Trail Runner Nation

Runner, coach, certified nutritionist and author  Matt Fitzgerald  teams up with the coach of the  Hoka Northern Arizona Elite  team,  Ben Rosario , to help us understand how the pros run.  In their  new book , they help us understand that we can reach our potential if we include some of these training techniques and strategies. Matt has been on TRN ten previous times including the episode we refe...

We've all heard the saying, "Ultra running is 90% mental and the rest is in your head". Addie Bracy  a sports and performance phychologist rejoins The Nation to dive deep into this oft-times neglected part of our training.  We discuss mental toughness and how it correlates to performance, mental distractions, and how to get into the "zone". Check out her book, book, Mental Training for Ultrarunnin...

Trails can be intimidating with varying technical challenges.  Four coaches from Sharman Ultra Coaching help us understand these challenges and give us some tips on how to feel more comfortable. Ian Sharman , Liza Howard , Hillary Allen and Addie Bracy   are all excellent technical trail runners and share their knowledge with us. Learn more about mental training at Addie's web site: strivementalpe...

Hillary Allen was on the top of her sport, Skyrunning, when she fell 150 feet off an exposed ridge, breaking two ribs, fracturing her back, ruptuing a ligament in her foot and breaking both wrists.  She joins The Nation to discuss the mindset of injury recovery, why having a support system matters, and the importance of balance in athletics. LINK to her Tedx CU talk LINK to Hillary's web site Get...

Sometimes we just have to have a light fun episode.  We invited Andy Jones-Wilkins to join us on a new type of episode, Spin the Bottle, a randomized vocabulary game.  Join us and play along. We referenced AJW's postmortem episode shortly after his first DNF. HERE is that episode. Hire  Andy as a coach!  or check out his weekly  Tap Room at iRunFar

Dr. Megan Roche helps us all, men and women, understand the physiological differences that women have and how it might be an advantage. Dr. Roche is an MD and current PhD candidate at Standford University working on epidemiology, focused on population health and genetics for athletes, spedifically women.  she is also a freaking fast runner: 2016 USATF Trail Runner of the Year 5-time national champ...

In our second monthly installment of Training Principles, we attack the subject of consistency.  Joining us on this episode are some amazing coaches and consistent runners.  We chose some running and coaching couples for this episode: Megan Roche : Consistency in Speed Happy Running Coaching Some Work, All Play podcast Book: The Happy Runner: Love the Process, Get Faster, Run Longer David Roche :...

Eric Clifton was inducted into the American UltraRunning Hall of Fame in 2021.  He was the fastest and most dominating 100-mile trail runner in the 1990s. He has amassed more than 60 ultra wins and his win ratio at the 100-mile distance is staggering 17 wins of his 31 finishes and more than 20 course records.  His strategy was very different from the norm back then.  And get this....He has 19 year...

Davy Crockett, the host of the  podcast, "Ultrarunning History"  joins us to help us understand our community's history and helps us better understand our tribe's culture.  Davy has run over 100 100-mile finishes since starting in 2004.  He is a race director of the  Pony Express Trail 50 and 100  in Utah and was recently named Director of the  American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame . You can learn mo...

Are you new to trail or ultra running? Are you interested in testing the a new distance?  Krissy Moehl wrote the book that can help you. We talk with Krissy about her updated second edition of the book and how it can help you become a better runner. We mentioned a video of Roch Horton talking about the Kroker's Canteen aid station at Hardrock 100 Learn more about Krissy, preorder her book and cons...

Are you looking to begin running?  Are you having trouble with consistent running?  Are you wanting to take your running to a new level?  This episode will help. Adam Kimble recommended the James Clear Book, Atomic Habits , to us a few months ago.  We read it and realized there are many tools in this book that can help us develop habits that will propel us to becoming better runners.   Here is the...

In 2022, we will be doing a monthly episode focused on Training Principles.  In this episode, we start with the principle of Quality Training. We have invited four experts to give their take on quality training: Sally McRae : strength training = injury prevention Sally's Web site Patrick Reagan : disciplined recovery runs Patrick's coaching site Adam Kimble : variety Adam's coaching site Ian Sharm...

David Horton is a 5-time finisher and won the first two Hardrock 100 races.  He has competed in over 160 ultras with 40 wins. He is one of 14 finishers of the iconic Barkleys Marathon.  But wait, he has also set speed records on the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Coast Trail and one of the fastest transcontinental runs.  David is a Professor of Health Sciences at Liberty University where he shares his...

"You're off to Great Places, today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so...get on your way!" - Dr. Seuss Trail running is more than exercise, it is moving meditation with nature. Do you want some of this? Are you considering trail running? You might have some apprehensions. In this episode we talk with long time trail runners Brian Metzler and Doug Meyer about trail running basics from where t...

Since it is gift-giving season, we thought we would throw out some ideas to The Nation in a unique way, by doing a gift exchange with Andy Jones-Wilkins ! Here are some of the gifts: Book, Running & Being by George Sheehan Sundial  Snittens Holy Hiker Bidet Petzl Iko headlamp A race bib/entry Hire  Andy as a coach!  or check out his weekly  Tap Room at iRunFar

Patrick Reagan has twenty years of running experience and had been coaching endurance athletes for ten years.  But in 2021 he found himself in a funk that he couldn't figure out.  In this episode, Patrick explains that his increased fatigue and changing emotions were a result of low ferritin and iron levels.  He reveals what changes he made and how he is coming back to his real self. Patrick runs...

Bon Courage is an essential French expression for offering verbal support before or during a difficult task.  Similar to the English, "good luck" but with a twist.  Luck is outside of our control, where courage is something we can control. Returning Guest, Hillary Gerardi, joins us to discuss her philosophy of building courage with "little c's and BIG "C's".        

Dr. Gordon Harvey is a Professor of history at Jacksonville State University.  He is also a seasoned ultra runner with dozens of finishes under his belt.  He has a pendant that says, "Memento mori and memento vivere" - Remember that you must die, and remember to live. Gordon joins The Nation to talk about his recent experience training and running the Pinhoti 100 .  This was a race to prove that h...

Our first live recording where Nation Members could join the audience and listen while we record & ask any questions they have for Don, Scott and frequent-guest Andy Jones-Wilkins . Hire  Andy as a coach!  or check out his weekly  Tap Room at iRunFar

Ultrarunner and Psychologist, Jill Colangelo, recently published her thesis discussing the relationship of mental health and ultra endurance sports.  Some of you may have even participated in her study!  We discuss how prevalent mental illness is in our sport and how we can balance our passion with healthy living.  You can read her paper HERE . For more information or to talk with Jill visit her w...

The central governor theory is based around the premise that the brain will override your physical ability to run and "shut the body down" before you're able to do serious or permanent damage to yourself. Dr. Joe Uhan, founder of Uhan Performance in Eugene (Physical Therapy, Coaching, Running Analysis) and is studying manual therapy fellow-in-training at Johnson & Johnson Physical Therapy in Steam...

The central governor theory is based around the premise that the brain will override your physical ability to run and "shut the body down" before you're able to do serious or permanent damage to yourself. Dr. Joe Uhan, founder of Uhan Performance in Eugene (Physical Therapy, Coaching, Running Analysis) and is studying manual therapy fellow-in-training at Johnson & Johnson Physical Therapy in Steam...

Here are the items we talked about Running Shoes - HERE is the article Don referenced Ibuprofen - HERE is the story AJW referenced What are your Cues? Why are we offended by the term Jogging? Knowing the trail The Awe Run. HERE is the article from Psychology Today about Awe Walks . HERE is the podcast episode Scott mentioned where he learned about Awe Walks Hire  Andy as a coach!  or check out his...

Adam Kimble and Strava Co-Founder, Mark Gainey, were recently talking about Eliud Kipchoge's attempt at the sub 2-hour marathon.  They focused on every little detail that his team worked on improving. These small improvements can make a big difference.  How can we implement this strategy in our lives?   British Cycling Team Performance Director, Dave Brailsford, did this with the team back in 2003...

Trail Runner Nation friend and frequent guest, Dr. Phil Maffetone , helps us understand that health isn't a simple byproduct of fitness; that fitness can be improved with better health.  He explains how we can become healthier and more fit athletes.  We refer to an article, "Athletes: Fit but Unhealthy" . Other references: Get the Maffetone App HERE Take the 2 Week Test Get a taste of Dr. Maffeton...