Trailrunner

The 2026 USATF Mountain Running Teams have been named. The 19 athletes (some of the athletes will run multiple events on the team) hail from 11 states and range in age from 22 to 46. The teams will compete at the 2026 WMRA Mountain Running World Cup Finales. First up is the Long Distance Mountain Running World Cup Finale in Miedzybrodzie Bialskie, Poland, hosted by Maraton Trzech Jezior on September 19. The Course is 21.4K.

Since Mimmi Kotka first started trail running in 2011, the sport has certainly changed, but one of her greatest reasons for participating has remained the same—to adventure. Kotka, forty-four year old professional trail runner and sports nutritionist based in Åre, Sweden, has podiumed at the most competitive races in the world.

I have had a love affair with overalls for more than 50 years. When I was 13 years old, I asked my grandmother for a pair of overalls for Christmas. I was a barn rat and all the girls at the horse stables had overalls and I for sure wanted a pair too. Lucky for me, Grammy fulfilled my wishes that Christmas in 1973, and I too had a pair of denim overalls. Over the years, I wore my overalls to the barn, to school and around the house doing chores.

Bart Yasso, Runner’s World magazine’s former Chief Running Officer has a fondness for the trails, more so than most may realize. During his thirty-one years at Runner’s World, from 1987 to 2017, he traveled the world, and wore a race bib in over 1,200 of the 1,800 races he attended.

ATRA conducted a survey earlier this spring with a primary goal to better understand the needs and desires of trail race directors as our sport grows and changes. A summary of the results follow. Stats The majority of the nearly 200 respondents have been in the business of trail race directing for 2-10 years. Although the largest representation was in the sub-ultra distance (49%), a close second was ultra distance (43%).

The following release is published with permission by ATRA corporate member and event standards partner GU Energy Labs and features new flavors. BERKELEY, Calif. (June 25, 2026)— GU Energy Labs, a pioneer in sports nutrition, today announces two new flavors in the Liquid Energy family of fast-acting nutrition, ranging from mild to wild.

The following review was written by ATRA gear wrangler Sarah Barber and features the Altra Experience Wild 3+ trail running shoe and wander collaboration. Product was provided at no charge for the test and review. It takes confidence to collaborate with another entity. Confidence in one’s own identity. Confidence that one won’t be overshadowed by the co-collaborator. Confidence that one plus one is something greater than two, because if it wasn’t, why bother collaborating?

The American Trail Running Association (ATRA) is pleased to announce the eight recipients of the Better Together Scholarships, each hailing from a different state. The scholarships provide eight new or aspiring race directors or event organizers with funding to cover their registration fee, travel and accommodation expenses, up to a maximum of $1,800 per recipient, to attend the US Trail Running Conference in Nashville, TN, from November 5-7.

The following release is published with permission from the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) and features results from the June 21 International U18 Mountain Running Cup. Featured photo courtesy: Giovanni Cuna. Seventeen nations gathered in southern Italy for one of the most important youth mountain running events of the year, with rising athletes tested by heat, pressure and the demands of international competition.

The following release is published with permission from the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) and features results from the Broken Arrow 23K on Sunday, June 21. Featured photo courtesy: Christian Rizzi/WMRA. Philemon Ombogo Kiriago (KEN) and Madalina Florea (ROU) claimed victory at Palisades Tahoe, CA, as the Broken Arrow 23K delivered race seven of the 2026 WMRA Mountain Running World Cup in demanding heat, altitude and technical terrain.