Borderlands Trail and Ultra Running

The Trail Races We Can’t Afford to Lose

Trail running is growing fast, but what happens to the races that don’t scale cleanly? After spending one night volunteering at the Wasatch 100 and the next day at a bran

"I Need Running to Stay Alive" | Inside the Compulsive Mind of Biel

Ultrarunning rewards people who can keep going. Biel makes you wonder what happens when stopping no longer feels like an option, and where ambition ends and compulsion be

UTMB Doesn’t Have a Fan Problem

UTMB is the center of trail running for one week every year, and somehow the people most frustrated by it keep showing up. After a week in Chamonix, I came home thinking

Why the World’s Biggest Trail Race Happened in France

UTMB is the biggest trail race in the world, but why did it happen in France? The easy answer is Mont Blanc. The better answer has more to do with culture, timing, and th

With Tara Dower | Built Different

Ultra running rewards obsession, but Tara Dower seems wired for something beyond results. She wants to solve hard problems, chase the best competition, run faster, and ke

Karl Meltzer | Speedgoat, UTMB, and Trail Running’s Boom

Trail running has exploded into a global business, and Karl Meltzer somehow ended up at the center of it. HOKA turned his Speedgoat nickname into one of trail running’s d

Harvey Lewis | The Mind Behind the Ultras

Ultrarunning eventually becomes a mental problem. The body hurts, the race stops going to plan, and the question becomes what the best ultrarunners understand about conti

Harvey Lewis | The Man Behind the Ultras

Harvey Lewis is one of ultrarunning’s most accomplished endurance athletes, but the more interesting question might be how a high school civics teacher from Ohio became c

Ciele Athletics and the Rise of Running Culture

Ciele helped change what running looked like, but the more interesting story is what sat underneath the aesthetic. This episode is for runners curious about how a hat bra

Satisfy x Adidas: Who Won the Circle Pit Backlash?

The Satisfy x Adidas collaboration became one of the loudest moments in running, but almost none of the conversation was about the shoe. It became a fight over price, fas

This is Trail Running Without Mountains.

Trail running in the Midwest looks different. No mountain towns. No towering peaks. Just a different kind of commitment. On the drive to Harvey Lewis's house, Josh and Sa

What If Your Best Running Is Still Ahead?

Hardrock 100 gave aging trail runners something many of us didn't realize we needed: hope. Ludovic Pommeret broke the course record at 50. Courtney Dauwalter won again an

They Refuse to Make Toy Shoes. | Inside HOKA's Culture Strategy

HOKA has become one of the few running brands to cross into culture without losing credibility with runners. If you're building a brand, launching new products, or wonder

What is Borderlands Actually Building?

For the first time in months, I'm stepping away from interviews and monologues for a Borderlands Trail Running founder update. By the time this episode goes live, my fam

Western States 2026 Analysis | 10 Things I Couldn't Stop Thinking About

Western States 2026 is over. The course records have been set, the winners crowned, and the internet has already moved on. This isn't another race recap. It's a cultural

Trail Running Culture Doesn't Scale | Bob Crowley's Response

Western States and UTMB are often framed as opposite visions for the future of trail running. One protects through limits. The other protects through growth. But after pu

Western States Wants to Protect, UTMB Wants to Grow

Western States and UTMB have become the two most influential institutions in trail running, but beneath the debate over lotteries, race series, and growth is a deeper que

Wasatch 100 & Bear 100: When Ultra Running Just Hurts

Wasatch 100 and Bear 100 are two of the hardest races in ultra running. Michael Whiteside ran both just three weeks apart, and what stayed with me from this conversation

The Trail Running Sea of Sameness | Nike ACG, Nostalgia, and the Cost of Optimization

Modern trail running shoes are better than they've ever been. So why do so many runners still find themselves drawn to older designs like the Nike ACG LDV? Josh and Inky

Why Western States is America's Most Important Race | More than a Run

Western States 100 occupies a different place in trail running than almost any other race. Months before the starting gun, runners and fans are already studying the field