Cultra Trail Running

CULTRA Trail Running Podcast is completely out there in the ether my people, since we can't meet in person we're meeting in the virtual space. So we wax poetic on the state of affairs- Western States 100 is cancelled, so that's cool. Jimmy has been waiting eight years so what's another? Maybe we make it a cool decade- if you people can't stay the F inside and get the hell away from each other we c...

Socially distanced but not anti-social! We are legion, for we are many... just stay the fuck six feet away. Postponed events? Yes, us too. We commiserate but stay optimistic. Art says we sound tinny but the hipsters among us will say it's "lo-fi indie" like our early stuff before we signed to a major label. We talk virtual races, FKT attempts and how to self-support for your next big attempt becau...

Times  they are a changing, but the trails are still there.  The Cultra Crew gets together, well not exactly together, as we practice social distancing in the studio.   Then Becky comes up with several Cultrivia questions for Fred.  Do you know the answers?  We also announce our new  weekly contest, The Cultra Social Distance Challenge!  Post up a run on the  Cultra Fan Page, and tag in on Strava...

Stacey Clark takes over from Colorado  and does a one on one interview with Joshua Stevens.  Joshua shares the very raw and real story of his life, which involved the special forces, injury, addiction, and a love for animals and nature.  Having lived through these struggles, Joshua has a new, deep, and profound appreciation for life, which has now led him to many Ultra runs including VT100, Leadvi...

This week's episode finds the crew sitting down with Glastonbury's Shan Riggs, fresh off a stunning 15-hour 100-mile performance in the desert of Las Vegas. What makes Shan go? The crew asks pointed questions and receives pointed answers. They also all deep dive into the coronavirus and its impact on running events around the world. Some mild 4% talk of course and a touch of random Becky awkwardne...

This episode we talk, and we talk and talk some more, mostly about Fred's FOMO at the Colchester Half (and Art and Becky's double half and even one guy that did the triple half; looking in Tony Bonnano's general direction), we get real with Seasonal Affective Disorder, and what the F is wrong with the marathon and USATF for that matter and just general shenanigans and hijinks and jackassing all ar...

Disclaimer: this episode barely talks about Western States, maybe some Golden Ticket shit but we put that in the title because this will make people download it or something, and new listeners we love you (allegedly). We jackass around for a bit before landing on our preferred topic of the night: Tribalism (and take a deep deep dive into that). You're in Maine, boy- we got gators! We talk about th...

Whoosh! That's the sound of George Daniels passing you at your last race, and if you've been running the trails here in CT the last few years, good chance you've heard that whoosh and seen the man pass you at some point. Don't worry it's happened to all of us. George sits down and explains where he came from and what he was doing the previous 56 years before ultrarunning stardom. Fred has been run...

'ello governor! Today we venture across the ol' pond to jolly England and Scotland for a bit of a field trip with the one and only LSE. We get serious for a moment, then we remember who we are and well, that's all right. The greatest benefactor the podcast has ever known (as well as my favorite triathlete ever), Peggy Byram sits down with us to talk shop and get the running (and swimming and bikin...

It's that time of the week again- I swear this is a very special episode. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll do everything in between. We have the lovely Carly Eisley in studio this week to talk about adventures, racing (she's a 10+ year vet in this sport, people) and life and how all three merge and the beauty and wonder of it all. Ups, downs and dickin' around . Rhode Island receives a minimum...

Here we go with yet another installment of the pod my peoples! And just like that, the CULTRA Crew grows! We asked Fred Murolo of he'd like to go steady with us and he said YES! Then Becky made it really awkward and gave him a ring. So there's that. But what did we talk about? A lot of jackassing to be honest. But some timely facts (possibly) and some race reporting (allegedly). Just what you know...

CULTRA is a podcast about... welp, tonight... we're about nothing. We just jackass around the whole show. Literally just that. Jackassing. We attempt to approach a point, but hey man- squirrels. Art's buddy Al stops by, John Coctostan and Close Talker make appearances as well. If you get those references, you'll do just fine. Jimmy manages to offend all people of Italian heritage, then walks it ba...

What's good CULTRA Nation? You ready to start training again? Yeah me either. But in the meantime, let's get dirty with some training talk- Jimmy's got Boston coming up and his heart rate data is off the chain, let's troll his ass on Strava. Speaking of Strava, stout group out there, keep it up gang. Art went to Nashville and got busy, and when I say busy I mean BIZZAY. Thoroughly AND consistently...

This episode features a one on one interview with 79 year old Barry Stoner.  We hear what it was like to be a high school track runner in the time of Rodger Bannister, but we also talk about so much more than running.  Barry has lived a purposeful and interesting life traveling the US in an airplane that he built himself.  What was it like to serve in a missile base, build a kayak, bike through th...

We sit down for a talk with The Revered Run, Will Fisher. Fresh off a finish at Wasatch 100 in Utah, we dissect running and spirituality and when (and if) the two ever meet. We go in-depth into Will's former life as an elite oarsman and how he entered this wacky world of endurance running. Hint: the two are related. Stay tuned! Without giving too much away, since it really is a #special episode, y...

This is a one on one interview with Ultra runner Sean Greaney.  Sean grew up in CT and has run extensively in the White Mountains  and now lives in Seattle with his wife Sara.  He is a true outdoors-man, who just loves playing in the mountains. Sean and I have some history as we have traveled a few hundred miles together on the trails, including the CUT 112 in 2018.  Sean has a special way of desc...

Disclaimer: Art wrote the title for the podcast this week, I have nothing to do with it. Wanted to name it "Lottery Season: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Statesmas" or "A Decade (Almost!) Under the Influence" but here we are. My view of Western States is very much a western view, allegedly. Let's get into TACOS! That's right, it was the 2nd Annual Taco Trials, a stupid thing to do but probably...

Hey gang, how's it been? We've had a busy few weeks and we're ahead of the curve in terms of providing you with excellent, up-to-date ultra coverage here in New England and beyond... actually I don't know if that's true and I don't care because we got a ton of phone calls to the CULTRA Karaoke line last week! Party in the USA my dudes and dudettes! In all seriousness, no. We are never serious. But...

Happy Thanksgiving, CULTRA Fans! Have we got a show for you- featuring Fred Murolo, finisher of 39 hundos as well as having an epic run streak of almost 38 years. Fred sits down for a candid talk of what can go right during a race as well as what goes wrong and how to overcome that. Becky recaps her run at the Steep Rock half marathon and we review last week's episode about mental health. Art rete...

Episode 50: One Day with Rachel Belmont Some people run to be the fastest. Some run to see how far they can go.  Others run to heal themselves, or to help serve others.  Rachel Belmont is a young athlete who has run for all of these reasons.  From running sub 5 minute miles, to running 100 miles, her adventurous spirit has taken her to many exciting places.   During this episode Rachel talks one o...

Mr. Trailmixer himself Michael LoPresti sits down with the crew tonight as Evil Becky takes over the hosting reigns from Art F&%*ing Byram and we dive deep into 2019's hot button issue, mental health. We go over topics like rates of access, availability of services and how Michael and some friends ran across the entire state of Connecticut to not only fundraise but to raise more awareness for the...

The Crew sits down with RD Jimmy Mac (and CULTRA co-host slash cast member, how convenient) to recount the inaugural Pachaug Trail Runs, as Art keeps him on task (squirrel blinders) by asking pointed questions and demanding pointed answers. We go over the history and conception of the idea for the race and all the associated rigamarole. Hashtag very special episode or nah? Then the interviews! MON...

It's about time we talked about Timed Races.  They are a great way to dip your toe into the ultra world or a new distance PR. Evil Becky and AFB offer suggestions on how to set up your gear, what to bring to the race, pacing strategies, bad nutrition advice and what mental games to play to keep you moving!  We talk about how to choose a race. Some people are afraid that running in circles would dr...

"If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again..." is the motto of the week here at CULTRA HQ as we welcome back Regan Fitzgibbons to the podcast, and this one sure doesn't disappoint. Yeah that's right, I quoted Aaliyah right there, but I digress. The crew this week discusses the TARC Ghost Train 100 up in New Hampshire, then Art does something insanely stupid and awesome at the...

CULTRA Trail Running Podcast Show Notes Episode 45: Manchester Road Race Director Jim Balcome The Manchester Road Race is an iconic New England Thanksgiving tradition, and draws some of the worlds best elites.   For many weekend warriors, it is the only race they run all year. We get a bird's eye view on what it looks like from high above it all from race director Jim Balcome who has been the race...