Canada’s Défi des Couleurs event hosted the Mountain Running World Cup Final races, and in California, the Kodiak Ultramarathons was the UTMB World Series Americas Major.

Fast finishes at the Yeti 100 Mile race in Virginia were among the weekend highlights too.

Défi des Couleurs – Beaupré, Québec, Canada

It was the final weekend for this year’s Mountain Running World Cup with Uphill and Up and Down races on back-to-back days.

Uphill

The race gained almost 800 meters over five kilometers in distance, and it was also the Canadian Mountain Running Championships. World Cup prize money paid $2,500 CAD to the winner.

The men’s race was a repeat of 2025, with Meikael Beaudoin-Rousseau (U.S.) and Remi Leroux (Canada) again finishing first and second. The pair finished in 28:55 and 29:04, and didn’t quite match their 28:06 and 28:25 finishes of a year ago. Cam Smith (U.S.) was third in 29:12.

The men’s top 10 was:

1. Meikael Beaudoin-Rousseau (U.S.) – 28:55
2. Remi Leroux (Canada) – 29:04
3. Cam Smith (U.S.) – 29:12
4. Philemon Kiriago (Kenya) – 29:19
5. Andrea Elia (Italy) – 29:22
6. Edward Hobbs (U.K.) – 29:41
7. Adam Sjolund (U.S.) – 29:51
8. Tiziano Moia (Italy) – 30:10
9. Casey Campbell (U.S.) – 30:12
10. Jeremiah Vaille (U.S.) – 30:12

Last year’s double mountain running world champion Nina Engelhard (Germany) dominated the women’s race and won by nearly two minutes in 31:43. Kirsty Skye Dickson (U.K.) finished just ahead of Erin Moyer (U.S.) for second in 33:32 and 33:44.

The top 10 women were:

1. Nina Engelhard (Germany) – 31:43
2. Kirsty Skye Dickson (U.K.) – 33:32
3. Erin Moyer (U.S.) – 33:44
4. Nélie Clément (France) – 34:39
5. Céline Aebi (Switzerland) – 34:43
6. Anne-Marie Comeau (Canada) – 34:52
7. Selina Burch (Switzerland) – 34:54
8. Joyce Njeru (Kenya) – 35:03
9. Élisa Morin (Canada) – 35:15
10. Stephanie Bruce (U.S.) – 35:26

Up and Down

The next-day race went 16k in distance with 1,200 meters of climbing, and there was again a World Cup first-place $2,500 CAD prize.

A day after finishing just off the podium, Philemon Kiriago (Kenya) went to an early lead in his favored Up and Down discipline. Kiriago led all of it, but he never really got away from Mason Coppi (U.S.) and the two both finished in 1:11 with Coppi only 19 seconds behind. Coppi was 14th in the day before’s Uphill race.

Host country runner Remi Leroux scored his second podium of the weekend with a 1:13 third-place run.

The top 10 men were:

1. Philemon Kiriago (Kenya) – 1:11:24
2. Mason Coppi (U.S.) – 1:11:43
3. Remi Leroux (Canada) – 1:13:21
4. Brayan Rodríguez (Mexico) – 1:15:02
5. Adam Sjolund (U.S.) – 1:15:06
6. Tiziano Moia (Italy) – 1:15:09
7. Paul Knight (U.S.) – 1:15:55
8. Casey Campbell (U.S.) – 1:16:06
9. Edward Hobbs (U.K.) – 1:16:28
10. Luca Merli (Italy) – 1:17:14

Nina Engelhard opened a gap on the race’s first climb and never looked back. She won for the second time on the weekend with a 1:20 finish time that was over three minutes better than everyone else.

Joyce Njeru (Kenya) overtook Nélie Clément (France) on the race’s last downhill to score a six-second gap and runner-up finish in 1:23. Clément also finished in 1:23.

The top 10 women were:

1. Nina Engelhard (Germany) – 1:20:35
2. Joyce Njeru (Kenya) – 1:23:45
3. Nélie Clément (France) – 1:23:51
4. Arianna Dentis (Italy) – 1:27:09
5. Erin Moyer (U.S.) – 1:27:11
6. Céline Aebi (Switzerland) – 1:27:14
7. Tayler Peavey (U.S.) – 1:28:11
8. Eden O’Dea (U.K.) – 1:28:12
9. Maya Rayle (U.S.) – 1:29:09
10. Rena Schwartz (U.S.) – 1:29:46

Full results.

Kodiak Ultramarathons by UTMB – Big Bear Lake, California

The event was the UTMB World Series Americas Major, and the courses went, in part, around Big Bear Lake. Each of the 100-mile, 100k, and 50k races had a 24,500 Euro prize purse, with 5,000 Euro awarded to the winners.

100 Mile

Just 24 years old, Cody Poskin has already had a big year, and it got even better. He was second at the Cocodona 250 Mile in May and won the Wyoming Range 100 Mile in August, among at least four other ultra finishes, and Poskin won here in 16:46 and led all of the race. Alex Proctor ran in second for all of the second half and finished there in 17:23, and this year’s Badwater 135 Mile winner and course record holder Max Joliffe was third in 18:15.

A pair of Canadians led the women’s race with Nichole Abma and Madeline Wighardt atop the podium in 20:43 and 22:05, and Charlotte Saunders was third in 22:39.

100k

Less than two minutes separated men’s frontrunners Jose Angel Fernandez (Spain) and Gavin Prior in 8:33 and 8:35, and Stephen Kersh was third in 8:59.

A breakout year for Lotti Brinks kept going with a women’s win in 10:15. This year’s High Lonesome 100 Mile winner and course record holder Becca Bramley was second in 10:25, and Lindsay Allison was only three minutes back in 10:28 for third.

50k

It was a big win against a competitive field for Cole Campbell in 3:20. Miquel Corbera (Spain) and Cade Michael were on the podium next in 3:23 and 3:27, and Eli Hemming and Chad Hall were fourth and fifth in 3:27 and 3:28.

Anna Gibson made her 50k distance debut and beat the 4-hour mark by 47 seconds. She won the women’s race in 3:59. Everyone else was close too, with Carmen Graves and Elizabeth O’Connor running 4:04 and 4:06, and Abby Hall and Ashley Brasovan were fourth and fifth in 4:08 and 4:10, respectively.

Full results.

Additional Races and Runs

Middle Fork Trail Run 50k – North Bend, Washington

The event featured four different race distances, and Tyler Mitchell and Kealan McNally won the 50k in 4:54 and 5:13, respectively. Full results.

Defiance 50k – Point Defiance, Washington

The Point Defiance race was run on 10-mile loops, and Elliott Epstein and Lindsay Skinner won in 4:31 and 5:25. Full results.

Rainbow Ridge 50k – Rainbow, Oregon

The second-year race had over 8,000 feet of climbing. Matthew Barnhart won the men’s race in 5:20, and Elyria Kabasenche repeated as women’s winner in 7:54. Full results.

Ruth Anderson – San Francisco, California

The race was contested on a 4.5-mile loop. Max Kam and Shana O’Shea won the 50 miler in 6:34 and 9:30, and Nick Tsotu and Janne Heinonen were fastest in the 50k in 2:59 and 3:43. Full results.

Antelope Island Fall Classic – Syracuse, Utah

The longtime race had a first-year 68k distance that went to the top of the island’s high point, Frary Peak, and Scott Dickey and Kayla Wheeldon won the long course in 6:44 and 7:41. Caleb Olson and Alexandra Audu led the 50k in 3:42 and 5:05, and Anthony Costales and Anna Braithwaite won the 10 miler in 1:01 and 1:18. Full results.

Moab 240 Mile – Moab, Utah

Mother Nature ruled the desert days, with the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel. Earlier in the weekend, waves of storms battered the course and runners, at first requiring a permanent halt for about 70 runners who couldn’t get past a creek that was flash-flooding after the 100-mile mark. Then, the whole race itself was called off on Sunday. As far as we understand, despite the severe weather and aid stations being isolated by the extreme conditions, everyone has been safely evacuated back to Moab with the help of local emergency services. Live tracking.

Chicago Marathon – Chicago, Illinois

Both 50k world record holders raced the World Marathon Major. CJ Albertson was 13th in 2:07:19, and Des Linden ran 3:10:10 as part of a training run for the Javelina 100 Mile. Ultrarunner Dominika Stelmach (Poland) was 47th in 2:44:24, too. Did you notice any other trail runners and ultrarunners in the results? Full results.

Canal Corridor 100 Mile – Akron, Ohio

It was the 10th year for the flat and fast race, mostly on the Ohio & Erie Canalway. Austin Lo and Cheridan Christnacht won in 15:17 and 23:10. There were daytime Front 50 Miles and nighttime Back 50 Miles races too that were won by Carson Steiner and Christine Churpek in 6:40 and 8:59, and Bruce Holbert and Krystal Johnson in 9:51 and 10:26, respectively. Full results.

Indiana Trail 100 Mile – Albion, Indiana

At Chain O’Lakes State Park, Matthew Cooper and Brenda Johnson won in 16:02 and 17:47. Daniel Hogg and Roxanne Carr were 50-mile winners in 6:47 and 8:20. Full results.

Oil Creek 100 Mile – Titusville, Pennsylvania

The race was in the Oil Creek State Park and was won by Steven Larick and Danica Williams in 19:58 and 25:13. Full results.

West Virginia Trilogy – Circleville, West Virginia

The three-day stage races had days of 50k, 50-mile, and half marathon races around Spruce Knob, West Virginia’s highest peak. Jordan Chang and Robin Wrightson won the 50k in 4:57 and 6:23, and Chang and Jessica Bryzek won the 50 miler in 9:06 and 11:48. Full results.

Yeti 100 Mile – Abingdon, Virginia

The 12th annual race was on the Virginia Creeper Trail, and Joshua Lecrone and Janessa Taylor were flying. Lecrone won the men’s race and set a new course record in 12:52, and Taylor won the women’s race and set a new course record in 14:59. Lecrone’s time is the year’s second-fastest 100 miler by an American man, and Taylor’s time ranks third best among American women. It was also Taylor’s first 100 miler since 2022. The second-place runners were William Weidman and Whitney Richman in 13:49 and 15:42. Full results.

Wolverine State 100 Mile – Petoskey, Michigan

The race went point to point and lake to lake across the state from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron. Dustin Parrish was the men’s winner in 16:42, and Michelle Searcy was the women’s and overall winner in 15:45. Full results.

Can Lake 50 Ultras – Canandaigua, New York

The race around Canandaigua Lake had Joel Silvernail and Stephanie Campbell as 50-mile winners in 7:25 and 8:40, and Martin Michelson and Yvette Kenny won the 50k in 4:31 and 4:21. Full results.

Call for Comments

What else was happening over the weekend?

This Week In Running: October 12, 2026 by Justin Mock.

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

– Dr. Suess

In 2011, on October 14, I introduced my first column on iRunFar:

“Greetings, iRunFar Nation! Andy Jones-Wilkins here welcoming you to a new feature here at iRunFar called “AJW’s Taproom.” This bi-weekly column will be an editorial voice for iRunFar and will be published every other Friday beginning today. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and ideas about ultramarathon running and to stimulate lively discussion along the way.”

Bryon Powell, the founder of iRunFar and long-time Editor-in-Chief (now, joyfully retired from that role), offered the following as a postscript to that first column:

“I’m psyched to announce the addition of a good friend and great person to the iRunFar team. Andy Jones-Wilkins (I’m told that’s his real name) is and has been a great voice and spokesman in the ultrarunning world for a while and, now, he’ll share some of his ruminations on the sport in editorial format here at iRunFar.”

Today, after 15 years of writing here on iRunFar three or four times a month, I am closing the book on this chapter of my life. It was one of the most fulfilling and soul-enriching things I have ever done.

The decision to close the Taproom after 15 years has not been an easy one, and I have gone back and forth multiple times about how, when, and why to do so. In the end, however, it just feels to me that, as the leaves fall from the trees and before winter sets in, it’s time to cozy up by the fire and move on to other things.

Through 600 articles over the past 15 years, I have obsessively written about my favorite race, the Western States 100, reflected on the history and tradition of ultrarunning, opined on a wide range of aspects of trail running and ultrarunning culture, and written extensively on running and aging. I have penned an annual article series about race directors, ultrarunners of the year, under-the-radar races, and legendary aid stations. I like to think that in recent years, I have provided readers with ways to connect the past to the future of my beloved sport while doing so in only a mildly curmudgeonly way.

Bryon and Meghan Hicks have provided a home for my voice. Consistently giving me full editorial freedom, Bryon and Meghan have allowed me to present my authentic self week after week, month after month, year after year. For that extraordinary gift, I am forever grateful. Put simply, iRunFar has given me my voice.

Turning the page on this special period in my life comes with a fair bit of melancholy but also with a healthy dose of hope. Looking ahead, I am keen to do the best I can in my new favorite job as a grandpa. With my granddaughter Kelly Jo turning two in February and twin grandkids arriving in March, our family is getting busy, and I don’t intend to miss any of it. It’s true what everyone says: Being a grandparent changes everything.

Additionally, I have been increasingly called upon to help bring the trail running and ultrarunning community together. Through racing, podcasting, speaking, and coaching, I seem to be more involved than ever in the sport that I love, and connecting people for a shared purpose is one of the great loves of my life.

Finally, as I have intimated in this space over the last several years, I would like to finally sit down and write my book. My 83-year-old mother, Joan Anderson, is herself a bestselling author, and I hope to write my book while she can still help me. So, in the next year in particular, I plan to focus closely on that task. Here is the prologue to the manuscript as it stands today:

Blowing Out the Carbon

Legendary University of Oregon track star Steve Prefontaine had an unorthodox and successful pre-race custom. Typically, a few days before a major track meet, Pre would head over to the historic Hayward Field track in his adopted hometown of Eugene, Oregon, and run a single, all-out, four-minute mile. Not sanctioned by his coach or even backed by science, Pre simply did that, as he liked to say, to “blow out the carbon.”

These hard, pre-race runs were, to Pre’s way of thinking, a way to flush out his system both literally and figuratively. A firm believer in high-risk/high-reward, Pre felt that “blowing out the carbon” in the crucial days before a big race put him in a better place not only physically but also emotionally, psychologically, and perhaps even spiritually. This commitment to pouring himself fully into whatever he did made Pre an inspiration to an entire generation.

In looking back over my four decades on the run, Pre’s concept resonates with me as I seek to reconcile my love of running with the rest of my life. How often do we need to blow out the carbon in our relationships, our jobs, and our lives? When does the time come for us to flush out the system with a good, old-fashioned, full-throttle cleanse? And, perhaps most significantly, how does the cathartic act of blowing out the carbon not only make us better runners but also better people?

This book is about running and living. Divided into four distinct parts — vulnerability, balance, authenticity, and transcendence — each chapter attempts to connect the dots between running and life and, in the process, tells the story of one man’s lifelong effort to “blow out the carbon.”

And with that, dear readers, the Taproom is closed. I look forward to seeing you out there, wherever that may be. And, until then, for one final time:

Bottoms Up!

AJW’s Beer of the Week

This week’s Beer of the Week comes from Lawson’s Finest Liquids in Waitsfield, Vermont. While I typically don’t repeat beer reviews, I am making an exception for my last one. Sip of Sunshine IPA is my favorite beer in the world. Flowery, not bitter, with a smooth aftertaste, Sip of Sunshine is true to its name. As for me, I hope I have given you all just a little sip of sunshine on Fridays over the years.

Call for Comments

Please join us in saying goodbye to AJW’s Taproom in whatever way you see fit!

A Note from Your Editor-in-Chief

As they say, everything has its endpoint, and that’s even the case with iRunFar’s longest-running column, AJW’s Taproom. We are so honored to have hosted AJW’s voice on these pages and are grateful for how he’s encouraged each of us to broaden our perspectives, become better versions of ourselves on and off the trail, celebrate tradition, just plain be joyful about the act of running, and much more. AJW, thank you! -Meghan

Last Call at AJW’s Taproom by Andy Jones-Wilkins.

The Hoka Tecton X 4 ($275), launched in August 2026, is the latest version in the Tecton X family. This maximally cushioned trail running and racing shoe features parallel carbon plates, a knit ankle gaiter, and a grippy Vibram Megagrip Litebase outsole. New for Tecton X 4 are updates to its lacing system, the Matryx upper material, and its carbon plate structure.

I’ve run in each of the four primary versions of the Tecton X, and though I initially rolled my eyes at the addition of the knit gaiter to the third iteration, I continue to love running in this shoe. It’s light and bouncy, yet stable and secure on technical trails. If you’ve enjoyed this shoe line in the past, and especially if you loved the Hoka Tecton X 3 (review), you’ll likely be pleased with this one as well. It’s a pricey investment, but it’s one of the best trail and ultra racing shoes currently available, and it’s just plain fun to wear.

The Hoka Tecton X 4 has an actual weight of 9.3 ounces (263 grams) in a U.S. men’s size 9. It has a 39-millimeter stack height at the heel in the women’s shoe, and a 40-millimeter stack height in the men’s shoe, with a 5-millimeter heel-to-toe drop. Its 4-millimeter lug depth is unchanged from the previous version.

You can find the Tecton X 4 in both our Best Trail Running Shoes and Best Cushioned Trail Running Shoes guides.

Shop the Women's Hoka Tecton X 4Shop the Men's Hoka Tecton X 4

Hoka Tecton X 4 Upper

The Hoka Tecton X 4 upper features Matryx textiles, as have previous versions of this shoe, but with an update. The new upper incorporates Matryx Micro, which blends high-tenacity and technical yarns, including Kevlar, to create an ultralight and abrasion-resistant material. The Micro version of the material has smaller perforations without compromising on breathability. Additionally, each thread of the woven material is coated in polyurethane (rather than coating the fabric as a whole), which further enhances its breathability while adding strength, structure, and water resistance. Indeed, the material feels thin and porous, but it is also structured and durable.

The heel is slightly stiffer and feels supportive, and a stretchy fabric over the toebox allows the forefoot to flex. The overall fit of the shoe is snug and secure, especially through the midfoot and heel. Thanks to the thin mesh upper, the shoe also drained very quickly after mid-run swims during the heat of summer.

Another minor change to the upper is the lacing system, particularly the addition of a lace-lock eyelet. This second lace hole at the top of the tongue is a common design in running shoes and allows for a lacing option that more securely locks down the heel and prevents slipping. The Tecton X 3 didn’t have a lace-lock eyelet.

The rest of the upper design remains largely unchanged, including the knit ankle gaiter, which was introduced with the Tecton X 3. While the gaiter might alienate some runners, and makes the shoe a little more difficult to put on, it is effective at keeping debris from collecting inside the shoe.

Hoka Tecton X 4 Midsole

The primary change to the Hoka Tecton X 4 midsole comes to the parallel carbon fiber plates, which are sandwiched between two layers of ultralight foam. Hoka has evolved the carbon plate design in each edition of the Tecton X to improve stability and forward propulsion. Once again, the brand fine tuned the plate design for better performance. Perhaps Hoka’s elite athletes could detect subtle differences from this change. I could not, though I have continued to experience a fantastic balance of responsiveness and stability in this latest version.

This is a highly cushioned shoe, with 39 millimeters of heel stack height in the women’s shoe and 40 millimeters in the men’s. The stack height and five-millimeter heel-to-toe drop are unchanged from the Tecton X 3. The dual-layer PEBA midsole foam is exceptionally lightweight and bouncy, with a high energy return and responsive feel. This thermoplastic polymer compound is found in many road and trail running super shoes. It’s fancy, and it’s part of what drives up the cost of these shoes. Although this type of foam is potentially less durable than traditional EVA midsole foam, I put more than 340 miles on the Tecton X 3 before I began to notice a decline in the shoe’s responsiveness. With nearly 100 miles on the Tecton X 4, the shoe still looks and feels new, and it’s my go-to for daily runs and workouts.

Hoka Tecton X 4 Outsole

The Hoka Tecton X 4 outsole did not receive significant updates from the previous version. It incorporates a Vibram Megagrip compound, which is known for durability and providing excellent traction on loose dirt, talus, wet rocks, and muddy trails — without being too heavy thanks to its Litebase construction. Additionally, the 4-millimeter lugs feature Vibram Traction Lug technology, which uses tiny bumps around each lug to increase surface area and improve grip.

My experience with past and current Tecton X running shoes is that they perform very well on just about any surface. I often run from my house, transitioning from asphalt to gravel to dirt, and the outsole never feels clunky or sticky. My favorite trails frequently involve steep, technical sections with loose rock, scree, water crossings, and patches of snow. This summer was very hot, and many of my daily runs involved at least one dunk in the river. The Tecton X 4 performed well enough in all of these conditions that I never really gave my footing much thought.

Hoka Tecton X 4 Overall Impressions

The Hoka Tecton X 4 is one of the most enjoyable shoes I’ve run in this year. Although it’s designed for racing or running fast over technical mountain trails, and it’s a worthy investment for these purposes, it’s also a great shoe for everyday running on any surface. This is a comfortable, highly cushioned, and lightweight shoe that makes running feel effortless. Its nimble responsiveness and bouncy energy return make it very fun on steep, rocky trails. Its secure midfoot lockdown and reliable traction boost confidence and make you want to push the pace on any type of trail, yet it’s a great option for easy days and recovery runs, too.

At the same time, not every runner wants so much cushion underfoot, and the trade-off is that you can’t feel the ground as much as you would in a lower stack shoe. Additionally, the ankle gaiter will deter some runners, and those with a high instep may get frustrated while tugging this shoe on. Finally, the Tecton X 4 is expensive for an everyday running shoe, and it’s truly overkill for your daily neighborhood loop. That said, if your running goals include ultra distances in the mountains, this shoe will work well for all of your training miles and your race or other objective.

Shop the Women's Hoka Tecton X 4Shop the Men's Hoka Tecton X 4

Call for Comments

• Have you run in the Hoka Tecton X 4 or any of its predecessors? What did you think?
• What’s your favorite trail running shoe?

Our Favorite Trail Running Shoes

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

Hoka Tecton X 4 Review by Alli Miles.

Meet Nicholas Triolo, a trail runner and writer whose work you have likely heard of. He has been an editor for Outside Run and Trail Runner, Orion, and currently Magic Canoe. Nick is a deep thinker and just last year wrote a book, “The Way Around: A Field Guide to Going Nowhere.”

Running, as much as writing, is a part of his daily practice and less about seeking an end result and more about a way to see and experience the world. If you’re into the philosophical underpinnings of movement and looking at them from a different angle, you will likely enjoy Nick’s perspective. It’s one that I hope the running world will pay attention to. I met Nick several years ago, the only time I’ve ever been to the U.S. East Coast, and I continue to enjoy following his wanderings and words. Without further ado, here is Nicholas Triolo:

When and how did you start writing and running?

I’m a writer, runner, educator, and editor currently living in Missoula, Montana. I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and the western slope of the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Writing came to me because of sound, really. I loved the rapping propulsion of my grandfather’s typewriter when we’d go visit him. I’d disappear at their house, hijack his office, and type up outrageous stories to read at family dinner. It would evolve into some travel writing and a blog (remember those?) that I maintained for quite some time. More than that, though, I think my love for writing came from a love for reading. (Any writer worth their weight in salt reads voraciously.) I started with whatever brought me alive, which, of course, were Goosebumps. In high school, I would be thoroughly rocked by “Crime and Punishment,” which would mark a huge sea change for me and my understanding of what writing could do to plumb the innermost psyche.

Running never made sense to me as an activity unto itself. At first, anyway. I grew up in a family of tennis players (my mother competed at Wimbledon, U.S. Open, French Open, etc., so my older brother and I grew up playing tennis, baseball, soccer, etc.). Running was always to sharpen the saw for something else. I remember a family friend was an ultrarunner and had run the American River 50 Mile, and had been involved in this entirely psychotic thing called the Western States 100, and between those seeds and coming across, wait for it, Dean Karnazes having pizza delivered to him while running, long-distance running was placed on my map. Also, I grew up backpacking a fair amount, and my knuckleheaded adolescence always looked for ways to go faster, go lighter, jump higher. Running in the mountains for hours or days with little else but a water bottle and sugar was a natural fit.

But the real kicker for getting into running, however, was moving to Portland, Oregon, in 2007 and befriending Joe Grant, and later, Yassine Diboun. These two incredible humans and athletes express-routed me into the world of 50ks, 50 milers, 100ks, and eventually 100 milers. (Including running that “psychotic” race, the Western States 100.) But most importantly, their friendship got me a direct relationship with the living world, the wilderness areas, for extended periods of time, which I still thank them for regularly.

How are trail running, writing, and circumambulation linked for you?

Creativity and movement have always been interwoven for me. Go out, come back. Pay attention. Share what you find. I’ve been writing my whole life, but publicly for an audience for about 20 years now. In my early twenties, I always dreamt of being a Lonely Planet writer or something, heading deep into distant locales and writing about them and having someone pay me for it. But then, when I got into running long distances, the whole experience and community were so new and raw, so wild and bizarre, that I started to really try and capture what was coming up for me. So in a way, I kept up feeding some curiosity for travel — and still do a lot of it! — but it became more about foot travel and interior travel, more than requiring some conceit of going outward, to other continents. The novelty and awe and surprise lived right here. Metatarsals as passports.

Are there any writers/movers who have inspired you?

Oh god, so many. Everyone’s sick of how much I love Robert Macfarlane. I had the chance to run trails and climb Mount Hood with him this spring, which was a dream. He’s a stout runner! Haruki Murakami, Ben Gibbard, Helen Whybrow, Brendan Leonard, Hanif Abdurraqib, Daegan Miller, Rickey Gates. Joe Grant. Forest Woodward. Leath Tonino. I’m missing a ton of writer-mover folks in my life, but I do have this dream of curating a literary running anthology. (Any publishers out there? Let’s talk.)

Has anywhere you’ve traveled had an impact on how you see the world?

Cop-out alert, but I’d argue that everywhere I’ve lived and traveled has shaped the lens by which I see the world; from running several hours around downtown urban Los Angeles to recently returning from a huge mountain running trip in Ladakh, I come back from all these experiences changed and stirred in some way.

Landscapes that have really stuck with me, though, were joining on a stage-race trip to Antarctica a few years ago, running the 80-plus miles around Peru’s Cordillera Huayhuash, joining Rickey Gates for a hut-to-hut trip in Colorado, running a 50k in the mountain jungles of Chiang Mai, and guiding the 93-mile Wonderland Trail for several years. I also spent a few years living in New England, working for Orion Magazine, and getting up into the White Mountains. The Pemi Loop is one of my favorite long days ever (or two days, as my partner and I did for my birthday last year, overnighting in a hut). I actually have a strange homesickness for that part of the world, those trails, that air. Growing up in the Sierra Nevada foothills and living in Montana now, I know and love big landscapes well, but the more subtle magic of the New England backcountry really makes my skin tingle.

What does your relationship to running look like these days?

My relationship is interesting. Generally, I have very little interest in racing or competing anymore — my last race was an attempt to run a 50k fueled only on one apple fritter wedged in my shorts. It didn’t end well.

I still move every day, 30 to 50 miles per week with three strength workouts, but it really feels like a “practice” these days, something hygienic, something that doesn’t quite have hard and fast goals attached to them, in the immediate, anyway. Maybe the goals are just working on a different timeline now. I want to be active and clear-headed and clear-hearted and pliable my whole life, curious and open to seasonal changes — charting when mountain blue birds return, how the northern harriers are drifting on the fence post run in the North Hills — stuff like that. I said to someone recently that I’ll probably try for another 100-mile race in the next several years, but I don’t know when, or where, or how. It’s taken me a long time to say this with any sense of confidence, but I’m actually in a very solid relationship with my body and my home wilds right now, and I don’t want to really fuck that up, you know?

What does your creative process generally look like?

I do adhere to a fairly blue-collar approach to writing. I’m not a naturally gifted writer, didn’t grow up in an overly academic household, but, as mentioned, did read voraciously early on. When I’m home, I typically wake up early, like 5 a.m. or 6 a.m., make an unreasonable amount of coffee, try to meditate or just be quiet for a few minutes, sketch a plan for the day, then hit my timer for three hours, place my phone far from my writing desk, and I start to write. It could be whatever: a book project, letters, a Substack newsletter, essays, handwritten (bad) poetry. It matters less what it is, but rather that I start my day focused on making art, pursuing truth and beauty. The night before, I’ll actually write down a list of the top three things I need to be writing, and so when I get to the desk in my strung-out haze, I know where to direct my attention on the page. By 10 a.m. I’m tweaky-famished and hunt for a scone or something, and then go run in the hills. The rest of the day is bonus.

What are you reading these days?

I just finished “Beginning Middle End,” a wonderful novel by Valeria Luiselli. Must-read. I also just cracked “Martyr!” by Kaveh Akbar, and, for nonfiction, “Timefulness” by Marcia Bjornerud. I also just started “Erratica,” a climbing memoir by Brian Laidlaw; we’ll be paired up for a few book events this fall to celebrate his book and my paperback release, both with Milkweed Editions. I’m always excited about several books at once: novels, nonfiction, magazine articles, poetry.

If you could go for a walk with anyone in the world right now, who would it be?

Rebecca Solnit.

Any places you’re hoping to run or circumambulate someday?

My mother just died this spring, and her fondest memories were traveling through South Africa to play professional tennis, but really, her love was for wild places and big animals and big unmodified landscapes. So I dream of getting down there, meeting my South African friends for runs on their home turf, and taking a pinch of my mother’s ashes with me.

Do you have any advice for writers trying to get their work out there?

Work on being a person, first. (I think that’s stolen from advice Barbara Kingsolver gave when asked a similar question, but fully co-sign.) Read more than you are. Read not just to read but to fall in love with the song and spellcasting of language. Think of it as a courtship. Revision is everything, which is another way of saying that patience is everything. Study, find mentors, surround yourself with writers you admire. Connecting running here, I think that’s how I got so quickly into ultrarunning. I had no business ultrarunning, but after befriending Joe and Yassine and others, I was express-routed into running for 50 to 100 miles at a time, going from never having run 10 miles to finishing the Western States 100 in 2012. That’s not because I have any talent, but because I had such a wonderful and generous community, guidance, and mentorship. Paired with discipline, of course. I have this pink Post-It note on my writing desk that I look at every day, which says: “You do the thing by doing the thing.”

If you could be a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

Monkey puzzle.

Call for Comments

• Do you have a Nicholas Triolo story you could share with us?
• Who are your writer-mover inspirations?

Nicholas Triolo and the Art of Running by Hannah Green.

Amazfit might be the busiest brand in running watches these days when it comes to releasing new models, and the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra ($600) is the pure running watch in the family. Fresh off testing the Amazfit T-Rex Ultra 2 —which we include in our updated Best GPS Running Watches guide — the Cheetah 2 Ultra feels like the slightly smaller, streamlined device I’ve been waiting for from the brand.

Unlike many other high-end GPS watches built for adventure, the Cheetah 2 Ultra puts much less emphasis on tracking other sports; there are no wild claims about its submersion depth in water, for example. It’s oriented around your experience running: maps and navigation, training metrics, durability, and battery life. To me, it’s their most successful watch to date — even more so than the flashy road-running-targeted Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro in terms of accuracy, features, and aesthetics.

Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra Build and Design

The Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra finds a niche in being both highly functional and more elegant than many other GPS watches, especially any previous Amazfit. If the T-Rex Ultra 2 was more Garmin Enduro, the Cheetah 2 Ultra is more Garmin Forerunner 970 (review). While it’s not quite as light as the Forerunner 970, it’s certainly not the wrist-swallowing, adventure-gulping size and footprint of an Enduro or the T-Rex Ultra 2.

At $600, the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra — coming from a brand once thought of as the budget alternative to Garmin and Suunto — starts to demand a more scrutinizing eye. Does a GPS watch for trail running need to look good at the dinner table, too? The answer is no, but many watches suffer from a real lack of all-day wearability. Around your colleagues at work or your non-running friends, you might not want an 8,000-meter-peak-expedition computer on your wrist when all you really want is to record your morning run and then just tell the time the rest of the day. On this front, the Cheetah 2 Ultra is exceptional.

With the Cheetah 2 Ultra, you get a tidier case than the T-Rex Ultra 2, but with the same Grade 5 titanium and sapphire display as its heartier siblings, a detail that will give trail runners confidence when tripping or colliding with rock or other hazards. There is no plastic anywhere on the external frame, and even the buttons are titanium. It gives the watch a huge aesthetic boost compared to nearly any GPS running watch I’ve tested, particularly other Amazfit devices that suffer from a Casio G-Shock vibe.

That refinement extends to how you interact with the watch day to day. Voice activation lets you start a run, set a nap timer, or trigger a countdown without button-pushing through menus — it’s a useful feature when you’re standing at a trailhead in gloves or half-asleep for an alpine start.

The AMOLED display is incredibly vibrant at 1.5 inches and 3,000 nits — the watch handles the transition from darkened canyons to exposed saddles extremely well. It’s part of what makes the display so striking — it’s just so damn bright, and in this case, that’s unambiguously a good thing.

Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra Battery

The slightly smaller Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra case doesn’t cost you battery life. Amazfit claims 33 hours in Trail Running mode on the Cheetah 2 Ultra, which is three hours more than the T-Rex Ultra 2, and nothing in my testing gave me reason to doubt it.

With a couple of two-hour runs per week, bookended by daily one-hour outings with everything activated — dual-frequency, all-satellite GPS, heart rate, always-on display, and full day/night health suite tracking — I found I was only reaching for the charger every ten days or so. That kind of endurance in daily use is one of the watch’s best qualities; you stop thinking about battery life entirely, which is exactly what you want from a tool you’re supposed to depend on.

The Cheetah 2 Ultra also includes a flashlight with four levels of white brightness, plus a red light option, so the early starts and late finishes that eat into the battery are at least well-lit ones.

Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra Navigation and GPS

Like most $500 to $700 GPS running watches that aren’t Garmins, the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra doesn’t come with pre-loaded maps. Instead, you can upload your route to Zepp, Amazfit’s app, and it will download only the maps around your route. This results in a smaller, faster file transfer than downloading an entire state’s worth of maps. For me, transfer times were about four to six minutes, and this system makes better use of the watch’s 64 GB of onboard storage.

While navigating routes, I found the Cheetah 2 Ultra GPS chipset and mapping to be simply phenomenal. With navigation alerts activated, it can predict switchback turns with pinpoint accuracy just meters before you approach them. The watch includes a dual-band GPS chipset that uses all six satellite systems, giving the most reliable coverage possible in remote terrain with mixed sky exposure. This has become an industry standard for trail running watches.

The one frustration came during interval sessions. When I hit the lap button, the watch can take a beat to catch up, so the first few seconds of a new split often drag the average pace down. This didn’t happen on every split, and it’s not a dealbreaker for trail use — and it’s likely fixable by a firmware update in the future — but it’s worth noting if intervals are a big part of your training.

Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra Trail Features and Metrics

Some trail runners would rather not have the gory intricacies of their route on full display six hours into a mountain run — but should you want all the details, the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra has the tools for it.

Running power, lactate threshold, and recovery tracking keep tabs on how hard you’re actually working versus how hard it feels. While these are great, the feature that stood out most is the Elevation Overview, which color-codes slope difficulty across the entire route. It’s the kind of feature that sounds like a spec-sheet detail until you’re depending on it in a race or deep into a long run, deciding whether to push or conserve on the next climb.

Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra Overall Impressions

At $600, the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra won’t dethrone the Garmin Forerunner 970 on raw feature depth or GPS accuracy, but it matches it on price while offering something Garmin still hasn’t cracked: a watch that looks and feels genuinely refined on and off the trail.

The watch is Amazfit’s most serious bid yet for the premium trail running market — and it’s largely pulling it off.  If you’re already in the Amazfit ecosystem, this is an easy call. If you’re not, the Cheetah 2 Ultra is the first Amazfit I’d recommend to bring you into the fold.

Our Favorite GPS Running Watches

Check out our Best GPS Running Watches guide to learn about our current favorite GPS running watches for running!

Call for Comments

• Have you tried any Amazfit watches? What were your thoughts?
• What’s your go-to running watch at the moment?

Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra Review by Craig Randall.