The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman (Dylan Bowman)

Helen Mino Faukner is a professional trail runner from Truckee, CA. At 26 years old, she's established herself as a rising star in the sport securing wins at Vaholl by UTMB, Broken Arrow 46k, and Speedgoat by UTMB in the 2023 season. We talk about Helen's background, her experience as a yoga teacher, finding joy in running, living in alignment with values, her season, and her goals for the upcoming CCC 100k. 

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Pedal for Positivity

Tom Evans is a champion ultrarunner from the UK. Last weekend he finished 2nd place, well under the course record, at the Black Canyon100k. We talk about his race, his method of training, cultivating self-discipline, race management, race evaluation, learnings for Western States and a lot more. 

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This is episode #1 of Second Nature. A new media project from Dylan Bowman and Aaron Lutze, Second Nature focuses on the business of outdoor -- providing analysis and commentary on what's evolving in the outdoor, action, and endurance sport market. In the first episode tackle the following products:

• Business planning process for FURTHER
• The challenge of being authentic in a new category and with a new consumer
• Developing footwear as a world-class apparel brand
• The danger of losing focus on lululemon's core markets of yoga and athleisure
• The vision, marketing, and distribution of FURTHER
• What lululemon could have done better
• History of Kevin Plank and Under Armour and his return as CEO
• Brand, Product, Content: Substack & ROA Hiking

Lotti Brinks is a professional trail runner for Salomon living in Boise, ID. Originally from Germany, Lotti came to the States to study design and now operates design consultancy with her husband, Aaron. In the past couple years, Lotti has established herself as one of the great young rising stars in the sport. Last year she won the Grindstone 100k, a Golden Ticket race, earning her way into the 2024 Western States 100. This season, Lotti won The Big Alta 50k and the Gorge Waterfalls 100k, continuing the incredible momentum in her athletic career. This is her first appearance on the podcast.

Topics Discussed:

• Lotti's design background
• Early running influences
• Lessons from building a knife business
• Design collaboration and business building with her husband
• The driving force of joy and optimism
• Lotti's introduction to trail and ultra running
• Coaching relationship with Tyler Green
• Breakthrough performance at Grindstone
• Her races at The Big Alta and Gorge Waterfalls
• Her final training block and goals for Western States

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Dani Moreno is a professional trail runner for HOKA living in Mammoth Lake, CA. Over the last couple of years, Dani has established herself as one of the best shorter distance and sub-ultra trail runners in the world. This season, Dani finished on the podium of both the Mont Blanc Marathon & OCC. This weekend, Dani will be racing Flagstaff SkyPeaks as part of the Golden Trail Series. Get to know Dani in this fun conversation.

Follow Dani on IG

Dani's Strava activity from OCC

Gediminus Grinius is a pro trail runner from Lithuania. He served for many years in the Lithuanian military before finding ultra running and becoming one of the world's best. We talk about Gediminus' military career, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, his running career, dealing with injury, and his great 3rd place finish at UTMB Thailand in December 2022.

Sponsors:

• Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear

• Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition

• Get 30% off your first subscription of Ketone IQ at HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30

• Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Roark Apparel

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Other Freetrail podcast episodes you might enjoy:

Kilian Jornet | The New NNormal

Tim Tollefson | The Infinite Game

Clare Gallagher | Black Canyon 100k Champion

Jim Walmsley | Engagement, Moving to Europe, Western States, and UTMB

Taggart Van Etten is an ultrarunner from Illinois. He made a name for himself at the Tunnelhill 100 in 2019 where he ran an astonishing 12:19 -- one of the fastest 100 mile debuts ever. A short time later he smashed the 100 mile world record on a treadmill, recording an insane 11:32. Taggart is an extremely hardworking and talented athlete and he has a crazy bright future in the sport.

Follow Taggart on Twitter

Follow Taggart on IG

Follow Taggart on Strava

Paddy O'Leary is an Irish pro trail runner living in San Francisco. Last Weekend, Paddy won The Dipsea in Marin County -- the 112th running of the world's oldest trail race. In this conversation we discuss what makes Paddy unique, his recent engagement, living as an immigrant in the USA, the Dipsea victory, and more.

At the end, we bring in another hyper-talented Irish mountain runner, Zak Hanna, to reflect on his participation at the World Championship, Irish pride, and look ahead to their race at Broken Arrow. 

Paddy's Strava activity from The Dipsea

Eleanor Sholz's IG account

Freetrail Fantasy

In this episode we talk to Hannah Allgood & David Laney who were the respective champions of the 2022 Gorge Waterfalls 100k.

Follow Hannah on IG

Follow David on IG

For the first 10 days of 2024, Freetrail will be rolling out our Trail Runner Of The Year award, presented by Ketone IQ. The award recognizes the top-10 male and female athletes of the 2023 season, as voted on by 1000 trail runners from around the world. 

In #2, we're joined by Remi Bonnet from Switzerland and Katie Schide, an American who lives in France.

Remi's highlights:

• 1st place at Mont Blanc Marathon
• 1st place at Pikes Peak Ascent
• 1st place at Mammoth Trail Fest

Katie's Highlights:

• 2nd place at Western States 100
• 2nd place at OCC
• 1st place at Diagonale des Fous

GET 30% OFF YOUR SUBSCRIPTION OF KETONE IQ: HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30

Jean-Marc Djian is the brand new VP of Footwear for SATISFY and one of the OG shoe dogs of trail running. Jean-Marc worked at Salomon for almost 20 years, pioneering trail running footwear during an important moment for the sport. After Salomon, Jean-Marc went to The North Face where he was able to significantly improve the brand's footwear offering. We talk about his career and learnings from both brands and look ahead to the goals for SATISFY.

Topics discussed:

• The intersection of science and soul
• Jean-Marc's Olympic hockey career & the psychology of the goalie
• The birth of Salomon trail running
• His relationship with Jean-Luc Diard, the Co-Founder of HOKA
• The 0 to 1 process for TNF footwear
• His transition to SATISFY and the intention behind it
• The evolution of trail footwear over time
• Athletes who are pushing their sport forward
• A lot more!

Sponsors:

• Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear

• Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition

• Get 30% off your first subscription of Ketone IQ at HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30

• Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Roark Apparel

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Other Freetrail podcast episodes you might enjoy:

Kilian Jornet | The New NNormal

Tim Tollefson | The Infinite Game

Clare Gallagher | Black Canyon 100k Champion

Jim Walmsley | Engagement, Moving to Europe, Western States, and UTMB

This episode details some important changes happening at Freetrail including the expansion of our team. The episode is broken into three parts:

• Dylan reads Chapter 2 essay detailing the changes
• Dylan is joined by Ryan Thrower and Harmony Bowman to reflect on the past present and future of Freetrail
• Dylan is joined by Corrine Malcolm to discuss her new role as Editor-In-Chief

Follow Ryan on IG

Marianne Hogan is a professional Ultrarunner from Montrael, Quebec. She has been on a roll in the last 12 months, clearly establishing herself as one of the best trail runners in the world. This summer, Marianne finished 3^rd place at the Western States 100 -- her first 100 miler -- before following that up with a 2^nd place at UTMB just two weeks ago. In doing so, Marianne became the first person to podium at both of the world's most important 100 mile races in the same summer since Kilian Jornet way back in 2011.

Follow Marianne on IG

Read about Marianne's experience guiding Paralympic triathlon

Sponsors:

• Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear

• Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition

• Get 30% off your first subscription of Ketone IQ at HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30

• Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Roark Apparel

________________________

Other Freetrail podcast episodes you might enjoy:

Kilian Jornet | The New NNormal

Tim Tollefson | The Infinite Game

Clare Gallagher | Black Canyon 100k Champion

Jim Walmsley | Engagement, Moving to Europe, Western States, and UTMB

Tyler Green is an ultrarunner from Portland, OR. On Monday 8/24, Tyler broke the fastest known time on the Wonderland Trail -- a spectacular 90ish mile circumnavigation of Mt. Rainier. In doing so, Tyler broke a record held by me for only 5 days. This is the story of both our record attempts told over a couple beers.

Follow Tyler on IG: https://www.instagram.com/narrowgreenarrow/?hl=en

Lauren Gregory is a pro athlete for Nike Trail living in New England. This season, Lauren had a big breakthrough in her professional career, notching three top-10 performances in Golden Trail World Series races, including an amazing 2nd place finish at the World Final in October. She has a huge career ahead of her and we're excited to host her on the podcast.

Topics discussed:

• Lauren's background and history with sport
• Her bronze medal from the 2017 Junior Mountain Running World Championship
• Winning an NCAA Cross Country National Championship
• Signing with Nike and the realities of going pro
• The Trail Team and how it's onboarded new athletes to trail running
• The advantages and disadvantages of living on the East Coast
• Her coach Ben True, and he's influenced her training
• Her 2024 season and reasons for the success
• Goals for the future
• A lot more!

For the first time in a few years, we're doing an AMA episode! After sourcing questions on Instagram, Harmony steps in to act as the host to pose fun questions from the community. Topics we cover.

• Previous career path
• Podcast prep strategies
• 2024 Freetrail priorities
• Having faith when taking a leap
• Mt. Rushmore of trail running
• Early peers and mentors
• Inspiring sporting performances from 2023
• Challenges that have led to personal growth
• Favorite books and music
• Harmony's support and our family dynamic
• Frustrating and rewarding parts of Freetrail
• Goals for 2024
• People I admire

• Ben Dhiman's Substack
• Rick Rubin's pod with Rory sutherland
• Rick Rubin's book
• Rory Sutherland's book
• Barbarian Days
• Roger Federer's Retirement Speech

Justin Grunewald is a professional runner and physician, living in Boulder, CO. At the end of January, Justin posted about his experience giving up alcohol for a month and how it impacted his running and personal health. His post resonated with me and created a great opportunity to finally have Justin on the podcast. Topics covered:

• Dry January
• Justin's observation of alcoholism as a physician
• How giving up alcohol impacted his training, relationships, and mood
• The importance of moderation
• The sponsorship landscape in trail running
• Agents in pro trail running
• Justin's training for Tarawera and goals for the season
• A lot more!

Ryan Thrower is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Freetrail. He is also the longtime producer of this podcast. We talk about Ryan's background, his creative influences, the journey of working on Freetrail together, his upcoming 100 mile race, and a lot more. 

Trail Running Radio

Walla Trail Racing

Welcome to Rest Day, Freetrail's occasional news pod covering the latest happenings in trail running. The docket today:

• Katie Schide & Germain Grangier return to On
• Warner Brothers Discovery broadcast partnership with Golden Trail World Series
• EmKay Sullivan's Golden Ticket rolls down to Abby Hall
• Golden Trail World Series kicks off in Asia
• Gorge Waterfalls, Lake Sonoma, & Desert RATs recaps

Karl Meltzer is an ultra running legend, living in Colorado. He is the winningest 100 mile racer in history, recently securing his 50th victory. He's also been a leader and pioneer in so many ways as the sport has matured in the last two decades. This is his first appearance on the podcast.

Topics covered:

• The Value of simplicity
• Karl’s golf prowess
• The founding story of HOKA and Karl’s history with the brand
• Building a career in the sport and some of the great stories from the old days
• The 2012 Run Rabbit Run 100 
• Kyle Skaggs 2008 Hardrock
• His friendship with Jeff Browning
• His 50^th 100-mile victory a few weeks ago
• So much more!

GORGE WATERFALLS 50K LIVESTREAM

Sponsors:

• Join our Nutrition Club with The Feed and get $80 to spend on nutrition
• Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear
• Grab a trail running pack from Osprey
• Use code FT15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition
• Go to ketone.com/freetrail30 for 30% off a subscription of Ketone IQ

Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts

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This week is a special episode and new format on the podcast. Our guests are Hannah Allgood, pro athlete and coach, and Ryan Thrower, Freetrail Co-Founder and Creative Director. In addition to being a great friend, Hannah coaches both Ryan and I in our athletic goals. Coincidentally we all raced last weekend and we all had great days, so we decided to jump on the pod and record an episode about it. 

Topics included:

• Hannah's personal and athletic background
• Her personal transformation and path to coaching
• The importance of emotional health for performance
• Hannah's friendship with Ryan
• Trail Running Radio
• Her race at Transvulcania
• Recent epiphanies from sport psychology
• Ryan's race at Tillmook Burn 50 miler
• Coaching Ryan towards Western States
• My race at Tillmook Burn 20 miler 
• What's next for Hannah's racing career

GET COACHED BY FREETRAIL

HANNAH'S SPORT PSYCHOLOGIST - LORI EATON

Stephanie Case is a Canadian Human Rights Lawyer and Ultrarunner based in Chamonix, France. In a sport full of amazing people, Stephainie is one of the most inspiring I've encountered. She works for the UN, devoting her life to humanitarian causes all over the world, and often in war zones. She also founded a charity called Free to Run, which endeavors to support women and girls in conflict areas through running and outdoor sport. In addition to her career and charity work, Stephanie is an amazing ultrarunner with top finishes at some of the worlds hardest races. 

Follow Stephanie on IG

Stephanie's Personal Website

Free to Run 

On June 26th, Freetrail helped to launch TrailCon in partnership with Doug Emslie and Brendan Madigan - an industry conference focused on the present and future of the sport. Over four weeks, we will release the audio from each panel. Last week we shared the events panel and this week is the media panel.

Our panelists:

• Billy Yang - Filmmaker, Billy Yang Films
• Meghan Hicks - Editor in Chief, iRunFar
• Zoë Rom - Podcast Host & Producer, UltraSignup 
• Brian Metzler - Editor in Chief, Outside RUN
• Corrine Malcolm - Editor in Chief, Freetrail

Welcome to Rest Day, Freetrail's occasional news pod covering the latest happenings in trail running. The docket today:

• Salomon Athlete Team Presentation
• Team Camps (Salomon, TERREX, Asics, CRAFT, & Brooks)
• Chianti by UTMB
• Barkley Marathons
• Tenerife by UTMB
• Alex Proctor breaking Dylan's 14 year old CR

   

Pyllars is now Freetrail. We are rebranding our entire business in order to better align our brand with our market and our mission. In this State of the Union podcast, Dylan explains the thought process behind the rebrand and the new name. 

Register for the Begin Again premiere

Subscribe to the Freetrail YouTube channel

Ryan Montgomery is a trail runner from Park City, UT. He recently finished 2nd place at the Javelina Jundred, earning a coveted golden ticket to the Western States 100. Ryan is also an advocate for LGBTQ athletes and speaks eloquently about his experience as a queer/gay man.

Follow Ryan on IG

Welcome to Freetrail's coverage of the 2025 Tarawera by UTMB! Set against the beautiful backdrop of Rotorua, NZ, an outdoor and trail sport mecca known for its rolling hills, thermal pools, and beautiful lakes, Tarawera plays host to four different race distances — 100m, 102k, 50k, & 21k. We'll be covering as much as we can from all races, with a particular focus on the 102k where four Golden Tickets to Western States are on the line. 

Petter Engdahl is a Swedish professional trail runner living in Norway. He races for Adidas Terrex and is the 2022 champion of CCC and Transvulcania. Get to know Petter in the wide-ranging conversation.

Follow Petter on IG

Read Petter's nutrition blog from CCC

Caleb Olson is a professional trail runner for Nike living in Salt Lake City, UT. In the last couple years, Caleb has had a remarkable streak of high performance, including qualifying for the World Championships, winning a Golden Ticket, and running 14:40 at Western States -- the fastest debut in the race's history. This is his first appearance on the podcast.

Topics discussed:

• Caleb's mountaineering exploits
• The current momentum in the SLC trail scene
• His history of being self-coached and why that might change soon
• The importance of good partners in life and sport
• Adapting to professional racing and rising to the occasion
• Caleb's strong 2023 season and signing with Nike
• His 2024 season including his amazing WS debut
• Lessons around desire, motivation, and a lot more!

John Kelly is a two-time finisher of the infamous Barkley Marathons. One of only seventeen people to finish and one of only three people to finish more than once. In this conversation we discuss the 2023 race, the mentality that led to success, and what makes the event such a puzzle. 

Follow John on IG

Follow John on Strava

I was a guest on the For The Long Run podcast. It was a great conversation with my friend Jonathan Levitt about my career and the current moment in trail running. Hope you enjoy!

Seth Ruhling is a pro runner for The North Face living in Boulder, CO. A few weeks ago, Seth won and broke the course record at the Black Canyon 100k, earning a Golden Ticket to the Western States 100 in June. He's also a co-host of the viral sensation, Boulder Boys Podcast. This is his first appearance on the show.

Topics discussed:

• Seth's approach to competition through the lens of the 2023 CCC
• Background and history with sport
• His breakout race at the 2019 JFK
• How Jim Walmsley influenced Seth
• How Zach Miller enabled Seth's first pro contract
• We talk about the Boulder Boys, exploring each person's unique spirit and how it impacts the group
• Seth's training and the groove he found building towards Black Canyon
• Seth's spiritual life
• The strategy and execution at Black Canyon
• Look ahead to Western States
• The Boulder Boys Podcast
• A lot more!

In this episode we talk about the history of the Javelina Jundred, the course and what makes it special, the conditions this weekend, and finish by previewing the fields who will be competing for those golden tickets. My co-hosts are Abby Hall and Adam Merry.

Today's episode is an announcement of TrailCon, a brand new industry conference for the sport of trail running. TrailCon will launch on June 26th, the Wednesday in between Broken Arrow and Western States, for an afternoon of conversation about the present and future of our sport with some of the leading voices and stakeholders in the industry. My guests today are my co-founders in the event -- Brendan Madigan, Owner of Alpenglow Sports and Broken Arrow RD, and Doug Emslie, a 30-year events industry leader. 

In today's episode we talk about the vision and purpose of the event and then unpack the content of the panels we'll host.

A brief summary of TrailCon:

• 2:30-3:00pm - Registration & Coffee
• 3:00-3:30pm - Events Panel
• 3:30-4:00pm - Media Panel
• 4:00-4:30pm - Brands & Athletes Panel
• 4:30-5:00pm - Trail Retail Panel
• 5:00-7:00pm - 100 Mile Happy Hour & Networking Event

TrailCon is FREE and open to the public. Visit trailconference.com to register. 

Matt Daniels is a pro trail runner for Nike from Boulder, CO. He just won the Gorge 50k in spectacular fashion and will soon be racing the Canyons 100k for a chance to race into Western States. In this conversation, we discuss what makes Matt unique, the highs and lows of his running journey, Matt's military service, dealing with the anxiety of competition, the value of training partners, his race at Gorge, and look ahead towards Canyons. It was great to have Matt on the show!

Follow Matt on IG

Follow Matt on Strava 

Follow Matt's blog

Heather Jackson is a pro trail runner and gravel cyclist. She's a former pro triathlete with several top-5 finishes at the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 world championships. She recently finished 2nd place at the Black Canyon 100k, running under the previous course record, in only her 2nd career ultramarathon.

Follow Heather on IG

Follow Heather on Strava

Luke Nelson and Nate Bender are trail runners and environmental advocates based in Idaho and Montana respectively. They recently took part in the Snowman Race in Bhutan -- a trail ultra marathon organized to bring awareness to the effects of climate change in the Himalaya. In this conversation, we discuss the intersection of trail running and climate action, Luke and Nate's experience on the trail in Bhutan, and what trail runners can do to take action in support of the places we recreate. 

As we discuss at the end, Freetrail and Footprints, an organization that Nate helps to manage, are partnering on creating sustainability oriented content. We're very proud to work with them and look forward to making this information easily accessible to trail runners.

Check out the Snowman Race

Footprints Running

Scout Mountain Ultras -- Luke's race in Idaho

Get Coached by Freetrail

Cole Watson is a professional trail runner for HOKA, living in Sacramento, CA. He is the 2023 champion of the Canyons 100k where he earned a Golden Ticket to the Western States 100. In this conversation we talk about Cole's upbringing in rural Oregon, the significance of running culture in Oregon, his development as an athlete, his training, the Canyons race execution, look ahead to Western states and a lot more. 

WOUNDED WARRIOR FUNDRAISER

Follow Cole on IG

Follow Cole on Strava 

Watch the Cole Training Video

Read Freetrail's Pre-Race Interview

Aaron Lutze is a creator and sports marketing savant. He's also a dear friend and mentor who has had an enormous impact on my career as an athlete and content creator. Aaron recruited me to Red Bull and acted as my manager for many years. He's recognized as one of the best sports marketers in the industry and now shares all his insights publicly through a new YouTube channel called Super Athlete.

In this conversation, we talk about the past and present of athlete partnerships, the reasons brands sponsor athletes, the value of creating longform content, audience vs. community, the future of athlete partnerships, and a lot more!

CHECK OUT SUPER ATHLETE

CHECK OUT SUPER RIDER

SIGNUP FOR THE FREETRAIL NEWSLETTER

Sponsors:

• Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear

• Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition

• Get 30% off your first subscription of Ketone IQ at HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30

Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts

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Other Freetrail podcast episodes you might enjoy:

Devon Yanko is a professional runner for lululemon living in Salida, CO. She has had a long and very successful career inside and outside of sport. In addition to being a pro athlete, Devon has owned and operated several businesses, mostly in the world of culinary arts. Two weeks ago, Devon and her teammates finished a 6-day run of self-transcendence as part of lululemon's FURTHER project. In that time, Devon ran a total of 313 miles and participated in one of the most significant research studies ever conducted in women's sports.

Devon and Nathan's Homesteading Instagram

Topics discussed:

• The origin of Fast Foodie and the pursuit of culinary arts
• Small business ownership
• Selling her business and moving to CO
• The history of trail and ultrarunning in Marin County
• The value of not specializing as an athlete
• Goals for FURTHER and the life changing experience of participating
• Goals for the rest of the season
• A lot more!

Emily Hawgood is a professional trail runner for Adidas TERREX. She has a very unique story, growing up in rural Zimbabwe before moving to the USA for college. At only 27, Emily is one of the true rising stars in the sport who has been incredibly consistent and improving rapidly. Get to know her in this conversation.

Rod Farvard is a professional trail runner from Mammoth Lakes, CA. This season, Rod has had two world-class, breakout performances - a Golden Ticket win at the Canyons 100k, and a 2nd place finish at Western States, running the 2nd fastest time in history. This is his first long form appearance on the podcast.

Topics discussed: 

• The value of taking chances
• Rod’s analytical approach to training
• The 2023 UTMB and the learnings from the race
• Rod’s coach and their long-term multi-sport relationship
• An nutritional epiphany after Black Canyon
• Super shoes on the trails
• Rod’s win at Canyons 100k
• Deep dive on the WS performance
• Recent examples of Rod betting on himself
• Where he’s racing next
• A lot more!

In this episode, my friend and commentary partner, Corrine Malcolm joins to discuss the new race announcements from the UTMB World Series and some of the other news happening in trail/ultra running.

Trail Society episode about drug testing in ultra

Mike Foote is a pro trail runner from Missoula, MT. He is also the race director of The Rut Mountain Runs -- one of the largest events in North America. Mike was recently featured in a short film called Shining Mountains about the intersection of trail running and climate action. We talk about Mike's running career, his events business, his long relationship with Adam Peterman, family life, the film, and a lot more. Hope you enjoy the conversation!

100 Mile Happy Hour

On June 26th, Freetrail helped to launch TrailCon in partnership with Doug Emslie and Brendan Madigan - an industry conference focused on the present and future of the sport. Over four weeks, we are releasing the audio from each panel. So far we've shared the events panel and the media panel, and the brand & athlete panel. This week we're sharing the retail panel.

Our panelists:

• Wes Allen (Moderator) - Owner, Sunlight Mountain Sports
• Brendan Madigan - Owner, Alpenglow Sports
• Mike Ambrose - Country Manager USA, NNormal
• Ted Knudsen - Owner, San Francisco Running Company

In this episode, we announce the launch of a new project called Pyllars. Pyllars is a mobile app platform built for runners who want to improve as athletes and as human beings. The core philosophy is that our athletic success comes down to two fundamental pillars that are equally important – our physical fitness AND our emotional fitness. Oftentimes athletes emphasize the former at the expense of the latter, sometimes with detrimental personal consequences. Pyllars is committed to supporting athletes as they strive to reach their athletic potential, while also providing tools for maintaining a healthy and balanced internal environment. We believe this 360-degree approach to the athlete produces the best long-term outcomes on and off the racecourse. We hope you’ll join our community and become part of the movement.

***IMPORTANT*** Starting January 1st and going forward, this podcast will rebrand to become The Pyllars Podcast. You won't have to resubscribe. It will begin appearing in your feed under the new name in the new year.

Follow Payson on IG

Payson's 250 mile crossing of Iceland

Listen to The Adventurestache

Dylan's appearance on The Adventurestache

• Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear

• Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition

• Use code freetrail20 for 20% off HVMN Ketone IQ

Courtney Olsen is a pro runner for HOKA living in Bellingham, WA. She is also the brand new World Record holder for the 50-mile distance, something she was able to achieve last weekend at Tunnel Hill in Southern Illinois. Finishing in a time of 5:31:56, Courtney managed to lower the existing record held by Ann Trason for 33 years by nine minutes. This is her first appearance on the podcast.

Topics we discuss:

• Courtney’s background and history with sport
• Her struggles with depression and finding purpose in her 20s
• The Bellingham Distance Project, a training group she helped to found 10 years ago
• Her passion for art and writing
• Her experience at lululemon’s FURTHER event where she was there supporting Devon Yanko
• Her huge podium performance at Comrades
• A deep unpacking of her WR at tunnel hill
• Look ahead to the 100k World Championship next month
• And a lot more!

Lucy Bartholomew is an ultrarunner from Australia. She started ultrarunning at only 15 years old and has admittedly always been compelled to break the mold. Now 24, she's one of the top racers in the world with wins and top performances at some of the sport's most important events. Of course, it hasn't been easy or without challenge and Lucy does a great job of honestly talking though the highs and lows of being a pro athlete. Recently, Lucy set an FKT on the Larapinta Trail --  a 138 mile trail in central Australia. I hope you enjoy this conversation!

Follow Lucy on IG

Lucy's Website

Lucy's Strava Profile

Tim Johnson is a longtime professional cyclist and six-time national champion. He had an incredible career and is one of the true pioneers and legends of cyclocross. The thing I admire so much about Tim is that he's managed to continue to have a big impact and influence on the sport of cycling long after his professional racing career was over. He cares about his sport and the people in it and represents what it means to be an ambassador. Tim has worked for USA Cycling and is now the Director of Performance of Supersapiens.

Follow Tim on IG

Follow Tim on Twitter

Watch the Trans Taiga Video

Rapha Continental Tour of California: Intro Video

Gina Lucrezi is a longtime trail runner and the founder of Trail Sisters, a global organization providing education, resources, and community to female trail runners around the world. Recently Gina ran for Commissioner of Chaffee County where she lives in Buena Vista, CO. Her campaign was captured in a film made by Auteur Sportif which documents how Gina has led a life of service and how she plans to continue that work as a public servant. This is her first appearance on the podcast.

Topics discussed:

• Gina's background and how the seeds of her career were planted
• The founding story of Trail Sisters
• Growing and nurturing the community over time
• The introduction of Trail Sisters Approved standards
• The future of Trail Sisters as Gina prepares to take office
• Chaffee County, where it is and what makes it special
• The importance of local politics and why it "gets in your blood"
• The realities of campaigning, including fundraising and communication with constituents
• Her goals for her term
• A lot more!

On June 26th, Freetrail helped to launch TrailCon in partnership with Doug Emslie and Brendan Madigan - an industry conference focused on the present and future of the sport. Over the next four weeks, we will release the audio from each panel, starting today with the events panel.

Our panelists:

• Craig Thornley - Race Director, Western States 100
• Catherine Poletti - Co-Founder, UTMB
• Jamil Coury - CEO Aravaipa Running
• Tim Tollefson - Race Director, Mammoth Trail Fest
• David Callahan - Co-CEO, UltraSignup

For the first 10 days of 2024, Freetrail will be rolling out our Trail Runner Of The Year award, presented by Ketone IQ. The award recognizes the top-10 male and female athletes of the 2023 season, as voted on by 1000 trail runners from around the world. 

In #6, we're joined by Judith Wyder from Switzerland and Jonathan Albon from Great Britain.

Judith's highlights:

• 2nd place at Short Trail World Championship
• 1st place at Mammoth Trail Fest
• 2nd place at Golden Trail World Series Final

• 3rd place at Zegama
• 1st place at CCC
• 1st place at Grand Trail Des Templiers

GET 30% OFF YOUR SUBSCRIPTION OF KETONE IQ: HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30

Timothy Olson is an ultrarunnner from Boulder, CO. Originally from Wisconsin, Timothy has become one of the best ultrarunners of his generation, with wins and podium performances at some of the world's most important races, including two victories at the Western States 100. On June 1st, Timothy will embark on the biggest undertaking of his career - an FKT attempt on the 2600 mile Pacific Crest Trail. 

Follow Tim on IG 

FKT Podcast about Tim's FKT attempt

Ram Dass Podcast 

Joe Gray is a world champion mountain runner from Colorado Springs, CO. As an African American athlete, he's a powerful voice of diversity in a pretty homogenous sport. We talk about race relations in the US, growing up Black and raising Black children, and how the rest of us can be better advocates for underrepresented people in our communities. #BlackLivesMatter 

Last week, Business of Fashion published an article calling trail running “activewear’s next big category” citing the emergence of startup brands and the market growth that’s attracted incumbents from the road and track space.

It’s an exciting time in the sport, so we figured we do a show analyzing the brand and product landscape.

Corrine and Dylan are joined by Mike Ambrose, former Product Line Manager at Salomon and current USA country manager at NNormal.

First we chat about some of the sponsor shakeups that have occurred and summarize the athletes who’ve aligned with new partners. Then we go big picture and talk about the fascinating state of the market, providing our perspective on where we are headed.

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Welcome to Rest Day, Freetrail's occasional news pod covering the latest happenings in trail running. The docket today:

• Chuckanut recap
• Barkley Marathons is underway
• Rod Farvard breaks Jim Walmsley's CR at Santa Barbara Nine Trails
• Anton re-signs with La Sportiva
• Golden Tickets at Chianti this weekend
• The Big Alta schedule
• A lot more!

Martina Valmoassoi is an Italian professional trail runner and ski mountaineer. She's also a professional photographer and runs a small brand called Insane Inside. In August, Martina won TDS, the 145k race as part of UTMB week. 

Follow Martina on IG

Vote for TROY

Topher Gaylord is an outdoor industry professional and ultrarunner from Marin County, CA. Topher has been a great friend and mentor throughout my career and he's a person who I really admire. In his career, he's helped to lead iconic outdoor and apparel brands like The North Face, Mountain Hardwear, and Under Armour. In this conversation, we talk about the importance of following your passions in life and how to best bring your professional career in line with what you love pursuing.

Clare Gallagher is a professional runner for Patagonia, living in Boulder, CO. She is among the most decorated athletes of the last decade, winning many of the sport's most iconic events including Western States, CCC, Black Canyon, & Leadville. Outside of her athletic talent, Clare is also just a very interesting person. A third year PhD student, poet, and environmental advocate, Clare has always approached her career differently from other pro athletes. Clare is a close friend who I really respect. It was great to catch up again in today's episode. 

Topics discussed:

• Balancing her pro racing career and PhD work at CU
• Clare's current relationship with running, racing, and the expectations of pro athletes
• Her relationship with the digital world
• Clare's emerging interest in poetry and writing
• Her participation in the Snowman Race in Bhutan last fall
• What Clare is inspired about as an athlete in 2025
• A lot more!

This is a public release of the new member-only podcast from Freetrail called Rest Day. In this episode we talk about my race at Ultra Pirineu last weekend, the incredible returns of Miguel Heras and Nuria Picas, the recently announced selections for the US Mountain Running Teams heading to the world championships in Thailand next month, and then finish by giving some shoutouts to other Freetrailers out there crushing it.

If you enjoy this episode, please consider joining Freetrail Pro!

• Karel's early exposure to long trail hiking
• The original inspiration to pursue FKTs
• The psychological and spiritual space Karel discovers in long efforts
• Karel's two completions on the PCT
• Comparing and contrasting the AT and the PCT
• Tara Dower's new AT FKT and their different approaches
• Karel's brother-in-law and crew chief
• Lessons from his 2023 Barkley finish 
• Announcing his next big project beginning early next year
• A lot more!

Ladia Albertson-Junkans is a trail runner from Seattle, WA. In this episode we talk about her history in the sport, her win at the Chuckanut 50k, and look ahead to her race this weekend at the Canyons 100k. 

Follow Ladia on IG

Film Screening - Denver

Film Screening - Portland