From farm to finish line: The Active Joe's Western States runner on soil, soul and 100 miles

By Henry Howard

Stuart Chutter went from collapsing 22 miles into his first marathon attempt to finishing the Western States 100-miler six years later. (Top 10 takeaways from the historic 2026 Western States.)

A farmer in Saskatchewan, Chutter was selected as The Active Joe’s representative to run Western States in 2026.

“One of the hardest things I do each year is choose someone to receive this coveted entry,” The Active Joe owner Libby Jones said. “Stuart is not only an accomplished runner, but he lives his life aligned with the values at the core of The Active Joe, including community, inclusivity and environmental responsibility. I know he will make a positive impact far beyond those 100.2 miles.”

As part of its sponsorship of Western States, The Active Joe selects one athlete each year from runners who have qualified and applied through the race’s lottery process. The selected athlete receives an automatic entry into the race.

In addition to running, Chutter has worked as a farmer for 15 years and is deeply committed to soil health and regenerative agriculture. Through long-term practices focused on environmental sustainability, his farm has achieved net carbon sequestration of about 1,865 metric tons per year over a five-year period, confirmed through laboratory-based soil analysis. His work demonstrates the potential role of agriculture and grasslands in environmental solutions.

Chutter has been an active supporter of The Active Joe for the past two years and ran the Dinosaur Valley 100 in 2024. (Dinosaur Valley is among my suggestions for a first 100-miler as I wrote about here.) He regularly volunteers at local races and contributes to trail maintenance efforts throughout Saskatchewan. He also donates homemade jam for aid-station PB&J sandwiches at the Crazy Mountain 100, using berries grown on his farm and honey sourced from a neighboring producer.

“My health and the health of my farm — and my ability to get through 100  miles — depends on the soil underneath me,” he said.

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Meet Stuart Chutter, The Active Joe’s Western States runner

As a supporter and fan of The Active Joe, I reached out to Jones to highlight the athlete her group sponsored this year. This question and answer was conducted with Chutter soon after he finished the Western States 2026 race.

Question: Tell me about how you got started on your running journey.

Answer: I started running in June 2019 during a pretty low and stressful time on my farm and in my life. I remember the feeling of driving down my washboard farms roads and how good the bouncing felt on the stress in my shoulders. I was curious if going for a jog would have that same feeling of relief.  

Question: How did that start lead to doing ultras?

Answer: I ran for a few years and did a few half marathons and marathons in cities. I heard Courtney Dauwalter’s episode on the Rich Roll podcast and my mind was blown. I was so curious how 100 miles is even possible.  

Question: How do you balance the farm life and running?

Answer: I don’t. There is no balance. It’s constant movement from the extremes and the edges of each passion. Balance is a lie, at least for me. I’d rather go all-in than be balanced.  

Question: Tell me about your farm, your passion for sustainability, etc.

Answer: Ohhh, great question! My favorite topic. My dream through my 20s was to be a farmer. I started by leasing a farm and building a livestock herd. After farming for seven years on rented farms I was finally able to buy my own, a nice 320-acre farm in east central Saskatchewan that was affordable. It was only after buying it that I realized I was successful because none of the neighbors wanted it because of such poor soil health and productivity. I had thought soil was soil and it was just a medium for things to grow in. I had to learn very quickly if my farm were to survive I needed the productivity and resilience of healthy soils and that I needed to go all in on conserving and building soil. Now I see healthy soil as the basis of all health whether that’s the grass growing in it, the livestock grazing on it or the people eating food the comes from it. My health and the health of my farm — and my ability to get through 100  miles — depends on the soil underneath me.

Question: I, too, have done the Dinosaur Valley 100K. For those who have not done the race, what would you tell them about the race, volunteers, course, etc.

Answer: This is a race to put on your list if you love community. The people there are amazing, and while that’s true of most ultras at Dino Valley it was so obvious to me results of intentional efforts at inclusion bring people out.  Both being there physically but also of those there they brought ALL of themselves and were willing to share ourselves fully with each other on the trails. The course is so well taken care of, the efforts at grassland protection by the race organization is apparent and efforts at social inclusion (whether its privacy and safety, long cutoffs for older and slower runners, deferrals and refunds for those who need it and an open invitation to show up fully on the trails as yourself) were so obviously beneficial and the results of that level of care by a race organization could be seen. 

Question: What was your initial reaction when you heard The Active Joe picked you for Western States?

Answer: Excitement and shock! When Libby called I was overwhelmed. Western States is a dream race for most ultra runners but I had already expected for it to take 10+ more years of accumulating qualifiers and being accepted to the race. To get to run it this summer, and to do it with the values of The Active Joe and the community behind me was so special.  

Question: What does it mean to you that The Active Joe selected you out of the many entries submitted?

Answer: I met the Active Joe community at Dino Valley 100 and there’s no shortage of wonderful and amazing people there. So many of them were so encouraging as I prepared for States. Our team of support and crew and pacers at States was a beautiful team and to be able to run such an prestigious event with the support of The Active Joe and knowing their values and how much they align with how I want to show up in the world was absolutely a lifetime memory. 

Question: Tell me about the race itself. What did it mean to you to finish?

Answer: The energy of the escarpment. The volunteers who yelled “Happy Pride” as I ran through aid stations. The volunteers waiting in the water at Rucky Chucky so we could cross the river safely. The support of Libby, Mary, Heidie, Maddie and Julia as crew and pacers ... there are so many wonderful memories of the race. The experience at Western States and the finish is in my mind both a lifetime memory of experience and a lifetime achievement of endurance. 

Question: What else do you want people to know about?

Answer: If soil health and its connection to environmental health and human health intrigue you I encourage you to google “the 5 principles of soil health” and see how you can incorporate them in to your life and lawn, garden, yard and experiences on the trail.  

Speed drill

Name: Stuart Chutter

Hometown: Osage, Saskatchewan Canada

Number of years running: Since June 2019

How many miles a week do you typically run: 50 to 65

Point of pride: “The improvements to soil health from lab analysis on my farm.”

Favorite race distance: 100 miles

Favorite pre-race or training food/drink: Rice

Favorite piece of gear: Button-up shirts

Who inspires you: Michelle Kwan

Favorite or inspirational song to run to: Turandot, Act III: Nessun dorma and “Till you cant” by Cody Johnson

Favorite or inspirational mantra/phrase: “Everything is beautiful and nothing hurts”

Where can other runners connect or follow you:

Instagram: @stuartchutter