For the fourth edition of Alke Staal's invitational race, he invited around 50 runners to his hotel in the Chablais Mountains of France.

“It’s fascinating to see people living for their sport,” says Staal, the owner and operator of Esprit Montagne. For a whole week, the invitees are welcome to train, eat, sleep, laugh—and eventually race the rugged 80K course with 9,000m (29,527 feet) of ascent. Though striking and difficult, it's not the race that they return to year after year.

“The first time we didn’t know each other at all and now a whole community has been built," said Anne Kirschenmann, the women's winner in 2018. "I’ve met people here that I can’t imagine living without."

*Originally published in Like the Wind magazine and published online, for the first time, here.

We're joining forces with the team at Broken Arrow Skyrace to bring you a livestream of their Palisades Tahoe event in June!

Known for its challenging terrain, off-trail travel, and stunning high-alpine views of the Sierra Nevada the race attracts top athletes and runners of every level from around the world with some 2,500 participants. Modeled after premier European trail running races, Broken Arrow features multiple distances and we'll bring you the 23K, the VK, and some aspects of the Iron Face Challenge, with live race footage and interviews with athletes and race organizers, as well as commentary from profession ultrarunners Corrine Malcolm and Dylan Bowman.

This is our first foray into livestream production, and we plan to continue with many more events. Join us!

You don’t run because it’s easy.

Because if it was easy, everyone would do it.

Sometimes you don’t want to run. Sometimes it’s cold, or early, or dark. In 1975, Petzl started making headlamps for those who see darkness as an opportunity — not an obstacle. Petzl headlamps are there for your before-work, after-school, just-gotta-get-in-some-miles-this-week, kind of runs.

With REACTIVE LIGHTING you can forget about the headlamp, and focus on your run. HYBRID CONCEPT lets you choose between rechargeable or traditional power sources. And Petzl’s AIRFIT headband gives you unparalleled comfort. Because a great headlamp is the one you forget you’re wearing.

Don’t be afraid of the dark.