The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman

These interviews were part of Good Morning, Austin - our daily show from The Running Event in Austin, Texas. Every day, Dylan talked to industry leaders about brand and product innovation shaping the trail running landscape. This week, we'll release a few "Best Of" episodes here in the podcast feed. Todays guests: Steve Doolan, President of the Americas, Salomon (04:34) Steve is the newly appointed President of the Americas for Salomon. Born in France and now living in Utah, Steve started with HOKA in 2010 where he had an incredible impact on the brand. Now he joins Salomon, a brand that’s focused on both trail running and skiing (a lifelong passion), as well as a connection to his roots in France. Dylan and Steve talk about what’s next at Salomon, and they also talk about TRE - Steve first went to the show in 2008 in Dallas. Steve shares his thoughts on why he thinks TRE has endured when so many trade shows haven’t. Ryan Hitzel, Founder of Roark (27:13) Ryan Hitzel, founder of Roark, joins us to talk about the brand, the recent huge news announced earlier this week that Roark named former Volcom executive Jason Steris as their new CEO. They talk about trail culture, surf culture and the similarities between the communities and cultures in niche sports. Sponsors: THANKS TO BOA FOR SPONSORING OUR COVERAGE ALL WEEK! 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 HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30 Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts   Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava   ________________________   Other Freetrail podcast episodes you might enjoy:   Kilian Jornet | The New NNormal   Tim Tollefson | The Infinite Game   Clare Gallagher | Black Canyon 100k Champion   Jim Walmsley | Engagement, Moving to Europe, Western States, and UTMB

These interviews were part of Good Morning, Austin - our daily show from The Running Event in Austin, Texas. Every day, Dylan talked to industry leaders about brand and product innovation shaping the trail running landscape. This week, we'll release a few "Best Of" episodes here in the podcast feed. Todays guests: Clark Morgan & Don Reichelt from Speedland (04:43) Dylan is joined by Clark Morgan, new Director of Brand Experience at Speedland and Don Reichelt, a founding Speedland athlete. They talk about Clark’s background, how he’s now focused on building the brand and community around Speedland, and what’s next for the brand. They share a (sweet!) upcoming prototype that we can’t wait to get our hands on. Larissa Rivers & Tim Myers from Strava (28:28) Larissa was one of the first employees at Strava back when it was a fledgling startup in San Francisco. Her legend precedes her - she’s a real life energizer bunny who crushes her job, being a mom of 3 amazing girls, and supporting those around her to move their bodies and be their best selves. She’s joined by her colleague Tim, who works in Product at Strava, and has played a key role in major updates like the Local Legend feature. They announce a new and very exciting messaging feature that is coming soon - this episode is embargoed until Monday 12/4 when the launch can be shared more broadly. Monica Devreese, Founder of Rabbit Apparel (51:21) Monica is the founder of Rabbit, one of the core brands in trail running. Her limitless energy and passion to build the brand is infectious. They talk about her entrepreneurial journey, how she’s built Rabbit and how the brand is going. Plus, they quickly speak to Erik Senseman’s recent retirement announcement. It’s always great to hear and learn from Monica, we hope you enjoy. PS: She had a really fun off-camera teaser for us after the interview that we’ll release when the time's right. Stay tuned for big things coming from Monica! Sponsors: THANKS TO BOA FOR SPONSORING OUR COVERAGE ALL WEEK! 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 HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30 Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts   Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava   ________________________   Other Freetrail podcast episodes you might enjoy:   Kilian Jornet | The New NNormal   Tim Tollefson | The Infinite Game   Clare Gallagher | Black Canyon 100k Champion   Jim Walmsley | Engagement, Moving to Europe, Western States, and UTMB

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, the future of athlete partnerships, and a lot more!   CHECK OUT SUPER ATHLETE   CHECK OUT SUPER RIDER   SIGNUP FOR THE FREETRAIL NEWSLETTER   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 HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30 Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts   Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava   ________________________   Other Freetrail podcast episodes you might enjoy:   Kilian Jornet | The New NNormal   Tim Tollefson | The Infinite Game   Clare Gallagher | Black Canyon 100k Champion   Jim Walmsley | Engagement, Moving to Europe, Western States, and UTMB

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.   Trail Runner of the Year (TROY)   Trail Performance of the Year (TPOY)   SIGNUP FOR THE FREETRAIL NEWSLETTER   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 HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30 Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts     Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava   ________________________   Other Freetrail podcast episodes you might enjoy:   Kilian Jornet | The New NNormal   Tim Tollefson | The Infinite Game   Clare Gallagher | Black Canyon 100k Champion   Jim Walmsley | Engagement, Moving to Europe, Western States, and UTMB

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     Follow Ben on Strava   Ben's Coaching Service   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 HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30 Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts   Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava   ________________________   Other Freetrail podcast episodes you might enjoy:   Kilian Jornet | The New NNormal   Tim Tollefson | The Infinite Game   Clare Gallagher | Black Canyon 100k Champion   Jim Walmsley | Engagement, Moving to Europe, Western States, and UTMB

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 to be inspirational to all runners and organisers." On the podcast, we're joined by some of the Race Directors from the founding races of WTM -- Jamil Coury, Stu McConnachie, Janet Ng, & Steve Brammar. We discuss the founding vision, the values, the structure, and the future of the organization.   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 HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30 Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts   Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava   ________________________   Other Freetrail podcast episodes you might enjoy:   Kilian Jornet | The New NNormal   Tim Tollefson | The Infinite Game   Clare Gallagher | Black Canyon 100k Champion   Jim Walmsley | Engagement, Moving to Europe, Western States, and UTMB

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 HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30 Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts   Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava   ________________________   Other Freetrail podcast episodes you might enjoy:   Kilian Jornet | The New NNormal   Tim Tollefson | The Infinite Game   Clare Gallagher | Black Canyon 100k Champion   Jim Walmsley | Engagement, Moving to Europe, Western States, and UTMB

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 Gnarly Nutrition Get 30% off your first subscription of Ketone IQ at HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30 Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Roark Apparel Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts   Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava   ________________________   Other Freetrail podcast episodes you might enjoy:   Kilian Jornet | The New NNormal   Tim Tollefson | The Infinite Game   Clare Gallagher | Black Canyon 100k Champion   Jim Walmsley | Engagement, Moving to Europe, Western States, and UTMB

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

In this episode we talk about the history of the Javelina Jundred, the course and what makes it special, the conditions this weekend, and finish by previewing the fields who will be competing for those golden tickets. My co-hosts are Abby Hall and Adam Merry.   Our coverage of Javelina is done in partnership with HOKA.   PLAY FREETRAIL FANTASY   JAVELINA LIVESTREAM FROM MTN OUTPOST