A wierd phenomenon has sprung up all over the world this January, with 1000’s of runners throughout the U.S. — in addition to some in Australia, New Zealand, and Chile — repeating brief Strava segments as many instances as they’ll over the course of the month. Getting into its third week, the Burrito League has turn into a little bit of a phenomenon in ultrarunning.
What originated as a problem in 2024 and 2025, put ahead by the Mexican restaurant Chipotle and the health monitoring app Strava, has rapidly developed a lifetime of its personal. For these two years, Chipotle and Strava teamed as much as problem runners to run particular segments as typically as attainable in January, with the winner incomes a yr’s price of burritos.
Jamil Coury, 2025 Chipotle Problem winner and 2026 Burrito League instigator, runs together with his son through the 2026 Tempe Burrito Problem. Picture: Andrew Bottiglieri
In 2024, runners throughout the nation took on the problemracking up tons of of miles, with a number of reaching almost 450. Then, in 2025, two athletes, Kevin Russ and Jamil Courybattled for over 750 miles on a small 0.2-mile stretch of sidewalk in Tempe, Arizona. The operating world grew to become intrigued, and when the mud settled at midnight on January 31, Coury was declared the victor.
In style Pedestrianism
Lengthy earlier than ultrarunning, within the late 18th and Nineteenth centuries, long-distance pedestrianism — what would later evolve into aggressive racewalking — was a well-liked spectator sport within the U.Okay. In 1809, Captain Robert Barclay Allardice of Scotland, some of the well-known pedestrians of the time, walked one mile each hour for 1,000 hours. Pedestrianism grew and unfold to the U.S., with most of the long-distance occasions requiring opponents to finish brief loops on tracks and in arenas for as much as 600 miles, or six days, typically with 1000’s of spectators in attendance. A few of the most well-known of those occasions happened in New York Metropolis’s Madison Sq. Backyard and included wagering on the opponents and varied different types of chicanery. These early pedestrians grew to become worldwide celebrities, typically having fun with hefty paydays and great publicity.
Because the twentieth century dawned, curiosity in pedestrianism waned because the invention of the security bicycle created a brand new type of transportation for the lots, and spectators discovered different types of sports activities leisure. Multiday races have continued to exist, however not almost on the stage of recognition as earlier than 1900.
The 2026 Burrito League grew to become a well-liked exercise all through the U.S. this January. Picture: Andrew Bottiglieri
Return of the Burrito
Many assumed, as 2026 dawned, that the Chipotle Burrito Problem on Mill Avenue in Arizona would as soon as once more warmth up as a handful of runners and walkers from across the nation discovered their strategy to Tempe to compete. However alas, a number of days into January, everybody realized that Chipotle and Strava weren’t internet hosting the competitors this yr. Maybe Coury had eaten too far into Chipotle’s earnings together with his 2025 prize.
At that time, Coury, Russ, and a workforce of volunteers rapidly sprang into motion to create the Burrito League. Prizes — corresponding to a yr’s price of burritos, entry into the Cocodona 250 Mileand Mount to Coast footwear — had been rapidly supplied, and at midnight on January 6, 2026, the Tempe Burrito League launched.
Mountain Outpost took to livestreaming the 2026 Tempe Burrito League. Picture: Andrew Bottiglieri
What adopted was fascinating, as Burrito League “chapters” rapidly sprang up throughout the nation and all over the world. The Mountain Outpost YouTube channel launched 24-hour wall-to-wall video protection of the Tempe section. Thus far, 1000’s of runners and walkers have accomplished segments, and there may be nonetheless greater than every week left on the time this text was revealed. In accordance with Strava, as of January 21, 244 athletes have accomplished 27,429 runs on the Tempe section alone, accounting for over 5,317 miles.
In fact, within the Burrito League, there aren’t any large Nineteenth-century crowds watching and inserting bets on the runners. Nonetheless, the motion has struck a nerve within the long-distance operating group, and alongside the way in which, the league has introduced folks collectively in methods none might have imagined. Because the month nears its finish and this phenomenon winds down, I can’t assist however surprise: What does Burrito League imply for pedestrianism? We will see.
Spectators take within the 2026 Tempe Burrito League scene. Picture: Andrew Bottiglieri
Bottoms up!
AJW’s Beer of the Week
This week’s Beer of the Week comes from Goldwater Brewing Firm in Tempe, Arizona. Machine Gun Teddy is a deliciously easy brown ale with a touch of caramel that goes down completely after an extended day of “segmenting.”
Name for Feedback
- Are you collaborating within the Burrito League this January?
- What different enjoyable operating challenges have you ever been part of?
Even Rachel Entrekin (proper) obtained in 67 Burrito League miles earlier than successful the 2026 Coldwater Rumble 100 Mile this previous weekend. Picture courtesy of Troy Croxdale (left).
