Legendary ultrarunners Jeff Browning and Krissy Moehl have joined the KEEN movement as trail running ambassadors!
Jeff, aka “Bronco Billy,” recently ran the Cocodona 250 and has finished over 200 ultramarathons with over 40 career wins, ranking second in the world for most 100-mile victories in history. Krissy has 67 wins at the world’s toughest ultras, including Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (165km), Ultra-Trail du Mont Fuji (100 mile), Gaoligong by UTMB (160km), HURT 100, and Hardrock 100, and was the youngest woman to complete the grand slam of ultrarunning (finishing four of the most prestigious 100-mile races in 2005).
Together, they bring a perspective shaped by decades of experience on the trail and a deep understanding of what trail running represents – community, connection, and a shared responsibility to the places we run. We sat down with both of them recently when they stopped by KEEN HQ to chat about what they love about the sport and why they chose to be part of KEEN’s launch into trail running. Watch the short video above and learn a little bit more about them below.
Jeff Browning: Born to Run (With a Leg Brace)
Jeff will represent KEEN across some of the most iconic trail races in North America and abroad, and his 25 years of ultra-racing experience will be woven into KEEN trail running products.
When he started running:
“Well, I'm a little bit of a Forrest Gump. I was born with one leg like this [puts his hands out in a 90º angle]. So I was in a metal brace for the first six months of my life. And then I grew up on a 700-acre farm in Missouri, so I was running everywhere. The neighbor kid was 1 mile away through cross country, and there was a creek in the middle half a mile away, so we would like call each other on the old rotary phones and be like, 'I'm leaving,' 'me too.' Boom, meet at the creek and we'd play all day. I'd run to my grandparents' house a quarter mile away. So I was always, always running.”
What he loves most about trail running:
“I am all about the experience. I love being outside. I am an outdoor kid at heart – always have been, always will. I haven't lost any of the joy. The stoke of being in the woods, flowing in wild places like the Grand Canyon or the San Juans in southwestern Colorado or the Pacific Northwest. I appreciate the little things like the bee buzzing on the flower, the ferns that are slightly starting to change in the undergrowth in the fall, or the aspens flickering.”
His training philosophy:
“80/20 rule. Like 80-90 percent of the volume is at conversational pace – zone 1/zone 2 heart rate. Zone 2 is kind of the sweet spot. And then the other 10 or 20 percent is in zone three, mainly for ultrarunning – maybe a little zone 4, occasionally zone 5, but mostly zone 3 training.”
What motivates him:
“I am a goal-oriented person. I need a carrot. So for me, everything’s a goal… whether it’s a race, life, whatever it is.”
What excites him most about joining KEEN:
“I came to KEEN for the innovation in footwear. Shoes are your gear. You’re looking for the ultimate Shangri-La shoe, and I felt like KEEN is set up for me to help bring that to reality.”
Krissy Moehl: Running for Community and Connection
As an athlete, running coach, author, race director, and podcast host, Krissy is passionate about building community and mentoring the next generation of ultra runners of all ages.
When she started running:
“As long as I remember, I've been a runner. I'd always played soccer, so running around soccer fields or whatever, but I got invited to be on a track and field team, and I ran the half mile. And then my freshman year of high school, I was asked to run on the cross country team, and I was the very last human to finish. I just love that that's part of my story.”
What she loves about trail running:
“My biggest point of passion for running is watching other people achieve things they didn't think were possible. As a race director, having people cross my finish line with that look of wonderment and accomplishment at their own body, that still jazzes me.”
Her training philosophy:
“Listen to your body. What is your body telling you? What can you get out of your body? Training is an opportunity to learn about self. My training, I would say, is highly motivated by getting out with other individuals and understanding the world through our conversations that happen side by side.”
What motivates her:
“Running has always been a constant in my life. I've had a lot of change, and two things I can think of as most consistent are race directing, which is now half my life, and even longer than that is running. So any evolution of myself, I have understood better because I'm a runner. I have a vehicle, the usage of my body – however you want to word it – I have a way of understanding the world through movement and running has been that constant that I don't know what I would do without it.”
What excites her most about joining KEEN:
“I am a big-time community people person. I want to be aligned with something that has roots and community and established values that align with mine.”
