Borderlands Trail and Ultra Running9 Kesä

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, debating contenders, and wondering what story will emerge from Auburn.

This episode explores why Western States feels bigger than a race. From Jim Walmsley and Kilian Jornet to Wendell Robie, Rucky Chucky, and the old buckle holders still working aid stations, Josh makes the case that Western States belongs in the same conversation as The Masters and the Kentucky Derby.

Not because of the sport, but because of what happens when greatness, history, place, and uncertainty all meet in the same event.

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

If you’re new to Borderlands, start here.

Topics / Timestamps

01:54 Elite Runners vs 'Participation Runners'
08:05 The Course as Character
11:14 The Importance of The Course
13:54 The Importance of Rucky Chucky
16:12 The Dual Nature of the Race
19:58 The Spirit of American Trail Running
22:09 The Unfolding Drama of Race Day

Resources / Links

Related Episodes

Presented by Kiprun.

----

Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it.

Watch on YouTube

Read on Substack

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

Jaksot(326)

Ultrarunning: You Don’t Have to Be Good to Feel Strong

Ultrarunning gives ordinary people a rare place to feel strong, capable and tested. You don’t have to be elite, or even particularly good at it, to experience that. I know because I’ve DNF’d plenty of...

29 Syys 23min

Anton Krupicka | Trail Running, Identity, and Ignoring Trends

Anton Krupicka has spent two decades becoming something harder to define than a trail runner. This conversation is about how that happened, why he stopped caring about fitting the sport’s mold, and wh...

22 Syys 24min

The Trail Races We Can’t Afford to Lose

Trail running is growing fast, but what happens to the races that don’t scale cleanly? After spending one night volunteering at the Wasatch 100 and the next day at a brand-new UTMB race, I came away w...

15 Syys 28min

"I Need Running to Stay Alive" | Inside the Compulsive Mind of Biel

Ultrarunning rewards people who can keep going. Biel makes you wonder what happens when stopping no longer feels like an option, and where ambition ends and compulsion begins.Biel is a Brazilian ultra...

8 Syys 29min

UTMB Doesn’t Have a Fan Problem

UTMB is the center of trail running for one week every year, and somehow the people most frustrated by it keep showing up. After a week in Chamonix, I came home thinking the problem with hating UTMB i...

1 Syys 35min

Why the World’s Biggest Trail Race Happened in France

UTMB is the biggest trail race in the world, but why did it happen in France? The easy answer is Mont Blanc. The better answer has more to do with culture, timing, and the kind of endurance tradition ...

22 Elo 39min

With Tara Dower | Built Different

Ultra running rewards obsession, but Tara Dower seems wired for something beyond results. She wants to solve hard problems, chase the best competition, run faster, and keep finding out what she’s capa...

20 Elo 40min

Karl Meltzer | Speedgoat, UTMB, and Trail Running’s Boom

Trail running has exploded into a global business, and Karl Meltzer somehow ended up at the center of it. HOKA turned his Speedgoat nickname into one of trail running’s defining shoes, Red Bull paid h...

17 Elo 1h 2min