Borderlands Trail and Ultra Running

Hosted by Josh Rosenthal | Ultra Runner

Business Entrepreneurship Sports Health Fitness

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326

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Sep 2026

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About the show

Borderlands Trail and Ultra Running is a storytelling podcast for ultra runners who love this sport deeply, the iconic races, the legendary athletes, the gear, and the culture that makes all of it worth caring about. Hosted by Josh Rosenthal, founder of Borderlands Trail Running, this show exists to collect the ultra running stories that define the sport, from spending a day at Laz Lake's home to deep conversations with Scott Jurek, Dean Karnazes, Camille Herron, and the everyday runners doing extraordinary things out on the trails. This podcast covers the full world of ultra and trail running: race coverage and analysis of marquee events including Western States Endurance Run and UTMB, honest trail running shoes reviews and ultra running gear breakdowns from someone who has tested 44 pairs over 6,000 miles, and big conversations about where the sport is headed, including what dirtbag runners bring to a sport that's growing fast. This show gives ultra runners the stories, perspectives, and gear knowledge to go deeper into a sport they already love while celebrating what makes trail and ultra running unlike anything else. We'll answer questions like: - Who is Laz Lake, and why does everyone in ultra running revere him? - What makes the Barkley Marathons the hardest race in the world? - How does Western States Endurance Run work, and why is it so hard to get in? - What are the best trail running shoes and ultra running gear right now? - Who are the greatest ultra runners of all time? - What does dirtbag running culture actually mean? - How is ultra running changing, and is that a good thing? - What does it take to run a 100 mile ultra marathon? - What should ultra runners eat during training and on race day? If you want the stories, the gear, and the culture that make ultra and trail running the most addictive sport on earth, you're in the right place.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 29, 202623 min

Ultrarunning: You Don’t Have to Be Good to Feel Strong

Ultrarunning gives ordinary people a rare place to feel strong, capable and tested. You don’t have to be elite, or even particularly good at it, to experience that. I know because I’ve DNF’d plenty of 100 milers, and when I finally finished Zion 100, I was the last guy across the line. Watching The Rookie with my son made me realize why that feeling matters so much. As adults, most of us lose the arenas where we get to find out what we’re made of. Maybe ultrarunning is one of the last ones we have left. Presented by Kiprun . Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here . Topics / Timestamps 00:00 You Don’t Have to Be Good at Ultrarunning 01:03 What The Rookie Made Me Realize 03:46 Adults Lose the Arena 06:16 Stepping Back Into the Arena 12:26 Finishing the Zion 100 16:31 The Dignity of Ultrarunning 20:17 Long Live the Local Ultra Resources / Links Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races Borderlands.cc Related Episodes Ultra Running isn't Just Running ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube Read on Substack

September 22, 202624 min

Anton Krupicka | Trail Running, Identity, and Ignoring Trends

Anton Krupicka has spent two decades becoming something harder to define than a trail runner. This conversation is about how that happened, why he stopped caring about fitting the sport’s mold, and what it looks like to keep evolving without chasing relevance. We talk about the injury that changed his relationship with running, the move toward scrambling and climbing, his influence on trail culture, the Leadville comeback, and why La Sportiva still makes sense for the athlete he is now. More than anything, it’s Anton on identity, aging, design, and trying to stay the peak version of yourself without pretending you’re still who you were ten years ago. Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here . Topics / Timestamps 00:00 Anton Krupicka on why trends don't matter 01:30 From trail runner to mountain man 03:52 When the whole landscape opened up 08:24 Identity, trends, and trail running culture 16:45 The Leadville 100 comeback 21:12 The peak version of yourself Resources / Links Unbreakable | Western States Film Anton's 2021 Leadville Race Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races Borderlands.cc Related Episodes Ultra Running isn't Just Running Presented by Kiprun . ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube Read on Substack

September 15, 202628 min

The Trail Races We Can’t Afford to Lose

Trail running is growing fast, but what happens to the races that don’t scale cleanly? After spending one night volunteering at the Wasatch 100 and the next day at a brand-new UTMB race, I came away wondering whether the messy, human parts of ultra running are exactly the parts we can’t afford to lose. Pacers, old-timers, exhausted volunteers, DNFs, polished finish lines, UTMB, and the strange ways a race becomes more than a race. This isn’t an argument for grassroots over corporate. It’s about why trail running needs both, what each is uniquely good at, and what disappears when every race starts looking the same. Presented by Kiprun . Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here . Topics / Timestamps 2:22 Races like Wasatch fill the human spirit. 6:09 I love ultrarunning pacer culture. 10:29 Someone else’s problem becomes mine. 14:55 The back of the pack is where I come alive. 16:52 Wasatch rewards staying. 22:04 You can’t manufacture heritage. 26:21 The fragile one is not the one I thought. Resources / Links Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races Borderlands.cc Related Episodes Ultra Running isn't Just Running ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube Read on Substack

September 8, 202629 min

"I Need Running to Stay Alive" | Inside the Compulsive Mind of Biel

Ultrarunning rewards people who can keep going. Biel makes you wonder what happens when stopping no longer feels like an option, and where ambition ends and compulsion begins. Biel is a Brazilian ultrarunner, Speed Project athlete, tattoo artist and printmaker living in Berlin. He has represented Brazil at the 24-Hour World Championships and set records from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and Chamonix to Marseille. But the more interesting story is the force connecting his face tattoos, his art and the extreme experiences he says he needs to stay alive. Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here . Topics / Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 02:27 Face Tattoos, Identity + Freedom 05:17 Why Ultrarunning Keeps Biel Alive 07:19 TSP | Chamonix-to-Marseille Record 10:59 24-Hour Racing x The Speed Project 13:07 A Perfect Fit for Biel 18:40 From Nightclub Cleaner to Pro Runner 22:48 Art + Life Beyond Running 27:39 Beyond Records + Limits Resources / Links Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races Borderlands.cc Additional photo courtesty of Tycjan Trzpioloa Related Episodes Ultra Running isn't Just Running Presented by Kiprun . ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube Read on Substack

September 1, 202635 min

UTMB Doesn’t Have a Fan Problem

UTMB is the center of trail running for one week every year, and somehow the people most frustrated by it keep showing up. After a week in Chamonix, I came home thinking the problem with hating UTMB is that the race keeps complicating the argument against it. The fan experience is better than the criticism suggests, TDS might be the hardest race of the week, the women are racing with ego, and some of the most interesting parts of UTMB have almost nothing to do with racing. Ten observations from inside the chaos, including what brands keep getting wrong, what Chamonix reveals about status in trail running, and why everyone should be reading Raz Rauf. Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. Presented by Kiprun . If you’re new to Borderlands, start here . Topics / Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 02:36 The Critics Are at UTMB 08:12 UTMB Doesn’t Have a Fan Problem 12:24 TDS Might Be the Hardest Race at UTMB 16:26 The DNSs Aren’t About Professionalization 20:38 The Women Are Racing With Ego 24:57 UTMB Isn’t Just About Running 28:20 The Ultimate UTMB Flex Is Not Needing Chamonix 30:34 Brands: Embrace the Chaos 32:21 Read Raz Rauf. Read Running Sucks. 35:45 Limiting Brand Activations Made UTMB Better - The Chamonix Mayor was Right Resources / Links Like the Wind | Run Culture Live Running Sucks - Raz Rauf Borderlands.cc Related Episodes Cocodona Has a Fan Problem ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube Read on Substack

August 22, 202639 min

Why the World’s Biggest Trail Race Happened in France

UTMB is the biggest trail race in the world, but why did it happen in France? The easy answer is Mont Blanc. The better answer has more to do with culture, timing, and the kind of endurance tradition that was already there long before UTMB existed. Josh talks with Doug Mayer, founder of Run the Alps and author of The Race That Changed Running , about the deeper conditions that made UTMB possible, from old mountain races and ski mountaineering to the Pellettis’ execution and the way places like Vallorcine turned the race into something people gather around, not just run. Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here . Resources / Links Run the Alps Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races Josh Rosenthal on IG Borderlands.cc Subwhatever Related Episodes Ultra Running isn't Just Running Presented by Kiprun . ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube Read on Substack

August 20, 202640 min

With Tara Dower | Built Different

Ultra running rewards obsession, but Tara Dower seems wired for something beyond results. She wants to solve hard problems, chase the best competition, run faster, and keep finding out what she’s capable of. Tara joins me to talk Western States, her planned Pacific Coast Trail attempt, why she hasn’t raced UTMB, learning from Karl Meltzer, and her evolution with Altra from the Lone Peak to the new Vanish Carbon 3. Underneath it all is a bigger question: as Tara becomes one of the defining athletes of modern ultra running, what parts of herself does she want to keep? For ultra runners interested in the people shaping where the sport goes next. Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here . This episode is in partnership with Altra for the release of its new super road shoe the Vanish Carbon 3 - a light, responsive, and efficient race day shoe made for PRs. Topics / Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 02:54 Tara Dower Has Always Been Stubborn 07:07 The Problem Solving Mind of Tara Dower 09:06 Results vs. A Life of Interesting Running 13:38 Why Tara Dower Hasn't Raced UTMB 17:54 The Problem with Pro Trail Running 20:07 Why Ultrarunners Want to Run Fast | Altra Vanish Carbon 3 30:31 What Speedgoat Taught Tara 36:40 What Tara Dower Wants Her Legacy to Be Resources / Links Altra Vanish Carbon 3 Tara Dower Lives Between Two Worlds by Bryce Carlson Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races Borderlands.cc Thumbnail Photo by Pete Schreiner Related Episodes Ultra Running isn't Just Running Presented by Kiprun . ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube Read on Substack

August 17, 20261 hr 2 min

Karl Meltzer | Speedgoat, UTMB, and Trail Running’s Boom

Trail running has exploded into a global business, and Karl Meltzer somehow ended up at the center of it. HOKA turned his Speedgoat nickname into one of trail running’s defining shoes, Red Bull paid him to chase the Appalachian Trail record, and UTMB eventually bought the race he created. Karl came up when ultrarunning was tiny and has watched the money, brands, athletes, and races transform around him. Josh and Karl talk about the strange experience of becoming valuable to an industry that barely existed when he started, selling Speedgoat to UTMB, his relationship with HOKA, and what someone who has lived through the entire boom thinks about where trail running goes from here. Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here . Resources / Links Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races Borderlands.cc La French Trail Related Episodes Ultra Running isn't Just Running Presented by Kiprun . ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube Read on Substack

August 13, 202639 min

Harvey Lewis | The Mind Behind the Ultras

Ultrarunning eventually becomes a mental problem. The body hurts, the race stops going to plan, and the question becomes what the best ultrarunners understand about continuing when quitting makes sense. Harvey Lewis has spent 30 years figuring that out. In part two of our conversation in Ohio, we get into the mental strategies behind Backyard Ultra, why different races require different mindsets, the failures that changed how Harvey competes, and what decades of Badwater, journey runs, and 200-milers have taught him about going farther than he thought possible. Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here . Thumbnail photo by Romain Mayambi Topics / Timestamps 00:00 Harvey Lewis Intro 01:15 The Mental Game of Ultrarunning 10:47 Learning How Not to Quit 14:06 Different Mindsets for Different Races 16:55 Pilgrimages and Journey Runs 23:31 What Failure Taught Harvey Lewis 30:33 What the Best Ultrarunners Understand Resources / Links Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races Borderlands.cc High Tones Related Episodes Ultra Running isn't Just Running Presented by Kiprun . ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube Read on Substack

August 10, 202634 min

Harvey Lewis | The Man Behind the Ultras

Harvey Lewis is one of ultrarunning’s most accomplished endurance athletes, but the more interesting question might be how a high school civics teacher from Ohio became capable of doing any of this. Badwater, Backyard Ultras, Barkley, 250-mile runs. Harvey has built an extraordinary career without making running his entire life. I spent a morning with Harvey at his home in Ohio, days before his 16th consecutive Badwater, trying to understand what makes Harvey Harvey. We talk about the dreamer and engineer he inherited from his parents, the teachers who changed his life, how running and teaching grew together, and why the hardest races have become something closer to pilgrimages. The conversation ends somewhere more personal, with Harvey remembering the person he still imagines waiting for him when things get hard. Thumbnail photo by Romain Mayambi Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here . Topics / Timestamps 2:17 Harvey Lewis' Origins 6:33 Harvey Lewis' Parents: The Dreamer and the Engineer 18:39 Running and Teaching 30:59 Running as Pilgrimage Resources / Links TINAR Race Series | Register Borderlands.cc La French Trail Subwhatever Related Episodes Ultra Running isn't Just Running Presented by Kiprun . ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube Read on Substack