The Pain Cave

Stuff your stockings with an extra-long year end episode of the pod! We bring back our hallowed tradition of arguing over whether or not Barkleys is important. And a bunch of other stuff. It’s the Ultrarunner of the Year ballot!! Buy our book! Beer for this episode: Goose Island Bourbon Country Vanilla Stout , Alchemist Heady Topper Intro music: "Fine Line" by  the Bloodletters Outro music: "...

We welcome back returning champion of the pod Jason Green, the founder and head honcho of the Yeti Trail Runners (not a cult!) to talk about the rebuilding efforts in Appalachia in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. A relatively tame version of the Jason Green Drinking Game was performed. Buy our book! Links: Yeti Trail Runners Help Appalachia rebuild! Feeding Southwest Virginia Donate to the Virg...

Two huge races captured the attention of ultra fans over the past few weeks. In one, a growing multinational entity poised to dominate world ultrarunning hosted one of its flagship events, complete with round-the-clock media coverage and elite athletes redefining what was previously thought possible, even while behind the scenes, there are whispers about whether or not this kind of global expansio...

What is the story that forced us to dust off the mics, fire up the sound board, and emerge from a 16-month podcasting hiatus? Is it Katie Schide’s epic summer? Dave Roche’s insane Leadville CR? Damian Hall’s effort to combat greenwashing at the top levels of the sport? Multiple world records at 50 miles or six days? No, of course not. It’s Camille doing stupid Camille shit. Beer for this episode:...

There was a reading assignment for this show…naturally, Phil couldn’t be bothered to do any actual work, so I had the great pleasure of speaking with Doug Mayer about his new book, The Race That Changed Running: The Inside Story of UTMB , out TODAY! An American expat living full-time in Chamonix, Doug works as a journalist and runs his own tour guide company, Run the Alps. The new book (his third)...

Rich Lockwood has been a mainstay on the PNW trail-running scene for several years, but he grabbed the national spotlight in 2022 with a string of world-class performances, capped by a win at the uber-competitive Run Rabbit Run 100 and a podium spot an the Doi Inthanon 100K (by UTMB, blah blah blah) in his first international event. We caught up with Rich after last month’s return to racing at the...

Many of you may not know about Chad Lasater, but you should. He’s the current champion of the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning (having finished the GS in both 2021 and 2022) and after a breakthrough performance at Desert Solstice (his first real 24-hour race) he is currently in position for a spot on the US team for the World Championships this fall. We recorded this in late 2022, shortly after Chad’s a...

Happy New Year! Sneaking in our traditional year-end pod under the wire, my favorite episode every year, debating the Ultrarunners of the Year with recurring guest Jason Mintz, who battled through COVID and came to PLAY! Tons of consensus this year but also some pretty good debate. Phil and I both completely fucked up and somehow both left Matthieu Blanchard out of our top 10, which is a travesty,...

It took us way too long to have Beastcoast star Riley Brady on the pod. For some reason we waited until they’re getting ready to move to Boulder (like everyone else!) to invite them on. Fresh off a Golden Ticket-winning performance at the Javelina Jundred, Riley joined the show to talk about competition in the sport, The King, karaoke, and much more. Links: Follow Riley on IG Beer for this episode...

It’s always a little scary to double the amount of Brits on the show, but it couldn’t have been easier with Pete Mortimer, one of the most accomplished and prolific athletes in our sport today. We talked about some of Pete’s most recent exploits at HURT, Run Rabbit, and Barkley, before tackling all-important questions about hashing, Metallica, and (of course) Marmite. Links: Pete’s website Pete on...

Despite being only 36, Sabrina Little has been running ultras for over fifteen years. She won the famed Old Dominion 100 mile at only 23 years old; by the time she was 26, she held American records for 24 hours and 200K, and led the US women to a team gold medal with her runner-up finish at the 24-hour world championships. Now with a PhD in philosophy, Sabrina is one of the leading thinkers in the...

Oh, dear listener, did we have a podcast for you. Recorded in beautiful Dolby surround sound, it was full of ultra musings, information, insights, wit, beer, witbeer, and other hilarity. We talked about UTMB, Leadville, various other goings on. Yes, it had been a while since we podded, but no matter! It was like riding a proverbial bicycle. Truly, a podcast for the ages. That was our last episode,...

The Legend returns to the Pain Cave to recap Western States with “Heat Training,” breaking down the juiciest storylines and biggest takeaways from this past weekend in Auburn. Then, we review our men’s and women’s picks and see who was the best prognosticator this year. Finally, we get Phil’s report from his PR at Manitou’s Revenge and touch on the rest of the results from a busy week in the trail...

One more episode to drop into the pre-Western States hype maelstrom: we sit down with former podium finisher Brittany Peterson, one of the world’s best trail runners and one the pre-race favorites this weekend at the Big Dance, for our world-famous 20 Questions. Links: Brittany’s website Brittany on IG and Strava “Beer” for this episode: Synergy Raw Kombucha Unity Intro music: "Fine Line" by ...

It’s that time of year again: Western States! The world’s best are gathering in Olympic Valley for the biggest race on the domestic ultrarunning calendar, and we’re breaking down our top picks for the Big Dance with former WS100 champ Cat Bradley and her broken hand. We recorded this last week before all the happenings at Broken Arrow this weekend (though I will say we did a pretty good job of cal...

OK, so it’s been a teeny bit longer than a month….what can I say, it’s hard to pin the Legend down these days! And then when you do, his audio quality is shit….but I digress. We let way too much time pass between episodes, so this is less of a “deep dive” and more of a quick recap of a ridiculous amount of ultra results from around the globe, including the last of the Golden Ticket races for the y...

Whoa, it’s been awhile! Life gets in the way of podcasting sometimes. So psyched to be back with Phil in the Cave for an awesome conversation with our coach, SWAP cofounder, podcaster, author, and world-class trail runner David Roche. In his second appearance on the show, we talk with David about goal setting and the mental approach to racing, before we hit the classic 20 questions topics: you kno...

West Coast trail goddess Dani Moreno gives us the lowdown on her breakthrough 2021 season before answering twenty stupid questions about cheese, ABBA, Tim Allen, and much more. Links: Dani’s website Beers for this episode: Ober Creek Sundial , Ommegang Neon Rainbows , Kyla Ginger Tangerine Kombucha Intro music: "Fine Line" by  the Bloodletters Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by  Ya...

Wow! One hundred episodes! I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the centennial than with one of my perennial favorite episodes, debating the mens’ and womens’ Ultrarunners of the Year. I was once again thrilled to be included on the voting panel for this award. And as usual, I brought in some outside help to set me straight on my voting before the ballot needed to be submitted this week....

TOO. MUCH. WHISKEY. Links: Previous episodes we referred to on this show: Jason Green Tom Kaplan Joe Uhan Maggie Guterl AJW Beers for this episode: Industrial Arts Tools of the Trade , Sloop Juice Bomb , Yard Owl Rye Saison , High West Double Rye Whiskey Intro music: "Fine Line" by  the Bloodletters Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by  Yard Sale

Phil and I sit down with repeat guests and GFOPs Laura Kline and Jason Mintz to drink our sorrows away as we livecast the lotteries for the Western States 100 and Hardrock 100. Spoiler alert: Phil and I don’t get in. But a bunch of people who we know did, so that was kind of fun. This one goes off the rails as I get progressively more intoxicated, so tune in for that. (Split into two parts due to...

One of the most fun episodes we’ve ever done. Jason Green, the founder of the Yeti Trail Cult and the RD of the Yeti 100, sits down in the 20 Questions hot seat to discuss Appalachia, skateboarding, ghosts, and Tyler Perry. Also: FIREBALL! Links: Yeti Trail Cult Beers for this episode: Industrial Arts Torque Wrench , Sloop Juice Bomb , Three Taverns Teardrinker Intro music: "Fine Line" by  th...

Fall is in the air…leaves are falling, pumpkin spice is showing up in beer for some reason, and we are back for another episode of TMIU. We start with the epic performances at Big’s Backyard Ultra, where the great Harvey Lewis crushed the world record for the format, and discuss whether experience is a benefit or a hindrance in this discipline. Then we tour the world to chat about Spartathlon, Run...

It’s been a few years since Matt Flaherty was dominating the roads and trails at the 50 mile and 100K distances, but he came back in a big way this summer when he crashed the Anton vs. Ian show at Leadville with an out-of-nowhere second place finish in his 100-mile debut. In the lates installment of 20 Questions, Matt talks about his training, valuing process over results, tackling environmental i...

Did you forget about Cat Bradley? The former WS100 champ and podium finisher at Leadville may have been out of the spotlight during the pandemic, but she is on the brink of returning to the pinnacle of the sport in a big way. We talked to Cat about her recovery from the surgery that kept her from racing in 2020, her return to the trails this summer, her early-career struggles, the next Lord of the...