2018 Year in Review and Predictions for 2019 | Sarah, Eric, and Dylan Bowman

It’s that time of year again. Each December, the URP crack team of historians (Sarah and I) put together a list of fun categories that look back at the year of ultramarathon and trail results and trends and make bold predictions for the coming year.

We also talk about personal goals and accomplishments and while DBo is laser focused on Hardrock, mine are a bit more mellow and Sarah has her own plans that she details here.

Jim Walmsley en route to his CR at Lake Sonoma 50 miler in April.

In 2014, Tropical John Medinger joined Sarah and I, and 2015, Ultrarunning Magazine Publisher Karl Hoagland sat down and shared his views. In 2016, we had Mario Fraioli for his opinions and last year in 2017 Jamil Coury shared his perspective. Go back and give them a listen.  I’ll be honest, some of them are pretty embarrassing as we were SO OFF on our predictions. 

My highlight: Ladia Albertson Junkans and Sunny finishing Broken Arrow.

This year we asked Dylan Bowman to join us. Dylan’s not only a top athlete, but the guy is a real student of the sport and watches, studies, and loves to talk about results, training, trends, and what he thinks will happen in such and such race. He turned out to be the perfect co-host for us, offering a unique perspective and sharing some interesting answers.

Jenny jurek trail running ultramarathon pic by Luis Escobar

2018 Ultramarathon and Trail Running Year in Review Categories

* Most significant overall trend of the year.* Most influential person in the sport. Male, female.