Fourteen years ago, I took a flying leap to dedicate myself full time to iRunFar. At the time, I was a young Washington, D.C., attorney who wasn’t getting what he needed out of work. I’d already been a runner for 15 years at that point and had this little side project called iRunFar.com, where I shared my passion for trail running and ultrarunning. Other than a slew of personal running blogs, there wasn’t much going on in the space at the time. As it were, I ran with it.
Even though the journey was certainly challenging at times, that gamble paid off in more ways than I could have imagined. I’ve made lifelong friends, experienced more of the world than I’d ever dreamed possible, and, hopefully, added to the sport that has given so much to me.
Bryon Powell running the Yading Skyrace in the mountainous west of China’s Sichuan province in 2016. Photo: Roger Graham
At the same time, iRunFar grew from a personal training blog to a one-man informational website to one full-on media entity. Today, we have four full-time staff, a slew of supporting staff within AllGear Digital, and many columnists, writers, and race coverage assistants. I’m proud of the fact that iRunFar is now a global leader in trail running and ultrarunning.
Since the very first post in December 2006, iRunFar’s published more than 6,500 articles by well over 100 authors. We’ve also provided our hallmark in-person race coverage of more than 100 races in nearly 20 countries on five continents. That’s reflective of seeing as well as being a part of our sport becoming truly global.
In short, what a journey! That journey’s far from over for iRunFar or for me. However, it’s time for me to pass on the baton of leadership while I collect my breath and support the team as they sprint on. Fortunately, the most capable hands of our current Managing Editor, Meghan Hicks, are there to receive the handoff and run the next leg as Editor-in-Chief.
Meghan Hicks wearing a big smile during her successful Bob Graham Round completion in England in 2017. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Meghan first supported me as a partner as I jumped into iRunFar full time. At first, she simply helped out with the site. Then, she joined iRunFar as its second full timer way back in 2013.
As iRunFar’s second in command for more than a decade and a trail runner and ultrarunner for even longer, Meghan knows the sport – its people, places, and races. Even more, she knows how to communicate about it, and how to organize a team to do the same as well as anyone out there. I couldn’t be more excited to see where she’ll take iRunFar and will support her in any way I can.
Team iRunFar — Bryon Powell, Sarah Brady, and Meghan Hicks — at the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
At the same time, with Meghan stepping up, iRunFar has a hole at its Managing Editor — or, rather, it had such a hole. I’m also excited to announce that Editor Sarah Brady will become iRunFar’s new Managing Editor. While the vast majority of Sarah’s efforts have been behind the scenes in editing the work of all the writers you see here on iRunFar, you may know her from her columns The Long Game and It Takes a Village, her various other articles, and her handful of video interviews for iRunFar.
It’s worth reminding everyone that Sarah’s an accomplished mountain runner and ultrarunner in her own right. In fact, she just represented Ireland in the Trail World Championships 80k at the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Austria!
I hope to limit myself to a part-time role for the foreseeable future after we work through a transition period. But I’ll still be here at iRunFar! I’ll manage a segment of our gear testing team, write occasional articles, help cover races from time to time, and otherwise work with Meghan and the team to see where to best put my skills to use.
I suspect you’ll see more changes than usual here at iRunFar over the coming months. Meghan’s new ideas will inspire new directions, and, hopefully, create more space and greater capacity for creative, new storytelling. I, for one, am excited to see what iRunFar, in all its forms, looks like down the trail a ways. What a journey it will be.
And one last thing … Thanks to all of you, iRunFar’s readers, who’ve been such an important part of iRunFar’s journey to this point and who will hopefully join us for the journey to come!
Happy trails,
Bryon
Bryon, Meghan, and Sarah enjoying some trail time after covering UTMB in 2022. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
