Singletrack

Joe McConaughy returns to Singletrack, fresh off his fastest known time on the John Muir Trail, one of the world's premier FKT routes. 
The JMT runs 221 miles through California's Sierra Nevada from Happy, with more than 46,000 feet of climbing and nearly all of it above 8,000 feet. It's often called America's most famous trail and is named for the influential environmentalist John Muir.
The conversation covers Joe's full experience on the route, where he stands among the sport's multi-day legends, and what he's learned and experienced across three attempts in six years, including his encounter with the third man factor during his 2024 run (fascinating).

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Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains 
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This week I'm joined by Alyssa Clark, just back from Mammoth Trailfest. 
We talk about what Tim Tollefson has built there, the 13-year-old who podiumed the Ascent, and where Mammoth fits in the fall 2027 competitive picture. I share my weekend crewing and pacing at the Bear 100, where Kristin Johnson ran 18:50:37 to break the women's course record by over an hour and a half.
It was a big FKT week too: Joe McConaughy's new supported John Muir Trail record, Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz on the GR20, new unsupported marks on the White Mountains 100, and Lindsay Webster on the Presidential Traverse, several tied to Andrew Drummond's $10K bounty purse.
On the business side, we try to make sense of UTMB's 2027 changes to direct qualification and a Trail Waves piece applying game theory to the Run Rabbit Run purse. We close with results from around the world and a 2009 Brett Maune passage on throwing away the other person's timesheet.

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
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As the voice behind Talk Ultra and one of trail running's most prolific photographers, Ian Corless has been monitoring and contributing to the development of our sport since the early 2010s. 
In this three-and-a-half-hour conversation, we cover the new Run Rabbit Run's $100K prize award, the impact of Ben Dhiman's 18:16 UTMB win, which pros are most at risk in the current era, the post-COVID podcast glut, the skyrunning golden age and other key historical markers that have influenced the current era.

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 
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Singletrack News is back from its summer break, and I'm joined by Alyssa Clark, fresh off a podium finish at TDS. 
We discuss Katharina Hartmuth's Tor des Géants course record victory, Meg Eckert's 636-mile six-day world record, course records at Run Rabbit Run, the IAU 100K World Championships, and the Barkley Fall Classic. 
On the business side, we break down Salomon's title partnership with the Ironman World Championship and what it could mean for trail, plus the status of the Western States course change coming in 2027. 
We close with a preview of the Mammoth 200 with picks, share the best things we found on the internet, and a remembrance of two athletes our community tragically lost this month - Kalie McCrystal and Ida Emilie Robsham.

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
Support the show

Brett Hornig and Jeff Colt join the show for another packed edition of the Long Run Archives. We discuss the news that Run Rabbit Run will pay $100,000 to each winner in 2027 and 2028, whether Mike McKnight should have raced Tor, Dakota Jones' latest article, "The Stone Age", and whether Ben Dhiman's UTMB recap needed more relatability, the CCC golden ticket class headed to Western States, and close with content finds: Shelby Houlihan's Skechers deal, On's move into soccer, Nick Fowler's self-supported PCT record, and the most unglamorous victory in endurance sports history.

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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 
Support the show