Free Outside

Why do we care so much about sports, adventures, and the stories we choose to follow? We record right after the Egypt and Argentina world cup game. In this episode, I sit down with award-winning soccer coach and backpacker Jon Schwarze to talk about the power of fandom, connection, and the communities built around the things we love. Jon’s two favorite things are soccer and the outdoors, and his l...

Most runners think a backyard ultra is crazy. Lukas Janulitis looked at that format and decided it wasn't hard enough. Try a Last Skier Standing, an event where athletes skin uphill 1,200 feet every hour, ski back down, and repeat until only one person remains. That means battling sleep deprivation, sub-zero temperatures, brutal winds, hallucinations, and the mental challenge of not knowing wh...

Western States 2026 delivered one of the most memorable races we've ever seen. Instead of doing a mile-by-mile recap, Allison and I hand out our completely unofficial Western States Awards. We talk about the biggest performances, the most impressive comebacks, the heartbreaking DNFs, the smartest race tactics, and the moments that made this year's race so special. From Vincent Bouillard pr...

Ann Trason won Western States 100 fourteen times. Fourteen. 14 time western states winner! Long before live streams, social media, sponsorships, and modern ultrarunning, Ann was redefining what was possible in endurance sports. She wasn't just competing against other women. She was competing with the best runners in the world, period. In this conversation, we don't spend much time reliving...

I came to Europe planning to run the Zugspitz 100, a mountain 100-miler around Germany's highest peak. Three hours before the start, the race directors announced that thunderstorms would force a major course change. The 100-mile race became a 100K, helmets were no longer required, aid stations changed, and my planning suddenly went out the window. In this episode, I recap the entire experience...

Zach Hauer went from collegiate track athlete to entrepreneur, Open Fuel co-founder, Javelina 100 runner, and now Cocodona 250 finisher. In this conversation, we dive into Zach's first experience at the 250-mile distance, the highs and lows of Cocodona, sleep deprivation, aid station mistakes, and why he immediately wanted to come back after finishing. We also discuss building Open Fuel, moder...

I finally made it to Europe. And I did the Tour Du Mont Blanc! After spending years building it up in my head as complicated, intimidating, and full of opportunities to embarrass myself, I decided to jump into the deep end and hike the Tour du Mont Blanc. Over three days, I crossed France, Italy, and Switzerland, climbed more than 30,000 feet, slept in mountain refugios, drank an irresponsible amo...

What happens when nine experienced hikers flee their tent in the middle of a Siberian winter, leaving behind their boots, gear, and any chance of a normal explanation? In 1959, the Dyatlov Pass Incident became one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in outdoor history. A group of young hikers set out into the Ural Mountains and never returned. When rescuers finally reached the scene, they found...

Before Jade Bellsberg was winning races and competing against some of the best trail runners in the world, she was a writer filling notebook after notebook with stories. In this conversation, Jade shares her unconventional path into ultrarunning, from crewing the Barkley Marathons before she'd ever run an ultra, to tackling Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, building a coaching business, pursuing FKTs, and ev...

Bob Stewart joins the Free Outside Podcast fresh off finally setting the Benton MacKaye Trail FKT after two previous failed attempts. What started as a backpacking challenge turned into an obsession with Fastest Known Times, leading Bob to records on trails like the Superior Hiking Trail, Pinhoti Trail, Mid State Trail, and now the Benton MacKaye Trail. In this episode we talk about why the Benton...

Rory Linkletter is one of the best marathon runners in North America, an Olympian for Canada, and one of the most thoughtful voices in professional running. Fresh off a 2:09 performance at the Ottawa Marathon and a congratulatory call from the Prime Minister of Canada, Rory joins the Free Outside Podcast to talk about life as a professional marathoner. We discuss what it's like racing at the O...

Sage Canaday has done a lot in running. A 2:16 marathoner, mountain running champion, Western States golden ticket winner, coach, YouTuber, and one of the few people who can jump into a conversation about track workouts, UTMB, 200 milers, social media, and sports nutrition without it feeling out of place. In this episode, we talk about Sage's "Any Surface. Any Distance." philosophy a...

Lauren Jones. Lauren balances a demanding career as a pediatric nurse anesthetist, family life, and somehow still finds time to chase some of the hardest endurance goals imaginable. Multi-day races. Cocodona. Fixed time racing. Running over 150 miles in 24 hours. Team USA. Hallucinations. DNFs. Successes. Failures. We talk about balancing life with training, learning how to fail without letting it...

Trail TMZ is back. Host and award-winning correspondent Allison Mercer dive into one of the strangest weeks of trail running that we have seen in a while. From the Satisfy and Adidas backlash and influencer culture debates, to doping discussions around Cam Hanes, Sage Canaday and clean sport, plus the growing role of social media in shaping running culture. We also talk FKTs, Will Peterson's A...

Patrick “Bubba The Midwest McGrady" Kavanagh joins the Free Outside Podcast after surviving Cocodona 250 with less than two hours of sleep, a lot of hallucinations, and peak Midwest politeness. We talk about passive aid station etiquette, the infamous Cocodona “fight,” hallucinating sepia-toned family photo albums in Sedona, the MBA basketball challenge at Mingus Mountain, why ultrarunning an...

Yassine Diboun comes on to talk about imposter syndrome, ultra running, positivity, sobriety, community, and why none of us actually feel as confident as we pretend to. Yassine has been in the ultra running world for nearly 20 years, from the old-school blog era and handwritten race applications to modern 200 milers and social media comparison culture. We talk about how the sport has changed, why...

Allison Mercer and I recap the chaos of Cocodona 250. From a tracker glitch that placed Jeff in Africa in 1969, to GI issues, hallucinations, Mingus basketball, sleepless nights, and a fifth straight top 10 finish, this year’s race felt bigger, faster, and stranger than ever. They also dive into the intensity of the competition, the growth of the sport, the power of crew and pacers, and the heavie...

Cocodona 250 starts in two days, so I’m talking through the plan, the nerves, the training block, and why this race still matters so much to me. This episode is also the two-year anniversary of the Free Outside Podcast, which launched during Cocodona because I was too nervous to watch whether anyone listened. I get into the pressure after the Appalachian Trail FKT, a clunky but meaningful Cocodona...

Cocodona 250 is here, and right after recording this, I’m heading out the door to go run it. So naturally, the best thing to do before a 250-mile race is sit down and try to predict everything that’s about to happen. In this episode of the Free Outside Podcast, I’m joined by Tara Dower and Allison Mercer to break down the Cocodona 250 field, storylines, and everything we think might happen… knowin...

What if ultrarunning wasn’t about suffering… but about having more fun? Andrea Moore has run 200s, 300s, and more races than most people would ever consider—and somehow, she makes all of it look like a moving party. We talk about: Why the back of the pack might be having the most fun The real “secret” to 200-mile races Snacks, bush naps, and the weird moments that actually matter DNFs, dark moment...

I sit down with Sally McRae to talk about Cocodona 250, 200-mile racing, her career, and what actually matters in running. We get into why Sally is coming back to Cocodona, what went wrong the first time, and how she’s approaching it differently this year. From dialing in gear and nutrition to cutting time at aid stations, this is a real look at what makes a difference in long races and what doesn...

We spend a lot of time talking about how hard Cocodona 250 is. The miles, the climbing, the heat, the sleep deprivation. But this course didn’t start as a race. Bryce Brooks teaches us all about that. In this episode, we go through the history of the Cocodona 250 route, from Black Canyon City to Flagstaff, and all the strange, wild, and sometimes brutal stories that came long before runners showed...

Most people think the finish line is the point. That’s where the photo happens, where the time gets recorded, where you finally get to stop. But after enough races, FKTs, and long efforts, I’m starting to think the finish line is actually the least important part of the whole thing. In this episode, I talk about what these big efforts really give you, and why the value has almost nothing to do wit...

Ultra running gets talked about like it has to be miserable. Stay hard. Go one more. Keep hammering. Suffer better. In this episode, I unpack why I think that mindset can miss the whole point of going long in the first place. Yes, hard things matter. Resilience matters. Pushing past limits matters. But if the only way to do something difficult is to build a hostile relationship with yourself, what...

Allison Mercer just finished second at the USA 100K Championships… and is officially headed to Spain to represent Team USA. In this episode, we break down everything from the race, including how to mentally survive a 10-lap course, dialing in race-day nutrition, and why laps 4 through 6 are basically a personal crisis. We also get into her “vibe, grind, shine” mantra, carb intake (very high), and...