The Mountain, Ultra and Trail (MUT) Joint Subcommittee was established in 1998 to assist USA Track & Field with the sports of mountain, ultra, and trail running. Prior to that time, the USATF Ultra Subcommittee represented the ultra community's interests within USATF but there was no parallel group for the country's mountain runners.  With the idea that these two disciplines attracted many of the same athletes and shared many of the same concerns, and with the growing popularity of trail running, the Joint Subcommittee was established.  The Men's, Women's, and Master's LDR Committee Chairs each appointed athletes from these three underrepresented disciplines and asked them to assist in developing these areas within USATF.  The MUT moniker was coined at the USATF Convention in Orlando Florida in 1998, the first convention attended by the newly appointed subcommittee members.  Two years later, MUT was elevated to the status of a Running Council at the 22^nd annual USATF Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico on December 3, 2000.   The Council status gives MUT higher visibility and recognition within the USATF organization, which in turn will help MUT to better serve it's running communities.