Singletrack

Sam Parsons returns to provide an update on Tinman Elite, a professional running team based out of Boulder, CO. We get into the challenges of building, maintaining, and growing the team, influencing the greater professional culture in running, and reflections on Sam’s athletic mortality and what the future might hold for him. Note - Earlier this month we reposted a conversation with Sam from Novem...

Zach Miller is a professional trail runner for the North Face. In this conversation, we cover this latest thoughts on training, racing, and UTMB. Timestamps: (1:06) - UTMB Thoughts (35:56) - Training, Racing, Career Thoughts (89:53) - Miscellaneous Topics, Next Steps Sponsors: Naak - use code SINGLETRACK20 at checkout on their website ( https://www.naak.com/ ) to get 20% off your purchase. Rabbit...

Way back in November 2021 when this show was just getting off the ground, we did an episode with Sam Parsons - a professional runner and cofounder of the Tinman Elite team based in Boulder, CO. At the time, I was surprised that we had not seen the formation and widespread existence of a truly professionalized, co-located team in the trail running world. So I reached out, he gave me an hour, and I...

Trail Tea is back! In this edition, I am once again joined by Jack Kuenzle, Dan Curts, and Abby Levene. There is a fair bit of profanity used in this episode, so you are forewarned on that front. And one issue to be aware of before listening - I neglected to catch an audio issue with Dan’s microphone early in the episode that persists and ultimately, gets worse through the end of the conversation....

I am joined by co-hosts Brett Hornig and Leah Yingling to recap the year in mountain ultra trail running. We cover our favorite storylines, biggest changes in the sport, the rookie athletes that burst onto the scene, runners that had "comeback" type seasons, our thoughts certain candidates inside TROY and UROY voting, unsung performances and runners of the year, personal highlights, and...

Jennifer Pharr Davis is perhaps best known in our community for her two fastest known times set on the Appalachian Trail in 2008 and 2011. The latter record, in my humble opinion, stands as one of the most important and influential feats in the ultra-endurance community during the 2010s. Jennifer is also the author of an excellent book called 'The Pursuit of Endurance', which profiles we...

Finn Melanson, Brett Hornig, and special guest Jeff Colt talk about UTMB parting ways with Corrine Malcolm, the latest, Hardrock 100 and Black Canyon 100K start lists, reactions to the new Strava messaging feature, race performances that defined the 2010s, and lower-key races that we want to see gain popularity. Timestamps: 02:00 - Introduction and UTMB Parting Ways with Corrine Malcolm 06:47 - Sp...

Spike Eskin is the VP of programming for WFAN and CBS Sports Radio and the host of a popular basketball podcast called “The Rights to Ricky Sanchez”.  Given the proliferation of ultra-trail running media coverage in recent years, I figured this would be a good time to talk with an expert in sports programming and commentary from the major sports world that we can take lessons and insights from to...

Christina Henderson serves as the Executive Director for the Running Event, the premier trade show for the running industry which takes place annually at the end of November in Austin, TX. At the time of this recording, we were just a few weeks away from the 2023 edition, so I figured this would be a good time to chat with Christina and get a better understanding of how the event serves our commun...

Sam Renouf is the Founder and CEO of the Professional Triathletes Organization. In this conversation, we talk about the challenges of professionalizing and mainstreaming endurance sports, pro athlete welfare, generating more casual fans for sports like trail running, and we get into some of the details of the PTO’s relationship with Ironman.   Sponsors: Naak - use code SINGLETRACK15 at checkout on...

Seth Ruhling is a professional trail runner for The North Face based in Boulder, CO. Seth joins the podcast fresh off his 2nd win at the JFK 50 this past Saturday and we spend a fair bit of time breaking down the performance, but we also get into some good discussion around his overall racing style, his career progression towards the upper echelon of ultra-trail, the highs and lows of his 2023 sea...

Lindsey McDonald is a trail runner for the Aravaipa Racing Team based in Flagstaff, AZ preparing for the 2023 Ultra Trail Cape Town 100K. Sponsors: Naak - use code SINGLETRACK15 at checkout on their website ( https://www.naak.com/ ) to get 15% off your purchase. Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website ( https://www.runinrabbit.com/ ) to get 20% off your next order. Oladance -...

Marianne Hogan is a pro trail runner for Salomon based in Montreal, Quebec preparing for the 2023 Ultra Trail Cape Town 100K. Sponsors: Naak - use code SINGLETRACK15 at checkout on their website ( https://www.naak.com/ ) to get 15% off your purchase. Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website ( https://www.runinrabbit.com/ ) to get 20% off your next order. Oladance - use code ST...

Eurotrack is back! Katie recaps her Grand Raid win and her decision to return to the Western States 100 next year, and then we do a retrospective on the 2023 European ultra trail scene offering our opinions on top performances, favorite moments, rookies of the year, emerging trends and from all of that, some of our predictions for 2024. Timestamps: (1:50) - Grand Raid Recap (31:40) - Western State...

Steve Brammar is the Co-Race Director for the Hong 100K and one of the key architects of the World Trail Majors, which launches today. Listen to our conversation to get all the details about what it is, how it works, and what it means for the trail running community. Timestamps: (1:51) World Trail Majors announcement, race schedule (8:04) World Trail Majors purpose (25:17) consolidated versus frag...

In this episode, Kristian Morgan goes into detail about what it takes to pursue and set the fastest known time on the Appalachian Trail. If you're interested in this scene either as a fan of long trail attempts or as an athlete curious about making a similar attempt one day, you won't want to miss this conversation. Kristian is equal parts informative, passionate, and entertaining about...

Finn Melanson, Brett Hornig, and special guest Jamil Coury talk about the news of Eric Senseman's retirement, the end of the Kauai 50, whether Ryan Hall is getting into ultra trail running, the UTMB Whistler debacle, and a recap of the Javelina Jundred. Please note that this episode was recorded on the morning of November 1st. Since that time new information on the UTMB Whistler story has bec...

Jeff Pelletier is an outdoor adventure filmmaker and competitive ultrarunner who recently took 2nd place in an unusually thrilling finish (for a race of this distance) at the Moab 240 earlier this month and runs a popular YouTube channel linked below cataloging all of his activity in the sport. In this conversation, we talk about the emerging world of 200-mile racing, the ins and outs of Running Y...

Finn Melanson, Brett Hornig, and Leah Yingling provide in-depth analysis, commentary, and predictions for the competition at this year’s 2023 Javelina Jundred. Timestamps: (1:09) - course strategy, weather conditions, historical performance data, competitive race context (38:37) - women's field preview, storylines, analysis, predictions (66:05) - men's field preview, storylines, analysis...

To round out our 2023 Javelina Jundred pre-race athlete interviews, we talk with Brett Hornig, Heather Jackson, and a virtual athlete roundtable of Joe McConaughy, Blake Slattengren, and Ryan Raff - all of whom are seeking golden tickets to next year's Western States 100. Timestamps: (1:15) - Brett Hornig (24:20) - Heather Jackson (48:04) - Virtual Athlete Roundtable Sponsors: Naak - use code...

To kick-off our 2023 Javelina Jundred coverage, we interview Preston Cates, Tara Dower, and Riley Brady who are all seeking golden tickets to next year's Western States 100. Timestamps: (1:04) - Preston Cates Interview (25:09) - Tara Dower Interview (43:45) - Riley Brady Interview Sponsors: Naak - use code SINGLETRACK15 at checkout on their website ( https://www.naak.com/ ) to get 15% off you...

Caleb Olson is an ultra-trail runner based in Draper, UT who recently won the Grindstone 100K which simultaneously earned him an auto-qualifier to next year’s CCC and a golden ticket to next year’s Western States 100.  In this episode, we talk about Caleb’s Grindstone race report, mountaineering background, upward trajectory in the sport, the up-and-coming Salt Lake City trail running scene, and h...

Jonathan Albon is a professional trail runner for the North Face based in Romsdal Norway who recently won the prestigious CCC race in Chamonix, France earlier this summer and in the process punched his ticket to next year’s Western States.  This conversation covers his early outlook for Western States, his training methodology, and various miscellaneous topics like group training dynamics among el...

Brad Stulberg has authored many books in the emerging interdisciplinary research field of performance science including his latest, Masters of Change. In this conversation, we tie many of the key takeaways back to the world of mountain ultra trail running specifically discussing topics like willpower depletion, whether talent needs trauma, the benefits of group training, and self-distancing. Spons...

Scott McCoubrey has influenced many of the most pivotal moments in our sport's recent history. In this conversation, Scott shares fascinating stories from his days hanging out with Krissy Moehl, Hal Koerner, and Scott Jurek on the 2000s Seattle trail running scene, his role in the genesis of sponsored trail athletes, growing the competitive racing scene through the White River 50, and the rel...