It’s almost 2025! As trail running, mountain running, and ultrarunning grow and evolve, we at iRunFar evolve alongside and continually find new ways to serve you, our readers. As we close out 2024, we take a moment to reflect on this year for iRunFar.
This year, we were honored to step into the role of media partner with the World Mountain Running Association. We used the opportunity to delve more deeply into mountain running through news stories, in-person race coverage, and athlete profiles.
The year 2024 was another big year for our ever-evolving team. After stepping back as Editor-in-Chief just last year, our Founding Editor Bryon Powell stepped back up to the plate, alongside editor and writer Eszter Horanyi, to cover the Managing Editor role during my maternity leave from March through July. Bryon continues to lead our team of gear reviewers, ensuring we stay on top of all the latest innovations in the sport. Meghan Hicks, now in her second year as Editor-in-Chief, has steered our ship throughout this busy year.
Under the leadership of Nathan Allen, who has become a vital team member since his appointment last year, our buyer’s guide division has continued to grow and be your go-to for any gear questions.
Lance Hartzler also grew as our social media and marketing coordinator and has done a great job ensuring that all we publish on iRunFar reaches your screens no matter the time of day — or night.
As always, we thank you, our readers, for being with us through another year; without you, there would be no iRunFar.
And thanks so much to the individuals and companies who support iRunFar financially. Supporting iRunFar helps us expand our coverage of the sport we love.
Read on for a few highlights from iRunFar in 2024, and let us know in the comments section what your standout iRunFar picks are for the year.
P.S.: If you’d like to look back, here are our best-of articles from 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
iRunFar in 2024, by Numbers
Here’s what our year looks like in numbers:
- This year, iRunFar was a 57-person team.
- In 2024, we produced 512 articles and 61 videos to inform and entertain you.
- We did in-person coverage at four events this year — the Western States 100, Hardrock 100, UTMB, and Mountain Running World Cup Finals.
The start of the 2024 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Education
Education is at the heart of iRunFar. We believe an equipped runner will enjoy the sport more, and we endeavor to create articles to help you train, plan for your next race, recover that niggle, and more.
- This year, our Running the Numbers column saw some changes with the appointment of Zander Chase as co-columnist alongside Mallory Richard. The two have worked together very cohesively, and it’s been great to have two contrasting voices in the column. This year, readers enjoyed Zander’s article Fast, Faster, Fastest: Decoding the Data Behind Appalachian Trail FKTs, and Mallory’s A Data-Driven Environmental Scan of the Trail and Ultra Coaching Industry.
- A standalone article from our regular contributor Eryn Barber, Three Plyometric Exercises for Endurance Runners, proved popular with our readers.
- This year, we finished republishing the best of Ian Torrence’s coaching articles. His article, Running Periodization: It Isn’t Rocket Science, was particularly well received.
- Coach and pro runner Gabe Joyes joined the iRunFar team this year, bringing his knowledge and wit to the Ask Gabe column. You all really enjoyed his article about strength training, running food, and more.
- Joe Uhan’s Stay the Course column continues to be a valuable resource for injury prevention and management. This year, many of you appreciated how he addressed a common problem in Tight Hamstrings? Try This Three-Dimensional Thigh Mobilization!
- Adrian Stott continues to be our go-to for road and track ultrarunning expertise. Recently, many of you enjoyed his article A Brief History of the IAU 100k World Championships, which we published days before the 2024 championships.
- Justin Mock starts the week right with his regular This Week in Running column, which is a part of many of our readers’ Monday morning rituals. Justin brings us a good mix of results from the biggest ultra, trail, and mountain races, some smaller grassroots events, and the odd standout result by trail runners on the road and track.
- We were honored to work with scientists and writers Johanna Ohm and Brady Burgess on their article Investigation: Lab Tests Confirm Spring Energy Misrepresents Carbs and Calories, 7 Other Brands Have Accurate Labels, which added data to the community conversation of holding the company Spring Energy accountable to its misrepresentation of the nutritional content of some of their products.
- Outside our onsite race coverage, we regularly publish results articles from the sport’s most competitive races, like our articles from Sierre-Zinal, the Comrades Marathon, Transgrancanaria, and the Black Canyon 100k.
A chilly start to the 2024 Black Canyon 100k. All photos: Jesse Ellis/Let’s Wander Photography
Inspiration
Inspiration is hugely important in running. It can motivate us to keep going when things get tough and help us find our why. This year, as always, we published a lot of inspirational content on iRunFar. Here are some of the best bits.
- Sabrina Little’s thoughtful column The Examined Run offers a different perspective on running-related matters. Her article A Case Against Supershoes generated a lot of interest and debate, with strong opinions in favor of and against her argument that supershoes have been detrimental to running.
- This year, our long-standing writer Hannah Green began a new column, The Art of Running, where she interviews various artists and runners. So far, she has profiled artists of many different genres, and readers particularly enjoyed her interview with photographer Mike Thurk.
Photo: Mike Thurk
- Bryon Powell has continued his monthly column where he keeps us up to date with what’s happening in his running and life. His article, In Praise of (Ultrarunning) Experience, resonated with many, and celebrated the benefits of many years of experience, which can counteract the effects of aging.
- AJW’s Taproom continues into its 13th year, and through his series of articles on running and aging, lifelong runner Andy Jones-Wilkins offers his perspective and advice on matters affecting older runners. Many found his article The Art of Walking useful.
- Through his monthly column, runner Zach Miller offers us pearls of wisdom gained through his years of experience at the top end of the sport, through all its highs and lows. One important message he had for us this year was delivered through his article Digging Holes and Stopping Trains: The Need For Regular Recovery During Training.
- While road and mountain runner Rebecca Cheptegei’s passing was an unnecessary tragedy, we are so grateful to be able to publish a moving poem in her honor, penned by Angie Funtanilla.
Interviews and Profiles
- Late this year, Morgan Tilton passed on the authorship of the WeRunFar column to Eszter Horanyi. We are grateful to Morgan for her excellent writing through the years, and for shining the spotlight on people in the sport who perhaps don’t get all the recognition they deserve. Your favorite WeRunFar articles this year were ‘Women Are Not Small Men:’ Dr. Stacy Sims and the Women’s Endurance Sports Revolution and a profile of William Barkan, the first legally blind runner to cover the Western States 100 course, which he did in 2024.
- I have continued my column The Long Game, which profiles runners at the top of the sport, which Bryon Powell and Eszter Horanyi co-authored during my maternity leave. This year, we aimed to expand our coverage of mountain running, and as part of that, I interviewed Kenyan mountain runner Philemon Kiriago and gained a fascinating insight into his training and mentality. Bryon Powell and Eszter Horanyi’s profile of Spanish trail runner Manuel Merillas was also a great read.
- Bryon Powell’s post-race interview with Ludovic Pommeret after his course-record-setting win at the 2024 Hardrock 100, just days before his 49th birthday, inspired many.
- Katie Schide had a stellar year in 2024, winning both the Western States 100 and UTMB — setting a course record at the latter — and Meghan Hicks was there to interview her post-race for both.
- One of the standout ultrarunning results of 2024 has to be Courtney Olsen’s 50-mile world record. I had the privilege of interviewing her in the days after, and found that she is as funny as she is fast!
- This year at the Western States 100, iRunFar had a surprise guest interviewer, in the form of former women’s course record holder Ellie Greenwood. A revered name in Western States 100 history, Ellie’s presence behind the mic certainly added some nuance to the interviews, and even left 2023 and 2024 third-place woman Eszter Csillag a little star-struck!
Courtney Olsen with Tunnel Hill 50 Mile race director, Steve Durbin. Photo: Micki Colson, Colson Photography
Photography
Particularly with so many of the races we cover taking place in breathtaking locations, you can’t tell the story with words alone! Showcasing excellent photography is also a huge part of what we do. Here are some of the photo highlights of 2024.
Jasmin Paris became the first woman finisher of the Barkley Marathons at the event’s 2024 edition, with 99 seconds to spare. Photographer Howie Stern took this incredible photo of her finish. Photo: Howie Stern
A splendid fall view on Bryon Powell’s last long run before racing the 2024 Ultra Gobi. Photo: Bryon Powell
Vincent Bouillard on his way to winning the 2024 UTMB. Photo courtesy of UTMB.
The sun sets in Chamonix, France, while the 2024 UTMB takes place. Photo: Kirsten Kortebein
William Barkan is cheered home on the final stretch of the track at the 2024 Western States 100. While he missed the race’s 30-hour cutoff by a few seconds, he became the first legally blind person to cover the Western States 100 course. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Island Lake in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Photo: Zach Miller
Joyline Chepngeno closes in on the finish, as the 2024 Sierre-Zinal women’s winner. Photo: World Mountain Running Association/Marco Gulberti
A runner amidst the splendid scenery at one of the 2024 KAT 100 by UTMB races. Photo: UTMB
A yak cow and calf in the Bhutanese Himalayas before the start of the 2024 Snowman Race. Photo: Snowman Race/iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Meghan Hicks during a cold fall fastpacking trip in Utah’s canyon country. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Memories
Finally, our team shares some of their favorite memories of 2024.
Justin Mock
A few years ago, I never could’ve guessed that my dogs would visit Kosovo. But in July, I took a three-week, nine-country road trip from Central Europe through the Balkans with my two senior pups. Albania stands out as a highlight, definite lifetime memories!
Chuck and Elly on a dog friendly beach in Croatia. Photo: Justin Mock
Eszter Horanyi
While this was a year where I got to play many roles for iRunFar, ranging from gear editor to freelance writer to photographer, the highlight was getting to pose as part-time interim Managing Editor while Sarah Brady went on maternity leave for five months. I’d go so far as to call it a career highlight, after well over a decade of playing with words for a living. Working with such an amazing group of authors and iRunFar team members was nothing short of an amazing privilege, and I feel like my knowledge of all things writing, editing, and running increased 10-fold. And if there’s one thing that’s certain, I will never misspell Kilian or Salomon again!
Bryon Powell
My post-Hardrock 100 interviews were my directly work-related highlight of the year. I enjoyed all of them, but particularly chatting with Ludovic Pommeret and Jason Schlarb about aging and running, as they’re slightly older than and the same age as me, respectively. Even a decade ago, I’d seen women like Meghan Canfield and others running at the top of their game in their late 40s and early 50s, but it’s been inspiring to see a few men in the same age range excel more recently. It helps me keep my own aging process — and what it might look like — in perspective.
Now, from an iRunFar as an enabler perspective, there’s no way I would have been able to run the Ultra Gobi 250 Mile but for being at iRunFar. That set me up for a wonderful summer of inspired training adventures ahead of the race and then the run of my life at the race.
We are so happy that iRunFar’s own Bryon Powell was the 2024 Ultra Gobi 250 Mile men’s winner. Photo: Ultra Gobi
Meghan Hicks
I have a couple of core memories from iRunFar this past year. The first was becoming a media partner to the World Mountain Running Association, which governs mountain running and is part of World Athletics, running’s global federation. iRunFar believes strongly in the importance of federation-level sports management as a prong of a sport’s strategic development. We believe in using iRunFar to help advance the storytelling of federation-administered aspects of the sport, which is why I’m excited that our publication entered into this partnership.
My second core memory from 2024 is that, for a second time, the iRunFar team volunteered to help put on the Snowman Race in Bhutan. The Snowman Race takes place in Bhutan, one of the globe’s few carbon-negative countries, and travels through the high Himalayas, a mountain range whose landscapes and peoples are among the most impacted by climate change. In addition, the sport of running is nascent in Bhutan, a country most certainly filled with potential world-class athletes. The goals of the Snowman Race are multi-fold: to share the story of a carbon-negative nation, to explain how climate change unfairly impacts the country’s landscapes and people, and to connect Bhutan with the running world itself. iRunFar believes that running should be used to help progress other essential aspects of humanity. For over a decade, the iRunFar team has volunteered its platform, team, and resources to elevate people, places, and stories less represented in the running community. I am so pleased that one of iRunFar’s volunteerism focal points this year was this one.
Bhutan is a carbon-negative country whose landscapes and peoples are unfairly affected by climate change. iRunFar volunteered in 2024 at the Snowman Race, an event taking place in Bhutan meant to bring these stories to a wider audience. Photo: Snowman Race/iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Sarah Brady
For fear he will find and read this article in years to come, I can’t point to anything other than the birth of my son, Max, as my highlight of 2024.
But to bring it back to iRunFar, I relished the trip that Meghan Hicks and I took to Italy to cover the Mountain Running World Cup Finals. After a few years now of covering the world’s top ultramarathons and getting immersed in the media frenzy that exists around races like UTMB, the Western States 100, and the Trail World Championships, there was a refreshing grassroots feel to this World Mountain Running Association event. We had the opportunity and privilege to meet and interview a different set of athletes, excelling in a different corner of the sport. We got to grips with some logistical challenges to providing coverage of such fast-paced races — a vertical kilometer one day and a 23-kilometer trail race the next. Best of all, we had the opportunity to run every inch of the courses ourselves at a more leisurely pace — something that doesn’t happen during a hectic week of covering a 100-mile event.
In my running this year, I wanted a goal to get me moving again postpartum, but I knew it would be hard to find the time to drive out to the mountains, so I signed up for the Dublin Marathon at the end of October. Road running is far from my comfort zone, but immersing myself in a different kind of challenge was brilliant, and I even came away with a new personal best!
Managing Editor Sarah Brady on her way to the finish of the 2024 Dublin Marathon to achieve a new personal best for the distance. Photo: Richard Peyton
Call for Comments
- What was your favorite iRunFar content this year?
- What was the highlight of your 2024?
