Chris Mocko

About

Chris Mocko is an American trail runner and former Stanford University NCAA athlete — a management science and engineering graduate who competed for the Cardinal cross country and track & field teams — who in early 2017 made one of the sport's most dramatic career pivots by quitting his Bay Area technology job (at Twitter) to pursue professional ultrarunning full-time. A six-time all-state performer at Thomas Jefferson High School in McLean, Virginia — where he helped the team win the 2002 Virginia State Cross Country Championship — he had continued running through his Stanford years and into recreational ultras before recognising the gap between his talent and what he was actually achieving. Within months of turning professional, results validated the decision: at the 2017 Lake Sonoma 50 Mile he placed 3rd in 6:24:28, a performance made more striking by the fact that he nearly dropped early in the race and had to use the middle miles to rebuild physically and mentally. His debut 100-miler, Western States 100 in 2016, yielded a 7th-place finish in just over 17 hours. He went on to place 12th at Western States 2019 and 84th overall at UTMB OCC 2019. A Nike-sponsored athlete until December 2019, he relocated to Boulder, Colorado, where he immediately won two trail races. He subsequently stepped back from full-time professional competition.

Notable Wins

• — Western States 100 7th 2016 (debut 100-miler
• — ~17h)
• — Lake Sonoma 50-Mile 3rd 2017 (6:24:28)
• — Western States 100 12th 2019

Race History