Community Trail Running

Brittany Peterson loves the outdoors and loves helping runners achieve their goals. So when she had the opportunity to be a part of BC’s latest stage race, The Wildness , she jumped at it. Now people are signing up to participate in the two-day event at the beautiful resort, taking place June 27-29, and final preparations are underway. Brittany, the entire crew, and the resort are all super stoked...

Chris Fenlon MacDonald loves challenging himself through endurance sports and he especially loves the community that makes up endurance sports. That is why he’s created the Relentless 24 in Canmore, Alberta. A 24-hour event at the beautiful Nordic Centre. Although this year has to be postponed due to some labour issues in the province, this event will be worth the wait for next year. I hope you en...

Christian Roy owns Canadian Skyline Adventures in Jasper, Alberta. He absolutely loves getting people out on the trails and into nature. He’s always found nature a healing part of his life and wants to share that with as many others as possible. He accidentally found his way into trail running, but it’s been intentional ever since. The chance to be out there and showing off the great trails around...

Kimberly Stark owns multiple businesses in Jasper and has chased ultra distances on the trails. She loves to see what she is capable of and push herself as close to her max as she can get. It’s something that’s always driven her and that drive has led to a lot of success. It was such a blast and an honour to hear more about her and why pushing herself has been important to her. It was also awesome...

Brandon Regier is a huge fan of running. He loves it so much he’s made it his career and he chases huge goals on the weekends too. He’s also a proud new father and someone who values time with family. He was a pleasure to chat with and I’m so glad Chantelle made this happen! Drop by Runners Soul in Lethbridge and meet him yourself. We learned a lot about why he loves the sport, some advice he has...

It’s so great to chat with Trevor Soll from the Jasper Canadian Rockies Half Marathon! Trevor has been race directing for 30 years and he enjoys the people and providing a challenging event. The Jasper event is this weekend and Trevor is excited to welcome 1300 runners for the event. The course sounds stunning, and it’s a great way to head back to the town and be part of the revival after last yea...

The Raven 50 in Whitehorse, Yukon, has had a journey of it’s own since its inception. The current iteration is set to be directed by Natalie Thivierge after long time race director John Carson handed the reigns over. We are thrilled to have them both on this episode and hear the story about this race and its evolution! The race sounds absolutely stunning, and it raises funds for great causes! They...

Suddenly our shows are around the corner and it’s nearly go time, so Jeannine Avelino and I are getting you all set for our 6 screenings! We’re so excited for this year, from the great films to our amazing sponsors, we're gonna have an absolute blast getting together and celebrating our sport! Our sponsors this year 5 Peaks - Stoked Ultra/Scramble Odlum Brown Ski Uphill / Run Uphill Coast Mountain...

Moab Run the Rocks I’ve officially completed my first stage race, desert race, and Transrockies Race , and I’m so damn grateful to have taken part. What a party in the desert!!! A massive thank you to Houda and the entire Transrockies group, they know what’s up and I’m honoured to have been included in Moab Run the Rocks . Three days of trails and community was really cool to be a part of and I ha...

Elite Heart is all about body positivity and Jordan Marie Whetstone is super excited for this film to release. She is always working towards creating a more inclusive and diverse sport through her films. It was a ton of fun chatting with her for the second year in a row and we’re definitely better off having such an amazing creator in our space! When a body challenged woman starts running, she ent...

Anna Brannon had to deal with a tornado to get her first major production over the finish line (I’ll show myself out later). She was great to chat with as the challenges the crew faced were tough but they managed to get everything done and we’re grateful to show it as part of the film fest. This week continues to fly by and we’re having so much featuring all of these awesome filmmakers! Missouri i...

Tony Dispasquale was excited to feature We Run Long and even more thrilled it turned into what it did! I love hearing about all the Trail Running Film Festival selections from filmmakers like Tony. They all seem most excited about the fact the stories they tell are being shared and the groups featured get the recognition they deserve. The inaugural Camp We Run Long brought together BIPOC trail run...

It’s double header day on the podcast as we continue the Trail Running Film Festival preview week with Alexandre Chambet ’s “The Pointe Pessey”. Alexandre was super excited to chat about the film and I enjoyed hearing about the reasons why he wanted to tell this story. It’s a lot of fun chatting with people all around the world about our awesome sport and I’m so glad I get to share it with all of...

It’s fun to preview The Trail Running Film Festival here at CTR and today we continue the fun chatting with Candice Burt and David D’Angelo of “Halfway to Crazy”. It’s great to hear some of the challenges that they faced and I love hearing from all the filmmakers about what goes into making these features that we enjoy watching with each other so much! We’re going to have a great time gathering fo...

It’s Trail Running Film Festival Preview week here on the podcast and we’re so excited to launch it with Matt Green’s “Talk to Frank”. Here is the movie description from the trailfilmfest.com: My name is Frank, and I’m a cocker spaniel from Manchester. My story began when I moved in with Maleek, my human. He wasn’t in a great place—having just finished a four-year sentence, he found himself transi...

Wayne Cassidy's Tajik Mountain Traverse is an awesome sounding race that takes place in the Mountains of Tajikistan. It offers runners a unique mix of history, culture, and natural beauty. The race is designed to challenge endurance athletes and immerse them in the culture of the Tajik people. "The Tajik people are just some of the warmest, most hospitable people," Wayne shares. "Strangers will be...

"Individual actions are good, but it's not enough. We need to work together and create collective actions." Dakota Jones is passionate about our climate and making a positive difference. This is why he got involved with Footprints Running Camp . The camp looks to empower local community members and help them push forward their climate action plans. The camp takes place yearly and this year Dakota...

“I really just enjoyed treating creativity like silly putty and stretching it and grasping it and molding it in different ways.” Angela Hollowell is the type of person to just go ahead and do something rather than wait for someone else to do it. This has led her to writing newsletters and hosting podcasts about various topics, including Melanin MVP , which she dubs “the ultimate destination for wo...

“While I was doing the Spine, even though I was on my own on the Pennine Way, it felt like I had the other Black Trail Runners around me.” What started as a reluctant attempt to stay active quickly became a passion for Rebecca Devereux . Her journey was fast and within three years she was standing on the cusp of one of Britian’s most grueling races. The Winter Spine Race is notoriously difficult....

“Our ancestors would pass messages along by running from community to community. To this day, we still teach that, especially to our youth.” Apologies for the late release, I had some major technical issues to sort through! For Marlinda Bedonie , running is more than a sport. It’s a way of life, a cultural tradition, and a means of connecting with her community. As an Indigenous ultrarunner, mothe...

“For us, coffee was such an essential part of those trips. We would even think about, while planning the trip, 'Okay, where are we going to drink coffee? Where's the spot going to be?" Alexander Häberlin loves a good cup of coffee. So much so that it was often the sole focus of outdoor adventures. Where would they drink the coffee? What did they need to pack for it? Along with his partner Phillipe...

“I assumed that there were tons of women running. You know, we’re so good at this, it feels like there is something really there, especially in this mental aspect. So I’d assume it’s at least a 50/50 gender ratio, probably at all the races. And learning that it wasn’t, I kinda had to stop and take a pause and think why that might be.” Rachel Bambrick loves the sport of ultra running and just wants...

“Am I ever thinking about I want to die? Yeah, maybe. But the point is, I'm not alone. I'm not alone.” Chris Chan got into running simply because he was looking to be active and needed something other than soccer. He didn’t know he’d be getting into something so important to his life, and so fulfilling. He also didn’t realize what a learning journey it would be. Finding supportive people who had s...

“I’m a facilitator of other people’s stories in trail running. Everyone has a unique journey, and that’s what makes each episode special.” Troy Meadows is a dad, husband, marketing executive, and passionate ultra-runner. He’s been trail running for over a decade and not only is he an athlete but also a storyteller who loves amplifying the voices of those around him. His podcast, The Midpacker Pod...

“I was still in the porta potty when the gun went off.” - Jacob Puzey Merry Christmas and happy holidays my friends. It’s an exciting day around here, and it’s time for our holiday special episode. The holiday special is when former guests share their funny trail running stories with all of us, and it’s something I greatly appreciate they take the time to do! This year is a set of fantastic storie...