Shae Merrit join Bob and Sass to talk about her experience at Badger.

Check out the Painted Horse Urban Ultra here: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=106933

Check out the other Team Puma Knife Podcasts at www.teampumaknife.com, including Subtle Interference which you can find on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or download directly here: SubtleInterference – Team Puma Knife

Theme song courtesy of Pommelsmith

The first guest episode finally lands. Bob and Sass sit down with Shae Merritt — Vol State 500K finisher, two-time Badger 100 vet, and Painted Horse Urban Ultra race director — to swap stories from working the Orangeville aid station: bra-quesadillas, Malort shots, midnight margaritas, and gruesome blister triage. Plus a rant on UTMB at Whistler and a plug for showing up for independent race directors.

The Badger Recap.

Map of the Badger 100: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1161896

Check out the other Team Puma Knife Podcasts at www.teampumaknife.com, including Subtle Interference which you can find on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or download directly here: SubtleInterference – Team Puma Knife

Theme song courtesy of Pommelsmith

He did it. Bob recaps every gnarly, glorious mile of the Badger 100 — the blisters that bloomed at mile 10 and never quit, a seven-minute dirt nap in the grass, sleep-running while Paul held his hand, hallucinations of giant spiders, Roman aqueducts, and a friendly Pickle Man on the side of the trail. Thirty-plus hours later he crossed the line, collected an "Over 30 Hours" buckle that means more than the regular one, and finally exhaled.

The go-home show. Bob and Sass talk about the imminent Badger 100 and how Bob is feeling about it.

Check out the other Team Puma Knife Podcasts at www.teampumaknife.com, including Subtle Interference which you can find on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or download directly here: SubtleInterference – Team Puma Knife

Theme song courtesy of Pommelsmith

Three days out from the Badger 100. Bob walks through the whole plan: the binder he built for his crew (brother Mikey, pacer Paul, and Lindsay), the sweat tests that pegged him at 1.5 liters an hour, the three-bottle hydration scheme, the heel-and-big-toe taping job, and the mantra he's chosen — don't be a dummy in the first half, don't be a wimp in the second. Plus a long, honest riff on the marketing of marathons and why you don't owe anyone a hundred miles.

Bob and Sass discuss Western States, Injury Gate, how the ramp up to Badger is different than Tunnel Hill, a bit of Nutrition talk, Sass’ budding vinyl addiction, and some really cool updates on Sass’ running.

Check out the other Team Puma Knife Podcasts at www.teampumaknife.com, including Subtle Interference which you can find on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or download directly here: SubtleInterference – Team Puma Knife

Theme song courtesy of Pommelsmith

Three weeks out from Badger, Bob recaps crewing and pacing his buddy Kevin Jordan at Western States — the giraffe-themed crew shirts, the Olympic-village pageantry, the 30-hour cutoff drama — then comes home to a tweaky ankle that wipes out his peak training week. Sass falls hard for vinyl records (blame Ten Junk Miles), and the two of them land somewhere unexpected: maybe running doesn't have to be medicine anymore. Maybe it can just be fun.

Bob and Sass dive into the great question of “why?”

Check out the other Team Puma Knife Podcasts at www.teampumaknife.com, including Subtle Interference which you can find on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or download directly here: SubtleInterference – Team Puma Knife

Theme song courtesy of Pommelsmith

Heads up: this one goes deep. Bob covers the lighter stuff first — volunteering at Sugar Badger in a hot dog costume, pacing his buddy Paul at Kettle Moraine 100 — and then opens up about the trauma underneath the training: his daughter Izzy's NICU stay, an ADHD diagnosis that should have come decades earlier, and losing his mom to addiction. It's the "why" episode. Content warning for addiction, loss, and mental health; SAMHSA hotline at the top.

• SAMHSA National Helpline — 1-800-662-HELP (4357), 24/7 mental health and substance use referral line Bob mentions at the top

• Ronald McDonald House Charities — supports families with hospitalized children; Bob and Erica stayed at one during Izzy's surgery