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PODCAST

The Trailhead

The Trailhead isn"t your typical trail running podcast—we"re not dissecting splits or debating race strategies. Instead, hosts Zoë Rom and Brendan Leonard take you straight to the heart (and funny bone) of the sport, celebrating the people, stories, and quirks that make trail running so special. With a mix of humor, heart, and a little irreverence, we explore the personalities, people, artists, and everyday athletes who give the sport its soul—because trail running is about more than just the

sports running

All Episodes

51:42

Brad Stulberg on How to Be Excellent Without Burning Out

The Trailhead ·

2026/02/03

Brad Stulberg co-wrote Peak Performance with Steve Magness and has spent over a decade studying what excellence actually requires. He joins Zoë and Brendan to dismantle the myths of hustle culture and explain why genuine excellence isn't about optimization, it's about caring deeply about something worthwhile. We dig into "zombie burnout" (exhaustion from doing too little of what lights you up), what Brad learned from studying Courtney Dauwalter and powerlifter Layne Norton, and why chasing flow

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01:01:05

Why Run 205 Miles? Doug Mayer on Tour de Géants and...

The Trailhead ·

2026/01/20

What happens when you strip away sleep, ego, and every external measure of success for 330 kilometers? Doug Mayer, founder of Run the Alps, former Car Talk producer, and three-time Tour de Géants finisher, has spent years trying to answer that question. His new graphic novel, Last of the Giants, is his best attempt yet. In this episode, Doug joins Zoë and Brendan to talk about leaving a 25-year career in radio to build a trail running tour company in Chamonix, why he kept going back to one of the

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50:39

What a PhD Mathematician Learned About Running 100 Miles

The Trailhead ·

2026/01/06

Pat Cade has a PhD in mathematics, coaches high school cross country in Leadville, Colorado, and has finished the Leadville 100 six times. In this conversation, he explains what years of research math taught him about endurance: small steady progress compounds, inspiration only strikes if you're showing up every day, and sometimes the breakthrough comes when you stop following the plan and just go climb the mountain because it's beautiful outside. Pat shares how he and his wife landed in Leadville

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01:09:07

Best of 2025: On Insanity, Effort, and Choosing Your...

The Trailhead ·

2025/12/23

For the final episode of 2025, Zoë and Brendan share their own year-end reflections, summits, snacks, and slogs, including Zoë's experience hitchhiking to the start line of a 78-mile race in Italy, arriving 90 seconds before the gun went off to stand between Kilian Jornet and Jim Walmsley in a downpour that would last 15 hours. Then they pull their favorite moments from this year's interviews. You'll hear coach Mario Fraoli explain why the marathon is where racing ends and insanity begins. Steve

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01:07:10

How DJ Romy Ancona Became Ultrarunning's Party Planner

The Trailhead ·

2025/12/09

Romy Ancona is a DJ, trail runner, and the force behind Broken Arrow's famously joyful finish line. Born in Cozumel and now based in Colorado's Roaring Fork Valley, Romy learned to mix on a trackpad on their mom's Windows laptop before somehow landing their first gig at a Maxim Magazine party in Hollywood. These days, they split time between spinning tracks on the mountain and chasing vertical on skis and trails. In this conversation, Romy talks about shedding DJ ego, their work on Broken Arrow's

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01:04:22

Lindsey Freeman on Why Running Is a Practice (and...

The Trailhead ·

2025/11/25

Lindsey Freeman is a sociologist, writer, and lifelong runner whose book Running offers a feminist and queer reading of the sport. In this conversation, Zoë and Brendan talk with Lindsey about what it means to treat running as a practice, becoming yourself through repetition, staying soft, and trusting that showing up matters even when outcomes don't. The conversation moves through ideas like the magic circle that makes it acceptable to try really hard in public, the growth of queer run clubs, and

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01:04:21

Raziq Rauf on Running Culture and What Really Matters

The Trailhead ·

2025/11/11

Raziq Rauf didn't set out to become a running writer, he set out to avoid burnout as a music journalist covering London's metal and hardcore scene. Now, through his newsletter Running Sucks, he brings that same critical eye to the running industry, asking where authentic culture ends and brand activations begin. We talk about his transition from music journalism to running writing, how to spot the difference between meaningful community and manufactured hype, and discover there's exactly one death

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01:03:00

Nick Thompson on Running, Fatherhood, and Staying...

The Trailhead ·

2025/10/28

Nick Thompson has spent his life chasing big stories and finish lines. The CEO of The Atlantic and author of The Running Ground joins Zoë and Brendan to talk about running through life's hardest moments, from a cancer diagnosis at 30 to balancing elite training with parenthood and a high-powered media career. Together, they explore why running became Nick's anchor through chaos and change, the strange parallels between journalism and endurance sports, and the lessons he learned from his father,

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01:01:44

Jared Beasley on Laz Lake, the Endurance Artist

The Trailhead ·

2025/10/14

What kind of person dreams up the hardest race on earth, and then follows it up with one of the weirdest? This week on The Trailhead, Zoë and Brendan dive deep into the mind of Lazarus Lake, the man behind both the Barkley Marathons and Big’s Backyard Ultra. Our guest, author Jared Beasley, joins to talk about his new book on Laz, unpacking the mystery, mischief, and mythology that made one man’s backyard into a global endurance phenomenon. We explore what drives people to suffer on purpose, why

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50:37

Dan Lieberman on The Science of Being Born to Run

The Trailhead ·

2025/09/30

Harvard evolutionary biologist Dan Lieberman is the scientist whose work reshaped how we understand running. His research on human evolution helped popularize the idea that we’re born to run, that our bodies, from our toes and tendons to our oversized glutes, are uniquely adapted for endurance. In this conversation, he joins Zoë and Brendan to explore what running reveals about being human. This week's featured race is the Naughty Hog 100k, 50k, 25k, 10k, and 5k! Dec 20. Register now! We dig into

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52:50

Joe Grant: on Running, Creating, and Living in the...

The Trailhead ·

2025/09/16

Joe Grant has always blurred the lines between athlete and artist. From racing UTMB and Hardrock to biking between Colorado 14ers, Joe’s career has evolved into something bigger than competition—projects that fuse endurance, place, and creativity. In this conversation, Joe joins hosts Zoë Rom and Brendan Leonard to talk about his journey from racing to FKTs to local San Juan projects, why he ditched the watch, and how he balances gear geekery with poetry and film photography. If you’ve ever wondered

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51:12

Junko Kazukawa on Joy, Grit, and Running Into Her 60s

The Trailhead ·

2025/09/02

This week on The Trailhead, Zoë Rom and Brendan Leonard sit down with one of ultrarunning’s most quietly legendary figures: Junko Kazukawa. A two-time Leadwoman, breast cancer survivor, and one of the few athletes to complete both the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning and the Leadwoman series in a single year, Junko’s story is a masterclass in resilience and joy. Born in Sapporo, Japan, and now based in Denver, Junko shares how she started running in the U.S. after coming over as a student, how she trained

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01:04:44

Sarah Lavender Smith Finds Meaning in Midlife and the...

The Trailhead ·

2025/08/19

Take our listener survey! It takes just five minutes, and your input helps shape the future of UltraSignup! Take it here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCgLdj8-92G_pLDxkPfuJ0-r477MzZPieRx_qlj1cmP2oybA/viewform?usp=header This week on The Trailhead, Zoë and Brendan sit down with writer, runner, and trail storyteller Sarah Lavender Smith. Sarah has been chronicling the culture of trail and ultrarunning for more than 15 years, from writing for early trail mags to her popular Substack

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01:05:21

Nick Triolo on Running For No Reason and Not Chasing...

The Trailhead ·

2025/08/05

. 📣 Listener Survey: We want your feedback to keep making podcasts you love! Take our quick listener survey. Take it here! This week on The Trailhead, Zoë and Brendan sit down with writer and ultrarunner Nick Triolo, author of The Way Around: A Field Guide to Going Nowhere. From circumnavigating mountains to ditching Strava and racing for a year, Nick shares what it means to move through landscapes differently, choosing circles over summits, presence over performance, and curiosity over metrics

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55:32

Tommie Runz on Sobriety, The Speed Project, and the...

The Trailhead ·

2025/07/22

Love our podcasts? Help us make them even better! Take our quick UltraSignup Podcast Listener Survey! What happens when a road marathoner tackles one of the wildest ultra challenges out there, solo? In this episode, Zoë and Brendan sit down with Tommie Runz (@tommie_runz): plant-based athlete, podcast host, father, and (accidentally?) ultra-endurance legend. Tommie didn’t grow up running, but after choosing sobriety in 2017, he found clarity, purpose, and eventually, a new identity in the miles. We

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01:05:03

Katie Schide Is All In at Hardrock

The Trailhead ·

2025/07/08

UTMB champion. Western States course record threat. Field hockey state champion. Rock doctor. Katie Schide is one of the most accomplished ultrarunners on the planet, and somehow, still one of the most quietly focused. In this episode of The Trailhead, Zoë and Brendan catch up with Katie ahead of her Hardrock 100 debut to talk about how she’s evolved as a competitor, why she used to downplay her ambitions, and what’s changed in both the sport and herself since her eighth-place finish at UTMB back in

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01:00:45

Kofuzi on Being Non-Elite and How Filming Makes...

The Trailhead ·

2025/06/24

This week on The Trailhead, we’re joined by the one and only Kofuzi, a self-proclaimed non-elite YouTube runner who’s built a global following by filming marathons, gear reviews, and everyday runs with heart, humor, and a handheld camera. Zoë and Brendan chat with him about the leap from roads to trails, what it really takes to make running content, and why being “exceptionally average” might be a superpower. Whether you’re here for the shoe talk, the trail stoke, or the shared love of goofy long

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58:17

Abigail West on Making Art That Moves

The Trailhead ·

2025/06/10

This week on The Trailhead, Zoë and Brendan talk with Abigail West—trail runner, printmaker, and full-time creative who’s showing us what it means to run with purpose. Based in the lush foothills of Southern Appalachia, Abigail blends endurance and artistry, carving out time (and linoleum) to tell stories about wild places, climate, and community. We dive into everything from FKTs in the Georgia mountains to why training for ultras is a terrible match with art fair season. Abigail shares how she

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01:04:56

Steve Magness on Real Toughness and Why Running...

The Trailhead ·

2025/05/27

This week on The Trailhead, Zoë and Brendan are joined by performance scientist, coach, and author Steve Magness for a deep dive into the messy, meaningful side of mental toughness. Known for calling BS on outdated notions of grit, Steve shares insights from his latest book, Win the Inside Game, and challenges the idea that suffering is the only path to success. Instead, he makes the case for curiosity, flexibility, and joy as essential ingredients for growth, not just in running, but in life

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01:03:47

Alex Hutchinson on Why Doing Things the Hard Way...

The Trailhead ·

2025/05/13

Check out the Cloud Cap Marathon here! Thanks to Running Warehouse for supporting The Trailhead. Check out their great selection of everything from shoes to sun hoodies, with free two-day shipping. This week on The Trailhead, we're joined by one of the most thoughtful voices in endurance sports writing: Alex Hutchinson. You might know him from his Outside column, Sweat Science, or his bestselling book Endure. But today, we’re talking about his newest work—The Explorer’s Gene—and what it reveals

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