Katie Schide lives in France and spends most of her time racing in Europe, but the 32-year-old native of Gardiner, Maine, returned to the U.S. for her debut performance at the 2023 Western States Endurance Run and made a major splash, breaking the long-standing course record and finishing second in the women’s race to world-class mountain runner Courtney Dauwalter.
This year, Schide returned to Western States as the women’s favorite at the 51st edition of the race on June 29-30, in Olympic Valley, Calif., and she made more history.
The first Saturday of December always ranks among the most drama-filled days in North American ultrarunning thanks to the annual Western States Endurance Run and Hardrock 100-mile lotteries. Selection Saturday was worth the wait for several current and former New England ultrarunners this year as they came up big and were selected for two of the United States’ most hyped and high-profile events.
A bright media spotlight was focused on the front of the pack at the 27th edition of the Hardrock 100 – and for good reason. On the men’s side, defending champion Francois D’Haene squared off against four-time champion Kilian Jornet, while the women’s side featured the dominant Courtney Dauwalter’s pursuit for redemption following a DNF in 2021.
“Who’s the guy in the dress shirt,” a Twitter follower inquired, offering a fist-bump emoji of respect in his response to the iRunFar photo from the start of the 2022 Western States Endurance Run on Saturday, June 25.
A staple of the West Coast trail-running scene – Trail Camp – is returning to Massachusetts.
Five years after the Trail Animals Running Club last played host to a trail-running camp in the Bay State, Douglyss Giuliana, head running coach at Adapt & Thrive Performance, is resurrecting the experience. Giuliana will play host to a three-day trail-running camp June 24-26 at Harold Parker State Forest in Andover, Mass.
