“Trail running is less about the finishing kick and more about the heart.” — Ben Butler
The Jersey Still Fits
For two years, Ben Butler did not want to look at his Team USA singlet. He earned his “red, white and blue” attire at age eighteen by competing on the silver medal-winning junior boys’ team at the 2015 World Mountain Running Championships, a moment he still considers as a highlight of his life. But from 2020 to 2022, Butler was plagued with injuries that left him with an uncertain path of how to craft the professional running career he’d envisioned for himself after graduating college. Butler’s USA jersey was no longer a source of inspiration but a harsh reminder of a reality that didn’t seem possible. Those who dream large, like Butler, sometimes have the toughest setbacks.
Now, at age twenty-six, Butler has again reconnected with his running dreams. He’s even tried on his Team USA jersey a few times and discovered it still fits and makes him feel fast. On November 4, 2023, Butler placed fifth in his first ultra trail marathon, The Austin Rattler Run 50K, jumping up in distance from his longest race (a 10K), and earning a qualification to one of the most historic and competitive races in the US, the 2024 Leadville Trail 100 set for August 10. Butler plans to compete at Leadville, making a significant leap up in racing distance once again (from 50K to 100 miles!) and completing a challenge that many trail runners around the world have on their lifetime bucket list. Those who get in the habit of dreaming large, like Butler, tend to never stop dreaming large.
The Leadville Leap
As a child, Butler recalls a camping trip with his family in Leadville, CO, the highest town in the US situated at 10,152 feet. To his surprise, he woke up in the middle of the night to sounds of heavy breathing, sights of bopping headlamps, and cheers from a train of hundreds of runners passing by his family’s campsite. These runners were competing in the Leadville 100, one of the greatest running challenges in the U.S. because of the harsh altitude and mountain weather. Butler’s initial response to this strange challenge was, “I thought it was the weirdest thing.” Little did Butler know that years later he would be signing up to run with the same “weirdos” in one of the country’s most extreme endurance competitions.
One of the greatest obstacles of the Leadville 100 is the altitude. The course’s low point is situated at just over 9,000 feet and reaches the summit of Hope Pass – the high point – at 12,600 feet. Butler has been living in Florida (where the largest hill is a whopping 345 feet above sea level), so he has been developing a strategy for how he’ll deal with the altitude challenge. “Humidity is a poor man’s attitude,” says Butler, who may not have 10,000-foot mountains to climb in his training but does have some of the toughest humidity in the country.
Ben Butler at the 2023 Austin Rattler Run 50K.
Humidity, similar to altitude, drastically increases the physical efforts of running and slows down pace. Butler describes the experience of training in Florida’s humid climate, “In summer, if you’re not up at 5A.M to run, good luck because it can be unbearably hot. The fluctuation for my easy run pace between summer and winter here is crazy, around 20 to 30 seconds per mile for the same effort level.” Leadville rewards those who are most prepared for the extremes; that is what Butler hopes his summer Florida training will provide him with.
To Go Pro Or Not To Go Pro?
Butler’s rediscovery of trail running came as a surprise to himself. Butler competed for the 2015 US Junior Mountain Running Team, but he did not see trail running in his future at the time. He was awarded scholarships to compete in Track and Cross Country at Oklahoma State and Kansas University, keeping his focus solely on these shorter, faster distance events such as the 5 and 10K. For his college years Butler had one major goal in his life: “All throughout my college career, my motivation was making it to the Olympics and going pro in track and cross country. I had a piece of paper taped to my wall with all the things that I wanted to do in my running career. I would cross things off the list when I would hit certain milestones.”
Unfortunately for Butler, there were two major hurdles in his journey to the Olympics and professional running. One, a plantar fasciitis injury that would keep him away from competitive running for more than two years after graduating from college. Two, the lack of a platform for talented athletes in the U.S. who graduate the ranks of collegiate running in search of supportive team environments for training and coaching.
Plagued with plantar fasciitis, Butler hobbled in this walking boot to the headquarters of a handful of training groups across the country that might train him, and help cover the costs of travel, race entries and shoes. He connected with the Atlanta Track Club, Greenville Track Club, and Hansons Distance Project, but to his dismay he could not find a sponsorship that would sustain a professional running lifestyle. His dreams were crushed. “I found that there’s just little place after college for guys like me to go. I put it in terms of the NFL draft. The first round guys will get signed to pro teams, but what about all the other rounds? Running, unlike the NFL, has no place for any athletes besides those ‘first round’ caliber talents. Pro running was such a huge motivating factor to me that when I lost that, I felt that I had to let go of competitive running.”
A Cheesy Trail Runner At Heart
After college, Butler largely put his running shoes and dreams on the shelf and did his best to heal emotionally and physically. He received two PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injections in his heel, and performed stretching and strengthening exercises for nearly two years before he felt confident to begin running. Once he began running, he took his training easy and unlike his college years, he had no major racing goals for the first time in his life.
In the fall of 2023, Butler had been lightly training and coaching part-time with the University of South Florida track team when a friend asked him to join him to run the Austin Rattler Run 50-Kilometer trail race in Austin, TX. The race happened to be a Leadville Qualifier, meaning that the top finishers were guaranteed spots in the Leadville Trail 100. Butler had never raced longer than 10 kilometers in his life, but something about trail running had always had his interest since competing on the U.S. Junior Mountain Running Team eight years prior. Butler describes his passion for the sport, “I feel like this is the most cheesy description of trail running, but I feel alive when I’m out there in the elements, with no prepared surfaces, and no frills at all. It’s just me out there and a huge challenge. It’s less about who has the fastest kick and more about who has the biggest heart. That’s why I love it.”
At the Austin Rattler Run 50K, Butler reconnected with his trail running passion and ran his heart out for a fifth-place finish that even surprised himself. It was the first time since 2021 that he had raced competitively. He didn’t know how his body would hold up, and it turned out that he had a talent for ultra trail running. Butler became curious what more he could do in ultra trail running, and with a guaranteed entry into the 2024 Leadville Trail 100, he now had an opportunity of a lifetime that will soon put his trail running spirit to the test.
Ben Butler running for Kansas University in 2020.
Gold Dreams Turn To Dusty Trails But Not To Dust
For a big dreamer like Butler, the 2024 Leadville Trail 100 has taken over as his main motivation for training. However, this is just the beginning of what he hopes to be an extensive professional trail running career. He wants to race UTMB, Golden Trail, and Skyrunning championships and explore the new world of major competitions that exist in the trail-running world. He finds inspiration again from his Team USA jersey, “More than anything, I want to be back on Team USA and compete for global medals at World Championships. I want to be able to look back on my running career and realize that I gave it my all. I want to say that I never quit and I got the absolute most I could out of my body. I’m hoping to add more Team USA jerseys to the hanging rack before it’s all said and done.”
Everlasting Flavor of Welsh Wine Gummies and US Junior Team Memories
Butler credits much of his trail running passion to his transformative life experiences on the 2015 U.S. Junior Mountain Running Team. The junior mountain running program has been central to the development of several of our country’s top sponsored trail runners, including Allie Ostrander, Tabor Hemming, and Lauren Gregory, who all found the team was a great way to expose them to the professional side of the sport. Read reflections from these athletes and others about their U.S. Junior Team experiences here.
Butler reminisces with laughs and smiles about his memories with the U.S. Team (as does your author, who roomed with Butler on the same team competing at the 2015 championships in Wales!). Butler begins by recalling the silly memories, such as exploring a Welsch supermarket and coming out with the most exotic snacks he could find, including “Wine” gummy candy. Although the packaging said there was no alcohol in these treats, I am still not convinced this was the case by the way, we laughed and joked late into the night.
He also recalls when seagulls aggressively dive-bombed us from above as we tried our best to enjoy tasty local “fish and chips”. Butler of course recalls not just the culinary “delicacies,” but the way the race itself changed his perspectives on running, “What I learned about trail running in Wales is that it’s a sport that rewards toughness. If you stay strong and consistent and hold your clip on the hills, you will have a great race. Essentially good things happen if you can just stay steady. Cross country running is similar but trail running takes it to another extreme.
I now realize that trail running is the type of running for me, and the sport I could be best at. But more than anything, it is the type of running that I love the most. There’s something so pure and stripped down about it and I look forward to exploring trails all over the world.”
Find Butler on his social media here and follow along with his journey to the 2024 Leadville Trail 100!
Want to learn more about the US Junior Mountain Running Team and how to apply? Click here.
