Sassquad Trail Runners

Join us for this squatchtastic conversation with NJ trail runner L'Mani Viney! L'Mani has been in education for over 20 years and currently serves as the Dean of Students in Piscataway, NJ. As an avid trail runner, L'Mani draws on his experiences on the trails to help him navigate situations in and out of the classroom. We also chat about his involvement with Black Men Run and ways tha...

Check out our latest episode to hear all about how Lizzy Mack tried to escape her backpacking trip in Iceland. We chat all things trail & road running, finding community and the joys of going party pace. This was a really fun episode and we were so excited to hear Lizzy share that she will be doing the Wild Goose 100 in September for her first hundo!

If you've been to a trail race or OCR in the tri-state area, chances are you have met Crystal Jackson! Crystal can be found on the starting lines of trail and OCR events throughout the year and is a Sassquad-regular. We sat down with Crystal to hear all about how she got into running and why she continues to run and race so much. Sassquad Trail Running Instagram Facebook trailpartydirector@sas...

Hear all about Cole Crosby's recent FKT on the 230 mile Bay Circuit Trail ! The BCT extends through 37 towns around Boston, linking parks and open spaces in fifty-seven communities. Cole was supported by a rock-star crew that was led by Chaos Crewing . Follow Cole on Instagram! Sassquad Trail Running Instagram Facebook trailpartydirector@sassquadtrailrunning.com

We are excited to relaunch the Sassquad Trail Runners Podcast! Trail Party Director Kim Levinsky is here to fill you in on what's been going on at Sassquad and what is on the calendar for 2024. Thanks for tuning in - we are excited to be back!

This is the recording from our FB Live Interview on Wednesday September 28, 2022 with Lee Connor and Karmell Ohlrogge!  Lee and Karmell are seasoned ultra runners who are making an incredible impact on our sport! It'll take you a while to scroll through each of their UltraSignUp results as both Lee and Karmell have completed over 100 events combined (and that's just UltraSignUp!). After we go...

This is the recording from our Facebook Live interview on  August 21, 2022. Renee is a Sassquad OG! She is at the starting line of just about every Sassquad Trail Party and consistently places in the top 5 (often overall!). Renee recently celebrated 13 years of Recovery and we were honored that her celebration was the same weekend of our most recent Trail Party, the Thunder Chicken Squatch. W...

We chat all things trail and ultra with Helgi and learn about his inspiring life story as an ultra runner and professional yacht chef. At the age of 19, Helgi was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), a form of degenerative arthritis affecting the spine and other joints. Since then, he has inspired, advocated, and raise money for others with AS through ultrarunning. Most recently, Helgi comp...

This is the recording of our Facebook Live interivew on Thursday July 7, 2022 with Lynn Maki who recently completed the New Jersey section of the Appalachian Trail! Lynn is a long-time Sassquader who can been found at our trail parties as a runner or volunteer (and sometimes both!). You can read Lynn's recap of her runventure here.

This is the recording from our Tuesday June 28th interview with Sassquad Race Director Kim Levinsky! Kim was in the hot seat and shared about her experience at the Tahoe 200 mile race. After training for more than 640 days, Kim completed Tahoe with the help of her Crew and the support of her Community. 204+ miles in 96 hours, 5 minutes and 45 seconds. Sassquader and 2021 Triple Crown Finisher (Tah...

Steve recently established the Fastest Known Time (FKT) for the gnarly Devils Path in the Catskills ! The time has now been lowered to a blistering 4 hours, 34 minutes and 54 seconds. This 24.2 miles long trail boasts 8,000+ vertical feet of climbing, and is considered by many to be the toughest hiking trail in the Eastern US.

Scott won the inaugural Backyard Squatch in August of 2021 and earned a ticket to the Capital Backyard Ultra in Virginia. Scott just won Capital in May of 2022 by completing 254.16 miles! With the win, Scott has earned a spot on Team USA for the fall of 2022. Along with his Backyard accolades, Scott has some other very impressive running feats under his belt, including multiple finishes of the Egg...

This is the recording from our Facebook Live Interview on June 1, 2022... · As a Sports Dietitian, Dina works with athletes one-on-one (including Sassquad RD Kim Levinsky!) to fine-tune their daily nutrition framework and optimize their sports nutrition and hydration strategies. She specializes in working with female endurance athletes. · Dina’s company The Nutrition Mechanic provides nutrition an...

This is the recording from our Facebook Live Interview on February 2, 2022. We chat all things trail and ultra running and hear all about Annie's adventures on the trail, which include her recent big wins at Leadville 100 and Moab 240. Annie is sponsored by Hoka One One . You can follow Annie on Instagram: @outdoorableannie

Sarah KOOLADE earned her "trail name" by her inspiring journey over the last year. Tune-in to hear all about how and why she dove into the squatchtastic world of trail and ultra running!

Art Byram is the host of the weekly podcast, CULTRA . CULTRA is a "weekly podcast that shares the unique perspective of the North East, Beast Coast Ultra running scene: raw, impulsive, and irreverent. The Cultra Trail Running Podcast is a place where we can get together and discuss all the fun stuff that happens on the trails that most normal people don't care about. Join the Cult! or maybe you al...

Sonia Szczesna is a New Jersey-based producer, photographer, and environmental advocate. Sonia brings her experience as a community organizer and activist into her work in film and photography at Sourland Studios . Her most recent project, Godspeed, Los Polacos! , is currently in festivals. To learn more about Sonia, visit https://www.soniasz.com/ 

Michael Gagliardi, aka Gagz, is an ultrarunner, a story teller, and a proud Philadelphian. Gagz has become a nationally recognized and accomplished Ultrarunner, with 13 finishes of 100 miles or greater, including the famous Tahoe 200 and the fabled Leadville 100, plus many victories, course records, and podium finishes. He was awarded 2020 Best of Philly for his philly4corners run, a 76 mile walk/...

Matt Klein just completed the Triple Crown of 200's: Bigfoot 200 (WA) in August, Tahoe 200 (canceled, so Matt and his crew completed this on their own in Colorado) in September and the Moab 240 (UT) in October. That's 640+ miles in less than three months!

Trisha recently earned the FKT (Fastest Known Time) for the 360 mi long Erie Canalway Trail!! We heard all about the highs and lows, and of course, about ICE CREAM! Check out Trisha's FKT here: https://fastestknowntime.com/fkt/trisha-ignatowski-erie-canalway-trail-ny-2021-09-25

This is our interview from Sunday October 10th with Sassquad's Race Director, Kim Levinsky. The tables were turned as Sassquader Keilynn Hopkins dished out the questions to Kim! Kim shared all about her runventure hundo in the Hudson Highlands. She covered 96 miles and 22,000 ft of climbing in a little over 40 hours.

This is our interview from Wednesday September 29th with PA Ultrarunner Grayce Langheine, AKA HOT PANTS! We chat all things trail and ultra AND hear about how Grayce is empowering other women to hit the trails!

This is our interview with Nick Thompson on Wednesday September 1, 2021! Thompson has long been a competitive runner; in 2019, he was ranked as one of the top 20 masters marathoners in the world, and in 2021, he set the American record for men 45+ in the 50K race . Nicholas Thompson is the CEO of The Atlantic and the former editor-in-chief of WIRED . Under his leadership, WIRED won numerous awards...

This is our interview from July 28, 2021 with Don Weise! Don is the Director of Donor Advising for the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference . Don is an author, hike leader, environmental advocate, and Trail Conference Life Member; he joined the NYNJTC staff in 2011. Don is the leader of the monthly NYNJTC group runs which welcomes runners of all paces to explore beautiful trails in New York in New...

This is our interview with ultra runner James Leitner! James is the founder of the non-profit MissionCleanWater . MCW provides clean drinking water and sanitation to under-served communities around the world! Sassquad Trail Running is a proud sponsor of MissionCleanWater and has supported James in his efforts to raise funds for clean drinking water! This summer, James completed a marathon a day, f...