We are clearly in a golden age of modern technology and innovation in the sports of trail running and ultrarunning. It seems like every other week, some new cool device, invention, or formula emerges to seemingly push the sport even further into the future.

As an experienced ultrarunner, I have had to learn to adapt to these changes and challenges while also sticking to my guns on the things I believe are at the core of the sport. As a result, I would like to share three modern changes I like and have embraced, and three I do not like and could do without.

Positive Changes

Shoes

The evolution in shoe technology has quite literally saved my running career. Due to four hip surgeries over the past decade, I have had to adapt my training and my body to a new reality. Advancements in foam technology, as well as carbon-plated shoes, have enabled me to continue to enjoy running even as my body has, from time to time, rebelled.

Nutrition

It was not too long ago that many of us struggled to figure out the eternal mystery of ultrarunning and nutrition. A decade or so ago, it seemed like everyone had an opinion of what worked and what didn’t, and there were no clear answers anywhere. Advances in science, as well as truly revolutionary research, have allowed the sports nutrition industry to dial in some current best practices for runners, even mid-to-back-of-the-packers like me, and eliminate much of the guesswork that once dominated the sport. While much research remains to be done in this area, progress has been great.

GPS Watches

Those of us who’ve been around for a while remember the days when the distance of most of our trail runs was simply a guesstimate. We often had to count on outdated U.S. Forest Service maps to give us just an inkling of how far we had to go to the next aid station. Not anymore! The advent of the GPS watch with pace-per-mile splits, maps, and other cool features — many of which I don’t understand — has given us a much truer sense of our training and racing and the tools we need to make it longer in the sport.

Negative Changes

Phones

If there is one thing about running that I have always cherished, it’s that it provides me a daily opportunity to get away from the distractions of life and focus solely on the task at hand. Unfortunately, these days, the ubiquitous cell phone provides nearly constant distraction, and as a result, I choose to never bring my phone with me when I run — unless it is required by the event I am participating in, or my wife makes me, and even then, I keep it turned off until I need it. When I tell people this, most folks look at me dumbfounded as they can’t imagine spending two to three hours on a Saturday morning untethered from their phones. As for me, I’ll take untethered any day!

Headphones

I understand that many people like to spend time on their runs listening to music or catching up on their favorite podcasts. Not me! I gave up using headphones while running long ago. Running gives me the opportunity to connect with my surroundings through all five senses. The sights, smells, and sounds I encounter while running on my favorite trail are what make the experience whole for me. Depriving myself of hearing birds chirping or the rushing river beside me lessens the experience and makes it incomplete.

Influencers

There is no doubt that social media has opened up the world of trail running and ultrarunning to a whole new population that may never have found it otherwise. Websites, podcasts, and videos provide would-be runners with an up-close-and-personal look at the sport that was, for years, mysterious and unreachable. Along the way, running influencers emerged and now have a disproportionate impact on the sport’s social media. While I understand the commercial value these folks bring to the sport, I can’t help but long for the simpler days when the influencing took place in person, out on the trails, or around the campfire afterward.

Trust Me

And there you have it, my take on the pros and cons of modern technology and innovation in trail running and ultrarunning. Here’s hoping some of you can leave your phones behind, shed the headphones, and be influenced by what’s on the inside rather than all the noise on the outside. Trust me, it’s worked for decades!

Bottoms up!

AJW’s Beer of the Week

This week’s Beer of the Week comes from Watertown Brewing Company in Watertown, South Dakota. Codington Cream Ale is a deliciously crisp take on a classic style, brewed with regional malt and a touch of corn. It is a surprisingly smooth, sweet cream ale perfect for any occasion.

Call for Comments

• What technological innovations from recent years do you love? What are some that you could do without?
• Do you agree with AJW’s pros and cons?

The Pros and Cons of Modern Technology and Innovation by Andy Jones-Wilkins.

On May 16, 2026, Finland’s Satu Lipiäinen set a new women’s 6-hour world record by running 85.712 kilometers (53.258 miles) at the 2026 Kokkola Ultra Run, held in her home country. She broke the previous world record, set in 2017 by Nele Alder-Baerens of Germany at 85.492 (53.122) kilometers, by 234 meters.

The Kokkola Ultra Run, held in the Finnish west-coast town of Kokkola, is an IAU Bronze Label race and featured 6-, 12-, and 24-hour races over the weekend. The record is currently pending ratification. Lipiäinen is no stranger to the course, as she set a new women’s 12-hour record at the same event in 2023.

Lipiäinen’s average pace was 4:12 minutes per kilometer (6:45 minutes per mile). Writing on her Instagram after the race, Lipiäinen explained that she was able to hold her goal pace of 4:00 minutes per kilometer for the first couple of hours, and she completed the first marathon in 2:50. The next few hours were difficult for Lipiäinen as she struggled with her energy levels and started to lose confidence in setting a new world record. In the final hour, realizing that she was feeling better, she increased her effort again to secure the record. Telling of the effort, she said, “The final hour was spent in some kind of flow state.”

Reflecting on the effort, she said, “The world record was the goal, and I knew it was within reach. However, there are so many variables in ultrarunning, and six hours is a brutal discipline in that there is no room for mistakes. Even now, you could calculate that, for example, a one-minute toilet break would have cost me the record.” She went on to say, “Although the result is not a surprise to me, it feels really good to run an almost perfect race; those are rare in ultrarunning.”

The record shows a return to form for Lipiäinen, who became a mother on the last day of 2024 and seemed to step back from racing in 2025. In addition to her 2023 12-hour world record, Lipiäinen was fifth at the 2022 IAU 100k World Championships, running 7:15.

The Kokkola Ultra Run course is half gravel and half tarmac, measuring 862.7 meters and featuring about one meter of elevation gain per lap. Lipiäinen ran 99 laps of the course.

Full results.

Finland’s Satu Lipiäinen Sets Women’s 6-Hour World Record by Eszter Horanyi.

The first time I was given an out-of-competition drug test, I was teaching. We were in the middle of the Age of Exploration unit, and I was introducing my eighth-grade Medieval History class to Ferdinand Magellan. Like Magellan, I embarked on my own adventure into the unknown when two figures appeared outside my classroom — the Head of School and a doping control officer.

The officer escorted me down the hallway for a drug test in the faculty kitchen. I ground my teeth, worrying — not about the outcome of my drug test but about what my students would tell their parents at the end of the day: “Magellan died before the expedition was complete, and Mrs. Little was tested for drugs.”

I am now far removed from the days of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) surprise visitations. Retrospectively, I am grateful for the inconvenient, sometimes awkward, intrusions in my days. Clean sport is worth protecting. Because if running is not clean, then what is the point?

Integrity for the Non-Elite Runner

Over the past year, there has been a growing discourse about whether non-elite runners should be subject to the same ethical standards as elite-level and professional runners.

For example, does it matter if runners take performance-enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids or amphetamines, if they are unlikely to win a race (1)? This is not an abstract question. A recent U.K. Anti-Doping survey found that one-third of people in the U.K., ages 16 to 25, have purchased performance-enhancing drugs (2), and an estimated three to four million Americans use unregulated, unsupervised performance-enhancing drugs (3). These are significant numbers.

Banned supplements are nothing new in sports and fitness culture. However, we are currently seeing an increase in certain drugs among athletes. For example, anxieties about appearance, attributed to social media use, have contributed to the rise of anabolic-androgenic steroids in men (4). Also, certain drugs and supplements are advertised on social media as shortcuts to improve body composition, both to support sports performance and to satisfy aesthetic trends. Runners may be susceptible to these trends. According to a 2024 study, 16.3% of anonymous samples given by ultrarunners at an event tested positive for banned substances (5).

For those who care about clean sport, these statistics are worrying. If clean sport matters for runners within a sports culture in which performance-enhancing drugs are increasingly common (6), we should be able to defend its importance.

This is what I intend to do here. Here are five reasons why clean sport matters for the non-elite runner.

The Line Between Professional and Non-Professional Runners is Permeable

Last year, I had the chance to sit courtside at a basketball game. I was close enough that my shoes caught some sweat. When one of the taller players fell to the floor, my body shook with the impact. I felt like I was part of the spectacle, out there with the players. But let’s be clear; I was not.

This is a key difference between elite-level competition in running versus in other sports. In basketball, you don’t just hop onto the court with LeBron James. But in running, the masses line up alongside the professionals. Sure, many are significantly slower, but they run the same races on the same courses.

Runners receive placings continuous with the professionals, and there is often intermingling between the slowest professionals and the fastest amateurs. The competitive difference is one of degree, rather than kind.

In trail running and ultrarunning — where competitive density is lower, and there are fewer professional contracts — the intermingling of professional and non-professional runners happens all the time. The idea that there are two separate classes — those competing for podiums and those who are not — is absurd. When you line up to compete, you are in the race. Anything can happen.

This is the first case for maintaining consistent ethical norms. Without this consistency, we need separate placement categories, and we should desist comparisons between groups.

Racing is a Game, and Games Have Constraints

My husband and I do not like board games. If we are going to sit still, we would rather read. For this reason (and others), we were pleased to have found each other. We assumed that we would not have to play Monopoly again for the rest of our lives. Unfortunately, our kids are not on the same page. They are games people. So last week, we purchased our first family board game — Candyland.

A few hours later, we found ourselves sitting on the living room floor with our two flustered daughters. “You can’t just move your figurine anywhere you want,” I advised my three-year-old. “The rules are what make Candyland a cooperative social practice.”

Games are defined in two ways — positive and negative, or in terms of what you can do and what you can’t. In Candyland, you can move your piece to a yellow square if you choose a yellow card. You can’t move your piece to a yellow square if you select a purple card. You can move your own piece. You can’t move your sister’s piece. In the running context, you can race in sneakers, but you can’t wear rollerblades. You can eat a banana, but you can’t take EPO.

Oddly, limitations (or negative rules) are part of what makes games fun. In his 2020 book, “Games: Agency as Art,” C. Thi Nguyen describes limitations as a feature, rather than a bug, of games. Games are often limited by inefficient, narrow constraints or rules, and yes, under certain descriptions, these rules undermine our autonomy (7). We cannot do whatever we wish to do when we participate in a game. However, when we willingly enter a game, the rules can expose us to different forms of agency, or possibilities for exercising our wills.

Rules can also facilitate creativity. We strive and puzzle through how to improve, given our limitations. We honor our constraints, rather than begrudge them.

An example in running is that training volume and intensity are limited by the body’s recovery capacity. You can only perform so much work before it becomes unproductive. Often, the life of the runner consists of puzzling through how to accomplish more work in a week without flagging (hence, double thresholds and incorporating speedwork into long runs). If a runner suddenly starts taking EPO or other banned substances — such that her barriers to absorbing work are eliminated — sure, she can run more. However, this ceases to be the same game, involving the same puzzle of how to creatively strive within natural constraints. This runner is no different than the child taking double jumps in Candyland.

Performance-Enhancing Drugs May Pose Health Risks

If you dope, you may become ill. This is one of the reasons why drugs are often banned from sports in the first place (8).

For example, androgenic-anabolic steroids and steroid precursors can cause cancers, cardiovascular issues, psychosis, and liver damage (9). These drugs are often unregulated and taken without supervision, which can be dangerous (10). Many steroids have production issues such as contamination, product dosing inconsistencies, and hygiene concerns (11). EPO can cause heart attacks and strokes, and certain stimulants can cause tremors and heart issues (12).

A common reason why people run is to preserve good health. Doping can undermine this objective.

Runners Come From Somewhere

Before I ran professionally, I ran in local turkey trots and five-kilometer races. I was raised by a community of local runners who welcomed me into the sport and taught me how to compete well — to congratulate the person who beat me, to make new friends on the warm-up and cool down, and to run courses with integrity, rather than cutting corners or otherwise making the playing field unfair.

This is another reason why we should maintain consistent moral norms across non-professional and professional racing: Professional runners do not just materialize from thin air. They are introduced to the sport and mentored through the running community at large. If that community has a cavalier attitude toward drugs, or is broadly complicit in illicit supplementation, this makes compunctions around drugs less acute at all levels of the sport.

This will impact the posture of elites toward performance-enhancing drug use. Is this really what we want in an era of growing disillusionment with peak performances?

Striving is the Point

Consider why you joined the sport in the first place. Maybe you wanted to see what you were capable of — to do the best you possibly could, overcoming your perceived limitations.

This is the “spirit of sport.” It is an aesthetic value that captures something like the kindergarten spirit of play. You line up at recess and see who is the toughest or quickest, unaided and unenhanced. It is not a measurement of shoe technology or exogenous substances. It’s about people striving honestly together and being edified by the effort.

Incorporating drugs into this process — no matter how fast you are — undermines the process of edification. Cheating makes measures of progress meaningless and diminishes the transformative value of the sport.

Final Thoughts and a Call for Comments

So, if clean sport is worth defending, how should we enforce doping norms among the masses? Honestly, I am not sure we can. Doping control is expensive, and we already do a poor job of testing elites. Also, many people are prescribed banned drugs for therapeutic reasons. For example, a runner may be prescribed an inhaler for asthma or hormone replacement therapy to preserve bone health. It seems unrealistic to require that an amateur athlete submit a therapeutic use exemption to document their prescriptions for banned substances. This is a lot of paperwork, and it is unclear who would be responsible for reviewing it. So, where does this leave us? Should we just give up the idea of clean sport?

I think it is possible to support a norm (competing clean) without policing therapeutic and non-therapeutic drug use in non-elites. This should probably start with education about why doping is a problem — both for personal health and for the sport as a whole. Also, leaders in the running community could publicly advocate for clean sport.

A few years ago, the Clean Sport Collective invited athletes to pledge to train and compete clean (13). Maybe we could start something like that to instruct runners about which actions are impermissible in competition and to generate enthusiasm and consensus for competing above reproach.

So, this is a modest proposal because I do not know how to fix things. I am thoroughly convinced that doping is not a healthy norm for the sport, but I do not know how we can feasibly defend clean sport. Any ideas?

[Editor’s Note: We know this is a sensitive topic, and we welcome discussion of this story in the comments section. Comments violating our comment policy, designed to foster constructive dialogue, will be removed. Thank you.]

Notes/References

1. Another question concerns whether it is acceptable for non-professional runners to race in shoes that violate World Athletics’ 40-millimeter maximum stack height. This is too much to undertake in a short article.
2. M. Lawton. 11 May 2026. Third of young people have bought ‘life-threatening’ performance-enhancing drugs. The Times. Web <https://www.thetimes.com/article/uk-anti-doping-young-people-performance-enhancing-drugs> Accessed 12 May 2026.
3. M. Hastings. 3 June 2025. Jacked: Rising use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs carries risks. University of Colorado Anschutz. Web <https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/jacked-rising-use-of-steroids-and-other-performance-enhancing-drugs-carries-risks> Accessed 12 May 2026.
4. Beos, N., Kemps, E., & Prichard, I. (2025). Relationships between social media, body image, physical activity, and anabolic-androgenic steroid use in men: A systematic review. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 26(1), 105–128.
5. Robach P, Trebes G, Buisson C, Mechin N, Mazzarino M, Garribba F, Roustit M, Quesada JL, Lefèvre B, Giardini G, DE Seigneux S, Botré F, Bouzat P. 2024. Prevalence of Drug Use in Ultraendurance Athletes. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 56(5): 828-838.
6. Dandoy, C., & Gereige, R. S. (2012). Performance-enhancing drugs. Pediatrics in review, 33(6), 265–272.
7. Nguyen, CT. 2020. Games: Agency as Art. Oxford University Press, 74-5.
8. See USADA. Effects of Performance-Enhancing Drugs. Web <https://www.usada.org/substances/effects-of-performance-enhancing-drugs/> Accessed 13 May 2026.
9. Dandoy, C., & Gereige, R. S. 2012; A. Al Hamid, L. Alomani, A. Aljuresan, W. Alahmad, Z. Alluwaim. 2025. Steroid and illicit drug abuse in the health and fitness community: A systematic review of evidence. Emerging Trends in Drugs, Addictions, and Health. 5: 100172.
10. M. Hastings. 3 June 2025.
11. Gibbs N. (2023). #Sponseredathlete: the marketing of image and performance enhancing drugs on Facebook and Instagram. Trends in organized crime, 1–40.
12. Mayo Clinic. 2023. Performance-enhancing drugs: Know the risks. The Mayo Clinic. Web <https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/performance-enhancing-drugs/art-20046134 > Accessed 12 May 2026.
13. USADA. “The Clean Sport Collective.” See https://www.usada.org/spirit-of-sport/five-voices-fighting-for-clean-sport/

The Ethics of the Non-Professional Runner by Sabrina Little.

For those looking for a high-mileage shoe that can transition seamlessly from roads to gentle trails, the Mount to Coast H1 ($160) has plenty of features that allow it to do just that. From the outsole with its low-profile lugs to an upper that locks in the foot without feeling stiff, this shoe uses aspects of both road and trail shoes to create a hybrid that can perform on a variety of terrains.

The road-to-trail category of shoes is growing rapidly, and the best options don’t feel like overkill on roads, yet can handle some trails. The Mount to Coast H1 runs this line well. With an actual weight of 8.5 ounces (242 grams) for a U.S. men’s size 9, it’s relatively light, especially considering the 35-millimeter stack height under the heel and 29 millimeters under the forefoot. The 6-millimeter drop allows it to excel both on roads and trails and accommodate a variety of runners.

iRunFar’s Travis Liles takes a detailed look at the Mount to Coast H1 from bottom to top in the video below.

Shop the Men's Mount to Coast H1Shop the Women's Mount to Coast H1

[Editor’s Note: Click here to watch the review on YouTube.]

Mount to Coast H1 Review Transcript

Hey, welcome to Trail Trials, the video review section of iRunFar.com. My name is Travis Liles, and in this video, we’re going to take a look at the Mount to Coast H1. Let’s check it out.

The H1 from Mount to Coast. H stands for hybrid. This shoe comes in at 8.5 ounces in a U.S. men’s size 9. It is 35 millimeters at the heel. It is 29 millimeters at the toe and uses an interesting foam midsole for durability. It has this dual-lacing system, and some lugs that sort of work on a lot of different terrain. Let’s get up close and personal. Let’s see what the shoe is all about.

Mount to Coast H1 Outsole

All right, let’s dig in and start with the Mount to Coast H1 outsole here. The outsole on a hybrid shoe is generally not going to have the lug depth profile that you might want or expect on a full-bore trail running shoe, and that’s exactly what you’re getting here.

You do have the patterning of a trail running shoe and what you hope to have there. You’ve got rear-facing lugs here in the back to catch dirt when you’re braking going downhill. Then you’ve got forward-facing lugs here in the front when you’re going uphill and want to grip. They’re not that deep, only about two millimeters in depth. You can see that these are slightly worn down, because I do wear them on the road. That said, this has held up really well. I think durability-wise, this is positive for these shoes.

The big thing to note here is that the goal is to get out the front door, run on some road, get on some dirt trail, maybe get on some gravel, and then come back around on that loop. And this is the type of shoe that you can wear for that whole thing, and I absolutely agree it does really well for that. I put it through some different conditions, got into really nasty snow and rock and wet stuff, and I would say it performed admirably. Much better than a road shoe or some other hybrid shoes that I’ve worn. I think some of that is the patterning, but when you really want grip and are getting out in the muck, this is not the outsole for that. But that’s the point of the shoe, really, to be a little bit of everything without going too far. It’s a shoe that you can have with you and do anything, including road running. And these lugs definitely don’t get in the way of that.

Just one comment on the compound here: This is something called VersaGrip. This is Mount to Coast’s own proprietary system. They have other shoes where they use Vibram, specifically in the Mount to Coast T1. This does not. This has VersaGrip, but again, works well across a lot of variety of conditions. Its biggest downfall is going to be lug depth. But again, you know what you’re getting into because this is marketed as a hybrid shoe.

Mount to Coast H1 Midsole

I think where the Mount to Coast H1 really does well on that hybrid place is here in the middle. I mentioned a 6-millimeter drop, so it’s not too high, it’s not too low. It’s got enough of a drop for trail and not feeling off balance and off kilter, but it’s also low enough to the ground that you do get a little more feel than something that’s got a really tall wedge on it, and technical terrain might make you bounce from one side to the other.

This uses something called CircleCELL, which is a supercritical type of foam. This is made from recycled material. What really stands out on this is the bounce. Just squeezing on this shoe, you really get a rebound-y type of feel. You can see, without much pressure from my thumb and fingers, that it’s really pushing into the shoe. It’s squishy. It moves around really well. It does provide a pretty decent amount of protection, given the thickness of this foam to absorb when you’re on rough and rocky terrain, but it flows really nicely as well.

This is supposed to hold up over a long distance, and not just long single distance, but over a long amount of time. This is a shoe that, even in the box, tells you right out of the gate: This is a shoe that’s meant to last a long time. It has a really nice feel. It feels springy. It feels lively. It’s lively enough to use on a road run and get turnover and move fast. And it’s also, I think, squishy enough that when you’re running on more rocky types of terrain, that it’s absorbing and doesn’t make your feet tired. A really good, let’s call it a unicorn midsole, that can do a lot for you. Again, as a hybrid shoe, that’s a super good point that it’s able to hit. And I would say this midsole does a really fine job of doing that.

Mount to Coast H1 Upper

Continuing on to the Mount to Coast H1 upper. Again, Mount to Coast did a really smart job in the way they assembled all of this. The upper really has some various components that I think all mesh well together. Part of that is more of this engineered jacquard upper up here at the top by the laces. So more of a new type of material. But then, as you go down, it starts to get into more of the classic materials: rubber overlay in these high-abrasion areas, a little denser mesh in some of these lower parts of the shoe. It’s able to take some of these, I’d say, old-school techniques as well as new-school techniques, and kind of mesh those things together.

You have an upper that feels modern, that feels locked down. It’s not too stretchy. A lot of 3D mesh uppers get too stretchy, and they stretch out, and they don’t really lock your foot in. That may be fine for a road shoe, but not fine for a trail shoe. They brought those two or three types of patterns together to really give you, I think, the best of everything, or at least examples of ways to do that. By giving you high abrasion resistance here at the front of the toe, you get a decent toe bumper. Here at the front, you’ve got mostly regular types of mesh that are sturdy, and it feels like it’s going to hold up. You’ve got more of this soft, modern upper part around the laces. And it all comes together to do what I think is a fairly good job of locking your foot down, with the upper not being too baggy and too loose and too stretchy. It’s got just the right amount in all these places.

One of the ways that they do that is with this lacing system. On top of having these various materials, they’re also giving you this lacing option. All of their shoes have this dual lacing. This one comes with laces built in at the top, and then quick-laces here at the bottom. It also comes with another set of laces so you can cut these out, and you can lace up tops and bottoms. Once you cut this, though, they’re done. I made that mistake on another pair. What this does is really allows you to kind of lock in that bottom part of the shoe, and then adjust the top depending on the type of run that you’re doing. What I found worked well for road running was that I never touched this. I mainly just adjusted this one up here. And then for trail running, when I’m getting ready to do a downhill, I might pull on this and bring this down, and not touch the upper part of the lacing. That’s going to be something to fiddle with.

In this type of hybrid, do-everything shoe, I think giving you a couple of lacing options is a pretty interesting way to do that. From the tongue standpoint, you can see a little bit in here. It’s not really gusseted. It’s more of just a stay that keeps the tongue from falling to one side or the other.

And from a midsole standpoint, nothing too exciting here. Just a kind of a standard sock liner. Really, the bulk of your cushioning, the bulk of your everything, is this midsole, the star of the show.

Mount to Coast H1 Overall Impressions

In closing. I think the Mount to Coast H1 is a really good overall shoe for a hybrid shoe. I did a lot of things in the shoe: a lot of road running, trail running on some very basic buffed-out trails in the Forest Park of Portland, which tends to be softer ground dirt, and as the season goes on, hard dirt, but not a lot of technical. I’ve worn this shoe in the snow. I’ve worn this shoe over technical terrain, uphill, steep downhills, and it’s got its place, and it’s not the more technical, at least for my liking. That said, it actually performed better than I thought it would. Its only major downside is the lug depth, which, again, this shoe is meant to be a hybrid shoe, not an everything shoe. In that snow, I wish I would have had the T1, which is the trail version of this shoe with deeper lugs, kind of more cleats. Those would have been a better fit for it.

But in terms of durability, it’s held up really well. If you followed the Burrito League last year, there’s actually a piece of paper in the box that comes out and tells you: This is the shoe that Jamil Coury wore for 600 of the 700-plus miles. It holds up well, seems to have its bounce, and it comes in at a pretty decent price point compared to a lot of the shoes on the market. My only thing is: I just don’t care for the dual lacing system. In fact, on the T1s, I cut all this out and just put regular laces in it. But your mileage may vary on that. It is nice for just a quick adjustment, but you adjust twice instead of just once. A more tailored fit, but more fiddling, is what I found. Again, your mileage may vary. If you’re looking for a hybrid shoe, something that can do a lot of everything, this is a good use case. I actually take mine traveling quite a bit, because I can run on roads if I’m in Chicago and I can’t get to the trail, or New York. Or if I’m somewhere even more interesting, I can also just have this and bust out and get on a trail run really easily. And it sort of works in both of those. It’s most at home to me on buffed out smooth trail or even a little bit of gravel hard-pack. This shoe really excels on that type of terrain.

So, questions, comments? Have you checked out Mount to Coast yet? Which versions? This is the hybrid version. I think you’re going to get a lot of mileage out of it. No pun intended, but that is actually what they’re trying to do with it. Questions? comments? Leave those below the video. Thanks for watching. We’ll catch you next time.

Shop the Men's Mount to Coast H1Shop the Women's Mount to Coast H1

Call for Comments

• Have you tried the Mount to Coast H1? What did you think?
• What are your thoughts on the current wave of hybrid running shoes?

Our Favorite Road-to-Trail Running Shoes

Check out our Best Road-to-Trail Running Shoes article to learn about our current favorite hybrid running shoes!

Mount to Coast H1 Review by Travis Liles.

Gear up for your next adventures and save during this seasonal sale. Backcountry is a one-stop shop to gear up for a summer full of runs, hikes, and more.

Like most holiday sales, the deals start early. The Backcountry Memorial Day Sale runs from May 15 to May 25. Most of the deals below are live now, but check back on May 22 when even more brand deals kick in.

We combed through Backcountry’s sale inventory to find deals we think you’d like, especially on running gear. We picked out several items from brands we trust or have tested ourselves. Many inventories are limited, so if you see something you like, take action.

Summit Club+ Members Save More

For additional savings, you can join the Summit Club+ for $49 per year. Members can get 10% cashback on purchases at Backcountry.com, including big-ticket and sale items. It’s a great way to get the most from your Memorial Day shopping.

Outdoor enthusiasts can use this holiday sale to stock up for the summer and beyond. Whether you’re building a kit for a new activity or refreshing a current one, that extra 10% back turns good deals into great ones.

Running Shoes and Apparel on Sale at Backcountry.com

Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED Sapphire: From $850 (Up to 23% Off)

The Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED Sapphire is a premium watch that combines the best tech from Garmin’s different models to offer a colorful, crisp display and top-end tracking features that multisport athletes will get the most from. For starters, the adaptive AMOLED display is bright and easy to read on both sunny and overcast days. It also has a red shift mode to preserve night vision.

In addition to Garmin’s display prowess, the watch runs SatIQ, which adjusts satellite reception for the most accurate location recording without draining the battery. Our testers found the watch had enough battery for about 65 hours of real-world use.

The fēnix 8 also has a built-in LED flashlight, one of several operations that can be triggered by voice commands. The watch can integrate with your phone’s voice assistant, letting you use the watch to send texts, make calls, or check the weather forecast.

Learn more in our in-depth Garmin fēnix 8 review. Note, the Sapphire model shares the same tech as the standard fēnix 8 but has a more scratch-resistant glass display and a titanium bezel that’s lighter and more durable.

Altra Timp 6 — Men’s & Women’s: $124 (25% Off)

The Altra Timp 6 is a max-cushion, zero-drop trail running shoe. It’s made for comfort and long distances on varied terrain, from loose dirt to muddy switchbacks. Small updates to this shoe provide a more evolved fit for increased comfort and added durability in the mesh upper. Consider this shoe for long runs or fastpacking trips where comfort and cushion matter.

The shoe’s cushion largely comes from Altra’s EGO MAX midsole foam, which gives the shoe a 30-millimeter stack height. The Vibram Megagrip outsole has had tweaks to the lug pattern and cutouts for greater traction and flexibility.

Learn more in our in-depth Altra Timp 6 review.

Shop Men’sShop Women’s

Outdoor Research Helium UL Jacket — Men’s: $169 (25% Off)

The Outdoor Research Helium UL Jacket is a more substantial, yet lighter version of the brand’s popular Helium rain jacket. It has a Toray Dermizax 3D 2.75-layer shell to ward off moisture when the weather turns wet. Storm-ready features include a brimmed, adjustable hood and shaped cuffs, and it stuffs into its own chest pocket for compact storage. At just 5.7 ounces, this is a must-pack layer for foul-weather runs and fastpacking missions.

For more rain jacket options, take a look at iRunFar’s Best Running Rain Jackets guide.

The North Face Adventure Sun Hoodie — Women’s: $49 (25% Off)

We all get the basic performance expectations of a sun hoodie, but The North Face Women’s Adventure Sun Hoodie does everything well. The hoodie’s FlashDry-XD fabric quickly wicks moisture away from the skin to keep you cool while its UPF 40+ rating helps protect you from the sun. It’s made from 92% recycled polyester.

The hoodie has raglan sleeves for ease of movement, a three-piece hood for coverage, and thumbholes to keep the sleeves in place while covering part of your hand.

Check out more options in iRunFar’s Best Sun Shirts for Running roundup.

Outdoor Research Echo Long-Sleeve Tee — Men’s: $64 (25% Off)

Sunscreen has its place, but it needs reapplication and can get messy when mixed with sweat. That’s not the case with a sun hoodie, and the Outdoor Research Echo Long Sleeve Tee is one of the lightest, most breathable ones out there. Weighing only 5.2 ounces, it offers light sun protection with its UPF 15 rating, which is good for wearing on runs and shorter hikes.

Outdoor Research uses its AirVent recycled polyester fabric for exceptional wicking and airflow. The shirt has movement-friendly raglan sleeves and flat seams to prevent chafing while wearing a pack. A hood offers sun protection for your neck and ears while scooping some air in as well. Lastly, the shirt’s cuffs cover the wrist, and the thumb-holes help the shirt stay put on the run.

The shirt’s lightweight breathability has earned it a spot in iRunFar’s Best Sun Shirts for Running guide.

Nike Pegasus Premium — Women’s: From $136 (Up to 35% Off)

Certain styles of the women’s Nike Pegasus Premium running shoe are on sale, offsetting that premium price tag. This take on the all-time classic Pegasus combines three of Nike’s premium cushioning technologies: full-length ZoomX foam, an Air Zoom unit, and ReactX foam. The combo makes for a stable but responsive ride for base training miles and fartleks alike. These upscale trainers also have a comfortable lining, a breezy upper, and a rubber outsole that grips in wet and dry conditions.

We bet these won’t last long, so if you’re on the fence about getting a pair, just do it.

Smartwool Run Zero Cushion Ankle Sock: From $14 (Up to 30% Off)

For daily miles in summer heat, the Smartwool Run Zero Cushion Ankle Sock maximizes wicking and ventilation while still providing thermoregulation and odor control. This ultralight wool-blend sock has mapped mesh zones, smoothed toe seams, and a performance fit that help it stay in place through all those miles.

Smartwool has several other styles of running socks on sale, too.

Altra Escalante 4 — Men’s & Women’s: $98 (25% Off)

With the Altra Escalante 4, the brand pays homage to the popular Escalante 1.5 shoe with the familiar footbed and Altra EGO midsole foam. With a lighter-weight outsole, the Escalante 4 has increased flexibility and weighs less than its predecessor.

The new engineered knit upper offers a sock-like feel, and this low-cushion, zero-drop shoe has the brand’s original FootShape fit. As you’d expect from Altra, there’s a roomy toebox, though maybe slimmer than past iterations.

Altra fans will welcome the “return” to this straightforward take on a minimalist road shoe and should choose the Escalante 4 for short to moderate training runs or walks.

Shop Men’s Shop Women’s

La Sportiva Bushido III — Men’s & Women’s: $120 (25% Off)

The La Sportiva Bushido III is a firmly cushioned, stable trail running shoe that offers lateral protection with its reinforced upper. This third version has a wider and higher-volume toebox. With a super-grippy outsole and 4-millimeter lugs, this shoe is at home on steep, technical terrain. Our tester also praised the shoe’s nimble feel underfoot, saying: “With the same 19-millimeter heel and 13-millimeter forefoot stack height for a 6-millimeter drop as its predecessors, the Bushido III in many ways feels fairly minimalistic.”

La Sportiva doesn’t mess with a good thing with annual updates, so for loyalists of the Bushido line of trail running shoes, here’s a great chance to re-up. You’ll find other La Sportiva footwear on sale, too.

Read our full La Sportiva Bushido III review for more details.

Shop Men’s Shop Women’s

Leki Ultratrail FX.One: $165 (25% off)

Ultrarunning combines speed and endurance, which are the guiding principles of the Leki Ultratrail FX.One. These fold-away carbon poles combine lightweight stability with Leki’s innovative grip technology.

They have a four-section design that packs down to 33 centimeters in the smallest model. A push-button triggers the folding and setup of the poles. Each fixed-length pole has a 16-millimeter carbon shaft.

A standout feature of these poles is the grips. Designed specifically for trail running, the Trail Shark system foregoes a strap for a glove-like mesh strap to bolster the pole’s power transfer. An ergonomic nose on the lower grip offers other hand positions for precision and stability on trails.

[Editor’s Note: This article is sponsored by Backcountry. iRunFar chose the products and wrote their descriptions based on our opinions. Thank you to Backcountry for its sponsorship of iRunFar, which helps to make iRunFar happen and is free for all to enjoy. Learn more about our sponsored articles.]

Save on Running Gear at the 2026 Backcountry Memorial Day Sale by Sponsored Post.