Features
These stories showcase the heart of Like the Wind: powerful storytelling that explores why we run. From intimate portraits to expansive journeys, this category brings together the magazine’s most engaging narrative writing. Whether delivered through immersive Long Reads or concise Short Stories, these features capture the emotion, culture, and human experience of running in all its forms.
Nuits Blanches
“Nuits blanches”, the title of Alexis Berg’s magical new mini-documentary about the night-time periods of the UTMB, directly translates into English as “white nights”.
A Ring Around Mont Blanc
I handed Dom the small piece of red ribbon, clipped from the signature bracelet they affix to all starters of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, and asked him to kiss it. I needed him to know we were in this together.
Gavin Boyter: Border Crossings
A stern and professionally displeased border patrol officer shook his head at my proffered British passport and sent me back the way I’d run. “No Schengen,” he insisted.
Simon Freeman: It’s in the Bag
“It had been a busy day. In fact it had been a busy week. We had come to Chamonix for the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc and to launch the sixth edition of Like the Wind.
Scott Partenheimer: Winning Streak
Have you ever wondered about your running bucket list? What kind of running experiences do you want out of life before you ascend to the great trail in the sky? By the age of 33, I had tried every distance from the 5km to the 50km …
Leon Lutz: Why Do You Have to Run So Much, Daddy?
My dear Lily (and your little sister, Piper Bea), If I’m being honest – and for the sake of both you and Piper Bea, I must and will be – I’d seen the question in your eyes a time or two before you actually spoke the words.
Simon Wheatcroft: Running the Line
In the blackness of the early morning I stood in a car park at the foot of the Half Dome, a beautiful mountain in Yosemite National Park. In my pocket I had a ring and in my mind a plan.
Kirsty Reade: Coming Around Again
When I said I was going to run a 24-hour race, the reaction of most non-runners was: “Why would you want to do that?” Some runners understood, but when I added the words “round a one-kilometre loop”, even they tended to recoil in horror.
If I’m not a runner any more, what am I?
A little over a year ago, I stood with my wife Laura on the start line of the Trans-Alpine Run (TAR) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. We were nervous and excited – this would be the first stage race …