Need a reminder that the world is full of goodness? Look no further than a weekend ultra–brimming with community, connection, and all the feels. A few of our favorite moments from last weekend: 

📸 1: With just minutes to spare, the final Cocodona 250 finisher, Stephen, arrives to a human tunnel of ultra-love. 

📸 2: Pure joy for Sarah while running the Miwok 100K and celebrating her birthday. 

📸 3: Camille gets speedy-fashion advice on the Strolling Jim start line from fellow racer Andrew. He says "jorts" make you run faster!  

Want more racing? Check out these upcoming events still open for registration:

• Soapstone Mountain Trail Races, May 15 (CT)
• Rumble on the Ridge, May 21 (WI)
• Silver State 50M, 50K, 1/2 Marathon, May 21 (NV)
• Greenhorn Ranch Trail Run, May 21 (CA)

Salty or sweet? We asked trail runners their favorite aid station snack and savory won by a longshot, but we still included one new-to-us decadent treat below.
 
PB&J with an Oreo inside
- Kyle Buckley

Avocado on Salt & Vinegar Pringles
- Andy Jones Wilkins

Watery mashed potatoes with salt, carried up 3000 feet on the back of a lama
 - Josh Russell

Smoked Salmon, Perogies
- Bev Anderson-Abbs

Fireball, duh
- AidStationFireBall

Annihilate the course record? Crush the competition? 

We like to think of trail running as a joy-infused, soul-filling athletic adventure in the beauty of Mother Nature–so why are our descriptions peppered with violence, war speak, and patriarchal qualities?

Meg Mackenize explores this thought provoking topic and offers playful suggestions on how we might shift our language to create the trail running culture (and world) we seek.

🏠 The Long Way Home: Following America’s loneliest highway, Route 50, Michael Wardian is running 3,200 miles across the country back to his home in Delaware, all to raise money for World Vision’s clean water projects. Join the adventure with his daily post of top moments, local folks and tidbits, plus his music and book of the day.

💃 Dancing Downhill: Running downhill is supposed to be the easy part, right? Only if you’ve got the skills to fly across technical terrain instead of spider-walking down the mountain. This quick 5-min vid from Sage Canaday offers tips to improve your descent. Preview: Take short steps to “dance with the terrain.”

📚 Masterclass: For super students of exercise science looking to better understand strength, muscle, and endurance–this might be your holy grail. Huberman Lab podcast interviews Dr. Andy Galpin, a Professor of Kinesiology, for a deep dive in optimizing performance variables.

💙 Boston Strong?: Ok, trail lovers–be honest–does the Boston Marathon call to you? This trail runner shares why he converted to roads then slowly (but happily) got sucked into what he calls the “industrial complex” that is Boston.

🥳 More Fun: It's been said that the "back of the pack" is where the party is, but this article offers 3 tips to bring more fun to any pace. Preview: Laugh a little while going downhill.

🏔️ Alaskan Mile: A 4-min mile in the snow and ice? There's a reason no one had broken this speed barrier in the Great White North–until this team showed up to tackle the goal. A high energy watch before your next tempo run.

🤦‍♂️ Ooops! I Did It Again: "I'm never doing this again," says every runner ever mid-race. Fresh off his Cocodona 250 finish, Andy Glaze swears he won't either and no sweet swag can convince him otherwise. 

🤔 IRL: Turns out, running ultras "in real life" is hard...way harder than online shopping for them.