Finding place

Unknown Runner is alive! We launched at TrailCon in Olympic Valley last week. We circled this date on the calendar over a year ago and it was undoubtedly the right place to launch Unknown Runner.

The combination of Broken Arrow, TrailCon, and Western States in a place like Olympic Valley really does make it feel like you’re in the center of the running universe for 10 days.

For 18 months, almost every conversation Katie and I had was related to Unknown Runner. Ideas, hypotheses, dreams, concerns. 18 months of trying to get the pieces to fall into place the way we pictured them in our heads.

Then, one day you’re there, staring up at massive rock walls with some relief that there’s no use in questioning anything anymore because the die is cast.

It didn’t take long for us to realize we were exactly where we needed to be. Conversation after conversation, affirming that those long conversations trying to settle on the reason for Unknown Runner to exist were correct.*

I was also reminded of how incredible it is to be around people with such passion for life. The outdoor industry is full of these people and I’d missed being around them. An infectious zest for life.

Thank you TrailCon, Tahoe/Truckee, and everyone that stopped by to chat. We left feeling more energized than ever to make sure Unknown Runner delivers on its promises. The best performance merino trail apparel and unwavering support for the trail running community.

*I love economics, for better or worse. I couldn’t help but think about selection bias thinking about how overwhelmingly positive the feedback we got was. Could it just be that the people that didn’t like it didn’t say anything therefore our sample is totally skewed? Who knows…

• Donner Summit to Olympic Valley on the PCT - this run came as a recommendation from a local we met while dishing coffee at the Sawtooth Trailhead. It’s a 15 mile route with about 3,000’ of gain and equal amounts of descent. I’m really not a good enough writer to describe how good this run is. Just challenging enough to get you excited but chill enough to make it a nonstop grin type of run. Endless views, big mountains, wild flowers for days. I can’t recommend it enough. Once you’re in Olympic Valley, word is that it’s fairly easy to get back to to your car through a combination of public transit and hitchhiking.

  If you’re itching for a race on similar trails, sign up for Mountain Tiger’s Donner Summit on 7/25/2026. This race came up again and again in conversation.

• Trail Running Newspaper - Long live print! Maybe the coolest thing we saw at TrailCon was Trail Running Newspaper. Running is a beautiful sport and Trail Running Newspaper makes you feel it viscerally.

• Dera B01 - I picked up a belt from Dera at TrailCon and gave it test on our Donner Summit run. For those unfamiliar, Dera introduced a dial fit system into their running belt to making dialing in fit quick and precise. This is one of those things that you don’t realize you need until you have it. It seems so obvious after you try it. Highly recommend it.

• Public Piers - Driving alongside Donner Lake you can’t help but notice the numerous piers jutting out into the lake. I just assumed they were private. To my surprise they’re all public. 37 of them! Pull over, dive in the water, warm up in the sun. Rinse and repeat. Good living.