Women of Distance

⁠ Anna Gibson is a professional track and trail runner - finding a balance between passions for both and by all measures, succeeding! Last year, Anna competed in both the Olympic Trials on the track (1500m) and the Golden Trail World Series (5th female overall in the series), among many other fun adventures, and found a lot of joy and fulfillment along the way. She most recently kicked off her 202...

Allison Baca is fresh off of two commanding 50k wins and course records to begin her year: first at the Black Canyon 50k in February and most recently at the Desert Rats 50k two weeks ago (where she also finished 3rd outright)! In this episode, Lauren and Allison discuss her history with sport - the pressures of competition as a collegiate track and cross country runner, finding post-collegiate su...

Welcome back to a special two-part series with Jane Maus, professional trail runner with La Sportiva and registered dietitian with Mountain Sports Nutrition! In episode two, Lauren and Jane put on their professional hats for a discussion about sports nutrition for endurance athletes, and for female bodies specifically. We discuss fueling your full day, including workouts and races, recovery, the i...

Welcome to a special two-part series with Jane Maus, professional trail runner with La Sportiva and registered dietitian with Mountain Sports Nutrition! In episode one, we get to know Jane herself, and how her personal and professional passions have intertwined over time - including her own challenges with nutrition, injury, and purpose - and how she's ultimately fit the pieces of the puzzle t...

Get to know Fiona Pascall, who is most recently the women's champion of the Chianti Ultra-Trail 120k where she executed a strong and consistent performance against a very talented women's field - ultimately earning both a Golden Ticket entry to Western States in 2025, as well as entry to UTMB in 2025 and 2026. In this episode, Lauren and Fiona discuss her younger years, growing up under th...

Georgia Porter is an accomplished road, trail, and ultra athlete who recently set the female Fastest Known Time on the Arizona Trail - covering the 817 miles and 113,537ft of elevation gain from Utah to Mexico in 16 days, 22 hours, and 6 minutes. The adventure was life-changing. In this episode, we uncover Georgia's origin story as a non-runner in a family of elite runners, to uncovering a tal...

Abby Hall, professional runner with Adidas Terrex, joins us just a few days before lining up at the Chianti Ultra Trail 120k where she'll be making her second run for a Golden Ticket this year! Abby joined the podcast for a short, pre-race interview before the Black Canyon 100k - where she ran for a strong and impressive fifth place finish, coming less than 2 minutes shy of a Golden Ticket pos...

Henriette Albon, joins the Women of Distance Podcast shortly after claiming a strong victory at the Transgrancanaria Classic 126k - where she won the women's race by more than one hour, and placed 12th outright, in her longest (and possibly strongest) race to date! In this episode, Lauren and Henriette discuss the impact of her childhood experiences with sport, her drive for mastery, her experienc...

Helen Mino Faukner is a professional trail runner from California, who most recently competed in the Tarawera 102k where she finished 4th female and earned her second Golden Ticket. (And ultimately, turned down her Ticket for the second time!) In this episode, Lauren and Helen discuss her origin story in the sport, and the importance of finding joy in the pursuit regardless of talent or results. H...

Fresh off of two back to back commanding victories at the Javelina 100 mile and the Black Canyon 100k, Riley Brady is indisputably coming into their own as a top competitor in a rapidly evolving sport - as we've seen records fall nearly every time a race is run, and elite fields deepening across the board, Riley has consistently been there for it, and continuing to climb race by race by race....

Alyssa Clark is a professional trail and mountain athlete, who most recently became the first female in history to run under 24-hours at the HURT 100 mile in Hawaii. One of the toughest 100-milers in the world, with over 24,000ft of elevation gain through the rooty singletrack trails in Honolulu - Alyssa broke the long standing course record, running 23:26. In this episode, Lauren and Alyssa discu...

Part Two: The First Timers These women are bringing depth and experience to their first time racing the Black Canyon 100k - Here to test themselves against the competition this event has to offer! *As part of our interviews, we asked each athlete for their favorite pre-race hype song... be sure to read to the end of the show notes for your own playlist from the front of the pack! In this episode,...

Part One: The Veterans These women have had their feet on the Black Canyon course before, and are coming back for another throw down in the desert! *As part of our interviews, we asked each athlete for their favorite pre-race hype song... be sure to read to the end of the show notes for your own playlist from the front of the pack! In this episode, you'll hear from: -Emkay Sullivan (00:01:53)...

Emkay Sullivan is a professional trail runner with a long list of accomplishments in both sub-ultra and ultra competition. Most recently however, she took to the roads in the New York City Marathon, where she won the women's field of the mass start event! She had such a good time that she's coming straight back for another World Marathon Major, lining up with the pro-field of the 2025 Bost...

Lauren Jones is an elite ultra-marathoner with a broad range of experience covering everything from the Georgia Death Race to Cruel Jewel, Pinhoti, Leadville, Western States, Cocodona 250 (just to name a FEW), to most recently leading the strongest field of U.S. women in history at the Desert Solstice 24-hour! In this episode, Lauren and Lauren discuss her entry into the sport as a curious mid-pac...

Robyn Lesh is a professional trail runner who has been consistently on the rise through the past three years, most recently running her first 50-mile race at the JFK 50 Mile, where she placed 4th, running 6:21, in the fastest and most competitive women's field in race history. In this episode, Lauren and Robyn discuss her origin story from a child who thought she wasn't capable of running, to a co...

Shea Aquilano is an elite trail and ultra runner, who at the age of 23 can already be considered a veteran of the sport. She boasts an impressive resume of top finishes at some of the country's most competitive races, in distances from the 50 mile to the 100 mile, including representing Team USA at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships! She ended a busy 2024 in epic fashion with a win...

Lauren Hagans has spent the past five years as a professional athlete for Hoka on the NAZ Elite team, excelling in distances from the 5k to the marathon, and everything in between - most recently finishing as 5th American in a deep field (including the current women's world record) at the Chicago Marathon. In this episode, Lauren and Lauren discuss her beginnings in team sports and as a classical...

⁠ Julie Hamulecki is an elite Canadian ultramarathoner, who recently claimed the win and the women's Canadian record for the 100 mile distance, running 13:32:07 at the Tunnel Hill 100 in November. That also makes her the second fastest North American female in history; second only to the standing world record holder... all on her FIRST try at this distance! In this episode, Lauren and Julie discus...

Holly Benner has worn many hats in her athletic career - from competitive and collegiate swimmer, to Olympic development rower, to a successful career as a professional triathlete, and now as an emerging trail and ultrarunner! In this episode, Lauren and Holly discuss her unconventional path as an elite athlete at so many different sports across her athletic career; what she learned and how she gr...

⁠ Whitney Richman is a beast of the east, who has been dominating the east coast ultrarunning scene for the better part of the past 15 years - including, most recently, her second win at West Virginia's Rim to River 100 mile! In this episode, Lauren and Whitney discuss her unconventional path into running and ultrarunning, her love of the community where she found acceptance and belonging, the cha...

Rachel Tomajczyk is a professional trail and mountain runner, currently thriving in the sub-ultra distances with a 10th place finish in the Golden Trail World Series, 2nd place finish in the U.S. Mountain Running Champs, and 3rd at the US Half Marathon Trail Championships just to name a few from this season alone! In this episode, Lauren and Rachel discuss her journey from high school and collegia...

Fresh off the Backyard Ultra Satellite World Champs, where she was The Assist for the United States, and set a new women's world best for yards completed - Meg Eckert has had a huge year of 100, 200, 300+ mile racing! In this episode, Lauren and Meg discuss her 2024 racing calendar which has included 3x 100 mile races, 3x backyard ultras, 3x multi-day events, topping out with an overall win and 52...

Lauren Puretz is an elite trailrunner, full time OB/GYN, mother of two, and currently topping podiums in a wide range of races from 20k to 100 mile, flat and fast to steep and technical! In this episode, Lauren and Lauren discuss the wild year she's had - not only in running and competing, but in her professional life as well. We chat about how she found the sport, and ultimately trail and ultraru...

"Mom strength" personified - Careth Arnold is an elite ultramarathon runner, fresh off of winning and setting a women's new course record at the Bear 100 Mile! In this episode, Lauren and Careth discuss her journey into running and ultra-running as a new mom, testing herself on the trails and in elite competition, working with the challenges of pregnancy, postpartum, nursing, full-time motherhood,...