La Sportiva Fireblade Review
More Trail Running Shoe Options To find more options for trail running shoes, check out our Best Trail Running Shoes article. La Sportiva Fireblade Review Every once in a while…
We’re at the Broken Arrow Skyrace all weekend! Anna Gibson and Patrick Kipngeno won Friday’s Broken Arrow Ascent, while Philemon Kiriago and Mădălina Florea won Sunday’s Broken Arrow 23k!
Next week, we’ll have wall-to-wall coverage of the Western States 100, so stay tuned!
Bryon Powell
Title: Founding Editor and Gear Editor, currently managing iRunFar’s buyer’s guides and product reviews
Location: Silverton, Colorado
Social Media Links:
Strava | Instagram | Linkedin
Results Links:
UltraSignup | ITRA index | UTMB index
Expertise and Experience
- Topics of Expertise: Trail running, ultrarunning, running gear, run coaching
- Amount of Expertise: Over 35 years of trail running, over 25 years of ultrarunning, nearly 20 years of reviewing running gear, and 3 years coaching runners. More than 2,000 articles and interviews published on iRunFar. Book author of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and a co-author of Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running.
- Competitive Ultramarathon Highlights:
- Winner & Course Record: 2024 Ultra Gobi 400k
- 2x Age Group Winner: Western States 100 Mile
- 2x Top-10 Finisher: Leadville 100 Mile
- 4x Finisher: Hardrock 100 Mile
- I use high-altitude, ultra-distance mountain races and the training for them as my laboratory for testing the limits of the gear we review at iRunFar.
Winning the 2024 Ultra Gobi. Photo courtesy of race.
Education & Certifications
- Education: Bachelor of Arts, History, Haverford College; Juris Doctorate, George Mason University
- Years of Professional Experience Relevant to iRunFar: 20
- Certifications: Inactive Member, DC and Utah Bars (I bring the same rigors for details, analysis, and ethics from my legal background to every gear review, buyer’s guide, and article on iRunFar.)
- Club or Association Memberships: Running Rivers (conservation non-profit) board vice president, Sierra Club, Trout Unlimited, Delta Theta Phi legal fraternity
- Awards or Recognitions: George Mason University Law Review
- Other Relevant Positions, Current or Past: Former Contributing Editor at Trail Runner magazine, former freelancer with publications such as Outside, Sierra Magazine, Running Times, and GearJunkie
A Word from Bryon Powell
I aim to inform and inspire others about and through trail running and ultrarunning. My personal interests include trail running, ultrarunning, fly fishing, gardening, and skiing (both Nordic and Alpine).
Bryon Powell, iRunFar’s Gear Editor, getting ready to test some trail shoes in his hometown of Silverton, Colorado. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Mount Mitchell Challenge Race Report
My run at the Mount Mitchell Challenge yesterday can be broken into four distinct sections. However, before I get any further into my race report, I need to cut to…
Mount Mitchell Challenge 2008 Preview [Updated 2/22/08 10 PM]
I’ve wanted to run the Mount Mitchell Challenge (MMC) held outside of Asheville, North Carolina ever since I heard of it. Earlier this decade, my sister spent some time living…
Anyone Familiar with the La Sportiva Raceblade/Fireblade
Recently, ultrastud Mike Mason commented enthusiastically about the La Sportiva Raceblade in response to my review of the Montrail Streak. Mike said, Phenom shoe. Flat, fast, just enough protection, elastic…
Fleet Feet – Bend
My buddy and ultra-stud Sean Meissner will be managing a new Fleet Feet store being opened in Bend, Oregon this April by his fellow stud ultramarathoner, Rod Bien. While I…
Training Advice from Anna Pichrtova
Last week, in reflecting upon why he trains, Scott Mason over at Wasatch Speed Goat noted La Sportiva runner, Anna Pichrtova, was spotlighted on mountainrunning.com. After looking over the piece…
The Week of February 11-17, 2008
Synopsis of Week’s Training:Another week and yet more progress in the right direct. I started the week off right on Monday by reintroducing my “Walker’s Fear” loop back into my…
The Week of February 4-10, 2008
Synopsis of Week’s Training: Hi, my name is Bryon and I’m a runner. This past week and this past weekend, in particular, definitely showed me that I’m a runner again….
Running the Country … for Trail Runners?
[2/12/08 11:30 PM Note: I’ve voted, but keep the ideas coming for all the trail runners in states like Wisconsin, Texas, Wyoming, Vermont, and Ohio who have yet to vote…
Montrail Streak Review
More Trail Running Shoe Options To find more options for trail running shoes, check out our Best Trail Running Shoes article. Montrail Streak Review It’s rare that I await a…
Three Random Running Tips
Recently, a friend passed along the following request for “3 running suggestions” for newer runners. My division at work has organized a group called “The Biggest Loser,” like the tv…
Optimal Endurance Base Building or What's the Longest Period that You've Trained for One Race?
As this post is longer than I originally intended, I’ll ask my question to iRunFar community up front: What is the longest period of time that your dedicated to training…
The Week of January 28-February 3, 2008
Synopsis of Week’s Training: Now THAT’s what I’m talking about! Six days of running this week with a 10 mile weekday run, a 16+ mile run on the weekend and…
Take the Stairs!
Even if I’m no longer training for Hardrock, I’ve taken a liking to taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work. This change surely can’t hurt my training for…
Quick Hardrock Update – UPDATED 2/4 12:30 PM
Well, I’m 0 for 2 in lotteries for 2008 ultra. The Hardrock lottery was held yesterday and I came up a wee bit short. After the HRH board draws the…
weRunFar: Angie's One Pink Fuzzy
I’m not sure how I first came across One Pink Fuzzy, but it’s become one of my favorite running blogs. That’s right, I regularly read a blog called “One Pink…
Choosing a Race – What Do You Consider?
Howdy readers,I’m thinking of profiling some races here at iRunFar and am wondering how you choose which races to run. Do factors such as date, size, cost, and location –…
My Places – Anthony Portera edition: Rockefeller State Park Preserve, New York
My friend Anthony Portera from over at Run-A-Long-Way blog was kind enough to write the following post on Rockefeller State Park Preserve as the second installment of the My Places…
Running With Friends and Other Stuff
Most of the time I end up running alone. In fact, a quick query of my mental mainframe reveals that I’ve run everyone of my 28 runs in 2008 by…
The Week of January 21-27, 2008
Synopsis of Week’s Training:After two back-to-back harder efforts, my legs were a bit tired on Monday. I headed out planning on run 8 to 12 miles, but bagged that idea…
weRunFar: Mike from Banff
Last fall I stumbled upon Canadian Mike’s blog. His pictures from runs in the Canadian Rockies are inspiring and often made useful by the inclusion of elevation profiles and trail…
The Week of January 14-20, 2008
Synopsis of Week’s Training:I came into this week having run 13 straight days, including my YTD longest run of 8 mile the preceding Sunday. On Monday, my legs felt tired….
My Places: Potomac Overlook Park, Arlington, Virginia
One of the great things about running is that you end up exploring the areas where you live, work, and visit. During these explorations, we come across places that we…
weRunFar: Andy Jones-Wilkins – Ultra Philosopher
What follows is the first in a new feature here at the iRunFar blog – weRunFar. weRunFar entries will be dedicated to collecting blog entries, blogs, photo albums, websites, and…
Streaking into 2008
I hope y’all don’t mind that I’m mostly posting about my mundane running at the moment. It’s a quiet time of year for ultrarunning and with me neither racing nor…
The Week of January 7-13, 2008
Synopsis of Week’s Training:After not running 12 of the final 14 days of 2007, I started running again in the new year. Heading into this week I’d run 6 straight…
Almost Run
Last night I went for a 5 miler jaunt and it almost felt like I was running. I was still slow and I probably sucked more air than a Dyson….
I'm Not Dead Yet! (My Break Is Over, I Run Again!)
Happy 2008 everyone! In consideration of my previously discussed endocrine fatigue, I took a brief hiatus from running… and as tends to be the case, I also took two full…
