Zoë Rom
Zoë Rom is a writer, journalist, and competitive ultrarunner based in Carbondale, Colorado, who loves long books and even longer runs. Her results include a 2nd-place finish at the Leadville Trail 100 (2024), a top-five at Run Rabbit Run 100 (2025).
As a journalist, she covers public lands and the environment for High Country News and Inside Climate News, with work also appearing in the New York Times. She is host and producer of The Trailhead Podcast, co-hosts the independent podcast Your Diet Sucks with Kylee Van Horn, and is co-author, with Tina Muir, of Becoming a Sustainable Runner. She co-founded Microcosm Coaching, serves on the board of Runners for Public Lands, and performs improv with Consensual Improv in the Roaring Fork Valley. She likes running long distances, reading good books, and (as established) eating snacks.
Instagram: @yourdietsuckspod
Website: zoerom.com
An Immaterial Gift Guide For Runners
Holiday gift guides are inescapable, insufferable, and mostly useless. So instead of hawking stuff you don't need, here are eight immaterial gifts every runner should put on their wish list this season.
Zoë Rom
December 12, 2025
How To Build A Race Season Without Burning Out
Building a race season is like pacing an ultra: if you go out too hard, you’ll blow up before the finish. Start conservatively. Trust the process. Give your body the recovery it needs to adapt.
Zoë Rom
November 14, 2025
The Space Between Seasons
After crossing the finish line of my big 100-mile race this summer, I expected pure joy. Instead, I found myself in that quiet, disorienting space that comes after a big goal—the moment when purpose fades and rest feels strange.
Zoë Rom
October 10, 2025
Do It Scared.
Discover why fear never truly goes away in running (or life) and how learning to “do it scared” can help you grow. From ultramarathons to everyday challenges, this issue of Aid Station explores the power of running with fear in the passenger seat.
Zoë Rom
September 10, 2025
Do You Remember Your First Mile?
So if you’re stuck, plateauing, or overwhelmed, pause and ask: What was your mile one? Your mile ten? What did it take to get there? And what would it feel like to carry that same raw belief, or disbelief, into the next big thing?
Zoë Rom
August 8, 2025
Know Your Engine: The Ultrarunner’s Guide to Physiology Testing
I came into the lab a skeptic, and walked out a very sweaty convert. You don’t need to be fast to benefit from this kind of testing. In fact, the slower or more unsure you feel, the more helpful it can be.
Zoë Rom
July 24, 2025
I Almost Forgot This Was the Whole Point – What a 48-Minute Mile Taught Me About Joy
One mile. Forty-eight minutes and sixteen seconds. A personal worst, possibly. A dark PR. What was I doing with my life?
Zoë Rom
July 11, 2025
Ability Agnostic: Because Caring is Cool
Being ability agnostic means giving yourself the kind of care you’d give a Real Athlete™, because, plot twist, you are one.
Zoë Rom
June 12, 2025
Age is Just a Number: The Inspiring Stories of WSER’s 70+ Runners
Six runners aged 70+ are taking on the Western States 100, defying limits, chasing buckles, and proving that adventure has no age. Meet the legends rewriting ultrarunning’s aging narrative.
Zoë Rom
June 10, 2025
A Guide For Getting Lost
When you stray from the map—geographically or otherwise—you give yourself permission to change. Sometimes the best way to move forward is to lose track of where, exactly, you are.
Zoë Rom
May 9, 2025