Aaron Lutze is a creator and sports marketing savant. He's also a dear friend and mentor who has had an enormous impact on my career as an athlete and content creator. Aaron recruited me to Red Bull and acted as my manager for many years. He's recognized as one of the best sports marketers in the industry and now shares all his insights publicly through a new YouTube channel called Super Athlete.   In this conversation, we talk about the past and present of athlete partnerships, the reasons brands sponsor athletes, the value of creating longform content, audience vs. community ..read more

Trail Runner of the Year (TROY) voting is open now! This the second edition of our annual end-of-season award, celebrating the great performances and the great athletes of the 2023 season. Joining me to break it down is Travis Loncar, the creator and steward of the Freetrail Fantasy platform upon which TROY is built. We discuss some important updates to the voting algorithm, the brand new Trail Performance of the Year (TPOY), and some other details about this year's vote.   Voting will be open until 12pm on Monday, 12/11 with the rollout of winners beginning on January 1st, 2024.   T ..read more

Ben Dhiman is an American professional trail runner living in France. Last season he had a big breakthrough, finishing 3rd at the Diagonale des Fous. In 2023, he's continued the momentum, winning Penyagolosa 110k and Andorra by UTMB 105k. In the summer, he had a disappointing DNF at UTMB Mont Blanc but turned things around with a 3rd place at Templiers to end the season.   We talk about Ben's background, his experience with thru-hiking, his training philosophy, his breakthrough 2023 season, and look ahead to future goals.     SUBSCRIBE TO BEN'S SUBSTACK   &nb ..read more

Today it was announced that a consortium of independent races has come together as an alliance known as the World Trail Majors. It includes the Hong Kong 100, Black Canyon 100k, Transgrancanaria, Madeira Island Ultra Trail, Ultra Trail Mt. Fuji, Swiss Canyon Trail, South Downs Way, Quebec Mega Trail, & Ultra Trail Cape Town.   From the founding press release:   "World Trail Majors was not born with the intention of confrontation or of solving all the problems of this fast-developing sport, but rather to provide a new, alternative path of development which aims ..read more

Eric Senseman is a former pro trail runner living in Flagstaff, AZ. Last week Eric announced his retirement from pro trail running after a successful 12 year career. In the conversation we talk about that decision, the realities of being a pro athlete in a niche sport, and what he's excited about in the next chapter.   Eric's Retirement Post   Not a Bad Thing -- 2023 Black Canyon 100k video   Sponsors: Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition Get 30% off your first subscription of Ketone IQ at ..read more

Gary Robbins is a longtime beloved athlete, coach, and race director based in Chilliwack, BC. Last Thursday, UTMB and IRONMAN announced a new race in Whistler – an action that’s been interpreted by many in the community as a hostile takeover of Gary's former independent race, Whistler Alpine Meadows (WAM). We talk about how he learned about the news, the circumstances that led to the cancellation of WAM, the community response, and the path forward.   COAST MTN TRAIL RUNNING   Sponsors: Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear Use code freetrail15 for 15% off&nb ..read more

Good Morning, Javelina is back to recap the action from the Javelina Jundred. We are joined by men's champion and new course record holder, Jonathan Rea from Boulder, CO. My co-hosts for the weekend are Adam Merry & Abby Hall.   Sorry for the bad audio in the first half. It resolves around 32mins in.   Jon's Strava Activity   Thank you HOKA for sponsoring our coverage ..read more

Cam Hanes is a trail runner and bowhunter from Eugene, OR. Over the course of his career, Cam has become one of the most successful bowhunters in the world, taking an athlete's approach to his craft and sharing his story with the public. He's always used trail running to build strength and endurance for multi-day hunts. Over almost 20 years, Cam has accumulated many ultramarathon finishes including several 100-200+ mile events.   We talk about what makes Cam unique, his friendship with Courtney Dauwalter, his career as a runner and outdoorsman, some of his friends and mentors, his new med ..read more

David Callahan and Jay Kelley are the leaders of UltraSignup -- the leading event registration and race database in trail running. They have a unique vantage point from which to assess the state of trail running and its prospects for the future. We talk about their history and the 2020 acquisition of the platform, their vision for servicing race directors and runners simultaneously, their evolving media strategy, whether trail running is in a bubble, and their foray into community events with the Dirt Circus.   Dirt Circus - Pheonix   Dirt Circus - Nashville (Virtual)   ..read more

Anna Gibson is a pro runner for Brooks, currently residing in the Teton Village, WY. Anna recently graduated from the University of Washington where she competed in track and cross country. She now intends to race professionally across road, track, and trail. This season, she's exploded into the trail scene with a win at the Broken Arrow VK, 2nd at the Broken Arrow 23k, 3rd at Challenge Stellina, 3rd at the Pikes Peak Ascent, and most recently 4th at Mammoth Trail Fest 26k. She also finished 10th at USA Champs in the 1500m on the track.   In the pod we talk about Anna's background, her un ..read more