In this last of 4 episodes exploring the Mountain Masochist Trail Races, I sit down with the current race directors - Tim Spaulding, Jordan Cooter, and Brenton Swyers - and find out a little more about who they are, why they have taken on this challenging race to direct, and their mission for the present and future of this event.

I think you'll agree that the race is in great hands and I look forward to seeing this group continue to foster both the old school history of this race as well as the needed adaptations to keep things growing and relevant here in 2025. Enjoy!

Some races you just HAVE to run. Mountain Masochist is one of them. But how did the Montebello Country store become such hallowed ground in east coast ultrarunning?

42 years ago David Horton wanted to challenge people, just as he does today. In this episodes we talk about starting the Mountain Masochist, why it has remained so special, and why people continue to come and challenge themselves on this rugged mountain course on the first Saturday in November. Enjoy!

From a chance co-worker telling her about this thing called ultrarunning, to now preparing for her 20th consecutive finish at the Mountain Masochist 50-miler, Alisa Springman has a lot of deep content in between.

From an very impressive ultrasignup resume to race directing to being a board member of the VHTRC, Alisa is the type of person who really defines the best of ultrarunning and what has kept this sport so great over the twenty plus years she has been a consistent participant.

Join us for my second in a series about Mountain Masochist with someone who has a lot to say about this race and the community surrounding it. This interview overperforms! Enjoy!

It's 1983. "Land Down Under" by Men at Work is at the top of the Billboard charts and Ronald Reagan was in his first term as President. If you were a runner, you ran on roads. But if you were Tom Green, you somehow found a paper application for this race called "The Mountain Masochist" and mailed it with a check to a man named David Horton. And the rest, is history.

Tom Green is a legend, and the Mountain Masochist trail run is legendary. I'm going to spend a few podcasts talking all about Mountain Masochist and its unique history in American ultrarunning and could think of no better way than to get a picture of what it was like to sign up for the very first one. Who better to ask about this year than Tom Green!

So lace up your Nike Waffle Racers, don't worry about water bottles because nobody carried those, and join us for a really fun conversation about ultrarunning 42 years ago.

The Promise Land 50k was started in 2001 by the one and only David Horton. In this episode we talk about creating the Promise Land 50k, why its as much an event as it is a race, how in the heck Horton's running class students have such an incredible finishing rate, and what the most important things are in a race according to the one and only, DHo. Music: Nothing You Can Do by Turnpike Troubadours.

Should I really eat before a training run? (Who wants to eat at 5am?!) How can I not have a gut blow up at Promise Land? Does Jordan Chang drink water or sports drink? This episode welcomes Kristen Chang, MS, RDN, CSSD to provide some guidance in the overwhelming space of sports nutrition in ultrarunning. Whether you're training for your first 50k or are wondering why you're still messing up your nutrition after a decade plus of ultrarunning, I hope you'll find some gems in here, or at the least a little Van Halen to keep you fired up! (please excuse my scratchy voice as I'm recovering from a million winter viruses!). Music: Top Jimmy, by Van Halen

Jim is not your typical ultra runner - but then really who is? Jim Hughes is now part of our Charlottesville Area Trail Runners 50k Training Program team, sending out those weekly emails/posts about our Saturday group runs and often proudly securing the back of the pack on those runs. In this episode we will get to know Jim, learn how he finishes the Promise Land 50k each year with "the minimum training possible", and how to stay within your means and get the job done. Enjoy! Music: Walkin' by Widespread Panic.

How can you get into ultrarunning as a mom of young kids? Of teens? How can you train and race consistently for over 20 years and snag top ten performances in your 60s? How important is community building in trail running? Sophie Speidel is one of those eternal figures in Virginia ultrarunning and we got into all of that and more - prepare to be inspired! Music: These are Days, by 10,000 Maniacs.

We are kicking off the 9th year of the CATS 50k training program, and we are gonna try something new this year - a podcast! Instead of making it to some bar on a Tuesday night in January, now you can just put your earbuds in, head out on a run, and get inspired to train and prepare for your first trail ultramarathon - the Promise Land 50k on April 26th, 2024.

Danton and Jimmie discuss their first entry into ultrarunning 13 years ago, all the things we didn't know, and what we would do differently. Music: Feeling Sad by Jimmie Rhoades, Danton, and Rusty Rhoades from our Hellgate video a few years back.

This is the first in a series of podcasts about our training program.

Our first group run will be on Saturday Jan 11th, location TBA.

This year's training plan can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X9kqwAzvK33lcy4pJGohhhcY1x8xBF009tocHjiED6g/edit?usp=sharing

Information on the Promise Land 50k can be found here: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=123012