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Altra has broken its zero-drop mold with the launch of the new AltraFWD Experience road shoe, described as a “low-drop” model with a 4mm differential from heel to toe. This model doesn’t replace anything in the lineup from Altra, who will continue to carry their entire line of zero-drop shoes moving forward.

Our Ultra Weekend Recap on October 1, 2023, covers a 50k on the Oregon Coast, a large 50k in North Carolina, a new course record at The Bear 100 in Utah and more. 

We officially move into the final quarter of 2023 with this weekend’s What’s Up In Ultra, which straddles September and October on our North American UltraRunning Calendar.

Running 100 miles isn’t just a test of physical endurance; it’s also one of mental endurance. In the build-up to my first 100-mile race at the Leadville 100, I prepared myself to ace both tests. Here are three exercises that strengthened my brain so I could show up ready to tackle the distance on all fronts.

As runners approach menopause, our risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis may be equal to or greater than that of women who do not exercise. Running, whether on trails or pavement, isn’t enough of a stimulus. To build bone density, we have to lift heavy.

Veteran ultrarunner Van Phan returns to the show and talks with Scotty about joining the 100 x 100 club after a win at the Hamster Endurance Runs 32-hour race. They discuss how she got to this incredible  milestone, what keeps her going and how she has stayed healthy over years.

Today’s Ultra Weekend Recap has highlights from a Western States Golden Ticket race in Virginia, a mountainous 50k in California and a flat and fast 75k in Arizona which served as a tune-up for next month’s Javelina Jundred.

This week’s What’s Up In Ultra highlights events on our UltraRunning Calendar including a Western States Golden Ticket race at the Grindstone 100k in Virginia, a classic 50-miler in the Green Mountain State of Vermont and a point-to-point 50k in the Cascades of Oregon.

This year, Garmin released Pro versions of both the Fenix 7 and Epix lines on the same day. Since we reviewed the Fenix 7X watch last year, this time we tested the Epix Pro in part to see if we could identify any major differentiation between the model lines.

I’ve tried just about every gel, chew, waffle, bar and electrolyte drink on the market. But if I had to choose one, and only one, running fuel out of everything I’ve tried, it would no doubt be a PayDay bar.

For our September 17 Ultra Weekend Recap we’re highlighting a 100-miler in Colorado, a mountainous 50k in Montana and the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic (NACAC) 50k championships in Canada.

Fall is in the air at many events on our UltraRunning Calendar. Leading the list are the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic (NACAC) 50k championships, a 100-miler in Colorado with a big prize purse, another 100-miler in Georgia and a laundry list of others.

The business of coaching ultrarunners is one of the least talked about, yet fastest-growing businesses in the running world. The growing population of ultrarunners means coaching services are exceedingly in demand for the niche sport and therefore, include a number of athletes who are stepping into the ring as professional coaches.

The Oregon 200, a 200-mile trail race in the Willamette and Umpqua National Forests, based in Oakridge, Oregon, debuted in August 2023. Forty-five runners took on the challenge of completing the race in the 100-hour time limit.

Dr. Stacy Sims’ book “Next Level,” taught me something new about female athletes in the peri- and post-menopause stages, and gave me a deeper understanding and appreciation of the aging female body. More importantly, it gave me hope for a better version of my current self.

For our Ultra Weekend Recap on Sunday, September 10, we’re highlighting results from three different 100-mile races in various places around the country. From Oregon to Utah to Minnesota, let’s dive right in.

An accomplished alpine skier, mountaineer, adventurer and all-around athlete for his entire life, France’s Nico Mermoud is intimately familiar with being at the forefront of innovation.

We still have two official weekends of summer left on our UltraRunning Calendar and plenty of events to cover. For September 9-10, we’re highlighting two challenging point-to-point 100-milers, Canada’s largest ultrarunning festival and a collection of other fun events in unique places. 

In July 2023, torrential rainstorms caused catastrophic flooding throughout the state of Vermont, resulting in the cancellation of the Vermont 100. Scotty sat down with Vermont 100 race director, Amy Rusiecki, to find out how volunteers and runners came together and turned a heartbreaking natural disaster into a different kind of endurance event by helping the local community.

Three events highlight our Ultra Weekend Recap for the weekend of September. We have Americans dominating the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) podium, results from the point-to-point Grand Traverse 40-miler in Colorado, the Ring 71-miler in Virginia and a handful more.

Traveling to Québec is like flying to Europe in less than half the amount of time. A quick, 30-minute jaunt takes you to Mont-Sainte-Anne in the town of Beaupré, which is home to the Québec Mega Trail running festival, the largest trail running festival in Canada.

The extended Labor Day weekend often signals the proverbial end of summer, but that doesn’t mean our North American UltraRunning Calendar slows down one bit. We have an age-handicapped ultra in Tennessee, a technical mountain race covering a unique distance in Virginia, a trifecta of gravel races in Iowa and much more. 

We found the Zinal 2 to be a perfect option for shorter trail days, but missed the snappy response of the original version when running on flat, fast surfaces. The lighter weight and beefier traction help transition this model into a trail shoe that can easily tackle just about any technical surface.

It’s 2 a.m. and we’re tracing the delivery route of baker Frank DiNoto, who delivered bread on these NYC streets nearly 50 years ago. His grandson, Joe DiNoto, is founder of the Orchard Street Runners (OSR), which is breaking new boundaries in ultrarunning, driving our sport to the urban, unsanctioned edge.

For our Ultra Weekend Recap this week, we have new course records from a point-to-point 100-miler in Oregon, a 40-mile mountain race in Colorado, a 50k in New York and more.

On a typical August “Fogust” morning at Santos Meadow near Muir Beach, California, I arrived at the start of the Tamalpa Headlands 50k at 7:07 a.m. With just 23 minutes until the start of the race, I grabbed my goodie bag and bib number and headed to the bathrooms. On the start line, 250 men and women carrying various water vessels shifted around me. At 7:30, we were off, and I found myself in front of a group of ladies discussing their heart rate race plan within the first mile. Going up the first hill, they all passed me.

As we come down off the high of executing our first race at the Tamalpa Headlands 50k, we look ahead towards closing out summer on a strong note. Our North American calendar has a bunch of fun stuff on tap for the last weekend in August including two days of racing in the Ozarks, a technical mountain ultra in Colorado, a 50k at Burning Man in Nevada and a slew more to choose from.

Scott, a front-of-the-pack runner, and I, a back-of-the-pack runner, have different abilities. Yet, we used very similar training styles for the Western States 100.

We sat down with 18-year-old Kaylee Frederick just one week after she became the youngest athlete ever to finish Badwater 135, one of ultrarunning’s toughest events. Kaylee joined the show to talk about her experience, lessons learned and the force behind her determination to run challenging races at such a young age.

Welcome back to our Ultra Weekend Recap. Today we have results from UltraRunning Magazine’s own 50k held in Marin County, California, the Leadville 100, and the Squamish 50-miler in beautiful British Columbia.