Still Running, Still Looking

PC: Shoutout HTX

You’ve probably seen Mike McMonagle’s work, even if you didn’t know it was his. Transgrancanaria. Grindstone. Black Canyon. Cape Town. His photos show people mid-effort—not after it’s over, not once it’s cleaned up. Just real moments that capture what it actually felt like out there.

In this interview with my friend Josh Rosenthal of Borderlands, Mike talks about how it all came together. Three layoffs in four years. A long stretch of uncertainty. And then the quiet decision to start building around what mattered most—trail running, crewing, taking photos, and giving something back to the sport.

He’s not watermarking bib numbers or pushing content for clicks. He’s out in the cold, catching something honest, and handing it back to the people who lived it. Not as a product. Just because it was worth remembering.

You can see more of his work at shitinthewoods.co or follow him on Instagram. The name’s tongue-in-cheek. The photos aren’t. They’re some of the most grounded, generous images in trail running right now.