🗞 The Scoop: 10 Trail Storylines That Might Define 2026 2026 by Dani Moreno

Happy 2026! Wow, time flies. Am I excited for 2026? You bet I am. I’m excited because choosing hope feels more intentional than ever.

Outside of my own personal adventure, I have also been watching this month unfold with a mix of curiosity and caution. It’s been hard to find energy for the headlines lately. Between heightened geopolitical tensions, the unavoidable signs of climate change, major job losses, the looming acceleration of AI, and ongoing domestic polarization, the world feels heavy at times in a way that’s hard to ignore.

But as I’ve learned through my own personal very dark stretch over the past few months, I don’t want to live without hope. Hope isn’t pretending things are fine, it’s choosing to stay engaged anyway. It’s remembering that even in messy seasons, there are places where energy is still being built instead of drained.

For me, trail running is one of those places, and honestly sport in general. I’m genuinely excited for this year, not just for the races, but for the people. The community, the shared suffering, the weird joy of chasing something hard together. And while the sport is still growing and is not perfect, I think we’re working to acknowledge that in the right ways. We’re having harder conversations. We’re recognizing gaps. We’re trying to build something more inclusive, more sustainable, and more honest than what came before. That kind of growth can be difficult and uncomfortable, but it’s real and thoughtful.

Maybe that’s part of why sport matters a little extra right now: it reminds me that progress isn’t always clean, but it’s possible. Stories are still unfolding. There are still things very much worth showing up for.

So with that in mind, here are the 10 trail headlines and storylines in the short trail I’m most excited to follow in 2026:

1. Broken Arrow vs. Mont-Blanc: prestige or prize purse?
   With the Broken Arrow Skyrace and the Marathon du Mont-Blanc falling one weekend apart — and Broken Arrow offering a $30K first-place prize compared to Mont-Blanc’s $10K — athletes may have to choose between two incredible races. Who follows the money? Who staked claim in Chamonix June Gem? And which race draws the deeper field?

2. How will athletes and brands respond to GTWS new format?
   With the Golden Trail World Series returning to a “best 3 results out of 8 + Grand Finale” model, new segment and team challenges, and an increased prize purse, do deeper elite fields return? Are we about to see the most competitive GTWS season yet?

3. Will Miao Yao chase a third OCC crown?
   If Miao Yao returns to OCC and wins again, does that cement her as the women’s 50k GOAT? I think she is already in the conversation, and would.

4. Who becomes the king of the 50k?
   With talents like Eli Hemming and Francesco Puppi appearing like they are taking up more of a residence in longer distances, who are the new faces ready to dominate the men’s 50k scene?

5. Will the East African trio step up in distance?
   Could Elhousine Elazzaoui, Patrick Kipngeno, or Philemon Kiriago target OCC or another 50k? If they do, how does that effect both the GTWS and 50k landscape..

6. Can an American man crack the GTWS podium?
   Is 2026 the year an American finishes top 3 overall in GTWS? My eyes are on Taylor Stack.

7. UTCT as a preview of Worlds: will South Africa draw the deepest 50k ever?
   With the 2027 World Championships headed to South Africa, will elites flock to Ultra-Trail Cape Town this year to study the terrain? Could that 50k field become historically deep?

8. Can anyone challenge Brooks in GTWS team scoring?
   Does a rival brand threaten Brooks Running in sub-ultra, or does their depth continue to rule the series?

9. Has Broken Arrow become America’s Sierre-Zinal?
   Has Broken Arrow Skyrace reached the point where an American win carries the same weight as a Swiss victory at Sierre-Zinal?

10. Is OCC entering its super era and how does it compare to a GTWS title?
    Is OCC becoming so stacked that winning it now carries more weight than ever? Are we watching the equivalent of a Grand Slam final where the top 10 could realistically win, and does a victory there rival, or even surpass, winning the Golden Trail World Series overall? It’s still hard to say… but the comparison is no longer crazy.

And of course, fun storylines are easy in January and chaos is guaranteed by June, but that’s part of the fun.

What storylines are you most excited to follow along?

Sub Hub Stories: Lauren Gregory

Lauren Gregory is a seven time All-American at the University of Arkansas as well as a two time Team USA member. She is currently based in Boulder, Colorado and runs for Nike. Lauren has been dabbling in the Golden Trail World Series and WMRA races for the last couple of years, but she made a huge statement at the Golden Trail World Series finals in 2024 where she finished 2nd. This last year, Lauren finished 5th in the Classic distance at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Canfranc, Spain.

What does your current training look like right now as you build off your strong 2025 season?

I’m currently training for the Mesa Half as a tune-up for the NYC half in March which is the ultimate winter/early spring goal. So training has been very threshold and “flat running” focused.

Who are you working with from a coaching perspective, and what does your training group or environment look like day to day?

My coach is Ben True who has been my coach since leaving college. I now live and train in Boulder and have a good mix of people I run with. I mainly train with Allie Ostrander, her fiancé Spencer, and Nick Turco. I like that there doesn’t need to be an official “group” to feel like we’re still on a team. We can all have different coaches and different races we’re training for yet still overlap when we can and support each other’s training.

Coming off a breakout year, what feels most different in your training compared to this time last season?

Honestly, training is about the same as last winter but my environment is different. I also wasn’t able to carry out this half marathon block fully due to an Achilles injury last year. I’m doing roughly the same training but trying to be more intentional about staying healthy (PT, fueling, lifting, sleeping, etc.) to make this build more successful. I do feel much stronger than I ever have been coming off 2025 so I hope that can translate to a fast half and a healthy build towards my spring/summer goals.

Are there specific systems you’re leaning into more this cycle (volume, intensity, strength, terrain, altitude, etc.)?

I think the half marathon build is a good excuse to lean into threshold work which is a system we’ve been hitting more of recently. I still try to keep volume up - obviously volume is relative - but high for me while still getting quality sessions in. I still hit the trails for lower impact volume and fun but I do enjoy leaning into flat running and tapping back into some speed.

Do you feel like you’re still experimenting, or are you starting to lock in what works best for you as an athlete?

I’m definitely still experimenting. I’ve learned a ton in the past 2 years and have enjoyed the learning curve that this sport throws at you. I felt pretty close to “dialed in” by the end of last year but there’s always more to figure out. I’m not going to make any drastic changes in training and my daily routines but I’d like to experiment with longer races this year.

How are you thinking about 2026 right now, both in terms of goals and your tentative race schedule?

It almost feels wrong to speak a schedule into existence because I feel like things rarely go to plan. Let’s just say tentatively, I’m treating the winter as a half marathon quest, venture into longer races like Zegama and Canyons 50K, make Broken Arrow 23K a priority, and eventually focus on OCC (if I’m able to qualify) in the late summer. If this doesn’t happen, I’ll run it back on Golden Trail and try to improve my ranking from last year. I am excited by the unknown of the 50K distance and want to see what OCC is about. That’s mainly what’s guiding me through this year. Possibly, if all goes well, I’d try to get a block in for CIM in December.

What are your thoughts on Nike’s increased investment in trail running, including their sponsorship of the Broken Arrow Skyrace and the increased prize purse for the 23K?

Oh man, I’m obviously so stoked on Nike’s huge investment into trail. Selfishly, as their athlete, it’s nice to see them valuing the discipline of trail that I compete in. I know ultra is a big deal and still kind of the pinnacle of trail but it’s nice to know my brand sees value in the shorter distances that I tend toward. For the sport, I think it’s incredible to see a brand set the bar so high to help further professionalize trail. It was such a huge statement to make and forces other brands to respond which only helps the sport and the athletes involved. Not to mention investing in grassroots, independently owned events in the US outside of the big series is just a cool move.

Trail Throwback

Trail Throwback is our space for the stat junkies (like us 🙃), history buffs, and trail nerds who love connecting the dots between past and present—spotlighting the performances and people who helped build the sport we love.

As the global 50K landscape has matured, a handful of early-season races have quietly become modern measuring sticks. In the U.S., that role was historically held by races like Way Too Cool 50K and Chuckanut 50K—events still deeply rooted in tradition and capable of drawing strong fields. But in recent years, there’s been a noticeable shift.

More attention is now flowing toward 50Ks that sit alongside early-season Golden Ticket 100Ks—races like Tarawera Ultra-Trail 50K and Black Canyon 50K, with Canyons following closely behind in April. Add in teams bringing full winter squads to these events (hello, Adidas Terrex 👀), and these races have quickly turned into some of the most competitive early-season showdowns on the calendar.

So for this month’s throwback, we’re grounding things with a bit of recent history—highlighting the current course records at two of these modern benchmarks.

Tarawera 50K

Fast, runnable, and deceptively demanding. While the course has seen changes here and there, these are what we believe are the current course records.

• Women: ’23 — Allie McLaughlin (USA) — 3:43:38

• Men: ’25 — Hayden Hawks (USA) — 3:18:45

Black Canyon 50K

With Mountain Outpost live streaming now covering the 50K, Black Canyon is solidifying itself as a true North American proving ground, where athletes can measure early-season fitness against depth, not just terrain.

• Women: ’25 — Allison Baca (USA) — 3:45:09

• Men: ’25 — Jeshurun Small (USA) — 3:22:52

Trail Training Tip: It’s Cross Training Season

Even though big races start next month for a lot people, it’s still very early in the year! Add in some cross training, like biking or swimming, to make the season a bit more healthy. You’ve got all year to run big mileage, so might as well give your body a break since we know you won’t give racing a break 😉

Coach E