Running with Problems

2025 Year End Recap

• Mildly Athletic Couple

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Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at podcast@runningwithproblems.run.

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.

SPEAKER_01:

Hello and welcome to Running with Problems. My name is John Eisen.

SPEAKER_02:

And I'm Miranda Williamson.

SPEAKER_01:

Running with Problems is a podcast about runners, their lives, and the problems they inevitably face. Today on the podcast, we have our 2025 recap. It's gonna be epic. But before we get to that, Miranda, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_02:

I'm doing well. We are in San Diego, rainy San Diego right now.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, beautiful.

SPEAKER_02:

We are recording from Rainy San Diego.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, we've been in California for a little bit now. It's been raining for most of the time.

SPEAKER_02:

And we've been doing a lot of road running.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, we have.

SPEAKER_02:

How has that been going for you?

SPEAKER_01:

It's been fun. I don't know. Uh I have I have new shoes or new ish shoes, and they make road running fun. How about you?

SPEAKER_02:

Oi. I've been uh tested. I've been tested with all this road running. I'm like, why are we running so fast right now?

SPEAKER_00:

Can we just slow down and smell the roses?

SPEAKER_02:

But I've been enjoying seeing all my friends and doing things and runs that I used to do.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's like a step back in time.

SPEAKER_02:

But we have a trail run planned tomorrow to kick off the new year.

SPEAKER_01:

Should be fun.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, should be fun.

SPEAKER_01:

I want to say before we get to the episode, congratulations to everyone who got into uh any of the lotteries, the hard rock or the uh Western States or the Bear or any of the other the Leadville lottery will results will come out soon. High Lonesome draw is in a week or so. So just congratulations to everyone. But we had a few past uh interviews, past uh, I guess we'll call them running with problems alumni that uh got into some races. Westplate was drawn in western states, but he will not be running because he organizes the Copper Kings 100 on the same day. Uh, our good friend Anastasia Rullick, who's the partner of Aaron Logier, who has been on the podcast twice. Uh she got in on one ticket right after they got married. So congratulations to Anastasia and of course Aaron. Mark Marzin, uh, my coach, who just nabbed his second sub-16 100 miler of the year down at Desert Solstice. Uh he got into both Western States and Hard Rock, so he's gonna go do the double. So we're real excited for him.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, who else? Bunch of people got into Western States. John Kelly got into Western States, so good for him. Um, my friend Andrea Kay got into hard rock after uh, or she's like cl high up on the wait list. So hopefully she'll get in. Our friend Nate, um, Ryan Smith, who's never been on the podcast, but his wife uh Silke has been on the podcast. So congratulations Ryan for getting into hard rock. And of course, Mark and Courtney DeWalter.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

You know, all the people.

SPEAKER_02:

All the people. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh, how was your lottery luck?

SPEAKER_02:

I didn't get in any of them.

SPEAKER_01:

Me neither.

SPEAKER_02:

Ugh. That's okay.

SPEAKER_01:

That's okay. There's other things out there.

SPEAKER_02:

There's other things out there.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I guess without further ado, we should probably get into this episode.

SPEAKER_02:

Because it's just us.

SPEAKER_01:

It's just us. We're talking about 2025 and a little bit of 2026. Hope you all enjoy.

SPEAKER_02:

Have a good time listening. Hi, John.

SPEAKER_01:

Hey, what's up, girl?

SPEAKER_02:

So this is our 2025 recap episode.

SPEAKER_01:

It's been a year.

SPEAKER_02:

It's been a whole year. Another year of running, podding, working, accomplishments, meeting goals.

SPEAKER_01:

It's been a big year.

SPEAKER_02:

It's been a big year, and we're gonna recap how this year's gone.

SPEAKER_01:

Excellent. This is what our second full year with the podcast.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh in March or April, we'll hit three years.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

So almost three years with the podcast.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. And last year we started this cool tradition of doing a recap episode, and we have that same framework of questions that we're going to go through to recap.

SPEAKER_01:

So let's dive in.

SPEAKER_02:

So I um had um a leadership class I'd been taking this last year. Yeah. And in one of my leadership classes, it we talked about like how important it is to fully recap your year before you start setting your sights to the next year and the next year's goals. So this episode is more recap than looking ahead, but we'll do a little bit of looking ahead.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, there'll be some 2026 talk at the end. Yeah, some teasers. Some teasers. Well, can't wait to get started.

SPEAKER_02:

Let's get into it. Um, John, what how would you explain your year in one sentence?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, geez. Um okay. No training, all racing.

SPEAKER_02:

Explain more. No training, all racing.

SPEAKER_01:

That doesn't really follow the traditional sentence structure, subject, right verb, object. But I think of that that's implied. So I'm I'm I'm okay with it, despite my 10th grade English teacher probably not being so okay with that being a sentence.

SPEAKER_02:

So I understand what you mean because in 2014 I made this goal to do 14 races of I think my shortest one was uh 15k, but they were mostly half marathons and above. And you were and in that year I was constantly racing, recovering, racing, recovering, tapering, racing, tapering. That was that was it.

SPEAKER_01:

That's all my year was.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

It I had the four events, which we'll get into goals and such, but I had the four events that spanned the entire season. I came into the season limping in from injury and sickness, so I got no like good training block before our first race. And then throughout the year, I was trying to do this calendar year grid of the skyline, and that also felt like in another event that I had to do every month. The date was more flexible, but at the end of the day, I just had to pick a Saturday. So I really didn't have that many choices in some of these months. And so it felt like I was always putting in the work to go up for a race or down from a race, never, never that consistent training. I think if you look back at my year, that's that's the best way to explain it. That's my year in one sentence. How about yours?

SPEAKER_02:

Um, 2025 was an absolutely epic year of accomplishments beyond my wild wildest dreams and adventures abound. Does that work?

SPEAKER_01:

That's great. I mean, abound. That's an excellent verb choice. My 10th grade English teacher would be very happy with your sentence.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I think um some of my major accomplishments, of course, were um I did two 50 milers in a year. That's something I've never done before. And I ran High Lonesome 100 and did amazing beyond my wildest dreams. And then I turned around and went and did a victory lap around Mont Blanc.

SPEAKER_01:

You ran in Europe twice this year.

SPEAKER_02:

I did. Yes. Adventures abound.

SPEAKER_01:

Adventures abound. Pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01:

You happy with the year?

SPEAKER_02:

So happy. I couldn't be happier.

SPEAKER_01:

That's great.

SPEAKER_02:

And what about you? Are you happy with your accomplishments despite the the coming into it with an injury?

SPEAKER_01:

Huh. I mean, I'm happy. Like I'm happy I got it done. And this kind of bleeds into like goals and results, but it felt like I was it felt like a lot of work. Like it felt like work to do those goals. I would say I had less fun this year than some years.

SPEAKER_02:

As opposed to the previous year where you had San Diego 100 and High Lonesome 100, which were um really fun events for you.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I mean, I High Lonesome was the most fun I've ever had racing the second time I ran it last year. Uh in comparison, I suffered so much more this year, probably because I had no training under my belt and was always having to work to get my events done. Nothing felt easy this year. So yeah, I'm happy I got it done. I'm proud of myself, but maybe I'm searching for a little bit more happiness in my running.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, I like that.

SPEAKER_01:

As we as we move forward, I like that. More enjoyment. Yeah. I mean, these things come and go. You plan a big year thinking it'll all be fun, and then you experience it and you're like, ah, maybe that didn't meet my expectations. So the best way to But I mean, at the end of the day, I was also s doing that much to prepare myself for a goal that I have later in my life when I get into Western States, I'd like to be able to run the Grand Slam. So maybe it all will propel me to have more enjoyment there in the future. But I don't know.

SPEAKER_02:

All right. It's time to reflect.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Well, do we wanna what's uh what was your total mileage?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, yeah, that's what I was gonna get at. What was my total mileage?

SPEAKER_01:

Are you looking it up?

SPEAKER_02:

I am looking it up right now. So my total distance is 2,172 miles.

SPEAKER_01:

2172?

SPEAKER_02:

2172 in miles.

SPEAKER_01:

Let me give my updated distance after this morning.

SPEAKER_02:

I know I had to get mine too. I had to make sure my run.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm at 2116.

SPEAKER_02:

Ooh, I just squeaked in the a little bit more than you.

SPEAKER_01:

That's like 56 miles more. It's not much over a year.

SPEAKER_02:

Not much.

SPEAKER_01:

That's like the length of Transgrand Canaria Advanced.

SPEAKER_02:

That when you put it that way, it sounds like a lot.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh, I had 371,000 feet of vert.

SPEAKER_02:

You got me beat. Uh 348,608.

SPEAKER_01:

That's pretty respectable.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

You you if you ever wanted to set a goal, one of my goals that I had a few years back, or maybe it was more than a few years back, was to get uh 365,000 feet of vert. So it was like averages out to 1,000 a day. But uh I haven't see I haven't hit 400,000 in a couple years, so uh it's been more balanced for me, more more running, running, more flatter running. I think that's made me healthier and happier. Uh, I used to really focus on the vert. I got over 500k one year. Or we have a guest coming up on the pod in a few weeks' release who does over 1.5 million feet of vert, which is absolutely insane.

SPEAKER_00:

So yeah, I mean, you gotta run what's around you.

SPEAKER_01:

If you lived in a flatter place, you'd get far less vert.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh-huh. Yes, and I'd get far more miles like. But um, I'm okay with honestly not having those goals. If that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01:

Like Did you have a mileage goal?

SPEAKER_02:

No, gosh, no.

SPEAKER_01:

You just lucked into 2172?

SPEAKER_02:

They just I did all the fun things and all the training.

SPEAKER_01:

And just said yes.

SPEAKER_02:

I just said yes to all the fun things and all the training. Because life is only available in the present moment. That's a tick not han quote. And I was ready to do all the fun things this year. And so that's what I ended up with. Without even trying.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I certainly tried. And I don't know. Hitting 2000 is always a nice little bonus. But I didn't hit it until like just a couple weeks ago.

SPEAKER_02:

So you did.

SPEAKER_01:

Right, squeaking in the last moment.

SPEAKER_02:

Squeaking in. Well, do we want to talk gear talk?

SPEAKER_01:

No, let's start with. I think we should go to goals.

SPEAKER_02:

Ooh.

SPEAKER_01:

What goals did you have for this year? And how did you how did those goals go? So you you go first.

SPEAKER_02:

I really only had one goal, and that was to get across the finish line of High Lonesome 100. That goal came into my life early. I knew it was going to be a goal. It came into my life uh towards the end of 2024. Um, because I got into that lottery. And then I got my qualifying races done at the end of September.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, that you were notified of the lottery early August last year. True. So quite so you had a almost a full year to prepare yourself. It's such a cool experience. I I don't know if you feel this way about that experience, but when I experienced a similar thing with Barclay, where I knew I was running this race in roughly 12 months out. Right. Like I was high on that wait list, and I had a good suspicion I would get into the next year. I had this full year where like I knew that was the one focus, the one goal of my entire existence, to get ready for that moment. And I felt like that experience in my life is very unique, and I'm not gonna have that very often. And so you got to have that because you, unlike most people who were about to go through the high lonesome lottery and people will know roughly seven months in advance, you got to know 11 or 12 months in advance. And I feel like that's a critical difference. They talk about it with Western states when people get top 10 at Western states, you're invited back next year. So you have a full year to know that you're in Western states, you don't have to get a golden ticket, you don't have to apply to the lottery. And that's really helpful for those people. How do you feel about your 12-month lead up to Hilo and whether that, now that you've had so much time to reflect, whether that is a, I don't know, a good experience in your life, sort of a unique moment in time.

SPEAKER_02:

It was very helpful for me to have that lead time to prepare my body and to prepare my mind and to wrap my head around what I was about to do. And quite honestly, I'm still wrapping my head around my shift in identity as a runner. Uh I used to always speak of myself as a baby ultra runner. I just like the shorter distances. I'm a kind of like a baby ultra runner. I like the 50Ks, and that is like no longer accurate. I've I've got quite a few 50 milers under my belt and a hundred miler. I don't think I could say that anymore.

SPEAKER_01:

So multiple multi-day hundred milers.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes. So I think it's not true anymore. And so, like I've had at least a year to digest that that's going to be something that changes about the way I'm perceived in the ultrarunning community.

SPEAKER_01:

So you accomplished your goal? I did. You feel good about that?

SPEAKER_02:

I feel great. And then my next goal was to not be injured for TMB and to be able to run with my girlfriends around Mont Blanc.

SPEAKER_01:

It was kind of like a bonus goal.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, yeah. That was victory lap is what I considered that.

SPEAKER_01:

And that went amazing.

SPEAKER_02:

Phenomenal.

SPEAKER_01:

So you've just been riding a high for the last few months.

SPEAKER_02:

Really have.

SPEAKER_01:

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_02:

What about you? How were your goals? What were your goals and did you accomplish them?

SPEAKER_01:

My goals were to run the quote random slam, this idea of four hard races in four different locations that came together as Transgrandaria, UT Utah 115, uh what is the third one? Never Summer 100K.

SPEAKER_02:

That's right.

SPEAKER_01:

And Dark Divide 100. It's really says something when Neversummer, which is a very difficult race on its own merit, is like the one I forget in that list. Because it is close to home. But I mean, it's such a wonderful event, and I don't want to downplay its uh tenacity or difficulty or uh the incredible um efforts that people put out there. But like my year was pretty stacked. Pretty packed. And I am feeling extra effects from that. I think that I I am feeling extra fatigue and anxiety as a result of such a big year. And yeah, we're I gotta figure out how to handle that and maybe be a little bit more balanced in the future. Maybe I can't do such a big year or such a long year.

SPEAKER_00:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

One of the, you know, obviously having many events is difficult, but having many events that are spread out for uh for nine months or seven months, that's a long time, especially through the winter. So that can really add to fatigue.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, that those winter months can really wear when you need to train through them.

SPEAKER_01:

So I'm amazed at my body's ability to go through and persevere and still come out the other side really well put together, but I am feeling like negative effects from doing that, from pushing through so much.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

My other goal was the calendar year skyline grid. Yes, which um which I accomplished, and that was really, really fun. I'm like, I'm so glad I got that done. I've had two previous years with 11 Skylines, so getting a 12 and doing it in one and every month was awesome, awesome. So really happy at that about that, getting that done. I think people know I love the skyline. So it was a little important to me to I don't know, value signal that, like, yes, I really like the skyline.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm going to finish this.

SPEAKER_01:

It's my it's legitimately my favorite set of trails connected together in the world. I just maybe it's because I love Boulder so much, but it I don't know. I I love how you you travel through so many different biomes. Well, depending on the time of year, and you see everything Boulder has to offer. You get incredible good downhill vert and uphill and uh see the city. It's real cool.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

A goal I forgot to mention that was very important to me as well was to be able to be there for my friends.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, yeah, yeah. To crew.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes. A lot of my friends were doing incredible things, their first efforts. We had Corianne running her first 50 miler at San Juan Solstas.

SPEAKER_01:

You guys ran nearly step for step.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, we ran the whole thing together. And so that was really incredible. And then we had McKinsey Schumer, who's been on the pod. She was running Never Summer. And while I was there crewing her, I got to also crew you and help get her across the finish line. And then Hannah also been on the pod. Um, she was running her first hundred miler at Run Rabbit run. And I got to help her across the finish line as well. So those were big side goals.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, congratulations to the girls. It's really cool to watch your group step into the long-distance ultra running.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, we're rising together and pulling each other up.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I mean, it I'm like very adjacent to it. I'm not in that mix, but seeing it happen is very cool to watch y'all discover the different ways that it affects you and you know what it takes to get across that finish line. It's a very personal journey. But doing it together, having the camaraderie that y'all have is pretty cool. I wish everyone could have that.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, and we had I had two other girls at High Lonesome with me.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

I can't forget to mention uh Camille's first hundred at High Lome. Camille, also friend of the pod, and Steph.

SPEAKER_01:

Was that Steph's first? Or was she? That was her first hundred as well. Wow.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01:

She crushed.

SPEAKER_02:

Crushed. He's growing.

SPEAKER_01:

Congratulations, Steph and Camille, Hannah, Mac, and Corey.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I didn't forget it. It came. Corey's gonna be so upset with me. Sorry, Corey. What's next? Uh gear.

SPEAKER_02:

Gear.

SPEAKER_01:

Best new gear. If you really need to, you can do best old gear, but something you discovered this year that helped your running the most.

SPEAKER_02:

Pod friends, I am embarrassed by this answer. Um, because it's not a new piece of gear that's gonna change anyone's life, but I had a lot of shoe discovery as I upped my distances. And I had this like training run that I did in um Buena Vista. Buena Vista, um, BB, we'll just say that. I'm embarrassed to say it. Um, and my feet felt like they had stress fractures on a 30-mile run. And so I really was struggling with the shoe situation as I began to like log these bigger miles. And I discovered the La Sportiva Akasha's as the best shoe that's ever been made.

SPEAKER_01:

It is a great shoe. It's very popular the year I ran Barclay. A lot of people were running Barclay and Akasha's.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

It's just it really handles the distance.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's comfy for a long time. It's got excellent grip.

SPEAKER_02:

But it doesn't feel like you're wearing a huge shoe like a hoka.

SPEAKER_01:

No. No, it's a little slightly smaller of a stack height than a hoka or uh or a large stack height shoe.

SPEAKER_02:

And I struggle with the um not being able to feel and experience the earth beneath me. And I felt like the akasha was that perfect balance. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's why a lot of people like it for bushwhacking. It's because it gives you that balance of being able to feel the ground underneath you. Propriocept. Is that a verb? Pretty sure it's a verb. To propriocept to feel the ground so that you can adjust your feet accordingly. Another a previous popular shoe for that was like the Lasportiva mutants, but those have a little bit of a harder carbon plate on the bottom. So there's a little bit less ground feel.

SPEAKER_02:

I feel that. What about you? What is your favorite enough about that?

SPEAKER_01:

My I really did not change a lot about my gear setup this year. Almost everything has stayed over from the past years, but I did make a couple tweaks. I was I was on a cert shorts journey. Uh, I've been wearing Path Project shorts for many, many years. But I wanted to take a look at what's out there. I haven't bought shorts in like five or six years, so it was uh it was fun to buy some shorts. I got a Nike pair, they're okay. They write up a bit for my big thighs. And I have a I got a pair of uh jongies, those were pretty good. Um, but I really enjoyed the Rourke uh shorts that I got. Very lightweight, fit great, uh durable, good zippers. Um, I also tried rabbit shorts as well. So I went and tried a bunch of shorts, and my favorites are the Rorks. The other piece of gear is I got a road shoe. A road running shoe, which I have not owned a roadrunning shoe in like five years, guys. It's been a while. But I got one of these fancy super shoes, right? With the super critical foam. I got the well, I've been wearing Speedland for a long time. They came out with a super shoe. So it's called the RX series in the Speedlands, and it has made roadrunning so fun because you just you're just bouncing. You're like Bugs Bunny out there. It feels great. And I know I'm like the last of the party here, but discovering roadrunning can be fun again because of super critical foam is absolutely incredible. So uh yeah, I that's been really fun. So that's probably my biggest gear, best gear finds this year.

SPEAKER_02:

What about your worst?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, let's do worst gear. Worst gear. What did I write down?

SPEAKER_02:

I had to look too at what I wrote down because uh I didn't have a lot of worst gear. I've like, I feel like I've done a lot of my experimenting.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, like you came in and nothing was broken, so you don't fix it, right? Um I'd say my worst gear this year was the Mount Coast T1, which is a shoe I tried. I was real excited about this shoe. It has a dual lacing system similar to the Speedlands, but a little a little cheaper on the uh price point. Um, it looks pretty good. It's white, it's slim. It took me a little to get used to it, but you know, for a brand that claims ultra-long distances, like they're they're advertising to Ultra Runners, and a lot of people were talking about this shoe on the socials, telling me how great it was. Now they got their big break kind of with their with their road shoes. And um, I know a few people who who run in their road shoes and they say they're amazing. Their new H1 is out, which is like a hybrid shoe, and that's the shoe that Jameel Curry ran like how many miles he ran in January last year with for the burrito challenge. He ran almost all those in that in a prototype H1, which is great. But their trail shoe, this T1, I wasn't in love with it. I but I tried it and I tried it, I tried it. I was like, I'm gonna figure out how to use this shoe. Um, I found the lacing system that works better for me. I was able to put miles and miles on it, and I was enjoying it. But I ran um Never Summer on this shoe and the the um heel area, you know, where your Achilles rubs on the back, the heel cuff or whatever collar, the heel collar. The heel collar tore apart and gave me a ton of blisters during the race. And I was looking at some photos that they posted of like other people's shoes that have been used for a very long time. I mean, these were only maybe 250, 300 miles, uh, and just to tear apart during an ultra like that, I just I was pretty disappointed. And it gave me a ton of blisters on my Achilles, wasn't happy about that at the end of that race. Ouch. But I, you know, I saw pictures of other people's T1s and they do tear apart right there at the heel collar. Now, you know, it's probably nitpicking. So uh, you know, I'm sure they'll do better on the next uh iteration of the shoe, but yeah, disappointed. Worse gear. I I mean, how much can I say worse gear when it's a shoe that I put over 200 miles on? I mean, yeah, this is like saying uh I come here every week one star, you know, when you have a review, right? Like ah, you know, uh six and one half dozen the other, you know?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. And I feel like mine is also nitpicking as well. Worse gear, which it's um when Hannah was running Run Rabbit Run, she got me this little like gift, like a crew gift, and they were darn tough socks, and they were really cute because they had a rabbit and a turtle on them.

SPEAKER_01:

I think I saw those.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, they're so cute. Anyways, love the socks, but love them for lounging, not running.

SPEAKER_01:

And you know, the darn tough people are gonna come out. People who like darn tough socks love darn tough socks.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, they can have them. I wore them for uh 20-mile run pacing Hannah in the rain. So it was very wet, and those socks did not do well with the wetness of the earth. And I again, it's my fault. You don't go out and run a 20-mile run in a pair of socks that you've never tried before. It's not ideal. Um, so I am nitpicking as well. It's just they weren't good for that experience.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I'm sure these are both quality products when you use them appropriately. Yeah. But they just didn't fit with our running style.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I don't like my feet to hold moisture.

SPEAKER_01:

You do not.

SPEAKER_02:

I do not.

SPEAKER_01:

You wear waterproof socks at absurdly warm temperatures, like 30 degrees.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, if they're gonna be slushing around in slushy mud and snow, I'll be putting those socks on.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, what's next? What's the best place you ran?

SPEAKER_02:

Um, I mean Mont Blanc. I ran around Mont Blanc. Uh, one place when if I were gonna get Now, just shove it in my face. If we're gonna dial it in, um, I was really surprised about how cool it was to run through Switzerland.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah? Why Switzerland in particular?

SPEAKER_02:

Um, the architecture was vastly different than the architecture in France and Italy. It was new, it was really clean, cute, what you would like imagine in uh the sound of music on top of a hill. Um it was looked like it was out of a fairy tale, very whimsical. Everything was very whimsical running through the forest. There'd just be like little animals carved into the trees in the forest. Just at one point, we're running running through the forest, and there's this man that looks like Bob Marley picking raspberries in this raspberry patch. And we're in the forest. There's no one around, there's no one in front of us, no one behind us, and there's just this Rastafarian man picking raspberries. And I'm like, did I see that? Am I like seeing a vision? That's how like magical it was. Yeah, but he he did say hi to the girls behind me.

SPEAKER_01:

So you all co-hallucinated.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, he did exist, but it was just such a magical place where you would you could believe that there would be a ghost in the forest picking raspberries.

SPEAKER_01:

Sounds idyllic.

SPEAKER_02:

It was very idyllic. What about you? What was the best place you ran?

SPEAKER_01:

I would say Gran Canaria. Running on the island of uh Gran Canaria in the Canaries. That was so cool to run from beach to beach, but go over these huge mountains in the middle. It was epic, and just a totally unique experience somewhere I've never run before. Everywhere else I ran this year, the Canab Desert in Utah, or the the forest in uh Washington, or the mountains of Colorado. Wonderful places to run, but uh places I have run before. And to be on this volcanic desert island running above these cute towns, you know, thousands of feet above these cute towns, and seeing them from the mountaintops, and it was cool. It was it was so cool to be out there. I mean, yeah, it was as much as you are traumatized by that downhill.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh my god, that downhill.

SPEAKER_01:

What about the worst place you ran? I've got my answer. Sand in Utah. Just cannot, cannot. And this isn't to say it's not awesome. I mean, it's an amazing place. Highly recommend visiting, but whoo for running. That sand in the southern Utah Desert is no joke.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh, I'm gonna piggyback off of that. The worst place I ran was pacing you for those 25 miles in Utah. My goodness, that was awful. Oh, that was I mean, the dumping of the sand out of the shoes, and pretty soon you just are like, ugh, I think I'll just leave the sand in there.

SPEAKER_01:

But you can't. It doesn't, it doesn't work. All of a sudden your shoe is filled with sand, and then you're like getting you're like blistering and you're stepping weird, and all these different muscles in your foot now start hurting because you're walking on like compacted sand that feels like it's piercing you from below.

SPEAKER_02:

Um it was getting under like the the insole and creating like little pockets that felt like little like bumps that you're constantly like walking on. It ruined a pair of my shoes. I uh ruined because it seeped into like all the seams and just created those bub sand bubbles forever.

SPEAKER_01:

The boa dials on the shoes I wore, I wore new shoes for that uh run. And and speed land, you know, usually those shoes last for 500 miles. That shoe was 115 and done because the boa dials failed because of all the sand in them. I tried to clean them a ton, but just never was able to get them back into fully working. And every time I wore them after that, I would just I take my shoe foot out and be like, oh, there's more sand on my foot. Despite cleaning it, washing it over and over and over again. You just can't get the sand out of it. That shoe is ruined. I mean, not ruined, but like, you know, it's not as comfortable to wear because of all the sand and the boba dials being sticky.

SPEAKER_02:

The second worst place I ran um was that river bed at the end of Transgrand Canaria.

SPEAKER_01:

That was a that river, that riverbed was oh, that was rough. But I loved it. It was the perfect terrain for me to catch you on.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes. Which I think that'll get to our uh next question, which was was what was your best moments of 2025? Best running moments of 2025.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, best moments. I have one. Uh maybe I'll think of one while you answer, but of like a second. But my top moment this year was catching you on Transgrand Canaria. Like, I mean, I came into that race really like really low training. I knew I was not really ready for a 77-mile crossing of this giant island. And then I we ran together. I met you. It was so cool. But then I was dying from the heat. I thought I was gonna have to quit. And you left me, and I was like, oh, that's the last I'll see of you. And I just I just found the desire to continue. It was the closest I came to quitting all year and all these crazy things. I found the desire to continue. I pushed through the heat, I got up there, and then I just chased you for hour after hour after hour. It probably took me close to 10 hours from when I left that aid station and decided I was gonna catch you until I caught you.

SPEAKER_02:

Right, two miles to the finish.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, to run that far with that focus and then actually accomplish that right when I had just given up. I was like, oh, I'm never gonna catch her. And then you were just around the next corner. It was amazing.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, because those rocks got the best of me.

SPEAKER_01:

It was so I was so happy. Yeah, that I should be clear. That creek bed is awful. All these babyhead rocks, you're falling over everywhere. It you know, you just I just had to jump from giant rock to giant rock like a frog. That was like the best way to travel on this.

SPEAKER_02:

He was moving.

SPEAKER_01:

It's crazy.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, it's amazing.

SPEAKER_01:

What about you with your best moment?

SPEAKER_02:

Um, best moment was definitely uh the night section of High Lonesome. Um, and I remember the whole night section was incredible, but I remember one moment in particular that sticks out in my mind as a highlight. I was deep in in the 60s at this point, 60 miles-ish. And it was there's a big climb, doing a big climb. And I'm just passing people, passing people, passing people. And Hannah looks at me and she says, You're incredible, Miranda. And it kind of sunk in in that moment. I was like, Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'm like, I'm doing great. I'm incredible. So that was a big high moment. Another one was uh San Juan Solstice running with Corey getting her her fit first 50 miler, and she was just she was doing great. She's got an ultra runner spirit, that girl.

SPEAKER_01:

What was that story about her asking if everything hurts?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, yeah. So this was the longest she's ever run. So we get into like the 30 plus miles, which is the longest she's ever run. And she's we're running a downhill, running it with intention. And she looks at me and says, Is everything supposed to hurt? And I I laughed and I was like, Yes, welcome to Ultra Running. And she's like, Okay. And just keeps going. We keep running. We never broke strides, slowed down, nothing. Um, but, anyways, when we shared a beer together at that final aid station, that was a real highlight.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah, that was fun. I was there. You were there. I had to get you all to leave.

SPEAKER_02:

You did. I was having such a good time. I could have stayed forever at that aid.

SPEAKER_01:

I was like, we gotta go, girls. We gotta go.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I'd say another amazing, cool moment this year was pacing you on your first hundred and seeing you finish. Uh, the combination of you coming through that night section so fast and having to rush up there, barely making it, getting everything ready, and then just being able to to chill with you. And we just chilled. I mean, yeah. Aside from your bathroom needs, which were numerous, the uh we had a great time, and I was just so proud of you. So proud. I knew all the work you put in, and you deserved that. Finish and it's great to see it happen.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you. It was great to do it. What else? Are we ready to move on to um highlights of the podcast?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I mean, this year, this will be our 27th episode that we released in 2025.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

The one we're recording right now. We have what? Two in the bank. So we're ready. We two.

SPEAKER_02:

I think we have three in the bank.

SPEAKER_01:

Maybe we have three in the bank.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, we have three in the bank.

SPEAKER_01:

That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02:

That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, we've just kept this going, been very consistent. For two years in a row, we've released biweekly.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

That's pretty crazy. I'm proud of our proud of what we've done, just consistently putting out content, interviewing incredible people. Who's your favorite interviews this year?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, this is really hard because I have a lot of favorites.

SPEAKER_01:

You just name one favorite, and then I'll name one and then we'll go.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay. Um, one of my favorites was Camille Heron. Um, I've gotten so much positive feedback from the run community about that episode and about how that really helped people understand Camille more and felt like she this was the most relatable um, they felt like interview she's ever had. And I just feel really proud of that conversation and really loved meeting her.

SPEAKER_01:

I felt the same way. You know, I've heard other interviews of her, and it sounded like I the like we wouldn't get along, or like the we wouldn't run for the same reasons or just didn't understand her very well, right? From previous interviews. And I, after speaking to her on our podcast doing that interview, I do feel like I understand her much better, and we would get along. So yeah, it it was really cool to be that voice. I think that's you know, one thing we've always tried with this podcast is to be a unique voice. There's so many voices that are very loud in the running space, in all spaces these days, but we didn't want to add to a chorus.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. We wanted to say things a little bit differently.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and and to be able to do that with somebody who is such a focal point of this uh industry, and that was really cool.

SPEAKER_02:

We're not always successful, but when we are, it's great. What about you? What's one of your favorites?

SPEAKER_01:

I'm gonna go with John Ray.

SPEAKER_02:

John Ray!

SPEAKER_01:

I really enjoyed getting to know John Ray. John Ray is an elite ultrarunner, lives in Boulder, and I had like seen him winning things and seen him around, but and we had a brief conversation in the sauna where we met. And it was just so cool when we got him in the studio. By studio we mean kitchen, and and we were able to just dive into how he decided to become a pro ultrarunner, what that entails for him, how much work he's put in, the emotion that comes with that, the emotional ups and downs. And I just I'm just a fan. I'm a fan of John Ray after speaking to him, and I I wasn't sure that would how that would be how the interview went, but I came out and I'm like, I am rooting for this guy. He works so hard to improve his position in a single race, year after year after year. Uh and I hope he can come back to Western States and do better. I believe is he got a fifth place finish two years ago. So that is speedy. He was six. I can't remember. Sorry, John. Uh uh, so that's amazing. And I just want to uh want to root for him in the future. I think that was uh that interview was pivotal in that.

SPEAKER_02:

Great. Another one of my favorites was uh the soft rock recap.

SPEAKER_01:

With Mac.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Why? This was like the second soft rock recap. What about the second one? Made it your one of your favorite interviews, other than it's with one of your favorite people.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, that's that makes it pretty um easy. What I really like about it is that um I've that episode and doing and accomplishing soft rock has inspired a lot of people in my community to run soft rock.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

And that's been uh really um rewarding to me to feel like, oh, I've inspired all these human beings around me to feel like they can do this. And that's what I think is so great about being a mid-packer and having a platform is that we can do these amazing things and inspire people to go and do them.

SPEAKER_01:

John Bray got ninth at Western State.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just to be correct. Okay. Yeah. So that was one of my top ones.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. I'm gonna go with Miranda Williamson. And she had two great interviews this year. Oh. But I really enjoyed the pre-High Lonesome one, the San Juan Solstice one.

SPEAKER_02:

That's on my list too. That's my next one as well. Really? Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

You can't pick yourself as the best interview.

SPEAKER_02:

I can't.

SPEAKER_01:

But I can.

SPEAKER_02:

Why was it your favorite, one of your favorites?

SPEAKER_01:

We talked a lot about intention setting. And I felt that that was such a good topic, so clearly discussed in that interview, that I just feel like it's one of those moments in the podcast that we've had all year that we clearly discussed a topic. We we pushed through it fully. We came out the other side with some understanding about intention setting. We I had a lot of conversations with people in our run community and people giving feedback to the podcast, but how much they enjoyed that episode about intention setting. And yeah, so that's why I think it's one of the best interviews that we've had all year is because uh we we talked so much about this topic really well.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely. I think it was a transformative conversation to begin my journey in setting my appropriate attention intentions and mindset for High Lonesome. And I also got a lot of people telling me they went back and re-listened to help them with their intention settings for their race. So I I love that. I also love that we had conversations with our community members before going into that podcast so that we um were able to pull their voices in as well. Uh Silk A Coster's one that comes to mind.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, love Silk.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh last but not least, I'd say my maybe my favorite interview all year, Chris McBride. Diary of a three-legged dog.

SPEAKER_02:

I have him as an honorable mention. He was pretty great.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh, Chris was amazing. I his story is incredible. His passion to heal himself was incredible. I think we had some really great interviews this year about injury and and recovery. And this was just an incredible story. I mean, he and he did end up publishing his book.

SPEAKER_02:

We have a copy.

SPEAKER_01:

And we have a copy. I haven't read it yet. Sorry, Chris. And I'm just so happy we got to tell that story. If you want to hear a harrowing story of injury and recovery, I think Chris's episode is an excellent case of that. And I was on the edge of my seat for most of that interview, just literally listening.

SPEAKER_02:

I'll give two other honorable mentions because I just love these interviews so much with Amelia Boone and Eric Kwallen. Both of those were great.

SPEAKER_01:

Amelia was really fun for me because we just vibed most of the time. That was pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02:

And she was in person, those are always a little more fun.

SPEAKER_01:

And Eric was really cool.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Um, as a reminder, Eric is a trans athlete that runs a lot of 200 milers. Whew, crushing.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So what were your three worst pod interviews?

SPEAKER_02:

With stop. None were the worst.

SPEAKER_01:

We love everyone.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, we love all of our guests. What was most surprising to you about this season?

SPEAKER_01:

I think it was the moment I realized that Utah 115 was actually going to be 100 miles of sand. I just didn't believe that it was possible. Like, I knew that there was gonna be sand. Like, don't get me wrong. There's I knew there was gonna be sand. I just didn't realize the entire course would be on sand. I didn't realize that. I genuinely some people knew.

SPEAKER_02:

Some people knew, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Andy Pearson had sand gators on.

SPEAKER_02:

Smart.

SPEAKER_01:

And to my knowledge, he's the only person who had fun. Anyway, enough about that. Uh yeah, that was that was very surprising uh to me this year. I guess an outside of our running, I was pr pretty into Killian's project, his states of elevation project.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, the dude came to the US and was like casually setting FKTs while biking between all these giant peaks.

SPEAKER_01:

Like it was absurd. He did Nolan's 14, stopped in the middle, biked to Aspen, did the Elks Traverse, biked back, and finished Nolan's 14 in less than the 60-hour time limit that the tr the old Nolan's 14 line had for the to get on the website, although they don't really enforce that anymore. Wow. Absurd things. Like it doesn't count in any record books, but like what he was doing day in and day out is incredible. I was I was following Edge of my seat the whole time. So biggest surprise or coolest moment outside of my running this year was following Killian. For sure. It was it was amazing. Um Yeah, talking about other moments that I do you have any uh good moments from not our running? Or well, I guess you we should finish biggest surprise.

SPEAKER_02:

Um I I was just really surprised at how well my body held up under the training load I demanded of it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

I was really surprised by it. I know I've talked about it, but I was so impressed with what I asked and demanded of my body, and then it just continued to keep going, injury free, through all of Hilo training, through Hilo, into TMB, all the way through that big adventure with really relatively unscathed, other than a few numbtoes.

SPEAKER_01:

You can deal with that.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. And out, anyways, outside of our adventures and achievements, I was really This is a surprise question, by the way.

SPEAKER_01:

We actually didn't write anything down for the We didn't write anything down.

SPEAKER_02:

And and for the listeners, I don't normally follow a lot of runners and running accomplishments of other runners.

SPEAKER_01:

But you must have something that you that caught your eye this year.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, my friends' accomplishments.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

I was watching them, and one big one was um Hannah running Run Rabbit. She was so impressive to me how much she suffered and really pushed through. Like she would, between aid stations, she would um talk about quitting. But every time we got to an aid station, she was just like, do did the things that needed to be done to get back out there and went. She just didn't let her mind fully do the job it wanted to do, which was quit. And it was to me really impressive.

SPEAKER_01:

Just roiling in that negative space, but just like never getting to the point where she's like, I don't want to keep going.

SPEAKER_02:

And I saw that in you at Utah 115 too. We've already talked about this, but it's worth mentioning again, where you this race was brutal. I just I was pacing him in. I'm almost done with my 25 mile section through the night. And I'm so happy to be no longer out there running. And John's like plodding along. He's I mean, he's moving strongly. And he looks at me and he goes, There's only 40 more miles left. I can do this for 40 more miles. And I was just like, Oh my God, that is some strength of will there. 40 more miles? To me, that seemed like a lot of miles to be doing that. But in his mind at that moment, he was like, All right, I got this. Just 40 more miles.

SPEAKER_01:

I think it was just after sunrise.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And I just I was like, well, those 40 miles are probably gonna take me 13 hours. 13 hours means I'm finishing today.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

That was helpful.

SPEAKER_02:

That is so impressive to me. And I'm just gonna say it, like, I I find like what Killian did untouchable in my mind, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, he's a completely unique athlete.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

That just put together one of the coolest lines I've ever seen.

SPEAKER_02:

But what you and Hannah did, I can touch that.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's closer.

SPEAKER_02:

It's closer.

SPEAKER_01:

You gotta you gotta be you gotta get a lot more traumatized in your brain if you really want to touch it.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, I'm really impressed by both of you all and your ability to suffer. It was really impressive to me.

SPEAKER_01:

I would like to another cool thing outside of our running that I enjoyed this year is that uh I still think Dylan Bowman and Corinne Malcolm are the best commentary team in Ultra Running. And it is a joy to watch 14 hours of Western states coverage and listen to them talk.

SPEAKER_02:

I hope they keep that going. Uh, it's really fun to have those watch parties at our house.

SPEAKER_01:

Do you have any uh running podcasts you enjoyed this year?

SPEAKER_02:

I listened to not ours. Exactly two running podcasts.

SPEAKER_01:

Exactly two.

SPEAKER_02:

And one of them you were on, and that was a goal of ours, if you all remember. Probably no one else remembers this but us. But in um last year's recap episode, we talked about wanting to be on other people's pods and as you would. We both were guests on the No Me OPP.

SPEAKER_01:

Sorry.

SPEAKER_02:

Um on the our friend. Yeah, Midpacker, Troy.

SPEAKER_01:

Troy's Troy Meadows. Yeah, that was really cool. I'm glad Troy got us in. We met Troy at Dark Divide. He's good people.

SPEAKER_02:

And I listened to uh two episodes of his podcast with you as a guest. Um, one is you interviewing Troy, the other with you as a guest talking about yourself.

SPEAKER_01:

So if you guys are interested in Miranda and I's background, we barely talk about that on this on this podcast, our podcast. But if you'd like some of our, I don't know, our deep histories, we go into quite a bit on the Mid-Packer podcast. I don't think they're released yet, but they should be coming out soon.

SPEAKER_02:

Um I'm told it is. Yeah. Someone a friend, a friend of ours, um, a new listener to the pod, listened to my episode and said that I was a delight.

SPEAKER_01:

Great. They're out. Uh have fun.

SPEAKER_02:

Um and uh what other pod? Oh, Rachel Intrickant's interview on um the Yellow Runners podcast.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yeah. Live Strong. What's her name?

SPEAKER_02:

Sally McRae.

SPEAKER_01:

Sally McRay's podcast. Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

I have taken a break from Sally's podcast, but she still remains a very influential force in Ultra Running.

SPEAKER_02:

What what are we?

SPEAKER_01:

I thought her interview on that podcast was actually quite good.

SPEAKER_02:

It was.

SPEAKER_01:

I've really enjoyed the Between Two Pines podcast. Oh, I mean, it's a whole joke that it emulates Zach Alifanakis' Between Two Ferns show, which is just right up my alley. It's the exact kind of humor I love. It's so awkward and grating. And they have a few really good interviews this year where they they just tear people down with this awkward, sort of mean questioning, but like that's the joke. The joke is that you're like, you're actually insulting the guest, but you do it in an awkward way that more insults you you. But that's how Zach Galifanekis is on Between Two Pines or Between Two Ferns. And you know, they come up with a lot of other funny bits. So it's just a it's a comedy show about ultra running. I love following ultra running memes. Uh well, no, not ultra running memes. That's an old account. Uh so your boy Scott Jurick on Instagram. So I love seeing all the humor that people put out in this sport. And so Between Two Pines, it's it's humorous, it's funny, it's well done. Uh so good job on that team putting that podcast together.

SPEAKER_02:

Um want to move on to 2026?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, I don't know. I have to check my thing. I think so. Oh, we we missed one. What was your most difficult problem this year?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh my gosh, this is the name of our podcast, and we missed this question.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

What was what was your most difficult problem this year?

SPEAKER_01:

Anxiety.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh, yes.

SPEAKER_01:

I I've been overly anxious all year. It's affected my my work, my podcasting, my running, everything. Uh it's like sand, it gets everywhere.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So gonna work on trying to fix that.

SPEAKER_02:

We'll probably have more uh another opportunity to talk about that a little more in depth because I think it's worth a full conversation.

SPEAKER_00:

Hope so.

SPEAKER_02:

Um, for me, I've already mentioned my shoe drama, my mindset challenges, but the biggest thing about this year was it was big. It was a monster year with my big goals, all of my girlfriend's big goals, and your big goals. So you just filled pacing myself through the year was my biggest challenge. My biggest it wasn't it was a good problem to have, and that's how I look at it. It's like I had all these people I love and want to see accomplish their goals, and I have big goals. It's all good problems to have, but it was a challenge. And I got a little bit a little bit at the end. Of my rope at dark divide.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Towards the end of the year. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. So that was the biggest challenge.

SPEAKER_01:

Waiting five hours for your husband at a random aid station, three hours from cell service.

SPEAKER_02:

Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. I can understand why. Yeah, let's turn to 2026.

SPEAKER_02:

All right.

SPEAKER_01:

What do you have in store for us?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, I want to name at least two Strava runs a week. Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

That's a huge goal. Are you sure you're gonna be able to do that?

SPEAKER_02:

I'm gonna give it yes. I was gonna say I was gonna be able to call it try, but I had a teacher once say, try to lift this. And then I would lift it. And he'd be like, Nope. Trying is you're doing right now. You're not trying. And I was like, oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Do you think he got that from any movies?

SPEAKER_02:

I don't know. But what he was saying is that I should I should state my intentions.

SPEAKER_01:

Do or do not.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes. So anyway.

SPEAKER_01:

There is no try.

SPEAKER_02:

Do you know what character said that? What is that? Oh, Karate Kid?

SPEAKER_01:

No.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh.

SPEAKER_01:

That's Yoda.

SPEAKER_02:

Yoda! Oh, he must have got it from the code.

SPEAKER_01:

The Empire Strikes Back. Do or do not.

SPEAKER_02:

There is no try.

SPEAKER_01:

There is no try. He says you can he's like, Luke lift it. And Luke's like, I guess I'll try. And Yoda's like, you can't try. You gotta do.

SPEAKER_02:

On that note, I'm going to name two of my Strava runs a week.

SPEAKER_01:

Or Yoda's gonna come after you.

SPEAKER_02:

People who follow me on Strava know that everything is morning run, even the most epic adventures. And it is frustrating to my followers. And sometimes it's frustrating to me when I want to go back and find a route. And I have to like remember the uh random area. What about you? What's one of your goals?

SPEAKER_01:

2026 goals. I I'll start with uh I want to beat Miranda at Avalon 50 Miler.

SPEAKER_02:

That's next week.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's next week. But is that but next week? 2026.

SPEAKER_02:

That is correct.

SPEAKER_01:

So that's one of my 2026 goals.

SPEAKER_02:

Rude. Um, I signed up for Ute 100. So I'm running my second hundred-mile race.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, put on by our friends over at Revenant Running. And you're gonna go run 100 miles through the LaSalle and Moab. I got one question for you. How do you like Slick Rock?

SPEAKER_02:

Don't mind it as long as it doesn't move around too much.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, Slick Rock's is stable.

SPEAKER_02:

That's fine. I don't mind it.

SPEAKER_01:

Good.

SPEAKER_02:

Great.

SPEAKER_01:

Probably gonna be a lot of it.

SPEAKER_02:

That's totally fine.

SPEAKER_01:

There might be some sand too. Just don't ask me to paste in any of the sandy sections. I can't do it. I can't do it. Uh I've got Kokadona.

SPEAKER_02:

I've got Coca-Dona.

SPEAKER_01:

150 miles.

SPEAKER_02:

Woo! Big one.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's my first 200 plus, so we'll see how it goes. I'm excited and scared. I think that's a good place to be.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes. That's a great place to be.

SPEAKER_01:

And another goal I have is I want to build, I want to finish building an automated race timing system for High Lonesome. So hopefully next year at High Lonesome we'll have chip timing. And yeah, that's a daunting but cool project that I want to put together.

SPEAKER_02:

And I would love to go on a runcation with you. We will. We'll let our listeners know when we land on something that uh resonates with us.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, that sounds fun.

SPEAKER_02:

On that note, shall we end this recap episode?

SPEAKER_01:

I guess so. Feel free to hit us up. Let us know on the comments and on Instagram for this episode. Tell us your 2026 goals.

SPEAKER_02:

And if you have any wants, desires, episodes you want to hear from us, go ahead and shoot us a DM. We're on Instagram.

SPEAKER_01:

At running with problems or in email podcast at runningwithproblems.run. That is not.com, it is dot run. And with without anything else to say.

SPEAKER_02:

Only thing else to say is we already have a couple episodes, epic, amazing episodes to release in 2026. So watch your feed.

SPEAKER_01:

Should be a good year. Love y'all. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you in the new year.