Kilian Jornet reveals his next EPIC project: ‘States of Elevation’

Kilian Jornet, the GOAT of men’s ultrarunning, has announced his next big challenge.

The Catalan, who is now based in Norway, has won every race that matters, including UTMB four times.

This year saw him return to Western States, 14 years on from his previous appearance when he won in 2011, and he produced a perfectly paced race to take third.

Having loved being back in the United States he threw out a question to the millions who follow him on social media as to what he should do next.

Incredible enthusiasm

And this week he posted the following in response: “The enthusiasm on my last post has been incredible! The outdoor community showed up in force.

“Time to announce a new project, starting in September: States of Elevation. I’ll be aiming to connect 14,000ft peaks across the United States by foot and bike.

“This will be a unique physical challenge for me, but combining exploration, endurance and wild spaces is where I feel at home.

“I’m excited to see how that goes!”

Alpine connection

It has echoes of his epic ‘Alpine Connections’ project last year.

That saw him climb all 82 4,000-metre Alpine peaks in just 19 days, when the previous ratified record was 62 days.

He called it “the most challenging thing I’ve ever done”.