Unbeaten Trails

In this episode, Megan Mackenzie discusses her journey from Johannesburg in South Africa to Europe where she currently lives. Megan competed internationally for the first time 10 years ago and was able to climb to the top of the sport while traveling back and forth from South Africa. Later, she decided to move to Europe to experience the trail running culture there fully. During our conversation, we discussed the state of the sport in South Africa, both from a performance and social perspective.

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In this episode, we had the pleasure of interviewing Moises Jimenez. Moi was born in Venezuela, grew up in Chile, found his way into trail running while traveling in Europe as a student, and recently moved to Boulder, Colorado. He is both an elite athlete and an entrepreneur in the sport, with his venture Vert.run. In our conversation, we focused on the state of the sport in Latin America and the differences between Europe and North America.

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This time, we connected with Joaquin Lopez, a pro runner from Ecuador who placed 11th at UTMB in 2023 and had many successes between Latin America and Europe. Despite having moved to Europe, Joaquin is deeply involved in the Ecuador trail running community through Ecuador Runs, a platform offering training plans and group runs. In our conversation, we talked about the growth of the sport in his home country and the mental aspect of racing in Europe against the top athletes in the world.

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In this episode, Daniel Jones reflects on his breakthrough into trail running and how he was able to make running his life. Daniel approached the trails after years on the road and had his first major success at his local race in New Zealand, Tarawera Ultra-Trail. In less than two years, Daniel was able to emerge as one of the most exciting athletes in the sport. Our conversation was not just about his personal story but included thoughts on how to give more opportunities to runners outside Europe and North America to compete at elite level.

Just one caveat before we start. This episode was recorded shortly before his run at the Western States this year. In the last part of our conversation, you will hear Daniel’s expectations going into the race.

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In this episode, Santos Gabriel Rueda walks us through his journey between Argentina and Spain to pursue his dream. He picked up running while working as an engineer in Patagonia and quickly became one of the best trail runners in the country, but traveling to Europe to race remained out of the conversation till he was able to secure enough money to travel overseas. This was Gabriel's first interview in English and he gave us insightful thoughts about how geography and economics play a role in athletes careers. We hope you’ll enjoy this episode!

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Today, Hau Ha, together with her manager, opens our eyes to what it means to be a professional trail runner from Vietnam. Hau is a single mother living in the north of the country who is trying to pursue her career in trail running at the highest level. Last year on her first race outside South East Asia, she scored 4th place at CCC showing a glimpse of her potential. We are glad that Hau chose us for her first interview with an English media. We hope you’ll enjoy this conversation as much as we did.

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