While the Chipotle x Strava segment challenge seems to have disappeared into thin air this January, a group of ultrarunners have decided to step in with a grassroots replacement that’s spreading like wildfire across North America.
Launched on Jan. 6 in Tempe, Arizona, the Burrito League is a Strava-based endurance challenge that closely mirrors the structure of the former Chipotle promotion.
In just a few days, it has expanded from a single location to 24 cities across the United States and Canada, with more leagues continuing to pop up throughout the month.
The league was created by ultrarunners Jamil Coury and Kevin Russ, both of whom were big names in last year’s Chipotle x Strava challenge.
Coury is the co-owner of Aravaipa Running and publisher of UltraRunning Magazine. Rather than waiting to see whether Chipotle and Strava would revive their challenge in 2026, the pair opted to build their own version, but without any corporate backing and with clearer competition rules.
The timing was not subtle. The Chipotle x Strava challenge had launched on Jan. 2 in the past two years, but its absence this winter immediately made headlines and was a big letdown for runners who had come to treat it as a January fixture. The Burrito League effectively fills that gap.
How the Burrito League works
Each Burrito League city designates a short Strava segment, typically a few hundred meters long. The competition runs from Jan. 6 through Jan. 31, with runners aiming to log as many attempts on the approved segment as possible (aka become the Local Legend). Speed is irrelevant. The winner is determined solely by Strava’s Local Legend leaderboard.
One big difference from Chipotle’s versions of the challenge is enforcement around uploads. All runs must be uploaded publicly on the day they are completed. Retroactive uploads are not allowed and result in disqualification, a rule designed to prevent last-minute data dumps that caused controversy in past challenges.
Prizes are awarded to the top male and female finishers in each league.
First place receives a year’s worth of free burritos, valued at approximately $850, a guaranteed entry into the Cocodona 250 or equivalent Aravaipa race credits, and a year’s supply of Mount to Coast shoes.
Additional prizes, including race credits and shoes, are awarded through fifth place, with equal distribution across men’s and women’s categories.
While the original league was based in Tempe, it has blossomed quickly. Cities including Toronto, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and New York City now have active leagues, with each location hosted by local ultrarunners, coaches, or running retailers who apply to organize a segment.
The Burrito League has also already been booming online. Its Instagram account got over 3,000 followers within a day of launch, and some competitions are being live-streamed via Mountain Outpost’s YouTube channel.
For runners, the appeal is familiar. The challenge rewards consistency rather than speed, favors stubbornness over talent, and turns a short stretch of pavement into a month-long endurance test. In the absence of the Chipotle x Strava challenge, it has quickly become the default January obsession for a certain subset of Strava users.
The Burrito League runs through Jan. 31, with winners determined by Local Legend standings in each participating city.
