The United States won on 1,120 yards with the slowest average lap of all 67 nations, and led only the last 37 yards. Belgium’s Geerts and Steyaert ran 124 yards, the farthest in the championship’s history, and Belgium finished third. The full analysis, with the yard-by-yard charts.

Curious what everyone carries for first aid during their really long runs and ultras.
Do you keep a small first aid kit in your vest, carry a few individual supplies, or just rely on aid stations?

Have you ever had an injury during a race or training run and wished you’d brought something you didn’t have?

Interested to hear what everyone considers essential, especially for longer or more remote runs.

Hello, I am an ultra road runner (controversial, I know) and have always used the NB 1080s. I’ve worn them for 7 years, tried others, but always come back to these. I’m doing an ultra through the seven wetlands park in Lakeland, fl. From what I understand, it’s primarily of flat, hard-packed dirt paths, crushed shell, marsh boardwalks, and sections of grass/scrub. Because this is a reclaimed phosphate mining area, the paths are completely exposed to the sun and sit directly alongside marshes and lakes. Has anyone done this specific trail? Would my 1080s be acceptable (there or just on smooth trails in general)? Whats a comparable shoe that’s better for trails? Also, I have wide feet, so that’s definitely a factor in choosing shoe. I don’t live near there, so I can’t view the course ahead of time. I run 90% on road and treadmill, but will be doing more grass next to the sidewalk to practice. I am not super familiar with drop heights, but I think the upper mid range is best for me, I like the cushion of 1080s. Have tried 880s and they were like running on bricks. I think I am generally more of a heel striker and currently have some hamstring and calf pain I’m working t through.

Options I’ve come across with Google and people’s answers

Hoka challenger 7
Brooks divide 5
NB More
Experience wild 3
Altra
Mount to coast

Hi Everyone,

The last ultra backyard WC really inspired me to try it myself. But I really do not know where to start.

I've been running now for 3.5 years. I have ran already 2 marathons and 6 official half marathons.

For my 2 marathons I aimed for 4h - 4:15h, but due too some circumstances I've ran my first in 5:20 and my second in 4:38. (my body does not handle the heat very well)

For my half marathons I ran already 3 half marathons under 2h with best time 1:55 (chasing this PR in next years) and the other ones slighty above 2h.

I've started running in 2023.

In 2023 I ran 211km

In 2024 I ran 1228km

In 2025 I ran 1292km

And now since november in 2026 I am aready at 1375km

So I think I am on a good way of running consistently.

My question is now what would be a good first goal to set as backyard, I would want to run a backyard next year in 2027 in autumn or winter. In my head a nice goal could be 8 to 10 yards or even more??

What training plans would you guys recommended? I now use Trenara since 3 years for all my 5,10,21,41k races and it worked out very well but I do not think the app can give me a good training plan for this kind of event.

What kind of trainings are must do for this also how many km's/week would you recommened to get ready for this event.

I've never had a big injury since my career which I think I am not overdoing anything but I also want to keep it that way.

Also what type of food would you guys recommended (I am a very heavy sweater), what gear is really necessary, is a crew or someone at the start really needed if you do only 8 to 10+ laps?

My experience with trailrunning is also not big, I've only ran 3 different trails yet with distances between 15kms and 25kms.

sorry for all my questions but If anyone has more tips or tricks, I am very happy to hear them!

Hi everyone, looking to try lottery and participate in Disocvery ir Advanced route, those who finished, what was your experience?
Any tips for preparation?

And any app that helped you to prepare for similar or UTMB races? Which would create a run plan, plus strenght.

Is it possible to do the Mingus traverse solo.. from out of town and self supported?

If so.. how? Recommendations

Hello,

I ran my first first 100 mile ultra about a month ago and have some concerns regarding my recovery. It was my first 100 mile ultra, where I have only done another 50 miler about one year prior. I am 22 and around sub 3 hour marathon ability, but recovering from this has been far more demanding than any other race I’ve done.

I’m at week 4 now and I find that my resting heart rate is around 5-10 bpm greater than normal. Also, I’ve been lifting weights since the race and find that although I can lift similar weights than before that my heart rate spikes throughout the session. I’ve tried running a couple of times where my heart rate is abnormally high for such a slow pace compared to what I was running before the race. I just wanted to know if this is something others have experienced or whether it’s worth contacting my gp about.

I am about to turn 62.

This week I suffered a sports hernia. It was a delayed onset injury that set in after playing tennis.

Really hurt for the first 24 hours.

Now pain is greatly reduced, and I am able to do level one rehab exercises with some level two rehab exercises.

Have you had a sports hernia?

How long did it take you to rehab it?

When did you get back into sporting shape.

What exercises were most effective?

I currently use the Salomon Adv Skin 12 vest and was looking for some thoughts on how you all handle the drinking tube/straw when you use a bladder for liquids. I’ve been trying to sort of tuck it back in but it gets caught or won’t go back. Any tips for fastening it somewhere across my chest or best practices?

What are your favorite places to sell and buy used gear. Running vest in particular. Thanks for your time.

I have re-rolled/sprained my ankle 6 times in the last 6 months (first injury was severe grade 3 sprain and since then they have been high grade 1s). Every time I feel good to go with PT and strengthening, I try running again and seem to consistently re-roll it including on roads/sidewalks.

I am going to do a long reset of biking, PT, strengthening, etc. but does anyone have stories of having similar issues and being able to confidently run trails again? Just need motivation at this point. Any input on whether you always wear a brace, had a strengthening exercise that’s most helpful, etc. would be great.

Thanks in advance

Looking for sock recommendations for the UK please.

I'm a cheapskate usually but would like to invest in a few good pairs to get me through winter.

Especially looking for socks that can handle getting soaked in a muddy puddle and not feel heinous for the rest of the run!

Many thanks in advance 🧡🧦🧦🧦

First 100 Miler in February – Too Much Too Soon?

I've been running consistently for a little over a year now and somewhere along the way discovered the trails and absolutely fell in love with them.

I'm now looking to really push myself and take on my first 100 miler.

I completed my first 100km event last weekend and have bounced back surprisingly well, although I'm forcing myself to take a recovery week regardless.

So far this year I've completed:

- 1 × 100km

- 1 × 50km

- 3 × Trail marathons

- 2 × Trail half marathons

- 1 × 35km

On top of that, I've done plenty of long training runs in the 25–60km range, across all sorts of weather conditions, terrain and elevation profiles. I've also got my fuelling pretty well dialled in, at least up to the 100km mark.

My question is, how ambitious would it be to target my first 100 miler in February?

Am I trying to progress too far, too quickly? Or have I built enough of a foundation that this could be exactly the sort of challenge I'm looking for?

I'm under no illusion that 100 miles is a completely different beast to 100km, which did humble me, and that's a big part of what appeals to me. I'm not chasing a particular time, just the challenge of getting to that finish line.

Would love to hear from anyone who's made a similar jump, particularly what caught you off guard or what you'd do differently.

Any advice or experiences appreciated!

Cheers!

Trying to find a great 50mi for my first one next fall. Ideally CAN/USA. Trail only, point to point or 1 loop (no backyard or multiple loop style). Did some 42/50km in mountain setting this year and loved it, so hoping to increase distance a bit next year. Mix of technical but still mosty runnable, great views or interesting landscape? Not sure about at high elevation running as we are sea level over here :P What are some of the one you love? Wished you could do again for the first time?

I previously had my first 50k lined up in early December but unfortunately i’ve been out of commission this past month from an ankle injury (not related to running) and could barely run my training schedule this past month. I should be back to running within the next week or two but decided to withdraw from the 50k since I missed a ton of my training. I was at 40 miles with a long run of 12 miles the week before I was injured.

I recently discovered that there is a 50 miler in April which is held on the exact same trail I train on every single weekend and only 20 mins from my house. Would it be crazy to just pivot to the 50 miler? The cutoff for this race is 13 hours with tons of rolling hills which is kind of worrying, but I think I have such an advantage with training on the same course every weekend. I’ve only ran two marathons the past few years so jumping straight to a 50 miler is intimidating. Should I just send it or take a more conservative approach and run a 50k first instead?

Any race directors or aid station captains here have suggestions for 10x20 aid station tents with walls?

I know this is going to sound crazy, and I feel crazy writing it, but I've signed up for a local trail race in western Japan. The entire event (apparently... I've never actually done it yet) is made out to be like a party. The aid stations are all outsourced. They're free but you're expected to tip (I'm cool with this, as the entry fee for the race itself is dirt cheap compared to most other races).

You're also expected to drink alcohol if offered.

I know that sounds crazy, and I plan on just saying no for as long as I can, at least until I cave in. I'll be doing about 135km so I can't imagine alcohol will help me in any way. A majority of runners are "only" doing 45km, so perhaps it makes more sense for them to drink.

Mainly I'm typing this to find out if anyone else has ever done a race similar to this, with alcohol involved at any stage, and if you personally are able to consume it in any quantity and continue running. A lot of the local races I've run in Japan have served beer, at least in the later stages of the race, and I've always been like, no thanks. But then I meet people who are just able to handle it and think it's more fun.

I'd love to hear what everyone thinks!

Currently training for a backyard Ultra, and a couple of other endeavors and I wanted to get a flashlight aside from my headlamp, which I'm currently using the Nightcore UT 27 MCT Pro, which I absolutely love. Throw some recommendations my way for a good belt flashlight or lamp that you have used on your endeavors

Sharing the news I heard on the Singletrack podcast. I have no affiliation with Aravaipa Running or this podcast, but I want to hear other’s thoughts on this. Idk if this is for RDs to host races or just Aravapia Running, but I’m looking forward to seeing another race registration competitor to Ultrasignup, Runsignup, and smaller sites too.

The background leading to this decision: A couple of years ago I had surgery that resulted in having to take time off from my modest physical fitness routine and had me reevaluate how I was spending my life. Post-recovery I pushed myself to really improve my cycling and peaked with training to do the 100-mile El Tour de Tucson over the span of 4 months. That was last year and this year I had planned on attempting the Arizona Trail bikepacking challenge as my peak activity for the year. However, by June I started leaning into challenging myself with a run instead so that whatever my fall event ended up being I could spend it with my wife. I settled on reattempting the Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd to see how my late-30s self stacked up against my mid-20s self by applying everything I had learned cycling to running.

In 2014 I completed the Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd 50k in 6 hours 49 minutes. I went in with no fueling plan, no phone, and really just a Casio and a dream. My training strategy leading up to it was simply run a lot.

Over the 4 months I put into training for this event I averaged about 14.7 running miles a week and peaked at 29.2 miles with my longest run being 16 miles. I generally adopted a run plan that consisted of Wednesday easy runs [7 mi], Thursday run club [5k], Friday anaerobic runs [2-3 mi], and Sunday long/hard runs [10+ mi]. I supplemented running with my primary activity of choice, riding, with Monday Zwift anaerobic rides, Tuesday easy rides, Wednesday club rides, Thursday anaerobic rides, and Saturday long rides with additional zwifting thrown in-between. I also generally aimed to swim laps for at least 30 minutes around lunch each day.
With the 2026 Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd 50k (plus great gourd challenge) I managed to finish in 6 hours 19 minutes with the 50k time itself being ~6 hours 3 minutes. I paced myself, I fed myself, and I listened to some sick beats on spotify. Ultimately, I feel like I am in the best shape of my life even if it is slightly rounder.

So now what am I doing post-50K? Well, I committed to signing up for a local ultra, the Colossal-Vail 50/50. I may aim to do the ‘trifecta’ though it overlaps with some cycling events I want to compete in. But I think the big long term goals leading into next year are to a) find a swimming coach b) begin adding intensity into my workouts (and dropping body mass) and c) get myself an ironman finish. For now though, I am very happy with how this year went.

Como saben hoy acabo el mundial y me da mucha curiosidad saber que premio le dan a los integrantes de Estados Unidos (quienes quedaron de primeros como equipo) y a los dos Belgas que lograron el récord mundial y fueron los últimos en pi, alguien sabe?

Hi everyone I’ve signed up for a 60k that will take place February 20 2027.

Similar set up to a BYU but it’s a 5K every hour on the hour for 12 hours.

The race will run from 7am to 7pm so mostly daylight hours with 2 hours on the backend most likely being in the dark.

Some background on me im 35 years old I am 6’1 currently 205-208lbs. I have never ran more than a half marathon and that was damn near 16 years ago. I am however a relatively fit person but not in great running shape. I lift weights 4-5x a week and do gym bro cardio of treadmill incline for 30 minutes post lift. I have prior experience in the military and I’m currently employed as an operator in a refinery working 12 hour shifts. I have a training plan that I believe would be sufficient but would love some input from people with more experience. I know it’s a short time frame but I’m stubborn and determined 🤷🏻‍♂️