Ok, I’ve been plotting and working on this piece for almost two months now. The quality of trail running videos has really taken off over the past couple of years, so I took it upon myself to rank the top 10 from 2011.

Let’s get right to it in reverse order:

No. 10: Kilian’s Quest – Season 3, Episode 5

For my money, Kilian is the best trail runner in the world. And it’s not even close. These Kilian Quest videos are, admittedly, a bit over produced. What’s great about this one though is that Kilian teaches a couple of lessons on how to tackle the steepest uphills and downhills.

No. 9- Coaching Endurance UltraRunning 2011 Part 1

No such list would be complete without including one of Matt Hart’s regular trail running videos. If you’re not following him on youtube, do so now.

No. 8 Photo Finish for 2nd Woman at Western States 2011

Mere miles from the 2011 Western States finish, 2nd and 3rd place runners Kami Semick and Nikki Kimball were stopped in their tracks by a bear. As a result, they both ended up coming in together on the track. Amazing moment, but bad video. Would have been number 1 with better quality.

No. 7 – Chamonix – Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) 2011

Honestly, this video could have been number one if not for the awful, awful music. Feel free to watch on mute. The imagery captured by helicopter during the race is simply spectacular!

No. 6 – The Runner in Winter – Anton Krupicka

While the UTMB video was terrible in terms of music selection, this one is the complete opposite. The 10 minute clip chronicles Tony as he runs in the Colorado front range during winter.

No. 5 Uli Steck’s Eiger North Face Ascent

I’ve blogged about this one before. Also, iRunFar just posted an interview with Uli. This may be the best video of the bunch, but it’s not purely running, so I dropped it a few spots.

No. 4 Geoff Roes Slogging to the Top

Prior to this video, there was very little online video content on Geoff save the iRunFar interviews. In a way, we finally got to know him through this video (as much as you can in 12 minutes).

No. 3 – The Endurables NF 50 recap video

This is a subjective list, which means it’s biased. However, the Headlands are such a special place to run. Also, they captured a key moment in the race: Mike Wolfe and Dakota passing Geoff. It’s almost like a SportsCenter highlight.

No. 2 Salomon’s Hardrock 100

If you’re not excited for the 2012 version of Hardrock, then you should be. Roess, Krupicka, Dakota, Koerner, etc., etc. This is as stacked as the field may ever get in Silverton…until they loosen the elite entry requirement.

No. 1 – “Unbreakable” Trailer

It’s a trailer. It’s been watched over 100,000 times in less than six months. This is as close to Bieber fever as our sport has gotten. Also, I’m probably responsible for about 843 844 of those views

What do you think? Did I get them all or did I miss any videos from last year?