Race week exposes everything: what you’ve built, what you’ve ignored, and what actually holds up when the course turns steep. We’re joined by Dustin Mullaney, defending North Bend Trail Fest champion, to talk through the reality of racing often, recovering from monster efforts like The Rut, and why a condensed stretch of competition can feel like a cross-country season with a “never-ending taper.” If you’re trying to balance fitness, fatigue, and injury history, this conversation gets honest fast.
We also go deep on why the Cascades and Western Washington are an underrated training ground for mountain running and skyrunning. We compare Seattle-area vert to Colorado, talk about how long runnable climbs change race dynamics, and why sea-level speed, humidity, and sustained climbing can translate well to UTMB-style racing. Dustin shares what keeps pulling him back to Chamonix, what hut-to-hut days taught him, and why goals like OCC and other iconic European-style races demand more than just a big engine.
Then we nerd out on the details that decide results: smooth transitions from running to steep power hiking, building fatigue resistance so you do not panic before a technical descent, and why winter ski mountaineering and backcountry skiing can be the smartest endurance cross-training for durable mountain legs. We even take a left turn into genetics, de-extinction headlines, and what it means to be skeptical while still loving the science.
If you enjoy trail running training talk, mountain race strategy, UTMB prep, and behind-the-scenes athlete pathways, you’ll get a ton out of this one. Subscribe for more, share it with a training buddy, and leave a rating and review so more runners can find the show. What part of your training needs the biggest upgrade right now?
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