From The Backcountry

At 10am on August 28th, I set out with a group of over 30 northeast locals to attempt a supported FKT on the Vermont Long Trail. We would finish the trail 3 days, 21 hours, and 9 minutes later, taking over 7 hours of the FKT and being the first run of the Long Trail to be under 4 days. I covered a lot of my individual perspective of the run over on the Singletrack podcast, and I will cover the nut...

Kristian Morgan is a multi-day endurance athlete who holds the second and third fastest times on the Appalachian Trail (and the southbound FKT). This year, Kristian again returned to the AT to attempt the Northbound and overall FKT. He made it to Maine ahead of record pace but was ultimately derailed by injury. We chat with Kristian about his effort and his plans to return to the AT for a 6th atte...

On the heels of finishing 15th overall and 4th woman at Hardrock 100, prolific ultra-runner and backpacker Tara Dower returns to the podcast to discuss her upcoming south-bound Appalachian Trail FKT attempt, which is starting this coming Saturday, August 10th 2024. She is looking to bring together her thru-hiking experience as well as her experience setting big FKTs on trails like the Colorado Tra...

Time Stamps: 4:15 Keith Nadeau 31:32 Mead Binhammer 50:30 Lauren Gregory and Dan Curts 1:42:53 Larisa Dannis MacFadden The Jigger Johnson Ultras are a series of races hosted by White Mountain Endurance and Aravaipa Running in the southern White Mountains. There is a 20 mile, 50 mile, and 100 mile race. Xander and I were lucky enough to get the chance to interview 5 of the 6 winners from Jigger Joh...

Deanna Doane is a trail runner from Florida who has strong roots in western Maine. Over the past two years, Deanna has raced the Grafton Notch Loop twice, setting new women's FKTs both runs on this hidden gem of a competitive running route. We talk all about her effort, the Grafton Notch Loop as a whole, and more! Find Deanna on Strava and on Instagram @wandering.sunflower Use code fromthebac...

Nick Fowler is a multi-day athlete based in the midwest, but who does most of his racing on FKT routes out on the west coast. Nick is best known for his 2023 self-supported FKT on the PCT, a mind-blowing effort that ran him 52 hours, 9 days, and 18 minutes. We talk a lot about this effort and why he's planning to return to the PCT in 2025. Nick turned the tables and asked me a lot of question...

Larsen Ojala is a mountain athlete based out of New Hampshire. Larsen has taken on multiple large projects in the Whites, including FKTs on the Double Presidential Traverse, Triple Pemi Loop, and Lodge to Dodge, as well as being the third known person to complete the White Mountains 100. Most recently, Larsen took on the New Hampshire section of the Appalachian Trail in a single push, completing t...

Jack Kuenzle is a mountain athlete based out of a van. Jack and Anna DeMonte have spent the last 4-5 months living out of a van in Europe and training to go after the round rip speed record on Mont Blanc from Chamonix. They each came up just barely shy of the men's and women's overall running records, but both set incredibly stout new skiing records. Jack returns to the podcast for his 3...

We're back baby! This week Xander and I chat with Kristian Morgan, who holds the second and third fastest times on the Appalachian Trail (and the southbound FKT). This year, Kristian is again returning to the AT to attempt the Northbound and overall FKT. We talk to Kristian extensively about his preparation, planning, and why he believes this will be the year he takes down the overall record....

Dirt Dialogues are back baby and this week Xander and I are giving you spicy hot takes for the Summer 2024 trail running season. He have some of our own takes, and we go through some hot takes submitted by you all. We also do some mid-Cocodona 250 reactions. Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutrition.us and hyperlitemountaingear.com for 15% off your entire order podcast Instagram: https://www...

On this weeks episode Xander and I chat about some of the upcoming races and publicly known FKT attempts going down in the summer of 2024. We cover a bunch of cool races being hosted by companies such as White Mountains Endurance, Run the Whites, Race Mozey, and Tru-Strength Athletics. There are a ton of races and efforts happening out there, and we certainly did not fit everything into one episod...

I think we might write a book by the title of this podcast. Welcome to Dirt Dialogues #2, the series where Xander Keiter and I talk anything and everything trail and ultra-running related. In this episode, we take a dive into training methods and strategies. We hope you all enjoy, and let us know what topics you'd like to see us cover in this series. Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutr...

Welcome to a new series called Dirt Dialogues, where Xander Keiter and I talk about various topics in the trail and ultra-running scene. This week we're talking about the controversy surrounding Paul Johnson's transcontinental run. Find Paul on Instagram @pauijohnson. You can find all of the information about his run and about Team Red White and Blue (the charity Paul is raising money fo...

Lila Gaudrault is a 21 year-old ultra-runner and nursing student based out of Maine. Lila already has a bunch of incredibly impressive efforts to her name, including 10 FKTs, multiple outright ultramarathon wins, and first place woman in the 2022 Maine Marathon. During this episode we talk about her story and training, how she's been able to make herself such a competitive ultra-runner at suc...

Philip Carcia is a distance athlete, hiker, backpacker, and content creator from the White Mountains of New Hampshire. From December 22nd through December 27th, Philip and Andrew Soares set a new Winter speed record on the New Hampshire 48, finishing in 5 days, 18 hours, 58 minutes. This is part 2 and a direct continuation of our conversation from the last episode, so if you haven't already,...

Philip Carcia is a distance athlete, hiker, backpacker, and content creator from the White Mountains of New Hampshire. From December 22nd through December 27th, Philip and Andrew Soares set a new speed record on the New Hampshire 48, summiting all of the mountains in 5 days, 18 hours, 58 minutes. As usual, Philip and I went super long, so I'm splitting this episode into two. We talk all about...

Billy "Wahoo" Meredith is a thru-hiker from Georgia who spent 234 days between May 2nd and December 22nd breaking the record for the Calendar Year Triple Crown (Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail in a calendar year). On his journey he averaged 32 miles per day and backpacked about 7500 miles through every imaginable condition. It was a monumental and lif...

On December 23rd, I set the Winter fastest known time on the White Mountains Hut Traverse. On this episode, Xander and I sit down to discuss this effort and Winter efforts generally. Find Xander on Instagram @xkieter2, and find the podcast on Instagram @fromthebackcountry. Send me hate mail at fromthebackcountry@gmail.com Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutrition.us and hyperlitemountaingear...

Xander is back on the pod and we're here to answer your questions! We cover a broad range of topics, from the beer mile to Ski The East to Gridding as adventure and much more. Follow the podcast on Instagram @fromthebackcountry. Follow Xander on Strava and on Instagram @xkeiter2. NH48 T-Shirt that I mentioned in the intro: https://www.crazydoes.com/ Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutri...

Jordan Fields and *Dr.* Lucy Skinner are a power couple of trail running, up until recently based out of New Hampshire but now gracing Idaho with their presence. They hold the fastest recorded male and female times on the Dartmouth 50, an iconic stretch of Appalachian Trail and a northeast trail running route that is steeped in history. The 50 has a rich and complex history, and in this episode we...

Andrew Drummond is a runner, skier, hiker, mountain athlete, and owner of Ski/Run the Whites, and he's based out of Jackson, New Hampshire. He's a staple of White Mountains culture, and he has gained popularity not only for his enormous efforts, but for documenting and sharing them as well. His latest project entailed summiting Mount Washington 100 days in a row, which is the main subjec...

Ed Clifford is an ultramarathon runner from New Hampshire. He competes in many different formats of ultramarathons, but is best known for being the only person to finish Bubba's Backyard Ultramarathon (winning all five years the event has taken place). Most recently, he took down yours truly to win his fifth title. Ed, along with his wife and incredible crew chief Dawn, have found incredible...

Hang out with me and newly minted savior of the podcast Xander Keiter as we preview Bubba's Backyard Ultramarathon, which kicks off at 10am this Saturday 10/7. Also go check out the Run the Whites podcast previewing the event (should be out today or tomorrow). Andrew and Monte are way better than us. Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutrition.us and hyperlitemountaingear.com for 15% off...

Tara Dower and Liz Derstine are both power houses in the multi-day and ultra distance scene. Between the two of them, they hold FKTs on the Colorado Trail, Appalachian Trail, Long Trail, BMT, Pinhoti, Via Alpina, and much more. (Tara also just came in 1st place for women at Run Rabbit Run 100 miler, btw). In late July, Tara and Liz set off together to try to set a new self-supported record on the...

Friend of the podcast Jason Hardrath returns! Jason is a mountain runner and athlete based out of Oregon. This summer he became the fastest to complete the Rocky Mountains Slam, a route comprised of the 58 Colorado 14ers, 36 Wyoming 13ers, and 27 Montana 12ers. In this episode we loosely talk about Jason's effort, but we talk a ton about the ethos of mountain running, the risks and rewards of...