Start Where You Are Running and Ultrarunning

This week on Start Where You Are Trail and Ultra Running , Erin breaks down the dramatic cancellation of the Moab 240 — where 70 runners, pacers, and volunteers were stranded at the Bridger Jack Aid Station atop a canyon rim as Hurricane Rachel unleashed flash floods, wind, and chaos across the course. She defends the race directors at Destination Trails, pushes back on the Monday-morning quarterb...

In this episode of Start Where You Are Trail and Ultrarunning , host and ultrarunning coach Erin Quinn delivers a detailed, mile-by-mile course preview of the Moab 240 — which she affectionately calls the Moab 253. Having completed the race twice, Erin walks listeners through every section of the course, from the early miles on Moab's residential streets to the brutal climbs of Shay Mountain,...

How do you run 26 miles through the Catskills when you haven't been on the trails in months, your iron levels are barely functional, and a nor'easter is bearing down on race morning? You take what the day gives you. Ultrarunning Coach and podcast host, Erin Quinn, said she'd never do another race in the Catskills after Manitou's Revenge. A few days later, she signed up for the Cats...

When the People Who You Love Don't Get Your Ultrarunning Training for an ultramarathon is a massive commitment — and not everyone in your life is going to get it. In this episode, Erin breaks down how to handle the three types of people you'll encounter when your ultrarunning dreams don't align with their worldview: anonymous critics on social media, coworkers and acquaintances who crack jokes at...

Episode 30: Readiness Is a Myth — The Four Principles of Start Where You Are In this milestone 30th episode, Erin breaks down what "Start Where You Are" really means — both on the trail and off. She shares her four guiding principles: conquering the "starting scaries," building (and rebuilding) your running base, starting where you are beyond running, and escaping the compariso...

Iron Deficiency in Endurance Athletes — What You Need to Know Somewhere along the ultramarathon journey, host Erin Quinn lost sight of one crucial metric: iron. In this episode, she dives deep into iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia among endurance athletes — especially female runners, up to 45% of whom may be affected. Erin breaks down why iron matters (hint: it's tied directly to oxy...

In this episode, host Erin Quinn takes you inside her fourth finish of the legendary Survival of the Shawangunk's (SOS )— a grueling triathlon combining a 30-mile road bike, three lake swims, and nearly 20 miles of trail running through the mountains of New Paltz, NY. Erin shares an honest, in-the-moment race recap, including an unexpected battle with IT band and hip flexor pain from mile one,...

Taper time can feel like an emotional rollercoaster — exciting one minute, anxiety-inducing the next. In this episode, ultrarunning coach Erin Quinn breaks down five practical strategies to help you navigate the mental side of tapering before a big race: proof (looking back at your training log for confidence), positive self-talk (reframing fear and self-doubt), projects and people (using extra ti...

It's back-to-school season, and coach Erin Quinn is here to help you channel that "clean slate" energy into your own goals. In this episode, Erin gets personal about how trail and ultrarunning became her lifeline through the hardest parts of parenting — from the anxiety of that first school bus to dropping her kids off at college. She shares how running gave her an outlet, a communit...

Episode 25: Doing Hard Things (and Doing Them Again) Coming to you live from the beach on her birthday, ultrarunning coach Erin Quinn tackles a myth that trips up even the toughest endurance athletes: that once you've conquered a hard thing, it gets easier. It doesn't. Erin unpacks the physiology and psychology behind repeatedly choosing discomfort — from her own training for the Survival of the S...

Ever felt like you were flying on a run — only to check your watch and discover you were barely moving? That's exactly what happened to host and ultrarunning coach Erin Quinn at mile 189 of the Bigfoot 200. She felt like she was running a 9-minute mile. She was running a 14. And that moment perfectly illustrates why RPE — Rate of Perceived Exertion — might be the most powerful training tool you're...

The Perfect Ultramarathon Training Plan (Spoiler: There Isn't One) Wouldn't it be nice if you could follow a flawless training plan from start to finish and arrive at the start line perfectly prepared? Coach Erin Quinn is here to tell you the truth: life happens — and that's okay. In this episode, Erin breaks down the three things that will actually make your ultramarathon training as...

What if the most meaningful race of your life wasn't the biggest one — but the one closest to home? In this episode, host Erin Quinn celebrates the 40th anniversary of the SOS — Survival of the Shawangunk's — a one-of-a-kind grassroots triathlon in New Paltz, New York that goes bike, run, swim, run, swim, run, swim, run through some of the most stunning terrain in the Northeast. Erin share...

Episode 21. Something's Gotta Give: The Truth About Balancing Life and Ultramarathon TrainingLet's get real: the idea that we can perfectly balance every area of our lives is a myth — and if you're drawn to ultramarathons, you're probably not a "moderation" person anyway. In this episode, host and professional ultrarunning coach Erin Quinn gets honest about what it actual...

Episode 20: DIY Ultra Training Camp Ever wish you could afford a fancy training camp to prep for your next ultramarathon? Coach Erin Quinn breaks down exactly how to build your own — no expensive retreat required. In this episode, Erin walks you through the architecture of a DIY ultra training camp: how to structure your three (or five) days, how much volume to target based on your race distance,...

Zone 2 is everywhere right now — but what does it actually mean for your running? In this episode, coach and ultramarathon finisher Erin Quinn breaks down the zone 2 "revolution" and explains why it's really just a rebranding of the most fundamental principle in endurance training. Erin covers the full five-zone model, why zone 2 looks completely different depending on your experience level, and h...

Episode 18: Manitou's Revenge Race Report Erin Quinn, ultrarunning coach, USA swim coach, award-winning journalist, and now 15-time ultramarathon finisher, takes you inside one of the most demanding 50-mile races in the Northeast — Manitou's Revenge. This 53-mile beast winds through the rugged Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, packing 15,000 feet of climbing into every mile. Erin breaks down...

**Episode 17 Beat the Heat: Ultrarunning Tools for Summer Training Summer running is hard — and if your legs have felt like lead, your effort through the roof, and your water bottles empty way too soon, you're not imagining it. Host and professional ultrarunning coach Erin Quinn breaks down exactly what heat does to your body (spoiler: it's not personal, it's physiology) and why those...

Episode 16. Hit Override Ever find yourself lying in bed, running through a mental Rolodex of reasons why today just isn't the right day for a run? Host Erin Quinn — ultra running coach, USA Swim coach, and 14-time ultramarathon finisher — gets real about the resistance we all feel, even when running is something we love. In this episode, Erin breaks down what she calls the Override Principle:...

Host Erin Quinn, a professional ultrarunning and USA Swim coach and 14-time ultramarathon finisher, unpacks the “aging athlete” conversation by reframing it as the adult or “forever” athlete and arguing that age is one limiting factor—not the factor—while attitude is often the biggest limiter. She shares her own journey through chronic injury, pregnancy and postpartum years, raising three kids, an...

Erin Quinn has finished 14 ultramarathons — including the Moab 240 and Cocodona 250 — but race number 15 is the one she doesn't like to talk about. In this raw and deeply personal episode, Erin shares the full story of her DNF at the Tahoe 200: a 200-mile race around Lake Tahoe that she trained for despite recovering from a femoral stress fracture, battling severe altitude sickness starting at...

Episode 13: The Underrated Advantage — Working Your Weaknesses What if the thing you avoid most in training is exactly what will make you a stronger runner? In this episode of Start Where You Are: Running and Ultrarunning , host and professional ultrarunning coach Erin Quinn dives into one of the most overlooked aspects of endurance training: working your weaknesses. It's easy to default to wh...

**Spicy Takes on the Cocodona 250 | Bonus Episode In this bonus episode, host Erin Quinn digs into the historic 2025 Cocodona 250 — a 250-mile ultramarathon from Black Canyon City to Flagstaff, Arizona — and she has a lot to say. Rachel Entrekin won overall with a new course record of 56 hours and 9 minutes, becoming the three-time Coco Queen and making headlines on ESPN, CBS News, and the BBC. Er...

Episode 11: Embrace the Suck Ever have one of those runs where nothing goes right — and it never gets better? Coach Erin Quinn is here to tell you those are the runs that matter most. In this episode, Erin breaks down the bad run — what it actually is, why it's different from a hard workout, and why every ultrarunner needs to collect a few of them. From legs that feel like cement pillars to bargai...

Episode 10: The 5 C's of Ultrarunning What does it really take to become an ultrarunner? In this finale of the Beginning Ultrarunning series, host and professional ultrarunning coach Erin Quinn breaks down the five big dial movers she calls "The 5 C's" — Consistency, Comparison, Curiosity, Coaching, and Commitment. Erin gets real about what ultrarunning actually looks like: the b...