Episode 114 - "The Race That Changed Running" with Doug Mayer

There was a reading assignment for this show…naturally, Phil couldn’t be bothered to do any actual work, so I had the great pleasure of speaking with Doug Mayer about his new book, The Race That Changed Running: The Inside Story of UTMB, out TODAY! An American expat living full-time in Chamonix, Doug works as a journalist and runs his own tour guide company, Run the Alps. The new book (his third) grew out of his own personal history with and curiosity about the race that, like it or not, is at the forefront of the world ultra and trail running scene. We talked about many of the issues and controversies around the race and the UTMB series of races, the influence of Ironman, how the book was written, and also Doug’s recent trip to Innsbrouck to cover the World Trail and Mountain Running Championships. This was a really fun conversation that I think people will find very thought-provoking. Plus, the triumphant return of Desert Island Picks!

Links
Order The Race That Changed Running or Doug’s other books
Run the Alps
Doug’s coverage of the World Trail and Mountain Running Championships

Desert Island Picks: The Odyssey, Hot Rocks by the Rolling Stones, Big Mountain Brewing Wild Mountain

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 113 - Twenty Questions with Rich Lockwood

photo: Mike McMonagle

Rich Lockwood has been a mainstay on the PNW trail-running scene for several years, but he grabbed the national spotlight in 2022 with a string of world-class performances, capped by a win at the uber-competitive Run Rabbit Run 100 and a podium spot an the Doi Inthanon 100K (by UTMB, blah blah blah) in his first international event. We caught up with Rich after last month’s return to racing at the newly-reinvigorated Lake Sonoma 50 mile because we wanted to clarify a bunch of crucial information that hadn’t been shared pubicly before, like what cartoon character he identifies with. Let no one accuse us of not asking the tough questions.

Links:
Follow Rich on IG

Beers for this episode: Best Day Brewing Hazy IPA, Two Way Brewing Confusion Saison, Holy Mountain Throne of Blood

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 112 - Twenty Questions with Chad Lasater

photo: Howie Stern

Many of you may not know about Chad Lasater, but you should. He’s the current champion of the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning (having finished the GS in both 2021 and 2022) and after a breakthrough performance at Desert Solstice (his first real 24-hour race) he is currently in position for a spot on the US team for the World Championships this fall. We recorded this in late 2022, shortly after Chad’s awesome run at DS, where he narrowly missed Bob Hearn’s 50+ American Record, but I’ve been too busy to release the show until now—which is great, since Chad has an insanely busy year about to start up. In this episode, we reminisce about the good old days in the late 2010s, when Phil and I were still able to kind of keep up with Chad, and we try to figure out The Secret behind his incredible progress in the sport and how he is able to be running huge PRs into his 50s. Then, it’s time for a very entertaining 20 Questions; Chad has raced 25 100s all over the world and has a million stories to share.

Links:
Follow Chad on IG - zero posts so far!

Beer for this episode: Wicked Weed Pernicious

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 111 - Ultrarunners of the Year with Jason Mintz

Happy New Year! Sneaking in our traditional year-end pod under the wire, my favorite episode every year, debating the Ultrarunners of the Year with recurring guest Jason Mintz, who battled through COVID and came to PLAY! Tons of consensus this year but also some pretty good debate. Phil and I both completely fucked up and somehow both left Matthieu Blanchard out of our top 10, which is a travesty, but otherwise I think we held our own. I had a great time pointing out Phil’s lack of internal consistency which is always fun, and Phil made me defend Camille, which was weird.

Beer for this episode: Wolf Hills Trooper’s Alley, Captain Lawrence Clearwater Kolsch

Links
Laura Kline on the 2017 ballot
Jason Mintz on the 2018 ballot
Rich Heffron on the 2019 ballot for the women and men
Mintz again on the 2021 ballot
My final ballot in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 110 - Twenty Questions with Riley Brady

It took us way too long to have Beastcoast star Riley Brady on the pod. For some reason we waited until they’re getting ready to move to Boulder (like everyone else!) to invite them on. Fresh off a Golden Ticket-winning performance at the Javelina Jundred, Riley joined the show to talk about competition in the sport, The King, karaoke, and much more.

Links:
Follow Riley on IG

Beer for this episode: Treehouse Six, Dancing Grain Harvest Sun

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 109 - Twenty Questions with Pete Mortimer

photo: Jeff Browning

It’s always a little scary to double the amount of Brits on the show, but it couldn’t have been easier with Pete Mortimer, one of the most accomplished and prolific athletes in our sport today. We talked about some of Pete’s most recent exploits at HURT, Run Rabbit, and Barkley, before tackling all-important questions about hashing, Metallica, and (of course) Marmite.

Links:
Pete’s website
Pete on IG and Strava

Beer for this episode: Treehouse Juice Machine, Radiant Pig Save the Robots

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 108 - Twenty Questions with Sabrina Little

Despite being only 36, Sabrina Little has been running ultras for over fifteen years. She won the famed Old Dominion 100 mile at only 23 years old; by the time she was 26, she held American records for 24 hours and 200K, and led the US women to a team gold medal with her runner-up finish at the 24-hour world championships. Now with a PhD in philosophy, Sabrina is one of the leading thinkers in the sport of ultrarunning. We welcomed her onto the show after just celebrating the birth of her second child to talk about some serious but mostly silly stuff, ‘cause you know, that’s what we do.

Links:
Sabrina’s website
Sabrina on IG and Strava

“Beer” for this episode: Athletic Oktoberfest, Drowned Lands Harvest Kill Sour IPA

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 107 - This Month (Summer?) in Ultrarunning with Phil Vondra

photo: Schreiner Trail Photography

Oh, dear listener, did we have a podcast for you. Recorded in beautiful Dolby surround sound, it was full of ultra musings, information, insights, wit, beer, witbeer, and other hilarity. We talked about UTMB, Leadville, various other goings on. Yes, it had been a while since we podded, but no matter! It was like riding a proverbial bicycle. Truly, a podcast for the ages.

That was our last episode, which was our first episode in several months, and which was waylaid by a faulty USB port. Sadly, it is lost to the sands of time. The world may never understand how truly Phil and I were at the peak of our podcasting powers.

So, we took another six weeks to drown our sorrows and now come to you with this suboptimal crap. Enjoy.

Beer for this episode: Athletic Brewing Free Wave, Wicked Weed Freak of Nature

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 106 - Western States Recap with Phil Vondra

photo: @wser

The Legend returns to the Pain Cave to recap Western States with “Heat Training,” breaking down the juiciest storylines and biggest takeaways from this past weekend in Auburn. Then, we review our men’s and women’s picks and see who was the best prognosticator this year. Finally, we get Phil’s report from his PR at Manitou’s Revenge and touch on the rest of the results from a busy week in the trail and ultrarunning world.

Links
Western States preview pod (with picks) featuring Cat Bradley

Beer for this episode: West Kill Kaaterskill IPA, Athletic Brewing Upside Dawn (use promo code JASONF20 for 20% off your first order)

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 105 - Twenty Questions with Brittany Peterson

photo: @lukewebstr

One more episode to drop into the pre-Western States hype maelstrom: we sit down with former podium finisher Brittany Peterson, one of the world’s best trail runners and one the pre-race favorites this weekend at the Big Dance, for our world-famous 20 Questions.

Links:
Brittany’s website
Brittany on IG and Strava

“Beer” for this episode: Synergy Raw Kombucha Unity

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 104 - Western States Preview with Cat Bradley and Phil Vondra

It’s that time of year again: Western States! The world’s best are gathering in Olympic Valley for the biggest race on the domestic ultrarunning calendar, and we’re breaking down our top picks for the Big Dance with former WS100 champ Cat Bradley and her broken hand. We recorded this last week before all the happenings at Broken Arrow this weekend (though I will say we did a pretty good job of calling out some of the best performers to watch) before diving deep into our top 5 men’s and top 10 women’s picks. Then, Phil and I do a super-quick roundup of some recent Euro and Beastcoast trail news.

Beer for this episode: Athletic Brewing Free Wave and Upside Dawn (use promo code JASONF20 for 20% off your first order), Better Booch Kombucha

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 103 - This Month (?) in Ultrarunning with Phil Vondra

OK, so it’s been a teeny bit longer than a month….what can I say, it’s hard to pin the Legend down these days! And then when you do, his audio quality is shit….but I digress. We let way too much time pass between episodes, so this is less of a “deep dive” and more of a quick recap of a ridiculous amount of ultra results from around the globe, including the last of the Golden Ticket races for the year, new 100K and 100 mile world records, national championships, Madiera, Miwok, Gorge Waterfalls, and much more!

Beer for this episode: Athletic Brewing Rice Helles

Links
Phil talks on the Inside the Line podcast about his Catskills Winter FKT
Print coverage of his adventure
King vs. Hedges at Breakneck

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 102 - Twenty Questions with David Roche

Whoa, it’s been awhile! Life gets in the way of podcasting sometimes. So psyched to be back with Phil in the Cave for an awesome conversation with our coach, SWAP cofounder, podcaster, author, and world-class trail runner David Roche. In his second appearance on the show, we talk with David about goal setting and the mental approach to racing, before we hit the classic 20 questions topics: you know, Vonnegut, streaking, Michelle Obama, the usual.

Links:
Team SWAP
The SWAP Adventure Podcast
Our first interview with David
…and his wife Megan’s 20 questions episode
Buy The Happy Runner
David’s Instagram

Beers for this episode: Athletic Brewing Run Wild, Captain Lawrence Orbital Tilt, Hoplark Calm One Hoptea

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 101 - Twenty Questions with Dani Moreno

photo: Mike McDermott

In our first episode of 2022, West Coast trail goddess Dani Moreno gives us the lowdown on her breakthrough 2021 season before answering twenty stupid questions about cheese, ABBA, Tim Allen, and much more.

Links:
Dani’s website

Beers for this episode: Ober Creek Sundial, Ommegang Neon Rainbows, Kyla Ginger Tangerine Kombucha

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 100 - Ultrarunner of the Year with Jason Mintz

Wow! One hundred episodes! I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the centennial than with one of my perennial favorite episodes, debating the mens’ and womens’ Ultrarunners of the Year. I was once again thrilled to be included on the voting panel for this award. And as usual, I brought in some outside help to set me straight on my voting before the ballot needed to be submitted this week. (I’ve basically stopped blogging, so you won’t see all the changes I wound up making to what we discussed; the main one being my including Marisa Lizak in the top 5 for the women after I called Paul to help me better contextualize her Spartathlon performance.) Phil and I were once again joined by the great Jason Mintz, reprising his role from his initial appearance in 2018, as we talk about the top 10 men and women for the year and the top five performances of the year. Also, I finally let loose on Camille.

Beer for this episode: Alchemist Heady Topper, Definitive Float

Links
Laura Kline on the 2017 ballot
Jason Mintz on the 2018 ballot
Rich Heffron on the 2019 ballot for the women and men
My final ballot in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 98 - Live WS100/HR100 Lottery Pod-tacular with Laura Kline and Jason Mintz (Part 1)

Phil and I sit down with repeat guests and GFOPs Laura Kline and Jason Mintz to drink our sorrows away as we livecast the lotteries for the Western States 100 and Hardrock 100. Spoiler alert: Phil and I don’t get in. But a bunch of people who we know did, so that was kind of fun. This one goes off the rails as I get progressively more intoxicated, so tune in for that. (Split into two parts due to what is really criminally ridiculous length.)

Links:
Previous episodes we referred to on this show:
Jason Green
Tom Kaplan
Joe Uhan
Maggie Guterl
AJW

Beers for this episode: Industrial Arts Tools of the Trade, Sloop Juice Bomb, Yard Owl Rye Saison, High West Double Rye Whiskey

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 97 - Twenty Questions with Jason Green

One of the most fun episodes we’ve ever done. Jason Green, the founder of the Yeti Trail Cult and the RD of the Yeti 100, sits down in the 20 Questions hot seat to discuss Appalachia, skateboarding, ghosts, and Tyler Perry. Also: FIREBALL!

Links:
Yeti Trail Cult

Beers for this episode: Industrial Arts Torque Wrench, Sloop Juice Bomb, Three Taverns Teardrinker

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 96 - This Month in Ultrarunning with Phil Vondra

photo: Tracey Outlaw

Fall is in the air…leaves are falling, pumpkin spice is showing up in beer for some reason, and we are back for another episode of TMIU. We start with the epic performances at Big’s Backyard Ultra, where the great Harvey Lewis crushed the world record for the format, and discuss whether experience is a benefit or a hindrance in this discipline. Then we tour the world to chat about Spartathlon, Run Rabbit Run, the Rut, TDG, and much more. Also: Taggart retires?

Beers for this episode: Alchemist Luscious, Rushing Duck Irrational Numbers

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale

Episode 95 - Twenty Questions with Matt Flaherty

matt flaherty Pbville finish.jpeg

It’s been a few years since Matt Flaherty was dominating the roads and trails at the 50 mile and 100K distances, but he came back in a big way this summer when he crashed the Anton vs. Ian show at Leadville with an out-of-nowhere second place finish in his 100-mile debut. In the lates installment of 20 Questions, Matt talks about his training, valuing process over results, tackling environmental issues locally, and much more.

Links:
This is the article Matt mentioned about the Old Ghost Ultra.
Some of Matt’s music on SoundCloud
Insta: @MattAFlaherty
Strava
Environmental Resilience Institute at Indiana University

Beers for this episode: Athletic Brewing Closer by the Mile, Run Wild, and Whirlpool Pale Ale

Intro music: "Fine Line" by the Bloodletters
Outro music: "When I Was Still Young" by Yard Sale