In the final days of 2023, I listened to a year-in-review podcast during my long run. Normally, I enjoy hearing our sport’s familiar commentators banter about the best ultrarunners, the most impressive FKTs and the honorable mentions for big-hearted performances. It’s kind of a cross between gossiping at a reunion about who’s done what and watching a game on a big screen with fellow fans. You know the characters and their development because you’ve followed them for years. You care about them.
This year-end trail running review left me feeling oddly alienated, however, akin to how I feel when my daughter watches The Bachelor and I think, “Who are these people and why should we care?” On this podcast, the hosts rattled off names of the best trail runners—taking both ultra and sub-ultra performances into consideration—and I recognized only five of the 20-some names. More than half live and run overseas, and most are in their 20s or early 30s.
I blurted aloud to no one on my run, “Who are these people?”
I used to pour over results and know who’s who. Now, the sport has become so international, professional and young that I barely recognize the top competitors unless their name is Courtney or Jim. Along with alienation, I felt old and irrelevant—until an inner voice came to my rescue and said, “So what!”
It finally hit me that being disconnected from the sport’s elite doesn’t matter. Runners of all ages and abilities can revel in this sport regardless of what others are doing and how they’re racing. That realization should’ve been a no-brainer, but the influencers and commentators left me feeling as though we only matter when we gain attention for our performances.
As athletes—indeed, as humans—we seek connection and support, and like to be in the know. Where and how can we find that feeling of belonging? Of being “somebody” if we’re not a sponsored runner on a team racing at marquee events?
The answer, I think, lies in finding our niche. This once-fringe-now-mainstream sport used to be its own cozy niche, but over the decades, it has split into many niches loosely defined by geography, age, distance of trail routes, clubs and teams and more.
Want to find your niche in ultrarunning? Here are some ideas:
Become part of an event. Some running events with thoughtful race directors develop their own special community around it, online and in real life. They don’t do it just to sell extra shirts and trucker caps with their logo—they do it to make the running event an experience that brings people together, forms relationships and inspires runners to fulfill their personal goals. Crew, volunteers and the runners themselves connect in advance and after the race. Some have training runs and multiday camps leading up to the main event. Some extreme ultras—such as the self-navigated, self-supported Vol State—spawn their own subculture. These events develop a following of groupie-like fans. You feel a sense of transformation and fulfillment because the event, and the people involved, affect you in a meaningful way. When you sign up for ultras, consider running and volunteering for ones that have this close-knit vibe.
Find a local running group. Grassroots scenes anchored by running clubs tend to be an authentic and supportive niche that feels like extended family, as typified by “long-running” clubs such as the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club. Anyone is welcome. You run together and bond through conversation and shared challenge. You may end up starting your own local race, as happened in my community, where some run club guys started a 50k and rekindled a few sub-ultra races (see confluenceeventsllc.com).
Join a team or make your own. You don’t have to be a fast runner on a racing team to experience team camaraderie. You can join a team organized around an event, such as a relay race, or become an ambassador for a team running for a cause, such as those who run for the Free to Run nonprofit. I applaud events such as the Grand to Grand Ultra that have team categories for runners who band together to support each other while raising money and awareness for a cause.
Meet your favorite influencer or sponsored runner in person for a group run. Some notable runners, such as filmmaker Billy Yang, throw pre-race shakeout runs or just-for-fun group runs. Social media redeems itself when online posts lead to positive in-person connections, and these kinds of meetups make virtual connections real and satisfying.
Join an online community. Part of me feels jaded toward online communities organized on monetized platforms, since they seem motivated to sell products or attract eyeballs to please their sponsors. Setting cynicism aside, these groups host online meetups that function like support groups for runners and can spark satisfying real-life connections. I even host my own for paid subscribers to my newsletter, and it has developed into a little niche of geographically far-flung runners with whom I love to share stories and advice once a month.