Jared Beasley

On Monday, John Kelly was finally resting in a fold-up chair. Besides the dark mud that painted his shins, he didn’t look like someone who’d just beaten the fastest known time (FKT) on Vermont’s Long Trail. He didn’t look like someone who hadn’t slept in four days. He didn’t even look particularly tired. He looked at home.

To get to Innsbruck, Austria, Jade Belzberg first needed to make arrangements for her three dogs, 10 rabbits, five Guinea Pigs, two cats and her horse, Casper. Then came the hard part. She needed to force herself to the airport and do everything she could to keep from backing out. For 14 years, she’s dealt with a paralyzing fear of flying. But she’s determined to white-knuckle the 10-hour flight to Munich if she has to.

It’s just past midnight on a night in June, but Nathan Echols is awake in a sweat. I’ve got to get back, he tells himself, sitting on the edge of the bed. The kid still burns inside him, the one who’d do anything to win, and put holes in the walls when he lost.

He fought in Vietnam and Korea. He was a Mormon-turned-Catholic priest who went by Bill or Wolfgang or Wolf. He was an ROTC instructor, an exorcist and paranormal researcher. He was a radio host. He was a runner. And, many believe, he was D.B. Cooper.

Running saved Leadville and brought new fire to Chamonix. The new 140-mile Route 66 UltraRun could make a big difference here, too—in the restoration of one of the nation’s most historic routes, and in seeing that it has a future as well as a past. Says RD Marshall Ulrich, “We have to see where we came from so we can move forward.”