#141: Trail running is the new triathlon
Change my mind.
issue #141: June 25, 2025
All-sporters, I am reporting to you from Western States. Well, like, from Olympic Valley, where Western States will start in two days.
I told Sara to send me a picture from our work so far, and this is what she came up with:
We’re here to support the existing women’s running organizations (and put on a lunch today for all the women!), to do some coverage for Feisty Media, and to put together a podcast episode for next week for our new women’s sports podcast. First episode (not about Western States) dropping tomorrow, Thursday.
And also to have a little bit of fun.
- Kelly
Is trail running the new triathlon?
I mean, yes.
But. If, ten years ago, triathlon was the new golf, then does that now make ultras the new new golf? Does anyone actually just golf anymore? A question to ponder during your next long run. (It’s not not true.)
This is something I’ve thought about a lot: As I look around and most of my old triathlon friends are running trails now and ultras, and all my local tri races are now local trail races. And I don’t think I’m the only one who’s wondering were all the triathletes went. There’s a straight pipeline from triathlon to ultrarunning to trail running.
We showed up at TrailCon this week — the trail industry conference held in between Broken Arrow last weekend (like short-course) and Western States this upcoming weekend (long-course) — and I thought I would only know a couple of people and we’d have to do a lot of cold intros. But over and over again, walking around Happy Hour and the Village, there was person after person who I already knew, who is probably reading this. (Hi guys!) They’d already gone down that tri-to-trail pipeline.
And, if you spend a lot of time deep in the weeds (which I know you all do), then it’s very very (very) hard not to notice that trail running is going through the same things triathlon was going through 10-15 years ago. They’ve having the same goddamn conversations and same growing pains. The same over-profileration of races swallowing each other, the same shock at how fast athletes get when there are resources finally pouring in, the same debates about how to grow sustainably and diversely, how to keep the grassroots feel but eliminate barriers to entry, how how how. Which is only wildly frustrating to watch on repeat.
But it also means they have the same conviction triathlon used to have that the sport will never stop growing (hah), that it will always be cool and edgy and new. And maybe they’re right. I mean, hell, I mostly just want to trail run and quasi-ultra these days. It seems more fun. But also probably they’re not right.
And now for something completely triathlon niche:
From the races
IM Les Sables d’Olonne: Who doesn’t love India Lee? No one. Everyone thinks she’s the best. And now we get to see her and Els Visser in Kona.
World Cup - Huatulco: We also need to give a shoutout to the sprint finish between Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto & Erika Ackerlund. Erika used to do these interesting dispatches for Slowtwitch about what it’s like racing at the World Triathlon pro level, so I think a lot of people are also very invested in her first podium. And Cuban triathlete Alejandro Rodríguez won Cuba’s first World Cup medal.
World Triathlon Multisport Championships also crowned cross world champs this week — which is kinda like Xterra and both the winners were familiar Xterra names: Alizee Paties and Felix Forissier. And they crownd duathlon world champs. Next up: Long distance champs.
Interestingly, Alanis Siffert and Max Studer also mixed it up off-road with wins at Xterra Switzerland. Do we just, like, all need to learn how to mountain bike.
Mark your calendar
Holy shit IM Frankfurt: That is really quite the start list isn’t it. Kristian Blummenfelt, Patrick Lange, Gustav Iden, Rudy Von Berg, Magnus Ditlev. How many world champion podium finishers can you have in a non-world champs race?
WATCH: Sunday 6 a.m. local/midnight ET/Saturday 9 p.m. PT on Ironman’s Youtube globally but Outside Watch in N. America
Nice 70.3 also has some interesting mid-distance names taking a break from T100 this weekend: Marten Van Riel trying to lock down a 70.3 Worlds spot for options I think, and Jess Learmonth probably doing the same.
Results: Challenge Gdansk, IM Les Sables, Westfriesland 70.3, World Cup Huatulco, World Triathlon Multisport Championships
The -ish
Some of the things worth knowing about this week in our sports — or that I just think are interesting.
This week’s wild rumor I need to dispel: The PTO’s stats database is not going anywhere anytime soon. (At least not until they run out of money, hah!) In many ways, it is the best thing they’ve done, made it so much easier to cover the pros, and so, no, I checked with the guy who runs it: It’s not going anywhere, don’t know where that rumor came from. (PTO)
But. Does the PTO need to move their Qatar race? Um, yes. (New York Times)
There’s also a new Ironman in Chile, btw. (Ironman)
Mile & Stone has more details on the state of American trail running, based on this mega trail running week here. (Mile & Stone)
And here is your actual Western States preview. I mostly want to see how Kilian Jornet does. And, sure, yes, also David Roche. And, also Heather Jackson. And, also, Tara Dower. (Outside Run/iRunFar)
And, if you missed the photos from the Broken Arrow race this past weekend: The 46km had to get called off in the middle of the race and ~390 people had to be evacuated off the mountain when it started to snow. And actually also because lightning hit one of the ski huts during the wild June storm. So. Next time you complain about something going crazy in triathlon, at least you weren’t stuck in a ski patrol hut in the snow for three hours with 90 other runners (like one of my friends was). (Instagram)
The Boston Marathon has a new qualification policy adding time adjustments for net downhill courses. Which, I dunno, I’m sort of currently tired of things where we make up some random calculation to decide what performance is equal to what other performance. Either take net downhill times or don’t. (Runner’s World)
UTMB also has a new sustainability travel policy — the goal of which is to minimize the race’s carbon footprint by incentivizing runners in the lottery to choose the lowest carbon option for travel. The problem, of course, is the overall structure of chasing “stones” to put in the lottery is fundamentally at odds with this goal. So maybe a reminder first to start with low-hanging fruit: You could drive a smaller car. Trail runners, I’m looking at you. (Outside Run)
And even though I know it’s a lot for Faith Kipyegon to go from a 4:07 mile to a sub-4:00, when she’s already the world record holder, I am so deeply invested in this Sub-4 effort tomorrow. Going off at 11 a.m. PT. Watch on Nike’s Youtube. Read about the science going into it and the original paper on the drafting benefits. Speculate wildly. I am 100% here for it. (New York Times/Amazon Prime/Youtube/National Geographic/Outside/Journal of Applied Physiology)
This also looks like a cool doc coming out of Western States. (Instagram)
And in this Who Cares Era, care. (Dan Sinker)
One last thing
I signed up to do a shakeout 5K tomorrow morning to support one of the groups here (you can do it virtually!) and then I remembered I can’t really run right now. So, gonna walk/jog my ass up and down the valley in the morning.
