From The Copper Canyons To Spartan Trail
Trail Runner|July/August 2019

JOSUE STEPHENS LIVED IN A TRUCK AND RAN COPPER CANYON BEFORE EITHER WERE “THINGS.”

Megan Janssen
From The Copper Canyons To Spartan Trail

With 13 siblings in a converted bread truck, Josue Stephens spent his childhood living in Latin America. He recalls visiting the Copper Canyon of Mexico and being gifted a flute and huarache sandals by the Tarahumara, some of whom still lived in caves at the time. Evolving into an ultrarunner and race director of the Copper Canyon Ultra and Nicaragua’s Fuego Y Agua Ultras, Stephens is now the Spartan Trail product manager and is walking the line to protect the spirit of trail running while ushering it into a new era.

Raised by dilettante gypsy parents who tried on everything from sports to religion to extreme lifestyles, Stephens, now 38, of San Luis Obispo, California, was homeschooled until high school and spent his days fishing in the ocean, playing soccer in the dirt and running with his father. Here, Trail Runner explores his journey.

How did you get into trail running?

My dad goes from one thing to the next. He tried being Amish, Mennonite, Russian Orthodox, Seventh-Day Adventist …

One time, he visited Belize and saw how they used gourds to eat; he came home and threw away all our dishes. Another time, he read a story about yaks in Kazakhstan and he got us all goats (he couldn’t find yaks) and we learned to make yak butter. My sister and I milked them every morning. So when I was 12 and he announced we were training for a 50-mile run, it was like, OK.

We were living in Cambridge, Ohio, and my dad was working a job he hated, so he took up running. In the evenings he would make us run with him, no matter how dark or cold. We didn’t have running shoes; we had dollar-store shoes.

Denne historien er fra July/August 2019-utgaven av Trail Runner.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra July/August 2019-utgaven av Trail Runner.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA TRAIL RUNNERSe alt
You Cannot Erase us
Trail Runner

You Cannot Erase us

Over the years and through thousands of miles of running, I have thought about the words that marked the beginning of colonialism on the land and the end of Indigenous sovereignty.

time-read
2 mins  |
Fall 2021
Inside The Adaptable Mind
Trail Runner

Inside The Adaptable Mind

How Courtney Dauwalter uses adaptability to stay cool, calm and collected when the going gets tough.

time-read
4 mins  |
Fall 2021
Take it Easy
Trail Runner

Take it Easy

How to stay at aerobic pace when you live in the hills

time-read
4 mins  |
Fall 2021
Here Comes the Sun
Trail Runner

Here Comes the Sun

Where pessimism meets its match

time-read
3 mins  |
Fall 2021
Connecting the Dots
Trail Runner

Connecting the Dots

How Laura Cortez uses her passion for trails to build community.

time-read
4 mins  |
Fall 2021
Carbohydrate Confusion
Trail Runner

Carbohydrate Confusion

When it comes to food and nutrition, we tend to overcomplicate things. Eat this, not that. Run fasted, restrict sugar. Unfortunately, much of the controversy stems from observations and sensationalized media headlines vs. actual data, leaving the consumer more confused from their Google search than they were before.

time-read
2 mins  |
Fall 2021
This Wild Life
Trail Runner

This Wild Life

ONE MAN’S 92-MILE RUN OF GRIEF AND SELF-DISCOVERY.

time-read
5 mins  |
Fall 2021
Our Town
Trail Runner

Our Town

Trail running is all about the community it fosters and the beauty and diversity within the community. Here’s a look at seven places, and the faces that call them home.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Fall 2021
Fueling for Females
Trail Runner

Fueling for Females

Here’s how female runners can use recent research findings for performance breakthroughs

time-read
4 mins  |
Summer 2021
Lose Weight with a Shake
Trail Runner

Lose Weight with a Shake

Being a health and nutrition correspondent means that companies frequently send me their products, and ask for my stamp of approval.

time-read
3 mins  |
Summer 2021