Singletrack With Mathias Eichler

James Lauriello joins me on a tour de force through the entire world of trail running. We chat about ultra vs. short trail and the role our trail media plays. We ponder what the arrival of ACG means and how the established brands in the trail space are going to respond. And finally we look ahead at the (re-)launch of the US Skyrunner National Series coming this summer.

• James Lauriello on Instagram
• The Steep Stuff Podcast
• The Steep Stuff Podcast on Instagram
• US Skyrunner National Series

Get more:

• Singletrack.fm
• Rock Candy Running
• Trail Running Film Festival

Brought to you by Electric Cable Car - your trail and mountain news!

Adam Lee stops by Singletrack just a couple of days ahead of hosting his first of several TRFF show in 2026. Adam and his team sold out the Rio in Vancouver, BC and we chat about what his unique approach to hosting and marketing TRFF in his community. Also, Adam's next race on his calendar: The Fat Dog 120… that's like almost 200 kilometers!

• Community Trail Running
• Trail Running Film Festival

Get more:

• Singletrack.fm
• Rock Candy Running
• Trail Running Film Festival

Brought to you by Electric Cable Car - your trail and mountain news!

Go Beyond Racing, one of Pacific Northwest longest running and most reputable trail racing organizations just went through a major brand refresh and co-owner Renee Janssen is here to share the backstory. We dive into the origins of Go Beyond and Renee's motivation to leave her corporate cubicle to take on race directing full time alongside her husband Todd.

We also chat about the important work of the Trail Mix Fund a nonprofit the two founded during the COVID pandemic which is aimed to bring more diversity to our trail running community.

Get more:

• Singletrack.fm
• Rock Candy Running
• Trail Running Film Festival

Brought to you by Electric Cable Car - your trail and mountain news!

On the eve of one of America's largest ultra trail race, the Black Canyon Ultras, Mountain Outpost announces another new initiative: 'Race Purse'- a crowdfunding platform for prize purses for elite runners. In recent months Black Canyon, and Aravaipa have gotten under increased scrutiny for not offering any prize money at all. This new project, seemingly outsourcing the solution created lots of chatter online and Krissi is joining me to try to make sense of it all.

• Krissi on Singletrack
• Krissi on Instagram
• Race Purse by Mountain Outpost
• On Electric Cable Car: Black Canyon Ultras Prize Money
• On Electric Cable Car: Jamil Coury is the most powerful person in Trail Running

Get more:

• Singletrack.fm
• Rock Candy Running
• Trail Running Film Festival

Brought to you by Electric Cable Car - your trail and mountain news!

Joe McConaughy has achieved a lot in his life already, but this year he's going to embark on two new and daunting adventures : fatherhood and race directing. I don't know which one's harder, but we chat about both and a lot more on this episode of Singletrack.

• Joe's coaching website
• Joe on Instagram
• Youth Trail Project
• Vert Running Series

Get more:

• Singletrack.fm
• Rock Candy Running
• Trail Running Film Festival

Brought to you by Electric Cable Car - your trail and mountain news!

Austin is taking the big leap into self-employment and joins me on Singletrack to chat about his new business Point to Point Photography. As a trained photographer with years of experience making connections in the outdoor industry Austin is ready to step behind the lens and share his vision of running on trails in wild places with the world.

• Austin on Instagram
• Point to Point Photography

Get more:

• Singletrack.fm
• Rock Candy Running
• Trail Running Film Festival

Brought to you by Electric Cable Car - your trail and mountain news!

This week we're opening the much anticipated registration for Beast of Big Creek. Who better to help me launch all this than the person who reached out first when I wanted to get Beast on the radar of The International Skyrunning Federation. Ryan Kerrigan is the executive director of Skyrunning USA and on Singletrack we chat about the history of skyrunning and the process it took to bring the Skyrunner World Seriers back to the US. 2026 will be an exciting time in short and steep trail racing.

• Beast of Big Creek
• Skyrunning USA
• International Skyrunning Federation
• Skyrunner World Series

Get more:

• Singletrack.fm
• Rock Candy Running
• Trail Running Film Festival

Brought to you by Electric Cable Car - your trail and mountain news!

Nicholas Triolo wrote my favorite book of 2025: 'The Way Around' and he's back on Singletrack to chat about it. We discuss the process of writing, the inspiration for the stories, and what a great travel books are meant to do for the reader. You'll think different about that loop in the woods next time you head out on your run, I promise.

• Nicholas's website
• Nicholas's blog
• Nicholas's book 'The Way Around'

Get more:

• Singletrack.fm
• Rock Candy Running
• Trail Running Film Festival

Brought to you by Electric Cable Car - your trail and mountain news!

Alex Bond joins Singletrack for one last hurrah of 2025 - and yes, I am fully aware that I'm posting this already in 2026. So, a first hurrah of 2026. We're chatting about the world of trail and mountain running over the past year and looking ahead and the new one. Hope it will be a happy one for y'all!

• Alex Bond on Strava
• RE/Run 2025 on Electric Cable Car

Get more:

• Singletrack.fm
• Rock Candy Running
• Trail Running Film Festival

Brought to you by Electric Cable Car - your trail and mountain news!

It's the end of 2025 and I'm joined by special guest Krissi Polentz to chat about this past year in trail running. What stood out? What were the big stories and big misses that shaped out sport and culture? We're taking a look at the players that speak, the businesses that spend money, and the movers that have shape our sport this past year. And of course, we're making some predictions for what this all will mean for the coming one. Happy Holidays and thanks for being part of the ride.

• Krissi's website: The Runetarian
• Krissi on Instagram
• Cover photo by Mike McMonagle

Connect:

• Singletrack.fm
• Rock Candy Running
• Trail Running Film Festival

Brought to you by Electric Cable Car - your trail and mountain news!