Inside the mind of the woman who built America’s 200-mile races

In a world where running extreme distances seems more normal by the day, the creator of the Triple Crown of 200s, Candice Burt can be credited for a lot of that feeling

If running is booming, ultrarunning is going supernova. The Triple Crown of 200-mile races, for instance, was created in 2017, and keeps extreme trail distances in the general running conversation the same way the Marathon Majors does for road races.

The person responsible for dreaming up a series of events that costs thousands of dollars and months of time-on-feet to complete is Candice Burt. She’s no slouch herself, with a huge Guinness World Record, numerous unsupported FKTs and even more podium finishes under her prestigiously-buckled belt.

Candice Burt on the finish line of the HURT 100 // photo c/o Mikey Brown

Growing up on a rural island north of Seattle, WA, Candice tells me her whole childhood was spent outside looking after the animals or painting the outbuildings. She duly took up cross country in her teens, and found her sport.

After having two daughters in her 20s, running became an activity to stay in shape, but Candice’s route into running ultras certainly points towards an…