Features

This spring, The North Face swings for the fences with a new footwear design approach that has been several years in the making and tested extensively with their team of elite athletes. The technology is called VECTIV and in essence, it combines a rocker high-energy midsole compound with a firm propulsion plate, and a super-secure outsole platform to grip the trail and allow speed with confidence.

When you win a high school cross-country race on campus, and your English teacher is the head track and field coach, not only are you guaranteed a spot on the track team, but there is little chance you’ll be able weasel your way out of it.

Despite lower participant numbers, it was a race for the record books. The winner of the race, Hayden Hawks, set a new course record in 5:18:40, nearly four minutes faster than Jim Walmsley’s time from 2016. And for the first time since 2017, when Emile Harrison Torrence ran the fourth fastest time ever in 6:27:43, a woman cracked the top ten as Camille Herron ran the eighth fastest time ever in 6:31:14.

Like a duck takes to water, or perhaps more appropriate for the Austin, Texas-based runner and photographer, like a cowboy takes to wearing boots, Jobie Williams’ side gig as a photographer was happenstance.

An update to Garmin’s Index Smart Scale, which measures a number of physiological metrics in addition to basic weight. The S2 is smaller and lighter than the previous model, with a new color display and improved sensors for increased accuracy and syncs with Garmin Connect via wifi.

The Silva Trail Runner Free H is a versatile and capable running-specific headlamp with a powerful, dual beam and a separate battery compartment that uses rechargeable or alkaline batteries. Its cordless design is practical and comfortable, and configuration of the battery compartment offers a variety of setup options for long outings.

I have directed over 100 ultras. This past Hellgate was the most stressful one I have ever directed. There was so much uncertainty—things kept changing just like all of life. We found out for sure that we could hold the race 32 hours before the start.

Race Director Bryant Baker worked hard at making the inaugural running of the Rim to River 100 Mile, West Virginia’s first-ever hundred-mile race, something special. At packet pick-up, he mentioned that the course visits every spot in the area he would want his best friend to see if they were out on a run together.

The Vantage V2 includes a number of features first introduced on this year’s Grit X watch, plus three new assessment features and music player controls. All this is done in a significantly lighter and sleeker casing, making the Vantage V2 much more comfortable for all-day use.

During a time when so many races have been canceled, The Stinger All Comers Track Race was a reminder of the benefits of persistence, camaraderie and the great outdoors. Running around a 400-meter track hour after hour is also a great way to reflect and remove ourselves from the chaos that surrounds us.

After serving his first tour in Iraq, Jason Mosel came back home to a whole new set of struggles. Ones that training hadn’t prepared him for. “From everything I saw, everything I did, I may have physically left the country of Iraq, but my head was still there.”

Two new winter pieces from Ultimate Direction designed for cold weather comfort and functionality.

The wild weather at Whiskey Basin Trail Runs in Prescott, Arizona, added to a palpable feeling of high energy, and though I couldn’t see others’ expressions due to masks and being distanced for COVID-19 precautions, everyone seemed to be in a good mood judging by the elbow-bumps. While it was a dark and stormy morning, we all needed to run.

Kahtoola is well-known for their winter traction devices, but they also have a comprehensive lineup of gaiters for outdoor endurance sports. The INSTAgaiter Low is the lightest and lowest profile gaiter in the company’s lineup, designed to be durable and breathable for multi-season trail running adventures.

Run commuting has steadily gained a loyal following in recent years, which is why Tracksmith created the Run Commute Collection. The collection is an assortment of existing items from the Tracksmith line-up plus some key new pieces to provide added protection and durability, and a pack to hold everything together.

“Where are the women?” I yelled at my computer last December. Race lotteries had been announced, running calendars had been released and lady runners were quietly missing. It was unacceptable. I wanted to do something crazy to invite women to the Jewel. Something big. Something special.

I’ve known races in the past to be canceled or postponed, but never the entire season as a whole being more or less shut down. To add to this mix, I lost my favorite sister, Gwen, to complications of the dreaded COVID virus, so I wasn’t feeling at all good about 2020. A sense of melancholy is exactly what I was feeling when I finally decided to try and enter the Heartland 100 yet again this year.

It was a calm, crisp morning at the start of the Moab 240, as the last group of runners lined up by the arch five minutes before 7 a.m. We hollered in anticipation, as we were about to embark upon 241 miles of remote country before returning to where we started.

After months of uncertainty with canceled races and FKT attempts, I caught wind that Javelina Jundred might take place. The pancake flat, fully exposed Arizona desert is a far cry from the terrain and climate where you would expect to find this mountain-minded ultrarunning junkie, but I needed something to look forward to.

An an offshoot of Topo’s most popular trail running model, the Ultraventure Pro has the same geometry and stack heights, plus added design elements to improve comfort and performance for long outings on rough terrain.

Eve was an active kid who grew up in rural Indiana. She started her running career early, running both cross-country and track throughout high school. Her running coach was instrumental in her growth. “He taught me to love heat running, to run easy when needed, and to race smart.”

Ride the Wave 50-Miler consisted of three legs: two checkpoints at miles 10 and 31, plus the finish line. The directions and course map were unknown for each leg until we arrived at the checkpoints, where we received the directions and maps on laminated cards to assist us in getting to next leg.

The Mines of Spain 100 makes excellent use of the area’s colorful history, and the beauty and variety of habitats of the natural world there. Add to that, stellar race organization, great volunteers and exceptional runner support, and it all adds up to a cool event that is likely to become a fixture in Midwest ultrarunning.

The NURVV Run are smart insoles that can be inserted beneath your shoe’s existing footbeds in order to provide unique data such as foot strike and pronation information. The NURVV Run system also promises to improve your running through live in-run coaching, a holistic health score and additional resources to improve technique.

Conquer The World (CTW) Endurance not only held their first live race of the year in September, but the first edition of the Pawling 24-Hour Trail Running Festival. The event included 24-, 12-, 6- and 1-hour events on a 1.68-mile loop of road and trail with approximately 160 feet of elevation gain, that circles a beautiful lake in Pawling, New York.

Long sleeve shirts are a staple of fall training. There is a lot of variety within the category, from lightweight fabrics intended for high-intensity work, to thicker layers that protect you on long aerobic outings or in harsh conditions. We’ve tested a range of long sleeve tops so you can choose one for your specific needs.

Five waves of runners dispatched from the start under cool air as the skies lightened. This year’s race took runners in the original counterclockwise direction on 82% unpaved fire roads with just over a mile of elevation gain in central Pennsylvania’s Rothrock State Forest.

The successor to Garmin’s multi-sport focused Forerunner 735XT, expands the functionality of that model extensively, and closely approaches the feature profile of the higher-end Forerunner 945. In comparison to the 945, the Forerunner 745 has a smaller casing, minimal navigation features and lower battery life, but has a more affordable price point.

In a year of so much uncertainty and speculation, Hungerford was able to provide a bit of reprieve. It was just what we needed to affirm our love of running and once again celebrate each individual journey to the finish line.

Last year, I started and finished my first ever, 100-mile race at the Wasatch Front Endurance Run, but knew that I was capable of better. So, the next day, I sat in the car and decided to sign up for the Bear 100 in 2020.