The Running Mullet Episode 182: Hill Yeah

This week on The Running Mullet, we’re talking with Lauren Kosek, an up and coming runner near and dear to the show. Lauren’s High School States progression tells quite a story: 2023: 40th2024: 6th2025: 3rd2026: 1st This year, Lauren capped her high school cross country career with a PIAA Class 2A state title, running 17:49 and finishing 35 seconds ahead of the field. That’s quite a lot in four years. But there’s more to Lauren than a string of finishes. She started running when she was six, and she genuinely loves this sport. She’s always been driven, but she’s also the runner who wants to bring other people along with her and seeks to inspire. She believes in fueling properly, loving your body, and finding joy out there to share with others. We hear that matters to her just as much as the results. And, yes, this one is a little different for Eric. This week, our host gets to talk with and about his daughter. We’ll get into the running, the years of work, the love of the sport, and what it means to see that journey come together when you put in the work. Monday, November 9th at 7:30 PM ET. The Running Mullet.

This week on The Running Mullet, we’re getting out of Pennsylvania and talking about three 100-milers outside of our usual stomping grounds. Hare Mountain 100. No Business 100. Rim to River 100. We’re heading to the Ozarks in Arkansas, the backcountry of Tennessee and Kentucky, and the New River Gorge in West Virginia. Three very different places, three tough courses, and a lot of ground to cover. We spend plenty of time talking about Pennsylvania trails, but there’s good running happening beyond our borders - and good runners we know who are getting it done this weekend on these start lines. We’ll dig into what makes these races stand out, what runners are up against, and what makes each one worth putting on your race list for 2027. There’s more to ultrarunning than the trails in your own backyard - let’s get into it! Monday, November 2nd at 7:30 PM ET.

This week on The Running Mullet, we’re looking back at Wicked Windstone. We talked about this one earlier in the year when it was still a new race on the calendar. Now the inaugural event is in the books, with runners taking on everything from the 5K to the 100-miler. The course had a little bit of everything: wooded trails, farmland, creekside running, and a climb called The Wall. And with a 3.1-mile loop, there was plenty of opportunity to get familiar with the place. We’re talking about how the first Wicked Windstone went down, what it brings to the Pennsylvania trail scene, and whether this new race has the makings of a regular stop on the calendar. 7:30pm, Monday, October 19th. Wicked Windstone has had its first go. Let’s get into it.

This week on The Running Mullet, we’re recapping Oil Creek and Green Monster. Oil Creek brought another year of rocks, climbs, and long miles through the trails around Titusville. The 100-miler covers more than 100 miles and nearly 18,000 feet of climbing, with the old oil derricks lit up, making for a pretty memorable sight during the overnight hours. We’ll get into how this year’s race played out and what makes Oil Creek such a staple of Pennsylvania trail running. Then there’s Green Monster, north of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, bringing steep climbs, technical descents, stream crossings, and plenty of reasons to question whether you even like trail running. With 15K, 25K, and 50K options, this one has become a fall fixture for Pennsylvania trail runners. We’ve got results to talk about, stories to unpack, and probably a few opinions about what makes a good race — because this is The Running Mullet, and we’re never short on those. Monday at 7:30 PM ET.

This week on The Running Mullet, we’re talking Black Forest and the Red Barn Challenge. We dug into Black Forest last week, so we’ll dig a little more into Red Barn — a relatively young race that has built a following since its first running in 2020. Red Barn is a 6-, 12-, or 24-hour challenge on a one-mile loop at Marzella Farm in Lykens, with about 70 feet of elevation per lap and a mix of grass, mulch, and stone around ponds, fields, and tree lines. Then we’ll circle back to Black Forest, talk highlights from this weekend, and get into the runners and stories coming out of both. Monday at 7:30 PM ET.

This week on The Running Mullet, we’ve got Ben Mazur joining us. Ben has been around Pennsylvania trail running for a long time — runner, race director, trail nerd, blogger, and apparently someone who thinks normal race ideas are a little too easy. We’re talking Black Forest, one of Pennsylvania’s grittiest 100Ks. Ben is part of the team behind the race, which means he knows a thing or two about midnight starts, 100K of rocks and climbing, no pacers, no crews, and enough darkness to really question your decision-making. And then there’s The VOID. This brand-new 160-mile race from the depths of Ben’s brain (supported by the Eastern States Trail-Endurance Alliance) takes place entirely inside the abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike Sideling Hill Tunnel. Runners will face sixty-three out-and-backs, forty-eight hours, no scenery, no distractions. Just a headlamp, and approximately 160 miles to think about what went wrong. So obviously, we have questions. We’ll talk race directing, Pennsylvania trail running, Black Forest, The VOID, and Ben’s new Rocksylvania Dispatch blog, where he’s digging into Pennsylvania trail history, race stories, and all the weird little details that make this stuff interesting. Basically, we gave Ben a microphone and a whole bunch of things to talk about. Monday night. September 28th. 7:30 ET. Come hang out. It’ll probably be less dark than The VOID.

This week on The Running Mullet, we're talking about two very different ways to spend your weekend: Wild Goose Trail Festival and Boulder Beast. Wild Goose had a pretty good weekend right up until Sunday brought the rain. The wet conditions made things a little more interesting for the runners out there, both those finishing big mileage and those starting the Sunday shorter distances. Wild Goose has been around for years, and Sassquad has turned it into a full-on choose-your-own-adventure, with distances from the 10K and half marathon all the way up through the 50K, 50-mile, 100K, 100-mile and 36-hour races. A lot of what makes the event what it is comes back to race director Kim Levinsky, who has built Wild Goose into much more than just another ultra. Then there's Boulder Beast. Roughly 25 miles. Around 6,000 feet of climbing. Rocks. Boulder fields. Steep climbs. More rocks. A pretty serious day out on the trail. So we're recapping both races this week — the rain at Wild Goose, the challenge of Boulder Beast, the people who raced them, and whatever else happened out there this weekend. Monday at 7:30 PM ET. Come hang out. The Running Mullet.

This week on The Running Mullet, we’re talking hills. Up. Down. Poles. No poles. Fast. Slow. Hard. Easy. Do you power hike everything that points uphill, or refuse to admit you’re hiking? Do poles actually help, or are you just carrying extra stuff up the mountain? What about bombing the downhills like you have nothing to lose? We’ll talk hill workouts, climbing, descending, technique, pacing, and all the little arguments runners have with themselves when the trail points straight up. Because hills are part of the deal. Might as well have an opinion about them. Join us to complain about them Monday, September 7th at 7:30pm EST or wherever you get your podcasts later on.

There’s a big difference between running a smooth, rolling trail and spending six hours picking your way over rocks and roots. If you try to run both courses the same way, you’re probably going to have a bad time. That’s what we’re getting into on The Running Mullet this week: different types of race courses and how you actually deal with them. The RunPA Trail Jamboree this past weekend is a perfect example. There’s a little bit of everything out there — singletrack, doubletrack, rocks, roots, grass, dirt roads, stone roads — all packed into a 3.4-ish mile loop. So, you have to constantly adjust how you’re running. When do you push? When do you hike? How much energy do you spend on a climb? How aggressive should you be on a technical downhill? What do you do when the course is basically just one long stretch of something you’re not particularly good at? We’ll talk about all of that, plus the difference between running courses that feel easy for you and courses that make you question why you thought signing up was a good idea in the first place. Of course, Eric and Grayce will also spend time discussing which course types they think they’re really good at versus the ones that expose their complete lack of good decision-making. Knowing how to run is one thing. Knowing how to run the course you’re actually on is a whole different skill. Catch this week on The Running Mullet, Monday, 7:30pm or wherever you get your podcasts afterward.

Running is supposed to be cheap, right? All you need is a pair of shoes and you’re good to go. Then somehow you end up with three pairs of shoes for different terrains, a Garmin watch, six kinds of socks, a hydration vest, poles, a headlamp, enough nutrition to survive a week in the woods, and a closet full of race shirts. Suddenly, you’ve spent enough money to outfit a small REI. This week on The Running Mullet, we’re talking about running on a budget: how to spend less, what’s actually worth buying, where you can save some money, and where it’s probably worth spending a little more. Because running can be a pretty cheap sport. You just have to figure out what you actually need versus what the running industry, “influencers,” and that guy you ran 27 miles with at that last race, have convinced you that you need. Yes, technically, all you need is a pair of shoes. We’ll get into the rest.