PLACE BALMAT, CHAMONIX, FRANCE.
AUGUST 30, 2003. 4:00 A.M.

Americans Krissy Moehl, Brandon Sybrowsky, and Topher Gaylord begin their 100-mile loop around Mont Blanc on a dark and stormy night.

What was the course like? What happened out there? And how did Krissy end up winning the inaugural running of what has become an iconic ultramarathon when she had never run 100 miles before in her life?

We bring you the story of the first UTMB from Doug Mayer’s new book, The Race that Changed Running: The Inside Story of UTMB. Part one… the trail around Mont Blanc.

This week, Buzz and Corrine chat about Buzz’s skyrace experience in Norway. Then Corrine interviews Zoë Rom and Tina Muir about their new book, Becoming a Sustainable Runner: A Guide to Running for Life, Community, and Planet. 

“A healthy planet depends on your thriving and your community’s thriving. Your running depends on a healthy planet and a healthy community. A healthy community depends on healthy individuals and a healthy planet to exist,” said Zoë.  

And Buzz answers questions from Scott on pickle juice and mustard and talks to race director Samuel Hartman about why ultrarunning is not in the Olympics. 

When the trailhead calls, we always listen. We lace up our trail shoes, strap on our headlamps, adjust our hydration vests, and go. Enter Currex RUNPRO Insoles. Highly customized and available in low, medium, and high arch profiles, they help prevent injury, enhance performance, and provide unequaled comfort. Featuring a flexible arch that provides the right amount of rigidity, RUNPRO insoles create extreme sensory stimulation and midfoot guidance on impact. Then, when released, they return the stored energy to the foot. This reduces stress on joints, ligaments, and tendons to keep you running mile after mile.

Take 10% off your next order at currex.us when you use code ULTRASIGNUP10.

⬆️ When that run felt amazing until you get into the shower post run and you realize how badly you’ve chafed ?  ⬆️

⚙️ Great Gear: A couple days ago, we took the new Black Diamond Distance 1500 headlamp on a nighttime adventure run that turned into an epic. It not only withstood hours of driving rain but provided enough boost light (1500 lumens!) to keep us on track when visibility was scarce. This head torch and the GPS maps on our Garmin Enduro 2, frankly, saved our hides in nasty, no-viz weather. ?

? Going Long: Mario Fraioli interviews Andy Wacker, the founder of The Trail Team, about their mission to independently support and develop rising athletes into the best professional trail runners in the world.

❤️ ⛰️ ⛰ Amore Montagnes: Hillary Gerardi wrote a love letter to Trofeo Kima, a race in the Italian Alps which is considered one of the most challenging skyrunning races in the world, and one that has helped her define herself as a runner. It’s “a race that’s not on the trail. It’s in the mountains,” as she puts it. See for yourself in the accompanying video. ️

? Video of the Week: With UTMB on the horizon, watch a 20-year-old Kílian Jornet give an interview while running (and dominating) his first UTMB in 2008.

? Fast(er)packing: Hikers are leaving their conventional supportive boots behind for lighter trail-running shoes. One of our favorite contributors here at UltraSignup, Heather Balogh Rochfort, has the story for the Wall Street Journal. ?

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