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Mark Dowdle joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation. Timestamps: 00:00 The 87-yard qualifying math05:11 Where to chase 88 yards in 202713:43 The Dennis Rodman of ultrarunning, “Running is boring”18:07 Loop 87 at Last Soul20:37 Competition vs. trail running’s friendly culture25:36 Where trash talk crosses the line, mistakes in public31:24 The Charlie Lawrence challenge33:24 Same sport? Ultrarunner of the Year, Who counts as a pro?42:58 Where trail media got it wrong45:12 Mark asks: why now?49:29 Should media specialize? My 200-mile mistake57:59 Gatekeeping, Theory of change01:10:55 Owning Last Soul01:12:06 Racing Sam Harvey four times, Last Soul and Big’s01:17:06 “It’s not all about me”, Fame, Faith01:24:40 Training for durability 01:29:16 Micro-naps and caffeine, phones mid-race 01:33:36 What fuels him now 01:36:28 The Last Dance, Barkley Partners: Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madeKodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes Support the show

Two winning margins under 90 seconds, a called shot, and an all-masters women’s podium. Brett Hornig and Leah Yingling join me to recap the 2026 Javelina Jundred. Partners: Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madeMomentous - use code SINGLETRACK for up to 35% off your first order Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes Support the show

Jameson Collins, Headquarters Manager for Destination Trail, joins me to walk through what happened at this year’s Moab 240, from the decision to start to the mid-race cancellation. We cover how the team read the forecast, why flash flooding didn’t actually end the race, the night at Bridger Jack, and the search and rescue effort that got everyone out the next morning. We also get into the qualifier debate, the no-drop pacer policy, the Arizona Monster bucket controversy, and what a $2,000 entry should buy you at a 200-mile aid station, before closing with Jameson’s lessons from 15 years in risk management and what every race organization should take from Moab. Partners: Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madeMomentous - use code SINGLETRACK for up to 35% off your first order Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes  Support the show

In this week’s edition of Singletrack News, Brett Hornig and I wrap up the Backyard World Team Championships at Big’s. That includes the Belgian pair’s decision to stop together at a new world record, and whether backyard specialist Mark Dowdle belongs in the UROY conversation. We also get into Ryan Montgomery calling his shot at 200 miles in 24 hours at Desert Solstice, the Golden Trail World Series final in South Korea, and a new segment we’re testing called Keep, Cut, Fix. We close with Camille Herron’s return to Javelina, Sage Canaday’s jump into backyard ultras, and Cameron Balzer’s Breaking 42 transcon record attempt. Partners: Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madePrecision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes Support the show

Finn Melanson, Brett Hornig, and Leah Yingling provide in-depth analysis, commentary, and predictions for the competition at this year’s Javelina Jundred. Partners: Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madePrecision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Momentous - use code SINGLETRACK for up to 35% off your first order Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes Support the show

In this week’s edition of Singletrack News, Brett Hornig and I discuss Jim Walmsley and Courtney Dauwalter heading to China for Tsaigu Trail and what that says about where the sport’s investment is going. We also get into the latest from the Backyard World Team Championships, results from Diagonale des Fous and Templiers, and the addition of Innsbruck Alpine Trail Run to the World Trail Majors circuit, then close with Engo’s heads-up display sunglasses and RaceGoat, Aravaipa’s new in-house registration platform. Partners: Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madeMomentous - use code SINGLETRACK for up to 35% off your first order Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes Support the show

In this week’s edition of Singletrack News, we discuss the mid-race cancellation of the Moab 240, Ben Dhiman’s public search for a coach, Jim Walmsley’s tease of an October start line, and a preview of the Big’s Backyard World Team Championship.  We also cover results from Défi des Couleurs and Kodiak, then New England FKT news from David Sinclair on the Pemi Loop and Will Peterson on the Hundred Mile Wilderness. Alyssa sets the table for Diagonale des Fous, and we dig into the Ultra Monuments site.  We close with Alexi Pappas’ new sweatproof glitter brand, Glop, and the Sandbar Stream smart ring. Partners: Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madeKodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes Support the show

Sign Up For The Antelope Island Fall Classic  In this week's edition of Singletrack News, I'm once agan joined by Alyssa Clark, calling in from Paris on her way to Diagonale des Fous.  We discuss Courtney Dauwalter's open call for 2027 racing and project ideas, the Hardrock lottery, highlights from The Mammoth, the triple crown record watch at the Moab 240, a few other key races on the schedule including Kodiak and Défi des Couleurs, and we close with Vinny Mauri's remarkable treadmill marathon training, Dakota Jones' upcoming run around the Great Salt Lake, and trail brands at Paris Fashion Week. Partners: Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madeKodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes  Links: Where The Water WasSupport the show

Joe McConaughy returns to Singletrack, fresh off his fastest known time on the John Muir Trail, one of the world's premier FKT routes.  The JMT runs 221 miles through California's Sierra Nevada from Happy, with more than 46,000 feet of climbing and nearly all of it above 8,000 feet. It's often called America's most famous trail and is named for the influential environmentalist John Muir. The conversation covers Joe's full experience on the route, where he stands among the sport's multi-day legends, and what he's learned and experienced across three attempts in six years, including his encounter with the third man factor during his 2024 run (fascinating). Sign Up For The Antelope Island Fall Classic  Partners: Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madeSupport the show

Sign Up For The Antelope Island Fall Classic  This week I'm joined by Alyssa Clark, just back from Mammoth Trailfest.  We talk about what Tim Tollefson has built there, the 13-year-old who podiumed the Ascent, and where Mammoth fits in the fall 2027 competitive picture. I share my weekend crewing and pacing at the Bear 100, where Kristin Johnson ran 18:50:37 to break the women's course record by over an hour and a half. It was a big FKT week too: Joe McConaughy's new supported John Muir Trail record, Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz on the GR20, new unsupported marks on the White Mountains 100, and Lindsay Webster on the Presidential Traverse, several tied to Andrew Drummond's $10K bounty purse. On the business side, we try to make sense of UTMB's 2027 changes to direct qualification and a Trail Waves piece applying game theory to the Run Rabbit Run purse. We close with results from around the world and a 2009 Brett Maune passage on throwing away the other person's timesheet. Partners: Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madeSupport the show

Sign Up For The Antelope Island Fall Classic  As the voice behind Talk Ultra and one of trail running's most prolific photographers, Ian Corless has been monitoring and contributing to the development of our sport since the early 2010s.  In this three-and-a-half-hour conversation, we cover the new Run Rabbit Run's $100K prize award, the impact of Ben Dhiman's 18:16 UTMB win, which pros are most at risk in the current era, the post-COVID podcast glut, the skyrunning golden age and other key historical markers that have influenced the current era. Partners: Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madeKodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes Support the show

Sign Up For The Antelope Island Fall Classic  Singletrack News is back from its summer break, and I'm joined by Alyssa Clark, fresh off a podium finish at TDS.  We discuss Katharina Hartmuth's Tor des Géants course record victory, Meg Eckert's 636-mile six-day world record, course records at Run Rabbit Run, the IAU 100K World Championships, and the Barkley Fall Classic.  On the business side, we break down Salomon's title partnership with the Ironman World Championship and what it could mean for trail, plus the status of the Western States course change coming in 2027.  We close with a preview of the Mammoth 200 with picks, share the best things we found on the internet, and a remembrance of two athletes our community tragically lost this month - Kalie McCrystal and Ida Emilie Robsham. Partners: Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madeSupport the show

Brett Hornig and Jeff Colt join the show for another packed edition of the Long Run Archives. We discuss the news that Run Rabbit Run will pay $100,000 to each winner in 2027 and 2028, whether Mike McKnight should have raced Tor, Dakota Jones' latest article, "The Stone Age", and whether Ben Dhiman's UTMB recap needed more relatability, the CCC golden ticket class headed to Western States, and close with content finds: Shelby Houlihan's Skechers deal, On's move into soccer, Nick Fowler's self-supported PCT record, and the most unglamorous victory in endurance sports history. Volunteer for the Antelope Island Fall Classic  Partners: Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madeKodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes Support the show

Sign up here for the Antelope Island Fall Classic. Will Peterson joins the show to provide in-depth analysis, commentary, and predictions for the competition in this year’s elite fields at this year's Tor des Géants. Partners: Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madeMomentous - use code SINGLETRACK for up to 35% off your first order Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes Support the show

Ben Dhiman returns to the show a week removed from his landmark victory at the 2026 Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc (UTMB). Partners: Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next orderJanji - running apparel that goes the distanceRaide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever madeMomentous - use code SINGLETRACK for up to 35% off your first order Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes Support the show