5 Emerging Running Trends for 2026
Here is a quick look at five key running trends that will emerge in 2026 based on what we saw at The Running Event trade show.
The last week in August is one of the biggest weeks in running.
No, it’s not just that summer is running out, and we’re all scrambling to log enough long runs to make sure we’re prepared for fall half marathon and marathon racing.
It’s the week of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (aka UTMB) in Chamonix, France.
The Ultra What?! If you’re not a trail runner, this 174-kilometer (107-mile) race that sends runners around the Mont-Blanc Massif through parts of France, Italy, and Switzerland, might not be on your radar, or it just might not be your cup of tea. But here are six reasons you should be interested.
In all, there are eight races this week in this picturesque French mountain village that hosted the original Winter Olympics in 1924. Several races start in neighboring mountain towns in Italy and Switzerland, but most send runners back on trails to the finish line in Chamonix.
Races range in distances from 15K (9.4 miles) to 300K (186 miles) and most have huge climbs and descents. In all, more than 12,000 runners will be competing in the races, including a record 550 from the United States. The biggest three events of the week (the OCC 50K, CCC 100K, UTMB) are the championship races of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc World Series, a 60-race global series in which runners can earn qualifying points (or stones) with the hopes of running in one of the races in Chamonix.
All of the races can be followed via live tracking, while the championship races can be watched via livestream on the UTMB website or via YouTube. The around-the-clock live coverage includes expert commentary in English and French with video coverage provided via drones, e-mountain bike riders, and runner follow cams.
American women have won the prestigious 107-mile UTMB race 10 times—more than any other country—and Courtney Dauwalter has won it three times. She’s going for her fourth win on Friday-Saturday, which, if she succeeds, would put her one behind the record set by British runner Lizzy Hawker in 2012.
Dauwalter, a 40-year-old runner from Leadville, Colorado, has won the past 25 of the past 26 races she’s finished dating back to 2020, with the lone exception of the 2023 Javelina Jundred 100K race that she ran with her mom. Otherwise, she’s been unbeatable since 2018, although she did suffer a rare DNF at the Cocodona 250 race in Arizona in May. (She was leading at the 108-mile mark when she dropped out due to stomach problems.)
Dauwalter is universally loved in the running world, not only because she’s so good, but she’s so playfully fun, humble, and easy going about her training and racing. (She loves beer and nachos, eats lots of candy during races, and loves hearing and telling dad jokes!)
While Dauwalter is the favorite, it won’t be easy. The race startis at 5:45 p.m., rain is in the forecast, and the course includes 33,000 feet of elevation gain and loss. One of the top challengers figures to be fellow American Abby Hall, a 35-year-old runner from Flagstaff, Arizona, who won the Western States 100 on June 29, just two years after suffering a horrific fall that led to a badly broken left leg and major ligament damage.
Aside from Dauwalter, the U.S. has numerous other top international stars running here this week. In fact, Careth Arnold, a 35-year-old runner from Panonia, Colorado, won the less prominent but equally as difficult 148K TDS race on Tuesday night, covering the 91-mile course with 30,500 feet of elevation gain and loss in about 23 hours and 45 minutes.
Other top Americans entered in races this week include Jim Walmsley, the only American man to win the prestigious UTMB race. The 35-year-old runner from Flagstaff, Arizona, is running the OCC 50K this year, in part because he wants to keep his legs fresh for the 80K race at next month’s World Mountain and Trail Running World Championships in Spain. Utah’s Hayden Hawks is one of the favorites in the men’s UTMB race, while Eli Hemming is a top contender in the men’s CCC 100K. On the women’s side, Heather Jackson, a former pro triathlete who is now a professional gravel cyclist and trail runner, is a top contender in the women’s UTMB.
Trail running shoe brands from around the world are using the gathering of elite runners, age-group runners, supporters, enthusiasts, and fans in Chamonix to show off new trail running shoes. Among the brands that are launching new trail running shoes this week include Nike, Adidas-Terrex, Brooks, Rossignol, The North Face, Mount to Coast, Hoka, Kailua, and Ulu. The most prominent shoes revealed so far are three cushy but agile carbon-infused racing super shoes—the Nike ACG Ultrafly (pictured above), Adidas-Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra 2, and Brooks Cascadia Elite. (They won’t be in stores until this fall or next spring.)
Situated about 12,000 feet below the 15,777-foot summit of Mont Blanc (the highest peak in Western Europe), Chamonix is an amazing outdoor adventure town. While it was originally known for mountaineering and skiing, it has become a trail running hub since the dawn of the 21st century and the inception of the original UTMB race in 2003. There are hundreds of miles of trails to run in the valley, most of which include massive climbs and stunning views of the massive, glaciated mountain peaks. Sadly, reports have suggested the glaciers will melt entirely within about 75 years.
It’s still in the early stages of development, but there has been some momentum to get trail running into the Olympics. It probably won’t happen until at least 2032, but more likely it will have to wait until 2036. The early discussion suggests it would likely enter the Olympics in a sub-ultra discipline, meaning the race distances would be somewhere between 10 and 20 miles in length to make it easy to watch on TV. It will take a lot of organization and cooperation from national federations, and, of course, effort from World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee.
Senior editor Brian Metzler has wear-tested more than 2,500 running shoes and is the author of “Kicksology: The Hype, Science, Culture and Cool of Running Shoes” (2019) and “Trail Running Illustrated” (2019). He has raced just about every distance from 100 meters to 100 miles, but he’s most eager to share stories about his experiences pack burro racing in Colorado.
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