Trail Runner Nation

Warren Pole turns the table on Don, Faith and Scott and ASKS the questions!

Jet-setting Anna Frost joins us from New Zealand to talk with the Nation about running around the world.

We sit down with Dr. Maffetone to discuss his book, The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing - 509 pages of endurance training methods that have helped countless athletes perform at their highest level.

Bryon Powell is an accomplished runner, placing in the top 10 of Leadville 100 and winning his age group (under 30) at Western States 100. But he is also the Runner-in-Chief of irunfar, a website dedicated to bringing ultrarunners timely news, race coverage and results, gear reviews, running advice and coaching. Irunfar was voted one of Outside Magazines "Top Running Blogs" in 2011 and a premiere web site for all things ultra. Over the years it has grown into an all-star team of runner/writers that share information to our community.

We talk to Dr. Mark Cucuzzella and Dr. Steven Gangemi about what they learned in 2012.

Pandora's Box turned out to be a bit larger than we thought. After an hour and 48 minute podcast we still have some more work to do. Join Ashley Walsh and Jimmy Dean Freeman as we discuss, "If you walk in your endurance run can you really really claim you ran the race?" Oh yeah, and JDF intro's the EPIC Bill Bradley into the mix.

Ultra Running Veterans, Dana Gard and Steve Harrold share with us stories of who mentored them and how the sport of ultra running has changed.

Is running 100 mile races for everyone? What are you getting into when you open that box to begin training for and racing 100 mile races? What sacrifices will you need to make?

We had a great virtual run with Dr. Steven Gangemi, AKA cult leader, where we talked about many different things including the recent articles stating that running was bad for your health.

We join Elite ultra runner Nikki Kimball and film director and producer Jaime Jacobsen as we talk about their new movie "Finding Traction": Nikki's quest to set a new record on the 273-mile, Vermont Long Trail.

Bart Yasso joins us to discuss his love for running. If you could describe a dream job you may find that Bart has been living that dream for 30 years. He is the worlds first Chief Running Officer allowing him to write his own job description. Perhaps no surprise that his work has allowed him to run over 1,000 competitive races on all 7 continents. Tough job, but somebody has to do it.

Dominic Grossman and Katie DeSplinter join TRN to talk about their experience at Liza Howard's recent trail running camp with Team RWB, Katie's recent win at Ozark Trail 100, How long does it take to get "race ready", Their training schedule, Two-legged Star Wars creatures.

Our favorite Brit, UTMB finisher, good friend of the Mayor of Chamonix, and journalist extraordinaire: Warren Pole joins us to discuss how ultra running can teach us to be better in our professional careers... or can it? Warren drops Aristotle-like philosophy on the Nation Membership.

Running partners can inspire motivate and help you reach your potential. Choose the wrong running partner and they may just drive you crazy. Ultra runner, Coach, Mother, and three-time member of the USA's 24-hour team and "smart aleck": Carilyn Johnson joins the nation to discuss important considerations to keep in mind when choosing who you run with.

The Trail Runner Nation's Doctor, Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, is in the house and talks about 3 simple tips to think about as you are training in the coming months: don't overstride, lengthen your posture and go nip to hip!

Ashley Walsh, a multi-100 mile finisher, free-lance writer, and tough chick, talks about how to become tougher, can you lose your toughness, how to train yourself to be tougher, etc.

[tabs] [tab title="Description" ] Lace up your shoes and jump into the 2nd week challenge of the PEK / Tailwind contest. Listen to this short podcast announcement and then click HERE to share your story. [/tab] [tab title="Listen"] You can find us on iTunes or listen by using the player below. [/tab] [tab title="Download"] Click [...]

Mike Morton continues to have an amazing come back. In the last race season, not only did he win every race he entered, but he set new records as well. Mike is also an Ambassador for Team RWB and will be a coach at the upcoming trail running clinic on November 9-12, 2012 in Texas.

Do you need to know if you're an ultra runner? Check out this link on run100s.com and join us as we discuss the list of reasons you may be an ultra runner.

[tabs] [tab title="Description" ] Anna Hughes, ultra runner from Germany, mother of two and full-time employee talks to us about how important mental training is to ultra running. By training your mind, it is proven, your performance will increase. Anna discusses what has worked for her in her running career. Anna is the creator of ultra-running-insights.com, [...]

Ultra Runner and running coach, Liza Howard joins us to talk about fall training and a great training camp she is hosting in Texas on November 9-12, 2012. Team RWB is a non-profit, grass-roots organization that is helping our U.S. veterans reintegrate into civilian life through a physical activity and community. There will be many high-profile runners and coaches on staff to help you become a better trail runner. You don't have to be a veteran to attend, but if you are... it's free of charge!!!

Our second interview with Adam Bradley, aka Krudmeister, a record-holding long-distance treker! The last time we talked to him he had just set a world record for a self supported Pacific Crest Trail trek. This summer Adam did a self-supported, human-powered trek over 4700 miles from Reno, NV to the Bearing Sea in Alaska. This is an amazing story of endurance. We talk "Krudmeister" about his 2 1/2 month journey through some of the American Continents most beautiful country, the wildlife he encountered, and his determination to keep going day after day.

[tabs] [tab title="Description" ] Jimmy Dean Freeman Runs the Lake Tahoe Marathon Super Triple He shows up to run 3 marathons in 3 days. How did 3 marathons turn into 124.6 miles ? We bring JDF in studio to tell his story and to help tune him up as he is the featured Motivational Speaker at the [...]

[tabs] [tab title="Description" ] STOP: Listen to Part 1 first Meet Jamie Walker, co-founder and president of Fit Approach.. She discusses her experiences at her first 100 mile race: Pine to Palm 100 Mile Endurance Run. In Part 1, TRN asks her a dozen questions regarding her expectations, race strategy and preparation. In Part 2, we review [...]

[tabs] [tab title="Description" ] Meet Jamie Walker, co-founder and president of Fit Approach.. She is preparing for her first 100 mile endurance run: Pine to Palm 100 Mile Endurance Run. In Part 1, TRN asks her a dozen questions regarding her expectations, race strategy and preparation. In Part 2, we review these same questions and [...]

We catch up to Aliza Lapierre after an amazing 2012 race season. She talks about time off, base building, cross training, listening to your body, race selection, having a coach and much more!

Is your body a Ferrari or an AMC Pacer? Do you want to teach your body to burn more fat for energy? Sunny Blende and Tim Fleming Endurance Performance Training Centers join us to talk about Metabolic Efficiency Training. Sunny takes the test and tries the Metabolic Efficiency Training program and tells about her remarkable successes.

Join us on a 90 minute run with Dr. Gangemi. He talks about NSAIDs and all things important for the health of an endurance athlete. Most importantly, we talk to him about what he is doing in this photo...

Our good friend, Warren Pole, joins us again to recount the 2012 North Face Ultra Tour Du Mont Blanc. He describes his successful finish of this world-class event. Warren explains his revolutionary strategy: "Running with the Mayor" which aided Warren to move up 1100 places before he finished!

Join TRN as they break down members responses to the websites Question of the Week, "Whats the best long run advice you have been given" Faith has a mouth full of Novocaine so we can provide a written transcript if necessary.

After a long summer of conflicting schedules, we finally connect again with Dr. Mark Cucuzzella. We talk about: How many miles should your shoes last, post run ice - over rated or under utilized, NSAIDs - what are they and how should you use them and the 10% rule.

We talk to the Freeman quartet about lessons they learned from their recent running of the Angeles Crest 100.

Ten years ago Jeff Vierling finished his first Leadville 100 mountain bike race despite having terrible GI issues. That marked the day that he began his quest to find the perfect nutrition & hydration product. He didn't find it. So rather than changing sports to bowling, he decided to learn everything there was to know about nutrition and hydration and "bake" his own. This was the genesis of Tailwind Nutrition. We talk to Jeff about what he learned about nutrition and electrolytes and how Tailwind may just be the answer to many of our problems.

Jason Billows is the founder of Thrive Coaching. This coach may tell you to sleep in, skip a workout or go get a massage. He may tell you to step up your intensity and make your workouts count. Jason reminds us time cannot be managed so we must manage our activity.

Warren Pole knows where the starting line is located. He also knows where the comic line is located, and he proudly steps right over that line with both feet. Here's hoping Warren stays out of bounds because that is where he performs his best work. Thank you Warren Pole for contributing to the podcast and representing Trail Runner Nation.

Join Katie DeSplinter and Dominic Grossman as we talk about Tapering. You have trained hard, hit your race weight, taken care of all the logistics but their is something you can do to improve your performance by 3.5% and all it takes is kicking back?

Bill Carr joins us a few weeks after running his first 100 mile run. We talk to Bill about how his training changed to prepare for 100 miles, his expectations, his experiences and how he would do it differently. We also discuss Bill's unorthodox fueling strategy...

[tabs] [tab title="Description" ] Dr. Steve Gangemi, aka the Sock Doc, joins the NATION again to continue our discussion on his training principles. This podcast is devoted to part III and part IV: III. Strength Training – does it help distance runners and how much it enough IV. Training = (working out + daily stress) [...]

Jimmy Dean Freeman, our southern California correspondent, chats with Faith, Don and Scott about the 2012 Western States 100. Earthquakes, rain, snow, hail, record-low temperatures, records-broken, memories-made, goals-met, dreams-fulfilled, victory, defeat, agony, pain, joy, enlightenment: all were present again at this year's WS100.

Have you ever wished you could take a running vacation? Five days of supported running bliss and evenings filled with sharing ideas and stories of trail running? Andy and Kim Holak, veteran trail runners, enable the dream with their company: Adventure Running Company

Dr. Mark Cucuzzella joins us again to talk to us about the "H" words: Heat and Heart. Our community has been buzzing with the tragic deaths of Micah True (aka Caballo Blanco) and Arizonan, John Greer. We ask Dr. Mark if ultra running can be damaging to our health and how to deal with heat in training and race day expectations.

Nation member Warren Pole talks about why British ultras aren't very cool compared to the way he imagines American ultras to be, the best ultra-running advice he has ever received, and his quest to complete the UTMB this year. After listening to this podcast, you may change the way you think about bonking.

You may be able to finish a marathon with a few GUs, a piece of watermelon and some water, but that probably won't work for a 50K or beyond. WHY? Sunny explains how to fuel and what to eat to help you through your first ultra.

Scott Jurek is a trail runner, outdoor enthusiast, physical therapist, competitive athlete, chef, vegan and now author. Scott talks to us about his new book, Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness. How does a seven-time Western States 100 winner, three-time Spartathalon winner, two-time Badwater winner... whew, we could go on and on... fuel for success? How did he get into running? How does he train? What is next for Scott? All these questions are answered in a short, informative and entertaining interview. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

We catch up with Jimmy Dean Freeman who is part of a relay team consisting of 7 ultrarunners running nearly 2,500 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica California to help spread the message to elementary school children about fitness, self confidence, setting goals and realizing personal achievement. Jimmy experiences are grand as he is escorted by police, becomes part of a hootenanny, saves a turtle and he is only 1/2 way home!

Frank Lieberman is living proof that It Has Nothing To Do With Age. At 60 he decided to ride Tevis Cup, a 100 mile horse race through the rugged Sierra Mountains. At 62 he ditches the horse and puts on a pair of running shoes and makes the same trip. At 68 he took 1st place at the Swanton Pacific 100 mile Ride and Tie event. He shares with us that Father Time lives in our mind and not in our heart.

What happens when you leave 3 runners in a room with a few mics. Scott sings his version O' Canada, Don finds his memory is failing faster than his leg turnover and Faith...well as usual, she comes across pretty good.

At TRN we have produced a number of megabytes talking about the benefits of forefoot striking. We have invited author of the book Tread Lightly: Form, Footwear, and the Quest for Injury-Free Running, Dr. Peter Larson, to the podcast. He has recently been conducting research on the biomechanics of distance running in road races with his undergraduate students. Heel strikers unite, you no longer have to run at night under the cover of darkness to hide your running gait.

TRN joins elite ultrarunner and running coach Carilyn Johnson as we discuss the Art of Pacing. Who knew there was so much to this pacing stuff? Pacers should get a finishers shirt for all the work they put in for a runner.

Dr. Steven Gangemi, aka the Sock Doc, joins the TRN podcast crew to discuss the training benefits of heavy breathing. Aerobic vs Anaerobic Training is a hot topic in the endurance community. How much, when, and why are questions we present to the doc. What follows is a great conversation and in the end we all learn a ton. Even Dr. Gangemi, who learns that the podcast crew has a lot to learn!