u/Rocket_Man333

Sounds like it was a tough decision, but she says she's not fully recovered from Western States.

This is Kyle’s Substack post about it. His is one of my most read Substacks. Apparently someone from this sub reported him for something. From the Substack:

I naturally replied back to the moderators asking for clarification and received very little specifics. “Your posting was reported a few times and it could be seen as free advertising” was the closest to a reason I was given. I offered to remove my preface in my messages, not mention that I am a coach and even put fourth that if the free resource posting was an issue, I’d stick to strictly answering questions other members posted. I expressed I just genuinely wanted to contribute the knowledge I have accumulated over 2 decades to a community I care deeply about.
Crickets.
A few interesting observations about the ban before I get into why this is a symptom of a larger issue:
First, there was no rules violation. I responded to the moderators and they could not tell me what community rule I broke, because I did not break one.
Second, the post I was apparently banned for was only posted in one of the two pages, not both, yet somehow led to a ban in both.
Third, there was only at the time, one person who was a moderator for both rooms. One person who decided that they were right and the half a million viewers of the posts who enjoyed the content, were wrong.

From the article:
The sporting side of the 2026 edition is untouched. Registration closed before Laffin took office in late March, he told L’Équipe, leaving no room to alter the races themselves. The commercial side was still within reach. Laffin has ordered the brand village confined to the Place du Mont-Blanc rather than spreading through the town center, a decision he acknowledged organizers “weren’t exactly thrilled” to receive, in remarks translated from the French. He also pointed to a newer irritant: brands staging their own unofficial races alongside the eight official events….The list for 2027 and beyond is longer, and it carries the backing of the prefecture and elected officials across the valley. Over the next five years, he wants fewer competitors passing through nature reserves, night racing reduced or eliminated in protected areas, a smaller race lineup, and limits on spectators, possibly including a rotation system in which fans who attended one year would be asked to sit out the next.

I remember watching the live feed from Hard Rock and hearing from the aid station reports that Tara’s crew was asking for privacy. This is a subscriber free Substack post from Liz Derstine, one of Tara’s crew members there. It’s an interesting look into what Tara overcame to podium that day and all that transpired with her and her crew. It’s a great read.

From the article:

“When Tara arrived she looked distraught.
She said at the last pass, Kroger's, she got really scared and didn't know where she was. She looked absolutely frightened.
She looked deep into Reese's eyes (I believe) and kept repeating, "I'm scared, I'm scared." We asked her some questions, like did she know where she was now? Who's the current president Reese and Brooke checked how much salt she had stashed in her vest to evaluate how much she'd taken since we last saw her.”

"Some people sleep for 14 hours after running 100 miles. Zach Miller hands out free popsicles.

Less than a day after finishing 5th at Western States in a blazing 14:20:09 (the 10th fastest men's time in race history, btw), Zach was back at the Zach Shack, his mini bus camper he drove out from Colorado, doing what he does best off the trail: feeding people.
Sometimes it's homemade donuts. Not this time. In his words: "When I woke up Sunday morning, I thought making donuts is a lot of work, and everybody loves popsicles on a hot day."
No ego. No victory lap. Just a guy and a freezer full of popsicles for anyone who wandered by.

This. This is what the trail community is all about."

Mountain Outpost and Cocodona put numbers on how big the race broadcast has become: this year’s livestream drew 1.42 million total views, 43,000 peak live viewers, 130,000 live-chat messages, 126 hours on mic, and 2,100-plus road miles from the production crew. Cocodona’s audience has jumped from 247K views in 2023 to 841K last year to 1.42M this year.

We saw this at Javelina where a crowd funding link to generate prize money was on the live stream in the comments section. It sounds like there were issues that kept Mountain Outpost from having it this year, but there is hope to have it in the future. It's a ground breaking idea. Any thoughts on where this will go in the future. Regardless, it's another example of the positive impact for change Jamil is having on our sport.