Now that all the awards for 2022 have been announced, we’re left scratching our heads. What do we make of the proliferation of “best of” awards in trail and ultrarunning? This is the question Buzz Burrell tackles in his piece “The Best of the Best 2022.” In it, he looks at the different awards from across our sport, how they vote, and who they picked for 2022’s best.

In this new bonus podcast episode, our resident data analyst Matt Abbott walks us through how to analyze a 100-mile ultramarathon by inspecting watch data from a sample of 2022 Javelina Jundred participants. Along the way, we get the scoop from Riley Brady, Jon Rea, and Dakota Jones to help us better understand what actually happened on race day.

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😰 Eating Disorders in Athletics: Former Mount Marathon champion and Brooks pro runner Allie Ostrander trains for the Olympic Trials while documenting her battle with an eating disorder.

🍒 Recovery Drink or Snake Oil?: The research piled up on Alex Hutchinson’s desk until he was forced to take a look. Was tart cherry juice a new athletic recovery miracle? In his Outside article, we learn about “forest plots” and the effect of tart cherry juice on muscle recovery and inflammation.

🌱 Grassroots Uprising: Colorado’s High Lonesome 100 announced it would not accept UTMB finishes as qualifiers for its race, sparking an important discussion.

⬆️ Some days it’s hard to find motivation. Some days motivation finds you!

🎉 Festivus for the Rest of Us: The premier all-women adventure film festival comes to Denver Mar 3-4. No Man’s Land Film Festival celebrates the full scope of women and gender-nonconforming athletes. “We are not your average film festival,” says Executive Director, Kathy Karl.

🚋 Unionize It! A couple weeks ago we mentioned a new organization of professional trail and ultrarunning athletes. As the sport grows, they aim to lead the way on issues of doping, contract clarity, and race schedules. Here’s what it means for the future of the sport. 

✊🏿 Black History: “A book can be a portal into another perspective, allowing us to see others’ humanity, and in so doing, deepen our own.” Nneka McGuire at the WSJ provides the “12 Best Books for Black History Month.”

👩 Female Forward: Karl Meltzer’s Speedgoat Mountain Races by UTMB are the latest to gain the Trail Sisters stamp of approval. Here’s what that means:
– Equal Podium Spots
– Equal Prize Money & Awards
– Women’s specific swag & apparel
– Menstrual products at aid stations
– Equal opportunity/space for women on the starting line

⛷️ Ultra Formatted: Andrew Drummond, at Run the Whites, applied Laz’s Last Runner Standing format to his February ski race. Dirtbag Diaries has the story of the Last Skier Standing.

➡️  Lastly, here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this week.