DFL Before DNF

Ben Whitehead joins the Borderlands podcast to give a first hand account of the Leadville 100. This episode is perfect for anyone who wants to get to run Leadville. Or for someone who knows they never will but wants to hear all about the iconic course and experience. Ben Whitehead ran Leadville 100 as his first 100 miler. Is he crazy? Yes. Is that bad? Absolutely not. Ben's crazy was very calculat...

If burning man were an ultra, it would be Javelina Jundred by Aravailpa. This episode is for anyone who has ran or will run this race and enjoys ultras and/or ultra culture. This means its basically for everyone. @wolffrunner joins me. He's run multiple distances of JJ and brings his usual insight to the show. ---- Sponsors: VKTRY Insoles - I wear these every run, 20% off. PATH Projects - My favor...

Jacob found his way to ultrarunning as a place to quiet his mind. And we're all beneficiaries of his work. He's a war photographer who brought his skills to the ultrarunning space and took the most popular photo in the history of ultrarunning probably ( here ). When his Kickstarter goes live we will share it. Jacob's Instagram Jacob's website ---- Sponsors: VKTRY Insoles - I wear these every run,...

Brian joins me again to offer some Bad Runners' Takes to the world. I got beat up for even suggesting that Katie Schide might be headed towards GOAT status over Courtney Dauwalter. So Brian and I asked why we can't even ask the question. We deviate to talk about the rock stars of old like Anton and Hal. Where did all the rock stars go in trail running? Will we have an era like that again? ---- Spo...

Trail running shoes have evolved dramatically over the past two decades, and few brands have shaped that evolution like Salomon. In this episode, Taylor Bodin—Lead Trail Reviewer at Believe in the Run—joins Josh to explore how Salomon helped define modern mountain racing and why its influence still shows up on trails around the world. From the early days of technical mountain footwear to the curre...

What are the criteria we should use to crown the capital of North American Trail Running? Here are some of my thoughts. Number of elite ultras Number of non elite ultras Number of elite runners Varied trail terrain Number of dirtbags Number of bandit races Trailhead proximity to great restaurants  Which of these do you like? What would you add? Why am I doing this? 1. Fun 2. Funner  ----...

Lars Pedersen founded SAYSKY running in 2013. It's among the first micro running brands still in existence. In this espidose you'll learn about the history of SAYSKY Running, Lars' life as a windsurfer and how that led him to start SaySky. It's deeply connected to Copenhagen but is very much an international brand. SaySky ---- Sponsors: VKTRY Insoles - I wear these every run, 20% off. PATH Project...

My whole adult life has been about celebrating and championing Salt Lake City. In this episode I get a little bit personal on what I think is so great about it even beyond trail running. Also, I interview Joey Hendrix to talk about our contribution to Utah being crowned the apex trail running capital - Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races . Register for Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races Watch our video a...

Remember the Titans. Leadville, Badwater, + Dean Karnazes were once the pinnacle of our sport. So what happened? They're all doing fine. The races are sold out, Dean stays busy. But when Brian and I started trail running in the early 2010s these titans were celebrated. Not tracking? Listen as we bring you along making a case that they belong to be restored to their rightful place. Wolffrunner is b...

Three things. Wasatch 100 - is this the best 100 miler in the world? I think so. But I'm really biased. UTMB - Did it live up to the hype? It gave us the best two scenarios possible. A no-name came out of nowhere to win the men's race and the expected exceeded expectations in the women's race. Inspirition. I live off it and it's hard to find. Here are three things inspiring me right now in trail....

Happy UTMB week. @wolffrunner joins me on Bad Runners take to talk UTMB. Forget about the drama surrounding UTMB over the last year for a week (if not forever). If you don't like the juggernaut of UTMB, disregard them. But don't disregard the 10,000 people running in the mountains around Mont Blanc. This week we celebrate the human spirit taking them from point A to point B, the French culture tha...

I asked the Borderlands audience who I should talk to about my fascination with running a road ultra. The number one suggestion was Jacob Puzey. After this conversation I understand why. He brings the perfect insight as a decorated road and trail runner, former coach and trail race director. There's a flow state in running not available to trail runners that comes with repetitive and predictable t...

In this episode we explore a Term of Endurance: Race Director . Do we really understand what these RDs put themselves through to put on the local and regional races? They're not full time. It's a massive lift. I had the good fortune to sit with two local Copenhagen legends, Rasmus and Robin, to talk Danish running and compare Europe running to American running. As much as they're different, the sp...

Randi Zuckerberg is new the sport of ultratrail. If you're an old grumpy get-off-my-lawn trail runner you will hate this conversation because Randi is an enthusiastic evangelist for the sport of trail running. She left the road for trail running about a year ago and dove in head first. Randi's post about her DNF Randi's primary business focus: HUG ---- Sponsors: VKTRY Insoles - I wear these every...

In 2019 Jeremy Cox ran the Buffalo 100 only to finish dead last after the finish line had been torn down. How did he keep going? Why? We told this story to tell the ultra trail world that every runnerf has a story and no matter how you toe the line, you are a badass and you belong in the trail community. DFL Before DNF on YouTube . Ending song: Long Enough by Josh Rosenthal ---- Sponsors: VKTRY In...

What is Borderlands Trail Running? It's not obvious, I know. Bottom line, I love the trail running industry and want to grow it because I genuinely believe the world will be a better place. In this episode I explain why Borderlands exists, what its doing, and where its going. We review the mission, the manifesto, and all the ways I'm trying to send the mission into the ultratrail world. I bring a...

Hellbender 100 in North Carolina is quite a race. Tons of vert and (b)East coast running to the max. Rooty and steep and relentless. It's also now a Hardrock qualifier if that tells you anything about its course profile. Troy Meadows is the host of the MidPacker Pod and one of my favorites to have on the show. He's insightful and careful with his words. He clearly loves the sport and it shows in t...

It's hard to pick one single race that emobidies the American Western trail running experience. Buffalo 100 is a strong candidate. From the race director to the course to running with Buffalos in sight, this race is special. ---- Sponsors: VKTRY Insoles - I wear these every run PATH Projects - My favorite running shorts --- More Borderlands Instagram YouTube Threads LinkedIn We've got an app in be...

Elite Trail Running athletes deserve every single dollar a brand will give them in a contract, but is it sustainable? Can the industry support sponsoring athletes? I don't think the current model is sustainable and this episode goes into depth on why. Caveat, I'm probably in the top 1% of elite trail running fans. I'm asking this question because I love this sport and want it to grow. But it doesn...

I love the 100 mile distance. And in this episode I go for my 10th 100 miler on my favorite course in the world - Zion by Vacation races. I hope you enjoy listening to this as much as I enjoyed making it with my friend Ben of Honey Videography. Sponsors: VKTRY Insoles - I wear these every run, click to get 20% off PATH Projects - My favorite running shorts --- More Borderlands Instagram YouTube Th...

A wise trail runner has many counselors. There's no other way. The sport is challenging by design and this episode is my pursuit of wisdom from those who have gone before me/ ---- Sponsors: VKTRY Insoles - I wear these every run PATH Projects - My favorite running shorts --- More Borderlands Instagram YouTube Threads LinkedIn We've got an app in beta called Wylder by Borderlands. Check it out on i...

This week on a bad runners take: Big Trail Running • it’s a consolidation of attention around a few names and events but is trail running to new as a spectators sport to do it to this scale? Volunteer Labor • there’s lots of money to be made in trail running events. Are RDs dependent on volunteer labor? It’s the industry standard but is it ok for a for profit entity to rely on volunteer labor? Lea...

Despite all my 100 mile failures I'm going to try again. Before I do, I need to see how my fitness is coming along. In this episode I run the Dead Horse 50 miler by Mad Moose in Moab, Utah to see how my fitness is progressing. VKTRY Insoles - I wear these on every run PATH Projects - my favorite shorts to run in ---- Borderlands Instagram YouTube We've got an app in beta called Wylder by Borderlan...

Why do we keep going after the big goals that crush us? I'm obsessed with the 100 mile distance even though it continues to crush me. I've DNFed 8 of 9 100 mile attempts. And I'm back for more. VKTRY Insoles - I wear these on every run PATH Projects - my favorite shorts to run in ---- Borderlands Instagram YouTube We've got an app in beta called Wylder by Borderlands. Check it out on iOS or Androi...

PATH Projects started in 2017 to solve a problem: running shorts. They were mostly designed by shoe companies who are looking to increase average transaction sizes when runners are buying shoes. In this episode we explore Scott Bailey and Brian Rather's history as founders of  @pathprojects  . Scott start SPLIT, Kr3w, and Supra Footwear. Brian started a denim company acquired by Huckberr...