It was another busy weekend of racing with high profile events taking place on at least three different continents. Of course, Canyons by UTMB was at the center of the conversation for good reason. But Madeira Island Ultra Trail and the FUJI 100 were also very interesting and abundant with compelling storylines to discuss.
Below are some stream of consciousness takeaways from the incredible and international weekend of competition.
Chris Myers brought home a big win at the Mt FUJI 100, getting back on track after a couple DNFs to end 2025 at CCC and Ultra Trail Cape Town. This was only his third 100-mile finish after two top tens at Western States. Not redeeming his M2 bib to WS this year, Chris is all-in on UTMB. The FUJI performance should give him a ton of confidence.
Two trail running power couples smashed it over the weekend. Klaire Rhodes and Tracen Knopp brought home victories in the KAI70k in Japan. The Alaskan duo are enjoying strong starts to the season - Tracen finishing 3rd at the Black Canyon 100k and Klaire winning The Big Alta 50k.
Meanwhile, Rachel Drake and Tyler Green also secured podiums at Madeira. Rachel produced a super impressive victory at the Madeira 56k. Her first high profile race since her course record victory at JFK 2024, Rachel took 2025 off from competition to welcome a daughter. Tyler raced the 115k distance, finishing 3rd place in a strong field. Both are remarkably consistent.
Showing fitness from a previous Strava File of the Week, Lindsay Allison won the 77k at Madeira. Following up a solid 3rd place at the Black Canyon 50k, Lindsay is also off to a great start in 2026.
Perhaps the performance of the weekend, Katharina Hartmuth won the Madeira 115k by nearly an hour. The German powerhouse continues to prove herself among the best long course athletes in the world with two podiums each at UTMB and Hardrock plus a victory at Tor des Geants.
Matt Daniels proved his 50k prowess at Canyons by UTMB, stealing the course record from training partner and Boulder Boys Podcast co-host, Seth Ruhling. The men's CR has now gone down four straight years at the Canyons 50k. It has been held by Hayden Hawks, Eli Hemming, Seth Ruhling, and Matt Daniels - a murderers row of legends!
Makena Morley might be the next big thing, winning and setting a new women's CR in the Canyons 50k. Following up a victory at the Kodiak 50k last fall, and pacing Jenn Lichter to victory at Black Canyon, Makena clearly has what it takes to be a star. I will be following closely and hope to do a long form podcast with her soon.
Perhaps outshined recently by training groups in Boulder, Salt Lake City, and Flagstaff - Missoula is making an argument for North America's hotbed of trail talent. Currently home to Adam Peterman, Jenn Lichter, Jeff Mogavero, and Makena Morley, we need to come up with a name for their training group. Please submit suggestions. 😉
Flying under the radar heading into Western States, David Sinclair put up an impressive victory at the Canyons 25k, out kicking rising star, Ares Reading. David has been quiet to start the year after earning a Golden Ticket at CCC and finishing 2nd at JFK last fall. After posting a few Strava CRs on the course on Saturday, Sinclair seems to be in a good spot ahead of Western States.
We'll do a final roundup of these and the obvious Golden Ticket stories on the show tonight. Hope you'll join us!
Patagonia Capilene® Cool Sun Hoody
Introducing Patagonia's fastest-wicking tech tee ever, with 40+ UPF knit right in. The Capilene® Cool Sun Hoody recently became the most versatile and useful piece in my shred wardrobe. A true 12-month garment, it's kept me warm on cool spring mornings, and looking ahead towards summer in the alpine, it's the perfect option to stay cool and protected from intense UV exposure.
I'm headed out on an altitude camp later this week. When packing up to hit the road, the Capilene® Cool Sun Hoody was the first thing I threw in my luggage. Sun protection, warp-speed wicking, and lightweight material make it the perfect all-arounder. In line with the Patagonia ethos - own fewer things and use them often.
Design features:
Buttoned hood closure
Thumbholes on the sleeve
Zippered pocket that doubles as a stuff sack
It's high-output breathability with UPF that won't wash out. This thing will live on my body or in my hydration vest all summer long.
The UTMB Index is Evolving: What You Need to Know & Why It's Important
By Travis Loncar
UTMB announced an update to its system for measuring trail running performance. We recorded a conversation with the team diving into the substance of these changes, why they were necessary, the historical context, and more. Here are some takeaways: Statistical model refined and further elucidated - You can read a detailed description of how the model works and a scoring case study for the 2024 edition of CCC. I recommend reading both of the linked articles in full if you've ever been curious about the implementation. There are several notable updates, but one that stuck out to me is the consideration of competitive density—something that previously had no direct impact on the score.
The model calculates a competitiveness index from the analysis of gaps between the top ten, weighting them by their position (gaps at the front count more) and accounting for the total duration of the race. A five-minute gap does not represent the same thing on a two-hour trail and on a twenty-hour ultra: the interpretation thresholds are therefore adaptive. This competitiveness index then influences the rigor with which the model judges the performances of the entire pack.
Scores recalculated - Using this refined methodology, UTMB has recalculated race scores for the past five years. This means that most runners' UTMB Index will have changed. UTMB notes: "While the model is more precise, the impact is minimal: scores vary by an average of 2%." This also means that world rankings have shifted. For the general Index, Patrick Kipngeno now occupies the top spot, with Philemon Kiriago second and Jim Walmsley third. On the women's side, Katie Schide has the top Index, Courtney Dauwalter the second highest, and Jenn Lichter the third. As for the top race scores, Katie Schide's 2024 Canyons 100k and Courtney Dauwalter's 2024 Mt Fuji 100 tie for the top women's score: 899. For the men, Jim Walmsley's 2025 Chianti 120k sits in first at 992. Side note: This model is not technically constrained by a limit of 1000; I would expect to see a score over 1000 at some point. Also, I'm hoping to do an analysis of which races were most impacted by these changes using the data I collected for our RCI charts.
General UTMB Index
Maternity freeze - Female athletes can freeze their Index for up to 5 years. Practically speaking, this means that the standard time decay (and eventual aging out) of race scores will not impact the runner's Index during the freeze period. Web interface updates - I noticed that athlete profile pages have been updated to feature the Index evolution more prominently for authenticated users. They've also shipped some improvements to the results list that make it easier to read, search, and filter. These seem like great steps forward. I'm eager to see how the system evolves further.
+ Aravaipa released The Cutoff - a documentary following the back of the pack at the 2025 Cocodona 250. With Canyons Trailgating, I haven't had space to watch it yet, but I intend to prior to the 2026 edition, starting a week from today. A followup to The Chase, I can't get enough Cocodona media. Excited for the live broadcast next week!
+ Last week Ultra Xannounced the acquisition of Dragon's Back and Northern Traverse - two of the UK's premier trail races, previously owned by Ourea Events, which recently ceased operations amid financial struggles.
“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Dragon’s Back Race and Northern Traverse into the Ultra X family. Our priority now is to provide certainty for participants and to deliver these events in the way that people already love!” - Ultra X co-founders Sam Heward and Jamie Sparks
+ One of North America's most celebrated mountain races, The Rut announced a new initiative alongside their partners at The North Face. The Rut Grants will provide funding support for community, stewardship, or storytelling projects designed to have a positive impact on the sport and the places we recreate. The grants will range from $500 to $3500 to start. Got an idea? Go submit a proposal!
This was one of my favorite shows in Freetrail history. Corrine and I were joined by eight total guests - Matt Daniels, Makena Morley, Riley Brady, Careth Arnold, Sarah Allaben, Adam Peterman, Zach Miller, & Hayden Hawks. Check the timestamps for the different segments.
Rest Day Live is back tonight! During a slow news period following UTMB, we'll do something a little different. Joined by Meg Eckert, fresh off her six-day World Record run, we'll discuss the effort specifically and multi-day racing more generally. Joining us as co-host, Rachel Entrekin will help interview Meg and contribute her own hard-earned insights as well. We'll be LIVE on YouTube starting at 5pm PT tonight. Watch Live Here Ryan Montgomery at The Big Alta 50k 2026 (Pic: James Holk) The...
The 2026 Western States 100 was historic in so many ways. New course records, highest ever finishing rates, closest men's podium, densest women's top-10 - from start to finish, it was a magical day. To conclude our Trailgating coverage, Tim Tollefson and I convened last night for a deep recap show on Rest Day Live. We did our best to compress 30 hours of highlights into a 90 minute package, sharing our respective takeaways about where this year's edition sits in the 53 year history of the...
The best time of the year, it's officially Western States week! As usual, we kicked things off with our Monday "Top 10 Storylines" show, deconstructing the must-know info leading up to Saturday's race. For the third year in a row, Tim Tollefson and Corrine Malcolm co-hosted, bringing their powerful brains and hard-earned wisdom for the community's benefit. I personally think this was the funnest storyline docket in all the events we've covered. For those in Palisades Tahoe, please join us in...
