Madlen Kappeler just returned from the SkySnow Skyrunning World Championship in Tarvisio, Italy with 4 silver medals two her name. The Bavarian triathlete went to Florida Atlantic University on a scholarship and is now competing in sky running events for the German National Team.

Matt Urbanski from Team RunRun returns to Singletrack to chat about Rock Candy Running’s LBA races in Olympia, Washington. We discuss about the ins and outs of race directing and why I love being a race director.

Chrissi Faber is from Germany, lives in New Zealand and just very cool came in 3rd at the Tarawera Ultra Trail Miler. We chat about her race day experience, the event and its origins and the evolution under UTMB ownership.

Marcel is back! After a tumultuous winter Adidas athlete Marcel Höche joins Singletrack for a very personal conversation about the challenges of the athlete fan relationship. We take a deep dive into building a new and better running shoe, including the much hyped soon-to-be-released Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra. Of course we touch on the UTMB situation, chat about sky running and make plans to meet for a beer in Chamonix.

Dan Patitucci, is the owner of AlpsInsight and his professional outdoor photography has been in magazines and advertisements all over the world. He’s a legend in the mountains and has captured the achievements and stories of some of the greatest mountaineers of our time. As a trail runner and climber he shares his time between Switzerland and California. We talk about the changing and enduring landscape of the outdoors, discuss the differences between mountain towns in the Swiss Alps and the Eastern Sierras and debate the challenges of capturing the true emotions of trail running on camera. Super honored to bring Dan’s first ever podcast appearance to Singletrack.

Kathleen Baker, managing director for Runners for Public Lands joins me this week to announce the new partnership with RPL and the Trail Running Film Festival to bring the Global Tour 2024 to your city this Spring.

Federico Hernandez joins me on Singletrack this week all the way from Sweden. We discuss the European perspective on recent UTMB happenings and Federico shares his running journey from the Göteborgsvarvet Half to completing Snowdonia, mozart100 and Kullemannan this year and now getting ready for the UTMB lottery results.

First up in the new year and fresh back from the 2023 IAU 24-Hour World Championships in Taipei, Taiwan Chad Lasater joins Singletrack to share a glimpse into his illustrious running career. While keeping a full-time job Chad has run some of the most important races around the world and wore the jersey for Team USA for the World Championships. After having run around a track for hours on end Chad now sets his sight on a very different adventure taking on Cocodona 250 this coming May.

For the last episode of 2023 I sat down with friend of the show Alex Bond to chat about this year in trail running. We covering the latest outdoor industry report and chat about the distinguishing aspects of what makes trail running so unique compared to other sports. We consider the economic impact of trail races in host towns and wonder about the value of live streaming and who might actually benefit from this investment in infrastructure and gear. Of course we touch on UTMB’s much talked about expansion and enduring, or not attraction and wonder if these races are still the status quo. And finally we highlighted the biggest achievements at this year’s biggest races and in the world of FKTs.

East Coast runner Kuwanna Dyer-Pietras joins Singletrack to chat about running for Tailwind, dreaming of Western States, and getting the call from Hoka to be one of their designated runners for the 2024 Western States. We chat about prepping for her first 100 mile race on gnarly East Coast trails and baking cookies with the family for the holidays.

Daniela Oemus, German trail runner for Salomon, ER Doctor and parent of two joins Singletrack to talk about her breakout year of racing, including a win at Zegama and Wildstrubel and a 6th place finish in the trail short discipline at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck. We chat about her favorite racing distance, her love for the Golden Trail Series, and her challenges of navigating her career, her athlete life and her family.

Jack Rosenfeld from Seattle joins the show. He’s a podcast co-host of the Beer on the Run podcast, race director with the Seattle Running Club and 200 mile finisher. Jack shares his story of failing 100 milers and then walking to success at the Cowboy 200 in Nebraska. Later we dive into a deep conversation about the challenges and joys of being race director and how our trail culture is changing in the light of big businesses and new voices challenging our status quo.

Abigail West runs the trails in the South East of the United States and creates art that is inspired by the unique and beautiful landscape of her home in Athens, Georgia, the nearby Great Smoky Mountains and the Appalachian Trail.
She recently claimed the FKT on the famous S.C.A.R. route and we talk about her upcoming project designing the poster for the Trail Running Film Festival Global Tour 2024.

Wes Plate runs long, and I mean really long distances. In many ways I can’t even wrap my head around days of running on end, but I do understand and marvel at the motivation and the story telling through creative route creation. His latest project of running 200 miles around the Puget Sound in Western Washington is both equally mind-blowing and inspiring.

Wes also shares some news on his race directing debut at the Copper Kings 100 in Montana, slated of the summer of 2024.