Words by Andy Waterman
A Record-Breaking Debut
Justin Montague
Justin Montague was one of the first elite ultrarunners to race in Mount to Coast R1s in early 2024. And he didn’t just take part, he won the Ultrarunning Ltd JOGLE, from John O’Groats at the top of Scotland, to Land's End, the southernmost tip of England. A 17-day stage race, he set a new record for every individual stage and broke the overall record by 40hrs. What’s more, he ran all 854 miles in one pair of Mount to Coast R1s. “I’m fussy about shoes because of a historic injury,” he says, “so trying a new pair of shoes was a big thing. But I wore them from mile one, all the way to Land's End. It was a great ride, and I was really surprised by my recovery: I got the usual muscle soreness from pounding 50+ miles each day, but by the end, I felt surprisingly good!”
Montague is a former marine turned vicar, and that background informs his running. “I joined the Marines in 2005,” he says. “Straight away, you’re hit with this culture shock. It’s about being able to do things when you’re cold, wet, hungry and tired. That’s key.”
Many people find spiritual significance in running and Montague is the same. “Being outdoors and seeing the natural beauty of the world, really draws me closer to the divine,” he says. “I know when I did the JOGLE, how much lighter my soul was when I finished, despite the physical output. It was remarkable.”
For Montague, there is no finish line. “Each race, each training run, is just another step in an ongoing journey,” he says. “To love ultra running is to love the process – distance is not something to be conquered, but something to transcend.”
World’s Toughest
Sierra DeGroff
Sierra DeGroff is fascinated by the Badwater 135. Fascinated, passionate, obsessed. It’s the highlight of her year and what keeps her training, racing and experimenting with everything from nutrition to pacing to recovery all year round. “One day I want to win that race,” she says. “That race just means a lot to me being a desert person, living in Nevada.”
The 2024 edition of Badwater was DeGroff’s second run at the full 135 and after a controlled but ambitious start, she came home in 15th place in 38 hours, 29 minutes. “Last year I went out hot. This year I made sure to not overdo it and keep a nice and controlled pace and my crew was dialed in,” she says. “I didn’t have the day or the race that I dreamt of but I still freaking did it!”
Reflecting on how she can improve, she says: “I think what really cost me the race the last two years was my nutrition. I've been stubborn. I have a running coach now, which I didn't want for the longest time, and I also just recently hired a dietitian. So I’ve got my whole team on board. We're gonna just break it down and we're gonna dial it in.”
In 2025, Mount to Coast is partnering with Badwater as the race’s presenting sponsor. Sierra will be back, most likely wearing brightly personalized R1’s: “The great thing about Badwater is it is a tough race, but if you put your mind to it I think you can definitely finish, you just have to be in it for the long haul.”
Big in the Backyard
Meg Eckert
For Meg Eckert, 2024 was a big year. In June she ran 526 miles at the 6 Days in the Dome 6-day, taking her to fourth on the women’s all-time list, and then at Big’s Backyard Ultra World Champs in the fall, she set a women’s world best of 362.5 miles. In total she raced over 2,100 miles in a single year – that’s a lot of running.
“How did I end up here?” she asks, looking back at her race at Big’s. “I took a suggestion and ran a silver ticket race, Saguaro Showdown, in January. I won after 65 yards and still had more in the tank. It’s interesting in the backyard; the winner never achieves their full potential. They are always left wanting more.”
The format of a backyard race requires athletes to complete a loop of the course (4.167-mile) every hour until there’s only one athlete remaining. The unknown distance, the competition, and the ability to take a brief rest every hour makes for a unique style of racing that often creates extraordinary stories.
Looking back on her race at Big’s, she says: “The further I went the more ecstatic and grateful I became. Each yard was an opportunity in more ways than one – I was running for Team USA!”
“On yard 88, I started hobbling for the first time,” says Eckert. “I wouldn’t make the yard. I walked in slowly reflecting on the hours I had spent on course. I ran until I physically couldn’t run any more. I had reset my personal best and the women’s World Best mark. I hope that these achievements may inspire more individuals, women especially, to pursue big dreams.”
National Honors
Bartosz Fudali
“Ultra running is a journey deep into myself,” says Bartosz Fudali, a Polish ultrarunner who in early 2025, won the IAU Gold Label 48-hour road race in Taipei for the second year running, with a course and national record distance of 441.069km. The short, 660m loop is fast and optimal for an athlete like Bartosz to lock-in and run fast. “I like Taipei,” he says, “there’s great support from the fans.”
The climate in Taipei in February should be a dream compared to the cold, harsh winter of Fudali’s home in Europe. But this year, rain and wind on the second day did its best to disrupt his rhythm. “That didn't help,” he says, “but that is how ultra is. We runners accept the situation and all that remains is to deal with the difficulties as best as we can. I have experience and I'm stubborn, that is why I persevered. The distance of 441 km isn't my last word: I will run further.”
The 48hr World Record currently belongs to the Greek Yiannis Kouros with 473km. It’s a record that has stood since 1996, but it’s increasingly drawing the attention of the world’s best. Fudali only began running seriously in 2017, but has made giant strides towards the top of the record books. “I have come a long way in training,” he says. “I started without any athletics background and I progressed quite quickly. Balance in life is very important – I chose ultra running because it is my way of meditation, breaking away from everyday life and delving into a new adventure.”
Going Off Track
Ben Blankenship
“The pandemic presented many challenges for the World, but parallel to those obstacles there were opportunities for growth,” says Ben Blankenship, a former sub-4 minute miler who competed for the USA in the Olympics. “For me it was a chance to redefine what running meant to me. The opportunity to run a little further came along and I took advantage.”
At first, Blankenship turned his attention to the marathon, with a goal of qualifying for the 2024 Olympic trials. However, having achieved that objective with a 2:16 at the McKirdy Micro Marathon in 2023, he chose not to stay in his lane. In fact, he chose to keep going, running ever longer distances. In the process, he took everything he’d learned as a pro on the track and embraced life as a self-proclaimed ‘dirtbag’ ultra-runner.
Comparing the straight-laced world of track racing to the more carefree environment of the ultra scene, he says: “I don’t know if they relate to each other at all, other than the fact that you’re running. The possibility of ultrarunning is limitless versus what it was on the track.”
Ben has found success at distances up to 100 miles, and he’s still no slouch over short distances either, often jumping into speed workouts on the track to “keep the wheels spinning” in his words. And he’s doing it all in the R1: “I wanted a shoe that reminded me of what I did in the past, where I put on a shoe and did almost everything in it,” he says. “I think there’s a romance to putting a shitload of miles on a shoe.”
“I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll go home now.”
Cameron Balser
Nine months, 33 states, the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, infinite emotions, one life-changing journey. Cameron Balser felt stuck in his life, so in August of 2023 he quit his job and started running. “I knew I had a lot more to give,” he says. “I always loved running. Not for the accomplishment, but for the feeling that it’s just me.”
That feeling led Cam to run 11,170 miles around the perimeter of the United States. What started with just one man soon spiraled, and by the time he arrived back on the shores of Lake Erie, he was surrounded by supporters and people inspired by his journey.
“I find it amazing how small the world gets when you put yourself out there,” he says. “I love how people have connected on this journey, the support system I have from my friends and family, and the connections people have made on social media. It’s become like a family reunion.”
As soon as we heard about Cam’s journey we reached out to his team to support him as best we could. He ran the final third of his route in successive pairs of the Mount to Coast R1 and in early spring 2025, we released a Cameron Balser signature R1, with a cartoon Cam tongue graphic, and some of the stats from his run printed on the shoe. “It’s more than just a shoe, it’s more than just running,” says Cam. “It’s everything. It’s everyone coming together. I gave everything I had to this. I want people to know that you don’t need everything society says that you need to feel full. It’s extremely special.”
We couldn’t be more proud to support Cam on his running journey, and we’ll continue to support him, wherever he chooses to run next.
Starting Young
Kaylee Frederick
For Kaylee Frederick, a founding member of the Mount to Coast Ultra Crew, the "why" of running ultras is profound.
“My why runs much deeper than most could really comprehend,” she says. Having struggled with her mental health, Kaylee ran her first marathon aged 14. “It was smack dab in the middle of track season so my coaches weren’t too happy about that” she remembers. But the experience brought with it a realization: “going farther brought me joy – transcending distance was my purpose.”
Commitment and consistency have taken Kaylee to extraordinary places. Towards the end of 2024, she competed in the Fat Ox 24, which doubled as the USATF 24-Hour National Championship. She ran 136 miles and placed second. “It's kind of crazy to think what the human body, or more so, the human mind is really capable of,” she says. “I went into this race with big goals. But there's always more to do. I run ultra-marathons because running is my greatest passion and running is what I'm meant to do. This is only the beginning.”
Mighty
Anna Simonsson-Søndenå
From Mountains To Coasts is a short documentary that follows 20 year-old ultrarunner Anna Simonsson-Søndenå as she runs 100 miles through the northern Norwegian archipelago of Lofoten.
The film highlights the need for sustainable tourism in such a vulnerable region of the arctic circle, where the weather can change in a second, and where the growth of commerce is changing things dramatically.
“Lofoten is the most beautiful place I have ever been to,” says Anna. “Most places look better in the pictures, but here it looks better in real life. It’s just mighty, in a way. Running through day and night was the best way to see it all.”
From the start, we felt that ultrarunners everywhere deserved better footwear for racing, training and challenging themselves to transcend their existing limits. Mileage is just another metric – what does it mean to truly go beyond, and experience running as a life-changing, life-affirming force? We asked members of our community what running means to them:
Sean Grady
“My training philosophy embraces maintaining a playful, lighthearted approach to the work. Being goofy isn't about diminishing the seriousness of the endeavor but recognizing that sustainable achievement requires finding joy in the process. Whether it's laughing through a 4am training run in terrible weather or finding humor in the inevitable low moments during a race, this mindset transforms what could be viewed as suffering into a meaningful journey of self-discovery. This ability to find joy within intense challenges has permeated every aspect of my life.”
Brad Finn
“Running is the catalyst for all the successes in my life. Every day I find a reason to be a better father, husband, brother, and friend because of running. It doesn't matter how far I run. All that matters is that I find joy in it. I may not be the youngest or the fastest. I may never break a world record, but I will always be better than I was before I found running.”
Ryan True
“You learn a lot from your pain and struggles. To me, “transcend distance” means going that extra mile: what the mind and body is capable of is so powerful and beautiful. Anything is possible.”
Michelle Schroff
“The thing that drives me is the sense of accomplishment after I’ve finished. I am a mom of six. I’m a grandma. I’m not a fast or talented runner. I finish most ultras last or nearly last. But that’s the beautiful thing about this sport – there is a place for ME at this table. And when I cross the finish line of an ultra marathon, I feel like I can take on any and every challenge life throws my way down the road.”
Nicky Dupkin
“On July 3rd, 2024, I took my brand-new R1s out of the box with a goal of running through the night and into the next day – my 21st birthday. I ran 50 miles on a 4-mile loop. By mile 12, I knew the run would be a battle. Friends and family showed up throughout the event, cheering me on. It was truly the best experience of my life.”