James Solomon & Morgan Mader

Today I had the awesome opportunity to have Hans Troyer on the podcast. In short amount of time, just this past year actually, Hans has become one of the most exciting runners within the ultra world. Just in 2024, he won Bandera 100k setting the second fastest course time behind Jim Walmsley, placed top 10 at Black Canyons 100k, and most recently set the course record at Tussey Mountback 50 miler, which was also the USATF 50 mile championship. Even with all of his accomplishments, Hans is a humble guy that brings a lot of joy to the sport. I had a really great time talking to him and learning more about his journey as he transitioned from college running into ultra running. Hope yall enjoy the episode and as always, thank you for the support!

For today's episode I got to talk to Heath Goshorn. Heath has podiumed in most of the races he's been in with several 100 mile wins, most recently coming at Burning River this past summer. On the pod we dive into a wide range of topics that cover more than just running. Heath has made major transformations in his life on a fitness level as well as professionally so it was awesome to hear his thoughts on that.

The podcast is back! After a year break, we have our first guest, Benny Shirrell. On today's episode, we dive into Benny's most recent race, Tunnel Hill, where he placed in the top 10. Not only has Benny succeeded at the Ultra distance but also in the marathon, running a sub 2:40:00. All of those accomplishments are great, but there is so much more to Benny as a person, and it was a blast to get into some of that. We did have some technical difficulties towards the end at 1:32:27, but we quickly got that figured out. I hope y'all enjoy this episode as much as I did, and I am always thankful for the support.

In this episode I got to sit down with Jason Wish, the current supported FKT holder of the Sheltowee Trace Trail. Jason has held the FKT for supported, unsupported and self supported at one time. We talk about all things backpacking, fastpacking, FKT, life on the farm and some of the Ultras that Jason has began to race. The link for his video series for his latest FKT is here: https://youtu.be/KWbu35qeA1I?si=CS53T7-4sfWlwVQF Jason has a lot of great videos on his channel so check that out!

On this episode we have the amazing Cynthia Heady. It was an honor and a blast getting to hear so many stories of her adventures, as well as the history of some of the local races here in Kentucky. Not only has she excelled in directing races but also running them, having ran over 77 races and still going with an upcoming 100 miler. Cynthia & her husband Todd have done so much for the endurance community here in Louisville and the surrounding areas with their company, Headfirst Performance. Here are links to several of them: Haunted Trails of Waverly Hills: https://runsignup.com/.../Lou.../HauntedTrailsofWaverlyHills Hillbilly Half:https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=106401 Otter Creek Trail:https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=106459 Louisville Lovin the Hills:https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=96414

From marathon to Ultra: Conner Parsons is our guest this week and we got into the transition from road to trail/ultra running, as well as his big performance at Leadville 100, going sub 24 for his first 100 miler. Though he is humble about his road performances, Conner excelled on the road, running a sub 2:40:00 marathon at Chicago. Since then he has captured an overall win at Land Between the Lakes for the 50 miler, placed second at Mohican 50, and 2nd at Lake Martin 50.

On today's episode of The Ultra Running Experience, I had the honor of interviewing the great Jonathan Castrejon, an elite mountain athlete from Utah. In his most recent race, Jonathan placed 2nd @crazymountainultra which boasts 23,000 ft of vert gain for the 100 mile distance. The course is special in that it travels through multiple cattle ranches, is ran by a cattle rancher, and goes through the indigenous lands of the Apsaalooke.Although he came in second, Jonathan accomplished what he set out to do, which was to break the previous course record. Through this podcast you get to see a lot of the philosophies and ideas that Jonathan has in regards to Ultra running, which makes it a great listen. Jonathan dives into how Ultra running is not what his identity is tied up in but how it is a tool to better his overall self. I really enjoyed this conversation and hope that yall will too.

Running 100 miles is no small feat, yet today we dive into James Solomon's story and how he is currently attempting the Midwest Super Slam, which is 5 100 mile races within 5 months. In addition to James, we were able to have on his wife, Morgan, who gave additional perspective and spoke of her own journey within the sport.