Episodes

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...

Renee sat down with us in this episode just two weeks after her successful FKT record on the Sierra High Route, a challenging route covering nearly 200 miles, mostly off-trail and typically above 9000’ elevation! Renee is a rock climber, mountaineer and runner and had to bring all of those skills to bear in order to complete her record under her target time. Executing an effort like this takes an incredible amount of planning, training and support. Renee gave us insights into all of those facet...

In this episode, we chatted with Bob Shebest, a pro ultrarunner (sponsored by Salomon, Buff, GU and Squirrel's Nut Butter), coach and middle-school educator. Bob recently relocated to the foothills from Sonoma County and is back on the roads around the area on his bike and seeking adventure on the trails here and in the mountains of the Tahoe region. He recently paced Adam Kimble, a Tahoe area runner, on his successful quest to break the Tahoe Rim Trail FKT record! We had entertaining discussio...

From time to time, we'd like to bring you additional special episodes like this one! Mike Turner and I have been doing a lot more exploring around the area since the racing season has been effectively cancelled. We've gone on several trips out to the North Fork of the American River canyon. Many of the trails are lightly-used, fairly remote and sometimes obscure. It makes for a good time out there discovering new places, coming across old mining history and artifacts and putting in some serious...

Sean Ranney is an ultrarunner, adventurer and race director of Northern California's answer to the Barkley Marathons, the Euchre Bar Massacre. We talked to him about how got into running after coming from a multi-sport background and how he created this incredibly tough race that travels all throughout the historic North Fork of the American River canyon. The North Fork is steeped in mining history, savage climbs and descents and maybe even some ghosts! Joining Sean were several Euchre Bar Mass...

In this special episode, we have collaborated with the Donner Party Mountain Runners to bring you a podcast recorded from their live interview with Helen Pelster and Adam Kimble, two incredible ultrarunners who both set fastest known time (FKT) records on the Tahoe Rim Trail, a 171 mile loop around Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada. Thanks very much to DPMR board member Jack Macy for allowing us to rebroadcast this special interview and to founding member Chris Cloyd for moderating the intervi...

Helen Pelster is an accomplished ultrarunner based in Truckee, CA, and in this episode we spoke with her about her initial discovery as running as a way to get in shape but then things really took off from there, culminating in successful completions of fastest known times (FKTs) on the Tahoe Rim Trail in 2019 and 2020. We hear all about those huge achievements and how she approaches running and techniques she uses to stay centered while doing something that could be outside of your comfort zon...

Camille Herron joined us for an interesting and inspiring talk about her lengthy running career in a wide variety of disciplines of the sport. She is a multiple national and world record holder, has dozens of victories at the marathon distance and is looking forward to more trail racing in her future. We got her insights into her science-based approach to training and racing, challenges she has overcome in her life to get the positive mental attitude she has and how she's dealing with the COVID...

Episode 8 with Rob Myers is an interesting conversation with him and his friends about the big adventure they had while running the Western States Endurance Run course in reverse! We hear from Rob, his crew and pacers and unravel all of the ins and outs and ups and downs of that epic journey while exploring other topics along the way. Tune in and get inspired for your own personal adventure! Intro music: Joseph McDade - Elevation: https://josephmcdade.com/music/elevation Support the show (http...

Ray Sanchez is a Badwater 135 veteran who keeps going back to the race year after year and is aiming for 20 finishes there. The difficulty of that task cannot be overstated, but it's clear he has the drive to get it done! Tune in for another inspirational episode if you are looking to get some valuable insights into what makes ultrarunners tick and keep moving forward no matter what! Intro music: Joseph McDade - Elevation: https://josephmcdade.com/music/elevation Support the show (https://www....

In episode was 6, we had a great discussion with Meghan Canfield on a wide range of running-related topics including the importance of increasing diversity in our sport and what she is doing to help with that effort. The audience Q&A was lively, and we all got some great tips from Meghan, too! You can find out more information about her and her coaching services here: Coaching web site: http://coachmeghan.com/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/meghan.canfield IG: https://www.instagram.com/runningme...

We had an excellent conversation with Chris Thomas about his entry into running in 2015 when he decided to transform his life. Learn about how he made the shift and got on the path to the hardened ultrarunner that he is today. Since then, Chris has progressed quickly into taking on some of the most challenging races in the world including a sub-40 hour finish at UTMB and recent completion of the Hammond Challenge where you run the number of miles equivalent to the day of the month for a complet...

Kuni Yamagata recounted some amazing stories about the Hardrock 100, other races and his approaches to training and racing for our fourth episode. This is one tough runner with a wealth of information for all of us! Tune in to this episode and you won’t be sorry! Intro music: Joseph McDade - Elevation: https://josephmcdade.com/music/elevation Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/themile99interview)