Gotta Run Podcast

Aytug Celikbas (pronounced I-2) starting running to lose weight with a couch to 5K program.  He quickly progressed to the half, full and beyond.  He started running the ultra distance in his home country of Turkey at the Cappadocia Ultra Trail and after that race, he was hooked.  From there he went on to longer and harder ultras like the Iznik Ultra and Lavaredo Ultra Trail. After moving to Canada...

Van Phan's running resume is extensive.  On UltraSignup alone as of 2022 she has completed 360 ultra marathons with 143 Trophies and that's just on one platform! We chat about her first 100 Miler that took place in Canada, Western States 100, her 13 finishes at Cascade Crest to of course running 1000k and winning Across The Years. She is a wealth of knowledge and we were able to tap into that duri...

Derek Mulhall's first race was a marathon, as he says 'go big or go home. A few years later he qualified and competed in the Boston Marathon.  Unfortunately it was the year of the Boston bombings.  He decided to go back to Boston in 2014 to have a better experience.   He got hooked on ultra marathons after his buddy introduced him to the movie Unbreakable.    We chat with Derek about his first tic...

We unbox a pair of brand new running shoes, model name Goshawk, from the Australian brand, Tarkine. Tarkine is a new company who has based their concept around recyclable and eco-friendly materials. They took their campaign to Kickstarter and were able to fund their first model in less than a week. Suitable for anyone who cares about the planet, comfort and style. #RunTheFuture   Best to watch thi...

MARIANNE HOGAN, a Quebec resident, started running trails when she moved to Colorado after running track for and graduating from San Diego State University.  From there she went on to win the mixed team Transalpine-Run Stage race in 2017 with Mathieu Blanchard (who came third at 2021 UTMB). Then Marianne's running career came to a dramatic halt when she broke her leg on the trails and a long recov...

Mike Jolie's journey to Western States 100 is different than most Canadians. He started running when his company transferred him to New Zealand, a mecca for trail running and endurance sports.   After crewing a friend at Tarawera Ultra in 2018, he decided to start earning his own tickets to WS100. We chat with Mike about his three ticket races earned in three different countries. Here is Mike Joli...

Welcome to GRR Podcast Season 2 We start off Season 2 with our Canadian Trail to Western States Series with Leo Fung. Leo Fung started his Western States 100 journey without even knowing it.   He entered The Canadian Death race back in 2014 when his company signed him up to just do a leg.  Then when his co-workers backed out he decided to take on The Death Race solo, earning him his first ticket t...

Welcome to our channel! Our Podcast series tells the trail and ultra running stories as told to us by average and not so average athletes.... This was the description of our very first Podcast a year ago.  We can't believe a year has already gone by. We started this Podcast back in Dec 2020.  It has been a challenge figuring it all out but our guests have made it fun for us.   Thanks so much for l...

Ultramarathoner Sébastien Roulier is constantly looking for new challenges; if he is not representing Canada in world championship races then he is breaking world records on his own.  He held the Guinness Records in the half marathon and marathon in the Shared event (pushing someone in a wheelchair) and currently holds the records in the 100 km and the 24hr timed event 185.5 km in the duo distance...

Annie Hughes is an up and coming ultra runner that had an incredible year in 2021 with an outright win at the Collegiate Peaks Trail Run 50 miler.  She followed that up with with wins at Leadville 100, becoming the youngest female champion ever, and another epic win at the Moab 240 just six weeks later..   We had the chance to chat with Annie about her incredible feats and what will be coming up f...

Mandy Wallace competed in the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB).  UTMB is regarded as one of the most difficult foot races in the world.  It is often considered the Olympics of the Ultra world community. Mandy had her sights on this race since she was a kid, and thought she would never be able to compete in it after suffering severe knee injuries in university. With her determination and driving fo...

Ryan Van Duzer (DuzerTV) host/content creator/motivational speaker is all about inspiring people to get off the couch and explore this beautiful planet. He has appeared on the Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, Men's Journal, National Geographic and many other national outlets. It all started when he rode his bike 4000 miles from Honduras to Boulder, Colorado after a volunteer mission.  That ride...

Where do we begin with Beverley Anderson-Abbs? Her 198 trophies on UltraSignup gives you an indication of what type of athlete she is but during our chat we narrowed it down to some specific races that really put her name out there. We discuss how her knee injuries almost kept her off many a start line, about her early days as an adventure racer and experiences at Eco-Challenge and Primal Quest an...

When Norma toed the line at this year's Badwater 135 she had no idea that not only she would place 2nd female but also earn herself a new course record for her age group.  We chat with Norma about how she started her ultra running career, her win at Lost Souls Ultra in 2006, what made her choose Badwater and what other records she will be trying to break in the future and her charity.    You can f...

Carlotta James, Project Director / Co-founder of The Monarch Ultra The dream of runners and monarch butterflies on a journey together came to Carlotta while running along forest trails in Peterborough, Ontario in 2016. Since then, Carlotta has been working tirelessly with the Monarch Ultra team to create an ultra marathon as a call to action towards environmental protection and monarch conservatio...

Kat Drew, one of Canada's top ultra runners, came 8th in the 2019 Western States 100 which earned her a spot in the 2021 Western States.   While it was a different race experience, she was still able to finish under 24hrs which made her the top Canadian two years in a row. We chat with Kat about her running career which includes her first place finish at Zion 100 and her Golden ticket race at the...

Michele Graglia is a former top model and is currently one of the world’s top ultra runners. Since 2011, he has competed in over thirty ultramarathons all over the world, often winning and setting course records. He has set Guinness World Records for his runs across the Atacama and Gobi deserts. His wins in the Yukon Arctic Ultra, with temperatures below -40oF, and the Badwater 135 in Death Valley...

Paul Bonnett is no stranger to Western States 100.  He has raced it 6 times and helped pace his sister Karen to the finish line in 2017 which happened to be her epic DFL finish with only 9 secs left on the clock.  When Paul toed the line at the 2021 WS100 he had no idea what would be in store for him and certainly didn't expect to relive what his sister Karen went through 5 years earlier. But as h...

When Noel first found out that the Cocodona 250 route would be going right through his hometown and it would coincide with his 56th birthday, he said "sign me up". We chat with Noel about the heat, the DNF rate on the first day, the mountain lion sighting, how he spent his birthday and the beers along the way.  This is one epic adventure you'll want to hear.   You can Follow Noel on Instagram here...

Ailsa Macdonald is no stranger to endurance sports.  She began competing in Triathlons in her early 20s and went on to win the Canadian National Ironman in 2018 and Ironman Santa Rosa 2019.   Before that, she tried her hand at ultra running and in 2017 she won both the Canadian National 50k race and was the first winner overall at the Canadian National 100 miler at Sinister 7.   Her road to Wester...

Sarah Seads from British Columbia began her running journey as an adventure racer. While she enjoyed multi discipline sports, she found herself excelling as a solo runner.   Not shy of long distances, the first ultra she completed was the Canadian Death Race, 125km in Grande Cache, Alberta.   After the Death Race, Sarah set her sights on Western States 100.  Her ticket race was The Lost Soul Ultra...

Dawn Desarmeau is an athlete who has struggled with her weight for years. When dieting and exercise failed, she elected to have a vertical banded gastroplasty in 1998. Ten years later, due to complications, she had to undergo corrective surgery.  In 2011, she decided to go for a run around her block and hasn't looked back since.  This is her journey from 5K to ultramarathons.   Dawn's Huffpost Art...

Jesse's journey into endurance sports began with obstacle racing, all the way to the world championship. He entered his first 100 miler The Sinister 7 in 2016 with a friend and never looked back. His Canadian Journey to Western States 100 started in 2018 with his first qualifier The Canadian Death Race in which he ran twice.  He only needed two tickets to get his name pulled in the WS Lottery. Now...

Vincent's journey into endurance sports began with triathlon, eventually completing an Ironman. He later set his sights on Western States 100 and changed his training to focus on longer trail runs.   His Canadian Journey to Western States 100 started in 2014 with his first qualifier Eastern States 100, followed up by Oil Creek 100 and never looked back.  His last ticket race was Twisted Branch 100...

Riccardo's Canadian Trail to Western States started in 2014 with Pinhoti 100.  Along the way, Riccardo ran UTMB and The Canyons 100k 3 times to gain insight on the WS100 course. His final qualifier was the Javelina 100 in 2019 which led him to finally earn his ticket in the Lottery.   Now like the rest of the international runners, he awaits that day when he can finally toe the line at WS100.   Ri...