Singletrack

Disclaimer: We recorded this episode a few days before the news broke that Courtney Dauwalter is racing UTMB.

Brett Hornig joins the show for a preview-before-the-preview of UTMB 2026. We each bring our top 5 storylines heading into the biggest week in trail running, put out our current power rankings for the men's and women's fields, and play a round of Buy or Sell on the boldest claims for each of the championship races (UTMB, CCC, OCC).

Partners:
Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next order
Janji - running apparel that goes the distance
Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains 
Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made
Momentous - use code SINGLETRACK for up to 35% off your first order 
Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes 
Support the show

David Ayala is a Professor of Mathematics at Montana State University and an amateur ultrarunner who most recently finished 3rd at the 2026 Hardrock 100.
Until recently he'd never owned a watch. He has no social media. What he does have is a faculty webpage full of trip reports, written in LaTeX, for unsupported FKTs on the Wind River High Route, Sierra High Route, and Teton Center Punch, documented with a remarkable level of transparency. 
In this Sunday Conversation, we talk about training for flow state, why he calls competition "oblique collaboration," the huckleberry analogy, and whether he'll ever race again.

Partners:
Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next order
Janji - running apparel that goes the distance
Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains 
Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made
Momentous - use code SINGLETRACK for up to 35% off your first order 
Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes 
Support the show

Sophie Woods just ran the length of the Alps faster than anyone in recorded history. Starting in Trieste, Italy on July 4 and finishing in Monaco on August 1, she covered the Via Alpina, 2,018 kilometers and 117,614 meters of climbing across eight countries, in 28 days, 17 hours, and 59 minutes, beating the previous overall record by more than seven days.

In this conversation, Sophie takes us inside the effort: the highs and lows, what she ate, how she paced certain sections, her sleep strategy, and how she handled setbacks like wildfires, bugs, and course reroutes.  

We also discuss her background as a London-based hairdresser, seven years living in a camper van, her IVF journey, three finishes at Tor des Géants, and a podium debut at the Winter Spine Race that she credits with giving her a whole new level to dig from. Plus what she learned from other multi-week specialists and whether she's really lining up for PTL just weeks after this FKT.

Partners:
Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next order
Janji - running apparel that goes the distance
Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains 
Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made
Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes

Additional Links:
Follow Sophie Woods on Instagram
Centurion Coaching
Support the show

Three weeks after Jennifer Lichter set a new course record at Western States, her coach John Fitzgerald joins the Singletrack Podcast to break down how it happened. Fitzgerald coaches an elite squad out of Missoula for Carmichael Training Systems, and this year he guided Jen to the win along with Jeff Mogavero and Adam Peterman into the men's top ten.

We get into the philosophy underneath the results: why consistency is a trainable skill, why willpower is a resource you can spend too early, and what he means when he says success is rented. Fitzgerald explains the mental shift that took Jen from a mountain 50K specialist to a 100-mile course record holder, the on-course training camps that prepared his athletes for every crux of the Western States course, race-day fueling improvisations, downhill running as a skill, and his case for simplicity in a sport chasing every new gadget and lab test.

Partners:
Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next order
Janji - running apparel that goes the distance
Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains 
Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made
Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes 

Additional Links:
Coaching Profile
Instagram: @ackfitz
Support the show

Wright Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine who has profiled some of the greatest athletes and coaches of all time, including Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Steve Kerr, Pat Riley, Caitlin Clark, and Dan Gable. He's also the author of 3 books: "The Cost of These Dreams", "The Barn", and "Pappyland". 
In this conversation, we discuss optimization versus beauty in sports, sports as vehicles for self-understanding, why fame freezes people at the emotional age they got it, and where the tortured artist myth comes from before ending on mortality and legacy.
Note - in case you're not interested, we spend the first 20 ish minutes of the conversation talking about our shared appreciation for music and certain artists and bands before getting into the aforementioned part of the conversation.

Partners:
Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next order
Janji - running apparel that goes the distance
Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains 
Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made
Momentous - use code SINGLETRACK for up to 35% off your first order 
Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes 
Support the show