The Trail Network Podcast

In this post-Western States 100 episode of the Trail Network Podcast, Leah Yingling, Hilary Yang, and Rachel Drake unpack the whirlwind of race week—both on the ground and from afar. They reflect on what made this year’s race feel so dynamic, unpredictable, and inspiring. They dive into everything from media chaos, crewing logistics, and coverage parity to the breakout performances from Abby Hall...

In this special in-person episode recorded live from Olympic Valley, co-hosts Katie Asmuth , Leah Yingling , and Hilary Yang dive deep into the 2025 Western States 100 women’s field. With race day tomorrow, the trio goes full trail nerd mode on everything from top contenders and international shake-ups to training blocks, Strava sleuthing, and personal insights. They break down race favorites, exp...

In this episode of The Trail Network , Leah Yingling, Katie Asmuth, and Rachel Drake tackle listener-submitted questions — from the most essential pieces of gear to the do’s and don’ts of early trail running. They reflect on their own first races, share stories from their original local trail crews, and discuss the learning curve that shaped their ultra journeys. The trio dives into topics like: T...

In this episode of The Trail Network Podcast , hosts Leah, Hilary, and Katie reconnect for a heartfelt roundtable about where running fits in different seasons of life—physically, emotionally, and logistically. Hilary kicks things off with a recap of her recent Malibu Canyon 50 miler, which she ran just days after a root canal. She shares what it was like to race while experimenting with new nutri...

In this week’s episode of the Trail Network podcast, hosts Leah Yingling and Rachel Drake reconnect for a deep dive into recent adventures, personal milestones, and reflections on life, pregnancy, and trail running. Leah kicks off the episode with a recap of her recent trip to Northern Wales, where she crewed for her husband, Mike, at Ultra Trail Snowdonia—a notoriously rugged and stunningly beaut...

In this episode of the Trail Network Podcast , host Rachel Drake sits down with professional trail runner, ICU nurse, and new mom of twins, Taylor Nowlin . Known for her top-10 finishes at Western States, CCC, and OCC, Taylor opens up about the highs and lows of pregnancy, motherhood, and her remarkable return to racing just eight months postpartum. Taylor shares the surprise of learning she was h...

On this week’s episode of the Trail Network Podcast, Katie sits down with fellow co-host Hilary Yang for a much-needed catch-up. Hilary may have been MIA from the mic, but she’s been everywhere else —juggling training for the Hardrock 100, directing the new Mammoth 200-miler, producing storytelling projects, and traveling the globe. They talk about: Behind the scenes of Hilary’s media role at Coco...

In this heartwarming episode of the Trail Network podcast, host Katie Asmuth sits down with two incredible athletes and friends, EmKay Sullivan and Abby Hall, for what just might be the feel-good story of 2025. The trio dives into big life updates—most notably, EmKay’s exciting pregnancy—and the ripple effect it had on her racing season. When EmKay earns a coveted golden ticket to Western States b...

Leah, Katie, and Rachel catch up to talk all things Canyons 100K, Mt. Fuji, and what’s next. Katie shares an honest look at her experience at Canyons—how the race didn’t unfold as she’d hoped, what she learned through the struggle, and why she’s still proud of what her body accomplished. She also gives a peek into what’s coming up in her training. Rachel reflects on a big life update—her pregnancy...

Leah Yingling and Mike McMonagle (@shitinthewoods) return to the podcast to recap the Gorge Waterfalls race weekend and what it was like running the 50k together. They cover the record-shattering performances at the 100k and debrief the ups and downs of running a 50k with your partner while 5 months pregnant. The good, the bad, and the ugly. We hope you enjoy! This episode is edited and produced b...

In this week’s episode, Katie and Rachel take the mic to talk about what’s new in their lives and the trail world. Rachel shares what’s ahead for both her and Tyler as they gear up for their trip to Japan and the Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji—where she’ll be racing the 40k. They dive into how having a big adventure on the calendar can shift your mindset, and how race day conditions play a big role in conve...

In this episode, we catch up after Katie’s huge accomplishment on the Joshua Tree Traverse, where she set a new self supported FKT! She shares the details of her fueling strategy, how the effort went down, and what she’s thinking as she gears up for the next steps in training ahead of her Golden Ticket chase. We also dive into what makes a good race, from course design to community support, and he...

It’s been a minute! In this episode, all four of us are finally back together to catch up on life, training, and everything in between. Katie shares details about her upcoming FKT project, and we dive into a conversation about FKTs in general—what they mean, how they’re evolving, and why they’re so compelling. We each give updates on how our training is going, what’s been shifting in our routines,...

Disability rights advocate, cancer survivor, and social impact leader Nicole Ver Kuilen joins host Katie Asmuth for a powerful conversation about turning personal adversity into purposeful action. Nicole is the campaign lead for So Everybody Can Move and the founder of Forrest Stumps , a nonprofit driving policy change and awareness for equitable access to prosthetic technology. In this episode, N...

Sarah Attar is a gifted photographer, a two-time Olympian, and a trailblazer in every sense of the word. In this episode of The Trail Network podcast, she joins host Hilary Yang for a conversation about the unexpected paths life has taken her on and the lessons she has gathered along the way. Sarah made history as one of the first female athletes to represent Saudi Arabia in the Olympics, competin...

Ohh Baby! Leah and Mike have some big news to share—Leah is pregnant! In this episode, they reflect on how this life-changing moment is shaping their plans, both on and off the trails. They take a look back at the past few years of training, racing, and tackling adventures like RUFA, and talk about what it means to be an athlete while preparing for parenthood. Leah shares her experience running wh...

Today, host Katie Asmuth sits down with the legendary Ida Nilsson, a true veteran of the sport. With a career spanning decades, Ida has done it all—from track and cross country to road and trail running, and now even ski mountaineering. In this episode, she reflects on her incredible journey, starting with her athletic upbringing alongside her equally talented siblings, to her time competing at No...

On today’s episode of The Trail Network Podcast, we have Hilary Yang, Leah Yingling, and Katie Asmuth for a catch up episode! We've gotten some great feedback from our listeners just saying that some of their favorite episodes are the ones where we just catch up. So this episode is really just a chance for Leah, Katie and Hilary to connect and see what's been going on in each other's l...

Today, Leah Yingling is joined by Alexis Crellin 🙌. Alexis is a climber, mountain enthusiast, and ultra runner based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. She has two top 20s at UTMB, top finishes at Speedgoat 50k and The Rut 50k and has been crushing it on the mountain scene in Utah and beyond for years. She’s also a prior FKT holder on the Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup (WURL), a rugged 32+ mile high mou...

Today, Hilary Yang sits down with Katie Asmuth to talk about all things Black Canyon race weekend. Katie ran the 100K, and while she was going for a golden ticket and trying to shoot her shot, the day did not go according to plan. However, they were able to dissect the race and understand where it went wrong and pull out a lot of things that hopefully you all will find applicable to your own races...

In honor of the Black Canyon 100K race weekend, the Trail Network podcast hosts revisits a heartfelt conversation with Trueheart Brown, the 2022 race champion. Trueheart’s victory at Black Canyon was a breakout performance, winning as an underdog at the age of 41 and fully embracing the spirit of the sport. In this conversation, Trueheart shares insights into his journey as a trail runner, the les...

We're so happy you're here with us this week. On this week's episode, we dive into some listener questions and chat about the season ahead. We talk about how we balance being competitive in the sport while holding space for planning for families and motherhood. Another topic is balancing and sharing the sport with a partner. We also cover some world championship qualifiers like Gorge W...

In this episode, Rachel, Leah, Hilary, and Katie reconnect to chat about what’s been happening so far in 2025, sharing hot takes and fun stories about life, training, and adventures. The conversation covers Katie’s upcoming race at the Black Canyon 100k, the inspiring work of The Futurist Project, and a spotlight on incredible female athletes and creatives. They also dive into their favorite gear,...

In this episode of the Trail Network podcast, hosts Leah Yingling and Rachel Drake are joined by the incredible Courtney Olsen who had an unforgettable 2024 racing season. Courtney placed third at Comrades, set a world record at the Tunnel Hill 50-Miler, secured a top-10 finish at the World’s 100K Race, and was recently voted number six in the Ultra Runner of the Year rankings. In this conversatio...

In this episode of the Trail Network podcast, hosts Hilary Yang and Katie Asmuth are joined by elite runner and content creator Allie Ostrander. Allie shares insights into her new sponsorship with Oiselle, her experiences balancing a professional running career with content creation, and how she navigates both trail and track worlds. The conversation delves into the lessons she’s learned on the tr...