We open with life updates and stress, then welcome Katie Grossman to share a raw, relentless story about postpartum complications, medical gaslighting, a rare tumor, and the long road to a labral tear diagnosis and surgery. The goal shifts from podiums to presence, from finish lines to finding flow and community again.

• why Katie’s story matters to the ultra community
• we met Katie crewing at Utah 115 
• Katie's early ultras, Havelina chaos and learning the hard way
• the magic of hundreds and the mid-race flow
• Hardrock dreams, Kroger’s Canteen and belonging
• pregnancy hip snap and years of dismissal
• emergency C-section and abandoned postpartum care
• rare sarcoma, multiple surgeries and core reconstruction
• “you’re not worth fixing” and finding the right surgeon
• labral tear surgery, patient advocacy and recovery truth
• redefining success with a coach and consistency
• voluntary pain versus chronic injury pain
• birth shame, a healing second delivery and perspective
• running for her daughters, skiing and learning new skills

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at [email protected].

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.

We talk with Dave about the slow, messy slide into overtraining syndrome, the missteps that worsened it, and the practical tools that brought him back to strong, sustainable running. Along the way, we share a content warning about a graphic post-credits medical story and explain why health metrics and honest pacing matter.

• Catalina 50-mile recap and the mental game on long grinds
• What overtraining syndrome is and why tests look normal
• Early flags: insomnia, excess sweat, dizziness, migraines
• Diagnosis by exclusion and the limits of quick fixes
• Hormones, low testosterone, mood changes and trade-offs
• Gut findings: H. pylori, candida and systemic stress
• Returning via true easy training, vert, and HRV trends
• Using rest, fueling, and life stress management
• Why “listen to your body” is a performance skill
• Publishing the OTS case series and shared patterns

After we say bye, stay for the post-credits story. Trigger warning: blood, injury, intense medical condition, male sexual organs. Dave shares a personal story and has a few notes: "Sharing and laughing about the experience has given me a sense of control over it, and sharing it more broadly feels like a continuation of that. A penile fracture isn’t all that uncommon, but it’s rarely talked about—probably out of shame or embarrassment. My hope is that sharing my story could help others. Maybe runners will be a little more cautious with OTS too!"

Check out the article on OTS we referenced in the episode: LINK TO FULL ARTICLE

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at [email protected].

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at [email protected].

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.

A single photo can flip your life. That’s where John Castle’s story begins—49 years old, 45 pounds heavier, borderline diabetic, and staring at a version of himself he didn’t want to keep. Fast forward to today and John is a force in obstacle course racing, stacking Spartan Ultras, conquering World’s Toughest Mudder, and chasing Barkley dreams with an approach built on simplicity, routine, and a ruthless mindset.

We dig into the craft behind his late-career rise. John lays out his daily hill—900 feet from his front door to the county high point—and how he threads running with functional strength: burpees at half-mile marks, rock carries, rope climbs, pull-ups in the woods, and box jumps on a cable spool. He explains why he quit the gym, modeled training after top OCR athletes, and switched to high-rep bodyweight work that solved decades-old knee pain and sharpened his grip, durability, and efficiency.

Race day strategy gets real. John talks pacing a 50K with 60 to 70 obstacles, keeping his heart rate honest, and using transitions to refuel without ego. He shares what didn’t work (carb loading) and what did (beet juice, steady hydration, clean habits). We unpack the art of not quitting: finishing a lap with a fractured finger, course-finding at the Barkley Fall Classic by reading footprints in mud, and staying composed when fatigue blurs judgment. His take on aging is refreshing—best fitness at 58, faster times through consistency, and zero interest in shrinking goals.

If you need a shove to recommit or a template to rebuild, this conversation delivers practical, repeatable ideas: build a route you can start daily, align training with your event, keep the work simple, and let consistency do the heavy lifting. Listen, then tell us the one habit you’ll change this week. Subscribe, share with a training partner, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at [email protected].

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.

We’re excited to share Mark Marzen’s story with yall. Mark has been Jon’s running coach for almost two years. His story is inspiring, choosing running, learning to coach, and slowly improving to become a fast mountain ultra runner.

Check out https://www.golden-endurance.com/ for coaching and PT.

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Ready for a true glow-up story from mid-pack grit to mastery? We sit down with coach and ultrarunner Mark Marzen to trace how a messy early chapter—late nights, little structure—gave way to a decade of deliberate training, smarter fueling, and better movement that culminated in a 100-mile finish in 15 hours and change. That milestone isn’t just a time; it’s proof that consistency, context, and community can transform a life one season at a time.

Mark rewinds to the days before GPS watches and Strava, when finding trails meant mailing lists and mentors. He shares the hard lessons from his first 50 and 100—blisters, IT band blowups, and midnight hallucinations—and how those setbacks shaped his coaching philosophy: the best plan accounts for your whole life, not just your splits.

As a coach with Golden Endurance, Mark supports athletes across the spectrum, from brand-new 5K hopefuls to podium chasers. We break down how to choose a coach you click with, why communication is the true training multiplier, and where tools like AI fall short without human context. You’ll hear candid talk about burnout, post-race blues, and the mindset shift from chasing highs to building a long-term identity as a runner. Plus, a recovery ritual we fully endorse: donut week.

If you’re navigating winter motivation, planning your next ultra, or debating whether coaching is worth it, this conversation offers practical guidance and grounded inspiration. Subscribe, share with a running friend, and leave a quick rating to help more athletes find the show. What’s the next brick you’ll lay this season?

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at [email protected].

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.

We're so excited to share this interview with Camille Herron with you! Camille was open and honest exploring her history, neurodiversity, and advocacy in ultra running. We hope you enjoy!

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Start with the headlines—world records, world titles, six-day brilliance—and you might miss the real story: how Camille Herron rebuilt elite performance by honoring her body, her brain, and her boundaries. We sit down with Camille for a candid conversation that moves from Oklahoma wheat fields to global podiums, and into the often-invisible realities of neurodiversity in endurance sport.

Camille unpacks the science behind her durability, from high-frequency doubles that protect bone health to the squat rack that finally fixed a stubborn hamstring chain. She shares how targeted bloodwork revealed high iron during perimenopause—fatigue that felt like anemia but wasn’t—and the protocol changes that brought her energy back. Those hard-won lessons translate into clear, actionable insights for runners navigating injury cycles, hormonal shifts, and the pressure to do “more” when smart adaptation does better.

We also go deep on advocacy. After an adult diagnosis of autism and ADHD, Camille asked for a simple accommodation at a 24-hour world championship: a quieter, non-enclosed aid space. The system wasn’t ready. She chose not to race without assurances and, in doing so, modeled what many athletes need to see—boundaries as performance tools, not a lack of toughness. We talk about practical steps race directors can take, from disability categories and transparent aid-station info to designated sensory-friendly areas that help neurodivergent runners compete at their best.

Along the way, Camille reflects on the professionalization of ultrarunning, the reality of online bullying, and how to protect integrity when attention turns messy. The throughline is powerful: excellence grows when we make room for difference. If you care about inclusive races, smart training, and sustaining a career you can be proud of, this one will stay with you.

If this conversation resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more runners find the show.

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at [email protected].

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.

Join us as we discuss the life and adventures of Epic Bill Bradley, an incredible story of perseverance and pushing ones limits. Epic Bill has done some of the hardest adventures on this planet, including a triple Ironman, quad Badwater, and so much more. We only scratch the surface of Bill's stories. Hope you enjoy!

You can find Bill's film (referenced in the pod) on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.  We recommend a watch. Enjoy! 

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Start with a slow jog through Boulder—flat miles, farm-stand honey, and training chatter—then pivot into a full-on masterclass in grit with Epic Bill Bradley. Bill built a $10M video business, went bankrupt, lost his identity, woke up at 3 a.m. with poison oak, and ran a 50 miler to feel human again. That decision launches a story that fuses ultrarunning, cold-water swimming, and entrepreneurship into one relentless throughline: choose hard things on purpose.

We go deep on Badwater’s furnace—real heat management, tarmac radiation, crew strategy, and the dangers of overhydration. Then we flip to Arrowhead’s brutal cold: negative thirty-five nights, frozen hands in “California gloves,” empty checkpoints in the dark, and the stubborn pride of showing up again and again. Bill’s attempts stack into a philosophy: if it can’t kill you, it’ll bore me. Under the bravado lives a practical ethic—boredom breeds depression, challenge restores meaning.

Bill draws sharp parallels between building companies and running ultras: uncertain timelines, lonely stretches, and the discipline to keep moving when the finish line disappears. His English Channel quests read like a survival manual—boat pilots, tide windows, seasickness, and the harsh moment a “four miles to go” sign becomes “seven” after a storm pushes him off the point. We unpack gear evolution, blister triage, trench foot swelling, and how twenty minutes of motion can make pain manageable. The Grand Canyon septuple crossing, done only because someone else did six, underscores a simple loop: set the goal, stretch it, learn, repeat.

What’s next for Bill? A six-minute mile after 25 years, an eye on 200 milers, a Santa Barbara Channel swim, and another shot at the English Channel with smarter tactics. It’s raw, funny, and deeply useful—whether you’re chasing a PR, a start-up milestone, or the courage to take a dream off the shelf. If you’re ready to rethink your limits, press play, then share the hardest thing you’re willing to attempt this year. And if the conversation moves you, subscribe, leave a review, and pass it to a friend who needs a push.

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at [email protected].

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.

Join our discussion with Pete Kostelnick, Trans-continental record holder, multiple Badwater finisher, Team USA representative at the IAU 24-hour world championships, and so much more. We dive into what it takes to run these multi-day and multi-week efforts, his recent car accident recovery, and fun stories from out on the trail (or road). Enjoy!

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What if your body could learn to run 50 miles a day and get stronger after week two? We kick off with our Boulder Skyline project updates, then sit down with transcontinental record holder Pete Kostelnik to explore the craft of going very far, very long. From the hot, dry logic of Badwater to the humid grind that slowly cooks you, Pete breaks down heat strategy, pacing, and why some environments quietly win the war.

Pete’s story arcs from a beer-fueled 40-miler to a 100 in the Ozarks, a chance encounter with Marshall Ulrich’s book, and ultimately the decision to run coast to coast. He explains how the first 7–14 days of a transcon feel like a revolt before the body adapts, recovery speeds up, and durability rises. We dive into the Alaska-to-Florida traverse: choosing a stroller that can be serviced on the road, swapping tires mid-run, scrounging calories in remote towns, and staying alive on narrow shoulders while phones glow behind windshields. The surprise isn’t the danger—it’s how kind people are when you meet them face to face.

We also talk about why Badwater keeps calling: the crew every ten minutes, the transformation from individual race to true team effort, and the austere beauty of Death Valley to the Sierra. Then everything turns: a high-speed crash shatters Pete’s pelvis. He rebuilds with patience, PT, and a new respect for load, hikes most of Cocodona, and returns to Leadville to close the loop—with a sub-25 buckle. Now it’s on to the World 24-Hour Championships, where miles stack into team medals and 160-plus becomes the target. The theme running through every segment is practical resilience: start by getting out the door, let consistency carry you, and solve small problems before they become big ones.

If this resonated, tap follow, share it with a friend who needs a nudge to start, and leave a quick review so more runners can find the show.

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at [email protected].

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.

Jon Eisen guest-hosts the Midpacker podcast with full-time host Troy Meadows discussing Troy's first DNF at the Dark Divide 100. Cross-posted on the Midpacker Podcast feed. Check out Troy's Midpacker Podcast wherever you get your podcasts!

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Three volcanoes on the horizon. Volcanic ash underfoot. Twenty-six miles of wilderness with almost no help. We teamed up with Troy Meadows of the Mid-Packer Pod for a raw, unfiltered look at the Dark Divide 100—one finish in 39:20 and one DNF at mile 52, both packed with hard-won lessons you can actually use.

We start with the pre-race curveballs: a late briefing, self check-in, and a course built on dirt bike trails that trade tidy switchbacks for deep ruts and loose rock. The opening ridgeline delivers a dream panorama—St. Helens, Adams, and Rainier sliding in and out of haze—and a reminder to keep ego out of the first climb. Then the course bares its teeth. The wilderness segment stretches for 26 miles between full aid, heat rises, humidity clamps down, and the trickle you hoped to filter isn’t enough. A fragile stomach becomes a full spiral: rationed sips, dry heaves, dirt naps, and the slowest ten miles of the day. At Snagtooth, we talk triage—cold spring water, walking tamales, naps, and time math—and the moment you decide if you’re still committed to a 48-hour cutoff.

On the flip side, we break down the steady path to a buckle: conservative pacing, one short sleep that flips a switch, relentless forward progress through day-two sun, and a near-disaster when skipping the final aid station almost torpedoes the finish. Expect practical strategy, not platitudes: alternate textures and flavors for nutrition, carry extra sodium, take caffeine when you wake, soak layers at every real water source, and script decision points before you’re exhausted. We also get personal about pressure, relationships, and why the conversation you have at home can shape the one you have with yourself at mile 80.

If you love real talk about ultra strategy, heat management, and the mental game of back-half survival, this one’s for you. Listen, share with a mid-pack friend who needs it, and tell us: where’s your crux, and what’s your plan B? Subscribe, leave a review, and drop your biggest Dark Divide takeaway—we’ll feature our favorites next week.

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at [email protected].

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.

Join our all-encompassing discussion with World Champion OCR Racer Amelia Boone. We discuss everything from writing, where to run in Cupertino, CA, experiences at Barkley, her High Lonesome 100 finish and resulting injury, recovery from eating disorders, and her feelings on not having children. It was a powerful, honest, and open discussion that Jon loves to showcase on the podcast. Hope y'all enjoy!

Check out Amelia's Substack.

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A world champion who won’t hide the mess—that’s why this conversation with Amelia Boone hits so hard. We start with the light stuff—Pikes Peak crowds, race-directing curveballs, and the kind of trail etiquette that makes you laugh later—and then move into the stories that define a life in motion. Amelia brings sharp insight on writing and why useful race reports still matter, the pivot from obstacle racing to ultras, and what happens when early success meets lessons your bones won’t let you ignore.

From High Lonesome’s “fall in front of the photographer” moment to finding out later it was a patella fracture, Amelia talks through risk management, fueling choices at altitude, and the unglamorous truth of hypothermia prevention: taped seams, gloves, and respecting the weather. We head into the fog of Barkley, where briars, cliffs, and veterans’ wisdom matter more than any GPS track. The mystique isn’t an accident—it’s the point—and the community around the campfire is as real as the miles.

The heart of the episode is honesty. Amelia shares why she spoke publicly about her eating disorder, what recovery looks like in daily practice, and how ultrarunning can become a healthier exchange—fueling for function, choosing presence over perfection, and refusing to let a calorie calculator run your life. We also talk about the layered grief of not having children, the space between binary labels, and how to build meaning through mentorship, community, and showing up for others. The takeaway is simple and hard: stop gripping so tight to outcomes, take care of your body, and savor the moments that last—like singing down a final descent with someone you love.

If this conversation moved you, follow, share with a friend, and leave a review. Tell us what lesson you’re taking to your next long run—we’re reading every word.

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at [email protected].

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.