Maybe You're Just Not Cut Out for 100 Milers - Joe Hardin (Part I)

About the Guest Joe Hardin is a self-taught mechanical design engineer, ultra-endurance runner, race director, woodworker, and podcaster from Lebanon, Indiana. Seven years sober, he discovered running after getting a gym membership for his first sobriety birthday and found a flyer for a local turkey trot on the door. A Billy Yang video introduced him to trail running, and a friend's suggestion — "maybe you're just not cut out for 100 milers, maybe you should sign up for something longer" — led him to the Vol State 500K. He recently completed that race: 314 miles across Tennessee in July, self-supported, with no crew and no aid stations. He is the founder of Odd Duck Running, which hosts inclusive community races in Boone County, Indiana, and RTB Awards, which makes handcrafted wooden finisher and podium awards for trail races across the country. His podcast is Beyond the Finish Line on the Everyday Athlete Podcast Network. His Instagram handle is @TrailTortoise. What's Covered in Part 1 Trail Name — Trail Tortoise (Self-Appointed)

Trailblazer's Toolkit — Zip Run Commute Pack

The Hiking Poll — Score: 47 (Later Adjusted to 53)

The Vol State — Race Mechanics

Going Nocturnal

The Bench of Despair

The Rock — Cheese Grater Road and Three One More Mile Signs

How Joe Got Here — Maybe Not Cut Out for 100 Milers

Links & Resources

• Odd Duck Running — Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oddduckrunning
• RTB Awards — Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rtbawards
• Beyond the Finish Line — Everyday Athlete Podcast Network: https://www.runtrivmag.com
• Vol State 500K — Sign up at UltraSignup. Registration fills quickly.
• Ultramarathon Man — Dean Karnazes. Joe's Off the Beaten Path recommendation.
• Dirty Jar — YouTube. Trail running channel Joe discovered through HTR. Highly recommended.
• Race to the Finish — Joey Metzger's foundation for immigrant visibility in trail running: https://www.racetothefinish.org
• Shake the Frost — Tyler Childers. Joe's go-to song when everything is falling apart.

Connect with Hiker Trash Radio

• Email: mailto:hikertashradio@gmail.com
• Social: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok — search Hiker Trash Radio.

Part 2 drops in 10 minutes. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it takes 60 seconds and makes a real difference.

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