Diana Fitzpatrick, a longtime Western States Endurance Run (WSER) board member whose tenure as the organization’s president was one of historic achievement for the organization, has been named a recipient of the prestigious “Little Cougar” award, WSER President Topher Gaylord announced.
The Little Cougar is awarded to individuals who have served the Western States Endurance Run organization through the years in extraordinarily significant ways. The Little Cougar is considered the pinnacle of all WSER awards and is not awarded annually. The most recent recipient of the Little Cougar was Ted Knudsen in 2019.
“Diana’s contributions to the Western States Endurance Run are among some of the most significant accomplishments WSER has ever seen,” Gaylord said. “Our organization has always been powered by the belief that no one single individual is greater than the whole, or is solely responsible for our successes. There are, however, individuals that exemplify leadership, teamwork, and organization stewardship who are so extraordinary in all of these areas that they are deserving of individual recognition. This is what Diana Fitzpatrick has meant to WSER. She has exemplified in her years with Western States as a runner, volunteer, pacer, crew member, board member, executive committee member and president the most worthy characteristics of a Little Cougar Award recipient.
“It is no stretch to say that Diana is a person whose involvement has made Western States better in every way.”
Fitzpatrick, who already had served as an aid station and trail work volunteer and had run Western States as a top over-40 runner, joined the Western States board in 2012. She was elected president of the organization in 2019 – becoming the first woman to ever be selected president of WSER – and served as WSER’s president until 2024.
Fitzpatrick’s presidency saw Western States successfully navigate several challenges, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 as well as 2022’s devastating Mosquito Fire which destroyed several key areas of the Western States Trail and devastated some Gold Country communities, including Michigan Bluff.
“Throughout those difficult times, Diana was always steadfast in her ability to keep our organization focused on the runner experience, which is so central to everything we do at Western States,” Race Director Craig Thornley said. “She made sure the trail team was given the space and the support to do what it needed to do to bring the trail back in time for our event. As a leader, she never lost sight of how valuable our run, the trail we steward, and the volunteers who are giving their hearts and souls to our run, are in connecting communities of people for the common good.”
Gaylord said Fitzpatrick’s achievements speak to an abiding “100-mile mindset” that views Western States as having important tasks of the moment but also in “multi-year” segments that connects the organizations mission, vision and ideals with the future.
“She has always shown unwavering perseverance, particularly during those times when we face extremely complicated our multi-faceted issues,” Gaylord said.
As president, Fitzpatrick led Western States through a time of historic achievement, including:
Championing the organization’s ongoing Granite Chief Wilderness Reroute Project, and in leading the efforts to raise private donor grant funding to further the project;
Leading the organization through a period of governance realignment that included updates and the modernization of board bylaws, mission, vision, and values documents and overall board structure, as well as legal compliance in all aspects of run and board operations;
Ensuring that the run has continued access to key portions of the Western States Trail, including the area in and around Foresthill, working tirelessly with key stakeholders through ongoing communication and collaboration;
Formulating the composition and goals for key committees that have in turn developed new sponsorship agreements for the run, as well as the production of a Live Broadcast which has quickly become one of the best in the world. Her involvement on the WSER Community and Belonging Committee has led the organization to welcome runners of all backgrounds and abilities, including building a stronger relationship and acknowledgment of the Native American communities whose ancestral connection with the WS Trail goes back thousands of years. Fitzpatrick’s work was also central to the adoption of WSER’s drug testing policy and protocol, pregnancy deferral policy, and transgender athlete policy.
Participating in numerous volunteer opportunities throughout the year, including aid station work, and serving as a swamper and cross cutter at trail work weekends.
“Diana has always walked the talk when it comes to everything she has done with Western States,” Gaylord said. “Her attention to detail, commitment to always showing up, and relentless desire to see projects through to the end have been impressive and have helped transform the organization.”
Fitzpatrick, who is a five-time WSER finisher (all under 24 hours) and remains the only over-60 female runner to ever break 24 hours at Western States, remains on the WSER board and is still actively involved.
“Diana has been a mentor to the next generation on how to cultivate that spirit of giving back,” Gaylord said.
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Dr. Tamara “Tami” Hew-Butler has been named Medical Research Director for the Western States Endurance Run, WSER President Topher Gaylord announced.
Hew-Butler succeeds Dr. Emily Kraus and Dr. Megan Roche, who had served as Co-Medical Research Directors for WSER since 2022.
“Tami brings an impressive array of professional achievement as a clinician and scientist, having been published extensively in some of the world’s most important exercise science journals,” Gaylord said, noting that Hew-Butler was the lead author and organizer of three International Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia Consensus Guidelines and previously was awarded two WSER research grants, as Principal Investigator/PI, which in turn generated 18 scientific publications. “Tami knows our race intimately, having been a leader in several research studies at our run, as well as lending her expertise as part of our medical team in years past.
“Medical research has always been one of our foundational pillars at WSER. We feel that Tami will help elevate the awareness, application and understanding of the medical research that is conducted every year at our run.
“On behalf of our board, I wish to thank Emily and Megan for their tremendous service over the past three years. Both Emily and Megan are unwavering proponents of the value of science-based inquiry for endurance sports. Their work represented a highly productive and memorable chapter in our medical research story.”
“I am beyond grateful and honored to continue WSER’s scientific legacy of cutting-edge medical research aimed at improving the health, safety and performance of ultramarathon runners across the globe,” Hew-Butler said. “I believe that WSER is THE greatest field laboratory in the world, and look forward to working closely with the WSER Board, Medical Team, and running community at-large to expand WSER’s scientific collaborations, funding network, and dissemination of evidenced-based information which best serves the growth and safety of our sport.”
Added WSER Medical Director Andy Pasternak: “What became obvious during our search for a new medical research director was how incredibly well-rounded Tami is. She is an excellent communicator, and has an impressive track record of involvement with WSER medical research projects. She has made it very clear that her goals are to ensure that every WSER medical research project should in some way enhance the experience of runners at WSER as well as the ultrarunning community at large.
“In addition to being a highly organized and strategic thinker, Tami is very much a ‘hands-on,’ type of leader who over the years has contributed in numerous ways to WSER. Our search committee as well as the WSER board were deeply impressed with how Tami was able to communicate that the timeless human qualities that help a person run 100 miles will be at the core of her vision for our medical research effort.”
Hew-Butler, who is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, is a recently retired Associate Professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Previously, she was an Associate Professor at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, as well as a Research Assistant Professor at Arizona State University. She received her Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree from Temple University, and has been a clinician for more than three decades. She received her Ph.D. in exercise science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
For more than 40 years, medical research activity has played an important role at the Western States Endurance Run. WSER’s late Medical Director Dr. Robert Lind welcomed and encouraged researchers from throughout the country and the world to come to WSER and study its runners. One of the earliest studies that established the connection between the body’s release of endorphins and physical activity was conducted at WSER in 1981 by Dr. Walter Bortz of Stanford University. Since 2006, nearly 100 research publications or abstracts in human performance have been produced by researchers from throughout the world based on studies conducted on WSER runners.
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“If all goes well, the U.S. will come away from this with eight medals.”
That’s what Nancy Hobbs, the U.S. Track and Field Mountain-Ultra-Trail chairperson, told me before the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Canfranc, Spain, on September 25-28.
Hobbs is either exceptional at her job, or she owns a crystal ball. Headlined by Katie Schide and Jim Walmsley dominating the women’s and men’s Long Trail 82K on September 27, Team USA earned eight medals over four days of racing across the scenic and challenging trails in the Pyrenees.
Anna Gibson contributed to the haul with a bronze medal in the women’s Uphill race.
Plus Team USA earned a bronze medal in the men’s team Uphill race and silver medals in the men’s team Long Trail, women’s team Long Trail, and women’s team Classic. Together, those performances were enough to earn the U.S. a bronze medal in the overall federation team award, behind France and Italy.
By my count, this is the largest haul for Team USA at a World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (a mouthful abbreviated to WMTRC). But this year’s event, which included 1,600 athletes from 70 countries, was unquestionably the most competitive WMTRC to date.
“Knowing I can make the bottom step of the podium makes me want to strive for the top, but for where I am in my career, this third place medal feels like a huge accomplishment,” Gibson said. “The level of competition was really high. The race was extremely organized, in my opinion, and in a beautiful location.”
That leaves me wondering, why is the world champs gaining popularity among the best in the sport now?
Greater Than Oneself
Anna Gibson (U.S.) started the week on a high note for Team USA with a bronze medal in the women’s Uphill race. (Photo: WMRA)
“I wanted to compete for Team USA because it’s one of the highest honors you can have as an athlete,” Gibson said. “And also because I love the team aspect of coming together across brands and disciplines to be one united front.”
And indeed, a heartwarming international spirit pervaded the air around Canfranc over the four days of racing. The junior racers in the U20 event, especially, displayed an electricity sparked from their excitement to be there, coupled with nerves from representing their diverse collection of home countries.
Because of the mountain resort’s remote location, a solid 2-3-hour drive from population centers in Spain and France, the trails were mostly lined by cheering teammates during the first days of racing. Then, when more people were able to come for the weekend races, the enthusiasm stepped it up a couple notches.
One of the highlights was the amount of support crowd favorite Sunmaya Budha (Nepal) received during the Long Trail race, where she finished second behind Schide. The crowd in town roared when she emerged off the trail and ran through the inflated pillars marking the finish.
Nepal’s Sunmaya Budha takes second in the women’s Long Trail race in front of an enthusiastic crowd. (Photo: Courtesy WMRA)
But there are unique logistical challenges with coordinating a world championship event in a new place every two years. Because the mountain resort village of Canfranc is too small to house the droves of athletes and staff of the world championships, the teams were lodged a 20-minute drive away, in the more substantial city of Jaca.
While that posed minor inconveniences, the commute, along with messaging that only five athletes per federation were invited, resulted in sparse attendance at the opening ceremonies—often a highlight of this event. (It didn’t help that the U.S. team scheduled a team briefing at the same time.)
A Cobbled-Together System
Philemon Kiriago (Kenya) wins the men’s Classic race. (Photo: WMRA)
“So, the World Mountain Running Association, the International Trail Running Association, International Association of Ultrarunners, and World Athletics walk into a bar”
I know that sounds like the lead-in for a bad joke, and perhaps some find it to be, but the patched-together partnership among these organizing bodies is an interesting and evolving one.
In fact, the mountain running and trail running world championships were held as separate events until 2021, when the event officially consolidated as the WMTRC under a partnership of the World Mountain Running Association, International Trail Running Association, and the International Association of Ultrarunners. The real kicker, though, was the new oversight from World Athletics, the official governing body for track and field, which agreed to join the fray as governing officials push to put trail running in the Olympics in 2032.
That inaugural championship ended up getting delayed until November 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In just three years, the level of competition has taken off. We can see that by looking at the average UTMB index of the top 10 men’s and women’s finishers in the Long Trail, which this year was a burly 50 miles with 16,600 feet of climbing. In the women’s race, the average UTMB index has gone up from 761.7 in 2022 to 768.6 this fall. Similarly, in the men’s race, it’s improved from 875.2 in 2022 to 915.4.
The Rise of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships
The pre-dawn start of the 2025 WMTRC Long Trail race, which covered 50 miles and 16,600 feet of climbing. (Photo: WMRA)
That leveling-up was reflected in my conversations with athletes on the ground in Canfranc, including veteran Team USA members Max King and Joe Gray, both former world mountain running champions. King found this U.S. squad to be the most stacked he’s ever seen. Same goes for the global level of competition, which included a dominant showing from Kenya in the Uphill and Classic Races with eight medals (including four gold), Uganda (nine medals), France (eight medals), and Italy (eight medals), plus commanding performances from Nina Engelhard (Germany) and Tove Alexandersson (Sweden).
The media attention around the sport, especially the live streaming of events like UTMB, Western States, and the Golden Trail Series, that displays to the world the stunning terrain and dynamic physical performances over rugged and dazzling landscapes, has helped inspire runners to take up the sport, King observed.
Now that WMTRC is also improving its live coverage production and getting more attention from various outlets, it will only help to increase interest. (That being said, WMTRC made a critical error this year in its skewed gender coverage, particularly in short-changing the women’s race during the Long Trail event.)
Sweden’s Tove Alexandersson dominated the women’s Short Trail race, winning by over 30 minutes. (Photo: Courtesy WMRA)
King has also observed a shift among trail running brands. A dozen years ago, when King and I were with the same brand, that brand effectively discouraged attendance at world championships through the bonus structure. Leaders at that brand, like others, saw participating at WMTRC as counterproductive, given that participants would be wearing Nike uniforms, which is and was the required kit for Americans. (Although athletes can choose their footwear.)
Racing at the world champs was also detrimental because it tied up athlete schedules for months. But that perspective appears to have changed. Now, many brands see worlds not as an event where their athletes parade around in Nike garb but, rather, as a forum where they sport Team USA. Likely, many brands have incentivized athletes by moving WMTRC from a tier 3 race to a tier 2 race, or a similar bonus increase, in their athlete contracts.
Indeed, I noticed representatives from several brands walking around the streets of Canfranc last week, although with little fanfare since Adidas Terrex was the presenting sponsor of the event.
Gray, 41, who has earned a spot on Team USA at every world championship event since 2008, similarly views the elevated media attention as helping fuel focus on the sport. He cites the increased participation from “crossover” athletes who move from track and field or road as a contributing source of increasing the competition level and interest in mountain and trail running.
He offered the examples of Simon Gutierrez, Pablo Vigil, and Jay Johnson as pioneers, and Gibson is blazing a similar path. Gray recognizes that now that worlds really does draw the best competition, it has earned the attention it well deserves, and sees brands incentivizing their athletes accordingly.
Toward a “Real” Sport
Nina Engelhard and Joyce Njeru embrace after finishing first and fourth in the women’s Classic race. (Photo: Courtesy WMRA)
Three years into their partnership, the WMRA, ITRA, IAU, and World Athletics get along now, for the most part, according to Hobbs, who has been a key representative at the WMRA for many years.
But the system still has its kinks. Hobbs references the discrepancies in how the various races were scored as an example. The three “mountain” races, the Uphill 6K, the Under 20 8K, and the Classic 14K, were scored using a cross-country scoring system: point places for the top three finishers of each country’s team and adding up the scores, with the lowest score winning.
Alternatively, the Short Trail 45K and the Long Trail 82K team scores were calculated by taking a team’s top three runners’ aggregate times. This is akin to the concept of ordinal numbers versus cardinal numbers. Then, scoring for the overall federation team award practically warranted a supercomputer to determine that France had 4,333 points, Italy 4,315 and the U.S. 4,279 for gold, silver, and bronze, respectively.
(In reality, this designation was determined with a grand scale cross-type scoring system, in which each place in every senior race received a numerical score. First place was awarded 250 points, second place got 249, and so on.)
Jim Walmsley wins the men’s Long Trail race. (Photo: WMRA)
While the prospect of adding trail running to the Olympics originally drew in World Athletics, it is the combination of all of these governing bodies that is hopefully helping align the sport, according to Paul Kirsch, U.S. Mountain Trail team leader. He also credits the growth in trail running and increased competition as drawing more attention from brands like Nike, observing that ACG, its off-road focus, is fully back in the game.
Kirsch says the athletes who run for the U.S. often remark to him how welcome it is to feel enveloped as part of a team, often the first time they felt that way since racing in college, although some of his U20 runners have yet to reach that stage.
For Kirsch, WMTRC provides “a special experience and as it continues to grow, we are seeing a true World Championship, with athletes from Africa and Asia joining countries from Australia, North and South America, and Europe. This just adds to the competitiveness of the races, which was really evident this past week. I’m looking forward to seeing the continued growth at Worlds in Cape Town.”
Kirsch said Confranc “reminded me of what is so special of the gathering of so many nations for friendly competition. There are many difficult situations going on in the world right now—and to bring everyone together in a peaceful way is what I hope for more of.”
Finally, Kirsch proudly reported, “and please quote me on this,” that the best sign that mountain trail running has finally reached its destination and been recognized as the real, competitive sport it has become is that he “no longer sees the snarky comments on Letsrun.com discussions about trail runners not being real runners.”
We arrived in Boulder, Colorado, on September 1, two days before Kilian Jornet was scheduled to start his latest mega endurance project, States of Elevation. If you have been living under a rock for the last month and haven’t seen the viral posts or steady stream of editorial stories, let us quickly explain.
Jornet set a goal to climb every peak over 14,000 feet (“fourteener”) in the contiguous U.S. in just a month, all under human power. He started in Colorado’s Front Range, running up 14,259-foot Longs Peak and completing the LA Freeway in his first day—a mega endurance feat in itself. But he was just getting started.
Kilian Jornet follows Kyle Richardson up the Cables Route on Longs Peak in Colorado to kick off the project. (Photo: Andy Cochrane)
That night he biked 49 miles, got a few hours of sleep, and spent the next 15 days summiting the other 55 fourteeners in the state. He then pedaled 900 miles across the desert to California, completed all 13 fourteeners in the Sierra in just 56 hours (18 hours faster than the previous fastest known time), biked north to Shasta, climbed it, and biked further north to Mount Rainier, finishing the entire project, roughly 3,200 miles and 400,000 feet of elevation gain, in just 31 days.
OK, back to a driveway in Boulder suburbia. While Jornet was packing his cycling, climbing, and running gear in the RV that would be his home-away-from-home for the next month—if you can call 3-4 hours of sleep each night home at all—we were refining the details of our creative plan for the first week, making contingencies to said plan, and contingencies to those contingencies. With a project this big, you truly have to be ready for anything.
Kilian Jornet organizes his gear for his most ambitious project yet: summiting the 14,000-foot peaks in the contiguous U.S. and linking them by human power. (Photo: Nick Danielson)
4 Lessons from Trying to Keep Up with Kilian Jornet
The two of us have been fortunate to document a lot of athletes over our careers—from Olympians to pros on remote expeditions—but following Jornet is different. Even after weeks of non-stop movement, he’s liable to drop you on any given climb. Making it more complicated is that Jornet is so capable on technical terrain that keeping up on the scrambling sections, of which there were many, bordered on impossible. Very few humans can move like Jornet in the mountains, which made our task, errdifficult.
Two days after Kilian wrapped the project, as we aired out our camping gear and edited our last batch of photos, we sat down to discuss what we learned from this project, from one of the greatest endurance athletes of all time.
I spy…Kilian Jornet on the Crestone Traverse in Colorado’s Sangre De Cristo range. (Photo: Nick Danielson)
1. Replace Perfectionism With Spontaneity
Nick Danielson: Ten days into the project, I found myself waiting for Kilian on top of Challenger Point, a fourteener in the remote Sangre De Cristo range of Colorado. I had climbed 6,000 feet of elevation just to get there, while soaked by a cold September storm. The payoff was an unobstructed view of the range’s formidable link up of fourteeners, the Crestone Traverse, with a fresh dusting of snow. Right above me was a perfect window where I envisioned lining up Kilian with a small light spot of rock of Crestone Peak behind him.
Kilian Jornet during Norman’s 13. (Photo: Nick Danielson)
Kilian appears and I see him looking for the standard descent, but instead he chooses the direct line down a steep system of ledges that will bypass my plan. Disappointed, I fire off a few shots, then start to move. The tedious terrain slows him down and presents me with the opportunity of time. So, I switch to video and shoot a long slow zoom, a shot that would become a favorite of mine from the entire trip. If all had gone to plan, I would be writing that a perfect shot takes a blend of creative vision and intentional setup, but that’s not what happened and truthfully, that’s not very representative of this project.
Kilian Jornet refuels with a Nutella sandwich before embarking on Nolan’s 14, a roughly 100-mile, mostly off-trail link up of 14 14ers in Colorado. (Photo: Nick Danielson)
Moments like this showed me that these projects are not about bringing the camera with the most megapixels, positioning in the perfect location, and nailing the hero shot that was on the moodboard. Attempting that will only result in heartbreak and missed opportunities. When you are on a 30-day project with a vague timeline and dozens of unpredictable factors, you need to lean into the imperfection to create imagery that you can’t predict. Let the ambiguity inspire and motivate you.
If all had gone to plan, I would be writing that a perfect shot takes a blend of creative vision and intentional setup, but that’s not what happened and truthfully, that’s not very representative of this project.
Andy Cochrane: Couldn’t agree more. I had a similar moment a few days earlier, when I hiked up the backside of Mount Massive, hoping to meet Kilian near the summit. Without service to check his tracker, I was worried I would be too late, so I redlined to the top. Sweaty and disheveled, I made it to the summit as golden hour lit up the ridge to the west, but Kilian was nowhere to be seen. I waited as the soft light turned to blue hour, then I decided to continue on, eventually rendezvousing with Kilian near dark. Instead of calling it a day, I switched to a prime lens and bumped the ISO, giving the images more grain and mood. As it would turn out, they are some of my favorites from the entire trip.
Kilian Jornet takes a moment during his 31-day mega quest. (Photo: Andy Cochrane)
Leaning into spontaneity quickly became the name of the game. Most photo work—portraits, fashion, fine art, street, or even sports photography— is defined by rules like leading lines, negative space, and the rule of thirds, but on this project we threw out the rulebook, capturing the moment as raw and immersive as possible, without worrying about technically perfect shots. If you want to bring viewers along for the ride, use the tools at your disposal and the light you’re given, even if those photos would fail an art class.
2. Know When To Run—And To Rest.
Andy: On the third day, I met up Kilian on Argentine Pass in central Colorado, a few minutes after a pair of loud thunderclaps and hail began to fall. We chatted about our options and decided to get off the ridge, not wanting to risk getting stuck up high in a lightning storm. By the time we reached the valley floor, the storm had passed, so we rallied up 14ers Grays and Torryes at sunset. We eventually returned to the cars around 11 p.m. It was like three or four vastly different days in one.
The goat and a goat. (Photo: Andy Cochrane)
On the long descent in the dark, I found myself contemplating balance. Spending nine-plus hours with Kilian was incredible, but certainly not sustainable. Some days I would need to bring snacks, layers, and a headlamp to go into the night. Other days I would need to play the long game, shoot selectively, and find a coffee shop to dive into the edit cave. Knowing when and how to make that call became crucial.
It goes without saying that we ran a lot, despite only a fraction of what Kilian did. Most of our access points were spur trails, often six or more miles one way, which meant the distance added up quickly. My largest day was 38 miles with 9,000 feet of vert, all with camera in hand. Over his two weeks in Colorado, Nick covered 225 miles with just under 80,000 feet of climbing. But good fitness was just table stakes for the project—even more important was managing our energy, or risk burn out.
Good fitness was just table stakes for the project—even more important was managing our energy, or risk burn out.
Nick: Definitely. The challenge with shooting these endurance projects is that you can have a great plan but so much is out of your control. For example, when we got to the Nolan’s 14 route in the Sawatch Range, we were met with thunderstorms that pushed Kilian’s timeline back by hours. The night was starting to descend when he got to me, as was another bout of rain. He took some time at my truck to eat a nutella sandwich and warm up before embarking on the linkup of six fourteeners. I sent him off to push through the next 14 hours alone and in the rain.
Kilian Jornet in the Elks Range of Colorado. “The challenge with shooting these endurance projects is that you can have a great plan but so much is out of your control.” (Photo: Nick Danielson)
It’s a weird feeling to be sitting at a burrito joint in Buena Vista, editing photos and hiding from the storm while your subject is out there. It’s also weird knowing that you are going to be missing imagery from a large portion of one of the more recognizable parts of the entire project. It’s easy to feel guilty for not making a greater effort, in the face of someone making such a massive one of their own.
In these moments I remind myself that the point of the project is not the documentation. Kilian is not here so that I can take a photo of him and just because we did not document a piece of the story does not invalidate his efforts. We are brought on these projects to give a glimpse into the world and this requires a balance. There were numerous times I could’ve gone out for more miles, but knowing where to spend your efforts during a month-long project becomes critical, fast.
3. Be As Present As Your Subject
“Few people can dream up projects like Alpine Connections or States of Elevation, but the all-encompassing presentness is more accessible for the rest of us than it appears.” (Photo: Nick Danielson)
Nick: Last year, near the end of the Alpine Connections project, I was waiting for Kilian at the foot of a glacier in the Mont Blanc area. He arrived and I routinely, uncreatively, inquired “how are you?”
He responded, “I’m here.” There was an intensity and quiet truthfulness to this. “How was your day?” he followed. Much more was implied behind his concise greeting, but in its simplest form I think he was just wildly and fully engaged. A constant level of commitment to the place he was in, at that exact moment in time, for nearly three weeks. Few people can dream up projects like Alpine Connections or States of Elevation, but the all-encompassing presentness is more accessible for the rest of us than it appears.
Kilian Jornet rode 870 miles of desert to California’s 15 fourteeners. (Photo: Nick Danielson)
Few people can dream up projects like Alpine Connections or States of Elevation, but the all-encompassing presentness is more accessible for the rest of us than it appears.
Being on these projects with Kilian is a gift—they are both fully immersive and highly demanding, and it’s a privilege to be able to dedicate three, four, or five weeks to your craft. You owe it to your subject to be fully present and in turn, you will create better work if you do.
Kilian Jornet set the supported fastest known time on the Norman’s 13 route in the Sierra in the middle of his massive project. (Photo: Andy Cochrane)
Andy: And once you see this type of work as a gift, it doesn’t feel as hard or long or stressful, which allows you to be more creative in how you shoot. I started to see every day as an opportunity to create new types of images and grow my skills, which obviously brings out the best in anyone.
On our second day in the Sierra, I set my alarm for 3 a.m., just to check on Kilian’s progress through the night. I was surprised to see he was nearly ten hours ahead of schedule, forcing me to crawl out of my sleeping bag, hop in the driver’s seat, and rush to the trailhead. I ran up Kearsarge Pass, to (hopefully) meet him around sunrise. Typically this isn’t my ideal morning by any stretch of the imagination, but in the moment I was just grateful to have opportunities that push me to expand my craft.
Ironically, Kilian decided to take a nap around 4 a.m., right after I lost service. That meant I didn’t see him for sunrise, but instead got to watch sunrise above Sequoia National Park— and how often do you get to say that? We linked up a couple hours later and ran ten miles together, crossing the iconic Rae Lakes area. Over that stretch, I lost count of how many times he said “it’s beautiful.” Kilian is in awe of the natural things around him, from old trees to striations in the rock, encouraging me to do the same in my photos. Little things like pole grips or sly smiles became the defining pixels in those images.
“Kilian is in awe of the natural things around him, from old trees to striations in the rock, encouraging me to do the same in my photos.” (Photo: Andy Cochrane)
4. It’s A Team Sport
Andy: Some days following Kilian was easy, but most days we had to work for it. On the first morning of the project I hiked up Longs Peak an hour ahead of Kilian and his first pacer of the project, Kyle Richardson, climbing an icy fifth class route called the Cables to get a shot at sunrise. The two chatted casually while moving so fast up the technical scramble to the summit, I was full on redlining to keep up. Right after I texted the crew group chat, “Am I getting hazed?”
I was full on redlining to keep up. Right after I texted the crew group chat, “Am I getting hazed?”
Near the end of the trip, Nick dealt with 60 mph winds and snow on Mount Shasta, helping bring viewers into the moment. In between we both experienced rain, snow, and plenty of days that ended at 2 or 3 a.m., after long slogs out in the wilderness.
“Shooting doesn’t have to be a solo art. In fact, it’s probably better as a team.” (Photo: Andy Cochrane)
Although most of these moments were solo, the two of us stayed in contact via satellite texting, while one of us was in the backcountry. This allowed us to tweak the plan, share updates, coordinate moves, or just heckle each other. You can do a lot in 140 characters to support each other and keep morale high.
Shooting doesn’t have to be a solo art. In fact, it’s probably better as a team. Riffing on ideas, styles, and gear helped me grow, not to mention motivate me during the long, wet, and grueling days. It’s always better when you know someone has your back.
Andy Cochrane’s largest day following Kilian Jornet included 38 miles with 9,000 feet of vert, all with camera in hand. (Photo: Andy Cochrane)
Nick: Truly incredible the emotion you can convey in a concisely worded InReach message. When attempting to find creative support for the remote parts of this project, there were a lot of qualities I was looking for in a photographer. But perhaps above all else, I stressed finding someone who was capable of being self-sufficient in mountain terrain. Someone who could be autonomous and I could trust would deliver good content without hand-holding.
I found this in Andy, however, one of the things I wound up cherishing the most was not that I didn’t have to worry about Andy when he was out on the trail at 3 a.m. having “a stare down with some large animal in the bushes” (an actual inreach message I received) but instead were the miles that we found ourselves running and shooting together.
Kilian Jornet summits Mount Rainier, the final of 72 14,000-foot peaks that he linked in 31 days. (Photo: Nick Danielson)
These moments didn’t make the most sense logistically—one of us should probably have been resting or eating or editing—but feeling like you’re creating something together and sharing in that memorable experience was a nice reprieve from all the moments that I spent alone over these 31 days. There are times to be strategic in the execution of these projects, but there is also always room for enjoyment. Part of why we are attracted to this work is because it is challenging, yes, but what keeps us doing the work is the love we have for it. Make sure you always find space for those moments.
Interactive swag captures the spooky Halloween spirit from start to finish line
NORTHVILLE, MI — Wicked Run 2025 is turning up the Halloween fun with a one-of-a-kind race-day swag package that brings the night to life. This year’s event features glow-in-the-dark shirts and a pumpkin-themed medal that not only glows at night but can also be opened — adding a playful twist to the traditional finisher medal.
The race, popular among runners and families for its festive, spooky atmosphere, takes place in Northville, Michigan, and is part of the long-running Wicked Halloween Runs series. Organizers wanted swag that would capture the essence of Halloween while giving runners something truly memorable to take home.
This year’s event swag was designed and produced by X T-shirt, a partner known for delivering end-to-end solutions that transform standard race merchandise into immersive race-day experiences.
For Wicked Run 2025, the X T-shirt design team focused on capturing the playful, spooky spirit of Halloween — from glowing pumpkins and eerie greens on the shirts to a medal that lights up in the dark and even opens to reveal a hidden scene. By managing both design and production in-house, X T-shirt ensured every detail — including the glow intensity and the mechanical precision of the openable medal — aligned perfectly with the race’s theme and delivered a reliable, high-quality experience for both organizers and participants.
“Glow-in-the-dark technology adds a layer of excitement to Halloween-themed races,” said Ryan Zhu, founder of X T-shirt. “We wanted to give Wicked Run participants something that’s not only a finisher reward but also part of the night-time fun. The moment the sun goes down, the pumpkin smiles back at you.”
The Wicked Run 2025 takes place in Northville, Michigan, and invites runners of all ages to dress up, have fun, and experience the magic of running in the glow. Registration is open at: https://runsignup.com/Race/MI/Northville/WickedHalloweenRuns.
About X T-shirt / Magic Race Shirts
Who We Are
X T-shirt creates interactive race apparel and medals, including glow-in-the-dark, color-changing (UV reactive), and sweat-activated (hydrochromic) technologies. Our mission is to transform standard race merchandise into memorable experiences that enhance participation, sponsorship, and community engagement.
Every race is unique. We provide free design services, tailoring shirts and medals to match each event’s theme — from 5K to marathons — ensuring every piece of merchandise feels like part of the story.
Free Samples
We also provide free samples so race directors can see and feel the quality before making decisions. Learn more at MagicRaceShirts.com.
Few trail races begin with compulsory mountaineering helmets, but the unusual start of the Kailas FUGA Gongga 100 Extreme Glacier Challenge was different from most races.
This weekend’s ultramarathon race calendar includes Cuyamaca 100k, The Hennepin Hundred, Arkansas Traveler, Oil Creek 100 Trail Runs, and Iron Horse Ultra.
Although Twisted Branch is just one Saturday in August, its impact on the people in the community, the runners that train for it and perhaps, most importantly, the longevity of the Bristol Hills Branch, stretches much farther.
Tracy O’Brien closes in on the race high point of Mount Antero at the High Lonesome 100 in Colorado. Tracy and husband, Michael, both completed the race this year. Photo: Jordan Chapell | Mile 90 Photography
“Diana’s contributions to the Western States Endurance Run are among some of the most significant accomplishments WSER has ever seen,” Gaylord said. “Our organization has always been powered by the belief that no one single individual is greater than the whole, or is solely responsible for our successes. There are, however, individuals that exemplify leadership, teamwork, and organization stewardship who are so extraordinary in all of these areas that they are deserving of individual recognition. This is what Diana Fitzpatrick has meant to WSER. She has exemplified in her years with Western States as a runner, volunteer, pacer, crew member, board member, executive committee member and president the most worthy characteristics of a Little Cougar Award recipient.
