Today's episode sees Ashley and Daniel square off about tapering for races as Daniel prepares to jet off for New Zealand for his 100km race, The Ultra Easy. We cover Ashley's training week and the postponement of his epic Sea 2 Snowy adventure due to the ongoing bush fire crisis in many parts of Australia.

Daniel talks to today's guests, Lauren and Kieran Rooke, two of South Australia's best trail runners. Have a listen to this fun, informal discussion.

Isobel Ross returns to the podcast to share her experience at the Great Southern Endurance run and her preparations for her next race - the legendary Barkley Marathons. Ash and Daniel share their training updates and go into detail on numerous training topics with Isobel, including using hiking poles, finding the balance between uphill and flat running plus many more.

Merry Christmas trail runners! In this epic DOUBLE Header final episode of The Trail Runners Experience for 2019, Ashley and Daniel recap their year of running and discuss future plans and the best things about running and trail running in particular. 

You get two interviews this week. Talk about value!

Listen in as Ashley and Daniel talk to Jenna Brook, the mastermind behind an exciting new event in Australia's Simpson Desert - The Simpson Desert Ultra. An event to add to your 2020 running calendar. Jenna also happens to be a pretty handy ultra runner having run from the top of Australia to the bottom just for kicks!

In the second interview of this Christmas Special, we meet the race directors behind the Guzzler ultra in Queensland, Tim and Laura Cole, a husband and wife team who somehow manage to balance parental duties between training, organising races and operating a trail running shop in Brisbane. 

Thank you to everyone who has helped make The Trail Runners Experience podcast what it is today. May you have an excellent Christmas and New Year break and get ready to make 2020 your best running year yet! 

See you in January 2020!

Jacqui Bell is the youngest person to run an ultra marathon on all seven continents. She is an ambitious ultra runner and motivational speaker who works hard to achieve her goals. Listen to her inspiring story in this episode. 

Ashley and Daniel talk about their training and Ash unveils his next big adventure. Check out his website here: http://www.sea2snowy.run/

Check out Jacqui's website below: http://jacqui-bell.com/

The newest 'Flying Finn', Cecilia Mattas takes us through her fantastic victory at the Blackall 50 and her rise to trail running dominance. Listen in to hear the first (and maybe last) Trail Trivia where Ashley takes on the Cecilia in a no holds barred battle of wits.

Also, Ashley and Daniel recap their training week, Ash highlights an interesting development in his cancer treatment and Daniel retells his encounter with Australia's most feared predator... Drop Bears!

Blackall 100 race director, ultra runner and all round top bloke, joins Ashley and Daniel in his post-Blackall 100 2019 interview and talks about the good, the bad and the ugly of race directing.

Ashley and Daniel also go into a bit too much detail about a rather 'crappy' but relevant topic, and Daniel talks about his Heysen 105 recovery and the lead up to the next race on his schedule.

Check out the Run Queensland website here http://www.runqld.com.au/

Trail running legend and race director of the Brisbane Trail Ultra Shona Stephenson regales us with her epic running career and tales from the trails. Check out the link below to find out more about Shona's race:

https://www.facebook.com/brisbanetrailultra/?eid=ARDBXs4w-BEH5Ny3_lspOBUiUGdiwDhv8pm9dWB9DUdmWNq2ifTI3lNSBByYFaXJYzyHDghCIWjFkyL3&fref=tag

Or here for her PT business:

http://outdoorptbrisbane.com.au/meet-your-personal-trainer/

For 10% off all your Infinit nutrition products go to the following link and put 'DRU' at the checkout:

https://www.infinitnutrition.com.au/

Amanda and Joel Stetler are an incredibly inspiring couple from the USA. In this episode they share their passion for running and the harrowing challenges of Joel's cancer diagnosis as they prepare to run one of the world's most iconic marathons, The New York City Marathon. Prepare to be inspired.

If you are inspired by Joel and Amanda's story and would like to make a difference please go to the link below to read more about Joel's story and make a donation.

https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/brave-like-gabe-nyc-2019/amandastetler