Running

Running

WOLF'S FANG RUNWAY in Antarctica ranks among the most desolate, unwelcoming places on the planet, where even on a springtime day, 20 degrees Fahrenheit is about as warm as it gets. Bracing against an icy wind-chill blast that made it feel closer to zero, 54 runners stepped off their wide-body charter plane on Nov. 16 and steeled themselves for the 26.2 miles of marathon hell ahead.

Whereas Cash goes on to lament a man always looking for an exit, Aimee Kohler and her race organization, The Running Kind, welcome everyone with open arms. With its name inspired by the song title, kindness is the core of the organization, which has inclusivity at its heart and a mission to look after the planet. Kohler says it's about "caring for ourselves, caring for the planet, and caring for each other."

The HOKA Mach X 3 succeeds where many modern running shoes fail: it doesn't force you to choose between comfort and performance. This versatile plated trainer delivers good value for runners seeking a shoe that can handle whatever their training plan demands, from easy runs to tempo runs to marathon efforts. Speedwork Who should buy the Hoka One One Mach X 3 ? This shoe is perfect for intermediate to advanced runners training for marathons or half marathons who want versatility across multiple workout types.

Doing hard things is inherent to endurance sports. As we become more capable in our chosen discipline, it feels natural for some of us to do things faster, farther, and more difficult. We climb onto the precipice of our previous capabilities and take a step beyond for the very purpose of not knowing how we will land. Then, rarely, maybe once or twice in a lifetime relationship with sport, we begin something hard, somehow already knowing that we will do it.

The Salomon Adv Skin 5 ($145) has been with me since the beginning, and I was excited to see an updated version released this year (2025). Over a decade ago, the Adv Skin 5 was the very first running vest I ever bought, and I ran that original one into the ground. Starting out with a Salomon vest set the bar high for all other vests I've used in terms of comfort, fit, and functionality.

Are you prone to soft tissue overuse injuries? Maybe a serving of Achilles tendonitis, paired with some iliotibial band syndrome, and a splash of plantar fasciitis sprinkled on top? A helpful strategy for keeping these dreaded pains away is to avoid doing two consecutive runs that look the same. Changing the terrain, slope angle, footing, or intensity of your run can go a long way toward keeping your body healthy.

Jack O'Leary explains how his unusually low metabolism required a major change to his nutrition plan but it has been key to his incredible success in European cross country

It's easy to get excited when we see good performances by runners we aren't familiar with, or runners we are familiar with racing distances we don't normally see them do. When someone puts down a good performance that we aren't expecting, it can feel like it came out of nowhere. We become surprised and impressed all at once, and perhaps we sensationalize things.

Grand Slam Track, the league fronted by sprint great Michael Johnson that offered six-figure prize money for top runners, has filed for bankruptcy after canceling its final event and failing to pay athletes and vendors. Johnson boasted a $30 million bankroll at the outset, but in its Chapter 11 filing Thursday in Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, the league said it had less than $50,000 cash on hand, between 200 and 999 creditors, and owed between $10 million and $50 million.

The ASICS Megablast is the top-of-the-range trainer in the Blast family. It's designed to be a versatile, premium trainer for all types of runs. It costs $225. The midsole of the Megablast is made of only FF Turbo Squared, ASICS' new aliphatic TPU midsole foam. It provides a firm but energetic ride that feels better the faster you run in it. It's a very lightweight material, so it makes the Megablast feel like a sleek, fast racer without a plate in its midsole.

From September 25 to 28, some of the world's top mountain running and trail running athletes gathered in Canfranc, Spain, for the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMTRC) to represent their countries in four different events. Historically, many top runners have opted to skip the world championships for various reasons, including busy race schedules, sponsorship conflicts, and financial considerations.

Released in September 2025, just in time for the winter season, the Kahtoola Microspikes Ghost ($105) is an exciting option for microspike lovers who are looking for something light and flexible for winter trail running that provides incredible traction on icy, hardpacked conditions. Kahtoola, in my mind, is the de facto leading brand in winter traction devices for all sub-crampon endurance activities,

Sprints: Running at maximum effort. Races: By their very nature, these are run at 100% effort. Strides and hill sprints: Performed at 95-100% of maximum speed. Heavy weightlifting: The focus was on strength and power, not endurance or muscle growth. Long runs: Two hours or more of running, which has similar effects to running very fast. Plyometrics and drills: These included power-focused skips, bounds, and jumps. Hill workouts: Running uphill at various speeds against gravity.

Training theory is rapidly evolving. What we know today dwarves what we knew 20 years ago! Understanding the history of training is an undeniable advantage. In the 1950's, Roger Bannister ran incredibly little while doing a massive amount of intense speed work. That approach was flipped on its head in the 1970's as American runners focused on lower intensity but very high mileage running.

Q&A is incredibly important to me as a coach because it represents a return to strategy: solving problems and decisively moving forward helps you train more effectively. Without this clarity, you may waste weeks, months, or even years of time with subpar approaches to running. You might... never add more weight to your lifts in the gym, preventing any strength progression only do pilates, thinking that it's "enough" when it comes to getting stronger desperately try to run a faster marathon... but never run more than 40 miles per week try every recovery strategy imaginable to stay healthy, while you never strength train at all

It's probably no surprise that it took Brian Gregan 15 months from his last race to announce he's finished as an athlete at the age of 35. Gregan doesn't like quitting, never has.

"I've never heard of anybody running any of the train lines. So I was like, you know what? Let's get this f---ing going," Richards said. "I looked at the map... and I was like, man, this is gonna be one hell of a feat."

Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic and the author of the new book, The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports, has spent years developing that relationship. (He's also a very fast runner - the type who wins races rather than just finish them.) And on this episode of The Vergecast, he describes his approach to running and to running tech.