The Running Mullet

This week on The Running Mullet, we’re talking with Lauren Kosek, an up and coming runner near and dear to the show. Lauren’s High School States progression tells quite a story: 2023: 40th 2024: 6th 2025: 3rd 2026: 1st This year, Lauren capped her high school cross country career with a PIAA Class 2A state title, running 17:49 and finishing 35 seconds ahead of the field. That’s quite a lot in four...

This week on The Running Mullet, we’re getting out of Pennsylvania and talking about three 100-milers outside of our usual stomping grounds. Hare Mountain 100. No Business 100. Rim to River 100. We’re heading to the Ozarks in Arkansas, the backcountry of Tennessee and Kentucky, and the New River Gorge in West Virginia. Three very different places, three tough courses, and a lot of ground to cover....

This week on The Running Mullet, we’re looking back at Wicked Windstone. We talked about this one earlier in the year when it was still a new race on the calendar. Now the inaugural event is in the books, with runners taking on everything from the 5K to the 100-miler. The course had a little bit of everything: wooded trails, farmland, creekside running, and a climb called The Wall. And with a 3.1-...

This week on The Running Mullet, we’re recapping Oil Creek and Green Monster. Oil Creek brought another year of rocks, climbs, and long miles through the trails around Titusville. The 100-miler covers more than 100 miles and nearly 18,000 feet of climbing, with the old oil derricks lit up, making for a pretty memorable sight during the overnight hours. We’ll get into how this year’s race played ou...

This week on The Running Mullet, we’re talking Black Forest and the Red Barn Challenge. We dug into Black Forest last week, so we’ll dig a little more into Red Barn — a relatively young race that has built a following since its first running in 2020. Red Barn is a 6-, 12-, or 24-hour challenge on a one-mile loop at Marzella Farm in Lykens, with about 70 feet of elevation per lap and a mix of grass...

This week on The Running Mullet, we’ve got Ben Mazur joining us. Ben has been around Pennsylvania trail running for a long time — runner, race director, trail nerd, blogger, and apparently someone who thinks normal race ideas are a little too easy. We’re talking Black Forest, one of Pennsylvania’s grittiest 100Ks. Ben is part of the team behind the race, which means he knows a thing or two about m...

This week on The Running Mullet, we're talking about two very different ways to spend your weekend: Wild Goose Trail Festival and Boulder Beast. Wild Goose had a pretty good weekend right up until Sunday brought the rain. The wet conditions made things a little more interesting for the runners out there, both those finishing big mileage and those starting the Sunday shorter distances. Wild Goose h...

This week on The Running Mullet, we’re talking hills. Up. Down. Poles. No poles. Fast. Slow. Hard. Easy. Do you power hike everything that points uphill, or refuse to admit you’re hiking? Do poles actually help, or are you just carrying extra stuff up the mountain? What about bombing the downhills like you have nothing to lose? We’ll talk hill workouts, climbing, descending, technique, pacing, and...

There’s a big difference between running a smooth, rolling trail and spending six hours picking your way over rocks and roots. If you try to run both courses the same way, you’re probably going to have a bad time. That’s what we’re getting into on The Running Mullet this week: different types of race courses and how you actually deal with them. The RunPA Trail Jamboree this past weekend is a perfe...

Running is supposed to be cheap, right? All you need is a pair of shoes and you’re good to go. Then somehow you end up with three pairs of shoes for different terrains, a Garmin watch, six kinds of socks, a hydration vest, poles, a headlamp, enough nutrition to survive a week in the woods, and a closet full of race shirts. Suddenly, you’ve spent enough money to outfit a small REI. This week on The...

No new topic this week. It’s a recap week! We’re taking a little trip back through some of our favorite Running Mullet conversations, interesting running things that have been happening recently, and, frankly, whatever we want to chat about this week. We’ve covered a lot over the last few months, so we’re pulling together some of the best moments, stories, advice, and conversations from past episo...

Eastern States 100 is over, and if you were watching the race unfold this weekend, you know there was a lot more going on than just who crossed the finish line first. Yes, Kaylee Frederick is the story. She didn't just win the women's race. She won Eastern States outright, becoming the first woman in race history to take the overall win. And she did it on a day when simply getting through 103 mile...

Some races spend decades building a reputation. Eastern States didn't need that long. This race has only been around since 2014, but in just ten runnings it has become one of those races that makes ultrarunners stop and pay attention. That's not because of marketing. It's because the course has a way of exposing exactly who showed up prepared. This week on The Running Mullet, we're looking at the...

Forgetting your drop bag on race day is one thing. Losing your pacer at a crucial point because nobody remembered where they were supposed to meet you? That's a whole different problem. This week on The Running Mullet, we're diving into the behind-the-scenes logistics that can make or break a big ultramarathon. Pacers. Crew. Timing. Aid station planning. Drop bags. Communication. When do you actua...

This week on The Running Mullet, we're talking about a brand new Pennsylvania ultra, The Wicked Windstone, and why runners are already paying attention. Before the inaugural event has even happened, the team behind Wicked Windstone has been asking questions, collecting feedback, and making changes based on what runners want, creating a race that feels built with the trail community instead of simp...

Most ultras send you into the woods before sunrise. Ironstone says, "Nope, let's start at 2:00 in the afternoon." This week on The Running Mullet, we're digging into one of Pennsylvania's most distinctive ultramarathons: the Ironstone 100K. A late-afternoon start means runners spend the hottest part of the day getting to the real challenge before tackling long stretches of rocky ridgelines and tec...

This week, we're talking with a guy who just did something absolutely incredible... and somehow made it look almost normal. Fresh off his overall win at the Last Annual Heart of the South, Phil Perkins joins us to break down one of the most unique races in ultrarunning. The race covers an eye-popping 355 miles through Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, giving runners nearly six days to chase the fin...

They say one is the loneliest number, but is two really any better? This week, we're celebrating all things #2. From Francesco Puppi's incredible runner-up finish at the Western States Endurance Run to the strange reality that second place can be both heartbreaking and heroic, we're diving into what it means to be number two. And because this is The Running Mullet, we're also exploring every kind...

Summer is here. The humidity is oppressive. Your shoes are permanently damp. Your long run started three hours ago and somehow you're still not back at the car. This week on The Running Mullet, we're talking about maintaining your mojo in midsummer. When the novelty of race season wears off, the weather gets brutal, and the training calendar starts feeling more like a chore than an adventure, how...

This week on The Running Mullet, we're covering the legendary Laurel Highlands Ultra, a tough East Coast race (of the choose your own adventure variety: 70.5 mile or 50k) that definitely lives up to the hype. This year was the 47th running of the 70.5 and the 21st running of the 50k. The iconic 70.5-mile point-to-point runs from from Ohiopyle to Seward, while the 50k leaves off at the 31 mile poin...

Summer has officially arrived, and whether you're chasing a PR, surviving marathon training, or running at odd hours where the sun isn’t out, this week's Running Mullet is bringing the heat. We're diving headfirst into the sweaty, salty world of hot-weather running: 🔥 The gear that actually works 🧂 Salt tabs, sports drinks, electrolyte mixes, pickles, and every other trick runners swear by 🥵 Ho...

Last week, we told you all about Worlds End. This week... we're telling you all about Worlds End again. You didn't really think we'd spend an entire episode previewing one of Pennsylvania's biggest ultramarathons and then just move on when the race actually happened, did you? The trails have been run. The climbs have been conquered. The legs have been trashed. Now, it's time to unpack everything t...

This week on The Running Mullet: We’re heading deep into the mountains of Pennsylvania for one of the toughest, muddiest races on the East Coast: Worlds End Ultramarathon. From the tough climbs of the Loyalsock Trail to the rock gardens, waterfalls, creek crossings, and endless rollers, Worlds End isn’t just a race — it’s a survival experience. The 50k offers up nearly 6,000 feet of climbing, whil...

This week on The Running Mullet… What happens when you mix trail runners, a moving train, and a little Appalachian magic? You get the legendary Highball to Thurmond — one of the most unique races in the area. Set deep in the New River Gorge of West Virginia, runners can choose from multiple distances — from a shorter scenic 50k to rugged 50 mile run, ruck, and relay distances that wind through his...

Episode 165 of The Running Mullet drops this Monday at 7:30pm. It was a massive weekend in the trail and ultra world, and we’re breaking it all down. We’ve got highlights from the Eagleton Trail Challenge: a race that’s been growing for years in the PA Wilds. From the shorter, runnable 10K and 25K to the more demanding 47K, Eagleton delivers a full spectrum of effort across technical terrain. We’l...