Nils Arend Before the Mythology of The Speed Project

Photographer Christian Brecheis documented founder Nils Arend’s final run from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in 2017, capturing The Speed Project before sophisticated tracking, before widespread attention, and before the mythology had fully formed. The founder was still in the race.

Built on the antithesis of commercial extraction from running, The Speed Project has grown dramatically still firmly protecting its vision.

These photographs reveal what has endured: humans on a journey, supported by people who understand the meaning behind running and why struggling together is the purpose.

Nils Arend in an RV running the Speed Project. — Somewhere between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Nils Arend occupies a role that would soon disappear: founder, runner, and caretaker all at once.

Images by Christian Brecheis

June 19, 2026

Sillhouette of a runner in the setting sun.

The Speed Project would eventually demand more of Nils Arend than running alone. Here, for a brief stretch of desert highway, the founder is free from the decisions that await him.

Nils Arend - Christian Brecheis for Borderlands Trail Running-10

Nils Arend - Christian Brecheis for Borderlands Trail Running-7 — The technology was cobbled together. The mission was not. Long before sophisticated tracking systems arrived, The Speed Project was powered by a simple objective: keep moving west and find a way to Las Vegas.

Nils Arend, a tired runner after a long day of running in the heat.

Nils Arend, a tired runner without his shirt on in the dark — The mythology of The Speed Project was built on moments like this. No spectators. No finish-line infrastructure. Just a runner, a road, and the decision to keep moving west.

Nils Arend through the desert and past airports heading toward the Las Vegas Strip.

Two people walking along the Las Vegas floor, one without shoes — The Speed Project ends in an unlikely place. After days spent crossing deserts and highways, runners arrive barefoot in the fluorescent maze of Las Vegas.

Two people hugging and celebrating after the Speed Project — The route to Las Vegas was improbable. The reason people returned was not. At its core, The Speed Project has always been about shared experience, collective effort, and the people waiting at the end.

Celebratory speech after a hard run from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.

Nils Arend playing roulette at a Las Vegas table after The Speed Project.

From lonely desert highways to crowded casino tables, The Speed Project has always been about extremes. Run hard. Arrive together. Celebrate accordingly.

More from Christian Brecheis: Molly Seidel

More images from The Speed Project’s legendary 2017 run from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Led by Nils Arend, the team set a course record with Blue Benadum and Becs Gentry among its members.

Looking back, the photographs feel almost archival. They capture future leaders of modern running and fitness culture before they became widely known, and a version of The Speed Project that was still small enough for its founder to be one of the runners chasing Las Vegas.