In this episode, we talk with the 2nd place male finisher at the 2022 Bandera 100k, Tyler Fox. Tyler is based in Lander, WY and has been quietly crushing some of the top mountain ultra trail races across the American West including the Bear 100,  Bighorn 100, Never Summer 100k, and Speedgoat 50k to name a few.

In addition to the recap of his race at Bandera and his initial thoughts on Western States, we talk about his coaching business and the state of that profession in our sport, the trail running scene in Lander, WY, what’s exciting and concerning him most about the trajectory of our sport, and the issue of eating disorders among trail runners. 

Multiple listeners of the show reached out beforehand to note that Tyler may very well be the most underrated athlete on the American scene right now and I think I agree. I’m excited to see what Tyler can do at Western States this coming June. 

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This episode is the first in a series we are calling “Golden Ticket Talks” where we interview the first and second place male and female finishers at each of the 2022 Golden Ticket races.

In this episode we talk with the winner of the Bandera 100k, Marianne Hogan. Marianne is based in Montreal, Canada and runs for Salomon.

In addition to the recap of her race at Bandera and her initial thoughts on Western States, we talk about the trail running scene in Quebec, her work as a guide for a paralympic athlete at the Tokyo games, her history in the sport including a 4 year stretch of injuries that led to a triumphant return this past fall at Ultra Trail Cape Town, and more.

I love seeing East Coast athletes like Marianne shine. Expect her to be a top competitor at Western States in June. 

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Dani Moreno is a professional Trail Runner for Hoka and Rabbit based in Mammoth Lakes, CA.

In this conversation, we talk about her how she overcame burnout during her college years to launch a successful career in the mountain running world, life in Santa Barbara and Mammoth Lakes, her partnerships with Hoka and Rabbit, the sub ultra trail racing scene here in the United States and abroad over in Europe, her thoughts on increasing female participation and mentoring the next generation of elite female athletes in our sport, and much more. 

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Additional episodes you might enjoy:

#42 - Sarah Cummings
#39 - Hillary Allen
#37 - Corrine Malcolm
#29 - Sabrina Stanley
#23 - Abby Hall

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This is the first episode in a monthly series we are calling the “Coaching Call”.

For context - In April, I will be lining up for the Canyons 100k. Ryan Ghelfi, the Head Coach at Trails and Tarmac, is going to help me prepare.  We decided to take it a step further by working in total transparency. Our calls will be recorded and the training log will be viewable 24/7 for you to analyze.

Here is how these episodes will work.

At the beginning of each month, we will hop on a call to recap and analyze the training from the previous 4 weeks. It will be like any normal check in call of ours, except it will be recorded. Nothing will be held back. You will get total insight into my goals, how the workouts are going, what’s working, what isn’t working, what I'm concerned about, and questions I have.  There will be 6 total episodes including a pre-race and post-race call through the end of April.

Hopefully you can see yourself in these conversations and apply some of the topics that we cover to your own training.

In future episodes we will be entertaining audience questions, so reach out on social with topics you’d like us to cover. I will also link in the show notes to Ryan's social channels as well as the Trails and Tarmac website in case you want to get in touch.

In this first episode we kick off our coaching relationship that officially starts on January 3rd. We look into how I’m feeling, how training will be structured, strategies to stay focused, how to think about goal setting and more. Enjoy!

Timestamps

• (3:05) - why we are publicizing these coaching calls
• (4:16) - a rundown of Finn's running history, the coaching relationship
• (8:09) - the performance benefits of public accountability
• (11:10) - why Finn chose the Canyons 100K
• (13:25) - the challenges to producing a consistent training block over multiple months
• (28:07) - training learnings to date
• (38:18) - what listeners can expect in future episodes

Links

• Get coached by Trails and Tarmac
• Email Ryan ([email protected])
• Follow Ryan Ghelfi on Instagram
• Follow Singletrack on Instagram
• Follow Finn on Strava
• See the Canyons 100K training log here

Additional Episodes You May Enjoy: 

• #41 - Coaching Call #2 | Canyons 100K Progress, Training Partners, Coaching A Trail Team
• #17 - Ryan Ghelfi | Post Sponsorship Athlete Life, Trail Running Teams, UTMB, FKT Scene
  
  

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 Sabrina Stanley is a professional Mountain Ultra Trail Runner for Adidas Terrex. 

In this episode, we talk about her recent race at Madeira Island and position in the sport, the focus on UTMB in 2022, how she thinks about race preparation and recovery, and life on the Adidas trail team. 

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Additional episodes you might enjoy:

#42 - Sarah Cummings
#39 - Hillary Allen
#37 - Corrine Malcolm
#31 - Dani Moreno
#23 - Abby Hall

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Joe Vennare is the co-founder of Fitt Insider, a platform for fitness and wellness operators that includes a podcast, newsletter, jobs board, and early stage fund that invests in related companies. 

We spend the first part of the conversation exploring Joe’s background in the industry, how he is building the business, and how he thinks about the intersection of media and entrepreneurship. 

We then transition into a discussion of relevant companies in the fitness and wellness space that trail runners might be interested in like wearable technology, supplements, and stuff like that. 

We conclude the conversation with advice Joe has for listeners interested in building media, e-commerce, and event businesses in our sport.

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Dave Dombrow and Kevin Fallon are the co-founders of Speedland, a new trail running brand on the market. 

In this conversation, we explore their backgrounds in the running industry at Nike, Under Armour, and Puma and how those experiences informed the mission at Speedland. 

We then get into the work they are doing at Speedland and how they are re-positioning their primary product (the SL:PDX) as a piece of equipment, instead of a shoe. 

We also get into their general philosophies on differentiation and communicating value, how they determine their target persona, the advantages and disadvantages of starting a new brand in our sport, and the lessons of the entrepreneurial journey so far. 

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Sam Parsons is one of the co-founders of Tinman Elite, a professional running team based in Boulder, CO.

We spend the vast majority of this episode going through the playbook for how to build a running team and what that model would look like in the world of mountain ultra trail running.

For Salt Lake area listeners, you know we’ve tried this before. And for fans of the sport, you know we’ve had forms of this before like with the Coconino Cowboys. There is still a gap to fill though.

I hope this conversation fires up someone somewhere to try again. Let's go!

Timestamps

• (1:46) - the story of Tinman Elite
• (4:01) - speculating on the potential for trail running teams 
• (7:09) - the Tinman playbook for recruiting team members
• (12:17) - how Tinman coordinates training, racing schedules
• (17:34) - why aspiring pro runners still default to the roads and track
• (22:54) - how Sam would grow the sport of trail running
• (26:47) - Adidas internship
• (32:17) - brand marketing inspirations for running teams
• (34:08) - how Tinman creates content for social media
• (46:08) - lessons from Tinman for the next trail running team

Links

• Watch the episode on Youtube
• Follow Singletrack on Instagram
• Follow Sam Parsons on Instagram
• Tinman Elite

Additional Episodes You May Be Interested In:

• #49 - Reid Coolsaet | Olympic 2:10 Marathoner Switches To Mountain Ultra Trail Running
• #40 - Lee Sackett | Brooks Running, Running Industry Careers, Running Culture Talk
• #19 - Ask Me Anything | Golden Ticket Series, Professional Trail Runners, Ultra Training
  
  
  

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Kyle Richardson is a musician and professional mountain athlete for Black Diamond and La Sportiva based in Boulder, CO.

In this conversation, Kyle shares interesting perspectives on Boulder, the FKT scene,  and the intersection of music and movement. We talk philosophy. We go back and forth on a sort of artistic wishlist for trail running. And way more. It's all rolled into one big conversation about the cultural direction of our sport.
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Additional episodes you might enjoy:

#40 - Lee Sackett
#18 - Moe Lauchert
#16 - Logan Williams

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Karl Meltzer returns to the podcast to discuss the details of the new Speedgoat-UTMB race partnership. We also talk about his latest 100 mile victory and speculate on whether there will ever be a golden ticket race in Utah. Enjoy!

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