Marathon Handbook

2 days ago | marathonhandbook.com | Amby Burfoot

For 36-year-old David Roche, 2024 was his annus mirabilis–a miracle year. He entered the first two 100-mile races of his life and won both in convincing fashion. No wonder he’s rated a top contender in the 2025 Western States 100-Mile. But his victories last year weren’t the biggest miracle. The most stunning development was his rapid recovery from a horrific bike accident. In April, on a long training ride, he was struck by a car that veered across his path.

3 days ago | marathonhandbook.com | Amby Burfoot

Rod Farvard has a long memory. In particular, he is haunted by a cross-country race from his senior year in Moraga, California. Farvard dropped out after two miles, feeling that he had hit a wall. Two miles? This didn’t seem like a good omen for someone intrigued by the endurance world. Farvard fought back. He finished his first marathon (in 2:44) the following year while a freshman in college. He began entering triathlons, and then Ironman events, completing one in under 10 hours.

4 days ago | marathonhandbook.com | Amby Burfoot

When Kilian Jornet edges to the front of the narrow Western States 100-Mile start line on June 28, he will be greeted with all the acclaim due a GOAT. Jornet is universally regarded as the most ambitious, accomplished, and technically skilled mountain trail racer of all time. However, his first trip to Western States 15 years ago was quite different. Just 22 years old in 2010, he finished third, dizzy, overheated, and dehydrated.

5 days ago | marathonhandbook.com | Jessy Carveth

Kilian Jornet’s long-awaited return to U.S. racing did not go to plan. Just a week out from his highly anticipated return to the Western States 100, the four-time UTMB champion and global ultrarunning icon placed a surprising 23rd at the Broken Arrow Ascent, a short but steep vertical race in California’s Sierra Nevada. Jornet cited a travel-related illness as the reason for his uncharacteristic result.

1 week ago | marathonhandbook.com | Jessy Carveth

The Boston Marathon is widely regarded as the holy grail for amateur runners (and even many of the elites), and races like REVEL have thrived by offering what many consider the fastest path to qualifying for that coveted bib. But the B.A.A.’s new indexing and qualification rules could upend that model, and force an identity reckoning for downhill marathon brands built around Boston-qualifying performance.