Community Trail Running

“From the first day I went out I had a blast out on the trails meeting new trail runners and I was hooked.”Sean Symes has gone full circle with Toronto Trail Runners, from chasing leads while discovering new trails to leading groups of wide-eyed trail runners. He’s clearly passionate about the community and the sport and I had a fantastic time learning more about trail running in the city of Toronto. Toronto is a former home of mine and a place I really enjoy, so learning about the trail running culture there was a lot of fun! Toronto is a multicultural city that celebrates its diversity and Sean takes pride in how inclusive Toronto Trail Runners is. It’s important to him as a Black Person to show other Black People that they are represented.“Being a Black runner, there’s not too many Black People in trail running, in the trail running community. So I think it’s also good to have representation, especially in the city of Toronto, a lot of minorities might not feel comfortable joining trail sessions. So I think it’s important as myself, being a Black Person, to be a lead there to show people that there’s inclusivity on the trails.”Toronto Trail Runners sounds like a great group to get out with and I’m going to have to look them up next time I’m spending some time in that wonderful city!“Don’t mess with the Don” is another project Sean is working on. They organize clean-ups in the Don Valley which is a place they love to run. They are accomplishing great things and you should totally check out the website! Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.Like, share, subscribe and commentIf you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :)Myeloma RideI'm thrilled to be riding in the 2023 Richmond @myeloma_canada Fundraising Ride.Myeloma is a blood cancer made by bone marrow and people living with Myeloma, like my friend Misty, are able to prolong and improve their quality of life through treatments like chemotherapy but there is no cure and those treatments often cause other adverse effects on the body.If you can help out the cause with a donation, we would be incredibly grateful!Donate here! Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“I know what those runners go through. What they have to do in order to succeed is just mind-boggling. So my favorite part is every year from 9 a.m. Saturday till 9 a.m. Sunday for 24 hours, I'm at the finish line. Everybody who finishes, I congratulate, high five, hug, I give the medals. I have goosebumps right now just thinking about it. It’s amazing.” Jakob Herrman is an experienced trail runner who has run an incredible amount of races. This has led to a base of knowledge that the Swiss-born trail runner has used extensively for his race-directing practices, particularly his own race, the Swiss Alps 100. This race has evolved over the years and these days offers many different distances, and disciplines… You can literally hang glide as part of the Swiss Alps 100. “The fun part is we have a tracker for every single participant for safety. And every ten seconds, the position is updated and you have a big map. You see all these points where everybody is. It's super interesting. And it's kind of funny because once in a while you see somebody falling down really fast and I'm like, I hope it's a flyer, not some runner falling down the cliffs.” Thankfully it’s just been the fliers so far! Jakob was an awesome guest and the Swiss Alps 100 sounds absolutely amazing. It’s definitely on my list now and hopefully, I can make it happen sooner than later! I hope you enjoy the conversation and are as intrigued about this race as I am.Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.Like, share, subscribe and commentIf you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“We almost sold out the Rio this year in a relatively short time so I think we can sell it out next year. We just need to know where to focus our energy.”Today we are looking back at the Trail Running Film Festival and putting a bow on the whole thing with Jeannine Avelino. Jeannine was a huge part of putting the event together and I’m incredibly grateful for her help and support! It was great to chat with her about the event from our different perspectives, as she was able to enjoy the show from the crowd. We’re both super happy with how the event went and are looking forward to next year already! Jeannine loved being in the crowd with all those other trail runners and feeling at home in the community.“I loved hearing the reactions to the movies, you know? Just watching it alone, I just hear my reactions, but seeing or hearing everybody react to it the same was as I did. Just laugh at the little things or anything that is relatable to you when you’re out on the run, like “I know how that feels”, that was pretty cool.”We’re so honoured to have hosted this thing and been able to play a tiny little part in our trail-running community. From all of us, thank you so much for all the support and for showing up. Next year we do it again, and we do it even better :)Please like, rate, share and subscribe!You can learn more about our live podcast guest Filsan and PLR here!Our amazing sponsors from the night:5 PeaksDistance RunwearBeast of Big CreekRidgeline AthleticsThursty Elk Trail RaceHeads or TrailsConquer The VedderBlumakaFinlayson Arm RacesSocial YVRHarbour YVRGaliano Trails SocietyThe podcast is available where you listen to podcasts:Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :)Photo Gallery from Adam Stevens VisualsSo grateful to have Adam Stevens on hand!Feel free to download and share. Please tag us all and we can help you share them! Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

The 2023 Trail Running Film Festival has officially come and gone from Vancouver, BC, and it was an incredible honour to host over 340 trail runners at the historic Rio Theatre. We enjoyed the amazing films together, raised some money for BC AdventureSmart, played some games and won some prizes, and we were so grateful to have Filsan Abdiaman of Project Love Run on hand as our special guest for the evening.The chat with Filsan was great, it was fantastic to learn about Project Love Run. I’ll admit we were both a bit nervous doing this live in front of everyone, but I think it was informative and I’m grateful for Filsan joining us and telling us a bit of her story, how Project Love Run came to be, and what’s been rewarding for her.“Project Love Run is about celebrating different stories. It is about celebrating both difference and growth. Project Love Run in 2016 looks nothing like it does today. We’re forever learning and unlearning in community and I think that’s the best thing about Project Love Run, that constant evolution and growth.” I feel very fortunate to live in a part of the world where there is so much opportunity for people to get on the trails in spaces they feel safe. The more people that are out there on the trails, the better. It helps keep our spaces public and the more demand we have for outdoor spaces, the more outdoor spaces we will get. I’m inspired by any of you out there organizing groups and it was very inspiring to hear Filsan talk about PLR.You can learn more about Filsan and PLR here! Our amazing sponsors from the night:5 PeaksDistance RunwearBeast of Big CreekRidgeline AthleticsThursty Elk Trail RaceHeads or TrailsConquer The VedderBlumakaFinlayson Arm RacesSocial YVRHarbour YVRGaliano Trails SocietyThe podcast is available where you listen to podcasts:Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :)Photo Gallery from Adam Stevens VisualsSo grateful to have Adam Stevens on hand!Feel free to download and share. Please tag us all and we can help you share them! Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“Every step of the way we are building community and we are delivering. I’ve not heard anybody that’s been disappointed.” Mathias Eichler is back! The man who wears all the hats puts on the Trail Running Film Festival Executive Producer hat as we chat all about the festival, which is happening here in Vancouver, BC, tonight! The Rio Theatre is set to host us with the doors opening at 6 and the show starting at 7. We have 9 great films to watch, awesome door prizes, a 50/50 in support of SAR, and even some special treats courtesy of Tailwind Nutrition for the first people in the theatre, so show up early! Mathias was a great guest to chat with and he is super pumped about what the film festival represents. “We are staying true to our mission. I think the perfect balance would be inspiration and challenge. You need inspiration, you need that feeling of excitement and hype… The other piece though is you want to be challenged… You want to be confronted with reality as well.”Click here for tickets!Our sponsors include:5 PeaksDistance RunwearBeast of Big CreekRidgeline AthleticsThursty Elk Trail RaceHeads or TrailsConquer The VedderBlumakaFinlayson Arm RacesSocial YVRHarbour YVRGaliano Trails SocietyI can’t believe the big night is finally here! I can’t wait to see you all at the theatre tonight. It’s going to be a blast to celebrate our community together. Say hi if you see me and I hope you all have a great night out. There is also…Film Festival Special Guest Filsan AbdiamanWe’re so excited to chat with Filsan Abdiaman as our special guest! Filsan started Project Love Run which is “a running collective for all self-identified womxn seeking a space to connect with others and their own minds and bodies”. We can’t wait to learn more at the film festival. The film festival is going to be a great time and I can’t wait to hang out with all of you!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“At the Big Creek campground, just above Lake Cushman, which sits above Hoodsport, which sits above the Hood Canal, which is right on the edge of the Olympic Mountains, on the Southeastern side of the Olympic Penninsula, right by the staircase entrance of the Olympic National Park, about an hour away from Olympia WA, which sits about halfway between Seattle and Portland, in the Pacific Northwest, of the West coast of North America.” Mathias Eichler is the Rock Candy Running Race Director and The Beast of Big Creek is one of their events happening in Hoodsport, WA, on Saturday, August 5! The Beast is also a sponsor for our screening of the Trail Running Film Festival which happens tomorrow here in Vancouver, BC! Mathias is the Executive Director for the film festival and we will chat about that tomorrow on the podcast. Today’s episode is about this incredibly fun-sounding race. The race itself sounds incredible and Mathias really loves to bring the community together as an RD.“To provide that experience for runners. Being able to create these adventures that people can have and safely have, and enjoyable to them. Allowing them to push themselves in that way. I think that’s super rewarding and something I value extremely. “The race itself has two options, a shorter forest loop and a longer summit route. The summit route takes runners up into the alpine and offers up plenty of challenges. The event sounds like a total blast and I’m registered myself. I can’t wait to get down there and see what this race is all about! Remember to check out tomorrow’s episode as well when Mathias and I chat about the film festival.Film Festival - 6 pm Tuesday, April 18 at the Rio TheatreClick here for tickets!Our sponsors include:5 PeaksDistance RunwearBeast of Big CreekRidgeline AthleticsThursty Elk Trail RaceHeads or TrailsConquer The VedderBlumakaFinlayson Arm RacesSocial YVRHarbour YVRGaliano Trails SocietyWe’re busy getting ready for The Big Night! Tuesday, April 18 at the Rio Theatre where the doors will open at 6 pm and the show starts at 7 pm.Click here for tickets!We have 9 great films to watch, awesome door prizes, a 50/50 in support of SAR, and even some special treats courtesy of Tailwind Nutrition for the first people in the theatre, so show up early!There is also…Film Festival Special Guest Filsan AbdiamanWe’re so excited to chat with Filsan Abdiaman as our special guest! Filsan started Project Love Run which is “a running collective for all self-identified womxn seeking a space to connect with others and their own minds and bodies”. We can’t wait to learn more at the film festival. The film festival is going to be a great time and I can’t wait to hang out with all of you!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“They’re all the small moments that I realized that I trail ran for. Those small moments, not necessarily for running itself.” Milo Zanecchia wanted to capture all the moments on a run when we aren’t running. We all know how distracted we can get on runs, for all kinds of reasons, but did you ever really think about how it all adds up? Milo’s film “The Reality of Running” features these moments in a beautiful way. It’s brilliant to watch, made me laugh out loud, and conveys all the feels of a full day on the trail, in a tight 3-minute package. I love it and it was clear from chatting with Milo he knew what he wanted to accomplish with the film. He loves the outdoors and the opportunity to showcase them, and certainly advises anyone chasing their dreams to do so with gusto.“Make time for the projects you really believe in. It’s easy to get distracted by the money and the paycheque, and those are really important because they help you buy the gear and the equipment and everything that is necessary for these passion projects. Ultimately, the passion projects are the ones that open up doors to clients that you want to work with.”Milo has some other ideas for future films and is thrilled to be included in the Trail Running Film Festival in the meantime. He was a lot of fun to chat with and I’m excited to follow him along as he seems like an easy person to cheer for. Come on out on Tuesday, April 18 at the Rio Theatre and see his film “The Reality of Running”.Film Festival - 6 pm Tuesday, April 18 at the Rio TheatreClick here for tickets!Our sponsors include:5 PeaksDistance RunwearBeast of Big CreekRidgeline AthleticsThursty Elk Trail RaceHeads or TrailsConquer The VedderBlumakaFinlayson Arm RacesSocial YVRHarbour YVRGaliano Trails SocietyWe’re busy getting ready for The Big Night! Tuesday, April 18 at the Rio Theatre where the doors will open at 6 pm and the show starts at 7 pm.Click here for tickets!We have 9 great films to watch, awesome door prizes, a 50/50 in support of SAR, and even some special treats courtesy of Tailwind Nutrition for the first people in the theatre, so show up early!There is also…Film Festival Special Guest Filsan AbdiamanWe’re so excited to chat with Filsan Abdiaman as our special guest! Filsan started Project Love Run which is “a running collective for all self-identified womxn seeking a space to connect with others and their own minds and bodies”. We can’t wait to learn more at the film festival. The film festival is going to be a great time and I can’t wait to hang out with all of you!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“For me, it started with a sketchbook. I’m dyslexic, so for me, reading and writing have always been a little bit more difficult and so when I wanted to share these wild crazy experiences outside, I didn’t do it through essays or a lot of words or poetry. It was always through sketches."Max Romey learned how to express himself through his artistic side. Now his creations are inspiring the artistic side of trail runners and outdoor lovers all over the world. Max Romey Productions produced “Footprints Running Camp” and was able to blend the world of trail running and idea building at this unique conference. Max has a really fun way of blending sketches and film and part of his drive comes from inspiring others through things like The Trail Running Film Festival. His passion for the outdoors is evident and he adores the trail-running community.“Having that community behind means everything. There’s probably more road runners on earth, but the trail runners, they’re down to earth, they get something. When you’re out in these places, you have this connection that I haven’t found anywhere else. And I’ve been lucky enough to look.”Max is a positive person to chat with and I really enjoyed chatting with him. It was fun to hear some challenges he faces but also what made him want to create the way he does. His film is fun and beautiful so you will want to check it out.You can catch Max’s film “Footprints Running Camp” Tuesday, April 18 at the Rio Theatre. Speaking of…Film Festival - 6 pm Tuesday, April 18 at the Rio TheatreClick here for tickets!Our sponsors include:5 PeaksDistance RunwearBeast of Big CreekRidgeline AthleticsThursty Elk Trail RaceHeads or TrailsConquer The VedderBlumakaFinlayson Arm RacesSocial YVRHarbour YVRGaliano Trails SocietyWe’re busy getting ready for The Big Night! Tuesday, April 18 at the Rio Theatre where the doors will open at 6 pm and the show starts at 7 pm.Click here for tickets!We have 9 great films to watch, awesome door prizes, a 50/50 in support of SAR, and even some special treats courtesy of Tailwind Nutrition for the first people in the theatre, so show up early!There is also…Film Festival Special Guest Filsan AbdiamanWe’re so excited to chat with Filsan Abdiaman as our special guest! Filsan started Project Love Run which is “a running collective for all self-identified womxn seeking a space to connect with others and their own minds and bodies”. We can’t wait to learn more at the film festival. The film festival is going to be a great time and I can’t wait to hang out with all of you!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“She's so positive. She's wise. And she is so strong. She's so tough. And she inspires me. So yeah. It was an easy decision to pick Nettie to make my first movie.”Jessica Vandenbush chose Aneta (Nettie) Zeppetella to feature in her first film and it was a great decision. The film is super fun and Nettie is a character you will fall in love with. Jessica’s film is beautifully shot and it was great to hear a bit about the challenges she faced as well as what lies ahead! It was also really awesome to hear about her inspiration.“I was so inspired by the genre in the first place. Watching those trail running movies at the film fest changed my life. And when I came around to wanting to make a movie that really helped women feel possible in our sport, no matter where they come from, no matter how old they are, no matter having a family, having a career, no matter if they had mountains to train on. I wanted to make a movie about this beautiful woman I knew.”Jessica also has an independent print issue trail running magazine called “Eat Clean Run Dirty”, which you can check out here.Nettie From OhioBy Jessica VandenbuschAneta (Nettie) Zeppetella is an Ohio Ultrarunner tackling some of the least-Ohio-style terrain (Western States, Fat Dog 120, Hurt) and working to inspire more women in her area to tackle long distances.You can catch “Nettie from Ohio” at the Rio Theatre on Tuesday April 18. Doors open at 6 pm and the show starts at 7 pm. About the show…Film Festival - 6 pm Tuesday April 18 at the Rio TheatreClick here for tickets!Our sponsors include:5 PeaksDistance RunwearBeast of Big CreekRidgeline AthleticsThursty Elk Trail RaceHeads or TrailsConquer The VedderBlumakaFinlayson Arm RacesSocial YVRHarbour YVRGaliano Trails SocietyWe’re busy getting ready for The Big Night! Tuesday, April 18 at the Rio Theatre where the doors will open at 6 pm and the show starts at 7 pm.Click here for tickets!We have 9 great films to watch, awesome door prizes, a 50/50 in support of SAR, and even some special treats courtesy of Tailwind Nutrition for the first people in the theatre, so show up early!There is also…Film Festival Special Guest Filsan AbdiamanWe’re so excited to chat with Filsan Abdiaman as our special guest! Filsan started Project Love Run which is “a running collective for all self-identified womxn seeking a space to connect with others and their own minds and bodies”. We can’t wait to learn more at the film festival. The film festival is going to be a great time and I can’t wait to hang out with all of you! Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“Every single person, start to finish, is treated like they won the race, like they’ve been the most important person there. That’s a part of our DNA. Making sure that every single person that comes across the finish line feels celebrated.”Coast Mountain Trail Running is a finely tuned machine at this point. The group has been putting on events in British Columbia for quite some time, and they’ve got it down as well as a participant could hope for. Gary Robbins and Geoff Langford are the two Race Directors for CMTR, and on top of their love for trail running events, they also have a passion for multisport events. That’s how they came up with Conquer the Vedder, the SUP, gravel bike, and trail run event coming to Cultus Lake May 27-28. This will be the second year for the event, and 2 years is about how long a race takes to put together, from concept to race day. “That's always a two-year window and that's what I say to anybody who reaches out asking about the event side of things. Your best-case scenario is 18 months and that would need some luck and some connections. But you need to give yourself a 2 year window to bring something to life because the permit process and everything that goes along with it, and especially coming to a new community, a lot of relationships need to be established and a lot of new stakeholders need to be identified and connected with.”Gary was great to chat with and it was fun to learn a bit more about how this event came together. I’ve always loved the events that CMTR puts on and so I was thrilled to be able to chat on the podcast and have Conquer the Vedder as a sponsor for the Vancouver screening of the Trail Running Film Festival! Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :)Film Festival - 6 pm Tuesday April 18 at the Rio TheatreConquer the Vedder is a proud sponsor of our Vancouver screening of the Trail Running Film Festival!Click here for tickets!Our other sponsors include:5 PeaksDistance RunwearBeast of Big CreekRidgeline AthleticsThursty Elk Trail RaceHeads or TrailsBlumakaFinlayson Arm RacesSocial YVRHarbour YVRGaliano Trails SocietyWe’re busy getting ready for The Big Night! Tuesday, April 18 at the Rio Theatre where the doors will open at 6 pm and the show starts at 7 pm.Click here for tickets!We have 9 great films to watch, awesome door prizes, a 50/50 in support of SAR, and even some special treats courtesy of Tailwind Nutrition for the first people in the theatre, so show up early! There is also…Film Festival Special Guest Filsan AbdiamanWe’re so excited to chat with Filsan Abdiaman as our special guest! Filsan started Project Love Run which is “a running collective for all self-identified womxn seeking a space to connect with others and their own minds and bodies”. We can’t wait to learn more at the film festival. The film festival is going to be a great time and I can’t wait to hang out with all of you! Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“It's one thing to prepare and succeed. It's another thing that's even more fulfilling to help others prepare and succeed”.Dave Melanson is the 5 Peaks Race Director here in British Columbia. He’s been around the series for years and describes taking the role as a natural transition. It certainly sounds that way as his love for the trail community and hosting events is evident. Dave was an awesome guest who is clearly stoked to help 5 Peaks continue its excellence in hosting trail events, now into its 25th year.“We can see what people want and give them more of that. More trails, more mountains. Good stuff.”Dave got into what the 5 Peaks series in BC has in store for runners. From the season starter at Alice Lake, to his favourite course in Whistler, and he’s super excited for the season finale party at Mt. Seymour. The series sounds like a ton of fun and the 5 Peaks team is a polished group ready to host runners and show them an amazing time. The series has 5 stops:April 15 - Alice LakeMay 6 - Golden EarsJuly 15 - Cypress MountainAugust 26 - Whistler BlackcombSeptember 23 - Mount Seymour5 Peaks is also the gold sponsor for our Vancouver screening of the Trail Running Film Festival happening Tuesday, April 18 at the Rio Theatre. The doors will open at 6 pm and the show starts at 7 pm. Come early to meet Dave and some other 5 Peaks ambassadors! They will make it easy to learn more about them and sign up for their races. You won’t want to miss out, so get your tickets now! Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“It’s just incredible to be around the stoke that so many BIPOC folks have for being in the mountains. It’s a privilege to be able to help them overcome some of the barriers and intimidation that people experience.” Safder Raza is a trail runner originally from Pakistan who calls Vancouver, BC, home these days. He got into trail running after seeing a few trail runners while he was orienteering and since then he has finished on a 50-mile podium! His passion for the outdoors was only overmatched by the passion he has for helping others like himself get outdoors. He does this with a group called “Colour the Trails.” Colour the Trails advocates for inclusive representation in the outdoors. Safder leads a 12-week trail running course with Colour the Trails throughout the summer. It’s not just about trail running itself, but everything around it, from teaching the 10 essentials to nutrition tips. He loves leading the trail runners but also noted that Colour the Trails is all about the outdoors, not just trail running.“We also do skiing events that are happening right now that it’s ski season. We do a lot of mountain biking events and hiking, bird watching, and all sorts of things in the outdoors.” Safder was a lot of fun to chat with and his joy was contagious. I had a lot of fun learning about Colour the Trails and Safder’s love of the outdoors. I think you will too! Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :)Film Festival episodes start next weekPerhaps you noticed, but it’s been a minute since we last posted around here. That’s because we’re busy getting ready for the Vancouver screening of the Trail Running Film Festival! Tuesday, April 18 at the Rio Theatre where the doors will open at 6 pm and the show starts at 7 pm. Click here for tickets!Starting next Monday, March 27, we’re gonna start the hype train around here and share some awesome interviews with filmmakers and our amazing sponsors! There is so much fantastic content, we might even be dropping episodes twice a week ;)Film Festival Special Guest Filsan AbdiamanWe’re so excited to chat with Filsan Abdiaman as our special guest! Filsan started Project Love Run which is “a running collective for all self-identified womxn seeking a space to connect with others and their own minds and bodies”. We can’t wait to learn more at the film festival. The film festival is going to be a great time and I can’t wait to hang out with all of you! Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“When I first started researching, I didn't really see many people like me out on the mountains.”Deon Barrett has started True North Project because he wants to inspire. Barrett started TNP in January 2022 when his research showed that 6,098 people have summited Mt. Everest and 10 of those were Black People. The reason this particular project made sense to him was because of its grandeur. Barrett wants to inspire on the biggest stage and I think it’s incredibly noble that he wants to be that beacon because to get to this point is pretty incredible. He’s had some dark days in his past. The darkness included an attempted suicide. Barrett found the outdoors quite therapeutic in his recovery but he didn’t find there were many visible Black People in the industry to draw inspiration from. “There's not a lot of, I would say, people of inspiration doing that for the younger generation, especially within the outdoors community. So that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to open the doors, talk from a personal standpoint and experience and show them that they can find their own passion within the outdoors. Because I have.”Deon gives some insight into his training as well as the cost of an Everest expedition in our chat. His plan is to get up the mountain by the 2025 season. His passion for the project is evident and it’s clear he’s already an inspiring individual. Enjoy the conversation, I know I did!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :)Trail Running Film Festival TicketsWe will announce the winners of the contests this week! We are slowly rolling out our Sponsor announcements as well. The support here has been incredible. This really is an amazing place in the world to live and trail run. I’m incredibly grateful for it. Watch for more announcements in the coming weeks and get your tickets while you can! Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

After the announcement last week it only made sense to get a quick podcast in about the Trail Running Film Festival coming to Vancouver, BC, on Tuesday April 18 at the Rio Theatre! Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.Buy your tickets now!I’m incredibly excited to host and celebrate this wonderful community with a bunch of amazing trail runners. It will be fun to hang out in a different context with everyone and be in a room full of awesome, together :)The films will document the culture of trail running and the festival is committed to promoting inclusivity, adventure, wilderness, art, and diversity across the trail and ultra community. The theatre has a capacity of 420 and it should be a great time for all of us trail runners to get together and celebrate our incredible sport together. Vancouver is a very active hub in the trail running world and the event will give the community a chance to come together and celebrate trail running on the big screen and in the same room. Buy your tickets now!If you want to support this newsletter and podcast and get your tickets in one neat and tidy transaction, subscribe to an annual subscription now!Contest Time!Let’s get this rig rolling and give away some tickets, shall we?! 3 ways to win* Subscribe for free (your name goes in the draw with all the other free subscribers)* Upgrade to a monthly paid subscription (only those who have paid subscriptions are entered in their own draw)* Enter the contest on Instagram * You must be following* communitytrailrunning* trailfilmfest* riotheatre* Follow those three accounts and mention your trail-running friends in the contest posts. Tag a friend and get an entry, it’s as easy as that!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“That's the part I'm enjoying the most right now, is just being able to kind of experiment and tell the stories I want to tell the way I want to tell them.”Jeff Pelletier has been trail running for over a decade and he’s been creating videos about his adventures since 2018. In that time he’s wracked up tens of thousands of followers and made some pretty inspiring content to consume! Whether he’s running a crazy race, fastpacking a beautiful trail, or covering someone else’s FKT attempt, Pelletier enjoys the challenge of telling the story in an interesting way. He’s also learned over the years what kind of running makes for the easiest content creation.“I would say, just really simply, the longer the race, the easier it is to tell a story with video. When you're trying to run fast, and by fast, I mean even in a 50 kilometer race, it's really difficult to be filming and messing around with gear, because you're worried about losing precious minutes. Whereas in, say, a 200 miles race, where you're out there for four days, minutes don't matter as much. So it's okay to maybe stop and film something or to mess around with camera batteries here and there. Definitely the longer the race, the less pressure I feel in terms of the clock.”Jeff talked about the difference in stress when he is filming himself as opposed to someone else. He also got into how much trail running has changed since he started and what he thinks about the state of the sport currently. It was awesome that he came on the cast and I hope you all enjoy the interview as much as I did.Please like, rate, subscribe, and share!It all helps in the world of online algorithms. Thank you for your support.Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :)Tickets will be available incredibly soon, stay tuned!!!Galiano Trails Society is hiring: Trail Building and Maintenance CoordinatorI’m honoured to have joined the Galiano Trails Society board of directors! It’s a brand new role for me, and I will have some more to tell you all about it soon. But in the meantime, we are hiring and I must share the job posting with you all! Please share with anyone that you think would appreciate it.Start Date: February, 2023Term: One Year Contract with possible extensionTime Commitment: Two 8-hour days per month on average with some flexibilityApplication Due Date: January 31, 2023THE GALIANO TRAILS SOCIETY is a registered charity dedicated to the development and enjoyment of hiking trails on Galiano Island.The Society is currently seeking a capable, Trail Building and Maintenance Coordinator (the "Coordinator") who has the skills to both organize and lead volunteer and summer student work parties, and undertake heavy-lift trail construction work, including clearing fallen trees by chainsaw and moving and laying gravel.The ideal candidate will have experience building trails, be knowledgeable about good forest management practices; be able to operate a chain saw; can coordinate, lead and train volunteers and summer students; and has all applicable licenses and permits, including a Workers Compensation Board account, and liability insurance.The Coordinator will be expected to work with the Trails Society Board to create, manage and report on an annual schedule for trail building and maintenance indicating at what stage of the project each trail is at; and, manage the general trail sites and working conditions, such as erosion and siltation control, barricades, signs, and maintenance of foot traffic past the site.Please apply by January 31, 2023 by sending your CV and cover letter to:[email protected] Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“What we've tried to do is work with events and work with media to try and represent the sport in the way that we would like it to be, which is one that actually represents the population as a whole.”Sonny Peart is a co-founder of Black Trail Runners. Peart recognized that Black people were underrepresented in trail events across the UK and decided to do something about it. The group didn’t have any expectations of where it would lead, they just wanted to take action.“We've been surprised because when we started this, we had no idea where it was going to go. It just felt as though something should be done and if anyone was going to do it, it might as well be us. So a few of us got together and started this.”Black Trail Runners first move was asking races to include reporting ethnicities that were signing up for races. Through the data they found that although about 5.5% of the UK identifies as Black, less than 1% of runners at trail events were Black. Peart explained this stems from Black people having less access to the trails (both geographic and economic), being less skilled as a result of the lack of access, and being underrepresented in trail running marketing and media. Black Trail Runners is working on these issues in many ways and they really just want to make it possible for Black people to get on the trails. “We have regular, free social runs with qualified run leaders around the country in the UK. And we also put on what we call trail taster events, which is an opportunity for people to, yes, go out for an inclusive, lead, run, but also to take part in workshops, learn skills, whether that's around navigation or gear or running technique or whatever it happens to be. And an opportunity for people to experience the trails in a relaxed, inclusive environment where they feel safe. They don't have to worry about being accepted or not.”Black Trail Runners on StravaBlack Trail Runners on InstagramBlack Trail Runners on LinkedInSonny shared a lot more about the organization and what he’s training for himself, including running the London Marathon for Sporting Equals and taking a crack at Wendover Woods 100. Super grateful he took the time over the busy holiday season to chat and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :)Galiano Trails Society is hiring: Trail Building and Maintenance CoordinatorI’m honoured to have joined the Galiano Trails Society board of directors! It’s a brand new role for me, and I will have some more to tell you all about it soon. But in the meantime, we are hiring and I must share the job posting with you all! Please share with anyone that you think would appreciate it.Start Date: February, 2023Term: One Year Contract with possible extensionTime Commitment: Two 8-hour days per month on average with some flexibilityApplication Due Date: January 31, 2023THE GALIANO TRAILS SOCIETY is a registered charity dedicated to the development and enjoyment of hiking trails on Galiano Island.The Society is currently seeking a capable, Trail Building and Maintenance Coordinator (the "Coordinator") who has the skills to both organize and lead volunteer and summer student work parties, and undertake heavy-lift trail construction work, including clearing fallen trees by chainsaw and moving and laying gravel.The ideal candidate will have experience building trails, be knowledgeable about good forest management practices; be able to operate a chain saw; can coordinate, lead and train volunteers and summer students; and has all applicable licenses and permits, including a Workers Compensation Board account, and liability insurance.The Coordinator will be expected to work with the Trails Society Board to create, manage and report on an annual schedule for trail building and maintenance indicating at what stage of the project each trail is at; and, manage the general trail sites and working conditions, such as erosion and siltation control, barricades, signs, and maintenance of foot traffic past the site.Please apply by January 31, 2023 by sending your CV and cover letter to:[email protected] Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“It is the real deal. It is hard, but it's gorgeous. The views are incredible. You get to see some of those beautiful coastal mountain views. We do it on the summer solstice every year. So there's snow, which is always a fun piece to add in there.” The Kusam Klimb is under new race direction, as friend of the podcast and race director Myke Labelle and his crew at Coastline Endurance have taken over the event. The Kusam Klimb is famous for “Bill’s Trail” and was originated to help the struggling village of Sayward, BC, bring in some money. That original goal, to help the community during tough times, is still the focus for Coastline. They are simply doing their Coastline thing, making the event run like a well-oiled machine, and runners know they will have an enjoyable experience.“Nothing they've done is wrong. It's just adding that kind of, I call it the Coastline Endurance touch, to it to make things better or cleaner, just around the edges. Because I told them this when I met with them. I said, you guys are sitting on a gold mine here. This is probably one of the best events around because of what it is and the culture that it's created.”The Klimb is sold out for 2023, but the event still needs volunteers and it’s worth getting to know it now so you can be prepared for the 2024 edition! The conversation with Myke was great. He shares some insight into the business approach that the race series has to consider as well as how to keep the event true to its original intention. It’s always a treat to have Myke on the cast and this episode is no different. Please like, rate, subscribe, and share!It all helps in the world of online algorithms. Thank you for your support.Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :)Galiano Trails Society is hiring: Trail Building and Maintenance CoordinatorI’m honoured to have joined the Galiano Trails Society board of directors! It’s a brand new role for me, and I will have some more to tell you all about it soon. But in the meantime, we are hiring and I must share the job posting with you all! Please share with anyone that you think would appreciate it.Start Date: February, 2023Term: One Year Contract with possible extensionTime Commitment: Two 8-hour days per month on average with some flexibilityApplication Due Date: January 31, 2023THE GALIANO TRAILS SOCIETY is a registered charity dedicated to the development and enjoyment of hiking trails on Galiano Island.The Society is currently seeking a capable, Trail Building and Maintenance Coordinator (the "Coordinator") who has the skills to both organize and lead volunteer and summer student work parties, and undertake heavy-lift trail construction work, including clearing fallen trees by chainsaw and moving and laying gravel.The ideal candidate will have experience building trails, be knowledgeable about good forest management practices; be able to operate a chain saw; can coordinate, lead and train volunteers and summer students; and has all applicable licenses and permits, including a Workers Compensation Board account, and liability insurance.The Coordinator will be expected to work with the Trails Society Board to create, manage and report on an annual schedule for trail building and maintenance indicating at what stage of the project each trail is at; and, manage the general trail sites and working conditions, such as erosion and siltation control, barricades, signs, and maintenance of foot traffic past the site.Please apply by January 31, 2023 by sending your CV and cover letter to:[email protected] Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“I'm the one who gets our staff to execute. I oversee our staff, our trail crew, our trail director, our marketing team, and everybody, and also help to ensure that our organization is moving forward, that we're not staying stagnant.”Deanne Cote works with the North Shore Mountain Bike Association’s board of directors to execute their vision, “Trails for all and trails forever”. Trails forever is a decent description of North Vancouver in general, and the NSMBA has a lot to do with that! They don’t quite maintain the entire system on the north shore, but they are always looking to add to the existing network and ensure the current network is smooth like butter. They’ve been doing this for 25 years now! We are very fortunate to have an organization like this working so hard on our home trail network.“Our main purpose is to advocate for the trails, hopefully, get more new trails as well as maintain the existing trails.We tend to hire more trail crew every year because we do require lots of maintenance out on those trails. We're always recruiting new builders and volunteers. This past year, we put in over 15,000 hours of trail work on our network.” Deanne has some great tips for all trail users as well. The conversation was enjoyable as it was nice to learn about the organization a bit more, including how they and the entire mountain biking industry are working towards more inclusivity, and what the NSMBA has planned for 2023. Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :)Galiano Trails Society is hiring: Trail Building and Maintenance CoordinatorI’m honoured to have joined the Galiano Trails Society board of directors! It’s a brand new role for me, and I will have some more to tell you all about it soon. But in the meantime, we are hiring and I must share the job posting with you all! Please share with anyone that you think would appreciate it.Start Date: February, 2023Term: One Year Contract with possible extensionTime Commitment: Two 8-hour days per month on average with some flexibilityApplication Due Date: January 31, 2023THE GALIANO TRAILS SOCIETY is a registered charity dedicated to the development and enjoyment of hiking trails on Galiano Island.The Society is currently seeking a capable, Trail Building and Maintenance Coordinator (the "Coordinator") who has the skills to both organize and lead volunteer and summer student work parties, and undertake heavy-lift trail construction work, including clearing fallen trees by chainsaw and moving and laying gravel.The ideal candidate will have experience building trails, be knowledgeable about good forest management practices; be able to operate a chain saw; can coordinate, lead and train volunteers and summer students; and has all applicable licenses and permits, including a Workers Compensation Board account, and liability insurance.The Coordinator will be expected to work with the Trails Society Board to create, manage and report on an annual schedule for trail building and maintenance indicating at what stage of the project each trail is at; and, manage the general trail sites and working conditions, such as erosion and siltation control, barricades, signs, and maintenance of foot traffic past the site.Please apply by January 31, 2023 by sending your CV and cover letter to:[email protected] has our first paid subscription Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“We ended up getting horribly lost and all four of us came close to dying of exposure that night. My buddies and I made a pledge there and then after we kind of were saved, that we come back the next year and knock off the whole 180 km in one push.” - Ean JacksonEan Jackson has been wrapped up in the Sunshine Coast Trail for quite some time now. What started as a group challenge has turned into a lifelong relationship for the Powell River, BC, based trail runner. Jackson was the very first to finish the run in one attempt (though it wasn’t the first attempt, because that one didn’t go so great) and these days he updates the website for the Sunshine Coast Trail and offers up help and advice to any trail runners who reach out. His passion and love for the trail is clear as is the work the Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (PRPAWS) puts into making the trail so great. Because the trail offers so much variety, it’s hard for Ean to choose any favourite area.“Some sections are on the ocean, some are on mountaintops, some sections are on mossy green tunnels where old logging roads passed over 100 years ago. Some sections follow rushing rivers. It's it's really hard to pick one section as my favorite…”Ean was a great guest who just loves this trail. I loved the chance to learn more about it from him. It was wild to learn about this hut-to-hut possibility so close to Vancouver, and to find out that staying in the huts is free was very surprising. I’m going to have to check it out, I know this much, and the shuffle event sounds like a great reason to get over there and see some of the trail!Watch XSNRG hereSpotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“I'm fortunate to have great staff and we all use the stuff. If we use it and we like it and it works, we can sell it. It's not rocket science, right?” - Dave CressmanDistance Runwear has been operating for over 11 years now. Located in Vancouver, and North Vancouver, BC, as well as online, Dave and Meghan Cressman, started the shop when they recognized an opportunity to differentiate their running shop from the others. They didn’t need to be bigger to be better, in fact, just the opposite. The reason they’ve found success is they sell what they know. “That's partly why we've stayed small, is it enables us, or forces us really to be very focused on the things we do bring into the store because we just don't have a lot of space to just display things for the sake of displaying things. And that's probably been the lesson. We need to keep moving forward and we need to cut the cord if something's not working and then go and find that next thing or focus more on the things that we know work for us. That's enabled us to kind of stay relevant as well because we're always hunting, we're always searching for the new things.” Dave was great and he gave a fantastic glimpse into what they’ve done to stick around for over a decade. Distance Runwear is open all week for your last-minute shopping needs! ;)Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Kara Delwo of the Fraser Valley, BC, is passionate about putting on a great event. So when the race director spoke about hosting trail running races it was clear she wants to leave every single runner with fond memories. Her company “Heads or Trails” just opened registration for the Bear Mountain Trail Race (8km, 12km, 21km on May 13, 2023) and the Bear Mountain mountain bike race (11km or 23km on May 14, 2023). Delwo is pumped to welcome trail runners to Bear Mountain once again, and participants can expect a great atmosphere at any of her events. “I've always really focused on pushing other people to achieve great things and to celebrate their actual achievements. I care a lot about the integrity of the event. Making sure that it's something that people get there and there's the wow factor and they want to come back. It's not just something that they show up to, race and leave. It's a full spectacular event.”Heads or Trails hosts 3 trail running races (1 of which is still a mystery, but coming in August of 2023) and 3 mountain bike races. It’s the first year that Delwo is running the events on her own under the Heads or Trails brand, and she is excited to expand her footprint in the trail running community. The races are always accepting volunteers so send them a message if you want to get involved!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :)Blumaka Konnect get their independent lab resultsStuart Jenkins was a guest back in episode 18 and we chatted all about the Blumaka Konnect insoles. The idea with the insoles is your feet don’t slip inside the shoes. They were awaiting independent testing results and those results have arrived. They were good. Really good! My anecdotal discoveries with the insoles so far have me believing these things can make a difference. I’m really hopeful an elite will get their hands on these and think so too.The Trail Running Film Festival is accepting entriesThe Trail Running Film Festival is open for submissions until January 7! I’m super excited to be bringing this event to Vancouver and helping executive producer Mathias Eichler with anything else I can along the way. You may remember Mathias from episode 10 of the podcast. He’s an RD down in Olympia, Washington, and he is super passionate about this community.So I’m calling out to any and all of you who are creators, please submit your work to the festival! It’s a great opportunity to showcase everything that is great about this community. If you’re interested in bringing the festival to your city, get on that now too! If you’re a run club, or a run shop, or just a straight-up trail running fan, this is a great opportunity to bring the community together and have a great time. Thank you all so much for helping me with this! Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

The opportunity to listen to a coach and one of their runners talk about a common subject is something I’m enjoying immensely so far. It’s fun to hear from both sides and this week’s podcast features this dynamic as Couch to Summit coach James Stewart joins us along with one of his runners, Brian Clements. James and Brian are chatting all about their Bremners Winter Vancouver Vertical Kilometre Series taking place on the North Shore of Vancouver, BC. The winter series is virtual (though the pair chat about some exciting news for the next summer series) and they have 5 courses (with 15 segments) ready to go. Runners competing on those 5 courses aren’t just competing for the fastest climb either as they made sure the series was more interesting than that. As a coach, James wanted to make sure all of his runners felt as though they were a part of the series:“Brian's an incredible athlete, but he's not ever going to be setting the fastest times. But he's more than capable of doing like 50 or more VK's over a four month stretch, no problem. So I guess I was thinking about how do I reward someone like Brian and keep them interested in the series. So with the power ranking format we have, it's just the way that we reward people who put the most effort into the series and we give them rewards and challenges to aim for and that has actually spurned forward some really epic feats of endurance…”Learn more about the series and registerCheck out James and his coachingFollow Brian on StravaIt was awesome to get to hear a bit about both of these passionate trail runners and how excited they are for this winter challenge. Are you going to sign up? Are there VK challenges where you run? Let us know!Join the DiscordWith Twitter doing it’s thing I’ve started a Discord channel. I’m hoping to maybe get some live chats and such going when a few more people sign up. You know, actually use it the way people do! So if that’s something you’re interested in, head on over and check it out. It’s also got a chat feature so that we can type to each other just like any other old school chat :)Other places to listenSpotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“Personally speaking, it's been a creative outlet that I didn't know I needed. But beyond that, the best thing about doing the show has been getting to know all these people and hearing their stories.”Chasing Cutoffs is a fun and creative trail-running podcast that Ben Mead hosts. The Olympia, Washington trail runner has been hosting the show since April of 2022 and features back-of-the-pack inspiration. The inspiration to start the show came from a disappointing DNF of his own, and during reflection of said DNF, he wondered why there wasn’t a show that featured stories from runners like himself. Chasing Cutoffs was born, and we are all better off for it!“I attempted a 50 miler earlier this year, my very 1st 50-mile attempt out in Arizona, and it was a complete and utter disaster. DNF and on the day after I'm walking around in a daze, pretty darn disappointed and thinking “there's got to be a podcast about this, about being super slow, about being either DNF or DFL, or why is there not a show about this experience?” Ben was a great guest and we got into all kinds of things, like some of the challenges he faced that he didn’t expect, what some of his favourite things about hosting are, and he even takes time to talk about producer “Daisy” and what it’s like having a co-worker that doesn’t contribute much. This interview is informative and entertaining and I’m so grateful that Ben took the time!Join our Discord channelCome join us on Discord! I don’t know what I’m doing on there yet, but it’s another way we can interact, and that seems good to me. Dear AdamI received one question from the recent callout from Andrew Giles of Edmonton, Alberta. Andrew, thank you so much for taking the time to submit a question! There were two race directors that were more than happy to respond to your question, which was very kind of them, and we definitely appreciate it here at the newsletter. Here is Andrew’s question:Dear Adam,I’m a solid mid to back of the pack runner. Most prizing is geared to the front of the pack which I never am - what should races do to encourage folks like me? Or should we just run simply for the joy of it? - Andrew Giles, EdmontonMatthias Eichler of Rock Candy Running in Olympia, WA was a previous guest on the show and was more than happy to offer up what he does as an RD and podcast host:Dear Andrew,Short answer:"... or should we run simply for the joy of it?"Is there another way to run?Longer answer:Here are my suggestions and what I am personally working on as RD and podcaster:- On race day have raffles for all bib holders. That way prizes, especially valuable things like sponsored gear, can be more easily distributed among all the runners participating.- Create races where coming in first isn't the only focus. For example, we had two endurance events where people can run short loops for 6, or 12 hours. Yes, there will be someone who has run the most loops, but everyone who races their own race and has a different goal. As a race director, this format really allows us to celebrate every achievement by every runner and not just the folks who make it on the podium.- Highlight stories of the everyday runner, don't just talk about the pro athletes. That way more folks feel empowered to participate in our sport.- Tell stories of adventure runs and FKT (Fastest Known Time) route. There is so much more to running than just putting on a bib.Mathias EichlerRock Candy has “SATURNALIA” coming December 17, 2022. Register now and see what Rock Candy races and Mathias are all about!Andrew, I’ve got one more for you. Look for another response from another race director next episode! Myke Labelle of Coastline Endurance and race director for Island Trail Series has also been on the show previously and was kind enough to offer up a response as well.Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by REDproductions from Pixabay.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Happy AnniversaryIt’s hard to believe it’s been 12 months of newsletters and podcasting, yet here we are! Thank you all so much for coming along for the ride so far, the growth has been far larger than I would have ever hoped for and all of your support has been incredible. Your support has helped me achieve the goal of putting out material every two to three weeks.When I started last November, my pie-in-the-sky goal was one subscriber a day and we have blown past that. We just cracked the 600-subscriber mark! A huge part of the subscription surge came when Substack featured the newsletter as part of their ”On Substack”, which was cool to be a part of. Substack recommendations also brought in a lot of subscriptions, which is when other writers on Substack recommend the newsletter. Huge thank you to Cole Noble, Sarah Lavendar Smith, Ron White, and James Maynard for currently recommending the newsletter, and anyone else who has at various times over the past year. Various other places that subscribers have come from include Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (other people’s accounts, the newsletter does not have FB). Twitter proved to be very fruitful when I sent direct messages asking followers if they subscribed and provided a link if they didn’t already. This is something I do now every couple of weeks, but I didn’t do it for the first several months, so it led to a huge surge of subscribers. LinkedIn and Reddit have provided some clicks (a whole bunch from Reddit), but no subscriptions.The podcastBeing featured on Substack also gave the podcast a big boost to download numbers. The boost in downloads after being featured was small in the beginning but snowballed after 2 episodes. Since being featured the downloads on each episode have tallied up faster for the most part. Substack shows that 28 episodes were published over the past 12 months. Two of those were trailers and two of those were descriptions of what the show is all about (one for Ultrapostie and one for Community Trail Running). These episodes have been collectively downloaded nearly 4700 times.One of the first episodes that received a lot of traction from Reddit was Episode 12 with Scott Snell:Scott is a super humble guy and one hell of a runner, and his story seemed to resonate with Reddit folks as it was downloaded over 150 times in the first 24 hours. Reddit can be a bit hit-and-miss for posts (I’m learning which posts do better than others on the platform), but the American trail runner was definitely a hit over there, as were the most two recent episodes, that featured Search and Rescue information. Podcast analyticsAmericans are downloading the podcast more than anyone else. 48% of listeners call the USA home and 30% of listeners are fellow Canucks. Our friends in the UK account for a nickel’s worth of that percentage pie and finally, Germany and France are worth 2% and 1% respectively. All of you are downloading episodes about 90 times in the first 7 days. Episodes have been allegedly downloaded in 49 other countries. That’s pretty cool!Having downloads come from so many different countries is fun to see and the way people have been listening is interesting to delve into as well. I was surprised by how few people listen to podcasts on Spotify (2%), and how many listen in the browser (59%). Apple podcasts had a smaller share than I expected (20%) and Overcast (3%) actually beat out Spotify. Don’t forget to rate and subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening app, it really helps! The fact that you are all listening and supporting from all over the world means a lot. It’s very fun to be a part of this community and find ways to bring value and increase our love of the sport. The love for this sport, and the passion to share knowledge that all of the guests brought this year can’t go understated. The reason the show gets downloaded is because of these awesome people and I will forever be grateful!Anatomy of a podcastBefore the show ever gets downloaded, there is a whole lot of production that goes on. Each 15-minute episode is the culmination of hours of work. Preproduction involves reaching out to potential guests and finding a match. Sometimes it can come together really fast and others it takes a little longer. Once a guest is solidified, the focus turns to research on the person and the subject. Most of the questions and the introduction are sent to the guest the day before the recording. This helps ensure our 15 minutes of interviewing is as informative as it can be and it helps me ensure all the research was correct before recording. The recording is definitely the most fun and shortest part of the process. I use zoom for ease of use. Generally, we chat a bit before recording to go over anything that needs addressing (I don’t think a single guest has changed anything to this point), and then I start my timer and the recording. I try and start wrapping up sometime after the 10-12 minute mark to make sure we are wrapped with plen

We know from last week with BC AdventureSmart Executive Director Sandra Riches that when we adventure into the backcountry, there is a basic checklist we should take care of:"We want you to follow our three T’S. We want you to trip plan, train, and take those essentials with you.”Sandra continues the conversation this week and gets into some winter-specific tips for those adventures. She tells us about Avalanche Canada, an “industry cousin” that provides incredible winter/avalanche education and she also tells us what to expect from BC AdventureSmart in the coming months as we finish our conversation from last week. This will help explain her enjoyment of the “current” weather in the interview. Things change fast, don’t they? Sandra was a fantastic guest and I’m grateful for all the great information she passed along. BC Search and Rescue Association is a great follow on Twitter and that is how I was able to connect with Sandra, so check out the profile! AdventureSmart is an excellent resource with trail-running-specific tips, but also tips for any other outdoor activity you may be participating in where Search And Rescue may be deployed.SAR is entirely volunteer, and we are incredibly fortunate to have them so that we can play out there. They risk their lives for us to play and that’s pretty damn awesome. If there is anything we can all do to make sure they get called out as infrequently as possible, we should.“We hope, we say this respectfully, that you never see any of those 3000 volunteers. Ideally, they don't want to meet you. You don't want to meet them in the best-case scenario. However, they're great people, don't get me wrong. You do want to meet them in another sense because they're amazing and trained and skilled and highly professional. Unpaid professionals.”Thank you SAR volunteers everywhere!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by Skilsel from PixabayIf you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

The three T’s are simple enough, aren’t they?* Trip Plan* Train* Take EssentialsBC AdventureSmart Executive Director Sandra Riches joined me for a two-part chat and we talked all about AdventureSmart and its mission. She gives some great tips on what we can all do out there to ensure we are being as smart and prepared as possible, and she also gets into how they create the education that they do. They have an incredible amount of data available to them and by using this data they are able to generate outdoor education that makes sense.“That collection of data allows all of us, SAR groups, individual members, BC Search and Rescue Association, myself at BC AdventureSmart to jump into that data and look and see what's going on. What's happening, what's consistent, what's seasonal, what is regional. How do we pull out of that and create outdoor education?”Sandra was a fantastic guest and I’m grateful for all the great information she passed along. BC Search and Rescue Association is a great follow on Twitter and that is how I was able to connect with Sandra, so check out the profile! AdventureSmart is an excellent resource with trail running specific tips, but also tips for any other outdoor activity you may be participating in where SAR may be deployed. SAR is entirely volunteer, and we are incredibly fortunate to have them so that we can play out there. They risk their lives for us to play and that’s pretty damn awesome. If there is anything we can all do to make sure they get called out as infrequently as possible, we should.“Our main objective is to increase awareness for outdoor enthusiasts so that we can reduce the number and severity of search and rescue calls in the province of BC.”Let’s all do our part to help out this great cause, no matter where we are in the world, shall we?Part two:Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by Skilsel from PixabayIf you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

If you’re not running as much, then you might as well strength train! The running offseason is an opportunity to make gains in other places and friend of the podcast Kylie Morgan of “The Morgan Method” joined us again to chat about this and had some other great information she passed along. Kylie is always a wealth of information but it was also nice to hear about her personal recovery from knee surgery. It was a long road and Kylie was ecstatic to finally toe the line at the 2022 Squamish 23k race. She gives some great perspectives and tips on how to get through such a long recovery. “Get the small things sorted before they become big things. Don't keep running through an injury. A couple of days off now is a whole lot better than a couple of weeks off later. It's not going to kill your training.”Kylie was on the podcast back in episode three and chatted about the benefits of strength training in general. It was a great chat and she had plenty of interesting information to pass along!Don’t forget to submit your questions for the mailbag piece! Get over there now and submit, there is a google form you can fill out :)We will be back next Monday with Part 1 of 2 with the Executive Director of BC AdventureSmart, Sandra Riches.Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by Skilsel from PixabayIf you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Matt Chittim’s excitement is palpable for the new Patreon site, Relay, where he and 8 other running content creators have combined forces to put out at least 20 pieces of various running media each month. The site is entirely paywalled and their goal is simple, to be the best place on the internet for running content. They are setting out to do this by constantly releasing high-quality material through collaboration. “Ultimately, I have full faith this is going to work for a very simple reason. The people on the team.”Kara Goucher, Peter Bromka, Lindsey Hein, Zoë Rom, Mike "Kofuzi" Ko, Stefanie Flippin, Carolyn Su, Marcus Brown, and Matt make up the Relay team. The first week of content that Relay created is open for free on the website and will remain that way, so you can get a feel for what they are doing. Check it out for yourself, it’s certainly ambitious and exciting and I’m curious to see how they do! What do you think about it all? Are you interested in a format like this? The ability to pay for the exact content we want to see is pretty powerful and it seems the world is embracing this. It’s still relatively new though, and people are building new habits, so to see what works and what doesn’t is fascinating. Trail running is in a fascinating place itself as an industry, so all of this could change rapidly and often. It’s going to be a fun ride!Click above and submit to the mailbag of sorts!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by Skilsel from PixabayIf you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Coast Mountain Trail Running’s “Whistler Alpine Meadows” event has a 100-kilometre race that has over 6,000m of climbing and today’s episode features the top three women! Katie Mills, Hilary Spires, and Tara Holland finished 1, 2, and 3 respectively, and shared stories of their time together and apart on the trails of Whistler. They are inspirational and funny and I had an absolute blast listening to these awesome women!“Instead of freaking out that I was gonna be caught by somebody or whatever, I was kind of hopeful that I'd have a bit of company for the last bit. But it also makes you push in a different way because I knew how strong she was uphill. And I knew that she has really good finishing abilities.” - Katie on the difference between running ahead of friends vs. non-friends. Who did you go for a trail run with last? Do they know about Community Trail Running? Let them know now!Hilary has now been on the show two episodes in a row, so a huge shoutout to her! Hilary cracked everyone up talking about how competitive she can be and, as previously mentioned, she hosts the podcast “Trail Running Women”. You absolutely should listen now, so here are a couple of episodes of Trail Running Women featuring today’s guests, Katie Mills and Tara Holland! “I wanna be on the podium with these two. I really didn't want someone else to catch me. So that made a difference to me.” - Tara on the extra motivation of running with Katie and Hilary. Hilary is going to run this interview on her podcast as well, so make sure to subscribe to both! I also made the “editorial decision”(lol) to run this interview in full length here, since it’s running on Trail Running Women as well and I felt it should be consistent on both. It’s well worth the few extra minutes, I promise.“I am a ruthlessly competitive person, like I'll hold your head underwater to win kind of bad-competitive.” Hilary is an open book on the podcast!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by Skilsel from PixabayKatie briefly mentions “Salomon Trail Labs” as well. If you’re local to the Vancouver area, check out this awesome running group. It’s so much fun and will be starting up around Halloween:If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :)I’m taking submission again from you, so please check out the latest article: Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

It’s likely fair to say those runners who sign up for the Finlayson Arm ultra wouldn’t want easy kilometres anyway. Well, perhaps, a single easy kilometre, but Race Director Myke Labelle made sure those didn’t make the cut! Making the cut wasn’t hard for Hilary Spires, in spite of Myke’s efforts, as she won the 100km race in 2021. Both of these awesome people were kind enough to preview the upcoming races at Finlayson Arm on the latest edition of the podcast. Finlayson Arm is a blast to run that really has a unique feel to it. “The way the course is set up, that kind of out and back format really kind of lends (itself) to a really intimate, friendly feeling event.” - Myke LabelleWant to volunteer at this years event? Check’em out on IG (Coastline Endurance)It’s friendly and feels like a celebration out there a lot of the time, but it is definitely going to push you around. Hilary talked about how she won the race in 2021 and some of the challenges that she faced along the way. She had some great advice for those getting ready to take the event on here in 2022.“If you don't focus on running the mile that you are in and just break down the course, I think the hugeness of it will eat you up.” - Hilary SpiresHilary on IGHilary coaching “Rugged Conditioning”Hilary's podcast “Trail Running Women”Every subscription makes a difference. We’re growing this community together, thank you!Good luck to all of those who are running Finlayson Arm this weekend, you’re gonna have a blast. Enjoy the celebration of all your training! Matt Cecill visuals made a great video about the race a few years back that is always worth a watch:Myke was awesome enough to chat with us all about this race on episode 4 of the podcast:Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by Skilsel from PixabayIf you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

“We take down barriers for women and we can change lives by doing so.”Sophie Power is empowering women runners everywhere through SheRACES. SheRACES is “A global network of champions, driving change to support female athletes.” Sophie founded SheRACES after being photographed while running 2018 UTMB and breastfeeding her newborn child at an aid station. She wanted the option to be able to defer, as she already had to miss the event once, and even though she was able to run the race and breastfeed, many women would not be able to. Sophie said she really wants to address the start line for women. “I wanted to understand why women aren't on the start lines and see how I could work with race directors to get more women on the start line, give us a better experience when we're racing, and also really start respecting our competition as one that's separate from the male competition and making sure that the female winner is equally valued as a male winner.Sophie’s passion for the sport and working to make it as great for everyone as possible is infectious. The future of the sport is in better shape because of efforts like Sophie’s to prioritize equality. It was awesome for her to take the time and chat, even with the European 24 hour championships less than 3 weeks away! SheRACES has a great website that features all the great work they are doing and how you can get involved as well. Check it out and see how your local races stack up. Race directors are some of the most welcoming and positive people who are always looking to make their events more inclusive and successful and you can always reach out and let them know about SheRaces.Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by Skilsel from PixabayLastly, I’m accepting entries for your favourite trail races until the end of August!Get on over there and hit me up, so I can share them with our awesome community.If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

An insole that ensures your foot doesn’t slide inside the shoe. Sounds simple, right? It is! It’s also unique as Blumaka has created this product and was recently featured on “The Athletic”. This is where I found out about the product and I was immediately fascinated. The San Francisco Giants are a team that is generally known in Major League Baseball as a team to be at the front of the pack when it comes to analytics and development. So when it was them involved, I was piqued. The player, Mike Yastrzemski had some interesting thoughts and the article itself had a ton of great information, none more interesting to me, than this blurb:“How much force is lost with normal insoles? Blumaka isn’t ready to make any concrete claims yet. But Yastrzemski has done some tests of his own in the team’s biomechanics lab at San Francisco’s spring training complex. “We have some things where we can look at our rotational acceleration” in his swing, the outfielder says — rotational acceleration is measured in G-forces — and he noticed a jump of 5-7g with the insoles versus without. According to Blast Motion, the MLB average rotational acceleration is 17g. - From “The Athletic - Why Mike Yastrzemski and the Giants are sold on special insoles: ‘If you’re slipping, you’re losing’I had to know more and when I reached out to Blumaka, they were happy to get Stuart on a podcast so we could chat a bit about it! Stuart Jenkins has been running for decades, including winning some major marathons, and he’s been innovating in the shoe industry the entire time, Blumaka is the latest. Stuart loves trail running and prefers it to road running, he even talks about how it influences where he purchases a home. It’s a great conversation with Stuart about him and the product, and you’ll find more interesting bits from the man who once ran for 22 years, 1 month, and 1 day straight! “You're not making anything 20% or 30% better, but you're making it a little better. Why do all baseball players wear batting gloves? Babe Ruth had a lot of home runs without a batting glove, but somebody figured out you're going to have less slipping in your hands if you have a glove on your hands.”Find out more about Blumaka here.It’s not all baseball talk, I promise :) Check it out and see if the insoles make you curious at all. Let me know what you’re thinking in the comments! I have a pair that Blumaka sent me and have been giving them a go myself. They are very receptive to feedback and really want to hear from runners, so if you do get them, give them as much feedback as you can!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by Skilsel from PixabayIf you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Whether you are challenging for the top spot or finding the cutoffs a challenge, cursing Gary Robbins during one of his events is a rite of passage. So you will have to guess if that’s Jeannine Avelino’s quote (finished 2019 Squamish 50k with less than 4 minutes to spare) or Jeanelle Hazlett who said it (won the 50 mile in 2019 and finished 2nd in the 50 k in 2018). Of course only one of them said it, but it almost doesn’t matter who it was, does it?!Jeannine has plenty of experience on these trails and has simplified the race in order to tackle it.“I'm treating it as three main climbs, which is Galactic, the Climb Trail, and the Mountain of Phlegm, which, after looking at the elevation gain, it's really nothing compared to the other two. But at 40 km in, it feels like twice, three times that. It's also pretty technical. A good mix of technical and runnable trails. It's pretty fun.“ Jeannine’s “Everything but Weddings”. Jeannine on “Chasing Cutoffs” podcast.Jeanelle is coaching Jeannine and will be following her closely as she tackles the course. Jeanelle is not running herself this year but has some pretty vivid memories of how tough this course can be.“It can be hot. It's relentless. There are lots of roller coaster elements to this course. I'll never forget running and the feeling like my feet were going to blow up leaving Far Side because it's just so up and down that by the end of it, everything is smashed.”Work with Jeanelle at Ridgeline Athletics.Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by Skilsel from PixabaySquamish is a tough course and so much fun with the atmosphere that Coast Mountain creates. Coaches can help you prepare for these kinds of tough weekends. Jeanelle is an awesome runner and coach, and she was on the podcast to talk about coaching for Ridgeline Athletics previously:Jeannine is a good friend of mine and has provided the newsletter with her input several times, including her trail running tips for trail runners:Best of luck to all those running Squamish this weekend! It holds a special place in my heart after I finished the 50/50 in 2021. You can read all about that here:Don’t forget to submit your race recommendations to me as well!If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Everyone craves a big plate of pasta and tall glass of wine while running an ultra, right?! Sarah Lavender Smith of Colorado Mountain Running and Living chats about one of the most memorable aid stations she’s ever encountered, as well as shares her experience volunteering at mile 58 of the Hardrock 100 and how she used that experience to strategize for her own 100 miler, the High Lonesome 100. Even though Sarah has run countless ultra events, she still experienced a first at the High Lonesome 100!“I took up ultras in the early 2000s after a decade of road running. I've done like 100 ultras. I've never puked. It's like losing your virginity, puking in an ultra. It's the thing everyone does at some point. And I finally, like the full on uncontrollable yawn. Just horrible.”We paint lovely pictures on the podcast! ;-) Sarah is a great guest and follow, both on Substack and social media (IG and Twitter). She’s also written a book “The Trail Runner's Companion: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trail Running and Racing, from 5Ks to Ultras.” I reached out after she wrote “Anatomy of an Aid Station” and knew I had to chat with her about it! “I would pinpoint one runner and latch onto him or her and say, “Hey, I'm your helper. Let me know what you need.“ I would stick with that person and do everything I could to help that person, whether it was helping them get their shoes off and change their socks and deal with their gross feet or getting them food or wrapping. Those were just some of the things that made it special.”Check it out and let me know some aid station stories of your own in the comment section! Thank you to those that submitted your questions for Sarah, it’s always appreciated. We didn’t quite answer them all, but the best aid station memory that Sarah shared made up for it…Next week the podcast is back! We’re getting ready for Squamish 50 and we’ve got the first multi-guest show coming to preview the weekend. This podcast will take place of the written piece that would usually come. Guests have been awesome and generous, so we’re gonna roll with it!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by Skilsel from PixabayDon’t forget to recommend your recent favourite races!If you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Galiano Island is a singletrack paradise. The ease with which you can get onto the trails and run is unparalleled, and the vistas offered up are second to none. The island is the perfect spot for a trail-running weekend. With great food, accommodations, and other entertainment available, a weekend on Galiano is a weekend you won’t regret. The island has something for everyone!The Galiano Trails Society is a huge reason for the amazing trail running network. They help build and maintain the network of trails up and down the island. On the podcast, I speak to two board members of the Society about what the Society does and how the network of island trails continues to grow. Those board members are Vilupti Corlis and Jesse Keefer and they also shared a few other things they love about the island. I’ve already covered some of this in a written piece that went up last week: You can get the podcast anywhere you listen:Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereI also had a couple of close running friends, Jeff Radomsky and Chris Shier, join me for a running weekend on the island. I included some of their feelings about what it was like to run on the island. It was a ton of fun to put this series together, as Galiano is a special place and I love being able to share it with anyone on any level. Listen to this podcast, read the written piece, and book your trip to Galiano. You won’t be disappointed! Music by Skilsel from PixabayIf you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Addie Bracy is a Mental Performance Consultant, and so much more. She’s a professional runner, she’s a cofounder for OUTrun which connects and supports LGBTQ+ individuals, she is a Runners Alliance ambassador, which highlights harassment on the trails, and she’s the author of “Mental training for ultra running”. She was kind enough to join me on the podcast and talk about how she got to where she is today and we even got to a listener's question from Twitter. It was a great chat and I think you will enjoy everything she had to say! She is really excited about getting to share what she has learned and make it accessible. “My main goal was to make that information very accessible. The book was mainly the first project I did after school. I want this to be distributed as much as it can be. So that's been kind of the motive the last few years.” “I think sometimes people just want to not have those negative thoughts and they think that if they do, then, okay, well, I'm having this negative thought about this situation and it kind of spirals from there. Obviously, it's hard to come back from that, but in reality that's normal.” Here you can follow Addie’s Instagram and Twitter pages. Her personal practice is Strive Mental Performance and her run coaching is Sharman Ultra Coaching.Her insight into mental performance is really fun to listen to. She’s been featured on many other podcasts and you may end up going down the rabbit hole to find more!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by Skilsel from PixabayIf you enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

31 trail runners from 7 different countries sent me their trail running tips and I shared them all last week in the written newsletter. This week is the podcast version!The reaction to the post has been fantastic as other runners have reached out and told me how much they enjoyed it, and some have even commented on their own tips!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereThis episode goes over some favourite tips and I add some personal anecdotes. I had so much fun reading every single submission and it was a treat to put them all together and share them! Music by Skilsel from PixabayIf you enjoy the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Hello and welcome to the Community Trail Running Newsletter!Sorry for the mass of emails the last couple of days, everything should be back to normal after this. Things are going to look slightly different around here with a new logo and name, but everything else is business as usual. “Community Trail Running” is more straight-forward than “Ultrapostie thoughts in my head”. Simple as that. I’d like to grow the community here and a simple name that gets straight to the point is a more direct path. Mission StatementInform, entertain, and inclusively serve as an online extension of the trail running community. This is what the newsletter will continue to be all about. Posts will still come out on the same days. Mondays for podcasts and Wednesdays for written pieces, with the occasional extra thrown in. I’m absolutely loving getting the opportunity to share with all of you!A huge thank you to SK Designs for the new logo. I love it and the few variations I have. I will cycle through all of them I’m sure!If you enjoy my newsletter, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running newsletter it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails. Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Hello and welcome to the Community Trail Running Podcast! An extension of the trail running community and always 15 minutes or less. We’ll feature useful and entertaining guests and the show will be inclusive, adventurous, and fun. Subscribe today, join the community and let’s grow this together.Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereMusic by Skilsel from PixabayIf you enjoy the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Scott Snell ran 254.167 miles (409.04 km) in just under 62 hours (finishing 62 yards) to capture the Capital Backyard Ultra title on May 28, 2022. An absolutely incredible feat that he accomplished without a crew! Scott faced some highs and lows but managed to outlast a talented and deep field. His lows were tough and although he didn’t have any crew on hand, he explained there is always one person he knows that will tell him what he needs to hear.“I called my wife and I was like, look, I think I'm going to quit. I'm done. I'm tired of this. And she reminded me that the reason I was there, what I said I was going to do was keep going until either I’m the last one or until I time out, whichever comes first.”Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereScott spoke glowingly of his wife’s support and about what Lazarus Lake has meant to ultra running. Laz was helping Scott get a few winks of sleep since he didn’t have a crew on hand. The famous race director also wrote a really awesome race update going into the 59th yard that you should read for yourself. It’s so cool how inspired Laz was seemingly feeling from Scott’s run. Scott is an easy guy to cheer for! Follow along and cheer him on as well here on his IG page.If you enjoy the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :)Music by Skilsel from Pixabay Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

You are going to share a lot of personal information with your running coach if you want to benefit the most from the relationship and tutelage. Sharing all of this with someone is a huge act of trust and so it’s crucial that you and your coach have a great relationship. Personal Peak coach Chantelle Erickson preached the importance of a connection with her athletes during our interview.“I mean, that's how we help you. And where I coach, I rejig programs all the time. It's pretty much every week I'm rejigging something. And it's those kinds of flexible things. Being able to communicate and just listen to your athletes. I'm here to coach a person's goals and dreams. I'm here for them and to keep them on track with their goals.”Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereChantelle is living in Lethbridge, AB these days, and was a great guest who is clearly passionate about helping others. She was a terrific interview! The interview went so well and so fast that I didn’t get to the submitted questions, and for that, I apologize! Perhaps you can reach out on her IG page and ask her a question! Chantelle’s Instagram Chantelle’s Personal Peak coaching pageA reminder I still want your best two trail running tips! I’m accepting entries until the end of May and the article will be published on the first day of summer. Thank you to all of you that have submitted so far, it could be a record as far as participation and that’s amazing!If you enjoy the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Mathias Eichler is involved in trail running in all kinds of ways, as he runs and hosts a podcast (Singletrack), so directing a race doesn’t seem like much of a stretch for the man now calling Olympia, Washington, home. We had a chance to chat about his Rock Candy Running races which run from July to December in and around Olympia.“It’s something very new and I’m super excited about it and I’m putting everything I have into it. "Mathias is a super creative guy and the opportunity to create a race from scratch is something he loves. It was so fun to hear the passion he has for these races and I’m sure it’s going to be a complete blast to take part in any of them. It’s clear he’s invested himself in these races in a big way. Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereRock Candy Running Schedule:July 23 - Beast of Big Creek (Half marathon and 7m)August 6 - Little Backyard Adventure (6 hour challenge)September 17 - Rock Candy Mountain Run (12 hour challenge)December 17 - Saturnalia (10km)If you enjoy the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Nutritionist Kristen Yarker shared great information about how to eat while training. She tells us how to ensure our body is recovering and getting enough out of what we eat to help us make forward progress! “Aiming for a good 6 servings of vegetables or fruit a day is an important one. And the next one is just getting enough food (or calories) in general. The third one is hydration. If you’ve arrived at your training already dehydrated, you can’t make up for that.”Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereKristen runs a team of registered dieticians, she’s written a cookbook, she is well versed in all things nutrition, and in this chat, she shared a wide range of sports nutrition information. She is a wealth of knowledge and also, a really easy person to chat with! I hope you enjoy the chat and the information as much as I did.Click here to read Kristen’s nutrition websiteClick here to read her InstagramI was also once again able to take some questions from Twitter!I absolutely love being able to share your questions as I love to be able to provide the information you are thinking about :) So watch out and follow me on the various channels, so you can get your questions in there in the future as well!Where do you think trail running is going? I talked about this in the intro of the podcast, but I recently posted some thoughts on this in a newsletter post. Mostly though, I wanted to hear from you! Where do you think it’s going?If you enjoy the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

When Gary Robbins and Eric Carter seek you out to work with them, you’re probably a pretty good athlete and an even better person. The two of them operate Ridgeline Athletics and added Jeanelle Hazlett as their first outside coaching hire in 2018. She’s been helping people become better trail runners and athletes as a Ridgeline coach ever since. Getting better at anything requires practice and discipline. A coach can focus your practice so you are taking the most direct route to your goal. Jeanelle tells us about providing that focus for her athletes who are looking to become better trail runners. “The most exciting thing has been really getting to know my athletes. What makes them tick and trick. They’re like, “I didn’t even mention this to you and yet you knew.” It’s the coaches intuition that gets to become the primary thing which is pretty exciting.” Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereThe conversation was a lot of fun and provided some great insight into what a trail running coach thinks about. I’m also certainly looking forward to the PNW Trailrunners group runs. I hope to see some of you out there! Jeanelle’s InstagramRidgeline Athletics WebsitePNW Trailrunners WebsiteI trained with Ridgeline Athletics in 2021 for the Squamish 50/50. I absolutely loved it and I feel that I learned more in 9 months of full-time coaching with them than I had in the previous 7 years of running. Obviously, you can reach out to Jeanelle with any questions you have, and feel free to comment below if you have any for me as well!If you enjoy the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Erick Thompson is the creator of “Fifty”, a trail running documentary. He told me the challenges of making a great documentary. The doc is about his journey to, and completion of, his first-ever 50 miler, along the HBC Heritage Trail: “I Love this trail. It’s really interesting and it’s just beautiful. There are some great spots on it.”Erick has a great connection with the HBC Trail and really enjoyed running and showcasing it.He was a great guest and it was fun to hear what a challenge it can be to run and document at the same time. I loved how Erick mentioned Monet painting the same scene multiple times and how he feels the same way attempting to showcase the HBC Heritage trail. Erick had a great crew and it really motivated him to stick to his training. He didn’t want to let them down on the big day! Check out Erick’s Twitter and Youtube. If you listen to your podcasts elsewhere, here are some links:Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereIf you enjoy the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

This trail running podcast is fun and inclusive. It features interviews with wonderful people who will share helpful and entertaining information. I promise it will be 15 minutes well spent and you will look forward to the next episode!I wanted to create a trailer for the podcast as some of the players have the option to highlight one. My wife Sheena (she’s also a makeup and hair superstar!) was kind enough to take me out for a photoshoot recently as well. So now I have a new logo for the podcast and some promotional material to milk a whole “post” out of ;) I certainly appreciate all of you being here and supporting the newsletter. It’s been really fun so far as the writing side and the podcast side start to find their feet. Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereListen to the first episode about who I am here. The podcast has been a lot of fun for me. I love the opportunity to chat and learn from all of the guests, and the challenge of keeping the interview short is also enjoyable. You’ve all been incredibly kind with your feedback and I could not be more grateful. I appreciate every bit of it so always comment on anything you are thinking.I have to once again thank Mimi Jamieson, Kylie Morgan, Myke Labelle, Ty Holtan, and Carl “Professor” Stanfield for chatting with me. Every one of these people has been so kind to give up their time and eager to share some information with all of us, and I think we’re all a bit happier that they did!If you enjoy the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Have you ever thought of a goal that was utterly ridiculous, but just “real” enough to want to go for it? Carl “Professor” Stanfield is going for it. Well, he’s hiking for it. Just how many miles is he looking to cover? Does that matter if he literally can’t stand up in the morning?What a goal he has. 11,000 miles (17,703km). Carl joined me for a conversation while hiking (that’s what happens when you need to cover 30 miles (48.5km) a day (recorded Monday February 28, 2022) and he was feeling great. I have to thank his cousin Nathan Franklin, who I met on Reddit, for pointing out the crazy quest Carl is on. What a great tip! I’m so happy that I was able to have this conversation and share it with all of you. Follow Carl along on his Instagram page. Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereThe chat was fantastic, however, due to the fact he was hiking beside a road while he had reception, there is a bit of background noise here and there. I don’t think it distracts from Carl’s awesome story at all, but you all deserve the heads up.If you enjoy the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Ty Holtan stood in the rain at the 2021 Squamish 50 for an absurd amount of time, and covered a ridiculous amount of distance to take great photos of you trail running. He does this all the time! Why would he do that? He is an ultra trail running photographer.Ty has a couple of degrees (Kinesiology and Exercise Science and Human Kinetics) and he’s taken photos for a bunch of big companies you know (like Lululemon and Redbull). His Instagram page is a great follow and I think you will find our conversation interesting!I met Ty at a Coast Mountain Trail Running event and quickly realized he is an easily approachable and friendly photographer. I was super happy when he was willing to chat and tell us a bit more about what it’s like to be a trail running photographer. I loved that he mentioned his gear is not that heavy and then reveals it’s about 40lb. Good thing he’s packing all kinds of “highly crushable” food to keep him going! Ty talked about the 2021 Squamish 50 being a recent highlight for him, and it certainly was for me as well!Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereIt goes without saying, but all the photos in this post are Ty’s. They are awesome! If you are interested in working with him, reach out.Ty was a great guest and I hope you enjoy our conversation. I’d love to hear what you think in the comments. It’s been really nice to interview people about things they are passionate about and knowledgeable about. I’m having so much fun learning from everyone and producing these podcasts. I’m grateful for my guests to have spent some time chatting with me, and to each and every one of you who has tuned in and listened. Thank you.If you enjoy the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Create a tough course and memorable trail running event for all that take the start line. That’s what Myke Labelle manages to do, year in and year out. He’s a race director extraordinaire! How does he create those memorable events?Myke directs the Vancouver Island Trail Series and the Finlayson Arm (or Finny) Races. With registration opening today for the series (Monday, February 14, 2022), Myke was kind enough to join me and chat about the race. I went longer than I’m aiming to, and we certainly could have kept going! But I’m trying to keep to a style idea here so my apologies for going slightly long.Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereThe most important thing (to me) is greeting every finisher. It is vitally important that I spend that 5, 10, 15 seconds with someone when they cross the finish line, because they’ve just had whatever expereince that they may have had, but they’ve also take the time out of their weekend, out of their lives to train for your event, and it’s important for me to recognize that. - Myke LabelleMyke is a wonderful guy and is out to make his event as amazing for everyone as humanly possible. This race is a favourite of mine and really feels like a unique event to take part in. I can’t recommend it enough. Click to read more about coaching services from Myke, as well as the Finlayson Arm races and the Vancouver Island Trail Series!I was also excited to take some questions from Twitter for the first time: Thanks to all of you that submitted and I apologize if I couldn’t get to yours. Time goes so fast!As mentioned in the introduction of the podcast, I’m still taking submissions for “What does trail running mean to you?” Check that post out after if you haven’t submitted it already, and let me know! Finally, Human powered is a documentary by Matt Cecill about the 2018 version of the Finlayson Arm races and is a super fun watch. Whether you are running the race or not, the video is a great use of your time. Myke and I flew through our conversation so fast, we didn’t even get to talk about it! You’ll be ready for a run after you watch :)If you enjoy the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe

Kylie Morgan of the Morgan Method hits me with some incredible facts about strength training. One 30-minute workout each week can reduce our risk of heart attack or stroke by a crazy percentage! Just how much do you think it is?Kylie was super fun to chat with and had all kinds of great notes like this prepared for our chat. She has a Bachelors's and a Master’s Degree in Exercise Science with a particular interest in cardiovascular physiology. She’s worked in the fitness industry for a long while and she absolutely loves trail running, yoga, snowboarding, and strength training! I think you’ll find her informative and the conversation fun. I certainly did! Spotify: Click HereGoogle Podcasts: Click HereApple Podcasts: Click HereYoutube: Click HereYou should check out her website here. She has a free yoga program for trail runners you can check out here. And you can keep up to date on her informative IG feed here.If you enjoy the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could like, share, subscribe, or comment! I’m trying to make this the best trail running podcast it can be and I certainly appreciate your time. Thank you all and happy trails :) Get full access to Community Trail Running at communitytrailrunning.substack.com/subscribe