Finn Melanson Podcasts

JT Service is the Founder of Soul Focus Sports and Run Local Events. In this conversation JT shares some stories from representing Dean Karnazes in the mid 2000s, his philosophy around event management and experiential marketing in the running world, and all sorts of thoughts around media, fandom and growing the trail running community. Timestamps:…

Leah Yingling returns to the podcast to discuss her new partnership with Lululemon, the FURTHER initiative, as well as her training and expectations heading into the Western States 100. Timestamps: (0:51) - Lululemon partnership announcement and details (2:38) - backstory on how the opportunity came about (6:07) - Lululemon's "whole human" approach…

Abby Levene returns to the show to discuss all things trail running media. Timestamps: (2:35) - perspective from pro athlete background and working in outdoor media (7:48) - reflecting on the norms and the line for outspokeness among pro athletes (16:50) - athlete rivalries in endurance sports (20:32) - outsourcing athlete social media (34:21) - an…

Doug Mayer is an author, journalist and founder of the trail running tour company, Run the Alps and past producer of the NPR show Car Talk. Doug lives in Chamonix, France, has run the UTMB race twice, and recently wrote a book titled “The Race The Changed Running: The Inside Story of UTMB". In this conversation, we discuss the nature of soul sports…

Matt Feldhake is the Marketing Director for Aravaipa Running. Matt joins the podcast to discuss visions for Cocodona 250, the progress made around live-streaming events in our sport, and pitching trail running to different audiences. Discounts: Aravaipa Running - use code Singletrack10 at checkout on Ultrasignup for 10% off registration to one of t…

This is the first episode in a series called Eurotrack where I’m joined by Katie Schide and Brett Hornig to analyze key races on the European ultra-trail running circuit. In this inaugural episode, we talk about the athletes that American fans might overlook, the key training hubs in the region, the races that matter most on the continent, and diff…

Cole Watson and Brett Hornig join the podcast to recap Cole's win at the Canyons 100K this past weekend. Discounts: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/discount/SINGLETRACK20) to get 20% off your next order HVMN - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://hvmn.com/SINGLETRACK2…

Catherine and Michel Poletti are the Co-Founders of the UTMB race series in Chamonix, France. They join the podcast to discuss their vision for trail running over the last two decades, their history with ITRA and the Ultra Trail World Tour, partnering with Ironman and building the UTMB World Series, and their opinions on where our sport is heading …

In this episode, I am joined by Brett Hornig and Leah Yingling to preview the 2023 Canyons 100K. We analyze the course, talk about what it's going to take to be successful, note some of the interesting storylines around the event, and make our predictions for the female and male top-3 finishers this year. Timestamps: (0:32) - excitement and context…

Welcome to "Point to Point", a recurring episode of Singletrack recapping the news that came across my radar in the world of trail and ultra running in the last week. Timestamps: (0:30) - Golden Trail Series - Eurosport media deal (2:10) - Ethics of running contracts (4:10) - Canyons by UTMB, Sunapee Scramble (5:40) - UTMB pregnancy policy (6:40) -…

Eric LiPuma is a professional trail runner based outside of Burlington, VT preparing for the Canyons 100K later this month. In this conversation, we talk about the intersection of running and design, what "making it" looks like in our sport, the rising popularity of the trail running world championships, and receiving inspiration from other sports …

I am joined by Brett Hornig to recap the Lake Sonoma 50, discuss the new UTMB-Outside live-streaming partnership, and debate the practicality of gambling, leagues, and agents in pro trail running. Discounts: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/discount/SINGLETRACK20) to get 20% off your next ord…

6 spots for the USA 80K Mountain & Trail Running Team are on the line in a certified barn burner of a race this coming Saturday at the Lake Sonoma 50 and I’m joined by Brett Hornig and Leah Yingling to break it all down. We analyze the course, talk about success factors, note the interesting storylines, and make predictions for the female and male …

Brian Metzler is an award-winning sports journalist, writer, and photographer from Boulder, Colorado, who has produced storytelling content for publications like Outside, Trail Runner, Runner’s World, Competitor, and Sports Illustrated, as well as several books, including “Kicksology: The Hype, Science, Culture and Cool of Running Shoes” and “Trail…

John Kelly is a professional endurance athlete and now 2-time finisher of the Barkley Marathons. In this conversation, we get his thoughts about the media attention and public perception surrounding Barkley, what draws the general public to our sport, his views on using intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation for high performance, creating the ideal …

This is the first episode of a new series we are calling "Trail Tea". These episodes take the candor of group chats and pull them into the audio realm. In this edition, I am joined by Jack Kuenzle, Dan Curts, and Abby Levene. We discuss pro runner social media, boring trail running media, exclusive trail races, faith in the gear review industry, pr…

Sabrina Little is a Philosophy Professor and Professional Ultrarunner based in Newport News, VA. Sabrina is also a regular columnist for IRunfar and we spend the majority of this conversation discussing a recent post she wrote about what it might look like to be a good fan, as well as a bad fan, of ultra running during this era of significant chang…

I am joined by Brett Hornig to debate whether the culture has groomed elites to be passive about their career prospects, the biggest scams in our sport, whether it's harder to get to the top or stay at the top as a pro athlete, and why fans fixate on fast times instead of good competition. Discounts: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on t…

Dani Moreno is a professional trail runner for Adidas Terrex based in Mammoth Lakes, CA. She returns to the Singletrack Podcast to discuss sponsorship changes, her history and insights from navigating the athlete brand relationship over the course of her career, and her racing schedule for 2023. Discounts: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkou…

Allie Ostrander is a professional runner for Nnormal based in Seattle, WA. Allie has notched many accomplishments on the track winning 3 national collegiate titles in the steeplechase, running professionally for the Brooks Beasts, and winning the 3K event at the 2020 Millrose Games among accolades while also demonstrating impressive versatility win…

Jason Koop is the Head Coach of Carmichael Training Systems Ultrarunning. In this conversation, we talk about whether and how the increasing professionalization of ultrarunning is changing the ways athletes train and race and generally commit their livelihood to the craft, the potential for professional co-located trail running teams, doping and th…

Michael Brandt is the CEO and Co-Founder of HVMN, a nutrition company that makes exogenous ketone products for endurance athletes. We talk about what exogenous ketones are, how they benefit endurance athletes, how they can be incorporated into daily nutrition schedules, and what the future looks like for their usage in the trail and ultrarunning sc…

I am joined by Brett Hornig to talk about some of our takeaways from Black Canyon, prize money and professional support in ultrarunning, emerging storylines for Western States, the future of live-streaming, the future of pacers and crew at race, and which sports outside of trail running produce the best athletes for our world. Discounts: Rabbit - u…

In this episode, I am joined by Brett Hornig and Leah Yingling to preview the 2023 Black Canyon 100K. We analyze the course, talk about what it's going to take to be successful, note some of the interesting storylines around the event, make our predictions for the female and male top-5 finishers this year, and respond to listener comments, question…

Anthony Costales is a trail runner based in Salt Lake City, UT preparing for the 2023 Black Canyon 100K. Guest Links: Follow Anthony on Instagram Follow Anthony on Strava Discounts: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/discount/SINGLETRACK20) to get 20% off your next order HVMN - use code Singlet…

Cole Watson is a professional trail runner based in Folsom, CA preparing for the 2023 Black Canyon 100K. Guest Links: Follow Cole on Instagram Follow Cole on Strava Discounts: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/discount/SINGLETRACK20) to get 20% off your next order HVMN - use code Singletrack20…

Sarah Biehl is a trail runner based in Columbus, Ohio preparing for the 2023 Black Canyon 100K. Guest Links: Follow Sarah on Instagram Follow Sarah on Strava Discounts: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/discount/SINGLETRACK20) to get 20% off your next order HVMN - use code Singletrack20 at che…

Keely Henninger is a professional trail runner for Altra based in Portland, OR preparing for the 2023 Black Canyon 100K. Guest Links: Follow Keely on Instagram Follow Keely on Strava Freetrail Experts Trail Society Podcast Discounts: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/discount/SINGLETRACK20) to…

Hannah Allgood is a professional runner for Dynafit based in Colorado Springs, CO preparing for the 2023 Black Canyon 100K. In this conversation we talk about her relatively late entry into the sport, where she draws confidence from as a pro trail runner, the level of preparation she puts into each event, and her motivation to get to the start line…

Tim Freriks is a professional runner for Craft Sportswear based in Flagstaff, AZ preparing for the 2023 Black Canyon 100K. In this episode, we talk about his career to date, what it takes to compete at a high level, racing alongside fellow Coconino Cowboys, and Western States ambitions. Guest Links: Follow Tim on Instagram Follow Tim on Strava Disc…

David Laney is a professional trail runner for Craft Sportswear based in Bellingham, WA preparing for the 2023 Black Canyon 100K. In this episode, we talk about golden ticket aspirations, his history with Western States, and his thoughts on nomadic training. Guest Links: Follow David on Instagram Discounts: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checko…

Ryan Miller is a professional trail runner based in San Antonio, TX preparing for the 2023 Bandera 100K. Guest Links: Follow Ryan on Strava Follow Ryan on Instagram Maverick Running Community Discounts: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/discount/SINGLETRACK20) to get 20% off your next order HV…

John Raneri is a professional runner based in Flagstaff, AZ. John is coming off a 2:12 marathon performance at the California International Marathon last December and will be lining up for his debut ultra at the Black Canyon 100K next week. Discounts: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/discount…

Fred Abramowitz is Co-Race Director of the Run Rabbit Run series held every mid-September in Steamboat Springs, CO. In addition to race directing, Fred is the author of “A Blueprint for Sponsors of Ultrarunning” and we use that document to riff about prize money in our sport, why to make ultrarunning more interesting to the casual sports fan, the s…

Caleb Efta is one of the Race Directors for the High Lonesome 100 in the Sawatch Range of Colorado. He joins the show to discuss why UTMB races have been excluded from the qualifying process for High Lonesome, the values of our sport, the nature and purpose of community events, and the increasing commercialization and professionalization taking sha…

I’m joined by co-host Brett Hornig and special guest Tim Tollefson to riff pretty much free-form about the world of mountain ultra trail running for 2 hours. It's a good one. Timestamps: (2:46) - Tim's sponsorship change, being a darkhorse, the latter stages of ultrarunning careers, UTMB aspirations, other goals for 2023 and 2024 (18:47) - what it …

Courtney Dauwalter returns to the podcast to talk about Bandera, the moment she went all in on ultra running, whether she’s interested in returning to Barkley, and for the hometown listeners here in Salt Lake City, whether she will race the Wasatch 100 one day. Discounts: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.run…

Brett Hornig, Leah Yingling, and Mike McMonagle join the podcast to talk about the livestream experience, ideas for future races, and analysis of how everything played out in the men’s and women’s fields at Bandera this past weekend. Discounts: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/) to get 20% of…

Peter Abraham is a content marketing expert who has worked with brands like Nike, ESPN, Red Bull, Lululemon, Hoka NAZ Elite, and the LA Marathon. He joins the Singletrack Podcast to talk about athlete sponsorship, trail running teams, fan creation, live coverage, and event management in the trail running scene. Timestamps: (1:54) - biggest pain poi…

Ryan Montgomery is a professional trail runner for Altra based in Wanship, UT lining up for the 2023 Bandera 100K later this week. Sponsors: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/) to get 20% off your next order Gnarly Nutrition - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://gognar…

In this episode, I am joined by Brett Hornig and Leah Yingling to preview the 2023 Bandera 100K. We analyze the course, talk about what it's going to take to be successful, note some of the interesting storylines around the event, and make our predictions for the female and male top-3 finishers this year. Sponsors: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 a…

Amanda Basham is a professional trail runner for Altra based in Boulder, CO lining up for the 2023 Bandera 100K later this week. Sponsors: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/) to get 20% off your next order Gnarly Nutrition - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://gognarly…

Joe McConaughy is a professional trail runner for Brooks based in Seattle, WA lining up for the 2023 Bandera 100K later this week. Sponsors: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/) to get 20% off your next order Gnarly Nutrition - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://gognar…

Courtney Dauwalter is a professional trail runner for Salomon based in Leadville, CO lining up for the 2023 Bandera 100K later this week. Sponsors: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/) to get 20% off your next order Gnarly Nutrition - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https:/…

Andy Wacker is a professional trail runner for Salomon based in Boulder, CO. The focus of our conversation is on Andy’s new organization called the “Trail Team”, which is launching in 2023 to support and develop rising American athletes into the best professional trail runners in the world. Sponsors: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on t…

In our last episode of 2022 we are talking with Dan Curts, a professional trail runner based in Norwich, VT. This is a wide-ranging conversation in which we talk about the disillusionment that can come about in the collegiate and post-collegiate track and road running worlds, how Dan ultimately landed in the sub-ultra trail racing scene, building a…

Rod Farvard is a professional trail runner based in Mammoth Lakes, CA. He returns to the podcast to reflect on his racing, training, and life events in the second half of 2022. Sponsors: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/discount/SINGLETRACK20) to get 20% off your next order HVMN - use code Si…

I am joined by co-hosts Brett Hornig and Leah Yingling to recap the year in mountain ultra trail running. We cover our personal highlights, favorite storylines, biggest changes in the sport, the rookie athletes that burst onto the scene, runners that had "comeback" type seasons, our thoughts on all the voting systems out there for ultra runners and…

What if there was a dedicated event series where brands like Hoka, Salomon, North Face, and Adidas Terrex had the opportunity to showcase the strengths of their teams and exclusively compete against each other across the primary mountain ultra trail running distances? In this episode, I am joined by Dani Moreno, as well as frequent co-hosts Brett H…

We talk about Brett’s new Youtube channel, the first place tie at Ultra Trail Cape Town, UTMB Thailand, the timing of the 2023 World Trail Championships, the idea of no pacers at Western States, and contract season for pro runners. Sponsors: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/discount/SINGLETRA…