Episodes

In this episode, we are joined by Clint Welch and his daughter Halle. Clint has been a fixture on the Northern California ultrarunning scene for a number of years, and his daughter Halle has taken up running to follow in his footsteps. We talked to both of them about the experience as Halle decided to take on this sport, what she likes, what she doesn't like and how she is coached. We got a good sense about how to approach encouraging your children just enough, whether in running or any sport, ...

In this episode of the First 99 Gear Review, co-host Mike Turner sits down with our very own Greg Larkin to chat about winter cross training activities. It’s the New Year, and the time to start planning our race and training schedules. But many of us have found over the years it’s essential to take time off and let the body heal. Balancing staying fit, letting the body heal, and staying sane is the key to years of healthy adventures. In this two-part series we discuss off-season activities and ...

In our final episode with Rebecca Sperry, she joined us for a live wrap-up interview as she recently completed her twelve rounds of chemotherapy and is starting a new phase of cancer treatment. During the interview, we reflected on her journey since we first reached out to her to ask if she would share her story with us. It has been difficult for her and getting harder with each round of chemotherapy, but she has maintained a positive attitude and desire to keep her fitness as much as possible ...

Katie Grossman, an accomplished professional mountain ultrarunner, advertising creative, soon-to-be mother of two and assistant RD of the Angeles Crest 100, sat down with us to talk about her early life, running and racing at the highest levels, life/family balance and the importance of protecting our open spaces. She and her husband Dominic and their family have built a life in the mountains, surrounded by beauty, that allows them to focus on what matters most and strip away as much as possibl...

In the last of our prerecorded episodes with Rebecca Sperry, a hiker from New Hampshire who was in the midst of hiking all of the trails in the White Mountain National Forest until she received a breast cancer diagnosis in August 2020, she joined us with an update on how her cancer treatment has been progressing as she nears the end of her rounds of chemotherapy. This episode focuses primarily on her planning, gear and nutrition that she uses for her hikes, whether it was a planned hike to chec...

Jocelyn Watson joined us for our 24th episode to talk about her running career starting all the way back in middle school, through high school, into college and beyond. She started out in track and cross-country but eventually found her way to trail running and now thoroughly prefers that discipline. She has an impressive racing resume (including the steeplechase in her track days!) and is looking forward to her first 100 miler. Jocelyn is also a manager at the Fleet Feet store in Folsom, CA an...

In this episode of the First 99 Gear Review, co-hosts Mike Turner and Greg Larkin talked to gear reviewer and ultrarunner Brian Goldman about the Coros and Garmin running watches, their features and modes and of course, strengths and weaknesses! Garmin is the established player in the space with excellent brand recognition, and while Coros is relatively new on the scene, they offer incredible battery life that can be extremely useful for long ultra distance running races and other activities. ...

The modern-day Forlorn Hope Expedition Team sat down with us in this episode to talk about the genesis, planning and execution of their recently-completed journey from Donner Memorial State Park in Truckee, CA to Johnson's Ranch in Wheatland. Their route closely mirrored that of the original Forlorn Hope team that left the stranded Donner Party on December 16th, 1846 in an attempt to find rescue for the starving settlers. The original Forlorn Hope party faced an arduous trek through the mountai...

Rebecca Sperry, a hiker from New Hampshire joined us for the third of several episodes talking about her redlining goal in the White Mountain National Forest when she was temporarily sidelined by a breast cancer diagnosis in August 2020. In this episode, Rebecca updated us about her 9th round of chemotherapy and how she has been handling that. We then spent time talking about the people in her life who support her through her cancer diagnosis and treatment - her mother and her husband Jason. R...

Auburn resident Eddie Schmidt sat down with us for a great conversation about his early years as a runner and how much family and the ultrarunning community means to him. Eddie started running seriously later in life after some inspiration early on from his sister and then meeting several people over the years. He was joined by his daughter Hannah, a new convert to ultrarunning with support from her dad. She was a key part of his 2010 Western States experience where at the age of 15, she paced ...

In this episode of the First 99 Gear Review, our co-host Mike Turner delves into the Topo Athletic Trailventure trail running/light hiker shoe. He explores the reasons he decided on this shoe initially and then the experiences he had with it running and hiking all over the harsh trails of the Northern California river canyons and volcanic rock formations of the high mountains. Tune in to hear the whole story! Topo Athletic Trailventure shoe models: https://www.topoathletic.com/search?keywords=...

Rebecca Sperry, a hiker from New Hampshire joined us for the second of several episodes talking about her redlining goal in the White Mountain National Forest when she was temporarily sidelined by a breast cancer diagnosis in August 2020. In this episode, we got an update from Rebecca about how she has been feeling through her 7th week of chemotherapy out of 12 total weeks. She also described in more detail what the original month-long diagnostic process was like and the eventual surgery that s...

Western States Endurance Run race director Craig Thornley, board member Tim Twietmeyer and medical director Dr. Andy Pasternak joined us for our 21st episode to talk all about the current state of the race as we head into 2021. We found out about how the board reacted to the original onset of the pandemic, handling the cancellation and the plans to hold the race in 2021. Dr. Pasternak, with his background in epidemiology, also spent time explaining the various vaccine development efforts, how t...

In this episode of the First 99 Gear Review, our co-host Mike Turner delves into two popular GPS trackers that are perfect for expeditions into remote areas with no cellular service. Tune in to hear Mike's thoughts on what features he likes for different types of outings, comparison of plans and other features. SPOT Tracker products: https://www.findmespot.com/en-us/products-services SPOT service plans: https://www.findmespot.com/en-us/products-services/service-plans#spot-gen4-plans Garmin in...

Donner Party Mountain Runners board member Chris Cloyd held a virtual conversation with Jeff Rauenhorst, local Incline Village resident, who set a new high mark for the unsupported FKT (Fastest Known Time) on the 310-mile Superior Hiking Trail in September 2020. Hear Jeff and Chris dig into the details of this amazing route, what led up to this outing, the ins and outs of his experience on the trail for 6+ days, his inspiration to go after this record, and more! Link References: Fastest Known T...

Rebecca Sperry, a hiker from New Hampshire joined us for the first of several episodes talking about her redlining goal in the White Mountain National Forest when she was temporarily sidelined by a breast cancer diagnosis in August 2020. In this episode, we'll get to know Rebecca, hear about about her early years, her single-year White Mountains redlining project, her breast cancer diagnosis and more. Tune in as we start this miniseries within the podcast and hear Rebecca's story and more in f...

Bryan Paisley joined us for an honest and in-depth look at his life, how he emerged from addiction and manages his bipolar diagnosis through meditation and running. He shared many stories, the joy he finds in running, finding his essence and his ways for dealing with everyday life. Bryan is also an accomplished musician waiting for gigs to start happening again! You'll find inspiring anecdotes and advice and his experience at the recent Moab 240 race woven throughout. Bryan is also committed to...

We're announcing a new series of podcast episodes that are planned coming up over the next couple of months. The series is called “Rebecca Redlines Cancer”, and we’re posting this trailer episode today to let you know a bit more about it. These episodes will be released along with our continuing format of individual interviews as we’ve been doing since May of 2020. Rebecca Sperry (see below for links to her website and Instagram) is an avid hiker who lives in New Hampshire. She has been working...

On October 30th, 2020 Dan Barger started from the Placer High School track, the legendary finish line of the Western States Endurance Run with his second attempt to complete a full out and back from Auburn to Olympic Valley and back to Auburn. The route would follow the WSER trails for a total distance of 200.4 miles and finishing back on the track. After a disappointing first attempt in August, Dan went back to finish the job and he did it in style with a blazing time of 2 days, 11 hours and 4...

Bruce Nguyen started his running career in 2013 with a 5k race, and fast forward seven years to 2020 where he completed the Moab 240 trail race in 106 hours! Bruce joined us for this episode to talk about his journey from that starting point all the way to accomplishing something that was truly transcendent for him and his crew and pacers. Bruce has used running as a way to stave off his anxiety, be in the present moment and use mindfulness to achieve his goals. Find out more from him and his p...

Bob Crowley, ultrarunning legend and current ITRA (International Trail Running Association) president, joined us in this episode to talk about his start in the sport, his involvement with ITRA, his latest adventure project and many other topics! Bob has been trail running for 30 years and has finished some of the hardest multi-day 200+ mile races in the world. As the new president of ITRA, he plans lead the sport of ultrarunning through its current rapid growth phase and beyond and ensure that ...

Chris Nottingham is an ultrarunner, community builder and mental health advocate. He sat down with us to talk about his journey from a stressed out daily existence to finding running and physical activity as a means to improve his mental health. Along the way, he created a vibrant Facebook group (We Are Greater Than Zero) with like-minded people to share inspiring stories, keep each other engaged and accountable and to help everyone get through everything that life can throw at them - including...

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussion of domestic abuse and suicidal thoughts Kristina Folcik is a trail runner, race director, coach, multiple FKT (fastest known time) record holder and domestic abuse survivor. She joined us from New Hampshire to talk about the various forms of abuse she suffered for years, what it took to finally exit her marriage, and the people and resources that helped her do so. Part of her healing process in life is going into the mountains, and she settled ...

Jennifer Hemmen is an accomplished ultrarunner who has been running since her childhood. Along the way, she was inspired by her older sister, other runners, athletes and coaches to take on some of the toughest races out there, including a sub-24 hour finish at the 2015 Western States Endurance Run. Most recently, she has added adventure racer to her resumé, and what better way to do it than at the highest level at the Eco-Challenge Fiji in 2019! This incredibly difficult course brought multiple...