The Mile 99 Interview

Wow, where does the time go?? Hello again everyone, and sorry for being out of touch since our last episode in July before TRT. A lot has happened since then for both of us, and we've missed our trail running community and audience, and we're so glad you're all still here for us.

Jess and I sat down for a catching-up episode to get us back on track, and we're looking forward to more episodes this fall. We covered what we've been doing for the past few months, some of the changes with group runs in the area and some upcoming races to get excited about.

We wrapped up with a giveaway from the Wild Runners Auburn store (big thanks to them!), and congratulations to our winner Bret Lang! Bret is the local brains behind Bret's Big Gamble, a fun random running challenge for the fall, so click the link to read up on it and DM Bret ASAP to register.

Tune in for this episode, and we can't wait to see you all on the trails!
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The Mile 99 Interview | Linktree

Your Hosts: Jessica Harris / Greg Larkin

The Mile 99 Interview is creating podcast episodes | Patreon

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Intro/outro music: Joseph McDade - Elevation: https://josephmcdade.com/music/elevation

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Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Runs race director George Ruiz joined us again this year to dig into all of the last minute details of the race, answer runner and crew questions and get everyone pumped for the race! We got through a ton of information and audience questions, and if you're running, crewing, volunteering or supporting the race in any way, don't miss this one!

TRT main site

TRT live tracker

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The Mile 99 Interview | Linktree

Your Hosts: Jessica Harris / Greg Larkin

The Mile 99 Interview is creating podcast episodes | Patreon

Venmo | The Mile 99 Interview

Intro/outro music: Joseph McDade - Elevation: https://josephmcdade.com/music/elevation

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Our favorite guest, Western States race director Craig Thornley, made some time in his extremely busy schedule before the race to join us for some updates and his plans for the rest of the year. Things are slowly getting back to normal after the Mosquito Fire, and the Duncan Canyon and Dusty Corners aid stations can be accessed via Mosquito Ridge Road again - welcome news!

We also talked about other events surrounding the race like the Friends of the Trail awards and the International Runners' Picnic. The pre-race excitement is building!

We wrapped up with hearing about the plan for The Rusty Nails team to head back to Chamonix for the PTL race and all of the training required this time around. We can't wait to follow the team on the live tracker there this fall!

See you at States!

Main web site: https://www.wser.org/

2024 pre-race medical series videos: https://www.facebook.com/wser100/videos
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The Mile 99 Interview | Linktree

Your Hosts: Jessica Harris / Greg Larkin

The Mile 99 Interview is creating podcast episodes | Patreon

Venmo | The Mile 99 Interview

Intro/outro music: Joseph McDade - Elevation: https://josephmcdade.com/music/elevation

Support the show

Ken Michal joined us for an in-depth conversation about his journey from heavy smoking to his current endeavors at all distances of trail runs as well as long timed events. He recently completed the Pigtails Challenge 200 miler in Washington state, winning in a time of just over 71 hours.

We delve into his philosophy around training and racing and all of the things that he has learned over his many years running over 150 races, so tune in to hear more! And check out his podcast too - link below!

Running Stupid podcast
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The Mile 99 Interview | Linktree

Your Hosts: Jessica Harris / Greg Larkin

The Mile 99 Interview is creating podcast episodes | Patreon

Venmo | The Mile 99 Interview

Intro/outro music: Joseph McDade - Elevation: https://josephmcdade.com/music/elevation

Support the show

Folsom runner Todd Woodward first discovered road running later in life and then found his true calling of trail and ultrarunning right before the pandemic started in 2020. He has taken an analytical approach to his training, nutrition, strategy and racing and has great advice for others looking to pick up the sport after the age of 40.

He has just finished a sub-14 hour Miwok 100k in absolutely horrible weather conditions and lived to tell! This is just one of the many stories we dig into as we hear about his journey to becoming the runner he is today. Tune in and join us for all of it!
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The Mile 99 Interview | Linktree

Your Hosts: Jessica Harris / Greg Larkin

The Mile 99 Interview is creating podcast episodes | Patreon

Venmo | The Mile 99 Interview

Intro/outro music: Joseph McDade - Elevation: https://josephmcdade.com/music/elevation

Support the show

Doctors JoAnn Ellero and Andy Pasternak joined us to talk about how they met in med school, their evolution together as runners and JoAnn's ultimate goal of running Western States happening this June! We've had Dr. Andy on several times in the past as part of our Western States episodes in his role as the medical director, and now we get to learn more about JoAnn and him, all of the races they've done together, both road and trail, and all of the buildup to this June!

They are also heavily involved in learning more about and researching human potential and joined the team at Lululemon's Project FURTHER with the goal of helping a team of women run further than they ever had before. The annual Western States Health and Athletics Conference is also coming up on May 24th in Auburn (link below), and running-oriented health professionals should check that out!

Learn about these events and all of the other exciting things going on with JoAnn and Andy this year as we get ready to cheer on JoAnn at Western States!

Project FURTHER

Western States Health and Athletics Conference
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The Mile 99 Interview | Linktree

Your Hosts: Jessica Harris / Greg Larkin

The Mile 99 Interview is creating podcast episodes | Patreon

Venmo | The Mile 99 Interview

Intro/outro music: Joseph McDade - Elevation: https://josephmcdade.com/music/elevation

Support the show

Things got a little busy for the Mile 99 team after the Canyons pre-race briefing and before the start of the race so this is showing up a little late, but we had some time with Abbey, Sean and Chaz after the show. We delved into talking about the various aid stations, their captains and dedicated volunteers and the community that has been built around this iconic race for the past decade.

From Greg's standpoint as a runner this year, the race itself went off without a hitch, the new course was fantastic as a first time experience and even with some phyiscal setbacks, he kept grinding to get a finish in Auburn. Jess and her co-captains and volunteers maintained an intense pace all through the weekend with a critical aid station late in the races for the runners to get themselves fueled and on to the finish line. She knows what it's like for the runners and never fails to get them what they need!

Luckily, the heat did not appear this year like it did in 2023, and now we're all in for some much needed rest and recovery. See you on the trails!
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The Mile 99 Interview | Linktree

Your Hosts: Jessica Harris / Greg Larkin

The Mile 99 Interview is creating podcast episodes | Patreon

Venmo | The Mile 99 Interview

Support the show

The Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB are less than a week away, and race directors Chaz Sheya, Abbey Drake and Sean Flanagan joined us to go over all of the late-breaking information and updates needed for runners, pacers, crew members and volunteers. It's going to be a huge party in Auburn and on the trails over April 25th-27th, 2024, so make sure to tune in here and see you on course!

Volunteer signup page - get involved!

Canyons Endurance Runs runner guide

"Where's my runner?" live tracking information

Auburn local businesses - please support them!
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The Mile 99 Interview | Linktree

Your Hosts: Jessica Harris / Greg Larkin

The Mile 99 Interview is creating podcast episodes | Patreon

Venmo | The Mile 99 Interview

Intro/outro music: Joseph McDade - Elevation: https://josephmcdade.com/music/elevation

Support the show

Join Jessica for this week's episode as she sits down with Ken Krogsrud of Bad Luck Run Club to talk about the second annual Placer Trail Running Festival!

Now in its second year, the PTRF offers something for everyone from a 50k race to a 1k kid's race, a 5k canicross event and many other distances. This is truly a running festival, held over April 13th and 14th this year, and Ken and Jessica get into all of the pre-race details that you'll need to know.

So grab the whole family and the dogs, head across the canyon from Auburn to join this event, and we'll see you on the trails!

Race website

Sign up now!
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The Mile 99 Interview | Linktree

Your Hosts: Jessica Harris / Greg Larkin

The Mile 99 Interview is creating podcast episodes | Patreon

Venmo | The Mile 99 Interview

Intro/outro music: Joseph McDade - Elevation: https://josephmcdade.com/music/elevation

Support the show

Ethan Veneklasen, co-race director of the Broken Arrow Skyrace sat down with us to do a deep dive in the origins of the race, the formation of the team that brings this unique and iconic event to the Tahoe region and how it has grown over the years.

The Broken Arrow Skyrace is now a nationally and internationally recognized race that has grown hugely popular but still retains its grassroots feel. The race directors are committed to each and every entrant and the community that hosts them. They recently formed an advisory council of a diverse set of athletes to help guide them into the future and inspire and inform other races and sponsors in the sport of trail and ultrarunning.

Join us as we dig into all of it, and head to Palisades Tahoe Jun 21th-23rd, 2024 to race, spectate or volunteer!

Main web site

New advisory council and mission

Volunteer here!
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The Mile 99 Interview | Linktree

Your Hosts: Jessica Harris / Greg Larkin

The Mile 99 Interview is creating podcast episodes | Patreon

Venmo | The Mile 99 Interview

Intro/outro music: Joseph McDade - Elevation: https://josephmcdade.com/music/elevation

Support the show