Smiles for Miles
How ultrarunner Gabe Joyes has never known a mile of suffering on the trail
Lander, Wyoming
Photography contributed by Gabe Joyes
The history books won’t reflect it, but Gabe and Jenny Joyes were confident that they invented trail running. High school sweethearts who went to separate colleges in the Midwest, each summer the couple would travel to Wyoming to work at a summer camp in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness north of Yellowstone.
As counselors, the staff only got small windows of time off from the job, never more than 24 or 48 hours. Initially, they used this time to go on climbing or backpacking adventures, but inevitably they would find themselves running down the trail as fast as possible to make it back in time to start working again.
They dropped the climbing gear and eventually the backpacks and simply went trail running. Gabe shared, “We were pretty sure we were inventing a new sport, to just run as far as you could to see something cool on a short timeline.”
They might not have invented it, but they are pretty darn good at it. Gabe is an internationally known ultramarathon runner and highly competitive at the distances of 50k, 50 miles, and 100 miles. Jenny just completed her second 100-mile race at the Bighorn Trail Run in 2024.
If you’ve never attended an ultramarathon race (which is most people), it’s hard to capture the reality of the human body running these extreme distances. Most people who try usually discuss the bodily fluids present (I assure you, there are many). But the real essence of these races is the spirit of the people pushing their bodies to the absolute brink and the crews who rally around them in support.
When Gabe is racing, he sets an alarm on his Garmin watch for every 30 minutes to remind him of two things: to eat and to smile. The quick bite of food is clearly necessary to sustain physical activity for 20+ hours, but Gabe will argue that smiling is just as crucial.
“You meet people in the races who talk about suffering or going into a pain cave. I don’t look at it like that at all,” Gabe said. “We all paid money to be out here and there are literally people handing us snacks and cheering for us. Why would anyone call this suffering?”
During Jenny’s recent 100-mile race, Gabe asked her at mile 70, “What are you grateful for?” And amid gritted teeth she replied, “I’m grateful for cloud cover. And also for you putting up with me.”
Gabe and Jenny live and train in Lander, Wyoming along with their two kids Ella and Cora. Running and racing are certainly a family pursuit, with the girls often traveling to support and cheer on their parents. Gabe and Jenny have spent their career working in education and enjoy the humble nature of the Lander community.
“If you’re looking for attention from the world, Lander isn’t the place you end up,” Gabe said. “The geography lends itself to unassuming people finding their way here for the sheer access to trails and mountains. It is such a hallmark of this community.”
Gabe’s first experience in the ultra-racing world came in 2012 when he signed up for the Bighorn 50-mile race. He shared, “I absolutely got clobbered in that race. I spent most of the race dehydrated, overheated, sick to my stomach, and I went out way too fast. But I managed to finish as a shamble of myself. I couldn’t help but think about how if I did this again, I could definitely do better.”
So naturally, the next year he signed up for a 100-mile race in Bear Lake, Idaho. Gabe explained, “This time it was more of the same, it just took me longer to fall apart.” He described how at mile 93 there was a 3,000 foot descent and his quads were so tired he literally tried to walk down the hill backwards. But he finished with a smile and a victory. From that moment forward, he was hooked.
Gabe’s first win came a year later at the Scout Mountain 100k in Pocatello, Idaho. The weather proved to be a challenge, as it was the first hot weekend of the year and the runners were not acclimated to the heat.
“I took the lead at 15 miles, but towards the end I was so hot that I had to walk. I was pretty sure someone would pass me, but then I kept seeing people sitting down in the shade,” Gabe reflected, “So, I figured maybe I would win as the only person who was still moving.” And smiling; Gabe is always smiling.
One of the more unique running endeavors that Gabe undertook in the past few years wasn’t even a race at all. For several years, Gabe dreamt of running from his home in Lander, Wyoming to the town of Jackson, Wyoming. His chosen route crossed three mountain ranges and spanned 180 miles. He finally decided to give it a try in 2023.
“Jenny and I left our house early in the morning when the girls were still asleep,” Gabe said. “Jenny rode her bike next to me while I ran up Sinks Canyon and then she sent me off into the mountains.”
Over the subsequent miles, Gabe ran stretches with friends from the ultra community. “We were having so much fun! We would stop and take pictures or just pause to eat a snack and enjoy the view,” he said. Jenny and the girls were waiting in Jackson to greet him at the end of this three-day endeavor.
Amid his positivity, Gabe will also be the first to share in the challenges that come from training and running at this level. In 2022, Gabe had a life-threatening injury when he stumbled down a rocky trail and his trekking pole stabbed into his quad. It was a rare trip that he didn’t have his Garmin inReach, but thankfully he was able to get a message out to Jenny to send a helicopter. With a bit of good luck and self-administered first aid, Gabe was rescued within an hour and eventually made a full recovery.
Gabe has also dropped out of races for injuries or simply because it wasn’t coming together the way it needed to. “You have to learn that your performance doesn’t affect who you are as a person. Sometimes you are just unlucky,” he said.
These days you will find Gabe and Jenny training on trails near Lander year-round. You will also find them on the start and finish lines of the Sinks Canyon and Run the Red trail races as race directors. They get as much excitement and joy from watching others race as they do from competing themselves.
“When I cross a finish line, I feel happy. But when I see others cross a finish line, it makes me emotional. It’s like watching transformation happen in real time,” Gabe said. “In most cases, the trajectory of their lives just changed because of this event. It’s magical.”
Gabe hopes to invest more time in coaching runners and helping them through this transformation. For any aspiring ultrarunners out there, Gabe has some advice.
“I tell people to make sure they're having fun and to enjoy each of the paces of training and running,” Gabe beamed. “You can stop and smell the flowers one day and charge up the mountain the next day, but if you try to push too hard every single day then you will burn out.”
To Gabe and Jenny Joyes and their kids, running is a lifestyle. It’s a way to see cool places on a short timeline, which is not so different from how it all started. Maybe Gabe and Jenny didn’t invent trail running, but they might have invented the way to do it with a smile.
What's in Gabe’s Running Vest:
• Tortilla chips
• Gels
• Bag of sliced salami, cheese, and apricots
• Garmin inReach
• Rain jacket
• First aid kit
