Fastest Known Podcast

Riding and Running on trails is more connected than you know!  The Western States 100 originally was a horse race, not a running race.  And this year Susie Kramer did both, with one of the fastest combined times ever.  With a broken toe, after her horse stepped on it.

"I guess some scar tissue had formed, so the pain wasn't too bad."

Yeah, endurance horse riders are tough.

89 FKTs is a lot!  And 51 of them have been in 2021, including sometimes 2 in one day.  I presume this is intentional?

"I used to race more, but the pandemic caused me to focus on where I live.  And we have a huge history here - some of these routes go back hundreds of years."

"It's always about the journey, not the goal.  But FKTs are great - this has provided the structure for me to learn and explore in my own surroundings."

Wow - a new running shoe company!  That's gotta be hard - why are these two men doing it?

"We've been designing shoes for 25 years for other company's.  There was always a compromise.  We wanted to build a shoe that was the absolute best - no compromise."

"We're always told what the price has to be, and then worked backward from there - we wanted to start with the best product and go forward."

Can a new shoe company succeed?

"If you work hard, and create a product that means something, you will succeed."

He's done it again!  After 5 YEARS of planning, Andrew climbed the hundred highest summits in Colorado in a huge non-stop effort of 22 days.  And established two new Routes and FKTs within that effort along the way.  And he claims he's not that fit ...

"I don't know what it is about me; I can just suffer and keep going."

There are 490 FKT Routes in the UK - get the insider scoop on them - Our two Regional Editors from the UK tell us what is new and cool, and then walk us through some classic FKT routes.

"1,051 FKTs have been reviewed and Approved in the UK in the last 12 months - that's 3 per day - it's been really busy!"

These are all really long, super hard efforts - many of these are multi-day, and some have over 100,000' of Elevation Gain.  Why is that?  

"Really good runners are looking for good adventures!"  

The 2021 Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run starts today. Two days before the run an important meeting took place where the event announced a new policy to increase women’s participation.

Starting in 2022, the percent of women’s entrants will be no less than the percent of women’s lottery applicants. Darcy Piceu who won the the race three times (2012-2014) is now a Hardrock 100 board member and she's returning to the race this year as a participant.

You need to hear this inspiring story!  Jim Mann, a top ultrarunner from Scotland, had this brilliant idea: ask race directors to give runners the option of having a tree planted in their name instead of being given still another t-shirt that won't get used.

"The reason for starting this was 2 fold - I had loads of race t-shirts and kept getting more (I couldn't wear them all and they don't wear out). We wanted to plant more trees and it seemed like a great way to solve a bad problem whilst creating something good."

Coree rose to prominence after his 21 day FKT on the Ice Age Trail, exactly one year ago.  Before that he was seen rockin' a Speedo on the 10-part "World's Toughest Race" show on Amazon Prime (a great series).  Coree has fun, and he has style.  This is a very fun conversation with an intelligent and unique person - don't miss his captivating thoughts!

The Boundary Waters is 1.1 million acres of incredible glaciated terrain way up in northern Minnesota on the Canada border, and yet is the most-visited Wilderness Area in the United States.  Because it is so good.  Even if YOU have never been there!

"Boundary Waters is as remote as it gets.  Alex had everything dialed - those people are hard-core canoists - they paddled over two hours to get to the support locations!" - Clare

"We're focused on the wrong thing - people are caught up in this controversy or that battle, but we always say, Bears Ears is about healing."

I've been running, cycling, and climbing in this area for decades, and on a recent trip, I realized ... that I knew little about this place. The history and heritage here is almost unfathomable.