Mel Webb⁠ is a storyteller working at the intersection of bikepacking, endurance sport, and podcasting. By day, Mel produces podcasts for a B2B agency. Beyond the nine to five, she works as the media manager for the ⁠Mountain Races⁠, a series of self supported bikepacking events across Morocco, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, and now Turkey. The races include the Atlas Mountain Race, Hellenic Mountain Race, Silk Road Mountain Race, and the newly added Taurus Mountain Race, each sending riders deep into remote mountain terrain with no outside support.

From inside a control car on course, Mel helps shape the story of each race in real time. She coordinates photographers and filmmakers spread across hundreds of kilometers of terrain, builds the daily narrative arcs that keep followers connected to the race, manages sponsor needs, and hosts and produces the race podcast that ties the coverage together.

In this conversation, we talk about what it actually looks like to cover an ultra endurance event from the media side. Why Atlas Mountain Race can feel like its own endurance effort even when you are not the one pedaling. And the invisible work behind consistent coverage that still protects what is sacred for the riders out there.

Mel shares what it is like sleeping on cafe floors in the rain, living on Pringles and omelets, downloading thousands of photos in the middle of the night, and trying to stay steady through the highs, the pressure, and the inevitable crash once it is all over.

We also get into the bigger questions around storytelling in endurance sport. How much coverage is too much. Where the line is between inviting people into the experience and turning it into a spectacle. And why sometimes the best storytelling comes from restraint.

We also talk about her upcoming move from Vancouver to the UK, what she hopes the time zone shift might change about her daily rhythm, and why she is choosing to race the Highland Trail 550 this spring. Hard on purpose. Scary on purpose. The kind of thing you sign up for when you want the journey more than the stamp.

⁠DETOURS ⁠

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Wander is an independent platform centered on movement, creativity, and connection in the outdoor space. We share conversations with athletes, creatives, and culture-shapers building thoughtful lives around sport and the landscapes that shape them.

This episode is part of our ongoing print-focused series exploring slow media in the outdoor world.

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