Borderlands Trail and Ultra Running30 Maalis

Why People Run 100 Miles (with Billy Yang)

Why do people run 100 miles and keep coming back to ultra running even after it hurts, slows them down, and offers no obvious reward? If you’ve ever been curious about ultra running or felt the pull toward doing something hard without fully understanding why, this conversation is for you.

In this episode, Billy Yang helps unpack what draws people into ultra running and what they’re actually searching for out there. It’s less about racing and more about identity, suffering, and the deeper reasons people choose to keep going.

For runners and anyone trying to understand why we choose hard things.

Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review.

Topics / Timestamps

00:00 Why Would ANYONE Run 100 Miles
05:55 The Journey of the Soul in Ultra Running
09:01 The Power of Storytelling in Sports
16:08 Exploring the Stories Behind the Sport
23:02 Why Do We Keep Going Back to the 100 Mile Starting Line
28:11 Reframing Your 'Why'
30:30 Ultra Running is the Great Equalizer

Resources / Links

Related Episodes

Presented by Kiprun.

----

Find us at Borderlands.cc and sign up for the newsletter.

Want to run in the Salt Lake area? Check out the Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races happening May 30, 2026.

And if you haven't checked out Wylder yet, it's worth a look. iOS or Android

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(305)

Why Western States is America's Most Important Race | More than a Run

Western States 100 occupies a different place in trail running than almost any other race. Months before the starting gun, runners and fans are already studying the field, imagining the canyons, debat...

9 Kesä 23min

Why Trail Running Hides Competition

Trail running culture loves winners. That's obvious. The sport builds documentaries about them, fills Instagram feeds with them, and spends months debating who will win Western States. But the more Jo...

4 Kesä 17min

What Happens When Running Becomes Your Job? | Jacob Puzey

Professional running can quietly turn into pressure, performance, sponsorship obligations, and constant visibility. This episode with Jacob Puzey is for runners who have felt burnout creeping into the...

25 Touko 19min

The Race That Makes Trail Running Real

Trail running usually becomes real for people at a local ultra, not while watching UTMB or Western States online. The parking lot at 5am with 53 runners, one exhausted race director, and volunteers gi...

21 Touko 18min

What SATISFY Reveals About Trail Running

Trail running culture melted down this weekend after a Satisfy x Adidas event triggered accusations of cringe, elitism, rich-kid cosplay, and the death of authenticity. But the backlash revealed somet...

18 Touko 9min

Can Trail Running Stay Human?

Trail running is getting bigger fast. Bigger races, bigger brands, bigger media, and more money entering the sport every year. What happens to trail running culture as all of that growth accelerates? ...

12 Touko 45min

Can Trail Running Handle Growth?

Cocodona 250 exposed something trail running still doesn’t totally want to admit: the audience is already here, but the fan experience still hasn’t caught up. After spending more than 13 hours inside ...

7 Touko 20min

Why Fueling Stops Working During Ultras

Ultra running nutrition is getting more extreme. More carbs, more precision, more pressure to “get it right.” But if you’ve ever had your stomach shut down mid-race, you know something isn’t adding up...

4 Touko 44min