FACING VERT

It is here! Brandon Thrower, of Tanawha Adventures, discusses the NEW course for the Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker 50M & 55k with me on this episode. Listen as Brandon walks us through the turns, the terrain, aid stations, crew and more for this upcoming race. Although the race will not be able to go to Mt. Mitchell this year due to damage from Helene, that doesn't mean this course is not going...

"If you don't have the confidence, you have to have the courage"--Teresa Bowser I absolutely loved when Teresa said this as we discussed why she signed up for the Fierce Dragon Firestarter 100. Already an extremely difficult race (that very few want to even attempt), the crazy weather took the difficultly to another level. This race started in snow, turned into slush, back to ice and THEN came the...

Andrew Hall signed up for the Old Fort Strong Endurance Festival's 24-hour race with a short window to train and only a 50K under his belt. Andrew's own hometown of Burnsville was hit hard by Hurricane Helene, and he saw first hand the generosity of others to offer their resources to help. So when he saw the opportunity to also help Old Fort, he jumped in head first. Andrew and his friend,...

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I truly hope that you had a wonderful Christmas season and are getting off to an amazing start in 2025. To kick off this new year, we have a new race to talk about with Brandon Thrower, race director and owner of Tanawha Adventures. The Hanging Rock Challenge 50K & Half will be taking place on January 11, 2025, and this race course sounds stunning. Hanging Rock St...

I met Katti Jackson at The Naturalist, where she took 2nd female overall. Since then, I have seen her dominate in the ultras she has faced since that time. Katti didn't even start running ultras until 2022 with Table Rock, and in 2023 she won the Heartbreaker 55k, then won the Heartbreaker 50 miler the next year. So, like anyone else would do (ha!), she wanted to try her hand at the 100 mile dista...

First of all, I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving with their friends and family. I am so so grateful to each and everyone of you that listen and share this podcast! On this episode, I sat down with Brandon Thrower, with Tanawha Adventures, to get all the details for you on the Old Fort Strong Endurance Festival coming up on December 6-8th. The Old Fort Strong Endurance Festival is going to...

Natalie Narburgh does not shy away from adventure or challenges...actually she gravitates towards it. Natalie not only wears many hats as the Executive Director of Pisgah Area SORBA, but also many hats in life. She is a trail runner, cyclist, rock climber, a white water kayaker, a wife, a mom and more. I was thrilled to sit down with her to talk about her adventures and the trail races she has bee...

Resilience -"the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness" Anne George is, to me, is the definition of resilience. I feel as if she may disagree, but I could see it and hear it when we spoke. First of all, she is a phenomenal runner. If you take a glance at her UltraSignup, it is documented that she has participated and completed 46 truly tough races, and she has be...

I have had Brandon Thrower on the podcast many times to talk about the details of the races he directs, but this time was different. As everyone is well aware, Hurricane Helene tore through Western North Carolina destroying lives, homes, businesses, roads and the forests we love. Through spotty cell service, I was able to see the efforts that Brandon and Camp Grier were doing to help those around...

The Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race took place on August 10, 2024, and my good friend, Steve Bennett was up for the challenge. Steve has loved his mountain bike since he was young, and throughout the years has dabbled in different disciplines of the sport. Steve loves to race, and has had quite the success, even though he is so humble about how skilled he is on a bike. On a whim, he put in...

The Table Rock Ultras are quickly approaching, so I sat down with race director, Brandon Thrower, to find out all the details. The Table Rock 50k & 30k will take place on September 21st and here is a little teaser from the website... Roots and rocks; hills and creeks; views and memories... We offer them all and more at Table Rock Ultras. Your goal is the finish line, but lying between you and...

I had the pleasure of once again sitting down with the Mountain Monster, Marisa Romeo. (Yes, I made that name up, but just look at her Strava!) The last time we spoke she had just crushed the field at the Looking Glass 100K in November of 2023. I wanted to have her back on to hear all about her latest race, the Lavaredo 120K, that takes place in Italy. To say that I am jealous that she as able to...

In this episode, I sit down with race director, Brandon Thrower, to talk through every detail of the upcoming Grand-Further Mountain Run. See what Tanawha Adventure's website has to say about this race... The Grand-Further Mountain Run is the premiere mountain race in North Carolina.  The 25 kilometer course will climb Grandfather Mountain a total of two times from both sides of the mountain....

Tory Grieves, along with Sara Molskness, were on the podcast over a year ago to talk about their battle with injuries and the difficulty of simply not being able to do what the love. Tory had torn her plantar fascia, and it had taken her around a year to really start trying to run again. Then, right before we were going to record, she had re-torn her plantar fascia and was devastated. Now, a year...

Nathan Frantz has such an adventurous spirit, who loves to push the limits and seek the extreme. As a young boy Nathan found a love of the outdoors and this never grew dim...whether it was by BMX, cliff jumping, whitewater rafting, Spartan races or ultra running. Nathan is so easy to talk to, so humble, and he loves fiercely. We discuss his recent experience at Hellbender 100, his Palmetto trail F...

When Marcus sat down with me, I did not know a thing about him except that he was really fast and super strong. I first saw his name come up when he won the Looking Glass 100k this past fall, and then he showed up so strong at the Hellbender 100...taking 3rd overall with a sub-24 hour finish. He had me curious for sure, and I was very excited to meet him and hear his story. I was BLOWN away! Marcu...

Bonus Episode! Ridge to Rails 50k, Half Marathon and 10k are THIS weekend, so Brandon Thrower (with Tanawha Adventures) and I sat down to talk about each race. If you are running this race this Saturday, or thinking about participating in the future, you will want to listen. Brandon walks through every turn, terrain and views found on each course, plus giving other valuable information about the r...

So much to say about Carrie Baris, the co-race director of the Hellbender 100. Yes, she is an ultra runner, but she is also very successful in the equestrian sports of endurance riding and ride & tie. I was absolutely fascinated to dig into both of these equestrian sports to find out how they operate and how they correlate to endurance running. One thing I learned is that I HAVE to try ride & tie....

Teresa Bowser is an incredible trail runner, ultra runner, crew, pacer and friend to all. Teresa began her trail running journey around 2019 and has now conquered some of the most difficult ultras around...the Hellbender 100, Cloudsplitter 100, Stillwater Ultras, and recently the Georgia Death Race to name a few. Teresa is also a beautiful, young lady with the biggest and brightest smile. You can&...

Bonus Episode! For this episode I sat down with co-race director and course developer, Brandon Thrower (Tanawha Adventures), to talk all things Hellbender! According the the Hellbender 100 website: The Hellbender One Hundred is one of the most scenic hundred milers on the East Coast. This course will take you through a grueling tour of the massive Black Mountains, deep into the valleys below and t...

**Warning: sensitive material is discussed in this podcast** Ally Carlton was recently on the podcast after she grabbed the FKT both North and Southbound on the Art Loeb Trail within three weeks of each other. Pretty astounding to say the least. And then, in March, Ally crossed the finish line of the MST 100 as the female winner and third overall, despite the horrible weather conditions. But, this...

We are putting this episode out early because 7 Sisters is right around the corner! On this episode I sat down with Brandon Thrower, of Tanawha Adventures, to get all the details on his upcoming 7 Sisters 25K. According to the Tanawha Adventures website, "The Seven Sisters 25k is a monstrous mountain of a run around the East and West ridges of the Montreat Wilderness! The route passes over mu...

On this episode, you will hear about my experience running the Mt. Mitchell Heartbreaker 55K that took place on Saturday, March 23, 2024. Somehow I came in first lady and 11th overall with a time of 6:59:59...right under that 7 hours! Turned out to be a beautiful day of running with unexpected views, new friends, and lots of grumbling about gravel roads. :) Needless to say, it was an amazing day t...

Such a fun experience meeting and chatting with coach, ultra runner, business owner, mom and wife-Tera Pruett. Instantly, I was struck by her confidence, her vibrant spirit and her sense of adventure. Tera's goal is to help others accomplish their goals...whether that is on the trails, in the gym, or simply being brave enough to take on adventure that didn't think was possible. She genuine...

The Mt. Mitchell Heartbreaker 50M/55K is coming up on March 23, 2024, and both events are sold out! On this episode, I sit down with race director, Brandon Thrower, to go through every detail of these two events. As it says on Tanawha Adventures website, "The Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker 50M/55K is an extremely scenic tour of "the other Pisgah" in the shadow of Mount Mitchell.  Start...