FACING VERT

*Warning...sensitive material is discussed in this episode* Resilient. This one word sums up Rachel Blinn. I was looking forward to meeting Rachel and discussing how she recently crushed the Fierce Dragon H9 200 miler (unbelievable). But, I was also told she had a story that needed to be shared. Little did I know, Rachel has lived 100 lifetimes in her short 29 years. A life she tried to control wh...

I love doing this podcast, because I get to meet and get to know so many incredible people, and Randy Elliott is one of those. Randy continues to get stronger as a trail runner as the races come his way, but he is also an extremely talented musician, rock climber, owns and runs a successful business...all while juggling family life with his beautiful wife and two kiddos. I first heard of Randy whe...

Ally Carlton...beautiful, strong, brave and extremely fast. Ally and I met at the Hellbender 100 where she took 2nd overall female. I was fortunate enough to share a several miles with her during the first portion of the race, and instantly she struck me as genuine, humble, and one that truly seemed to care for others. Fast forward, and we have run into each other many times at cross country meets...

First of all, I want to wish all of you a happy new year! I am so excited what 2024 has to hold, and I would love to hear about the goals and aspirations you have for this new year. Sheridan Byers-quiet, shy, humble, unassuming, completely kind, selfless, and an absolute savage on the trails. He would disagree of course, but he is always in the top tier of runners and he knows the trails in the Pi...

Brandon Thrower, with Tanawha Adventures, is back on the podcast to run through every detail of the upcoming South Mountain Marathons. The 50K and the marathon are both taking place on Saturday, January 6th followed by the half marathon on Sunday, January 7th. The South Mountains Marathons are held in the beautiful South Mountains State Park in North Carolina. I could tell that Brandon absolutely...

I had the privilege of having Tim Nooney back on the podcast to talk about his experience running the Grindstone 100K and Looking Glass 100K. Listen as he gives us the details on what led to his DNF at Grindstone, but how it made stepping up to the start line of Looking Glass even sweeter. Let's just say...the stoke was high, and he was ready. Tim led the entire race until mile 57, and I so ap...

Once again, I had the privilege to sit down with the queen, Marisa Romeo. Marisa just absolutely demolished the Looking Glass 100k by coming in 1st female beating second place by almost 3 HOURS (and these are some super fast, super strong women). She also gave the men a run for their money, placing 6th overall in an extremely strong field. Listen as we run through every detail of her race...the hi...

Logan Anderson is an overall incredible athlete, and even as a young child he discovered his love for competition. Logan played football, wrestled, pole vaulted, and also dabbled in a little bit of running. It wasn't until after graduated high school, that he jumped into Spartan races, and found success in this sport. Logan is fast, always has been, and he uses this skill to be extremely compe...

He did it! Heath Ballard started at the top of the Shut-In trailhead and ran over 16 miles to the bottom all in honor and in memory of his mom, Melanie Ballard. It truly was the most stunning day, with a sunrise that simply took your breath away. Heath was amazing...never stopping, always moving, even though he had never run over 8 miles and had never set foot on the Mountains-to-Sea trail. Listen...

Jordan Tager set out to accomplish his first 100 miler at the Grindstone 100 this past September. Gaining over 21000 feet of vert over the the span of 100 miles is not for the faint of heart, and it was a beast of a race to choose for his first 100. Jordan felt prepared, but nothing prepared him for the tropical storm that was to hit. I loved diving into the details of his race and his fight to tr...

Once again I had the privilege of having Brandon Thrower, of Tanawha Adventures, back on the podcast. He is putting on The Looking Glass 100k on November 18th, and we walk through every detail of the course, the aid stations, pacer and crew info and more. So, if you are planning on running this beautiful event, you are helping out in anyway, or you are thinking of participating in the future, this...

Bodybuilding...just WOW. This is an incredibly difficult sport that I knew absolutely nothing about going into this podcast. BUT, I was so honored when I was able to sit down with Pro Bodybuilder and Mr. USA 2021, Jordan Hutchinson, and his stunning wife, Brittany, to really dig in and learn as much as I could about this sport. The DISCIPLINE and MENTAL TOUGHNESS that it takes to truly make it in...

Several years ago Ellie Johnston and I met while running with the B-Group on Monday nights, but Ellie's true love is cycling. Now she has become a force on two skinny tires, and it has been exciting to keep up with, especially watching her Strava! During Covid, to keep her motivated and out of the house, she began a streak of either running or cycling everyday for an entire year. Coming out of...

Laurel Awald and I just ran The Naturalist 50K this past Saturday that takes place in Franklin, NC on the Bartram Trail. This race is an out and back with 8000 feet in vert, but the views at the top are worth it, especially on a gorgeous day like we had. Laurel crushed the course, coming in 1st lady and 3rd overall. Katti Jackson ran an incredible race coming in 2nd and 5th overall, and I was able...

Sam Reed has TEN 100 mile completions with the belt buckles to prove it. Plus, he has run in many other ultras and has done incredibly well. Sam definitely did not gradually make his way to the 100 mile distance...he jumped in head first with lightening speed. We talk about most of his experiences in these races...his struggles, his victories, the lessons learned, the beauty, his favorites and his...

To me, Adam Hill was just a mythical creature because I had heard so much about him through friends and the running community, read about him in publications, run some of the epic routes he created, but we had never crossed paths. Plus, he has absolutely NO social media, and that's how we find everyone, right? ;) I mean, I have him to thank for PITCHELL, his brainchild (as the FKT site notes),...

He did it!! Aaron Saft has faced the vert of four 100 milers in one summer, and it blows my mind. So pumped that he was willing to come on to the podcast for a second time to talk about his last two races in the Slam...the Leadville 100 and Wasatch 100. Incredible accomplishment with a super cool trophy to go with it. As you will hear in this episode, it definitely wasn't easy and there were t...

There are not enough words to describe how thankful I am for Heath Ballard and his family. Heath is my podcast producer/sound guru/editor, and Facing Vert would not exist without him and Evan Dykes. There are a few reasons I wanted to have Heath on, and I am so honored he was willing. He has been on his own fitness journey for the past year, taking the hardest step into becoming a healthier indivi...

This week I had the privilege of sitting down with Brandon Thrower of Tanawha Adventures. Brandon's journey to becoming a race director of some of the most loved races in Western North Carolina, all stemmed from a joy he found for creating routes and adventuring with other like-minded folks. Brandon doesn't want to just put on a race, he wants to create an experience. His desire is to high...

I was very excited to sit down with Luke Paulson after he beasted his way to 2nd place overall at the Leadville Trail 100 Run this past weekend. Leadville 100 is an iconic race that starts at 10,200 feet and climbs to 12,600 feet. And as stated on their website, "Today, the Life Time Leadville Trail 100 RUN presented by La Sportiva is one of the oldest, most storied endurance running events i...

This weekend, Aaron Saft will be continuing his quest to accomplish the Grand Slam of 100 milers...four 100's within just a few months. Insanity, but incredible. He already has two under his belt, and the Leadville 100 is his next one. So, let's be praying for him and cheering him on! Aaron seeks out challenges to grow, to learn, and to attempt the difficult and seemingly impossible. And i...

Tim Nooney...his Instagram profile says that he has "more stoke than sense", but without the stoke, what he has accomplished would not make any sense! Tim seeks out what inspires him and what he can be passionate about, and this has led to his success as an athlete. We covered so much in our conversation from his love of rock climbing to his roller coaster ride as an endurance runner. I really wan...

Episode 017 is all about Matthew Busche. Now retired from professional cycling, he is a coach for Carmichael Training Systems and lives in Western North Carolina with his beautiful wife, Lisa, and three precious boys. Matthew is so incredibly talented and has had a career that anyone would dream of having, yet he is one that never gives himself enough credit. He is quiet, humble, unassuming and th...

Hannah and Seth Caudill are a powerful sibling duo. Just graduating from high school this spring, they both are heading to Catawba College with full scholarships to run cross country and track. I was intrigued to hear how these two started running and how they each learned (in completely different ways) to love it and find success. Our conversation was fast-paced and quite amusing because of their...

Beth Hix is a phenomenal woman...a working mama of 2 boys, a wife to Zac, a triathlete, an overall fitness enthusiast, and so much more. Yes, that's right...she is good at all three sports...swimming, cycling, and running. Oh, and CrossFit, and Spartan races, and...you get the point. The only one I am brave enough to attempt is running, and I'll stick with that. Beth recently completed her...