

鈥淓ver since I got into the sport in 2007, I have known about Hardrock,鈥� says Diboun. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥榮omeday I’d like to try that.鈥� I think the fact that it is so difficult to get into actually drew me to it.鈥�

Bowman agrees, and says that, growing up in Colorado, he鈥檇 always felt a special affinity for its peaks. 鈥淗ardrock was one of the first races that inspired me when I began trail running in 2008. I paced Joe Grant to a sixth-place finish in 2011 and have been hooked ever since, returning to Silverton almost every year to enjoy the race. It wasn’t until 2021 that I finally got my chance to run, which was one of the best days of my life and career. I’m excited to do it again!鈥�

Dauwalter had a similar experience, initially being intrigued by the challenge before falling head over heels for it. 鈥淗ardrock was one of the races I remember reading about when I first got into the sport. That was over ten years ago! I saw pictures of the insane views on the course and the fields of wildflowers and knew it was a place I wanted to run someday. But I also saw the course profile and read stories of the suffering it took to complete the loop, and I definitely wondered if I would ever be a person that could finish such a challenging 100. Over the years, I have grown to love the difficult challenges quite a bit, and being drawn to this one was a natural thing to happen.鈥�

A Bigger Community

With the unintended growth of Hardrock鈥檚 profile has come pushback about equity and belonging. While women were involved in the first running of the event, with Nancy Hamilton鈥檚 finish in 1992, female participation has remained low.

Changes were made to Hardrock鈥檚 notoriously opaque lottery in 2021, to ensure that the number of women on the startline matched the percentage of women who entered the lottery. It鈥檚 important to note that the lottery, which privileges runners who have multiple finishes, gave an advantage to men who were more likely to achieve 鈥渧eteran鈥� status.

Gina Lucrezi, Hardrock board member and founder of Trail Sisters, an organization that seeks to increase female representation and resources in trail and ultra running, has been involved in helping Hardrock increase the number of women who run.

鈥淓very individual has an opinion of what they deem equitable or fair, and aligning those was a bit laboring. Implementation was also a consideration of the Equity Policy, as it would reshape the lottery system, which is complicated already. All in all, every member of the board approved the Equity Policy, as myself, Meghan Hicks, and the members of our Equity Committee were able to produce a policy that could satisfy each board member’s concerns, and that would be transparent and trackable for community members.鈥�

Lucrezi and others, while encouraged by the policy update, would like to see additional action taken to increase participation and interest for historically underrepresented groups. One target for action is qualifying events. Lucrezi says that she and others on the Equity Committee would like to see changes in how these qualifying events are chosen.

鈥淭he qualifiers determine the pool of people potentially able to apply to the Hardrock lottery (assuming the runner completes the qualifier race). I’d like to encourage the qualifier events to be equitable in their participant approach as well,鈥� says Lucrezi.

鈥淵ou have to qualify for this race, and because it is such a 鈥榥otch in the belt鈥� event, it draws a lot of competition from mountain athletes from around the world who want to test themselves in the mountains and maximize their potential,鈥� says Diboun. 鈥淲hen you partake in this small event you feel like you are getting initiated into a part of the Hardrock community, and I feel like most people want to feel connected to something like that.鈥�

A particular challenge at Hardrock is preserving what makes this event a draw in the first place, and some fear that changes would undermine the intent behind making the event more accessible. An event that allows less than 200 athletes a year is, by nature, exclusive, and functions as an exaggerated mirror for society鈥檚 inequities. In order to remain relevant and resonant within the community, events are consistently pushed to reckon with barriers to entry.

鈥淥ne of the values that Hardrock holds deeply, at least from my perspective, is the idea of marrying its past and present, tradition and modernity. As we know from human relationships, opposites who attract often produce incredible dynamicity, but it comes at the cost of doing the hard work of working with someone who thinks differently. This is how I see Hardrock: interweaving the past and the present,鈥� says Hicks. She says they鈥檙e determined to identify and remove barriers for underrepresented groups, while preserving what about the event would confer prestige on athletes who attend.

鈥淎t Hardrock, work is being done to make the event more accessible to those who want to be a part of it and haven’t had access, while still supporting those who’ve come before and who help make the event what it is,鈥� says Hicks. 鈥淭his is not an easy task and will probably never be done quite right. I applaud the Hardrock organization for doing the hard work in this area so that the event’s future truly represents our community.鈥�

Looking Ahead

As ultrarunning continues to grow and professionalize rapidly鈥攇arnering interest not just as a participatory activity but also as a spectator sport鈥攖his historic event enters the streaming age. But Hardrock remains largely unchanged, still true to its wild and tough roots, but also evolving to fit the needs and challenges of the community it has collected.

What makes Hardrock successful is that its formula intentionally rejects the scale that many associate with success in our sport, and its oddball feel and intimate community continue to be a draw that stones, series, and flashy events can鈥檛 match.

鈥淥ne thing that Hardrock reminds me of, right at this moment in our sport, is that success can look like so many things. There’s a lot of effort by a number of entities out there, attempting to create a cookie-cutter version of our sport. Trying to box us into standardized courses, athlete identities, media entities, and then replicated, ad nauseam,鈥� says Hicks. 鈥淗ardrock is all quirk, a living, breathing entity proving that what the people of our sport want cannot in fact be put into a box. We want to be wild; we want to be free.鈥�

While iRunFar has covered the event for years with a sophisticated network of spotters and satellite phones relaying runners’ positions and dispositions to 鈥渉eadquarters鈥� in Silverton, interest in this far-flung event has begun to draw even bigger fish. with footage from the course (terrain and permits permitting) and commentary from Hardrocker Jamil Coury and Corrine Shalvoy, a Ouray local with pacing accolades on the team of Hardrock legend Betsey Kalmeyer.

RELATED: How Livestreaming Will Shape the Future of Ultrarunning听

Initial attempts to bring the event into the digital age weren鈥檛 always well-received, according to Garland, who says many pushed back when live trackers were added, saying that it was antithetical to the event鈥檚 ethos. However, this use of tracking technology is likely to endure as more eyes tune into the event from around the world. But Garland is determined to capture the balance between the event鈥檚 history; he鈥檚 certain that will contribute to its relevance and appeal for years to come. In this way, Hardrock may serve as a sort of Rorschach test for the future of the sport.

鈥淚 hope that people want to really experience Hardrock,鈥� says Garland. 鈥淣ot change it to what they think it should be. How can you bring people with sets of different expectations, especially as the sport changes, and how do you continue to bring people in, but not create something that is different from what got them interested in the first place?鈥�

Garland says Hardrock, much like the sport of ultrarunning, is at an inflection point, and that embracing growth with intentionality and inclusivity in mind can help steward the event they love so much. 鈥淚 think if we look at it in the larger sense, as a sport progresses, it’s a good thing we’re getting more people on the trails. We’re getting more people exposed to the outdoors,鈥� he says.

And for anyone who remains unsure about Hardrock鈥檚 storied past, Garland has a message: 鈥淚 would want them to know that there’s a place for them at Hardrock, first and foremost a place for their heart. It鈥檚 just something you have to experience鈥攊t gets into your blood.鈥�

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On June 5, Jack Kuenzle, a 27-year-old former Navy SEAL, set a new fastest known time (FKT) on Alaska’s 20,310-foot Denali, going airstrip to airstrip in a stout ten hours and 14 minutes. His effort bested the existing FKT held by Swiss-Ecuadorian climber Karl Egloff by an hour and a half. Kuenzle has been steadily picking off FKTs on popular snowy peaks in the lower 48 over the last year: Hood (1:31:31), Rainier (3:04:31), and Shasta (2:30:48). This year, he set his sights听on Denali.

鈥淚t鈥檚 Denali, it鈥檚 the highest peak in the U.S., it鈥檚 ultra-prominent, and it鈥檚 skied a lot from the summit,鈥� said Kuenzle, while hiding from a thunderstorm in the bathrooms at Chautauqua Park in Boulder, Colorado, after finishing a run on Green Mountain, a week after he set the record. 鈥淗aving a competitive record was also a really big motivation鈥t鈥檚 a couple steps up from what I鈥檇 been doing.鈥� To Kuenzle, due to the peak鈥檚 scale and high altitude, Denali felt like much more of an alpinism record and made his other records听look more like 鈥�skimo racing in a resort.鈥�

The Seven Summits, the highest peak on every continent, each have their own individual challenges and require different skills, but they do share one element that sets them apart from most other objectives鈥攈igh altitude. The shortest peak is Puncak Jaya/Carstensz Pyramid at 16,023 feet. (We鈥檙e including both 7,310-foot听Kosciuszko and Puncak Jaya on this list because both count for Seven Summits records, but the latter has emerged as the consensus summit as it鈥檚 the highest peak on the continent of Oceania while the former is the highest on mainland Australia).

A few athletes best known for trail running are now concentrating on making bids for speed records across all Seven Summits, like Tyler Andrews and Fernanda Maciel. Kuenzle, who on trails before getting bored and deciding to develop his skills on more technical, mountainous terrain, says he has no interest in attempting FKTs on any of the other Seven Summits after Denali. Nor is he planning to defend his new Denali record. 鈥淚 just don’t know if I’ll ever get that lucky on weather again,鈥� he said on the phone.

As far as FKTs go, the variability of conditions and other factors often make the records difficult to compare cleanly. Kuenzle would rate his weather as a 10/10. He basically wore the same outfit the entire time (tights and a sun hoody), which is indicative of how favorable conditions were. On , Kuenzle wrote that while his effort was 90 minutes faster than Kilian Jornet鈥檚, he is 鈥渋n no way 90 minutes faster than him on this terrain.鈥� Given all of these variables, says Kuenzle, it鈥檚 important that style between attempts is matched. Meaning things like whether an effort is unsupported (no outside help) or supported (help allowed), but mainly that the location of the start and finish are the same. On Denali, the airstrip structures at basecamp move every year, which is why Egloff, Jornet,听and Kuenzle all started in slightly different spots. Additionally, while Jornet and Kuenzle attempted the record in the same style and both used skis, Egloff听employed a different style and did the whole thing on foot.

The website FastestKnownTimes.com (owned by 国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 parent company 国产吃瓜黑料 Inc.) verifies and chronicles FKT attempts in the U.S. and many around the world. The most popular ones (including California鈥檚 211-mile听John Muir Trail and the 42- or 48-mile听Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim route in the Grand Canyon) are running/hiking paths on well-marked dirt trails, but many of the routes on the Seven Summits are far more difficult or have unique challenges that set them apart and require specific skills.

Below, we break down the FKTs on these peaks as they stand and dig into the challenges each one poses. While most of these FKTs were done on foot, a few of them were done on touring skis鈥攍ike Denali and Elbrus. Over the years, as gear gets better and lighter and streamlined tactics continue to be honed, it鈥檚 likely that the times will continue to get faster. 鈥淭he worst case scenario is 50 years from now, all these records still stand because nobody ever attempted them again,鈥� says Kuenzle.

Denali

Continent: North America

Height: 20,310

Average Guided Commercial Trip Length: 21 days

Route: West Buttress

FKTs: Jack Kuenzle (); Katie Bono ()

Kuenzle, who cut his FKT teeth on gnarly long-distance routes like the 66-mile Bob Graham Round in the UK (beating Kilian Jornet鈥檚 time by just shy of 30 minutes), had never climbed Denali before. On the day of his record attempt this year, the highest he鈥檇 been on the peak was 17,000 feet. While guided parties climb the mountain on foot, Kuenzle鈥檚 attempt was on skis. Kuenzle took Karl Egloff鈥檚 2019 record, and Egloff had bested Jornet鈥檚 2014 record by only four minutes. Katie Bono, the female record-holder, set her FKT in June 2017.

That鈥檚 not to say that Denali isn鈥檛 a huge challenge. It鈥檚 a serious peak that has fatalities every year from its various hazards: crevasses, high altitude, icy conditions, and severe weather. Guided parties typically spend at least two weeks on the peak dragging heavy sleds, ferrying loads, acclimatizing, and waiting for a weather window. 鈥淚t鈥檚 intimidating. The terrain is just so huge,鈥� says Kuenzle, adding that given the breadth of the route (spanning 33.61 miles round trip from around 7,000 feet to over 20,000 feet), it鈥檚 almost a given that you鈥檒l encounter challenging conditions somewhere on the route.

Everest

Continent: Asia

Height: 29,035 feet

Average Guided Commercial Trip Length: 65 days

Route: South side ascent (Base Camp to summit)

FKT: Lakpa Gelu Sherpa (10h 56m); Ada Tsang Yin-Hung (25h 50m)

Everest is the world鈥檚 highest peak and the only summit that requires spending time in the so-called 鈥渄eath zone,鈥� or above 26,000 feet where the oxygen level is too low to sustain human life (climbers typically try to minimize the time spent above that altitude). Everest is also tall enough to contend with the jet stream, which means that the top of the peak can be subject to winds as high as 70 miles per hour.

Lakpa Gelu Sherpa holds the record for the fastest ascent of Everest, with a time of 10 hours and 56 minutes, climbing from Base Camp to the summit via the South side in Nepal on May 25, 2003. In 2004, Pemba Dorje Sherpa claimed that he completed the same route in 8 hours and 10 minutes鈥攅arning a Guinness World Record title that stood for 13 years. But Lakpa Gelu challenged the veracity of Pemba Dorje鈥檚 claim, and ultimately a Nepalese court sided with Lakpa Gelu. Pemba Dorje was stripped of his record and Lakpa Gelu鈥檚 speed record is now acknowledged as the FKT on the mountain鈥檚 South side. Ada Tsang Yin-Hung notched the women鈥檚 FKT on this route in May 2021.

Kilian Jornet holds the record on the North side, which is accessed via China and sometimes poses bureaucratic hurdles. On May 22, 2017, he went up the North Face from Base Camp without fixed ropes or supplemental oxygen (both of which Lakpa Gelu and Pemba Dorje used), and then returned to Advanced Base Camp in 26 hours, setting an FKT on a route that previously had no speed record. 听There鈥檚 been some dispute over Jornet鈥檚 feat, however, due to what some call inadequate verification.

Aconcagua

Continent: South America

Height: 22,841 feet

Average Guided Commercial Trip Length: 21 days

Route: Most have been on the route from the Horcones trailhead to the summit and back

FKT: Tyler Andrews (11h 24m 46s); Dani Sandoval (20h 17m 0s)

Aconcagua is not a technical summit, but its high altitude and frequent harsh weather make it a difficult undertaking. The climb is pretty straightforward, but it鈥檚 not a gimme. There鈥檚 no guarantee that commercial parties, who spend a few weeks on the mountain, will get a weather window. It is often cold, dusty and windy, but you could also get snow.

Tyler Andrews set his FKT this February, breaking Karl Egloff鈥檚 record by about 27 minutes. Dani Sandoval set hers in January 2018.

Kilimanjaro

Continent: Africa

Height: 19,340 feet

Average Guided Commercial Trip Length: 15 days

Route: Any round trip

FKT: Tyler Andrews (6h 37m 57s); Fernanda Maciel (10h 6m 0s)

Kilimanjaro, a non-technical climb with a slightly lower elevation, is often considered the easiest of the Seven Summits. requires athletes to run a little over a听marathon (26.4 miles) with almost 14,000 feet of elevation gain at altitude, but one of the biggest hurdles is logistical. Climbers have to have a local guide and a permit to climb. When Tyler Andrews set the FKT in March he wrote about a 鈥渂ureaucratic nightmare鈥� with his guiding company that required him to leave the park and re-enter it, which 鈥渘early cost us the opportunity to even attempt this record.鈥�

Female FKT-holder Fernanda Maciel set her record in September 2017.

Elbrus

Continent: Europe

Height: 18,510 feet

Average Guided Commercial Trip Length:听 14 days

Route: Round trip from Azau Valley

FKT: Karl Egloff ()

Elbrus is a snow-covered peak that鈥檚 moderately technical. The route is about 15 miles with almost 11,000 feet of elevation gain. Egloff set his record while he was racing the Elbrus Skymarathon, in which 500 athletes run to the summit of the peak and back every year, in May 2017.

Vinson

Continent: Antarctica

Height: 16,050 feet

Average Guided Commercial Trip Length: 20 days

Route: Round trip from base camp to the summit and back via the Branscomb Shoulder

FKT: Fernanda Maciel ()

Of the Seven Summits, Vinson is the most remote. Getting to Antarctica typically requires flying to Punta Arenas, Chile, and then taking another weather-dependent flight to the snowy runway at Union Glacier. Vinson is not particularly tall, but it鈥檚 snowy and steep in places, and requires crampons, an ice axe, and roped travel. One of the most difficult parts of the climb is contending with the extreme cold (as chilly as negative forty degrees) and harsh weather conditions on the continent. Self-care is crucial as errors, like exposing bare skin for too long (or at all), can result in frostbite.

Fernanda Maciel set her FKT, the only known speed record on Vinson, in December 2022.

Carstensz Pyramid (Punta Jaya)

Continent: Oceania

Height: 16,023 feet

Average Guided Commercial Trip Length:听 11 days

FKT: none

Carstensz Pyramid, on the south coast of New Guinea in Indonesia, is a high-altitude rock climb and the most technical of all the summits. It entails scrambling, fifth class rock climbing up to 5.6, an airy Tyrolean traverse, and a series of rappels to descend. In addition to the physical difficulties, there are other challenges that have nothing to do with climbing. There鈥檚 the fickle equatorial weather to deal with, and political and bureaucratic problems. When he climbed it, mountaineer Alan Arnette wrote that he heard of climbers being 鈥渟tranded at remote airports, porters abandoning teams, malaria and more.鈥� We haven鈥檛 found any records of the FKT on this peak. (Note: if you have this record, please reach out and we will update this piece.)

Kosciuszko

Continent: Oceania

Height: 7,310 feet

Done Easily Without Guides

FKT: Ben Plunkett (10h 55m 42s)

We鈥檙e including Kosciuszko because it鈥檚 traditionally been counted as one of the Seven Summits鈥攊t鈥檚 the highest peak on mainland Australia鈥攖hough mountaineers are increasingly considering Carstensz Pyramid as the true highest point on the continent of Oceania. Kosciuszko only takes four to five听hours to hike on an easy-to-follow path. On the main route you can take a 15-minute chairlift to get to the start of the climb. On the other side, hikers can follow an old road that goes almost all the way to the summit. The FKT we have listed here is actually for 15 peaks in the area (Kosciusko was the 11th peak on the attempt) so we include it given the absence of a straight Kosciuszko FKT. (Note: if you have this record, please reach out and we will update this piece.)

The post 国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 Guide to FKTs on the Seven Summits appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Legendary trail runner and mountaineer Kilian Jornet was attempting to summit Mount Everest from the seldom-climbed West Ridge on May 24 when he was caught up in a small avalanche.

He survived without injury after the slide carried him 50 meters down the mountain, but that was enough for him to curtail his solo summit attempt after a journey of 30 hours climbing above Camp II (elevation 21,300 feet). Jornet said he triggered the avalanche himself as he walked over a wind slab section of snow in the Hornbein couloir.

The 35-year-old Catalan athlete, who lives in Norway, was trying to approach the 29,035-foot summit from the West Ridge along the Hornbein couloir鈥攁 route named for Tom Hornbein, who opened the route in 1963 along with fellow American mountaineer Willie Unsoeld.

The West Ridge route to Everest is the least common route for mountaineers to take because of its technical difficulty and long exposure to altitude. It鈥檚 a very vertical route, too, with considerable amounts of exposed rock and ice terrain. Jornet, as in his previous Everest climbing odysseys over the past seven years, was not carrying supplemental oxygen.

(Watch wearing crampons, a full-body down suit and a helmet while carrying an ice axe.)

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 reach the summit I was aiming for, but everything else,鈥� Jornet said . 鈥淚鈥檓 a big believer in the how is way bigger and more important than the what, and in that sense the climb was just perfect. Like a big puzzle with all the pieces but one, the summit one.鈥�

 

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Jornet had made several previous expeditions to the Himalayas, the last two in 2019 and 2021, which helped him explore the terrain and check the different possibilities before attempting the West Ridge.

He made his first expeditions to Mount Everest in 2016 and 2017, the latter of which culminated with an alpine-style double ascent in a single week without assistance or supplementary oxygen.

Hornbein and Unsoeld鈥檚 West Ridge route begins by gaining the ridge from a couloir a little bit above Camp II on Everest鈥檚 normal route. Jornet鈥檚 journey to Hornbein started by climbing a steep couloir to reach the west shoulder, where he reported the conditions to be 鈥渉orrible, blue ice underneath with a top layer of deep snow, two steps up and one down for 1,000 meters.鈥�

鈥淲hen I reached the ridge it was very windy so I stayed under a cornice for three hours to calm down while enjoying watching the queues of climbers from both Nepali and Tibetan normal routes making their progression,鈥� Jornet said. 鈥淎fter the wind calmed I continued the ridge and traversed on mixed terrain towards the feet of the Hornbein couloir. I felt great and conditions were perfect. After a few hundred meters on the couloir, a wind pocket (I suppose recently created from the morning winds) broke and I got carried down in the avalanche for about 50 meters. I doubted whether to continue or to turn around and decided the latter.鈥�

Jornet said he descended in a heavy snowfall, a challenging downhill climb that he called 鈥渋nteresting.鈥� He said he used the “back to start” feature on his Coros watch to guide him through low visibility that only allowed him to two to three meters in front of his face.

鈥淢any of us would be infinitely happy to walk a single footprint of the open path through Hornbein and the Unsoeld, and you have walked many more,鈥� said Joan Maria Vendrell, a fellow Catalan ski mountaineer and climber, in a comment on Jornet鈥檚 post.

鈥淲hat a project! It’s the journey that counts,鈥� said renowned adventure film director Julie Raison. 鈥淲ell done for a great performance and incredible ride. Very happy to have been able to share these moments with all of you and I can’t wait to see what’s next.鈥�

Hornbein passed away on May 6 in his home in Estes Park, Colorado, at the age of 92. Unsoeld died in an avalanche during an Outdoor Education Winter Expedition climb of Mount Rainier on March 4, 1979.

Jornet said he was thrilled to see the route first-hand after he had been dreaming about it for so long. He said he knew very few details of the exact route, mostly learning what he could from photographs or descriptions in mountaineering books.

鈥淚t was a pleasure to follow their footsteps for a little,鈥� Jornet said. 鈥淚t was a great day in the mountains, where everything is beyond perfect except I didn鈥檛 reach the summit.鈥�.

Aside from his mountaineering exploits, Jornet is also a world-class ultrarunner, mountain runner and ski-mo racer. He鈥檚 a four-time winner of the 104-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc race in Chamonix, France, and a five-time winner of the Hardrock 100 in Silverton, Colorado.

As a mountaineer, Jornet has set numerous Fastest Known Times on the world鈥檚 highest peaks, including Mount Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc, The Matterhorn, Denali, Aconcogua, and Mount Everest. He鈥檚 also won world championships and high-level races in ski mountaineering and high-altitude skyrunning.

RELATED: Kilian Jornet Breaks His Own Time Up Everest

In early 2021, Jornet launched a new trail running shoe and apparel company called NNormal. He鈥檚 also known for his environmental activism through the Kilian Jornet Foundation.

According to , Jornet arrived in the Himalayas on April 19 accompanied by his wife, Emelie Forsberg and their two young daughters, ages four and two. Together, they progressively trekked from the Nepali village of Namche Bazaar (elevation 11,286 feet) to Pheriche (14,340 feet) to acclimatize to the altitude. From Pheriche, Jornet did four solo rotations that worked as training and helped him acclimatize for his climb to higher elevations.

In the last rotation before approaching the West Ridge, he reached Camp IV (26,000 feet). He then had to wait several days for an optimal weather window before he began climbing toward the Hornbein couloir.

鈥淏esides being the best MUT [mountain ultra trail] runner of his generation, and mountain athlete, and starting a new running company, Kilian traveled to Nepal with his wife Emelie, who is also one of the best MUT runners, along with their two daughters ages one and four,鈥� said renowned American trail runner Buzz Burrell, co-founder of the Fastest Known Time concept. 鈥淪o they can go for family walks and play board games together. That’s next level.鈥�

RELATED: Kilian Jornet Isn鈥檛 the G.O.A.T. of Trail Running Just Because He Wins Big Races

The post Kilian Jornet Survives an Avalanche Below Mount Everest appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Kilian Jornet is, without dispute, one of the greatest mountain athletes in the world. He鈥檚 a living legend, that humble-yet-tenacious Spaniard who needs no introduction and doesn鈥檛 seem to be slowing down. , his seasonal skimo/run performance composite, the food he eats (lots of bread), how much he sleeps (8 hours average), and how much he strength trains (very little).

Early this month, COROS announced a new collaboration with Jornet and his year-old footwear and apparel company NNormal, with the launch of the . COROS has collaborated in the past with their athletes, including 听and听, and this has been a highly anticipated partnership ever since Jornet parted ways with Salomon and Suunto in late 2021 and teamed up with COROS last year.

鈥淲orking with COROS developers, I鈥檝e learned a lot about creating the best tools for me to use when trail running, skimo, or out in the mountains,鈥� said Jornet. 鈥淚 believe that with this special edition APEX 2 Pro, we can keep pushing how the COROS device can help me鈥搊r anyone鈥搃mprove their training.鈥�

Jornet鈥檚 new GPS watch is a limited offering, at 5,000 units, and it not only includes some fun personalized Jornet flare, but it also arrives with an opportunity to jump-start your 2023 training with guidance from the legend himself. Here鈥檚 what we know so far:

The COROS APEX 2 Pro Kilian Jornet Edition

If you鈥檙e expecting the hardware of Jornet鈥檚 new watch to be much different from the COROS APEX 2 Pro, you might be setting yourself up for disappointment. Fortunately, there鈥檚 very little to be disappointed about because the APEX 2 Pro is a top-shelf GPS watch for any trail runner.

Here鈥檚 a quick look at the four main innovations you need to know about this watch that sets it apart from other GPS watches out there for trail runners:

1. Battery.听The APEX 2 Pro battery can now last up to 75 hours, 88 percent longer than the first generation. (It鈥檚 cool: Jornet only took 26 hours to summit Everest. No. Charge. Needed.)
2. GPS.听The APEX 2 Pro has 50 percent higher accuracy with a new GNSS chipset and an 鈥渁ll satellite dual frequency.鈥�
3. Heart rate.听COROS has upgraded the advanced optical heart rate sensor with a 5-LED system.
4. Recovery.听The APEX 2 Pro upped its game on sleep tracking and recovery metrics dashboards.

First Impressions

We found the APEX 2 Pro to be about the perfect dimensions for a high-performance GPS watch, not terribly chunky or heavy but not too small, either. They鈥檝e nailed the watch-face diameter and its thickness. The navigation is seamless and quick, too. The GPS locks in mere seconds and, after completing a workout, the data zips to the COROS app, which is about as robust and intuitive as any on the market.

The watch鈥檚 interface aesthetic can sometimes make me feel like I鈥檓 in a 90s video game, and I鈥檓 still not totally sold on the spin navigation knob, but overall, there鈥檚 little to complain about. Triathlete听, though they did have a few things to say about its price-to-performance ratio and its lifestyle functions.

Bottom line? The watch is an exceptional addition to any trail runner鈥檚 tech gear.

What鈥檚 New About the COROS APEX 2 Pro Kilian Jornet Edition

Some fun add-ons come with Jornet鈥檚 new watch and collaboration:

• Two watch bands. When you open the box, the watch face doesn’t have any attached band. Why? Because this watch comes with two: first, the silicone band (standard) and second, a lightweight nylon band. In my first runs with the watch, though I typically prefer the more fabric texture of nylon, I ended up settling on the unique silicone band.
• New colorways.听I chose the aforementioned silicone band because it features more prominently the white and stone gray colorway inspired by Jornet鈥檚 home, the Romsdalen Valley of Norway. Call me superficial, but something about having a black-and-white two-tone watch gleefully reminds me of Cruella De Vil or cookies-and-cream gelato.
• NNormal hat.听Included in every Kilian Jornet APEX 2 Pro package comes a NNormal tech hat. It鈥檚 light and minimal and, if you鈥檙e not careful, you might not even know it鈥檚 in the box. It鈥檚 a tall order to find a five-panel running hat that really wraps stylishly around the noggin, but this hat has already become a favorite choice in my rotation.
• Twelve-week virtual training camp with Jornet.听Every person who buys a Kilian Jornet watch becomes eligible to apply for a free, 12-week virtual training program with Jornet himself.听. The camp is designed for runners of all skill levels. According to the COROS website, accepted participants will receive training tips and regular feedback from Jornet via the听, an interactive platform that connects athletes and coaches with data points and goal-setting. Each participant will also receive a full NNormal racing kit, a $370 value. (I wonder if that comes with another hat?!) The virtual training camp runs from March 6 鈥� May 28, prime time for racing season fitness.

Takeaway

To connect our evolving trail community with one of the greatest athletes alive through a piece of high-performance wearable gear is a unique opportunity. Kilian’s accessibility further validates the integrity of an athlete who cares about stewarding the planet and who wishes to remain an ambassador, in contact with the many people he inspires. If you鈥檙e looking to upgrade your GPS watch experience鈥揳nd are willing to pay a pretty penny for it ($549)鈥搚ou may be setting yourself up for a chance to gain personalized insights from Jornet himself, and that appears, well, priceless.

Go Further

• 听Kilian Jornet Edition
• : February 17, 2023

The post Want Kilian Jornet To Be Your Running Coach? Pick Up His New Watch. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

After two years of marathon racing, trail running, triathlon and track and field being under the grip of COVID-19, running came back with enormous force in 2022. Here are some of the brightest highlights of the year.

Once and Forever the G.O.A.T.

Stop if you鈥檝e heard this one before, but Eliud Kipchoge is still the king of the marathon. The 38-year-old Kenyan continued his near-flawless record at 26.2 miles, by winning both the Tokyo Marathon (2:02:40) in March and the Berlin Marathon (2:01:09) in September. Those wins boosted his career total to 15 victories (in 17 races) and his Berlin time shaved 30 seconds off his own world record that he鈥檇 set four years earlier on the same course. In an event where so much has to go right on race day to achieve success, Kipchoge has been nearly untouchable since he transitioned to running marathons in 2013. In the two races he didn鈥檛 win, he placed second in Berlin in 2013 (2:04:05) and eighth in London in 2020 (2:06:49).

If you count the two time-trial exhibitions he ran in 2017 in Monza, Italy, (2:00:25) and and 2019 in Vienna, Austria, (1:59:40) it gives him eight 26.2-mile efforts at 2:03:05 or faster. With two Olympic gold medals under his belt and wins in London and Chicago, the only thing that remains is winning the Boston Marathon (which he鈥檒l be trying to do on April 17) and winning the New York City Marathon (which could very likely be on his agenda come November). He might still become the first person to run a sub-2-hour marathon in a race, but his legacy is already secure, no matter what happens in 2023.

Moms in Motion

In many sports, having a child has, unfortunately, often signaled the end of a professional athlete鈥檚 career. However, there鈥檚 a growing trend in endurance sports of high-profile women athletes pushing back against the trend, in part because sponsoring brands and event organizations have changed maternity policies to become more supportive. At the 2022 New York City Marathon, six of the top nine finishers were moms with young children. Lonah Salpeter (Kenya/Israel), Viola Cheptoo (Kenya), Edna Kiplagat (Kenya), Hellen Obiri (Kenya), Aliaphine Tuliamuk (Kenya/U.S.) and Jessica Stenson (Australia) who finished second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and ninth overall showed their all very strong, very fit and very fast moms. It all seems perfectly appropriate in a year when the New York City Marathon went out of its way to support new mothers before, during and after the race. In partnership with the &Mother non-profit, the New York Road Runners set up private lactation stations at different locations throughout the course, as well as at the race expo earlier in the weekend.

On the track, Jamaica鈥檚 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the 100-meter dash at the World Athletics Championships 鈥� her 11th international medal since giving birth to son Zyon in 2017. The best racing mom of the year? Undoubtedly, that was Chelsea Sodaro, who won the 2022 Ironman World Championships just 18 months after giving birth to her daughter, Skylar.

They Set the Track on Fire

After waiting nearly 40 years for the U.S. to host the world championships of track and field for the first time and then waiting an extra year because of a delay due to the COVID pandemic, the world鈥檚 best runners, jumpers and throwers put on an amazing show during the nine-day World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, last July. With three world records and 13 championship records broken, it at least equaled 鈥� and in many ways exceeded 鈥攖he 1984 and 1996 Olympics among the best track meets ever held on U.S. soil.

While the gold-medal performances of American stars Athing Mu (800 meters), Fred Kerley (100 meters), Noah Lyles (200 meters), Michael Norman (400 meets), Katie Nageotte (pole vault) and Ryan Crouser (shot put), among others, as well as those of Jamaica鈥檚 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (100 meters), UK鈥檚 Jake Wightman (1,500 meets), Norway鈥檚 Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Brazil鈥檚 Alison Dos Santos (400-meter hurdles) were electrifying, it was the world-record efforts from the USA鈥檚 Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (400-meter hurdles, 50.68), Nigeria鈥檚 Tobi Amusan (100-meter hurdles, 12.12) and U.S.-born Swedish star Armand Duplantis (pole vault, 6.21 meters or 20 feet, 4鈪� inches) that provided the most dramatic fireworks. And there was no better way to end the event than with the final performance of American track legend Allyson Felix, who capped her record-setting career by winning a gold medal with the USA鈥檚 4×400-meter relay.

American Prodigy Continues to Soar

After shining as a teenage phenom in high school and as a collegiate runner at Stanford, Grant Fisher has continued to progress to the level of one of the best American distance runners in history and he鈥檚 only 25. Even though he didn鈥檛 win a medal at the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July, his tenacious fourth-place finish in the 10,000 meters was something to behold. For 23 laps of the 25-lap race, the rising American star went stride for stride with a dozen or so of the best distance runners in the world and didn鈥檛 give an inch. During an all-out sprint around the final lap, he dug deep and finished just 0.71 seconds behind gold medalist Joshua Cheptegei (27:27.43) of Uganda and just 0.31 seconds from becoming the first American man to earn a medal in the 10,000 meets at the world championships. Even though he was fourth, it was a memorable moment to be sure.

After placing fifth in the 10,000 meters and ninth in the 5,000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Fisher improved to fourth in the 10,000 meters and sixth in the 5,000 meters at last summer鈥檚 world championships. He also won a fast U.S. championships 5,000-meter race and set a new indoor American record in the 5,000 meters (12:53.73) and a new outdoor American record in the 10,000 meters (26:33.84), the later of which ranked number one in the world in 2022 and is number seven on the all-time world list. He鈥檒l be a runner to watch at the 2023 world championships in Budapest and 2024 Olympics in Paris, although he might not truly be in his prime until the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Solo Sensations

Trail runners, hikers and mountaineers spent 2022 ripping a lot of speedy solo efforts on trails, ridgelines and peaks enroute to setting new fastest known times. Known as FKTs, they鈥檙e essentially the records for any given route out in the wild. The crew at , which documents those marks, culled 49 efforts out of the thousands of new marks set this year for consideration as the best FKTs of the year that will be announced on December 30. Four of the very best include American Jack Kuenzle rewriting Kilian Jornet鈥檚 FKT for the Bob Graham Round, covering that historic 66-mile route with 42 high points and 27,000 feet of vertical gain in the English Lake District in 12 hours, 23 minutes, 48 seconds.听 Others included Swiss runner and ski mountaineer Remi Bonnet running up Colorado鈥檚 Manitou Incline 鈥斕齛 grueling 0.90-mile stair climb route below Pikes Peak听鈥� in a lung-burning 17-minute, 25-second effort, Jason Hardrath tackling the little known Norman鈥檚 13 line 鈥斕齛 106-mile route with 13 peaks higher than 14,000 feet in California鈥檚 Sierra Nevada Range 鈥斕齣n three days, two hours and 22 minutes and Colorado鈥檚 Andrea Sansone lowering the women鈥檚 mark and recording the second-fastest time on Colorado鈥檚 100-mile Nolan鈥檚 14 line of 14 peaks above 14,000 feet in 45 hours, 52 minutes.

RELATED: Jack Kuenzle Is Coming for Your FKTs

Marathoners on the Move

After 16 years of American women chasing Deena Kastor, a couple finally caught her. Heading into 2022, Kastor鈥檚 U.S. women鈥檚 record in the marathon (2:19:36) had lasted for nearly 16 years. But then Keira D鈥橝mato, a reality and mother of two ran a superb race at the Houston Marathon and lowered the American record to 2:19:12. Nine months later, Emily Sisson shattered the time at the Chicago Marathon, lowering it to 2:18:29 enroute to her second-place finish in the Chicago Marathon on October 9.

鈥淚鈥檓 so happy,鈥� Sisson said after the race, when she was joined by D鈥橝mato, Kastor and previous American record-holder 1984 Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit-Samuelson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing. The women standing here today, they鈥檝e all accomplished so much. To be among them is an incredible honor.鈥�

As further evidence that women鈥檚 distance running is on the rise in the U.S., Sara Hall (fifth, 2:22:10), Emma Bates (seventh, 2:23:18) and D鈥橝mato (eighth, 2:23:34) combined to be the best national trio of runners in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Crazy-Fast Super Shoes

Running shoes got cushier and faster in 2022. Shoe brands ushered in a new crop of speedy racing shoes enhanced with hyper-responsive foams and carbon-fiber propulsion plates, led by the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% 2 ($275), Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3 ($250), and ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+ ($250). Under Armour burst on the scene with its first carbon-plated racer, the Flow Velociti Elite ($250) as Kenyan runner Sharon Lokedi made it an auspicious debut by winning the New York City Marathon in a pair of them. Hoka鈥檚 Rocket X 2, although it won鈥檛 officially launch until early 2023, made waves at several marathons as well as the Ironman World Championship.

Carbon-fiber plates have also become prolific in trail running shoes, including the Craft CTM Carbon Trail ($260), Saucony Endorphin Edge ($200), and Hoka Tecton X ($200), the latter of which features a set of parallel carbon-fiber plates in each shoe to enhance stability, protection and propulsion. Meanwhile, 2022 Ironman world champion Gustav Iden of Norway of 2:36:15 at the event鈥檚 return to Hawaii in October wearing a prototype pair of On鈥檚 Cloudboom Echo carbon-plated model with a midsole stack height in excess of 50 millimeters. Although those shoes would be deemed illegal in a marathon according to World Athletics standards, those rules don鈥檛 apply to Ironman triathlons.

RELATED: The Running Shoes We鈥檙e Most Excited to Try in 2023

Nonbinary Acknowledgement and Inclusion

As the running world continues to manage the challenges of fairly and respectfully including nonbinary athletes into competitive events, there was plenty of progress made in 2022. The Chicago, Boston and New York City marathons all continued to move forward with discussion and structure of nonbinary racing divisions. More than 200 road races throughout the U.S. have opened up in similar ways, organized by nonbinary runner, Jake Fedorowski. The New York City Marathon went so far as to offer $9,000 in prize money to the top nonbinary runners at this year鈥檚 race on November 6. Jacob Caswell, a 25-year-old runner from New York City, was the fastest of 46 entrants in the nonbinary division in 2:45:12, which netted the $5,000 top prize.

A week earlier, 27-year-old nonbinary ultrarunner Riley Brady earned a hard-to-get Golden Ticket to the 2023 Western States 100. What made it possible was that Brady ran a stellar race at the Javelina Jundred 100-miler in Fountain Hills, Arizona 鈥� placing seventh overall and second in the women鈥檚 award category in 14 hours, 45 minutes鈥攁nd also because the race allowed runners to register in male, female or non-category gender categories, while still competing for either male or female awards divisions.

Meanwhile Kirsten Beverley-Waters, a 37-year-old queer, nonbinary trail runner (Kirsten uses both 鈥渟he鈥� and 鈥渢hey鈥� pronouns) completed 22nd straight days of running 50 km (31 miles) in late June as a means to raise awareness for , the world鈥檚 largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people. Although that effort surpassed both the previous women鈥檚 mark (11 days) and men鈥檚 record (21 days), Kirsten鈥檚 achievement was later recognized as a nonbinary record by Guinness World Records.

鈥淭hey agreed that if they could offer nonbinary as a category in profile it should also be something they honored in records,鈥� Beverley-Waters said. 鈥淚 had pointed out how more major races are also offering a nonbinary category and that the change for them would reflect the progress we are making in the running community. It feels good to see the record reflect me authentically and more importantly let other nonbinary athletes know that even in records space is being created for us. It feels like a big win for the nonbinary community.鈥�

Trail Running Goes Global

The two-decade globalization of trail running came full circle in 2022 with the first combined , the expansion of the new and and the increasing trend of ambitious runners everywhere traveling to explore trails and races around the world. More sponsorship money and bigger cash prizes have followed, helping the sport鈥檚 best athletes鈥擪ilian Jornet, Courtney Dauwalter, Jim Walmsley, Francois D鈥橦aene, Grayson Murphy, Joe Gray, to name a few鈥攂ecome global stars who earn a full-time living in the sport. But it鈥檚 also created a desperate need for a unified governing body and more consistent drug-testing as the concern about doping becomes more real.

At the world championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, athletes from 49 countries competed in five events, ranging from an 8.5K uphill mountain race to an 80K ultra race. Among the top highlights included American Allie McLaughlin earning gold (8.5K mountain race) and bronze (10.5K up-down mountain race) individual medals and helping the U.S. women to team gold and bronze medals, and countryman Adam Peterman running away with the 80K race and helping Team USA to gold.

While most notable American races鈥攖he Western States 100, Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon, The Dipsea, Hardrock 100 and Chuckanut 50K鈥攁re still great events with compelling allure, there鈥檚 been a continued shift to a more globally competitive sport since the early 2000s and the new epicenter sits squarely in Chamonix, France. The 171K Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (won this year by Catalan legend Kilian Jornet and American Ph.D candidate Katie Schide) has long been a de facto world championships of ultra-distance trail running in the mountains (along with its 100K CCC and 54K OCC sister races) as well as the ultimate test for tenacious middle-of-the-pack runners, too. Although the expanding UTMB World Series makes it slightly more challenging to earn a spot in Chamonix, with 34 qualifying events around the world, the sport鈥檚 increased international focus is as much about cultural interaction as it is about the universal language of running,听 an appreciation for the natural environment and the joy and freedom of running on trails.

RELATED: Kilian Jornet Isn鈥檛 the G.O.A.T. of Trail Running Just Because He Wins Big Races

Pushing the Pace Even Longer

Camille Herron is one of those runners who found a marathon to be too short. And good for her, because she鈥檚 definitely found her niche as one of the world鈥檚 best ultra-distance runners. In a year punctuated by fast ultra-distance efforts, Herron was one of the best and most relentless in the pursuit of unfathomable records.

In February, the 40-year-old runner from Warr Acres, Oklahoma, seemed to have set a new women鈥檚 100-mile world record after she was the outright winner of the USA Track & Field 100 Mile Road Championships鈥攂eating all of the women and men in the field鈥攁t the Jackpot Ultra Running Festival 100-miler in Henderson, Nevada. She finished the race in 12 hours 41 minutes 11 seconds鈥攁 7:37-per-mile pace鈥攁nd beat the second-place finisher and first male athlete, Arlen Glick, by nearly 30 minutes.

After the course was remeasured twice鈥攊ncluding haphazardly during the race in February and again in October 鈥� it was determined that the course had been slightly altered and was short by 716 feet. As a result, a USA Track and Field committee wouldn鈥檛 ratify the record. That鈥檚 despite Herron鈥檚 GPS watch data reading 100+ miles, as well as those of runner-up , third-place finisher , fourth-place finisher and second woman , and fifth-place finisher .

Although that frustrating matter might still be pursued through litigation, Herron has continued to do her thing. She set on December 11 in Phoenix, including improving her own women鈥檚 American record for 100 miles on a track (13:02:16 or 7:49 mile pace). She also set new records for 50 miles (5:57:46) and 100K (7:35:50), along with multiple age group records before tapping out. (Marisa Lizak, a 43-year-old runner from Marina del Rey, California, was the overall winner of the 24-hour race with an impressive 156.7-mile effort.)

Among the other incomprehensible highlights of 2022, Lithuanian runner Aleksandr 鈥淪ania鈥� Sorokin set new world records for 100K on a track (6:05:41), 100 miles on road (10:51.39) and 24 hours (319.61K, or 198.59 miles), while Belgium鈥檚 Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert ran 421.1 miles in the World Backyard Ultra Championships by running 101 鈥測ards鈥� (loops of 4.17 miles) over 101 consecutive hours October 15 to 19.

RELATED: How Aleksandr Sorokin Ran 100 Miles at a 6:31-Mile Pace

The post The Most Inspiring Moments in Running and Multisport from 2022 appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

This summer, Kilian Jornet, the 34-year-old Spaniard living in Norway 鈥� considered by many to be the best mountain runner of all time 鈥� set course records at both the Hardrock Endurance Run and the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB). But equally as buzzworthy was the fact that he did it in a single pair of trail running shoes.

The understated black shoes were the debut product from Jornet鈥檚 new brand, NNormal (the double n refers to the 鈥渘ew normal鈥�), in partnership with the Spanish footwear brand Camper. The brand鈥檚 core message centers on a new approach to environmentalism, aiming to produce fewer, more durable products, while eschewing seasonal changes and fashion trends.

鈥淚t’s not about me starting my own brand, but about a group of people that share the same values and vision when it comes to the environmental and social responsibility of companies that we want to work for. It’s about putting our values first and knowing how to build the future of outdoor sports we would like to see,鈥� says Jornet.

The two shoes, the Kjerag (pronounced sche-rak, named for a Norwegian peak) and the Tomir (pronounced tome-eer, named for a mountain on the Spanish island of Mallorca), are some of the most anticipated new trail kicks this year.

The brand is hyper-focused on its environmental message, baking sustainability into every step of the process. Jornet hopes it can inspire trail runners and the whole outdoor industry to approach how they think about consumption differently.

鈥淚 think we need to change the way we sell and buy products, not to try to sell new products to replace old ones that are still in great shape but can 鈥榝eel old鈥�. That seems simple, but it involves big changes in the industry, and also to realize that products are something we should take care of, repair them, and eventually, when we need to replace them, ensure a circularity to build new products,鈥� says Jornet. 鈥淭he industry also has a big role in the way we promote sports. How are we educating our community with marketing, events, and social media? That should be in line with the values and responsibility of the companies.鈥�

Durability and Sustainability

The primary way NNormal is limiting its footprint is by emphasizing durability and sustainability in its product design. Both the Kjerag and Tomir are minimal by design, reducing the number of attachment points (like seams) that can break and degrade over time. Each product uses as few components as possible, reducing the amount of raw materials required to produce the product.

鈥淥ne of the biggest threats today in trail running footwear and performance, in general, is the number of shoes that runners have to buy (because the materials break or are worn too quickly),鈥� says Thomas Houzet, footwear developer at NNormal. 鈥淎s far as the designing process is concerned, we try to apply the following rule: Designing long-lasting, multi-functional products with the long-term goal of repairing. Not following seasonal trends or obligating the consumer to need the next best to come. Taking advantage of what you already have first. We want to make simple, humble, timeless designs, with no unnecessary over-the-top detailing,鈥� says Houzet.

NNormal wants to break out of the outdoor industry鈥檚 aggressive, seasonal model of consumption by encouraging consumers to purchase fewer products. There won鈥檛 be huge colorways or exciting 鈥渄rops鈥� to draw more attention, as NNormal shifts its focus to a more limited line of minimalist designs with a longer shelf life. They鈥檝e even been careful when sending out test shoes, making sure to do it in large batches as opposed to one-off shipments to limit their footprint.

NNormal: Technical Specs

When NNormal set out to make a shoe with Kilian, versatility was the goal. They wanted to make a shoe that could just as easily tackle a VK as it could circumnavigate Mont Blanc in a day. The Kjerag is a lightweight, performance-oriented trail running shoe that features a Matryx upper and Vibram Litebase Megagrip outsole. According to Jornet, the shoe does start to lose a bit of responsiveness after 500-plus miles, but this is a significant improvement on the durability of many shoes on the market today, especially those with softer durometers of foam that break down faster. Its 3.5mm lugs give extra bite and grip on more technical trails and loose terrain.

The shoe boasts generous volume for runners tackling longer races (like UTMB), and adapts to the runner鈥檚 foot as it swells. There鈥檚 no inner sole for better trail feel, less slippage (blisters), and even more durability.

The shoe鈥檚 upper is made of a blended monofilament polyester combined with TPE. This makes it more abrasion resistant and durable than competitors. Thick stitching attaches the upper to the midsole for extra toughness.

The Tomir is an 鈥渁dventure shoe,鈥� made for hiking and other off-road adventures. The basic Tomir is similar to any trail runner or light hiker, but also comes in waterproof and high-cut variations for additional ankle protection. The Tomir also features a Vibram Megagrip and Litebase outsole, known for its durability. The 5mm lugs add grip for technical adventures.

鈥淲e think that the most environmental products are the ones that last the longest. That means not only the physical durability, but also emotional durability, creating non-seasonal collections and also how to make products last longer by repairing them,鈥� says Jornet. 鈥淭hat involves a lot of work on the design process, thinking about how we can make our products repairable and reaching great levels of performance with simple designs. There’s also a lot of environmental impact on the business model of companies, and we want to be an economically sustainable company not based on overconsumption models.鈥�

RELATED: Kilian Jornet Isn鈥檛 the G.O.A.T. of Trail Running Just Because He Wins Big Races

NNormal: Performance First

Performance is central to NNormal鈥檚 message. Prioritizing the function of its shoes with athletes like Kilian Jornet, Dakota Jones, and Peyton Thomas shows that the company doesn鈥檛 compromise on how well its products perform.

鈥淲e design our shoes for athletes’ requirements, and make sure to adapt them for a bigger audience,鈥� says Houzet. 鈥淲e do not want to make shoes for athletes, and then sell different products to consumers. When the first prototypes are ready, we always test first with Kilian and our athletes,鈥� says Houzet. 鈥淲e then get feedback and build new prototypes for a second round of semi-pro and amateur runners in varied terrain like Norway, Mallorca, and the Pyrenees.鈥�

NNormal shoes will be available for pre-order for members starting today, October 5th, and throughout the month of October at , and specialized stores in Europe and the US.

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