Singletrack

Text us your thoughts about this episode or ideas for future episodes!In this episode we talk with well-respected coach and Founder of the Morning Shakeout podcast and newsletter, Mario Fraioli. We cover a range of topics - including the future of trail running, the making of the Morning Shakeout Newsletter, and advice he has for newcomers aiming to break into the coaching profession. If you enjoy banter about our sport, have ever thought about putting running related content out into the world, or considered getting into coaching - this is a great episode. Mario is a great conversationalist and one of those rare individuals who is an equally talented runner, coach, and media person in our sport. Enjoy. Support the show

Text us your thoughts about this episode or ideas for future episodes!In this episode we check in with Eric Schranz. As most of you know, Eric is the co-founder of one of the most popular media sources in our sport, ultrarunnerpodcast.com.  We talk about the state of his podcast and newsletter, what make a good interview, his favorite conversations over the past decade, the good, the bad, and the ugly of how our sport is changing, and we get his thoughts on the scene at the Broken Arrow Sky Race series earlier this month.The conversation jumped all over the place, but in a way that felt authentic. If you are someone who enjoys pure banter about our sport, you will like this episode.Support the show

Text us your thoughts about this episode or ideas for future episodes!I’m calling this Strava week because, yes, we have another representative from the platform here today.Larissa Rivers is the North American Marketing Lead at Strava leading all brand efforts in the US and Canada through community building and nationally engaging programs. She joined Strava back in 2012 when it was still only relatively known amongst a cult following of cyclists with a view towards growing the brand amongst runners. The year after that, she and  her husband, Brett opened up San Francisco Running Company to serve the trail runners in the Bay Area. They sold the company in 2019 and now live with mountain views in Louisville, CO with their three young and very active girls. In this conversation, we go in depth about - Her experience establishing the iconic San Francisco Running company with Brett, and her advice for getting a trail running store off the groundWhat it was like in the early days of building the run community on the Strava app How Strava works with athlete influencers, her favorite  stories to tell as a marketer, and how even hardcore athlete can be relatable to the rest of the community The  ways to make all athletes comfortable being their raw authentic selves on the platform Ways to improve representation in our sportTune in now!Support the show

Text us your thoughts about this episode or ideas for future episodes!Most conversations on this show take place at the intersection of business, culture, and performance within the sport of mountain ultra trail running. This episode captures that spirit perfectly.  On today’s show, we have the co-Founder of Strava and current Chairman, Mark Gainey.Strava is a fitness tracking and social media app designed primarily for endurance athletes. And it’s had a considerable impact on the culture of our sport in particular. As Mark will explain, Strava was born out of desire to recreate the community element of team sports typically strongest in high school and collegiate settings, and to leverage the power of the internet to reinstate this phenomenal social support system for athletes at every stage of their lives.Mark’s thesis was that amazing things happen in this teammate environment - you might push a little harder, stay more motivated, be held more accountable, exercise more - even when its being replicated digitally And we get into all that. Specifically, Mark and I go in depth about - His entrepreneurial philosophy of going an inch wide and a mile deep, how it applies to the creation of Strava, and the importance of separating go to market strategy from overall vision The debate about building a social media platform versus a training platform, and whether Strava can invest in both and still delight customersThe ways Strava is thinking about and investing in community building on the platform and increasing the serendipity of athlete connectionsThe pros and cons of increasingly bridging the physical world and virtual world when it comes to exercise and sportWhat the future of sport looks like for amateur athletes and how Strava is taking that into consideration How Strava can help content creators and business owners active in the endurance communityAnd more! Give it a listen.Support the show

Text us your thoughts about this episode or ideas for future episodes!Amy Clark is an ultra runner based in Bend, Oregon. She is also the Editor of Ultrarunning Magazine, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. The monthly magazine has recurring columns on nutrition, training and strategy, running culture and philosophy, and race reports.In this episode, Amy and I cover some recurring themes of the show in a new light - we talk how and why the sports growing, how and why female participation in particular is growing, whether the US can handle big, festival-like ultra running events comparable to what we are seeing in Europe, whether the FKT and personal project style of trail running that gained popularity during COVID is here to stay, some thoughts on how to put on a good race, and more. Enjoy!Support the show

Text us your thoughts about this episode or ideas for future episodes!On today’s show, we have Eric Senseman. Eric is a professional trail runner for Hoka One One, Rabbit, and Gu Energy.  Alongside Jim Walmsley, Tim Freriks, Stephen Kirsch, Jared Hazen, and Cody Reed,  Eric is also a member of the Coconino Cowboys, the famous training group based in the American endurance sports Mecca of Flagstaff, AZ. Like previous guests of the pod, one of the things I appreciate about Eric is how willing and excited he is to comment on some of the biggest issues, opportunities, and questions around our sport.  We discuss: the factors required to create the Coconino Cowboys, the similarities and differences of their setup to counterparts like Hoka NAZ Elite in the track and field space, as well the conditions needed to build similar training groups elsewhere in the US. Eric reflects on his strategy of surrounding himself with better runners in order to fast track his ascent in the sport. We talk about the makings of a good trail town, and we cover how media coverage is evolving in our sport and what innovation will look like in the near and long terms. Enjoy!Support the show

Text us your thoughts about this episode or ideas for future episodes!On todays show we have Karl Meltzer.  Karl is one of the first runners in our sport to truly go pro, specializing early on in his career in the 100 mile event. Since the late 1990s, he's won over 40 races, including at least 1 every year for for the last 19 years - both are records that may never be broken.  He’s also the Race Director for the Speedgoat 50k and perhaps most importantly, he’s just a guy you’d wanna have a beer with. He brings so much awesome perspective to the sport. In this episode, we do some analysis on the American contingent at this year's UTMB, we talk about race directing, we speculate on a potential new 100 mile race in the central Wasatch range, and we reflect on what it takes to make a career out of this sport. I won’t spoil anything for you, but this was one of my favorite conversations to date. Enjoy!Support the show

Text us your thoughts about this episode or ideas for future episodes!Jimmy Daly joins the podcast to talk about how pro trail runners currently handle social media obligations, what can be improved, how they can measure their ROI to brands they work with, and how those brands can better support athlete content creation efforts. We riff on a constant theme in this show - how to grow the sport of Mountain Ultra Trail Running. And finally, we have a ton of fun going back and forth on some business ideas we'd like to see take shape in our sport. Support the show

Text us your thoughts about this episode or ideas for future episodes!Chase Parnell joins the podcast to talk about whether this generation of elite ultra runners are as compelling as previous ones, Anton Krupicka's return to the Leadville 100 this month and whether it's the start of a greater comeback tour for one of the legends, the tools at his disposal and his process for providing pre, post, and in-race coverage, the price of being a full time creator in this sport and what's required to make it, and more!Support the show

Text us your thoughts about this episode or ideas for future episodes!Dylan Bowman joins the podcast to talk abut his decision to go "all-in" on Pyllars, his broadcasting opportunities at Western States and UTMB, the rigors of being a professional athlete, the future of Mountain Ultra Trail Running, and the challenges of being a creator and visionary in our community. Support the show