ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Big Alta didn’t just crown winners, it showed how quickly short trail racing in the U.S. is leveling up. Rachel & James break down a heat-impacted weekend where the 28K delivered a course record and the 50K produced tight battles that came down to execution. Rachel shares what the Big Alta course feels like at speed, why the exposure changes everything late, and how she approached racing while pregnant, chasing smart goals and still competing hard.
From there, we go global with skyrunning and the World Skyrunner Series, starting with the Trans Gran Canaria Marathon and then jumping to Rachel’s trip to Chile for the Andes Mountain Sky Race. We talk real logistics and real terrain: travel delays, mandatory kit, high-altitude starts around 9,000 feet, and a mountain environment that turns “only 35K” into an all-day effort. We also dig into why South American athletes deserve more spotlight and how these races reveal a different skill set than fast, smooth trail formats.
We wrap with a packed preview of Calamoro and the Gorge Waterfalls 30K and 50K start lists, then pivot to trail running sponsorship moves that made waves. Salomon’s additions of Grayson Murphy and Tove Alexandersson, plus Arc’teryx signing Jane Maus and Kyle Richardson, spark a broader conversation about what brands value and how the sport treats athletes through life changes. Finally, we get into Sierre-Zinal separating men’s and women’s starts and why that small shift could dramatically improve fairness and flow on singletrack.
If you like smart race recaps, skyrunning results, and the behind-the-scenes forces shaping trail running, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review.
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SHOW NOTES 🔗
TRANSCRIPT 🔗
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:00.959
What's going on, guys?
00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:02.640
Welcome back to the Substack.
00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:06.000
Episode three with co-host Rachel Temaichak.
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I'm your host, James Lariello, and uh we get into a whole bunch of fun stuff in this episode.
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First and foremost, we break down the most recent results from the big Alta 50K and 28K.
00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:28.399
We also get into the results of the Transgrand Canaria Marathon, the Andes Mountain Sky Race, as well as the Ankiladillas Norte Sky Race, uh, which took place just a few weeks back.
00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:38.479
We also do a short preview episode for the Kalamoro Sky Race as well as the Gorge Waterfalls 30K and 50K, which are absolutely stacked, chock full of amazing athletes.
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Um not least, we also get into some of the latest free agency moves.
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We talk about uh Grayson Murphy and Tovey Alexanderson signing with Solomon, Jane Moss and Kyle Richardson signing with Arcterics.
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We give some grades on what we think of those signings and uh just some of the slam dunks uh that these uh brands have been making recently.
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And then very, very last but not least, we also get into uh just some other topics and news.
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Um we jump into series and all separating the men's and women's field.
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We get Rachel's take on that and uh a few other things.
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So great episode.
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I hope you guys enjoy this one.
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Without further ado, Substack Episode Three with Rachel Tomaichek.
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All right, Rachel Temaichek.
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Welcome back to the Steep Stuff Podcast for the Substack Episode 3.
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How's it how's it going?
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Thanks.
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Yeah, I'm excited to be here, excited to talk about everything that's happened in this last month because a lot has happened.
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So yeah.
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You've been all over the world, like literally, like you've been all over the world, like going to some of these races, doing a lot of these things.
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So this is super exciting to kind of get into some of these race results.
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I feel like Short Trail is uh both proverbially in the news and um from a race results perspective, kind of taking off.
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We're seeing a lot of like really cool results, a lot of races, like the World Skyrunner series is uh really kind of kicking off.
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And uh yeah, it's been kind of fun to follow so so far.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, yeah.
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We're just at the start of the sub-Ultra Trail season, so lots more to cover, but yeah, this is a fun start for sure.
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Oh, yeah, no, for sure, for sure.
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Did you uh so you're just getting back from kind of like deep debriefing from Big Alta where you raced the 28th?
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Yeah.
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All right, I feel like to kick our episode off, maybe maybe give a little.
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I mean, you were in the top 10, had a great race for yourself.
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I heard apparently it was like a crazy hot day.
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Maybe give a little uh race debrief and and how you uh how you do it.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, yeah.
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It was a really fun race.
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It was a hot day, not as hot as the 100K and 50k because those days were really, really warm.
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Um, but yeah, it was great.
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My goal um just being pregnant this year was to get in the top 10.
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Um, I feel like that was a solid goal for myself.
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So um I was really happy with seventh and just trying to like stay around some of the women.
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Um, I was going back and forth with some of them through the race.
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And so that was really fun just to have some people around.
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And um, we went off at the same time as the guys, too.
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So battling back and forth between some of the guy groups.
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Um for me, uh I am definitely getting heavier now, and the uphills are a lot harder, but I feel like the downhills I can still move well on.
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So I feel like I was losing a bunch of places on the downhills.
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I mean, on the uphills, and then the downhills I would catch up with people.
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So I was going back and forth um a ton during the race, but it was a really fun race.
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Um, those trails are super, super fast.
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They're also super exposed.
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So it was a really warm day out there.
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So you definitely, definitely felt the heat, um, especially in that last hour of the race when you were up on the ridgeline and there's just no shade or tree cover or anything like that.
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But it was a really fun race.
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I think that race is one that's getting a lot more competitive.
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And um, it was cool that they added in the 100k this year because I think it just brought a lot of the trail running world together where you have ultra runners there and you have some of the shorter trail athletes and sub-ultra athletes there too.
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So yeah, really fun, fun race, fun vibes.
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So cool.
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Yeah.
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What did you talk about like the area and like the like what maybe the the vibe?
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Because like I've been to Gorge Waterfalls before, and I think like this was like very early on in the free trail, Dylan having the race, and I felt like they did an amazing job.
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They like great community atmosphere, great community race.
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So I can only imagine that Big Alta is probably just that expanded even further.
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Oh, yeah, yeah.
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And I haven't ever been um to Gorge Waterfalls, but um that was definitely kind of the vibe at Big Alta that it was just a really fun trail community event.
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Um, I think Dylan did a great job of just bringing everyone together and like hyping up all of the races too.
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It wasn't focused on the 100K, it wasn't focused on the 50k or the 28k.
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They all were able to shine on their own.
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And um, so I think they did a really great job of that, especially they had each race on their own separate day.
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And so that was really cool just being able to be out there and you could really watch the 50k if you wanted to, or the 100k.
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Um, I was out there crewing some of my mural teammates for the 50k and then um got to race the 28k too.
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So you could be there and you could really experience a lot of the races while you were there, which was really fun.
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So cool.
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Uh how Dylan has a voice after all this, like after three.
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Oh my gosh.
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I don't even know.
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Like I do like one day of Pike's Peak, and I'm completely like losing my voice.
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I can't imagine doing three days of announcing everybody's names and be like completely uh yeah, I don't know how he does it.
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Impressive.
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Yeah.
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I'm being excited for everyone to like I feel like it's one thing to just announce someone's name, but it's another thing to announce someone's name with like the enthusiasm that he does.
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So um, yeah, he did a great job of just making everybody feel like they crushed it and um had a great race and uh really wanted to bring that experience to everyone out there.
00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:04.639
Talk about the course a little bit.
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I know for the 28K, obviously 28k, what is that?
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Like it's a 14, 15 miles, something like that.
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Maybe like it was like 17 and a half.
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17 and a half, yeah.
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So 4,000 feet.
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What did you think of the course?
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I know you said there was like a lot of exposure there, but it's a lot of up and down.
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It's what it seems like, it's a lot of dirt roads and things like that.
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Yeah, you basically have one, like most of the first six miles is a climb.
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Um, sometimes it's broken up with some short downhills, but it's mostly a climb up until mile five or six.
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Um, and the climbs aren't like super steep.
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It's kind of like 300, 400 feet per um mile in the climb, and then some downhills too.
00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:49.920
And the climbs are on pretty wide, they're almost like fire roads.
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There's no cars that are going up and down it, um, but they're really, really wide, not even double track, like bigger than double track um for most of it.
00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:05.120
Some you get into some single track, but a lot of it is just these really, really wide trails.
00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:11.680
So um you're really able to move around people if you need to and uh kind of run your own race, which is nice.
00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:14.079
So that's kind of the first six miles.
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Then you have a downhill until the first aid station that's about eight and a half miles in.
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Um, and that's a really fast downhill again on more fire road y trails than single tracks.
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Um, so you can really rip those miles.
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Those are probably the fastest miles in the race.
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Um, I think I like ran sub-six on one of those miles because it's just really fast.
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Um, then you hit the aid station, eight and a half miles in, and you start climbing again, again, not really steep climbs, just like three to four hundred feet per mile.
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Um, so really, really runnable.
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And that is more on single track.
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And then you get to the ridgeline.
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Um, and that's where the really steep parts are.
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I think on the ridgeline, you're kind of just going up and down on really steep, punchy hills, but they're not really long.
00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:13.519
They're maybe like 0.1 or 0.2 miles long, but pretty steep in ups and downs.
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And then the last couple miles is a pretty um sharp downhill into the finish line.
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So um, really fast course, really runnable course.
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If you look at the times that people ran in really any of the race, they are fast times for those distances, especially with that amount of vert.
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And you're at sea level two, which is nice.
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So um, if we had a cooler day, then I think it would have been even faster.
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But Taylor still broke the course record.
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So people were moving out there for sure.
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Yeah, let's talk about that.
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I think it's probably the first results I want to get into is uh kind of a debrief of the women's 28k, because that was, you know, women's course record goes down and goes down by like a fairly decent little margin.
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Taylor Tuttle is gonna be a name everybody's gonna know in the sport pretty soon.
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Oh, yeah.
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Um total beast.
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And then she was in the top 10 overall, too, after breaking the course, which is crazy.
00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:07.759
Yeah, I think she was seventh overall, which is wild.
00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:09.840
Um, she beat a lot of the men for sure.
00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:10.879
Oh, yeah, crusher.
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And then Rena Schwartz in second.
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Um we've had Rena on the podcast before.
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She's an up-and-coming crusher.
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I don't know if she splits.
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I know she splits time.
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I know sometimes she's in the Northeast, finishing school, sometimes she's in Boulder.
00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:25.519
Um that's another name to look out for.
00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:29.519
We had her at Pike's Peak last year, and then Alice Goodall in third.
00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:37.360
Yeah, the women's race was was, I think, more a little more interesting than the men's race, just because we got a new course record, and uh it was a good contingency.
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Like it seemed like there was a lot of big names, a lot of like really strong competitors there this year.
00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:43.600
Yeah, for sure.
00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:55.519
Yeah, like I was saying, I think that Big Alta is really kind of starting to become even more of an elite race than it has been in the past, and it's drawing more of the pro field to it.
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And so that's been cool.
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But yeah, those women really crushed it, tailored with the course record on a hot day.
00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:06.559
Um, and yeah, all the top three just are incredible women.
00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:10.799
And I feel like there's still kind of names that are up and coming.
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Um, so maybe if people see them on a start list, they wouldn't know who they were.
00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:27.440
But I feel like me going into the race and just like they're all from Boulder and are training in Boulder, and I just knew like these are like the three women they're really gonna crush this race.
00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:32.159
And I thought like Taylor was in really great shape and had a shot at the course record.
00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:44.720
So um, I feel like if people didn't know them before this, they'll probably know them now because um yeah, that that was just such a big outstanding performance from all three.
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For sure, for sure.
00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:50.559
And on the men's side, we had a new uh Aries Redding, uh new guy.
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He's another another boulder guy.
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Uh another boulder, yeah.
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Pretty close.
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I mean, within relative distance.
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I mean, he obviously won the race, but not too far away from Andy Racker Racker's course record.
00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:08.080
He ran the second fastest time in 1512, and then just behind him was uh fan favorite Joe and De Leon.
00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:09.600
Did you get a chance to talk to Joe and at all?
00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:10.480
That's like one of my favorite humans.
00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:12.879
No, I didn't one of my favorite humans in the world.
00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:14.000
Like that's awesome, yeah.
00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:15.360
Such an interesting guy.
00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:20.879
Um he's in the uh not Roaringford Valley, Gunnison Valley, um up in Crested Butte.
00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:27.039
And then Marcel Hosch in third, I believe that's a Terex athlete, if I remember correctly, but um not an American.
00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:27.679
It's it's interesting.
00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:30.559
I'm glad we're seeing if you're getting international talent coming out now.
00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:34.480
Yeah, I think maybe German, is that right?
00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:35.759
Yeah, okay.
00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:36.480
Very cool.
00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:37.200
Yeah, cool.
00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:43.919
Uh and then and then the 50K, um 50K race, another big lots of standout names.
00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:45.519
Very interesting lineup.
00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:50.399
Um, David Norris took the overall win 343 in the 50K.
00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:55.039
Um, and for folks that don't know the the kind of the layout of the 50k, that's 6,700 feet of climbing.
00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:59.919
So it's basically your loop for the 28k, and then a kind of another loop on it or something like that.
00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:00.240
I forget.
00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:28.399
Yeah, they they did our climb, um, the first climb, and then they went off into this uh side loop kind of and went down and up again in that loop, and then went down into the aid station that we had, and then did the same climb out of that aid station, then had another little loop um similar to the one on the other side where you go down and up, and then they had the downhill.
00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:38.080
So they basically had four ups and downs through the race, and um, it was just kind of like in the middle of our loops where they took this side loop detour.
00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:38.960
Gotcha.
00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:42.720
Um, so 343, David Norris, the reigning US Mountain running champ.
00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:45.120
Interesting to see him kind of mix it up on the longer distances.
00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:46.639
I mean, he was I know, yeah.
00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:50.399
He's got a lot of range, obviously, Beast in the Mountain Classic.
00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:55.279
Um, I mean, you were at Sun of P last year, so you got to see that guy's a guy's a machine.
00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:58.240
He whooped one time at Stark City.
00:12:58.559 --> 00:12:59.440
That guy is so good.
00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:06.240
Um, and Drew Holman in second, three hours, 50 minutes, and then Ryan Montgomery, another fan favorite, 357 and third.
00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:13.120
Um, women's race, all within the podium, all within five minutes of each other, which I think, which I think is amazing for a 50k.
00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:20.639
Um, Claire Rhodes takes the dub, Helen Minno Faulkner right behind her at 415, Aaron Moyer in 417.
00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:25.279
Aaron's another like low-key crusher that people are just starting to learn about too.
00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:26.480
So crazy.
00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:27.200
Totally.
00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:27.600
Yeah.
00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:28.159
Yeah.
00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:39.120
And I think um I was at the 50K crewing one of my teammates at the first aid station, and it was such a close race um with the women, especially.
00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:44.159
They just came in like one after the other after the other, and um, they were really close.
00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:53.279
So I think that was a really cool race to see, and um, just see people kind of switching up through the race and uh competing really, really well.
00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:54.320
Yeah, awesome.
00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:55.440
Dude, I can't believe it.
00:13:55.519 --> 00:14:03.200
So I was looking at this this grouping of athletes, and then I was looking at the just the 30k and 50k for Gorge Waterfall next month.
00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:09.360
I'm like, oh my god, Dylan's able to get like he's got a lot of people coming to his races, like these really big names in the sport.
00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:10.639
So that's exciting.
00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:11.120
Oh yeah.
00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:14.159
Big Alta, I think is a great early season race.
00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:17.840
And uh yeah, anything else to add on to that or what do you think?
00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:18.960
Totally, yeah.
00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:21.039
And I think that you're spot on with that.
00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:31.440
I think, especially this year, with potentially maybe some Americans not doing some of the Golden Trail series races because it is a lot harder for Americans to get over there.
00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:34.720
And some of these athletes too aren't sponsored.
00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:37.519
I don't think Taylor Tuttle has a sponsor right now.
00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:39.919
Um, hopefully she will soon.
00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:56.399
Um But yeah, I think some of those some of these athletes don't have sponsors, and so getting over to Europe is really, really hard for some of those races, but getting out to Big Alta or to Gorge Waterfall isn't as big of a stretch um for your wallet.
00:14:56.559 --> 00:15:03.279
So um, yeah, I think these are great races, and it's awesome that we're getting some really, really competitive races in the US.
00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:04.720
Yeah, no, I couldn't agree more.
00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:05.840
Couldn't agree more.
00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:07.840
Um, all right, let's let's shift gears.
00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:09.039
Let's get into TGC.
00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:14.960
We had uh the Transgrain Carrier, yeah, Trans Gran Canaria uh Marathon just a few weeks ago.
00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:17.919
47k, 1800 meters of climbing.
00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:21.519
Dude, the Spanish just like beat up on people in this race.
00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:28.799
I get it, because it's it's it's basically in the can it's in the Canary Islands, so it makes a lot of sense as to why there would be such a strong Spanish contingent.
00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:32.000
Um yeah, just an absolute Spanish whooping.
00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:38.799
And uh we had some Americans do pretty well as well, not to be too North American bias, but we've we had some Americans in the mix.
00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:49.279
Uh on the men's side, we had Antonio Martinez Perez, who is kind of a mainstay on the World Skyrunner series, um, as well as has had great results at OCC in races like that in the past.
00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:58.559
Uh he took the overall dub for Spain, um Fran Anguita in second place, another Spaniard, and Miguel Benitas in third.
00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:04.720
Uh, I do want to give a shout out to uh Boldereit, and I guess we kind of claim them, but also Brazil does.
00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:09.759
Uh Johnny Luna Lima uh overall in the top ten as well in sixth place.
00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:36.000
If you wanna take away the women, uh yeah, yeah, I think the women also almost a Spanish sweep there, but um Akram Ralesala uh from Spain, Maria Gill, also Spanish, Caterina Stinta broke it up and was the Italian that was in the top three, and then we had some US representation with Olivia Amber in fifth and Hannah Campbell in sixth.
00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:45.279
So some of our US athletes did break into the top 10, but definitely um the Spanish were the ones that were carrying that race.
00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:46.559
Yeah, no, for sure.
00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:49.279
I'm just realizing when I did this, when I wrote out the script.
00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:54.080
I oh wait, I TGC, I can't remember if TGC was before Andy's Mountain Sky Race.
00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:56.320
I should have put dates in there for people, but that's okay.
00:16:56.399 --> 00:16:57.600
I think people would be okay with the recap.
00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:58.399
That's okay.
00:16:58.639 --> 00:16:59.120
Yeah, yeah.
00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:01.919
I think it's just a quick, I mean, a quick TGC.
00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:08.799
I mean, that's the kind of not the main race of TGC anyway, but I feel like giving the people a little uh little breakdown of it, I think they'd be stoked on it.
00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:12.960
Um I do want to pivot and go straight to the Andes Mountain Sky Race because you were out there.
00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:14.640
Uh, you got to see what it was all about.
00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:15.599
Talk about your experience.
00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:21.200
I know your travel experience was a little less than fun, but talk about all this.
00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:23.519
Yeah, travel was kind of wild.
00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:25.519
I I just had flight things.
00:17:25.599 --> 00:17:28.240
One of my flights was delayed, then I missed the other one.
00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:30.480
It was just a big whole thing.
00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:42.240
And getting up to La Parva is kind of difficult as well because you fly into Santiago and then you have to figure out how to get up to this like tiny mountain town that's like two hours away.
00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:46.640
So um I ended up taking just like the ski van that was up there.
00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:49.519
Um, and that's how I did it.
00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:52.240
But it's this really winy road that's up there.
00:17:52.480 --> 00:18:00.000
But once I got up there, I was kind of stressed a little bit getting out there just because travel was so just like crazy and wild.
00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:07.279
And while I was traveling, they um sent out the race um like directory thing.
00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:09.599
Like it wasn't, I didn't find it on their website.
00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:18.880
Usually you can find it on their website, but I found out the bib pickup was like an hour away from where the race was, and there was mandatory equipment that I needed that I didn't have.
00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:25.680
So mid-travel, I was like trying to find this mandatory equipment and figure out how I was gonna get my bib number.
00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:41.440
So I think a little bit disorganized-ish, or maybe I maybe that was my fault, and I uh didn't know where to go to find the information, and it could have been a lot easier for myself, but I felt disorganized until I got to um La Parva.
00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:43.039
And then after that, it was amazing.
00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.640
I'd always wanted to go to the Andes Mountains, so it was beautiful.
00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:49.519
I think it's a really cool place to race.
00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:52.160
It's so different from anything in the US.
00:18:52.319 --> 00:19:03.039
Um, they don't really have like trees up in La Parva, so it's a different kind of like ski resort-ish area than you would see up in the US.
00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:06.000
And part of it is part of that is because it's so high.
00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:08.400
I think it um is at 9,000 feet.
00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:11.200
That was the starting altitude of the race.
00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:27.279
So it is a really, really high altitude race, which um makes sense when you see some of the times from the Skyrunner race because they're slow times, but I think their highest altitude up there was 17,000 feet.
00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:29.759
Um, so they're getting really, really high.
00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:34.400
It's a really steep race, not fast trails, they're climbing a ton.
00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:38.640
Um, but it is definitely a mountain adventure out in the Andes.
00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:39.519
So crazy.
00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:40.319
Talk about your course.
00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:41.920
So you ran the 10K out there.
00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:46.720
Was it more of an up-down, like a mountain classic kind of race, or was it flatter?
00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:48.400
Like what was the course profile like?
00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:52.640
Yeah, it was, it was um, it was a really interesting race.
00:19:52.720 --> 00:20:00.799
I've never run a race like this, but it was essentially like we went up uh the same trail that we went down.
00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:07.359
So you and the eight, there is a 10K and an 18K and then the sky race.
00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:15.119
Um, but the 10K and 18K, um the 18K went first and then the 10K, but they were both on the same course too.
00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:22.480
So during the 10K, you're passing like the 18K people um that were kind of like in the back of the pack.
00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:31.119
And then you're also on the way down, you're passing those same 18k people and the people that are behind you in the 10K race.
00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:38.000
So that was just interesting in a trail race to be like the same course up and down.
00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:43.519
Um, it definitely made for like a harder downhill kind of like trying to navigate around people.
00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:54.000
Um, but it was kind of like a VK up and then a VK, like down, or I guess it's not a VK when you're going down, but that same steepness downhill.
00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:58.160
Um, so really, really steep, but also a cool race.
00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:00.480
Um, slow trails for sure.
00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:06.000
Like they were really sandy and um really steep because it was like a VK.
00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:12.640
And once you're at the top, you're kind of like, I think you're at 11 or 12,000 feet.
00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:16.000
So you're up high at altitude, running in sand.
00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:19.839
The most of the last mile um of the uphill I was hiking.
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:23.279
So really steep, but really, really pretty coarse for sure.
00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:23.920
So cool.
00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:25.279
How did you feel with that altitude?
00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:27.359
Was it like especially coming from Boulder?
00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:29.759
Boulder's what, five, five and a half thousand feet up?
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.720
Still altitude, but not like when you when you're racing at 9,000 feet, it just hits different.
00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:36.720
It's a it's a different game.
00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:43.119
Yeah, I mean, I think for me each day, like I don't really know how I'm gonna feel.
00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:48.640
Some days I feel really great during pregnancy, and then other times I don't really feel that great.
00:21:48.720 --> 00:22:04.079
So I think it's hard for me to compare right now how it feels running at altitude versus like running up at like 10,000 feet because I didn't run like in Dallas on a layover when I was coming over and felt terrible.
00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:07.920
Like I felt like I was running at altitude when I'm at sea level.
00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:10.240
But then I got up to the Andes Mountains.
00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:19.359
And I don't know if it was just because it was like so pretty and I wasn't thinking about how I was feeling as much, but it felt like fine and kind of normal.
00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:24.400
But I'm also, I also just know like I'm not going to be running as fast as I normally do.
00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:28.160
So I feel like I've kind of been able to let go paces a little bit now.
00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:32.480
But other races I've done, if I race at 9,000 feet, I definitely feel it.
00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:33.839
So I'm sure I felt it.
00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:37.680
It's just harder to like know at this point in my life.
00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:38.319
Yeah.
00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:39.759
No, I think it's great.
00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:42.880
One thing it's worth saying, while pregnant, you won this race.
00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:45.200
You got first at the 10K, which is amazing.
00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:47.519
So pretty freaking cool.
00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:49.759
Um, yeah, it was fun.
00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:55.440
It was fun just to be able to do that and really just to be able to push myself some during pregnancy.
00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:58.799
I think it was fun racing this race in um Big Alta.
00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:05.200
And yeah, just being able to push a little bit because I didn't know if that would be a possibility during pregnancy.
00:23:05.359 --> 00:23:06.480
So yeah, it was fun.
00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:07.200
So cool.
00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:07.680
So cool.
00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:08.720
All right, let's take it away.
00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:10.880
I'll let you uh take it away with the results.
00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:15.200
Uh starting with the women, um, definitely, definitely some.
00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:22.960
I feel like you said, like some of the times, like crazy for a 35k race, some of the rate like finishes were in the eight-hour range, which is wild.
00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:26.480
Yeah, well, that's what I was gonna say at the start of this.
00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:37.839
I feel like it's on the line of being an ultra, even though the race was 35k, because the times are close to like what Jen was running at Black Canyon.
00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:41.440
Like she ran right under uh eight hours, I think.
00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:46.799
And then the winner, Rosalia Zagara of this ran 741 for first place.
00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:52.559
So it's almost like an ultra time-wise, um, when you're out there for so long.
00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:57.759
But anyway, yeah, the um it was really cool to see all these athletes crushing it out there.
00:23:57.920 --> 00:24:04.319
Um, Rosalia Zagara from Peru was first in 741, seven hours 41 minutes.
00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:10.240
Lena Elcott uh from Sweden ran 810 and she was in second.
00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:14.000
So there was a bit of a gap between Rosalia and uh Lena.
00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:16.319
Rosalia just really crushed this race.
00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:22.480
And then Anna Maria Pineda uh from Colombia ran 817 for third.
00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:27.200
So really Peru, Sweden, Colombia, there are athletes from all over.
00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:42.079
Um, I definitely think that in these South American sky runner races, there is a good amount, there are a good amount of South American athletes that go, which is fun to see because when you're over in Europe, sometimes you don't get to see those athletes or race them.
00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:46.400
But um, some of them are really, really standout, amazing athletes.
00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:51.039
So um it's fun to be over there and and see some of the South American athletes.
00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:52.480
Yeah, no, big time.
00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:58.640
On on that topic, I wanted to ask you just because culturally, like, what did you think of the food of the experience?
00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:00.400
Because I feel like such a big component.
00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:03.599
Like every we talk about you know, results of races, right?
00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:10.960
But like I feel like getting over there and actually having the experience of being immersed in this culture and getting to meet the people that live there and put on this race.
00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:12.240
Like, what were your thoughts on that?
00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:15.519
I feel like that's almost like such a different picture to talk about.
00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:16.480
Totally.
00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:21.519
Yeah, I think it's so fun just to get to experience the culture and be over there.
00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:26.000
It's fun getting to see the athletes that are from South America.
00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:32.960
I got to run with Anna the day before the race, and we just did a shakeout together with some of the other athletes there.
00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:34.720
And um, she's so cool.
00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:49.279
So, yeah, it was really awesome just getting to talk with those athletes about what their experience is like running trails in their country and kind of like what their race schedule is and some of the things that are hard about trail running for them or some of the things that they love.
00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:54.400
Um, so yeah, I think you just really, really get to know a lot of different people.
00:25:54.559 --> 00:26:05.680
Um, and yeah, also cool meeting um Lena Elcott from Sweden because she's been on the Meryl team for a long time since I've been on it, and I've never met her.
00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:08.960
And she's a twin, and her sister just had a baby.
00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:13.519
So I was like asking her all the questions about how her sister's doing and stuff.
00:26:13.680 --> 00:26:20.400
Um, so yeah, anyway, it was just like a really cool thing to get to meet and talk with all these athletes from all over the world.
00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:21.119
So cool.
00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:22.160
What an experience.
00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:23.119
I love these.
00:26:23.200 --> 00:26:28.480
Uh like I said, just culturally, you get to learn so much more about these different places, and it's yeah, it's pretty awesome.
00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:31.519
Um, all right, shifting gears, uh, give the breakdown of the men.
00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:36.559
Jose Manuel, uh Jose Manuel Mama Keese Bay, yeah.
00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:37.920
Keispe, Keispe.
00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:41.759
Um from Peru, 603-03 in first place.
00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:46.079
Fran Muez, another Peruvian, 614-26 in second.
00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:52.000
And then American uh yeah, American Morgan Elliott keeps getting himself on these uh podiums.
00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:57.200
Good shout out to Merrill Athlete, Morgan Elliott from the United States, 6'2-13 in third place.
00:26:57.279 --> 00:26:58.880
So another great finish for Morgan.
00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:00.960
Um, yeah, super cool to see.
00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:08.079
Uh I'm I'm glad we're starting to see more North Americans kind of filter their way into uh some of the World Skyrunner series races.
00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:17.759
I think it's that's super awesome because it's I don't know, when you think about like Europe and and the way Europeans kind of grow up racing, I feel like that becomes second nature to them on a lot of the technical terrain.
00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:26.640
Whereas like we come from such a traditional track and field background, and I feel like that filters more athletes into the golden trail series because it's kind of a different style of racing, if you will.
00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:28.880
It's more fast, it's it's different components.
00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:36.000
Um, so it's cool to see more American athletes kind of filtering them right into the World Skyrunner series as we as we kind of go, which is dope.
00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:37.440
Yeah, definitely.
00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:44.559
And I feel like for the men, Morgan Elliott is really leading the way for US athletes in the Skyrunner World Series.
00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:48.319
He's been at a couple already this year and podiumed at both of them.
00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:50.880
So I'm excited to see the rest of his season.
00:27:51.039 --> 00:28:03.440
I think he's planning on um going being in America and doing some of the national Skyrunner World Series, or I guess not World Series, but Skyrunner National Series races over in the US.
00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:05.200
And I think we were talking about it.
00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:15.119
It's gonna be really fun to see how he and Dan Kurtz, who's probably doing a bunch of those, and some of those guys like up in the East Coast um compete with each other.
00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:18.480
Um, so yeah, I think that'll be really exciting this season.
00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:22.559
And I think it was also really exciting on the men's um side.
00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:28.960
I had always seen Jose Keispe um and his name up like in the Skyrunner World Series.
00:28:29.119 --> 00:28:36.079
He always crushes those races, but it was fun to actually get to meet him in person and see him have such a dominant performance.
00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:39.920
And um, so yeah, it was really, really cool to see him racing.
00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:40.799
So awesome.
00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:53.759
Yeah, like like you said earlier, it's really cool to see a lot of the more shine on the South American contingent of athletes because you know, in the world scene, every now and then for like a UTMB race, like one of them will kind of pop up and they'll be talked about.
00:28:53.839 --> 00:28:54.880
But like that's really it.
00:28:54.960 --> 00:29:05.440
But it's really cool in series like this, they get races in you know in their home countries and it's you know more conversation around it and just more shine on the fact that it's just such a global sport, which is awesome.
00:29:05.759 --> 00:29:06.960
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:08.240
All right, let's shift gears.
00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:12.559
We'll go to Acintil Dios, uh, Del Norte Sky Race.
00:29:12.640 --> 00:29:14.480
Man, I gotta, I gotta really work on my space.
00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:19.440
I think it's Acantilados Del Norte Space.
00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:24.880
Uh I have always or also had a hard time um pronouncing that.
00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:28.000
People from other countries are like, who what is this guy saying?
00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:28.880
Oh my god.
00:29:29.119 --> 00:29:29.839
Sorry guys.
00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:31.839
Um amazing sky race.
00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:41.359
I feel like this was one of the I know we talked about like the point rankings, and I feel like this one pulled a much deeper field as in some of the other uh races.
00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:43.359
Is it a red versus white?
00:29:43.440 --> 00:29:48.559
I think this was the uh was a specifically a red um point ranking race, something like that.
00:29:48.720 --> 00:29:49.119
Yeah.
00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:58.960
Yeah, I think you're right, which um we've talked about a little bit before, but the red races are ranked um or weighted a little bit uh heavier point-wise.
00:29:59.119 --> 00:30:06.960
So um the athletes in this race earn more points than the ones from the race in Chile, the Andes Mountain race.
00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:08.160
Um, so yeah.
00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:09.119
Very cool.
00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:10.160
And you know what's cool?
00:30:10.240 --> 00:30:18.480
I love how folks go out, like Canary Islands is like, you know, how we talked about TGC, um, a perennial racing scene on kind of the global racing circuit.
00:30:18.559 --> 00:30:23.359
So we have TGC and then this particular sky race also in La Palma and the Canary Islands.
00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:31.920
This one in particular, 29K, so 18 miles with about 6,600 six, I'm sorry, 6,561 feet of vertical.
00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:34.240
Uh new course record on the women's side.
00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:34.880
No surprise there.
00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:37.039
Sarah Alonzo, absolute killer.
00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:41.279
I'll let you take it away for the uh for the women's contingent for the top five.
00:30:41.680 --> 00:30:45.680
Yeah, we had Sarah Alonzo, who you just mentioned, course record.
00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:48.160
Um, really, really amazing performance.
00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:52.000
She's an amazing athlete, really, really fun to watch run.
00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:58.000
Um, but not that far behind her, just six minutes behind her was uh Patricia Pineda.
00:30:58.400 --> 00:31:07.039
So I think Sarah had an amazing, amazing race, but these other women aren't too far behind, which is kind of fun to see um as well.
00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:14.799
Marta Martinez, who has done really well in the Skyrunner World Series, I think she did really well last year in the Skyrunner World Series.
00:31:14.880 --> 00:31:29.039
Um, but she ran a 307, so she was just a minute behind Patricia and then Amanda Nielsen from Sweden, 309, and then uh Shen Gave Balendran, I think from Norway.
00:31:29.359 --> 00:31:32.960
Um, it was came in at 311 in fifth place.
00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:35.440
Um so that those were the top five women.
00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:37.759
Um great runs from all of them.
00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:38.559
That's amazing.
00:31:38.640 --> 00:31:44.000
I mean, about a little bit, so 10 a little bit, I guess 10 minutes between the top five separating.
00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:49.200
That's pretty solid for uh such a brutal race that was like so technical.
00:31:49.599 --> 00:31:50.319
So very good.
00:31:50.640 --> 00:31:51.039
Right.
00:31:51.200 --> 00:31:58.559
Um took it away on the men's side, Menu Morales, uh, arguably one of the best downhillers on planet Earth.
00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:03.039
Uh Spanish athlete took the dub in 231.54.
00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:10.400
Fred Chantard, the um, I guess the 2025, yeah, world mountain running champion in the short trail, 233-12.
00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:14.000
Uh, so just about a minute and a half, two minutes behind Manu.
00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:20.319
Um Alan uh Santa Maria, another Spaniard, 236.09 to round out the podium.
00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:24.720
Damian Bogdan from Romania was in fourth in 237.45.
00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:34.799
And then Lois, Lock, Loick, uh, Robert uh from Spain at 237.54 uh to round out the top five.
00:32:34.960 --> 00:32:36.480
So pretty crazy.
00:32:36.640 --> 00:32:40.160
So within four and a half minutes, the top five was all within one another.
00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:41.359
So very competitive.
00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:52.640
This was uh definitely brought out kind of who's who as far as the racing scene um between Manu, Fred, uh, who seemed to be kind of back and forth, uh, the two of them, both between worlds.
00:32:52.720 --> 00:32:56.240
I think they were both on them, I believe they're both on the podium at Worlds in the Short Trail.
00:32:56.319 --> 00:33:01.039
Um, and then same with the women, uh, just a very tight contingent of athletes.
00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:07.039
So yeah, yeah, the men's side was even closer than the women's side in this race.
00:33:07.200 --> 00:33:17.039
So um, yeah, really cool to see some of these trail races getting closer and closer together because I think that just makes for a little bit more fun competition.
00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:17.599
Yeah.
00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:19.200
I can believe, and you know what's crazy?
00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:25.279
Like, not to totally shift gears, but like we have Cal Marillo Sky Race coming up super uh super soon.
00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:31.759
I didn't see a start list for that, but it that's another one that's gonna be taking place up uh just in a week and a half, so April 11th.
00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:34.240
And then we've got Gorge Waterfalls as well.
00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:36.160
Um Yeah, yeah.
00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:42.960
I'm guessing it'll be a lot of the same athletes that were at this last one because it also takes place in Spain.
00:33:43.039 --> 00:33:48.960
So I think a lot of the Spanish athletes, maybe Sarah Alonzo will be back, maybe Marta Martinez will be back.
00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:52.480
Um, so yeah, I think we'll see some more Spanish athletes there.
00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:52.799
Yeah.
00:33:52.960 --> 00:34:03.839
I feel like Calamoro is one of the more, I feel like that's one of the most, if not one of the more well-known Skyrunner series races, like on it, kind of on, I guess you could say on the uh circuit, if you will.
00:34:04.079 --> 00:34:05.119
18.6 miles.
00:34:05.200 --> 00:34:07.839
So it's a 30k race, 2200 meters of vertical.
00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:10.880
So 7,217 feet.
00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:15.440
I had a buddy of mine, Benjamin Townsend, uh, I think I think he was it was at Calamaro last year.
00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:20.559
He went out and raced, and uh he was talking about how much vertical it was and just like killed his feet.
00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:22.800
He's like, dude, my feet were dying.
00:34:23.039 --> 00:34:23.760
I was like, interesting.
00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:25.920
So I don't know, uh it's a new one.
00:34:26.079 --> 00:34:30.000
But yeah, it's um yeah, it's gonna be a barn burner nonetheless.
00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:41.840
And then we've got one of the things I really like is that through Ultra Sign up we can get much quicker access to uh racing contingents on on so we can get see like who's gonna be racing what for the Gorge Waterfalls races.
00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:45.679
Um dude, it's just like a crazy, yeah.
00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:47.519
Everybody's gonna be at these Gorge Waterfalls.
00:34:47.679 --> 00:34:48.559
All the races.
00:34:48.960 --> 00:34:52.719
Um let's talk about let's talk about the 30k women.
00:34:52.800 --> 00:35:05.119
Because I feel like that's that's the uh that stood out to me the most between I'll let you talk about who's gonna be there, but dude, it's like who's I mean, yeah, it is really, really crazy.
00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:26.880
So we have Lauren Gregory, who was the winner of the Golden Trail Series final last year, Taylor Tuttle, who just got the course record at Big Alta, who took it from Tabor Heming, who is also in this race, Allie Mack, who is the world championship in the uphill in 2022, I think.
00:35:27.039 --> 00:35:29.199
Um that was the year that she won Worlds.
00:35:29.280 --> 00:35:35.360
Uh, Jade Bellsberg, who is a Canadian champion um in mountain running.
00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:38.960
So those athletes alone, really, really amazing.
00:35:39.119 --> 00:35:48.719
And then even farther, we have four more amazing athletes: Riley Brady, Robin Vieira Brower, Alexa Aragon, and Jenna Bensco.
00:35:49.119 --> 00:35:59.760
Um, so yeah, I think that is a really, really wild um group of athletes that are just going to go and uh crush, crush this race.
00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:01.039
I want to give a shout-out too.
00:36:01.199 --> 00:36:02.960
I'm so excited to see Alexa Aragon on this.
00:36:03.039 --> 00:36:07.920
Uh so Alexa uh doesn't really race a ton outside of like the Cirque series.
00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:14.320
She did do, she I think she was top five or top six last year, if I remember correctly, at the Broken Arrow 23K.
00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:17.440
So crazy, crazy, you know, speedy race.
00:36:17.519 --> 00:36:21.920
Um, and then won the overall Cirque series ranking in 2025.
00:36:22.079 --> 00:36:24.880
So it's gonna be very interesting to see her kind of step up in distance.
00:36:24.960 --> 00:36:26.639
She was a steepler at Notre Dame.
00:36:26.800 --> 00:36:29.360
Um cool to see her kind of step up.
00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:37.039
And then, dude, I I'm I'm very interested in this Lauren Gregory Taylor Tuttle matchup, especially like both of them are in Boulder.
00:36:37.119 --> 00:36:40.800
It's it's uh this is like a cool little, I don't know, fun little rivalry we've got.
00:36:40.880 --> 00:36:41.760
I think this would be fun.
00:36:41.920 --> 00:36:42.320
Yeah.
00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:54.639
I think Lauren Gregory is really good on um, I mean, she's fast on the trails that aren't technical too, but she really, really outshines a lot of people on the technical trails.
00:36:54.719 --> 00:36:59.599
And I don't think that um Gorge Waterfall has super technical trails.
00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:01.679
Um, you've raced it before, so I don't know.
00:37:01.920 --> 00:37:05.119
I've been out, I've been out there uh trained on those trails a little bit.
00:37:05.920 --> 00:37:07.280
They're like uh, I don't know.
00:37:07.360 --> 00:37:15.039
Like if you catch a toe, like you you can you'll tap a knee and you'll get bloody, but like not okay, it's not um it's not the northeast, let's put it that way.
00:37:15.119 --> 00:37:17.119
It's like runnable technical, if that makes sense.
00:37:17.199 --> 00:37:21.519
Like there's there's rocks, it's not California carpet, it's like maybe in that in between.
00:37:21.679 --> 00:37:32.320
Um, but yeah, I mean, especially for the 30k course, I think the most technical aspect is you kind of go when you it's like the waterfall section, you kind of run through a stream, and there's like some rocks and stuff there.
00:37:32.480 --> 00:37:37.360
So I I mean, I think if I remember correctly, Anna Gibson won the whole thing outright last year.
00:37:37.599 --> 00:37:38.800
Pretty sure, won the entire stream.
00:37:39.119 --> 00:37:47.920
I think she was second overall, but I think you're right where she like I saw her name and I was like second, like I wonder who beat her.
00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:51.519
And then I was like, oh wait, I'm looking at like the overall results.
00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:53.199
Like, this is the men too.
00:37:53.440 --> 00:37:55.360
So and then I was like amazed, yeah.
00:37:55.519 --> 00:37:55.920
Oh, yeah.
00:37:56.000 --> 00:37:58.159
So I I mean, I there's a chance we could see a similar.
00:37:58.480 --> 00:38:04.719
I mean, I don't know, maybe not this year, but I can tell you right now, some of these women are gonna be catching some of these men, no doubt about it.
00:38:04.960 --> 00:38:09.519
Um, that said, I am excited for the the men's contingent looks good as well for the 30k.
00:38:09.679 --> 00:38:14.000
Uh Liam Myro, I don't uh he signed up for both the 30k and the 50k.
00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:15.199
He's a wild boy, yeah.
00:38:15.599 --> 00:38:18.079
So I could see him racing both.
00:38:18.239 --> 00:38:19.039
Uh right.
00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:20.079
I don't know.
00:38:20.159 --> 00:38:21.599
He's I don't know.
00:38:21.760 --> 00:38:24.559
He's he's really deadly at that 30k distance.
00:38:24.639 --> 00:38:28.159
Um, like at that, you know, the more of the golden trail level distance.
00:38:28.239 --> 00:38:30.880
He's more traditionally a short trail athlete.
00:38:31.199 --> 00:38:34.079
He's raced 50k before, so I don't know.
00:38:34.159 --> 00:38:34.400
I don't know.
00:38:34.480 --> 00:38:35.199
He signed up for both.
00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:36.079
We'll see what he does.
00:38:36.239 --> 00:38:40.239
Uh Tyler McCannless, I'm very excited to see kind of step up in this distance.
00:38:40.320 --> 00:38:43.519
He's a deadly fast marathoner and half marathoner.
00:38:43.679 --> 00:38:47.039
Obviously, I'd say more well known on the trail scene for the uphill racing.
00:38:47.119 --> 00:38:50.719
Uh, he was uh part of the world's team last year for 2025.
00:38:51.039 --> 00:38:54.960
And uh yeah, I can definitely see Tyler doing very well here.
00:38:55.039 --> 00:38:57.119
It's a completely different type of thing for him.
00:38:57.360 --> 00:39:07.119
He I feel like showed his chops uh that he can race on technical terrain at Sunnepe last year, where he was definitely, I think he, I'm pretty sure he was in the top five or definitely in the top ten.
00:39:07.440 --> 00:39:09.199
I want to say he was close to the top five.
00:39:09.280 --> 00:39:11.920
Uh, so he was very close to making that up-down team.
00:39:12.159 --> 00:39:14.639
Caleb Olsen interests me a little bit.
00:39:14.719 --> 00:39:20.559
This is gonna be fun to see uh training partners Caleb Olsen and Tyler Green both uh in this race.
00:39:20.719 --> 00:39:24.800
Mason Copey, uh, who I think is criminally underrated, in my opinion.
00:39:25.039 --> 00:39:26.639
Should have a sponsor.
00:39:27.519 --> 00:39:29.119
Most underrated trail runner.
00:39:29.199 --> 00:39:31.039
He and Taylor Tuttle right now, I think.
00:39:31.280 --> 00:39:33.920
Yes, most underrated trail runners out there.
00:39:34.320 --> 00:39:36.880
Yeah, shoot deals, shoe deals for both these athletes, everybody.
00:39:37.039 --> 00:39:37.360
Yeah.
00:39:37.440 --> 00:39:44.480
Um, and then we've got Remy LaRue, who I think is another um another contender, without a doubt.
00:39:44.559 --> 00:39:49.920
Um, he seems to be, in my opinion, I think he's one of the best in the world in the up-down distance for sure.
00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:51.360
He've proved that at worlds.
00:39:51.440 --> 00:40:01.920
Um, great at circ series races, but he seems to be kind of stepping up in these longer distances, probably trying things out before the golden trail to maybe race some of those longer uh golden trail races this year.
00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:05.920
Um, we'll also have Adrian McDonald, who's a two-time Leadville 100 champion.
00:40:06.079 --> 00:40:10.159
Uh, Grant Cooligan as well, and uh Nick Cornell.
00:40:10.239 --> 00:40:11.440
Nick uh Nick's my sleeper.
00:40:11.599 --> 00:40:12.960
I threw Nick in there just for support.
00:40:13.199 --> 00:40:13.599
Nice, yeah.
00:40:13.760 --> 00:40:14.320
Love Nick Cornell.
00:40:14.559 --> 00:40:15.119
No, that's awesome.
00:40:15.280 --> 00:40:16.159
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:40:16.400 --> 00:40:19.119
All right, let's talk about the 50K contingent.
00:40:19.199 --> 00:40:24.800
If you want to, I'll let you take it away for the women because that's another stacked women's women's field.
00:40:25.199 --> 00:40:34.320
Yeah, we have uh Jennifer Lichter, Bailey Kualchek, uh Rana Schwartz, Tara Dower, Emily Mann, I'm a Jane Ainsworth.
00:40:34.400 --> 00:40:39.840
So so many women that have had great racing seasons already.
00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:42.960
Um, and then some that this is kind of their opener.
00:40:43.280 --> 00:40:55.440
I know um Bailey, she hasn't raced in a little bit, but she has had outstanding trail performances, and I think that she's really kind of hitting her stride training and boulder right now.
00:40:55.519 --> 00:40:58.559
So really excited to see her back in some races.
00:40:58.719 --> 00:41:10.079
Um, Emily Mann is uh my Merrill teammate, and I think that she's kind of um, she had some great races last year, and she I think is gearing up to crush this year in the trail.
00:41:10.159 --> 00:41:12.000
So I'm excited to see her.
00:41:12.079 --> 00:41:18.800
Um Jennifer Lichter obviously just crushed Black Canyon, and so that'll be really fun to watch her race.
00:41:18.960 --> 00:41:23.039
So yeah, just a great field of women at the 50 thing.
00:41:23.280 --> 00:41:24.000
I want everybody to win.
00:41:24.079 --> 00:41:26.159
This is this is like so hard to pick these.
00:41:27.039 --> 00:41:28.480
Yeah, I know, yeah, yeah.
00:41:28.719 --> 00:41:29.519
Uh interesting.
00:41:29.599 --> 00:41:30.719
Yeah, and that's the thing.
00:41:30.800 --> 00:41:33.199
Like, I don't know, it's um I don't know.
00:41:33.280 --> 00:41:35.519
Like, I'm I'm really excited to see Bailey back.
00:41:35.599 --> 00:41:40.320
I think it's super especially because like she's been kind of you know, kind of went through it with injury last year.
00:41:40.559 --> 00:41:43.119
So it's really cool to see her kind of kind of go after.
00:41:43.360 --> 00:41:47.280
And she's won, if I remember correctly, she's actually won the 30k a few years ago.
00:41:47.440 --> 00:41:48.800
So cool, cool to see her.
00:41:48.880 --> 00:41:51.039
I know it's gonna be a big like ACG show out.
00:41:51.119 --> 00:41:54.320
There'll be lots of uh because I think the race is sponsored by ACG this year.
00:41:54.400 --> 00:41:55.440
So yeah, I think you're right.
00:41:55.840 --> 00:42:00.320
Lots of ACG athletes there, and then the men's contingent on the 50k looks pretty crazy as well.
00:42:00.480 --> 00:42:04.000
Anthony Costales just got second place of the Black Canyon 100k.
00:42:04.079 --> 00:42:05.519
He's a former champion there.
00:42:05.679 --> 00:42:09.440
Um, incredible athlete, trains out of uh kind of the Utah scene.
00:42:09.519 --> 00:42:10.639
I think it's Salt Lake.
00:42:10.719 --> 00:42:12.079
Uh Liam Myro.
00:42:12.719 --> 00:42:13.360
Questionable.
00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:16.639
I'm not like I said, we talked about he's also some 30K, 50k.
00:42:16.800 --> 00:42:17.599
We don't really know.
00:42:18.559 --> 00:42:20.320
One of the most interesting people in the sports to me.
00:42:20.400 --> 00:42:21.840
Last time I had him on the podcast, yeah.
00:42:22.079 --> 00:42:23.360
He was baking a banana bread.
00:42:23.440 --> 00:42:25.280
And like that's awesome.
00:42:26.000 --> 00:42:28.480
Uh David Norris, um, another one.
00:42:28.639 --> 00:42:32.159
He uh just came off a win at uh the Big Alta 50K.
00:42:32.320 --> 00:42:37.360
Um, I think this is more David's race than Big Alta is, in my opinion, just because he comes from Alaska.
00:42:37.519 --> 00:42:40.480
He's so good on technical terrain, it's not even funny.
00:42:40.639 --> 00:42:44.480
Um, so it'll be cool to see him race this, and I'm sure he'll have a great performance there.
00:42:44.639 --> 00:42:46.880
Jared Hazen, who's a name we haven't seen in a while.
00:42:46.960 --> 00:42:49.920
It's gonna be cool to see Jared back on kind of on the scene.
00:42:50.079 --> 00:42:56.800
Um I don't know, like probably a first ballot hall of famer in our sport when you look at his body of work over the last decade and a half.
00:42:56.880 --> 00:42:58.559
So it'll be cool to see Jared back.
00:42:58.719 --> 00:43:05.199
Matthew Seidel, who's a Nord athlete, and then Ryan Montgomery, who just was on the podium of the uh Gorge Waterfall 50K as well.
00:43:05.360 --> 00:43:08.800
So really, really cool contingents of athletes.
00:43:08.880 --> 00:43:13.840
Like it's gonna be very fun to see kind of how this uh kind of pans out, if you will.
00:43:14.239 --> 00:43:15.039
Yeah, true.
00:43:15.199 --> 00:43:20.239
And I think it'll be similar to Big Alta, and that the vibes will be awesome there.
00:43:20.320 --> 00:43:25.920
There's so many amazing true athletes there, and um, I think everyone's really ready to race.
00:43:26.079 --> 00:43:26.719
For sure, for sure.
00:43:26.800 --> 00:43:27.920
Yeah, next year put that on your list.
00:43:28.000 --> 00:43:29.360
I might go do the 30k next year.
00:43:29.440 --> 00:43:39.440
I I it's a little like long for me, and I was like, ah, do I do it really like it's a yeah, but it's you know, PNW vibes, like that whole like Cascade Locks, Oregon area is so cool.
00:43:39.679 --> 00:43:40.480
Uh yeah, yeah.
00:43:40.639 --> 00:43:43.119
For people going out there to race it, like you're in for a treat.
00:43:43.280 --> 00:43:45.760
And if you haven't been there before, like really cool area.
00:43:45.840 --> 00:43:48.960
And the trails both on both sides of the gorge are sick.
00:43:49.039 --> 00:43:53.440
Like you can get right on the PCT, kind of on the side of uh where the race is specifically.
00:43:53.519 --> 00:43:54.960
So the training grounds there are great.
00:43:55.119 --> 00:43:58.559
And then even across the river on the Washington side, great trails there as well.
00:43:58.639 --> 00:43:59.760
So it's it's a cool area.
00:44:00.400 --> 00:44:01.119
That's awesome.
00:44:01.199 --> 00:44:05.360
Yeah, I think Daybreak Racing goes to some really, really cool places.
00:44:05.840 --> 00:44:11.599
Big Alto, like Murray County, are some of my favorite trails, and these sound like amazing trails too.
00:44:11.679 --> 00:44:15.280
So I definitely need to put this one on my list of races to do.
00:44:15.599 --> 00:44:15.920
For sure.
00:44:16.079 --> 00:44:16.480
For sure.
00:44:16.719 --> 00:44:18.000
All right, let's pivot a little bit.
00:44:18.320 --> 00:44:22.880
I definitely wanted to pick your brain because I know I have a feeling you knew, obviously, because you're Grayson's friend.
00:44:22.960 --> 00:44:26.960
So you knew about this the Solomon situation, which is, I think, super cool.
00:44:27.679 --> 00:44:27.920
Yeah.
00:44:28.239 --> 00:44:38.960
Definitely want to say, so we'll pivot a little bit to the free agency because this was like more of a free agency announcement that we've got within the last few weeks, where um Grayson obviously signed with Solomon and Tovey Alexanderson uh did as well.
00:44:39.199 --> 00:44:45.360
I think, in my opinion, I'm gonna give Solomon an A plus as far as uh these signings.
00:44:45.440 --> 00:44:48.239
Like amazing free agency signings for 2026.
00:44:48.559 --> 00:44:56.960
I know they I guess they were kind of like in an in-between period trying to maybe figure out their team when it came to the end of 2025, but I think this makes up for it 100%.
00:44:57.199 --> 00:45:04.079
This is uh like I care more about what Solomon's doing now with these athletes on the team, specifically, I think, with Grayson, which is awesome.
00:45:04.400 --> 00:45:05.280
Yeah, totally.
00:45:05.440 --> 00:45:11.760
I think um they didn't have a ton of Americans on the team um in the past couple years.
00:45:11.920 --> 00:45:19.760
I think there was a year or a few years a while ago where they had a lot of Americans on the team, then they didn't really have as many.
00:45:19.840 --> 00:45:23.360
And so it's kind of fun to see um Grayson signing with them.
00:45:23.519 --> 00:45:32.079
And yeah, like you said, it just kind of makes you a little bit more interested when you have somebody from your country that you're invested in and cheering for.
00:45:32.239 --> 00:45:32.480
Yeah.
00:45:32.639 --> 00:45:38.400
I also gotta say, I mean, this is a this is a near and dear conversation, the stuff like we've been talking about, like on the pregnancy side.
00:45:38.480 --> 00:45:56.079
I think it's great that they're also signing, like they're showing because we had talked about before, um, you know, this we'll get to this and like when we get to more of the news aspect, um, with um Emma Bates and this whole converse controversy around being dropped um as a pregnant athlete from her nutrition sponsor.
00:45:56.239 --> 00:46:05.679
While Grayson is pregnant, she gets picked up by Solomon, and I think that's you know, it goes to show you like, I don't know, kind of uh different brands with different things and how this kind of works in the space.
00:46:05.760 --> 00:46:07.519
So I think that's a great kind of a great thing.
00:46:07.760 --> 00:46:10.000
So yeah, yeah, I totally agree.
00:46:10.079 --> 00:46:12.480
And to me, it's kind of like a no-brainer.
00:46:12.719 --> 00:46:19.599
Like I was kind of thinking who wouldn't want to pick up Grayson Murphy, like a two-time world champion.
00:46:19.840 --> 00:46:53.440
And um, it's funny, like I feel like she has had some years that are harder, and she's also had some amazing performances, and um, she's just one of the most inspiring people to me because I don't think she lets anything get in the way of being excellent and doing the best that she can on the trails and still setting really high goals, um, whether that's going through Crohn's disease and still coming out on the other side and making huge goals to make a world team and the short trail team, which is a distance that she hadn't tried before.
00:46:53.519 --> 00:46:55.199
Like I just think that that's amazing.
00:46:55.280 --> 00:47:06.800
Um, so whether it's that or running through pregnancy and kind of taking on this new challenge and new kind of season of life, but still wanting to run, I think that um, yeah, it's just really inspiring.
00:47:06.880 --> 00:47:18.800
And I think it makes um her even more relatable to women that are running in trails or on the roads and trying to chase their own running dreams, whether they're moms or they're thinking about becoming moms.
00:47:18.960 --> 00:47:23.519
I think it just makes um elite athletes feel a little bit more relatable to people.
00:47:23.760 --> 00:47:24.559
Yeah, no, I love it.
00:47:24.639 --> 00:47:25.360
And that's the thing.
00:47:25.440 --> 00:47:26.480
Like, I don't know.
00:47:26.719 --> 00:47:31.360
If you're signing an athlete just because like obviously Grayson is one of the greatest, you all are.
00:47:31.519 --> 00:47:33.760
Like you're you're a first ballot hall of famer in the sport.
00:47:33.840 --> 00:47:35.599
Grayson's one of the goats.
00:47:35.920 --> 00:47:41.280
Um, yeah, I just think it's it's but you're so much more than performance.
00:47:41.440 --> 00:47:45.679
Like when you assign an athlete, you're getting a lot more than just someone who's gonna go out on race day.
00:47:45.760 --> 00:47:49.039
You're getting someone that does so many different things for the sport.
00:47:49.119 --> 00:47:50.880
You guys are ambassadors for the sport.
00:47:51.039 --> 00:47:53.920
So yeah, I'm gonna get off my my soapbox on that.
00:47:54.000 --> 00:47:56.239
But I think it's it's it's very important.
00:47:56.400 --> 00:47:59.519
Um, so no, I think it's a great, and I think Solomon A plus.
00:47:59.679 --> 00:48:02.480
I that's what I'll give them as an A plus for their uh signing.
00:48:02.559 --> 00:48:05.039
And I think Toby as well, great, great signing.
00:48:05.280 --> 00:48:11.039
Um God, I mean, after watching what she did at Worlds, like that was that was kind of a crazy performance.
00:48:11.199 --> 00:48:12.320
So yeah, big time.
00:48:12.559 --> 00:48:12.960
Yeah.
00:48:13.199 --> 00:48:17.199
And then Arctaryx, I think I said this in the last episode, but it's been finally announced.
00:48:17.280 --> 00:48:18.480
This was this took forever.
00:48:18.559 --> 00:48:21.920
Uh, Jane and uh Kyle Richardson both getting picked up.
00:48:22.079 --> 00:48:28.000
Jane Moss uh and Kyle both getting picked up by Arctaryx, um, which I think another brand I'm gonna give an A plus to.
00:48:28.159 --> 00:48:30.159
I think that they made some great signings this year.
00:48:30.320 --> 00:48:35.039
Um, I think getting Jane was a was a great signing, and Kyle as well.
00:48:35.199 --> 00:48:39.280
I think both of them with their own unique styles of of the type of athletes that they are.
00:48:39.440 --> 00:48:42.159
Um, I think it it it's a great, yeah, it's a great thing.
00:48:42.239 --> 00:48:43.440
So two A pluses there.
00:48:43.519 --> 00:48:45.199
Yeah, two A pluses.
00:48:45.280 --> 00:48:50.079
Yeah, it's really exciting to see some of those athletes getting um some contracts like that.
00:48:50.239 --> 00:48:52.880
And I'm really excited for Jane's season this year.
00:48:52.960 --> 00:49:05.920
I feel like we haven't gone to talk about her a ton because she hasn't raced yet, but or wait, no, she did at Black Canyon, but um yeah, I think I'm just really excited to see um how she does racing this year.
00:49:06.079 --> 00:49:06.320
Yeah.
00:49:06.480 --> 00:49:11.039
Yeah, I think Jane is like kind of the next, I don't know, one of the next big names.
00:49:11.119 --> 00:49:12.880
I feel like I mean she's already, in my opinion.
00:49:12.960 --> 00:49:13.679
I put her up there.
00:49:13.760 --> 00:49:14.639
Uh I agree.
00:49:14.719 --> 00:49:15.039
Yeah, yeah.
00:49:15.519 --> 00:49:23.519
One of the big names, but like I think with this partnership and that ability to kind of, you know, freedom to go do what she wants in the mountains.
00:49:23.599 --> 00:49:24.559
I think that'll that'll help.
00:49:24.639 --> 00:49:28.719
Like it, I think she's going to go, she might be on the start list for Cam Camera.
00:49:28.800 --> 00:49:30.079
I gotta text her and find out.
00:49:30.320 --> 00:49:32.880
Um I know she's on the start list for one of the sky races.
00:49:33.039 --> 00:49:33.599
She's gonna be racing.
00:49:34.239 --> 00:49:36.320
Yeah, it is uh calamoro.
00:49:36.639 --> 00:49:49.599
I talked with her, she was out crewing somebody at um Big Alta, and I ran into her um and got to talk for a little bit, but I think she is planning on going over there and doing um Calamoro.
00:49:49.840 --> 00:49:52.719
So yeah, that'll be exciting to see her race there.
00:49:52.880 --> 00:49:54.639
Dude, she's so good on technical terrain.
00:49:54.719 --> 00:49:56.719
Like she's good.
00:49:56.880 --> 00:49:58.639
So yeah, yeah, excited for her.
00:49:58.800 --> 00:50:07.760
And I'm excited to see Kyle has an ar uh Kyle's like, you know, he's got the FKT on longs and he's a very artsy guy, but like never really races.
00:50:07.840 --> 00:50:12.159
But like I know for a like I think he said it in the pod we did, so I feel like I can put this out in the world.
00:50:12.239 --> 00:50:13.039
But he is racing this year.
00:50:13.119 --> 00:50:15.280
He's not gonna he didn't say what he's gonna race.
00:50:15.599 --> 00:50:20.480
I got a feeling that it's gonna be a sky race, so it'll be cool to see him like in the scene as well this year.
00:50:20.639 --> 00:50:23.119
So yeah, a little bit different and unique for him.
00:50:23.280 --> 00:50:23.920
Um, yeah.
00:50:24.159 --> 00:50:29.199
Moving on, let's talk about series and all because they had some a big announcement uh this past week as well.
00:50:29.760 --> 00:50:30.480
Yeah, yeah.
00:50:30.639 --> 00:50:31.599
Really exciting.
00:50:31.760 --> 00:50:38.559
I'm excited for this because this is something I've thought since the first time I ran series in all in like 2021.
00:50:38.719 --> 00:50:43.920
But they finally have separate women's and men's start times this year.
00:50:44.159 --> 00:50:50.079
So um typically they've had a big mass start with all the men, all the women in the race.
00:50:50.320 --> 00:51:06.239
And um I was saying this on my Instagram story yesterday because I um was excited that they're doing this, but it has made it fair for the women in the sense that every woman has to deal with this and deal with like going out with all of the men.
00:51:06.400 --> 00:51:12.320
But it definitely makes the race less fun because you're all in this start line together.
00:51:12.480 --> 00:51:31.280
A lot of times there are people that are pushing their way up to the front and they go out really, really fast on the road section for half a mile, and then they just start walking as soon as they get into the single track trail, and it makes it really, really hard to get around them because you're already in the single track um section.
00:51:31.440 --> 00:51:39.760
So I think this just makes it so that each field is able to kind of settle into their own rhythm at the start from the start of the race.
00:51:39.920 --> 00:51:44.000
And I just think it makes it more fun and enjoyable for athletes to race.
00:51:44.239 --> 00:51:45.039
I agree, I agree.
00:51:45.199 --> 00:51:47.840
What do you and we've kind of talked about this before the 10 a.m.
00:51:48.000 --> 00:51:48.239
start?
00:51:48.400 --> 00:51:55.119
Is that I know it like I don't know if people know this, but like everybody like dies of heat during brutal.
00:51:55.280 --> 00:51:57.039
Is do you think that'll be a little bit better at least?
00:51:57.119 --> 00:51:59.599
Because I feel like before it was, I think it was 11 a.m.
00:51:59.760 --> 00:52:00.880
or like a little bit later, right?
00:52:01.039 --> 00:52:01.440
Start?
00:52:01.840 --> 00:52:02.320
Yeah.
00:52:02.559 --> 00:52:03.760
I think so.
00:52:03.920 --> 00:52:05.679
I think I mean I think it'll be better.
00:52:05.760 --> 00:52:21.199
I think that um when I've been on the start line, I've already been sweating because you're packed in there with hundreds of people and there's all this body heat and it's hot outside, and then you start climbing um and you're just hot.
00:52:21.440 --> 00:52:31.280
But um, you do luckily get into some shade on that first climb, but it's so steep that you're working pretty hard already from the start.
00:52:31.440 --> 00:52:35.199
Um, so yeah, I do think the 10 o'clock time will be a little bit better.
00:52:35.360 --> 00:52:48.079
I'll be interested to see what they do with the tourist race because typically the tourist race starts off pretty early in the morning, but we still run into them while we're racing and they're usually hiking.
00:52:48.320 --> 00:53:00.159
So I feel like series in all is just kind of wild with the amount of people that they have out there on the trail in one day because it's the tourist race, it's the men, it's the women.
00:53:00.320 --> 00:53:09.280
Um, and it is interesting because it is like a prestigious race and they only take so many people, but it's still a lot of people that are out there on the trail.
00:53:09.760 --> 00:53:10.400
So interesting.
00:53:10.639 --> 00:53:12.559
I don't think people know that it runs like not alone.
00:53:12.719 --> 00:53:16.000
I say this all the time, but it runs from a place called Siri to a place called Zanal.
00:53:16.159 --> 00:53:18.559
And and people always wonder like where the name comes from.
00:53:18.639 --> 00:53:19.360
Well, there you go.
00:53:19.679 --> 00:53:20.000
There you go.
00:53:20.239 --> 00:53:20.960
There you go.
00:53:21.199 --> 00:53:21.840
Yeah.
00:53:22.159 --> 00:53:23.679
Um it is cool.
00:53:23.760 --> 00:53:26.880
It is um a net uphill race.
00:53:27.119 --> 00:53:32.400
So you climb and then you descend some, but you don't get to descend all the way.
00:53:32.559 --> 00:53:34.559
Um, but it is a really fast race.
00:53:34.719 --> 00:53:42.960
A lot of times, people that are really, really good at road marathons and things like that do really well in this race.
00:53:43.280 --> 00:53:44.400
I got a question for you on this.
00:53:44.480 --> 00:53:48.880
Like, obviously, when we race, like uh when you're racing hard, you're not really looking around.
00:53:48.960 --> 00:53:51.920
You're kind of just looking down and like racing people.
00:53:52.239 --> 00:53:52.559
Yeah.
00:53:52.800 --> 00:53:55.519
Series and all is like one of the most beautiful courses on planet Earth.
00:53:55.599 --> 00:53:58.639
Like, do you really look up and like, oh my god, that's Hotel Vicehorn?
00:53:58.800 --> 00:54:03.519
Or like are you just like blacked out and like have your head down and just like I have to be focused?
00:54:04.079 --> 00:54:06.000
Yeah, I try to enjoy it some.
00:54:06.159 --> 00:54:19.840
This is why I like getting out to races like a few days before or staying a few days after, so that I can go back on the trail and say, This is what I'm going to see, or this is what I should have seen during the race, just because you're right, it is so pretty.
00:54:19.920 --> 00:54:26.800
Um, so it's fun to get out and do some course scouting ahead of time when you're just running nice and easy before the race.
00:54:26.960 --> 00:54:32.480
And there are some places that you can get up to where you drive up higher onto the ridgeline.
00:54:32.559 --> 00:54:36.320
Um, and then you can do a run from there and kind of see some of the course.
00:54:36.480 --> 00:54:38.800
So I did that last year and that was really fun.
00:54:38.960 --> 00:54:42.639
Um, but yeah, I I think it's a little half and half.
00:54:42.719 --> 00:54:51.440
I try to enjoy it, but I also try not to fall on my face because I'm enjoying the trails and then kick a rock or something like that.
00:54:51.599 --> 00:54:52.000
Yeah, yeah.
00:54:52.159 --> 00:54:52.639
It's tough.
00:54:52.719 --> 00:54:53.199
It's tough.
00:54:53.280 --> 00:54:59.599
It's like, I don't know, it's almost you'd rather the course be not so beautiful, so you don't have to, you could just stick your head down and just do what you gotta do.
00:54:59.679 --> 00:55:02.960
I mean, you're in the heat of battle anyway, so it's a it's a different game.
00:55:03.119 --> 00:55:04.480
So totally, yeah.
00:55:04.719 --> 00:55:05.920
Anything else do you want to get to?
00:55:06.000 --> 00:55:08.079
I feel like we covered pretty much most of what we had.
00:55:08.159 --> 00:55:10.000
Is there anything else you think we missed?
00:55:10.400 --> 00:55:12.159
Yeah, I feel like that's a great.
00:55:12.480 --> 00:55:14.159
I mean, yeah, we covered a ton.
00:55:14.239 --> 00:55:14.800
So yeah.
00:55:15.119 --> 00:55:15.760
This is a good one.
00:55:15.920 --> 00:55:16.079
Yeah.
00:55:16.480 --> 00:55:21.519
Next one we'll have, I don't, I don't know how I can pronounce it because I gotta get my I gotta work on my Spanish.
00:55:22.000 --> 00:55:23.199
Calamor, yeah.
00:55:23.519 --> 00:55:29.119
Um I know for someone with an Italian background, I feel like I should read much better at the Mediterranean languages.
00:55:29.280 --> 00:55:29.760
I'm just not.
00:55:29.840 --> 00:55:30.639
It's really bad.
00:55:32.400 --> 00:55:33.199
That's my improvement.
00:55:33.280 --> 00:55:36.079
That's my goal for the next episode is start working on those things.
00:55:36.239 --> 00:55:37.599
So you got it.
00:55:37.920 --> 00:55:40.000
Well, Rachel, amazing episode as always.
00:55:40.079 --> 00:55:41.440
Thank you so much for coming on.
00:55:41.519 --> 00:55:45.920
Uh, have a great, have a great next month, and uh, we'll check in for the next one.
00:55:46.000 --> 00:55:46.480
Appreciate you.
00:55:46.639 --> 00:55:46.960
Thanks.
00:55:47.039 --> 00:55:48.239
Yeah, you too.