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In this episode, we meet with Reid Coolsaet, a Professional Trail Runner for Salomon based in Hamilton, Ontario.

Reid burst onto the mountain ultra trail running scene in 2021 with a win at the Quebec Mega Trail 110K, competed at the Black Canyon 100K earlier this month, and will be lining up for the Canyons 100K in April and the Western States 100 in June.

Prior to his venture onto the trails, Reid had an extremely successful career in road marathoning. He holds a 2:10:28 marathon PR and represented Canada in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.

It’s been talked about recently to no end, but indeed our sport is only getting more competitive and professionalized and Reid’s entrance is just the latest proof point. 

One thing that struck me about Reid was his openness and willingness to talk about any issue in the sport whether it was related to compensation as a professional athlete, training methodology, drug testing, or anything else. It made for an interesting and engaging conversation and I hope that shines through here.

Timestamps

• (2:58) - Reid's running background
• (10:59) - The lifestyle of a full-time professional marathoner 
• (17:21) - How Reid became interested in mountain ultra trail running
• (31:10) - The perceptions of trail and ultra running among runners in other disciplines 
• (36:54) - What it will take to recruit more elite road running athletes to our sport 
• (40:40) - Reid's experience in the mountain ultra trail running world so far
• (54:09) - Drug testing conversation 
• (57:02) - How Reid will prepare for the Western States 100 in June 

Links

• Reid's blog
• Reid's coaching business
• Follow Singletrack on Instagram here

Additional Episodes You May Enjoy:

• #26 - Sam Parsons | How To Build A Trail Running Team
• #22 - Nick Coury | Negative Splitting Ultramarathons, 24 Hour American Record, Aravaipa Running

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